Post by dodrudon on Jan 28, 2008 19:58:45 GMT
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Arrow
This is a rehash of an old concept with new changes in mind. A rogue AA allows for powerful ranged attacks using the AA-restricted bows, adding on sneak attack damage from high rogue levels, and also the ability to pick any lock and disarm any trap in the game.
The main build is concerned with building a character that can play in Hell. Hardcore characters may wish to skip some Skill Focus feats in favor of Armor Skin or other defensively-oriented feats.
However, Epic Dodge and Self Concealment are all taken as soon as possible to provide the best defense as early as possible.
Subby:
Aelfborn, Elf (thanks Aeturnus for recommendation)
(Stat Changes from Elf: +2 Dex and -2 Con)
(Stat Changes from Aelfborn: +1 Dex, +1 Int, -1 Wis, -2 Cha)
Total Stat Changes: +3 Dex, +1 Int, -2 Con, -1 Wis, -2 Cha
On Character Creation, put your starting stats at:
Str 8
Dex 19
Con 12
Wis 11
Int 15
Cha 8
After logging in, Aelfborn subrace stat changes will be applied, changing your stats to:
Str 8
Dex 20
Con 12
Wis 10
Int 16
Cha 6
All level-up stat points into Dex
Level progression: 1 Ro/1 Wiz/7 Ro/7 AA/24 Ro
(seven AA levels pre-epic to get 4th attack)
(b means taken as a Rogue bonus feat)
Feat Progression:
7 General + 1 Bonus
L1: Strong Soul (prereq for Hardened Soul, which will boost our lowest saves: Fort and Will)
L3: Point Blank Shot (prereq for AA, also nice to have in tight situations)
L6: Weapon Focus: Longbow
L9: Rapid Shot (an extra attack is more than worth the cost of -2 AB)
L12: Improved Critical: Longbow (want to do as much damage as possible)
L15: Blindfight (allows rerolls to bypass concealment though Listen bypasses concealment more effectively, so this feat is actually for the defensive benefits versus concealed/invisible mobs)
L18: Skill Focus: Search (Search won't be high enough by itself)
L18b: Improved Evasion (prereq for Epic Dodge and Self Concealment)
13 Epic
L21: Great Dexterity I (need to get 30 Dex for Self Concealment, already have the 25 Dex needed for Epic Dodge, just not all the prereq feats)
L21b: Defensive Roll (prereq for Epic Dodge)
L24: Great Dexterity II
L24b: Epic Dodge (make sure you have 30 points of Tumble by now, as a prereq for this feat)
L27: Great Dexterity III
L27b: Slippery Mind (see documentation, below)
L30: Self Concealment I (make sure your Hide and Tumble skills have at least 30 ranks in them as a prereq for this feat)
L32b: Self Concealment II
L33: Self Concealment III
L36: Self Concealment IV
L36b: Self Concealment V
L39: Epic Weapon Focus: Longbow
L40b: Skill Mastery (if planning on going to Hell, see documentation, below)
7 Legendary
L42: Hardened Soul (+5 to Fort and Will saves)
L45: Legendary Weapon Focus: Longbow
L48: Epic Prowess
L51: Epic Skill Focus: Disable Device
L54: Great Dexterity IV
L57: Great Dexterity V
L60: Great Dexterity VI
Relevant Changes
Some notes on the Rogue changes this build is designed around, non-rogue changes are noted elsewhere in this post where appropriate.
Skills
You get 715 skill points by level 60. Invest in these:
1. Tumble (60 ranks only, max this skill on all Rogue levels, required for Epic Dodge and Self Concealment)
2. UMD (it's awesome being able to use wands and scrolls, a huge benefit to the party)
3. Open Lock
4. Disable Trap
5. Set Trap (only 5 ranks here, this gives you a +2 synergy bonus to Disable Device, which you'll need)
6. Parry (with such high Dex, your Parry skill will be very high)
7. Hide (gives bonus conceal to Self Concealment, see documentation above)
8. Listen (60 Listen gives same offensive benefits as Blindfight)
9. Search (to find traps everywhere and secret loot in Hell)
That leaves 209 skill points left over. The following skills are not deemed "necessary" but are still very useful. Also, due to the nifty Able Learner ability of elves:
you'll be able to raise some skills quite high. However, this only applies to Spellcraft (of little use, as the save bonus it gives you vs spells is included in the +20 max bonus cap for saves, and you don't really benefit from being able to identify spells as they are being cast) and Concentration (not of much use for now, although there is one extremely rare creature in Hell that can disarm you if you fail a Concentration check).
