[Class Build] A Dance with Death (Shadowdancer 1.2 PotD solo)

[Vonmara]

A seemingly fragile glass cannon that can attacks fast, dodge everything, deal with mobs, and get out of the stickiest situations alive.

 

 

Alright, this is my first post after years of lurking. (Sorry about my poor formatting skills and no pics)

 

 

This build is for you if you like:

- versatile characters

- playing around your afflictions

- outmaneuvering enemies with risky plays

 

This build is NOT for you if you:

- hate micro

- don't like very squishy characters

- feel uneasy because you don't have heals (ya goddamn chicken, **cluck-cluck...!**)

 

 

 

When Trickster was the only class to get buffed in the last two patches, I thought I'd try a solo run on a character I had in mind originally as a Streetfighter/Nalpzaca, which proved to be too squishy and unreliable in some fights.

 

What does this build do: goes into fight and builds up asap maximum Wounds, either by deliberately getting yourself hit a couple of times (but who wants that, really), or by using the titular ability of this build, i.e. Dance of Death. Then, as you have a +10 Int +15 Might bonus, you can start casting all the defensive buffs that allow you to not get hit, and keep stacking bonuses while attacking very fast thanks to Lightning Strikes. All of this spiced up by the mystique of the Trickster, which provides all the afflictions and the CC that base Rogue is missing.

 

THE PREMISE:

As many have noted, pretty much any class gets some ridiculous advantages by multi-ing with Monk, mostly because of the Inspirations this class provides. To name a few: Swift Strikes, Thunderous Blows and, of course, Duality of Mortal Presence. Combine the latter with a Helwalker, your character has a net +25 stat points when he/she/zie reaches 10 wounds (NOTE: as of 1.2, Thunderous Blows DOESN'T stack with Helwalker bonuses, and neither does the Smart Inspiration that you might get from the Clarity of Agony upgrade with Duality +Int)(EDIT : this was an issue I experienced during the beta of 1.2, now everything stacks correctly. Yay, Monk is OP).

 

The idea is simple: Helwalker is squishy and provides a lot of damage. Rogues used to not have the best defenses, but dished out much more damage that you might get through Might bonuses (I mean, 30 Might provides +60% damage, which is just on par with Sneak Attack bonus at lvl20).

 

HOWEVER thanks to Trickster having access to Mirror Image as a Power Level 2 ability, now rogues have a good chance to get a large Deflection score. The tradeoff is less Sneak Attack bonus, but again, as of Patch 1.2, the loss is negligible (just -10% compared to normal rogues). This alone is still not good enough for good Deflection, BUT...!

 

...there is a key item with huge potential for Monks: Tuotilo's Palm. This little shiny glorious piece of curved steel has:

 

PROs:

• Counts as a dual wield in the off-hand, therefore allowing you to get -15% Recovery from Two Weapon Style;
• At the same time counts as a shield, and as of Patch 1.2, Tuotilo gives access to both bonuses from Two Weapon and Shield style;
• Small shield: no Accuracy penalty, which many great Large Shields unfortunately suffer from (Cadhu and Bronlar, I'm looking at you). Of course the total potential Deflection bonus is nowhere close to the good Large Shields, but the tradeoff is more than reasonable. And since we are going to multiclass Rogue, hitting instead of grazeing gives access to potential crits (Dirty Fighting).
• Counts as a fist, benefits from Transcendent Suffering. Nice.
• Has an upgrade that further increases your accuracy (with fists, and therefore Tuotilo). This is IMHO much preferable on PotD upscaled to the mutually exclusive +10% damage upgrade, as accuracy is never enough. Again, we wanna hit, not graze;
• Sick upgrade (Balanced Shield) that increases defenses with Wounds (+1 Deflec +1 Ref per Wound). Effectively another +10 Deflection. We are getting tanky, folks;
• Available early (can be stolen from Mahiri's shop with either enough Mechanics, or after pickpocketing her - with no buffs needed for the check as of 1.2).

