D&D 4E Proning/Striking build questions (still somewhat new to 4e)

[CrowneVict]

I've read up on several builds using Polearm Momentum, and figured I'd play around with one of my own. Being somewhat new to 4e, I'm not quite sure if I'm building correctly here, or if certain abilities / damage types work exactly per my interpretation... Would love some tips on the theme, so thanks in advance =)

Genasi Stormsoul - Hybrid Assault Swordmage|Wizard, multiclass Fighter

12str, 11con, 15dex, 14int, 15wis, 8cha
22str, 13con, 17dex, 24int, 17wis, 10cha @30

Premise:
Balance of range and damage abilities to knock things over.

Booming Blade (and later, all basic melee attacks) with Staggering Glaive to create distance, which should promote additional Assault attacks.

Arc Lightning - I went here (as opposed to blast/burst) for two reasons. One is the range 20. The other is that it's dual-target without the hassle of placement issues, which is still respectable. Building on Thunder (and later paragon tier Fire) damage for bigger +X modifiers.


Heroic Levels:
Key items: Rushing cleats, Staggering Glaive
Others: Gauntlets of Blood (for +2/4/6 untyped dmg vs bloodied), Iron Armbands of Power (For +2/4/6 damage melee), Brooch of Shielding

I'll spare you the rundown of powers. The core is in the at-wills (specifically Arc Lightning at this stage), the rest can be filled in with whatever suits you.

Feats:
Cyclone Warrior :: for warrior pre-requisite
Mark of Storm :: for the initial slide-1 on thunder/lightning
Polearm Momentum :: plus cleats for basic slide-2 prone
Versatile Expertise :: help offset a low int, +1/2/3 on attacks
Elemental Empowerment :: untyped +str damage on most wizard powers
Destructive Wizardry :: untyped +dmg when hitting 2+ targets with arcane
Echoes of Thunder :: untyped +dmg til end of next turn

Paragon :: Malec-Keth Janissary

Taking Versatile Expertise sets me back a bit, but I guess hitting is better than not hitting... So, feats here start at level 12:

Feats:
Shocking Flame :: melee deals +2/4 lightning, giving all Assault and AO's huge push-prone via Staggering weapon enchant
Headsman's Chop :: more prone, more +5 untyped damage

@level 16, get access to the paragon path ability Primordial Blade, and will use it to add additional +1d4 fire damage to all attacks... Opening up a new theme...

Consuming the Weak :: invest in Whetstone of Combustion collection (minor action), adding vulnerable 5 fire per hit. then deal ongoing 5 fire damage on all arcane fire sources... which should be all arcane attacks due to primordial blade fire damage, correct?
Sympathy of Flame :: +2/4/6 feat bonus to damage with arcane fire attacks against creatures taking ongoing fire.
Stoking the Fire :: +2 power bonus to damage on next fire attack after hitting with fire attack.


Epic Destiny :: (undecided)


Feats
Irresistible Flame :: treat target's resist fire as 20 fewer
Quickened Spellcasting :: one minor-action arc lightning per encounter
Swordmage Implement Expertise :: 19-20 crit on swordmage attacks
Superior Will :: might as well up the sub-par defense
Superior Fortitude
Superior Reflexes

That adds up to a turn of at-wills that look like:


Whetstone (minor)

Arc Lightning (standard)
range-20, 2 targets
+33 vs Reflex

2d6+23 lightning +1d4 fire

push-2, prone
​

gains 5 vulnerable fire (for next fire attack)
​

+2 power bonus (for next fire attack)
​

+6 bonus if bloodied
​

Arc Lightning (minor)
range-20, 2 targets
+31 vs Reflex (-2 prone)

on hit, gains ongoing 5 fire in addition to attack's normal effects (due to vulnerable)

2d6+28 lightning (+5 bonus vs prone)
​

1d4+13 fire (+6 feat bonus to arcane fire attacks vs target w/ ongoing fire, +2 power bonus, +5 vulnerable, and vulnerable fades)

push-2, prone
​

gains 5 vulnerable fire (for next fire attack)
​

+2 power bonus (for next fire attack)
​

+6 bonus if bloodied

​

Meanwhile, Booming Blade, Aegis attacks, and AO's can flame targets and toss them 8 squares away, prone. And I haven't even looked at non at-will powers yet. Good times.
​

 

[CrowneVict]

Okay... If I go Arcane Sword Epic Destiny, that opens up the ability to use Maelstrom Blade as an At-Will... Which is also usable on Aegis attacks. So that's 3[W]+Int weapon, fire, lightning, thunder... close burst 1.

Sounds pretty good to me hah - Tossing packs of nearby stuff 8 squares while picking off ranged with Arc Lightning.

 

[nogray]

Thoughts

Looks interesting.

The first thing I noticed was the particular multiclass feat that you chose. Why that one? I'd think Battle Awareness or Student of the Sword would be more applicable. Being a polearm wielder, you won't ever meet the conditions for the benefit from Cyclone Warrior (at least, that is my interpretation of it -- "a weapon in each hand" is a dual-wielding phrase, to me).

Another thing that I might consider, though it delays the polearm momentum until Paragon, is rearranging your attribute points to something more like this:

Str: 14 (16) Con 12 Dex 13 Int 16 (18) Wis 13 Cha 8
@30: Str 22 Con 14 Dex 16 Int 26 Wis 16 Cha 10

Use your 4th and 8th to bump the Dex and Wis and the paragon bump takes care of the rest. You have polearm momentum at 11th by retraining or just taking it at that level. You have a better starting to-hit and damage on all powers and OA/Aegis attacks (particularly if you can free up a feat for Intelligent Blademaster at some point).

Adding to the fire theme, you may consider the feats Surging Flame and Burn Everything. The latter takes a bite out of fire immunity and the former turns resistance into a source of extra damage. (Note that this seems to be true even if your other feats allow you to bypass/ignore that resistance.)

For the whetstone, I think you may need two minor actions to get started. One to ready the whetstone and the second to use it. There are plenty of feats and the like to modify this.

I hope that helps. If I think of anything else, I'll pop in with more.