mjo2138

I see - I always struggle between heavy armor and medium choices, so I am gonna go with medium more so than heavy. Like you mentioned one of the worst feeling is being super slow and unable to do any actions, esp. early and mid game on POTD. I feel like once you hit max level, the game becomes much easier, aside from some of the DLC content, which spikes up the difficulty quite a bi. Vikrathi ,and Vessels I am looking at you LOL!

So essentially, you agree that Painted Plate's +2 AR upgrade is not worth it, considering how slow you are? The only ideas that come to mind would be: a Paladin/Rogue Holy Slayer that uses Offensive Parry on Whispers of the Endless path (WoTEP) along with Riposte (I think offensive parry AND riposte could theoretically proc at the same time) Paladin/Wizard which insane Deflection who does not need to "worry" about attack speed, since their role involving buffing to the high heavens ,being surronded my mobs, and then perhaps relying on Tactical Meld to get +3 engagements Streetfighter/X -- I am not a math major (hehe) but the attack speed bonus of streetfighter may greatly negate the malus of painted plate. Perhaps with Bloodlust from a barbarian, this is even less.

Are you able to outheal the dps for Doru? I recall the damage type is crush/pierce, and rather high PEN ( A Painted Plate armor set wit the +2 AR, and a paladin's +Armor could get quite high... along with the +armor pet, +armor food, and the ever great Blunting Belt). I will have to try that in my current run. Pallegina will be the dummy to test it. Yes, I liked your YT videos very much. And , yes , of course BDD is a great option if you wanna go the route of Ancestral memory, SoT, and least unstable coil.

No they are both summoned weapons, so you can only have one summoned at time, and you cannot switch between them. For example, if is not possible to summon the blackbow, and change weapon slot, and then summon the minor blights

I like the idea mentioned here by @Ivanfyodorovich . When I ran Fassina, I used her with the blackbow to terrify enemies, and summoned as phantom to duplicate. First I would have her scripted to do all the wizard self-buffs , cast the bow summon, summon her phantom (regular phantom is better here b/c it wont cast) and then she uses the wizard ability Citzal's Marital Power to even better accuracy. Still, It really hurts not having access to illusion AND Evocation spells with Fassina

I can relate. This fight is really a battle of attrition unlike any other in Deadfire. I would start to searching the forums for Dorudugan tips and advice, as there are quite a few great ideas others have communicated on the topic. I will add my suggestions viable for POTD upscaled (all) w/ Community Patch) . Item related spoilers follow. Offensive Approaches: Take a look at all your items and see which ones can increase your damage potential. 1. The Cap of the Laughing Stock provides -10 Deflection to nearby enemies and allies, and Blackened Plate Armor provides -1 AR if you stand close enough. The club shattered vengance provides a stacking damage curse, which can speed up the fight . Also, Marux Amanth has the Worthy Sacrifice ability for when the boss is nearly dead. 2. The Priest Spell Spark the Souls ... zaps Doru with shock dmg, which it is vulnerable to. What you can do is summon a huge army using chanter(s) - such as the Sword and Bow Army summon. You are not going to land this spell each time since Doru's Reflex is high , but it does add enough to speed up the fight. 3. Essence Interrupter is a good weapon here; also, whoever uses it should stack on +vessel accuracy items (I dont think any +damage ones exsit) . This character should also have as many other +accuracy, crit, dmg, items. 4. The rest of the party can use crush damage from scepters. 5. Lastly, and importantly, no character can tank Doru and live to tell about it! So, just use summons as fodder. Having the summons up can also create a barrier for when Doru starts to use his pull abilities . *the self-heal ability from Doru's fireballs is annoying; the only solution I can think of is using Effigy's Husk with the -75 healing ability , but this would require the character to be low health AND near doru, so you'd probably need to do Salvation of time cheese here . (As far as I understand, an essential phanton or Monk's summon does not inherit item abilities, but I need to test!) Defensive Approaches 1. One character will be your 'medic' and have the Bloodfire Cloak that absorbs fire damage AND immunity to push/pull effects (via one the items you mentioned) . This char should also have revive ability or scrolls 2. Another character can have the push/pull immunity item. I would chose a character without an ability to nullify engagement, such as "Escape" from the rogue. 3. When the Helfire Barrage ability activates, use +movement chants and find a place your party can be to avoid it. As you said, a character with sky high reflex should be fine, and your 'medic' is immunue to fire already, so they'll be fine. If people to do, have a means of reviving them. When both Helstorm and Helfire Barrage are activated, this is where having your summons up and creating space between you and Doru saves you from being engaged with him, and knocked prone.

