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Not So Clever Hound

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Everything posted by Not So Clever Hound

  1. You're exactly right. That's the dilemma of the Bleeding (and Vaporous) Arcanist. Of note, if at some point you want to play with Arcane Knight or Battlemage, both would give you access to a great Heal + Courageous which, if prolonged, removes the need to have Rekvu's casque and an injury. Really cool - also gives you insane healing in particular on Battlemage. Then you can use Acina's Tricorn or the White Void Helm or something else you fancy. PS: I like the idea of Ningrath, i.e. the secret child of Ninagauth and Llengrath. Surely an arcane force to be reckoned with .
  2. So the synergy of Assassin/Helwalker is that you can get bonus Might and Int and the shock lash and speed and accuracy while generating wounds from the safety of the backline (without taking damage) thanks to Dance of Death. Then you can mix between Rogue attacks and Stunning Surge which is amazing and can stun lock an opponent with enough INT etc. Assassin/Devoted is really good too as @dgray62 mentioned. If you take the Arquebus specialty, you can switch off the modal with Conquerer stance (the acc bonuses won't stack) to still be very accurate and reload faster. A Blackjacket could be great too: if you use one special Arquebus which has 2 shots + a big one shot arquebus opener + 2 other arquebus/firearms you have a total of 6 shots before even having to reload (cuz you get an extra one from stealth at opening which reloads instantly). You can also do this with Devoted of course but Blackjacket switch weapons faster, has one more weapon set and isn't limited to one weapon type. Check @Kaylon's Glimmer Man for extra flavor anyway (switch from Tactician to Devoted/Blackjacket for party play):
  3. Ah yes, that must be fun to watch! Very synergistic. I forgot one combo that you might find story/lore-friendly which is Ranged Cipher/Assassin. I had written up a solo build here:
  4. I'm glad you have fun with it! Indeed, Meteor Shower on this build is essentially a devastatingly sustained orbital strike because of how all your stats/PL help every part of the spell... It's just a festival of scaling. Ask Hauani o Whe if it remembers it 1) Duskfall is great for the +15 deflection "drawing parry" at encounter start IF you are willing to prolong it's effect with wall of draining. Same goes for Furrante's Breastplate "First to the Fight". 2) I'm a sucker for Arcane Veil, I find Merciless Gaze a bit meh personally. But PL2 has quite a few good choices. AV is great but Miasma, Binding Web, Ray of Fire... they all scale really well and are very good. 3) Dampener is an asymmetric spell... it's a lot more annoying to YOU than to the enemy. So no. Pull of Eora is great, but you can also situationally use it from a Grimoire. Enemies have high fortitude, and you're soloing so you can't afford many misses. Pull of Eora can leave you exposed if you rely on it a lot. 4) Yes! Kapana Taga = probably the best solo defensive weapon/stat stick. Lover's Embrace = guaranteed frenzy if you switch to it and fire a pulsing AoE spell. I already mentioned Duskfall and Furrante's Breastplate as nice alternatives for max defense. If you manage interrupts or switch to another grimoire, Helm of the White Void can boost the ACC of many, many amazing spells (both the Affliction roll AND the Damage roll).
  5. That's perfect. You're kind of right on the Arquebus slowness though you can build to still retain the Arquebus modal for extra accuracy and be decently fast. But that would require certain builds - see below. Switching to pistol, single-handed, with the modal is great anyway. Other great weapons are Rods (AoE modal spreads your special attack e.g. Gouging Strike) and Hunting Bow (modal is super fast, amazing single target DPS with a unique acquired early) and War Bow (for one particular unique) or Arbalest for one build+unique. Your party comp is very viable and IMO screams Pallegina as Herald or Crusader to fill ???. Single class casters are great, especially Cleric and Wizard. If you build Eder as Fighter/Rogue, I would build Pallegina as a Herald. That's probably the most powerplay-ish synergy you can get from them two. Maximize Engagement on Eder (with persistent distraction), get decent engagement on Pallegina with supporting aura + chants. For your main char, Rogue ranged weapon user: SC Assassin is very viable in any shape or form but you might end up "parking" your team somewhere and do everything with it. If you like roguish cheese, that is. Assassin/Helwalker: versatile glass cannon of destruction Assassin/Bleakwalker: @Boeroer's special farming build, devastating Assassin/Devoted: pick your ranged weapon, stick with it, and penetrate like nobody else... @Kaylon has an amazing (solo) build. Assassin/Arcane Archer or Ghost Heart: Uber Disabler with devastating openers and a unique Arbalest synergy - Ghost Heart if you don't like petsies. Assassin/troubadour: Sure Handed Ila + Arquebus or other Ranged Weapons + everything a Troubadour can do. You can also do a Trickster/martial multi that is a Rogue who can tank and deal damage/disable in melee, or an Assassin/caster for great spellcasting effectiveness... really you don't have to stick to ranged weapons purely for effectiveness. Whatever seems most fun to you, then we can elaborate.
