Cyrus_Blackfeather

Hey guys, So, I wanted to make a Holy Slayer as a tanky character for PotD/BoW, and I'm a little nervous about whether or not I'll be able to still maintain decent damage with it. It'll be Goldpact/Trickster, and I know I won't be doing as much as, say, a Berserker/Streetfighter, but it'd be nice to at least see some big hits sometimes. Do you guys think that this kind of character would offer an engaging playstyle? I really like the idea of being a tank in this game - I like the idea of charging into combat and putting lots of pressure onto enemies.

So after talking back and forth with a couple of people and realizing that I really wasn't a fan of the Bleak Walker, someone recommended I try Goldpact Knight for my tanky Holy Slayer character. So, I made a few adjustments to the build, and I'd like to share a semi-complete version with you now. This also includes all of the previous adjustments made to my other Holy Slayer build. Once I have everything nailed down, I'll go ahead and post a build for the purposes of record-keeping, though I imagine it'll be pretty similar to other builds of this type. The Race: Oceanfolk Human - of all of the humans, they have some of the best customization, I think. The Class: Holy Slayer (Goldpact Knight/Trickster) The Culture/Background: Deadfire/Raider The Skill Focus: Mechanics/Explosives with a splash of Athletics and Insight/Intimidate with a splash of either Streetwise or Metaphysics (Probably Streetwise, in keeping with the theme, but Metaphysics is good for some more obscure checks). The Attributes: 15 Might (7 Base + 1 Human +2 Woedica's Strangling Grasp + 1 Chameleon's Touch + 1 Gift of the Machine +2 Berath's Blessing +1 Permanent Stat Boost) 10 Con (7 Base +1 Effigy's Resentment (Durance) +2 Berath's Blessing) - Effectively 25% extra Health 13 Dexterity (9 Base +1 Deadfire +2 Berath's Blessing +1 Chameleon's Touch) 20 Perception (18 Base +2 Berath's Blessing) 20 Intellect (17 Base +2 Berath's Blessing +1 Strand of Favor) 20 Resolve (17 Base +1 Human +2 Berath's Blessing) If needed, I can take two points each out of Perception, Intellect, and Resolve for higher Dexterity. I've also considered doing this for Constitution as well, but it'd be a difference of 275 HP vs 350 HP. The Skills: Level 1: Lay on Hands/Crippling Strike Level 2: Deep Faith Level 3: Flames of Devotion (Edited: From Escape) Level 4: Two-Weapon Fighting/Zealous Aura Level 5: Dirty Fighting Level 6: Inspired Triumph Level 7: Finishing Blow/Sworn Rival Level 8: Riposte Level 9: Bear's Fortitude Level 10: Persistent Distraction/Inspired Path Level 11: Greater Lay on Hands Level 12: Glorious Beacon Level 13: Deep Wounds/Inspiring Beacon Level 14: Devastating Blow Level 15: Exalted Focus Level 16: Virtuous Triumph/Toxic Strike Level 17: Uncanny Luck Level 18: Improved Critical Level 19: Deathblows/Stoic Steel Level 20: Mental Fortress My biggest issue with this is that I don't know what exactly I can get rid of early on to get Flames of Devotion - which I'm going to assume is still worth going for, even if it's nerfed/I'm not using the Bleak Walker benefit. Any suggestions on to how to work that in would be helpful. I also take Inspired Path instead of Scion of Flame for an extra point of Zeal, since I don't have a fire keyword attack anymore - this will obviously change if I find a way to use FoD in this build. Gear: Rings: Ring of Focused Flame/Chameleon's Touch or Ring of Prosperity's Fortune/Chameleon's Touch (I might also find a way to swap out Chameleon's Touch for Ring of Prosperity's Fortune, but who knows). Ring of Prosperity's Fortune is a great thematic pick for this build - the more money you get, the deadlier you are. Weapons: Lots of really good choices - I plan to dual-wield sabres or a saber/dagger combo, for extra melee Deflection in the off-hand and faster full attacks. Pukestabber is a good pick for that. Rapiers, like Rannig's Wrath and Squid's Grasp, are also very good, thematically appropriate choices, the only downside being pierce immune enemies. Armor: Casita Samelia's Legacy or the Devil of Caroc Breastplate. Not sure which, personally. I might upgrade to Blackened Plate Armor later on for more engagements, but I don't want to be too glacial when it comes to attacks. Helm: More solid choices here - Fair Favor, Blackened Plate Helm, Horns of the Bleak Mother... Neck: Strand of Favor Hands: Woedica's Strangling Grasp (+2 Might, Burn armor, and a paralysis on-rest that also acts as a DoT). Belt: Upright Captain's Belt - Concentration and immunity to Pull of Eora Boots: Boots of the Stone, then upgrade to Rakhan Field Boots for the endgame. Cloak: Cloak of Greater Protection for extra saves (It's a Giftbearer's Cloak -5 without the History investment) So, thoughts? I feel like Goldpact might be a good choice here if I can figure out how to work FoD, Eternal Devotion, and Scion of Flame back in. Is Lay on Hands necessary for party play, or can I get away with just using a healer? I've never done much with Paladin in Deadfire.

