If you like tanky charisma monks that can use weapons... hey, try Sacred Fist
- Thread starter Drachmor
- Start date
droid327
Well-known member
SF was almost awesome but it lacks a few fundamental must-have things...fortunately you can get them with /1 fvs (trance) and /1 monk (stance, which is fire at first for ki gen and water at cap for dodge/mrr cap), but that pretty much pigeonholes you into one build, albeit an awesome one with fun gameplay unlike other melees
Cha> Con> 13 dex, human, vol, 41 vkf T4 fist 6 sac def 1 henshin, swfx3 prec ic: p dodge mob wwa, grandmaster stances, ohv. T5 crusader with embodiment of law, gmof for lotus, ea for heal mantle and leap. TWF spec at cap (can hit 95% off hand with enh+eds) and craft a dino bone dagger off hand for bosses.
So much aoe, and a lot of it is 360, so you can just jump straight into packs and not have to worry about mobs being behind you. Closest thing to a melee equivalent of sorc. Two whirlwinds, lotus, ex smite, rapid slash are all aoe, so even though you're swf, you do as much multi hitting as a thf. Rapid slash, smite, and lotus will all proc off hand in twf mode too.
The one big weakness is mrr, though. Even with 2 pc abiding and leg jidz, you get too vulnerable to spiky spell damage in higher skulls, and T5 gmof gives up too much dps. PRR can be lacking sometimes too if you get too aggressive with diving into swarms.
Cha> Con> 13 dex, human, vol, 41 vkf T4 fist 6 sac def 1 henshin, swfx3 prec ic: p dodge mob wwa, grandmaster stances, ohv. T5 crusader with embodiment of law, gmof for lotus, ea for heal mantle and leap. TWF spec at cap (can hit 95% off hand with enh+eds) and craft a dino bone dagger off hand for bosses.
So much aoe, and a lot of it is 360, so you can just jump straight into packs and not have to worry about mobs being behind you. Closest thing to a melee equivalent of sorc. Two whirlwinds, lotus, ex smite, rapid slash are all aoe, so even though you're swf, you do as much multi hitting as a thf. Rapid slash, smite, and lotus will all proc off hand in twf mode too.
The one big weakness is mrr, though. Even with 2 pc abiding and leg jidz, you get too vulnerable to spiky spell damage in higher skulls, and T5 gmof gives up too much dps. PRR can be lacking sometimes too if you get too aggressive with diving into swarms.
Oh sure, I had a really cool SWF build I loved last life. Gotta update it but you can find the gist of it on my profile somewhere. Basically it's SWF daggers, but... like. EVERYTHING you do is AOE. Damage is big and survivability is decent. Super high-speed. Very fun
seph1roth5
Well-known member
One problem with SF is they looked at shintao and kotc t5s, and took the worst parts.
Yeahhhh T5s are alright but I happened to find more use in the Vistani T5s seeing as I was a dagger build. The 25% hp and 10 mp are decent tho
Agreed that the monk + FVS is basically necessary, which is a shame, because these things should really be included in a "Sacred Fist" monk/pally kit. SF has some awesome, unique strengths tho so I get how it can't have it all. Still though... give us a trance, give us a chance! Lol.
This was the gist of my build, would prob make some changes to it but this was still a super powerful + fast life the whole time. Find yourself a double-augmented dagger to craft at ML4 and cruise until Barovia for a bit of a power spike. Honestly the build never slowed down for me, and could handle mid-high reapers at cap (lead in kills in a Sharn R10 pug heheh). It has decent crowd-control, saves, hella damage, and you're speedy quick.
dragonslanderson
Member
Your analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the build, including the potential vulnerabilities to spell damage and the need for MRR (Magical Resistance Rating) and PRR (Physical Resistance Rating), is spot-on. Balancing offense and defense is crucial in DDO, especially at higher difficulty levels.
dragonslanderson
Member
If you enjoy playing as a resilient and charismatic monk who can wield weapons effectively, consider exploring the Sacred Fist build. While it's unfortunate that you can't utilize the charisma trance from the replaced Knights of the Chalice (KOTC) tree, you can create a powerful character by multiclassing with 1 level of Favored Soul (FVS) and taking as many monk levels as you desire.
Onyxia2016
Well-known member
You know to date I have never played a Sacred Fist. A one who plays the Paladin or Cleric in virtually every game I just can not get past the fact that a paladin would go the unarmored, no sword, hammer or shield path. Not sure if I am the only one that has this unexplainable, gut-wrenching loathing for this path.
To me Strongheart (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shady_Dragon_Inn) is the embodiment of a Paladin.
I know there will come a day that I will have to give it a go but not really looking forward to it.
To me Strongheart (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shady_Dragon_Inn) is the embodiment of a Paladin.
I know there will come a day that I will have to give it a go but not really looking forward to it.
You will not have to actually, not even for the past lives. If you level a paladin up to cap, while doing the ER just select SF as an alternative to paladin (you can do this with every corresponding base class archetype), level it up to lvl20, then do the regular TR and get the SF past life
Greater color spray is an interesting possibility, especially for levelling, if APs allow. The 1 FvS gives the magical training prerequisite for Feydark.
I'm using the 1FvS idea on 2 builds ATM
1 Trailblazer 1FvS 18 SF Tabaxi trailblazer QS user
1 FvS 1 Monk 18 SF Drow using shadowblades
I'm using the 1FvS idea on 2 builds ATM
1 Trailblazer 1FvS 18 SF Tabaxi trailblazer QS user
1 FvS 1 Monk 18 SF Drow using shadowblades
droid327
Well-known member
What's more Paldineseque, though, than marching into battle armed with nothing but your faith?
You need not steel to bring the light of truth to the darkness!
You will not have to actually, not even for the past lives. If you level a paladin up to cap, while doing the ER just select SF as an alternative to paladin (you can do this with every corresponding base class archetype), level it up to lvl20, then do the regular TR and get the SF past life
SF does get a separate stack of PLs that are useful, though: 5% Hamp and 5 Pos Spellpower. So even if you dont need it for Completionist, at some point you are gonna wanna bang them out for that.
Onyxia2016
Well-known member
I see that roll as the priest in robes carrying the staff with the cross or symbol of faith on top.
Google "Paladin" and select images. Pages and pages of armor clad holy warriors and not a robe or handwraps in site.
Maybe it is all this imagery ingrained in me from an early age. Never really saw the concept of a sacred fist style until this archetype.
I would have bet money the paladin archetype would have gone the way or the Dark Apostate.
droid327
Well-known member
Sacred Fist is what you get when you cross Eastern-style monasticism with Western culture. Its like a shaolin monk, but instead of being a Buddhist, they're a Crusader
But the general principles of Eastern militant monasticism arent inherently Buddhist. Just that Western monasticism tended more towards asceticism and philosophy than militantism. So Western monks wrote manuscripts and music...Eastern monks invented kung fu
Notadrizztvariant
Well-known member
Look at it from gaming point of view. Archetypes that are considerably different from their "base class" bring something new to play and experiment with. That seems like a more interesting addition than Ranger-who-does-not-take-2-rogue-levels or Warlock-just-worse
droid327
Well-known member
Look at it from gaming point of view. Archetypes that are considerably different from their "base class" bring something new to play and experiment with. That seems like a more interesting addition than Ranger-who-does-not-take-2-rogue-levels or Warlock-just-worse
Cleric-without-good-spells