Azer Chieftain (12 Bard/18 DwD/10 WDD)

[bort]

Azer Chieftain

Screenshot at level 60 wearing UR/set gear, with no artifact used:

This build actually gets 6 attacks per round, thanks to Haste (from items) and the Haste spell (specially modified for Dwarven Warchanters). Fort save is actually 62, since the build was modified to take Epic Fortitude instead of Great Fortitude.
The AB for this build is actually 92, since the build has been modified to include Greater Weapon Focus since the screenshot was taken. The AB shown in the character sheet is incorrect as the character sheet doesn't take the +20 magical cap on AB boosts into account

Why this build?[/color]
This is a very sturdy melee build based on the Dwarven Warchanter quasi-class. Quasiclasses are non-traditional class combinations which receive special benefits. This build is designed as a 'tank with benefits' which should be ideal for new players to explore the length and bredth of the server for the first time without needing the best gear or relying on buffs for survival and effectiveness all the time.

Why this build and not a non-quasi Dwarven Defender?[/color]
At level 40 War Chanters are granted 'Chants' (items usable once per rest) based on the number of Bard and Dwarven defender levels they took. This build gets Chant of Countering (thanks to 18 levels of DwD) and Chant of Battle (thanks to 12 levels of Bard). Chant of Countering when used will prevent any enemy spell casters from being able to cast for 4 rounds - which is useful for areas containing troublesome spell casters and also prevents enemy heals from functioning (useful for making shorter work of a few bosses). Chant of Battle will grant you and all members of your party +16 greater magic weapon - the best enhancement bonus any caster can give out in the mod - which will be greatly appreciated by, and dramatically increase the damage output of the melee characters in your party as +16 enables you to beat the damage soak of pretty much everything in the mod.

How this build works[/color]
This build can take a substantial beating. This build is designed to wear Heavy Armor and a shield, which will increase your physical and elemental immunities considerably. Legendary Dwarven Defenders also get their STR modifier added to their physical immunities on Higher Ground.
With the right gear, this build can reach somewhere around 71-87% physical immunity. Add to that the 12/- soak it gets from 18 levels of Dwarven Defender and between 10/- to 20/- physical resistance from items and very little physical damage can get through to this character*.

*all physical immunity items stack with each other, soak stacks on top of that and the highest physical resistance of each type (bludgeoning/piercing/slashing) stacks on top of that.

On top of being able to shrug off a huge amount of physical damage, this build also comes with 50% innate fire immunity from the Azer subrace and 70% cold immunity from Dragon Disciple levels**. The 70% cold immunity from Dragon Disciple levels overwrites the Azer subrace's innate cold vulnerability, eliminating it and can not be reduced by enemies or effects which would otherwise be able to lower your elemental immunities.
The Dragon Disciple levels also help boost useful stats for this character.
(level: bonus)

2 : +2 Strength
4 : +2 Strength
7 : +2 Constitution
9 : +2 Intelligence
10: +2 Charisma, Dragon Breath improvement

This is 4 less strength than 10 levels of Dragon Disciples would get you in normal NWN. There are further increases for builds with more levels of Dragon Disciple, but this build is limited to 10 levels in order to get the Chant of Countering and Chant of Battle.
Check out the Class Changes Documents and scroll down for more info on the changes.

**on Higher Ground, Dragon Disciples are able to choose either Red (default, fire), White (cold), Green/Black (acid) or Blue (electrical) if they seek out a certain secret area before they reach their fourth level of Dragon Disciple (ask around in game for advice, i can't tell you where to go here because of the strict 'no talking about secrets on the forums' rule). The progression of immunity is also changed. Instead of getting 100% immunity at 10 levels of Dragon Disciple, you instead get a scaling immunity up to 100% at 13 levels of Dragon Disciple.

The innate damage immunity of this character alone makes it an ideal candidate for exploring the server as a new player. Even with modest gear you will do well in most legendary areas.

