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This build was created for a collaboration with @Aestus who runs the Youtube channel Aestus_RPG. Here's the video where we talk about this and other builds. This is build 4 of 5 from that collaboration. ----------------------------------------- This build is mainly meant for inspiration. You don't need to follow it in detail to have fun. If you understand the key features - the basic idea what makes this build special - you can usually deviate from my non-core attribute-, skill-, gear- and ability selection and form the build to your own likings and ideas. I do not try to produce the most powerful uberbuilds (often those are the most boring to play in he long run) but to focus on having fun while playing. Usually that means the build is powerful - but it's not the main focus. If you like to read about my personal requirements for "fun to play" builds, you can jump to a list below this post ----------------------------------------- ahira of the Opalescent Dais (or just "Pod" for friends) hails from the vast Ixamitl Plains, where the endless savanna meets the sky, the winds carry both whispers of the past and the promise of the future and the goats drop... droppings. Raised among the Nalpazca monks, Pahira was drawn to their unconventional practices: their mastery of body, mind and corny jokes through the use of rare herbs and potent elixirs. Where others saw addiction, Pahira saw clarity. Her years in the Nalpazca order taught her to harness the latent power within her body and soul, but she sought more than simple balance. Combining ancient martial techniques with alchemical enhancement and explosive ordnance, Zahira became a deadly force. Her training with blunderbusses and hand mortars allowed her to rain destruction across the battlefield with thunderous precision, stopping enemies in their tracks. With these abilities she moves like the wind, delivering stunning and detonating shots to entire groups of foes before they can even comprehend her presence. Now a wanderer, Pahira follows the call of adventure, seeking new knowledge, better flintlocks, ancient secrets and the perfect substance to push her abilities even further. "Boom! Here comes the Boom! Ready or not, here comes the girl from the plains Boom! Here comes the Boom! How you like your scattered brains?" - Pod hovering cross-legged in the air while tuning in for the... boom - =================================== The Mortar Monk =================================== Difficulty: PotD -------------------------------------------------------------- Solo: untested -------------------------------------------------------------- Class: Nalpazca (or vanilla, Helwalker)* -------------------------------------------------------------- Race: Human (or any) -------------------------------------------------------------- Background: Ixamitl Plains (or any) - Scholar (or any) -------------------------------------------------------------- Stats (w/o Berath's Blessings, ★=recommendation): MIG: 15 (14 +1 Human) CON: 08 DEX: 15 PER: 17 ★ INT: 18 ★★ RES: 05 (3 +1 Human +1 Ixamitl Plains) -------------------------------------------------------------- * with usage of the blunderbuss modal "Powder Burns" even a Forbidden Fist variant would be viable the unique icons for all passive abilities are part of the Community Patch mod Abilities | Skills | Proficiencies - (!=important, r=recommended) 01. Swift Strikes (r) | Blunderbuss (!) + Scepter 02. Arms Bearer | +1 Alchemy (->3), +1 Insight (->3) 03. Dance of Death (r) + Two-Weapon Style (!) | +1 Alchemy (->4), +1 Survival (->1) 04. Long Stride | +1 Alchemy (->5), +1 Survival (->2) | Pistol 05. Stunning Blow (!) + Lightning Strikes (r) | +1 Alchemy (->6), +1 Survival (->3) 06. Combat Focus | +1 Alchemy (->7), +1 Metaphysics (->4) 07. Duality of Mortal Presence (! INT) + Enduring Dance (r) | +1 Alchemy (->8), +1 Insight (->4) 08. Thunderous Blows | +1 Alchemy (->9), +1 Survival (->4) | Whatever 09. Stunning Surge (!) + The Long Pain (r) | +1 Alchemy (->10 ), +1 Metaphysics (->5) 10. Uncanny Luck | +1 Alchemy (->11), +1 Insight (->5) 11. Turning Wheel (r) + Improved Critical | +1 Alchemy (->12), +1 Survival (->5) 12. Rooting Pain | +1 Alchemy (-> 13), +1 Metaphyics (->6) | Whatever 13. The Dichotomous Soul (r) + Accurate Empower | +1 Alchemy (->14), +1 Insight (->6) 14. Penetrating Empower | +1 Alchemy (->15), +1 Survival (->6) 15. The Pain Persists | +1 Alchemy (->16), +1 Metaphysics (->7) 16. Resonant Touch (!) + The Razor's Edge (r) | +1 Alchemy (->17), +1 Insight (->7) | Whatever 17. Great Soul | +1 Alchemy (->18), +1 Survival (->7) 18. Lasting Empower | +1 Alchemy (->19), +1 Metaphysics (->8) 19. Whispers of the Wind (!) + Prestige (r) | +1 Alchemy (->20), +1 Insight (->8) 20. Empowered Strikes | +1 Alchemy (->21), +1 Survival (->8) | Whatever --------------------------------------------------------------- Items (!=important, r=recommended) Weapon Set 1: Hand Mortar (! - +Blinding Smoke, +Legendary) + Fire in the Hole (! - +Chain Shot, +Legendary) Weapon Set 2: Kitchen Stove (r - +Thunderous Report, +Frantic Reload) + Xefa's Empirical Explication (r - +Inexplicable Mass, Open Choke*) *Open Choke's reduces range doesn't matter if you use the blunderbuss in the offhand and use Full Attacks like Stunning Surge: only the range of the main hand matters then. It also doesn't matter for Whispers of the Wind Head: Heaven's Cacophony (r - more INT = bigger AoE) Back: Ajamuut's Stalking Cloak (! - stuns all enemies during Whisper of the Wind) Neck: Charm of Bones (r + mopre INT = bigger AoE Armor: Aloth's Armor (! +Legendary - 15% bigger AoE size) Waist: The Amazing and Truly Incredible Instant Potion Belt (profit from free potions + extremely high Alchemy) Hands: Mortification Bindings (r - more Mortification points for Lightning Strikes and Dance of Death) Rings: Ring of the Marksman (r), Ring of Overseeing (r - 10% bigger AoE) Boots: Boots of Speed Pet: Loki (r - 15% bigger AoE size) --------------------------------------------------------------- What is this build about: combine the high INT-bonus (+AoE size, +durations) of the Monk with the AoE of Hand Mortar and Fire in the Hole (Serafen’s blunderbusses), giving you huge coverage. You want the biggest AoE possible (within reason - also include items like Aloth’s armor and Ring of Overseeing and Loki as pet which will stack on top of the INT-induced AoE improvement) mortars are blunderbusses which can use Powder Burns: add another AoE attack Stunning Surge refunds your Mortification cost (and gives 2 wounds, too!