This is an attempt to build a solid, multiple-attacking chaos sorcerer. Sorcerer do tons of damage with only a few key feats, but they're fragile. Particularly since they seem to like getting up close and personal. The feats for both variants are extremely tight, so only the methods that worked best in testing have survived in these builds.
The chaos sorcerer stays back initially, and then steps forward when it's safe. At range or close up, he/she gets great mileage out of chaos bolt and its tendency to jump around. Wild spellfury triggers each time it jumps. His at-wills are very powerful due to feat support, so they are used primarily. Dailies and encounters are more situational, or used for debuffs/disruption.
Gear: +3 bloodiron dagger +1 mage's parrying dagger +3 shadowflow drowmesh armor +2 cloak of resistance Belt of vim +1 Boots of the fencing master Headband of intellect Iron armbands of power +2 Standard adventurer's kit
Chaos Bolt: +26 vs. Will, 2d10r1+35 [+4 melee, if attacked: 8 psychic damage and immediate Reaction to repeat] Chaos Bolt, Critical: 55+12d10r1 +at-will [+4 melee, if attacked: 8 psychic damage and immediate Reaction to repeat]
At-will Powers:Chaos Bolt, Acid Orb Encounter Powers:Second Chance, Mind Hammer, Critical Opportunity, Thunder Summons, Thunder Bomb Daily Powers:Hostility Charm, Thunder Leap, Prismatic Explosion, Deep Dagger Wound Utility Powers:Focused Chaos,Swift Escape, Narrow Escape, Meditation of the Blade, Avatars Of Chaos
Gear: +5 bloodiron dagger +3 staff of ruin Headband of Intellect +5 shadowflow anathema armor +4 brooch of vitality Gauntlets of Destruction Boots of Striding Belt of vim +2 Iron armbands of power +4 War ring Standard adventurer's kit
Gear: +6 bloodiron dagger Headband of Intellect +6 staff of ruin +6 shadowflow starleather armor +6 brooch of vitality Gauntlets of Destruction Boots of teleportation Belt of vim +3 Eye of awareness Iron armbands of power +6 Nullifying ring Shadow band Standard adventurer's kit
Some have suggested that I switch from rogue to ranger to drop daggermaster and gain Spitting Cobra Stance. Both are so good that it was a tempting swap. But now with hybrid builds, you can have both.
Sorcerous Blade Channeling/Wild Spellfury/White Lotus x2 are replaced by Hybrid Talent/Echoes of Thunder/Resounding Thunder/Fury of the Storm
At-wills are not as powerful, as we've lost the all-round goodness of Chaos Bolt. This means that we've dumped the White Lotus feats as well. Why the switch? Because Fury of the Storm belongs on a bloodiron-wielding daggermaster. We're keeping Ruthless Spellfury for now, as Acid Orb will be triggered by our stance. SBC and Wild Spellfury were always going anyway, as we're just not that interested in being in melee any more. It should be hard to close with this sorcerer. He shifts and teleports. And zaps you if you approach.
Acid Orb: +14 vs. Ref, 1d10+19 [+2/previous turn hit with thunder] Acid Orb (critical): 29 + 6d10 [+2/previous turn hit with thunder] Nimble Strike: +17 vs AC, 1d4+10 [+2/previous turn hit with thunder] Quarry: 2d6
Gear: +3 bloodiron dagger +1 mage's parrying dagger +3 shadowflow drowmesh armor +2 cloak of resistance Belt of vim +1 Boots of the fencing master Salve of Power Bracers of the Perfect Shot +2 Standard adventurer's kit
Acid Orb: +25 vs. Ref, 2d10+39 [+3/previous turn hit with thunder] Acid Orb (critical): 179 [+3/previous turn hit with thunder] Nimble Strike: +28 vs AC, 2d4+17 [+3/previous turn hit with thunder] Quarry: 3d6
Gear: +5 bloodiron dagger +3 staff of ruin +5 shadowflow anathema armor +4 brooch of vitality Boots of Striding Belt of vim +2 Salve of Power Bracers of the Perfect Shot +4 War ring Standard adventurer's kit
Acid Orb: +33 vs. Ref, 2d10+50 [+3/previous turn hit with thunder] Acid Orb (critical): 190 + at-will [+3/previous turn hit with thunder] Nimble Strike: +36 vs AC, 2d4+19 [+3/previous turn hit with thunder] Quarry: 3d6
Gear: +6 bloodiron dagger +6 staff of ruin +6 shadowflow starleather armor +6 brooch of vitality Boots of teleportation Belt of vim +3 Eye of awareness Salve of Power Bracers of the Perfect Shot +6 Nullifying ring Shadow band Standard adventurer's kit
I may have lost control. Here is a hybrid version of the original halfling sorcerer daggermaster, allowing a deeper blend of the sorcerer and rogue classes. This time with Storm Soul rather than Wild Soul, but this is a simple power swap for sorcs. The occasional rogue power is extremely good, actually. I think I prefer this to the ranger version, despite the greatness of Spitting Cobra Stance.
