E: Guide to Fighter Enhancements

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Posted March 19th, 2007 by Shayalyn

Guide to Fighter Enhancements

By Nuitaran

Well, everything has changed and it's time to see where we are at. The new enhancement system has rocked our world, and for many people whether it has been rocked in a good way or a bad way remains to be seen. Overall, I am happy with the Fighter Enhancements personally – however disappointed I may be with the system as a whole. I don't like to criticize without qualifying so let's just say that the system is not exactly what I expected after reading the initial announcements, which had me very excited.

Planning to be Victorious

The first thing I would like to discuss is the importance of planning. The new system of selecting enhancements is cumbersome at best, especially when respeccing a high level character, and a terribly confusing and frustrating chore at worst. You need to attack it with some sort of a plan.

Decide before you even begin what enhancements are going to be absolutely necessary to you. When I respecced my 12h level Fighter, I decided on the Enhancement lines that I absolutely needed, the ones I wanted, the ones I wouldn't mind having, but could sacrifice, and the ones I really didn't care about. I decided that each time the list of enhancements refreshed, I would first scan the list for must-haves, if there were none, I would look for my wants, and if they were absent, I would settle for some that were just so-so until something I wanted became available.

The Basics

When you first open the new enhancement screen, you will see a pane with two windows, in the right window will appear all enhancements available to you, that you meet the requirements for, and in the left window will appear the enhancements that you have selected. Between the two panes are two arrow buttons. To learn an enhancement, you highlight it in the right window, and then click the button pointing to the left window.

If you meet the requirements for the enhancement selected it will appear in the left window. You can place any amount of enhancements into the left window that you have the points for, but they will not be applied to your character, nor appear on your character sheet until you click the accept button on the bottom of the enhancement UI pane.

As you can see from the screenshots, (I apologize that it is Rogue enhancements in the shots, but I forgot to screenshot while I was speccing out my fighter!) at the bottom of the UI, there is a space telling you how many action points you have, and how many you have spent so far. It is important to know how many AP's you have spent because as you will see from mousing over enhancements for a tooltip, some enhancements require not only a certain race/class/level, but a certain amount of AP's to be spent already. Unfortunately this can mean that in order to get some of the higher level enhancements you may have to spend points on things you don't really want just to get the points spent.

While you are first getting used to the system, and to how the enhancement lines progress, I recommend using the check box in the lower left of the Enhancement UI labeled Show Unavailable.

This will change the UI to display all Enhancements whether you meet the prerequisites or not. Enhancements that are available will have their text in green, while the text of unavailable enhancements will be slightly grayed out. You will also notice that Enhancement lines that have no enhancements available for your character will be collapsed in the tree. Looking at things in this way may help you to see how different enhancements become available as you spend AP's.
Now, let's get on to the meat of the matter.

The Nitty Gritty

I will be using the usual 1-5 TTH scale that we all know and love. A rating of 1 being an enhancement that isn't worth spending an AP on even if it's just to get it spent, 2 is for enhancements that aren't very good, but worth looking at if you need to spend a point or two to unlock something good. A rating of 3 and 4 is reserved for enhancements that may appeal to peoples personal taste, or particular build, but aren't must haves for every single Fighter. A rating of 5 is for the best of the bunch; those enhancements that no Fighter should ever be without. Please keep in mind, that your race will have an impact on available enhancements as well. In some cases your race combination will yield better results than what I outline here. For example, it is cheaper for a Dwarf Fighter to take Dwarven Armor Mastery I, and Fighters Armor Mastery I than it is to take either line to level II. For the purposes of this guide however, we will only be discussing the enhancements offered by the Fighter class.

