chalsengi

In the beta patch the unarmed set has been removed. I dont know if it was an intentional change.

I hope they release another beta patch soon so we can test it also. The expansion is supposed to be released on Tuesday!!!

I use a paladin as my main tank (super great) and another paladin for second row and ranged (arquebus). They are both super effective. But I havent used one specifically as an offtank before (although my second row paladin has decent deflection if she uses a large shield). I have found in 2.0 that Perception and Dexterity are more important than Might. Perception will increase accuracy so you land more hits, and also interrupt more so the enemy takes longer to do anything. With a group of high interrupt characters its almost like stun locking. Dexterity means you can attack faster, so the loss of speed from using armor, one hand weapon and shield can be counteracted quite nicely. Dex is also great when youre using reloading ranged weapons.

Managed a couple more bounties and Raedric yesterday. I came prepared to each fight and although I had some knockouts it wasnt terribly difficult to succeed. Raedric was disappointingly easy. Sly Cyrdel I cheesed with a terrain funnel. Raedric I used a two tank door block. Warchief Iklak I used the stream crossing and gap between the trees leading to the clearing area where he is located. I feel like POTD is becoming trivial when Im still only mid-level :/ Gear wise I have a unique hunting bow, fine grade of weapons and armor, slayer and elemental damage enchants. So nothing terribly OP as far as gear is concerned. The only character specced for range is the Ranger, the rest lean towards a melee focus apart from their particular Weapon Focus' ranged weapon accuracy increase. Sly Cyrdel Group level 5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-t15Ll71qJk Warchief Iklak Group level 5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7arLrGmgFo Raedric Group level 5, PC level 6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIN2LQAjygs I was thinking that for most of these fights that if the enemies had a ranged weapon set to switch to then it would be much much harder. Unless Obsidian can make AI that counters the terrain funneling or door blocking its only a matter of player choice as to how to approach such a situation. Obviously its not realistic the way that it is (not that it should be). One thing the AI dont do is flank by finding alternate routes. They instead seem to want to find the shortest path to their target, rather than the smartest one. For the Sly Cyrdel fight and Raedric, simply having enemies flanking my group from the side or rear would destroy my strategy rather quickly. Also its silly that drakes cant just fly over terrain, or that enemies cannot pass under them.

I just wish we could mod the game easily. It would be nice to make some challenging encounters and share them with each other. Apparently Sword Coast Legends will have a DM mode, but I dont know to what extent you can add things. It will have online coop too. But it remains to be seen if its actually a good game. Loving PoE for the time being. I subscribed to your channel by the way

The Dweller Location: Black Meadow Group level 4, PC level 5. Just took down the Dweller. Cheesed it by splitting him off from the group. Dont think it would be possible otherwise at such low level (unless I wasnt using a no healing, no magic playstyle). The actual fight with the Dweller begins at 7:20, before that it was just various stages of splitting off the other enemies, dealing with bandits, etc. Eventually I led him into a clearing and did quite well except my main tank (PC Paladin) died. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0VNDR8tDZs Please note the "That's Alotta Guls" video listed in the OP has been taken down because it was too long and contained a failed attempt. It was not worth watching. Unfortunately I cannot edit any longer the OP to remove the video link. Also I respecced the stats of the rogue Sweetie, hence her higher endurance. All I did was lower her Perception and increased her Constitution.

Just updated the OP with another video of possibly my favourite combat encounter so far. It took place at the entrance of Level 5 of the Endless Paths. I like it a lot because I didnt cheese it at all, its just pure combat and 3 of my group was knocked out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PvZlBD5l-0

For increased difficulty I generally prefer better AI and increased foes to + foe damage and - ally damage adjustments. Other things like the fact you can run away from most things makes it tempting just to do that all the time, whether to split or retreat. I remember in modded Skyrim you could have crash-inducing amounts of enemies, and although you could run away it wasnt likely youd make it. My favourite was the random encounter patrolling death squad Falmers who to survive against I had to use Detect Life while hiding behind trees. Sorry Im hijacking your thread!