*) when it critically hits. Two mortar shots with huge AoE have a very high chance for a crit (if you hit enoug foes) - so you can use that ability very often without paying for it most of times. If you add Fire in the Hole's enchantment Chain Shot, which adds a projectile jump which includes tha AoE your chance will be even higher. It is an extremely potent disable/CC effect: AoE stun with a very long duration - because the base duration is also boosted by the Monk’s INT later you can combine the AoE of mortars with the (kind of) AoE of the Power-Level-9 ability "Whispers of the Wind": you will turn invisible, jump from enemy to enemy and fire three (five with Poweder Burns) AoE explosions at each of them (often jumping back to enemies multiple times depending on the amount of jumps you can do, which depends on your Power Level) combine that with Ajamuut’s Stalking Cloak: it stuns enemies if you are stealthed or invisible. Whispers of the Wind does make you invisible during its execution. All enemies that get hit will get stunned automatically add Resonant Touch to this already very potent mix: doing an 5*AoE*AoE attack multiple times (Hand Mortar AoE + Fire in the Hole AoE + jump AoE + 2* Powder Burns) leads to a very high number of weapon hits. On top of that the Hand Mortar has the enchantment "Blinding Smoke", a cone attack which causes a mild CC effect. But it counts as proper weapon attack and will cause Resonant Touch to add a raw damage stack. This means a TON of attack rolls will happen against each enemy which all can add a Resonant Touch. If your enemies are not yet dead from Whispers of the Wind, they will be after you use Resonant Touch to turn the stacks into raw damage. With enough enemies, usually nobody survives it’s fireworks and explosion all the time at that point - and it’s spectacular you can use vanilla Monk, Xoti (not ideal but works), Helwalker or Nalpazca. With Powder Burns even Forbidden Fist would work. I opted for Nalpazca because this is a ranged Monk and is not supposed to get attacked much - so it might lack wound generation. You do not wait long after a Whispers of the Wind attack to be able to trigger Resonant Touch so you need fast wound generation even while invisible. Nalpascas can add their drug-induced wound generation to Dance of Death’s wounds, making it easy to have enough wounds for WotW and Resonant Touch at most times. *thanks @Elric Galad for reminding me about that additonal awesomeness Issues: the mortars are not working well against singular tough foes. For those you need to switch to normal blunderbusses (which works great with Stunning Surge and Resonant Touch again). normal blunderbusses do pierce damage only - so you need another alternative against immune/resistant (single) foes. Luckily the Long Pain is a great alternative. Summon your ranged fists for single enemies who are resistant to pierce damage or even vulnerable to crush damage. rel. squishy for a Monk - have an escape plan to fell from melee enemies who cannot get stopped by a stun. you cannot make use of all the good melee stuff a Monk usually offers is best if you can amass a lot of enemies in one space. It’s not suited for parties who like to spread out and scatter all enemies. powder burns in combination with los RES leads to a long distracted debuff. If you don't want that don't use Powder Burns. Also best to turn off when allies are near sine Poweder Burns does friendly fire. Whispers of the Windand the mortars themselves do not. you have to use drug in fights, else your wound generation will be bad. Luckily drugs last a long time with high Alchemy and if you are a thorough collector you will have no problem finding and buying enough drugs for every encounter. If you are still unsure, pick Helwalker or vanilla Monk. Empower works not well with Whispers of the Wind: you will get additonal jumps bc. of the higher Power Level, but all the Empower passives, including Empowered Strikes, will not work for the actual jumps. So it's a bit wasted here. Instead I use Empower with its great passives (including Empowered Strikes) with Stunning Surge: very high duration of stun, guaranteed crits even against the most defensive enemies, overpenetration guaranteed. It's a great way to start a fight, giving you and the party plenty of time to set things up while the enemies are stunning for a long time. After taking Empowered Strikes one could retrain out of Penetrating and Accurate Empower and use some other abilities such as the defensive passives or whatever seems helpful. I believe Turnung Wheel doesn't add a burnung lash ro ranged weapons without using the Community Patch with the Community Patch Blinding Smoke will no longer trigger Avenging Storm. However, you can remove that nerf from the mod easily. with the Community Patch the number of stacks from Resonant Touch on an enemy is capped (I believe 25?). It's still plenty and o problem if you "relase" the stacks frequently enough (deal the raw damage). You can remove this nerf as easily as the one above. Why is it fun? it is impactful even early in the game. You will get Stunning Surge rel. early (the beauty of single class). You don’t need Whispers of the Wind to have fun and have a great impact - although Whispers of the Wind is the ultimate goal. it’s the most spectacular thing to unleash in battle - both visually and in terms of sound - especially if you combine it with Avenging Storm (see Heaven’s Cacophony helm) in tough encounters it’s outright OP once you get Whispers of the Wind - but it somehow doesn’t get old. if you pick the right voice you will hear a LOT of hysterical laughter - because you will cause countless crits. I had Konstanten with me and he also does laugh a lot. I had a constant smile on my face because of MC and Konstanten laughing so hard all the time profits a lot from teamwork: if the party can help to set up the enemies perfectly (lure with spells, pull together, good engagement tank) you can end many encounters with one or two uses of WotW and Resonant Touch. It’s a bit like a game inside the game: how do I lure/collect as many enemies as possible in a spot for WotW in order to explode them all in one go? A good tank who holds enemies is great, a Wizard with Pull of Eora is great, a Priest with Call of Rymrgand and so on. Works extremely well with an Arcane Archer’s Imbue:Eora and Web (see Pindown Poet build). it promotes great party teamwork and that is fun for me, too. Hope you enjoy! Cheers! --- PS: some gifs I made when testing this build initially: Whispers of the Wind: WotW + Avenging Storm: Empowered WotW: Another Avenging Storm/WotW test:

This build was created for a collaboration with @Aestus who runs the Youtube channel Aestus_RPG. Here's the video where we discuss 5 builds for Deadfire. This is build 3 of 5 from that collaboration. ----------------------------------------- This build is mainly meant for inspiration. You don't need to follow it in detail to have fun. If you understand the key features - the basic idea what makes this build special - you can usually deviate from my non-core attribute-, skill-, gear- and ability selection and form the build to your own likings and ideas. I do not try to produce the most powerful uberbuilds (often those are the most boring to play in he long run) but to focus on having fun while playing. Usually that means the build is powerful - but it's not the main focus. If you like to read about my personal requirements for "fun to play" builds, you can jump to a list below this post ----------------------------------------- orn aboard the creaking decks of a ship, Roberto Dilani was raised in the cutthroat world of the Deadfire Archipelago’s biggest pirate faction, the Principi sen Patrina. His mother, a ruthless weather mage with aspirations of command, and his father, a famed marksman who wielded an arbalest with deadly precision, instilled in him the cunning of a pirate, curiosity for the arcane and the artistry of ranged combat. Roberto grew up with a mind as sharp as his aim, constantly honing his ability to strike from afar with unerring accuracy. Early in his youth, Roberto saved a little piglet from the ship's cook and named him "Tartufo" and the two became close friends despite Tartufo's pretty overwhelming odor. Roberto also discovered his talents as an Arcane Archer, able to weave magic into the very bolts he fired from his heirloom arbalest passed down from his father. The weapon was renowned for its ability to break enemy lines with crushing force, and in Roberto's hands, it became even more dangerous, as his magical prowess allowed him to overwhelm foes with staggering shots of power and precision. Loving the songs and shanties that were sung on deck he also grew into a skilled Troubadour, learning to use his voice and lyrics not only to inspire his crew but also to further enchant his shots. His ability to suppress and take out helmsmen or even captains on enemy ships earned him the nickname "Pindown Poet". Roberto acted with cunning and strategy, using his arbalest to pin down dangerous foes while his crew took control of the seas. Though loyal to the Principi, Roberto's ambitions reached beyond petty plunder. He dreamed of exploring the world beyond the archipelago, using his deadly mix of arcane powers, song, and steel to carve a legacy that will be spoken of in taverns for generations. He believes that with an arbalest in hand and the legends of old as his guide, he can shape not only his own future but the fate of the Principi itself. "Hey, Mr. Arbalest Man, sing a song for us We're not sleepy and there is no place we're going to Hey, Mr. mouthy Helmsman, I'll sing a song for you and the spear I cast will put you on your arse." - Roberto while spanning his arbalest during a boarding fight - =================================== The Pindown Poet =================================== Difficulty: PotD -------------------------------------------------------------- Solo: untested -------------------------------------------------------------- Class: Wildrhymer - Arcane Archer/Troubadour -------------------------------------------------------------- Race: Wood Elf (or any non-godlike, e.g. Boreal Dwarf) -------------------------------------------------------------- Background: Old Vailia (or any, e.g. White that Wends) - Mercenary (or any, e.g. Mystic bc. +Arcana) -------------------------------------------------------------- Stats (w/o Berath's Blessings. ★=recommendation) MIG: 11 CON: 08 DEX: 18 (17 + 1 Elf) ★★ PER: 18 (17 +1 Elf) ★ INT: 19 (18 + 1 Old Vailia) ★★ RES: 04 -------------------------------------------------------------- the unique icons for all passive abilities are part of the Community Patch mod Abilities | Skills | Proficiencies - (!=important, r=recommended) 00. Brisk Recitation (a) 01. Not Felled By the Axe + Dull the Edge + Imbue: Missiles (a) + Marked Prey (r) | Arbalest (!) + Rod (r) 02. Fast Runner | +1 Arcana(!) (->2), +1 Survival (->2) 03. Arms Bearer (r) (Shattered Vengeance for Coordinated Escape) | +1 Arcana(!) (->3), +1 Survival (->3) 04. Two-Handed Style +Gunner (!) | +1 Arcana(!) (->4), +1 Survival (->4) | Large Shield 05. Marksman (r) | +1 Arcana(!) (->5), +1 Survival (->5) 06. Protective Companion (r) | +1 Arcana(!) (->6), +1 Survival (->6) 07. Sure-Handed Ila (!) + Imbue: Web (a) + Evasive Roll (r) | +1 Arcana(!) (->7), +1 Survival (->7) 08. Marked for the Hunt | +1 Arcana(!) (->8), +1 Survival (->8) | Arquebus 09. Resilient Companion | +1 Arcana(!) (->9), +1 Survival (->9) 10. Aefyllath Ues Myth Fir (r) + Stalker's Link (r) | +1 Arcana(!) (->10), +1 Survival (->10) 11. Rise Again, Rise Again (r) | +1 Arcana(!) (->11), +1 Survival (->11) 12. Nor Flame, Nor Thrusted Blade | +1 Arcana(!) (->12), +1 Survival (->12) | Club 13. The Lover Cried Out (r) + Imbue: Fireball (a) + Driving Flight (!) | +1 Arcana(!) (->13), +1 Survival (->13) 14. Master's Call | +1 Arcana(!) (->14), +1 Survival (->14) 15. Spell Shaping | +1 Arcana(!) (->15), +1 Survival (->15) 16. And Face your Foes + Survival of the Fittest (r) | +1 Arcana(!) (->16), +1 Survival (->16) | Dagger 17. The Bride Caught | +1 Arcana(!) (->17), +1 Survival (->17) 18. Tough | +1 Arcana(!) (->18), +1 Survival (->18) 19. Called to His Bidding (r) + Imbue: Eora (a) + Furious Call | +1 Arcana(!) (->19), +1 Survival (->19) 20. Set to their Purpose | +1 Arcana(!) (->20), +1 Survival (->20) | Pistol --------------------------------------------------------------- Items (!=important, r=recommended) Weapon Set 1: Spearcaster (! - +Legendary, Elemental Bolts, +Pinning) Weapon Set 2: Watershaper's Focus (r - best weapon for imbued shots, +Ondrath's Wrath, +Legendary) Weapon Set 3: Shattered Vengeance (r - +Coordinated Escape), Large Shield (any, +Superb) Head: Acina's Tricorn (r - +Acc and +reloading speed) Back: Ruata's Walking Cloak (skill Survival for ++stride) Neck: Necklace of the Harvest Moon (+reloading speed on crit) Armor: Sharpshooter's Garb (r, reloadin speed, +Legendary, +Low Profile, +Steel Threaded) Waist: Huana Charm Belt (+stride) or Spellkeeper (get a free scroll per rest: profit from high Arcana) Hands: Aegor's Swift Touch (+reloading speed) or Firethrower's Gloves (+reloading speed and +Arcana) Rings: Ring of the Marksman (r), Camaeleon's Touch (+1 PER, +1 INT to reach INT 20 for overlapping phrases) Boots: Boots of Speed (+stride, stacks with belt and cloak) Pet: Epsilon (-armor recovery, +stride) --------------------------------------------------------------- What is this build about: reaching very high accuracy and reducing your reloading time with arbalests so much that you can use the arbalest's modal "Overbearing Shots" to prone and interrupt single enemies (or two enemies with Driving Flight) every few seconds, essentially taking them out of the fight - depite the modal's -25% action speed. combine that with powerful AoE CC capabilities that have very high accuracy (mostly Imbue:Web + Imbue: Eora) High accuracy is achieved with Spearcaster + maxed Arcana skill + Ranger’s accuracy abilities and the Arcane Archer’s Imbue shots - which profit from Arcana, too very high reloading speed with no fuzz is achieved with Gunner (Ranger) and Sure-Handed Ila (Chanter) as well as high DEX and items (such as Maia’s Armor, Acina’s Tricorn, pet etc.) and cosumables (mostly food from resting). Sure-Handed Ila applies its -20% recovery time buff twice(!) to reloading weapons such as the arquebus. As long as you sing phrases you’ll always have three times -20% reloading time just from those two abilities (Gunner and Sure-Handed Ila). add Aefyllath Ues Myth Fir to give the party and yourself a burning lash for all weapon attacks. 