[The Ultimate discussion thread]

22 minutes ago, Wotcha said:

I seem to recall that you're even good with 8m weapons if you're very careful about where you stand.  Might want to test that first.  It's got a ton of AR, but I think it's weaker against slash, so choose your weapons accordingly if you're worrying about weapon degradation due to Abydon (war bow would probably be best choice if it's slash you need to beat, and you'd want to have bow proficiency or another source for +2 pen).  I'm speaking from a position of ignorance regarding the God Challenges, because I've never had the patience to deal with them.  I don't know how fast the degradation happens, and whether it would be a material concern for a fight of this length.

There are two or three regular grubs which aggro in the fight, which can be pulled out of the room and killed safely.  I think you might also wind up with a small number of grublings spawning from the grub nests too, but I think that the grub nests only spawn grubs if you get closer to them, so if you properly hang back at the entrance you never have to deal with them (or perhaps just one or two from the initial start of the fight).  Worst case, it might be worth testing to see if you can stand somewhere safe in the room and kill the grub nests from range. 

 

IIRC, it is possible to break the grub nests from stealth without aggro'ing the big 'un.  But, aside from those, I think mama does have a "call more helpers" ability. 
 

Also, given its susceptibility to INT afflictions, a solo player may be able to Charm the big one such that it eliminates the extra grubs for you, before plinking it down from range.   (Perhaps a Confusion scroll?)

[Let's talk dual wielding scepters]

I'd say that Assassin is a good choice in the linked build less because you're building around the bonus and more because the drawback doesn't hurt you much.  You're really in Rogue for Sneak Attack, Deathblows, and cheap Full Attack abilities.  Without making any special efforts, Assassin will benefit you often enough to be better than a base-class Rogue.  And, if you aren't interested in taking on micromanagement and risk associated with the Streetfighter playstyle that Jayd describes above, that's probably more than the other Rogue subclasses offer.  (That said, a Trickster giving up a little SA damage for debuffing utility is a nice tradeoff.  Being ranged, you won't get much out of the PL 2-4 abilities, but the rest can be fun.)

IMO, Helwalker is too natural a fit.  Makes good use of the feedback damage, the MIG bonus helps a lot, and the disadvantage is substantially mitigated by a ranged build.  I'd consider that a lock for half a mulitclass.

If you don't want the other half to be a Rogue, you're probably giving up some overall damage, but what you get in return can make up for it. 

• Ranger gets you Driving Flight, a pet, and a suite of ACC-enhancers. A Ghost Heart make a neat thematic pairing with a Helwalker, too.  (Although note that the Ghostheart pet isn't compatible with Dichotomous Soul, due to the summons cap.)
• Devoted adds even more PEN, easy access to Intuitive, and a damage boost on Crit.  Not sure how useful extra PEN is at that point-- between Desctructive Channeling, Thunderous Blows, Scepters being dual-damage, and the Ring of the Marksman, I suspect you'll be pretty solidly in the PEN-but-not-OverPEN category for Hits and at or near Overpen on Crits, even without the Devoted boost.  (Aside: does the Scepter modal stack with Tenacious?)  There is a cheap full attack (Penetrating Strike), but it's not as good as the Rogue options.
• Paladin lacks great DAM ACC or PEN boosts, but but it does have an excellent spammable Full Attack, and contributes lots more party-support utility than the other options.

[(Paladin or Fighter) - Ranger melee]

15 hours ago, Taldan35 said:

Thanks a lot !

But, lore-wise, are paladins zealots that hit themselves on the back with a whip any time they think about a girl or something ? That's what have been bothering me the most about picking the class

Paladins in this setting are abnormally devoted to... something.  But there are a number of options, and I'm not aware that any of the orders in the game have the kind of commitment to chastity that one might associate with the class in other settings.  The wiki has brief rundowns of the lore associated with each of the orders, and they're all viable options, gameplay-wise. 

[Started Dev Playthrough]

17 hours ago, mammasaura said:

That awkward moment when Josh will meet...

  Reveal hidden contents

Talfor

 

I've long suspected that Josh chose to insert his likeness as that particular character because it's the role where the voice actor most obviously botched the con-lang.  (He pronounces "Vailians" as "villains".) 

[Building Ascendant - single or multi?]

1 hour ago, Vaneglorious said:

Party. Which chanter subclass?

Troubadour or Beckoner are generally the way to go for a ranged-and-summons Chanter.  Skald and Bellower aren't ideal summoners and really lend themselves to melee (which you probably don't want for Ascendant due to interrupt risk), and the use case for a base class Chanter over a Troubadour is really narrow. 

[Favourite improvement in deadfire? Biggest step back?]

The best solution to being annoyed by Xoti is to turn her to the dark side.  Evil Xoti is a slasher flick villain: campy-psychotic fun. 

[Picking a mercenary, Brute vs Swash damage]

If you're set on multiclassing, the Swashy will very likely come out ahead on raw damage, all else being equal.  But if raw damage is your only criteria, both options would be better if you dropped the Fighter part and just went with a single-classed Barb or Rogue.   (Single-classed Barbarian, in particular, is a step up from a Brute, because lots of the good Barb abilities come online late, and the tier VIII and IX stuff is dynamite.) 

