The Pillars of Eternity No Reload Challenge

[semiticgod]

@Alesia_BH: Since I neglected to mention it earlier, I'd love to hear more about your cipher. Also, how do you get custom portraits in PoE?

[Alesia_BH]

On portraits.

 

210 x 330 NAME_lg.png

76 x 96 NAME_sm.png

 

Deposit them in Pillars of Eternity\PillarsOfEternity_Data\data\art\gui\portraits\player

 

You'll see a male folder and a female folder. Choose accordingly.

 

I use OSX's Photo app to format pictures I find online.

 

On Alyssa.

 

She's at L13 and pretty badass. I've equipped her with Eldardh Dwr, Rain, and the Sword of Daenysis, all durganized. Wearing the Gauntlets of Swift Action, and under DAOM, she can wield both of her weapons at 0 recovery, despite wearing a breastplate. Her casting recovery is but a 5% armor penalty away from zero. I feel that's worth it, given that the best zero recovery option, scale, is weak against piercing- less than ideal for a ranged fighter.

 

She's started dabbling in melee and she's pretty good at it. She wields her sword one handed style which, with zero recovery, can be better than dual wielding, especially with Merciless Hand + Dungeon Delver + Azalin's. She maximizes her focus generation with Burning Lash + Aefyllath Ues Mith Fyr (chanter phrase) + Scion of Flame. Due to the +12 ACC from one handed style, she crits constantly for ~40-50 damage each. Her complete attack cycle is ~14 frames. For comparison (using a weapon you're familiar with) an Engwithan Scepter attack while wearing clothes takes ~47 frames. So, she's fast and she hits pretty hard, though less so against high DR (melee isn't her forte; I've added it for goofy fun; for a dedicated melee cipher I'd prefer a heavier weapon).

 

She's great with her bow. Her crits with Rain reach the low 100s. Her attack cycle with Rain is ~35 frames.

 

I'll have more to say later.

Edited December 20, 2018 by Alesia_BH

[Alesia_BH]

 

We had trouble with the Skaen temple cultists, though. Those Mind Breakers and rogues are very difficult to handle; the firearms come out fast and the disablers really screw with the party's functioning, while the rogues apply consistent pressure. I don't know of a solid way to neutralize the key threats besides Slicken; other options don't always reach everyone, and attacking Will defenses provokes a stunning backlash from the enemy Mind Breakers, which can get really inconvenient. The rogues even use Finishing Blow, which just makes it even easier to suffer rapid knockouts.

 

I think the answer might just be to spam Slicken (honestly, it might even be worth it just to create a new custom mage so you cast it more often) and be generous with resting so you can always keep the enemy on their backs.

 

 

The best method I've found is Chill Fog on the mindbreakers, Whispers of Treason on the priests and focus fire on the melee threats. 

 

If you charm the priests, they'll buff your party, instead of theirs, which is a huge boon. It also takes Despondent Blows and the Holy Pillars out of play. Use the Arret to minimize focus bottlenecks.

 

The mindbreakers aren't much trouble once they're blind. 

 

Best,

 

A.

Edited December 20, 2018 by Alesia_BH

[FNGRenegade]

I've actually started a little bit of a side project in a TCS run, I already tried this before with a retaliation monk build based on the Anvil and Monklasher builds here on the forums. I've however thought of a couple more tweaks and am rushing the Soulbound belt since that will give me flame shield on crits which makes the early game a lot easier and quicker while your Fire Godlike retaliation still does very little damage.

 

The downside is it depends on tanking and especially early game this is very dangerous as a unlucky crit can end your run, I'm currently on the 4th run with 1 ending on a crit by the sporeling in the compass cave and two by crits on Divine Mark by the Xaurips at the compass. On the other hand this does make for a high heartrate playthrough. I'm now looking to head towards Maerwald. Once I pass this into defiance bay I'll report with some screenshots (I am logging the run but since this will most likely take quite some restarts I'll wait till I have sufficient progress).

 

It is a min-max type run though so don't except much RP reason for things it will mostly be min-max and semi cheesy things like the plate from the backer, random loot manipulation and min maxxed items and stats but otherwise I don't really see this happening.

 

Mira's adventure will continue as well, today is my last day of work before the Christmas holidays so I hope to get a little more time for the playing and reporting.

