Not So Clever Hound

With a Blunderbuss/Hand Mortar and the Powder Burns modal on, you will trigger Disoriented (flanked) on yourself when shooting, which will trigger Heating Up while remaining away from the action (especially with the Gunhawk bonus Range). Placement is important then to avoid friendly fire but you can shoot very fast and do lots of damage.

Yep I know and I didn't take those into account. But thanks for pointing it out. Good to know about S&M + swift flurry and heartbeat drumming doing less clutter in the log. If anyone has a less tedious way of testing this, please let me know. If not, personally I can live with the question left unanswered .

I just did some testing too and I'm none the wiser... I tried with WotEP + Clear Out and Autoattacks on a large group to generate lots of attacks but the combat log became incredibly messy between the actual Weapon Attacks, the Interrupt logs, Carnage, the additional Hits when Clear Out pushes enemies re-triggering Carnage, Offensive Parry... With that being said, in my case the ONLY hit > crit conversions I saw in this stream of data were from Intuitive... and the conversion rate was definitely not in the 50% range, it was much lower. BUT in any case the data I captured is too messy to be conclusive of anything.

Just spitballing here @Elric Galad, but wouldn't tuning up the impact of CON on FORT possibly be a better payback for pumping CON? Big health pools are nice, but to me either avoiding DMG or getting consistent Healing is typically more important, in basically any scenario except certain Streetfighter/Human/Death Godlike shenanigans. Usually I'm not planning to use too much that big Health pool unless I use it as a casting resource (Bloodmage) in which case I would approach things differently. On the other hand, more FORT always help. Only a handful of builds in Upscaled PotD can get their FORT high enough to shrug off high-level FORT-targeting attacks without other lines of defense. Maybe it's just me, but making CON increase FORT by more than +2/point instead of increasing Health pool would incentivize more to pump it and have a greater impact on my gameplay. UNLESS, it also equally boosts FORT on all PotD enemies, which might make certain enemies basically unapproachable with FORT targeting attacks even with debuffing. That said, increasing further the Health pool of already super-tanky PotD enemies... I don't know. In any case, I salute your efforts, once again.

Yep, they're treated as Active effects unfortunately so they won't stack with similar Active effects applied.

I think that would be great. Skald + Beguiler to roundout Melee/CC and Gunhawk/Rogue for ranged damage + the bird isn't a terrible pet IMO. The Gunhawk/Assassin would require quite a bit of micromanagement to be used effectively. A Gunhawk/Streetfighter with at least one blunderbuss/hand mortar and another blunderbuss/hand mortar/pistol could potentially be a nice alternative, requiring less micro?

Looks good to me! Fun combinations for short and long fights. Your Debonnaire/Beguiler might feel a little sad/underused at times. It's hard to charm an enemy when they're already dead...

Just a couple thoughts: As per your other post, watch out for different paladin/priest dispositions. Every character in your party will get bonus/malus based on the Watcher's dispositions. Gunhawk is not an available subclass except on Maia Rua unless I guess you mod your game

The other thing you may watch out for are weapon modals: if for some (odd ) reason you wanted to Devote to Rapiers AND use Warrior/Conqueror Stance... the weapon modal +ACC wouldn't stack with your +ACC from the Stance. Also if you have a +PEN weapon modal (e..g Haymaker on Fists) it won't stack with Tenacious so basically don't use the modal then. But the +PEN from Tenacious will stack with Devoted and Hot Razor Skewers for instance (it will stack once you save/reload after eating the food). Total PEN-fest. Regarding the Passives (so all the stuff on the right of your Abilities screen) you can go safely as all those effects stack with one another and with Active effects.

Thanks Boeroer for doing some testing! Very interesting and now I understand your understanding of why the conversions wouldn't suppress one another, and why it's (apparently) the right interpretation. Because it's not about "stacking" so stacking rules don't apply. It's not a duplication of the same effect (where the smallest one would get suppressed) it is actually two totally separate rolls where in any case only one can be true (i.e. if the Frenzy conversion = true, the game will never check the Intuitive conversion - there is no stacking). Interesting!

That's funny because personally I've always assumed they would suppress one another as being active abilities, which is why I've always picked Tactical Barrage. But I never actually tested it either, I just lazily assumed . Would be also curious to hear if anyone has hard facts about it.

