Kaylon

If it requires 3 other classes I wouldn't call that easy, and those debuffs aren't granted or free either... I didn't say it's not possible to play a dot druid in potd, I just said it's less effective than other options.

If you don't plan to play on potd then druid's dots are of course viable. However in potd enemies have also high HP, high corrode AR and also high fortitude. Fortitude is the highest defense in the game and is not that easy to debuff, especially in an AoE. Add to that the limited number of spells of the druid and you easily understand why the effectiveness of his dots can be crippled. I don't even mention that dots will clash with other spells of the same level you want to use. A streetfighter/ascendant using mortars with just Disintegrate+Gouging Strike+Deep Wounds (and you can add depending on the situations Recall Agony, Soul Ignition, Arterial Strike, Toxic Strike, Pernicious Cloud) has speed+accuracy and can keep the dots going the entire fight.

For pure caster I would go ascendant/helwalker. Essence Interrupter with modal can replenish focus very fast and you can spam high level spells without running out of mana. Later you can use the Chromoprysmathic Staff with Instruments of Pain to generate focus even faster.

The druid has many dots, but there are many enemies immune to disease/poison in the game.... A rogue (streetfighter can easily work here with Powder Burns debuff) using mortars can apply many dots in an AoE. Add an ascendant who can also spam dots and you have a great combo. If the streetfighter feels too squishy you can use a trickster instead.

Yes, FoD itself is bad. However its upgrade, Eternal Devotion is very good. Basically you should start the fight with a big alpha strike (like from an arquebus) to make FoD count and after that you just refresh the buff when needed. With Retribution, Eternal Devotion and Brand Enemy the paladin does respectable single target damage.

Clearly Darcozzi paladin (Fires of Darozzi Palace is really free damage earlier and Inspiring Liberation is a great long accuracy buff for himself or others) - by far the best tank in the game and once he gets Sacred Immolation he becomes also a great damage dealer. If you want a more offensive one from the start (and not too squishy either), then you can try a monk. The fighter is a solid class but with nothing exceptional, while the barbarian is great (later) vs multiple enemies swarming you, but ineffective vs scattered ranged enemies or bosses. The rogue deals great melee damage but is very squishy. The chanter is not really a melee fighter - he usually deals damage with his chants and ranged weapons from behind his summons.

Ranger/rogue with the Red Hand is the most efficient build indeed. Geomancer can be fun sometimes if you like micro, but it's less effective against high level enemies.

The focus you generate is proportional to your weapon damage (ie your damage bonuses) and the SA bonus depends on your focus to which are applied again all the damage bonuses. (It works a bit like wounding in PoE1 which was affected twice by might.)

To add to what Boeroer already explained very well: the rogue can also generate free focus from misses through Riposte/Outward Spikes (from shield) or through disengagement attacks (from Ryngrim's Repulsive Visage) the SA bonus is affected twice by the weapon bonuses (when is generated and also when is applied), thus a rogue can generate the highest dps with SA another alternative to Tuotilo's Palm is Magran's Blessing which can also generate free focus through its damage shield (which is considered a shield attack and benefits from the Burning Strike enchantment and other damage bonuses including sneak attack/deathblows); the dmg shield targets reflex which can be lowered using flail's modal. Of course the monk can also generate free focus through Swift Flurry/Heartbeat Drumming (Sun and Moon is very good for that) and even some disengagement attacks (with Left Hand of the Obscured equipped), however his SA damage is lower overall. A good ring to use is the Ring of Focused Flame which affects the first head of the flail (to avoid misses from SA) and also the damage shield.

If you feel that having permanently 40%dmg bonus and +3PL to your spells isn't important, then you can use a normal cipher, of course. It allows to use Soul Annihilation continuously, while benefiting from the shield, dw and PL damage bonuses at the same time. Steel garrote/street fighter - resilient and high dps character who drains health with every attack Blood mage/assassin - the bloodmage has unlimited access to invisibility and healing (through draining weapons) and can backstab over and over again. Helwalker/paladin with SI - besides having the highest passive defenses and good melee damage, Sacred Immolation becomes very potent due to mig, int and pen bonuses from the monk, while the self damage is removed with Clarity of Agony.

