Input on a self-sufficient auto-attack build for racial PLs

[Putti]

Hey guys,

I'm having a lot of trouble deciding on a build that I can do my heroic leveling with. I have some ideas in mind, but none of it really seems to be just right, so I'm hoping for some input A full in-depth build won't be necessary - just a summary of the split and key abilities to aim for and I'll figure it out.

First of all sorry for the wall of text. Here's a TL;DR:

• Non-caster build without too many active abilities..
• Self-reliant with healing without relying on consumables.
• Trapping.
• Survivability > Damage
• Fun/Unusual > Meta
• Utility (DDoor, Teleport or UMD)
• AoE / CC a big plus
• Focus on leveling (no endgame)

The most important thing to me is that it's fairly simple to play. This mean that it shouldn't have like a dozen attacks and cooldowns. I want something I can relax with - not something that will top the charts.
This also means that I'm looking to have it be able to do things natively - not through consumables (other than perhaps res and teleport scrolls)

I prefer melee, but I'm not excluding ranged. Eldritch Blast would be a last resort, but again not excluded.
The main reason that I'm hesitant to go ranged is a lack of experience/gear and I feel it might be very single-target focused. Perhaps I'm wrong about that, though? Eldritch Blast because it might be just a bit too passive - even for me.

Survivability is an important factor - Things like immunity to Magic Missiles, good saves/AC/resistances and other passive defenses.
Self-healing is crucial. I want to ble able to go off on my own without worry. These things are much more important to me that lots of damage.

Utility would be great. Being able to cast DDoor and Teleport or to buff myself or cure my own afflications is a big boon. It's not 100% necessary, but it's a definite plus for me in a build.

Trapping is a big part of self-sufficiency. While it's possible to ignore most traps there's just something so satisfying about being able to disable them.

I'd really like to have good AoE capability. So far I've only ever tried doing it with cleaves which is fine, but I do find myself curious about strikethrough. In the end, though, it's just about focusing more on clearing the trash than the boss.

I've always been a fan of stunning/freezing/paralysing etc. and I'd really like to try and incorporate it into the build - especially if it's AoE.

I will be doing epic lives with it as well, but the heroic experience is the priority and end-game doesn't matter at all. This means that it can't be a late bloomer.

Since it's for racial PLs it means the race can't really be part of the build.

I prefer fun/quirky over meta and I love unusual builds with great synergies between classes. I'm a big fan of multi-classing as I find pure a bit bland and boring. That doesn't mean I'm not considering pure, just that it's a bit lower on my list.

I'd really like to incorporate monk as it's my favourite class and the one I have the most experience with and gear for, so a build that plays like a monk, but with the benefits of the splash would be ideal. It isn't an absolute requirement at all, however, I'm open to give other things a try.
To be honest most of the builds I'm considering would probably be better without a monk splash, but I wasn't looking for max efficiency/meta.

Things I've tried and my thoughts on it:

Eldritch knight: I found that it relied too much on CC spells and casting gear for my liking.
Melee palemaster: There are just too many mobs that it isn't effective against because of their immunities/boss status. Also reliance on casting.
Swashbuckler: The massive focus on crit severely limited weapon choices and was frustrating against high-fort enemies.
Wolf: I played it a lot many years ago and enjoyed it a lot. Much has changed since then, though, and the synergy with monk isn't what it was.
Pure Enlightened Spirit: I enjoyed it, but I feel like it doesn't really start to shine until late heroics.
Warpriest: It seemed fairly weak.
Sacred Fist: I felt like it didn't bring anything I didn't like better as a monk.

That being said here are the classes that I've considered and what they would bring to a split:

Warlock (Enlightened Spirit)

• Survivability (Temp. HP and defensive enhancements and passive Shield)
• Good buff selection
• Native teleportation spells
• AoE (Aura / Blasts)

Ranger (Dark Hunter)

• Trapping
• Self-healing (admixtures)
• AoE (Tempest)
• Free feats (TWF)
• Limited buff selection

Druid (Wolf)

• Self-healing (Cure and Regen)
• AoE (Alpha Strike)
• CC (Freezing / Howl of Terror)
• Good buff selection

Druid (Bear)

• Self-healing (Cure and Regen)
• Passive AoE (Strikethrough)
• Survivability (Defensive enhancements)
• Good buff selection
• CC (Trips)

Rogue (Thief Acrobat)

• Trapping
• Passive AoE (Strikethrough)
• UMD

Artificer (Half-and-Half)

• Trapping
• Passive AoE (Strikethrough)
• UMD
• Self-healing
• Good buff selection
• Survivability (Defensive enhancements, immunities, passive anti-MM)

Bard (Warchanter)

• Native DDoor
• UMD
• Self-healing (Cure spells)
• Good buff selection
• CC (Freezing)

Falconry

• CC (Blind/Trip)
• Good synergy with monk (Assassinate, wisdom to Hit/Damage)

With them I feel like I have all the pieces of the puzzle, but I'm just not sure how or which to bring together to get the best combination.

