Harpagornis

Havent been able to test the "Rooting Pain" + "Resonant Touch" Synergy in combo with Ryona's Vambraces or the +10% spell damage amulet. Someone else has more time? If this works i would bump INT up again and - like Boeroer described - stand in the middle of the mobs... charge the stacks up... and BOOOM. Hell, that could be so much fun! Only thing that could disturb the fun: It seems that the maximum numbers of stacks is 10 - at least my counter stopped there. Can anyone confirm this? My Ascetic Monk is Level 16 now and i have chosen a pretty offensive path with things like "Apprentice Sneak Attack" + "Savage Attack" + "Interrupting Blows" on top of the other damage abilities/talents i took on lower levels. It seems offense is the best defense for the monk - hope i wont regret it at some point.

TCS with a Monk is really cool as the class is very powerful - even without item optimization. If you are searching for some ability advice you may take a look at my Ascetic Monk Guide: http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/84589-class-build-the-ascetic-no-items-solo-monk-guide/ For items you should wait or ask for Boeroer - he knows everything about that. No? "Weapon Focus Peasant" was a good choice to boost your Accuracy - especially with only Perception 9. Long Stride will also make things much easier so you can splitpull like a god. Fast Runner is optional for me. If i remember correctly Torments Reach will not apply the Fire Lash of Turning Wheel. As i am an obsessive Torments Spammer i often skip it. Soul Mirror is suboptimal in my opinion as you have more than enough options too kill Gunners quickly. I would try to get "Force of Anguish" as soon as possible. The knockdown will remain useful until the lategame. Some words about your attributes: Looks like you nearly used the same build of an old TCS-Monk-Guide. Should still work but personally i prefer Perception over Resolution today. But okay - for TCS its the safer path for sure.

More Int would be better for sure but its the old problem: We are running out of points. For this special solo run i rated Str, Con and Per higher. And: I played Monks with 18 Int in the past. Yes the range of Torments is crazy and the duration of knockdowns are cool - no doughts about that. At the end its a matter of playstyle. The low Int Build for the Asscetic Monk works fine for me and put me through all challenges so far. Hhhhmmmm... so far i would say that you only get one resonance stack per attack. My monk regularly hits enemies for 20+ damage with Torments but - if i watched correctly - i never got two stacks per hit. Maybe we need some further testing? Rooting Pains base damage isnt that high but with all the crits its good enough to get past the 10 damage mark. And thanks to the high wound generation it will trigger a lot. Hhhhhmmmm... maybe i will give it a try and see if it works - or not.

Changed the build a bit as "Resonant Touch" is pretty awesome so far. Stacking the touches and bursting tough opponents down is just great. Also nice: The raw damage may also crit for even higher numbers. P.S. Its quite a pity that Rooting Pain doesnt seem to stack any resonance - would be too cool no? P.P.S. Tested it again: "Rooting Pain" also triggers Resonant Touch - how cool is this!!!! Its only the question how often its damage will surpass the required 10 damage to trigger the effect. Interesting!

Hrhrhr... sure you can... gogo! Yes, this would be a pain in the ass for sure. Maybe thats a challenge for the future... What does it say about me that I first read that as flatulence? You are walking on the path of sins - stop eating!

