Help with Path of the Damned

[quidgy]

Hi all,

 

I finished the game in normal difficulty pretty easily and wanted to retry on PotD.

 

I've spent hours looking over these forums, Reddit, steam guides and other places Google has directed me in an effort to figure out how to progress through Path of the Damned.

 

I've just started my third new playthrough attempt.

 

The first attempt, I made a monk designed to be an off-tank and collected Eder, Durance, Aloth and Kana. I got the party level 4. I struggled but eventually killed the bandits in Black Meadow with a LOT of restarting from saves. I couldn't get that group to Defiance Bay, couldn't complete the Temple in Gilded Vale, and generally died a lot. 

 

The second attempt, I created a chanter to be a summoner/dps/middle of the party dude. I struggled in all the same places had even more trouble with the bandits and had to lead them into a group of trolls to thin the group before I could kill them. I got this group to the second level of the Temple in Gilded Vale but couldn't get further. Lots and lots of saving and retrying.

 

The third attempt, my current one, I started a DPS cipher using this build  and hired five custom companions and used all characters here except the wizard. I'm not far in yet, but I'm still dying and struggling a lot.

 

I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. Hoping some of you have some advice. 

[Boeroer]

Buff ACC, then apply CC, only then start to deal damage.

 

For example: Inspiring Radiance + Blessing, try to time Chillfog so that it goes off right after, then start dealing damage. Concentrate on the most dangerous enemy first, then the next and so on.

 

That early in the game (where PotD is toughest) official companions are easier than hired adventurers because they are one level above them.

 

Kana's White Worms can be very good if you use choke points and lure enemies there so they form a pile of corpses over time (great in Raedric's Castle and Temple of Eothas). Corpses can be reused and don't disappear unless you reload. Turn off the gib option: enemies that explode don't leave corpses.

Edited June 1, 2018 by Boeroer

[Torm51]

Buff ACC, then apply CC, only then start to deal damage.

 

For example: Inspiring Radiance + Blessing, try to time Chillfog so that it goes off right after, then start dealing damage. Concentrate on the most dangerous enemy first, then the next and so on.

 

That early in the game (where PotD is toughest) official companions are easier than hired adventurers because they are one level above them.

 

Kana's White Worms can be very good if you use choke points and lure enemies there so they form a pile of corpses over time (great in Raedric's Castle and Temple of Eothas). Corpses can be reused and don't disappear unless you reload. Turn off the gib option: enemies that explode don't leave corpses.

The first sentence Boer said is literally all you need to know to win.

[Boeroer]

I just realized that there won't be that many corpses in the Temple of Eothas.

[quidgy]

Buff ACC, then apply CC, only then start to deal damage.

 

For example: Inspiring Radiance + Blessing, try to time Chillfog so that it goes off right after, then start dealing damage. Concentrate on the most dangerous enemy first, then the next and so on.

 

That early in the game (where PotD is toughest) official companions are easier than hired adventurers because they are one level above them.

 

Kana's White Worms can be very good if you use choke points and lure enemies there so they form a pile of corpses over time (great in Raedric's Castle and Temple of Eothas). Corpses can be reused and don't disappear unless you reload. Turn off the gib option: enemies that explode don't leave corpses.

Thanks, what I took from this is I'm using my priest spells in a nonoptimal order. I've started buffing first, as you said, rather than trying to lay down CC and control the crowd first. It seems to make a difference. I've gotten my latest party through the Temple, killed the bandits with less save-scuming, and opened the way to defiance bay. I made my new main character based on this build and it's super tanky. I still die if I get too surrounded, but not as much. And the enemy AI mostly focuses on my tank now instead of peeling off and going for my wizard or priest.

[gkathellar]

One thing to note is that casters, and priests in particular are really where you learn to play the game. Wizards teach you positioning, casting speeds, and weird support gimmicks. Druids teach you how and when to alternate between pure damage spells and a number of other less obvious tricks. Aloth and Hiravias are both decent for this, but Durance is absolutely abominable for teaching you how to use a priest because of his low Dex and middling Int - a good priest drops their buffs and debuffs fast and uses a sky-high Intellect to cope with finnicky AoEs and short ranges on spells that are otherwise absolutely amazing.

[Torm51]

One thing to note is that casters, and priests in particular are really where you learn to play the game. Wizards teach you positioning, casting speeds, and weird support gimmicks. Druids teach you how and when to alternate between pure damage spells and a number of other less obvious tricks. Aloth and Hiravias are both decent for this, but Durance is absolutely abominable for teaching you how to use a priest because of his low Dex and middling Int - a good priest drops their buffs and debuffs fast and uses a sky-high Intellect to cope with finnicky AoEs and short ranges on spells that are otherwise absolutely amazing.

I have always crushed Triple Crown with Durance as my priest.  But ya I could have a faster priest, true.  That being said I play very defensively and he NEVER gets targeted cause of his high resolve and a shield. It can be useful.

