Boeroer

I don't think that Beckoners can now start with a summoning invocation. Correct me if I'm wrong but afaik Chanters get some phrases at the start of combat - but now the summons of a Beckoner cost more phrases than you get right at the start. So they can't summon right away...?

Galvino's Workshop is quit the fun with 6 priests. Also note that the +10 (stacking) ACC from Inspiring Radiance already applies to the hit roll of the radiance (against vessels). Ifyou stand close together and cast all at once all the radiances will get +60 accuracy, will crit and therefore annihilate all vessels in range. 6 Priests against Alpine Dragon? 6 * (Inspiring Radiance + Cleasing Flame) - done.

Arquebus is quite nice. If you can find an arbalest with higher enchantment quality (superb - like Aedrin's Wrecker) I would use that until you get Pliambo per Casitàs, which is the best arquebus for Ploi because it has marking (+10 ACC for a single team member) AND disorienting (-5 defense on the enemy). Which is a net ACC gain of 15 for a team membner that attacks the same enemy as you (supergood against dragons and other bosses - but always useful generally speaking). As for melee weapons: Outworn Buckler is king - add any one handed marking weapon to it (Cladhaliath or "Shame or Glory") or one with a disorienting enchantment (Strike Hard, Vile Loner's Lance). The best option for Ploi would be Cladhaliath with Marking + Coordinating. If you side with the Dozens and Ploi is the MC you can get Cladhaliath pretty early and also gain the talent Mob Justice which fits Ploi better than Merciless Hand (Doemenel) or Second Skin (Crucible Knights). But that's just a minor - stuff like the Vile Loner's Lance is also fine. Strike Hard would be cool because it's in the same weapon group as arquebus and arbalest. But it comes rather late.

Without stacking rules and suppression a team of 5 multiclass chars could stack twice as much ACC bonuses as a team of single class chars. That's poor balance and also it gives buffs too much power over gear, stats and other game elements. So you would need to tune individual bonuses down. That would lead to a situation where you'd have to stack all ACC bonuses and spend all your ability points on that or drop the ball entirely and go for something else. You wouldn't like that as well. Not enough fun, not enough power, you name it.

But in PoE Zealous Focus didn't stack with Disciplined Barrage. If you could have multiclassed in PoE1 you would have faced the exact same problem on one character. You also had the same "problem" with party synergy. Why take Zealoud Focus when I can cast Blessing? Why Zealous Endurance when I can cast Armor of Faith? There were just more exceptions (like Inspiring Radiance, Inspiring Exhortation and so on). Being able to stack all buffs would have some (non-desireable) impacts: In order to balance the individual bonus would have to be lower. That would mean that parties with fewer members or solo chars would suffer. A party made of 6 single classes couldn't stack as much as a party of 6 multiclass chars and so on. This would lead to even more frustration and less balance. You need some stacking rules, especially when you allow multiclassing. Now maybe some ACC bonuses get suppressed - but you'll still have a good ACC buff and can put your ability points elsewhere instead of dumping them all into lower ACC buffs that might stack. However - I'm pretty sure I laid out some reasonable arguments. Feel free do disagree. I just think you're making a mountain out of a molehill since you won't stop to complain about this since beta1. And again because it doesn't seem to sink in: The stacking rules of Deadfire are simpler and better than those of PoE. If you complain about the stacking rules of Deadfire you also should really do a hatchet job on the stacking rules of PoE - in form of a fat book.

I'm pretty sure we'll see future balancing iterations on the Beckoner. This one was too harsh and tweaked the wrong stats.

The best reflector is a monk. He has an ability called Blade Turning that reflects melee attacks back at attackers and he also has an ability called Soul Mirror which relfects ranged attacks. For the first one you need no defenses, it turns 100% attacks. The later needs high deflection. You could then either multiclass with a Wizard for high defense self buffs and Arcane Reflection or with a Rogue for Riposte or with a Paladin for higher passive defenses and so on. There are also some items (for example a shield and a two hander) that will give you some retaliation abilites/chances.

This is simply not correct - in two ways: - it's not apparent - it's not even the case

Seriously? Dopsim hates the forum community and wanted to leave us. But obviously he can't let go. We are just too charming. So cut him some slack.

