Hello, CharOp. I've been lurking for some time, and I think I finally cooked something worthy to contribute. As the title says, I've attempted to construct a Druid who's main trick is to completely (bar accuracy) lock down single melee enemy at-will, and even off-turn sometimes (at least 1/enc, usually more). She also happens to be able to dish out some decent damage while at it.
The usual way to complete the task in question is to leave the said victim lying prone exactly 1 square away from the druid, so he can't charge when he stands up. But it has two major flaws: a) enemies with reach will still stand->attack and b) sometimes, there's someone other than the druid in charge range. The second flaw can be (mostly) overcome via Grasping Claw + World Serpent's Grasp proning, but that method requires setup - you can't prone someone who is not already slowed... And in most cases you'll have to do the setup slowing yourself.
That build doesn't have those disadvantages.
How does it work: Grasping Claw does the job. In this build, it is a Melee Basic Attack which slows, slides 3 and prones the target on hit. So even when melee enemy with reach 2 MBA stands up, he is stuck with speed 2 and can't charge anywhere (assuming he was slid away from both the druid and all other party members).
I've chosen Drow due to their nifty Stealth support. One can safely sacrifice the ability to become Hidden, if he chooses so; it is not crucial. Elf is the go-to race choice in that case, IMHO. The reason you may want to do so is because going Stealth costs you trained Perception; Drow is still adequately perceptive, but it's not over 9000 like the Elf. Oh, and Wild Step and Elven Accuracy are both awesome.
Traveler's Harlequin is there to allow multiclassing both into Fighter (for Polearm Momentum) and Swordmage (for Lightning Glaive implement).
As a nifty side effect, Beast Form close/melee powers (...all of them?) also provide slide 3 + prone effect on hit. Pretty darn awesome for daze engines like Predator's Flurry, Roar of Terror and Savage Frenzy.
I'd be delighted to see any thoughts, advise or comments. Thanks for reading.
fair enough, I missed the slow. Still, its a single enemy being proned away from, in paragon, where nearly every enemy has ranged. And its a single enemy. A nice trick on an MBA, but its not mindblowing control.
Swordburst, which is an AOE. Battlemind, which daze+prones, in addition to having lightning rush. And a net'venger for high accuracy grab+prone.
That's not to say this is a bad build, you can use this on a charge (horned helm may be a good pickup), work well with warlords, and do more damage (well, probably not more then then avenger).
There's also a spear that you can use as a totem, so you can take a seperate PP.
F-111 Interdictor Long (200+ squares) distance ally teleporter. With some warlord stuff. Broken in a plot way, not a power way. Thought Switch Higher level build that grants upto 14 attacks on turn 1. If your allies play along, it's broken. Elven Critters Crit op with crit generation. 5 of these will end anything. Broken. King Fisher Does an excellent job at keeping an enemy disabled in a few ways. Strong. Boominator Fun catch-22 booming blade build with either strong or completely broken damage depending on your reading. Very Distracting Warlock Lot's of dazing and major penalties to hit. Overpowered. Pocket Protector Pixie Stealth Knight. Maximizing the defender's aura by being in an ally's/enemy's square. Yakuza NinjIntimiAdin: Perma-stealth Striker that offers a little protection for ally's, and can intimidate bloodied enemies. Very Strong. Chargeburgler with cheese Ranged attacks at the end of a charge along with perma-stealth. Solid, could be overpowered if tweaked. Void Defender Defends giving a penalty to hit anyone but him, then removing himself from play. Can get somewhat broken in epic. Scry and Die Attacking from around corners, while staying hidden. Moderate to broken, depending on the situation. Skimisher Fly in, attack, and fly away. Also prevents enemies from coming close. Moderate to Broken depending on the enemy, but shouldn't make the game un-fun, as the rest of your team is at risk, and you have enough weaknesses. Indestructible Simply won't die, even if you sleep though combat. Sir Robin (Bravely Charge Away) He automatically slows and pushes an enemy (5 squares), while charging away. Hard to rate it's power level, since it's terrain dependent. Death's Gatekeeper A fun twist on a healic, making your party "unkillable". Overpowered to Broken, but shouldn't actually make the game un-fun, just TPK proof. Death's Gatekeeper mk2, (Stealth Edition) Make your party "unkillable", and you hidden, while doing solid damage. Stronger then the above, but also easier for a DM to shut down. Broken, until your DM get's enough of it. Domination and Death Dominate everything then kill them quickly. Only works @ 30, but is broken multiple ways. Battlemind Mc Prone-Daze Protecting your allies by keeping enemies away. Quite powerful. The Retaliator Getting hit deals more damage to the enemy then you receive yourself, and you can take plenty of hits. Heavy item dependency, Broken. Dead Kobold Transit Teleports 98 squares a turn, and can bring someone along for the ride. Not fully built, so i can't judge the power Psilent Guardian Protect your allies, while being invisible. Overpowered, possibly broken Unnamed Avenger|Runepriest/Hammer of Vengance Do lot's of damage while boosting your teams. Strong to slightly overpowered. Charedent BarrageA charging ardent. Fine in a normal team, overpowered if there are 2 together, and easily broken in teams of 5. Super Knight A tough, sticky, high damage knight. Strong. Super Duper Knight Basically the same as super knight, only far more broken. Mora, the unkillable avenger Solid damage, while being neigh indestuctable. Overpowered, but not broken. Swordburst Maximus At-Will Close Burst 3 that slide and prones. Protects allies with off actions. Strong, possibly over powered with the right party.
