automata_m

Due to no longer having access to an XBox, I've had to resort to playing Deadfire on my Mac laptop (lol I know), but after some time apart from the game I re-downloaded it on steam and haven't been able to get the game to "start"? The game loads and opens, but it is only a black screen. Doing research, I've tried to do the window mode method via CMD+F and yet either way, the game does not load up. No matter how long I wait, it's stuck at black screen. The application is up and running but it's literally just a blank screen. I do see a steam notification at the bottom right corner about the Steam community. I know Mac isn't optimal for this game, but I've managed to run this game on my laptop before, and initially have had to wait for the game bouncing on my dock for hours to fully load everything, but in the end it worked. But now that I've deleted the game and reinstalled it, it seems I'm back at square one, and the game won't start nor even go through the process where it bounces on the loading dock. Would prefer it to do that so at least I can try and wait for it to load up--instead of just a feedback-less black screen. Has there been any updated tips to get it working on Mac? Because I was able to get it to work before and had a good amount of playtime, it's not like I can get a refund on steam. And plus, I would love to get back to playing this game!

Thanks for the thorough description@hansvedic! It sounds actually quite fun and I definitely want to incorporate fire spells with the Barbarian so I'm gonna roll this! Also always helpful to have some sturdiness while he's in the front line which I am finding much needed.

I really dig this! Especially with shamans being the de facto red caster class in mtg and all, and gotta love mono-red burn. I think also red tends to temporarily buff its creatures so not too white. If I want to optimise red for damage output, will it compare to simply focusing on physical damage? I assume berserker would provide most benefits to casting.

This sounds perfect! I've seen discussion about Grave Calling combo before but never really put 2 and 2 together to apply this to my character but it might just the line I needed for Black. I've also tried a Blood Mage/Bleak Walker as another alternative, and I really like the black knight flavor but tbh the necromancy of Black mana is too iconic to not summon skeletons aha. Sounds perfect! It seems like Barbarians proc it best with carnage, but I imagine Bloodmages can proc it as well through just auto-attack or spells no? I think the bloodmage mechanic of life for spells is also perfectly on brand. Otherwise, I've seen a build from patch 2.1 using Soulblade or Streetfighter which also are Black aligned subclasses. ------ So overall, after all this wonderful discussion, I'm so far thinking of restarting again with this party: WHITE - Herald (Shieldbearer/Troubadour) as the most team oriented tank variant. BLUE - Wizard (Illusionist) for access to transmutation, illusion, and evocation. BLACK - Loremaster (Bloodmage/Beckoner) for damage and summons. RED - Brute (Barbarian/Devoted) for melee aoe damage. GREEN - Beastmaster (Shifter/Stalker) for additional melee as well as support.

Great tip! I've been trying no subclass Barbarian as the vulnerability of the Berserker's rage has been difficult to manage, but the Steel Garrote sounds perfect for a Boros character especially. If I decide to keep it mono color, I think the lawful evil flavor of Steel Garrote will probably conflict with Red's freedom focus, but this is all very exciting to learn nonetheless! :0 Ahh––I just looked it up in the forums and I see it referenced by @UltimaLuminaire. Sounds really fun! Also one final question for anybody––I've tried restarting with Black as the Necromancer-esque summoner mentioned before. But my question is: will the skeletons invocation sufficiently carry the Chanter half of the subclass through later levels, as I don't plan on really capitalizing on other summonings and I'm finding not much flavorful options the farther we go down the skilltree (not until Many Lives at least). Thanks everyone for the help!

Oooh that sounds very cool. Is the Holy Grenade the technique you mentioned or is it an item? I think Sacred Immolation is a fantastic addition also. On the topic of guilds, the Fanatic is also a perfect Boros to me also lol.