You were raised by lonesome monks in a small monastic order. The lessons learned there through many hard years of prayer and flagellation still live on. You are stronger and better in body and perception, but you reject vain worldly possessions that would lead down a path of sin. =================================== The Ascetic There is no way to material happiness, happiness consists in less is more Difficulty: Solo, PotD Class: Monk Rules to avoid the path of sin: no Weapons (except against enemies that are immune to your fists) no Armor (normal, unenchanted Cloth - 0 DR - is allowed) no Amulet, Rings, Girdle, Boots, Cloak, Helm, Gloves no Food-Buffs (except for non-combat-purpose) no Salty-Mast-Whores =================================== Choosing your Race Moon Godlike: Without any armor you will get hurt a lot. Thanks to the healing waves you can tank and outlast your opponents much better. Adjusting your Stats Might: 18 This is straightforward because you want maximum damage to get through DR. You could drop some points here for Dex or Res if you like. Constitution: 18 You need high endurance and high health to compensate for the lack of armor. Also nice: Together with Might 18 you will get very high Fortitude that will help avoiding harmful knockdowns. Dexterity: 10 More would be definitely better but we run out of stat points. Perception: 18 High accuracy will help a lot landing your attacks, especially at the beginning. Worth to remember: Thanks to your precice punches and your fast attack speed you will frequently interrupt enemies. You could drop some points here for Dex or Res if you like. Intellect: 4 Its true that many of our attacks are AoE or duration based. But in my experience it doesnt matter that much for the playstile of the Ascetic. Sure more would be better but we are running out of points. Resolve: 10 As a frontline melee it would be nice to get more deflection and more concentration but as i stated earlier: We are running out of points. On the good side you could argue that enemies will hit you more often so you will generate wounds faster. Thinking about Skills Everything is up to you here. Mechanics is always nice for trapping but maybe you prefer Stealth to avoid encounters. Or maybe you like to use the powers of scrolls. At least three points in survival are also nice so you get the movement bonus. Your choice! Choose your Talents/Abilities Level 1 : Torments Reach Hands down – this is one of the best monk skills. Double AoE damage is too good to pass on. After several monk playthroughs i would say that the low Intelligence doesnt hurt that much as it will still hit several enemies with proper positioning. Level 2: Weapon Focus Peasant I like this one a lot as it pushes your accuray +6 right from the start. This will help especially in the beginning where missing your enemies can sometimes be more problematic. Level 3: Long Stride This will make your life much (!) easier. Thanks to this talent you can outrun most opponents, lure them into other monsters and – the best: You can easily splitt-pull large enemy groups into smaller ones. This little trick will remain useful till the end. Level 4: Two Weapon Style This is quite simple: Thanks to the +20% attack speed you will attack even faster now. Level 5: Force of Anguish Kicking your enemies around will be a lot of fun. Works best against heavy hitters like mages: Kick & Hit so they never really get the chance to hurt you much. Always keep in mind your positioning! Level 6: Vulnerable Attack More pain incoming for your enemies. The +5 DR will nearly always be useful. Level 7: Duality of Mortal Presence +8 to either deflection or defenses. To make it short: Buffing your defenses is always nice. Level 8: Bloody Slaughter Increasing your crit chance and damage is always welcome. Thanks to your high accuracy this will proc quite often and helps a great deal finishing your enemies. Level 9 – Enervating Blows Once i realized the good crit chance of ~40 % i dropped „Rooting Pain“ for this one. The reason is simple: Reducing Fortitude by 20 will help knocking enemies down with „Force of Anguish“. The improved knockdown will synergize well with „Apprentice Sneak Attack“. Level 10, 12, 14, 16 – Its your choice You can buff your defenses with Superior Deflection or talents like Mental Fortress. You can buff you damage with Savage Attack or even Apprentice Sneak Attack. You might also consider buffing your utilty with Interrupting Blows or Deep Pockets. Level 11: Iron Wheel Finally some kind of armor for us. The +1 DR per wound is nice and will be negate incoming damage a lot because of your high wound generation. You may swap this with Flagellant´s Path if you prefer higher mobilty. Level 13: The Dichotomous Soul This one is still too good to pass. The two clones will add a lot of damage and can be used as decoys. Only downside: The duration got nerfed to 15 seconds. Level 15: Resonant Touch: This ability is pretty awesome and especially effective against tough mobs with high endurance. Stacking the resonance and finishing them off with a burst of raw damage is very pleasing. Also nice: The raw damage may also crit for even higher numbers. If you more higher mobility take "Flagellant`s Path" instead. What about the other abilities? Swift Strikes: I dont know why but i am still not a big fan of this one as i personally prefer „Torments Reach“ spamming. Yes we could combine these two for even faster spamming but our low Int would hurt the duration quite a bit. Still an okay choice imo. Turning Wheel: This works great in combination with „Swift Strikes“ but unfortunately the fire lash is not applied when using Torments Reach. If you are still aiming for an autoattack build this is a good choice! Lesser Wounds: Is it worth a talent point? Playing with and without i would say: Probably not. Your wound generation is so fast that often times you will have a hard time spending them all. Mortification of the Soul: Damage yourself to get a single wound? Oh dear! Taking damage happens pretty fast so wound generation isnt a problem at all for your Ascetic Monk. Stunning Blow: Yes this is a nice one but the duration isnt that long if we count in our low intelligence. Would probably work great with high Int but for me „Force of Anguish“ is the better CC. Rooting Pain: I still like this very much. Yes the damage is not that great and the AoE gets hurt by your low Intelligence. But: Without Armor you will generate wounds like crazy so the rooting pain will get triggered a lot and hurt the enemies that are close to you. Also nice: The damage can crit and even trigger the bloody slaughter bonus plus it will cause interruptions! Clarity of Agony: The effect isnt that great and its questionable if it would be a big deal against permastunners. As you have other ways to deal with them i would pass this skill. Crucible of Suffering: Getting +10 defenses after a hostile effect expires is quite ok especially if you want to build a more defensive monk. Soul Mirror: Ranged attacks can be annoying but thanks to your high mobility you have more than enough options to kill archers fast. The Long Pain: I havent tested it for long but it seems very promising. If you prefer keeping your distance this is the way the go. The damage is higher than your normal fists at the cost of lower speed. Only downswide: Abilities like „Torments Reach“ and „Force of Anguish“ will be deactivated. Skyward Kick: I dont like it that much - seems like a weaker version of Stunning Blows. If you want to build a CC machine: Take it. Otherwise i would prefer „Force of Anguish“. Flagellant's Path A swift teleporting attack that damages and debuffs everyone between you and your target. With this skill you can teleport across the battlefield like there is no tomorrow. Great tool for engaging backline mages. Port in, Kick them down, kill them. Monk Synergies – Some examples Torments Reach + Swift Strike = Fast AoE Damage Swift Strike + Lightning Strike + Turning Wheel + Interrupting Blows = Great Autoattack and Interruption Build Long Stride + Fast Runner + The Long Pain = Master of Hit & Run Enervating Blows + Force of Anguish + Apprentice Sneak Attack = Knock, Knock, Knocking them on Gaias Floor Rooting Pain + Bloody Slaughter + Interrupting Blows = The AoE Damage & Interruption Machine Flagellant`s Path + Force of Anguish + Torments Reach = Goodbye Mages The way of the Ascetic Will you miss your armor? No - because you are fast! With Interrupting Blows you will interrupt your enemies quite a lot. Sometimes mages will not even be able to cast their spells before they are going down. Spamming Torments Reach on the other hand will do tons of damage even with your low Int – its often times just a matter of proper positioning. For CC you have Force of Anguish. Thanks to your fast wound generation you can run from foe to foe and knock them down one after another. This works best against spellcasters as they normally don't have high fortitude saves. Iron Wheel will later on provide some nice protection and will also lower the damage from disengaging when you need more wounds. But as you are lacking a real armor you will be more vulnerable than other monks. This means: You always have to keep a closer look at the map. Tight corridors are your best friends to minimize enemy engagement. If the enemy still hurts too much try to split them into smaller groups. Once you got „Long Stride“ at Level 3 this will work pretty easy. Another bonus of not using any items is that you will be able to buy the Animat Figurine pretty fast. Use this to your advantage and always remember: Summons are your best friends. Positioning will also be the key for your victory – be it for maximizing „Torments Reach“ damage or kicking enemies into the right direction with „Force of Anguish“. If you plan ahead and play in a cautious manner your Ascetic Monk will be able to banish the darkness. Beating Thaos, finishing the White Forge and killing Concelhaut is all possible. May the fists of light be with you! ;o)

Blights have infinite duration as long as you stay in battle. I used this sometimes to clear whole maps with only one Blight. As long it is immune to the damage type its like an immortal god rolling through enemy hordes. Fun note: Blights will get tired if they keep on fighting. Dont ask me why!

As Boeroer said: Shapeshifting is quite strong now. Together with the new immunities of your blights and the good old CC power the druid really excels even when playing solo!

Thats nearly the same build i used for my Solo Druid. It makes the Druid quite sturdy while still allowing all the CC craziness the class offers at later levels. Good hunting! ;o)

Very cool and intriguing guide series - keep on this great work! An idea for Druid: "The Beast within - A Shapeshifter Guide" Or something like this - i am curious!

The Might 14 Con 10 Dex 10 Per 15 Int 15 Res 14 build still proves to be quite effective for TCS. The loss of Int isnt as essential as i thought it would be. Btw: Without the aiming help and AoE-indication the game feels even more than good old BG. Gaia reached Level 11 and started "The White March"-Expansion. Will be a lot of fun! A journal about the progress and tactics used can still be found here: http://pastebin.com/HxtjjezF NOTE: Why cant i edit my OP???

This depends on the enemy type. Normally i am not fleeing against a single enemy - i am not even summoning a blight because you can kill them in so many other ways. But most of the time you are running into groups of enemies. Pulling out the right blight will make things much smoother. One example: In the Catacombs below Defiance Bay you will meet many Black Oozes - they can hurt a lot. With a single "Earth Blight" you can clear the whole area in one go using it for pulling one Ooze after another. Yes this is cheesy too but TCS-Runs for me are all about taking the safest route possible. Gaia is nearly Level 9 atm - Darguls are suffering so hard against "Earth Blights"...

Thats true. I know all of the encounters from level 3 to 5 pretty well. But sometimes bad luck can happen - missing several attacks or getting poor damage rolls against the bears in the cave for instance. Or - even worse - you start to play careless because you think that you know everyhting. This caused one idiotic death to the bandits in Black Meadow...

After two restarts so far Gaia has now reached Level 7. As i do not have much time for playing the whole run may take a while... It seems that going from level 3 to level 5 is maybe the most critical phase for the druid. Going from level 5 to 7 was nearly a walk in the park. Detailed progress can be read here: http://pastebin.com/HxtjjezF

After completing the Druid-Run on PotD i feeled confident enough for a TCS-Run. Goal: Well-rounded Druid that can handle (nearly) any situation and heavily abuses the Blight Immunities. Might 14 Con 10 Dex 10 Per 15 Int 15 Res 14 Cant decide if Dex would be better than Res. As long as the Blights tank Dex is for sure better. But there will be moments where the druid herself has to tank. Any tips on this one? A detailed Journal about the progress and the tactics used can be found here: http://pastebin.com/HxtjjezF So far Gaia has just reached level 5 - Caed Nua is waiting. I hope there wont be too many restarts needed.

I loved playing a Gnome Cleric/Thief in BG. Buff yourself up and backstab the hell out of the enemies. Boeroer this build definitely catched me. Will have to try it after my TCS-Druid-Run!

You are absolutely right Boeroer! But as i stated earlier in another thread: I never cared too much about items (yes i am lazy in that aspect). And - hey - it worked even with suboptimal stuff. Strategy > Equipment. No?

Good point Boeroer! Completly forgot about that ring. Would have been much quicker. LOL!!! Here is a link with some pictures and descriptions: http://imgur.com/a/zKkQ9 P.S. I tried several spells but most of the time i just missed the dragon. Yes the DoTs are great IF you can land them.

