build suggestion for first timer?

[belieber]

cant decide on what to play, anything that stand out particular strong? I didnt play the first game and plan to start on veteran difficulty

thanks

 

[Haplok]

Fighter / Rogue (Swashbuckler) is easy to play and very strong.

Cipher Ascendant (either pure or multi) is very fun and also powerful.

Edited August 26, 2018 by Haplok

[hilfazer]

Fighter / Rogue (Swashbuckler) is easy to play and very strong.

Cipher Ascendant (either pure or multi) is very fun and also powerful.

 

Those are classes, not builds.

 

I recommend playing without any build. Pick whatever class you like and roll with it. Game isn't too hard and Veteran can always be lowered should you experience too much difficulty.

 

You may also avoid Corpse Eater, Ranger and Wizard subclasses.

[Teclis23]

@op 

 

your over thinking it you willl be fine

 

just pick a class you like for roll playing reasons and go with that

 

Maybe just stay away from the complicated sub-classes like beserker for your first playthrough

[Haplok]

 

Fighter / Rogue (Swashbuckler) is easy to play and very strong.

Cipher Ascendant (either pure or multi) is very fun and also powerful.

 

Those are classes, not builds.

 

I recommend playing without any build. Pick whatever class you like and roll with it. Game isn't too hard and Veteran can always be lowered should you experience too much difficulty.

 

You may also avoid Corpse Eater, Ranger and Wizard subclasses.

 

 

I think he first needs to decide on a playstyle (hence classes), then a build can be tailored to that.

[Metaturtle]

If this is your first time you might want to just pick something you think you may enjoy just to figure out the combat system.  Often times you may want to reroll just to check out other classes as you encounter more of their skills.  If you want to be spoiled right off the bat, put a lot of points into perception and have someone invest deep into mechanics. It's so hard to not have those things early in the game for easy access to a lot stuff.

[baldurs_gate_2]

cant decide on what to play, anything that stand out particular strong? I didnt play the first game and plan to start on veteran difficulty

thanks

Single Target: Marauder (Berserker / Streetfigher or Trickster)

Aoe: Pure Wizard (No Subclass)

[Haplok]

Marauder for a beginner? Come on...

[Verde]

Fighter / Rogue (Swashbuckler) is easy to play and very strong.

Cipher Ascendant (either pure or multi) is very fun and also powerful.

Came here to say Swashbuckler

[baldurs_gate_2]

Marauder for a beginner? Come on...

Does he play on trial of iron? No, so nobody cares if he dies. And you can get nemnoks cloak with level 7+ and it tells you, when you have to heal up.

[Haplok]

"You can" does not equate to beginner optimizing his choices, gear and cheesing the game with early end-game gear acquisition strategies.

Edited August 26, 2018 by Haplok

[1TTFFSSE]

easiest classes to hardest:

 

Fighter - durable, forgiving, just go in and hit stuff, good in multiclass and good dps with devoted (sabres)

Ranger (very easy to play just a ranged gunner or archer and everything falls in place, it is a bit harder to master though than some other classes with pet control but this is not required. it has an easy entry cap but high mastery cap basically) good as single class or multiclass

Paladin - again durable like fighter but a bit less straightforward given defensives depend on alignment etc and some attack abilities are not optimal without items - good as a multiclass

 

Rogue, Priest, Monk, Wizard somewhere in middle

 

Chanter, Cipher, Druid, Barbarian not as intuitive as the others I would say so I would recommend reading up about those classes on the wiki but there is nothing particularly hard to them either once you read up on them. 

Edited August 26, 2018 by 1TTFFSSE

[Verde]

Ranger, very easy to play? That is some contrarian opinion right there. It was voted far and away worst class about a month ago. It is def viable, but nowhere near the easiest class, or the strongest. For a beginner, the sturdy martial classes make the most sense - Fighter, Monk, Paladin. And consider a Rogue multi for DPS.

Edited August 26, 2018 by Verde

[Haplok]

Ranger / Rogue is a top tier ranged DPS multiclass though.

[1TTFFSSE]

Ranger, very easy to play? That is some contrarian opinion right there. It was voted far and away worst class about a month ago. It is def viable, but nowhere near the easiest class, or the strongest. For a beginner, the sturdy martial classes make the most sense - Fighter, Monk, Paladin. And consider a Rogue multi for DPS.

It is easy in the sense you give the ranger a ranged weapon, pick some talents intuitively and it will pewpew....nothing special. It is very straightforward and intuitive in that sense. 

It is not the strongest class but for someone just starting the game for first time it is actually a much more straightforward class to play than wizard or something. 

[Kaylon]

 

Ranger, very easy to play? That is some contrarian opinion right there. It was voted far and away worst class about a month ago. It is def viable, but nowhere near the easiest class, or the strongest. For a beginner, the sturdy martial classes make the most sense - Fighter, Monk, Paladin. And consider a Rogue multi for DPS.

It is easy in the sense you give the ranger a ranged weapon, pick some talents intuitively and it will pewpew....nothing special. It is very straightforward and intuitive in that sense. 

It is not the strongest class but for someone just starting the game for first time it is actually a much more straightforward class to play than wizard or something. 

 

For doing pewpew you can pick lots of classes and be at least as effective as the ranger. The pet is hard to manage and to keep alive and without it the ranger is a below average class.

[Haplok]

Not that hard IMO. Pick Bear for extra Armor, keep it back to protect the squishes or flank priority targets - and to improve ranger's Accuracy with Stalker's Link.

If you make it charge, then sure, it will die very fast. But you very clearly shouldn't.

Then again you can pick Ghostheart and not worry about it much.

 

Pure it's not great, but it's very good multiclass material, particularly with Rogue or Cipher.

[belieber]

Fighter / Rogue (Swashbuckler) is easy to play and very strong.

Cipher Ascendant (either pure or multi) is very fun and also powerful.

 

what sub class for swashbuckler? also, is there a guide i could follow somewhere

[arkane83]

I would consider one of these:

 

Fighter/Rogue (unbroken/trickster). This is one of the stronger tanking options in the game. This doesnt have the restrictions of devoted or the penalties of assassin or streetfighter. Should be fairly easy to play. One hand and shield style.

 

Paladin/Barbarian (Kind Wayfarer/No subclass). You dont need to be dealing with self inflicted damage as a novice. Everyone will probably hate this idea and say its telling you to nerf yourself, but this combo is actually really easy to play. Dual wield with this guy. Open up fights with frenzy and flames of devotion your enemies to death. White flames will help to heal you and your party. Requires some role playing, but it's easy to be a good guy (Berserker is the power gamer choice I'm steering you away from)

 

Wizard (no sub). Really, really strong spells at high power levels. Grimoires can give you access to EVERY spell. Makes this class more forgiving for bad choices. Pick up chill fog early. It pulses blind and is one of the most stupidly overpowered low level abilities in the game.

 

There are tons of builds to choose from. Just about anything will work on veteran. Best advice is really "whatever sounds fun".

[arkane83]

 

Fighter / Rogue (Swashbuckler) is easy to play and very strong.

Cipher Ascendant (either pure or multi) is very fun and also powerful.

what sub class for swashbuckler? also, is there a guide i could follow somewhere

Unbroken / Trickster is probably the best for tanking.

 

Devoted / Streetfighter for DPS, but you need to pick a weapon type for the whole game (not recommended for newbies). No subclass / Streetfighter may be better if you dont know what kind of weapons you like.

 

There is a list of builds on this forum, it's the top pinned post. There should be a swashbuckler build there to give you ideas.

 

Edit. Found one for you https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/104050-character-build-the-iron-hammer-swashbuckler-unbrokentrickster/

Edited August 27, 2018 by arkane83

[Haplok]

Well, subclass depends on you. I'd go with Devoted/Streetfighter, but you have to be aware of the limitations.

 

Devoted means you have to pick one weapon type and generally stick with it (you loose Devoted bonuses and get a -10 Accuracy penalty with other weapon types). I personally recommend going with Estocs for 2 handed or Swords/Sabres for duals. That's an important question btw. two-handed or duals?

Unbroken or no subclass are okay choices as well, just they don't pack as much punch.

 

Estoc has high Penetration (10 base, goes up to 14 at Legendary quality), you get +2 Devoted Pen bonus and with a Fighter multiclass you can freely use the modal, which gives additional +2 Pen at the cost of some Deflection. With a Fighter you can soon outheal most damage (just not at the start), so tanking Resolve and Deflection is a non-issue. You end up overpenetrating a lot of the time for +30% damage (particularly that your bread & butter rogue move - Crippling Strike, also provides +2 Pen and crits multiply Pen by x1,5). And generally there are very few enemies who you have trouble penetrating. Advanced/elite skeletons are one such group, as they are immune to piercing damage. Well, eat that 10 Accuracy penalty and switch to another weapon for them. You'll still do more then respectable damage.

Also there are very cool Estocs in this game, with some of the best available very early (one depends on imported/set history from PoE1 and can be reforged as soon as you reach the main city, an even better one can be bought from pirates - even before visiting the main city, if you know your way around).

