Voltron

Have you tried doing a sneak attack + backstab w/Arquebus, I wonder how devastating that would be lol. Backstab requires you to be 2m from targets. It is doable, but then you are better with Blunderbus. I like to keep my sniper as far as possible so he don't get hit with AOE spells which are throw on tanks. 3 CON does hame limitations :D Lol, I just imagined Deathblows Backstab on Paralyzed enemy with Blunderbuss......insane. And I don't take Backstab since it is situational for sniper rogue. On melee in party- it is insane with Sabers! Let me show you: Fine Arquebus DR Reduction: 6 DR bypass, -0.3 to Crit Damage multiplier Fine: +4 Accuracy, x1.15 Damage Fine Arbalest Fine: +4 Accuracy, x1.15 Damage Reduced Crit Damage: Crits can inflict Prone, -0.3 to Crit Damage multiplier Do you see this 6 DR bypass? On PotD there is a lot enemies with DR 10+ and DR 5-6 is super common. Arbalest can inflict Prone but you are better with DR anytime. Why do you think best weapons on PotD are Estoc, Mace, Saber or Arqebus- becasue of DR pass and more damage (Saber). But if you like Arbalests- just play with them. I personally think Arquebus sniper looks more cool so I use it And with Penetraiting Shot this 11 DR....mmmm....delicious...

Either way Deathblow deals more damage and much more often than 1x per fight and for only one enemy. And you can se gap between Sneak Attacks and Deathblow attack, they are quite significant. You can however proof me that Deathblows deal less damage than Marked Prey if that is the case- I am open for results. [WeaponDamageRoll * (1 + 1.2 + 0.5 + Y1 ) - DR ] AND [ WeaponDamageRoll * (1 + Y2) - DR + WeaponDamageRoll * (1 + Y2) * 0.4 - 0.25 * DR ] Which is bigger ? It depends on Y1, Y2 and DR (the other additive damage mods in play. Might, Reckless attack, savage attack , two handed style, beastslayer, .. etc ..) Marked prey is once per fight and one enemy only - but it can last a few attacks (30+ seconds ..) Yes it can last 30+ seconds, but debuffs needed for Deathblows can be applied by Rogue, Figher, Cipher, Wizard, Druid, Priest and others. Overall you can keep Deathblows longer in big fight then this one Marked Prey.

Either way Deathblow deals more damage and much more often than 1x per fight and for only one enemy. And you can se gap between Sneak Attacks and Deathblow attack, they are quite significant. You can however proof me that Deathblows deal less damage than Marked Prey if that is the case- I am open for results. I would still take Rogue to a party any time as my sniper.

Where he can pop up TWICE as many shots? If used Swift Aim he can shot more, but if Vicous Aim plus Penetraiting Shot he actually (as in this test) FIRES SLOWER, becasue you have pentalty from both modals, while Rogue was using only one modal. You can do same test with Marked Prey and I can asure you- Ranger won't get higher damage then Sneak Attack (or not much EVEN IF) and for 100% not higher then Deathblows (40% more damage to target compare to x2 damage). And as I said you have fights against couple of mobs (98% situations in this game)- you use Marked Prey, kill enemy and after that what damage do you have? As a Rogue you can debuff one target and then any other around for Deathblows and if we would count Deathblow/Sneak Attack conditions like Paralyze or Stuck which additionaly lower target defense- damage from Deathblows would skyrocket. There was NO THIRD PARTY applying debuffs. There was two debuffs on Edar- weakened and hobbled, which both DID NOT (I mentioned it) lowered ANY of his defensive stats. So if I'd apply those same two debuffs on Edar while Ranger was shooting- he would do same damage. And ANY other debuff, like Paralyze, Stuck, Stun etc with penalties are common for both classes when you play in party. So both would benefit from them. But when enemy has conditions that do not lower their defenses- Rogue hit better. When enemy have debuffs that lower their defenses- Rogue still hit better. And test was actually about 30-40 damage rolls, however all were plus minus is same "area" of damages so there was imo no point to write them up. You have here highest rolls I got and lowest and other that were in between those numbers. To be fair it's unlikely Ranger will have twice the arrows in the air with Vicious Aim on. I wonder why he took Swift Aim at all - he didn't use it. Driving Flight would be much better. Becasue how I already said, I tested Damage per shot, not DPS. But Swift Aim is ONLY talent for ranger that let him shoot faster then Rogue, at price of this 1.2 damage from Vicous Aiming (High DR enemies) and Accuracy bonus (more cirit chance for Ranger), so damage would be even lower then now. Will Ranger shot faster with Swirft Aim on? Yes. But anything like "twice as fast" is nonsense. He has faster reload 1.5- yes and 1.2 faster Attack- yes. However In fights against high DR mobs I prefer to have those Deathblows hitting all targets around with 70+ Grazes and 90+ Critics then a little faster but 2 times weaker shots. And on PotD DR is quite high so I prefer to bypass them easier, not to shot little more lowered DR shots. Why in PotD Maces, Sabers and Estocs are better than "faster weapons"? Becasue you want to hit harder, not weaker and faster.

