New Player has questions about solo, quests, build, etc

[Jasonjacobson]

Title says it all.

The important things you need to know:
I am VIP (don't need to worry about coins/points but heard you can farm them easy and SHOULD on all servers before first real character????)
I can 32 build
I can direct 4/7 level with the captain.
I can skip Korthos (unless advised not to)
I have the Expansion Trove (Ravenloft)
I have Sharn (Collectors edition) - Cant buy Fey/Saltmarsh/IOD/Vecna for a few weeks
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Also, returning player (new account) after a number of years

Main questions:
Class/Race combo (looking how to build a *point runner* for the 2k coins from favor or whatever - but one that i can have fun with if i decide to keep it on main server (which is Orien))

Apart from the above build - My main enjoyment (from the past) came from melee/caster and artificer (melee and caster i prefer pure builds as i can never get my head around *meta builds* IN ANY GAME (i play for fun, this isn't and SHOULDN'T be a *job* (considering know one pays us no lifers to play games )

**Concerning Melee/Caster- I want to hit hard, have fun and survive. Slowly, i am here for fun and games, not to rush to *amazing content at the end game* (although i do want to get there and have fun with you guys)
**Concerning Artificer - i really just want to *fire and forget* and have fun (not worry too much at all about the procs and combos and what ever else)**

Mainly wanting solo quests and dungeons (until i can hang out and raid/dungeon for fun with awesome people - but also being somewhat social on the way)

Also, i dont want to hit *30* - whatever the max is now, too fast, (i don't worry about the lore much either tbh, i am a forever DM in life and just want to *Level/Loot/Have a tone of fun*

*being VIP i have access to all races* -i do not have any iconics or Favored soul etc

Thanks for your help and advice

 

[vryxnr]

I cannot give detailed build advice.

The main reason to favor farm on multiple servers is for the DDO points to get more adventure packs unlocked for "free" (it just costs you time).

If you're VIP and happy with that, it's not that needed imo (though it can be a good way to see which servers has people on it you enjoy being around)

Fortunately, you only have to level up when you want to. Sure, you can only gain so much experience above your level before it just doesn't count anymore, that is something that happens on the hardcore server/event a lot, as one of the goals there is favor, and there are so many quests that doing them all will exp-cap you with plenty more quests still to do!

Another options is to level up whenever you can, reincarnate at 20 or 30, then do the quests you didn't do one your next life, and so on and so forth.

There are many ways you can go about it.

Because of that, yes, focus on builds/gameplay that you find fun. that is more important than anything. the best of the best of the best meta builds are really only for doing the hardest content and is not required. Looking at them and learning from them and taking bits and pieces may be required if/when you want to increase the difficulty you run quests at, though I think it's better to learn by doing. Some of the meta builds require an understanding of how things interact such that taking a random piece from it may not work due to overlooking/ignoring a nuance that makes it work. Sorry, short version: don't worry about it too much unless you want to push difficulty.

One thing I will say, is remember that combat is dynamic. You can move and attack at the same time. One of my friends didn't grasp this at first and was wondering why he was dying on his artificer who was specc'ed for DPS and when I watched him play he's stand perfectly still and let enemies run up to him and beat on him while he fired back at point blank range. Sometimes you gotta move away from the enemies you're attacking.

 

[Jasonjacobson]

One thing I will say, is remember that combat is dynamic. You can move and attack at the same time. One of my friends didn't grasp this at first and was wondering why he was dying on his artificer who was specc'ed for DPS and when I watched him play he's stand perfectly still and let enemies run up to him and beat on him while he fired back at point blank range. Sometimes you gotta move away from the enemies you're attacking.

Took me forever to learn that years ago
And yes, i also see how *easy* everything is now - which is a shame (just did my first elite at level 3, last i was here you needed a party even on Korthos :'( -still seems fun though

 

[CBDunk]

For 'hit hard and survive' I'd suggest something in the Barbarian, Fighter, Paladin realm. There are also ways to do it very well with Druid, but it is more straightforward with the melee classes. Get a Two Handed sword, take all the Two Handed Fighting feats and you should be golden.

