Nobear

Welcome! Like a lot of players new to PoE, you seem to be focused entirely on your main character. People have been assuming you are planning to play in a full party (of up to six), but are you? If so, I'll say what I tend to say for newcomers to the game (even if veterans of older games). And I quote from a recent post of mine to another PoE newcomer: Is it a matter of personal attachment to your main? I ask because which character is your main generally makes little to no difference unless you're soloing. The biggest exceptions to this are if you were to pick a paladin or priest as your main, since they each have an ability that scales as your dialogue choices align with the preferred dispositions of your chosen order or deity. A paladin tank, moreover, lends itself particularly well to having good dialogue choices while also being built well for combat. There are now story companions you can recruit into your party by finding them on your adventures for all classes except Barbarian. You can also recruit fully customizable adventurers from any inn, starting with the first village you come to. If you want to go this route, keep in mind hired adventurers can start at most one level below your main (which will become less significant as you level, and XP between levels increases), and will be cheapest if you hire them ASAP while still level 2. They can make placeholders in your party until you replace them with story companions, if you prefer the RP value they bring. The only limitation of story companions is generally that you can't respec their stats, which are suboptimal, but the game is still quite beatable on a completionist PoTD run with all story companions. If you still want the star of the show to be your main, despite the gameplay considerations I've outlined, I would cast my vote in, along with several other players, for Cipher.

I also haven't tried, so am also not 100% certain, but if I were a betting man I'd wager the pet does count as an ally (so would work with the Hearth Orlan racial), just not a companion. As Ymarsakar points out, pets are considered allies for your party members' buffs/heals. I think of it like a square and a rectangle. A rectangle is not a square, but a square is a rectangle. Similarly, an ally is not a companion, but a companion is an ally. In other words, a companion is a specific type of ally. A pet is a different type of ally.

What?? Clearly I still haven't played 2.0 much yet but this, if true... was quite needed TBH *sigh* lol!

You can, but I'm not the only player who has had major issues with these console commands messing things up unpredictably. Ymarsakar is one who has apparently avoided these issues. Personally, the one time I tried doing something simple (removing one talent from each of my tanks and replacing it with another), it caused weird glitches like the new talent not being successfully added, yet some other talent being listed twice on my character sheet. So be forewarned, and keep a save from before you start messing with console commands, if you want to experiment with that. Fortunately, it's not remotely necessary to do this, even on PoTD, especially with the respec feature. The respec feature doesn't let you edit stats on the story companions, but I consider myself an average skilled player and have beaten the game on a completionist PoTD run with all companions. Now that you've been warned, do whatever you want .

Feel free to try dumping both Res and Con. You can always respec back if you find yourself dying too often. Personally, I'd be inclined to dump Res before Con. Dumping both might be ok if you decide to play a ranged Wizard in a party on Normal/Hard. For a melee, even if you're using a reach weapon and trying to attack over your tank's head, I don't think I'd dump Con, but for a ranged it might be ok. As I say, feel free to try it out, knowing you can always adjust to taste later. IDK what other peoples' rationale about low Dex might be, but the one I can think of is that you might find yourself casting/attacking "fast enough" with average Dex and Deleterious Alacrity of Motion, which becomes Per Encounter at level 13. I think I'd still want my Dex to be higher than 10, but then I don't have quite the same min-max mentality that certain other players do. I don't believe that min-maxing is strictly and always the most optimal, but hey... different strokes for different folks. I noticed a Might 20 check in one conversation branch with the Alpine Dragon. There might be others. Thanks, good to know.

If you mean Quick Switch through up to four firearms, that trick will only last four shots. You eventually have to reload after you fire a weapon. Even pre-2.0 I didn't get the impression that bows sucked. You had two modals. Swift Aim seemed better suited to firearms, where Vicious Aim seemed better suited to bows. One advantage of a slow firearm is that Wounding Shot will do more damage, but TBH I don't know which one did higher DPS overall. For the short time that I played Sagani (mostly just for her quest), I preferred Swift Aim with a firearm, but certain other players seemed to prefer bows. Now rangers get a new modal that lets them shoot two arrows instead of one, but doesn't work with firearms. I imagine that, if anything, this would generally put bows ahead of firearms for rangers, but again I don't know for sure.

Now that is quite a fair point. However, between an item, food, an inn resting bonus, and a prostitute, you can boost a stat pretty high, maybe around +8 depending on the stat we're talking about. Ideally, yes, I'm with you that I prefer to pass checks without having to stack every card in the deck in my favor. But if we're talking about a melee Wizard main, it seems some compromise will have to be made either in combat or in dialogue.

