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Ascaloth

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  1. The description of Flagellant's path now says that the full attack only effects the target, so I've been assuming it's no longer a powerful AoE... or is this wrong? @OP It's to bad there's no transforming armors to simulate your magical girl build, lol. More's the pity, yes. The description of Flagellant's path now says that the full attack only effects the target, so I've been assuming it's no longer a powerful AoE... or is this wrong? @OP It's to bad there's no transforming armors to simulate your magical girl build, lol. It always hit everybody on the path just like old charge. Well, don't just tell us about it, show us! Post a build for us to see!
  2. Thanks. I guess that's one way to deal with the Confused Affliction that Berserker's Frenzy causes; make it irrelevant by using a weapon which will cause you to put out friendly fire either way. You don't really have to care about neutralizing Confused at that point.
  3. Have fun with it! Thanks. I vaguely recall that in one of her banters with Kana, Pallegina sang a Vailian song and it turned out she wasn't half bad at it. I also somewhat remember that many people requested that she had the option to multiclass Chanter in the first place because of that, actually. Thank you.
  4. Thanks. To be fair, I wasn't actually expecting this Watcher to be as powerful in melee as she turned out to be. I took Helwalker simply for the Might stacking and defensive options, with melee as an afterthought. It was pretty surprising for me the first time she hit a Static Charge when I ordered her to auto-attack. That said, Fate is still not as optimized for melee as a dedicated character would be; no Helm of the Falcon, no Armored Grace, wearing heavy armor, using a 2H weapon etc. It's why I emphasized that if Fate has to melee, it has to be on her own terms instead of the enemy's.
  5. Yeah, In my equipment list, I said people can just choose whatever helmet they want Well yes, but you mentioned that Scrolls of Avenging Storm should be used sparingly as they are expensive to craft. I figured that Heaven's Cacophony would really help you cut down on the costs there.
  6. By the way, Heaven's Cacophony is a helmet you can buy from Wanika at Queen's Berth, which gives you a 1/rest use of Avenging Storm.
  7. =================================== Tuono e Fulmine =================================== Difficulty: PotD v.1.1.0.0035 -------------------------------------------------------------- Class: Herald (Frermas mes Canc Suolias + Chanter) -------------------------------------------------------------- Race: Avian Godlike -------------------------------------------------------------- Background: Vailian Republics (Soldier) -------------------------------------------------------------- Stats (char creation, no Berath's Blessings): MIG: 12 CON: 13 DEX: 11 PER: 14 INT: 13 RES: 15 -------------------------------------------------------------- Important Skills: Athletics, Intimidation -------------------------------------------------------------- Abilities (a=auto, r=recommended, !=important) PL1 Paladin Sworn Enemy (a) Wrath of Five Suns (a) Flames of Devotion (a) (!) Deep Faith Chanter Blessed was Wengridh (a) (!) Not Felled by the Axe, Nor Broken by the Storm (a) Common Fast Runner (!) PL2 Paladin Zealous Aura (!) Divine Purpose Chanter At the Sound of his Voice, the Killers Froze Stiff ® Common Two Handed Style ® PL3 Paladin Eternal Devotion (!) Aegis of Loyalty (!) Glorious Beacon ® Chanter The Fox from the Farmer did Run and Leap (!) PL4 Paladin Exalted Charge (!) Scion of Flame (!) Chanter ...And Their Fear Followed Them into Foothills (!) Common Tumbling (!) PL5 Paladin Inspired Beacon ® Righteous Soul Abjuration Chanter ...Nor Flame, Nor Thrusted Blade PL6 Paladin Virtuous Triumph Chanter They Shielded Their Eyes 'Gainst the Fampyr's Gaze (!) Old Siec Would Not Rest til' His Hunger Was Sated Their Champion Braved The Horde Alone ® PL7 Paladin Sacred Immolation Chanter Boil Their Flesh from Skin to Bone Many Lives Pass By, Each Leaving Footprints --------------------------------------------------------------- Items (*=additional enchantments; !=important, r=recommended): Weapon set 1: Whispers of the Endless Paths (Offensive Parry*!, Spinning Assault*!) (!) Weapon set 2: Kitchen Stove (Thunderous Report*!) (!), Xefa's Empirical Explication (Inexplicable Mass*, Open Choke*) Chest: Nomad's Brigandine (Feigned Retreat*!, Head of the Column*!) (!) Helmet: N/A Amulet: Heart-Chime Amulet (Winged Steps) (!) Cloak: The Magnificent Escape Cape (!) Gloves: Gatecrashers (!) Ring: Ring of the Solitary Wanderer ® Ring: Chameleon's Touch ® Belt: Gwyn's Bridal Garter ® Boots: Boots of Speed (!) ----------------------------------------------------------------- Tuono e Fulmine (Thunder and Lightning) is a build designed specifically for Pallegina, geared for battle tactics that synergize as perfectly as possible with her unique racial abilities. With this build, Pallegina is able to hit like Thunder, and strike swift as Lightning. Thunder The first seconds of the battle is Pallegina's "Thunder" phase, which involves her use of the Kitchen Stove and Xefa's Empirical Explications blunderbusses. This is where a part of her racial comes into play; Vigilant Quarry gives her Resistance to Intellect and (more importantly) Perception Afflictions, and what this means is that she can use the Powder Burns Blunderbuss modal without drawbacks, since it cancels the Distracted status with each and every shot. This makes Pallegina a natural blunderbuss wielder, as there is no reason for her not to use the modal. After marking a target with Wrath of Five Suns for the increased Accuracy, Pallegina's next move would be to use Eternal Devotion on that same target, which makes her do a Full Attack with double Burn bonuses (Powder Burns + Eternal Devotion) at the target, and gives her a Burn lash on her attacks for the next little while. But once she has discharged both shots, it is possible to make her fire a third shot immediately afterwards. The trick is Kitchen Stove's enchantment, Thunderous Report; apart from being thematic to the build, this ability allows Pallegina to do massive amounts of terrible, terrible damage once every encounter. Command her to use Thunderous Report immediately after she's completed her Eternal Devotion shots, and you can get results like this; Afterwards, this is typically when Pallegina should transition into the "Lightning" phase for the rest of the battle. However, she does not have to stay there indefinitely (although that's how it usually works out in most encounters); in certain circumstances, where ordering Pallegina into melee combat is either infeasible or unnecessary, she can always transition back to the "Thunder" phase to feed the enemy another barrage of burning shot, and/or refresh her Eternal Devotion at the same time. Lightning The "Lightning" phase is centered around the Whispers of the Endless Paths greatsword, and more specifically its Offensive Parry enchantment. The core of the idea is that Pallegina would make her enemies miss their attacks against her, and retaliate with alacrity. But to make that happen, she would need fairly high Deflection. And as it so happens, she can achieve that specifically by provoking Disengagement attacks, provided she had the right setup. And said setup includes the following; the Zealous Charge Paladin aura, the Fox from the Farmer Chant, the Tumbling passive, The Magnificent Escape Cape, and the Boots of Speed all provide Disengagement Defense. In addition, the Nomad's Brigandine with the Feigned Retreat enchantment not only lowers whatever damage Pallegina might take from a successful Disengagement attack, but gives her another shot at retaliating against the one making the attempt. But the one thing that makes Pallegina uniquely suited for this strategy is the Heart-Chime Amulet; equipped on her, the Winged Steps trait gives her even more Disengagement Defense. And as of the time of writing, there is no helmet that offers the same bonus, nor is there any amulet - not even the Heart-Chime Amulet itself - that does the same, even for any other Godlike. As the sole playable Avian Godlike in the whole game, Pallegina enjoys an edge that no other Companion, Sidekick, hireling, or even the Watcher him/herself can match when it comes to provoking Disengagement attacks and retaliating accordingly. And that's how you get her doing things like this; Couple that with the Stride boosts from Zealous Charge, Boots of Speed, Fast Runner, Winged Steps, and Blessed was Wengridh, and you have a recipe for a Herald who zips across the battlefield faster than anyone else, counterattacks anyone who tries to take a shot at her, and can always be counted upon to position herself wherever you need her; in short, she strikes like Lightning. Final Thoughts This build is so suited to Pallegina's unique strengths, I consider it my headcanon for her setup and will use it for all future playthroughs. Feel free to have fun with this one.
