Samugol

I am a bit confused here. I think at first you are talking about a contemplative (helwalker/priest) (because I do not see why a Monastic Unarmed Training is good for a caster) and then you are talking about celebrant (chanter/priest) - the caster you eventually played. I assume that the unarmed training was for the contemplative, but the SSS and weycs stuff was definitely for celebrant. Sorry I don't want to nitpick, I just want to clarify in case I am missing some synergy I am not seeing. I appreciate your response it has a ton of great info. Especially the cool items and how you switch them around (I think that it makes a lot of senese to use SSS + Weycs for casting and then the other stuff for power level boosting, I think I like the idea of starting with a Shield + Axe for initial damage, then switch to cast with SSS and Weyc and then go back to Shield + Axe for sustained power level bonus but also more defense, I will lose the dagger's effect though... I will see how it works - I just cannot imagine playing a chanter without a shield to be honest after PoE 1). I think I will give this bad boy a try once I am done with my current playthrough.

Since I am playing on a console, I will not play with any mods (shame), but since I am really enjoying the caster playstyle it really seems appealing to do invocations as well. I looked at thelee's Firedancer build and that is also a caster (mainly). How would these two compare? Quite honestly, I am thinking that a chanter would not need to be hit as often and since there are so many nice pieces connected with Magran (Magran's Favor, Magran's Blessing, One Stood) I am getting a serious itch to play a fire caster I am just not sure which one would be better/more fun and in what way. I think that all the invocations would also allow the caster to have more options (you have already mentioned that and I wholeheartedly agree). I am just not sure how I would incorporate SSS into the build because it feels like it should be a part of it somehow (but I would also love to use the Magran's items). Have you played a character like that before? Do you some insight? I am not asking for a full build, but maybe some breakdown of how it plays and how much you have enjoyed it.

That is a very legitimate opinion. Actually, could you do me a favor? When you create the build, could you post it here? I would love to see what you ended up with. Do not be afraid to be detailed and whatnot. I am sure it will be useful for someone who finds it here. Maybe I will play it myself .

@Porkchopsandwiches247 have you considered Bellower? I have to say that I am fascinated by the fact that you can EMPOWER your invocations (through the Sasha's Singing Scimitar) every battle. I am sure that that is very powerful and fun. If you add Bellower into it, you will get even more power levels into the empowered spell AT EVERY BATTLE. Finally, if you choose a death godlike, and you used Barring Death's Door, when you are close to dying, you would be able to sustain this state for longer to get additional +3 power levels. You would be like the ultimate super caster. You could either empower some of the priest spells, or the invocations. Later, when you get the Least Unstable Coil, you would be able to sustain this state perpetually. The only reason I am not playing this build is that I wanted to play with a two-hander first (which I am slightly regretting since I am mostly casting anyway, hence the above post). Also, like Boeroer mentioned on several occasions, this build would the strongest late game when you get all the Weyc stuff (robes and wand primarily), but since you are able to get Sasha's Singing Scimitar relatively early and you are able to empower things every battle, it is a very fun and solid playstyle throughout the entire playthrough. I wish I could help you with the stuff you have already mentioned, but I have little experience in playing a chanter in Deadfire, I am only writing the stuff that I have researched so far.

@BoeroerBlackened Plate armor looks really sick, that was a great advice. However, I find myself casting a lot more than I though and I am thinking of just using a weapon and shield, but I am struggling to find a shield to goes with it. Any ideas? Maces are nice from fashion perspective, but they do not really do much for the build... Also, I found Magran's Favor, that has a very nice +2PL to fire stuff, if I was playing some kind of fire themed character, any advice what it would pair nice with (thematically and visually). I looked around the wiki a bit and found One Dozen Stood which seems nice. Any other suggestions? Thanks.