I am late to the party but with the right choices a MuT focused Brute is outstanding. You can cobble +3 PL on a Nature Godlike with Tactical Barrage and Hot Razor Skewers, giving you Mythic-like Fists by endgame. With all the Brute active/passive abilities you can punch very very fast with incredible DMG and PEN. With or without Tuotilo's Palm in the offhand, and of course with Devil of Caroc breastplate. And you can still use e.g. Battle Axe as backup Devoted weapon with Bleeding Cuts. Really fun and powerful, I did a fair bit of solo with one such character. @Kaylon also mentioned sometime ago a very powerful Brute template with Lord Darryn's Voulge, I can't find the page. Very powerful/fun too. In any case on a Berserker/Devoted I would max MIG, PER, INT and leave the other stats neutral-ish.

I think that makes sense. An alternative could be to add % Healing Received maybe? I'm thinking about this in particular as it would be one of few things to increase the potency of Unbending? (IIRC as you pointed out in another thread, Unbending is unaffected by Healing Done modifiers but is affected by Healing Received ones as well as INT of course. But there aren't that many things in-game that add Healing Received.)

I think @Manu22 is looking at Blood Mage / Soul Blade. Though of course WoD is outstanding for an Ascendant. Among other items I would also add Duskfall (Drawing Parry) and Furrante's Breastplate (First to the Fight) which together net you a +25 Deflection and +10 All other defenses that stack with everything. Do Hammering Thoughts and Biting Whip synergize with the Spirit Lance? I would test to answer my question but I can't fire up the game. I know it's counter-intuitive, but with this kind of build STR is not going to make or break your offensive potential either way... in the beginning, your ability to cast Combusting Wounds + Pulsing/Ticking AoE spells several times will help a lot. Late game, I only assume that Spirit Lance + Soul Annihilation is brutal no matter your STR. Depending on the difficulty you're playing on, PEN also significantly impacts your DMG but you can work around that as a BM/SB. Finally maybe you've run into ridiculously tanky enemies? Some of those health pools are just ridiculous on PotD, thinking about certain Vessels, Beasts, Wilders...

I haven't played it but I think that with the right strategies SB/BM could handle the game solo in higher difficulties. High level fighting would include a lot of Buff +WoD, Debuff/Deception to soften ennemies and CC, Citzal Spirit Lance + Soul Annihilation to deal lots of damage... The Blood Mage half gives you so many tools to play with. It's true that you don't have a lot of healing so in some big fights you will have to use Potion of the Final Stand + WoD, but that's OK!

Just a couple additional comments in case the OP doesn't know: WoD is outstanding but unfortunately you can't use it to prolong Cipher "borrowed" buff spells like Borrowed Instinct, since their duration is based on the negative effect on the enemy. Cipher MC is definitely viable and fun for Solo in many combinations but keep in mind that all Cipher spells keyworded as "Echo" require an ally. Most notably you can't use Ancestor's Memory on yourself unless you mod your game.

Unfortunately because of the keyword system, the Evoker +2 PL only applies to Evocation Wizard spells and AFIK the +PEN of Fury is limited to Druid spells. I think there are different ways to build a Sorcerer that blasts everybody with spells but one outstanding synergy is to combine all the pulsing/ticking/storm spells you can get with spells like Combusting Wounds and Infestation of Maggots. The damage can quickly snowball into a thing of madness, however beware of not destroying your party in the process (I played a Solo Sorcerer so never had to care about party positioning). Here's the Sorcerer build I played if you're interested.

Considering what you're looking for I think Solo SC Assassin is your best bet, speaking from the (of course still limited) experience of several Solo Upscaled PotD playthroughs with many Assassin combos. Many Assassin combos are amazing, but SC Assassin is IMO best for a hybrid ranged/melee approach. The higher level abilities Vanishing Strike and Gambit will be so strong, on top of all the other great Assassin tools. Vanishing Strike gives you invisibility that DOESN'T break whatsoever, for a limited period of time (which means among other goodies, many Backstab instances). You can open with 2 Arquebus shots including one Vanishing Strike, then switch to anything from Hand Mortar/Fire in the Hole (Thunderous Report) or go melee with dual wielding: the list of relevant weapons is long, and it includes Monastic Unarmed Training. However, be advised that melee while invisible is sometimes frustrating if the enemies moves around because they can't see you (you get the Miss: out of range and waste an attack). If you're interested in pure ranged, I have posted the build below that can clear all MegaBosses etc. Sometimes in late game DLC encounters you need to rely on Arcana to help, but 95% of the game is a cakewalk. Also did a fun melee-focused one: And if you want to see what insane cheese can do with an SC Assassin... (this is uber uber stinky cheese)

I'm playing one such Devoted Berserker pugilist right now. I've called him Marv like the character in Sin City. "I get confused sometimes". Perfectly fitting fluff .

Actually with a Devoted/Berserker Brute, Nature Godlike + Hot Razor Skewers and Tactical Barrage+Frenzy you can get Mythic-grade MUT Fists without needing potion of Ascension, and between all your bonuses you can reach (and exceed with special attacks) a PEN of 18, in which case it's not really a backup weapon anymore .

Cool! You've got lots of good options then . One clarification re-reading my post: when I wrote "This spell is so fun and really powerful with high PL/MIG/INT. It can melt a surprising amount of tightly grouped foes and it feels very Trickster-y." I was of course referring to the Wall of Many Colors, not Dazzling Lights (my note was confusing). Dazzling Lights is very useful but is not going to melt anyone . EDIT: one last thought, you might want to check out this thread if you haven't already:

Good question: I just fired up the game and tried with Llengrath Warding Staff and Nannasin Cobra Strike: casting the spell reveals you but of course if you use Smoke Veil again you stay invisible - until you strike someone. Note that using melee weapons with an invisible rogue can be tedious in some fights because enemies move around when they don't see you - so you can get the annoying "miss - out of range". It was actually quite balanced, it depended very much on the fight. But I definitely found a lot of uses for Repulsive Visage, Freezing Rake and Wall of Many Colors. Of course "free" Dazzling Light to lure enemies in one spot, it gets refunded before combat starts. This spell is so fun and really powerful with high PL/MIG/INT. It can melt a surprising amount of tightly grouped foes and it feels very Trickster-y. The defensive buffs I didn't use much but that's because on Upscaled PotD they barely make any difference on this build. You will get hit, and hard, unless you disable enemies.

1) Assassin + Bloodmage doesn't mean you are stuck nuking Shadow Flames from stealth, even if that is of course kinda fun. It is very versatile. Here are just a couple of combos for example that don't involve constantly resetting the fight: Pull/group enemies with Dazzling Lights and apply Enervating Terror on the group from stealth. With high INT/PL You have a group of Terrified enemies for a long duration that you can mow down in whichever way you like. You can continue the fun with casting Repulsive Visage and attack in melee with unique weapons, summoned weapons, Monastic Unarmed training - total Deathblows fest. Finish the remains of your poor Terrified foes with Precisely Piercing Burst. Pull/group enemies with Dazzling Lights, apply Arterial Strike in AoE with Hand Mortar from Stealth, Immediatly follow with a well aimed Pull of Eora, and another one. Maybe another one. Throw in a Delayed Fireball, Writhing/Grasping Tentacles, Chillfog, Freezing Pillar.... When you find enemies with a vulnerability to INT afflictions, casting Confusion from stealth will Crit 99.99% of the time and give you a huge, ridiculously long Charm AoE. Very fun but of course a bit more anecdotal. 2) You might also consider a SC Trickster. I did a solo playthrough recently and had a lot of fun with it. I posted about it if you want to have a look. It's also versatile and is the only way to have PL8 spells on a caster Rogue.

By the way since I was testing I also tried Freezing Rake with Eye of Wael + Sun & Moon + Potion of Ascension at night. That's a total of PL18 on Illusion+Frost. The tooltip gives a range of 177-222 Freeze DMG, ACC of 134, PEN of 13 and a huge AoE on my end-game toon. Of course these are not the craziest numbers that one can get in the game with the strongest powerbuilds, but in practice that's potentially a lot of Crits in the 300+ DMG Range, plus the Weakened affliction component shaving off 25% of Health. On anything weak to Freeze DMG, it's lethal.