Hybrid Classes...Anybody seen a good one lately?

[On Puget Sound]

Chizz (see my sig link) is a hybrid ranger/rogue, designed to double-dip and get sneak attack and quarry damage in the same round, by having lots of attacks that aren't standard actions. He's only level 4 now, but I think as he matures he will offer a unique fighting style that would not be as effective as either a full ranger or a full rogue.

 

[Argyle King]

Some people seem to believe Hybrid Wizards and Hybrid Warlocks are potentially better than single classed wizards or warlocks. I can't say that I know that to be true myself since I've never tried a hybrid class, but that seems to be a commonly held belief.


Personally, I'd like to try a hybrid Warlord/Paladin; it seems like a good pairing with good synergy.

Wizard/Invoker seems like it would work well too.

From a fluff standpoint, I like the idea of a Monk/Artificer and playing it as a drunken master. Your infusions could be alcohols which you brew or drink.

 

[Alukane]

This is Daimon, the Hybrid I'm playing. I'm having a lot of fun with him. I'm in a group of 6 characters with a Warlord, a Warden, a 2weapon figter, a sorcerer and a druid and it works well. Even if I lack a healing word per encounter I compensate with healer's mercy, healing strike, spirit of healing and astral seal (and Moment of Glory reduced something like 50 damage in last fight). I'm looking forward to take strengthen the faithful next level...He's a good healer and does a bit more damage than a base cleric.

PS: My master haven't seen may update yet, I surely wan't tell him anything about it

====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ======
Daimon, level 6
Human, Barbarian|Cleric
Hybrid Talent: Channel Divinity (Hybrid Cleric)
Versatile Expertise: Versatile Expertise (Heavy Blade)
Versatile Expertise: Versatile Expertise (Holy Symbol)
Background: Durpar (Durpar Benefit)

FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 19, Con 15, Dex 11, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 11.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 16, Con 15, Dex 11, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 11.


AC: 22 Fort: 20 Reflex: 15 Will: 18
HP: 53 Surges: 9 Surge Value: 13

TRAINED SKILLS
Religion +8, Perception +12, Heal +10, Athletics +12

UNTRAINED SKILLS
Acrobatics +3, Arcana +3, Bluff +3, Diplomacy +3, Dungeoneering +5, Endurance +5, History +3, Insight +5, Intimidate +3, Nature +5, Stealth +3, Streetwise +3, Thievery +3

FEATS
Human: Armor Proficiency (Chainmail)
Level 1: Hybrid Talent
Level 2: Armor Proficiency (Scale)
Level 4: Versatile Expertise
Level 6: Weapon Focus (Heavy Blade)

POWERS
Bonus At-Will Power: Astral Seal
Channel Divinity (Hybrid Cleric): Healer's Mercy
Hybrid at-will 1: Righteous Brand
Hybrid at-will 1: Howling Strike
Hybrid encounter 1: Healing Strike
Hybrid daily 1: Moment of Glory
Hybrid utility 2: Savage Growl
Hybrid encounter 3: Brutal Slam
Hybrid daily 5: Silver Phoenix Rage
Hybrid utility 6: Spirit of Healing

ITEMS
Adventurer's Kit, Scale Armor of Dwarven Vigor +2, Challenge-Seeking Greatsword +2, Healer's Brooch +1, Symbol of Divinity +1, Climber's Kit

 

[Mika]

Leader hybrids dont seem to work too well IMO, they lose their encounter healing ability which ties into a lot of their other stuff. Although I had a great Half-Orc Ranger/Monk combo that was going to be fun. Not great defense, but super solid offense.

====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ======
level 11
Half-Orc, Monk|Ranger, Paragon Hybrid
Monastic Tradition (Hybrid): Stone Fist (Hybrid)
Hybrid Monk: Hybrid Monk Reflex
Hybrid Ranger: Hybrid Ranger Reflex
Hybrid Talent: Ranger Fighting Style
Ranger Fighting Style: Two-Blade Fighting Style (Hybrid)
Paragon Hybrid Talent: Unarmored Defense

FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 21, Con 13, Dex 21, Int 9, Wis 13, Cha 11.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 16, Con 12, Dex 16, Int 8, Wis 12, Cha 10.


