Lampros

All right. I will make exception here

Got it; thanks. I may use the weapon afterall then.

Does it have to be those two particular blunderbusses of Serafen? I won't get the reward one, since I don't play with story companions.

I create a separate topic, but would you say that Herald represents the best mid-line supporter class with the dual firearms set-up you suggested? Or would Liberator or Templar be better? Keep in mind that I will have another Paladin (my main) running for some healing and buffing help - though he will be mainly DPS.

I am trying to create the best support mid-liner Paladin multi-class using either dual pistols or dual blunderbuss per Boerer's suggestion. In this context, what class would multi-class well with a Paladin? I am mainly looking for a support class here; I have plenty of DPS elsewhere. I have narrowed it to Chanter, Druid, and Priest, and I am having a really tough time choosing. Edit: I will always have a Holy Slayer as my main, so there will be some Paladin buffs and heals to help this guy - though my Holy Slayer is mainly DPS. Otherwise, it's all on this guy to buff and heal, as everyone else is DPS.

I thought a lot of Monk skills no longer work with ranged weapons anyways?

By the way, I read several posts mentioning that the Brilliance Inspiration is one of the main reason to get a Chanter, but I see this buff nowhere on my Chanter?

I have so far been extremely dissatisfied with every support character I've created; so I will give this a go. Also, given that I am now going to have multiple gunpowder users in my party, I think I will have to change my party theme from Lord of the Rings/Middle Earth to Warhammer Fantasy!

Hmm, my bad on the lash then. As for the Essence Interruptor, I really do not like the weapon for two reasons for I mentioned elsewhere. First, the enemy resurrection mechanism is a monumental annoyance, and it almost forces you to spend 2 Adra Bans to make the resurrected enemies friendly ASAP. That's a lot of resources - and opportunity cost - especially at that stage. Second, there is apparently a bug that makes mobs not drop loot if you land a critical hit on them. So you need to switch weapons for combats where enemies drop unique gear or other desirables. And that's a level of micro-management I do not want to deal with. Overall, frankly I'd judge this weapon something like C-tier on the basis of those two negatives. I know other people may tolerate those issues better.

I hate to be ad hominem, but this is a dumb statement. This is well-put. I had a reaction like the OP when I first saw this weapon, but upon actual testing it is not over-powered. But as you say, its power is simple to understand.

Does Frostseeker AoE do friendly damage?

Yes, it seems that in a practical group setting, Aamina's Legacy does more DPS than Red Hand. See my results above.

Can't a Ranger/Rogue ultimately do more due to Driving Flight?

I posted this elsewhere, but I am copy-pasting here as well, because it's a point of contention in this thread: "In my experience in terms of testing Red Hand Ranger/Rogue character versus Aanima's Legacy Ranger/Devoted character through an entire PotD run, the Aamina's Legacy character did about 15 percent more consistently. I think there were several factors that led to this result...: 1. I had +2 penetration from Devoted and +2 penetration from food - which significantly boosted the only weakness that plagued Aamina's Legacy. 2. Priest and Chanter buffs probably helped Aamina's Legacy more in the aggregate. In particular, I am certain that the fire lash chant helped Aamina's Legacy a lot more, because any lashes will help the weapon that fires more often ceteris paribus. 3. The extra range of Aamina's Legacy clearly helped in many cases. I noticed that the Aamina's Legacy user could literally sit still at the same spot and not move at all throughout the entire fight in most fights. In contrast, the shorter range of Red Hand meant that its user had to re-position quite often to get in range. It's obvious but a seemingly neglected point in this forum that range matters in firefights."

This is a fascinating test: Now how much of its results has been obsoleted by subsequent patches? A few additional points: I think you should have at least tested also with a Devoted character - and possibly even with penetration food buff - to see how the performance changes when the penetration gap is far less relevant. Still, I am not sure isolated tests such as this can capture what actually occurs in a real DPS setting. In my experience in terms of testing Red Hand Ranger/Rogue character versus Aanima's Legacy Ranger/Devoted character through an entire PotD run, the Aamina's Legacy character did about 15 percent more consistently. I think there were several factors that led to this result - something that tests such as yours cannot fully capture or predict: 1. I had +2 penetration from Devoted and +2 penetration from food - which significantly boosted the only weakness that plagued Aamina's Legacy. 2. Priest and Chanter buffs probably helped Aamina's Legacy more in the aggregate. In particular, I am certain that the fire lash chant helped Aamina's Legacy a lot more, because any lashes will help the weapon that fires more often ceteris paribus. 3. The extra range of Aamina's Legacy clearly helped in many cases. I noticed that the Aamina's Legacy user could literally sit still at the same spot and not move at all throughout the entire fight in most fights. In contrast, the shorter range of Red Hand meant that its user had to re-position quite often to get in range. It's obvious but a seemingly neglected point in this forum that range matters in firefights. Anyways, this was a very useful and interesting thread. It makes me want to try both the unique crossbow and arbalest now - something which I was not inclined to do at all.

