MaxQuest

^ Do you mean the following spreads?: Pre-13: 18/18/3/18/3/18 Post-13: 18/3/3/18/18/18 If I remember correctly Kaylon or Boeroer were explaining it. But my memory fails to recall the details. Eh, you are probably right.. Just tested (v3.02) (against 0 DR targets, both affected by a fixed dmg dot, but only one of them being combusted): the spell does literally nothing. As for v3.03 (where it is fixed according to the changelog), the beta is downloading. -update- In v3.03.1047 it doesn't seem to work either. Nothing in changelog. No extra flying numbers. Two identical enemies (one combusted, and one not) do get to injured, near death, and die from Shining Beacon at the same time. I was testing against targets with 10 DR, but affected by Expose Vulnerabilities and Body Attunement, hence effectively 0 DR.

Exactly. Also there is the thing that most used cc-oriented powers do tend to have low focus cost, so they will be invoked quite a lot (in comparison to a dps cipher who capitalizes on costlier detonates, screams and waves). So casting speed is important. Another pro of casting speed is: if you are fast enough, you can preemptively disable an enemy spellcaster that started invoking a spell, before he will finish casting. I will come again with advocating double-ciphers A cc-one with high Per/Int/Dex prones or paralyzes, while another one get's away with lower Per/Dex but has higher Might and builds around Bittercuts. Yeah, dumped Con is annoying in terms of resting. 10 feels solid. 8-9 in practice turned also ok (but that's mostly due to extra DR from pale elf). Deflection felt irrelevant and I didn't dump Res entirely, only due to concentration (somewhere around 7-8 res was enough).

What build are you referring to? And what sabres do you intend to use (Resolution, Purgatory, Bittercut all 3 favor different stat spreads). But on the other hand, with maxed MIG, and lower DEX it will no longer be a cc-cipher, which I've got the impression mellowroot is looking for. Btw, how well does dumped CON + focus on healing goes well for you? In my experience there is a trouble in running out health. And you kinda have to resort on cc. And if you do, Shod-in-faith proc from an adjacent party member is usually enough to keep your endurance on top most of the time. (e.g. I have a barb with maxed mig/int for that). Don't get me wrong, I love healing bonuses (with high health pools through..).

1. Nope. They don't stack. If you don't have a paladin with Zealous Focus, or do not intend / have time to always cast the Blessing, Gallant Focus is ok, especially earlier in the game. Although keep in mind that it has lower radius. Iirc it's 2.5m vs 4m when compared to Focus. 2. If you have Fortitude reducing debuffs, then yes. Also it is always nice against shades, as they have high deflection, but pitiful fort. 3.a. No. The game specifically checks if you dual-wield and do NOT wield a shield. 3.b. Yes. Bashing Shield does act like an offhand weapon for the full-attack abilities. Although there are only two bashing shields worth consideration: Badgradr's Barricade and Dragon's Maw Shield.

No wonder) Provided that we don't get multiple dot icons on the target.

Nope It just so happened that my enthusiasm is axed around ciphers, so I cannot pass on Aefillath) And also from RP point of view. Silently storming enemies with the power of mind; or charming and then disintegrating to dust is well.. enchanting) P.S. Since Combusting Wounds have been mentioned. How do they work exactly? When an afflicted enemy takes damage from any source, they are instantly dealt an extra 5 burning dmg that ignores DR? P.P.S. Maybe some will find useful: Wall of Flames interrupt duration seems to be 0.35. At least if you will cast 3 of them, enemy won't be able to hit you after the first attack at all and will be stuck in recovery phase. (provided all the ticks continue to hit).