The Mechanics skill governs both trap disarming, spotting hidden caches and lock picking. So technically any class can actually do it. Rogues, Ciphers and Wizards tend to be the standouts though since all three have starting points in the skill. Its worth noting a Priest might consider it as well, since it also governs the accuracy of your own traps, and the Priest's trap spells work off it. That said, a Rogue isn't a terrible character by any means. A melee Rogue has the highest single target DPS of any class, while a ranged Rogue is no slouch at it either. Of course, the drawbacks are that they lack decent defensive options, so it can be tricky to keep them alive, especially on higher difficulties. Paladins actually should be the "main tank" since they have the highest defenses of any class >_> Darcozzi, Goldpact and St. Elcga are the best ones for tank based Paladins. Darcozzi get Inspiring Liberation which gives an Accuracy bonus, Goldpact get Bond of Duty which protects against Confuse, Charm and Domination (The most annoying ailments), and finally St. Elcga get both Shielding Flames and Shielding Touch which gives allies Deflection bonuses. I like most of what you say in this post, but I'm quoting two parts to which I have comments: First, the priest's seal spells were changed from traps to hazards, and are no longer affected by Mechanics. I forget which version this change was made in, but it was definitely before 2.0. Second, I'd like to elaborate about the paladin orders you mentioned. 1) Darkozzi also gets a personal flame shield for 15 sec base after using Flames of Devotion, although Inspiring Liberation seems to be by far the more popular "must-have" talent from that order. It causes one of your twice/encounter exhortations to also grant +10 Accuracy, which will stack if applied twice to the same ally. 2) Goldpact I've heard mentioned in tank order discussions, but for a different reason. I don't find Bond of Duty to be needed if you have Righteous Soul (which all paladins can take), and with a priest in your party you will also eventually get spells to protect everyone from specific CC effects, including the various forms of mind control. The reason I've heard Goldpact mentioned is that (along with Bleak Walkers) they don't despise cruelty. Without spoiling too much, there's a point in the game in which you can make your PC slightly stronger in one of several ways, but you have to have at least one point in Cruel. However, it would be kind of silly to take a hit in Faith and Conviction just for this. TBH, this benefit is so small it's barely worth mentioning, but it has been mentioned before FWIW. 3) One thing you should make sure you fully understand if you want to make a Shieldbearer is that those Deflection bonuses to allies do not apply to yourself. They can still be helpful for your other tank and/or front row, or even for your whole party in certain situations when things get messy.

Hey it's all good man, no worries. I'm sorry if I came across like I was attacking you btw, I basically just wanted to emphasize the diversity of builds and ideas that are viable in this game, especially below PoTD. I do think your build makes a lot of sense for a ranged Wizard though. Dex is a bit low, but thankfully the Wizard has Deleterious Alacrity of Motion to make up for it, which he can cast Per Encounter at level 13 now .

You pulled a straw man there, comparing your ideal "minmax" build with another build you made up, that nobody is arguing for. His build had 16 Per, but instead you're comparing your ideal build to one with 12 Per. Definitely not the same comparison. Why is 8 Con any sillier than 10 Con, especially considering you can raise that to 9 or even 11 with an item, before any temporary buffs? Your ideal build, as you say, is for a ranged Wizard, which is not what the OP was talking about. If you read, he was originally thinking of a melee Wizard, and that's what his spread was for. Also, if you read, he is planning to play Normal/Hard. Melee Wizards are viable even in PoTD. This thread isn't about whether ranged or melee Wizards are better, it's about the OP getting ideas for good builds about either, and making his choice based on his personal preferences, not necessarily which is most OP. In the end, there are experienced players as adamant about not min-maxing as you are about min-maxing. I think much of these personal preferences really boil down to the fact a lot of us PoE players are a bit OCD to one degree or another, and we get an emotional attachment to one school of thought vs another. Some players, for instance, justify their stat spreads by factors as unimportant to gameplay as that they like "balancing out the numbers." It's ok to have these quirks, I have some of my own, just realize it's largely personal preference and not that important in the end when you are just talking about a few points here or there. Keep in mind that the game is beatable by an average-skilled player on a completionist PoTD run with all companion characters, whose stats are far from optimal.