CONs:

• Still nowhere tanky as a Paladin multiclass with a Bronlar Phalanx, but this character likes living on the edge. Plus, there's always Smoke Veil to get out of nasty situations, reset, and kill what's left;
• The accuracy buff is for fists only, which won't always work. Will need to be swapped out in favor of other weapon/shield or weapon/weapon setups for some fights where Crush immunity is an issue;
• Having Tuotilo equiped reduces your damage output compared to normal dual wielding, as its base damage is inferior to base fists, or by abusing melee/ranged dual wield Two Weapon Style;
• The elephant in the room: the defensive upgrade that gives Deflection and Reflexes with Wounds (which is pretty much the key to make this build work) requires a Large Fang component, a unique limited resource. As I was going through the playthrough, I was planning to rush the RDC quests to get it off the Kraken. Alas, this might have required levels and preparation, as a Kraken is not a joke. Surprisingly enough, when I got the shield as soon as I landed in Neketaka, I discovered that I HAD 1 LARGE FANG IN MY STASH (Kreygasm). Where I got it from is unknown to me.  IF ANYONE KNOWS WHERE YOU CAN GET THE LARGE FANG, PLEASE SHARE.  I must have thought it was a Tusk when I got it, as they look similar. (EDIT: Large Fangs are actually dropped by drakes, and there's a reasonably easy drake fight in one of the uncharted islands between Port Maje and Neketaka - the one with the Xaurip's cave, if I'm not wrong. Also, they can be bought at the alchemy shop in Periki's Overlook, but they spawn not so often - had to wait for a week for it to be restocked.)

 

OK let's go over the build.

 

 

 

BUILD

 

BERATH'S BLESSINGS:

 

- strongly recommended: Stats (effectively, is a +4 to Fort/Ref/Will, a +2 to Defl, +2 Acc, etc. etc.), Skills (always good in solo PotD for interactions), Vendor (Cloak of Deflection, Stone Boots and Firethrower's Gloves nice and early), SAILS (crucial to farm early captain/sailor xp's: you will need this if you want to get some crucial items early, i.e. Gipon Prudensco);

 

- Recommended: Starting gold

- Not recommended: Increased starting level (honestly, this game needs to get its xp rewards tweaked).

- Lazy bonus if you have points to spare: Map explored (COMES IN HANDY TO FIND ARTEIRO THE AVENGER and to loot Gipon from his cold sinking body).

 

RACE:

 

 

- Human comes in handy for the bonus Resolve and Fighting Spirit bonus, if you feel like living on the edge; but anything works, really;

 

REGION:

- Ixamitl for the Resolve bonus, and to give access to Scholar (+History +Arcana, nice if you wanna go use scrolls/Giftbearer Cloak)

 

 

STATS: 

(including racial and culture bonuses):

 

Unmodified -> with Berath Blessings:

 

Might 8 -> 10

Constitution 8 -> 10

Dexterity 14 -> 16

Perception 16 -> 18

Intellect 12 -> 14

Resolve 20 -> 22

 

The rationale is the following: we don't need Might cause we have Sneak Attack and two lashes from Monk's abilities. Constitution is meh, as it's a percentage increase over some really poor base class HP. High Dexterity increases DPS, and provides low Recovery, guaranteeing agile and adaptive skill usage; however, it is not vital, as you still have Lightning Strikes (Quick and +15% Action Speed, equivalent to a +8 effective DEX). High Perception 'cause Accuracy is great and some interactions. Intellect in the norm, as we don't rely too much on durations, and there's Turning Wheel with a handy +10 to boost it up to 24 once you have 10 Wounds. Resolve maxed: we want to solo, we want to not get hit, we want to not be controlled by nasty afflictions.

 

These stats give really high base Deflection, Reflexes and Will, but poor Fortitude. This happens to be a problem vs Fighters with Knock Down (or monster with similar push-pull abilities), but we can go around that by switching Duality of Mortal Presence to Constitution bonus when faced with this challenge, or by getting a certain Belt from Furrante later on (as a reward for Symbols of Death quest).

 

EDIT: HARDCORE EDITION

Here's the challenge: do it on 3 base Constitution. Put the rest between Dex and Int. Seriously speaking, that is not as bad as it sounds: with Durance to the Blood Pool (which equals an effective +2 Con), and Gift of the Machine (another effective +1 Con), it means dropping just a 10% of your HP's.