Hmm. You make a very good point there. Plus, more or less getting Ironskin is pretty great. And it's fitting in with the Principi too. If you garner a reputation for slaughtering people, they'll be more willing to fight to the death. Plus the focus on Sworn Enemy/Sworn Rival (Gilded Enmity/Gilded Rival?) is essentially a mark. Tomorrow, I'm going to start producing a more complete version of the build I want to play, going for a Goldpact Knight perspective.

Hrm... Goldpact DOES sound nice... but then, there's that matter of RP-ibility. I'd probably have to modify it a bit for it to be workable from a pirate perspective, but then I'd have to do the same thing for the Bleak Walkers. Yes, I was HEAVILY inspired by the Faceless Dancer - and I do acknowledge that that's a solo build, and thus rather different. (I do kind of like the idea of just sitting silently during the gods' conversations, because it's not like anything you say to them actually MATTERS. I can just imagine your Watcher tapping your foot and checking their proverbial watch. "Are you done yet?) Their favored dispositions are Rational and Stoic, aren't they? I do like that Stoic is flipping off Benweth. It does imply that just because you tend to act that way doesn't mean you're above a little cheek. Plus doesn't their buff give you a cool golden armor shell? My Paladin info is a little outdated, so I do need to take a look at how badly FoD was nerfed.

The poor pain train... I can kind of see that though - Unbroken only really shines when enemies break engagement with you. So if the AI is smart, it won't, and then you just get left with a bunch of enemies hammering your face. From a roleplay perspective, I CAN make a Bleak Walker Principi work, I just have to bend the rules of how Bleak Walkers work in canon a bit for it to fit with the kind of character I want to play. I wonder if I could get away with the Blackened Plate armor as a Pally? I definitely want to be a Rogue multiclass tank though, because the extra splash of damage Rogue provides is just too good. So I'm curious which you'd recommend? I know you had good fun with a Bleak Walker/Trickster on solo - did you have issues with engagements there? I'm assuming Persistent Distraction only applies for as many enemies as YOU have engagement slots, not all of the ones that are engaging you - correct me if I'm wrong. Would you say its damage is on par to, or surpasses, a Swashbuckler? Flames of Devotion, especially with Eternal Devotion, seems like a really good DPS upgrade, especially combined with what Rogue gets. Would a Streetfighter/Bleak Walker work for this kind of tanky playstyle, or am I better off sticking with Trickster for defensive upgrades? Are all of these questions super annoying? I also need to consider which would be more effective in a party, since I don't really feel comfortable soloing yet. Though if I were to solo, I feel like the Holy Slayer would be better in that regard too. In a party based setting I would always go for Paladin over Fighter in a tank - yes the Fighter can do very good damage even as a tank but as I stated the over net gain from other perks which a paladin provides will be less. The Party will be overall more efficient with a Paladin /x tank. Now streetfighter/ trickster are two completely different builds for paladin. With trickster you are generally the main tank as you will have the best defenses. With streeetfighter, it becomes an off tank. in a party of 5 there is generally the tank, the offtank, 2 damage dealer glass cannons and a healer/buffer. Broken down more specifically the main tank is there to hold aggro, take a beating if necessery and either support the team with some form of party buffs to their offensive prowess or debuff the enemies so they become easier to hit (Holysleter trickster can do all three and deal good damage for tank to boot). The offtank is there to 1.) pull aggro off the main tank and the squishies if the main tank becomes too stressed 2.) to deal "decent" damage though not as much as the pure damage dealers though more is always better 3.) provide anything else that team might need at any given point - the offtank is the wildcard slot really (chanters and Priests excel at this role for example). The two damage dealers are usually broken down to one is strong in aoe damage and the other is strong in single target and burst damage. If the damage dealers can also debilitate/ cc targets on the side while doing damage that is a bonus. Finally, healer/buffer is there to make sure everyone is healthy and defenses are up. That to me is an efficient party composition. For example, my last run in a party was Tank-Holyslayer, Offtank Shaman, Aoe dps Mindstalker, burst/single target dps Marauder, Healerbuffer was a Theurge. Alright. As long as the Holy Slayer tank can do *okay* damage then that's fine. I just didn't want to end up at the bottom of the total damage chart. I play a tank in an MMO, and it's always nice to outdamage at least one of the DPS (More often the AoE damage dealer). I might honestly recruit custom adventurers/sidekicks for my next party. Because frankly I don't like the companions enough to really care much about what they want me to do. I'll still do their personal quests to upgrade their gear and stuff, but after that? Eh. Vatnir can stay though, he's new and pretty cool. Pun not intended. Maybe if they actually do add the Triple Crown Solo achievement I'll go ahead and genuinely solo it.

