Boeroer

No, you just skipped some conversations you were supposed to do first while following his footsteps (so to speak). But as far as I know nothing you did/see breaks the game/main quest line. You can go back and do something else and later return and he will still be there waiting for you (and then it all will make more sense). Obsidian should have made sure that you can't enter Ashen Maw accidentally before the time is right - with a hard lock and not a soft one (Rathûn patrolling around). That's not too cool but I think nothing is kaputt.

Yes, it stopped working for some reason. It's quite annoying when you for example have Caedebald's Blackbow and meet a foe who's immune to corrosion - but you can't switch/get rid of the weapon.

Summoned weapons are/were supposed to go away once you switch weapon sets - but somehow they messed up the implementation (or forgot to implement that in the first place).

Myeah, but that's because you don't actually use Spiritshift for what it is intended but simply as a "haste" effect. If I had designed the Cat form then the "flurry" would end as soon as you shift back. It doesn't make much sense to have the speed of a cat when you are no longer a cat. I'm pretty sure you wouldn't switch back prematurely if you couldn't abuse cat's flurry. Extremely relevant? Which ones?

I find Assassin/Bloodmage very good with A's Brilliant Departure - because you can cast several CC/debuff spells with +25 ACC from Assasinate and then finally start with the damaging stuff as soon as all the nasty debuffs/disables landed successfully.

The game started to make profit a while after release. It wasn't a huge success but it also isn't a financial failure anymore. Every additional copy sold is motivation to do another sequel - so please go ahead!

Shadowing Beyond (Rogue), Smoke Veil, Shadowed Hunters and invisibility potion break on all attack rolls (DoT ticks are no attack rolls). Shadowing Beyond (Priest of Skaen) breaks on everything including DoT ticks. Arkemyr's Brilliant Departure only breaks on dealing damage (except from Wall spells). That means it doesn't break on pure CC attacks. DoTs will break it. Wall of Flame, Wall of Many Colors etc. do not break it. Vanishing Strikes doesn't break at all. You can do what you like during its duration: you will stay invisible.

The moment when you realize the forum censored what you thought you wrote down as "shift"... By the way: Deadfire druids lack some serious Bullshift... I agree. Also I don't like that they used a modal in the first place (which in this game is used exclusively for effects you can switch on and off again - except Spiritshift). Is breaks the systemic coherence. One time a modal can be switched on/off and another time it cannot? Ach... I mean why not just use a normal ability button for the normal Spiritshift. One that triggers the transformation and has a duration - like with Form of the Fearsome Brute (which basically is a Wizard's Spiritshift)? Has anybody ever wanted to shift back prematurely before the spiritshift duration was over? Why would you? There's no downside to being shifted (except maybe that you don't have access to weapons' and armors' special effects). I never shifted back before the duration of that "fake" modal was up. Not once. Then for Shifter you could have chosen a fixed Spiritshift form but make it a "real" modal. Maybe don't call it Shifter then (the name "shifter" actually fits a druid subclass that can change into multiple forms quite well imo) but maybe Therian(thrope)* - a Druid that specializes on this one very form he chose an is able to change as often as he/she wants. But the transformation into a man-beast is so profound that the ability to cast spells is lost during the shift. But yeah whatever don't mind me babbling... )* Therianthropy is the umbrella term for lycanthropy (wolf), ailuranthropy (cat) and whatever animal+man form.

But with a Ancient or Shifter using raw dmg DoTs mostly - why pick a Berserker then? The +2 PEN from Tenacious are wasted when you cast raw dmg stuff but you'll have to deal with the concealed health and self dmg. It's another thing of course if you want to combine casting with melee (like casting Plague of Insects first and then shift an go into melee and profit from "kills far away" the Plague does for you). When using an Ancient Warlock for casting raw dmg spells mostly I think I would try a Corpse Eater. Not only because it's thematically fitting but also because 2 Rage for Frenzy isn't that bad once you can pick Blood Storm. What's really bad about Corpse Eater is that Barbaric Smash costs 3 but only refunds 2 on kill (should be modded to a refund of 3). So I guess I wouldn't use that much unless I fight kith/wilder but concentrate on passives mostly. Furyshaper would be cool if Sporelings and Wards weren't mutually exclusive. But maybe first one could use Sporelings (they are way better than the Frenzy ward in the early game imo) and later switch to Fear Ward (when Sporelings lost most of their appeal)? By the way I never tried to cast Wild Growth on a Ward... I mean I don't suspect that it's working but you never know...

