Prestige Enhancements - per Eladrin

[Eldamir]

http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?&postid=1964774#post1964774
Due to everyone's amazing decoding abilities, you get another preview this week.

The Knight of the Chalice knows what it likes, and more to the point, knows what it doesn't like. Evil outsiders (especially demons and other chaotic evil outsiders). They get into everything. Worse than roaches if you ask me.

The Knight is light on activated abilities, focusing instead on a strong set of passive bonuses when fighting their chosen foe.

Paladin Knight of the Chalice I
Cost: 4 Action Points
Prereqs: Paladin Level 6, Paladin Courage of Good I, Paladin Energy of the Templar I, Paladin Extra Smite Evil II, and any one of: Paladin Divine Sacrifice I, Paladin Divine Might I, or Paladin Exalted Smite I.
Benefit: You are devoted to fighting demons and other evil outsiders, driving them from Eberron forever. Your maximum number of Smites is increased by one, your anti-fear aura is improved, and you have +1 to attack Evil Outsiders and deal 1d6 additional damage with melee and unarmed attacks against them. You resist evil influences particularly well, gaining a +2 bonus to saves against spells and effects produced by Evil Outsiders.

Despite their anti-demon focus, the Knights of the Chalice aren't that picky when it comes to killing Evil Outsiders...

Paladin Knight of the Chalice II
Cost: 2 Action Points
Prereqs: Paladin Level 12, Paladin Knight of the Chalice I, Paladin Courage of Good II, Paladin Energy of the Templar II
Benefit: You are devoted to fighting demons and other evil outsiders, driving them from Eberron forever. Your maximum number of Smites is increased by one, your anti-fear aura is improved, and you now have +2 to attack Evil Outsiders and deal 2d6 additional damage with melee and unarmed attacks against them, replacing your earlier bonuses. You resist evil influences particularly well, gaining a +3 bonus to saves against spells and effects produced by Evil Outsiders. You also gain the ability to Censure Demons.

Knight of the Chalice II: Censure Demons
Benefit: You may expend a turn undead attempt to stun a targeted demon or other Chaotic Evil outsider. A successful Will save DC: 10 + Paladin Level + Charisma Modifier negates this effect. The target gains repeated saves to break free of this effect. Non-Chaotic Evil outsiders are unaffected by this ability.

...but they are better trained at taking out demons.

Paladin Knight of the Chalice III
Cost: 2 Action Points
Prereqs: Paladin Level 18, Paladin Knight of the Chalice II, any Paladin Faith II enhancement
Benefit: You are devoted to fighting demons and other evil outsiders, driving them from Eberron forever. Your maximum number of Smites is increased by one, your anti-fear aura is improved, and you now have +4 to attack Evil Outsiders and deal 4d6 additional damage with melee and unarmed attacks against them, replacing your earlier bonuses. You resist evil influences particularly well, gaining a +4 bonus to saves against spells and effects produced by Evil Outsiders.

Who wants a free Greater Evil Outsider Bane added to all of their weapons? What if I told you that it stacks with an actual Greater Evil Outsider Bane enchantment?

[moorewr]

The List:
http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=166967

Prestige Enhancements planned over the next few modules are:

Barbarian: Frenzied Berserker, Occult Slayer, Ravager
Bard: Spellsinger, Virtuoso, Warchanter
Cleric: Exorcist of the Silver Flame, Radiant Servant, Warpriest
Fighter: Kensai, Purple Dragon Knight, Stalwart Defender
Monk: Henshin Mystic, Shintao Monk, Ninja Spy
Paladin: Defender of Siberys, Hunter of the Dead, Knight of the Chalice
Ranger: Arcane Archer, Deepwood Sniper, Tempest
Rogue: Assassin, Mechanic, Thief-Acrobat
Sorcerer: Air Savant, Cold Savant, Earth Savant, Fire Savant
Wizard: Archmage, Pale Master, Wild Mage

Human: Dragonmark Heir
Dwarf: Dragonmark Heir, Stalwart Defender [Counts as Fighter]
Elf: Arcane Archer [Counts as Ranger], Dragonmark Heir
Halfling: Dragonmark Heir
Warforged: Juggernaut [Counts as Barbarian]

Prestige Enhancements as announced so far:

Barbarian - Frenzied Beserker
http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=166084

Fighter - Kensai
http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=164684

Fighter - Stalwart Defender
http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?&postid=2053714#post2053714

Paladin - Hunter of the Dead
http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=162440

Paladin - Knight of the Chalice
http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=166372

Paladin - Defender of Siberys
http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=166961

Ranger - Tempest (revised)
http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?&postid=1996060#post1996060

Rogue - Way of the Assassin and Way of the Mechanic
http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?&postid=2002473#post2002473


Ask the Devs, Episode 98 adds:

Mod 10?

Wizards - Archmage, Pale Master, Wild Mage
Sorcerer - 4 Elemental Savants
Clerics - Exorcist of the Silver Flame, Radiant Servant, War Priest
Monks - Henshin Mystic Ninja-Spy, renamed Shintao Monk.

[Eldamir]

http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=166084Here's the brutal killer of... well... just about everything (including itself), the damage dealing class that just doesn't know when to stop, the Frenzied Berserker!

A few changes are being made that are important to know about before looking at the Frenzied Berserker:

The Vicious weapon enchantment now deals 2d6 damage to opponents struck by the weapon and 1d3 damage back to the wielder instead of 1d6.

Barbarian Critical Rage I and II can no longer be trained. Characters that currently possess these enhancements will retain them until they reset their enhancements, and these enhancements count as their "Barbarian specialty".

Barbarian Intimidating Rage has had its prerequisites changed to "either Barbarian Intimidate 4 or Barbarian Frenzied Berserker 2".

Now, on to the Prestige Enhancement iself:

Barbarian Frenzied Berserker I
Prereqs: Level 6 Barbarian, Power Attack, Cleave, Barbarian Damage Boost II, Barbarian Power Attack I, Barbarian Power Rage I.
Cost: 4 AP
Benefit: You gain the effects of the diehard feat while raging, and your glancing blows have a chance of applying magical weapon effects. You also gain the ability to expend 10 hit points to enter a frenzy, which increases your strength by 2 and adds the 'Vicious' property to your melee weapons.

An interesting Berserker that came up in playtest was a Ranger/Barbarian archer that used the Frenzy abilities with a bow, gaining the benefits of the increased strength, ignoring the Vicious aspect that only affects melee weapons.

Barbarian Frenzied Berserker II
Prereqs: Level 12 Barbarian, Barbarian Frenzied Berserker 1, Barbarian Damage Boost III, Barbarian Power Attack II, Barbarian Power Rage II.
Cost: 2 AP
Benefit: While raging, increases the critical multiplier of all weapons you use by 1 when you roll a natural 19 or 20. Your two handed weapon glancing blows have an increased chance of applying magical weapon effects. You also gain the ability to expend 10 hp to Supreme Cleave.

Supreme Cleave:
Benefit: Expend 10 hit points to attack all nearby enemies.

Supreme Cleave has no cooldown other than a standard 1 second global cooldown for attack actions. As long as you've got the hit points, you can continue to bring the pain.

Barbarian Frenzied Berserker III
Prereqs: Level 18 Barbarian, Barbarian Frenzied Berserker 2, Barbarian Damage Boost IV, Barbarian Power Attack III, Barbarian Power Rage III.
Cost: 2 AP
Benefit: While raging, increases the critical multiplier of all weapons you use by an additional 1 when you roll a natural 19 or 20, bringing the total bonus to 2. Your two handed weapon glancing blows have an increased chance of applying magical weapon effects. You also gain the ability to expend 20 hit points to enter a death frenzy (which can stack with your basic rage and frenzy), increasing your strength by 4 and adding the 'Greater Vicious' property to your melee weapons. (+4d6 damage / +1d3 damage to self)

The Frenzied Berserker focuses on dealing tremendous amounts of damage to its enemies, punctuated with absolutely devastating criticals. Whether dual wielding heavy picks with a x6 critical multiplier, or using a two handed weapon that's producing magical weapon effects on glancing blows backed by their incredible strength, they dish out the damage (to their enemies, and if they choose, to themselves).

