Elric Galad

Invisible turtles are the doom of adventurers.

Bloodmage are great in the early game or if you rely on specific spells or spell Tier. On higher level, Wizard 2 slots per Tier (bar max Tier) + 1 if Empower Point is usually enough for every fight except Megaboss fights. For Megaboss, Blood Mage are great, but penalty to the defenses against blooded is still annoying for the later part of the fights. Top Tier Subclass but still not strictly superior.

Tier I to III have a lot of very good spells (Infense Vital Essence, Mirror Image, Spirit Shield) but they are often support or self buff ability. Not the most direct effect on combat. Funny thing is that low level Wizard has quickly good Tools to play as tank through spirit shield and Mirror Image.

Or simply because they copier DnD 3rd Edition principle (which I honnestly find good mechanically).

Blood Slaughter is nice if you specifically target low health foes to get the kills. Given that barbs have good interaction with On Kill effect, I think it is still valuable BUT less than what its shining numbers would make you hope.

There is also a random Factory about +% damages, and that's overkills. What matters is the number of hits, so a meager bonus damages can also result in no gain. Also one should not build a characters for those foes with stellar defenses. You're going to kill 40-70 defenses foes quickly enough anyway.

Well, at 20 level you're much more likely to face foes which very high defenses. I value +3 accuracy roughly as +6-9% damages, but with the idea that it works better against hardest foes. Also +% dammages are better with spells than weapons since weapons get a ton of additive vonus. Accuracy is great with Debuff and Crowd COntrol, so I you want to use this too, accuracy might be better. Still, Firethrower are better because of the Evocation and Dex bonus.

Word of the day : Clothlings

Yeah but Crush / Corrode type saves it IMHO. Not too bad. Still 260 HP x3 on lvl 20 is neat for a Tier IV spell.

Summon Spell Stats Base Stats Attributes Armor Weapon 1 Weapon 2 or shield General Comments Duration Number Deflection Fortitude Reflex Will Melee Acc Ranged Acc Base Health Health per level MIG CON DEX PER INT RES Base Recovery Scaling Damages Type PR Scaling, Item Mod & comments Damages Type PR Scaling, Item Mod & comments Maura's Writthing Tentacles 15 3 30 5 30 5 25 25 60 10 14 10 10 12 12 8 6 100% Normal 7 – 10 CRU/COR 5 Normal scaling 7 – 10 CRU/COR 5 Normal scaling Immobilizing attacks Here is a sample of Data Mining for 1 Summon ability. I might consider improving the post readability when done (but my 15 months little dragon may wake up anytime so I have to be quick for this time ). Some notes below : Base stats scale per level. Refer to https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/227477-pillars-of-eternity-ii-deadfire/faqs/76599/non-pl-scaling for more information. Note that armor rate may also vary based on the damage type, but I didn't find it significant enough to bother Normal armor scaling means +1AR every 4 levels after level 1 (checked in the code). Refer to https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/227477-pillars-of-eternity-ii-deadfire/faqs/76599/non-pl-scaling If any Weapon 2 considered as "Dual Wielding" (yes, Maura's Writhing Tentacles are coapparently nsidered Dual Wielding, ROFL) Normal weapon scaling means +4 Acc, +1PR, +15% damages every 4 levels after level 1 (checked in the code). Refer to https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/227477-pillars-of-eternity-ii-deadfire/faqs/76599/non-pl-scaling for more information. Note that this table is based on Gamefiles Data Mining, not individual testing. I'm only going to test it in game to check the princples, not every creatures in the table. Thanks @thelee for the convenient reference. Feel free to comment if anything is missing, before I start the process for the rest of the summons. EDIT : I forgot to check weapon base Recovery : 4s for Maur's Writhing Tentacles. Hey, that confirms Maur's Writhing tentacles are pretty nice.

Imps get a carbon copy of the ability with carbon copies of status. So there could have been variant, but I can't find any relevant to what you describe. Xaurip plaguestrikers get a carbon copy of the ability that point to PC variant statuses. So the status should have the exact same effect unless some "deep bug" is involved. Are you sure it doesn't dispell on the second attack roll ? True, I didn't say vulnerability was irrelevant. It might be especially significant for Solo playthrough. With a party, you have enough possible tactics to be robust to specific encounters. Anyway, I think +50 for 3 Guiles is also a bit "out of the place" or more accurately "out of the class" unless maybe if playing Trickster. It might turn Rogue (especially SC) into Tanks which they are not supposed to be (or only for short duration). That's why I tuned down it a bit for my mod (just changed +30 to +25 because of powercreeping risk). Once more we have no way of figuring the intention of the devs if any so I'm trying to find something that feels "right". It is a bit difficult to adjust since Deflection is a stat with increasing return, but +20 Deflection is a quite common buff (SofF, Staff modal), so I hope +25 is not too much.

