Build Advice - My Perfect Playthrough

[Tygarus]

Dear geniuses of Deadfire, your help would be dearly appreciated! Help me Oboerer-Kenobi; you're my only hope!

 

Preamble and objective:

 

If you read the whole post, yours will be the earth, the cupcakes, and the love of all puppies. I will also be enormously grateful and give hugs.

 

I absolutely loved PoE and I'm ridiculously excited about finally getting into Deadfire. However, I work an 85 hour week so time is a big restriction for me and it generally means I only get to play games (sometimes) years after they're out. It also means I can't really experiment on a first playthrough. I'm a school teacher and so I try to do a lot of research first when I play an RPG (lots of fun in itself) to try to allow me to play, as far as possible, a perfect playthrough for my first run. I used the advice on this forum for PoE and I also did something similar for Divinity 2 and it made such an enormous difference to my play experience. In both cases, I had a perfect party (for me) set up, with build guides, equipment lists, secondary skills, etc, and through planning those, I learned so much about the game mechanics it made it infinitely more enjoyable. I want to do the same here!

 

Please bear in mind, if you are kind enough to reply with help, I've never played the game yet, and I've only watched videos. Time has not allowed much else. It may be that I've misunderstood or failed to understand very basic concepts. If so, I do apologise. Please, in the spirit of Christmas, forgive me, and help me to learn.

 

The Problem:

 

1. Many people often say "Anything works, just try it and have fun" and similar well-intentioned advice. Sadly, it doesn't help because I cannot commit that kind of time to it. I find it frustrating, and it's not what I consider fun. I love preparing and learning and seeing a whole plan come together. Maybe I was inspired by the A-Team.

 

2. There have been some pretty huge (it sounds like) changes since the game first launched so much of my research I fear is out of date.

 

3. I want to squeeze in as much into one playthrough as I can, within certain parameters. I also want to carry over my party from PoE with my world choices. I regretted some of them, but I was pretty well-prepared for PoE and I think I can live with the world I've shaped. I want to give it a try anyway!

 

Where you come in:

 

Dear friends of Deadfire, this is where I'd love your help. I want to set up my party before I start the game. This is where I'm at currently:

 

(I want to keep some story companions from PoE because I think my first playthrough should include their quests etc. If time allows I may do a second playthrough with my own party or even try a solo game on PotD or so, but who knows what the future holds. For now, I'm going to try to finish one playthrough first before 2020.)

 

The Party (which must include Eder, Pallegina, Aloth) - I've struggled to find a lot of variety in builds for the companions. I guess because they're locked into a lot of things so the options are fewer. Here's what I've got so far.

 

Eder - Swashbuckler (Fighter/Rogue)

• I found some guides for Eder, including https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1398100119 this one by Lost Sinner. Seems to build him as a striker with crowd control and some off-tanking. 
• I had Eder as main tank in PoE but his rogue multiclass (appears from reading) to give him some more dps so why not?
• I also have a build like The Undying Titan from the sticky, link: https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/103525-single-class-fighter-build-the-undying-titan/ which seems more tanky.

 

Pallegina - Herald (Paladin/Chanter)

• I've struggled to find different builds for Pallegina specifically, and I've no idea which ones are optimal given patches etc. Generally what I read seems to indicate that Heralds become unkillable. This is great, because Pallegina got hit in the face a lot in PoE with me, so giving her a break seems fair and lovely. I also tailored my entire ending around saving her butt in the questline, so she's important to me.
• I found Tuono e Fulmine which appears to be a kind of dps build for her, here: https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/102541-companion-build-tuono-e-fulmine/

 

Aloth - Pure Wizard

 

• From what I've read so far (and this appears to have been before Bloodmage) many people advocated running wizards as pure to access the higher level spells which apparently kick ass. I've read posts recently about how good bloodmage is and I don't know if this invalidates the previous point or not.
• Some builds I found for Aloth include a combusting wizard: https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/104388-build-guide-combusting-wizard/
• An Aloth specific DPS wizard from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxINtkty2Rs

 

Serafen - Barbarian/Cipher

 

• I had an open slot in my party pool at this point. I remembered that Grieving Mother kicked serious ass in PoE so I thought I'd run a companion who could Cipher. Barbarian also looked cool in the fextralife build here: https://youtu.be/ODM6w34wQRI (I realise that witch king is not the same as Brute, but it looked cool anyway)
• I found a build for Serafen then: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1399216139

 

Player Character:

 

