hansvedic

I remember asking this question awhile ago re: Monk's Clarity of Agony, and I think the answer back then was that no, they do not stack in an additive manner, but in a multiplicative one. If it was additive, a Monk with 15 Resolve, the ring w/ -35% hostile effect time, and Clarity of Agony activated would reach -100% quite easily.

Don't forget the Level 2 spell "Infuse with Vital Essence". Still, once you get permanent immunity, definitely consider retraining out of that spell. EDIT: Personally, I'd be interested in using Essential/Substantial Phantom now that it copies the weapon you're holding. Two Lord Darryn's Voulges, anyone?

Does Carnage still place Static Charges w/ Lord Darryn's Voulge?

Well, it depends on what your build is like. If you're going for high defenses and don't have other ways of buffing attributes, I'd say Wild Leech; as long as you don't get the resolve one (can get the resolve boost from Psychovampiric shield), you're essentially getting +10 to a particular defense. If your build isn't a high defense build and you don't have another active way of adding armor, I suppose Body Attunement would potentially be better. I'm a Trickster/Beguiler with Riposte so my deflection can reach crazy levels. So with that said Wild Leech is prob better? I'd say yes, especially since you are a rogue; applying afflictions = sneak attack. EDIT: Of course, there are other ways to apply afflictions, but still...

I'm curious about the location of the Ragged Cloak as well. If anyone has found it, please feel free to let us know.

Well, it depends on what your build is like. If you're going for high defenses and don't have other ways of buffing attributes, I'd say Wild Leech; as long as you don't get the resolve one (can get the resolve boost from Psychovampiric shield), you're essentially getting +10 to a particular defense. If your build isn't a high defense build and you don't have another active way of adding armor, I suppose Body Attunement would potentially be better.

Now that I'm thinking more about Cipher powers, does anyone know if you can have more than 1 Wild Leech on the same target? For instance, if your first Wild Leech applies a Constitution affliction and the 2nd applies a different affliction, would both be on there, or just the 2nd one? If you can stack multiple Wild Leeches, it might make it possible to buff a cipher with just about every Tier 1 inspiration out there in long battles.

Re #2: If you can close the distance (such as with a rogue's Escape ability), Ryngrim's Repulsive Visage is probably better than Secret Horrors. Still, Secret Horrors can be cast as many times as you like, so it has that going for it along with being a ranged attack. EDIT: Still, we're talking cipher spells here, so I'll go ahead and throw out Whispers/Dominate/Ringleader as useful stuff.

What I meant by "to pass a reflex check", as others have noted, is that my accuracy would have to overcome my reflex save in order to apply the raw damage. Spoiler Alert: it does not, despite the description implying that it does. If having a tremendous reflex save could allow one to avoid the self-damage, it would make Sacred Immolation usable with high reflex, especially with a Rogue's Adept Evasion skill making all reflex grazes miss. In fact, it would/should also mean that the Large Shield modal would halve the damage, I suppose... Still, it is what it is.

I noticed, as I was planning a new character, that Sacred Immolation's self-damage appears to be required to pass a Reflex check. Does anyone know if this is the Reflex of the player and, if so, does a miss mean that no damage is done to the player? Thoughts? EDIT: After a quick test appears that the self-damage is auto-applied and thus not subject to a reflex save by the user. This seems like it is either a bug, or the description in the game gives the wrong impression.

Is it still the case that Arcane Reflection essentially blocks Arcane Dampener? Also, are there any enemies that actually use Arcane Cleanse?

Why not take Stunning Blow + Stunning Surge? With a full attack w/ fist + Tuotilo's Palm and high accuracy, you should be able to refund the mortification points regularly.

What about adding a Wall of Draining on top of Barring Death's Door and other buffs like Minor Avatar?

Might Chanter be a good choice? You can disable foes with the 4 big afflictions (w/ Trickster's Terror spell, and Chanter's Stun, Paralyze, and Charm AoEs), do damage even if you aren't attacking with your weapons (can have low dex), and can survive fairly well with healing. In addition, if you pick Troubadour, you can reliably summon interference/extra damage. I suppose you could also go Paladin and use the Brand Enemy upgrade of Sworn Enemy for DoT. As a Holy Slayer, your defenses will be very, very good, and you can do a good deal of DoT w/ Deep Wounds if an enemy happens to be immune to Burn Damage. In fact, I might do a run like that myself.

Shifters now get bonuses from cloaks, right? In that case, a Shifter may still want History.

So what I'm seeing here is, for a small nerf to the Skald side of the Cunning Duelist, we're getting some pretty huge buffs to the Trickster side. Looks like now is as good a time as any to finally get started on a proper PotD run for this build. Due to these changes, plus a greater familiarity with the game from when the playthrough for this build was first completed, I'm thinking there's going to end up being quite a few changes to the Cunning Duelist. Stay tuned to this space for more details. I look forward to your changes. Personally, I'm considering a tankier version of your build running Troubadour/Trickster, with a focus on the 4 Greatest Afflictions: Charm, Stun, Paralysis, and Terrify. Why worry overmuch about stacking defenses when the enemy can't do anything?

