Building a Better Beast: The Specialist

I always wondered what the spikes were for.

Welcome back to Building a Better Beast. We’ve already taken a look at The Tank, and The Wraith, today we’ll explore another build called the Specialist. Whereas the Tank focuses on being indestructible and the Wraith supports his rogue allies, the Specialist is a melee combatant who uses his abilities to control the flow of combat.

As always the artificer should start by taking the Augment Summoning feat. He should also pick up all the repair spells he can. In addition he might want to consider the following.

1st Level: Because they are both melee combatants your Specialist can benefit from all the same spells as the Tank.

Ablative Armor--A pool of hit points which keep the Specialist safe from physical injury.
Shield of Faith--At lower levels your Specialist is still without his armor upgrades, this will help to offset that major difference between the Tank and the Specialist.
Enchant Weapon--The utility of the Specialist comes from his combat feats, if those attacks don’t hit he isn’t as useful. A +1 to hit is always appreciated.

2nd Level: A few defensive spells, as well as a spell which is key to the build.

Rienforce Construct and Toughen Construct--I’ve already extolled the virtue of these spells when we discussed the Tank. What holds there holds here as well.
Bull’s Strength--The DC for combat feats depends on the Strength of the user. This is why it is so important to get your Specialist’s Strength as high as possible.

3rd Level: A few spells from the same list as the tank, and one peculiar choice.

Shield of Faith, Mass and Stoneskin--As described in the Tank build.
Flame Turret--What makes this choice so peculiar is that it isn’t a buff spell for the Specialist. However, it works really well with this build. By utilizing the Specialist’s Intimidate and Takedown attacks you can keep an enemy well within ranged of the raging fires of the Flame Turret.

4th Level: Either of the Armor spells are useful at this level. Unlike the Tank whose high AC makes Thundering Armor almost useless the Specialist is a little bit easier to hit, and thus the spell effect is more likely to be useful.

5th Level: At this level you’re going to choose a favorite spell as well as possibly get an upgrade of an earlier spell.

Radiant Forcefield--Remember how we were talking about how the Specialist is easier to hit? This spell will make that factor a little less pronounced.
Bull’s Strength, Mass--Like Shield of Faith, Mass you might as well buff all the warriors while you buff your own.

6th Level: Although they aren’t essential to this build you can use the Specialist’s skills to kite enemies into position for Blade Barriers and Tactical Detonations.

Enhancements:

1st Level:
Let’s start by picking up the first of the Specialist’s combat feats, Takedown. It unlocks the Trip command.

2nd Level:
Now we’re going to select the other one, Shattering Strike. It unlocks the Sunder command.

3rd Level:
Menacing Growl will let the Specialist guide enemies forward so that he can disable him with his combat abilities. It unlocks the Intimidate ability.

4th Level:
At this level you’re going to want to upgrade both your combat feat abilities. DC12+Str Modifier.

5th Level:
Let’s not wait any longer to pick up Adamantine Plating, this will increase your AC by +8 and give you a Damage Reduction of 2/adamazinte.

6th Level:
Time to buy Homunculus Strength.

7th Level:
Time to increase Shattering Strike and Takedown again DC is now 14+Str Modifier.

8th Level:
Upgrade Menacing Growl 2 steps. Intimidate is now +12.

9th Level:
Save your points.

10th Level:
And spend them on Homunculus Strength II.

11th Level:
Now you can enjoy the capstone enhancement Homunculus Combat Alacrity. This enhancement gives a 5% chance to double strike, and a 5% increase to attack speed.

12th Level:
Maximize your combat feats. DC is now 10+Str Modifier+6.

13th Level:
Pick up Reinforced Armor for a +10 to hit points.

14th Level:
Upgrade your Reinforced Armor (+20 now) and max out Menacing Growl (+16 to Intimidate)

15h Level:
Max out your Reinforced Armor for a +40 to hit points.

16th Level:
Time to pick up Combat Alacrity II which will increase the double strike and attack speed to 10%.

17th Level:
Increasing Adamantine Plating two steps sounds like a good idea, which will give your pet a +12 to ac and a DR 6/adamantine.

