dgray62
-
Posts
1363 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Blogs
Everything posted by dgray62
-
It seems like it's really worth it, then. The enemies affected by psychic/brutal backlash include some of the toughest in the game. I rarely get through the mobs of banshees in the lighthouse, Caed Nua, and Durgan's battery without someone getting knocked out. [Edited for grammar]
-
I agree, it makes sense to pick Zealous Focus if you have a paladin. That way wizards and priests can master and make use of other useful 1st level spells.
-
Thanks, Boeroer. I always thought that Zealous focus worked with spells as well, so I was alarmed when I read it doesn't. Maybe it's less useful lamiar, with his three wizard party and presumably heavy use of Eldritch Aim.
-
Is it true that Gallant Focus really boost spells, while Zealous Focus does not? I've never taken the former before, but if this is that case, I'll likely follow lamiar's example and take in on my MC.
-
Thanks for the recommendation, MaxQuest. I can see that these choice make sense for a high might cipher. Do you think it would make sense to take psychic backlash and brutal backlash in a v1 cipher, given the discussion taking place in another thread (https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/93058-psychic-backlash/ )? They would seem to be much more useful on a melee cipher than a ranged cipher, but they also come at a high opportunity cost, given how few talents ciphers gain.
-
As for powers, specifically for v4: - Whispers of Treason (!), Mindwave (!), Tenuous Grasp ® and Eyestrike(~) - Mental Binding (!), Amplified Thrust ®, Recall Agony ® (vs high HP enemies) - Ectopsychic Echo ®, Soul Ignition ®, Puppet Master (~) - Silent Scream(!), Mind Lance ®, Pain Block (~), Going Between (~), Wild Leech (~) - Borrowed Instinct ®, Tactical Meld ®, Detonate ® - Amplified Wave (!), Disintegration (!) - Time Parasite (!), Stasis Shell (~) - Reaping Knives (~), Defensive Mindweb (~) (Mindweb is quite situational, because it comes with heavy opportunity cost) Maxquest, what powers would you recommend for your v1 frontline DPS build?
-
You could also use Bittercut and Vent Pick vs. slash resistant foes. Bittercut also gives you a small AOE with Vile Thorns 2/rest. Its second spellbind, Infestation of Maggots, unfortunately is bugged, as it doesn't seem to do anything. [Edited for Additional Information]
-
I hadn't realized you could cast psychovampiric shield outside of combat. Indeed, it seems marginally useful cast in combat, given the relatively long "average" cast time. Thanks for the tip, MasterCipher.
-
A hearth orlan witch doctor would look cool if you picked the blue skin color available for orlans! I am sure Boeroer is right that the DPS difference between the boreal dwarves would be marginal. The hearth orlan would likely have a higher crit rate, provided of course that you micromanaged to make sure s/he was hitting the same enemy as other party members. Prior to level 7, this wouldn't make much difference due to how crits are calculated with unarmed attacks, but your DPS would rise once you get the long pain. Whether this would outweigh the loss from -3 STR is an open question. It probably wouldn't be much either way. [Response extended using edit feature]
-
Boeroer, please kindly excuse me answering a question addressed to you. Your Witch Doctor build is my favorite so far, and I couldn't resist contributing an answer based on my experience thus far with the build.
-
I wonder if the crit difference would be that big. Yes, the hearth orlan gets a 10% bonus when attacking the same enemy as a companion, but the boreal dwarf gets the big accuracy boost against wilders and primordials, which also yields extra crits. And given the fact that monks' DPS is very dependent on STR, you'd likely miss the 3 points lost. Also, one of the fun things about the Witch Doctor is being able to quickly take out those annoying back row squishies, mages and archers, once you activate the long pain. Usually I have the rest of my party occupied with the front row melee foes while my witch doctor obliterates everyone else. It's loads of fun, but may not be a role that a hearth orlan is best suited for, at least in a min-max sense. But it would surely be fun anyway, and is probably worth trying!
-
You make some great points, MountainTiger. Personally, I do not like min-maxed builds, and I am generally reluctant to take any stats below 8. I like AndreaColumbo's priest build; for a more melee oriented priest, you might consider taking a few points off of DEX as RES and add them to MIG, for MIG 14, CON 10, DEX 16, PER 10, INT 16, RES 12.
