Blightcaster is the solo reaper machine ~ Blightcaster Guide for Dungeons and Dragons Online

Build Link: forums-old.ddo.com/forums/sho...
Cold druid link: forums.ddo.com/forums/showthr...
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[@writz_]

I appreciate the bee noises during the build portion of the video, I'd love to see and hear more bee noises in the future. Great video, solid B for sure. 🐝

[@kevinlloyd7679]

Thank you for the upload. Your builds are sic

[@mattking556]

I invested into some cold/lightning spell power as well, I didn't realize how powerful lightning storm is, I was walking through one shotting mobs off screen. New favorite spell Plus acid well and tsunami felt great

[@anti-ponyassociation2444]

Pumped to try this next HCL

[@garga2]

Finally! Naming a character on hardcore the Bee Holder isn't that weird anymore!

[@mattking556]

Just finished my second blightcaster life, having night shield on a druid is very nice, resist magic missiles while leveling without needing umd

[@KeaselMB]

Today's pear fact: the pear tree is actually part of the rose plant family. Pretty cool fruit and definitely better than a c-tier rating. :)

[@brentmillinger9906]

made this so fun

[@davidr1138]

Hey Strimtom, for hardcore, I am testing a pure Blight Caster on normal server (no items from bank, etc) and am loving it so far... didn't come close to dying so far (currently level 13). However, I have deviated from your build. I noted that Dragonborn would give +2 max caster levels in for acid spells and +3 Evocation/Conjuration DCs which is huge, but I have opted for extra health build using Aasimar (18 AP), Falconry (12 AP), Feydark (7 AP) and the rest into BC... I lose out on +1 max caster level (acid), +8 crit chance (acid only), a 3rd Efficient Metamagic, and the Acid and Universal Power from SH, but gain 2x +5% health, +75 Healing Amp (55 more than the Human build), a haste boost, 4 big spot heals, +150 spell points (very useful for heroics) and some PRR and MRR) and +3 WIS compared to Human, between +4 and +6 WIS [depending how many AP you have] compared to Dragonborn which about evens out on the BC DCs. Aasimar doesn't get you the 3rd shield heroic feat either. I'm convinced Dragonborn would be the way to go on regular servers for max damage, but so far Aasimar is very nice. For F2P, Human is really good too. EDIT... I see the beauty of taking 4th core in Season's Herald!

[@TonyAllain]

You are my only resource for all things DDO. You deserve more credit for your passion, I love it!

[@StarkSpartan]

this is totally wild.

[@denewst01]

While from what I can see cold is the highest DPS druid, blightcaster definitely specialises in DoTs, AoEs & AoE DoTs, though they need a bit more setup & a little less mobility on enemies. Being able to strip 2 different immunity types (poison & acid) is a really nice feature that adds extra utility for team members as well as yourself makes me wonder if a blightcaster/pale master would be viable, to strip negative energy immunity too... at that point, why not also make it tiefling for stripping fire immunity? I'm still levelling my casting-focused blightcaster, currently at 14 & it's great fun so far. The other I have is a hybrid melee/casting one on my completionist, 17blightcaster/3monk quarterstaff-wielding trailblazer tabaxi, full monk stances, wisdom focused in water stance, primary tree falconry with extra points in blightcaster, henshin & shintao then destinies are primary GMoF, with enough shadowdancer to get the concealment/incorp from the mantle, which handily stacks with hive form, so is really evasive rocking a standing 75% conceal, 25% incorp & iirc 38% dodge plus the AC & elusive target at 10% after firing off an EiN, i also have enough in primal avatar to get the boosts to shard storm for more temp HP & damage with that. I love it.

[@beartech28]

I love my blight caster only level 10 1st life character!

[@remmernielsen]

How does this compare in heroics to stormsinger? Is there a clear winner in terms of time spent 1-20? I’ve been using stormsinger to do racials and it is great - I could use a small change so it won’t go stale.

[@rogueddo9267]

BlightCaster has been my fav I’m surprised you didn’t use necrotic ray or salt ray for single target. I’m at Level 15 so far

[@JoseMoreira-vo8cu]

Need a new cold druid link please and thanks for the vid!

[@oscardanda10]

Love your videos, can you do one on how to do the lesser restoration to reset stats? i have the wooden heart but i cant figure out how to use it and i messed up my stats

[@sylvarithblackwater9067]

To lesser reincarnate, go to the Hall of Heroes (in the marketplace just down the stairs from the bank although there is one location in eveningstar as well), within is a place called Reincarnation Grove (on the bottom floor). Once there you talk to the NPC and choose lesser reincarnation and drag the heart from your inventory into the panel that opens up. Afterwards, you’ll type your character name for confirmation then log out to the character selection screen. From there click the Reincarnate button that will appear next to the character name. You can go through and remake your character that way. Keep in mind, depending on the heart e.x. +0 - +20 will determine if you can change any class levels, if it’s a +0 then you’ll have to take the same classes in the exact same order you originally took them, but you can of course change your appearance, feats and starting stats/level up stat points every 4 levels. Your spell book (if you have one) will retain your previously picked spells and you will be able to select more as you level. Alignment restrictions will still apply depending on the class as well. That should cover everything but if you have any further questions feel free to ask. DDO is an amazing game but there is definitely a learning curve when it comes to the reincarnation system. Hope this helps.