- Wounding Shot with AoE weapons: nope - the only ability that doesn't apply its effects to the AoE of such weapons. But seriously - if I started to post all the stuff that I tested and which didn't work out the forum would probably overflow.

Stormspeaker + Watershaper = Stormshaper... or maybe...

If it has to be a summon then instead of the Vine I would pick the Oozes (Call to the Primordials). The collection of Oozes is random, but one of them can cast Plague of Insects without limit. But I think for your character Rusted Armor is the best pick.

Ah right - sorry. I somehow didn't think about that. If Tekehu is healing you up nicely and you stack some regeneration gear I guess you won't need Savage Defiance that much. I think it's safe to not take it. No problem, you took Barbarian's "Blooded" which works as an health indicator just as well. In general that is true. But in synergy with Blood Thirst it can make a difference if a spell like Relentless Storm kills an enemy on the fourth strike or already on the third. It also has an impact if you get the refund from Barbaric Smash or not. And even against tough nuts it can be good: some of them have still a lot of health left when they are near death. More crit conversion and higher damage can't hurt then. It's not gamechanging though so it wouldn't matter much if you wouldn't take it. To me it's just a passive that adds a bit of fun (bc. bigger numbers on crits can be fun ;)). I wouldn't drop Barbaric Smash. It's an awseome "finishing move", especially for a dual weapon setup. You can do the same cancel-trick with Bounding Boots. That would spare you an ability point. You can cancel that Leap from the boots, too. The 2 per-rest uses will not get lowered if you time it right (pause/unpause/pause etc. quickly while the char is in the air and do that until the green character circle appears at the target location - before landing. Then hit the x-button. THe combat log will say that you canceled Leap but your char will still land there but the Daze effect etc. will not get triggered - you will still be stealthed if you were before by the way).

I wouldn't take it if ability points are streched thin already. The problem is that Berserker/Fury has no means of healing besides Savage/Stalwart Defiance. So you'd have to rely solely on party members and/or consumables and/or items (you already have Devil of Caroc which can heal a bit on crits - also check out pets like Abraham who give health on kill). You'll have up to +4 PEN for elemental spells - do you really think you need Rusted Armor? I personally would pick Stalwart Defiance over Rusted Armor. Infestation of Maggots does raw damage. Raw damage goes right through armor, it doesn't need PEN. Spirit of Decay will show in the combat log and will add +1 PEN to zero PEN - but it won't do anything because PEN/AR don't get checked with raw damage. Rusted Armor does no damage - hence it has no PEN value that could be boosted. PEN is only applied to damaging attacks (unless they do raw damage). Taste of the Hunt: yes, it works with Spirit of Decay - no matter which type of weapon you have equipped Spirit of Decay will always add +1 PEN to it. If you use Taste of the Hunt with Firebrand and have Scion of Flame as well you will even get +2 PEN. Not +3 because the Fury passive for +1 PEN to elemental spells doesn't work with Firebrand (the weapon lacks the "elemental" keyword). The only Druid spells that Spirit of Decay is good for: Touch of Rot (very good spell, scales so nicely with Power Level), Taste of the Hunt, Autum's Decay, Rot Skulls (only the AoE corrode damage, not the initial crush damage) - I think it's not worth taking. You could think of Scion of Flame (bc. you'll have some "auto-pick" fire spells). But I personally would skip it. Heart of the Storm is good if your preferred spells are shocking spells. --- Unflinching is very good, especially for a Berserker who constantly drops below 50% health an gets healed back up. Once you drop below 50% health the resistances of Unflinching will get removed - and if you regain health over 50% they get added again - removing one layer of affliction. Drop under 50% again and heal back up: next layer removed. And so on. --- I would check out Bloody Slaughter - it also works with spells and is quite good in combination with Blood Thirst and Barbaric Smash (to make it much more likely to kill with it which gives you the Rage refund). --- Leap is an excellent ability because a) you can use it out of combat which makes it essentially free to use as long as you don't trigger combat with it - and out of combat it makes some tasks (avoiding traps, stealing, sneaking, reaching certain spaces that otherwise would be unaccessible etc.) so much easier and b) you can cancel it mid-air. Then it will not cost anything - but you will still land where you aimed. Thus you can move with no Rage cost (but you need to have at least 2 Rage - or the ability button will be greyed out). --- You could think about Spirit Frenzy (NOT Spirit Tornado) : it works with all your spells that do an attack roll on enemies and will stagger them - also Carnage (Spirit Tornado only works with your weapon hits - it's maybe a bug). You will spare an ability point by not upgrading further in comparison to Blood Storm. Staggered enemies will have -10 Fortitude defense - which will synergize with Brute Force and spells that target Fortitude in the first place (which are some). If you add a sickening or weakening spell then the enemies' fortitude will be lowered by 20 points already - again: good synergy with Brute Force. Blood Storm is also good though since it spares you Rage (bc. it prolongs Frenzy on kill) and the raw DoT also works on spell-crits (which is nice).

