[Best AoE class for TC]

Actually Ciphers has one of the best starting CC with Whispers of Treason. Sure, it is not AoE, but the thing is it will pull aggro away from your team and you can initiate with it. Maybe even cause the enemy to waste skills on the charmed enemy.

 

Yes, yes more micro and all that jazz. But good thing is that most of the Ciphers powers are Foe AoE, so the lack of targeting is not that bad.

 

I find the best AoE for me is Druid's Relentless Storm. It is very disruptive to the enemies whilst giving your party a fair bit of breathing room.

Also Tenuous grasp is really good.  Although I actually think its more useful later cause its cheap on focus and you can consistently make dragons fumble around.

[Best AoE class for TC]

Use the Wizard and if you want more CC bring a Druid. I also like Priests.  That is my most rocking back line.  You bring the same exact spells that you use in non PoTD.  You just have to aim a little better and place AEO with FF a bit farther back.  So you didn't get the enemy front liners but you CCed there casters.  Tank the front liners and kill the casters and the front line will go down after.  Or CC the back line casters  by lowering their ACC or proning them while you take out the enemy front line.

 

Friendly Fire. Who cares.  A Paladin will either get grazed or Missed anyway.  Especially in the early game.  In the late I don't care cause even though my caster ACC is sky so high so are my defenses.  I will get a graze or a miss and even if I get hit I have Vets recovery and other passive healing (or Lay on Hands depending on build).  Its more important that I CC.  The same goes for the rest of your front liners.  Even a DPS Fighter has recovery and its good enough to keep him up if hes prone.  A chanter with a tank build will not get hit much either way even if he is hit by FF and the enemy will also be cced so you cut even.

 

You can also pick tank races that are highly resistant to CC.  Coastal Amauea get a +30 to prone and stun.  A Coastal who is a Paladin will very rarely take a knock down from slicken.

Pale Elf.  Literally just stand in fire or frost who cares.  With some type of endurance recovery, if hes a chanter, fighter or Paladin he will not go down.

 

Act 1 Most clutch Wizard Spells on PoTD:  Concelhauts Parasitic Staff (its exceptional and this act 1 great ACC) stack that with Zealous Focus and your Wizard is a great battle mage even if you don't plan him to be in the late game. CC be damned in ACT 1 he will have ACC with that staff and crush Raedrics Paladins.  Zealous Focus helps a lot if you do not take Edlritch Aim (it suppresses focus)  I think Aim lasts too short so I like ZF.  If you don't have a Paladin you can get ACC with Blessing from a priest or Gallants Focus or a potion.

 

Slicken:  Could care less about proning my front line.  Aim a little farther back and you will do fine.

 

Chill Fog: This can suck on your frontline just aim at the backline and blind their wizards and priests.

 

Curse of Blackened Sight: its PotD there is a lot of bad guys.  Well get ****ed cause they are blinded as they cluster and there is no FF to this spell.  This spell stays useful throughout the game its one of my Favs. 

 

Miasma of Dullness:  The AOE isn't huge Aim at the back of the enemy front line and you will be fine.  You might miss a few but if you get another few that's fine.

 

Rolling Flame: Again I Don't care about the spell damage to my front line.  Blind them, let them cluster and fire massive AEO (Iconic Projection from a priest and this spell, plus the blinding druid fire spell or burst of summer flames will annihilate most of Raedrics crew).

 

Wizards Double: More deflection wizard will not get touched

 

Arcane Veil + Hardened Veil: Wizard will be untouchable against deflection.  Make sure you CC and kill the uncontrolled mob that is attacking your backline.  With Concelhauts Staff and ZF they will go down fast.

 

Against Raedric I don't run for the door.  I stand at the stares with a thick enough frontline (3) and wait for them to cluster and Blind the frontline (-minus reflect and Dex) fire Iconic Projection, Burst of Summer Flame, Arcane assault (raw damage no FF) and Rolling flame and 80% are dead or Near Death and its clean up time.  Also having a chanter with White Worm explosion (forgot the name) will destroy them.  Look at Boer's tactics.

 

If your burst AOE DPS is not good enough in that fight you might be toast because there paladins have unlimited Lay on Hands it looks like lmao.

[Chanter build help]

Same here it's a believable number for me. That being said what if the "average" civilian has a 5 in all stats. Maybe a 10 is just the average adventurer/soldier/ whatever you want to call it

[Chanter build help]

I just hate dumping stats that low but thats an RP thing that i do.  I guess it would depend what the numbers "represent".  Is a 10 DEX the average  person?  or the average person who is involved in combat/adventuring.  I guess the "average" person could be considered those npcs you potentially fight when you meet aloth.  They are instantly gibbed by even the weakest of characters.  And all the average Citizen NPCs die immediately to your characters lol...I think I just talked myself out of being a dumping stat Nazi lol

 

Paladin is the only class I really hate seeing dumped stats on.  I just leave DEX at 10 but I do not dump it.

[Shameful admission. I have never used Combusting Wounds properly.]

Got ya.  I mean the AOE of Sacred Immolation will be gimped with a bad INT.  Its not a solo run so that matters a bit.  Not worried about Exhortation durations as they are long enough with 10 INT.  Do not get me wrong I love high INT exhortations but even the base time is hefty.  

[Shameful admission. I have never used Combusting Wounds properly.]

We talked about those weird DoTs a couple of months ago. I just looked it up again and according to Kaylon:

 

 

 

[...]Enduring Flames seems to have now a fixed duration and its damage isn't affected by INT anymore. It deals 50% burn damage against 100%DR (because there are a fixed 4 ticks) but each tick is affected by MIG and someone with 30MIG will do 80% burn damage overall instead. A paladin could end adding 200% burn damage against 175% DR which means you can one shot many enemies with an arquebus or Firebrand.

So you will not have to worry about SA with gimped INT.

 

High INT is also not too bad with Runner's Wounding Shot and/or Tidefall. Because it's all raw damage the DR is no issue and thus the longer timespan where the DoT is applied over more and smaller ticks is not a problem. The overall raw damage stays the same, it just takes a bit longer to apply it completely (few seconds). You don't lose overall damage - you just lose a bit of dps (damage per second). So enemies die a few seconds later - that's the worst thing that will happen. Longer wounding duration can also have benefits - for example if you try to time Cleasing Flame + wounding on the same target or when you have a pet with Predator's Sense in the party.

 

Thanks man! One more thing. What's the Acronym for SA? Not sure what you mean by that

[Shameful admission. I have never used Combusting Wounds properly.]

@ Boer! hey you bum! I need your test knowledge since all my save files are single files! How's the damage on Enduring Flames with 10 INT. My Immolation AE will suck

[Chanter build help]

Ya if you are a phrase changer you want might.

[Resonant Touch]

ya I thought it would be good cause raw damage is great vs Dragons.

[Resonant Touch]

I feel like Resonants Touch is a bad ass dragon killer. Doesn't it attack will?

[Shameful admission. I have never used Combusting Wounds properly.]

Make a really stupid Goldpact paladin with Runner's Wounding, Tidefall and Enduring Flames.

 

Might work quite well...

That dumped int makes me cringe man. What's the damage like at 10 INT?

 

Plus AOE for your Sacred Immolation will suck

[Shameful admission. I have never used Combusting Wounds properly.]

Enduring Flames

[The Darcozzi Forward Observer. Could use some input!]

 

If you are going to use FoD in melee id go Monsterlash Bittercut build with your Bleak Walker and let your chanter mark. If not you can do what I'm doing in my current run a marking paladin with quick switch alphas from arbalests. A bleak walker will still do the most damage with that build because you get an extra corrode lash with "Remember Rakhan Field" and you can mark.

 

I wouldn't bother to FoD with shame or glory etc.

 

Got it then. I still want the Paladin to be primarily a DPS one; so I will give Shame and Glory or Cladhalíath to the Chanter tank. But 1 Marking weapon user is enough? PotD is scaring me already after having seen my Paladin only have 31 percent v. level 2 spiders!

 

I only ever use one marker but if you have a chanter who is doing passive AOE DPS two works really well and is more flexible.

