This thread is for general power gamer discussion.
I invite you to show your most Min-Maxy builds. I am going to start off with a burst damage max out.
1 Take 3 levels of Assassin rogue
2 take 11 levels of Ranger, take archery fighting style, hoard breaker for hunter’s prey, and volley for multi-attack
3 take 3 levels of wizard, and choose the invisiblity spell (and maybe magic weapon)
4 if you want to take this to level 20, use arcane archer fighter for the remaining 3 levels.
during combat, cast invisibility on yourself and go away from the fray. Next, use your volley to attack as many foes as possible, the ones next to the group you volleyed will be hit by your hoard breaker, and because you are invisible, you have advantage on attack rolls and get sneak attack damage. Use a heavy crossbow, or a longbow if you use arcane archer, and also, with arcane archer, use bursting arrow. You can also take the classes in different orders.
damage per target: (longbow, with auto-crit) 2d10 piercing + (sneak attack) 2d6 + (bursting arrow) 2d6 force + dexterity modifier. Total 2d10 + 4d6 + dex. You can hit around 20 monsters at once. And you can use normal stealth instead of invisibility to free up concentration for the flame arrows spell and deal an extra 1d6 fire damage, for a new total of 2d10 + 5d6 +dex, and further you can add action surge for a total of 4d10 + 8d6 + 10 (this assumes you are at level 20, and have 20 dex). Cast magic weapon on your longbow for even more damage
Paladin 2 rest sorcerer. Google it. Don't have the time to write it all out but it's the end game for power gamers. The build starts at level 5 and only gets better as you level.
A really obvious but nice healer build(ya, ya, I know healing is sub-optimal lol)
1. Take 3 Levels of Shepherd Druid. This gets you Healing Spirit and the Unicorn Spirit Totem.
2. Take 17 Levels of Life Cleric
With 4 ASI/Feats maxing out your Wisdom shouldn't be a problem and you should definitely pick up War Caster.
As for magic items, you don't need any but the Staff of Healing is great and works with your Life Cleric abilities(not your Unicorn Spirit Totem though).
This build hits a big spike at level 4 when you get the Disciple of Life bonus to your Healing Spirit.
----- Let's talk Healing Spirit -----
A 2nd level Healing Spirit will heal 1d6 + 4 averaging 7.5HP per turn for 1 minute. If you set it on top of a creature for the full minute that will heal ~75HP. The Heal spell (a 6th level spell) would restore 78(70 + 8)HP when cast at 6th level. Additionally, because creatures can move through each other's spaces, your other allies can run through it on their turn to heal themselves as well. Another cool trick is to use abilities like the Battlemaster Fighter's Maneuvering Attack to move an ally through the spirit on another creature's turn.
Scaling this up to a 9th level Healing Spirit, you would restore 8d6 + 11 averaging 38HP per turn.
At 20th level you gain the Life Cleric's Supreme Healing feature, maximizing your healing dice for 59 (48 + 11)HP per turn, or 590HP per person over 1 minute without shenanigans, from a 9th level Healing Spirit.
----- Unicorn Spirit Totem -----
Does this build take full advantage of this feature? No. What it does do is use this to bring multiple allies up from 0HP.
This is mostly useful for keeping you squishy, damage dealing allies dealing damage against a boss with AoE attacks using the principle of "1HP is all you need to kill things".
----- Goodberry? -----
Sure. 4(1+3)HP per berry, 40HP total, is great for a 1st level spell slot.
Start as Barbarian, go to level 2 then 18 levels as rogue, take the sentinal feat. reckless attacks give you advantage, your AC is Dex + Con, sentinal gives you more attacks of oppurtunity which is a reaction so you can surprise attack again. Might have to be another target then 1 you already hit with surprise attack cant remember. If your going with a strength build take Shield master and expertise athletics, give adavantage to everyone in your party for melee attacks vs prone.
A note on the OP (Original Post) OP (Over-Powered) build. The sneak attack feature will only apply to one target and one hit on your turn. Also, if 'during combat, [you] cast invisibility' you do not gain the assassination bonus which only applies on the first round of combat.
You can stack every attack with Divine Favor or Crusader's Mantle. Likewise invisibility ends on your first Attack. You'll get more bang out of a spell without such stipulations. Greater Invisibility is a high spell slot cost, but if you take 2 levels of Warlock you can get the same result for 10 minutes with Darkness with Devil's Sight.