The poor pain train... I can kind of see that though - Unbroken only really shines when enemies break engagement with you. So if the AI is smart, it won't, and then you just get left with a bunch of enemies hammering your face. From a roleplay perspective, I CAN make a Bleak Walker Principi work, I just have to bend the rules of how Bleak Walkers work in canon a bit for it to fit with the kind of character I want to play. I wonder if I could get away with the Blackened Plate armor as a Pally? I definitely want to be a Rogue multiclass tank though, because the extra splash of damage Rogue provides is just too good. So I'm curious which you'd recommend? I know you had good fun with a Bleak Walker/Trickster on solo - did you have issues with engagements there? I'm assuming Persistent Distraction only applies for as many enemies as YOU have engagement slots, not all of the ones that are engaging you - correct me if I'm wrong. Would you say its damage is on par to, or surpasses, a Swashbuckler? Flames of Devotion, especially with Eternal Devotion, seems like a really good DPS upgrade, especially combined with what Rogue gets. Would a Streetfighter/Bleak Walker work for this kind of tanky playstyle, or am I better off sticking with Trickster for defensive upgrades? Are all of these questions super annoying? I also need to consider which would be more effective in a party, since I don't really feel comfortable soloing yet. Though if I were to solo, I feel like the Holy Slayer would be better in that regard too.

This is just kind of a mini-ramble, First off, I understand that Resolve is not the go-to stat that it was in the first game. It's not checked nearly as much, and there aren't as many (or any) quest resolutions that depend on having it be super high anymore. But gosh, I still don't like keeping it as low as most DPS builds recommend. Or even at "average" for that matter. I like having it at 15 at MINIMUM, up to 20, for a strong-willed to fearless character. Plus, while there aren't that many Resolve checks in this game, there are quite a few that are actually genuinely significant and cool. So, that more or less leaves me playing tanky characters - with a splash of Rogue, Monk, or Barbarian for a bit of extra damage. And I'm not against that, really. I've never really played a tank in these sorts of games. And I like being the lynchpin of the party, the one that the encounter is built around. With Unbroken, I can stack up engagements and fairly brutally punish enemies who try to disengage. But I still want to be able to feel 'powerful', you know? Like I'm contributing a respectable amount of damage to my party. I want to be near the top of the total damage charts of my party, with a respectable single hit damage. Furthermore, and the reason I posted this question here... Is tanking 'fun'? I've heard a few people describe it as set it and forget it, but I'm also one of those weirdos who kind of likes micromanaging their party, using abilities on my own terms and stuff. So I feel like I might enjoy it a lot more, in that case.

Edit: Also, I put Tough calcs in there just in case I decide to take it. Considering putting Charge in there somewhere too, though not sure what I'd replace with it. Weapon Specialization maybe? More mobility skills are always good for a character like this. My goal is for an aggressive sort of tank - someone who can go toe to toe with some of the Deadfire's most vicious enemies and come out swinging on the other side, and someone who doesn't have to or want to dump Resolve. Having stats that low is just really not fun for me from a character building perspective. I'd also like to, if possible, score respectfully high on the damage charts - if not the highest on my team, than at least up there.

