Jojobobo

Not that I've noticed. Sweet.

On a similar sort of question note, but not one I thought a whole extra thread was worth (really there should be a Q&A thread or something) - do different vendors buy stuff off you for different prices, for example if you do a quest/task for one will they pay more for your stuff?

Thanks Raven, this now seems a lot easier than I thought.

I've been running on PotD solo: Might 11, Con 10, Dex 10, Per 18, Int 10, Res 19 (I didn't want to dump Int because I didn't want my durations to suck, Per and Res for high deflection. Even with Might 11 I'm easily out-damaging the Paladin I made with max Might for PotD solo - so I really don't think you need it crazy high). Race: Moon Godlike Abs: 1 Crippling Strike, 3 Reckless Assault, 5 Riposte, 7 Adept Evasion (if it converts all types grazes to misses 50% of the time as the wiki says and not just reflex as the game says, I posted a question on these boards to find that out - if not take Deep Wounds here), 9 - Deep Wounds / Dirty Fighting (again taking Dirty Fighting only if Adept Evasion is not following the wiki description), Blinding Strike. Talents: 2 - Weapon and Shield Style, 4 - Vulnerable Attack, 6 - Cautious Attack, 8 - Shadowing Beyond, 10 - Superior Deflection, 12 - Deflecting Assault I've hit level 7 so far and it's going well (taking Deep Wounds at level 7 as I'm still iffy on whether the wiki or game description of Adept Evasion is correct), the idea is you have high Deflection so you can get a lot of misses which you capitalise on with Riposte, whilst at the same time having a good damage output. Reckless Assault may seem counterintuitive towards this end, but with Deflecting Assault it's only costing you 3 Deflection for a huge benefit (even without Deflecting Assault, if you're using a large shield you're running net neutral changes to accuracy but with +8 Deflection and x1.2 damage - not even factoring in any talents like Weapon and Shield Style). Go with Larder Door (it activates your hobble/blind on the first hit, allowing your weapon hit to benefit from sneak attack) and try and get retaliate equipment. With that and Deep Wounds (focusing on tanky armour) you can grind down the enemy pretty quickly. Also remember that flanking is another criteria for sneak attacks, so summons to maximum effect in this regard. If I complete the game with this (which I'm hoping to), I'll write a class build for it.

Well, we don't all have the luxury of being able to appeal to the authority of the strategy guide. Also @Jojobobo, since I don't think anyone has specifically answered this part of your question: Stronghold guests, including Azzuro, work on game time rather than turns, so theoretically you could get him to spawn by traveling around or resting a bunch. Since he only offers one item at a time and it's random, though, I wouldn't recommend trying that if you're looking for a specific item. Thanks, that was exactly what I was looking for (wasn't sure if it was done on the turns basis like other things are). I might give chain resting a go if I'm feeling masochistic enough.

So on the wiki it says that all grazes have a 50% chance of being converted into misses, whereas in game it says it's only attacks that target Reflex (which seems borderline useless) - can someone clarify which of the two of these it is? On the basis of the former it was going to be one of the main abilities of my build, on the basis of the latter it's terrible especially as I have very high reflex already on account of being a shield user. I was hoping it might be a case of the tooltip being wrong.

Just realised that I can use Coat of Ill Payment instead for retaliation, but I'd wager to say (judging from earlier bounties I have done) it's a pain to get. Argwes Adra + Hiro's Mantle would really be the superior option, particularly now 1.05 allows for Second Chance when you're the only person in your party left standing (i.e. all of solo play).

Well that sucks - so it's really a case of Vengiatta Rugia (which is by no means an early game item), Sura's Supper Plate (which seems crap) and getting lucking on Hiro's Mantle for a chance at getting a Retaliation item? I guess I'll build the Merchant Stalls early and hope for the best, making sure not to fast travel too great a distance in one (I've missed out on some items that way on previous characters).

So yes, I know you have to upgrade the Main Keep for Azzuro to crop up, but what specifically makes him appear? Does Prestige/Security have any affect? Does he only arrive on a new Stronghold "turn" (which I'm lead to believe pass when quest states change enough) or can he appear if you rest enough? I'm playing a solo PotD Rogue and want Hiro's Mantle even with the Retaliation nerf as the DR is nice and Deep Wounds should make Retaliation quite a bit nicer. However there seem to be very few details on what needs to be done to get him to appear and sell stuff.

It seems like the Caed Nua compulsory phantom fight is the real bottleneck for build viability. I'm trying to solo it as a Rogue currently (PotD not Iron) but it's still a huge chore. I've heard fortitude of over 59 makes you not be stun-locked, so builds where that is do-able might be a good idea. Other than that you can get into situations where you can cheese a corner and only have one shadow engage you and pick off the phantoms with a fully upgraded ranged weapon (Spirit Slaying, Fine, Burning Lash - remembering as I didn't ranged weapons require twice the ingredients), requiring reasonable accuracy and health (Rymrgand's Mantle, which I've never not got by Caed Nua, should keep your endurance up). Either that or play a Chanter and use your summons, or play a Fire Godlike with any class and let Battle-Forged take them out (though you'll likely suffer for not having Moon Godlike later). Really, they need to reduce the length of phantom stun - both so players don't get stun-locked (I can literally be stun-cloked for 5 minutes before dying currently) and the Chanter can't easily phantom stun-lock things either.

I don't have numbers but I know my Rogue hasn't had any trouble hitting level 4 (probably maxing at level 5 even if I don't go to Dyrford Village) in act I, which is how it was before patch 1.05. I've noticed a couple of drops in experience (for example I'm sure when I originally met Raedric and agreed to kill Kolsc, it would give 500+ experience, here it gave somewhat less than that). From this I'm assuming maybe it was Defiance Bay that got tuned down more, and as you say it could be that quests which were in progress before the upgrade remain unaffected.

