srulz

@Nssheepster: 1. I'm currently using the non-modded AI, and I haven't encountered this issue. I did use Nearest Target as my priority target though, and on the very bottom I put a generic Always True -> Attack -> Nearest Target, and on the AI choice I put List Order even when there's only 1 AI, because I heard if it's Random sometimes it will choose the nonexistent AI instead, which will do random things. So far from my testing, if I put Target Health = Near Death -> Barbaric Smash -> Lowest Health, the barb does prioritize accordingly. 2. There are hardly any Crush Immunes right? Xoti does have a double duty of stacking Resonant Touches on bosses. I'm not sure yet how to set up the trigger though, probably need to use the Time Elapsed condition in the More AI mod. @Sanctuary: 1. TBH in the latest patch I've found no issues whatsoever with the cooldown timer being ignored. I do recall there's 1 patch note which mentioned that. I'm currently using Aloth as a Battlemage, and there's no spamming of Spirit Shield etc being done. Thankfully in the more AI mod the conditions are a lot more robust, so this shouldn't be an issue. 2. Yes, Arcane Dampener is a problem. So the more conditions in the mod should counter this issue somewhat. That's also the reason why I don't use Aloth as well, since he's too dependent on his buffs to do much of anything. 3. So far I haven't encountered this AI bugging out issue too frequently, except in the case in which AI cannot properly pathfind (eg. In ship battles, when going up the nearest stair even when the other stair id available). I did use movement stuff like Charge a lot though (with timers), so this issue does get mitigated somewhat. @TheMetaphysician: 1. Indeed, it's great fun when everything runs like a clockwork. In my current party Eder immediately Charge to enemy squishes with Aloth a second later after buffing, while Xoti holds the frontline with her 2 clones, while my main char (Streetfighter/Bleakwalker) proceeds to demolish everything from afar with Maia. Ship battles are even better with all the benchwarmers fighting as well. Mirke especially has been overperforming even when equipped with only an Exceptional Robe. 3. While Magran's Challenge made sense, I'm mainly afraid of the bugs, like the one with Infamous Captain. There are hardly anyone playing them, so bugs would go unnoticed. I don't think there any rewards/achievements with them right? @Frak: Yes, that's why I would set earlier conditions and/or mainly using targeted heals.

I'm currently deep in my 1st playthrough, and while not playing I'm currently brainstorming a build for my 2nd one. Basically I want to create a hands-off party, meaning every battle I leave everything to the AI - complete automation. Difficulty is PotD, non-upscaled though because I hate level scaling in general, but I will be playing with companions instead of full custom party. So my current considerations for main character: 1. Devoted/Berserker using Amra axe for mobs, and Oathbreaker for bosses: -> From my testing, it seems that Amra does hit the same target twice (with 2nd damage almost equivalent to a Carnage). The main star of the show, however, is the 50hp auto-kill upgrade, which will just blow up mobs in combination with Mob Stance & Blood Thirst & Carnage & Barbaric Blow & Blood Lust & Clear Out. Against single target, raw damages from Oathbreaker + Blood Frenzy + axe modal stacks to just shred bosses. Also very tanky with Unbending & Refreshing Defenses, and uses DoC Breastplate to counter the Confusion. Will take the Unarmed talent as a backup vs slash immune, because it's equivalent to a multiclass monk's fist at level 19+. OR 2. Soul Blade/Trickster using Sun and Moon Flail in mainhand, and Tuotilo’s palm in offhand: -> While not as flashy or as explosive as above, spamming Soul Annihilation (2nd free hit generates focus) does result in a ridiculously high single-target DPS, and the Trickster side provides even more DPS and a whole lot of survivability. It also doesn't depend on Flanked/Distracted buffs like a Streetfighter, and since you don't use your Guile for your main attacks, you can just use them all to make sure you survive. Also, Borrowed Instinct is just crazy. So basically high AOE DPS vs really high single-target DPS. For my other companions, I would probably use the following party: 1. Maia - Gunhawk/Rogue -> single-target ranged DPS, spamming The Red Hand. 2. Mirke - Monk/Streetfighter -> AOE ranged DPS, spamming Hand Mortar/Fire in the Hole to get perma-Streetfighter buff. 3. Xoti - Monk -> AOE melee DPS, spamming Whisper of the Wind infinitely thanks to the subclass's bonus & Dance of Death. 4. Pallegina - Paladin/Chanter -> Tank/Healer, +fire & +reload chants, Exalted Focus aura, using Shared Flames once every ~8 seconds, spamming AOE Paralyze, healing with Lay on Hands as needed. So opinions are appreciated. I'm currently leaning towards the Devoted/Berserker mainly due to the coolness and flashiness factor, however I'm still open to other suggestions. Remember, it needs to be a low-micro build which can be completely automated.