Splits I'm thinking about:

Rogue/monk staff build

This would have trapping, strikethrough AoE and it would also be able to UMD Teleport. Self-healing would be through Path of Light.​

I'm a bit worried that these builds are more about pure damage and less about survivability. Also I'm not sure about its CC-capabilities. From what I could see I'd only have access to an AoE trip, a long cooldown single-target CC and some that require a crit/vorpal to apply​

Dark Hunter/Monk/Falconry

It would have trapping and self-healing through spells and Path of Light. There's great synergy with assassinate, sneak, blind and wisdom. The CC would be limited to falconry abilities and AoE wouldn't come until level 12 through Tempest. I also don't know if it would be able to get UMD high enough to use teleports and it would have no DDoor or anti-MM.​

Druid/Monk/Trapper

Wolf seems to have some of the most readily available CC for non-casters even if it does come a bit late. There's plenty of survivability and self-healing. There would be no strikethrough, so AoE would be periodic - especially until level 12.​

Bear would have better defences, passive AoE, but maybe slightly less CC and damage?​

​

Neither would have access to DDoor or anti-MM and I'm unsure about the UMD. A splash of trapper would also be needed.​

Warlock/Bard/Rogue

Enlightening Spirit Warlock brings a lot of survivability, most of the needed utility and decent AoE. Warchanter bard brings the CC. Rogue enables trapping and could maybe be used to enhance the melee as that would otherwise be lacking?​

My main concern here is how thinly it's spread. It would need deep splashes in each class to get the most out of them which means that the build would be a very late bloomer.​

Warlock/Trapper

I know that pure warlock will probably be one of the most popular suggestions - and with good reason. It's very survivable, has good clearing and lots of utility.​

The only reason I'm hesitant with it is that I find the idea of it a bit bland.​

Bard/Trapper

Warchanter has nice CC, cure spells, buffs and is open to all weapon styles. It doesn't really seem to bring much in term of offence or defence, though.​

Maybe if I combine it with barbarian?​

​

Bard/Fighter/Trapper

A Swashbuckler/Vanguard might be fun, but I worry that both are fairly weak and the combination would be even weaker.​

Artificer

I like the idea of rune-arms and it would be able to AoE with a bastard sword. Also has self-healing, buffs and trapping. Seems to have very limited CC, however, and I have no experience with the class, so I don't know how it actually plays. I am considering the Vistani Mach ROBOT, though.​

Warlock/Paladin/Trapper

There's some good synergy with stats and possibly imbues if going the Sacred Fist route. Good overall damage, survivability and utility, but like some of the other builds it might suffer from having to splash too deep in everything to be efficient.​

​

Some sort of thrower or bow build

I do find myself a slightly intrigued by ranged builds, but most of what I can find focuses on end game and it seems like maybe they're not that great for heroics.​

Something like a monk thrower or bow ranger could be interesting, though.​

​

Inquisitive PL getter

I've seen this build and I am considering it. Just not sure I'm a fan of inquisitor.​

 

[Dielzen]

why not a caster/electric arty?

 

[Purr]

Bard 3 barb 5 warlock 12 Vistani ?

 

[saekee]

How important is DDoor? That limits things tremendously. See wiki for classes that can cast it:

https://ddowiki.com/page/Dimension_Door

At level 11 you could just use Mikayl the Pious, so we are assuming you want it before then for whatever reason.

Otherwise the easy button is 18 barbarian/2 rogue or 18 barb/1 rogue/1 fvs. With blood tribute at 2 barb you don’t need healing. At level 12 do ravager tier 5.

 

[Terpilar]

Dark Hunter has traps for AoE/CC, the higher the Disable Device skill the better. No innate Dimension Door however, until epics at lvl 23.

 

[jotmon]

Human has access to DDoor with the dragonmark of Passage and racial skill boost.
Take Artificer at level 1 for trapping access and 2 spells.. take Curative Admixture for mass cure light wounds and conjure bolts
Optional: 11 AP in inquisitive will get you core 3 autofind traps.
Spend 14+ on int stat for enough points to cover level up skills.

grab a repeater and pew pew pew.... works great until about level 10ish without any real investment by then your primary class should kick in.
at level 3 go get scrolls of Flame arrow and conjure up stacks of Flame bolts to add 1d6 fire damage.

