Boeroer

Hey, that is a very good point. I didn't have that specific problem of ability pick during char creation in mind... and just assumed one would take "if their bones still slept" during the first few regular level-ups (which will come pretty early - and since I often pick the Berath Blessing that lets you start at lvl 4 - just to be able to speed over Maje Islad more quickly - I'm so used to be able to have several ability picks before the game even starts... oops). So I, too strongly suggest to not take any summoning invication at character creation but do it at the next regular level up. But then I personally would strongly suggest skeletons for a "Death Knight" kind of char instead of the phantom. And later Instruments of Death. I mean if summons fir into your theme in the first place of course. But imo skeletons do. Also the phrase "Many Lives Pass By" is very good imo and the summons there "stack" with all other summons you might call.

Skeletons (like all summons, but especially because they are numerous and have engagement) - are very useful in the early game because they provide a strong crowd control effect without the need for accuracy and overcoming enemies' defenses. Hence calling them forth just always works and is never in vain like a CC spell might be if you miss the roll or the enemy is resistant or immune. There is no defense, resistance or immunty when it's about getting engaged by a summons or being boxed out/blocked by them. Drop some at the start of fight and most enemies will be under control - because first of all they tend to target the skeletons (because they have weak defenses and low HP) and as I said even enemies who wanted to ignore them and rush to your party will be stopped (if the skeletons are placed somewhat correctly and you actively attack enemies with them which will trigger the engagement which then stops movement). Note that you can individually control each skeleton directly (not the additional ones that come from Ancient Brittle Bones though), those are steered by game AI). A similarly useful lvl-1-summoning spell are the Sporelings of the Ancient Druid. Also very potent in the early game. The phantom isn't bad - but it takes noteably longer to cast (and so to appear), has no engagement and is alone. The individual creature is better than those of "If their bones still slept" though. The wurms (PL 2) are a good offensive tool for some time if you don't need skeletons for CC. They also scale poorly and will have to be replaced eventually (and an upgrade is not worth it, unlike with Ancient Brittle Bones) - but for some time they really help to overwhelm enemies pretty quickly, especially if you focus fire on a single enemy. If you reach a point where better summons become available (for example Ogres or Ancient Instruments of Death or whatever) you can simply retrain the character and skip the lower tier summons then.

The skeleton are numerous and they have engagement. So that alone will stop enemies right in their tracks (because movement stops when getting engaged). Their weapons don't scale with level so their damage will be absolutely pathetic at some point. But they count as allies and vessels which can be used to your advantage. For example: every killed skeleton in the party gives a single class Paladin with Devine Retribution 2 points of Zeal. And with Ancient Brittle Bones you can summon a lot of skeletons... You can also kill them yourself with the sabre Grave Calling and either create imps from them or produce a foe-only Chillfop (depending on the enchantment route).

Isn't that just the "export/import character" UI or something?

Totally normal. Other users are still telling me things about Deadfire here which I didn't know before.

You can either empower an ability with an empower point OR regain resources (like spell uses) with an empower point. Always - it's a build-in feature of the empowerment mechanic. You don't need anything for that. Just click on Empower and then on the portrait pic.

It's what unreflective people do. PS: You think the main story sucked.

As I said: I wouldn't - I would use Grimoire oVW and Empower if I needed more Wizard spells during an encounter. Psion has not much use for Brilliant anyway. A good debuffer/CC Wizard doesn't need to spam as many spells as a nuker. Mostly because the effect he causes last for some while and isn't instantly over (like direct damage is). So you won't run out of spells as quickly as a wizard who spams direct damage spells a lot.

Imo for an MC Illusionst/Psion my preferred spells would be Dazzling Lights (check out the -10 Will debuff which stacks with Misama), Miasma (because it's extremely valuable in combination with all Cipher powers that target the Will defense - which are a lot), Repulsive Visage, Confusion (it's more useful than one might think), Enervating Terror (jeez what a spell) and Gaze of the Adragan - not really damaging spells. And of course the self buffs because it's very good to not even getting targeted due to high defenses as a Psion. With a massive arsenal of Will debuffs and Resolve- and Intellect-based afflictions you can mess up almost any enemy group profoundly - and leave the damage-dealing part to some other party members. Like another SC Wizard: why not? But not mandatory imo. Once you opened up enemies' defenses with Miasma and then keep the afflictions going you won't need a ton of wizard spells. And you can use the Grimoire of Vaporous Wizardry + Empower to get more spells in a pinch.

Yes, but with Ondra's Challenge they only get +1 to rank (meh) and might sail faster (don't care). The rest stays the same. You don't need to decide quickly, cannons don't degrade as weapons do and so on. Monstercheese tactics aside: If I had to decide between a "real" fight with all the additional god challenges or a ship bounty fight in order to progress I would nearly always pick the ship fight (when properly prepared). Of course if you can avoid fights altogether and still progress: even better.

They are rel. risk-free at a certain point (even at lower levels bc. only the sailor/crew experience matters and not the character level), especially if you invested in some equipment and crew. Won ship fights will give you a lot of XP and loot.

Do you count ship fights (not boarding) as fights, too?

Still viable.

