mjo2138

That's true. I liked reading your Fassina guide that focus on using her Poison spells. I love those spells, actually. I wish that skeletons and vessels were not immune to those AND piercing, however! Still, those spells decimate most mobs. Yeah that's true. Mobs can easily run past her to the backlines, which kinda defeats the purpose of her as a tank. The more I think about it, having a a Monk (Xoti, Rekke) is better because they never have to worry about losing the buffs, esp. due to arcane dampener. In fact, Monks can interrupt wizards before they cast those spells. I think the meta for Fassina is more about Blackbow, and then using poison spells, debuffs, or the ever useful Jernaught's Equalizing Burst. I was thinking it would have been better for Conjurers to still have access to Evocation and Illusion, but have some other kinda Malus. It really hurts losing BOTH those schools, especially Ryngrims' Enervating Terror

Those are some good points. Yes without the summons she is really just an auto attacker, which a priest could do , too. I do love her Blackbow for Terrify, and usually it has a good uptime. But yeah, once the summon expires it sucks. Do you like Maia for single target DPS or a melee class?

Hello everyone - I am playing as an SC Skald in a party with Eder (Fighter) Aloth (Spellblade) Watcher (SC Skald) Pallegina (Hearld) and Fassina (Conjuruer). I really can't believe I failed to utilize her as a battlemage years ago. I wrote her off as a useless sidekick, when in fact the opposite it true. 1. So my main question is, how would you play Fassina as a main tank. If I remove Eder, then I get another party member who can be a flanker for enemies backlines, such as a Monk,Rogue, Barbarian. On the other hand, Eder has great utility by providing an additional pet slot. My thoughts are to buff Fassina with the typical wizard buffs still available to Conjurers (Llengraths Safeguard/Spirit Shield, DAoM, Vital Essence, Arcane Veil), and use weapon summons based on the enemies weaknesses in any given fight -Draining Touch for will , Parasitic Quarterstaff for crush, and Spirit Lance overall. However, I wonder if Spirit lance should be the go to meta , even though I lack any martial abilities to be applied witin the AoE of Spirit Lance. Of course, by the time I get Blackbow, that will change the approach. Then, using Enchanted Armory means I can revert back to melee. Suprisingly, there are a lot of choices for what a SC Conjuruer can do. I can even focus on CCs (Combusting Wound/Chill Fog/ Misama's for a fight , and that will take up a lot of action economy. 2. Less related question, but what are your typical party composition in terms of roles: I usually run: -Tank/Engager - take the hits/engage front line most -Flanker/Ganker - hits enemies back lines (Eder does this well as a Rogue/Swashbuckler -Support/Buffer/Healer (Priest, Paladin/ Chanter) -CC/AoE nuker/debuff (Wizard or Druid, for example) What is less apparent is how many 'tanks' are needed, since having offensive firepower in the backlines means you can get rushed quite easily, esp. in difficult fights that matter (such as Splintered Reefs, or many others in DLC). Having 1-2 priests allows you to use BDD and SoT to avoid this, but it feels 'cheesy' (I play with Community Patch and only the Summoning rebalance from BPM ) Thanks in advance!

In addition to what @thelee and @Boeroer, especially about reading the Game Faq guide by thelee, you can learn so much. Actually, I've spend a few hours a week reading it still ! In particular, check out the 'Abilities of note" section for each class. Some thoughts: 1. Find spells that can provide -PEN to enemies. Chanters have a great spell for this, flank is an automatic -1 AR, and eating incredible foods such as Hot Razor Skewers really helps. You have to also be vigilant about switching weapon types or spell damage types. Use weapon modals to debuff the stat you wanna attack - things like this you are aware of I am sure. 2. A lot of enemies have low AR against shock, and you can find a lot of good shock dmg weapons early game . Those make it easier esp. early/mid game. 3. Chillfog /combusting wounds/ wall of flame is really strong. Find ways to use low level spells to achieve great damage and debuffs. It is insane how good Blind is . 4. Find ways to crit to overpen enemies. Might/Dex spells make it easier, and chanters have both.

