Elric Galad

I'm living in the shadows of obscure abilities. But the only things I manipulate are the Gamedata files.

Technically, I Ninjaed your Ninja since I was already speaking about Beetle Shell in the thread you ninjaed. By ninjaing Boeroer, the only thing you achieve is pointing that I ninjaed everybody ahahahahahahahah It's a Ninjaception.

Yes and No, I tweaked it. The original version ripostes by blinding foes, which was really disappointing for a Tier 9 Spell (not to mention redundant with the old Revenge of Skaen). I tweaked it to random -10 to PER, INT or RES. Which means with repeated attacks, your foes will probably get 2 or 3 of the debuffs. No I tweaked it again to retaliate on damaged, instead of on hit or crit. Yeah, +0.25 made it unusable. Now one still need to catch 2-3 foes to get infinite duration, but this is hard enough to achieve to derserve a reward. Version 1.5.2 WoD is a blast vs Belranga, especially combined with BPM Enchanted Armory and its 100% Miss to Graze But such is Garden of Life anyway. The few offenders that remained (such as blade cascade) can't be extended anymore since this version.

Version 1.5.2 uploaded (a bunch of small rework, slightly de-nerfed WoD, some effects can't be extended, various tweaks to Priest, Druid and Wiz spells) : Deadfire Balance Polishing Mod at Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Nexus - Mods and Community (nexusmods.com) It seems that Nexus Mod Description has intense editing problem. I had to go through BBC mode to actually change the text, and even then it was seriously lagging. Anyone experienced similar difficulty ? I'm finally satisfied with Entropy (and SC Druid as a consequence)

For non-stacking AR malus, you have plenty of solutions. The easiest are either various PER affliction (-1 AR from Flanked), Crack the Shield (for basically infinite debuff with the upgrade) or Sundering Blows (- 4AR, vs Deflection and can be AoEiszed with a rod/mortar/WotEP). I don't like Mace modal because it is so easy to get an equivalent effect and have it suppressed. Stacking AR debuff are something much rarer. Blackened Plate mentionned by @thelee is the most convenient (-1 AR). But when you need to stack AR debuff, another -2 AR is priceless. How to get reliable crit is an issue of course, but pairing Beza's and Aldris' for dual Crit Sabres build feel nice (of course, this is not a pure DPS setup, more a support/self-heal one - Might be considered on a Wayfarer/Berzeker for example ).

Yeah, check the phrase count too. There have been reports about multiple attack (not counting pulsating spells) spell refound 3 phrases more than once.

I usually use Mowdyr to evaluate an endgame weapon. Mowdyr has a 20% lash and 20% speed (ultimately) which is about x1.40 multiplicative damages. Also comes with an utility and a fun (but midly significant) special attack. Mowdyr works for basically any build. If a weapon is better than Mowdyr, at least for certain build, then it is a good weapon. That's why I said 15% speed and (ultimately) +10 Accuracy (around 10-15% multiplicative in my view) is a solid basis. It is close enough from Mowdyr generalist bonuses (the damages one) to start considering deeper. Then there is this passive, which close the gap with Mowdyr and is likely to surpass it her for the right build. A potential "+20 Accuracy vs weapons" against a specific target for the whole party is getting through the roof of expectation. Then BPM is going to provide Entropy a no-roll 100% Hit to Crit for base 15s in next version (upload is soon) ... Beza's Toothed blade worths mentionning too. -2AR stacking with everything on Crit is beyond what any other item can offer...

I've never built on it, but what do you guys think about Blade of the Endless Path ? The speed and accuracy bonus are solid, but the selling point should be this -4 Def malus on Crit for 45s and that stacks up to 5 times. All the party should benefit from such a cute effect. This sounds very appealing against everything that isn't immune to pierce or have enormous Deflection and Resolve.

I meant the contrary : Beza's debuff only applies to Beza's Crits. But once applied, it benefit everybody. Blade of the Endless Paths -4 Def on Crit isn't bad for this either.

I modded Chain Lightning to bounce possibly several time on the same foe, including monster's versions (as I always do). The fights versus Auranic Wrath Sigil was... hey... not trivial. Fortunately Tranquilizing Shot + Blunderbuss (basically 100% chance of deactivating a Sigil for 1 Bond) after Brand Enemy, Gouging Strike and a Missile Salvo helped a lot mitigating this situation. Seriously, Tranquilizing Shot is a highly underrated ability, especially with multi-hit weapons. Modded Corrosive Skin with Enfeebled. Modded Sunless Grasp with 0.5s/3s cast/recovery and 16-27 base damages.

Feels like a Psion / Tactician playing tool I would use it as a minor damages spells with mini CC effect in this context. Or as Soulblade "ranged weapon" ? (Arrh 5 focus)

Honestly, the -10 acc for decent time while doing a bit of spike damages is the selling point. Wizards have no other way (apart modals) to decrease ACC on a perception resistant for. And Wiz are hungry for high deflection build. Same for Ref. 10 less defenses before launching a serie of attacks Vs it isn't bad. PEN is already decent. It's not that piercing But I could go with the same damages as Jolting Touch for common theme. 16 - 27.

