Which skills need to be taken by the main char?

[Madscientist]

Its been ages since I last played deadfire so I have to ask:

 

If you create a char, are there skills that must be taken by the main char or is it enough if any char in your group has a high value?

I think mostly about social skills like diplomacy. Can I influence other people in dialogue when a party member has a high value or do I need a high value myself?

[Enoch]

There are an assortment of both Watcher-only and party-assisted checks for just about all of the skills.  At best, you'll only have 1 or 2 of the passive skills high enough to make the toughest checks in the game.  But there are also plenty of low-threshold checks that you can make with just party assist, training, items, and resting bonuses.  Party assist has diminishing returns-- see the table here.  If Aloth has 20 ranks in Diplomacy, your Watcher is only getting a +6 bonus out of him. 

 

For skill-check purposes, the one passive skill that it makes sense to concentrate on one character is Survival.  There are a number of gameworld interactions where you can pick a character to use that (e.g., to try to follow some tracks in the wild).  I'm not aware of any opportunities for a partymember with a high social skill to shine-- the only benefit you'll get from that will be via the party assist mechanic. 

 

The exception is equipment:  There are a number of items in the game that have bonuses scaling on ranks in a particular passive skill.  Xoti's unique starting items are the most prominent example, but every skill has something.  Most of that stuff is late-game, though, when the costs of a re-spec are easily absorbed.

 

Absent building for special equipment, my advice is to pick 2 passives to build with your main character.  Have one Companion specialize in Survival until rank 12 or so.  Otherwise, build companion passives equally, but exclude ones that you know you're not going to use.  (E.g., a Paladin who disfavors deception doesn't need anyone in the party with points in Bluff.) 

Edited December 16, 2018 by Enoch

[Gromnir]

y'know, somebody might need check, but our recollection is few disposition/reputation checks is simultaneous skill checks.  is a plethora o' diplomacy skill checks in the game, but how many diplomacy skill checks actual affect diplomacy disposition/reputation?  am wondering...

 

were contemplating making a woedican templar.  both priest and paladin provide diplomacy skill points, but diplomacy is disfavored by woedica.  wasted points? honest, am not certain how much o' a practical handicap is bolstering diplomacy skill for woedican priests and paladins or how much benefit is bluff for wael.  is counter-intuitive and kinda gamey, but am suspecting a woedican templar able to routine overcome +20 diplomacy checks could nevertheless maintain 0 diplomacy reputation.  

 

hmmm.

 

HA! Good Fun!

Edited December 16, 2018 by Gromnir

[Ensign]

Party assist helps and is sufficient for many checks, but due to diminishing returns can only be pushed so high.

 

If you are interested in non-violent resolutions to quests and events it is best invest your main character's skills in two of the predominant persuasion conversation options - bluff, diplomacy, insight, intimidate, streetwise. History, religion, and especially survival have valuable non-watcher checks that party members can assist with. Metaphysics is kind of the odd child, with some interesting flavor options in conversations but as best I know nothing that will change any outcomes.

[Kaylon]

The important ones are the active skills which aren't affected by your party (alchemy, arcana, explosives, etc...) and the ones affecting items (metaphysics, religion, intimidate, etc..)

[Madscientist]

Thanks

 

some more things:

- Difficulty settings change only how many enemies you have, what enemies you have and their stats. Skill checks are not changed, do they?

- In PoE1 you needed high stats to avoid some hard battles ( I think it was int and res for some fights with dragons or archmages). Is it all about skills and not stats in PoE2?

- In the link you have posted ( skills in PoE2), when you click on a skill that existed in PoE1 you will be send to the skill description of PoE1. This is bad. Its better to have very little information than to have false information. Sorry, I am no expert in making websites.

[Gromnir]

few is the deadfire  attribute checks compared to poe, but such still exist in noticeable numbers.  most common cutscene attribute checked is might. poe checked perception and resolve all the time in dialogues.  deadfire perception gets checked in dialogues often enough, but insight skill is frequent simultaneous checked with perception... if you got low deadfire  perception attribute, high insight skill will mitigate perceived dialogue handicap.  athletics and insight is most common non-bolstered check.  o' the talky skills, the order o' most used to least is as follows: diplomacy; intimidate; bluff.  the talky skills is checked more often than other skills (save for insight,) and in many cases all three will be checked simultaneous with you need only being successful at one to avoid combat, which isn't always your best option.  

 

ship combat and skill checks is unaffected by difficulty slider.

 

if you want to get serious meta...

https://wiki.fireundubh.com/deadfire/dialogue-options

 

 

is pre dlc data.

 

HA! Good Fun!