Post by tomaan on Apr 18, 2009 12:43:01 GMT
This is my second of two submissions for the open build contest.
This build is a bit slower than Koldfire, as you don't really get uber until level 41, but it's a solid build nonetheless, giving you saves, a devastating area attack, and plenty of self-buffs.
This build uses HGs Greater Smite ability, which will give you an area attack good for up to 605 points (lvl 60) of divine, magic, positive, or fire damage (You are a paladin, however, so your area attack is useless against non-evil opponents). You'll also be able to turn most pre-legendary (and a handful of legendary) mobs, and you'll have critical immunity by level 56.
As a paladin, you get a good variety of buffing spells. You can play around to see which ones work best for you, I primarily use:
4th lvl: Death Ward (crit immunity at str 40);
3rd lvl: Greater Magic Weapon (pre-legendary; most legendary parties will have a caster with GMW); Prayer (+2 attack, damage, skill, saves for allies, -2 on same for enemies)
2nd lvl: Aura of Glory (damage immunity); Resist Elements (damage soak); I didn't use aid much as I decided not to max out heal; however, if you choose to increase your heal skill, aid will give you extra hp)
1st lvl: Deafening Clang (sonic damage bonus); Divine Favor (+5 to attack and damage); Endure Elements (damage resistance)
Paladins on HG also get two special abilities (if you can find them!):
Your dragon disciple levels will give you a much needed str bonus as well as 10% immunity to the element of your choice (I chose Red; mostly due to my gear). The 4 points of str give you an additional +2 to attack and damage which are very helpful in the pre-legendary levels. In addition, they will help you get your base strength to 40 faster (which means critical immunity from your Death Ward Spell). You are giving up 55 points of Great Smiting damage (see below) to get the str bonus. You can live without it (str bonus), but I tend towards melee and those points come in handy.
Strength will seem low at first, although it's not an issue when you use gmw and smite evil. In addition, when you hit lvl 41 you will get +1 str per Great Smiting feat (+10 total), which will put you back on par with other str tanks. As a paladin, you also get +1 str and +1 cha per 5 legendary levels (+4 total on each).
I chose Nymphkin (half-elf) for this build for the +2 cha, but also because you get 1 extra skill point per level when you hit level 41. These points are essential as this build doesn't have a lot to work with.
This build's biggest weakness is it's lack of dexterity, which makes life very difficult in areas with dex checks. Your constitution is also a bit low, but survivable. You will also struggle to hit concealed targets until you hit level 49 and dump your skill points into listen. You can take it earlier if you want, but I prefer to take Skill Affinity: Tumble first for the ac bonus.
Sir Goodknight
Nymphkin (half-elf)
CHA +2, DEX -1, WIS -1, speaks Animal, speaks Sylvan
Pal 35, Sor 1, DD 4
Starting Stats (racial bonus/penalty):
Str: 14
Dex: 8 (7)
Con: 14
Int: 10
Wis: 14 (13)
Cha: 16 (18)
Level Progression
1: Pal(1) - Blooded
Blooded allows you to take Skill Afinity: Tumble in legendary levels, which means you can increase it as a class skill for 1 pt instead of 2.
2: Pal(2)
3: Pal(3) - Extra Smiting
Extra Smiting reduces "recharge" time for Greater Smite attack. When you take all 10 Great Smiting feats and Extra Smiting, you will be able to use Greater Smite once per 2 minutes4: Pal(4) - +1 cha
5: Sor(1)
6: DD(1) - Weapon focus (Warhammer)
I chose warhammer because I have a good one. It's a matter of personal choice.
7: DD(2) - +2 str
8: DD(3) - +1 cha
9: DD(4) - Power Attack, +2 str
Power Attack is required for Divine Might
10: Pal(5)
11: Pal(6)
12: Pal(7) - Divine Might, +1 cha
Divine Might gives you irresistable Divine Damage which is great with this toon.
13: Pal(8) -
14: Pal(9) -
15: Pal(10) - Divine Shield
16: Pal(11) - +1 cha
17: Pal(12)
18: pal(13) - Improved Critical (Warhammer)
Again, I have a good hammer. You can choose whatever works for you.
19: Pal(14)
20: Pal(15) - +1 cha
21: Pal(16) - Great Charisma I
You need Charisma of 25 to take Great Smiting feats. This point is necessary if you are to get all 10 Great Smiting feats by lvl 40.
22: Pal(17)
23: Pal(18)
24: Pal(19) - Great Smiting I, +1 cha
This is the first of 10 Great Smiting feats. Taking all 10 will give you 605 points of damage (by lvl 60) and a recharge time of 2 minutes (with Extra Smiting feat) on your Greater Smite attack.
