Chaospread

Unconventional Wildrhymer based on summons and ranged damage Hi all! Eventually, my second long-awaited build for PoeII Deadfire is finally here. I don't remember exactly how this build was born in my head, but I thought about a young little woman pale elf with a lovely pet as a friend and a cute family in the White that Wends. I don't know why, who, when and how, at some time her nice pet and her beatiful family were massacred by only gods know. She became eager to help all the weak people in difficulty, she began to not tolerate the abuses of the strong and her spirit of revenge, together with the bond she had with her loved ones, became so strong that she learned to evoke the souls of her deceased loved ones and of her pet bear (Oëdenläff) to help her in her battles. (Now follows a series of reasons for my choices) Pale Elf Wildrhymer (Beckoner / Ghost Heart) - The "Summoner with Warm Heart and Cold Gaze" "Be careful: I'm not as alone as I seem..." - Laerne's warning to ill-intentioned people Name: Laerne PoTD/SOLO/ULTIMATE: YES - You can beat all contents, also all Mega Bosses ( and without too much cheese ) Game Version: ver. 5.0.0.0040 with all FREE DLCs and all DLCs ("Beast of Winter", "Seeker, Slayer, Survivor" and "The Forgotten Sanctum" plus "Mega Boss Battles") Race: Elf (+1 DEX, +1 PER) Subrace: Pale Elf (Elemental Endurance: +4 Burn Armor Rating, +4 Freeze Armor Rating). Almost any other choice would have been better, made only for RPG purposes Classes: Wildrhymer - Beckoner (+1 Bluff, History, Arcana, Sleight of Hand and Diplomacy) / Ghost Heart (+1 Diplomacy, Survival, Alchemy, Stealth and Bluff) Culture: The White that Wends (+1 PER). It's my RPG culture and besides, +1 PER is perfect. Background: Mystic (+1 Arcana, Metaphysics and Religion). A summoner of ancient spirits seems good as a mystic, and bonus to Arcana and Metaphysics is good for us Pose: Pious (To connect more with the spirits and pray for them to manifest ;P) Berath's Blessing: NONE --- Attributes: base (with permanent effects collected through the run) Mig: 10 (10) Con: 6 (6) Dex: 18 (20, +1 as Elf, +1 Cauldron Brew) Per: 18 (20, +1 as Elf, +1 The White that Wends) Int: 18 (18) Res: 5 I like to MAX INT, DEX and PER attributes often for my characters, but in this case there are also valid reasons to do that. INT is essential for the range of phrases, for the duration and range of skills and especially summons; PER is always important in SOLO (to discover hidden objects) but as a Ranger it can be lowered a little; DEX as a Chanter is not important if it is maxed out but as a Ranger it increases DPS a lot and is still good for speeding up spells and summons. MIG is less important for DPS (I use PER and DEX for that and summons do a lot of damage) but I don't want to dump it, also because it is needed for STR and healing (even if this can be increased quite easily). I don't want to dump CON and RES either, with low scores as you play easily, wanting to bring the skills to 7 or 8 you can take away some points from PER and DEX if you want. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Skills score There are no particular reasons to use one or the other of the skills, during the game I MAXED Arcana a few times because with high PER certain scrolls are devastating - see for instance these "Storm of Holy Fire" damages against Hauani O Whe: Alchemy to be able to increase the effect of drugs and potions to a great extent and Metaphysics for the effects of certain objects (Essence Interrupter ); the latter, in addition to being very useful, is also perfectly relevant to the character For hard battles (i.e. Megabosses) you need often specific skills: see the videos below. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Abilities I respeced and experimented many times through the run, so I'll do a resume of how I'd do the build now, after my run: which skills have I used most often and which have been the most useful. For hard battles (i.e. Megabosses) you need specific build: see the videos below. Level 1 Beckoner (free) Invocations summon twice the number of creatures. The chanter's summons are smaller and have half their normal health. Summon Invocations cost +1 Phrases. Nothing special here, half health is not a great problem with healing, +1 Phrases is a heavy drawback but we can use more times early level summons but DOUBLE creatures is insane sometimes Ghost Heart (free) Immune to Bonded Grief. Animal Companion is immune to Engagement. Must actively summon Animal Companion during battle (costs Bond and has a duration of 30.0 sec). Companion is considered a Spirit and is affected by Spirit-targeting powers. Animal Companion cannot be