Search results

For Human Riders Only: Lv. 1 At-Will Powers Both of a Cavalier's usual at-will powers are fixed, but Human Cavaliers who opt to take a bonus at-will power instead of Heroic Effort get a free choice of another at-will power from the Paladin archetype, even an at-will from another Cavalier Virtue...

Mind and Body for the Ride: Ability Scores Strength is always the Cavalier's most important ability. He makes his most fundamental attacks with it. It should be your highest score and boosted every chance you get. (Recommended start: 16-18, before racial adjustments) Charisma is a close...

Expectations for the Ride: Power source and Role Like your parent class, the Paladin, you are a Divine Defender, and like your parent class you deal your punishment with unavoidable radiant damage rather than a sword to the face, preferring a sure sting over something less reliable (but...

Holy Riders: The Cavalier's Guide So you're looking to be a Cavalier? You like riding around on a white horse wearing that shiny armor? You'll have to work at it. This is a profession that requires not only a strong arm and skilled blade, but also a virtuous heart. The only way you'll get...

Magic Items This section is unlikely to be fleshed out any time soon. There are three reasons for this: 1) Magic items are build-specific. Ronin and Psilent Guardian have almost no items in common with each other. However, Ronin's equipment is very much in common with any other Polearm...

Sample Builds Polearm Momentum builds, using the feat of the same name to keep enemies prone, are popular with battleminds. If you're thinking of going this route, in addition to looking at the builds below you should consult Wazat1's Polearm Momentum handbook(x). Achilles(x): A build by...

Battlemind Strategies I highly recommend reading AlphaTheGreat's Ultimate Defenders(x) thread for a more thorough overview of the general principles of defending, but to quickly summarize: the defender's role is to put enemies between the devil and the deep blue sea. The enemy can choose one...

Themes As a general rule, no theme can actually hurt your character, and the benefits that come from themes tend to be overshadowed by what your class provides. In view of this, I only rate the themes here from a very battlemind-centric viewpoint according to three tiers. A theme that shores...

Epic Tier Battlemind Disciplines As in the paragon tier, the ratings here are assuming you will never use the Augment 6 options. Level 22 Utility Disciplines Deaden Blow (PsP): Half damage is a good way to punish someone attacking you. The good news is that this will help if more than one...

Paragon Tier Battlemind Disciplines As a rule, you will never use the Augment 4 of paragon tier powers. There is just too much for you to be doing with your power points to spend such a large fraction on a single attack. As such, unless stated otherwise the Augment 4 is not considered in the...

Heroic Tier Battlemind Disciplines Level 1 At-Will Disciplines Bull's Strength (PHB3): Forced movement, with augments for increased reach or a burst version of the power. A bit generic, but nothing to complain about, and a critical power in most Polearm Momentum builds. Concussive Spike...

Feats In general, as a battlemind you will want to prioritize feats in roughly the following order (a more detailed discussion can be found in the Strategy section below): 1) Improving accuracy. Missing is not fun, and augmentable at-wills only rarely have useful effects should you miss. 2)...

Races Races from the Monster Manual are not included in this guide; if a race from Dragon is not mentioned, it should be assumed it is not a good choice. Battleminds aren't really dependent on their secondary stats, which means there are very few absolutely terrible choices. In this guide...

Basic class features and proficiencies Hit points and surges: Defender standard already puts you top of the heap, and then Constitution-primary seals the deal. Weapon proficiencies: Scale, heavy shield, and military melee isn't as good as it gets but it's more than enough. Simple ranged is...

Originally posted by Dedekine: Beyond Bodily Brutality: the Basics of Building Battleminds A skilful fighter can make his weapons do tricks that the uninitiated would have thought impossible. A battlemind is simply a fighter who chooses the fabric of reality as his weapon. Space will...

Tips & Tricks: Twirling the Rock Combo 1: Hammer Time Piece 1: Any One-Handed Hammer Piece 2: Footwork Lure (At-Will Attack Power, MP) Piece 3: Forceful Opportunist (Heroic Tier Feat, D 378) Piece 4: Shield Push (Heroic Tier Feat, PHB) Piece 5: Hindering Shield (Paragon Tier Feat, D 385) Piece...

Tactics: How to Be a Rock After some analysis and playtesting, I believe that the following guidelines are key to playing a successful Fighter. 1. Know how you rock. Making a successful Fighter is a balancing act - you have a finite number of resources, and very distinct priorities in how to...

Multiclassing: Expanding the Rock Here are some notes on useful things your Fighter may want to pick up from other classes, such as feats, powers, Paragon Paths, and the occasional Epic Destiny. As is the norm, Black or higher synergies only here. As for hybrids? While I'm usually not a fan of...

Magic Equipment: Enhancing the Rock As is the norm for sections in this Handbook, if the piece of magic equipment isn't rated Black or higher, I won't be talking about it (especially important because this game has a colossal amount of equipment available). Armor I'm taking a leaf from the...

Equipment: Reinforcing the Rock Here, I'll be talking about what weapon and armor types work best for you. Magic gear is in the next post. Weapons: Unleashing the Rock Axes - Damage is the name of the game here; most of these weapons pack a big punch, especially on a critical. They also favor...