Lampros

Well I agree, that’s why his post is about Holy Slayer and Crusader, I haven’t found a Swashbuckler build that I think compares to s solo POTD run. Though I do find fighter has great synergy with Paladin. The constant heals of my Devoted/Goldpact are boarderline stupid. The amount of damage I was able to tank on my last run was insane. Yes, but I'd think damage would be a bit lacking to what you can do with something like Paladin/Rogue? What can be done with a Paladin/Fighter to boost his DPS dramatically in a group setting?

Can Escape be used like Charge? I don't know what Rakhan Field Boots do, and I have not seen them yet, even though I've gone through almost 2 full games. Any other equipment options that can boost offensive capabilities of Escape? Escape isn’t offensive, I’m afraid — it’s merely (“merely”?) a cheap (1 guile) teleport that’s very useful for changing positions/putting enemies between you and some other enemy you don’t want to be near/getting at squishies hiding behind lots of bodies. (It also gives a short defensive boost, but not the selling point.) The reason it’s great with this build is that you still count as standing still when you use it, meaning your stoic steel bonus remains, Stand Firm doesn’t prevent you from moving, and so on. Thanks for the clarification. But can't you still use it to teleport to the caster or the archer whom you'd have a difficult time getting to but want to bring down ASAP? I guess I better buy a character from the in and experiment

Can Escape be used like Charge? I don't know what Rakhan Field Boots do, and I have not seen them yet, even though I've gone through almost 2 full games. Any other equipment options that can boost offensive capabilities of Escape?

So I've been testing a Holy Slayer (Trickster) and a Swashbuckler (Streetfighter) to level 20 on PotD side-by-side, and it ain't even close. The Holy Slayer did just as much damage as the Swashbuckler, and took about 40 percent of the damage as the Swashbuckler - while obviously contributing all kinds of utility, including buffs, heals, and Paladin-specific debuffs via Glorious Inspiration and the upgrade on it. The only thing the Swashbuckler provided that the Holy Slayer could not is constant interrupts/stuns provided by Charge - especially against faraway casters. Frankly, on the basis of this experience, I do not know why I'd ever want a Fighter multi-class over a Paladin multi-class. Paladin multi-class characters are too strong - or Fighter multi-class characters too weak?

Arcane Dampener or Arcane Cleanse would presumably take down buffs, and speed up the fight a bit. But I'll confess that I've never tried that myself. All but one of my fights against him were solo fights, and all of those lasted forever... : P I’ve taken him down several times. It involves a split. Take down the two minions at the start of the cave by drawing them your way. Now you have split the battle into 3. Next take the right side minions and draw them back. Equip ranged weapon take out pillars. Kill the Koch next by drawing him towards the book shelves. Finally the last set of minions. Goes very fast this way. I am with a group, and the other guys go down super fast. It's just the boss guy that is so hard and takes forever due to self-buffs

Arcane Dampener or Arcane Cleanse would presumably take down buffs, and speed up the fight a bit. But I'll confess that I've never tried that myself. All but one of my fights against him were solo fights, and all of those lasted forever... : P Thanks, no Wizard though But is this guy supposed to be a hard fight at level 15-ish? I am a bit afraid of the future if even a generic level 16 dude is that hard.

What other offensive tools are available then for the Chanter? I am wondering if using the Singing Scimitar and not actually activating Phrases is a viable option for a "melee DPS" Chanter multi-class. Seven Nights is great and worth building around, and White Worms is strong at early levels. Ah, ok. But no weapon DPS builds?

Speaking of penetration issues: Is Ancient Battlemage Lich supposed to be hard to do at level 15? I was shocked at how long it took me to take him down. I don't think I did much damage to him until he got all his buffs timed out. Is there any way for me to get rid of his buffs? I think he had 15 armor and a whole loads of stuff.

If you go Devoted with two weapon damage type, then you are all set, no?

No, I didn't upgrade the secondary effects. It could be that this happens only to certain enemies who drop uniques?

