Good sustained dpr builds.

[Spacehamster]

So don't think I have seen a thread like this or for nova builds so will make two posts where the playground can post their ideas for good sustained dpr(no resources used) builds and good nova builds. Rules is anything non ua official material allowed, mc and feats allowed. MC can be mad taking into account that you might have got good rolls to support the build.

So go wild, what's your idea for a good sustained dpr build that just keeps going while the nova build ran out of steam long ago? :)

Edit: forgot to say make it a lvl 20 build since this is just an excuse to get creative. :)

[Albions_Angel]

Awakened Mystic Order of the Immortal Dex Build using the Psionic Weapon passive and Ethereal Weapon active. At level 5 (most it goes up to ATM), it deals damage GUARANTEED EVERY TIME YOU SWING YOUR WEAPON. And you can do that for 27 rounds at a time. And bypass resistance to non magical weapons.

If you want to do a pre-buff round, and blow 5 of those points, you can do an extra +2 damage, or if you are confident about hitting the AC without using ethereal, you can spend a point for 27 rounds adding 1d10 damage.

You can forgo the damage boost and get an extra action every round for 5 rounds instead. Grab Magic Initiate and Faerie Fire as a 1st level spell and you can get advantage on every one of those rolls.

I feel, if given the chance to point buy (instead of having to roll) and focusing on finnesse, you can make one KILLER Mystic very easily.

Also Warlock can just plink away with eldritch blast for hours on end. Sure, so can Sorc with firebold, but Sorc cant add his Cha bonus or do an extra 1d6 damage that can be moved to another opponent.

[Spacehamster]

Awakened Mystic Order of the Immortal Dex Build using the Psionic Weapon passive and Ethereal Weapon active. At level 5 (most it goes up to ATM), it deals damage GUARANTEED EVERY TIME YOU SWING YOUR WEAPON. And you can do that for 27 rounds at a time. And bypass resistance to non magical weapons.

If you want to do a pre-buff round, and blow 5 of those points, you can do an extra +2 damage, or if you are confident about hitting the AC without using ethereal, you can spend a point for 27 rounds adding 1d10 damage.

You can forgo the damage boost and get an extra action every round for 5 rounds instead. Grab Magic Initiate and Faerie Fire as a 1st level spell and you can get advantage on every one of those rolls.

I feel, if given the chance to point buy (instead of having to roll) and focusing on finnesse, you can make one KILLER Mystic very easily.

Also Warlock can just plink away with eldritch blast for hours on end. Sure, so can Sorc with firebold, but Sorc cant add his Cha bonus or do an extra 1d6 damage that can be moved to another opponent.

This were for sustained dpr without blowing resources. :) which book is the mystic order thingamajig from can't say I remember seeing it in any of them, no UA stuff as stated. :)

[Albions_Angel]

Im sorry, I misread your OP and thought you said UA included.

Warlock then. Hands down. Or fighter with action surge.

[RulesJD]

So don't think I have seen a thread like this or for nova builds so will make two posts where the playground can post their ideas for good sustained dpr(no resources used) builds and good nova builds. Rules is anything non ua official material allowed, mc and feats allowed. MC can be mad taking into account that you might have got good rolls to support the build.

So go wild, what's your idea for a good sustained dpr build that just keeps going while the nova build ran out of steam long ago? :)

Fighter x/War Cleric 2 is okay.
Fighter 1 - Human Variant - Polearm Master
Fighter 2
Fighter 3 - Battlemaster
Fighter 4 - Great Weapon Mastery
Fighter 5
Fighter 6 - Sentinel
Cleric 1 - War Cleric (for Divine Favor/Bless)
Cleric 2 - For Channel Divinity
Fighter +

The idea being that the resources you spend are minimal (short rest manuver die/channel divinity) with low cost long rest abilities that really help your dpr (Bless/Divine favor) and leave your bonus attack option available.

This build will be simple but powerful. Precision Strike for the GWM swings that miss and a minimum of 39+2d10+1d4 if all 3 normal attacks hit. Throw in an action surge (also short rest) and you get up to 65+4d10+1d4 if all 5 attacks hit. Critting or killing makes your bonus a 1d10 instead of 1d4.

You also get reaction attacks almost every turn between Polearm Master and Sentinel. So add in another 1d10+13 with GWM. So in an average round with no resources, you're doing 52+3d10+1d4 (2 normal attacks, 1 bonus action attack from polearm mastery, 1 reaction attack). Oh and you're rerolling 1s and 2s on the damage to up it slightly more.

You honestly can't get it higher than that with zero resources.

2nd build:

If you REALLY mean zero resources but max sustained DPR, take my prior build but replace the 2 levels of Cleric with 2 levels of Barbarian and change Fighter subtype to Champion. Not for rage or anything, but because Reckless Attack is at-will advantage. That means GWM is almost always worth swinging with and will up your average DPR.