• I struggled a LOT with this choice, and I'm not 100% decided yet. In PoE I played a rogue that I built exactly from a speedrun of a solo run. It had 3 CON for eg. so was super squishy, but holy mother of God could it dish out a beating. And I finished the game destroying most things and I didn't even know about food buff stacking or potions or anything. Once I figured out how to manage it and micro the style, I had so much fun with it. I love being overpowered so this worked out beautifully.
• Knowing this, I found two builds that 'seem' to be doing more or less the same thing, in combining paladin with assassin. Builds here: https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/101274-class-build-bleak-huntress-holy-slayer-ranged-sniper-assassin-build/ and here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_IJ9-7nJug
• Both look super fun and fill the void of big cheese dps in my group, but I've also seen some comments in videos saying the build got nerfed so I'm lost now.
• My party hits most of the buttons I want in terms of class, though there is no monk, druid, ranger, or priest. I didn't use them in PoE so I think I can live without them, but if someone has a compelling case for any of them for MC then I'd love to here it.

 

My ultimate wishlist:

 

Dear friends, what I would dearly love your help with is: designing this party to be my ultimate playthrough. I'd love Eder and Pallegina to be front line, dps/tank/off-tank (dps is nice as is heals but whatever), with Serafen (or a different companion if Serafen is a bad match) and Aloth focussed on dps and debuffing. My MC I'd quite like to play as a cheesie big hitter, or some silly broken-OP mechanic like the sniper build for example for just pure unadulterated fun. There are many fextralife builds and ones from this community which look cool, but I'd need someone with more experience than me to recommend what would work particularly well given my party etc. Where do I have wholes? Which part of the game am I completely missing out on that changed your life? These builds may be old, or not play the companions to their best. Are there new builds that account for new patches and changes? I've so many questions and I would dearly, dearly love your help.

 

I've no idea if the builds I've linked are viable, nor how to balance out active and passive skills to get a good maximising of dialogue and game skillchecks. I also read a post which talked about companions not getting along so I've no idea if this combination could/would work.

 

If you've made it this far, you're a saint, a scholar, and a true gentleperson; Santa shines down on you - he also promises loads of presents next year.

 

You're all wonderful and, where possible, I cannot wait to hear if you have any advice or feedback for me on how to make this party work. 

[Marigoldran]

Tekehu's really good btw as a pure druid since he can cast foe-only Chill Fog and has uber heals.  

 

If you're good at micro, you can do more with pure rogue than anything else.  If you don't like micro, I would advise another herald or a monk.  

Edited December 31, 2018 by Marigoldran

[Frog Man]

Tekehu's really good btw as a pure druid since he can cast foe-only Chill Fog and has uber heals.

 

If you're good at micro, you can do more with pure rogue than anything else. If you don't like micro, I would advise another herald or a monk.

You have to be bleeping kidding me

[Archaven]

i'm not sure there is any silly broken OP build. if there's one i'm sure it will be nerfed faster than lightning. i don't see any much powerful builds being posted anymore. most of the builds months ago are *outdated* and not applicable anymore due to the major nerfs. you have to understand the mechanics more to only perhaps having a slight edge to any other builds. i would say most builds are balanced. the most balanced multiplayer online game i've ever seen. /s

[knownastherat]

A Team

 

John "Hannibal" Smith - Tactician/Priest of Wael no questions.

 

Templeton "Face(man)" Peck - Debonaire. I smell a priest here too but let's keep him pure.

 

H.M. "Howling Mad" Murdock - Berserker, right? Now multi him to Warlock offers itself but no, Nalpazca.

 

and Mr. T - I'd give him some PER to complement his Mechanics, but keep him as pure Fighter, Blackjacket? 

[guildwriter]

Bleak Walker/Assassin still probably has the highest damage alphas in the entire game.  What changed is the difficulty of things and how much HP/Armor enemies have in general.  On PotD upscaled at level 20 it's not uncommon to see enemies that have 800+ hp putting them well outside the one shot range.  That's why that build is nerfed, it can't trade as efficiently as it once did.  It could probably do normal PotD solo but I digress.  It's totally viable for party play though on any difficulty.