Still, its a single enemy being proned away from, in paragon, where nearly every enemy has ranged. And its a single enemy. A nice trick on an MBA, but its not mindblowing control.
Well, now that you mention it, Harlequin can control artillery/controllers just the same way she does melees. All she has to do is to leave them prone adjacent to her, not someplace far away, thus denying them the usual "shift->use power" maneuver. As soon as that enemy tries anything "Ranged" or "Area" he will eat an OA... that will prone him again and deal significant damage. Not as good as complete and utter action denial, but still very potent, and still at-will. When it comes to Brute-type enemies (like some giants) who have both capable melee and capable ranged... You're out of luck and have to resort to encounter/dailies. Beside the usual sliding/proning/dazing arsenal which is still useful, Harlequin has tools that provide LoS blocking (Drow Darkness/Verdant Bounty [1/enc]) and Dominate [1/enc]. You can also swap daily Entangle for daily Summon Crocodile power, which - with some smart positioning - will cause said Brutes to channel their damage into your summoned creature.
As for dealing with groups of enemies... Predator's Flurry [1/enc] - slide 3, prone, daze two separate targets; Savage Frenzy [1/day] Close burst 1 slide 3/prone/slow and daze (save ends); Roar of Terror [1/day] - Close blast 5, slide 3/prone/daze(save ends); Swarming Locusts [at-will] Close blast 3, slide 3, prone.
Swordburst, which is an AOE. Battlemind, which daze+prones, in addition to having lightning rush. And a net'venger for high accuracy grab+prone.
Thanks for the links, will definitely look into them deeper. I didn't delve into epic character building though. I've checked the Battlemind so far. He doesn't daze/prone at-will until level 23; At 12 he is able to at-will shutdown people with Lodestone Lure and Lightning Rush. Lure has the flaw of being unable to completely lockdown melees with reach; They can still stand up + hit you (or whomever happens to be close enough). Lightning Rush is definitely something the Druid cannot mimic at-will, except for standing adjacent to the said ally and sliding/slowing/proning people around with OAs thanks to Polearm Gamble - which is much less flexible than Lightning Rush. Augment 2 Lightning Rush version is mimicked via Prescient Maneuver [1/enc] and somewhat Battle Awareness [1/enc]. But then again, Harlequin does some damage, which Battlemind lacks. That said, dare I doubt the rules viability of Nightmare Vortex proning every turn throughout the whole encounter? Nightmare Vortex effect wording Spoiler:Show
Effect: Until the end of the encounter, whenever an enemy starts its turn within 3 squares of you, you can slide the target 1 square as a free action.
There's also a spear that you can use as a totem, so you can take a seperate PP.
Not an option. Alfsair Spear doesn't have the Lightning version, required for Mark of the Storm. It actually took some time and effort to figure out the way to enable both Polearm Momentum and Polearm Implement usage for a Druid. Traveler's Harlequin is the only way I know of, since Windrise Ports' background revision. But then again, I didn't check the epic tier.
Well, now that you mention it, Harlequin can control artillery/controllers just the same way she does melees. All she has to do is to leave them prone adjacent to her, not someplace far away, thus denying them the usual "shift->use power" maneuver.
You do realize that, due to "monster math", most artillery have a melee attack that's only marginally worse?
"Nice assumptions. Completely wrong assumptions, but by jove if being incorrect stopped people from making idiotic statements, we wouldn't have modern internet subculture." Kerrus
Practical gameplay runs by neither RAW or RAI, but rather "A Compromise Between The Gist Of The Rule As I Recall Getting The Impression Of It That One Time I Read It And What Jerry Says He Remembers, Whatever, We'll Look It Up Later If Any Of Us Still Give A Damn." Erachima
I have to ask, is there any justification for firece thrasher form working with mark of storm, on initial reading fierce thrasher form says it extends powers that push, pull or slide, whereas mark of storm seems to be a feat creating an effect from a power. Has this been hashed out before and I missed it?
