Digimonk wrote on Mar 18^th, 2016 at 4:09pm:


Its far less a question of "better" and more "how much I like it". The juggernaut let me shift between melee, ranged, 2-handed, and sword'n'board. The DPS wasn't the highest on any of those, but the flavor was finger-lickin' good.

I've played a lot of builds since that had higher DPS or were more survivable, but to this day I have not had as much fun on any one build since my juggernaught. I'm looking for something I can stand to ETR on. I did 2 juggernauts in a row(iconic TRs) and only left it because I needed to get other lives.

no. wrote on Mar 18^th, 2016 at 4:28pm:


Ooooh, I like that! Does it play with great xbows or repeaters? It sounds good either way! Hmmm... one downside, though: my plan was to do the juggernaut life, do several ETRs(maybe 3-4), then use the +20 heart to swap the arti lives for monk lives and TR out of it for a monk life. I already have 3 artificer lives, I don't need a second rogue life, and I am planning to do actual paladin lives because it looks like so much fun.

LordHumungus wrote on Mar 18^th, 2016 at 5:59pm:


That was before ebay started cracking down. Its a lot more expensive these days, and you need to go through shadier sites. But, hey, if you wanna resell at a profit, I know a guy.

no. wrote on Mar 18^th, 2016 at 6:57pm:


It would also require the use of a second + heart and 2 LRs.

Using the +20 heart, even after you "over-write" the unwanted levels, you are still counted as "having" those levels until you complete the TR. I'd have to +3 heart out of the 2 paladin levels, then +20 heart into whatever the third class is. Not worth it just for a PL unfortunately.

no. wrote on Mar 18^th, 2016 at 4:28pm:

Better by most metrics people generally use to define builds in DDO.  DPS, survivability, ranged combat, melee combat, etc.  Big difference between "viable" and really good.

Rangers, Rogues and possibly even Monks are miles better than Artificers at ranged DPS.  Rangers, Paladins, Barbarians and Bards are miles better than Artificers at melee DPS.  And then there are Warlocks... the biggest easy button in the game.

Survivability in heroics is still a concern with 3 years of power creep since 2013?  Very few classes have survivability problems in heroic content these days.

If an Arty past life is what you're after, you'd be far better off to go with a modern Artie/Rog/Rgr xbow build. 

If you just like the build, great but why would someone make multiple posts about how to improve their builds and asking what they are doing wrong if all they really want is to play a flavor build that's a jack of all trades and master of none?

Digimonk wrote on Mar 18^th, 2016 at 11:18pm:


Agreed, a good Pally build is virtually unkillable.
They may take a bit longer to cut through the mobs, but they are very survivable.
How about Barbs with their self-healing after the pass?  Haven't played one yet.

kum-gulp wrote on Mar 19^th, 2016 at 6:45am:

I would think just 2 levels of Artie for runearms or maybe 4 levels for the bonus feat.  6 levels only gets you a couple of 3rd level spells.  Seems like 2 or 4 more levels in another class could be more beneficial.

12/6/2 <PL Class>/Rog/Art seems better.  That lets you take the 3rd core from your PL class if it's useful.

If only doing heroics for the PL and planning on using a repeater, I think going 12/6/2 pl/ranger/artie instead of rogue is worth consideration.  T5s and 3rd core in DWS, tier 4 AA elemental imbues.  Between the various runearms and the new RNG stuff, it's easy to gear for elemental spellpower without giving up much.  Level appropriate spellpower with the arrow imbues turn a good repeater into a one/two shot trash kill through pretty much all heroic content.  You can also roll with heavy armor on this build if desired to make up for lack of evasion.

Another good option is to give up artificer and go 8/6/6 PL/Rog/Rgr.  Get light repeater proficiency from 3rd Mechanic core.  Pick heavy repeater feat as one of the standard level up if desired .  T5 and 3rd core in Mechanic.  3rd core, Killer, Merciful Shot, and Leg shot from DWS.  Tier 3 AA elemental imbues.

5 Foot Step wrote on Mar 19^th, 2016 at 11:28am:


You no need evasion for this quest Mr 5 foot.   

PersonaNonGrata wrote on Mar 19^th, 2016 at 3:12am:

Before I started my current hiatus,  I had just taken 15 on my first attempt at a barbarian since the pass. Shit dies real fast. Used canifex then SoS 'til Riftmaker.  Used pots from collectibles turn ins and csw 'til 12 when I took blood strength and basically quit having to drink pots. I hadn't ran any of the newer quests yet though, so I can't comment on survivability there with all the creep, but I imagine the mobs will still go down like P4P  at the gloryhole.

Digimonk wrote on Mar 19^th, 2016 at 8:47pm:

I think for TOEE you have a point.  The ranged archers hit so hard that PRR is way better than evasion.

For the rest, evasion and MRR seem to be the better route.

Frank wrote on Mar 20^th, 2016 at 1:55am:

I've tried both on multiple lives.  When I'm on an evasion build, I greatly miss high PRR.   I have yet to find myself missing evasion when I'm on a PRR build.

That's just my personal experience and probably highly dependent upon my play style though.

PersonaNonGrata wrote on Mar 19^th, 2016 at 6:19pm:


Need? No, painful. The dragonbreath can oneshot most. It is worth mentioning.

haha, ohhh, sorry had to laugh though. "Why aren't I doing good on my bard swashbuckler" .. while running around with heavy armor and a non-swashbuckling weapon.

Humor aside though, lot of good suggestions in this thread so far.

I would advise to forget about max dps and just go pure CC bard, either a max dc fascinate/cc/party buff build,  or a mass hold/healer caster build. I think you'd have much more fun....dps is a dime a dozen these days.