That's true... last time I have durganized cipher's equipment at the end of lvl 10, so... not exactly lvl 9 indeed The focus comes quite easy: - x0.35 base focus coefficient, with draining whip and amulet of unconquerable is x0.58 - warbow has 13-20 base damage. Exceptional, 20 might and both whips result in x2.0 damage coefficient. - I had approximately 70% crit rate. With Merciless hand it results in x2.8 dmg coef in 7 out of 10 arrow shots. - I had Kana (Sure-Handed) and Pallegina (Vielo Vidorio) in group, plus Gauntlets of Swift Action and 18 Dex. So had around 5 + 24 (att) + 17 (rec) = 46 frames = 1.5s action time with Borresaine (with Rain-of-goddah it would be 5 + 24 + 7 = 36 frames = 1.2s) So every 1.5s there is an attack for 26-40 base dmg in 30% of cases, or 36.4 - 58 in 70% of cases. Lash enchant and Aefyllath add 2x25% more. Against 10 DR, on average it is [0.3 * (16+30)/2 + 0.7 * (26.4 + 48) / 2] * 1.5 = 49.41 dmg In 6 seconds there would be 4 shots (hence the 1.5s action time) so ~198 weapon dmg and 115 focus. But yeah, I cheated and used a chanter too ...and a second cipher for the cc. It's use is limited. You have to use it on a more distant enemies and hope it won't hit your own frontline. But if the Int is not maxed (iirc I had only 15) and target someone behind the door when body blocking, it is possible to not hit the teammates. Yet if I am unsure and pre lvl 11... Silent Scream it is. Or maybe go for a monk tank... and give him wounds in such way. Hmm. Ughh... double post... sorry...

That's true... last time I have durganized cipher's equipment at the end of lvl 10, so... not exactly lvl 9 indeed The focus comes quite easy: - x0.35 base focus coefficient, with draining whip and amulet of unconquerable is x0.58 - warbow has 13-20 base damage. Exceptional, 20 might and both whips result in x2.0 damage coefficient. - I had approximately 70% crit rate. With Merciless hand it results in x2.8 dmg coef in 7 out of 10 arrow shots. - I had Kana (Sure-Handed) and Pallegina (Vielo Vidorio) in group, plus Gauntlets of Swift Action and 18 Dex. So had around 5 + 24 (att) + 17 (rec) = 46 frames = 1.5s action time with Borresaine (with Rain-of-goddah it would be 5 + 24 + 7 = 36 frames = 1.2s) So every 1.5s there is an attack for 26-40 base dmg in 30% of cases, or 36.4 - 58 in 70% of cases. Lash enchant and Aefyllath add 2x25% more. Against 10 DR, on average it is [0.3 * (16+30)/2 + 0.7 * (26.4 + 48) / 2] * 1.5 = 49.41 dmg In 6 seconds there would be 4 shots (hence the 1.5s action time) so ~198 weapon dmg and 115 focus. But yeah, I cheated and used a chanter too ...and a second cipher for the cc.

Ah.. that's a pity. But iirc it should work with Aefyllath and specifically with Lightning Strikes. I'll retest it when will have some time. Btw, this build is very close to what I was planing for my main on the next playthrough Main differences being, trying to use stunning weapons (as it will propagate via torment) and dumping Res into higher Int and Per.

From my experience, level 4 is the hardest. At 5 you get echo. The next bump happens at lvl 7 (Silent Scream, Mind Lance, Devotions and Beacon). And from lvl 9 the party starts to truly shine in all it's glory. Adding lashes is important for your dps classes. Especially for cipher. I always add lashing and quality enchants to the characters of this class. Also from second playthrough onward there is sort of a plan when and where to go, so I also put respective slaying enchants too. As for other enchants, I tend to keep them updated too, but then again I approximately know how much I will keep that weapon and armor. Regarding proofing enchants: backline gets pierce proofing; while frontline.. slashing if I am in the stage of the game where I'll have to face lot's of undead creatures, or piercing otherwise. So yeah, just like KDubya I enchant everything. Except for superb+ and durgan refinement, which I might hold for a bit (until I get the build-required stuff), on non-cipher/barb characters. Still, how can he outdps a cipher? Those detonates and screams come at the same rate as two ticks of dragon-trashed...

