Haplok

Well, seeinghow you plan to have another ranged char with a bow for single targets at range, I'd go with primary dual blunderbuss mortars (and Streetfighter subclass with Powder Burns modal active). Rods aren't great IMO, except maybe for some alpha strikes from stealth. They need their modal active to do aoe damage - and they are damn slow then.

Switching to a second weapon a few times in a playtrough I'd hardly call micro-management.

For ranged 2: Why not both? Blunderbuss mortars when there are near enemy groups and/or enemies have weaker reflex then deflection; arquebus for singular targets, enemies further away and enemies with high armor.

I'd say you primarily loose cool (and flashy, in case of Engoliero) weapon effects...

Oops. But that's worse, because there are more pierce-immunes Actually they are relatively rare.... You meet some skellies sometimes, but that's about it. Not a problem to switch to a blunt then. Never had any issues with immune enemies.

No they don't. And in my personal opinion you're loosing out by going warhammers. Not only is their damage low, but also the selection is quite terrible. Estocs on the other hand have awesome effects, both for single targets and for attacking in aoe. Eager Blade is a great weapon. But finally earning Engoliero de Espirs and seeing its Ghost Blades in action is incredibly rewarding. The only other weapon category I'd consider are battleaxes (mostly Amra) - but they actually have more issues with penetration. Maybe two-handed swords, but not really.

Are you speaking about solo?

Ok, that is nice. But personally in practice I struggle to get even 3 enemies in the WotEP cone, not to mention 6 of them...

Yeah, regarding pierce immunes: skeletons (except the basic versions). And Forest Lurkers. That's it, I think.

No, I think this thread is about solo

Or both.

Of course the SA damage on secondary targets is much lower. And what is the plan to trigger Streetfighters specials on such a build? I don't think it wants to be surrounded - has neither the durability nor does the WotEP cone work best against enemies around you. Get blooded and cast Barring the Death's Door? Or debuff Perception?

Here's my Swashbuckler build, if you're interested: https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/105365-class-build-armorbreaker/ It might be more or less what you're looking for.

Well Flanked works as well. I generally also healed and didn't do Barring the Death's Door cheese. Before Unbending you have to be carefull about charging in the middle of enemies though (unless you have a shield and maybe some defense bonuses, resolve). But when it gets dangerous, the "On the Edge" bonus usually starts to kick in... and then enemies just die fast around you.. and it's suddenly much safer.

Warhammers have pretty crappy base damage for their speed. And honestly I think crush is overrated. I did fine playing with single damage type piercing estocs - it helps a lot that while single damage type, they have very high Pen. Very few enemies are outright immune, some do have higher armor. Not a problem to penetrate with a weapon such as estoc.

Again, Rogue is a damage dealer. Ranger is a hybrid. Clearly Rogue will do a lot more damage. As for Fighter vs Paladin, my vote goes to Fighter. Intuitive stance provides hit-to-crit conversion. Cleaving Stance provides free attacks whenever you down an enemy. Clear Out is a cool aoe move. With Unbending you just don't die. Paladins provide more party support though. I see. I saw the Ranger update skills, and I thought 20 percent accuracy and 20 percent damage would change the melee DPS tiers, but then Deathblows alone give you 50 percent for the Rogue - which is almost like a perma crit (what is crit damage boost anyways? - 50 percent?). Would Barbarian/Rogue do more than Fighter/Rogue? But perhaps a bit squishy now? Base crit damage bonus is only +25%. In general Barb/Rogue is theoretically capable of higher dps then a fighter/rogue, yes. In practice I think a fighter/rogue usually has much better chances being surrounded by enemies, triggering streetfighter bonuses, attacking everyone and surviving. Particularly after getting Unbending. My swashbuckler with 3 Resolve and a two-hander estoc charges in the middle of the enemies and takes all the heat all the time. Also barb/rogue blooms much later. A fighter/rogue is excellent from start to finish.

Actually Streetfighter who is blooded or flanked (can use blunderbuss modal to get flanked status) gets up to 60% sneak damage + 50% streetfighter bonus, eventually at PL VII also +50% deathblows against enemies with 2 statuses (in melee Persistant Distruction provides both). Then the active abilities provide another +25%, DoTs, afflictions and Devastating Blow can potentially add up too 300% vs badly hurt enemies. Also if both blooded and flanked, another +100% on a crit. So the total bonus damage is quite a lot higher then 90%. Unless you mean only passively and at first level.. then together with the Cipher, for a triggered streetfighter it would be... +100%? Unless both flanked and blooded and crit, of course..

Or Devoted / Streetfighter With estocs for example.

Again, Rogue is a damage dealer. Ranger is a hybrid. Clearly Rogue will do a lot more damage. As for Fighter vs Paladin, my vote goes to Fighter. Intuitive stance provides hit-to-crit conversion. Cleaving Stance provides free attacks whenever you down an enemy. Clear Out is a cool aoe move. With Unbending you just don't die. Paladins provide more party support though.

Rogue is an actual DD class. Barbarian is kinda hybrid I guess. So yeah, personally I vastly prefer Swashbucklers to Brutes. YMMV

Devoted is really good, particularly combined with a real DPS class, like a Streetfighter.

Whatever works really. Pistol with modal if I can hit well, arquebus with modal to hit better. After Port Maje you recruit Serafen and get his blunderbuss Hand Mortar. Directly after Port Maje I do Fort Deadlight, where he initiates his quest, in which you get the other one, Fire in the Hole and which I prioritize. In Neketaka Gullet Delvers Row I steal Red Hand which is my go to ranged weapon for single targets / backline enemies. I may play a bit with Frostseeker bow after an encounter near Neketaka, but it's not optimal IMO. Before getting the other BB, you may also steal the pistol from the gunsmith shop in Brass Citadel in Neketaka. When I have gained some levels and Mechanics, I sail to Crookspur to steal the Grave Calling saber and the Patinated Plate. I teach my Pallegina chanter summoning skeletons to feed the saber for party friendly, focus generating paralyzing chillfogs... Around that time I also do the Cornet Call quest for the Kitchen Stove and its Thunderous Report instant focus fill.

Friendly fire concerns Powder Burns modal. Which you want to trigger Streetfighter bonuses and for extra damage. Try to mostly only catch your tank in the blast. It doesn't have great penetration and his defenses and hp will rise, so eventually it will only tickle him.

Well, personally I tend to dump Resolve all the way. But those are offtanks/flankers/ranged characters. Or actual tanks, but then for example Fighters with Unbending, who are very tough to kill anyway. Yeah, I'm currently playing an Ascendant Cipher / Helwalker Monk and having great fun. It was a bit rough early on, Helwalker does make you quite squishy. So it made a lot of sense to mostly stay ranged, out of harm's way. Was sometimes KO, mostly during ship battles - if I forgot to don heavy armor. Dual aoe mortar blunderbusses are awesome with Stunning Blow btw. - mass aoe Stun. But after level 10 or so it has been smooth sailing so far and I even often offtank/melee flank enemies. Now level 15.

I think the first build works. Although I'm not sure why so much Resolve? It's not like this is a Sacred Immolation self-burning Paladin build... It's better to don a bit heavier armor sometimes and have higher other stats IMO. Cipher / Monk is much more versatile, therefore more fun to play - for me. But you do sacrifice quite a bit by multiclassing a monk - some fist accuracy & damage scaling, the crazy high level monk abilities. Also Ascendant / Helwalker feels safer at range or medium distance or at enemy flanks/rears, not necessary at the frontline. It's possible to build a purely melee tankish one, of course, but some sacrifices need to be made. Perhaps a Soulblade Cipher would be better then.