Very true! That's what I'm realizing as well. Which is partly terrible because now the choices have expanded even further as to how to devise this party ahaha. A steel garrote/blood mage definitely gives me Orzhov. Similarly, the mindstalker I had laid out is likely more Dimir than anything else.

omg that's awesome! I've been endlessly referring to this guide planning my playthrough. I was really wow'd by your use of an mtg card as thematic foundation––it was actually what inspired me to make this party! Sadly, I'm missing mechanical knowledge so I really appreciate your input here! As someone whose favorite color to play is Black, I definitely agree with you that Blue and Black manifest very similarly in Deadfire. I feel like especially between the mechanics of the cipher, wizard, and rogue, and their various subclasses, they can apply to either colors in different ways. Actually in a different iteration, I thought about a soul blade/assassin mindstalker rogue for Black and wizard/trickster spellblade for Blue so switched. Your rationale for Blue as Evocation makes total sense, as that seems like a solid selection of control spells. I think the red flavor of Evocation is probably too much of a hangup personally, so I would probably go with transmuter myself (although I would really love "thrust of tattered veils" on my blue mage...). That being said, although I aimed for symmetry creating this party (everyone as a multiclass) I think single-class Wizard makes sense for me especially for Blue, as Blue is probably the most unique mechanically of the colors, with its monopoly on counter magic lol. Not to mention Blue and wizards being so intertwined flavor-wise. Also with the large pool of spells, that means perhaps I could then focus more on Black's own spell list. I think I will try out Psion as well! Also, Shifter/Stalker definitely seems much more cohesive! Do the sporelings of Ancient scale into late-game? As currently I have been finding them helping a lot in the first island for sure. And similarly, would missing out on Wild Growth on those sporelings be a thing of note? Finally, between, let's say, Shifter/Stalker, Transmuter Wizard, and Bloodmage/Assassin, would you say Crusader or Herald offer more for this assortment. Similarly, would the Brute or Howler be more cohesive? I noticed discussion about this in a previous thread about necromancer builds! I actually am really interested because the decay spells unique to the druid seems perfect. My only hangup is similar to the Evocation wizard, the flavor of the druid might be too much of a hang-up. That being said, I do feel more compelled by the spells of the druid that do apply. I tried another playthrough today with the Troubadour which I actually enjoyed too with the skeletons. Does the necromancer-esque flavor phase out with later levels, as I notice skeletons are only a thing for the first few CLs, until the CL7 phase.

Hey everyone! I am about to start a POTD run and thought it would be fun try out a custom party. And since the party count is 5, which aligns so well with MTG’s color pie, I wanted to try making a party themed after each the WUBRG colors. As it is POTD, I am trying to balance flavor and optimization, but it has been a minute since I last played this game, and I’ve had a few tries starting playthroughs that just didn’t feel too cohesive. So I wanted some guidance on how to create this party. Here are some thoughts as to my team: WHITE - tank. I have been deciding between Herald (Shieldbearer/Troubadour) or Crusader (Shieldbearer/Unbroken) as a better option for tank in this party. it might help to have the extra utility, healing, and support from the Herald, but they definitely are not as sturdy as the Crusader. BLUE - disabler/cc. I have been sticking with Mindstalker (Trickster/Beguiler) as it is what I feel best captures the blue mentality of counterspelling and indirect battlefield manipulation. Not sure if this role is needed but I went with it! BLACK - ranged dps/utility. I went with Spellblade (Bloodmage/Assassin) as an alpha striker to begin combat encounters from stealth and also get wizard spells. However, I’m wondering if this role offers much otherwise or if I should go the necromancer route––maybe Loremaster (Bloodmage/Bellower)? RED - melee dps. I am unsure whether the Brute (Berserker/Devoted) is the most optimal as a damage source, but felt it was most fitting. Also tried the Howler (Berserker/Skald) as a more versatile choice. Not sure what I prefer! GREEN - melee dps/utility. I think here I compromised synergy most for flavor, as I went with Beastmaster (Ancient/Stalker), but I wonder if it offers much for the team at all, or if the Stalker subclass conflicts with Ancient. Wondering if there’s a more synergistic Ranger subclass or different subclass overall. Overall, I am content (excited even?) with the flavor choices, but haven’t been sure how to create synergy or define each character’s roles. It doesn't help that the start of the game doesn't really showcase what each class does in the mid-game. Does anybody have any suggestions on alterations to make this playthrough POTD-ready? Furthermore, generally speaking what attributes should each role focus on? Thanks for reading everyone! Also if there’s any MTG-fans, would love to hear if you have any alternative thoughts in general.

