Post by arek on Dec 5, 2011 21:10:50 GMT
The Kobold's Shadow is an Open Subrace, Dex-based Shadowdancer. This build is designed to be able to be a very sturdy dex tank. Tank correctly, and death should be an extremely rare occurrance for this build.
ShadowDancers on HG have many unique abilities. The important ones for this build are as follows:
This SD also gets the ability to Pick Pockets in later levels. This ability is extremely useful in some areas for getting potions away from monsters so that they heal less and/or can't heal. Because of this, you'll want to have the following command quickslotted: "!action pp opponent" (without quotes). This will, once you've been attacking a monster for 1 round, attempt to steal from it. :-)
On class choices:
As far as weapons are concerned, this build can make use of any finessable simple or martial weapon. Of these weapons, I recommend the Short Sword. Why? Well, first it's a good weapon on its own. Second, it's not the most popular weapon out there, so it's relatively easy to get. Finally, it's slated to get a rather large boost down the road, at a time when a lot of other weapons are getting nerfs, so it's future-proof. There is something to say about weapons here, tho: If you have access to a couple of Dustbone or Dispater versions of some other finessable simple/martial weapon, pick that instead - it's far more important later to have access to good versions of the weapon you chose than it is to choose the perfect weapon from the get-go - if you get good short swords later, you can always reincarnate to take advantage of them.
Now for the build:
Base race: Human
Subrace: Kobold
You need to type the subrace in the field exactly as shown above, including the case. It's not kobold, KOBOLD, or KoBoLd, it's Kobold.
Stats at creation/after subrace
STR: 14/12
DEX: 16/18
CON: 12/12
INT: 14/14
WIS: 12/12
CHA: 8/8
Level Progression:
Feats marked as (SD) are Shadowdancer bonus feats.
According to the latest version of Shard's Build Tool, this build can get up to 96 AB with full Craft Weapon, no arti, and no demi. Along with that, it shows up as getting 138 AC without gird under the same circumstances, using robes and a small shield. For saves, it gets 62F/80R/62W, which is adequate for the Hells.
Possible Changes/Improvements:
Gearing Up:
Misc. items you'll need at various points:
Race Upgrades:
Tips for levelling:
Tips for playing:
And the most important thing? HAVE FUN
--Arek
ShadowDancers on HG have many unique abilities. The important ones for this build are as follows:
- Shadow Evade: Modified to gain Unlimited Usage with 20 ShadowDancer levels, provides Conceal and Damage Reduction scaling with SD level, up to 60% conceal and 20/+15 damage reduction.
- Shadow Rift: Finding a certain item after getting 10 levels of ShadowDancer will grant your SD the Shadow Rift ability, which allows you to add a negative damage buff to your weapons.
- Shadow Daze: At SD 22, this becomes a long-range attack that curses an enemy similar to a bard's curse, with the level of the curse being equal to your SD level.
- Shadow Step: Immortal characters with at least 25 levels of ShadowDancer can find an item in-game which grants them the Shadow Step ability. This ability allows the SD to instantly teleport to most nearby living targets, and puts the SD into Shadow Sanctuary (GS) when used.
This SD also gets the ability to Pick Pockets in later levels. This ability is extremely useful in some areas for getting potions away from monsters so that they heal less and/or can't heal. Because of this, you'll want to have the following command quickslotted: "!action pp opponent" (without quotes). This will, once you've been attacking a monster for 1 round, attempt to steal from it. :-)
On class choices:
- Paladin: Paladin provides a few things for this build: First, it's a Tier 1 AB class, which improves your BAB enough to get 4 base attacks per round. Second, it gets Divine Grace, which gives you your charisma bonus to saves. Third, it grants Aura of Courage - the best fear immunity available on HG. Finally, it gets Disease immunity, which is one less thing you'll have to cover with gear.
- Bard: Having bard levels grants access to the UMD skill, and allows you to take some Concentration as a Class Skill. It also has all the SD Prerequisite skills as Class Skills, and is used to gain access to SD.
