MadDemiurg

Since BG2? Never played BG1 so not sure about that one. The only D&D edition where casters are not overpowered is the 4th (which would make a pretty solid cRPG foundation tbh, with all classes having their at will, per encounter and per rest abilities). The part about ciphers being stronger than other casters in PoE is not really true either, partially due to the aforementioned issues with the rest system.

I think caster classes (with the exception of Chanter and Cipher) are impossible to balance with the rest system being broken. I think they should either fix rest before even trying to balance casters in regards to their capabilities compared to non casters or just forget about it and leave it as is. I'm also not a big fan of one button classes and not sure non casters should've been implemented this way in the first place. If resting is not limited, everyone will cry that casters are OP because they have more powerful abilities. And if these are nerfed to match the awesomeness of fighter's knockdown and the like everyone will cry that casters are UP because they need to rest. To be fair I prefer the first situation (since no one's forcing you to abuse rest, while you'll pretty much have to in case #2). As for Cipher, I think the class needed nerfs, but not the ones implemented (draining whip change is the only one I somewhat agree with). Starting focus change just makes the class dynamic more boring. I won't post the nerfs that I think are necessary though, because who knows who will read and misinterpret this :D. I also think that making classes more fun to play rather than obsessing over balance would be a good idea. E. g. I want to play a fun shapeshifter class or a pet class, but with the sorry state of druid's shapeshift or ranger as a whole I can't.

I don't know where the idea of afflictions not working on grazes really comes from. PoE is very generous with having grazes in the first place, in D&D if you make the roll you hit, period. And some abilities do 1/2 of their original effect even on a miss. +/- 50% on crit/graze works just fine IMO.

From PotD experience you want heavy armor for earlygame since you still get hit/grazed a lot. For lategame you still want medium/heavy armor since the damage you're doing is not making that much of a difference anyway and you want DT for these occasional fort/will/ref attacks. If you min/max really hardcore it's possible to nullify most attacks, but that requires food & rest bonuses which you're not using all the time. It's not a problem earlygame but it gradually grows into one in the lategame if you min/max.

@Taril: Yep, that's pretty much in line with my suggestion No, and I don't think it would make any sense since shapes are only marginally different. It would be cool to have unique shapes with distinct roles but that's PoE2 material at best. Fixing the current shape is not too much work really. That would work, although further increasing the duration would make little sense if it's at will already. I'd say 30 sec base is reasonable enough to justify building smth around it. If it becomes at will, shape needs to have some disadvantages though (currently it has more than enough, but we're accounting for potential fixes), or you'll stay in it 24/7.

I'd say even more common fort attacks would make orlan 2 might tanks tremble. Give all ogres brute force for god's sake! And some will targeting damage spells to shades and phantoms. I also really think that you should never reach 100% dodge with any defense. 95% - maybe. But not 100.

D&D featured an "autohit" mechanic meaning you can get hit no matter what. I think PoE needs smth like this (or alternatively some defense reduction system as suggested). It's not only deflection though, it's the same with all defenses. It's just that deflection bonuses are more common and enemies attacking deflection are prevalent (which is another problem).

Theoretically, INT can influence the maximum complexity of the moves/spells used. Like allowing more complex combos etc. That would make it both a universally interesting stat and reasonable from RP standpoint. The way PoE is designed I don't see an easy fix however. As for OP's question, I don't think weapon type influences carnage aoe at all. INT obviously does.

I think we need more spellcaster talents as well. Will breaker - +6 accuracy to spells and abilities that attack will Plague master - +6 accuracy to spells and abilities that attack fortitude Spell sniper - +6 accuracy to spells and abilities that attack reflex

Think he didn't use any food either (although I don't remember it too well). He did get killed and then revived via unbroken though, so I guess a second chance item would be ok . I think the vid got removed, yes.

No consumables is not exactly true as you have food bonuses on you. But I think pala is one of the classes that actually have the best shot at doing it with no consumables (even though I think it's kinda pointless and if you solo you're gonna use a lot of consumables anyway with any class) because of righteous soul cutting that nasty -20 accuracy aura duration. Most other classes would really want to use protection against fear/recovery potion even if it's possible for them to manage without it.