18th Level:
I suggest picking up Danger Avoidance, this will give you an additional +1 to AC and +2 Reflex Saves.

19th Level:
Increase Danger Avoidance two steps, your dodge bonus to AC and Reflex saves will now be +3 and +6 respectively.

20th Level:
Wow, you’re just about about as tough as the Tank if you take this level to max out Adamantine Plating (+14 and DR 8/adamantine) and Danger Avoidance (+4 to AC and +8 to Reflex saves).

Spelling it Out: The Ranger and Paladin

Who doesn't love that line?

Last time we did a Spelling it Out we took a look at the Wizard. When you think spells, you can’t go wrong thinking wizard, but these versatile casters don’t have a monopoly on the Art and so today we’re going to be taking a look at combos for the oft overlooked Ranger and Paladin

For the Ranger:
The Scout

Spells Involved: Camouflage, Jump, Longstrider, Wild Instincts

A ranger is well suited to the position of party scout. So is the rogue, but with this potent combo the ranger can get it done better and faster. With Jump the ranger can reach areas others can’t, and with Camouflage he can explore it without being seen while Wild Instincts will ensure he sees everyone else.. Even if he is spotted he can use Longstrider to get out of dodge, and if he isn’t seen the spell will still help him reach his allies much quicker than the rogue.

For the Paladin:
Heaven’s Wrath

Spells Involved: Virtue, Angelskin, Stalward Pact, Zeal

A palading utilizing the above combo is a force to be reckoned with. Demons and devils had especially beware. He has Damage Reduction 5 which can only be overcome by magic weapons which are also evil, and his hit point total has both been increased and bolstered by temporary hit points. Finally he has a 10% chance to double strike enemies. Combine this combo with liberal use of Divine Power and Bull’s Strength or an item which gives a bonus to strength and your paladin will be even more lethal.

Building a Better Beast: The Wraith

Originally I was going to call this build "Traptester"

Welcome to number two in an ongoing, but limited, series called Building a Better Beast. In each segment we take a look at how to make your artificer’s pet, that little bundle of mechanical joy called the Iron Defender, even better. Today’s build focuses on a very narrow niche, making a pet which works well with rogues.

Artificers are already pretty rogue-like, and two classes share a lot of similarities, maybe you want your pet to work well with rogues because you want to multiclass, or maybe you just want to help the rogue out when he goes scouting. Either way, this beast setup (which I’m code-naming Wraith) will help.

Like the last build, the Tank, there are spells which will make this build even more effective. Oh, and don’t forget to pick up the Augment Summoning feat.



1st Level: Like always you want to make sure you can heal your pet, but more important is protecting it from the various traps that it may encounter as it defends the rogue.

Repair Light Wounds--A standby which is necessary. Plus it doesn’t take up a spell slot, so why not?
Resist Energy--Drop a few of these on the Iron Defender to help defend iit from getting blasted by unseen traps.
Resistance--Like the aforementioned spell, this will help keep your Iron Defender safe. A bonus to spells means he is even more likely to take half damage from most traps, which makes it easier for Resist Energy to soak up all the abuse from the trap.

2nd Level: With the next few spells there is really no chance your pet will be damaged by elemental spells, and even physical traps will have trouble getting through to him.

Protection From Energy--Combined with Resist Energy the two make for a potent defense against elemental damage.
Reinforce Construct--Temp hit points? Yes please, lets see those spikes hurt your pet now.
Cat’s Grace--An increase to AC and a bonus to Reflex saves, come on traps, you’re going to have to try harder

3rd Level: Other than the Repair spells and possibly Stoneskin if you want to spend some extra money, there really isn’t a lot here for the Wraith.

4th Level: Upgrade for one spell, another repair spell and everyone’s favorite armor enchantment.

Protection From Elements--Like Protection from Energy, but for every element at once, most certainly worth it..
Armor of Speed--Unlike the tank who wants this for AC and attack speed, the Wraith really just wants this for the +1 to Reflex saves.

5th Level: Just like the tank you’ll want to pick this spell up.

Radiant Forcefield--This spell is amazing, if by some chance an Elite trap happens to break through your pet’s defenses, this will make the damage even more neglible.