- ShadowDancer: The main part of this build, since it eventually gets a total of 50 ShadowDancer levels, and therefore all the benefits of the class. :-)
As far as weapons are concerned, this build can make use of any finessable simple or martial weapon. Of these weapons, I recommend the Short Sword. Why? Well, first it's a good weapon on its own. Second, it's not the most popular weapon out there, so it's relatively easy to get. Finally, it's slated to get a rather large boost down the road, at a time when a lot of other weapons are getting nerfs, so it's future-proof. There is something to say about weapons here, tho: If you have access to a couple of Dustbone or Dispater versions of some other finessable simple/martial weapon, pick that instead - it's far more important later to have access to good versions of the weapon you chose than it is to choose the perfect weapon from the get-go - if you get good short swords later, you can always reincarnate to take advantage of them.
Now for the build:
Base race: Human
Subrace: Kobold
You need to type the subrace in the field exactly as shown above, including the case. It's not kobold, KOBOLD, or KoBoLd, it's Kobold.
Stats at creation/after subrace
STR: 14/12
DEX: 16/18
CON: 12/12
INT: 14/14
WIS: 12/12
CHA: 8/8
Level Progression:
Feats marked as (SD) are Shadowdancer bonus feats.
- 1: Paladin
- Feat: Bullheaded
- Bullheaded is what we call an "enabler" feat. In this case, it enables you to take Legendary Skill Affinity: Discipline which, in turn, allows you to take discipline as a class skill in Legendary Levels.
- Feat: Snake Blood
- Snake Blood is another "enabler" feat. This one enables you to take Legendary Skill Affinity: Parry which, in turn, lets you take Parry as a class skill in Legendary Levels.
- Skills: None (save all points)
- This build needs to take a lot of skills at specific times. If you don't skill up correctly you can break the build very easily, as it has very few spare skill points, so when I say to save skill points, please do so.
- Feat: Bullheaded
- 2: Paladin
- Skills: None (save all points)
- 3: Paladin
- Feat: Weapon finesse
- Weapon Finesse is a required feat for any dex tank who wishes to actually hit his/her enemies, since it lets you use your DEX modifier to determine your AB instead of your STR modifier.
- Skills: None (save all points)
- Feat: Weapon finesse
- 4: Paladin
- Stat: Dexterity
- This is a Dexterity-based build, meaning that Dexterity determines both your AB and your AC. With that in mind, you need all the Dexterity you can get, so take Dexterity every time the game asks you what stat to increase.
- Skills: None (save all points)
- Stat: Dexterity
- 5: Paladin
- Skills: None (save all points)
- 6: Paladin
- Feat: Dodge
- Dodge is nice in that it grants you +1 AC vs. your current target or last attacker, but more importantly for us it's required for Shadow Dancer.
- Skills: None (save all points)
- Feat: Dodge
- At this level, you need to change your alignment from Lawful Good to Neutral Good. Ask in-game for someone to help you do this - the area where you have to go to do so may have enemies too strong for you to defeat at this point.
- 7: Bard
- Skills: None (save all points)
- 8: Bard
- Stat: Dexterity
- Skills: None (save all points)
- 9: Bard
- Feat: Mobility
- Mobility provides +4 to your AC against attacks of opportunity, and is required for Shadow Dancer.
- Skills: Get to 10 Tumble, 10 Hide, and 8 Move Silently (save the rest)
- These skills are required in order to unlock Shadow Dancer, so take them.
- Feat: Mobility
- 10: Shadowdancer
- Skills: None (save all points)
- 11: Shadowdancer
- Skills: None (save all points)
- 12: Shadowdancer
- Feat: Weapon Focus: Short Sword
- Weapon Focus provides +1 to your AB when wielding the chosen weapon. If you chose to use something other than short swords, substitute that here.
- Stat: Dexterity
- Skills: None (save all points)
- Feat: Weapon Focus: Short Sword
- 13: Shadowdancer
- Skills: None (save all points)
- 14: Shadowdancer
- Skills: None (save all points)
- 15: Shadowdancer
- Feat: Improved Critical: Short Sword
- Improved Critical increases your critical hit range when using the weapon chosen, allowing you to do more damage. As before, if you chose something other than Short Sword, do so here as well.
- Skills: None (save all points)
- Feat: Improved Critical: Short Sword
- 16: Shadowdancer
- - Stat: Dexterity
- - Skills: None (save all points)
- 17: Shadowdancer
- Skills: None (save all points)
- 18: Shadowdancer
- Feat: Greater Weapon Focus: Shortsword
- Greater Weapon Focus further increases your AB with the chosen weapon by +1.
