'Ware the Tears (ranger 60) (STR)

[Lythe Featherblade]

Update (april 12th 08) reincarnated as wemic, and did a few tweaks (original zenythri build still follows, as do other subraces)

The wemic build is a universal tank that relies on a special hells scimitar for big crits, the other races following have the dev crit feats to get the same crit range, and give up some dex to do so.


This picture shows with dustbone katana and stygian razor, as well as dex artifact. base AB is 72 (plus 20, plus 2 for enemies)


- All half-elves receive 1 additional skill point per level. Skill points for levels prior to 41 will be granted upon taking level 41 at the Altar of Legends.
- All half-elves can acquire Legendary Skill Affinity Spot and Listen in legendary levels.

"Wemic" (secret Beyond UltraRare; changes to Dynamic Appearance)
- FCs: Barbarian, Ranger
- STR +4, DEX +6, CON +2, WIS +2, CHA -4, free feats: Weapon Finesse, Called Shot, Epic Skill Focus Hide, Taunt, Listen, increases character size to large
- Wemics cannot raise the Lore skill until legendary levels.

Stat str dex con int wis cha
Points 6 10 4 4 6 -
race 4 6 2 - 2 -4
starting 18 22 14 12 16 4

all levelup stats into str

1 l, blooded,
3-18 exotic, focus katana,blindfighting , improved critical,lighning reflexes ,iron will ,
1,5,10,15, 20 favored enemy each time
21 armor skin
23 @ Favored Enemy*
24 great str 1
25 @ Favored Enemy*
26 @ Favored Enemy
27 great str 2
29 @ Favored Enemy
30 great str 3
30 @ Favored Enemy*
32 @ Favored Enemy*
33 great str 4
35 @ epic weapon focus*
35 @ Favored Enemy*
36 great dex 1
38 @ bane of enemies*
39 Epic Fortitude
40 @ epic prowess*

42 LSA tumble
45 legendary weapon focus
48 Epic will
51 Epic Reflexes
55 great dex 2
57 Great wis 1
60 Great Wis 2

saves 20 40 60 gear stat f20 f40 fll llluck total
fort 12 10 5 20 9 4 _ 60
ref 6 10 5 20 13 2 7 63
will 6 10 5 20 10 2 _ 7 60

Skills:
hide
discipline
tumble
parry
listen
Craft Weapon

Final stats - str 54, dex 36, con 30, int12, wis 30, cha 4
Saves 61 fort, 63 ref, 60 will
AC=135 (using BUR amulet and cloak)
AB=72(base) plus 20, plus 2 for enemies

With epic skill focus: listen it's a shame not to dump points into it, but if you want more AC can take craft armor instead.
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Update - added variants for Undying (BUR) and One-Eyed (UR) because not everyone has wemic yet

Original build

I started off toying with Star's Titan of the Woods, and after adapting it to a couple of other subraces I realized that one of the things that had really made rangers fun for me was called shot.... so back to the drawing boards, with the realization that no BUR subrace (or subrace at all) is anywhere close to optimized for a STR ranger. The idea was something that has the fun aspects of Star's build (minus the fire immunity) plus called shot.


screenshot includes 2ac from BUR items and 1ac/2dex from dex arti

Pure str based ranger

Pros - decent ac, spell based crit immunity at 60, high physical damage output, called shot, great cleave, can get 1ac from the dex arti or the wis arti, and will get 2ac at demi and 2ac more at double demi

Cons - tight on feats, tight on skills, needs 5 stats high, low AB, great cleave, saves only around 60

"Zenythri" (secret Beyond UltraRare subrace) - no race requirement
STR +4, DEX +4, WIS +4, free feat: Weapon Specialization Unarmed Strike, free feat: Epic Weapon Specialization Unarmed Strike, free feat: Improved Critical Unarmed Strike, free feat: Whirlwind Attack, free feat: Improved Whirlwind

