mosspit

It will ruin the playthrough in my perspective. But I don't expect others to understand it though. Well if frenzy does override food then I will try stealing the spell from a priest, or I will forgo the weapon. Thanks!

This might work if steadfast doesn't require itself to equipped in the active weapon set when the might requirement is met. I am still some ways from getting the hammer so maybe I can try that. Thanks!

I think Pallegina can't get prostitute bonuses. And St Ydwen Redeemer is good if the bonus from Holy Power doesn't get overridden by Frenzy. I have some suspicion that it does override.

So I got a puzzle. I planned to get Pallegina to wield steadfast. But I don't have a Priest in the party for champion boon for the last tier upgrade. Based on my calculations the closest I can get is: 12 (base) + 3 (Food) + 4 (Frenzy from Sanguine) + 3 (Rest) + 4 (Malefoic Skull) + 1 (Godansthunyr) = 27 Any ways of adding more might? I do have a wizard though so I might be able to steal champion boon from an enemy priest late game. Party makeup is: Wizard, Paladin, Druid, Cipher, Monk, Ranger

I remember a youtube showcase that made Concelhaut kill himself from reflected magic using Aila Breccia.

Hmmm you do have a point on design choice. But for me a small AoE is still a noticeable disadvantage to a spell like Crown. Covering a number of characters is one aspect, but it also mean there is a need to reposition to get the effect you want, or only use the spell optimally at certain phase of the battle. If Crown had an AoE equivalent to, say, Blessing, it will be definitely be less limiting in its application. Well I think I might be getting a little tunnel vision here but I still think that Crown having a small AoE is an intended penalty to offset its power. Whether the small AoE size is enough to balance the said power, that's up in the air.

Beyond my 3rd playthrough, I tend to mix in 3-4 custom chars into the party. I try to use the same party members from start to finish, personal choice. I usually play with a certain theme in mind like all melee, or have a few chars that is built quite different like an off tank riposte rogue. Alas the builds / party synergy are never TOO optimal to provide some degree challenging and the past 3-4 playthroughs are on Trial of Iron to make them exciting. Currently, trying to run a 6man party that is quite standard exept theer is no Priest, has a 2H melee Cipher, melee Ranger with her pet focused on pet dmg and a Sword / Board CC Wizard using burst defensive abilities to tank.

Ah... must have mixed you up with someone else. Making it single target will be a pretty harsh nerf. I like the idea of bouncing targets but then again it will probably be subjected to some RNG for the additional targets. Can't decide which is more annoying then.

Maybe I should be clearer. Crown AoE is small enough to need a degree of micro to affect all / most of the team. Referring to what I mentioned about the starting phase of battles, the team is usually clumped together so it is ideal to use Crown. However once the battle proceeds and your party breaks formation to engage enemies / perform their roles, it is usually not likely to get them all in a single Crown cast. I find that this is true for most cases even if int is maxed out, bearing in mind this is for 6-man teams. If my memory serves me correctly, you tend to play with reduced party size right? So maybe that is one of the reason why it is easier to affect all of your team.

Well, hopefully I can squeeze in another playthrough with a Skaen dual-wield stilettos playthrough. Haven't tried that yet. If we are discussing on straight-up nerfs: Crown I believe was already balanced around its small AoE. In practice, it is very unlikely to cast it on all/most of your team beyond the starting phase of a battle even with maxed out Int. I actually value it for the Int bonus - it sets the foundation of all buffs / debuffs that follow to ensure their duration are all extended. Devotions, I agree, is pretty darn good. Which is why I avoid using Devotions excessively on certain playthroughs. Well it does make Skaen temple quest arc a little more interesting

The point was not about a Priest's functionality. But what possibly be done to distribute more of the support skills over the other classes so to lessen the need of a Priest. As some of the previous poster said, unbalance breeds flexibility and creativity.

I think I might be missing something here. But those changes you suggested (minus the scrolls) will not really change the situations of not bringing a Priest along. In other words for playthroughs without a Priest will more or less function remain the same. So nerfing the Priest will make you feel it is ok not bringing a Priest since you are not "missing" out on too much? What about buffing the support skills of other classes to lessen the need of a Priest functionally? Scroll of Prayers alone won't cut it. Apologies in advance to those who feel PoE is already too easy.

A priest being a party effectiveness multiplier sits well with me. In a game of rolls and saves, Crown / Devotions is something I miss when I do not run a priest. Even the prayer spells. Even though scrolls of Prayers against ?? exist, I will prefer those cast by priests as priest Prayers are "fast" speed as opposed to scrolls where they have "scroll-casting". Unless, something has changed in the latest patch. That being said, although a playthrough with a priest does feel more stable, I don't think a priest qualifies as "stupidly" powerful atm. It just that it fulfills its role very well, more or less similar to the other classes in theirs.

If you are concerned with Weapon Focuses, you should also look at Soulbound Weapons. They are "universal" type and will inherit the WF you have. Things like Unlaboured Blade and Steadfast.

