Wolken3156

how are you getting around the issue with Frenzy and Barbaric Yell (if you take it)? By just letting the AI use it liberally? It just annoys me at the moment cause the AI wont use it EXACTLY when I want it too lol. You need to have AI enabled and be next to an enemy, which is annoying. Its nowhere near as annoying as Returning Storm though. Druid 3rd-level spells per encounter is suddenly not all that appealing without it.

Whereas everyone is raving on about his damage, I love my Barb as a battlefield controller. The Starcaller is amazing with Carnage, having a chance to Stun enemies in range. It also good synergy with Threatening Presence, which helps lowers Fort saves. Before the Starcaller, I quite like the White Spire estoc, -5 to all defenses is quite nice considering I run a caster heavy party.

Time Parasite is actually amazing on a high Dex build. The only thing really holding it back is the 40 focus cost, which is just too much. I'm not a real fan of Stasis since Mental Binding is a much more cost efficient for a similar effect and both powers target the same defense and have the same accuracy anyway. Maybe if Stasis Shell had higher accuracy bonus, then maybe it would be worth using.

The Mechanics skill governs both trap disarming, spotting hidden caches and lock picking. So technically any class can actually do it. Rogues, Ciphers and Wizards tend to be the standouts though since all three have starting points in the skill. Its worth noting a Priest might consider it as well, since it also governs the accuracy of your own traps, and the Priest's trap spells work off it. That said, a Rogue isn't a terrible character by any means. A melee Rogue has the highest single target DPS of any class, while a ranged Rogue is no slouch at it either. Of course, the drawbacks are that they lack decent defensive options, so it can be tricky to keep them alive, especially on higher difficulties. Paladins are a strong choice for the main character since Faith and Conviction gets bonuses depending on your main character's choices, and only the main character can get these bonuses. To be fair though, it really doesn't matter what class the main character is, just pick whichever you prefer. I personally prefer having my main character as a Cipher, since I like casters, and my character is a liar and steals from everyone. ... I'm a terrible person. I prefer running two tanks, though I usually give each of my characters some kind of defensive tool in case things go south, just in case. If you give Aloth Arcane Veil he makes a fine tank as well (Believe it or not). Eh, I'd go with both. AoE spells have a safe spot (Represented by the yellow bit of the indicator), so once you have high INT score, a lot spells become very safe to cast. I prefer Pale Elf for the elemental resistances. Coastal Aumua is good too for the high defenses against Prone and Stun. Lay on Hands is so insane with a high Might score that you actually don't even need Moon Godlike's Silver Tide. Having both is just... overheal. Depends on the class, but its often not really needed except in PotD, and even then you can do without doing so. For a Paladin though, Dexterity is their least important stat. Perception would probably be the next one to drop, but I would only drop it if your aiming to just be a specialized meat bag. The other stats are far too important to justify dropping. Paladins actually should be the "main tank" since they have the highest defenses of any class >_> Darcozzi, Goldpact and St. Elcga are the best ones for tank based Paladins. Darcozzi get Inspiring Liberation which gives an Accuracy bonus, Goldpact get Bond of Duty which protects against Confuse, Charm and Domination (The most annoying ailments), and finally St. Elcga get both Shielding Flames and Shielding Touch which gives allies Deflection bonuses. For damage dealing Paladins, Bleak Walkers are the way to go, Remeber Rakhan Field is a very strong buff to Flames of Devotion. Goldpact is also a decent choice for Enduring Flames. They're still one of the stronger races. Kana Rua is the next to join, he's an Island Aumua Chanter. Chanters typically specialize in buffs and summons. Sagani is a Boreal Dwarf Ranger. Rangers are strictly ranged damage dealers. With the buffs they've received they're pretty strong now. Pallegina is a Avian Godlike Paladin. She's also the worst character in the game due to not being able to access her order's talents. You can ignore her. Hiravias is a Hearth Orlan Druid. Druids as I mentioned are good at crowd control. They can also Shapeshift to deal some good melee damage as well. Grieving Mother is a Human Cipher. Ciphers are primarily damage dealers but they have excellent control and buffs as well. Zahua is a Human Monk. Monks are good as either tanks or damage dealers. The Devil of Caroc is a... Rogue. She's... also not a very good companion either, so I wouldn't get too excited on her. The best companions though are obviously the ones you can make yourself. Though keep in mind they don't add any additional dialog and cannot contribute to conversations.