But in this case, it's not the main purpose of the spell. This is a debuff spell with a bit of damages. Once more, BPM doesn't intend to change the flavour of abilities, unless obvious redundancy with some other abilities. Adding an interrupt is within the limit of a small change, adding an additional effect isn't. EDIT : but yeah, I can see why adding an Interrupt is a bit redundant. I'm just trying to say I'm not in favor of adding a Paralysis effect and I was trying to find a compromise Damages could upped a bit, maybe to 16-24, to align with barbs of condemnation which is a bit of a twin spell (higher range, lesser PEN).

The chilly part could be an interrupt on hit. Then a 4s recovery could be necessary.

=> Well, that and Summoned weapons are also a bit of a nightmare to implement and balance. Also would feel a bit redundant with fetid carress.

Ok, I was wondering the same. It doesn't require to be a Cipher to detect your thoughts about abusing it shamelessly with Phantom spells à la Draining Touch. Reducing the cast/recovery of weak spells is a good way to make them relevant at high level without making them too powerful. Well, as a general rule, I try to avoid changing the purpose of an ability unless required for redundancy with another ability. Sunless grasp isn't the best spell of the game, but with a fast casting, it would fit its purpose as a minor mid-duration debuff. For those who wondered : Jolting Touch has -25% damages per bounce, and can bounce several times on the same target. For me, it is ok as WIzard's version of dancing bolt (friendly multi-targets Electricity spell).

OK, I will go with upgrading Weakened to Enfeebled for Corrosive Skin. This is a pretty straightforward and balanced solution, and I do like simple solution. Also, while we're speaking about bad Wizard spell, I will set Kakaloth Sunless Grasp to 0.5s/4s casting instead of 3s/4s. CP already added a -10 Reflex debuff, so I think it would be a decent opener with a short casting time.

Funny thing is that Heart Seeker is an auto hit, applies Enfeebled (including without BPM) BPM has set it to Infinite duration. But it costs 4 Bonds, which is the maximum (with BPM) of any Martial only equal to BPM's Light of Pure Zeal and Gambit (but Gambit refunds). I usually estimate 4 martial ressources to be even higher than a Tier 9 spell. All this to say we're discussing about abilities of similar power level. Enfeebled instead of Weakened for 30s does not seem especially OP indeed. Auto hit as @thelee suggests is tempting too. I've already made this choice for Hand of Berath and next BPM version of Entropy. Yep Auto Hit is always tempting for single target ability since there's a significant chance of failing entirely.

Believe it or not, I was thinking about this spell during this weak. I was unsure. Basically it is a slower Disintigrate (with about the same damages... except it benefits less from PL as a Tier 9, with an affliction on top of it that synergizes pretty well. I think that Cipher zre supposed to be a bit better at Single Target damages. Enfeebled tends to synergizes with itself, which implies I would have to reduce the base duration so the final duration doesn't change. Reflexion in progress, share your thoughts. EDIT : It could also be a hard -100% healing, replacing CON Affliction. This won't necessarily stronger, but at least unique. At Tier 9, tools bypassing Resistance are neat.

Do copies also copy your accessories ? For some reasons, I thought it was only Armor and Weapons (except for Dichotomous case for the later)

Thanks ! Feedback is always appreciated ! I think the only Per Rest ability that I remember using is Marux Amanth Worthy Sacrifice, obviously because of its -25% Megaboss headache trait.

Not the BPM nerfs, though (because it adds 3s recovery to Blood Sacrifice )

Beware, this 25 Max Focus (actually 5+lvl) per kill is a BPM feature. Without BPM it is only 10 Max Focus (which is totally unsignificant later on to say the least). It's not that much that Soulblades needed a buff, just that unsignificant features are dumb.

That was my point. Creating something that is cool but inferior to Spark the Souls overall. Still 12-20 RAW per vessels damages in bigger AoE than Spark the Soul, a bit of Distracted spamming should be neat when built around. But yeah, it is strong with Death of 1000 cuts, but this was intended too as a way to buff SC Ciphers last Tiers.

Eventually, I will go for this Entropy as a Single Target 15s autohit go guaranteed Hit to Crit. This would be ideal as a Wildstrike Frenzy enabler without being OP. Bouncing version was a bit too good. Also I will set Hand of Berath to 42s fixed (7 TB rounds) instead of mere 30s. It was already -10 PL autohit. The idea is that the few targets deserving it had so much Resolve that it was hardly worth casting. I like the idea that a god intervention toward a specific target basically negates all defenses, and the caster is a mere conduct in this very case. EDIT : second thought, not a bright idea, only Dorudugan has Resolve above 30, Resolve can be lowered anyway, and creating exception is never great on a ruleset. I'm simply going to rise the duration of Hand of Berath to 45s since it is a Tier 9 that simply debuff . (It was already -10 PL autohit.) Also buffing Skaen Sphere to -25 accuracy so it worth the Tier 9 spot.