Building a party of 5 to have fun in POTD

[1TTFFSSE]

I mean once the next DLC hits I will probably do a full party run with some insane difficulty mods installed with something like this for s and giggles:

 

-Fassina modded to Evoker so she can get enough power and meet all the fellow mages in the mage dlc at level 19/20, though generalist wiz is really tempting for combusting wounds, but then again who needs combusting wounds when you have all the firepower of a 5 man party (Evoker/wizard is highest dps in end game by as much as 25-33%, it is insane)

-Xoti probably modded to Woedica/Helwalker (this is highest dps "melee" build i've tested so far)

-A Swashy Tank just because One Dozen Stood armor looks badass and it can only be worn effectively by fighter (too slow on Paladin )

-Troubadour Herald for healing/support

-Haven't decided on last dps spot - stacking a monk/x would be the op thing to do though. Shadowdancer would be the obvious choice because the swashy tank leads to lots of enemies having persistent distraction which is a gift for a rogue dd. Marauder is a good choice too to cover single target burst damage cause they can kill any dangerous enemy like an enemy mage or priest with two full attacks) and their dps on bosses is good too generally. 

[Yosharian]

Updated OP.

 

Now looking at 6 different characters.  Having trouble deciding which one to ditch.  I really want a ranged Cipher/Ranger, or pure Cipher, as I found Serafen's charm/dominate abilities to be game-changing last time I played...but, I can't decide which other character to ditch in order to fit it in.

 

Gah.

 

I was also considering a Rogue/Ranger...  Maybe a Cipher/Rogue could work too?

Edited September 11, 2018 by Yosharian

[1TTFFSSE]

From your original list drop spellblade for a pure wizard and add a scout or a mindstalker.

[Yosharian]

From your original list drop spellblade for a pure wizard and add a scout or a mindstalker.

You don't think it's worth adding rogue to benefit from death blows?

 

If I drop the Priest/Paladin I'll have no healer...

 

Also if I do go for Pure Wizard, do you recommend Evoker, or generalist?  Evoker seems pretty damn cool, and there's quite a few spells that target Fortitude, which will synergise nicely with my morningstar fighter...

 

The more I think about it, the more I'm excited for a pure wizard.

Edited September 11, 2018 by Yosharian

[Haplok]

 

If you are using the Iron Hammer as your tank I HIGHLY suggest a rogue DPS to take max advantage of that persistent distraction.

 

-I personally preferred Mia (as a gunhawk Scout) with dual mortars and the red hand to take max advantage when you have masses of mobs or boss fights respectively.

--Although the dual wield nerf may change my preference when I get back around to test this guy further

 

But I've also run him with w/:

-Single class vanilla rogue w/ dual mortars & effigy's husk perception immune + blunderbuss modal

-Drunken Master (shadowdancer dagger build)

-Shadowdancer blunderbuss

 

But I would want something rogue to spam deathblows since my tank is setting the mobs up for them.

 

 

I'd prefer either something tanky if it's melee.

 

If it's ranged, perhaps a ranger/rogue but not with guns, I'd strongly prefer a bow user if it's a ranged character.

 

Are there any specific builds in the sticked build list that you would recommend for either of these concepts?

 

 

For a tanky offtank can't go wrong with Fighter. Unbending with Refreshing Defence and Rapid Recovery provides pretty much all the tankiness you need. Multi with a Streetfighter, activate Cleaving Stance, equip an aoe two hander like Eager Blade, Amra Axe, later Engoliero de Espirs, charge into a mob of enemies, profit.

[Yosharian]

 

 

If you are using the Iron Hammer as your tank I HIGHLY suggest a rogue DPS to take max advantage of that persistent distraction.

 

-I personally preferred Mia (as a gunhawk Scout) with dual mortars and the red hand to take max advantage when you have masses of mobs or boss fights respectively.

