[Class Build] "The Howitzer" Ranged Crowdcontrol/DPS

[Scrapulous]

For pistols, I can recommend both SC Ranger and SC Monk. I have also played MC Ranger/Monk, but pistols really want the PL 8 and 9 monk and ranger abilities. Between the three options, I find Monk to have the highest performance.

Here are the abilities I think are important for a pistolero:

• SC Monk:
  • Lightning Strikes upgrade to Swift Strikes: usually Swift Flurry is the pick, but it only works with melee weapons. A 15% lightning lash is very nice to have instead. Instant activation and no cooldown.
  • Enduring Dance upgrade to Dance of Death: good pistols tend to have on-crit effects, so you want to build accuracy where you can. Instant activation and no cooldown.
  • Stunning Surge upgrade to Stunning Blow: again, you want to be critting, so you might as well get your mortification back when you do. You will be doing a lot of stunning as a SC pistol monk, not just with this ability.
  • Duality of Mortal Presence just because +10 Int is too good to pass up.
  • PL8: Resonant Touch - not a great power until you get to PL9...
  • PL9: Whispers of the Wind: this blows the doors off most of the Ranger kit, unfortunately, because getting 5 full attacks in the span of a couple of seconds is just too good. WotW is also cheeseable on its own, like by adding Ajamuut's Stalking Cloak for free stuns on every target.
  • I typically open with Scordeo's Trophy equipped; if opening from stealth, using Stunning Surge. If the battle starts unstealthed, then you'll immediately buff and launch Whispers of the Wind, which will give you ~5 hits from Scordeo's Trophy, which gives you a nice -25% Recovery Time buff from the Opening Barrage enhancement. If you have 5 wounds when your first WotW is done (sometimes yes, sometimes no), then you switch to Thundercrack Pistol (if you want CC) or Eccea's Arcane Blaster (if you just want to do damage) for the next WotW. Thundercrack Paralyzes its target for 2s on a crit, so depending on your accuracy you may be locking down a lot of the fight right there. 2s doesn't sound like much, but it's quite effective in shifting the momemntum of a team fight. Eccea's does raw damage with a powerful "imbued ammunition" second hit, and a chance to fire multiple times with the Fractured Bullet enchantment, so it does a lot of damage and shines once Scordeo's Trophy has stacked its recovery time buff. While you wait for wounds to build between WotW activations, I usually toss Stunning Surge around with Eccea's, but it depends on the need of the fight. Edit: I forgot to mention Resonant Touch. WotW will spread resonant touches all around. When you feel that enemies have enough (they can each have more than 10 stacks, but 10 is the maximum that will take effect, so I tend to use it once I see 10 stacks), you can activate the power and dump a lot of raw damage all at once on every enemy with stacks. After a couple of WotW activations, it can be a great clean up power.
• SC Ranger:
  • Standard Ranger accuracy-increasing powers like Marked Prey and such are great
  • PL5: Driving Flight is a superstar. Getting a free second hit on another enemy who is within a ~150 degree arc (I think? Maybe 180, but sometimes I'm sure somebody will get hit and they don't, so... ) behind the first target is amazing value for a single power pick. Weapon abilities activate on the second hit, so everything your pistols can do to the primary target can be done to the secondary target. This also works for abilities like Hobbling Shot. I get Driving Flight as soon as it becomes available.
  • Thorny Roots: fast-casting, foe-only AoE immobilize and pierce/slash damage. The only thing keeping this from being as good as many wizard spells is the small radius. But: foe-only. It's good.
  • PL8: Twinned Shots. This is fantastic. For 2 bond you attack your target twice. Each attack is subject to driving flight. You can open a fight with Scordeo's Trophy and have four stacks of the buff before the enemies have acted. Or with Thundercrack Pistol you get two chances to paralyze two targets. Or with Eccea's two chances for split shots, which is very fun when it happens.
  • PL8: Whirling Strikes. This is another very good power, but counterintuitive for a pistolero. It requires a melee weapon, but uses a full attack and will fully use an offhand ranged weapon. One great way to use this is to open from stealth with the Lover's Embrace dagger and Scordeo's Trophy: everybody in range of the power (which is considerably further than melee range, FYI) will be hit with the massive raw damage DoT from Whirling Strikes. Everybody within range of the power will also be hit with the never-ending raw damage DoT from Lover's Embrace. And everybody in pistol range (much further than the power's range) will be shot with Scordeo's Trophy. I really wish it could be paired with a rogue for backstab damage, but Mick Jagger tells me that I can't always get what I want. In practice I'm usually able to get five stacks or so from Scordeo's Trophy and destroy or nearly destroy three enemies who were in melee range - and they won't live long with those DoTs. I heavily invested in stealth on this character to be able to do this.
  • PL9: Stunning Shots: this is amazing. Don't let "shots" mislead you: every weapon crit you do, melee or ranged, interrupts its target. This is enormous. With Driving Flight, you are typically interrupting two enemies on auto attacks. That is huge passive CC, and makes it easier to swap away from Thundercrack Pistol on difficult fights.
  • I was not able to find much use for the other Ranger PL9 powers.
  • Again, I open with Scordeo's Trophy to build stacks of the speed buff from the pistol - one or two Twinned Shots for -20% or -40% Recovery Time, then switch to Thundercrack to disrupt/paralyze casters and Eccea's to finish things off.
• Ranger/Monk:
  • The abilities are mostly the same here. There is a pleasing economy of power picks because so many monk powers (and a few Ranger powers) are useless to a pistolero, but it really hurts to lose out at the top end of the power curve on both classes. If you have to go this way, I'd recommend modding to raise the level cap or give access to PL8 or PL8 and PL9 abilities to multiclass characters by level 20.

