1TTFFSSE

brilliant on martial classes is not a problem and quite "balanced" brilliant on stuff like wizard and priest is just asking for trouble in its current implementation.

Hey, so I am actually currently using your Faceless Dancer as my main character. Two follow-up questions consequently: 1. Can I afford to take a bit off Resolve and put it in either Might or Dexterity, since I will have a Swashbuckler along with him in the front line? 2. I played a bit of the first map, and I am a bit confused by the AI behavior editor thing. I assume I cannot rely on the default one, and instead construct my own customized AI? If yes, what should I prioritize? And will any skills that I do not put in as part of the custom AI not be ever used? I noticed that my Holy Slayer never used any Rogue Trickster spells, and I am wondering if this is just coincidental or whether they will never be used as long as I rely on the default AI. Sure you don't need that much resolve if you are in a party a flat 10 should be fine actually no more than 14/15, also consider going streetfighter on him or the swashbuckler, one trickster is enough. On a party Paladin, I usually take "inspiring triumph" and "zealous aura". Weapon of choice if building around riposte is probably Whispers of the Endless in a party setting because Wohai Poraga damages allies. Ai: on any character it is a good idea to set up your most used defensives on top of the list order and attacks towards the bottom of the ai list. For Holy Slayer it is: 1. self health 25% second wind 2. self health bloddied and threatened by multiple enemies -> greater lay on hands self/ 12 sec cd 3. self threatened or engaging anyone mirror image 30 sec cd 4. optional self threatened by multiple enemies and health 50% displaced image 50sec cd 5. Blinding Strike/ Gauging strike best current threat 6. surrounded by multimple enemies -> inspiring beacon 7. Flames of Devotion -> best current threat some thing like that Oh yeah and in party setting I actually rarely take blinding strike.gauging strike anymore on rogues as it is not needed and crippling/arterial strike is more efficient dps. and then devastating blow for bloodied targets.

The helwalker/streetfighter might have the highest burst if you're using full attacks+scrolls and if you like to micro manage your character more than actually fighting. However for steady dps the best ranged weapons are Red Hand/Aamiina's Legacy. Also I don't see the point of using Wahai Poraga/WotEP at range when their AoE stays always near you. Instruments of pain works only with Citzal's Spirit Lance but it comes very late and isn't really required. PS. Also I'm not sure if most people are aware, but while Citzal's Spirit Lance does normal single target damage, its AoE damage isn't better than what WotEP does. You micro less than with a ranger pet Ai script is really simple once you break it down and commit to blunderbuss since you are streetfighter and use something like scordeo's trophy in the main or off hand. For Aoe use Fire in the Hole+Scordeo's (usually good enough as you want both pistol and blunderbuss modal on). For single target Scordeo's+Xefa's. Script is as follows: (Turning Wheel active) 1.) Lightning Strikes 2.)use scroll/ ability of avenging storm (optional) 3. Enduring Dance 4. Thunderous Blows (when attacking high armored targets) 5. Arterial Strike (if target has no bleed effect) 6. Finishing Blow (If target bellow 50% health) 7. Stunning Surge (lowest fortitude or was it reflex?/ target has affliction to fortitude/dex) It is higher dps naturally by far if you can crit consistently so party support of zealous focus / devotions for the faithfull etc help a lot. ...because then you get into a chain sequence of spamming stunning surge with you aoe mortars/ multihit blunderbusses.

Druid (Lifegiver)/Priest and Druid(lifegiver)/Chanter (Troubadour) are probably the best for party healing and buffs if you want a "dedicated" healer buffer. The reason you may want a dedicated healer buffer is because 1.)tanks are typically slow in their heavier armor to actually buff/heal fast enough* this depends on the difficulty of the game of course, 2.)you can minmax stats better on a dedicated healer/buffer by dumping perception, maxing might, int and having high dex while neutral con and resolve. And yeah Paladin is better off as an "off healer" rather than the primary healer. On Paladin tree their offensive active abilities are actually generally better than the defensive one.

Probably only thing that would be worth considering is making brilliant inspiration work on an adjusted timescale ie higher level resources like spells beyond level 4 regenerate increasingly slower otherwise as we know previously it was very easy to abuse powerful spells at high levels by getting them back beyond using an empower point. I would hate to see it penalize martial classes who get brilliant and don't regen for example rogue resources even more. As for this particular combo I agree with AndreaColombo that this is too niche of a use of those three abilities in synergy. Yes you can "duo" any encounter with this setup once you have it but who cares, it is not even a solo run. As for a full party run, it is not really needed even in the most challenging encounters as things generally die faster than the need to use such tactics really. As for ciphers, I do think time parasite needs a slight duration buff now as it was over-nerfed a few patches ago.

