Cyrus_Blackfeather

Edit: Kuaru's Prize or Ring of Focused Flame for the second ring slot. Leaning toward Kuaru's Prize personally. Still no idea what to take for Cloak/Belt/Helm/Boots

Hey guys, So, rather than make everyone track through my rather immense main post for my Sage build (https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/103255-wip-sage-build-offensive-melee-spellcaster-for-story-companion-potd-feedback-wanted/) I decided it might be prudent to make several smaller posts addressing specific questions and then update the main post from there. This thread is going to cover accessories (Basically anything that's not armor/weapons) for a Nalpazca/Wizard Sage. I have a few in mind already, but I want your feedback on some of the slots (Indicated with ??? because of a total lack of originality). Helm: ??? Grimoire: Ninagauth's Teachings Neck Slot: Soul Void Rings: Chameleon's Touch and Kuaru's Prize Cloak: ??? Belt: ??? Boots: ??? The reason for most of these slots being blank is a lack of familiarity with a lot of the items in the game, as well as knowing most of them from a pure Melee DPS standpoint. I really appreciate any insight that can be provided regarding this.

I'm also not sure about that Level 5 slot. Instead of Clarity of Agony, I'm not sure what'd be good to take. Grimoire Slam, maybe? Dance of Death? Then I could upgrade to Enduring Dance later instead of Llengrath's Safeguard or something. I'm also debating Stunning Blow and its upgrade, but I'm not sure where I'd put those. Made some edits.

Mhmm. Plus, it fits the theme I'm going for - someone who's plundering and pondering the secrets of the universe.

Alright. I might start a small sub-thread to ask for more specific thoughts about this.

And here's another question. Nalpazca or Helwalker? With Helwalker, I'm looking at +10 Might/+10 Intellect at max wounds, albeit with a pretty ridiculous bit of extra damage associated with it, and I wouldn't have to rely on drugs like Nalpazca does, especially with the Alchemy nerfs.

Makes sense. Of the two, which do you think is more replaceable? Duality of Mortal Presence takes a while to unlock its upgrades, which are really what's most desirable about it right now (+10 Intellect aside, 20% Burning Lash is still pretty good). Maybe Combusting Wounds instead of Infuse With Vital Essence?

Haha. Well, I mostly copy/pasted my Paladin/Wizard build and swapped out the Paladin abilities for Monk ones.

So, this is something of a direct successor to my attempt at an Arcane Knight build, and borrows a lot of the same aesthetic from that build. I wanted something that gave me access to some of the really fun Wizard spells (Fireball, Ninagauth's Shadowflame, etc) while still getting up close and personal in melee combat. I'd originally wanted an Arcane Knight because I'd thought it would offer a little more defensively in PotD, but then someone recommended Sage for the kind of build I was trying to go for, so I decided to give it a try. Also, instead of focusing on Frost/Corrode as my main damage types, I decided to focus on Frost/Fire (Because I'm completely unoriginal when it comes to elemental aspects, I suppose). This character is also meant to play into the last story-based DLC we'll be getting, which focuses heavily around the Archmages. Introducing, the Sage of... (Insert catchy name here, because I sure as heck can't think of one) This build is a HEAVY WIP, anything with a * next to it is something I'm really not sure on, and I've included a little description explaining why. The Intent: Basically, I want a character that can strike hard in melee with autoattacks or certain Monk abilities while still calling upon destructive AoE spells to rain down fiery or icy death upon larger groups of foes, making use of Swift Strikes/Swift Flurry for the Dexterity boost, as well as the chance for extra melee attacks on crit. The Build: Blessings: Bonus Attributes/Bonus Skills Race: Pale Elf Class: Monk (Nalpazca?)*/Wizard (No subclass) Culture/Background: White that Wends/Mystic Ability Focus: Alchemy (Active)/Metaphysics and Diplomacy (Passive) Stats: (With Berath's Blessing, Gift of the Machine, Racial/Culture bonuses, Chameleon's Touch factored in) Might: 16 (13+2+1) Constitution: 10 (8+2) Dexterity: 18 (14+4) Perception: 20 (16+4) Intellect: 19 (16+2+1) Resolve: 10 (8+2) Drug of Choice: Svef Abilities (Per Level) Primary Offensive Grimoire - Ninagauth's Teachings Primary Defensive Grimoire - N/A Level 1 - Swift Strikes/Thrust of Tattered Veils Level 2 - Lesser Wounds* Level 3 - Chill Fog Level 4 - Two Weapon Fighting/Bulwark Against the Elements* Level 5 - Dance of Death* Level 6 - Merciless Gaze Level 7 - Llengrath's Displaced Image/Swift Flurry Level 8 - Combat Focus Level 9 - Expose Vulnerabilities Level 10 - Ironskin/Duality of Mortal Presence Level 11 - Secrets of Rime Level 12 - Scion of Flame Level 13 - Rapid Casting/Tough Level 14 - Blast of Frost Level 15 - Enduring Dance* Level 16 - Minoletta's Precisely Piercing Burst*/Turning Wheel Level 17 - Flagellant's Path* Level 18 - Arcane Reflection Level 19 - The Dichotomous Soul/Citzal's Martial Prowess Level 20 - Heartbeat Drumming *Abilities are highly subject to change. I tried to get in a good spread of offensive and defensive Wizard spells, though I'm not sure if I neglected Monk stuff too much. I'm going very much for a 'Wound Hoarder' playstyle with this character. I'd appreciate any insight regarding which abilities I should consider dropping vs which I should definitely take. Equipment: Ooh, this'll be fun, especially since most of the entries for equipment aren't even on the wiki yet, or aren't completed. Here's what I have so far, and why. Grimoires: My primary attacking Grimoire is Ninagauth's Teachings, both because it fits the theme and because it supplements my defensive spell selection with some REALLY good unique Frost spells. Plus, it's similar to another grimoire acquired from the White March DLC, which Aloth made good use of in my PoE1 save. Other grimoire suggestions as supplements to this one would be appreciated. Is it possible to get Ninagauth's Shadowflame any other way? Armor: Devil of Caroc Breastplate Weapons: Modwyr/Whispers of Yenwood OR Watcher's Blade - Modwyr keeps with the fire/ice theme I've been going for, though I'm not sure about a secondary weapon. I'll go barehanded for extra Crush damage if needed. Rings: Chameleon's Touch and Kuaru's Prize Amulet: Claim, Refusal OR Cauldron Shard* Belt: Nature's Embrace OR The Maker's Own Power* Cloak: Nemnok's Cloak (Is it possible to get this and then just leave the Drowned Barrows and return for the rest of the quest later?) If not, Cloak of Superior Deflection until I'm high enough level for Nemnok's Helm: Horns of the Bleak Mother or the Inquisitor's Hood from the Oathbinder's Sanctum, upgrade later. Gloves: Woedica's Strangling Grasp OR Killer's Gloves* Thoughts? I'm looking for comments specifically on 1. The abilities - which should I keep, which should I swap out 2. The efficacy - Would a Sage build play well at melee range or should I consider just dual wielding rods/scepters/wands? 3. The equipment - I'm only really sold on the Devil of Caroc Breastplate. Any other equipment in this build is highly subject to change. Also, if there are conditionals towards acquiring any of the other pieces of equipment listed for this build besides the DoC breastplate, please let me know. And by "conditionals" I mean "Pillars of Eternity 1 decisions." Thank you for your time. Here's hoping this build is as fun to play as it seems to be on paper. Changelog: Edit - Changed some skills and abilities out per "knownastherat's" recommendations on my Paladin/Wizard build. Edit2 - Abilities Overhaul. Changed out several abilities for other ones to hopefully add more synergy/remove redundant abilities. All abilities that are in bold text with an asterisk by them are ones I'm not sure about, but I'd appreciate feedback on all of them.

Hey guys, So I'm wanting to play an Arcane Knight (Bleak Walker/No-Subclass) with a blend of extra tanky spells to supplement my Paladin defenses and offensive/enfeebling spells to give me ways to target other Defenses like Fortitude, Reflex, and Will. I was hoping that people could share some of their experiences playing melee casting classes - basically, how jarring was it to switch from casting Fireball on a pack of Xaurips to using Black Flames on a single Drake? What's a good Dexterity milestone to aim for to help cut down on those pesky cast/recovery times, and is there any gear that'd help with that?

Also, I'm looking for feedback on this build, so any advice from people who have played similar Arcane Knights would be appreciated.