--Although the dual wield nerf may change my preference when I get back around to test this guy further

 

But I've also run him with w/:

-Single class vanilla rogue w/ dual mortars & effigy's husk perception immune + blunderbuss modal

-Drunken Master (shadowdancer dagger build)

-Shadowdancer blunderbuss

 

But I would want something rogue to spam deathblows since my tank is setting the mobs up for them.

 

 

I'd prefer either something tanky if it's melee.

 

If it's ranged, perhaps a ranger/rogue but not with guns, I'd strongly prefer a bow user if it's a ranged character.

 

Are there any specific builds in the sticked build list that you would recommend for either of these concepts?

 

 

For a tanky offtank can't go wrong with Fighter. Unbending with Refreshing Defence and Rapid Recovery provides pretty much all the tankiness you need. Multi with a Streetfighter, activate Cleaving Stance, equip an aoe two hander like Eager Blade, Amra Axe, later Engoliero de Espirs, charge into a mob of enemies, profit.

 

 

My melee core looks like this at the moment:

 

Tank: Unbroken/Trickster [The Iron Hammer]

Off-tank: Berserker/Devoted [Will Breaker]

Caster: Fury/Helwalker [Fate Testarossa]

Support: Bleak Walker/Priest of Magran [Champion of Magran]

 

And now I'm considering a ranged pure Wizard, maybe an Evoker, and/or a ranged pure Cipher or Cipher/Rogue.

 

I could take both of the ranged characters in exchange for one of the melee cores but I'm not sure which one is the weakest link.

 

I also considered a Ranger but I'm not sure that class can compete with Cipher/Rogue/Wizard.

Edited September 11, 2018 by Yosharian

[Haplok]

Eh, you already have one nuke, so not sure I'd take a wizard. Unless you want to mostly just bombard the screen and be done with it (which should work, but is not particularly exciting for me).

 

Cipher Rogue could be nice, as he could be a ranged DD - often you really want to eliminate annoying back row squishy enemies ASAP - and single target ranged is the best for that. Plus he could take advantage of your tank's Persistent Distraction. Perhaps an Assassin/Beguiler then?

 

You plan for a Willbreaker Fort debuffer, but don't seem focused on exploiting that. Although I guess that would help with a number of druid (non-storm) spells.

Cipher could also benefit with Soul Ignition/Amplified Wave/Disintegration. And I guess would be nice for Wizard Combusting Wounds and beam spells.

When you think about this, a Chanter would be nice also in order to aoe debuff Fort even more.

Edited September 11, 2018 by Haplok

[Yosharian]

Eh, you already have one nuke, so not sure I'd take a wizard. Unless you want to mostly just bombard the screen and be done with it (which should work, but is not particularly exciting for me).

 

Cipher Rogue could be nice, as he could be a ranged DD - often you really want to eliminate annoying back row squishy enemies ASAP - and single target ranged is the best for that. Plus he could take advantage of your tank's Persistent Distraction. Perhaps an Assassin/Beguiler then?

 

You plan for a Willbreaker Fort debuffer, but don't seem focused on exploiting that. Although I guess that would help with a number of druid (non-storm) spells.

Cipher could also benefit with Soul Ignition/Amplified Wave/Disintegration. And I guess would be nice for Wizard Combusting Wounds and beam spells.

When you think about this, a Chanter would be nice also in order to aoe debuff Fort even more.

 

> Eh, you already have one nuke, so not sure I'd take a wizard. Unless you want to mostly just bombard the screen and be done with it (which should work, but is not particularly exciting for me).

 

I dunno, sounds pretty exciting to me... I take your point though.

 

> Cipher Rogue could be nice, as he could be a ranged DD - often you really want to eliminate annoying back row squishy enemies ASAP - and single target ranged is the best for that. Plus he could take advantage of your tank's Persistent Distraction. Perhaps an Assassin/Beguiler then?

