Lonlon

After some research time, I decided to shift things around a bit. I think I’ll drop the Ranger idea and go for a solo-class Priest of Skaen as my MC instead (a former Valian slave who rebelled against his masters through his faith, now following his own path to take revenge on the rich and powerful... This kind of vibes ) that opens the possibility to play Xoti as a Mortar Monk, a build I’ve always wanted to try (but I’ve played so many monks that rolling another Monk MC makes me nauseous ). It also fits my RP really well and she’ll take the “ranged” role in the party. It allows me to lean into a slightly evil / morally gray RP, which pairs nicely with siding with the Principi. And it keeps a nice caster / ranged / melee versatility thanks to the Skaen toolkit (I hope). I’ve looked around the forums quite a bit but couldn’t find much info on a SC Priest of Skaen build that goes for a hybrid optimization (using both priest spells and weapons) From what I understand, Finishing Blow is a full attack that also works with ranged weapons, so I could stick with a Scordeo’s Trophy setup to buff my recovery and exploit Scordeo's Edge's Blade Cascade with Salvation of Time, while still remaining a solid caster/support (thanks to the Priest toolkit). I’d then swap to Magran’s Favor / Sun and Moon for spellcasting purposes. Here’s the ability progression I’m planning to follow (i'm very unsure about One Weapon Style VS 2 Weapons Style because of Finishing Blow being a full attack... and also maybe Skaen Summoned weapons ?) Plan to go Human with 14/6/17/18/19/4 + berath blessings For modals, I’ll probably start with Club/Pistol... I haven’t really thought much about gear yet, aside from weapons... probably Ring of Focused Flame + Otto Starcat (Priest classics...). I couldn't think of anything that would synergize with piercing damage from Skaen "signature" spells. So yeah, that’s the idea I came up with after a week of forced reflection at work because I couldn’t actually play :’) Do you think such a build could be viable and fun? Any suggestions or optimizations you’d make? Also, do you think Xoti as a Mortar Monk could work well here? (I imagine it’ll require heavy use of Enduring Dance...) Thanks again for all your advice! Fair winds!

Yes, maybe i'll stick with high PER. IIRC 20 PER is what you need to detect everything in the game, right? I like the flavour of this combat pacing, ie. being a Ranger while not ascended, then turning into a Cipher on steroids once you are. But the thing is, as an Ascendant (never played that subclass before), you basically have to chose between benefiting from giga Soulwhip while ascended by keeping up your attacks, or switching to spellcasting ? Is it possible to extend the ascended state's duration ? (SoT, INT, ... ?) Adaptative reads "+2 ACC/stack for all weapons", is it known that this is actually universal and not weapon-only? I read that Blightheart's AoE tick is considered an attack and therefore qualifies for proccing effects like Avenging Storm. But iirc that spell is only available for Tekehu SC... Are there any other synergies with this (aside scrolls of Avenging Storm)? What about Priest then ? I'm mostly looking at Skaen (and Itinerant feels right RP-wise), but i'm always a bit hesitant to multiclass a Priest (except maybe Contemplative...) Lastly, I have a slightly off-topic question regarding Essence Interrupter, it is often mentioned as a great weapon but I can't quite figure out why. Is it mostly because it can fill the battlefield with summons? Big thanks again for the detailed answers, much appreciated!

Thanks a lot for these suggestions! They really help me think through the setup. Now a few more questions came to mind: If I go Ascendant as the second class, do you think I could afford to dump a bit of PER, considering how much accuracy both Ranger and Cipher can stack? Would having two Ciphers in the party (Serafen as Witch + my MC) feel a bit redundant? Should I run Aloth as pure Wizard or Battlemage to fit this composition better? Even though I understand why Ghost Heart is strong, I’m not a big fan of the ghost pet. I’d rather have a living animal companion, it fits my RP better. If I skip Ghost Heart, which Ranger subclass (and animal companion) would you recommend instead? And lastly, even though Ascendant seems really strong and fun, are there any other interesting multiclass options that could work well for this archetype? (Maybe Chanter, Priest or Paladin? mostly the “dark” or “questionably aligned” ones?) Thanks again!! Yarrr