For your RP approach, you could be a rogue/barbarian watcher who uses the Escape ability, programmed to the further target -- which tends to be casters or archers, and then go to work there with the weapons of your choice. In addition to what was mentioned above by Boeroer, you could start the fight with blunderbass' (blunderbi? I wonder how this noun is pluralized ... prescriptively or descriptively?) Powder Burns modal, get distracted, and as a Streetfighter you could attack the mobs with insane attack speed. This could allow you to use pistols, and melee, but not at the same time. So, in way you would be an insane pirate who starts with pistols and then uses daggers, sabres, or stilettos. Streetfighter/Black Jacket would be a good RP fit, but a Streetfighter/Tactician could work too --- assuming you get immunity to flanking for yourself, and rely on a Cipher to use their Phantom Foes. Or a Streetfighter/Devoted could be fun w/ daggers as your chosen weapon. I think daggers have a generally lower PEN than other weapons, so Devoted would help overcome this, along with Hot Razor Skewers.

Mid and late game, which weapons do you have ydwin using: Stalker's Patience and Shattered Vengeance? I run it with Frostseeker and then weapon set 2 is Kitchen Stove. I might try a 1 handed pistol too. I should also try something different like this , but I tend to run the same every time for most characters, which I wanna stop doing

That is so cool! How does an echo apply here ? Does it cast the spell twice? So that is like 10000 missiles haha!

I think you hit the nail on the head here: casters cannot, and should not, only do damage spells. In a party, your ability to debuff with wizard spells, for instance, and apply terrify through certain spells, is so powerful and more "damaging" than a giant fireball. Terrify is one my favorites spells, since the disengagement attacks are do deadly, and enemies are useless when terrified. Miasma of Dull Mind, Chill Fog, Combusting Wounds, and countless others are perfect set up spells before you cast a damage spell. As @thelee mentions, empowering is quite strong with certian spells, esp. at high levels. I haven't played an Evoker Wizard or Fury Druid, but if did , I would have another cast who does the debuffing for me. I tend not to empower much at all early or midgame. I stack up on incredible foods, and boons from the Inns, and then continue the game. I do not metagame around required rest situations, as that is too much micromanagement. I also do not use no-rest approaches, for the same reason. Personally, after finishing Port Maje I tend to find a party I want to run, and eat the best food right after. You can get all the ingredients early and cheap with this: Cornering PEN, Empowering certain spells each encounter means +PL for the spell, which is only + 1.25 PEN. That's why I prefer to eat foods instead that provide a bonus each time. That being said, when you reach later levels, the empower passives make it even better. To each their own, I say, as both approaches are good. if you are not against resting multiple times, then you can use per rest abilities for weapons and gear. That unlocks another dimension of play. Lastly , I personally do not empower characters to get resources back. Between the PEN reduction strategies mentioned already in this thread, you have enough tools to win most battles.

I see -- and it is fully upgraded ? And did you rest with her in the party? Just wanna be sure... That is so strange! https://pillarsofeternity.fandom.com/wiki/Marux_Amanth Do you have any mods running which may conflict with it? If you are not opposed to using the console, you could generate a new copy for yourself . there might be a way to bypass the soulbound upgrades, but you would have to investigate.

Hi Arnold --- I think that skill is a per rest, right? If so, try resting, and it will reappear.

1) I would go with Animist or Ancient. The former has no penalty while the latter has one that is not big deal. I haven't made druid for a few years, but I think you cannot play no subclass, or am I mistaken. 2) Power Level 1-2 Sunbeam is great (Blind is such a good debuff), Hold Beasts will make battles against beasts much easier (especially early game), Dancing Bolts (shock dmg), and Nature's Mark is always useful, esp. for boss fights or tough mobs. Talons' Reach is unique in that it targets Deflection, while most other druid spells target Fortitude (which is often a defense that is quite strong on some enemies) Really, there are so many good choices it is hard to go wrong. Try to decide your role as a Druid first: do you want to focus on damage first , then heal, or heal, buff, and then use damage? really, you can and should do both in most fights. Also the ancient subclass is fun to make your summons grow BIG!

So it seems like the only real benefit of Conjurer is Slightly higher spell PEN thanks to the increased power-level. +PL is not too much of a difference overall. Crusted Swordfish's + PEN is usually enough to overcome any elemental AR Thresholds and be able to penetrate or oven penetrate enemies. What i find is that mobs who have weak AR for corrode tend to have it at a rather low number anyways, so it is easy to attack. If they have high corrode AR, it is better to attack diff AR. So what about building a Concelhaut themed character? I think this has been mentioned....a Conjurer/Fighter? I wonder if that would be fun. Stacking the Concelhaut pet, and the familiar? Might as well go big with the PL stacks. It would be a character that focuses on summoning the right Concelhaut weapon for the mob at hand. Mob Stance would be good here.

