jintegrity

- and here I am literally trying to plan a build around a Rogue that uses White Crest Armor and things of that ilk. Not saying this is gonna stop me, but it sure is discouraging.

Huh. That's a neat idea. I was actually wondering the opposite though: what about skipping the Interdiction Talents (or greatly delaying them), to take weapon/tanking Talents, wear appropriate armor for being on the frontline/off-tank position, and trade Iconic Projection spam for a cast of Consecrated Ground before fighting on the front line?

Slightly different take on the topic, but here goes: With Cloak of Minor Missiles (+5 Burn/Shock DR), Wyrwood Ring (+5 Freeze/Corrode DR), Blunting Belt (+5 Slash/Pierce DR), and Crush-Proofed Armor, you can have +5 DR to all damage types but Crush, which is +3 (there is not +5 Crush in the game) for maximum DR with minimal slots allocated. Deckhand's Uniform (+9 Deflection/Reflexes), Munacra Arret (+12 Will), and Father's Teeth (+18 Fortitude) for insane defenses. Little Savior can bring these up by 5. Noteworthy for not requiring ring slots (of keen interest to Wizards). Cloak of Comfort's +5 All Defenses stacks with other bonuses, so something as simple as Ring of Protection (+9 all non-Deflection defenses), Ring of Deflection (+9 Deflection), Little Savior, and Cloak of Comfort can be a whooping +19 to all defenses. Alternatively, you can save a lot of attribute points and gear slots by purposefully tanking (pun not originally intended) Deflection, as shown in concept by mosspit's The Untank. While Barbarian is a natural fit (and using Sanguine Plate to get around Maneha choosing Barbaric Yell at level 1 works wonders), this concept also works well for off-tank roles like Melee Ranger, or even bulky Rogue (Reckless Assault becomes pure upside). To add on to Boeroer's comments on Deathblows/Deep Wounds spell Rogues, because of their natural synergy with AoE Blunt/Pierce/Slash spells, they make great use of gear that procs them such as Sabre of the Seas, The Grey Sleeper, Echoing Misery, Swaddling Sheet, Siegebreaker Gauntlets, Nidhen's Finger, White Crest Armor, Bittercut, and The Colored Coat. The ones listed are AoEs, fixing one of the Rogue's "problem areas", and some, such as Nidhen's Finger and White Crest Armor, can make for extremely powerful openers as you inflict the entire enemy force (in some cases) with Deep Wounds. As mentioned in Boeroer's Zeblastian Hurtstacker Wizard's Phantoms can use Spellbinds on Rings, making them the ideal choice for things like Ring of Searing Flames, Ring of Unshackling, and Sigil of the Arcane. A Paladin with Outworn Buckler, and two party members with Little Savior can grant the whole party +15 to all defenses.

Love everything you said there, Boeroer. That said, most newer players who need these kinds of guides aren't going to know to do a lot of the things you've listed. Also, while Outworn Buckler/Little Savior stacking is really strong (unless you're doing the kind of things you're suggesting), I find it can be hard to find builds that actually want to use a shield (and specifically Little Savior over things like Badgradr's Barricade) rather than the alternatives. Since Dragon Thrashed tanks don't really need to worry about weapon damage as much, they're objectively good candidates for it. I actually think I'm going to use Raedric's castle to practice using White Worms then. Raedric himself may be dead, but there's a whole castle of dudes you are distinctly not, and I'm getting to the point where I can't get much deeper into Od Nua at my current level (where I have been acquiring my coin). Thanks for the heads-up.

Playing a Priest MC now. Typically I'm far enough back from the action that I don't get CC'ed if I'm allowed to initiate the engagement (and most of the time I am, in my experience). Could see the appeal of putting the Cap on a Priest, but I'm planning to just use less-desired items like Hermit's Hat to cover as many resistances as I can on my priest. With Kana's low initial DEX, and less than stellar PER, I needed S&S just to get his Reflex up for this version of him (ended up his highest defense). If you've got a big enough front line to have Kana be a second-row unit, then that could definitely work. The issue I usually have with that is early game he's usually taking Ancient Memory and Beloved Spirits, so he's not going to be very accurate. At that point, I find it's just better to make him a tank than transition to a second-row damage dealer that won't really come into his own until late. Though, with him not being a front-liner, I bet you could get away with dropping (or greatly delaying) Veteran's Recovery and just build for damage. Neat idea! Thanks for sharing. Pallegina always gets my Sun-Touched Mail of Hyran Rath. Good to know someone else loves that armor as much as I do. I think it's the lack of highlighting that gets me. I click the spell, get no indication it's going to do anything, and just opt for the "safer" option.

