Kali's Blighted Wolf HYBRID Melee/De-buff+ Insta-kill Caster build

Kalibano

Build Designer. Having fun since 2006!
Welcome to my build repository! I've been playing since 2006, and I play to have fun: I don't really care about 'the META'. I have 23 alts, so I actively play practically every class and race available in the game. I design all my builds fully from scratch. Hope you find them useful, and constructive comments/ suggestions are always welcome!

If you would like to contribute towards this effort, any donations will be greatly appreciated. If not, please don't worry: sharing is caring! Just sit back and relax, and enjoy the builds!

6. Kali's Blighted Wolf HYBRID Melee/De-buff+ Insta-kill Caster build
DDOBuilder (v2) file for this build. You can find and download Maetrim's DDOBuilder (v2) here.
Blighted-Wolf-hybrid-Avatar.jpg


Preface to the build

This thread aims to provide the very 'core' of the build:
  • show how it started: its key aims
  • indicate the key decisions that can be made to achieve those aims: stats, skills, feats, heroic enhancements, epic destinies
  • all numbers are based on what a first-lifer (or someone with minimal past lives) would have, unbuffed, outside of reaper mode (they do, however, include equipped gear and partially completed filigrees). They are real characters, and those are the numbers I can offer.
  • numbers are indicative of the potential minimum amounts that can be achieved with the investments that were proposed
  • provide a 'photo' of what your character could look like at endgame during quite a few lives of their 'TR hamster wheel' journey
  • show the 'foundations' to be built upon, if a player decides to embark on the 'TR hamster wheel' and go out there to hunt for rare bonuses
  • gear choices are NOT part of the core build, but rather one of the most important ways to invest in the key elements of the core build to make the aims work. It has been added here simply to suggest options/ inspire. No promises are being made towards keeping this updated upon the release of new content.

DISCLAIMER: nobody in real life has been injured on the making of this thread, and nobody will suffer injuries in real life if they try it. DDO is an awesome game, and trying-and-testing + making changes to suit your specific play style are a very healthy aspect of the game. It's how you learn and get better! Try not to stress too much about what some people have to say about how you play your game. Not everyone gets that this is a game, that people are not the same, and don't want the same things! The Mountain has many paths. Have fun!

Aims of the build

Primary aim(s):
1. Melee DPS

2.
combined with Enemy de-buffs:
> Saves (-7)
> Shifter 'Wildhunt Howl [T3]'
> Fortification (-50%, for 10s, bird attacks)
> Falconry 'Expose Weakness [T4]'
> Attack speed
> Season's Herald 'Beguile [T1]'
> Movement speed
> 'Ice Storm' (spell, no save)
> 'Grasping Thorns' (spell, no save)
> Blindness
> from several sources (listed in the Crowd Control section below)​
> Constitution damage + obscure sight
> 'Cloudkill' (spell)​
> Deafen
> 'Storm of Vengeance' (spell)​

3. and some Insta-kills (4 spells):
> AoE (2):​
Transmutation
> 'Mass Frog'
Necromancy
> 'Wail of Banshee' (de-buffs with negative levels on failed save)
> Single target (2):
Necromancy
> 'Jaws of Doom'
> 'Finger of Death'
Secondary aim(s):
4. Crowd Control (some inc. de-buffs):
> Blighted Wolf​
Trip
> 'Go for the Kill [T5]': knowckdown, 5s
Enchantment
> 'Howl of Terror' (spell): paralyze, 6-24s
No Save
> 'Ghost Wolf pack [T3]': confusion, 5s
Necromancy
> 'Blighted Charge (spell): blindness + helpless, 8s
Conjuration
> 'Bighted Breath (spell): blindness, 10s
> Falconry
Assassinate
> 'Coordinated strike [T4]': blindness + helpless
> Blight Caster spells
Transmutation
> 'Grasping Thorns': entangled (also 30% movement penalty, no save)
Necromancy
> 'Cackle fever': stun, 6s
Evocation
> 'Earthquake': knockdown (also 30% spell failure chance)
> 'Tsunami': knockdown
> Draconic Incarnation
> 'Daunting Roar [T3]' (25% chance to paralyze for 6s, no save) via:
> Draconic Incarnation's 'Energy Vortex [T4]'
> Blighted Wolf's 'Blighted Breath' (spell)
5. Moderate offensive casting (occasional use):
> Mostly Acid:
> Draconic Incarnation
Conjuration
> 'Dragon Breath: Energy Vortex [T4]'
> Primal Avatar
> 'Shard Storm [T2]' (NO save)
> Blight Caster AoE Spells:
Conjuration
> Acid Well
> Cloudkill
Evocation
> Storm of Vengeance
> Blight Caster DoT spells
Conjuration
> Creeping Doom (NO Save)
> Black Dragon Bolt (NO Save)
> Enveloping Swarm (NO Save)
Necromancy
> Slimy Doom
> some Force & Cold

Key stats & synergies

My preferred Quickbar layout (in case it's useful):
Blighted-Wolf-hybrid-Key-abilities-toolbar-Shifter.jpg