- Skills: None (save all points)
- Feat: Greater Weapon Focus: Shortsword
- 19: Shadowdancer
- Skills: None (save all points)
- 20: Bard
- Stat: Dexterity
- Skills: Max Concentration, Discipline, and Use Magic Device. Save the rest.
- Decent concentration is needed an many late-game and endgame areas to avoid certain checks that can disarm, disable, or even kill your character. This is also your last chance to get it as a class skill, so make sure you do.
- UMD allows you to use scrolls, tho you'll need something with a small bonus on it to have them be reliable. This will be your only chance to get this, so don't forget!
- Finally, high Discipline is needed in many areas of the mod in order to prevent nasty things from happening to you, like having your armor and/or shield stripped or destroyed, dying, etc. Again, this is your last chance to take this skill before LLs.
- 21: Shadowdancer
- Feat: Epic Weapon Focus: Short Sword
- Epic Wepon Focus adds +2 AB to your attacks, and this build needs every point of AB it can get.
- Skills: Max Tumble, Pick Pocket, and Listen.
- Every 5 ranks (not points) of tumble you take nets you +1 AC. Eventually, this build gets 60 ranks in Tumble, for +12 AC. 30 Tumble is also required for Epic Dodge, later.
- Pick Pocket can be used on many monsters that have Heal potions to relieve them of said potions. This is both a good source of Heals and a great way to speed up runs with such monsters, which even include some bosses/minibosses.
- Listen is used to reduce enemy conceal. It's better than Blind Fight once you get enough of it, so be sure to max it. Besides which: This build doesn't get blind-fight due to getting innate immunity to blindness. :-)
- Feat: Epic Weapon Focus: Short Sword
- 22: Shadowdancer
- Skills: Max Tumble, Pick Pocket, and listen.
- 23: Shadowdancer
- Feat (SD): Great Dexterity I
- Each Great Dexterity feat you take increases your Dexterity score by 1. As stated before, this build needs all the Dexterity it can get, so it takes all 10 of these feats.
- Skills: Max Tumble, Pick Pocket, and listen.
- Feat (SD): Great Dexterity I
- 24: Shadowdancer
- Feat: Great Dexterity II
- Stat: Dexterity
- Skills: Max Tumble, Pick Pocket, and listen.
- 25: Shadowdancer
- Skills: Max Tumble, Pick Pocket, and listen.
- 26: Shadowdancer
- Feat (SD): Great Dexterity III
- Skills: Max Tumble, Pick Pocket, and listen.
- 27: Shadowdancer
- Feat: Great Dexterity IV
- Skills: Max Tumble, Pick Pocket, and listen.
- 28: Shadowdancer
- Stat: Dexterity
- Skills: Max Tumble, Pick Pocket, and listen.
- 29: Shadowdancer
- Feat (SD): Great Dexterity V
- Skills: Max Tumble, Pick Pocket, and listen.
- 30: Shadowdancer
- Feat: Epic Prowess
- Epic prowess adds +1 to your AB, which is useful. It also synergizes with Legendary Weapon Focus for a further boost to AB later.
- Skills: Max Tumble, Pick Pocket, and listen.
- Feat: Epic Prowess
- 31: Shadowdancer
- Skills: Max Tumble, Pick Pocket, and listen.
- 32: Shadowdancer
- Feat (SD): Great Dexterity VI
- Stat: Dexterity
- Skills: Max Tumble, Pick Pocket, and listen.
- 33: Shadowdancer
- Feat: Great Dexterity VII
- Skills: Max Tumble, Pick Pocket, and listen.
- 34: Shadowdancer
- Skills: Max Tumble, Pick Pocket, and listen.
- 35: Shadowdancer
- Feat (SD): Great Dexterity VIII
- Skills: Max Tumble, Pick Pocket, and listen.
- 36: Shadowdancer
- Feat: Great Dexterity IX
- Stat: Dexterity
- Skills: Max Tumble, Pick Pocket, and listen.
- 37: Shadowdancer
- Skills: Max Tumble and Pick Pocket, save the rest.
- 38: Shadowdancer
- Feat (SD): Epic Dodge
- Epic Dodge causes the first attack that would hit you in any given round to miss instead. This makes it one of the most valuable feats in the game, so take it! :-)
- Skills: Max Tumble, Pick Pocket, and listen.