 

[Complete My Front Line]

Personally, I'd add a Stalker/Bloodmage melee Geomancer.  But if "low magic" is a requirement, yeah, you can't go wrong with a single-classed Monk.  I'm also fond of an off-tank morningstar Barbarian with Brute Force and the Barbaric Roar and Spirit Frenzy upgrade lines, but if your playstyle made the Brute ineffective, a pure Barb might not do much better.

[Suggestion for Chanter Nuker/DPS]

14 minutes ago, helmino said:

Thanks to both of you guys! So i need to take one invocation or level 7, else my cap will not increase?

Thrice and Biting Winds are the only one worth use for damage? And is better to upgrade thrice or leave it base?

Still undecided if going one hand style or dual wield

Definitely upgrade Thrice-- the bounce is a worthwhile boost to damage, and it makes the AoE a little more forgiving, as the bounces can tag enemies outside the original cone.  Thunder Rolled is useful more for the Stun than the damage, but having a Stun that targets REF can be great against some opponents.  (It's a way to use a weak REF defense to debuff FORT.)  Seven Nights is situationally OK, although it can be a tactical challenge to get the most out of it-- it's best when you're surrounded.  Haven't experimented with Boil Their Flesh much. 

The Phrase cap (and thus the number of "free" phrases you start combat with) is equal to whatever your most expensive invocation costs.  Invocation cost = [(Ability Level)/2] +2, rounded up, after which subclass-based adjustments are made (e.g., a Skald's -1 to Offensive and +1 to Non-Offensive).  Ability level is the base-ability's level-- upgrading doesn't increase the cost.  So, if you want to be spamming low-level invocations (like a Skald's 2-cost Thrice, Hel Hyraf, Thunder, and Killers) you still need to invest in an invocation at the top tier. 

As for single v. dual weapons, it depends somewhat on what other sources you may have for ACC and hit-to-crit.  With a multiclass and/or some party buffs, I think dual weapons is a stronger path-- faster attacks means more rolls that can crit, even if your chance of critting on any one is lower.  Plus, the damage you produce will be stronger even if the crits aren't coming. 

I haven't tried Myrtillo's Bellower idea, but it sounds like it would be effective to me.  I wasn't a fan of the subclass when they introduced it, but if I were to run one, it would probably be along those lines.  I suspect that the levels before you get Eld Nary would be a bit of a chore, though. 

[Mindstalker (Soulblade) build advice]

I tinkered with a Trickster-Soulblade the other day, but I didn't find the signature ability all that fun.  It was my first try with the subclass, and it feels kind of at-odds with itself-- discounted Shred powers and Soul Annihilation compete for the same resources and don't seem to work together at all. 

Anyhow, I restarted the Mindstalker with Beguiler on the Cipher side, figuring I'll just dial the debuffing up to 11.  That's proving to be more my style. 

[Suggestion for Chanter Nuker/DPS]

A multiclass Skald who takes 1 Tier VII non-offensive invocation to maximize the Phrase cap can spam the heck out of Thrice Was She Wronged.  It's pretty neat.  Particularly if you add in an Empower and the Singing Scimitar with the "Encore" enchantment.  You'll just need to do some work at the outset to get the enemies clustered within the smallish AoE. 

So Singt Biting Winds is also a nice Chanter nuke.  Use it while chanting Long Night's Drink to debuff FORT. 

[How many quests can be resolved without combat?]

1 hour ago, AeonsLegend said:

You can set it to only scale upwards. So no issues.

So long as the base-level for an area, scaling-wise, is lower than your level when you come back the second time, you're still going to see an effect.  (E.g., area set to scale at level 8+, you enter at level 5, lock the scaling into 8, then come back at 12.)  And that's almost certainly true for the areas in the first Mapping the Deadfire quest stage.  Probably the second, too. 

[How many quests can be resolved without combat?]

On 5/8/2019 at 3:10 PM, AeonsLegend said:

You can get to Neketaka without fighting anyone. As long as you have decent sneak skill you can do all those things without even getting into combat. Haven't tried Hasongo, but the quest there can be resolved without fighting, but I think you can't avoid fighting some of the enemies there.

Yes you can. I do this many times. I usually just clear out the world map for the free exp and then do the first 3 mapping areas. I think there's 1 mandatory fight on the third one, with the Laguefath, but they are easy even if they are much higher level than you. This way I am level 8 when I reach Neketaka and can do some quests to get to level 11. Then head onto the Island itself and clear that for the Superb weapons and armor to sell and get my ship. When leaving Neketaka I'm somewhere around level 12 and then just do Fort Deadlight and Dunnage, clear the islands I've discovered because at level 12 they are now easy even if enemy has 90 deflection.

 

The only wrinkle here is that I'm pretty sure that, if you enable scaling, the enemies are set on a map when you first enter it.  So, if you play with all areas scaled, stepping in briefly and coming back later will have you facing enemies scaled to your level when you first got there. 