To be honest, I'm looking for an offensive tank - that is, someone who can survive really well, but still manage to dish out a lot of respectable damage. It was said on another thread that those kinds of characters help to "set" the encounter, and I also like the idea of having a character with near max Resolve - because I'm not a huge fan of dumping it when it's not necessary.

That's kind of the case with Paladin too though, isn't it?

So, I know you guys probably all JUST got done reading my "Oh my gosh, super way cool" Holy Slayer build, but I wanted to have a go at making a Swashbuckler too, just for the sake of comparison. From the Fighter, I want to use the Unbroken subclass for extra engagements and more punishment on disengaging, which synergizes well with some of the Fighter's kit. From Rogue, I had intended to use either the Streetfighter or Trickster schools. Streetfighter offers faster Recovery and more damage, while Trickster allows for much more Deflection and some debuffs through Illusion spells. This build is going to have much lower defenses than my previous build, but I feel confident that it's just as viable, if not a little more so, in a party context. In roleplay terms, this is meant as a formidable pirate tank, who cuts a swath of death and destruction across the decks of ships during boarding actions. He's built up a fearsome reputation in the Deadfire, which is his home so to say, though he has Old Vallian roots like many of the Principi. That said, I don't quite relish the idea of playing a complete murderhobo, so there'll be slight nuances to his personality to facilitate this. He's a man of culture and letters, with a gift for languages and a paternal attitude towards young children, like Vela or Torri. The build I have so far looks like this: Race: Human (Oceanfolk) for the Bloodied bonus Class: Unbroken/Trickster or Unbroken/Streetfighter - Unbroken is picked for the extra engagement and the bonuses to Disengagement attacks. The goal of this character is to stack as many engagements as possible so that the AI will be surrounding him, constantly flanked, and vulnerable to Sneak Attack - while this character maintains a healthy Bloodied state and murders them when they do try to go for squishier targets. - Streetfighter and Trickster is a tougher choice to make. Trickster allows for Deflection stacking, which aids the Unbroken's defensiveness, while Streetfighter gives a -50% recovery reduction and +50% damage against Sneak Attack vulnerable targets for being flanked and/or bloodied, and 100% Crit damage for being both. The stat spread I'm giving is intended to work with both. It's a modification of my Holy Slayer build. Culture/Background: Deadfire Raider Skill Focus: Stealth and Mechanics with a splash of Athletics (Not too high)/Insight and Intimidate with a dash of Metaphysics Attributes: 15 Might (7 Base + 1 Human +2 Woedica's Strangling Grasp + 1 Chameleon's Touch + 1 Gift of the Machine +2 Berath's Blessing +1 Permanent Stat Boost) 16 Con (13 Base +1 Effigy's Resentment (Durance) +2 Berath's Blessing) - Effectively 25% extra Health 13 Dexterity (9 Base +1 Deadfire +2 Berath's Blessing +1 Chameleon's Touch) 18 Perception (16 Base +2 Berath's Blessing) 18 Intellect (15 Base +2 Berath's Blessing +1 Strand of Favor) 18 Resolve (15 Base +1 Human +2 Berath's Blessing) That's 350 HP at level 20. Close to 400 with Tough. Bloodied at 175. I've also considered... 15 Might (7 Base + 1 Human +2 Woedica's Strangling Grasp + 1 Chameleon's Touch + 1 Gift of the Machine +2 Berath's Blessing +1 Permanent Stat Boost) 10 Con (7 Base +1 Effigy's Resentment (Durance) +2 Berath's Blessing) - Effectively 25% extra Health 13 Dexterity (9 Base +1 Deadfire +2 Berath's Blessing +1 Chameleon's Touch) 20 Perception (18 Base +2 Berath's Blessing) 20 Intellect (17 Base +2 Berath's Blessing +1 Strand of Favor) 20 Resolve (17 Base +1 Human +2 Berath's Blessing) That's 275 HP at level 20, a little over 300 with Tough - Bloodied at 137.5 Abilities: Level 1: Disciplined Barrage/Crippling Strike Level 2: Escape (Important for Unbroken's Stride problem) Level 3: Knock Down Level 4: Fighter Stances/Blinding Strike Level 5: Two Weapon Style Level 6: Confident Aim Level 7: Disciplined Strikes/Confounding Blind Level 8: Dirty Fighting Level 9: Finishing Blow Level 10: Unstoppable/Persistent Distraction Level 11: Weapon Specialization Level 12: Vigorous Defense Level 13: Unbending/Deep Wounds Level 14: Guardian Stance Level 15: Devastating Blow Level 16: Armored Grace/Slippery Mind Level 17: Overbearing Guard Level 18: Refreshing Defense Level 19: Deathblows/Unbending Trunk Level 20: Clear Out Abilities are VERY subject to change - I tried to get pretty much every important tanking skill I could think of from both trees. Rogue is definitely where I get the bulk of my attacking powers, while Fighter is more about self-buffs. Equipment: Weapons - Lots of good choices here. I'd like to have a weapon and shield set, a dual weapon set, and a two-handed/AoE set. I'm considering dual sabres, with Modwyr/Bronlar's Phalanx, and Oathbreaker's End. Armor: Casita Samelia's Legacy (Scales with Intimidate) or Blackened Plate Armor (+2 extra engagements). Helm: Blackened Plate Helm (Extra Engagement, +1 to Int and Perception... I think?) Neck: Strand of Favor Belt: Upright Captain's Belt (Free Concentration, immunity to Pull of Eora) Rings: Chameleon's Touch and then either Entonia's Signet Ring or the Ring of Prosperity's Fortune (For more hit to crit). Gloves: Woedica's Strangling Grasp or Gloves of Discipline Boots: Boots of the Stone and then upgrade to Rakhan Field Boots for the endgame. Trinket: Detonator Fragment (AoE blast and heal over time) Cloak: Either a Cloak of Greater Protection OR Nemnok's Cloak for Bloodied bonuses and stuff.