TBH stuff like this actually do frustrate me a little bit about the game. Like what is actually the supposed behaviour? If I build totally around this behaviour, and invest like 40 to 50 hours on it, what if suddenly Obsidian patches it out and totally destroy my build? All those hours down the drain. Especially on stuff that is apparently like this since the very beginning. Another example, I actually just finally looted Red Hand in-game, after finally going on my first proper run. While testing the weapon, I apparently found out that the buffs actually persist even if you unequip the weapon and pass it to someone else. So the "correct" usage of that weapon is to pass that weapon to everyone to farm up the 20 kills each while upgrading it to the 0% damage taken. But is this buff's persisting actually correct? Because logically it should stay only while you're using the weapon, and/or while actually in your hands, then the better upgrade would be to 40% damage taken and use it on a glass cannon far away from the battlefield. The fact that you can't change the enchantment without consoling another weapon in also frustrates me. Alas last Red Hand change is a long time ago in which they fixed the stacking of before & after upgrades, that's all. I mean, I still really enjoy the game, but all these inconsistencies are really grating.

I believe people has already found that for armors with -%recovery time, you can get faster than naked due to the way recovery time value from Armored Grace/Cosmo or similar pet work. So you end up getting "free" -10% recovery time from Miscreant's Leathers & DOC Armour when you combine Cosmo & Armored Grace vs naked.

I'm not sure TBH, I'm away from my pc at the moment so my info is based on the wiki, which is often incorrect TBH. Anyway, my question still stands.

@MaxQuest: Actually regarding Wounding Shot, I have just read from another thread by Boroer that it has been working that way since the very beginning. Apparently it is a "bad DOT", in which more Int actually reduce the speed of the damage applied. This also seems similar to how Tidefall great sword behave in POE1. @everyone: I've finally settled on a Bleakwalker/Streetfighter build. Other than the lashes, the defensive capability of a Bleakwalker is actually quite good, even with RP-ing a terrible paladin. Plus pretty much everything work with non-melee stuff. The 2nd choice would be Helwalker, however it just took too long to get the Stunning Surge engine running, while FOD can be spammed from level 1. Plus there are many enemies which are immune to stun anyway, and the Stunning Surge doesn't really has any good modifiers to the skill like accuracy etc. The 3rd choice would be Berserker, however there are too many talents that are melee only, especially the hit to crit conversion from Berserker itself, and the raw damage to self is actually pretty deadly with high MIG and low CON. I haven't really tested the Caster multiclasses much yet, so if anyone has more input on them or even martial classes, they are very much welcome. Thanks for the great discussion everyone.

1. No, however the powder burn has very low penetration. So as long as your melee guys are armored up, the Burns should just tickle them. 2. No if you disable the Burns you will not get the Streetfighter bonus, hence you are better off running another subclass like Trickster for example.

This is a highly interesting topic, especially regarding the revelation that you could take multiple penetration talents which stack on top of each other. Seems great. Some questions for a Bleakwalker/Shifter build: 1. Which Wildstrike element would be the best? Other than Fire/Corrode of course. Meaning which element would have the least immunities and/or armor, Shock or Freeze? 2. Why is the cat's claws so good compared to others? Purely because of lowest recovery? Or does it have some other factors? 3. If I'm going for the highest dps Shifter/x build, would a Trickster/Rogue be better, or still Bleakwalker due to all the lashes? 4. The Fury form is 2-handed rather than 1-handed. Is its DPS comparable to a melee-based form other than Cat?

