Elric Galad

I hoped there could be an additional patch, to fix minor bugs such as Arcane Archer spell penetration scaling.

Yup, I think playing with Companions worths it for first playthrough I think. Be aware that some of them have conflict with some factions. If you don't have a specific wish for your Main Character, I guess it's better to choose companions first and adjust your own build after. Death Knight sounds like Fighter/Paladin/Chanter. But there are a LOTS of possible Martial or Martial/Spellcaster hybrids builds...

Interesting, maybe because one is Speed Bonus and the other is Recovery Bonus. I guess it should work with similar effects (such as pistol modal and DAoM).

Berzeker / Ghostheart would be the easiest choice. Ghostheart seems nice with the spirit-connected PoE barbs. Slayer's Claw + Berzeker rage = Energized. Then Interrupt on Crit + High Accuracy for the win Add Concussive Shot for the dispell, maybe Modwyr for the Stun per encounter and Confusion immune and you'll have a nice Mageslayer Magehunter build.

Not according to thelee's guide, which is one of the best source of information about PoE2 : https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/227477-pillars-of-eternity-ii-deadfire/faqs/76599/rogue

Be aware that SoT doesn't work on Vanishing Strike since you're untargetable while the invisbility is active. The closest to this should be : Brillant on the Rogue from some source (Cipher or Robes of the Weyc). Max INT and Ooblit for vanishing Strike duration around 13s (to be checked). Vanishing Strike every 18s from Brillant Cast Brillant and/or SoT during the the few seconds when the rogue is not invisible. It seems more tedious than Scordeo's Edge + BDD + SoT even if you don't rely on a 5% proc.

Brillant + SoT, especially AoE Brillant from Robes of the Weyc sounds like an antidote against the wall of hit points that are Megabosses IMHO. I doubt it is that useful for like 99% of battles.

Yes, I've seen the big numbers on the second shot. What seemed strange is that even if I had crits on the secondary target of the mortars, I only got 4 Guile back if the main target received a crit on the mortar shot. Or at least, 2+ crits doesn't translate to 4 Guile. It depends on which shot got the crit.

I couldn't find answers on the Internet to some of my own questions, so I made some tests. I wanted to share my results. I hope some of them could be useful. 1) Enfeeble is applied to itself Enfeeble extends the duration of hostile effects. And enfeeble is an hostile effect iself. Enfeeble does extend its own duration. That means, for example, that Heart Seeker applies 30s of Enfeeble on non-resistant foes (without taking into account INT and PL). Additional tip : that also applies to Weakening abilities targeting vulnerable foes, which makes Toxic Strike extremely potent against them (since its damages increase with duration). 2) Stoic Steel can charge up before battle So if you start battle after 18s of immobility, you start with +3AR. I've never been aware of it before today. This makes Stealth interesting for Paladins ^^ Additional tip : some of the "teleporting" abilities such as escape don't cancel Stoic Steel. I haven't test all of them. 3) Gambit refund only works on first hit/main target Even if you use a multi-shot (classic blunderbuss) or AoE weapon (mortars), you'll get the refund only if 1st roll on main target. So to get the complete refund, you'll need to dual wield and score 2 crits with the 2 "main" attacks. It is still good to get some AoE crits, but don't except a refund. I haven't test it with WotEP. 4) Heart Seeker doesn't apply Bounce or AoE. I have tested it with Watershaper focus, and only foes in the ability line can be hit. There is no double hits due to Bounce or rod's AoE. 5) Whirling Strikes does apply Bounce. You need to equip a melee weapon to perform whirling strike. However, if you hold a ranged weapon in your other hand, you'll attack with it too, and it will even trigger Bounce with Driving Flight. This makes Melee & Ranged dual wield somewhat attrative for ranged, especially with Scordeo's Trophy. 6) "Thunder Rolled..." upgrade "...its crash could not be denied" apply a +15 Accuracy bonus, which is fine IMHO. The description does not specify it but you can read it by picking the ability and checking its accuracy before or during battle. 7) Unbending not triggered by Take the Hit Self damages from Take the Hit does not proc Unbending regeneration. It could have been a nice combo, but nay... 8 ) Garrote complete description The description is vague, so here is how it actually works : 6s paralysis (modified by INT / PL) as described. During paralysis, the target takes about 4 raw damages per tick (1s tick !), modified by MIG / PL. After paralysis, the target is prone (so the 3s Prone are added to Paralysis duration for the total duration of incapacitation) After paralysis, the target also received 20 raw damages, modified by MIG / PL. Overall, it sounds nice and scales quite well. On a Single Class Paladin with max MIG and INT, it does around 120 raw damages total. It might be nice with an Helwalker or a SC class Paladin (since DoT gets double benefit from PL and SC Paladin might get a lot of zeal to spend from Divine Retribution and downed summons).

I think Draining Whip would still be handy for Boss fights. You can't always count on crowd.

Also, if you plan to use Vanishing Strike a lot, you should try Ooblit pet. +3s is not much for long effects, but for Vanishing Strike, it is about equivalent to +12 INT (+60% duration) ^^ (I haven't test it, but it should work)

Just tested it, it seems to be true : Beguiler refund on deception also works when the status is applied by the spell itself. But if the spell doesn't apply status, there is no refund. Both Borrowed Instincts and Body Atunement don't refund Focus when the target is not afflicted. So MaxQuest was right. However, I had draining whip passive, but I didn't see any double refund.