A. Wisdom for melee combat:
> To hit: via Falconry's 'Killer Instinct I [T2]'​
> To dmg via Falconry's 'Killer Instinct II [T3]'​
> insightful bonus from Falconry's 'Deadly Instinct [T4]'​
> To dmg​
> tactics bonus​
> base ability for Tactical DC formulas of several key attacks/enhancements/spells:
> Nature's Warrior (e.g. Go For the Kill)​
> Blight caster wolf attack/spells (e.g. Jaws of Doom)​
> Falconry attacks​
B. Attack speed = 35%
Combat style bonus
> +20%: 'Blighted Wolf form' + Nature's Warrior 'Swift Hunter [T5]'​
Enhancement bonus
> +15%: Gear/ Augment/ Haste spell​
C. Doublestrike = 54%
Doublestrike breakdown
:
Feats
> +12%: 'Natural Fighting x3' (+4% each)​
Heroic
> +10%: Nature's Warrior 'Beast Form Mastery [C6]'​
Gear bonuses (inc Set bonuses)
> +15% artifact bonus (set bonus)​
> +15% enhancement bonus​
Filigrees (inc Set bonuses)
> +2%: 'Celerity' (2-piece set bonus)​
> buffable to 94%:​
> 30% from Nature's Warrior 'Doublestrike Action Boost [T2]'​
> 10% exceptional bonus from Nature's Warrior 'Howl of the Hunter [C5]': casting 'Howl of Terror' (spell) grants this bonus for 10s​
Blighted-Wolf-hybrid-Doublestrike-buffed.jpg

D. Weapon Critical profile = 15-20/ x3:
Critical threat range
Base
> 18-20: Scimitars​
Feats
> +3 feat bonus: 'Improved Critical: Slashing' (feat)​
= 15-20
Critical damage multiplier
Base
> x2: Scimitars​
Heroic enhancements/spells
> +1 competence bonus: Nature's Warrior 'A True Hunter [C4]'​
= x3
Average extra damage from weapon crit profile = +63%:​
Overall Critical Profile Multiplier = 19 + 'Crit Units' / 19
'Crit Units' = (threat range) x (multiplier -1)

Critical threat range 15-20 = 6
Critical damage multiplier = 3
'Crit units' = (6) * (3-1) = 12
Overall Critical Profile Multiplier = 19 + 12 / 19 = 1.63 = 163% (100% base damage + 63% extra from crit profile)
N.B. with thanks to @Hammatimes for providing the formulas and explanations :)

> Crit damage multiplier boost = +0

E.
13 imbue die: Acid dmg (scales Acid Spell Power)
> Blight Caster 'Biting Acid imbue' toggle (auto-granted class feat @ level 2)​
Imbue die breakdown:
+3 die Feats
+3 Scion of Acid (@lvl 30)​
+1 die Heroic enhancements​
+1 Blighted Wolf form (auto-granted with the form toggle)​
+6 die Epic Destinies​
+3 Primal Avatar (Tier 3)​
+3 Draconic Incarnation (Tier 3)​
+3 die Spells​
+3 Blighted Bite (Spell)​

= total 13 die, sustainable 100% of the time
> buffable to 16 die
+3 die 'Blighted Charge' (Spell) {for 10s after the charge/ 15s cooldown}

F. 8 Sneak Attack die
SA die breakdown:
+2 die Feats
+2 Perfect Natural Fighting feat​
+6 dice Heroic enhancements​
+6 Nature's Warrior (C1-6)​

= total 8 die, sustainable 100% of the time

G. Helpless damage = +70%
Base bonus
> +50%​
Heroic
> +15%: Nature's Warrior 'Prey on the Weak [T3]'​
Airship buffs
> +5%: 'Game Hunter'​

H. Extra damage:
> Extra Weapon dmg = +0.25{W]:
Airship Buffs
> +0.25[W]: 'Ninja Assassin'
> Extra Melee Power = up to +20:​
> 'Arcane Warrior' (feat): Your offensive spells grant you a stack of Arcane Warrior: Physical (+1 Melee and Ranged Power), each of these stacks to 20 times and each stack lasts for 12 seconds.
> large Insightful bonus to damage:​
> Falconry 'Deadly Instincts [T4]' (+ tactics DCs bonus too)​
> Chance for extra dmg on melee attacks {can only strike once every 5s):​
> Primal Avatar's 'Mantle of Nature: Thorn [T2]' (scales Spell power)​
> Magma DoT (armor):​
> procs both on melee and spell casting​

I. > Burst damage:
> Primal Avatar's 'Greater Form: Thorn Cloud [T5]'​

J. Main Spell DCs:
> Transmutation (105+)
> Necromancy (103+)
> Enchantment/Conjuration (97+)​
> Evocation (96+)​

K. Main Spell Powers:
Blighted-Wolf-hybrid-Spellpowers.jpg

> Extra Spell Power = up to +40 Universal SPw:​
> 'Arcane Warrior' (feat): Your weapon and unarmed attacks grant you a stack of Arcane Warrior: Magical (+2 Universal Spell Power), each of these stacks to 20 times and each stack lasts for 12 seconds.
> buffable:​
> 'Wellspring of power' (feat) {for 30s, 180s cooldown}
[double duration with Draconic Incarnation's 'Pull from the Wellspring [T4]']
> +150 Universal Spell Power
> +20% Universal Spell Critical Damage
L. Strong Spell Point regeneration:
> Nature's Warrior​
> 'Essence of the Shrike [T3]'​
> Primal Avatar​
> 'Ever Green [T3]'​

M. Survivability (after all, soul stones do zero dps):
> Hit Points bonus = +50-55%:​
Competence bonus
> +20%: Perfect Natural Fighting (feat)​
Profane bonus
> +10%: Blighted Wolf form​
Primal bonus
> +5%: Nature's Warrior [C5]​
Quality bonus
> +5%: Falconry [T3]​
Legendary bonus
> +10%: Winter set (4 pieces)​
Insightful bonus
> +5%: Primal Avatar [T4] (*after shrine)
> Strong temporary Hit Point generation:​
> Nature's Warrior​
> 'Jaws of Wolf [T5]'​
> Primal Avatar​
> 'Shard Storm: At its Core [T3]':​
> Draconic Incarnation​
> 'Elemental Blood [C3]'​
> Dino crafting​
>'Brighthorn'​
> Incorporeality = 35% {for 10s every 60s}
> Nature's Warrior 'Ghost Wolf Pack [T3]'​
I share some strategies for general defensiveness and survival in this thread. Come visit if you feel it could be useful to you!