Now that I've done an almost full PotD run, I just want to add my 5 cents on the weapons I have used extensively: *Modwyr: I know you have this already in the "S tier," but I cannot praise it enough. I also feel I need to be offer another strong endorsement, given that I have read a few derogatory comments about this weapon. This was the best all-around melee 1-hander I have used, and it seems to offer everything you usually look for in a melee weapon - such as strong lashes and speed bonus. And it offers more than the usual checklists, too. It gives you total immunity from mind controls (which is a big deal for me), and it also grants a pretty big front-loaded per rest damage skill. What more do you want from a weapon? Were those who were disappointed with it expecting the female spirit encased in it to jump out and actually fellate you? *Sasha's Singing Scimitar: I know that this weapon is very good for a Chanter, but its use is very limited outside of that class. So I feel it's too situational to be considered "S tier" - or the best sabre in the game per OP's claim. *Glacierbane: I think the OP has it right where it belongs - not quite "S tier" but surely "A tier." But I think the reason it belongs in the second tier has mainly to do with the limitation of warhammers, rather than the weapon itself. That is, for me the base damage is a bit too low for a DPS class, and I'd tag all warhammers with that limitation. I also want to stress that it is curious that the OP left out arguably the most vital benefit of this weapon: The ability to get rid of all enemy buffs for 6 seconds on a critical hit. That is rather massive - especially if you do not have a Wizard with Arcane Dampener along for the ride. When combined with Last Word on the opposite hand, my Swashbuckler was able to routine shut down dangerous enemy mages like Concelhaut and Ancient Fampyrs by himself. *Last Word: I am inclined to move this up from "B tier" to "A tier," for the same reason I liked Glacierbane so much. Namely, the ability to silence mages for 3 seconds on a critical hit is absolutely lethal - again, especially when combined with Glacierbane on the other hand. *Duskfall: Like Last Word, I feel it needs to be moved up one spot - from "B tier" to "A tier." It has nothing jaw-dropping, but it has a lot of everything - speed boost, accuracy boosts, and penetration boost (albeit conditional - though easy to achieve). The other choices - at least the ones I've used extensively - I tend to agree without the need for further additional commentary.

Thanks for the list! I will check them all. Also what is the teesinz guide that you reference? ROFL, that was quite funny. So stun bombs work as a flare of sorts? And I didn't think of blowing up explosive boxes. That actually could be useful indeed! Edit: Folks say sparkplugs work to attract, too.

I request more of everything except swords and sabres - as the game is over-flowing with only swords and sabres.

I am talking about the ones that are only used in combat - not pre-combat stuff like food. In this context, I only use healing potions and healing scrolls. Am I missing anything while being this spare in terms of my consumable use? What am I missing that I should utilize more? I just do not see a lot out there that seems to be useful, unless I am going solo. For instance, why use bombs when you have nukers? Or why use summon trinkets when you can do it with Chanters or other classes in more limited capacity? So what is out there I should take a look at that really helps in difficult battles?

This isn't really a melee combatant though. And I cannot imagine a Paladin without FoD. Well it is really. Your using your melee attacks to rapidly build up focus. I gave this a go yesterday (as I mentioned) and I was able to generate hundreds of focus rapidly. Right up to the point where I got stun locked and it was game over. My build isn’t half as optimized as this one so I find this to be a great starting point. As for FOD I found it more useful during battles with multiple ads. But agains Ukaizo, I used almost all my zeal for sworn rival and LOH Yes, we are slightly looking for different characters: You prefer solo do-it-all guys; and I want primarily a DPS character who will still be survivable in a DPS setting. P.S. I tested the Shepherd extensively last night. I was horribly disappointed. Hunter's Claw (and its upgrade) only gives you +1 Accuracy per use; so you have to use it 20 times (that is, like for 5 battles of spamming it) to max it. And then it becomes useless if you rest or face a different enemy. Frankly I'd prefer PoE 1's system of having a permanent designation of creatures you are strong against. Also, the character did **** damage even with Hunter's Claw maxed. Ranger and Paladin do not combine for a lot of damage boosts.

This isn't really a melee combatant though. And I cannot imagine a Paladin without FoD.

Cipher seems to be a difficult class to learn - at least for me! In another topic, I am being a bit re-converted to Fighter: Charge is so good - especially in combination with Glacierbane and Last Word. I did not believe when someone claimed that he pulled it off, but I was able to essentially lock down any high level casters with the combination of the initial Charge stun and Glacierbane buff removal and Last Word silence - including stuff like Concelhaut and Ancient Fampyrs. It's kind of hilarious, as they couldn't do anything. Just get stunned and locked down permanently until they die. I assume Monks using the same weapon set could do the same in combination with either Stunning Surge or that AoE stun kick. So I think I will use either Crusader or Votary as the running mate to my Holy Slayer. Of course, I will also use the warhammer set up on him, too - less DPS but the Glacierbane/Last Word combo is lethal if you have high crit rate. Hmm, I am experimenting with Shadow Step, and it seems to be able to do the same thing that Charge does - roughly. Of course, it's two level up points investment (upgrade of Escape), and it costs a whopping 3 Guile. Difficult choices indeed!

Cipher seems to be a difficult class to learn - at least for me! In another topic, I am being a bit re-converted to Fighter: Charge is so good - especially in combination with Glacierbane and Last Word. I did not believe when someone claimed that he pulled it off, but I was able to essentially lock down any high level casters with the combination of the initial Charge stun and Glacierbane buff removal and Last Word silence - including stuff like Concelhaut and Ancient Fampyrs. It's kind of hilarious, as they couldn't do anything. Just get stunned and locked down permanently until they die. I assume Monks using the same weapon set could do the same in combination with either Stunning Surge or that AoE stun kick. So I think I will use either Crusader or Votary as the running mate to my Holy Slayer. Of course, I will also use the warhammer set up on him, too - less DPS but the Glacierbane/Last Word combo is lethal if you have high crit rate.

How would you build a Wizard/Rogue multi-class for ranged damage and debuffs? Not a rhetorical question: I've been wanting to do this, but after the rod Blast nerf, I don't know how. I guess Blunderbuss?

So many of my questions were discussed earlier! Though I guess this is pre-nerfs...