Raven Darkholme

Has anyone soloed the eyeless ambush yet?

I don't want to sound harsh, but nearly all things you said above are incorrect: - The chat radius is the biggest base AoE you can have with any passive ability on any class. If you do it right, nearly all the time all enemies will be covered by it. Not to speak of your companions. - Voice of the Mountaintop works just fine as it should. So does INT. INT gets applied as to any other ability. It increases your base AoE by %. So does Overseeing and Voice of the Mountaintop. Alltogether you can get an absurdly big AoE. - The damage of The Dragon Thrashed was not nerfed. What was nerfed was the ACC of hazards in general. So it may be that your chant will not hit/crit as often as it used too. Compensate that with more PER and ACC buffs. But it's still one of the best abilities there are. Dealing DoT damage while standing around, not infuenced by status effects like prone, not influenced by low DEX, but pumped by MIG and INT. Huge AoE, good chance to hit. Works with Predator's Sense and Combusting Wounds. Stacks with itself and other DoT chants. It's best if you are a tank and stand in the front line in order to catch really every enemy on the field. - Brisk Recitation is a beast at higher levels. It speeds up your chants by %. So a longer base recitation time will profit more in terms of flat seconds. A phrase that took 3 seconds will be sung in 2 seconds now - you gain 1 sec. But a phrase that used to take 10 seconds now only takes 6 - that's a gain of 4 seconds. You can easily fit another phrase in there. And you can feel that. At least in PoTD. Suddenly you can spam invocations like you never could before. Suddenly retraining to cast "Seven Nights" as often as possible totally makes sense. That invocation is so good if you can cast it repeatedly in a fight. Same with "White Worms" . but I said enough about that in other threads. - Ancient Memory and Beloved Spirits got buffed a lot. They now heal a lot more in a big AoE and also stack. So it's correct that a party of 6 chanters is very, very powerful - especially after lvl 9. So I wouldn't say the changes were minor. All in all they buffed the chanter big time. This. Also the chanter didn't need the buffs. But hey, so didn't many classes.

Yes, I would have like also a "simple" Ultimate achievement (like the Solo achievement), without the expert and the trial of iron options. You dont understand it? If you did it without ToI you can do it with ToI - at least if you know how to ToI - sure, if you are very unlucky you have to start again - but if you do this, you have too much time. You dont use strategys where one roll decides if you win or loose. You try strategies without ToI until you found one that works about every try, after that you do it with your ToI safe - takes time but is quite reliable. Too much time? You realize this takes as long as playing a normal save without ToI? Your "strategy" takes even longer and can result in death if you truly go for the new achievment, beating all optional content.

I'd love to see a solo PotD playthrough with a Barbarian. No one seems to try it though. With skipping Adra dragon it's been done long ago before the perception change. Now it should be easier, but no idea whether you have to skip content or not. Yes, it was one of the first to solo when One Stands Alone was bugged and did huge damage with carnage and retaliation... After the nerf it wasn't viable anymore... That too, but there was also people doing it after those nerfs.

This is not hard at all. If parallel to my own completionist solo of WM1 I had a 2nd save only with Expert and ToI, then I would almost have the achievement already. As somebody pointed out already ToI is not that hard as long as you test a fight out with exactly the same build on non ToI. Expert mode is more an annoyance than actual difficulty increase.

