Hey again
Please bear in mind I don't have a build fully specced/synergised for brand new players with limited access to classes, races, trees and tomes. Even experienced players sometimes get in trouble due to a specific feat pre-requisites they happened to overlook, so I strongly recommend you create your build fully in the DDOBuilder before heading into the game.
I am happy to share some thoughts, hopefully they are helpful
- I don't personally find it worth going deep into bard with any main stat other than CHA
- without being CHA-based, you'll probably need to dip your feet into bard only a handful of levels (likely 3 levels only to get the swashbuckler stance in C2, which still lets you go up to T3 if there are things you like): the rest would likely need to be a different class.
- this isn't to say this kind of build wouldn't work, on the contrary, this is a somewhat popular multiclass strategy for some builds, but I don;t have any builds ready for this kind of class split.
- I did post on someone else's thread about this kind of split being used for Handaxe builds: link
here in case this proves helpful
- I personally find you get the most out of bards going
CHA based, especially if you go swashbuckler T5, with abilities such as
Low Blow and
Coup de Grace being CHA based. The other advantage being taking full advantage of bard
spells.
- Swashbuckler lets you use Charisma for damage in tier 3 (T3 becomes available to pick from as early as level 3)
- to-hit could be either INT or DEX, depending on another aspect of the build that needs to be considered if you want to be a trapper:
- If you go with a couple of rogue levels for the trapping aspect, you'll need
- INT for traps, but this can be on the trapping items themselves, like in the helm I use for this build (below)
- DEX for reflex saves, which supports your evasion
That's a LOT of abilities to focus on, especially if you don't yet have access to tomes:
Primary: CHA for spells and dmg
Secondary: CON (I always recommend starting min 16, perhaps 14 as a push)
Then INT AND DEX
One way around that is to go with just
INT, but taking the feat
Insightful Reflexes, which lets you use INT for reflexes and evasion.
Then there is the
Harper Universal tree, where pretty low in
T1 you get to pick INT to hit with weapons (and swashbuckler cover dmg via CHA). A major advantage of going INT is far more skill points, which are much needed to make the trapping aspect work. This is what I had done with the previous version of this build 18 Bard/2 Rogue. This is easier for trapping, since you wear INT gear permanently.
In this scenario, you only need as much DEX as the pre-reqs of the feats you choose to take. A word of warning: acquiring DEX via trees in game does not let you qualify for feats. You need a tome of Dexterity, or increasing your DEX when you level up (you get to do that every 4 levels from level 4).
The other alternative, which can work well too, is to basically 'forget' about INT as an ability you would need to wear gear with bonuses for permanently, and instead go full in with
DEX. The
feat Weapon Finesse lets you apply
DEX modifier to hit, instead of STR, when making melee attacks with light weapons and rapiers, which are the weapons supported by the Swashbucking style. The advantage here is not needing to buy a tree like Harper, but it does require an extra feat slot.
- This makes me think that Human could be a good race choice, since it grants an extra feat slot, allowing you to stick to the feat choices I proposed in the build
- Being a hybrid means needing to ivnest both on melee AND spellcasting, so feat slots are always VERY tight. For a hybrid that wants to cover spell DCs successfully, I would personally value an extra feat slot far more highly than going Half Elf for an extra Sneak Attack dice.
In this scenario,
DEX covers to-hit, reflex saves and evasion. You will need to make sure you can equip INT items + trap items before searching and disabling traps: it's slightly annoying, but it pays off if this doesn't seem too bothersome to you.
So you could go
CHA as main stat (start with 18, or 20 depending on race choice),
CON secondary (try to start with 16, but if too tight, perhaps 14), and then
DEX (whatever is left, depends on race too),
Human race. If you have the Harper tree, I would probably go full INT instead of DEX (with just enough DEX to qualify for feat pre-reqs, bearing in mind you get a free +2 tome of your choice when you reach 1,750 total favor).
Don't forget to run whatever you are planning in the DDOBuilder planner to see if things will work. The planner will warn you if a pre-req for a feat is not being met (either see via hovering over a feat, or the feat simply won't be available to select).
Hope this is helpful!
were made to this build:
