Wolken3156

You could potentially make a super melee heavy party with the current 4 you have. With the Chanter's fire enchantment you can probably get some pretty impressive numbers from all characters, even better with a melee team you'll be grouped together so everyone will be nicely in ranged. Toss in a Paladin with their auras and a melee Cipher with Defensive Mindweb and Antipathetic Field and you're pretty much set for murderin'. As for the classes you're considering, Chanters are very flexible. You can make them a ranged or melee damage dealer, and they can be setup as very decent tanks too. Most of their power comes from the Chants rather than the Invocations. Their damage over time chants are an excellent source of AoE damage plus the added damage from buffs like their reload speed boosting one or the fire enchanting one I mentioned are very welcomed. The Invocations aren't too shabby either as they're decent sources of buffs and CC. Barbarians are fairly decent as both a CC and a damage dealer. They're heavily dependent on equipment however, moreso than any other class. With the right gear though, they can be build as a strong CC with certain weapons and good Interruption score, or as a pure AoE damage dealer. My experiences with Monks and Fighters though is very limited at the moment. I haven't used Fighters since the game was first released, back then I only used them as damage sponges, so I have no idea how well they perform as damage dealers. Monks have been doomed in my playthroughs since I usually end up using them in runs where I usually end up stopping halfway. They make decent tanks though, and their damage dealing abilities are pretty good, but I don't have enough knowledge on them to elaborate.

It only affects enemies, allies are not affected AFAIK. Its a pretty amazing item in short term battles especially since IMO, Overwhelming Wave is one of the best spells in the game in general. The item does have a a lot against it though, since the direction of the wave is based on the enemy that scored a crit on you. As such it won't always reliably hit all enemies in the group. In long term battles, the item is a lot less powerful since it can only fire it off once, and then it doesn't really provide any other additional effects (Though I suppose there's Recall Agony). The major thing with the item though, is that its gotten through an Adventure from your Stronghold. You're not always guaranteed to get it in every playthrough. Sometimes you might get it early, sometimes you might not even get it at all.

I kinda have no choice in the matter since I play a Skaen Priestess, which means I need build my Deceptive reputation in order to make Holy Radiance a terrifyingly powerful Vessel slaying tool. The only real negative downside to having a Deceptive reputation though only really goes into play on the quest for the Missing Scroll, since if you choose to do as Wael tells you, the high priestess will never give you a reward for the quest since she won't believe anything you say. Not that it matters for me, since in a RP sense I wouldn't even help Wael anyway (Skaen Priestess, he's not my god so I don't care). It does cause some NPC to react differently (Usually your companions), since they expect you to lie most of the time. There are some options that only be chosen with a Deceptive reputation of 2 or higher, mostly in the WM content. I don't remember them off the top of my head though. But yeah, there isn't really any downsides beyond that one tibit. Even if you have Deceptive reputation, you can still lie and get away with it. IIRC there was one dialog choice where you NEED a Deceptive reputation in order to make one of your lies actually believable.

It just outside the cave where you found her and the wichts.

What about Spirit Shield? That's a +30 to Concentration right there, you can even craft potions of it.

Golbez uses swords, if After Years is anything to go by. Also IMO, Wizard would probably be a more fitting choice since Golbez is in-fact, officially a Black Mage. Cipher would totally work as well though. Problem with Rydia being a Chanter is that you've locked out Edward's obvious class choice =/

Really depends on the playstyle preference. If you're the type that does the RPG beginner's mistake and conserve everything to the end, yeah they can feel like a liability. But if you're willing to go through their resources in most encounters, you'll find they have a huge edge over the other classes. I myself am very trigger happy with spells, so I find my Wizard usually dominates in overall efficiency. Druids are a little underwhelming though, since all their best spells are congested in 4th and 5th level, so it does feel like they have less casts than a Wizard at times.