As a bonus of having so many Dwarven Defender levels, from level 41, your Natural AC is set to your STR modifier (including gear) to a maximum of +17, allowing you to wear a wider variety of amulets based on immunities or stat boosts rather than AC.

As well as being a very sturdy damage soaker, this build has a couple of useful spells up it's sleeve, which it can cast in armor with no spell failure thanks to Still Spell. These include Gust of Wind (useful for clearing harmful cloud spells), a special Dwarven Warchanter version of Haste (grants the target an extra attack) and Ghostly Visage (enables you to turn ethereal for a short time, once you are able to find and 'use' a Tome of Illusion***).

***There are Tomes for each spell focus on Higher Ground. You can only use 1 per character and each will grant you Spell Focus, Greater Spell Focus and Epic Spell Focus in their school of magic.

There are TWO IMPORTANT ISSUES with leveling this build that you should be aware of.
1- You have to change alignment on the Lawful-Chaotic axis between Lawful and Neutral a couple of times in order to take Dwarven Defender and Bard levels. The area where you can do this is a secret, although most people will happily show you where this is if you ask in-game.
2- You have to find another secret area BEFORE your 4th Dragon Disciple level in order to choose the White Dragon Disciple (WDD) path, giving you 70% irreducible cold immunity and eliminating the 50% vulnerability from the Azer subrace. Again, ask around in-game to find out where this area is - if you do not do this BEFORE your 4th Dragon Disciple level, you will default to a Red Dragon Disciple and be stuck with a 50% cold vulnerability, which will make your experience in Legendary Level areas unnecessarily difficult.

This build does not focus on Bard Song or Bard Curse Song in any way shape or form, as these abilities are very short lasting and weak for a Dwarven Defender control class***** Dwarven Warchanter compared to those of a non-quasi bard, and not, in my opinion, worth the investment.

*****Your control class is the class you have most levels of by level 40. In the case of a tie it is the class you took 1 level of first.

THE BUILD[/color] (finally!)

Race
Dwarf (+2 con, -2 cha)

Subrace
"Azer"
- SR18, 50% immune fire, 50% vulnerable cold, Firewalking ability (useful in the Elemental Plane of Fire, presumably)

Azer is an open subrace, which means anyone can use it

Starting Stats
Str 12
Con 14
Dex 14
Wis 8
Int 14
Cha 14

This build has a very broad spread of stat or ability points - this is because STR, CON, DEX, INT and CHA are all useful for this build.
STR boosts attack bonus (helps hit enemies), damage and helps resist STR checks VS knockdown in some of the tougher areas of the mod.
CON increases hit points and fortitude saves and also helps VS some knockdown checks.
DEX helps avoid DEX checks VS knockdown, raises reflex saves and allows 1 or 2 more points of AC if wearing medium armor (although the extra immunities on Heavy Armor often make this an unwise trade-off)
INT gives you more skill points
CHA - you need 16 base CHA (before gear) in order to use your 'Chants' (Chant of Countering and Chant of Battle, as mentioned above). Thanks to Dragon Disciple stat increases, the 14 CHA you have at character creation is increased to 16.
(the stat based knockdown checks mentioned above ignore knockdown immunity on gear, which is why having 14 base DEX is useful)

Skills
UMD 43 - Use Magic Device enables you to use useful scrolls such as Black Blade of Disaster, Greater Sanctuary (especially useful if you want to resurrect party members to prevent a party wipe without dying yourself) and Mind Blank.
Concentration 39 - This is a defensive choice to avoid concentration skill checks VS nasty things in some of the toughest areas of the mod
Discipline 63 - There are several skill checks VS discipline throughout the mod to avoid various nasty things happening. Skip this skill at your peril!
Tumble 40 - 40 points of Tumble gives you 8 AC which stacks with all other forms of AC****.
Parry 63 - Parry reduces critical hit damage.
Listen 63 - Listen functions similarly to Blind Fight on Higher Ground, reducing your miss chance against concealed enemies. 60 Listen is equal to Blind Fight in terms of conceal miss chance reduction. This build maxes Listen to 63 and takes Epic Skill Focus and Legendary Skill Focus Listen to reach 93 Listen unbuffed or potentially the full 127 with bard song and Listen boosting gear for maximum conceal miss chance reduction (which becomes particularly useful in the tougher areas of the mod).

