[CLASS BUILD] The Lightning Tempest

[whimper]

https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/106078-electric-dyslexic-scroll-spamming-thaumaturge-of-wael/

 

At least it's quick .

Sweet. I'll have to check that out!

[diamondsforever]

 

The Giftbearer’s Cloth vs. Cape of the Falling Star, so I tested this, I end out losing 21-24 defenses for 7 deflection and an additional quickslot. I just don’t think Cape of the Falling Star is worth it.

 

Ring of Greater Regeneration, I was getting 4 HP per 6 seconds back during most the encounter. The tick is so slow I don’t think its worth it. Voidward or Entonia Signet Ring or Chameleon’s Touch.

 

Boltcatchers, I think this item is fantastic, 20% chance to do shock damage with melee weapons.

--Re Giftbearer's Cloak: Yeah, you certainly lose more net points in defenses if you wear the Cape of the Falling Star. But the designers, anyway, take deflection to be much more important than the other defenses.

 

One point of comparison: The Cloak of Greater Deflection and the Cloak of Greater Resistance are supposed to be comparable, one which provides +7 deflection, the other which provides +10 to each of your other three saves (so +30). That suggests that +1 deflection is supposed to be worth about +4.3 points of one of the other defenses (refl, fort, will). So that would make the Cape of the Falling Star worth about +50.1 "generic" defense points, as compared to the Giftbearer's Cloak which is worth around +45/46 "generic" defense points, and only if you devote all of your skill points to History. 

 

Another point of comparison: a 3rd level feat available to all classes increases refl or fort or will by +10, while a 5th level feat that only fighters can take increases defl by +4. The fighter-only restriction, and higher level requirement, make it clear that the +4 deflection boost is supposed to be a considerably better deal than the +10 boost to one defense. Again, something like a +1/+4 or +1/+5 tradeoff sounds about right, which again puts the Cape of the Falling Star ahead, value-wise.

 

But, of course, what the designers think and what's actually best in the game are two different things! And there's no denying that the Giftbearer's Cloak is very good. 

 

--Re Ring of Greater Regeneration: Yeah, the value of the ring is roughly determined by (1) what percentage of the damage you take it heals, and (2) how many other sources of healing you have to rely on.

 

The build I tend to run with has very high AR, which slows down damage enough such that a Ring of Greater Regeneration goes a fair way toward healing me as quickly as I get damaged. And in upscaled solo PotD, I find that a lot of fights (especially in the SSS DLC) tend to take forever, meaning that consumable healing runs out too quickly to rely on. If you're finding that you get damaged much more quickly than the ring heals you, and/or you find that you can get through upscaled PotD fights relatively quickly, then the ring will probably be of less value to you.

 

(I'm genuinely curious about the latter question, by the way -- do you find you can get through solo upscaled PotD fights in SSS pretty quickly? Cuz if so, I definitely should try this out -- my SSS fights seem to last forever!) 

 

 

RE: Deflection Stacking

I see what you are saying, i just can't see how 7 deflection is going to make a difference? I mean maybe it will, I think this testing character has pretty low deflection.

 

Current stats are w/ The Giftbearer's Cloth:

Deflection: 76 >> 77 (w/ Gear)

Fortitude: 102 >> 119 (w/ Gear)

Reflex: 120 >> 139 (w/ Gear)

Will: 101 >> 124 (w/ Gear)

5 Quick Items.

 

Stats w/ Cape of the Falling Star

Deflection: 76 >> 84 (w/ Gear)

Fortitude: 102 >> 111 (w/ Gear)

Reflex: 120 >> 131 (w/ Gear)

Will: 101 >> 116 (w/ Gear)

4 Quick Items.

 

 

RE: Ring of Greater Regeneration and Passive Healing

This character has basically 0 passive healing ability. One thing I could do is craft Scrolls of Moonwell and see how they do, they also provide +10 defenses. Now I do see this is a minor issue, I could stack Whiteleaf , with a Ring of Regen, and Moonwell, but then we would be missing out on that bloodied start Streetfighter is known for. This character will be using Abraham as a pet so per kill will regain some health back. I've also been trying out different armor sets. I keep going back to Dethros Cage, DoC and Blackened Plate. This character is very fast and doesn't seem to hindered when using heavy armor.

 

RE: Armor Rating

This character has an armor rating of 12-14 (not including Mythic upgrades). As mentioned above I've considered 3 armor sets for this build. Other options include The Bloody Links (Crimson Steel +2AR when bloodied), Nomad's Brigandine (Tactical Withdraw), Reckless Brigandine (Into the Breach), Patinated Plate (Constant Rebound, Bronze Juggernaut). So many options and i'm not entirely sure which is the way to go...

