Torm51

I meant RP..

If he/she is not paid UPFRONT. Do they have any obligation to do exactly what their employer says? From what it says about their order "They are believers in the idea that payment/gold is a solemn bond that must be upheld at all costs"...meaning if they are paid to do a job they will not deviate from their employers instructions. So when doing a quest if I am not paid a stipend at the start i can betray My employer if It benefits me or if I am paid by the contrasting party correct? How do you guys interpret this?

Definitely playing PoTD and trial of iron!

This sounds like you've never played a rogue... Shields don't work. from our personal experience, dps rogue deflection don't work against the mistress below. the deflection necessary to withstand the mistress requires a character with tank abilities and talents coupled with the shield deflection bonuses and other tanky gear. as an aside, the mistress below party killer (rogues included) for us is the breath weapon. the breath does corrode damage, but am not recalling if it targets deflection or reflex. our best defenses, other than consumables to temp inflate endurance, is the options we mentioned earlier in this thread. you may also load up on scrolls o' paralysis and revival if you want an easier run at the dragon. scrolls o' confusion is also groovy as the dragon will attack confused ads. grieving mother's mass dominate is similar efficacious, particularly as a couple o' the adragan (sp?) ads can petrify. is kinda funny when battle is won 'cause the adragans keep petrifying the dragon. to torm: we suspect others will disagree, but the hand and key breastplate is not a bad option for the battle in question. sure, it slows down your rate o' attack, but the breastplate offers considerable charm/dominate protection, and the ads will try and dominate you if they can. if you do not use cheese tactics to wipe out the ads before the dragon battle begins, a rogue with meh will saves will get benefit from the breastplate. HA! Good Fun! All adds will be fought if I get that far in this PoTD trial of Iron. I am not going that far in the endless paths until level 12 and full builds. I have done it prior to level 12 and a full build and won but I don't want to risk it here. I agree the most dangerous guy to get dominated in my party is my rogue and with is so so will defense he gets targeted a lot. That coupled with either the priest buff or Bond of Duty (Playing a Goldpact Knight this time as my PC I love Paladins haha) might take this at 12 but its not that good really cause I have the priest...though extra coverage can be good/it lets the priest use some other spells on that level spell list. Really if my paladin has it and I have the priest buff Dominate should be a none issue with my party (although Greater LoH might be a better talent spent at 12 instead of Bond of Duty).

I figured I would ditch defense not to negative values but not positive either and have him hit as hard and as fast as possible using my PC Paladin tank and a Priest for support to keep him alive with LoH and all the priest support spells and a cipher setting him up with CC/sneak attack effects. Its working well so far and he isn't all that squishy with a bit armor and with high Dex his attack speed is still high. I have him in a Cuirass right now (Hand and Key) I think its too heavy though...maybe drop him down to scale or padded? Just padded seems a bit soft for a front liner. Zealous Endurance gives him 3 extra DR its more for my tanks but it helps him. Granted against hard hitters it wont really but hes not going to be getting hit by hard hitters as I have multiple escapes for him.

Gents, As usual thanks for the input. You guys are great.

Ya I already screwed this one up then as I have him with max might and Dex. I thought since hes dps those would be important. Didn't think to build him like a tank. He does have a super high reflex save thanks to his high dex. I keep him safe for now with exactly that a Ciphers CC. anything that engages him takes a CC. So I am going to have to work it that way. if hes caught bad just vanish (WoW term haha) and keep anything that he engages tied up. It has worked so far. Just worried about big bosses. actually this is exactly what I am setting up with the slight variation of Shadow from Beyond. Questionable pick but its another sneak attack at least.

So I am currently building a rogue companion but am stuck between going Ranged gunner (again) as it works very well or going melee rogue this time. I have no experience with squishy melee in dps. How would does it work? I am having nightmares of The master below just turning around and breathing on my rogue since he has the lowest deflection. I understand that's what shadow beyond is for but it breaks as soon as I make an action so the AI will probably just turn right back around to him as soon as he's in melee range. So I am thinking he only goes in when those big hitters are hard CCed (Paralyze, petrify) but what is he doing the rest of the time If the hard hitter isn't finished? I guess he should be by then? I am not going to have a 100% immobilize CC on big bosses like the Master etc I was thinking of equipping him with a blunder buss/pistol for when he cant be in melee range but to make those effective against high DR I would have to pick up at least penetrating shot, quick switch and maybe gunner and the build starts becoming to thinned out in the talents section not being very good at one particular thing.. PS with Shadow Beyond is Backstab worth it?

Why would 2.0 destroy paladin tanks?

It could be the fire touch spell that priests have. It does full fire damage and at that level unless you are a pale elf you probably won't have fire DR. It also lowers your deflection by 25. It 2 shotted one of tanks at level 4. I survived the encounter but I've been more mindful and have used it on my priests since!. Also as stated above Necrotic Lance is painful at early levels as you don't have corrode DR and it leaves a painful dot.

