MaxQuest

Indeed it is. Hitting 4 enemies while duel-wielding, can result in 2x4 hits and 2x4x3 carnage hits. Sabres vs stunning Cladhaliath vs Unlabored Blade such a tough choice now. Just don't forget that Adept Evasion works only with attacks targeting rogue's reflex. And Riposte can proc only from melee incoming attacks. And... there are close to none melee attacks that target reflex.

A bit. Dex provide a slightly higher benefit to slower weapons, because of inter-action delay not being affected by it. Probably because TUB cannot be lashed, nor durganized. Also it doesn't quite fit under your conditions. Firebug procs on crit or hit. So there is really zero reasons to not take a small shield into the offhand, durganize it, and have higher speed and defenses. And of course going for TUB would salute having high might and getting scion of flame. Btw firebug from TUB is different from druid's spell. The proc has 40-50 base damage. While the spell 30-40 and +10 accuracy on cast. But yes, it is a viable choice. You can achieve zero-recovery with it, and the action duration (at 10 DEX) would be: 5 (delay) + 20 (attack) frames. Or 5 + 15.3 (20 DEX). Hence one attack every 0.67s. At 10% chance to trigger, we can expect one firebug every 6.7s. (on average) If there is more than 1 target (such that it could bounce) it's 8x45 burning damage (at 10 mig, and no scion of flame). So even if it's not a barb, it's still not bad. And... has anyone tested the interaction with deathblows?

1H is great if you want to pump your on-crit effects chance, especially if it is a stunning effect. Because it not only will indirectly increase your survivability but also the damage output (due to reduced deflection and cose it qualifies for deathblows now). Although 1H also has a con: they don't get an extra attack speed bonus like DW does. Achieving zero-recovery is harder. A speed enchant would help alleviate that, but unfortunately there is no weapon with both speed and stunning. So this path is only optimal if you are ok with fighting in just durganized robe and consuming one DAoM after another. As for DW.. there are plenty of options. Which one to choose depends on your party composition, and what exactly do you want from your rogue. The variants are: - v1. dual Drawn-in-spring. These are good due to the wounding property, the way it bypasses DR and benefits from Might, twice. Most effective on a rogue with pumped might attacking very high-DR enemies. Also do benefit from Flick of the Wrist. - v2. dual Purgatory. Higher base damage nicely scales with high damage coefficients. Good for a crit oriented build, which also can get away with lower might score. - v3. dual Bittercut. Most balanced and versatile option, due to dual damage type. And iirc they do work with Spirit of Decay. Also Vile Thorns do benefit from Deathblows and Deep Wounds. - v4. dual Cladhaliath sheningans, with stunning and vicious enchants. The idea is to have an extra affliction towards Deathblows, while not being hit by the enemy in meantime. It's bad. Can't durganize nor apply a lash to it. And those low-rate procs don't come close to compensating for that.

An alternative choice could be going for Scaen. His symbol deals pierce damage against deflection. And no dragon is immune to this damage type. Also it hobbles. Btw, there is also a Scroll of Insect Swarm. It deals damage totally comparable to that of Shinning Beacon, but it's piercing. And because it is a dot it benefits from x2 tick rate from Cleansing Flames. The only downside is that it targets Fort instead of Will, and has lower radius, although 31 INT helps alleviate that. Another scroll I've found useful is Tanglefoot. Huge radius, huge duration. Everyone who is hit by 3s tick is hobbled for 4s (base) or 8s (30 int) period. And because hobbled also reduces movement speed by 3, slow creatures like Adra Dragon are basically rooted in place for 40s. P.S. A random thought about a rogue (with deathblows and deep wounds) who can assist the priest when it comes to scrolls of insect swarm... and also benefit from CF's x2 tick rate.

Uhm, meant symbols (of Magran and Eothas).

It doesn't.But it works with fire sigils, storm of holy fire, searing seal, pillar of holy fire and fireballs. Also it works with curoc's brand and fire lash.

