One of my favorite character builds for PvM!

[Eric Ravenwind]

This is probably a common build, but i think it's still neat!

Eval. Int - 120.0 (on a Soulstone for later use)
Focus - 120.0
Magery - 110.0 (and slowly rising)
Meditation - 120.0
Musicianship - 120.0
Provocation - 120.0
Mysticism - 120.0

So much fun getting monsters to fight each other, then using Rising Colossus to mop up the left-overs. Would be nice tho, to have RC's not as easily dispelled by more powerful creatures (balrons, ancient wyrms, Gr. Dragons, etc)..

 

[Eric Ravenwind]

This is probably a common build, but i think it's still neat!

Eval. Int - 120.0 (on a Soulstone for later use)
Focus - 120.0
Magery - 110.0 (and slowly rising)
Meditation - 120.0
Musicianship - 120.0
Provocation - 120.0
Mysticism - 120.0

So much fun getting monsters to fight each other, then using Rising Colossus to mop up the left-overs. Would be nice tho, to have RC's not as easily dispelled by more powerful creatures (balrons, ancient wyrms, Gr. Dragons, etc)..

Plus, with Meditation and Focus @ 120.0 each, you like never run out of mana...!

 

[virtualhabitat]

This is probably a common build, but i think it's still neat!

Eval. Int - 120.0 (on a Soulstone for later use)
Focus - 120.0
Magery - 110.0 (and slowly rising)
Meditation - 120.0
Musicianship - 120.0
Provocation - 120.0
Mysticism - 120.0

So much fun getting monsters to fight each other, then using Rising Colossus to mop up the left-overs. Would be nice tho, to have RC's not as easily dispelled by more powerful creatures (balrons, ancient wyrms, Gr. Dragons, etc)..

For pvm I would even drop the eval so I could free up imbuing weight used for skill points to be used for luck and/or other more useful mods. Offensive Mystic spells more than compensate for what you give up in offensive mage spells. Also could replace eval with spellweaving...
Good template either way

 

[Mitzlplik_LS]

I`d drop eval for disco

just noticed he said it was stoned... in that case I`d opt for disco over meditation with that template but either way its a good one

 

[King_Fisher]

I would replace a skill with spellweaving. Unless a high sdi mage strikes your fancy. Spellweaving opens up the Word of Death to end the provocation battle, and Arcane Empowerment spell will give you the more resilient RC you desire.

 

[Meat Elemental]

Discorded mobs hardly ever dispell my colossus

 

[startle]

I would replace a skill with spellweaving. Unless a high sdi mage strikes your fancy. Spellweaving opens up the Word of Death to end the provocation battle, and Arcane Empowerment spell will give you the more resilient RC you desire.

Very good point, KF !
Here's what UOGuide says about Arcane Empowerment:

+14% spell damage, enhanced healing, and +2 seconds duration per additional arcanist. This spell enhances the caster's spell damage and healing. The caster's summons will have their hit points increased by 10% and be more difficult to dispel​

 

[startle]

It also depends a LOT on exactly which monster you're up against. For instance: If you're intending on taking on the mobs in any of the new enhanced dungeons (Shame, Despise, etc.) you will find that many are 160 Barding difficulty. My main Bard is 4x120 real in Bard skills. Even with the Virtuoso Suit on and activated and using Slayer instruments, he will fail as often as not on these nasty critters. I'm not saying they're not doable, just difficult for anything less than a 4x120 bard... I might suggest that keeping Music/Peace will generally allow you to get out of trouble, but I'd think about putting other skills to use...

 

[Gospel]

It also depends a LOT on exactly which monster you're up against. For instance: If you're intending on taking on the mobs in any of the new enhanced dungeons (Shame, Despise, etc.) you will find that many are 160 Barding difficulty. My main Bard is 4x120 real in Bard skills. Even with the Virtuoso Suit on and activated and using Slayer instruments, he will fail as often as not on these nasty critters. I'm not saying they're not doable, just difficult for anything less than a 4x120 bard... I might suggest that keeping Music/Peace will generally allow you to get out of trouble, but I'd think about putting other skills to use...

4x120 bard has nothing to do with provocation skill chance, nor does the Virtuoso Suit. Furthermore, area peace duration is minimal on 160 barding difficulty targets, and targeted Peace is just as difficult to land as Provo/Disco.

Bard can be built nigh-on invicible without Peacemaking, as far as I'm concerned the only use for Peacemaking is the 120 skill point boost it gives to other bard masteries (not really worth it).

 

[Eärendil]

This template is nice. I am using a variety of related templates for fighting critters in Cove and Shame... Its WONDERFUL to combine Provo & Mystic... Very powerful. Currently, I am playing a Provo-Mystic-Stealther. One of my funniest templates... If you wanna see what feeling "superior" in midst of the mobs means, try this

 

[Eric Ravenwind]

Just ate a 120 Disco scroll on my mystic temp listed above. Currently my tamer has 120 disco, so swapping out meditation for that will be slick!!

 

[Mitzlplik_LS]

And a discoing provoking mystic will be sick! Actually what i`m working on as well.

 

[startle]

4x120 bard has nothing to do with provocation skill chance....

WHAT? Could you please explain this seemingly ridiculous statement?

 

[Gospel]

Provocation chance only looks at your Provo skill (modified) and your Music skill (modified) vs the target's barding difficulty, plus whatever slayer. Slayers give a 15% bonus, GM instruments give a 10% bonus. Increasing your skill in other bard skills does not have any effect on chance to provoke, with the exception of actively discording a creature, which will lower its barding difficulty. Again, the disco is modified skill, not real skill.

 

[startle]

Provocation chance only looks at your Provo skill (modified) and your Music skill (modified) vs the target's barding difficulty, plus whatever slayer. Slayers give a 15% bonus, GM instruments give a 10% bonus. Increasing your skill in other bard skills does not have any effect on chance to provoke, with the exception of actively discording a creature, which will lower its barding difficulty. Again, the disco is modified skill, not real skill.

That's what I used to think, until a couple of lengthy threads with Poo over in the Bard Forum....

You can read them if you want, but I'll just quote UOGuide:

Bards with any mastery get a 5% bonus to their success chance at using any bard skills and a 10% bonus to using the skill of their mastery focus. All bard songs receive a slight bonus to their effects if the bard has additional bard skills over GM (Real Skill).

That's why adding the "Mastery's" forced us to take one or more bard skills to 120 real, so that the full power of the Mastery's combined with the suit - could take affect.

Suprised you didn't know that.....

 

[Gospel]

That's what I used to think, until a couple of lengthy threads with Poo over in the Bard Forum....

You can read them if you want, but I'll just quote UOGuide:


That's why adding the "Mastery's" forced us to take one or more bard skills to 120 real, so that the full power of the Mastery's combined with the suit - could take affect.

Suprised you didn't know that.....

I don't think you're understanding the statement correctly. I'm well aware of the UOGuide article (as well as the threads) you are referring to. What they are saying is that if you have a bard mastery active, it increases the success chance of barding skills. Bard masteries do not require 120 in any skill. They require 90. Raising the skill above 90 will increase the effects of the mastery, but they do not increase the success chance bonus masteries provide. This is easily tested in the field, 4x120 GM bards with Provocation mastery running would have an IMMENSE increased chance over a 90/90 bard with 60 in skill jewelry. I say immense based on the massive difference in mastery stat bonuses between the two setups. I have tried both, the mastery buff is insanely good, but there is no provocation bonus increase.