From Reddit to Steam to the Obsidian forums, I've seen people asking for companion builds for as long as the game has come out. There are a lot of threads with helpful guidance, and a few Youtube videos that are... alright. There are awesome builds, presented by the community, that, while not built for companions, that companions can do a good job of running themselves. That said, all of the above takes a lot more effort for a player than just having a guide for said character, so I'm going to do my best to slowly work towards making them. A few things about these builds: If a contender for BiS (best in slot) can be found in Act 2, and a marginally better item can be found in the bottom of Od Nua, late-WM1/2, or Act 3, I'm going to have the earlier item listed. I want you to be able to reliably use these builds for a playthrough. I will generally not have items that require RNG like Adventure or Azzuro items listed if it can be helped. Finally, my builds are not going to be the end-all be-all. If you see something in the guide, but your personal experience/playstyle has found something else to be more effective, do that, and please consider letting us know. I fully expect these builds to generate discussion, and to serve as a more centralized source of information than scouring years of threads on several different mediums in order to try and sift through the information, good and outdated, to make informed decisions. With all that said, let's get started. Kana Stats MIG: 16 (possible +3) CON: 12+2 DEX: 9+2 PER: 14 INT: 17+3 RES: 10+3 Talents 2: Ancient Memory 4: Beloved Spirits 6: Veteran's Recovery 8: Sword and Shield Style 10/12/14: Snake's Reflexes, Boar's Will*1, Bear's Fortitude 16 (Choose One): Weapon Focus Peasant or Adventurer, Superior Deflection, Cautious Attack *1 With the immunities granted by Company Captain's Cap, you may find you don't need as much Will. If this is the case, substitute it for one of the Talents listed under options for level 16. Abilities At Recruitment: "At the Sight of their Comrades, their Hearts Grew Bold", "Blessed Was Wengridh, Quickest of His Tribe", and "If their Bones Sleep Still Under that Hill, None Can Say". 2. "The Thunder Rolled like Waves on Black Seas" 3. "Come, Come Soft Winds of Death" 4. "White Worms Writhed in the Bellies of the Dead"*1 5. "Rime and Frost Followed the Footfalls of Karth"*2 6. "At the Sound of His Voice, the Killers Froze Stiff" 7-8. +#s 9. "The Dragon Thrashed, The Dragon Wailed" 10-14. +#s 14. "So Singt thy Biting Winds o' Eld Nary" 15-16. +#s *1 I've never personally gotten this to work, but I know it's good. Feel free to switch it with something else (like the Phantom summon). *2 For the Burning House event in Stalwart. Alright, let me get this out of the way: I know there are more ways to build a Chanter than spamming Dragon Thrashed. However, there are issues when we're specifically talking about Kana: he has a DEX of 9. Even if you give him Viettro's Formal Footwear and Gauntlets of Swift Action, and build him to be as fast as he can be, it's not going to be fantastic. Yes, you can build around "Sure-Handed Ila...". Yes, you can build around "Aefyllath Ues Mith Fyr". Kana just isn't necessarily the best candidate. I think he's actually got one of the better stat spreads for his class as far as companions go (high MIG and INT), and is competent at what is the strongest, easiest Chanter strategy available. In addition, a lot of your choices here will come down to personal preference. At level 8, Wurms, Will-o-Wisp, and "Rejoice, My Comrades!" all make sense depending on how you play your Chanter. I personally am just going to spam "the Killers Froze Stiff" most of the time, so I'd take Rejoice for emergency situations and use Figurines for my summons, but you might prefer a dedicated summoner. As long as you have Dragon Thrashed going on Kana (and or 90+% of Chanters) once you hit level 9, it really couldn't matter less what you take. I'm inspired to make some non-Dragon Thrashed Chanters now... Equipment Boots: Boots of the Long March Head: Company Captain's Cap Armor: Ryona's Breastplate*1 Neck: Voice of the Mountaintop*2 Belt: Belt of Bountiful Healing or Girdle of Maegfolc Might Ring 1: Ring of Overseeing*3 Ring 2: Ring of Protection Hand: Bracers of Deflection*4 Weapon: The Vile Loner's Lance, Little Savior*5 Weapon 2: Forgotten Tear of the Beloved *1: Earlier on, I recommend Äru-Brekr. It's easy to acquire and is pretty good, granting move speed and increased deflection versus ranged attacks. If Ryona's Breastplate is being claimed by another party member ( ), then He Carries Many Scars serves as a strong substitute. In the event both are claimed, consider Lost Meadow Mail or just staying with Äru-Brekr. *2: I consider the Neck slot a very strong slot, and it's unfortunate that the Chanter-exclusive equipment is in this slot. If you find yourself not needing the AoE, consider Cloak of Comfort for an additional +5 to all defenses, or Cape of the Master Mystic to free up your Hand slot and for the strongest Of Deflection enchantment. *3: We don't take Gathbin Family Signet here because its immunities are redundant with our Head piece, and another character could probably make better use of it. If you're not using Company Captain's Cap for some reason, strongly consider using this instead because you don't want your Dragon Thrashed spammer getting charmed/dominated and killing your party. On the other hand, if you don't feel you need the AoE, Frigid Claim, Ring of Unshackling, Ring of Deflection, and Wyrwood Ring are all considerations to replace it. *4: Bracers of Deflection is here instead of Glittering Gauntlets due to the latter being bugged (at one point?). If it's confirmed that you're no longer going to Daze your Priest for casting Withdraw on your Chanter, then that replaces this item for the slot if you manage to get them. Hands are usually a slot relegated to Forgemaster's Gloves and Gauntlets of Swift Action. However, we carry Little Savior, and don't care about our attack speed, so using this normally highly-competitive slot for Deflection isn't as painful as it appears at first glance. That said, if you can get the Deflection in the Neck or Ring slot, Mourning Gloves, Gauntlets of Accuracy, or Celebrant's Gloves (put this on and trade Ring of Overseeing for Ring of Deflection if you get them) are excellent substitutes. *5: Little Savior is BiS, and the main reason we're built the way we are. It is also a fairly late game item for most people. As you're leveling, consider Ilfan Byrngar's Solace and Redfield as placeholders. This is for a low-micro, low-effort Kana. We're not using many Spellbind items. The point of this character is to sit on the frontlines with 113 Deflection, 112 Fortitude, 123 Reflex, and 118 Will with good immunities before buffs at max level (you can get this higher with some gear substitutions listed above). Kana will live, and kill everything else around him. Forgotten Tear of the Beloved works well with our immunities, and makes up for our highly-contested Ring slots. You could even forgo The Vile Loner's Lance for it if you really don't care about trying to trigger Disorienting when we're not really trying to make him accurate with the weapon. Chanters get good use out Spellbind items because they don't interfere with Chanting, and the alternative is usually auto-attacking, so if you really want to use a certain Spellbind item, especially if it takes a less-important slot (looking at the Boot slot), go for it. He appreciates having a Paladin in the group equipped with an Outworn Buckler, or another S&S ally with a second Little Savior from The Helwax Mold. Every party appreciates a Priest for buffs. Due to the nature of defenses in this game, I would recommend this build if you're trying to build a tanky party with stacking Defense Auras and abilities that try to outlast their foes while Dragon Thrashed, Shining Beacon, and other such effects kill the opponent due to attrition. The support builds will not make glass cannons suddenly "tanky", but might make you feel the glass just a little less often. If your party is utilizing low-Deflection strategies to trigger things like Swaddling Sheet, Sanguine Plate, and Shod-in-Faith, you may need to make some adjustments to ensure you're not interfering with your party's overall game plan. - and that's pretty much a Kana build. This is probably the easiest companion to build simply because his stats naturally lend him towards the most meta build for Chanters anyway, so there wasn't anything crazy here. I'm hoping, as I build other companions, that things will get more creative. Hopefully this build helps you!

