Kilrach

The same goes for ranged too actually. Well, it's melee + ranged once you get Instruments of Pain lol. But if we're talking about pure ranged weapons, it's just a slight tweak of ability selection too. Not to mention the Monk provides CC from Raised Torment and Stunning Surge (both of them are sustainable over long fights) on top of the damage dealt.

I agree with Lampros. I haven't started playing the game yet but upon testing various builds, nothing can touch the insane amount of damage from a Streetfighter/Helwalker. I haven't played an Evoker to see how well they both compare but I'm pretty confident the Shadowdancer is the uncrowned king of damage. That being said, I'm not sure he's able to solo since he needs to stay Bloodied during fights.

Since it's considered dual-wielding, I'm guessing that Two Weapon Style is being applied (: I'm guessing TLP/IoP would out-perform any weapon when I get it those abiliities then. Also, I wonder the FoD heals would proc wiith Heartbeat procs as well lol

Okay I know what's going on. TLP works as intended like you said. However, my test build had the Instruments of Pain upgrade and when I use fists with it, the game thinks it's "melee" and Enervating Blows is applied. My attack speed also becomes faster. The only drawback is that you don't get the cool animation from TLP lol. In other words, the Instruments of Pain upgrade is like a passive action speed buff and being recognized as melee

That's weird, I just tested it and Turning Wheel & Enervating Blows were applied to TLP. What's more, even though TLP auto-attacks one hit at a time, using FoD/Stunning Surge makes it attacks twice like dual-wielding So basically spamming Stunning Surge would ensure double-hits every time (since the cost is refunded).

Thanks Boeroer for the detailed reply! I'd be sure to include your suggestions as I start my playthrough. You're right, after doing more testing, the Rogue definitely dealt more damage than my KW (sadly lol). The reason why I like Aamiina's is exactly the reason you pointed out. Having Rapid Shot active should outperform dual pistols from an auto-attacking perspective - I assume that I wouldn't be able to spam FoD every battle because of the nerf for Virtuous Triumph. Plus it's super short recovery ensures I get off emergency heals easily. That being said, you're right that the Long Pain is absolutely powerful, possibly even more than weapons (Turning Wheel, Heartbeat Drumming & Enervating Blows would take effect since it's considered melee). Not to mention, it has amazing recovery time and I'd still be able to use Two Weapon Style and maybe One-Handed Style? Tbh, I could use TLP as a main damage source when I get it to replace pistols. I'd reckon Instruments of Pain would even be more powerful but that'd just be breaking too much flavour lol.

Just tested with Aamiina's Legacy and it out-performs dual pistols by a long shot. Looks like he stays an archer (:

As it stands my build deal roughly the same damage as compared to a Rogue/Monk I created for testing. Apparenly the lash damage is calculated in a different way. Not sure whether it will be "fixed" but here's the discussion thread: https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/100436-lash-damage-is-still-not-calculated-correctly/ The DPS variant (Bleak Walkers / Helwalker) would probably out-dps the Rogue/Monk.

Why do you mention sacrificed damage? Do you believe dual pistols/blunderbusses to be a lower damage option? Okay I stand corrected. I tested with the best pistols (Scordeo's Trophy & Thundercrack Pistol) and the damage output is better than the Frostseeker. Xefa's and Kitchen Stove were comparable as well but the minor drawback is the shorter range. That being said, pierce-resists or immunes could be troublesome like Lampros pointed out.

Well, the idea is not to get hit in the first place. I'm ranged, not melee. Like I said, striker's my main role, and it seems like a whole lot of damage sacrificed just to just get one more heal proc - it just doesn't seem like a worthy trade-off. Besides, if played correctly sustain heals are enough. Also, I might possibly be over-healing with double procs so I might as well balance that out wiith more damage.

Good point. However, the main role of this build is a striker. I was hoping the faster recovery/crit reset of the war bows would be more than enough to quicky use the next Flames if needed. The only drawback is that it requires another charge of Flames. If burst heal is needed though, there is always Lay on Hands. The main drawback of firearms are the blunted criticals and lower penetration.

