Dwarf and Duergar Builds for Update 80

[unbongwah]

Next life Im thinking Duergar pure DA EK Wizard but Im unsure if it will work. Would you go Str or Int for the build?

THF or SWF for the fighting feats ? If SWF I assume skip the Buckler and just swing the DA?

Are you just trying to run a wizard PL or do you really want to savor the Eldritch Knight experience? Because there are higher melee DPS options than pure wizard which will qualify for a PL feat; e.g., wizard 11 / Dragonlord 6 / bard 3 running SWF handaxe.

 

[Hobgoblin]

Are you just trying to run a wizard PL or do you really want to savor the Eldritch Knight experience? Because there are higher melee DPS options than pure wizard which will qualify for a PL feat; e.g., wizard 11 / Dragonlord 6 / bard 3 running SWF handaxe.

does 6 dl v 12 wiz get you much?

 

[unbongwah]

does 6 dl v 12 wiz get you much?

DLord 6 gets an extra feat and Reckless Devotion; wizard 12 gets Subtle Force I. My expectation is DL 6 is better DPS and can be taken sooner than wiz 12 but it could go either way.

 

[Jaspar]

SWF is far better, unless you are planning shield bashes. I hate EK, so not going to give much help there.

If you are looking for fun choices, maybe consider Monk DDM with handaxe, picks or warhammers (can stay centered in t4). You could also splash some bard for swashbuckling help.

Something like SWF Haxe 12Monk/5DragonLord/3Bard looks like it would be fun and would largely better than EK.

Plan is to use DA again, not hand axe to compare and see which is more fun. And I want to give EK a try. I know it works well with a dagger or kukro but that is because VKF is so broken, but my goal is using a DA.

SWF should work well.

Given how many lives I have and I go an Int build I probably should hit with my CC and IK spells too.

So I splash Harper for Int to hit and damage and the trance (it is ridiculous that none of these are in the EK tree) and splash VKF for Haste boost (EK not having any boost is also ridiculous).

And I focus on Force and one other type - probably acid? But with martial gear.

 

[Jaspar]

Are you just trying to run a wizard PL or do you really want to savor the Eldritch Knight experience? Because there are higher melee DPS options than pure wizard which will qualify for a PL feat; e.g., wizard 11 / Dragonlord 6 / bard 3 running SWF handaxe.

Duergar racial. I try to do different things each life and going 6 DL or using a dagger and VKF has been done many times. I also want to use a dwarven axe again because this is probably my 3rd time in 120 lives.

One thing Im thinking is whether to use an orb or go for empty offhand with Offhand Versatility.

 

[unbongwah]

Duergar racial. I try to do different things each life and going 6 DL or using a dagger and VKF has been done many times. I also want to use a dwarven axe again because this is probably my 3rd time in 120 lives.

In that case, I'd probably go:

• Stats: max INT, DEX 10 + 3 tome for Precision, rest into CON
• pure wizard 20 for capstone
• Heroic feats: SWF (1), Precision (3), Insightful Reflexes (6), Knights Training or Piercing Negative Energy (9), ISWF (12), Greater Spell Focus (15), Improved Critical (18). Knight's Training would give you the option of switching to battleaxes or longswords for better single-target DPS: 16-20/x4 vs dwarven axe's 18-20/x4. Piercing Negative Energy means you could probably skip PM's Unholy Avatar; APs are quite tight as you'll see.
• Wizard feats: something like Quicken, Extend (mostly for buffs and Death Auras), Maximize, Spell Focus, and whatever you want at level 20 (racial TR so it doesn't matter for long)
• Enhancements: depending on how many extra APs you got, the split is something like 41 Eldritch Knight (capstone) / 12 Harper Agent (INT to damage) / 11 Vistani KF (Haste Boost + 5% doublestrike) / 6+ Pale Master (undead form) then everything else into Duergar (ideally max Size Mastery without compromising on non-racial trees).

In other words, pretty standard Death Knight with EK/PM split. Not the best melee DPS by current meta standards, but very self-sufficient once you hit level 7-ish with undead form + NEB + dual Death Auras.