 

MIG  7  -> 9

CON 3  -> 5

DEX 18 -> 20

PER 16 -> 18
INT   14 -> 16

RES 20 -> 22

 

 

In my experience, HP's are almost unimportant in this build: you should get hit only when you want to, to get more Wounds/Blooded bonuses. If enemies can Hit you a few times when you don't want to, consider the fight over. With low HP, +50% damage from Helwalker and no significant healing abilities, you can be damn sure you're about to die. Smoke Veil out, reset, and re-consider your approach to the fight. You might want to prepare some consumables, or try to play defensively around your CC's (see "ABILITIES" and "STRATEGY"). Remember: you want to be on the edge (even if you're not a Streetfighter, hehe), but you definitely don't wanna die.

 

 

 

 

ABILITIES BY LEVEL:

 

           MONK                  ROGUE

1 Quick Strikes            |    Escape

2                                  |    Crippling Strike

3 Force of Anguish      |  

4 Smoke Veil               |    Weapon and Shield

5                                  |    Dirty Figthing

6 Two Weapon Style   |

7 Lightning Strikes       |    Finishing Blow

8 Clarity of Agony        |

9 Dance of Death        |

10 Duality of MP          |    Persistent Distraction

11 Blade Turning         |

12 Thunderous Blows |

13 Enervating Blows   |    Deep Wounds

14                                |    Bear's Fortitude

15                                |    Adept Evasion

16 Turning Wheel        |    Slippery Mind

(from lvl 17 and onwards, except for Deathblows, no ability is really crucial)

17 Enduring Dance     |

18                                |     Riposte

19 Soul Mirror             |      Deathblows

20 The Dichotomous Soul

 

 

Justification: I feel that Ability choices need some explanation, as they deviate from most other Monk builds. There is no Swift Flurry, no Torment Reach, no Rooting Pain. Nerfed, nerfed and nerfed, respectively in 1.1, 1.2 and 1.2. And not just a little: Swift Flurry has reduced proc chance, Torment Reach doesn't debuff primary target (and costs 3 Wounds, which is detrimental to this build), Rooting Pain used to be one of my favourite abilities, allowing you to CC by just getting Wounds. Now it's a 25% proc: too unreliable, considered that Dance of Death provides one Wound every 3s . 

 

So, where is the CC? How do I deal with crowds, where is my AoE, you might ask. Trickster's Ryngrim's Repulsive Visage at PL3 (i.e. accessible from lvl 7), which now costs ONE GUILE. Seriously, yet another buff, what were they even thinking (Note: the spell itself got nerfed but still great). AoE Third tier Resolve affliction on PL3 for pretty much nothing. Good job Obsidian. When your Guile pool will eventually languish, hoping that you have dealt with most annoying ranged enemies, you can cover your lower back by using Blade Tutning: sit back and enjoy your large stacks of enemies hitting each other. With good enough Dex, Int and Recovery (which we have, thanks to light armor, Lightning Strikes, Duality of MP), you can attack once or even twice before using again Blade Turning, effectively having almost 0 downtime on melee invulnerabiltiy. In any case, this is not the prime point of this build: Blade Turning doesn't synergise well with the rest of your skillset, such as Riposte.

 

Similarly to Rooting Pain, Heartbeat Drumming suffered the NerfBat. Not crucial, horrible if procs with Tuotilo's. Instead, Soul Mirror and Riposte at high levels provide great clear for lower level mobs, as you've reached your maximum Deflection potential by this point. Useful to speed up some tedious fights. I hear you saying, "man you just talked **** about low proc chances, and you recommend Riposte and Soul Mirror? WTF?". Well, Hearbeat and Swift Flurry are limited by your Action Speed and Recovery (when fully buffed, about ~1.5s), while Riposte and Soul Mirror will proc much more if you are being missed by MANY enemies. Personally, I picked them up because I wasn't getting hit in easy fights, and wanted to shorten them a bit. Proved to be much more valuable than expected.

 

Bear's Fortitude early: gotta deal with them Fighters. Adept Evasion and Slippery mind mean that you will almost never fail a Reflex or Will save, so better cover the rest.

 

Notable mention: Dichotomous Soul. The two dummies thus created have your HP's, but don't get the Helwalker +50% damage taken debuff; furthermore, they replicate you equipment (except for weapon slots). This means they get the Bravado and No Fool I bonuses from Gipon, the damage reduction from Undying Burden, or Reforge the Flesh in case you want to abuse Maker's Own Power. These combinations result in the tankiest summons I've been able to observe so far in my playthroughs. They come really handy when you are facing many tough ranged enemies with high accuracy, and you need to soak extra aggro. Notable examples: Fampyr's crypt fight, some fights in Drowned Barrows, Kraken.

 

 

 

SKILLS: 

 

 

With Berath bonuses, Thief's Putty, and resting in the tavern in the Gullet, 6 points in Mechanics and 3 in Stealth are all you need to snatch Tuotilo's and other cool items. Then get Burglar's Gloves (Iofr's Raiments), Stealth Boots (Deadlights Fort), and you're gucci. Spend the rest on Arcana and/or Explosives. Personally I like Athletics, which comes handy in a couple interactions. On passives, History or Survival for item related bonuses. Anyhow, we are not going to use Giftbearer's Cloth, so doesn't really matter.

 

 

 

EQUIPMENT:

 

 

Weapon Slot 1: (early game) Gladiator Sword/Tuotilo's Palm (mmmh, juicy extra +5 at Deflection)

(later) Unarmed/Tuotilo's Palm

Weapon Slot 2: Situational slot, i.e. whatever floats your boat when fists are not enough. Personally, I like Mohora Tanga for Piercing, Kapana Taga for Slashing, Scordeo's Trophy and Eye of Wael for ranged opening shots, Gravecaller for undeads, Marux Amanth/Pukestabber for some bosses. Rust's Poignard/Tuotilo can also be devastating.

 

Head: Doesn't matter much. If you want to PP, Heaven's Cacophony or Blackened Plate Helm. If you prefer good looks and style, Cowl of the Piercing Gaze. EDIT: White Witch Mask also good, +1 PL to Illusions, giving a good +6s duration to Mirror Image.

 

Chest: Gipon Prudensco. Can get it quite early: avoid all Principi interactions except for killing Benweth; farm maximum lvl on your sailor's cannoneers, get good cannons; when you arrive in the Gullet, go for quests that allow you to reach the Undercroft (there's 3 of them: given by the prince, given by Ptili, given by the Gullet's elder). Once in the Undercroft, kill everyone that you see until you reach -4 Reputation with Principi (this should be possible without entering Mad Morena's room). Then get out, and face Arteiro the Avenger. And by "facing him", I actually mean sink his boat, no way you can fight a lvl 19 dude at this point lol. You now have the best armor in the game. Now it's time to speak with Aeldys and make peace with her faction: Mad Morena and the Undercroft will no longer be hostile, hence you don't lose access to any quest/storyline. Piece of cake. Did it at lvl 10. Could be arguably done by lvl 8 (i.e. as you just arrive in Neketaka), but those two levels can be gained rather quickly at this point, so no rush.

 

Belt: Undying Burden is a good fail safe.

 

Neck: Cloak of Deflection +7

 

Amulet: Claim and Refusal, or Strand of Favor if you're a poopy-pants.

 

Ring 1: Chameleon's Touch (how many rings give +2 Dex?)

 

Ring 2: Ring of Solitary Wanderer, or Entonia's Signet Ring, when you fight enemies that CAN engage you.

 

Arms: Firethrower's Gloves (+2 Dex, +2 Explosives, +1 Arcana. A must throughout the whole game)

 

Boots: Boots of Stone (Stats and Affliction Resistance).

 

Pet: Nalvi (reduce Armor Recovery Penalty, bonus Resolve), found in Junvik village; can get it right after sailing off Port Maje, or Abraham, top of Adra Mill. Or Cutthroat Cosmo.

 

 

STRATEGY

Enter fights, get hit a few times to build up a few Wounds and Gipon Stacks, then activate Dance of Death (instant) to get an immediate bonus Wound. Then start casting your primary buffs, namely Lightning Strikes and Mirror Image: with the extra Intellect from Duality of MP, they will last longer. Use Thunderous Blows if in need of extra penetration. 

 

Primary targets: folks with undodgeable spells (Minoletta's &Co.'s). No matter what's your defenses, they will hit you, and waste one or multiple uses of Dance of Death. Kill them/interrupt them before they cast anything.

Go for targets with high accuracy next, as they tend to degrade your buffs (Mirror Image and Enduring Dance); namely, Rogues and Rangers, as they also tend to have nasty DoT effects that, again, degrade your buffs, and come in with a nasty +10 or +20 Accuracy, making it harder to dodge them (Gouging Strike, Accurate Wounding Shot).

 

Wizards are not a big issue. Note that Arcane Dampener, the scourge of buffs, almost does you nothing: high Will and high Resolve will make it probably graze and last just a handful of seconds; and even if it lasts longer than you are willing to concede, you can suppress it by using Clarity of Agony (suppress-ception).

 

Fighters should be your secondary target: if you see them about to cast Knockdown, either swap Duality of Mortal Presence to Constitution (remember, you have crap Fortitude), or take advantage of your superior Action Speed and Interrupt them before/during the animation with Crippling Strike, which will also slow them down and give you more time to consider your options. Same applies to other enemies with similar abilities that target Fortitude (Druids with Plague of Insects, for example).

 

Potentially, if you enjoy micro, you can dodge all the above by using Escape mid animation, but that requires a bit of practicing (apologies, I played too much DotA).

 

In the early game, or in boat fights where mobs are really large, don't hold back with Ryngrim's Visage. 

 

If you don't have enough Deflection against a particular enemy, consider going just Dance of Death and Blade Turning, landing the occasional attack yourself (again, animation + recovery~1.8s in total, Blade Turning lasts ~6s, but has ~2.6s Recovery, considering all the buffs: this gives you time to land a couple of attacks and have almost no downtime on you defenses).  

 

Don't shy away from using some Plague of Insects scrolls when mobs are really big and/or make the fight frustrating. Prime examples are the Hasongo fights: while they are all completely avoidable optional fights, I think they are one of the early testing grounds for builds (note: Storm and Ice Blights have undodgeable attacks, main counter to this build): lots of enemies, high DPS, high accuracy, heal and sustain, DoT, some immunities. Another case where you might need scrolls and other consumable is the Fampyr cave, where you find high defenses, high HP, high accuracy, Superb equipment, and good mix of enemies' classes (Sage, Mindstalker, Priest, Maradeur) capable of attacking all the defenses with all possible high tier afflictions. Remember: you have garbage Fortitude.

 

Again on Scrolls: note that Moonwell defense bonus stacks with all your bonuses. Keep a bunch in your quickslots in case you need that extra +10 defenses.

 

Another ability I haven't mentioned much so far: Trickster's Confusion. Tip: cast it when you see your enemy Priests/Druids being about to cast AoE heals/buffs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to Stealthmandem for some useful suggestions!

Edited July 14, 2018 by Vonmara

[Dorftek]

Sorry if u wrote it somewhere I'm half asleep but what was ur deflection score at endgame with 10 wounds and buffs running?

 

Also as for the large fang I'm pretty sure you can buy this off of the Alchemy shop?

In any case, I believe drakes drop em

Edited July 5, 2018 by Dorftek

[Ciphys]

Wait.... Thunderous blows does not stack with the Helwalker passive as of 1.2?

What?

That sounds extremely silly ...
Has it been confirmed that it is an intended behavior?

Edited July 6, 2018 by Ciphys

[Stealthmandem]

Great build, i did the hell walker version which was great.

 

Some tweaks based on my experience would be

 

Whitewitch mask. Plus 1 power level in illusion as well as access to ryngrims terror per rest. When blooded activates too

 

https://pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com/Ryngrim%27s_Enervating_Terror

 

Went with high arcana and used pull eora and ray of fire on a centre target. Deals lots os damage. Anyone coming out after spell end swift flurry.

 

Swift flurry works well with riposte for chance of full attack again and synergises well with gaze of the adragan.

 

I put less points into dexerity due to being missed a lot and auto attacks.

