fgalkin

What about 2H melee cipher? They have the most draining abilities of any class. All their buffs involve stealing attributes or DR from someone else

Yeah, it counts the level of the being defeated only. I'm doing Craghold Bluffs now, and the Mercenary Sergeant and the ogre there overrode both the Alpine Dragon and the Kraken from WM2

In my current (first 3.0+) playthrough, I did the Adra Dragon around level 13, and the Alpine Dragon at level 15, and found the Adra Dragon to be infinitely harder. To be honest, she (or rather, her Adragan groupies) was kicking my ass until I got lucky and charmed her, and she wiped out her own mooks with her breath attack. The Kraken wasn't even worth mentioning, I'm doing Concelhaut's quest now, so I will get back to you how that goes. So far, the hardest fights in this playthrough have been 1) The Adra Dragon @ level 13, 2) Endless Paths Ogres @level 5, 3) Raedric #1 @ level 4 with only Eder, Aloth, and Durance. The Caed Nua spectres weren't hard, but I did have to rest after every second fight EDIT: Concelhaut wasn't even in the top 10 for a level 15 melee focused party

Interesting. Thanks for the suggestions, all! One last question- are there any benefits to giving Abydon's hammer to my cipher, who is the highest damage dealer of the party by far (something like 2x as much damage dealt as Aloth who is the runner-up)?

I think the belt is very useful even without Firebrand, due to boosting the right stats for a cipher. What are your thoughts on armor? Heavy or light?

The damage output is better for the biggest part of the game with those two uniques and some damage modifiers. Just because of the blinding speed. Also, Vulnerable Attack will give you +5 damage per hit and Sword of Daenysis itself is rending, meaning another +3 DR bypass. If you add Ryona's Vambraces at some point you can have +11 DR bypass with the rapier and +8 with the dagger, with 15 DEX you'll hit every 16 frames. That's hard to beat for a two hander (hits every 26 frames with 0 recovery and 0 DR bypass). If a two hander can get to 0 recovery it can compete - but it's not easy to reach 0 recovery with a two hander while it's very easy to reach it with those two weapons. In the early game however they feel a bit underwhelming against high DR - but every dmg bonus and every DR bypass helps. Body Attunement is also great with fast light weapons. Interesting. I'll definitely keep this in mind. Right now, Firebrand is just too much fun, and I haven't been to the White March yet (so far, I did some Defiance Bay quests and am currently on level 7 of the Endless Paths), but once I get the vambraces, I might respec and give it a try. If I end up not using it, which companion do you think will benefit from this the most? Also, I have a question about armor. Right now, I'm using Jack of Wide Waters. Should I stay with light armors, or move on to heavier stuff. One of the reasons I was thinking of using Tidefall is that my cipher feels kinda squishy, and right now Durance can cast Triumph of the Crusaders only twice per rest, and the draining aspect of that sword basically substitutes for that

Btw, I got the belt, and it's pretty awesome, so thank you, @ Boeroer, for that suggestion.

Interesting. How does the damage output compare to 2H, especially against high DR targets? Wouldn't the higher base damage of 2H be better against them?

@ Boeroer Nice idea with the Firebrand! I probably won't have Merciless Hand, though, because I hate the Doeminels, and not playing on PotD means I don't have to suck up to them for it (I won't use the Heritage Hill machine to give me a boost, either). But I am wondering about Two Weapon Style, I thought Firebrand was 2H?

That's interesting. How does the damage from Novice's Suffering interact with the whips? Do they add the 40% of the base fist damage, or the damage improved by Novice's Suffering?

What are the advantages of going unarmed over using a weapon, either dual-wield or 2H?

Hi, all. I've played PoE when it came out, but haven't touched it in years (I have both expansions, but haven't played them). Now, I've come back to the game because of PoE 2, and because I wanted to try out the White March. I'm playing a melee cipher, currently at level 7, and I find myself in a position where I am no longer just using whatever I can get my hands on, but have the resources to focus on getting the gear that I want. My stats are as follows: Pale Elf, The White that Wends- Hunter. MIG 15 CON 9 DEX 16 PER 12 INT 16 RES 10 Current talents: Greater Focus (for the +10 starting focus) Draining Whip Biting Whip Spells: Antipathetic Field Soul Shock Whisper of Treason Amplified Thrust Mental Binding Psychovampiric Shield Recall Agony Ectopsychic Echo Soul Ignition Body Attunement Silent Scream Playing on Hard, with story companions exclusively. Right now, I am using Durance's Staff, standing behind Eder and whacking things from safety, with Justice as a backup. I was thinking of getting Weapon Focus: Soldier, so I could eventually use Tall Grass and Tidefall, then get all the damage increasing talents. Is there a better weapon option for this build? What about armor? I am using fine padded +1 INT right now to keep recovery low, and I feel rather squishy as a result. Is heavier armor an option, or will it hamper my recovery too much? Also, what would be an optimal party build of story companions look like for this character? Have a very nice day. -fgalkin

Because Raedric is not just paranoid about Eothasians and Hollowborn, he's also paranoid about Kolsc. And unlike the other two, Kolsc is actively trying to kill him, sending assassins and whatnot, so his paranoia is justified. When he is sure that Kolsc is dead and his position is secure, he relaxes a bit and no longer executes people at the slightest provocation. Have a very nice day. -fgalkin

The timeline states that the Vailian Republics became independent when the Grand Empire collapsed. In 2648, so 175 years before the events of PoE Have a very nice day. -fgalkin

Why would she? Old Vailia != Vailian Republics. If you're Italian and go to, say, Mexico, do you expect the people there to go "HI, FELLOW COUNTRYMAN?" Have a very nice day. -fgalkin

You haven't been paying attention to the companion quests, have you? ALL of them get unsatisfying endings. That's the whole point. It's a reversal of the trope where the PC solves everything. Have a very nice day. -fgalkin

Hm? They tell you how Dyrwood, the Vailian Republics, and Readceras came to be. The rest is outside of the game's scope. Have a very nice day. -fgalkin I'm not talking about countries and their fairly basic and boring origins. I'm talking about nations. Where is the french revolution, enlighment and similar stuff that would enable this people to overcome racial, tribal and feudal obstacles and form "nations"? Too early for that. Eora seems to be late Renaissance at best. The Rauatai seem to be developing an early form of nationalism, and Dyrwood has a national identity by virtue of it's shared identity (and because it's based on the USA). Have a very nice day. -fgalkin

Paralyze or petrify. I did it right after fighting the Adra Dragon, and used the same techniques- it went down in under 4 seconds. But I did it at level 12.... Have a very nice day. -fgalkin

Hm? They tell you how Dyrwood, the Vailian Republics, and Readceras came to be. The rest is outside of the game's scope. Have a very nice day. -fgalkin

Which is why I imagine, animancers tried it in the first place. Obviously, they thought it would work Have a very nice day. -fgalkin

1.05 is supposed to have fixed most of the "break your character" bugs and the game-breaking quest bugs. Have a very nice day. -fgalkin

I didn't find her until after Defiance Bay, and after Pellagina. Guess it's all in when you clear those wilderness areas. But no, I didn't find it "odd". You have to pass through Woodend Plains to get to Defiance Bay from Caed Nua, and she's literally standing on the road, so there should be no way to miss her. Have a very nice day. -fgalkin

A lot of it is for quests resolution- everything that other classes need GM or an outside Cipher for (Blood Legacy, Eder's quest, etc), a PC Cipher can do themselves. Have a very nice day. -fgalkin

Which means, incidentally, that the devs shot themselves in the foot, story-wise, by making the Undead Raedric quest available from Twin Elms, since you have to go to Raedric's Hold and back, and that takes like 5 days, game-time. Have a very nice day. -fgalkin

Yeah, but that changes completely after Thaos goes to Twin Elms, while your character is on the verge of losing their mind. It's clear that there is a time-constraint in Act III (you're supposed to have arrived to Twin Elms a day after Thaos, and he rushed straight over there, then you have to beat him to the finish line by jumping in the hole- so we're talking about maybe another day, if not hours). Have a very nice day. -fgalkin