10. Discipline (cross-class. Unfortunately, because Able Learner does not apply here because it is not a class skill for either Rogue, Wizard, or AA, your Discipline will only reach 31, or 81 max with +50 from gear and buffs (the max a skill can be buffed). Add a few more points from your Str mod, and it's enough to give a fighting chance against the many DC90 Disc checks in the game. However, being an archer, you shouldn't be in melee range to have to make those Disc checks in the first place, which is the only reason why you can get away with such low Disc. Of course, those situations will occur, such as when you rez people or something spawns on top of you, hence the investment.)
11. Craft Armor/Weapon (every 40 points here raises AC or AB respectively by 1, and stacks with all bonuses)
12. Pick Pocket (many mobs, such as Drow, have heal potions you can PP away so they die faster. I'd dump the remaining skill points here, with that many points and a high Dex, you stand a good chance of PPing items off mobs, which now has a DC based on their Spot score)
The Numbers at level 60
Attacks per Round
7 attacks per round (4 base, +1 haste, +1 rapid shot, +1 AA bow)
There exist bows for Arcane Archers that give a bonus attack, in addition to doing 1-100 damage of a specific elemental type. Nine bows exist for all five normal and four exotic elemental types. Fire, Cold, Acid, and Electric are the easiest ones to acquire, the rest are significantly more difficult to obtain.
Final Dexterity
62 = 20 (base) + 10 (lvlup) + 10 (LL) + 6 (feats) + 12 (items) + 4 (LL rogue bonus)
26 stat modifier
AB
95 = 26 (BAB@L40) + 12 (LBAB) + 1 (WF) + 2 (EWF) + 3 (LWF) + 1 (Epic Prowess) + 26 (dex mod) + 20 (items) + 4 (AA's Enchant Arrow)
93 w/ Rapid Shot
AC in BURs, subtract ~3 points for URs
118 = 10 (base) + 26 (dex) + 15 (robes) + 2 (gird) + 12 (tumble) + 17 (nat) + 17 (defl) + 20 (dodge)
135 w/ BUR +14 ungirded Tower Shield
(aim for an AC of 100 at level 40, 110 at 50, and 115 at 60)
Saves
F 57 / W 55 / R 74
(with Slippery Mind you get rerolls on all Will saves)
Skill Checks
Open Lock will hit 127 easily due to your high Dexterity. At level 60, you'll need only 32 points from items to max it.
Empty Disable Trap/Search
Disable Trap: 134 = 63 (base) + 50 (items) + 9 (Int) + 2 (Set Trap synergy) + 10 (Epic Skill Focus)
Search: 127 = 63 (base) + 50 (items) + 9 (Int) + 2 (Elven Skill Affinity) + 3 (Skill Focus)
Skills actually cap at 127 pre-lockpick, pre-d20 roll, so even though the equation up there says 134, you'll only get a 127 modifier. Epic Skill Focus helps you fill in those last three points between 124 (your score without Epic Skill Focus) and 127, and also allows you to hit the higher skill checks at earlier levels.
If you have difficulty finding certain traps, such as in Dachy's Maze's Vault Room, grab a Lens of Trap Detection from the Merchant's Emporium, which will give you an effective +2 on Search checks when you use it. However, this won't help you find hidden loot spots that require a search check.
Play Strategy aka Sneak Attacks
At early levels, you'll want to use a sling and shield for both better defense and two more attacks (one extra attack after you get Rapid Shot, as it doesn't work with slings). However, you won't get shield proficiency until level 10, your first AA level, as a free feat from the AA class. Your AB will actually be higher with a sling, because on a bow you'll be using Rapid Shot, lowering your AB by 2 points. Even once you get a single AA level (you'll have WF for +1 AB, and Enchant Arrow I for +1 AB again, for +2 AB to cancel out the Rapid Shot penalty), your bow's AB will equal your AB with a sling, but the sling will have an extra attack. It's up to you when you want to switch back to a bow, possibly when you pick up Epic Weapon Focus: Longbow.
Even at higher levels, keep a sling and shield handy. Sometimes you'll be totally surrounded by mobs, then you'll want to rely on your shield for extra AC and defense until it's safe to pull out your bow again. Even at level 60, you'll only lose 7 AB switching from bow to sling (if the Attack Bonus on both are the same), though your damage will decrease.
Though you're an archer, you don't want to stay too far back. You need to get within 30ft of the mob you're shooting to get sneaks in. For enemies that are sneak immune, stay as far back as you'd like. If things get dicey, switch to a shield and sling to boost your AC significantly. With Epic Dodge and good conceal, you make an awesome impromptu Dex tank (and with a sling you still get half-decent AB). You get three Imbue Arrows a day, basically a fireball effect. You can't use these on allies, but you can use them on items on the ground. These are good for breaking Epic Walls in emergencies.