After a lot of testing, I would strongly recommend against using this bow, unless 1) you are willing to invest in 2 precious Adra Bans for the upgrade that turns transformed enemies into allies AND 2) you can remember to un-equip in fights involving enemies that drop desirable loot. Let me explain these two problems: 1. The transformation (or "transfer") process will resurrect so many dead mobs that it will often prolong your fights by twice or even longer. (Yes, I've had many fights where literally every enemy resurrected at least once.) But the problem is that Adra Bans are limited, precious resources, and you would probably want to use it for something else. 2. Transformed enemies will not drop the loot that they are intended to drop. This is apparently a well-known bug, but I did not discover it until level 16 of the 2nd game I've used this bow! If you are willing to live with the above two issues, then, yes, it's a potent weapon - especially given when you can get it and the force multiplier effect it can have with the right upgrade. But you really need to build around it.

Update? This bug is still in effect. 100 percent re-producible.

Other people have apparently ran into this issue, too: https://mmmos.com/game/pillars-of-eternity-2/discussion/i8zdt/is-the-essence-interrupter-bugged-or-is-it-just-a-loot-oddity/

I find Priests invaluable for Barring Death's Door and, at this early game, Withdraw.

What other offensive tools are available then for the Chanter? I am wondering if using the Singing Scimitar and not actually activating Phrases is a viable option for a "melee DPS" Chanter multi-class.

Essence Interruptor prevents loot droppers from dropping their proper loot, if they have been transformed into a different creature through the bow. I have tested this multiple times, and now I am 99 percent sure this is the case. Earlier in the game I had multiple loot I have been looking for not drop - for instance the armor from the Death Guard. And when the same thing happened after Uamoru the Pretender did not drop Aamina's Legacy, I tried to fight the battle without equpping Essence Interruptor - ensuring that no transformation occurred. And voila, the hunting bow did drop. I then reverse tested this multiple times, and the same results occurred: If I have Essence Interruptor equipped and Uamoru transformed, then he doesn't drop Aamina's Legacy - and the vice versa. So in its current state, you must unequip Essence Interruptor, if you are looking for a particular loot drop from a fight. To me, this is too much of a hassle, and this makes Essence Interruptor not usable. It's too bad, because it was arguably the most powerful weapon in the game, given when you can acquire it plus what you can do. P.S. I tested Red Hand v. Essence Interruptor over the game, and it was not close. Surprisingly enough, Essence Interruptor did far more damage. This leads me to believe that the guys who crunched the numbers on Aamina's Legacy v. Red Hand - such as Boerer and Kaylon (I believe) in a controversial thread earlier was correct. (I will post there more later on this topic.)

Thanks; I will try this sometime in the near future. It's up there with Paladin/Rogue builds as a mid-line Paladin build to explore. (I've only been using reach weapons for mid-line builds, but I think reach weapons generally are far less efficient than gun builds on a mid-line Paladin.)

Hmm, let me try with modal on then. It does make a slow weapon even slower though! I may also just try to do with an arbalest or something until I get high level and more accuracy gear. I am filling up my companion slots with custom characters as soon as I land on the first island - I am not using any story companions. This is why leveling is so slow, as I am going with 5 right away - and they are all sucking up XP. I have decided to re-start at level 4. Well, good point. It really sucks that auto-attacking Wizard is no longer viable then. By the way, I started, and PotD in PoE 2 is much harder than PoE 1 - at least in the beginning. To begin with, I had to re-start and dump everyone's Constitution and Resolve to 8 and push Perception up to 18-20, because I've had trouble hitting stuff consistently - especially with the arquebus. Of course, that made my guys really squishy. I couldn't fight through Gorecci when everyone was level 3, so I stealthed through it. But now I am done with every "fedex" quest, I do not know how to progress. Everything in the Ruins is too difficult, it seems. I am wondering if I should start with the Berath's Blessing option that lets your main character start at level 4. My advice: make your comp more specialistic. Maybe you can turn gimli or aragon into a sword n board? Or maybe add boromir Alternatively turn on of the two into a fighter/paladin class for more tankiness. Also, you could change one of Arwen's classes to Lifegiver for better heals and versatility. Personally im a priesthater, too much casting time for too little effect. On getting a "real" tank: I thought having a real tank is actually worse, because there are no real aggro mechanisms, so you just end up with a character that does less DPS? On Priest v. Druid: I have never used a Druid, and I have never played without a Priest. So I don't know the trade-offs involved all that much. Could you flesh out this issue more? What type of "versatility" does a Druid add? And aren't Priests generally considered "necessary" in PotD for their buffs? There is not really an aggro system, but there is engagement instead. It's not too hard to stick them to your tank, youll see. Basically if you switch to druid you exchange buffs for cc and damage. I dont like the buffs because a)The ai often fails to cover the right partymembers with buffs b) they take forever to cast and if anything moves while casting... c) most classes dont need these buffs cause they have a version of it themselves. Ah, ok. Yes, trying to ensure everyone is buffed is indeed a major problem. Update, by the way: I tried again without starting at level 4, and I succeeded in getting out of the first island; and I feel so "accomplished," LOL. Basically, the only difference is that 1) I actually "pulled" monsters into enclosed spaces, instead of just running into the fight headfirst without care (which often brought adds); and 2) I actually bothered to summon the pets on both Ghost Heart Ranger multi-classes.

