trying to make a swordsman who also uses bows or magic, advice needed

feodrich

hello, its unlikely anyone here knows me but im considering coming back to champions online with some friends and i need a new build to play as, i've done freeform characters in the past but i dont feel like im really very good at it and if i dont ask for build advice my characters always seem very underwhelming.

themewise im going for something akin to a D&D Paladin or spellsword, essentially a holy warrior who travels about wielding either one or two melee weapons and can occaisionally use either a touch of magic (be it divine or arcane in nature) or archery to complement his melee abilities, someone who lived in a world where sword and sorcery were both common and being a swordsman meant you had to be more versatile then just swinging a sword at everything if you could help it, having either magic abilities or resourcefulness to deal with those who did, from an actual gameplay mechanic perspective im looking to really bring the deeps, i want to dish out alot of damage and be good at either taking out individual targets or large mobs of enemies (being able to go back and forth between or being able to tank and dps would be ideal but ill understand if neither are viable, its preferable to me to be a master of few things then to know many things and be terrible at all)

i have no preferences as far as abilities go but it wouldn't make much thematic sense to have any kind of advanced technology, if you wouldn't find it in a game of pathfinder it wouldn't fit something this character would know about but any tree that could be IC'ly described as swordfighting, archery or some kind of magic could fit, i'd really like at least one ability that could be used to heal or revive other members of the party but i dont expect to be an especially amazing support class since im not prioritizing it

given the nature of my request i dont have a build that can be modified

can anyone help me out or should i just wing it? i recall there used to be some guides to helping make amazing sword builds but i cant find them anymore and even if i could none of them had any advice on how you would mix it with other abilities of any kind (and even then alot of reading i've done lately implies any kind of melee build is kind of bad these days)

flowcyto

Do you want fast or slower swordplay? Cause ya can technically also use Heavy Weapons here, but many of the weapon models will be diff than for Single and Dual Blades, and it may not make sense to have ur weapon change a bit when mixing HW and SB/DB.
SB/DB are better for dps than HW overall, though many of the anims for them may be a bit too flashy or weird for the theme.

Including Archery can come down to using one of its AoE powers- Storm, Torrent, and/or Sonic Arrow w/ its DD adv. Archery doesn't have great dps, imo, but does have rather strong and long-range AoE.

From an efficiency standpoint, mixing SB's strong bleed-based ST dps w/ Archery's good AoE could give a nice result overall. the magic bits can help w/ utility and/or healing.

flowcyto

I'll just cook up a versatile hybrid build for ya, just to put something out there:

PowerHouse (Link to this build)

Super Stats:
Level 6: Intelligence (Primary)
Level 10: Constitution (Secondary)
Level 15: Dexterity (Secondary)

Talents:
Level 1: The Glacier
Level 6: Covert Ops Training
Level 9: Acrobat
Level 12: Healthy Mind
Level 15: Coordinated
Level 18: Boundless Reserves
Level 21: Accurate

Powers:
Level 1: Eldritch Bolts
Level 1: Reaper's Caress (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 6: Aura of Primal Majesty (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 8: Form of the Tempest
Level 11: Lightspeed Dash
Level 14: Molecular Self-Assembly
Level 17: Conviction (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 20: Torrent of Arrows (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 23: Reaper's Embrace (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 26: Storm of Arrows (Rank 2, Achilles' Heel)
Level 29: Rebuke (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 32: Palliate (Rank 2, Absolve)
Level 35: Ego Surge (Nimble Mind)
Level 38: Masterful Dodge

Travel Powers:
Level 6:
Level 35:

Specializations:
Intelligence: Preparation (2/2)
Intelligence: Enlightened (3/3)
Intelligence: Detect Vulnerability (3/3)
Intelligence: Expertise (2/2)
Warden: Fortified Gear (2/3)
Warden: Slaughter (3/3)
Warden: Ruthless (2/2)
Warden: The Best Defense (3/3)
Vindicator: Aggressive Stance (2/2)
Vindicator: Merciless (3/3)
Vindicator: Focused Strikes (3/3)
Vindicator: Mass Destruction (2/3)
Mastery: Warden Mastery (1/1)

Rebuke = a smite-like power that can be used to heal as well (more included for the theme, though it can still be handy). Palliate/Absolve is a threat wipe that I figure could pass for a lay-on-hands style spell.

Included some Archery for AoE (and MSA), while ur single target dps will involve using the basic SB combo heavily along w/ Embrace to rupture at 4-5x bleed stacks (should b strong burst dmg even a as hybrid). Although the build isn't a tank, it should be pretty sturdy and has decent bonus heal to back it up.

Gearing for this is mostly for Dex and Con, w/ AoPM boosting the other stats well enough.

feodrich

i prefer faster swordplay over slower since i assume that heavy weapon is better suited for tanking, while theres nothing wrong with tanking its not a role im looking to get into at this time, i had originally intended to go mostly melee/magic or melee/archery eschewing whichever didn't get focused on but this build seems to have included all three together.

at a glance this one doesn't look like it includes alot of sword based abilities but im going to give it a whirl and see how it pans out, i prefer to trust in the knowledge of others anyways so ill assume you know what you are doing since that'll be easier for me.

im excited to see where this goes.

flowcyto

If ya want more sword powers ya can always replace one of the Archery AoE's w/ Eye of the Storm or Scything Blade (I assume Sword Cyclone is a bit too silly). Most of ur single target dmg will come from using the sword powers, regardless.