Boeroer

Well - just because you use your Soulblade differently does say nothing about the general usefulness of WotEP as dps tool, does it? I read several of those "I don't like to use x in this or that way, hence x is not good" statements from you lately. That's fair enough and may fit in your case - but you shouldn't use you special playstyle/case as a base for general judgement. That's like discussing javelin and pole as sport utilities: complaining that you (as a pole vaulter) can't jump with the javelin and thus it's a inferior tool compared to the pole. Edit: As I said above, even low focus driven SAs do plenty of raw damage when boosted by Sneak Attack/Deathblows. But I would also alternate between rogue strikes and SA, not spam SA. But that's not different from the usage of SA with anohter weapon. The bonus of WotEP is that iut adds additional raw damage in an AoE, it has reach, Blade Form (increased speed compared to other two handers) and a lash. That makes it a great pick for a Rogue/Soulblade as long as you don't fight a single target.

In this case I don't get hit too often (Force of Anguish or Stunning Sruge + cone is great) but the problem is the raw self damage. +2 AR does nothing against it (in my special case). THat's why I chose the regeneration on this guy.

1. Yes 2. Nope. Everything works basically. Fists are always a nice backup option though because they don't need to be enchanted and they bring their own proficiency. Whispers of the ENdless Paths can still be great since it applies Flames of Devotion to all targets and also Stunning Surge will stun all enemies if it hits with its AoE cone. Plenty of choices. Even a Morning Star + Body Blows (modal) + Force of/Efficient Anguish as no. 1 attack option is neat. 3. Yes - especially when dual wielding (White Flames will proc twice - if you hit twice) 4. Totally depends. But in general I would pick Devil of Caroc Breastplate. It will give you +2 Mortification and +2 Zeal as well as some attack speed, a resistance to an affliction group as well as health regeneration.

Yes, at the beginning he drops all the time. You need to provide healing. But once you get Savage Defiance it gets a lot better (also because it lasts a looong time because of Duality:INT). And you can stack some regeneration like rings and Whiteleaf (quite good with high alchemy and MIG). Whiteleaf can be emulated with the Sopul Void amulet (gives you a Whiteleaf trip after rest) if you want to spare drugs. At some point I had so many drugs that I used another amulet though. In this case the Berserker's self damage is a feature: it generates tons of wounds but doesn't break Dance of Death (later Enduring Dance). And the Confusion I quickly circumvent with the Devil's Breastplate. This is also great because you'll get +2 Mortification and +2 Rage.And another source of regeneration...

Citzal's Spirit Lance + Soul Annihilation is pretty great. But that combo comes rather late (hey, that rhymes...). You can get the WotEP very early and over the course of a whole game I think it's better (in terms of dps) to use a Rogue/Soulblade with WotEP instead of taking a Monk/Wizard with the WotEP and wait for Spirit Lance. Wahai Poraga is unimpressive since the lastest nerfs to it in my opinion. The base damage is also low but it only hits up to 3 additional targets - and those can be party members because it has friendly fire. For a Rogue/Soulblade I would always use WotEP with high INT. Best to get smart somehow as well. In a full party I'd even consider wearing Aloth's Armor + two rings of Overseeing. This not only extends the cone but also most spells' AoE. Catching two more foes can mean a lot more dps. Cast Phantom Foes or Secret Horrors at the start of battle and then tickle groups of enemies with Arterial/SA/Arterial/SA and so on. Focus generation is awesome and the "min" raw damage of SA to the AoE targets is still impressive because it gets boosted by Sneak Attack and Deathblows. Usually it's above 30 extra raw damage. That is pretty great dps compared to a single target weapon. I even used Assassin + Backstab with the WotEP because "Run Through" has high base damage and is a great opener for high single target burst and high focus gain right at the start of the battle.

That also depends. On multiclass synergies for example. I'm playing a Nalpasca/Berserker at the moment (hireling) and am pretty amazed by the overall usefulness but also by the damage output. The combination of high INT and Berserker-Frenzy + Stalwart Defiance = powerful Wound Generation (aided by Enduring Dance and drugs) is giving wound so fast that I can't spent them quickly enough. Rooting Pain is triggering all the time but I'm still at 9-10 wounds all the time. In addition I have some Barbaric Smashes as nice finisher (combined with Bloody Slaughter and Death Godlike - good for fists!). The crit rate is nice for Swift Flurry and Heartbeat Drumming (which works with the AoE cone). The damage is pretty damn awesome. I'm using WotEP as main weapon because the cone is very big with Duality:INT and a big cone hits many enemies which help trigger Swift Flurry/Heartbeat Drumming. Then melee usefulness is not always = dps. I'm also playing an Assassin/Priest of Skaen with Oathbreaker's End and Assassin's Boots. Man this is fun! You get plenty of invisibility uses which lets you deal awesome bursts (especially with Assassinate + Backstab + Devastating Blow). The dps is not high because you alternate between attacking and being invisible, positioning for the perfect strike - but the enemies can't fight back so who cares. I'm clearing whole groups with that guy alone: sneak in, Arterial Strike, Devastating Blow: kill *pouf* invisible, Arterial Strike, Devastating Blow : kill *Shadowing Beyond*, Arterial Strike... and so on until I have only 1 Shadowing Beyond left which I use to retreat and end encounter. Rinse and repeat. Plays like a different game. And on top you are a full blown priest with Devotions and stuff!

