jintegrity

Probably because the starting island has a rather absurd difficulty cliff that makes it hard to recommend to people who aren't already into the genre (YMMV). Also, I don't know if there's much demand from NotD&D:PiratesoftheCaribbean.

Is there a good resource to read, or a kind person willing to explain, about Chant Linger? To clarify, I'm wanting to play a Chanter that does something besides the boring ol' Dragon Thrashed. I want that Aefyllath Ues Mith Fyr, Sure-Handed Ila Nocked Her Arrows with Speed, and other chant goodness. Wanna know about linger and INT values to maximize the potential of these other chants.

Also, just a few pointers that will help you out: Accuracy is the god stat. Chill Fog (level 1 Wizard spell) is extremely strong. Whisper of Treason (level 1 Cipher spell) is extremely strong. Combat generally goes buffs then debuffs then victory.

Pallegina is strongest as a variation of this: https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/84940-my-favorite-pallegina-build-the-fire-general/?hl=%2Bfive+%2Bsuns&do=findComment&comment=1788267 Wrath of the Five Suns is a strong ability in this game, and building around her ability to burst down foes w/ Flames of Devotion by switching between pistols before spamming Fireballs from a certain sword... For Sagani, I'm going to steal a Boeroer quote: Another Boeroer copypasta, this time for Devil: Kana should be built with Veteran's Endurance, Ancient Memory, bonus healing items, and Dragon Thrashed to just passively heal/kill everything in the heaviest armor you can find.

Kana built by stacking Veteran's Endurance, Ancient Memory, items that give bonuses to healing, and eventually using The Dragon Thrashed chant can almost solo the game, and is a strong addition to any party providing healing and damage. Build him tanky as you can and let his passive healing/damage do the work. Probably the best companion for what you describe. I personally recommend a PC Priest, as Durance is kind of slow for the job. https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/92110-class-guide-priests/ This should give you all the information you need. As for other potential party members, Aloth is strong because Wizard is strong. Once you know what spells to use and how to use them ( https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/92075-best-spells-for-cipher-and-wizard/ ) he should do a ton of work. That said, I didn't have a Wizard in the party I beat the game with, so it's not mandatory. Grieving Mother is a Cipher, and Cipher gets tons of powerful options. Hiravias is a druid, and Druid gets tons of powerful options (also he's hilarious). https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/84940-my-favorite-pallegina-build-the-fire-general/?hl=%2Bfive+%2Bsuns&do=findComment&comment=1788267 A Pallegina built based off this had the highest damage in my party. Many times, she'd kill lone enemies before they did anything. I personally rotated pistols, but the core concepts are the same: ranged, Fire-based Pallegina is strong. That said, it benefits greatly from knowing the location of certain gear, so it may not be best depending on what you're doing. So PC Cleric, Kana, and then pick 1-2. Luckily, only Aloth is available in chapter 1 of the above 4 I recommended, so you'll know how you feel about him by the time you get the others so you can decide how you feel about Wizard. The people I didn't recommend, like Pallegina, require more knowledge of the game's systems and gear. Only reason I put Pallegina on here was because I enjoyed her so much that it might be worth the effort to look up the location of a few items to make the most of her. Wrath of the Five Suns is extremely powerful and fun in this game, imo.

Dem hands. Dat face.

First off, I hate the notion of it either being 7 companions + sidekicks, or 7 companions. Surely, the time and resources invested in the 6 sidekicks could have made another companion or two. Secondly, no, I would not have been happier with 7 + sidekicks than 7. People complain making sidekicks into companions takes too much effort, but sidekicks take effort that could have been literally anything else, and not felt so pointless. If you disagree, that's fine. I'm glad you enjoy your content. I just personally find their inclusion a negative because of the perceived waste that vexes me. At least PoE eventually gave us one companion per class. You can argue Deadfire did too, as technically the 7 companions cover all 11 single classes, but now we can't have a single-classed Fighter and Rogue companion in the party, or any other combo where a character has overlap like this (Eder, Xoti, Tekehu, and Serafen) if you're playing companions+MC only unless your MC happens to be that class. - and because of the above there are some choices in subclass that have been rightly criticized: Serafen, in particular, having single-class Barbarian. Yes, it's been rationalized as, "There's a difference between having a psionic ability and being a psionic combatant." - but honestly? They had a class quota to fill, and Serafen's just so happens to make very little narrative sense. Then you have Tekehu, while not often mentioned, who can be a member of the Watershaper's Guild when you meet him, and not actually be a Watershaper? Unfortunately, rather than giving Fassina the role she deserves, we're likely to get a few lines of dialogue on a sidekick.

As a sidekick though.