That makes sense! I have read posts saying that Berath has a lot of great nuking power and so that's what's been fueling my hesitations about missing out on the High Level Priest spells. Are there a lot of tactics with high-level Priest or would all of their tactics boil down to buff and then cast Symbol of Berath? I do like the amount of options in combat the Contemplative allows.

Thanks @Kaylon and @Boeroer for the tips! Funny enough, the Berath Contemplative was my first character before I started second guessing my choice and restarting. I’ve just started a new Contemplative build with high MIG/PER/INT and it has been sooo satisfying so far (the extent of micromanagement needed for a monk is actually pretty fun imo). In terms of overall power, it sounds like the +10 MIG and INT could be stronger than Priest’s scaling PL to their spells. Would you guys say the versatile damage output is worth losing access to the Symbol and Incarnate spells? Just wondering if mid-game priests offered anything all that interesting before I take the full plunge and commit to this Berathian Helwalker MC. Also thanks Boeroer for the weapon recs!! I’ve had my eyes on the Twin Eela greatsword but had no idea about the other two—all really cool and excited for when I might run into them. Do you happen to know of any notable armors with similar Berathian theme? (Sans helmets since I’m a Death Godlike). Thanks guys!

Hey folks! I just got POE2 and so far have been having the worst choice paralysis with all of the new customization options and gameplay changes added to the series. I must have played 20 hours and have barely made it to the Engwithian Digsite just because I keep restarting. Thus I am hoping to get some guidance through the experts on this forum I would like to continue with my POE1 Berathian Priest (a la Boeroer's build). She was tons of fun, dicing through foes with a Greatsword as well as nuking with Cleansing Flame. Main issue with transferring her to Deadfire, however, has been that it seems Priests have loss a lot of their versatility. And I've been reading mixed reviews on whether it's worth centering a Priest build on damage, which is my priority for this character as the MC. I have been trying to choose between: SC Berath, for the increased PL and pen. for spells + powerful high-level spells Devoted/Berath, for the passives boosting Greatsword usage + sturdier gishier gameplay Helwalker/Berath, for the extreme stacking MIG and INT bonuses + speed I've also seen mention of an Assassin/Berath build which seems pretty cool but I imagine Skaen is better suited for it Clearly there is perhaps no such thing as having it all which I fully understand ( still hurts though ). However, my question would be moreso, given the meta and game mechanics of POE2, would it be more worth it to go SC or multi-class if I want to maximize DPS (and if multi-class which one?). Whether using a weapon or spells is not as important to me as much as fulfilling the power fantasy of being THE herald of the Deity of Death. Thanks guys!

Ah fantastic! Thanks for that. I just started the playthrough and very excited to get into the thick of it

Hey @Boeroer thanks so, so much for the welcome and the help! This is exactly what I was hoping for! it's a shame that the Deadfire DLC Pack doesn't seem to be ported to consoles since there seems to be some cool items I'm missing out on . But all the builds are so helpful! Would the paladin stats be a bit more balanced or should I try to max Might + maybe high Perception? Thanks again!

Hi everyone, first post here! I’ve recently just finished my first play-through and had such a blast. Now I'm about to start another playthrough and wanted some help planning my party for this round. I was hoping to make a 4 godlikes party for Normal or Hard difficulty, with one for each subrace since I just love the lore around the gods and godlikes. The main issue I’ve been running into has been planning the builds for the party. I'm afraid I am not as versed in Pillars' gameplay mechanics to create builds that balance: thematic coherence with each subrace + synergy to their passives + also being fairly competent as a 4 person party. I would possibly add Pallegina into the mix although I would love to keep it 4. Has anybody tried this/does anybody have any suggestions? I tried sifting through the forums but haven’t found too much said on this––but I would love to make this happen!