Lampros

By the way: I am also willing to entertain solutions to the above questions outside of my current classes, as I am sure I will do multiple runs - and may even re-start with a new group if the above problems become too persistent.

Ah, got it. I should definitely have them in stock then!

Got it. I can get Borresaine now, but I may hold off triggering Act 2 until I can go as far as I can in the Endless Path levels. I am about to hit level 5. General progress report & other questions/perplexities: After incorporating your advice, I did all 3 areas I could not get past before: Endless Paths level 3, Raedric's Hold, and Dyrford Ruins. I also did Endless Paths level 4, and all of Dyrford Crossing. I am nearly level 6, and the only troubles I've had were mental casters from Dyrford Ruins and the spider swarms from the cave in Dyrford Crossing (more on these later). So let me consolidate questions regarding where I am still having trouble: 1. In indoor fights, my DPS is sometimes abysmally slow, because either my DPS Paladin or my DPS Fighter cannot get to the fight, because one of them is blocked off by the other 2 melees. The DPS Fighter, Gimli, in particular is by far the top DPS, so him not getting into the fight takes a huge chunk off of my potential DPS. I've gotten fed up to the point where I am thinking of re-training either him or my Paladin into a pike wielder. Is there anything I can do other than break immersion in this fashion by giving either Aragorn or Gimli a puny poke stick? 2. What is the best way to interrupt casters? Once I get Borresaine, I assume the stun will be very handy, but that's still 1 target, and in some fights I am just swamped by casters. 3. In particular, what is the best way to deal with those casters who apply mental afflictions? Dyrford Ruins fights were rather annoying, because I'd get a third of my team seemingly confused or cowering constantly. I thought Suppress Affliction would be the cure-all, but it has a tiny distance and it lasts a pathetic 7.5 seconds?! Is there something better? 4. Another area where my team is so far lacking seems to be is in the AoE. Luckily, the only fight so far I have needed them was in the Ogre cave in Dyrford Crossings, where the spider swarms presented far bigger problems than the Ogre Matron and her bears. But boy, I could barely kill the spiders fast enough when a dozen (or possibly more) converged. What spells do I have at my disposal on my Priest and Wizard? Nothing really seemed to have a big area of effect? I assume I will get more AoE fights in the future, and unless I get better spells later, I fear I will be in big trouble. Thanks in advance, and I am sure these will not be the last questions as I progress through.

Well you can sustain for a pretty long time. Moon godlike is very strong especially in vanilla when head equipments were meh. I have tried a moon godlike monk with shod-in-faith and after that I never went that combination again as it was just too strong. But it still will not be an immortal state. Silver tide is limited to 3 triggers per encounter per character. And there is the beauty of the health mechanics in which there are limited ways to recover (in combat, I think there is only one talent, and the infuse spell/potion can recover HP. Both which are limited. Might be wrong about the infuse effects though). Still the sustain is pretty good, and you would have time to deal enough dmg to kill. Is this the spell you are talking about? https://pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com/Infuse_With_Vital_Essence If yes, then it seems to only increase Endurance temporarily - not restore Health. Or is Wiki outdated?

So how do these Chanters survive being in the middle of the firing line so long? Do they have special defensive spells? Raven and Boeroer explained it better than I could. Also observe the combat log. You can see that Silver Tide got triggered twice(?) after a breath attack. Sliver Tide is a moon godlike racial ability that aoe heals if HP reaches 75%/50%/25% thresholds once per encounter. The spike healing happens pretty quick so it would appear that the party never took the spike dmg in the first place. So if you have 6 Moon Godlike Chanters than you are essentially immortal?

I considered a Barbarian for Gimli, but I also read he was quite fragile. So I decided to make Gimli a DPS Fighter. And yes, he's dual wielding. I am going to make him dual wield 2 battle axes for thematic reasons. (Frankly, there also seem to be a number of easily obtainable good battle axes, too.) I have a Paladin and a ranged Rogue, too. So that's 3 of 6 guys who are micro-light. But the ranged Rogue gets knocked out - or is seriously hurt - far more often than others. But at level 5, it's too early for me to assess - as I am not even 1/3 way done with the content. I always take a high defense talent for every char especially on PotD for that reason. Like a Per rest ability for emergencies. I take Shadowing Beyond for emergencies very early with rogues. Holy fug. I just looked this up - and it makes you untargetable twice a fight for 10 seconds? WTF? That seems over-powered and seems to completely solve Rogue survivability issue? Or am I missing something? Edit: Can you also suggest other "oh sheet" buttons for the other characters that are this strong? Edit 2: Okay, it's per rest. Still very powerful!

