dreamrider

Anyone know exactly which Quests/Tasks become unavailable (or lose options) if you open Act II as quickly as possible? Likewise for Quest/Tasks that become OBE if you proceed ASAP to Act III & Act IV? I am working on a detailed "desirable sequence of playthrough". Probably for a future solo run. There are some side results/items in the later Acts that would have great relevance to earlier areas if you could push straight through to (carefully) acquire them sooner rather than later. For example, it would be pretty desirable to quickly work through to reach Twin Elms, and the "At The Mercy of the Tribes" quest, so you could pick up the Dungeon Delver talent before going back to deal with some trap and lock heavy areas. A referral to a previous thread that discussed this would be fine. I ran some searches but didn't really hit anything very relevant.

I presume, however, that Firebrand (since it's gonna be there, as a bene from BotRDC) would be the weapon of choice against a crush-proof foe? (I note here that I checked the wiki - none of the PoE dragons are immune to both crush and burn...neither are the Eyeless - for whatever that is worth.)

So, Boeroer, on a Monk wearing the Belt ot RDC, with high deflection that slows Wound accumulation in early battle, would you recommend sparking off Firebrand in the early rounds before there are enough wounds to call The Long Pain? I sometimes feel like my Firebrand feature is under utilized, but then I do have a rational understanding that is partly because I have been using the PC to level up soulbound weapons a lot. Especially since some of his soulbound features (Weakened, Dazed) can contribute to the soulbound leveling of partner characters.

Ok, I had a couple of days without internet, so I am just catching up on the last bit of that conversation...some of which is a little hard to follow without scratch paper and a calculator. (Yeah, I know. I'm on a computer, so I HAVE a calculator. Still, you get the idea.) My take away from the last several postings is: Considering that the v3.07 version of the Hunting Bow "Persistance" comes with: -Wounding (DoT) enchantment, +25% DoT, which does not get any additional boost from Crits; -Damage III enchantment, which includes +45% Damage AND a +4 ACC boost already (unlike earlier versions of "Persistance"); -20% graze-to-hit conversion enchantment... … and further given that the Damaging III enchantment counts as the one allowed "Quality" enchantment on the weapon ... … It probably does not pay to "up-enchant" the Quality of "Persistance" from Damaging III to Exceptional. The "up-enchant" to Exceptional would increase ACC by +4, and reduce Damage Bonus by 15%. Previous discussion (Plug in arcane math from above thread here) says that, on a Woods Elf Monk (no Ranger ACC boosts), and with +0.4 Crit multiplier bonus (various sources), the damage boost from the +4 increase in ACC would only translate to somewhere between 8-10% additional damage, as opposed to the +15% Damage from Damage III that would be given up. I figure that the Woods Elf ACC boost would be pretty much a wash, as it would have equal impact on both the Damaging III version and the Exceptional version of the bow. Oh, well. Already did the enchant some days ago, based on the earliest response, before the above detailed discussion. I'm scarcely displeased with her current performance, and I'm taking her to Superb as soon as I can get another dragon eye, anyway. I cheesed out of the Alpine dragon confrontation, so pierce vs crush is less of an issue for the moment. But... … good to know for future. Stick with Damaging III over Exceptional, for Ranger, Monk, probably all characters. (Not sure about a Rogue, don't know enough about their powers.)

Wearing Gwist Glas, the only time the PC's defense ever gets in trouble is if I allow him to get surrounded. Even a single leaker / flanker is OK, because he is turdy enough to turn away from the front long enough to kick in the penetrator, then turn back around. Oh. and dragon breath / slam.

Well, all of Evan's close buddies have learned their way around their L16 powers now. There are still growing pains. And the big menu of action decisions slows down combat. The Battery is cleared! The White Forge is alive again! Durganized armor! Yea! Forge Guardians! Boo! The Long Pain! Yea! I had hoped to leave the remaining apprentice sorcerer Uariki in peace. It fit my role play. But then I had to go back to Craigholt for ... well, anyway, she doesn't like, um, 'self-selected and appropriated rewards'. THAT was a very tough fight. DO NOT get a character caught inside the weapons lab when all those floaters turn hostile. Try to take out the wands as soon as you can, however they are not as squishy as kith junior wizards would be. Looking to find and set up the last of potential allies for Yenwood Field next. The Doemenels, and the ogres have sent word, and I have plenty of funds for a nice mercenary hire. I can re-balance my castle household troops toward nastiness...er...high security value. But I have rumors of a "lost battalion" in the mountains that might be worth knowing better. The even build continues to work just fine. Damage very good, hit rate excellent, sturdiness quite fine. Actually, if there is one complaint, it is that the PC is rather hard to hit and slow to gain those first couple of Wounds. Slows down the decisive action on a Monk PC. I think if I take Resonant Touch next time, it may help with that. Based on my experience with Zahua, there is an 'undocumented effect' whereby a Monk with Resonant Touch takes 1-3 Wounds at Combat Start. Makes Zahua a deadly whirlwind; PC with TLP and RT might be even better.

Ended up with "no style". In part because I was in doubt if an implement, firing magical "bolts", EVER benefited from Style. (As mentioned above, Doesn't...until the next title.) And even more importantly, just ran out of Talent slots !!

Boeroer, Is it worth it to enchant Persistance to Exceptional, pending getting the 2 (what the...!?!) dragon's eyes needed for Superb? She will lose he Damage 3 bonus if one does this. She loses damage bonus, from +45% to +30%, but her accuracy bonus rises from +4 to +8. With the Wounding Damage-over-Time effect, more shots that connect is a particularly good thing. Also, the way the Hit calculation works, higher ACC will yield a relatively higher damage scaling out of the possible damage spread, sooo… …how do you think the balance comes out? Obviously, when the PC gets 2 Sky Dragon Eyes there is almost nothing that would be a better use than raising Persistance to Superb. +12 ACC and +45% DAM.

Now, if you could get these Blessings based on your PoE 1 Achievements, one time only (unless you re-Achieved on a later playthrough), THAT would be cool.

Ok, so a typical Wizard spends most of his/her time holding and fighting with an implemtent and a grimoire. Agreed? So... What is the correct Fighting Style to support this combination of weapons/gear? Two Weapon Style? (Clearly, with Grimoire Slam [at least] the grimoire can be a weapon.) One-handed Weapon Style? (Admittedly the least likely, given the requirement to assign an implement as if it required two hands, but per animations the implement is clearly held and used in one hand, with the grimoire in the off hand.) Two-handed Weapon Style? (Basically the complimentary arguments to the above set of ambiguities.) … or even... Weapon and Shield Style (Again, admittedly a stretch, but the grimoire IS handled rather like a shield.) I'm actually NOT joking around here. I am building my first wizard, and realized that I had no idea what weapon style Talent would apply and help the wizard with the tools of his trade. What do people normally use? Or perhaps a better question, do ANY of the Weapon Style choices assist a wizard with an implement?

Well, this week Evan is running around the lower White March, intimidating & befriending ogres and generally cleaning up all the unsavory types that have been making life hard for Stalwart. And...we may have even found a way into the Battery. Suspect Evan should remember to wear his old favorite Bartender's (Spirit Bane) Ring when we open THAT door, though. That hermit animancer Galvino is a real curmudgeon SOB, but I kinda like him. Not enough to save his hiney if the Devil girl decides she can't tolerate her soul-bottler any more, but in a "Oh, isn't the old snapping turtle ugly-cute" sort of way. And, for the first time, Evan is running with a party of 6! Having reached the xp limit on all companions now, via solo play and some duo travel Companion quests, I am in the process of building out all the Companions to max. Since I was in the White March when I got the last of the Companions up to 120000 xp, I am currently running with a party of 16th level, built & equipped, Zuhua (2 L16 Monks is Great!), Maneha, Devil oC, Grieving Mother (she is carrying a soulbound weapon we are trying to get enough use on to raise the bind level), and Durance (he was the tail-end-Charlie guy on getting full xp.) The other who has been fully built out so far is Eder. For awhile, while trying to drag a low-level Durance over the xp line, Is was running a small party of L16 Eder, flanked by L16 Evan, and L16 Zahua (with Durance tucked away somewhere safe in the distan backfield.) THAT was kind of a meat-grinder of a line. Lagus did NOT like it … but they didn't survive long so it didn't matter. Alpine Dragon. … Doh! … My advice: Talk your way through that one. He doesn't drop anything all that great except dragon meat, anyway. BTW, "Talking your way through" that one includes "do not mess with the dragons nest after he has let you off the hook." Believe it. Tah.

First: Fire godlike, messing with the "new toy" and with a sorta retaliator build idea. 2nd: Woods Elf, deliberately planning on a very rangy MC. (monk)

He HAS to become a pet skull ! Harry will NEED him.

After the initial quest where you meet Azzuro in the keep, and solve a small quest involving securing his trade routes, there seem to be two subsequent types of Azzuro visits. a) He may show up with something to offer you for sale. You can handle this via the stronghold interface. Within a day he leaves if you do not respond. If you purchase, he leaves immediately. b) You may get an announcement of Azzuro as a "prestigious visitor", who will stay for ~8+ days. He does not appear as an interacting character in the Hall, nor anywhere else in the compound. It appears that this version of visit is just intended to give a Prestige boost for the term of the visit, similar to the negative Prestige effect of a "bad" visitor, although if there is a boost it does not get shown in the Stronghold interface, the action log, or anywhere else I have been able to identify.

Evan is L16 now. Did just a few small quests in / around Twin Elms just to make that final level, and to finish off some Compainion Quests. All of the Original Eight have revealed all their secrets and inner pains now, except Durance. He is getting close - I just haven't been camping with him that much. Since the MC is maxed out now, I am hauling along a party of five, still at entry level, to receive their share of xps for current actions. Evan is doing most (all) the heavy lifting, however, "leading by example". Evan, and Sefyra, the Adra Dragon: Yea ! All of Caed Nua is mine ! From the adra deeps to the pinnacle pennants. Sefyra is returned to the Wheel, and the good huntress Falanroed is still watching over Galawain's Shrine. (I was afraid for awhile that to defeat the Master (Mistress?) below, I might finally have to retrain, but with the proper application of Rest, Boon, Duality of Mortal Presence setting, crafting some Potions of Major Endurance & Paralyze scrolls, Evan worked through it … and demonstrated for his five hangers-on how you smack down a dragon in a pit … with you. So the balanced build is still working out.) BTW, for those who don't know, the Adra Dragon is now (v.3.0x +) IMMUNE to Petrify, so ignore all those earlier days walkthroughs and videos that show you how to use a Gaze of the Adragan trap. Paralyze and Charm (Whisper of Treason) work like a <ahem> charm, however. You do need to plan ahead though, because Paralyze scrolls require Lore 8, at least as a temporary buff. By this point in the game you should be able to craft all that you need relatively cheaply. Whisper of Treason will require one of 2-3 possible unique gear items, or a cipher. Straight out fighting will require high move speed, that corrode breath will put down anyone. All approaches require that you have decent resistance to adragans / Petrify (high fortitude, diminish affliction abilities/enchantments). Put the adragans down as fast as you can; you can't effectively run around kiting the dragon, shoot-and-scoot, while the addies are occasionally pinning you. It is hard to get past the Adra Dragon toward either the adragans to the east, or the xaurips / cave extension on the southeast when you first enter L15. Sefrya sits right between those two routes, and will move to you and start your conversation even if you are sneaking at the very edge of the room. My suggestion: Come down the rockslide, sneak west, then around the south rock lip toward the xaurips in the southeast. Sefyra will come down to you and talk. Choose options that sympathize with her, and take her quest. Go out to Black Meadow, meet with Falanroed. I prefer to warn Falanroed and anger the dragon. Return to EPON L15. The dragon will be where you left her, down to the southeast near the xaurips. This allows you to sneak up along the northern embankment and engage the adragans for quite a long time before the dragon, or even xaurips, move to intervene. Beware of adragan Petrify (keep moving around), and be aware that the adragans will call some earth/wind/rain blights to harass you. They don't hurt a high-level PC very much, so keep focused on putting down the adragans. But don't get pinned in by the minions, because your luck will be that THAT'S when the dragon will saunter into the fray.

That reminds me. I want to cold cycle my PC before I play again...

Do the Preservation feature of the Ring of Thorns, and the Preservation from Solace or Little Savior shield STACK ?! Huh! I guess they should. Different classes of gear. (That being the case, I want to find a way to fight from a prone position.) ==================================================================================== On another, earlier discussion in the thread: I wonder if the engine actually recognizes when The Long Pain is at contact range, as opposed to a distant target, and applies Turning Wheel to the melee strikes? In other words, are the bonus calculation parameters range-based rather than Ability-based?

"Hehe - actually... no. It's fine for me to answer questions. I also get some PMs with questions around mechanics and character creation on a regular basis and so far I never felt annoyed because of that." ======================================================================================================================== Well, THAT is spectacularly reassuring, for some of us.

Apply a bit of Arthur C. Clarke logic to the story situation. Even though the current pantheon of gods were 'constructed': - If it walks like a god, talks like a god, wields essentially unlimited ethereal power like a god, is omnipresent like a god, and manipulates mankind like a god … … it is for all practical purposes a god, to an Eoran mortal's frame of reference.

Help, please. After opening up Act III recently, my current character was making the rounds to clear up / profit from several Bounty Quests. One place she had to go was back to the Defiance Bay catacombs. So while she was there, after clearing out the nest of undead for the Bounty quest, I decided to have her clean out the Defiance Bay cell of Leaden Key operatives, the ones who meet under the ruin of the Temple of Woedica. I was done with their quests, they were evil, and there was a bit of loot to be had. From one of the operatives' corpses, probably the Acolyte, I recovered a Quest Item. The Lead Key. The engine automatically added this keyt to the Quest Item portion of my party's Stash. Does anyone know what this Lead Key does? Or what Quest it would be used in? What chest or door it opens? Obviously it is not an essential, single path item, since I was able to complete all of the Acolyte quests, indeed all of the Act II quests without it. But not knowing what it does, or how to acquire it without an armed confrontation with the Acolyte crew is driving me nuts. Note: The official wiki does not turn up any entry for an item titled Lead Key. Lots on "The Leaden Key", the organization, of course, but nothing on this item.

(Made a comment in another thread, then realized it was in effect an up date on Evan tEH. So copied part of it here.) I just made L15, shortly after the beginning of Act III, completionist, and progress is actually gradually getting easier. There have been perhaps half a dozen "You are dead" map start reloads throughout the game so far. There has been NO point where I have said, "This would work better with maxed ____ stat." In fact, without it really being a goal, I have found myself choosing gear, boons, etc, mostly to keep the stats pretty balanced. Currently, unbuffed for any particular encounter, but wearing my favored all-purpose gear, the character's stats are: 17 / 15 / 16 / 15 / 15 / 16. I am currently smashing through a series of Bounties, pretty straightforwardly (OK, pretty much like Wyatt Earp thru Arizona {look it up}), looking for the cool robe Gwis Glas, which I understand is a Bounty reward. I want to take it with me on the Durgan's Battery Quest, in order durgan-ify the robe as my end game body armor. I think if I do a subsequent similar run, I will probably experiment with choosing "1 up, 1 down" among the paired Attributes, MIG/CON, DEX/PER, and INT/RES, but not more than that for now. That will keep Other Defenses relatively high across the board. I think some of the keys for the build are: 1) Strive to raise Action Speed - don't ignore Might and Damage, but emphasize Action Speed; 2) strive to raise Deflection - is there any build that this is not true for? - but do it first compared to Other Defenses, trusting that the initial relatively high Fort/Refl/Will are enough for the first few levels; 3) As you are reaching middle development, look to include some items that either defend against all spells, or raise Fortitude in particular. (Of course, doesn't hurt if the same item raises Reflex and Will as well.) 4) If you are going to try solo, or run solo on a lot of missions to increase xp production, give the character some defensive Talents in the middle levels. I like Body Control. Besides, it is very Monk-ish. 5) Probably true for all solo runs, but you need a lot of Mechanics, ultimately (about the time the character goes to general level 13-14) up to about Lvl 8. With the help of the right buffs, many lockpicks, and a few judiciously horded Rites of Hidden Wonders, that will get you through virtually all the locks and traps you will encounter. An interesting psychological effect that I have noticed in working with this build. The initial theme that I started out with was, in effect, "balance". Looking back, I find that that idea colored all my choices of Attributes, Talents, Skills, and items. Some of that was forced by the fact that I was mostly soloing the character, but much of it was also the sub-conscious continuation of the theme. And it has served very well.

Why, Thank You.

Wait, what? You mean you hadn't 'improved' Raedric into potting soil before you ever got to Caed Nua? Shame on you. There are laws about leaving garbage lying about. BTW, you can beat Raedric (and pretty much all his minions) with just your MC, if you are very careful. After all, how else could anyone ever solo the game?

Besides, his skull is just the coolest pet EVER ! Especially for a Monk. (of course, once you have the skull, you are required to rename your character Harry. Mandatory.)

I have now used Company Captain's Cap A LOT, many encounters (though only one run through - I took it early, though). I am quite confident that it only triggers once per encounter. I AM uncertain what logic the AI uses to select which opponent goes yellow. It often SEEMS like it is the strongest opponent in contact, but that could be a consequence of the strongest opponent being the most likely to Crit.