[HELP] Spear and Shield

[I3eowulf89]

Hi! Can anyone recommend me a Spear and Shield tank build or an offensive build?
I'm planning my party and I'm missing a tank on my first playthrough.
However, I'm also trying to a make a Phalanx line with all companions in my second playthrough.
Help!

[Boeroer]

Unbroken/Trickster with Akola's Apex Ward (shield), Reckless Briandine, Mohora Tanga (spear) and Hold the Line + Persistant Distraction engages five enemies (6 with spear modal) without Defender Stance. So he applies Distracted to five enemies, gets +25% speed bonus from Mob Stance and 25% speed bonus from Reckless Brigandine once he engaged 5 enemies. Riposte with Mirrored Image adds a bit fun while tanking, so does Apex Ward's Crush retaliation, Into the Fray pulls enemies back who disengaged (if they survived), Mince-to (from spear) does the same AND adds additional 30% speed. Llengrath's Displaced Image balanced out the lower reflex of the Unbroken pretty nicely. Of course you should use Overbearing Guard as well. It just destroys enemies who disengage - because usually they get Deathblows + Sneak Attack + Overbearing Guard's bonus damage (50%) AND the Unbroken's bonus of +10 PEN on disengagement attacks. Usually you will crit and overpenetrate as well. Piles up nicely...
I chose the Whitewitch Mask because it looks super rad (just my opinion) with the shield and the rest of the gear (which is all Huana-themed). And it also raises the Trickster's Illusions. It also prevents you from getting pummeled to death because it triggers Repulsive Visage once you drop below 50% health. You will lose the engagements of terrified enemies but it's such a strong debuff that they be no threat anymore.

 

It's a great mix between tanking, crowd control (via engagement) and offense (attack speed, dmg mods). If you like more offense and less tankyness you can use Streetfighter instead of Trickster.

 

It's also nice to play from a role-playing perspective (if you want to play a Huana Mataru from the Archipelago).

 

I made a screenshot with a Wood Elf instead of an Aumaua - but I guess you get the picture.

 

Edited July 20, 2018 by Boeroer

[AndreaColombo]

Very interesting stuff as always, Boeroer

[bigwillystyle]

That looks bad-ass, sir

[gkathellar]

Unbroken/Trickster with Akola's Apex Ward (shield), Reckless Briandine, Mohora Tanga (spear) and Hold the Line + Persistant Distraction engages five enemies (6 with spear modal) without Defender Stance. So he applies Distracted to five enemies, gets +25% speed bonus from Mob Stance and 25% speed bonus from Reckless Brigandine once he engaged 5 enemies. Riposte with Mirrored Image adds a bit fun while tanking, so does Apex Ward's Crush retaliation, Into the Fray pulls enemies back who disengaged (if they survived), Mince-to (from spear) does the same AND adds additional 30% speed. Llengrath's Displaced Image balanced out the lower reflex of the Unbroken pretty nicely. Of course you should use Overbearing Guard as well. It just destroys enemies who disengage - because usually they get Deathblows + Sneak Attack + Overbearing Guard's bonus damage (50%) AND the Unbroken's bonus of +10 PEN on disengagement attacks. Usually you will crit and overpenetrate as well. Piles up nicely...

I chose the Whitewitch Mask because it looks super rad (just my opinion) with the shield and the rest of the gear (which is all Huana-themed). And it also raises the Trickster's Illusions. It also prevents you from getting pummeled to death because it triggers Repulsive Visage once you drop below 50% health. You will lose the engagements of terrified enemies but it's such a strong debuff that they be no threat anymore.

 

It's a great mix between tanking, crowd control (via engagement) and offense (attack speed, dmg mods). If you like more offense and less tankyness you can use Streetfighter instead of Trickster.

 

It's also nice to play from a role-playing perspective (if you want to play a Huana Mataru from the Archipelago).

 

I made a screenshot with a Wood Elf instead of an Aumaua - but I guess you get the picture.

 

 

Unbroken/Trickster is beastly.

 

... but then, Trickster in general is beastly. :D

[bigwillystyle]

I'm curious, where do you get the Apex Ward?  I know I've gotten it before but can't remember where to save my life

[Boeroer]

When you really mess up your relationship with the Huana they will send a ship to bring you down (as far as I know also Principi and Rauataians do this). If you bombard that ship to pieces or board it and kill the captain you'll get the shield. A bit sad that you can only get this Huana item if you p!ss off the Huana in the first place. But eh - I just imagined I'm a rebel. All that Prize-Share nonsense...

Edited July 20, 2018 by Boeroer

[gkathellar]

When you really mess up your relationship with the Huana they will send a ship to bring you down (as far as I know also Principi and Rauataians do this). If you bombard that ship to pieces or board it and kill the captain you'll get the shield. A bit sad that you can only get this Huana item if you p!ss off the Huana in the first place. But eh - I just imagined I'm a rebel. All that Prize-Share nonsense...

 

FWIW, there's a simple mod that adds the "hostile to a faction" ships to the map without having to piss them off.

[I3eowulf89]

Will this build be okay with the phalanx wall playthrough?

[I3eowulf89]

Unbroken/Trickster with Akola's Apex Ward (shield), Reckless Briandine, Mohora Tanga (spear) and Hold the Line + Persistant Distraction engages five enemies (6 with spear modal) without Defender Stance. So he applies Distracted to five enemies, gets +25% speed bonus from Mob Stance and 25% speed bonus from Reckless Brigandine once he engaged 5 enemies. Riposte with Mirrored Image adds a bit fun while tanking, so does Apex Ward's Crush retaliation, Into the Fray pulls enemies back who disengaged (if they survived), Mince-to (from spear) does the same AND adds additional 30% speed. Llengrath's Displaced Image balanced out the lower reflex of the Unbroken pretty nicely. Of course you should use Overbearing Guard as well. It just destroys enemies who disengage - because usually they get Deathblows + Sneak Attack + Overbearing Guard's bonus damage (50%) AND the Unbroken's bonus of +10 PEN on disengagement attacks. Usually you will crit and overpenetrate as well. Piles up nicely...