 

[Jaspar]

In that case, I'd probably go:

• Stats: max INT, DEX 10 + 3 tome for Precision, rest into CON
• pure wizard 20 for capstone
• Heroic feats: SWF (1), Precision (3), Insightful Reflexes (6), Knights Training or Piercing Negative Energy (9), ISWF (12), Greater Spell Focus (15), Improved Critical (18). Knight's Training would give you the option of switching to battleaxes or longswords for better single-target DPS: 16-20/x4 vs dwarven axe's 18-20/x4. Piercing Negative Energy means you could probably skip PM's Unholy Avatar; APs are quite tight as you'll see.
• Wizard feats: something like Quicken, Extend (mostly for buffs and Death Auras), Maximize, Spell Focus, and whatever you want at level 20 (racial TR so it doesn't matter for long)
• Enhancements: depending on how many extra APs you got, the split is something like 41 Eldritch Knight (capstone) / 12 Harper Agent (INT to damage) / 11 Vistani KF (Haste Boost + 5% doublestrike) / 6+ Pale Master (undead form) then everything else into Duergar (ideally max Size Mastery without compromising on non-racial trees).

In other words, pretty standard Death Knight with EK/PM split. Not the best melee DPS by current meta standards, but very self-sufficient once you hit level 7-ish with undead form + NEB + dual Death Auras.

Im getting an Epic PL too. Still have 8 or 10 of them to go.

Thanks for this.

I assume I gear for martial and then have 1 or 2 items for spellpower and crit chance.

Is Pierce negative more important than pierce acid or force if Im going acid for imbues and base ES damage is force?

 

[unbongwah]

Is Pierce negative more important than pierce acid or force if Im going acid for imbues and base ES damage is force?

Level 9 feat is basically a floater for whatever you wanna plug in. But there isn't a Piercing Force feat. Are there enough enemies acid-immune to make Piercing Acid useful?

 

[Jaspar]

Level 9 feat is basically a floater for whatever you wanna plug in. But there isn't a Piercing Force feat. Are there enough enemies acid-immune to make Piercing Acid useful?

I was also thinking the negative would just be for minor healing so probably wouldnt tick too hard on mobs.

Sharn is the only place force and acid are annoying with mobs?

 

[unbongwah]

Sharn is the only place force and acid are annoying with mobs?

One upside to Eldritch Knight is being able to change Imbues whenever you want; though swapping in the correct Spellpower is another matter.

 

[Jaspar]

One upside to Eldritch Knight is being able to change Imbues whenever you want; though swapping in the correct Spellpower is another matter.

Yeah, I imagine I will change the imbue when I start healing mobs, but I wont also change gear just for one pack or one dungeon.

Cheers.

 

[Contessor]

I would very much like to know how you unlocked bard+monk multiclassing.

Well now, it does require a cheat code. . Well it was just a thought that popped into my head. Guess dump the swash idea and just go 12/8 or 14/6.

 

[unbongwah]

Bunch of changes coming in Update 82, but the ones I want to spotlight here for dwarves:

Melee Weapons:

• Morningstar and Warhammer are now considered hand-and-a-half weapons, benefiting from Strikethrough and the Two Handed Fighting feats in the same ways Bastard Sword and Dwarven Waraxe do.
• Knight's Training now grants Bastard Swords a +1 Morale Bonus to Critical Multiplier.
• Knight's Training now grants Dwarven Waraxes a +1 Morale Bonus to Critical Threat Range, increasing to +2 if you have Improved Critical: Slashing.
  
  • In preview 1, many players felt like the new H&H status of Morningstars and Warhammers left Bastard Sword and Dwarven Waraxe as much less of an attractive pick, so we've added them to Knight's Training to give them slightly more available power.

This will be a significant improvement for SWF and S&B toons using warhammer and dwarven waraxe. In the past, you had to choose between a superior critical threat range or Strikethrough; now you get both. You add Knight's Training as a feat tax to dwarven waraxe builds, but it's worth it to get an extra +2 critical range.

 

[Contessor]

Bunch of changes coming in Update 82, but the ones I want to spotlight here for dwarves:

This will be a significant improvement for SWF and S&B toons using warhammer and dwarven waraxe. In the past, you had to choose between a superior critical threat range or Strikethrough; now you get both. You add Knight's Training as a feat tax to dwarven waraxe builds, but it's worth it to get an extra +2 critical range.

Agree WH or Daxe Vanguard or Melee Arty Builds are being pushed close to meta and both are high on the thrill scale.

 

[unbongwah]

Silvanus Warsoul (maul)

Someone in another thread was looking for a Duergar Warsoul build, so I'm reposting my ideas here to keep them in one thread.

