Boeroer

Uncanny Luck is not worth an ability point in my opinion. Since conversions don't stack additively it adds very little if you already have a source of crit conversion (like Dirty Fighting). In case of Dirty Fighting + Uncanny Luck Uncanny Luck adds 4.5 % (not 5%) - and if you get more crit conversion from elsewhere its impact drops even further. Then keep in mind the higher (above average) your ACC is the smaller your need for conversions anyway. If 1/2 of your attacks are hits and from those hits 4.5% will be converted to crits and crits do +125% dmg in best case scenarios when you are Heated Up then you'll get an overall additve dmg bonus of under 3% (if my rough out-of-my-head estimation isn't totally off). However - it's not that great an increase for 1 ability point. Compare with Deep Wounds or Persisant Distraction or Enervating Blows... And the better part (the 5% resistance) is also quite neglectible. But maybe someone else will present some solid math that this is not the case and that UNcanny Luck is awesome. Until then I'll stay away from it. What about Soul Mirror? I know your deflection isn't high but you already took Riposte and weak enemies that get hit by debuffs can miss nevertheless. With Escape you can boost your deflection by +50 at the start of the fight - that's when all the gunshots to your face will happen. I didn't try it out but I guess this could lead to some nice refelctions right at the start of battle?

i get that that's what he was saying, but what was really frustrating me was that i kept on trying to say that that was not what i was saying was the net effect... though kaylon kept pushing it as if that's what i was saying and that this was undermining my conclusions, which it wasn't (and in fact he was selectively quoting me out of context to push his point), and also that's not what i was saying and in fact even if i had said something ridiculous like "the action speed reduction is superliminal and makes you travel back in time" it still wouldn't have affected the results from the simulations. grr anyway don't want to relitigate it. EDIT: in case it isn't clear, what i've been saying repeatedly is that it's a +42.8% through the recovery. maybe my phrasing is just unintuitive or confusing. i've even also said "ignoring the attack" to clarify that i'm talking about the recovery time only (and part of my aggravation earlier was kaylon selectively quoting the part RIGHT before my very very important qualifiers). i'm trying to illustrate how a single, increasing recovery time bonus has outsized importance (increasing returns) because of the inversion to get to the net action speed, which is a more comparable number to damage boosts and such and that failure to account for this on the part of Obsidian's designers is what probably led to the outcome where 2w was just basically the definitive choice for weapons for so long. i edited my OP earlier today to try to make this more clear. Yes, good explanation. I think now most people can really understand what you meant and how it's different from what Kaylon was saying. By the way I don't think that Kaylon was being disingenuous but that you just talked past each other a bit. Sometimes blunt hammer style - but I never saw insidious dagger style.

The filter function is really helpful. Some items don't get put into the first slot because they get added to an existing stack (that sits somewhere between the other stuff).