The 'core elements' of the build

Class(es): Blight Caster (20)
Race: Shifter
Main stat: Wisdom (level ups here)
Starting stats (36 pts): STR: 08/ DEX: 10/ CON: 16/ INT: 14/ WIS: 18/ CHA: 08
Skills: Spellcraft/ Heal / Use Magic Device/ Jump/ Tumble/ (any)
Weapon type(s): Scimitars (crit profile)

Feats:
Blighted-Wolf-hybrid-Feats.jpg


Heroic enhancements: 84 = 80 + 3 (Racial tomes) + 1 (Universal tome)
Blighted-Wolf-hybrid-Heroic-enhancs.jpg


Epic Destinies: 65 = 61 + 1 (Tome of Fate +3) + 2 (Fey & Dread tomes) + 1 (Historic tome)
Blighted-Wolf-hybrid-Epic-Destinies.jpg

N.B: ED multi-selector choices:
> Primal Avatar​
> T1: 'Spider of the Deeps'​
> T2: 'Spirit Boon: Mind'​
> T2: 'Shard Storm'​
> T3: 'Transmutation DCs'​
> T5: 'Thorn Cloud'​
> Draconic Incarnation​
> C1: 'Draconic Bloodline: Black'​
> T4: 'Energy Vortex'​

Spells:
Blighted-Wolf-hybrid-Spells.jpg


Suggestions for gear
(not part of the core build: choices based on what supports the main aims of the build best, with the intention to suggest/ inspire)

Gear Set bonuses:
Blighted-Wolf-hybrid-Gear-Set-bonuses.jpg


Gear:
(PS: Some choices ref gear cater to a much larger personal scheme/tetris where items need to get shared between several alts at endgame, where I
normally play in reaper mode 6-10 skulls).

Blighted-Wolf-hybrid-Gear-set-labelled.jpg


Rings-of-Spell-Storing.jpg


Most important augments to slot:
+10 Melee Power/ +15 Doublestrike/ +10 Damage/ +14 Trip DCs
+2 profane/ +1 except All Ability scores
+5 insight/ +2 fest Wisdom & Constitution
+6 equip Transmutation; Necromancy; Conjuration; Evocation
+2 enhanc Transmutation; Necromancy & Enchantment DCs
+5% insight All Spell Critical chance
+139 Acid Spell Power/ +19 Spellcraft skill
+48 Hit Points/ +32 Sheltering/ +10 resist All Saves

(Suggestions for where to slot them in the DDOBuilder file for this build).


Main Filigree Set bonuses:
Blighted-Wolf-hybrid-Filigree-Set-bonuses.jpg


Filigrees: 14 = 10 (weapon) + 4 (artefact)
Blighted-Wolf-hybrid-Filigrees-all.jpg


Filigree master plan:
  1. Primarily invest in Spell DC and Wisdom.
  2. Spell Power goes as secondary aim, if/when possible to squeeze in
  3. other effects get the least priority


Some notes on playstyle
Compiled from responses given in this thread and added here in case it helps understand how the build works
Melee power is currently at 130+ (buffable by up to +30 with 'Go for the Kill' attack). Some things to bear in mind:
> This is not a pure melee character, it's a hybrid melee/caster
> the 2 main Epic Destinies are not melee focused, and therefore, do not grant any melee power in their cores​
> filigrees (which are a source of a large amount of melee power) need to focus on spell DCs because of their 'all-or-nothing' nature​

> Investment in the majority of the key melee power bonuses from gear has been made (2 out of 3):
1. enhancement bonus via an augment​
2. artifact bonus (Leg Windlasher)​
3. I am currently working on a possible new gear set up to try and include profane bonus. This will take a while, but as soon as I have something ready I'll be posting it in the forums.​

> What is lacking in melee power is compensated via:
A. spell power:​
> imbue damage on each attack​
> Primal Avatar mantle damage on melee attacks and spellcasting​
> energy vortex passively doing damage while you attack​
> several acid DoTs doing damage while you do melee damage​
B. CC + insta-kills​
> insta-kills are the best form of DPS​
> while these are on cooldown, CC often ensures mobs are helpless, and therefore, they take extra dmg​
> though CC itself is not a form of DPS, making it work requires very heavy investment, at the detriment of things like melee power. It's a conscious choice of mine, as CC is highly valuable in my opinion​
> A + B above constitute the bulk of the 'caster-hybrid' aspect of this build


There will be plenty of options of attacks/spells to choose from in combat, and this will possibly feel a bit overwhelming at a first glance here. As you level up and get a feel for these abilities, you'll hopefully develop a sense for which to try and always use, and which to resort to in longer fights. Hopefully these notes about how I like to play will be helpful:
> I always use insta-kills in between doing melee attacks. Even if Wail of Banshee fails, it de-buffs enemies via neg levelling​
> I personally try to use the following in my rotations as much as possible:​
> Dragon breath: energy vortex​
> Shard storm​
> Storm of Vengeance​
> 'Go for the Kill': melee power boost + extra dmg vs helpless targets + knockdown​
> 'Jaws of Doom': melee attack that insta-kills + grants 10x char level in temp hit points (Nature's warrior 'Jaws of the Wolf [T5]')​
> 'Blighted charge': blinds + causes helplessness + boosts imbue die by +3 for 10s​
> 'Howl of Terror': amazing CC at melee range + exceptional bonus to doublestrike + 5% spell crit chance + 15% spell crit dmg (Nature's Warrior 'Howl of the Hunter [C5]')​
> 'Ghost Wolf Pack': confusion on mobs (no save) + you gain 35% incorporeality for 10s​
> 'Blighted breath': AoE acid dmg + blinds enemies + chance to paralyse, no save (breath attack, via 'Daunting Roar)​
> 'Coordinated strikes': AoE blind + helpless​
These are also very nice, if/whenever you get the chance to use them:​
> 'Throat Rip': strikes 3x + 6 sneak attack die + inflicts bleed + silence enemies​
> 'Baiting Bite': performs a bluff effect, which lets you dish sneak dmg on each attack​