I generally suggest doing The Grotto to get Ring of Waterbreathing if you don't have a better option yet, skipping the rest of Korthos, running Borderlands wilderness enough to get a horse and then completing all the Borderlands quests. You should be able to pick up a Mantle of Gentle Descent and Giyar's boots for +25% run speed in the process.

THEN if you are going for high favor you can go back and complete the rest of Korthos, The Harbor, and Marketplace. Otherwise, you can go directly to Saltmarsh, then Feywild, Isle of Dread, Barovia, and Sharn... re-running quests, running wilderness, and/or picking up additional quests from different zones as needed. When you get to 20... back to Borderlands on Elite for another set of good 'starter' gear. Then make your way to Eveningstar and level up to 28 or so... at which point you have your pick of more than a hundred quests in the 30+ range to get to level cap.

 

[Matuse]

Be sure to wait before picking up any additional expansions. Thanksgiving and Christmas sales usually put those things on good deals, even allowing you to pick some of them up for cheap store points instead of buying one of the bundles.

Don't skip content. Doing content gives more practice, it fills your monster manuals, you can get good rewards, and finishing quests = more favor = more DDO store points and the in-game rewards from favor like extra inventory and bank space.

Look up the things that you can get just by playing - Warforged, Favored Soul, Artificer, Inquisitive, Vistani Knife Fighter, even Falconry if you're feeling saucy, but that can be a real bear to get the favor for. Everything you can earn in-game is one more thing you don't have to worry about buying so you can save your points for the important stuff.

The game is huge and complicated and it's easy to get lost in a mire of systems, most of which are not well explained. Make the Wiki your deep close personal friend, don't be afraid to check out forums for your class to see about advice, and try and find a new player friendly guild to join so you can ask those people for advice.

 

[Nebless]

1. I am VIP (don't need to worry about coins/points but heard you can farm them easy and SHOULD on all servers before first real character????)
2. can skip Korthos (unless advised not to)

---------------------------------------------

Also, returning player (new account) after a number of years

1. As a VIP you're going to get 500 free store points a month so really no reason to go out and farm them (basically taking on a 2nd job) before you get to the 'enjoy playing' part. I say just play and take the coins as they come.

2. You refer to yourself as both a New and returning player. Sounds like you might have forgotten alot, so running Korthos to get back into the groove would be the way to go.

 

[Mornyngstar]

I will toss in being a straight cleric and choosing the Domain of Sun at lv 2. Don't take Eshew Material feat or Extend Spell but do take the rest of the meta magics. In the Divine Desciple Enhancement tree don't take Prophetic Zenith Tier 3. This shares a cooldown with Greater Domain of Sun SLA. Also Put most of your enhancement points into Warpriest. If you have access to it Feydark Illusionist Enhancement tree needs 11 points in order to grab Greater Color Spray.
This gives you a ton of SLA's that you can max out metamagics with and be to conserve on your spell points. This will also allow you to group with people because everyone with an endgame build always likes to have a healer that will actually heal them. In heroics and epics this is also good for soloing/with a hire running.
This is my preferred build for Hardcore also.

 

[FaceDancer]

Your play style seems pretty close to mine, mostly solo, not meta. I like to play rogues but I REALLY like the artificer class as it gives you a more well rounded character IMO and the mecha-dog is a nice addition (especially if you're running solo).

I'm doing builds with 32 points, and I generally start them @ 4th lvl. Heavy repeater X-bows are great at lower levels but definitely flatten out over time (make sure you get the appropriate feats to boost this in Ranged Combat). I usually get Augmented Summoning as my first feat to beef up my NPC's since I solo mostly.

I don't choose much in the Arcanotech tree, but I would suggest Imbue Defender and Automated repairs in tier 2 & 3 to add some more beef to your best friend and healing (for them and you!)

I focus on the Battle Engineer tree and aim for Endless Fusilade (make sure you get Extra action boost @ tier 2 x3 as well on your way the Fusilade). You can lay down an intense amount of fire this way.