19 INT +1 INT from items (like Chamaeleons Touch) makes sure your Troubadour phrases will have no gaps. You will not use Brisk Recitation most of times Spearcaster can cause “immobilized” on hit (in addition to prone enemies with the modal) - so you are combining the prone effect with being stuck. And all you have to do is just by using rapid auto-attack against mobs use Imbue:Web and later Imbue:Eora which together create a zone of incredibly powerful pulsing CC which immobilizes and then pulls enemy into the center. Most enemies cannot escape from this. Imbue effects get triggered with every projectile jump(!). This means Driving Flight adds another proc of Binding Web and Pull of Eora. If you can add another jump you'll get another proc. This is the reason why I'm using Watershaper's Focus ()it has an innate projectile jump that stacks with Driving Flight. If I use the rod's modal "Blast" I can add 3*AoE damage to the imbue shot and also I raise the chance to proc "Ondrath's Wrath" which is a high damage AoE water splash. Blast causes very long recovery. But if I fire the first imbue shot from stealth I'll have 80% recovery bonus which means the second imbue shot can follow quickly. After that I switch to Spearcaster and take out single dangerous enemies. it’s the perfect setup for allied casters and other AoE damage dealers who can now hit a lot of enemies at the same time give your main tank an item that grants immunity to push and pull effects (Upright Captain's Belt or Horns of the Aurochs) to negate the effect of Pull of Eora and give the tank immunity or resistance vs. DEX afflictions (Spider Silk robes, Shark Soup, Gwyn's Bridal Garter, Engwithan Bracers, Cipher's Shackle, Boots of the White...) or Reflex attacks (Edér's Saint's War Armor: Veteran's Maneuver) singular enemies like bosses can be taken out of the fight with prone&pin auto-attacks. Because of the fast reload and the burning lash (and the small lashes of the arbalest itself) you deal good damage - although your main focus is constant disabling/CC due to the fact that Animal Companions do not suffer injuries when they get knocked out - and the fact that Chanters can revive allies unlimited times (if no injury occurs) you don’t have to worry about a dead Animal Companion. Just revive! Since I am not using invocations all the time but only in special situations and because I can always cancel reloading the reactivity is superb. if Animal Companion is revived it even gets a defense boost. In addition I get the usefulness of Chanter invocations in general. You could add more summons like wurms to your offensive arsenal in the early game or use the White Worms invocation fropm afar - you could use the resitance chants instead of Myth Fir and so on. Almost always able to retreat from melee attackers safely (see below). A non-Arcane Archer variant that might want to focus on single targets more could also look at crossbows instead of arbalests. They interrupt but don't get the prone effect, but the 10% crit conversion on crossbows is actually universal, meaning it applies to all your attack rolls (including spells). They are also a bit faster of course. Fleetbreaker is an excellent crossbow (if you want to support Cpt. Furrante that is, otherwise it's not accessible) an the late game crossbow Scourge of Bezello is like it's made for a Ranger/Chanter character with its overall theme and especially with its 3 projectiles: each of them can interrupt with the crossbow modal, making it supereasy to strip a target of all concentration and interrupting it very reliably. Thanks to @Elric Galad for pointing this out. Issues: like your party members your Animal Companion should not enter the zone of absolute CC - so you can often only use it as your bodyguard. Because of Stalker's Link and Marked Prey it’s still very useful against bosses etc. when you usually don't use imbued CC shots a lot. If you use a tank (which I recommend) you should add immunity to push&pull effects on that tank as well as resistance or even immunity to dexterity afflictions as I said above. Else your tank will be stuck and tossed around as well. the Trouabdour side is mostly there for the chants, not the invocations (no Brisk Recitation). If you use an invocation your chanting will stop briefly, robbing your of the reloading bonus of Sure-Handed Ila. although it’s quite versatile for a ranged weapon build: it completely lacks melee capabilities (except with the Animal Companion). Usually you have to bolt if you get attacked. Your defenses will not be great and your health rel. low, too. To be able to retreat safely you cannot get hit by disengagement attacks. I do three different things when I get attacked by melee enemies: if it's only one I will just shoot him down (prone/stuck) until dead if it's more than one attacker I will try to charm at least one of them with an emergeny invocation. If I hit all of them I can run away safely with high stride (from boots, cloak, Fast Runner and so on). if one or more enemies cannot be charmed (but at least one is) I switch to my third weapon set (Shattered Vegeance + large shield). With my Animal Companion at my side and a at least one enemy charmed I get "Coordinated Escape" which makes me immune to engagement (if I'n near 2 or more allies, animal companions and charmed enemies count), letting me run away safely. if I cannot charm enough enemies and/or my animal companion is not near I use Evasive Roll if I get shot or cast at and cannot disable the attacker myself I will switch to large shield + modal (greatly reduces AoE and ranged dmg) and use Evasive Roll to get out of the situation. it is true that you can achieve the same with any Trouabdour in the party and another Arcane-Archer-multiclass (for example Cipher/Arcane Archer, Rogue/Arcane Archer, Monk/Arcane Archer or Paladin/Arcane Archer). This build however is the best "self-contained" version that doesn't require taking in a separate Trouabdour. Why is it fun? it’s easy to play because it doesn’t require a lot of setup: you just start combat and everything you need is right there. Shoot and immediate result - the enemy’s down. Blast and the mob is conentrated and controlled the swirling field of utter CC is so impactful and makes you feel quite powerful. It happens in an instant - unlike usual spellcasting which take a rather long time to complete it’s great against mobs AND single foes at the same time. It never feels useless seeing enemies getting pushed over all the time - right when they get up again - is fun it doesn’t need a lot of levels to become impactful: you can prone almost every enemy right away (albeit much slower at the beginning due to the lack of reload bonuses) and you can get Spearcaster and most of the other gear pretty early in the game you can maneuver yourself out of a pinch easily. Usually you will sit on phrases because the focus is on the chants - but if you need an invocation asap you have the full amount of phrases and can react immediately. It helps that with reloading weapons you can just cancel the reloading (unlike recovery) so you can react very quickly. Having great reactiveness is fun Hope you enjoy! Cheers!