****Although some builds utilize the Blooded and LSA Tumble feats to raise tumble to 60 for 12 points of Tumble AC, this build is only able to benefit from 9 points of Tumble AC maximum because of the 3 points of Draconic AC it gains from 10 Dragon Disciple levels (Tumble max = 12 - Dragon Disciple AC).
Two feats for +1 AC didn't seem worth it to me, especially for such a resiliant build.

Starting Alignment
Neutral Good
Non lawful is required for taking bard levels[/color]

Pre epic levels[/color]

Level 1 : Bard 1[/color]
Skills: save your skill points until level 10.
Feat: Luck of Heroes
Luck of Heroes gives +1 to all saving throws and also allows you to take Legendary Luck (which would otherwise be unavailable) as a feat in Legendary Levels, boosting your saves by a further +3[/color]

Level 2 : Bard 2[/color]

Level 3 : Bard 3[/color]
Feat: Dodge
Dodge is a required feat for the Dwarven Defender prestige class[/color]

Level 4 : Bard 4[/color]
Stat increase: Str +1 (13)
Although this build starts with a broad spread of stats or ability points, all stat or ability points are put into Strength after character creation in order to maximize Attack Bonus (AB), damage output, physical immunity and natural AC (both of which are equal to STR mod for Legendary Dwarven Defenders.
Natural AC to a maximum of +17 with this build because of this:

Natural AC Bonus
- On achieving legendary levels, a character with dwarven defender as their control class gains a natural AC bonus of +1 per STR bonus, to a maximum of +20. If the character has levels in Red Dragon Disciple, the maximum bonus is lowered by their RDD AC bonus, but no lower than +16.

[/color]

Level 5 : Bard 5[/color]

Level 6 : Bard 6[/color]
Feat: Toughness
Toughness is a required feat for the Dwarven Defender prestige class[/color]

Level 7 : Bard 7[/color]

Level 8 : Bard 8[/color]
Stat increase: Str +1 (14)

Level 9 : Bard 9[/color]
Feat: Still Spell
Still Spell allows you to cast spells in armor and shield without spell failure. This feat is required in order to become a Dwarven Warchanter.
The most useful spells you can use as a result of this feat are Gust of Wind (good for dispelling harmful cloud spells), War Cry (boosts AB and damage) and Ghostly Visage, which gives a short lasting Etherealness effect if you have spell focuses in Illusion.

This build does not take spell focus feats in Illusion, but can take advantage of the Illusion Spell Tome - one of a series of Tomes in-game which grant Epic Spell Focus in one spell school (each character can only ever read one of these).[/color]

Level 10 : Bard 10[/color]
Skills: Raise Lore to 8 (required for Dragon Disciple levels)

At this point, before taking any more levels you need to seek out the secret area where you can change your alignment to Lawful, in order to take Dwarven Defender levels.
Ask around in-game for help finding this area.

Level 11 : Dwarven Defender 1[/color]
Skills: Raise Discipline and Listen on Dwarven Defender levels.

Level 12 : Dwarven Defender 2[/color]
Feat: Weapon Focus : Light Hammer
Gives +1 Attack Bonus (AB) when using a Light Hammer and allows you to take Greater Weapon Focus : Light Hammer and Epic Weapon Focus: Light Hammer. Either Weapon Focus Light Hammer or Mace or Heavy Flail is required for the Dwarven Warchanter Quasi-class.
Light Hammer is a good weapon to focus in because of the set drop Uroboros Light Hammer, Winters Misery which is particularly effective against some of the nastier enemies in the game.[/color]
Stat increase: Str +1 (15)

Level 13 : Dwarven Defender 3[/color]

Level 14 : Dwarven Defender 4[/color]

