I see a lot of people whining these days "Why can't I play a Two-Weapon Fighter?" Then other people say "Play a Ranger!" And the TW Fighters say "But it's not a Defender!"
BAH!!! Says I (and pish-tosh as well, because it's fun to say pish-tosh). It's entirely possible to come up with a Two-Weapon Defender. Don't believe me? Have a look! I've named this particular fighter "Harvey", after... well, you can guess it, I'm sure. Anyway, he spent some time in a town's militia, before striking it out on his own. In the meantime, he started to develop a new fighting style, combining his training in the militia with his own attempts at mastering a Ranger's 2-Weapon Style. Here he is:
Alright, so first you may ask: why human? This is because I envision Harvey as a human, and the extra feat is extraordinarily helpful in this particular build. The +1 to non-AC defenses is great too, but I'll admit the extra At-Will is pretty meh, along with the extra skill. The two weapons Harvey will be wielding are a Scimitar in his main hand and a Short Sword in his off hand. So, what can Harvey do at this level? Well, Cleave right now is his bread-and-butter. If you'd like, Imagine Harvey hitting his main enemy with his scimitar, and landing a glancing blow with his short sword on an adjacent enemy. That's as close as he'll get to At-Will two-weaponing for now. Reaping Strike probably won't see as much play, and Sure Strike is only there because this build doesn't use a shield. Passing attack actually works as a Two-Weapon attack as well. First strike is with a short sword or scimitar, and the second is with the other. Villain's Menace isn't a Two-Weapon attack, but it's great anyway. You also get the fighter class features, as well as 2 consecutive rounds of Hunter's Quarry. The Hunter's Quarry feature comes of course, from Warrior of the Wild feat, which is here to help Harvey get a bunch of 2-Weapon Powers, along with free training in the Perception skill. His other feat (being human and all that) is Two-Weapon Fighting, which gives an untyped +1 damage roll to his scimitar attacks. This is pretty good, but this feat is the prerequisite to two other amazing feats he gets later.
At level 2, Harvey gets a Utility Power. The one that really stands out is Unstoppable. The regeneration granted by Boundless Endurance is great, but with Harvey's low CON the 2d6 temporary hit points are worth more than regenerating 2 HP every turn. The feat he takes here is Two-Weapon Defense, one of the "two other amazing feats" I mentioned earlier. +1 AC and +1 REF is nothing to scoff at.
Another encounter power at level 3! Go with Rain of Blows which surprisingly can also be used as a Two-Weapon attack. If Harvey leads with his Short Sword, then he's allowed a secondary attack, in addition to another attack that he can use with his Scimitar. This power's actually a lot better than I thought it was..
At Level 4 Harvey gets his first two stat boosts. Boost STR and DEX. He also gets another feat, which he's spending on Novice Power. He's trading in Passing Attack and getting Dire Wolverine Strike, which is a close burst attack that can be used for marking more than one enemy, like Passing Attack.
Another Daily Power. This time, he's going with Rain of Steel, which allows Harvey to deal 1d8 damage to an enemy he's standing next to at the start of the enemy's turn. Since he's a fighter, he'll definitely be making use of this.
Harvey gets another Utility Power, and this time, it's Unbreakable, which reduces damage he takes. Once again, Harvey's low CON doesn't allow his to use this power as effectively as he could, but it's better than nothing. Harvey also gets another feat, which is being used on Action Surge. Let's face it: every human needs to get Action Surge at some point. +3 to attacks when you really need it (and if you're spending an action point, you REALLY need it) is awesome.
It's time for Harvey to learn another encounter attack! This time, it's Griffon's Wrath. It doesn't involve two attacks, I know, but the -2 penalty to AC is pretty awesome.
Another stat boost level, and Harvey's STR and DEX will go up again. Another feat, too. This time, it's Acolyte Power. Another power swap is in order. Say goodbye to Unbreakable and hello to Evade Ambush, which allows Harvey and a few of his buddies to not be surprised during an ambush. Pretty sweet.
Harvey gets a new attack power at this level. This time it's Thicket of Blades. Harvey can make multiple attacks with it, so if he want to use both of his swords, that's his (your) option. All enemies that are hit are slowed as well, which means they won't go after his squishier allies.