Not really answering your question, but I have a suggestion for you. If you are still on 1.06 (not the patch beta version of the game) you can use IEMod. This will allow you to take a fresh custom companion and put their level to 12, plus give them items. You can recruit custom companions from the first inn at Gilded Vale. You can also give yourself money to buy stuff from the blacksmith. Or put your own character's level to 12, and you can recruit level 11 companions. You can then test them out in the Temple of Eothas, or even on other custom companions. Im not advocating cheating. Just make a savegame specifically for testing character builds. Once you're happy start a new game, or continue playing from a previous savegame. I did this before settling on all of my character builds. With my tank characters who had high deflection, I was able to test the damage and accuracy of my other companions when attacking them. I can share a character build testing savegame with you if you like. Now to answer your actual questions: Some of your questions really depend on the difficulty level and the playstyle. 1. This depends on the role of the wizard. If theyre just going to be at the back, and mostly out of harms way then you really only need might and intellect. Dex is helpful but not essential. Might and intellect will allow you to get the most out of your spells, which are limited in their amount of uses. Dex will help cast them faster and increase weapon speed, but those are less important than maximising the effect of your spells. Also wizards have very low endurance and health. So if you want them to survive consider increasing constitution. Wizards get a spell that increases their endurance quite a lot, so you can self buff with that instead of increasing constitution. For a balanced build you can try Mig 16 Con 16 Dex 10 Res 10 Int 16 Res 10 2. Armor should vary depending on where they are located during battles. For backrow robe is probably get away with. Second row you will want something heavier, like leather. Front row heavy plate, bringandine etc. 3. Early on you will really suck with a weapon because your accuracy will be quite low. I think you can buff your accuracy though. If you actually want to hit things use a +accuracy weapon like a spear, dagger or club in one hand only. Blunderbuss is a popular weapon for any class, but keep in mind the reload time is long and theyre hard to find in Act 1. 4. Not sure 5. I personally only use stealth and athletics for all my characters, except for my main who increases mechanics instead of stealth. I think mechanics is better than lore, because I think scrolls make combat too easy. 6. Wizard + anything thats isnt OP. Maybe duo with a priest or druid or chanter. That could be an interesting challenge.

The Raedric fight was pretty good. Youre obviously very skilled at the game, but POTD seems a bit too easy as is. I read elsewhere of people saying "oh go back to that fight when youre higher level, its too hard" and youre just like "yeah right i'll 3 man it at level 5".

Thanks Positioning was crucial. I knew from MMORPGs thats its typically a good idea to face bosses towards walls. I cheesed avoiding the plague of insects (which I had only encountered with the dweller before, but had heard people complaining about ogre druids having that ability also) by sending in my bear first, but my monk has +run speed so probably couldve dodged it instead of the bear. I noticed most of the damage I did to ogre druids was through grazes, so it was death by a thousand cuts.

I've heard antipathetic field is OP. Ive never used a cipher because of reports they are OP. And unlike wizards there is no per rest restriction. How can monks solo it at low level? As moon-likes with summons?

You killed Raedric at such low level? Wow, I should try that.

Okay I figured some people (not that anyone asked for it) would appreciate a strategy explanation video. So I made one in Endless Paths Level 4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMQAy7E6iz4 In the video I explain a little about my strategy for taking on difficult encounters with a low level group and no healing or magic. Over the course of the playthrough I've decided to make my monk into a more dedicated tank, and its working quite well. I used the bridge in Endless Paths Level 4 as it is nice and open to view, to clearly show formation and two tank blocking with second row and ranged support. The first half of the video did not record properly. In that, I showed my group stats and explained their roles. Also, a Stone Beetle burrowed up behind the group and attacked the ranger. The second row and his pet all swarmed that beetle and killed it pretty quickly. Most of the damage done to the group was from the Adra Beetle's Shocking Blast, which it fired twice in the battle (only the second blast was recorded). The entire group has relatively high reflex, so avoided taking too much damage. At level 4 all of my second rowers took Vulnerable Attack (-20% attack speed, -5 Melee DR). It was a hard decision to make, but since they all have low might and may switch to one handed weapons sometimes I figured it would be better than Two Handed Style or Savage Attack.

What level were you when you went to Caed Nua main hall to clear the ghosts? You seem to be wearing plate armor there. Where did you get it from? Ciphers look like cheese (: No wonder you can three man everything.

Oh sorry, I was just reading through the forum and didnt notice this had already been posted about. I was checking on my phone this morning before posting here and didnt notice the other thread at that time, so thought I should mention it. Sorry!

The ogres on Level 3 of Endless Paths are getting stuck/freezing/becoming passive after activating Frenzy. They would simply stand there afterwards, and wouldnt attack except for disengagement auto-attack. Here is a savegame file https://www.dropbox.com/s/x2ous7qhkgv29kb/99d3ad56d7064a739f45b6a66963229c%2010505890%20EndlessPathsofOdNuaLevel3.savegame?dl=0 Video demo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXRz2WVj1lU

I've noticed this also. Both Gaun's Share and Oidreacht (the spider queen stiletto) lack the endurance drain they previously had.