Does this occur when you get the item for the first time - or can it happen while the item has been in the inventory for a while (that is, it was fine when you acquired them)?

I'm the guy who gave that response on Reddit, and so far those items are pretty much what I've found. I started a new playthrough with Loaded Pockets enabled and I've been faithfully going through the pockets of every named NPC so far in the campaign. I also haven't noticed any difference in loot drops beyond the normal variations. I have to say, unless there's some subtle thing I'm missing this appears to be an extremely underwhelming Blessing for its cost of 12 points. Thank you so much, and please keep us updated!

Not much advice myself, as I am relative newb, but I am interested in the answers as well - since you are running the same 2 melee - 1 support - 2 ranged set-up I use. (We must have read the same group composition guides!)

Oh, one more point: To lessen my concern about missing Wizard CC's, I made two of my Rogue multi-classes (Aragorn and Frodo) Tricksters. I will lose 10 percent on Sneak Attack, but I am getting oodles of CC spells - including, most importantly, Gaze of Adragon. I am not sure if this was the right decision in retrospect though, because 1) Aragorn is in melee engagement almost always and most CC spells have long cast time; and 2) Frodo is too far away to really cast CC spells, because he is using an arquebus.

Hmm, let me try with modal on then. It does make a slow weapon even slower though! I may also just try to do with an arbalest or something until I get high level and more accuracy gear. I am filling up my companion slots with custom characters as soon as I land on the first island - I am not using any story companions. This is why leveling is so slow, as I am going with 5 right away - and they are all sucking up XP. I have decided to re-start at level 4. Well, good point. It really sucks that auto-attacking Wizard is no longer viable then. By the way, I started, and PotD in PoE 2 is much harder than PoE 1 - at least in the beginning. To begin with, I had to re-start and dump everyone's Constitution and Resolve to 8 and push Perception up to 18-20, because I've had trouble hitting stuff consistently - especially with the arquebus. Of course, that made my guys really squishy. I couldn't fight through Gorecci when everyone was level 3, so I stealthed through it. But now I am done with every "fedex" quest, I do not know how to progress. Everything in the Ruins is too difficult, it seems. I am wondering if I should start with the Berath's Blessing option that lets your main character start at level 4. My advice: make your comp more specialistic. Maybe you can turn gimli or aragon into a sword n board? Or maybe add boromir Alternatively turn on of the two into a fighter/paladin class for more tankiness. Also, you could change one of Arwen's classes to Lifegiver for better heals and versatility. Personally im a priesthater, too much casting time for too little effect. On getting a "real" tank: I thought having a real tank is actually worse, because there are no real aggro mechanisms, so you just end up with a character that does less DPS? On Priest v. Druid: I have never used a Druid, and I have never played without a Priest. So I don't know the trade-offs involved all that much. Could you flesh out this issue more? What type of "versatility" does a Druid add? And aren't Priests generally considered "necessary" in PotD for their buffs?

Well, good point. It really sucks that auto-attacking Wizard is no longer viable then. By the way, I started, and PotD in PoE 2 is much harder than PoE 1 - at least in the beginning. To begin with, I had to re-start and dump everyone's Constitution and Resolve to 8 and push Perception up to 18-20, because I've had trouble hitting stuff consistently - especially with the arquebus. Of course, that made my guys really squishy. I couldn't fight through Gorecci when everyone was level 3, so I stealthed through it. But now I am done with every "fedex" quest, I do not know how to progress. Everything in the Ruins is too difficult, it seems. I am wondering if I should start with the Berath's Blessing option that lets your main character start at level 4.

So no one tried? I am interested as well in this!