Boeroer

I fried my PC's power supply unit today while I was trying out the Berserker with the high heels... (don't think it was really the game's fault but it happened while playing). The new one will be here on Monday. No Deadfire until then.

In the beginning the self damage part isn't that punishing imo because encounters are quite short and the self dmg ticks quite low. He fell over a few times but not that often. I mean I knew what I build there so I took extra care. Of course it helps immensely to have Lay on Hands in the party.

If you are looking for healing then Druids are the better option anyways imo - so Hiravias would do.

I played a Berserker/Helwalker (even with Hylea's Talons) and he was actually very good. As soon as you have decent healing options in the party there's no other Monk combo that has such fast wound generation. Spend your wounds all the time and pick Rooting Pain. Just make sure you are not confused anymore because else your own Rooting Pain procs will interrupt you. Jack has Savage or even Stalwart Defiance though which works well enough for a Berserker/Helwalker if you have Voidward, too. A bad combo is maybe Unbroken/Debonaire? Psion/Monk could also be... suboptimal. Yes, it's great. The best part about Unflinching is imo that you can get rid of any affliction - no matter the tier - completely by alternating between >50% and <50%. If you are paralyzed and then drop below 50%, then get healed back up to over 50% you will only be immobilized. Drop below 50% again and get healed up and you're only hobbled and so on. It happens from time to time just with the natural flow of battle, especially if you are a Berserker who has to get healed every now and then. It's like the chanter phrases that apply resistance periodically and will remove afflictions gradually. Note that the Corpse Eater food only raises Barbarian PLs. Unfortunaly it wouldn't do anything for your Monk abilities (unless Elric changed that).

I find SC Trickster lacks sturdyness in the later game. His Deflection and Reflex can be good but the rest... Also the engagement is low unless you get special gear and then pick Persistant Distraction. So far I want to bring those: - SC Kind Wayfarer pistolero (Shared White Flames) - SC mortar Streetfighter (Gambit) - SC Beckoner or Troubadour (skeletons) A Berserker with Grave Calling could be helpful as "tank"? If he's the main char I could give him Abraham. The healing from White Flames + Chilling Grave skeleton kills (Abraham's healing for 10 points per kill) would keep him alive easily. It's just so that a) my poor, poor graphics card and b) too good in a one-trick-pony way to be fun? Maybe if I let him operate on AI completely and make him a Pale Elf with all the freeze-AR and fortitude I can get? I will get freeze-paralyzed by Grave Calling eventually... But with DEX and PER resistances and the Chanter's chants it might get might removed periodically though... Or just not take the paralyze effect? Or wear Sandals of the Water Lily maybe? Don't have to care about the defenses too much if everything is paralyzed except you? Hm... Berserker with Water Lily sandals. I like it. I already played a solo SC Furyshaper - so while that's cool I wouldn't like the repetition I guess. I tried a SC Black Jacket once but it was a bit too boring yet required so much micro due to being build around switchig weapon sets all the time. Although doing a Clean Sweep with Morning Star and then Ngati's Tusk seems to be a good way to lower all defenses in an AoE pretty quickly without too much fuss. The good thing about Barb and Fighter is that they can both get a good number of engagement slots easily (Defender Stance/Barbaric Shout). And they don't need a ton of attention. I haven't thought about SC Cipher yet. With Borrowed Instincts and stuff... could he be sturdy enough to survive an initial onslaught and also get off some spells? Maybe Beguiler who doesn't need the dmg output? Just cast Deceptions? Get some engagement gear? I wouldn't want to operate with Mind Control too much because it messes up AI (which is supposed to run at least the Paladin). Also it would be cool to let the "tank" get run by AI, too. Doesn't sound like caster to me then... What could be a AI friedly caster is Wizard. Just setup a selfbuffing routine I think and then cast whatever debuffs/CC. I could also see the SC Beckoner or Troubadour being that "tank". The engagment can be substituted with summons and I wouldn't need offensive attributes at all. So everything could go into defense. After all his main purpose is to give fuel to the Paladin. If he's also tanking a bit... Also the AI setup is fairly easy then...? On the otehr hand I wanted to run Sure Handed Ila in the backline. Argh...

Yes, maybe... My "tank" doesn't need to deal a lot of damage. He's just there to bind foes initially while the rest of the party unleashes their stuff. Would be cool to debuff the enemies on the fly as well. I was thinking about Cap of the Laughingstock + Ngati's Tusk with max Survival for late game - so all defenses get -10 or more without any hit roll...?

A Harbinger can distract himself with the upgraded Wisps summon. I mean if not using blunderbusses. You can also wear Deltro's Cage Helmet then and get a little shocking lash because the Wisps do shock dmg. Their dmg is pretty pathetic so you don't need to fear the shots. I view them as my personal essence batteries that power me up in order to get over the little cheesyness of letting my own summons attack me.