For debuffs, if needed, to last longer and for dialogue options. As a Sniper that stand behind whole party there is no for high CON and RES. Perception grants more intterputs so why not and INT is for DOT/debuffs duration.

My level 5 Rogue with Fine Arquebus in Roderic, PotD. No potions, no food, no damage/might buff spells used. Just Critical Hit against flanked Sellsword with Fine Arquebus (no lash enchant, no additional enchant at all). With Lash enchant it would be even higher but I forgot to enchant it . Build: Race: Human. Class: Rogue. Might: 18, CON: 3, DEX: 18, PER: 18, INT: 17 RES: 4 Would be better/more cirtics if I took Wood Elf, but this is Role Play run so I took human. Just wanted to show at same level Rogue can do same without Lash enchant with lower accuracy and Sneak Attack is easy to apply thanks to Aloth spells, Fighters Prones and Kana's Skeletons (used just for flank status). Can't wait to get Griefing Mother for Mind Binding and AOE flank status . Here is couple of other hits in Roderic against couple of enemies, Sneak Attacks, Fine Arquebus: EDIT: how to make images smaller on forum? Or do I need to change its size manually after takin screenshot? EDIT2: I just resiezed this 2nd photo, better I think now.

Eh, listen I admited that I missed Marked Prey becasue I couldn't apply that on Edar. I did use Fearsome strike to Apply two conditions on Edar (first hit in every category is not hit from this skill, but hits after it). The difference is when you play in party with Wizard or Cipher YOU DO NOT NEED TO USE FEARSOME STRIKE AT ALL (I only use to speed test up and applie two conditions, this could be made by any caster). Wizard, Cipher (hell, even warriors have Prone per fight for simple Sneak Attack) and other casters that keeping AOE two conditions on enemies or single target is simple. You just need to use Mind Binding and Chill Fog and you have Deathblows on every target. And since there is tons of spells with all required for Sneak Attack and Deathblows conditions- I think that this is very, very easy to meet. I play one and there is no problem keeping them whole fight in party. Range ranger/rogue is not solo build. I didn't count Woundet Shot as well I didn't count Deep Wouds. Stunning Arrow is -20 Deflection yes, but it will make Ranger only crit more often, but as you see those Critcs are nowhere near Rogue Critcs. Even more- Ranger Critcs are often lower then regular Rogue hits or even Grazes with Deathblows. Ranger can meet overall more accuracy- yes. But Rogue have better damage per shot. As I said- I tested damage per shot here. And Accuracy can be reproduce in fight for both calsses- Priest buff, potions, debuffs. But you can't reproduce such more damage. Ranger will crit more oftern of he has all his personal accuracy buffs, but Rogue has passive skill that convert 20% of hits to Critics. Yes, pets deal damage, but how much time in PotD you pet is in front line with tanks or before them dealing damage? And how many time he hit mid/end-game enemies on PotD with his accuracy? Yes, it flanks but so all party members do and Cipher has skill that apply flanked to AOE enemies. And single boss will always be flanked. I even stated that if used Marked Prey- Ranger can match Sneak Attach damage. I just coulnd't test it, if someone can calculate it- that is fine. However it is worth to consider that it is only once per fight for one target and you can't reproduce it with your party member debuffs till next fight. While it is super easy to reproduce for each enemy Deathblows or at least Sneak Attack for entire fight. And- as I stated in my post- I did not test DPS- but DAMAGE PER SHOT. People underestimate Deathblows and how easy is to use them with party members, so I wanted to show difference. Yes, but I wanted Edar to have some sort of end-game deflection, Endurance and DR. And it was suppose to prove nothing as for level alone, I just took level 12 becasue on level 9 you get Deathblows so I though I will test on complete builds. Could be done earlier. Before Deathblows damage per shot could be simillar when used Marked Prey, but still Sneak Attack is easier to reproduce during fights. I just wanted to show that if you use in PotD you typical tactic- keep your sniper behind, let tank hold aggro in bottle/necks and caster throw AOE- Rogue will deal much more damage per shot with War Bow/Arquebus/Arbalest/Pistol. I did not test here quick switch builds- although again- both classes can take Anuma race, arms bearer and Quick Switch. Would pet survive next to Edar there in front on PotD? I doubt, but I would have to babysit him with my priest too much compare to Edar who can be left alone for long time and still don't go down due to superrior tank stats, DR, potions and regeneration. This test is nowehere super perfect nor covers everything- it just answer imo basic question. In typical party fights- what will be easier and more effective to meet- Sneak Attack/Deathblows or one Marked Prey and sending pet to front?

