Lampros

Wait, so I can get those engagement attacks on the Unbroken/Trickster automatically? Thank you about that Escape explanation. I will take it the next run then - if I run Unbroken/Trickster.

Yes, I played Rogue/Paladin as the main in my last playthrough before the break, and he started out very fast. But in the later-game, the Rogue/Fighter was out-damaging him, even with worse gear. By the way, if you had the choice between the following three tanks, what would you choose, for PoTD turn-based? Unbroken/Goldpact Paladin Unbroken/Trickster Unbroken/Chanter

I guess another possibility - given I am so worried about tank survivability - is to make him Goldpact Paladin/Unbroken instead of Trickster/Unbroken. Then I can put him on lighter armor and still be able to take hits?

I tried this, and the problem is that only the one initiating combat out of stealth gets the extra turn; the other characters go in the normal initiative order. So I tend to get that guy mobbed down early. But perhaps better positioning will mitigate this problem. A lot of people say Escape is amazing in turn-based; I did not take it, however, because my understanding was that it breaks Engagement, and the purpose of tanks is to keep Engagement. I know 50 Deflection is huge, but is that worth losing your Engagements? I am not sure. Awesome news on Swift Flurry! Yes, I agree that tanks should be among the first to go. So I did give him extra 2 Dexterity over both the front-line and the mid-line melees. But I don't think that is enough unless I put the latter two in the same armor type. Maybe I should give the tank more speed gear...

Ah, got it. I was too low level to get those level-ups yet. I also didn't have enough money to buy Charm of Bones and Heaven's Cacophony. So I should get stronger later. Monk multi-class doesn't seem to have a lot of stand-out stuff early on though. So my Brawler main character was ironically the biggest under-performer in the team!

Yup. I will keep trying - albeit with a tweaked group or build(s). I agree that I am having difficulties early in part due to the fact that all my characters are multi-classed. But I didn't have this much trouble in real-time with pause though. So part of the issue is that turn-based is harder early on - or at least requires greater adjustments than I anticipated. Hmm, Riposte being bugged sucks. Perhaps all instant follow-up attacks are bugged in turn-based? Now I am worried regarding whether Swift Flurry will also not activate. Also, you mentioned that I should not dump Dexterity on my Swashbuckler, as well as that I should not use the heaviest armor. Could you explain? In particular, I had planned on using the heaviest armor on all my front-line, because the damage from thousand grazes really added up. (Edit: Okay, you explained in the last paragraph; and yes, it's a major trade-off decision.)

I just tried Whispers of the Endless Path with 14 Intelligence on my Brawler, and the result was miserable. I almost never could hit more than 1 character. Clearly, I need more Intelligence to make it work, and I will likely need to dip into Attribute boosts from Berath's Blessing - which I am a bit reluctant to do due to the cost and the extreme "cheaty" aspect. My question is: Will Karaboru (the weapon that I am really aiming for) and Clear Out have the same AoE cone size as Whispers?

You sure about this? So you can't duplicate multiple Dragon Thrashed shenanigans that occurred in PoE 1?

Thanks; I will look them up now.

Thanks. I will slot a few of them. I will also slot Torment's Reach early and not wait till later on my Fighter/Monk. I just need as much AoE as possible. Of course, this may be moot if I reform my party and bring in a 2nd Chanter multi-class, as 2 Chanters will perma stun many enemy groups.

You were even more prophetic than I expected. I struggled mightily even after adding a Druid/Chanter. So I am re-forming the party!

Anyways, I wrote this elsewhere on a separate thread about the transition to turn-based: "So I ran my initial Fellowship of the Rings group for about 8 levels, and I found turn-based to be much harder than I expected - certainly harder than real-time with pause for now. Like most, I went in with the belief that having full control of the combat phase would let me dominate the AI even more. But there were two fundamental aspects of this game's turn-based implementation I had ignored - or I had at least underestimated their impact. First, because every character essentially gets one offensive action per turn, I no longer have a decisive edge in term of action economy. This equalization means in practice the AI now gets more turns per round than I do, because the AI fields more characters on the field. In particular, the insufficient number of attacks from my single target DPS-oriented team meant that I was really struggling to mow down hordes of AI characters than in the past. Conversely, I am taking a lot more damage on my characters than I am used to, because there are more attacks coming in my direction than before - which brings up the second issue. Namely, the widening of the graze range meant that even my tanks have a hard time surviving. For instance, my main tank had a Deflection of over 100, I think, by level 5 or so. But the AI was hardly ever missing him, because of the outrageous graze range. So I am re-starting and adjusting my approaches a bit. Most fundamentally, I need either a lot of AoE or CC, rather than a lot of single target DPS that I am used to bringing. As a result, I will likely add another Chanter multi-class and bring the number of Chanters to 2; it seems like 2 Chanters rotating their stun AoE per turn can lock down a large portion of the AI horde. I will also likely have to put the heaviest armor possible on all front-liners, because Deflection-based tanking is not really a possibility as far as I can see."