Oh. Well, in that case, I'll stick with Galawain. At least then I don't have to feel bad about being pro-animancy.

Haha... Well, hmm. Ah well, I suppose it fits for the lore of what I'm going for.

Basically, this comes down to... 1. Should I sacrifice Con/Resolve for higher Might/Dexterity? 2. Are two extra Might and Dexterity each really worth setting Constitution and Resolve to 10?

Right, well, getting back to the question before the thread was hijacked. Any cool perks for siding with Woedica aside from the PL bonus?

She puts a curse on you that you can only break by killing a certain amount of Kith.

So, aside from the +1 PL that you get for supporting Woedica in PoE1, does she give you anything else? Is there some sense of acknowledgement in the initial conversation with the gods? Also, I've read that supporting Rymrgand gives you... nothing. Which, admittedly, is in keeping with him, but is still kind of bleh.

Alright, so... Might: 17 (14 + 2 + 1 + 1) Constitution: 10 (7+3) Dexterity: 18 (15+3) Perception: 20 (16+4) Intellect: 19 (16+2+1) Resolve: 10 (8+2) Con would be effectively 12 in regards to max health because of GotM and Durance sacrifice. Thoughts?

One of the builds I'd considered running in PotD was a Bleak Walker Liberator. I like the large amount of Corrode spells that you have access to, there's some good synergy with the Blackened Plate Armor.

Resolve is 10, the +2 is from the Berath's Blessing. So maybe drop Con and Resolve down to 8 and then put the extra points into Might and/or Dex?

Is it in Deadfire if you shared knowledge with her? I can kind of understand why it wouldn't be, since it's such a good buff that it's sort of implied you're mostly supposed to have for the endgame, but they let you keep Gift of the Machine and your Blood Pool bonuses, so why not Ancient Knowledge?

Hello all; So, I'm working on a Paladin/Wizard build (You can see the whole thing in my "Knight of Winter" thread - imaginative name, I know) and I'm having a little bit of trouble coming up with a good stat spread. See, I'm wanting to use a solid mix of defensive spells with AoEs for dealing with large/annoying packs of enemies. I'll probably also be using drugs to shore up my martial attributes (Might, Con, Dexterity) as well. Right now, my stats look like this, with buffs factored in... Might: 15 (11+2+1+1) Constitution: 15 (12+3) Dexterity: 16 (13+3) Perception: 20 (16+4) Intellect: 19 (16+2+1) Resolve: 12 (10+2) (This is including the Gift of the Machine bonus, Blood Pool bonus, Pale Elf racial bonuses, the White that Wends culture bonus, and Chameleon's Touch bonuses, as well as the +2 bonus from Berath's Blessing) Constitution, in regards to max Health, is effectively 17 with the 5% bonus from GotM and the 5% bonus from sacrificing Durance to the Blood Pool The only real change I've considered is dropping Might down to 10 and putting the extra point into Dexterity. What are your thoughts on this? This is the biggest hang-up preventing me from starting this character, since you can't reroll attributes once you've started.

Just checked, it doesn't. Darn. Ah well, having two extra Zeal is probably still worth the benefits it gives...

Hey guys, So one of the staples of my dual martial character is the Devil of Caroc Breastplate because it offers +2 to both resource pools, giving me 7 Rage and 7 Guile. Now, I'm working on a more thematic build for my next playthrough (A Bleak Walker/Wizard focusing on Frost Magic) and I was wondering if the Devil of Caroc's Breastplate would still be worth pursuing as an option (Admittedly the armor rating for it SEEMS very good, especially given that I'll already have some armor bonuses already because of my Glamfallen racial passive, but I'm not sure). How does the extra Power Pool work for casting classes, or does it?

Edit: Changed WtW Mystic to WtW Aristocrat. More talky skills, plus I think it opens up more conversation options throughout the game. Edit2: Changed skill focus to Alchemy (Active)/Metaphysics and Intimidate (Passives) Edit3: Swapped out Sworn Enemy for Lay On Hands (Tentative) Edit4: Tweaked some equipment choices (Armor, specifically) and added stars by some ability/equipment choices I wasn't sure about, for feedback. Edit5: Swapped out some of the spells, new additions are in BOLD.