anathanielh

If they aren't targeting you, finding ways to increase your engagement (forcing them to fight you or take damage) seems to be what you need.

Go to character sheet and scroll all the way down to see pet stats. You won’t be able to see defenses from there. I think you have to mouse over them in battle to see those or look them up.

It really isn't, except in the sense that if you're absolutely committed to the ranger class and absolutely committed to not having a pet, Ghost Heart is the only way to do that. But that's not exactly sound build advice, since a ranger without a pet is just a crappy rogue. Like it or not, Ranger is the pet class, and if you want to play a non-pet build, you should roll a different class. The main reason to pick Ghost Heart is that it's actually pretty good! In a party setting, the Ghost Heart's pet is a decent harasser. In a solo setting, the Ghost Heart's pet is an engagement-proof green circle on the field that requires a negligible drip-feed of Bond to maintain. And this is without going into Ghost Heart/Cipher, which is a big goofy pile of shenanigans. I was pondering something like that - good to hear that it works okay! What pet did you go with, incidentally? I chose wolf, which I think was a little mistake. I wish I had chosen bear for higher armor rating or boar for continuous regeneration which feels right. But since I haven't tested I am not sure. Also I wish there was a way to re-select animal companion. Wolf is nice and all, but he is squishy. I am going to do a play-thru the 1st 10 levels with Bear to see how he feels in comparison. My wolf died a few times, but it was mostly because I didn't pay attention to it to pull it close to me and attack my target only. That is something I wish they added, an option so ranger pet attacks only my target. After trying all the pets, I’ve found that Bear and Boar are better tanks, Lion and Wolf are pretty good dps (sneak em around the enemy and flank), and Stag and Antelope are just adorable and offtankish (Maybe all-roundish)

I’m sure that’s just the way things go in the Gullet. Don’t have the time to watch every street fight. That was in the Sacred Stair. Maybe it is not that different from the Gullet... Oh! That fight... The one where you have to hit the golems for 10 minutes straight then move to the next one. The NPCs helped me out in that one because whenever they were hit with fire breath, they healed my party with chants and invocations

I’m sure that’s just the way things go in the Gullet. Don’t have the time to watch every street fight.

On my most recent playthrough all my starting characters were melee. (MC, Eder, Xoti) I still had a good time of it., I just had to not forget about scrolls n poisons n stuff

Deadfire tweaks mod fixes up the ranger tree a bit and adds their modals from the first game. That’s what I’m using at least. Now I can ignore the pet and still feel satisfied until I am not.

Doesn't that slow him down too much? Although that arbalest is better with metaphysics, right? It’s better with Arcana. And because reloading pauses (not resets like recovery) he will just resume where he currently is after casting a spell. With the upgrade that gives a chance to cast minor missiles on hit, it’s a really accurate and fun build.

Spearcaster on Aloth is loads o’ fun

I beat that fight with Deadly Deadfire on. I just made sure I had traps n bombs and made defensive potions before the fight for Eder to use. Maybe it’s because I fought them on the incline so they were bottlenecked and couldn’t all attack at once.

I still prefer Deadfire’s magic, despite it’s flaws. In the first game, despite having more potential casts, I never used them until bosses, which made me just drop my wizard altogether because it got boring to me. In DnD, vancian magic is good to me, I just didn’t like it in that game.

No love for the Iron-Clasped Grimoire?

That's actually a pretty good way to look at it! Especially if I focus more on the manipulation side of a Mindstalker (Trickster Rogue as opposed to Streetfighter Rogue). Plus, I tend to run into more friendly faces that are Vallian and, as I said, it opens up more race options. Do you know if Old Vallian as a culture gives more dialogue with them? My first character was from Old Vailia and was an ocean folk. Both get some extra dialogue options for all the different factions. (Some Huana are wary of you because you look/are Vailian, other Vailians more easily accept you, etc.)

I’m a Vailian boy at heart. Maybe it’s because business is what I’m pursuing, but their goals seem much more reasonable and straightforward than RDC (ASSASSINATE EVERYTHING FOR ZE EMPIRE!). In terms of a spy background, I would go for vailian republics and VTC and act as a “corporate espionage” type character.

I don’t think you’re able to enter it before Hasongo

Thanks, I appreciate it.

Just as the title says, what are the enchantments for the Blade of the Endless Paths? I can't seem to find them online anywhere and I'd just like to know for peace of mind.

That is the encounter in regular PotD. Deadly Deadfire doesn’t add or remove enemies, it just makes it so that the same mobs are stronger and have more health. If you’re having trouble with the fight, you can refer to others in the strategies and builds forum and ask how they got through it. I made sure I was at least level 3 before attempting this fight and I got through it just fine, albeit with eder being knocked out (he was my tank). I just had to use a few bombs and not forget about poisons and defensive potions I had.

There is another unique club called Kapana Taga which is pretty good imo

Mixing cannons is good too. Just remember to not fire cannons that you know aren't going to hit to save ammo and save on reload time.

Typically, I select the skills I like best when levelling up, so no matter which grimoire I use, I have them (I switch grimoires often). Even with duplicates, I never felt I was gimped because I had the spells I liked at the very least. I recommend you do the same if you don’t want to respec (Just pick spells that you either like the effects of or like visually)

My favorites are double bronzers (high dmg high reload 250-350 range) and wyrmtongue cannons (higher chance of starting fires 0-400 range). I just have one side for each type of cannon. Typically I use wyrmtongues for most engagements because of it’s generous range, but if the enemy isn’t charging me, taking the time to set up with double bronzers can shred through enemy ships. For sails and hulls I use whatever gives the most health without sacrificing too much speed. You’re best holding off on helm, anchor, etc. upgrades until later in the game when you have more money. (They typically provide bonuses to how fast you move on the world map, and are not entirely necessary)

Some ships have front/back facing cannons (Usually lighter ships). The dhow does not, but it’s still a powerhouse when lined up.

That’s hardly a reason to laugh at him. Although I personally think the game handles roleplay alright, we all look for different things in games and he laid out his own respectable opinion.

That would be a way to fix it. I'm thinking the distraction would last 5-6 secs (A little longer than 2-hand recovery, basically) and you have to hit an enemy for it to proc (versus defenses, maybe reflex or will) Honestly, though, I hardly use it so changing it would only hurt people other than myself, which kinda sucks.