A Battlemind|Fighter - Defender|Defender build with one of the nastiest catch-22 problems out there.
Essentially, uses Daring Blade from Bard to be a Con/Cha build. Mixes and matches from both sets of powers - Brash Strike means the build gets to add +Cha to Defenses, Brutal Barrage means lots of attacks, and Lightning Rush gives great options for attacking out of turn. Eldritch Strike is for the melee basic.
ITEMS Timeless Locket +3, Heavy Shield, Wyvernscale Armor of Dwarven Vigor +3, Staggering Warhammer +3, Rushing Cleats ====== Copy to Clipboard and Press the Import Button on the Summary Tab ======
ITEMS Heavy Shield, Diamond Cincture (paragon tier), Staggering Warhammer +4, Timeless Locket +4, Foe Binder Ring (paragon tier), Dwarven Wyrmscale Armor +4, Strikebacks (heroic tier), Iron Armbands of Power (paragon tier), Rushing Cleats (heroic tier), Circlet of Arkhosia (paragon tier) ====== Copy to Clipboard and Press the Import Button on the Summary Tab ======
ITEMS Heavy Shield, Diamond Cincture (paragon tier), Staggering Warhammer +4, Timeless Locket +4, Foe Binder Ring (paragon tier), Dwarven Wyrmscale Armor +4, Strikebacks (heroic tier), Iron Armbands of Power (paragon tier), Rushing Cleats (heroic tier), Circlet of Arkhosia (paragon tier) ====== Copy to Clipboard and Press the Import Button on the Summary Tab ======
So what does this build do and do differently than the normal tank builds:
Can use Charisma to make martial melee attack rolls at 11th. This explains the oddball Str score for the Fighter side.
Harlequin Style: Brash Strike with +Cha to defenses. At 11th+, this ends up being +3 to +7 bonus to all defenses against my primary marked target. Woe to the Solo without bonus damage on CA when this happens...this also results in pretty good at-will damage due to the high Con.
Slide: Eldritch Strike can slide 7 squares at 13th(1 for Eldritch, 1 for Bludgeoning Expertise, 1 for Battering Shield, 1 for Rushing Cleats, 3 for Staggering Weapon)
Okay, but how is this different? It is different in that it has both elements of a catch-22 going on and extremely strongly - in the round, the character generally does the following: Brash Strike with Harlequin Stance.
So now the opponent has a number of options, all of which are bad: Try to shift and charge. If the enemy shifts, it activates Combat Challenge and then Blurred Step. On the charge, it then provokes an OA, which gives yet another attack and the potential of stopping it. Odds are pretty high of being Slid and Slowed, which can remove any possible targets.
Try to attack the Battlemind|Fighter. Due to Harlequin Stance and the +5 from Cha(+6 or better after 13th), this means effectively +3 to all defenses and the possibility of a Shield Edge Block to make that +7.
Try to move, then charge. OA can stop the move, slide the foe 6 squares away from opponents, and then unlike most Tank builds, this results in the opponent now being slowed. Likely, the target is still nearby, and so triggers Lightning Rush. With the Augment 2, the character is now the target of the attack and has the +3 to all defenses.
Attack an opponent while adjacent to this character. CC, if it hits, slides the target 6 squares away and slows it - as it is an interrupt, the attack is almost certainly negated.
Do a Close Burst. Best option, but still, going to be targeting the attack at a -3 to the Battlemind, -7 if Shield Edge Block is still available.
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Also, another option available to the character is to simply use the melee basic as a controller might - slide 7 + slow is quite nasty - hit an enemy in front of me, slide him next to someone I want to also mark, move up to them both, and spend a power point to augment so they're both marked. Or slide them through a trap or zone. Or slide them out of range of everyone so they can't even attack if they're a melee monster.
If someone is trying to block me from getting an my intended target, I can use the melee basic on them or even just use the Brash Strike on them and when someone else triggers my Lightning Rush option, I can then move around them - they'll likely miss with their OA. This also works when I want to cause other kinds of havoc, such on my first turn before my initiative comes up.
Finally, the Arcane Familiar is a Gallant Hawk - this gives all the benefits of Daunting Challenge(-3 to marks who don't attack you) and also grants a +2 to Perception and an encounter marking power.
