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"rogues" in general are fine. they are good but very front loaded and high level 8-9 powers are nothing special, even gambit. they do great damage but most of it is single target...what they are supposed to do traditionally in rpg. if they become exploitable it is not because of the class but because of items and synergies like aoe multi-hit riposte but even that is not as cheesy as what monk can do. sure streetfighter is a bit overtuned just because it is very easy to get the status effect bonuses on blunderbuss modal etc.

It is kinda fixed but on riposte build it is still very effective because it attacks in 360 aoe every time someone misses you. that means if you are attacked by say 6 enemies at once and they all miss you get 6 aoe attacks against all of them at once.

1.) Aamiina's Legacy after that 2-5 no clear favorite but Lord Darryn's Voulge, Red Hand, Modwyr, Aldris Those five are probably my favorites just to "use", Aldris is not even the best Saber in the game but visually the nicest I think. Honorable mentions or other very powerful weapons not making the five are: Magran's Favor, Wohai, Mohara Tanga, Kitchen Stove All these including a few other can change the way you build a class combo specifically for the weapon

Added demonstration videos of gameplay. As you see the Pollaxe (in the second video) is overtuned with this build at the moment. Just use Whispers of the Endless Paths, Engoliero de Espiers or something else if you feel like you don't want to "cheat wohai paroga to win" at the moment. Also I used cloak of deflection because the bracers of deflection although better in terms of slot allocation arte a mystery to actually get in the game at the moment. Also, I think instead of scion of flame I took arm's bearer just because I want 3 weapon sets before getting the cloak from the fampyr cave. If you can play with two weapon sets take scion of flame and get more mileage from your fire attacks. I realized in the original post I was overtuning defenses so instead of taking stuff like bull's will I took deep cuts for more dots. Enjoy. EDIT: I just tested Wahai Paroga on the new beta patch where it was "fixed". It is still overtuned on the retaliation build....so if you want cheese play it.

do simply do not take psychic backlash and mind lance (if you take silent scream). Oh and get rid of keen mind it is a waste in the end, and farcasting to an extent. and what the hell is adept evasion? just use bounding boot/ escape to get jump away from things that rush you. instead you have 4 point to spend now on: -Ring the Bell+ranged upgrade -Ringleader -Borrowed Instinct (you like hitting things with crits right?)

yes kind of....you can enchant a saber to be legendary you know just like you can enchant animancer blade to be lagendary. while a cool unique saber like say Grave Calling will have extra damage from an element + some effects, animancer's will do raw damage.

It's multihit mechanism will most likely be nerfed like fighter's cleave stance was nerfed because it is too easy to exploit and cascade. shame it is a fun weapon and it is only really good when vs multiple enemies like the more enemies around you the more powerful that weapon becomes.

Level 9 priest/druid/wizard spells good but they will have a lot of catching up to do. This is L7 AOE & Duration spell, with Fire keyword and it doesn't damage friendly targets A fire based offensive focused Paladin/ Priest of Skaen could be a very nice strong build then. That gives me ideas. Can even be a Tier A (top) build. Bleak Walker+Preist of Skaen or Priest of Wael. Great defensives, utilities and fire damage single target flames of devotion+priest spell aoes.

Basic gist of the experiment was: cipher, rogue and barbarian were all at 70K damage done at the end, monk at 50K, druid fury at 40K. and note: to those that say certain classes say monk after getting heartbeat drumming etc, wizards/clerics druids high level with their empowered high-level spells do a lot of dps at high levels - that is true, but at high levels the classes that were ahead ie, barbarian, rogue, or even cipher also get a damage "boost" thanks to for example rogue gambit spam+deathblows+sneak attack bonus, barbarian get insane speed bonus at high level like instant recovery per kill, ciphers get time parasite. so I think at high levels the classes that were ahead will maintain their advantage as long as fights are long and you need consistent dps ie, enemies have enough hp to not be globaled by one empowered meteor storm.

Actually, animancer blade is ok now after buff given attack speed I think if you take attack speed into account a normal saber does something like 400-650 damage auto attacking per minute while animancer blade does 412-620 or thereabouts ... higher minimum but lower maximum.

Level 9 priest/druid/wizard spells good but they will have a lot of catching up to do.

