test content
Logo
What is the Arc Client?
Install Arc
Searching for Vampire Builds
thelastsonofzod
Posts: 658 Arc User
So I've had a character in the works for several years, thats never quite made the cut to consider leveling. Basic premise is that he's malkavian, a vampire from the world of Darkness roleplaying system. The problem is I've tried to use single blade as his primary attack form, and the martial arts style and DPS for that seem a bit ill fitting for what I'd like out of him. What I'd like are some alternative build ideas. Ranged, melee, dps, tanking whatever you think might work for him. I'm really just fishing for ideas at this point.
Points to consider:
1) malkavians use dementation, which inspires madness in others.
2) In most of his roleplays, wade's primary weapon has been a steel ball bat.
3) malkavians also use obfuscate(invisibility) and auspex(superhuman perception)
Points to consider:
1) malkavians use dementation, which inspires madness in others.
2) In most of his roleplays, wade's primary weapon has been a steel ball bat.
3) malkavians also use obfuscate(invisibility) and auspex(superhuman perception)
Post edited by Unknown User on
0
Comments
*nods*
Yeah, that was sort of my thinking. The issue has been picking what aspects to use. I figured I could get some input from you guys about how best to mix it up
It's been a while since I touched WoD, and I'm not very aware of how much changed for the Malkavians between oWoD and nWoD, but...
1. Holds, Placates, and especially Confuses should simulate madness well. The new Telepathy DoTs could also work as mind-wracking pain due to the mind being twisted by insanity.
2. Single Blade is mostly inflicting bleeds and then rupturing them. You could also pair it with other stuff that procs off bleeds like Devour Essence and Venomous Breath. Not sure if the latter power might break theme.
3. There's a very small pool of Stealth and Detection powers. For stealth/perception debuff, the passives are Congress of Selves, Shadow Form, and Night Warrior. There's also Smoke Grenade, Smoke Bomb, Sigils of Radiant Sanctuary, Evasive Maneuvers, advantaged Palliate, and R3 Arctic Beast. For detection, there's Circle of Primal Dominion and Command Animals. Alternatively, any PBAoE power with a large AoE. Bumping DEX and INT respectively should also help for stealth and detection.
That said, it seems Single Blade and Telepathy (both old and new!) would cover most of your needs...
I need to head off to work, but I'll see if I can whip up a build later.
EDIT: Also, in before someone suggests Invulnerability for a vampire character!
Name:
Archetype: Freeform
Super Stats:
Level 6: Intelligence (Primary)
Level 10: Presence (Secondary)
Level 15: Dexterity (Secondary)
Talents:
Level 1:
Level 6:
Level 9:
Level 12:
Level 15:
Level 18:
Level 21:
Powers:
Level 1: Reaper's Touch
Level 1: Reaper's Caress (Rank 2, Cleaving Strikes)
Level 6: Form of the Swordsman (Cut Where it Counts)
Level 8: Night Warrior (Rank 2, Rank 3, Silent Running)
Level 11: Dragon's Bite (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 14: Circle of Primal Dominion (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 17: Sigils of Radiant Sanctuary (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 20: Molecular Self-Assembly
Level 23: Devour Essence (Rank 2, Phlebotomist)
Level 26: Evasive Maneuvers (Sleight of Mind)
Level 29: Ego Placate (Svengali's Guile)
Level 32: Mind Lock
Level 35: Ego Sleep (Plagued by Nightmares)
Level 38: Soul Mesmerism (Glossolalia)
Travel Powers:
Level 6:
Level 35:
Specializations:
Intelligence: Tactician (2/2)
Intelligence: Battle of Wits (3/3)
Intelligence: Detect Vulnerability (3/3)
Intelligence: Expertise (2/2)
Warden: Slaughter (3/3)
Warden: Ruthless (2/2)
Warden: Elusive (2/2)
Warden: Upper Hand (3/3)
Brawler: The Glory of Battle (3/3)
Brawler: Penetrating Strikes (2/2)
Brawler: Ruthless (2/2)
Brawler: Setup (2/2)
Brawler: Flanking (1/3)
Mastery: Warden Mastery (1/1)
It's melee DPS with some debuff/control shenanigans. INT and DEX were chosen for stealth perception and stealth strength respectively. PRE was chosen for control strength and to bolster the healing powers. INT was primary because its spec tree was more versatile given the chosen powers. STR (for melee damage) and CON (for HP) are next in importance so you should probably work that in somehow, either in talents and/or gear.
Reaper's Caress is your bread and butter attack. It procs bleed (Form of the Swordsman, Devour Essence adv, and Upper Hand), is a combo attack (Slaughter, Setup, and Warden Mastery), and the advantage makes it an AoE (The Glory of Battle, general mob slaying) power.
Devour Essence is the standard vampire drain power and the advantage plays off Bleed. Bite can work if you want the animation, but it's not as thematic from a mechanics point of view (no health drain; the New Shadows get such a bite attack... why don't we?).
Mind Lock (confuse), Soul Mesmerism (paralyze), Ego Placate, and Ego Sleep act as Dementation. Note that Ego Placate and Mind Lock are not considered holds and thus are not bolstered by PRE nor Battle of Wits from the INT spec tree.