The Berserker can stack both of their Frenzy abilities to increase their strength by 6 and add an additional 6d6 damage to each of their swings at the cost of 2d3 damage reflected back upon them, or become a whirlwind of destruction using Supreme Cleave at will, as long as a friendly healer is willing to keep them going.

Edit: Minor clarification to FB3 - the critical multiplier increases stack.
Edit 2: Added the "when you roll a natural 19 or 20" section, which dramatically affects those DPS charts later on in this thread.

[Eldamir]

Gah!

coldin -- can you merge them or something .. Both pants and I had the same idea at the sam time. :)

[Eldamir]

http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=164684I've dropped a few bits of information previously on some of the various Prestige Enhancements currently scheduled for Module 9 in various threads. Each week, I'll be posting one of these or a capstone enhancement to let you see what I'm working on. As usual, they're all still subject to change in playtest, and I ask that people not freak out too much about being "nerfed" or "buffed" if they do, or I'll have to stop since The Cube won't let me post them anymore. :)

Let's start with the kensai.

---

Fighter Kensai I
Cost: 4 AP
Prereqs: Level 6 Fighter, Fighter Attack Boost II, Fighter Critical Accuracy II, any Weapon Specialization feat.
Benefit: You are the unrivaled master of your chosen weapon. Your focus and training grant you a +1 bonus to Bluff, Concentration, Diplomacy, and Intimidate skills, Combat Feat DC's, saves against magic, and number of Action Boosts per day. If you possess a Ki bar, you gain 1 additional Ki on criticals and when meditating. You can select a single weapon type as your signature weapon.

Kensai <Specific Weapon> Mastery I
Cost: 1 AP
Prereqs: Level 6 Fighter, Fighter Kensai I, Weapon Specialization: <appropriate weapon type>
Benefit (One handed, ranged, or thrown weapons): You gain an additional +1 bonus to hit and damage, and +2 to confirm criticals and critical damage (before multipliers) when using a <weapon>.
Benefit (Two handed weapons): You gain an additional +1 bonus to hit, +2 to damage and to confirm criticals and +4 to critical damage (before multipliers), as well as improved glancing blows that have a chance of applying magical weapon effects when using a <weapon>.

---

The kensai masters body, mind, weapon, and will. The "ki projection" ability of the prestige class has been changed into a passive ability, and we've given the kensai a number of passive combat bonuses to reflect their mastery of their chosen weapon. The base prestige class requires a specific weapon, but we've expanded that as well to all longswords instead of just "the one given to me by my lord".

We also chose to give it some synergy with the monk class. The base prestige class possesses a strong Eastern warrior-monk philosophy to it, so it seemed natural to make this a potentially desirable multiclass option.

---

Fighter Kensai II
Cost: 2 AP
Prereqs: Level 12 Fighter, Fighter Kensai I, Fighter Attack Boost III, Fighter Critical Accuracy III, any Greater Weapon Specialization feat.
Benefit: Your focus and training improve, granting an additional +1 bonus to Bluff, Concentration, Diplomacy, and Intimidate skills, Combat Feat DC's, saves against magic, and number of Action Boosts per day. If you possess a Ki bar, you gain 1 additional Ki on criticals and when meditating.

Kensai Power Surge
Benefit: You may expend a Fighter attack boost to focus your energy and spirit, gaining a +8 Insight bonus to strength for a short period of time. If you possess the ability to generate Ki, you generate an additional 2 ki on successful attacks during your surge.

Kensai <Specific Weapon> Mastery II
Cost: 1 AP
Prereqs: Level 12 Fighter, Fighter Kensai II, Fighter <Specific Weapon> Specialization I, Kensai <Specific Weapon> Mastery I, Greater Weapon Specialization: <appropriate weapon type>
Benefit (One handed, ranged, or thrown weapons): You gain an additional +1 bonus to hit and damage, and +2 to confirm criticals and critical damage (before multipliers) when using a <weapon>.
Benefit (Two handed weapons): You gain an additional +1 bonus to hit, +2 to damage and to confirm criticals and +4 to critical damage (before multipliers), as well as improved glancing blows that have an increased chance of applying magical weapon effects when using a <weapon>.

---

Power surge is one of the defining abilities of the kensai.

---
Fighter Kensai III
Cost: 2 AP
Prereqs: Level 18 Fighter, Fighter Kensai II, Fighter Attack Boost IV, Fighter Critical Accuracy IV, any Superior Weapon Focus.
Benefit: Your focus and training are complete, granting an additional +1 bonus to Bluff, Concentration, Diplomacy, and Intimidate skills, Combat Feat DC's, saves against magic, and number of Action Boosts per day. If you possess a Ki bar, you gain 1 additional Ki on criticals and when meditating.

Kensai <Specific Weapon> Mastery III
Cost: 1 AP
Prereqs: Level 18 Fighter, Fighter Kensai III, Fighter <Specific Weapon> Specialization II, Kensai <Specific Weapon> Mastery II, Superior Weapon Focus: <appropriate weapon type>
Benefit: You gain +1 critical threat range with your signature weapon.

---

Critical threat range increases will be rarer in the future, but we thought it appropriate that the undisputed master of a specific weapon would have access to such a powerful ability. Precision is the mark of a true swordmaster.

Edit:
Since it came up in the discussion, the Two Handed Fighting chain of feats has also been changed to increase (from zero) the chance of glancing blows producing magical weapon effects.

[moorewr]

If El agrees, why don't we move the Enhancement descriptions into this thread?

[Eldamir]

works for me

[Rommalb]

while not bad in ability department, I'm still as shaky about this as any Paladin PrE, namely because Pallies lack the extra AP to really invest in these. Thankfully the pre-reqs aren't that bad, but to get all the way to Chalice 3 takes 8 more AP

[Bigpapi]

So they're taking away Critical Rage I and II. Isn't that one of the main benefits of being a Barbarian?

[moorewr]

So they're taking away Critical Rage I and II. Isn't that one of the main benefits of being a Barbarian?

Yes, but, in this PrE, you get full time increased crit multipliers, and the option to hit the Annoy-the-Cleric button and pour on some extra damage.

I'm all for it. The Crit Rage line was badly balanced, forced barbs to TWF with dainty weapons, and flew in the face of the feel of the Barbarian class (incoherent frothing rage makes you twice as precise?).

So say I.

[Doli]

Having both a 2hf and a 2wf barb, I like the enhancements...It was only a matter of time before they fixed crit rage. Only issue I see is the further push to get insane hps as a barb. Would be nice if they offered more than one prestige line.

[Bigpapi]

Yes, but, in this PrE, you get full time increased crit multipliers, and the option to hit the Annoy-the-Cleric button and pour on some extra damage.

I'm all for it. The Crit Rage line was badly balanced, forced barbs to TWF with dainty weapons, and flew in the face of the feel of the Barbarian class (incoherent frothing rage makes you twice as precise?).

So say I.

I dunno - I like being able to crit on a 16 with 2-handed weapons nobody cared about and you could get for really cheap...

[moorewr]

Having both a 2hf and a 2wf barb, I like the enhancements...It was only a matter of time before they fixed crit rage. Only issue I see is the further push to get insane hps as a barb. Would be nice if they offered more than one prestige line.

