Elric Galad

Basically, before getting Pliambo or Aedrin Wrecker (which is quite late too), I would simply pick the best Arbalest I can find. Even without Aedrin's Wrecker's stun, high ACC from FoD + Prone on Crit from Arbalest is really nice.

INT for Support, MIG for damages. PER is less important than MIG for damages and Pally does not have too many CC effects, so... A bit of DEX does not hurt, it helps support and damages. The good thing with ranged characters is that you can MIN/MAx more easily. I don't like to dump, so he was probably 8 CON and 6-8 RES.

Another option is Aedrin Wrecker. FoD / Sworn Ennemy gives a huge ACC bonus which is nice with Aedrin's Prone & Stun on Crit. Plus Arbalest has a sort of Witch Hunter feeling that suits the Pally.

Honnestly, this is how I eventually played my ranged pally. Even with the quickswitch potential, I was often lazy and I sticked to Pliambo per Casitas most of the time. High INT + FoD + Shielding Flames + Inspiring Triump + Sacred Immolation and various support spell was nice enough.

Shielding Flames worked ok for me, seemed buffed by INT if I remember well. Contrary to Inspiring Triumph, the AoE was not huge, but it was okay with my 18+ INT paladin.

Well, for my part I said Quickswitch THEN Bow/implement Penetrating Shot + Marksman that will benefit your main weapon will also so help your gun quickswicthing. It's more a synergy than something going away from your requirements. It's hard to ignore FoD anyway. So if you want to stick with a single gun, Pliambo per Casitas seems a good option.

I played one in my previous party. The pros I noticed : - Coordinated Attack + Marking Ranged weapons (Pliambo or Hazel) is incredibly convenient to instantly buff the Accuracy of any party member from range. This is probably the best benefit of a ranged paladin IMHO. - FoD + Shielding Flames buff all party member, except yourself. Which is not too bad when you're ranged. - Being ranged means you are often more free to run anywhere you want. Which is convenient to use Lay on Hands. I often get stuck in melee, unable to reach the character I wan to reach. Being ranged tends to reduce the occurence of this situation. - Sworn ennemy gives you Cipher-level DPS against 1 target. It works better with ranged characters, it makes Paladin deadly sniper Other considerations - With high INT you don't have to be in the heart of melee to benefit from Sacred Immolation and similar buff. I would recommand high INT and high MIG for this kind of build. Being ranged does not mean being far from the frontline. You may as well use your range to hit ennemy's backrow while standing right behind the shoulders of your allies. Positionning is quite important for such a character. As you say, you need to be close from your allies to buff them (mitigated by high INT). So movement speed matters for optimal postionning. A pair of boots of speed is enough, but would have been useful for a ranged character anyway. - The usual quickswitch + guns + FoD still work. You can have 2-3 guns and a bow / implement for the rest of battle. - Dangerous implement is a fun way to benefit from your high Endurance / Health pools (NOT TESTED) - Zealous Endurance worthes a try for a full hit-and-run party (but I never tried myself) (NOT TESTED) My overall experience with this character was overall quite good. You can give it a try.

I was wondering the same and I found this thread. A couple of things to consider : 1 - Elemental talents also add 5 DR against this element. It is not great by itself but it adds up on the bright side 2 - It works with every weapons and style provided they have the right lash. So if you plan a guns + melee build, you have a way to buff both. 3 - It works also with Scrolls and Spell binding. It should be added especially if you plan to use a couple of items such as Deadfire Belt. Martial classes are often good at using them. So I would say about non-vancian classes (not taking into account Bittercut / Stormcaller) : Paladin : Pick Scion of Flames anyway because of Immolation and FoD Chanter : Consider picking one for scrolls, or maybe Ice talent for Seven Nights (even if you don't plan to use it a lot). Cipher : Consider picking depending on your spells. Maybe Corrosive talent because of Antipathetic field ? Ciphers don't have tons of Elemental spells. Might not worth it. Rogue : Consider picking one if you go guns + melee and/or plan to use scrolls items such as the fireball scimitar. Rogue tends to use damage spells from items/scrolls due to Deathblows so it would be slightly better for them than for fighters. You might even plan a "Sorcerer's Apprentice" style build using all items with fire damages and even Firebrand. Fighter : Same as Rogue but lower priority. Disciplined Barrage + scrolls / items is quite good, but one might prefer using Crowd Control spells with it. Ranger : Probably a filler talent, but I'm not sure Ranger has so much room for filler talent due to all pet and ranged talents he should pick first. Barbarian : Same as Ranger. Monk : Do you plan to use... weapons ??? Monk lashes come from abilities that might not be always up, contrary to lashes. Probably not worthes it except maybe for Turning wheel specialized build.

Anyway, I think that Rogue has to go the quickswitch firearms route to reach his maximum potential. The triple quickswitch only cost 1 racial and 2-3 talents and provide a damage spike that only a Paladin is able to mimic. Other classes have to choose between Damage spike and regular DPS. Rogue can do both. This and "Deathblows + scrolls" might be the best reasons to use this class (unfortunately considered as the weakest). ================================== The fast assassin with some shotguns ================================= --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- class: rogue --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- race: Island Aumau --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- background: deadfire --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- stats: mig: 13 con: 10 dex: 19 per: 16 int: 10 res: 10 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- skills: High mech if needed, 4 survivral, even number of lore points for scrolls, a bit of stealth (consider some items to get all the required points ! Feel Stroke helps for example) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- abilities and talents: lv1: blinding strike lv2: ruffian weapon focus lv3: escape (reckless assault cost 1 ability + 1 talent and its ACC does not even stack with Devotion for the Faithfull that I always cast past a certain level ^^) lv4: two weapon style lv5: dirty fighting lv6: superior deflection lv7: riposte (not riposte dedicated build, but given escape, various blinding effects, party support and the potential of double saber full attack, I think Riposte worthes it) lv8: quick switch lv9: withering strike lv 10: vicious fighting lv11: deathblows lv12: arms bearer lv13: sap lv14: sprit of decay lv15: persistant distraction (I love this +6 Acc that also supports party attack against single target) lv16: runner's wounding shot (brutal with a gun rogue, backup sneak attack enabler) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- items: melee weapons: bittercut+purgatory (I prefer this one over resolution). One can always swap to guns against pierce damage immunity. Durgan steel refined + corrosive lash + kraken eyes the guns : fellstroke, dulcanale, silver flash (corrosive lash + exceptional when needed) boots: boots of speed armor: Elryn's Jacket hand: gloves of swift action. Recovery should be around 3-4%. Would be 0 without padded armor The rest is not essential, but a bit of spellbind items and scrolls never hurt -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- background: don't know. High mech, 4 survival, even number of lore points for scrolls, a bit of stealth (consider some items to get all the required points ! Feel Stroke helps)

Against ghost you might just have your rogue use fan of flames scrolls, he is one of the better class at it. You might even go Sword & Board & Armor, he will still do Okay damages. As he is one of the rare class that can make good use of fast weapon, you can even give him a hatchet. +25 Def from Escape for 10s does not hurt either. His def would be more than warrior league for a while. Anyway as you said, ranged rogue is top tier early game. Ranger does not already have all his goodies at this point, so...

I was thinking about optimal weapons for rogue DPS, and I suddenly became interested in Spelltongue. The best damage mod for weapon is said to be Wounding. So basically Drawn in Spring is the best 1Hander. Then, leaving Lash apart (as any weapon might be applied a lash), the second best is known to be +20% Speed. Spelltongue does not have +20% Speed, but gives +15% Speed on hit. But these +15% appl to both hands. So if you're dual wielding with Drawn in Spring and another weapon, both get +15%. Spelltongue contribution while dual wielding is more or less equivalent to +30% speed for a single weapon. Stacking Spelltongue, Gauntlets of swift action and Durgan Steel, you'll be permanently at 0 Recovery for both hands (assuming dual wield style compensate for vulnerable attack, and no armor outside of durganized robe) Furthermore Spelltongue is a Noble weapon as Drawn in Spring, brings some utility to the table (like extending Escape bonus Def or buffs from teammates), and Rogue are very good with Fast weapons due to their damages bonus. So what would you think of Spelltongue & Drawn in Spring as Rogue's ultimate DPS weapon combination (leaving apart double Drawn in Spring from Helwax Mold) ?

