4e Warlord Build Help

[Mauril Everleaf]

I started playing a new 4e campaign the other day and decided to play a Dragonborn Warlord. I'm in a party with a Human Paladin, Human Wizard and a Doppleganger Rogue.

We ran through our first encounter last night and I was not happy at all with my character. I think this might have been largely due to my unfamiliarity with the Warlord class.

So I turn to the forum to help me with my build, mostly the selection of my powers. I'm level 11, and selected Combat Veteran as my Paragon (largely for roleplay reasons).

Stats: 22, 14, 13, 15, 13, 20 (after all level adjustments)

[Gralamin]

I started playing a new 4e campaign the other day and decided to play a Dragonborn Warlord. I'm in a party with a Human Paladin, Human Wizard and a Doppleganger Rogue.

We ran through our first encounter last night and I was not happy at all with my character. I think this might have been largely due to my unfamiliarity with the Warlord class.

So I turn to the forum to help me with my build, mostly the selection of my powers. I'm level 11, and selected Combat Veteran as my Paragon (largely for roleplay reasons).

Stats: 22, 14, 13, 15, 13, 20 (after all level adjustments)

I'm assuming your an Inspiring Warlord?

To start with, Combat Veteran is relatively good paragon path whether you are or not (Knight Commander is a bit better for Inspiring).

Build wise, you need more Con. If you can switch your 15 in intelligence with your 14 in Con, it shouldn't make any difference to your powers, but will give you some benefits.

Feat wise, you probably want the following: Armor Proficiency (Scale), Toughness, Inspired Recovery, Enlarged Dragon Breath, Dragonborn Frenzy, Armor Specialization (Scale) [Retrain Level 10 feat up to paragon], Combat Commander [Level 11]. Feats to look into for later include Dragonborn Senses, Empowered Dragon Breath, Mettle, and Lightning Reflexes.

With these feats, you now have many of the best for your character, and assuming your currently wearing Hide Armor, should raise your AC by 3, for the "penalty" of not having a stat to it. Other equipment you should consider is a longsword and a shield. Your job is to hit and survive, not do damage.

Power-wise, as an inspiring warlord, your job is to heal and to buff. Since you focus on strength and charisma, only pick up powers that use those. You also want to attack other defenses whenever you can- you are worthless if you can't hit.
Sample power choices:
At-Will: Furious Smash, Viper's Strike.
Encounter: Hammer and Anvil, Warlord's Strike, Lion's Roar
Daily: Bastion of Defense, Stand the Falling, White Raven Strike
Utility: Shake it Off, Stand Tough, Defensive Rally

[The New Bruceski]

I started playing a new 4e campaign the other day and decided to play a Dragonborn Warlord. I'm in a party with a Human Paladin, Human Wizard and a Doppleganger Rogue.

We ran through our first encounter last night and I was not happy at all with my character. I think this might have been largely due to my unfamiliarity with the Warlord class.

So I turn to the forum to help me with my build, mostly the selection of my powers. I'm level 11, and selected Combat Veteran as my Paragon (largely for roleplay reasons).

Stats: 22, 14, 13, 15, 13, 20 (after all level adjustments)

so that's... 33-point buy? Interesting. (I only have the PHB so I don't know if the DMG discusses such things, just higher stats than I'm used to seeing so far)

How are the others playing? If the Pally and Rogue are both melee you may want to look at ally-moving abilities to get the rogue into flanking, though with a good Charisma like that you should be aware of places to use it. I particularly like Furious Smash for an at-will, but you need to be adjacent to an ally so it's not nearly as good if they're all ranged. Viper's Strike could help pin foes down, though that depends on what others can threaten to do with opportunity attacks.

Really it depends how the others are playing. A warlord can provide good healing and excellent tactical opportunities. I particularly like abilities that give temporary hit points, because though it's less than a healing surge, it's resource-free. If the Defender's out of surges you can still help him.

[Gralamin]

so that's... 33-point buy? Interesting. (I only have the PHB so I don't know if the DMG discusses such things, just higher stats than I'm used to seeing so far)
Looks like 39 point buy to me, with stats of 18, 13, 12, 14, 12, 16 to start off with before races and levels. Might be rolled.


How are the others playing? If the Pally and Rogue are both melee you may want to look at ally-moving abilities to get the rogue into flanking, though with a good Charisma like that you should be aware of places to use it.
That's the realm of tactical warlords and not inspiring warlords. (Shifting abilities tend to benefit more from intelligence)


I particularly like Furious Smash for an at-will, but you need to be adjacent to an ally so it's not nearly as good if they're all ranged. Viper's Strike could help pin foes down, though that depends on what others can threaten to do with opportunity attacks.
The Paladin and the Warlord should always be at about the same point, so it shouldn't be an issue.


