KingsGambit

Hi all, With the way multiple stats govern different skills, I'm finding it hard to get a right build going. I'd really like to play a pistolero, using revolvers and the like to headshot enemies. What I've come up with so far is 3 Per, 2 Dex and 1 Int, and adding +10 to range and stealth categories. I'm not sure if this is the best way to go tho. What would you suggest for a build focusing revolvers, dodging and lockpicking? I don't mind re-rolling as I've only just started. I get the feeling that something isn't right with the above, but it could just be my uncertainty about the way stats work. Also, what is the fastest route to get some great pistol weapons? Are there any available early on?

I realised only recently the restriction on laying only a single trap. I can't find any mod for this in the usual places so wondered, does anyone know where the setting can be found in the game files to mod this to allow laying multiple traps?

Hi all, My google-fu is letting me down here. I want to use a couple of mods from Nexus but I believe they weren't updated for the latest PoE1 patch. Can anyone advise me how or point me toward resources for how I might update a mod to work on the most recent (and hopefully final?) version of the game?

I've looked into this mod (http://www.nexusmods.com/pillarsofeternity/mods/19/) on Nexus that removes the timer, but it has the unfortunate issue of a graphical problem whereby it doesn't display the magic effects or form correctly, instead replaced by purple. I'm hoping someone will figure out a mod to just make it a modal ability and be done with it. It's frustrating that it lasts so short a time and has one use per encounter. I'd like shapeshifting to be my choice whether it's on (for the wildstrike bonus) or off (for gear bonuses).

Except that Brigandine has a -50% recovery penalty (0% for spiritshift) and spiritshift druids can get wildstrike dmg bonus to make them competitive with everyone else.

The city zones (not Heritage Hill), like Gilded Vale and Dyrford Village should be uncovered automatically (no FoW). Wilderness areas, dungeons and the like should still have it, but the patch notes mentioned that explored parts should be less dark than before.

Well I persevered and managed to beat all the encounters on the map. However now I cannot enter the door in the middle. I've consulted my guide and know I need a password from one of the spirits. However none of the spirits have anything of note to say and the I can't get the passphrase from the one supposed to give it. Any ideas? Question about Krivi's grimoire still stands (tho I will hand in Master's Tools soon). Edit: Completing Master's Tools does in fact allow the grimoire to be looted without making the Vithrack turn hostile. )

Hi all, I'm hoping for some advice on tackiling Endless Paths. I'm stuck at Lvl 13 and am struggling to progress. Normally with a hard fight, I'll lose once, sometimes twice but beat it on a reload. This time it's different tho and I'm getting thoroughly demolished whatever I can think of. The biggest problem I feel is the Cean Gwla who Terrify and worse, Paralyse for 10-20s, during which time my party gets owned by the Adra Animats (who without the banshees helping them, I can manage fine). My game is on hard and the party is level 8, comprising a druid werewolf (me), Eder (Tank), Grieving Mother (melee), Aloth (nuker), Durance and Sagani. My druid has greater wildstrike freeze and secrets of rime, so am opening up with all the nuke spells I can from everyone, but I haven't killed anything in the opening salvo. Are there any tactics or specific spells I could be using? Is there any way to resist the paralysis (I know there's a lvl 5 priest spell but I'm half a level away from lvl 9 on my chars). I'd appreciate any advice, tho "come back at a higher level" is an obvious piece that I'm fine without ;-) PS. One other question...how does one obtain the cool Grimoire next to Krivi, the Vithrack on level 12, just beside the nest? I can't stealth enough for him not to see me and if I take it, they go hostile for stealing. Is it linked to the Master's Tools quest?

I've just now finished the last upgrade to the Keep and tho my purse is a little light just now (about 2k), I think it's not a great deal overall. I've done everything up to Gilded Vale and am doing Dyrford atm. I've done three bounties and up to lvl 6 of Endless Paths. So I still have Dyrford, both major cities (I haven't even been to yet), lvls 7-15 of Endless Paths and all but the first 3 bounty quests and I'm done with the Stronghold upgrades. ) I've also bought a couple of items from the merchants (exceptional armour, camping stuff, etc). I can't buy a 10k weapon anytime soon but I'm well geared and lots yet to find. I don't think upgrading it will cost you in the long run. True, there are items you can buy with that money, but then there's probably better items for the finding from various quests and merchants later. I've fully upgraded it before finishing Act I so I'm sure there's more than enough copper out there for your shopping fix )

I thought there was already a thread for this subject. I like to have romances in the games. I think PoE is worse off without them. For those that don't like them, having them in the game makes no difference since they can be ignored. I still consider Viconia one of, if not m outright favourite BioWare NPC ever. She had so much personality and most of it came thru in the romance that spanned dozens of hours of adventuring, questing, combat and the best RPG ever made. I really hope we get a toolset so some intrepid fans can add in what Obsidian overlooked.

That is so sweet! Very jealous. Were I able I would've liked to back at a higher tier but I'm still glad to have been a part of contributing to this great game. That T-Shirt and other goodies look great. Anyway, I just got to Caed Nua and Eora isn't gonna save itself )

Within a few months, there will be a player who beat the game solo, PotD, Expert, Ironman. OT, I can't say with certainty since I don't know the game in-depth (yet!), but I imagine that the classes most likely to be solo-able would be Cipher first and Ranger second. Cipher because of Charm. As well as not requiring rest to recharge their abilities, the Charm ability has to be the single best status effect on the basis that it a) reduced the number of opponents b) increases the number of allies and c) adds more targets for remaining opponents to focus on (ie. another HP pool that isn't the players) and not only does it give opponents a new target, but it is in fact desired that enemies kill it. In addition to charming, they can also stun and simultaneously buff/debuff. Ranger could work too since the animal companion drastically changes the dynamic. It gives the player two units permanently, one of which can tank and keep enemies engaged while the ranger can loose powerful arrows. Between them they can hobble, knock prone and stun as well so there is some CC available. Both the above could be played stealthily, avoiding confrontation where possible and specced stat-wise to have good conversation options.

Yes. When you mouseover the weapon, it will say "Two-Handed" or "One-Handed" at the top of the tooltip. Anything Two-Handed would get the bonus from the appropriate talent.

Yes, it's a shame about the chanters' mechanic, taking anywhere from minimum 12 to maximum 40 seconds to cast anything. But I suppose the nature of the class is the trade off between the power of the constant chants vs. the frequency of using invocations. The Paladin would certainly be more active and could contribute a great deal to a fight despite lower damage output. From a RP perspective, it also adds the disposition/reputation bonuses/maluses for adhering to their Order's ethos. FYI, there is a Paladin companion to join the party in Defiance Bay. Saying that, Paladin is a good choice since they are consistently outperformed in DPS anyway, even with high might. Playing them as a low hp but otherwise survivable support class they can be fully realised without being hamstrung at all. Their AoE's are short range (2.5-5m before Int bonus) but lots of targeted abilities, including a "resurrect" of sorts. And even at -21%, Lay on Hands and Flame of Devotion aren't terrible and can be specced to confer other bonuses. For example, Shielding Flames (Shieldbearer order) grants a deflection bonus to allies and Intense Flames increases Flame of Devotion dmg further. Get a powerful gun and open combat with a flame of devotion shot, it will still hit very hard and give everyone a temporary deflection bonus. Your tank will thank you )

The main downside is that many opponents have Damage Reduction comparable to the damage range from the one-handed, fast weapon category, so a lot of the time the majority of damage will be reduced. I imagine a percentage reduction over a flat one could have solved this at the design phase of development tho I suspect it is very much a conscious choice by Obsidian. As it is, with 18 Might, two 10-15 damage fast weapons, doing max, non-crit damage against DR12 would do 2x 3 dmg = 6 dmg, vs a 19-28 dmg Two-Hander would do 28-12 = 16 dmg. Saying that, there are the other factors like DR vs different damage types, attack speed, talents, etc. Also worth noting is that every single point less in an enemy's DR equals two points of damage from two, fast weapons (double the benefit vs. a single weapon).

I don't agree with most points. Sneaking around is beneficial for sure, but not required and I don't normally bother. About squishies/aggro...squishies shouldn't be getting hit and I don't mind not having an aggro/threat mechanic. That's MMO nonsense and I think games are much more organic without strict aggro management. Positioning becomes the key. I've found combat to be fun and challenging and as for the spell system...it's not perfect, but it's not bad. I'd like hotkeys and less rubbish spells vs. brilliant spells (meaning very few are used often and many see little use at all). The only thing I'd agree on is the rest/camping. I think it's a silly feature and an unnecessary throwback to old-school games/D&D. Removing the rest mechanic and just having everything "per encounter" or "at will" would be a significant improvement by removing an unnecessary, hampering feature. I actually hated it in D&D too and was why I loved the Warlock in NWN2 so much....not having to rest to get my spells back (altho even in NWN2 resting was free and took 5 seconds). I think the combat is just right, working at slow speed or with pause, just like BG2. It encourages positioning, teamwork and so on.If not for the rest mechanic, removing the restriction on wizards, druids, priests and other "per rest" classes, it'd be perfect.

Sooooo...no damage and no getting hit....there's a couple of options but DPS, healing and/or tanking are obviously not a viable option. 3 Mig/Con would incur a malus of -21% to dmg and healing and -42% to HP. Fortitude would also suffer. The obvious ones are support Chanter or Paladin. Both are walking buff-machines that enhance the rest of the party simply on account of being there. The Chanter can also contribute summoned creatures to combat as well as charm ad paralysis. And despite low HP and fortitude, high Dex, Per, Int and Res will mean that they will have very good reflex and will defences. DR and deflection of course come from armour and shields which can still be used. As such, they'd be reasonably robust as long as they're kept out of the fray and just offer support to those who are. Priest could also work. While the healing would suck with such a hefty penalty, they still have many buffs/debuffs that would have useful effects. The last I can think of is an interrupt build, on the basis of high dex/per. A rogue would be a bad idea (and sneak attack will be pointless with such low might), but a ranger could work. As well as having an animal companion to distract/tank and mix things up in melee, get Strengthened Bond, Swift Aim (and Swift and Steady) and no armour, going for pure attack speed wherever possible. Having a high rate of attack and chance to interrupt will severely hamper (stunlock) targeted enemies. The Ranger can also do a few status effects (prone, stun, hobble) which can benefit the rest of the party. I think fighter, monk, rogue, cipher and barbarian would be useless and very fragile. Simlarly, druids and wizards, in spite of a high int, would be very ineffective. I think the chanter could be quite viable tho. Ancient Memory would be less effective but beyond that, they can still contribute with their status effects and summons. Another nice feature is that they don't need to rest to regain spells/abilities. You could roleplay a Paladin perhaps as an old, retired (or crippled) military leader, hence his poor health/strength but still has great command in battle. The ranger could be fun too since you'll still have an animal companion that's a little more robust, making combat more involved.