Summary
o Keen Senses (make Search checks without detect mode)
o 7 attacks/round
o 95 AB (93 actually, with Rapid Shot active)
o Skill Mastery reduces Hell's skill penalties to 1/3rd
o Max Unlock/Search/Disable Trap skills
o 120 AC (139 AC max pre-demi with BUR Shield + Girding)
o Saves F57/W54/R73
o Slippery Mind allows rerolls on ALL Will Saving Throws
o Improved Evasion
o Epic Dodge
o 64% concealment (40% vs Blindfight) due to Hide bonus to Self Concealment
o high damage from AA bows and Sneak Attack (+16d6 sneak, +1-100 from AA bows)
o Sneak Attacks at 30ft, +1 AB (from Point Blank Shot) at 15ft
This is a rehash of an old concept with new changes in mind. A rogue AA allows for powerful ranged attacks using the AA-restricted bows, adding on sneak attack damage from high rogue levels, and also the ability to pick any lock and disarm any trap in the game.
The main build is concerned with building a character that can play in Hell. Hardcore characters may wish to skip some Skill Focus feats in favor of Armor Skin or other defensively-oriented feats.
However, Epic Dodge and Self Concealment are all taken as soon as possible to provide the best defense as early as possible.
Subby:
Aelfborn, Elf (thanks Aeturnus for recommendation)
(Stat Changes from Elf: +2 Dex and -2 Con)
(Stat Changes from Aelfborn: +1 Dex, +1 Int, -1 Wis, -2 Cha)
Total Stat Changes: +3 Dex, +1 Int, -2 Con, -1 Wis, -2 Cha
On Character Creation, put your starting stats at:
Str 8
Dex 19
Con 12
Wis 11
Int 15
Cha 8
After logging in, Aelfborn subrace stat changes will be applied, changing your stats to:
Str 8
Dex 20
Con 12
Wis 10
Int 16
Cha 6
All level-up stat points into Dex
Level progression: 1 Ro/1 Wiz/7 Ro/7 AA/24 Ro
(seven AA levels pre-epic to get 4th attack)
(b means taken as a Rogue bonus feat)
Feat Progression:
7 General + 1 Bonus
L1: Strong Soul (prereq for Hardened Soul, which will boost our lowest saves: Fort and Will)
L3: Point Blank Shot (prereq for AA, also nice to have in tight situations)
L6: Weapon Focus: Longbow
L9: Rapid Shot (an extra attack is more than worth the cost of -2 AB)
L12: Improved Critical: Longbow (want to do as much damage as possible)
L15: Blindfight (allows rerolls to bypass concealment though Listen bypasses concealment more effectively, so this feat is actually for the defensive benefits versus concealed/invisible mobs)
L18: Skill Focus: Search (Search won't be high enough by itself)
L18b: Improved Evasion (prereq for Epic Dodge and Self Concealment)
13 Epic
L21: Great Dexterity I (need to get 30 Dex for Self Concealment, already have the 25 Dex needed for Epic Dodge, just not all the prereq feats)
L21b: Defensive Roll (prereq for Epic Dodge)
L24: Great Dexterity II
L24b: Epic Dodge (make sure you have 30 points of Tumble by now, as a prereq for this feat)
L27: Great Dexterity III
L27b: Slippery Mind (see documentation, below)
L30: Self Concealment I (make sure your Hide and Tumble skills have at least 30 ranks in them as a prereq for this feat)
L32b: Self Concealment II
L33: Self Concealment III
L36: Self Concealment IV
L36b: Self Concealment V
L39: Epic Weapon Focus: Longbow
L40b: Skill Mastery (if planning on going to Hell, see documentation, below)
7 Legendary
L42: Hardened Soul (+5 to Fort and Will saves)
L45: Legendary Weapon Focus: Longbow
L48: Epic Prowess
L51: Epic Skill Focus: Disable Device
L54: Great Dexterity IV
L57: Great Dexterity V
L60: Great Dexterity VI
Relevant Changes
Some notes on the Rogue changes this build is designed around, non-rogue changes are noted elsewhere in this post where appropriate.
Dexterity bonus:
A character with rogue as their control class gains +1 to dexterity every 5 legendary levels.
Slippery Mind:
Slippery mind protects against some other mind effects in addition to mind spells.