Yeah, given that you already "pay" with a lot of health it's def. too expensive. I did a few test runs with Kind Pistolfarer and he can heal himself up good enough with (White) Shared Flames while running Sacred Immolation. I plan on upgrading to the healing part so that I'd only activate it once enemies reach may backline (where I'll be standing). It will then damage enemies while potentially healing my allies and I think that's a good failsafe. I want good(not necessarily maxed) INT, MIG, DEX and PER - the classic damage dealer attributes. But I won't drop CON too low. RES on the other hand can go down I think. Thinking about doing a Single Class only playthrough... What should the tank (or the one guy who engages and draws all the attention first) be? SC Fighter? They are a bit lame but I found a fun combo with a SC Wizard who would cast a biiig Pull of Eora on the Fighter (who is immune to pull effects) who then does Clean Sweep with Body Blows. It's push-pull-push-pull-push-pull and pretty hilarious against numerous weaker enemies - but I fear it's not good against tough nuts...? Other ideas for a SC tank (non-Paladin and non-Chanter because I already have those)? Stalker with Whirling Strikes? Forbidden Fist? Berserker (keep in mind the White Flames and stuff) who could kill my skellies for unlimited Zeal right away? SC Wizard (maybe horrible against Arcane Dampener)? Furyshaper with Blood Ward? Woukd be cool to bring official companions and Sidekicks...

Eh, yes, I meant Scordeo's Trophy, sorry.

I think I'll settle for Scordeo's Edge Trophy + Eccea's Arcane Blaster for my SC Kind Wayfarer. The shooting speed is awesome with Rushed Reload + Opening Barrage and OB also speeds up the rest of my recovery (for everything else - reactivity is important). With RIng of Focused Flame, Ring of the Marksman and Acina's Tricorn + the build-in +10 ACC from FoD I can afford to use Rushed Reload + dual wielding + Two Weapon Style instead of single pistol. I know by using pistols I'll miss the PLs from stuff like Magran's Favor etc. - but I don't really care that much because I will be shooting so fast and Zeal will be endless (chanter in party, don't know yet whether Beckoner or Troubadour). For Shared Flames to be good I need to stand amidst my comrades, too. Also for AI ranged combat is easier to manage since little movement is involved. And I never really leaned into a proper pistol build, so yay... At the highest levels this guy will just shoot until his barrels melt. As backup I have scepters (modal always on bc. self damage gets healed immediately). They are a little slower but have higher ACC and of course the sweet crush damage. If I shoot the non-pierce immune enemies first I'll have some stacks of Opening Barrage that can be used for the scepters, too. Sorry for derailing the thread.

Wait a sec... did I just see two procs of White Flames from one shot because of a bounce? I used Fire in the Hole... Would a Kind Wayfarer/Ranger with Driving Flight and Fire in the Hole + another weapon do 5 procs? Is that known/confirmed? Because if it is I think I found my preferred weapon(s) on this SC Kind Wayfarer... because with Powder Burns it's also very easy to kill the non-scaling skellies of Many Lives Pass By - even if they get healed by my own actions. Edit: nope. There's just two entries in the log that are based on the same healing action.

Yes, some alternative would have been nice. But you don't have to use Flames of Devotion, Sacred Immolation or Brand Enemy. You'll still have auto attacks and Lay on Hands and all the other non-fire stuff. I do like Inspired Beacon. With a SC Paladin you'll have enough Zeal at the highest levels (with the proper party) that its cost doesn't matter much and +40% dmg and blinded foes is pretty nice if you don't have to manage Zeal a lot. Combine with 20% dmg from Sworn Enemy and your dmg output isn't bad even against fire immune enemies. And at least against Vessels, Spirits and all summoned creatures the SC Paladin has an alternative. By the way: can a confused Paladin cast Exortations on himself? Edit: tested it quickly - no, the Paladin cannot.

There's no Power Level cap. Speaking of FoD... I think in my next run I want to try a SC Kind Wayfarer with a Chanter in the party (for unlimited Zeal). I could just trigger SI and then spam FoD endlessly for healing and damage - which should be really easy to setup in AI as a "hands-off" type of character. I find that I forget my fifth party members more and more often so maybe it's time for a bot. Don't know yet whether ranged or melee weapons... but dual wielding I think.

Hahaha... Don't know how to help you with that.

I actually never imported any items with a character myself. I mean for testing purposes, yes - but nor for a real playthrough.

Yes, I kinda assumed 2 as average value. All that with 0 recovery malus from armor which is often overlooked when talking about dmg output.

? Helwalker/Ascendant works well right off the shelf bc. of the +10 MIG for more damage and soon with +10 INT fpr longer Ascension. If you don't want to come too close in the beginning you can also use a ranged weapon. For example Essence Interrupter + modal. It will ascend you very quickly. But Ghost Heart/Cipher with Frostseeker is also very good. But the high(est) ACC also comes a bit later via Borrowed Instincts + Tactical Meld. By the way Helwalker/Ascendant can also be played with Frostseeker. But Instruments of Pain + melee stuff has more impact at the highest levels, it's true.