Base Human
stat/base/subrace/60 geared
Str 14(18)[52]
Dex 14(18)[32]
Con 14(14)[30]
Int 14(14)[14]
Wis 14(18)[30]
Cha 8(8)[8]

base 10
armorskin 2
armor 19
deflection 16
shield 15
natural 16
boot 20
tumble 12
wis 10
dex 11
craft armor 1
Total AC 132

With strongheart, BUR robe, double demi, wis OR dex arti, and sissy armor this build will hit 144 ac Unbuffed (and without needing expertiese).

str 14+4+10+10+2 =40

Feats
1 luck of heros, blooded,
3-18 focus scimitar, power attack, improved critical, cleave, great cleave, blindfighting
1,5,10,15, 20 favored enemy each time
21 overwhelming critical
23 @ Favored Enemy*
24 armor skin
25 @ Favored Enemy*
26 @ Favored Enemy
27 toughness
29 @ Favored Enemy
30 devestating critical
30 @ Favored Enemy*
32 @ Favored Enemy*
33 epic will
35 @ epic weapon focus*
35 @ favored enemy*
36 epic reflex
38 @ bane of enemies*
39 called shot
40 @ epic prowess*

42 LSA tumble
45 Legendary Luck
48 legendary weapon focus
51 great dex 1
55 great dex 2
57 great str 1
60 great str 2

note that enemies have been bumped 'up' as much as possible to get the most physical damage out of bane of enemies

pre20 40 60 gear stat feat epic F LLfeat luck total
fort 12 10 5 20 10 4 61
ref 6 10 5 20 11 4 4 60
will 6 10 5 20 10 4 4 59

Outsiders
Abberations
Undead
Elementals
Reptilian Humanoids
Animals
Dragons
Constructs

monstrous humanoids
vermin?
beasts

Final stats str 40(52) dex 20(32) con 18(30) int 10 wis 20(32) cha 6
Final saves fort 61 reflex 61 will 59
final HP 1110
Final AB is in low 70's (before GMW/buffs)



Skills
tumble
parry
animal empathy
hide
discipline
craft armor
craft weapon
___________________________________
Possible modifications?
-higher AB is desirable, so maybe drop starting dex by 2, get great dex (instead of great wis) feats, and bump starting int by 4, take craft armor/craft weapon, will result in 1 more AB without loss of AC
-drop toughness and pick up exotic weapons, then use kukris for 2 more AB
-drop great wis 1+2, epic will/reflex, pick up lightning/LL reflex and iron/LL will, bumps reflex and will to a respectable 65/64 (may be better if you're planning to demi/double demi

Input would be greatly appreciated

[ebonyivory]

sorry what base race did you start with?

[Lythe Featherblade]

"Undying" (secret Beyond UltraRare)
- Never Gets XP Penalty
- STR +2, DEX +2, CON +4, INT +2, WIS +2, CHA +2, free feat: Dodge, free feat: Luck of Heroes, free feat: Great Fortitude, free feat: Iron Will, free feat: Lightning Reflexes
- Undying receive +3 skill points per legendary level.

Base elf
stat/base/subrace/60 geared
Str ]16(18)[52]
Dex 16(18)[30]
Con 12(16)[32]
Int 10(12)[12]
Wis 14(16)[30]
Cha 8(10)[10]

base 10
armorskin 2
armor 19
deflection 16
shield 15
natural 16
boot 20
tumble 12
wis 10
dex 10
craft armor
Total AC 130 plus craft armor in UR

With strongheart, BUR robe, double demi, wis OR dex arti, and sissy armor this build will hit __ ac Unbuffed (and without needing expertiese).

