Fimconte

I'd actually go for Dex on any melee character, Attack Speed > Extra Damage imho, due to how easy it is to get more damage, but extra attack speed is much rarer.

Mmm, as a rogue you don't really need INT. Something like 10-8-19-20-3-18 is possible, adjust as desired.

I think this is the crux of it. Wizard isn't really limited in terms of spells, if you run out and don't have camp supplies, you can waste IRL time on something that could have just been resolved by having more per encounter spells. Not a fan of tedious things that waste IRL time.

Yes, but your wizard should be in the back, never getting hit anyway, there's no reason to not have him do at least some dps with Blast powered Scepters. Although since you're talking 30+ deflect shields, I assume you're talking late-game, in which case you can spam low level spells, so it might be worth it.

Arquebus > Arbalest if you have a Chanter with Ila's. I wouldn't pick up Soldier talent tho, Inspiring Radiance (not Flame) is far better because you can pre-cast Holy Radiance a few times (it stacks on itself, although timers are tracked separately, but with 20 sec + duration, you can start any big fights with 25+ accuracy) and then re-cast it once during combat. Even if you opt not to take advantage of the stacking, +5 party accuracy > +10/+6 accuracy on a priest.

Not really, but you're giving up a lot of early game dps for very little gain. Blast powered Implements put out decent damage.

Wizards are OK. They have the spell vocabulary to deal with big fights. If you're having problems with 3-4 mob packs, then you need to revise your battle plans, as a single fighter can easily faceroll tank that many mobs, leaving the rest of the party to faceroll with per encounter abilities. Pro-tip: Arcane Assault applies Daze, Sneak Attack works on dazed people.

I'd think Misery's End + Oidhreacht would be better in any prolonged fight, if you want double Stiletto. I do think you shouldn't limit yourself to just one type, since there are so many different weapons with great enchants out there.

On Hard/POTD it's not really worth the risk to voluntarily go below 50% end (not to mention the HP drain) imho. So I think Orlin offers better sustained damage with minor threat, especially since you also retain the option to get a nice stat helmet.

Perception isn't pointless, you get +interrupt chance, it's the superior choice over Resolve on a Ranged DPS that should never get hit. It is very noticeable on a Ila's + Arquebus rogue as the target gets delayed a lot. Not really. Due to Con being % based, its effect on low hitdie characters is muted. And if you play well, your ranged characters should never be in danger of taking hits anyway. Trick is to not get aggro. A Fighter main-tank and a Priest/Paladin/Chanter offtank should be able to keep the baddies focused on them 24/7. Go double Fighter if you want to overkill it. I also suspect Dex is better for a ranged rogue, since it also affects reload afaik?

I feel like Con being a % based increase favours making it a dump stat on all low hitdie characters. Going from 10 to 8, you only lose 3 endurance by level 4 on Wizard. Dumping all the way to 3 is also perfectly viable, especially if you go double wizard for obscene cc/burst. I even dump it on glass melee, ie. dw int-carnage barb or dw-backstab rogue, although I prefer ranged rogue with arbalest and a pet chanter, since if properly microed, they won't get hit anyway.

Druid is okay, but I wouldn't bring one as a tank to hard+expert. Bear form is ok, with decent DR, but a Priest with Brigandine or any of the high DR armors is far superior as an offtank. It's hard to beat Fighter though, their 'Defender' trait combined with hold the line allows for a single warrior to tank most packs.

Use Stilettos if playing a dual-wielding melee rogue, they ignore a part of DR and are piercing dmg type. I do think a Carnage barbarian is better for a melee-dps though, since the rogue can trigger sneak attack and apply debuffs with ranged weapons quite well.