I am always happy to read, consider and respond to constructive comments/ suggestions / feedback that are provided in a polite and friendly manner. I welcome discussions with anyone who is capable (and willing) to do this. Some discussions may lead to both parties simply agreeing to disagreeing - that's absolutely fine, everyone is entitled to their opinion after all!
.
 
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Kalibano

Build Designer. Having fun since 2006!
Spell DCs: hybrids vs pure casters

I strongly recommend NOT swapping out any investment (e.g. feats, enhancements, etc.) made to increase spell DCs, even if your character has all past lives.

To expound on my reasoning, I thought I could go over some of the main differences between pure casters and hybrids ref spell DCs, bearing in mind that the table below makes several generalisations, so things will vary between different classes/ races/ specific choices made by players/ etc.:

Pure castersHybrid caster + melee/ranged
MORE DCs
- tend to stay pure, rather than multiclass, so normally benefit from +4 to their main ability score from the core 6 capstone (= +2 DCs)


.
LESS DCs
- many tend to multiclass, and therefore, miss out completely on the capstone ability score bonus
- some stay pure (like my Blight Caster hybrid), but they tend to go with a melee/ranged-focused tree as their main tree, and the capstones for those often grant only +2 to main ability score, and +2 CON
.
MORE DCs
- can acquire an extra +6 (or more) to their main ability score from heroic trees:
+2 from tiers 3 & 4 of main caster tree
+2 from tiers 3 & 4 of secondary caster tree
+2 racial tree
+? universal tree
A couple of examples of this from my Wizard and Favoured Soul builds
.
LESS DCs
- it is not always possible to acquire as much from the heroic trees, often because of the need to support the melee/ranged aspect:
- haste boost,
- enhancements to change the ability score to-hit & dmg
- trances, etc.



.
MORE DCs
- heroic trees often grant +2 (or more) to the main spell school(s) of their respective classes
- some races (e.g. Dragonborn, Deep Gnome) grant bonuses to specific schools
.
LESS DCs
- many tend to go with a melee/ranged-focused tree as their main tree, and these often do not grant any bonuses to spell DCs
- hybrids tend to be AP tight, so in the racial tree aspect, those with racial past lives would have a stronger chance to achieve similar DCs
.
MORE DCs
- being a pure caster often means having enough feat slots to acquire feats such as:
- Purchased: Past Life: Wizard, granting +1 to all spell DCs
- Great Ability (x2) [Epic feat slots]
.
LESS DCs
- hybrids tend to be very feat tight, as they need to invest both in casting and melee/ranged, so this bonus might not always be taken


.
SIMILAR DCs
- the following feats could potentially be considered essential for DC casting, so are often taken by pure casters:
- Spell focus: school
- Greater Spell Focus: school
- Epic Spell Focus: school [Epic feat]
- Spell Speciality [Epic Destiny feat]
- Metamagic: Embolden Spell
- Metamagic: heighten Spell (for some classes)
- Scion of (spell DCs options)
- Passive: Past lives (inc Completionist feats)
.
SIMILAR DCs
- it is possible to make a similar investment to a pure caster, while still having room to invest in the melee/ranged aspect (as well as on some spellpower too)
N.B. The main spells this build uses at endgame would have limited benefit from heighten: overall, those specific spells, do have similar DCs to a pure caster investing in those ? without heighten






.
SIMILAR DCs
- caster EDs often grant the following DC bonuses:
+4 to all schools [cores 1-4]
+3 to a single school [tier 3]
+3 to all schools [tier 5]
.
SIMILAR DCs
- hybrid EDs (Fatesinger inc) grant the same bonuses



.
SIMILAR DCs
- Gear: the following stackable bonuses to spell DCs are considered by many to be essential for DC casting:
- equipment bonus
- enhancement (Gianthold augments)
- insightful
- quality
- sacred
- profane
- exceptional
- artifact
.
SIMILAR DCs
- it is possible to acquire all these bonus types for at least a couple of schools, while still having room to invest in the melee/ranged aspect (as well as on some spellpower too)
- thanks to sets like 'Masterful Magewright' and 'Part of the Family' + 'Wallwatch', it is possible to combine a 3-piece set for the melee/ranged aspect, while adding a DC casting set bonus too.
N.B. Isle of Dread and Vecna use the cloak slot as a requirement for the 3-piece set, so this would not be possible


.
SIMILAR DCs
- filigrees can provide a large bonus to spell DCs:
- set bonuses (e.g. Eye of the Beholder 4-piece)
- filigrees that grant ability score bonuses
- doubling-up the same type of filigrees, by slotting one in the weapon and the other in the artefact (e.g. Eye of the Beholder (raid) +2 INT x2)
.
SIMILAR DCs
- though at the detriment of the melee/ranged aspect of the build, it is possible (and I personally strongly advise towards this) for the same investment to be made for a hybrid build



.