Harvey gets another Utility Power, which is going to be Into the Fray, which allows him to get into the thick of combat with a minor action. Could be worse. Harvey also get another feat, which he'll spend on Adept Power. Harvey will trade in his Rain of Steel stance for Frenzied Skirmish, which dazes an opponent if Harvey strikes it once and slows it too with the second attack. Pretty good debilitating effect, all-in-all.
Harvey Human Fighter/Ranger Lv. 11 Ability Scores: STR: 21 (+5) CON: 12 (+1) DEX: 18 (+4) INT: 11 (+0) WIS: 15 (+2) CHA: 9 (-1) Defenses: (Assuming +3 Armor and Neck Slot) AC: 26 FORT: 25 REF: 23 WILL: 20 Hit Points: Full: 87 Bloodied: 43 Healing Surge Value: 21 # of Surges/day: 10 Powers: At-Will: Twin Strike, Cleave, Reaping Strike Encounter: Dire Wolverine, Rain of Blows, Griffon's Wrath, Sweeping Whirlwind Daily: Villain's Menace, Frenzied Skirmish, Thicket of Blades Utility: Unstoppable, Evade Ambush, Into the Fray Feats Warrior of the Wild Two-Weapon Fighting Two-Weapon Defense Novice Power Action Surge Acolyte Power Adept Power Heavy Blade Opportunity Details: Skills: Athletics, Endurance, Heal, Streetwise, Perception Class Features: Combat Challenge, Combat Superiority, Fighter Weapon Talent (1-handed), Hunter's Quarry (1 per encounter) Items: +3 Scimitar, +3 Short Sword, +3 Hide Armor, +3 Amulet of Protection
Level 11 is a real big change level. Harvey is now a Paragon-Tier adventurer! As such, there are a lot of big choices for him to make. This biggest one you probably already guessed: Harvey's Paragon Multiclassing into the Ranger Class. This of course means he gets the excellent Twin Strike At-Will Power, which is far and away better than Sure Strike, which you should dump ASAP. Harvey also gets a Lv. 7 Ranger Power thrown in there for his Paragon Multiclass. I thought Sweeping Whirlwind was good, since Harvey can use it to knock down multiple foes to give himself breathing room when he needs it. Of course, I can only speculate about what items Harvey will find in his travels, so for now I'm just going with basic +3 enhancement items, which are level-appropriate right now. If you look hard, you'll also see I switched Harvey out of Scale Armor and into Hide. This is because Harvey's DEX is high enough that Hide Armor is actually more beneficial to him than if he remained in Scale Armor. He's also trading a movement penalty for an Armor Check penalty, but Harvey's not expected to be a skill monkey anyway. Harvey also gets another feat at lv. 11 (isn't it awesome!). The feat Harvey's taken is Heavy Blade Opportunity, which allows Harvey to use his newly-mastered Twin Strike attack against enemies who drop their guards! Harvey's now a true duel-wielding defender, but lets see what else he can improve on!
Since Harvey's Paragon Multiclassed, he can choose a 10th Level Ranger Utility Power at this level. For enhanced mobility, he's going with Expedious Stride, which ups the number of squares he can move and shift. The movement may not be too useful to a defender (barring difficult terrain), but the extra shift could be what he needs to get to the bleeding wizard before the ogre lops his head off! Harvey also gets another feat at this level, which is going to be Scimitar Dance (as I'm sure some predicted). Whenever Harvey misses with an attack, he can still deal his DEX modifier in damage, which is pretty good.
Level 13 nets Harvey another encounter attack, but since he already knows 4, he'll have to trade a weaker power in for it. Get rid of Dire Wolverine Strike. This frees up Harvey's Novice Power, which he will use to learn the Ranger power Nimble Defense. This attack adds to Harvey's AC when he hits an enemy with it, and since Harvey's a defender, more AC is a good thing.
More stat boosts this level, which Harvey will again add to his STR and DEX. Harvey also gets another feat, which he'll be using on Toughness this time around. More HP is never a bad thing.
Harvey gets another Daily Attack power now. Trade in Villain's Menace, and in return, get the awe-inspiring Dragon's Fangs. Harvey can use this as a Two-Weapon attack, if he wants to.
Harvey gets another utility power this level. The power he's getting is Iron Warrior which is a great self-healing power. Harvey also gets another feat, which will be spent on Weapon Focus (Heavy Blades), because dealing more damage never hurt anyone except Harvey's enemies.