This is not true at all. All it takes to be flanked is for two enemies to threatening you in melee at (roughly) opposing sides. I can only think of two things in game affect when/whether you are flanked; Squid's Grasp (immunity) and One Stands Alone (one more foe needed). Oh, does it? Nice. (Gipon Prudesco also gives immunity to flanked if you enchant it to). So, would you recommend Streetfighter/Unbroken or Trickster/Unbroken?

And how fun is it, would you say? I like the idea of, as someone else said, essentially being a miniature Pull of Eora.

I would not play an unbroken/trickster as an "action packed" toon. They are very "fire and forget" and a basic AI can run them. Position manually, let AI buff and hold aggro Blow all the mobs up with other characters There are specific tricks you can use to make him more brutal but most involve debuffing the mobs around you so you can riposte more often. I also used Eder as a rogue w/ 2x mortar wearing just a robe to get a few disengagements when he would do a big hit. Well, I want to build an action-packed tanky toon, so what would you recommend for that then?

So would you recommend Unbroken/Trickster instead to stack Deflection/Riposte and then have plenty of engagements so that they can't run away and have to attack me? That seems like it could be a pretty cool synergy, if the Streetfighter doesn't work out.

I was actually thinking about a Swashbuckler (Unbroken with Streetfighter) - nice damage bonuses from the Rogue, with some really good Full Attacks like Finishing Blow -> Devastating Blow as a coup de grace and Blinding Strike -> Confounding Blind as well as Crippling Strike. I'd also get Clear Out later on.

Does it? Hmm. Well, the Bloodied benefit ought to be enough on its own anyway... I'm worried about how low my defenses would be though, especially with the Reflex malus from Unbroken.