Edited December 20, 2018 by FNGRenegade

[Alesia_BH]

Arya, Moon-Godlike Priest: Entry 4, Raedric Hold

 

To quote a late 20th century luminary "Oops. I did it again."

 

Ok. Britney Spears is not a luminary, any more than I am a player who learns her lessons. I know by now that L6 is far too late for Raedric Hold, and yet I find myself doing it at L6 over and over again. It has become routine: a routine I'd like to break.

 

I actually considered fighting Raedric at L4 this time, before Caed Nua. We entered the Hold. I was committed. But then we ran into the high priest, and Aloth made some remark about us getting lucky and suddenly I lost my nerve. We left, sold our Berath robes, and never looked back- not until L6, that is.

 

Since we sold our robes, we had to do this the bloody way, upon return. No matter. I kind of enjoy storming the sanctuary, although it does make Nedmar seem a little ridiculous. I mean, you arrive in his office, bathed in the blood of his acolytes, colleagues, peers and protectors, and he's all: "Yeah, sure. I'll help you, but only if you free one of my acolytes. I hate to see them suffer." It's a little odd.

 

Anyhoo. I fought this battle a bit differently this time, in part because I was testing a method for a L4 assault in my next run, but also because I'm in the process of shifting my approach to kith battles. I've alway followed the buff-self-first formula and I've met with some success with that approach. I recognize now, however, that variations on that theme can make sense. The BG player in me wants to pre-buff, and pre-buff well, layering on oodles of spells before combat truly begins. But if you spend too much time buffing in PoE that grants enemies an opportunity to land early disablers. That's a problem.

 

So, what I've started doing instead is: Arya, Inspiring Radiance (quick ACC buff); Aloth, Arcane Veil (instacast)->Slicken (on enemy casters) and then buff. I like this. It grants more time to buff, not less. It works. Importantly, those exact spells would also work at L4.

 

Here's our opening. Pallegina, Scroll of Defense; Kana, wood beetles; Arya, Holy Radiance; Aloth, Arcane Veil. 

 

 

 

 

Now that the Holy Radiance has hit, we immediately move on to Slicken->Chill Fog from Aloth and Fan of Flames from Kana, while Arya buffs the party for melee. Blindness and Slicken both lower Reflex. Fan of Flames targets Reflex. With the scroll on the ramparts, the burned lady mushrooms that you can pick up en route to the Hold, and the spear spider leg from Cilant Lis, you can have at least 3 Fan of Flames scrolls heading into this fight. That, I suspect, is part of the formula for a L4 win.

 

 

 

 

Just clean up with targeted spells now. Hooray!

 

 

 

 

Next time, I'll really, truly try it at L4. Unless Aloth scares me again, that is. Then I might get all Britney.

 

Best,

 

A.

Edited December 20, 2018 by Alesia_BH

[FNGRenegade]

I've taken to this approach in Mira's run as well, Slicken is an amazing spell and will ussually give enough time to get up some basic protections and/or summons and even some time to get into position. Also a good note for readric is, if you sneak in and talk to both the roaming priest and paladin (saying things like your new here or your having some fun with one of the acolytes). If you return later without robes they are still friendly, it is dependant on the two conversations though.

[Alesia_BH]

I've taken to this approach in Mira's run as well, Slicken is an amazing spell and will ussually give enough time to get up some basic protections and/or summons and even some time to get into position

 

 

It's better, I think. Slicken is a perfect opener. Serg's use of Slicken is what nudged me in that direction.

 

Also a good note for readric is, if you sneak in and talk to both the roaming priest and paladin (saying things like your new here or your having some fun with one of the acolytes). If you return later without robes they are still friendly, it is dependant on the two conversations though.

 

 

Interesting. I doubt I'll take that approach, but it's good to know. Thanks!

 

In this case, we hadn't had the second conversation, so that wasn't an option. That was okay, though. We were light on coppers. We wanted the loot. It was good to have an excuse.

 

Best,

 

A.

Edited December 20, 2018 by Alesia_BH

[semiticgod]

I used to pass on Slicken because of its short duration (it seemed like a weaker version of BG's Grease spell), but so many enemies have poor Reflex saves that the spell can be chain-cast to reliably lock down groups of enemies for several rounds, allowing the player to establish a strong foothold early on. The really weird thing is that Slicken works on so many different enemies, even certain floating enemies like most Spirits and legless critters like Spores.