[CantigThimble]

Well the highest possible damage without using any resources has to be a Polearm Master Champion Fighter, hands down. Every other class needs their ki, rages or spell slots to do as much.

[gfishfunk]

Warlock 1 / Arcane Trickster X - constant Hex through Rogue spellslots plus sneak attack damage; a one-level dip is not terrible with the rogue sneak attack die and allow for additional dps that transfers well between targets. I'm undecided if adding a 1 level fighter dip for archery fighting style and then picking up That sweat ranged -5 attack / + 10 damage would be worth it....I'm guessing yes.

[gfishfunk]

Fighter x/War Cleric 2 is okay.

*snip

Add Half-Orc for a decent crit damage boost.

[RulesJD]

Add Half-Orc for a decent crit damage boost.

I prefer V-Human just to get the build fully online several levels earlier, but from a pure numbers perspective, that would increase DPR.

[Foxhound438]

L20 fighter gets 4 attacks, so you could expect 8d6+20=~53 dpr no problem. Less good if your campaign ends before L20, so make sure you're on the same page as your dm, you wouldn't want to get to L15 and be told the campaign is over.

L11 PAM paladin is pretty good, 3 attacks for a total of 3d8+2d10+1d4+15=46.35 with great weap fighting style, or 42 without. With vengeance you add hunter's mark where you need a boost, but that's resources expended.

L12 PAM blade lock is similar, getting 2d10+1d4+27=40.5 (assuming 2asi in str and one in cha, you'd be a variant human). This goes up to 43.5 with +5 in both str and cha. hex for increase where needed.

standard L17 warlock with the easiness of 4d10+20=42 EB, but like with the fighter you might only end up ever seeing 3d10+15. again hex for more when needed.

12 levels of bladelock with a rapier and some of rogue for one sneak attack per turn, for 2d8+20=29, adding 1-4 d6 on the first hit (3.5-14, at max you total 43 average dpr). the benefit here over the PAM bladelock is the sneak attack is always added to the first hit, so when you start taking into account high AC, high enough to expect 50% misses, this guy hits for 1d8+4d6+10=28.5, while PAM version only gets d10+10 for 15.5, with a chance at 1d4+10, which will add an average (taking into account hit chance) of 6-ish. drawback is it's not as good until you get to rogue 5, meaning 17th level character, as well as missing out on some neat warlock stuff, most of all your 7, 8, and 9th level spells.

similarly to above, if you roll stats and hit the lottery, you can go with a pal+rogue, except this one you get max of 5d6 sneak attack.

With either rogue build it's certainly possible to do 2wf but that's a dip of fighter for either (pal doesn't get the option for the fs) unless you're okay not having your dex to damage on the last swing. this makes more sense with the lock build since you otherwise have another level of rogue w/o a sneak attack increase or 1 in warlock for a 7th level spell (12wl+7rg+1f) while with the pal you either lose improved smite or a die of sneak attack, and eats up your bonus action (pals have a plethora of bonus act spells, and some channels).

And as a final note, GWM is great for str builds if you can reasonably expect to hit with a -5 to attack (ie devotion pal, get +5 from your channel to even it out)

edit: forgot barbarians existed. Rage is in fact expendable, but at L20 it's unlimited so i'll give another...

PAM barb at 20 gets 2d10+1d4+33=46.5, with reckless attack you can consistently GWM it too, making pretty decent damage no questions asked.

Battlerager barb could be even better (albeit withr lowe AC with spiked armor) since you get the bonus act attack without a feat, and using a greatsword instead. You need to dwarf it, but that's okay since you otherwise would probably be a vuman anyways (for PAM that you don't need). Note also that GWM can't apply to the bonus here, but can still be used for sword swings.

I would say berserker but i feel exhaustion could be considered a resource (don't want to use it more than once per day.)

[Dralnu]

What level range are you interested in?

Kryxx has an amazing DPR chart that would be the perfect response for you, but sadly I cannot find it at the moment. Until then, off the top of my head:

- Warlock at levels 11+ when their third beam pulls them ahead
- Assassin Rogue at any level, Thief at levels 17+; Rogue Sneak Attack is particularly crazy at the first few levels; either use Two Weapon Fighting or Hand Crossbows (Crossbow Expert feat)
- Champion Fighter at any level, but specifically levels 11+ when their third attack pulls them ahead; Great Weapon Fighting Style + Polearm Master feat + Great Weapon Master feat
- Hunter Ranger at levels 2+; take Archery (bow or Crossbow Expert feat, and Sharpshooter)

I'm 90% sure those are the best DPR without expending resources.

Straight Champion Fighter 20 would probably be the highest you could go, maxing out STR and picking up Polearm Master + GWM feats, probably take Sentinel and Improved Initiative too (you get 7 ASI/feats, 8 if you're human). That's 5 attacks a round, 6 if anyone enters your reach, potentially adding +10 damage to each swing, 18-20 crit range, without expending anything.

