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2 years ago ::
Apr 04, 2011 - 11:41PM
#41
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I've never played a soul of the world but it seems it could work really well... avatar of ioun is exceptional, though. If you drop psychic weapon i'd suggest you to go for Destined Scion since grabbing that extra +1 to hit is really good.
For the PP i think that Spell Commander, with a sorcerer and a swordmage|warlock is more than optimal. If you don't want it: Flame of Hope, Warpriest (yes, even if you don't wear heavy armours), Battle Engineer and, since you have a Slayer, Zealous Demagogue would work lovely.
About your last question: remember that temp-hp are problematic with artificer heal(s). This is why i chose direct heals, mainly. About Healer's Mercy, in the tests i've not used it, but maybe i didn't have the chance since the module was a cakewalk.
Thanks Seifal for replies ^^
Chauntea/Lathander/Torm Cleric since 1995 My husband married a DM - καλὸς καὶ ἀγαθός
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2 years ago ::
Apr 05, 2011 - 1:42AM
#42
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Date Joined:
Jun 21, 2008
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Thanks ^^
Yes, i have considered this kind of a change and the build wouldn't be really different. The point is that Hymn is an incredible accuracy i'd not like to lose it. Shocking Feedback is a good power but it is imho inferior to Hymn.
Admittedly, though, Spike Wire isn't that incredible encounter 1 and is surely inferior to EUtterance.
That's a kind of tough choice, admittedly. What really wins, at least from my perspective, is HoR, but i could put your option in an alternative build section
It would kinda depend on your playstyle too, i guess. If you're wading into melee often, then shocking feedback loses value, while HoR gets even better. It'd depend on the party make-up too, but in a vacuum, I agree that HoR is better. I'd settle with EU for the first two levels before retraining to spike wire, I guess.
@Daerthalus : I'd say that AIP for gith silver weapon is not bad, but the cost of two feats, plus losing accurate holy symbol's bonus is a bit too steep. Granted, the build is not that tight on feats, but the payoff's not really worth it IMO.
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2 years ago ::
Apr 05, 2011 - 9:56AM
#43
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@Nausicaa Thx for the reply. Yeah I guess it wouldn't be too bad with a Sorcerer and Warlock to run Spell Commander, but I don't find myself granting many BAs besides the ones given out by Spell Commander. Assuming I don't grant anyother BAs and noone else the group does do you still feel Spell Commander is worth it? We're losing the Slayer when the new Essential Book of Shadows comes up in two weeks, so any kind of party optimization based on him is a waste. He'll be rolling a Blackguard, which is a "paladin striker". I haven't seen wheter or not he'll have a MBA power, but he will have high strength, so he can do MBAs. He'll still probably want to charge since he says he'll be using a mount, but alot of this depend on what Blackguard get from the Book. I guess Zealous Demagogue could be worth looking at, but seems weaker than Flame of Hope, since the level 11 benefit are not in line with my knowledges. I end up having to be the ritual caster in the group so I took: Arcana (from MC Invoker), Heal, Religion, Perception. I got the ritual caster feat more/less free, so that not an issue - just the required knowledges needed to be taken. The AP ability is quite good, but might not be as good as Flame. The only advantage I see to the Demagogue is that I save the MC feat from Invoker. Why War Priest? The heavy armor bonus won't apply, the AP grants me more damage on my attacks rather than buffing my allies, and the level 16 ability (which is awesome) doesn't seem like it will apply much since I won't be in melee that often. [Correct me if I'm wrong, but most of the powers you picked are ranged (often short range), so there is little insentive to get in melee unless I need to, in order to grant MW to more allies. There is no reason I couldn't get in melee if I need to though] @Fei I'd say that AIP for gith silver weapon is not bad, but the cost of two feats, plus losing accurate holy symbol's bonus is a bit too steep. Granted, the build is not that tight on feats, but the payoff's not really worth it IMO.
The lost +1 to hit from the Accurate is made up by the +1 to hit on Psychic attacks I get from my Helm of Intellect.
And it only costs 1 feat - AIP.
Still a feat is a feat, and even with 2 extra they are a precious commodity.
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2 years ago ::
Apr 05, 2011 - 11:57AM
#44
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Actually the build can be played indifferently in melee and ranged. Warpriest AP feature is one of the best in the game (extra damage is extra damage), powers are neat, the level 11 feature is really good and the marking feature adds extra damage (even if it requires you to spend your MC feat to swordmage, for example) and extra staying power. Imho it's one of the best variants for the build, with Battle Engineer.
Zealous demagogue was suggested because you had a slayer in the group ^^
Chauntea/Lathander/Torm Cleric since 1995 My husband married a DM - καλὸς καὶ ἀγαθός
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2 years ago ::
Apr 05, 2011 - 12:36PM
#45
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Thanks for the advice, and sorry to be such a pain in the butt.