Level 15 : Dwarven Defender 5[/color]
Feat: Greater Weapon Focus : Light Hammer
Gives a further +1 Attack Bonus (AB) when using a Light Hammer[/color]

Level 16 : Dwarven Defender 6[/color]
Stat increase: Str +1 (16)

Level 17 : Dwarven Defender 7[/color]

Level 18 : Dwarven Defender 8[/color]
Feat: Iron Will
Iron Will increases your Will saving throw by +2[/color]

Level 19 : Dwarven Defender 9[/color]

Level 20 : Dwarven Defender 10[/color]
Stat increase: Str +1 (17)

Epic Levels[/color]

Level 21 : Dwarven Defender 11[/color]
Feat: Epic Weapon Focus: Light hammer
EWF: Light Hammer gives +2 to your Attack Bonus when wielding a Light Hammer and allows you to take Legendary Weapon Focus: Light Hammer in Legendary Levels.[/color]

Level 22 : Dwarven Defender 12[/color]

Level 23 : Dwarven Defender 13[/color]

Level 24 : Dwarven Defender 14[/color]
Feat: Epic Fortitude, Armor skin
Epic Fortitude gives you +4 to your fortitude save. Armor skin increases your Armor Class (AC) by +2.[/color]
Stat increase: Str +1 (18)

Level 25 : Dwarven Defender 15[/color]

Level 26 : Dwarven Defender 16[/color]
****Dwarven Warchanter Quasi-Class requirements met: Free Feat: Weapon specialization Light Hammer ****
Weapon Specialization Light Hammer gives +2 damage per hit when using a Light Hammer[/color]

Level 27 : Dragon Disciple 1[/color]
Skills: Raise Discipline and Listen on Dragon Disciple levels.
Feat: Great STR I (19)

This is a good point to ask around in-game where the Dragon Disciple secret is that allows you to choose your path (between White, Green, Black or Red).
This build chooses the White path, which gives 70% irreducible cold immunity, which overwrites the 50% cold vulnerability that the Azer subrace gives.
It is vital to find this secret area and choose the White Dragon Disciple path BEFORE your 4th level of Dragon Disciple, otherwise you will be stuck as a Red Dragon Disciple with the 50% cold vulnerability from Azer and unable to change paths without reincarnating.

Level 28 : Dragon Disciple 2[/color]
Stat increase: Str +1 (20)
Dragon Disciple stat increase: Str +2 (22)

Level 29 : Dragon Disciple 3[/color]
Dragon Disciple AC increase: +1 (1)

This is your last chance to choose the White Dragon Disciple path.
Ask around in-game if you're not sure where to go.

Level 30 : Dragon Disciple 4[/color]
Feat: Great STR II (23)
Dragon Disciple stat increase: Str +2 (25)

Level 31 : Dragon Disciple 5[/color]

Level 32 : Dragon Disciple 6[/color]
Stat increase: Str +1 (26)
Dragon Disciple AC increase: +1 (2)

Level 33 : Dragon Disciple 7[/color]
Feat: Epic Skill Focus: Parry
ESF Parry gives +10 to your Parry score which is not included in the +50 cap which applies to spells, bard song and items. This helps reduce the damage you take from critical hits.[/color]
Dragon Disciple stat increase: Con +2 (16)

Level 34 : Dragon Disciple 8[/color]

Level 35 : Dragon Disciple 9[/color]
Dragon Disciple stat increase: Int +2 (16)
Dragon Disciple AC increase: +1 (3)

Level 36 : Dragon Disciple 10[/color]
Feat: Great STR III (27)
Stat increase: Str +1 (28)
Dragon Disciple stat increase: Cha +2 (16)

Level 37 : Dwarven Defender 17[/color]
Skills: Raise Discipline and Listen on Dwarven Defender levels.

Level 38 : Dwarven Defender 18[/color]
Feat: Epic Prowess
Epic Prowess increase your AB by +1. This feat is also synergistic with the Legendary Weapon Focus feat, you get a total of +4 to your AB if you have both feats instead of +2 for Legendary Weapon Focus alone.[/color]

At this point you need to seek out the same place you changed to Lawful alignment earlier and change back to Neutral on the Lawful/Chaotic axis in order to take your final 2 bard levels.

