TheWeaver

Just created a Berserker in an existing game where I had the DoC enchanted and it works just as it always did. Frenzy causes Confusion which is immediately canceled by the DoC. Don't know if it would be different in a brand new game, but there is no reason to think that it would be.

Paladins, Fighters and Rouges are the only ones which don't interest me at the high end. All the others have something which give you pause about multi. Granted I usually do multi-class for my main anyway, but it is more for the flexibility/interest than the pure power.

PL 8 and 9 for chanters is pretty good too.

See the "ideal gun build" thread for some video of it being used with the AOE blunderbussi -- quite impressive.

The first fire spell that isn't to useful imo is wall of fire, since it has abysmal penetration, I only find it good for proccing combusting wounds, but I'm sure there are plenty of better ways to proc combusting wounds, like chill fog. Currently showing a PEN of 0 (which I guess is the limiting definition of "abysmal"). Is that a bug or has it always been that way?

My understanding is that the Arcane Archer imbue effects should benefit from PL scaling similarly to spells. For imbue missiles I think that means .5 missile per PL and .25 PEN per PL. So if I'm PL 6 that should mean +2.5 (aka 2) missiles and +1.25 PEN. I'm seeing the additional missiles (I get 5), but not the additional PEN (it only shows a PEN of 7, which is the base). This seems like a potential bug, but I wanted to be sure I understood how it was intended to work.

The build that used Grave Calling got me thinking about what other weapons might be exempt. Here's what I found: Grave Calling -- as the build suggests, it is exempt. Odd since it doesn't have Frost as a keyword or alternate damage. It has the lash that builds up per hit. Magran's Blessing (Shield) -- is *not* exempt even though it does do fire as alternative damage type. No idea why as it seems like it should work. LDV -- is exempt as you'd expect given the Shock alternative damage type. Modwyr -- not exempt -- consistent with the fact that most "lash only" weapons aren't exempt. Others in this category include Aldris Blade of Captain Crow, Magran's Favor, Acolyte's Frostbite, and Tarn's Respite (there are more, but those are the one's I tested -- seems pretty consistent though so I would expect them all to have the penalty). Hel's Beckoning -- exempt -- this fits with the Grave Calling pattern that if you can enchant with a building lash then it is exempt -- wonder why. So it seems that a lash isn't sufficient, unless it is a "building lash" (what other weapons have that, I've only tested the 2 above). Having an elemental damage type seems to work, except for the shield which seems bugish, but not sure.

The one after Hasongo isn't random however (I get that with no problem). I also get the other non-random ones (during Cornet's Call, during the one with the satchel, the one for Serafan). It is only the random encounters that basically never happen for me (of the 5 I mentioned above, 3 were during the same run).

Amra (the other 2h axe we've been discussing) is purchased at Dunnage. Depending on what BB you have/use you can get that immediately upon leaving the first island. Even for a brand new player with no such access it doesn't take too long to get the gold (it's 15-20K IIRC). The proficiency for the 2H axes is just Axe (so it works with both 1H and 2H).

I mean you could instantly get 25 might within minutes of starting the game; Dwarf or Amaua+Berath's Blessings+Livings Lands 23 Might, then special merchant for Gauntlets of Might for 25. That is not really the issue, more the classes. I was thinking Devoted+ something else, just not sure though. I did Rauatai for RP reasons, but yep the 25 might isn't hard (was mostly responding to a previous post suggesting it needed Barb or Priest). I chose Blackjacket just for the weapon flexibility (Amra as primary, dual BB for mass afflictions, morning star for Fort debuff) and 0 downtime switch (once you take quick switch), but Devoted seems like a good choice as well for the extra Pen. As for what to pair it with, probably all depends on what you want to do. I styled mine somewhat after this build -- https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/104954-build-the-queens-executioner/?hl=woedica (which by the way is an Oathbreaker build).

I did a run with an Assassin/Blackjacket built around Amra. Dwarf + BB + GoM + items >= 25 MIG with no real issue (early on I used one of the +MIG pets to help get there).

I am similarly afflicted. Maybe the RNG hates me or maybe it is just something about how I play the game, but I've run 15-20 characters through Nekataka and in all that time I've had 5 random encounters total (Griffon Blade once, fight slimes twice, follow dudes with magic figurine twice). Anyway, here is a save from one of my earlier games which has had none of these -- https://1drv.ms/u/s!AozQ0n6VaNEXjFV6vg4zapgOnpPq Hope it helps.

Even a Debonaire/Cipher so you have other sources of charm (that aren't restricted to Kith) and then can leverage the 100% HtC? What equipment do you think is required? Something with an on crit activation to further leverage the guaranteed crit? Just curious since I haven't really tried the sub-class yet.

You mean the Machiavellian psychopath who invaded a whole country to impose his view of the world on everybody? And when that failed, he inhabited an adra statue, stomped around the Deadfire as a walking biawac killing hundreds in his wake, and put all kith and gods on a timer by destroying the Wheel? You don't mind that guy? But he has such a soothing voice...

Mule kick will refund its cost IF you succeed with interrupt. Using telekinetic burst allows you to regenerate discipline in perpetuity. Which of course you can use for any fighter ability, not just mule kick. Important part is that telekinetic burst is only 10 focus so easy to spam with psion’s slowish regen which allows for unlimited discipline. Not in front of my PC but Mind Lance might also be an option but i don’t think it’s interrupt is on graze and may be slower cast. I think the question is less about the use of Mule Kick on a Tactician and more about the choice of Cipher sub-class. If you are going to be doing lots of weapon attacks then other Ciphers will generate focus faster. So in this case is the addition of TK Burst worth the lower focus generation. I'm a Psion fan, but I'm not sure it would be. TK Burst is fast cast and ranged so you can use it to interrupt guys in the back line. However, if you are spamming MK then you may find yourself in recovery at the exact moment that you need to use TK Burst. I really like MaxQuest's idea of having concentration prevent Soul Mind suppression. Missed that in the beta forum. I think with that one addition the sub-class would be more than fine (still not teh ub3r choice, but reasonably balanced).