healed (Unable to learn both Heal Pet and Revive Pet abilities). As I said, I pick GH above all for charcater history and because I like playing LITERALLY SOLO, but for the sake of analysis my considerations follow. No Bonded Grief is pleasant, nothing disatrous but nice to have. Immune to Engagement: also said before, it is good having the AC run to one foe and keep him busy with no time wasted - underrated ability. You must summon your AC: bad thing because you waste bonds for it, but this build doesn't need many bonds, summon is very fast and with high INT it lasts a very long time. Companion is a Spirit: I never noticed it, not actually a drawback. AC cannot be healed: ROTFL, we heal as a Chanter: not a drawback. Bear Companion: picked above all for RPG purpose (I like the idea of a little Pale Elf Woman friend of a White Bear) but Bear is tanky with +2 AR and is larger than other AC, thus he can block better the foes in some situations. If their Bones Still Slept Under that Hill, None Can Say I picked up "The Thunder Rolled Like Waves on Black Seas" to keep foes away, but if I started again I'd choose "If their Bones Still Slept Under that Hill, None Can Say" because 6 skeletons help a lot and its upgrade is useful late game, too. Come, Come Soft Winds of Death Not so much to choose here, but you need a Phrase and "Come, Come Soft Winds of Death" at least is a healing source early levels, but it is not so effective and it losts value late game. Marked Prey No brain. +10 ACC versus a foe is huge late, mid and end game. Weapon Proficiencies Dagger (Parrying Blade some defense when we are forced in melee. Hunting Bow (Rapid Shot we have high ACC so we can increase DPS a lot with more speed. Level 2 Arms Bearer More choices, more chances of damage, more fun! Level 3 The Thunder Rolled Like Waves on Black Seas Ok, eventually I pick this one. Not much else better and a source of Stunned in AoE with few bonds is always appreciated and it can save your back also late game. Alternative: Fast Runner, but you can increase stride also with equip. Level 4 Two-Handed Style I used ah huge amount of tow-handed ranged weapons, so this is obvious. Marksman +5 ACC almost always. Nothing else to say. WP: Pistol (Rushed Reload) Same speech made with the hunting bow AND it is important for Eccea's Arcane Blaster Level 5 Shot on the Run Gunner can be better, but we are often using also bows, so Shot on the Run seems a better choice. Level 6 Gernisc Slew the Beast, but Soon Faced Its Kin Six ranged wurms with fire attack can do the difference in many situations. Level 7 Ancient Brittle Bones Six skeletons who died and splits in twelve, and the latter don't count as summon total? Oh yeah - tanky funky And if they don't make huge damage, 12 or more little skeletons who hit a foe, count for "on hit" effects Evasive Roll Cheap cost, great panic button and on the top, a source of Quick… believe me, you'll always miss it if you've tried it at least once. Alternative: Marked for the Hunt, but not always you face many foes at once and you can choose the following target… Level 8 Sure-Handed Ila Nocked Her Arrows with Speed Less reload and revovery time, more speed, more DPS. And it is good with your ranged summons. Do you remember the wurm from before? WP: Crossbow (Interrupting Shot) A never ending source of interrupts. Why not? Level 9 Ancient Memory Wonderful infinite source of AoE (for summons and companion) healing. Also with mid MIG we can exploit it. Level 10 ...and Their Screams Reached The Heavens Why have wurms if we don't use their Screaming Breath? Alternative: The Lover Cried out to the Beloved, "I am Yours!" - An AoE Charme, if you are satisfied with "regular" wurms. Hunter's Claw Not for itself but rather for its upgrade Alternative: a passive like Gunner or Two Weapons Style or Weapons and Shield Style. Level 11 The Brideman Slew Thirty 'Fore They Crossed Half the Hall Strong and Steadfast for you and yours summons/companion. Not bad. Alternative: ...Its Crash Could Not Be Denied, if you enjoy stunning people, +15 ACC is always welcomed Level 12 At the Sound of His Voice, the Killers Froze Stiff It is a no brain choice, more with high ACC and INT. And it is an alternative to Stunned and/or enemies with high Reflex. Companion, Skeletons and Wurms are enough for us and alternatives chanter summons are not so good or important to pick up. Alternative: The Long Night's Drink Birthed the Revenge of Morning - a source of Weakened and a -14 debuff to Fortitude, I didn't think so but it is an underrated Phrase. WP: Medium Shield (Block) 30% complete resistance to attacks is huge when we are in trouble somentimes. Alternative: you can experiment with