First-lifer focused on melee DPS plus heals / support: max STR with FotW Rage + Draconic Rage

Duergar Warsoul (1st life)
Favored Soul 20
Lawful Neutral Duergar


Stats
. . . . . . . .28pt . . 32pt. . .Level Up
. . . . . . . .---- . . ----. . .--------
Strength. . . . 19. . . .19 . . . 4: STR
Dexterity . . . .8. . . . 8 . . . 8: STR
Constitution. . 13. . . .15 . . .12: STR
Intelligence. . 10. . . .10 . . .16: STR
Wisdom. . . . . .8. . . . 8 . . .20: STR
Charisma. . . . 14. . . .15 . . .24: STR
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28: STR
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32: STR
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36: STR

Skills
. . . . . 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
. . . . .------------------------------------------------------------
Spellcr . 4. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 23
Heal. . . 2. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 21
Tumble. . 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
. . . . .------------------------------------------------------------
. . . . . 8. 2. 2. 2. 2. 2. 2. 2. 2. 2. 2. 2. 2. 2. 2. 2. 2. 2. 2. 2


Feats

.1. . . . : Two Handed Fighting
.3. . . . : Quicken Spell
.6. . . . : Empower Healing Spell
.9. . . . : Improved Two Handed Fighting
12. . . . : Improved Critical: Bludgeoning
15. . . . : Greater Two Handed Fighting
18. . . . : Power Attack
21 Epic . : Strength of Arms
22 Destiny: Perfect Two Handed Fighting
24 Epic . : Epic Power Attack
25 Destiny: Doublestrike OR Epic Spell Power: Positive
27 Epic . : Overwhelming Critical
28 Destiny: Embodiment of Law
30 Epic . : Legendary Strength of Arms
30 Legend : Scion of: Arborea
31 Destiny: Enhanced Elemental Dice OR Arcane Warrior
33 Epic . : Patience OR Epic Damage Reduction
34 Destiny: Titan's Blood
36 Epic . : Eerie Aim

.2 FavSoul: Grace of Battle
.7 FavSoul: Purity of Heart

.1 Deity. : Follower of: Silvanus


Enhancements (Spent: 80 +1r +0u / Max: 80 +1r +0u AP)

War Soul (41 AP)

• Smite Foe: Melee, Resilience of Battle, Sanctuary, Blur, Haste, Implacable Foe: Strength
  1. Divine Might III, Righteous Weapons
  2. Smite Weakness, Wall of Steel III, Righteous Weapons, Haste Boost III
  3. Righteous Weapons
  4. Ameliorating Strike, Fires of Fury, Righteous Weapons, Holy Striker: Doublestrike III
  5. Divine Power, Divine Vessel: Melee, Wrathful Weapons, Divine Champion, Divine Intervention

Beacon of Hope (21 AP)

• Pleasant Disposition, Beacon of Grace, Shining Light, Beacon of Hope
  1. Good Hope I, Divine Durability I, Spell Critical
  2. Hope for Inspiration, Divine Durability III, Spell Critical
  3. Hope for Protection, Efficient Empower Healing, Spell Critical

Duergar (19 AP)

• Underdark Upbringing I, Strength, Underdark Upbringing II, Strength
  1. Dwarven Weapon Training I: Pick and Hammer Training, Duergar Shape I
  2. Dwarven Weapon Training II: Pick and Hammer Training, Duergar Shape II
  3. Dwarven Weapon Training III: Pick and Hammer Training, Duergar Shape III, Duergar Favored Enemies: Giant, Forgemaster
  4. Dwarven Weapon Training IV: Pick and Hammer Training, Duergar Shape IV, Size Mastery

Destinies (Spent: 76 (64 +12pdp) / Max: 76 (64 +12pdp) AP)

Divine Crusader (37 AP)

• Just Cause, Confront any Foe, Weather any Blow, Sunder Evil
  1. Divine Smite, Consecration III
  2. Endless Smiting III, Holy Mantle
  3. Gaze of the Divine, Strike with Poise III, Crusade, How Dare You Strike Me III
  4. Heavenly Presence, Blessed Strikes III, Cower Before Me
  5. Mighty Crusade, Bring Down Wrath, Law of the Divine, Blessed Blades, Beckon Divinity

Fury of the Wild (31 AP)

• Die Hard, Die Harder, Die Harderest, Be the Whirlwind
  1. Quick Cutter III, Savage Take Down III
  2. Boulder's Might III, I'm Always Angry I, Primal Scream
  3. Eternal Rage II, Furious III
  4. Top Dog, The Voice of Fury, Overwhelming Force III, Unquenchable Rage III

Draconic Incarnation (8 AP)

• Draconic Bloodline: Red, Draconic Heritage
  1. Dragonhide III, Dragonscales I
  2. Draconic Rage

Max-CHA variant for the Duergar lover with a bunch of tomes and racial past lives under their belt. Stats can be tweaked, the important break points are STR 15/17 for THF feat chain, DEX 13 for Precision, and CON 21 for Legendary Toughness.