 

@Alesia_BH: Sounds like White March and level 11+ abilities offer a lot of new options on expanding damage output. On a related note: does the late-game cipher ability Mindweb really grant the whole party access to the strongest Defense of each party member? Because it sounds like you could grant an entire party +75 Deflection from a single mage's Arcane Veil, and even the other defenses would gain huge bonuses.

[Alesia_BH]

 

@Alesia_BH: Sounds like White March and level 11+ abilities offer a lot of new options on expanding damage output. 

 

 

Game play wise, White March is to PoE as ToB is to SoA. It's an expansion that adds radically powerful items and abilities that fundamentally change the nature of combat.

 

 

Mindweb really grant the whole party access to the strongest Defense of each party member? Because it sounds like you could grant an entire party +75 Deflection from a single mage's Arcane Veil, and even the other defenses would gain huge bonuses.

 

That's what the description would suggest. I haven't tried it yet. It isn't available until L15. I've never gone past L13.

 

Do you intend to do everything in your current run, including the dragons and high level wizards?

 

(I should do the dragons and such with Alyssa. I just hate the idea of entering a battle knowing that I'll probably have to reload. I can't bring myself to do it.)

 

Best,

 

A.

Edited December 20, 2018 by Alesia_BH

[semiticgod]

My current with-reloads run will involve tackling the Sky Dragon, White March, and all of Od Nua, as well as whatever optional side quests I know of, like the Drakes at Searing Falls. I don't plan on hunting down every tiny quest (that would require research on my part), but I'll be going after all the big fights I can find. This is a research/experimentation run.

 

I've also considered trying my hand at another no-reload poverty run, with another priest or wizard replacing one or both of our druids. I have a better handle on wizards and priests, and I think I'll just craft a party of Moon Godlikes for Silver Tide stacking to ameliorate the low Damage Reduction problem.

[Alesia_BH]

Arya, Moon-Godlike Priest: Entry 5, Defiance Bay, Part 2

 

Let's move on, shall we? Defiance Bay, part 2! 

 

This post will cover Undying Heritage, Missing Sentries, The Final Act and The Wailing Banshee. It will also include the first installment of a game that I've decided to call "Dude That's Totally." As in: The Sanitarium. "Dude, that's totally Spellhold!"

 

As I said many moons ago, virtually everything in PoE has (to my addled mind) an analog in BG. We'll play with that in upcoming updates.  I'll share a screen shot of a character or an area or a situation, and you'll all guess who the analog is in the Baldur's Gate world. Could be fun!

 

Example Ambush

 

To the combat. When we returned to Defiance Bay, we were greeted by assassin. We have these 100% down now. I'll post one and only one: this one.

 

Since I'm using Auto-Pause: Enemy Sighted, we can easily see our foes and scout for positioning before initiating combat. In this case we chose the stairs.

 

 

 

 

We put beetles down directly in front of us and then let Aloth fight the air war, leading with Slicken. Arya preps Eder, Kana and Pallegina for melee.

 

 

 

 

By the time the beetles vanish, the casters are down and we're ready to hand out some beets. Easy, peezy.

 

 

 

 

Undying Heritage

 

I was a little nervous heading into this. None of the fights in Undying Heritage pose a run ending threat, at least not to a party. There is, however, non-zero knockout risk, due to the skeleton wizards and dargul paralyzation. So far, Arya's crew is knockout free. I'd  like to keep it that way, at least for a while. Alyssa's team was also knockout free at the start of Undying Heritage. They weren't by the end. In retrospect, it was entirely avoidable. I had done something foolish. We sent Alora, wearing scale, to get us started with an opening high damage arbalest shot. That, of course, led the skeleton wizards to target her in return with Bounding Missiles. Scale is weak against piercing. Predictably, Alora was dropped immediately, in the opening salvo. As I said, foolish.

 

Not wanting to repeat that mistake, our two most vulnerable party members, Arya and Sagani, were equipped in a breastplate and pierce proofed hide, respectively. We then had Eder trigger the encounter, wearing plate and a blunting belt. That makes way more sense. We absorbed the opening salvo, with very little damage, and then dropped the wizards before they could pose a threat. Better.