It hits once per 75% 50% and 25% endurance. After you reach 25% and Silver Tide strikes, then it's all. No more Silver Tides until next encounter So nothing has changed in 2.0? It still hits anywhere from 0 to 3 times per encounter, depending on how much endurance is lost and in what size chunks?

lol we had the same thinking about the 8 Con + defensive buffs. TBH I did beat the game on PoTD with companions, but it was pre-2.0 and my wizard was Aloth as a ranged Minor Blights build. Deleterious Alacrity of Motion and Minor Blights both become Per Encounter at level 13, so this looks like an even more attractive build now. That said, I definitely wouldn't want to discourage your own ideas and preferences. This game allows for a wide range of builds to be viable. While experienced players will generally agree that ranged wizards have the edge over melee ones in terms of pure performance, melee wizards are more than viable and can be very fun. If you find the concept attractive, feel free to go for it!

Looks about as good as any spread to me. 8 is not dumping. Dumping means making it as low as possible, which would be 3. I don't think 8 would be a problem if he's playing in a party with a reach weapon. With an item he can get to 9 early on, and eventually to 11 (before any temporary buffs). And yes, those buff spells are basically the bread and butter for a melee wizard. Infuse with Vital Essence alone will take his endurance up to basically the levels of a pure tank with high Con. It's not 100% clear to me whether you think prioritizing Dex is a good or bad idea. I think it's one of the four important stats for a Wizard post-2.0. Also, I don't see what choice of armor has to do with Dex. Armor extends recovery only. Dex increases Action Speed, which affects all actions. Whether he is wearing enchanted clothes or plate armor, Dex will make everything faster by the same %. Its utility remains the same. Also, Wizards have a spell to speed themselves up even more (Deleterious Alacrity of Motion) that becomes Per Encounter at level 13. Even in plate, with a decent Dex score and that spell, a Wizard's spell casting speed as well as his DPS with conjured weapons will be high. You are right that Res is often considered the most important stat for dialogue checks. That's why I threw out the idea of having a paladin tank main and using Aloth for his Wizard, but I think the OP has a personal preference for his Wizard to be his PC. In any case, in the grand scheme of things, those dialogue checks make relatively little difference compared to certain other games. Yes, he would be missing out on maximizing certain quest rewards for example, but it's not like it will cripple his game.

Those 16 MIG and DEX and lowered CON are bad.But Respec can help you Ranged Cipher Wood Elf. 18(19) as much damage as we can get. 10(9, we can earn item with +2MIG +1CON in Defiance Bay) 10 19 18 we need our debuffs lasts longer 3 we are ranged. We don't need RES. OK. You need great might & perception to deal your physical damage, thus regaining focus, and your powers are useless without INT. Prioritize Per over Dex as that gives lots of accuracy to your controlling powers. With low CON you can be nuked by enemy's AOE spell on Hard and PoTD, but for Normal i think dumping CON for DEX could work. Weapon:Blunderbuss. On early levels you can use war bow or pistol. Early levels - shoot, then use powers, then shoot again. 7+ level with blunderbuss use powers, shoot, use powers. A good trick that you can pre cast Pain Link and Ectopsyhic Echo out of combat, regain default focus then engage. Eh either stat spread could work. It is, after all, Hard and not PoTD, and as you said he can always respec if he wants to tweak something. You may have been the same person I first heard you could pre-cast Pain Link from. I still did not know about Ectopsychic Echo until just now. My personal favorite to pre-cast is Tactical Meld. Stack that accuracy as high as it can go, and all your other shots, powers, and focus gain become that much more effective.

What difficulty would you be playing? I'd be interested to know how it goes for you. Have fun!

Would using Aloth as your wizard be out of the question for you? Is it a matter of personal attachment to your main? I ask because which character is your main generally makes little to no difference unless you're soloing. The biggest exceptions to this are if you were to pick a paladin or priest as your main, since they each have an ability that scales as your dialogue choices align with the preferred dispositions of your chosen order or deity. A paladin tank, moreover, lends itself particularly well to having good dialogue choices while also being built well for combat. Between a paladin PC + Aloth, and a wizard PC + Pallegina, the first would have a significant advantage. If you are set on making your wizard your PC, you are right that you will have to decide whether combat or dialogue are more important to you. For combat, if you were playing a ranged wizard I'd say you could safely dump Res, and don't forget Per. Mig/Dex/Int/Per are all pretty important for a wizard. As a melee perhaps leave it at 10. That said, keep two things in mind: 1) As a class, you have access to things like Arcane Veil and Spirit Shield to make up for low Deflection and Concentration, respectively. 2) There would be no dialogue difference between having 10 Res and anything lower, as checks (at least in the base game) range from 11-19. As I've posted elsewhere, I'd like to know if the expansion has added any new checks above 19. For soloing, I'd be leary of dumping Res. In a party, however, if you are using a reach weapon (like those conjured by spells), I have seen other players make a case for dumping Res, based on the above. YMMV of course. Edit: The player I was thinking of made the case for dumped Res in this post. He was, to be fair, talking about a ranged wizard and not a melee one. The most sensible thing (combat-wise) for a melee wizard in a party might be to have 10 Res and put those points into Per. You can always respec at any inn now in 2.0, and fine-tune to taste.

