EbonKnight

Yup, those are definitely the kinda stats I went for, cept without BB, so the dex int and per took a hit. Still feels good, though, not as OP but that's actually a good thing. And yeah, nothing but assassinate helps spell damage but that's fine as I can spam invis even in combat.

Ah, I see Yeah, there are a few things that sorta ruin the entire idea (dumping might means your spells aren't really that powerful, and no pen bonus also sucks) but I still like the synergies on offer. Ofc, community patch seriously buffed biting whip, but draining whip is still always the default choice until I get kitchen stove, maybe? Probably even then tho, I guess, though a few more alpha strikes from stealth before unleashing spells is also not too bad, either.. I suppose that with this setup it's not necessarily mandatory going straight to ascended.

Yup, yup. Still, assassinate bonus to something like disintegrate, ouch. I think I finally settled on a build that I'll play through the entire campaign with, has the rp flavor, has the power, has the fun factor. Thanks you guys!

Yes, yes, that's exactly what I had in mind, though I didn't get that it's actually the kitchen stove not hand mortars that you need. I still don't quite understand what affects spell damage though... assassin's bonus definitely does but neither backstab nor sneak attack do, do they?

Yeah, this is very true. Unfortunately it's not really smart to be hiding while trying to spam cipher powers so you'd be vulnerable in that stage + no extra accuracy. Plus ofc companions mostly suck with per checks, so it always triggers me lowering per. It really is a build that screams dumping res and con, I just can't make myself do it

Yup, yup.. thinking Eder is a cornerstone, and definitely Constanten or even Pellagina, with Maia also being amazing for sure. The whole "reloading in stealth" is such a cool mechanic, as opposed to waiting like an idiot in your recovery phase and getting slaughtered. Yeah, I thought you might say that all 3 of those are essential, I may just end up making myself drop con or res, but I do so hate it. Was thinking more that with Assassin's HUGE buff to accuracy you could get away with lower perception, but I guess with per basically any amount you have could still be improved upon, there's never a limit, really.. if you want crits

Hey guys, So I've been trying out Deadfire Balance Polishing Patch https://www.nexusmods.com/pillarsofeternity2/mods/438?tab=description (together with the Community Patch) and noticed that they're basically a straight up buff for the assassin (streetfighter and trickster get nerfed, smoke veil gets to cost 1 guile). With that in mind, I was thinking of finally trying out an Assassin/Ascended build, as a guy who'd be squishy af but would easily get ascended status with stealthed arquebus crits and then spam some mind blades and later disintagrate or whatever. With that in mind though, I've got a few questions. 1.) Stats. Yes, I am still a pain in not wanting to dump stats even tho this guy is ideal for 5 con/res, I know. WIth that in mind, would you say a 16/16/16 spread on Dex/Int/Per is better (mig, con and res 10 ofc), or can I get away with lower perception or even dumping it all the way to 10 for 18 to dex and int in order to do everything faster and stay Ascended longer? Obviously, it's a "crits would be great" build but not one that's likely to get a huge number of them unless I do focus on per. 2.) Gear. So far I'm thinking stuff like Red Hand and possibly the good ole blunderbusses. Just wondering though, with the Deadfire Polishing Patch further buffs one handed style, do I go for two or one of them (Still imagine two provides a whole lot more proc chances). What about gear, other than that armor that reduces reload times? 3.) Haven't played with stealth much - does backstab affect spell damage or only sneak attack? Also, with reload weapons, can they safely be reloaded while in stealth? I know that recovery stuff just doesn't let you do anything until you recover, which would definitely kill this build. My general idea is to nuke with both weapons and ascended spells abusing the cheap smoke veil mostly. (hell, even if it was two guile it'd still be the only thing I'd use as a rogue with this kinda build so eh :D) 4.) Any other miscelaneous tips, e.g. companion builds, things to watch for? I'm thinking of making the core of this setup our good friend Eder who'll be a riposte swashbuckling monster and ofc Maia can be fire/chanting support and Xoti a standard support, with one more slot open for whoever.

Heh, I suppose you're right. At the end of the day, you ARE the center-piece of the story and are meant to be more powerful than anyone else. It's just such an absurd bonus that makes you able to create perfect characters without pretty much any trade-offs AND doesn't come with the burden of sacrificing the soul of someone who trusted you, just to get far less powerful In a way it feels a bit like that blunderbuss streetfighter trick.. it's there.. it's insanely awesome..but it just feels like too much. Still, I totally get you.. I tend to gravitate towards builds that really could use every stat, so it's always super tempting to take it

Well, a lot of builds that I like end up needing...like...pretty much every stat. Considering I don't always like playing on PoTD and consider Berath's Blessings just downright cheating if not on PoTD (and even then, but eh, AI cheats too :D) I have a hell of a time getting stats I like even with those +2 stat points.. without them it's just annoying. BB is nice and stupidly overpowered without having to be evil, but at that point you may as well just use the console and give yourself whatever stats you want

Hm, true. Making it all the harder to stay on your goodie two shoes course I mean, technically, you playing with other people's souls then getting your own stolen, that is actually wonderfully poetic.. hell, it even makes sense from a "why my char would sacrifice someone's soul then be good in Deadfire" angle.. so yeeeah.. game really making it hard to pass up those sweet sweet boosts

Hahaha, yeah. I tried to justify Durance and Devil of Caroc, with the latter not only giving a great bonus but also it counting as a mercy of sorts, perhaps, since she's definitely living a straight up tortured and horrible existence (+ was a horrible person to start with so yeah). Still, it's bad however you slice it, but considering you're a soulless pirate who peeps on dead souls in Deadfire, ehhhhh Tbh, the worst part is how people just don't give a ****, even Eder is pretty chill about it, so you really have to push yourself not to powergame with those bonuses.

Oh! Yeah, totally missed it. Thanks man, good to know you really CAN all-out customize it.

Hey guys, Maybe I'm just dumb here but I cannot for the life of me find a definitive list of what each PoE1 prebuilt history entails when it comes to decisions. Thing is, yeah, you can make custom ones easily enough, but am I just blind or does doing that effectively cut you off from the Gift from the Machine and Effigy's Resentment bonuses? For example, there isn't an option to devour the souls, only to do as one of the Gods would have you do.. and none of those actually give you an attribute bonus. The blood pool thing seems to be COMPLETELY missing. Now my question is (so I can save myself playing up to that point just to check xD) do the prebuilt histories actually have that or are you stuck here if you don't have a PoE1 save handy? One I'm particularly interested is the self-serving one that tells it like you did everything you could to advance the goals of you and your party.. that one seems like it'd give you those bonuses, right? Anyways, yeah, TL:DR, what's a surefire way to ensure I can get those nice evil stat bonuses for a new character in Deadfire? I tended to ignore these earlier as I was playing a goodie two shoes, but since my next char will be a total bastard anyway it's a nice lil boost to have

Deboinaire is such an anticlimactic hero character though isn't he? I may be overthinking these things but I hate dumping stats especially the likes of resolve as you'd think a character like that would realistically just lie down and die faced with all his trails, heh. Con is thematical in Deadfire (what with missing your soul and all) so that works tbh. But yeah, Debonaire..great guy and all but COWARDICE? Can't freaking even concentrate properly unless someone else is taking the heat? Yeah reeeeeeeeeeeeeal hero material What annoys me with Assassin is that you'll never be able to do better than ranged alpha striking, which truly is a lame way to play the game. I guess maybe a single class Assassin that finally unlocks vanishing blows can do well but other builds I've tried had real troubles doing well to stay almost perma-invis in combat, and often got womped while trying to dance around in melee. I mean, it's doable but on PoTD for maximum efficiency you have to go all out dumping stuff like Con and Res which is just .. well.. see above

Heck, maybe even a tactician could work with this setup, esp if you also had another persistent distraction guy (like Eder) in your team? Honestly, Trickster just seems to be downright phenomenal for just about anything, as does WotEP