Elric Galad

Strange. Maybe a base game bug cause I haven't changed this part. EDIT : nay, it works fine without the mod. EDIT EDIT : my bad, just realized it doesn't even stop after battle is over. I have to release an hotfix quickly. EDIT EDIT EDIT : Now that I'm thinking about it, the persisting effect should be purged when disengaged by any other foe with persistent Distraction. This isn't convenient at all, but I'm just pointing that it isn't hopeless. Next version will work when you kill a distracting target and I will also add a backup purge at the end of battle, just in case there would be another weird case.

Thanks. I don't think it will be more broken that in the unmodded game. You will just have more possibilities. But it won't work on pulsating spells or similar ones.

Since there are at least 2 pairs of bounding boots with 2 charges each, it's relatively easy to get a free bath to your whole party every day ^^

Well it says Melee, not Melee Weapons

These changes just occured (small version, limited to Backstab / Assassin rework and Red Hand nerf) : Deadfire Balance Polishing Mod at Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Nexus - Mods and Community (nexusmods.com)

Shadow Step has an interesting property : the paralysis part is applied on next weapon Hit (Miss and Graze don't count). As long as no attack Hits the Paralysis charge isn't spent and last forever. Also, the paralysis is applied without a roll. Basically, you're pretty much guaranteed to get something paralysed at some point (Ok, without mod, it's probably not worth it for 3 Guiles, but still...)

Now that I'm thinking about it, I think it would bit a bit too strong for the early game. Probably more reasonable to implement +50% +5%/PL beyond 1 for both damages bonuses.

Agreed. I can set the reload to 9s, which would preserve Red Hand unique spike damage ability. That's 30% more Attack + reload cycle. Getting a second shot for arquebus is not so easy. 15% of 6.8s reload is still 1.02s. 15% of 4s "normal weapon" Recovery is 0.6s. Add 0.7s for the attack itself and you're above 1s window. It is probably very hard to get a second attack from normal weapon and close from impossible from non red-hand arquebus (recovey speed bonus stacks in inverse fashion, so they won't help much - one need extreme attack speed bonus at the beginning of combat, that's achievable and not "broken" ; anyway it works once per combat). Fast 1h weapons have base 15% of 3s + 0.5s attack = 0.95s for the whole cycle. The can probably benefit from Backtstab windows from stealth even without full attack. I would say that's good. That leaves the problem of : - BPM Crushing Blow (instant recovery). But I would say that's a "good combo" (that costs 2+ Rages) - Red Hand indeed, but since the weapon as a whole will eat a significant nerf, I think enabling this combo wouldn't be too bad.

Usually I like the idea of indirect nerfs so unique weapons and abilities can keep what make them strong. But here we are are speaking about something that basically doubles DPS. It is way too much above the curve to be corrected by nerfing another trait IMHO.

Which leads me to another question (independently from the previous one) : Does the Red Hand need a nerf ? It has almost double the DPS compared to a normal Arquebus, at the minor cost of a bit less range. No other unique provides comparable multiplicative DPS. I would reduced its base damages by 20%. Still 160% base damages per double shot. That's still an enormous gain.

It's not so simple. This version is meant to combo with Full Attacks. You get 2 attacks instead of 1, so 2x10-14 = 24 damages on average for daggers, vs 23 damages for Arquebus (and Arquebus is the most extreme case). Of course, Full Attacks get a malus with Dual Wield. -35% damages negates 58% of damages bonus. The point is that this version of Backstab and Rogue in general get so many damages bonus that the damages loss isn't that big. What IS optimal with this version of Backstab would be DW Normal speed weapons. But that's pretty much the case with cost efficiency of most rogue special attacks anyway. Fast weapons are faster, which has other perks from cost efficiency per ability : Skald Multiclassing, Confounding Strike hits, specific unique properties, etc... In a nutshell, the gap is much smaller than with base game Backstab, although not as perfectly equal as CP Backstab (but solves othe issue such as giving backstab a proper niche). EDIT : But Redhand is indeed the exception since you can shot twice in 1s. I haven't thought about that. But that's only 1 weapon, and it makes sense that some uniques get some unique combos ^^

What would you think about following design (principles and numbers) for Backstab : +100% damages +100% damages against targets ABOVE 50% health (in addition to previous one) Applies when Invisible/Stealthed or fixed 1s after against target <2m The idea is to have Backstab COMBINE with Strikes instead of competing, and to be used as an alpha strike against a fresh target, useful when you switch targets with SHadowing Beyond or Smoke Veil. (Assassin passive would also applies when Invisible/Stealthed or fixed 1s after)

Well BPM 2.1 sets Persistent Distraction to -5 all defenses instead of Distracted. Enabling Deathblow was too easy and it made the other Rogue Distraction causing abilities redundant. But I see your point : without set-up, backstab can cause less damages than a normal rogue attack. I'm considering letting Backstab applies 1s after Breaking invisibility so at least the second attack of a Full Attack could get both effects.

Nope Usually yes, but there are some weapons with attacks that are tagged Fire, Frost, etc... If you pick one of them, no penalty.

I would include Ranger in the mix because Tranquilizing Shot. -30s to foe buff is really good to deal with Wizards and other melee classes don't get something comparable. Using a Multi-Hit weapon (Sun&Moon) cause multiple -30s de-buffs. Piling Acc modifier vs single target with Ranger is good anyway. I would go Rogue because damages AND all Rogue's Strikes interrupt on Hit (or sometimes Graze). Interrupting is neat to deal with casters. I don't feel Rogue very complicated to control ^^

I implemented the bonus damages from time spent invisible as auto-hit attacks triggered by stacking charges. But they were attacks from the Ranger, so the pet triggered bonus damages broke ranger's invisibility. There might be some other way to do, such as implentation as Bonus damages on attack but not actual attacks. I think this is the way CP Backstab and Captain Crow sabre work. That being said, I wanted to keep the initial effect of Shadowed Hunters (just adding the bonus damages), and this would have led the ability to have too many and too complicated effects, something that I'm reluctant to do. Also it was very slow and conditional for a precious Tier 9 ability slot. I'm quite satisfied with my current version of Shadowed Hunter (Modular Healing + Hostile Effect defense + Invisibility / Hostile Effect defense + Healing + Intuitive). BPM Ranger Tier 9 is very competitive with all my reworks and only 3 possible picks, so Shadowed Hunters need some raw power to compete. That's why the idea came back for backstab : Backstab is only about damages, so having "complex" rule about this is OK. And it's a Tier 1, so it can be about situational spicing.

Yes, BPM Lion's Sprint duration is fixed 1s, not extendable by any mean. I'm paranoid about Wall of Draining. I think the change above is enough for the Assassin subclass. I'm not set on other abilities + backstab for regular rogue. This should work pretty well as well, even though they are less specialized. Currently, I haven't set up my mind. I'm not even set about whether it requires a change. CP Backtstab variant has a big advantage : it is equally as good with 2HS, Fast DW, normal DW, 1HS/S&Bor whatever... Somehow Backstab should be good with 1HS Stiletto, so it makes sense. Current Asassin bonus is better with 2HS than with DW. 1s lasting Assassin bonus would be about equal with 2HS and DW (normal DW would be disfavored, but Full Attacks would be favored). Rogues do favor DW, but I don't want to overly force them into it. That's why the change for these 2 abilities should probably not be symmetric. Also I'm reluctant to tweak CP Backstab because the code isn't mine, and it would intertwine both mods even more. I admit I could also go with an entirely original design... Good to know ! That's indeed the point. Lion's Sprint had the same Jankiness issue. One-shot isn't strictly necessary but dealing significant damages from stealth is the point. CP Variant adds 20 raw damages from stealth +1/PL +% MIG modifier. That's fairly significant early on, but not really later on. Maybe it should scale more ? Brainstorming idea : Backstab could add damages for each second spent invisible (with some cap). Fun with initial strike from stealth ? BG Thief Vibe ? Using Smoke Veil before combat could allow keeping built up charges when getting close to foes from stealth is too difficult. I tried this for Shadowed Hunters but I had a Pet issue with implementation. Could work with Rogue who hasn't the same issue (or could work with my improved modding skills from then ). This is an idea to avoid Backstab being "only about DPS" : the build-up damages should be inferior to "expected DPS", but allow Spike damages, encourage maneuver time, etc... Assassin subclass would make the strike much more reliable. I could keep good base damages for 0s spent invisible so Vanishing Strike remains interesting.

Ydwin working with Vailian is a big plus. Fassina IS a Vailian, so you should consider her.

I can sympathize with your point, as I rarely find myself picking abilities from the stealthy sneaky backstabby side of Rogue ability tree. To be honest, I would tend to think that the issue is a bit deeper than the subclass, so I would try to qualify the issue before actually looking for a proprer solution. Various points below : 1 - I think the issue is also about backstab. A normal Rogue should be able to use Backstab with enough benefits. An Assassin Subclass should emphasize it, not being the only only to be able to use this. 2 - All 3 Rogue Invisibility abilities are concerned : Smoke Veil, Shadow Step (including enduring shadow) and Vanishing Strike. I'm currently pretty satisfied with their relative balance. Shadow Step costs twice, but also provide Teleport, Deflection buff and Instant recovery. I think this is a fine improvement over Smoke Veil. Make Smoke Veil instant-recovery and picking Shadow Step would be meh compared to a more flexible combo of Escape + Smoke Veil. 3 - Probably the "deepest" question : should backstabby Asassination really be about DPS ? It would be a bit redundant with Strikes then. And it won't really help the Rogue vibe. Shadow Step allows mobility to strike where it hurts. Smoke Veil allows repositioning too (moving while recovering sort of save time since you're still getting half of your recovery speed while doing something else). Then, if not, what it should be about ? Damages Spike ? Piercing AR / High Defenses ? Is it enough ? (no definitive answer to this question) 4 - Weapon vs Spells : it's nice to have Assassin bonus synergize with spells. But it sort of synergizes better than with weapon. Sure, Backstab helps a bit. One possible change I have in mind it to have Assassin passive and Backtstab applies for fixed 1s after Invisibility is broken (like I did for Lion Sprint), for better interaction with Multi-Hit attacks and Full Attacks. It might not address the whole issue, but I think it would be a rather safe step. Edit : Maybe not for Backstab. CP variant would provide dire results with Blunderbuss and it provides a fixed (so fair for all weapons) bonus anyway.

