[Class build] Lady of Pain - the b!tch is back

[AndreaColombo]

 

For those who didn't play the first game and/or did so without perusing the builds from this forum, the Lady of Pain was/is my signature build for Pillars of Eternity and is in no way related to her Planescape namesake.

 

 

Premise.

 

Deadfire brings several mechanical changes to the table, to the point that recreating the first game's build 1:1 is almost impossible.

 

I therefore set out to create a new build that would translate the Lady of Pain's foundations to the Deadfire mechanics:

• Maxing out MIG score (which Deadfire made simpler in concept by putting a hard cap on attributes.)
• Packing as many damage bonuses as possible.
• Pumping Accuracy.
• Reducing recovery as much as possible while using a 2H and wearing good armor. *
• Turning its weak spot (low Deflection) into an asset.

 

* Deadfire also makes it impossible to reach 0 recovery unless you dual-wield Scordeo's Edge, so I had to give up on heavy armor and make do with the lowest recovery I could reach.

 

As was the case with my guide for the first game, I'll be using spoiler tags for each section to improve readability and avoid the wall-of-text effect.

 

The build is not tested for solo play (and I would advise against it given its early-game glass-cannon nature.)

 

The guide includes spoilers for equipment and bonuses you can get throughout the game.

 

 

Race, Provenance, Background.

 

 

 

Race: Coastal Aumaua

 

Provenance: The White That Wends

 

Background: Hunter

 

 

Reasoning:

• Aumaua remains the go-to race due to the +2 MIG attribute and my preference for taller races (though you may go for Dwarf as well if that is your preference; what really matters is the +2 MIG bonus.)
• Coastal Aumaua have an arguably better racial ability than their Island cousins, as they have natural Resistance to MIG afflictions. This is both consistent with the build's concept and pretty good to have in general.
• The White That Wends is necessary for the +1 PER bonus, as you'll see in the attributes section (in the first game I chose The Living Lands for the MIG bonus as attributes didn't have a hard cap. If you play a different Monk sublcass than Helwalker, The Living Lands is a valid choice.)
• Hunter was to get both Athletics and Mechanics, though you may really go for whatever strikes your roleplaying fancy. I suggest something that boosts Athletics in one way or another, however, as you'll be using Second Wind quite a bit in the first half of the game.

 

 

 

 

Attributes.

 

 

 

Attributes are hereby presented without any bonus from Berath's Blessing. There's a section at the end of the guide detailing how to use Berath's Blessings to maximize the build's effectiveness.

MIG    19 [17 + 2 Aumaua]
CON    10
DEX    10
INT    10
PER    19 [18 + 1 from The White That Wends]
RES    10

Reasoning:

• The build relies on specific choices from the first game (check out the end of the guide for instructions on how to set up your background choices for this build, as well as a download link to my own background choices). You'll be receiving +1 MIG from the Gift from the Machine and +1 PER from sacrificing Sagani to the Blood Pool (this is discussed further in the aforementioned section of this guide.)
• Even though maxing out on MIG is a design goal for this build, starting out with a higher score than 19 is not necessary. You'll get +1 from the Gift from the Machine, +10 from the Helwalker's class perk, and +5 from the Thunderous Blows ability, thus reaching the cap of 35.
• High PER is staple for this build, as packing huge damage means nothing if your attacks don't land.
• Even though the original build took 3 points from both CON and RES to boost DEX and gain extra attack speed, I chose against it in Deadfire. Dropping CON below 10 is too risky while using the Helwalker subclass (which we need in order to max out our MIG score) and dropping RES below 10 is highly undesirable as it increases the duration of hostile effects (if enemies charm this build, you won't want that to last long.)
• There's a high-level area near the top-left corner of the map where you can gain a permanent +1 bonus to an attribute of your choice. By the time you get it, it hardly makes a difference; however, I suggest taking PER since you're already maxed out on MIG and bringing any other stat from 10 to 11 doesn't do much at all.

 

 

 

 

Class & Abilities.