Boeroer look what you've done

Hmmm it depends on your strategy I guess. Maybe I made it sound negative but I needed Stasis Field to last that long. The idea is to split the combat into 2 distinct phases. 1 with the mobs and 1 with the dragon alone. Truth be told I only picked Stasis Field only for that fight and I only used it once during that fight. However, I don't find it a waste but more like a planning goal. I rather wait a little longer than failing a ToI at level 14

Oh wow I didn't realize she wasn't immune to charm. I went into that fight without much beastiary info so the safest bet was Stasis Field which, although can be saved against, I can be sure she isn't immuned. Plus it last for a long time. I actually completely cleaned up all the mobs and was waiting for Stasis Field to expire to dmg her. In that case, I might not be using Defensive Mindweb or even a Cipher for that matter. Same way I abstain from Repulsing Seal for the priest and Mind Wave / Echoplasm for Cipher.

I agree on Ciphers. I played a ranged Blunderbuss as my first main, and a dual wielding sabre melee 2 playthroughs ago. In fact, I used Stasis Field as the key opening spell to separate WM1 dragon from the other mobs. That underrated spell was the key in my strategy for that fight. However, I have personally found it tricky for a Cipher to maintain a stable Focus amount during big signature fights. Focus is non issue in trash fights but still. And I feel without a Priest to provide the usual defensive buffs, Defensive Mindweb isn't that gamebreaking. Good but I don't think it is god-mode level. Just finding a sweet spot where I can be conservative enough to have a consistent victorious outcome for ToI but interesting playstyle/build for the characters which ultimately complement each other in a party setup.

Ah crap, chanter... No offence to chanter lovers, but I find them mechnically unimpressive. And I also took Kana on my last playthrough. Although he did pull his weight with Tidefall and Dragon Thrashed.

If we consider debuff only, then my favorite with be using those that do not inflict the named cc like Blind. Cipher will have Psychovampiric Shield, Priest will have Shining Beacon. Those can be saved against but mobs will not be immune to them. Since there is some deviation to buffs, I will always start with Crown of the Faithful due to its Int buff. It will provide more mileage for buffs (and debuffs) that come after. And since the AoE is quite small, you will have a greater chance to affect the most members at the start of battle. If you need to chain buff/debuff, Potion of DAoM will also be good to start to make the buff/debuff period shorter.

So in light of the new patch, and the upcoming Tyranny (pre-ordered whoo hoo!), I think I will be doing another run. These are the things I wanna keep for the new start: - PotD ToI. - No Priest. - Because of no priest, I will include Paladin (most likely Darcozzi), Druid and Cipher. - Ranger with pet focused on dps. He/She will be most likely be melee, so not wielding Stormcaller or Borresaine. - Monk as I skipped the class the previous playthrough and it is one of my fav class. - Plan to get through signature fights. - Try not to have duplicate class. So these are my preliminary thoughts. ToI is not for bragging rights, but I feel that it gave the right amount of tension even after 7 playthroughs. No Priest is going to be hard for me. I once did a no caster party ToI playthrough and the lack of Priest support was big. I wasn't confident in tackling signature fights for that setup. I added a Cipher because I feel Defensive Mindweb will help alot in endgame dragon fights. But haven't used a CIpher since the change to skill costs so not entirely sure of how He/She will perform. So what do you guys think should be my last party member? Or maybe the other 5man? I am leaning towards a melee frontliner Wizard as my 6th as I havent used a Wizard since my 2nd playthrough.

Really appreciate that you bothered to do this Jojobobo! Sorry for not initiating the pm to Andre as the build was at a late stage of PoE lifecycle so I figured it didn't matter that much, plus I got sidetracked by Diablo 3 lol. Thanks! And of course thanks to Andre for adding the Yellow Flash

Hehe no wonder From what I remembered, you favoured ai setups more than minute micro. Not surprised you found such method

Sure. And also knowing that Riposte isn't at its full potential Anyways, for a defensive rogue to outdps an offensive one, I would assume it is not a simple a question of dps. Not going to dive into the questions of party compo and how survivability would mean more staying power to do more dmg.... Too many variables.

Ah, pardon my scepticism... this would be the same playthrough in which you failed to notice Bash and Thrust don't get Sneak Attack, I take it? Yeah, I'm a numbers guy, kind of my job. Exactly why would this translate into me understanding why it would be acceptable to ignore the main argument against using Barricade? If it's just the Riposte damage you're looking at, sure... absent math to the contrary, I'll happily grant that Barricade wins against any other shield. Wall might get reasonably close, but I would put my money on Barricade there. I fail to see how this maThattters. The point would be to maximize overall DPS, no? Why would I care if I do more Riposte damage, if it costs me more in regular attack damage? Yes. That will be the same playthrough which I have already acknowledged with Boeroer. But thanks for pointing it out again. And it would matter because then it would make sense to pick something else rather than Riposite in that case.