Harvey gets another Encounter Power, and this time there'll be two swaps done. First, drop Nimble Defense and choose Storm of Blows. Now, lose Rain of Blows and use your now-free Novice Power to choose Two-Weapon Eviscerate, which heavily damages an enemy and weakens them.
Harvey again boosts his STR and DEX this level. He also gets another feat, which he uses to gain Weapon Focus (Light Blades), because the scimitar doesn't get all the fun.
Another Daily Power at this level. Harvey gets rid of Frenzied Skirmish, and goes with the awesome Cruel Cage of Steel. This power is amazing. Stunning an enemy is basically robbing them of a turn, and the attack also deals a lot of damage to boot. Harvey will be keeping this 'till the end up his career.
Harvey gets a Lv. 19 Ranger Daily power to add to his repertoire thanks to Paragon Multiclassing, and since Cruel Cage of Steel is already taken, he goes with Wounding Whirlwind, which hits multiple enemies with two attacks AND ongoing damage. Harvey also gets another feat, which he spends on Iron Will to shore up his WILL Defense, which is his weak point at the moment.
Harvey Human Fighter/Ranger/Eternal Seeker Lv. 21 Ability Scores: STR: 24 (+7) CON: 13 (+1) DEX: 21 (+5) INT: 12 (+1) WIS: 16 (+3) CHA: 10 (+0) Defenses: (Assuming +5 Armor and Neck Slot) AC: 35 FORT: 34 REF: 31 WILL: 30 Hit Points: Full: 158 Bloodied: 79 Healing Surge Value: 39 # of Surges/day: 10 Powers: At-Will: Twin Strike, Cleave, Reaping Strike Encounter: Griffon's Wrath, Sweeping Whirlwind, Storm of Blows, Twin-Weapon Eviscerate Daily: Thicket of Blades, Dragon's Fangs, Cruel Cage of Steel, Wounding Whirlwind Utility: Unstoppable, Evade Ambush, Into the Fray, Expeditious Stride, Iron Warrior Feats Warrior of the Wild Two-Weapon Fighting Two-Weapon Defense Novice Power Action Surge Acolyte Power Adept Power Heavy Blade Opportunity Scimitar Dance Toughness Weapon Focus (Heavy Blades) Weapon Focus (Light Blades) Iron Will Two-Weapon Flurry Details: Skills: Athletics, Endurance, Heal, Streetwise, Perception Class Features: Combat Challenge, Combat Superiority, Fighter Weapon Talent (One-Handed), Hunter's Quarry (1 per encounter) Items: +5 Scimitar, +5 Short Sword, +5 Elderhide Armor, +5 Amulet of Protection
Again, I can only speculate what items Harvey will find on his adventures, so I'm only listing mundane enchantments of the appropriate level. Anyway, Harvey's exploits have become so extraordinary, he's become an Epic Adventurer. Harvey's Epic Destiny is to become an Eternal Seeker, unsure of his place in the Universe but trying to find where it is. Mechanically, Harvey can now take Ranger encounter and daily powers instead of Fighter Powers instead, which helps him obtain more Ranger multiple attack powers. Harvey also gets another feat, which he uses to obtain the awesome Two-Weapon Flurry (it's the other amazing feat I mentioned, remember?). Now, when Harvey uses his Twin Strike opportunity attack, he can throw in an extra attack with his short sword, albeit at a penalty. Still a great feat choice. And to top it all off, all of his stats are boosted again. Level 21 sure is generous!
Harvey gets to choose a Utility Power. While Harvey is still restricted to Fighter Powers at this point, it's alright since he can choose the epic No Surrender, which allows him to defy death once per day. There's a penalty to attacks, but it beats being dead. And on top of that, Harvey gets another feat, which he uses to gain Heavy Blade Mastery, which makes his Scimitar even more dangerous.
Harvey gets a new encounter power at level 23. He's losing Griffon's Wrath, and gaining Cloak of Thorns, an excellent defender power as it turns out, since it drops the enemy's attack bonus. Seems Ranger powers CAN be good on defenders after all!
At level 24, Harvey gets another 2 stat boosts, which go to STR and DEX again. Harvey also gains the Eternal Action feature from his Epic Destiny, that gives him another extra standard action on the turn AFTER he spends an action point (though that extra turn won't be subject to the excellent Action Surge). Harvey also gets a feat as well; this time it's Light Blade Mastery, so that his short sword can crit as often as his scimitar.
