Kaylon

If it were other classes maybe you could argue that's because of bashing. But monks use it obviously for the class specific enchantments and because bashing isn't such a big penalty with that shield. Also I doubt the statistics imply that most high level monks use a shield, instead it can also mean they have a shield equipped (as a back up weapon set) and that shield is Tuotilo's Palm.

If bashing shields were so great then most builds would already include Tuotilo's Palm. Defense, dps and enchantments all play a part and bashing isn't the answer for most builds.

I think the mod is great and for me this change is a no brainer - since Tuotilo's Palm is perfectly balanced I see no reason for the other bashing shields to underperform. Some could say that shields without bash would become strictly worse, but I would answer that "Bashing" is a kind of enchantment for shields and, like in the case of weapons, not all enchantments are made equal. Right now, daggers with modal are arguably a better alternative to bashing shields - +10 melee deflection from the beginning (like a superb buckler) while having better damage, penetration and accuracy. Losing +1 engage and the ranged deflection isn't a big deal most of the time.

Turn based is a completely different experience and it is indeed a viable strategy coupled with maxed mouvement speed, however it will increase greatly the length of the fights.

Riposte isn't something you should build around - it's just a little bonus for defensive rogue builds (trickster/soul blade or trickster/steel garrote for example). It's possible however to force misses either using medium shield modal (Nerian's Ward is nice for that), items giving "resistances" (like Humility robes) or immunity to disengagement like Nomad's Brigandine/Gipon's Prudensco.

I don't think it has anything to do with being legit/boring reasons. I see three simple reasons why this interaction remains unknown and is "rediscovered" from time to time: it requires to play without a party - which most people don't do you have to play certain class combinations - most people have already in mind what they want to play and the tactician doesn't come very often (a cipher in the party can cover the needs of brilliant) since the interaction isn't obvious (compared to infinite dot + hiding or brilliant + SoT + BDD which can be easily figured out) and the reasons above, most people don't ask/learn about it If we had a sticky post with all the little exploits/unintended interactions in the game I'm sure people would use them more often because they make some combos more viable and the game more fun.

How do you maintain bloodied/flanked status all the time? Dorudugan has 21 slash AR in potd, I think - I don't see how can you penetrate his armor with Scordeo's Edge even with Windmill Slash activated... Also Vanishing Strike can last maybe 15s with optimized gear/stats thus you can use at most 6 times with Empower. It's hard to believe that Dorudugan can be killed under 90s.

I see the trickster as someone using many "surprises" and illusions, which can translate to procs/effects and illusion spells, combined with a bit of swashbuckling. Ring of Clenched Muscle, The Magnificent Escape Cape, The Left Hand of the Obscured/Gatecrashers/Boltcatchers, Rakhan Field Boots are some good options. For weapons I would equip Kitchen Stove + Modwyr and Whispers of the Endless Paths for their abilities per encounter. For the regular weapons a mix of Scordeo's Edge, Gravecalling and Rust's Poignard works pretty well. For slash/pierce resistant enemies Ball and Chain, Endre's Flog of Obedience and Sungrazer can be used as backup. Besides trickster's spells you could also use traps, poisons, bombs or scrolls to spice things up even more if needed, but the consumables tend to become tedious in the long run.

Using the AI you can try to use "Focus is at maximum" as conditional and use a spell like Mind Blades (which won't be wasted) or one with long casting time (that way you have 2-3s to react before the spell is finished and switch to another spell if needed). After that you have to learn how many spells you can cast during the ascended phase - also finishing with spells with short casting times helps not losing them. However when you can fill your bar in 2-3 shots you stop worrying about these things because you will be ascended most of the time. Attack speed is also very important if you want to increase the number of spells you're able to cast while ascended - Captain's Banquet, Abraham + Contender's armor, dex bonuses/buffs...