High Might, high Int, lots of lashes and Torment's Reach. Just how I like it Don't! Provided how Torment's reach is working at the moment (and it doesn't look like it is going to be changed), with high Int, this guy has the potential to three-shot most of the enemy packs. Btw, does the Spirit of Decay (when Bittercut is equipped) affect the end damage of Torment's Reach?

Pillows of Eternity... Should be some badass Ondra artifact)

This should not happen. A tanky paladin in plate armor laughs on attacks of low-hitting creatures. While the hard-hitting ones should be stunned, paralyzed, proned or charmed by your cipher. Also, that stat allocation might be ok for act 1, but in harder fights (dragon ones) you'd better up your reflex a bit. Something like 18/16/3/13/18/10 would end up in 18 more reflex and more potent sacred immolation. No, they are not bad. It's just that you want to have Outworn Buckler and Little Savior shields for their Herald abilities first. On the third, non-dps, shield-carrier who is going to body-block a lot, large shield (Old Gerun specifically) is a decent choice. You can also keep the Gerun shield in the second set for your paladin, and switch to it, if paladin is going to solo tank a dragon. Because the rest of the party is out of the range for Herald anyway. Also it would nicely boost your reflex against it's aoe abilities. Tbh you have enough AoE there... Sacred Immolation from paladin. Dragon Thrashed from chanter. Cipher with Silent Scream, Detonate and Amplified Wave. Fire priest has enough power to demolish any non-fire-immune group of enemies on his own. And wizard with his blasting potential and Gaze of Adragan for x2 multiplier. Cipher, ranger, and blasting wizard do really like it. And it also reduces recovery of many ranged spells. It's always a tough choice between Aefillath + Sure Handed + Dragon Thrashed vs Aefillath + Dragon Thrashed. Some might argue that keeping just Dragon Thrashed might be even better. Try all options, and see what you like. Yes, give plate armor to your frontliners asap. As for heavy armor for your backline... it comes to your own preference and amount of cc in the group. I personally like them in robes or clothing, and just cc / focus-fire those who would try to engage them. Easy fight: Painful Interdiction, any mastered spells if you have them, auto-attack. Medium fight: Painful Interdiction, Shining Beacon, any mastered spells if you have them, auto-attack. Optional: Iconic Projection, Consecrated Ground, Pillar of Faith/Holy Fire. Boss fights: Littanies on self (if there is a chance to get cc'ed or have the acc reduced), DAoM, Minor Avatar, Devotions for the Faithful, Protections (depends), Scroll of Valor, Holy Radiance (if it has inspiring), Painful Interdiction, Mass Stun (if you have Abydons Hammer), 3xShining Beacon, Cleansing Flames, Shining Beacon, Shining Beacon/Storm of Holy Fire. I run tight formations 3x3, something like: _m_ opo b_b m - main tank o - off tank p - priest/buffer, ranged or with pike b - backline dps/cc I usually do the following: select-all -> order attack closest enemy. It evaporates. Quickly assign melees to their targets. Debuffers are debuffing/proning enemy ranks. Order backline dps to focus fire enemy melees that would run around my frontline, if any, or Mental Bind a target such that others would stuck. Let the cipher paralyze/charm their nasties. After that assign dedicated ranged dps (cipher and ranger in your case) each to hit one of ranged spellcasters (that's one of the reasons I like Borresaine on cipher, stun from crit one target, than another, than boom detonate or wave). I usually use per-rest abilities, such that I would have enough for 6-8 encounters before rest, and try to balance it up with they way party health is going down.

Soulbound weapons cannot be lashed, so that's already -25% of auto-attack dmg. They cannot be durganized. But those extra 15% are quite important when you want to achieve zero-recovery; especially if you are not dual-wielding. Drawn in Spring is actually very good vs targets with very high DR. Quite often it will deal more raw damage than slashing. I haven't done the math here (thus correct me if I'm wrong), but would expect Drawn in Spring to be best used in long fights, while Bittercut to shine in the quick skirmishes, when you can get most from the FoD attacks, esp. if you clone and dual-wield it.