 

 

 

 

Class: Devoted / Helwalker

 

Reasoning:

• Devoted is arguably the best Fighter subclass if you already know what weapon you want (which we do, as dicussed in the equipment section of this guide.) The bonus crit damage synergizes well with the high PER score and the Hit-to-Crit conversion from Disciplined Strikes; bonus PEN is always welcome.
• Helwalker gains MIG with Wounds up to +10, which is needed to max out our MIG score. Monks also happen to have a number of very good melee abilities that work well when multiclassed with Fighters.

 

Abilities:

 

 

Reasoning:

• Swift Flurry + Heartbeat Drumming + Cleaving Stance are in for the nerf hammer in the near future, seeing as they are all currently capable of proccing themselves. So if you score a critical hit, there's a chance you attack again immediately (Swift Flurry or Heartbeat Drumming); if that extra attack also crits, there's a chance you'll attack again immediately due to the same abilities; and so on, and so forth. Same with Cleaving Stance attacks.
• Charge is extremely good to reach priority targets quickly. As you level up and gain more Discipline points, you can effectively set the A.I. to zigzag across the screen, killing enemies like there was no tomorrow.
• Penetrating Strikes is great to take down bigger, tougher enemies.
• Armored Grace is a staple for this build and goes well with Mob Stance to reduce your recovery time. Swift Flurry also conveniently gives you +5 DEX, which further contributes.
• Since we're hoarding Wounds to reap the benefits of the Helwalker's class perk, Turning Wheel comes in especially handy: Holding on to your Wounds eventually gives you +10 INT and +50% burn damage, which is pretty rad.
• Enervating Blows goes well with high PER and Disciplined Strikes, which gives +5 PER and 25% Hit-to-Crit chance.
• The Dichotomous Soul has cool factor in spades, but it costs 4 Wounds and by the time you're level 20, you never really need to use it. You may drop it and Unstoppable in favor of Instruments of Pain to be able to do ranged attacks (which is very cool, but since you can Charge your way around the battlefield that's also not needed unless you run out of Discipline.)
• Constant Recovery + Rapid Recovery benefit from the extra MIG you get from the Helwalker, thus offsetting the extra damage you take to hold on to your Wounds. They also benefit from the extra INT you get from Duality of Mortal Presence and its upgrade, thus lasting longer during combat.

 

 

 

 

Skills.

 

 

 

Skills really depend on who specializes in what within your party.

 

The one skill this build needs is Athletics, as you'll be making good use of Second Wind (which synergizes very well with your MIG score.) You'll be starting with 2 points (1 from Fighter, 1 from Monk); I suggest investing up to 8 points in it to reach 10. You'll then get to 12 with the bonus from skill trainer Garnis and the bonus from your belt (The Undying Burden.) If you're using Berath's Blessing, you'll get an extra 2 points for a total of 14 (though frankly 10 should be sufficient to fully heal you from 50%, which is the threshold I use in my A.I. preset.)

 

 

 

 

Equipment.

 

 

 

Staple equipment for the build:

Head: Helm of the Falcon
 
Body: Devil of Caroc Breastplate
 
Belt: The Undying Burden
 
Weapon: Whispers of the Endless Paths

Reasoning:

• Helm of the Falcon (purchased from a merchant on the shore of Crookspur) gives a whopping -20% recovery with 2H weapons.
• Devil of Caroc Breastplate is the best armor in the game, with recovery 20% faster than a regular breastplate, inherent Legendary quality, +2 to your resource pool, and an upgrade path that includes resistance to INT/PER/RES afflictions and extra AR when bloodied.
• The Undying Burden (sold by a merchant in Delver's Row) is tailor-made for this build. Bonus CON increases your HP, which is needed since as a Helwalker you're prone to taking a beating; +1 Athletics makes your Second Wind ability heal you for more, which is very handy when you take a beating; an extra use of Second Wind is so good I don't even; and you even get damage reduction that increases the less health you have. I couldn't ask for more.
• Whispers of the Endless Paths is the best 2H in the game hands-down. Attacks twice in an AoE, which synergizes very well with Cleaving Stance, Swift Flurry, and Heartbeat Drumming; has a Crush damage lash and extra penetration; includes an upgrade path that gives a stacking attack speed bonus and a wonderful 360° AoE attack.
• The best part is that all of these are available relatively early, so you don't have to wait until the game is over to enjoy this build.