I predict exactly three PrE per class. One per starter path.

[Yeti]

The barb. one doesn't sound like many clerics will like him...:S...The pali one sounds the best by far.

[Shyv]

Yes, but, in this PrE, you get full time increased crit multipliers, and the option to hit the Annoy-the-Cleric button and pour on some extra damage.

I'm all for it. The Crit Rage line was badly balanced, forced barbs to TWF with dainty weapons, and flew in the face of the feel of the Barbarian class (incoherent frothing rage makes you twice as precise?).

So say I.

The correct fix to crit rage would have been to get rid of the crit range improvement and add the 2 to the crit multiplier and make it only useable on non-finessable weapons.

[moorewr]

The correct fix to crit rage would have been to get rid of the crit range improvement and add the 2 to the crit multiplier and make it only useable on non-finessable weapons.

The edit Eladrin put in is that the +2 crit multiplier is being limited to 19-20 rolls. So there wont be an advantage to the light weapons. Also the straight damage from a crit with a two-hander will be pretty darn impressive - That Greensteel mineral II great-axe.. boom..

Yeti - clerics and barbs will just have to be on the same page about when to frenzy. I've done the math on the main forums - the full frenzy is a total no-go in mass healing situations, for sure, until we get heal. mass.

[Shyv]

The edit Eladrin put in is that the +2 crit multiplier is being limited to 19-20 rolls. So there wont be an advantage to the light weapons. Also the straight damage from a crit with a two-hander will be pretty darn impressive - That Greensteel mineral II great-axe.. boom..


Really I'm just disapointed that first the crit range on my picks got reduced, ok that's fine because it makes the deathnips worth the effort to get again. Then they change it so it only works on a 19-20, deathnips back to getting crapped on.

I know they want to reduce the power of barbs using finessable weapons and I'm very cool with that. But don't try to bring all the other one handed weapons in line with each other while improving the damage of two-handers.

[nakano]

This week's enhancement preview is the wizard capstone enhancement. Our scholarly friends get a nice solid bonus for reaching level 20, a passive bonus that emphasizes that they're the arcane class that are the true masters of metamagic.

Master of Magic
Prereqs: Level 20 Wizard
Cost: 2 AP
Benefit: Grants +2 Intelligence and all metamagics you possess cost 1 fewer spell point to use. (Heighten Spell costs 1 fewer spell point per level of heightening.)

All I can say is NICE. Xandek definately approves.
:D :D :D :D :D

[moorewr]

I started a thread to keep track of capstones.. like my post #2 of this thread..

[Shyv]

Todays update:

Clarified my earlier noobish comment.

Prestige Enhancement lines in Module 9 include:
Barbarian Frenzied Berserker I, II, III
Fighter Kensai I, II, III
Fighter Stalwart Defender I, II, III
Paladin Defender of Siberys I, II, III
Paladin Hunter of the Dead I, II, III
Paladin Knight of the Chalice I, II, III
Ranger Tempest II, III
Rogue Assassin III
Rogue Mechanic II upgrade

Fighter Purple Dragon Knight was originally planned, but I'm not happy with how it was turning out and chose to push it to a later module.

[Coldin]

Hmm, Assassin III, and a Rogue Mechanic II upgrade. Interesting.

[Shamguard]

Ya, maybe we'll in HiPS as Assassins. :p

Now if we could just get Shadow Dancer life would be good for the sneaky Rogue types.

Not that I know any of them. :p


...

[Eldamir]

given the way the AI reacts, I don't know that assassins will work all that well anymore outside of the lvl12 assasinate ability.. Klipsh has maxed hide/move silently and as soon as i splork a mob from sneak, everyone around knows exactly where i am and moves directly there to attack me.

[Shamguard]

given the way the AI reacts, I don't know that assassins will work all that well anymore outside of the lvl12 assasinate ability.. Klipsh has maxed hide/move silently and as soon as i splork a mob from sneak, everyone around knows exactly where i am and moves directly there to attack me.

You need to try and isolate your victim and attack when the rest have their backs to you.
On a side not has anyone be able to assassinate more than two targets at a time?


...

[Eldamir]

its the isolation thing, really then .. having their backs to you doesn't really seem to affect the others knowing where you are..
I'd expect them to wonder whats going on when one of their buddies keels over, but to know exactly where the threat came from when they weren't even near or looking is a bit of a stretch..

[Shamguard]

Well the attack should bring you out of sneak mode anyway, but the AI does seem to be very borked in the way it treats sneaking. Once they spot you it's almost impossible to go back into sneak mode even if you leave the area.

Though invisibilty does seem to work sometimes. They seem to think that a rogue using sneak mode is somehow not an acceptable method for dungeon completion. Hence all the "aquire this item" quests were the item is locked in a chest that only unlocks when the boss is dead.


...

[Rommalb]

Its the same thing where if a mob sees you, you can run half-way across the dungeon and it will still know exactly where you are. Since this is Turbine the easiest answer is they probably skimped on the coding (surprise, surprise) so that rather than mobs having to make constant spot checks they only need one

[moorewr]

Ask the Devs, Episode 98 adds:

Wizards - Archmage, Pale Master, Wild Mage
Sorcerer - 4 Elemental Savants
Clerics - Exorcist of the Silver Flame, Radiant Servant, War Priest
Monks - Henshin Mystic Ninja-Spy, renamed Shintao Monk.



(added to post #2)

[Agahnim]

It would have been nice to see an enchanter, necromancer, or summoner prestige line for the Wiz or Sorc. But i'll take the elemental savant.

[Coldin]

Elemental Savant is nice I guess.

I actually was thinking they might do a play off the dragon lineage. Give Sorcs a breath weapon. :)

[moorewr]

It would have been nice to see an enchanter, necromancer, or summoner prestige line for the Wiz or Sorc. But i'll take the elemental savant.

Yes, although this may be an effort to widen the difference between the classes.. which is awfully narrow now. People used to whine there was no reason to be a wizard.. now there's almost no reason to be a sorcerer.

Hmm.. my casters.. ignoring Wedgie since he's still a baby..
Aesahaettr will almost certainly take the Fire elemental line, like the good Firebinder he is. Just fits Eberron and the Drow to a tee. Fire Elemental savants will rock in lots of places in DDO with the elemental immunity.. however it is implemented.

Alfred is surely going to go Radiant Servant.. that's just who he is...

Pantalaimon .. not sure.. war priest, probably. rawr! These PrEs are great for differentiating characters in a class.. looking forward to them.

Bummer how we wont see them till June or so.

[Coldin]

Now, don't be too negative. We might see it in May. :)

[moorewr]

Now, don't be too negative. We might see it in May. :)

Care to place a sporting wager on that?

:devil::reddevil:

[Coldin]

What do I have left to bet? :)

[moorewr]

What do I have left to bet? :)

To quote Alice Cooper on the Muppet Show: "It wont cost you a penny. Just your soul!" :D

[Rommalb]

We still need your picture Coldin :D

As for these new PrE, did they have links of their descriptions or only their names so far?

[Coldin]

You guys have my voice, isn't that enough? :)

[moorewr]

You guys have my voice, isn't that enough? :)

On the bright side, you have until Sundown to get the prince to kiss you... :rolleyes: :confused:

[Rommalb]

Im thinking hes going to turn back to foam

[Sidhearcher]

Still haven't heard Coldin's voice.

[Coldin]

Well maybe you should group with me more often Uma. :)

[Shamguard]

Ask the Devs, Episode 98 adds:

Wizards - Archmage, Pale Master, Wild Mage
Sorcerer - 4 Elemental Savants
Clerics - Exorcist of the Silver Flame, Radiant Servant, War Priest
Monks - Henshin Mystic Ninja-Spy, renamed Shintao Monk.