I assume you mean "Why is the accuracy bonus of Flames of Devotion stacking with the accuracy bonus of Zealous Focus"? First of al that's a question for the designers, not for me. I can only guess why. My guesses are: - Since it's not a buff but an inherent value of the ability itself it stacks with everything. Would Flames of Devotion give you an ACC buff of x seconds it would certainly not stack. It's like asking "Why did the accuracy bonuses of spells in PoE1 stack with everything". You wouldn't have asked this because this seems to be right - intuitively. - It would be completely pointless for a single attack to have bonus ACC, bonus PEN or bonus anything if it got supressed by buffs. The inherent values of an attack ability can not be considered as buffs and thus don't fall under the normal stacking rules. I find that rather intuitive - although it collides a bit with my statement "actives don't stack, passives don't". But if we expand the rule to "active buffs don't stack, passive buffs do" (I don't recall the exact wording in Daedfire) it fits again. You desperately want to decry the stacking rules and present a problem - but there is none. And even if there are problems they are pretty minor ones. My biggest gripe is that phrases don't fit 100% into the stacking rules. But you just seem to be diappointed that you can't stack ACC buffs into the sky. I will repeat myself again: While the stacking rules in Deadfire may not be perfect, they are a lot more simple and easy to understand and to anticipate than in PoE1. You don't have to test every ability and item in order to know how it exactly works when it comes to stacking. I can't remember that you complained that much about PoE's stacking rules. Maybe simply because they allowed more absurd stacking of ACC?

Last time I checked it did not (beta3). Did they change that? Helwalker's MIG bonus does stack because it's a passive. I know of no example (after quite some testing) where two actives that directly address the same stat will stack. Just checked in game: does not stack Duality of Mortal Presence (INT) does NOT stack with Elightened Agony (Smart, +5 INT). The lower one automatically gets suppressed as it should be.

Last time I checked it did not (beta3). Did they change that? Helwalker's MIG bonus does stack because it's a passive. I know of no example (after quite some testing) where two actives that directly address the same stat will stack.

Then stuff like Zealous Focus stacked with Warrior Stance and a nerf would be the result. Not good for single classes. The non-stacking of modals / putting modals into the active category is the better solution in my opinion.

+10 ACC is not addressing the same value as +5 PER. If this wouldn't stack then +10 to deflection and +5 to RES shouldn't stack as well - and +20% action speed shouldn't stack with +5 DEX, too. +50% damage and +10 to MIG? Nope? You don't want that... +2 AR and +1 AR addresses the same and thus doesn't stack (if coming from actives both). For example an inspiration with +5 PER wouldn't stack with a direct PER buff of 10. That +X to all defenses stacks with +Y to a single defense is indeed unintuitive and not very logical, but it has been like this in PoE1 as well for whatever reason. Still a lot better than in PoE1. Now even item enchantments like +X to INT all stack - not like PoE where they didn't except it was on a weapon/shield. Most stacking in Deadfire follows the simple rule and that's better than the stacking mess in PoE1.

What is "stealth damage"?

Beckoner's summons are only smaller and have less health. The rest (defenses, damage etc.) is the same. So basically you get more firepower for a shorter time. Beckoner was really strong. You can "CC + damage" whole groups even on PotD with six skeletons. CC because enemies will be occupied. It's like a very fluid and flexible, ever controllable CC effect that also deals damage. The skels even have engagement. Then use such many bodies with Spark the Souls... It had to be nerfed somehow. But I agree that going from -1 to +1 is hasty and weird. That's 12 seconds more between summonings! But then I also think: doesn't the first summoning of a horde of creatures decide the encounter anyway? I like your superconstructive approach...

Usually you shouldn't be able to craft drugs.

1.1 is live in the master branch.

How did you find out? Hmmm? Ehh? Brrrr!

Yup!

To be honest: I don't quite get it.

Nah - don't shoot your bolt! What if something really annoying happens and you can't get any more angry? Having anger overflow is such a waste... Don't start with the high levels of angry. You want to ease into the rage - be able to step up your angry game. Start with "I would have been a tad angry" if you had seen naked Mirke. Then, for example if idiotic Obsidian adds nipples to the model, you can ramp it up to "I feel I'm getting genuinely angry". After that, once the perverts at Obsidian really want to mess with you and introduce a unique club in the shape of a johnson bar you could finally be "VERY angry" and stomp on your religious symbol of choice or so. Rumpelstilskin-style - oldie but goldie.

Nay. You really have to notch up your performance.

Stack with what? Savage Attack didn't stack with Reckless Assault - you couldn't even have both active at the same time. Meanwhile Zealous FOcus stacked with Devotions and Inspiring Radiance... Now there is that one simple rule: actives don't stack, passives do. In PoE1 ist was not easy to determine what was considered active and what passive (Inspiring Radiance?) - in Deadfire it is easy because it tells you what's active/passive via the ability tree. Not the same problem as in PoE1. A big improvement I'd say.

Nope, not yet.