The Sharpshooter Garb from Maia is an insanely good item because that upgrade where you are missed by a ranged attack triggers some hit to crit conversation on your ranged attacks seems to apply also to your spell attacks. So on hearth orlan rogue+ranged dd wiz/cipher/whatever you could potentially get something like 30-40% hit to crit conversion with that armor+minor threat+dirty fighting on your aoe spell attacks lol. Death Maw (being next to a corpse= -15% damage taken) + say something like Red Hand +40% damage done/ +40% damage taken is also nice. You get +40% damage done/ +25% damage taken that way, it's a nice combo and makes it possible to maybe use that buff from The Red Hand to its full potential on a melee toon. I would like it on a streetfighter+x class build.

I decked out some "popular" dps classes in some "sick" gears through console when I landed in Nekataka (and of course upgraded everything to legendary) and let them rolf-stomp through the game in fast mode. Since cipher was ascendant variety ai was set to max focus with attacks and then spam mindblades or amp wave. The video shows results, gear used to somewhat normalize the results between classes and abilities selected. I only did single classes because multi is too complicated and I wanted the "basics" - yes gears was carefully selected but gear abilities not used nor any items/potions. Classes were: Ascended (Cipher) Berserker (Barbarian) Fury (Druid) Helwalker (Monk) Streetfighter (Rogue) Game was played on classic but with extra hp on mobs. On Vet/Potd I imagine Streetfighter would be flanked/bloodied more often making it better, though I did not play this with a healer, just deeps. But more enemies/hp pools would also benefit cipher, helwalker performance and even fury I would say since fury is so slow to cast but their spells when cast deal good damage (plague of insects etc). Wizard would probably perform similarly to druid I imagine. Other notes: -being ranged helps get more deeps if you are the ranged in a melee group - case in point: cipher -Zerker/Rogue/Cipher front loaded on damage boosts -monk picks up quite a significant level of power later with heartbeat drumming -druid and wizard spells really slow (if you are serious about deeps as caster open battle by casting an aoe out of stealth - I sometimes did that) But overall my strat was: 1.) everyone in stealth 2.) click on the nearest enemy 3.) see what happens https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F70iP-dGORE&feature=youtu.be

make it shoot lightning! oh I mean acid.

I mean for mystic I guess you can make it kind of work if you play a more "martial" priest but the other two are train wrecks no matter how I try to build them. Only nice thing is cipher spell penetration passive affects the other classes' spells with extra penetration. Stuff like the heart of the storm/ flame/ ice/ decay does nothing for cipher as those spells are "shred" Cipher +10 accuracy to spells targeting will talent (lvl 6) does not affect other classes spells. spell damage from classes other than cipher does not generate focus, not even a little bit.

But... Arcane Blaster! Also, I just added Mindstalker as an option (Originally I was very meh about the whole thing just because of the name, compared to things like 'Inquisitor', but I can't judge an entire multiclass on the name), so if that changes your mind, there it is. I DO like the idea of a Bleak Walker/Inquisitor though, that's definitely my first choice. And by "Stack Deflection" do you actually mean "Stack Resolve"? Or is this another build where I dump Resolve in favor of something else? Nah stats would be: Max Int Max Perc Good Dex (maybe not max but fast) Good Might Flat Con Flat Res You use Psychovampiric shield+Borrowed Instinct to buff resolve/ defenses like deflection further if you want to be in melee if you are ranged you can dump res and con at 8 but then you are squishy.

yes yes everyone vote hunting bow! hunting bow master race!

with unlimited aoe damage spell spam cipher can top the damage scoreboard, just saying. but their cc spells are so good you end up using cc spells instead of dps spells a lot which makes dps numbers go down compared to a rogue or zerker which pretty much dps 100% of the time. I'd actually also go inquisitor (melee) bleakwalker/ascendant, stack deflection+borrowed instinct, get insane defenses and retaliate/riposte with an aoe weapon to insta max focus. than spam more aoe damage spells.

I think increasing level cap per 5 levels every dlc is a good idea and needed for the sake of feeling progression. But rather than giving multiclass access to lvel 8/9 powers they should implement an upgrade system where you can improve/enhance existing powers beyond simply gaining power level. I would rather see actually 1 new level done of new unique abilities for every multiclass and every singleclass rather than a lazy way of unlocking level 8/9 for multiclasses and making single classes even more irrelevant. I mean as a wizard after Meteor Storm what are you gonna cast? "Extinction Event" - I guess that would be more a druid spell but you get the idea.

But not 169 :D 140 you can stack with fighter the difference on defense is small I think it is total +15 deflection on paladin base with passives, +9 on fighter. Paladin has higher AR stacking I think. Offensives are a bit apples and oranges. Paladin feels more like a melee "spellcaster" with Inspiring Beacon aoe spell, flame attacks atc (which benefit greatly from +10 accuracy flame ring). Fighter is more a warrior type with knockdowns/engagement locks. I think the 1 zeal cost Flames of Devotion is better 1 resource ability than Knockdown in the end, especially on Bleak Walker with the extra corrode damge. With dual sabres, 1 hit can shred a target.