The only invisibility effects that break on DoT nowadays are Shadowing Beyond from the Priest of Skaen (not the Rogue one) and Arkemyr's Brilliant Departure. Even the potion works with DoTs. I'm not 100% sure about Slippers of the Assassin but iirc that invisibility also doesn't break on DoT.

A good Shifter combo is Goldpact/Shifter imo. Bear armor (+2) + Paladin AR passives (+2) + Exalted Endurance (+1) and the "refilling" Gilded Enmity (+4 - doesn't stack with Exalted Endurance though) make him very sturdy. On top you can use Lay on Hands whenever you want. On top can come stuff like Blunting Belt etc. I would choose Bear form at the start of the fight because that's usually the part where you get attacked the most. Eternal Devotion stacks with Wildstrike and Inspired Beacon adds an additive dmg bonus that works for everything (even if it's rel. short). Eternal Devotion even works with all direct dmg/pulsing spells like Nature's Terror and Sacred Immolation. Stack Nature's Terror + Sacred Immolation (cast some proper healing spell like Moonwell or Nature's first though) and go to town. Overall damage is actually pretty good. Use Lay on Hands if you must to prevent KO by immolation. Taste of the Hunt would be superawesome for this build, but alas...

Ks ks ks, it's obviously Soul Shock, not Mind Wave. Also you guys forgot Mortar Monk™ - I mean seriously...

Actually I don't use Willbreaker on the Phantom because it can't use modals. Draining Touch on the other hand... I mean the main hand...

What I don't like about a martial Druid/Wizard (althoug it works) is the lack of any martial attack abilities besides Taste of the Hunt (which is awesome but only 2 per encounter max and doesn't even work with Shifter). Same with all combos that basically work well as a martial build but have no attack abilities. What I like most about martial Wizards in general is that you have a Phantom. I use that so much it's like an obsession. As Druid/Wizard your Phantom gets claws and armor when you summon it while shifted (doesn't work as shifter obviously). It will not look like it (both items don't actually have a model but are invisible. Your spiritshift form model is all that is needed for display. But your phantom won't have that model so its items will be non-visible) but will attack with claws/tusks etc. and have natural armor. You can check the combat log. Sadly stuff like Wildstrike or Boar DoT isn't attached to the claws/tusks themselves, so the Phantom won't have that. But for good AR the bear armor is great with 0 recovery - and for offense the cat claws are great because they have 1 sec less recovery but the same dmg as the others. Also it's kind of fun to see a naked Phantom be surprisingly sturdy and do okay damage with bare hand slaps. As a Druid/Wizard you can even get permanent claws as equippable items (looks like you use your fists since invisibe but with other animation iirc) : you go unarmed and then shift, then you cast Concelhaut's Draining Touch and then wait till combat ends. You will end up with a permanent claw or tusk or antler (or whatever your form is) in your main hand. You can use that like any other weapon. In case of Cat claws it's a good weapon, the others are okayish imo. Of course that's a glitch. But maybe somebody gets any fun ideas from this.

You can use Shifter for the collection of bonus spells and just skip shifting. There's no disadvantage - like an Animist who wouldn't shift. Shifter gets most decay spells as bonus - so if one wants to play a decay-based caster type shifter is a good pick even though you wouldn't do anything with Spiritshift (you still could though - for example once you have cast all your spells and the fight is still going on).

Cipher does have access to Monastic Unarmed Training.

"Best" - depends (as always). But I like WotEP with Offensive Parry (Vigorous Defense stacks with all of the Wizard's Deflection buff except Llengrath's Safeguard which makes parrying melee attacks rel. easy). And you can deal AoE*AoE damage with Clear Out. Citzal's Spirit Lance is also a strong contender bc. of Clear Out. I also like the Willbreaker bc. you can lower enemies' Fortitude so much for certain spells - especially with Clear Out. Oathbreaker's End and Amra are also very good. The first one with Mob Stance (chances for a chain of kills via enchantments) and the second one has a Carnage effect. If you use Clear Out you will push the enemies into their own Carnage AoE which will result in a lot more damage - combine with Riven Gore and Mob Stance. Great Swords like Voidward: also cool. Engoliero do Espirs is an awesome weapon for any damage-oriented caster. Blade Fest procs of off every kill (be it caused by weapon or spell) which can cascade into multikills. And an Estoc is also cool because as a Devoted/Wizard you can gain very good PEN/AR ratio due to high starting PEN, Devoted passive, modal and Expose Vulnerabilites (maybe combine with Blackened Plate to reduce AR even further). Against pierce-immune enemies just resort to spells or summon Draining Touch and call a Phantom. In general every weapon that gives you some kind of timed buff is great for a Battlemage bc. of Wall of Draining. That's why nothing might beat Scordeo's Edge with Blade Cascade and Wall of Draining. It's boring but that's how it is. It even benefits the casting recovery and accuracy (Adaptive).