Interesting choice of PrCs to add. I'll hold my opinion till Turbine puts out their implementation of each of these.


...

[moorewr]

Added Defender of Siberys to post #2 - http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=166961

Defender of Siberys I
Prereqs: Level 6 Paladin, Paladin Bulwark of Good I, Paladin Resistance of Good I, Paladin Courage of Good I, Paladin Focus of Good I, Paladin Paladin Armor Class Boost I, and any one of the following: Tower Shield Proficiency, Shield Mastery, or Combat Expertise.
Benefit: Protecting the weak from the depredations of the strong, you become a paragon of defense. This prestige enhancement grants you 2 additional Turn attempts, additional armor class when blocking with a shield, increases the maximum dexterity bonus allowed by tower shields by 1, and the ability to enter a defensive stance or to create a Magic Circle Against Evil effect.

Defender of Siberys I: Defensive Stance
You may expend a Paladin armor boost to become a bastion of defense, gaining a +2 Sacred bonus to Strength and Constitution, a +1 Sacred bonus on all saves, a +2 Dodge bonus to Armor Class, and produce 50% more hate with your melee attacks. While in this stance, you move at one quarter speed.

Defender of Siberys I: Magic Circle
You may expend a turn attempt to produce a Magic Circle Against Evil effect.

Paladin Defender of Siberys II
Prereqs: Level 12 Paladin, Defender of Siberys I, Paladin Bulwark of Good II, Paladin Resistance of Good II, and any of: Paladin Rally I, Paladin Divine Righteousness I, Paladin Toughness II
Benefit: Protecting the weak from the depredations of the strong, you become a paragon of defense. This prestige enhancement grants you an additional Lay on Hands use per rest, 25% increased hate generation, increases the maximum dexterity bonus allowed by tower shields and heavy armor by 1, and the ability to enter an improved defensive stance or to produce a Mass Shield of Faith effect.

Defender of Siberys II: Improved Defensive Stance
You may expend a Paladin armor boost to become a bastion of defense, gaining a +3 Sacred bonus to Strength and Constitution, a +2 Sacred bonus on all saves, a +3 Dodge bonus to Armor Class, and produce 100% more hate with your melee attacks. While in this stance, you move at one third speed.

Defender of Siberys II: Mass Shield of Faith
You may expend a turn attempt to produce a Mass Shield of Faith effect.

Paladin Defender of Siberys III
Prereqs: Level 18 Paladin, Defender of Siberys II, Paladin Bulwark of Good III, Paladin Resistance of Good III, and any Paladin Faith II enhancement.
Benefit: Protecting the weak from the depredations of the strong, you become a paragon of defense. This prestige enhancement increases the strength of all of your defensive auras, increases the maximum dexterity bonus allowed by tower shields and medium or heavy armor by 1, and grants the ability to enter a superior defensive stance or to defy your enemies in a glorious stand against evil.

Defender of Siberys III: Superior Defensive Stance
You may expend a Paladin armor boost to become a bastion of defense, gaining a +4 Sacred bonus to Strength and Constitution, a +3 Sacred bonus on all saves, a +4 Dodge bonus to Armor Class, and produce 200% more hate with your melee attacks. While in this stance, you move at half speed.

Defender of Siberys III: Glorious Stand
You may expend a turn attempt to make a glorious stand against your enemies. For a short duration of time, you gain DR 20/epic, take reduced damage from elemental and negative energy, receive double healing from positive energy, and are immune to secondary effects of attacks such as 'wounding' or 'vorpal'. Each time you take damage, you gain the effects of a Cure Light Wounds spell.

[Rommalb]

damn, that is a pretty nice Paladin PrE, especially since for once it actually compliments the enhancements most Paladins would have already

[Agahnim]

Defender of Syberys III says it gives DR 20/epic. Is this a sign of epic level content?

[Rommalb]

"epic" DR is actually 20/- it means it cant be bypassed by anything

[nakano]

"epic" DR is actually 20/- it means it cant be bypassed by anything

Nope. Not the case. It can only be bypassed via epic(+6 or greater) weapons, or by mobs that also have epic DR.

Fear my book nerd fury.

[Rommalb]

right, I always mixed that one up. Which kinda sucks because the way DDO scales half the level "appropriate" monsters we would be fighting by then would be considered epic

[Eldamir]

we've already got paragon kobolds with dr/epic..

[moorewr]

we've already got paragon kobolds with dr/epic..

Do you see that in combat logs? Is there an entry like "your damage resistance was bypassed by Epic?"

[Eldamir]

they have DR/epic .. they don't bypass ours with that as far as I know..

[Eldamir]

update of the day .. the 'official' list of current and upcoming PrE's

Prestige Enhancements planned over the next few modules are:

Barbarian: Frenzied Berserker, Occult Slayer, Ravager
Bard: Spellsinger, Virtuoso, Warchanter
Cleric: Exorcist of the Silver Flame, Radiant Servant, Warpriest
Fighter: Kensai, Purple Dragon Knight, Stalwart Defender
Monk: Henshin Mystic, Shintao Monk, Ninja Spy
Paladin: Defender of Siberys, Hunter of the Dead, Knight of the Chalice
Ranger: Arcane Archer, Deepwood Sniper, Tempest
Rogue: Assassin, Mechanic, Thief-Acrobat
Sorcerer: Air Savant, Cold Savant, Earth Savant, Fire Savant
Wizard: Archmage, Pale Master, Wild Mage

Human: Dragonmark Heir
Dwarf: Dragonmark Heir, Stalwart Defender [Counts as Fighter]
Elf: Arcane Archer [Counts as Ranger], Dragonmark Heir
Halfling: Dragonmark Heir
Warforged: Juggernaut [Counts as Barbarian]

[moorewr]

Awesome fodder from Eladrin. Thanks for the link.. added to post #2.

[Eldamir]

Hey coldin .. any way to change the timestamp on that first post of mine so that it appears as post #2 instead of post #1 in the thread?

[Coldin]

Hmm....

[moorewr]

Hey coldin .. any way to change the timestamp on that first post of mine so that it appears as post #2 instead of post #1 in the thread?

Good idea, that.

[Coldin]

Be a good idea if I could do it...but I don't see anyway to do that.

[Eldamir]

with raw database access, it would be a snap (or more of a snap) I would think..

[Coldin]

Hmm, didn't think about that.

[Eldamir]

just adjust moorewr's timestamp to be earlier than mine .. should reorder the posts..

[Coldin]

Heh, the thing is, I don't have database access.

[moorewr]

Eladrin has spoken! (The link to his post has been added to my OP as well)

Ranger: Tempest (Official Preview)
The Tempest is a solid enhancement that many current builds are based around. It may not be especially flashy, but has solid passive bonuses. That theme continues with the advanced tiers of the prestige enhancement.

Here's the whirling storm of blades, the Tempest:

Ranger Tempest I
Prerequisites: Ranger level 6, Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack, Two Weapon Fighting, Improved Two Weapon Fighting
Cost: 4 AP
Benefit: Your training has turned you into a whirling tempest of steel, granting a 10% competence bonus to dual wield attack speed and a +2 shield bonus to armor class when two weapon fighting.

The bonus to armor class now also actually only applies when you're dual wielding. Both of the bonuses granted by Tempest I have been "typed", to clarify stacking questions that constantly arose.

Ranger Tempest II
Prerequisites: Ranger level 12, Tempest I, Ranger Dexterity II, Greater Two Weapon Fighting
Benefit: Your training has turned you into a whirling tempest of steel, granting a 10% competence bonus to dual wield attack speed, a +3 shield bonus to armor class when two weapon fighting, and your penalty to hit has been reduced by 1.

