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freddfranca

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Posts posted by freddfranca

    Returning after some time

    in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire Characters Builds, Strategies & the Unity Engine (Spoiler Warning!)

    Posted

    Thanks guys for all the ideas. Probably I will do two runs (don’t know how I will have time to this 😂😂😂), one solo and one party.

    The solo I am thinking in a rogue caster MC, maybe assassin/evoker ?

    And the party I want to go with an Unbroken MC, don’t know if a crusader full tank or a combine with a class that brings more versatility to the party.

    • Like 2

    Returning after some time

    in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire Characters Builds, Strategies & the Unity Engine (Spoiler Warning!)

    Posted

    Hello guys how are you doing? I hope everyone is ok.

    I played a lot some time ago, but for bigger reasons I had to stop and couldn’t complete any run.

    Now I’m back and I want to finish the game. I always consider first to try a solo run, but I don’t know if it’s the best choice for a first run. My idea was to restart with my Druid/Troubador Lich King, but in a party I think he would be boring.

    any suggestions for a class build that could be versatile and fun in a party? Not a glass cannon, but someone who can dish some damage and resist by myself at the most fights?

    • Like 2

    What’s the point in have a tank in this game?

    in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire Characters Builds, Strategies & the Unity Engine (Spoiler Warning!)

    Posted

    12 minutes ago, thelee said:

    oh yeah, this is real good advice.

     

    if you have lame engagement skillz don't worry so long as you can just start combat right. especially on higher difficulties, deadfire is definitely a game where simply having the right formation to start a fight can make a pivotal difference. there are some nekataka/town ambushes that are brutal simply because you start surrounded or with limited control over your positioning.

    Yes, one of the fights that I am struggling is right when you levar make, a desert with xaurips and a drake. When I can stealth and positioning myself, it’s ok, but when I fail the interaction and the fight starts with me surrounded, oh boy, I barely can do nothing

    What’s the point in have a tank in this game?

    in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire Characters Builds, Strategies & the Unity Engine (Spoiler Warning!)

    Posted

    27 minutes ago, thelee said:

    this right here is kind of answering your own question. if your backline caster is being attacked, then a tank is not doing their job somewhere. make sure you actually have enough engagement. it seems like you get the gist of it, but just to reiterate: most characters don't have engagement by default and a shield is the main way. some of the real "tank"-type classes have additional ways to get more engagement (barb, fighter), and a few casters have abilities that grant more engagement. generally one engagement per melee is not enough i find to keep my caster-heavy parties safe. fighters are real great for this - one of their stances gives them +3 engagement *and* damage reduction.

    edit: do you actually see the engagement lines? it should be pretty obvious which characters are engaging each other. disengagement attacks are far more punishing than normal attacks (huge acc bonus, huge damage bonus)

     

    Does the enemy have engagement? If not, then just step away and let the enemy retarget your tank, because they'll be engaged (if your tank is properly set up) and the AI is extremely reluctant to break engagement.

    If the enemy has engagement you should, as some suggestions:

    • instead have your non-tank melee target non-engaging targets
    • interrupt/prone/knockup them (while they're interrupted, they can't engage)
    • hit them with something that grants staggered or dazed (eliminates engagement)
    • hit them with hard crowd control (stun, paralyze, terrify)
    • edit: buff your non-tank melee with swift (can't be engaged) or equip non-engaging armor

    if you're still struggling, i would question what that other melee character is. most non-tank melee-ers have escape abilities of some sort, even if it's just bonuses against disengagement. Even a barbarian built to be a glass cannon has sprint and leap. Rogues are the most glass-cannon-y of melee characters, and not only do they have tons of escape mechanics, pretty much all their abilities interrupt, which lets you run away if needed. the AI also likes to target lower health characters - try picking up tough, not-dumping your CON, etc. a tank with lower health but high defenses will be a juicy target for the AI. all else fails, equip your non-tank melee with reach weapons (staff, pike, there's a reach unique great sword).

     

    edit: worth pointing out there are plenty of (even some pretty major) systems that have tanks but no system of aggro or taunts (which are both pretty MMO specific mechanics imo). Generally they rely on making it extremely punishing for enemies to *not* target the tank, or to step away from them. same principle.

    it's also worth pointing out that while some AI will love to just target squishier characters (bad news for glass cannon melee with no mobility), some AI are just sticky to their first target (good news if it's your tank). The AI kinda varies. Enemy rogues, for example, can get really punishing because at mid-levels bc they frequently have engagement and will use mobility spells to jump past your front line, trapping and absolutely wrecking your squishier characters - this AI's aggressive willingness to go after squishy characters (even eating a disengagement attack if necessary) is kinda unique to rogue types. Of course, that's what you should be doing to them, given the chance :)

    Thanks for the great explanation. When playing a Crusader, I hadn’t problema. But my last party had an Unbroken/Priest as tank, and even with the correct gear, sometimes he was being ignored, and I hadn’t time to do nothing because the enemies overwhelmed my squishy casters.