  8. Got a new one for you Boeroer. The Fate Testarossa Subclasses: Fury/Helwalker Or; how to accidentally your Watcher more anime than Ydwin Author: Ascaloth Game version: 1.1.0.0035 Difficulty: PotD Solo: Untested EDIT: Oh, I finished just in time to slot another one in. Tuono e Fulmine Subclasses: Frermas mes Canc Suolias/Chanter How to make Pallegina hit like Thunder, and strike like Lightning Author: Ascaloth Game version: 1.1.0.0035 Difficulty: PotD Solo: No
  9. What happens when you look at Burn Baby Burn, and think to yourself; "I wonder if I can do that, except for Shock damage?" And then you look at the Lightning Rod, and think, "A good start, but a little too gimmicky for me. Let's see if I can make something more conventional, yet still powerful." Then you look around for a way to max out Might, come across the classic Lady of Pain. And think to yourself, "Yeah, this will work, it'll make this one useful for melee as well." And then you put it all together, take a step back to see what you've wrought, and go "Wait a minute..." =================================== The Fate Testarossa =================================== Difficulty: PotD v.1.1.0.0035 -------------------------------------------------------------- Class: Ascetic (Fury + Helwalker) -------------------------------------------------------------- Race: Pale Elf -------------------------------------------------------------- Background: The White That Wends (Mystic) -------------------------------------------------------------- Stats (char creation, no Berath's Blessings): MIG: 18 CON: 10 DEX: 11 PER: 20 INT: 16 RES: 03 -------------------------------------------------------------- Important Skills: Athletics, Metaphysics -------------------------------------------------------------- Abilities (a=auto, r=recommended, !=important) PL1 Druid Dancing Bolts (a) Sunbeam ® Monk Swift Strikes ® Force of Anguish ® Lesser Wounds PL2 Druid Burst of Summer Flame (a) Woodskin Taste of the Hunt ® Monk Dance of Death (!) Common Two Handed Style ® PL3 Druid Returning Storm (a) (!) Twin Stones Monk Swift Flurry ® Blade Turning (!) Soul Mirror (!) Efficient Anguish ® PL4 Druid Hail Storm (a) Heart of the Storm (!) Monk Enduring Dance (!) Duality of Mortal Presence (!) Thunderous Blows (!) PL5 Druid Relentless Storm (a) (!) Nature's Terror (!) Rapid Casting Monk The Long Pain ® PL6 Druid Sunlance (a) Conjure Greater Blight Monk Turning Wheel ® Iron Wheel Parting Sorrow PL7 Druid Weather the Storm (a) Monk Instruments of Pain (!) Heartbeat Drumming (!) Common Accurate Empower --------------------------------------------------------------- Items (*=additional enchantments; !=important, r=recommended): Weapon set 1: Lord Darryn's Voulge (!) Weapon set 2: Chromoprismatic Quarterstaff Chest: Deltro's Cage (Conductive Storm*!) (!) Helmet: Heaven's Cacophony (!) Amulet: Cauldron Shard Cloak: Mantle of the Seven Bolts (!) Gloves: Boltcatchers (!) Ring: Kuaru's Prize ® Ring: Ring of Boundless Stars ® Belt: The Maker's Own Power (!) Boots: Rakhan Field Boots ® ----------------------------------------------------------------- The Fate Testarossa is what happens when you attempt to optimize a Watcher to deal as much Shock damage as possible, and only realize halfway through that you've accidentally made her more anime than Ydwin was. That said, it also makes this Watcher very fun to play, as she is not just anime in looks, but also in potency as well. Build One of the key elements of the Fate Testarossa is maximizing Might, which means it could work very well indeed for Dwarf or Aumaua watchers with their +2 MIG racial bonuses. However, this is not strictly necessary; I chose a Pale Elf for my Watcher, and gave her 18 MIG. Then, she got another +1 MIG from The Maker's Own Power belt, and another +1 MIG from the Pancake pet. That makes for a nice, even 20 MIG, which combined with the +10 MIG from full Wounds on Helwalker and another +5 MIG from Thunderous Blows, lets you hit the Attribute cap of 35 Might just like that. If you've already got the bonus from Gift from the Machine, you can even forego the pet. My Watcher being a Pale Elf also means she has the Elemental Endurance racial, which gives her AR against Burn and Freeze damage. Combined with the Shock AR from Mantle of the Seven Bolts and Corrode AR from Cauldron Shard and Rakhan Field Boots, it makes her resilient against elemental damage for a bonus. For her Culture, I chose The White that Wends for the +1 PER bonus. As an Elf and with maxed Perception, that adds up to 20 PER, which is important in PotD for ensuring reliable Hits with her spells. I also boosted her INT with my remaining Attribute points, as she is reliant on AoE spells and could use the boost in area covered. On the other hand, I did not go out of my way to raise her DEX, as the spells that the Fate Testarossa relies on tend to be of the auto-proc variety; that means that Action Speed isn't too critical to her success. Electrifying the Opposition Of course, the true power of the Fate Testarossa lies in how badly she can Shock the enemy. With +2 Shock PL from Deltro's Cage, and another +3 PL from Lord Darryn's Voulge, the Fate Testarossa's Relentless Storm can prove to be very shocking indeed. Incidentally, if you can find a Sapphire early enough in the game to enchant Conductive Storm unto Deltro's Cage, that will give you early access to Relentless Storm, which could prove quite useful indeed. The fully-upgraded Lord Darryn's Voulge also offers the option to cast Ball Lightning, which is basically a slow-moving Crackling Bolt (another cast of which you could also find with Boltcatchers). Cast at the right moment, the damage that the Fate Testarossa can do with it can look like this; Pretty sweet, ain't it? As has been demonstrated, the Fate Testarossa is primarily a DPS caster. However, she can be perfectly competent