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The Shattered Mind - no one knows whether it refers to the mind of his foes or of the Wild Orlan Cipher...Be that as it may, whenever he wields his fearsome warhammer "Shatterstar" most foes would be wise to run for cover. The idea behind this build was to make a melee cipher. @Raven Darkholme created one and chronicled his entire POTD solo adventure on YouTube under the moniker Victor Creed. Another player called Vlado Bl on Youtube had a dual wielding melee cipher who was fearsome to behold. What follows is my build and tactics used to obtain the Ultimate achievement. I used the @Wodjee YouTube video for his Ultimate Run with a rogue as inspiration and almost carbon-copied Act I. During Act II, I started doing things differently, but several tougher fights were still done using his blueprint. Although, with a cipher several fights should be done differently to use the cipher's strengths. This specific build relies quite heavily on disabling foes and then getting crits to quickly build focus. It is quite simple in concept and I found him to be quite powerful as long as I kept at least one foe disabled as a "focus battery". =================================== The Shattered Mind =================================== Difficulty: PotD v. 3.02 onwards – solo -------------------------------------------------------------- Class: Cipher -------------------------------------------------------------- Race: Wild Orlan - I chose Wild Orlan as I wanted the defensive bonus from Defiant Resolve. Any race will do as combat tactics are more important than the racial bonuses. -------------------------------------------------------------- Background: Rauatai - Background : Drifter (+1 Stealth / + 1 Mechanics) - I tend to always choose Drifter as the Stealth and Mechanics bonuses are extremely useful in Act I. -------------------------------------------------------------- Stats: MIG: 19 (Base 15 -1 Orlan +1 Gift from the Machine +1 Galawain's Boon +3 Garodh's Chorus) CON: 19 (Base 11 +1 Rauatai +4 Iron Circle + 3 Woodland Trails Resting Bonus) DEX: 17 (Base 13 +4 Viettro’s Formal Footwear PER: 18 (Base 11 +2 Orlan +1 Song of the Heavens +4 Mantle of the Excavator) INT: 20 (Base 16 +4 Gwyn’s Band of Union) RES: 10 (Base 9 +1 Orlan) -------------------------------------------------------------- Skills: Stealth: 12 (Base 8 +1 Cipher +1 Drifter +1 Blooded Hunter +1 Dungeon Delver) Athletics: 4 (Base 1 +1 Galawain's Boon +2 Woodland Trails Resting Bonus) Lore: 11 (Base 7 +1 Cipher +3 Viettro’s Formal Footwear) Mechanics: 8 (Base 5 +1 Cipher +1 Drifter +1 Dungeon Delver) Survival: 6 (Base 4 +2 Mantle of the Excavator) -------------------------------------------------------------- Talents obtained at level-up: Draining Whip - because every Cipher needs as much focus as quickly as possible Weapon and Shield Style - I like weapon and shield style as it increases my odds of survival. Biting Whip - more damage = more focus. What's not to like? Spirit of Decay - to increase damage from Antipathetic Field and corrosion's green colour matches nicely with my armour. Greater Focus - I know several posters regard this as a wasted talent, but it allowed me to cast Borrowed Instinct at the beginning of the encounter without needing to attack first. This can be a real game changer for difficult fights. Bear's Fortitude - because the worst afflictions target Fort. Deep Pockets - because I am addicted to scrolls. Psychic Backlash - to make dragon fights easier. Story talents: The Merciless Hand - this build needs to crit hard. Gift From the Machine - why not? Blooded Hunter - for the stealth bonus Song of the Heavens - again, why not? Dungeon Delver - extra crit damage, +1 stealth and +1 mechanics - sign me up! Dozen's Luck - why not? Flick of the Wrist - why not? Galawain's Boon - +1 Might, but any option could really be chosen Scale Breaker - no dragonslayer is complete without this ability. -------------------------------------------------------------- Weapon Set 1: Shatterstar (Legendary / Durgan-Reinfored) / Litte Saviour or Aila Braccia (Legendary / Durgan-Reinforced for both shields) Weapon Set 2: St. Ydwen's Redeemer or Steadfast and one of the above shields depending on the foes faced. Head: Garodh's Chorus (Preservation options) Chest: Argwes Adra (Legendary / Durgan-Reinforced) Hands: Gauntlets of Swift Action Ring 1: Iron Circle Ring 2: Gwyn’s Band of Union Feet: Viettro’s Formal Footwear Waist: Looped Rope Pet: Concelhaut’s Skull Quick Items: Potion of Deleterious Alacrity of Motion, Potion of Infuse with Vital Essence, Potion of Major Endurance, Scroll of Valour, Scroll of Moonwell, Scroll of Defense -------------------------------------------------------------- Cipher Powers: Level 1 Antipathetic Field - One of the best damage dealing powers available. Combine this with Combusting Wounds from a Ring of Searing Flames and watch enemies melt. Whisper of Treason - I used this way too infrequently, but it is a great power. Wreak havoc in the enemies' back line or use this to neutralise those pesky spellcasters. Tenuous Grasp - Can be cast from stealth, but the results are a little unpredictable. Did not use it much. Eyestrike, Mindwave and Soul Shock - never once used them in this run Level 2 Mental Binding - This is the build's bread and butter power. A paralyzed foe is a good focus battery cause crits are easier to land. The AOE can also cause enemies to be stuck which allows the cipher to reposition. Unless I wanted to do damage to a larger group of foes, I preferred this over Silent Scream. Recall Agony - Great power once you have Disintegrate. Psychovampiric shield - Did help me survive until I got Borrowed Instinct, but thereafter it saw no use. Phantom Foes - could have been a useful power if I had chosen Apprentice's Sneak Attack as a talent, but I did not have issues dealing damage, therefore I chose a different route. Mind Blades - never used this once in this run Level 3 Secret Horrors - This is a great primer for my Disintegrate combo as it targets will and sickens them leading to a Fort debuff. Fractured Volition - Once Fort has been debuffed with Secret Horrors, this has a much better chance of landing. Once this lands, the debuff allows Disintegrate to land much easier. Soul Ignition - If I was not sure that my Disintegrate combo would kill of an opponent, I added Soul Ignition to the mix. Puppet Master - In theory this should be better than Whisper of Treason, but I hardly used this. A dominated foe does not have any debuffs whereas a charmed foe does. I like it if the enemies can at least kill the charmed foe, therefore I hardly ever used this. A valid alternative though. Level 4 Silent Scream - The big AOE damage dealer for a cipher. Useful at times, but me mindful than the debuff for stun is not quite as good as the debuff for paralyze. Therefore, it may be better to paralyze tougher foes with Mental Binding. Body Attunement - Great power for reducing DR of targets. Effect ends once the target dies which is unfortunate. You can either use it to buff your own DR, i.e. choose a foes you do not need to take down quickly, or to debuff a foe with high DR. Wild Leech - Another great power. Unfortunately the effect ends once the target dies. Use it in the same way as Body Attunement and it is very powerful. Mind Lance - I used this a couple of times when I had surplus focus and everyone was already stunned from Silent Scream. Level 5 Borrowed Instinct - Game changing power. I chose Greater Focus just so I could cast this as a combat opener. Ringleader - never used in any of my playthroughs. Level 6 Disintegrate - Best single target damage dealing power and very useful against dragons. Typical combo would be Secret Horrors, Fractured Volition, Disintegrate, Recall Agony and Soul Ignition. If they all hit, then nothing remains standing. Level 7 Time Parasite - Once I got access to this power, it would be the first I would cast in combat. However, that meant that I did not get off a Borrowed Instinct that quickly. Therefore I changed my combat openings to Potion of DoAM, Borrowed Instinct and only then Time Parasite once the potion was about to run out. Stasis Shell - Never used