25: Pal(20)
26: Pal(21)
27: Pal(22) - Great Smiting II
Keep taking 'em. You need 'em!
28: Pal(23) - +1 wis, Great Smiting III
+1 wisdom gives you a base score of 14 and access to 4th lvl spells. Ditto on the Smiting feats.
29: Pal(24)
30: Pal(25) - Great Smiting IV
Same
31: Pal(26) - Great Smiting V
Ibid
32: Pal(27) - +1 cha
33: Pal(28) - Great Smiting VI
Running out of slang words
34: Pal(29) - Great Smiting VII
As above
35: Pal(30)
36: Pal(31) - Great Smiting VIII, +1 str
Almost done!
37: Pal(32) - Great Smiting IX
One more Great Smiting feat and you're all set
38: Pal(33)
39: Pal(34) - Great Smiting X
You can now use Greater Smite every 2 minutes, and your damage will be 374 pts (increasing to 605 by level 60).
40: Pal(35) - Epic Weapon Focus (Warhammer), +1 str
As before, I have a good hammer. Choose whatever good weapon you have.
stats at 40 (buffed):
str: 20 (32)
dex: 7 (19)
con: 14 (26)
Int: 10 (22)
Wis: 14 (29)
Cha: 26 (38)
Saves (buffed) [+20 w/gear]:
Fort: 33 (45) [65]
Reflex: 22 (34) [54]
Will: 31 (43) [63]
41: Pal(31) - +10 str
This is your reward for taking all 10 great smiting feats. You get it when you visit the altar.
42: Pal(32) - Skill Affinity: Tumble, +1 str
This will allow to increase tumble as a class skill for only 1 pt instead of two (starting next level). You'll want to continue to increase tumble up to 60 points for maximum ac bonus (+12)
43: Pal(33)
44: Pal(34) - +1 str
45: Pal(35) - Legendary Weapon Focus (Heavy Flail), +1 str, +1 cha
+2 to your attack with your chosen weapon (improves to +3 with Epic Prowess)
46: Pal(36) - +1 str
47: Pal(37)
48: Pal(38) - +1 str, Skill Affinity: Listen
As a half-elf, you can take this feat and raise listen as a class skill for 1 pt instead of 2 (starting next level). You have no blindfighting, so this is essential if you want to hit concealed opponents.
49: Pal(39)
50: Pal(40) - +1 str, +1 str, +1 cha
51: Pal(41) - Epic Prowess
With Legendary Weapon Focus, Epic Prowess gives you +3 on attacks with your chosen weapon.
52: Pal(42) - +1 str
53: Pal(43)
54: Pal(44) - +1 str, Armor Skin
Armor Skin gives you +2 to ac. Always a good idea for a front-line tank
55: Pal(45) - +1 str, +1 cha
56: Pal(46) - +1 str
57: Pal(47) - Great Str I
This is one of two extra feats. I chose Great Str for both because 2 more points of strength doesn't hurt at all.
58: Pal(48) - +1 str
59: Pal(49)
60: Pal(50) - Great Str II, +1 str, +1 cha, +1 str
As above, this is an extra feat. You can take something else if you like
Stats at 60 (buffed)
str: 44 (56)
dex: 7 (19)
con: 14 (26)
Int: 10 (22)
Wis: 14 (26)
Cha: 30 (42)
Saves (buffed) [+20 w/gear]:
Fort: 40 (52) [72]
Reflex: 29 (41) [61]
Will: 38 (50) [70]
Skills:
maximize discipline.
don't forget to put 8 points into lore as soon as possible (RDD requirement)
You'll dump points into tumble at level 43 (continue to increase until you hit 60 pts for max ac) and listen at level 49 (continue to increase until you max it at level 60)
Disc 63 - needed to avoid domination and other checks
Listen 63 - will help you hit concealed targets
Tumble 60 - gives you +12 (maximum possible) to your ac
Feat order is flexible pre-epic, but you'll need to follow it pretty closely at the epic levels to make sure you get all your Great Smiting Feats.
Another option on this build, particularly if you are reincarnating, is to take your sorcerer and dd levels after level 21. This will get you the highest possible ab.
EDIT:
Updated with Stryker's suggestion (thanks
Feedback (good, bad, ugly) is welcome
T
This build is a bit slower than Koldfire, as you don't really get uber until level 41, but it's a solid build nonetheless, giving you saves, a devastating area attack, and plenty of self-buffs.
This build uses HGs Greater Smite ability, which will give you an area attack good for up to 605 points (lvl 60) of divine, magic, positive, or fire damage (You are a paladin, however, so your area attack is useless against non-evil opponents). You'll also be able to turn most pre-legendary (and a handful of legendary) mobs, and you'll have critical immunity by level 56.
