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Thanks, this looks really interesting! I guess, getting all the cipher buffs (borrowed instinct, psychovampiric shield) to raise deflection, then - melee? Does riposte generate focus as well?

Hello! I'd like to build a tanky caster, preferrably an arcane knight, but not sure how to proceed... I was thinking to multiclass with steel garrote to regain health via riposte using the WotEP. I guess blood mage would be a more sustainable combo, than a regular wizard and the ripostes should provide lots of hp back in theory... On the other hand, maybe druid/shieldbearer(?) would be more fun with all the lightning spells? I am also very confused about stats - it seems like riposte arcane knight need pretty much everything and resolve should be pretty high... Does anyone have advice how to build it best or could share their experience in running a build similar to this? Thanks a lot!

Thanks, sounds interesting! What would attributes look like for this build? I assume this char would be just for chants and spells, no melee, right?

Thanks a lot, this looks like a fantastic build! I am very inclined to try it. Maybe I will start the run with a singleclass priest and restart with a helwalker/priest approach if I don't like it. Really want to get to those high level abilities...

Thank you all for the very helpful advice! Having read your comments, I am deciding between a SC priest of magran or helwalker + magran. I really like the roleplay potential of a magran/helwalker with a fiery mortar and magran's favor, but I'm a bit worried about all the extra damage helwalker would receive if I dare to melee with this char. I guess also that would mean no resolve/con dumping. I also feel like losing magran's might and the symbol will cripple the nuking capability of the priest. Hmm..decisions, decisions.

Hi all, Thinking about a second playthrough I decided to give priest a try as a class that I completely ignored earlier and frankly don't know much about. Ideally I would like to build this character as a nuker with debuff and support spells here and there. Have been thinking about priest of magran (for the fire spell nukes), possibly multiclassing with an evoker (as echo spell also works for priest spells with evocation keyword AFAIK). Another option is the priest of berath, but I am not sure if I am sold on the unique spells this priest gets. Alternatively, if priests don't make good nukers I might be inclined to try a melee priest with buffs, but that sounds sort of tedious to play. Could you share your insights on building a good damage-focused priest? I am not very sure about stats either - I guess might > int > dex (for faster cast time?) > perception (is accuracy a big issue?), then dump con and resolve? Is solo better than multiclass to get awesome abilities beyond level VII ? Thanks a lot!

Thanks @Haplok, @Boeroer - this is extremely helpful! So, following this logic if (in theory) I go invisible between "ticks" of chill fog the assasinate bonus would be applied for each tick, since every tick is a new attack roll? Fun

Just had an interesting observation while trying out the assassin/BM build. Apparently DOT from active chill fog breaks invisibility from Smoke Veil. I checked with @thelee FAQ, and he states that Smoke Veil invis shouldn't be stopped by already active DOTs. Could this be a bug? The invis is breaking very consistently.

I just tested it and it looks like the damage is indeed reduced. Awesome tip, thanks!

@Haplok @thelee@Boeroer Thanks a lot for your super helpful replies!!! assassin/blood mage looks pretty awesome, but what would be the right balance between might and con? If I get low might (say 10), would it seriously hurt it’s stealth nuking ability? I’ve been planning to get about 12 con for blood sacrifice , but not sure if that would be enough with higher might. I’ve also decided to go RTwP instead of turn based, but I think microing a stealthy wizard sounds fun. I’m just completely lost when thinking about the stats... On the other hand pally(shieldbearer?? For lay on hands invul. shenanigans)/blood mage also seems like an interesting idea on paper, but not sure if this combination will take away from casting potential too much, and again - totally confused about right stats.

Hi everyone! I'm finally starting my first playthrough of POE II (with full party, planning to go with Veteran mode) and thinking about creating a CC-focused caster (with some nuking sprinkled in). Will be playing turn-based. After looking through multiple forum posts here I'm leaning towards trying out a blood mage/priest and even found this amazing FAQ with a Wael Thaumaturge build, written by @thelee as far as I understand: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/227477-pillars-of-eternity-ii-deadfire/faqs/76599/case-study-2-deadfire-lich I also sort of like the idea of cipher/rogue. I have some unresolved questions after my search, however: 1) Is the Priest class in the gameFAQs build worth it for extra healing or the blood mage would be better off with e.g. multiclassing it with paladin? Would the build still function well in the turn-based setting? 2) Stats for thaumaturge (and for blood mage in general) are a bit confusing to me. Some recommend to dump CON, others suggest a fair bit of CON investment. What would ideal stats look like for this build? 3) Would a cipher (beguiler..?) or a cipher/rogue be a more robust choice for a cc-focused build? Is it possible to make a good gunner-cipher who is also effective as a caster? What would be approximately good stats for this build? Sorry for the messy questions - it just seems like there is quite a lot of information on the builds but none of it is recent and in games like this I try to make a build that feels right from the start, otherwise I end up forever restarting... Any input on the topic is highly appreciated! Thank you!