Harvey gets another daily attack power at this level. This next choice will come as a surprise, though: Harvey's going to replace Thicket of Blades with the Paladin daily power Exalted Retribution. The thing is, an enemy hit by Exalted Retribution provokes Opportunity Attacks by you when it attacks, and it gives an attack boost to you with those opportunity attacks, AND you opportunity attacks deal and addition [W] with them. Factor in Twin Strike, and that could add up to A LOT of damage quickly.
Harvey's Epic Destiny allows him to select one Lv. 22 utility power from any class this level. Harvey's going with the Star Pact Warlock's Entropic Ward, which makes it harder for enemies to hit him, with a bonus to attack WHEN they miss him. He also gets another feat, which is this time Epic Resurgence. When Harvey strikes that lucky blow, he gets an encounter power back. Not as good as the Demigod's Lv. 30 feature, but Harvey will make due with what he has.
Time for Harvey to gain his last encounter power. Harvey loses Storm of Blows, and gains Death Rend, which on top of heavily damaging his foe, allows Harvey to stun his enemy (I've already talked about the awesomeness of stunning, haven't I?). Should definitely be used every encounter.
Harvey's last stat boost. Stats go into STR and CON of course... wait, what? Well, since DEX is at 22 before the boost, boosting it won't do any good. Better to boost CON, at a 13, to get some fringe benefits. Harvey also gets another feat, which is spent this time on Triumphant Attack, which makes Harvey's critical hits just that more epic.
Harvey's last power... so sad. Harvey loses Dragon's Fangs, and gains Weave a Web of Steel, which, while weaker, allows Harvey to negate an enemy physical attack. Trading a little offense for defense is all right, since Harvey DID start as a defender, and when he needs that attack to miss...
Harvey Human Fighter/Ranger/Eternal Seeker Lv. 30 Ability Scores: STR: 26 (+8) CON: 14 (+2) DEX: 22 (+6) INT: 12 (+1) WIS: 16 (+3) CHA: 10 (+0) Defenses: (Assuming +6 Armor and Neck Slot) AC: 43 FORT: 41 REF: 38 WILL: 36 Hit Points: Full: 218 Bloodied: 109 Healing Surge Value: 54 # of Surges/day: 11 Powers: At-Will: Twin Strike, Cleave, Reaping Strike Encounter: Sweeping Whirlwind, Two-Weapon Eviscerate, Cloak of Thorns, Death Rend Daily: Wounding Whirlwind, Cruel Cage of Steel, Exalted Retribution, Weave a Web of Steel Utility: Unstoppable, Evade Ambush, Into the Fray, Expeditious Stride, Iron Warrior, No Surrender, Entropic Ward Feats Warrior of the Wild Two-Weapon Fighting Two-Weapon Defense Novice Power Action Surge Acolyte Power Adept Power Heavy Blade Opportunity Scimitar Dance Toughness Weapon Focus (Heavy Blades) Weapon Focus (Light Blades) Iron Will Two-Weapon Flurry Heavy Blade Mastery Light Blade Mastery Epic Resurgence Triumphant Attack Devastating Critical Details: Skills: Athletics, Endurance, Heal, Streetwise, Perception Class Features: Combat Challenge, Combat Superiority, Fighter Weapon Talent (One-Handed), Hunter's Quarry (1 per encounter) Items: +6 Scimitar, +6 Short Sword, +6 Darkhide Armor, +6 Amulet of Protection
By now you should know what I have to say about items. To round out Harvey's epic growth, Eternal Seekers are allowed to choose one other epic destiny's Lv. 24 feature. The best of the lot is the Demigod's Divine Recovery, so Harvey takes that. He also gets one more feat, which he spends on Devastating Critical. There are a couple of other good feats, but Harvey figures if his criticals are that good already, why not go for broke? He's now ready to hunt down the Tarrasque, slay an Ancient Red Dragon, or head down into the Abyss itself to take down Orcus. What is his ultimate fate? Harvey does not yet know, but he'll keep adventuring, swords in hand, until he does!
Since the Double Sword came out in the Adventurer's Vault, here's another Two-Weapon Build that focuses exclusively on that weapon.