Soulblade/trickster with Sun&Moon/Tuotilo's Palm, arcane archer/ascendant with Frostseeker, dual wielding steel garrote/street fighter, blood mage/assassin with draining weapons, helwalker/paladin using SI....

In PoE1 any class can pick Persistence and Boots of Speed and kite most encounters. After that you're left with a few encounters which require careful planning and consumables, but are doable by probably any class. The paladin can tank (with strategical positioning) and beat 99% of the encounters (without scrolls), while for the remaining 1% he needs to kite (the high level bounties are harder than the dragons...).

For a berserker/devoted the Voulge is the most reliable weapon for both single and AoE dps. Static Thunder, Bolting Strikes and the shock/slash damage are hard to beat. Amra is flashy because can easily destroy packs of weak enemies, but it has poor single target dps and against very resistant/immune to slash enemies you will struggle with your fists.

I tried also spells/scepter/mortar & Sungrazer (over 200 shots) without succes (melee hits with Sungrazer can proc Return Orbit even multiple times in a row). However Blunt Rock works very well (also in AoE with mortars). Double Strike from Scordeo's Edge works with spells/implements but has no effect on reload weapons.

A few more bugs to fix if it ever gets an update: Sacred Immolation AoE duration isn't affected by PL (only the duration of the self damage); also the self damage part is considered ranged and is increased by ranged damage bonuses (pets, etc) Indecisive from Orishia doesn't work Fire in the Hole/Hand Mortar trigger Powder Burns twice per attack (needs more confirmations)

I tried to trigger Return Orbit/Double Strike while shooting with a blunderbuss and it doesn't seem to work. On the other hand it's very easy to get frenzy with a blunderbuss and Lover's Embrace in the off hand.

You're right, I unchecked "Only Scale Upwards" while Level Scaling remained activated. Then indeed, if you play without scaling at all the encounter becomes much more forgiving.

I tried the encounter without scaling and there's no difference. However I think you have a mod because your enemies are much weaker...

I play always upscaled thus I can't tell if there's a difference. However I'm still interested in your strategy because I find this encounter very difficult to beat without great passives. Personally I don't find herald boring because it's a very versatile class - you can use summons, invocations and play easily as 1h/s, 2w, 2h or even ranged. On the other hand, I consider very tedious to pass half of the time to buff or maintain the buffs as a caster...

Tactician/Berserker is solid in a party, but certainly not made for solo. Also, for me there's a big difference between a class able to finish the game solo (by skipping content and avoiding fights) and a class able to complete the entire game solo (meaning he can beat any encounter in the game). For example a blood mage can't beat the Changeling's Dance encounter without heavy exploits and I certainly wouldn't rank him first. My top 5 would be: forbidden fist troubadour/paladin blood mage/paladin tactician/assassin forbidden fist/psion (or forbidden fist/soul blade with the CP)

No, I'm using just the Unity Console.

For me it hits twice all enemies in the AoE:

I never observed it until now, but in my game both mortars are bugged and trigger Powder Burns twice per attack. It happens just with the mortars, not with the regular blunderbusses. Can anyone confirm it?

It's not the ultimate combo because the dot doesn't generate wounds fast enough and also because you damage yourself. The ultimate combo uses the synergy between Keeper of the Flame, Saint's War armor and Imagined Pain (with whatever weapon in the main hand). Personally I think Magran's Favor with Bleeding Cuts is still the best option overall even if the mortars look flashier. Mortars have low dmg and acc, can't trigger Swift Flurry and are under performing if the enemies are not close. In other words I don't consider them OP compared to the melee version, thus no need for nerfs.

Another great find! I wonder if it's possible to make the double merge multiple times with the same character for unlimited PL. Anyway, being able to use the powerful effects from the trinkets every fight is already huge.