I did some testing between Ranger damage per shot and Rogue damage per shot. Test object: Edar, level 12 Fighter. 23 DR Piercing. 73 Deflection (could be even 120 but I wanted constant damage test) TEST1: Wood Elf Ranger, level 12.- Binding Roots, Marked Prey, Stunning Shots, Swift Aim, Vcious Aim, Wounding Shot, Marksman, Gunner, Swift and Steady, Quick Switch, Arms Bearer, Penentrating Shot, Weapon Focus: Soldier, Weapon Focus: Adventurer (IE mod used here for testing) TEST2: Wood Elf Rogue, level 12. - Cripling Strike, Deathblows (x2 damage from Sneak Attack if two conditions on target), Deep Wound, Dirty Fighting, Escape, Fearsome Strike (to apply two conditions on Edar), Sneak Attack, Marskman, Vicious Fighting, Pnetraiting Shot, Gunner, Quick Switch, Arms Bearer, Weapon Focus: Soldier, Weapon Focus: Adventurer (IE mod used here for testing) STATS (BOTH): 18 Might, 3 CON, 18 DEX, 18 PER, 18 INT, 3 RES. WEAPONS USED TO TEST: Exeptional Warbow (+9 Accuracy, 1.3 damage), Exceptional Arquebuse (+ 8 Accuracy, 1.3 damage) Final Accuracy stats for both: TEST1 (Ranger): Arquebuse 72 Accuracy, War Bow 77. TEST2: Arquebuse 72 Accuracy, War Bow 77 MODALS ACTIVATED: Ranger- Vicious Aim (+10 Accuracy: 82/87), 1.2 bonus damage, Penetraiting Shot (5 DR pass). MODALS ACTIVATED: Rogue- Penetraiting Shot (5 DR pass). I was not testing DPS but damage per shot, nor I was testing DOT damage. I also couldn't test Mark of Prey on Edar, but it is only once per fight and for one target. Marked Prey can make Range damage once per fight closer to Rogue Sneak Attack Maybe (its 40% more damage), but not to Deathblow which gives x2 damage! NO GEAR WAS USED, NO POTIONS, NO FOOD, NO BUFFS, NO SPELLS. NO CONDITION INFLICTED ON EDAR BY ROGUE DECREASED HIS DEFLECTION OR DR (Weakened, Hobbled). WAR BOW TEST vs Edar- H=HIT, CH=Critic Hit, G=Graze Ranger: H 17, G4, H13, H14, H15, H14, H13, H 14, CH 23, H 10, H 17, H 16, H 10, G 4 Rogue (Sneak Attack, one condition: Hobbled): H 21, G10, CH 23, CH 19, G 7, H 20, H 12, H 11, H18, CH 18 Rogue (Deathblows, two conditions: Weakened, Hobbled ): H 31, G 20, H 32, CH 25, H 26, H 25, CH 35, CH 36, G 27, CH 41 Arquebuse TEST vs EDAR- H=HIT, CH=Critic Hit, G=Graze Ranger: CH 55, G 31, H 34, G 24, CH 45, H 47, G 30, H 43, H 35, G 20, G 24, G 24, CH 49 Rogue (Sneak Attack, one condition: Hobbled): H 54, CH 72, G 33, H 66, G 39, G 39, CH 53, H 50, CH 55, H 60, G 30, G 39, G 30, CH 69 Rogue (Deathblows, two conditions: Weakened, Hobbled): H 84, miss, H 98, G 73, G 65, CH 95, G 79, G 60, G 42, G 78, G 62, H 79, H87, CH 94 Both characters had same 0 Recovery speed. I didn't test Blunderbus build, not Wounding Shot DOT. Goal of this testing was to proof how much higher damage can dish out Rogue per shot with Sneak Attack and Deathblows. Worth to mention is both character had same base accuracy, but Ranger ended up with 10 more thanks to his modal. I didn't use any Rogue 0.25 attack abilities while being in Deathblows or Sneak Attack mode, since damage would be higher with that one particular shot. Critical Hits: Ranger had 10 more accuracy and ended up with total: 1 Critical Hit in War Bow test and 3 Critical Hits in Arquebuse test. Rogue had 10 less accuracy but 20% Hits Conver to Critics thanks to Vicious Fighting and ended up with total: 3 Critical Hits in War Bow test (Sneak Attack), 4 Critical Hits in War Bow test (Deathblows), 4 Critical Hits in Arquebuse test (Sneak Attack), 2 Critical Hits in Arquebuse test (Deathblows). Final Note: All critical hits and damage are being made by rng rolls that I have no influence on. However, one can see that Rogue dish out more Damage per shot with Sneak Attack and Deathblows than Ranger without Marked Prey. Also Rogue had lower accuracy but ended up with more Critical Shots- this however can be due to bad or lucky rolls, so I wouldn't count it as some fact.