 

I put both moddels on for unarmed 2 penetration bonus and shield accuracy bonus is missed of 15 on your next attack. Crits often and with swift flurry does even further damage.

 

May try druggie monk but was scared of the dampner putting me into negative state.

 

Great build though.

[Stealthmandem]

I wouls also recommend getting riposte much earlier as it is a free attack and the main purpose of having high deflection.

[Vonmara]

I wouls also recommend getting riposte much earlier as it is a free attack and the main purpose of having high deflection.

In hindsight you could get it lvl 11 instead of Blade Turning. I just copied the build I followed as I went through the game, as I wasn't sure in which direction it was gonna go.

 

Sorry if u wrote it somewhere I'm half asleep but what was ur deflection score at endgame with 10 wounds and buffs running?

 

Also as for the large fang I'm pretty sure you can buy this off of the Alchemy shop?

In any case, I believe drakes drop em

I couldn't find the Large Fang anywhere, I'm almost sure they are unique components. But I hope you can prove me wrong, as both Kapana Taga and Tuotilo need it.

 

The total Deflection score is

20 base

57 lvl

18 (up to 23 with Steadfast from Gipon) Resolve (note: here I was considering the bonus by resting at the Shrine near Poko Kohara)

12 Tuotilo base(Legendary)

10 Tuotilo's upgrade from Wounds

10 Gipon Prudensco

6 Weapon and shield

30 Mirror Image

= 163 (168 with Steadfast) without using drugs.

 

EDIT: Can get an extra +4 when using Kapana Taga with Lone Champion upgrade.

EDIT2: All the bonuses above seem to stack with Moonwell too, so add another +10.

Edited July 7, 2018 by Vonmara

[Vonmara]

I put both moddels on for unarmed 2 penetration bonus and shield accuracy bonus is missed of 15 on your next attack. Crits often and with swift flurry does even further damage.

 

  

 

For some reason the modal of Small Shield doesn't work for me, I've checked the combat log and I never seem to get the +15.

[Dorftek]

 

I wouls also recommend getting riposte much earlier as it is a free attack and the main purpose of having high deflection.

In hindsight you could get it lvl 11 instead of Blade Turning. I just copied the build I followed as I went through the game, as I wasn't sure in which direction it was gonna go.

 

Sorry if u wrote it somewhere I'm half asleep but what was ur deflection score at endgame with 10 wounds and buffs running?

 

Also as for the large fang I'm pretty sure you can buy this off of the Alchemy shop?

In any case, I believe drakes drop em

I couldn't find the Large Fang anywhere, I'm almost sure they are unique components. But I hope you can prove me wrong, as both Kapana Taga and Tuotilo need it.

 

The total Deflection score is

20 base

57 lvl

18 (up to 23 with Steadfast from Gipon) Resolve

12 Tuotilo base(Legendary)

10 Tuotilo's upgrade from Wounds

10 Gipon Prudensco

6 Weapon and shield

30 Mirror Image

= 163 (168 with Steadfast) without using drugs.

Yeah the drug wouldn't stack with mirror image anyway. As for large fangs I haven't had the chance to play yet since my last post. I'm gonna start the game now tho and check if it can be bought. If not then that's definitely something we need to track down and add to the "limited resources" thread.

[Vonmara]

Wait.... Thunderous blows does not stack with the Helwalker passive as of 1.2?

 

What?

 

That sounds extremely silly ...

Has it been confirmed that it is an intended behavior?

 

Apologies, I started writing this while playing the 1.2 beta version. Seems like they stack again in the final build of the patch.

 

 

 

 

I wouls also recommend getting riposte much earlier as it is a free attack and the main purpose of having high deflection.

In hindsight you could get it lvl 11 instead of Blade Turning. I just copied the build I followed as I went through the game, as I wasn't sure in which direction it was gonna go.

 

Sorry if u wrote it somewhere I'm half asleep but what was ur deflection score at endgame with 10 wounds and buffs running?

 

Also as for the large fang I'm pretty sure you can buy this off of the Alchemy shop?

In any case, I believe drakes drop em

I couldn't find the Large Fang anywhere, I'm almost sure they are unique components. But I hope you can prove me wrong, as both Kapana Taga and Tuotilo need it.