H) Rogue Rogue is the perfect example of a perfectly good class with a lot of subpar abilities IMO. I really think that their non-attack abilities are mostly overcosted, so you can be perfectly fine by only spaming crippling strike, which is sad. Some of their strike are okayish (Sap), broken (perplexing sap) or meh (strike the bell line) so I've reworked them a bit. Subclasses needed a bit of rework too : Tricksters gain too much for what they sacrifice and Streetfighter sare too abusable with Blunderbuss modal. So these 2 are among my few nerfs. Reminder : changes in red are either nerfs or complete rework, so I've include them in the secondary package of the Mod. Trickster : Sneak Attack 20% + 5%/PL -> 10% + 5%/PL Trickster gains 7-9 abilities for a bit less sneak attack, so I think the value they had on Game Launch (when they had less abilities) was fine. Streefighter : Blunderbuss Modal : Distracted for 10s -> -10 Accuracy for 10s This was so easy to activate that it basically removed all the fun of the subclass. There might be other way to activate Streetfighter, but none is so easy. Smoke Veil : 2 Guile -> 1 Guile (overcosted) Shadow Step & Upgrade : 3 Guile -> 2 Guile Paralysis 6s -> 8s (6s Paralysis wasn't worth 2 Guile) Shadowing Beyond & Upgrade : 3 Guile -> 2 Guile +50 Deflection that was weirdly cancelled on 1st or 2nd attack (without any explaination) -> +30 Deflection for whole duration EDIT : tuned down to +25 for next version. Smoke Cloud & Upgrades : Interrupt on Hit -> Interrupt on Graze This ability was mostly fine, but I tend to think 2-cost martial abilities need to feel strong or unique. Tier 1 inspirations felt a bit weak. Pernicious Cloud is nice but a bit inconvenient, and does not feel that great compared to Plague of Insects for example. So I simply added a better Interrupt. AoE Interrupt on Graze is quite rare, so I think it will be fine this way. Finishing Blow & Eleminating Blow : +3% damages per % health lost from 50% -> +1.5% damages per % health lost from 100% Devastating Blow : +6% damages per % health lost from 50% -> +3% damages per % health lost from 100% I did not change the max value, but I made these abilities count from 100%, so they will have great effect on Blooded target and will not feel like overkills. Sap : Hobbled for 30s -> Shaken for 30s Added impossibility to receive Concentration debuff on target. I simply changed Hobbled to Shaken so the ability feels less redundant with Crippling Strike (Rogue had no way to inflict Resolve Debuff on their main target). The new Concentration Immunity provides a bit of situational utility, even if it doesn't apply before Sap Interrupt. This new Sap is also nice for the total -20 Will it inflicts, which might be nice for Mindstalker or Trickster. Perplexing Sap : Removed the weird Confusion on target's attack effect. Upgrade Skaken from changed Sap to Fighten. This version of Perplexing Sap is basically a Silencing attack, or a cheap source of Tier 2 Affliction for Resistant foe. Strike the Bell & Upgrades : I completely changed these abilities which felt totally redundant (apart the Dazed effect) in addition to be weak. - Still Full Attack that Interrupts on Graze, with +25% damages and +2 PR. - Now all versions adds a 15s Dazed effect - Melee 1 Hander adds a -25 Will debuff for 15s - Melee 2 Hander adds a -25 Fortitude debuff for 15s - Ranged Weapon adds a -25 Reflex debuff for 15s - All other effects removed. - The upgrades now allow their respective -25 defense debuff to last for the whole Combat (in a similar fashion as Gouging Strike) This ability is meant to provide an alternative to weapon modals. You can use various weapons for various effect but choosing the upgrade also feels committing. Full attack Interrupting on Graze + 15s Dazed effect is a good basis for a 2 Guile Strike IMO. BalancePolishingModBuffs.zip BalancePolishingModNerfs.zip

Fortunately, it is cancelled when the charmed target is attacker, so the subclass is still fine.

Well, only Imp does get an alternate version, and the code looks "normal" so for now it's still a riddle. Value the right cost for an ability is complicated, and I am a believer that most 2+ costing abilities cost too much. So +50 for 3 Guiles would have been... strong but okay. For 3 Guiles a SC Rogue gets God Mode for 5s (+modifier). Arcane Veil is basically +50 Deflection for 12s and scale more with PL, but does not protect against a couple of veil piercing attacks. I tend to value Tier II spell as equivalent 1-cost abilities (based on what I call the "trickster equivalence table"). So the Deflection Component of Shadowing Beyond can be valued around 1 IMHO. For Enduring Shadow, I would say that it could be valued "a generous 1 Guile". I tend to be a bit generous with SC Tier VIII and IX abilities. For my own mod, I wanted Shadowing Beyond to cost 2 Guiles because it is the most convenient way to assassinate. 20s of +50 Deflection with Enduring Shadow was just too much and even for the base Shadowing Beyond, it was a bit too much, so I tuned down the value to +30. I am trying to avoid powercreeping, but I guess it's hard because it's a natural tendancy. (but I nerfed Trickster and Streetfighter so I hope it compensates ).

Debonaire Buff to target and Charm are separate effects. Which means if Charm Duration is reduced (which happens if the target has more than 10 Resolve), the target will stay buffed after the end of the charm effect. To use with caution vs foes who can reduced Hostile Effects !