So I ran my initial Fellowship of the Rings group for about 8 levels, and I found turn-based to be much harder than I expected - certainly harder than real-time with pause for now. Like most, I went in with the belief that having full control of the combat phase would let me dominate the AI even more. But there were two fundamental aspects of this game's turn-based implementation I had ignored - or I had at least underestimated their impact. First, because every character essentially gets one offensive action per turn, I no longer have a decisive edge in term of action economy. This equalization means in practice the AI now gets more turns per round than I do, because the AI fields more characters on the field. In particular, the insufficient number of attacks from my single target DPS-oriented team meant that I was really struggling to mow down hordes of AI characters than in the past. Conversely, I am taking a lot more damage on my characters than I am used to, because there are more attacks coming in my direction than before - which brings up the second issue. Namely, the widening of the graze range meant that even my tanks have a hard time surviving. For instance, my main tank had a Deflection of over 100, I think, by level 5 or so. But the AI was hardly ever missing him, because of the outrageous graze range. So I am re-starting and adjusting my approaches a bit. Most fundamentally, I need either a lot of AoE or CC, rather than a lot of single target DPS that I am used to bringing. As a result, I will likely add another Chanter multi-class and bring the number of Chanters to 2; it seems like 2 Chanters rotating their stun AoE per turn can lock down a large portion of the AI horde. I will also likely have to put the heaviest armor possible on all front-liners, because Deflection-based tanking is not really a possibility as far as I can see.

Just a question about Druid spells: Are there any early Druid nukes worth getting before Returning Storm? In my last aborted Fellowship of the Ring group, I had real trouble mustering enough DPS for the first 8 levels - which is partly why I am re-starting. Overall, turn-based is surprisingly hard(er). Among other things, I need either massive AoE or massive CC, given that I no longer dominate the action economy.

I didn't realize that this was in the game either. So what are generic but powerful items that are only randomly found? Torc of the Falcon's Eyes, Bracers of Greater Deflection (well, now found in the DLC content as a fixed drop), and what else?

"Gimli the Bore"? LOL! So you couldn't actually fit Gimli in as one of your 5 characters either? Who are the other 3? And who is the main - Aragorn? Yes, Aragorn is a pretty good thematic fit with Paladin, but I wanted a character who is primarily DPS as the main character; and Paladins don't DPS very well. I actually had a run till about level 8 with this group, but I found turn-based surprisingly harder in some ways than real-time with pause. So I am going to adjust the group a bit for a new run. Primarily, I will likely change Boromir from Fighter/Rogue to either Fighter/Chanter or Fighter/Paladin - probably Fighter/Chanter. I found you can likely shut down most enemy groups in the early going if you have 2 Chanters, as they can rotate AoE stun every round. But I will write more once I have a better idea tomorrow.

Another kudos for this thread. I didn't use many of these items in the past, but for my current turn-based PotD run, I expect to use at least 5: Cadhu Scalth shield (main tank), Chromoprismatic quarterstaff (mid-line melee/support), Giftbearer's cloak (not sure on whom), Saint Omaku's Mercy war bow (ranged DPS), Casità Samelia's Legacy medium armor (main tank)!

Just letting you know the save works. I suspect the first try was bugged for whatever reason. I've re-started thrice since then, and Eder appeared each time. And nothing else seems amiss. Once again, thank you. And now I will enjoy the build as the main character!

Oops. I already started the game; I was theory-crafting for so long that I couldn't wait any longer! I ultimately ended up with Gandalf as Priest/Paladin and Arwen as Druid/Chanter. So I picked Druid over Wizard as the party's main nuker. The decisive consideration was that Druid offers a bit more utility, as Boerer outlined. As for Paladin being better as a front-liner: I realize that. But I already have 2 front-liners, and 3 front-liners can get really crowded with 1 character basically doing nothing. [Edit: I also seem to have asked the wrong question: I meant to ask "whether a Druid or a Wizard multi-classes better with a Chanter" - not "whether a Druid or a Wizard multi-classes better with a Paladin"! ]

I want to multi-class. Who is preferable in that case? And with what class combinations? I was planning to combine this character (Gandalf) with Paladin. And can you tell me which mega-bosses that Priests can cheese? I will have a Cipher and a Priest. So I guess it's up to me then. I am sort of inclined to try Druid in that case, as I've never played one even in PoE 1, and I want to try. But can one Cipher in fact replenish everyone's resources? I will play turn-based. What would I rely on for both casters in turn-based? Hmm, now you are making me waver again! So who combines better with a Paladin multi-class in a mid-line melee/support/nuker role?

I decided to actually take up your original suggestion of reforming the party composition, except I will flip Gandalf and Arwen's classes and thus make Gandalf Priest/Paladin and Arwen Druid/Chanter. The change seems more lore-friendly. Moreover, it also saves my idea of using Gandalf as a reach weapon using, mid-line, "linebacker" melee. Again, thanks for your original suggestion; it was an absolute breakthrough that simultaneously mmade the party far more balanced by shoring up the needed nuke support spot, while still retaining my original vision for the team!

Thanks! I've only played Chanters among those classes, and I've never used Boil their Flesh. No wonder I was clueless!

What instakill spells are there? I haven't played any casters really.

Okay, perhaps I should use 2 weapons then- for single target and multiple targets?

Who is better for a turn-based PoTD run with mega-bosses in mind?