EDIT: As someone else said, Half-Orc is the best race for DPR, Variant Human is the best for getting your build online sooner. Straight Champion is already getting 7 though, so it's an obvious choice to go Half-Orc if you're starting at higher levels.

[Kryx]

Kryxx has an amazing DPR chart that would be the perfect response for you, but sadly I cannot find it at the moment.
DPR of Classes (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1d-9xDdath8kX_v7Rpts9JFIJwIG3X0-dDUtfax14NT0/edit#gid=655309186)

I would suggest Barbarian. Rages are a "resource", but you should rarely run out of them. Barbarians hit like a truck. Especially with Polearm.
Hand Crossbow Rogue or Fighter is really good DPR as well. (Ranger slightly behind rogue).

Warlock doesn't win until 17+.

[Spacehamster]

Here is my contribution to the post:
Horgh the unholy
Half-Orc Lvl 12 oathbreaker/ 4 champion / 4 hunter ranger with hordebreaker.

Polearm master and great weapon master his attacks with no resource at all used looks like:
2 * 1d10 + 1d8 + 10(20 vs low ac targets) 1 * the same from horde breaker if enemies close enough and 1d4 + 1d8 + 10(20) from polearm master bonus attack(can be switched to a normal d10 if critical hit or kill is done from GWM. His criticals will also be very nice 3d10 + 2d8 due to his half Orc bonuses. :)

Also great with this one is that it's great for nova as well. :)

Here is all situations:
Optimal getting GWM proc + horde breaker = 4d10(22) + 4d8(18) + 40 = 80 dpr 100 if you get opportunity attack. -20 if no horde breaker and another minus 3 if you do not trigger GWM. :)

[CaptAl]

High Elf Arcane Trickster 15/Champion 5 with two weapon style, extra attack, improved crit, and using Booming Blade as the racial cantrip and dual short swords would be pretty nasty. Snag Find familiar for help action cheese (DM dependent). Normal round assuming all hits and a 20 Dex would be 11d6 + 15. Or 9d6 + 3d8 + 5 and possible turn denial or 4d8 proc from booming blade.

Add in buffs like haste and it gets nastier.

[Foxhound438]

Kryxx has an amazing DPR chart that would be the perfect response for you, but sadly I cannot find it at the moment. Until then, off the top of my head:



unfortunately it doesn't account for every multiclass ever came up with, so it's missing some data.

also kind of wondering how he got 35 dpr for monks at 17-20... either you're flurrying for 4d10+20(42) or you aren't for 3d10+15(31.5)

[tieren]

I'll go with warlock 2/EK 7/rogue 11.

Idea is to use eldritch blast w/agonizing blast as the main staple but use EK's war magic feature to use the bonus action to shoot a heavy crossbow every round and hopefully have a party tank near your target allowing you to get sneak attack damage on every round for the crossbow.

4d10+20+1d10+6d6.

[Kryx]

unfortunately it doesn't account for every multiclass ever came up with, so it's missing some data.
It's not intended to be the "highest DPR". It's supposed to be a measure of standard expected DPR for the classes.

[Walnut]

Brave Champion
Champ 5 /Barb 2 / Champ X
Like the straight champ, but you have constant access to advantage through reckless. If you're not brave enough to go reckless when not raged ... you're smarter than this guy.

Could change this to a berserker with champ 3 dip to get brutal critical and retaliation which also don't use resources.

[bid]

IIRC, fighter 5 / rogue X does better on most levels.
(or hunter 5 / rogue X)

I am guessing EK 7 / warlock 1 / rogue X is stronger.

[MaxWilson]

So don't think I have seen a thread like this or for nova builds so will make two posts where the playground can post their ideas for good sustained dpr(no resources used) builds and good nova builds. Rules is anything non ua official material allowed, mc and feats allowed. MC can be mad taking into account that you might have got good rolls to support the build.

So go wild, what's your idea for a good sustained dpr build that just keeps going while the nova build ran out of steam long ago? :)

Edit: forgot to say make it a lvl 20 build since this is just an excuse to get creative. :)

Necromancer, hands down.

Two variants that I've enjoyed are

(a) a Cthulock 2/Necromancer 9 (he rolled well on stats so could deal with the MAD) who uses Eldritch Spear + Spell Sniper to deal with long-range threats and werewolves/Iron Golems/etc. Has Inspiring Leader feat to keep skeletons alive longer (and Cthulock guarantees that he can communicate with them).

(b) Rogue 2/Necromancer 6 aiming to add Ranger 11 after Necromancer 7. Can abuse Cunning Action + Fog Cloud/Darkness/whatever.

In both cases you observe a character who can function perfectly well without the support of skeletal minions using base wizard abilities, but has the option of gearing up with a skeletal army when a serious threat arises. However, I warn you that if you do bring your skeletal army along, you'll have to get all your jollies on the roleplaying or exploration tiers because the combat tier will be so easy that it is boring.

Necromancer is good for players who hate combat and just want it to be over.