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Bowana
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May 26 2012, 12:42 AM
Post #1
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The Grandmaster
- Posts:
- 206
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- High Council
- Member
- #1
- Joined:
- Oct 9, 2011
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Ok, I have never been a big fan of tanks, I would prefer to kill something with a high rate of damage than stand in one spot with a shield. However, this has some very interesting features. The dragon marks coupled with Chimera's fang results in quite the BS sword. Further, a heal of 300+ isn't bad either.
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Onto the battle field walks a brutal visage of pure hate. Enemies stop their slaughter, and for a full second, all eyes turn to the Dark Knight, a massive and imposing figure to its foes, and a beacon of hope for its allies. Capable of causing fear and rage in its enemies, able to absord the most visious strikes and spells from even the deadliest of creatures, able mend its own wounds in the heat of the melee, the tide of the battle has turned.
U11 has brought huge changes to the end game, and with it has come a demand for the ever greater need for character specialization. Gone are the days when a 600 hp DPS character could get away with tankning end game content if the healers were good enough, we now need true and dedicated tanks in order to beat the hardest of the hard. Also gone are the "back into a corner and hit auto attack" tanking styles. The new end game content will demand best of the best in not only gear and character design, but also player skill and reaction timing. This build will take care of the former, the latter is up to you.
The write up is based on Darkstaar, my forum namesake and one of my earliest characters. Dark started as a melee bard and then became a Knight of the Chalice DPS Paladin - a statement that has almost become an oxymoron. There was a time when KotC Paladins were fun for me to play, but as the game evolved, the character was out classed in DPS by many other builds. Hit points weren't great, feats were stretched thin, as were enhancement points and stats. While I had put a tremendous amount of work into gearing Dark, it was time to make a very tough decision and retire her two Epic Chaos Blades and progress to a viable U11 contributor.
What I will present below is not the ultimate DPS build, there are plenty of those posted. What the Dark Knight will give you is a frame work for building a character capable of tanking anything in the game, up to and including Epic Lord of the Blades - the hardest boss to tank by far. As a by-product, you will also have a character that will be an incredible soloer, and a solid contributor to most any group in the form of DPS, tanking and back up healing.
As a note, I always build my concepts with the current end game in mind. As such, I will present the gear lay out with many epic items. For those still working to acquire these, it gives a path to follow and something to work for while you enjoy the character. Will the build work with lesser gear. Yes. Will the build work as a 28 or 32 point build. Yes.
Character Highlights Summary:
* 908-932 self buffed hit points. * 84 intimidate. * 350+ quickened self-cast Cure Serious Wounds spell. * 4x 518 hit point instant heals from Lay On Hands. * 20% incoming damage mitigation in tank mode. * 24 blocking DR. * Off the charts saves: 56/43/43 or higher. * 200%+ healing amp. * Top hate amp: 10%+15%+20%+75%+75%+100% = very hated. * Solid to hit score with both Epic Chimeras Fang and either two hander listed. * Two chances for Life Shield to proc (10% each), for 15 temporary hit points/dr. * Respectable damage in DPS mode.
The Dark Knight (Human Lawful Good 18 Paladin/2 Fighter)
Stats (as 34 point build) Str: 16 +3 tome +6 item +5 level ups +2 ship +2 Yugo +3 exceptional +6 sacred +1 fighter str = 44 Dex: 8 +2 tome +6 item +2 ship = 18 Con: 18 +2 tome +6 item +2 ship +2 Yugo +6 sacred +3 exceptional +1 human adapability = 40 Int: 9 +3 tome -1 Brawn = 11 Wis: 9 +2 tome +6 item +2 ship -1 Brawn = 18 Cha: 14 +2 tome +7 item +2 ship +2 yugo +1 pal enh = 28
For 28 point characters drop con to 16, 32 point characters drop con to 17 and increase wisdom to 10. 36 point character increase cha to 15.
Feats and Leveling 1 Toughness 1H Power Attack 3 Dragon Mark of the Sentinel I 6 Dragon Mark of the Sentinel II 9 Maximize 9F Improved Crit: Slash 12 Empower Healing 15 Dragon Mark of the Sentinel III 18 Quicken 20F Shield Mastery
Final Gearing Trinket: Epic Brawn's Spirit slotted with Good Luck/ Bloodstone Head: Epic Chimera's Crown slotted with +6 dex and +4 resists Cloak: Epic Cloak of the Silver Concord with +1 cha/ Crafted +6 cha cloak with large guild augment slotted with +20 hit points Gloves: Epic Gloves of the Claw Bracers: Epic Bracers of the Claw Boots: Green Steel Con-Op spell points with +5 cha skills Neck: Shintao/Torc Ring1: Shintao with +2 strength Ring2: Gnawed/Ravager with +20% healing amp Belt: Gnawed/Ravager Goggles: Greensteel triple air hit points/Tharnes Armor: Epic Denith Heavy Chain slotted with Toughness Weapon: Epic Chimera's Fang/ Epic Antique Great Axe/ Epic Sword of Shadows Shield: Crafted +5 Tower Shield of Life Shield, large guild augment slotted with +4 intimidate
Enhancements pal AC boost I ftr haste boost I unyeilding sov follower of the sov host human con I human recovery II denith intim IV human versatility II courage of good I bulwark of good III focus of good I resistance of good III divine righteousness I divine sac I exhaulted smite I extra LoH II extra smite evil II defender of siberys III racial toughness III pal toughness III improved intim IV divine might I ftr str I pal devotion III
Healing Amp 20% ring 30% gloves 20% human enh 10% ship 206%
Spell Points 630 + Con-Op + Torc = virtually unlimited
Hit Points 200 base 300 con 112 feat 145 enhanced 151 negative level penalty (assume this is DoS) 908 24 large guild augment 932
Intim 23 base 2 Mark of the Sentinel I 4 improved intimidate 4 Denith intimidate 20 item 5 enhanced item 9 cha 5 cha skills 2 good luck 4 greater heroism 2 favor 4 large guild slot 84
The intim number for no fail on the Epic Lord of Blades is estimated somewhere around 82-83. Everything else seems to be below this.
Combined, all of this creates is a beastly tank, with surpising self-sufficiency. There is no question going the fighter route and Stalwart Defender can create a great tank as well with similar hit points and intim, the differences for the Dark Knight is that it has higher saves and very reliable self healing. If using a two tank strategy for the ELoB, the Dark Knight can also patch heal the second tank as needed.
Building for AC was a consideration, but it comes at a great sacrifice. And at end game (ELoB) AC is not currently relevant. That said, one can still get very viable AC for leveling and non-epics, which can be really useful.
DPS mode is done with very few gear swaps, which is important in tanking as you will need to be able to switch from one mode to the other in a split second. Epic Antique Great Axe and Epic Sword of Shadows both seem to perform well with 44 strength, Zeal for 10% Double Strike, +3/+3 from Divine Favor, Divine Sacrifice, Exhaulted Smite, Divine Might, Fighter Haste Boost and the new and improved Human Versatility Damage Boost.
Edited by Bowana, May 26 2012, 01:00 AM.
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