Kaylon

Finally, after a little more thinking, a legendary Tidefall with lash and durganized > ALL. Lash+wounding is like 50-75% more base dmg - which beats all the damage advantage Firebrand has. Tidefall has also 15ACC and 15% speed on top of all that...

The base damage of a saber is the same as the other large 1h weapons (it was changed a few patches ago...). The speed of large 1h weapons was always the same as 2h weapons. With buffs and the right items you can basically attack with the same speed as a dual wielder while having 26% higher base damage - Tidefall has obviously the best DPS potential (if you don't count Firebrand).

Yes, Firebrand has good synergy with the paladin and it's one of the most powerful weapons in the game. But having to rest after each fight to be able to use it is the reason you can't effectively build around it. Just for the alpha strike the best solution is to open the fight with an arquebus (or two). Enduring Flames had fixed duration the last time I checked - that means it will always do 4 ticks and the total damage will be reduced by the full burning DR of the target. The good thing is the 50% damage is further increased by your might (because it's a DOT) - with 20MIG it does 65%dmg and with 30mig it does 80%dmg. It also stacks and coupled with Sworn Enemy it can be devastating against bosses.

When you hit a companion only the endurance is restored, not his health. If you check the health at the beginning and at the end it's possible to tell the exact damage dealt and compare it to the total damage from the logs (including wounds)...

If you don't destroy the machine you get the bad ending because eventually someone else will use the machine again...

Just opened up another playthrough and checked drawn in spring. Wounding defeintely is not stacking. Combat log just shows the timer counting down and then getting topped up again with every strike. Eg Drawn is spring 3.4sec And then when you hit Drawn in spring 5sec You should check the total damage done. You hit twice one of your companions and you check the health lost. If the health lost is equal to the damage from the logs then the wounding stacks.

If the tables have changed again the only solution you have is to test again a full month cycle and see if the gloves appear another day.

I never tested how the game is rounding numbers for recovery but DAoM+Gauntlets of Swift Action+Durgan enchantment will reduce it to 1.6%. 2H recovery takes 50 frames and since 1.6% is less than a frame it might not even be displayed (depending on the rounding method). (3DEX however will put your recovery just above 1frame).

A rogue using Resolution/Purgatory has to land at least 40% criticals just to compensate the 20% dmg Bittercut gets from Spirit of Decay. To compensate the dual damage however, I think even 100% criticals won't be enough..

Not really. It's like wanting to compare a 100m runner and a marathon runner and asking them to run a 100m race to find who's the best... Also, deciding who's the best based on a single encounter is also misleading. What items are allowed to use? Would a rogue using just scrolls be considered the best class if he can beat the encounter the fastest?

Personally I never had enough money because I like to switch many weapons/armors and use the best enchantments available on them (ingredients become very expensive).

Savage Attack works with Reckless attack but the dmg bonus is suppressed and you get just -5acc...

It's difficult to agree on this subject because everyone has a different playstyle/criteria and classes have different strengths/roles in a party. For me, the strongest classes are those who can solo any encounter in a reliable manner without abusing cheap tactics (kiting, resting, consumables) . For me, from a solo perspective, the rankings are: 1. paladin, chanter, wizard 2. monk, cipher, priest, druid 3. fighter, barbarian, ranger, rogue

I might test it out later tonight. If it's truly random, then simply checking the Black Hound chest on the same day a few times, using a different character each time, should be enough to tell. The reason for using a different character each time is on the off chance that the tables are "seeded" upon character creation. One character is enough - if the loot is the same as in the wiki then probably nothing changed

You can use the console and give your pet any abilities you want.

Well, the chanter is nice mostly for his AoE damage auras and healing. Also paladin+chanter+barbs means huge AoE damage for the endgame. Keep the priest for the buffs, the cipher for the CC and add a ranger for more single target damage. Once you get defensive mindweb this party can roll over everything without resting...

This fight should be very easy for a barbarian: The key stats are MIG and CON (drop DEX to 3) which should be maxed in order to avoid stun lock. A key item is the rymrgrand's mantle which coupled with plate will heal all the damage you take from the spirits (that combo makes the temple of Eothas very easy too). The best weapon is of course whispers of yenwood (with fine and burning enchantments if possible). To make things even more easy the recommended items are: the rings of minor protection/deflection, gauntlets of accuracy, the pilgrim's last vigil, belt of bountiful healing, fulvano's boots, plate with fine enchantment and food for bosting at least MIG/CON. Summons aren't even required, just stay in a corner to avoid being attacked by too many spirits at the same time. PS. I'm not sure a shield helps you very much - I would try also 1w (without shield for the accuracy boost) or 2w (with gaun's share as second weapon) and see which gives the best results.

It should also be possible to stack items with resistance to paralysis and items with resistance to poison and completely resist the effect (I think it's possible to get Iverra's Helmet from a stronghold adventure before going to White March)

Since the paralysis caused by lagufaeths is considered poison/disease I was wondering (I don't have PoE installed anymore) if it was possible to combine Fenwalkers and the Sun-Touched Mail of Hyran Rath (or the Rotward Amulet) to nullify the effect.

The description is misleading but Killer's Work adds just a flat 10% dmg to Finishing Blow, ie the same amount as Rabbit Fur Gloves overall. I picked the second because Killer's Work works only 3 times per rest... PS. Finishing Blow should have been 1/encounter to be relevant for a rogue...

Also keep in mind there are many minor adventures (giving very good items) which will stop appearing if your prestige is too high. Personally I would increase only the security of the keep until I got every possible item from minor/average adventures. However trying to get your stronghold as soon as possible (ignore every act 1 side quests) might help you obtain more items faster.

If you don't get an adventure it's probably because you have another event instead. (Adventures are just one of the possible events that can happen)

Let's imagine you have 100% chance to hit... +1might means you'll do, at best, 100x3%=300% more dmg over 100hits. +1perception means you'll do, on average, a critical hit instead of a graze every 100hits - that's 100-230% more dmg over 100hits (depending on your critical damage bonuses) Now, in a slightly worse scenario you can also miss a few hits... +1might means you'll do less than 300% dmg - ie 250-300% more dmg every 100hits +1perception means you'll do, on average, a critical hit instead of a miss every 100hits - ie 200-500% more dmg ever 100hits (depending on classes and bonuses) The conclusion is, depending on the situations (especially vs high defense enemies), the perception can be even better than might. The deflection is one of the best defenses for a melee character because probably 90% of the attacks will target it. The trick with all defenses is that every point you invest in them is better than the previous. If you want to build a tank then the best way to mitigate damage is to stack defenses (more than DR) and in such situations +1res could be worth much more than +1mig.

It would be nice to have a list of spells/abilities that are considered poisons and diseases...

Here's my preferred portrait for a human cipher/rogue: