Boeroer

You are right. I quickly looked up the base damage in the wiki (because it has been a long time since I played PoE for the last time). The wiki unfortunaltely lists the damage with "Sharp" included and not the base dmg, sorry for the confusion.

I also never had real problems with AC Ancient with a DoT-build on PotD. In a party that is. In SSS encounters you might want to really hold back a bit though... and plan your casts carefully in order to not run out too soon or to waste spells on too high defenses... or too few enemies. As solo char there would be many problems bc. of limited spell uses and low ACC/insufficient debuffs. But I did not have the impression OP wanted to play solo? Edit: as I said above, stuff like Gouging Strike and Brand Enemy and other stuff that is basically endless DoT is "infinitely" more powerful in the really hard fights - because it never ends - or your resources never run out.

As far as I know nothing has changed. Early game of PoE was always a bit more challenging than the rest until the DLCs. Maybe you played with an easier difficulty setting the first time?

Yes, it is additive. As most damage bonuses in the game are. Those bonuses (also crit dmg bonus, Sneak Attack, weapon quality bonus and so on) are always calculated with the base dmg of the weapon. And that's always the damage of an unenchanted, plain old sabre: 13-19 (or average 16). So "sharp", being a 20% dmg bonus will add 16*0.2 = 3.2 damage. No matter how unique or superb or whatver the sabre is. It's always claculated with that base damage of the weapon type. Bittercut is the best sabre (not best 1 handed weapon) for most players because it has two damage types (which is corrode/slash) which circumvents many DR issues with slash-resistant or -immune foes. And as you said, it also profits from Spirit of Decay (+20% dmg) because it is considered an acid attack - even if the slash damage gets applied. So you can add another 3.2 dmg. It also has some nice spellbindings on top. A nice little synergy is that if you took Spirit of Decay already you can put a corrosive lash onto Bittercut and then that will lift the lash by 20% as well, taking it from 10% to 30% lash, which is a neat little bonus for taking Spirit of Decay, too. However - Bittercut is not the best 1-handed weapon for plain auto attacks' dps - because like you already said "speed" and "wounding" are potentially more potent enchantments. since higher attack speed and also a (MIG-scaling) lash are multiplicative boosts to dps. Look at Drawn in Spring or speed weapons like Sword of Daenysis and so on. But Bittercut is the 1 handed weapon with the highest (average) physical dmg per attack (bc. of sharp + Spirit of Decay and dual damage). This makes it interesting for classes that have strong Full Attack abilities that are limited per encounter. So they want to dish out the most damage they can with those abilities. Fast weapons with higher dps but lower dmg per attack are not ideal for this. Abilites like that are: Rogue's Strikes, Heart of Fury & Barbaric Blow (Barb), Flames of Devotion (Paladin) and so on. You get the idea. Using those abilities frequently you might want a weapon that gives you more bang for your buck. It's of course possible to do those strikes with Bittercut + 2. weapon and then switch to Drawn in Spring + Sword of Daenysis for higher dps autoattacks or so. Also Ciphers might want it because their focus gain does depend on direct physical dmg + lash (not wounding lash though - this doesn give focus). Bittercut makes it easier to deal with high DR, has two 20% dmg bonuses which also help with DR. Speed is also great for a Cipher though.

That's in PoE, not Deadfire. At least I never saw that in my game. Several chants in PoE got the +12 ACC when using a single handed weapon (The Dragon ThHrashed and Come Sweet Winds for example). But afaik this behaviour didn't make it to Deadfire.

Iirc they are also not immune to Touch of Rot or Autum's Decay. Those two don't deal raw damage though (but "only" corrode dmg.) But still: lots of alternative DoTs - should you meet poison-immune enemies.

If you use Effort with Hemorrhaging, Blood Storm and Hylea's Talons and either use Heavens Cacophony or scrolls of Avenging Storm then every crit with TDT has the potential to cause an endless loop of Lightnings.