[@oscardanda10]

@@sylvarithblackwater9067 I just started playing this, i got 3 lvls of barbarian but i messed up my stats, chose a dragonborn and spent points on dex, my CON is too low, mty charisma is too high xddd

[@dirtysilver2841]

One thing I know about druids is the SP management can be difficult. I was going to reincarnate my pally into a blightcaster, any recommendations for spell priority to help with SP management?

[@Alcedess]

I went primarily acid/poison (but its mostly acid really) and found that acid Blightcaster's do not use much SP. Before 12, I did keep some other things loaded up jsut in case I ran into an Acid immune, but after 12 that was no longer an issue. Stripping the poison resistance (Poison of the Hydra) also helps a LOT. I went human and took Maximize/Empower right out of the gate. I was able to level all the way to 20 spamming SLAs EASILY. At 20, I still use similar tactics, but my primary attack now is Carrion Swarm. Still no SP issues. Mefl's Acid arrow is a lovely single target wrecker; Especially after you start your Draconic Incarnation tree and grab the Mantle.

[@carpathian677]

What buffs piercing damage?

[@Nimoot]

How do we deal with the Lag that's been rampant these last few weeks? I'd love to support the game/try out your builds... but half the time I can't move due to the server freezing.

[@Strimtom]

The preview server will be up this week testing out some new lag fixes that have been in the works for a few months, so fingers crossed! I'll be testing them on stream this week while the server is up.

[@alexmcd378]

Hi strimtom, I'm trying to collect named items. Would this be a good build to leave capped for farming raids when my TR toon is too low level? I mostly solo. Thanks!

[@Strimtom]

Yes, absolutely. Blightcaster destroys low reapers easily and will be a great farmer

[@mattmigliardi7151]

I notice the build in the video for enhancements and epic destinies are different than your write-up builds you linked to. Which ones should we use?

[@Strimtom]

In case of a difference, always use the write up. Often times between video creation and build publication I'll have more time to refine the builds, and I can't edit the videos once they are up but I can edit the posts in case things change and I need to update them.

[@mattmigliardi7151]

@@Strimtom Awesome thank you sir! Love the vids, as I'm just coming back to DDO. Haven't played since closed beta lol.

[@sinenomiine5569]

New to DDO and was wondering if these builds are still viable? If so anyway to see them since the old forums seem to have been removed?

[@Strimtom]

This build is very new and very viable! The forums are down temporarily and will hopefully be back soon, they said it was a temporary closure. Until then, the video hopefully can suffice!

[@erikclark141]

Is the build here in this video the same as the one in the thread where the druid has like 10 shield feats? Thanks!

[@Strimtom]

Yes, except this is a warforged as a joke.

[@erikclark141]

@@Strimtom Ok, thanks! I don't understand the use of the shield feats though when you are using dual wielding corrosion and impulse stick, and none of the shield feats work in wild shape. Am I missing something? Thanks!

[@Strimtom]

@erik clark You gain more HP for having combat style feats now. Check the description of the feat Heroic Durability. Basically it is just a good chunk of needed hp, and if you happen to use a shield then it is even better. This character has plenty of damage, it's the defense you want.

[@beholder4465]

Noones doing the wolf forms for this? Maybe ill try it out

[@Strimtom]

The main issue is that the wolf forms (currently) don't benefit from the natural fighting feats. This is being fixed tomorrow in the new patch, and then you'll see more wolves pop up.

[@SetUSMC]

Should I use 2 spellcasting weapons, like clubs or 1 weapon/shield? I thought in your build guide you take shield masteries?

[@Strimtom]

Take whatever is best in the moment. I normally run 2 spellcasting items until level cap since I don't worry about dying.

[@beholder4465]

I thought force affected spells that were not elemental like untyped, blade barrier, thorns etc..

[@madreyad6573]

Hi Strim. Thnx for the great content :) Do you think the blightcaster t5 enhancement 'everything decays' would proc from an acid warlocks eldritch blast? thereby striping the acid resist/ immunity from mobs?