I didn't know it was a mistake. Just wondered if I missed some hidden bonus (never used Debilitating Strikes myself ). Concerning your other questions: - Long Stride makes you faster. And +5 to deflection on disengagment is laughable anyways. If you like to leave engagement often better use items that allow for it (Shattered Vengeance or Nomad's Brigandine or something else that makes you immune to disengagement attacks - only those two came to my mind). Of yourse both abilites stack, so... - Lightning Strikes is better vs. high defense enemies (if your ACC isn't absurdly high like with a ranger/monk). Swift Flurry can be pretty awesome against low defense enemies - but on the other hand: those die pretty quickly anyway, so I would put my point into Lightning Strikes I think. - If you use Finishing Blow at all (I think it's overrated because usually you can deal more damage per guile point with Crippling Strike) I would take Devastating Blow to see more benefit against enemies that are not already near death. All in all I would skip it entirely I think. - Escape or Flagellanth's Path: I would take both (but I really like mobility). Flagellanth's Path is competing with Stunning Surge (and is kind of expensive with 2 Mortification) but it also adds a Full Attack which is very nice. The biggest difference is: with Escape you can go wherever you want while wioth Flagellanth's Path you need to target an enemy. And usually you will land in front of the enemy, not behind it. So, for freedom of positioning Escape is def. better. And it's cheap and has no recovery (FPath has). If you'd use guns (pistols, blunderbusses, mortars) I would totally recommend FPath (it omits reloading entirely - great tool for a ranged monk with dual guns, esp. mortars). - Usually it's the physical dmg that ends you, not the affliction. So I would take Blade Turning. Both is nice though. - Always DoC's Breastplate because it gives you +2 Guile and +2 Mortification (which can be further buffed by Mortification Bindings). That way you can use Stunning Surge and Flagellant's Path and Lightning Strikes more often. Bloody Links is rather meh in my experience. I really like Nomad's Brigandine with Boots of Speed (+ Long Stride + Fast Runner eventually) because dps goes up if it only takes a fraction of a second to reach the next target while not getting punished for running around. Of course "stationary" dps is lower because of the longer recovery. But eh... depends what's more fun for you I guess. I have no problem with longer recovery but higher AR. All in all I would geuss that DoC's Breastplate is one of the best options. - Entonia Signet is awesome - but only against enemies that engage you(!). It's not based on enemy you engage. So against beasts etc. that do no engage it's entirely useless while it's great against melee wilders and kiths and so on. I personally would use the Ring of Poverty (I guess you will not have a lot of money on a solo run if you upgrade your ship and your gear all the time while also using consumables in every fight). Ring of Greater Regeneration is nice I guess. Rings of Minor Protection stack... What is Voidward supposed to be for? I mean in your build? I can't see any raw damage. This is all subjective and I don't do a lot of complete solo runs (only partially to test out viability of certain builds), so others may know better. Edit: oh, that was the CLoak of Poverty. The Ring is the other way round. Sorry. So... if you can hoard a lot of money...

Did you check your quest item stash? Usually if you can't find stuff you recently got it's there. Happened to me when I got Engoliero do Espirs for the first time...

I have another question: why Debilitating Strikes? It takes away Power Levels (5% base dmg per power lvl) and with Persistent Distraction you can immediately unlock Deathblows. Crippling Strikes seems to be the better variant: more PL and thus more base dmg, one spared ability point. What am I missing?

Non-gun? Don't think so. Barbarian with Heart of Fury and dual hand mortars. It's comparable but Whispers of the Wind + Resonant Touch will always be better. But you'll get HoF earlier. Atm I think nothing can beat monk with dual mortars + Whispers of the Wind (+Avenging Storm). Also as a whole char comcept because of Stunning Surge and Flagellant's Path (both awesomest with mortars). Non-gun variants can be Battlemage with Clear Out + Spirit Lance. Or Sage with Torment's Reach + Swift Flurry + Heartbeat Drumming + Spirit Lance (also Stunning Surge). They are cool and powerful but not as devastating. A very nice melee variant is Rogue/Soulblade with Whispers of the Endless Paths. Rocks right from the beginning.

I don't want to put anybody's nose out of joint, but what Kaylon was saying (besides other stuff) and what was interesting to me: --- Your example of "-30% recovery time equals to 42.8% action speed" is only true (numerically) if you leave out the attack animation phase (which is not affected by the recovery bonus). So basically you have +42.8% recovery speed, not overall action speed (which would include animation and recovery phase). While an action speed bonus of 30% would affect animation phase and recovery phase alike. If you then take your +42.8% recovery bonus and add the unaltered attack animation phase you'll end up with +34% overall attack speed which is not that much of a difference to 30%. --- That's what I understood Kaylon was saying and what he claimed you didn't address in your response. While he can sometimes show the posting style of an asperger-shaped dead blow hammer (don't ask me to draw that shape) - I think I understand what he wanted to say there and I think he has a point? And I think you didn't address that particular point. The discussion was very enlightening and informative so far but would have profited from less "sorry to burst your bubble" or "go and look up this and that because you didn't get it" and a bit more benignity. It's easy to say that because I'm not involved.