The beauty of Black Jacket in TB mode is that you can use an offensive weapon setup for offensive actions and then, with the free action, switch to a defensive setup before your turn ends.

Yes, Terraria.

Soul Annihilation gets applied to most enemies in the cone (the number of raw dmg varies though, the initial target gets all the normal raw dmg, the 2nd one nothing iirc, the 3rd one gets some, the 4th even more and so on). If you can expand the cone size a lot (items such as INT+, Ring of Overseeing and stuff like Smart via Minor Avatar or a Litany etc.) then it might be worthwhile to use a Soulblade. Also spamming the focus gained from Offensive Parry into Soul Annihilation is good. Soulblade gets +max focus for some time after killing an enemy. This can be prolonged with Salvation of Time, too. Don't know if it's worth it though.

Hands off the substances!

That's Eccea's Arcane Blaster. It's a great pistol and worth using it all the time imo, not only as backup weapon.

Depends a bit. Imo "Many Lives Pass By" nonstop is the most universally useful phrase with Brisk Recitation, but stuff like Ancient Memory if combined with Exalted Endurance is also nice and good for the party, too. If you have another healer then Mercy and Kindness is very good, too. If you have high defenses and armor and only tend to get minor damage from attacks then Her Courage Thick as Steel is very good, too. The 10pt damage shield gets refreshed every 3 secs then which nullifies all the grazes that might otherwise hurt you. If you have ranged-heavy party with reloading weapons (firearms and crossbows) then Sure-Handed Ila is very good, too because it applies -20% reloading time AND -20% recovery time to those weapons, making the reloading very fast. It stacks with the action speed bonus of Sasha's Singing Scimitar.

Yes, you could use Sasha's in the second weapon setup and use it for an empowered summoning (summons last a lot longer then) and then switch to another weapon setup. Since your main roles are supposed to be tank and summoner I would pick something that helps your defenses/sturdyness and/or engagement. Examples: Kapana Taga with All Comers and Champion's Relic Pukestabber with Numb and usage of the dagger modal Bardatto's Luxury Squid's Grasp Duskfall with Drawing Parry Griffin's Blade with Hound's Resilience Gladiator Sword

I guess as a Shieldbearer you will use a shield. So Sasha's Singing Scimitar is the best option imo (besides using Grave Calling to kiull your own Skeleton summons which is ver potent but also very hacky). If you use the enchantment "Companion's Prelude" you will give a nice action speed bonus to your party + summons based on the number of your held phrases.

Steel Garrote is an excellent choice when you want to use Whispers of the Endless Paths with Offensive Parry. The reason is that the Steel Garrote Paladin has a passive that lets you drain health from enemies if they are afflicted with something. Offensive Parry not only hits enemies who miss you in melee, it also applies the Dazed affliction if you do so, automatically unlocking the health drain. You need high melee deflection though. So that means high Resolve, Cloak of Greater Deflection (very early item with Berath's Blessing: Merchant in Port Maje), later Bracers of Greater Deflection, Deep Faith etc. and also an armor that gives you deflection bonuses. I would recommend Nomad's Brigandine. It gives up to +10 deflection against melee attackers and it also makes you immune to disengagement attacks - meaning they will miss 100% of times. So you can basically disengage, the disengagement attack will miss you and you will instantly do an Offensive Parry in return. This also means you can roam the battlefield freely while doing damage passively and draining health in the process. The Brigandine is also a heavy armor which is good for a melee character who will most likely get hit a lot but can compensate with high AR and AR passives (see Barb+Paladin passive around armor). Enemies' underpenetrarion is every frontliner's underappreciated friend... This is also one of the few builds where I consider casting the Paladin's +40% dmg Beacon is worthwhile. Because your offensive parries will also get +40% dmg and this will also drain more of the enemies' health for you. Blood Thirst also triggers from Offensive Parry (if it kills). Barbarians suffer -10 deflection when frenzied. That's not so cool in this case but it's manageable. Berserker is nice because not only does he crit more frequently and gains +2 PEN - but also because he gains +2 AR via Frenzy. The self damage is substantial bit can be countered with the health drain, a pet that heals on kill (see Abraham) and Lay in Hands + Exalted Endurance. But I think I personally would go with the Furyshaper because the Fear Ward is very strong, it will afflict enemies (more health drain) and it will make you more sturdy because terrified enemies don't attack. It also fits the Steel Garrote vibes imo. For a single class Barb I would def. recommend Furyshaper because the Blood Ward is just awesome for you and the whole party. Especially in combination with Barbaric Retaliation and Dazing Shout. It's more difficult to use offensive Parry as an SC Barb because you will lack the deflection bonuses of the Paladin, but you can combine disengagement-parries and Babaric Retaliation (it attacks with the sword's cone AoE). With WotEP, Carnage and Dazing Shout you want highest INT and also items that raise INT further as well as items that raise AoE size directly (Ring of Overseeing for example). A pet like Loki also helps with that, but maybe something like Abraham is better for a Berserker after all.

Ah okay. I just wondered. Yeah, enfeebled + Cipher powers is a reason why I like Forbidden Fist/Cipher so much (without BPM).

What do you use to enfeeble enemies as a Steel Garrote/Soulblade?