If you go the Universalist path, I would max out MIG and INT, and then focus PER. That will ensure your healing and nukes get +damage .Int will help with everything spell related, and PER will ensure you land nukes, since you want to be more than juts a buff bot. Dex keep at default or a few less ; you will have recovery times regardless since you will be chain casting buffs/nukes in every battle. I could be wrong about the DEX thing, but you can look at spell tool tips and notice how much difference DEX makes in when it comes to spell casting , recovery. RES can be dumped since you are not a frontliner. Rely on defensive spells to compensate for this if you are swarmed. and I would keep CON low, but not too low so you get squished. There is a calculator on the forums (I think MaxQuest) made it which calculates attack speeds . I cannot recall if it mentions casting times. If you play the role of Universalist you would be a buffer first, then CC/nuker, and then heals as needed. The priest spell devotions of the faithful is amazing and quite necessary for getting proper accuracy to land spells. I think you can build any type of party around a Universalist, whether you want to be melee focused, AOE casters, and so on. Ranged would be an option too if you get a chanter to provide the reload buff chant (sorry I forgot the name of it, it is around PL 3 for chanter I think) Your buff/heal role will be nicely covered. You might want a pinch healer available too, such as a paladin. Pallegina can serve this role well, and Xoti can, too. Xoti could be a contemplative with a few heal spells or Withdraw on hand. On the other hand, the role of a Ranger/Priest would be hard for me to theorycraft. You would buff the party first and then have the ability to do some decent single target range DMG. There are quite a few good ranged weapons such as which could serve you well for destroying certain enemy types quite well So your primarily role is to buff the party. This multiclass would come to life more so late game, in my opinion, esp. once you unlock Devotions of the Faithful. Divine Terror would also be a good opener to a battle if you do not have someone who can Frighten. A range could use Hunter's Claw to stack +20 Accuracy against a chosen race. Then you could use the priest nukes or single target debuffs (Barbs of Condemnaton, others) to do some good single target debuffs, as well as any Priest nukes. The real conflict of this class is that you would switch between casting and attacking; most fights are not so long, so really having one 'role' is usually enough. The DLC has longer fights, where it could be nice to have more versatility. So, the only real synergy I see for this MC buffing accuracy from the ranger side to to a better 'job' as a priest. Ghost heart could be better so your pet can provide the passive accuracy buffs without worrying about the pet constantly dying. I find it hard to get ranger's pets alive, and end up dedicating a few turns of action economy towards buffing or saving the darn pets

I would add also that generating focus for a Cipher, be it SC or MC , is not really an issue. Thunderous Report ability, part of a blunderbuss you get mid game, is quite good at this too if you are ranged. If you choose SC Cipher, do so because you really want to experiment with what the class offers with full creative freedom, Power levels unlocked sooner (Secret Horrors is a great game changer to have early on), try the PL 8/9 spells, and have plenty of ability points to spend on testing of the passives. I played a Beguiler MC with rogue, and I loved it. If I were to run SC Cipher, I would choose Beguiler. The subclass generates focus very quickly. On the other hand, I usually end up using the PL 1-7 spells so much, it does make me wonder if SC Cipher is worth it. I am not a Powergamer, so I do take my time early and mid game. However, if you prefer to level quickly, the whole SC/MC thing matters less (sailing your ship around Deadfire can allow you level up rather quickly thanks to the experience bonuses of discovery!) Coming from POE 1, you might already have noticed that Charm spells are not as OP in Deadfire as they were in POE 1. Same goes for Mental Binding (paralyze spell). Still, these are great CC spells . Personally, I prefer Terrify as a CC, but that is just me. Charm, while good, is really just prolonging what will be the inevitable death of the enemies you face. A lot of tough mobs are immune to Intellect afflictions, but sometimes not Resolve. Oozes are a prime example! I prefer to buff my party, debuff enemies, and go then cast my big spells -- but to each their own!

Hello. Ah yes I want to also try out Thundercat in my next build! So for your questions 1) Druid is really versatile and I don't think you can go wrong. I chose SC Druid w/ Ancient. I would recommend playing a class SC the first time around to really know what the class is capeable of, and then decide which multiclass is suits your goals. The other thing you can do is pick up Tekehu, a companion who is ca be a SC Druid. He, however, is a unique subclass that cannot use fire spells, so you will be missing out of a few of my favorite Druid Buffs, such as Form of the Delegman. 2) The Lightening storm spells are nowhere near as powerful as they were in POE 1, but they are a worth casting in a battle. I usually pick up the healing spells along the way, Insect Swarm, Embrace the Earth's Talon, Weather the Storm (+5 element AR is huge), Entropy (I like it for boss fights), and of course at Powerlevel 9, Greater Maelstrom, which is incredible. For a lot of the spells I mentioned, you will need to debuff Fortitide quite a bit, which tends to be high for most mobs in Deadfire as I recall. However, you will have other tools at your disposal to debuff Fortitude. Actually, Spreading Plague at PL 3 is a good one to begin with before casting the other ones. 3) As for sygnergies, there is a post on the forums now about building a chanter/druid to interrupt enemies. I would check that one out (it is on page 1) sorry I am lazy to go b