  6. A couple thoughts: Key differences in PoE2 that might throw you off are the Inspiration/Affliction mechanic and the Armor Rating vs. Penetration mechanic which are new. AR/PEN can be especially punishing on PotD in the early game, because of scaling and because of how generally the difficulty in PoE2 is very frontloaded, then reaches a plateau, then accelerates again in end-game. Early game can be frustrating but once you get the hang of it, you can do the Maje Dig Site with your eyes closed (well kind of) . Good healing, AR, PEN and things like Charm/Hold Beasts or Cipher spells can be life savers early on. If you want to say specifically fights where you struggle, happy to help decode the blocker and give some pointers. Ranged Rogue (Single or Multi) is amazing. But SC Rogue early without abusing stealth is very hard. Because early game is more about sustain if you don't abuse encounter reset. And early SC Rogue has zero sustain . If you have more thoughts on the kind of build that is appealing to you, happy to think about some fun/effective options that will bridge nicely with your PoE1 Char. If you had fun with PoE1, I'm sure you'll get to LOVE PoE2 eventually!
  7. Summon duration scales with INT and PL but isn't a "beneficial effect" as far as I know, so won't scale with strand of favor, mari crudia, SoT etc. (like the Storm spells of the Druid). If summon duration doesn't scale in your game with INT and PL, then it's a nasty bug.
  8. Have fun and beware of "suicide by screaming skellies". The AoE gets very, very large. I love this mod.
  9. Ah @Boeroer…. Always busy torturing some kind of Vessel somewhere, be it a dummy or a poor summoned skeleton…
  10. It’s great indeed. My opener is very often chill fog even late game because I’m boring and because it scales and combines so well with everything (apart from gaze of the adragan!)
  11. By the way and just to finish on this topic: interestingly, empowered Skullcrusher attacks don't always apply Swollen Eye (-10ACC, standard injury from Crush dmg) but sometimes the random injury type: Smashed Hands (+20% recovery time) or Bruised Ribs (-20 fortitude) or Concussion (-20 will) or Sprained Wrist (-10 deflection), maybe others I didn't get. Smashed Hands is garbage, other can be situationally good in combination with afflictions and other debuffs to drive a particular stat on one enemy into the ground. For example Swollen Eye can be nice in combination with Blinded and/or Devotions for the Faithful to significantly debuff enemy Accuracy... but frankly it's not a lot of bang-for-your-buck for a unique enchant that triggers RANDOM injuries, only on one enemy and only on Empowered attacks.
  12. Funny you mention that: I tried to play around with this idea a while ago. Short answer is: I don't think it's exploitable. Long answer: Skullcrusher only applies an injury with Empowered attacks to an uninjured target. Once a target has been injured, if you reset the fight and empower an attack again on this target with Skullcrusher, it won't apply/upgrade injuries. I don't know if it's technically possible to lure enemies onto 4 consecutive dungeon traps and I don't know what happens then. Best place to check would be Tikawara/Engwithan Waystation I guess or spawning an enemy in the sandswept ruins. But good lord, the tedium involved... just kill the thing already instead of playing with it. Apart from that, I haven't come across other ways to toy with the injury mechanic on enemies. It is one of those asymmetrical mechanics that annoy only the player.
  13. On the gaming path, I tend to agree with Kaylon. I also like to sail around a bit - I do a combination of different things, which my "normal" way of playing. Except when I'm testing a character that I really don't know yet if it's going to hold his own well - then I want to go a little faster, powerplaying to find out. Some solo chars that can be strong late game have certain power spikes that require you to hit certain levels to gain game-changing solo abilities e.g. Relentless Storm or Unbending. On the other hand, play an SC Assassin and you can basically take 90% of fights in the game at level 5. It also depends if you're playing PotD vanilla or Upscaled, certain areas/enemies at certain levels become significantly harder with Upscaling. BUT, generally speaking the completionist in me has a very hard time having fun with a toon that cannot destroy the Digsite at Maje. I find Gorecci street optional however. @thelee I almost only play solo and only PotD mostly upscaled with some games without Upscaling to have a change of pace. I like the harder challenge but I find the scaling of enemy PEN and AR sometimes just too goofy (e.g. a Boar in Maje having more armor than a dude in full plate) so I like to run some playthroughs on "easy" PotD . But if I deem a character interesting and want to write up a short build, I'll rerun certain iconic fights with Upscaling to make sure it still gives the same experience. Finally I agree with your comment @mjo2138 about the reward/morality system but screw Benweth . This arrogant, homicidal d-bag never lives long in my games. That said, you mention the KOTOR series as having a great morality system (which I agree, if only quite unidimensional) but you can still trick and break the hell out of this system to pile up certain alignment-locked rewards. At the risk of being very boring, the most interesting and solid take on morality remains The Witcher 3 in that regard IMO. Great thread!
  14. Going from Legendary to Mythic also only gives +3acc. I agree it makes the game totally unplayable. You might as well juste delete it from your computer right away
  15. Yes, yes and yes! I whole-heartedly second that. I like the analogy but actually Cipher Ascended = God Mode. If memory serves me well, I think you had actually written about how you abandoned an Ascendant run because it was just getting a few Time Parasite casts then spamming Amplified Wave faster than enemies could get back up - stupidly powerful combo? I may very well be confused about who wrote that. Even with pretty sweet buffs courtesy of Eric, IMHO Spiritshift is NOT God Mode. Or at least not Ascended Ascendant God Mode.
  16. So you're right, I fired up an old save, these are the PotD fully upscaled stats below. Which is really weird because I had done my homework to answer your question but I had fired up another save and looked at the Deathguard Fanatic entry in the bestiary to guide my answer above. And the bestiary shows different AR weaknesses, while everything else seems more or less in line... Anyway, Antipathetic Field could be quite effective against it (Corrode + Reflex) and weakness to Pierce is actually great... if you have the right weapons (firearms, stalker's patience, rust's poignard etc.)
  17. It's relatively weak to Crush and Shock and has low-ish Reflex. It can be Paralyzed/Petrified. Chanter with Her Revenge and White Worms can do some nice party-friendly damage while the Monk uses her fists. Druid and Storm Spells would be immensely helpful indeed. If you don't have the right setup for this foe, it might be too punishing for lvl 12. EDIT: if you can manage/remove its concentration, you can use Interrupts on its one-shot ability maybe? It's usually a great strategy with strong single enemies that are not immune to interrupt.
  18. Phantoms of the Lost (Starting) First Talk (You get it, after you leave the Arena): Chorus of the Lost (Eothas! Stop) (Distracted / Hobbled) Sympathy for the Lost (Reach for Lost Souls) (Distracted / Heal) No Pity for the Lost (Search for your soul) (Distracted / Steadfast Inspiration) Second Talk Hasongo: Nothing Third Talk: Mercy for the Lost (Upgrade from Symphathy of the Lost - Fit inspiration) Commandment of the Lost (Upgrade from Chorus of the Lost) (Immobilize foes) No Time for the Lost (Upgrade from No Pity for the Lost - Reduce hostile effect duration and increases beneficial effect duration)
  19. Isn’t the Maje interaction conditioning which “of the Lost” abilities you get e.g Chorus of the Lost? It doesn’t impact gift from the machine and effigy resentment. Then you automatically gain back gift from the machine and effigy resentment after Hasongo no matter your dispositions and choice in that interaction. Finally the 3 gods interactions dictate which “of death herald” ability you get - which @thelee and @Noqnand others summarized very nicely in various places.
  20. That doesn’t influence your ability to keep Gift from The Machine and Skaen Pool Sacrifice. It’s just flavor chat with your soul post Ashen Maw.. zero stat impact. I always get and keep those bonuses and am almost never cruel… at least not in disposition.