Greetings everyone! I'm creating a build for my first playthrough, but I do need help optimizing it. I hope with your help, we could make this build to be the best version it could be. Here's a short description of the character: Tactical Archer It's his job to keep everyone alive, and he does so efficiently as he moves quickly around the battlefield to anyone in need, triggering White Flames easily as an archer. Because he can heal, the priests and druids of the party can focus on casting other important spells. When healing isn't required, he stuns enemies to keep them incapacitated. And he does all these while dealing great damage at the same time, making him a well-rounded member of the crew. Chiron Chiron is a centaur who is a notable figure in Greek mythology. I gave this build the nickname because similar to the centaur, he's an archer who heals. And ironically, the monk class in this game literally have wounds, making him a "Wounded Healer" - an alias of Chiron himself. Character Creation Race: Wood Elf Subclass(es): Kind Wayfarers / Helwalker (Pure DPS Variant: Bleak Walkers / Helwalker) -Stats- Might: 18 Con: 3 Dex: 19 Per: 19 Int: 15 Res: 3 Background: The White that Wends Job: Explorer Skills A bit Survival, then Diplomacy/Insight A bit of Athletics, then either max Arcana or Alchemy Abilities Level 1 Swift Strikes, Sworn Enemy Level 2 Lay on Hands Level 3 Fast Runner Level 4 Dance of Death, Two-Handed Style Level 5 Mortification of the Soul Level 6 Clarity of Agony Level 7 Lightning Strikes, Sworn Rival Level 8 Eternal Devotion Level 9 Stunning Blow Level 10 Thunderous Blows, Scion of Flame Level 11 Duality of Mortal Presence Level 12 Enduring Dance Level 13 Stunning Surge, Uncanny Luck Level 14 Practiced Healer Level 15 Deep Faith Level 16 Crucible of Suffering, Virtuous Triumph Level 17 Improved Critical Level 18 - 20 Divine Purpose, Long Stride, Inspiring Triumph, Hands of Light/Greater LoH? Weapons Single-Target: Veilpiercer AOE: Frostseeker RP: Saint Omaku's Mercy Playstyle Open up with Enduring Dance followed by Mortification, making sure Turning Wheel is active. Buff with Lightning Strikes and Thundering Blows after. Apply Sworn Enemy on first target and use Eternal Devotion as a first shot for the 10% burn damage lash. Total damage bonus from self-buffs: +15 Might (Helwalker + Thundering Blows), +20% (Sworn Rival), +10% (Eternal Devotion), +15% (Lightning Strikes) As you can see, I still don't know which abilities I should get for the last three levels. Not sure about the skills either. Suggestions and comments are appreciated! I'll update this build as we go along. Thanks (:

Just thought I'd post my stats after just completing the game

A decent sniper rogue would have consistent crits of an average of 90-ish (depending on weapon of choice and with/without Penetrating Shot), so yeah

Yes my sniper rogue one shotted Osrya 105 damage with an Exceptional Crossbow with Fire Lash, so your number is believable (I personally think xbow is the best ranged weapon as mentioned in other similar threads). But that 188 damage seems ludicrous - it must be with backstab no?

Hmm either way, I'd love an explanation on how that number got so big, -5 DR wouldn't give an extra 100 damage for a SA crit lol

I didn't get Penetrating Shot but my sneak attack crits were probably 80-ish. What difficulty were you playing?

My first playthrough is on PotD with a ranged rogue and have managed to not get knocked out at all. @Raven: How'd you get that damage at lvl 4?

I don't get what's so confusing? It's not the only ability description that mentions "an ally". Look at Priest buffs and Paladin spells etc. - if it's a friendly single target spell, it would say "an ally". AoE buffs would be "allies" with the word in plural. It's consistent like that throughout the game - why would you think anything different?

It says "+10 Accuracy granted to an ally attacking the same target": where does it imply 'any and all alies' when it clearly states an ally? Then, it can be inferred that you probably have to be close or else how would it pick the ally to give the buff to? If you want to complain about a flexible (and perpetual if done right) +10 accuracy buff (that's worth around two accuracy talents), I don't know what would satisfy you.

Moon Godlike looks terrible though lol. If only a Death Godlike monk could be just as viable?

How so? It's pretty easy to set a formation to ensure that the Marker is always besides the rogue. The other members would be in front or to the OTHER side of the rogue. The Marking buff is always given to my rogue with this formation.

IIRC Marking has a 5m range and it only affects the closest ally (so just put him next to the rogue). As long as they are attacking the same target, the buff is in effect. You get the St. Garam's Spark fairly early into the game and Pliambo per Casitàs later on, so there's no problem having a ranged Marker. Pallegina's my offtank (think she's better than Kana having ranged Deflection bonus) so just put her in front of the rogue. I guess Kana's replaceable in a way, but his chant affects not just my rogue as Durance and Pallegina uses reloading weapons too (if Eder is holding all the aggro on his own).

You just have to see for yourself how fast the reloading is stacking Gunner with Kana's chant. I still micro a lot in the sense that I require a Marking weapon user (Kana for me) to aim the same targets and make sure Pallegina's close by for her buff.

Lol I'm just a tad obsessed with getting the biggest number ever. That being said, my current xbow if upgraded with Kith-slaying could be an alternative (total 1.8x damage, 13 accuracy) when dealing with harder Kith encounters and you need all the damage you can get (priest buffs supplying a ton of accuracy). Enchanted Good Friend would be use most of the time though (total 1.7x damage, 16 accuracy). It'd be like a Witcher-type situation where you have two types of the same weapons with you lol - it's just a thought (: