SkeeSilentT

Yes they can get those skills, Chanters can get skills to up their accuracy like Weapon Focus too. It isn't a question of "are these talents worth pursuing" it is a question of "how far am I willing to go to make a class that is not well suited for what I want them to do be capable of doing what I want them to do". A Priest will never be as good a tank/melee fighter as a Paladin or even a Chanter if you give them the same or similar skills as the Priest. Why? Because they have better base stats to support that role from ground zero. Just like the Paladin will never be as good as a Priest as a straight caster if you give them the sames talents/skills because the Priest was better at it to begin with. I understand you want to be a priest. I am just letting you know a Goldpact Paladin is basically a 100% match with no need for tweaking on what you said you wanted to play. An off tank melee fighter with casting abilites, buffs, and a look out for number one attitude. You literally described a Goldpact Paladin in your OP. Understood. The way you said it made me think that no matter how much I tried, making a front-line Priest would be a bad idea lol. Just wanted to make sure their talents didn't get ripped to shreds via nerfs; I know the wikia has a lot of out-dated information. But yeah, I agree that Paladin, Goldpact Knight in particular, would provide me with the gist of what I want and with much less sacrifice. Thing is though, having Dual-Classed from Priest of Talos at lvl 15 to Fighter in Baldur's Gate II and ToB, I am very used to sacrifice. As always, thank you for your feedback; I appreciate it!

But can't the Priest's measley accuracy score be enhanced with talents like "The Pallid Hand," "Inspiring Radiance," "Aggrandizing Radiance," and either Weapon Focus: Soldier/Noble/etc? IIRC, the wiki says (the start of many wrong sentences) the Priest has a passive (Sacred Circle) that grants accuracy. So long as no allies are near him, he gets the passive accuracy bonus himself. I also believe "Cautious Attack," increases their sub-par deflection as well. Do you think these talents are not worth investment on a Priest?

Thanks for the awesome reply! I've been considering Priest of Berath and Goldpact Paladin in particular, and it's good to get some feedback on the classes I'm interested in. I still plan on trying out Priest of Berath first, but Goldpact Knight Paladin will definitely be my 2nd choice if I find the Front-Line Priest to be disappointing. What do you think about Chanters in the front line? Are they better or worse than a Priest in the same position?

I'm aware; I was just letting ya'll know a lil' bit more about my preferred playstyle. At any rate, that wasn't what my original post was about. What class do you think suits me best? How I play the character is entirely up to me.

'Can't complain. Balance is balance I suppose. So long as the potential is still there, buffing at the start of combat should still be worthwhile, provided you have someone else initiate.

Sorry, no such thing afaik Okay, so lemme get this straight. . . You've got to either gain aggro or initiate combat yourself in order to use your abilities? Doesn't that sorta defeat the purpose of, say, an ambush? So like, I'm assuming that a Wizard doesn't have to get someone pissed off at him before he can throw a fireball at his face, yet a Priest has to have a bully taking his lunch money before he can call upon divine intervention? What about skills that increase movespeed? Are those combat only too?

For a Front-line Melee Priest I was thinking about focusing on Dexterity and Constitution as my primary attributes, followed closely by Resolve and Might. IIRC, high Dex will allow me to have a decent combat speed regardless of armor choice and Con will improve my survivability further. A good Resolve score should improve my ability to resist breaks to concentration and Might will improve my damage and healing effectiveness. So long as these 4 attributes are my primary focuses (and in roughly this order too,) I should do fine in the front. I like Priest the best because of all of the buffs he has in his arsenal. If a Priest is able to buff himself right before combat, I'm certain he can do nearly all the things a Paladin can and have more damage and support skills to boot.

Hello everyone, I'm new to these forums but I've been following Pillars of Eternity for some time now. In one month's time, Pillars of Eternity will finally be released (huzzah,) and now more than ever I'm questioning the class I want to have for my main character come launch. A few things concerning my playstyle: .: I played Lawful Evil in BGI-II .: I intend to play Human .: I loved playing a Priest of Talos/Fighter dual class in Baldur's Gate II .: I only feel involved when fighting in the front line (Melee) .: I don't want to be squishy; Off-tank would be preferable .: I'd like a solid mix of melee prowess and spells .: However, I don't want my only reliable source of damage to come from spells .: I'll likely be wearing heavy armor so my casting effecitveness may be in question. A few things I'd like for my main character: 1.) Good single-target damage 2.) Good (preferabily Great) front-line survivability 3.) Ability to self-buff and heal if need be 4.) To be a total narcissistic bastard; the members of my party will be tools for me to use and nothing more. I've considered these four classes more so than any other: 1.) Priest (Berath seems to suit my style) 2.) Paladin (I dig the tankiness but their casting seems too limited for my taste) 3.) Chanter (Lots of cool buffs and I LOVE summoned skeletons) 4.) Cipher (Seems like they'd be better off in the back) Right now I'm learning heavily toward a melee-focused Priest of Berath character, but a Goldpact Knight Paladin may be more up my alley, considering I want to be at the front line and I don't want to cast spells all of the time in order to be effective (Heavy Armor.) Chanter and Cipher also seem really cool, but with all these awesome choices, I have no clue which class would fit my niche the best. Any feedback would be great!