 

That's what I thought, yes.  Why those subclasses specifically?  Also, can't the Wizard also do this job but better, perhaps?  (I don't know, I'm asking)

 

> You plan for a Willbreaker Fort debuffer, but don't seem focused on exploiting that. 

 

Well, that's kind of the information I was hoping to get from this thread =p  I had a quick look at the Wizard spell list and it seems like there are quite a few very nice Fortitude-targeted Evocation spells.

 

But yes, I haven't really come up with a party-wide plan for things that target Fortitude, I'm just picking things at random...

[Haplok]

No, I don't think Wizard is particularly good at single target ranged damage. Sometimes he can melt a squishy target with a Necrotic Lance or Death Ray, but if the enemy is not THAT squishy, he can survive much longer then you'd wish. I think rogues and particularly scouts are much better at eliminating selected targets at range (Maia works really well). Plus they interrupt much better as well.

 

Why Assassin / Beguiler? Because my thought was to focus on the ranged aspect - eliminating selected targets. Rogue works well here. You also want to do Crowd Control Cipher duty, so Beguiler can do that cheaply and effectively. Assassin is nice for the occasional +25 Accuracy bonus from stealth - either for a shot or to have that important CC power stick (or Disintegrate). It would be worse at aoe nuking, but you've got another character for that. Ascendant is arguably more powerful, but when you Ascend you generally want to focus on your Cipher powers. And they are generally not the best at single-target elimination.

[Yosharian]

No, I don't think Wizard is particularly good at single target ranged damage. Sometimes he can melt a squishy target with a Necrotic Lance or Death Ray, but if the enemy is not THAT squishy, he can survive much longer then you'd wish. I think rogues and particularly scouts are much better at eliminating selected targets at range (Maia works really well). Plus they interrupt much better as well.

 

Why Assassin / Beguiler? Because my thought was to focus on the ranged aspect - eliminating selected targets. Rogue works well here. You also want to do Crowd Control Cipher duty, so Beguiler can do that cheaply and effectively. Assassin is nice for the occasional +25 Accuracy bonus from stealth - either for a shot or to have that important CC power stick (or Disintegrate). It would be worse at aoe nuking, but you've got another character for that. Ascendant is arguably more powerful, but when you Ascend you generally want to focus on your Cipher powers. And they are generally not the best at single-target elimination.

 

Nevertheless... I am thinking about ditching the Rogue/Cipher and just going for the Wizard instead.

[Yosharian]

Check out the obsidian board builders list for details on some of these builds

 

Offtanks:

Grade A:

Contemplative

Sage

Warlock (melee)

 

Do you have any Warlock builds cos there are none on the board list and I'm considering switching the Berserker/Devoted for a Berserker/Wizard.

 

I'm interested in what stats to use, what weapons are the best, whether to dual-wield or two-hand, what armor to wear, whether to go for a Wizard subclass or not...

 

I'm almost sure I'm gonna go for a pure Evoker for my ranged damage dealer now

Edited September 11, 2018 by Yosharian

[1TTFFSSE]

Warlock builds are martial wizard multies basically. Your aim is wizard level 5 spell Citzal's Spirit lance which is a summoned weapon that hits in aoe. Other than that you take defensive/buffing talents on wizard side up to level 4 and offensive passives on barbarian side as well as spirit frenzy. make sure barbarian is berserker as you can clear confusion with infuse vital essence (level 2 wizard spell). after that at higher levels you take some wizard melee radius damage spells like precise piercing burst and maybe torrent of flame. from barbarian side you take passives that increase attack speed and melee damage. wear "bloody links" chaninmail armor. so it is a two handed build usinf Eager Blade/ summoned weapon. This guy is good at aoe damage though so if you use an evoker as dps get a damage dealer that speciliazes in single target fast damage like a marauder or a scout (if you don't have one). Warlock makes a nice offtank just as brute, you use wizard defensive talents and buffs instead of fighter defensives and buffs but the idea is the same. 