Magical implements modals, such as Scepters (Destructive Channeling) or Rods (Blast). Level 13 Rapid Casting Speed can make the difference between life and death. Always picked up in my runs. Practiced Healer Wait! Why not Driving Flight?!?! Well, like Marked for the Hunt not always we are facing more foes at once and we need to compensate mid MIG for healing capability, besides it synergies with chanter healing abilities and everyone benefits from it (summons and AC). And if we stack Healing buffs, we can heal like no one. Level 14 The Bride Caught their Ruse and Set to Make them Pay AoE lasting Quick and Insightful - no brain. Alternative: Gernisc's Beast Lit the Night with his Breath - ok, you can have fun with it, but Dragons are not as good as you can hope Level 15 Tough We have not a large reserve of health and we often need it - trust me. Alternative: Together They Slew Forth a River of Red or ...And Their Fear Followed Them into the Foothills - improve previous Invocations with nasty effects. Level 16 Quick Summoning Mandatory for a summon-based build. Hunter's Fang Balnce out for our mid MIG. It does wonder with Boss and megaboss (se the videos below). WP: Large Shield (The Wall) Useful when you search refuge versus projectiles and/or need more REF. And I have used two unique large shields extensively during my run, and of ot them has a enchantment that works with this WP. Level 17 Survival of the Fittest More ACC is Always welcomed, even if we have already high ACC. With high defense values of some foes it is envaluable. Level 18 Improved Critical Plenty of choices here. I'd prefer this one because with our ACC we score many Crits thus we are improving our DPS, and a passive ability is more advisable than active one usually. But you can go for an alternative with no worries. Alternative: pick an upgrade of a previuos Invocation, i.e. ...Each Kill Fed His Fury because +5 CON helps us a lot; or have fun with So Singt thy Biting Winds o' Eld Nary but Tornado is quite clumsy in my opinion. Their Champion Braved The Horde Alone is good for PEN buff, but you have already The Brideman Slew Thirty 'Fore They Crossed Half the Hall who give more MIG. With our excellent DPS Old Siec Would Not Rest 'til His Hunger Was Sated works very weel, instead. Level 19 Called to His Bidding, the Ancient Instruments of Death And finally, our SIX animated weapons full of self healing and their own abilities! Superior Camouflage +8 DEF against ranged attacks when we are almost always far from the fight, is our bread. Alternative: ok, you can pick Driving Flight because is a great DPS enhancer all in all Level 20 Many Lives Pass By, Each Leaving Footprints Sometimes, without it, you wouldn't be able to win certain battles. A free skeleton invocation. Alternative: Mercy and Kindness Followed Where'er She Walked if you want a more healing-oriented build; Set to Their Purpose, They All Knew Their Part because more INT more the summons last. Or have fun with Boil Their Flesh From Skin to Bone seeing enemies explode when they are almost dead WP: War Bow (Overdraw) Most because to be considered a ranged weapon specialist. Or follow advices of level 12. Watcher's Abilities Wit of Death's Herald Taking always sassy responses to Gods, you have a source of "Brilliant". And Laerne has a bold personality No Time for the Lost More duration to Beneficial Effects, Less duration of hostile effects - it's the best choice, but it doesn't make so much difference,RPG-wise you can also go for Mercy for the Lost. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Equipments Weapons There are three weapons I've used in my run more than the others: Frostseeker, Essence Interrupter and Eccea's Arcane Blaster. Frostseeker comes relatively early and it has three properies that make it vry good for us: it is multi-shot, it has 2 different damages and it has an AoE effects. The best choice early/mid game versus groups of foe. And it is perfect from RPG point of view! Essence Interrupter can be bought almost immediately, it has 2 (or three) different damages, DPS can be improves by skill maxing and as a hunting bow it is very fast. Extensively used through all my run. Eccea's Arcane Blaster is maybe the best ranged weapon for us when pierce, frost and shock damage are failing or we need corrode/crush damage. Imbued Ammunition deal a lot of damage and we are so fast that 35% more recovery doens't worry. On top of that Fractured Bullet furthermore enhance DPS and helps delivering one of the other enchantments. And it is a lot of fun to use it! Other weapons used frequently Scourge of Bezzello: useful for canceling enemies concentration with multi-shot and its modal. Kitchen Stove: needed for stacking Hunter's Fang buffs with multishot and Wild Barrage. Blightheart: a soulbound arquebuse we can wield early game as a healing source and to build phrases faster. A dagger for parry when I were using a defensive slot with a shield. There are some other weapons used but just for fun or occasionally. Shields Somentimes I've used The Best Defense when I needed a weapon slot for defensive purpose as well as Nerian's Ward, Lethandria's Devotion (the latter benefits also of our healing buffs) or Wintertide Bulwark. Armor Miscreant's Leathers: my favourite dress early game. -10% Recovery, +8 REF, -10% Crit Damage taken and +5% Misses converted to Grazes. What else do we need? Fleshmender: +5 Health Restored per 12.0 sec which become superhigh with our healing buff, +3 AR bonus at combat start, on top of that +1 Quick Item Slots and 5% of incoming Hits converted to Grazes. It is like a god mode with this character I has ended up wearing it all mid/late game. RPG-wise you can use also Sharpshooter's Garb, but it is less effective than Fleshmender, I warn you Clothing Head: Acina's Tricorn (more DPS) Neck: Baubles of the Fin (more DPS for summons) / Bone Setter's Torc (healing buff and more self DPS) - Charm of Bones against vessels, with also its +2 INT Hands: Aegor's Swift Touch (more DPS) / Finger 1: Ring of the Marksman (+1 PEN is fundamental) / Ring of Prosperity's Fortune (increase DPS) Finger 2: Ring of Greater Regeneration (with our healing buffs is a huge boost in healing) / Kuaru's Prize (+1 INT is always more summons time and it increase also our scrolls DPS) Waist: Physicker's Belt (healing buff) / Sash of Judgment (improve DPS) / The Undying Burden (defensive choice and +2 CON) Feet: Footprints of Ahu Taka (DEX and healing buff) / Boots of Stone (DEX and resistance to stunned, moreover looks better than sandals ;P) / Fenan's Finery (the best fitting RPG shoes) Cape: The Giftbearer's Cloth (one more quick item, one more weapon and more defence that we lack) / Cloak of the Theocrat (more INT more summons time) Pet: Harley (+10% ranged damage is better than all the rest) / Animancy Cat (improves summons a lot and Arcana and Metaphysics is just our skill!) Trinket: Muātu's Head or Crucible Token Quick slot items With high Alchemy I've found these potions very useful in my run: - Potion of Spatial Alacrity, Potion of Deftness and Potion of Perfect Aim to increase DPS; - Potion of Impediment for interrupts; - All healing potion cause of our high healing buff. Any drug is good for us, especially Mouth Char, Deadeye (in this case Potion of Impediment and Potion of Deftness are unnecessary), Taru Turu Chew for our low/mid MIG and CON and occasionally Whiteleaf for its healing effect upgraded by our healing buffs. With high Arcana Scroll of Avenging Storm is awesome when we shot with a multi-projectile weapons (i.e. Frostseeker); Scroll of Moonwell is wonderful for us and our summons because of healing; Scroll of Withdraw lasts a lot and can save us many times; all powerful scrolls deal much damage with our high PER (i.e. Scroll of Storm of Holy Fire, Scroll of Great Maelstrom and so on...) Unfortunately, the Scroll of Kalakoth's Minor Blights could have been a beautiful and appropriate weapon for Laerne, but they are less effective than other "normal weapons" because the damage type changes randomly with each hit (this is not suitable for almost any creature) and it would be better if it were a rod or a scepter; the wand is a bit "meh", but you can use it just for fun every now and then. Food and Drink Laerne is especially fond of Mohorā Wraps: it gives us a lot of strength (which we lack) and speed, which increases our DPS. Apart from that, Glazed Chops are also great for strength and the healing buff as well as Honey Wine Hen for even more defensive fights. ===================================================================================================================================================== How to play the build The way to play the build is not very difficult to understand: summon allies with the chanter's invocations, make them tank and shoot as much as you can with the throwing weapons that are most suitable for the enemy you are facing. Use as many buffs as you can with the Phrases and/or the ranger's abilities, in case of danger use "Evasive Roll" and/or "The Thunder Rolled Like Waves on Black Seas" and if you can't use the chanter's summons, spend a bond on your beautiful badass bear VIDEOS Laerne in action: all megabosses, Nemnok - a very difficult fight! - and Changeling's Dance as bonus track Nemnok Changeling's Dance Sigilmaster Auranic Belranga Dorudugan Hauani O Whe Guardian of Ukaizo