Really it depends how the others are playing. A warlord can provide good healing and excellent tactical opportunities. I particularly like abilities that give temporary hit points, because though it's less than a healing surge, it's resource-free. If the Defender's out of surges you can still help him.

Abilities that give temporary HP should be used as soon as good opportunity presents itself. Why? Because they last until you have an extended rest. They unfortunately don't stack, so as soon as most of your party runs out or low, use another ability to give them more if you have it.

[Helgraf]

I started playing a new 4e campaign the other day and decided to play a Dragonborn Warlord. I'm in a party with a Human Paladin, Human Wizard and a Doppleganger Rogue.

We ran through our first encounter last night and I was not happy at all with my character. I think this might have been largely due to my unfamiliarity with the Warlord class.

So I turn to the forum to help me with my build, mostly the selection of my powers. I'm level 11, and selected Combat Veteran as my Paragon (largely for roleplay reasons).

Stats: 22, 14, 13, 15, 13, 20 (after all level adjustments)

22, 14, 13, 15, 13, 20 @ Level 11
21, 13, 12, 14, 12, 19 @ Level 8
20, 13, 12, 14, 12, 18 @ Level 4
19, 13, 12, 14, 12, 17 @ Level 1
17, 13, 12, 14, 12, 15 @ Base before Race [Dragonborn]

+12, +3, +4, +5, +2, +7 = 33 point buy

[namo]

Temporary HPs last until you take a rest... i.e. they're gone after a short rest. It's in the spirit of 4E not to have long-duration buffs (though actually a Cleric's Sacred Flame would still be usable...).

Not all powers that are tactical in nature require Int, and it's a good idea to mix and match. For instance, one could replace Stand the Fallen by Villain's Nightmare in the list you gave.

[Gralamin]

Temporary HPs last until you take a rest... i.e. they're gone after a short rest. It's in the spirit of 4E not to have long-duration buffs (though actually a Cleric's Sacred Flame would still be usable...).

Not all powers that are tactical in nature require Int, and it's a good idea to mix and match. For instance, one could replace Stand the Fallen by Villain's Nightmare in the list you gave.

Huh. I could of sworn that it was until an extended rest.

Stand the Fallen could indeed be replaced by Villian's Nightmare, as White Raven Strike could be replaced with Knock them Down. However most abilities like Steel Monsoon are pretty bad unless your a tactical warlord. There is a reason I said sample power list :smallwink:

A possibility if movement is needed is taking Knight's Move.


22, 14, 13, 15, 13, 20 @ Level 11
21, 13, 12, 14, 12, 19 @ Level 8
20, 13, 12, 14, 12, 18 @ Level 4
19, 13, 12, 14, 12, 17 @ Level 1
17, 13, 12, 14, 12, 15 @ Base before Race [Dragonborn]

+12, +3, +4, +5, +2, +7 = 33 point buy

Ah, I forgot to decrease the largest scores at level 11. Oops.

[Starbuck_II]

I started playing a new 4e campaign the other day and decided to play a Dragonborn Warlord. I'm in a party with a Human Paladin, Human Wizard and a Doppleganger Rogue.

We ran through our first encounter last night and I was not happy at all with my character. I think this might have been largely due to my unfamiliarity with the Warlord class.

So I turn to the forum to help me with my build, mostly the selection of my powers. I'm level 11, and selected Combat Veteran as my Paragon (largely for roleplay reasons).

Stats: 22, 14, 13, 15, 13, 20 (after all level adjustments)

I may ask what order (the old 3.5 way or 4.0's): like Str Dex Con or Str Con Dex?

[Mauril Everleaf]

As someone suggested, the stats are rolled. My DM prefers the randomness that it offers. And the stats are listed in 4e order. And yes, I went with Inspiring Warlord.

It seems that I have taken all the powers suggested (with Villain's Nightmare over Stand the Fallen, and Knock Them Down over White Raven Strike), which gives me a bit of hope that I didn't pick a completely gimped character. My feat selection is a bit different, which I think may be partially where I am falling flat.

I will talk to my DM about swapping my CON and INT and swapping a feat or two.

Thanks a lot, this gives me more confidence that I just need to get used to playing the Leader. Previously, I've only played Strikers.