divx

I wouldn't use DEX for a dump stat, especially for a caster. It does influence turn order, but also effects cast time. A low DEX caster is going to be easier to interrupt and have a harder time targeting their AOE spells (theres no spell re-targeting in turn based).

It seems like you cannot change to PotD from Veteran, but it does seem like you can change level scaling. I started with level scaling set to all, but I can change it to off or critical path only in game. I haven't tested whether this actually has an effect, though. I might do so at a later stage. At the very least, the level indicators for quests and enemies whilst using level scaling has been fixed! As to the difficulty level of PoTD and Veteran. I've played the starter island on both difficulties, pre- and post patch. Both difficulties have been increased, quite tremendously, for the starter island. On PoTD, it is necessary to employ additional measures to finish the island, such as hiring a merc (cipher), or some other (such as specific use of Berath's blessings, buying specific scrolls etc.) After finishing the island on PoTD, I restarted on Veteran as the difficulty of PoTD for the starter island was slightly above with what I feel comfortable - I like it to be difficult enough to warrant a reload and change of tactics upon party wipe, but not enough to respec/hire additional party members and tailor my party for the difficult encounters. The increased Veteran difficulty, for the starter island, hits this sweet spot - difficult enough that careful thinking is necessary and use of consumables are generally required (depending on MC build), but not so crazy as to require meta knowledge and whatnot. In this regard, the Veteran and PoTD difficulties satisfy their respective niches. As to the difficulty beyond the starter island - we'll see. I have strong doubts, as the XP gain on the starter island already felt quite large (and unchanged from the previous build). Therefore I expect a massive XP bloat again during/after Neketaka, and unless (i) level scaling is well-implemented (probably not) or (ii) you do the least amount of side-quests required, I expect the rest of the game will again start becoming much easier. That said, based on their work on the starter island (as a result of feedback from the community) I have hope that they can use these changes as a template for most portions of the rest of the game. I've got the beta patch and have played through tutorial island and a few quests after on Veteran with level scaling (only up), and you're spot on. Unfortunately, you're also right about later difficulty; its already getting much much easier. It's not as bad as before where Eder and the MC kill everything and the rest of the party just chills, but I'm not having to use consumables and empowers to get through fights.

I made a quick mod that changed some properties of Whispers of the Endless Paths. I removed the AoE attack, and decreased the reach and increased the damage to that of a normal great sword. The problem I'm having is that I can't figure out how to remove "Increased Reach" from the item description ( I figured out how to remove "Attacks in a Cone"). In the "items.gamedatabundle" file, Whispers had a reference to the BasePike ItemModId ("6130193a-b513-4b10-96b2-057d384056d3") which deals with increased reach. I removed it, but it didn't change the description in game. I can't figure out where else it would be coming from. Anyone have any ideas?

Josh Sawyer said that this was originally in one of the conversations with Eothas, but it was removed because it disrupted the flow of the conversation. https://jesawyer.tumblr.com/post/174058952291/so-is-the-idea-that-before-the-wheel

I wonder if the dragons were balanced when most attacks didn't graze. Their defenses (especially deflection) were much lower than POE dragons. They weren't challenging at all.

Glad I'm not the only one. Several times during a conversation it seemed like the available responses were total non sequiturs. Even after rereading the entire conversation they didn't make sense and it seemed like the game bugged out and didn't display part of the conversation.

My biggest complaint with the current beta is a lack of first level passives, especially for fighters. Next biggest complaint is that I can't figure out how or if I can turn off pushes in combat. I just had the Rogue shove my Soul Blade out of range when he was trying to use Soul Annihilation, wasting the ability. With the increase in recovery time, it was really irritating having to wait another 4 seconds to attack not to mention draining all his focus. For multiclass characters, I also hope that we'll be able to spend both ability points on the same class when we hit a new power level.

Does Two Weapon Style from the Fighter tree apply to dual wielding range weapons or only melee?

They seem to, but I cant find the info in the beta. F&C got more powerful for my crusader when I picked appropriate responses

Another thing to consider is the late game difficulty. In PoE on hard, by the time I got SI I was curbstomping pretty much every encounter without it. So while it was an awesome ability, it wasn't nearly as useful as the earlier talents and abilities.

I'm at work so I can't post a screen shot, but I believe there is a bug with the Deep Faith ability. Before taking the ability F&C was granting my Crusader +12.5 to all defenses (which may also be bugged since the description says it grants +10 and I didn't see any disposition points to modify it). After taking Deep Faith it bumped it to +25 to all defenses while the description suggest that it should grant an additional +2.5 to all defenses instead of +12.5. I can post more info once I get home.

I made a Devoted/Kind Wayfarer Crusader and I got more than 1 weapon proficiency. From the class description I'm pretty sure thats a bug. Also all of the fighter stances and paladin auras are listed twice.

I made a Crusader (Devoted/Kind Wayfarer) and got more than one proficiency. I'm guessing thats a bug.

You get it from one of the bounties in WM1. Also it only procs invisibility when you're hit or crit.

Boeroer did answer the question. Another potential problem with a backstab build is that the Watcher always does the talking in the game which automatically pulls you out of stealth and a lot of the tough fights start with dialogue.

The description for the Mourning Gloves says they give +15 endurance per kill, but in practice they damage the user for 15 endurance per kill. Does anyone know which its supposed to be?