Same thing happens with Envenomed Strike. Main target is not affected by the raw DoT, if Powder Burns modal is active. And one more bug: animal companion is always hit by the fire cone, even if it stands in the FoE only part: screenshot.

That's lovely. "Who has time to learn logical fallacies? Don't you know children are starving in Africa?"

Aye, it would It must be a blunting sight to see) Pretty close. The game checks if the duration of new appliance is greater than remaining duration from current one; and if so, it overrides it.

^ True that Btw if only it would stack with itself... it could be de-va-stating with Minor Blights

Understood) I am pretty sure that it is actually right As I have personally checked it at each lvl on an NPC priest (with 10 MIG/10 INT), for my fire priest build, and have got the following damage values: lvl 1: 30 lvl 2: 30 lvl 3: 30 lvl 4: 40 lvl 7: 50 lvl 10: 60 lvl 13: 70 lvl 16: 80 Which is "30 base +10 every 3 levels starting from lvl 4" or "30 base + 10 every 3 levels after 1" if we rephrase it. Regarding non-NPC priests, dispositions, and their influence by Might or Intellect. I've just made a few checks ingame: So, to sum it up: - npc priests only do get bonus damage from level. - main priests get bonuses from both character level and positive dispositions. - at level 16 (with no positive and negative dispositions) priests do have 80 base damage on holy radiance - this base damage is fully affected by Might, e.g. at 20 MIG / 10 INT: 80 x 1.3 = 104 - this base damage is also influenced by Intellect; but it seems to be affected at half rate, e.g. at 10 MIG / 20 INT: it's 100 and not 120. - bonus rank from a disposition is capped at 3 (MAX_BONUS_LEVEL = 3) - max you can get is 2x3 - you get 16 extra damage from 1 positive disposition (up to 6x16 bonus) - the bonus damage from dispositions is not affect by Might. - the bonus damage from dispositions is affected by Intellect at half rate.

Have checked. No luck ( The target behind the main one, is not affected by envenomed DoT.

Envenomed Strike doesn't work with Powder Burns. Like at all The charge per-rest is used, attack is fired, but the DoT is not applied. Same as with Wounding Shot. As for those gloves:

^ The thing is it never happened in v2.00-v2.03. Tbh the first time I have noticed it is v3.02.

Just would like to clarify that 1s corresponds to 30 frames. So 1s attack duration and 1.5s recovery would correspond to 30 and 45 frames respectively. Or 30 and 50 frames if we'll take 1.666s recovery duration from the table. But yes, these values do not alter the conclusion you have made: "The big deal here is: the speed gained from zero recovery is massive in comparison to that gained from DEX". For plain auto-attacking (with non-reloading weapons) zero-recovery has indeed way higher benefit. Although there are few more aspects that can be taken into consideration, such as: - recovery from spells and abilities - you don't get zero-recovery from the start of the game - stacking recovery reducing effects is subject to increasing-returns. For example if you have just swift aim with no other bonuses, you will get only ~13% dps increase (e.g. for warbow: (5+30+50)/(5+30/40)). 41% increase with only DAoM up. And the more you stack, the farther you get, up to 142.8% dps increase (5+30+50)/(5+30+0). But at the beginning it is slow. And high dex + firearms can be really handy. Especially provided the fact that you can wear heavier armor with less of penalty to the final dps, right when high DR from armor is most beneficial (like act 1). I pretty much agree on priest, cipher, ranger, pal, rogue and barbarian. But on those left I do believe it may vary from build to build. For a pure tank fighter 8+ could be enough. For a blasting wizard, especially with on-proc implement, going for 15+ dex is also an option. And monk can either be built as melee auto-attack dps'er, where high dex is important. Or as torment spammer, with everything pumped into might and int, and dex coming as priority only past per and con.

Same for me. Some tooltips are still vibrating. (v3.02)

Sking has mentioned that it was added in the updated 3.03 beta: