DreamWayfarer

Warbows are good for ranged ciphers, yes. For melee Ciphers, these are my two favorite ways a begginer can build them (not the only ways, just the best for someone who just started the game): The first is the dual-wielding gunslinging high burst cipher, who shoots one or two guns to build up focus, uses it to deal high damage or CC and then uses two sabers. For this cipher, I recommend Island Aumana. For attributes, raise MIG, PER and INT and leave the rest at base. When choosing your powers, prioritize damage and control over stat drains, as your main role will be taking out priority targets as the fight beggins. Use the Ruffian weapon focus for sabers. The second, and my favorite, is the two-hander wielding CC and stat-drain focused melee cipher, who should raise DEX, PER and INT, leaving the rest at base. When choosing a weapon, use either a Estoc or Greatsword as a main weapon. The first weapon type deals more damage (specially if it is called Blade Of The Endless Paths) and has a very diverse weapon focus, but against pierce-immune enemies you will be forced to use an halberd. There are also many cool greatswords, and the Soldier focus has pikes, arquebi, and arbalests, making it a hard choice. This cipher should take stat drains, buffs and control powers instead of nukes, and serves as a constant pain in the enemy's backside, dealing damage even against stronger foes and mind-controling or locking them in place. Start fights with a stat drain, self-buff or CC and engage weakened enemies with a teammate by your side. ps: Pale Elfs work well with the second build, IMO.

@hrwd: But ciphers are still fun. And if you buffvthimgs too much the game gets too easy. It is easier to nerf a few outliers than to buff everything else. @Blablaologist: You shouldn't pay too much heed to "class tier" lists, as many are outdated or exagerated, and the classes have more balance and flexibility than in most other games. It is also hard to know what you are doing "wrong" with your cipher without more details on your playstyle. But from your gear it seems you are still on the early mid-game, so Firebrand can explain part of the power difference. Melee characters are also better at dealing damage, because their weapons either hit harder or hit faster (a bit of relevant trivia: a "slow" melee weapon actually has the same speed as a single "medium" speed one).

You must choose "explorer", I think. And Island Aumana make great Paladins, since you can use Flames of Devotion with a gun, switch, repeat, and then go melee.

There is also the possibility that during rest our characters... I dunno, treat their wounds before sleeping? I mean, why is this do unthinkable? IRL people had to learn how to survive without magic potions, and since magic healing in Eora is a provisory measure more often than not, I believe they had as well. Medicine may not be very advanced on Eora but many, if not all, of our story companions have backgrounds that justify some first-aid training: Aloth was trained as a battlemage (or was it arcane knight?) Edèr was a soldier. Durance... can cauterize wounds with his staff? Kana... read a book about it? Sagani is a hunter who has been travelling the world for years. She can handle herself. Pallegina is a soldier. Grieving Mother is a midwife, and may have training as a nurse. Never used Hiravias, so can't speak about him. Zahua didn't die from infection in his wounds for a reason. Manahea is a mercenary. The Devil... learned how to repair herself in case she decided to kill Galvino?

I think your stat spread is too uneven, yet unexpecialized. Generaly, it is hard to notice a raise or drop of 2 or 3 points in a stat. For a MC frontliner Priest, I suggest: 15 MIG 10 CON 14 DEX (can't waste half the fight pre-buffing) 10 PER (accuracy is easy to buff with talents and spells) 15 INT 14 RES (at the beginning of White March there is an Ogre boss that drops a ring that gives +3 RES, which is enough for the most relevant and useful RES interaction I've seem: convincing a Dragon to negotiate.) EDIT: but I am glad you liked how your Priest turned out!

actually, I think you are better with shield+mace before reaching Defiance Bay. At first, the low base stats hurt you a lot.

If health depletation is the problem (which it shouldn't be until later in the game, unless you are playing solo), the Wound Binding talent is affected by MIG, INT and Healing Received multipliers, so you can completely refill your health with it. Still, it is not a talent that I would advice taking until at least level 8, because earlier you just can't self-heal yourself to the point of running out of health most of the time. And on shields, while they may be useful it still makes sense to specialize in two-handers depending on your playstyle, since dead people are generally worse at killing you. Plus, you can have a shield+mace on your secondary weapon set.

Loren... Tyr? He(?) hasn't posted in this topic.

How about a Pale Elf Priest of Berath with a greatsword, going with the Pale Knight theme? The favored and disfavored dispositions tend to not be very restraining, the lore is very cool, and there are many cool greatswords, like Tidefall, which drains health from your foes. Invest into Survival for the bonus healing received so you aren't so squishy, take the Inspiring and Agrandizing(sp?) Radiance Talents (as they stack with everything), as well as The Pallid Hand to compensate your lacking base stats and invest into MIG, INT and either PER, RES or DEX (choose ONE, as spreading you points too thin does little good), never dumping any stat below 8 (except maybe RES, because you have a spell that increases Concentration and lots of healing). For armors, anything between a breastplate and full plate can suit you, depending on your stats and playstyle.

I am not affirming that your imagery is the one of a blank page. I am merely saying that it could benefit from further work. For exemple, could you elaborate on the philosophical basis of good and evil light? You wrote that good light needs war, and evil light wants it. Does that means that peace is found in darkness? Are there good and evil dark as well as light? What is this "promise" so often mentioned? And since this is supposed to be a game, how is the narrative going to be integrated with the mechanics?

Again, many things can be imagined in a blank page. Symbolism is an interesting design element, but just it and vague concepts aren't enough.