I'm glad they never made AP an action game with RPG elements. If Mike had no skills with a gun category, he would suck using them. I like it that way, a proper action RPG. It could've been polished a bit and the invisibility/regenning armour were out of place. Oh and the AI reaction to alarms/bodies was amusing. But I would be all over a sequel like red on a Ferrari.

They'd lack the fighter's inherent endurance regen but throw a shield and heavy armour on (along with items to increase deflection and other defences) and they may perform well enough. The main issue you'll find is that their class abilities/talents are more geared toward dealing damage. They have low starting deflection vs. fighters/paladins (15 vs. 25 respectively). They do have Thick Skinned, Savage Defiance, Stalwart Defiance and Threatening Presence which could be useful, as well as their Barabric Yell which fears in an AoE. The latter two Sicken and Frighten respectively which are good debuffs to reduce enemies effectiveness, which is sorta an indirect form of tanking ) Frenzy will be a bad choice for him tho. You will be hamstringing him in terms of damage tho. Wearing heavy armour increases recovery speed and holding a shield means *not* holding a second/two-handed weapon. Carnage is great no matter what, what Frenzy will penalise his defences, making him a worse tank. You will likely also need to take defensive talents like "Weapon and Shield Style" or "Cautious Attack" for example, and you don't get many talents (six?) so picking a defensive one over an offensive one is obviously the cost. It's all a trade off. Every defensive talent is one less offensive one. Heavier armour/shield lowers damage output.

Sorry to cause trouble, but my title is missing a letter at the start ("Best") Thanks so much in advance. The cape is really swish too BTW )

I'm currently level 4, finishing off quests in Gilded Vale on my first playthru with a Pale Elf Druid. I rolled 18,8,16,8,18,10 stats wise and werewolf spiritshift form. I was looking forward to the mix between shifted beatstick and caster form. It's not the best. As with everything I've noticed (so far) in the game, everything is tempered and restricted. Probably the most annoying thing is that it's not an "at will" ability. It's restricted to one change per encounter. This itself wouldn't matter since that's when you want to shapeshift, but for the fact that it has a stingy timer on it. Any more than two enemies in an encounter and it'll wear off before you're done. The damage output is good and the damage reduction is nice too....being equivalent to high level armour but without the speed penalty. Being able to cast spells while shifted is also very good and the shift time is instant. The short timer however is frustrating and I'm dearly hoping a mod/tweak could be made to remove it, alongside the single-use per encounter. Further, the benefit of the werewolf, being able to knock enemies prone, is not passive as I thought, or even per encounter, but 2 uses per *rest*, hampering it's usefulness. I find I just use my fighter's knockdown instead and save the werewolf's for tough fights, so the majority of the time the werewolf specific bonus is ignored and unused. Lastly, despite the good DR, spiritshift gets no bonus to deflection or HP so if you're getting hit, you still won't live very long at all. Altogether, it's mostly effective, at least for now, but meh. For the sake of answering questions I had but couldn't find answers too: - I believe taking Weapon Specialisation: Peasant will increase accuracy while shifted (since it counts as unarmed) - Taking Two Weapon Style will increase attack speed 20% while shifted. - I'm not positive, but I believe taking "Scion of Flame" or "Secret of Rime" for example will further increase the Wildstrike Fire/Freeze damage respectively.

My SSD didn't have enough space and I don't have any games I can uninstall right now ( HDD it is...truthfully, it's probably for the best since I don't imagine the game will be uninstalled.

I don't doubt that the game can and will tell a compelling, personal and epic story as it stands, but I think the lack of romances is a detriment. One of the fondest things I remember from BG2 was the potential romances. They added replayability, they fleshed out both the PC and the NPC companions, showing their personalities and having to *try*. Their inclusion is part of what made characters like Jaheira, Aeria and Viconia so memorable. They had their own personalities and preferences and the PC had to role-play to type to stand any chance. I'm excited about the game, no question, but disappointed that something so important was missed out. I'm really hoping that there will be a toolset in the weeks/months ahead and that some intrepid fans can fix what I consider Obsidian's oversight/mistake.

Thanks for the reply, I hope you are right ) I would've thought we'd get a box to enter it ourselves on this site but this works too. Will have to keep an eye out for any in-game memorial onec it unlocks in a few hours (this waiting is tortuous). You come across as a very convincing human BTW. For a machine you should be very proud; you'd totally pass the Turing Test )