MoxyWoo

Awesome post Ouroboros! Did you try out dual wielding with the Alacrity spell much? I keep thinking dual sabres or stilettos would be pretty boss. Weapon Focus: Adventurer might be good for the Estoc/Wand I figure otherwise. Minor Blights benefits for the rare times you wanna hang back?

So much this. Additionally their lack of athletics means they will die or cause more rests. Pick one .. I usually picked the first.

More of a convenience thing but endurance heals that are reactionary or passive. Moon Godlike or fighter constant recovery. Boiling down to the priest has other things to do same for druids.

Darcozzi Fires Talent at lvl 2+ will give them a base 10 burn retaliation as well. Much earlier than other builds,though has to target reflex to hit. Always seemed to be 5 behind in accuracy but least Zealous Focus works out well with it. It can graze, hit, and crit just like any other melee attack. Also it checks DR like every attack, so vulnerable is particularly important this way. It doesn't scale well, but it is added damage and great at low levels. Once you tack on Inspiring Exhortation and/or Sworn enemy, you can suddenly hit reliably with it too a lot of times. Also paladins are unique with the Outworn buckler that doesn't take away accuracy to tank well. The fact that you shore up your own accuracy issues and relieve any status debuffs is good with it stacking with the retaliation items.

84 without the Paladin aura, and 87 with. Kinda wonky but I was using IE mod to test it out on a lvl 7 save that just got it.

I'd at least WAVE rather than MOON them, if only to give them a SILVER lining to their dreary existence.

This thread made me laugh.

-Essential Phantom will have the Spellbind item uses fully charged. For example, if you have a restore light glove and used 2 of the 3 uses, your Phantom will also have 3 uses when summoned. Otherwise, far as I can tell, there's nothing else usable, figurines in quick slots won't work for example. -To use the above, simply click on the phantom and the spellbind item use should appear above the character portraits toward the left side. -Weapons with spellbind on them will not work as well, only worn items. -It does get effected by group buffs, but individual ones like Eldritch Aim even cast before it has no effect. Additionally, talents Weapon Focus: Adventurer, Dangerous Implements, Heart of Storm, don't seem to effect it. -The Essential Phantom seems to have a +3 accuracy spell in effect on it, so Priest and Paladin spells (auras) will only override it. Otherwise, I was testing a Moon God-like PC and Aloth Wood elf, but the gap was 3 accuracy not 5, and dropped the paladin zealous focus to do this testing. -It seems to have a much higher accuracy and always targets reflex/shock. Additionally it has more Health and defenses. The health pool is roughly x4. I suspect it has a super modifier for health/endurance but can't do math too well. Defenses are a little wonky, I can't figure out any patterns besides it has more. -The damage of the summon is unaffected by might it seems. Aloth or my PC dealt the same with the summons in play. -It has the same damage reduction as the caster. (Kinda funny to use plate for example and have it block a doorway). -Couldn't tell if recovery time of its attacks was effected by the heavier armor though. -Racials like Moon God like do not seem to work off it.

^Agreed with the above. Rogue also has terrible deflection and for some odd feeling I get the idea they purposefully made it that way so stats could somewhat make up for it by dumping INT and CON. Most of their encounter effects are long enough anyway, and they lack AoE.

There's 2 school of thoughts for ranged rogue which boils down to slow to fast weapons with swaps or just using one. 20 dex gives you roughly 30% faster shooting which is great for a rogue. Gunner gives you 20% less on the reload animation only which over the course of a minute will give you an extra shot. Practically this means with a chanter you get an extra shot every 30 seconds which is not much. Quick swap talent and using island aumua to go for a brace of guns will give you a much higher rate of fire until you need to reload. Best way is to use the alpha of 3 guns and then use a pistol to me but I haven't optimized this fully. Additionally 6% dmg increase is nice for a ranged rogue. Otherwise you go for the wood elf alpha with 1 gun or arbalest and then optionally swap to a faster weapon. Rogue is one of the rare classes due to the sneak attack modifier that can get away with some faster and lower dmg weapons. The first is a little annoying to micro the second is much easier. Finally use items and scrolls. It is amazing.

