Kaylon

If everyone agrees that existent weapons should keep their keyword, then we can discuss further if putting them in line with Essence Interrupter, Frostfall and LDV is a good thing or not. Personally I consider it more of a flavor thing with no major implications (like opening doors to new powerful builds). It means you will have to switch less vs immunes/very high AR enemies (mostly on upscaled PotD): Frostseeker - helps vs constructs, big ooze, fire titan Thundercrack - helps vs bog lurkers, skeletons, death guards, some vithraks, most constructs, warden/tyrant of decay, Hauani, Ukaizo guardian, Auranic Dragon's Dowry - helps vs bog lurkers, skeletons, tyrant/warden of decay, Hauani Sun and Moon - helps vs bog oozes, some grubs, some panthers, Hauani; it makes also its draining ability less useless Grave Calling - helps vs earth blights, eotens, rathuns, menpwgras, flame nagas, Hauani, magma dragon, Fire Titan, Soul Collector Hel Beckoning - helps vs some ogres, constructs, Belranga A special case is Magran's Blessing shield - it already does crush/burn damage but it has no keyword attached to it...

No, in fact Shot on the Run makes you attack faster than normal because of the double inversion - it gives -50% recovery while moving (like Rapid Fire modal) but of course you get also the 50% penalty which will reduce a little its effectiveness.

I think fire absorbing monsters like Dorudugan don't need fire immunity at all - they will just heal from fire damage (like the player using Rekvu's cloak)

From what I remember, some weapons were made elemental when the arcane archer was introduced, to offer people more weapon choices. The changes proposed by MaxQuest are basically more nerfs introduced to the vanilla game, but don't fix the main problem... Personally, the problem that bothers me the most is the fact that monsters immune to an elemental type are also immune to other damage types because of the keyword immunity. Also the same monsters take damage from the same elemental damage they're supposed to be immune if there's no keyword attached to it (lash damage for example). My solution to this problem is to make monsters immune to the respective elemental damage (by changing their armors), instead of elemental attacks (remove immunity to keywords). As for the weapons tagged as elemental I keep my previous suggestion - give them a second damage type to justify the elemental keywords, instead of removing them - or let them like they're now.

Oh, I finally understood - my bad - it happens if you have multiple instances of Pull of Eora which drag enemies between them preventing them from taking any action. Indeed, if the enemies don't resist it works like a hard CC. However big enemies are immune to pull/push effects...

In my game the enemies aren't prone at all. They are just dragged toward the center of the vortex and continue to attack normally if you're close enough - which corresponds to the description of the spell. Maybe you have the same bug as @Constentin Lévine. If you are in their range they will attack you normally - ranged attackers are basically unaffected...

Pull of Eora can't be considered hard CC because enemies can still attack. The best hard CC is probably the freeze from Grave Calling - with high hit to crit and a chanter in the party it becomes basically unlimited AoE freeze. And the few dex immunes can be covered easily by a monk with unlimited AoE stuns (Stunning Surge with mortars or WotW with Ajamuut's Cloak).

If you want to be the best tank then Bardatto's Luxury is the ultimate weapon. Any summon that dies grants you Hardy inspiration which stacks with any other armor buff (including Hardy inspiration from another source). The Immunity to constitution afflictions is also nice to have if you plan to use Hylea's Boon to achieve the highest defenses.

Well, I forgot how hard the buffed guardian was. I think the True Lover's Kiss + Brand Enemy is the only way to go for the unmodded game.

It's already surprising you made it that far with your build. The Steel Garrotte with his draining passive ability has the best survivability of all paladins and with high defenses and steady draining he's almost unkillable. Keeping the Guardian affected with Fractured Volition and spamming Soul Annihilation is usually enough with a tanky build. If you want to buff yourself against bosses without minions you need the Belt of Magran's Chosen + a multi hit weapon to force the summoning of a blight which can be used the entire fight as a battery for your buffs.