 

The best part about a pistolero is that you get three unique pistols that each serves a different purpose, and switching between them is very useful. I take Arms Bearer for this reason. Scordeo's does damaging crits and buffs your recovery time, Thundercrack has a nice lightning lash and paralyzes on crits, and Eccea's does raw + corrode damage for those enemies that are immune to pierce. I recommend getting each of them as soon as possible.

I think there are other classes and multiclasses that could work well, but these are the ones I have tried and can speak about with knowledge.

 

The Ranger, Monk, and Ranger/Monk also do well with blunderbusses (SC monk especially - WotW with two blunderbusses and the aoe modal and bounces.... it's over the top), but if you just search for "boeroer blunderbuss" on this site you'll find much more information than I can provide on that subject

Edited July 20, 2020 by Scrapulous
I realized after submitting that I wanted to change something.

[Zauberelefant_]

Wow, that was some amazing infos ! Much appreciated

I said in my first comment that i didn't like Monk for a Firearms Build. I already searched the Forum a dozen times and read threads over and over and decided maybe to not be so picky about a Monk as Multiclass option because they are quite strong indeed.

 

I like your Idea with the Rogue/Ranger combi with Blunderbusses and will definitely try this out!

I have not yet decided but i am really interested in Turn-Based and understand that many mechanics and build combinations play out differently...

The Votary Build (the howitzer) in this thread looks powerfull but i dont know about turn based and PotD difficulty in general.

 

I want a build with the 2 Serafen Mortars or with those nice unique Pistols (like thundercrack and eccea's or what its name is) and are there ways to play it Turn-Based? 

 

It would be nice if you can give me some further advices and tipps. You are really helpfull!

Thank you

 

Edited July 21, 2020 by Zauberelefant_
formatting

[Boeroer]

For TB mode you can disregard most things about recovery and action speed. Stuff like Streetfighter's passive, Barbarian's Frenzy and so on have a lot less impact.

I hear Black Jacket Fighter is pretty potent in TB mode because a Black Jacket can switch weapon sets with a free action - which means you can fire your guns when it's your turn and then switch to large shield + modal while it's the enemies' turn - giving you the best of both setups without any disadvantage.

In my opinion single class Monk is the best (in my case meaning "most fun to play") mortar class because not only does the AoE scale with Duality of Mortal Presence (INT) - and Stunning Surge as well as Resonant Touch and Whispers of the Wind are superb with AoE attacks - but also because monks are sturdy enough in general to be okay with the rel. short range mortars have. But other combos can be nice as well of course. 

Edited July 21, 2020 by Boeroer

[Zauberelefant_]

I will try this evening maybe a SC monk or Rogue/something out with either dual mortars or pistols. I am a bit scared about PotD difficulty and will figure out if I will play TB or RTwP. I am eager to try out Turn-baded because i play dungeons & dragons and it gives this little feeling for pen and paper gameplay. But IMO TB in PoE2 feels a bit "unfinished". 

 

I will give an update later how it went. 

Thank you guys

[Haplok]

For Turn Based I'd recommend a spellcaster build - their spells tend to be more impactful then weapon attacks (and action speed hardly matters in TB). 

Also riposte builds can be real good. A bit passive though. 

[Zauberelefant_]

Soooo

 

I decided too play a SC Monk and are lvl 7 right now i think. (I haven't mucht time cause of maaaany Nightshifts)

The Monk is quite ok and i got the Hand Mortar with the smoke entchant. I also get my self the Marksman Ring for more PEN.

PotD is really tough and the ememys have absurd Armorpen and i have to play really carefully. But its challenging and thats what i like and want.

 

Thank you guys for the build advice

Are there other ways to increase Penetration for me and my team that i am missing ? 

I struggle with my team setup because i feel that i lack a bit dmg. My Setup is:

- Eder (swashbuckler) as tank

- Serafen (witch) as dps/cc/charm

- Main Char (Monk helwalker) as ranged aoe dps with mortars

And here are the companions i struggle with:

- marshmellow xoti (priest) as healer/buffer

- aloth (battlemage) as bad dps/cc with dual scepter

 

I think that a Herald or Theurge would be a nice fit because -armorpen + summons and druid have ok spells with dot heals and paladin have an aura and is tankier.

What i am struggle with is is xoti as healer (not very durable and if am enemys is on her rear she die so fast if she is casting spells) and aloth is a noodle. I have the feeling if i have xoti and a Herald or Thuerge that i lack in dmg. Can i prevent this in a way that the herald or theurge doing some dmg while supporting and debuffing?  Or should i do something else entirely ? 

[Zauberelefant_]

Update 2

So far the build doing great ! Thanks at @Boeroer and @Scrapulous. Your advices were helpfull

I am lvl 9 right now because i had not much time. The SC Monk took a few levels + the Hand Mortar to came to working. Accuracy and Penetration against the PotD Defences are still tough but i am looking foward to it.

I hired a Herald with 1 summon and i am still not sure in which way it will go but its functional

 

Edited August 3, 2020 by Zauberelefant_

[Zauberelefant_]

Update 3

Finished game on PotD and did nearly all quests + splintered Reef and all DLC's. Later i used Xefa's and Kitchen Stove more than the Hand Mortars becaus they shred everything in seconds. I had so much fun with Resonant Touch and WotW!