Thanks for sharing this information. I felt the hardest part of PotD was the beginning so this is good news.

Love this guide. One question, no minor blight spell for the wizard nuker? Got a lot more mileage from the blast this way and staying power was the main issue to me for casters.

Scrolls scale with might and uses the base accuracy of a class. Best scroll user is a class with max might and starting 30 base accuracy. ....neither of which fit the Chanter. Other classes suffer from action economy. Chanters before ramping up to an invocation have "realistic" usage of items and tanking ability. Additionally scroll use on a paladin with zealous focus can be a decent opener since the priest cast realization isnt fast enough to be gained for scroll casts. Priests have 20 base accuracy, so they're irrelevant. Monks have spare action economy at the start of a fight, during the time when using a scroll is most advantageous. They are most likely to max might and they start with 30 accuracy. I'm not saying the Priest, Chanter, or Paladin don't have other kinds of advantages, but anything outside of the "best" is irrelevant, no? indeed love the monk for the initial item or scroll use. to clarify.. priest casting their accuracy buffs cant effect scroll use while a paladin can for an opener. just looking at that a paladin has 31 accuracy via zealous focus at the start of a fight.

Scrolls scale with might and uses the base accuracy of a class. Best scroll user is a class with max might and starting 30 base accuracy. ....neither of which fit the Chanter. Other classes suffer from action economy. Chanters before ramping up to an invocation have "realistic" usage of items and tanking ability. Additionally scroll use on a paladin with zealous focus can be a decent opener since the priest cast realization isnt fast enough to be gained for scroll casts.

Buy one at an inn or similar. Otherwise I guess Pallegina in defiance bay can tank and Kana is ok too for that role. Mainly these two have more passive benefits so using them in all heavy armor and shield is ok.

Chanters are also great for scroll use, item casts, and tanking to me. There's so much potential via item use that realistically can't be used by other classes but chanter.

Personally love the alpha of a ranged rogue with their 2 second window at the start of combat. Many enemies have just exploded from this alone without needing to cue up any skills with a BFG or Arbalest. After that, its just using the crippling strike to down one enemy at a time, or take down all the other enemies that are meeting the sneak requirements. Mostly, I just think there's a lot to do with 6 classes, and getting old... So love the auto attack nature of some of them like the rogue who gives out a lot of pain.

This is just an auto attack party that I found funny for a little while. The biggest thing is to wear heavier armor when necessary, but optimizing the backspace + click options with a variety of classes. Modals are fine to use. I avoided the barbarian fire tank mainly because it has the currently bugged OSA. Fire God-Like Paladin of Kind Wayfarers -Zealous Endurance for damage resistance. OR Zealous Focus for the accuracy which helps for the retaliation stuff. -Strange Mercy heals you up, Inspiring Triumph, Coordinated attacks. Critical Focus (optional) Weapon/shield talent. Uses Outworn buckler, is your main talker. Int > Res > Per > Mig > Con > Dex Fire God-Like Monk -Turning Wheel adds onto the battleforged retaliation. Rooting Pain will prone foes. Long Stride for increased movement. -This guy also has the highest base accuracy next to ranger in the group so can use secondary effect crit weapons. Res > Per > Mig > Int > Con > Dex (Int is interchangeable, but its mostly for better charm, dominate, confuse resist) All ranged builds can benefit from Shot on the Run & Fast Runner depending on how much you want to click around for your micro. Moon God-Like Ranger -Marksmen > Dangerous Implements > Penetrating shot along with Swift aim. A little bit faster with the wands than the other wizards with better accuracy (due to the higher base accuracy) lacks the blast aoe tho, and can heal in this group with the master race. Weapon Focus: Adventurer (Optional) Use warbow when you don't need to heal, and wands when you do. Dex > Mig > Int > Res > Per > Con Moon God-Like Wizard -Blast > Penetrating Blast > Dangerous Implements. As you hurt yourself, you give out some nice aura heals. Additionally, while low damage your aoe Dex > Mig > Int > Res > Con > Per Wood Elf Wizard or Rogue -As above, since the heal will come from the Moon God like at the same time as you need it, but now there's +5 accuracy for distant targets. This guy gets your implements that give prone effects on crits due to the slightly better accuracy at far range. -Rogue can get the nice alpha via sneak attack, and arbalest is decent for the prone effect for some control. OR Moon God-Like Chanter -Same as above Ranger, but has the Hand of Illa to help fire faster. -Optionally, you can go for a reach weapon or tank build kiting via Rime and Frost Followed the Footfalls of Karth, but it almost feels like an active ability. Fast Runner is then recommended as you run/kite for some encounters. OR Moon God-Like or Hearth Orlan Rogue -Reach weapon user, probably Tall Grass. -Reckless Assault > Dirty Fighting > Deep Wounds Dex > Mig > Res > Per > Con > Int (Moon race is merely for the convenient heals, while little McFuzzy stabs better) Obviously all of this has abuse via Moon God-like for party heals, and an all tank chanter group using Come Come Swift can melt the monsters into nothing as well, but tried to give a variety of the auto attack classes.