Hey guys, So, I'm wanting to make my pro-Principi character a tank main, and after talking to folks here I've come up with two different ideas for how best to do that. First, I think I kind of want to share a little about what I've envisioned, and then run through the two ideas I have and discuss the pros and cons of both. So, without further ado! The character I want is intended to be an iron wall in ship-to-ship combat, fearlessly wearing medium or heavy armor into battle and engaging with multiple enemies, cutting swathes through them as his allies provide support. He's meant to be fearless, and utterly implacable, but not entirely without a sense of humor, or fun. He'll allow a certain degree of leisure aboard ship and at port, provided his crew are ready to do their jobs when it comes time to take an enemy vessel. The two builds I have in mind are... 1. Holy Slayer (Bleak Walker/Trickster): This guy is built as a Riposte tank who can stack up ridiculously high Deflection in order to proc full attacks while putting heavy pressure on enemies with Rogue Full Attacks and Flames of Devotion, augmented with extra Corrode damage from the Bleak Walker. Later on, gets access to Paladin's Stoic Steel for +3 armor while standing still, and maintains excellent defenses throughout with Deep Faith. The only downsides to this I can see are Riposte not being as effective in a full party and necessitating carrying awkward/clunky looking weapons to get the necessary engagements, and the Bleak Walker requiring Aggressive/Cruel responses and being somewhat limiting in terms of roleplaying them properly. 2. Swashbuckler (Unbroken/Streetfighter): A bit more thematically appropriate of a choice. Trades the raw defenses of the Holy Slayer for the ability to wear heavier armor that the Streetfighter grants, with its Recovery reduction plus that granted by pets and by Armored Grace from the Fighter. Works on stacking up as many engagements as possible and then punishing foes who try to disengage with heavy penetration disengagement attacks with high Accuracy and crit chance. The only downsides are that it's a lot more fragile than the Holy Slayer, requires being either flanked or bloodied (Meaning careful management with a Priest, and death if someone gets off Arcane Dampener), and has so many necessary passives that it doesn't allow for a lot of actives to be taken. I'm curious to hear your thoughts on both of these builds. Right now, my opinions on both are about 50/50. I like the sound of the Swashbuckler, but the lower defenses hurt. I could mitigate that by using Trickster, but then that'd basically just be my Holy Slayer with a different class. Meanwhile, the Holy Slayer offers great defenses, but feels a bit slower. My Holy Slayer build can be found here: https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/104853-character-build-holy-slayer-the-iron-reaver-of-dunnage-heavy-rp-principi-character-for-potd-rough-draft-feedback-welcome/ I don't have one written for the Unbroken/Streetfighter yet. Edit: Added an Unbroken/Trickster option to the list.

I never really thought about Streetfighter/Unbroken - I guess I'd been in the mentality of stacking Deflection as high as possible with Trickster to use Riposte. The whole being starved for active abilities thing is a bit of a downside though. I also don't really like the idea of dual wielding a club and a spear - it seems kind of silly.

Oh Tanga club also has immunity to flanked on enchant by the way I forgot ...which is a "cheaper" enchant because I think you need a precious adra ban to get rid of calmo's curse on Squid's. but on the upside, it is legendary from when you buy it. It's a matter fo crush vs pierce damage and the rapier is more pirate appropriate. Hot Razor Skewers food is great at raising penetration on weapons though anyways. That's true, you mentioned that food in one of my earlier threads discussing this. And, yes, the biggest issue has been weapon selection for this build BY FAR. There's so many viable options. Squid's Grasp is a lot of fun (Though it takes, as you said, an Adra Ban to remove the curse, and skeletons tend to be pierce-immune). I like the idea of dual wielding sabres for the extra pirate theme and using stuff like Tarn's Respite to strip deflection and the Aldris Blade of Captain Crow. I can't really settle on a favorite weapon set and will probably switch around a lot. The only things I won't be taking are ranged weapons, magical implements, and most two-handers (Though I think WotEP is still good for this build). I don't really have anything else I'd take besides Riposte except maybe Combat Focus. So, yeah, I think I'll stick with it. I more or less feel confident in all of the other ability choices too. It's still extra passive damage - I just should keep my Dexterity up too, so I'm not attacking super slowly.