 

Streetfighter likes to live dangerously. He's a fair bit slower then other rogues in his idle state, but when flanked by enemies or Blooded (below 50% Health), he becomes a meatgrinder. Blazing speed and additional +50% sneak attack damage vs vulnerable targets (on top of regular 30-60% of other Rogues). When both of the above criteria are met and when his Accuracy allows him to achieve a decent crit rate, things just explode (additional +100% crit damage on top of the earlier bonuses). Of course this means he likes to engage multiple enemies, get hit and possibly stay damaged and Fighter abilities are just the perfect fit for that.

 

Recovery (+ later Rapid upgrade) you get from the get go is a nice healing stream, but often not enough to keep you alive, particularly on the first island, particularly when surrounded by enemies. If you have a Priest (you can recruit one in the first town you reach), at Power Level III he/she learns Consecrated Ground, which will temporarily help when you stay in the effect circle. Once he/she reaches Power Level IV, can cast "Triumph of the Crusaders", which heals for a LOT when you down an enemy - that should make you much more survivable already. New Power Levels are reached much earlier by pure classes btw. - level 7 for PL IV). Otherwise if you have a Druid, he can provide plenty of healing also.

You still have to be careful for some time, but can afford a more daring playstyle. At your Power Level V (so multiclass character level 13) comes the bomb: Unbending, which makes you nearly unkillable for its duration.

 

Other good alternative for a Swashbuckler is Trickster, for a more defensive-oriented approach (and devious, can nicely distract enemies with his dazzling lights and lead them to some powder barrels for example). He gets cool self-buffs, at PL III casts Repulsive Visage which terrifies near enemies. Much less damage though and with the Fighter, you don't really need the extra protections.

 

In any case your signature Rogue moves are the trusty Crippling Strike, later Finishing Blow (eventually upgraded to Devastating) for Blooded targets (less then 50% health), Escape for battlefield mobility, Persistant Distraction to make everyone you engage Sneak attack vulnerable. Dirty Fighting for extra crit rate.

Later you'll pick Deep Wounds and finally Deathblows. Adept Evasion for defence.

On the Fighter side you'll use Knockdown to interrupt nasty enemy skills, later upgraded to Mule Kick. Later Charge for cool mobility multihit and finally Clear Out to make mobs your bitches. Fighter Stances -> Cleaving Stance for extra attacks on kill. Disciplined Barrage-> Strikes should be always active. On the defensive side you'll want Rapid Recovery, Vigorous Defence (+Refreshing upgrade), Determination and, most importantly, Unbending. Also Armored Grace will be nice.

 

Stat spread could be something along the lines:

Might: Average ~14 (you'll have plenty of other additive damage bonuses, so that's not very important; still nice, it modifies aoe "spell-like" effects of some weapons)

Con: Base, ~10

Dex: Average (with Streetfighter triggered you don't really need more speed, but when his special isn't active and you're using a two-hander or sword&board you want as much as possible).

Per: Max (to hit & crit stuff, duh)

Int: Max (to keep that sweet Unbending + Disciplined Strikes + Refreshing Defence active as long, as possible; you only have so many resources)

Res: Dump (3/4, depending on race) - you'll survive anyway

 

Also it'd be good to play with a history where Devil of Caroc from PoE1 spares Harmke/dies. Her Breastplate then becomes available in a shop in the main hub and it offers good protection, speed and additional class resources for ability spam (very valuable).

 

 

Aww, hell, I've written so much, might as well post it as a build.

Here: https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/105365-class-build-armorbreaker/

Edited August 27, 2018 by Haplok

[Verde]

Devoted/Streetfighter for a beginner huh ?

 

I can't imagine playing the game for the first time and only sticking to one weapon type...and always having to worry about Bloodied or Flanked. Plus with Streetfighter you have to abuse Blunderbuss modal...so does that mean Devoted Blunderbuss? I can't imagine a more yawn inducing first timer build haha.

 

Anyway you could just do Fighter/Trickster for a really tanky and versatile char.

Edited August 27, 2018 by Verde

[Haplok]

As you may have noticed, I did not suggest blunderbuss cheese. Actually getting Flanked or Blooded works too, you know. It doesn't trigger always, but it tends to do when you do need it. Fighter is actually tanky enough to survive that and keep on kicking. After getting Unbending  you can probably be the main tank, taking all the heat.

Edited August 27, 2018 by Haplok

[belieber]

ok thx guys, i think i will start with Unbroken / Trickster on path of the damned instead (i like the challenge). I can always go back to Fortnite if i fail ^-^

[Theosupus]

I can't believe no one said stalker / beckoner. I expected to see at least one.

 

On topic. I'd suggest a fighter or paladin multiclassed with a dps class (melee or ranged as desired) for getting to know the game and mechanics. The Fanatic is my fav build right now. simple and powerful.

Edited August 28, 2018 by Theosupus