Not So Clever Hound

My experience is with RTwP, not turn based. But you should consider any combination of rogue (assassin, trickster) and cipher (soul blade), also Monk (forbidden fist, Helwalker). They would all fit thematically and be very melee oriented. And you’d keep a lot of flex on weapons and equipment options. Trickster/Soulblade and FF/Soulblade are usually MVPs in their coterie. Lots of good builds for those if you search this forum and others, or just go with whatever abilities you think sounds fun.

Casters also have passive abilities that improve all casting, scrolls included, which can be nice. It's a bit overkill but I've really liked playing a Loremaster with high Arcana as it fits thematically and they really, really never run out of things to cast. Salut Elric, by the way

Generally speaking, playing with the natural strengths of each class in your team (i.e. focusing on skills where they get class bonuses) is a good idea but it doesn't matter a ton. If you do so with a balanced party, you'll cover everything. It is good to have a character focusing on mechanics, the natural candidate is rogue-type but others will work too. Having your primary social skill (e.g. Diplomacy) on your Watcher is not a bad idea as they're the face of your party, even if in many cases you can use your total party skill score to pass checks. You'll get many ways down the line to boost your skills with gear, consumables and quest rewards. Finally if you want to know what I usually like to prioritize early game to pass the checks I deem important: Diplomacy, Athletics, Survival, Mechanics.

There are many builds/threads scattered around, I had started this one earlier this year looking at strong solo classes for vanilla game vs BPM if that's helpful. BPM or not will affect what's viable quite a bit. BPM = less cheese = less broken combos for soloing.

@Kryst415987 this is true but your first focus in Maje should be to level up with minimal fighting then get in the cave etc. If you're new to the game that can be hard to figure out without a bit of metagaming especially if on top you're not super familiar with the mechanics. The difficulty in the game is very frontloaded on PotD and Maje can feel like a big challenge but this is well documented. Search the forum and you'll find many very useful threads on that topic. Let me know if you need some pointers specifically on some the fights there. This build can handle everything Maje throws at it on PotD probably with the exception of Gorecci Street which you don't have to fight.

Waski is right, but in practice you don't need to retrain much. The end game skill spread is about maximizing the Giftbearer's Cloth bonus, at this point this build is more than prepared to handle a failed Diplomacy check. You won't miss out on anything important. The only important thing is Mechanics 13 + gloves + thief's putty that will unlock the hardest important lock in the game which is in Splinter's Reef. And up to late game (i.e. before hitting SSS and FS, possibly late BoW) Survival, Diplomacy, Athletics in the 10-12 range keeping items around that can buff it further will allow to pass other important checks. Many checks in SSS and FS are real high anyway for a solo char unless you retrain a lot and they're not worth it IMHO so you can just go onwards like the arcane mobile artillery platform you were meant to be.

You should play BPM @Boeroer on my phone now but BPM adds enfeebled to one of the Cipher high level powers - can’t remember exactly which one.

Yeah that makes total sense. I have found that for soloing, max RES can be a remarkable but somewhat undervalued stat allocation - unless you’re relying on invisibility or hoards of summons to avoid/divert incoming attacks.

Sweet writeup! I thought about running a solo SC Fighter with BPM Toughened Fury too. I know @NotDumbEnough has had a lot of fun with one (not solo though I think). Couple thoughts: Dumping RES - maybe not, actually a high RES would help you drastically reduce the DoTs durations, also with something like Solitary Wanderer ring. Could make you a lot tankier, maybe could ditch Rekvu's Casque. Don't worry about having too much deflection to not reliably trigger toughened fury... on upscaled PotD without a shield, that won't happen . Maximizing Unbending - +% Healing Done doesn't help, but +% Healing Received does. So Glazed Chops would be a GREAT choice of food for you. Also, you're relying upon Fractured Casque so it might not be a great option, but the Evergreen Vigor passive from BPM Nature Godlike would help Unbending too. With more deflection from max RES you'd be less interrupted anyway. You could also use Unbending Shield to avoid Interrupts and add RES. For the Dracolich and other single enemies like that, I wonder if Bring Low from Rust's Poignard could help to get more free interrupt-like attacks on top of Knock Down/Mule Kick. That wouldn't work well with Devoted though.

Probably well known but... when you first arrive at Neketaka you can get the quest Salt in The Wound from Nera Bardatto. There is a repeatable dialog loop that can get you max Honest disposition very very quickly. Just spam left click and space bar. Nice for the right Paladin and/or Priest build. Also I think I wrote about it before, but there is an infinite (but tedious) XP loop about lockpicking the door to Lueva Alvari's office and getting the Governor Bodyguard in/out of the office (which re-locks the door).

So this I also noticed and reported some time ago - but IDK if it wasn't the case before, just not reported, or if something changed in the game. To the rest of the issues you mention, I can attest to them but I don't know what's going on. I think @yorname and @Elric Galad are onto something with the KW issue vs. the Ring of Focused Flames, but the Lash... your first testing showed that the lashes were gone with the CP KW component - so I think it might still be linked even if things got weirder with your second testing. Not the first inconsistent behavior that we've seen in Deadfire but you've already demonstrated that it had an adverse effect on both Ring +ACC and Lash so it makes it a prime suspect, no?

You can actually if you’re a Loremaster. As a Wizard/Chanter you can use an empower point to replenish all your spells (2/PL for most PLs) if you quickly switch to the Grimoire of Vaporous Wizardry and use the point then, then switch back to your favorite grimoire (or use Vaporous the whole time). You can do this several fights in a row, which in certain cases is strictly better than Blood Sacrifice. Then any following easy fight, empower Her Revenge or Her Tears with Sasha’s and refill your empower points pool instantly to the max.

IMO the closest to my image of the D&D bard archetype (i.e. Jack-of-All-Trades Fighter/Mage/Thief) is Trickster/Skald singing The Long Night's Drink with Ryngrim's Repulsive Visage and Mirrored Image and alternating between melee attacks and cheap invocations (Thunder Crashed, Killer Froze Stiff, Ben Fidel's Neck, Her Revenge). Incredibly versatile melee caster rogue: tanky, very damaging, lots of crits/phrases, enemies are severly debuffed and CC'd, still pretty good against Resolve affliction immunes. Lots of self-contained synergies BUT will be even more awesome with a brute force Barb + Willbreaker and a Disruptor Theurge storm/electricity-focused.

Trickster!! Troubadour or Skald.

I haven't played with a party in a while but at least solo, Bekarna's Observatory is not a place I usually clean early/mid level... (unless I'm an Assassin and can just cheese the hell out of both maps).

Yes yes yes... also, if only Wild Growth worked on your Phantom

There it is

Very cool @Va'exna! Impressive and very clever. I have to report you to the animal protection society though what you did to this pet only rivals what @Boeroer has done to legions of skeletons over the years.

Good to see you back Fred! So you want to finish a first playthrough with a party - fun, versatile, damage-dealer, durable. That leaves a lot of options on the table . Do you have more criteria: are you still looking for mostly a caster? caster/melee? particular classes of interest? Druid/Troubadour (Theurge) is really not boring IMO, but I can't recall how you wanted to build your WoW Lich King impersonator. @thelee is the lord of the Theurge, between the Disruptor Theurge and the more recent Big Game Hunter - I think it's actually a very dynamic class, very party friendly (but doesn't have to be) very versatile, fun, tons of damage and incredible CC which help durability. But of course there are plenty of other strong options too.

Thanks for the masterful post @thelee. It should be noted that: BPM makes 1H style better if one wants to roll with it Sun & Moon is a good 1H melee weapon but only applies its +12ACC to the first head hit which makes me very sad I've not been through with it but toyed with/theorycrafted the idea of a solo devoted/monk wielding Aldris Blade of Captain Crow 1H and back up Fists. Aldris has +Crit chance, healing on crit, and add'l damage on crit - really nice.

Yeah, TBH it's not putting any dent in your potential for automated annihilation and yes the constant recovery being constant is nice especially because it's a positive asymmetry for you: enemy fighters will get enfeebled (no healing) and you cannot be CON afflicted basically (35 RES + Solitary Wanderer and 190+ fortitude = the very few CON affliction that land don't last more than 2 sec). Check the wiki, all commands are listed it's quick to get a handle on. https://pillarsofeternity.fandom.com/wiki/Console#In_Deadfire

Hey, You mean +2 PEN from Devoted doesn't stack on the Forbidden Fist attack? Is it just not showing or being suppressed (which shouldn't be the case since the Devoted bonus is passive)? That really sucks, also for the +% Crit DMG. I wasn't aware of that - or knew and forgot... Well if you're not looking to complete any achievement, you can simply console your Devoted into Unbroken and nobody will be any the wiser.

Yes indeed. This had been pointed by @thelee in his encyclopedia: If the spell has an accuracy roll, it gets +1 accuracy per PL. Some spells instead get +2 accuracy per PL. Chants, hazards, and spells that primarily only have that accuracy roll (no damage/healing, no duration effect) tend to benefit from this. https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/227477-pillars-of-eternity-ii-deadfire/faqs/76599/power-level-scaling

I had taken down Auranic with a solo Mindstalker, here is the detail (certainly not the only way): Auranic:It’s actually pretty easy even with this build: you need potions of invisibility, the Eviee pet, one Empower point, and do NOT damage Auranic from the beginning. Keep her for last. First, go kill the bodyguard that can charge/stun. Stealth and Thunderous Report + maybe a normal followup attack will do. This will trigger your invisibility from the boots. Go slightly south while switching to the Red Hand. Fire on the Sigil that opened (obelisk of terror) and the remaining bodyguard both with Gouging Strike. Yes, even if obelisks are pierce DMG immune they will take the hit, triggering lashes and additional effects. Drink a potion of invisibility and retreat to the entrance to chill a bit. Now you will repeat this strategy to apply Gouging Strike to all the remaining obelisks but never attack Auranic. It’s actually really easy, walk up, Auranic opens an obelisk, shoot, stealth, run away. Use potions of invisibility and replenish 6 points of Guile out of your 12 Max when needed. Once all obelisks have the Gouging Strike, wait at the entrance for their destruction. Because Auranic is still relaxed, she won’t open the obelisks unless provoked. Once they’re gone, shoot Auranic in the face with Gouging Strike from Dragon’s Dowry and retreat to the entrance. Wait until she’s done for.

Yeah I’ve done this a bunch of times solo. A Herald or Harbinger can be nice. Give Belrangouille infinite dot/potion of invisibility/retreat at the entrance to block line of sight/sing skellies chant/add summons if you want/go have a beer to wait for lots of adra ban/dust/mythic stone.