For spells I usually get Conjure bolts and defensive options first (ablative armor, repair, etc...) Flame turret is a must have, stone skin, and later on blade barrier & tactical detonation.

I'm sure there's a lot more to post on this, but its a start and you're not new, so some of this info may not be relevant or redundant.

​

 

[Blunt Hackett]

As VIP you do actually have access to one iconic: Deep Gnome. I loved my THF eldritch knight deep gnome life.

 

[Jasonjacobson]

1. As a VIP you're going to get 500 free store points a month so really no reason to go out and farm them (basically taking on a 2nd job) before you get to the 'enjoy playing' part. I say just play and take the coins as they come.

2. You refer to yourself as both a New and returning player. Sounds like you might have forgotten alot, so running Korthos to get back into the groove would be the way to go.

this is exactly what i meant... New player (never reached level 20) Returning player (haven't *really* played since CD version died)

 

[Jasonjacobson]

Your play style seems pretty close to mine, mostly solo, not meta. I like to play rogues but I REALLY like the artificer class as it gives you a more well rounded character IMO and the mecha-dog is a nice addition (especially if you're running solo).

I'm doing builds with 32 points, and I generally start them @ 4th lvl. Heavy repeater X-bows are great at lower levels but definitely flatten out over time (make sure you get the appropriate feats to boost this in Ranged Combat). I usually get Augmented Summoning as my first feat to beef up my NPC's since I solo mostly.

I don't choose much in the Arcanotech tree, but I would suggest Imbue Defender and Automated repairs in tier 2 & 3 to add some more beef to your best friend and healing (for them and you!)

I focus on the Battle Engineer tree and aim for Endless Fusilade (make sure you get Extra action boost @ tier 2 x3 as well on your way the Fusilade). You can lay down an intense amount of fire this way.

For spells I usually get Conjure bolts and defensive options first (ablative armor, repair, etc...) Flame turret is a must have, stone skin, and later on blade barrier & tactical detonation.

I'm sure there's a lot more to post on this, but its a start and you're not new, so some of this info may not be relevant or redundant.

​

thats why i love arti... the dog is <3 <3 <3 *sure there is a lot more to post* ... yes lol... arti may look shallow on the surface BUT...

As VIP you do actually have access to one iconic: Deep Gnome. I loved my THF eldritch knight deep gnome life.

Oh i didn't even bother looking at the iconics because i thought ALL were purchase only Deep Gnome sounds fun! PIKE HERE I COME!!! (Critical roll anyone?)

Thanks to all of you, given me a few thoughts here... SLA Cleric sound insane fun too I just dont want to *Break it*

 

[Arsont]

I tend not to prefer playing pure class toons, but I've come to the realization that if you want to be a hybrid melee/casting build, you really do want to be as pure as possible. I usually play late at night, while listening to podcasts or video essays, with a beer or two, so the builds I run generally need to be strong enough to solo, durable enough to survive for a bit if I'm looking away, but also able to do all that on R1 (Since I'm a multilife TR). Added bonus is these all work on basically any race, since I'm grinding out racials right now.

Some basic notes on feats/playstyles, since you're a new/returning player:
-You'll want metamagics if you rely on spells at all. I recommend Maximize (Max), Empower (Emp), and Quicken (Qck) on all casting builds that use damaging spells. For melee classes with only suport casting, you can usually get away with only Qck, but Empower Heal (EmpH) might be useful for more healing (For paladin and rangers, for example).
-Any hybrid build will need a way to reliably inflict physical/weapon damage, so there's a couple ways to do that. I've put these into spoiler tags as they're pretty hefty chunks of text, so the post isn't a massive wall:

1. Spoiler: Melee Feats

   Melee combat style feats: Single Weapon Fighting (SWF), Two-handed (THF), Two Weapon (TWF), Weapon+Shield Mastery (SM), and Natural Fighting (NF). Default is 3 per chain (Style, Improved Style, Greater Style), but some styles have extra feats to support them. SWF gets Offhand Versatility, TWF gets Two-weapon Defense and Oversized TWF, SM gets Improved Shield Bashing and Shield Deflection. All melee styles can also use "the Cleave line" (Power Attack, Cleave, and Great Cleave feats), as well as the "Spring Attack Line" (Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack feats), but those are a heavy investment for most builds. Precision and Improved Crit are also both useful, but may be worth skipping depending on your current build goals. Some feats/effects may be available for free from the class/racial enhancement tree/class enhancement trees, so pay attention to those based on what you're wanting to play (For example, rangers get TWF feats at lvs 2, 6, and 11; Paladin Knight of the Chalice and Sacred Fist, as well as Warlock Englightened Spirit all get enhancements that are similar to Cleave/Great Cleave, sharing the cooldown as the feats meaning the feats are redundant).
   

   • SWF requires 7 trained ranks of Balance to take the full chain, but even if you can only do a half rank each level, you can still get the full chain+Max, Emp, Qck by lv 15.
   • THF requires a strength of 17 to take the full chain. Tomes apply to this requirement.
   • TWF requires a dex of 17 to take the full chain. Tomes apply.
   • SM has no stat requirement, but the Base Attack Bonus is 2 higher than the other combat styles for the Improved and Greater versions (So BaB 8 instead of 6 for Imp SM, and BaB 13 instead of 11 for GSM).
   • Natural Fighting has no stat requirement, but is only available once you have 3 druid levels. It can be taken as a level-up feat when getting the 3rd druid level. Unlike the other styles, this line is the same feat, you just take it 3 times, and it stacks.
2. Spoiler: Ranged Feats

   Ranged combat feats:Thrown, Bow (Long or short), and crossbow (Great, light/heavy, repeating light/heavy). There is no set "combat style" line for ranged weapons, however they may all benefit from the following feats: Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Improved Precise Shot (IPS), Rapid Shot, and Shot on the Run (SotR).
   

   • By default, thrown weapons have Dex for attack and Str for damage, bows use dex for both, and crossbows only use dex for hit (no damage modifier). Any feat or enhancement which gives you an alternate stat to hit/damage will apply to these, assuming the ability does not specify otherwise. For example, Falconry gives the option to take Wis to hit+dam for all weapons. Harper Agent does the same for Int, and Feydark Illusionist does the same for Cha. Auto-granted feats are usually more restrictive; the lv 2 Favored Soul feats "Grace/Knowledge of Battle" only apply to favored weapons, and only if your FvS level is equal to or greater than half your total level. Brutal Throw (feat) lets you use Str instead of Dex for your atk mod. Bow Strength (feat) lets you use your Str instead of your Dex for your dmg mod.
   • Some feats apply to specific weapons, and do not effect others: Thrown users can take Quick Draw, Multitude of Missles, and Simple Thrown Weapon Expertise, and shuriken users can additionally take Shuriken Expertise, and also Ten Thousand Stars if they have 6+ monk levels ; Repeating crossbow users can take Rapid Reload; bow users can take Zen Archery and Manyshot, and get an additional bonus from Rapid Shot.

So with that in mind, here's a few of my preferred builds. These should all be pretty simple to play, so feel free to try any of them out. I've only listed "hybrid" builds here; there may be some more dedicated caster builds with the same class split, but it's a different playstyle. Again, including these as spoiler tags to lessen the "wall o' text" feel.

Spoiler: Pure or 18/2 or 17/3 Warpriest

I really enjoy this as a Dark Apostate, but works well as a standard cleric too. Can choose to go caster or weapon focus; Caster will take tier 5 Divine Disciple, with lots of points in Warpriest. Melee will take T5 Warpriest or Vistani. Ranged versions can use Horizon Walker for bows, Vistani for throwers, or Inquisitive for dual crossbows. If you want to do anything beyond direct damage casting (I.E., spamming light spells), you'll need to be wisdom based and use Falconry for wis to hit and damage.