in melee as well. Melee v1.2 Note: The effects of Static Charge has changed with patch 1.2, see it here. This again is thanks to Lord Darryn's Voulge, because its Static Charge enchantment can translate the Fate Testarossa's melee strikes into fairly impressive Shock AoE damage. Another piece of equipment that can make this Watcher even more dangerous in melee is the helmet Heaven's Cacophony, which offers Avenging Storm, a PL8 Druid spell that would otherwise not have been available due to multiclassing limitations. Apart from retaliatory Shock damage on any enemy who does a melee attack on the Fate Testarossa, it also enjoys a synergy with Lord Darryn's Voulge due to this; Yup, that's Avenging Storm proccing off Static Charge. Now, for a Watcher who specializes in Shock damage, you would think I might go with Lightning Strikes instead of Swift Flurry. A reasonable question, but the thing is this; Lord Darryn's Voulge has a percentage to activate Bolting Strikes, which has basically the same effect as Lightning Strikes. So when you combine it with Swift Flurry like this; The DEX bonus does not stack, but the Shock lash and the additional attack on Crit does. Meaning you get what is essentially a Lightning Flurry. That said, this Watcher generally wants to be the one doing the melee attacks, not defending herself from them. For that reason, Blade Turning can be useful in protecting her from hostiles in melee range for a while, and she can use Force of Anguish to kick them to the curb until she's good and ready to take the fight to them on her own terms. For additional protection, Nature's Terror produces an aura around the Fate Testarossa that not only does even more Shock damage to enemies in melee range (and probably procs Avenging Storm as well), but also inflicts Resolve afflictions on the unlucky sods. Ranged At Level 19, the Fate Testarossa gains the ability to fight at distance as well. She can do that even earlier with The Long Pain, but it really comes into its own when she can take Instruments of Pain, letting her attack with Lord Darryn's Voulge from 5m away. And if you're wondering... Yes, Instruments of Pain can proc Static Charge as well. ...incidentally, have you noticed I've yet to really mention much about the Mantle of the Seven Bolts yet? Nuking v1.2 Note: The effects of Storm of Seven Bolts has changed with patch 1.2, see it here. The bigger they are, the harder they fall. The Mantle of the Seven Bolts is impressive enough when it's used to clear swarms of mobs, but it really comes into its own when fired point-blank at the huge boss monsters, which have hit circles large enough that you can direct all seven Bolts into them. Backed with Heart of the Storm and the +5 Shock PL, the Fate Testarossa can blow away the really big ones with near-impunity. For example... You'd think Galawain would have known better by now than to send a Kraken against the Watcher, given that she handily dispatched just one such creature in the White March half a decade ago. Poor Scyorielaphas gets it especially hard, going from Healthy straight to her present wretched state with one blast. Her compatriot Jadaferlas may not have the same weaknesses, but she doesn't fair much better than Scy does. Of course, the Mantle of the Seven Bolts is still a top choice for clearing entire rooms, as Nemnok and Friends would find out to their sorrow. And even all the way to the end, even the mighty Guardian of Ukaizo quails before the sheer power of the Fate Testarossa; Pros And the best thing about the Fate Testarossa build? You can get the most important Shock gear very early on in the game. Three of these can be found in Neketaka alone; Deltro's Cage can be obtained from Ezzali Bardatto's dead body, Heaven's Cacophony can be bought from Wanika in Queen's Berth, and the Mantle of the Seven Bolts can be bought at Iolfr's Raiments in Periki's Overlook. As for Lord Darryn's Voulge, it can be obtained and upgraded relatively early as long as you know which island to sail to (and have equipped your ship and crew accordingly for the relevant challenge). Only Boltcatchers is a late-game gear, and it's by far the least powerful of the four. Cons Notice how I didn't post a screenshot of the Fate Testarossa owning the Giant Cave Grub? Yeah, it's because that bugger is immune to Shock damage. She was practically reduced to hitting the first boss monster you ever meet in the game with a stick. :/ That said, there are other types of spells that this Watcher can cast if she meets enemies that are immune to Shock damage. More importantly, the Fate Testarossa can prove to be particularly indiscriminate in her damage-dealing; whether a bug or working as intended, the Static Charge from Lord Darryn's Voulge hits your own party members as well, and this includes the Avenging Storm proc. Nature's Terror can also do the same thing as well, and sometimes end up shutting down your own party's abilities from Resolve afflictions. Quite a few of my party's KOs are the fault of this Watcher herself, for that matter. There's a reason I outfitted my Matthew Mercers... I mean, Eder with the Iridiscent Scale and the Mundane Shell (both with Shock reduction enchantments), and Aloth kept his own Leather armor with elemental reduction enchantments, along with Cadhu Scath. The Fate Testarossa's friendly fire is usually manageable, but can occasionally get so bad I've considered "Collateral Damage Barbie" as a working title for this build before settling on the current one. That said, I like to think it's very much in character for this Watcher. Final Thoughts I'll make lightning strike as many times as I want, Your Majesty.
  10. I've been running a Fury/Helwalker since the patch beta, and am probably nearing the third quarter of the game. Let's just say I might be putting up a new Class Build soon, because this lady is sick.