Duergar Silvanus Warsoul
Favored Soul 20
Lawful Neutral Duergar


Stats
. . . . . . . .36pt . . Tome . . Level Up
. . . . . . . .---- . . ----. . .--------
Strength. . . . 15. . . .+2. . . .4: CHA
Dexterity . . . 10. . . .+3. . . .8: CHA
Constitution. . 17. . . .+4. . . 12: CHA
Intelligence. . 10. . . .+2. . . 16: CHA
Wisdom. . . . . .8. . . . . . . .20: CHA
Charisma. . . . 18. . . . . . . .24: CHA
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28: CHA
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32: CHA
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36: CHA


Feats

.1. . . . : Two Handed Fighting
.3. . . . : Quicken Spell
.6. . . . : Empower Healing Spell OR Maximize Spell
.9. . . . : Improved Two Handed Fighting
12. . . . : Improved Critical: Slashing
15. . . . : Greater Two Handed Fighting
18. . . . : Precision
21 Epic . : Epic Precision
22 Destiny: Perfect Two Handed Fighting
24 Epic . : Strength of Arms OR Burst of Glacial Wrath
25 Destiny: Doublestrike OR Epic Spell Power: Light and Alignment
27 Epic . : Overwhelming Critical
28 Destiny: Arcane Warrior
30 Epic . : Legendary Strength of Arms OR Embolden Spell
30 Legend : Scion of: Arborea OR Celestia
31 Destiny: Embodiment of Law
33 Epic . : Intensify Spell
34 Destiny: Titan's Blood OR Legendary Toughness
36 Epic . : Eerie Aim

.2 FavSoul: Knowledge of Battle
.7 FavSoul: Stout of Heart

.1 Deity. : Follower of: Silvanus


Enhancements (Spent: 80 +11r +3u / Max: 80 +11r +3u AP)

War Soul (41 AP)

• Smite Foe: Melee, Resilience of Battle, Sanctuary, Blur, Haste, Implacable Foe: Charisma
  1. Divine Might III, Righteous Weapons
  2. Smite Weakness, Wall of Steel III, Righteous Weapons, Haste Boost III
  3. Righteous Weapons
  4. Ameliorating Strike, Fires of Fury, Righteous Weapons, Holy Striker: Doublestrike III
  5. Divine Power, Divine Vessel: Melee, Wrathful Weapons, Divine Champion, Divine Intervention

Beacon of Hope (31 AP)

• Pleasant Disposition, Beacon of Grace, Shining Light, Beacon of Hope, Flight of Glory
  1. Good Hope I, Confidence III, Spell Critical
  2. Hope for Inspiration, Spell Critical
  3. Hope for Protection, Efficient Empower Healing, Spell Critical, Charisma
  4. Death Ward I, Hope for Victory, Optimism, Spell Critical, Charisma

Duergar (19 AP)

• Underdark Upbringing I
  1. Dwarven Weapon Training I: Pick and Hammer Training, Duergar Shape I, Dwarven Armor Mastery I
  2. Dwarven Weapon Training II: Pick and Hammer Training, Duergar Shape II, Child of the Mountain III
  3. Dwarven Weapon Training III: Pick and Hammer Training, Duergar Shape III, Duergar Favored Enemies: Giant
  4. Dwarven Weapon Training IV: Pick and Hammer Training, Duergar Shape IV, Size Mastery

Vistani Knife Fighter (3 AP)

• Knife Expertise
  1. Mist Stalker

Destinies (Spent: 82 (64 +18pdp) / Max: 82 (64 +18pdp) AP)

Divine Crusader (37 AP)

• Just Cause, Confront any Foe, Weather any Blow, Sunder Evil
  1. Divine Smite, Consecration III
  2. Endless Smiting III, Holy Mantle
  3. Gaze of the Divine, Strike with Poise III, Crusade, How Dare You Strike Me III
  4. Heavenly Presence, Blessed Strikes III, Cower Before Me
  5. Mighty Crusade, Bring Down Wrath, Law of the Divine, Blessed Blades, Beckon Divinity