Circle of Primal Dominion serves as Auspex with its stealth perception.
Night Warrior and Evasive Maneuvers serve as Obfuscate.
Sigils of Radiant Sanctuary also functions as a form of Obfuscate (perception debuff). It's not a personal effect, but because the summoned sigils are considered targets they'll help make Ego Placate and Evasive Maneuvers not reset mobs when soloing.
Molecular Self Assembly procs off Mind Lock, Ego Sleep, Soul Mesmerism, Evasive Maneuvers and Sigils of Radiant Sanctuary. Dragon's Bite is there as a beefy single target attack (especially when fed Setup by Reaper's Caress) and to proc Rush.
The advantage on Form of the Swordsman pretty much lets you deal the CO equivalent of aggravated damage. Drop it if you don't think it fits or you need the advantage points. Speaking of advantage points, the one unused point can go towards a travel power or the advantage on Sigils of Radiant Sanctuary.
There are other powers to consider. Dark Transfusion and its advantage is something to consider (Vitae bolster?); it will hamper the healing from Circle of Primal Dominion and Sigils of Radiant Sanctuary but Devour Essence is unaffected and heals for more than both combined. However, energy shouldn't really be a problem; in fact, you'll probably have more energy than you can use. There's also the true-and-tried Conviction (Vitae healing?). Both have cooldowns and so can proc MSA even more.
Reaper's Embrace can be taken to Rupture all those Bleeds if you want more DPS. Its cost and damage is on par with Dragon's Bite (ranking does not increase Rupture damage) so there is major redundancy there. The Reaper's Embrace animation is certainly more satisfying than the Dragon's Bite animation when using a baseball bat though. If you do take it, rank up only one of them for general damage and use the other when the situation applies.
PowerHouse (Link to this build)
Name:
Archetype: Freeform
Super Stats:
Level 6: Strength (Primary)
Level 10: Constitution (Secondary)
Level 15: Recovery (Secondary)
Talents:
Level 1: The Devastator
Level 6: Martial Focus
Level 9: Acrobat
Level 12: Impresario
Level 15: Physical Conditioning
Level 18: Relentless
Level 21: Quick Recovery
Powers:
Level 1: Shadow Bolt
Level 1: Shred (Rank 2, Penetrating Strikes)
Level 6: Regeneration (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 8: Void Shift (Emerging Nightmares, Nailed to the Ground)
Level 11: Supernatural Power
Level 14: Bite (Rank 2, Furor Venenum)
Level 17: Aspect of the Bestial
Level 20: Devour Essence (Rank 2, Phlebotomist)
Level 23: Frenzy (Rank 2, Fear Sense)
Level 26: Ebon Void (Voracious Darkness)
Level 29: Shadow Shroud (Rank 2)
Level 32: Resurgence (Rank 2)
Level 35: Summon Shadows (Devouring Darkness)
Level 38: Rebirth (Grave Consequences)
Travel Powers:
Level 6: Shadow Wings (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 35: Teleportation (Rank 2)
Specializations:
Strength: Swole (3/3)
Strength: Physical Peak (2/3)
Strength: Brutality (2/2)
Strength: Juggernaut (3/3)
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: Modified Gear (2/2)
Mastery: Strength Mastery (1/1)
Gearing is pretty standard: crit/dodge/CD-CR. Stat priority is CON>DEX>>INT, with a little STR thrown in for flavor.
PowerHouse (Link to this build)
Name: Baroness Vaduva
Archetype: Freeform
Super Stats:
Level 6: Dexterity (Primary)
Level 10: Constitution (Secondary)
Level 15: Intelligence (Secondary)
Talents:
Level 1: The Master
Level 6: Acrobat
Level 9: Coordinated
Level 12: Healthy Mind
Level 15: Covert Ops Training
Level 18: Physical Conditioning
Level 21: Body and Mind
Powers:
Level 1: Reaper's Touch
Level 1: Reaper's Caress (Rank 2, Cleaving Strikes)
Level 6: Scything Blade (Rank 2)
Level 8: Regeneration (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Form of the Tempest
Level 14: Void Shift (Emerging Nightmares)
Level 17: Resurgence (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 20: Reaper's Embrace (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 23: Devour Essence (Rank 2, Phlebotomist)
Level 26: Masterful Dodge
Level 29: Soul Mesmerism (Glossolalia)
Level 32: Ego Surge (Nimble Mind)
Level 35: Circle of Ebon Wrath (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 38: Rebirth (Grave Consequences)
Travel Powers:
Level 6: Teleportation (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 35: Athletics
Specializations:
Dexterity: Combat Training (3/3)
Dexterity: Brush It Off (2/2)
Dexterity: Deadly Aim (3/3)
Dexterity: Expose Weakness (2/2)
Warden: Fortified Gear (3/3)
Warden: Slaughter (2/3)
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: Modified Gear (2/2)
Mastery: Dexterity Mastery (1/1)
If you ask for advice on builds of a certain nature, people usually reply with builds.