Aspirant's Mark and Enigma's Charm are really good on a Priest. You can probably give them to other classes as well, but early game, a Priest will probably prefer these over Interdiction, unless you don't have a Wizard. Initiate's Sneak Attack is probably the best though. Its very nice on Skaen Priests too, since it stacks with Prey on the Weak!

For Wizard you can safely dump Resolve with no penalties. You have Arcane Veil to offset the Defection penalty and Spirit Shield (Also in Potion form) to offset the Concentration penalty. I'd take points off that before deciding to lower anything else. As for stat priority, IMO for a Wizard in PotD it should be: Intelligence > Might > Perception > Dexterity > Constitution > Resolve Druid on the other hand is much trickier, since they probably don't want to dump Resolve since they lack Arcane Veil and most of their better spells require them to be a little closer to the enemies, so the Deflection loss might hurt a bit. If you're using a Druid and Wizard in the same party though, you can probably leave Perception at base value of 10 for the Druid and have the Wizard pick spells that lower defense values to assist the Druid in landing their spells.

The big change is you would want Perception very high now since you'll want your powers to Crit often. Personally I'd rather dump Resolve than Constitution. You can always use Spirit Shield potions to make up for the penalty in Concentration. As for weapons, bows attack a lot faster and have no reload time but deal less overall damage. Guns or more specifically, the Blunderbuss, deal more damage but suffer from reload times. Personally I prefer hitting hard, since Powers mostly complement the Cipher's weapons, so I prefer guns. Bows are for those who would rather have steady Focus generation instead.

Barbaric Yell has the same problem as well. EDIT: Not a Barbarian skill, but the spell Returning Storm has the same issue as well.

Thrust of Tattered Veils - A Wizard Interrupt build works really well now, but the thing is you'll be using Blast and Interrupting Blows, and not this spell. The other 1st-level spells are too good to justify having this as one of your slots. Merciless Gaze - A 60 sec crit buff is really good, but I would only run this on high DEX builds and if you don't have a Priest. I'm pretty sure this doesn't stack with Dire Blessing, and you will be using that! Iron Skin - Its good but generally I'd rather use 4th-level spell slots for Wall of Flame, Essential Phantom and Dimensional Shift. I prefer Spirit Shield instead, which is a 1st-level spell slot. Spirit Shield - You definitely should use this. The DR is really good plus it gives a Concentration buff, which is useful even for non-melee Wizards. Arcane Dampener - Enemies with buffs are extremely dangerous in PotD. So yes, this is actually a very important spell. Arduous Delay of Motion - This cuts the damage enemies deal by 25%, so yes this very good. Wall of Force - Its not as good as Wall of Flame but its still very good. The damage over time it has is very rapid, in fact it will out damage Fireball by a wide margin. The amount damage this spell can do with Combusting Wounds as well is simply insane. Autumn's Decay - Its range is terrible and its not very good on high DR enemies, but this is a pretty solid damage dealing spell. Blizzard - This spell used to be godly, but now its useless thanks to the nerfs. Its not worth casting at all. Insect Swarm - Its probably the best damage dealing 2nd-level spell. The Concentration debuff is a nice bonus since Interruption builds are much more viable now. Also this doesn't affect allies. Taste of the Hunt - If you're doing a Shapeshifting build, this is a good spell to heal yourself. Useless for ranged Druids however. Beetle's Shell - Its alright once 3rd-level spells become per encounter. Before then though, you really should dedicate most 3rd-level spell uses to Returning Storm. Infestation of Maggots - Its good against high Endurance enemies, but again, Returning Storm. So good. Wicked Briars - This spell's main worth, is the fact you can cast it outside of battle. Its not a bad spell if you have free 4th-level uses to spare. Cleansing Wind - Don't have too much experience with this one. The other 5th-spells are so amazing that this gets overlooked. Plague of Insects - This is the Druid's best damage spell. Its Raw, and it has a long duration. It also has a Concentration debuff. Its a real winner. Wall of Thorns - So running a Perception-based Druid? Cast Plague of Insects or Insect Swarm and now cast this. This is an amazing Interrupt based spell. Rot Skulls - This is really good and works with Dangerous Implements. The only thing is, Wizards get a weapon better than this, as a 3rd-level spell. Its still pretty good though, and probably the best 6th-level spell. Holy Meditation - It buffs Concentration and Will and stacks with other spells. This is best 1st-level spell =/ Iconic Projection - Compared to Restore Light Endurance, which is on the same level, this spell is flat out better. It heals the same amount, but also deals damage to enemies. This spell is quite amazing once you can cast it per encounter. Warding Seal - It has insane accuracy, but its damage isn't that spectacular. Repulsing Seal is just far better. Watchful Presence - Its not terrible, but generally the Priest's time is better spent casting other spells than this. Searing Seal - Same as Warding Seal, its a little better though since Priests should be getting Scion of Flames. Shining Beacon - This is a deadly debuff spell. Its dangerous when enemies cast it, so its dangerous to them too! Triumph of the Crusaders - If you're fighting a battle where the enemies die easily, you don't need this spell. In battles where they don't die as easily this spell does nothing. Its not really worth it. Spark the Souls of the Righteous - Ohohoho, surprised to see this one! This spell is a damage dealing king! With Heart of the Storm this spell is just ridiculous Use it, love it. Its less useful against high DR opponents but its still significant enough to leave a mark.