Level 39 : Bard 11[/color]
Skills: Raise Discipline, Use Magic Device and Listen on these last two levels and make sure you put 40 points into Tumble.
Feat: Epic Skill Focus: Listen
ESF Listen gives +10 to your Listen score which is not included in the +50 cap which applies to spells, bard song and items. This helps reduce your miss chance when attacking concealed opponents.[/color]

Level 40 : Bard 12[/color]
Skills: Raise Discipline, Use Magic Device and Listen and dump your remaining skill points into Parry.
Stat increase: Str +1 (29)

Legendary Levels[/color]

Level 41[/color]
Skills: Raise Discipline, Listen and Parry in Legendary Levels.

Level 42[/color]
Feat: Legendary Weapon Focus-Light Hammer
LWF Light Hammer increases your AB by 2 when using a Light Hammer. Combined with Epic Prowess, the total benefit is +4.[/color]
Stat increase: Str +1 (30)

Level 43[/color]

Level 44[/color]
Stat increase: Str +1 (31)

Level 45[/color]
Feat: Legendary Luck
Legendary Luck increases your saving throws by +3. Combined with Luck of Heroes the total benefit is +4.[/color]

Level 46[/color]
Stat increase: Str +1 (32)

Level 47[/color]

Level 48[/color]
Feat: Epic Reflexes
Epic Reflexes increases your Reflex saving throws by +4[/color]
Stat increase: Str +1 (33)

Level 49[/color]

Level 50[/color]
Stat increase: Str +1 (34)

Level 51[/color]
Feat: Legendary Skill Focus Listen
LSF Listen gives +20 to your Listen score which is included in the +50 cap which applies to spells, bard song and items. This helps reduce your miss chance when attacking concealed opponents.[/color]

Level 52[/color]
Stat increase: Str +1 (35)

Level 53[/color]

Level 54[/color]
Feat: Great STR IV (36)
Stat increase: Str +1 (37)

Level 55[/color]

Level 56[/color]
Stat increase: Str +1 (38)

Level 57[/color]
Feat: Great STR V (39)

Level 58[/color]
Stat increase: Str +1 (40)

Level 59[/color]

Level 60[/color]
Feat: Great STR VI (41)
Stat increase: Str +1 (42)
Skills: Once you have maxed Discipline, Listen and Parry, dump your remaining points into Concentration.

Attack Bonus at level 60, fully self buffed with Chant of Battle and War Cry and with +12 STR from items
92

Saves at 60, fully buffed with +12 CON, DEX and WIS and +20 from items/Bard Song
f62 r61 w61

Armor Class at 60
122 in UltraRare/set gear
126 with Beyond-UltraRare gear & Strongheart
+4 to either if you have a cleric with Girding of the Faithful in your party

Most useful spells
4th level
War Cry (+8 AB and damage) - can be cast in armor and shield without spell failure
3rd level
Stilled Haste (grants target an extra attack, stacks with haste from items when cast by a WarChanter!)
Stilled Gust of Wind (clearing harmful cloud effects)
Stilled Greater Magic Weapon (even though you have +16 from chant of battle, +10 is still useful for backup weapons)
Displacement (short lasting 50% conceal, cast immediately before a nasty spawn)
2nd level
Stilled Ghostly Visage (short lasting etherealness effect once you find and 'read' a Tome of Illusion, useful for preventing party wipes).
Stilled Deafening Clang (adds sonic damage to you or a party member's weapon, a very useful buff).

None of the other bard spells are especially useful for this build IMO, but feel free to try them out and prove me wrong!

Scroll down for more...

[bort]

Some excellent equipment suggestions from a similar build posted by Yomi are equally applicable to this build (and many STR tank builds) bearing in mind that you'll need to adjust for having more cold immunity and less fire immunity than his build.