I just finished Geomancer build with Maia, and basically I played her link a typical Ranger - sniping mobs and with incredible accuracy. I used the Wizard spells for Self buffs for stats, accuracy, armor, and so on. In other words, I rarely used her for CC/Dmg spells since her Int is pretty low so you really have small AoEs. I also used Red Hand w/ a Phantom and it was powerful. Great single target DPS, but it lacked the shock and awe of PL 8/9 wizard spells. Also, the small AoE radius made it harder to use one of m fav spells (the Terrify ones wizards). I also remember reading on the forums that you can acheive really high accuracy on a single target (Mark for the Hunt + Ranger Passives + Wizard self buffs + debuffs such as Misama of Dull Mind, and others). This is also useful; what's more, using Mark for the Hunt benefits all attacks against a target, so it is super useful.

These are some great suggestions. I have not played a dagger character yet, such as Mirke with Pukestabber/Lover's Embrace (or Marux Amath (sp) , and now I see how it would work with a skald. I really like the idea of Skald /Black Jackey ; actually, I was gonna roll one until I decided on a Beckoner. Of course I had to name him Truthsayer to coincide with the release of Dune Part 2!

That is a good point about being stunned or paralyzed; esp when a warrior charges you and you are essentially out of the fight for 8 seconds, esp. in Forgotten Sanctum battles such as the Frightened Child. Stalker/Soulblade sounds like a great build!

Thanks. Yes I like that on a lot. That is one big reason I was going to be a Bellower. That would be a nice alternative from using Greater Maelstrom Oh, I forgot to ask: What stats would you all recommend for an SC Troubadour? I maxed PER and INT, and keep MIG/CON at 12. I really don't wanna dump RES since I am gonna be on the front lines, but I figure -5 deflection won't make anyways, esp. if I have high CON. on POTD enemies always hit you unless you stack RES/Deflection, so there really is not a point of having RES as a moderate amount , right ?

I can see a lot of usefulness in that build, esp. with using offensive invocations and debuffs such as paralyze or stun ones, as well as others.

I really like the idea of a lightening centric Skald , especially considering how valuable shock dmg is . I think the devs want us to use shock dmg the most, hence why Lord Darryon's Vogue, Essence Interrupter, are available from early game. My vision of the skald is hitting hard and fast with lower PL abilities, so I have to ask: what martial class would go well with a skald? I like Barbarian passives, but I don't see much reason to be using their shouts if I am casting lots of invocations, one after the other. From a metagaming perspective, I see how using Dance of Death would stack well with my invocations - more accuracy is always better. However, the issue is being a front liner means I am gonna take a lot of dmg. Since I would be critting my skellies, I am not sure a Rogue is necessary. It would allow for more dmg, but my primary role is invocations. Paladin would pride me with hardy defensiive abilties for myself and others in a pinch, as well as passive healing. This would solve the issue of chanters being destroyed as front liners, since I'd lack reliabel defensiive a I have never played Steel Garrote but I understand I can heal myself through dmg. So this leaves fighter. Having immediate access to Intuitive means I would hit even harder with invocations, defensive, and penetrating strikes (ono of my fav skills). From a thematic perspective, I could Lord Darryon's Vogue but I miss out on the +Storm PLs, since I don't use that key word. In some ways, it is more exciting to be a fighter/skald than a pally/skald. (Yet having a Hearld means I may not even need a Priest or additional healer!)