Ok At most you can get dual wielding without mirror image+moonwell is with ripple sponge drug (+3res, and rubyuna escort bonus +2res=+5total) you get 145 for over a minute that way with the intelligence you have. if you are desperate to stack more you can -sacrifice a +1 res companion (not recommended as I think +1 kith penetration is better than another +1 in deflection) -take upgrade of enduring beacon instead of inspiring beacon give another +5 total but for 20sec or so at most = not worth it) for a total of 150. Meh before doing that I would do this: rogue "escape" costs 1 guile, you use it, have +50 deflection for 7 sec and 190 deflection or so total when dual wielding, hit stuff with eternal devotion (1 zeal point), retaliate, if you come under pressure hit escape again it only costs 1 guile.

OK let me break this down: The only "con" in Witcher 3 is it's rather black/white main storyline with that cardboard cartoon villain who lacks meaningful characterization and becomes a strawman threat. - I am judging the game on its own terms btw in this- and a flat underdeveloped villain/character like Eredin is generally not a staple one comes to associate of what the Witcher franchise usually brings to the table and is as a result jarring. That, however, is the only weakness of the "external" surface plot of the main storyline in that game - the internal/hidden storyline which is a father/adopted daughter storyline between Geralt and Ciri of the Witcher 3 is quite solid though and engaging, and the two DLC released for that game Heart of Stone and Blood and Wine are unsurpassed in terms of rpg storytelling, the characters and how you as a main protagonist fit into the plot of those games. Even with that weakness in Witcher 3 does not compare objectively to all the "potholes" in the main story arc of PoE2 - but PoE2's strength is not story but rather character design and engaging in a semi open world. And by the way the "semi open world" is still better in W3. I mean Witcher 3 is the best rpg of the last 10 years since DAO just because of it's two DLCs push it rightfully into all time great discussion. Without DLCs for me Witcher 2 would have been still the better game though because it's a more complicated political story is what I look for in the Witcher franchise, but the DLCs brought that even aspect of Witcher 2 into Witcher 3 with more refinement.

Ok No shield Example: 20 Base 57 Level (can be more with empower potion maybe?) 10 resolve 15 Deep Faith 7 Greater Deflection 10 Hylea's Food 10 Moonwell 11 Casita Samelia 30 mirror image 5 corral snuff total: 175 or -30 (mirror image) but +10 llengarth's displaced image = 155 To the question of armor Prudesco vs Samelia: With items that boost stats you can boost deflection higher with Samelia and I like the extra AR stacking (with Rhamboid helm proc and Spirit potion +3 you can get a maximum of 19 AR I believe after stoic steel procs and under Zealous Endurance) To the Question of Blinding strike etc: In the end I value the upgrade Gouging strike which applies a dot until the end of combat a lot. On an aoe weapon like Wahai Paroga this dot will be applied to all enemies hit. For someone else Withering Strike or Devastating Blow may be better but for my playstyle and purposes, those abilities are overkill as I apply the gouging strike dot to enemies (blind them in the process) and have their misses against me because of the blind turn into more hits against them because of riposte.

btw, if someone knows how to easily raise fortitude save another 20 points let me know. that is week point of the toon and I'd be more comfortable with a fortitude save at 150+ and not 135.