actually, that screenshot from NotDumbEnough seems to be proof for what you're talking about Aware: 50% graze to hit (buff for attacker) Paralyze: 25% hit to crit (buff for attacker implemented as a debuff for defender) The combat log shows a graze being upgraded all the way to a crit. I didn't think this was even possible, I though only one upgrade or one downgrade (or both) at a time was possible. but i guess the critical thing is that both mechanics are on different sides of the attack.

In Estonia now and I half-heartedly apologize to France if Germany invades again. I'm mostly joking because everyone assumes I'm Canadan from Canadia when I start speaking English because I'm not loud and pushy (that's what the French accent is for). I guess that's better than the migrant they assume I am before I speak. How do I know some people think I'm a migrant? I'm glad you asked and the answer is they happily tell me. Honesty in race relations is so refreshing, even if they do just want my CAD.

Yeah it has to do with conversions on both the attacker's and defender's ends.

I am playing the steam version of the game After loading for a few seconds with the wheel spinning the game crashes completely All of my drivers are up to date, and I've completely redownloaded the game I have uploaded a small video of the issue crash recording.mp4

This build was created for a collaboration with @Aestus who runs the Youtube channel Aestus_RPG. Here's the video where we talk about this and other builds. This is build 2 of 5 from that collaboration. ----------------------------------------- This build is mainly meant for inspiration. You don't need to follow it in detail to have fun. If you understand the key features - the basic idea what makes this build special - you can usually deviate from my non-core attribute-, skill-, gear- and ability selection and form the build to your own likings and ideas. I do not try to produce the most powerful uberbuilds (often those are the most boring to play in he long run) but to focus on having fun while playing. Usually that means the build is powerful - but it's not the main focus. If you like to read about my personal requirements for "fun to play" builds, you can jump to a list below this post ----------------------------------------- orn a slave, Miccaela Shorsh grew up in the shadowed quarters of Ancenze in the Vaillian Republics, where art, politics, and wealth flourish - at least for the free. Her mother Borschtscha was cleaning the dog kennels for one of the wealthy families, and Miccaela seemed destined for the same life of subjugation and shἱt shoveling. However, even as a child and despite her little frame, her voice was unlike any other, an voluminous sound that could either stir hearts and calm tempers or incide discord and altercations. Unbeknownst to her, her gift was more than mere sound: Miccaela possessed a rare psionic talent, woven into her voice. Her abilities first manifested during a punishment because she refused to wash the stinky fur of the owners' favorite hound Beangobbler the Volatile. Terrified and in pain, Miccaela sang a phrase so powerful that it brought the overseer to his knees, clutching his pearls. Word of this strange power spread quickly through the household, and Miccaela was soon seen as dangerous, but also a potential tool. Her owners realized her voice could be used for their advantage in politics and business, so they forced the little Wild Orlan to perform at grand galas, her melodies subtly manipulating the minds of listeners. But the Wild Orlan's rebellious nature kicked in: at a big dinner event she planted a simple longing into all of the female guests: to stab their partners or patrons with a greasy shashlik skewer as soon as they started to talk obnoxiuos stuff. As a tumult erupted and people who looked like shashlik porcupine fell over each other, Miccaela managed to flee the scene - and the Vaillian Republics althoghether on a trading vessel which was headed for the Deadfire Archipelago. As Miccaela grew older (which happens pretty quickly with Orlans, min you), she learned to conceal her abilities behind the guise of mere performance. Although cleaning the kennels, Beangobbler the Volatile and the whole slavery shebang was behind her, she longed to fight for freedom for all sentient beings: every note she sang became a coded message of rebellion, a call to anyone who would be susceptible to the power of her voice. Now, Miccaela is no longer just a performer, but a covert agent of resistance, using her voice to bend minds, influence rulers and subtly shift the balance of power. In secret and with a philosophy similar to that of a Bleak Walker, she will use all means to free the oppressed and gather those who would help her tear down the chains of slavery, always with a song on her lips and her psionic power in her little yellow furry head. "I won't let you down I will not give you up Gotta have some faith in the sound It's the one good thing that I've got I won't let you down So please don't give me up Because I really, really don't want to wash that hound..." - Miccaela while freezing some killers stiff - =================================== The Ceaseless Siren =================================== Difficulty: PotD -------------------------------------------------------------- Solo: untested -------------------------------------------------------------- Class: Spiritualist - Psion/Troubadour -------------------------------------------------------------- Race: Wild Orlan (or any) -------------------------------------------------------------- Background: Old Vaillia (or any) - Slave (or any) -------------------------------------------------------------- Stats (w/o Berath's Blessings, ★=recommmendation) MIG: 10 (11, -1 Orlan) CON: 10 (do not dump) DEX: 12 PER: 15 (13, +2 Orlan) ★ INT: 19 (18, +1 Old Vailia) ★★ RES: 12 (11, +1 Orlan, do not dump) ★ -------------------------------------------------------------- the unique icons for all passive abilities are part of the Community Patch mod Abilities | Skills | Proficiencies - (!=important, r=recommended, a=automatic) 00. Brisk Recitation (! a) + Telekinetic Burst (a) 01. Whisper of Treason + If Their Bones Still Slept + Blessed was Wengridh | Dagger + Large Shield 02. Lingering Echoes | +1 Stealth (->1), +1 Intimidate (->1) 03. Soul Shock | +1 Stealth (->2), +1 Intimidate (->2) 04. At the Soud of his Voice + Mental Binding | +1 Stealth (->3), +1 Insight (->2) | Small Shield 05. Weapon and Shield Style (r) | +1 Stealth (->4), +1 Intimidate (->3) 06. Phantom Foes | +1 Stealth (->5), +1 Insight (->3) 07. Ancient Brittle Bones + Puppet Master | +1 Stealth (->6), +1 Bluff (->3) 08. Secret Horrors | +1 Stealh (->7), +1 Intimidate (->4) | Sabre 09. And Hel-Hyraf Crashed | +1 Slight of Hand (->3 ), +1 Insight (->4) 10. The Shield Cracks + Pain Block | +1 Stealth (->8), +1 Bluff (->4) 11. Spell Shaping | +1 Sleight of Hand (->4), +1 Intimidate (->4) 12. Penetrating Visions | +1 Sleight of Hand (->5), +1 Insight (->5) | Club 13. Rapid Casting + Borrowed Instinct | +1 Mecanics (->2), +1 Bluff (->5) 14. Keen Mind | +1 Mechanics (->3), +1 Intimidate (->6) 15. Farcasting (r) | +1 Mechanics (->4), +1 Insight (->6) 16. Quick Summoning + The Empty Soul | +1 Mechanics (->5), +1 Bluff (->6) | Scepter 17. Disintegration | +1 Mechanics (->6), +1 Intimidate (->7) 18. Greater Focus | +1 Arcana (->2), +1 Insight (->7) 19. Many Lives Pass By (r) + Ancestor's Memory | +1 Arcana (->3), +1 Bluff (->7) 20. Called to His Bidding | +1 Arcana (->4), +1 Intimidate (->8) | Pistol --------------------------------------------------------------- Items (!