6th Level: Other than reconstruct there aren’t really any options for this build.

1st Level:
Homunculus Distraction, the bluff skill makes enemies susceptible to sneak attacks for awhile, trust me, your rogue will thank you.

2nd Level:
Homunculus Ruthless Deception while the enemy is susceptible to sneak attack damage for 6 seconds you might as well add on some of your own. Get +3 to sneak attack damage with this enhancement.

3rd Level:
Homunculus Skillful Deception, a +2 to hit with sneak attacks is pretty helpful too.

4th Level:
Pick up Homunculus Danger Avoidance for a bonus to AC and Reflex saves.

5th Level:
Turn that bluff up a notch by picking up Homunculus Distraction II, and don’t forget to upgrade your Danger Avoidance while you are at it.

6th Level:
Homunculus Dexterity has become available to you, take it for a chance at a great enhancement later on.

7th Level:
Time to upgrade your sneak attack capabilities with Ruthless Deception II and Skillful Deception II, bring the bonuses to a +4 to hit and +6 to damage.

8th Level:
Pick up Danger Avoidance III and Distraction III to increase your combat effectiveness even more.

9th Level:
Your pet is still a combat build when it comes down to it, pick up Reinforced Armor to give him the extra hit points he needs.

10th Level:
Skillful Deception III and Ruthless Deceptoion III this level means your pet’s getting a +6 to hit and +9 to damage on sneak attacks.

11th Level:
Time to max out Danger Avoidance and Distraction.

12th Level:
Save your points.

13th Level:
And spend them now for Homunculus Dexterity II

14th Level:
Fear those traps even less by picking up Homunculus Evasion, a captsone enhancement you’ve unlocked with your rogue-like abilities.

15th Level:
And now you can max out your Ruthless and Skillfull Deception abilities for a +8 to hit and +12 to damage while using sneak attacks.

16th Level:
Take a moment and reward yourself with Improved Evasion.

18th Level:
A +20 to hit points would be nice, go ahead and upgrade your armor twice.

19th Level:
You might as well accept your brutish nature by picking up Adamantine Plating.

20th Level:
And upgrade it twice here for a total of +12 to AC and DR 6/adamantine.

Spelling it Out: Low-level Spell Combos for Wizards/Sorcerers

Ask most people what kind of character is the most powerful in 3.5 DnD and they are likely to say "Cleric" or "Wizard". The cleric was even stated to be the most powerful class by Mike Mearls and Jesse Decker. I'm going to be a bit nicer here and just say that by the by, spellcasters in general seem to be the most powerful archetype. Versatility is the key here, not to mention damage output which far exceeds the possibilities of even the most twinked out barbarian or rogue.

Regarding that versatility, there are a lot of spells which just work well together, and we're going to take a quick look at some of the lower level combos for wizards and sorcerers.

The Unbreakable Object
Spells Involved: Shield, Mage Armor, Protection from Evil, False Life.

You're a level 3 wizard out for a stroll in a bad neighborhood, with a d4 for hit points you'd be likely to worry...except that nothing here can hit you anyway. As a wizard you probably have a decent Dex, let's say 14. That's a +2 to AC off the bat for AC 12, add in Shield and Mage Armor and you're up to 20...and if you are up against evil creatures you can use Protection from Evil to bump it up to 22. Even if something gets through that defense (which is equal to +1 Full Plate, a 12 Dex and a Light shield for the fighters out there) it still has to contend with the 13 temp hit points provided by your False Life spell.

The best part about this combo is that Mage Armor can easily be replaced by and item like Black Widow Bracers or liberal use of a Wand of Mage Armor (which has a duration of 4 minutes).

Greasefire
Spells Involved: Grease, Fire Trap

I like to set this one up before I aggro my opponents with hurled spells. While the enemy is still unaware of you drop a Grease in between you and them. Then place a Fire Trap spell in the dead center of the grease. Then feel free to assault your enemies with arcane fury. When they rush you...and they will...that grease will trip them up or not. If it doesn't then the fire trap will at least go off, burning them for some instant damage and then catching the grease on fire for an additional bit of fire damage.

