Post by Yomi on Jul 14, 2006 1:19:14 GMT
I've been playing this build for a while, and it's quite nice. Handaxe does great crits, but not so nice without them, and the damage types on the levels 29 and 35 rare handaxes are very wrong for grubs in beholders -- the level 35 handaxe does 3-4 times less damage than the level 35 rapier. I haven't tried Kukri, but I suspect it would be a bit more consistent in damage output. You'll also find yourself begging for GMW's a lot, especially with handaxe where you really need to be critting to see high damage.
As for AC, unless you go on daily Illithid runs, contain your excitement at the AC numbers posted here -- you might not see even 130 AC until level 60. My level 57 halfling/tiefling has an AC of 128 wearing +16 UR cloak, +13 armor bracers, and +15 everything else, including the +3 dex from LL rogue levels. That's before expertise of course. All this talk of 150 AC is nice, but it assumes UR subraces, lots of specific UR gear, and bard and/or cleric buffs. Still, even 128 AC is very nice.
Don't forget another neat trick which many probably know but was new to me. With your high UMD you will be able to use a lot of staffs, finally putting to use the many druid Dachy staffs out there. So before going out to pull the archers in, equip the staff, fire off epic warding, and re-equip your weapon and shield. Carry as many as you need. Most of the time you won't need it due to sheer AC, but if you're standing in the middle of 40 archers sucking up implosions, it does make a difference.
Comments on single+shield vs. dual weapon. I played a dual weapon dexer before playing this build. It was fine until he got to the desert, where he was always putting a shield up even though he had a monk level (his AC was somewhat lower than this build). That last 8 AC made a huge difference in the damage he would take from archers. It's very different with a bard, where you don't want a shield because of Ethereal Visage -- and it's hard to overstate just how nice EV is. But this build isn't a bard and doesn't get high level EV, nor self conceal, high SR, or energy buffer. You survive by having very high AC and just not getting hit. The shield also adds nicely to flatfooted AC, which is quite nice in a lot of places (especially vs. my bard who has a shockingly low FF AC). The high AC and the right immunity equipment make this a very robust build -- you will go through a lot of rez scrolls since you'll be the one who can waltz up and rez in the middle of fights while others are dying around you.
Dual weapon gives you 7 vs. 5 attacks I believe, which while very nice isn't the world. It gives you the ability to do more damage types if you use a different offhand weapon. You pay -2 ab on all your attacks, you spend 3 feats, and you lose the shield AC and bonuses. As Dancer pointed out, that shield can add a lot of very nice things. The implosion shield is incredibly useful if you're the puller in the desert (which isn't unlikely since with this build you probably have the highest AC in the group). Demondrim and Valiants Honor are quite helpful for the last 25% of a given elemental immunity -- crackleshard ring + ssith robes + valiant shield = 100% immunity to cold and electric, making ssith runs go much easier. There are probably other UR shields that add useful things (I think Deva's Tear does harm and WoF immunity, but never owned one). There are shields with +20 or so dicipline which if you don't have any other +disc equipment will be something you want for Illithids.
I also wanted to say thanks again to Mish for posting this and his other builds. Well thought out, and helpful to us newbies to the world of level 50+.
As for AC, unless you go on daily Illithid runs, contain your excitement at the AC numbers posted here -- you might not see even 130 AC until level 60. My level 57 halfling/tiefling has an AC of 128 wearing +16 UR cloak, +13 armor bracers, and +15 everything else, including the +3 dex from LL rogue levels. That's before expertise of course. All this talk of 150 AC is nice, but it assumes UR subraces, lots of specific UR gear, and bard and/or cleric buffs. Still, even 128 AC is very nice.
Don't forget another neat trick which many probably know but was new to me. With your high UMD you will be able to use a lot of staffs, finally putting to use the many druid Dachy staffs out there. So before going out to pull the archers in, equip the staff, fire off epic warding, and re-equip your weapon and shield. Carry as many as you need. Most of the time you won't need it due to sheer AC, but if you're standing in the middle of 40 archers sucking up implosions, it does make a difference.
Comments on single+shield vs. dual weapon. I played a dual weapon dexer before playing this build. It was fine until he got to the desert, where he was always putting a shield up even though he had a monk level (his AC was somewhat lower than this build). That last 8 AC made a huge difference in the damage he would take from archers. It's very different with a bard, where you don't want a shield because of Ethereal Visage -- and it's hard to overstate just how nice EV is. But this build isn't a bard and doesn't get high level EV, nor self conceal, high SR, or energy buffer. You survive by having very high AC and just not getting hit. The shield also adds nicely to flatfooted AC, which is quite nice in a lot of places (especially vs. my bard who has a shockingly low FF AC). The high AC and the right immunity equipment make this a very robust build -- you will go through a lot of rez scrolls since you'll be the one who can waltz up and rez in the middle of fights while others are dying around you.
Dual weapon gives you 7 vs. 5 attacks I believe, which while very nice isn't the world. It gives you the ability to do more damage types if you use a different offhand weapon. You pay -2 ab on all your attacks, you spend 3 feats, and you lose the shield AC and bonuses. As Dancer pointed out, that shield can add a lot of very nice things. The implosion shield is incredibly useful if you're the puller in the desert (which isn't unlikely since with this build you probably have the highest AC in the group). Demondrim and Valiants Honor are quite helpful for the last 25% of a given elemental immunity -- crackleshard ring + ssith robes + valiant shield = 100% immunity to cold and electric, making ssith runs go much easier. There are probably other UR shields that add useful things (I think Deva's Tear does harm and WoF immunity, but never owned one). There are shields with +20 or so dicipline which if you don't have any other +disc equipment will be something you want for Illithids.
I also wanted to say thanks again to Mish for posting this and his other builds. Well thought out, and helpful to us newbies to the world of level 50+.