My playstyle has differed greatly with all these patches, so my favorite spells have changed by quite a bit. Level 1 Chill Fog - Fantastic damage over time and also inflicts blind, so great. Can be annoying at times since it affects allies, but still one of my old faithfuls. Minoletta's Minor Missiles - I used to scoff at this spell, but recently you guys convinced me. This is a pretty great damage spell, especially when paired Combusting Wounds. Concelhaut's Parasitic Staff - I have a soft spot for seeing someone rocking a quarterstaff. This spell pretty much wins most of my early battles too, since I usually have my Wizard as the primary damage dealer in my parties. Spirit Shield - Decent DR boost. I mainly use this to buff my Wizard's Concentration though, since its usually pretty low. Level 2 Combusting Wounds - I love damage over time spells, and this spell is a fantastic augment to them. Love it. Necrotic Lance - Very damaging for a level 2 spell. Usually my to-go-to spell for when I have spare level 2 casts to throw around. Miasma of Dull Mindness - Very strong effects for a level 2 (Even with the nerf). Works great as an opener since it lets my later assaults more likely to hit. Level 3 Deleterious Alacrity of Motion - Obviously. Expose Vulnerabilities - In a huge contrast to my previous post, this is one of my favorites to toss around. It really helps let my various damage over time effects punch through DR. Noxious Burst - This my usual bursty damage spell for this level. Mainly because it inflicts Sickened, which compliments a lot of my Wizard's repertoire. Llengrath's Displaced Image - My defensive spell of choice. Its great for when there's heat on my Wizard. Level 4 Confusion - Its still one of the best CC spells in the game. I still use it and I still love it. Wall of Flame - Very powerful interruption tool and a very nice DoT effect as well. Still a favorite of mine, even if the range is a little hard to work with at times. Minoletta's Concussive Missiles - Such a great burst spell. The amount damage this can rack up is so great, especially with Combusting Wounds. Ninagauth's Shadowflame - Also another great CC spell with some good damage stacked on top of it. Shame its on the same level as Confusion, would've been so great to have the two on separate levels. Pull of Eora - Incredible CC tool, especially for a ranged heavy group. Also great for insuring enemies will still stay inside the numerous damage clouds I create. Level 5 Wall of Force - Give me reason to swap out Wall of Flame for something else (Way too many good level 4s). Its a good spell all around though, plus it adds Hobble too which is very nice for any Reflex attacks I want to toss around. Ninagauth's Bitter Mooring - Very damaging, though this spell has been responsible for a lot of friendly deaths. Opps? Malignant Cloud - Very strong damage over time. Its fun stacking this on top of other damage over time effects. Ryngrim's Enervating Terror - I actually prefer this over Call to Slumber, because of the greater range and duration. Its good for setting up Sneak Attacks as well as letting my Fort and Will based attacks land a little easier. Level 6 Ninaguath's Freezing Pillar - I'm probably a little too trigger happy once I get this, but this one of my all time favorite AoE spells. Great damage, and has a damage over time area as well. Gaze of the Adragan - Petrify is always a fantastic effect. Arkemyr's Capricious Hex - Amazing area of effect. A little unreliable at times, but it does provide variety over using level 6 casts exclusively for Adragan and Freezing Pillar. Level 7 Concelhaut's Crushing Doom - Great damage over time effect and also can effectively stunlock a deadly single enemy. Too bad you get it pretty late. Tayn's Chaotic Orb - Very damaging against smaller group, plus it inflicts all kinds of delicious afflictions. Substantial Phantom - The only reason I didn't list Essential Phantom is because this version exists. Also helps to free up another level 4 slot, since level 4 spells again, are so great. Llengrath's Siphoning Image - This also can free up a level 3 slot, and is a great defensive spell. As an added effect this also a great defensive debuff on single targets too. Shame you get it so late though. Level 8 Kalakoth's Freezing Rake - The amount of damage this spell deals is just incredible. This spell's range is deceptively bigger than it looks though, another cause of friendly deaths =/ Wall of Many Colors - Not only is this the best wall spell, its the best spell in the game period. Just one casting is enough to cause all kinds of carnage, its so amazing. These are all my opinion though. I'm sure we all have different preferences. Concelhaut's Draining Missiles doesn't do a lot of damage. Its an ok way to heal yourself though, and can also works decently with Combusting Wounds. Not a huge fan of most of the Llengrath exclusives save for Siphoning Image and Blunting Wisdom. Blunting Wisdom is incredibly powerful, dealing huge amounts of damage and not even giving a care for DR. The delay between impact and dealing damage is a little annoying though.