Other equipment:

Neck: Amulet of Greater Health
 
Cape: Cloak of Greater Protection
 
Hands: Gauntlets of Discipline
 
Ring 1: Ring of Greater Regeneration
 
Ring 2: Any
 
Feet: Footprints of Ahu Taka

Pet: Abraham OR Cutthroat Cosmo

Reasoning:

 

• Anything goes so long as you have the core items.
• Gauntlets of Discipline are available relatively early and let you Charge around more, or use Penetrating Strikes more.
• Abraham and Cutthroat Cosmo reduce your recovery time, which is pretty good for the build.Cutthroat Cosmo is available right off the bat if you have the Scavenger's Hunt items. In terms of party-wide effect, Abraham gives heal-on-kill; Cosmo gives a bonus to ranged attacks.
• Footprints of Ahu Taka, unfortunately, I can't remember where I got. They give +2 DEX and +15% Healing done, which is great with Rapid Recovery, but I got them fairly late. You can use any boots you get, anyway.

 

 

 

 

A.I.

 

 

 

Here's a link to the set of A.I. instructions I use with the build: LINK

 

What it does:

• Start combat with Disciplined Strikes, Swift Flurry, and Thunderous Blows; renovate the buffs upon expiry.
• If no enemies are in melee range, use Charge against the enemy identified as "best threat."
• If threatened or engaged by multiple enemies and no allies are in melee range, use Spinning Assault (from Whispers of the Endless Paths.)
• If Health drops below 50%, use Second Wind.

What it doesn't do:

• It doesn't use Unbending, because it costs 3 Discipline and isn't always needed so I wanted to be in control of that.
• It doesn't use Penetrating Strikes, because it isn't always needed and I want to use Discipline for self buffs and Charge unless strictly necessary; I prefer to use Penetrating Strikes manually.

Feel free to use it, or modify it to suit your needs.

 

If you use mine, you may need to change the cooldown times as they are set to the duration the buffs have at level 20.

 

 

 

 

PoE Legacy.

 

 

 

Here's a link to my custom PoE legacy file: LINK

 

Important things:

• Absorbed the souls in Heritage Hill to gain Gift from the Machine (+1 MIG). This is returned to you when Eothas gives back part of your soul in Hasongo.
• Sacrificed Sagani to the blood pool (+1 PER.) Also gained back from Eothas in Hasongo.
• Devil of Caroc spared Harmke (necessary for the Devil of Caroc breastplate to be sold in Neketaka.)
• Reforged the Blade of the Endless Paths (necessary for the fragments to appear on the Defiant, though I'm afarid that's currently bugged and you'll need to console them in regardless.)

You're welcome to create your own legacy for this build if you want to customize all other options to your liking, or use mine if you prefer.

 

If you're going for an alternative version of this build (Devoted/Shattered Pillar that spams Raised Torment is very good) you may change the blood pool sacrifice to Maneha to get +1 MIG since you won't be maxing out on it.

 

 

 

 

Berath's Blessings.

 

 

 

The only thing worth mentioning about the blessings is that you can get one that gives you +2 to all six attributes.

 

These extra points aren't visible at character creation, so you need to handle character creation with them in mind if you want to optimize.

 

You may go for 18 DEX to increase your attack speed further; 18 CON to increase your durability (may come in handy early on, but becomes unnecessary rather quickly); 18 RES to improve your Will defense and reduce the duration of hostile effects.

 

My personal preference is for 18 RES, which would require you to allocate stats as follows at character creation:

MIG   17
CON   08
DEX   08
INT   08
PER   17
RES   16

Once you factor in Berath's Blessing, you get:

MIG   19
CON   10
DEX   10
INT   10
PER   19
RES   18

 

 

Edited May 28, 2018 by AndreaColombo

[Clerith]

Glad to see this make a return. Props for the AI list.

 

Health amulet though, really? :D How about the early +2 resolve ammy instead?

 

There's a pretty clear lack of dps rings in the game, so anything goes there, really. I had random minor protection and minor deflection rings abound.

Edited May 22, 2018 by Clerith

[Climhazzard]

If you'd taken a day longer to post this I would have accidentally taken the name for a transcendent build I'm working on, lol.  Lucky, since you had it in PoE it should be yours.  But now I have to think of something not derivative for my transcendent build, lol.  