Jun 12, 2008 1:01:27 GMT Yomi said:

Equipment

Example UR/thid/DB gear

• Armor: Cruril Mail (UR medium armor). Keep other armors handy for things like implosion and stoning immunity.
  
• Shield: Pentavite Sheild (Illithids set shield)
  
• Helm: Unitary Focus (UR)
  
• Bracers: Brazen Defiance. Replace with Touch of the Grave if you need poison/fear immunity and are not wearing a Lich King amulet.
  
• Amulet: Lich King (UR). Replace with Amulet of Adaptation (Illithids semi-set) when needed.
  
• Cloak: Ectoplasmic Weave (Illithids set)
  
• Belt: Bestial Belt (Illithids semi-set)
  
• Boots: Searing Tongue (UR). These max your INT as well as giving 50/- acid. Alternate choices include Aasgart's Aversion UR breach boots or Rona breach boots.
  
• Rings: [url=http://www.hgwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Corrosive_Freeze

[/url]Corrosive Freeze[/url]/Baneblast's Wing or Frozen Scream/Caustic Sound or Anhur/Rhemoraz or Anhur/Gesendir. Substitute in mord, breach, water, and lev rings as needed.
[/li][/ul]


Example Demigod gear:

• Armor: Cruril Mail (UR medium armor) You'll still want to swap in certain armors as needed (e.g. stoning immunity for Dustbone, Implosion immunity for some desert, ssithrak, and Stygia maps). I could see cases for preferring Chainmail of the Weave for the 10% divine and magic, Niven's Ringmail (semi-set Illithids) for the 25% sonic, or Infernal Probe (semi-set DB) for the 35% acid + 10% electric and poison immunity.
  
• Shield: Pentavite Sheild (Illithids set shield).
  
• Helm: Asmo Helm. (Hells level 9 set) +12 to all stats, exotic DR, infinite UEF's. Perfect.
  
• Bracers: Golden Guard (Hells level 4 semi-set) the extra 10% to divine/positive and 25% sonic makes them more attractive than most other choices. Another option would be Evelynn's (Hells level 5 semi-set) for the +5d6 sneaks.
  
• Amulet: Strongheart gives +20 natural armor. If you want to sacrifice the 3-4 AC you can choose a from number of alternate choices (e.g. one of the hells semi-set amulets for 50% immunity and 50/- to cold, acid or fire).
  
• Cloak: Cloak of the Elements (BUR) An extra 10% to all elements plus DR 35/- to elements.
  
• Belt: Ainafea's Masterwork Belt (BUR) covers all immunities.
  
• Boots: Rona breach boots.
  
• Rings: PW Ring and a Mammon or Anhur would mean full time breach/mord/and lev protection while covering all elements. If you don't have a PW ring then Anhur/Rhemoraz or Anhur/Gesendir will work ok though you'll need to swap mord and lev rings in as needed.
  

Armor
A medium armor such as the UR Druid armor will give 3 more AC at the cost of 10% physical vs. heavy armors. These are probably going to work out best for general use. A variety of other armors offer nice features, and a lot of times you can afford the small AC loss. For instance:

• Shaamros, Penumbrium Plate, amd Ssithrak Scale offer implosion immunity.
  
• Splint of Elril offers stoning immunity.
  
• The various beholder armors for their 25% to an element (e.g. Arakin's Casement.
  
• Various Hells set armors (e.g. Osyluth Scales, Stygian Ice, Dance of Blades, etc.).

Cloak
Ectoplasmic Weave
Once level 60 if you can cover exotics elsewhere, the Cloak of the Elements is an excellent choice.

Helm
Unitary Focus. Great for the DEX and WIS.
Once demigod the Asmo Helm is a perfect choice.

Shield
Pentavite

Bracers
Brazen Defiance
Audacious Provocation
Touch of the Grave if you don't have the immunity elsewhere (e.g. Osy Scales, Ainafea's Belt, Legendary Boots of Defense, Lich King amulet, Amulet of the Pharoah, etc.)