 

 

 

 

The remaining minor outdoors fights were completed with per encounter abilities, notably At the Sound of HIs Voice

 

 

 

 

Ok! Time for the main attractions. We kicked butt here. Virtually no damage. We fought from the top of the ramp. We used scrolls so we could buff quickly.

 

 

 

 

We then sent Arya to the ledge above the ramp. That left her positioned to drop Holy Pillars on distant casters. Aloth took care of the rest with Slicken->Chill Fog->Fireballs.

 

 

 

 

Cleanup phase.

 

 

 

 

Onto the tower. Now low on spells, we used Fan of Flames scrolls here. Fan of Flames is a good spell for backlines. It's a great spell for the frontline. 

 

 

 

 

In the next encounter we sent Pallegina on a backline mage assassination mission, wielding Firebrand. This was cool. She one shoted both of the mages: the first with a 98HP crit, the second with a +100 crit. Fun!

 

 

 

 

I'll forgo coverage of floor two. We went spell light there, using Prayer Against Infirmity and little else.

 

And that, of course, ends Undying Heritage, at least from a combat perspective. As for our RP choices, we chose to stop the machine, not destroy it. That seems more fitting for a priest of Wael. And the slaves, you say? Well, writing this has reminded me that I completely forgot to free them. I'll take care of that soon!

 

Saeda was saved; the adra beetle was recovered. I debated whether we should use a Rite of Hidden Wonders here or just let Eder risks a knockout. We used the scroll. It a bummer that you can't quaff a potion before triggering a trap.

 

Missing Sentries

 

We used Circle of Protection + Scroll of Protection and the Scroll of Paralysis from the tower. We failed to paralyze Leyra this time.

 

 

 

 

That led to us being paralyzed in return. Happily, the durations were short and the beetles were in place to absorb any damage. No worries, in the end.

 

 

 

 

Leyra fell soon after, with Arya landing the final blow. The justiciars, wearing plate, were devastated by our adra beetle's Shocking Blasts. What was left of them fell quickly. No drama here at all, in the end, despite the paralytic unpleasantness. 

 

 

 

 

The Final Act

 

I continue to struggle with the movement physics of this room. Nonetheless, we prevailed without significant damage once again, largely thanks to Slicken, Chill Fog, Shocking Blast and Fireballs. Arya's buffs helped, too.

 

 

 

 

The Wailing Banshee

 

We can cover this super quick. Standard buffs + triple Fan of Flames from Aloth, Kana, and Pallegina.

 

 

 

 

Dude That's Totally, Round 1

 

And that brings us to our game! Remember, I show you a picture from PoE, and you guess the BG analog. I picked a moderately challenging one for the opener. Here it is:

 

Who are these people? What place is this?

 

 

 

 

Best,

 

A.

Edited December 20, 2018 by Alesia_BH

[Alesia_BH]

My current with-reloads run will involve tackling the Sky Dragon, White March, and all of Od Nua, as well as whatever optional side quests I know of, like the Drakes at Searing Falls. 

 

Cragholdt Bluffs? Alpine Dragon? Bounties?

 

I still haven't done Cragholdt, Od Nua 9-15, the Alpine Dragon or the White March II bounties. Alyssa's run should be the one for those, I think, since I don't intend to post on her in any case. 

 

Best,

 

A.

[Serg BlackStrider]

The Tale of Gloomy Face: Hearth Orlan, Druid - Chapter VII:  Searing Falls and Pearlwood Bluff, Defiance Bay back again.
TOC:

1. Introduction
2. Chapter I
3. Chapter II
4. Chapter III
5. Chapter IV
6. Chapter V
7. Chapter VI

 

OK, let’s make it quick.

Searing Falls:
Since most dangerous foes there are Drakes (i.e. Beasts) Druids have high power over them – Hold Beasts keep them at bay with Returning Storm to add some more control and solid damage. Prayer against Fear and Dire Blessing from Xoti doesn’t hurt either. Local Xaurips do not worth to even mention at current Crew’s level.