First off, I was aware that the pet generally wasn’t that great, but I was asking if the chanter abilities might make it survivable enough. Thus, I was asking something I did not know the answer to. Second, you never addressed my central query, Marigoldran, and your attitude comes off as quite rude and condescending. Next time you have nothing to add to the topic of my posts, I would ask that you keep your thoughts to yourself. I have tried to remain respectful, but I am nearing the end of my patience with you. With all due respect, perhaps we should avoid each other.

I think the Wyrm summons (PL 2 invocation) are probably better than the Skeletons as they may have better armor towards fire. I'd have to double-check, though. EDIT: Also, the Wyrms can last longer in terms of summon duration.

Fair points. So, even with Stalker & Resilient Companion and using the Bear (maybe the boar if healing is that big of a deal), the pet just doesn't survive well enough. I've read that pets can't survive much, but I wanted to know if the revive and heal abilities of the Chanter might offset that weakness or make it manageable.

You know, when I made my post, I thought I made it perfectly clear what kind of feedback I was looking for. I guess I didn't communicate as well as I thought I did. Marigoldran, while I can appreciate some of your feedback, I would have much preferred it if you would have address the central question I asked, namely the comparison between Ghost Heart & Stalker. I was primarily concerned with pet's survivability, but I guess I didn't make that clear enough. Given the current state of this thread, however, I have half a mind to ask a moderator to delete it. EDIT: I suppose I assumed that people who have played rangers would quickly recognize, based on my list of pros and cons, that one of the things weighing heavily on my mind was how well the pet could survive, especially in the later stages of the game. I guess I could've made my question more explicit in this regard by specifically asking about how easily the pet can survive in a party, preferably with story companions. Still considering deleting this thread, though.

I am well aware of the buffs available to a multiclass chanter. I also happen to like being able to summon extra bodies onto the field with any chanter character in my team, especially if I am going to oppose the Vailian Trading Company in the main quest.

Let's say that I want to play a Wildrhymer. Do you have any advice relevant to the original post, in that case?

Fair point. I plan to stick to 25-second base summons, which should alleviate that a bit. EDIT: Part of the reason for going chanter is for the Sure-Handed Ila chant; that way, I can buff my attack speed myself. With all the attack speed & reload speed buffs, I can get an attack off once every 4 seconds, if not quicker.

I am thinking about creating a ranged Wildrhymer that uses good Dexterity, high Perception, the Sure-Handed Ila chant (faster reload), the Gunner talent, and a pet that lowers armor penalty (as well as other resources like potions of relentless striking and Acina's Tricorn), combined with the arbalest and/or crossbow modals to frequently interrupt enemies, especially spellcasters. Right now, I am trying to decide whether to go Ghost Heart or Stalker (Bear) for the ranger subclass. I've already decided on Troubadour for the Chanter subclass, mainly for quicker invocations. Ghost Heart Pros: No Bonded Grief No need to take pet talents, meaning more room for Chanter abilities Ghost Heart Cons: Given that I will be summoning Chanter minions, I won't use the pet at all, except perhaps in emergencies when I don't have summons out to protect me. Stalker Pros: Additional off-tank on the field (won't be speccing pet for damage, most likely) means less damage on main tank(s), like Eder Can heal/revive pet with Chanter abilities (Ancient Memory & the revive invocation) Can buff pet with the Armor Invocation for even more armor +1 armor & +5 deflection for both pet & my character Stalker Cons: Ability investment for pet (Resilient & Protective Companion, Stalker's Link) means less Chanter abilities Can get Bonded Grief debuff, even though I can then revive my pet once I reach level 10 Need to stay closer to action to be close to pet Stalker's Link may not be helpful when ranged targets, like mages, are of higher priority than what my pet is engaging Right now, I'm kind of leaning towards the Stalker, even with the potential downside of Bonded Grief. I may end up using my pet as just a bodyguard for what gets past my main tank(s) in tough fights, or as an additional off-tank when possible to keep Eder alive. Still, I am not sure what to decide in this regard. Any thoughts? EDIT: I am particularly interested in feedback from people with experience with Ranger multiclasses through the mid-game and end-game.

That's a good way to look at it, I think. It's not like it's a console command or a cheat, you do have to 'earn' them through actually playing the game (Even if some of the achievements are pretty easy to get. I'm just bummed I don't have enough to do the skill blessing AND the stat blessing. Might rush a Huana campaign or something for a few extra points and try that. Do you have the achievements for making scrolls, potions, explosives, and for laying traps? Those are really easy to get, and can boost you enough quickly.