Cipher-Psion, I have not tested, a lot of people say he is suboptimal, but on paper he suits that, except the fact of Blood Sacrifice ia a damage that stops focus-gain. Just did a quick test and Blood Sacrifice does not suppress Soul Mind. That's consistent with my previous tests with other forms of non-hit roll self damage (destructive channeling, DAoM). Haven't tested Beserker self-damage (but I would assume it too does not). I agree that Chant/Troub and Furyshaper seem like good options as well. And wow -- that was my first BM test -- at high levels Blood Sacrifice will kill you dead if you aren't careful.

My experience with the pulling issue is that it doesn't appear to be as fixed as they think it is . Maybe I'm just bad at pulling, but at both Gorecci Street and the dig site I still get every enemy when I pull. In the dig site I sometimes won't get the wurms, but they still count as engaged and even if I retreat back as far as possible combat never ends.

To reliably proc Brilliant you'll need help as a Pally. You can get the power that blinds everyone around you, so that can help, but unless every enemy is in range of that power when it goes off and it hits them all then you won't get everyone flanked. The most reliable ways that I've seen to do this are using either a Cipher or a Wizard, both of whom have multiple, ranged, AoEs that result in flanked. Of course if you are getting that from a party member then another good option is Tekehu and his Foe only Chill Fog. Or you could go the Chanter/Skelly killing route with Grave Calling to spam Chill Fog. So options.

I don't think they need to buff the passive focus gain TBH. The subclass exists to combo with classes that can't generate a bunch of focus via Soul Whip; given there isn't a cost (one you build around, granted) a modest benefit is fine. This is my current assessment as well. On paper the rate seems low, but in practice it actually isn't that bad. It is however a matter of what you are trying to achieve. For a character that spends their time doing things other than weapon damage I think it works quite well (doesn't work for solo or DPS-centric builds). I'm playing a Tactician/Psion right now that is working quite nicely. The character is back/mid line, ranged, and focuses on CC. I spend a lot of time maintaining the conditions needed for Brilliant and reacting when things move away from that. Having a constant stream of resources which I don't have to attack to gain works well. I honestly don't think it would mesh as well with either Ascendant or Soulblade (since they encourage focus dumps/spamming instead of constant maintenance). As for getting hit -- in most fights I actually don't find it that hard to stay out of the way, but I'm glad I have Brilliant to tide me over when Soul Mind does drop (fortunately it doesn't stay out for long, one tick I think). That said, if there is one area for tweaking, this is it. A power like Enduring Dance would have been nice for example. That would let you spend a power pick to mitigate the penalty a bit. Anyway, not everyone's cup of tea I'm sure and certainly not for melee, but not in dire need of a buff as is being suggested (increasing the rate and removing the damage penalty entirely would be way too much IMO).

This was previously reported in 3.x and seemed to be worse in PotD. However, now I'm getting this behavior on Veteran. For example, I aggro any group in a hallway of the Forgotten Catacombs and as a result I get the entire dungeon on my head. This is starting to get a bit annoying -- all for a challenge, but... Let me know if you need a save game (I have one at the entrance to the map in question).

Personally I'm OK with this. Not like the anti-synergy isn't fairly obvious (so it doesn't constitute a trap in that sense). Placing that design constraint would, IMO, be too onerous. And streefighter does have another way to get their condition, so being flanked isn't the only approach (but I agree that they don't work great together). As for Tactician, I'm playing a Tactician/Psion and haven't really had much trouble getting Brilliant up. The few times I wasn't able to were due to fog of war/engagement issues (for example, at the dig site when you pull the panthers/boars/drake, the wyrms will hang back, but are still engaged). Overall I'm finding it easier to get Brilliant than I am using the interrupt to get discipline back (wish there were an indication of that in the log, but there doesn't seem to be). Been a fun combo so far.

As another data point, this is still working OK for me. Just created a new character with the blessing and the skills points show up as expected. One thing to note (and this has always been true), the points don't show up on the "summary" that you get at the end of character creation. Only once you've finished creating and appear in game can you see that they are there. You'll probably want to send your save game to the QA folks so they can see what went wrong in your case.

Another, different summons question (and apologies if this has been answered in the thread already). Do the Furyshaper wards count as a summons? I assume yes, but wanted to be sure before I started getting excited by a Troub/Furyshaper.

Has anyone checked to see if Eccea's arcane blaster is exempt from the Arcane Archer penalty (either before or after enchanting with one of the elemental options)? So far I think we have: Frostseeker and Essence Interrupter as the exempt weapons -- any others that folks have found?

I thought it's just the name of status effect - so the player knew where it came from.If that bonus PL affects only chants and invocations... then what's the point of this subclass? (provided that its only +0.5 PL per phrase consumed) Very much this. I made the same assumption you did that this must be a mini-Ascension kind of deal that might have some benefit to a multi-class chanter. But if the only thing it impacts is Chanter PL and the only real benefit you can get from that is with Invocations, but you lose all your phrases and thus can't cast anything before the duration runs out (outside the use of one specific item), then... I'm sorry, what was the point again, I dozed off.