dual wielder build

[Halifex]

NOTE: should have included: khopesh is the weapon (already have two Min 2's)

This build will replace (1st TR) my 20 ftr ... some of the key goals I am trying to achieve are:

1. Maintain good DPS (or improve).
2. Have a useful AC for most of the game content (not epic) ... assumes Chattering Ring, Icy Raiment, Chaosgarde.
3. Increase versatility in order of priority: self-heal (can be done with pally or UMD), evasion with useful Refl Save, heal others (can be done with pally or UMD), teleport (can only be done with UMD), unlock, intimidate, other rogue skills.

I am thinking of:
STR-based exploit build: 1 rog / 1 monk / 18 ranger with starting stats of something like:
STR 16 DEX 15 CON 16 INT 12 WIS 10 CHA 8 ... with +2 tomes in everything at level 7.

OR

STR-based: 12 rog / 6 barb / 2 ranger with similar starting stats

[Eldamir]

Couple of thoughts -- in no particular order..

The exploiter-style is still a pretty strong build overall, and would do a decent job of meeting your requirements.

6 barb levels is just enough to wish your rages lasted longer IMO (as someone who's now got 2 6 Barb splash builds :))

12 Rogue is 1 short of the optimal split, IMO. 13 gets you a second rogue feat and 1d6 more sneak attack.

Did you have a race in mind?

[Halifex]

I suspect the build will be a little feat starved, so I started with human. Also, human will give me +1 STR (primary stat) and +1 CON (very important, esp w lots of rogue levels). Maybe WF for CON, DR and cause I think they are actually easy to heal at end game, along with good immunities make up for no pally.

[Jundak]

A couple of comments:

I'm afraid that with a starting 8 Chr, your UMD won't be high enough to really be worth much until the higher levels AND constantly swapping out gear to get things done (scroll casting heal/raise, for instance). However, since both of your level splits include Ranger in them, you can wand-whip till your heart's content.

With 23 ranks, an 8 Chr, +2 tome, +6 item, +3 exceptional, Cartouche, Voice, and the (non-epic) Top Hat you're looking at a 32 UMD at level 20. That's three seperate items that will need to be swapped in the middle of battle to rez the cleric if the shit hits the fan. If you're looking to scroll cast only between fights, you should be just fine, though. Otherwise, I'd make your character's alignment True Neutral and use the UMD skill specifically for item usage, in which case maintaining a constant 24 UMD to bypass both alignment and race restrictions will not require item swapping.

Other than that, Hal...I think if you stick with your 18/1/1 split and the proposed stat point distribution, you'll do well.

On a personal note: I've never seen the need for a starting Con beyond a 14. 20 extra hitpoints won't make or break the build, especially since you can self-heal. Maybe put those 4 extra stat points into Wisdom for an extra 2 AC...? Or maybe into Charsima to boost your UMD and Intimidate skills by an additional +2 if you're intent on scroll casting early? :)

[Eldamir]

Couple of options that i threw together .. by no means polished, but you get the drift..

http://download.skullreaver.net/build_halTR.xlsx

Only the human gets enough feats for Toughness, Power Attack and Improved Crit - the others sacrifice iCrit since you have the two Min II khopeshi already.
WF has the most hitpoints, Horc hits the hardest, halfling has the highest AC.. to me, all would be viable and work pretty well.

All can cast heal/Reconstruct scrolls on either a 1 (human/halfling) or 2 (horc/wf) with GH, HoGF and shroud +6 cha skills item

[Halifex]

Thanks for your comments.

Leaning more toward human.

STR-based exploit build:

1 rog / 1 monk / 18 ranger

with starting stats of something like:

STR 16 DEX 14 CON 14 INT 12 WIS 14 CHA 10 ... with +2 tomes in everything at level 7.

(Don't need 15 DEX for TWF feats - ranger provides automatically, so I adjusted to maximize AC return on build point investment.)

The other build might look like this:

12 or 13 rog + 6 barb + 1 or 2 ftr

(with original stats)

[Brother Tuck]

I would still suggest you might consider the 18/2 barb/rogue build....its a TON of fun and can do everything you are requesting EXCEPT for AC....but with 899 HP (currently fully raged) and DR who cares about AC.

Hard hitting when I want it, versatility when I want it (38 UMD when needed) and can open locks too. I can reliably rez, teleport, heal self and others whenever needed. On more than a few occassions I have been the only person able to heal (2 manning lvl 18 quests in amrath) and we completed easily. Now it wasnt on elite, but still....2 melees with the barb healing/repairing. I have received more than a few tells about the build and HOW do I do it...type questions. Even heard a "is there anything you cant do on that toon?"....quite funny to hear the responses at times.

Tons of fun IMO...

[Perryc]

I agree with BT; a Barbie with a couple of Rogue levels can be a lot of fun. I would also suggest looking at a 12 Pal/6 Monk/2 Rog, 12 Pal/7 Rog/1 Monk, 12 Rgr/6 Barb/2 Rog, or a 12 Rgr/7 Monk/1 Rog.

[Brother Tuck]

Hey I know I got something right when my bud Pyx agrees with it....we all know HE is the master of making builds to try them out....how many are you up to in your stable Pyx....36 or something?? BUT if Pyx says something is fun to play I know I listened to him. :D

[Thorzian]

"is there anything you cant do on that toon?"....
...

DPS? ever try to hold back on dps because brothertuck is main tanking and you dont want to steal aggro? painful i tell you... just painful. like hanging out with a 900hp kitten. :kick: :smileysex::fukyu:

[Halifex]

Well I made my decision. I had originally played with 2 rogue all the rest barbarian on my dwarf barbarian. What I experienced on my build was that even with boots of the innocent, his reflex save was never quite high enough to make a big enough difference for Evasion. I lesser'ed him to pure barbarian because he ended up just raiding, and not needing to self-heal so much.

I decided that since I have so few AC toons (and no ranger builds) I would try to obtain decent AC (again not decent for epic) with decent dps. I already have a STR-based high sneak dmg toon, so I opted for STR-based exploiter build. Since ranger gives GTWF without the 17 DEX, I capped his starting DEX at 14 and put other points into WIS for more AC for starting build points investment.

Thanks for your consideration everyone. :-)