Hah, soz Jarmo But I still had to use few scrolls as that pesky lizard doesn't wait for your to buff yourself. Don't know if you need any tips, but if you do, here are few general strategies: v1. classic: let main tank solo (dedicated paladin or fighter) tank the dragon, while the rest of the party (placed far from breath) deals with adds. v2. charm the dragon. Let him help you clear the adds. Than kill the dragon. (for example: petrify + disintegrate + envenomed + cleansing flames) v3. confuse the adds. Let them keep him busy while you buff your self and cast the AoEs. Try to time it so that the dragon dies simultaneously with the adds. You are right. The reason I didn't take them is that I wasn't thinking about solo. I needed a priest for my six-man party, built in such a way that he could contribute more than just via buffs. The idea to test him vs Alpine came latter Interdiction helps with those who are immune to prone. And to land longer cc in general. Also by debuffing their will it's easier to land Shinning Beacon.Although the real reason is that how nicely does it complement other members in my party: barbarian with stunning weapons and bruteforce, wizard with pale shades and two ciphers spamming: detonate, charm, mental binding and amplified wave. That's like instant +20 acc to everyone. And per-encounter. As for Galant's focus, sure feel free to take it. Weapon foci are more for the flavour. Personally I've taken bonus 4th spell. Although better check first if it stacks with blessing.

Well, of course we don't

Pros of ranged paladin: - has a strong opening and can start dealing damage immediately (and benefit from Apprentice Sneak Attack due to first 2s rule) - can place Lay on Hands on whoever he wants, without getting disengagement attacks if it will require to run to target. - easier coverage of party with auras. - can make great use of arbalests, esp. Aedrin Wrecker. Each FoD being almost guaranteed stun or prone. Although Dulcanale and Pliambo per Casitàs are good as well. - can easier sacrifice con/res for other stats Pros of dw paladin: - stronger sustained damage - easier use of sacred immolation as you are already in melee. While with a ranged one you will have to make him come closer (so no Marksman bonus) - offtanking body In terms of damage it's great. In addition to usual shot you also fire a burning cone for similar damage. In terms of usage it's tricky. And the trick is to not kill own frontline... or backline if auto-attacking some teleporting monks/shades.

If you want, he can be used that way. But his stats/races are a bit suboptimal for that. With such high res and decent con, he could be used as offtank. And it will also let you get more from his human racial, as being in front will let it proc more often.

I know it might sound funny but: take a priest of Magran and give him an arquebus Or to extend on it: - pump might and dex - have decent per - pick one of the following races: boreal dwarf, wood elf, moon godlike or island aumaua - in case of aumaua would take Quick Switch and Arms Bearer; if I am not ok with the micro, than better take other race But that's just for easy/medium encounters. In boss fights, priest is not going to deal damage with weapons.

Depends on the way you want to build and use Pallegina and Kana. v1. If Eder is going to be main tank, than two offtanks (Maneha and Kana) is enough. Pallegina in this case could be build as a ranged paladin around FoD + reloading weapons + Wrath burst. And since you already have FoD getting Vielo Vidorio is a no brainer as well. Now couple that with SureHanded chant and you get a quite fast shooting backline. So the last two spots are going to two ranged dps'ers. I'd take warbow cipher (GM will suit) and a blasting wizard / or arquebus priest. v2. Another (non-traditional) way (if you'd like to not use Sure-handed) could be: - melee GM: plate + estoc (Blade of the Endless Paths), focused around crowd-control - melee Pallegina: plate + dw sabres - melee Maneha: pike (Tall Grass) - melee Eder: tank, or: dps with tidefall (Lady of the Pain build) and [1h + shield] in the second set - melee/ranged Kana: with two quick-switching arquebuses and a pike/staff; starting with Aefyllath and than spamming Dragon-Thrashed - ranged Priest: with some marking weapon or Gyrd Háewanes

Ouch, for some reason I was thinking it has 10% base chance. Yeah the tooltip clearly states 5%. Have tried auto-attacking with non-wizard, and indeed Exp. Vulnerabilities were proccing very rarely: 4 times out of 50 swings (i.e. 2x50 crits as perception was set to 200 to completely avoid misses) After that repeated the same with a blasting wizard hitting a target with two adjacent ones. And the proc rate has increased, subjectively to 1 out of 4 swings. So you were right, it procs on blast.

The problem with Persistence is that wounding property doesn't generate focus at all. Yes it also has reliable property, which can be mildly useful. But than again it is going to proc at best in 7% of swings (0.35 x 0.2) and just move the damage coefficient from 1.65 to 2.15 (for superb weapon, 20 mig). That's just ~ 2% of dps increase. So specifically for cipher it's almost like a default hunting bow, which is suboptimal for DR 10+. Added Persistence to the spreadsheet.