I discovered recently that Xefa's Empirical Explication can add up to 12 resonance stacks per attack - it can proc knock back and prone on crit which are also considered weapon attacks (and can also trigger Avenging Storm). FF monks using WotW can use blunderbuss + melee weapon to gain easily 2 hostile effects (Powder Burns + Unwieldly from Hilea's Talons). With 30+ resolve, Ring of Solitary Wanderer, Strand of Favor and Clarity of Agony their durations is close to 2s and you can generate wounds between two WotW.

A way to fix all problems could be to change the heads of Sun and Moon to really deal fire and cold damage (or maybe fire/crush and cold/crush), which was probably intended considering the keywords assigned and the draining enchantment (draining just from the lash doesn't make much sense). (Dragon's Dowry and Frostseeker deserve probably the same treatment too).

Armor and also shields degrade when you get hit and thus have to be repaired. However weapons degrade only when using normal attacks, not when using abilities. Soulblades (with Soul Annihilation) and monks (with Stunning Surge or Whispers of the Wind) can use weapons without degrading them. Natural/summoned weapons and armors don't degrade - thus a shape shifter can be great choice for melee. Using potions of the Fearsome Brute is also a good way to avoid weapon/armor breaking during long fights. Besides that, using summons to do the tanking for you and spamming hard CCs are other great options to avoid armor degrading. To deal damage you should try to spam mostly abilities/spells or use summoned/natural weapons (Firebrand is another good option).

Scordeo's Edge has better synergy and can trigger Blade Cascade and flurries like crazy. Grave Calling is also a good choice because once you start freezing enemies they become flanked and you get another 25% hit to crit for even more crits.

The most reliable way to obtain Adra Ban is probably farming Belranga's spiderlings with a specialized team. A berseker/priest can use Withdraw on Belranga (and keep her alive) after she summons her spiderlings, while the rest of the team kills them over and over again. I think there's 1-2% chance for a spiderling to drop Adra Ban, but in theory you can kill as many as you want...

Not really, these buffs have pretty short durations and you will have a hard time to keep them up (also casting can be easily be interrupted in melee). Melee builds, in general, are simple to play and maybe don't have much variety, but they also require tactics and careful planning to overcome harder battles. If you look for more melee variety you should play a Forbidden Fist - many different play styles and unlimited resources.

I don't see much synergy for this combo and I doubt you will go very far solo, especially on potd. Melees and casters are opposites and you can't play both well. Without very high AR and some sort of healing you won't be able to tank effectively, neither you or your pet. For solo melee I would consider to pair the stalker with a paladin (kind wayfarer or steel garrote) or a monk (FF or nalpazka). If you want to play a cipher ranger solo it's better to consider a ranged dps version using the pet as a distraction and lots of CC and kiting.

Yes, trickster/unbroken with Guardian Stance and equipped with One Dozen Stood, Magran's Blessing (with modal), Magran's Favor (with modal) can be very effective. The modal of a medium shield ensures at least 30% misses vs any enemy, your ripostes/disengagement attacks will be full attacks and the damage shield hits get all the rogue bonuses. Another nice one is forbidden fist/trickster who can spam FF while getting free ripostes, disengagement attacks, damage shield hits which can trigger further flurry/heartbeat drumming attacks (however you need Champion's Boon/Tactical meld if you want to deal with multiple targets). Devoted works best with monk for a crit build triggering many cleaving/flurry attacks (with fists as a very strong back up weapon). Later you can add the Left Hand of the Obscured for free disengagement attacks too. Fair Favor + Scordeo's Edge + Grave Calling / Tarn's Respite / St. Drogga's Skull / Aldris Blade of Captain Crow are all great combos.

Yes, ascendant/ghostheart or ascendant/arcane archer with Frostseeker are both very fun and strong combos. Very effective to use either as archer/cipher, dpending on what you need.

Picking Shot on the run in Deadfire makes a huge difference if you move between shots. However I doubt it affects reloading (that's why we have Gunner) - for me reloading works only if you stand still.