You're going to have to provide a link to that Sage Advice so I can ignore it properly. The ability and spell descriptions are very clear.
Sneak Attack: "... Once per turn, you can deal an extra 1d6 damage ..."
Invisibility: "... The spell ends for a target that attacks or casts a spell ..."
Sneak Attack (full):
Sneak Attack
Beginning at 1st level, you know how to strike subtly and exploit a foe’s distraction. Once per turn, you can deal an extra 1d6 damage to one creature you hit with an attack if you have advantage on the attack roll. The attack must use a finesse or a ranged weapon.
You don’t need advantage on the attack roll if another enemy of the target is within 5 feet of it, that enemy isn’t incapacitated, and you don’t have disadvantage on the attack roll.
The amount of the extra damage increases as you gain levels in this class, as shown in the Sneak Attack column of the Rogue table.
No, BdaddLy has it right. Surprise lasts until the enemy's first turn. If you cast invisibility during combat like you say, the enemy is not surprised by the time it is your turn again and you will not auto-crit.
Even if you cast invisibility BEFORE combat, you can get a shit Initiative roll, the enemy will go before you and will not be surprised by the end of it's turn. Hence no auto-crit.
I don't know about the rest, but the mechanics in your OP does not work with respect to the Assassin's ability.
Just to ruin a bit more of this fun: Hoard breaker is once per turn, so only one additional creature. Sneak attack is once per turn, so one target. Invisibility or Hiding gives advantage only on the first attack, and it's debatable whether volley is simultaneous or not. Arcane Archer special shots can only be used with the Attack action, which Volley is not, and would also only be one arrow. Maximum non-tiny targets you could hit is 17, and that's only if they are absolutely sardined together - more likely is about 5. As the others mentioned, surprise is never guaranteed, nor is rolling higher for initiative for that source of assassin advantage. You've only had two ASIs for this build, getting to Dex 20 is probably all of that, so crossbow expert is a bit unlikely leaving the d8 longbow as the more likely base attack. You are still going to do a lot of damage, just not as much as you imagine.
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This thread is for general power gamer discussion.
I invite you to show your most Min-Maxy builds. I am going to start off with a burst damage max out.
1 Take 3 levels of Assassin rogue
2 take 11 levels of Ranger, take archery fighting style, hoard breaker for hunter’s prey, and volley for multi-attack
3 take 3 levels of wizard, and choose the invisiblity spell (and maybe magic weapon)
4 if you want to take this to level 20, use arcane archer fighter for the remaining 3 levels.
during combat, cast invisibility on yourself and go away from the fray. Next, use your volley to attack as many foes as possible, the ones next to the group you volleyed will be hit by your hoard breaker, and because you are invisible, you have advantage on attack rolls and get sneak attack damage. Use a heavy crossbow, or a longbow if you use arcane archer, and also, with arcane archer, use bursting arrow. You can also take the classes in different orders.
damage per target: (longbow, with auto-crit) 2d10 piercing + (sneak attack) 2d6 + (bursting arrow) 2d6 force + dexterity modifier. Total 2d10 + 4d6 + dex. You can hit around 20 monsters at once. And you can use normal stealth instead of invisibility to free up concentration for the flame arrows spell and deal an extra 1d6 fire damage, for a new total of 2d10 + 5d6 +dex, and further you can add action surge for a total of 4d10 + 8d6 + 10 (this assumes you are at level 20, and have 20 dex). Cast magic weapon on your longbow for even more damage
rules: only assume 1 magic item please
Have you tried the sorcadin?
Paladin 2 rest sorcerer. Google it. Don't have the time to write it all out but it's the end game for power gamers. The build starts at level 5 and only gets better as you level.
A really obvious but nice healer build(ya, ya, I know healing is sub-optimal lol)
1. Take 3 Levels of Shepherd Druid. This gets you Healing Spirit and the Unicorn Spirit Totem.
2. Take 17 Levels of Life Cleric
With 4 ASI/Feats maxing out your Wisdom shouldn't be a problem and you should definitely pick up War Caster.
As for magic items, you don't need any but the Staff of Healing is great and works with your Life Cleric abilities(not your Unicorn Spirit Totem though).
This build hits a big spike at level 4 when you get the Disciple of Life bonus to your Healing Spirit.
