Serg BlackStrider

'Cornering' and choke points (when they are available) both have advantages and disadvantages depending on opponents you are facing. Say you park your whole party in some corner, squishes hidden behind sturdy tanks, and think they are safe. But then, suddenly, you have your whole crew affected with Infestation of Maggots (Raw DoT), Shining Beacon (Fire DoT) or Pillar of Faith (Knock out + Prone). Those spells have small AoE but with your party all cramped together it's enough to cover them all. And believe me, Infestation of Maggots really hurts and has decent duration (20 base seconds). Enough to drain your Endurance in due time. In this situation you better might want your crew to be spread out. Choke points in turn have little advantage vs opponents able to teleport behind your tank and right to your squishes. And it's always doesn't hurt to have high Fortitude/Reflex/Will saves to at least minimize the duration of status effects. That's why I, personally, highly appreciate talents like Bear's Fortitude/Snake's Reflexes/Bull's Will

Seems, you are right. But anyway, Resolve has the highest number of checks through the game with highest value around 19-20. I don't think one could buff base 10 RES to 19-20 with items, inns/courtesans and food alone. And spell buffs only work in combat.

The opposite courner (near the vases) works just fine as well (my party was parked there). The one (quite serious) downside of 'cournered' approach in my mind is that when a player get used with it, see it's effectiveness, and not consider/develop another/different options and then suddenly face a pack of phantoms (or whatever serious opponents) in the open space without any walls/courners in the vicinity then this player gets troubles... On the Resolve matter - my personal choice of 'natural' 13 Resolve on character creation is indeed based on roleplay approach (and to pass at least some of those 'stat checks' which, if I'm not mistaken, only consider 'natural' un-buffed values). And I'm definitely not a min-maxer math calculator. But for purely defensive purposes it's indeed not so great stat, of that I completely agree with you. @Alesia: out of opportunity - you might want to check a PM message I've sent you with a link to be placed in OP.

@Alesia: Wow! She is one Orlan cutie! And she roam with the party similar to mine (I guess, the portrait next to her is of your party's Holy Mother). I wish my fellow compatriot a safe travels on the Path of the Damned! P.S. Curious thing, but they also have quite close combat stats:

I agree. That way it will be much more 'natural'.

I fully agree, but let's give everyone the right to decide for themselves.

Yes, congratulations once again, @semiticgod! Gray Sidoh enters the "List of Honorable Mentions" here. I've also considered to not make records in the charts proactively unless I receive a specific PM message. I can fully understand if someone don't want to see their character in the Graveyard chart - maybe they want to try their luck with the same character again and again, and take the fact that character is in Graveyard already as an ominous sign... All the best of luck to all current active and future challengers! Let us make those charts swarm with records!