Enhancement	Fighter Level Required	Cost	Requirements	Benefit	TTH Rating	Comments
Fighter Armor Class Boost I	1	1 AP	None	Activate this ability to receive a +2 bonus to Armor Class for 20 seconds.	4	Although some people swear by these, I have never used them often. If you will use it, take it, otherwise there are better things.
Fighter Armored Agility I	1	1 AP	None	Reduces the armor check penalty that applies to many of your skills by 1, regardless of armor worn.	2	Not bad to blow AP's if you need some spent, but most Fighters don't need too many skills. This can be made up for with Items/Spells.
Fighter Attack Boost I	1	1 AP	None	Activate this ability to receive a +2 bonus to attack for 20 seconds.	4	Although some people swear by these, I have never used them often. If you will use it, take it, otherwise there are better things.
Fighters Critical Accuracy I	1	1 AP	None	Grants +2 Bonus to Confirm Critical Hits	2	For most fighters confirming criticals shouldn't be a problem. This Enhancement sounds better than it is.
Fighter Haste Boost I	1	1 AP	None	Grants 15% bonus to attack speed for 20 seconds.	3	The same effect can be achieved from a Haste spell.
Fighter Intimidate I	1	1 AP	None	Grants a +1 Bonus to Intimidate.	3	If you are in Intimitank, this might interest you for a place to dump some points.
Fighter Item Defense I	1	1 AP	None	You are skilled at protecting your gear against damage, granting you a 25% chance to negate potential item wear before it occurs.	3	In the early levels this can help offset some of the costs of repairing and get you on the path to a good cushion of Platinum.
Fighter Jump I	1	1 AP	None	Grants a +1 bonus to Jump skill.	2	This is a reasonable way to get an action point spent if you need it.
Fighter Repair I	1	1 AP	None	Grants a +1 bonus to Repair skill.	1	Totally unnecessary to spend this many action points here.
Fighters Strategy I (Choose Stunning Blow, Sunder or Trip)	1	1 AP	None	Grants +1 to the DC of your Sunder, Stunning Blow, OR Trip abilities.	4	Each line advances separately but I have placed them here together for the sake of conciseness. If you use these abilities regularly, these are must have enhancements.
Fighter Swim I	1	1 AP	None	Grants a +1 bonus to Swim skill.	2	This is a reasonable way to get an action point spent if you need it.
Fighter Toughness I	1	1 AP	Toughness Feat	Increases the total benefit you receive from the Toughness feat by 5 HP.	3	If you have the Toughness feat this is a good way to get an AP spent, and get some extra HP.
Fighter Strength I	2	2 AP	2 AP's spent	Grants a +1 increase to Strength score.	5	This is a must have for nearly every fighter out there.
Fighter Armor Mastery I	3	2 AP	6 AP's spent	Grants +1 to the max Dex bonus on your armor.	4	If you have a high Dex bonus and take this with some +5 Full Plate you will be an AC machine. Only take as many as you need for your Dex Bonus and Max Dex bonus to match up.
Fighter Flanking Mastery I	3	2 AP	6 AP's spent	You gain an additional +1 bonus to attack rolls when flanking an enemy.	4	This is a reasonably cheap way to get a boost to your attack bonus and get a few AP's spent for other prerequisites.
Fighters Mobility I	3	1 AP	7 AP's spent	Mobility grants you an additional +2 Armor Class bonus while tumbling.	3	If you are one of those Dex fighters that rolls around on the ground a lot, this is a killer enhancement. Just make sure you use tumble often to get your AP's worth.
Fighter Tower Shield Mastery I	3	2 AP	6 AP's spent	Grants +1 to the max Dex bonus on your tower shield.	4	If you have a high Dex bonus and take this with a +5 Tower Shield you will be an AC machine. Only take as many as you need for your Dex Bonus and Max Dex bonus to match up.
Fighter Armor Class Boost II	4	2 AP	AC Boost I, 10 AP's spent	Activate this ability to receive a +3 bonus to Armor Class for 20 seconds.	4	Although some people swear by these, I have never used them often. If you will use it, take it, otherwise there are better things.
Fighter Attack Boost II	4	2 AP	Attack Boost I, 14 AP's spent	Activate this ability to receive a +3 bonus to attack for 20 seconds.	4	Although some people swear by these, I have never used them often. If you will use it, take it, otherwise there are better things.
Fighters Critical Accuracy II	4	2 AP	Critical Accuracy I, 14 AP's spent	Grants +2 Bonus to Confirm Critical Hits	2	For most fighters confirming criticals shouldn't be a problem. This Enhancement sounds better than it is.