So what is attack speed? The actual animation of swinging your weapon after your recovery bar empties and you attack?

necroing this one as I still have the question.

I had written a post about not taking a weapon Foci at all for a Paladin tank but I did not thoroughly read what you wanted out of it. I would say that if you want some type of offense from your Paladin tank its all about Armor Penetration for melee. Go with Maces I say. If you grab Vulnerable attack you can get a total of 8 armor penetration. I have found on my defense tanks that no matter what weapon I take since they do not have any armor penetration it makes relatively little difference. I say go maces with the armor pen. A CC fighter that wants to reliably land Knock downs is another story entirely. I could def see the benefits of going high accuracy. PS I hate losing the 5 deflection of hatchets lol!

Ya its no big deal especially if you haven't dumped your Int like you said. I know that as long as you turn it off, save and reload it will go back to the size its supposed to be based on your Int. Works every time for me. I turn my auras off, save and log off for the night. The next day I log on and turn them on and they are the correct size. Every time. It works for me at least. So yes if you don't turn it off and on from save to load it will grow again lol

Bond of Duty isn't needed for paladins themselves because of Righteous Soul, and for other party members, there are the priest defense spells against various types of CC. Yeah it seems decent, especially if you don't play with a priest, but as you say, not as good as Inspiring Liberation. Yep I meant as a buff for allies. With Righteous Soul its overkill for myself. And well at least you can cast it per encounter without worrying about wasting spells but you are right. With a priest its meh. PS Nobear if you turn OFF your auras, save and reload they will be the size they are supposed to be. I have the habit now my auras off before I save at the end of the night and turning them back on when I log in. I hate playing with giant aura cheesiness!

I like your forum avatar!

I had to go work but I read that this bugs his quest and he won't talk to you about the quest. Also apparently this prevents a bounty from showing so you can't progress their with the tiered bounties. Any work arounds? Or was this old info that's been fixed...I doubt my luck is that good. I am playing on PoTD so I can't reload hah.

faith and convictions does make a big difference. we can't imagine dropping might or con any further on a tank 'cause o' the fort save issue you identify, but thanks to the aforementioned paladin quality, coupled with judicious usage o' consumables, we more than simple manage... though we do concede that til we get faith and convictions pumped a bit, it makes sense to rely a bit on a second tank. regardless, a +22 fort save bonus does make the unimpressive might and con easier to bear. HA! Good Fun! Agreed now if Darcozzi weren't so damn good. I hate playing Passionate! I usually play a Shieldbearer, Goldpact Knight or Bleak Walker. I think Bond of Duty for Goldpact Knights is underrated but its NOT better then the accuracy Darcozzi buff.

Also I know Darcozzi are damn good. I just hate playing Passionate but it is what it is. Again cant have it all. A Darcozzi will likely be my next Paladin for that reason. Accuracy buff is hard to pass up although I really haven't missed it much in my current PoTD iron man run (which I think I am ending because of a bug to Eder's quest...).

I appreciate the detailed response Gromnir. I just hate having a low Fort save. Granted with Faith and Conviction it will not be that low but having no bonuses to a certain defense bothers me as a tank. Guess you cant have it all...and you almost do as a Paladin thanks to Faith and Con.

So a heavy Intellect Paladin just seems not good at much yet to maximize your support abilities heavy int is the way to go. Thing is a Paladin at the max (meaning level 12) if he takes all Exhortations at every possible level has about 3 to 4targeted abilities which he can use twice a fight (LoH and all Exhortations you can get) +his aura. If you go for an 18 int you have to dump Dex and tank leaving you on the frontline which is a bad position If you have to heal with LoH it will require you to move. I would think a heavy int paladin is a supporter that belongs on the 2nd line and not tanking. You don't have A LOT of abilities like a priest so you have to SOMETHING other then support. If you aren't tanking that leaves damage dealing.....If you go heavy Int you cant dump Dex meaning you need Might and Dex....you would have to grab a mediocre might and dex (like 14 to 15 a piece) as dumping Per and Res is bad even for a offensive Paladin. How would you build a heavy int Paladin?

Wrong forum My bad.

I had to go work but I read that this bugs his quest and he won't talk to you about the quest. Also apparently this prevents a bounty from showing so you can't progress their with the tiered bounties. Any work arounds? Or was this old info that's been fixed...I doubt my luck is that good. I am playing on PoTD so I can't reload hah.

I agree with Luckmann. I played NWM and its a great multiplayer at the sacrifice of a crappier single player experience. I would not want PoE to be multiplayer. Again check out sword coast legends for multiplayer I will be. A good example is DA:I and Mass Effect 3. Very good games. Could have been GREAT without multiplayer. The multiplayer is very mediocre and more development could of gone into single player.

Look at Sword Coast Legends bud. I am definitely trying it when it comes out.