We followed mostly the similar approach vs Cail The Silent keeping him paralyzed/prone while dealing with his lesser goons and eventually he remained all alone (not counting a couple of Xaurip Priests behind him – but who would care about counting those anyway?).

Cail was  already at near death and I was eager to finish him quickly but neglected to cast another disabler and then … suddenly he applied his Breath and crits Eder for 164 Burn damage and Pallegina for 162 damage knocking her out of full 161 endurance pool instantly… (our second Knock Out in the run). Aloth fired some Minoletta’s Concussive Missiles and Gloomy Face finished Cail soon after but that was a little excuse for my foolishness… Hope Pallegina will forgive me eventually.

We picked Tidefall, but while it’s a great weapon I stick with Hours of St. Rumbalt for Pallegina since Tidefall is best suited for low Intellect Fighter, i.e. Eder and I prefer him as a Swashbuckler (Wounding is  fixed amount of damage applied over time and high Intellect only extends this time interval. It’s great to have high Intellect Ranger with Wounding weapon since it extends the duration for Predator’s Sense to proc but for Fighter it’s better to apply the whole damage faster). Pallegina on the other hand has high accuracy/decent Intellect (for bigger AoE of her Zealous Focus and other auras) and thus high crit-prone chance/duration of Hours.
We got a nice ring for Aloth in Pearlwood Bluffs, advanced Sagani’s personal quest and fought some monsters but nothing too dangerous.

Back in the city we got an Unforgiven for Xoti (not that she will use it much) and Spirits in Lighthouse aren’t that scary anymore. With his new ring Aloth shouldn’t be too shy to spam Fireballs and we add the Form of the Delemgan to our usual buffs for a little bit more safety. Gloomy Face donned both Jack of Wide Waters and Lilith’s Shawl for more swift and accurate action. He also hit level 9 (Mechanics 10, Spell Mastery – Tanglefoot). Eder hit level 9 too (Critical Defence) and we made some upgrades for our equipment (Crush-Proofed and +2 Intellect for Pallegina’s Hand and key, Exceptional and Corrosive Lash for Eder’s Resolution sabre, Crush-Proofed Sanguine Plate).

Our last side quest to be solved was ‘Far from Home’ and with it done (Sagani > level 9 > Takedown) we are ready to advance on main plot.
We breezed through the Catacombs on per-encounter abilities with some light buffs (Dire Blessing) (Pallegina > level 9 > Inspiring Triumph), let Eorn go with some money support (Aloth > level 9 > Call to Slumber/Llengrath’s Safeguard, Spell Mastery – Slicken), persuaded Dalton to let Rowyna’s soul rest at last and quietly infiltrated the Temple of Woedica.

To advance Aloth’s personal quest we headed to the Sanitarium and while we are there took an opportunity to solve ‘The Man Who Waits’ (Xoti > level 9 > Spell Mastery – Armor of Faith). To fight Gram and Co we occupied Uscgrim’s cell and just smash them all into the face.

 

Out of Sanitarium we got an invitation from Lady Webb which we are going to take on immediately and then Heritage Hill is on agenda.

Edited December 21, 2018 by Serg BlackStrider

[Serg BlackStrider]

Current state:

Gloomy Face - Druid (lvl 9);

Skills: Stealth:1; Athletic:3; Lore:1; Mechanics:12; Survival:6;
Talents: Veteran's Recovery>Bear's Fortitude>Superior Deflection>Body Control; Spell Mastery: Tanglefoot;
Equipment: Hermit’s Hat, Jack of Wide Waters (Slash-Proofed), Lilith’s Shawl, Ring of Deflection, Ring of Overseeing, Gloves of Manipulation, Fulvano's Boots, Massuk Hunting Bow / Hearth Harvest + Ilfan Byrngar’s Solace;

Eder - Fighter (lvl 9);
Skills: Stealth:1; Athletic:4; Lore:9; Mechanics:0; Survival:7;
Talents: Rapid Recovery>Vulnerable Attack>Superior Deflection>Two Weapon Style;
Abilities: Knock Down (auto)>Confident Aim>Disciplined Barrage>Armored Grace>Critical Defense;
Equipment: The Pilgrim's Lasting Vigil, Sanguine Plate Armor, Cloak of Many Feathers, Minor Ring of Deflection, Minor Ring of Protection, Boots of Stability, Blunting Belt, Resolution (Exceptional, Corrode Lash) + Ravenwing (Burning Lash) / Fine War bow;