Tested it: Ring doesn't work unfortunately. A party member with a flail and an AoE attack such as Clear Out/Clean Sweep would help enormously in order to bring enemies' reflex down.

I'm pretty confident that the Ring boosts TDT's ACC by 10 universally, but maybe I will do a quick test to confirm. And yes, Blood Storm will proc every 3 secs eventually (with a crit only of course). It doesn't stack, but you will at least have new chance to apply it every 3 secs - so even against high defense foes it should get applied eventually (if a crit is possible mathematically).

Helwalker/Ancient at 10 wounds and with Duality of Mortal Presence:INT has a ridiculous AoE size with Plague of Insects.

If you use the invocation "Their Champion" first (making you Energized) and then use Brisk Recitation with The Dragon Thrashed you will generate a new hit roll every 3 secs (the phrases are only 3 secs long and get rerolled every 3 secs instead of every 6 seconds llike without Brisk Recitation). If it crits it will interrupt the victim. Since TDT targets reflex it can be very useful when you want to target the weakest defense of an enemy. Alternatives are Soft Winds or The Long Night's Drink against low fortitude and Stumbling over Words against Will. Stumbling over Words is nice anyways because it also removes any concentration. Back to TDT: A Berserker/Troubadour could use Slayer's Claw to become Energized even without the invocation (spares time). Also the +2 PEN will help. Then use "The Shield Cracks" for lowering AR by 2 and there's a virtual 4 PEN gain already. If you have a SC Cipher in the party he could use Driving Echoes on you which would make TDT penetrate almost everything I guess. Ring of Focused Flames will add +10 ACC. Blood Frenzy will add raw DoT every 3 secs. But it doesn't stack with itself so it's no biggy. Can also interrupt with the Energized Insp. though. If you use Effort (Great Sword) and enchant it with Hemorrhaging then on "any" crit you do you will also apply sickend or hobbled rolls which themselves might crit (and apply Blood Frenzy again - but still no stacking) interrupting even more and again. Also more chances to apply the DoT from Hylea's Talons (because that gets applied by Hemorrhaging hits/crits as well). Those DoTs from Hylea's Talons also can crit and so on... with enough ACC you can lockdown an entire encounter with interrupts while slowly melting them with DoTs.

Speaking of DoTs: A Furyshaper can summon the Blood Ward. Unlike other health-draining effects like Old Siec - which are quite limited when it comes to draining health from AoE dmg, multihits, DoTs etc. - Blood Ward draws life from any kind of damage you deal, including DoT ticks and... everything basically. This means that if you build a SC Furyhshaper with a lot of DoT sources (DoT weapon, poison, items like Hylea's Talons, Blood Source, Pather's Leap and so on) there will be a constant stream of incoming healing (as long as in range of the ward). Of course other damage (Carnage, Barbaric Retaliation, Barbaric Smash, Dazing Shout/Driving Roar and whatnot) will add more healing on top, but instantly instead of a steady trickle. Combine with regeneration gear such as Ring(s) of Greater Regeneration maybe and a pet that heals on kill and so on. Maybe also a nice, unusual basis for a DoT build...? The Bloodsucker! Wards can be withdrawn by a fellow Priest and still function just fine. I believe it also works with Beetle Shell - but Withdraw is better bc. of the untargetable effect.

Right

Blood Frenzy doesn't stack unfortunately.

If you mean "Spark the Souls of the Righteous" - that's Power Level 8 and thus can't be picked by a multiclassed Priest. Of course it would work if you have another SC Priest in the party (like Xoti for example).