str 14+4+10+10+2 =40

Feats
1 , blooded,
3-18 focus handaxe, power attack, improved critical, cleave, great cleave, blindfighting
1,5,10,15, 20 favored enemy each time
21 overwhelming critical
23 @ Favored Enemy*
24 armor skin
25 @ Favored Enemy*
26 @ Favored Enemy
27 toughness
29 @ Favored Enemy
30 devestating critical
30 @ Favored Enemy*
32 @ Favored Enemy*
33 great str 1
35 @ epic weapon focus*
35 @ favorite enemy*
36 great str 2
38 @ bane of enemies*
39 called shot
40 @ epic prowess*

42 LSA tumble
45 legendary spell focus - enchantment (read enchantment book first, and after this can do +14 to weapons)
48 legendary weapon focus
51 legendary will
55 legendary reflex
57 great wis 1
60 great wis 2

note that enemies have been bumped 'up' as much as possible to get the most physical damage out of bane of enemies

pre20 40 60 gear stat feat epic F LLfeat luck total
fort 12 10 5 20 10 2 1 60
ref 6 10 5 20 10 2 7 1 61
will 6 10 5 20 10 2 7 1 61

Outsiders
Abberations
Undead
Elementals
Reptilian Humanoids
Animals
Dragons
Constructs

monstrous humanoids
vermin?
beasts
weres(optional, useful for fox trail and for uroboros)

Final stats str 40(52) dex 18(30) con 20(32) int 12 wis 18(30) cha 10
Final saves fort 60 reflex 61 will 61
final HP 1170
Final AB is in low 70's (before GMW/buffs)
AC is 130 in UR gear, 132 in BUR, +2 for sissy hide (but lose some immunities/stats), +3 for strongheart, +3 for asmo deflection, +2 per demi (x2), +1 for dex or wis artifact, +1 for craft armor, for a max potential unbuffed AC of 146 AC (if you ever get the char that far)
so effectively short term, 132 ac when you hit 60, 135 with strongheart, plus girding, plus craft armor if you take it.


Skills
tumble
parry
animal empathy
hide
discipline
craft armor or craft weapon (ab vs ac, tough decision)

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Upon request, tweaked for One-Eyed (UR race) using Kukri


- All half-orcs receive the Toughness feat for free.
- All half-orcs receive the Blooded feat for free, which allows them to acquire Legendary Skill Affinity Tumble.

+2 str, -2int, -2cha

"One-Eyed" (secret UltraRare)
- FCs: Cleric, Barbarian
- STR +2, CON +3, WIS +3, CHA -2, free feat: Cleave, +10 hide, +10 move silently, +10 intimidate



Base Half-Orc
stat/base/subrace/60 geared
Str 14(18)[52]
Dex 14(14)[26]
Con 14(17)[34]
Int 14(12)[12]
Wis 14(17)[30]
Cha 6(4)[4]

base 10
armorskin 2
armor 19
deflection 16
shield 15
natural 16
boot 20
tumble 12
wis 10
dex 8
craft armor 0
Total AC 128

Feats
1 luck of heros,
3-18 exotic proficiency, power attack, improved critical, weapon focus, great cleave, blindfighting
1,5,10,15, 20 favored enemy each time
21 overwhelming critical
23 @ Favored Enemy*
24 armor skin
25 @ Favored Enemy*
26 @ Favored Enemy
27 lightning reflexes
29 @ Favored Enemy
30 devestating critical
30 @ Favored Enemy*
32 @ Favored Enemy*
33 epic fort
35 @ epic weapon focus*
35 @ Favored Enemy
36 great con 1
38 @ bane of enemies*
39 called shot
40 @ epic prowess*


42 LSA tumble
45 Legendary Luck
48 legendary weapon focus
51 great wis 1
55 legendary reflexes
57 great str 1
60 great str 2




pre20 40 60 gear stat feat epic F LLfeat luck total
fort 12 10 5 20 12 4 63
ref 6 10 5 20 8 2 7 4 62
will 6 10 5 20 10 4 4 59

Outsiders
Abberations
Undead
Elementals
Reptilian Humanoids
Animals
Dragons
Constructs

monstrous humanoids
vermin?
beasts
weres (or whatever else you want)