Edited September 11, 2018 by 1TTFFSSE

[Theosupus]

 

I'd prefer either something tanky if it's melee.

 

If it's ranged, perhaps a ranger/rogue but not with guns, I'd strongly prefer a bow user if it's a ranged character.

 

Are there any specific builds in the sticked build list that you would recommend for either of these concepts?

 

 

You can do bow. The reason why I do the mortars is they are AoE so I can kill whole swaths in one or two attacks.

The other thing is Mia is a special class that has bonuses for guns which is why I like to use her for that.

 

Scout bow or mindstalker bow are both good choices. The later only if you just really need a controller, the former if you just want the dps. 

Edited September 11, 2018 by Theosupus

[Haplok]

Yeah and mortars synergize really well with the crazy Streetfighter bonuses, which are triggered by BB modal.

 

But bows also work.

[Vorad]

For me 3 "defensive" 2 "offensive" worked best for synergy in PoTD at least, the RP part is purely speculative, but personally I opt to pick the existing companions for their backstories.
 

1. Watcher: Rogue(basic)/Cypher(ascendant) armed with arquebus and then switch to dual pistols. This would give me a high alpha damage to boost my focus real quick and then switch to dual pistols for dps. All damage bonuses from rogue apply in order to gain even higher focus. Now when it comes to cypher spells he's got some nice damage dealing and heavy crowd control and what's best with ascendant those become spammable for the duration! This was my favorite main in pillars 2 compared to other spellcaster/multiclass options (used to play wizard in pillars 1 heavily focusing in cc). Druids/Priest/Wizards they all got nice kits but are a bit more traditional even as you multiclass them.

2. Eder: Rogue/Fighter, early hand weapon + shield, focusing on surviving, engaging multiple enemies and punishing them for breaking engagement! Later on (high levels/gear) you can switch him to dual wield and dish out considerable damage while still being rather sturdy due to fighter kit. Making him a pure fighter would give me little extra compared to all the extra damage % he gains from rogue kit.

3. Pallegina: Paladin/Chanter, early hand weapon + shield, buffing and debuffing, support role. Later on she scales nicely with more persistent aoe from poth paladin and chanter kits.

In short both 2. and 3. are there to hold the line, soak up damage but they do it in a different style.

4. Teheku: Druid/Chanter, early hand weapon + shield, aoe heals + aoe cc.

5. Aloth: Rogue/Wizard: aoe cc role primarily and occasionally dps through weapon summons.

Also the rogue synergy for 1. and 5. helps them not only to dish out damage but also escape and reposition through the "cheap" evasion.

 

Perhaps there are fancier builds out there focusing on extreme powerplay but overall I had a great fun in PoTD with this group. RP wise there are many rogue subclasses for my taste but I really like it when my main is able to deal 200+ damage on a single volley and then spam spells like crazy, or when a nasty teleporter jumps me I am able to jump back away from danger.

 

If you get bored of Palleginas tutoring on Vailian law and order bla bla bla (Although RP wise I prefer the Vaillian ending just bored of Palleginas rambling), I did switch her for Xoti: Monk/Priest, when she gain minor avatar she becomes a beast able to aoe buff your entire party with some of the most powerful buffs in game and dish out considerable damage through her monk synergy. I did max her core weapons since they have nice enchantments... and the low penetration on sickle was not a problem with +2 penetration buffs and  -2/-4 Armor spells.

This was just one of my several PoTD playthroughs, which was both satisfying from an RP perspective (this time no labrat companions) and also did not feel week in the powerplay.

Hope it helped, and that you enjoy the game as best you can!

PS: I do not wish to spoil although this section of the forum is "spoiler friendly", but I could give a few guidelines further regarding my main's gear. I was using a double barreled arquebus (you fire two shots before reloading) this gives a good alpha strike but even better works really nicely with devastating blows as a finisher. Furthermore you can go dual wield aoe blunderbusses which target reflex and deal slash/pierce damage (counters mass units and extremely handy vs immune to piercing undead), also my 3rd kit was dual pistols one of them dealing raw damage and the other gives you speed bonus. You may check the wiki for more accurate info regarding weapons.