Getting a bit off topic but the best ranged toon that is not a ranger is a helwalker/streetfighter shadowdancer with blunderbuss+pistol or 2x blunderbuss. Thanks! Still a bit wary of estocs or battleaxes or anything that is single damage type though. I am a creature of habit, and PoE 1 habits die hard. What's the best 2H weapon? Hmm, your post also beg the same question I asked 1TTFSSE: Does the reach weapon-using mid-liner have to be a Wizard because of the access to the Citzal's lance? How would something like a Priest work, perhaps with multi-classing with Paladin or Chanter? The reason I ask is I want to see if my first PoE 2 group can resemble my PoE 1 group, and I want to save the Wizard as a pure Rod-using ranged DPS, just as in PoE 1. Also, does the Rogue sub-class have to be a Trickster for that tank to work? Best ranged dps that is a none ranger is definitely blunderbuss streetfighter/helwalker shadowdancer - I think you can find that build in the build list. It may be even better than the ranger variant actually. Midliner and reach weapon that is not wizard I would alas also go for a monk/x build using instruments of pain to convert any reach weapon or good melee weapon into a reach weapon. But it comes together quite late. Works well with those aoe melee weapons like Wohai, WoTeP etc to use them at a distance. other thjan monk you can use whatever else really like monk/priest, monk/barbarian etc. Or pure monk even if you want to get instruments of pain earlier.

you can do berserker/sf but you have to stack lots of con, and have good resolve. also, not 100% sure anymore you can do all fights in game with it, with right talents and items it has pretty high ar though and you can use scrolls for healing.

What's the best 2H weapon? Melee: 1A. Citzal's Spirit Lance Most consistent high dps if you can have it being a wizard or a wizard/x. Probably best with wizard/monk but wizard/zerker its really good too 1B. Amra and Lord Darryn's Voulge* LDV is at this tier on a barbarian only because carnage does apply the static charge on multiple enemies. Both weapons are easy to get and LDV can be upgraded very fast - but only to superior but on a barb it is still does excellent damage even as superior. Late game when you can upgrade AMRA to legendary that one may have a slight edge. 1C. Oathbreaker and Espirs as well as Wohai Poraga* The first two are Late game weapons I guess. In terms of damage, they do "bigger" bursts of damage than the above but are less consistent in overall dps. Wohai is a special case and is only at this tier on special riposte rogue/tank builds that want to become surrounded by enemies and then attack back when enemies miss you. But in such a build Citzals is still probably better on a Rogue/Wizard 2A. Voidwheel best single target 2h edging out amra late game in single target dps at the cost of aoe splash 2B. Effort - on certain suicide retaliation builds but Oathbreaker is I think better on those The rest are stopgaps Ranged: 1A Minor Blights* on a riposte wizard/rogue you can dual wield these with Tuotilio's Palm shield for great damage, oops this is not a two handed weapon though OK traditional 2 handed ranged weapons: 1A. option 1 Aamina's Legacy doesn't look spectacular but it is the most efficient at getting the job done as long as you can have the hunting bow fast modal active and hit (stack/increase accuracy) and have enough penetration (stack and increase penetration) 1A option 2 The Red Hand It's more bursty than the Hunting bow obviously - with +20% damage done it is equal to Aamina's Legacy in overall dps though minus rng. Also does not run into the penetration problems but may run into pierce immune problem. If you can stack the other enchantment on it - the +40% damage done/ damage taken one and not rest then yes it is the highest ranged dps weapon out there and will do 15-25% more dps than Aamina's depending on rng. A note on Frostseeker - yeah the best "aoe" two handed ranged weapon, but results of dps will be very much less spectacular than the above weapons unless you deliberately stack enemies all the time for the aoe splash damage. that said it depends on party setup and tactics, if you have a tank that locks down all the mobs around them like a swashbuckler this weapon is naturally a good idea to use if you are not going with the mortars.

I wish Amra was a morning star....that would make it the perfect barbarian weapon. Oh well I can easily mod it to one but if it were naturally so it would go from very good weapon to great weapon...kind of the rolls royce of two handed melee weapons, kind of like red hand is for two handed ranged.