I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree then. Maxing INT on every Priest and Cipher isn't really a decision though, as it's just optimal in every situation except in the rare Cleansing Flame/Disintegration build. Rogue reducing INT loses time on their invisibility, and their substantial number of debuffs, for a passive that apparently (as evidenced by other posts in the thread) doesn't even work the way other fixed damage DoTs do. Ranger loses time on their Quick buff, and I'm sure very few low-INT builds damage make up for the loss of Action Speed in long-term DPS, and even if Ranger does, that's one class that benefits in a game where INT is either the second best or best attribute in the game. I'd argue no build is truly "better" by dumping INT as you not only lose the above benefits, but scrolls, potions, and drugs are also less effective for you, which leaves your character only really functional in a very narrow niche of increasing the damage of a minuscule number of abilities, and I'm not even sure the damage is more than what other classes can dish out without pigeonholing themselves into a very narrow, specific niche. It's interesting as an alternative. Of course, if you feel the way you do, you can always submit a bug report about all the above, well-documented abilities, and see if Obsidian feels the same.

It is if we were to build enough confidence that, were they to make that investment, that they'd receive positive returns. That's why player feedback is important. Also, it's more likely to be seven companions + sidekicks vs eight or nine companions, the latter of which, to me, is vastly superior.

That's what Adventurers are for.

Personally, I don't really think Sidekicks should exist. If all of them were made into Companions, you'd probably have enough companions that you could have a full party of companions, no matter your actions. I wouldn't see Companion Konstanten, Mirke, or Vatnir caring, for sure. Rekke probably won't mouth as he's just lucky not to be dead on Driftwood (not that you could understand him if he did complain). Considering Ydwin's own actions, I doubt she's the type to judge others actions, and Fassina hardly seems to have a stick up her hindquarters.

I can see that. In my mind, she's best as the initiator of a debuff chain (I'll be a Loremaster, will definitely have Tekehu, and will be considering one of Aloth/Pallegina/Serafen), due to her high Accuracy to make that first debuff stick. Once you've given an enemy -40 Will, it's a lot easier, as I showed above, to debuff from there. It's extremely reasonable, preferable even, to follow up those debuffs with someone with more INT. Maybe, even on PotD, you don't need her for that job. However, this is less of a Maia Geomancer > Scout thread, and more of a "Maia Geomancer has a niche and is viable". My first thought was to put a +2 INT item on her, and add Infuse With Vital Essence into her opening buffs, but I'll admit that only gets her to 17 INT, which is hardly spectacular. She may not even make the cut in my current playthrough. I certainly don't want her costing me 500 gold trying to get those fancy guns in the Neketaka port.

I'd just shorten that to "pointless", personally. We already had Adventurers. We didn't need Sidekicks. While this is a Ydwin thread, I'm in camp "promote all sidekicks to Companions". To keep it in theme: Konstanten can give the perception of events from a non-faction affiliated Neketakan immigrant (he's originally from Dyrwood). Fassina would be terrific in DLC3 for giving insight to the Circle of Archmagi. Rekke can give us a loredump on stuff to Pillars 3. :D Ydwin, as stated in many places, already has a lot to say that's very relevant to the plot of Deadfire. Mirke can give a perception of the Principi from the opposite point-of-view of Serafen. Vatnir already has a niche to be fleshed out.

To be fair, when I made the claim above, I was talking in the context of PL1-2. I should have made that clear. I tend to value lower PR stuff because I have restartitis and never get to some of those other things they're options that'll be available your entire playthrough. I will definitely look into the list of Fort' stuff mentioned above. I'm definitely learning to dig the idea of a heavily buff/debuff-centric playstyle. Can't wait to cheese the Engwithan Digsite via a 24 PER Loremaster with Eldritch Aim > Miasma of Dull-Mindedness > At the Sound of His Voice, the Killers Froze Stiff. Anyway, I just thought I'd show Geomancer Maia's potential because I'd read a lot about Scout Maia after making mine Geomancer, and felt that she needed some representation too.

I think, without interesting interactions like this, increasing stats isn't a real choice: you always do it. I prefer there being reasons to not, just so there are interesting decisions and alternatives to be made. Especially with Cipher, weakening their substantial repertoire of afflictions, inspirations, and buffs just for a better Disintegration (a PL 6 ability!) is a huge tradeoff, but at least there's a reason to do something besides stack INT on every Cipher ever (which a lot of people complained about in PoE1's Barbarian). I personally think INT is the second best stat in the game (after PER), which is why I made this thread in the first place.

Good thing that Infuse With Vital Essence exists.