Edited September 11, 2018 by Vorad

[Haplok]

How does the double barreled arquebus work really nicely with devastating blows? The ability only applies to 1 shot?

[Vorad]

How does the double barreled arquebus work really nicely with devastating blows? The ability only applies to 1 shot?

Correct! Apparently it's not considered a full attack (I had to check it), I was under  the wrong impression. Sneak damage and deathblows apply as per usual to both shots, but not the case for devastating blows.

Edited September 11, 2018 by Vorad

[Yosharian]

Warlock builds are martial wizard multies basically. Your aim is wizard level 5 spell Citzal's Spirit lance which is a summoned weapon that hits in aoe. Other than that you take defensive/buffing talents on wizard side up to level 4 and offensive passives on barbarian side as well as spirit frenzy. make sure barbarian is berserker as you can clear confusion with infuse vital essence (level 2 wizard spell). after that at higher levels you take some wizard melee radius damage spells like precise piercing burst and maybe torrent of flame. from barbarian side you take passives that increase attack speed and melee damage. wear "bloody links" chaninmail armor. so it is a two handed build usinf Eager Blade/ summoned weapon. This guy is good at aoe damage though so if you use an evoker as dps get a damage dealer that speciliazes in single target fast damage like a marauder or a scout (if you don't have one). Warlock makes a nice offtank just as brute, you use wizard defensive talents and buffs instead of fighter defensives and buffs but the idea is the same. 

 

Thanks, what about attributes?

 

Oh, and you don't recommend a Wiz subclass?

Edited September 11, 2018 by Yosharian

[jww]

 

Warlock builds are martial wizard multies basically. Your aim is wizard level 5 spell Citzal's Spirit lance which is a summoned weapon that hits in aoe. Other than that you take defensive/buffing talents on wizard side up to level 4 and offensive passives on barbarian side as well as spirit frenzy. make sure barbarian is berserker as you can clear confusion with infuse vital essence (level 2 wizard spell). after that at higher levels you take some wizard melee radius damage spells like precise piercing burst and maybe torrent of flame. from barbarian side you take passives that increase attack speed and melee damage. wear "bloody links" chaninmail armor. so it is a two handed build usinf Eager Blade/ summoned weapon. This guy is good at aoe damage though so if you use an evoker as dps get a damage dealer that speciliazes in single target fast damage like a marauder or a scout (if you don't have one). Warlock makes a nice offtank just as brute, you use wizard defensive talents and buffs instead of fighter defensives and buffs but the idea is the same. 

 

Thanks, what about attributes?

 

Oh, and you don't recommend a Wiz subclass?

 

 

If you're using weapon-summoning spells as suggested by the post you are replying to, there's not much point to subclassing your wizard side, because you need the school that has the weapon summoning spells. Not sure off the top of my head which subclasses that leaves you with, but it isn't super helpful in terms of the build you are playing. If you were using regular weapons instead, a case could be made for subclassing as an evoker since it gives you +2 PL on evocation spells while not hurting your 0-recovery combat buff spells (but you'd still want to look over the spells you'd be losing out on to be sure).

 

I haven't played a Barbarian/Wizard specifically, but I've played a lot of martial/wizard builds, and I tend to prioritize attributes in this order: PER (to hit, since Eldritch Aim doesn't last long enough to be useful), INT (to make combat buffs and weapon summons last longer -- this includes your martial class short-duration buffs, not just spells), DEX (for attack speed), MIG, CON, RES. Even if Barbarian provides active buffs to some of those, I'd probably still prioritize them in the same order (though I don't tend to dump stats for a front-liner).