 

RE: Solo SSS

So technically I've only done the initial testing as mentioned at the beginning with this build. My last build I only completed the main game on PoTD. So the idea of this character is to beat all the DLCs. This build is VERY fast at attacking, and when you use your Avenging Storms (which I think should be done sparingly) you tend to crush your enemies.

 

 

********************************

********************************

 

To the rest of the community I'm hoping to get some feedback on the rest of the questions from the original post. I've made some minor changes to the build based on some of the feed back and some testing. Your help is much appreciated

[whimper]

RE: Deflection Stacking

I see what you are saying, i just can't see how 7 deflection is going to make a difference? I mean maybe it will, I think this testing character has pretty low deflection.

 

Current stats are w/ The Giftbearer's Cloth:

Deflection: 76 >> 77 (w/ Gear)

Fortitude: 102 >> 119 (w/ Gear)

Reflex: 120 >> 139 (w/ Gear)

Will: 101 >> 124 (w/ Gear)

5 Quick Items.

 

Stats w/ Cape of the Falling Star

Deflection: 76 >> 84 (w/ Gear)

Fortitude: 102 >> 111 (w/ Gear)

Reflex: 120 >> 131 (w/ Gear)

Will: 101 >> 116 (w/ Gear)

4 Quick Items.

 

RE: Ring of Greater Regeneration and Passive Healing

This character has basically 0 passive healing ability. One thing I could do is craft Scrolls of Moonwell and see how they do, they also provide +10 defenses. Now I do see this is a minor issue, I could stack Whiteleaf , with a Ring of Regen, and Moonwell, but then we would be missing out on that bloodied start Streetfighter is known for. This character will be using Abraham as a pet so per kill will regain some health back. I've also been trying out different armor sets. I keep going back to Dethros Cage, DoC and Blackened Plate. This character is very fast and doesn't seem to hindered when using heavy armor.

 

RE: Armor Rating

This character has an armor rating of 12-14 (not including Mythic upgrades). As mentioned above I've considered 3 armor sets for this build. Other options include The Bloody Links (Crimson Steel +2AR when bloodied), Nomad's Brigandine (Tactical Withdraw), Reckless Brigandine (Into the Breach), Patinated Plate (Constant Rebound, Bronze Juggernaut). So many options and i'm not entirely sure which is the way to go...

 

RE: Solo SSS

So technically I've only done the initial testing as mentioned at the beginning with this build. My last build I only completed the main game on PoTD. So the idea of this character is to beat all the DLCs. This build is VERY fast at attacking, and when you use your Avenging Storms (which I think should be done sparingly) you tend to crush your enemies.

Re deflection: That's a fair point; that is pretty low deflection. The cloak of the falling star might help mitigate the number of times you get critted (which will make them go through your armor like butter), but deflection does have increasing returns, so it's not as nearly as helpful when you start low. So maybe Giftbearer's is better for this build, as you say.

 

Re regeneration and AR: Yeah, I'm curious to see what ends up working for you here. Bloody Links and Reckless Brigandine are great for Streetfighters, but you'll probably also want some pierce-resistant armor for some fights (probably some form of plate). Or maybe you'll be able to kill things fast enough to survive with low AR? (I'd be a little worried about having a low AR, because your deflection is so low. But who knows!) Also curious to see how much of a difference you notice with high AR set-ups with and without regeneration. 

 

I think the SSS fights are actually nice tests for all of this. They made me get really creative with equipment and tactics in a way that earlier fights had not. So it'll be a good testing ground for various ways of running this build: high AR vs low AR, regeneration vs defense-boosting, and so on. I'm curious to hear what ends up working best! 

Edited October 18, 2018 by whimper

[diamondsforever]

 

RE: Deflection Stacking

I see what you are saying, i just can't see how 7 deflection is going to make a difference? I mean maybe it will, I think this testing character has pretty low deflection.

 

Current stats are w/ The Giftbearer's Cloth:

Deflection: 76 >> 77 (w/ Gear)

Fortitude: 102 >> 119 (w/ Gear)

Reflex: 120 >> 139 (w/ Gear)

Will: 101 >> 124 (w/ Gear)

5 Quick Items.

 

Stats w/ Cape of the Falling Star

Deflection: 76 >> 84 (w/ Gear)

Fortitude: 102 >> 111 (w/ Gear)

Reflex: 120 >> 131 (w/ Gear)

Will: 101 >> 116 (w/ Gear)

4 Quick Items.

 

RE: Ring of Greater Regeneration and Passive Healing

This character has basically 0 passive healing ability. One thing I could do is craft Scrolls of Moonwell and see how they do, they also provide +10 defenses. Now I do see this is a minor issue, I could stack Whiteleaf , with a Ring of Regen, and Moonwell, but then we would be missing out on that bloodied start Streetfighter is known for. This character will be using Abraham as a pet so per kill will regain some health back. I've also been trying out different armor sets. I keep going back to Dethros Cage, DoC and Blackened Plate. This character is very fast and doesn't seem to hindered when using heavy armor.

