Welcome friends to the Hall of Heroes! Come close young ones and listen to the tales of those mighty adventurers who have come before us, may their deeds inspire a new generation of worthy successors. Let this place serve to remind us all of their diligence, bravery, and sacrifice!
What makes a great hero?
Here at the Char Op community we have seen builds come and go, from the mundane to the most awe inspiring. The purpose of this thread is to serve as a collection of the great builds that have graced the pages of the Char Op boards. In this endeavor we will seek to record the achievements of those who have painstakingly refined a concept from its gestation to a complete and optimized hero.
Obviously the sheer number of builds out there is staggering. With that said how do we as a community decide which builds belong here? Below are a few guidelines that should help us all in deciding those who tread these halls.
For a builds inclusion to be considered it must be complete. Partial builds, builds with illegible convoluted formatting, and builds which have not undergone sufficent critique and refinement will not be accepted.
Flesh out your Build. The build does not necessarily have to be broken down level by level; however, the build should contain snapshots of the characters progress thru its career. The tried and true tier system of 1st, 11th, 21st, and 30th is recommended.
The build must be balanced and inherently playable. This simply means that just because a hero is capable of delivering earth shattering damage or jacking a particular skill or defense through the roof does not mean that they are destined for greatness. A true hero is well thought out, and should be a viable role in any adventuring party from 1st level to the 30th. This simple guideline will hopefully prevent endless submissions of Glass Cannons and One Trick Ponies.
Be Original. Plagiarism can be considered to be the highest form of flattery. However, if a build is a blatant copy of a pre-existing archetype and differs in only the slightest of variations (ability scores, item selections, etc) then the build will most likely not be considered.
Be Legit. The build must adhere to the standards of Char Op in regards to Errata, item purchasing, and any other factors decided by majority consensus. Builds inherently dependent upon nerfed/errated material or deemed broken by the Char Op majority will not be admissible.
With that said…
Who decides which builds make it in?
For submissions there will be a recommendation process which will hopefully include each avid member of the Char Op community. Three votes in, three votes out. If for any reason there is a discrepancy with a build that is included or not included herein, if the claim is valid, then the build will be included or removed as the case may be.
How will these builds be categorized?
To keep things simple all builds will be broken into the respective role which they best exemplify. There will be no rating system, no color codes, and no relevance to which order the build is listed.
This list is by no means a definitive compilation. There are inumerable builds that Char Op has to offer. The builds herein are quality offerings in both their mechanical impact at the table, and the manner in which they are presented.
These are builds that showcase Practical Optimization, and can be used as inspiration and frameworks for your own characters.
Practical Optimization can be defined as simply optimizing a build for actual use at the table;
from level 1 to level 30.
It is the paramount goal of this thread to provide a convenient resource for both veteran and fledgling Char Op's alike.
AlphatheGreat for format ideas. All Char Op posters for their superb works. Members of the IRC community whose views have helped shape the nature of this thread.
Beowulf is the definitive grabber. He knocks you prone and locks you up in a literally unbreakable grip of iron. Be prepared to get drug around the battlefield and pummeled into oblivion should you cross him. Beowulf has solid defenses, a huge fortitude, and a beefy allotment of HP’s ensuring he will be standing after the dust clears.
Darth Vader, Warlock|Swordmage/Avernian Knight/Sage of Ages – AlphatheGreat The GistShow
This is one of my favorite adaptions on the forums. AlphatheGreat does a superb job in nailing down the flavor and science of recreating a figure of fantastic legend. Combining defenderlock, swordmage debuffs, and a powerful Catch-22 between strong marking and lofty defenses, this build is a wonderful testimony to the thematic and mechanical elements that make 4e great.
This character is nothing short of remarkable. An incredible array of Divine Sanctioning powers, awesome punishment stacking, defensive counterstrikes, excellent survivability, and did I mention he’s a team player? This guy is a joy to read up on and I bet even more fun to play with. Good Stuff.
George is a sticky sticky defender. Employs a diverse strategy of zones, warden forms, slowing, and punishment via Crippling Crush and Breach Warden techniques, George is fully optimized to withstand almost anything you throw his way with ridiculous defenses and 5 second winds.
The Spartan, Fighter/Kensei/Ceaseless Guardian – obtusehobbit The GistShow
The Spartan is an exemplary Battlefield controller. Employing pushing, sliding, and prone techniques, The Spartan makes it his duty to ensure he keeps the enemies from his allies. OA attacks and CC attacks only serve to enforce this. Combine that with an excellent stratagem of mobility and The Spartan makes certain he and the enemy are exactly where he wants them. To top it off high HP’s and Defenses, along with self healing ability, puts this excellent melee controller top of the class.
Achilles, Battlemind Persistent Harrier/Son of Mercy/Reincarnate Champion - langeweile The GistShow
Let’s face it. Battleminds get a pretty bad rap here on the Char Op boards. Is it the funny little thing around their head? Who knows, but one thing is for sure, this builds creator hasn’t let popular opinion stop him. It can be argued that Achilles is more of a striker than a true defender given his awesome DPR, but I feel this build is a well thought out, damaging defender with a plethora of stratagems for almost any situation.