Blood Frenzy and Spirit Frenzy apply to all spells that do a hit roll and either crit (Blood Frenzy) or hit (Spirit Frenzy). A problem is upgrading from Spirit Frenzy to Spirit Tornado: suddenly the stagger effect will no longer work with spells anymore. So either you skip Spirit Toprnado or install the Community Patch (where this behaviour was fixed). Blood Storm doesn't have that problem. Good point with adding another DoT with Blood Frenzy on top of DoT spells. Kills by DoT will also trigger Blood Thirst (0 recovery for the next action) by the way. Blooded does indeed work with spell damage, including DoT ticks. What a Tempest lacks is any form of accuracy improvement. And unless you pick Berserker (which can be nice because all non-Fury druids have plenty of healing options) you'll also lack PEN, at least on PotD. An Ascetic doesn't have these problems (Enduring Dance + Thunderous Blows) and can even give +10 INT and +10 MIG (if Helwalker) or enfeeble for +50% DoT duration (Forbidden Fist). On the other hand quite some Druid DoTs do raw dmg so PEN is a non-issue for those. Also Blood Thirst + DoT's can be really fun to play bc. of what I said above. Speaking of Forbidden Fist: that's pretty funny in combination with a Druid's own Tanglefoot by the way. With very high RES and some hostile-effect-reduction gear/food and Clarity of Agony you can make it so that you are only hobbled for a very short amount of time (multiple times) and get a lot of wounds from that. Also works well with a Wizard in the party and Binding Web+Dex Resistance (for example as Wood Elf). A Ranger with Takdown Combo can apply its +100% dmg bonus to DoT ticks without the effect getting removed (normally Takedown Combo gets removed after the target receives a damaging hit). This can realöly boost the potency of the DoT against single targets. Ranger also has some nice ACC bonuses. So a Ranger/Cipher for example can boost Disintegration with +100% dmg which is really hefty. Ranger/Druid can use it for Taste of the Hunt for example - but apply Takedown Combo AFTER using Taste of the Hunt, else the initial hit roll of TotH will remove the effect of TDC. A really good non-caster DoT option besides Rogue is SC Ranger with Whirling Strikes. The DoT ticks are per second (and not like most other DoTs per 3 secs) and they stack with stuff like Bleeding Cuts for example. Sure... SC Ranger is not doing much DoT before reaching PL 8 then - except with Wounding Shot and a DoT weapon maybe (battle axes, Siru Sichr, Effort, Stalker's Patience etc...). So maybe not a preferred pick for somebody who wants to have DoTs all the time - but still good. Also Bleeding Cuts/Saru Sichr/Effort/etc. will unlock Predator's Sense as a bonus.

Once you get Phantom Foes and Secret Horrors the Beguiler can quickly fill his focus to max just by casting those two spells onto a group of enemies. Against single enemies this doesn't work so well, bit he always has the option of dealing weapon damage for focus, too. For a pure Transcendent caster I would pick Helwalker/Psion, yes. Although this combo might have some downtime where you can't cast anything. If occasional weapon attacks for filling focus up are okay I would pick Helwalker/Ascendant (see Kaylon's post).

No, the CP only makes it so that you can also play a melee Psion (because only crits will stop the focus gain). However, if you play a pure caster you usually will not be in the front line and thus won't get damaged a lot so the difference is negligable. I played a Trouabdour/Psion and an SC Psion. Both times I just took a small shield and weapon & shield style. Since you can cast all the time you won't use the weapon anyway so one might as well pick something like a hatchet for additional deflection - or Sasha's Singing Scimitar for 1/encounter empower for the Troubadour side and the shocking lash that works with spells, too. If you have other party members in the backline that have lower defenses and/or AR the Psion will almost never get shot at/attacked because he's not a good target compared to his comrades. Of course if you want to get very close to enemies then Psion is not a good choice without the CP.

Ascendant, build/played accordingly, ist a potent cipher subclass. However it can't be a pure caster because it will have to deal weapon damage in oder to ascend. This can be very frustrating in fights against single, high defense/AR foes (dragons, megabosses, Steelclads etc.) where the Psion has the upper hand. It is more effective vs. numerous weaker enemies though.

Depends. If you concentrate on lower level powers then even SC Psion can. You'll have recovery time after all. Players seem to forget that a Psion also generates focus during recovery time. Other cipher subclasses (except Beguiler) will have to stop casting and attack with weapons in order to gain focus. That's not a "pure" caster then imo. Or you use a multiclass like Wizard/Psion, Priest/Psion, Druid/Psion or Troubadour/Psion and you can alternate between class1 and Psion spells. In case of Troubadour/Psion you will never run out of spells to spam.

