Shadell13

For ranged, I've found that no armor works best. You're not going to be hardy enough to stay up much with armor if you're going for a purer CC build, and not the survival powers, so get faster actions and forego armor entirely. Draining and biting whip are both great, I've never bothered with greater focus. The +10 won't really help terribly much and if you aren't spending focus as fast as you earn it, you probably don't really need to for a fight. Gunner is good as well, though I've seen some argue in favor of going for cycling weapons instead of reloading (purchasing extra equip slots and swapping between them). Ruffian's worked well for me as well, though I haven't tried out close range or marksman to compare yet. Early on Mental Binding is probably your go-to CC power. For godlike, the intelligence/dexterity are both useful, but I've found that the racial powers at taking damage tend to be wasted. Hearth Orlan would get that +10% crit chance which would mean more damage. More damage=more Focus. As far as I know, the best build would be Might/Dex/Int maxed, dropping others until you can do so. You'll be very squishy, but if you're getting hit you already have problems anyway.

I seem to have had precisely the same problem occur with "Talisman of the Unconquerable". I haven't seen the drinking horn yet, but is the effect meant to multiply focus gains? Talisman's Effect in its description reads: "+2 Intellect while Endurance above 50%, x1 Focus Gain while Endurance above 50%" When examined from the character status screen instead of the inventory, the effect becomes: "x1.25 Focus Gain while Endurance above 50%, +2 Intellect while Endurance above 50%" Copied the test in the OP with the talisman. I have no blunderbuss yet, so I used a saber instea and a paralyzed dark spore instead of a lion. My Test adventurer: TEST generated the following results: (No amulet equipped): 2 hits, 1 crit TEST goes from 15 to 25 focus. (Amulet equipped): 3 hits, TEST goes from 15 to 17 focus (Amulet equipped and immediately removed): 1 hit, 1 crit, 2 more hits, TEST goes from 15 to 17 focus. (Amulet equipped and immediately removed, character goes on to fight a second spore): hit, crit, hit TEST stays at 15 throughout (TEST is allowed to level up to 2, purchasing draining whip after last trial. The amulet is not reequipped after leveling up): 1 crit, 1 hit TEST goes from 20 to 19 focus. I have not yet seen the drinking horn of moderation in game, is the effect a focus multiplier like the amulet? And if so, has anyone obtained the "Brîshalgwin Mindmarker"? If so, does the bug repeat with that? The item is listed on the wiki as another focus gain multiplier and I'm wondering if the problem is universal to all of them.