As a paladin, you get a good variety of buffing spells. You can play around to see which ones work best for you, I primarily use:
4th lvl: Death Ward (crit immunity at str 40);
3rd lvl: Greater Magic Weapon (pre-legendary; most legendary parties will have a caster with GMW); Prayer (+2 attack, damage, skill, saves for allies, -2 on same for enemies)
2nd lvl: Aura of Glory (damage immunity); Resist Elements (damage soak); I didn't use aid much as I decided not to max out heal; however, if you choose to increase your heal skill, aid will give you extra hp)
1st lvl: Deafening Clang (sonic damage bonus); Divine Favor (+5 to attack and damage); Endure Elements (damage resistance)
Paladins on HG also get two special abilities (if you can find them!):
Guardian Angel
- At Paladin level 20 and total character level 30, characters can acquire the ability to call upon a guardian angel to bring them back from death once per day.
Mass Resurrection
- At Cleric 30 or Paladin 25 and total character level 40, characters can acquire the ability to cast a mass resurrection spell once per day.
Your dragon disciple levels will give you a much needed str bonus as well as 10% immunity to the element of your choice (I chose Red; mostly due to my gear). The 4 points of str give you an additional +2 to attack and damage which are very helpful in the pre-legendary levels. In addition, they will help you get your base strength to 40 faster (which means critical immunity from your Death Ward Spell). You are giving up 55 points of Great Smiting damage (see below) to get the str bonus. You can live without it (str bonus), but I tend towards melee and those points come in handy.
Strength will seem low at first, although it's not an issue when you use gmw and smite evil. In addition, when you hit lvl 41 you will get +1 str per Great Smiting feat (+10 total), which will put you back on par with other str tanks. As a paladin, you also get +1 str and +1 cha per 5 legendary levels (+4 total on each).
I chose Nymphkin (half-elf) for this build for the +2 cha, but also because you get 1 extra skill point per level when you hit level 41. These points are essential as this build doesn't have a lot to work with.
This build's biggest weakness is it's lack of dexterity, which makes life very difficult in areas with dex checks. Your constitution is also a bit low, but survivable. You will also struggle to hit concealed targets until you hit level 49 and dump your skill points into listen. You can take it earlier if you want, but I prefer to take Skill Affinity: Tumble first for the ac bonus.
Sir Goodknight
Nymphkin (half-elf)
CHA +2, DEX -1, WIS -1, speaks Animal, speaks Sylvan
Pal 35, Sor 1, DD 4
Starting Stats (racial bonus/penalty):
Str: 14
Dex: 8 (7)
Con: 14
Int: 10
Wis: 14 (13)
Cha: 16 (18)
Level Progression
1: Pal(1) - Blooded
Blooded allows you to take Skill Afinity: Tumble in legendary levels, which means you can increase it as a class skill for 1 pt instead of 2.
2: Pal(2)
3: Pal(3) - Extra Smiting
Extra Smiting reduces "recharge" time for Greater Smite attack. When you take all 10 Great Smiting feats and Extra Smiting, you will be able to use Greater Smite once per 2 minutes4: Pal(4) - +1 cha
5: Sor(1)
6: DD(1) - Weapon focus (Warhammer)
I chose warhammer because I have a good one. It's a matter of personal choice.
7: DD(2) - +2 str
8: DD(3) - +1 cha
9: DD(4) - Power Attack, +2 str
Power Attack is required for Divine Might
10: Pal(5)
11: Pal(6)
12: Pal(7) - Divine Might, +1 cha
Divine Might gives you irresistable Divine Damage which is great with this toon.
13: Pal(8) -
14: Pal(9) -
15: Pal(10) - Divine Shield
Divine Shield duration doubles with at Cleric 21, Paladin 21, or Blackguard 21, and triples at character level 41 if the previous requirement is met. A divine damage shield is also added to the effect at level 21, inflicting damage equal to the character's CHA bonus + 1d6 on anyone swinging at the character in melee combat. The base damage also increases by 50% at character level 41, to (3/2xCHA bonus) + 1d6. It also provides 1% immunity to divine damage per point of charisma modifier, regardless of caster level. Characters with control class Paladin or Blackguard gain Shield AC equal to their Charisma modifier / 2, if they do not receive Wisdom AC from any other source and do not belong to a quasiclass.
16: Pal(11) - +1 cha
17: Pal(12)
18: pal(13) - Improved Critical (Warhammer)
Again, I have a good hammer. You can choose whatever works for you.