Yeah. You hardly ever crit between levels 1-5, because of how PotD just adds flat defenses. But things start getting better and better. With proper debuffing and durganized weapons I would expect a cipher to crit on 66%+ of total hits past lvl 9 per lvl-interval. Not sure yet. One swing (against 3 enemies) was resulting in 2 direct hits and 4 blast hits. If it would proc from blasts that would mean that it should proc on 6 out of 10 swings. And while it did proc often. It wasn't that often. The question is: did it proc on average on 2 out of 10 swings (i.e. only hits) or 3 out of 10 (only first projectile + blasts). This will require additional tests. One more thing about Golden Gaze: I've calculated it's dps with Expose Vulnerabilities proc. And.. it is awesome (added to spreadsheet) Soul Shock from Stormcaller doesn't generate focus. And because it is a soulbound weapon it cannot be durganized. There was a hope that it could be a decent choice (at least until you get to the White Forge) due to it's double damage type and high shock DR penetration. But because it also cannot be enchanted with a lash... turns out it is subpar. By how much? See the spreadsheet.

Everyone is free to love or hate any class he wants. But just a question: is that your first playthrough? The thing is that before you get a handle on it and especially in early game, wizards do indeed feel weak. But they have lots of tools to compensate for that later, and you come to appreciate that once you start to understand how stuff works. 1). Citzal wizard has potential to outdps any fighter or shifted druid if built right. 2). I don't like that as well. But provided how powerful their spells are plus the possibility to cast without cooldown/resources/delay making them per-encounter would make the class overpowered. Also there is always available a compromise of going for a blasting mage, that just auto-attacks most of the time, and deals ~75% of barbs damage; but is still able to use Minor Blights or spells when damage/cc is really needed. 3). High reward comes with a drawback. And tbh with the way INT affects AoE radius it's not such a big of nuisance. As the extra area is FoE only. 4). Scrolls are consumables. That's one. There are way more spells available to wizards than those in scrolls. Especially Gaze of Adragan. That's two. Because if you already have 2 ciphers, getting 3rd is a bit redundant. Why not take wizzy for the x2 focus generation via gaze, and let the ciphers make the world burn. Also easy encounters are already easy. And with wizzard you strengthen the party for the boss fights.

It's not that spells do have higher cap, but.. they aren't affected by a quite a few talents and enchants that do affects weapons. - As far as I am aware, recovery duration of spells and active abilities is not affected by: Dual Wielding, Two Weapon Style talent and doesn't get a malus from Penetration Shots. - I am not sure if it is affected by weapon speed or durgan enchant. - But it is affected by armor penalty, and all other maluses to attack speed there are. - Also spells that inherit from ranged attack (most Single-target and AoE damaging one) are affected by malus from Vicious Aim and bonus from Sure Handed. I didn't add it yet, because in that chart I was comparing weapons as if they only hit. No misses, grazes or crits. Unfortunately just multiplying end damage by a summing coefficient (0*0.15 + (k - 0.5) * 0.25 + k) for def=acc would be very inexact. Also it would require an individual table for each acc-def = n step. Or a calculator sheet. But that would be a next step. A ranged cipher from my party, from lvl 8 to lvl 9, has critted on 66% of swings. So yeah Sabra Marie can potentially get a lead. Especially if that would be main character with The Merciless Hand talent. I have tried Golden Gaze against 3 spores standing one near another. Expose vulnerabilities were triggering really often. But it's hard to say if on approximately every 3rd or every 5th swing. Although definitely not in 2 out 3.

Yeap, not having a lash is quite detrimental for focus generation. Totally forgot that Stormcaller cannot be not only durganized but also lashed as well. After recalculation Stormcaller has dropped quite substantially. Sagani's bow dual damage is indeed handy. Even if that bow is slightly nerfed compared to default hunting bow regarding: - range: it has 11 range instead of 12 - base damage: it has 10-14 instead of 10-15 Btw, your remark about dual-damage made me thinking... what about implements? After all there is also dangerous implement talent that partially compensates for their lower base damage. I have expanded the spreadsheet and re-run the calculations. It turns out that: - Golden Gaze is the best weapon against low DR targets. It has same attack rate as a hunting bow. And with Dangerous Implement talent it catches with it in damage. But it fires twice. - Pretty Pretty's Rib and Engwithan sceptre get a mention too, due to their speed enchant. The former also has rending. And the numbers reflect that. - Rain of Goddah is slightly better than I throught. Even if you have a chanter, it can slightly bypass Cloudpiercer in terms of auto-attack damage, because due to Sure-Handed it's possible to take Vambraces instead of Gauntlets of Swift Action. The downside through is, that the latter also decrease recovery duration from spells. - Quick Switching can get you a tremendous benefit for 2-3 hits. The trick through is to switch weapons immediately after weapon has fired and before the recovery start (~20 frames window). In this case you will skill weapon recovery completely and will face only the switching penalty, which is 2s minus 1.5s (from quick switch), hence only 15 frames. Updated spreadsheet P.S. If you find any error feel free to correct me.