Any ability in the game that works on allied targets will not work on the caster. Only abilities that work on FRIENDLY targets will work on both party and caster. (Those also work on non party npcs, while the allied ones don't) It was totally not the point of my post.You said you might define tanking different than me, which to me sounded like you think I might be satisfied with a less effective tank. That's why I brought up soloing, since if you don't kite you have to tank way more hits. But you see, right there, you have pointed out a difference between how you and I define "tanking". You say "you have to tank way more hits". This isn't tanking to me. A "tank" to me isn't something defensive or only defensive. A "tank" character is a heavily armored character who is meant to go into harm's way, using his armor to help protect himself so that he can get into range to use his own offensive abilities. OTOH, some people here define "tank" as a strictly defensive character whose job is (or was in PoE's early days) to get as many characters attacking him, hopefully pointlessly, as possible. Essentially abusing the game's mechanics. This sort of "tank" wouldn't work in a real P&P game because a game master would simply have the enemy be smarter and at some point just ignore the aggro magnet "tank". Now, I'm not saying that this is exactly what you're saying, but some do. Hence, my comments about different definitions of "tank". Edited to cut down on the quote nesting.... I did not say a tank is defined by HAVING TO tank way more hits. It just proves how good a paladin tanks. The beauty of paladins (and I think OPness) is, they DO plenty of damage. I never built 3 MI 3 PER paladins. I LOVE my damage. And once you get sacred immolation only casters can compare in damage output and kill numbers. A fighter doesn't even come close. I have never really played a Paladin protagonist before so I don't know, they may be able to soak some damage but I am guessing that they may not be so good at proper tanking because they dont have any close quarter combat class talents like CC abilities or the ones that help with engagement mechanics, like fighter can knock enemies down, clear them out, pull them in range, knock them out when they try to escape etc...........I don't see any close combat class talents in Paladin's repertoire, not even one IIRC their skill table........ I am really not sure how a Paladin will manage keeping 2 or 3 enemies engaged on her, without letting them escape...... Like Boroer said in the post right below you, keeping enemies engaged is something you will have to think about with ANY tank. Engagement is useless. Prone and such are not enough casts on a tank, like the fighter. If you are surrounded by 10+ enemies you need other ways to keep them engaged. I personally don't have any problems with that, but I have a unique playstyle, my parties are always built around a tank.

I'd love to see a solo PotD playthrough with a Barbarian. No one seems to try it though. With skipping Adra dragon it's been done long ago before the perception change. Now it should be easier, but no idea whether you have to skip content or not.

Well it sort of is That's the way I play with Pallegina, placed in second row and holding Aedrin's Wrecker. FoD greatly benefits from slow hard-hitting weapons, while also providing bonus acc. Majority of FoD shots are resulting in a stun or a prone. Coupled with apprentice sneak attack it's a great alpha strike, which also gives +20% attack speed to everyone. And since she stands in the mid-line, it's guaranteed to cover all party members. Following with SE/Wrath of the five suns, deals the next portion of damage, and again higher acc helps to land the next stun/prone. Then use second FoD or Runner's Wounding Shot. And only then, if for some reason the fight is not already over, she can switch to 1h+Outworn Buckler, offtank, and heal/support the party. Another bonus is that when she is not in the front she can easily move around and cast lay on Hands without getting disengagement attacks. That's kind of what I have in mind for my Pally (however I won't be switching to melee weapons much), because this whole melee support thing don't really make much sense to me and only because of that Paladins in this game always seem dispensable to me........you go toe to toe with foe but you don't deal much damage and you can't really tank that well either, have no class talents that provide any mechanics to deal with engagement or close quarter combat, so that don't make sense to me.......that's why I have never played a Paladin before.....now I think a ranged Paladin may do it for me but seems like he won't be as good as priest or a chanter, unless I roll Kind Wayfarer and score killshots.... That's not really true. From Level 13 on you deal massive amounts of damage with Sacred Immolation. Being surrounded by enemies in melee helps your damage output greatly. What gave you the idea paladins don't tank well? They are far superior to any class in tanking. Raven, I'm not sure that I'd say that they "far superior". I will say that they can absolutely hold their own. Of course, you and I may have somewhat different definitions of "tanking". I thought it clear I compared paladin and any other class in the game. As to what I understand by tanking, I solo the game mostly (I dabbled in 3 member parties twice) and I don't like kiting. So I build my pala defensive and tank absolutely eevrything including the dragons. If you compare a fighter to a paladin you will not get close to the same results because his other defenses besides deflection are too low. Also his deflection is slightly less and was significantly less before the latest patch. Also I mentioned Sacred Immolation. Just because of that skill even tho it has nothing to do with tanking (but works best if you are surrounded), the paladin becomes a far better damage dealer than fighter beyond level 13. Which once again if you are solo and have to tank way more, than with a group, is a VERY big deal. I should say that I never, ever solo these games. And I never have less than a full party once I have the characters to fill it out. I see these games as being meant to be played with a PARTY of characters, not as some 3rd person version of a 1st person shooter. No single character in my parties is meant to play the game as anything other than part of the team. Thus, I see things from that "team" perspective. It was totally not the point of my post. You said you might define tanking different than me, which to me sounded like you think I might be satisfied with a less effective tank. That's why I brought up soloing, since if you don't kite you have to tank way more hits.

