Capstone on any class-based enhancement tree requires level 20 in the class and 40+ AP's in the tree.To get ek capstone do you need to be wizard 20? Or can you have a couple of dips?
There's Aasimar Healing Hands or halfling Dragonmarks, but those are limited-use-per-rest abilities. You can access ED healing abilities like everyone else in epic levels. But why make heroic-leveling harder on yourself by giving up what Warforged (or Pale Master) wizards can do well?Is pale master or warforged the only options for self healing?
Class capstones require pure 20 builds. Universal Enhancement tree capstones are available to anyone. E.g., wizard 18 / Dark Hunter 1 / fighter 1 with 41 Vistani Knife Fighter / 12 Harper Agent as a SWF or TWF dagger build.To get ek capstone do you need to be wizard 20? Or can you have a couple of dips?
Why would you go great sword on an EK? greataxe or falchion are both better.This is just my opinion but I believe that you are best off either THF Greatsword or SWF w/Vistani Knife Fighter and Dagger.
There are other builds that work but in terms of erasing packs those are the two best options.
I have done a THF EK/PM/HA Staff build and it was good but Greatswords are better, both in overall damage and in selection of named weapons.
Why would you go great sword on an EK? greataxe or falchion are both better.
Ok, weapon dice are not the right thing to compare THF weapons on. We care about crit for weapons, because even 1 more crit unit (5% more damage) translates to vastly more damage than +1 raw damage. EK in particular should care a lot about multi, because eldritch tempest is an insane attack that heavily favors a great axe crit profile.Greatsword is superior to both of those weapons in terms of raw numbers. 8.4/7.5/6.5.
There are additional factors for both comparisons also.
Greatsword has a smoother animation than Great Axe and when moving it does even more damage because of the animation.
Greatsword has better reach than Falchion and more reliably engages multiple targets as you sweep by.
I've been playing this type of build solo for 5+ years, occasionally switching to a caster-centric build, either PM or Bard. In that time I have tried every other reasonable weapon including Staff, Great Axe, Falchion, Hand Axe, Bastard Sword, Dwarven Axe, Repeating Heavy Xbow (don't ask) and Great Xbow (ditto).
Of all the weapons the ones that are most successful at THF are Greatswords because the baseline is just better, the animation is butter smooth and there is a much better selection of named weapons across the leveling arc.
The ones most successful at SWF are Daggers because Vistani Knife Fighter.
So explain why you are recommending a 5% x3 crit weapon (Great Axe) over a 10% x2 crit weapon (Great Sword)?Ok, weapon dice are not the right thing to compare THF weapons on. We care about crit for weapons, because even 1 more crit unit (5% more damage) translates to vastly more damage than +1 raw damage. EK in particular should care a lot about multi, because eldritch tempest is an insane attack that heavily favors a great axe crit profile.
Mutually cosmetic weapons share animations—GS/falchion have the same animation set, reach, etc.
Crit profiles with improved crit and +1/+1:So explain why you are recommending a 5% x3 crit weapon (Great Axe) over a 10% x2 crit weapon (Great Sword)?
It still remains that there's literally no reason to use great sword over falchion.I see part of the problem here. You're using FotW as one of your ED's and I understand why. However I've always used other ED's as the primaries because they make the spell damage just rock, alongside the melee damage which is the baseline AE.
I put Arcane Tempest down or Acid Well and then fight in that and stuff just melts. If I'm at all worried about the melee damage that might come in at some point I cast Incendiary Cloud and the mobs are all blind.
I would recommend that EK's use an arcane ED because it meshes very well with everything they do.
FotW is better for a non-arcane melee.