I don't remember the exact wording - but I'm 100% sure that a price like that above is obvious enough.

Mule Kick, used with Whispers of the Endless Paths or Citzal's Spirit Lance* will knock up all enemies in the AoE. Which is fun. But there will be no crazy AoE x AoE hit roll fest like with Clear Out (and upgrades). Other abilities who work similarly would be Heart of Fury (Barbarian), Whirling Strikes (Ranger) and Whispers of the Wind (Monk). All only accessible for single class characters. Clear Out is the only "intrinsic" AoE weapon ability** that is accessible to multiclasses. )* with Mule Kick you can only use melee weapons. Clear Out can be tricked into using a one handed ranged weapon if you use a melee weapon in the offhand. )** meaning that it's an attack which has its own AoE but uses your weapon - which can also have an AoE, leading to those crazy behaviors with dozens to hundreds of attack rolls. Edit: maybe the post you were referring to is this: it was used for @thelee's great game faq guide that was linked above by @Not So Clever Hound.

Lol - not even I am using that.

In Germany a deal is void if there is an obvious mistake. There will be no contract from a legal perspective because one of the parties is ripping off the other. So... there is no "lawful" deal. Trying to enforce that deal would be unlawful (as far as I understand the meaning of that word). See § 871 ABGB (if you dare ;)). I think that is a good piece of law. I guess most countries have something similar. I had to learn that when I became a banker 25 years ago and I still remember.

Yes, there is a bit more INT gear. Splitting 15-15 or 14-16 or whatever feels right is also okay.

True. Pushing effects can be very nasty in combination with Arterial Strike: use Xefa's Empirical Explication (blunderbuss which knocks targets back on crit - 4 chances since blunderbuss) with Arterial Strike and the target will soon die trying to reach you. Terrify is also a great thing to use with Arterial Strike, absolutely right. Even enemies who'd normally stand still (because in melee or whatever) will start wandering around. I was just thinking about targets that can't move due to CC such as immobilized/paralyzed/stunned and so on - or those who move without actually "walking". One could assume that pushing/pulling/Escape/Leap etc. should also trigger the effect - but they do not.

Right - I totally forgot to mention the humans' Fighting Spirit. It is very easy to always have enough drugs around for every fight - if you only have one drug user in the party. I'm playing my second Nalpasca run atm. and after reaching Port Maje I never had a single fight where I ran out of drugs. You find so much stuff including drugs, you can craft them yourself and you can buy them for relatively cheap. I was never "hunting" for drugs either. When I see a shop has drugs I will buy them, but usually the stuff I find/craft is enough. Little exception in the very beginning of the game - you might want to stay sober in the easy fights and only use some in the harder ones - because there's not plenty to loot/collect before reaching Port Maje. Just one thing about the Nalpasca: if you get hit by Arcane Dampener it will also suppress your active drug effect which will put you right into a crash (no healing, wounds degeneration and the bad effects from a drug crash). And even if Arcane Dampener is over the crash will remain. You can simply take another drug then and get back to normal - but it's quite annoying. So I would see to interrupt enemy wizards who are about to cast Arcane Dampener and kill them asap. I also don't like scepters/Destructive Channeling very much. Mostly because the unique scepters aren't too exciting.