Fighter Haste Boost II	4	2 AP	Fighter Haste Boost I, 14 AP's Spent	Grants 20% bonus to attack speed for 20 seconds.	3	The same effect can be achieved from a Haste spell.
Fighter Intimidate II	4	2 AP	Fighter Intimidate I, 10 AP's spent	Grants a +2 Bonus to Intimidate.	3	If you are in Intimitank, this might interest you for a place to dump some points.
Fighter Jump II	4	2 AP	Fighter Jump I, 10 AP's spent	Grants a +2 bonus to Jump skill.	1	Totally unneccesary to spend this many action points here.
Fighter Repair II	4	2 AP	Fighter Repair I, 10 AP's spent	Grants a +2 bonus to Repair skill.	1	Totally unnecessary to spend this many action points here.
Fighters Strategy II (Choose Stunning Blow, Sunder or Trip)	4	2 AP	Fighters Strategy I, 10 AP's spent	Grants +2 to the DC of your Sunder, Stunning Blow, OR Trip abilities.	4	Each line advances seperately but I have placed them here together for the sake of conciseness. If you use these abilities regularly, these are must have enhancements.
Fighter Swim II	4	2 AP	Fighter Swim I, 10 AP's spent	Grants a +2 bonus to Swim skill.	1	Totally uneccesary to spend this many action points here.
Fighter Toughness II	4	2 AP	Toughness Feat, 10 AP's spent	Increases the total benefit you receive from the Toughness feat by 10 HP.	3	With a few more AP's spent, your HP will be skyrocketing into the stratosphere!
Fighter Armored Agility II	5	2 AP	Armored Agility I, 14 AP's spent	Reduces the armor check penalty that applies to many of your skills by 2, regardless of armor worn.	2	Not bad to blow AP's if you need some spent, but most Fighters don't need too many skills. This can be made up for with Items/Spells.
Fighter Item Defense II	5	2 AP	Item Defense I, 14 AP's spent	You are skilled at protecting your gear against damage, granting you a 33% chance to negate potential item wear before it occurs.	2	For a 3 AP total the increase isn't really worth it.
Fighter Strength II	6	4 AP	Fighters Strength I, 16 AP's spent	Grants a +2 increase to Strength score.	5	This is a must have for nearly every fighter out there.
Fighter Armor Class Boost III	7	3 AP	AC Boost II, 21 AP's spent	Activate this ability to receive a +4 bonus to Armor Class for 20 seconds.	4	Although some people swear by these, I have never used them often. If you will use it, take it, otherwise there are better things.
Fighter Armor Mastery II	7	4 AP	Fighters Armor Mastery I, 20 AP's spent	Grants +2 to the max Dex bonus on your armor.	4	If you have a high Dex bonus and take this with some +5 Full Plate you will be an AC machine. Only take as many as you need for your Dex Bonus and Max Dex bonus to match up.
Fighter Attack Boost III	7	3 AP	Attack Boost II, 21 AP's spent	Activate this ability to receive a +4 bonus to attack for 20 seconds.	4	Although some people swear by these, I have never used them often. If you will use it, take it, otherwise there are better things.
Fighters Critical Accuracy III	7	3 AP	Critical Accuracy II, 21 AP's spent	Grants +2 Bonus to Confirm Critical Hits	2	For most fighters confirming criticals shouldn't be a problem. This Enhancement sounds better than it is.
Fighter Haste Boost III	7	3 AP	Fighter Haste Boost II, 21 AP's spent	Grants 25% bonus to attack speed for 20 seconds.	3	The same effect can be achieved from a Haste spell.
Fighters Mobility II	7	3 AP	Mobility I, 21 AP's spent	Mobility grants you an additional +4 Armor Class bonus while tumbling.	3	If you are one of those Dex fighters that rolls around on the ground a lot, this is a killer enhancement. Just make sure you use tumble often to get your AP's worth.
Fighters Strategy III (Choose Stunning Blow, Sunder or Trip)	7	3 AP	Fighters Strategy II, 21 AP's spent	Grants +3 to the DC of your Sunder, Stunning Blow, OR Trip abilities.	4	Each line advances seperately but I have placed them here together for the sake of conciseness. If you use these abilities regularly, these are must have enhancements.
Fighter Toughness III	7	3 AP	Toughness Feat, 21 AP's spent	Increases the total benefit you receive from the Toughness feat by 15 HP.	2	This is the point in the line where you must decide if so many AP's are worth the increase in HP. A level twelve will only be getting a total of 212 extra HP where Toughness II nets you 156.
Fighter Tower Shield Mastery II	7	4 AP	Tower Shield Mastery I, 20 AP's spent	Grants +2 to the max Dex bonus on your tower shield.	4	If you have a high Dex bonus and take this with a +5 Tower Shield you will be an AC machine. Only take as many as you need for your Dex Bonus and Max Dex bonus to match up.