Level up the rest in whatever class you want.

 

[Shear-buckler]

Barbarian is by far the choice for heroic leveling as melee. Fast movement speed, full bab for early access to DPS feats, fully self sufficent from early levels, top tier single target and AoE DPS.
Splash one level of rogue if you must have trap skills.

 

[Putti]

why not a caster/electric arty?

I'm just not a fan of caster gameplay

Bard 3 barb 5 warlock 12 Vistani ?

Interesting. Is this a swashbuckler then or what's the bard for?

How important is DDoor? That limits things tremendously. See wiki for classes that can cast it:

https://ddowiki.com/page/Dimension_Door

At level 11 you could just use Mikayl the Pious, so we are assuming you want it before then for whatever reason.

Otherwise the easy button is 18 barbarian/2 rogue or 18 barb/1 rogue/1 fvs. With blood tribute at 2 barb you don’t need healing. At level 12 do ravager tier 5.

It's not a huge requirement. Just something nice to have and part of the reason why I was looking at bard or warlock splits.

I wasn't aware of this hireling. He could possibly be used instead. Thanks for letting me know!

What's the 1 FvS for in the barbarian build? The trance?

Dark Hunter has traps for AoE/CC, the higher the Disable Device skill the better. No innate Dimension Door however, until epics at lvl 23.

I must admit I had forgotten all about trapmaking. I don't think I've ever seen anyone use them. Are they actually viable?

Human has access to DDoor with the dragonmark of Passage and racial skill boost.
Take Artificer at level 1 for trapping access and 2 spells.. take Curative Admixture for mass cure light wounds and conjure bolts
Optional: 11 AP in inquisitive will get you core 3 autofind traps.
Spend 14+ on int stat for enough points to cover level up skills.

grab a repeater and pew pew pew.... works great until about level 10ish without any real investment by then your primary class should kick in.
at level 3 go get scrolls of Flame arrow and conjure up stacks of Flame bolts to add 1d6 fire damage.

Level up the rest in whatever class you want.

Unfortunately I can't pick human as it's for racial TRs. Artificer does seem like a likely choice for this, however, as it covers many of the bases on its own. In the end it might be what I go with. At least just to try it out.

Barbarian is by far the choice for heroic leveling as melee. Fast movement speed, full bab for early access to DPS feats, fully self sufficent from early levels, top tier single target and AoE DPS.
Splash one level of rogue if you must have trap skills.

I admit I hadn't really given much thought to barbarian as it just seems like an incredibly bland class, but you're the second one to mention it, so I might just have to give it a try!



Thanks all for your input and suggestions so far!

 

[Zvdegor]

Artificer

I like the idea of rune-arms and it would be able to AoE with a bastard sword. Also has self-healing, buffs and trapping. Seems to have very limited CC, however, and I have no experience with the class, so I don't know how it actually plays. I am considering the Vistani Mach ROBOT, though.​

My build is not a solo PL getter build but can survive and got 2-4 active attacks in total. I use repeater till lvl 14 with my original melee feats casue its way much easier compared to meleeing. Selfheal isnt good till you get Reconstruct. Fusialde is OP from lvl 7-8 till lvl 15. If you have the gear you cannot die with this build between 15-20
Pros: You can enjoy 2 difefrent playstyle in one life. Easy leveling on R1
Cons: Need gear to be optimal, but prolly if you run Racials again and again you can build up your leveling gear as I did.
Maybe if go as a Human ICE build and take Dragonmark you can have ddoor too soon enough.
I'll check and will make a version for leveling if you intrested cause there will be maintaince anyway soon

 

[Putti]

My build is not a solo PL getter build but can survive and got 2-4 active attacks in total. I use repeater till lvl 14 with my original melee feats casue its way much easier compared to meleeing. Selfheal isnt good till you get Reconstruct. Fusialde is OP from lvl 7-8 till lvl 15. If you have the gear you cannot die with this build between 15-20
Pros: You can enjoy 2 difefrent playstyle in one life. Easy leveling on R1
Cons: Need gear to be optimal, but prolly if you run Racials again and again you can build up your leveling gear as I did.
Maybe if go as a Human ICE build and take Dragonmark you can have ddoor too soon enough.
I'll check and will make a version for leveling if you intrested cause there will be maintaince anyway soon

It seemed interesting because of how self-sufficient and versatile it is and without too much you have to click. I guess the lack of selfhealing in the beginning is offset by being ranged
I believe I have much of the gear already, but yeah the idea was that I'd get the gear as I go through the lives - getting the essentials before I start it.

I'd be very interested indeed in a leveling version!