Main (Cipher): Pistol Aloth: Wand Edér: Hatchet and Shield Durance: Arquebus Kana Rua: Blunderbuss Sagani: War Bow Pallegina: Hatchet and Shield Hiravias: Hunting Bow Grieving Mother: Pistol I haven't done the White March content yet but as for the remaining two... Zahua: Unarmed... Monks need no weapon Devil of Caroc: Probably dual Stilettos I never really use the story companions though. Ultimately I rather just use created ones instead, only dragging them along if I feel like doing their quests.

That's not entirely true, since Ciphers are the class with Antipathetic Field and Ectopsychic Echo. Both powers deal absurd amounts damage, with the only downside being their reliance on careful positioning (Especially Antipathetic Field). The best way to deal with that though is to have your Cipher in stealth mode and position him while the rest of your party hold the enemies in place.

Oh, I don't mean anything negative by that, I was only joking around with how you mentioned your lack of care for spell casters. But yeah, 3rd level spells being per encounter is pretty much the most powerful new addition. The 7th-level spells are actually pretty underwhelming (Especially Druid) overall. Time Parasite looks insane but that 40 Focus cost makes it almost unusable.

That post was made in PotD perspective though, but I do agree with you. If you're going to run a damage sponge, nowadays you will definitely want it to have some offensive presance. In my current PotD run I'm running a Barbarian and Monk as my damage sponges, and they're working excellently. My Barb does need a little baby sitting from my Priest (well ok, a lot), but I'm sure that will change once I reach Defiance Bay (*cough* Shod-in-Faith *cough*). It also kinda works since most of the enemies think he is the squishiest target XD