Just a little word to say that it is always nice to get some feedback from BPM users. Especially about this change which aimed to make Streetfighter more interesting to play (sometimes, more difficult means more fun...).

New BPM Version available : Deadfire Balance Polishing Mod at Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Nexus - Mods and Community (nexusmods.com) Cheers !

I appreciate this answer. I think that Prone is okay from game mechanics. For fluff, I can see why it would feel a bit weird. I took some time trying to find something more convincing today but I haven't. My issue is that I need a small stuff for Devastating Blow because its main purpose should still be more damages. Small stuff balance wise and game mechanics wise (it should be simple). Also I tend to be biased against On Kill effects. That's why tuning the Interruption property was a solution. Prone can be seen not only as brute force impact (it won't be Prone Vs Fortitude) but also about bringing something on their knees. That's basically what Rust's Poignard does so it's not something absurd within PoE game mechanics fluff.

Prone is a 3s CC effect (3.5s with CP), only 1s (or 1.5s) more than Interruption. Using 2 Crippling Strikes has the same guile cost as Devastating Blow and provides 2s X 2 = 4s of Crowd Control. So in term of CC, these abilities would be very close, so I don't think Devastating Blow would be too powerful. In addition, using Devastating Blow in an AoE tends to be suboptimal since it is harder to have all targets at low health. Basically, Devastating Blow with Mortars is a nice "alternate" use of the ability but I won't qualify it broken.

Finishing Blow & Upgrades : Ok, again new try, base ideas since I think the previous one was a bit convoluted : - I'm still going to remove the +50% unconditional damages. It's better to add more damages based on remaining health. +50% damages translates on average to +1% damages per 1% health loss (up to +100%). - If finally think that the concept of the ability is fine (except for the not focused enough +50% damages bonus). So Finishing and Devastating blow would stay mostly about doing damages to low health targets. Finishing Blow allows high power spike vs low health targets, for a rather high cost. That's the concept and that is fine. However, the values are not high enough for the cost because : - it fully applies to targets already close from death - weapon based attacks and rogue attacks already have a freaking load of bonus damages. The multiplicative factor is not so high. A MC lvl 20 can easily get +60% from weapon, +60+% from sneak attack, +50% from deathblows, -58% from dual wield full attack. +100-150% damages bonus isn't hard to achieve. So +200-250% damages is only about x2 damages, which is the point where I think Finishing blows start to become interesting for 2 Guiles. That's why the new values are calculated to give x2 bonus damages from Blooded (50% health). Of course, that would be more vs Near Death target, but at this point, some abilities can already "destroy" the target. It leads to : Finishing Blow : - 2 Guiles - +10 Accuracy - Interrupt on Hit - +4% damages per 1% of health loss (up to +400%) Eliminating Blow : - 2 Guiles - +10 Accuracy - 4+% damages per 1% of health loss (up to +400%) - 2.5m radius Shaken for 12s, except to main target (no change, except fixing the description that mentions frightened) Devastating Blow : - 2 Guiles - +10 Accuracy - +5% damages per 1% of health loss (up to +500%) - Prone on Hit. Apart Sap (which has other utility anyway), there are no other Rogue Attack causing Prone, so I think this small bonus would help Devastating Blow versatility. If you really want to finish off a target by using most of your Guile pool, chaining Devastating Blows will be even easier (even if you will rarely need it). And the fluff goes well with a "Devastating" attack. I went with a small additional effect for Devastating Blow because it should mostly be the upgrade that is mostly about "bigger" number. But on the other hand, I didn't want the numbers to be too different so one doesn't feel too forced to go Devastating Blow to get the "full damage" effect, so I needed an "extra". PS : sorry for the reposting about this one ability, but I struggle to convince myself. This one design is quite simple, so I think it can't be too bad.

I get this, but you still have a lots of other way to activate Deathblow, especially Sap, Smoke Cloud, Blinding Strike, party members, regular, Flanking, etc... Even for such builds, PD can't even be entirely relied on anyway since some foes are Resistant to PER affliction. Anyway, it would be a deletable file of BPM Optional nerf package, so easy to remove if needed.