This is roughly the 'formula' I use to make my hybrids work, and by this I mean to get them to land spells reliably while still benefiting from melee/ranged attacks. A hybrid character will (and should) never be as successful in casting as a pure caster, neither as strong as a pure melee/ranged DPS alt. It's the combination of some of what casters and melee/ranged DPS do that can create a workable output for hybrids, but in the end, both aspects end up lesser than their pure counterparts.

Lesser does not (and should not) mean inefficient, though: it is pointless investing anything in spell DCs if they don't land at all, so in my personal view, spell DCs ALWAYS take priority when it comes to hybrids.

Hope this was useful! :)



Extra suggestion to make the most of this thread:

I do recommend having Maetrim's DDOBuilder (v2) open while looking at my threads, as this will enable you to:
- hover over the abilities listed and learn more about them
- experiment with changing things and seeing if they would work better for you, before doing it in the live game
- get a general overview of the key aspects of the build

I arrange my DDOBuilder screen as per the image below (not this build in the image), as it helps me view the key aspects of my builds far more easily than opening and closing a bunch of windows. Just thought I'd share, in case its useful:
Maetrim-s-DDOBuilder-sample-v2.jpg


Maetrim's builder is really amazing, I highly recommend it!
 
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Scrag

Well-known member
How would you edit this for not-shifter (preferred human) race and no universal/racial tomes, and only a historic +1 destiny tome?

Seems like fun!
 

Kalibano

Build Designer. Having fun since 2006!
How would you edit this for not-shifter (preferred human) race and no universal/racial tomes, and only a historic +1 destiny tome?

Seems like fun!
Hi @Scrag That's a tough one, because shifter is very important to make this build work. Here are some points to consider:
- 'Wildhunt Howl' is what makes a huge difference, since it debuffs enemy saves by a massive 7 points (effectively increasing your spell + tactical DCs by that amount)
- There isn't really another race that can do that
- CC + insta-kill casting is, for the most part, 'all or nothing': if you sacrifice a bit too much, it simply won't work. This build already makes some sacrifices, compared to a pure caster, to be a hybrid:
- hybrid = doing 2 main things: melee + casting, so casting ends up being quite tight on the DC side in general (e.g. feats for both)​
- hybrids end up taking a melee tree as the main tree, and capstones for melee trees often give 2 points to CON and 2 to main casting ability (vs 4 to main casting ability with a pure caster going for a caster tree as main)​
- melee trees don't often give any casting DCs, whereas pure caster trees often give 2+ DCs​

So not sure what to recommend if you want to take this to endgame, especially reaper 6-10 (like I do), it might not work as efficiently as it could because you'd give up a massive -7 DCs via Howl, not to mention the extra Wisdom via the Shifter rage.

If, however, you just want to do a quick heroic/racial life, it might work taking a different race. Off the top of my head, rather than put points in the human tree, I'd probably put a bit more in Blight Caster to get 'Death Eater [C3]' (or depending on how many past lives and extra points you have, you could aim for 'Unkindness of Ravens [T4]')

Sorry if the response was a bit long, and hope it was helpful!
 
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Kalibano

Build Designer. Having fun since 2006!
Eye of Beholder +3 MRR => Eye/Grave (rare)? -3MRR, +8 USP, +1 Spellcraft from +2 Int?
A nice suggestion indeed. You probably gathered by previous responses on my other threads that I do favour investing a little on defenses, as soul stones do zero dps.
Being at melee range, I am happy to sacrifice a bit of damage for a bit of extra defensiveness: but I am mindful it's a personal choice.

Always grateful for your time and suggestions, though :)
 
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Fisto Mk I

Well-known member
A nice suggestion indeed. You probably gathered by previous responses that I do favour investing a little on defenses, as soul stones do zero dps.
Being at melee range, I am happy to sacrifice a bit of damage for a bit of extra defensiveness: but I am mindful it's a personal choice.

Always grateful for your time and suggestions, though :)
It's simple choice between +9% DPS vs. 3% magical defense. Dead enemy usual provide zero DPS... and true Amarr tank with pure DPS only! ;)
 

Kalibano

Build Designer. Having fun since 2006!
It's simple choice between +9% DPS vs. 3% magical defense. Dead enemy usual provide zero DPS... and true Amarr tank with pure DPS only! ;)
I solo frequently enough to value this extra defensiveness tbh. My personal experience with characters that plays at melee range like this one, being a glass canon often resulted in less dps (while I was dead) and more frustration with less fun overall.

In the grand scheme of things, we are talking about an extra 9% on top of 580+% of spell power damage (a very small increase, especially considering how spell damage gets reduced in reaper mode).

Whereas +3 MRR (and the extra PRR that come together w the rare filigree) is on top of one hundred and some total MRR (and is converted into a larger amount % than just 3), and as far as I am aware, it doesn't get reduced in reaper mode.

I get the 'best defense is a good offense' argument, but in my experience (again, with characters that play in melee range), glass canons are less viable. They might be desirable for pure casters who don't play at melee range, especially now that the meta involves high dps casters because mobs die with one sneeze, but I don't build for the meta, ever.
 
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Kalibano

Build Designer. Having fun since 2006!
Updated the Starting Stats to include how many points the build has (in brackets).
Hopefully this helps avoid confusion :)
 

Kalibano

Build Designer. Having fun since 2006!
Could you break down the imbut dice sources?
Hi Synthetic, sure:
3 Scion of Acid feat
1 Blighted Wolf form
3 Primal Avatar's 'Shared Mantle [T3]'
3 Draconic Incarnation's 'Arcane Spellsword [T3]'
3 Blighted Bite spell (level 6)
= 13 total
> buffable to 16 via 'Blighted Charge' (spell): "for 10 seconds after the charge you gain +3 imbue die"
*Potential for at least an extra +1 here (for a total of 14/buffable 17) with an augment. I ran out of augment slots to be honest lol, happy with my choices, though.

