Swashy Tank or Brute Tank? Thoughts on both for a pirate character?

[Cyrus_Blackfeather]

Hey guys, 

 

So, I have two builds I'm working on right now for a tanky pirate MC - I'm down from four or five, and since I've decided I WANT to run a Fighter multiclass of some kind, these are it as far as builds go. Once I decide which one of these I want to run, that's it. I commit. 

 

Both builds are meant to be an offensive tank that stacks heavy regeneration as a means of damage mitigation, as well as boasting respectable defenses that can be buffed through potions and stuff. 

 

1. Swashbuckler (Devoted/Streetfighter): 

 

Pros - High damage when flanked/bloodied or both, access to lots of different afflictions, Persistent Distraction (Distracts every engaged enemy, which will be quite a few with Fighter), and Deathblows. 160% potential Sneak Attack damage while flanked or bloodied, and against enemies with two Sneak Attack conditionals. Plenty of different active attack abilities. Absurd Recovery reduction (-50%) when flanked or bloodied. 

 

Cons - Lack of ways to refund Guile, so the high Guile spenders (Like Finishing > Devastating Blow) can only be used but so many times. Rogue doesn't offer a lot of defensive upgrades outside of Riposte (Not great for this kind of build unless I went Trickster). Considerably less HP, so I can't take too many big hits. Less AoE capability.

 

2. Brute (Devoted/Berserker): 

 

Pros - Lots of armor abilities - Thick Skinned, Frenzy, and engagements (+2 from Thick-Skinned and One Stands Alone, which also makes it harder to be flanked). Very good penetration, and Barbaric Blow - once upgraded - refunds rage cost on kill, which makes it a great execution move for the value. Not a lot of afflictions, but the ones you do get are pretty good (Terrified, Staggered on hit with Spirit Frenzy). Good hit to crit, and Might/Constitution inspirations. AoE capability through Frenzy without having to use AoE weapons. Action speed boost and, later, resets Recovery on kill. 

 

Cons: Constant raw damage over time, can't see your health - though you can tell when you're bloodied, depending on race. Ostensibly less damage than Swashbuckler (Though you can get pretty high). Lack of Persistent Distraction - flanking every enemy you're engaged with does sound pretty good. While you do have Terrified and Staggered, those are pretty much the only two afflictions you have. Only one real active ability in Barbaric Blow - I could put on Penetrating Strike, but there's really not room for it. 

 

Curious to hear your thoughts on the matter - I'm leaning toward Brute, personally. I've tried both, and they both seem equally functional. 

[ntbittle]

I made a Swashbuckler build for Eder but it would work even better for a main character.  Devoted / Spears would make it even better.

 

This build is pretty self sufficient and makes good use of the AI. 

 

The core of this build is gaining as many Engagements as possible, keep them all Flanked with Persistent Distraction, and then stack as much bonus Flanking and Engagement bonuses as possible.

 

You can decide between Mob Stance and Guardian Stance and probably have enough points for both.  Most of your extra skill points will go to Fighter skills and you will mostly be using the Rogue Passives.

 

While you can use a Shield, where the build can get really fun is dual wielding Stalker's Patience (Bonus Damage against Flanked based on Stealth) and Kapana Taga (Bonus Damage per Engaged Target). 

 

These two weapons both can give +4 Engagement when using the Spear Modal.  Add Persistent Distraction to that are you are already at +5.  Guardian Stance gets you to +8. At some point you will max out the number of enemies that are on the screen at any one time.

 

For armor you have a number of good choices like Reckless Brigandine which improves action speed for each target engaged.

 

Combat is pretty simple, Charge at the biggest group of Mobs and they get knocked down if they try to run away.  If you want to get even more powerful set Mob Stance before Charging and then switch to Guardian after the first kill.  It would be nice if you could have the AI swap between stances based on Numbers engaged.

 

Anyone have any thoughts on fun additional items?  Having a Wizard drop a Pull of Eora is always good fun.

Edited August 19, 2018 by ntbittle

[Cyrus_Blackfeather]

I don't really like the idea of dual-wielding spears. Looks silly. 

 

Right now I'm just trying to decide whether Barbarian or Rogue offers the better perks. It's basically...

 

Persistent Distraction, more active abilities (But oh so few points to use on them), and Sneak Attack damage, or Barbaric Smash (A finisher that refunds itself), Frenzy (+5 Might, +5 Con, +2 Pen, +2 AR), One Stands Alone, Blooded, and Carnage. 

 

In fact, I don't really even count active abilities as a plus toward the Rogue. There's so much to get from Fighter, you can more or less only get Crippling Strike for free at level 1. 

Edited August 19, 2018 by Cyrus_Blackfeather

[mant2si]

I don't really like the idea of dual-wielding spears. Looks silly. 

 

Right now I'm just trying to decide whether Barbarian or Rogue offers the better perks. It's basically...