The Tale of Gloomy Face: Hearth Orlan, Druid - Chapter II: Pre Caed Nua areas. 1. Introduction. 2. Chapter I. Okay, I'm glad to report that all pre Caed Nua areas (including dungeons of Raedric's Hold) are safe to travel now. First I decided to pospone a sanitizing of the Temple of Eothas a bit to get Xoti 3d level with some hunting in the wilderness. As a Druid I had little troubles in Magran's Fork being able to either Hold or Charm Beasts when needed, though I had to split a large pack of 4 adult wolfs and 2 young ones charming all but one of those. Only two adult wolfs persued us to nearby ruined tower so that's divide-and-conquer in action. After that three wolfs near merchant are just a nuisance in comparison. We also got a Fulvano's Amulet there and dealt with Ludrana but saved a pack of Boars for later. https://i.imgur.com/LNFcGQF.jpg https://i.imgur.com/yyr9xMW.jpg https://i.imgur.com/lO9Tjn7.jpg?1 https://i.imgur.com/iRm11G7.jpg The first level of Eothas' temple is not that dificult and Xoti finally hit level 3 upon fighting some spiders there. Four Will-O'-Wisps, being completely optional, gave us troubles though confusing Eder, then me and Aloth and applying heavy damage. We prevailed in the end but that fight show us that we are still not ready to face more vicious Spirits downstairs. At least this level is safe now. Esternwood is uneventful to the point of being dull (pick Cape od Deflection on the local Cemetery). Anslog's Compass is much more fun. We dealt with local scattered groups of Xaurips and Guls and approach the main camp from the south. I called for Lesser Blight to help Eder hold the line a bit. Fortunately, it appears to be a Flame Blight which is completely immune to piercing damage and allowed us to throw fire spells freely. Xaurip Champions are tough nuts though so after depleating all our spells and our buffs expired I had to shift to Kitty Form and shred them to pieces. This allowed me to hit level 4 and pick a Bear's Fortitude since with my Might and Constitution at 10, Fortitude saves are my Achilles heel. https://i.imgur.com/VZVrvkq.jpg https://i.imgur.com/Tw8RRVN.jpg https://i.imgur.com/cFLANGS.jpg https://i.imgur.com/ut3isSO.jpg Inside the cave we only need to kill a single roaming Sporeling to finish the quest so other three and two Dank Spores are left for later. Aloth hit level 4 as well and choose Chill Fog with Penetrating Blast. Cleaned Madhmr Bridge next to gain Hermit's Hut (spared the looters and had to lie to fellow orlan Peregund though something tells me she would understand my motives had she knew their story) and onto the Black Meadow to obtain those supplies already. I've tried to lure a lone bandit to the pack of Trolls to have them fight each other but ended up fighting them all together. Not a big issue though since Trolls are vulnerable to fire and acid so Fan of Flame and Autumn's Decay made short work of them. https://i.imgur.com/tRLOLaF.jpg https://i.imgur.com/QVOaZkP.jpg Remaining Bandits are on agenda: Tanglefoot + Chill Fog as an opening (Xoti is busy with standart set of buffs), heavy preasure on the leader under Kitty form, finish: https://i.imgur.com/I069xZW.jpg https://i.imgur.com/vG0OrXb.jpg https://i.imgur.com/82W08rZ.jpg Lonely Forest Trolls are helpless but a pair of Forest Lurkers gave us trouble. They have incredible resistances, formidable hp pool, long-reach arms and stuck on hit so when Eder is immobilized he can do nothing to them but only take heavy damage. They are vulnerable to fire but our spells alone aren't enough to overcome their hp pool and our physical attacks barely grase them or completely miss (mostly), so after depleting all of those fire spells we had to resort on puting Eden under Withdraw and kite them all over the area (they are slow and disengeage readily). I'm not happy with that but there were little else we could do. https://i.imgur.com/mAsBRo7.jpg https://i.imgur.com/624wJG3.jpg https://i.imgur.com/ClOSclK.jpg https://i.imgur.com/RzeMc1z.jpg We tried our luck with Shadows on the second level of Eothas' temple a bit and then I suddenly remembered of the Whispers of Yenwood sword from the Caed Nua, which could noticeably improve our chances vs them. We need that sword, so onto the Card Nua! It seems our appearance is not welcome. Two Phantoms and three Shadows attack us right away. Eder is stun-locked immediately and, with some bad luck/rolls, is unconscious in few seconds. https://i.imgur.com/hlXN9yv.jpg https://i.imgur.com/HBAi8fN.jpg A Small Rain Blight last just long enough for Eder to be on foot again via a Second Chance ability from his armor and we unleashed our fiery wrath (Fan of Flames, Sunbeam, Burst of Summer Flame) killing all but one Phantom. https://i.imgur.com/gmH509c.jpg https://i.imgur.com/trHtbfv.jpg But even that single Phantom was able to nearly bring Eder down again and only a Withdraw from Xoti saved him. She also tanked Phantom after that for me and Aloth to burn it down to ashes. My girl! https://i.imgur.com/AXm0law.jpg Single Shadows and a group of Flame Blights further east are pale in comparison. Blizzard + Winter Wind made short work of them. And we sneak into the main hall just to pick a sword. https://i.imgur.com/hcAWgKn.jpg https://i.imgur.com/7AlTIUv.jpg https://i.imgur.com/YPhqnE4.jpg Well, we have a weapon to deal with those Spirits but how we could survive long enough to kill them? The answer is: This potion is a wonderful boon for our survival vs both Spirits (frost attacks) and Oozes (corrode spits) inhabiting the lower levels of Eothas temple. The only downside is that the ingredients are quite scarce pre Caed Nua. With potion buff, wielding the Whispers of Yenwood and some Fan of Flames scrolls Eder has far less difficulties to tank those creatures. Sure thing each Crew member have this potion in quick slot in case of emergency. https://i.imgur.com/CIRDAWE.jpg https://i.imgur.com/BTI2ZCK.jpg