[[5.0 class build] "Keeper" - universalist (ancient/priest of wael)]

1 hour ago, Boeroer said:

Keep in mind that if you add poison to spells like Insect Swarm, that spell might become useless against everything that is immune to poison (such as many vessels and spirits but also Coral Nagas etc.). So while it might sound nice to have additional power levels, it can actually hurt the ability.

The sad thing is, anything with the antidote counter is already coded so that it won't affect poison immune. I agree about Insect Swarm staying as is (i.e. no Poison keyword), but Plague of Insects only works on non-poison immune foes, but lacks the keyword to benefit from the bonus. There are a handful of spells like that, iirc. I'd have to dig my notes back up. 

I agree with the rest, though. I think the update I'd want is to look at any antidote counter abilities and add Poison keyword on any that make sense. 

[[5.0 class build] "Keeper" - universalist (ancient/priest of wael)]

20 minutes ago, dgray62 said:

I ask since the vanilla game unfortunately omits the poison keyword from key druid spells that should have it, such as Venombloom.

This is true for the insect spells, but Venombloom actually does benefit from +poison PL. It doesn't have the keyword, but does benefit when I tested back in 2019. The Community Mod didn't add poison to any spells, as far as I remember (maybe I can convince Elric to sneak that into his Polishing Mod). 

[[5.0 class build] "Keeper" - universalist (ancient/priest of wael)]

27 minutes ago, thelee said:

earlier in the game i tend to be pretty aggressive with poison use. later in the game, it's much more targeted and deliberate because of action economy - because of wael's challenge i had to just come up with some vague heuristics on targeting, so i would generally start trying to hit an important caster or two with poison after the initial round of buffs. if i have advance warning for a fight (stealth) i would either load up on an initial poison to do after a halt, or (if there are no good halt targets) i would just start the fight attacking with poison (landing a confuse poison on a healer type can be pretty effective).

That's helpful to hear your thought process. I like that Loremaster Fassina build slightly better with Arcana, but I think a Sorcerer build for her with Poison is next on my list to play with. Both make good use of the +1PL from her subclass familiar. Untangling all the PL bonuses for those was one of the first reasons I read your FAQ and forum threads in depth. Fun stuff!

 

[[5.0 class build] "Keeper" - universalist (ancient/priest of wael)]

Love this build. Killer theme and great use of underused spells, with Halt. It's good to hear that Sporelings stay useful as sponges. I always hire an Ancient Druid custom adventurer on Port Maje to get through the digsite on PotD or any Trial of Iron runs for exactly the reasons you are noting (also, Charm Beasts). 

11 hours ago, thelee said:

For example, the Sealed Fate ambush by Talfor at level 6 on PotD can be rough if you take the violent approach - the enemies are triple-skulled with two dangerous wizard and a priest casting mid-level magic. I was able to clear it without a single knockout using OBS party members, with Wael's challenge enabled, carried solely on the backs of the basic early game toolkit this universalist has.

This one hits too close to home. I just pissed away a double ToI run (started the character in PoE1) on Talfor. Immediately upon seeing the skulls I remembered it as one of those fights that stomps new players. 

Any other tips for poison use? I've got a Loremaster Fassina/Howler Konstanten combo build I've been working on that uses +poison PL for her, and I considered alchemy for the synergies. I use Blightheart, so the modal helps tremendously with the initial hit. Where does it fit in your typical casting sequence? Halt > Sporelings/Venombloom > Heals/Poison?

[The Pillars of Eternity No Reload Challenge]

Lucca Act I

We speed through Act I as fast as we can, though we do all the quests in Gilded Vale, sans Raedric. We snuck in, talked with Nedemar, freed Giaccolo, and killed Osrya, though. Having Durance and a custom priest is slower than usual, but we make it through with only 1 knock out before Defiance Bay. The fights are much easier on Hard, but I'm still playing the big fights safe.

Spoiler

We told Aufra the truth, told Wirtan to redeem himself, and sent Maerwald's soul free. On to Act II.

[The Pillars of Eternity No Reload Challenge]

Getting another run off the ground. 