Nope, mortars do foe-only damage. Also they deal pierce/slash damage which is uncommon for firearms (no problem with pierce-immune enemies) and the AoE rolls against reflex instead of deflection. Obviously you want a lot of INT because it enlarges the AoE.

Yes, also a good option. I played just that with a dual pistol SC Paladin fully led by AI. +20 ACC easily balances out the Rushed Reload modal - and with Scordeo's Trophy + Rushed Reload + dual wielding you can fire so very quickly (and then dish out healing pulses so quickly) that it was really hard to harm the party as long as the dude fired. Two Troubs with skeletons delivered plenty of food for Zeal. I just wanted to emphasize the dmg aspect with the Bleak Walker - because he can have extra +10 ACC for his FoD attacks with the Helm of the White Void. Unfortunately a SC Paladin cannot pick Spirit of Decay.

It used to give a +50% lash (either in beta or at release, don't remember) which was too good compared to PoE where it was limited to 2/encounter. So they nerfed it - and overnerfed it imo. But as Kaylon said: the upgrades are good and work well with any offensive multiclass. The small lashes even work with spells and so on! So it's an option to even raise a caster's dmg oputput. For example a Wizard/Paladin with Blightheart + Eternal Devotion can get +10% burn and +10% corrosive lash on his damaging spells. Which is nice. In case of Kind Wayfarer already the base ability is good obviously bc. of the healing. Then you can play with the fact that FoD is a burning attack that will get boosted by certain items and abilities: in power level with stuff like Magran's Favor and Sun & Moon and Otto Starcat (up to +5) in accuracy with Ring of Focused Flames (+10 - on top of the +10 FoD already has) in penetration with Scion of Flame (+1) Since FoD is of PL 1 it scales pretty nicely at later levels (5% base dmg per PL, frctional PEN per PL, ACC per PL and so on) so stacking lots of PLs is nice. Bleak Walker's FoD is even tagged as burn AND corrode which makes it possible to get +2 PEN for his FoD strikes with Scion of Flame and Spirit of Decay. Combine with +10 ACC from the Ring and up to +5 power levels: that's suddenly decent. Add the Helm of the White Void which does +10 ACC to attacks that contain an affliction and you get +10 ACC on top (beause Bleak Walker's FoD also sickens). If you then want to go a little cheesy road and use an SC Bleak Walker with Divine Retribution who has a chanter friend who summons a ton of skeletons etc. you can basically spam those FoD-attacks with good dmg and awesome +30 ACC all day long. Because Divine Retribution also gives you +2 Zeal when a skeleton dies (and Many Lives Pass By skeletons don't scale at all and die extremely quickly) you will often have more Zeal than you can spam. Of course this is a very special case. In general the base ability is too weak, I agree. It's not good that you have to know about some obscure tricks to make it relly worthwhile - or pick the right subclass like Kind Wayfarer.

You can also have a look at the Chanter. "The Dragon Thrashed" and "Come Sweet Winds" are DoT chants. The latter even heals you a bit (which technically makes you sturdier, too). You can again combine this with Paladin for the nice Brand Enemy ability (it is not only nice because it is an auto-hit - which is not only nice but awesome - but also because it is a really fast cast and has 0 recovery time, cheap, too). Add the Blackened Plate later in the game an play a Death Knight that just drains the life from all surrounding enemies passively - by just walking among them. And then curse their guts with Brand Enemy. Sturdy as hell, too. Exalted Endurance + Come Sweet Winds will stack their healing, several armor passives... You could solo with such a character because your DoTs will eventuall kill all enemies while you are too sturdy and have too much passive healing to get killed (if you are going for a shield setup). Or a Battle Axe + Bleeding Cuts for more melee DoTs. Saru Sichr (Morning Star): also nice. Invocations will come as piemont cherry on top.