I think I also prefer this to the non-hybrid version that came first. Swapping back to chaos magic is as straightforward as swapping those power choices for these.
Wild Soul gets: White Lotus Riposte, White Lotus Master Riposte, Wild Spellfury // Chaos Bolt, and more psychic attacks Storm Soul gets: Resounding Thunder, Echoes of Thunder, Fury of the Storm // More thunder attacks In other words, "your ghost may walk, you lover of trees, down an English lane, if you know what I mean."
You could also chose the White Lotus pair instead of TWF and TWD.
L2. +5 HP, +1 to all level-dependent abilities, new feat: Hybrid Talent (Storm Soul), new utility power: Tumble
L3. +5 HP, new encounter power: Low Slash
L4. +10 HP, +1 to all level-dependent abilities, +1 Dex (19), +1 Cha (19), new feat: Toughness
L5. +5 HP, new daily power: Thunder Leap
L6. +5 HP, +1 to all level-dependent abilities, new feat: Focussed Expertise (light blades), new utility power: Lightning Shift, retrain Tumble to Sneak in the Attack
L7. +5 HP, new encounter power: Thunder Bomb
L8. +5 HP, +1 to all level-dependent abilities, +1 Dex (20), +1 Cha (20), new feat: Weapon Focus (light blades)
L9. +5 HP, new daily power: Howling Hurricane
L10. +5 HP, +1 to all level-dependent abilities, new feat: Echoes of Thunder, new utility power: Shadow Stride
Blazing Starfall: +14 vs. Ref, 1d4+17 [+2/previous turn hit with thunder] Blazing Starfall (critical): 21 + 6d10 [+2/previous turn hit with thunder] Sly Flourish: +17 vs AC, 1d4+15 [+2 melee, +2/previous turn hit with thunder] Sneak Attack: 3d6
Gear: +3 bloodiron dagger +1 mage's parrying dagger +3 shadowflow drowmesh armor +2 cloak of resistance Belt of vim +1 Boots of the fencing master Salve of Power Iron Armbands of Power +2 Standard adventurer's kit
L12. +5 HP, +1 to all level-dependent abilities, new feat: Arcane Admixture (Blazing Starfall, Thunder), new utility power: Meditation of the Blade, retrain Acid Orb to Blazing Starfall
Blazing Starfall: +25 vs. Ref, 2d4+35 [+3/previous turn hit with thunder] Blazing Starfall (critical): 163 [+3/previous turn hit with thunder] Sly Flourish: +28 vs AC, 2d4+25 [+4 melee, +3/previous turn hit with thunder] Sneak Attack: 5d6
At-will Powers:Sly Flourish, Blazing Starfall Encounter Powers:Second Chance, Primordial Storm, Critical Opportunity, Stunning Strike, Thunder Bomb Daily Powers:Feinting Flurry, Lightning Daggers, Thunder Leap, Deep Dagger Wound Utility Powers:Sneak in the Attack, Lightning Shift, Shadow Stride, Meditation of the Blade, Avatars Of Chaos
Gear: +5 bloodiron dagger +3 staff of ruin +5 shadowflow anathema armor +4 brooch of vitality Boots of Striding Belt of vim +2 Iron Armbands of Power +4 War ring Standard adventurer's kit
Blazing Starfall: +33 vs. Ref, 2d4+44 [+3/previous turn hit with thunder] Blazing Starfall (critical): 172 + at-will [+3/previous turn hit with thunder] Sly Flourish: +36 vs AC, 2d4+28 [+6 melee, +3/previous turn hit with thunder] Sneak Attack: 5d6
At-will Powers:Sly Flourish, Blazing Starfall Encounter Powers:Second Chance, Primordial Storm, Critical Opportunity,Steel Entrapment, Thunder Bomb Daily Powers:Deathweaving Strike, Lightning Daggers, Wrathful Vapours , Deep Dagger Wound Utility Powers:Sneak in the Attack, Sudden Scales, Shadow Stride, Meditation of the Blade, Avatars Of Chaos, Hide From The Light, Divine Regeneration
Gear: +6 bloodiron dagger +6 staff of ruin +6 shadowflow starleather armor +6 brooch of vitality Boots of teleportation Belt of vim +3 Eye of awareness Iron Armbands of Power +6 Nullifying ring Shadow band Standard adventurer's kit
Blazing Starfall: +14 vs. Ref, 1d4+16 [+2/hit with thunder since last turn] Blazing Starfall (Critical): 20+6d10 [+2/hit with thunder since last turn] Sneak Attack: 3d6
Gear: +3 bloodiron dagger +1 staff of ruin +3 shadowflow drowmesh armor +2 cloak of resistance Belt of vim +1 Boots of the fencing master Standard adventurer's kit
Blazing Starfall: +25 vs. Ref, 2d4+35 [+3/hit with thunder since last turn] Blazing Starfall (Critical): 183 [+3/hit with thunder since last turn] Sneak Attack: 5d6
Gear: +5 bloodiron dagger +3 staff of ruin +5 shadowflow anathema armor +4 brooch of vitality Boots of Striding Belt of vim +2 War Ring War Ring Standard adventurer's kit
Blazing Starfall: +33 vs. Ref, 2d4+44 [+3/hit with thunder since last turn] Blazing Starfall (Critical): 172 + at-will [+3/hit with thunder since last turn] Sneak Attack: 5d6
Gear: +6 bloodiron dagger +6 staff of ruin +6 shadowflow starleather armor +6 brooch of vitality Boots of teleportation Belt of vim +3 Eye of awareness Nullifying ring Shadow band Standard adventurer's kit
The archetypical dragon sorcerer is clearly a dragonborn. The archetypical PP is Dragonsoul Heir, although I came within a whisker of choosing Kensei or Dragon Guardian instead. This build, like the Chaos sorcerer build, is built to be much tougher than the average striker, and to mix it up in and around the front lines.
