[quote="mellored"]
We are stronger together then alone.
Phalanx tactics being one where everyone stands close to eachother and gives eachother protection.
Thanks to rancid_rogue, who's added quite a bit to this guide. And everyone else who contributed.
If i'm missing something, don't hesitate to mention it.[/quote]
[quote="mellored"]
Tactics:
The obvious downside of this is AOE attacks will hit all of you instead of just a few.
Zones: Both benifical and harmful can affect everyone.
Controll effects, such as walls, are more effective, since your party can block off, or be blocked off wholesale.
AOE attacks tend to be less painful then single target.
Assuming 25% AOE attacks, +3 to all defenses will net you a small gain, but remember to factor in the cost of getting it.
You could always break formation when there's alot of AOE, or zones.
Flanking is mostly prevented for both sides.
The other major downside is movement. As sometime you will have to.
You can delay/ready to move together.
This can be mitigated somewhat with power selection. Reorent the axis, and persistant tail are prime examples.
It's possible to make enemies come to you via forced movement.
Reach and ranged attacks are also things to consider. You have to move less.
Since your not likely to move, find things to use your move action on.
4 PC's can stand in a box and let everyone be adjacent to everyone else.
Pixies can fly, and/or share a space letting 5 stand adjacent.
Other methods of flying will allow 8 total creatures to all be adjacent.
If everyone contributes, you can end up with massive bonuses.
6 medium PC's can all be adjacent to 2 core phalanx cores.
The 2 core will make this tactic worth while.
1 fully dedicated PC can be the core, supporting 8 PC's.
This will more or less break even.[/quote]
[quote="mellored"]Classes:
Runepriest = resist all 2/4/6, doesn't stack with other rune shield.
Feats:
Shield the Fallen (dwarf) =+2 while they are bloodied.
Mantle of Caution: +2 to NAD's while you are bloodied. Burst 5 (or 10 with extended mantle).
Sword of Hestavar: More damage with CA.
Warding Shield (paladin/cleric) = +2 Ref.
Protector Spirit Adept = +1 NADs.
Phalanx Warrior (fighter/warlord) = +1 shield bonus to AC
Sprit of Hestavar: +2/4/6 to surge value.
Shield of Hestavar: Resist all 2/4/6 vs marked enemies.
Elemental Compainions (genasi warlord) = Manifestation resists/saves (better with dual manifestation)
Warding Defense = +2AC Ref with total defense.
Group Defense (half-elf paladin) =+1 defense against marked foes
Sideways Defense (human-fighter) =+1 defense against marked foes
World Speaker Adept (shaman, world) = ignore difficult terrain.
Watcher Spirit Adept (shaman, watcher) = +2 perception and insight.
Sentinal Spirit (shaman, watcher) = +2 to-hit on OA's
Kord's Resilence (goliath): share stone's endurance.
In Shining Armor: +1 shield bonus AC
Teamwork defense = +1 AC, if everyone has the feat.
Rose King's Reprisal = 1 HP on any surge
Majestic Presence: resist necrotic and radiant.
All-Seeing Eye of the Guardian (paladin) = no CA from being flanked. You generally won't be flanked.
Ninth Legion Sheild/Commander (fighter/warlord) = +2 feat bonus AC/Ref
PP's
Rune Shield = +4 all defenses, must use runic attack, and can't move.
Knight Commander = +2 attack
Gatekeeper of the Golden Palace = +4 to saves, extra saving throws
Justiciar = Immunity to fear/charm, reroll a save (end of turn only), and +1 to saves.
Spell Commander: Upgrades basic attack to at-wills (arcane only).
Sigil Carver = +2 power to all defenses.
Rainbringer = regen 2, and lot's of THP
Dwarven Defender = +1 AC and reduced forced movement (can be importaint to rune shield)
Enlightened Word = shift 2 on a hit
Themes:
Feybeast : Displacer: +1 power bonus to defense.
Elemental Priest: +1 power to all defenses. Assuming it works at all…
Ordained Priest: +1 to saves.
Disgraced Noble: +1 to saves while not bloodied.[/quote]
[quote="mellored"]Powers:
Magic Weapon (artificer A1): very nice boost to offense.
Glamor Blade (swordmage): Phalanx with yourself. Better with archmage.
Martial Redoubt (fighter U10) = Allies get cover (and can stay hidden), but you grant CA. Stance.
Warp in the Weave (Arcana U6): spend a surge to avoid an AOE. You can share it with a pixie (or vice versa).
Items:
Offerings of Celestian Set bonus: Can solve all mobility problems, though it's not cheap.
Absorbing Shield: More missing for AOE's. Note that these can be chained.
Guardians Armor: Resist all 3-6, requires a power point.
Armor of Aegis Expansion: Big damage reduction 1/encounter.
Shield of Fellowship: THP for those who did get hit.
Battle Standard of the Stalwart/Vanguard: +1 power bonus to all defenses/attacks.
Battle Standard of (others): Depending on your party setup, these could be pretty nice.
ED's:
Dispossesed Champion: When you shift, allies can shift closer. Auto-surge on bloodied.
Pyreen: Start of turn saves
Immanence: Share resists. (belt of brokeness + revenant)
Mythic Spirit: When you save, allies can save
World Tree Guardian: +1 attack, +1 defense, or THP
Avatar of Freedom: +2 to some saves.
Avatar of Justice: conditional +1 to hit.[/quote]
[quote="mellored"]
Builds.