Aha, so it's a flat +2, not x1.05. Updating the wiki. Yeap, I remember your writing that. And as I understood it also scales with might. But yeah, if you didn't feel needing it during the playthrough, it's not that needed.

Thanks for your build As for comments: I would probably substitute Long Stride with something. How much does it speed up the monk? Wiki says 5% which is.. like nothing at all. Default running speed being 4, would result in 4.2. While with Fast Runner it would be 5 instead. Other alternative would be to take one more of those "hated" talents, namely Wound Binding. He's a monk, and has 21 might. It gonna heal nicely Or just take Envenomed Strike. Btw, if at any time you will find lacking wounds because of standing at range, a cipher with Mind Wave got your back)

You do. Resolved encounters don't use your set formation. But the "portrait order" instead. Try to drag'n'slide the portraits of your party members.

Hmm, I would probably give them to rogue. Reasoning being: - for 2H figher and barb immediate +15% aspd from Gauntlets of Swift Action might be more beneficial - for a DW character like your Rogue is, aspd is not that critical - a rogue will probably make his first kill faster than the other two, hence will trigger the mourning effects earlier. Btw, how exactly do those buffs stack with themselves? Do they stack completely?; the effects are only prolonged?; or even worse: just refreshed? Also for a barb there are few decent alternatives to consider: Ryona's Vambraces, Glittering Gauntlets, Celebrant's Gloves and Siegebreaker Gauntlets (if for some weird reason Clear Out triggers carnage)

And it's also might be an impractical thing to do. As there are so many different creatures with different DR and defenses, and also debuffs which can lower those, that it is impossible to say which weapon choice is the absolute best one. The good thing it's probably not needed, and it's enough to encompass just the top choices, where the end difference in dps is pretty minor. Thus I completely agree on the following:

Nope. A cipher can achieve zero-recovery with a ranged weapon without speed enchant. Although he has no access to Swift Aim, there is also Sure-Handed chant. Which brings to: (1.2 - 1) + (1.15 * 1.15 * 1.5 - 1) = 1.18 > 1 Durgan enchant is irrelevant here, because it has a zero-cost, and can be applied to both. I understand your point regarding increasing weapon quality to legendary. The problem is you can do it so late into the game, that.. it hardly even matters. Last playthrough I have enchanted some weapons to legendary, right after the Llengrath fight. At that point there was only Thaos remaining. And 15 minutes later I've finished the game. Well, Kingsman didn't ask for favorite weapons, but for most focus-generating ones For example my preferred bow is still Borresaine. Draining is nice, but the stun is even better. With it I often keep 1-2 enemy spellcasters at a time being unable to cast anything, by just auto-attacking. I am not sure if 5 DR penetration is better than 3 DR pen + a talent slot. Just Beast Slayer could give bigger returns. But if you have a chanter with Sure-Handed chant (which btw also reduces cast time of a lot of ranged spells), you can get zero-recovery with any bow, even with enabled Penetrating Shots. As for anihilation property of Sabra Marie, I will be able to run some math latter.

This depends on a lot of factors: weapon quality, enemy DR, your might, perception and especially your recovery time. Here you go: spreadsheet Provided you have reduced your recovery to zero, best focus generating weapons (auto-attacking, no quick-switch), are durganized Cloudpiercer and durganized Sabra Marie (if you crit often enough). Prior to that, Rain of Goddah is king. (update: also Pretty Pretty's Rib and Engwithan sceptre if you will take Dangerous Implement talent) But in the very early game, when your recovery is still substantial, and weapons don't have decent dmg modifier from the quality enchant, firearms are worthy as well. Depends on your own playstyle. I personally don't like the added micro. I could consider doing it for example in boss fights. But than again this means I would take a talent that would stay without use in 90%+ of encounters.