Ultimate build = highest dps and tankines in 1 char

[dam]

 

 

 

Yes, they stack. And you do it all wrong. No other class can get as much accuracy and DT at the same time. Average reflex doesnt matter because high DT will reduce all that damage. Reflex is the most useless defense stat anyways.

 

 

High DR doesn't reduce a 100+ fire breath attack enough. 

 

I'm sure you can down groups of your average mooks with it but that's not the real test of a build. Anybody can build a cheesy retaliate+drain tank for that purpose. A rogue is better for skipping the things such a build can't handle as well, if the purpose is solo. This build's reflex saves are too damned dire even with high DRs.

 

This build doesn't add much to a party composition that any old cipher can't already.

 

 

Odd Hermit - you are wrong.  Sorry.  But true.  I'm playing this build (Moon race though) and doing it solo and it is destroying everything.  Try any old cipher solo and see how you fare......   I think you are being obstinate and refusing to admit that you jumped the gun too quick in refuting this build.  It rocks.

 

I HIGHLY recommend this for someone who wants to solo.  On normal it is more than doable.  

 

 

 

@revjwh And I, think you're not playing on PotD, so you should stop trash-talking Odd Hermit.

 

Any class, race, and build, works in Normal.

 

 

@OP your reflex saves are too low.

Sure you can gib groups of lower monsters, but how will you fare against the 3 dragons on PotD ? not so very well

Cons aside, an interesting build, could use some tweaking though.

[nemesis205bw]

Why are you afraid of dragons if you can make them fight for you? Reflex saves arent low, but average because of +20 defense buff.

[gkathellar]

Why are you afraid of dragons if you can make them fight for you? Reflex saves arent low, but average because of +20 defense buff.

 

Average is too low for soloing.

[dam]

Why are you afraid of dragons if you can make them fight for you? Reflex saves arent low, but average because of +20 defense buff.

 

And just what is the Sky Dragon going to fight for you, exactly ?

 

Besides you obviously haven't seen how long debuffs last on PotD.

 

 

Your build is OK, just not for end-game bosses is all.

[nemesis205bw]

Average is too low for soloing.

 

This build was never meant for soloing I said it many times. You could max dex and dumb con and see how its going.

[gkathellar]

 

Average is too low for soloing.

 

This build was never meant for soloing I said it many times. You could max dex and dumb con and see how its going.

 

 

If it's not meant for soloing, why wouldn't you just use an actual DPS cipher?

[nemesis205bw]

 

 

Average is too low for soloing.

 

This build was never meant for soloing I said it many times. You could max dex and dumb con and see how its going.

 

 

If it's not meant for soloing, why wouldn't you just use an actual DPS cipher?

 

This is dps cipher. Deal much more dmg while being very tanky.

[adaxe]

Didn't mean to grave digging, but this build is NOT for in PotD. Health is so low that I have to rest every 3 or 4 encounters.

 

And when a lv 6 offtank constantly two hit knocked out by some yellow Ooze, I can hardly consider him to be "very tanky".

Edited May 17, 2015 by adaxe

[Razorchain]

Well with the focus nerf my cipher mostly paralyzes stuff to hit it to build focus for the next paralyze.

[SadExchange]

I wanted to check would this build still be viable with 2.0?  I'm trying to look for a good melee cipher build for 2.0 but can't seem to find any.

[Ymarsakar]

Sadexchange, you might have to test the retaliation mod on the plate armor and shield to see how much focus you can gain from it, if any.

 

A level 9-10 cipher should be able to pop out 30-40 focus at start of fight. So that means 1 free use of tactical meld and pain link. But the general philosophy of putting heavy armor on a cipher and using ray dps with cc, should still work. You might need a priest or healer/buffer though.

 

Sabres do the most damage but lack penetration of dr, so for some melee range enemies you need to debuff their DR as well. Sword and shield or dual wield, should work. With an optional switch to Estoc for higher crits and DR bypass.

 

I played POTD for the release versions.

 

Two ciphers working together, with priest buffs and healing, is hard to beat for melee. You just cast pain block on each other and then ray dps spells, so you create a scythe of death as you move around to flank enemies.

 

But generally for melee cipher, might and constitution should be high, perception gives you a little bit of accuracy now, and resolve should be taken for the deflection bonus. Test this with your current party build, and then you can just lower the constitution via console and redistribute the points if your tests show that it is not necessary any more.

 

The bottleneck with the melee cipher is generally that you need high defensive talents along with potions and might/dps to get your focus back. That's easier to do with DR bypass on the special blunderbuss, but that's not melee. The focus gain talents take up a substantial number of levels, since you need the +20/40% dps one and the +33% focus gain one.

 

The wizard melee build has higher dps because of citzal's spirit lance and the lance spells, but they don't last forever in a fight. But 2 ciphers and a wizard works well because the wizard can debuff the will on enemies. Combined with the priest's second level healing aura or the moon spell from druid, and ciphers can definitely tank incoming damage up until their health goes away (which has happened before in extremely long fights, but generally not on my paladin/fighter main tank).

 

There's a special boot which spell holds consecrated ground, the aoe regen 2nd level spell from priest. 2 per encounter now I think. I put those on the druid, but for a cipher tank that needs to deal with incoming damage, it's great. You just need enough defenses not to get cc (paralyzed or petrified) so you avoid crits that can kill faster than you can heal. Some other items like deflection bracers +9 or the deflection ring +9, should also be used. Beer for more DR buffing.

 

Normally people used gaun's flail that has 20% endurance drain, but I think that item is bugged, along with the stiletto. Becareful of using that before they patch White March or 2.0

 

Has a good cipher guide, not just for melee ciphers. It's a good idea to understand the fundamentals of the class so you can create your own soup so to speak.

Edited August 31, 2015 by Ymarsakar

[Boeroer]

If you can, get Hiro's Mantle from Azurro. He will show up in your stronghold from time to time to sell stuff. You need high prestige (crown symbol) for him to show up early and often. Hiro's Mantle not only has retaliation, but also bonuses to DR, which is great for any melee character. Combine that with Sura's Supper Plate, a unique buckler. The retaliation on that shield stacks with the retaliation of armour or Hiro's Mantle. If you eat Carow Golan (= +4 focus on hit) you will at least get 8 focus when you get beaten without doing something. Vulnarable Attack, Savage Attack, high might, draining and biting whip and everything that effects melee damage also works on retaliation. So you will get a lot more than 8 focus when you retaliate. And since Retaliation always hits and has nothing to do with your weapon, you don't need to worry about your normal melee damage output, your DEX or your ACC. You don't even need to attack with weapons to gain focus this way. Together with heavy armour and some DR rising spells, you can just spam your powers all the time and run around the mobs while casting Ectopsychic Echo or whatever. Just keep in mind that you can't get these items very early.