Since the initial prerequisites for Tempest I are pretty steep, we made the additional prerequisites for Tempest II (and III) on the cheap side. Remember that Rangers get Greater Two Weapon Fighting for free.

Ranger Tempest III
Prerequisites: Ranger level 18, Tempest II, and any one of: Two Weapon Blocking, Two Weapon Defense, Oversized Two Weapon Fighting, or Lightning Reflexes.
Benefit: Your skill with two weapons is unequaled - your training has turned you into a whirling tempest of steel, granting a 10% competence bonus to dual wield attack speed, a +4 shield bonus to armor class when two weapon fighting, your penalty to hit has been reduced by 2, and you gain additional attacks when two weapon fighting.

The additional attacks gained at tier III are identical to what we originally had planned for (the not-in-the-game) Superior Two Weapon Fighting.

[Eldamir]

I like the changes to Tempest I-- minor, but good ..

I presume that the alacrity bonuses are cumulative at each level, otherwise Tempest I is the only way to go ..

I don't like that Tempest III (i.e. ranger 18) is the only way to get Superior Two Weapon Fighting. Not all TWF characters are rangers after all ..

[moorewr]

I like the changes to Tempest I-- minor, but good ..

I presume that the alacrity bonuses are cumulative at each level, otherwise Tempest I is the only way to go ..

I don't like that Tempest III (i.e. ranger 18) is the only way to get Superior Two Weapon Fighting. Not all TWF characters are rangers after all ..

That comes back to the basic mistake Turbine is making with PrEs. The requirements should be based on BAB, skills, feats, or arcane/divine spell levels like PnP Prestige Classes. If you want to qualify for Tempest on another character, just buy the feats and get your BAB high enough,

In DDO terms.. a fighter could take all the TWF feats and max their attack haste enhancement.. but that doesn't compare to what Tempest is giving a ranger.

[Eldamir]

I foresee plenty of 18Rgr/1Mnk/1Rog builds for Tempest III, lockpicking, extra AC and rogue haste boost

[moorewr]

I eagerly await the Arcane Archer post. I'd like to stay pure ranger if the AA tiers are good enough.. at any rate I want to end up with a +20 BAB.. 5-arrow manyshot, anyone?

[MrCow]

at any rate I want to end up with a +20 BAB.. 5-arrow manyshot, anyone?

Divine Power solves that issue regardless of class make-up (unless you are in a dispel heavy situation).

[moorewr]

Divine Power solves that issue regardless of class make-up (unless you are in a dispel heavy situation).

Good point. I have been slowly collecting DP clickies...

[Jawaana]

I like the changes to Tempest I-- minor, but good ..

I presume that the alacrity bonuses are cumulative at each level, otherwise Tempest I is the only way to go ..

I don't like that Tempest III (i.e. ranger 18) is the only way to get Superior Two Weapon Fighting. Not all TWF characters are rangers after all ..

Unfortunately no. They're all from the same source, so it's max at 10%

[Shyv]

I foresee plenty of 18Rgr/1Mnk/1Rog builds for Tempest III, lockpicking, extra AC and rogue haste boost

Hi!! Have you met Shyv? :) Been planning on this all along and it's actauly FULL rogue skills, just not lock-picking.

[Pempernel]

That comes back to the basic mistake Turbine is making with PrEs. The requirements should be based on BAB, skills, feats, or arcane/divine spell levels like PnP Prestige Classes. If you want to qualify for Tempest on another character, just buy the feats and get your BAB high enough,

In DDO terms.. a fighter could take all the TWF feats and max their attack haste enhancement.. but that doesn't compare to what Tempest is giving a ranger.

I agree first off that Turbine has screwed the pooch, but also a Fighter TWF (race dwarf) can instead go the kensai route with D-Axes...... need to now do the calculations to really see if one is better than the other......

I foresee plenty of 18Rgr/1Mnk/1Rog builds for Tempest III, lockpicking, extra AC and rogue haste boost

Yes Elesandra is already going that way and is at lvl 10......but instead of monk (with the suspected nerf to monk splach AC while uncentered) I took fighter for the extra feat. So not only 18Rgr/1Mnk/1Rog builds with T3 lockpick, trap busting and insane DPS.........but also 18Rgr/2Ftr/1Rog builds too

I eagerly await the Arcane Archer post. I'd like to stay pure ranger if the AA tiers are good enough.. at any rate I want to end up with a +20 BAB.. 5-arrow manyshot, anyone?

Amen to this as well, will see what they do to deepwood sniper and Arcane Archer to see the path Melyanna the pure ranged ranger goes.

[moorewr]

Way of the Assassin & Way of the Mechanic:
http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?&postid=2002473#post2002473

Rogue: Assassin and Mechanic (Official Preview)
I've combined these two into one post since Mechanic's changes in the upcoming module are an addition to Mechanic II rather than an extension to the Prestige Enhancement line. I didn't think anyone would mind me releasing it early.

Here are the changes and new things:

* The names of Rogue prestige enhancements have been shortened to "Assassin", "Mechanic", and "Thief-Acrobat", to match the naming style of prestige enhancements of other classes.

The Rogue PE's were the first ones made, and it was about time to make their names match the style conventions of the others.

* Rogue Assassin now grants +2 to Fortitude saves vs. Poison at each tier instead of +1.

Rogue Assassin III:
Prereqs: Rogue level 18, Rogue Assassin II, Sneak Attack Accuracy IV, Sneak Attack Training IV
Cost: 2 Action Points
Benefit: Your lethality is unmatched in battle. Grants an additional +2 bonus to damage on critical hits (before multipliers), +2 bonus to Bluff, Hide, and Move Silently skills and Fortitude saves against poison. Also, any sneak attack that also counts as a vorpal strike (natural 20 followed by critical confirmation) that you make has a chance of producing a lethal strike will kill most living targets.

I've heard rumors that people like vorpal weapons. Even a Moldy Quarterstaff can be a lethal weapon in the hands of a Master Assassins. Things like Deathblock and Death Ward do protect against this death effect.

Rogue Mechanic II now grants the following active ability in addition to all of its other effects:

Mechanic: Smite Construct
Benefit: Your mechanical knowledge grants you the ability to deal devastating blows in melee to constructs and living constructs. You gain twice your Intelligence bonus to your attack roll and a damage bonus based on your rogue level. Smites return at a rate of one every 90 seconds.

Mechanics have a cap of three Smite Constructs that regenerate like Paladin Smite Evils do. All of the smite bonuses are calculated in a similar manner as the Paladin smite bonus, but replacing Charisma with Intelligence as the associated ability score and Rogue levels replacing Paladin. None of the Paladin modifiers to Smite Evil affect Smite Construct.

[Shamguard]

So with a Radiance II rapier and/or a good Diplomacy skill an Assassin III character will be able to vorpal just about anything that doesn't have Deathblock and/or Death Ward.
You have to have at least 18 levels of rogue for this; so any build that splashes more than two non-rogue levels will be shut out.

Now with the "any sneak attack that also counts as a vorpal strike" I wonder if this includes missle weapons?


...

[Shyv]

I missed this even the second time I read it but:

Any sneak attack that also counts as a vorpal strike (natural 20 followed by critical confirmation) that you make has a chance of producing a lethal strike will kill most living targets.


So it will depend on the actual rate that it goes off. This could end up just being meh.