Battle Engineer looks good actually. Do you feel it is superior to Flame of Hope?
War Priest lvl 16 ability grants me an opportunity attack, wouldn't that be a MBA? If so, wouldn't the fact the build has low strength mean this MBA would miss and deal poor damage? Unless your basing it on me taking Intelligent Blademaster and MCing Swordmage. Essentially costing 2 feats (1 if I was to take AIP anyways).
Despite that do you feel this is a better way to go, than Engineer or Flame?
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2 years ago ::
Apr 05, 2011 - 2:38PM
#46
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Nice build, lots of flavor and seems fun to play.
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2 years ago ::
Apr 05, 2011 - 4:40PM
#47
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Date Joined:
Jan 12, 2004
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Re: Battle Engineer and Flame of Hope
I had a long pros/cons schpiel, but then I remembered: You have a ranger in your party. Battle Engineer is probably the pick for that reason alone, as the closest comparison (greater magic weapon vs. action point) is a clear win for the Engineer. Lightswitch probably doesn't need the extra leader inclinations of the Flame of Hope.
@Nausicaa: I have to say, the first time I looked over this list I was like "...meh," as I'm sure my post suggested somewhat. But the more I've looked at it, I've gotten more "...huh. Neat." as I'm sure my responses to Daerth suggested.
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2 years ago ::
Apr 05, 2011 - 5:20PM
#48
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BATTLE ENGINEER PATH FEATURES
Aggressive Action (11th level): When you spend an action point to take an extra action, you gain a +1 bonus to weapon attack rolls until the end of your next turn, and your weapon attacks deal 1d6 extra damage until the end of your next turn.
Brutal Enchantment (11th level): Whenever one of your artificer or battle engineer powers grants an ally a bonus to weapon damage rolls, that ally’s weapon also becomes brutal 1 until the bonus ends. If the weapon is already brutal, this has no effect.
Accurate Enhancement (16th level): Whenever one of your artificer or battle engineer powers grants a bonus to weapon attack rolls to an ally, that bonus increases by 2.
I agree the Flame may be extra leaderish, when I'm pretty damn awesome leaderwise as it is. So maybe it's a little too much. The Engineer on the hand has a strong case due to GMW, but I fear that much of the rest of the features are not going to be as good as a hybrid.
Does this cause use to rethink/change any of our original power choices? Is there a reason to pick/focus on powers that grant bonuses to weapon attack rolls to benefit from the Level 16 feature or to pick up more artificer powers? It seems that Nausicaa's build has us running minimal artificer powers, with a greater focus on Cleric powers.
Also given that I'm going for Soul of the World as an ED, I was planning on taking Wizard as my ED class choice...this would allow me to swap out 1 Daily/1Encounter/1Utility for Wizard powers, is this still worth while with a PP that is very Artificer Focused, rather than another PP that is more universal?
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2 years ago ::
Apr 05, 2011 - 11:53PM
#49
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@Daerthalus:
I'd "rank" the pp selection this way:
Flame of Hope: generally good, invoker MC doesn't require additional investment and the PP has extraordinary powers. On the lower side it's a bit too much focalized on healing and this can be a problem for more offensive players
Warpriest: requires at very very least a decent OA before level 16. Powers are incredibly good, features are probably even better. Better for ranged-focused groups, requires a bit more resilience: Swordmage MC is perfect, since you have a sword weapon, you can go for radiant weapon and Radiant Recovery to be a little more sturdy. In the paragon tier you can get Hide Armor (47 armor at level 30 is more than enough)
Battle Engineer: requires a mostly-melee or weapon based party, but the damage increasing factor is incredible, since you are going to take mostly buffing powers. One-sided build, but powerful.
About a possible rethink, the heavy-weights of the artificer are more or less 3: magic weapon, punishing eye and prismatic strike. Other good powers, but mainly on par with cleric choice are Diminutive Boyguard and Barbed Automaton. Cleric best powers are, imho: Hymn of Resurgence, Healer's Reproof, Brilliant Censure and Winds of Fury.
@Seifalmasy: ty ^^ Yes, the build seems meh because it has not a clear front-line appeal like Killswitch. It does a bit of everything... but it does it really well. The only problem i've noticed, after a couple of tests is a bit of fragility at levels 12-15. This requires you to be a little more self-focused, but you can always take shield proficiency before.
@Cazzeyo: ty ^^
Chauntea/Lathander/Torm Cleric since 1995 My husband married a DM - καλὸς καὶ ἀγαθός
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2 years ago ::
Jul 28, 2011 - 12:17PM
#50
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Date Joined:
Apr 29, 2009
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Favored Soul might work pretty well for this, since it's Wis based. (and the anime flavour with the hot chick with angel wings is very, very cool too)
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