  11. There's the Healing Hands gloves which I think you can get from Berath's vendor, which gives you a Lesser Lay on Hands. There's also a Physicker's Belt which should be quite common, and gives +15% healing. Last but not least, you can get the Bone Setter's Torc amulet from Pahowane Underground after the second animancy teleportation quest, which is another +15% healing. You're welcome. I know this because I'm researching a healer build, myself. EDIT: Before I forget; the Lethandria's Devotions medium shield for additional HoT. Maybe the Shining Bulwark large shield for burst healing, provided you pumped Diplomacy.
  12. How I did it was, I had Eder Charge towards the nearest enemy to Giacolo (might have been Tatzatl himself, I'm not sure), which draws all the others' attention towards him. That buys me just enough time for Xoti to cast Withdraw on Giacolo, Aloth to pull them even further away with Pull of Eora, block the way to Giacolo with a Wall of Force, and then proceed with the fight from there.
  13. Respeccing a multiclass Watcher still results in the loss of the Ability Point for the second class for me. Watcher Abilities and other are retained just fine, but that one... still lost.
  14. Respeccing a multiclass Watcher still causes you to lose 1 Ability Point from the second class you would otherwise get on character creation, as far as I can tell.
  15. I'm not sure whether this was always the case from the start, since I didn't touch respec for the Watcher until this patch beta. But when I respec my Watcher, I can't change the Attributes? Because this was a thing in PoE1, and I'm kind of bummed this doesn't seem to be the case here.
  16. Well, mainly because this was the Watcher of my very first playthrough. I simply figured I needed high Insight to unlock as many dialogue options as possible. Also for the same reason, I just plain didn't know any better. If I ever rehash the Cunning Duelist for a PotD playthrough, I'll seriously consider doing just that. I'd still want high Insight for the dialogue though.
  17. On top of that, Sasha's is not a great choice for Skalds in general, as its incentive for Chanters to retain a full stock of Phrases for increased Action Speed conflicts with the Skald's incentive to spam their low-cost Offensive Invocations. It's better off being wielded by Troubadours, who are disincentivized to spend their Phrases anyway.
  18. All dialogue now randomly switches between Hylspeak, pirate-speak, and Gromnir-speak.
  19. Meet the intrepid Captain Joseph West, a Cunning Duelist undertaking a long-delayed homecoming. Known for his stirring voice, his flair with a rapier, and his skill with distracting cantrips, Captain West left the Principi in his youth on a years-spanning journey over all of Eora, before settling down at his new home in the Dyrwood. Until recently, that is; now he's back sailing in the waters of his roots, chasing the jackass who made off with his soul.
  20. Oh, yes. Unfortunately, there isn't another 1H weapon type with alternative damage types that possess a similar ACC-boosting modal like the Rapier does, so you just kind of have to pick an alternative for the second weapon set and hope for the best. It didn't occur to me during my playthrough, but on hindsight the Kapana Taga would serve as the ideal backup weapon; it offers the Slash/Crush damage that rapiers don't, and you can upgrade it to offer the same Immunity to Flanking enchantment that Squid's Grasp comes with as well. But ultimately, the Cunning Duelist is expected to deal with Pierce-resistant enemies the same way he does any other Resistances he encounters; by changing tack and going for a weak spot. In this case, it may mean popping a bailout and going for some other enemy he can poke, or otherwise inflicting an Affliction that particular enemy is weak to.
  21. There's just one thing about Eder that I felt was glaring in its omission. I mean, I took him to Ashen Maw so he could face Eothas face to face... and neither the Watcher nor he ever thinks to take the chance and demand answers about his brother, Woden? I mean, Eothas appears to know who Eder and Xoti are even though he has never met them personally; that suggests a degree of godly omniscience, yes? He even deduces Pallegina's underlying motivations for her appreciation of what he's planning, even though as he far as he should know she's just some random bird-woman who seems to hang around the Watcher. And even if you complete Eder's personal quest back in PoE1, he never does get a definitive answer as to what Waidwen said to Woden that convinced the latter to switch sides to Readceras. So Eder finally gets to chance to face Eothas personally, and Eothas from all indications knows the answer to an awful lot of questions. Why doesn't he ever try his luck one more time?
  22. Thanks. Feel free to test this build in PotD, if you feel like it. If it proves viable, tell me and I'll update the difficulty rating in the OP.
  23. Thanks. Thanks. I'm actually copying a format that was used by the power builders for the first PoE, which indeed makes the content much easier to read. So, everyone can feel free to copy this format as well for your future builds.
  24. I'm not sure where else this should go, so I'm putting it here in Technical Support for the time being. There was a topic a few days ago, discussing how the Animancer's Energy Blade has unusually low damage for a Saber, which makes it almost useless. I'm not entirely sure whether this is a bug, an oversight during balancing, or is actually working as intended. Could we get a clarification if this was the latter? If not, and if it's a bug or oversight, I guess here's one more thing for the 'bug fix' list.