Alright, so first you may ask: why human? This is because I envision Harvey as a human, and the extra feat is extraordinarily helpful in this particular build. The +1 to non-AC defenses is great too, but I'll admit the extra At-Will is pretty meh, along with the extra skill. Harvey will be wielding a Double Sword now, as I have previously stated. The build is fairly similar to the Scimitar and Short Sword setup, but feat choices will vary between the two. So, what can Harvey do at this level? Well, Cleave right now is his bread-and-butter. If you'd like, Imagine Harvey hitting his main enemy with one blade, and landing a glancing blow with the other blade on an adjacent enemy. That's as close as he'll get to At-Will two-weaponing for now. Reaping Strike probably won't see as much play, and Sure Strike is only there because this build doesn't use a shield. Passing attack actually works as a Two-Weapon attack as well. First strike is with a short sword or scimitar, and the second is with the other. Villain's Menace isn't a Two-Weapon attack, but it's great anyway. You also get the fighter class features, as well as 2 consecutive rounds of Hunter's Quarry. The Hunter's Quarry feature comes of course, from Warrior of the Wild feat, which is here to help Harvey get a bunch of 2-Weapon Powers, along with free training in the Perception skill. His other feat (being human and all that) is Weapon Proficiency (Double Sword) so he can actually use the weapon he's supposed to be fighting with.
At level 2, Harvey gets a Utility Power. The one that really stands out is Unstoppable. The regeneration granted by Boundless Endurance is great, but with Harvey's low CON the 2d6 temporary hit points are worth more than regenerating 2 HP every turn. The feat he takes here is Two-Weapon Fighting, so that he can qualify for some good feats later, and an untyped damage bonus is never a bad thing.
Another encounter power at level 3! Go with Rain of Blows. Because a Double Sword currently counts as a light blade... let's just say the attack hurts.
At Level 4 Harvey gets his first two stat boosts. Boost STR and DEX. He also gets another feat, which he's spending on Novice Power. He's trading in Passing Attack and getting Dire Wolverine Strike, which is a close burst attack that can be used for marking more than one enemy, like Passing Attack.
Another Daily Power. This time, he's going with Rain of Steel, which allows Harvey to deal 1d8 damage to an enemy he's standing next to at the start of the enemy's turn. Since he's a fighter, he'll definitely be making use of this.
Harvey gets another Utility Power, and this time, it's Unbreakable, which reduces damage he takes. Once again, Harvey's low CON doesn't allow his to use this power as effectively as he could, but it's better than nothing. Harvey also gets another feat, which is being used on Two-Weapon Defense, to boost AC and Reflex Defense. It's why Harvey took Two-Weapon Fighting earlier.
It's time for Harvey to learn another encounter attack! This time, it's Griffon's Wrath. It doesn't involve two attacks, I know, but the -2 penalty to AC is pretty awesome.
Another stat boost level, and Harvey's STR and DEX will go up again. Another feat, too. This time, it's Acolyte Power. Another power swap is in order. Say goodbye to Unbreakable and hello to Evade Ambush, which allows Harvey and a few of his buddies to not be surprised during an ambush. Pretty sweet.
Harvey gets a new attack power at this level. This time it's Thicket of Blades. Harvey can make multiple attacks with it, so if he want to use both of his swords, that's his (your) option. All enemies that are hit are slowed as well, which means they won't go after his squishier allies.
Harvey gets another Utility Power, which is going to be Into the Fray, which allows him to get into the thick of combat with a minor action. Could be worse. Harvey also get another feat, which he'll spend on Adept Power. Harvey will trade in his Rain of Steel stance for Frenzied Skirmish, which dazes an opponent if Harvey strikes it once and slows it too with the second attack. Pretty good debilitating effect, all-in-all.