Bonus Skill Points:
Rogues now get +1 skill point for every 10 rogue levels, during legendary levels.
Slippery Mind:
With 31 levels of rogue, Slippery Mind provides a reroll on all will saves and not only will saves against mind spells.
Skill Mastery:
With 21 levels of rogue, Skill Mastery will reduce skill penalties in the Hells to 2/3 of normal. With 31 levels of rogue, penalties are reduced to 1/3 of normal. With 40 levels of rogue, no skill penalties are suffered in the Hells.
Self Concealment:
At 30 levels of rogue, for each rank of Self Concealment a character possesses, he may add 4% of his Hide skill to his effective concealment. The bonus is capped at 1% of Hide skill per level of rogue above 18 (hence, the cap begins at 12% at 30 levels of rogue and reaches its maximum of 20% at 38 levels of rogue).
A character with rogue as their control class gains +1 to dexterity every 5 legendary levels.
Slippery Mind:
Slippery mind protects against some other mind effects in addition to mind spells.
Bonus Skill Points:
Rogues now get +1 skill point for every 10 rogue levels, during legendary levels.
Slippery Mind:
With 31 levels of rogue, Slippery Mind provides a reroll on all will saves and not only will saves against mind spells.
Skill Mastery:
With 21 levels of rogue, Skill Mastery will reduce skill penalties in the Hells to 2/3 of normal. With 31 levels of rogue, penalties are reduced to 1/3 of normal. With 40 levels of rogue, no skill penalties are suffered in the Hells.
Self Concealment:
At 30 levels of rogue, for each rank of Self Concealment a character possesses, he may add 4% of his Hide skill to his effective concealment. The bonus is capped at 1% of Hide skill per level of rogue above 18 (hence, the cap begins at 12% at 30 levels of rogue and reaches its maximum of 20% at 38 levels of rogue).
Skills
You get 715 skill points by level 60. Invest in these:
1. Tumble (60 ranks only, max this skill on all Rogue levels, required for Epic Dodge and Self Concealment)
2. UMD (it's awesome being able to use wands and scrolls, a huge benefit to the party)
3. Open Lock
4. Disable Trap
5. Set Trap (only 5 ranks here, this gives you a +2 synergy bonus to Disable Device, which you'll need)
6. Parry (with such high Dex, your Parry skill will be very high)
Reduces damage taken from critical hits. The total damage taken is reduced by 1% per 2 points of Parry skill above 20, to a maximum of 50% with a skill of 120.
7. Hide (gives bonus conceal to Self Concealment, see documentation above)
8. Listen (60 Listen gives same offensive benefits as Blindfight)
Increases your chances of hitting concealed enemies. Up to a skill of 60, the enemy concealment drops to (Concealment ** (1 + (Listen skill / 60))). With a skill above 60, the enemy concealment drops to (Concealment ** (2 + ((Listen skill - 60) / 120))).
9. Search (to find traps everywhere and secret loot in Hell)
That leaves 209 skill points left over. The following skills are not deemed "necessary" but are still very useful. Also, due to the nifty Able Learner ability of elves:
All elves can raise any skill that is a class skill for any of their classes to their class skill limit in legendary levels. These skills cost 2 points per rank below 40, 3 points per rank below 50, and 4 points to purchase the 50th rank and above.
you'll be able to raise some skills quite high. However, this only applies to Spellcraft (of little use, as the save bonus it gives you vs spells is included in the +20 max bonus cap for saves, and you don't really benefit from being able to identify spells as they are being cast) and Concentration (not of much use for now, although there is one extremely rare creature in Hell that can disarm you if you fail a Concentration check).
10. Discipline (cross-class. Unfortunately, because Able Learner does not apply here because it is not a class skill for either Rogue, Wizard, or AA, your Discipline will only reach 31, or 81 max with +50 from gear and buffs (the max a skill can be buffed). Add a few more points from your Str mod, and it's enough to give a fighting chance against the many DC90 Disc checks in the game. However, being an archer, you shouldn't be in melee range to have to make those Disc checks in the first place, which is the only reason why you can get away with such low Disc. Of course, those situations will occur, such as when you rez people or something spawns on top of you, hence the investment.)
11. Craft Armor/Weapon (every 40 points here raises AC or AB respectively by 1, and stacks with all bonuses)
12. Pick Pocket (many mobs, such as Drow, have heal potions you can PP away so they die faster. I'd dump the remaining skill points here, with that many points and a high Dex, you stand a good chance of PPing items off mobs, which now has a DC based on their Spot score)
The Numbers at level 60
Attacks per Round
7 attacks per round (4 base, +1 haste, +1 rapid shot, +1 AA bow)
There exist bows for Arcane Archers that give a bonus attack, in addition to doing 1-100 damage of a specific elemental type. Nine bows exist for all five normal and four exotic elemental types. Fire, Cold, Acid, and Electric are the easiest ones to acquire, the rest are significantly more difficult to obtain.