Skills
tumble
parry
animal empathy
hide
discipline

no room for craft armor/weapon, unless you drop animal emp

Total AC will be 128 in UR gear at level 60, +2 for BUR (ammy and deflection), +2 for sissy hide (at a loss of some immunities), +3 for strongheart

Weapons, kukri will give 11-20x3 crit range, and being tiny only a -2 dual wield penalty instead of -4 like scimitar

[starlandra]

the called shot bothers me for it is only for your favored enemies. I made a new version of str ranger using koly and no rdd and will post it soon though I prob would like zeny more... just dont have it Oo

[mrbadexample]

Really liking the build lythe, would it be better to forgo the dev crit to free up some more feats?

Also I have a quick question about called shot do you need to be pure to get any good mileage out of this feat?

[wnxhalfwingseen]

iirc Called shot required an investment in the ranger class to get the death effect at all and the dc is like Ranger level-10+wis mod (im almost sure im wrong on that but its similiar in style to the correct formula)

[ilovedietpepsi]

the problem of call shot is that you can only do it once per 2 rounds. you use call shot to target an enemy then the first time you hit that target in the following 2 rounds it roll a save. you can't do it multiple times within the 2 rounds
so the dc looks nice but it is not THAT good.
but i suppose it is balanced.

[ebonyivory]

well from my ranger whos about 52 atm called shout is handy... when it works,

and i dont know about the DC book says Level - 3 my dc is showing up different.

wished i could use it more often. something like the assassins mortal strike.

[Pulpo]

Keep in mind that in order to get the most out of Called Shot you need to attack the mob first then hit called shot. Most of them have the feat to dodge the first attack so you will blow it.

[chirikov]

er, called shot is only used to mark the target. you dont have to land the called shot itself to perform a mortal strike

[Lythe Featherblade]

This is a build that tries to get it all, massive crits all the time and called shot. Forgoing Dev Crit is quite possible, but personally I think the only thing you'll have going for you then over a dex ranger is crit immunity, which while great against hells bosses leaves you weaker overall in the rest of the game. Called shot will only become useful in your 50's, so dev crit makes the levels prior to that much easier, and lets you wade through trash mobs (or hordes of half-dead caster damaged mobs) where called shot would only slow you down

Called shot is worth it. I've only been to min so far, but with a bard in the party almost anything vulnerable to crits will fall and fall fast. Against rakshasas I often beat the casters to the punch (it does take 2-3 tries often, but the casters I was with took longer) and maelephants don't stay up long either.

The big downsides to called shot are timing and targeting. In a crowded melee, especially around big (i.e. dragon form) toons you can't target the enemies. Lag (especially graphics lag on my slow computer) makes targeting and timing double the fun. My last min run however we had a fun run in with the tears in a corridor, and when the rest of the party backed up into a room for some space to take out the tears, I stayed behind with 2 tears and 3 other mobs (dex ranger, no cleave), and cleaned up the 3 other mobs via called shot in record time fully under control (and no danger of splitting the tears), then held until the casters were free to deal with the tears. This build has to have cleave (and great cleave), but when you as a tank can rapidly take out several mobs while the rest of the party is busy I consider that a job well done.

The DC formula is (ranger level-3)+(wis mod/8), or essentially 58 for a pure ranger. While higher than assassin crits, there are more than enough downsides to it to balance it out. Essentially though it's not worth it unless you're pure. A rare exception may be a 38ranger/1bard/1aa zen archer, where the extra wis can bump it back to the 58 range.

[mrbadexample]

I think also that called shot was intended for Ranged attacks so once per 2 rounds is quite balanced imo.

[Lythe Featherblade]

added screenshot

[wnxstrikefighter]

Do you read a spell focus book? If so which one??

[mescalino]

I'm betting Enchantment too boost her Bladethirst.
If she read any