Thanks for the reply. I'll definitely be looking into this.

Undead Raedric will give me shiny armor... That I have no actual plan on using long-term in this party. It's weird, I somehow planned a party that doesn't intend to use that, or the Firebrand Items. I keep seeing items that normally are major game-changers in my run, get excited, then remember I'm not planning on using them.

I realize that's probably an oxymoron, but are there any low-micro Monk builds? The whole reason I've never touched the class is because I hear they're high-micro. Do they have any lower micro options, or are they designed more like Ciphers where they're just mechanically that way?

So, if you kill Kolsc for Raedric, he'll give you Justice. If you follow that up by having Pallegina (or whomever it is for you) shoot him in the face, and proceed to murder him and his whole squad, then he drops it again. Wasn't actually trying to do that, but I guess Eder and Sagani just got big gear upgrades. *shrug*

Holy necro, Batman.

*nods* Thank you very much for the detailed reply. I probably should have just asked about Iconic Projection though, as that's mostly where my mind is focused (I'll definitely be using Shining Beacon, and already planned for it to be my mastery. I was mainly asking to make sure I wasn't losing anything valuable to my plans by skipping Scion of Flame). I mainly wanted to see how hard we could scale it. So, for ol' Durance, assuming level 7 (I try to theorycraft at lower levels) with his starting 14 MIG, +4 from Devotion, +2 from Agg. Rad., +2 from gear (easily attainable) is +36%, Secrets of Rime is another 20%, Bracers of Spiritual Power is another 10%, and Blessing is another 10% for a total of 76%. All of that together would bring Iconic Projection to 35 damage a cast. With Azalin's Helmet (and Dire Blessing to help us crit more) we could do 56 damage on a crit'. Does this look correct? Is there anything more I could add (exempting things like higher level spells)? Do the Rabbit Fur Gloves stack with Azalin's Helmet? - and, in this context, Penetrating Shot gives a pseudo-20 DR to Iconic Projection, ensuring max damage against most targets? Mostly asking to see if there are little things that I could do to push this further that I'm not currently aware of.

Hmm... Penetrating Shot synergy sounds pretty good... might be able to work with that. Thanks for the info'. Might come up with something.

Realize it's not that important on a build this old, but assuming no major changes to this build, Company Captain's Cap would be an upgrade to Tempered Health if you're just there for the defenses and don't care about Bloodthirst. EDIT: Also, if for some reason you can't spare Shod-in-Faith for the Ranger, you can run Boots of Stability which greatly opens up your options for chest pieces (maybe we get to wear Vengiatta Rugia after all?).