Hey everyone! I'm once again planning yet another Deadfire run, and as usual, I'm coming here to gather your always insightful advice This time, I’d like to side with the Principi and include Serafen in the party. I also want to experiment with a class I’ve barely touched before - like Ranger, for example. Here’s the initial setup plan: As always - PotD upscaled, RTwP, Community Patch. Party composition Eder (Tank): Swashbuckler - probably modded Unbroken/Streetfighter, since I’ve always played him with no subclass. Not sure yet if that fits the team balance, but he’ll be the main tank. Xoti (Support/Caster): Either full Priest or Monk/Priest. I’m hesitating because if Eder goes Streetfighter, having too many melee characters might make it tricky to trigger Flanked consistently. Aloth (Caster/Support): Either pure Wizard or Battlemage - same concern as above regarding melee density. Serafen (Melee/Support): Definitely Witch this time - probably 2handed with Willbreaker. I really want to give that a proper try. For my Watcher I’d like something that: Fits well with this team composition (probably ranged or hybrid auto-attacker), and Makes sense RP-wise for siding with the Principi. I’ve been looking for a build that could mix melee and ranged versatility - maybe something like dual-wield pistol/melee, or even general weapon swapping flexibility (Blackjacket, maybe?). I’m not necessarily after a broken or solo-tier build - just something fun, effective, not boring, and that fits both the party and the RP. Initially, I thought about something like a Fighter/Ranger, but I’m afraid it might feel a bit too simple. I usually play multiclass caster/melee hybrids with lots of options, so I worry a non-caster build could feel a bit flat - although I’ll admit my Devoted/Berserker run with Lord Darryn’s Voulge was a blast ️ A few things I’m looking for: I don’t necessarily want something that requires heavy micromanagement, but I’d like some versatility depending on the encounter (pet management, melee/ranged flexibility, weapon swapping, maybe a bit of spellcasting ?…). I’d love a gameplay style (and gear progression ?) that evolves noticeably as I level up, not one that feels identical from early to late game. Mostly ranged (and ideally Ranger) because I’ve played melee builds so many times, and I’ve never done a proper Ranger run. Anything involving sword & gun or weapon switching has my heart So yeah, I’d love to hear your enlightened ideas to help me shape this run! Thanks in advance, and cheers as always!

Maybe there is a different damage scaling formula for summoned weapons and actual spells

tested "cone of cold", really strong indeed ! Freezing Pillar is so overtune I respeced into it as soon as I cast it for the first time Also I like the synergy between frost spells and Charge, I'm still trying to figure out what are the conditions for an enemy to shatter but.. yeah quite fun !

It seems you need to have looted one already in order to be able to craft it.

Here are a few tips that may help you : - One of the best ways to mitigate damage in this game is Heavy Armors. They will nerf your essence pool a bit but early game it doesn't matter that much compare to what they bring to the table. - Use Arcane Veil as soon as you can. It has been nerfed but is still a very good spell and rank 2 keeps you safe from projectiles. - Upgrade your armor (and weapons too), it's one off the most important thing to do in this game in order to stay effective/relevant against higher tier enemies. - Check your endurance bar (the white one). If you find yourself out of endurance quite often while dodging/blocking, consider putting some points into Resolve and/or maybe the heavy armor talent. - If you chose the wizard route, try to find a Grimoire of Greater Elements ASAP. All the spells it features are very good early on (and even late game actually). - Also I would suggest you use a gun early on. It's a very nice weapon type that deal tons of damage with headshots, like spells it doesn't scale with crit chance (because headshots), and while it's reloading you can cast spells from your grimoire.. (A very very strong talent to combo with guns is Steady Aim) - Remember that while under the effect of Arcane Veil, your spells cannot be interrupted. I'm pretty confident anyone can beat this game in normal/easy difficulty. Just keep trying and learning about the mechanics and eventually it'll work out

Yeay ! Good news. To get the enemies off of you you should try to invest in one/some of those : - Kai's gun/taunt ability, I think this is one of the best abilities in the game period. - Frost spells like Blizzard or Freezing Pillar (didn't try the spray thing yet, maybe it's good) to make the enemies CHILL a bit. In general, the freeze status effect is really really good for control (and shatters), and along with the shock effect is the only affliction that really matter in this game I think. - Charge is kinda cool to knock back a grp of enemies that are rushing you (also improve you mobility while exploring) - Pull of Eora. Requires investment to be efficient but is f***ing OP when you do. - and of course Tanglefoot is really good too. I didn't try gamepad but I guess it should be quite bad for ranged builds (I just cant play FPS with a gamepad :') ). Also remember you can change your action bar's keybinds for more convenient ones (like X,C,F,..., maybe mouse buttons ?) Regarding Shadowing Beyond I think the skill is strong because it enables sneak attacks which are deadly, but it also requires a lot of movement/good positionning to make good use of it.

Should make PotD a lil' more challenging. I like it. The spell was busted for any build. What do you think ?

I agree. For what it's worth : I heard that vendor prices scale with difficulty. Maybe PotD economy is just supposed to be scuffed (you can lower your difficulty to easy while bying from merchants then switch it back to PotD but... yeah.. meh)

Correct

Yes you can ! You'd deal less damage than a with a 2 hander, and attack slower than with DW, but you can parry. (You can also zoom that way with a single pistol)

A simple fix would be to cap the quality of unique in act 1 to Fine, act 2 to Exceptionnal and so on... This way we would still be able to "invest" in this feature but not break the game, transforming all uniques from act 1/2 to superb is just too much. Personnally I dont know the exact numbers behind the quality system. Before the patch it was something like 90% reduction/increase i'd guess. But you're right, now it's much smoother.