Vanguard Fighter (dwarven axe)
In the past, taking Tier-5 Vanguard locked you out from Kensei's Keen Edge (+1 critical threat range). But now you can get that from dwarf / Duergar racial tree, allowing you take T5 Vanguard. While still getting +1 critical multiplier from Kensei's level 6 core Enhancement, giving dwarven axes 18-20/x4 critical threat range.
I'm not under any illusions this is the new meta for melee builds or anything. We all have our own priorities, though.
Primary features / Enhancements:
- 41 Vanguard for capstone (+20% attack speed, 10% chance of stun on shield bash) and Tier-5 abilities.
- 17 racial (dwarf or Duergar) for +1 critical threat range and +25% Strikethrough from dwarven axe. Duergar would also want to max out the Shape line + Size Mastery.
- 11 Kensei for +1 critical multiplier and Haste Boost.
- 6+ Harper Agent for Know the Angles (INT Battle Trance).
That's 75 APs minimum which makes it doable (if not optimal) for anyone. Extra APs let you go deeper into Kensei (e.g., Weapon Specialization, Power Surge) and/or invest in Stalwart Defender for defensive boosts including the stance if you're making a hate-tank. Probably the optimal DPS layout is 41 VG / 31 Kensei (One Cut) / 19 Duergar / 6+ Harper Agent which is 97 APs minimum - easy, right?
Can be built for Precision
or Power Attack + barbarian Rage (past-life feat or Fury of the Wild). Not sure which is the optimal DPS choice, though using Rage lets you take advantage of other FotW bonuses (Eternal Rage, Unquenchable Rage, etc.). So plan accordingly.
There's no specific skill requirements for this build; though obviously max Intimidate if you want to be a hate-tank too. When in doubt, I put a rank into Tumble just to unlock it, then max Use Magic Device and/or Balance.
First-lifer dwarf with zero tomes or other twink gear:
Disclaimer: I'm not sure which of the
new U81 feats are worth taking. I went with Legendary Strength of Arms and Epic Precision because they seemed like the obvious fits for this build. Since dwarven axes only have a 15% crit chance (18-20), Patience probably isn't worth it so I skipped it.
To be honest, it'd be faster to level with 2H weapons in early heroics (
Carnifex FTW), then switch to S&B much later, like around level 12 when you can grab +10% attack speed. Which is why I prioritize THF + Whirlwind Attack + Spring Attack and delay the shield feats until mid-teens. That said, if you wanna grab a dwarven axe and shield from level one, nothing prevents you from doing so. You'll still get the extra damage and Strikethrough from THF feats, after all.
Duergar with some racial past-lives and AP tomes under its belt:
Went with a slightly different approach here, using barbarian Rage + Power Attack bonuses instead of Precision. Also picked up a couple of Toughness feats on the presumption we'll have CON 21+ with the appropriate tome. Since we didn't get a S&B barbarian Archetype with
Terror of Demogorgon like I wanted, this is my attempt to approximate what I had in mind.
CON-based variants with Throw Your Weight Around are also possible, if you really wanna double down on the flavor.