But for Gun Ranged Rogue I need only Crippling Strike (game start), Dirty Fighting, Vicious Fighting and Deathblows. 4 class talents. Then all I need is Marksman, Focus: Soldier (or any other), Quick Switch (lets take Anuma as race) and Penetraiting Shot. Arquebus build done. If I want War BOw, I can skip Quick Switch, take Wood Elf and take something else, anything. Since negative status on enemies are being constant made by party members AOE- I do not have to bother with Blinding Strike, Withering Strike, Fearsome Strike and of course I skip all melee Rogue talents since this is sniper build with 3 CON . I do not even need Shadowing (but its cool for escaping teleporting Shades) or Escape, since I stand far behind tanks and priest. Ok, lets calm down. I was too passionate with my posting. It happens to me. I apologize if I offended you. No offense taken Atchod.

and that was posted after i wrote : As I said- I don't care. You have your opinion, I have mine. Seems we play different games maybe- I dont care. It is pointless. Lets say you are right and that is fine for me since it does not change anything for me. And yes true I missed that you were talking about other weapons- I admit to mistake. Still I do not recal Ranger talent that makes him swithc weapon quicker then other classes..... Of course seems like Rogue can't take quick switch skill, Anuma race and switch as fast with Arquebuses or Pistols- ow well, seems like ths is Ranger exclusive talent that I missed! Atchod- you are right! Sleep well!

EDIT: You know, I don't care to discuss with you- its pointless. Lets say your opinions is best, you are right and I am wrong, because I don't care, really. I have better things to do. Cheers.

Ok, listen. I do not want to discuss with you who tell me only about ONE BUILD THAT IS SUPERB FOR RANGER. I told you- lets take your ONE BUILD for ONE WEAPON FOR RANGER- great! Your is best- are you wet now? Yes, Blunderbuss Ranger build is superior to Blunerbuss Rogue build- very good. I got it. Now lets make build for pistols. Lets make build for War Bows Lets make build for Hunting Bows. Lets make build for Arquebus. Lets make build for Arbalest. Hel lets make build for melee, any. You are still with your one build that is superior- cool! Play it forever and tell me Ranger is better than Rogue 1 time per 10 in range fight. I will have fun doing little more builds that are still effective and I can actualy take different race and different talents....hmmm.... And you know what- I can do Rogue to be like in my wet dreams. Hell, I can build him even for other "wet dream" character! You can build your Ranger for Blunderbuss- cool! Hell, lets make build for wands! Your logic is that I refuse to play best build for Ranger and that proof that this class is better IN EVERY way then Rogue. Going this way I should refuse to play solo any other class than Retal OSA Barbarian moonlike since "You won't play solo in most effective way and out damage every other character". Barbarian is superior to every class since he has OSA Retal build. Only one build, but whatever- superior! You can't whine about Barbarian when they have ONE SUPER BUILD. No, no, no. Everything is fine with Barbarians. They have no other good build, but this one is great- that means whole class is great! Please don't answer me anymore. I don't have time to "discuss" in such pro manner.

