Help wanted (Swordmage)

[vhailor]

Genasi Swordmage  (Aegis of Assault)
STR    17    (+1  4,11)
CON    13    (+1  11)
DEX    13    (+1  8,11)
INT    18    (+1  4,8,11)
WIS    10    (+1  11)
CHA     8    (+1  11)

AC   16(19 with Warding)
FORT 14
REF  14
WILL 12

Feats:Weapon Prof(Bastard Sword)
Equipment: Longsword, Leather

At-Will
Greenflame Blade    
Sword Burst

Encounter
1  Flame Cyclone             
3  Transposing Lunge cool
7  Spikes of Agony
Daily
1  Frost Backlash
5  Elemental Foible
9  Be Gone

1.1st feat :Weapon Prof(Bastard Sword) OR Armor prof (Hide)?

2.I have DEX 13(15 at level 11)just to take the Arcane Reach feat.
Would it be better to lower STR and raise one of the CON, DEX, or even WIS or CHA (for WILL defense)?

3.Should I go for Heavy Weapon opportunity? Is it really that good?
I was discussing with the DM about it and he told me that if a creature knows it will take damage from OA, it will not move. I've seen combos that have the wizard can place Flaming Sphere(or other powers) next to the creature to force it to leave the square, but as things are now I don't see a wizard in our party (Two Strikers, Paladin or War Cleric and Swordmage)

 

[WalterKovacs]

On swordmage:

You can afford to be underwhelming with Strength because you can take the feat that lets you use your Int for basic attacks. Combined with the powers that can be used in place of a basic attack for charging and Aegis of Assault and you'll only be using Strength for Feat Prereqs and bonuses to certain powers.

Con affects your other power choices. For feats, it can allow to get Hide Prof and Hide Spec at paragon tier. One posibilty is using the new weapon from Adventurer's Vault that is BOTH a heavy blade and an axe, in which case you can use the CON for axe feats.

Dex doesn't affect your power choices, and won't improve your defenses. The primary influence will be feat selection. One thing to note, in addition to Arcane Reach, the heavy blade feats require Dex in addition to Strength.

As for Will Defense, you get a bonus from the class, and ultimately, will is the least often targetted defence by the creatures in the Monster Manual, so it can afford to be low. Unless you want to go with the Wandering Swordmage paragon path [which requires Wisdom], you won't really make a lot of use out of the stats.

There is also skills to take into account. You may want good [or at least ok] wisdom for skill purposes. It's ok to have one person in the party that is charismatic, but multiple characters with relatively good perception/insight/heal is not a bad thing by any stretch of the imagination.

Also, don't forget to choose your (first) elemental manifestation. Most will give you a bonus to one of your defences, some energy resitance, etc ... Each one has an encounter power and some associated feats.

For your feat, there are a few others to consider [although maybe at later levels]. If you significantly reduce your STR, you may want Intelligent Blademaster. There is Elemental Assault which adds 3 of your manifested element as damage to the basic attacks you make with your interupt basic attack. There is also Escalating Assault which gives you a +1 to hit with the Aegis of Assault basic attack each time you hit with that power. [To a total of +3]. This bonus lasts all encounter. So, depending on whether the Aegis gets triggered a lot or not, those powers can be VERY good. Having another defender is especially good as he can possibly stand between you and your marked foe, enabling you to trigger your Aegis more often.

If you are going that route, upping your AC can help make your allies better targets than you, even with the Aegis and marking. So Hide Armor Prof [and enough Con to get the Hide Spec at higher levels] could be the way to go.

Opportunity attacks are really a matter of DM play style. Certain monsters won't risk it, others will. There are a few ways to "force" them, but those are rare powers. If the DM is the type that would not have his creatures provoke OAs, you can save those feats for later, if at all. As a Genasi AND a swordmage, you still have plenty of feats to consider. Ignoring the OA feats means that you don't really have to worry about heavy blade feats until you reach epic tier, so Dex isn't as important [unless you want to get the feat at that level to increase the critical range].

 

[vhailor]

Thanks a lot for your detailed answer. Actually I 've already chosen a manifestation(Earthsoul). I just forgot to write it.

 

[vhailor]

What is your personal preference? Aegis of Shielding or Assault and why?

 

[WalterKovacs]

It depends on the party, but my personal preference is similar to the route you went down, which is the Aegis of Assault, but with the 1-handed weapon to get great AC. I like the idea of marking someone [or more, once you get to paragon or higher with the feats that improve your ability to mark people with Aegis] and being able to not have to be next to them to get your benefits. A ranged paladin can do it, but with the swordmage you don't have to keep attacking the guy to keep the mark. So you can beat up one guy while keeping the other one marked.

So, by having a high AC and being far away from the opponent, he either tries to get to you [which may provoke OAs] or he stays put and attacks someone else [letting you get your Aegis of Assault attack] or he doesn't attack. Either way, you get something you want out of it. It's good to have another defender in the party to make that work, although other melee types work to.

And it's funny to think that as a defender, you are using your allies as "bait"

 

[knightofround]

Shielding swordmage is better imho, because you need to focus on less stats. You can just go with Int and Con and still be very effective. Assault swordmage is more difficult, because you need to keep a high strength in order to have steady dps; a lot of swordmage powers are +Int mod +Str mod damage. You also need a high Dex to get arcane reach later on, because thats the only way Aegis of Assault can compete with Shielding as far as defending your allies.

If you're going to go with assault swordmage though, definitely go with a 2hander, as your retributive DPS is the only thing that will protect your party members.

 

[Sitara]

First, since your pc appears tobe level 7 your AC should be 19 (22 with warding) Your otherdefences should also be 3 pts higher, AND your attack bonus will also be +3 higher.

Anyhow, think carefully about decreasing STR. It ismost certainly doable, but it will make certain powers such as Burning Blade useless.

 

[yesnomu]

Shielding swordmage is better imho, because you need to focus on less stats. You can just go with Int and Con and still be very effective. Assault swordmage is more difficult, because you need to keep a high strength in order to have steady dps; a lot of swordmage powers are +Int mod +Str mod damage. You also need a high Dex to get arcane reach later on, because thats the only way Aegis of Assault can compete with Shielding as far as defending your allies.

If you're going to go with assault swordmage though, definitely go with a 2hander, as your retributive DPS is the only thing that will protect your party members.

I think Assault is more fun, though. Teleporting around and beating up bad guys is great. Plus, instant flanking!

Ask your DM if they mind you using a Bastard Sword two-handed for attacks and dropping the hand for the Warding boost right after. It's only a +1 damage, but every little bit helps! If not, I'd say 2 AC is worth more than whatever damage you'll gain from going two-handed.

EDIT: And I'd advise getting Lightning Lure. Not for any particular mechanical reason, just that having a taser lasso is awesome. Use it out-of-combat as much as possible. I would set it to "stun" and leash my friend's character when we were exploring a dungeon. My SM had a bit of the ampersand in between, if you get my drift.