[sblock Maximus Decimus Meridius]
By: Rancid_Rogue's
Here's a spear-and-shield build that will routinely provide +6 AC to an adjacent ally at level 12
Maximus Decimus Meridius
Level 12 Human Fighter/Son of Mercy
Str 21, Con 14, Dex 15, Int 9, Wis 17, Cha 11
Athletics, Endurance, Insight, Perception
Detective Background
Fey Beast Tamer Theme (repackaged as faithful war dog, Skippy)
1: Spear Expertise
1: Sideways Defense
2: Ninth Legion Student
4: Ninth Legion Shield
8: Improved Defenses
11: Polearm Momentum
11: Armor Specialization (Scale)
12: Repel Charge
12: Last Legion Defender
That breaks down to:
+1 all defenses to all adjacent to Maximus (including Skippy, who badly needs it)
+2 feat AC and Reflex all adjacent allies vs enemies adjacent to Maximus
+1 power all defenses to all adjacent to Skippy (including Maximus)
+2 AC to Maximus and one adjacent ally when he OAs (which he'll do pretty often thanks to push/prone/slow with Tide of Iron and Repel Charge)
Plus automatic CA for anyone adjacent to Skippy, the reskinned displacer beast.
[/sblock]
Death's Gatekeeper, but with the rainbringer PP for mass THP, sub-zero survivability, and some defenses.
Swordburst Maximus, but with sigil carver PP, and a lightning glaive. Put enemies where you want them, and drop them prone.
Killswitch, magic weapon spammer with lot's of attack granting.
The Great Uniter: THP and damage boost just for focus firing.
F-111 Interdictor: Teleport your allies.[/quote]
[quote="mellored"]
Teams:
[sblock Rancid_Rogue's party…]
LTS Runepriest/Monk/Rune Shield. Remainder of party delays so that he goes first. Strict protocol for player: Move to desired target (if not already adjacent) then attack. Everyone else will form up on him.
LTS Cleric|Ranger/Rainbringer. This is a cludge build because Rainbringer is a headache of a PP. The Rainbringer needs to bring a power with the Healing keyword on demand. This build would have Longtooth Shifting, Healing Word, Invigorating Stride, Bastion of Health, Word of Vigor, Balm of Rain, and Unexpected Return all qualifying at L16 … and I'd still probably want Recovery Strike as an at-will backup. Also, we don't want to waste all of those lovely roll-twice skills. As a hybrid, this build can cherry-pick the three skills, with two pegged to its secondary and the third receiving a racial bump.
Pixie Swordmage/Sigil Carver. I've decided the Pixie needs to be the Swordmage for two reasons: There's not a lot of phalanx PPs that fit the race's attributes well and the Sigil Carver thrives on being in the back row. As the only PC that can float around the formation freely, the Pixie can just about ensure that it's removed from its marked target(s). Should grab ranged encounters and dailies when feasible.
Dragonborn Warlord/Knight Commander. Must have Direct the Strike, because one problem with the phalanx is that when your adjacent focus-fire target dies in the middle of the batting order, you generally can't reroute the phalanx to a new target. So, the bottom of the order needs to have some ranged potential. I prefer the melee-centric bravura build, but that one at-will gives him real ranged potential with the right allies …
Wood Elf Druid|Seeker/Gatekeeper of the Golden Palace. … which unfortunately do not include the Druid and his total lack of RBAs. So I'm pondering a hybrid controller here, though the jury is still out. It's also odd to have the controller go last as a matter of routine, so I'm still not entirely thrilled with this lineup.
[/sblock]
[Sblock Mello's Team, estimated 2KPR]
Gnome Lazylord|Wizard/Knight Commander. Wintertouched + Sword of Hestavar. Ninth Legion Student for OA's. Tome cheeze + Illusury wall and other LOE/LOS blocking wizards spells. Dispel Magic. Feybeast theme (displacer mount)
Revenant (Dwarf) Lazy Warlord|Ardent/Dwarven Defender. Lend might, and a chieftan weapon, we're graning +4 to hit on attacks. Ninth Legion Student for OA's. Shield the fallen, mantle of caution, unnatural mantle. Covers movment with battlefront shift, and reorent the axis. Absorbing Shield. Ordained Priest theme.
Half-Elf Paladin|Fighter/Gatekeeper of the Golden Palace. Mass marking, group defense, sideways defenese, daunting challenge, Shield of Hestavar, and spamming magic weapon with defending dabbler, admixture cold. Totaling -5 to not attack him and big bonus damage. Absorbing Shield. gladiator theme (keep them close).
Pixie Thief/something damaging. Basic attacks like a boss. Get attacks from Gnome, Revenant, and Dwarf (via Agile Oppertunist). Iron wolf theme.
Dwarf Serene Runepriest|Invoker/Rune Shield. Minion killing, forced movement, RBA#2. As well as the massive +4 rune shield. Rune of the Astral Winds. Absorbing Shield. Knight Hospitaliter theme.
Defenses:
+4 rune shield
+1 dispalcer
+2.5 mark (1/2 the time)
+1 shield the fallen (1/2 the time)
+1 mantle of caution (1/2 the time)
= average bonus is about +8
resist 6
Extra saves.
a turn below 0.
Offense:
+2 Knight Commander
+1 Magic weapon
CA via frost cheese.
Damage:
+8 Magic weapon
+6 Sword of Hestavar
+5 Frost mafia.
+Optimized striker damage * 4
The thief will probably have .4 KPR, if not higher. I'll count .2 for the others.
Thief basic = .4
Warlord Direct the strike = .8
Warlord direct the strike = 1.2
Invoker + rune of astral winds = 1.4 / 1.8
Defender = 2
[/sblock][/quote]