lets not forget that his summon weapons got buffed, so it can be maybe build around them right now. Not for solo but in party melee wizard will be boss. That is why I don't like this MMO balancing. Now you nerf to useless one class which was great on soloing and buff too much (IMO!) other which was good and there was nothing wrong with it (Wizard). I will stay forever with 1.0.4- I like it, I don't need more "balancing".

Well, all of the numbers are shown on the spreadsheet, and I haven't added anything that's not listed in the build section. Maybe you think sneak attack multiplies DPS by 150%? It "only" adds 0.5x base weapon damage, whereas your total DPS includes many other factors as you can see. Ranger, meanwhile, has a lot of speed increases which speed up all additional bonus damage, so they actually multiply with other speed increases and with damage boosts. Deathblows is a bit too conditional for me to justify adding it to the sustained DPS numbers. Even if you do, it still does not do as much damage as ranger primary + pet DPS, and nowhere near the total figure once you account for driving flight. You say to Ranger "all additional bonus damage"- what damage apart from Vicous Aim? I don't see any more. Ranger can shoot faster and that means more DPS? Yup, maybe, but from where is this faster shooting? Vicious Aim makes you shoot slower and Penetraiting Shot also. While in Rogue there is only Penteraiting Shot penalty. I ask- where is this more damage per shot for ranger. Do not count pet damage as in 90% time in PotD he won't be in front line dealing damage since it is 2 shoted by most stuff in game. Show me where is Ranger more damage per arrow/shot than Rogue BECASUE I DO NOT SEE ANY TALENTS THAT INCREASE IT. Even if Sneak attack is not 50% but 0.5, it is 0.5. Deathblows even more. Marked Prey- ok, cool. So i used it on this one guy- dead. 5 more enemies to go. Where is more damage now? Apart from Vicious Aim 0.2 damage bonus, which makes Ranger shot slower- where is this more damage from Ranger? They have no other skill/talent that increase damage, so where is it? .... /thread ...../arguments

No, that is not wrong approach. I mean true Ranger who fight with most range weapon, your typical sniper. That is not blunderbuss. Besides If I'd like to go 4x Blunderbuss I would build Rogue and go close from beind tanks and fire with Sneak Attack plus Backstab 2x damage bonus with Envenomed Strike. But that is not my idea. Lets take war bow, arquebus, arbalets, pistol, hunting bow and any other range weapon APART blunderbus, which is only one weapon. I ask where is this damage of Ranger. My Rogue can easly have 0.75 more damage with 5 DR EACH SHOT for EACH ENEMY. I dont need ONE marked pray, just ONE chill fog from Aloth and I can deal superb damage to All enemies in the Area. You take your Blunderbuss Ranger to show me that THIS PARTICULAR BUILD is superb for Ranger. Yes, I can see it can work better for Ranger than Rogue. But I will make my build for War Bow with Rogue and your War Bow Ranger won't match him. That is not the point. Point is- I do not see from which skills Ranger hit more then Rogue per shot with range weapons. Stunning Shots are cool but in party I will take damage over Stun effect anytime. I have other party members from AOE CC. And solo- nobody did Ranger Triple Crown solo yer. Rogue did it.