So all challenges active, I also tweaked a game file to install hardcore deadly deadfire for more chaos and fun This party is fun for me: Tank Slot - Pure generalist Wizard (Wiz tank best tank) Healer slot - Herald Troboudor/Shieldbearer DPS 1 - Woedica Contemplative DPS 2 - Berserker/Ascendant Witch DPS 3 - Streetfighter Shadowdancer Trying a spellcaster heavy party - everything is burning in this video it looks easier than it actually is - early mid game when you don't have optimal gear it is really rough in some spots with no pause/perna death challenge and deadly deadfire hardcore

Pierce is the only really tricky type, crush almost always works as well as slash. Basically, if you can get slash pen on around 16 you are set. That is why devoted type saber is still the way to go for damage.

Well, knockdown has been nerfed as an effect and it is little more then an interrupt now. There are some weapons which trigger it. Ball and Chain and Rust's Poignard come to mind. The latter even has a special, 10 second, version. In general those effects are quite rare. On the other hand, there are weapons with aoe effects (blunderbuss mortars, Whispers of the Endless Paths greatsword, Wahai Poraga pollaxe, rods with modal), which can deliver special attacks, such as monk's Stunning Blow, Rogue's Blinding and Crippling Strike, Fighter's Knockdown (not on ranged), various DoTs, to multiple enemies. Thanks; I checked Rust's Poignard, and it's surprising that the devs would put that on a dagger. So I guess there are no longer stun/knockdown builds the way you can do with like a super-high crit Tall Grass Rogue or something now? So I guess it's all about DPS in terms of winning combat? Or are the special effects weapons you mention reliable and potent enough to build around the way you could with the Tall Grass Rogue, for instance? Prone is the best cc because it can effect bosses and rust's poignard is the most consistent way to prone a lock a boss if you are wielding scordeo's edge+rusts, at least until they fix unlimited accuracy stacking un scordeo's (which effects both equipped weapons). Don't know if they fixxed it in 2.1. In general its about surviving when it comes to winning combat (in solo) in group yeah cc plays little role compared to poe1, its all about fast deeps, moar deeps=better overall party.

Thanks, it is really good build with Abydon's challenge too because weapon maintenance is a b****. And on this build you use fists. I was thinking of adding Blade turning for even more salvation of time shenanigans, but don't know what to get rid of as everything is pretty essential. I guess you could live without raised torment or flagellant's path but those are such cool abilities and I hate using an ability without upgrade like torment's reach as it is not essential but than I am feeling I am not milking out an ability to its full potential if I use it. Also I small change could be on early levels to take Force of Anguish instead of Dance of Dance until you can respec for torment's reach and the upgraded Enduring Death - helps streamline dps in the early game.

I personally like monk/x now. The safe choice is Paladin/monk but other versions like monk/priest also exist for solo. The reason is that the bash small shield Tuitilos palm on a monk means you have good defense and offense combined since it counts as an unarmed monk attack. The new fire medium shield found in magran's temple in Nekataka is also interesting for this in combination with scion of flame on paladin/monk and ring of focused flame. Add high arcana as a cherry on top for fire scrolls and you are set without needing to summon stuff. the other choice for me is paladin/trickster holy slayer built around stacking lots of deflection and riposte. single target damage is still good because you are a rogue and have access to flames of devotion from paladin, both very resource effective.

thanks!

What is the easiest way to enable something like deadly deadfire+ while running a game with some of the barath/magran's challenges, anyone know how to do this? is there an ini file one can set a parameter to allow mods during challenges?

So is Amra the best weap I assume you are being sarcastic but have yet to show any evidence that carnage and wanton gore suppresses one another. I have seen the opposite in the few tests I've run. I tested Amra only on release and it works exactly as Carnage, but its look like they something change, now it give +15 acc from weapon, even in this thread @mossit write that he can't make work AOE with Monk https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/105427-v21-unique-items/ Is Amra the best weapon now compared to Lord Darryn, Oathbreaker and Eager Blade on melee barbarian?

Llengarth's Displaced Image, Llengrath Safeguards, Ironskin... Frenzy damage is mitigated ring of regeneration and voidward ring and savage defiance (barbarian) later

Although it is hard to quantify, since in patch 2.1 monk's dichotomous soul gets a buff and will be doing pretty good dps on top of what a monk/x can already do, so I think that puts monk in the forefront on none mage dpsers.