Fighter Flanking Mastery II	8	4 AP	Flanking Mastery I, 24 AP's spent	You gain an additional +2 bonus to attack rolls when flanking an enemy.	3	6 AP total is steep for a +2 Attack bonus that's situational, but if you need to beef up that bonus, this is a good way to do it.
Fighter Intimidate III	8	3 AP	Fighter Intimidate II, 25 AP's spent	Grants a +3 Bonus to Intimidate.	2	This is where the cost starts to outweigh the benefit in this line.
Fighter Jump III	8	3 AP	Fighter Jump II, 25 AP's spent	Grants a +3 bonus to Jump skill.	1	Totally uneccesary to spend this many action points here.
Fighter Repair III	8	3 AP	Fighter Repair II, 25 AP's spent	Grants a +3 bonus to Repair skill.	1	Totally uneccesary to spend this many action points here.
Fighter Swim III	8	3 AP	Fighter Swim II, 25 AP's spent	Grants a +3 bonus to Swim skill.	1	Totally uneccesary to spend this many action points here.
Fighter Armored Agility III	9	3 AP	Armored Agility II, 29 AP's spent	Reduces the armor check penalty that applies to many of your skills by 3, regardless of armor worn.	2	Not bad to blow AP's if you need some spent, but most Fighters don't need too many skills. This can be made up for with Items/Spells.
Fighter Item Defense III	9	3 AP	Item Defense II, 29 AP's spent	You are skilled at protecting your gear against damage, granting you a 50% chance to negate potential item wear before it occurs.	1	By the time you qualify for this you should have more than enough money to pay for repairs. 6 AP's isn't worth it at all.
Fighter Armor Class Boost IV	10	4 AP	AC Boost III, 32 AP's spent	Activate this ability to receive a +5 bonus to Armor Class for 20 seconds.	4	Although some people swear by these, I have never used them often. If you will use it, take it, otherwise there are better things.
Fighter Attack Boost IV	10	4 AP	Attack Boost III, 32 AP's spent	Activate this ability to receive a +5 bonus to attack for 20 seconds.	4	Although some people swear by these, I have never used them often. If you will use it, take it, otherwise there are better things.
Fighters Critical Accuracy IV	10	4 AP	Critical Accuracy III, 32 AP's spent	Grants +2 Bonus to Confirm Critical Hits	2	For most fighters confirming criticals shouldn't be a problem. This Enhancement sounds better than it is.
Fighter Haste Boost IV	10	4 AP	Fighter Haste Boost III, 32 AP's spent	Grants 30% bonus to attack speed for 20 seconds.	3	The same effect can be achieved from a Haste spell.
Fighters Strategy IV (Choose Stunning Blow, Sunder or Trip)	10	4 AP	Fighters Strategy III, 32 AP's spent	Grants +4 to the DC of your Sunder, Stunning Blow, OR Trip abilities.	3	Things start getting a little costly here to be worthwhile.
Fighter Strength III	10	6 AP	Fighters Strength II, 30 AP's spent	Grants a +3 increase to Strength score.	5	This is a must have for nearly every fighter out there.
Fighter Armor Mastery III	11	6 AP	Fighters Armor Mastery II, 34 AP's spent	Grants +3 to the max Dex bonus on your armor.	4	If you have a high Dex bonus and take this with some +5 Full Plate you will be an AC machine. Only take as many as you need for your Dex Bonus and Max Dex bonus to match up.
Fighters Mobility III	11	6 AP	Mobility II, 34 AP's spent	Mobility grants you an additional +6 Armor Class bonus while tumbling.	3	If you are one of those Dex fighters that rolls around on the ground a lot, this is a killer enhancement. Just make sure you use tumble often to get your AP's worth.
Fighter Tower Shield Mastery III	11	6 AP	Tower Shield Mastery II, 34 AP's spent	Grants +3 to the max Dex bonus on your tower shield.	4	If you have a high Dex bonus and take this with a +5 Tower Shield you will be an AC machine. Only take as many as you need for your Dex Bonus and Max Dex bonus to match up.
Fighter Extra Action Boost I	11	2 AP	38 AP's spent	You can use each of your Fighter action boosts an additional time between resting.	3
Fighter Intimidate IV	12	4 AP	Fighter Intimidate III, 40 AP's spent	Grants a +4 Bonus to Intimidate.	1	Not worth the cost at all.
Fighter Jump IV	12	4 AP	Fighter Jump III, 40 AP's spent	Grants a +4 bonus to Jump skill.	1	Totally uneccesary to spend this many action points here.
Fighter Repair IV	12	4 AP	Fighter Repair III, 40 AP's spent	Grants a +4 bonus to Repair skill.	1	Totally uneccesary to spend this many action points here.
Fighter Swim IV	12	4 AP	Fighter Swim III, 40 AP's spent	Grants a +4 bonus to Swim skill.	1	Totally uneccesary to spend this many action points here.

Does this guide bring out your aggressive side? Say so in the TTH DDO forums here!

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E: Guide to Fighter Enhancements