So, I GR'd an old 28pt halfling bard of mine to a 32pt spellsinger and spec'd him for CC, hjeals, and heavy repeaters.   I've got him to almost 19 now and I am liking SS for the most part, but I'm not liking the heavy repeater.  I was thinking about going melee SS by changing his starting stats to be 14 10 14 8 8 18 and use falcions without any THF feats when I want to do melee.  All level-ups into Charisma.  I think this should be ok for everything but epics which I would simply buff, cc, and heal. 

Does this work?  My main problem is that to me it makes no sense to go melee WC with a halfling, halforc seems like that might be kinda fun, but I can't change race.  T

I looks like the only difference between WC and SS is WC gets +1 to hit, dr song, and 5% doublestrike song.  the Weapons proficency is moot with the new way masters touch works.
 
So in terms of potential personal DPS the real difference is going to be stat distribution, not insignificant but not a deal breaker.  To me a WC is going to be perfect for raid and epic grinding, not as perfect if you want to try new approaches to quests, or simply do things differently.  I might end up TRing into a WC which seems like a pretty good way accomodate beefing up St and Con without too much sacrafice.  T

Madcow430 wrote on Jan 7^th, 2011 at 1:55pm:


Cow, your build is similar to mine on Hordiva, but I went WC2/AA with 2 rogue splash.  I'll post the build below in an edit.

The Hordiva build, in her 3TR final version, is the build that was voted on by the guild last year and I created in that basic mold.  I have since tweaked the build somewhat in order to experiment with slight nuances but the overall gist of the build remains much the same.  The build that won the contest had certain points that made it work best for me:

==> Rogue skills able to succeed in Epic.
==> TWF Longswords and Rapiers for Elf Enhancement bonuses
==> Longbow with manyshot taking advantage of Elf Enhancement bonuses
==> Must be a Warchanter and be able to provide good party buffs as well as secondary DPS and tertiary healing
==> Had to be a 36 point build (as she was already a 2TR, and this would be her 3rd)

What won the contest, and was submitted anonymously and voted on by a panel that did not include me, was my own build:

The Arcane Archer RogueChanter Build.

I made her a True Neutral Elf, and have her geared to the hilt...let's take a look at the build itself:

Starting Stats:
     Strength: 14 (+3 Tome + 5 Level-Ups) = 22
     Dexterity: 15 (+2 Tome) = 17
     Constitution: 14 (+3 Tome) = 17
     Intelligence: 16 (+2 Tome) = 18
     Wisdom: 10 (+2 Tome) = 12
     Charisma: 11 (+2 Tome) = 13

     ==> Before we go on let me address these stats.  The Strength is far from top-line, but is high enough to add good support DPS, the Dexterity is high enough to allow for TWF and ITWF as well as AC and to allow for high rogue skills, as well as the Intelligence which is unusually high on a bard just for the purposes of the rogue skills.  The Constitution is basically at my minimum for my builds.  The Wisdom is low for a good spot but with buffs is serviceable and thus the Will save is the only downfall with that stat, and Charisma is in the Warchanter toilet requiring an item to cast higher level spells...but it's a warchanter not a spellsinger or virtuoso for goodness' sake. LOL

Level Progression:
      1 Rogue ==> Traditional for a Rogue multi-class to take advantage of the plethora of skill points at character creation.
      2 Ranger ==> Allows me to pick a Favored Enemy early to help with my lowbie career and then switch later to Evil Outsider for endgame.
      3-4 Bard ==> Finally, some songs and bit of je ne sais quoi?
      5 Ranger ==> Perhaps a bit early, but this gives me TWF for free, and some granted bow feats which help me later with Manyshot and AA.
      6-10 Bard ==> Ok, yes, it's time to zerg to Haste...and Warchanter.
      11 Rogue ==> A welcome infusion of extra skill points and Evasion to boot!
      12-20 Bard ==> Rest of the way bard to get to Inspire Heroics (AC song) and Irresistible Dance and MCLW...which are indispensible at endgame.

The final build ==> 16 Bard, 2 Ranger, 2 Rogue

The Feats...in no particular order:
      Due to the nature of the build consisting of two PrE lines some feats are pre-requisites, and others, whereas nominally optional, are required for manyshot...which is another desired feature of the build, thus we have relatively few feats that are not required by canon so to speak.
           Toughness ==> I take this in every build, and recommend it for every build as well.
           Warchanter Requirements ==> Weapon Focus: Slashing, Power Attack
           Arcane Archer/Manyshot Requirements ==> Weapon Focus: Ranged; Point Blank Shot; Mental Toughness, Manyshot
           Bring on the Freebies! ==> TWF for free (Ranger 2), Rapid Shot, Bow Strength, Favored Enemy-Evil Outsider and Evasion (Rogue 2).

Important Skills For This Build:
      Disable Device ==> Maxed out to be able to hit any possible trap, on a good roll, with all the usual items and buffs.
      Search ==> Also maxed out...it doesn't matter how well you might know where the trap is if you can't search it you can't disarm it.
      Use Magic Device ==> Max, max, max...with our pitiful starting Charisma we need all the help here before buffs that we can get.
      Open Lock ==> I tend to stop this at 15 ranks, which is higher than many, as I really don't like having to waste all my good tools.
      Spot ==> I have this a little higher (20) because even if I know a trap is there...some do move and I like to be able to spot them...so sue me!
      Balance ==> Whatever little points I have left over goes in here.
      Concentration ==> I'm not too worried here...if I need to cast a spell I'll back off and cast it.  Most of my spells are premeptive buffs anyway.

Hordo wrote on Jan 7^th, 2011 at 4:27pm:

Been quite a few years but what was it you said to me when you saw Rosewood swing her rapier and short-sword? Oh yes - "You're one of those working bards."

She been a SS for years and to be honest given her or Abaigeal (my chanter) I would pick Rosewood every single time come running epics... She's clear sub T to hound alone, duo'd bastion a few times and all in all feels more comfortable in epics than my chanter...

Norg pointed out as the PrE's were extended ... The beauty of the SS is they cover so much territory - yes given a little less DPS they shine as are a generally a more versitile bard than the chanters.

Quote:


I have a Halfling TWF Khopesh-using Warchanter.... might not be optimal, but I built her as a support char. for a specific purpose.  I love her.

She still needs some gear and work, but you're welcome to take a look.

http://my.ddo.com/character/argonnessen/chennai/

She's a little light on HP, but she'll get +2 CON from a ToD ring and a GS HP item once she hits her 20th Shroud.  I throw a Scourge Choker on for fighting Harry... gets her up to 440-460 regularly and Raged with the Choker, she hits 36 STR.... more when I get Madstones...