Hey guys, So, after talking with various people on these here forums, I've decided that I want to roll a tanky character for my MC. I have a few reasons for why I want to do this. A: I felt kind of removed from the action when playing DPS. I'd send Eder and Pallegina in to engage the enemies, and then just kind of run around hitting the squishies while they dealt with the big boss. I like the idea of 'setting' the encounter, as someone here described it. Being the person who grabs the boss's attention, putting pressure on it while my party rallies. B: I've almost always played "Glass Cannon" melee or ranged DPS in these sorts of games, so tanking presents a new sort of opportunity, I think. C: I like wearing heavier armor, and I like the idea of a pirate tank. This would be my pro-Principi main, and I like the idea of a heavy armored pirate just cutting swathes across both decks in ship to ship combat. Now, my first question is... what are some of your favorite tanking builds? The one I've been thinking about using can be found here: https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/104853-character-build-holy-slayer-the-iron-reaver-of-dunnage-heavy-rp-principi-character-for-potd-rough-draft-feedback-welcome/ It's a rough draft, but it's my take on a Bleak Walker/Trickster Holy Slayer. I feel like it's pretty versatile and offers a lot of solid melee damage in addition to the Paladin and Trickster's excellent defensive options, but I worry that it might lack the engagements to make a Riposte build worth it in a party context. I've also heard that Unbroken/Trickster is really good - it has engagements to spare, but I also worry that it might get a little dull. People have also recommended Arcane Knight - it essentially gives all of the Illusion spells that Trickster gets but lacks a lot of the bonus damage from the Rogue.

Hmm... That does kind of look a little silly. Yeah, it does seem like maximizing engagements is most important on any Riposte build, so in parties it seems to work better with Unbroken/Trickster. Do you think maybe I should ignore Riposte?

Is that how that works? Thank you. Hmm, that's a tough one. I was hoping to maximize Riposte, since it's a big part of why I wanted to play a Rogue, and I think I can get a lot of mileage out of it - but then people have said it's not worth building around. I feel like the ability points are slightly less useful though, and the extra Recovery Time is only 0.2 seconds. Plus it's kind of nice to just let the Devil have her revenge. Furthermore, Casita Samelia's Legacy just looks a lot cooler - I like the gouges in the metal. I'm not really sure where my main source of consistent damage would come from. I do know that Riposte is only a 30% chance on a complete miss, and I'm not sure how viable that is on PotD, especially if I opt to go with a party. What I can say is that I like the idea of Riposte as a main damage source, supplemented by Flames of Devotion-> Eternal Devotion, Crippling Strike, and Finishing->Devastating Blow. I feel like it fits thematically for the character I'm trying to play - he's intended to be a merciless pirate tank, cutting swathes through enemies in boarding actions while escaping relatively unscathed (Thanks to a bit of properly applied Illusion magic).

Paladin and Rogue? It seems to work pretty well together, in all honesty. There's a few different things you can do with them - I know there was a rifle Assassinate build with Bleak Walker going around a while back, and what I'm thinking is a Bleak Walker/Trickster build to build around Riposte.

I'm not sure I understand why. The Bleak Walkers are mercenaries and siege experts - they believe in ruthlessness and preemptive use of force as a way of bringing conflicts to an end quickly and preventing drawn-out fights. Does some part of that doctrine fit better with one or the other of the Principi factions? Furrante's goal is to finally establish a homeland on Ukaizo, in order to do that it would make sense to employ a Bleak Walker. Aeldys' goal is piracy for piracies sake, she doesn't really have a goal. What would a Bleak Walker bring to that equation? Aeldys has fun raiding, a Bleak Walker would be brought in to either force the other side to surrender or devastate them. A Bleak Walker brings nothing to the ttable that scenario. The other reason working with Furrante makes sense is that he's the one that initiates contact with the PC. As such, he offers the first contract and if accepted the contract would be binding for the Bleak Walker. As evidenced by the quest in WM2, the only way to stop a contract would be the death of the Bleak Walker, which is unlikely to happen. So if a Bleak Walker were working with the Principi, all of Fort Deadlight would be massacred because of Benweth, all of the Wahaki would be massacared, and Aeldys and her crews would become the second massacre of Fort Deadlight. I suppose I was hoping to have a Bleak Walker character as a well-established pirate/raider already (See the Deadfire-Raider background) and then, as another poster said, operate as sort of the "Dread Pirate Roberts" of the Deadfire, raiding ships and slaughtering crews to the last man. A bit against the Principi traditions, and against Bleak Walker traditions, but the Principi you encounter in-game certainly aren't opposed to blowing you to pieces and looting what remains. After a long time away (Because, seriously, a Bleak Walker opting to take up Raedric's offer for land doesn't make a lot of sense either), the character comes back home to be immediately accosted by the "Fourth ranking pirate in the Principi" and determines that the whole organization is in need of a little tidying up.