I am still in PoE (priest of Berath) and I thought since I want to play Helwalker/Priest of Berath in Deadfire. I thought it would be nice to pick up Zahua (never used him before). I have to say that so far I have had a blast with him. As a matter of fact, I have had so much fun that it made me think of playing MC monk the next time around. While I love Witch Doctor idea, I think it focuses on dmg too much and I was wondering whether I could just make him more survivable and potentially use a variation of the build for a solo run on higher difficulty (probably hard). So far I got this: RACE: whatever, but I like humans for roleplay STATS: MIG 18/CON 14/DEX 10/PER 10/ INT 16/ RES 10 as far as talents and abilities go: {Lvl 1} - Torment's Reach. A great ability and supposedly works with Long Pain Fists. {Lvl 2} - Veteran's Recovery, always nice to have some healing and staying power, especially early on. {Lvl 3} - Swift Strikes, more speed is nice and that is what is needed. {Lvl 4} - Two Weapon Style, it will give crazy high speed with the fists. {Lvl 5} - Force of Anguish. Very nice CC, especially with good INT. {Lvl 6} - Weapon Focus Peasant. More acccuracy is good. {Lvl 7} - Long Pain Fists. This is the core of the build and should be acquired as soon as possible. {Lvl 8} - Lightning Strikes, +25% lightning dmg is a nice buff. {Lvl 9} - Duality of Mortal Presence set on Other Defenses. This character will have really high saves. {Lvl 10} - Bull's Will. I really want to have high defenses. {Lvl 11} - Flagellant's Path, nice dmg and debuff. Very good when you need to get somewhere through enemies or some closed passage. Maybe even get away in a pinch. {Lvl 12} - Bear's Fortitude. Again, more defenses. {Lvl 13} - Iron Wheel, this character will definitely spend a lot of wounds, but the extra DR is nice. Crucible of Suffering is also a very viable option. {Lvl 14} - Apprentice Sneak Attack works when the enemy is flanked or prone. {Lvl 15} - Crucible of Suffering or Iron Wheel. {Lvl 16} - Wound Binding. This is stupid amount of healing when CON and MIG are high, I am actually considering taking it earlier. {Skills} - Survival ??, Athletics ??, Lore ??, Mechanics ?? As far as the gear goes: {Head} - Skull of Maegfolic Might. The extra MIG and healing are superb. {Chest} - Any heavy armor you like (He Carries Many Scars seems a good fit). Fashion souls for life. {Belt} - Blunting Belt (+5 pierce/slash DR) and then Clarity for amazing Defenses. {Boots} - Shod in Faith for that sweet healing or Echoing Misery {Neck} - whatever {Gloves} - Gauntlets of Swift Action or Mourning Gloves or Blood Testament {Rings} - Ring of Thorns, Ring of Protection {Weapons} - Fists, Long Pain Fists. @Boeroer, what do you think? I haven't beaten PoE 1 solo yet and I have to say that since I am always looking for characters that can do everything (tank, DPS, cc) this seems like an interesting idea. I originally planned to do so with a chanter (from my testing and personal experience, chanters are crazy strong) but this also seems very legit. I mean, I took your build and switched some of the "hater" talents to boost survivability. I cannot imagine that the damage would be bad, but the character should be able to take a lot of punishment. I was also considering +move speed from talent or boots, but I am not sure if that is truly needed. What do you think? Could this work?

I do have to say that your number of posts is...extraordinary. Is there anyone that has more posts than you here? I do not think so... (just curiosity).

Thank you guys so much You are so kind. While I agree with the fact that you reply when you wish, I can also see that when there are 100 people and each DEMAND a reply (even though you do it out of goodness of your heart and they do not understand that you are under no obligation to do so and they should be thankful if anything) it could get very tedious, very quickly. Also, Boeroer - great detailed tips as always, the blackened plate is exactly what I will be aiming for and really fits the build. That is more than I needed, I cannot wait to play this bad boy, it should be a ton of fun.

@Boeroer Thank you ever so much , the summoned sword seems really fitting. Any idea about what stats should be? I dont need a perfect spread just a general idea (and I promise you shall be left alone for the foreseeable future). I have a good idea about stats in PoE 1, but my Deadfire experience is fairly limited here.