  25. As far back as he remembered, Joseph West has always been afflicted with wanderlust. This was what led him to take up with the Principi sen Patrena in his youth, where his stirring voice quickly gave him a reputation as one of the Principi's leading songsmiths, and his talent for bewildering cantrips and cunning schemes made him one of the most celebrated captains in the pirate fleet. Despite a highly profitable stint plundering the waters of the Deadfire, even the open seas of the Archipelago soon proved too limiting for the intrepid Captain West. This led him to cut his piratical career short at its peak, and take a like-minded crew to embark on a brilliant years-spanning journey to see all of Eora. From the merchant nations of Old Vailia to the stormy seas of Rauatai, from the shores of the Living Lands to the coasts of Aedyr itself, Captain West and his crew pirated, privateered, and even (legitimately) escorted on occasion to pay their way through their great adventure. But all good things must come to an end someday, and Joseph eventually reached an age where he felt the need to settle down. So, he parted ways with his old crew on amicable terms, sold his boat, scouted for the options available to him, and finally decided to take up the offer of land from some minor Dyrwoodan noble. Of course, the rest was history. Although he somehow got himself involved in a lot of trouble, Joseph did finally get a home to settle down in, even if it was not exactly the way he thought it would happen. Which is all good in the end; after all, a landlubber adventure was still plenty good for a last one, and he did make so many good friends along the way. And now he finally had a place he could call home; something of a fixer-upper to be sure, but it gave him something to occupy his time with, as did the huge tracts of backyard he suddenly found himself responsible for. All good, really. It's not unlike being the captain of his own ship, if on a much larger and stationary scale. At least, that was the plan. The original architect's decorative sculpture coming to life, and making a smouldering crater of the whole lot; how could anyone have foreseen that coming? And of course, that statue just had to head in the direction of his old homeland. Now Captain West is going to have to embark on yet another adventure, chasing it all the way back to the high seas he... well, saying that he detested the Deadfire would be entirely the wrong sentiment, actually. In fact, Joseph had been entertaining the notion of returning to the land of his roots and seeing what has changed in his absence for some time, and this simply gave him a good reason to do so for once. Besides, it doesn't hurt that his good bro Eder had joined him once again on this adventure, and he looked forward to showing his farmboy pal the beauties of the Deadfire... =================================== The Cunning Duelist =================================== Difficulty: PotD v2.0.0.0030 -------------------------------------------------------------- Class: Harbinger (Trickster + Skald) -------------------------------------------------------------- Race: Wood Elf -------------------------------------------------------------- Background: Deadfire Archipelago - Drifter -------------------------------------------------------------- Stats (char creation, no Berath's Blessings): MIG: 10 CON: 10 DEX: 20 PER: 19 INT: 16 RES: 03 -------------------------------------------------------------- Important Skills: Mechanics, Streetwise -------------------------------------------------------------- Abilities (a=auto, r=recommended, !=important) PL1 Rogue Arkemyr's Dazzling Lights (a) Backstab ® Defensive Roll ® Escape (!) Chanter Blessed was Wengridh, Quickest of his Tribe ® And Hel-Hyraf Crashed Upon the Shield (!) PL2 Rogue Mirrored Images (a) (!) Blinding Strike (!) Dirty Fighting ® Chanter At the Sound of his Voice, the Killers Froze Stiff (!) Thick Grew Their Tongues, Stumbling O'er Their Words ® Common One Handed Style PL3 Rogue Ryngrim's Repulsive Visage (a) (!) Confounding Blind (!) Finishing Blow (!) Chanter The Shield Cracks (!) The Fox from the Farmer Did Run and Leap ® PL4 Rogue Llengrath's Displaced Image (a) (!) Persistent Distraction (!) Shadowing Beyond ® Chanter The Long Night's Drink (!) And Their Fear Followed Them into Foothills ® The Lover Cried Out to the Beloved, "I Am Yours!" (!) PL5 Rogue Confusion (a) Devastating Blow (!) Chanter Together They Slew Forth a River of Red ® Common Uncanny Luck ® PL6 Rogue Arkemyr's Wondrous Torment (a) Slippery Mind ® Deep Wounds (!) Chanter So Singt Thy Biting Winds o'Eld Nary (!) Common Improved Critical ® PL7 Rogue Gaze of the Adragan (a) Deathblows (!) Chanter Boil Their Flesh from Skin to Bone (!) Common Lasting Empower ® --------------------------------------------------------------- Items (*=additional enchantments; !