Mr. Smith, Warforged Fighter/Kensei/Ceaseless Guardian – Lordduskblade The GistShow
Another fantastic adoption build, tailored perfectly thematically and mechanically to reflect Agent Smith’s relentless in your face style. Everything a defender build could ever ask for; mark punishment, high initiative, high defenses, great HP’s and surges, and lock downs make Mr. Smith a force to be reckoned with.
Ioun Grey Stone Marker, Half-Elf Fighter Battlemind/Daring Blade/Invincible Mind - Mommy_is_an_Orc The GistShow
A superb Catch 22 paradox lies at the heart of this build. Daring Blade happens to be one of my favorite PP's and it is used to great effect here. This is definitely an inventive and extremely effective build. I would love to see it taken to level 30 (hint hint).
A party friendly, status shedding (party and self alike), self sufficient monstrosity. This build screams "Go ahead, Mess with me... I DARE YOU! It is wonderful to see a great party oriented build reach the light of day. Most excellent friend. Oh ya and good luck killing him.
Dr. No the Sigil Cartificer, Artificer|Swordmage/Sigil Carver/Ceaseless Guardian - Ytterbium_Dragon The GistShow
The Sigil Carver has one of the best multimarking punishments in the game: opportunity attacks against violators of your mark. Don't let the "adjacent ally" requirements fool you, this is both one of the first Ultimate Defenders and one of the best. I have posted the build here with the author's permission. AlphatheGreat - Ultimate Defenders Ho!
This is on my top of my "Please flesh this build out for us!" list. This build comes highly recomended and thus has made it's way here.
ITEMS +6 Shared Valor Starleather Armor (2,125,000), +6 Githyanki Silver Longsword (2,625,000), Opal Ring of Remembrance (2,625,000), Siberys Shard of the Mage (epic, 425,000), Shadowfell Gloves (epic, 1,125,000), Dice of Auspicious Fortune x2 (18,000), Diamond Cincture (paragon, 125,000), +6 Cloak of Distortion (2,625,000), Ring of Giants (17,000), Iron Armbands of Power (1,125,000), Eye of Awareness (425,000), Planestrider Boots (85,000)
A recent fan favorite. The Anointed knight specializes in neutering an enemies' ability to deal damage. Slowing, Knocking prone, Dazing effects butter the biscuit. Add the jelly in the form of Allied Defense boosts, save granting, and temporary hit points and you have yourself a fat and mean defending machine.
An Illusion of Hope, Deva, Invoker Wizard/Flame of Hope/Soul of the World - Mommy_was_an_Orc The GistShow
I am very happy to include this build. What started as a cool concept has been lovingly crafted into this lean, mean, lock down machine. Allies get buffs, baddies get neutered, Team Hero wins.
Master of Puppets is a formidable character. Pulling the strings of both enemy and ally, the Puppetmaster sets up the field of battle to his liking. He moves allies around the battlefield and makes them attack his foes with just a casual flick of his wand. Enemies? Enemies have it much worse. Enemies are pushed around by Master of Puppets if they're lucky, and if Master of Puppets desires it, he can make them attack their own allies, sowing chaos along the enemy line.
If that's not compelling enough, Master of Puppets also virtually ensures that his group will go first, provides a high level of healing, and can serve as the party's most skilled member.
Initiative optimization, Battlefield positioning, a slew of THP’s, and a mind blowing amount of granted attacks place this exemplary build well ahead of the pack. Marvelous.
This build's goal is simple: hit 'em fast, hit 'em hard, and hit 'em until they stop moving. To accomplish that end, all resources have been geared around getting you and your allies in better positions, and then granting them attack bonuses and additional attacks so they can finish the enemy off cleanly and efficiently. That said, it's also capable of dealing with things if they don't go according to plan. Alpha striking at its best.
Aeris, Shielding Pacifist Cleric, Kalashtar Cleric/Messenger of Peace/Saint - Nausicca The GistShow
No one can disregard the power of the healic, and no one does it better than this builds creator. Note the build is further down in the healic guide, but I felt this was a noteworthy/mandatory inclusion.
Stormbringer, Warlord/Battlelord of Kord/Warmaster - Lordduskblade The GistShow
The goal of this build was to make a Warlord that could enable his party to perform offensive explosions, or novas, more efficiently. To that end, this build has two specialties: granting attacks and buffing attacks, which makes your allies exponentially more dangerous. Don’t think he’s all about his allies, though; some of these buffs can apply to him, and he is well-armored and deals solid damage; especially while charging (which also enables your allies). However, this build is not for the faint of heart; you take plenty of risks to get these abilities (I am of the opinion it's well worth the price).
The tactics differ somewhat from other Warlords; this build is made to be in the front-line, giving and taking damage. He uses his healing powers to keep himself and his allies on their feet while they relentlessly pound the front. Also look to buff your allies; you believe in conserving resources by not giving your opponents a chance to hit you back if you can avoid it. A lot of powers grant allies free attacks, so look to be adjacent or flanking with them to maximize potential damage. Every once in a while, you can cut loose and unleash the nova, at which point you show why you're the boss.