Huh, druid would actually work really well. since they do primarily use shock based spells. Druids can tank without spiritshift incidentally, though you would need to use a shield. You mainly use spiritshift for the extra DR when using a Druid tank. I did also suggest a fire-based Wizard. Wizards can use guns just fine, though Blast doesn't work with them. Paladins are incredible tanks now. Faith and Conviction also scales with level now, so you don't need to make him the main character (Though it is more optimal). You can tank with a two-hander just fine during mid and late game. During early game or the more dangerous fights though, you'll definitely want to pull out a shield for them. Outlander's Frenzy will allow you to use the Barbarian's Frenzy ability as a Monk, its not a bad pick for them either. Though the attack speed buff from it doesn't stack with Swift Strikes.

IMO: Crono = Human Fighter In-game, Crono primarily uses physical attacks. He does have some spell casting ability, but you only really use his Sword attacks and techs. This game lacks katanas however. Though you can probably run either a Greatsword or Estoc. Marle = Human Priest Obvious, since she's primarily a healer. None of the Priest orders have Crossbow as a favored weapon though. Lucca = Human Cipher Lucca is primarily a magic user once she's able to use spells in CT so Cipher seems like a perfect fit, since they can easily be made to be a gunslinging mage (Though only a single fire based power sadly). Wizard is not a bad choice either if you lean towards fire spells for her choices. Frog = Wild Orlan Paladin Paladin is a perfect match for Frog. He is your other healer remember, but also just feels fitting. Frog never uses any shields of any kind, so I'd probably go for a greatsword. Up to you though. Ayla = Human Monk Duh. Magus = Pale Elf Wizard Also duh. Pale Elf is probably the more fitting of the two elven races just by skin and hair color XD Unfortunately there are no scythes in PoE, so you'll probably have to improvise. This also gives you a pretty good balance as well. With "Crono" and "Ayla" acting as your party's tanks, "Frog" and "Marle" acting as the party's healers and supporters and "Lucca" and "Magus" as the party's damage dealers... which actually does follow their roles in CT itself! Also don't forget to make custom portraits for maximum immersion.

AFAIK, Exceptional Robes cannot be bought, only dropped by enemies.

Rogues bad? what

You can NEVER have enough!

I personally think INT > MIG > PER >= DEX. A lot of the Wizard's best damage spells are multi-hitting or damage over time so ideally you want a high Might score to punch through DR. Deleterious Alacrity of Motion gives a lot of Attack Speed so I think DEX isn't as valuable, but it is an important stat nonetheless. I still find PER very useful for a late game Wizard since it does directly increase your chances of critting. A Freezing Pillar that crits with every hit is incredibly damaging. Also as you mentioned, PER does effect Interrupts, of which Wizards are among the best at. Being able to get pass a Dragon's Concentration is incredibly helpful. As for race, I usually prefer Wood Elf if I'm going pure ranged. Race doesn't really matter too much for a Wizard though IMO.

1) I'll parrot what everyone has already said, Monk looks like the class you'd probably enjoy most. They're the most engaging of the martial characters with their wide set of abilities. A melee Cipher would be a close second for sure though, since they are effectively a martial mage. 1a) Druid spells are pretty fun, and of the casters I feel Druids are the best controllers in the game. Shapeshifting is very powerful, and is generally why Druids perform a lot better than Priests and Wizards during early game. 1b) Ciphers can made to tank, the Grieving Mother actually works pretty well in this role. Ciphers are only squishy if you build them ranged and wear lighter armor. 1c) They're very straightforward actually. Since they're generally just flanking targets and auto-attacking to them to death; maybe tossing out Finishing Blow, Sap of Crippling Strike here and there. About the most tactical thing you can do with them is turn off Reckless Assault and pull out a shield should they have any heat on them. 1d) Very often. You only need take 10 damage to gain 1 wound. 2) Durance and the Grieving Mother require you to adventure with them for periods of time to complete their companion quests. So bringing those two along is probably a good idea. Aloth has a lot of plot relevance so he's another decent choice. 3) They add a lot to the game, I'd say they're worth it.

