Building an Incarnate:

[McPoyo]

Rediculously annoying, but you can only take Bonus Essentia once.  You'll have to hit up the other essentia-granting feats.

Shit, how did I miss that? Gah.

Either way, plenty of feats grant extra essentia. Might want to also look into the magic items in the same book, notably the Incarnum Foci. They boost max essentia by 1 per chakra they apply to, and if you bind them to the soulmeld, it prevents them from being unshaped by anyone other than you. The first unbound ability would be the one to focus on, in your case. I believe there's also a magic item that grants extra essentia, as well.

edit: Yes, there is. Essentia jewels. 1/rd burn out out for an extra point of essentia that round. Not bad for an arena since they're only 400 gp each, and you can keep them in a belt pouch or backpack and still use them. My personal favorite would be putting them in Smuggler's Boots (Arms and Equipment Guide), since no one thinks to check there when disarming/sundering/etc.

[snakeman830]

Incarnum Helm in MIC is handy.  3/day fill an essentia receptacle as a swift action for 1 round at a time.

[Sinfire Titan]

One important thing to keep in mind: Shape Soulmeld halves your meldshaper level for that soulmeld.

Only matters for, what, two soulmelds, Dispelling, and SR?

[Generic_PC]

So, 18 Con +4 Level bumps +6 Amulet comes out to 28, or +9. 9*16=144HP from Con
 
6+3.5x15=58HP from HD

6*16=96HP from Vitality Belt

302 HP isn't bad for a d6 class, is it? (Not to mention DR from Adamant Pauldrons, at least.)

[Sinfire Titan]

So, 18 Con +4 Level bumps +6 Amulet comes out to 28, or +9. 9*16=144HP from Con
 
6+3.5x15=58HP from HD

6*16=96HP from Vitality Belt

302 HP isn't bad for a d6 class, is it?

Sounds about right.

[Generic_PC]

Now, looking at Heart of Incarnum, it appears as though your HP drops as you invest Essentia. Is this correct? If not, its a bonus 21 HP at least. If so, its relatively useless, as I see no reason why my Essentia shouldn't be in a soulmeld all the time.

I'm looking for magic items that increase DR, grant fast healing, or grant healing. Any thoughts? Oh, they can't cost more than 130000, and any items that fill the feet, shoulders, or brow slots will require the Split Chakra feat, cutting into my essentia from feats like Midnight Dodge and its ilk. Similarly, any items that occupy the throat slot will need to be combined with the +6 Con amulet, presumably at an exorbitant price.

[McPoyo]

Now, looking at Heart of Incarnum, it appears as though your HP drops as you invest Essentia. Is this correct? If not, its a bonus 21 HP at least. If so, its relatively useless, as I see no reason why my Essentia shouldn't be in a soulmeld all the time.

I'm looking for magic items that increase DR, grant fast healing, or grant healing. Any thoughts? Oh, they can't cost more than 130000, and any items that fill the feet, shoulders, or brow slots will require the Split Chakra feat, cutting into my essentia from feats like Midnight Dodge and its ilk. Similarly, any items that occupy the throat slot will need to be combined with the +6 Con amulet, presumably at an exorbitant price.

Heart of incarnum is based on your total pool, not total unallocated Essentia. There's ways to temporarily boost your essentia to insane levels (Persisted Incarnum spells is one way, Necrocarnate is the other more ridiculous way. 6k+ hp? Hell yeah!).

First item to combine with that amulet doesn't have a multiplier, per MIC's updated rules. Anything after that adds a 1.5 multiplier to the gold value all but the single most expensive item added to it.

That said, you're better off getting ahold of a limited use/day use-activation Heal or the like, instead of fast healing, since it would be more effective. Ring of Regen sucks, and most items that grant fast heal grant fast heal 1 for an exorbitant price. I'd pick up utility items: Belt of Battle, Anklet of Translocation, etc. Things that can be used to help you move around the battlefield, or negate certain serious conditions (Ring of Freedom of Movement, for example, is a massive one).

Damn, I need to get my gaming group to put together an arena like this now so I can use a similar build.

[lans]

6*16=96HP from Vitality Belt

Don't invest into the belt at the start if you  have a better option for your essentia. Unless you think your opponent can take you to 0 in the first round of combat.

[McPoyo]

6*16=96HP from Vitality Belt

Don't invest into the belt at the start if you  have a better option for your essentia. Unless you think your opponent can take you to 0 in the first round of combat.

I disagree. Do it at first, so you can gloat over your insane HP total.

[Generic_PC]

Better options for my essentia basically boil down to Adamant Pauldrons or Bluesteel Bracers, so 1 more DR and +5 to damage. It is a good idea though, so I'll definitely take advantage of it.

So, regeneration isn't the way to go? Instead I want to UMD Wands of Greater Vigor and Heal?

[Sinfire Titan]

Better options for my essentia basically boil down to Adamant Pauldrons or Bluesteel Bracers, so 1 more DR and +5 to damage. It is a good idea though, so I'll definitely take advantage of it.

So, regeneration isn't the way to go? Instead I want to UMD Wands of Greater Vigor and Heal?

A Staff of Heal will go a long way to saving your ass, considering you can get your UMD total to max out the Caster Level.

[fuinjutsu]

Better options for my essentia basically boil down to Adamant Pauldrons or Bluesteel Bracers, so 1 more DR and +5 to damage. It is a good idea though, so I'll definitely take advantage of it.

So, regeneration isn't the way to go? Instead I want to UMD Wands of Greater Vigor and Heal?

A Staff of Heal will go a long way to saving your ass, considering you can get your UMD total to max out the Caster Level.

Yay for mage spectacles!

[Generic_PC]

So a Staff of Heal costs 375x6x11 for a 50 charge staff that casts 1 Heal with 1 charge as a standard action? Because 25000gp for a single spell on a single staff seems exorbitant. Presumably I need a UMD of 20 to use it?

[McPoyo]

So a Staff of Heal costs 375x6x11 for a 50 charge staff that casts 1 Heal with 1 charge as a standard action? Because 25000gp for a single spell on a single staff seems exorbitant. Presumably I need a UMD of 20 to use it?

Heal is 5th level, not 6th.

[Generic_PC]

My PHB says Clr6/Drd7, as does the SRD.

[McPoyo]

My PHB says Clr6/Drd7, as does the SRD.

um...hateful lies? >.>

Either way, the point is to only have a partilly charged one, say 10 charges, because youwon't need 50 in an arena match, and you theoretically burned the other 40 during your career.

[lans]

My PHB says Clr6/Drd7, as does the SRD.

Its healer 5 I think. Maybe archivist.

[Generic_PC]

Archivist doesn't get its own spell list, I think. I'll definitely check HoH and MiniH. EDIT: An archivist could learn an adepts 5th level Heal, so I'd be getting the staff at 375*9*5 for a total of 16875, far better. (What is the rule for charged items? If I get 7 out of 50 charges for 630HP of healing, how much does it cost?)

I doubt I'll even need 10 charges, unless he has energy resist 15, (Since I do 7d6 fire and 5d4+5 acid as my only damage options...) so see my calculations above.

Still looking for items that aren't wands of stoneskin or staves of heal...

[Benly]

It's sixth level for Healers, too. Heal is fifth level for Adepts, however, and thus potentially for Archivists if they can find a level 16 Adept who'll teach it to them.

[McPoyo]

You pay the portion still left, for charged items. If 25 charge are left, you pay half (25/50), if 6 charges are left, you pay 6/50ths the total cost.