[Yosharian]

 

 

Warlock builds are martial wizard multies basically. Your aim is wizard level 5 spell Citzal's Spirit lance which is a summoned weapon that hits in aoe. Other than that you take defensive/buffing talents on wizard side up to level 4 and offensive passives on barbarian side as well as spirit frenzy. make sure barbarian is berserker as you can clear confusion with infuse vital essence (level 2 wizard spell). after that at higher levels you take some wizard melee radius damage spells like precise piercing burst and maybe torrent of flame. from barbarian side you take passives that increase attack speed and melee damage. wear "bloody links" chaninmail armor. so it is a two handed build usinf Eager Blade/ summoned weapon. This guy is good at aoe damage though so if you use an evoker as dps get a damage dealer that speciliazes in single target fast damage like a marauder or a scout (if you don't have one). Warlock makes a nice offtank just as brute, you use wizard defensive talents and buffs instead of fighter defensives and buffs but the idea is the same. 

 

Thanks, what about attributes?

 

Oh, and you don't recommend a Wiz subclass?

 

 

If you're using weapon-summoning spells as suggested by the post you are replying to, there's not much point to subclassing your wizard side, because you need the school that has the weapon summoning spells. Not sure off the top of my head which subclasses that leaves you with, but it isn't super helpful in terms of the build you are playing. If you were using regular weapons instead, a case could be made for subclassing as an evoker since it gives you +2 PL on evocation spells while not hurting your 0-recovery combat buff spells (but you'd still want to look over the spells you'd be losing out on to be sure).

 

I haven't played a Barbarian/Wizard specifically, but I've played a lot of martial/wizard builds, and I tend to prioritize attributes in this order: PER (to hit, since Eldritch Aim doesn't last long enough to be useful), INT (to make combat buffs and weapon summons last longer -- this includes your martial class short-duration buffs, not just spells), DEX (for attack speed), MIG, CON, RES. Even if Barbarian provides active buffs to some of those, I'd probably still prioritize them in the same order (though I don't tend to dump stats for a front-liner).

 

 

Thanks!

[InsaneCommander]

Very interesting thread.

 

I'll probably only create a full custom party in my third or fourth pt and that will be next year or later... But I'm already taking notes.

 

4: Wizard [Evoker?]

• Cloth User?
• Offensive Caster

 

Btw, is there a build for clothes users? I'd love to have an efficient character with the Principi's clothes or the Dancer's outfit.

[Metaturtle]

<p>

Very interesting thread.

 

I'll probably only create a full custom party in my third or fourth pt and that will be next year or later... But I'm already taking notes.

 

4: Wizard [Evoker?]

 

• Cloth User?

• Offensive Caster

Btw, is there a build for clothes users? I'd love to have an efficient character with the Principi's clothes or the Dancer's outfit.

You can do it if you put your mind to it or accidentally do half the game while still wearing Arkemyr's old robes.

[Yosharian]

Very interesting thread.

 

I'll probably only create a full custom party in my third or fourth pt and that will be next year or later... But I'm already taking notes.

 

4: Wizard [Evoker?]

• Cloth User?
• Offensive Caster

 

Btw, is there a build for clothes users? I'd love to have an efficient character with the Principi's clothes or the Dancer's outfit.

 

Bah!  You know what I meant!  =)

[Yosharian]

The Will Breaker build uses the Fighter's Unbending skill to mitigate incoming damage, but since the Warlock lacks that ability, how do you deal with the raw damage that the Berserker's Frenzy produces?

 

Seems like a Warlock will die quite quickly...

[1TTFFSSE]

The Will Breaker build uses the Fighter's Unbending skill to mitigate incoming damage, but since the Warlock lacks that ability, how do you deal with the raw damage that the Berserker's Frenzy produces?

 

Seems like a Warlock will die quite quickly...

Llengarth's Displaced Image, Llengrath Safeguards, Ironskin...

Frenzy damage is mitigated ring of regeneration and voidward ring

and savage defiance (barbarian) later

Edited September 12, 2018 by 1TTFFSSE