[The Ultimate discussion thread]

Could be worse-- it could include the Gorecci Street looters! 

[Any estimated date for 4.2 beta?]

5 hours ago, Phenomenum said:

Phrases scaling, he means? Becose i don't know any other bugs related to Phrases. Ghaun save us...

Could easily be a bug they found in their release candidate that isn't evident in 4.1.2.

[Any estimated date for 4.2 beta?]

At this point, they might as well wait for the release anniversary.  (Which is next Wednesday.)

[What are you playing RIGHT NOW?]

I finally finished the last Witcher 3 expansion, and I'm avoiding jumping back into Deadfire until some of the current issues are patched.  So I picked up Sunless Skies. 

I'm only 3 captains in, and I haven't left the Reach yet.  But I really do adore it.  As with its predecessor, Sunless Sea, I'm guessing that the frustration associated with travel times, grind, and bad-luck (or fat fingers in combat) quasi-permadeath will eventually outweigh the delight of discovery of its locations, secrets, characters, etc.  I'll probably never "beat" it (to the extent that is possible).  But that doesn't mean that I don't find the time I spend with it quite enjoyable. 

I find that I'm enjoying the combat more than I did in Sea, even though it's twitchier.  Also, Sea suffered from the fact that many of its ports were too front-loaded in their narrative content.  You could "complete" them in your first go-- or complete all but some really-high-skill-check endgame-level challenge-- and just stop in for port reports every once in a while thereafter.  I obviously haven't seen all (or even a majority) of the locations in Skies, but, so far, there appears to be more "mid-game" content, which should help with what was my biggest problem with Sea-- the fact that, after you've explored the map and done some early quests, you were faced with a period with little to do but grind skills until you could safely attempt the tough stuff.  And I like the more character-driven level-up process. 

If I'm being honest with myself, I should probably give in and switch to the non-legacy mode where it lets you go back to a save point when your face gets eaten by space bees.  But that just wouldn't be sporting.

[Any estimated date for 4.2 beta?]

I guess I'll be the optimist who suggests that the forum update is step 1 of "New Stuff from Obsidian!" week.  (TTRPG; Deadfire update; console release date)

[Trickster Synergy?]

Tricksters add a little bit of everything to a melee build.  You get the damage boost of a weak sneak attack, access to Rogue Full Attack abilities (mostly v. Deflection or Reflex), mobility from Escape, spammable Mirrored Image for defense, debuffs that attack Will (Dazz Lights, Confusion, Wondrous Torment), and disables that attack Fort (Repulsive Visage, Gaze of the Ad). 

 

A multiclass to get some ACC boosts would help-- it doesn't have any intrinsically.  But if you can rely on a party Priest for that, just double-down on what you most want out of the character-- Monk, Barbarian, or Soulblade for a damager (maybe Stalker Ranger, too?); Fighter or Paladin for a tankier option. 

 

Monk might be my favorite of these, as Mirrored Image pairs well with Dance of Death (and the alternate wound-generation of a Nalpazca or Shattered Pillar), and you can utilize wounds-based abilities for offense, reserving your Guile-based stuff for your defense and debuffs. 

[If Xoti Meets POE Characters, Who Will She Get Along With?]

As with most things, this is a far more interesting question if we're talking about evil-mode Xoti. 

[Josh Sawyer's tweets and teasers, part IV]

Sawyer retweeted this from Art Director Matt Hansen:

 

 

 

"Sure," he says, "I can do layout and typography for your ~200 page RPG book in 2 days. No problem."

I'd say momma didn't raise no fool, but she didn't raise no lair.

 

So, there's a rush on for something in the coming days.  Seems reasonable to guess that they want to do all their announcements in one go-- the TTRPG rulebook, the final challenge mode, the big patch/update we've been waiting for, and maybe more info on the console release.

Looks like Matt delivered on the TTRPG:

 

https://twitter.com/jesawyer/status/1119063636322869248

 

Momma didn't raise no lair [sic] indeed.

[Josh Sawyer's tweets and teasers, part IV]

Sawyer retweeted this from Art Director Matt Hansen:

 

 

 

"Sure," he says, "I can do layout and typography for your ~200 page RPG book in 2 days. No problem."

I'd say momma didn't raise no fool, but she didn't raise no lair.

 

So, there's a rush on for something in the coming days.  Seems reasonable to guess that they want to do all their announcements in one go-- the TTRPG rulebook, the final challenge mode, the big patch/update we've been waiting for, and maybe more info on the console release.

[Questions about how changing attributes affects ongoing abilities]

Thanks to all of you. 

 

This has been an informative thread-- it gave me some answers to questions that I'd previously wondered about, but never put the effort into testing or asking. 

[Music Listening & Sharing]

[Jack of all trades build.]

Personally, I suspect that I would have a lot more fun with 5 Trickster-Animist Pathfinders.  That's much closer to a build to true "Jack of All Trades"-- they're tanky (Mirrored Image spam) stabby (Rogue abilities; spiritshift) debuffing (other Trickster spells) nuker-healer-summoners (Druid spells).  All you're really missing are ACC buffs.  Use Alchemy for that.