Questions from a new player

[BinarySolo]

Hello world!

I recently started playing NWN and a friend of mine recommend this PW and I have been doing a little research.

I'm interested in playing a Rogue/Arcane Archer, and would like a few pointers about build.

I was thinking about a Drow 2Wiz/9Rogue/29AA with 10str, 20dex, 12con, 8wis, 16int, 10cha stats.

The idea is to take 2Wiz/8Rogue/10AA to get epic, then take pure AA until 29 and then the last level of rogue to bring all those rogue class skills up to epic level.

Can a Drow hit level 40 with their +3 LA? I haven't seen anything on exactly how LA works in NS4.

Would it be reasonable to take a level out of wizard and give it to rogue, losing a BAB, but gaining a "Rogue Only Feat"? There are a few other minor things that I gain and lose like a spell, a few hp/skill/save, but i think the main argument is BAB vs. feat. Which rogue feat would be best if I went this way? Imp Evasion looked niftiest to me. Keep in mind I would not get 10Rogue until level 40, but that BAB would be good from level 19 on...

Also, seeing as I can max more than 6 skills, which ones are best? Tumble and UMD seem like no brainers, but with skill points like that I could take a lot of lore and appraise if I felt like it. How far are thinks like open lock and disable device worth taking? In any case, it's 248 skill points at level 40 to dump into rogue skills.

In any case, thanks in advance and maybe I'll run into some of you in game when I start playing!

[--Ashe--]

Appraise is disabled here, don't waste points on that. I personally don't bother with Lore, since a friendly bard can usually handle all the book work id for you.

If you have the skill points, I suggest heavy investment in spellcraft for the saves vs. spells it grants. Discipline is always a must (even if you have to cross class) to combat kd and disarm attempts (this is especially important on an archer). Spot is always useful, especially since you are taking the rogue levels, so you don't have to cross class. Open lock is always helpful and can be raised nicely thru open lock rings and gloves with the lockpicks. Lastly, I have found Search to be extremely beneficial of late with all the new hidden doors added into the game.

Countless level 40 drow out there. Not impossible at all.

You are going to need every penny you can scrape together for an archer. Those arrows get expeeeeeensivvve.

[Shadowalker]

I agree with everything Ashe said with a few 'tweaks'

Appraise.. toss it.. pointless

Spellcraft.. +1 saves vrs spells for every 5 ranks.. key word 'ranks' , take it to 40 and dont bother with spellcraft enhancing items.

Dicipiline.. cant shoot the broad side of a barn when your sitting on your arse, not to mention negotiating for the return of your disarmed wpn can be a futile effort.

Spot is a skill thats seams to be either all or nothing here, with your low wisdom, even with epic skill focus spot and true sight bonus, your not likly to spot any but the worst made hipser.

Search.. is nice for leveling, helps to locate passages to certain bosses. but as far as pvp dont need but a tiny bit.

Open locks... only of PvM use, but might help you to keep your gold supply up, your low str will limit how much loot you can carry back to be sold off.

Concentration.. is generally a casting skill.. but is also the only defence vrs Taunt.. both npc's and pc's use this ac nerfer.


A note on ranged damage, its like mosquito bites, unless you have very xpensive ammo with multiple dmg types/bonuses.

Has anyone found even a high lvl AA to be as effective as a cleric with zen? Damage wise, not to mention the 101 other benifits of divine guidance.

[deathdancer]

Spellcraft straight from the wiki and tested on server.

-Unlike with other skills (such as the AC bonus from Tumble), the saving throw bonus is based on fully modified ranks (not base ranks). Hence Epic Skill Focus in spellcraft grants a +2 bonus to all saving throws against spells.

[BinarySolo]

I think you have scared me away from playing an AA as a first character, so now I'm back to square one. Any advice on a good character for someone who has played through the first 2 chapters of the OC but never played online?

edited for grammar

[Bargeld]

Most new players make a barbarian as their first class. Pure barbarians get some real nice bonuses at level 20+. The extra HPs help you to explore.

If I can make any suggestion about building toons, always max out Disc & spellcraft. Look out for faction restrictions (for example, you can't make a good aligned wizard on this server in any faction.) And there is no such thing as 'the best' toon. It's like rock-scissors-paper, so make your toon based on personal choice, considering what you want to play, not based on what is 'best'.

When built correctly, a focused AA has the highest AB of any class combo.

[Malik]

Ragnars Kin can have a good aligned Wizard. but then again who cares about dwarves. Yep, no good wizards!

[Bargeld]

Ragnars Kin can have a good aligned Wizard. but then again who cares about dwarves. Yep, no good wizards!

Oops... forgot about those stinkers.