 

[Onyxia2016]

Human Cleric 18 / Rog 2
Provides the self reliance for heals, buffs and trapping.
Light armor to take advantage of rouge evasion or full plate tank type.

DDoor
UMD will allow casting DDoor from scrolls that you loot as well as other helpful buffs.
Human Lesser Dragonmark of Passage for none scroll DDoor.

Can go S&B or THF to fit the melee playstyle you prefer.
Some direct and AOE damaging spells. Cometfall is very nice for flatting an area.

Definitely not the highest DPS build but can survive a lot of punishment.

 

[Shear-buckler]

I admit I hadn't really given much thought to barbarian as it just seems like an incredibly bland class, but you're the second one to mention it, so I might just have to give it a try!

For heroic leveling there is no contest for barbarian. Getting ITHF at level 6, IC at level 9 and GTHF at level 12 makes a big difference compared to low bab classes who get those feats only later.

 

[Zvdegor]

It seemed interesting because of how self-sufficient and versatile it is and without too much you have to click. I guess the lack of selfhealing in the beginning is offset by being ranged
I believe I have much of the gear already, but yeah the idea was that I'd get the gear as I go through the lives - getting the essentials before I start it.

I'd be very interested indeed in a leveling version!

So I made the changes. I suggest with this build not to play as a melee till lvl 15 (Sharn gear and enough AP to invest in everything you need and good self heals)
At low/mid heroics Repeater Xbow + Fusilade is OP and if you want no risk of death and/or do quests fast this is the way to go with this build.
If you start as ranged you dont even need to heal yourself cause everything will die soon enough and you also can use cloth/light armors for higher dodge % till you get your Ftr levels at 14 when you can use Medium/Heavy armors.
From lvl 15 you have WWA and Rapid Slash and good defense/selfheals
Prolly not the best build for Racials. I would do this with this build (and I've been doing so but in my static group not solo)
Originally this setup was created for Iconic Deep Gnome build so if you later wanna do Iconic Races (from 15 to cap) this build will work for sure if you love melee.
Another possibility is a 18 Pally/2 rgo build (got good defense/daage and can trap)

The break down:

18 arti 2 Ftr Human
neutral

Str 8
Dex 12 (or 13 if you dont have Dex tome and lower wis or cha )
Con 16
Int 18
Wis 10
Cha 12

1. Art Insightful Reflexex/Least Dragonmark of Passsage
2. Art
3. Art Precision
4. Art SWF
5. Art
6. Art Dodge
7. Art
8. Art Construct Essence
9. Art Mobility
10. Art
11. Art
12. Art ISWF/Improved Construct Essence
13.
14. Ftr Improved Critical Slash or Piercing (It depends you gonna use Kukri or Dagger. Prolly dagger is better for leveling)
15. Ftr Whirlwind Attack/Greater SWF
16. Art
17. Art
18. Art Combat Epertise/Quicken
19. Art
20. Art

Skills:
Balance 7
Trapping skills + spot
UMD
Tumble 1
rest to jumps
You dont need Intimidate since you will solo

Enhancements:
At the begininng take Harper Strategic Combat I as soon as possible
Put 7 points into Human for ddoor
rest to Battle Enginier (you will later swap it out for RMM at lvl 15)

lvl 1-4 gear

https://forums.ddo.com/index.php?threads/the-vistani-mach-r-o-b-o-t-vistani-machrotech-renegade-offensive-budget-off-tank-a-melee-artificer-for-r8-questing.373/#post-17504

lvl 5-9 gear

https://forums.ddo.com/index.php?threads/the-vistani-mach-r-o-b-o-t-vistani-machrotech-renegade-offensive-budget-off-tank-a-melee-artificer-for-r8-questing.373/#post-17506

lvl 10-14 gear

https://forums.ddo.com/index.php?threads/the-vistani-mach-r-o-b-o-t-vistani-machrotech-renegade-offensive-budget-off-tank-a-melee-artificer-for-r8-questing.373/#post-17507

lvl 15-20 gear

https://forums.ddo.com/index.php?threads/the-vistani-mach-r-o-b-o-t-vistani-machrotech-renegade-offensive-budget-off-tank-a-melee-artificer-for-r8-questing.373/#post-17508

 

[saekee]

yes 1 fvs is for trance.

Mikayl has DDoors that do not expire—they are amazing. It is from his dragonmark so he can do 3/rest.

Just go barb—easy button. Remember Blood tribute is 150 hp temp on-demand which you get early on. You have two ability scores to worry about—Str and Con, so easy to gear. Just get a good weapon and gear. SoS everyone says ofc but you may need to use something else. Go decent INT for trapping and have your trapping gear lined up, decent CHA for the trance later.