[Rommalb]

even still, letting rogues vorpal as a class ability is pretty good, even with only a 5% chance it triggers. The rate will still be important, but the PrE is already strong enough to be better than just 'meh'

[Thorzian]

i agree. im gonna try this and if it ends up being meh.. ill go back to mechanic

[Shyv]

even still, letting rogues vorpal as a class ability is pretty good, even with only a 5% chance it triggers. The rate will still be important, but the PrE is already strong enough to be better than just 'meh'

You only roll a 20 5% of the time. Now if the vorpal effect is only 5% of everytime you roll a 20, then yeah pretty meh. Assassin isn't a very good PrE to begin with unless you are playing in a solo or slow tactic group (or if you took it only for the added damage on crits). Acrobat is about the best of the 3 IMO.

[Shamguard]

I missed this even the second time I read it but:

Any sneak attack that also counts as a vorpal strike (natural 20 followed by critical confirmation) that you make has a chance of producing a lethal strike will kill most living targets.


So it will depend on the actual rate that it goes off. This could end up just being meh.

It triggers just like any other vorpal weapon (natural 20 with confirmed crit), but now, for the cost of just 2 Action Points, your Radiance II rapier is a vorpal Radiance II rapier.

Granted you have to be sneak attacking but if you are running a level 18 rogue and don't know how to get sneak attacks on demand you are playing the wrong character class.

Assassins already have the death attack that has to be used from sneak mode. That will kill just about any living mob that's not a red name or boss. So giving a death attack with any sneak attack is well with in the current game balance.

...

[Shyv]

It triggers just like any other vorpal weapon (natural 20 with confirmed crit), but now, for the cost of just 2 Action Points, your Radiance II rapier is a vorpal Radiance II rapier.
..

I don't know Sham, I'd be worried about how that is worded. HAS A CHANCE TO PRODUCE is a lot different from PRODUCES.

[Rommalb]

yeah, vorpals are automatic on a natural 20 while this is saying if you get a nat 20, you may vorpal it. I dont have any pure rogues high enough to mess with the PrEs but I had thought assassin was better than Shyv makes it sound. Even still, there is the remote chance the % is actually something like 50% which would make it worth it

[Shamguard]

You only roll a 20 5% of the time. Now if the vorpal effect is only 5% of everytime you roll a 20, then yeah pretty meh. Assassin isn't a very good PrE to begin with unless you are playing in a solo or slow tactic group (or if you took it only for the added damage on crits). Acrobat is about the best of the 3 IMO.

Once you roll a 20 (ya, 5%) you have to confirm the crit, which means you need to get a to hit roll, so the percentage on the confirm should be pretty good.

Of the three PrE Assassin is more Intelligence based, Thief-Acrobat is Dexterity based and Mechanic is an Intelligence/Dexterity balance, though it still favors Intelligence.

Of the three I have found that Thief-Acrobat is probably the most fun to play, the can not be tripped, and will not slip makes for a lot less frustration. Couple that with the high Dexterity AC and bonuses you have a very solid backstabber, though the need for agro control is a must.

Mechanic is your high end hazard removal specialist; the best thing for this PrE is to be an all-round multi-skill support character. Using the Mechanic PrE to help improve the hazard removal skills while using other stats and skill points to be able to do other things, such a Haggle and Use Magic Device.

Assassin is, in my opinion, the most interesting to build and play. With the Death Attack DC being based upon Intelligence it makes this characteristic the most important to this PrE, because if you don’t make it high enough then you won’t land your death attacks and if you starve Strength and Dexterity to much you will not hit often enough to even get a chance at death attack. This is defiantly the PrE for people who like to play stealth characters. Since the Death Attack only works from sneak mode you need to learn how to sneak up on your victims and get off an attack with out being spotted by his friends. With this new vorpal attack being added to the high level assassin this will make for an interesting addition to this PrE.


...

[Shamguard]

yeah, vorpals are automatic on a natural 20 while this is saying if you get a nat 20, you may vorpal it. I dont have any pure rogues high enough to mess with the PrEs but I had thought assassin was better than Shyv makes it sound. Even still, there is the remote chance the % is actually something like 50% which would make it worth it

Vorpal aren't suppose to be automatic on a natural 20, you are suppose to have to confirm the crit. I'll have to look at combat logs to see if that's what is happening. With most of the mobs that we can vorpal these days also geting hit with a die roll of 2 or 3 a vorpal would seem to be always on a 20 even if they are confirming the roll. :p


...

[Shyv]

Once you roll a 20 (ya, 5%) you have to confirm the crit, which means you need to get a to hit roll, so the percentage on the confirm should be pretty good.


You're missing the point Sham. I know how confirmation of a crit or vorpal works. :p Look at what Eladrin said.

Also, any sneak attack that also counts as a vorpal strike (natural 20 followed by critical confirmation) that you make has a chance of producing a lethal strike will kill most living targets.

So any roll of 20 that you confirm HAS A CHANCE of producing a lethal strike. What's that chance going to be, the same as lightning strike, Docent of defiance, or something else.

It seems like a 3 step process:

1.) You roll a 20
2.) You confirm the critical
3.) There is a percentage chance that you deliver a lethal strike.

I could be wrong, but I really doubt it's any 20 you roll while sneak attacking results in a lethal strike.

[Shamguard]

You're missing the point Sham. I know how confirmation of a crit or vorpal works. :p Look at what Eladrin said.



So any roll of 20 that you confirm HAS A CHANCE of producing a lethal strike. What's that chance going to be, the same as lightning strike, Docent of defiance, or something else.

It seems like a 3 step process:

1.) You roll a 20
2.) You confirm the critical
3.) There is a percentage chance that you deliver a lethal strike.

I could be wrong, but I really doubt it's any 20 you roll while sneak attacking results in a lethal strike.


There is a chance that the vorpal will confirm the crit, depending upon your to hit probability, I think this is the chance he is talking about. So if you only hit on a 20 the chance to have a vorpal confirm the crit is low, if you hit on a 2 or better the the chance that the vorpal will confirm is high. I think the part of his statement that is in parentheses is the chance to have a lethal strike.

So it's
1) roll a 20 on a sneak attack
2) confim the crit
3) if crit confirmed target dies;
else If not confirmed target just takes sneak attack damage and may die anyway. :p

I think Eld is just being careful in his wording so people don't try to read it differently. (OK he failed again :p)
Either way for a 2 action point buy it is a nice add on to the Assassin PrE.



...

[Rommalb]

yeah, in DDO you do get a silent roll on vorpal to confirm and kill them, but Im with Shyv here. From the way its worded I think theres a second, mysterious percentage after you confirm the natural 20 on whether or not they die. Since you did bring up how the Assassin is such an INT based PrE I wonder if maybe INT will be a factor in that second percentage, but until we have a clearer grasp of the likelihood of the kill shot working, Im hesitant on it

[Shamguard]

yeah, in DDO you do get a silent roll on vorpal to confirm and kill them, but Im with Shyv here. From the way its worded I think theres a second, mysterious percentage after you confirm the natural 20 on whether or not they die. Since you did bring up how the Assassin is such an INT based PrE I wonder if maybe INT will be a factor in that second percentage, but until we have a clearer grasp of the likelihood of the kill shot working, Im hesitant on it

The truth of it is we won't know for sure how this works till we have it on a character. If it works as a regular vorpal type killing attack, great. If it uses another roll to determine if it kills, we'll have to see how it works. The only reason I'm think it will be a normal vorpal attack is because that code is in place and all they have to do is set the conditions to use it. To add an additional check to the vorpal kill would require another die roll and check. Not that they can't do this but in my experience programmers are lazy and this is extra work. :p

I see this as a source of another bug on the assassin PrE. The sad part is since you have to be level 18 to get this, it will take a while before there are enough people with this to really evaluate it.

...

[Shyv]

Not enhancements but still information so I thought I'd post it here.