I never respec on purpose. I always respec when I need (which might happen a couple of time per playthrough for the whole party). But the most important rule is : I never ever ever respec with a Wizard ! (one would loose her/his spells).

Durgan Steel is the real winner. It turned almost all soulbound items into subpar ones. If not my favorite is Little Savior. +5 all defenses party wide, only take left hand of a random backrow caster for basically no opportunity cost. You cannot go wrong with Little Savior. And stacks with helwaxed one.

Based on my experience, having a lots of casters is the easiest way to powergame, especially endgame, so : A - 2 chanters (dragon trashed specialized, sword & board) : enough for tanking. A bit of tanking makes life more confortable. Chanter + Paladin perform the same role with more defenses/healing and less AoE DPS. B - Triplet of vancian casters (Wizz, Druid, Priest), so you can access al the buffs, crazy CC, crazy everything. Druid is the least essential of the trio but Druid's buff over pirest's ones are awesome, and storm spells are too convenient to ignore. C - "bonus slot" : I used ranger for her single target DPS and pet's infinite healthpool. A good early game Martial character might be good, or maybe cipher for even more spells. Ciphers are especially convenient early game, but I didn't feel there were so powerful for endgame even if Mindweb deserves a powergaming mention. Other stupid ideas : A party with a lots of priests. Priest is arguably th best class, and playing a lots of them will free them from their buffing machine fate. Rising skyhigh defense quickly, then burning everything sounds good. Something like 3 chanters frontline + 3 priests backrow, maybe good enough to ignore Crwd Control. 6 Druids. Druids have probably the most well-rounded early game. Then the storm spells come into play and you can mindlessly steamroll everything. Maybe not very fun to play.

This game isn't that difficult, but to be honnest, the rules need a bit of pratice for something like first act. Understanding how the game works is basically the only not-so-easy task for a beginning. Then, for a good gamer you won't have any difficulty until : - a couple of endgame bosses - Path of the Damned. So you can freely raise difficulty up to hard, even if you started as Easy. And even Path of the Damned is not so difficult if you build your characters properly and understand the skills.

Now, I have officially retired from videogames (untill I'm able to play PoE2 in Polish, this is the pact I - freely- made with my wife )) But I will remember the threads on this forum as one of my best gaming experience. It was fun to discuss here between gentlemen (maybe a couple of girls too, he ?), exchanging technical arguments and (not so) stupid jokes. I wish the best to all of you )

Godlikes basically trade stronger racial ability (especially for Moon and Fire ones) against possibility to wear a helmet. SHIFTED DRUID looses all their item abilities when SHIFTED but not their racial ones. That's why I would say Moon and Fire Godlikes are probably an optimal choice for druids.

Now, THAT is called strategy. It's not like the "I'm doing everything at the same time and fail" of a certain Tormented game.

No big changelog. Just small changerogue.

Done

Icewind Dale 1&2 were 2 great competitors for the best music. Could be the best epic fantasy music piece ever.

The single most powerful build of the game is most likely Fire Priest indeed. I would argue that a support oriented (very high Int) fire priest with fire damages as backup is probably optimal: priest buffs are ridicuously powerful and Int is also nice for AoE and Duration of damage spells. Priest isn't less versatile than wizzard. It's just Party Buffs and Damages vs Crowd Control and Damages. Eothas priest is my favorite. Weapon talent is crap but weapons are unnecessary for priest anyway. Symbol of Eothas is one the best spell of the game and it does fire damages which combines nicely with Scion of Flames. Wizzard, preferrably with high accuracy and decent might, is also incredibly good. Then comes the Thunder Cat.

At high level, priest won't be swinging any attack most of the time anyway. So I think the best option is Sword and Board style. Small shield is nice to avoid Acc malus: high level priests get very strong damage spells. You should pick up a defensive one-hander such as Steadfast, captain Viccilor Anger (the best hatchet) or Yenwood sword (for this +2 Con). There are many priest builds that actually uses weapons. They might not be optimal but they are efficient and fun for sure !

