Lampros

So the conclusion is that the Priest and the Wizard are the only two classes you can consider NOT multi-classing?

What are easy power builds that do not require you to micro much? Something similar to Dragon Thrashed Chanter builds or Sacred Immolation Paladin builds from the original PoE game? Chanter/Paladin will give you what you want, but for example BoW boss required good DPS (because of constant healing), so you will still need to use some consumables or pick second character with rogue subclass and manage him in this fight I am definitely not planning to solo any part of the game! So a full Chanter team still works like the original PoE game? What chants would you rely on - given that Dragon Thrashed has apparently been nerfed?

Ah, damn. So my plan of 2 Chanters and 2 Paladins already gone I guess I will choose a pure Wizard then and multi-class everything else. And thanks! Hmm, I disliked Ciphers in the original game, because mind control was a two way street - with 1) mind controlled units just slowing down my kill speed; and 2) often becoming un-killable because they got my buffs while mind controlled. But I should try them again here then.

Do Rangers still need pets to be effective? I never used them in PoE original, because I didn't want to micro yet another melee.

What are easy power builds that do not require you to micro much? Something similar to Dragon Thrashed Chanter builds or Sacred Immolation Paladin builds from the original PoE game?

Three questions: 1. In the original PoE game, I stacked 2 Chanters with Dragon Thrashed and 2 Paladins with Sacred Immolation, because I wanted power builds that were also micro- or maintenance-free. These type of builds resulted in "fire and forget" characters that did massive damage and were very survivable. Now, could exactly the same build work equally well in PoE? Glancing through skills, they did not seem much changed - though the exact numeric values may be different. 2. What are other "low micro power builds" that are available in PoE 2 other than the Dragon Thrashed Chanters and Sacred Immolation Paladins? 3. A bit off-topic, but: Are there any tier 8 or tier 9 skills that are "must haves" or close to it? In other words, are there any tier 8 or tier 9 skills that make you actually want to not multi-class with any class? Thanks in advance!

Yeah, it's in the Ninagauth's Black Pages. Finding it may be a bit tricky. You must travel to Russetwood and in South-West corner you'll watch a hallucination cutscene, where a wizard deals with his traitor apprentice. After that travel to Durgan's Battery and somewhere in the center you'll discover a hidden stash, where the grimoire is stored. You can't discover this stash without watching the cutscene in Russetwood. Hmm, ok; I will try again next time. I was looking all over Durgan's Battery the last game, so it must be because I didn't watch the cutscene. Or I may have accidentally vendored it...

I am so enamored with the two-damage type that war hammers offer though!

Indeed. I remembered my very first playthrough trying to complete the Clyde bounty in Magran's Fork. I kinda discovered for myself FIreball is fastcast, and promptly chained cast and unloaded 4 into the enemy's ranks in the first seconds of combat and subsequently winning the encounter. Even now, my tactic hasn't changed much.... only i do so with shadowflame :D From the first post, it seems like OP is playing with CON 3 casters at an area where he/she is underleveled to be affected by Plague of Insects that much. However, apparently OP is using Aloth, and I don't remember that Plague of Insects being able to incapacitate him in a single casting. So I supposed hyperbole is involved. I mean this whole game is, at its core, a numbers game. Which is pretty much very similar to other games of this genre. The old IE games too. I have not idea what to say when OP tries to paint PoE in a bad light by dumbing it down to a game of coin tosses, while ignoring or not noticing the fact one can actually manipulate the odds. This game isn't for everyone and perhaps not for OP too. How and where do you get this Shadow Flame? I have yet to find it in 1 Normal and 1 PotD playthrough.

This is the key. Once you get to Caed Nua/Defiance Bay, then you can pick and choose where you go and make sure only go to locations that you've out-leveled. I didn't need to save scum even on my 1st PotD run this way.

I agree Golden Gaze is awesome for a blaster Wizard, and I've used it to good effect in the past. But in my most recent game I had spectacular success with the Rod of Pale Shades. With a Godansthunyr Fighter, a Borresaine ranged Fighter, and a Chanter with a stunning Cladhaliath, I had multiple enemies on perma lock-down every encounter. It was so crazy that I am thinking of duplicating Godansthunyr and giving it to the other front-liner in a future run.