Aloth - Wizard (lvl 9);
Skills: Stealth:1; Athletic:2; Lore:11; Mechanics:2; Survival:5;
Talents: Blast>Penetrating Blast>Bear's Fortitude>Weapon Focus: Noble; Spell Mastery: Slicken;
Equipment: The Dunryd Demon, Aloth's Leather Armor, Cape of Deflection, Healing Hands, Ring of the Selonan, Minor Ring of Protection, Engwithan Scepter / Measured Restraint + Fine Small Shield;
Grimoire:
Level 1 - Fan of Flames, Slicken, Chill Fog, Ghost Blades;
Level 2 - Curse of Blackened Sight, Infuse With Vital Essence, Combusting Wounds, Bulwark Against The Elements;
Level 3 - Expose Vulnerabilities, Fireball, Llengrath's Displaced Image, Arcane Dampener;
Level 4 - Essential Phantom, Confusion, Minoletta’s Concussive Missiles, Maura’s Writhing Tentacles;
Level 5 – Call to Slumber, Llengrath’s Safeguard;

Xoti - Priest of Eothas (lvl 9);
Skills: Stealth:2; Athletic:7; Lore:12; Mechanics:0; Survival:5;
Talents: Interdiction>Painful Interdiction>Weapon and Shield Style>Inspiring Radiance; Spell Mastery: Armor of Faith;
Equipment: Footpad’s Hood, Rundl’s Finery, Father’s Teeth, Fulvano's Gloves, Minor Ring of Protection, Ring of Overseeing, Boots of the Long March, Unforgiven + Fine Large Shield / Gyrd Haewanes Stenes (all soulbound upgrades are completed);

Sagani - Ranger (lvl 9);
Skills: Stealth:5; Athletic:5; Lore:7; Mechanics:0; Survival:6;
Talents: Agile Retreat (auto)>Resilient Companion>Vicious Companion>Merciless Companion>Weapon Focus: Peasant;
Abilities: Wounding Shot (auto)>Predator's Sense>Stalker's Link>Driving Flight>Takedown;
Equipment: Stag Helm, Blaidh Golan, Stalker’s Torc, Minor Bracers of Deflection, Bartender's Ring, Minor Ring of Protection, Persistence / Aattuuk + Fine Hatchet;

Pallegina - Palladin (lvl 9);
Skills: Stealth:1; Athletic:3; Lore:9; Mechanics:0; Survival:5;
Talents: Deep Faith>Veteran's Recovery>Superior Deflection>Weapon Focus: Soldier;
Abilities: Faith and Conviction (auto)>Flames of Devotion (auto)>Lay on Hands>Zealous Focus>Liberating Exhortation>Inspiring Triumph;
Equipment: Hand and Key Breastplate, Cloak of Minor Missiles, Rabbit Fur Gloves, Minor Ring of Protection, Minor Ring of Deflection, Shod-in-Faith, Belt of the Stelgaer, The Hours of St. Rumbalt / Exceptional Arbalest;

Itumaak - one of the MVP of the Crew. No doubts!

 

 

to be continued...

Edited December 21, 2018 by Serg BlackStrider

[Alesia_BH]

Great job! I love reading your posts!

 

Among other things, you've reminded me that I have a few more quests to do in Defiance Bay. 

 

Best,

 

A.

 

Btw, what level would you recommend for a blind run of Cali the Silent?

[Serg BlackStrider]

Great job! I love reading your posts!

 

Among other things, you've reminded me that I have a few more quests to do in Defiance Bay. 

 

Best,

 

A.

 

Btw, what level would you recommend for a blind run of Cali the Silent?

Thanks!

I love to follow your runs too and your current Arya's run even inspired me to roll a Grim Face, a Dwarven Priest of Eothas (we don't have much Dwarfs over here) already. He is a Boreal Dwarf with 12/10/18/10/18/10 stats and his racial bonuses of +15 accuracy vs Primordials/Wilders might compensate a bit of average Perception early on. Not sure if I'll run him immediately (in parallel with Gloomy Face) but he definitely will be my next char with the same Crew.

