TheHoraeOfDoom

https://www.dropbox.com/s/myusxhoui2nj58x/Wild%20Wild%20Mind.zip?dl=0 Attached are two screenshots, the save file just prior to the bug, and the output log. I was also streaming while this took place so I could link that video if this does turn out to be a bug and the testers think the video would be useful. Basically what happened is I cast Amplified Thrust with Serafen, which triggered his Wild Mind innate passive, at which point Aloth and a bunch of friendly skeletons took a large amount of shock damage (121 on Aloth on a regular hit in cloth armor) and died, and a bunch of other casts of Amplified Thrust went off seemingly at the same time. Given that I don't know exactly how Wild Mind is supposed to work, this could be intended, just seemed like it might be off.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/2dxoi7suhd4ekfs/ABB%20Bug%20Info.zip?dl=0 Here is a link to the dropbox with the output log, save file just before combat start, and screenshots that illustrate the issue as well as I could, unfortunately there's no way for me to conclusively indicate being unable to control a summon with just screenshots. So just to clarify the issue is not with the initial skeleton summons that come from using Ancient Brittle Bones or If Their Bones Still Slept, the issue comes in once the new skeletons spawn from the Ancient Brittle Bones aspect, these new skeletons cannot be controlled, have larger green circles under them than normal Beckoner skeletons, and their AI only seems to be set to self-defense or something very similar. Thank you for your reply.

Please disregard if you guys already know of this bug, did a quick forum search and didn't see a thread in here, afaik this bug has been around since at least the most recent beta patch. When using Ancient Brittle Bones with a Beckoner (unsure if this bug applies to other chanter types) the skeletons that spawn are now the correct size of Beckoner summons but they cannot be controlled manually and their AI seems to be set to a very defensive type, such that it's difficult to get any value at all out of the spell in its current state since you cannot control them and it takes them a long time to start auto-attacking on their own even when enemies are very close by.

Can't edit a post that hasn't been approved yet, realized I wasn't specific enough. The BONUSES from wearing the extra defense while stunned or proned equipment does not work when the wearer is under the effects of Beetle Shell, afaik a Beetle Shell'd chanter can still chant while under its effects but now there seems very little reason to ever use this strategy instead of the far more documented one of using the Withdraw spell to accomplish the same thing.

Bumping this to say that Obsidian has patched this "exploit" out as of the most current patch 3.7.0.1318 (according to in-game info). This was quite saddening to me because I felt it was as niche as niche gets and rewarded some clever use of easy to find yet unused equipment and a very underused spell with a strong result that still isn't as powerful as many high-level Wizard spells. Overall I am extremely disappointed with this change given that being withdrawn while chanting is an even more "broken" and well-publicized mechanic that remains in the game to my current knowledge. This change only further solidifies my desire not to comment on anything "unique" I might find in Pillars II for fear that it will be patched out while much more egregious things remain in, a la Pillars I traps still being UP or OP (due to a coding error) with no middle ground for people that actually want to use traps with any semblance of balance...

After looking at all the races I determined pretty quickly that Nature Godlike would be the all-around best solo race (not counting helmets that we don't know about yet) since the pretty significant nerfs to Moon and Fire Godlike from PoE 1, and Boerer's Lifegiver build seems like one of the strongest uses of Wellspring of Life. Imo the strongest class to solo the game with (not counting bugs) would definitely seem to be a Helwalker/Lifegiver. The Helwalker passive ensures you will be doing an absolutely massive amount of healing (probably more than enough to mitigate the increased damage you'll take) even factoring in the power levels you lose from multiclassing; Swift Strikes means you will never run out of Wellspring of Life. For this solo build I would probably run Stag form and stack that with the two Constitution passive buffs to try and completely neutralize your only real weakness (healing debuffs), but really I think any form would work, although if Cat power stacks with Swift Strikes good lord... But yeah I will likely test this build and see what I get, but on paper it sounds absolutely insane.

Unfortunately the file sizes on my screencaps are slightly too high to upload but regardless, the spell Ancient Brittle Bones is not functioning properly, and there are two things going on here. The first is that every class of Chanter spawns 6 skeletons when they use the spell, instead of the normal 3 (it should just be the Beckoner subclass that spawns 6). The second is that when any Chanter class uses the spell Ancient Brittle Bones the skeletons that die do not spawn two in their place, regardless of what or who kills them. I have only tested this with a single class chanter, no multiclassing.

This build is a chanter + druid combo, though technically a monk or wizard with Greenstone Staff could replace the druid. The backstory for it is that I had been getting bored of playing a tank chanter and decided I wanted to play a more aggressive style on PotD. I've known about the "exploit" with chanters still chanting while withdrawn for a while, and figured it might also apply to the other stasis spell in the game: Beetle Shell. Short story is that it does, long story is that with the right setup it's hilariously broken, and far more effective than withdrawing your chanter due to the fact that a character in Beetle Shell can still draw aggro. The basic idea is to run into a group of enemies and have your caster put Beetle Shell on the chanter while they chant the phrases Winds of Death and The Dragon Thrashed. The key to the build is in how Beetle Shell's status effect is programmed. The little stun symbol next to your character while in Beetle Stasis is not just window dressing, the game is treating you as if you are literally stunned while under its effect. Which leads us to the key insight: equipment that boosts defense while stunned and prone (and they just happen to be the highest base defense boosting equips in the game) work while inside the Shell. The only pieces of equipment truly required to run this build is (Blaidh Golan OR Malina's Boots) + (Ilfan Byrngar's Solace). With this combo you have an extra 100 in every defense. Beyond that you would just want as much INT, MIG, and PER as possible, almost everything else is personal preference. In fact you could get this setup up and running at level 5 (when druids gain access to Shell) with only minor difficulty given how early you can acquire Blaidh Golan and Ilfan Byrngar's Solace (having them both at level 5 is pretty reasonable, even with a small party on PotD). Now, the build does not truly shine until level 9 with The Dragon Thrashed, but even before then you could have an untouchable tank inflicting slow, steady aoe raw damage who doesn't even become vulnerable in a fight until the druid runs out of level 3 spellcasts. For the druid's part, you just want as much INT as you can get your hands on, what they cast or do after the Beetle Shell is active is entirely up to you. 45-50 seconds of a 200 all defenses chanter drawing aggro and dealing massive aoe damage is not to be underestimated. Talent wise you don't actually need anything, but Weapon and Shield plus Superior Deflection is always nice. Later in the game Secrets of Rime is excellent because as soon as you come out of Beetle Shell you can cast one of the chanters high level freeze invocations, then go right back into a Shell if needed. This is my first post here so I figured I'd post something that I haven't read or seen anywhere before that's a lot of fun and might get people more interested in an underappreciated spell.The only real caveat here is that you don't want any CC on you before you enter the Shell because it will override the stun defense bonuses you would ordinarily receive and maintain upon entering the Shell, I suppose because the game is still giving precedence to that initial cc when determining whether or not to apply the stun defense bonuses. Enjoy