So now, my own answers : World and Story : Best Story : Well... Planescape : Torment. I don't think I have to explain this one. Best Lore : I would propose Pillars of Eternity. Because it's original (not D&D), mature, deep, complex. Because they made glanfathan language. Because Nature feels like a force to be reckoned. I'm pretty sure Pillars of Eternity 2 will prove I'm right to believe in Eora. Best Protagonist(s) : Planescape : Torment. The Nameless One was great, complex, and all his companions were memorable to some extant. Because Dak'kon and his blade, because Annah was sexy and because Morte was so fun. Best Antagonist(s) : Icewind Dale 2. This one may be harder to justify, but I really thought Isair and Madae were awesome. The whole Legion of the Chimera motives and reasons to fight were pretty cool. They have a cause while you're just another random adventurer. They were an evil force which was not a caricature. The good guys started the war, but the bad guys were slavers. Dilemna. Sherincal was such a good secondary villain that she could have been the main villain of her own game. The twins also have very good lines. Irenicus is great, and especially well depicted, but I still prefer the twins. Mechanics : Best overall Battle Gameplay : Pillars of Eternity. This is a more balanced BG2. What to ask more ? Best Boss Battles : Baldur's Gate 2. The Dragons. The Five. A lot of challenges with epic music. Really superior encounter design. Nothing ever equalled this level of epicness. Best Character/Party Building Design : Pillars of Eternity. One could just read Boeroer multiple builds to get convinced. Best Itemization : Baldur's Gate 2. This game managed to create extremelly powerful artifacts which didn't brake the game while being very unique. Robe of Vecna, Flail of Eternity, and a crapload of rings and necklaces. Other stuff that contributes to one experience : Best musics : Planescape : Torment. Great themes, original and epic. Battle music is the best part of battle in this game. Best Visual Design : Morrowind. Because, after all, 3D matters. And from classical buildings to giant mushroom and chitinous armor, it was just perfect. More original than its successors. Best Interface : Pillars of Eternity. Just a more modern version of the BG one. Baldur's Gate 1 woud deserve this one by the way... Best Content : Skyrim. Because it filled just that huge. Because of freedom. You can get married, have children and a lots of house. You can hunt dragon priests. and there were 2 add-ons, just in case.

The topic about the 3 best CRPG was very interesting, so I thought it could be fun to debate about which were the best CRPG for various categories. Putting apart the "very best of the best" question because it has already been debated on the other topic, I propose following categories : World and Story : Best Story : The main story, the way it is conveyed, the ideas behind it as well as their development. Best Lore : The Universe itself, its consistency, with its people, legends, artifacts and cosmology. I would give to bonus to original worlds (Fallout or PoE) compared to License (D&D and friends) Best Protagonist (including companions for party based game) : because it's funnier to play heroes with personal link to the main story, or good character development with relevent choices. Best Antagonist(s) : Who would be Batman without the Joker ? Because "An ancient and evil force who seeks to destroy the world" is not that fun, it's good to have an interesting and deep villain. Or, at least, "An ancient and evil force" with good lines ! Mechanics : Best overall Battle Gameplay : Because, let's face it, most RPG are often about battles, preferrably tactical ones. Best Boss Battle : Because RPG is about epic battles. This is more linked to encounter design than the previous category which is more about regular tactics and mechanics. Best Character/Party Building Design : Because RPG is about getting stronger. Are you able to make unique Builds ? Are you able to get interesting abilities ? Are your commitment to a certain path rewarded ? Do abilities get good synergies ? This is what make character progression interesting IMHO. Best Itemization : The materialist cousin of character builds. From consumables to golden armor, from talking swords to cursed necklass, your strategy often rely on them. And it is also so much fun to get Also includes possibility to craft, and bind artifact to oneself. Other stuff that contributes to one experience : Best musics : Without music, RPG would be a mistake. Best Visual Design : Let's not say "graphics" to avoid gimping the elders. Which game do you think had the best visual direction ? The best buildings, nature, environment, creatures and effects. Best Interface : A good interface is like good slippers. It makes you feel home. Best Content : Because Hardcore players want big adventures. Replayability, hidden secrets, lots of companions, lots of children and a big manor. --------------------- Template for Lazy Copy-Paster: Best Story : Best Lore : Best Protagonist : Best Antagonist : Best overall battle gameplay : Best boss battle : Best Character Build Design : Best Itemization : Best music : Best Art Direction : Best Interface : Best Content : Best dialogues : Best "choose-your-own-adventure" factor :