 

Since you like doing massive damage let's talk some other options:

• If you don't mind babysitting a character, break out a Helwalker/Streetfighter.  Swap Serafen for Xoti.  Helwalker will give you +10 Strength through Wound stacking giving you the potential to hit 35 Might for a whopping +75% additive damage bonus.  Use the blunderbuss modal to apply flanked to self and get blooded and watch this character just absolutely vomit damage.  Xoti is there for BDD + Salvation of Time when things get hairy because this character goes splat real quick.  With Pallegina can give the Chanter boost to reload speed and the action speed boost from monk means this character is going to just ream things.  
• You can change Helwalker for Goldpact if you want something that can stand and fight better.  Or Wizard if you want more flexibility.  Barbarian is an option if you want to make Carnage hilarious.  Priest if you want to handle the buffs yourself (go Death Godlike for maximum living on the edge, the PLs will boost Sneak Attack Damage on top of your abilities).
• My personal favorite is Assassin/Wizard or Blood Wizard.  It gives you strong single target Alpha strikes or solid AoE Alphas that you can chain together.  The Assassin bonus applies to most everything so not only do spells like Fireball get better, but you can also make it much easier to land AoE CC which is especially relevant on PotD as it can be much harder to consistently land that sort of thing.  Not the absolute best damage wise but highly versatile.  I like rocking Modwyr and Rust's Poingard, picking mostly Rogue Talents and abusing Grimoire swapping (Ninagauth's or Concelhaut or Llengrath's). 

All of these would work with your party.  I'd avoid Cipher on Serafen as Wild Mind is absolutely tilting when it adversely affects things.  He's solid as a pure Barbarian.  I'd recommend Maia + The Red Hand for solid ranged DPS as another option. 

[certainkindoffool]

I second the Tekahu recommendation. Though, I would suggest multiclassing as a druid/chanter - imo it makes for a more versatile character. Serafan's Cypher kit should probably be avoided if playtime is a major consideration.

 

If your only planning on doing one playthrough, I would also suggest dabbling in other companions for certain quests - and picking single classes when they are recruited as you'll get to experience more of the class content within your time constraints.

 

Cheers

[Frak]

Since you like doing massive damage let's talk some other options:

• If you don't mind babysitting a character, break out a Helwalker/Streetfighter.  Swap Serafen for Xoti.  Helwalker will give you +10 Strength through Wound stacking giving you the potential to hit 35 Might for a whopping +75% additive damage bonus.  Use the blunderbuss modal to apply flanked to self and get blooded and watch this character just absolutely vomit damage.  Xoti is there for BDD + Salvation of Time when things get hairy because this character goes splat real quick.  With Pallegina can give the Chanter boost to reload speed and the action speed boost from monk means this character is going to just ream things.  
• You can change Helwalker for Goldpact if you want something that can stand and fight better.  Or Wizard if you want more flexibility.  Barbarian is an option if you want to make Carnage hilarious.  Priest if you want to handle the buffs yourself (go Death Godlike for maximum living on the edge, the PLs will boost Sneak Attack Damage on top of your abilities).

 

I agree with this, albeit in a mere general manner. Street-fighter is fast killing, once you get bloodied. But single-target.

Nalpazca monk aint bad either. Being on drugs means extra free wounds, which means you can spam heavy hitters and cc more. Nalpazca is a solid choice that leaves a wider margin for error and survivability. Besides, you get to be on fun drugs.  

Barbarian is supposedly the crowd-killer. It's designed as such. A berserker or corse-eater (for the roleplay) gets my vote as another serious damage dealer.

 

My off-beat tips.

1) Learn  to program the "behavior editor". There is something quite pleasing in seeing your companions execute a well-made behaviour. The behaviour editor is great fun.

2) Use, dont hoard, consumables. They are also great fun and you get more things to plan, with synergies between abilities and consumables. You sound like a planner. 

[Rimiu]

• My personal favorite is Assassin/Wizard or Blood Wizard. 

 

 

Any chance you could point me to any not outdated builds like that or maybe make a quick post of yours? I have been looking for a rogue build (either trickster or in combination with wizard.) for quite some time now.

[Kaylon]

Pick a MC who's able to max reputation with every companion or else you will lose the benefits of one of the most powerful items in the game (Hearth Defender's Scale) - thus I don't advise playing cruel characters. Personally I would replace Serafen with Xoti (priest/monk for max duration/radius for spells/auras while wearing Heart at Home). For MC one of the best damage dealers is trickster/soulblade (Sun and Moon + Tuotilo's Palm/Whispers of the Endless Paths/Red Hand).

Edited December 31, 2018 by Kaylon

[whimper]

Obviously a lot depends on what kinds of things you find fun, and what kinds of things you find irritating. But here are a couple more data points from another perspective.

 

Given how slow reload times are, I find having to reload all the time pretty annoying. So I tend to like parties that are tactically robust — that is, aren’t usually micro intensive in a “you have to reload if you make a mistake” kind of way.

 

If you’re doing one playthrough, doing all of the companion quests is fun. So having builds that aren’t too dependent on one another (so you can swap em out for each other) is a plus.

