Kaylon

With the right build a FF is one of the few classes able to solo Changelling Dance 100% of the time. The secret is to keep the rogue alive because his Deep Wounds work like a healing battery. The killing order should be monk>cipher>fighter>wolf>ranger (the rogue should be already dead from Soul Mirror).

I would say the Ascendant/Arcane Archer with Frostseeker/Essence Interrupter and bear companion is easily one of the most versatile, fun and powerful builds in Deadfire. With cipher's buffs, the bear becomes very sturdy while also dealing good damage. Frostseeker is great for AoE dps, while Essence Interrupter (with modal) is the perfect backup weapon for high AR/single targets - for tougher fights you can always use scrolls of Avenging Storm and unleash mayhem. At high level you can refill your focus in 1-2 shots which means you will be ascended 90% of the time, allowing you to switch at leisure between spells and bow. The full package becomes complete once you get Pull of Eora which is the ideal CC for your AoE dmg.

If you want to go melee then Soul Blade/Stalker is the most suitable combo. For stats max INT (for buffs), keep MIG/PER/DEX high while CON/RES are very low priority. Pick bear for max AR and survivability...

Forbidden Fist/paladin is basically immortal while also doing great damage (use Tuotilo's Palm and Mohora Tanga for maximum effectiveness and gladiator style). Can also use Sacred Immolation for massive AoE damage with very little drawbacks (max resolve/Clarity of Agony).

In PoE1 the best bows were also hunting bows (Persistence and Stormcaller). In PoE2 it was also well known that hunter bows had the best ranged dps due to their modal (only the Red Hand and Frostseeker can do better). Their biggest drawback was their damage types - slash/pierce AR can be both very high (especially on PotD) - however the Essence Interrupter fixed that. Ranger/cipher and ranger/monk are very powerful combos with great synergies (with both Frostseeker/Essence Interrupter).

Like I already said I expect to always do pierce damage... Personally I think weapons shouldn't magically pick the damage for the wielder. It is the wielder who should make a conscious choice and pick the best damage type based on the situation, which in these cases is pierce. This behaviour is addressed by the game with an algorithm based just on the resistances. There could be a debate why some monster have 0 burn AR... It is to make absorption vs the element more effective or it's a conscious choice to make weapons with dual damage ineffective vs them?

Yes, an assassin using SoF to stack every buff available is invincible and can kill even Dorudugan in a few hits... The assassin in the video uses just a few buffs in order to look less outrageous. 😉

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The armor becomes very good if fully upgraded (comparable with Magnera's Chain). The aura allows Pallegina to become basically the best tank in the game (while the ranged ones are less squishy). The easiest way to improve companions disposition (besides doing their quest in the best possible way) is to make compatible parties using people sharing the same trait - light hearted (Eder, Xoti, Serafen, Tekehu) or dutiful (Aloth, Pallegina, Maia) and adopt clever/rational attitude to get their approval.

If you allow extending buffs between fights (using SoT, WoD or SoF) or just finish the game then any class can do it. If you want to be able to finish the entire content without buff abuse, then the Changeling's Dance quest is another limiting factor besides the megabosses.

Bleakwalker/assassin is nice for big strikes from stealth/invisibility, but in a party it has limited utility. A better choice would be steel garrote/trickster which has much better versatility and survivability as a melee damage dealer.

Yes, you can't avoid cleave. But cleave is manageable if you don't have too many stacks and heal fast enough in order to avoid one hit kills. High resolve and the Ring of the Solitary Wanderer are mandatory to reduce its duration. Monks can also use Clarity of Agony. PS. Cleave does the best of slash/burn damage, but even if you make it switch to burn, the damage won't be absorbed by Rekvu's cloak.

Yes, I forgot about Wall of Draining... But if I remember well it's more tedious because you have to spawn a Fire Blight before the fight...

If we talk about MC without party support then : paladin/troubadour paladin/bloodmage paladin/forbidden fist forbidden fist (using BT) priest/anything (using BDD & SoT) With passive help from the party there are of course more... Pallegina can also tank him with a little help but she won't be able to attack since without Rekvu's helm she will be interrupted most of the time.

A troubadour with Brisk Recitation activated, chanting Many Lives Pass By... is enough to keep Dorudugan busy (a monk summoning the Dichotomous Soul works too but is more tedious). After that, if you pick the right buffs/equipment and ranged weapons (Essence Interrupter, Eccea's Arcane Blaster, Fleetbreaker, Amaliorra,...), Dorudugan will go down pretty fast with minimal micro and without any cheese. And, contrary to the common belief, it's also possible to tank Dorudugan at melee with some builds.

Anything with a green circle is considered ally (ie party members, summons and charmed enemies).

The same is true for Grave Calling (and probably Hel Beckoning too) with the advantage you can freeze/paralyze any enemy without immunity to dex afflictions (even Dorudugan). Works well on SC rogues but also on any monk crit builds because the freeze/paralyze will increase the hit to crit chance. (It makes a great combo with Scordeo's Edge because of the accuracy buff and Blade Cascade...)

The ideal way is to recruit new companions only when you want to use them and preferably when you're near max lvl (that way they will scale with you and will require less xp to reach lvl20). Basically explore and do side quests/bounties with your main party until you're high level and after that start doing main/factions/expansions quests and recruit the others...

Yes, the dot is applied to every target but it doesn't stack and if the targets die in 2-3 WotW it doesn't make a big difference. However if you can't hit a target continuously it helps (like vs obelisks). PS. There are many good headgear options for WotW: Helm of the White Void (helps CCs), Cap of the Laughingstock (helps melee), Acina's Tricorn (helps AoEs) and Thaos' Headdress (helps all attacks if enemies are affected by Blinding Smoke).

Best summon are by far the animated weapons because they're very sturdy, their accuracy/pen/damage scales and have also useful abilities. And if you're using summons often then the Animancer's cat is nice to have.

Yes, I'm ok with the PEN reduction since it follows the rule of dual damage weapons. Also I see no reason to treat Caedebald's Blackbow differently and not give it dual damage. Personally I consider the secondary effects separate from the damage and should be separate from the main attack. In other words Sunbeam won't burn someone immune to fire, but will blind him because of the powerful light. Same with the Freezing Pillar - if you're immune to cold you don't take damage but the ground gets freezed and you're still hobbled. The Blights are maybe a bad example because they float and should be, in theory, immune to ground effects.

In both situations I would expect to pick the most favorable damage type, ie pierce. Giving all elemental weapons dual damage seems, for me too, the most logical choice in order to have a single clear rule. Personally I also expect an immunity to protect only against the respective part of an attack not the entire attack. For example Rot Skulls vs crush immunes should apply only the disease, while vs disease immunes it should just deal crush damage. For that reason I consider also the damage immunity a much better solution overall, instead of keywords. To solve the situation 2 a solution would be to increase the specific elemental damage above the other resists and also increase the healing part to compensate for the lower damage received.

I never realized the duration can be refreshed. That means a rogue with brilliant could keep it going forever.