Okay its done: My druid killed the Alpine Dragon and his friends. What a challenge! The whole battle lasted more than 70 (!) minutes. 70 minutes of constant trembling. Better than watching a horror movie! Some tips to surive the challenge: Buff yourself up like there is no tomorrow. The dragon breath will hit you in the beginning so you have to be able to survive some heavy punches. Any kind of cold resistance will be a lifesaver too. Use "Scroll against Fear" to neutralize the dragon aura and stuff like "War Painting" to boost your accuracy. Use the knockback of „Winterwind“ and „Boiling Spray“ to immobilze the Ice Blights. Its very important that you get the angle of the knockbacks right because your main goal is not to kill the blights but to use them as a blocking wall. Push them as far as possible so that the Alpine Dragon will not be able to reach you with his breath. This part is very (!) tricky and took me dozens of tries. Sometimes you will also be able to immobilize the slimes but its quite random. And: Aim your spells so that they will not hurt the dragon. This means: He will either stand still and wait or just move around. If you are not careful and hit him he will use his breath. Avoid this pain! The best spot for building your anti-dragon-wall is the northern part of the cave. There you also have good chances that the spirits will not engage immediately. Kill the engaging slimes with spells or Spirit Form. After some pushing it might happen that the spirits will engage – this also seems completly random. Take them down fast – especially the stunners. „Sun Lances“ as well as „Maelstrom Scrolls“ will one or two shot them. After the slimes and spirits are dead its up to you. Is the wall good enough to keep the dragon away far enough or do you need to push them more? Just be careful not to kill the Ice Blights with „Boiling Spray“. Also remember: If you took „Bonus Spell Level 1“ and „Bonus Spell Level 4“ you will have two more knockbacks for your wall. Once you finished building the wall you can start hitting the dragon. This will be the moment of truth: Will he be able to hit you or can you avoid suffering? I had several walls where i constantly had to run from the left to the right avoiding his breath. In between you may have the time to shoot him with your bow. This can work if you are careful but it will be very painful for your fingers – believe me. It might also happen that the Alpine Dragon – for whatever reason – will get „stuck“ in his position so you can shoot him without the fear of retaliation. I used this golden opportunity to take him down with my „Lenas Er“constantly hitting him for 3 or 4 points of piercing damage (no beast enchant + i forgot about Ring of Searing). The dragon shooting alone nearly took one hour (!) of constant fear. I also tried hitting him with spells but most of them just missed him badly. Once he finally fell to the ground i only had to kill the immobilized Ice Blights – victory!! http://imgur.com/a/zKkQ9

Thanks for the link. I am working on a similar way for the Alpine Dragon but it seems more trickier. Will try it again when i reached level 14.

Thanks for your input Raven Darkholme. I also like perception very much now as it "fixes" one of the druids main problems. So dropping a bit more might for more perception will work fine - no dought about that. In the end its a matter of taste imo. My Perception Druid (with buffs his per is ~20) works fine for me even in the White March Expansion so far. I have cleared now all Lagufaeth colonies - very challening encounters indeed. Best way to deal for the druid is: 1. Engage with a heavy CC like "Overwhelming Wave" or "Calling the Worlds Maw" so you can splitt pull the groups. 2. Choose a position where they cannot surround you like narrow paths or bridges. 3. Fire Blights will tank - and hurt - them quite good thanks to piercing immunity. 4. Relentless Storm is your best friend because the fights always run around the question who can stunlock better. 5. Make sure to recast Relentless Storm early enough so that it never runs out even if you get stunned. 6. Throw in some heavy AoE damage spells if you get the opportunity. 7. The minor shield "Aila Braccia" works great in combination with high deflection thanks to the reflection. 8. Items like "Orlan's Bramble Ring" can also help you to resist some of the stuns. Good luck! Still working on a way to kill the Alpine Dragon - got him once to wounded but then he catched me with his breath. Damn!

Very cool ideas Boeroer. Its always amazing too see what is possible - or not. I must admit that - till now - i havent cared much about items as my druid works quite well even without crazy stuff. But maybe i will give it a run in the next time thanks to your inspiration. BtW: You mentioned the idea of a great druid-tank in another thread. Could you explain this in a bit more detail? Are there also some insane item combinations involved?

Hello Aghern and thanks for your questions! The Bearcave: This is pretty tough at level 2 and chances are high that you wont succeed on your first try. Charm Beast is your best friend here. Aim it so that at least the big Bear gets charmed. He will kill the young ones with one or two hits. If you completly miss the Charm its over. But once he starts attacking the other bears: Run out of vision! If you get lucky the young bears will hurt him quite a bit. It might also happen that one young bear will still follow you while the other fights the big one. Dont worry: Run back far enough and kill him with your Spiritform. If both young ones are dead and only the big one is left you have two options. Engage again or rest (essential if you used the Spiritform special abiliity for the young one). If you sneak up again you can charm the big bear or hit him with a Sunbeam so he gets blinded. Time the engagement so that you can shift right into your Spiritform when he stands nearby. If you get a bit lucky you will kill him with a few hits. Use food buffs!! This battle gets much easier on level 3 because you can also cast Hold Beasts. Moon Godlike is your best friend here thanks to the passive healing. The Wolves: Has been a while since i did this on level 2 but if i remember correctly: Use Food Buffs and block the entrance so that you will only get attacked by one wolf. Hurt as many wolfs as possible with your damage spells (Sunbeam -> Talons Reach). Do not kill the young wolf in front of you too quickly so that the big one can attack you. Just make sure the big wolfs takes as much damage as possible. If you run out of spells it gets tricky: If you still have enough life you may consider shooting the big one while the young one is still blocking. Just make sure to safe your Spirt Shift for the big wolf so you can take him down quickly. The enraged Catform works great here. And: Healing potions will be a lifesaver too! But to be honest: If you miss too many spell casts or the wolves can land lucky hits you will loose. Dont get frustrated - you always have the option to come back later again! ;o)

Worth to remember: Thaos can be beaten quite easily by the druid at the moment! 1. Use the usual beetle split at the beginning. 2. Against Woedica's Headsman (Slash + Burn Damage) the Greater Fire or Earth Blights work best. Use Beetle Shell and healing to keep them alive long enough. Take him down with a combination of Returning Storm + Shapeshifting. Throw in some debuffs to make sure you will hit him more often. If you can land Maggots or Insect Swarm: Great! 3. If not already happened split Thaos and Woedica's Judge with the Shadows. 4. Summon a Wind Blight to tank Woedica's Judge. Its immune to his knockdown and crushing damage. Now its up to you: Hit him with Damage Spells and/or shoot him down with Lenas Er. Yes, this may take a while thanks to his big hiitpoint pool but its super safe. 5. If possible summon a Fire Blight. The only way for Thaos to harm the Blight is to attack it in close combat with his Slash Attacks. Just be careful if he uses his mind controls. Even easier: With Boots of Speed you can kite Thaos all day long while shooting him down with Lenas Er. 6. Job done! Nerf incoming?