I'd also add I enjoy nuking my moon god-like for the heals and additional area damage. YMMV but a monk one gains wounds as well, so SYNERGY! Close to getting rooting pain too, so we'll see if also an additional knockdown with aoe damage from my backline casters just makes it even better. This basically puts an active use ability of "damage" and mixes it with a reactive or passive "heal." Priests wish they could heal as much and. Paladins and Druids wish they could cast something else besides support, so its quite a nice thing to me.

I didn't run +engagement on my dracozzi since Eder seemed to have enough, and keeping him far enough away to tie up a group while the other 5 nuked down the few that leaked through with my offtank dracozzi seemed like enough. Additionally, the monsters go for the lowest deflection by default, so having "less" than Eder was good enough to pull 2 or 3 off of him while keeping a solid front line. Finally, disengaging is not too threatening from Eder by default. I ended up giving him an Estoc despite his weapon focus due to this, because as they tried to go for the back line, or the paladin, at least his hits meant something. I'm sure this would vary in PotD but the engagement mechanic didn't seem to help me tank that much where as positioning and placement all did. Edit to add: One reason I like INT and RES maxed out is because weapon/shield style will at least give your reflex up and deflection, where as being charmed, dominated, or similar was super annoying.

Longknife did a good post about fixing the paladin. Figure we could get back on topic and figure out fixes/buffs. Offhand for solutions after playing one, I'd give them the following: -Globally, let everything stack with spells. Give them an instant or fast cast. -Flames of devotion: More uses as they level. Bug fix of lash damage (though this can be said of all classes) -Lay on hands: Instant or fast cast, increase the range. Its really hard to use if you go the typical off tank route in heavier armor. Possibly up the uses as well. (or as others suggested, roll them into one power). -Liberating Exhortation: Needs AoE, least keep them semi comparable to priests. This power is still nice due to the fast cast and Dracozzi Talent though, but other ones have issues. Additionally, I'd like it to be a preventive measure like taking 3 hits of a debuff or something more 'cover' like. Another suggestion is to make it redirect to the Paladin's saves which are typically higher like the similar 'cover' theme. -Faith and Conviction: For NPC paladins. -Zealous (Insert here): I don't see it being overpowered to let it be turned on with each aura, and stack with the spells. YMMV, but I like the idea of an Auradin, and it still requires 3 class talents invested. Auras could also use a bump up for their range, possibly 6m (double the size) would be fine to at least let them effect all allies with 20 int + zealous boots. Still requires the min-max stat approach then. -Inspiring Triumph: Increase range to 8m, this will let it at least hit the back row reliably. Though I guess a 20 int + zealous boots can make it reach the backline and maybe it was optimized for this. Additionally, I'd like a class talent line that gives another passive besides defense like +accuracy. -Sworn Enemy: Personally like the Pathfinder smiting ability, so this seems similar. I'd add a small speed boost or make it encounter as a wish list thing, or have it also benefit allies (because at level 7+ its not that good of an ability compared to just about every other class). -Deprive the Unworthy: Haven't used this. Offhand I'd give it like some sort of taunt mechanic too where the target has to focus on the Paladin as well for X seconds. -Reviving Exhortation: Bug fix needed. Currently kills off the ally its cast on. Another solution is to give it more of a global use like a +hp shield or similar pool of hp/revive instead. Might be easier to code too. Another suggestion is to make it comparable to some of the buffs available at this level from other classes to have a nice stacking per encounter ability and a reason to take a paladin. -Reinforcing Exhortation: Haven't used. -Coordinated Attacks: My main gripe is this passive is pretty underwhelming for the level you get it, I'd move it down a few levels. Additionally, it'd be nice if it gave like a +engagement or similar helping of one of the roles the paladin is supposed to fill. -Hastening Exhortation: +20% attack speed is awesome. What is not awesome is that its like everything else, too little and too late for the "top" ability. Offhand, I'd change it to something like a half effective Combat transformation or similar buff that stacks with everyone else in addition to the speed bonus. Make an ally go really into "hero" mode as it were. Possible niceties: -Zealous Barrage: http://pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com/Zealous_Barrage (bring that back, don't really see it being that overpowered, but whatever). -Dracozzi Palace Talent scaling with level, like +1 per level with a base of 10 damage. Keeps it roughly in line with rooting pain but has a duration then. I can't speak to the other orders as I've only played Dracozzi, but similar tweaks/buffs for all of them would be necessary in my mind to keep them wanted along with all the other options above.