=important, r=recommended) Weapon Set 1: Sasha's Singing Scimitar (r, +Refreshing Finale, +Shocking Prelude), Shimmer Scale (+Warped Scales, +Thermal Ablation, +Legendary) Weapon Set 2: Lover's Embrace (use modal at all times), Shining Bulwark (+Rear Guard, +Legendary, use modal when shot at) Head: Pearlescent Rhomboid Helstone (or any other) Back: Cloak of Greater Deflection (r - helps to demotivate enemies from attacking you) Neck: Charm of Bones (r - for the added INT -> bigger AoE and durations) Armor: Casita Samelia's Legacy (+Legendary, +Ardent) or Nomad's Brigandine (+Tail of the Column, +Tactical Withdraw, +Legendary) or Gipon Prudensco (+Legendary, +Fight Another Day, +No Fool I) Waist: Girdle of Eoten Constitution Hands: Bracers of Greater Deflection (r - helps to demotivate enemies from attacking you) Rings: Chamaeleon's Touch (+1 INT & +1 PER) or Ring of Protection or Deflection, Kuaru's Prize Boots: Boots of Stability or Boots of Speed Pet: Loki (+15% AoE size) or Animancy Cat (when using summons a lot) or whatever suits your spell selection --------------------------------------------------------------- What is this build about: endless generation of resouces: you gain focus and phrases for your spells without having to do anything. That also means your resources fill up while you cast, run around etc. Using the Psion (focus gain per second, scales with Power Level) and the Troubadour (phrases elapse twice a fast with Brisk Recitation -> double the phrase point generation) gives you a caster who never runs out of spell resources and has almost no downtime: excellent action economy no need to actively use your weapon (which you are not good with anyways) immense versatility with all sorts of great spells: healing, reviving, disables, damage, buffing, mind control, summons - you can do it all. Pick what your party needs and you’ll be good at it. You can then also alter the gear to your needs. For example: if you wanted to play a Ceaseless Siren as a damage dealer who is spamming shock spells (Her Revenge + Soul Shock) nonstop you could pick up Deltro's Cage instead of the armor I listed above. If you want to take a support role (casting Pain Block and singing Ancient Memory or Mercy and Kindness etc.) you could use the Physikers Belt and a pet that does +15% healing and so on. The most potent combination might be to focus on mind control on the Psion side (Whisper of Treason, Puppet Master, Ringleader) and on summons on the Troubadour side (Animated Weapon + Many Lives Pass By), but constant CC spells are also very impactful: spamming Killers Froze Stiff + Mental Binding lets you completely disable and control whole groups of enemies pretty early in the game. independent from special unique items, this build can free up gear for other party members who might need it more. Sasha's Singing Scimitar is great, but even without it this caster is very effective. So if you want to include another chanter in the party who might make even better use of the weapon (for example a Bellower) it's not a problem. attributes can be allocated freely fitting your role. For example a damage dealer wants more MIG, a summoner or supporter/healer wouldn't need a lot of PER. one of the very few class combinations that beat the Ultimate challenge without the "endless duration of buffs" exploit - which shows how powerful it can be. I chose a mix of CC, damage, healing and summons so that there's always an answer to most situations. While playing you will quickly find out which spells you like to use the most - just can alter your choices of abilities and gear accordingly. Issues: when you get damaged (or critically hit when using the Community Patch mod which I recommend) your focus generation will stop for a short time. Unconditional focus generation is the Psion’s forte. While phrase generation stops briefly after an invocation the Psion’s focus never stops growing until damaged (or critically hit with the CP mod). Without this costant focus generation the Psion is bad. So you want to avoid getting attacked! You automatic ability Telikinetic Burst can help of course. But there's other ways to reduce the risks: stay stealthed at the beginning of combat. You want to load up on focus anyway - and when enemies have settled on your party members (like your tank) you are lot less likely to get attacked. having good deflection and/or immunity against disengagment attacks lets you get away without damage. you shouldn't build a glasscannon but have to invest into defenses. You can also use summons and mind control/disables to avoid damage to great effect - but more importantly (because it works without much effort and micromanagement) raise your deflection and armor and don’t dump your CON (health). There are lots of enemies out there that specifically look for weak party members in terms of low deflection, low armor and low health (like rangers, rogues and barbs do). Using a shield and putting on decent armor deters most of those enemies from picking you as their favorite target in the first place, giving you an easier time. sacrifice some offensive prowess for defense. It will help to let this character play a lot more smoothly than maxing your offensive potential. Unusual for a caster but it works. The best offensive stats mean nothing if you cannot cast because you lack focus. Another great way to prevent getting attacked (without having to actively do anything) in the later game is to sing Many Lives Pass By at all times - a weak skeleton that pops up every 3 seconds and forms a group of skeletons with its buddies quickly draws attention away from you and shields you from almost all attackers. Why is it fun: because of the endless and fast resource generation there’s always something to do, very little downtime. Opposite of low level Wizards, Priests or Druids who have very few spells in he early game. the spell selection is great always good impact, powerful right away bc. of summons, great CC and so on extremely versatile. There are Very little situations where you cannot contribute. The swiss army knife of casters because of the rel. good sturdyness (to avoid focus stop) little frustration from getting knocked out etc. which is great for inexperienced players. does not depend on items - this can help to attain a special look or theme/background a lot more easily without the feeling you have to sacrifice performance. Hope you enjoy! Cheers!