 

How do you do the spoiler tabs?  For my next post I want to add the AI scripts I use for each ability..  but I don't want it to be TLDR.

Edited May 22, 2018 by Climhazzard

[AndreaColombo]

NerdCommando also had a Lady of Pain build for the first game and his came first, but by the time I found out it was too late to change it

 

Spoiler tags are like this:

 

[ spoiler ] your spoilery text here [ /spoiler ]

 

without the spaces of course.

[Frog Man]

The lady is back! Great guide Andrea. Looking forward to building soon- though I’ll run with Dwarf of Pain variant

[Noctaem]

Thanks for posting :D  I look forward to looking it over in detail.

[Laskolnyk]

Custom PoE legacy file link = A.I link.

I try this because I did not sacrifice anyone

[Clerith]

For those who manually set up world states, use this console line to get the fragments until they patch the bug: giveitem MISC_Fragments_Blade_of_the_Endless_Paths

Edited May 22, 2018 by Clerith

[AndreaColombo]

Custom PoE legacy file link = A.I link.

 

Try now; should be fixed.

[Elebhra]

I love your guides. Lady of Pain (Lord?) was how I've built Eder in my pre-Deadfire run.

 

Wanted to create a hireling to try the build and saw that I don't have Whispers in my end-game save. Couldn't bother with console so I found a replacement: 

 

Wahai Poraga - 9-13 slash/crush damage; 7 penetration; 0,5 Attack Speed; 4 second recovery

- Reckless Cyclone -  hits target twice + aoe around to 2 targets

- At Blade's Reach - +8 deflection, -20% damage for 2 secs after attacking

 

(Enchantments)

- Counterattack - raw dot to melee attackers (doesn't seem to do anything)

OR

- Dug-In - +2% Action Speed after being hit in melee (stacks 10 times), removed after moving. [edit: meant moving not attacking]

 

Seems a bit worse, but has nicer aoe shape IMHO. At Blade's Reach will have 100% uptime due to Duality of Mortal Presence and recovery buffs.

Dug-In is decent, especially because buff is not removed after charge.

 

Found in Neketaka Old City after boss.

Edited May 22, 2018 by Elebhra

[gkathellar]

She cannot be stopped, she can only be delayed

[Voltron]

Ah, Monk/Devoted. Was waiting for someone to finally make a Class Build for it. Absolutely broken combo, insane mobility, Swift Flurry endless damage loop. Pure damage.

 

But why you didn't went with Scordeo's Trophy? Even on my War Caller I pretty much get that 0 recovery proc every fight so with Swift Flurry it would proc like crazy.

 

 

EDIT: I just tried your build with Dual Wielding Scrodeo and I was pretty much guarantee to proc 0 Recovery in every fight due to Swift Flurry + Charge + Cleave stance. The DPS was just out of the roof. Did same with Wishper of E.P and it was much slower to kill group of enemies.

 

I think Scordeo is perfect for this build and much better than that 2h, which is still nice (I tested it few times now). But that 0 recovery every fight... man... It definitely proc more on this than on My Warcaller and that is just crazy. Also you don't utilize Charge fully if you don't dual wield. Not only that but you also stack + Accuracy from Scordeo every hit and that also counts Swift Flurry and Cleave attacks, which can give you in first two attacks in fight a +20 to +30 Accuracy, which also helps a lot. And they have higher penetration (sabres) on Devoted than 2h swords.

 

Lovely build but I feel like this one is absolutely made for Scordeo sabre.

 

 

BTW. Is this build solo-viable? Because it seems squishy. For solo would you recommend going Shattered or Naz instead?

Edited May 22, 2018 by Voltron

[dunehunter]

Ah, Monk/Devoted. Was waiting for someone to finally make a Class Build for it. Absolutely broken combo, insane mobility, Swift Flurry endless damage loop. Pure damage.

 

But why you didn't went with Scordeo's Trophy? Even on my War Caller I pretty much get that 0 recovery proc every fight so with Swift Flurry it would proc like crazy.