 

[Terpilar]

I must admit I had forgotten all about trapmaking. I don't think I've ever seen anyone use them. Are they actually viable?

Sure they are, so long as your Disable Device score is up to par. Besides the elemental traps, which do piddling damage, there are web, hypnotic pattern, resistible dance, glimmerdust, etc. that offer good CC (and grease for the LOLs).

 

[seph1roth5]

Do you mean auto attacker as in hold down left-click, or literal toggle on the "attack" feat and auto-target and it will attack stuff that gain focus? I hate auto-target lol, gets all gunky when monsters circle around or are blocked.

It also sounds like you want something fairly crappy lol, in which case, just play whatever you want since you're going to wind up doing that anyway. Are you planning on doing the same build for a bunch of racial lives? Racial/heroic PL are the best time to experiment since it's just a temp life.

If you want trapping and non-spellcasting aoe, quarterstaff rogue is the only way to go really. You really feel the lack of aoe on xbows/2wf. A dex-based thief acrobat has good dps, traps, evasion, and a few nice aoes (especially the trip one), not to mention strikethrough making your normal attacks aoe. They have an awesome active attack w/ a short-term buff that everyone uses all the time, but you can just not use it I guess.

 

[Purr]

Interesting. Is this a swashbuckler then or what's the bard for?

yeah, swash. might not have enough to go deep into vistani to make it worth while and just focus on eldritch burst.

Another option is barb 5/dark hunter 12 or whatever to get the +1/+2 crit bonuses

 

[Putti]

Human Cleric 18 / Rog 2
Provides the self reliance for heals, buffs and trapping.
Light armor to take advantage of rouge evasion or full plate tank type.

DDoor
UMD will allow casting DDoor from scrolls that you loot as well as other helpful buffs.
Human Lesser Dragonmark of Passage for none scroll DDoor.

Can go S&B or THF to fit the melee playstyle you prefer.
Some direct and AOE damaging spells. Cometfall is very nice for flatting an area.

Definitely not the highest DPS build but can survive a lot of punishment.

Unfortunately I think cleric relies a bit too much on offensive spellcasting for my liking, though they are very nice in the survivability department

So I made the changes. I suggest with this build not to play as a melee till lvl 15 (Sharn gear and enough AP to invest in everything you need and good self heals)

This is great! Thank you so much

yes 1 fvs is for trance.

Mikayl has DDoors that do not expire—they are amazing. It is from his dragonmark so he can do 3/rest.

Just go barb—easy button. Remember Blood tribute is 150 hp temp on-demand which you get early on. You have two ability scores to worry about—Str and Con, so easy to gear. Just get a good weapon and gear. SoS everyone says ofc but you may need to use something else. Go decent INT for trapping and have your trapping gear lined up, decent CHA for the trance later.

That does sound pretty neat! I'll have to try him

I guess I will try to do a barb run and see how it goes. Seems like a strong contender.

Sure they are, so long as your Disable Device score is up to par. Besides the elemental traps, which do piddling damage, there are web, hypnotic pattern, resistible dance, glimmerdust, etc. that offer good CC (and grease for the LOLs).

That's cool! Maybe they're worth a try then.

Do you mean auto attacker as in hold down left-click, or literal toggle on the "attack" feat and auto-target and it will attack stuff that gain focus? I hate auto-target lol, gets all gunky when monsters circle around or are blocked.

It also sounds like you want something fairly crappy lol, in which case, just play whatever you want since you're going to wind up doing that anyway. Are you planning on doing the same build for a bunch of racial lives? Racial/heroic PL are the best time to experiment since it's just a temp life.

If you want trapping and non-spellcasting aoe, quarterstaff rogue is the only way to go really. You really feel the lack of aoe on xbows/2wf. A dex-based thief acrobat has good dps, traps, evasion, and a few nice aoes (especially the trip one), not to mention strikethrough making your normal attacks aoe. They have an awesome active attack w/ a short-term buff that everyone uses all the time, but you can just not use it I guess.

I just meant anything that attacks by holding down left-click, so melee, ranged and eldritch blast. Basically just excluding offensive casters

I agree that heroic PLs should be a good time to experiment, but unfortunately I've become very jaded with the whole gear tetris thing that I just want one build with determined gear for each level bracket so that I don't have to worry about figured it all out every life.

How is the survivability of the thief acrobat, though? Aren't they kind of squishy?

yeah, swash. might not have enough to go deep into vistani to make it worth while and just focus on eldritch burst.

Another option is barb 5/dark hunter 12 or whatever to get the +1/+2 crit bonuses

Sounds pretty neat, but yeah you might be right that points would be very tight.