 

The total Deflection score is

20 base

57 lvl

18 (up to 23 with Steadfast from Gipon) Resolve

12 Tuotilo base(Legendary)

10 Tuotilo's upgrade from Wounds

10 Gipon Prudensco

6 Weapon and shield

30 Mirror Image

= 163 (168 with Steadfast) without using drugs.

Yeah the drug wouldn't stack with mirror image anyway. As for large fangs I haven't had the chance to play yet since my last post. I'm gonna start the game now tho and check if it can be bought. If not then that's definitely something we need to track down and add to the "limited resources" thread.

 

 

Playing a bit more, I realised they are dropped by drakes (which is probably where I got it, early game there's a reasonably easy drake fight), dragons and kraken, and I still can't find a vendor that has them. I suppose we can track the drakes around the game. 

Edited July 7, 2018 by Vonmara

[mosspit]

Well, Rooting Pain apparently is 33% not 25%. So it was nerfed but it's not too bad.

[Vonmara]

Well, Rooting Pain apparently is 33% not 25%. So it was nerfed but it's not too bad.

 

But we are trying to not get hit, so it would proc very rarely!

[Dorftek]

 

Wait.... Thunderous blows does not stack with the Helwalker passive as of 1.2?

 

What?

 

That sounds extremely silly ...

Has it been confirmed that it is an intended behavior?

 

Apologies, I started writing this while playing the 1.2 beta version. Seems like they stack again in the final build of the patch.

 

 

 

 

I wouls also recommend getting riposte much earlier as it is a free attack and the main purpose of having high deflection.

In hindsight you could get it lvl 11 instead of Blade Turning. I just copied the build I followed as I went through the game, as I wasn't sure in which direction it was gonna go.

 

Sorry if u wrote it somewhere I'm half asleep but what was ur deflection score at endgame with 10 wounds and buffs running?

 

Also as for the large fang I'm pretty sure you can buy this off of the Alchemy shop?

In any case, I believe drakes drop em

I couldn't find the Large Fang anywhere, I'm almost sure they are unique components. But I hope you can prove me wrong, as both Kapana Taga and Tuotilo need it.

 

The total Deflection score is

20 base

57 lvl

18 (up to 23 with Steadfast from Gipon) Resolve

12 Tuotilo base(Legendary)

10 Tuotilo's upgrade from Wounds

10 Gipon Prudensco

6 Weapon and shield

30 Mirror Image

= 163 (168 with Steadfast) without using drugs.

Yeah the drug wouldn't stack with mirror image anyway. As for large fangs I haven't had the chance to play yet since my last post. I'm gonna start the game now tho and check if it can be bought. If not then that's definitely something we need to track down and add to the "limited resources" thread.

 

 

Playing a bit more, I realised they are dropped by drakes (which is probably where I got it, early game there's a reasonably easy drake fight), dragons and kraken, and I still can't find a vendor that has them. I suppose we can track the drakes around the game. 

 

 

I found Large Fang for sale at the alchemy merchant =)

[Vonmara]

 

I found Large Fang for sale at the alchemy merchant =)

 

OK, I seem to be very unlucky. I had to refresh it 8 times before the merchant sold me one. Thought they would have always they same items for sale.

Edited July 7, 2018 by Vonmara

[mosspit]

 

Well, Rooting Pain apparently is 33% not 25%. So it was nerfed but it's not too bad.

 

But we are trying to not get hit, so it would proc very rarely!

 

This is response to your statement that rooting pain was nerfed to 25%. Just saying thats its different from beta.

 

 

 

 

 

Rooting Pain used to be one of my favourite abilities, allowing you to CC by just getting Wounds. Now it's a 25% proc: too unreliable, considered that Dance of Death provides every 3s .

Edited July 7, 2018 by mosspit

[hansvedic]

Why not take Stunning Blow + Stunning Surge? With a full attack w/ fist + Tuotilo's Palm and high accuracy, you should be able to refund the mortification points regularly.

[Vonmara]

Why not take Stunning Blow + Stunning Surge? With a full attack w/ fist + Tuotilo's Palm and high accuracy, you should be able to refund the mortification points regularly.

