Min-Max Your Character Character Strategies Guidelines by Class Combat Calculations Character Strategies These are general rules, ways to think about building a min-maxed character. Accentuate the Positive You rely most heavily on your character's strengths. Any feat, skill, magic item, or skill that accentuates a strength is good. Max your intelligence and constitution. Get counterspell anddispel magic. Banishment is also nice, and remember that your arcane ward taking damage does not make you make concentration checks! Shield is good for blocking those high attacks, and mage armor is good if you don't have any magic armor. Remember to heal your arcane ward when you cast any of these spells.
I’ve discovered the best possible combination of race, class and equipment to ensure that your character will deal more damage every round than any other character. These builds are 100% legal and by the book. I’ve followed all the rules and used only core books published by Wizards. I didn’t make the rules, but I’m sure as hell going to exploit them for my benefit. Keep reading to find out how.
You might think that all 1st level PCs have pretty much the same attack score and that it’s difficult for you to have a clear advantage over your companions. Wrong! There are a few choices that, if made carefully, can give you a huge leg up right out of the gate.
After examining over a dozen possible builds I’ve come up with the best choices for creating a character who can and will deal more damage than anyone else. These builds should appeal to anyone who wants their character to do lot of damage as often as possible. The trade off usually means a slightly lower AC, but if you’re still reading then I suspect that your idea of a good defense is a strong offense.
Download imovie 09 for free. In order to make sure we’re comparing apples to apples, I’ve established three important guidelines.
- Character must be 1st level
- Melee attacks only
- At-will powers only
Mac pro tools download. So with these points in mind let’s review the top three contenders. All of the characters presented are equipped with regular items available to any 1st level character. The damage numbers do not factor in critical hits, just lucky rolls resulting in the highest possible outcomes.
Build #1
Barbarian Dwarf | Level 1 PC |
AC 15 (Hide Armor); Fortitude 16, Reflex 12, Will 12 |
Howling Strike (standard; at-will) |
Execution Axe +6 vs AC; 1d12 + 1d6 + 6 damage (brutal 2) |
Feat Dwarven Weapon Training Str 18 (+4) Dex 8 (-1) Wis 16 (+3) Con 13 (+1) Int 10 (0) Cha 10 (0) |
Min Max Dnd Dmg Class 9
Number Crunching
- Max damage: 24
- Min damage: 10
- Average damage: 17
Advantages
Build #1 offers the highest possible maximum damage of any 1st level PC with 24. By taking the Dwarven Weapon Training feat, this PC gains the proficiency bonus when using axes or hammers as well as the additional damage provided by the feat. The brutal 2 property of the weapon ensures that even with the worst possible rolls he’ll deal at least 10 points of damage. Alternatively, you could arm this character with a Mordenkrad. It has the same max and average damage, and its min damage is 11, 1 point higher than the Execution Axe. However, the Mordenkrad is not a high crit weapon.
Disadvantages
Build #1 only provides a +6 attack score which isn’t as good as the other options presented below. The Barbarian’s armor restrictions also leave him with a very low starting AC of only 15.
Build #2
Fighter Dwarf | Level 1 PC |
AC 17 (Scale Armor); Fortitude 16, Reflex 10, Will 11 |
Brash Strike (standard; at-will) |
Mordenkrad +9 vs AC; 2d6 + 9 damage (brutal 1) |
Feat Dwarven Weapon Training Str 18 (+4) Dex 8 (-1) Wis 13 (+1) Con 16 (+3) Int 10 (0) Cha 10 (0) |
Dnd Min Max
Number Crunching
![Min Max Dnd Dmg Class Min Max Dnd Dmg Class](/uploads/1/3/3/9/133903089/599306281.jpg)
- Max damage: 21
- Min damage: 13
- Average damage: 17
Advantages
Build #2 offers a maximum damage of 21, only slightly lower than the 24 point max presented in Build #1. The real benefit of Build #2 is that the average damage is 13, a full 3 points more than Build #1. Like with Build #1, selecting the Dwarven Weapon Training feat allows this PC to gain the full benefits of using an axe or hammer.
Disadvantages
In order to get such a high attack score and damage the PC needs to use the at-will power Brash Strike which results in the PC granting the target combat advantage until the start of his next turn. Not a big deal if you kill your opponent, more of a big deal if you’re surrounded by many opponents.
Note: A Dwarven Paladin with the same feat and the same weapon, attacking a marked opponent with Holy Strike deals exactly the same damage. However, his attack score is only +6. The Paladin build does offer a better AC, a much higher Will defense and a wider choice when selecting skills.
Build #3
![Min Min](/uploads/1/3/3/9/133903089/284185958.jpg)
Fighter Human | Level 1 PC |
AC 17 (Scale Armor); Fortitude 18, Reflex 11, Will 11 |
Brash Strike (standard; at-will) |
Mordenkrad +10 vs AC; 2d6 + 8 damage (brutal 1) |
Feat Mordenkrad Proficiency Feat Weapon Focus (Hammer) Str 20 (+4) Dex 8 (-1) Wis 11 (0) Con 14 (+3) Int 10 (0) Cha 10 (0) |
Number Crunching
- Max damage: 20
- Min damage: 12
- Average damage: 16
Advantages
Build #3 still has a respectable minimum, maximum and average damage, but it is the lowest of all three builds presented. This is offset with an attack score of +10, 1 higher than Build #2 and 4 higher than Build #1. So doing slightly less damage when you hit may not be so bad if you’re hitting more often. Build #3 also has a higher Fort defense, and as a Human he gains training in one addition skill.
Disadvantages
As with Build #2, in order to get the highest possible attack score and damage he has to use the at-will power Brash Strike. So as in the previous build if you’re ok with granting your opponent combat advantage then swing away.
The Best of the Rest
Before narrowing down the builds to the top three presented here, I spent time looking at various other combinations of races, classes, and one-handed and two-handed weapons. The other combinations that didn’t make the top three included Dwarven Paladin, Goliath Fighter, Human Paladin and Shifter Paladin.
If you’re able to come up with a character build, following my guidelines, that can dish out more damage than the builds I presented, please share them. Until then, wow the other PCs at your gaming table by dealing an incredible amount of damage every round.
Update
I forgot to mention in the original article that the PCs I’m looking at need to be able to deal the same amount of damage with every single attack. The strikers (Rogue, Ranger) will probably do more damage if their extra dice is included in their numbers. The problem is that these extra dice are dependent upon very specific conditions that may not be present every single time. Thanks to the readers who posted striker builds which do indeed have higher damage numbers but unfortunately rely on sneak dice or hunter’s quarry.