[The Darcozzi Forward Observer. Could use some input!]

If you are going to use FoD in melee id go Monsterlash Bittercut build with your Bleak Walker and let your chanter mark. If not you can do what I'm doing in my current run a marking paladin with quick switch alphas from arbalests. A bleak walker will still do the most damage with that build because you get an extra corrode lash with "Remember Rakhan Field" and you can also mark!

 

"Saber 03 from Thor01 north 50m" "thor01 saber03 in 270"

 

Saber 03 thor01 cleared hot! Bang crit on the Alpine dragon!

 

I wouldn't bother to FoD with shame or glory etc.

[The Darcozzi Forward Observer. Could use some input!]

So that was my first successful TC run and the build is flawed in that is has no Alpha capability so if you are the last guy left you have no way of securing a kill and will die. It's better if you take FoD and sworn enemy so that you can help in securing kills and still mark. If you find yourself alone have the possible chance of coming out alive and continuing your run. I got lucky and played very well on that run so I was never in the situation. The party was good.

 

My stats were

 

MIG 15

 

CON 10

 

DEX 10

 

PER 10

 

INT 18

 

RES 15

[A flail Paladin with a shield....]

Agreed Fighter with a large shield is really good for a flail. He can also take weapon mastery and make it hit like a average speed onehander. Bah but fighter tanks or such a missed opportunity for good consistent damage. Still depends on the party. If you have other classes doing the melee DPS fighters are definitely good at tanking.

[Shameful admission. I have never used Combusting Wounds properly.]

Yes, Chillfog, Wicked Briars, Nature's Terror, Spark the Souls of the Righteous and such are still working great, but nowadays DoTs are not.

 

Also, I did a nasty typo with the 300 - I meant 30.  Rodriguez called, he wants his Buttercut back...

How are DOTs broken? other then the old stuff like high INT characters making DOTs worse.

[A flail Paladin with a shield....]

Let's think. First of all flails are fast, low-hitting weapons the +30% graze-to-hit conversion.

Whom can they benefit the most?:

- someone who hasn't eliminated grazes,

- and thus doesn't rely on critting, but still has high damage modifiers to overcome enemy DR (and make use of that micro-lash if present)

- someone who auto-attacks a lot, but doesn't rely on Primary and especially on Full-Action attacks.

 

---

There are not that many unique flails in the game...

 

- Gaun's Share - draining

- Starcaller - extra 10% damage as burn; stunning; spellstrike: Minoletta's Minor Missiles

- Unforgiven - extra 10% damage as burn; speed

- Forgotten Tear of the Beloved - very weak spellchance effect (10% to daze the target); spellbind: Prayer Against Treachery (1 per rest); spellblind: Suppress Affliction (2 per rest)

 

> In terms of damage, flails (and specifically Starcaller/Unforgiven) could benefit only cipher, and a weird low-per melee rogue (without Finishing Blow and Backstab).

> In terms of utility, there is the Forgotten Tear which one would use only for it's spellbinds and then would switch to other weapon.

Ya pretty much crap for a Paladin lol my dreams are crushed! Maybe with starcaller/sworn enemy and ZF for a disable tanking weapon. Although that damn Alpine Dragon is immune to both crush and stun that bastard. I love slaying him lol

 

PS: Even if I wanted to have a disable weapon for the Paladin for my tanking slot. Wetoki (The prone Axe) would be better.  It has a damage type that yes some enemies have high DR against but no one is immune except some blights I think. Axes have annhilation and no dragon is immune to prone.  I think it would be hard for a Paladin to prone a dragon with auto attacks but with enough buffs and sworn enemy you might.  Still a fighter is way better suited for this.  I feel like I am forcing (as always) the flail type Paladin and trying to play to a Paladin's weaknesses instead of his strengths.  Paladins are terrible auto attackers.  Its just not good no matter what way we look at it.

[A flail Paladin with a shield....]

Unforgiven is good as auto-attack weapon if combined with Vulnerable Attack + Ryona's Vambr. and durgan steel on shield, armor and weapon. And it comes quite early (basically with Tidefall).

 

The 20% graze to hit is not bad in the early game, too.