Yes the passive debuff is really tempting. It makes me want to use Aloth and use Conc. Draining Touch instead of Blackbow Yes, I just saw this today in my current run. At SSS now; I am an SC Tornado Master Troubadour . It makes me want to go deeper into the rabbit hole I am in with using Aloth as a Terrifier. I also thought of using Keeper of the Flame for the constant -8 will debuff. Dual wielding that with a club would be -20 will quite quickly

Thanks for sharing this! I am gonna use it now on my SC Troubadour

@dgray62 Yeah I know that feeling - I think with the Watcher it you benefit more from Brisk Recitation since you have high PER, so I leave the supporting duties to another chanter, or class. I am trying to use the Energized Interrupt strategy, I think Not So Clever Hound started that thread? , when I use the PL1 chant that removes concentration. So far my ACC is too low b/c I need Helm of the White Void. Now I just use these invocations, starting with Empower w/ Sasha Scimitar a) the invocation that frightens and debuffs -15 DEF for all stats (sorry cant remember name atm !) I have no Cipher, so this is necessary. b) Ogres (PL upgrade, but idk if it is worth it) c) the PL 1 armor buff plus the PL 3 (a good offense is a great defense!) d) Charm, when appropriate As an SC Chanter, I have so many choices, so I think you can build it around having a variety of offensive invocations and summons, as well as the odd Defensive invocation, too. The deeper question is if you'd like to be spend action economy on summons - Once I get PL 9 I will just be using the upgraded tornado, as many have mentioned it is quite effective (PL bonus determines the bounces, not INT, ) . Fleeting moments in which I am not casting I will switch to Essence Interrupter, but honestly with Sasha's and Brisk Recitation on, I almost always have something to cast. I will probably invest in the shield that heals, from Dark Cupboard, and just keep that on at all times and forgo ranged warfare.

That would be fun - Now I am running an SC Troubadour and I like it . I am more like caster than anything, but it is fun to try out some of the SC chanter skills at PL 8 and 9 I usually don't try. I do have fleeting memories of using a few of them back when Deadfire came out, but it has been a while. Phew it has been even longer since POE 1! I have a party now of Eder (fighter) Xoti, Aloth, and Tekehu , all SC casters. I feel like I've ran so many games with them in the party. Having 3 aoe caster is just so powerful it is hard to choose a different party. Tekehu really needs some PER so Xoti can solve them. Recently I've run Aloth to focus on terrifying enemies, which is so much fun if you have a fighter who can benefit from disengagement attacks. Well anyone can benefit from it, actually! Maybe I will bring Serafen back as a Witch to handle that with LDV.

You can also stack equipment which as + PER - a few helmets have it. https://pillarsofeternity.fandom.com/wiki/Pillars_of_Eternity_II:_Deadfire_headgear and some rings have it too. That is one way to get sky high PER. As for the PEN issue with Nemnok, change the combat log as you probably underpenetrate . Hot Razor Skewers are a good active bons for + PEN , and so are some cipher skills, weapon modals (Sabre and others). One of the best -Armor skills is the chanters PL 1./3 invocation . Check the abilities throuroughly for your party, and you will find there are some -AR skills. Also, remembering flanking the enemy is a free -1 AR, and this armor provides -1 AR to nearby enemies!

I've tried an SC Beckoner, but honestly I don't think it is for me. If I wanna be a spellcaster main, I'd rather just be a Wizard or Druid. There is a lot of down time between chants, and on POTD upscaled - I am just an auto attack bot until I can cast again. The idea of having huge numbers of summons is good; having 6 wurms or 6 wisps is great. However ,I think balancing this with a martial class is much better (fighter, rogue, barb) would be better.

That is a great suggestion. Yeah those dots are so good, on top of combusting wounds. The wizard buffs are really good for any class. Actually I played Maia as a Geomancer, and she was very sturdy thanks to Llengraths' defensive spells, +20 accuracy (Citizial Martial Power), and +DEX, INT and CON helped. I will try Fassina as a sorcerer next time.

Yeah that is a good idea. That is pretty good accuracy , too! Great suggestion about increasing the engagements!