Timeless Body
Prereqs: Level 17 Monk
Benefit: Your soul is balanced. No corrupt influences can possess your body after death - you are immune to the spawn effect of most undead.

Empty Body
Prereqs: Level 19 Monk
Benefit: You are able to focus your ki and walk the edge of the Plane of Shadow, mimicing the effects of a Shadow Walk spell. While this effect is active, you move much faster than normal and your outline appears faint and you are harder to hit. Attacking another creature or otherwise interacting with objects shunts you back to the Material Plane.

Perfect Self
Prereqs: Level 20 Monk
Benefit: You have transcended your former race, and are now considered a Lawful Outsider. You have gained damage reduction 10 / epic. Warforged retain most living construct traits.

Perfect Slow Fall
Prereqs: Level 20 Monk
Benefit: You take no damage from falls of any height.

[moorewr]

http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?&postid=2008028#post2008028

We agree that at-will powers are valuable additions to the casting classes.

In Module 9, eternal wands have been given some improvements - faster use times, and their charges recharge over time.

When the Prestige Enhancements come out for the Cleric, Sorcerer, and Wizard, I expect many of them to have at-will powers. A Sorcerer Fire Savant III, for example, will likely have the ability to produce Burning Hands, Scorching Ray, and Fireball effects at-will. (These will likely be on a slightly longer cooldown than if they had cast the actual spells, but will be free.) The Wizard Archmage is currently planned to be able to reduce their spell point maximum to purchase a variety of low level spells as spell-like abilities. Pale Masters will have their own necromatic twist, and Wild Mages... Well, they'll do something when they push that "Nahal's" button.

(These are very early plans. Details are subject to change.)

Edit:
I do like the idea of adding more "lesser" variants of spells.

[Jules]

:girldance: :girldance: :girldance: :girldance: :girldance: :girldance: :girldance: :girldance: :girldance: :girldance:
Awww Clerical Love - see MedicLady doing a happy dance - now I have to talk to him about either more skill points per level or making Jump a class skill :D ;) :D
:girldance: :girldance: :girldance: :girldance: :girldance: :girldance: :girldance: :girldance: :girldance: :girldance:

Jules

[Sidhearcher]

re: rogue assassin... is too much fun for me to put into words here.
I get a huge kick out of it, and once I changed a few enhancements around, she can sneak almost as fast as any other person walks, all it cost was action boosts that I never used anyway and one or two improvements for trap-picking. I'll have to wait until she gets into VoD before I decide if the +13/15 items make up for that lack, but so far she can only fail if I forget to equip her gnoll-hide gloves.

What still makes me chortle with glee is when I hit that assassinate button, and I get two kills in one strike. Happens a lot when there are mobs clustered together. :p

Oloth has become my new favorite toon to play.

[Eldamir]

today's PrE preview..
http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?&postid=2053714#post2053714
Today's preview is the Stalwart Defender, a prestige enhancement line that's very similar to the Defender of Siberys, yet does differ in some thematic ways. While they don't get the various holy abilities of the Defender of Siberys, they trade that for various other passive improvements.

Fighter Stalwart Defender I
Cost: 4 Action Points
Prereqs: Level 6 Fighter, Fighter Skill Intimidate 2, Fighter Armor Boost 1, Toughness, and any one of: Shield Mastery, Combat Expertise, Diehard, Dodge, or Least Dragonmark of Sentinel.
Benefit: While the flesh may be weak, you place your trust in the strength of steel. This prestige enhancement increases your armor class by 1, grants +2 to intimidate, increases your maximum dexterity bonus allowed by shields, and grants additional armor class and damage reduction when blocking with a shield. You may expend a use of Fighter action boost to to enter a defensive stance. When using a shield, you possess DR 2/-.

House Deneith runs the Defender's Guild. We thought it appropriate to let dragonmarked members of the house bypass some of the restrictions for the prestige enhancement line most closely associated with them.

Stalwart Defender I: Defensive Stance
You may expend a Fighter armor boost to become a bastion of defense, gaining a +2 Competence bonus to Strength and Constitution, a +1 Competence bonus on all saves, a +2 Dodge bonus to Armor Class, and produce 50% more hate with your melee attacks. While in this stance, you move at one quarter speed.

The Stalwart Defender is based on the Dwarven Defender prestige class from pen and paper, and may end up available to dwarves (similar to how elves can acquire the Arcane Archer prestige enhancement line). The various Defender prestige classes require a Lawful alignment - a restriction we've waived in DDO.

All Defensive Stances, however, whether they be from the Defender of Siberys or the Stalwart Defender, are not compatible with various "enrage" effects. (Rage effects do not permit "any abilities that require patience or concentration", which is pretty much a description of Defensive Stance.) Rather than kicking you out of your Defensive Stance if a friend casts Rage on you, we chose to instead make you immune to the Rage spell while in a Defensive Stance. If you're enraged when you enter Defensive Stance, the enrage effect will be removed.

Fighter Stalwart Defender II
Cost: 2 Action Points
Prereqs: Level 12 Fighter, Fighter Stalwart Defender I, Fighter Item Defense I, Fighter Armor Boost II, and any one of: Fighter Toughness II, Fighter Armored Agility II, Fighter Armor Mastery II, Fighter Tower Shield Mastery II, or Lesser Dragonmark of Sentinel.
Benefit: Your defensive mastery continues to grow. This prestige enhancement increases your armor class by 1, grants +2 to intimidate, increases your maximum dexterity bonus allowed by heavy armor and shields, and grants additional armor class and damage reduction when blocking with a shield. You may expend a use of Fighter action boost to to enter a defensive stance. When using a shield, you possess DR 4/-.

Stalwart Defender II: Improved Defensive Stance
You may expend a Fighter armor boost to become a bastion of defense, gaining a +3 Competence bonus to Strength and Constitution, a +2 Competence bonus on all saves, a +3 Dodge bonus to Armor Class, and produce 100% more hate with your melee attacks. While in this stance, you move at one third speed.

Fighter Stalwart Defender III
Cost: 2 Action Points
Prereqs: Level 18 Fighter, Fighter Stalwart Defender II, Fighter Item Defense II, Fighter Armor Boost III, and any one of: Fighter Toughness III, Fighter Armored Agility III, Fighter Armor Mastery III, Fighter Tower Shield Mastery III, or Greater Dragonmark of Sentinel.
Benefit: Your defensive mastery is complete. This prestige enhancement increases your armor class by 1, grants +2 to intimidate, increases your maximum dexterity bonus allowed by medium or heavy armor and shields, and grants additional armor class and damage reduction when blocking with a shield. You may expend a use of Fighter action boost to to enter a defensive stance. When using a shield, you possess DR 6/-.

Stalwart Defender III: Superior Defensive Stance
You may expend a Fighter armor boost to become a bastion of defense, gaining a +4 Competence bonus to Strength and Constitution, a +3 Competence bonus on all saves, a +4 Dodge bonus to Armor Class, and produce 200% more hate with your melee attacks. While in this stance, you move at half speed.

As with all of the previews, these are not necessarily final versions. Subject to change during testing.

[Rommalb]

wow, intimitanks rejoice with that one

[Eldamir]

Sadly, 84 is positioned just so that he won't get tier II of either Stalwart Defender or Defender of Siberys.. :(

It might be interesting to see where you could get AC-wise with a Dwarven Paladin using both Defender of Siberys and Stalwart Defender (when they get around to giving it to dwarves)

[moorewr]

Yes, I like it. I might have to go with it for Paracelsus. Between the AC, DR and intimidate boost.. wow... plus it looks like I already have the pre-reqs...