Fury of the Wild (29 AP)

• Die Hard, Die Harder, Die Harderest, Be the Whirlwind
  1. Quick Cutter III, Enduring I
  2. Boulder's Might III, Primal Scream, Gird Against Demons
  3. Sense Weakness III, Wild Weapons: Doublestrike III
  4. Wilder Weapons: Doublestrike III, The Voice of Fury, Unquenchable Rage III

Shadowdancer (16 AP)

• Shadow Training, Step Through Shadow, The Darkest Luck
  1. Cover of Darkness III, Well of Darkness II
  2. Dance in the Dark III
  3. Grim Precision III, Shadowstriker

 

[Contessor]

I would love to see some Duegar/Dwarf Dragon Disciple builds using Tranquility on Strife. Especially using new Arcane Trickstar (or new Archmage) for mixed magics. I think on paper there is a ton of synergy. Just having fleshed or even fully theory crafted anything out. But was planning a life 1-36 down the road just to try.

Original thoughts using mixed magics and magical ambush were 9ATr/6DL/5DDM but thinking new Arty tree might be better than DL. Just looks like it would be a fun life, although probably not going to be an r10 build. Also a version with new Archmage might be a smaller investment than ATr.

 

[unbongwah]

TYWA Stalwart Defender (S&B warhammer)

Will also work with dwarven axes, just swap feats and Enhancements as appropriate.

Just a little light theory-crafting based on some of the changes coming to Update 82:

• Right now, you have to split your APs between Kensei for +1 crit multiplier and Vanguard for attack speed bonuses. With U82, you'll be able to pick up +1 crit multiplier for Vanguard's level 12 core, allowing you to shift APs from Kensei to VG. Naturally you'll still want Haste Boost, though, so we won't be dumping Kensei entirely.
• Likewise, pre-U82 you had to choose between the superior critical threat range of warhammers or the Strikethrough and higher damage modifier from dwarven axes. Post-U82, warhammers gain Strikethrough as hand-and-a-half weapons while dwarven axes are being added to Knight's Training feat, so you can get the best of both in one weapon.
• With the racial bonus to critical threat range, we won't need Tier-5 Kensei or Vanguard to get +1 crit range, in which case we can go T5 Stalwart Defender instead.
• With the uncapping of doublestrike, there will be no such thing as too much doublestrike, so we can pile on as many bonuses as we like.

So the goal is a max-CON hate-tank which also has decent (for S&B) DPS. Can it be done? Should it be done?!

Kundarak TYWA Defender
Fighter 20
Lawful Neutral Dwarf


Stats
. . . . . . . .36pt . . Tome . . Level Up
. . . . . . . .---- . . ----. . .--------
Strength. . . . 16. . . .+8. . . .4: CON
Dexterity . . . .8. . . .+8. . . .8: CON
Constitution. . 20. . . .+8. . . 12: CON
Intelligence. . 16. . . .+8. . . 16: CON
Wisdom. . . . . .8. . . .+8. . . 20: CON
Charisma. . . . .6. . . .+8. . . 24: CON
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28: CON
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32: CON
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36: CON

Skills
. . . . . 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
. . . . .------------------------------------------------------------
Intim . . 4. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 23
Swim. . . 4. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 23
Heal. . . . . . . . . . . . ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 2. 11
Search. . 1. 1. . .1 . . 1. . .1 . . 1. . .1 . . 1. . .1 . . 1. . .1 .11
Balance . 2. . .1 . . 1. . .1 . . 1. . .1 . . 1. . .1 . . 1. . .1 . . 11
UMD . . . 2. . .1 . . 1. . .1 . . 1. . .1 . . 1. . .1 . . 1. . .1 . . 11
Tumble. . 1. 1. . .1 . . 1. . .1 . . 1. . .1 . . 1. . .1 . . 1. . . . 10
. . . . .------------------------------------------------------------
. . . . .20. 6. 6. 6. 6. 6. 7. 7. 7. 7. 7. 7. 7. 7. 8. 8. 8. 8. 8. 8