I'm glad you found some of that useful. IIRC the Pliambo per Casitas wiki entry happens to be accurate, and Durance would be a good candidate for it, especially if you can spare the talent point. Personally I found it hard to justify doing that pre-2.0, because there are so many good priest talents for Interdiction and Holy Radiance. I could have dropped Aggrandizing Radiance for the +10 arquebus accuracy, though. I still had Inspiring Radiance, which is the important talent to have for Holy Radiance. Thing is, once his low level spells become spammable (starting at level 9), there are just so many buffs you might want to cast before he fires a single shot. But, especially for that Marking effect, you could certainly make a case for still getting a shot off somewhere. That stat spread looks good for a ranged cipher in a party on Hard. Have fun!

You're welcome. I don't know of any list breaking them down, but the highest attribute checks I ever saw or read about in the base game were 19, and none lower than 11, so you don't get penalized for dumping stats for dialogue or scripted events. I'd like to know if they have added any higher than 19 in the expansion or not.

While I haven't tried it yet, I'm with you that it sounds cool. Here are my thoughts. That thread also discusses what Backstab does and does not stack with.

Resting bonuses are a different source type than items, so they should stack regardless.

Seems like a decent stat spread and good advice generally. Now, those +spell items, last I checked, required either Wizard or Priest, and none worked for Druid. Am I deceived, or has this changed?

1) Wait what?? Silver Tide is now once per encounter? I still haven't had time to really get into the expansion yet. Can anyone else confirm this as well? 2) All four difficulties vary by the number of enemies. Occasionally they might vary by type as well, like replacing a few weak xaurips with a stronger type of xaurip. Only PoTD also affects the stats of enemies. 3) For my PoTD party (meaning it'll work even better for lower difficulties), I have a PC paladin main and Eder as tanks, Aloth the wizard and Durance, Hiravias the druid, and Grieving Mother the cipher. I really like the synergy in this composition. Make sure to adjust a custom formation to your liking, and fights can be really well controlled like this. You will also be very versatile in terms of everything you might need to face different challenges. Multiple of these companions can DPS, CC, and debuff, in slightly different ways that you can choose from based on the specifics of the situation, and Durance is great for buffs among other things. One tank race that didn't get mentioned is the Wild Orlan, which was certainly popular pre-2.0, especially for tanking dragons with their fear auras which would keep their defenses high. As I mentioned, I haven't played much in 2.0, so I can't tell you whether tanks are squishy enough now to get good use out of abilities like Silver Tide. Pre-2.0, Silver Tide sounded great on paper, but hardly saw any use after about level 6, when a well-built tank could become practically invincible outside of a small handful of fights. Now I really don't know how the changes have affected that, but I still think a Wild Orlan is an option worth mentioning.

Seems like you've received some good advice, but to go back to your original question, if anything enemies would tend to be easier to hit than before. Enemy and NPC stat spreads have not been adjusted AFAIK. That means anyone with over 10 Per is going to have less Deflection (be easier to hit) and more Accuracy (be better at hitting). These effects can compound. For instance, if you have more than 10 Per and you're attacking an enemy with more than 10 Per, your Accuracy will be higher and his Deflection will be lower, making him easier to hit than before. The reverse is true: these compounding effects (in addition to other Deflection nerfs from items and abilities/talents), make your characters squishier than before, if you and the enemy both have at least 10 Per. If anything, this makes Per less "needed" since most enemies will be easier to hit even if you only have 10 Per. However, on PoTD, there are certainly enemies that you'll want to stack all the Accuracy you can against.

All classes have the same limitation: their new abilities aren't usable until level 13. Intended, not a big deal, and nothing to feel disadvantaged about since it has nothing to do with your class.

To the last two posters, keep in mind the OP is looking to play ranged. Not saying spirit shift is terrible now, it's just not what he's looking for.