AC: 28 Fort: 22 Reflex: 25 Will: 19
HP: 85 Surges: 7 Surge Value: 21

TRAINED SKILLS
Athletics +17, Nature +11, Stealth +15, Acrobatics +17

UNTRAINED SKILLS
Arcana +4, Bluff +5, Diplomacy +5, Dungeoneering +6, Endurance +8, Heal +6, History +4, Insight +6, Intimidate +7, Perception +6, Religion +4, Streetwise +5, Thievery +10

FEATS
Level 1: Hybrid Talent
Level 2: Two-Weapon Fighting
Level 4: Two-Weapon Defense
Level 6: Weapon Focus (Axe)
Level 8: Unarmored Agility
Level 10: Weapon Proficiency (Waraxe)
Level 11: Eyes in the Back of Your Head

POWERS
Hybrid at-will 1: Twin Strike
Hybrid at-will 1: Five Storms
Hybrid encounter 1: Rising Storm
Hybrid daily 1: Harmonious Thunder
Hybrid utility 2: Archer's Stairway
Hybrid encounter 3: Thundertusk Boar Strike
Hybrid daily 5: Snarling Wolf Stance
Hybrid utility 6: Centered Defense
Hybrid encounter 7: Finishing Cut
Hybrid daily 9: Splintering Shot
Hybrid utility 10: Leap of the Heavens

ITEMS
Githweave Armor of Resistance +3, Berserker Waraxe +2, Ki Waraxe +2, Iron Armbands of Power (heroic tier), Necklace of Keys +2, Viper Belt (heroic tier), Hedge Wizard's Gloves (heroic tier), Quickling Boots (heroic tier)
====== Copy to Clipboard and Press the Import Button on the Summary Tab ======

What level did you start playing this character at? He would have had an AC of 14 at 1st level -- and my 1st level ranger|monk is having a tough enough time with an AC of 17.

 

[Lord Ernie]

This is Alastor Caine (yeah, I like dramatic names), my Elf invoker|Cleric I've been playing since level 2. I'm now at level 9, and never had the feeling my character didn't have enough healing power to provide for our group of 5-6 players (I hybrided him partially because I had too much healing, to be honest).

While you do indeed lose 1 healing word (2 from level 16 onwards), taking the right powerset can really shore up the issue (Stream of Life, my Skill Power, Healer's Mercy, Word of Vigor at level 10), and still leave you with plenty of control with your encounters/dailies. Oh, and the user choice feat is there cause we get Expertise for free.

====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ======
Alastor Caine, level 9
Elf, Cleric|Invoker
Covenant Manifestation: Manifestation of Wrath
Hybrid Invoker: Hybrid Invoker Fortitude
Hybrid Talent: Channel Divinity (Hybrid Cleric)
Versatile Expertise: Versatile Expertise (Staff)
Versatile Expertise: Versatile Expertise (Holy Symbol)

FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 8, Con 18, Dex 13, Int 13, Wis 20, Cha 10.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 8, Con 16, Dex 11, Int 13, Wis 16, Cha 10.


AC: 22 Fort: 21 Reflex: 17 Will: 22
HP: 61 Surges: 10 Surge Value: 15

TRAINED SKILLS
Insight +14, Heal +14, Religion +10, Arcana +10

UNTRAINED SKILLS
Acrobatics +4, Bluff +4, Diplomacy +4, Dungeoneering +9, Endurance +7, History +5, Intimidate +4, Nature +11, Perception +11, Stealth +4, Streetwise +4, Thievery +4, Athletics +2

FEATS
Learned Spellcaster: Ritual Caster
Level 1: Learned Spellcaster
Level 2: Hybrid Talent
Level 4: Skill Power
Level 6: Superior Implement Training (Accurate staff)
Feat User Choice: Versatile Expertise
Level 8: In Death, Life

POWERS
Channel Divinity (Hybrid Cleric): Healer's Mercy
Hybrid at-will 1: Sacred Flame
Hybrid at-will 1: Hand of Radiance
Skill Power: Swift Recovery
Hybrid encounter 1: Lightning's Revelation
Hybrid daily 1: Silent Malediction
Hybrid utility 2: Know Weakness
Hybrid encounter 3: Hymn of Resurgence
Hybrid daily 5: Weapon of the Gods
Hybrid utility 6: Stream of Life
Hybrid encounter 7: Rain of Blood
Hybrid daily 9: Malediction of Rigidity

