Lampros

Yes, I am reading every Steam guide and the stuff in Fextralife site as well. Which of the Berath's Blessings would you say are the best? I am trying to see how many Achievement points I should try to obtain before I start playing for "real" On builds: Yes, the sub-class and multi-class possibilities are making my head dizzy. I am inclined to try to reproduce what worked for me best in PoE 1, but people keep saying a lot of the stuff I relied on were nerfed. I think I had a DW Paladin that relied on Sacred Immolation as main, Chanter tank that was a Dragon Thrashed bot, another Chanter that was using a reach weapon and also spamming Dragon Thrashed, A Fighter that used the stun bow (I didn't want to play a Ranger due to micro-managing the pet, and Rogue proved too squishy for only slight DPS increase over the bow Fighter), and rod-using Priest and Wizard. I assume something like this can still work, of course with one of these classes removed since party size is 5?

Well, knockdown has been nerfed as an effect and it is little more then an interrupt now. There are some weapons which trigger it. Ball and Chain and Rust's Poignard come to mind. The latter even has a special, 10 second, version. In general those effects are quite rare. On the other hand, there are weapons with aoe effects (blunderbuss mortars, Whispers of the Endless Paths greatsword, Wahai Poraga pollaxe, rods with modal), which can deliver special attacks, such as monk's Stunning Blow, Rogue's Blinding and Crippling Strike, Fighter's Knockdown (not on ranged), various DoTs, to multiple enemies. Thanks; I checked Rust's Poignard, and it's surprising that the devs would put that on a dagger. So I guess there are no longer stun/knockdown builds the way you can do with like a super-high crit Tall Grass Rogue or something now? So I guess it's all about DPS in terms of winning combat? Or are the special effects weapons you mention reliable and potent enough to build around the way you could with the Tall Grass Rogue, for instance? Prone is the best cc because it can effect bosses and rust's poignard is the most consistent way to prone a lock a boss if you are wielding scordeo's edge+rusts, at least until they fix unlimited accuracy stacking un scordeo's (which effects both equipped weapons). Don't know if they fixxed it in 2.1. In general its about surviving when it comes to winning combat (in solo) in group yeah cc plays little role compared to poe1, its all about fast deeps, moar deeps=better overall party. Scordeo's Edge? I looked it up online, and it doesn't seem to do any knockdown/prone effect? https://pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com/Scordeo%27s_Edge

You can create a new "endgame save" with the legacy creator and make minor changes to get anything you missed. You can check Berath's Blessings here. There are several that you can get just by playing a few hours and restarting. If you don't want to do a first run without these blessings, you could play a "trial game", test a build, collect some points and restart with a couple of blessings. I think these are the easy ones to get (spoilers...): You are AWESOME! Thanks so much!

Hmm, that sucks. But then being able to sandwich everything from PoE 1 would really create over-powered characters. Speaking of which: How difficult is PoE 2 at the hardest difficulty relative to PoE 1? A little easier, I think? I haven't played the game recently, so it might be better. I see. As was the case in PoE 1, I am doing lots of research before even starting a game

Well, knockdown has been nerfed as an effect and it is little more then an interrupt now. There are some weapons which trigger it. Ball and Chain and Rust's Poignard come to mind. The latter even has a special, 10 second, version. In general those effects are quite rare. On the other hand, there are weapons with aoe effects (blunderbuss mortars, Whispers of the Endless Paths greatsword, Wahai Poraga pollaxe, rods with modal), which can deliver special attacks, such as monk's Stunning Blow, Rogue's Blinding and Crippling Strike, Fighter's Knockdown (not on ranged), various DoTs, to multiple enemies. Thanks; I checked Rust's Poignard, and it's surprising that the devs would put that on a dagger. So I guess there are no longer stun/knockdown builds the way you can do with like a super-high crit Tall Grass Rogue or something now? So I guess it's all about DPS in terms of winning combat? Or are the special effects weapons you mention reliable and potent enough to build around the way you could with the Tall Grass Rogue, for instance?

Would you duel wield or sword and shield, two-handed? does it matter? I'm so confused... Without sword&shield you won't survive high level bounties or ship battles which are harder than bosses.Yeah, as a rule of thumb, sword and shield is the way to go for solo PotD. (There are certainly exceptions — specific builds constructed around the use of some particular weapon, say — but it’s generally much easier to survive going sword and board.) Aren't there knockdown or stun 2H weapons like in PoE 1 - or are they no longer in the game? Actually, do any weapons have knockdown or stun effects in PoE 2? I did read that "hard" CC was nerfed in PoE 2, so I wonder now...

Hmm, that sucks. But then being able to sandwich everything from PoE 1 would really create over-powered characters. Speaking of which: How difficult is PoE 2 at the hardest difficulty relative to PoE 1?

I see. Would something like what I used in PoE 1 work? I am considering something like 2 frontliners, 1 mid-line polearm guy, and 2 ranged backliner (one rod using caster, the other bow Rogue and some other class hybrid).

Hmm, I didn't even play with the Devil, I think. What can I do in the pre-generation then? Also, if I do pre-generate rather than port, then what are the important stat boosting perks I need to ensure to carry over?