https://i.imgur.com/9990Hpg.jpg https://i.imgur.com/uLOj2A6.jpg Since I have enough points spent on Mechanics, there is no need to fight neither large pack of Spirits guarding the water plug, nor Oozes guarding the key, but this is a completionist run so... Eder block the door > Xoti hit with buffs > Aloth cast Chill Fog - even though the Spirits have sky-high frost resistance, Blindness is strong debuff nonetheless - > me called for Small Flame Blight ('lucky' me) > Fireworks! Oozes are not worthy to mention. https://i.imgur.com/mhaQPxM.jpg https://i.imgur.com/wAZl6Eq.jpg The 'final guardians' (fast Spirits and slow-mo oozes) are separated for safe dispatchment and Xoti gains a Gaun's Share which I find exceptionally fitting thematically - she is actually a Priestess of Gaun (a lesser known aspect of Eothas) in Deadfire, and moreover Flails are my most favorite Cleric weapon in Baldur's Gate world. Eder, buffed with potion of Wizard's Double, is nearly untouchable and thus now a proud owner of The Pilgrim's Lasting Vigil. https://i.imgur.com/NGquoS1.jpg https://i.imgur.com/AI1xiOX.jpg Undead in the Raedric's Hold Dungeons are pushovers and the only read danger are those five adult Black Oozes - they are spread out and their corrode spits hurt. Found Healing Hands gloves in the Prison but left Osrya for later when I'll have full party and be ready to clear the Hold properly. https://i.imgur.com/iLKAxBJ.jpg https://i.imgur.com/L6LbGVp.jpg Time to tie up some last loose ends - Boars in Magran's Fork (Hold Beast's make wonders), Trolls in Madhmr Bridge (Eder tank under Wizard's Double potion buff, Autumn's Decay and Fun of Flames for the damage) and Dank Spores in Anslog's Compass (Eder put Hermit's Hut for those and engage single handedly): https://i.imgur.com/17tIYF7.jpg https://i.imgur.com/2lOFMbO.jpg https://i.imgur.com/f5pNZmU.jpg https://i.imgur.com/nBlVWnL.jpg https://i.imgur.com/bzVvkba.jpg https://i.imgur.com/B5QwLu3.jpg Now, with all pre Caed Nua areas clear, the only remaining tasks are disinfection the Keep's courtyard and Main Hall. For the Main Hall I've placed all my party members in the corner near entry door with Eder luring the Spirits there. This way it's a lot safer (somehow lost a screenshot here). Right upon descending into the Maerwald's level me (Returning Storm!!!) and Eder (Disciplined Barrage) hit level 5. Aloth hit level 5 after defeating the Spider's Queen (Combusting Wounds and Expose Vulnerabilities). Eder now dual wield Whispers of Yenwood and Oidhreacht - I'm not fond much of 'passive' sword-n-board fighter tanks and even without shield he could have not so bad deflection with cheap Wizard's Double potion and far better accuracy and attack speed (which I pretty much like): The rest of the level is cleared: and I press a curious hidden button on the flour (oh, some secret treasure maybe?) unrested and empty of spells (I think two level 2 on me, one on level 2 for Aloth. and I think a single use on level 2 for Xoti). "Oh, sh*t!!!" Having the key to the main Maerwald's sanctuary door I completely forgot there is another way in. And right into the cutscene with an imminent fight afterwards. Maerwald opened with Fireball. "Run! Run for your lives!" We took a position in nearby room with a door to be blocked by Eder and the rest spread out across the room to not catch a Chill Fog or another Fireball all together. He cast Expose Vulnerabilities on Eder, Chill Fog on me and then a Fireball right on his feet (obviously, the years of isolation did not pass without a trace for his mind) Now, we have our own Keep so we enlisted Kana and Durance to proceed with the mundane tasks (quests). The road to the Defiance Bay is also opened so we have another crucial Crew member - Sagani. She joined at level 5 and heeding @Boeroer's and @Enuhal's insights I leveled her like this: Wounding Shot (auto) > Resilient Companion > Predator's Sense > Vicious Companion > Stalker's Link Current state: Gloomy Face - Druid (lvl 5); Stealth:0; Athletic:1; Lore:1; Mechanics:7; Survival:4; Talents: Veteran's Recovery>Bear's Fortitude; Equipment: Hermit's Hut, Brigandine, Minor Cloak of Protection, Minor Ring of Deflection, Ring of Overseeing, Fulvano's Boots, Fine Hunting Bow/Fine Hatchet+Small Shield; Eder - Fighter (lvl 5); Stealth:0; Athletic:2; Lore:6; Mechanics:0; Survival:5; Talents: Rapid Recovery>Vulnerable Attack; Abilities: Knock Down (auto)>Confident Aim>Disciplined Barrage; Equipment: The Pilgrim's Lasting Vigil, Fine Brigandine, Cloak of Eothasian Priest, Minor Ring of Deflection, Minor Ring of Protection, Boots of Stability, Blunting Belt, Whispers of Yenwood+Oidhreacht/Fine Arbalest; Aloth - Wizard (lvl 5); Stealth:0; Athletic:1; Lore:7; Mechanics:2; Survival:5; Talents: Blast>Penetrating Blast; Equipment: Aloth's Leather Armor, Minor Cloak of Protection, Healing Hands, Gaun's Pledge, Scepter/Rapier; Grimoire: Level 1 - Fan of Flames, Slicken, Chill Fog, Minoletta's Minor Missiles; Level 2 - Curse of Blackened Sight, Infuse With Vital Essence, Combusting Wounds, Bulwark Against The Elements; Level 3 - Expose Vulnerabilities, Fireball; Xoti - Priest of Eothas (lvl 4); Stealth:0; Athletic:1; Lore:6; Mechanics:0; Survival:5; Talents: Interdiction>Painful Interdiction; Equipment: Brigandine, Cape of Deflection, Fulvano's Gloves, Minor Ring of Protection, Ring of Overseeing, Gaun's Share+Medium Shield/Fine Wand; Sagani - Ranger (lvl 5); Stealth:2; Athletic:1; Lore:5; Mechanics:0; Survival:6; Talents: Agile Retreat (auto)>Resilient Companion>Vicious Companion; Abilities: Wounding Shot (auto)>Predator's Sense>Stalker's Link; Equipment: Fine Hide Armor, Fulvano's Amulet, Massuk Hunting Bow/Fine Dagger+Fine Hatchet; to be continued... P.S. Seems one allowed to put a limited amount of pictures in the post so some of those are links here. I'll fugure out how many pics I'm allowed and will write accordinly in the future.

Here are my latest thoughts on the matter: - We start with an assumption of saga no-reload being intended; - We have three charts: Hall of Heroes, Honorable Mention, Graveyard; - //A) Died in PoE = Graveyard; B) Completed PoE and stopped = Honorable Mention; C) Completed PoE and died in PoE 2 = Honorable Mention (we can add a line denoting this);D) Completed Saga = Hall of Heroes// - that's how I've thought myself (since I'm not inclined to segregate the failed runs on nearly-successful, notable failures, general failures and non-notable at all), with an exception that assuming of saga run in the first place one do not go automatically in the Honorable Mention chart upon completing PoE I, but only if/when he die in Deadfire. I'm fine with placing the record into the Honorable Mention chart if after successful PoE I run the participant do not indend/have not an opportunity to continue in Deadfire. If, with time, that particular character contunue in Deadfire and succeed there, he/she will be moved from Honorable Mention chart into the Hall of Heroes; - The run should be properly started in this thread (with Entry Procedures defined in the OP) and have at least one proper "Intro" entry here. No 'off-screen' entries are allowed. So, for example, Amaruq's demise will qualify (it is sad, @Borco, to hear she's gone. There is no shame in it at all and those Caed Nua Shadows/Phantoms caused my first Knockout for Eder), but those two 'off-screen' Gray Sidoh's runs will not; - It would be nice if our posts of the run will contain the links to the previous entries and (whenever possible) next ones (like we have it in Beamdog's no-reload thread). It would be far easier this way to follow the one particular run if someone wish to. - To put an entry in one of those charts I need a PM message containing: 1. Link to the proper 'Intro' post with a) Name b) Race & Subrace c) Class d) Culture e) Background f) Attributes i.) Version ii.) Difficulty Level iii.) Settings (specifically: Maim Before Death- On/Off; Injuries On/Off; Expert Mode On/Off) iv.) Mods (if any) 2. Link to the final post and any other comments you want to see there. And... that's it.