I chose the Whitewitch Mask because it looks super rad (just my opinion) with the shield and the rest of the gear (which is all Huana-themed). And it also raises the Trickster's Illusions. It also prevents you from getting pummeled to death because it triggers Repulsive Visage once you drop below 50% health. You will lose the engagements of terrified enemies but it's such a strong debuff that they be no threat anymore.

 

It's a great mix between tanking, crowd control (via engagement) and offense (attack speed, dmg mods). If you like more offense and less tankyness you can use Streetfighter instead of Trickster.

 

It's also nice to play from a role-playing perspective (if you want to play a Huana Mataru from the Archipelago).

 

I made a screenshot with a Wood Elf instead of an Aumaua - but I guess you get the picture.

 

On my second playthrough Im going to attempt to play with companions all holding spears and shields(phalanx line literally). Will this build be viable for it or is there another build you would recommend?

[Boeroer]

Just retried that mini-build and put it solo against 6 tigers. It's still really good - patches didn't change that. The best part is that enemies really don't want to leave you but at the same time you deal good damage to them. Riposte and Crush Riposte from the shield stack.

I guess I will make a build thread out of this - just because it fits the whole Deadfire/Huana theme so well from a style- and roleplaying perspective and at the same time is a very solid performer.

Edited July 23, 2018 by Boeroer

[mosspit]

How well does Reckless Brigandine scale from the engagements? Unless I remembered wrongly, RB increases Attack Speed and not recovery and I wasn’t too impressed when I tried it.

[thundercleese]

How well does Reckless Brigandine scale from the engagements? Unless I remembered wrongly, RB increases Attack Speed and not recovery and I wasn’t too impressed when I tried it.

The wording is "Action Speed", which to my understanding applies to attack speed, recovery and reload speed.

[mosspit]

 

How well does Reckless Brigandine scale from the engagements? Unless I remembered wrongly, RB increases Attack Speed and not recovery and I wasn’t too impressed when I tried it.

The wording is "Action Speed", which to my understanding applies to attack speed, recovery and reload speed.

Based on test on my previous build attempts, RB does not affect recovery

[Boeroer]

It does. When engaging 6 enemies I get -19% recovery in the tooltip and 30% from Mob Stance. They stack - but why it's 19% recovery I can't really say. Also attack speed gets sped up but since that's not very long in the first place it's not noticable.

[mosspit]

That is weird, I think the latest patch has changed RB to affect recovery as well. When I tested the armour previously, I was sure that it did not change recovery values at all. Thats why I wasn't impressed.

 

Oh well good to know.

[Marigoldran]

Herald.  Paladin/chanter (Troubador).  Ultimate tank and summoner.  

 

It's a better tank than most "pure tank builds" because their summons tank, too.  

Edited July 21, 2018 by Marigoldran

[Dorftek]

Herald. Paladin/chanter (Troubador). Ultimate tank and summoner.

 

It's a better tank than most "pure tank builds" because their summons tank, too.

Is someone paying u to advertise the Herald class?

[Marigoldran]

Yes.

[Dorftek]

I knew it!!

[Boeroer]

That is weird, I think the latest patch has changed RB to affect recovery as well. When I tested the armour previously, I was sure that it did not change recovery values at all. Thats why I wasn't impressed.

 

Oh well good to know.

You have to engage enemies to make Mob Stance and Reckless Brigandine work. So you need many engagement slots to make it stack multiple times. 5 is a good number (that can be achieved by any char) to see some really noticable effects.

[mosspit]

 

That is weird, I think the latest patch has changed RB to affect recovery as well. When I tested the armour previously, I was sure that it did not change recovery values at all. Thats why I wasn't impressed.

 

Oh well good to know.

You have to engage enemies to make Mob Stance and Reckless Brigandine work. So you need many engagement slots to make it stack multiple times. 5 is a good number (that can be achieved by any char) to see some really noticable effects.

Yes, I tested with engagements. I specifically tried to build around it but I found out tha recovery wasn’t affected so I didn’t use that armour. That’s was in previous patch, or my memory failed me. Edited July 22, 2018 by mosspit

[mosspit]

Double post

Edited July 22, 2018 by mosspit

[arkane83]

Heralds are insanely good. One of the more overpowered MC in the game.

 

Dual wield blunderbuss/pistol kind wayfarer troubadour with high might is one of the best healers in the game. This combo also puts you in perfect range for offensive invocations. That cone really gets alot at mid!

 

Goldpact one hand shield makes an incredible tank/healer hybrid. Shieldbearer used to be the obvious choice for tanking for loh immortality, which was nerfed to exclude the paladin.

 

 

Goldpact Knight / Troubadour with spear and large shield. You are a main tank hybrid that really is hard to kill. Max might, max int, exalted endurance, ancient memory, the silver knights or soft winds. Use spear modal you get 3 engagements. You will have a ton of self healing, aoe group healing, and staying power to hold a melee line.

[I3eowulf89]

Just retried that mini-build and put it solo against 6 tigers. It's still really good - patches didn't change that. The best part is that enemies really don't want to leave you but at the same time you deal good damage to them. Riposte and Crush Riposte from the shield stack.

I guess I will make a build thread out of this - just because it fits the whole Deadfor/Juana theme so well from a style- and roleplaying perspective and at the same time is a very solid performer.

So I decided using the Unbroke/Streetfighter. How should I distribute my stats?