Currently Turning Wheel is giving fire lash to non-melee attacks (pistols/sceptres etc.) even though its description explicitly states that it only affects melee attacks. According to the veterans in the forum, this has been the case from the game launch until now. Kindly help to clarify the correct behaviour for this ability please, either: 1. Change the description removing the "melee" keyword (much preferable), or 2. Make the Turning Wheel only affect non-melee attacks (please don't) Thanks in advance.

@MaxQuest: 1. Those are the big bosses eh? That's really interesting to know. It does mean that my decision is now slanted back to a Monk instead of a Bleakwalker, but then again, can a monk actually perma-stun all single-target bosses, or are there those with really high deflection/fortitude, and/or immunity to stun? 3. Wow the text is highly misleading then, I originally thought the damage count starts at 3 sec rather than 0 sec. Do all other skills with similar mechanics (eg. Dance of Death) work the same? Also do multiple raw damage DOT from multiple Wounding Shots stack on each other, or just refresh the duration? @hollerer: What do you mean by no damage? If piercing damage immunity, then there are ways to work around that. Plus this is not a "challenge run" in which you are limited to just blunderbusses, but mainly you will be using your blunderbusses 90% of the time. @hansvedic: Actually I have already changed my stat allocation to 15 Int and dumped Con as well, since I've found that usually I'm out of harm's way anyway. Mind explaining more about your build? Which spells are you using actually? @baldurs_gate_2: Fair point, though I probably will not have any priests in my party, since I would turn Xoti into a Monk, because infinite Whispers of the Wind with her subclass ability seems fun. Regarding this melee rogue/helwaker or berserker, do you have a build in mind? The problem with melee for me is mainly that the damage is really good single target, but kinda bad for aoe, and needing to chase mobs just reduce the overall dps. Also, you cannot really completely dump con/resolve when your char is in melee, unless he wants to completely depend on a priest.

@Haplok: I've tried that, still dead to my Burns + enemy's concentrated fire. I'm going for a pure glass cannon build now, so Int = 15, thus Burns' coverage is quite big. Probably need to micro the pet more, but I personally don't think he's worth it. Going to try Ghost Heart with Lion due to increased attack speed, but having almost half of your skill tree dedicated to your useless companion is quite disheartening. @uuuhhii: While there are methods to improve a Berserker's survivability, I personally don't think it's advisable to give someone which can't differentiate between friend & foe a couple of hand mortars. You are already highly damaging enough to your team with just Powder Burns, so you will literally destroy them when you're Confused. @MaxQuest: 1. While yes, Triumph is nerfed, you still have full access to your Rogue's repertoire even if all your Zeals are not enough to kill of your opponents. From what I understand, kills with Rogue's skills do count as well for the Triumph's trigger, so you should be able to recoup even more of your Zeals. 2. Marked Prey is much better than Sworn Enemy simply due to the fact that it's much easier to program AI behaviour for Marked Prey, compared to Sworn Enemy. 3. I don't get the 60% raw dot calculation. Do you mean at high Intelligence? If so, that's really nice to know. Also, does the buff from Eternal Devotion not stack with the buff from other paladin's Shared Flames? 4. Marksman doesn't work with Blunderbuss, since Blunderbuss has a distance of 4 m & Marksman only work for > 4 m. 5. Does Retribution work with self damage as well? 6. For Black Jacket, wouldn't it be better to start with a Blunderbuss volley first so that your rods' attacks are faster as well? Or it doesn't really matter? Also I really wish the whole sequence can be automated. 7. I've given Ascendant a try, but I guess it's just a super late bloomer. Early on you take a really long time to get max focus, so you are pretty much a half-class until you get all your gear & stuff.