Rogue is good, and not actually that much micro-management - I'm currently soloing one on PotD. Reckless Assault allows for huge damage, and sneak attack statuses are easy to inflict with either Crippling or Blinding Strike (lasting for 10 juicy seconds at 10 Int), or just flanking. I'm playing one with high deflection (shock, horror!) and the tankiness vs DPS is quite good (most of the other classes have to bust their balls for the kind of benefits that Reckless Assault offers, and even then you can mitigate nearly all of the deflection loss from it with the Deflective Assault talent). All that said, the Barbarian is also very fun. I just wanted to put forward that Rogues aren't as high maintenance as people think.

Yep, sorry, western.

Correct, a new question anyone?

So I thought I'd make a game. The idea is to post a question/riddle about game mechanics or lore (I think it will be more mechanics based which is why I posted it in this subforum) that you think will be difficult to solve and then people try and answer it. The person who does posts their question, and the process continues (or if they just wanted to answer and not post a question, they can say as much and then whoever posts a question next sets the new question - other questions posted after will be ignored). Only one question/riddle at any time, and if no one can solve the riddle in a few days (let's say something around three max) then the poster reveals the answer and can either post another question or abstain (again a first come first served basis for who sets the next question). There's no need for the original poster to confirm a correct answer if someone is sure, though if it was a complete guess then by all means they can say whether it was right or not. Questions can be as focussed or as loose as you like, for example something like how can you hit a specific fortitude score at a certain level with a certain class by a certain location would be a perfectly fine example of a focussed question. Spoilers are quite welcome. Let your imagination run wild! Now for my question: How can you level up Calisca before she dies?

If you unlock fast travelling to the Bridge from Black Meadow, but instead use the exit near the Inn in Gilded Vale to fast travel there, you appear on the eastern side of the Bridge map and can avoid the Xaurip entirely allowing you to complete the task for the Defiance Bay trap maker for extra XP. I don't Triple Crown but I do solo on PotD.

That's cool, I usually can't be bothered to read the books (I did first playthrough, but they're pretty dry and a lot of historical exposition is revealed in game any way) but it's nice to know that if I fancy a reading binge I can do.

It doesn't happen to me, what class are you playing? Maybe it's something specific to some classes that regenerate stamina at a greater clip (e.g. fighters).

I really don't think Pillars has a dump stat problem. In my mind a dump stat is one that for any class or build that stat is consistently poor or useless - which just does not happen in PoE (some stats are more useful then others, Con being perhaps the weakest, but not a single one of them could be more or less universally dumped on any build - and each one will also find use on at least one kind of build). Min-maxing is a whole different thing to dump stats, and there's nothing really wrong with it; if people want to optimise a character towards a certain end then fine, that does not mean the stat system is broken (for example I'm soloing a rogue right now and I couldn't dump anything without feeling the pinch so every stat is a minimum 10). If you want to arrange a party where people are stupidly min-maxed (Ciphers with a Con of 3, Moon Godlike Fighters with Might and Int of 3 to cover the Cipher) then that is really your prerogative. Besides you can max two stats straight in character creation and not minimise anything - so it's fairly ludicrous to paint min-maxing as a necessary part of making a good character. If you play games like Arcanum where Beauty and Constitution there are more or less completely rubbish, or Fallout 3/New Vegas where even a social character who wants followers you can easily set Charisma to 1 and not feel the burn, then you can see what a true universally useless dump stat is.

They only heal once from what I've seen and there seems to be a large cool down between spells. Get some Jolting Touch scrolls, endurance potions, summon items and lay some traps and they're easy enough to solo even on PotD - based on doing it myself. It's a tough fight but by no means unbalanced.

Back to the actual changelog, I was very worried the quest XP rebalancing doesn't seem to have affected early levels too much. Whilst this may lead to a weird feeling of level progression (fast, then very slow) it works very nicely for solo play or I'd imagine any play (the first few levels seem much more crucial in cementing a build rather than later ones). Kudos for the developers factoring all this in and making a leveling scheme that, whilst not necessarily linear, works like a treat within the scope of the game (this is assuming people don't still hit level 12 easily before Twin Elms, I haven't progressed that far but I assume their not telling me porkies). I approve of the all the rebalance changes I've heard of so far, a good effort.

Looks like for the mac install from GOG I'm going to have to wipe my game again to get around the "This patch will not work with your game version!" problem. What larks.

Well that's good to know, hopefully additional patches will have much more subtle differences.

I think it's fine; it's semi-situational if people close the distance (though granted with the right party that isn't going to happen) and +4 accuracy, whilst nice, isn't a hugely dramatic boost. I guess it just illustrates how crappy the other racial abilities are, but that's not a bad thing as it more or less means you're not crapped on for playing pretty much any race.

Beta testers were a small sample size that were never going to be the end-all for opinions on game balance. I guess it just seems weird to me that stuff like paralysis traps slipped through the cracks though without a nerf, some stuff it seems should have come across as pretty blatantly overpowered. It seems like I've been slightly misinterpreted - I'm not saying there shouldn't be gameplay and balance tweaks on going for ages, but I do wish they'd hurry along those major changes like their making currently like restructuring experience for the entire game. It stuff like that I want sorted quickly, as going from 1.04 to 1.05 in some ways will be like going onto a different game in that so much changes - which is why I wouldn't feel comfortable playing a 1.04 character in 1.05 (they be leveled way higher for one thing than they should be).