=important, r=recommended): Weapon set 1: Squid's Grasp (Remove Calmo's Curse*!, Unseen Demise*!, Attempted Parley*!) (!) Weapon set 2: Kapana Taga (All Comers*!, Champion's Relic*!) (!) Chest: Gipon Prudensco (Fight Another Day*!, No Fool, I*!) Helmet: Fair Favor (!) Amulet: Precognition (!) Trinket: Betrayal Cloak: Ajamuut's Stalking Cloak ® Gloves: Gatecrashers (!) Ring: Chameleon's Touch (!) Ring: Ring of Prosperity's Fortune (!) Belt: Upright Captain's Belt (!) Boots: Slippers of the Assassin ® Pet: Frau Nils ----------------------------------------------------------------- Meet the Cunning Duelist, a swashbuckler with all the tools at his disposal to go toe-to-toe with just about anything, make the brief remainder of their lives a difficult one, and come out of it (relatively) unscathed. This Harbinger build is designed to be well-rounded, able to get into the fray, utilize Rogue abilities to farm Critical Hits for Skald phrases, and use resource points from both the Guile and Phrases pools to hit his enemies with any of the six types of Afflictions as the circumstances demand, making him a very flexible Melee CC character. This is how the Cunning Duelist is intended to work; Build My Watcher was a Meadow Human for RP purposes, but the ideal Race for the Cunning Duelist is actually Wood Elf; this is because they offer perfectly synergistic bonuses in +1 PER and +1 DEX, plus the Resistance to Dexterity Afflictions also helps. The background I chose was Deadfire Archipelago, which apart from RP purposes also gives a useful +1 DEX bonus. Alternatively, you could choose The White That Wends for the +1 PER bonus instead. Although I played the Cunning Duelist on Veteran difficulty, this was because it was my first playthrough, which I was using to get a grasp on the new mechanics. I'm fairly confident the Cunning Duelist build is actually PotD-capable, although I'm not especially inclined to put that to the test until after the difficulty level of PotD has been rebalanced; no point doing so until I'm certain PotD is tough enough to put this build to the test. The Cunning Duelist build has been tested and completed on PotD v2.0.0.0030, with balance changes made to Trickster and Skald taken into account. Offense On offense, the intent is to farm Crits to build Skald phrases, but actually doing damage is a secondary concern. That is why the Trickster's penalty to Sneak Attack damage doesn't matter so much here. The core of the Cunning Duelist's offensive capability is One Handed Style and the Rapier Weapon Proficiency. Wielding a single Rapier gives the Harbinger extra Accuracy, which can be boosted with the Rapier modal active. This in turn raises the chances for crits, which is then supplemented by the bonuses from One Handed Style. The Rogue passive Dirty Fighting also gives additional bonuses to Crit chances as well, as does the Accessories Fair Favor and Ring of Prosperity's Fortune. But the true bread and butter is At the Sound of his Voice, the Killers Froze Stiff; inflicting the Paralyzed Dex Affliction on enemies makes it significantly more likely for the Harbinger to crit those enemies, thus building more Skald phrases that can be used to reapply Paralyzed again. Rinse and repeat, until the enemies are dead. v2.0 edit: This remains the case even with the recent nerf to At the Sound of his Voice, for Paralyzed remains the best Affliction the Cunning Duelist can inflict for the sake of scoring more Crits. He just has a shorter window to get said Crits in before the Affliction expires. Even though this Harbinger isn't intended to put out massive damage, that doesn't mean he isn't capable of such when necessary; Finishing Blow is the early go-to for when a final coup de grace is called for, and it can be upgraded to Devastating Blow later on for more damage. Deathblows significantly increase his damage in the late game. With the Precognition Amulet, the Duelist gets to hit even harder with each Crit he scores as well. Bounding Boots can be used for mobility in the early game, and in the late game, Rakhan Field Boots offers the Harbinger a Charge-like ability. Defense Mirrored Images is the core of the Cunning Duelist's defensive strategy, adding a significant amount of Deflection once the Harbinger has reached PL3. It should almost always be the first move the Cunning Duelist makes whenever a fight starts, for survivability's sake. v2.0 edit: the Trickster now learns Mirrored Images at PL2, down from PL3 prior to the balancing changes. This means the Duelist's defensive options come online that much earlier, and with Llengrath's Displaced Image taking its place at PL3, it's now viable to have both defensive buffs active during a fight. The Deflection bonuses may not stack, but the additional Reflex bonus and Hit-to-Graze that Llengrath's Displaced Image offers helps to keep Mirrored Images up that much longer. The Squid's Grasp unique Rapier is the Cunning Duelist's weapon of choice, as it offers a significant defensive bonus in its Immunity to Flanking enchantment. v2.0 edit: For a backup weapon, the Kapana Taga is the ideal choice; it offers Slash/Crush coverage to compensate for Squid's Grasp's Pierce-only damage type, and can also be given a Flanking immunity enchantment to complement the rapier's. In additional, the Club modal Bewildering Blows saps the Will of the enemy currently being attacked by the Duelist, which can be especially useful for landing Intellect or Resolve Afflictions. v2.0 edit: The ideal armor for the Cunning Duelist is now the Gipon Prudensco, since its progressive Deflection stacking upon getting hit synergizes well with Mirrored Images by replacing the latter's diminishing Deflection with its own growing Deflection with every hit. It can also be enchanted to give immunity to Disengagement, and combined with Upright Captain's Belt (for the Push/Pull