Sekiro. Spoilers for mid-game and a long mostly-complaint are below (I have been trying to write longer/higher? text walls). I admire the location design, the style (both artistic and technical), and the stealth and traversal gameplay aspects. The ironic thing is that there are quite a few boss battles with limited stealth options and the open combat and controls, as was mentioned before, are horrible and the MC feels like a wet paper doll. The battle against the Guardian Ape, which I have spent about an hour on, reminded me of it. The boss was moving erratically, occasionally resisting the firework prosthetic tool, and once chain-grabbing me. I am aware that all hand slaps are possible to parry, despite the boss being a giant ape using his hands to hit or slap. The above-mentioned grab attacks also repeatedly messed with the camera - after being thrown into the walls, I was unable to see where I or the boss was. And if the latter was nearby, due to the MC’s inability to face the target it locked on automatically, it meant restarting the battle. The key to victory was to stun the Guardian with the fireworks and use the combat art while he was trying to get up and hope that he would not go for a grab, as the combat art was locking me in the animation. So, the second phase came where the boss changed his type (thanks to the wiki for telling me that a zombie was an apparition) and moveset. Here I would like to add that the getting up animation and the delay between stages were very amusing on the first try, though not so much on the subsequent ones. After several more attempts, I resorted to using the consumables and mostly facetanking the smaller damage. The boss finally fell… only to appear in the next room. On my previous playthrough, I got lost on the way to the Ashina Castle and ventured into the Ashina Depths, thus, reaching that room before facing the Guardian. Back then, it looked suspiciously spacious and empty. Now, there was the Headless Ape standing between me and the progress. So, being low on both Estus and enthusiasm, I retreated and left the zombie be. Still, the Sunken Valley was a gorgeous place - there were giant stone statues of Buddha covered in light snow, while also autumn trees with bright red leaves holding fast to the cliffs. The traversal consisted mostly of jumping between smaller cliffs and grabbing the branches. I was able to reach most foes undetected, including the feathery ninjas and the albino monkeys dual-wielding katanas (they hit like trucks). There also was a Giant Snake shrine. It took 2 attempts to get through and grab the persimmon heart and another one to gather the loot. The snake’s final lunges were possible to dodge with the mist feather prosthetic. Which led me to the Poison Pool and another sniper boss, whose peripheral vision was fortunately quite poor, while the rockets from her comrades were hitting her as well, which was extremely satisfying. Getting to them after killing the boss was less satisfying, but somewhat amusing. I still have no recollection of how I got there before. So, I decided to follow the main objective (to get the Mortal Blade to heroically stab a child) and head to the Senpou Temple. On the previous visit in this playthrough, I missed the way forward and ended up at the Demon Bell and no idea how to reach the Temple itself. The area itself is as beautiful as the Valley, though with more wooden temples and less statues. Also with little but frequent piles of civilian corpses and quite a lot of monks and insects. There also was a field of pinwheels. I suppose, if the main character was more controllable, I would have less issues with the combat. On the other hand, the ability to use different tools or consumables provides engagement, making the enemies feel more diverse and the combat more expressive and interesting. Though, the number of consumables and Spirit Emblems being limited makes one more cautious. Then again, if I cannot start a boss battle with a Deathblow, I feel like the MC’s ninja abilities are not utilised fully. Which is another reason why I disliked the Guardian Ape - the boss’ hearing was perfect and he deduced that a human ninja zipped into the arena to steal his flower in seconds while I was above him. Regarding the story so far, it is understandable and easy to follow - the city-state of Ashina is being conquered, Genichiro, the leader’s grandson, believes that the Dragon’s Heritage (resurrection) would allow it to survive. The last Dragon Heir is the MC’s master and thinks that the Dragon’s Heritage causes the Dragon’s Plague, thus, refuses cooperation. The MC is a ninja and has only his work, so he protects the Heir and saves him from Genichiro, because his father/tutor told him to do it. The Heir decides that he wants to sever the Dragon’s Heritage and to do so he needs to enter the Divine Realm to get Dragon’s Tears. To do so, he needs to find the ingredients to open the portal to the Divine Realm. On another note, considering that the ingredients to enter a spiritual plane of existence need to be burned and probably inhaled, it is an excellent opening for a joke.

that's why it's important to keep posting even seemingly redundant information. sometimes you miss stuff. also that's what I literally thought SC mortar monk was about - sucking until PL9

are you effin' kidding me?? stunning blow/surge doesn't have a melee weapon limitation?? i'm an idiot. i even have a xoti monk in my party right now that's trying to make stunning surge work (with limited success). aaaaaaaaagh

Therein lies the answer to the question at hand.