Badgradr's Barricade or Little Savior if you need defense and no ACC penalty.

Well, Tacan are a population, while Nalpazca are a monk order

Wait for his quest

Vithrack Brain: Sold by Cartugo in Ondra's Gift (1×). Sold by Curio Shopkeeper in Curio Shop, Caed Nua (1-3×). Sold by Bledha in Elms' Reach (5×). [WM2] Sold by Hamond in Hamond's Emporium, Stalwart Village (1-3×). Ruby: Sold by Curnd in Ondra's Gift (5×). Sold by Alarhî in Hearthsong Market, Hearthsong (2-4×). Sold by Iŵen in Hearthsong Market, Hearthsong (2-4×). [WM2] Sold by Hamond in Hamond's Emporium, Stalwart Village (1×). About monk as a tank, I totaly agree with @Boeroer: not only it is good for a monk to be a tank (he needs wounds after all) but he is wonderful as one foe killer and he has plenty of disabling abilities to use ;)

I'm playing Deadfire, now I'm going to decide wether to start another run with a modded class, play the ultimate on PoE1 and 2 or move to other games. BG1 and BG2 are the spiritual ancestors of PoE, you know: isometric, party, fantasy, real time with pause, but above all the companion deep characterization is the similar feature that "lives" in Poe1 as it was "born" in BG.

I've just finished a Wildrhymer run and I've to say that "The Thunder Rolled Like Waves on Black Seas" has saved my back sometimes, also at late levels

It is a misunderstanding: it is not a 5% slash lash, but a 5% buff to any melee slash damage

WM is ok for a party of level 8, better 9/10 I guess. Stay away from Crägholdt Bluffs until at least level 12 A part from what Boeroer said, that is all right as usual, a Cipher can be useful also to buff party at (very) higher levels

No, because many people play with "outdated" hardware and issues come for "newer" devices... I'm sad I can't give you further help.

I think it is related to AMD CPU/GPU. Have you tried to disable all graphic enhancements in settings and / or set graphic level to low?

Yes. EVERY effect that shortens action time and/or increases speed action is ALWAYS convenient. It should be so. Thus, a normal duration of 6 seconds and linger of 3 seconds is 9 seconds and give 3 hits, anyway IIRC there is always an "added" tick and therefore it should hit 4 times. It is good also if you have 2 (or 3, or 4, or...) chanters, with effects applied on damage and on DoT (i.e. Combusting Wounds) and if you have some effects such as heal on damage dealt etc... In Deadfire it is far better because heal is "incorporated" Too good early levels, it's a pity it doesn't scale the following levels.

Hi, I'm a little late but I agree that chanters can be played as tanker, off-tank, ranged, healer, buffer and in a loto of other ways Kana Rua lends himself to be played as ranged, but you can find Kana's builds as melee tanker and the popular way to build a chanter in PoE1 is the tank /off-tank with low/min DEX. In both ways, ranged or tanker/off-tank, Kana is viable, effective and feasible. No issues as you build a companion, until he perform as you wish and you have fun

Yes, if you have two CoB you can do the trick, but I think there is only one of it in game, if you wanna two you need to get the second via console. Indeed a great item with 10 charges, good summons, +2 INT e +5 ACC versus vessels.

Aren't you a rogue? Do you wanna kill a megaboss via cheese? Do you wanna rid of Guardian of Ukaizo but you don't start combat in stealth mode? Here I am! This is a way to get Gouging Strike even if you aren't a rogue and you haven't a rogue in your party The procedure is not very difficult to reproduce but the odds it can happen are very very little, to be truth and honest. But it has happened to me just against Guardian of Ukaizo battle and I wanna let you know First of all: equip the Charm of Bones amulet. This amulet has the follow enchantment: Call the Restless which summons a random vessel. Among the random vessel it can summon, there is also this one: Risen Armsman. If you manage to summon exactly this monster, it has indeed Gouging Strike among its abilities, and it can use it against you enemy! It seems, since Rise Armsman is above all a ranged entity and that gounging strike is used particularly and mostly in melee by this monster, that it would be better summon the vessel close the foe you wanna kill in order to maximize the chances that gouging strike will be used... but these are my guess assumptions and maybe Rises Armsman can use Gouging Strike also ranged... or not using it also melee... who knows... Anyway, Charm of Bones has 10 uses and the total number of summoned vessels should be 13, so how much are the odds you can summon a Risen Arsman? If i am right, this is a typical Bernoulli Process, so with 1/13 single chance probability (about 0.0769) and 10 trials you end up with 0.383, thus almost 40%!!! But then you have to hope Risen Arsman uses Gounging Strike... not so unbelievable at the end If you manage to try this approach let us know how many times you can get a Gounging Strike without a rogue, thanks!