Unlike the person above, I don't care for martial classes, only spellcasters. So here are the spells: ~ Cipher ~ - Stasis Shell The Cipher is able to isolate a single enemy from the world, leaving them unable to act, but also unable to be affected by outside parties. Requires 40 Focus Speed: Average Range: 10m Effects: Foe Target: Stasis Shield for base 20sec vs. Will (+10 Accuracy) - Time Parasite By siphoning power from enemies' souls, the Cipher is able to slow them down and increase his or her own speed. Requires 40 Focus Speed: Average Range: 10m + 10m Jump Area of Effect: Foe Target + 5 Jump Foe Targets Effects: Foe Target: Steal 50% of Attack Speed for base 10sec vs. Will (+5 Accuracy) Foe Jump Targets: Steal 50% of Attack Speed for base 10sec vs. Will (+5 Accuracy) ~ Druid ~ - Call of the Primordials The Druid pulls raw spiritual energy of nature together into the physical forms of 2 or 3 random oozes and slimes. Speed: Slow Range: 6m Effects: Summon 2-3 Of: Black Ooze, Swamp Slime, Frost Ooze - Nature's Bounty All unoccupied quick slots in the party are filled with wondrous nectar that can be consumed for combat bonuses and healing. Speed: Average Area of Effect: Base 5m Radius from caster Effects: Fill Quick Items with Nature's Bounty - Weather the Storm The Druid casts a powerful aegis against the forces of nature over his or her allies, granting a large resistance to Burn, Corrode, Freeze, and Shock damage. Speed: Average Range: 5m Area of Effect: Base 2.5m Radius Effects: Friendly AoE: +15 Damage Reduction (Burn, Freeze, Shock, Corrode) for base 10sec ~ Wizard ~ - Delayed Fireball The Wizard hurls a tiny ball of flame that sits for a fixed amount of time before exploding for heavy Burn damage. Speed: Fast Range: 10m Area of Effect: Base 2.5m Radius Interrupt: 0.5sec (Average) Effects: AoE: base 60-65 Burn vs. Reflex (+10 Accuracy) - Llengrath's Warding Staff This spell conjures a powerful quarterstaff that adds Deflection and pushes enemies away with a Hobbled effect on each successful attack. The summoning itself pushes everyone (including allies) away from the caster. Speed: Fast Area of Effect: Base 5m Radius from Caster Effects: AoE: 2.5m Push vs. Will (+10 Accuracy) Caster: Summon Weapon: Llengrath's Warding Staff for base 30sec - Ninagauth's Killing Bolt This spell inflicts a heavy amount of Raw damage to the target. Any non-Spirit felled by the attack will summon a Spectre under the caster's control. Speed: Slow Range: 10m Effects: Target: 75 Raw Damage vs. Fortitude (+10 Accuracy) - Substantial Phantom Substantial Phantom is an advanced version of Essential Phantom, creating an independent copy of the Wizard that can cast a small set of low-level spells (e.g. Minoletta's Minor Missiles, Necrotic Lance, Arduous Delay of Motion). Due to the advanced nature of the spell, the copy from Substantial Phantom is more durable than Essential Phantom. Speed: Average Range: 6m Effects: Summon: Wizard Duplicate - Tayn's Chaotic Orb Named for the eccentric Aedyran wizard Tayn, the chaotic orb bounces between a number of enemies, dealing damage and inflicting a variety of negative Afflictions including Petrified, Paralyzed, Weakened, Sickened, Stunned, and Blinded. Speed: Average Range: 10m + 5m Jump Area of Effect: Foe Target + 5 Foe Jump Targets Effects: Foe Target: Based 20-30 Crush vs. Deflection (+10 Accuracy), Petrified for base 3sec, Paralyzed for base 4sec, Weakened for base 7sec, Sickened for base 8sec, Stunned for base 5sec, Blinded for base 6sec vs. Will (+10 Accuracy) Foe Jump Targets: Based 20-30 Crush vs. Deflection (+10 Accuracy), Petrified for base 3sec, Paralyzed for base 4sec, Weakened for base 7sec, Sickened for base 8sec, Stunned for base 5sec, Blinded for base 6sec vs. Will (+10 Accuracy) - Wall of Draining Enemies passing through or standing in this wall will lose time from any of their timed beneficial status effects. For each second drained, the Wizard gains duration on any beneficial status effects they have. Speed: Average Range: 12m Area of Effect: 20m Wall Duration: 30sec Effects: Hazard AoE: Steal 4sec duration from each beneficial effect on the target vs. Will ~ Priest ~ - Minor Avatar The Priest gains a supernatural glow as he or she is infused with power. As a minor avatar of their deity, the Priest gained bonuses in all Attributes, Endurance, Health, and weapon damage. Speed: Average Effects: Caster: +20% Melee Damage, +20% Ranged Damage, +8 Might, +8 Dexterity, +8 Constitution, +8 Perception, +40 Max Endurance, +8 Resolve, +8 Intellect for base 30sec - Resurrection A single ally is revived and healed. They receive the effects of Barring Death's Door and nearby allies are healed. Speed: Average Range: 5m Area of Effect: Friendly Target + base 1.5m Radius Effects: Friendly Target: Revie with base 125 Endurance, Prevent Death for base 20sec Friendly AoE: Base +75 Endurance - Storm of Holy Fire A terrible rain of fire falls in the area of effect, repeatedly inflicting Burn damage on all in the area of effect. Speed: Slow Range: 15m Area of Effect: Base 5m Radius AoE Duration: Base 9sec Interrupt: 0.5sec (Average) Effects: AoE: Base 24-30 Burn vs. Reflex (+10 Accuracy) Also at 13th level, 3rd level spells become per encounter. This makes Wizards and Priests just... insane.

