Boeroer

That may be the case in easier encounters, but in the DLCs and other late(r) game content this isn't true. At least in my experience. The longer the fights last the more important the defenses become (and refreshing resources, too). Riposte is good for somebody who wants to tank or offtank. It even triggers SF/HDB, doesn't it? And as I said the usage of Tuotilo's Palm doesn't mean that much of an offensive difference. Keep in mind it also raises the ACC (or damage) of your Forbidden Fist ability. And as I also said for FF and Toxic Strike etc. it doesn't matter at all since it's either a primary attack or the DoT is the important part (wich isn't connected to the weapon's base damage at all). Ranged enemies are seldomly affected by Repulsive Visage, yet Tuotilo's Palm will protect you from shots and spells as well. Might as well consider Soul Mirror in addition now that I think of it... I also really like the combination of TP and Adept Evasion. You can then cross/enter your party members' reflex-targeting AoEs and not be affected most of times. If you want to use stuff like Toxic Strike and Confounding Blind a lot (which are both quite expensive) I wonder where the Guile for Mirrored Images and Repulsive Image comes from. Sure, in short encounters you can just burn through your Guile and Mortification - but in my opinion that isn't a viable strategy in prolonged fights like for example in SSS or FS - or even Splintered Reef or Drowned Barrows. It may depend on the difficulty setting though. I only play PotD so that means fights will take longer and enemies are a lot sturdier and more numerous. Maybe on lower difficulties my argument doesn't apply. Just keep in mind OP asked for offtanking, so a good mix of defense and offensive is a good starting point I believe. With Tuotilo's Palm you only give away a little bit of damage compared to a normal dual fist/weapon setup - but gain so much defense in return (also compared to a normal small shield bc. of "balanced shield"). The PoE build OP used (Juggernaut) was a very sturdy monk build. Flagellant's Patch cast time is 1.4 sec and it has 3 secs recovery, not "no Recovery". You can exploit it with reloading weapons and skip their lengthy reload entirely (and thus I will use it with guns), but you will never have 0 recovery - unless you play a Monk/Barb with Blood Thirst. Also the long casting time is annoying as heck imo. Swift Flurry/Hearbeat Drumming can kill regardless of Flagellant's Path. There's no causal connection so I don't know how this can be an argument for Flagellant's Path? If you use FP you'll have 2 less Mortification you cannot get back. That means less uses for Swift Flurry and Stunning Surge (you won't always get a refund against tough enemies). Imo it's a lot better to use Escape (which has a casting time of 0.5 secs and actually has 0 recovery) and then use Stunning Surge at the target. You'll have even higher chances for Swift Flurry/HBD to trigger (bc. stun causes -10 deflection), caused an affliction and likely get a refund for the Mortification you spend. FP's low PEN crush damage "on the way" is not enough to convince me to use it over Stunning Surge. It surely isn't "insanely good" - unless I missed some secret sauce until now. Finally: if you are like me and use Bounding Boots a lot (because the Leap can be free if you know how) you don't even need to spend anything on Escape. The positioning is also way easier. Often with FP and Escape you don't arrive at the spot you wanted to. I don't think that Ciphers have significantly more dialogue options in Deadfire. At least that wasn't obvious to me. They get some special lines, but other classes get that, too. Anyway that wouldn't be my motivation to play Cipher. I might be mistaken but it's not nearly as "disbalanced" as in PoE where the Cipher got so many more (interesting) options. Monastic Unarmed Training doesn't have the weird mechanics of PoE anymore (although I liked those I have to say). It's a "true" weaker form of Transcendent Suffering. Where TS scales every 2 Power Levels, MUT scales every 3. But there is some small bug - it's in your favor though. Check it out in detail here (courtesy of @thelee) : https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/227477-pillars-of-eternity-ii-deadfire/faqs/76599/monastic-unarmed-training I agree. With high RES & stuff it doesn't make a big of difference. Still that little difference is why I like to get Clarity of Agony. Sometimes - when in a tight spot and a stacked curse or other afflictions bother you - you can just cancel hostile effects nearly instantly (-5 secs and -50% duration in combination with the high RES). One time I even picked Enlightned Agony and went with Iron Wheel instead of Turning Wheel. The +5 INT countered the "loss" of the INT bonus from Turning Wheel (won't stack anyway) and I got bonus AR and CON - which isn't too bad for a Forbidden Fist I must say. Also because your Fortitude defense can reach stellar heights this way (especially in combination with Thunderous Blows). If you then get only grazed by nasty afflictions that target fortitude (and combine it with the high RES or even Clarity of Agony and Crucible of Suffering) you will only suffer very shortly, your defenses will be up even more and you'll get a wound very quickly. Well said. The description is a bit misleading: when you read it you might assume that the first use of FF will give you no bonus dmg (because you have no curse on you when using it, so it should be +0% dmg, right?) - but the curse gets applied to you first. I mean before the attack roll on the enemy happens. That attack roll already takes "its own curse" it placed on you into account. That's why Haplok's calculation is correct - despite the official description somewhat suggesting otherwise. 3 stacks can kill you very quickly if you're not toying around with Barring Death's Door or similar effects or very strong healing. If you do use (prolonged) Barring Death's Door you can reach absurd amount of damage bonuses. I that case you might not even want to rase Resolve - because the longer the curse the easier to stack it. For me personally that's too cheesy. But if you like to punch holes through Engwithan ruins' walls then go for it! Some additional info: the Forbidden Fist ability targets deflection - but the enfeeble effect does a separate attack roll against fortitude. This can miss a lot when you fight against high fortitude enemies. In that case Evenmed Strikes can help. "Huh?" you say? Yes, it may seem redundant at first because EnvStrikes only weakens while ForbFist gloriously enfeebles - BUT Envenomed Strikes' weakeing effect is not a separate hit roll! Let that sink in for a sec. It applies its weaking affliction automatically if you crit with any melee attack (ususally targeting deflection). The automatic weakening effect then already lowers fortitude by 10 points - which then might help your Forbidden Fist ability to enfeeble more successfully. Of course that's not a critical advantage and I guess one really has to think about spending that extra point for that obscure synergy - but I wanted to point that out because it flew under the radar for so long (also mine until recently). You mean the -10 deflection and the -1 AR make up for a missing level of fist scaling? It sure helps. The good thing is that almost nobody is immune to flanking (Eoten are). But I don't understand where the Tactician comes in since you could do the same with the Devoted. But maybe you mean because you would cast Phantom Foes a lot anyway because of Brilliant Tactician? With MUT you have to plan out your PL progression in advance I think. This can reveal if you will have to use stuff like Stone of Power (+1 PL)* and/or Tactical Barrage (+1 PL) instead of Disciplined Strikes to lift your fists over the next threshold. The good thing about MUT is that is trats even multiclasses as if they had single class PL progression. So "internally", for the purpose of determining your MUT scaling, your multiclass is treated as if it were a singel class. See the link I posted above how exactly the progression will be. The other good thing about MUT (on Devoted) is that they don't get the -10 ACC malus because you are always proficient with fists. So they are excellent backup weapons for the Devoted. )* if you have two Stoes of Power you can stack them in the stash. That will recharge the per-rest use automatically - you can use it in every encounter then.