Oops, didn't see that thread. Anyway I think a poll is relevant too. Funny thing is, the form IS very powerful already, it just doesn't scale at all. As you've seen I've actually suggested to nerf earlygame damage. For level 1 druid it works just fine if not a bit OP. I agree that class kits would be the best approach for this issue, but I don't think this is something a simple patch can address. "Specialization" can be achieved even now to some extent just by picking talents. For instance, shifter druid would likely go Wildstrike + Greater Wildstrike + WF Peasant + Vulnerable attack + TW style + Elemental talent for wildstrike's element. Caster druid obviously would only overlap in elemental talent maybe. For what it's worth, wizards are much more capable melee fighters now and would stay this way even with the buffs suggested. They need spells for it though. Maybe one solution would be to introduce self buffs that work only when shifted, akin to D&D magic fang etc to scale the shift this way. This would put druid in more or less the same condition as wizard, needing to spend spells to be effective in melee. That might make the classes too same-ish in this regard though. I think scaling accuracy on the claws is a no brainer caster druid or not. Wizard's arcane assault stays more or less useful throughout the whole game. Druid shift without accuracy boost is completely useless at high levels even as a gimmick since it can't hit anything.

Haven't seen a single mob using arcane veil in the whole game though. In a theoretical world barb would also counter these annoying 2 might orlan tanks (insert a picture of aumaua barbarian using hulk mode on orlan paladin). I still think it's worth it for synergy with casters. Plus a large portion of enemies (kith) is missing from the bestiary and some of them have low fort, but I'm not sure about the percentage of these tbh.

Yeah, "working as intended" part looks weird since it was working exactly per description. It also sucks you can't opt to stay at certain version on steam to finish the game as you started. Try switching to sabers, hard hitting weapons are better for ciphers now and they're under ruffian too (lucky coincidence). Might salvage your build. But I also think they shouldn't do balance changes in "let's halve this and double that" manner. This isn't beta anymore. More careful tuning would be preferable.

You can stealth past most fights since they offer little loot or xp anyway. This way you don't really need to rest too often. In Caed Nua you only need to do 2 fights (both are moderately difficult so 1 rest is required)

Dunno, chanter can provide +25% fire damage by just being there. If you have 4 dps chars that's an equivalent of bringing a fifth one. While chanter can tank much better than a fifth dps char would. They don't FEEL powerful, but they surely are, even in a full group. They also have good synergy with slow but steady groups with no glasscannons composed of tanks or other chanters. 5x chanters and a paladin is an easy way to do lazy PotD ironman without even trying much.

You can just respec with IEMod to prove the point. Fighter vid was made with a test character directly teleported to the sky dragon I think.

This is not a "buff druids" thread, they are already pretty good. Buffing spiritshift though is not going to buff "caster" druids that much as they are normally not built for it. I would even go as far as saying that I would play a variant druid that would only have 2 spells per level instead of 4 but strong spiritshift (not from powergaming perspective, but just for fun), but that's probably too much hassle to add as a patch. So many games do shapeshifting wrong and it ends up being underpowered. Again and again. Do it right for once! Especially with the claims that there are "no bad choices" in the game etc. It's far from unsalvageable and needs like 1 patch to be decent. Current issues and potential fixes (in my opinion): Damage: 16-25 base damage with 5 DR bypass. This is actually too strong for level 1 DW weapon. I'd suggest reducing it to smth like 12-18 with 3 DR bypass and progressively add a 30% bonus/extra bypass through leveling. Accuracy - this is the main issue. Starting accuracy is OKish, it doesn't scale at all however. +1 accuracy per level is a no brainer to match weapon scaling. I'd also add +5 initial melee accuracy buff to bring it up to 25 base as 20 is not too great. DT - 8 DT is pretty great for low level, but again no scaling. I'd add smth like +1 DT for each 3 levels to match armor scaling up to exceptional. Saves/Deflection - Big problem here is that the shape does not benefit from any items other than belt, so there's no way to boost anything. Either let it benefit from necklaces and rings (seems reasonable) or add smth like +1-2 to all defenses per level when shifted. I like option 1 more as it adds more flexibility Abilities - All shapeshift abilities are pretty weak, but are 1/rest. Imo they should be 1/encounter Duration - 15 sec base is very short to actually build around it. Imo it should be 30 sec at least, with option to shift back earlier on demand. Maybe add it as additional feat (extended spiritshift) for those who want to specialize. Also, make "taste of the hunt" to be a full attack rather than primary. it's a quite mediocre spell atm at best and isn't likely to be any different for unshifted druid as they are unlikely to DW, but would make it a good attack for a shifted druid. I'd like to see more spells that synergize with shifting as well, but that's probably expansion material. I'll post a bit later about shape balance as well. Thoughts?

