Hi!
I just registered because of this thread. I hope i don't make huge mistakes with my english appearance.
Normally I really enjoy beating games like PoE in a solo run but i gave this up for now.
So i thought a two person party is the way to go! I spent about 20 hours to find my personal optimal character choice. I thought i could share my experience til now.
I started with an Orlean cipher on hard difficulty and created a level 2 fighter once i hit level 3. My ciphers stats are 18-8-18-9-18-7 while the fighter goes with 8-18-8-18-8-18. It's a classical DD and tank setup.
The main skills of the cipher are Tenous Grasp, Mental Binding and Mind Blades. You can do really sick stuff with Tenous Grasp - really cool :D Besides that he wears a two-handed "Fine Estoc" (you find this early on) and a "Fine Hunting Bow" in the second slot just in case there is not enough room for two meeles.
My fighter just skilles and wears everything that raises his defense. Heavy armor, shield, ... he can tank really good.
With level 3 and 2 I cleared the Temple of Eothas easily. With level 4 and 3 I bet everything in Raedric's Castle. Now I'm at the beggining in Caed Nua (nearly level 5 cipher and level 4 fighter at the moment). I don't know what waits there for me but I think (and hope) it will be doable.