Feats

.1. . . . : Shield Mastery
.1 Fighter: Two Handed Fighting
.2 Fighter: Combat Expertise
.3. . . . : Least Dragonmark: Warding
.4 Fighter: Knight's Training
.6. . . . : Toughness
.6 Fighter: Improved Two Handed Fighting
.8 Fighter: Improved Shield Mastery
.9. . . . : Improved Critical: Bludgeoning
10 Fighter: Heavy Armor Master
12. . . . : Greater Two Handed Fighting
12 Fighter: Precision
14 Fighter: Greater Shield Mastery
15. . . . : Dodge
16 Fighter: Heavy Armor Champion
18. . . . : Mobility
18 Fighter: Whirlwind Attack
20 Fighter: Spring Attack OR Improved Shield Bash
21 Epic . : Strength of Arms
22 Destiny: Perfect Shield Mastery
24 Epic . : Bulwark of Defense
25 Destiny: Perfect Two Handed Fighting OR Doublestrike
27 Epic . : Epic Precision
28 Destiny: Deific Warding
30 Epic . : Legendary Strength of Arms
30 Legend : Scion of: Arborea
31 Destiny: Legendary Toughness
33 Epic . : Epic Toughness OR Overwhelming Critical OR Epic Damage Reduction
34 Destiny: Titan's Blood OR Embodiment of Law
36 Epic . : Eerie Aim


Enhancements (Spent: 80 +20r +3u / Max: 80 +20r +3u AP)

Stalwart Defender (41 AP)

• Toughness, Stalwart Defense, Overbalance, Stand Fast, Defensive Sweep, Last Stand
  1. Resilient Defense III, Stalwart Defensive Mastery III, Threatening Countenance III
  2. Improved Stalwart Defense: Inciting Defense III, Armor Expertise III
  3. Greater Stalwart Defense: Tenacious Defense III, Shield Expertise III
  4. Swift Defense, Greater Stalwart Defense: Hardy Defense III, Reinforced Defense: Reinforced Armor III
  5. The Thick of Battle, Block and Cut III, Reinforced Defense: Reinforced Shield II, Against All Odds

Vanguard (31 AP)

• To the Fore!, Shield Combat I, Vicious Shield I, Shield Combat II, Vicious Shield II
  1. Shield Specialization I, Shield Smash III
  2. Shield Specialization II, Stunning Shield III, Missile Shield III
  3. Shield Specialization III, Follow Up III
  4. Shield Specialization IV, Vanguard Armor Mastery III, Shield Charge III

Dwarf (20 AP)

• Dwarven Toughness
  1. Kundarak Dragonmark Focus III, Pick and Hammer Training
  2. Lesser Dragonmark of Warding, Child of the Mountain III, Pick and Hammer Training
  3. Greater Dragonmark of Warding, Pick and Hammer Training
  4. Pick and Hammer Training, Throw Your Weight Around

Harper Agent (7 AP)

• Agent of Good I
  1. Harper Enchantment, Traveler's Toughness II
  2. Know the Angles II

Kensei (4 AP)

• Kensei Focus: Picks and Hammers
  1. Action Boost: Haste Boost III

Destinies (Spent: 86 (64 +22pdp) / Max: 86 (64 +22pdp) AP)

Unyielding Sentinel (39 AP)

• Unyielding, Ward Against Darkness, Stand Against the Tide, Last Hope
  1. Epic Strike: Celestial Mandate, Brace for Impact III
  2. Renewal, Mantle of the Sentinel, Commanding Presence III, Knight's Challenge
  3. Hands of the Sentinel, The Rule of Law III, Legendary Shield Mastery III
  4. Hardened III, Divine Bulwark, Throw the Boom
  5. Resurrection, Strength of Vitality III, Undying Vanguard, Deific Resilience, Light the Dark

Divine Crusader (24 AP)

• Just Cause, Confront any Foe, Weather any Blow, Sunder Evil
  1. Divine Smite, Shield of Justice III
  2. Endless Smiting III, Shield of Light III, Bulk Up III
  3. How Dare You Strike Me III
  4. Blessed Strikes III

Fury of the Wild (23 AP)

• Die Hard, Die Harder, Die Harderest, Be the Whirlwind
  1. Quick Cutter III, Enduring I
  2. Boulder's Might III, Gird Against Demons
  3. Sense Weakness III, Wild Weapons: Doublestrike II, Embrace the Pain III
  4. Wilder Weapons: Doublestrike II

Features:

• CON for hammer damage, HPs, and Fortitude saves; STR for to-hit and shield damage; INT for Battle Trance.
• 41 APs Stalwart Defender for Tier-5s plus capstone
• 31 APs Vanguard for +15% attack speed and +1 critical multiplier
• 20 APs dwarf for Radiant Forcefield, +1 critical range for warhammers, and Throw Your Weight Around
• Haste Boost and Know the Angles from Kensei and Harper Agent, respectively
• Uses Combat Expertise for max AC and Precision when it wants to beat things
• Maxed out all the threat amp Enhancements and Unyielding Sentinel bonuses I could

I listed Embodiment of Law as an optional feat because it gives you the option of respeccing into T5 Divine Crusader (w/Law of the Divine) + T4 Unyielding Sentinel when you need extra DPS more than extra survivability.