    I will practice a little more…

    What’s the point in have a tank in this game?

    in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire Characters Builds, Strategies & the Unity Engine (Spoiler Warning!)

    Posted

    After try some party runs, I am still having issues with tanking.

    I can’t see the point in a system where there’s no aggro, no taunts, sometimes the enemies just target some of the weaker of my group and there’s nothing I can do. 

    Another thing that I can’t understand is the terrible engagement system. Sometimes if I try to reposition myself, I trigger a disengagement attack. If one of my backline caster is being attacked, I can’t do nothing to escape. Sometimes my tank is engaged with one enemy, and the same enemy is attacking another melee from my group.

    SC Druid solo run

    in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire Characters Builds, Strategies & the Unity Engine (Spoiler Warning!)

    Posted

    16 minutes ago, Boeroer said:

    If you use Wild Growth on them they can stay for over 100 secs at lvl 20 and won't go down easily because of endless Robust. They also grow their circles then which makes it easier to block whole paths with them. Maneuver them somewhere when they are still small (it's easier that way) and then let them grow which often blocks the path to you. It's not foolproof and not as reliable as engagement but it helps imo. 

    Also check out the circle of an Aspect of Galawain with Wild Growth, haha ("only" lasts a minute though). 

    The durations are with high INT and with most convenient PL buffs (Wellspring, Spine of Thicket Green).

    Now that ancient becomes more interesting … 

    SC Druid solo run

    in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire Characters Builds, Strategies & the Unity Engine (Spoiler Warning!)

    Posted

    16 minutes ago, Not So Clever Hound said:

    By the way, I can't believe I slept (as Boeroer would say) on solo Assassin/Shifter for so long. There is so much potential and it is so much fun to play!

    I cleared everything in Maje Island almost entirely by using Stealth > Insect Swarm > Smoke Veil > Touch of Rot > Flee and Smoke Veil. Once the weak have been culled by the AoE DoT-fest, shift to Boar form to get all those nasty Wildstrike Attack DoTs stack on the few survivors.

    Feels also very thematically nice with the Shadow Druid vibe. Prowling in the dark, casting forbidden plague/decay incantations then shifting to a bloodthirsty beast. When I think that you can add to this routine Plague of Insect, Pernicious Cloud, Infestation of Maggots, Sunlance single target sniping... can't wait!

    Looks fun, but I am not much a stealth guy, I rather a direct approach. If I MC the Druid, I would go with one these options, Stalker (plant / beast theme) or Chanter (could go with a decay Druid as well, like the Necromancer vibe, or elemental spells from Druid combined with invocations with elemental visual)

    Any of these class are solo viable?

    in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire Characters Builds, Strategies & the Unity Engine (Spoiler Warning!)

    Posted

    1 minute ago, Not So Clever Hound said:

    It's one of my plans to try a SC Druid (maybe Fury) but I'm having a blast right now with a solo Assassin/Shifter. So maybe later :).

    It would be rough especially on PotD (even worse Upscaled) but I think it could be doable if you pick all the sassy options in god dialogues then after Hasongo and He Waits in Fire you will have a once per rest Brilliant Inspiration. Then if you also cast some stuff from Stealth, maybe use a couple potions of invis/Withdraw scrolls here and there, you could just rain down Great Maelstroms like a crazy person (also wearing all the +PL stull). For protection, you can also summon the Primordials (one can have unlimited PoI) and of course use Relentless Storm (you also get a cast from Deltro's Cage).

    Tough but I'm interested in trying at some point.

    I think about shifter or ancient. Shifter can have moderate insta-heals if shift and unshift (does this word exists?), and Ancient can have the summons to help specially in those early levels.

    • Like 1

    Test build - Arthas, The Lich King

    in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire Characters Builds, Strategies & the Unity Engine (Spoiler Warning!)

    Posted · Edited by freddfranca

    After a long time starting and restarting the game, I will try solo with the first build I planned: The Death Knight from World of Warcraft .

    Classes: Troubador/Shifter

    Troubador was an obvious choice, the life steal from Come Come Soft Winds and the skeletons are perfect for the build, and another invocations also fits well with the idea. 
    I first played used Berath priest, but the Lich King uses frost spells too. Bloodmage was my second option, but they don’t have the decay spells that I wanted. The Druid have both the frost and Decay spells. And the shifter gets the most useful free spells for this build (Thanks @Waldemilson)

    Race : Pale Elf for the RP

    Stats (with Berath Blassings and The White that Ends)

    MIG 15
    CON 12
    DEX 15
    PER 22
    INT 17
    RES 9

     

    Weapons: Greatsword, Battleaxe

    Abilities (I will update while I play and test)

    Start: Touch of Rot, Come Come Soft Winds of Death, If their bones (summon skeleton)

    Level 2: Winter Wind

    Level 3: Hel-Hyraf (not much sure about this yet, probably Thrice would be a better choice but doesn’t fit the theme of the build)

    Level 4: At the sound of his voice and Blizzard

    Level 5: Taste of the hunt
     

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