It hasn't really affected my playstyle that much. The only thing now is I'm more aware that my rear line is more vulnerable to enemies rushing at them. I prefer heavy crowd control tactics though, which of course would be the best way to deal with it, but frankly, its a pretty healthy playstyle. Actually using the tools the game gives you is way better than having mooks surround your tank while you auto-attack them with ranged weapons, rinsing and repeating over and over. Most classes though have actual counters to such things nowadays anyway. Wizard? Pop Arcane Veil, bam, now your a tank! Druid? Shapeshifting is viable now. Transform and make them regret coming to you. Priest? They have trap spells for a reason. Cipher? Mental Binding and retreat. Or since they're behind your front line, use Ectopsychic Echo. Rogue? Use Escape or Coordinated Positioning. Ranger? Uhh... Binding Roots? Alternatively, just run a full crew of melee. Its actually perfectly viable. My only real complaint with the new AI though is that it makes defensively built characters no longer viable. There's zero reason to bring along a Fighter decked out with all kinds of defensive gear and abilities, since they contribute nothing. Enemies won't attack them as often (Without careful positioning) and they have no offensive presence. In fact, if anything, the game is now encouraging a very offense heavy mindset.

I'd only do it if I was using a non-Fighter tank, like a Chanter or Paladin. Mainly so I can get more points into INT and Might which is pretty helpful for both classes. Fighters don't quite need INT as much as them (Its nice for Prones, but getting them to land in PotD is rough) so they don't really need really need to dump it at all. Early game tends to be rough on low Con tanks in general, since your Deflection will be a lot lower, and PotD enemies hurt. By mid game though, you probably won't even notice the lowered Endurance. Granted, mid game is when the game gets a lot easier in general due to your wide equipment and spell options, as opposed to early game where your options are much more limited.

Send your tank first, have them waste their teleport on the tank and then move in your squad. Their weakest defenses are Reflex and Fort so attacks that target both work wonders. Sunbeam and Fan of Flames are especially notable since their Burn DR is pretty bad, the former is especially good since it adds Blind on top of its damage as well. If they summon Shadows and you have a Wizard, chances are the Shadows will use their teleport to your Wizard. Its no biggie, pop Arcane Veil and he'll be untouchable, just focus target on the Shades since the Shadows will die along with them. Placing Repulsing Seal on top of your back row is also another way to deal with them, it won't affect your allies and is pretty much set and forget. The real dangerous thing is that ranged ice move. You don't have too many ways to deal with it yet, either stunlock them into not using it (Slicken works really well) or hope Consecrated Ground can heal through the damage should they all decide to focus fire on one character. Don't worry too much if you have one man down, it happens even to the best of us. In general, don't be afraid to blow your best spells out on them. They are a legitimate threat this early in the game so there's no shame going nova on them, and since you're close to town as well, you can technically afford to go all out. That said though, I find Phantoms to be rougher than Shades in PotD, paralyze is a death sentence to tanks this early on and my tanks ironically have terrible Fort saves since I abhor putting points into Con. I'm probably one of the minority on this though. Oh and Forest Lurkers? They do have pretty high accuracy yeah, but their Deflection is hilariously bad even in PotD. I just have my tanks switch to more offensively inclined weapons (Since they're gonna get hit anyway), have my Wizard use Parasitic Staff and then go to town. Maybe tossing the occasional Mental Binding or Talons' Reach. Generally, I find its better to go full offense on these guys, you're gonna get a lot of crits on them after all. Their Will is pretty bad, so using Curse of Blackened Sight is a good way to cut down on the damage your group takes, as well as making their Deflection all the more laughable.