I think you're right about that. I probably should treat the Barbarian as single target, with the added bonus of splash damage. Dropping single targets fast seems to be generally more important than many targets slowly. One less enemy means one less source of damage.

What's your style? You mean you would use different characters, or you would approach the fight differently? If you notice anywhere I could improve I'd appreciate it

I think might is more important. Bigger heals makes them more effective, and so you need to cast less of them. Being able to cast less spells is important because casts are limited. Also they will do more damage with their damage spells. It makes them more efficient with their limited casts. Dex just makes them cast faster, which is really only important in a rare emergency, whereas high might is useful all the time.

Warning: Possible content (combat and locations) spoilers for people who haven't explored all the game yet. The Pale Raiders is my group of Pale Elves led by a Bleak Walker Paladin (with the not-very-imaginative nickname of Pale). They do not use healing magic, or magic at all really. No potions and no scrolls either. Their focus is martial abilities. They do use enchanted gear however, so long as its not OP (I dont want combat that is supposed to be challenging to become trivial). The videos and discussion I share here may help others interested in trying similar group conditions. Difficulty: Path of the Damned. Warning: RPish backstory spiel: Pale came to the Dyrwood not because of Raedric's offer to settlers, but (with his Pale Elf associates) to begin guerilla warfare against Raedric and/or to claim Caed Nua. Raedric's insanity and tyranny has made him and his followers targets for just plunder. And a stronghold built upon an underground labyrinth of untold wonders seemed like an opportunity worth looking into. Pale came alone (with the caravan) so as to not arouse suspicion. Once in Gilded Vale he was able to form up with the others, who had also trickled in. Although they're not all Paladins they all fall under the banner of Bleak Walker by virtue of their leader and their allegiances. Please note that Bleak Walker does not mean a-hole. Bleak Walker can be a response to a-hole bullies, to put them in their place, and an attitude of resistance to oppression and abuse that doesnt take kindly to being threatened. Pale actually wants to make Dyrwood a nice, secure and prosperous place again. Anyway enough of this nonsense, bring on the strats and stats! Early game approach: In order to recruit all 5 custom companions asap, I had to sell mostly everything to Heodan. Recruiting 5 level 1s costs 1250 total. I did well from selling to Heodan, and so upon arrival to the Black Hound I just had to sell some armor and items to make up the remainder. I kept the Disappointer, thinking I might enchant it later. With the crew gathered, I went through all the zones accessible before Caed Nua appears on the map, fighting and looting including Raedric's Hold apart from Raedric himself. I avoided doing quests, because I like the challenge of doing difficult encounters with a low group level, and also because I want to save potential stronghold turns by doing quests only after my stronghold is well established. Raiding Raedric's hold is quite lucrative, and has brought in around 20,000 coppers most of which I'll spend on stronghold buildings. Group characters: Pale. Paladin. Bleak Walker. Rauatai, Laborer. Mig 15 Con 20 Dex 19 Per 5 Int 3 Resolve 19 Group role: Tank. Mechanic. And um... Cook. Player character. Smoke. Monk. Deadfire Archipelago. Raider. Mig 10 Con 19 Dex 19 Per 10 Int 3 Resolve 18 Group role: Offtank, backup tank, flanker, second row reach damage (quarterstaff), special purpose tank. Zealous Endurance. Five. Barbarian. Deadfire Archipelago. Raider. Mig 10 Con 9 Dex 20 Per 19 Int 3 Resolve 17 Group role: Warbowman, small AoE, flanker. Sweetie. Rogue. Deadfire Archipelago. Raider. Female Voice: Benevolent (: Mig 3 Con 15 Dex 20 Per 19 Int 3 Resolve 18 Group role: Second row reach damage (pike), ranged (pistol, blunderbuss), flanker. Bleak. Paladin. Deadfire Archipelago. Raider. Mig 10 Con 10 Dex 20 Per 18 Int 3 Resolve 17 Group role: Second row reach damage (pike), arquebus, damage, support. Zealous Focus. Bleak (a not-very-imaginative operation's name) was Pale's contact in the Deadfire. When Pale heard of what was happening in Dyrwood, he contacted other Bleak Walkers for counsel. "Bleak" was one of them, and she was willing to commit to the cause and bring some friends. Furly. Pale Elf. Ranger. Rauatai, Hunter. Bear companion. Mig 10 Con 10 Dex 19 Per 19 Int 3 Resolve 17 Group role: Ranged damage. Pet for offtank and flanking. Although mostly a Pale Elf (+10 burn and freeze DR for the win) Furly's family history of interbreeding with Wood Elves (if thats even possible. Yes Im making up an RP reason to hide the fact that I didnt like the remaining portrait choices). For those in favour of RP over minmaxing, and thus dissatisfied with my choice of 3 Intellect for each character, I would like to defend my choice. Given none of them are magic users, their low "Intellect" reflects this. If Intellect here represents aptitude with magical abilities, they have intrinsically little, and thus choose a path they are more suited to. Think of minimum intellect as the baseline for your average person who is not naturally endowed with the ability to emit bolts of flame from their fingertips, or even to empower regular abilities with a magical boost. Video Highlights: Note: because there is a lot of pausing I recommend playing the videos in 2x speed. You can change the video play speed at the bottom right hand corner of the video frame. Location: Raedric's Hold Ground Floor Group level 2, PC level 3. Features a couple of the more surprisingly challenging combat encounters the Pale Raiders had on the ground floor of Raedric's Hold. In particular a spellwright who went nuts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6V0ZWICBkA Location: Caed Nua Great Hall. Clearing phantoms and shades. Group level 3, PC level 3. By using the corner pocket by the stairs I was able to quite well in this encounter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgiVZMEZKx4 Location: Endless Paths Level 2. Group level 3, PC level 4. Split party strategy, one trio doorway tanking, the other trio assaulting archers and wurms. I tried tanking the doorway with ranged and reach weapons behind, but there were too many enemy archers and wurms so they had to be dealt with somehow. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUNGNHmqYs0 Location: Endless Paths Level 2. Group level 3, PC level 4. I wanted to take on the entire blood room in a corner spot I found. However, the whole room doesnt follow. The splitting was unintentional... I wanted to be swarmed holding that spot. So it wasnt as epic a battle as I was hoping for. But it does provide a winning strategy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgiVZMEZKx4 Location: Endless Paths Level 3 Group level 3, PC level 4. My first time on this level of the Paths and my first ogre druid kill. Them brutes are nasty. Kept most of my group at a distance plinking away. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjYJpZlbfkM Location: Endless Paths Level 5 Group level 4. This is probably my favourite fight so far. No cheese, no splitting, no bear pulling. So I made it to Level 5 of the Paths and when I saw Xaurips again I decided I should try and adapt. So I decked out my second row with plate armor, shields, and enchanted their one handers with freeze damage. I also made sure they all had ranged weapons. The fight was really difficult because I had to take down the High Priests quickly because their Burning Mark spell was really devastating. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PvZlBD5l-0 Video technicals: I record using Bandicam with the NVENC encoder. I have an Nvidia gfx card. Record settings are 1280x720p, Quality 90, keyframes 300, 192kbps audio bitrate. These settings produce video files that are decent quality and small enough in size to upload to Youtube without killing my data limit. It only works well for short videos, as long videos will still be very large and require further encoding for compression. To join multiple videos together I use Avidemux. Video output, Copy. Audio output, Copy. AVI Muxer, Auto.