It only works when the target actively "walks" (pushing/pulling and stuff like moving via Escape won't trigger the DoT). So it does indeed nothing if the target doesn't move normally. If it does walk/run it's pretty hefty dmg though. Extremely good against slow but hard to crack enemies like Iron-/Steelclads etc. It's even more devastating if you use it with any kind of AoE weapon (Whispers of the Endless Paths, Hand Mortar, Fire in the Hole, Citzal's Spirit Lance, Kalakoth's Minor Blights, Rods + Blast modal...) Debilitating Strike stops being useful once you get the Persistent Distraction passive which unlocks Deathblows by mere engagement. That needs a melee weapon though (else no engagement). So as a melee Rogue I'd always prefer Arterial Strike + Persistent Distraction over Debilitating Strike. Arterial Strike stacks with Gouging Strike and alse Ring the Bell and Toxic Strike. If you combine some of those on one target its AR won't matter - its health will melt away very quickly. And most of those guys do move. The only case where I'd may pick Debilitating Strike over Arterial Strike would be a ranged Rogue who doesn't use Hand Mortar - in order to unlock Deatblows. But on the other hand I can also unlock Deathblows with Blinding Strike - so it may be that I won't take Deb. Strike even then. Another alternative is to simply not upgrade Crippling Strike. If you feel Arterial Strike isn't worth it and Deb. Strike neither - then spare the ability point. Crippling Strike scales with Power Level just fine - and from a direct-dmg-perspective both upgrades won't add any direct damage.

High MIG is not really needed for a Mindstalker imo. Your melee dmg will be raised by Sneak Attack (scales with Power Level up to 50% with a multiclass Trickster iirc) and later Deathblows (50%) - then your weapons will add some dmg with quality and so on. Even if you went to 20 MIG it would "only" give you a +30% additive dmg bonus. If you use a lot of damaging cipher spells one could make better use of MIG. But if your main dmg output comes from weapon attacks I think it's not worth it. But that's just my personal approach. You could try it out and see what feels better.

Hi! Did you know that Sundering Blow works with ranged weapons? Because I somehow missed that all the time. Okay, I haven't played a lot of single class fighters in the first place (bit boring) so I didn't have much motivation to check that in- or outside the game. But causing solid -4 AR in a quite big AoE for over 30 secs is nothing to sneeze at. Trying a SC Tactician atm and the Blinding Smoke (distracts) seemed to be a convenient way to flank most enemies on the spot. Then I stumbled across Sundering Blow... Sunder! Ah-ha-aha-aha-ha-a! Sunder! Ah-ha-aha-aha-ha-a! I was caught In the middle of a duuummy pack (Sunder!) I looked 'round And I knew there was no switching back (Sunder!) My mind raced And I thought, what could I use? (Sunder!) And you know I had already lightened the fuse... (Sunder!) Scorching their arse penetrating their heart The thunder of mortars Tore them apart They've been... ...Clean Swept!

Yes, Destructive Channeling will kill you if you don't stop to use it - or heal. A Wizard who wants to use bloodied with scepters can multiclass to a Warlock. You'll have higher action speed right away with Frenzy, you could either cause a raw DoT or the Staggered affliction via Blood Frenzy/Spirit Frenzy - they also work with your spells. The Blooded dmg bonus works with spells, too. You'll still have the problem with surviving though - like with the Streetfighter. Barbs get Savage Defiance at some point and that might help, but Frenzy lowers deflection so you will be even more exposed. The Fear Ward of the Furyshaper could help, but it also comes quite late. Casting damaging spells as a Warlock becomes a lot of fun once you reach Blood Thirst imo. The only other thing that might help a low health Wizard with scepters (I can think of right now)* is the Death Godlike's "Pallid Fate": +3 Power Level when near death (<25% health). +3 PL is a great bonus for a caster. It would stack with all other PL bonuses. If you plan to use a fellow Priest with Barring Death's Door it might be rel. safe, too. )* besides the High Harbinger's Robe