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

Sounds good, yeah. I hate dropping to even 8 tbh, but eh, if anything has to be dropped, con is the most manageable one I think. Thanks for all the help man, the mechanics of these game really are very deep sometimes and not necessarily intuitively explained This whole discussion also made me realize why a riposte-focused trickster/soulblade could be a monster, too, and ofc a steel garrote mix with rogue would also get you a bunch of (arguably weak, but hey) self healing. So many damn options, this is why I keep going back, I have major build paralysis in this game

It's just hilarious to me how insane monks are. As a single class you can't really beat them (wizard, maybe?) but then everyone who mclasses with them gets huge benefits, too. Yeah, as for tankiness, I was thinking maybe Trickster's Mirror Images can help out a bit, but realistically it's still not the best tank ever, but more than good enough considering the dmg output. Also, am I correct here in assuming that since a build like this needs pretty much every stat except con (and maybe might) maybe we can also shave some points off of dex since a dedicated riposting build like that will not be doing all that many attacks using the standard mechanics? Does dex help with the speed of executing all those ripostes too, how exactly does that part of the equation work?

Oh, wow, thanks for the detailed info! Damn, I totally got most of my build wrong, didn't I Seems like the Whispers sword is just unavoidable for doing some kickass aoe damage, now I'm thinking riposte seems to be the way to go, in which case I guess wizard, paladin and cipher would be great, to get that better deflection rating. Alternatively, rogue trickster/shattered pillar with this setup for even more riposting action, huh? And damn, it does seem like INT is almost unavoidable for any good build in Deadfire, isn't it?

Hey guys, So I've been thinking of starting a new game and was mulling around the idea of a devoted/shattered pillar build (I use the community fix, so shattered pillar is actually pretty damn strong as they don't get gimped on the max wounds). Anyways, I'm looking for a bit of advice on equipment and stuff, but also one mechanic. I was thinking of using blunderbusses (hand cannons) and melee, since devoted can get nice bonuses for both and you can in theory do some sick crit chains with the bb while having fists as a backup for tougher single fights. The real question here is this: does INT affect the AOE of weapons that have AOE such as whispers gs, blunderbusses and that weird poleaxe? The reason is, if not, I think with monk's bonus to Int I'm totally fine going 10 int and just boosting dex and per, otherwise probably a 16/16/16 mix is best. The reason I say 16/16/16 or 18/18 and perhaps 12 in might (otherwise 10) is because I -absolutely hate- dumping abilities. My thinking is, either 10/10/16/16/16/10 or 12/10/18/18/10/10. Also, any other tips for specific equipment to look out for (other than hand cannons ofc) and things not to miss adding to the build? Cheers

Wrong forum section, my bad.

Dude, that's fine. All I'm saying is that in order to fast track your reputation to the "op" levels of this skill, you will have to always choose the options that align with your Paladin order. Now if you play normally, and sometimes choose to be snarky, sometimes rational, whatever, yet your order mostly wanted you to be Benevolent and Honest, for example, you will get these benefits much later, therefore their "op"-ness will be... well... much less so. Now ofc if you are the type that wants to go out of their way to be a **** or to be an unreasonably goodie-two-shoes honest fella in every damned scenario then it will align better with your chosen order, but for everything else there's a nice balance of choosing options which sound natural to you in the moment, or being a power-gamer and having dispositions visible and making sure you always select what's best for your order so that you can fast-track F&C to "op" levels. Anyways, enough of that, like I said, no more derailing for me, you guys have fun x)

Ah, I see. So you play Faith and Conviction trying to maximize it by naturally knowing what disposition each option gives, right? It's robotic play IF you want it to be "op", that is to say IF you want it to be OP you will HAVE TO choose options that are optimal which is robotic play. But whatever, you're right, I'm going to let you guys get back to it, I'm out .

Given Josh has made it clear that he thinks balance is important even in a single player game I doubt our discussion is going to divert dev time in any significant way. My own view is that balance is important. It doesn't have to be balance in the sense that games like DotA strive for, but it's important that there isn't too big a disparity between class power (PoE achieved this pretty well by the end) and, ideally, no abilities should be massively over or under powered. I want (and I suspect most players do to) to be able to take a spell or ability because it appeals to me and know that it'll be roughly as powerful as its power level suggests. I don't want to have to decide my builds based on power first and appeal of abilities second. To give an example of this: I like the idea of Sacred Immolation and really enjoyed it in PoE. In Deadfire it does 43 raw damage per tick to the Paladin which is terrible. I can't play a SI Paladin at the moment and so I would very much like Obsidian to rebalance the ability to make the self damage less harsh. Similarly the Monk ability Inner Death might appeal to someone thematically but perhaps they don't want to be able to one shot any enemy in the game. Scaling it back a bit so that it's still a powerful single target ability but is less likely to one shot bosses seems sensible to me. Bro I never said I am against balance, nor that overly OP abilities shouldn't get looked at. All I'm saying is that this easily gets out of control and people start bitching about things like Faith and Conviction (a powerful ability clearly balanced by the fact you HAVE to robotically play a character instead of RP saying whatever you want, a form of power-gaming much like dumping stats, imho) and that starts creating a nearly endless loop of to-and-fro balancing, which takes some serious dev time. And all because someone REALLY wanted to use THAT ability, but not have it THAT powerful. I get it, we all want balance (believe it or not, me too) but what gets me is when everyone starts chiming in on what they find too powerful and then it becomes a cluster****, since things are already hard enough to balance if they didn't manage it in what two years of alpha and beta testing?! Or how about the fact that the single class rogue has been underpowered since PoE and that still hasn't changed? xD Like I said, I'm not AGAINST balance, far from it, I just think that people go a little bit overboard on this, that's all.

It's a discussion forum man, I get it. Everyone has the right to voice their concerns - his concern is a perceived lack of balance, mine is that all these threads derail more important dev time such as bug fixes and completely new content. We can agree to disagree, but everyone has the right to chime in, no?

You're wrong. Balancing the game properly is indicative of the game's overall quality and results in a wider variety of strategic and tactical choices for player permutations. Once again you're using a straw man, this time saying people will bitch regardless what you do so why do anything. Previously you were saying why spend dev time on one thing instead of another thing. What nonsense straw man will you use next? EDIT: I forgot to address your usage of the logical fallacy that is "just don't use it" twice! God , I can't. It's like talking to a wall. A back-talking, offensive wall, that thinks it's very smart. How the **** is saying "why spend time on something only SOME people have a problem with AND can EASILY be circumvented if you want to" vs "Let the devs focus more on creating NEW CONTENT THAT EVERYONE CAN ENJOY than trying to endlessly balance a billion factors based on the feedback of a group of people who spend time trying to find OP things to complain about" the same?! Do you not see that this is the same logic as saying "Why spend your time on one thing (making the world a better place through science) instead of another (being a successful mass murderer)?" Yes, they are both things... but they don't have the same inherent value to most people. They obviously do to you, and that's cool, but don't throw around big terms when you don't even know what they mean.