- Feat (SD): Epic Dodge
- 39: Shadowdancer
- Feat: Great Dexterity X
- Skills: Max Tumble, Pick Pocket, and listen.
- 40: Shadowdancer
- Stat: Dexterity
- Skills: Max Tumble and Pick Pocket, save the rest.
- 41: (Shadowdancer)
- Skills: Max Tumble, Pick Pocket, Listen, Craft Weapon, and Craft Armor
- Craft Weapon and Craft Armor increase your AB and AC, respectively, by +1 for every 40 points, for a potential total of +3 AB and AC. +1-+2 will, however, be more typical.
- Skills: Max Tumble, Pick Pocket, Listen, Craft Weapon, and Craft Armor
- 42: (Shadowdancer)
- Feat: Legendary Skill Affinity: Discipline
- LSA: Discipline allows you to take Discipline as a class skill in later levels, which will allow you to eventually get 63 ranks in Discipline, for a potential of 118 Discipline with buffs, which is enough to pass most checks in the mod, tho not all.
- Stat: Dexterity
- Skills: Max Tumble, Pick Pocket, Listen, Craft Weapon, and Craft Armor
- Feat: Legendary Skill Affinity: Discipline
- 43: (Shadowdancer)
- Skills: Max Tumble, Pick Pocket, Listen, Discipline, Craft Weapon, and Craft Armor.
- 44: (Shadowdancer)
- Stat: Dexterity
- Skills: Max Tumble, Pick Pocket, Listen, Discipline, Craft Weapon, and Craft Armor.
- 45: (Shadowdancer)
- Feat: Legendary Weapon Focus: Shortsword
- Legendary Weapon Focus by itself provides +2 to AB. However, since this build also takes Epic Prowess, it provides +3 AB instead.
- Skills: Max Tumble, Pick Pocket, Listen, Discipline, Craft Weapon, and Craft Armor.
- Feat: Legendary Weapon Focus: Shortsword
- 46: (Shadowdancer)
- Stat: Dexterity
- Skills: Max Tumble, Pick Pocket, Listen, Discipline, Craft Weapon, and Craft Armor.
- 47: (Shadowdancer)
- Skills: Max Tumble, Pick Pocket, Listen, Discipline, Craft Weapon, and Craft Armor.
- 48: (Shadowdancer)
- Feat: Legendary Skill Affinity: Parry
- LSA: Parry allows you to take Parry as a Class Skill in later levels. Since parry reduces the damage you take from critical hits, this is a Good Thing.
- Skills: Max Tumble, Pick Pocket, Listen, Discipline, Craft Weapon, and Craft Armor.
- Feat: Legendary Skill Affinity: Parry
- 49: (Shadowdancer)
- Skills: Max Tumble, Pick Pocket, Listen, Parry, Discipline, Craft Weapon, and Craft Armor.
- 50: (Shadowdancer)
- Stat: Dexterity
- Skills: Max Tumble, Pick Pocket, Listen, Parry, Discipline, Craft Weapon, and Craft Armor.
- 51: (Shadowdancer)
- Feat: Epic Fortitude
- Epic Fortitude increases your Fortitude save by +4, which you'll really need by now, in order to avoid getting killed by many instakill abilities.
- Skills: Max Tumble, Pick Pocket, Listen, Parry, Discipline, Craft Weapon, and Craft Armor.
- Feat: Epic Fortitude
- 52: (Shadowdancer)
- Stat: Dexterity
- Skills: Max Tumble, Pick Pocket, Listen, Parry, Discipline, Craft Weapon, and Craft Armor.
- 53: (Shadowdancer)
- Skills: Max Tumble, Pick Pocket, Parry, Discipline, Craft Weapon, Craft Armor, and Listen.
- 54: (Shadowdancer)
- Feat: Epic Will
- Epic Will increases your Will save by +4, which helps against other endgame checks (like amnesia).
- Skills: Max Tumble, Pick Pocket, Parry, Discipline, Craft Weapon, Craft Armor, and Listen.
- Feat: Epic Will
- 55: (Shadowdancer)
- Skills: Max Tumble, Pick Pocket, Parry, Discipline, Craft Weapon, Craft Armor, and Listen.