Lucca, Moon Godlike Darcozzi Paladini: Introduction

 

Game Version: 3.7.0.1318 - No DLC enabled

Difficulty: Hard

Settings: Maim Before Death: On; Injuries: On; Expert Mode: Off; Trial of Iron: On

Mods: One-Eyed Molina's Gold-Fingered Spike-Flinger Fix

 

Main Character Description: 

Lucca is a Darcozzi on the run. Fleeing the retribution of a rival Valian house, she fled with her employer to settle in parts unknown. Their escape was short lived, however. When the rivals found them it was already too late. Lucca escaped and drifted on ships until hearing word of opportunities to settle in the Dyrwood. 

Spoiler

We are planning to run with Aloth, Kana, Pallegina, Sagani, and a custom priest of Wael. I will be trying to get through as quickly and safely as possible, while setting up my Deadfire run. Here goes nothing!

[The Pillars of Eternity No Reload Challenge]

Jan, the philosopher Brawler (Unbroken/Forbidden Fist) has died in Neketaka. I was playing on Veteran, Trial of Iron, with several balance/bug fix mods installed. The Community Patch, the Balance Polishing Patch, Enhanced UI, and Carnage Visual Radius. All DLC installed. Playing Real Time With Pause. 

Because I am now playing on a Windows machine, I'm not able to load my PoE1 save file from Jan. Instead, I made a custom history that fit the choices he made. 

Here's level 1 Jan. I moved 1 point from CON and 1 point from PER and increased his RES. Dying and coming back to life can change a person, no?

Spoiler

We made short work of Port Maje, bringing on 2 hired adventurers, an Ancient Druid and a Ranger, to help, along with Eder (Swashbuckler) and Xoti (Priest). We skipped the big beast fight in the center of the digsite, stealthing past. Inside, I immediately notice how much easier these fights are on Veteran compared to Path of the Damned. This sense of easiness will be my undoing. 

We hit level 5 upon arriving to Neketaka, and I set out to get my part together. I'm planning to run Konstanten, Pallegina, Fassina, and Ydwin. We are able to pick up everyone but Fassina right away. For her, we set out to do the Archmage's Vault. We are able to complete it with no combat, and the gang is all together. 

From there we go to the Gullet and complete quests until we get the message from Dereo. I like to go into the Undercity to find Botaro and fight some Darguls and Rotghasts as a test of our abilities. Those fights go smoothly, and we are level 6 all around. 

Along the way we hit level 7, and when Ateira tries to stop us, I try some different dialogue options and we end up in combat. That fight is so easy, that I am now thinking we are a force to be reckoned with. In fact, I don't notice that I haven't set up Pallegina's new chant (Ancient Memory). 

We head back to Queen's Berth to complete the Bardatto quest, and Talfor stops us along the way. Silly pirates, I think. We are now an unstoppable killing machine. I try to punch Talfor - I've never done that option, and what fun to try new things. 

Spoiler

Talfor is 3 skulls, and the rest of his group is at least 2. We start the fight surrounded, and even with several charms landing from Ydwin, the party starts dropping quickly. I realize I don't have Ancient memory set up, and can't get heals out fast enough. In the end, Jan is left along, unable to hit them, and slowly whittled away. 

 

RIP

[Balance Polishing Mod Release 1.0]

12 hours ago, Elric Galad said:

OK, coded and tested. I will include it in next version (probably 1.31 once I've clarified the Driving Flight issue).

I thought about crafting and I think you are right. Limited ressources for crafting sounded wrong. Excessive price too so and reverted Adra Ban to its normal value. Yup, it's a bit of powercreeping but I think it's better for enjoyment.

Here your hotfile : 

gn.all_gems_in_shop.gamedatabundle 4.55 kB · 0 downloads

Awesome! Thanks so much Elric!

[Balance Polishing Mod Release 1.0]

@Elric Galad - Could we lower the price of Adra Ban at Una to the default and add Sapphires and Rubies, too? 

• Game files show that the designers intended these gems to be available via Una to high level players (similar to how Black Pearls and Emeralds are available at The Treasure Trove in Dunnage, requiring waiting to refresh the inventory as the main barrier)
• Typical vendor prices for these based on rarity level: 750 for Ruby, 850 for Adra Ban, 950 for Sapphire 
• Making them all available allows more full use of the crafting system for potions, scrolls, etc AND helps the enchantment system be less punishing

[Sources of Generic +Accuracy]

27 minutes ago, thelee said:

For understanding stacking I think a better way to think about it is that there’s generic, specific, and conditional, on top of active v passive. Hunters Claw is active+conditional+generic, so it will not stack with other sources of active+generic, but will stack with passive or active+specific.

Got it. So specific would be only with certain types of attacks in this case? 
 

edit - maybe clearer to ask what is an active + specific effect? 

[Sources of Generic +Accuracy]

7 minutes ago, thelee said:

what exactly is a "specific" accuracy bonus in the way you are using it?

One that only applies in a more specific set of attacks, i.e. Hunter's Claw only applies to attacks against one type of enemy. 

[The Pillars of Eternity No Reload Challenge]

I'm sad to report my first real NR run in PoE2 ended in totally unnecessary defeat. Aures cleared Port Maje island with Triple Crown enabled, but then died to Beggar Wifruth while on her way to Neketaka. I foolishly thought I could win a boarding battle against a host of pistol wielding pirates. What's even sadder is that choosing "surrender" let's you go on your way with reduced food, water, and gold, and I had very little of all three to worry about losing. 

I'm doing some more planning for my run with Jan, and will post soon about the progress for him. It will be slower, as I'm planning to run at least one other run in parallel to help me remember things before I take them on. Jan is adding Forgotten Fist to Unbroken Fighter. I'm excited for some brawler tanking w/ easy Enfeeble from the start. I'm planning for a VTC run, so will bring along Pallegina and Fassina, Konstanten, and Ydwin. 

[Sources of Generic +Accuracy]

4 hours ago, Waski said:

Yes

Got it. It’s probably considered a passive source, then. Good to know for the accuracy with scrolls question. 

42 minutes ago, thelee said:

you also forgot the hunter's claw line of abilities. with a bit of metagaming, you can get +20 generic accuracy (but is active so doesn't stack with other active bonuses). 

Ah! Good reminder! I was getting confused about it being specific vs. generic, but that doesn’t matter for active effects. I’ll add it above. 
Are there any other specific +ACC effects like Hunter’s Claw? 

[Sources of Generic +Accuracy]

2 hours ago, Tee See said:

On top of Enduring Dance, Monks also get Razor's Edge (+1 acc per wound) = +10 at max wounds.

 

 

Does that stack with Enduring Dance and/or things like Exalted Focus? 

[Sources of Generic +Accuracy]

6 hours ago, thelee said:

If we're not just limiting ourselves to friendly/party buffs, this is my mandatory plug that rangers get enormous amounts of +accuracy bonus (to just themselves). Much of it stacks.

Are all of the Ranger +ACC effects conditional (also passive, yes?), and thus stack w/ active generic +ACC? 

Marked Prey, Marksman, Stalker's Link, Survival of the Fittest (am I missing any?)

[Sources of Generic +Accuracy]

9 hours ago, Boeroer said:

I think he meant buffs that cover the whole party or are at least accessible for all party members (e.g. via consumables).

This is mostly true, but I'd also like to list/know self-buffs in this specific category. A better wording of my question is, "What options are there for each (sub)class to get generic +Accuracy," which sprang out of an even more specific question, "how do I increase Fassina's accuracy with scrolls?"  That's slightly different from the question, "How do I increase my chances to hit with my characters if I don't have a priest," which there are many, many answers to, including lowering defenses, etc. 

I'm editing the OP to list what you've all shared. 

9 hours ago, Boeroer said:

Sky Dragon Wurm (only if you didn't kill the Sky Draon in PoE) :+3 universal ACC to party

Thanks for the reminder about pets! Small note, this one only applies for distant enemies. All of these pet bonuses will stack with generic +ACC (and will apply to scrolls, etc. in a similar way), there are a host of items that provide similar effects, e.g. Ring of Focused Flames, etc. It's probably enough to mention them in general above, without listing every effect. 

Edit: I forgot that the pets are all passive buffs, so they stack inherently. Great to remember them, though, for the original "scrolls" problem. 

[Sources of Generic +Accuracy]

I’m working on some party comps that don’t involve priests and looking to evaluate all active sources of plain +Accuracy (not Perception). What am I missing? 
 

Group Buffs

Priest

- Devotions for the Faithful : +10 AoE

Paladin

- Zealous (Exalted) Focus : +5 Aura

 

Self Buffs

Barbarian

- Lion's Spring: +15 (on next attack)

Cipher

- Borrowed Instinct : +20

Fighter

- Warrior (Conqueror) Stance : +5 (10 when above 50% health)

Monk

- Dance of Death : +3 to +12

Ranger

- Hunter's Claw (+upgrades) : +1 to +20 vs. one creature type (can go higher due to bug)

Wizard

- Citzal's Martial Power : +20

Alchemy

- Deadeye : +5

- Potion of Deftness : +5

[[CLASS BUILD] Hand Of Doom - Forbidden Fist/Steel Garrote]

12 minutes ago, dgray62 said:

Thanks, Ivanfydorovich. I downloaded the Community Patch and tried to install it, but couldn't get it to activate when I restarted my game. It may be that I placed my override file in the wrong place. I'll do some Googling to see if I can get it to work. 

I think you need to click on the "EXE" (not sure what it's called on Mac) and select view package contents. Within that is where the override folder should go. Feel free to message me directly, and I can try to remember anything else I had to do to make it work. 

[[CLASS BUILD] Hand Of Doom - Forbidden Fist/Steel Garrote]

18 hours ago, dgray62 said:

I have started a forbidden fist/steel garrote build, following the Hand of Doom build  with some modifications as I play on MAC OS and can't use mods, unfortunately. I was wondering if it would be worth getting sacred immolation at PL 7. Would hight RES and clarity of agony minimize the raw damage ticks, as they do with the FF curse?

Yes! This is a great synergy. Everything that reduces the damage of the FF curse will also reduce the self-damage of SI. 

 

Also, side note - you can use mods with Mac OS, you just need to show hidden folders to install. A little googling should find how to do that (I don't have a link handy). 

[The Pillars of Eternity No Reload Challenge]

Hey all - glad to see folks back in action. I think I'm done with PoE for a bit. I played a lot of Deadfire last year, and more or less exhausted my interest in it. I'll check in now and again to see how it's going for you. 

 

Best of luck!

[Good DoT build]

Venombloom does get the bonus (even though it's not visibly keyworded). Plague doesn't. 

[Frighten/Terrify and Disengagement Kind of Still Work]

What I've observed, in particular with the Fear Totem, is that once Terrified, they can be quickly renegaged, and will often break engagement after that. It may be the case, also, that the Terrify from the Totem doesn't give them a free "disengage" because it's not engaging them. If you wanted to play around with the mechanics, I recommend trying it out. 

[Divine Retribution and Summons]

I just finished a PotD run with a Single Class Paladin as my MC and I agree. Lot's of fun. 

[Prestige]

1 hour ago, Torm51 said:

Hmmm well It’s a party! So  The DPS increase of Glorious beacon is for my scout and mindstalker.  High triple digit shots against bosses has been the result.  Even it’s a few shots, those really hurt.  It’s been really good, but I hear you it’s only a few attacks.Light of Pure Zeal has been excellent so far, trivializes vessel and spirit fights and it’s a great emergency heal.

That makes sense. It's cool you're utilizing it with the party in mind. It sounds like you're getting full use out of the skills you have already. If you do respec, I'd be interested to hear how other combinations work. 

[Prestige]

I'd dump Light of Pure Zeal and pick up Prestige and DI. Glorious Beacon doesn't combo well with SI or DI, imo, because of it's long recovery. By the time you've recovered, you only benefit from 1-2 ticks. The zeal would be better spent, I think, on another SI or DI.