It isn't enough to fell most creatures as an initial attack. Yet if your opponent is already weakened by your assault this little trick will usually finish them off before they can lay a hand on you.

Stay Right There, No Really
Spells Involved: Hypnotism, Electric Loop

Hypnotism is a fun little spell, it stops opponents with weak will saves in their tracks as they stare stupidly at you, remaining slack jawed until you jar them with damage.

So why follow it up with an Electric Loop? Because a side effect of Hypnotism is a -3 penalty to Will saves regardless of whether the opponent made a save against hypnotism or not. As you may know Electric Loop is a damaging spell with the benefit of dazing an opponent on a failed Will save. After your finished with this one two punch you can go ahead and beat the crap out of the opponent, because daze doesn't end after sustaining damage.

Welcome to Stormreach

Known as the "City of Dungeons", Stormreach is a vibrant city nestled amidst the Searing Heights and Cerulean Hills on the shores of Xen'Drik. Stormreach received this nickname after having been built upon an ancient giantish city. The name is even more appropriate given the high amount of ruins, long-lost civilizations and other points of interest which bring so much glorious flavor and commerce to the city.

Stormreach is home to several important institutions, including enclaves for each of the Dragonmarked Houses as well as the Tower of the Twelve, home to a powerful group of wizards. The city is also host to a grand Festivult and the Risia Ice Games which includes the famous Harbor Ski Jump. Other landmarks include the Remembrance Plaza which servers as a memorial for the brave heroes who saved Stormreach from a devil invasion not long ago.

But don't worry, Stormreach is now quite safe. The Twelve, as well as the Dragonmarked Houses have come together under the gracious watch of the Coin Lords to ensure the safety of every citizen within the walled city. Adventurers come everyday by way of boat and airship to this land of opportunity and we are glad to welcome you to our home.

While you are here you may want to check in with our city greeter Mari Mosshand in front of The Leaky Dinghy who will greet you with free gem and collectables bags, and don't forget to meet one with a member of the fabricators, such as Felix D'Cannith at the Harbor entrance to the Marketplace--for a free tiny ingredients bag. If that isn't enough space for you the Twelve are kindly enough to supply all newcomers with a small ingredients bag at no charge, just another example of the grace and generosity our city has to offer.

Welcome to Stormreach, we hope you'll make our home your own.

--Scribe for the Coin Lords

That Part About Hirelings

As you may remember from one of the videos I posted earlier, friends don't let friends play solo. However, there are times in an adventurer's life when no one else is willing to join up or he may just want to be left alone.

The problem of course is that DDO was built as an MMO and so classes have certain roles to play in the game. Only rogues and artificers can disable traps, clerics and favored souls are the best at healing, a ranged ranger doesn't do well in melee...and for that matter any wizard caught in a melee should find another, less deadly, vocation.

There is an answer...actually a couple, to this dilemma. Today I want to talk about hirelings, and how they can solve this need for solitary questing. A hireling is a mercenary you can hire in DDO to do your bidding and help you out during an adventure. To purchase one you find a hireling vendor and then purchase a contract for the hireling you want, or alternatively you can purchase gold seal hirelings (we'll get into what that means in a moment) from the DDO Store. A hirelings contract takes up one item space and can be summoned at the start of an adventure, or anywhere within an adventure if you purchased a gold seal hireling.

The other big difference between a regular hireling and a gold seal hireling is that you are only allowed one regular hireling at a time. With a gold seal hireling you could conceivably create your own adventuring party by purchasing more than one in the store (though you are still limited to one of each unique hireling...no multiple Malorens for those of suicidal inclination for example).

Some of you, the anti-social and the arrogant, may be asking yourself why you should bother playing with others at all if their are hirelings available. I won't bore you with tales of the bond of friendship and how it can conquer even a beholder's eyerays...I leave that to Tea Gardner. What I will do is point out that it is expensive (in platinum for regular hirelings and turbine points for gold seal hirelings, ouch), and also that hirelings just can't do everything regular players can do.

