Mocker22

Gorrath what type of class do you normally play, or want to play in PoE, so we can suggest a build. Do you want super high dmg output, if so from what type of char. Do you like spellcasting, etc. This is definitely a game that does not have one clear cut omgwtfpwnt class.

You provide no "strong" counterargument? In fact your point rest on the assumption that the mechanics of the game are only there to further your particular style of play and internal and logical consitency must naturally take a backseat to this.. Which I disagree with, as do many others. So why is this argument "stronger" than prefering the artistic integrity of the developers original idea of the character is preserved? I'm not sure I understand the problem with re speccing companions, you do realize that if the OP was able to re spec companions and chose to do so that those companions wouldn't suddenly change in your game as well right? Those changes effectively take place in a Vacuum inside that one players game and no where else, and just because the option is there doesn't mean YOU have to use it..... This is the most important point to me. I would LOVE to play with the available companions, but my god the stats are bad. I'm the type of gamer who likes to optimize, so sue me. There is no excuse to not let us respect the companions, as those players who don't want to don't have to!! Also it is very important to point out that the mechanics of the game have changed a lot since these characters were created. Perception was changed entirely! I do understand the concept of keeping characters true to their personalities, but at the same time make the companions at least decent. I cannot easily think of one companions where their stats don't make me cringe. Maybe Kana for how I would play him? And I can't really recall Hiravas's weaknesses.

Wayfarer made some good general points about party-building. BTW, Andrea = Lady of Pain, and KDbuya is Juggernaut monk. Might make looking easier. In my opinion most classes can be very powerful, although Chanters are a bit underpowered. They can do some cool stuff but feel horribly slow and boring to play for me personally. If you have any classes that sound very interesting start with that. You can find builds that will be powerful for them all. For your first 1-2 playthrough's I would enjoy whatever class and companions speak to you and then start to worry about powerful builds and hirelings for Path of the Damned. Focus on learning as much as you can about the different spells available. A well played wizard, or a lot of priest buffs can be a total game changer. Also, it is KEY to have balance in a group. While pure melee, or pure caster groups, etc are viable and can be fun, at this point I think you should find balance.

My last playthrough I had 200,00 gold AFTER buying every piece of gear I wanted from merchants.....

To put it simply I don't see this group working. No Wiz, Priest, or Cipher, and your NPC can only be one of them. Is it possible, yes, but for me personally that would be a very painful playthrough.

Boer you mentioned Cladhaliath as a good candidate here. One of the possible enchantments is allies attacking your target get +10 ACC. Has anyone tested if this stacks with the bonus from Coordinated Attacks? Also curious if Coordinated Attacks is going to stack with other ACC buffs. I'm assuming it stacks with Zealous Focus or what would be the point, but I still get confused by what stacks and what doesn't. Thanks

Some more information about how your party is specced might help us give more specific advice, but here are some general tips. Start the fight with your party far to the bottom left of the map and have your highest endurance tank take the first breath attack. Make sure your party has consumed food items to boost key stats such as Con, Mig, and Per. While your party is out of range of the dragon, have durance buffing them with the best preist buffs possible(Devontions of the Faithful, Champion's Boon, Crown of the Faithful, and Dire Blessing would be the most important). You want to get their accuracy and damage as high as possible. Accuracy buffs will help immensely with making hits and spells land. I would have Aloth and/or one of your ciphers use AoE CC to keep the adds from piling up on your team. Ideally once Aloth is buffed you'll get lucky and have a Gaze of the Adragan actually land on the dragon....but don't cast it until your party is in position to make the most of it. Also any debuffs you can land could help a ton, but in the end getting any spells to stick on dragons is going to be tough. Adra dragon should be a lot easier than the Alpine though. Again, specifics about your teammates skills and gear could help. At a glance that team does not have a lot of damage output which could make this fight even more difficult.

Quick question related to the build. Does the attack speed bonus from Frenzy stack with Hastening Exhortation?

Ya I always run a minimum of two tanks, sometimes as many of 4. You'll need at least two though to have a shot at keeping agro, and they need to be doing damage. Also be smart about what you target. Don't let a ranged dps target the mob that hasn't been harmed at all by the tanks.

Hello Guys, does Convert Hits to Crits buffs stack? i.e Hearth Orlan + Rogue Talent + Preist Buff + Paladin Aura = 40% hits convert to crit? Thanks

For me the coolest thing about Wizards is finding great spell/ability combinations. You got to look at everything the wizard is doing. Things like Combusting Wounds add up a ton when cast near a barbarian or a chanter with dragon's phrase going(or both!). If you take a cerebral approach and have fun experimenting you might enjoy them way more too.

Man I don't posses the stones to try Cali at level 6 lol. I'm thinking like 8-9 I'll give it a go. Still might be a bit challenging.

In my opinion pick companions that you know you might use for later playthroughs. If your not going to hire any more NPCs then I would pick up Aloth and Durance for sure, as you should start learning how all the different spells work. Then probably Pallegina for a tank and then pick either Sagani or Hiravas for another source of DPS. P.S. Ciphers really shine at CC so don't focus to much on dps. They only get a couple good DPS abilities imo.

So I've got this build up to level 6 right now, and I'm loving it so far. I decided to focus on talents that boost damage for my wolf and took two-handed style, before going for Weapon focus. Kana's Fine Estoc with a burning lash is destroying right now, so I'll probably take Weapon focus at level 8. Stalker's Link does a ton to help make up the difference, and I did end up starting with 12 perception so that helps a touch too. What level do you think getting Tidefall will be possible for PotD. Group is Juggernaut Monk, Tank pally, preist, wiz, and the 6th slot is fairly open. Right now I'm using Hiravas. All of the druid DoTs work wonders for boosting pet dps, add in Combusting Wounds and your rocking. Raedric fight was a joke with an all level 5 party.

So I'm wondering what your main reasoning for maxing out intel is. Sure there are a couple of items/abilities that would have a longer duration but is it really necessary? I don't like dropping stats too low so I'll prob keep Resolve around 7-8. Do you think some points from int could be bettered served in perception or even con/res to make you a little more tanky. You make good points about the lack of perception, but hey more never hurt, that's for sure.

Very cool looking build. Think I'm going to start a playthrough with it ASAP. Lots of cool roleplaying possibilities here as well. Jon Snow fanbois anyone?

Ya man my problem is I always have too many characters I want to try. Just the short list would be Wiz - melee and standard Barb - Tall Grass to start then switch to dual battle axes Plenty more but one of those will be my next one. Might run a wiz main for roleplay purposes and then have a nice barb hireling. Also wanting to try a solo run through. Probably with a wiz as I'm just a caster fanboi always.

Almost done with a play through with this build. Gotta say I really am liking it. Consistently hitting in the 80-90s range, attack fast, and can tank like a mofo if needed. First really hard fight in a while was the Alpine Dragon. Gotta admit, I spammed Petrify until it landed and just went to town on him but was still impressed by the dmg. Getting to the point in the game where I am ready to try one of the next 1000 toons I want to make so I gotta stay strong and finish this playthrough.

Thanks guys.... I searched the wiki and didn't find it....needed to just search for the ring page .

Cool Layout man. Looks like it would be a lot of fun to try.

Sorry guys, I can't for the life of me remember where Ring of Thorns comes from. Thanks for the help. Mocker

I absolutely love that the devs are constantly looking at balance etc. Yes, this is a single player game so balance has less impact overall but in my experience almost all the changes made have been quite positive. Many classes have improved and I feel like all of the classes are playable within their roles, if not all OPed....chanters may be the exception here. I find them very underwhelming and quite boring to play too boot. You can always tailor classes to your particular likes/dislikes. Avoid classes you find OP. Also try running with less than a full party if you can to increase difficulty. Or Solo.

Personally I don't like the idea of puzzles or that sort of thing. I'm the type who would rather just smash through mobs. I do love the idea of defending a position though. The stronghold might offer some very fun fights if random monsters didn't just pop into your keep(which I built huge walls around right....?) I also do like the idea of more scripted or designed fights. More mini-bosses and less trash would add an awful lot to the fairly tedious long dungeon crawls. All in all though I find PoE dungeons, etc to be less tedious than most RPGs.

Yup. I think it was like 15-16 Might check. Thanks guys I never knew about this guy.

Rogue isn't required in any way....other classes can learn the mechanics skill. No wizard I'm sure is possible but I personally will always have one. Just too darn good once you get your high level CC spells. If you don't want a wiz you'll certainly need a good CC cipher I would say.