Harvey Human Fighter/Ranger Lv. 11 Ability Scores: STR: 21 (+5) CON: 12 (+1) DEX: 18 (+4) INT: 11 (+0) WIS: 15 (+2) CHA: 9 (-1) Defenses: (Assuming +3 Armor and Neck Slot) AC: 27 FORT: 25 REF: 23 WILL: 20 Hit Points: Full: 87 Bloodied: 43 Healing Surge Value: 21 # of Surges/day: 10 Powers: At-Will: Twin Strike, Cleave, Reaping Strike Encounter: Dire Wolverine, Rain of Blows, Griffon's Wrath, Sweeping Whirlwind Daily: Villain's Menace, Frenzied Skirmish, Thicket of Blades Utility: Unstoppable, Evade Ambush, Into the Fray Feats Warrior of the Wild Weapon Proficiency (Double Sword) Two-Weapon Fighting Novice Power Two-Weapon Defense Acolyte Power Adept Power Heavy Blade Opportunity Details: Skills: Athletics, Endurance, Heal, Streetwise, Perception Class Features: Combat Challenge, Combat Superiority, Fighter Weapon Talent (1-handed), Hunter's Quarry (1 per encounter) Items: +3 Double Sword, +3 Hide Armor, +3 Amulet of Protection
Level 11 is a real big change level. Harvey is now a Paragon-Tier adventurer! As such, there are a lot of big choices for him to make. This biggest one you probably already guessed: Harvey's Paragon Multiclassing into the Ranger Class. This of course means he gets the excellent Twin Strike At-Will Power, which is far and away better than Sure Strike, which you should dump ASAP. Harvey also gets a Lv. 7 Ranger Power thrown in there for his Paragon Multiclass. I thought Sweeping Whirlwind was good, since Harvey can use it to knock down multiple foes to give himself breathing room when he needs it. Of course, I can only speculate about what items Harvey will find in his travels, so for now I'm just going with basic +3 enhancement items, which are level-appropriate right now. If you look hard, you'll also see I switched Harvey out of Scale Armor and into Hide. This is because Harvey's DEX is high enough that Hide Armor is actually more beneficial to him than if he remained in Scale Armor. He's also trading a movement penalty for an Armor Check penalty, but Harvey's not expected to be a skill monkey anyway. Harvey also gets another feat at lv. 11 (isn't it awesome!). The feat Harvey's taken is Heavy Blade Opportunity, which allows Harvey to use his newly-mastered Twin Strike attack against enemies who drop their guards! Harvey's now a true duel-wielding defender, but lets see what else he can improve on!
Since Harvey's Paragon Multiclassed, he can choose a 10th Level Ranger Utility Power at this level. For enhanced mobility, he's going with Expedious Stride, which ups the number of squares he can move and shift. The movement may not be too useful to a defender (barring difficult terrain), but the extra shift could be what he needs to get to the bleeding wizard before the ogre lops his head off! Harvey also gets another feat at this level, which is going to be Weapon Focus (Heavy Blades). Boy, that extra damage, huh?
Level 13 nets Harvey another encounter attack, but since he already knows 4, he'll have to trade a weaker power in for it. Get rid of Dire Wolverine Strike. This frees up Harvey's Novice Power, which he will use to learn the Ranger power Nimble Defense. This attack adds to Harvey's AC when he hits an enemy with it, and since Harvey's a defender, more AC is a good thing.
More stat boosts this level, which Harvey will add to his STR and WIS, since DEX isn't as big a concern this time around. Harvey also gets another feat, which he'll be using on Toughness this time around. More HP is never a bad thing.
Harvey gets another Daily Attack power now. Trade in Villain's Menace, and in return, get the awe-inspiring Dragon's Fangs. Harvey can use this as a Two-Weapon attack, if he wants to.
Harvey gets another utility power this level. The power he's getting is Iron Warrior which is a great self-healing power. Harvey also gets another feat, which will be spent on Action Surge, which is a definite must-have for any human.
Harvey gets another Encounter Power, and this time there'll be two swaps done. First, drop Nimble Defense and choose Storm of Blows. Now, lose Rain of Blows and use your now-free Novice Power to choose Two-Weapon Eviscerate, which heavily damages an enemy and weakens them.
Harvey again boosts his STR and DEX this level. He also gets another feat, which he uses to gain Human Perseverance, to help out with saving throws (obviously)
Another Daily Power at this level. Harvey gets rid of Frenzied Skirmish, and goes with the awesome Cruel Cage of Steel. This power is amazing. Stunning an enemy is basically robbing them of a turn, and the attack also deals a lot of damage to boot. Harvey will be keeping this 'till the end up his career.
Harvey gets a Lv. 19 Ranger Daily power to add to his repertoire thanks to Paragon Multiclassing, and since Cruel Cage of Steel is already taken, he goes with Wounding Whirlwind, which hits multiple enemies with two attacks AND ongoing damage. Harvey also gets another feat, which he spends on Iron Will to shore up his WILL Defense, which is his weak point at the moment.