 

Starcaller + Badgradr's Barricade is good. You will be fast enough to potentially perma-stun and triggering Thrust oTV all the time.

All that crush damage I hate cause of the WM lol

[A flail Paladin with a shield....]

So thinking about it...I never try and do damage with my 1hander anyway its always a switch to high min damage weapon (arbalest).  Either way as a support weapon they are way worse then say Shame or Glory, the marking spear or Strike hard.

[A flail Paladin with a shield....]

So for me aesthetically I really want this but in all the ways I look at it its crap. Since day one I have been playing this game I cant figure out a way to make a flail and shield paladin. Cause I do not think there is. Flail damage sucks for anyone whose not a rogue (sneak attack), Fighter (weapon specialization and mastery) or maybe a Barbarian if he is a disable build with carnage but that build isnt for damage. And because of its low fast weapon type FoD is absolutely terribad with it. So maybe he/she can use it as a support weapon? When you are not Alpha striking with FoD? Just take weapon focus soldier and delegate it to your tanking slot seems like my only idea. Like my marking weapons. Maybe Ondra's Tear for when you are tanking cause of the daze and the per rest abilities it comes with. Still a Barb tank with status effect tanking is far superior here. Lastly, its just a crush damage weapon so in the White March it kind of sucks. A lot of stuff is immune to crush.

[Shameful admission. I have never used Combusting Wounds properly.]

Ring of Searing Flames, it gives a couple of uses per rest. You can find a couple of those, I believe.

Ya this.  I have looted  a few on this run.

[Shameful admission. I have never used Combusting Wounds properly.]

Combusting Wounds doesn't just add some fire damage to a hit: it applies a burn DoT effect (that does around 5 damage per tick). I believe MaxQuest showed once that every instance of CW does over 300 burn damage against 0 DR with decent MIG and INT. Of course DR lowers this a lot. The good thing is that it applies the same DoT over and over again (stacks) with every hit - and it doesn't matter how puny the hit is. All you need is to generate a lot of hits in a short amount of time (Heart of Fury, blunderbusses, retaliation, missile spells, wall of something and so on).

 

One of my favorite wizard setups is Island Aumaua + Arms Bearer + Quick Switch + Combusting Wounds + Expose Vulnerabilities + 4 blunderbusses. I don't think there are many competitors to single target burst damage. I never did the math, but it feels more powerful than FoD with an arquebus,especially because you can combine it with special attacks: 24 parallel Combusting Wounds instances and reduced DR already wreck almost everything. But then throw in Runner's Wounding Shot and Envenomed Strike for total DoT Overkill...

 

Also, Kaylon's video where he's killing Magran's Faithful with CW + HoF + Vengeful Defeat shows the power of CW (and HoF of course).

Thanks for the explanation bud.  I have been meaning to ask this for a while and have not.  The in game description just sounds like its puny fire damage for every hit.  Or maybe I just cant read.

[Shameful admission. I have never used Combusting Wounds properly.]

It can be abused somewhat. Cast something that locks down the enemy in place like Web, Slicken or Stun/Prone, then cast an AoE damaging spell with duration, like Chillfog, then cast Combusting Wounds and hit them with tons of ranged speed weapons or blunderbusses or blast wizards. CW will keep triggering and triggering. Dead bad guys galore. Works great when you have bottlenecks like doorways that allows for the enemy to group.

 

Not very Paladin-like I know.... the shame!

Lol its not that! The use has just been foggy to me.  Do you cast it before or after the damage spell.  As you said after works.

 

PS off topic.  Fought the Kraken last night.  That poor bastard I destroy him with no mercy every time he's not tough lol.  Easiest boss by far far far compared to dragons.

 

Sworn Enemy+ Arbalest shot to his noggin for a 196 crit lol.  He was hit simultaneously by Minoletta's Precisely piercing burst and a sunlance.  Instant death.  I think he was injured also from Dragon thrash and wailed plus Sacred Immolation as well.  Because one thing he does have a lot of is HP.  Not that it matters lol

[So I am being greedy on load times?]

Ya I guess I am being a greedy ****. lol