 

 

EDIT: I just tried your build with Dual Wielding Scrodeo and I was pretty much guarantee to proc 0 Recovery in every fight due to Swift Flurry + Charge + Cleave stance. The DPS was just out of the roof. Did same with Wishper of E.P and it was much slower to kill group of enemies.

 

I think Scordeo is perfect for this build and much better than that 2h, which is still nice (I tested it few times now). But that 0 recovery every fight... man... It definitely proc more on this than on My Warcaller and that is just crazy. Also you don't utilize Charge fully if you don't dual wield. Not only that but you also stack + Accuracy from Scordeo every hit and that also counts Swift Flurry and Cleave attacks, which can give you in first two attacks in fight a +20 to +30 Accuracy, which also helps a lot. And they have higher penetration (sabres) on Devoted than 2h swords.

 

Lovely build but I feel like this one is absolutely made for Scordeo sabre.

 

 

BTW. Is this build solo-viable? Because it seems squishy. For solo would you recommend going Shattered or Naz instead?

Actually it’s even crazier to use scrodeo has cipher, u can reach 0.1sec/0.0sec with time parasite + 0 recovery.

 

That spells is broken now it has no cap, u can get +800% action speed with it l..

[L4wlight]

 

Ah, Monk/Devoted. Was waiting for someone to finally make a Class Build for it. Absolutely broken combo, insane mobility, Swift Flurry endless damage loop. Pure damage.

 

But why you didn't went with Scordeo's Trophy? Even on my War Caller I pretty much get that 0 recovery proc every fight so with Swift Flurry it would proc like crazy.

 

 

EDIT: I just tried your build with Dual Wielding Scrodeo and I was pretty much guarantee to proc 0 Recovery in every fight due to Swift Flurry + Charge + Cleave stance. The DPS was just out of the roof. Did same with Wishper of E.P and it was much slower to kill group of enemies.

 

I think Scordeo is perfect for this build and much better than that 2h, which is still nice (I tested it few times now). But that 0 recovery every fight... man... It definitely proc more on this than on My Warcaller and that is just crazy. Also you don't utilize Charge fully if you don't dual wield. Not only that but you also stack + Accuracy from Scordeo every hit and that also counts Swift Flurry and Cleave attacks, which can give you in first two attacks in fight a +20 to +30 Accuracy, which also helps a lot. And they have higher penetration (sabres) on Devoted than 2h swords.

 

Lovely build but I feel like this one is absolutely made for Scordeo sabre.

 

 

BTW. Is this build solo-viable? Because it seems squishy. For solo would you recommend going Shattered or Naz instead?

Actually it’s even crazier to use scrodeo has cipher, u can reach 0.1sec/0.0sec with time parasite + 0 recovery.

 

That spells is broken now it has no cap, u can get +800% action speed with it l..

 

For real? Time parasite stacks with itself?

Edited May 23, 2018 by L4wlight

[Voltron]

 

Ah, Monk/Devoted. Was waiting for someone to finally make a Class Build for it. Absolutely broken combo, insane mobility, Swift Flurry endless damage loop. Pure damage.

 

But why you didn't went with Scordeo's Trophy? Even on my War Caller I pretty much get that 0 recovery proc every fight so with Swift Flurry it would proc like crazy.

 

 

EDIT: I just tried your build with Dual Wielding Scrodeo and I was pretty much guarantee to proc 0 Recovery in every fight due to Swift Flurry + Charge + Cleave stance. The DPS was just out of the roof. Did same with Wishper of E.P and it was much slower to kill group of enemies.

 

I think Scordeo is perfect for this build and much better than that 2h, which is still nice (I tested it few times now). But that 0 recovery every fight... man... It definitely proc more on this than on My Warcaller and that is just crazy. Also you don't utilize Charge fully if you don't dual wield. Not only that but you also stack + Accuracy from Scordeo every hit and that also counts Swift Flurry and Cleave attacks, which can give you in first two attacks in fight a +20 to +30 Accuracy, which also helps a lot. And they have higher penetration (sabres) on Devoted than 2h swords.

 

Lovely build but I feel like this one is absolutely made for Scordeo sabre.

 

 

BTW. Is this build solo-viable? Because it seems squishy. For solo would you recommend going Shattered or Naz instead?

Actually it’s even crazier to use scrodeo has cipher, u can reach 0.1sec/0.0sec with time parasite + 0 recovery.