  21. I'm glad that you ask actually this is why I take Enlightened Agony and work it out vs. my FF attack cycle time: Rule 1: Doesn't have Intellect Inspiration > Cast Enlightened Agony Rule 2: Doesn't have Dexterity Inspiration > Cast Swift Flurry Rule 3: Has an Intellect Inspiration > Use FF ability Under Swift Flurry + Enlightened Agony my FF ability total cycle time is 1.9s and the Curse lasts 1.7s. Everything works out on autopilot then and I only keep the hand on Invocations (which I could automate too but hey, I've gotta do something).
  22. You're right, it can be the main flavor of a Sage build but even this Sage won't spend 100% of their time buffing and poking things with Spirit Lance. In many cases you'll want to do more than that, opportunistically or out of necessity (e.g. it takes time to get Spirit Lance). You'll have plenty of awesome nukes as a wizard, but you'll just have to be a bit more careful about targeting with some of them (spell description is usually helpful - when it says "hurt everyone" or "hurt enemies"). It's still awesome and super viable for party play anyway - it's a top-tier multiclass. And you'll also get some party-friendly nukes. It's just that on the other had of the spectrum, Chanter almost only has party friendly nukes. So it's even more straight forward to play IMO. The old ones on the Build Board still seem very serviceable even on 5.0. You can build Herald in many different ways but considering your specs, I see 2 primary builds; More offensive Caster/Melee Flavor: Skald/Paladin or More Caster Focused: Troubadour/Paladin. In either case the Paladin subclass choice is very flexible depending on the "morality" you'd like to have in game. In other words, even for the melee flavor you don't have to take an "evil" class like Woedica or Bleak Walker to be very effective. Kind Wayfarers or Goldpact are excellent too. Anything is fine really. Skald/Paladin can alternate between casting offensive invocations (Her Tears, Her Revenge, Killer Froze Stiff, Thunder Rolled, The lover cried, Eld Nary..) and critfarming with Flames of Devotion + 2 weapons (Sun&Moon + Tuotilo's Palm + Ring of Focused Flames is a nice, balanced combo for that) to damage single targets and get Phrases back. Occasionally summon stuff. Chanting and Paladin Aura can provide a lot of sweet utility to the build and everyone around: healing, debuffing enemies, boosting accuracy/damage... your taste really). Troubadour/Paladin will wield weapon & (medium/large) shield and alternate between summoning, offensive invocation and using Paladin abilities as they please to heal friendlies and damage/debuff badies. This one can be a healing machine that still causes a ton of damage via summons and unleashing powerful nukes. Will also give the same awesome passive utility with chants and aura. If you really need a detailed breakdown, particularly for early game, we can probably give you some guidance. You want max Intelligence, Some Mig, Some Dex, Con flat, Per is less key in lower difficulties but still nice, flat or slightly boosted Res.
  23. I second @dgray62 on the Priest type choice. It also depends on your gameplay: for pure hit n'run style, having a couple "free" extra rogue mobility/invisibility/damage with Skaen is nice as you might not use other priest spells anyway. Guile ain't cheap . So you could zap and stealth and murder for a bit longer. Otherwise Wael is best indeed, Rymrgand would be fun for the dual axes as spiritual weapon but it's only for Vatnir unless you mod. Here is also a SC Trickster rundown that can do nasty things on PotD:
  24. If you wield Sun & Moon with nothing in your left hand and launch any melee attack, the +12 ACC bonus of going one-handed only applies to the second head roll, not to the first. I am playing with CP and latest BPM.
  25. For what you want Sage or Battlemage would be indeed powerhouses but most Wizard's AoEs come with friendly fire so you'd have to manage a bit the companions, the placement etc. Here is how I understand your specs: very powerful early-on and throughout, with a strong late-game plan melee/caster hybrid flex on looks/equipment not too squishy access to high damage AoE party friendly no matter the party comp/behavior easy automation + cool hands-on gameplay Then your "ideal build" IMO is a Cantor (Monk/Chanter). I had built one here for Solo hardest difficulty that can be super easily tweaked for relax party play. There is flex in race, subclass, abilities, stats, gear, etc. Overall it would be incredibly hard to build it in a way that cannot absolutely steamroll every encounter on low difficulty. EDIT: if you want another flavor, this one is great and more detailed:
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