I considered a Barbarian for Gimli, but I also read he was quite fragile. So I decided to make Gimli a DPS Fighter. And yes, he's dual wielding. I am going to make him dual wield 2 battle axes for thematic reasons. (Frankly, there also seem to be a number of easily obtainable good battle axes, too.) I have a Paladin and a ranged Rogue, too. So that's 3 of 6 guys who are micro-light. But the ranged Rogue gets knocked out - or is seriously hurt - far more often than others. But at level 5, it's too early for me to assess - as I am not even 1/3 way done with the content.

I like groups that are micro-management light and still powerful. Any recommendation would be welcome!

Damn, sounds like the perfect class for me. For future runs, what would I swap out, if the choice were to take a Chanter for either the DPS Fighter or the tank Fighter?

Boeroer & others: Thank you so much for your help. I did not do anything differently this time other than to utilize the casters to get involved in terms of using spells constantly - especially stuff like Chillfog - instead of merely using them to auto-attack and heal. And, voila! I kicked the Ogre chieftain's buttocks with zero casualties relatively easily. I think ignoring the casters and just auto-attacking them was my biggest flaw. In other RPGs, I could ignore them and simply muscle way through with melees, but obviously that does not work in this game - at least at early levels. Now onto Raedric, and I think I can beat him, too - since I found the Ogre chieftain just as hard when I first tried both at level 5/4. Edit: By the way, the Rogue keeps getting one-shotted even when I am using him as a melee. Should I wait until other beefier characters are engaged first? I don't know how aggro works in this game. Or is it an issue with the low Defense?

Is it the consensus here that a Chanter is the strongest class? Glancing through the Steam forum, the consensus there seems to be the same.

But this kind of power does not come without Chanter stacks, right? I don't want to use more than 1 of each class (2 at most, but if then with different builds), so I don't know how strong Chanters are individually. Can they, say, replace a DPS Fighter or a tank Fighter? A chanter individually is super strong and stacking dragon chant also works with one chanter, but ofc only twice (or three times with maxed brisk recitation and 30+ IN). Only class which has more dps than a chanter is the barbarian, but the chanter can keep up the same dps forever and basically be idle while it happens, while the barbarian has the most dps at combat start. Dammit, you going to ensure that I will do a second playthrough! P.S. How the heck do you quote only the person/post you want to reply to? This forum is a bit more cumbersome in terms of quoting/replying...

But this kind of power does not come without Chanter stacks, right? I don't want to use more than 1 of each class (2 at most, but if then with different builds), so I don't know how strong Chanters are individually. Can they, say, replace a DPS Fighter or a tank Fighter? Oh, so that is not an end-game dragon? I cannot believe people solo this game when I am struggling so badly on normal. I really must be doing something wrong. Do you enchant everything and continue to upgrade those enchants - and do you abuse consumables? Any early game, newb advice would be appreciated. I believe the path to success is learning what defenses your enemy has and learning what attack types they use. Then you juggle equipment/spell selections accordingly. For example the Shadows in the Eothan Temple in Gilded Vale. Casting Bulwark versus the Elements makes your Wizard much sturdier versus their attacks and able to engage in Melee so he can then cast Fan of Flames to easily destroy them. Read the Beastiary, it helps. I've heard that; but that kind of "gaming" is way too much micro-management for me unfortunately. Besides, will you have enough crafting material to enchant that many weapons and armor?

So how do these Chanters survive being in the middle of the firing line so long? Do they have special defensive spells?

So it's the same general RPG principle where two weapons - due to the increased speed - can apply status effects more often. I really wish RPG devs would increase the burst DPS of 2H weapons to counter this obvious disparity. But I've almost never found an RPG or MMORPG game where 2H is better than dual wield except in isolated situations like PvP. Oh well. I usually hate casters due to their micro-management and fragility issues, but I guess in this game I cannot just muscle my way through I suppose the enhanced difficulty is welcome, given that so many RPGs are cakewalks...

But which Lash is best? And which Slaying? Skip slaying, it only blocks points for the good enchantments. Lashes: just mix the lashes in your party like you want. Just don't do 6 times the same lash. Paladins with Flames of Devotions might want to get burning lashes. Got it! Thanks as usual! You are really generous!

Oh, I forgot: Which Slash/Slaying enchant on weapons, and which Attribute/Proofing enchant on armor?

But which Lash is best? And which Slaying?

Yes, I really regret building a "DPS" Paladin. I suppose I can re-train at the inn, but I am also afraid of having too little DPS, as Gimli is really the only one pulling his weight at the moment DPS-wise, and DPS is really slow with this group for now. What are the relatives advantages and disadvantages of dual wielding compared to a 2H set-up? If you say the early game is in fact the hardest with custom companions, then I feel better. And yes, I did the temple. It was fairly easy at level 4. Per your advice - and as I suspected - I guess I should use spells and consumables more. I was worried about resource shortage, but money is rather plentiful in the game, it seems. I have 18k now, and I am sure it will get better later. I will also focus on utilizing Chillfog and Inspiring Radiance I tend to play melee characters whenever I play RPG/MMORPG, so I suspect I am severely under-utilizing the casters. Also, is it unwise to put scale/mail on everyone? I am trying to optimize survival, but my backrow guys do not get hit that much, and I am wondering if I am just slowing them down. Finally, one question about your posted builds: Is there a particular order in which certain skills/spells ought to be taken at a particular level? Or does it not matter?

Oh, so that is not an end-game dragon? I cannot believe people solo this game when I am struggling so badly on normal. I really must be doing something wrong. Do you enchant everything and continue to upgrade those enchants - and do you abuse consumables? Any early game, newb advice would be appreciated.

It's basically the same - for Runner's Wounding Shot I took Prestidigitator's Missiles. The Mad Hornet was "themed" around damage over time (DoT) effects, so I took Runner's WOunding SHot although it's not good with fast, light weapons (but great with heavy hitters like guns). Prestidigitator's Missiles however makes the early game a lot easier and later on gets a boost with Deathblows - so I would say that this approach is better, yes. It also works great with Penetrating Shot and Ryona's Vambraces (an item you can get later on which gives you additional 3 DR bypass). If you choose hunting bows (Persistence, has wounding) then I would dump INT and skip Envenomed Strike and pick something else (for example Fast Runner + Shot on the Run). If you pick war bows (Borresaine, has stun on crit) I would keep the talents like this and max INT. With ranged rogues you usually lower CON and RES and max the rest. If you lower INT (for hunting bow Persistence) as well you can put more points into the other stats obviously. But your strikes' afflictions (Crippling, BLinding and so on) will not last as long as with max int. I think I personally would go wood elf with Borresaine. Stunning is fun. Borresaine also has draining which means it leeches endurance for you with each hit. THis will make your rogue a bit more sturdy since he will heal a bit with each hit he scores. Whoah, I just looked up Borresaine, and it is sold in Defiance Bay. So I can go get it fairly soon! I think I will like the stunning war bow, thank you! Could you also suggest other store bought item that I should definitely acquire - if they can be accessed relatively early?

When is this dragon normally fought? I am a total newb, so I need the context!