 

RE: Armor Rating

This character has an armor rating of 12-14 (not including Mythic upgrades). As mentioned above I've considered 3 armor sets for this build. Other options include The Bloody Links (Crimson Steel +2AR when bloodied), Nomad's Brigandine (Tactical Withdraw), Reckless Brigandine (Into the Breach), Patinated Plate (Constant Rebound, Bronze Juggernaut). So many options and i'm not entirely sure which is the way to go...

 

RE: Solo SSS

So technically I've only done the initial testing as mentioned at the beginning with this build. My last build I only completed the main game on PoTD. So the idea of this character is to beat all the DLCs. This build is VERY fast at attacking, and when you use your Avenging Storms (which I think should be done sparingly) you tend to crush your enemies.

Re deflection: That's a fair point; that is pretty low deflection. The cloak of the falling star might help mitigate the number of times you get critted (which will make them go through your armor like butter), but deflection does have increasing returns, so it's not as nearly as helpful when you start low. So maybe Giftbearer's is better for this build, as you say.

 

Re regeneration and AR: Yeah, I'm curious to see what ends up working for you here. Bloody Links and Reckless Brigandine are great for Streetfighters, but you'll probably also want some pierce-resistant armor for some fights (probably some form of plate). Or maybe you'll be able to kill things fast enough to survive with low AR? (I'd be a little worried about having a low AR, because your deflection is so low. But who knows!) Also curious to see how much of a difference you notice with high AR set-ups with and without regeneration.

 

I think the SSS fights are actually nice tests for all of this. They made me get really creative with equipment and tactics in a way that earlier fights had not. So it'll be a good testing ground for various ways of running this build: high AR vs low AR, regeneration vs defense-boosting, and so on. I'm curious to hear what ends up working best!

RE: SSS

I'm hoping to create a character that can smash through it with reckless abandon. But I don't know, I have so many questions. I think I've sorted out the stats and most of the gear. Sill not sure about Entonia Signet Right and Devil of Caroc vs. Bloodly Links. Otherwise I think I'm set... On the skill side of things I'm just between Slippery Mind and Blade Turning. I still have a bunch of questions I'm hoping to get answers on but if not, I think I could post this build soonish.

 

********************************

********************************

 

SO I did a little test. Since we are talking about Deflection/Regeneration. A side by side fight on my character test (Phase 1: 1v1 Ukaizo, Phase 2: 1v5 Ancient Fampyrs).

 

Devoted/Nalpazca

 

Phase 1: Devoted preformed strongly at the beginning of the fight during Ukaizos first stage, lost 0 health, used one Avenging Storm (from helm). Fighter passive and active abilities are amazing, all stats are over 100 defensively reflex in the low 180s, fortitude and will in the high 160s. During stage 2 Ukiazo deals some huge damage, went through 8 healing scrolls and 5 Avenging Storms, almost died several times. Ran out of active abilities on the devoted side, had to empower to continue fighting, probably would have died otherwise. Battle was around 4 minutes.

 

Phase 2: Devoted preformed strongly again despite a full surround. Was very survivable through the entire fight, 3 healing scrolls used 1 avenging storm used. Active abilities ran out fast had to refresh a bunch of times, no empower needed. Battle was around 1 minute.

 

Attributes:

MIG: 16 >> 20 (BB, GoTM) >> 25 (Thunderous Blows)

CON: 6 >> 10 (BB, Gear)

DEX: 16 >> 20 (BB, Gear) >> 25 (Lightning Strikes)

PER: 18 >> 22 (BB, Effigy, Cauldron Brew)

INT: 15 >> 20 (BB, Gear) >> 30 (Max Wounds)

RES: 7 >> 10 (BB, Gear)

 

Abilities:

Level 1: Swift Strikes & Disciplined Strikes

Level 2: Lesser Wounds

Level 3: Fast Runner

Level 4: Two Weapon Style & Fighter Stances

Level 5: Determination

Level 6: Confident Aim

Level 7: Lightning Strikes & Disciplined Strikes

Level 8: Rapid Recovery

Level 9: Blade Turning

Level 10: Duality of Mortal Presence & Vigorous Defense

Level 11: Thunderous Blows

Level 12: Crucible of Suffering

Level 13: Rooting Pain & Conqueror Stance

Level 14: Enervating Blows

Level 15: Armored Grace

Level 16: Turning Wheel & Refreshing Defense

Level 17: Body Control

Level 18: Unstoppable

Level 19: Heartbeat Drumming & Bear's Fortitude

Level 20: Bull's Will

 

PREBUFFED

 

Damage:

MH: 25-34

OF: 25-34

 

Accuracy:

MH: 113

OH: 113

 

Penetration:

MH: 13

OH:13

 

Deflection: 83 >> 84 (w/ Gear)

Fortitude: 101 >> 122 (w/ Gear)

Reflex: 119 >> 138 (w/ Gear)

Will: 99 >> 122 (w/ Gear)

 

VS.

