Boeroer

Spells! They are per encounter now. Makes no sense to not use them. You can put together an AI script that uses spells. Best to use foe-only spells then. Like Minoletta's stuff. Those also scale well with Power Level.

Most likely you have to play the DLC content to get those items. I think they are all labeled with LAX01 in front and thus seem to be a part of the new maps of "Seeker, Slayer, Survivor".

Wizards are better as nukers in Deadfire. Blast is not good as a general dps tool because the recovery malus hurts badly. Since pure Wizards have no dmg bonuses except MIG they are not good auto-attackers anyway (in Deadfire). What can work well though with auto-attacks is Kalakoth's Minor Blights - single use or with a melee weapon in the offhand: you'll get Dual Wielding speed and Two Weapon Style will work as well. Later on you can even use Tuotilo's Palm (small shield) and get the same speed but also get +deflection and +reflex. But I would only do that when nobody else needs it. Blights do the same as rods but with no recovery malus and are one-handed (and elemental). What you can also do to increase your auto-attack performance: cast Concelhaut's Draining Touch or Kalakoth's Minor Blights (and use the Ring of Focused Flame), then summon Essential Phantom. It will run around and attack with the corrosive fist or the burn version of Minor Blights. Both will NOT go away but are permanent until the phantom dissipates. The fist does great single target dmg even on a phantom while the burning Blight will profit from +10 ACC from the ring. If you don't use an offhand weapon both will get +12 ACC as well. The Blight then has a +22 bonus.

I wonder what happens if you are a Conjurer and summon two familiars...?

You mean like the hide armor that fits with it and summons a familiar at the start of every encounter?

Yes, much better.

Not far from where you get Rekvu's Scorched Cloak.

The new items are not super OP, but most of them look really nice. The new spiky brigandine is great for unarmed builds (so... monks mostly).

Eh?

for monastic unarmed training, i wouldn't necessarily call it "a little too well." I was thinking about it a bit on the train today, and there are very few ways to actually build a character that can get post-legendary or post-mythic scaling (some combination of nature godlike, death godlike, prestige, Acute inspiration, hot razor skewers, and/or potion of ascension). most everyone will be stuck with post-suberb scaling, and only very nearly end-game at that; for them it's merely just a quirky alternative rather than a powerful/good choice. (this is still way better than poe1 where the equivalent talent there wasn't even remotely good enough to be comparable for 99% of builds.) Depends. Because its graze/hit/crit damage was nearly the same (because the base damage was so low but the flat bonus was so high and scaled with MIG) it was a great talent in PoE for all builds that couldn't get a lot of dmg mods and/or crits but high MIG. So Wizards, Priest, Chanters, Barbarian's Carnage and in general low PER builds could profit from it. I even made an unarmed fighter with maxed MIG, CON and DEX but lowish PER, Sandals of the Forgotten Friar and chose no dmg mods but defensive talents instead (besides Two Weapon Style) and it was pretty good. That's not 1% of builds I guess.

It's pretty straightforward: any race (I chose Death Godlike because you are often near death at the start ofthe game ), no need to min/max stats (although good INT is benefical as long as you must endure the Berserker's confusion). I went with dumped RES but the rest was pretty balanced. Alchemy at 12 or so, rest into Athletics. Enduring Dance is a must, so is Savage/Stalwart Defiance. Barbaric Smash, Frenzy/Blood_Frenzy/Blood Storm, (Raised) Torment's Reach, Swift Flurry, Heartbeat Drumming, Turning Wheel. The rest is flexible. I liked Blooded, Bloody Slaughter, Interrupting Blows, Enervating Blows, Efficient Anguish, Bloodlust, Blood Thirst, One Stands Alone, Lesser Wounds, Long Stride, Flagellant's Path, Rooting Pain. Items: I chose the Devil of Caroc's Breastplate in order to get +2 more Mortification and Rage as well as the immunity to Confused. I like the WotEP as well and fists. The rest of the items isn't that important but I like Hylea's Talons a lot because besides the nice +5% lash they either kill the enemy faster or give you even more woundswith the DoT. Later on I used Nemnok's Cloak which works very well with fists and Death Godlike (+3 PL for your fists is great when being near death - but you won't die because of Barring Death's Door).

It's kind of a passsive effect (or trigger) from an item, so I guess the general rule is that it stacks. Deflection bonuses from items also stack with everything (like the one from Bronlar's Phalanx that rises with health loss or the Casita Samelia Breastplate that rises with Intimidate). If they just would've named the effects of Nemnok's Cloak differently nobody would complain.

Yes - but his Iron Skin from the cloak stacks with Spirit Shield as well.

Dude - finally I can play Nightcrawler. I call "feature"!

The -300% dmg is the "real" number of the underpenetration makes enemies suffer once your armor is 3 higher than their PEN. Officially it's 75%, but after double inversion (that's how maluses are calculated) it's actually -300%.

Battle Axes now have 4 uniques. - that crappy Flintstone thing that came with the game as pre-order item that nobody uses (forgot the name). - Magran's Favor - Oathbreaker's End - Amra So maybe those are ok now. The rest I totally agree with.

Another example why raising AR with difficulty is bad. Not only makes certain classes and weapn types viable - while others are useless all of a sudden, but also wrecks some spells. Raise defenses, health, and most importantly: smartness of behaviour and ability portfolio - but NOT AR!

Stackedy stack. Multiplicative though. So it's *not* 20% +20% = 40%.

Charge cancels engagement. It is very powerful since it not only does a crush attack on all enemies in the line but also attacks the targeted enemy with an additional Full Attack. It is very good for setting up Ectopsychic Echo as well.

Rogue can be pretty nice as well. Shoot some Toxic Strike, Gouging Strike, Arterial Strike, zoom in with Escape, cast Pernicious Cloud and zoom back out (needs Caroc's Breastplate for additional Guile maybe). The DoTs all work in an Aoe and stack with each other (and Deep Wounds). Maybe another order would be better, but you get the idea.

Why Monk? Monk doesn't have Monastic Unarmed Training. It's for all OTHER classes than monk. Also: not the fists make monks so good. It's their other abilities. So, Monastic scales the same with multiclasses or single class BUT it is actually scaling with a kind of single class PL progression. That does mean that if I wanted to get a nice PL boost with Monastic UT as a multiclass char I should take a Nature Godlike or Death Godlike Brute? Wellspring of Life/Pallid Fate: +1 PL / +3 PL Corpse Eater: +2 PL from certain kith meat food Tactical Barrage: +1 PL Something like that? Will have to try that out

I only find them uncool when I must fight them and they manage to cast Plague of Insects before I can stop them.

Yes - at least it still works with an arquebus, so I'd say rod ist still possible. But Cleaving Stance got nerfed: it used to do a Full Attack on every enemy in range after a kill - now it only does one additional Full Attack per kill.

Yes. With hand mortars or rods you'll apply Blood Frenzy in an AoE (as long as you crit).

Not during a whole playthrough, but partially. Also as Priest/Mage Slayer and Troubadour/Mage Slayer and even Wizard/Mage Slayer. With his innate spell resistance, Xoti's Lantern (and high Religion), Spell Resistance and stuff (stacks multiplicatively though) you can become pretty impervious to magic attacks and at the same time can stop casters. That's the whole point. If you don't use potions and scrolls in a party anyway (like me) it has not many drawbacks but locks down casters completely after a few hits.