Amulet
Strongheart for the AC, or Amulet of the Pharoah are ideal. The Pharoah amulet may give more freedom in other areas. Since you have DD and RDD levels, you get a minimum of +16 natural armor, which lets you use such things as the Legendary Defender amulet or Chain of Solidarity without suffering. Other choices include Adaptation, Jaelynix, Frozen Tear, Min Locket, or Lich King -- depending on your needs and other equipment.


Belt
Bestial Belt from Illithids. Nice stats and having 30/- DR to divine is quite nice.
If you use the Asmo helm, I think Ainafea's Masterwork Belt is an excellent choice.

Boots
In my opinion the best boots are the Rona Breach Boots which give breach immunity (Cornugons) as well as 4 uses of displacement if needed.
Alternately you can use whichever UR elemental boots you need the most of at the time, probably acid.

Rings: As needed. As an Arctic Dwarf with 15 RDD levels using a Pentavite Shield you've got 25% cold, 100% electric, and are immune to fire. Given that, a good Rare ring combination is [url=http://www.hgwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Corrosive_Freeze[/url]Corrosive Freeze[/url] + Baneblast's Wing which would give you 100% acid, cold, elec, fire, and 75% sonic. If you wanted sonic covered better than acid (especially in LL areas if you're wearing UR acid boots) then Frozen Scream + Caustic Sound would give you 100% cold, elec, fire, sonic, and 75% acid.

A UR ring combination I use almost exclusively on my DD is Anhur + Rhemoraz. That would give you 50% acid, 150% cold, 100% electric, complete fire, and 75% sonic, in addition to 25% magic and 25% positive. I find that I can swap out the Rhemoraz ring for a mord ring or lev ring when necessary without suffering much. For this build a possibly better combination would be Anhur + Gesendir for 75% acid, 75% cold, 100% electric, complete fire, and 125% sonic.[/quote]

Some equally excellent and applicable playing tips from Yomi:

Jun 12, 2008 2:27:55 GMT Yomi said:

Tips for playing

Buffs
Before fighting you'll want people to cast buffs on you so you can be maximally effective. This is especially important in very difficult areas for your level, and always for the Hells. Things you'd like:

• Flame Weapon, Darkfire, Deafening Clang, etc.
  
• Keen if your weapon doesn't have it (DB weapons do not).
  
• Displacement. This is a big one. It will give you 50-55% concealment, which means lots of attacks will miss before they even get to roll against your AC. It's not the longest lasting buff so typically you'll want it not long before you start, rather than 10 minutes before the run actually gets moving. Make sure it's refreshed as well.
  
• UEF (Undeath's Eternal Foe). Gives you immunity to blindness, 100% to negative, and bonus AC (useful in the Hells).
  
• C/C (Clairaudience/Clairvoyance) or Mass C/C. This adds from 7 to 25 to your Listen skill. You can have as much as 113 Listen with song and C/C which means ~16% more damage output than if you just had Blindfight.
  
• Endure elements. You may or may not want this depending on your gear and where you're going. An extra 9% coverage to all elements doesn't hurt and lots of casters have it. I rarely get it to be honest, but if your gear doesn't cover elements well and you're going to Pyramid or Hells, you could ask for it. I've seen players decked out in all BURs ask for it also.
  
• FoM (Freedom of Movement) or Expeditious Retreat. You don't need it but it sure is nice to run fast.
  

One reason I use Breach and Mord protection is to make sure my buffs stay on me, especially the concealment and UEF.


Battle

There's much to say, much that is situational, and much that is pure opinion. I'll list some things that are coming to me at the moment.

• Don't drag really nasty mobs to the casters. There is a lot of benefit to holding off a Pit Fiend, Consort, or whole group of mobs off away from the party, letting the rest of the party deal with the more pressing issues first. It won't get you high damage numbers and you'll be jealous of people killing riff-raff while you plonk away at a PF that just won't die. But sometimes it's the right thing to do.
  
