[Chanters are incredibly underwhelming]

 

Tbf if brilliant gets nerfed the wrong way/"removed", chanters will be really bad single class solo and for multiclassing there is just gonna be a lot of other better options

But I think OP simply doesn't know about brilliant and summons/ccs are not as overwhelmingly good as certain passives (fighter cleave stance, pala defenses, monk swift flurry + rods, heck even driving flight etc.)

 

And that is why I don't auto-patch single player RPGs . If they nerf brilliant I won't patch game till I get bored of Chanter. Even then I might mod it or keep old version of abilities file to replace in patched game.

 

I don't think Brilliant is OP, it's that some abilities that use resources are too strong and cost too little.

 

 

Balancing the entire system around one ability vs Keeping the outliner down with the rest, the former is better ofc.

[PotD Solo Build Guide - Herlad / War Caller aka "Sword Singer"]

Chanter really get a free pass on the balance front. On the other hand, they have to justify abilities that need warmup, especially for team runs.

Nice guide btw.

[What is your worst single-class in Deadfire?]

Rangers and rogues are kinda fine in terms of power. They are just more of the same as they level up. It is more of a concept problem: devs are not sure what to give them besides what is already there. Rogues can hide and debuff for huge damage, that's it. Rangers have a pet and fight from afar for huge damage, that's it. The opposites are wizards and monks: they can shoehorn whatever whey can think off because these run on high concepts.

[Combat is now mostly a dull chore]

This discussion can be examined as an encounter design problem rather than a mechanics problem: Now that strategic resources management is gone, what should each fight achieve? Unfortunately, the devs ran out of time or ideas or design spaces or a combination of all, it isn't anywhere answered at this point.

[Should Obsidian let beta testers play bigger chunks of the game before the launch of the next PoE game?]

I would say bigger, seeing this beta wasn't that indicative of the whole. May be a bit less than shareware-sized?

Besides, is this discussion of theoretical interest or practical concern? Not like we are going to get PoE3 in this rate with the sales. Sayer aren't going to lead another game in the far future either. 

[Combat is now mostly a dull chore]

It seems CRPG are chores masqueraded as entertainment.

[Please help me understand the damage calculation]

That is the roll, your tooltip actually has all bonus added up already. Check the small pop-up shown when hovering over the number for calculations.

[Am I playing mindstalker wrong?]

Soulblade is still good for spamming cheap Shred spell for what it's worth, it just stop being a very frontloaded dip class. 

[Gilded Enmity]

It does make armour stacking Fanatic a broken dream, just like all those PL sensitive MC. SC is looking good.

Thanks for the info!

[Power Levels at character creation.]

Thanks, I already knew what power level generally meant I was asking about specifics. I.e are monk fists viable for multi class, how much is spell damage affected etc.

 

This could be a pretty big rookie mistake by obsidian. I can see rage quits when players realise that their nature godlike Wizard that specialises in summoned weapons effectively gets no bonus.

 

First impressions are kinda important.

 

It is not a rookie mistake but the opposite: a veteran overengineered, unwilling to repeat mistakes yet cannot find a new path. 

PL is a generic power indicator, which is similar to natural accuracy, a sound if risky idea. Sawyer and co. are obviously able to identify the potential pitfalls and they do mend some obvious holes. Thing is the holes are obviously there if you look hard and it makes the game unintuitive. POE1 has the same problems, Deadfire took huge steps but might not be enough for new players.

[Power Level]

One thing of note is some PL8-9 abilities refill resources, so a SC might just squeeze more resources out of a encounter than a MC.

[The problem with multiclassing / nerving]

 

 

A single class character unlocks PL7 six (!) levels earlier, PL6 five levels earlier, PL5 four levels earlier and PL4 three levels earlier than a multiclass character. Those are some big differences. Throughout your entire playthrough, single class characters will be casting much higher level abilities.

 

 

I will add that when you multiclasses, you'll get only 2/1 abilities points for tier 7. Even if you don't consider tier 8-9 abilities, a MC will have most of their points at tier 1-5(6?) when a single class character can have more abilities around tier 5-7. Overall a single class will have more powerfull abilities/passives and a highter power level.

 

The question is does increased abilities cost justify them? My concern is that spamming low level abilities could be perhaps more effective?

 

But I think everyone agree rangers are the big loosers when it come to solo class (and rogues after?).

 

 

That is a good point. MC actually can't pick up all the goodies of both classes over PL5. I wish we get more info on how PL scales before. 

MC is still very good for those powerful frontloaded if one noted builds though, even the problem has a deeper root with how some classes are frontloaded to the extent where the PL0 class features make the build.

[Long Max Level]

Prestige class in itself is not the problem but the associated issues like system bloat and splat books spam are the problem

[Game looks incredibly easy]

I saw him playing, he is playing a really strong multiclass, probably one of the best out there, and its true that it seams easy some times, but it's mostly against low lvl enemies, so you could enable level scaling if you think that will make the game more challenging for your.

 

He has hight armor without speed penalty, bonus unnarmed damage, a speed buff with a lighting leash, his own passive lighting leash, and each time he changes form he heals for half hp. Its close in power to a solo run build.

 

Actually, due to how the power level works, multiclass monk suffers from lower unarmed bonus and druid their form. The benefit of this combination is dubious, not even counting the lack of casting when shifting. Have to concede seeing a werefoo jumpkicking is fun though.