This is usually true, but there is an exception for Single Class Assassin once you get Vanishing Strike. Vanishing Strike provides non cancellable invisibility for a (short) duration instead of invisibility for 1 attack. This means that DPS becomes more important with this ability than damages per attack. With Vanishing Strike, style doesn't matter as much : 2 handed or Dual Wield are mostly equivalent. 1 handed isn't that great because you'll already have a big Accuracy bonus from assassin's passive. 2 handed are also slightly less optimal because they trade a bit more PR for a bit less damages than Dual Wield and Assassin's passive also provides a lot of PR (and Crit chances). Also, Dual Wielding with a medium speed 1-hander and a fast 1-hander is optimal for the initial Full Attack from Vanishing Strike due to only the off-hand recovery beng applied (this is only for the initial Full Attack, so it's not that important, but still...). So I think that it is the optimal set-up for Vanishing Strikes.

Mule Kick used to be a separated ability, but not anymore. That's why I think it is a glitch only applied on a couple of abilities. I've read on this forum that the new PL apply. I wasn't the only one to wonder about it. See the example of Unbending description in thelee's gamefaq (which is a kind of reference) : https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/227477-pillars-of-eternity-ii-deadfire/faqs/76599/fighter So I thought it was worth testing ^^

I tested Deep Wounds and Wounding Shot and they seem to work exactly the same... except that the duration of Wounding Shots benefits from PL so it does a bit more damages overall with comparable INT.

OK, so to answer my own question, I've done some checking on many abilities. I've mostly checked the tooltip, not the actual effect in most cases. However, couple of times that I checked the effect, it was consistent with the tooltip. I've found that there are only a handful of abilities for which the level of the Upgrade applies. For all other, the initial ability level applies (so they scale more). The only exception I've found are : - Greater Lay on Hand (but this one is actually a new ability as you keep the old Lay on Hand) - Panther Leap - Mule Kick (presumably because it used to be a different ability from Mule Kick). Note : Hobbling Shot is not an exception and is considred PL1 for PL bonus. I cannot pretend I've checked 100% of abilities with upgrades, but I've tested the 7 classes with upgrades (The 6 Martials and Chanter) and all worked the same. and I've tested most of the "main" abilities (Frenzy, Barbaric Shouts, All Rogue Strikes, Flurry of Blades, Unbending, Vigorous defense, Eld Nary, Seven Nights, Thunder Rolled, Weapon Summons, Paralysis Invocation, Ben Fidel's debuff, Stunning Blows, Torment Reach, Clarity, Wounding Shot, Binding Roots, All exhortations, Sacred Immo, FoD - this one needed actual testing as the tooltip does not show PL, etc...). Overall, it means that upgrades are always strictly better, provided you don't need the ability point. The few exceptions are likely to be minor glitches.

Biggest improvement : the additional depth of the (multi) class system and overall combat design. Biggest step back : the main story might be one of the worst ever made for a CRPG. Thaos arc wasn't the greatest ever but it was okay, with some interesting ideas.

I think Scordeo's with Blade Cascade out DPS Mowdyr even without any further trick involved (Wall of Draining, Salvation of Times, Ooblit, High INT, High Attack speed). 1 attack out of 20 basically proc 7 attacks (5s / 0.7 saber attack delay), so it is roughly equivalent to 35% lash (yup, it's an approximation). I think Scoredo is ahead due to Accuracy bonus + this. The problem is 5% is fairly unreliable, so in practice, you'll rarely see it. Mowdyr on the other hand is so versatile that I consider it the "best in slot standard meter". In order to demonstrate that any weapon is the Best in Slot item for a particular build, it is usually enough to demonstrate that it is better than Mowdyr. Basically, one cannot go wrong with Mowdyr.

A party of 5 Ranger/druid with Bear pets and Bear Shapeshift would also be tempting.

That's true, except that a Bellower can choose to pick "His Heart Did Fill..." instead since it costs the same for them. As a rule of thumb, the first question to ask oneself when designing a Chanter build is "what is the highest cost invoction I can pick" taking into account the various "penalties". It's true for Multi or Single Class, whatever your subclass is. It worth mentionning that a Single Class Skald who picks either Dragon or "His Heart Did Fill..." at PL IX would be able to cast 2 Eld Nary at the beginning of each encounter, or 4 time when using Sasha's Singing Scimitar upgraded with the complete phrase refill (you have to empower the 2nd cast).

Side note : picking the Dragon at PL IX might be useful even if you don't plan to use it because your phrase pool is aligned with your highest costing Invocation. Dragon costs 7+1 phrases as a beckoner which is at least 1 phrase above every other Invocations (Weapons are only 6+1 phrases).

Doesn't Hobbling Shot also subsitute Wounding Shot since it is the same ability with an additional effect ? I pick Accurate Wounding Shot instead so I don't know if it does...

Also 20 stacks of Scordeo's Trophy should lead to 0 recovery. Of course it is more complicated to combine with Salvation...

By the way, how would you rate robes of the Weyc ? AoE Brillant sounds like god tier provided one has a priest in his party and other bonus aren't too bad either.

It could be easily checked with Borrowed Instinct, since it's a Deception ability that doesn't inflict a status. If it is true... well... I supposed it could be seen as a "liberal" interpretation of the rules more than an actual bug. Still won't proc on resistant/immune foes or with the couple of Deception Spells that don't inflict conditions. It won't prevent me from playing Beguiler for "ethic" reasons even if it's not corrected (even if it should )