Progress update: Guys, I am trying to finish Act 1, and I am having huge issues and need help. Since there is a moderator's approval requirement for posts from new users, I am not sure if I can get feedback in a timely manner, but let me try. Background: I am using the group composition I outlined: 3 melees (1 tank Fighter, 1 DPS Paladin, and 1 DPS Fighter), a ranged Rogue, a Priest, and a CC Wizard. I rushed to the first inn, and I bought all 5 custom companions, because I wanted to precisely compare performance - among other reasons. My main character - the DPS Paladin - is level 5, and the other 5 companions are level 4 (very close to level 5). So here are the issues: 1. I am just stuck in terms of where to go, because I cannot progress in any of the paths I am presumptively supposed to take. Now, I am trying to finish all the quests/tasks found in Act 1 according to this site - http://www.gamebanshee.com/pillarsofeternity/walkthrough.php - but at this point the remaining one seems too hard for me. In particular, I have tried three alternative paths. First, I have tried to kill Raedric from the Lord of the Barren Land quest, but I cannot take out his party. It's a close fight, but I am wiped with one or two enemies standing each time. I think I can do it with one more level, but I do not know where to get that remaining XP to get all my guys to level 5. Second, I tried to kill the Ogre chieftain from the Desperate Measures quest (Endless Paths level 3 encounter), but it is a similarly close fight as the Raedric fight where I need just 1 more level, I think. Finally, I tried to clear Dyrnford Ruins from the Blood Legacy quest, but I cannot even get past the 5-mob group with 2 mind casters. So where to go? The only other Act 1 quests are the ones that I am plainly unable to do until much later in the game, I think: The Master Below and Blade of the Endless Paths. Should I just go to Defiance Bay and begin Act 2? But I do not like leaving prior Act quests unfinished - unless they are plainly impossible. Further, if I cannot finish those quests that others are able to do at level 4, then can I even come close to finishing even the easier Act 2 quests? As a general matter, I am very discouraged. I am actually pretty good at min-maxing RPG or squad-based tactics games, but here I am struggling to handle the Normal difficulty, when others claim even the hardest difficulty is "easy" - and when others even solo this thing! Or is there a level at which my power ramps up? 2. I assume I am doing something wrong. So where can I improve? There were only two things I could think of: On the one hand, I assume I am not using the right skills. So what are the "must" skills/spells I ought to have at level 5 Paladin and level 4 Fighter, Priest, ranged Rogue, and Wizard? (The DPS Paladin, by the way, might not have been a good idea, since he spends most of the time spamming Lay on Hands anyways.) On the other hand, I am also wondering if my bad performance is tied to my refusal to enchant my gear and use consumables, as I am saving the crafting ingredients until the game supposedly gets harder. (But could it be that this early stage is the hard stage?) In particular, should I actually enchant the "fine" items I have in my possession? Will they help win these close fights I am losing? And if I do so, what enchants are recommended for weapon (Secondary Damage & Slaying enchants) and armor (Attribute Bonus & Proofing enchants) slots? As for consumables: I am loath to make them, because they cost money to craft - not just to buy (WTF?!). But are there any that I should always craft/use? Any other game-play recommendations would be greatly appreciated. P.S. Oh, and any purchasable gear that I should look out for at this stage or soon?

Indeed, survivability was foremost in my mind. As for Legolas not fitting the Rogue theme, what would you suggest? I guess Ranger is the standard choice, but I really did not want to deal with the extra micro-management issue that the pet presented. Besides, having a pet is even more un-thematic for Legolas! The biggest issue I found so far with 3 melees is that they cannot always all participate in some indoor fights. I was thinking of giving one of these guys a reach weapon, but a reach weapon fits none of my front-liners lore-wise. Boromir was a classic "sword & board" guy, Aragorn obviously a sword, and Gimli an axe. I tend to try to finely balance role-playing and gameplay efficacy in RPG games, so compromises have to be made. But I may simply break down and give my Paladin (Aragorn) a spear though - if I persistently have issues, and they prove game-breaking. I was averse to the gun, precisely because of the reloading/micro-managing issue you mentioned. But thanks for the implements suggestion. I did not think about that before. And speaking about them: What do you think of the implement Priest? I was using a hunting bow on mine, but it seems like Priests need to get closer to the action anyways, since a lot of their spells are close range. Or would that slow her spells overmuch? I still do not understand how attack speed and spell efficacy mesh. Thanks for this build. Would you suggest that this is stronger than your specific build that you posted on the DoT ranged Rogue? It's precisely the "compulsory" character of the pet that stops me And the pet doesn't work for both role-play and gameplay reasons: It doesn't fit a "Legolas"; and I don't want more micro-management. Is there a mod that edits it out?

I am a total newb trying to make a ranged Rogue class, and this looks promising. Two immediate questions: 1. Is a DoT ranged Rogue better than a pure burst damage ranged counterpart? If so, can you explain a bit as to the "why"? 2. If I am sinking virtually every Skill point into the Mechanic Skill, then do you presume that this build will be accompanied by another Rogue or Ranger who is sinking points into Stealth? Or is Stealth not needed in a party?