Yep, good one. Also, priest summon + withdraw blocking is quite obvious, but leaving it here since I don't remember it posted. Parking in a corner with repulsion glyph works too, but it's a bit less safe and gives you somewhat less time compared to withdraw. Still should be enough to scroll everyone though. Aiming FoF so you don't hit the summon is not fun for me, this allows to avoid it.

Wiz/Priest do not need splitting and bugging the AI . You don't need to do any really hard fights before stroms apart from Caed Nua Hall, which you do exactly in the same way as any class apart from Wizard, Priest or Chanter. You deal with enemy debuffs by stunlocking and kiting them so they can't debuff you. Basically like any class that has normal saves and no Arcane Reflection. Which is again you only start doing after you get the storms. Druid has pretty solid tanking stats (with 1.05 other casters are not far off and cipher is the same though). Parking in a corner where only one mob can hit you at a time, casting your heal over time to keep yourself alive and them spamming your DoTs works remarkably well for early levels. You can also shapeshift for 8 DR an 0% recovery if needed (not worth it once you get decent items though).

Realistically it's 2x15+ sec, because who in their own mind wouldn't max int on a wizard. As I said in another thread, it mostly matters for solo though, or if you screw up really hard in a party. As for OPs question, there's no definite answer: Wizard, Priest and Druid are going to feel very powerful in big decisive encounters/boss battles, but a bit underwhelming for trash mob fights, at least until level 9+. If you want to "deal the most dps" as many seem to be so obsessed about Priest is probably the worst choice out of 3, even though he has the most powerful abilities that can turn the tide of battle for any party. Chanter is very powerful, but you won't feel like it in a party most of the time Fighters and Paladins can feel "powerful" from a standpoint that they are hard to bring down, but you won't be doing a lot of killing Cipher is a middle ground between casters and fighters and quite powerful overall. Not as powerful in boss fights as a Wizard but better in trash fights. Got somewhat less flashy with 1.05. Monks can make a reasonably tanky highly mobile dps. If you look at their skills initially they don't seem like much, but they are good and feel powerful when you get into it. That's from PotD no exploit 1.04/1.05 perspective.

Chanters have only one problem in a party: they are SLOW. Which is not fun for many people, and leaves them not doing much on lower difficulties. Otherwise they are incredibly powerful.

Spirit lance is pretty cool for solo tbh. ~50 dmg per hit in aoe per swing is pretty good. Never bothered with it unless for "cool" factor as blights were better, but now it's the best weapon in the game by far.

Yeah, it was trash before. But now wizards get too much deflection too fast. I feel like giving some progression to the veil instead of making it +75 @ level 4 would be a better idea. Anyway as I said it matters for solo mostly. The majority of the players won't notice it. I don't see it more OP than breaking engagements with shadowing beyond though. But wizard is more capable than rogue to begin with for solo due to vancian caster nova (and realistically should remain this way as otherwise his per rest restrictions would be crippling for no reason) All different source buffs stack. And veil counts as a talent rather than spell so it stacks even with the same source. So say veil (+75, talent) + 40 (wizard's double, unique effect) + displaced image (+25, spell) + safeguard (+20, when/if it activates) = 160. This is like a total deflection that a mix/maxed paladin gets by level 12, through buffs only. Some parts of it are short lived, but overall pretty impressive.

Chanter being underpowered is the new joke of the day.