 

Streetfighter/Nalpazca

 

Phase 1: Streetfighter opens with a full attack due to Debilitating Strike, followed up with Avenging Storm from helm, immediately notice a huge difference in speed between the two characters. DoC armor heals through stage 1 Ukaizo damage. Stat-wise we are looking much lower on all fronts, deflection gets to the mid 80s, fortitude, reflex and will get their little boost from Entonia but other than that stay about the same. During stage 2 I was able to kill Ukaizo before his 3rd head attached, streetfighter is amazingly fast, heals have to be timed before you reach 50% health or you will die. Went through 3 healing scrolls and 3 Avenging Storms. Had plenty of active abilities at the end of the fight, no need to empower. Battle was around 2 minutes or less (it seemed so fast).

 

Phase 2: Got fully surrounded again, almost died. Felt very squishy compared to Devoted. Survived by spamming Debilitating strike followed by Devastating Blow. Pace of the fight is fast and frantic, I feel like a single wrong move could get you killed FAST. 1 (maybe 2? it was so fast) healing scrolls used 1 avenging storm used. Battle was around 1 minute (probably faster).

 

Attributes:

MIG: 16 >> 20 (BB, GoTM) >> 25 (Thunderous Blows)

CON: 6 >> 10 (BB, Gear)

DEX: 16 >> 20 (BB, Gear) >> 25 (Lightning Strikes)

PER: 18 >> 22 (BB, Effigy, Cauldron Brew)

INT: 15 >> 20 (BB, Gear) >> 30 (Max Wounds)

RES: 7 >> 10 (BB, Gear)

 

Abilities:

Level 1: Swift Strikes & Crippling Strike

Level 2: Lesser Wounds

Level 3: Defensive Roll

Level 4: Two Weapon Style & Dirty Fighting

Level 5: Escape

Level 6: Fast Runner

Level 7: Lightning Strikes & Riposte

Level 8: Debilitating Strike

Level 9: Finishing Blow

Level 10: Duality of Mortal Presence & Persistent Distraction

Level 11: Thunderous Blows

Level 12: Crucible of Suffering

Level 13: Rooting Pain & Deep Wounds

Level 14: Enervating Blows

Level 15: Uncanny Luck

Level 16: Turning Wheel & Devastating Blow

Level 17: Blade Turning

Level 18: Bull’s Will

Level 19: Heartbeat Drumming & Deathblows

Level 20: Bear's Fortitude

 

PREBUFFED

 

Damage:

MH: 25-34

OF: 25-34

 

Accuracy:

MH: 103

OH: 103

 

Penetration:

MH: 11

OH:11

 

Deflection: 76 >> 77 (w/ Gear)

Fortitude: 98 >> 119 (w/ Gear)

Reflex: 124 >> 143 (w/ Gear)

Will: 101 >> 124 (w/ Gear)

 

VS.

 

Goldpact/Nalpazca [COMING SOON]

Edited October 18, 2018 by diamondsforever

[diamondsforever]

As promised above.

 

Goldpact/Nalpazca

 

Phase 1: Goldpact (my favorite of the paladin subclasses), what can I say about this. First stage of the fight really tanky, Ukaizo did not break my Gilded Enmity, FoD plus lighting strikes equals cool. Attack rate is slow, trade off for being tanky I'd say. Blade Turning... its super effective! Stat-wise, obviously very tanky all around. Consumable usage is middle of the road between Devoted and Streetfighter (1 healing scroll, 5 avenging storms plus 1 from the helm). Stage two I was able to mostly stay at full health. DPS-wise I could not burn him nearly as fast as Streetfighter probably on par with the Devoted but more survivable. Battle lasted around 5 minutes.

 

Phase 2: Goldpact... in a surprising turn of events, could not win this encounter easily. Actually it died and used more resources than both Devoted and Streetfighter in this battle. I'm actually shocked... Battle lasted 5 minutes, and the only reason it lasted that long is because the Fampyrs decided to go on a killing spree around Port Maje, oh and I kept getting dominated, so thats a thing...