@BoeroerSorry to bother you, but I think I would like to go for a Helwalker/Priest of Berath as you sold me on the idea. I have some ideas how to build it, but I could use a bit of direction. I would choose all the good stuff you have already mentioned, but I have not settled on a weapon yet. Would you rather use some kind of greatsword (whispers of the endless paths or the twin eals or sanguine great sword) or would a mace + shield be a bit more conservative option (maybe frostfall + some medium shield?, I am not sure how much would frostfall trigger since I assume my CON would be good) that would still do some decent dmg with +15 MIG from helwalker bonuses? I am dead set on using either a greatsword or a mace as those are favored by Berath and roleplay is more important than powergaming to me. Also... I am struggling with stats a bit, I wanted to do more CON with death godlike to hit the low death mark for +3 PL but most of the builds I have seen are lower than 10... so not sure what the heck is going on there.

@dgray62 Thank you so much . You have provided a good write up of the core concepts. I will look through forums to get the details, but I think you have nailed the key points in playing that combination. If I ever play a chanter/priest combo I definitely want to be a caster first and foremost, especially since I want to do more melee with my death godlike now. (totally off topic, but I tried tagging drgray62, I wanted to test this since I have no idea whether it works or not, if it does... I know that in some forums it is considered rude to bother people with tagging them, but I personally like to either 1. be mentioned when the reply is directly for me, so I immediately get a ping on my phone or 2. I want to address someone specific when I want to thank them/ask them a question in response to their previous comment... thanks for any advice on this, I really have no idea what is considered nice/polite/standard here, I barely have 70 posts and I certainly want to be more active, especially with playing a bit more Deadfire, avowed coming - I am so pumped for that one :D)

You may have done just that. After reading your tips I am honestly torn between the two (helwalker or devoted). Just tell me which one you had more fun (gameplay, gear or roleplay) with, that is the one I will go for. Maybe I am overthinking it...I don't plan to play on PotD so either is probably fine. Lately I have been busy with a new job and other things and finding enough time to play 100+ hour RPGs is hard... That is why I wanted to get the most fun out of it and I sometimes (read always) overanalyze things.

Thanks, I have decided that I will go for a caster priest next time around (probably fire godlike that is either SC or multiclassed with some chanter - I like the idea of having Sasha's scimitar early and empower spells + other shenenigans), but since I am already playing a Death Godlike with aumaua physique with a huge greatsword in PoE 1, it would feel weird to play a pure caster/caster focused build in Deadfire. I have settled on a Devoted(greatsword)/Priest of Berath as that should be a bit more survivable than Helwalker/Priest of Berath. To be honest the micromanagement aspect of helwalker really appeals to me but I hate playing glass cannon builds. I even toyed with the idea of using Death Godlike racial for +3PL (I would boost CON to make this more viable) and then go to town with some greatsword or nuke with spells but since this will be my first Deadfire priest playthrough it feels scary and daunting. I will probably not play on Trial of Iron this time, but I am not very comfortable with risky builds. I mean...how likely are you to beat trial o iron with +50% dmg taken when have 10 wounds? Maybe some meta masters can, but I would be worried to say the least. Actually, I might as well ask about the chanter/priest with SSS. Is it a hard build to play? Is it squishy? Tanky? Good for Trial of Iron run(probably solo/normal)? I will not play for some time because I want to finish this death godlike playthrough but that will not stop me from planning other builds... Thanks again for the great feedback guys

I definitely considered it. I feel that pure casters fare a lot better in Turn Based compared to RTwP. There is lots of bonus actions and a big spell always has an impact. Compared to a melee class that just hits once... How would you build a SC priest of Berath? Would you use weapon and shield for some extra deflection? How survivable would such a character be? Thanks for the reply BTW.

Wow, that is some good advice. I will look into these suggestions and see if any questions arise. I have a lot to think about thanks to you