Spiritshift lets you use all items except armor and weapons. I think that's good enough and you can build around that. For example a Fury/Bleak Walker can get +4 PEN and +20 ACC with FoD attacks while shifted (Ring of the Marksman, Scion of Flame, Spirit of Decay, Heart of the Storm, Ring of Focused Flame, +10 ACC from FoD). That's pretty good compared to most unique weapons. However, I would make sure that there's proficiencies for spiritshift weapons or that they count as unarmed - so that Haymaker works and Devoted/Shifter can make use of his +2 PEN. I also don't understand why Transcendent Suffering sclaes with Power Level but Spiritshift (and summoned) weapons do not. That would make single class Shapeshifer much more interesting. I also think the high lvl Wildstrike abilites are a bit lame. Aaand I would raise the base damage of the spiritshift weapons a bit. Works better with the lashes of Wildstrike and in combo with other martial classes (like rogue).

And while doing that you could play the grumpy cat in other forums. And then you can return to Deadfire's someday. Maybe. Eventually.

Awww! So! Mest!

It really seems it's like Icewind's Dale. And I am pretty sure you can get duplicates of unique items this way.

Ah - you mean compared to a bow or other two handers? Yes, TLP is a dual weapon setup. If you have normal fists and then summon TLP nothing about your speed should change. As far as I know White Flames only procs one per swing and doesn't work with any additional hit rolls (AoE from mortars or rods, additional attacks from Heartbeat Drumming). Also Swift Flurry and Heartbeat Drumming only work with melee weapons. So: Instruments of Pain is the only way to trigger them while attacking from range.

Low defenses, low AR and low HP means she will be the no. 1 priority target of almost every enemy - if there isn't some tweak for hostile AI (concerning Vela). There are other abilites like Withdraw - but so far it seems to be best to make a party of 5 Priests/whatever.

The auto-pause on combat start doesn't work in boarding fights. You have to pause manually and assign orders.

Frostseeker + Assassin is a bad combo because only the first of the three projectiles will get the bonus from Assassinate.

I don't know. The 3.1.0 beta was put on halt because of some gamebreaking bug so I can't check it out. I guess/hope it's a bit like in Icewind Dale. At least that's what Gromnir originally suggested and what I (and others) supported.

Ah, yes. Instruments of Pain is one of the coolest abilites in my opinion. Don't know why your attack speed should be faster with it, but the whole "turn melee into ranged" is nice.

What's an Evo?

Hm, just checked TLP with Enervating Blows in game: doesn't work for me. Everything seems to be as I said (I mean about TLP). Turning Wheel isn't melee only (despite its description). It works with everything (even spell-like abilites) and I guess that won't get changed.

But TLP is dual (ranged) fists. That's why it does a full attack with both hands. Interesting that it works with Enervating Blows. Maybe that ability works with ranged weapons despite its description or TLP is an exception or it's mechanics got changed. Last time I tested TLP (not too long ago) it didn't work with any melee ability (Swift Flurry crit procs, Heartbeat Drumming, Force of Anguish and so on).

But while you are generating focus (while shifted) you couldn't use your focus. Which would be kind of stupid.

Don't know. A while ago I could buy/steal stuff from the Deck of Many Things, then turn around and sink it - getting the same items a second time. But this seems to be fixed now: didn't work last time I tried (yesterday).

I wonder if you can make it so that these "hirelings" auto-level with pre-defined abilities. Or if you can restrict the level - so that Hireling X can only be recruited at lvl 8+ or so. And if you can give them special (unique) gear.

Barb/Druid is bad because...? It has the same advantages as Warlock basically. Do cipher powers also get deactivated when a shifter shifts? Because then I'd vote for Cipher/Shifter.