Wait a minute; you can carry all PoE 1 acquired bonuses?!!! ****. I am not sure if I have any PoE saves left though. I think I disabled Cloud. a) Yes you can b) You don't need your POE saves, you can build a custom history from the main menu Thanks for the quick answers! I just did a Google search, and I saw several posts complaining that the stat bonuses do not port over. But these posts were in May. Did Obsidian fix this issue then? Also, can you build a custom history and still get the stat bonuses? Ok, I did find an old save. But I don't have Effigy's Resentment done or Gifts from the Machine done, as I played a "good" character. But I do have Dungeon Delver, Second Skin, and Hylea's Boon. Do they port over? Also, Berath's Blessing? How do you get that? I don't recall what that was. Berath's Blessings are things you earn from completing the game, completing parts of the game, etc. You choose bonuses when you start a new character based on the achievements you've gotten. I don't know about those abilities, I don't think they transfer. Got it; thanks!

Wait a minute; you can carry all PoE 1 acquired bonuses?!!! ****. I am not sure if I have any PoE saves left though. I think I disabled Cloud. a) Yes you can b) You don't need your POE saves, you can build a custom history from the main menu Thanks for the quick answers! I just did a Google search, and I saw several posts complaining that the stat bonuses do not port over. But these posts were in May. Did Obsidian fix this issue then? Also, can you build a custom history and still get the stat bonuses? Ok, I did find an old save. But I don't have Effigy's Resentment done or Gifts from the Machine done, as I played a "good" character. But I do have Dungeon Delver, Second Skin, and Hylea's Boon. Do they port over? Also, Berath's Blessing? How do you get that? I don't recall what that was.

Wait a minute; you can carry all PoE 1 acquired bonuses?!!! ****. I am not sure if I have any PoE saves left though. I think I disabled Cloud. a) Yes you can b) You don't need your POE saves, you can build a custom history from the main menu Thanks for the quick answers! I just did a Google search, and I saw several posts complaining that the stat bonuses do not port over. But these posts were in May. Did Obsidian fix this issue then? Also, can you build a custom history and still get the stat bonuses? Yeah they fixed it Yes, the custom history works fine as far as I know Wow, awesome!

Wait a minute; you can carry all PoE 1 acquired bonuses?!!! ****. I am not sure if I have any PoE saves left though. I think I disabled Cloud. a) Yes you can b) You don't need your POE saves, you can build a custom history from the main menu Thanks for the quick answers! I just did a Google search, and I saw several posts complaining that the stat bonuses do not port over. But these posts were in May. Did Obsidian fix this issue then? Also, can you build a custom history and still get the stat bonuses?

Wait a minute; you can carry all PoE 1 acquired bonuses?!!! ****. I am not sure if I have any PoE saves left though. I think I disabled Cloud.

Thanks as usual. You are, as always, a treasure trove. Since we are on ranged weapons, I have another question: It seems like I am not seeing any rod builds for either Priests or Wizards any longer; it appears that every Priest or Wizard is some sort of caster/melee hybrid. Two questions emerge from this. First, why is this the case? Does this mean the PoE 1 rod builds are no longer viable? Second, if even casters are set up as melees or melee hybrids, then is ranged damage not needed at all in this game? This is a very important issue for me, because I like what is familiar, and I'd like to maintain my PoE1 group set-up as much as possible. Wow, that's comprehensive indeed! Thank you! Yeah, it's good. Strong enchants for speed and accuracy. But you can reforge either Blade of the Endless Paths (estoc) or Whispers of the Endless Paths (greatsword) - provided that you have a PoE1 history where you reforged the BotEP. A bit confused. Do I need a "PoE 1 history" to use this weapon at all? I don't recall if I reforged it or not.

Oh, also, guys: Most of the ranged DPS builds I've seen involve either guns or crossbows, rather than bows. So are bows then far weaker relative to their power in PoE1? Or are they still viable? And what's changed that caused make people so overwhelmingly favor guns and crossbows?

Thanks. It's a good thing the devs balanced things out a bit then. Are there any game-breaking uniques that I should be aware of that would give the particular type of weapon an edge? Actually sabres were not the best dps option in PoE (unless you played a rogue who took plenty of Full Attacks). But anyways... weird mechanical specialities of certain uniques aside: all in all the weapons of Deadfire are pretty balanced. What does disappoint with certain weapons is their modal ability that you get when you pick a weapon proficiency. For example I value the modals of flails, clubs and expecially morning stars over most other weapon modals. First, then so what are these over-powered uniques I should build my character around? Second, let me get a clarification on modals: It seems like all of them involve one benefit and one malus, correct? So I should not necessarily use them at all times? Again, as I asked of the above gentlemen: Which are these special uniques?

Two main questions: 1. Is it better to have a 2H set-up or a dual wield set-up for a DPS character? 2. What type of weapons are generally considered best for each set-ups - 1H, dual wield, 2H? For instance, I recall sabers were considered the best DPS weapons among 1H in the original PoE game.

Are there battles that are so long where casters run out of spells? I thought casters no longer need to sleep after every fight?

Does MaxQuest's DPS parser work for PoE 2 as well?

Damn. Now I have to figure out my own builds!

Is it possible to do reasonable DPS with just auto-attacks via wands - that is, without actively casting spells?

What the heck - only 1 Boeroer build?

What makes end-game Wizard so strong? I've heard several folks mention Meteor Shower. Anything else?

What would you suggest for replacement low micro builds then?