I have played the Druid in so many other RPG´s that it was quite obvious for me that i will give it a try in Pillars of Eternity too. And i must admit: It´s a lot of fun! My aim for the solo druid was to push the power of his spellcasting while still being tanky enough to survive the difficulty settings of PotD. Lets take a closer look! Which Race should i pick? Moon Godlike is one of the best choices. Thanks to the healing waves you can tank and outlast your opponents much better. Wood Elf is a good choice for the better ranged accuracy. Also gives you a little defence against ranged enemies. Boreal Dwarf +15 Bonus vs. Beasts and Primordals can be very helpful Pale Elf +10 resistance to fire and cold is not to be taken lightly. Adjusting your Stats There is no „best build“ in my opinion so you have a little bit of freedom to choose one build that fits your playstyle most. Some examples: Precision Druid----------Swift Druid----------Defender Druid Might 15--------------------Might 15--------------Might 15 Con 10----------------------Con 10----------------Con 10 Dex 10----------------------Dex 15-----------------Dex 10 Per 15-----------------------Per 10-----------------Per 10 Int 18------------------------Int 18------------------Int 18 Res 10----------------------Res 10-----------------Res 15 High Might and Int are nearly essential. You will not only hit harder but your spell area will increase significantly. If you remember how many AoE-spells the druid has this one is a real nobrainer. Dex, Per and Res are more about taste. Do you want to cast faster, hit more often or get tankier? Your choice! Con at 10 is all it needs especially if you are playing Moon Godlike. Personally i prefer the Precision Druid. The reason is quite simple: Unlike Wizards the druid has no spell to boost his accuracy. Missing spells too often can hurt you a lot. The Beast within: Spirit Form Choice I think anything will work. Personally i prefer the Catform for its high attack speed so i can clean up badly wounded enemies really quickly. If you want more tankiness choose the Bear. Fun note: The Spirit Form works great against some tougher opponents. Do you remember the infamous Shadows in the beginning? The Catform will kill them easily with a few swift strikes. Choose your Talents Weapon + Shield Style / Cautious Attack / Superior Deflection: If you are building tanky like this your deflection will jump over 100 around level 11. Thats not too bad and will save your day more than one time. Bull's Will /Snake's Reflexes / Bear's Fortitude: These too can be lifesavers. Just take a look which defenses are in need of an upgrade most. The numbers will also jump over 100 around level 11. Sounds good. Heart of the Storm /Scion of Flames /Secrets of Rime: Giving your elemental spells a better punch (+20%) always looks good. But after the nerfs to some of the druid spells its a good question wether they are worth the point. Personally i still like the talents a lot. Oh, and dont forget the +5 elemental damage reduction bonus. Bonus Spells: Bonus spells can be quite useful in longer fights where you will need any extra portion of power. Just remember that high Dex Druids will get a little bit more benefit as they can cast their extra spells faster. Wildstrike / Weapon Focus Peasant / Two Weapon Style: You want to play a bit more like a Shapeshifter? In this case you should take a closer look at these talents as they give nice bonuses to your wild form. Thinking about Skills Mechanics should be your primary focus. Opening chests and disarming traps is just too good to pass on. Everything else is quite optional – your choice. Its all about Equpiment As a primary weapon i mainly use Hatchet (+5 deflection) + Small Shield (no accuracy penalty). A Hunting Bow like Lenas Er can be quite handy too. If you have to tank a lot you should definetly use any kind of Plate Armour. If your summons are able to tank all night long than Clothes are the better choice: Faster casts = More Damage. Just be careful. With regards to all your Accessories. Do not think about them too much. Just make sure to find any stuff that buffs your primary attributes Might and Int. And always take a closer look at items like Ring of Deflection or Ring of Protection to boost your defensive power. Shod-in-Faith-Boots can later on be a lifesaver in tougher battles. Boots of Speed are quite funny if you want to play hit and run (works great against Thaos too). The power of summons Thanks to the new immunities your summons are now quite powerful. If you use them smartly they will tank like gods giving you an easy time casting your damage spells. Lets take a look: Earth Blight: Slashing + Corrode Flame Blight: Piercing + Fire Rain Blight: Piercing + Shock Wind Blight: Crushing + Frost As you can cast them only in combat its best to start the battle with a heavy CC like Overwhelming Wave. This gives you time to reposition and summon your Blight. Fun note: Have you ever watched big bad Thaos trying to burn down a Flame Blight? Try it on your own - and laugh! Nerf incoming? Fun Note II: Looking for some easy xp? Just kill your own blights! You will get experience as if killing hostile ones. Which Spells are useful? LEVEL 1 Tanglefoot: Nice engagement tool that can give you time for better positioning and summoning. Worth to remember: If you run away far enough some of the hobbled enemies will cancel their engagement so you can minmize their numbers. Natures Mark: Fine debuff with -1 Deflection, -10 Reflexes in a large area. Cast it first and watch them suffering! Sunbeam: Great debuff and burn damage. Blinded enemies will not only miss you