Frankly, I wouldn't change any. BDD is unbalanced only in hard long fights if you can keep it forever, but if you can't prolong it for the entire encounter it will make little difference in the end. Dawnstar's Blessing I really don't understand why you want to change it, I don't see how it breaks the game. Avenging Storm isn't that common and I think there are other abilities/spells at least as good. As for Unbending, it's comparable to BDD - it's good but if it can be used only for limited time it won't make a big difference in the end. If I remember well it was due to other "melee" effects looping and triggering the proc from Boltcatchers. The problem with the procs from accessories/armors is their penetration at end game, especially on PotD. Melee crit builds (high accuracy/hit to crit) can trigger rather often crits from Boltcatchers too which makes them a little more viable (because it helps also their penetration), while with your change you will do 25% dmg vs almost all high level enemies. In other words a penetration increase would have been probably a better buff overall than a simple damage increase. Yes, many accessories were badly overnerfed, but that was not my point. I think there are some interactions that make the game interesting and it bothers me that in an attempt to make the game "fair", sometimes we forget the fun. Here's an example - the trick with Grave Calling looks great on paper but in practice it's very hard to use effectively - using a berserker makes the Chillfogs damage your party too, you can't control very well the number of procs and the game crashes/freezes all the time. If you don't use a berserker then you have to kill every skelly by yourself which in the long run becomes rather tedious and counter productive; in other words it hardly makes a difference in the big picture and personally I consider it very difficult to abuse - but if some people want to put the time and effort to make it work I would say let them enjoy it. Hehe... On the other hand, weapons that proc melee hits with spells is obviously not intended and it should probably be fixed, however for some people it can be fun and maybe it can be treated like a feature - just remove the loops and make the procs break stealth/invisibility.

Other ideas: devoted/helwalker crit build - dual wielding Scordeo's Edge and Grave Calling berserker/streetfighter - with Lord Darryn's Voulge steel garrote/trickster - with Voidwheel

For me a nerf to stop the SoT/WoD abuse and make buffs work only in combat is more than enough. Nerfing also the buffs on top of that alters too much the gameplay. For infinite DOTs I think a better solution is to have their duration extended as long as the afflicted enemy has a member of your party/allies in sight (something similar to Scales of Justice). I'm fine with a Resonant Touch cap, but I prefer the stack to blow itself once it reaches a certain amount instead of having to track how much an enemy has. I believe Boltcatchers crits can't trigger Heartbeat Drumming and I don't see the reason for a nerf (in fact all procs from accessoires/armors rather need a buff and be treated like spells or weapon procs)

Here are my suggestions, more in line with their actual abilities: bear - 2AR, 10% chance to terrify, +1 enemy engaged boar - 4regen/3sec, 10% raw damage over time, +1 enemy engaged cat - 15% action speed, +7 accuracy stag - 20% AoE damage, + 7 all defenses wolf - +2 base damage, 10% chance to knockdown, + 25% stride

Making spiritshifting work like a modal and removing healing is something I was also thinking about and for me it is perfectly fine. Of course keep the melee oriented specifics and prevent casting while shifted (being able to shift back and forth can alleviate some of the drawbacks anyway). In the case of the infinite spiritshift having short buffs doesn't make much sense and it would be preferable to replace them with some weaker passives maybe. Specific items would be the icing on the cake.

That's the point, sacrificing Marksman, Driving Flight, Gunner and Shot on the Run is more than other class combos have to sacrifice. Also you make it sound like losing access to Carnage, Accurate Carnage, One Stands Alone and Interrupting Blows - some of the specific traits of the barbarian - is not a big deal either. The idea is other combos can put arguably more on the table while sacrificing less. Bloody Slaughter is one of the worst passives in both PoE1/Poe2, I wouldn't call it nice. Speed is good, but you can already have Captain's Banquet + Rapid Shot. Also the fact that it can work "well" is beyond the point, you can make even a melee caster work very "well", but that doesn't mean it will be as good as the other options. You keep reminding about the particular case of the Mage Slayer. Yes, it can have an interesting interaction with the ranger, but that's a gimmick indeed - first, to be able to crit reliably with Frostseeker you need very high accuracy (which isn't the case here) and secondly there are better ways to disable mages - CC, interrupt or simply kill (and that's the reason the mage slayer doesn't justify his drawbacks and was never a top pick). Maybe on paper... Hunter's Claw is really useful only against some bosses where you can prepare in advance and, personally, I would never sacrifice Nature's Resolve for a bonus that works only against some enemies. Sure you can keep the same bonus through the entire game, but then it makes little difference compared to someone who doesn't have the buff. Without mentioning you will be under Bonded Grief more often than not. In fact I would even argue that Stalkers work better at range with the pet always near them as a bodyguard who can intercept attackers and also make the ranger sturdier. Fighter/rogue has already great synergy and the fact that you can't engage isn't a big deal - enemies rarely disengage anyway. Sure it's a bad subclass combo, but not the worst for me - it still tanks very well and can also dish lots of damage.