JFutral

Yeah, sorry about that. I zoned out after a bit there. Joe

Boeroer is rarely wrong, but that will have an effect on dialogue options. Resolve is pretty consistently one of the dialogue choices. Joe

There are only a couple/few dialogue options that are class dependent. There are more attribute dependent dialogue options than class. Resolve, might, and intelligence seem to garner the most options. Perception and dexterity have a one or two/couple. I don't recall seeing anything for constitution, but I could be wrong. There are a couple of actions that are constitution dependent. Other than that, I got nothin' for ya. I love rogues. Druids and rangers are my usual second choices. HTH, Joe

I like all the ones posted, but I am still disappointed in all of them. All the efforts to maintain balance? drives me nuts. As such I always feel like everything is mostly nerfed to keep them from being really powerful magic items. I'd prefer fewer, more powerful items (but a large selection to draw from, either RNG or predetermined, or some variation, I don't care). I'm still a pack rat and never dump anything and try various builds along the way. But I never feel like the hero of the story, just some common schmuck with a few more magic items than everyone else. Eh. Still fun. Joe

If I am working out a minimal party I think in terms of melee, range, and spell casting. If am looking for buffing and damage from my casters, I prefer to go with Druid. To me that is like a priest and wizard in one. I'm still a big fan of my ranger (range, scroll caster, and second melee in a pinch), rogue (melee), druid/spells caster (second range when not casting and scroll caster for CC and as a druid, shape-shifting made decent damage when I ran out of spells). I also swapped out with priest or wizard a few times and settled on druid as the most flexible. Throwing in a forth as a second spell caster was just icing on the cake. I imagine a dedicated tank would be similar. But that happens to fit my play style and not ToI (at least not for me). YMMV. Joe

I seem to recall that they do. But then they have always seemed to me to be PotD level already, it probably noticeably affects their minions more then the dragons. Joe

Ranger, rogue, druid. Joe

Well that's just disappointing to learn. Note taken. Joe

Maybe it's because I've played rogues a good bit, but even in PotD my Rogues actually do better as the go up in level. I'm more surprised he is doing this well this early. He also runs a dagger and a rapier for melee on the occasion an extra melee fighter helps and he kicks butt there, too. In the past my experience is he doesn't do as well early. I ran a duo/rogue and ranger party once and he rogue was my "front line" engager. I'll keep an eye on him. Joe

"I am a bit concerned, because I rely heavily on figurines, and they seem to be losing their impact as I level up." Yes, that means you should be relying on them less as you level up, too. Then summoning Ogres (both via Chanter and with the horn or whatever it is the Ogres give you when you go face the Eyeless. You get that by having Ogre allies when you don't kill many (any?) in the Ogre hole near Stalwart, there may be another way, but I don't know it). Joe

My base stats are a little different, but over all you've actually gone my typical talent/ability tree route. I don't think my difference in stats would account for the difference in experiences. (But all the same: M16, C10, D14, P14, I10, R13, not as many talents/abilities yet since I am at a lower level atm, but you picked what I would pick). I also run around with Sneak mode as my default. That helps with sneak attack and works with range as well as melee weapons, IIRC. And I really don't have anything special just yet, weapon-wise. (I haven't gotten to the keep yet). It could be just bad rolls, it could be play style. Hard to say. But I can't say I blame you. If a character wasn't putting out, for whatever reason, I'd dump him, too. Er., so to speak. Joe

Huh. That's interesting. I just started a new PotD run with a pale elf ranged rogue (due to this thread!) and right now he is my #1 damage dealer. He's my main character and also has the highest acc and dps. He has killed the most, done the most damage, killed the toughest enemy, etc. Rest of the party is a dwarf barbarian, Aumua fighter, god-like wizard, human chanter, and human cleric. Planning on swaping out for Hiravias and Sagani when I come across them. Go figure. Joe

This is one of the reasons I love Rangers. Built properly it really is like having a second melee fighter (or 7th for a full party). And then with the right gear and other means of collaborative attacks, I usually have everyone target the same enemy and they go down pretty quickly. (I say "everyone" but I haven't played a full 6 member party in a while.) Joe

Hmmm, but Persistence is slightly later (e.g. I can buy Borresaine at level 5, but I had trouble even at Od Nua level 2 at level 5 and decided to come back later). I am also not planning on micro-ing the animal much. He will just be a sacrificial lamb Ranger is definitely my third favorite class (#1 Rogue, #2 Druid). Master's Call and Takedown saved my butt more than once. I also second Persistence. Borresaine always seemed like a waste of money, particularly in aparty. Joe

You think you are having trouble with the back line now, wait until you are running solo! The "hit and run" technique as much art as technical. You have to find that point where the enemy starts to head back and then find one to hit to bring them back. I also try to lay a trap or symbol they have to run over just to help out. One of my new favorite Druid CC spells especially for distant enemies that also gives me time to quaff a potion or cast another spell is Overwhelming Wave. I don't have to be in Combat Mode to cast it, which is a huge plus. Then I cast one of the Storm spells or cast a Protection scroll or drink a recovery potion. Some mobs are too big and the wave doesn't hit everyone, but at least some are incapacitated while I setup for the first wave of enemies. Joe

Well, if you need CC and you don't have it already in some other functional manner, then the scrolls are hardly a waste of money. How many scrolls are you making? Grok: Wiki says "to understand intuitively or by empathy, to establish rapport with" and "to empathize or communicate sympathetically (with); also, to experience enjoyment", In my case, the lack of the former causes lack of the latter. I can't figure out the whole Focus thing. I use a "spell" and then it takes forever for the focus to regenerate. I end up making either a melee or ranged cipher whenever I use one so they are productive while waiting to regenerate Focus. And then the FX of the spells never seem to be all that useful, but I can't tell. I am as productive with a cipher as I am without. So I figure I just can't figure out how to properly build and play one. Joe

The PoE Druid is far and away superior to the D&D Druid. With offensive spells that rival the Wizard's and even some decent buff spells. If you don't like the lack of extensive CC spells, you can always create scrolls for the Druid to use. Not really an issue. I still can't grok the Cipher. Joe

Don't be afraid. Heroes are never afraid! Joe

Other than for the having to reinstall the game part, I love this thread! Joe

There are a couple of the choices that I think pair well. Marking/Coordinating and Stunning/Vicious. In story lingo it is "Inspire others and lend strength"/"I bring people together" and "I want to subdue"/"I make the hard choice". Draining/Valiant is probably a decent pairing, too. They may seem to work at odds to each other, but if the goal is to keep you alive, I think they should do well together, especially if your attack speed is decent. Definitely avoid the Exceptional, as JerekKruger suggests ("Be a better version of myself" or whatever it says). You can add that on your own. Just some thoughts, Joe

Yes. Joe

It's always a matter of "focus". Get it? I slay me. (Hey that should be a weapon enchantment.) Me, I hate to give up any accuracy points. But then, I'm also a big believer in Perception as a primary attribute. Or at leas pumped up with items and resting if I decide to sacrifice it in my build. But then I also couldn't figure out which attribute I needed to keep from getting Stunned so much. Yes, I admit it. I prefer playing by intuition as much as I can get away with it. That is, until I am playing solo and keep getting stunned and paralyzed. Joe

I built a dual wielding rogue that used the groupings for dagger and stiletto weapons (so at the very least he had two damage types). I got other buffs I could that would help, like Flick of the Wrist at Gref's Rest. By late game he was pretty much an unstoppable damage dealer. I don't remember the exact stiletto I used most, but the March steel dagger was the dagger I used primarily. I haven't done the dual weapon focus on any other character, but it seemed to be a good choice for my rogue. My favourite MC to date. For a while I had a couple different weapons with different slaying enchantments, especially in the early game. But in the latter game it didn't really matter that much (although I kept one with the beast slaying enchantment to help with some dragon purging). Joe

I was seriously considering that Bronze Horn. How good is the Animat it summons? Joe

I did not have a 5 in Stealth. I did try to avoid combat. So that's why that didn't work. Good to know. I also did not have Rymgard's mantle. I did have a potion of Bulwark. I thought that made the difference until after the fight it was still in my accessories slot. So the best I can figure is it came down to the RNG. For some reason I could not get off a scroll or drink a potion to (literally) save my life. I did get off several druid spells, which ultimately made the difference. Sunbeam and Autumn's Decay did most of the work. Autumn's Decay felt like it was a faster casting than Sunbeam. Not sure that was true, but it was the only spell at that level I could successfully cast. I guess Average speed spans quite a difference. Or the RNG goddess was tired of seeing me continually fail. Joe