Hope this helps!
 
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Synthetic

Member
Thank you, for the imbue dice breakdown. I didn't realize you could get that many imbue dice on the wolf. I was hoping to get more imbue dice on a thorn knight but the above won't help.

Reading over the build again it seems like you aren't making a hybrid you are instead changing focus in epics. I agree with the focus as draconic and PA has a lot of damage. Have you thought of changing your enhancements to focus on supporting that damage? Specifically trying to get the poison immunity stripping from BC T4. I think you'd get more from having the better poison imbue and poison proc consistently working along with more SP than a bit more deadly. I don't know if you use the combat mastery bonus but I assume no due to the spell DC focus. I also use contagion with the AOE enhancements and think it's the greatest. It's necro so your dc would be good, and it works on reapers.

Any reason you suggest transmutation while leveling? I took necro sf due to the many necro spells and wanting to take the level 31 feat. Is there some spells I may have missed that make transmutation while leveling better than necro?
 

Kalibano

Build Designer. Having fun since 2006!
Thank you, for the imbue dice breakdown. I didn't realize you could get that many imbue dice on the wolf. I was hoping to get more imbue dice on a thorn knight but the above won't help.

Reading over the build again it seems like you aren't making a hybrid you are instead changing focus in epics. I agree with the focus as draconic and PA has a lot of damage. Have you thought of changing your enhancements to focus on supporting that damage? Specifically trying to get the poison immunity stripping from BC T4. I think you'd get more from having the better poison imbue and poison proc consistently working along with more SP than a bit more deadly. I don't know if you use the combat mastery bonus but I assume no due to the spell DC focus. I also use contagion with the AOE enhancements and think it's the greatest. It's necro so your dc would be good, and it works on reapers.

Any reason you suggest transmutation while leveling? I took necro sf due to the many necro spells and wanting to take the level 31 feat. Is there some spells I may have missed that make transmutation while leveling better than necro?
Hi Synthetic, thanks for the message and your suggestions!

I suppose 'hybrid' is not a fully straightforward concept. To me in DDO, it sort of means part caster, part melee/ranged, complementing each other. To me, druid has always been one of the best for making hybrids (EK is great too): Out of all the hybrids I have posted builds for, this seems to be the most synergistic one in game-play, at least to me.

This build kinda uses the caster side mostly for CC and insta-kills, and dishes out dmg mostly via melee combat (not only by hitting things physically, but also having passive things dishing out damage while doing physical damage, expounded below). I don't see a 'shift in direction' with the epics to be honest: The PA mantle helps dish out extra damage via both melee and spellcasting. The imbue dice (usable via melee only) requires investment in spell power to amplify its damage, so again another synergistic aspect of the build. And Vortex for melee characters is super awesome!

True, there's also a lot of damage being dished out by spells, but it's mostly passively via CC, lingering DoTs (e.g. Storm Vengenace, Acid Rain, Creeping Doom, Black Dragon bolt, etc..), Shard Storm, Energy Vortex, while doing melee. If there's too much active spell casting, melee becomes rarely used: then going more Blight Caster would make total sense, as would dropping the melee side of the build in favor of being a pure caster. It's not the direction I feel I would like to take, though. I really enjoy the melee aspect of the build, personally.

Hybrids are tricky because they perform 2 roles, but cannot 'max everything' for both roles (so you gotta invest on some key aspects in both roles). Shifter makes the caster DC aspect work, while Falconry makes the melee aspect viable. Taking away from those would make the build poor in one of those 2 aspects.

My threads give the 'core build' to first lifers/those with min past lives. With past lives gained, there is potential to go a bit deeper into Blight caster, though it's unlikely it would reach T4 without nerfing either de-buff to DCs (shifter) or melee capabilities (Falconry)

I also focus on Acid spells mostly, as there are lot more difficulties with poison spells without immunity stripping (as you pointed out). On a personal note: I already have a poison caster/thrower (Alchemist), so I wanted an acid caster in my alt 'stable' :D

I invest in transmutation mostly because of:
- the insta-kill aspect, via 'Mass Frog', which is AoE
- 'Grasping Thorns' which gives not only CC, but also passive dmg (from mantle, weapon DoTs, etc.)

While levelling, Transmutation was very useful for the early CCs (Entagle, then Grasping Thorns), and early AoE damage (Spike growth). Earthquake comes a bit late in the heroic levelling, so the early CC was very helful. The best necro spells seem to only come later on in the heroic levels, and I personally only found the deep investment in necromancy via feats only needed at endgame (before then, equipment felt just fine to make them work).

Thanks for your input, and I hope my comments make sense :)
 
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Kalibano

Build Designer. Having fun since 2006!
Hey Kali!, just found out about your build which ilove. I'm starting a new life with a steady group and wanted to create a character built around melee and necromancy (because i hate when enemies use necromon me lol). I really appreciate your feedback on necro being useful mostly at end game though. i have a few questions for you:

*snip*

Thanks for your input
Hi @Salaheddine I thought it would be a good idea to respond to you in this thread, since the main build resides here: hope you don't mind :)
Out of all my hybrids, this is quite possibly my favourite, so I really hope you enjoy the build, it's great fun to play, and should hopefully fit nicely in your steady group!