Sorry if it is a stupid question, but I don't use the AI so, is this built supposed to work with the AI? If so, did you customize it yourself or do you use the options included in the game? I always have custom ai scripts on that I tweak myself as it is much more efficient. Generally, you can do that for all characters except ascendants because ascendant ai is just messed up. It helps streamline the game. You cans ave your scripts to use later so there's that. Also do "per list" priority order on a custom ai script. On this particular build as I recommended, always put all your druid per encounter aoe heals on top with about 20-30sec cooldown and "greatest number of allies" target and if allies are hurt. Also stuff like woodskin that buffs defensive ar and nature's vigour - you want to have the "bot" prioritize those abilities. Then the chanter healing ability the bouncy one that heals and does fire damage to targets. The healing abilities at the top of the priority list and stuff like summons and nature's mark at the end of the list: that way the bot will always look to heal party members who are hurt and if there is a window in combat that little damage is taken the theurge will summon a drake or debuff enemies with nature's mark. or attempt a stun with the crushing wave chanter invocation (which is excellent on this build because its upgrade improves its accuracy, so even on a toon that does not have max accuracy it can do good cc on the enemy). At lower levels this toon is very much a pure "healer", at higher levels it becomes effective at both healing and cc/summoning.

Warlock builds are martial wizard multies basically. Your aim is wizard level 5 spell Citzal's Spirit lance which is a summoned weapon that hits in aoe. Other than that you take defensive/buffing talents on wizard side up to level 4 and offensive passives on barbarian side as well as spirit frenzy. make sure barbarian is berserker as you can clear confusion with infuse vital essence (level 2 wizard spell). after that at higher levels you take some wizard melee radius damage spells like precise piercing burst and maybe torrent of flame. from barbarian side you take passives that increase attack speed and melee damage. wear "bloody links" chaninmail armor. so it is a two handed build usinf Eager Blade/ summoned weapon. This guy is good at aoe damage though so if you use an evoker as dps get a damage dealer that speciliazes in single target fast damage like a marauder or a scout (if you don't have one). Warlock makes a nice offtank just as brute, you use wizard defensive talents and buffs instead of fighter defensives and buffs but the idea is the same.

you can use my mod to make single class ascendant quite fun without being over the top: https://www.nexusmods.com/pillarsofeternity2/mods/122 all it does is make time parasite last longer: about the same time as borrowed instinct but caps the effect at about +75% action speed. also I buffed wild leech so to make it scale projectiles based on power level, so it is quite good as at high levels and ascended you can leech 3 or 4 inspirations with one cast that way. oh yeah and defensive mindweb lasts shorter but is unbreakable other than that witch and transcendent are about the same on terms of power after that pure cipher (only if also making sure to max focus with item attacks) mindstalker is better of as a soulblade as melee or debuffer beguiler if ranged I think. most damage as a rogue you do through weapon attacks because that is where all your rogue bonuses go.

From your original list drop spellblade for a pure wizard and add a scout or a mindstalker.

I mean once the next DLC hits I will probably do a full party run with some insane difficulty mods installed with something like this for s and giggles: -Fassina modded to Evoker so she can get enough power and meet all the fellow mages in the mage dlc at level 19/20, though generalist wiz is really tempting for combusting wounds, but then again who needs combusting wounds when you have all the firepower of a 5 man party (Evoker/wizard is highest dps in end game by as much as 25-33%, it is insane) -Xoti probably modded to Woedica/Helwalker (this is highest dps "melee" build i've tested so far) -A Swashy Tank just because One Dozen Stood armor looks badass and it can only be worn effectively by fighter (too slow on Paladin ) -Troubadour Herald for healing/support -Haven't decided on last dps spot - stacking a monk/x would be the op thing to do though. Shadowdancer would be the obvious choice because the swashy tank leads to lots of enemies having persistent distraction which is a gift for a rogue dd. Marauder is a good choice too to cover single target burst damage cause they can kill any dangerous enemy like an enemy mage or priest with two full attacks) and their dps on bosses is good too generally.

For ranged/spellcaster ascendant monk is very strong multi but the downside is you will get amplified wave and disintegrate when only a few encounters are left. For fun and power factor I like the melee Espirs/LDV Zerker/soulblade Witch. Very simple and effective: soul annihilation->barbaric smash->sa->smash->sa->smash....etc May actually work better with Amra or Oathbreaker now, though Espirs ghostblades should proc on weapon attacks.