more often but they are even easier targets for your own spells. Charm Beast: A gamechanger. Cast it on beasts and watch them fighting each other! Remember the infamous bear cave at the beginning? Thanks to this spell you can clear it at level 2. Talons Reach: Deals quite okay AoE Slash Damage and - the best - its fast cast. Winterwind: A large cone that will deal frost damage (damn nerf). Works great in corridors with lots of enemies. Fun note: The knockback effect will completly immobilize Blights and Will o Wisps so you can easily kill them. Natures Vigor: Okay healing over time. This spell will also increase your maximum endurance by 15 %. Can work nicely in longer fights as long as your enemies do not have burst damage. LEVEL 2 Autumn´s Decay: Great cone spell that will deal corrode damage over time. As corrode damage isnt resisted that often it will hurt most enemies quite a bit. Blizzard: Large AoE that will deal frost damage and reduce attack speed by 20 %. Works best against large and fast attacking enemy groups. Burst of Summer Flame: This spell will deal AoE burn damage. Works nice for finishing enemy groups thanks to its fast casting speed. Conjure Lesser Blight: Great spell – for more info take a look at the „Summons“ section. Hold Beasts: You are surrounded by a pack of beasts and thinking its over? Dont worry! Cast this spell and watch them freezing. Now you have time to turn the fight around and hurt them badly. Works against dragons too – great! Insect Swarm: Fine AoE spell that will deal piercing damage over time. Works nicely in combination with Autumn´s Decay. The -10 concentration will make it easier to interrupt your enemies. Woodskin: Gives you +6 DR against Piercing, Shock and Burn for 15 seconds. Rarely used but quite okay self buff. LEVEL 3 Beetle Shell: If your summons are desperately in need of a shield this might save them. Absorbs 100 points of damage and gives you time for other healing spells. Infestation of Maggots: A tricky spell. Will deal 10 Damage by percentage of health lost over time. This means the more wounded your enemies are the more damage they take. Works great against groups that are already suffering from spells like Autum´s Decay and Insect Swarm. Natures Balm: The healing over time isnt that great but may help you through longer fights. Rarely used. Returning Storm: Great spell that will deal shock damage and stun. As the lightning will continously strike you may be able to stunlock your opponent. Spreading Plague: This spell leaves the primary target Hobbled and Weakened before jumping to 5 other enemies max. Nice debuff that will make it easier to hit your following spells. Twin Stones: The two boulders will deal Crush Damage to any enemy within their path and explode to deal Pierce Damage to all nearby enemies. Quite okay spell against large enemy groups. LEVEL 4 Boiling Spray: Large Cone that will deal burn damage. Works best against large enemy groups. The knockback will immobilze Blights and Will o Wisps. Calling the World’s Maw: Great CC spell that will deal Pierce Damage to enemies and will knock them down. Just remember that there are several opponents that cannot be knocked down. Conjure Blight: For more info take a look at the „Summons“ section. Hail Storm: This icy storm will deal Crush Damage and 25 % Freeze Damage. The huge (!) radius of this spell can hurt dozens of enemies. Moonwell: Nice healing over time and +10 to all defenses. Will help greatly in tougher battles – if you get the time casting it. Overwhelming Wave: Very powerful engagement tool that will not only deal Crush Damage but will stun enemies in its path. Use this time to start your pain train! LEVEL 5 Embrace the Earth-Talon: Powerful spell that will not only deal Pierce Damage but also petrify enemies. Only downside: The duration isnt that long so you will barely be able to hit your enemies more than one time while being petrified. Relentless Storm: Hands down this is one of the best spells in the game. An AoE stun that will continuously strike your enemies? Cast this at the start of an engagement and use the stuns to follow up with damage spells. Works best against dangerous groups of spellcasters like Adragans so they will never get the chance to petrify you. Plague of Insects: This spell is also great as the insects will deal Raw Damage, reduce Concentration and Sicken enemies. Nice followup after Relentless Storm. Firebug: Deals good amount of burn damage and jumps up to 8 times. Feels weaker than the other spells on this level but is quite okay as a finishing move. LEVEL 6: Conjure Greater Blight: For more info take a look at the „Summons“ section. Garden of Life: The healing is only useful when there are plenty of corpses around. Rarely used. Rot Skull: Will change your weapon and let you throw skulls that will deal crushing and AoE corrode damage. Sounds cool but i rarely used it. Sunlance: Good single target piercing + burn damage that works best against tougher opponents in 1vs1 situations. Venom Bloom: The Weakened and Frightened Debuff is great. Only downside: Its duration is very short. Remember, Remember Do not try to burn down a Flame Blight like Thaos! Always take a look at the resistances of your enemies. Positioning is key. Using bottlenecks like doors can save you from many harm! Debuff your enemies to make sure you will land your spells more often! Use your summons for distraction so you get time for your damage spells! Inns will become your best friends as you will run out of spells quite often! The more you eat, the more you get. Or: The power of food buffs. Why i am not using all those traps i have collected?