I'd argue Constitution is the worst stat. At least Perception raises Deflection, the extra Endurance from Con isn't really all that game defining, even on tank characters. Anyway, Perception defining Accuracy would be a very welcome change. It would shoot to becoming THE most important stat of all.

No, I explicitly mentioned it in my post if you reread it again paying more attention . It does stack with miasma but not with weakened. An yeah, it's a good way to soften will of low reflex high will&fort creatures. Whoops, blew past me when I read it! Uhhh.... pretend I meant the TC's first post in the thread ;o

You forgot Arkemyr's Dazzling Lights, which stacks with Miasma. Heck, since it targets Reflex, its a great opener for Miasma too. With both Miasma and Dazzling Lights, spells that target Will become really attractive.

I suppose I am, but I've seen enough people praising the said spells. Well maybe not Burst. I only tossed Burst in, because honestly, Blizzard is just awful with the nerf. You're missing out. Relentless Storm actually has great synergy with Firebug since Storm can stun, lowering the deflection of enemies. With the lowered Deflection you can make Firebug score plenty of crits, making it deal some impressive damage. I actually don't like Plague of Insects, since it targets Fort and is damage over time. Targeting Fort makes it nearly useless in PotD where enemies are packing Fort scores of around 100 or more. The same goes for Venombloom, which if anything is even worse than Plague, since it deals less damage, and inflicts afflictions that can be gotten from other lower level spells which more importantly, don't target Fort.

Bonus accuracy to Wilders and Primordials isn't all that bad when you consider that Ogres, Dank Spores and Adragans are among them... you know, the enemies that are actually dangerous. Poison resistance though, is pretty crappy and is only ever used in early game. That said, unless its a Moon Godlike, racials aren't that huge of a game changer by any means. They can be helpful, but the advantages they give are generally outdone by gear and spells anyway.

Lets take a look at the most commonly spammed and used Druid spells! Sunbeam, Burst of Summer Flame, Firebug, and Sunlance! We can all agree these are top tier spells among the Druid's arsenal. Now what do they all have in common? The others though, yeah it would probably depend on your playstyle. I personally love Returning Storm and Relentless Storm so I end up grabbing Heart of the Storm. Others might not even like them at all and would pass over the talent. At any rate, they're not situational if you get the ones based on the spells you end up using the most frequently, and believe me. I'm almost certain everyone spams the Druid's delightful fiery spells. I will agree on you with Bonus Spells though. They are not even worth the talent slot, since their value gets diminished further and further as your choices of destruction continue to expand. By 9th-level, they're virtually useless since the Druid's 1st level spells are more than enough to annihilate the common cannon fodder encounters anyway. As for major fights, if you need more than four 4th-level or higher spells to nova a target down, you're probably not choosing the right spells at all.

All casters. You have all the different colors of the carnage rainbow. In seriousness though, you can get through with most party formations. For an optimal party you should have at least 1 of each of these roles: Tanks - Fighters, Paladins and (Believe it or not) Chanters are choices for this. Monks sorta count too. Generally you want a damage sponge, and these are your picks. Due to engagement limits, most people tend to run 2 of these. Supporter - Chanters, Priests and (To a lesser extent) Druids generally fall under this. Buffs are a huge game changer in prolonged battles. Druids and Priests also pack healing spells as well. Controller - Wizards, Druids and Ciphers are your picks. Just like buffs being game changing, so are debuffs. Wizard is the unquestionable champion of this with Slicken, Call to Slumber and the likes, but Druids and Ciphers aren't slouches at it either. Ciphers are the most beginner friendly of the casters incidentally, due to their lack of need to conserve spells, so they're good pick in general. DPS - Obviously, you need to kill things to get anywhere. Lots of flavors for this role. You have Wizards, Druids, Rogues, Barbarians, Monks, Ciphers and Rangers to pick from. Pick the ones that suit your play style best.

You need to be standing kinda close to the enemy for it though. Might be good on melee Wizards, but not so much ranged. I haven't had that much experience with melee Wizard builds admittedly. Though from my experience with tank builds of other classes, Deflection is generally a better source of mitigation than DR in a lot of cases. Arcane Veil is very beast with that massive Deflection bonus, but that's not a spell now is it? ;o