ITEMS
Healer's Chainmail +2, Healer's Brooch +2, Symbol of Turning +1, Alchemical Reagents (Arcana) (300), Sanctified Incense (Religion) (300), Mystic Salves (Heal) (300), Accurate staff of Ruin +2
RITUALS
Brew Potion, Create Holy Water, Corpse Light, Last Sight Vision, Gentle Repose, Undead Ward, Delay Affliction, Hand of Fate, Enchant Magic Item, Transfer Enchantment, Object Reading, Cure Disease, Deathly Shroud, Disenchant Magic Item, Speak with Dead, Iron Vigil, Comrades' Succor, Spirit Fetch, Familiar Mount, Inquisitive's Eyes, Raise Dead, Shadow Bridge, Remove Affliction
====== Copy to Clipboard and Press the Import Button on the Summary Tab ======

Oh, and hybrid wizard, warlock, and swordmage are all popular, cause you lose so very little by hybriding.

 

[Mengu]

I think Ranger|Cleric works exceptionally well.

Fighter|Ranger, Fighter|Rogue and Ranger|Rogue all work with interesting synergy. The fighter combos are pretty straight forward, focusing on the "striker" features of the fighter such as stance powers. The Ranger|Rogue gets lots of minor actions and interrupts to use both striker features.

I think the best place for hybrids is small groups. You basically get to cover a missing role in a party of 3, and get to play what you want also. Say your group has a controller and a striker, and you're the third man. You want to play a Fighter but are concerned about healing, so you play a Dwarf Fighter|Cleric pick fighter powers that take care of your own survival, and use the cleric healing to heal your allies, and you're set.

Having said that, another good place for hybrids is large groups. You are looking at joining a party as the sixth man, and see every role is covered. You want a swiss army knife character filling gaps where need, so you play a paladin|warlock, jumping in front when needed or striking from the back elsewhere.

 

[Prestidigitalis]

Overall, I share your lack of enthusiasm, but...

I currently play a Barbarian in one of my campaigns, and have considered playing a vanilla Rogue the next time I need a character, leading me to wonder how a rapier-wielding Half-Orc Str/Dex Barbarian|Rogue would work.

I haven't had time to experiment with it yet -- has anyone else tried it?

 

[Mentat55]

I think hybrid wizards can be very potent when paired with the right class. Swordmage and tactical warlords are two good examples. Why? Because unlike most classes, most of the wizard's awesomeness is tied up in their powers (mainly the dailies), rather than class features.

Barbarian is another class, since a lot of its striker firepower is built into its at-will powers and it plays well with Str-based classes: runepriest, cleric, paladin, fighter, ranger, warden, and warlord could all work well.

 

[davethegame]

In the game I'm running, there is a Swordmage/Artificer who can spend several actions pumping up and become very difficult to hit with nearly any attack, and a Warlock/Paladin who does a lot of catch 22-type stuff. They both seem pretty effective, but also just retrained into hybrid at paragon level, so might not have been as solid at lower levels.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Regardless of their "oomph", I can honestly say that 100% of the 4Ed PCs I've designed are Hybrids...more for reasons of modeling the PC concept than anything else.

They include:

1. A Minotaur Shaman-Warden (inspired by a combo of the Hurloon Minotaur and Native American legends of the White Buffalo)
2. A Warforged Battlemind-Infernal Pact Warlock who was created as a living gateway to Hell (inspired by a combo of Hellboy and the Hellraiser movies)
3. A Dragonborn Sorcerer-Warlord/Bard (multiclass) who is a 4Ed approximation of my 3.X "Mage-Brute" builds
4. A Wildren Seeker-Ranger/Warden (multiclass) who is proficient in ranged combat and 2WF
5. A Dragonborn Bard-Seeker who is one part Jimmy Buffet and one part Chief Sealth
6. A Githzerai Battlemind-Avenger/Monk (multiclass) who is a 4Ed translation of my polearm-wielding 3.X Monk/Psy-War/Kensai

and so forth.

Efficient? Powerful? Maybe not- but they feel right.

And sometimes, "feel" is what you need- recently, I suggested to someone they try a Half Elf Seeker-Avenger:

Kerrick of the Black Brotherhood

Half-Elf Hybrid Seeker/Avenger...he's a vampire hunter, but not the usual kind.

Undead are an affront to the nature of life itself

The order of the Black Brotherhood was formed to marshall the combined forces of Faith and Nature against the abomination of undeath. At the end of their initial training, each Black Brother has been honed into a dedicated champion of life. When fighting undead, they typically open with their oath and devastating elemental attacks at range, then close quickly to finish off their foes.