I also don't get this nerf/balance so one class is not obvious choice. I finished game two times with Retal OSA fire goldlike barbarian- super OP broken build. I HAD TONS OF FUN to feel like a boss in single player game. Then I finished it solo with Monk two times and they are no broken at all, cool class. First time I played PoE on Hard I finished it with Cipher. Now I am playing with Sniper Arquebus war veteran Rogue class with party and I have tons of fun like with my retal barb. So I ask- what is wrong with having broken OP builds like OSA barbarian. I played it, it was fun. Got bored, I play with other classes. Next game I plan with Paldin. There is no PvP here, no Leaderboard- nothing force me to take most OP build or go home, you will be rekted. It was already shown here that Paladin can finish Triple Crown, Monk, Cipher, Wizard, Rogue. So I have no idea why people have such issue with OP things. It like they don't want someone else to have easier time than them with diffrent class. Like that matters in SP game where nobody gives a dam about your achievements. Hell, we all can use cheats and IE mod commands in our games, playing with 30 Might, 100 Accuracy Ranger! YOU DO NOT KNOW! And why that should bother me?? I also refuse this MMO-like balancing in SP game. Laughtable.

Now or with 1.0.5 patch? If now- still Retal Barbarian with OSA. After patch- melee wizard with all defensive buffs. Cipher in party is bit OP due to Focus gaining and Mind Binding/Mind Lance spam. Anything else? No. I'd say some classes need more love.

I am not convinced or I just can't read it. Ranger can pack his damage by Vicous Aim which gives him 1.2 more damage. But Rogue can have 0.5 damage bonus to his attack from Sneak Attack. So let assume both are Wood Elfs, have weapon focus: Soldier (+6 Arquebus) plus Marksman. So they both shoot from Solid Arquebus to same target. Lets meet Rogie condition to Sneak Attack and we have 0.5 damage more to fire arm damage, plus Pentrating Shot (5 DR) plus 0.25 from ability (like Blinding Strike) plus Lash. Lets assume we took Deathblows and in party it is easy to get two condition on enemy so Sneak Attack will deal even more damage. So Ranger have same Arquebus. He fires with Pentrating shot (5DR) plus Vicious Aim (0.2 damage more), plus Lash and....thats it. I can see how Ranger can have more accuracy then Rogue so more cirtics, but Rogue can have 20% hits convert to Critics. I don't see where this DPS comes from. Unless there is some Ranger hidden skill that makes him doing more damage then Rogue Sneak Attack with Deathblows. I can see that IF WE take DOT from Binding Roots, Wounding Shot and pet damage we can end up with some numbers. But so far I am playing now Wood Elf Rogue for Firearms and since in party enemies have PERMA conditions every fights he hits like a truck with Sneak Attack, and I dont have Deathblows yet. My Ranger can't hit such damage. MAYBE with Marked Target but that is only once in fight for one guy. With AOE spells, My Rogue hits every enemy with 0.5 more damage. I don't see where this damage comes from. Clearly Rogue will deal more damage per shot then Ranger.

I told you it is- you got message pop where you have to click one of two options to update or to start a game. At least that is what I had when I did what you wrote since I was holding off with updating to 1.04 and I could still run game in older version despite being once or twice online.

Uh since I do not play Wizard (I despite grimore mechanic) and I don't like other changes I will pass. Wizard were strong enough with some of their rotations/combos. Sure, melee Wizard will be fun, but with all their defensive boosts I am afraid that good min-max build will be better tank then Paladin. Still not as good as Fighters, but you get my point. They could buff Druid Spiritshifts. I am using mods that allow me to stay in animal form till fight end and boost a little their stats, but I wish devs could see how usless spirit forms are in end-game due to its stupid duration (not even stated in description of ability...)

The problem with this is for a lot of people, it doesn't work. As soon as you go Steam-online, even if the patch is not downloaded, Steam knows "a patch is required" and disables being able to play the game until you do patch it. eg, the game won't start (you'll get a "game needs an update!" msg instead). Now, as I've stated in other threads on this topic, this may not apply to/occur with every single Steam game, but it's often enough that relying on the "don't patch" checkbox option as a way not to patch is (still) a crapshoot. Hey I tested it, if I have "Only Update when I launch it", when I go onlin Pillars just state that there is update avaiable but do not start downloading it. Maybe it is different for others- work for me . And if I go offline again- I can start game just fine. Message pop up and you can choose- Update or Start Game. So you just click Start Game and it Starts Game. But as you said- I can only tested here. Still if you are offline- you won't get patch notes. Another TIP: copy your whole Pillars of Eternity game folder to some drive or another place in your computer. You will have back up for older version in case anything won't work. PoE is not big so that is not a problem, but if somehow patch will download- you can just copy and paste older folder- override everything and you always have this old version folder as backup