Final Dexterity
62 = 20 (base) + 10 (lvlup) + 10 (LL) + 6 (feats) + 12 (items) + 4 (LL rogue bonus)
26 stat modifier
AB
95 = 26 (BAB@L40) + 12 (LBAB) + 1 (WF) + 2 (EWF) + 3 (LWF) + 1 (Epic Prowess) + 26 (dex mod) + 20 (items) + 4 (AA's Enchant Arrow)
93 w/ Rapid Shot
AC in BURs, subtract ~3 points for URs
118 = 10 (base) + 26 (dex) + 15 (robes) + 2 (gird) + 12 (tumble) + 17 (nat) + 17 (defl) + 20 (dodge)
135 w/ BUR +14 ungirded Tower Shield
(aim for an AC of 100 at level 40, 110 at 50, and 115 at 60)
Saves
F 57 / W 55 / R 74
(with Slippery Mind you get rerolls on all Will saves)
Skill Checks
Open Lock will hit 127 easily due to your high Dexterity. At level 60, you'll need only 32 points from items to max it.
Empty Disable Trap/Search
Disable Trap: 134 = 63 (base) + 50 (items) + 9 (Int) + 2 (Set Trap synergy) + 10 (Epic Skill Focus)
Search: 127 = 63 (base) + 50 (items) + 9 (Int) + 2 (Elven Skill Affinity) + 3 (Skill Focus)
Skills actually cap at 127 pre-lockpick, pre-d20 roll, so even though the equation up there says 134, you'll only get a 127 modifier. Epic Skill Focus helps you fill in those last three points between 124 (your score without Epic Skill Focus) and 127, and also allows you to hit the higher skill checks at earlier levels.
If you have difficulty finding certain traps, such as in Dachy's Maze's Vault Room, grab a Lens of Trap Detection from the Merchant's Emporium, which will give you an effective +2 on Search checks when you use it. However, this won't help you find hidden loot spots that require a search check.
Play Strategy aka Sneak Attacks
At early levels, you'll want to use a sling and shield for both better defense and two more attacks (one extra attack after you get Rapid Shot, as it doesn't work with slings). However, you won't get shield proficiency until level 10, your first AA level, as a free feat from the AA class. Your AB will actually be higher with a sling, because on a bow you'll be using Rapid Shot, lowering your AB by 2 points. Even once you get a single AA level (you'll have WF for +1 AB, and Enchant Arrow I for +1 AB again, for +2 AB to cancel out the Rapid Shot penalty), your bow's AB will equal your AB with a sling, but the sling will have an extra attack. It's up to you when you want to switch back to a bow, possibly when you pick up Epic Weapon Focus: Longbow.
Even at higher levels, keep a sling and shield handy. Sometimes you'll be totally surrounded by mobs, then you'll want to rely on your shield for extra AC and defense until it's safe to pull out your bow again. Even at level 60, you'll only lose 7 AB switching from bow to sling (if the Attack Bonus on both are the same), though your damage will decrease.
Though you're an archer, you don't want to stay too far back. You need to get within 30ft of the mob you're shooting to get sneaks in. For enemies that are sneak immune, stay as far back as you'd like. If things get dicey, switch to a shield and sling to boost your AC significantly. With Epic Dodge and good conceal, you make an awesome impromptu Dex tank (and with a sling you still get half-decent AB). You get three Imbue Arrows a day, basically a fireball effect. You can't use these on allies, but you can use them on items on the ground. These are good for breaking Epic Walls in emergencies.
Summary
o Keen Senses (make Search checks without detect mode)
o 7 attacks/round
o 95 AB (93 actually, with Rapid Shot active)
o Skill Mastery reduces Hell's skill penalties to 1/3rd
o Max Unlock/Search/Disable Trap skills
o 120 AC (139 AC max pre-demi with BUR Shield + Girding)
o Saves F57/W54/R73
o Slippery Mind allows rerolls on ALL Will Saving Throws
o Improved Evasion
o Epic Dodge
o 64% concealment (40% vs Blindfight) due to Hide bonus to Self Concealment
o high damage from AA bows and Sneak Attack (+16d6 sneak, +1-100 from AA bows)
o Sneak Attacks at 30ft, +1 AB (from Point Blank Shot) at 15ft