How would I? I'm turning 45 in a few weeks. All I know is that if I use that ominous internet to google "boomer" it gives me the "born between 1945 and 1965". At best it is a very ambiguous term. To use it in this case means to paint with the really broad brush. If you do that you're basically a... wait for it... "broomer" - lol. The term "grognard" denominates those people you talk about a lot better imo. But that's just a sidenote. To the rest I do agree. Don't know if that's the reason for low sales numbers though. (Codex) grogs are just a fraction of potential customers and I also believe they don't have a lot of influence on the whole target group. But yes: their nostalgia drivel is annoying.

I don't think a lot of boomers play CRPGs. I'm one of the older guys here - but I'm a whole generation after. If you'd replace "boomers" with "grognards" that would totally fit. Especially the "write novels about unfulfilled nostalgia" part.

That's totally fine imo. With a lot of games (with a story) it's what I do, too. What actually keeps me playing PoE and Deadfire is this forum. So many ideas get discussed that at some point I want to dive in again and try something new. Often I don't finish the run then though but lose interest before (once I validated that something I thought about works - or doesn't). Sometimes I manage to finish though. I don't do Megabosses most of the times - it's just too tedious nowadays.

It's way too expensive with 2 Mortification for my taste. Escape is the better alternative imo. I need Mortification for other stuff. If you pick Riposte and consider the increasing returns of high deflection (and also keep in mind that Tuotilo's Palm gets +1 deflection/+1 reflex per wound) it's a crime not to use it imo. With Adept Evasion and Tuotilo's Palm + Weapon and Shield Style you will get missed by almost all reflex based AoE spells. ANd of course overcoming your deflection will be very hard. At the same time Tuotilo's Palm's damage is not that important if you apply stuff like Toxic Strike or Ring the Bell or use Forbidden Fist (which is a primary attack anyway). Imo the greatly increased defenses are totally worth the bit of dmg los. Also a bash from Tuoltilo's Palm (or any offhand weapon for that matter) that Triggers Swift Flurry or Heartbeat Drumming will proc attacks with the main hand weapon anyway - so in case of Swift FLurry/HBD chains it doesn't even matter what you are wearing in the offhand. And Tuotilo's Palm not only has Precision Striker (+5 ACC) but also the modal which gives you +15 ACC for your next attack - should enemies miss you (which they will). Also a shield means +1 engagement. With Persistent Distraction you will have 2. Nice to have with Parting Sorrow imo. Especially if you want to use Ryngrim's RV. Absolutely worth it in my experience. One of the few cases where I actually use Tuotilo's Palm. If one uses Shattered Pillar then Whispers of the Endless Paths is also great. Offensive Parry generates wounds for the Shattered Pillar. Riposte won't but it procs the cone attack which isn't bad either. And of course the cone AoE with Turning Wheel is quite big which makes stuff like Efficient Anguish lots of fun. With Morning Star + Envenomed Strikes + Stunning Surge you can lower enemies' fortitude by 45 points and then use Efficient Anguish (targets fortitude). This procs Swift FLurry/HBD quite often then. Also the Willbreaker has the enchantment "Make them Flinch" (25% miss to graze) which - combined with Gauntlets of Greater Reliability (also 25% miss to graze) is very good against enemies with very high deflection (in order to easily apply Body Blows even if you otherwise would miss all the time). Miss to graze is such in undervalued conversion imo.

It will. With Forbidden Fist an additional feature is that you can use something like a sabre in one setup, a spear on the other - and still have a crush alternative with your forbidden fist ability (which doesn't use your weapon but has its own crush base dmg). So enemies' AR or immunties will be no problem a all.

One reason is there's no drawback when your AC gets knocked out - because it's a summon. You won't suffer Bonded Grief and can just summon it again (for 1 Bond). Also cool: just dropping your Animal Companion behind sombody - or in places a normal AC couldn't reach easily. Drawbacks: you can't have AC + summons. Your AC has a duration and also the act of summoning costs a bit time and a bit of resources. Also your AC can get dispelled (because it's a spirit). But that rarely happens (if ever).