- 56: (Shadowdancer)
- Stat: Dexterity
- Skills: Max Tumble, Pick Pocket, Parry, Discipline, Craft Weapon, Craft Armor, and Listen.
- 57: (Shadowdancer)
- Feat: Great Strength I
- Great Strength increases your Strength score by 1 point. This, in turn, helps you survive some of the KD checks in this game. This character takes 2 Great Strength to get a total of 14 base STR, or 28 total at 60 with a +14 item. Don't forget, tho, that you're still a DEX tank. 28 STR, even with UUU and an item that improves your check, won't protect you from the hardest checks.
- Stat: Dexterity
- Skills: Max Tumble, Pick Pocket, Parry, Discipline, Craft Weapon, Craft Armor, and Listen.
- Feat: Great Strength I
- 58: (Shadowdancer)
- Stat: Dexterity
- Skills: Max Pick Pocket, Parry, Discipline, Craft Weapon, Craft Armor, and Listen.
- Do not take any more points in Tumble on this or any later level!
- 59: (Shadowdancer)
- Skills: Max Pick Pocket, Parry, Discipline, Craft Weapon, Craft Armor, and Listen.
- 60: (Shadowdancer)
- Feat: Great Great Strength II
- Stat: Dexterity
- Skills: Max Pick Pocket, Parry, Discipline, Craft Weapon, Craft Armor, Concentration, and Listen. Dump your remaining points in Hide.
According to the latest version of Shard's Build Tool, this build can get up to 96 AB with full Craft Weapon, no arti, and no demi. Along with that, it shows up as getting 138 AC without gird under the same circumstances, using robes and a small shield. For saves, it gets 62F/80R/62W, which is adequate for the Hells.
Possible Changes/Improvements:
- If you have or can get an item with Epic Skill Focus: Search on it, you could drop Pick Pocket for Search. This would allow you to search for secrets an many legendary and endgame areas, which is arguably more useful than being able to pick the pockets of monsters. Rogues (with at least 35 rogue levels) are MUCH better at this tho, since they can get an item which shows them what direction to search in, and Pure rogues automatically "take 20" on search checks.
Gearing Up:
- Pre-epic (1-20): You want as much DEX as you can get, followed by CON, then CHA, and finally WIS. Only get INT/STR after you've gotten the others as high as you can while having Immunity: Mind Spells and Immunity: Death Magic. Fear Immunity from an item isn't necessary for this toon (you're a Paladin), but once you start getting to 14-15 or so, start looking for something that grants Immunity: Sneak Attack as well (for the bandits on the east road). Also, do the early quests in the Silver Moon Inn to get the elemental and physical resist rings there, so that you have them for when you need them. Later, start looking for items that give x/- resistance and x% immunity to elements and physicals, and x/+y soak, in order to improve your survivability.
- Early-Mid Epic (21-30 or so): Start looking at maxing DEX, CON, CHA, and WIS, in that order. Immunity to Mind Spells and Death Magic is an absolute must, as is Immunity to Level Drain (Ability/Level Drain) along with other misc. immunities (poison, for example), tho you have Fear and Disease covered just by being a Paladin. Note that "Ability/Level drain" ONLY covers level drain, not ability drain (there is, iirc, no item in the game that provides blanket immunity to ability decreases, tho UEF and Negative Energy Protection potions both provide immunity to true ability drain from undead creatures). Also, x% immunities start being higher at this point, so start looking for those more, tho you shouldn't forget x/- resists or x/+y soak.
- Mid-Late Epic (30ish-39): At this point, you have little excuse to not have DEX maxed at +12, and you should probably have CON and CHA maxed as well. WIS may be more difficult to get up there while keeping the others maxed. Immunity to Sneak Attacks will once again serve you well at this point, so pick that back up. Once you're a high enough level, Robes or Pads of the Quickblood (preferably pads at this point), will serve you well by providing most of the misc. immunities you'll need. Also, once you're Level 34+ (or earlier if you can get an agreeable party), you should start doing Dachy runs whenever you can get on them, because Dacny drops a set of Robes that you'll find interesting if you can get your stats/imms elsewhere (D'qarite Robes) at L40, along with rings that provide 100% immunity to one element. Additionally, the boss dropps an item (blood) that you can use to gain access to the best (imo) pre-bur race for this build or one similar to it (see below for details on that).