Drawbacks:

• Triple stat dependency (CON/STR/INT) compared to a pure DPS build
• STR being a secondary stat hurts to-hit and some Tactics DCs, hence why I skipped Stunning Blow, Improved Sunder, etc. and the fighter Tactical feats
• Know the Angles doesn't give an Accuracy bonus, making Insightful Accuracy gear a must; which puts a soft "cap" on how high it gets
• Spending 31 APs in Vanguard meant I had to sacrifice some defensive boosts from dwarf and Stalwart Defender. You could lower VG to 21 APs, sacrificing +5% attack speed and Tier-4s to invest more into SD and/or dwarf trees.
• Obviously I realize not everyone has 103 AP builds unlocked; ironically I will certainly never be able to run this toon as specced. A more "lowbie" version is technically doable, though obviously it means sacrificing some DPS and/or tankiness.

Quick Cutter is getting nerfed (again) in Update 82, unfortunately; but I haven't seen anyone suggest any of the other AoE Epic Strikes is a better choice. Everyone's just salty about the DPS loss. So until a better choice manifests, I stuck with Fury of the Wild as tertiary ED, which has other benefits (Boulder's Might, extra Doublestrike, etc.).

 

[unbongwah]

More theorycrafting ahead. Just need to organize my thoughts.

My goal: SWF warhammer build which hits 100% Strikethrough ASAP in heroics. My belief being that Strikethrough is most helpful for heroic and low-epic leveling, well before you get to level 31 and can take THF Specialty to boost Strikethrough. I mostly solo so I also want self-sufficiency; trap skills not required but they are an added bonus.

[It appears warhammer Strikethrough is currently bugged but fingers crossed it's fixed quickly. And you can use dwarven axes in the interim.]

max-STR Dwarf Artificer 13 / Dragonlord 6 / paladin 1

• paladin splash for KotC unlock
• Dragonlord 6 is for the usual T5 nonsense - nerfed but still OP
• Artificer 13 gets us two level 5 spell slots (e.g., Tenser's Transformation and either Planar or Silver weapons) and access to Improved Construct Essence

Duergar variant can use dwarven axes or bastard swords (via Helm); although b.swords won't get racial bonuses to damage like d.axes do.

Enhancements baseline:

• 36 Dragonlord for all Tier-5s plus cores
• 17 dwarf for max Hammer Training and +1 crit range
• 12 Battle Engineer for hammer training 3
• 7 Harper Agent for Seize the Moment
• 4 paladin KotC Imbue (Onatar) and +20% Strikethrough

That's 76 APs so achieveable on a first-lifer with a few APs leftover for Renegade Mastermaker (extra repair amp) or wherever.

Stats (first life, no tomes): STR 18 DEX 13 CON 15 INT 14. If you've got tomes, adjust stats as you see fit. INT is mostly for extra skill points, it could be dumped for more CON or whatever if you don't care about trapping.

Warhammers have 16-20/x5 critical threat range with Conquerer + dwarf racial + Knight's Training + Improved Critical feats. Nightforge Hammer is upgraded to x6.

Strikethough: 20% base + 20% KotC + 20% DLord + 25% dwarf + 15% Battle Engineer = 100%. Achievable by level 9 or 10 if I'm adding APs right, though I'll probably reset Enhancements at level 12 to prioritize crit bonuses from DLord + dwarf.

Heroic feats (7 regular + 3 DLord + 3 Artificer): Precision, SWF x3, Knight's Training, Improved Critical, Whirlwind Attack (plus pre-reqs), Quicken, Construct Essence x2 with one to spare for...I dunno, Stunning Blow or Offhand Versatility, I guess?

My Artificer levels will be quite backloaded, so I'll probably rely on potions, hirelings, and Curative Admixtures for leveling until I take Artificer 12 with Improved Construct Essence.