Mediocre MIG, mediocre CON, above average DEX, PER, INT and RES. If Forbidden Fist: max RES. From the top of my head (not in that order, didn't count if too many): Fist (and a non-crush weapon as backup, for example a sabre) + Tuotilo's Palm (Balanced Shield + Precision Striker), Weapon & Shield Style, Two Weapon Style, Escape, Dirty Fighting, Riposte, Arterial Strike, Ring the Bell, Toxic Strike, Adept Evasion, Persistent Distraction, Deep Wounds, Deathblows, Turning Wheel, Lightning Strikes or Swift Flurry, Efficient Anguish, Thunderous Blows, Enervating Blows, Parting Sorrow, Heartbeat Drumming. If Forbidden Fist also Crucible of Suffering and Clarity of Agony. My preferred armors would be Casita Samelia's Legacy with max Intimidation or Nomad's Brigandine. If nobody else desperately wants them then also Cloak of Greater Deflection and Bracers of Greater Deflection. If Forbidden Fist then Stand of Favor and Cabalist's Gambeson and all the RES gear you can find (including the Evee pet dog and food with -x% to hostile effects duration). I think Forbidden Fist/Trickster fits quite nicely because Forbidden Fist wants high RES to make his curse as short as possible - and deflection bonuses have increasing returns: the more the better - so the high RES is great in combination with Mirrored Images and additional deflection stuff. MIG can be at 10 anyway. Trickster gets plenty of damage bonuses. IN case of Forbidden Fist it also holds the self damage at bay. Forbidden Fist is not that easy to play in the early game because you will have slower wound generation as with a normal monk or Shattered Pillar. But it's very rewarding after some levels imo. The Forbidden Fist ability is very strong. Enfeebled prolongs all hostile effects on the enemy by 50% and prvents healing completely, +10 INT from Turning Wheel adds 50% more duration. So stuff like Ring the Bell or Toxic Strike (good raw dmg DoTs) last for a very, very long time. You can "escape" to an enemy, punch him with Forbidden Fist + Ring the Bell (or Toxic Strike), zip to the next, do Forbidden Fist + Stunning Surge (very long stun), zip to the next and so on. It can be mad fun. And you won't have to bother about getting damaged too much because you will be sturdy and tanky enough. Also off-tanking is no problem.

Yes, the "directly damaging yourself" might be the thing that breaks it. Who know... I'm too lazy to search the game files for that.

Soul Blades - like all Ciphers, can cast Borrowed Instincts which raises all defenses by 20. It stacks with Monk's Crucible of Suffering btw. So defensively it's good. The combo lacks healing but as long as you're with a party that can be solved. Instead of a normal Monk you could also try out the Shattered Pillar. It generates wounds via auto-attacks. So you can punch which not only raises wounds but also focus - and then release it via Soul Annihilation. SInce you are using mods I would recommend the Community Patch then. It not only has unique icons for all passives (which makes it easier to distinguish them) but also a lot of sensible balance fixes - among them the un-nerf of the Shattered Pillar's max wound count from 5 back to 10. Or maybe I can interest you in a Trickster/Monk. It has enormous offensive potential but also good defensive capabilites due to Mirrored Images. And Escape (Rogue ability) is a very cheap way to zip around on the battlefield. Also Monk's Turning Wheel (+10 INT) works well with stuff like Toxic Strike, Ring the Bell and Arterial Strike. Paladin/Soulblade can be a good mix of offense and defense. Ascetic: never tried as melee guy but more as caster (with Helwalker). Devoted/Soulblade will work and is quite uncomplicated but is a bit boring for my personal taste.

Smoke Veil doesn't break on DoT ticks, Brilliant Departure does. So it depends on what you want to do (DoT or CC) to determine what's better I think. Shadowing Beyond is stupid imo (unless TB mode bc. free action). I tried Shadowed Hunter recently but tbh I completely forgot what the results were. Since I forgot it must have been nothing special. I think it worked like Smoke Veil. Does BrillDep also break on Alacrity's self dmg?

Yes, that's a fun setup. Also because the increased PEN of St. Omaku's Mercy stacks with Devoted's PEN. +3 PEN (+4 with Ring of the Marksman) on a dual dmg weapon is great imo. And Galawain's Harry makes the -10% action speed way less punishing. I also tried it with Berserker/Ranger (PEN, higher attack speed, Blood Thirst etc.) in order to profit from Saint's Grace more (bc. self damage). Also nice. Even Monk/Ranger worked well. Enduring Dance + Thunderous Blows + Lightning Strikes was cool, too. Chanter/Ranger with Killers (to get the 25% crit conversion) + Sure Handed Ila etc. was a little too much fuzz for my taste. All in all I think Devoted/Ranger is the most "hands-off" approach and works nicely with very little interference and also nicely runs on AI.

Why the heck does Blood Sacrifice break invisibility? Wild...

