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Alright... Is enduring dance worth it on a forbidden fist / ascendant? The only remaining function of it seems to be regenerating wounds, and as a melee character it will get hit A LOT...

Well, as I have tested, the forbidden curse duration does scale with INT, which is vital to a cipher, so I guess that option is off the list

What about Transcendent vs Psyblade (Devoted)? Which combination do you think is more powerful? On the weapon front, I think I am going to use the Essence Interrupter Bow as primary ranged weapon, Fist + Tuotilo's Balm as primary melee weapon. They have three distinct damage type and the lightning damage type would really help against soul reapers in Rymrgand's realm, I reckon. Problem with this set is incompatible styles. One benefits from weapon and shield + dual wielding, another benefits from two handed style. Dual Pistol maybe another valid choice, Scordeo's Trophy + Kitchen Stove, though I may have to replace one gun with another of the same type if I am going down the devoted route. What say? Edit: I have read your post on steam. Setting up conditions for tacticians' condition in deadfire seems a little bit... hard to me.

What about fist? IMHO the coolest weapon in POE2 is the fist, but multiclass monk has suboptimal power level, so it seems a little less viable. But I still want it to work (along with other piercing / slashing melee weapons) Ironically it seems a devoted fighter with monastic unarmed training is a better unarmed striker than multiclassed monk. Come to think of it, the fighter's ability is actually quite compatible with a melee (ascendant / soulblade) cipher. The penetrating strike and tactical barrage are both extremely good abilities which only cost 1 discipline, and unbending trunk combined with rapid recovery could provide the cipher with self-healing if things start to goes down. Armored Grace would also allow us to don a medium armor without sacrificing too much on the recovery time front... Vigorous Defense will not stack with borrowed instincts, but the disciplines is too stretched to consider that anyway. On the ACC front, fighter wins out with tactical barrage (enduring dance and conqueror stance also do not stack with borrowed instincts) But we miss quick inspiration and action speed bonus from Swift Strikes (there is mob stance for fighter with -5% recovery time for each threatening enemies), Tenacious with Thunderous Strikes (there is a +2 pen with devoted passive which stacks with everything, though), +10 INT from Duality of Mortal Presence, and Blade Turning. What's your opinion on this?

On Transcendent: Is the Essence Interrupter a good weapon for this? Because I reckon with thunderous blows and Hammered Thoughts, the Penetration problem with hunting bows might be rectified a bit... Also, is the dichotomous soul a good summoning skill? What about other subclass of the monk? For example the Shattered Pillar? (With Community Patch) On Spiritualist: I thought active penalties does not stack? Thanks for your detailed answer!

What are some good phrases and invocations for spiritualist to pick?

What's your opinion on SC Ascendant vs MC Ascendant (such as Psyblade, Inquisitor or Seer)? I'm not that averse to the idea of generating focus by weapon hit, but I am having serious weapon PEN and accuracy issue against harder bosses. And I often find my character run out of (martial class) resources in boss fights (like Nemnok) on MC ciphers, since he can't give himself brilliant, and using two ciphers in a party seems quite redundant.

Pretty much the title. In Community Patch Psion would halt focus generation on Crit. I have heard psion / troubadour and psion / wizard, but I don't know how well they stand against a SC Psion (since PL is more important to a psion than other ciphers).

Come to think of it, maybe I could script most companion's AI (barring Aloth ofc), and let my companions do their own things while use the MC to kill most enemies. It might be an interesting sort of semi-solo experience.

Thank you for your answer! And indeed kudos to @Elric Galad and CP team for their great work!

Nah, I am not into solo (purely for plot reason, you can't hear your companions' interesting comments in a solo run). (Also no Triple Crown because I sometimes will regret my plot decisions.) However, I want to be as little dependent on one particular party composition as possible, so that I can bring any party member I like, if that makes sense. The 'viable' part means contribute meaningfully to the long-winding boss/megaboss fights and all these tough mob fights scattered acrosss the Deadfire Archipelago.

What about SC? Is that still viable, with relatively high CON, tough passive, lower MIG and draining spells from Concelhaut and Ninagauth?

Could I make a suggestion on the blood sacrifice ability? I don't mind the nerf on it, but would you eliminate the chance of 'failing' to restore a high tier spell, if possible? Since it's impossible to spam it by now, I don't think it would affect the balance too much, but really helps to reduce the frustration during a playthrough. Better yet, give players a choice on the type of blood sacrifice to make (Minor, Medium, Major). It would be fairly OP in vanilla, but not so much with the nerfs. (IDK about the technical difficulties on those, though)

Balance Polishing Mod has also nerfed WoD, which will no longer provide unlimited buff extension unless hitting >4 foes simultaneously. It has also increased blood sacrifice's recovery time from 0s to 3s, making it impossible to spam. The 6s of -100% healing received is a fixed period, unaffected by anything.

Note with Balance Polishing Mod on, the mage will suffer a -100% Healing received debuff from blood sacrifice for a fixed period of 6 secs, and furthermore, brilliant inspiration will also only restore lvl 1-3 spells, making it much less broken than in vanilla.