 

Attributes:
MIG: 16 >> 20 (BB, GoTM) >> 25 (Thunderous Blows)
CON: 6 >> 10 (BB, Gear)
DEX: 16 >> 20 (BB, Gear) >> 25 (Lightning Strikes)
PER: 18 >> 22 (BB, Effigy, Cauldron Brew)
INT: 15 >> 20 (BB, Gear) >> 30 (Max Wounds)
RES: 7 >> 10 (BB, Gear)

Abilities:
Level 1: Swift Strikes & Flames of Devotion
Level 2: Lesser Wounds
Level 3: Deep Faith
Level 4: Two Weapon Style & Retribution
Level 5: Zealous Aura
Level 6: Divine Purpose
Level 7: Lightning Strikes & Sworn Rival
Level 8: Eternal Devotion
Level 9: Lay on Hands
Level 10: Duality of Mortal Presence & Exalted Focus (could have done endurance but I wanted the accuracy)
Level 11: Thunderous Blows
Level 12: Crucible of Suffering
Level 13: Rooting Pain & Practiced Healer
Level 14: Enervating Blows
Level 15: Greater Lay on Hands
Level 16: Turning Wheel & Virtuous Triumph
Level 17: Uncanny Luck
Level 18: Flagellant's Path
Level 19: Heartbeat Drumming & Stoic Steel
Level 20: Blade Turning

PREBUFFED

Damage:
MH: 25-34
OF: 25-34

Accuracy:
MH: 108
OH: 108

Penetration:
MH: 11
OH:11

Deflection: 88 >> 89 (w/ Gear)
Fortitude: 105 >> 126 (w/ Gear)
Reflex: 129 >> 148 (w/ Gear)
Will: 106 >> 129 (w/ Gear)

Edited October 18, 2018 by diamondsforever

[diamondsforever]

Could someone answer the following questions for me:

 

1. Fast Runner or Long Stride?

 

2. Lightning Strikes or Swift Flurry?

 

3. Eliminating Blow or Devastating Blow?

 

4. Escape or Flagellant's Path?

 

5. Slippery Mind or Blade Turning?

 

6. Arcana, technically I only need 13 points for Scroll of Avenging Storm, is there a reason to pump it to 15 or would my points be better into Mechanical (I think I'll max out around 14 or 15 Mechanical with Thief's Putty and Burglar's Gloves)?

 

7. DoC or Bloody Links or something else?

 

8. Entonia Signet Ring or Voidward or Greater Ring of Regeneration or something else?

[Boeroer]

I have another question: why Debilitating Strikes? It takes away Power Levels (5% base dmg per power lvl) and with Persistent Distraction you can immediately unlock Deathblows. Crippling Strikes seems to be the better variant: more PL and thus more base dmg, one spared ability point. What am I missing?

[diamondsforever]

I have another question: why Debilitating Strikes? It takes away Power Levels (5% base dmg per power lvl) and with Persistent Distraction you can immediately unlock Deathblows. Crippling Strikes seems to be the better variant: more PL and thus more base dmg, one spared ability point. What am I missing?

You are a god send. I think I’ve made a mistake. This means I can take both slippery mind and blade turning. I’ll give it a quick DPS test in the morn.

 

See any other mistakes?

 

Thanks Boeroer

Edited October 20, 2018 by diamondsforever

[Boeroer]

I didn't know it was a mistake. Just wondered if I missed some hidden bonus (never used Debilitating Strikes myself ).

Concerning your other questions:

- Long Stride makes you faster. And +5 to deflection on disengagment is laughable anyways. If you like to leave engagement often better use items that allow for it (Shattered Vengeance or Nomad's Brigandine or something else that makes you immune to disengagement attacks - only those two came to my mind). Of yourse both abilites stack, so...

- Lightning Strikes is better vs. high defense enemies (if your ACC isn't absurdly high like with a ranger/monk). Swift Flurry can be pretty awesome against low defense enemies - but on the other hand: those die pretty quickly anyway, so I would put my point into Lightning Strikes I think.

- If you use Finishing Blow at all (I think it's overrated because usually you can deal more damage per guile point with Crippling Strike) I would take Devastating Blow to see more benefit against enemies that are not already near death. All in all I would skip it entirely I think.

- Escape or Flagellanth's Path: I would take both (but I really like mobility). Flagellanth's Path is competing with Stunning Surge (and is kind of expensive with 2 Mortification) but it also adds a Full Attack which is very nice. The biggest difference is: with Escape you can go wherever you want while wioth Flagellanth's Path you need to target an enemy. And usually you will land in front of the enemy, not behind it. So, for freedom of positioning Escape is def. better. And it's cheap and has no recovery (FPath has). If you'd use guns (pistols, blunderbusses, mortars) I would totally recommend FPath (it omits reloading entirely - great tool for a ranged monk with dual guns, esp. mortars).

- Usually it's the physical dmg that ends you, not the affliction. So I would take Blade Turning. Both is nice though.

- Always DoC's Breastplate because it gives you +2 Guile and +2 Mortification (which can be further buffed by Mortification Bindings). That way you can use Stunning Surge and Flagellant's Path and Lightning Strikes more often. Bloody Links is rather meh in my experience. I really like Nomad's Brigandine with Boots of Speed (+ Long Stride + Fast Runner eventually) because dps goes up if it only takes a fraction of a second to reach the next target while not getting punished for running around. Of course "stationary" dps is lower because of the longer recovery. But eh... depends what's more fun for you I guess. I have no problem with longer recovery but higher AR. All in all I would geuss that DoC's Breastplate is one of the best options.

- Entonia Signet is awesome - but only against enemies that engage you(!). It's not based on enemy you engage. So against beasts etc. that do no engage it's entirely useless while it's great against melee wilders and kiths and so on. I personally would use the Ring of Poverty (I guess you will not have a lot of money on a solo run if you upgrade your ship and your gear all the time while also using consumables in every fight). Ring of Greater Regeneration is nice I guess. Rings of Minor Protection stack... What is Voidward supposed to be for? I mean in your build? I can't see any raw damage.

This is all subjective and I don't do a lot of complete solo runs (only partially to test out viability of certain builds), so others may know better.

 

Edit: oh, that was the CLoak of Poverty. The Ring is the other way round. Sorry. So... if you can hoard a lot of money...

Edited October 20, 2018 by Boeroer

[diamondsforever]

I didn't know it was a mistake. Just wondered if I missed some hidden bonus (never used Debilitating Strikes myself ).

 

Concerning your other questions:

 

- Long Stride makes you faster. And +5 to deflection on disengagment is laughable anyways. If you like to leave engagement often better use items that allow for it (Shattered Vengeance or Nomad's Brigandine or something else that makes you immune to disengagement attacks - only those two came to my mind). Of yourse both abilites stack, so...

 

- Lightning Strikes is better vs. high defense enemies (if your ACC isn't absurdly high like with a ranger/monk). Swift Flurry can be pretty awesome against low defense enemies - but on the other hand: those die pretty quickly anyway, so I would put my point into Lightning Strikes I think.

 

- If you use Finishing Blow at all (I think it's overrated because usually you can deal more damage per guile point with Crippling Strike) I would take Devastating Blow to see more benefit against enemies that are not already near death. All in all I would skip it entirely I think.

 

- Escape or Flagellanth's Path: I would take both (but I really like mobility). Flagellanth's Path is competing with Stunning Surge (and is kind of expensive with 2 Mortification) but it also adds a Full Attack which is very nice. The biggest difference is: with Escape you can go wherever you want while wioth Flagellanth's Path you need to target an enemy. And usually you will land in front of the enemy, not behind it. So, for freedom of positioning Escape is def. better. And it's cheap and has no recovery (FPath has). If you'd use guns (pistols, blunderbusses, mortars) I would totally recommend FPath (it omits reloading entirely - great tool for a ranged monk with dual guns, esp. mortars).

 

- Usually it's the physical dmg that ends you, not the affliction. So I would take Blade Turning. Both is nice though.

 

- Always DoC's Breastplate because it gives you +2 Guile and +2 Mortification (which can be further buffed by Mortification Bindings). That way you can use Stunning Surge and Flagellant's Path and Lightning Strikes more often. Bloody Links is rather meh in my experience. I really like Nomad's Brigandine with Boots of Speed (+ Long Stride + Fast Runner eventually) because dps goes up if it only takes a fraction of a second to reach the next target while not getting punished for running around. Of course "stationary" dps is lower because of the longer recovery. But eh... depends what's more fun for you I guess. I have no problem with longer recovery but higher AR. All in all I would geuss that DoC's Breastplate is one of the best options.

 

- Entonia Signet is awesome - but only against enemies that engage you(!). It's not based on enemy you engage. So against beasts etc. that do no engage it's entirely useless while it's great against melee wilders and kiths and so on. I personally would use the Ring of Poverty (I guess you will not have a lot of money on a solo run if you upgrade your ship and your gear all the time while also using consumables in every fight). Ring of Greater Regeneration is nice I guess. Rings of Minor Protection stack... What is Voidward supposed to be for? I mean in your build? I can't see any raw damage.

 

This is all subjective and I don't do a lot of complete solo runs (only partially to test out viability of certain builds), so others may know better.

 

Edit: oh, that was the CLoak of Poverty. The Ring is the other way round. Sorry. So... if you can hoard a lot of money...

 

Firstly, thank you for taking time to answer my questions. This really helps

 

RE Fast Runner VS. Long Stride - I was wondering if they stack. But I never got around to testing. I'm not certain I have room for both unless I don't take Finishing Blow/Devastating Blow. But then... I see lower you mention Stunning Surge, and this is certainly more tempting, I'll test it out.

 

RE Eliminating Blow or Devastating Blow - Its one of those skill they you only use when the enemy has 1/4 life left and you need to finish off fast. I picked Devastating Blow because of that. However, as mentioned above, maybe its better to go Stunning Surge?... Then again, resource wise we would be using a lot of monks every fight.

 

RE Escape or Flagellant's Path - I had thought to carry pistols as a back up but this build isn't really designed for ranged play. Escape + Long Stride should get me to those casters in the back

 

RE Slippery Mind or Blade Turning - Both are in

 

RE DoC or Bloody Links or something else - Yea this build isn't about super high AR (like my last one). Its more a fast and furious playstyle, so I completely agree about DoC. Most likely I wouldn't be breaking engagement since I want to stay flanked for Streetfighter bonus'.

 

RE Entonia Signet Ring or Voidward or Greater Ring of Regeneration or something else - I guess Voidward was for enemies who do raw damage against us... but to be honest I just really don't know. I was leaning toward Ring of Greater Regeneration since there is basically no passive healing in the build outside of DoC and Abraham.

 

Question: Is uncanny luck worth it? or would it be better to take Fast Runner?

Edited October 20, 2018 by diamondsforever

[Boeroer]

Uncanny Luck is not worth an ability point in my opinion.

 

Since conversions don't stack additively it adds very little if you already have a source of crit conversion (like Dirty Fighting).

 

In case of Dirty Fighting + Uncanny Luck Uncanny Luck adds 4.5 % (not 5%) - and if you get more crit conversion from elsewhere its impact drops even further. Then keep in mind the higher (above average) your ACC is the smaller your need for conversions anyway. If 1/2 of your attacks are hits and from those hits 4.5% will be converted to crits and crits do +125% dmg in best case scenarios when you are Heated Up then you'll get an overall additve dmg bonus of under 3% (if my rough out-of-my-head estimation isn't totally off). However - it's not that great an increase for 1 ability point. Compare with Deep Wounds or Persisant Distraction or Enervating Blows...

 

And the better part (the 5% resistance) is also quite neglectible. But maybe someone else will present some solid math that this is not the case and that UNcanny Luck is awesome. Until then I'll stay away from it.

 

What about Soul Mirror? I know your deflection isn't high but you already took Riposte and weak enemies that get hit by debuffs can miss nevertheless. With Escape you can boost your deflection by +50 at the start of the fight - that's when all the gunshots to your face will happen. I didn't try it out but I guess this could lead to some nice refelctions right at the start of battle?

[Archaven]

What is enervating blows good for? It's only for chance of weakness upon crit right? I don't pick that seems that i'm missing something?

[diamondsforever]

What is enervating blows good for? It's only for chance of weakness upon crit right? I don't pick that seems that i'm missing something?

Persistent Distraction + Enervating Blows = Deathblows Proc

 

Crippling Strike is there to pretty much gaurentee a Deathblows Proc.

[Boeroer]

Yes, weakening your opponent means -10 Fortitude (Force of Anguish and other abilies target Fortitude) and also -25% health. That can be quite the loss of HP - more than you can get with a normal attack in most cases. And as a bonus the enemy can't heal. It's downright awesome to have that as a passive ability in my opinion.

[Boeroer]

 

What is enervating blows good for? It's only for chance of weakness upon crit right? I don't pick that seems that i'm missing something?

Persistent Distraction + Enervating Blows = Deathblows Proc

 

Crippling Strike is there to pretty much gaurentee a Deathblows Proc.

 

Persistent Distraction already unlocks Deathblows all by itself (Distracted includes Flanked which makes two afflictions). But enemies can have resistances - and suddenly you can't trigger hobbled nor distracted and don't even get Sneak Attacks. It's always good to have an additional passive affliction appliance. I mean besides the other effects of weakened.

Edited October 20, 2018 by Boeroer

[diamondsforever]

Uncanny Luck is not worth an ability point in my opinion.

 

Since conversions don't stack additively it adds very little if you already have a source of crit conversion (like Dirty Fighting).

 

In case of Dirty Fighting + Uncanny Luck Uncanny Luck adds 4.5 % (not 5%) - and if you get more crit conversion from elsewhere its impact drops even further. Then keep in mind the higher (above average) your ACC is the smaller your need for conversions anyway. If 1/2 of your attacks are hits and from those hits 4.5% will be converted to crits and crits do +125% dmg in best case scenarios when you are Heated Up then you'll get an overall additve dmg bonus of under 3% (if my rough out-of-my-head estimation isn't totally off). However - it's not that great an increase for 1 ability point. Compare with Deep Wounds or Persisant Distraction or Enervating Blows...

 

And the better part (the 5% resistance) is also quite neglectible. But maybe someone else will present some solid math that this is not the case and that UNcanny Luck is awesome. Until then I'll stay away from it.

