Alesia_BH

Cool, cool! Looking forward to your upcoming posts. I've never gotten the chance to upscale Act III.

Does anyone like Durance?

That wasn't an accident. Like Jaherias Witness, I'm unfond of loot table use, but I now know something I can't unknow. Not with this crew. When I do it I'd prefer not to use the chokepoint. This crew doesn't have the firepower to make that happen- at least not safely.

Yuppers. That's it! That makes sense to me. After seeing Enuhal's barbarian in action I considered doing the same. Out of curiousity which casters did you use in your 2 tank/1 off tank/3 caster party? Best, A.

You're over-leveled for Act II, yes. That's okay though. If it was an accident then, you have our sympathies; if it was intended, you have our support for your choices. You should get the option to scale up content for Act III. I'd recommend that. If you continue side questing (and maybe even if you don't) you'll get the option again when you jump into the pit on the Burial Isle. I'd recommend that, too. 10/11 is my personal target range for non-upscaled PotD Thaos. I'd invite Enuhal and Jaheiras Witness to comment on upscaled Thaos. Best, A.

I find it interesting that you have struggled to make effective use of your cipher because our approaches are similar: a two tank deflection wall, with a free fire kill zone in front, and multiple spell bombers in back. Resting with moderate frequency (ie- never leaving an area to rest or proffer camping equipment, but camping in dungeons and using free camping gear), I found that I could concentrate spells in the potentially challenging battles and still cruise through the others. In the concentrated spell dump fights the cipher couldn't keep up, the end result being that the cipher was only relevant in the smaller fights, which were fights that we could have won with ease anyways. I, too, have come to think that the cipher's best roles in a caster heavy party are: 1) to reduce miscalculation risk in minor fights; 2) to disable dangerous foes, enabling the casters to do their work. Those are, I agree, useful contributions. The question become whether those skills should reside in one of the two tanks or one of the four back line spots. I'm leaning toward the former answer: the opportunity cost of crowding out a fourth caster is too high, but adding cipher skills to a tank could be a net gain. If cipher skills weren't so slow -and thus susceptible to disruption, especially in heavy armor- I'd be pretty enthusiastic about that approach. At present, I remain skeptical, but I do intend to try a Potion of Spirit Shield chugging cipher tank semi-soon. Best, A.

Great work, FNGRenegrade! You've making excellent progress! Best, A.

Alyssa, Wood-Elf Cipher: Entry 2- Minor Quests in and Around Guilded Vale, Part I After the success of her daring raid on Raedric's Hold, Alora turned her attention to Guilded Vale's second most promising mark: the Eothasian temple. The party agreed to her plan, but Aloth, sick of porridge, proposed rescuing the Black Hound's chef and recovering Tuatanu's crates first. Alora, a bon vivant with a fondness for blades, agreed. And so it was decided. Alora kicked off festivities with a 42 hitpoint arbalest shot, immediately followed by an additional 19 damage from an Arrow Trap. Alyssa added an Eyestrike, helping Alora finish her target. Alora reciprocated by flanking the party's next target, helping Alyssa rebuild her focus. Alora with the finish. Alora and Alyssa's teamwork rescued Tenfrith. Alora's savvy recovered Tuatanu's crate. No blood shed was necessary here. Stealth sufficed. It's time for the temple. Best, A.

Alyssa, Wood Elf Cipher: Entry 1- Raedric Hold After escaping the ruins of Cilant Lis, Alyssa visited the Black Hound, where she met Alora, a thief from the Deadfire Archipelago. Alyssa was charmed by Alora, seeing the rogue as a yang to her yin, but our heroine was understandably skeptical of the woman's boasts. It didn't take long for Alora to prove herself: before the night was out, Alora had proposed a daring raid of Raedric's Hold. Recognizing the need for coin, and seeking Alora's approval, Alyssa agreed to the plan. She would not regret it. With Aloth and Eder tagging along, Alyssa and Alora scaled the ramparts of Raedric Hold. There, they faced their first battle together.They immediately developed a rapport. Alora, a reckless dual wielding rogue can benefit immensely from Alyssa's opening Eyestrikes. And Alyssa, a colonist with points in Survival, gets a bonus to damage against Flanked enemies, currently 10%, later to be 20% and, possibly 30%. Alora excels at flanking. Upon entering the Sanctuary, the party assumed disguises and immediately began looting. Alyssa was giddy- nervous but exhilarated. Alora, in contrast, was cooly in her element. Before long, Alora proposed penetrating further into the keep. Promising to free an acolyte, Giacco, under the guise of seeking an audience with Raedric, furnished an opportunity. Down below, in the keep dungeons, Alora recovered some useful traps, more on those later. And soon Alora and Alyssa would fight their second battle together. This time their friends chipped in. Aloth offered Curse of Blackened sight, freeing Alyssa to hold her focus for a Mental Binding cast and granting Alora free sneak attacks. Alyssa's Mental Binding, in turn, relieved pressure on Eder, who did yeoman's work as a defender of all. Soon the bodies dropped, and the path to Giacco was clear. So, to, was the path to this delightful ring, perfect for Alora: After announcing the liberation of Giacco, Alora led the party to Raedric's bedroom where Alora was the beneficiary of another find: the celebrated Gloves of Manipulation. A trip to the ramparts yielded yet more goodies, including a scroll of Fan of Flames and a pair of Gauntlets of Accuracy. Alyssa was amazed by the haul. Alora was happy, too, but she couldn't help but mention that she has seen better. The total haul, not including gold and gems, can be seen here, paired with the party members who will benefit from them. Notice that I've included the traps in the useful category, rather than the sellable category. So about those traps. They're not great, but their not useless. Consider those little cheap ones that I highlighted earlier, on the dungeon floor. That's a free 22-30 pierce damage attack. Not great, but not nothing. It's associated with a -10 against Deflection. But Alora -only at level 2- presently has a +24 bonus to trap accuracy. If Alyssa opens with a Blinding Strike, that trap will fire with a total adjustment of + 34. That's a passable free attack. Arista, my solo rogue, killed multiple foes before they could reach here using Blinding Strike (via Fine Arbalest)->Arrow Trap. The traps aren't great, true, but there is no opportunity cost since they're placed pre-battle. We're actually going to use them, in particular, in conjunction with opening Eyestrikes. Next, the Eothasian temple. A solo mission for a respecced Alora? Best, A.

Thanks, Serg! It was hard to find a wood elf cipher portrait. Most female elf portraits are, too my eyes, offensively over sexualized. The others tend to be bright and nature-y, better suited to a ranger or druid. I was happy when I found this one. It's perfect. (I like Alora's portrait, too)

Alyssa, Wood-Elf Cipher: Introduction Ok, everyone! Meet my new character: Alyssa, Wood-Elf Cipher Game Version: 3.7.0.1318 with White March I & II Difficulty: PotD Settings: Maim Before Death: On; Injuries: On; Expert Mode: OFF Mods: None Character Description: Growing up different can be hard in any world. It's even harder on the edges of civilization. When Alyssa's parents, Living Lands colonists, noticed their daughter's unusual abilities, they knew they had a problem. The family kept Alyssa's talents hidden for as long as they could, but when that was no longer possible, they encouraged Alyssa to return to the family's ancestral land of Aedyr. Alyssa offered no protest, but on the day of departure, she silently set off on her own, seeking her fortune on the road- choosing to embrace and explore her abilities, rather run from them. Alyssa knows not what lies ahead -and that frightens her- but she is guided by a quiet confidence in herself and her abilities. She may die, but she believes that exploring who she is -and what she is- is the only hope that she has of ever truly living. Alyssa will be joined by a custom character, a rogue named Alora. Alora is the only custom character I will allow in this run. With Escape + Fast Runner + Shadowing Beyond, she will be Alyssa's Ectopsychic Echo partner. She is perfect for the task, because she knows how to take a beating and yet beat back. Character Description II: Alora calls herself a merchant, but by now, virtually everyone in the Deadfire Archipelago knows what she really is: a thief who specializes in daring museum raids, and a smuggler to Aedyrean patrons. Alora's short but legendary career in the Deadfire met an early end when her boldest, most unhinged plan yet led to tragedy. Piloting a rickety, aging vessel, hastily equipped with a stolen canon, Alora and her band of followers threatened a sleepy, seaside Valian town's grandiosely named "Hall of Wonders," thus enlisting the aid of the museum staff in unloading the goods. The haul was immense -almost beyond comprehension. Word of such deads spreads quickly. In this case it spread too quickly. En route to Aedyrean's shores, Alora's ship was overtaken by Quinne, a well connected pirate, in the know. Alora's vessel and crew were no match. Alora was beaten; her face was slashed; She was then tossed overboard, left for dead. No one expected her to live. And yet she did- returning to the Deadfire, to slay her assailant under cover of night. Despite all the fortunes she has made -and all the fortunes she has squandered- Alora, currently on the run from Quinne's many allies, now owns but one thing: Quinne's lucky rabbit's foot. Gaming Notes: I've decided to run Alyssa in the interest of learning the cipher class. I can't comment on our odds of success, at this time. No reloading PotD now seems straightforward to me- with a party that I understand, that is. Alyssa's team will, however, include at least four builds that are new to me: 1) a ranged cipher; 2) an evasive, scroll using dual-wielding rogue; 3) a druid (Hirvias); and 4) a chanter tank (Kana). This run will, in effect, be a bit like Enuhal's second run: an exploration of classes the I know less well, following a success with a party that I understood. We'll see how it goes. Best, A.

I agree that there would be better synergy between a cipher's abilities and a ranged approach. At the same time, setting aside the beam spells, I suspect that ciphers are trumped at ranged damage dealing by both wizards and druids, absent rest restrictions- flame priests, too, in the late game. I'd be interested in seeing a disabling melee cipher in action.

That's interesting. In a melee role I could imagine a cipher having a comparative advantage relative to most alternatives, at least from an offensive perspective. Again, I think the thing for me to do is try one. Best, A.

I appreciate that ciphers can be effective. I think it's a playing style issue. I prefer to keep everyone safe, to unload all spells in key battles and focus on action timing. I also don't sweat the small battles, being content to muddle through the fights that don't matter. Ciphers are less likely to be useful, given that approach: my cipher felt either slow, to the point of irrelevance (if you have multiple ranged casters, all unloading their books and casting as quickly as possible, most fights end very quickly, in game time- too fast for a cipher, reliant of focus building, to keep up) or like a distraction. I found that the beam spells led to sloppy play, although they can certainly be effective. I think the wizard/cipher comparison is fair, to an extent, since they're both primarily ranged damage dealers. To my eye, given my playing style, wizards seem to win that comparison, unless we start considering rest restrictions. I'm sure a cipher could be fun, though, even if they don't seem to fit my play-style. I think I'll try one. Best, A.

So, coverage of Arcadia's run is now complete- or at least as complete as it's likely to be. As a reminder, Arcadia's final battle post was submitted earlier, it can be found here: https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/106596-the-pillars-of-eternity-no-reload-challenge/page-31 We're now faced with a decision: should Arcadia be submitted for entry on our Honorable Mentions list. Also, should she be allowed to continue on to PoE II. Arcadia's adventure had some high points -and it was my first completed run of both White March and PotD- but I violated my own rule about keeping coverage up to date with progress and I left out certain fights in the mid/late game. The question becomes whether some solid early work and a respectable final fight should redeem my spotty coverage. I'm leaning towards no on that, but I'll let you decide. Yay or nay, everyone! Best, A.

Arcadia, Moon-Godlike Wizard: Undead Raedric Ok! I'm going to finish up coverage of Arcadia's run with a post on undead Raedric. We had faced other content, including a few bounties and, of course, Sun in Shadows, but we were so over-leveled that those fight hardly seem worth covering. I'll cover them, nonetheless, if others would like to see them. This was my first time fighting undead Raedric. It was fun, although we were significantly over-leveled. I'd be interested in hearing what others think the right level for this is. Here's the opening: Pallegina, adra beetle; Raedric, wood beetles; Arcadia, Scroll of Defense; Alikae, Llengrath's; Alena, Shield for the Faithful; Cassia, Prayer Against Treachery. Prayer Against Treachery basically wins this fight. In our second round we went with Arcane Veil ->Eldritch Aim for Alikae and Arcadia; Alena, Crowns for the Faithful; Cassia, Prayer Against Fear. We worked in Devotions for the Faithful soon after and added Arcadia's Llengrath's. Raedric's crew opens with some damage spells. That was very nearly all the damage we took in this fight. We fixed that with a quick Holy Radiance cast. The wizards start us off with some recently acquired high level spells Ninagauth's Freezing Pillar from Arcadia and Death Ring from Alikae. in retrospect, the Death Ring was poorly timed, but I was eager to see how the spell worked. The freezing pillar is working nicely. The priest start of with Shinning Beacon, since the backline charging fampyrs have left our allies and foes intermingled. The priests also take their Llengrath's potions, to thwart the fampyrs' with the backline assault. Action timing was a bit off in this fight, since I was eager to see things like Death Ring. Belatedly, the wizards adds our standards, Curse of Blackened Sight and Expose Vulnerabilities. Just Raedric left now and, yes: he's in trouble. The warriors end it before our last round of spells land. Fin! Best, A.

My intention would be to let Alora solo much of the content, taking friends along for backup and support when needed. Basically, I could experiment with solo tactics, while having friends to bail me out if and and when I muff things up. I think it would be a good way to prep for a solo run while still NRing. Best, A.

Thank you for your perspective once again, Jaherias Witness! Agreed. And during, in most cases, because they won't need to pause again to re-accumulate focus. My statement was that they tend to be more powerful or equally powerful, at the same level. There are some exceptions. I would not include Whispers of Treasons among them, however. It's single target and the duration is short-ish. I find that I can get more mileage out of Slicken and Chill Fog. Whispers of Treason, in comparison, is a situational use ability. The L1 beam is pretty powerful, but then you have the micro-management issue. In party play veils needn't be used for the entire fight- only at the times when a wizard is vulnerable, which should be rare. In any case, I don't see any defensive spells on the cipher list that exceed the efficacy of the wizard options, even excluding Arcane Veil. Agreed. And that, I think, is the cipher's clear, undisputed comparative advantage. I'll note, though, that in Arcadia's run, with a caster heavy party, we never left an area to rest or proffer camping equipment. Resting restrictions would have to be more onerous than even that.

It's really easy- easier than with a party. I can show you, if you like, even if I don't run Arista. (The Eothasian temple can be done with stealth. Most of Raedric Hold can be done with stealth + mechanics and some easy one on one battles. The Caed Nua hall can be done with stealth + Shadowing Beyond. Maerwald can be killed with a single use of Shadowing Beyond)

Ok, everyone! Arcadia's posts are almost finished now. It's time for me to start a new run. Here are some options. Let me know what you'd like to see! 1) Arcadia Revisited. Arcadia's run started off well, and ended well with a nearly damage free Thaos fight, but coverage and play both slipped in the mid-game. I feel her party configuration, two tanks, two wizards, two priests has a lot of potential, and that I only did that potential justice at a few stages of the adventure. I'm tempted to re run her in a no knockout run attempt. 2) Arcadia Revisted II, solo. This would be a solo wizard run, on normal. 3) Arista, Moon-Godlike Rogue, solo. I have a solo rogue waiting in Defiance Bay. I'm considering continuing her run, but I like the character, and part of me would prefer to wait until I understand rogues better before proceeding. I don't want to get her killed. 4) Alora, human rogue, flexible party, frequent respecs. This would be a party run on PotD, structured like the very first Alesia run on the old, old Bioware forums. Instead of running with a single crew throughout the adventure, Alora would flexibly assemble teams for particular missions, sometimes going solo, sometimes using a small assault sqaud, and sometimes recruiting a full party. No custom NPCs would be allowed. This run would give me a chance to explore the rogue class further before attempting a solo. 5) Alyssa, human cipher. This would be a PotD party run. It would give me a chance to learn the cipher class. 6) Alianna, human druid. This would be a PotD party run. It would give me a chance to learn the druid class. Let me know what you'd prefer to see! I'm leaning towards Alora. Best, A.

Thank you for your perspective, Jaheiras Witness! I get that, but A) wizards can cast faster, since they don't have to waste time generating focus- wizard casting times also seem quicker, in most cases; B) wizards spells tend to be equally powerful or more powerful, at comparable levels; C) I've yet to encounter a fight that could outlast a wizard book. So the cipher advantage reduces to per encounter ability fights, rest restriction runs and, perhaps, beam use- at least at lower levels, that is. I could imagine a cipher having a comparative advantage at high levels, on account of the ability to cast high level spells repeatedly, but I suspect that a well managed team of wizard/druids//priest could end the vast majority of fights (possibly all fights) before that potential advantage could become manifest. I remain unconvinced, basically, although I could be swayed. I'd love to see a demonstration in the context of a caster heavy party run. Best, A. EDIT: Maybe I will go ahead with a cipher run, just to see for myself.

I'd love to try a cipher/rogue. The synergy there seems great. Sneak Attack/Deathblows-> Focus; Escape + Shadowing Beyond + Beam spells. Now we're talking!

I wrestled with this when I started the challenge. The options were to open a single thread in the PoE II forums or open two threads, one in the PoE forums first and then another in the PoE II forums later. I decided to start here, in the PoE forums, because I wanted our challenge to get off on the right foot, with a friendly, collegial and supportive atmosphere. We BG no reloaders take that for granted, but it is the exception, not the norm, in gaming forums. If we were to start small -with a high proportion of people familiar with the BG no reload challenge norms- I was confident that we'd successfully recreate the atmosphere that we've all come to love. It was less obvious to me that we'd succeed in that if the initial proportion of BG NR vets was lower. I'm happy with that decision. The atmosphere is great here- like the BG challenge- and we've managed to garner enough views to entertain people and attract new entrants. It has worked. We've done well. When we do open the PoE II thread, I'd like a group of us to make the transition to PoE II together. I'd like to have at least 3, preferably more, ready to start at the same time. We should strive to put on a good show, but also to establish a friendly, supportive atmosphere. Community norms are subtle but powerful modulators of behavior. We should strive to leverage that effect while also being mindful of how it could turn to against us. Precedent and numbers matter. Best, A.

I, too, would be interested in hearing what others think about this. I fiddled with a cipher yesterday to see if I wanted to attempt a run with one. I was not impressed. My cipher, Alyssa, seemed like a slow, defenseless wizard. I wasn't enjoying her. The beam spells are powerful, but in my experience the micro-management involved in using them made them counter productive, in the end. They did excellent damage, but the time I spent managing the beam and fiddling with positioning could have been better spent maintaining our line and timing our wizard and priest actions. For me, at least, the beam spells led to sloppier, less efficient fights. I could imagine using them effectively, without crowding out other actions, but I'd have to use a lot of auto-pauses, so I could go back to the other characters when they're ready to act. It doesn't sound fun. That said, I do think a cipher could be a valuable team member. They excel at crowd control in per encounter ability fights, while also having the potential to be saviors in truly challenging encounters, when your frontline has broken, and things have gone floey (the beam spells seem perfect for this). I think you'd have to accept, however, that in per rest abilitity fights, where all is well, the line is strong, and your casters are blasting away, your cipher will be a lesser light, in comparison to a wizard, priest, or druid.. That's the impression I'm under, at least, but my experience with ciphers is very, very limited: I've used Grieving Mother for Blood Legacy a few times and I've experimented with a PC cipher pre-Caed Nua. That's it. I'd be interested in hearing from someone with a more thorough understanding of the class. Best, A.

It wasn't tense until it was. We were cruising along until the breath weapon hit. Our tanks were never endangered, though, so I never feared we'd actually lose. If your party is at a high enough level (10 or so, I'd say) then you may want to give the Sky Dragon a try. I chose not to read about dragon fighting tactics prior to the fight, but surely that would lead to a safer, cleaner battle. Long term, I'd advise practicing your dragon fighting tactics on the Sky Dragon before moving on to the other ones. That's what I intend to do, at least. Best, A. NW: None of the dragon fights are required for our challenge. We've had runs that have included then and runs that haven't. Don't feel compelled to fight one: only risk it if you want to!