 

On Cail the Silent:

There is no point to rush there unless you have Mechanics (10) to pick Tidefall or want Unforgiven flail. We were at level 8 and, I think, level 7 is doable while level 6 could be quite hard/frustrating. As you can see from my post, his Breath is vicious and those Xaurips (High) Priests spamming Dire Blessing with healing don't make things better. You need some means to distract (summons) or completely disable him - stuns by Druids (this early it's Returning Storm only and thus it's game of chance) or prone by Eder (limited) and crit-buffed Pallegina (Hours of St. Rumbalt) or whatever appropriate weapons). Food buffs (which I foolishly neglected) to rise Constitution and max Endurance. It could be sane not to neglect those Xaurips Priests completely too (they buff Cail to make him even deadlier). Miasma of Dull Mindedness might help since his Will defenses are lowest.

 

 

edit:

On your game of guess:

MaeVar's Guildhall?

Edited December 20, 2018 by Serg BlackStrider

[Alesia_BH]

 

edit:

On your game of guess:

MaeVar's Guildhall?

 

 

No. That's not what I was thinking, at least!

 

Walk me through that one: How did that remind you of Mae'Var's Guild Hall? 

[Serg BlackStrider]

 

 

edit:

On your game of guess:

MaeVar's Guildhall?

 

 

No. That's not what I was thinking, at least!

 

Walk me through that one: How did that remind you of Mae'Var's Guild Hall? 

 

Just an area composition which remind me the Gorch et al. Maybe some Brynnlaw area then? Or Slaver's Ship...

Edited December 20, 2018 by Serg BlackStrider

[Alesia_BH]

He is a Boreal Dwarf with 12/10/18/10/18/10 stats and his racial bonuses of +15 accuracy vs Primordials/Wilders might compensate a bit of average Perception early on. Not sure if I'll run him immediately (in parallel with Gloomy Face) but he definitely will be my next char with the same Crew.

 

 

Cool! Looking forward to seeing your priest in action. I'm sure I'll learn a lot.

 

A perception of 10 is lower than I'd be inclined to go, but I do prefer to prioritize dex over per with priests, unlike the majority of classes.

 

Priests spend much of their time buffing, a dex not per dependent activity. And for fights where you intend to use your priest offensively, to attack directly, there's blacsonn, which essentially converts two excess dex points to three per points. That's the approach I've taken with Arya. Faced with the choice between two extra dex points or two extra per points, I chose two dex point when I need dex, and three per points when I need per. It makes sense to me. 

 

 

There is no point to rush there unless you have Mechanics (10) to pick Tidefall or want Unforgiven flail. We were at level 8 and, I think, level 7 is doable while level 6 could be quite hard/frustrating. As you can see from my post, his Breath is vicious and those Xaurips (High) Priests spamming Dire Blessing with healing don't make things better. You need some means to distract (summons) or completely disable him - stuns by Druids (this early it's Returning Storm only and thus it's game of chance) or prone by Eder (limited) and crit-buffed Pallegina (Hours of St. Rumbalt) or whatever appropriate weapons). Food buffs (which I foolishly neglected) to rise Constitution and max Endurance. It could be sane not to neglect those Xaurips Priests completely too (they buff Cail to make him even deadlier). Miasma of Dull Mindedness might help since his Will defenses are lowest.

 

 

We have Grieving Mother now, so we'll have paralysis v will, which should be great for that fight. I don't imagine we'll be able to lock Cali continuously with that alone, though. Mental Binding should be part of the plan, not the entirety of the plan.

 

The breath weapon + Dire Blessing sounds really awful. I think we'll tackle that late, if we tackle it at all.

 

Best,

 

A

[Alesia_BH]

 Maybe some Brynnlaw area then? Or Slaver's Ship...

 

 

That's closer.

 

A captain and crew. Quest related. Upper floor of a centrally located, yet low traffic inn. That's something in SoA exactly.

Edited December 20, 2018 by Alesia_BH

[Serg BlackStrider]

 

He is a Boreal Dwarf with 12/10/18/10/18/10 stats and his racial bonuses of +15 accuracy vs Primordials/Wilders might compensate a bit of average Perception early on. Not sure if I'll run him immediately (in parallel with Gloomy Face) but he definitely will be my next char with the same Crew.