From what I've tested it basically works like: (repost from above) -Aura = spells, does NOT stack with any spells. Only highest counts. -Chants work with everything, hence why Zealous Charge works with them. -Inspiring Radiance works with everything, hence why Zealous Aim works with them. To summarize... Auras act as spells, so any spells will override them. Inspiring Exhortation was actually more in line with the priest encounter, hence like the chanter stuff it seems to stack.

I never mentioned the AoE damage in my post for sabres applying. It was merely for the initial full attack, having a higher base dmg for a dual wield makes it good. We are saying the same thing. Edit to add: I guess optimizing the cone damage would just be about stacking might then. So, technically, a dwarf or aumua would do the trick. That said a 6% increase doesn't seem as handy to me as a tank that needs less baby sitting. Additionally, turning wheel would be good for the initial full attack then.

@MoxyWoo Considering the Liberating Exhortation's drawbacks, I wouldn't fault anyone who decided to take Sworn Enemy instead, but I don't think it's enough to put your Paladin's damage on a respectable level. It's true that if you're a Moon Godlike you probably will find Lay on Hands a little redundant, though. It's still handy for archers messing with your back line. I agree lay on hands is good for an emergency heal. The Moon God-like aura though is pretty huge, and can reliably hit the backline shooters even with my starting intelligence of 15, not sure where it ends exactly, but gun using NPCs are always within. As for Sworn Enemy, its to me one of the "best of a bad bunch" due to accuracy always being handy. Mostly the secondary crit effects are decent on a paladin for more control via autoattack and usually one huge monster with micro via Eder using his taunt/pull encounter was enough to let me go damage mode if I so chose. That said, I had a tough time giving up Outworn buckler to justify this due to the party buff it provides... Still, +10 inspiring, +15 Sworn +6 Zealous Focus are decent modifiers for a self contained class to get some crits in (sans all the stacking issues).

Very nice. I still enjoy less micro via moon god-like heals and the second stat spread is good due to this because your might and intelligence stack out for some great heals. Typically with my PC paladin, I ran out of health rather than endurance due to this before hitting the usual 100+ deflection. Also for lvl 7, I like using Sworn enemy with the second stat spread. Between that and Inspiring, your paladin will deal a good amount of crits, so other weapon types are viable like Tall Grass for example to prone enemies on crit. But YMMV because Flames of Devotion is quite good to me, where as the rare times I would need to heal allies, the Moon God-like already did it in a pinch before I could even hit space bar to think about healing them. The trick to later healing much like Monk wounds is to just nuke your paladin with spells. This does double duty much like some of those Pale Elf builds floating around and cast speed is usually faster on a wizard or similar casting classes than a Lay on Hands.