[Rommalb]

Well you could get a nice standing bonus, but you cant use 2 stances at the same time so it would be up to you to keep switching around

[Eldamir]

I noticed that this one slipped in beneath the radar -- both on this list and as one of the 'official' threads..

http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=162440 (post #4)
Since it's essentially complete, here's an example of one of the new Paladin Prestige Enhancement lines coming in Module 9:

Paladin Hunter of the Dead I
Prereqs: Level 6 Paladin, Paladin Extra Turning I, Paladin Improved Turning I, and any one of Paladin Divine Light I or Paladin Extra Lay on Hands I
Benefit: Devoted to the destruction of the undead, you gain 2 additional turning and remove disease attempts per rest, +1 to your level when turning, a +2 bonus on saving throws against spells and effects produced by undead, and all of your attacks are considered Ghost Touch, ignoring the chance to miss incorporeal creatures. Positive energy effects heal you for more and you take less damage from negative energy effects. You are able to expend a use of your Paladin Remove Disease ability to produce a Lesser Restoration effect.

Paladin Hunter of the Dead II
Prereqs: Level 12 Paladin, Paladin Hunter of the Dead I, Paladin Extra Turning II, Paladin Improved Turning II, and any one of Paladin Divine Light II, Paladin Extra Lay on Hands II, or Paladin Redemption I
Benefit: Devoted to the destruction of the undead, you gain 2 additional turning and remove disease attempts per rest, +1 to your level when turning, a +2 bonus on saving throws against spells and effects produced by undead, and your spirit is sealed - you are now immune to energy drain from any source. Positive energy effects heal you for more and you take less damage from negative energy effects. You are able to expend a use of your Paladin Remove Disease ability to produce a Restoration effect.

Paladin Hunter of the Dead III
Prereqs: Level 18 Paladin, Paladin Hunter of the Dead II, Paladin Extra Turning III, Paladin Improved Turning III, any Paladin Faith II enhancement
Benefit: Devoted to the destruction of the undead, you gain 2 additional turning and remove disease attempts per rest, +1 to your level when turning, a +2 bonus on saving throws against spells and effects produced by undead, and all attacks you make have a chance of destroying undead instantly on what would be a Vorpal strike. (Natural 20 followed by confirmation, Will DC: 30 partial, deals Light damage to targets immune to instant destruction effects* or those that save.) Positive energy effects heal you for more and you take less damage from negative energy effects. You are able to expend a use of your Paladin Remove Disease ability to produce a Greater Restoration effect.

Note: The cost of Improved Turning has dropped for both Paladins and Clerics to be a 1/2/3 AP line. As usual, this is all still extremely subject to change before it goes live, and is just what I've currently got in development.

* Like bosses, for instance.

[moorewr]

Good catch! I've added it to post #2.

(Think I'll stick with Knight of the Chalice for my rogadin, but, cool to have choices)

[Eldamir]

I'm thinking about a 20 pal hunter of the dead .. just for the flavor of it :)

wonder if a 30 cha and all three tiers of the HotD bonuses, with a sacred item would make turns actually work ..

[moorewr]

I'm thinking about a 20 pal hunter of the dead .. just for the flavor of it :)

wonder if a 30 cha and all three tiers of the HotD bonuses, with a sacred item would make turns actually work ..

MrCow said, in essence, no in his thread about turn DCs a while back.

[Eldamir]

Any speculation on how the wizard prestiges (Archmage, Pale Master, Wild Mage) might be implemented?

[Coldin]

Good question...

[Eldamir]

more specifically .. how will i be able to exploit ... err, make use of ... them with my arcane tempest :)

maybe a wild mage tempest..

Wild Mage (http://drevon.no/thomas/rpg/wildmage.html) -- sounds like it would be fun, but anathema to groups..

[Coldin]

Pale Master probably will have something to do with being able to use negative energy spells as healing, at least for themselves.

Archmage probably will be more about increasing DCs, maybe spell durations.

Wild Mage. Hmm..more spell points, random effects, maybe higher caster levels?

[Jundak]

Pale Master probably will have something to do with being able to use negative energy spells as healing, at least for themselves.

Archmage probably will be more about increasing DCs, maybe spell durations.

Wild Mage. Hmm..more spell points, random effects, maybe higher caster levels?

I think the Wild Mage will have something special for Spell Pen, too. Just something I noticed when looking at the Set Bonuses for the Wild Mage items in Mod 9.

[Jules]

This is all speculation on our part - correct?

Jules

[Coldin]

Completely Jules. There's been no hints really about what the PRE's will do.

[Eldamir]

About the only thing we know about them is that each class is supposed to get three (see post 2 in this thread) and this tidbit from 01/09:
We agree that at-will powers are valuable additions to the casting classes.

In Module 9, eternal wands have been given some improvements - faster use times, and their charges recharge over time.

When the Prestige Enhancements come out for the Cleric, Sorcerer, and Wizard, I expect many of them to have at-will powers. A Sorcerer Fire Savant III, for example, will likely have the ability to produce Burning Hands, Scorching Ray, and Fireball effects at-will. (These will likely be on a slightly longer cooldown than if they had cast the actual spells, but will be free.) The Wizard Archmage is currently planned to be able to reduce their spell point maximum to purchase a variety of low level spells as spell-like abilities. Pale Masters will have their own necromatic twist, and Wild Mages... Well, they'll do something when they push that "Nahal's" button.

(These are very early plans. Details are subject to change.)

Edit:
I do like the idea of adding more "lesser" variants of spells.

I thought there was a post at one point saying that mages and clerics would be getting their PrE's next, but wasn't able to find it after a quick search.

[Coldin]

Sounds like taking a nod from 4Ed to me. Casters getting the ability to always have some sort of spell to cast.

You know...I wonder if we'll see with the Wild Mage the ability to hurt themselves? Click that wild surge, and it could either be an Max/Emp DPF with the +50% from efficacy. Or..it could be that same fireball, only it's centered on the player instead. :)

[nakano]

In 3.5 the archmage prestige class could sacrifice a spellslot to gain an at will power in the form of a spell at least 4 levels lower then the slot sacrificed IIRC. They had gained one special archmage ability per level from a list that was provided. This included things like arcane fire, at will spell abilities and also metamagic like effects IIRC.

[Rommalb]

problem with Archmage in PnP is that they have to sacrifice a number of spell slots to do most of their abilities, not just getting a permanent spell memmed. It was still a decent arcane prestige class, but one I always thought was kinda limited.

[Eldamir]

The quote above says they'll have the option of dropping spell points in exchange for the abilities

granted, that was 9 months ago:rolleyes:, so I suppose anything goes at this point..

[Coldin]

*chuckles* But then Cheat Death didn't change one bit in those nine months. So who knows. :)

[Eldamir]

yes coldin, but we all know the devs hate you .... err i mean, rogues :D

[Coldin]

*cry*

[Eldamir]

woohoo! I made 2 ppl cry today .. kind of makes up for not killing anyone in the shroud last night :)

[Eldamir]

Wizard Pale Master I
Prereq: Spell Focus: Necromancy, Wizard Energy of the Scholar I, Wizard Intelligence I, Level 6 Wizard
Cost: 4 AP
You are a devoted student of the necromantic arts. You gain 5 hit points as your flesh toughens, deal 25% additional damage with negative energy spells, and have a 3% chance for negative energy spells to generate a critical result for 1.5 times the normal damage amount. (Base spell critical chance is 0% and base critical damage multiplier is 1.5.). You can produce a touch-ranged negative energy effect at will, and can animate skeletons for a small cost.

Previewed enhancements are still subject to change. You'll see the two granted active sub-enhancements soon. After those, maybe I'll figure something out for some of the Arcane Archer... Maybe alternate back and forth.
Pale Master .. here's hoping we get more neg energy spells on the arcane lists to flesh this out (pun intended :))