Slack83er

Not at all. But once shift expires I'm a ham in a corridor of blades....

Learning curve or not... I'm still not satisfied. Why is this happening? Why can't I be the party leader I'm trying to be? There's something I'm missing...

I'm level 3 starting game. Plain armor, quarterstaff in hand. Stats are: MIG 16 CON 7 ( not so min maxed after all...) DEX 10 PER 14 INT 16 RES 15 Cross class fighter reg. talent. Also, while shifted, I miss a lot.. dunno why.

Yeah I know, you're very gentle, and you especially BEN, who always come up with something good!

Ahhhh all this is far too complicated!! Shift in, give a beating, shift out. From that point on, it's ME the one that takes a beating. on easy mode, 1 sec and I was lying dead to 3 bandits.....and Eder was aside. Also... I'd like to give him a slight feeling of "leader".... but since I also had this problem with a paladin, I'm afraid I'm stuck. I don't have a lot of CON, I know..but damn... IT'S EASY MODE!!! I think I'm hopeless. (and I'm wasting your time, which isn't fare at all)

Yes, I understand that, but it takes long time to cast, while abilities are quite always fast.. furthermore, if I'm in the fray, it's hard to exit and not be followed, I'll be dead already... And most magics I have damage my own party too...

Ok, so.. is the shifted form only good for dishing out damage? Because I always open the fight with the transformation... but maybe I should do something before? Magics are targeted on the ground, so if I open with a magic, the enemy will move next to me and I will end up catching my friends as well in the fire. I'm still unsure of my role in party... I don't seem to be a leader...more of a damage dealing beast which lasts for some time, and then it turns much much weaker...

Ok, began playing, quite always easy to destroy things, and bear is HUGE. A doubt has come to mind: What am I using equipment for, if when I'm shifted I lose EVERY effect? Rings of deflection, of cure, belts of resistance to slash and crush...all useless?? Most fights end way before i shift back... so... am I going to give every good piece of equipment only to companions? This thing is really meh...

Good. I'll remember that. Now, on to playing. Hehe

Yes, just companions, no created henchmen. Forgot kana, btw...

Shall I take out Eder in the second part of the game then? Keep Durance, Pallegina, Grieving Mother, Aloth....?

Great, so I got three options to stay second line: Either reache 2h weapons OR Gyrd, which does a great thing... restore spiritshift... Now, to become the real beastslayer... I need talents... maybe the ones that go Vs. specific creature types? I could also borrow Durance's staff and get him at the back, casting support spells... Afaik, I and Eder should take care well enough of the front line.

I noticed there's a relatively low number or good/unique quarterstaves and pikes in this game... pity that. Someone knows if they're the only long reach weapon available? Also... is Greenstone staff the only SB weapon I could use?

This I agree with.

Well.. tomorrow morning I'll try my new dwarf-bear-pikeman-Druid-MC. He's almost ready. Just need some talents to make him the monster hunter... would you take the talent against beasts? Then a high survival to get vs beast camp bonuses? I also know that hunter suits more a ranger than a Druid but I didn't find any suitable bg I liked, and Ben still came up with an excellent bg anyway!

Well.. some of these...I'd call the halberds.... but no, you're right, they fit.

Yeah...maybe pike is the only weapon that can suit my MC's flavour and utility. Superb. I also thought earlier of quarterstaves because they share focus with unarmed... Boer's suggestion if I'm not wrong... Staves include the greenstone, which is fine. The only thing I hate is that they're wielded like clubs... I mean... the char just smashes them in the head of the foe as if it were a bottle of beer... haha ...

Yes, about the focus with soulbound, you're right. Universal. Didn't think at the pike.... isn't it a bit "soldier-ish?" I wanted to have higher reach to be 2nd liner when and if the shift wears out...

That's grand, you gave it a theme! monster hunter druid! Now... how to make it more hunter oriented? some weapons perhaps? some talents??

It's bEar Ben male, quarterstaff in hand probably, hunter BG, old vailia most probably... stats are as you gave them to me, they sound perfect. Need a story... p.s. boreal dwarf.. the boni are way too good to pass up..

Jerek, what you say is undoubtedly true... I am no min maxer, and agree with you. But still, most of the builds are min-maxed, you keep finding almost the same equipment on all builds... bittercut...bittercut... What I'm saying is... make 3/4 strong weapons... but instead of "leveling" them, make them strong in different stats...

A not all... wolf has 2..

I choose bear over other just because of flavour, and I play easy. The vast majority of players (especially min maxers) choose the best option in terms of results in game. In PotD the boar CAN make a difference, while the bear's roar will be negligible..

Don't give Obsidian ideas. PoE isn't an MMO, it doesn't need to be balanced. In my opinion, it does instead. Like the sabre nerf which is on its way... otherwise, you are taking away the possibility of choosing between alternatives...

Agreed. It's the only one that has all passives. Either all become all passive or the bleed ability becomes 2/rest. Anyway, as I stated, at easy difficulty, that won't make much of a difference, so I'll choose Bear to fit with dwarf theme. @Ben: when you can... I count on your imagination for an "idea" about my dwarf... Make it UNIQUE!!!