I appreciate the insights. I see the versatility of a Troubadour as a solid choice. As for Beckoner (or did you mean Bellower?) I enjoyed reading all the forum posts about the meta for them. Funnily, I read that Bellower was supposed to called Murmurer. Haha! So SC Skald would use invocation and have returned phrases when mobs die, and Wahai Poraga would mean the skald kills their own skellies- that sounds cool. I like the idea of an SC Beckoner using the sheer mass or mobs plus Spark of the Righteous for super shocking abilities . Actually, I think SotR is really good - I swear it auto hits, and the PEN is decent (14 if I recall) which is more than enough to over pen most mobs -it seems like 11 or 12 AR is the usual Shock AR when devs decided to give mobs a 'weakness'

Hello everyone! It is time for the next run on POTD-upscaled all, and my goal is to play classes I have never done so as the Watcher. Next up is SC Chanter. I wanna try SC chanter so I can really explore the tree and the PL 8-9 spells. I am aware there is more syngery using a MC chanter (such as a Helwalker/Troubadour for super accurate, fast invocations, or a Psion/Chanter) Here are my thoughts: 1. SC Bellower, using typical chanter meta of Empower +Ice Tornado Spell +Sasha's Scimitar seems to be how this build would play. Before that spell, I guess I would be using the Shocking invocation, and some stun/paralyze invocations, and perhaps a summon here or there. This build would need to be comfortable around the front lines, since lots of my invocations require close-ish range. How would you build stats? Priority on PER and INT, and some MIG, but I am unsure how much I can drain CON or DEX. Resolve I figure is a dump stat, since it is an all or nothing stat for deflection. 2. Why hit stronger, when you can hit more often? SC Troubadour could do everything a bellower can, more quickly, and with appropriate PER accuracy won't be an issue (esp. when a priest buffs me with DoTF). I suppose I will have to 'wait' a bit longer to spam invocations, since everything is +1 resource malus for Troubadour; however, considering how fast I sing, does it even matter? 3. As for weapon, Sasha's is the obvious choice, and I can AI it to switch my weapon set after I empower; however, I am pretty lazy so I can just see myself keeping it. Besides, I don't think you can AI script empowered abilities to be used. Now the question is, do I need a small/medium shield? I hate to decrease my accuracy, but at the same time, I need some survivability on the front lines. 4. A Staff or Pike would allow me to work on the front lines, too, since I am gonna be auto attacking between invocations. What weapon would you choose? 5. The great DEX debate. I am not gonna be chain casting invocations, so how much should I really invest in DEX? Many thanks in advanced for your thoughts!

I am finishing a play through as a priest of Woedica and it has been fun; however, I still end up just using an (empowered)Storm of Holy Fire and some buffs for most encounters. I also will follow up the SoHF with P7 Writ of Sorcery , but honestly, it is easier to just kill mobs or buff my party with Devotions of the Faithful/Dire blessing. That already takes up 8-10 seconds. Honestly, a companion or adventure can easily fill the role of Priest. Now I have Vatnir as a Celebrant (Priest/Chanter) so he does the buffing, but my priest focusing on dmg/CC. That is one thing you can do. I think you should just choose whichever subclass you think is cool for priest, and one which has unique spells you wanna try.

Interesting! So, any SC Nature Godlike can utilize Wellspring of Life & Prestige to achieve the highest level of PLs. I thought Stone of Power and Wellspring of Life would both count as active effects, but I guess they don't if Stone of Power is 'equipment' based which for some reason is considered passive . That is cool. I will also have to try out the Lord of the Forest trick. Honestly I haven't used Least Unstable Coil before but I am going to in my current run which is an SC Priest of Woedica. I choose Woedica for the fists but an SC priest cannot do much , so next run might be an Woedica/Martial class.

Thanks! That is interesting about fists- I coulda sworn I read on the forums that Woedica fists can get a +PL, but I guess not. So then monk fists (and monastic) scales with player's level AND power level? I thought monastic training scaled with player's level, so even an MC character gets the quality compared to an SC character with that ability. So then an SC monk with prestige (passive effect) can reach the highest power level of fists it seems, when you add in the +active effect of Potion of Ascension (+2 PL) as compared to Nature Godlike's active passive of (+1 PL) numbers aside, you are already so strong at level 20 , especially against enemies whose crush armor is less than your PEN. I am gonna try to categorize all enemies stats into a list one day so there is data to demonstrate how, for example, a lot of enemies are NOT slash resistant in deadfire, while many and immune to pierce.