 

 

Cool! Looking forward to seeing your priest in action. I'm sure I'll learn a lot.

 

A perception of 10 is lower than I'd be inclined to go, but I do prefer to prioritize dex over per with priests, unlike the majority of classes.

 

Priests spend much of their time buffing, a dex not per dependent activity. And for fights where you intend to use your priest offensively, to attack directly, there's blacsonn, which essentially converts two excess dex points to three per points. That's the approach I've taken with Arya. Faced with the choice between two extra dex points or two extra per points, I chose two dex point when I need dex, and three per points when I need per. It makes sense to me. 

Aye, I want to cast my buffs fast and wide, so max Dex and Int. I don't use drugs but Inspiring Radiance per encounter = 10 points in Perception. Add Weapon Focus, Blessing, Lilith's Shawl and Gloves of Accuracy (if I'll find ones) and you are pretty much set. Champion's Boon later on. Scroll of Valor in hard fights.

Well, I think, I'll introduce Grim Face tomorrow morning then. I want a knockout free run and Gloomy Face's one is somewhat spoiled in this regard already. Will run them both simultaneously.

 

That's closer.

 

A captain and crew. Quest related. Upper floor of a centrally located, yet low traffic inn. That's something in SoA exactly.

 

Delosar's Inn, Captain Dennis, Limited Wish adventure. The exterior is a little different though.

Edited December 20, 2018 by Serg BlackStrider

[Alesia_BH]

 I want a knockout free run and Gloomy Face's one is somewhat spoiled in this regard already. Will run them both simultaneously.

 

 

 

Best of luck! You're more likely to meet with success in that endeavor, I think. I have levels 1-7 down. My command of higher levels is a little sketch.

 

I don't expect Arya to finish with zero knockouts. We'll try, though! I suppose that could become a new -totally optional- wrinkle on the challenge.

 

Best,

 

A.

[Alesia_BH]

Delosar's Inn, Captain Dennis, Limited Wish adventure. The exterior is a little different though.

 

 

 

Yuppers!

 

(I wasn't basing it on the appearance of the scene; we can do that, too, though)

[semiticgod]

I've been thinking about the prospects of creating custom characters and using re-training for situational purposes, and Searing Falls seems like an ideal place to bring in a disposable druid or two just to lock down all the Drakes with Hold Beast. If Cail's Will defense is 66, then a level 6 Hearth Orlan druid with maxed-out Perception and Intellect could very, very easily paralyze him for many seconds. With the right resting bonus and some cookies and casserole, you'd have an Accuracy of 67 with Hold Beast, you'd have 4 castings total, and the duration would be 9.52 seconds if you also wore the +2 Intellect hood. With Blessing, Zealous Focus from Pallegina, and Inspiring Radiance, your Accuracy could be 93, a guaranteed lock on Cail for well over 20 seconds even with terrible luck. Create two such druids and you wouldn't even need the extra buffs.

 

I realize this is very far away from roleplaying, but creating new characters and re-training them is very cheap in the scheme of things, and it's always possible to free up room by killing a character manually, if you create too many custom ones. Custom characters and re-training could have dramatic impacts on key bottleneck encounters and bosses. Using druids to tackle dragons is probably the best example, but I can also see some uses for other situational custom characters, like Coastal Aumaua characters or re-training with the anti-Vessel talent to deal with Thaos' statues, extra priests to nuke groups of Vessels, extra paladins to spam Liberating Exhortation, or extra ciphers when blitzkrieg strategies are more effective than defensive tactics.

 

What do you guys think?

[Serg BlackStrider]

 

I want a knockout free run and Gloomy Face's one is somewhat spoiled in this regard already. Will run them both simultaneously.

 

 

Best of luck! You're more likely to meet with success in that endeavor, I think. I have levels 1-7 down. My command of higher levels is a little sketch.

 

I don't expect Arya to finish with zero knockouts. We'll try, though! I suppose that could become a new -totally optional- wrinkle on the challenge.

 

This is totaly doable even with full completionist approach - I have that achievement already (though with reloads on knockouts, but I can't remember I ever had the whole party wiped out). The hardest part, IMO, is early levels and you have those under your belt already. So I see your chances to keep a 'knockout free' run as perfectly solid.