I've played a few different games recently. Green Hell - Picked this up for $10. It's a good survival crafting game with some interesting mechanics. My guy has some serious dietary requirement though. The game wants you to balance carbs, fats, fruits, etc. I feel like I'm eating a lot and still struggling. Also Jaguars are mean. SW: The Old Republic Online - I hadn't played this in probably 5 years or so. My son took my original account, where I had a few storylines complete (he has 6 of 8 done at this point) so I started from scratch. I'm just focusing on storylines and it is enjoyable. Oh, they opened up the classes! I never liked the gameplay of the smuggler or imperial agent, but now you can use different class abilities for storylines. So my imperial agent plays like a bounty hunter and my smuggle plays like a trooper. Return to Moria - I bought this on epic about a year ago. It's been updated a bit, but it still needs companions or NPC's. I tooled around a bit, but I think I'll keep waiting on it.

Currently on business trip again, but before departing I had a little bit of time to wander around NG+ Lost Bastille. I have defeated all of the local Pursuers, and then I have went for the Ruin Sentinels. I have used Lightning Mace+10 with Sunlight Blade buff. It has dealt massive damage against them. The funny thing is, that due to that, I became to reckless and triggerhappy, which almost cost me the attempt, but after jumping down, I have normalized a little bit and started to be more cautious, becuase I needed to find an opening to chug an Estus Luckily, I have found one, and hit by hit defeated the remaining two Sentinels and harvested their soul

Okay

I believe so, yes. You can look at the recovery bar over the heads of each character.

My dearest Bruce, I hope this post finds you well. Crime is down. Republicans killed a comprehensive border bill because Trump wanted to campaign on the issue and, unfortunately, it looks like it's working on you. Trump has been a public figure longer than I've been alive. Social media is more likely to give you misinformation. People are stupid. The end Best regards,

I hpe they hit the nail again, because PoE and specially Deadfire has some of the best class design and systems in any game, period. I just replayed Deadfire (2 runs actually) and man, it's so complex yet elegant...

A lot of people are just that ignorant of the world around them, and not in the conspiracy rabbit hole sense. They are ignorant of things just because they are for the most part entirely uninterested in things that are consequential.

What makes builds fun for me? they are powerful/impactful (enough) - there's no fun if your character feels like a millstone around the party’s neck they don’t need late game gear to function - although getting late game gear to improve them can be a motivation. But having to wait forever in order to make your character click for the last hour of the game can be frustrating you don’t have to wait for late game abilities for them to be fun to play ad impactful (same as above) - although having the goal of reaching a great high lvl ability can add to the fun and motivation. Even at lvl 20 (if you have DLCs installed) there's still a good amount of game left to enjoy the highest lvl abilities they don’t need a lot of repetitive setups in every fight - that's not as much of a problem if that’s easy to script though (although I personally don't like to use the AI with my MC) but for example: if you need to manually switch several grimoires at the beginnig of the fight the fun will not last and you will stop doing that quickly. If your character's performance relies on that switching you most likely won't feel okay with this character No overpowered 1-trick ponies (at least not too early in the game). It’s okay if that happens in the late game, but it ruins the playthrough if you can win every fight with the same trick and the same character - while the rest of the party is only there to watch (looking at you, Grave-Calling Berserker/Beckoner) Good reactivity - it gets frustrating if the character plays like a slowpoke but would profit a lot from being more reactive. This can also mean using a reloading weapon is better than using a recovery weapon (reloading can be stopped for other actions, recovery cannot) fits the party - best if it fits a lot of party compositions and doesn't need a party build around it. But sometimes that can be fun, too. Anyway: it's no fun to use a build which mechanics don't blend into the others' not too much micromanagement - but also not too little. For companions low micro can be great - for my MC I like to (reasonably) micromanage and use active abilites manually. this leads to plenty (or even unlimited) resources. I personally like it if resources can be refilled somehow or costs can get refunded. Can also mean the resources are fixed but there are great abilities that aren't too expensive general versatility - being good at/useful for more than one single thing craftiness/creativity of the build (something to be proud of when a build idea does indeed work) out-of the ordinary/original (there's not much exitement when taking a well-trodden path) good character story (at least in my head) so it’s not a blank slate. An emotional connection does help a lot. And no - the silly stuff I write at the top of my build posts are not the stories I use. thematically coherent and somewhat believable stylish/cool/badass good/entertaining sound effects (surprisingly important!) good vfx (without crashing the game or destroying the performance)

No, I meant two conversions on the same roll in one direction. I know there was some example (years ago) and it was very specific - but I cannot remember what it was.

yeah i've played hearth orlans a lot and it's not uncommon to see this against dragons - the hearth orlan racial upgrades hit to crit and then dragon scales downgrades it back down. IIRC it's a bit confusing in the combat log, i see minor threat appear but the attack is just a hit, and it's only if you mouseover that it shows the dragon scale effect.

Maybe because there can be 2 conversion : first is the "offensive" conversion where the upgrade happens (Miss to Graze XOR Graze to Hit XOR Hit to Crit) Then is the defensive conversion (Crit to Hit XOR Hit to Graze XOR Crit to Hit)

Seems to be true this time, looks like the US may allow Ukraine to use ATACMS in Russia. The missiles they are supposedly getting don't seem all that scary, Iranian GMLRS it seems.

This 'Holy Grail' Protein Repairs DNA And Could Lead to a Cancer Vaccine : ScienceAlert

I installed patch 4.1 today. Still not fixed.

TBH, this bug has been ubiquitous since the beginning, has been especially rampant on Xoti, and despite having been "looked at" for more than a year, it's still popping exactly as much as the day of release. In fact, I even checked if I didn't install the game with an old file (from GOG) because I am constantly pretty often such sort of glitches that were supposedly "looked at" or "fixed" for months and month. I'm pretty tolerant of buggy release, but FFS we're one whole year and three DLC later, at patch 4.0, and it's not acceptable anymore.

Transgender surgeries on illegal aliens in prison.