This works best as a wisdom-base with Falconry. It can also work well while leveling as a str-based melee, but then you'll be effectively locked into t5 Warpriest/Vistani. I've also done it as a wisdom-based elf and half-elf using the racial Arcane Archer tree and Horizon Walker secondary. It could be done as either a dex or wisdom based Inquisitive, which I've seen but never tried myself.

You can take 2 levels of fighter for extra feats, 2 levels or paladin for better saves, 2 levels of Sacred Fist for evasion and better saves, or 2 levels of monk for evasion and extra feats. You could also take 2 barbarian on a str build and use Destruction or Strength Domains, but I prefer War Domain as pure or one of the other splits. 3 fighter/paladin/sacred fist levels gives you the Defender defensive stance, which could be useful if you wanted to play a shield turtle build. 3 monk is exclusively for TWF/THF centered builds using Water stance and Falconry, which tends to be more melee heavy at the cost of casting ability.

Feats:​

• Max
• Emp
• Quicken
• Weapon Style/PBS
• Imp Weapon Style/Precise Shot
• Great Weapon Style/IPS
• One of: Heighten (Caster focus), Improved Crit (weapon focus)

If 2 monk split, you can take the first of the THF/TWF feat+toughness (Or deflect arrows if you have the Dex for it).

If 2 fighter split, you can take the first of any combat style, then have a bonus feat to work with as you can take another combat style feat on ftr lv 2. I prefer to do an early fighter level to pick up the first combat style feat (Either lv 1 for melee builds, or 7 for caster builds), then do the second one late (lv 18 or 19) to pick up either Improved Crit or the last combat style feat. When combined with Falconry, I go full wis and pick up Heighten with my extra feat for better spellcasting.

Spoiler: Pure or 18/2 or 17/3 Druid

This build is effectively the same playstyle as the cleric above, but with a druid base. This works with both a standard and blightcaster druid:

Standard Druid
I find this works best as a bear or wolf, using either the Nature's Warrior or Protector tree based on your animal. For a true hybrid, you'd be wanting a wis-based build, using Falconry as your secondary tree; this lets you use the innate attacks and your normal spells equally well. However, either of these could work as a str-based build, since the animal trees let you use both stats for their innate attacks; just be mindful that your other druid spells might not be as effective. Either animal form can work as pure or 18/2 splash builds, but I'd caution against going deeper than that since you want the lv 18 core from your animal tree. I find an 18/2 split with barbarian levels in bear form the most fun way to do a standard druid, or 18/2 figher for a tank build.

Feats:​

• Max
• Emp
• Quicken
• Natural Fighting
• Natural Fighting
• Natural Fighting
• One of: Heighten (Caster focus), Improved Crit (weapon focus)

If 2 fighter for an off-tank build, you must take Shield Mastery as a feat so you can qualify for Perfect Shield Mastery in epics. If just doing 2 figher for fun, I suggest taking Precision and Improved Crit, then either Shield Mastery (melee) or Heighten (if you have Falconry).

Blightcaster
Similar to above. If you want to play in an animal form, Blight wolf is fantastic. Just follow the notes above, using Nature's Warrior as your primary tree. If you have Falconry, this works very well as a wis-based instakiller, with the innate attacks and your Blightcaster spells. I prefer to do this as an 18/2 fighter split on a wis-based toon to get the best of both worlds. This is tied for my favorite "hybrid" build when it all comes together, especially in epics (Pure FvS is close behind).

For a more tank playstyle, your best bet is to use Thorn Knight form. I'd suggest taking the Shield Mastery line, but SWF or THF can also work well. I like this as an 18/2 fighter split for the reasons mentioned above, but it works well pure if you use the Blightcaster capstone. For the SWF/THF versions, you play this as a standard hybrid melee. For the Shield version, this is more of a "come and get me" toon; you throw out some thorns, run to an area, and drop your web/spikes/etc, then just beat everything down with whatever weapon you want when they come to you. The shield version is tied with the blight wolf for my favorite. The blight wolf works better in a party or low reaper where I'm just trying to go fast, the shield thorn knight works better in raids or harder content where I'm trying to be more durable.

Feats for Blightcaster Version

• Max
• Emp
• Quicken
• Weapon Style
• Imp Weapon Style
• Great Weapon Style
• One of: Heighten (Caster focus), Improved Crit (weapon focus)

I prefer this as an 18/2, so I can pick up both Heighten and Imp Crit as well as Precision (Druid lacks ways to increase to-hit) on a melee focus, or Spell Focus:Necro, Improved Spell Focus: Necro and Heighten on a caster version.

Spoiler: 16/3/1 or 15/4/1 Auralock

The split referred to in the tag is 16 warlock/3 paladin/1 Favored Soul. Don't let the deep split fool you; this plays very much like any other melee warlock. It works best as a charisma build to keep most of the spellcasting ability, but it can also work as an int, str, or dex build, depending on your enhancement trees/race at the time.

This is a pet build of mine; It's been run by lots of other people in a couple different forms since Enlightened Sprit was first introduced, but it's lost favor with the changes/nerfs to ES over the years. I still use it on alts, especially during Mabar. It's a stable leveling build, and pretty good at staying alive in general content.

The basic idea is to be a standard Enlightened Spirit auralock, but picking up a bit more melee ability in exchange for some casting. It started as me wanting to pick up more hp and better saves before most every melee class got the %hp bonus in their trees. Since you lose out on the %hp from ES capstone, I take 3 paladin for better saves, and the 25% hp from Sacred Defender. Warlock level 17 is kind of a dead level, so instead I take 1 FVS for an easy to keep +30 light/alignment spellpower from Angel of Vengance (You could do 15 warlock and 2 cleric instead for a similar effect if you don't have FvS; "Light and Dark" from Divine Disciple seems to be actually working as intended, at least as of last night). Losing the lv 18 warlock core hurts (-3 imbue dice and 1 second longer between aura ticks), but there's not currently another way to keep the % hp AND tier 5 ES without going pure warlock (Since all the universal trees gate the %hp in tier 5).

I've also done this with only 15 warlock levels/4 paladin level/1 FvS levels, trading out lv 6 spells for +6 con from Sacred Defender tier 4. I prefer keeping 16 warlock, but 15 would be more defensive.

As this build takes paladin levels, you're locked into either Fey or Celestial pact. I prefer Fey while leveling for Misty Step, but I think Celestial works better in epics once you can take the Angelic Charge effect, assuming you're a charisma build.

Any weapon style can work, but SWF is the easiest. TWF will get more damage overall from the imbue, but has a 17 dex requirement, and doesn't flow as well with the ES burts (The bursts break the attack progression/animation chain. Moving while attacking can do this naturally, called "twitch fighting" or "twitching". SWF is better at this than TWF, so you can chain a couple of attacks-burst-attack-burst-attack attack-burst, repeat). A Shield version would be more durable, but introduces Arcane Spell Failure, which affects your aoe blasts (the ES "cleaves"). THF is okay, but also introduces a stat requirement; also, this build needs more single-target damage, not aoe, so the aoe from THF is less noticable (Although if you're really good at twitching, THF will feel about as effective as SWF, but you lose an off-hand slot).

Playstyle is part whirling-dervish, part turtle-tank. Generally, I would zerg through an area, pulling as many mobs with me as possible. Depending on how far I plan on running, I may or may not jump and cast my bursts (The ES Spirit Burst/Blast are not disc-shaped, but rather conical; They will hit everything to the sides of you, in the graphic, but also below you). Once I get to my desired stopping point, or pull red alert, I throw down a web/Evard's/etc., burst away, then just mop up with the melee. This gets even better in epics with Energy Burst and Exalted Angel.

The worst part of playing a melee warlock is missing the +1/1 crit bonus from the tree, but with the right support on an imbue build you won't notice that outside of harder content.

I might add to this later if I get a chance. I'll probably just make a thread at some point to post all my random garbage builds, so I don't have to continually spam spoiler tags. Anyhow, enjoy the game, and let me know if you'd like more info on anything I shared here!

 

[Jasonjacobson]

WOW! that is quite the info, very much appreciated Arsont