Harvey Human Fighter/Ranger/Eternal Seeker Lv. 21 Ability Scores: STR: 24 (+7) CON: 13 (+1) DEX: 20 (+5) INT: 12 (+1) WIS: 17 (+3) CHA: 10 (+0) Defenses: (Assuming +5 Armor and Neck Slot) AC: 36 FORT: 34 REF: 31 WILL: 30 Hit Points: Full: 158 Bloodied: 79 Healing Surge Value: 39 # of Surges/day: 10 Powers: At-Will: Twin Strike, Cleave, Reaping Strike Encounter: Griffon's Wrath, Sweeping Whirlwind, Storm of Blows, Twin-Weapon Eviscerate Daily: Thicket of Blades, Dragon's Fangs, Cruel Cage of Steel, Wounding Whirlwind Utility: Unstoppable, Evade Ambush, Into the Fray, Expeditious Stride, Iron Warrior Feats Warrior of the Wild Weapon Proficiency (Double Sword) Two-Weapon Fighting Novice Power Two-Weapon Defense Acolyte Power Adept Power Heavy Blade Opportunity Weapon Focus (Heavy Blades) Toughness Action Surge Human Perseverance Iron Will Two-Weapon Flurry Details: Skills: Athletics, Endurance, Heal, Streetwise, Perception Class Features: Combat Challenge, Combat Superiority, Fighter Weapon Talent (One-Handed), Hunter's Quarry (1 per encounter) Items: +5 Double Sword, +5 Elderhide Armor, +5 Amulet of Protection
Again, I can only speculate what items Harvey will find on his adventures, so I'm only listing mundane enchantments of the appropriate level. Anyway, Harvey's exploits have become so extraordinary, he's become an Epic Adventurer. Harvey's Epic Destiny is to become an Eternal Seeker, unsure of his place in the Universe but trying to find where it is. Mechanically, Harvey can now take Ranger encounter and daily powers instead of Fighter Powers instead, which helps him obtain more Ranger multiple attack powers. Harvey also gets another feat, which he uses to obtain the awesome Two-Weapon Flurry (it's the other amazing feat I mentioned, remember?). Now, when Harvey uses his Twin Strike opportunity attack, he can throw in an extra attack with his short sword, albeit at a penalty. Still a great feat choice. And to top it all off, all of his stats are boosted again. Level 21 sure is generous!
Harvey gets to choose a Utility Power. While Harvey is still restricted to Fighter Powers at this point, it's alright since he can choose the epic No Surrender, which allows him to defy death once per day. There's a penalty to attacks, but it beats being dead. And on top of that, Harvey gets another feat, which he uses to gain Heavy Blade Mastery, which makes his Scimitar even more dangerous.
Harvey gets a new encounter power at level 23. He's losing Griffon's Wrath, and gaining Cloak of Thorns, an excellent defender power as it turns out, since it drops the enemy's attack bonus. Seems Ranger powers CAN be good on defenders after all!
At level 24, Harvey gets another 2 stat boosts, which go to STR and WIS. Harvey also gains the Eternal Action feature from his Epic Destiny, that gives him another extra standard action on the turn AFTER he spends an action point (though that extra turn won't be subject to the excellent Action Surge). Harvey also gets a feat as well; this time it'sEpic Resurgence. When Harvey strikes that lucky blow, he gets an encounter power back. Not as good as the Demigod's Lv. 30 feature, but Harvey will make due with what he has.
Harvey gets another daily attack power at this level. This next choice will come as a surprise, though: Harvey's going to replace Thicket of Blades with the Paladin daily power Exalted Retribution. The thing is, an enemy hit by Exalted Retribution provokes Opportunity Attacks by you when it attacks, and it gives an attack boost to you with those opportunity attacks, AND you opportunity attacks deal and addition [W] with them. Factor in Twin Strike, and that could add up to A LOT of damage quickly.
Harvey's Epic Destiny allows him to select one Lv. 22 utility power from any class this level. Harvey's going with the Star Pact Warlock's Entropic Ward, which makes it harder for enemies to hit him, with a bonus to attack WHEN they miss him. He also gets another feat, which is this time Triumphant Attack, which makes Harvey's critical hits just that more epic
Time for Harvey to gain his last encounter power. Harvey loses Storm of Blows, and gains Death Rend, which on top of heavily damaging his foe, allows Harvey to stun his enemy (I've already talked about the awesomeness of stunning, haven't I?). Should definitely be used every encounter.