Yeah, I do like to add a little RP flavour. My group is all pale elves, and although the two Paladins are from different regions (Deadfire Archipelago and Rauatai) they are both Bleak Walkers. My group is essentially a Raedric hit squad, who also intend to take over Caed Nua (first weakening Raedric as a potential threat to their initial occupation). They're raiding Raedric's Hold at only level 2 (main character level 3), so you could assume they came to the Dyrwood being familiar with small-scale warfare (most of them are raiders) already. Speaking of raiding his hold, once inside the hold its been a lot of fun and not too punishingly difficult. The groups inside are smaller, and easy to manage through doorways. All the gear Ive picked up along the way has helped a lot, and I currently have 11,000 coppers. I found a blunting belt also, which was an awesome find for my main tank. My highest damage dealer is a paladin with a pike and warbow. I still have a rogue, but I self-nerfed her with 3 might and I wont take any crit talents or deathblows.

I use a Ranger in their current form and I fail to see why they need a buff. They are the reason I can survive without healing and spells on POTD. They receive buffs that increase their ranged accuracy or speed and its really really helpful when combined with an arbalest or even just a war bow. I think the pets maybe are just too fragile, but I play on POTD so maybe thats why. I tend to use the bear because it can offtank sometimes. Rangers are one of the best classes for taking down annoying high DR mobs early on in the game, like Shades... When they hit with a high damage ranged weapon they hit hard and its quite effective. A salvo of the entire group typically has a good result.

With Chill Fog or similar AoE I could probably do it at the same level without splitting, but I'd still need to use terrain funneling. The only AoE ability I have is a Barbarian with 3 Intellect