Whats required to play a melee effectively....?

[metaquad4]

. . .and a decent build (if you don't believe me, try to do it as a 30 fighter without epic weapon spec, epic weapon focus, and all stat points put into CHA. Just try it! ).

So basically. . .everything everyone else needs?

[Lockonnow]

well remember to get much aba so you hit anything then get dex and then use wm to critcal my build is a duel class with e 2 short sword 3 rogue 7 level of wm and teh rest is fighter class he do some dmg but under 100dmg

[Nachti]

I recently discovered that there is still no arcane summoner build that is epic 25+ viable.

- Epic Gate and Gate simply do not last long enough.
- Vampires and Elementals have no SR and thus get nuked down quickly.
- (Havent checked celestial and fiendish animals yet)

In my eyes (as someone who was away for quite a time) the so callled dispel fix makes gishes less useful and I propably dont want to play one.

So whats left:

Monk/ Monk of the Long Death
Evil Sarekvok-like Character (Blackguard, melee focused, 2h)

Whats so good with anointed knight? Tumble, 1d4 damage, 2 useful feats (blind sight, toughness) and 2 bonus feats. But beside tumble no AC bonus.

[Valefort]

Also 3 DR, opens spellcraft, martial proficiency, heavy armor proficiency, tower shield proficiency.

[AC81]

Also high will saves, and the two bonus feats can be (and should be) epic feats, 4 skill points per level, access to heal, alertness and a pretty easy path to 12/- DR. But yeah, aside from all these and the above-mentioned things ... yeah, you're right, it's not so good.

[Nachti]

Opens up 12 DR?

[Tsidkenu]

Dragonslayer and Annointed Knight give 3/- DR feat, which both qualifies for (in addition to 21 CON) and stacks with Epic DR 9/-

[metaquad4]

3/- DR (Combine that with 21 CON and the Epic DR line for a solid 12 DR)
Spellcraft (+6 to all saves)
High Will Saves
Free Blindfight and Toughness (which, both you should take anyway. This class gives both for free.)
Alertness, if you have detection skills this is nice to have
Elemental Damage (Useful for trolls, and the extra 1d4 is not bad)
Heal as a class skill, for Anointed Knight

[Arn]

Have you considered Ki Step? It's an amazing feat. Whenever you're in danger, you can point and click to instantly teleport across the map, heal yourself, and then point and click to return to the fight. It activates instantly, there is no casting time, it can't be interrupted, and it has no range limit. I would seriously look at Ki Step; it is probably the best feat in the game right now.

It is not an epic feat, and the requirements are just Dex 13, Wis 13, Stunning Fist, and BAB +6.

It's really an incredible feat. These days, the only thing that can kill my monk is an instant death effect.

[CommanderKrieg]

Dude! I know! Ki-Step is amazing! My Monk is a PVP Monster! He cant be stopped!

Caster? *Ki-step interrupt*
Hipser? *Ki-step away from appear*
Fighter? *Ki-Step use scrolls*
Divine? *Ki-Step away until their spells run out*

Its awesome, I cant recommend it enough. Also I can get to the surface so much quicker now. Its easy as heck! With my monk SR the maze cant even kill me with vampiric feast!

[Arn]

Well, I have not used it in PvP, mostly because my monk tries to avoid violence against living beings (I am also not sure if it is allowed in PvP; waiting for an answer from the DMs about that). I just use it against undead mobs and stuff. But yes, it would be extremely difficult to kill him in PvP. Practically impossible, if I have to be honest. Again, Ki Step is a pretty unbelievable feat. If you can take it, you really should.

[CommanderKrieg]

Well, I have not used it in PvP, mostly because my monk tries to avoid violence against living beings (I am also not sure if it is allowed in PvP; waiting for an answer from the DMs about that). I just use it against undead mobs and stuff. But yes, it would be extremely difficult to kill him in PvP. Practically impossible, if I have to be honest. Again, Ki Step is a pretty unbelievable feat. If you can take it, you really should.

I agree! I think Ki-Step is one of the best fixes to the dispell fix. Now you can roll a SF and avoid any dispell

Its really a huge blessing for the class. I thought Monks have been underpowered for a while. This gives them so much greater survivability.

[Steve]

Ki-step is STILL ridiculously OP and was supposed to be rectified to balanced level many moons ago:

viewtopic.php?f=25&t=52604&start=15

Of course we all love feats that make our toons awesomesauce!

[Arn]

I'll admit it is a very good feat, but if Ki Step has not been "balanced" in the last nine months, it probably will not be balanced anytime soon. So I would still recommend taking it. It really changes the way you play the game.

It is like having a DM power on your character. Actually, since DMs technically have to walk to where they click (they just walk really really fast), Ki Step is better than DM movement. With Ki Step, you instantly relocate to wherever you click, even if it is all the way across the map.

So definitely take Ki Step. It will make your melee character MUCH more effective, and pretty much impossible to kill.

[Maecius]

I wouldn't build a character around a single ability. Any ability.

Ki step in particular will be getting a nerf in the near future, so building around it isn't advisable until the changes are released.