Soul Annihilation is one of the best damage abilities in the game for multiple reasons: has huge single target damage potential can be spammed targets deflection (the lowest defense and the easiest to debuff) does raw damage interrupts on crits it's a PL1 ability (gets a big dmg bonus from PL at high levels) From the way its damage scales it's obvious the rogues are the most suited for a MC soul blade. The streetfighter has the best dps potential but, without a priest with BB/SoT, it's difficult to play one. Besides dmg bonuses and speed the third way to increase the dps of a SB is by generating free focus. The trickster, besides better survivability, can trigger more easily ripostes and also disengagement attacks (when using Ryngrim's Repulsive Visage). Regarding the weapons there are many interesting options: Voidwheel - the champ of single target damage (best suited for a streetfighter under BDD) Whispers of the Endless Paths - the champ of AoE damage (having high deflection ensures also some free focus from Offensive Parry) Sun and Moon - the second head replenishes focus allowing continuous use of SA (can be used with a bashing shield for increased defense, speed and focus - Tuotilo's Palm can generate more Focus with Outward Spikes, Magran's Blessing can generate focus with the Fire Shield) Grave Calling - the damage from Chillfog proc generates focus too Chromoprismatic Quarterstaff - next best thing after Voidwheel and best dps option if you don't have BDD Engoliero do Espirs - the AoE proc is great (triggers often, generates focus and heals)

Maia is better as a scout using the Red Hand. If you want to use Blightheart for your MC I would bind it to chanter instead because the ability of the ranger is pretty meh. However I would use Dragon's Dowry instead because it does better damage and coupled with the Ring of Focused Flame you have free +10acc. (However Maia will still out DPS you by a large margin)

For the neck: Bone Setter's Torc - if you feel you need more (self)healing Claim and Refusal - if you're comfortable with your health and want more damage Strand of Favor - helps the duration of your buffs (especially Unbending Trunk later) Charm of Bones - helps with duration/radius For the feet: Footprints of Ahu Taka - +2dex and more (self)healing is always good Rakhan Field Boots - are always nice (however they could be more useful for Eder for easy backstabs at the begining of the fights) Boots of the Stone - +1dex and resistance to might afflictions Boots of the White - resistance to dex afflictions For belts: Belt of Magran's Chosen/Sash of Judgment - for more damage The Undying Burden - more health/fortitude are good and the insta heal for emergencies (but not very useful for a no rest run) The Maker's Own Power - +1might/+1 crush AR is always good to have and the death healing works as a safety net (but not very useful for a no rest run) Girdle of Eoten Constitution - more health/fortitude For rings I would consider Voidward and Ring of Greater Regeneration/Ring of Prosperity's Fortune/Ring of Clenched Muscle. The KWF/troubadour is best played as a melee tank/support (Exalted Endurance + Ancient Memory + Aefyllath.../Old Siec...) and my optimal equipment for that would be: Magnera's Chain, Lethandria's Devotion, Sasha's Singing Scimitar, Blackened Plate Helm/Champion's Helm, Charm of Bones, Hylea's Talons, Chameleon's Touch, Ring of Minor Protection, Cloak of Greater Deflection, Boots of the Stone, Belt of Magran's Chosen. If you want to stand in the back you can replace your items with Dragon's Dowry + Ring of the Marksman + Ring of Focused Flame + Acina's Tricorn and use Sure-Handed Ila chant for steady ranged dps.

I never had such a problem. You can't be interrupted if you don't get hit and a FF/steel garrote has one of the highest passive defenses in the game (behind a helwalker/paladin). Also there's no doubt in my mind that a votary is more durable because better armor, defense and passive healing (arguably the best) with no weakness against Arcane Dampener/Cleanse. The fighter has probably better dps due to the higher attack speed, but not by a large margin considering the dmg buff of the paladin.

The conservative approach is to dump completely resolve, keep constitution and dex at 10 and spread the rest of points between might, intellect and perception. A more aggressive approach (especially if you play with +2 all stats from Berath and stack resting bonuses) is to dump also constitution and pick later Tough ability.