Skills: Spellcraft is a Dragon Disciple class skill. In exchange, they do not gain Spot as a class skill.
Spot is an odd choice as it's a Wisdom skill, thematically similar to core-6's true-sight, and thematically dragonesque.
I'd pick hide, silent, or diplomacy for a sacrifice. Dragon Disciples are essentially a power-trip / intimidation type of character; ie. smack you around rather than talk it out.
Dragon Disciple Enhancement Tree
The main focus of the Dragon Disciple tree is Draconic elements and Elemental damage. Unlike Henshin Mystic, it has a stronger focus on AOE spells and uses Spell
Henshin is an obvious choice, but on a power-scale hybrid DPS can't compete with non-hybrid DPS by a very large factor. Suggest adding features that tie into Arcane Warrior feat and perhaps even granting Arcane Warrior at L1 to help it thrive as a hybrid.
Core 1: Draconic Studies: While you are centered, you can use your Wisdom modifier to hit. You are centered with one-handed Clubs and Sceptres. Each core ability in this tree grants you +3 Melee Power, +3 Universal Spell Power, and +3 MRR.
Suggest adding +3 MRR cap as well or the 3 MRR will simply be lost to the cap.
Core 20: Draconic Apotheosis: Active: For 20 seconds, you take 50% less damage from Fire, Cold, Electric, Acid, and Poison, gain +2 to all Ability Scores, gain immunity to Sleep and Paralysis, +1 Critical Threat Range with all weapons, +5% Spell Critical Damage, and Acolyte's Breath and Devastation both deal double damage. Cost: 100 Ki. 2 minute cooldown. Passive: +2 Wisdom, +2 Dexterity, +12 Melee Power, and +12 Universal Spell Power. +5 Maximum Caster Level with Lesser Draconic Burst.
IMHO, the core should be passive to align itself with 3.5e Draconic Transformation. Also, from a game play perspective, short duration active absorb is pointless. Assuming passive, I'd reduce the 50 to 15~25% stacking with gear or 35% if not stacking with gear.
It should also reduce the CD on Flight of Kings to 3~6s to be similar to 3.5e's "you sprout wings" transformation.
Tier 2:
- Action Boost: Doublestrike
This is the same as giving nothing at all due to melee's cap on doublestrike. IMHO, remove the DS cap and permit it to grow infinitely as a general change helps a lot of struggling builds compete with top builds. That requires testing to be sure an odd build doesn't become silly-OP.
As a more general and thematic action boost, make a new one that gives 20% spellpower and 20% melee power at the same time. Not +20, but 20%. The reason is that the flat additive increases can't compete with haste-boost's multiplicative 30%. At cap, the classic +30 power is ~5% gain to dps and only for power-scaled things. Haste boost is +30% on everything.
I'd actually use a 20%/20% action boost on a DD. Any flat boost and I'd go elsewhere to pickup haste boost.
Tier 3:
- Way of the Dragon: Multiselector:
- Light Path: Channel the Enlightened Dragon: Activate: You and nearby allies become immune to daze, stun, and sleep for 60 seconds. (90 second cooldown, costs 10 ki)
- Dark Path: Channel the Raging Dragon: Activate: Nearby allies gain a +2 untyped bonus to attack, saves, and skills for 60 seconds. (90 second cooldown, costs 10 ki)
Light path has zero effect in practice. DDO doesn't give tells that permit a nicely timed application of defensives like that. Dark path is so pathetically small, the only reason for using it is on a trapper to hit a threshold (and DD's don't trap).
Suggest making them passive auras if you're going to leave them as-is, though I'd change stun to KB immunity and saves+skills to damage.
Tier 4:
- Tranquility in Strife:Pick a weapon set to become Centered with.
- Dragon's Tooth: You are now Centered with Light and Heavy Pick
- Dragon's Tail: You are now Centered with Light Hammer and Warhammer
- Dragon's Claw: You are now Centered with Handaxe, Battle Axe, and Sickle.
- Dragon's Divinity:You are now Centered with any Melee Weapon that is a Favored Weapon for you.
This is a very cool idea and one that might be nicer down in T1 so the player can thematically align themselves with a particular play style right away (weapons and feats need to be aligned from the start, T4 puts a big gap of using non-goal weapons on the play).
Consider adding high-intimidation 2H weapons like Maul and G.Axe. Original 3.5e DDs are on a personal power-trip after all. Not a fan of 2H myself, but they would make thematic sense and others like them a lot.
- Discipleship II: +2 Imbue Die and +3 to Breath Weapon DCs.
A TWF with high imbue is literally unplayable due to the --threat% bug; it just strips agro, flips bosses, and kills raids and parties. Fix negative threat for imbues and every single imbue build becomes playable.
Where's Quick-Draw? It's mandatory for mixing melee with spells. Also, I'd add a passive Quicken meta somewhere. The alternative is to rework animations in general so casting and melee can mesh smoothly together. The build looks good thematically, but my intuition says it's so overburdened with feat and gear requirements as to never become successful as a hybrid; it will have to choose one or the other.
As an arcane warrior tie-in, changing the imbues to count as spells would be a nice thematic touch. Similarly changing the spells to also count as melee strikes would permit DD's to lean either toward melee or spells and still leverage hybrid bonuses from Arcane Warrior.