Happy to share some comments/suggestions:

1- I was thinking about THF for more damage ( loosing some defensiveness on purpose since we have a good group) With NATURAL FIGHTING do i need a thf feat or what is opinion on trying to make thf work with this build?
All-in-all, I feel THF won't work too well with this build. Here are some comments/reasons to support this view:
  • it's a bit confusing, but in animal form, the THF feats don't work. You need to take the Natural Fighting feats, instead
  • ref the Natural Fighting feat: my understanding is that the key aspects that enhance THF only work in bear form (which Blightcasters don't have access to):
    • the increase of the ability score modifier to damage while using a two-handed weapon
    • bonuses to strikethrough
Natural-Fighting-feature.jpg
  • there's a similar issue with the Perfect Natural Fighting feat: only the bear form receives bonuses to THF
Perfect-Natural-Fighting-feature.jpg
  • to make things harder, a key disadvantage Druids have ref THF is that they are only inherently proficient with quarterstaffs
    • Staffs have very poor base damage (1d6) and critical profile (20/x2)
    • to improve this, you'd need to sacrifice a feat to take Swords to Ploughshares, but even then your crit profile would not be great:
      • Base 20/x2
      • +1 Range from Improved Crit: Bludgeon = 19-20/x2
      • +2 morale Range bonus from Swords to Ploughshares = 17-20/x2
      • +1 competence Multiplier from Nature's Warrior (Core 4) = 17-20/x3 (sadly no threat range in your main melee tree)
      • with Scimitars, you are able to achieve a much better crit profile of 15-20/ x3, and don't need to sacrifice an extra feat
  • To use other Two-handed weapons, you'd need to either:
    • sacrifice a feat to take Weapon Proficiency feat in that weapon (if I am not wrong, it's one feat per weapon you want to use when it comes to martial weapons, so you'd be a bit restricted as well)
    • or you could multi-class
      • I would not recommend this because:
        • Nature's warrior capstone (Core 6) reduces casting cooldown and gives other great bonuses (e.g. doublestrike)
        • DC casters need to grab every little bonus to casting DCs to make spells work: this is normally harder for a hybrids, so losing 2 WIS from the capstone would not be ideal
  • If you do decide to go with other weapons, I'd strongly recommend Falchions
  • A final comment is that, using a Two-hander, you'd lose one equipment slot (off-hand): being a hybrid, you are trying to squeeze bonuses for both melee and spellcasting, so in my opinion, weapon + orb are generally preferable

2- How do you progress with your enhancments? You are using multiple trees so how do you start and progress and do you respec you points along the way?
I don't normally keep detailed notes on my choices, but I am happy to share some general thoughts ref order of enhancements:
  • You'll definitely want to grab WIS to hit and damage from Falconry as early as you can
  • You'll need to take Blight caster core 1 to qualify for Nature's Warrior T1 'Dead Nerves', so you end up taking this early on
  • I'd probably take some in Nature's Warrior, maybe up to T3's Ghost pack and Essence of the shrike
  • Maybe squeeze in the Season's Herald T1 'Beguile' de-buff at some point here
  • I normally aim to be near the 30 Action points in my main tree by the time I get to level 12, so I can go into the T5's of my main tree as soon as I take level 12.
  • By this point it might be nice to invest on boosting melee + spell DCs
  • Back to falconry for the trance + the nice AoE
  • The Howl from Shifter can probably come last?
Everything is so nice, it's hard to be specific. I'm also trying to avoid being too 'prescriptive', I hope this was helpful

One thing you'll need to respec (if you decide to change to Shifter):
  • During heroics, take the Shifter T3 'Empowered by nature' to be able to cast while raging.
  • This can be swapped out for something else in the Shifter tree once you get the Draconic Incarnation T2 'Draconic Rage'

3- I went aasimar for the max WIS and self healing not realizing the potential of shifter with raging and howl's
I suppose the advice to be given here depends on a few things:
  • if you have lots of past lives (and therefore extra ability scores + spell DC bonuses)
  • if you plan to play this until cap, then TR
  • if you play elite mostly, or if reaper is your aim
  • if you want to stay at endgame and play the content available there
The short answer is that you give up a lot ref DCs by not going shifter:
  • Wildhunt Shifter: Passive: +1 WIS. Activate this Shifter ability to shift your form, granting you a +4 Rage bonus to Wisdom and Dexterity
  • Stronger Howl: When you Howl, nearby enemies take -1 to Saving Throws, minus an additional 1 per 5 Character Levels you have for 20 seconds (total -7 to saves, which is basically like +7 to all your melee + spell DCs)
Can't say Aasimar will not work at all, but being a hybrid (i.e. investing in melee + casting at the same time), you really want to accumulate as much DCs as you can.

Apologies for the long answer, and I really hope my thoughts are helpful. If you get a chance, do let me know how you are getting on with the build :)
 
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Kalibano

Build Designer. Having fun since 2006!
Epic Destinies updated to include an extra point gained from unlocking Machrotecnic.

N.B. At this point in time, my builds will NOT include the +1 Universal Tree (Morgrave) bonus.
Unfortunately, for those of us who actively play several alts, the
Ultimate Bundle offering bank space that is useful to one character only is, frankly, not an offer that adequately supports and incentivises playing with alts. Storage is still a massive issue (particularly for multi-alt players like me), that I sadly feel is still not being addressed in a fair and efficient manner. Since the Ultimate Bundle does not support my playstyle, I sadly chose not to support the game in an ultimate manner on this occasion.

Down the line, this tome will be acquired with DDO points (when I can combine double point sales + tome sale), and the builds that depend on universal trees will be the ones to receive suggestions on where to spend it first.
 