- Early-Mid LLs (40-49): At this point, you should be looking for better robes or light armor: Toyshop is the best place for this early, tho Sissy and Myco both also have decent items. If you can manage to get there, the light armor from Illithids is very nice (tho you have to do sissy first, then thids), and most folks won't even bother with it since it's a set drop. Also, needless to say, you want your abilities maxed, and you want all the misc. immunities mentioned earlier. Additionally, you need rings to provide %imms, both elemental and exotic, along with an item or items that provide at least 20/- to elements. Soak (x/+y) isn't as important now, since your Shadow Evade buff is starting to get decent at providing that, tho you now also need a mord ring (Bauphin's Bulwark from the Desert or the UR Mallek's Answer), and Breach Boots (Aasgart's Aversion or Cryptarch's Treads early, Travelers of the Uttercold once you have your Uro tag - don't bother with Efi'elion's Anklets - use those as trade fodder or for tanks that don't get their own conceal but need the protection, like rangers), to keep things from stripping your Shadow Evade buff (I've found that this is actually more important than elemental immunities in many areas).
- Mid-late LLs (50-59): Now you start being able to use much better armors and such: For Light armors, Skin of the Rafia and Kro'Waole's Hide (both from Rona) start looking nice, as do the Yeti Hide Armor (Uro), Withered Pall (Pit of Moliation), and Studs of Ricorn Dagarkin (UR). Alderson's Corselet (Thids) is still a nice armor as well, if you have both it and the tag. In any case, you might be able to start getting better AC from Robes at this point. For Robes, choices are a bit slimmer, but all still decent: Scales of the Cymediah and Shienja Dress Uniform (both Rona) are nice, as are Robes of Lanatir (Uro), tho the feat on the Lanatir robes is redundant. For UR Robes, Tunic of Boreas Whitewind fits well. Otherwise, everything mentioned before now still applies - doubly so, and Rona becomes a very nice place for you to be leveling at this point, so go on as many runs there as you can.
- Level 60:
- Armor: Any of Panoply of Llira, Bulwark of the Choralist, or Robes of the Dim Mak Master are very nice, with the Dim Maks coming out slightly ahead of the others due to Poison immunity. All of these have some feature that's either redundant or useless, tho (Evasion, Bard Slots, Epic Will).
- Shield: Find a UR or Set shield with +15 AC on it. The only BUR small shields available are either Caster shields (Impasse of Impulse), or virtually worthless (Dire Buckler), tho if you can find an Impasse with +15 AC on it and its immunities not reduced (they can be removed, since they can be restored from there), grab it!
- Helmet: Visor of Vigilance. This helmet is, hands down, the best helmet for most tanks. Just don't expect to be able to get one easily, even if it's been nerfed. It's amazingly popular. Until you get one, Helm of Zeal and Scintillating Scarf are also nice, tho you can simply use any UR helmet that covers the ability bonuses you need.
- Amulet: Orudin's Oath. This amulet provides +20 to Craft Armor and Craft Weapon. Combined with bardsong, this will ensure that you generally get +2 from Craft Weapon and Craft Armor (for 95 AB and 137 AC). Barring that, Amulet of the Pharoah is nice for the resists and immunities, tho it's generally harder to get (you don't need Fear or Disease imm, so if you see a Pharoah ammy that's missing those but otherwise sound, grab it).
- Boots: Breach Boots. I recommend that you continue using Travelers of the Uttercold unless/until you manage to get pair of Breach Boots that either have something nice added or (in the case of Mordenkainen's Mockery) have had their physical immunities raised significantly. If you can manage to get on Abyss runs, the Abyss Breach Boots (there are pairs in each of the 5 areas, iirc, each of which covers a different element) are also very nice.
- Gloves/Bracers: Gauntlets of Transposed Energy. These provide some nice physical resists, which you'll need, along with some of the misc. immunities not already covered by other items.
- Cloak: Cloak of the Unjust. This cloak provides Immunity: Level Drain, which should be about the last of the misc. imms you'll need, given the items listed, along with some physical and elemental immunities.
- Remember, this is a list of Optimal or Near-optimal gear. If you can't get what's listed, follow the earlier guidelines, but start looking for items with +14 to your 4 main stats on them.