I agree. A wonderful, friendly community here. I am sure I will utilize the collective knowledge in the next game as well! (As usual, I probably won't buy immediately but a year or so after release, because RPGs tend to have most "show-stopping" bugs.)

Fixed.

If I may let you in on a dirty little secret... Trial of Iron is considered self imposed too. Although it only retains 1 save file, it doesn't manipulate that save file in an absolute manner. Let me state a scenario - if a particular fight doesn't proceed the way you want, you can actually quit in the middle of the battle. Since the game can't save during encounters, the state isn't persisted and you still can retrieve the previous save state. Most likely during area transition. Also I don't know if this was changed in updates, but you can actually copy and backup savefiles in the savefiles folder including ToI files. I don't know if the note is still around but there should be a file containing a message by Josh (I think) that discourages or frown upon ToI gamers who tries to "cheat" this way heh. So take input from ToI runners, including myself, with a grain of salt. But I do believe Torm is legit though since I believe Torm derives enjoyment (maybe not enjoyment in the strictest of terms ) even in the TC failure. For me, wiping in a ToI run just saps all the interest out of the playthrough. I will lose all motivation in continuing. Yes, I understand that you can "cheat" TC or Ironman modes. But I am going in thinking I won't do it even if I wipe - though one never knows until it actually occurs. But frankly I am not sure I will need to, if I play super-carefully and only bite off I can chew. In my current practice PotD run, I am not using any friendly fire-AoEs or mind controls, and I still only had 1 fight where people got knocked out (2 got knocked out when I went to get Cladhaliath for the first time ever, and I did not realize that traps and spiders would both spawn when I dropped down). But we shall see!

"Free action" that adds more micro-management!

Yup; for boss fights, I have +15 Defense set-up going. And I, too, use that reflect shield until I get Little Savior. In fact, I use 2 of them, since you can kill the monks after the quest to get a 2nd copy, LOL! Oh really? I didn’t know you could kill them for a second shield. Haha! In my games I've always been able to do so. But again, I am always wondering if my games are bugged, as weird things always happen in my games

No, I tested now. Maybe it used to, but not any more. Or perhaps my game is bugged?

Yup; for boss fights, I have +15 Defense set-up going. And I, too, use that reflect shield until I get Little Savior. In fact, I use 2 of them, since you can kill the monks after the quest to get a 2nd copy, LOL!

LOL, that's insane - but still gimmicky!

Gosh, upgrading melee weapons on a Priest takes forever...

Huh, bouncing heal? What's that? I never used in-game companions... I believe that you are talking about the 2nd level invocation, Rejoice, My Comrades! Two Fingers of Daylight! It's available to all chanters, not just Kana. Ah, ok.

No, they do not stack. I just tested now. Traps indeed suck. I did use the Priest's first trap spell when I first started, but I stopped doing that, too. Exactly. I RP a TC run like I would in a real fight. If I want to live I'll use anything at my disposal. Less cast times for a priest if he can cast Devotions while a scroll user casts defense. I RP the game, too. Hence, I would never use builds where I am trying to get intentionally knocked out!

Ah, ok; thanks much! So there will be no conflict then, I assume. By the way, how does full stash contribute to lag? It seems not so intuitive... Edit: But then I don't know much about computers...

I was noticing that the Overseeing stuff does not seem to add as much as I expected at higher Intelligence values, too. Now I am wondering if they are worth it at all...

Boeroer has already answered to this question. I suppose, Celebrant's Gloves are the second best option for a chanter, 'cause they have an Overseeing enchant, which can spare you a ring slot. But there are some other good things, depending on your build, Bracers of all-consuming Rage, Bracers of Enduring (+stats is always good), Bracers of Deflection for some defense... BTW, I always have a pair of Gloves of Accuracy for my chanter. I usually loot 3 pairs of these gloves in Raedric's Hold (also, a pair of Gloves of Manipulation and Fenwalkers). I did not know the Celebrant's Gloves have an Overseeing enchant. I think I looked at the other enchant and got "disenchanted"! And yes, I was considering Bracers of Deflection, too. I usually farm Gloves of Accuracy, too, but I sell them once I farm their Swift Action replacements. Unfortunately, I must've sold them to one of the merchants I killed, because I cannot find them with any "live" vendors. (I kill the Doemenels, the Dozen, the dude who wants me to into the Sporeling cave early [he lied to me!], the Dyrford vendor on the ruins entrance, and a few more that I can't remember).