dgray62

This is my experience too. My troubadours typically start one phrase shy of max, while my skalds always seem to start with their max. I don't recall having a skald start at max-1, like troubadours.

Very true! There are multiple ways to deal with this issue, to be sure.

Thanks for the response, Not So Clever Hound. I have been testing this, and just finished Port Maje. For some reason it seems that melee attacks from stealth DO generate focus, while ranged attacks do not. If anything, this is a point in favor of the melee-focused assassin mindstalker. So far, focus generation is no problem; the only problem is forgetting to discharge focus when full, and thus losing the raw lash. Have to remember to frequently use Soul Annihilation. I'll report back once I get Amra. I expect it will also be OP for the melee Mindstalker, but we'll see....

I know, Raven Darkholme. I was considering modding my game to make this possible.

Not So Clever Hound, I have been thinking about solo assassin melee builds, inspired by this build of yours, which I can confirm from experience is very fun to play. I know that you have thought a lot about this too, so I wanted to ask your thoughts about this. My idea is a solo assassin/soulblade mindstalker wielding Amra, as in this build. While you'd lose Clear Out () and the intuitive inspiration from fighter and the devoted's melee bonii, you'd gain some great stuff from the cipher side, including the 20% rash lash (with biting whip and Community patch), a great bonus to accuracy and defenses via Borrowed Instinct, as well as Disintegration, which would make Hauani o Whe much easier to handle, as well as many little perks from the cipher side to make the game a bit easier, such as Whispers of Treason and the multiple stacks of concentration a soulblade gets, which frees you up to use a different belt. I haven't tried this yet, but I was thinking of doing so after installing one of the mods that makes the cipher's inspirational powers (valorous echoes, pain block and ancestor's memory) self-casts, since otherwise they'd be useless playing solo. Being able to cast pain block on yourself would make you sturdier, and partly make up for the loss of rapid recovery and unbending trunk. There's no need to mention how useful self-casts of ancestor's memory would be for an assassin. It's clear that Amra with wanton gore would give you tons of focus, which you could use to cast spells or unleash as soul annihilation. And tempered fury would give you a much needed boost to action speed. Do you think that this would work?

In that case, make sure you get the Long Night's Drink chant when you hit level 10, which will weaken your enemies, can allow you to steal health from them when you hit them.

Dual blunderbusses are great for a mindstalker. You can wreck mobs with the AOE explosions and get lots of focus. She'll do well if you give her the ranged gear such as Acina's Tricorn and the ring of the marksman. Frostseeker is great too, but is best for a build designed and geared for crits. Essence Interrupter is great for high damage to single targets. While blunderbusses have short range, they don't inflict a deflection penalty like bows, which is a nice compensation.

Indeed. And if you use monk abilities like Torments Reach while in bear form, for example, you get the neat animation of your panda doing a side kick. The animation for Skyward Kick is even more impressive, if I recall correctly.

Thanks for sharing your build, Jayd. I have enjoyed playing cantors as well, and I agree that skald/helwalker is the best combo overall. In the past I played with slightly different stat spreads, abilities and gear, but your choices are very interesting, and I will seriously consider them if I decide to try this combo again.

If a Kind Wayfarer attacks with Flames of Devotion wielding Sun & Moon and Tuotilo's Palm, will White Flames proc twice (as usual when dual wielding) or three times, given that Sun and Moon attacks twice, once with each head? If the latter is the case, that would be some serious healing.

Thanks for the clarification, Boeroer.

Doesn't either the Community Patch or the Balance Polishing mod fix the lack of PEN scaling on the bashing shields?

Just for clarification, I agree with you completely, @Jayd. I would never suggest that one not get Killers. I always pick this talent whenever I play a skald. But I was suggesting that the upgrade isn't worth it. But that is a debatable point. I like Ben Fidel for the -10 to all defenses combined with the frightened affliction. I use Killers all the time for mobs, and typically save Ben Fidel for the tougher foes.

I wouldn't recommend taking ancient memory. The healing it provides is very negligible, and your fighter already has great healing with constant recovery and unbending. The ...And Their Fear Followed Them upgrade also isn't worth it IMO. Instead, I'd recommend that you get Reny Daret's Ghost and the upgrade Ben Fidel's neck, which frightens for much longer and debuffs all defenses. It's a much better invocation.

If you'd like to use WotEP with an inquisitor you'd be better off choosing The Steel Garrote subclass rather than Kind Wayfarer, if you don't mind doing a "Dr. Evil" rational/cruel playthrough. This is because Steel Garrote paladins are healed when they damage an afflicted opponent, and Offensive parry not only damages and generates focus for you, but also dazes the opponent. This makes them extra sturdy. If you'd like to do Kind Wayfarer, you'll want to dual wield, to double the healing from white flames every-time you use Flames of Devotion. Naturally, there are many great one handed weapons to chose from, notably the Seeker's Fang.

Perhaps it can work with any summonable weapons under the right circumstances? But it's not entirely clear yet what they are. I'll try to replicate this as soon as I can get back to the game.

I may be wrong with the sequence of events that spawned it. I didn't notice that the staff was gone until after I was down below the arena. My description is based upon my recollection of what happened in that battle. I'll see if I can reproduce it, and will report back if I can.

Great idea; I won't see them, they're clearly worth more that 300 gold. I'll try them on a non-druid companion to see if they get the DOT raw lash too.

Yes, it seems that one would have to be careful with this. Fortunately I only lost a generic staff, and not something unique.

I just started a theurge run, with an animist/skald with the boar spirit shift. While level 4 and battling the beasts in the arena, I started wielding a staff, then summoned firebrand, and then shifted. After the battle, my staff disappeared, leaving a dual set of boar tusks in my first weapon slot. They were removable, and I could put them in my inventory, and strangely enough they were valued at 150 gold each, so I suppose I could sell them if I wished. I was wondering if anyone ever encountered this bug before. If would be a real bummer if the weapon was an irreplaceable unique, like the Spine of Thicket Green. Fortunately I only lost a generic quarterstaff.

That's funny! Happy shooting.

Yes, I was surprised when I noticed that they stacked, as I expected that they wouldn't. Yet another of the game's mysteries it seems!

Hmm, in my experience playing forbidden fist monks, the +4 STR from Mohora Wraps does stack with the +5 STR from the Thunderous Blows. So my monk with a 15 base STR, boosted to 19 by the wraps, would end up with 24 STR when Thunderous Blows is activated. I have noticed this in many games, and it works consistently in my version of the game.

That crossbow is insanely OP if you're playing an elf assassin.

Looks the same to me as well.