- Armor: Any of Panoply of Llira, Bulwark of the Choralist, or Robes of the Dim Mak Master are very nice, with the Dim Maks coming out slightly ahead of the others due to Poison immunity. All of these have some feature that's either redundant or useless, tho (Evasion, Bard Slots, Epic Will).
- Demigod:At the Demigod level, you gain access to an Asmo Artifact. 3 options come to mind here:
- The Serpent's Coil. Once you get to level 65 (which you should already be if you're a Demigod), this provides +16 to CON, STR, and DEX, leaving you only needing to get your Wisdom there.
- Crest of Vile Darkness. In addition to providing an unprecedented amount of exotic immunities, this ring also provides protection from both Mord AND Breach spells, which allows you to wear better boots. I personally recommend Legendary Boots of Absorption, to help cover the %imms to normal elements you'll lose while wearing the asmo ring.
Misc. items you'll need at various points:
- Potion of Negative Energy Protection. These Potions, available from the item shop at Rip's Wretched Brewery, are necessary at all levels (a bit less so for a Shadow Dancer, but you will still rely on them for a long time). Make sure you have at least 30 of them on you at all times.
- Potion of True Seeing. Until you get an item with True Seeing on it, you'll want these. They're particularly important in the Sewers and on the East Road early, tho you might need them at various points throughout your pre-LL leveling.
- An item with Immunity: Confusion on it. Normally, you won't have access to this until you do the Hive (Way of the Drone, torch), Thids (Exo-array, helmet), or become Level 60 (Heavenly Haunt's Amulet), but that immunity can come randomized on items as well. BE SURE TO WATCH FOR IT!
- Heal Packs or Bountiful Beaker of Healing. Keep 3-4 stacks of Heal Packs, available at the item shop, on you at all times until you get a Bountiful Beaker of Healing (thids drop, untagged, generally sells for ~200M in the market chests at the Wandering Wyrm). Trust me, as hard as you are to hit, you don't wanna run out of these. :-)
Race Upgrades:
- Pre-BUR: Wraith is just about the best possible upgrade for this race, taking a -3 STR penalty in exchange for +3 DEX, +1 INT, Aura of Courage (pally fear imm), along with feats and inherent immunities covering Poison, Disease, Sleep, and Death Magic, and +6 to Hide and Move Silently. Sleep immunity is very difficult to come by on items, with the only item with sleep immunity on it basically providing only sleep immunity and no other benefits, so this is absolutely awesome. :-) The downside of this is that it requires a somewhat different build to be optimal, due to having most of the benefits of Paladin built-in. If you're willing to give up Parry, you can actually go with Blackguard to get the remaining benefits, (wraith can actually get to SD at L3 due to the skill bonuses) but I actually recommend going Fighter instead and just boosting your saves with the extra feats. I'll link in a build (or perhaps several) for this at a later date. :-)
- BUR: Half-Fiend is nice for maxing DEX and having a high INT, and can also get SD at L2, which allows for some really nice PrC combinations. Elf/Half-fiend could possibly even get enough INT to get full rogue skills without costing too much. Undying is a good all-around race, and with the bonus feats you could go Fighter instead of Paladin for the extra feats without too much trouble, or even go with some other class entirely, which could make for an amazing build. Again, I'll link a good build (or perhaps several) here later.
Tips for levelling:
- Level with a group whenever possible. You'll get more experience that way, and you'll have a fun time, too.
- Explore. In addition to 4 places you must visit before getting to certain levels in order to get items you'll need in later areas, there are many interesting places around Higher Ground for you to look at, and many monsters who will give you tags when defeated, most of which provide small but nice bonuses to your character. :-)
Tips for playing:
- If this is your first toon on Higher Ground, I highly recommend reading The Newbie Guide, as it contains some valuable info.
- If you've never played a tank before on HG (regardless of whether or not this is your first toon), I also recommend reading Tanking for those with a low INT score, since it gives some nice tips on how to play a tank.
- This tank has the ability to pick the pockets of monsters. The easiest way to do this is to start attacking the monster you want to pick the pocket of, wait a second or 2, then say "!action pp opponent" (without quotes). This is a simtools command that causes your character to attempt to pick the pocket of your current target. The best way to do this is to quickslot the command (use "custom text macro" name it PP or whatever you want and put the command in the command line).
And the most important thing? HAVE FUN
--Arek