[Shadowalker]

-Unlike with other skills (such as the AC bonus from Tumble), the saving throw bonus is based on fully modified ranks (not base ranks). Hence Epic Skill Focus in spellcraft grants a +2 bonus to all saving throws against spells.

Thanks.. did not know that..


Binary, dont abadon the AA.. but you might want to start with a str based toon.. means you can carry the loot needed to finance a ranged toon later.. The sugested barbarian is one example, as is fighter. If you want to dabble in a lil casting go with ranger (take toon races for fav enemies). A bard gets you even more spells and your generally welcome in any party for leveling. As is the cleric, who also has the advantage of being able to buff themself and thier gear to make up for low lvl gear.

[Korr]

First toon, I would steer away from an archer personally. The cost of arrows will have you scraping the bottom of each opened chest.

As far as AA vs general zen archer cleric, its a tough choice. . . depends on what you want. If you want a toon that can go down, get raised and just go right back at it the damage you get from 29 aa levels + mighty bonus + arrows = plenty. A cleric that goes down will need to recast their buffs to get back into damage dealing. Also clerics die off with their buffs, purish AAs die off when they finally run out of arrows.

My suggestion for a first toon would be a cleric, pure or mixed doesnt matter. A cleric will have the buffs to keep you in +5 "gear" long before you get your +5 gear, this include +5 weapon at level 15 cleric, I think its level 16 for MAgic Vestment to be at +5 for armor/shield and like 20 for +5 deflection from Shield of Faith. This leaves only dodge in the lacking for a cleric, also consider choosing Plant domain and get yourself a +5 barkskin at level 13 (maybe 14). The only problem with clerics is I would check the wiki to make sure you can join the faction you want with the subrace you like, as there are restrictions based on race/factions for clerics and their domains.

[Rufio]

Not to mention, if you are a cleric, everyone will love you for your buffs/raises, no matter how much you mess up. The same goes for bards. A pure lvl 40 dexterity based bard is a fairly simple build that is very effective, especially with the added sonic damage pure bards get here, and it is the only class that gets discipline, spellcraft, and tumble all as class skills, along with listen, which can be easily boosted with bard spells, and can also become a master artisan tailor. It is a little more complicated than a cleric just because you need to worry about boosting your perform skill (62+ at level 40 maxes out your bard song, but you need 80+ to max out your sonic damage) and selecting the right spells, but because great dex is a selectable class epic feat, it is easier to get a respectable attack bonus and AC.

I suggest writing out everything you want in your build at every level to try and get your attack bonus and AC as high as possible without neglecting saves and skills. Check out the wiki and see what type of gear is available (although the best equipment is hard to get, so don't assume you will find every last item you want. I generally plan for about the second or third best item I see listed, and if I find better stuff, then my build just becomes that much better. Not having the very best gear won't make you suck on this server, the difference between good gear and the best gear really isn't much in a lot of cases. Also, if you ever feel your gear is really lacking, just ask someone where to get better stuff and they will point you in the right direction, or if they are like me, just give you things )

Also check out the spell alterations in the wiki or the change log here in the forums. If you want to be able to spot hidden rogues and such, don't expect to just cast true seeing and spot everyone, or expect to cast clarity and never worry about a will save. The changes are important to consider because they can no longer just patch up gaping build holes.

[LinuxPup]

My first character on NS4 was a cleric zen archer from SL.

[Bargeld]

My first character on NS4 was a cleric zen archer from SL.

Darkness archery FTW!

[BinarySolo]

I dabbled with a barbarian and a cleric destined to be a blackguard, but I have settled on a pure druid who is now level 15 and keeping pace with leatherworking. The pure bard sounds interesting, I was turned off to bards by the changes to bard song but I was not aware of the sonic damage boost. The idea with the bard is to get decent charisma (like 16?) and pump dex sky high and run around shooting things with arrows while singing and buffing?

So now a question about my neutral druid: Is Dragon Knight with all the summoning feats worth it? I have enough spare feats to get Dragon form at 38 and all spell focus conjuration feats and dragon knight, but I heard that the Slaad was not so great compared to the Solar and Balor. I already have the non epic spell focuses and spellcraft, and really like buffing my summon, but if the Slaad isn't all that I will scrap it and just run around with my buffed up summon IX and maybe get a different epic spell or another point of wisdom.

[burrahobbit]

You should be able to get dragon at 27-33 with most builds, and i would encourage a fast track to dragon shape. Pure druids are not easy to lvl after 30 with out dragon and if your going to try a caster druid you might want autoquicken. You can let your dragon knight take you to lvl 30 but after that he will lose his pvm effectiveness.

If i was going to start all over i think my first char would be some form of ftr wiz pm. You can take them most anywhere and they are very durable.