19: Pal(14)
20: Pal(15) - +1 cha
21: Pal(16) - Great Charisma I
You need Charisma of 25 to take Great Smiting feats. This point is necessary if you are to get all 10 Great Smiting feats by lvl 40.
22: Pal(17)
23: Pal(18)
24: Pal(19) - Great Smiting I, +1 cha
This is the first of 10 Great Smiting feats. Taking all 10 will give you 605 points of damage (by lvl 60) and a recharge time of 2 minutes (with Extra Smiting feat) on your Greater Smite attack.
25: Pal(20)
26: Pal(21)
27: Pal(22) - Great Smiting II
Keep taking 'em. You need 'em!
28: Pal(23) - +1 wis, Great Smiting III
+1 wisdom gives you a base score of 14 and access to 4th lvl spells. Ditto on the Smiting feats.
29: Pal(24)
30: Pal(25) - Great Smiting IV
Same
31: Pal(26) - Great Smiting V
Ibid
32: Pal(27) - +1 cha
33: Pal(28) - Great Smiting VI
Running out of slang words
34: Pal(29) - Great Smiting VII
As above
35: Pal(30)
36: Pal(31) - Great Smiting VIII, +1 str
Almost done!
37: Pal(32) - Great Smiting IX
One more Great Smiting feat and you're all set
38: Pal(33)
39: Pal(34) - Great Smiting X
You can now use Greater Smite every 2 minutes, and your damage will be 374 pts (increasing to 605 by level 60).
40: Pal(35) - Epic Weapon Focus (Warhammer), +1 str
As before, I have a good hammer. Choose whatever good weapon you have.
stats at 40 (buffed):
str: 20 (32)
dex: 7 (19)
con: 14 (26)
Int: 10 (22)
Wis: 14 (29)
Cha: 26 (38)
Saves (buffed) [+20 w/gear]:
Fort: 33 (45) [65]
Reflex: 22 (34) [54]
Will: 31 (43) [63]
41: Pal(31) - +10 str
This is your reward for taking all 10 great smiting feats. You get it when you visit the altar.
42: Pal(32) - Skill Affinity: Tumble, +1 str
This will allow to increase tumble as a class skill for only 1 pt instead of two (starting next level). You'll want to continue to increase tumble up to 60 points for maximum ac bonus (+12)
43: Pal(33)
44: Pal(34) - +1 str
45: Pal(35) - Legendary Weapon Focus (Heavy Flail), +1 str, +1 cha
+2 to your attack with your chosen weapon (improves to +3 with Epic Prowess)
46: Pal(36) - +1 str
47: Pal(37)
48: Pal(38) - +1 str, Skill Affinity: Listen
As a half-elf, you can take this feat and raise listen as a class skill for 1 pt instead of 2 (starting next level). You have no blindfighting, so this is essential if you want to hit concealed opponents.
49: Pal(39)
50: Pal(40) - +1 str, +1 str, +1 cha
51: Pal(41) - Epic Prowess
With Legendary Weapon Focus, Epic Prowess gives you +3 on attacks with your chosen weapon.
52: Pal(42) - +1 str
53: Pal(43)
54: Pal(44) - +1 str, Armor Skin
Armor Skin gives you +2 to ac. Always a good idea for a front-line tank
55: Pal(45) - +1 str, +1 cha
56: Pal(46) - +1 str
57: Pal(47) - Great Str I
This is one of two extra feats. I chose Great Str for both because 2 more points of strength doesn't hurt at all.
58: Pal(48) - +1 str
59: Pal(49)
60: Pal(50) - Great Str II, +1 str, +1 cha, +1 str
As above, this is an extra feat. You can take something else if you like
Stats at 60 (buffed)
str: 44 (56)
dex: 7 (19)
con: 14 (26)
Int: 10 (22)
Wis: 14 (26)
Cha: 30 (42)
Saves (buffed) [+20 w/gear]:
Fort: 40 (52) [72]
Reflex: 29 (41) [61]
Will: 38 (50) [70]
Skills:
maximize discipline.
don't forget to put 8 points into lore as soon as possible (RDD requirement)
You'll dump points into tumble at level 43 (continue to increase until you hit 60 pts for max ac) and listen at level 49 (continue to increase until you max it at level 60)
Disc 63 - needed to avoid domination and other checks
Listen 63 - will help you hit concealed targets
Tumble 60 - gives you +12 (maximum possible) to your ac
Feat order is flexible pre-epic, but you'll need to follow it pretty closely at the epic levels to make sure you get all your Great Smiting Feats.
Another option on this build, particularly if you are reincarnating, is to take your sorcerer and dd levels after level 21. This will get you the highest possible ab.
EDIT:
Updated with Stryker's suggestion (thanks
Feedback (good, bad, ugly) is welcome
T