Nature godlike: https://pillarsofeternity.fandom.com/wiki/Nature_godlike You get +1 powerlevel for using body inspirations So, the idea here is you wanna build a character around stacking powerlevels. Weapon summons can really benefit from this. For example, priest of Woedica fists can, I think, be even stronger than an SC monks. So while the bonus is not small, it is a starting point Death Godlike: https://pillarsofeternity.fandom.com/wiki/Death_godlike The idea here is to build a character who can stay near death for +3 PL this really needs Barring Death's Door and Salvation of Time from so you can stay in this sweet spot. One idea here is to get low HP, summon a weapon , and reap the benefits of +3 PL. Actually I am not sure if the summoned weapon changes based on players' PL level but I think it counts from the time of summon. I am sure others have ideas Fire Godlike :https://pillarsofeternity.fandom.com/wiki/Fire_godlike Here, bloodied is easier to be at. So you can make a character with a large health pool (+boost con) and build equipment around that that reduced damage as you lose health. Honestly the bonuses here are not too great on paper. I haven't tried this one. The biggest benefit here is having natural fire AR. There are a lot of annoying fire enemies in Deadfire, esp. early game (I am looking at you, Wurms!)

The Una' s Rarities mod on Nexus or Steam also allows Una to these rare of one-time ingredients, such as Adra bans.

I have also noticed this bug when item effects stick to characters who use them, or even other party member. For example, my Watcher has the passives from Stalker's Patience (that Legendary spear from Sayuka) even though Eder used it. In other words, I think tricks like that fall into the category of Metagaming , or even exploitation. Depends on your perspective. In any case, that sounds like a cool bonus!

Thanks! I will see how to create one, probably using a PDF or Google drive which contains a full bestiary and ability list.

Has anyone created a list that categorizes afflictions into a list of abilities which cause them? I tried to find one, but didn't! Maybe I will turn to ChatGPT and try to make it compile the list using raw data from the POE II Wiki! https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/122133-any-list-of-spellsabilities-sorted-by-buffdebuff/

Hello all! So first of all I love the Mods which the community has made, and I use them . However, as I consider trying an Ultimate run, I know that mods are not allowed. I want to be able to perform in the game well without going against the spirit of the devs. That being said, I also enjoy a lot of POTD solo runs, or casual runs (uscaled-all), and I really find forced rests to be annoying, since I lost my nice permabuffs. On the other hand, I wonder if i am 'breaking' the balance of the game by abusing the no rest options. Even so, with some metagaming, I can easily avoid resting, aside from a few key moments in the game (such as creating WoTEP, quest moments). Also, I do not use SoF exploits, even though I know this really can open up the game and make some builds really viable. As for Fast Mode, I know it is not cheating. What I mean is using fast mode exploring the map, the world, and so on. I feel like I miss the gameplay experience and environments when using fast mode n dungeons, even though I have played this game for years. Also, I wonder if it messes up my brain having everything move so quickly lol. What do you think? So, do you use No Forced Rest Mod?

@Shai Hulud Thanks for sharing this build! Do you use the No Forced Rest Mod? I am thinking of not using it, but it is really annoying to lose bonuses during forced rests. On the other hand, I am trying to play the game as 'vanilla' as possible.

Is there any real reason to choose SC Chanter over Mutliclass? I wanna focus on offensive invocations and debuts and CC, not summons

Thanks! I will probably go to Troubadour too, but it'd be fun to see what the PL bonuses can do.

Did you end up trying a SC Troubadour? Was it worth it over an MC Helwalker/Troubadour? I am thinking of trying an SC Troubadour, but I am torn.