Post by Ford Prefect on Jul 17, 2009 1:14:19 GMT
With folks worrying over bard changes and such, I figured I'd post a chanter build. I ran this guy through hells as a Demi 1x toon (he was pure bard for demi 0x) and he did pretty decently. He had a lvl 57 bard song, could stand toe-to-toe with a Pit Fiend, could tanks Aspirants all day with Imp.Expertise. He has IoF and Gird to buff party mates, and should have the new "pull 3 people back from Limbo" epic.
I was going for a "rugged bard" so it's a fairly simple build, and all I had at the time were UR races. It's no where near being a MILE-0 caliber tank, but it did take quite a licking and kept coming back for more.
Honestly, you could do this with a couple different subbies, the biggest thing is to make sure you have at least 16 CHA and focus on STR as your primary stat. If you pick a subby that doesn't give you dodge, you'll need to have at least 13 dex.
Aleithian Dwarf (UR) - FC: Bard / BC: Dwarven Defender - CON -2, INT +2, CHA +7, free feat: Dodge, free feat: Spell Focus Transmutation
STATS
ST 17
DX 10
IN 12
CO 16
WI 8
CH 11
(after Alethian subby)
ST 17
DX 10
IN 14
CO 14
WI 8
CH 18
Take Bard for levels 1-10
shift alignment
Take DD for levels 11-27
shift alignment
Take the rest as a bard.
Pre-epic feats:
Artist (1st level only)
Toughness
Curse song
Still Spell (required for chanter)
Weapon Focus (Mace OR Light Hammer OR Heavy Flail) (req for chanter)
Expertise
Extra music
Epic Feats:
Armor Skin
Imp Expertise
Lingering Song
Great STR 1-4
BONUS Epic feats:
Epic Prowness
Lasting Inspiration
Legendary Feats:
Great STR 5-9
Epic Weapon Focus
Legendary Weapon Focus
I learned a TON on this toon. I'm not much of a tank builder, and truth be told, I'm a "bard of last resort." I dislike playing bards. But this toon could be VERY flexible on runs and fill a couple different roles depending on how he was geared and played. In full plate he could be an AC whore/STR tank checking in at 134 AC before Imp.Expertise. But put him in robes or light armor and a caster shield and he can be a caster-bard. Outfit him with gear to boost his perform skill and he could be a singer/curser. He was a GREAT primary bard for legendary runs and the shallower hell layers. Without UUU you may want to be cautious using him as a primary bard in deeper hells.
(And yea, there is a discrepancy in the screen shot, I took Great STR 10 instead of LWF and ended up on an odd STR number in the screen shot... BAD FORD! No cake!)