[gkathellar]

 

One thing to note is that casters, and priests in particular are really where you learn to play the game. Wizards teach you positioning, casting speeds, and weird support gimmicks. Druids teach you how and when to alternate between pure damage spells and a number of other less obvious tricks. Aloth and Hiravias are both decent for this, but Durance is absolutely abominable for teaching you how to use a priest because of his low Dex and middling Int - a good priest drops their buffs and debuffs fast and uses a sky-high Intellect to cope with finnicky AoEs and short ranges on spells that are otherwise absolutely amazing.

I have always crushed Triple Crown with Durance as my priest.  But ya I could have a faster priest, true.  That being said I play very defensively and he NEVER gets targeted cause of his high resolve and a shield. It can be useful.

 

Oh I'm not saying he's not functional, just that using him doesn't really teach you to priest the way you learn to when you've got better casting times and AoEs. I actually think I could use Durance better, now that I've used a better priest, just because the experience taught me a lot about the class.

Edited June 2, 2018 by gkathellar

[Marigoldran]

I'm playing POTD for first time.

 

Best advice:

 

A party of 4-6 chanters and 1-2 ciphers.

 

Put ALL of the chanters in heavy armor and large shields.  

 

Dump Dex and Perception nad pump up Might, Con, and Int (keep Res at 10-11).  Any damage they do will be from their chants and summons.  

 

And just sit there and tank everything and win with summon Ghosts (uber lvl 1 invocation).  

 

The ciphers CC the enemies to drag the fight out to give your chanters time to chant and eventually summon those phantoms. 

 

With Ancient Memory they're constantly healing one another and with Soft Winds of Death they're slowly killing their enemies.   Beat the tough Act 1 Boss with this group on the FIRST try (albeit with a bit of cheesing- intiated the combat with Aloth's Rolling Flame and then had him run back to the rest of my group, grouped up behind a door).

[Hulk'O'Saurus]

I'm playing POTD for first time.

 

Best advice:

 

A party of 4-6 chanters and 1-2 ciphers.

 

Put ALL of the chanters in heavy armor and large shields.  

 

Dump Dex and Perception nad pump up Might, Con, and Int (keep Res at 10-11).  Any damage they do will be from their chants and summons.  

 

And just sit there and tank everything and win with summon Ghosts (uber lvl 1 invocation).  

 

The ciphers CC the enemies to drag the fight out to give your chanters time to chant and eventually summon those phantoms. 

 

With Ancient Memory they're constantly healing one another and with Soft Winds of Death they're slowly killing their enemies.   Beat the tough Act 1 Boss with this group on the FIRST try (albeit with a bit of cheesing- intiated the combat with Aloth's Rolling Flame and then had him run back to the rest of my group, grouped up behind a door).

 

If that isn't the most boring thing, though :D 

[Marigoldran]

But it'll work.  And it's good for noobs.  

[Boeroer]

Just take six priests with six times Inspiring Radiance. PotD = smashed.

 

Cast damaging spells like Pillar of <Whatever> and Shining Beacon with over +90 accuracy for everybody at some point.

 

+60 acc right from lvl 1 on. You will obliterate everything on PotD. First with weapons, later with spells.

 

6 times Inspiring Radiance = +60 (yes, it stacks with itself) + Devotions = +80 + Blessing = +85 + Crowns = +91.

[Marigoldran]

Yeah, but if you run out of resources with priest you're f-ed.  

 

I think 6 chanters is better because in a long drag-on fight (like the one in the Catacombs with 5-7 supertanky trolls or LvL 6 of the Endless Paths where you can potentially aggro EVERYONE from your starting hallway) the chanters never run out of resources.  

 

Still... haven't tried the 6 priests yet.  Maybe 4 chanters and 2 priests.  Hmmmm.  

Edited June 7, 2018 by Marigoldran

[gkathellar]

Yeah, but if you run out of resources with priest you're f-ed.  

 

I think 6 chanters is better because in a long drag-on fight (like the one in the Catacombs with 5-7 supertanky trolls or LvL 6 of the Endless Paths where you can potentially aggro EVERYONE from your starting hallway) the chanters never run out of resources.  

 

Still... haven't tried the 6 priests yet.  Maybe 4 chanters and 2 priests.  Hmmmm.  

 

Realistically, you will never run out of priest resources before the point when you would run out of Health. The main reason a priest runs out of spell slots past level 5 is the need to drop Prayer spells in an area where major afflictions are common. With 6 priests, that just isn't going to happen.

 

Also vessels will just sort of explode whenever they come near you.

[Boeroer]

Galvino's Workshop is quit the fun with 6 priests. Also note that the +10 (stacking) ACC from Inspiring Radiance already applies to the hit roll of the radiance (against vessels). Ifyou stand close together and cast all at once all the radiances will get +60 accuracy, will crit and therefore annihilate all vessels in range.

 

6 Priests against Alpine Dragon? 6 * (Inspiring Radiance + Cleasing Flame) - done.