 

Persistent Distraction, more active abilities (But oh so few points to use on them), and Sneak Attack damage, or Barbaric Smash (A finisher that refunds itself), Frenzy (+5 Might, +5 Con, +2 Pen, +2 AR), One Stands Alone, Blooded, and Carnage. 

 

In fact, I don't really even count active abilities as a plus toward the Rogue. There's so much to get from Fighter, you can more or less only get Crippling Strike for free at level 1. 

Both builds can tank near anything (because of fighter Unbending) and their DPS is comparable, both fit pirate thematic. You only need to decided what play-style you prefer more. 

[Dorftek]

What happened to ur holy slayer?

[Haplok]

Disregarding rogue abilities, which he can spam almost from the start, is frankly crazy. Already Crippling Strike is excellent for its cost. Then you get stuff like Finishing / Devastating Blow with sick damage modifiers against damaged enemies. I don't have Devastating yet, but already enjoy up to 200% extra damage (plus 90% sneak). Frankly nothing on the Barbarian side compares to this damage potential (except HoF I guess but that's for pure barbs) .

Edited August 19, 2018 by Haplok

[Cyrus_Blackfeather]

Disregarding rogue abilities, which he can spam almost from the start, is frankly crazy. Already Crippling Strike is excellent for its cost. Then you get stuff like Finishing / Devastating Blow with sick damage modifiers against damaged enemies. I don't have Devastating yet, but already enjoy up to 200% extra damage (plus 90% sneak). Frankly nothing on the Barbarian side compares to this damage potential (except HoF I guess but that's for pure barbs) .

 

Hmm... Alright. I've been doing some testing, and I think I prefer Swashy. All I'm really missing from the Barbarian side is Carnage, more HP, and a refundable finisher. 

 

 

What happened to ur holy slayer?

 

I tried it out, and I wasn't really feeling it as much as I thought I would. Plus, I like being more flexible with dispositions. 

[Verde]

Swashy is great from a RP perspective and quite frankly feels slightly OP - tanky and damage. Go for it

[Cyrus_Blackfeather]

Swashy is great from a RP perspective and quite frankly feels slightly OP - tanky and damage. Go for it

 

Mhmm. How's the Rogue's Hit-to-crit compared to the Barbarian's? 

[Dorftek]

 

Swashy is great from a RP perspective and quite frankly feels slightly OP - tanky and damage. Go for it

Mhmm. How's the Rogue's Hit-to-crit compared to the Barbarian's?

Rogue can only pick dirty fighting and the uncanny luck. Wich is 10% and 5%. Berserker get 30% from frenzy alone.

[Cyrus_Blackfeather]

 

Rogue can only pick dirty fighting and the uncanny luck. Wich is 10% and 5%. Berserker get 30% from frenzy alone.

 

 

Alright. So, of Brute and Swashbuckler, which one would you pick? 

[Dorftek]

 

Rogue can only pick dirty fighting and the uncanny luck. Wich is 10% and 5%. Berserker get 30% from frenzy alone.

 

Alright. So, of Brute and Swashbuckler, which one would you pick?

I'm a big fan of rogues especially combined with a fighter so I would pick rogue

Great dmg, persistent distraction, Riposte, Toxic Strike, massive dmg modifiers. What's not to love?

 

If I was planning to use a certain weapon for its on crit effect such as Last Word for example I would pick Berserker

Edited August 19, 2018 by Dorftek

[Cyrus_Blackfeather]

 

 

Rogue can only pick dirty fighting and the uncanny luck. Wich is 10% and 5%. Berserker get 30% from frenzy alone.

Alright. So, of Brute and Swashbuckler, which one would you pick?

I'm a big fan of rogues especially combined with a fighter so I would pick rogue

Great dmg, persistent distraction, Riposte, Toxic Strike, massive dmg modifiers. What's not to love?

 

If I was planning to use a certain weapon for its on crit effect such as Last Word for example I would pick Berserker

 

 

That's fair. Though to be honest, there's some really nice on-crit effects for different weapons in this game. Last Word, Oathbreaker's End, Lord Darryn's Voulge - though I'd only be able to use one if I went Devoted. 

 

I guess I could use the Ring of Prosperity's Fortune for another 15% hit-to-crit? Apparently getting money in this game isn't too hard. They don't stack though, so it'd be 10% from Dirty Fighting and 15% from the ring, plus any other bonuses from gear, and then it'd just be a dice roll on each one. 

 

And yeah, Persistent Distraction is HUGE. It essentially cuts enemy accuracy by -10 on each engaged target, so it's great for staying alive. I had originally just seen it as an offensive upgrade, which it is, but it's great defensively as well. 

[Cyrus_Blackfeather]

Yeah, I did some testing. Brute doesn't even compare to Swashbuckler in terms of raw damage and survivability. 

[Dorftek]

Yeah, I love swash :D

[Judicator]

I haven't tried a Swashbuckler, but I'm playing a Brute right now and he's nuking everything. Almost every hit is a crit with the Berserker's frenzy and the Devoted's Disciplined Barrage.

Edited August 20, 2018 by Judicator