Radiant Spore for me, but that's because I didn't meet the check to get the Vithrack Brutes to side with me. Ondrite Monks and the Adra Dragon would be the close seconds. The Adra Dragon's breath seems to hit a lot harder than the Alpine's, plus Adragans are annoying.

They are very annoying, since its hard to keep them under control and they can inflict a very long lasting Prone. I generally just Charmed them since they do make great allies and with the lowered defenses their allies can kill them quite easily.

http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/83491-class-build-the-drakes-ambassador-searing-mesmerizing-chanter-tank/ This build can be used with Kana.

There is no aggro, only engagement. Enemies by default will either try to aim for whichever the squishiest character they can find or the closest character they can reach. You need to engage enemies to have them focus on your tank. Establishing engagement though simply means clicking on a target and having your tank auto-attack them. Due to engagement limitations, its near impossible to run only 1 tank. You'll probably want to run at least two. Also, enemy Paladins, Rogues, Monks and Barbarians will always try to aim for your rear line. Unless your tank has a powerful disengagement attack, they are usually very willing to break engagement just to harass your poor ranged characters. In such cases, its usually a good idea to have your back line characters have some kind of way to defend themselves. Chanters will usually draw more attention to themselves than a Paladin, since they're treated as a caster class and they have lower defenses than a Paladin; which makes them a more attractive target for enemies. Barbarians auto-attacks are AoE whereas the Rogue is more in-line for huge single target damage, both classes work just fine with pikes. If you're using the Tall Grass though, a Barbarian will be a much better user, since they can effectively turn that weapon into an AoE prone inflicting attack. Ranger is the king of ranged weapons, a Ranger will out damage a ranged Rogue. The Ranger will also bring a lot more than ranged Rogue as well since they also come with a pet which can be used to distract enemies and deal a lot of damage. Cipher is another option, since they're basically a caster that can use weapons (Technically so can a Wizard as well but they have per rest abilities). They won't do as much damage as a Ranger but they do bring various powers which can help keep enemies under control. Its probably a good choice if you're having problems with enemies sticking on your tanks, since they can just Charm any stray enemies coming towards the back line.

Before you get Time Parasite, guns still have a strong incentive over other ranged weapons. Even when you get Time Parasite, using the first shot of a gun to generate a huge amount of Focus and then switching over to your bow is the best way to open a fight; since the huge amount of Focus a gun generates can be used to get Time Parasite and Reaving Knives up as quickly as possible.

Casters are capable of tanking, you just need a specific build for it. Unless you choose to opt for glass cannon builds, its actually very viable (And highly recommended) to build all your characters with some degree of defensive capabilities. Caster heavy, I like having a wide variety of options, plus casters by nature can adapt to different combat situations quite well. Its pretty common to see me run at least 1 Druid, Priest and Wizard. Very micro heavy though, as it does require a lot of judgment to use those per rest spells in the most effective manner possible.

Tornado theoretically has high damage output since it can potentially hit multiple times in smaller areas. Its travel speed is pretty terrible compared to the other similar spells like Crackling Bolt or Rolling Flame. Also the majority of late game battles take place in much more open areas.

There's a distinct difference between Attack Speed and Reload Speed. The Speed mod only affects the former but does nothing whatsoever for the latter. The Dulcanale and Fellstroke are much better pistols. For a majority of enemies though the Blunderbuss will vastly out damage a Pistol, which also results in a higher overall Focus gain. Against enemies with high DR values though like Animats, pisols fare much better.

They were more annoying back when the Prayer spells only raised defenses instead of making you immune. I'll admit they're less of a headache nowadays, although those Dank Spores in the catacombs are still annoying since you won't have Prayer against Confusion.

I would actually drop Greater Focus. The Might bonus from Outlander's is good for augmenting the amount of Focus you gain from your opening shots, which brings much better overall benefit than Greater Focus does. Greater Focus should mainly be used during the early stages of the game.