 

That spells is broken now it has no cap, u can get +800% action speed with it l..

 

 

Lol it stacks? Seriously? LOL :D

[dunehunter]

Yeah, it stacks

[dunehunter]

There is an animation hard cap so you will not see your cipher attack that fast with scrodeo, but in battle log it does hit so many times in one sec. And since you attack so fast you are in a infinite loop of 0 recovery buff.

[AndreaColombo]

@Voltron - You make an excellent point, but I won’t be able to write an articulated reply until I’m back from my holiday next Monday

 

I definitely advise against this build (or any that employ the Helwalker subclass, really) for solo play. If soloing, Devoted/Shattered Pillar is strictly better; take Rooting Pain and Torment’s Reach / Raised Torment instead of three other abilities I listed, then set the A.I. to use Raised Torment on the nearest target when at 5 Wounds.

Edited May 23, 2018 by AndreaColombo

[Clerith]

EDIT: I just tried your build with Dual Wielding Scrodeo and I was pretty much guarantee to proc 0 Recovery in every fight due to Swift Flurry + Charge + Cleave stance. The DPS was just out of the roof. Did same with Wishper of E.P and it was much slower to kill group of enemies.

 

-

 

Scordeo sabre.

You want to play Devoted/Monk (especially the Devoted part) dual wielding a pistol and a sabre?

 

Anyways, this build has definitely inspired me to make a Devoted/Monk, though I'm definitely thinking SHattered Pillar instead. Everything looks pretty much the same except picking up Vigorous Defence, since there is no need to get hit.

[Raven Darkholme]

Lady of Pain is back with a vengeance, fighters actually op in this game.

[Voltron]

 

EDIT: I just tried your build with Dual Wielding Scrodeo and I was pretty much guarantee to proc 0 Recovery in every fight due to Swift Flurry + Charge + Cleave stance. The DPS was just out of the roof. Did same with Wishper of E.P and it was much slower to kill group of enemies.

 

-

 

Scordeo sabre.

You want to play Devoted/Monk (especially the Devoted part) dual wielding a pistol and a sabre?

 

Anyways, this build has definitely inspired me to make a Devoted/Monk, though I'm definitely thinking SHattered Pillar instead. Everything looks pretty much the same except picking up Vigorous Defence, since there is no need to get hit.

 

 

By Dual wielding I meant Scordeo sabre + Any other melee (best Fin's Fortune imo) sabre to it. Sorry if I wasn't clear. Scordeo Pistol is great for not for this build, though I am thinking of making Ranger my next solo build and using it.

[Clerith]

Whispers of the Endless Paths does have a few things going for it. For one, you can get it extremely early, no need to wait until the end of the Principi questline if you want to play normally. Since every one of its hits is a double hit (and the second one being an aoe), like Andrea said in the guide, it has insane synergy with Mob Stance and Heartbeat Drumming. If you Charge through multiple clustered enemies, it has a good chance of doing 3-4 hits per enemy, no? A lot of melee builds want Scordeo, so it's nice to use a 2h on someone. Well, I believe Voltron when he said that he kills things faster, at high levels, but with Whispers, the build is basically good to go once you hit Neketaka.

[baldurs_gate_2]

So you can not play this build solo on potd? Even with high resolve?

[Boeroer]

You can play anything solo on PotD at the moment...

[dunehunter]

Whispers of the Endless Paths does have a few things going for it. For one, you can get it extremely early, no need to wait until the end of the Principi questline if you want to play normally. Since every one of its hits is a double hit (and the second one being an aoe), like Andrea said in the guide, it has insane synergy with Mob Stance and Heartbeat Drumming. If you Charge through multiple clustered enemies, it has a good chance of doing 3-4 hits per enemy, no? A lot of melee builds want Scordeo, so it's nice to use a 2h on someone. Well, I believe Voltron when he said that he kills things faster, at high levels, but with Whispers, the build is basically good to go once you hit Neketaka.

Why can’t u just use both? I mean I would just use scordeo to trigger 0 recovery buff and switch to whisper of endless if I was u, it’s just a buff anyway and as fighter u have quick switch.

Edited May 23, 2018 by dunehunter