Well, I'm not against proposal 3: A) Hall of Heroes for Saga runs only; B) Honorable Mention for a player's first PoE run and otherwise distinguished non-Saga runs; C) Graveyard for the fallen

I think, my personal vote will be for this one. And thanks, Alesia, for betting on Gloomy Face. I'll try my best for him not to disappoint you (though my future first full Deadfire run will be nearly a blind one). But under any circumstances I do not intend to give up. I don't think, he will be there soon - you know, I'm a slow player and follow a completionist approach, but with time he will get it.

Yes, PoE II is a sequel plotwise and you'll create your character there again starting from level 1 (there is even an opportunity to make him/her a true multiclass combining two of all available classes) but you also could 'import' your PoE I final save and live with consequences of your actions/choices and NPCs' story evolution (Eder, Aloth) during PoE I. Or create a custom pre-history of PoE I. Gameplay IMO is more rich (I've only started a new game and explored a few isles) including owning a ship and participate in sea battles. I also agree with Alesia that Hall should be for saga no-reloads only. That's how we have it for Baldur's Gate on old Bioware boards and I see no reason not to apply this rule for PoE challenge as well. I foresee not a small amount of PoE I no-reloads only and if we'll have the same amount of them as we have for BG/ToSC, the Hall will be just huge.

I'll be happy to maintain the Hall on my site and actually I've already thought about that. Moreover, as far as I know there is a time limit on this boards when you are able to edit posts so it would be hard to make it here (you have an opportunity to PM moderators with a request to do that but this is not quite convenient). I just need to create a new page on my site and that's it.

Nope, you have not. Any of your chants could be of one single phrase put in them and that phrase will be repeated all over again.

Yes, there is: Put your link like you do it now (on imgur copy a direct link), brace it with [img*= link] and then brace the whole thing with [spoiler*] ... [/spoiler*] (all without *). Like this:

The Tale of Gloomy Face: Hearth Orlan, Druid - Chapter I: Early game. Okay, let's get started. In the camp I swapped some clothes found in the crate on hunting bow and together with Calisca went on, well, hunting. The pair of Young Wolfs pose no threat as well as those hunters in the abandoned camp. On the way back to our own camp three more hunters awaits us so Calisca hold a position around a corner while I hit them with a Sunbeam: In the camp I was able to distract a Glanfathan Leader with talking long enough for Heodan to break free and, when the fight ensured, softened the opposition with Nature's Mark. Heodan killed the leader, then another hunter but was badly hurt by remaining hunters and ended up with one single endurance point remained after the fight was over. In the ruins he was again at the brink of to be knocked down when Lesser Black Ooze crit him for 32 corrode damage right away: Calisca got her dose too but at least it was worthwhile since we got a Minor Cloak of Priotection out of that. As usual, tempting your luck for too long is fraught with consequences and Heodan was finally knocked out fighting spiders at the exit. Unfortunately, no one of us knew at the moment, that the Wheel will turn for both him and Calisca right after we'll finally break free off the dungeon... Out of dungeon I've got my first level up (Mechanics: 4; Talents: Veteran's Recovery) and, since I've endured a major fatique, made a bee-line right to the Gilded Vale, where I joined Aloth (Athletic: 2; Lore: 5; Survival: 2; Spells: Slicken; Talents: Blast) and after selling all the loot got just enough money to sign a contract with this cutie explorer from Deadfire Archipelago: I've made Xoti nearly a carbon copy of her PoE II character (can't choose Readceras/Farmer on character creation so pick Deadfire Archipelago and thus have her equipped with Brigandine right away). Speaking with Caldara earned us another level (Mechanics: 5; Survival: 3), Aloth (Lore: 6; Survival: 3; Spells: Curse of Blackened Sight, Infuse With Vital Essence) and also Eder as companion (Survival: 5; Lore: 4; Talents: Rapid Recovery; Abilities: Confident Aim). We resolved the local grain dispute peacefully and let Trumbel keep his money for double major reputation gain. Back in the Valewood Xoti gained a level 2 (Survival: 4; Talents: Interdiction) right before the Bear cave. Inside we opened with Interdiction followed with Armor of Faith, Charm Beast, Curse of Blackened Sight: Charm Beast hit both Young Bears, who turned on their own mother as a result. Armor of Faith strengthen them since they were already charmed before Xoti cast it, but that doesn't matter much in the end: For the Wolf's pack all we need is Interdiction with 2 Hold Beasts and that's it:

Heya, Borco! Welcome to the party! 'Tis great to have you with us!

404 File Not Found. Try this way: [img*=https*://us.v-cdn.net/5019558/uploads/editor/8p/83d9aagvfaa7.jpg] (without *):

Sweet! EDIT: It's not working for me. I get a "you are not allowed to use that image extension in this community" error. Yeah, I've got that message too at first. You should also add an extention for your image (.jpg or .png) after xxxxxx

I've found out how to post images directly in the post. If you store them on imgur, then copy an url from there and edit it this way (without *): [img*=https*://imgur.com/xxxxxxx.jpg]

Seems, that's the latest patches' behavior I'm not familiar with. Not sure I'm happy with the change, looks less realistic IMO. Now, Athletic is only worthy for the Second Wind heal amount and some scripted iterations. As for stats distribution - I tend not to develop my party characters as 'pure' tanks, casters or ranged. There is no-zero probability that you could end up in the situation with your 'tank' being on the back line and squishy casters or rangers up front. That's one of the reasons I build my characters not as 'optimal' but as more 'all-around viable'.

I do agree, that stinginess with camping supplied is bad, but since I play on PotD and thus only have 2 max of those I often find myself being thrifty. Moreover I don't like leaving dungeons non-cleared to rest in the nearest inn. But that doesn't mean anyone should follow that way. And as I've already mentioned, I consider Dexterity as one of the most valuable stat. I don't like min-max but I'll readily make Might and Constitution average to have at least decent Dexterity. It doesn't seem wise to me to have an outrageous damage potential when you aren't able to apply that damage being constantly interrupted due to low action speed.

Are you talking about this one? I think we could start with this list of status affects and then add options/means to neutralize them (via items/spells). Unfortunately, I haven't had the opportunity to play much in the last few days, but this will change soon. Gloomy Face just formed our core Crew of Aloth, Xoti and Eder (in that order) and hit level 3 already. I'll post of my early exploits shortly.

Here is 'my' Sagani: https://imgur.com/a/P4dSVjo At early levels I'm mostly concentrate on Itumaak - Resilient Companion (you'll don't like Bonded Grief 'debuffs'), Faithful Companion (for your tough companion not turn on you on the slightest opportunity), Wounding Shot and Stalkers' Link. Then I further strengthen Itumaak - Vicious/Merciless Companion and I'm pretty much set.

Just wondering what your strategy is against enemies who are immune to pierce attacks? Its always put me off having too many bow/gun users. Rangers are not forced to use bows/crossbows only (personally, I'm not using guns at all in this game) so there are other options available when enemies are immune to pierce attacks (wands/rods/scepters). This might be a bit out of picture thematically but it's just silly to hit a brick wall with bare fists when you have an option to pick more suitable tool...