immunity) and the Flanking immunity of both Squid's Grasp and Kapana Taga, the Cunning Duelist becomes a truly slippery target for his enemies, nearly impossible to pin down or back into a corner. And for bailout options, the Cunning Duelist can use Escape to get to a less threatening position in order to regroup. Squid's Grasp also offers a Squid's Escape option for much the same purpose. The Harbinger can also help his entire party run away from a fight altogether, by combining The Fox from the Farmer with Blessed was Wengridh to disengage and flee at high speed. Afflictions The main premise of the Cunning Duelist is his access to all six types of Affliction-causing Abilities, allowing him to choose from various options to hamstring whatever opposition he faces. When playing the Cunning Duelist, it's worth paying attention to the enemy statistics to note their weaknesses and resistances. If a particular enemy has Resistances or Immunity to a certain type of Affliction, you should avoid targeting those; conversely, if said enemy displays a Weakness to any particular type of Affliction, it should be exploited without mercy. Might: The Cunning Duelist starts with Arkemyr's Dazzling Lights for an early-game Might Affliction with the Dazed status, using the Guile resource. Alternative, if he has the Phrases to do so, he can opt for The Thunder Rolled and Stun his enemies instead. v2.0 edit: The Thunder Rolled has been dropped, as it consumes Phrases which could be put to better use. Instead, the Cunning Duelist gets two additional options for inflicting the Stun status; Reeling Blow from the Gatecrashers gloves, as well as Shadowing Beyond when used in conjunction with Ajamuut's Stalking Cloak for the Stun on hit. 10/8/2018 update: The Slippers of the Assassin can synergize with Ajamuut's Stalking Cloak in the same way as Shadowing Beyond, once the Duelist has made his first Crit and procc'd the invisibility effect. Constitution: The Long Night's Drink inflicts a consistent Constitution Affliction that refreshes, making it a good staple choice for the Harbinger to be chanting through each fight. Since it is a passive that does not cost resources, there's little need for an alternative to this. v2.0 edit: Prior to reaching the necessary PL, Ryngrim's Repulsive Visage offers a Constitution Affliction earlier in the game. Dexterity: As mentioned earlier, At the Sound of his Voice is the go-to option for the Harbinger to inflict Paralyzed on his targets. But if he's low on Phrases and needs to stop one target in particular from taking any actions, he can spend Guile to Shadow Step in order to inflict the status personally. It doesn't hurt that he gets Gaze of the Adragan as a Guile-powered option in the late game, too. Perception: As is similarly the case for CON Afflictions, the Cunning Duelist can inflict a Perception Affliction simply by engaging his target of choice, relying on Persistent Distraction as a no-cost, always-on debuff. And if he encounters an enemy with Resistance or Immunity to this, he's better served changing tack and going for some other type of Affliction anyway. v2.0 edit: Prior to reaching the necessary PL, Blinding Strike offers a Perception Affliction earlier in the game. Intellect: The Cunning Duelist gets Confusion for free at PL5, allowing him to spend Guile to inflict the Confused status on multiple enemies. It's not exactly the most powerful option, but it's there if he needs it. More importantly, with enough Phrases he can inflict the more powerful Charmed effect with The Lover Cried Out. This is the second most powerful option for Afflictions that will serve the Harbinger well all the way to the final battle, if you know how to use it. v2.0 edit: In the late-game, the Betrayal Trinket from the Beast of Winter DLC offers an AoE Charm option, which can be utilized in a pinch if the Duelist happens to lack sufficient Phrases for The Lover Cried Out at a time when it would be useful. Resolve: v2.0 edit: Ryngrim's Repulsive Visage is the Duelist's bread-and-butter for inflicting the Terrified status, and remains useful all the way to the late game. But if you're low on Guile, upgrading At the Sound of his Voice with And Their Fear Followed Them lets you also inflict the Frightened status on enemies after Paralyzed has worn off on them. In addition, upgrade Finishing Blow to Eliminating Blow, and you can also spend Guile to inflict the same status whenever the Cunning Duelist uses the move to kill an enemy. Other Status Effects Armor Rating: If you encounter an enemy with high AR, And Hel-Hyraf is a good option that's there to help you get through those defenses. Deflection: While Blinding Strike loses some of its utility once Persistent Distraction comes online, upgrading it to Confounding Blind gives it a new lease of life altogether. Landing a Confounding Blind on an enemy drains its Deflection, which effectively gives the Duelist more Accuracy against that particular enemy... and consequently raises the Crit rate on that enemy as well, helping him build more Phrases even faster. Attribute Drain: Arkemyr's Wondrous Torment is a powerful debuff that leaves targeted enemies vulnerable to Mind Afflictions, which leave them open to a follow-up with The Lover Cried Out and Ryngrim's Repulsive Visage, amongst other options.
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