Afaik nothing has changed. Except that you now have a higher max level (because of Expansions) and therefore can take some more talents that are in line with the basic idea of this build. Edit: oh, I just saw that I updated the build for 16 levels. So nothing has changed basically.

Depends on your build. But for a weapon user I'd say it's a very nice pet.

Just keep in mind that multiple crit conversions don't stack additively and thus a 25% and a 10% conversion "only" result in an overall conversion chance of 32.5% (not 35%). If you add more and more you can see that it makes less and less difference: 25% and 10% and 10% and 15% result in 48% (not 60%).

Before doing math: maybe this thing from MaxQuest is sufficient? https://naijaro.github.io/deadfire-speed-calculator/ Afaik the claculations and values of Armored Grace and Cutthroat Cosmo/Abraham haven't changed, have they?

I had Unbending on a Assassin/Devoted and it didn't prevent me from dying at all. Refreshing Defense did.

Yes it is afaik. Got modified from backer beta version. But I would do a test before I'd roll a char.

I'm pretty sure that Rogue/Soulblade does better dps with Whispers. Also Persistent Distraction seems to work on reach (Whispers has higher reach than normal great swords). If you can stack some engagement slots (for example with armor) you will trigger Sneak/Deathblows on several enemies in the cone without applying afflictons actively. And of course Arterial Strike + Cone is pretty cool since those enemies you don't engage directly tend to run around. But I like Monk/Soulblade better because Duality(INT) gives you a much bigger cone and Swift Flurry leads to some nice multicrits every now and then. Turning Wheel also adds focus. Also Force of Anguish and Flagellant's Path are hilarious with WotEP. Pick Rakhan Field Boots as well and you can deliver awesome AoE*AoE Full Attacks to a cramped group or a line of enemies. I also like that the INT (and MIG if you pick Helwalker) also boost your spells' power (like Amplified Wave). If you take Draining Whip for a Soulblade you don't need to switch too often: you will be able to deliver good Soul Annihilation dmg with every second attack as long as you can manage to hit several foes with one strike. I generally favor Draining Whip over that sonewhat small additive dmg mod of Biting Whip. Black Jacket could be fun as well. As one tends to graze and miss with Soul Annihilation early in the game (and that's so annoying) you could use some a single habded rapier + modal in some situations where WotEP makes no sense (bosses, hard to hit enemies) and profit from +37 ACC to make sure your Soul Annihilation connects. I still prefer Monk though. Rogue is also great.

Dex affects attack speed as well as recovery. Do you only want to compare recovery reduction?

Nature's Mark scroll? I don't even know if it exists because I never use scrolls. By the way: you could maybe also take drugs before ship fights I guess (didn't test): hit pause right before the ships connect, go to deck, take drug and go to map, then start ship fight?

You can also hover over your equipped weapons' recovery number (right-click on your weapons, hover over recovery). The tooltip-window will list all influences.

There seems to be an immunity to prone. At least if you are wearing Rekvu's Fractured Casque (while having an injury) Slicken won't work on you.

I played a little more and it happens with all abilites, regardless of melee/ranged/spell. What also helps (even better than moving around manually) is to cancel the attack with the (x) button and try again (repeat command). Usually it works then.

I found a non-targetable/non-attacking Flame Naga in Drowned Barrows... He/she/it breaks your stealth but does nothing else.

? You don't need to take drugs during fights. You can take them out of encounter as well.

It's not as good as in PoE, that's for sure. They lowered the self inflicted raw damage a bit with the latest patch. You can lower it further with items, abilities and Resolve (even cancel it out completely).

Sure, but it's a ton more micro and you don't get back 1 Missile Salvo every few seconds...

The problem is that Brilliant treats every pool the same (+1 per tick) while those pools are balanced differently for the game. Spells are powerful per use but uses are limited, fixed pools have some good effects per 1 point but aren't endless as well, fluid pools need more points per ability but are refillable. The whole problem is that Brilliant just gives +1 to everything regardless how powerful 1 point per pool is. And also that it gives multiclass chars double the resource than it gives single class chars.

Boeroer casts Finger of Insertion: Sanguine Plate Well... Finger of Insertion... now that sounds wrong somehow...

I agree. I took it down at lvl 15 without any problem on PotD. Party though. It was over quickly. Just place several Slicken and Wall of Flame under its butt and hit it with a morning star. Then Combusting Wounds - 5000 HP didn't matter. Adra Dragon/Alpine Dragon were way harder (I mean not too hard, but harder). Very high reflex on the other hand would have been something completely different I guess. Or if that stupid dragon would just fly into the air and reposition once it sits in a pudple of oil and a flaming wall?