There are builds that come along and change the way we look at Char Op. This is one of them. Original, inventive, and simply awesome. This build concept to me defines what it means to be selfless Leader. The woman behind the curtain if you will.
Fuel: Human Ardent/Bard War Chanter/Indomitable Champion - Dielzen The GistShow
All the things a good leader does. Fuel the party with THP's, sound healing, defensive bonuses, damage bonuses, save grantings, and sounding bad ass while doing it. Give me Fuel me fire give me that which I desire!
Barbarian Bruiser, Barbarian/Kensei/Reincarnate Champion - Lordduskblade The GistShow
This build is the consummate charger. Employing every dirty trick in the book, this guy is sure to obliterate anything in his path. Check out the nifty Reincarnate Champion/Dragonborn/Gnoll trick! Solid defenses and durability round out this superb build and make it a fine addition to kick off the Strikers section. Obviously the people agree with 35k views!
There is a very good reason this build has been viewed in excess of 30k. Optimized for elusiveness, mobility, accuracy, and serious damage; this rogue is bar none one of the finest of the Char Op boards. Well done!
The Time Bomb, Ranger/Adroit Explorer/Master of Moments – Lordduskblade The GistShow
Leave it to LDB to put together the first action Optimization build utilizing Master of Moments. A solid and balanced build that can dish out terrifying damage; a personal inspiration to me.
Solid defenses, amazing Nova potential, playable at all levels. King of the Encounter Epic Nova.
Challenger, Githzerai Pursuit Avenger/Ardent Champion/Demigod – Auspex7 The GistShow
Excellent DPR, Immediate Action attacks, Crits for days… what more could you ask for? How about great defenses? A wonderful build.
The Hurricane, Half-Orc Ranger MC Spiked Chain/Stormwarden/Demigod - Lordduskblade Spoiler:Show
This build is mobile, dangerous, and excellent at conserving resources while dropping bombs on the unfortunate. Oh AND he wields a spiked chain, how cool is that? A classic (recently updated!) and important inclusion to the Hall of Heroes.
Trailblazer, Longtooth Shifter Ranger/Pathfinder/Demigod - Lordduskblade The GistShow
The goal of this build is to defy the "glass cannon" stereotype: in other words, make a Striker that can hit hard, yet is not that vulnerable. This build accomplishes that by taking the Pathfinder Paragon Path, which provides a strong source of durability in the form of a sizable batch of temporary hit points that are renewed every turn. Additionally, the build has all of the defenses a typical Ranger enjoys at its fingertips.
Mora is the toughest striker, ever. At high levels, she's able to heal every turn she needs to, without a surge, without outside help, and irrelevent of any other condition. She either needs to take super massive damage in 1 turn, or have a major penalty to death saves inorder to die.
And she does all this while still being a strong striker. She's got great mobility, high DPR, and high nova. She also minors in defender.
The name of this one pretty much sums it up. This is our first build in the Hybrid category as it is a fine mesh of various elements which contribute to it's title.
Ninja Team Leader: Kobold Rogue Warlord/Guildmaster Thief/Dispossed Champion - CriticalBastard The GistShow
He's a Kobold. He's a Ninja. He strikes, he leads, he rocks.
The most selfless build on the Char Op boards. All he cares about is making you look good. Somehow this build turns a warlock and a invoker into a pseudo leader mesiah type. Amen!
Sainted Justice: Tiefling Warlord/Paladin, Hospitaler, Saint - Kerrus The GistShow
Battery is intended to optimize your party for maximum Nova potential. Not only does Battery pack one hell of a personal wallop, while he unleashes, he provides the party with the means to unleash as well via a massive amount of granted Standard Actions. High defenses, amazing initiative, and solid leader potential round out the build.
well I had a builds that would have worked at lvl 16 (with a paragon path feature) but it is no longer possible cause of revised regeneration rules and healing rules. pretty much take any class, be a revenant, take shifter soul longtooth, take avenging haunt as pp, and at the begining of each turn you will have 4 hp no matter what as long as you concious (and you concious until you are negative half your bloodied value) and therefore never needed to make death savings throws at lvl 16. it only gets better at epic specially for warlord or beast master ranger with the epic features that allow you or others to stay alive no matter how dead they are (though they will still make death savings throws lol)
But sadly the builds no longer work but they are still very good I suppose
I'm blown away that you were able to assemble links to some of these builds so readily. There are things here that aren't on the front page often, or are only linked in collection threads, etc. Some could even be said to be kind of obscure...
Great job with the research, sir.
*edited to add:
things to dig up--
Dr. No, by Ytterbium Dragon a CB summary of YD's 'Hobgoblin'
LDB's 'Stormwarden', which is probably one of the best known Striker builds here, if not the most known Striker build here.
Fantastic grab picking up Dielzen's "Puppetmaster". That build is way too good to have drawn as little recognition as it has.
