General Tank/RP Question: How Important Are Con and Resolve?

[Cyrus_Blackfeather]

Hey guys,

 

So in PoE1 I played a glass cannon Striker type character that was a lot of fun, but I really want to experiment with a Paladin multiclass in Pillars 2 (You can see my build here: https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/101021-looking-for-help-with-a-crusader-bleak-walkerdevoted-build-for-potd/).I'm hoping to be a tank, engaging lots of enemies and not dying due to superior defenses while shelling out decent damage in response. I just had a few questions about stats for such a character...

 

1. So far, most tanking/solo builds I've seen have dumped Resolve - either to as low as 3 or at least 8 or so. I get why, because Paladins provide so much Will/Deflection in their own right, the small bonuses you get are just peanuts, but then I start to worry about dialogue checks involving Resolve. In Pillars 1, Resolve was EVERYWHERE - it essentially served as your Charisma score, and was checked quite a bit when it came to force of will type conversation options. In fact, I think there was one potential game over you could get for not having a high enough Resolve to resist a particular effect. How necessary is having a high Resolve for getting the best out of the story of Deadfire? 

 

2. People have ALSO discussed that tank builds have little need for Constitution. This I'm a tad more willing to accept, it's certainly worth having in the beginning, but not so much in the middle/end of the game where your defenses should be high enough to comfortably graze/no-pen most attacks. Is just leaving it at a 10 base good enough to start? 

 

Also, I'm considering a Paladin/Fighter, so using the stats I have freed up by not investing in Resolve or Con, what should I focus on next? The latest build I've theorycrafted on the thread there has Intellect as a tertiary stat after Might and Precision, for AoE range and skill duration. Would that be worth going for? 

[Witness41920]

1 - Not nearly as important as it was in POE 1, it's used largely to resist assaults on the mind or to impress your will upon someone else

 

2 - 10 is sufficient though 12 might be a better starting point depending on your difficulty setting

 

3 - Yes.

[ShakotanSolari]

So I just finished the game with a Bleak Walker paladin, 19 Resolve and 10 Constitution base and honestly I feel like I could have dumped Constitution to minimum because by about halfway through the game my armor rating and defenses were so high that literally the only damage I ever took was from Voidwheel and Sacred Immolation. 

[Cyrus_Blackfeather]

So I just finished the game with a Bleak Walker paladin, 19 Resolve and 10 Constitution base and honestly I feel like I could have dumped Constitution to minimum because by about halfway through the game my armor rating and defenses were so high that literally the only damage I ever took was from Voidwheel and Sacred Immolation. 

 

Seriously? Yeesh. How much HP did you have at the end? 

 

Edit: Or rather, that'd be -35% health I think, so we'd have to do the math. 

Edited May 27, 2018 by Cyrus_Blackfeather

[Cyrus_Blackfeather]

1 - Not nearly as important as it was in POE 1, it's used largely to resist assaults on the mind or to impress your will upon someone else

 

2 - 10 is sufficient though 12 might be a better starting point depending on your difficulty setting

 

3 - Yes.

 

Alright. How many of those 'assaults on the mind' are there? I'm assuming Serafen's whole Cipher Wild Magic thing is one of them? 

[Lokithecat]

Fampyr's are the worst for 'save' encounters, but even if you tank your resists, you can get by with a gaze immunity shield.  The only problem with dumping your stats, the beginning of the game can be painful.  Even generally speaking, with a normal, or good build even; the beginning is the hardest part.  Once you have more talents, and gear, you can blow past most the content in a non focussed build.

[Cyrus_Blackfeather]

Fampyr's are the worst for 'save' encounters, but even if you tank your resists, you can get by with a gaze immunity shield.  The only problem with dumping your stats, the beginning of the game can be painful.  Even generally speaking, with a normal, or good build even; the beginning is the hardest part.  Once you have more talents, and gear, you can blow past most the content in a non focussed build.

 

Plus Modwyr (AKA, sword waifu) gives immunity to Intellect afflictions anyway, which I think includes Charmed and Dominated. I was moreso asking if there were any scripted interactions or dialogue checks where someone was trying to dominate you that Resolve would help with. 

[draculdracul]

Hi, i made a Arcane Knight. With high res and low cons. I think it was around 8. The idea was that i could buf my con with "Infuse With Vital Essence" if i needed extra health. In practice i only did use that on low levels. Later on you don't need the medium cons. ( BTW low cons is easy to repair with +3 an +2 cons on belts)

Overall i must admit that a Arcane Knight is a excellent tank from the beginning of the game until end. Early game you buff urself for survivability but from mid game till end i focussed on AOE damage with spells like "Torrent of Flame" and "Minoletta's Precisely Piercing Burst". The paladins "The Shieldbearers of St Elca" are great tanks on its own. I find out that the Enchantment Wizard is very complementary to that class. It also gives you nice utility. Because i had a low Con and low Perception build and therefore hight Might/ Resolve/ Intellect) the AOE damage was great. Mid game i stated to solo engagements with this Arcane Knight and was impressed with its performance as a tank first and AOE DPS. Overall a fun / strong class for Tankadins.

 

PS:  I also had to repair my low Perception with the spell "Eldritch Aim" and later repaired it with gear. 

   

[Clerith]

Other than resisting cipher/god visions (none of which are harmful), there are very few resolve checks in the game. I had resolve 10, and I never wanted it to be higher.

[Yosharian]

The game isn't that difficult, really. I went with 13/10/10/19/16/10 for my pally/chanter