[@denewst01]

worth looking into, might roll up an iconic to check it out later

[@Strimtom]

Hello! So, this effect should not work on eldritch blast because of the wording. It specifies your acid SPELLS cause the immunity to be stripped, but eldritch blast is a bit of a weird one. It is a spell, but it doesn't do acid damage. Technically, the pact does the acid damage, and the pact isn't a spell. So you can deal acid spell damage, but you aren't casting a spell, so it shouldn't work. This is why eldritch blast doesn't work with the primal avatar epic mantle because it needs specific spell types. As an aside, you also cannot remove resistances with that enhancement, only immunities and % absorptions. Granted, this is DDO, so it's worth a test maybe.

[@madreyad6573]

I agree its doubtful, but i think itd b a game changer if it does work, or the alch bombadier ' weakening mixture ' worked in the same way. Worth a test. Eg. 5 alch for weakening mixture, 3fvs for 6% crit light/fire and 12 acolyte skin warlock for maximum light/fire blast/pact. Then role into angel or draco mantle, and away we go.

[@Gawain_7]

Seems like yet another great way to make churning through racial lives more interesting. Can't wait to try all three of these new archetypes on live and HC!

[@DevinLeshin]

So is the idea to level as blight then switch to cold or is it just as easy to level cold? Also, at what point should I flip out of the Blightcaster tree to get the second core in Seasons?

[@Strimtom]

blightcaster can't do cold druid, because they don't get water form. Cold druid is a different build entirely

[@DevinLeshin]

@@Strimtom that’s what I mean. Is the intent to level up as BC and then completely switch out and use the other build or can you do BC all the way through or cold all the way through? And any help on what order to go through trees would be appreciated. I’m currently trying the melee lock but want to try either the BC Druid or a sorcerer.

[@Strimtom]

@@DevinLeshin No, you are misunderstanding. You can't switch out, because blight caster isn't cold druid. You would need to do a reincarnation to go from blight to cold. So if you want to do cold you gotta select standard druid, which doesn't pertain to this build.

[@DevinLeshin]

@@Strimtom ah I get it. Sorry, I haven’t played this since it was almost first out so trying to get back in to it. Lot of new concepts. What’s the basic idea on your builds in terms of enhancement order? I can never figure that part out.

[@Strimtom]

@@DevinLeshin I explain my thoughts on the enhancements, which ones are good, and also what order, at 14:30 in the video you are commenting on.

[@dorgenarkify]

Race-wise, I'm definitely considering Dragonborn w/ Black Ancestry + Draconic Knowledge for greater caster level unless anyone has a better idea?

[@Strimtom]

If you have the racial points its definitely a good investment

[@paulsullivan8332]

What did you grab for Feats?

[@Strimtom]

the link to the build is in the description of the video

[@robsherwood5934]

"the last archetype of the list"? Did I miss the Dark Hunter video?

[@Tosnoob]

Not.. even sure why this video appeared in my recommended. It has been many, many years since I played DDO. But dear lord the late game looks hectic. x) Barely got off of Korthos. Maybe I'll check it out again just because of this video! Are the expansions still crazy overpriced? Alright, tried out Blight Caster but it feels super weak on level 1, can't really "just play Elite until level 6". Thorn STrike does 5-7 damage and eats up spell points like crazy. Maybe the spell-like ability will be better...

[@DRUMnBLESSed]

i know its 4 months old but just for anyone else skimming..that's why its good to farm or purchase 32 point build unlocks and veteran status 4 or 7 unlocks..that way for testing purposes you can start your character at level 4 or 7 out the gate and see if you are happy with the direction of the build and if you then want to start from level 1 you can just recreate and follow that path..personally i start at level 4 or 7 with veteran status just to do heroics.

[@takizaddy]

Would you say this is better than cold druid?

[@Strimtom]

For levelling, yes! For endgame, no!

[@takizaddy]

​@@Strimtom Thanks

[@inigomontoya7707]

Blightcaster was probably the easiest and fastest 1 to 32 solo I have ever done. No way SSG won't nerf them, HC would be trivial with a Blightcaster.

[@paulodantas9715]

Spoiler from the future: 90% of HC is playing blightcaster

[@KirThalosRavencrest]

Been doing Blightcaster and it feels like cheating with that temp HP alone

[@keithrombough3409]

Last archetype on the list? Where's Dark Hunter lol?

[@Strimtom]

Uploads got out of order with recording, so darkhunter is already filmed before this, just the timing of my upload is funky. DH soon.

[@keithrombough3409]

@@Strimtom Rofl. Cool cool. I'm looking forward to that one, myself.

[@micheleladisa820]

when you title a video "solo reaper machine" you should play solo. also you are using about 3 spells to kill a mob at... r1 difficulty non legendary quests? the truth is that acid well is the only blightcaster good spell and until that all other blightcaster spells do very little damage (even with the double damage stuff you spoke)