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Wolffe

New member
  • to make things harder, a key disadvantage Druids have ref THF is that they are only inherently proficient with quarterstaffs
    • Staffs have very poor base damage (1d6) and critical profile (20/x2)
    • to improve this, you'd need to sacrifice a feature to take Swords to Ploughshares, but even then your crit profile would not be great:
      • Base 20/x2
      • +1 Range from Improved Crit: Bludgeon = 19-20/x2
      • +2 morale Range bonus from Swords to Ploughshares = 17-20/x2
      • +1 competence Multiplier from Nature's Warrior (Core 4) = 17-20/x3 (sadly no threat range in your main melee tree)
      • with Scimitars, you are able to achieve a much better crit profile of 15-20/ x3, and don't need to sacrifice an extra feat
  • To use other Two-handed weapons, you'd need to either:
    • sacrifice a feature to take Weapon Proficiency feature in that weapon (if I am not wrong, it's one feat per weapon you want to use when it comes to martial weapons, so you'd be a bit restricted as well)
    • or you could multi-class
      • I would not recommend this because:
        • Nature's warrior capstone (Core 6) reduces casting cooldown and gives other great bonuses (e.g. doublestrike)
        • DC casters need to grab every little bonus to casting DCs to make spells work: this is normally harder for a hybrids, so losing 2 WIS from the capstone would not be ideal
  • If you do decide to go with other weapons, I'd strongly recommend Falchions
  • A final comment is that, using a Two-hander, you'd lose one equipment slot (off-hand): being a hybrid, you are trying to squeeze bonuses for both melee and spellcasting, so in my opinion, weapon + orb are generally preferable
Hey kali I have a few questions and I was just wondering if you could break down how you got the crit range on the scimitar and what you could achieve with a great sword or falchion.

If I was just planning to TR at 20 would i be able to pull off passable DCs with aasimar race, possibly 1-2 fighter lvls or an exchanged feat for a two hander, and losing the offhand slot. It just seems to me like going with a two hander would give me a lot more DPS than a scimitar if I could still have decent DCs in non reaper heroics at least.
 
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Kalibano

Build Designer. Having fun since 2006!
Hey kali I have a few questions and I was just wondering if you could break down how you got the crit range on the scimitar and what you could achieve with a great sword or falchion.

If I was just planning to TR at 20 would i be able to pull off passable DCs with aasimar race, possibly 1-2 fighter lvls or an exchanged feat for a two hander, and losing the offhand slot. It just seems to me like going with a two hander would give me a lot more DPS than a scimitar if I could still have decent DCs in non reaper heroics at least.
Hey @Wolffe Sure, happy to help.

I was just wondering if you could break down how you got the crit range on the scimitar
Scimitars (base dmg 1d6):
Base crit profile: 18-20/x2
Feat: Improved critical: Slashing: 15-20/x2
Nature's Warrior core 4: 15-20/x3
Final crit profile: 15-20/x3


what you could achieve with a great sword or falchion
Falchions (base dmg 2d4):
Base crit profile: 18-20/x2
Feat: Improved critical: Slashing: 15-20/x2
Nature's Warrior core 4: 15-20/x3
Final crit profile: 15-20/x3

Great Swords (base dmg 2d6)
:
Base crit profile: 19-20/x2
Feat: Improved critical: Slashing: 17-20/x2
Nature's Warrior core 4: 17-20/x3
Final crit profile: 17-20/x3

N.B.
I would definitely pick Falchion out of those 2

If I was just planning to TR at 20 would i be able to pull off passable DCs with aasimar race, possibly 1-2 fighter lvls or an exchanged feat for a two hander, and losing the offhand slot. It just seems to me like going with a two hander would give me a lot more DPS than a scimitar if I could still have decent DCs in non reaper heroics at least.
For heroics and TR @20 you should be fine with what you described above. Maybe drop the spell focus feat @18, and take the weapon proficiency as early as you can (level 1 or 3), and shift the feats upwards from there? Just don't forget to add a few gear items for the spell DCs, and you should be fine.

You are probably aware of this already, but Wolf form does not get strikethrough, even with a two-handed weapon. If I am not wrong, they get 1.5x damage modifier with 2H weapon, but will not benefit from the Natural Fighting bonuses that are labelled exclusively for bear form.
2H weapons (apart from Staves) do more base dmg than 1H, so I can see that being a benefit for sure.

Hope this helps :)
 
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Kalibano

Build Designer. Having fun since 2006!
As several people have requested/suggested this (particularly in Discord), I am working towards sharing the DDOBuilder files for all my builds, since I use that program to do all my planning. Hopefully they will be valuable for using in conjunction with their respective forum threads.

The main thread for this build has been updated to include this, under the main title:
6. Kali's Blighted Wolf Melee/ De-buff+Insta-kill hybrid build
DDOBuilder file for this build. You can find and download Maetrim's DDOBuilder here.

Do let me know is anyone has issues downloading the file from Goggle Drive (fingers crossed I got all the settings right!)

Very hopeful this will be a useful addition to my threads: thanks to everyone who suggested this.

N.B.
I arrange my DDOBuilder screen as per the image below (not this build in the image), as it helps me view the key aspects of my builds far more easily than opening and closing a bunch of windows. Just thought I'd share my experience, in case its useful:
Maetrim-s-DDOBuilder-sample.jpg

Maetrim's builder is really amazing, I highly recommend it!
 
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Kalibano

Build Designer. Having fun since 2006!
The main post has been edited to include buttons to click and expand info.
I used the spoiler tool, as it provided the effect I desired: there are no spoilers, though :)

The aim was to reduce potential visual overload, as well as the overall length of the main post. This creates potential to include more breakdowns.

I'd be keen to hear feedback from anyone who frequently visits my threads: do you prefer this layout?
I am working slowly towards doing the same for all other builds: hope this enhances everyone's experience when visiting and exploring!


Some breakdowns included:
> imbue die​
> sneak attack die​
> helpless damage​
 
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