-
You don't necessarily need high PER in a priest, simply because priests have many ways to buff accuracy. The most important things for a priest are high MIG and INT, followed closely by DEX, IMO. You might want to check out MaxQuest's "Godhammer" fire priest build. See: http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/86277-class-build-fire-priest-ranged-sup-offdps/
-
That would make sense. Thanks, Boeroer. BTW, at your recommendation I tried Tenuous Grasp, which I have never previously taken since I always took WoT instead. You are right, it is fun to sneak up and cast it at the start of a battle, and watch the other enemies swarm the poor confused victim. However, whenever I do this the battle starts while I am casting, which means it is not a "free" cast for me. Do you need to have a certain level of stealth to pull this off? My cipher currently only has 2 points in stealth, which clearly is not sufficient.
-
That's what I thought too, but I've never played a melee cipher before, just a ranger cipher specializing in CC, so I wondered if there was some good but non-obvious reason not to take it.
-
I notice that MasterCipher recommends taking Psychovampiric Shield at level 4, while MaxQuest doesn't recommend taking it all. Is there any reason not to take it if you are playing a melee cipher? It seems like draining 10 res and gaining 25 deflection is a no brainer. However, I notice that the casting time is "average," which means you might take a hit or two while trying to cast it at close range. Just curious about whether those who have tried it find it worthwhile or not.
-
Thanks for the tips. I found that Concenhaut's Parasitic Staff combined with Bulwark Against the Elements made fighting the spirits in Caed Nua a breeze.
-
Thanks, Boeroer. I'm playing a pale elf mage now who will use Citzal's once she reaches level 9. I'll definitely pick up the Merciless Hand and Apprentice's Sneak attack talents, and Two Weapon Style eventually as well.
-
For awhile I had a similar problem; for about 1/3 of my runs the treasure I found didn't match the random loot tables. I eventually realized that for the random loot tables to work, your MC has to be first in party order. If you place her or him in another position, for some reason the random loot is generated differently. Also, a few times when I've started a new game, the game started on day 19 rather than day 18. When this happens, the random loot is always different. But I haven't had this happen for awhile; it might have only been a problem in an earlier version of the game.
-
It has a significantly longer handle than a great sword but yeah, it does look more like a sword than a pike/spear. It's one of the coolest looking weapons in the game, which combined with the fact that it's also one of the best weapons in the game is rather nice. It's just a shame Wizards never get level 5 spells as per encounter. Just so I understand how it works, as a summoned weapon it benefits from any weapon proficiency, right? Since it's a two-handed weapon, doesn't it get the 15% damage bonus from Two-Handed Style? I was also wondering if it gets the 25% bonus from Dangerous Implements, since it causes a blast like other implements.
-
Boeroer, since your wizard's in plate, do you have a high dex to compensate for the armor's speed malus? Would you be so kind as to share the stats for this wizard build? I'd like to try a melee oriented wizard build; in the past I've always played Aloth or a min-maxed wood elf spell slinger, which is why I didn't recognize Citzal's Spirit Lance.
-
Thanks! I didn't realize that Citzal's Spirit Lance looks like a great sword without a crossguard.
-
Boeroer, what is the sword that the death godlike in plate armor is bearing? It looks really cool, but I don't recall seeing this weapon before.
-
Phyriel, I was curious about your run through with 3 druids. With three druids, can you have three castings of returning or relentless storm active at once? That would be insane! I ask because I've never played with more than one druid in a party.
-
I have had the same problem with multiple playthroughs, JerekKruger. I have discovered two things. First, if your MC is not the first in the order of characters, for some reason random loot changes, and does not match the tables. I used to put squishy characters to the back, and when I did this, I never got the expected loot. This was before I realized you could have custom battle arrangements for the characters. Secondly, on some playthroughs, for reasons that are not clear to me, you just get different loot. It occurs maybe 10% of the time when I start a new game. If I don't find the expected loot in the Gilded Vale Inn, I start over.