You get a single bar to control that hireling with, the options every hireling comes with are "Attack", "Defend", Do Nothing, Go on the Offensive, Go on the Defensive, Use This, Come Here, and Stay. Hirelings can't swim, and so sink like a rock. Their AI is so bad they get stuck sometimes and it takes awhile to get them to come to your position, and they also only get a few of their class's actions to do. For instance, if you pick up a spellcasting hireling, say a cleric, he will only have about three to four spells which you can use. That isn't to say that he doesn't have those other spells, hell, I've seen hireling clerics cast those others spells, only that he may or may not cast them when he may or may not feel like it.

And those three to four spells? Well, there isn't even a guarantee they'll be the good ones. How does Heal, Mass Cure Moderate Wounds, and Raise Dead sound? Probably pretty good, until you realize that means no blade barrier, and no flame strike. In other wounds no offense, you may say that a cleric isn't that good for offense, but I beg to differ, especially when it comes to blade barrier...in fact I may have to have a post about blade barrier in the future.

Some other time.

So, hirelings can be used when you can't get someone else to play, or when you want to play by yourself, or when your party needs something shored up which they can't do...like a healer. A hireling can't compete with the versatility of a regular player, and wouldn't even know how to use that versatility if it did. Hell, some hirelings (I'm looking at you Maloren) are complete dicks who heal themselves BEFORE taking care of you. So think long and hard about whether you want to take one with you before you head out alone.

Some things to consider when getting a hireling are what role you need fulfilled. If you're a nice squishy caster who attacks at range you may need an aggro grabbing fighter to stay between you and your foes, likewise if your a 2-handed, light armored barbarian who loves flying into a rage and running through traps with wild abandon you may want to bring along a cleric.

Also, you should take a look at what those hirelings can do. For instance, some hirelings can summon creatures, that's like having a whole other party member (read decoy/bait/meatshield) join your quest. Make sure their abilities suit you, like having lesser restoration to fix the fatigue after a rage for the above barbarian or intimidate on that fighter. Perhaps you do well with criticals and can bring along a hireling who can cast hold person, or you need you tend to run out of spell points so you grab a cleric with divine vitality. Hirelings work well in a pinch to shore up those little weaknesses you may have.

So go out there and give them a shot...just, don't choose Maloren ok, unless you want to watch him laugh at you while you die.

Building a Better Beast: The Tank

I told you there was more artificer goodness coming. Since my friend is planning on making an artificer soon, I figured I'd kick off a new, but limited, series called Building a Better Beast. The point of the series is to discuss various ways to increase the effectiveness of your pet...in this case the Iron Defender...at different roles. Today we take a look at how to make an Iron Defender into a tank.

Before we even start to talk about how to modify your iron defender we have to talk about a few things your artificer will have to do. First of all you're going to have to take the Augment Summoning feat. This feat will give your Iron Defender a +4 bonus to his ability scores which will result in a +2 to attack rolls, +2 to AC, +2 to saves, +2 hit points per level...etc. You can see why this is a good first step yeah?

Secondly, you're going to want to make sure you can heal and buff your Iron Defender even more. This means that you should take the following spells when they become available, either as part of leveling up, or by picking up the scroll and inscribing them:

1st Level: A few of these spells will be replaced by others at later levels, but they're important for now.

Shield of Faith--More AC for your Iron Defender means he can do what he's good at longer.
Repair Light Wounds--Healing your Iron Defender when it gets hurt is important, so be sure to pick this spell up.
Ablative Armor--This will give your Iron Defender another pool of hit points to detract from before it takes actual damage. It only blocks physical damage though.
Enchant Armor--Although the other three spells are more important this spell will give an additional bonus to your pet's AC.


2nd Level: This will be the level where most of your Pet's buffs come from.

Toughen Construct--Barkskin for constructs, anything that makes your Iron Defender harder to hit is important.
Repair Moderate Wounds--Like repair light only better.
Reinforce Construct--Ahem, this is essentially false life for constructs, and it isn't limited to self so load up your defender and any warforged you might party with.
Protection from Energy--Like Ablative Armor Protection from Energy will negate damage, in this case an elemental damage of your choice. Usually this means loading up on acid, electricity, and fire.

3rd Level: Not much will really help your pet at this point, but we can replace two of the 1st level spells with their betters.

Shield of Faith, Mass--Might as well buff everyone while you're buffing your pet. Pick this up to gain a little more utility.
Stoneskin--Like Ablative Armor, but stronger. However, you may want to keep Ablative Armor and use this one only on rare occasions due to an expensive spell component.
Repair Serious Wounds--Yeah, yeah, another upgrade. You might as well, you get a free slot for having it.

4th Level: This level upgrades an earlier spell and gives your Iron Defender yet another armor boost.

Protection From Elements--Like Protection from Energy except this spell gives protection from all elemental damage.
Armor of Speed--A +15% bonus to attack speed coupled with a +1 to Attack Bonus and a +1 Dodge bonus to AC means takes your Iron Defender to another level.
Repair Critical Wounds--You knew this was coming right?

5th Level: Not much is needed this level, but the spell you do get is a game changer.

Radiant Forcefield--A 25% reduction in damage taken, on top of everything else you do for him means your Iron Defender might not EVER need those repair spells.

6th Level: Never need to worry about your Iron Defender's health again.

Reconstruct--This is heal, but for constructs. Drop this on your puppy when his health drops below half and he'll be back at maximum fighting shape again in no time.

Now, on to enhancements.

Your pet will get 2 Ability Points per level, and unlike you, they get those at the start of their level, so the bonuses you give them can benefit you from the get go.

1st Level:
Get Adamantine Plating. It will give your pet a +8 to Armor Class and damage reduction 2/adamantine.

2nd Level:
Reinforced Armor will give your pet 10 extra hit points, and who couldn't benefit from that?

3rd Level:
Menacing Growl will give your pet the Intimidate skill, and a +4 bonus on it. With this he'll be able to draw even more aggo off of you. To top it all off he will even do it sometimes without you having to ask.

4th Level:
Spend those points upgrading your plating to +10 and DR4/adamatine, the other point should be spent further reinforcing your armor for an additional +10 to hit points, making it +20 total.

5th Level:
Increase your menacing growl by an additional +4 (making it +8) and drop a point in Fearsome Tactics to make your pet 10% better at grabbing aggro.

6th Level:
Your pet will need more strength to deal more damage so go ahead and buy the strength +1 enhancement.

7th Level:
A further boost to your plating for +12 AC and DR6/adamatine, and a further boost to his armor for +30 hit points.

8th Level:
Get his intimidate up to +12 and purchase Fearsome Tactics II to make him even better at grabbing aggro (now 20%).

9th Level:
A +1 to Dex will get help to increase his AC and reflex save so go ahead and purchase it.

10th Level:
Max out your plating at +14 and DR8/adamatine. Max out your armor at +40hp.

11th Level:
Max out Menacing Growl at +16 and increase Fearsome Tactics to 30%

12th Level:
Max out Fearsome Tactics at 40% and snag Danger Avoidance for a +2 to Reflex Saves.

13th Level:
Just save those points for now.

14th Level:
And spend them with these for a +2 bonus to Strength.

15th Level:
Wait for it...

16th Level:
+2 to Dexterity.

17th Level:
Increase Danger Avoidance by 2 steps to a +6 bonus to Reflex saves.

18th Level:
Another increase to Danger Avoidance brings it up to a +8 bonus. Save the other point.

19th Level:
Select one of the combat feats, hopefully Takedown, and level it up to two.

20th Level:
Max out that combat feat and enjoy your pet's destructive capabilities.

Haggle, is it worth it?

Sorry for the late posting, got kind of busy last weekend. I'll be starting a new series today, Skill Focus. Skill Focus articles are going to be all about the skills in DDO, are they worth taking, tips on use, etc. Today we take a look at the haggle skill to determine whether it is actually worth taking.

I have a lot of players in my guild who make combat machines, uber powerful wizards, raging barbarians...and they all look down on one poor lonely drow, my haggle bard. Well, today I'm going to put forward the case for that bard, and all other haggle builds out there by breaking down whether the skill is worth taking.

To do that we are going to take a look at two characters, let's say rogues of tenth level. Both have 14 Cha, but one has taken the time to enhance their haggle a little bit by raising its ranks, picking up an item, etc. They are both going to sell items worth 2000, 4000, 6000, 8000, 10000, and 20000 platinum pieces (pp) each. Author's Note: I'm not exactly sure there are items at all those levels of worth, but for the sake of argument let's let it pass. They are going to sell them to the same vendor, and at the end we will tally up the difference in platinum to see how much of a difference the Haggle skill makes. We'll also see by what amount the haggle build comes out on top in regards to purchasing power.

Our first rogue, the one without haggle, has a simple +2 to the skill because of his charisma.

Our second rogue has a +2 Cha bonus, +13 skill ranks, a +3 item (relatively easy to acquire), a +2 from a casting of Eagle's splendor, a +2 from enhancements, and a +3 from the Skill Focus feat...for a total of 25 to haggle.

According to DDO Wiki, Haggle uses the following formulas:

Selling Profit: [Base Sell Percentage (we're going to use 10%, the same as a normal vendor)+(.0025*Haggle)]*Item Base Value

Purchasing Cost = {[1-(0.005*Haggle)]* Markup (we're going to use 25%, the same as a normal vendor)}*Item Base Value

Let us begin:

The rogue without haggle sells his items to the vendor and receives 210, 420, 630, 840, 1050, and 2100 platinum pieces respectively, for a total of 5250 platinum.

The Haggle build goes in and sells them for 325pp, 650pp, 975pp, 1300pp, 1625pp, and 3250pp for a total of 8125pp platinum.

That's a difference of 2875 platinum.

How about buying power?

The rogue without haggle purchases those items for 2475pp, 4950pp, 7425pp, 9900pp, 12375pp, and 24750pp...a total of 61885 platinum, a pretty hefty sum.

The rogue with haggle buys his items for 2437pp and 5 gp, 4875pp, 7312pp and 5gp, 9750pp, 12187pp and 5gp, and finally 24375pp for a total of 53625pp and 5gp.

The difference here is 8259pp and 5gp.

So at the end of the day the haggle build has 11134pp and 5gp more than the non haggle counterpart. That's being generous by the way, because at that level the haggle rogue could have a better magic item, and used a rogue skill boost among other things to get even more out of the haggle skill...but we'll discuss that at a later time.

In short people, I think haggle is worth it, it saves you money. I showed you the difference after selling only six items, you can find that many or more in a single adventure...think about that. Haggle adds up fast, especially at higher levels.

So, is haggle worth it? Yes, most assuredly.

Always Get Your Collectables

Oh Mari Mosshand, the person I still think of as a dwarf even though you are clearly a halfling simply because halflings suck (not really but reputation wise kind of) and because the game used to claim you were. What would we do without you indeed. That small collectables bag should be one of the first things that you grab, not because selling collectables on the auction house is profitable, although it can be, but because every once in awhile you may find something amazing that you can ordinarily only have by finding it as a rare loot drop or purchasing it in the DDO Store...well, indirectly anyway.

I'm talking about the Eberron Dragonshards. By gathering these up and turning them in to select collectors you can gain some very rare items that are certainly worth your attention. But in my opinion there is only one collector you should turn each shard into, except for the large, which I would say has two options.

For Small Eberron Dragonshards you should turn three of them in to Xorian Chalk in the Marketplace to earn your Medium Experience Elixer. I mean, who doesn't want a +10% bonus to all your experience. If you save this baby for an experience boost weekend it will be even more effective. The bonus lasts 6 hours, which if you are careful means it can last for several adventures.

For Medium Eberron Dragonshards you should hand them over in groups of three to Tara Wightraven in House Deneith for a Major Experience Elixir. Same deal as the one you get from Xorian Chalk, but this time you get a 20% boost to experience.

A few notes on those two. Niether stacks with the bonus you can get from the Voice of the Master or Mantle of the Worldshaper items from the DM's Vision set. So if you use either of those items, and you really should snag one, than you may want to use a different item while your elixirs are in effect.

Finally you have two good options when considering where to turn in your three Large Eberron Dragonshards. If you want to increase your chance of getting rarer items then you'll want to pass them over to  Bowdlin in House Phiarlan to earn a Medium Jewel of Fortune. This item will raise the treasure in all chests by +1 for up to six hours. Your other good option is also in House Phiarlan, if you give them to Seld the Gray Sister then she will give you an Ethereal Rest Shrine. This is a great gift to your adventuring buddies and yourself. Say you guys are playing on Elite on a tough quest and you need a rest shrine but have used them all, or there are tons of monster between you and there. Well this little diddy just creates a rest shrine for you and your companions to enjoy.

A quick couple notes on each of those rewards. They are all bound to account, meaning you can't give them away to another person once you earn them and also that if you want to switch them from one character to another you either have to use a Shared Bank Account (for your own characters...if you have one) or trade them as the Eberron Dragonshards before turning them in. Also, as an added bonus there is a little timed math puzzle the collector gives you when you turn these in to get a weak enchanted item. I've never been very pleased with them, so don't worry if you can't figure out the puzzle, BUT it is a nice addition when you get it.

But what if you don't want any of those great items? Well, there are a few other items you can get. Various trinkets that can cast a few spells before burning into nothing, and a couple of other options beside. However, the real gem if you don't want one of the aforementioned options is to sell these on the auction house or through trade. You can earn some really heavy platinum by selling these stones to people who DO want those awesome bennies. The small shards alone tend to go for around 40,000 platinum on my server. Just something to think about.

So next time you are in a dungeon and you see a Rubble or Mushroom and think to yourself "God, I hate collectables" just remember THAT may be the ONE collectable that gives you a dragonshard. That I feel is worth wading through the dozens that aren't.

The Five Commandments of Staying (Mostly) Free 2 Play

1) Thou Shalt Not Purchase the Drow

I know, the drow are awesome. Interesting culture, great abilities like natural Spell Resistance and a nice ability allotment, not to mention that everyone seems to want to make a Drizzt clone (An example of his epicness). However, you really should curb that until you've gotten four hundred total favor with one character, because then you'll have unlocked the drow for character creation on that server. At 995 Turbine Points the drow carry a hefty price tag and why should you pay for something you can get for free anyway, even if it goes on sale.

2) Thou Shalt Follow the Deals on the DDO Store

Speaking of deals, things go on sale in the DDO Store all the time. An easy way to keep track of what's on sale when is to watch the DDO Store page and the DDO Store Twitter. Believe me, as much as possible you want to buy things when they are on sale, it will save you a lot of time and money if you just wait for some things. Especially keep an eye out for adventure packs, even if you aren't in the level range yet, if you think you want to play those quests later on then you should purchase it ahead of time while it is on sale.

3) Thou Shalt Know the Favor Rewards of Each Adventure Pack

When considering which adventure packs to purchase, it is important to keep in mind how much favor each can grant you, as this will be your primary way of getting Turbine Points. In this respect some packs fare better than others, like the Catacombs and Tangleroot Gorge, whereas some others, like the Sharn Syndicate are more or less just a fun little story to enjoy (usually with awesome quest rewards as well). For a list of adventure packs and how much total favor they grant I suggest checking out this page on the DDO Wiki.

4) Thou Shalt Elite Everything

Of course, even if you buy the packs with the most favor it won't do you much good if you don't make sure to elite every single one of them (or as much as you can stomach...I tend to skip elite on Misery's Peak because the length of that adventure grates on me). By finishing each quest on elite you make sure to garner the most favor, and hence the most bonus Turbine Points.

5) Thou Shalt Reach 100 Favor With at Least One Toon on Each Server

People who grind favor for Turbine Points, which will be you if you want to unlock game features without spending much money, swear by this technique. The first time you reach certain amounts of Favor on a server you'll get a bonus amount of Turbine Points for free. Also for each 100 Favor you earn with a character you'll get 25 Turbine Points. This comes out to 125 "free" Turbine Points which you earn simply by playing a few quests. I'll be sharing my way to speed up the process in a later post.

Do you have any other suggestions for spending less money on DDO? Or are VIP or Premium more your thing?