Deadfire Archipelago has Sagani and some item descriptions, but I agree on Living Lands and Old Valia. I actually forget that the Living Lands are a thing sometimes.

Of course it isn't. I was just trying to explain that the problem is not a lack of petential, but lack of definition.

As someone who rarely plays anything but Pale Elves, I agree. My heart sunk three miles when all Manahea had to say about the White That Wends is that it was cold. **** you, obsidian, offering the option to talk to her about it just to tease us. Next PoE better have entire questlines or companions that let we dive into the cultures neglected by the first game.

I think you are mixing up egoism with arrogance. And if your idea is so good, you certainly should add in the details before exposing it. I mean, even if a vague sketch can be art on itself, it generally benefits from time and effort. Plus, your outline is so vague that the problem is not being unable to see potential, but the lack of restriction to said potential. After all, what has more potential than a blank page yet to be written?

Not all of these builds are highly minmaxed. And the most important part of them is not the Attributes or gear list, but the explanations of why the builder choose those Attributes and gear, and description of the games mechanics. Read through those descriptions, look for the "Attack Speed" thread, and you will understand some of the most esoteric game mechanics. And don't care too much about builds when playing. Respec was introduced for a reason, and it wasn't cheesing dragon fights. In fact, half of the fun is testing ideas you had yourself when you found a nice piece of gear.

You know, if you are retraining only to learn more spells it is often less expensive and faster to create an adventuer and take his spellbook. You keep all spells you payed for before, and the cost of hiring adventurers is not that high.

The only racials I can think of that every build can make use of are the Pale Elf DR bonus and Island Aumana weapon slot, and even then you'd be better with another race for many builds.

As a serial reroller there are way too many characters I have imagined backstories for. However, this one is an archetype I really like and reused with several classes (from my memory: Druid, Monk, Priest of Eothas and perhaps Cipher or Barbarian): Agiqun - Pale Elf - White That Wends - Mystic Agiqun was born on one of the few Glanfelen (Pale Elf) cities on the Southern Deadfire Arquipelago, from a merchant and a immigrant from the White That Wends. When he neared adulthood, he travelled to a monastery in his mother's land to further his studies of the sciences, history and teology. Since childhood, Agiqun had his flashes of deep insight, often mixed with strange sensations and a surreal disconnection with reality, and with fear of being judged insane he kept those secret at all costs. However, as he aged and grew in both knowledge and independence, the episodes grew more vivid and common eventually culminating in visions. Despite it going against his master's doutrine of humilty, he began to consider the possibility of being in tune with some power beyond this world, perhaps a god, or maybe something even greater, and grew distant from his colleagues. Eventually, it was discovered that he had contacted multiple exiled animancers, as well as spoken and written against the teachings of his group, leading to his banishment. Lost and unsure of where to go, he eventually settled on investigating an old vision he had, of a terrible all-devouring light, which led him to the Dyrwood, where he discovered a different yet very familiar kind of visions.

The problem is that the animancers we've seen in game are generaly around big machines full of adra lenses and copper wires that would be hard to adapt for use on the (battle)field, and when there is fighting to be done they are Wizards. I think it is actually Scholars who get the choice of being researchers of the arcane (who also have the choice of having gone to Dyrwood because what they wanted to study was ilegal/not well regarded in their homelands). Screams animancer to me.

Why would that even be a flaw? I'd rather have enough of the game left to properly enjoy my unpareled power by the tine I reach the level cap, and the only reason one should have to complete sidequests is because it is fun or fits the character you are roleplaying. The idea that getting rewards for playing the game is more important than the gameplay itself being rewarding turns games into endless grinding, while if the gameplay itself is fun it should be its own reward. I honestly wouldn't mind if a completionist playthrough would allow you to get level 16, perhaps 17 and no higher. But what I dislike is that once you get 16, your exp bar ceases to go any further and while I still enjoy the gameplay very much, I do not feel as rewarded as earlier on, I'd want at least artificial illusion of progress, that my character keeps developing itself. Maybe it is because I am a serial re-roller, but for me the "progression" represented by characters leveling up is more of a boring wait until they reach mid levels and things become interesting. Power progression divided from story elements is not development to me, only a wait that may be necessary for the game to work, but isn't exciting.

Oops. Must have skipped that part by accident. And I also meant per-tier. Not sure about naming the class "animancer", as as far as we know, the closest thing to animancy non-Watchers can do on the field are some Wizard and Cipher techniques. I know the lore is not solid enough to say it isn't possible, but it would be a big change from the connotations the term has currently.

Why would that even be a flaw? I'd rather have enough of the game left to properly enjoy my unpareled power by the tine I reach the level cap, and the only reason one should have to complete sidequests is because it is fun or fits the character you are roleplaying. The idea that getting rewards for playing the game is more important than the gameplay itself being rewarding turns games into endless grinding, while if the gameplay itself is fun it should be its own reward.

Excuse me, but... are we talking about the same PoE? Maybe I expend too much time in the Character Builds subforum, but the magical and unique items in PoE didn't feel worthless at all, just the kind of build-specific thing that you use more on future playthroughs, instead of instant keys to victory..

I agree with everything except this. While I have no experience with how this was in BG (shame on me), for me wilderness areas are those places between interesting places, where anything that moves wants to kill you for reasons and you are sent to to compplete sidequests you are given in more interesting areas. I think a game with more centralized locations focusing on a single solid city and the lands around it would make for a better paced narrative than the arbitrary travelling going on between the Acts in PoE.