Yes, I was thinking about that and all possible Incarnates.

Yeah, Ondra Whip and Sporelings too.

OK, so the to be tested list : Barbarian : Totems, but I guess they're not fighting summons anyway Fighter : Nope Rogue : Nay Ranger : Pet, but they are already well documented Cipher : technically, dominated foes are not summons Paladin : not really Monks : the twins ! But they are working fine and are basically copy of yourself Wizard : Essential Phantom and Substancial Phantom but they are working fine and are basically copy of yourself Maura’s Tentacles Familiar Priests : Spiritual Ally The various Incarnates Druids : Minor, nomal and greater Blights Call of the Primordials Lashing Vine Fire Stag Aspect of Galawain Chanters : Skeleton & upgrade Ghost & upgrade Wurms & upgrade Wisps & upgrade Ogres & upgrade Drakes & upgrade Dank Spores & upgrade Animated Weapons & upgrade Dragon Am I missing anything ?

Yup, but I don't want to make Deflection to end with Invisibility (which would be very weird as well as completely useless). I just want Deflection value to be tuned down if it applies for 10s (20s for Enduring Shadows) instead of 3s. The value will be clearly written in the ability description anyway. Furthermore, if the player expect to have still a Deflection bonus applied when Invisibility brake and be protected, he will. He will just be a little less protected than what he expects (if he hasn't read the description). A similar thing happen for Smoke Cloud : it does not provide the Invisibility from Smoke Veil. But Invisibility does not appear in the description either.

There is also a backstory problem with Ranger NPC. One either has a pet or not. How to handle the dialogue if not. Ranger cannot be a skippable class for this reason. The only Ranger NPC is Maia, and her Ranger Class is not Skippable.

Technically, they're not. Not more that Smoke Cloud is an upgrade from Smoke Veil. So they could have common points, but is not required to be a strict upgrade. That's why what I'm considering is to have a lower Deflection bonus but applied for the whole Duration. Note that a reason for this is that it would be much easier to code (especially because there are many versions of the ability for Imps, Xaurips...). But also much clearer on Tooltip. What I'm considering : Smoke Veil : 1 Guile. Main benefit is to evade danger, apply backstab and Assassin passive. Does it require lowering recovery ? I think not really. 1 Guile spamming is enough. Shadowing Beyond : 2 Guiles, Def apply for whole Duration but only +25 Deflection Enduring Shadows : 2 Guiles, Def/Swift apply for whole Duration but only +25 Deflection, still 20s

OKay now speaking about Smoke Veil / Shadowing Beyond : Let's start by reminding how Shadowing Beyond & Enduring Shadows work. It's weird : The question is what to do about Shadowing Beyond & Enduring Shadows incosistent Deflection bonus : delete it completely or apply until the end of duration ?? (That is the only consistent behavior). Once more, I have no idea what the Devs intended. Note that I want to Mod this ability line to 2 Guile. Priest can cast it as a Tier IV ability so I believe that it is the same level of ressource. I can't imagine Priest casting a 3-ressource ability as a Tier IV Spell... How would you feel about Shadowing Beyond costing 2 Guiles and applying Deflection bonus for whole Duration ? It think it's strong, maybe a bit OP but my main Concern would be for Enduring Shadow : 20s +50 Def & Swift would be very strong for 2 Guiles I would consider lowering the Duration of Enduring Shadows in this case. Another possibility would be to Lower Shadowing Beyond Deflection bonus if applied for the whole Duration. I wanted to set Smoke Veil to 1 Guile. How would it compare to Shadowing Beyond ? Should I remove the recovery time altogether ?

"PowerLevelScaling": { "UseCharacterLevel": "true", "BaseLevel": 1, "LevelIncrement": 4, "MaxLevel": 0, "ValueAdjustment": 1, "DurationAdjustment": 0 } That's the weapon PR Scaling Table. Easy to copy for tweaking. I could do the same for Accuracy and Damages bonus if needed. I'm confident that everything is possible. The only limit is dev time (and well... testing). And of course, balance. I will do. One day . Working on Rogue Mod at the moment. More seriously, the number #1 Step is to check what summons currently do.

EDIT : I don't know how poor weapon + scaling interact. I would have to tests because they are both classified as "quality" mod so they're might have weird interaction. Note that Animated Weapons have both "Exceptionnal" and "Scaling" mod so there's something to check about this. EDIT BIS : Note that adding a new mod which has the same effect as "Poor" but doesn't interact with "Scaling" would be possible anyway. I'm not too worried about the feasibility, just about the needed time to develop, final balance and of course forgetting about something. I would tend to think that Skeletons might be the only needed exception : everything should scale but skeletons. However, scaling is not only about PR/AR but also Accuracy and Damages bonus, so this should be used with caution. In my mod, I have set the Phantom upgrade to 45s, making it the longest chanter summon (so it is the best at something since it is also super cheap). I think it would be fine this way if its weapon/armor also scale.

Yes, it is when Final Maneuver is active. I ran into the same problem.