So in my first file I made Maia a Geomancer because "Wizard is always good." However, I had no idea what to do with her at the time, read about how optimal Scout is due to the access to a lot of Full-Attacks that combine well with her subclass, and decided that Geomancer was the trap option on her. However, upon learning more, I think Maia has an excellent class combination for a dedicated debuffer. Marked for the Hunt > Eldritch Aim > Miasma of Dull-Mindedness equals a massive -20 Reflex, -40 Will. (With a Cipher in your party [a use for Serafen!], this initial debuff can allow you to reliably stack an additional -20 Will via Tenuous Grasp for a total of -60 Will.) With the enemy now having -40 Will (or more with support from other party members), targeting that save to debuff other saves becomes much easier. Arkemyr's Dazzling Lights > Fetid Caress for targeting Fortitude (seems weak, but there's actually not a lot of lower level options for debuffing Fortitude that I've found). Curse of Blackened Sight > Binding Web for targeting Reflex. All of this is available as soon as you recruit her with proper spell choice and grimoire acquisition. For things to do with the reduced saves: a low Reflex allows for Slicken, and makes spells like Tekehu's Blizzard that much more effective. Low Fortitude makes the Chill Fog + Combusting Wounds combo better. Low Will tends to be more of a facilitator than an end goal, but your Cipher/Chanter will surely love it. - and once the enemy is properly debuffed, she is still a good steady interrupter with her Ranger-subclass, so it's not like she's just a Ranger/Wizard. I guess I just wanted to show that Geomancer Maia's definitely strong, and has a solid niche. Sure Wizard/Battlemage Aloth can produce similar results, but his strength is more in saving early spell slots via Tactical Barrage (if Battlemage: removing the need for Eldritch Aim + Infuse with Vital Essence) than having high accuracy to initiate debuff chains as Marked for the Hunt + Eldritch Aim stack. Also, as I originally thought, it's not like Wizard is ever a bad class.

You can always lead with Dex/Per afflictions. Each one would reduce the defense by 10. Do both, and that could most certainly make a huge difference. Coincidentally, this makes Chill Fog good for setting up Slicken. If you have a Druid in the party (or are even a Sorcerer, the novelty!) you can also use Nature's Mark and Tanglefoot, all at level 1, to give them -30 Reflex before you proceed to put them on their bums. Combined with some accuracy buffs (Eldritch Aim, if you can spare the 1st level spell slot, or a Blessing from Xoti, for example), and you should have no trouble making it land. - and by level 3-4, Miasma of Dull Mindedness stacks with the above, adding an additional -20 Reflex. Thanks for pointing this out! I didn't realize it, assuming it worked like PoE, and remembered one fight where I got hit with it, and it always equaled death, and just assumed the enemies were spamming it. After a couple of tries I made sure to "Geek the Mage" as it were. Coincidentally, Chill Fog was how I kept them from doing so.

I mean like the DoTs that do their damage faster the shorter the spell duration, and that INT only makes them weaker.

Is there a way to find out which skills benefit from low INT? I know this game tends to favor INT (more than PoE1, imo), but I thought I'd read there are a few DoTs that still benefit from Low INT, so I was curious if maybe there's a way to capitalize on that.

Thank you for all the informative replies! Guess that plan is out the window. It's cool though, I was talking about how much I love Deadfire's game mechanics to a friend earlier when I realized that this game is just cool, and you don't have to look for crazy class combos to find cool synergies. This system was made for synergy. - so pretty soon, I'll probably stop trying to make every class interesting to me, and just accept I like some classes, and others just aren't my thing. I still enjoy the discussion, and am glad to learn from you all. I really hope the Pillars P&P RPG is based off this system (wasn't too thrilled with what I saw thus far, sadly), because the number of cool ways to put classes together is a real treat, and the more I learn, the more I love. ^^

I really wish Tekehu's unique Druid class was a player option. I probably wouldn't play anything else. That said, every time I think about why I'd play Wizard, it pretty much boils down to Chill Fog at level 1. Like, seriously, no other 1st level ability has that much impact at that level except maybe If their Bones Still Slept Under that Hill, None Can Say, and Loremaster just gets both. Every playthrough of the beginning island I've done (which is a lot because I keep learning about new class interactions and starting over; restartitis!), the game is torture until Aloth, and then ridiculously easy after just because of this spell. Not that I want it nerfed. (I really, really don't.) I just wish other classes (besides Chanter and Cipher) had such powerful 1st level abilities. No, I personally don't count Suppress Afflictions, and rings of that are pretty common besides.

If you wanted to build a character (or party) around having enough Armor to take reduced damage in PotD, what would be the amount you'd need to shoot for? For example, a Warlock (Berserker/Wizard) can get 15 Armor at creation via 10 from Fine Brigandine (with Berath's Blessing), 3 from Spirit Shield, and 2 via Hardy. Later on Pallegina will give 1 more, and later armors will also surely help. - but (with drugs and potions both included and not) is it possible to have enough armor for a consistent -75% incoming damage? - or is it a waste of time, and Deflection stacking + CC the only viable option?

To all the people sayin' no to this because they have some other character they'd rather have: why not both? Like I said, if there was paid DLC for this, I'd buy it. I enjoyed my interactions with the Sidekicks quite a bit (more than the current stock of companions), and would love to have more options available to me. Honestly, Ydwin's classes are pretty uninteresting to me, but her character concept is sweet; seems far more relevant than Eder and Aloth at least.