====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ====== Battlemind|Fighter, level 30 Half-Elf, Fighter/Battlemind, Daring Blade, Invincible Mind Eldritch Strike Option: Eldritch Strike Charisma Psionic Augmentation (Hybrid) Option: Hybrid Power Point Option Hybrid Talent Option: Psionic Study (Hybrid) Psionic Study (Hybrid) Option: Speed of Thought (Hybrid) Half-Elf Power Selection Option: Dilettante Akanûl (Akanûl Benefit)
FINAL ABILITY SCORES STR 13, CON 26, DEX 15, INT 10, WIS 12, CHA 26
STARTING ABILITY SCORES STR 11, CON 16, DEX 13, INT 8, WIS 10, CHA 16
ITEMS Heavy Shield x1 Strikebacks (heroic tier) x1 Ring of Free Time (epic tier) x1 Dwarven Titanscale Armor +6 x1 Circlet of Arkhosia (epic tier) x1 Iron Armbands of Power (epic tier) x1 Belt of the Witch King (paragon tier) x1 Staggering Warhammer +6 x1 Greater Ring of Invisibility (epic tier) x1 Stone of Earth (paragon tier) Dice of Auspicious Fortune (paragon tier) Backlash Tattoo (heroic tier) x1 Airstriders (epic tier) x1 Cloak of Distortion +6 x1 Feyslaughter Warhammer +5 ====== End ======
Belt of Witch King is likely powered by Offensive Spin Slash for 40 hp of instant healing 1/day.
Moves 12 squares upon rolling initiative, likely goes first with a +41 Initiative. On the 1st turn, he's got a speed of 8 due to Quick Reactions. Airstriders mean he can fly 10 squares as a move action. So let's say something is flying 21 squares up, cackling evilly about how poor melee types will never get to it. He flies 10 squares up, does Martial Supremacy stance, then charges it with Eldritch Strike. He gets to roll twice to hit and on a hit, slides it 8 squares down and slows it. He then APs to charge it. Again getting to roll twice to hit, and on a hit, he slides it 8 squares down, dazes it(Overwhelming Strike) and prones it(World Serpent). He then falls down on his feet standing right next to it.
Ring of Free Time allows Greater Invisibility Ring use, Quickened Spellcasting with Eldritch Strike, swapping out weapons if there's a teleport threat, etc...
Defenses are usually going to be a lot higher than they appear - he gets effectively +7 to all defenses against Brash Strike target, +2 to all defenses from Concealment after a milestone after using Ring of Greater Invisibility, and +6 to all defenses against ranged attacks that are too far away from him)
I've been trying to come up with something really cool with Daring Blade over the last few days, albeit as a striker, and I've been starting worry that its not possible. It's good to see somebody doing something truly savage with it.
Another interesting thing about it is that unlike the traditional push Fighter, it doesn't need a huge amount of Slide - I can get rid of either the staggering weapon or the feats and still have at least 3 squares of slide, which is enough to slide a target from one corner to another. That frees up a lot of room in an LFR-style game where you might not have the perfect item selection(or want a Feyslaughter weapon as your primary choice)
Also, it looks better in a way to use a Longsword until Epic. Lose +Con damage on the Brash Strike, but gain +1 to hit with the Eldritch Strike.
It works a lot better in Heroic than my previous versions as it is no longer just Fighter - Battlemind's Twisted Eye makes for a very nice start to the build...
Me Likey. Really well put together and functional.
How do you feel the first 1-10 play out with this style character? Is it best avoided, doable but not great, fully functional, or better?
Should be better than functional - with melee training, something a Battlemind would be getting anyway, you immediately get the 2 for 1 special - opponent shifts and then moves, you get two shots at 'em. Which will drive DMs nuts as normal Battleminds don't get the CC punishment and normal Fighters don't get the free shift, even on corners.
if you keep the hammer, all but begs for training Intimidate and getting Hammer Shock to make your OA and CC attacks with Eldritch Strike rattling.
The issue is weapon choice, game, and tier. I don't think Battering Shield stays in there at all if I get the Staggering Weapon. But if I don't, then it helps out a lot with the +1 to Slide as being able to Slide 3 is crucial.
An example of this is the following: _XE____F XM_ Y__
Let's say as an example, let's E is looking to shift and then charge F(Friend). M is me. If he gets hit by the CC, then I can slide via the path X to the point Y. Now he's slowed and can't reach F via the charge. I also can block the shift entirely - the goal is to slide the opponent in the square where if he continues the shift, he tries to shift into my square.
If he shifts on the diagonal, then I need slide 3 to get him there.
If I miss, I shift with him and then swat him on the OA.
In general, I think the heavy blade is probably best in paragon(+1 to hit via longsword) and hammer is best in Epic(daze on slow) - my decisions are representing ideal equipment and feats if I don't get that ideal equipment
Let's say that you want to play this character as more of an off-tank and thus up the damage with less regard for defender ability, what would you change?
Which will drive DMs nuts as normal Battleminds don't get the CC punishment and normal Fighters don't get the free shift, even on corners.
Meh, although normal fighters may not take mobile challenge (and thus be able to do this), there's an argument to be made that optimized ones will. However you have an advantage over a straight fighter since Mobile challenge is a little bit less reliable since you need to hit with CC to get the shift.