 

What about Soul Mirror? I know your deflection isn't high but you already took Riposte and weak enemies that get hit by debuffs can miss nevertheless. With Escape you can boost your deflection by +50 at the start of the fight - that's when all the gunshots to your face will happen. I didn't try it out but I guess this could lead to some nice refelctions right at the start of battle?

 

RE Uncanny Luck - Interesting, I'd been hoping to free up a point, and when I re-read the description it seemed like a small chance, and there certainly are better options out there.

 

I'm not certain our ACC is even higher than average. I'd say its on the lower side for melee wouldn't you? And in that case it seems  like Soul Mirror is a decent option for sure. Or Adapt Evasion, since our Reflex is on the higher side sitting at the mid 140s in resting state and jumping up to the mid 150s low 160s in battle. Thoughts?

 

 

 

 

What is enervating blows good for? It's only for chance of weakness upon crit right? I don't pick that seems that i'm missing something?

Persistent Distraction + Enervating Blows = Deathblows Proc

 

Crippling Strike is there to pretty much gaurentee a Deathblows Proc.

 

Persistent Distraction already unlocks Deathblows all by itself (Distracted includes Flanked which makes two afflictions). But enemies can have resistances - and suddenly you can't trigger hobbled nor distracted and don't even get Sneak Attacks. It's always good to have an additional passive affliction appliance. I mean besides the other effects of weakened.

 

 

Really!? I didn't know that. That's awesome. But I do like having the back up then as you've said, just to make sure we can proc. Deathblows

[Boeroer]

Adept Evasion is nice. I also like Accurate Empower.

[diamondsforever]

Adept Evasion is nice. I also like Accurate Empower.

Well I'm offically torn between Soul Mirror, Adept Evasion and Fast Runner for a replacement for Uncanny Luck

[whimper]

Soul Mirror is pretty great on solo runs, for the same reason that Riposte is pretty great on solo runs. Hard to pass up, even with a relatively low deflection build, I think.

 

I’m inclined to think Adept Evasion is in second place, though also very good. Might be worth switching something out for.

 

I’m inclined to think Fast Runner is a distant third, compared to those two.

[diamondsforever]

Soul Mirror is pretty great on solo runs, for the same reason that Riposte is pretty great on solo runs. Hard to pass up, even with a relatively low deflection build, I think.

 

I’m inclined to think Adept Evasion is in second place, though also very good. Might be worth switching something out for.

 

I’m inclined to think Fast Runner is a distant third, compared to those two.

Soul Mirror it is

 

With escape our deflecting jumps to the high 120s low 130s for around 6 seconds. Not bad

[diamondsforever]

Just wanted to give an update to this build (for those interested). I'm mostly complete a play-through of the base game (heading into DLC soon). Looks like this build is good to solo anything from Nemnok to Fampyrs Crypt to all ship battles to Outcast Respite to Flooded Cave. I've had an attempt (all be it unprepared) at Mega Bosses, I'm not certain I will be able to beat them. If it is between the spider or blob, I'd probably have a better chance with the blob. I had it at 50% at level 15.

 

I can't help but feel that melee builds in this game are outclassed by their arcane counterparts. I'm most disappointed in the Mega Bosses, where a wizard would be able to destroy them, a Melee class is left attacking with a pillow.

 

Some fights are touch and go, and you HAVE to make sure you've taken them drugs before you start. All in all, I use avenging storm from Heaven's Canopy fairly rarely as it isn't needed 90% of the time. u/ Boeroer was correct Finishing Blow/Devastating Blow, are pretty much not need in this build. Crippling strike does the majority of your damage in almost any encounter. Its an absolutely amazing ability. So there are 2 free skill points for whatever.

 

Soul mirror turned out to be the balls. Reflecting a huge amount of ranged attacks in almost any encounter.

 

Escape has been the number 1 ability I tend to use. Its what gets you to those back line DD, which tend to be pretty squishy. Most front-liners cannot toe to toe this build. So making sure the passive damage from the back line is gone pretty much secures you every battle.

 

Depending on the boss you are fighting its almost easier to take out all the adds first and kite the boss, while DoC heals you.

 

Other fights like the Lich from Flooded Cave, require you focus the boss first.

Edited November 1, 2018 by diamondsforever

[Hulk'O'Saurus]

 

I can't help but feel that melee builds in this game are outclassed by their arcane counterparts. I'm most disappointed in the Mega Bosses, where a wizard would be able to destroy them, a Melee class is left attacking with a pillow.

 

 

You mean Chanters outclass everything else?

[diamondsforever]

 

 

I can't help but feel that melee builds in this game are outclassed by their arcane counterparts. I'm most disappointed in the Mega Bosses, where a wizard would be able to destroy them, a Melee class is left attacking with a pillow.

 

 

You mean Chanters outclass everything else?

 

Something like that yes