@Skattotter: The problem with Fighter is mainly the anti-synergy between the Disciplined Barrage giving Aware, which ended up countering the Distracted status that you want to keep from your modal to enable the perma-Streetfighter buffs. Same problem with Eldritch Aim in Wizard, though arguably a little less so due to all the other possible buffs. @MaxQuest: You made a good point regarding the limited resources class. Monks do have essentially unlimited Stunning Surges though, and Paladins just have a ton of Full Attacks which are somewhat renewable with kills. Gunhawk - would probably be the best fit due to all the range & interrupts, though unfortunately we don't have access to it without modding the game. I try to keep my 1st proper run to be vanilla. Ghost Heart - I honestly don't see their DPS output to be higher than Bleakwalker, unfortunately. Bleak Walker - my current no.1 choice, due to all the lashes. The Sickened affliction also have a sweet synergy to enable Deathblows with only FOD without needing to use other skills, with Persistent Distraction active. Kind Wayfarer - I can see the interesting synergy with the double heal activation in a support build, but to be honest I'm more interested in higher dps since playing with unoptimized class-wise and stats-wise Companions mean they are good mainly as meatshields anyway. Black Jacket - the initial burst is only 1-time, right? So it's not really sustainable I believe. Plus the anti-synergy with 1 of the best Fighter skill, as mentioned above. Feel free to correct me if I overlook something though. Nelpazka - I'm not really interested in drug management, unfortunately. And I've read multiple times about the induced drug crash due to Arcane Dampeners etc. Ascendant - ok now this is very interesting. I need to do more research on this combination first, since I've always heard the Ciphers in POE2 pales in comparison to the 1st game.

I have tried it, and unfortunately my pet simply dies way too fast to my own Burns. Probably should use Ghost Heart instead, but does all the accuracy bonus & Driving Flight really gives a higher DPS then spamming FOD's with 20% Burn, 12% Corrode, and 10% more Burn with the next shots? FOD also has its own accuracy bonus.

So after doing actual testing with console etc, I just realised that Turning Wheel, which in the description states that it only works with Melee attacks, does actually work with Blunderbuss/Pistol/Scepter/ranged etc attacks. Is this a case in which the description is wrong/misleading, or is it a bug? I really don't want to build a character based on a bug that may be fixed, since my character will then be ruined. Thanks in advance.

Basically I want to use Blunderbuss modal to enable permanent Streetfighter bonus, however since this is literally my 1st proper run (almost always restart after Port Maje done), I would like to hear some opinions on the best class to pair with Streetfighter to create the highest DPS, glass cannon build. I've initially started with Helwalker due to all the synergy with Dance of Death, Might stacking, Swift Strikes, Stunning Surge etc, but unfortunately I just realized that the monk's fire lash only work with melee attacks. All the Might stacking is also not that great since Streetfighter already has so many damage bonuses anyway, and all the unusable "melee" skills just make me sad. Now I'm going to restart again with Bleakwalker multi, since from my research, the lashes would be the best fit to get the highest damage. FOD's are also additional Full Attacks that I would be properly utilizing, unlike Monk's However, I'm still not sure yet whether there are other multiclass that I'm currently overlooking. So I would appreciate all of your opinions on this matter. I will be playing in party with companions, and my stat spread would be dumping Resolve, 8 Con & 10 Int. The rest are max.

RE: Paladin. While I understand where you're coming from, you really can just ignore all those dispositions. Basically, all you lose for not being a devout paladin is a few points of defense, or slightly more if you decide to invest 1 of your very valuable skillpoints. You may refer to the values here: Faith and Conviction: The base effect is +8 all defenses, and the scaling effect is +.9 all defenses. Thanks to inversions, the basic range of defense bonuses you get from being a terrible paladin to a really devout one is [8.2, 10] with a base of 8.9 with neutral reputations. Deep Faith: The base effect is +10 all defenses, and the scaling effect is +2.25 all defenses. Thanks to inversions, the defense bonus ranges from [10.6, 15]. The source of this information is from here: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/227477-pillars-of-eternity-ii-deadfire/faqs/76599/paladin So what I'm currently doing is playing a really Benevolent Bleakwalker (because their FOD is just much better than others for my build) and not taking the Deep Faith skill.

Based on description, Turning Wheel (fire lash) only work with melee attacks. Is this description wrong?

@MaxQuest Thanks a lot for the summary! Can you kindly confirm the minimum amount of skills which have an actual effect in-game, instead of purely flavour/background info please? Thanks!