I'm not so sure about that: Stunning Surge has no bonus to accuracy, unlike some Rogue abilities.

 

Doing the maths: with Dance of Death max stacks, Tuotilo's bonus, and say, some drug, the max accuracy you can get is ~+135 .

 

On upscaled PotD, things in tough encounters have a Deflection ranging from 90 to 120. That means, on average, about one hit on every five 5 will score a crit, and for a full attack it means ~36% crit chance. That's quite the gamble if you ask me.

 

I don't think it's worth it, considering that Mortification is crucial to get Dance of Death back up in case you get hit too much, and to spam Lightning Strikes through the whole fight.

 

But I guess it's really good for 2 or 3 "big bosses" fights, where they tend to have ~60 Deflection. In this case, the gamble is less risky, but you will agree with me that spending two points on a skill that will come useful for 20 minutes of gameplay means leaving out two other skills. The candidates for the replacement could be the level 19 and 20 skills in the build, i.e. Soul Mirror and Dichotomous Soul. Now, I'm particularly fond of these two, as they give you free attacks Vs ranged misses, and two really good dummies that replicate your equipment, making them EXTREMELY TANKY (note: they replicate triggered active effects too: Gipon bonuses, and if you're wearing a Maker's Own Power belt, well, that too, making your free summons virtually immortal and able to soak ludicrous amount of aggro and damage).

 

Therefore, no, I would personally not go for Stunning Surge.

Edited July 7, 2018 by Vonmara

[Oriz]

Fun build, I am using this for a a vet solo run (since I'm a pleb) and took riposte at 11 instead of blade turning. It's very effective. 

 

You can buy a large fang at the alchemy shop in Neketaka (Forget the name but just south of Dark Cauldron) - not sure if you have to be a higher level before the large fang spawns, i was around level 8-10 when I purchased it. 

[bigwillystyle]

Rock solid build. At lvl 11 potd - loads of fun.

 

This guide is worth it for the Arteiro the Avenger tips - worked flawlessly!

[Vonmara]

Rock solid build. At lvl 11 potd - loads of fun.

 

This guide is worth it for the Arteiro the Avenger tips - worked flawlessly!

Thanks man! I'm pretty sure it had already been outlined somewhere else in the forum (by Victor Creed aka Raven Darkeholme, I believe)

[bigwillystyle]

Ended up finishing the game for the first time [i have major alt-itis] with this build because it was JUST THAT MUCH FUN.

 

I used the gladiator sword for pretty much the entire game - first time I ever upgraded it to Legendary, but it just worked so well!  This build did far more that 50% of damage, crits, etc ... compared to the rest of the party and died the fewest times.  Good times.

[brasilgringo]

Anyone know if this still is a viable POTD solo build in 4.0+?

[guildwriter]

Define viable.  Upscaled?  All DLC?  All megabosses?  

 

I've played this build quite a bit in 3.0 PotD upscaled so here are my thoughts:

• Slime Megaboss is likely to be impassable.  Finite resources support your defenses and no self sustain except consumables.  Your deflection isn't high enough either to just dodge everything.  This fight is a major grind and without a way to "destroy" the first form, you're stuck doing the seperate and kill jig.  
• BoW Dragon is likely to require a major shift in tactics.  This build relies a lot on CC to help reduce incoming damage.  Furthermore once the boss enters the "Spam Llengrath's Defenses mode things will get rough.  20 armor is a lot and the old Scordeo's/Rust's knockdown lock no longer works.
• SSS Cipher Fight - With Fort this low Disintegration will always land.  Will require a major tactics shift.
• SSS Changling Fight - No good innate bonuses means this fight is more or less an autoloss.  It's a stupid fight but it is what it is.
• Nonock and The Oracle - Can't interrupt and caster bosses.  Again, tactics shift.

You can make it work, but there will be times where you probably have to go outside what the build's normal strategy is.  But I doubt it can clear every bit of content in the game.

[brasilgringo]

Cool, thanks for the input. I'm still trying to find that elusive facetanking high damage solo build....

[guildwriter]

Goldpact/Streetfighter is probably your best bet.

[whimper]

Goldpact/Streetfighter is probably your best bet.

I’ll second that.