I posted it here since I got 3 PMs with question about it from people who mainly use this sub-forum so I posted it here. If mods won't like it, they will move it <shrug> And it is strategy!- Strategy how not to patch game and gimp your builds :D

Yes, they do. I was trying Moon Godlike Fighter with 18 Per, 18 Res and 18 Might (dump INT) and although beginning of the game is walk in the park, mid and later game is pain in the azz since you damage is super low, you don't have ANY AOE damage like Torments Reach of Monk, you dont have any escape abilities like Rogues, you dont have AOE damage like Barbarians. So tanking group of enemies in bottlenecks and corners is SOOOO LOOONG AND BOOORING. In same looong fights my fighter solo was loosing almost ALL HEALTH! Endurance was always high (Shod-in-Faith boots, draining weapon, constant recovery plus Silver Tide racial) but fights were so long that he was just dying from exhausting :D :D. And at some point of game when you fight CC mobs, you have to find middle way between tank (to tank being CC and hit) and DPS (to mow them down fast enough to not risk perma CC), and fighter just lack DPS. Sure he is SUPERB against bosses and 1v1 but he kills group super slowly.

Since I was surprised that a lot of people have no idea that they don't have to patch any non-MMO games, I decided to write this small guide. Nobody force you to patch. If you do not like it- do not install it. Simple GUIDE: HOW NOT TO PATCH YOUR Pillars of Eternity AND PLAY WITHOUT PATCH (For Steam): 1. You start Steam 2. Go to Library, right click on Pillars of Eternity, go to Updates/Actualization (I have Polish version so I don't know how its in English) and change updates to "Only Update when I launch it", 3. then you start Steam- it wont patch since you didn't start game. 4. You click on "Steam", choose "Go Offline Mode" and from now on your Steam will start in Offline mod- which means no updates. and no patches. 5. If you want to play other game with Steam on, just start Steam, go Online and it still won't patch PoE since you have "Only Update when I launch it" . Simple. It is your game so you will decide if you want to patch it or not. Also, even if Steam is Online with "Only Update when I launch it" box checked- you should have pop message with two buttons wen you want to Start PoE: 1. Update 2. Start Game. And you can start game without patching it. But I don't remember right now if that is 100% correct and I can't check so first solution with Offline mod is 100%, this one you have to test . Cheers!

This made me really sad and a bit angry. Sanguine Armor was the one item in the game that allowed me to build an (off-)tank for something outside of the "min might/dex, max deflection and HP" meta that currently rules the tanking game. Currently, the most efficient tank is nothing outside of a engagement field placement, that for all other purposes might as well not even be there. The Sanguine armor on the other hand, allowed me to build an at least somewhat usefull (off-)tank with a decent might and either Tidefall or The Rose of Salthollow, which could hold his own (somewhat) and be usefull in the fight (somewhat) outside of being a static engagement field placement. It allowed me to do something slightly more creative, not to mention immersive. A tank that hits like a leaf in a calm wind, and is awesome at his job while doing so, reminds me way to much about mmo's and breaks immersion for me. I have not seen a single person complaining about Sanguine armor being OP or needing a nerf. It's certainly popular, but that because you've actually managed to give us a good unique item that we enjoy using. Why on earth would you remove it? I see absolutely no reason whatsoever for this change. I also don't see who would actually use it now. If you want to slap Frenzy on something, then it should be a light or medium armor. I am deeply dissapointed. I agree. Well, just don't install patch like I won't . Nobody force us to do this Really? I don't see how I can choose not to. In Steam the only update options are "Always keep this game up to date" "Only update when I launch it" or "High Priority - update first" That is. GUIDE: HOW NOT TO PATCH YOUR Pillars of Eternity AND PLAY WITHOUT PATCH (For Steam): You start Steam- you change updates to "Only Update when I launch it", then you start Steam- it wont patch since you didn't start game. You click on "Steam", choose "Go Offline Mode" and from now on your Steam will start in Offline mod- which means no updates and no patches. If you want to play other game with Steam on, just start steam, go Online and it still won't patch PoE since you have "Only Update when I launch it" . Simple. It is my game so I will decide if I want to patch it or not.