Beacon doesn't remove TDC. It's just so that if you have both applied the Beacon's dmg bonus doesn't get listed in the combat log, only TDC. I guess it gets suppressed. Or it was some glitch when I tried last time, no idea.

I think Inspired Beacon and Takedown Combo don't stack. But yes, also nice.

Sunlance crits are pretty cool. Combine with a Paladin or Ranger to apply Inspired Beacon or Takedown Combo first: death laser from the sky, sha-la-la-la-la

Actually dmg wise +25% duration is much better than +25% dmg. The additonal duration is a multiplicative dmg increase - while the latter is only an additive one. And since Disintegrate does raw dmg PEN isn't an issue. +crit dmg effects indeed do nothing for DoTs. I prefer to use a Debonaire/Wizard to nuke on the enemies whom a Cipher or Chanter charmed for me. It removes most PEN issues (because crits = PEN*1.5) and also the Wizard has many friendly fire spells. They will flip back of course. But that's okay if the charm was about to wear off anyway (especially withc Chanter since the charm is rather short-lived).

Glad you asked that question Boeroer. I quickly loaded up Deadfire and tried this and indeed: you can stack both charms on one enemy (if the second charmer is confused) and give that charmed enemy the body inspirations as well as the bonus damage. Cheers! Edit: Confusion is cool. For example it also allows a paladin to cast exhortations on charmed enemies (which would otherwise be impossible). Buffing up your charmed guys like there's no tomorrow, yeah!

You mean Roguish Charm. But I guess OP was talking about Whisper of Treason (or Ring Leader) since the Debonaire Charm only works on kith. Something else: dominate doesn't work with the Debonaire passive - only charm does. Speaking about Roguish Charm: would it be possible to apply both the Roguish Charm (inspirations) AND the upgraded Chanter charm (30% bonus damage) to the same target utilizing confusion?

You are correct.

For a backline caster or shooter I will drop CON and RES to 3 most of the time (there are exceptions, but as a rule of thumb). It's a bit more challenging of course once you get attacked - but I like that extra thrill. But in turn based I would also dump DEX to 3 most of times (judging by what I hear about TB mode). So that leaves room for a little bit more RES or CON. I guess I would raise both a bit then, but doesn't really matter that much I guess.

That's not great to hear. It worked quite nicely right after release of the Debonaire- and was the first thing I tried with him.

...aaand a raised bed for vegetables, a little greenhouse for tomatoes, a rabbit hutch, a wardrobe, two loft beds... busy busy busy! After painting nearly all rooms in my house I'm currently sanding & resealing the floor. That's not that exciting... Next: tree house, chicken coop & carport. Should be more fun. I'm not working that much atm though. Because somebody has to look after the kids who currently have very little teacher-to-pupil learning time but more homeschooling - and kindergarden is closed, too. My wife cannot reduce her work time (she goes at 7:30am and returns after 8pm on a good day). That's why I have more time for such home improvement projects.

Maybe you just remember it that way because first you will shoot late in the round - and then you will be the first to shoot in the next round. It can feel like two shots in a turn because nobody else takes action in between. But after each shot your action point is gone - and thus there's no way to shoot twice in one turn I think.

Because it does not do much for you if you have a reliable source of healing. If the healing outweighs the damage you receive then it doesn't matter whether your health pool is 200 or 300. And if your healing is less than the damage you receive then +100 health will just postpone the inevitable. That why I think (generally speaking) that CON is the least important attribute. But not for a Bloodmage in turn based combat as Haplok pointed out. If you expect to receive a lot of burst damage between heals (for example via Blood Sacrifice) then a bigger health pool (via CON and/or stuff like Amulet of Greater Health and/or Tough) is good to have. Besides that it's nice to have high fortitude (and CON contributes 2 points of fortitude per point of CON) - but I usually would first raise MIG before I think about CON. But also in this case (Bloodmage) it's something else - because Blood Sacrifice's self damage scales up with MIG, too. If you use Blood Sacrifice multiple times in a row (bc. free action in TB mode) with high MIG and low CON you will kill yourself - which is not that much fun.