• Kill priority targets. In the Hells this means Camizu, Bueroza/Magebane, Brachina/Seductrix, Falxugon/Vexiarch, and Excurciarch/Inquisitor among others. The last thing you want to be doing when a Brachina is seducing your partymates away and a Camizu is dev critting them, is to be poking a Nupperibo.
  
• Hit things that matter. This means in the Hells you should typically be hitting things like Pit Fiends, Malebranches, Narzugons, etc. Yes, the other tank is racking up big numbers hitting a stoned Lemure or a KD'd Osyluth. Don't emulate him. Kill them last, meanwhile take out things that could bring disaster to party members (e.g. being KD'd by a PF) or waste resources (e.g. UUU time).
  
• Watch your party. While there are more universal tanks and ones with better defense, you're a pretty hardy little guy that doesn't get disabled too often. You may be the only one nearby who can rez or help out a comrade. Do it.
  
• There's more than just cleaving skulls. Heresy perhaps, but you have the ability to use scrolls that do things like gust, unstone, black blade, clarity, mindblank, and so on. Unstone people when needed, gust when appropriate, and so on. If you're lucky enough to get demigod and an Asmo helm, juice people up, especially right after you rez them or they've rested.
  
• In LL runs, support your casters. On a DB run, for instance, one of the marks of a tank who has done it before and paid attention is they stay glued to the mage instead of fighting a mob of things somewhere else or by the map entrance. As soon as the mage needs rezzing or unstoning they're on it ASAP. Targets for bashing will be things that annoy the mage but don't cause party kickback -- e.g. Barbed Devils, Fleshers, Xevils.
  

[MightyKhan]

found a mistake of sorts:
DD types include red, white, green, black (ACID) and BLUE (electrical)
instead of the 4 you mentioned =)

the only downside to this toon for new players will be the alignment shifts.. otherwise, looks nice

[bort]

Thanks, fixed!

Yes the alignment changes (and need to choose your Dragon Disciple path) do require a small amount of effort (in terms of paying attention to the build whilst levelling), but knowing where to change alignment is something useful to know for a new player and it would introduce new players to at least 2 areas they might not otherwise be aware of.

I think encouraging new players to explore can only be a good thing

[bort]

Tidied up the main post a bit, added some colour for clarity.

[tyranlthixis]

Lots of good things here. Terrific formating and lots of information. I think these really elevated the build and made it one of my favorites.

I actually had to build this thing just to see if it was playable at level 60. This answer is ....yes. I wouldn't take a open subby version to Nessus, but I think it would be a fine choice as a first character. Its AB is the only thing that sort of bothered me. I think I had low 90's.

On the other hand +16 gmw for the group and an extra Death of Magic is a nice feature. Plus you get all the benefits a regular DD would get in terms of defense. Lets not forget about the fire and cold immunity. The equipment requirements on this are not hard to fill.


Tyranlthixis

[Acaos]

Note that the requirement for Warchanter is now Still Spell rather than Skill Focus Intimidate.

I recommend taking Still Spell at 9 instead of Great Fortitude, then Epic Fortitude at 24 instead of Skill Focus Intimidate.

Acaos

[bort]

Thanks Acaos, updated the build.

Fort save is now increased to 62 (reflex and will are still 61).

As the build already had Still Spell (now moved to level 9), it now also has Epic Skill Focus: Parry at level 33.

Cheers,
-Bort

[bort]

Updated to swap Blind Fight for Greater Weapon Focus.
92 AB at level 60 self buffed and wearing +12 STR gear
94 AB with STR artifact and +14 STR gear
95/96 AB with STR artifact, +14 STR gear and demigod/double-demigod status respectively.

[jcp]

How does this work without ranks in Perform?

[MightyKhan]

This build is not about singing/cursing; you have probably noticed there are no "song enhancers" either - which means the duration will suck as well. Basically, it is just a solid tank, with tricks to enhance the party.

[bort]

Yeah, there's no worthwhile song or curse on this build, just a soak tank with some nifty epic spells.

I've also posted a uni-tank WarChanter that does have song and curse, but it requires Shard to do, and the AB is a bit low.