I'm DMing a game, and my DM-PC just recently died, and I'm looking at making a Goliath Warden. The party consists of a Halfling Feylock, Eladrin Swordmage (Assault), a Bard (replacing a druid who died in the last fight), and an Elf Archery Ranger. We were having issues when there was swarming, and the Swordmage is pretty mobile, which doesn't help the strikers. Now, with a Bard, there is essentially no front line, so I figured a Warden that can act like a wall would be a good addition.
Here's the build at level 3 and 30. Question marks or slash marks next to powers indicate unsureness on my part. Thoughts?
Feats (? = Good feat, but is there a better one?) 1: Superior Weapon Proficiency: Greatspear 2: Sudden Roots 4: Weapon Expertise: Polearm 6: Student of the Sword 8: Toughness 10: Defensive Resilience? 11: Polearm Gamble 12: Spear Push 14: Paragon Defenses? 16: Enhanced Font of Life? 18: Earthstrength Resolve? 20: Reserve Maneuver? 21: Epic Resolve 22: Enduring Font 24: Primal Resurgence 26: Ancient Stone 28: Martial Mastery 30: Epic Reflexes?
Powers At-Will: Thorn Strike, Weight of Earth Encounter: Earth Tomb OR Wight of the Mountain, Guardian's Wrath, Earth's Hold Rebuke, Leveraging Strike Daily: Form of the Winter's Herald, Polearm Sweep, Form of the Jungle Lord, Form of the Starmetal Warrior Utility: Nature's Abundance, Bear's Endurance, Reaching Stance, Wellspring of Life, Verdant Life, Warding Vines, Implacable Destruction
It's far into the future, but planning for it can't hurt. Even though Demigod is overused, it can make your threatening reach permanent. Of course that's not until level 30 which is a long way away.
Warden MC's well with Fighter and Barbarian. If you want more control, Fighter is the answer. If you want to rip enemies to shreds, Barbarians do this in spades (Storm of Blades/Hurricane of Blades). Fighter can open up some decent second wind feats. It also opens up Eternal Defender, Knockback Swing (you'll want a Halberd for that) and Epic Recovery.
Half Elf is a good race for an Earthstrength Warden because you can get Footwork Lure at level 11 via Versatile Mastery. HBO + Glaive + Polearm Momemtum will keep stuff close. You could do this with Thorn Strike as well and be any race, but you won't get the knockdown.
That's all I got for now. I'm still studying the Warden. The build I'm going for currently is a Goliath Warden/MC Barbarian/Bear Warrior/Eternal Seeker nova monkey.
I'm also going to be playing a goliath earthstrength warden, so I've thought about this a little bit. I have the same stat layout and feats as you through 4th, except I'm going the craghammer/shield route (unless I'm convinced to do otherwise, I guess). It's too bad that the Goliath weapon feat is horrible...
Do you have any means to shore up your AC and Reflex? At 3rd level, that is an 18 and a 12, respectively. That's gotta hurt, even with that many HP.
Also, it doesn't look like that stat array qualifies you for any spear/polearm feat except for Spear Push...
I do have a question though... with Thorn Strike and a reach weapon, would you be able to hit an enemy 3 squares away? If so, why?
I can't wait until someone starts a Warden Handbook...
It's far into the future, but planning for it can't hurt. Even though Demigod is overused, it can make your threatening reach permanent. Of course that's not until level 30 which is a long way away.
Warden MC's well with Fighter and Barbarian. If you want more control, Fighter is the answer. If you want to rip enemies to shreds, Barbarians do this in spades (Storm of Blades/Hurricane of Blades). Fighter can open up some decent second wind feats. It also opens up Eternal Defender, Knockback Swing (you'll want a Halberd for that) and Epic Recovery.
Half Elf is a good race for an Earthstrength Warden because you can get Footwork Lure at level 11 via Versatile Mastery. HBO + Glaive + Polearm Momemtum will keep stuff close. You could do this with Thorn Strike as well and be any race, but you won't get the knockdown.
That's all I got for now. I'm still studying the Warden. The build I'm going for currently is a Goliath Warden/MC Barbarian/Bear Warrior/Eternal Seeker nova monkey.
1) Demigod: As cool as permanent threatening reach would be, you're right in that it's a level 30 power, which, as you say, is a long way off, and at 30, most enemies have teleporting. I'll keep looking at what might be fun and useful throughout.
2) Multiclassing: Fighter multiclassing seems like a good idea. We have enough striker's in the party, and, as a DM-PC, it's not really that much fun to put monsters up just so that I, the DM, can kill them. Where's Knockback Swing?
Well, I am thinking it might be 3 squares, because a polearm adds 1 to existing reach, but it technically isn't clear whether or not a power counts as "preexisting reach." As a DM, I'd say yes, because the idea is that the thorns are coming from your weapon and pulling the enemy in, so it would make sense that a spear that's sticking out further would have the thorns sticking out further.
As for AC, I haven't really calculated magic armor, which puts me to 19. Yeah, it's not great, but the Bard is a cleric AND warlord multiclass, so he has tons of healing surges available to heal me up. Add on top of that the Goliath damage resistance and crazy HP, I'm pretty sure he'll be okay.
Knockback Swing is in Martial Power. It's an epic feat that allows you to push an enemy that provokes an OA, whether you hit or miss. You have to be wielding an axe, mace, hammer, or pick.
Also, if you're not against having multiple magic items of the same kind, Salves of Power will be awesome for Form of Winter's Herald. That Form is awesome, and having it up often makes your job a lot easier. Winter's Herald + Sudden Roots makes it so hard for enemies to get away that they shouldn't even bother.
Another magic item to get is Strikebacks. These give a +1 item bonus to OA's and lets you attack back when you're hit as an Encounter power.
Finally, use your second wind every encounter. The Warden is really the only class that keeps on trucking when using second wind since you can multi-mark as a free action. As a Defender that's all you really need to do, the rest is gravy.
magnafides]I do have a question though... with Thorn Strike and a reach weapon, would you be able to hit an enemy 3 squares away? If so, why?
Nope. It's stuck at Melee 2 no matter what your reach is.
I do have a question though... with Thorn Strike and a reach weapon, would you be able to hit an enemy 3 squares away? If so, why?[/quote] Nope. It's stuck at Melee 2 no matter what your reach is.
SquirrelyMan]As for AC, I haven't really calculated magic armor, which puts me to 19. Yeah, it's not great, but the Bard is a cleric AND warlord multiclass, so he has tons of healing surges available to heal me up. Add on top of that the Goliath damage resistance and crazy HP, I'm pretty sure he'll be okay.
I don't think you need top notch defenses as a Warden, though you shouldn't ignore them. You have many ways of spending surges. As an Earthwarden you'll have tons of surges. You'll use second wind every encounter a wrote:
As for AC, I haven't really calculated magic armor, which puts me to 19. Yeah, it's not great, but the Bard is a cleric AND warlord multiclass, so he has tons of healing surges available to heal me up. Add on top of that the Goliath damage resistance and crazy HP, I'm pretty sure he'll be okay.[/quote] I don't think you need top notch defenses as a Warden, though you shouldn't ignore them. You have many ways of spending surges. As an Earthwarden you'll have tons of surges. You'll use second wind every encounter as well.
I'm doing something similar, but I'm using a Halberd with Goliath Greatweapon Training. I should qualify for Deadly Axe and Polearm Gamble. I also took Battle Awareness so that I can punish people for shifting near me. Also shooting for Stoneblessed, naturally.
How do you know it's stuck at 2? I'm fine accepting that, I'm just wondering whether or not you've had this confirmed somewhere.
The bit about the Salves of Power are nice, but I am a little hesitant to do anything too powerful as a DM-PC. I don't want to hinder the group by not playing my role well, but I also want the players to take the spot light.
When it says Melee Weapon, that means you can attack with the reach of your weapon.
The PHB only mentions Melee 1. Melee 1 attacks can only be used on targets adjacent. I think it's a safe assumption that Melee 2 can only be used on targets 2 squares away.
It's on page 56 of the PHB.
I would've liked Thorn Strike to increase its melee range at epic, but oh well. It's still a good power.