Well it sort of is That's the way I play with Pallegina, placed in second row and holding Aedrin's Wrecker. FoD greatly benefits from slow hard-hitting weapons, while also providing bonus acc. Majority of FoD shots are resulting in a stun or a prone. Coupled with apprentice sneak attack it's a great alpha strike, which also gives +20% attack speed to everyone. And since she stands in the mid-line, it's guaranteed to cover all party members. Following with SE/Wrath of the five suns, deals the next portion of damage, and again higher acc helps to land the next stun/prone. Then use second FoD or Runner's Wounding Shot. And only then, if for some reason the fight is not already over, she can switch to 1h+Outworn Buckler, offtank, and heal/support the party. Another bonus is that when she is not in the front she can easily move around and cast lay on Hands without getting disengagement attacks. That's kind of what I have in mind for my Pally (however I won't be switching to melee weapons much), because this whole melee support thing don't really make much sense to me and only because of that Paladins in this game always seem dispensable to me........you go toe to toe with foe but you don't deal much damage and you can't really tank that well either, have no class talents that provide any mechanics to deal with engagement or close quarter combat, so that don't make sense to me.......that's why I have never played a Paladin before.....now I think a ranged Paladin may do it for me but seems like he won't be as good as priest or a chanter, unless I roll Kind Wayfarer and score killshots.... That's not really true. From Level 13 on you deal massive amounts of damage with Sacred Immolation. Being surrounded by enemies in melee helps your damage output greatly. What gave you the idea paladins don't tank well? They are far superior to any class in tanking. Raven, I'm not sure that I'd say that they "far superior". I will say that they can absolutely hold their own. Of course, you and I may have somewhat different definitions of "tanking". I thought it clear I compared paladin and any other class in the game. As to what I understand by tanking, I solo the game mostly (I dabbled in 3 member parties twice) and I don't like kiting. So I build my pala defensive and tank absolutely eevrything including the dragons. If you compare a fighter to a paladin you will not get close to the same results because his other defenses besides deflection are too low. Also his deflection is slightly less and was significantly less before the latest patch. Also I mentioned Sacred Immolation. Just because of that skill even tho it has nothing to do with tanking (but works best if you are surrounded), the paladin becomes a far better damage dealer than fighter beyond level 13. Which once again if you are solo and have to tank way more, than with a group, is a VERY big deal.

Well it sort of is That's the way I play with Pallegina, placed in second row and holding Aedrin's Wrecker. FoD greatly benefits from slow hard-hitting weapons, while also providing bonus acc. Majority of FoD shots are resulting in a stun or a prone. Coupled with apprentice sneak attack it's a great alpha strike, which also gives +20% attack speed to everyone. And since she stands in the mid-line, it's guaranteed to cover all party members. Following with SE/Wrath of the five suns, deals the next portion of damage, and again higher acc helps to land the next stun/prone. Then use second FoD or Runner's Wounding Shot. And only then, if for some reason the fight is not already over, she can switch to 1h+Outworn Buckler, offtank, and heal/support the party. Another bonus is that when she is not in the front she can easily move around and cast lay on Hands without getting disengagement attacks. That's kind of what I have in mind for my Pally (however I won't be switching to melee weapons much), because this whole melee support thing don't really make much sense to me and only because of that Paladins in this game always seem dispensable to me........you go toe to toe with foe but you don't deal much damage and you can't really tank that well either, have no class talents that provide any mechanics to deal with engagement or close quarter combat, so that don't make sense to me.......that's why I have never played a Paladin before.....now I think a ranged Paladin may do it for me but seems like he won't be as good as priest or a chanter, unless I roll Kind Wayfarer and score killshots.... That's not really true. From Level 13 on you deal massive amounts of damage with Sacred Immolation. Being surrounded by enemies in melee helps your damage output greatly. What gave you the idea paladins don't tank well? They are far superior to any class in tanking.

FoD works with ranged.

Take that, turnip-hatin' scum!

Whoever could think dirty thoughts hearing that?