And this character is really tough. Huge defense boosts and temp HP everywhere in paragon. He/she has a lot of close burst/blast powers, so getting in close to the action is quite important. Pushing adds a handy damage boost. Would like to get room for lasting frost into the build, but feats are very tight.
Good variant: Take MC Ranger instead of Fighter, and take the level 5 daily Spitting Cobra Stance with the MC feat that replaces Draconic Arrogance. This reduces your damage for most strikes by 5-18 per hit, but in certain moderately common circumstances, gives you many more attacks per round. If taking this option, watch that you can pick your battles to use the stance, and get Salves of Power to get more attempts per day. Also consider rings of ramming to really keep yourself clear. This tactic might be used to keep enemies off a fragile party member if you don't need protecting yourself, but make sure you place yourself so that it triggers often.
Gear: +3 jagged dagger +1 mage's parrying dagger +3 shadowflow drowmesh armor +2 cloak of resistance Belt of vim +1 Boots of the fencing master Casque of tactics +1 Iron armbands of power +2 Standard adventurer's kit
Gear: +5 jagged dagger +5 staff of ruin +5 shadowflow anathema armor +4 brooch of vitality Gauntlets of Destruction Boots of Striding Belt of vim +2 Circlet of indomitability +2 Iron armbands of power +4 Premonition ring Standard adventurer's kit
Gear: +6 jagged dagger +6 staff of ruin +6 shadowflow starleather armor +6 brooch of vitality Gauntlets of Destruction Boots of teleportation Belt of vim +3 Eye of awareness Iron armbands of power +6 Nullifying ring Shadow band Standard adventurer's kit
One thing I would change: In the Chaos Sorc build... kick Dragonfrost and take Acid Orb; it's vs. Reflex and does more damage... and I cannot see any important use of Dragonfrost.
Edit: I would also take Lost in Crowd. For this concept it's a very good feat.
Very solid archetypes. The halfling has hide spec at level 20, but doesn't (any won't ever) qualify with a starting CON of 12. You need 15 CON for hide spec.
I'm a bit surprised that Arcane Reach never made it into either build, given the number of close blast powers available.
One thing I would change: In the Chaos Sorc build... kick Dragonfrost and take Acid Orb; it's vs. Reflex and does more damage... and I cannot see any important use of Dragonfrost.
Edit: I would also take Lost in Crowd. For this concept it's a very good feat.
Good call on the acid orb. I think I had hopes for a Lasting Frost at one stage, but Chaos Orb should be holding the focus for pretty much the entire career. It gives the (multi-target) equivalent of the twin strike/daggermaster combo.
I had some hopes for Lost in the Crowd in the original plan, but I had such a feat squeeze. I think I can see it coming back in now, though.
Very solid archetypes. The halfling has hide spec at level 20, but doesn't (any won't ever) qualify with a starting CON of 12. You need 15 CON for hide spec.
I'm a bit surprised that Arcane Reach never made it into either build, given the number of close blast powers available.
Thank you for that catch. I think I'll drop down to leather and save the two feats. The (situational) lost AC can come from Lost in the Crowd, which makes sense when playing him as a multi-meleer. Arcane Reach was in the original plan, like Lost in the Crowd, but the bulk of the close powers are actually on the dragon sorc build (who doesn't qualify). I think it would be overkill here.
I'll take Light Blade Precision for now, which will probably be switched out in the future when I get some good options from Arcane Power.
So I could replace my shield with a mage's weapon parrying dagger, and have +1 AC earlier. Then take TWF and TWD and get shield spec level defenses earlier with a bonus +1 damage.
Then, Two-Weapon Opening might be worthwhile. I'd like to hope that a (melee-replacing-ranged) ranged basic attack is a melee basic attack. If so, I could replace Light Blade Precision to get a good melee damage improvement in paragon.
