STAGE · The late game
Example build plans
Draft — Draft: checked against the game source, not yet read through end to endAvailable from the startThree example plans, a fighter, a caster hybrid and a thief, with the trade each one makes.
This page is further along your path. Read ahead if you’re curious; you can return when you reach this stage.
How to read a plan
These plans follow the game's numbers: the creation rules, the level formula, five mastery slots and the Firmament's caps.
Only class skills move the level sum. Gear and the Firmament carry the caps the attributes cannot reach, so a plan spends its stars on the channels it reads.
Skills start at 28–31 / 18–21 / 13–16 by tier, and Health per level (4–30) sets difficulty and growth.
Plan 1 — The fighter
The idea. One weapon family, or fists with Gauntlets, plus Critical Strike and Dodging. Stay in the fight; let gear and masteries carry the late game.
Attributes. Speed, then Strength; Luck and Agility next; Endurance after them. Speed sets swing time, Strength adds damage, Luck raises criticals, and Endurance raises the health floor.
Skills. Primary: the weapon skill, Critical Strike, Dodging. Major: Running and support such as Stealth or Medical. Minor: Backstabbing and movement.
The measured example. The Tiger Fist preset is the measured example (HP 30, difficulty floor, ×0.30 growth); it is not a prescription.
Order, 1–10. Use the damage skill in real fights, rest when the 360-minute skill check is due, take quests for private rooms and gear, keep armour legal and bank gold. Master the damage skill at 100.
Order, 10+. Master five skills: two primary, two major, one minor. Critical Strike in the second primary slot for offence, or Dodging for defence. A martial path needs two mastered weapon skills, which may mean a skill swap. Spend Firmament stars on weapon damage to its +30% cap, then on survival. Replace gear from hard content, not the anvil.
What it gives up. Recall, Levitate and Water Breathing (potions instead), ranged answers, social skills; forbidden materials narrow the armour ladder. A pure fighter offers a group little besides damage.
Plan 2 — The caster hybrid
The idea. One or two spell schools plus a weapon for the moments when spell points run out. Peak power in either half is traded for never being helpless.
Attributes. Intelligence first (spell points are the class multiplier times Intelligence), Willpower next (the defence against hostile spells and poison), then Endurance, then Speed or Agility for the weapon.
Creation. A custom class with a magic school in primary or major starts with the Spellsword's spells. Increased Magery sets the multiplier: ×1.5 costs 4 difficulty points, ×2 costs 8 and ×3 costs 10.
Skills. Primary: Destruction, a weapon, and a defensive school or Dodging. Major: Restoration or Mysticism, Running and one support. Minor: the other schools.
Order, 1–10. Cast the schools you want in real fights, and keep the weapon skill moving. Buy or make spells. Master one school at 100 first; it is the one your damage reads.
Order, 10+. Master a second school: two mastered schools open the arcane paths. A hybrid may hold one arcane and one martial path, but the martial one needs two mastered weapon skills, so plan a swap. In the Firmament, spell damage caps at +30%, spell cost at 25% less, and spell points at +75 raw and +15%; take those, then blows taken, then health. Buy spell and magicka gear from rewards.
What it gives up. Health and armour next to the fighter, and two mastery groups that narrow the skill slots. Half its investment sits in a weapon a pure caster would skip.
Plan 3 — The thief and utility plan
The idea. Stealth, locks and pockets, with a short blade for fights the plan cannot avoid. It profits from access, not a long fight.
Attributes. Agility and Speed first, Luck next, Personality and Endurance after them. Agility keeps the hit chance usable, Speed the swing, Luck the criticals; Personality helps prices and reactions.
Skills. Primary: Stealth, Lockpicking, Short Blade. Major: Pickpocket, Backstabbing, Dodging or Running. Minor: Streetwise, Mercantile, Medical and movement.
Order, 1–10. Sneak on real approaches; backstab when a foe is facing away (your Backstabbing skill, triple damage on success); pick only locks whose look text supports you; stay out of the watch's way. The Thieves Guild invites after 10 thefts, the Dark Brotherhood after 15 murders; Thievery has the risks.
Order, 10+. Master Stealth first, then Lockpicking or Backstabbing. Cutthroat, Assassin and Shadowdancer each need two mastered weapon skills, so a swap may be the bridge. The Firmament's channel against unaware foes caps at +40%, and evade at 10%. Keep light armour and skill gear.
What it gives up. A straight fight, area damage and staying power. Against a boss, a raid or a Watchful foe it loses its best trick, so it wants a party.
What all three share
Levels and checks. Class skills build the level sum: three primaries, the two best majors and the best minor. Each level gives 5 attribute points, and maximum health is floored for your permanent Endurance. Uses are checked after 360 classic minutes; training stops at 50; past 100 only tough foes teach.
Masteries. Two primary, two major and one minor, chosen at 100 and permanent.
The Firmament. Two stars per Renown past the first (18 at Renown 10, 98 at 50); craft points come from profession ranks and reach the life ring only. Refunds are free below Renown 10 and cost 10 Marks per star after; a full respec costs 10,000 gold.
Gear and prices. Crafted gear tops at Masterwork, about one Rare roll; quest cards fit your armour and best weapon (Magic low, Rare higher). A skill swap costs 100,000 gold and a path reset 200,000 per family. Do not rush levels on weak gear; The hero's threat explains why.
Common mistakes
Treating an example as the answer. The plans are shapes; the caps and the class you enjoy decide the details.
Copying an attribute order without its skills. Speed does little for a plan whose damage is a spell.
Spending a mastery before checking the paths it opens. Masteries cannot be refunded or moved.
Buying a reset before a skill swap. The swap is cheaper when the class is short a weapon skill.
Next
Sources & checked facts
docs/29-build-systems.md: level and attribute rules, skill raises, the five masteries, martial paths, the skill swap, gear for a fist builddocs/05-strongest-melee.md: the measured Tiger Fist example, used as an example only;docs/23-playing-online.md: reward tiers and paceplanner/presets/tiger-fist.dfo-class.json,tiger-fist.dfo-plan.json,ashen-blade.dfo-class.json: the two example classessrc/systems/chargen.js:rollSkills,spellPointMultiplier,STARTING_SPELL_SETSsrc/systems/customClass.js:difficultyPoints,advancementMultiplier,customSpellSetIndex;src/systems/specialAdvantages.js:DIFFICULTYsrc/systems/advancement.js:SKILL_RAISE_CHECK_INTERVAL,calculatePlayerLevel,bonusPoolFor;src/systems/levelEven.js:ONLINE_BONUS_POOL;src/systems/masterSkills.js:MASTERY_SLOTSsrc/net/firmament/firmamentLaw.js:STARS_PER_RENOWN,craftPointsFor,STAT_DEFS,REFUND_FREE_BELOW_RENOWN,REFUND_SILVER_PER_STAR,FIRM_RESPEC_GOLD;src/systems/skillSwap.js:SKILL_SWAP_GOLD;src/systems/martialPaths.js:PATH_ROWS;src/systems/guild/guildServices.js:trainingMax,trainingPrice