Harvey's last stat boost. Stats go into STR and CON of because at this point only boosting CON will have any conceivable benefits. Harvey also gets another feat, which is spent this time on Lightning Reflexes, to help round out his defenses.
Harvey's last power... so sad. Harvey loses Dragon's Fangs, and gains Weave a Web of Steel, which, while weaker, allows Harvey to negate an enemy physical attack. Trading a little offense for defense is all right, since Harvey DID start as a defender, and when he needs that attack to miss...
Harvey Human Fighter/Ranger/Eternal Seeker Lv. 30 Ability Scores: STR: 26 (+8) CON: 14 (+2) DEX: 20 (+5) INT: 12 (+1) WIS: 18 (+4) CHA: 10 (+0) Defenses: (Assuming +6 Armor and Neck Slot) AC: 44 FORT: 43 REF: 39 WILL: 37 Hit Points: Full: 218 Bloodied: 109 Healing Surge Value: 54 # of Surges/day: 11 Powers: At-Will: Twin Strike, Cleave, Reaping Strike Encounter: Sweeping Whirlwind, Two-Weapon Eviscerate, Cloak of Thorns, Death Rend Daily: Wounding Whirlwind, Cruel Cage of Steel, Exalted Retribution, Weave a Web of Steel Utility: Unstoppable, Evade Ambush, Into the Fray, Expeditious Stride, Iron Warrior, No Surrender, Entropic Ward Feats Warrior of the Wild Weapon Proficiency (Double Sword) Two-Weapon Fighting Novice Power Two-Weapon Defense Acolyte Power Adept Power Heavy Blade Opportunity Weapon Focus (Heavy Blades) Toughness Action Surge Human Perseverance Iron Will Two-Weapon Flurry Heavy Blade Mastery Epic Resurgence Triumphant Attack Lightning Reflexes Great Fortitude Details: Skills: Athletics, Endurance, Heal, Streetwise, Perception Class Features: Combat Challenge, Combat Superiority, Fighter Weapon Talent (One-Handed), Hunter's Quarry (1 per encounter) Items: +6 Double Sword, +6 Darkhide Armor, +6 Amulet of Protection
By now you should know what I have to say about items. To round out Harvey's epic growth, Eternal Seekers are allowed to choose one other epic destiny's Lv. 24 feature. The best of the lot is the Demigod's Divine Recovery, so Harvey takes that. He also gets one more feat, which he spends on Great Fortitude, to complete the defense-boosting trifecta. He's now ready to hunt down the Tarrasque, slay an Ancient Red Dragon, or head down into the Abyss itself to take down Orcus. What is his ultimate fate? Harvey does not yet know, but he'll keep adventuring, swords in hand, until he does!
I've also added a Scimitar and Spiked Shield Build which can be found here.
So there you have it. Two-Weapon Fighter, ready kick butt and take names. So, how does it look?
If you're picking a level 22 utility power from any class that allows you to shift, why wouldn't you retrain a feat to Skill Training (Acrobatics) and take Dazzling Acrobatics or even Ignoble Escape? Wouldn't you rather shift 12 (or 6 and ditch a mark) than 3?
Very nice build. You've easily demonstrated the viability of a two-weapon defender.
Although, I must comment. Most of the "I want to play a two-weapon fighter" threads I've seen are from people who want to play a mobile, lightly-armored melee fighter with an offensive fighting style (which is what the two-weapon fighter was in 3.x). To those people, the answer is still going to be, "play a Ranger".
If you're picking a level 22 utility power from any class that allows you to shift, why wouldn't you retrain a feat to Skill Training (Acrobatics) and take Dazzling Acrobatics or even Ignoble Escape? Wouldn't you rather shift 12 (or 6 and ditch a mark) than 3?
Meh. It was past midnight when I was done posting this. Realistically, I could choose a power from ANY class, but I didn't choose from some to maintain flavor. Harvey spontaneously sprouting bat wings would just be... weird.
But you are right, the Utility I picked may not have been the best choice. That is why we post builds on the internet; so that they may be critiqued and improved.