Not modded PotD upscaled test: Potd upscaled+Deadly Deadfire Hardcore version: Ok after doing extensive tests of this build on Potd with Deadly Deadfire+ installed, I feel I have come to understand how to build the most effective and viable paladin-rogue retaliation monstrosity. And before you say it yes, a Paladin-Streetfighter is probably the more "op" combo just because of street fighter, but bear in mind if you want to be a bit more future nerf proof, and have more overall utility and playstyle options thanks to trickster bag of illusory tricks try it out. Also, fundamentally the two rogue classes play totally differently as streetfighter wants to live on the edge and be bloodied, but trickster wants to stack high deflection and not get hit/retaliate. You can do that with streetfighter too, but trickster can get you much higher deflection. Anyways this build stacks very high defenses as you will see in the screen shots bellow and has a cheap per resource solid offense thanks to bleakwalker Eternal Devotion 1 zeal cost and rogue crippling strike also 1 guile cost. After going through a phase (recommended) of weapon+shield where we stack up our deflection and defenses at the start of the fight, we can switch to dual sabers/magran's favor+tarn's respite, or a good aoe two handed weapon like Wahai Poroga or Engoliero de Espirs to kill stuff. Also we will be maxing arcana to 15 so we can take advantage of scroll of avenging storm (great on retaliation build), and any good fire spell scrolls like Shining Beacon because it will work well with the ring of focused flame and Scion of flame talent we may take. Stats: Race: Human - still tier A because it is a really good general buff Fire Godlike - tier B but an ok choice Attributes: Might - Leave flat 10 Con - Leave 10 or go to about 13 at most Dex - I like it at 13-14 leaving Con at 10 but if you want more con leave Dex at 10 Perc - max recommended, no less than 15 Int - max, most important stat as you want long buffs Res - max Background - anything with + to intimidate, athletics, arcana and history is most useful Skills - Arcana to 15, Intimidate to 20, rest split between mechanics (1-2 points), athletics and alchemy Sacrifice: Devil of Caroc as you want extra penetration against tough kith enemies. Abilities Taken: General: -Weapon and Shield Style -Two-Weapon Style -Bear's Fortitude -Snake's Reflexes -Bull's Will -Scion of Flame/ Backstab* = choose one Paladin: Flames of Devotion (start with it) Deep Faith Lay on Hands Divine Purpose Inspired Defenses Zealous (auras) Glorious Beacon Eternal Devotion Greater Lay on Hands Inspired Beacon Virtuous Triumph Stoic Steel Rogue: Backstab* if you forfeit Scion of Flame Crippling Strike Escape Blinding Strike Dirty Fighting*/ or Sworn enemy Arterial Strike Gouging Strike Riposte Persistent Distraction Shadow Step Deathblows As you see above overall this kit has the best mix of defense and offense imo, you can't take everything you want unfortunately but it is the best mix from both trees. *I take shadow step instead of shadowing beyond because I just use potions of invisibility when I solo and shadow step gives a nice paralyze on enemies (more cc). Also I do not take devastating blow as my time is spent spamming more cost effective crippling strike+eternal devotion. If you really like devastating blow (or the withering strike ability) take it instead of blinding/gouging strike. You can sacrifice Dirty fighting for backstab and not give up scion of flame, that is also an option. Also I take Glorious Beacon because Inspiring Beacon deflection does not stack with the trickster spells, and +40% damage to enemies in aoe with Wahai Paroga is nice. Quick Item bar: 1. Health Potion - just in case 2. Scroll of Moonwell 3. Potion of Invisibility 4.Scroll 2 slot - Shining Beacon, Avenging Storm are good options here 5. Misc. - Potion of Spirit Shield/Piercing Strikes Drugs- use any at your discretion Equipment: Headslot Option A: Pearlescent Rhomboid Helstone Option B: Rekvu's Fractured Casque (in battles with lots of interrupts) Neck Strand of Favor Chest: Casita Samelia Ring 1 Ring of Focused Flame Ring 2 Ring of Minor Protection or Entonia Signet Boots Boots of Stability (Fortitude is your lowest save, needs a boost) Belt: Upright Captain's Belt (concentration is good and just in case I use a scroll of pull of eora) Gloves: Bracers of Greater Deflection Cape: The Gifbearer's Cloth (Technically a cloak of protection is better on this toon but I need the extra weapon and item slot) Weapons: Slot 1 weapon+ shield (high defense) I recommend Squid's Grasp (immune to flanking) + shield Shield is tricky as you will be using different shields in different fights, but Cadhu Scalth is probably best for what you are doing with this slot which provides you defense while you buff yourself with trickster spells+moonwell to go without a shield after you buff enough deflection Slot 2 - dual weapons (high single target dps) I recommend Tarn's Respite (best saber) + Magran's Favor (best for build), or Tarn's+Aldris (best looking) Slot 3 - Aoe weapon Wahai Paroga, Whispers of Endless Paths, or Egeliero de Espirs The Red Hand* buff it to +20% damage and carry it with you for ranged opening salvos if you want. *If penetration is still a problem on certain targets consider using Animancer's Energy Blade which bypasses armor on target and does raw damage. Strat: stealth to enemies and hit with a quick alpha strike, switch to weapon+shield and buff your deflection, after that switch to an aoe weapon (a weapon that has aoe attack) and watch riposte in action. stats after a few buffs maximum deflection (about 220) after shadow step two-weapon style ready for battle (deflection would be 170+ as I forgot coral snuff here) when you need to turtle up