In BG rangers were very different to PoE tho. Even tho you can play rangers melee, in PoE you pretty much should use them ranged. In BG it was the other way around, except for the archer subclass (which sucked hard, lol) I'm fully aware of the differences. It's just that nothing about Minsc ever struck me as saying "I'm a ranger". He really did seem like just a fighter (berzerker kit) to me. His berzerk ability was really bad compared to a true berserker. It was rather comparable to a magic debuff, than an actual positive. As to rangers in BG: The only other ranger was Kivan and nothing about him was saying ranger either (his pic looked like an archer, but he wasn't even good at that). If I built a pc ranger I mostly went with ranger/cleric for super cheesy solos. (Sadly got nerfed. ) Those were always very strong melees and at least Minsc was a strong melee.

Dual wield Drawn in spring. @OP I would go with the rogue for full Durgans and then divide the rest, casters for armor and weapons for offs. Superb is always hard, but you have weapons which start out superb, try using those, so you have 1 or 2 exceptional weapons, where you REALLY want the unique enchant and use the eyes on those. Scales matter less I personally prefer shields to armor if you have a pala tank there goes 1 scale.

In BG rangers were very different to PoE tho. Even tho you can play rangers melee, in PoE you pretty much should use them ranged. In BG it was the other way around, except for the archer subclass (which sucked hard, lol)

I am using Open Broadcaster Software. Pretty much the best program out there and it's free. You might wanna watch a tutorial vid on how to use it, but it's pretty straightforward.

"Unfortuanatly you cannot select a hamster." I cracked up hard.

There is a couple of couples () that would work very well. The paladin is pretty much a must, but since you can solo with any char ofc you can play without him. My personal Top 5 would be: 1. Paladin + Chanter Since you not only can build the chanter very tanky, but he also gets a great passive AoE attack with level 9, these two have the best synergy if you want low micro. Summons are also real handy in some situations and with level 13 you get a 30 pt damage shield which makes a tanky paladin invulnerable. 2. Paladin and Priest I only set this to 2, because of higher micro. This is the strongest combination I can think of. Priests buffs can make a solo priest very tanky, just think about what they do to the pala. Combine this with excellent cc and healing... 3. Paladin and Cipher. Once again,5 this could very well be top 1. With max level, this is easily Top 1 because of mindweb, but even before that the massive damage output and excellent crowd control of the cipher compliments the paladins tankiness, let's not forget the great supportspells of which the cipher also has a few. Pain link + Sacred Immolation seems to work even if the pala doesn't get hit by enemies the selfdamage seems to proc link. And many people might know how cheesy a cipher in stealth is, when Echo is activated. 4. Paladin and Ranger Really strong if you enjoy splitting large groups of enemies. Let the pet pull melees away from casters (or just split a large group of melees) and let the paladin tank them, while the ranger shoots. 5. Paladin and Wizard The wizard can tank as well as the paladin but needs spells for it and especially Arcane Veil is something you don't want to spam (short duration, per rest). A tactic I like with these two is have the wizard in a corner or behind a door and the paladin in front so melees can't reach the wizard. Activate parasitic staff and enjoy dat reach. You can save your defensive spells for encounters, where the terrain makes this impossible.

Paladin and Ranger are the best "broken" classes, they are way too easy to play for their solo power, while wizard might be a stronger class, but is a lot harder to play. Both wizard and paladin are played without kiting, while the ranger is awesome at the very thing. Thx.^^ I'm probably one of the biggest paladin enthusiasts out there, seeing the executioners hood in my current pt with 3 chars makes me want to start yet another solo pala, lol.

Same.

then, please, show better melee cipher build You realise that the second post in this thread and the first answer to the OP links a melee cipher build? Also it is quite ironic how you ask for a better build, while pretty much any build is better that doesn't have 10 PER, lol.

If by unbalanced you mean weak, then you are wrong. Also some cipher powers got strengthened and are lot of fun now, I use Silent Scream a lot for example and was awestruck today, when I saw I crit a dude for 95 dmg, he was also stunned for 20 secs and ofc that spell is AoE. So your general conclusion that the powers are unbalanced is not entirely right, the last patch saw to that. Most important for me is, almost every tier of cipher powers has at least 1 useful spell. The only tier I never use is the 2nd highest (V I believe).

Paladin deals huge amount of damage once he is level 13, before that he only does decent with 2 handed weapons like Tidefall. Once he has sacred immolation he is pretty broken. Haha, worst cipher build I've seen in a long time.

Haha, I thought of something similar.^^ Idk what they were thinking with mindweb.