----- Let's talk Healing Spirit -----
A 2nd level Healing Spirit will heal 1d6 + 4 averaging 7.5HP per turn for 1 minute. If you set it on top of a creature for the full minute that will heal ~75HP. The Heal spell (a 6th level spell) would restore 78(70 + 8)HP when cast at 6th level. Additionally, because creatures can move through each other's spaces, your other allies can run through it on their turn to heal themselves as well. Another cool trick is to use abilities like the Battlemaster Fighter's Maneuvering Attack to move an ally through the spirit on another creature's turn.
Scaling this up to a 9th level Healing Spirit, you would restore 8d6 + 11 averaging 38HP per turn.
At 20th level you gain the Life Cleric's Supreme Healing feature, maximizing your healing dice for 59 (48 + 11)HP per turn, or 590HP per person over 1 minute without shenanigans, from a 9th level Healing Spirit.
----- Unicorn Spirit Totem -----
Does this build take full advantage of this feature? No. What it does do is use this to bring multiple allies up from 0HP.
This is mostly useful for keeping you squishy, damage dealing allies dealing damage against a boss with AoE attacks using the principle of "1HP is all you need to kill things".
----- Goodberry? -----
Sure. 4(1+3)HP per berry, 40HP total, is great for a 1st level spell slot.
Start as Barbarian, go to level 2 then 18 levels as rogue, take the sentinal feat. reckless attacks give you advantage, your AC is Dex + Con, sentinal gives you more attacks of oppurtunity which is a reaction so you can surprise attack again. Might have to be another target then 1 you already hit with surprise attack cant remember. If your going with a strength build take Shield master and expertise athletics, give adavantage to everyone in your party for melee attacks vs prone.
A note on the OP (Original Post) OP (Over-Powered) build. The sneak attack feature will only apply to one target and one hit on your turn. Also, if 'during combat, [you] cast invisibility' you do not gain the assassination bonus which only applies on the first round of combat.
You can stack every attack with Divine Favor or Crusader's Mantle. Likewise invisibility ends on your first Attack. You'll get more bang out of a spell without such stipulations. Greater Invisibility is a high spell slot cost, but if you take 2 levels of Warlock you can get the same result for 10 minutes with Darkness with Devil's Sight.
Extended Signature
BDaddy, look at the original thread, in short, invisibility will last through the volley, and so will sneak attack, this is from sage advice.
You're going to have to provide a link to that Sage Advice so I can ignore it properly. The ability and spell descriptions are very clear.
Sneak Attack: "... Once per turn, you can deal an extra 1d6 damage ..."
Invisibility: "... The spell ends for a target that attacks or casts a spell ..."
Sneak Attack (full):
Sneak Attack
Beginning at 1st level, you know how to strike subtly and exploit a foe’s distraction. Once per turn, you can deal an extra 1d6 damage to one creature you hit with an attack if you have advantage on the attack roll. The attack must use a finesse or a ranged weapon.
You don’t need advantage on the attack roll if another enemy of the target is within 5 feet of it, that enemy isn’t incapacitated, and you don’t have disadvantage on the attack roll.
The amount of the extra damage increases as you gain levels in this class, as shown in the Sneak Attack column of the Rogue table.
Extended Signature
No, BdaddLy has it right. Surprise lasts until the enemy's first turn. If you cast invisibility during combat like you say, the enemy is not surprised by the time it is your turn again and you will not auto-crit.
Even if you cast invisibility BEFORE combat, you can get a shit Initiative roll, the enemy will go before you and will not be surprised by the end of it's turn. Hence no auto-crit.
I don't know about the rest, but the mechanics in your OP does not work with respect to the Assassin's ability.
Just to ruin a bit more of this fun: Hoard breaker is once per turn, so only one additional creature. Sneak attack is once per turn, so one target. Invisibility or Hiding gives advantage only on the first attack, and it's debatable whether volley is simultaneous or not. Arcane Archer special shots can only be used with the Attack action, which Volley is not, and would also only be one arrow. Maximum non-tiny targets you could hit is 17, and that's only if they are absolutely sardined together - more likely is about 5. As the others mentioned, surprise is never guaranteed, nor is rolling higher for initiative for that source of assassin advantage. You've only had two ASIs for this build, getting to Dex 20 is probably all of that, so crossbow expert is a bit unlikely leaving the d8 longbow as the more likely base attack. You are still going to do a lot of damage, just not as much as you imagine.