 

Given all that:

• For MC, some Paladin/Rogue combo or Paladin/Helwalker combo is nice. High offense, but not so fragile that you need to babysit it all the time. Also party friendly with the Paladin aura. (If you want full glass cannon, though, guildwriter's suggestion of a Helwalker/Streetfighter will give you that. But a bit too fragile for my tastes, especially on PotD.) 
• For one playthrough, I’d generally recommend single classing companions, so you get a chance to play around with the top level abilities. Two exceptions are Eder (who is great as a Swashbuckler) and Pallegina (who is great as a Herald).
• As others have said, Tekahu is probably someone you’ll want as part of your typical party rotation because of his great Druid subclass. Getting wizard blasting spells with enemy only AOEs is amazing, and he has a bunch of nice healing abilities to keep your party standing as well.
• I personally find blasting Wizards irritating to play in parties (though fun in solo runs), because of all the micro needed to not roast your own characters. If you find this irritating, you’ll probably want to avoid having Aloth be a part of your typical party rotation.
• Serafen’s Cipher subclass has some annoying features. So if you make him a Cipher, I’d probably avoid leaving him out of the typical party rotation (just use him for his sub quests and pirate-themed areas).

Hope that helps!

[MaxQuest]

Pick a MC who's able to max reputation with every companion or else you will lose the benefits of one of the most powerful items in the game (Heart at Home)

I've never seen that item. What it does?

Or do you mean Hearth Defender's Scale armor? (if yes - do agree, it's a really powerful item).

 

For MC one of the best damage dealers is trickster/soulblade (Sun and Moon + Tuotilo's Palm/Whispers of the Endless Paths/Red Hand).

Trickster is great, but soulblade is a bit too greedy for him. I mean: soulblade wants to squish as much damage as he can, dump the resulted focus in annihilation, and he won't be spending his time on crowd-control stuff. How about a soulblade/assassin with assassin's boots instead?

 

---

@OP. I am in the early stage of planning a somewhat similar party.

MC Cipher + Eder + Aloth + Pallegina + X. Although I'll be adjusting companions as if they were hirelings (because "I want to squeeze in as much as I can" by your own words ^^).

 

Since I haven't made my mind completely, I can't lay down the final party composition, but can share a few thoughts on party building.

 

 

Judging by common enemy encounters I'd say having 3 and a half frontliners is a good way to go.

Having all 5 melee could be potentially problematic in narrow spaces. Plus you would miss a few nice ranged weapons.

Generally I would go for:

- 3 melee

- 1 midline (that can either stand 1x1 vs some enemy that has passed through the fronline; or can act as a bait and your debilitators covering him)

- 1 backline (that can occasionally equip some gear that gives immunity vs pull and dissengagement without breaking the build)

 

In order to finish an encounter you need enough effective damage to bring enemy heath-bars to zero, and enough survival to not die during the process.

In PoE1 you could either go sturdy; or go for glass-canon approach covered by a lot of hard-cc.

In Deadfire though, crowd control is less reliable, lowers enemy defences by a lower amount and additionally you can reduce non-raw damage taken from enemies by up to x4 times with high enough AR. So sturdy approach it is. Not to mention that some bosses have very inflated health pools, so there is a higher incentive to go for war of attrition style.

What does this all mean?:

1. That you choose your damage dealers first. And after that select characters who can support and protect them best.

2. That if you take someone with limited resources for damage dealing you need to plan for them to be enough. For example speaking of spell-damage wizard:

- you either have to make him Bloodmage,

- or plan how to provide Brilliant inspiration. Which usually includes a Cipher (Ancestor's Memory) or multi-classing with Tactician. And Salvation of Time comes handy as well. But taking a Tactician - usually rules out the blunderbuss Streetfighter.

- or just go Evoker, get some scrolls for longer fights. And when you run out of stuff, be ok with simply auto-attacking. 7500 health pool + self-healing (Neryscirlas I'm again looking at you) is no joke.

3. In Deadfire, some items/profficiencies/effects are not like the other. Meaning that I will always try to incorporate the following in my run:

- Hearth Defender's Scale: +2AR, +8 fort/ref/will aura is obscenely good

- Giftbearer's Cloth: +5 fort/ref/will + 1 per history

- Acina Tricorn: that accuracy bonus applies to ranged spells as well

- Magistrate's Cudgel: +10 accuracy vs marked target

- Helm of the White Void: +10 acc with affliction attacks

- Keeper of the Flame: +4 accuracy aura is nice; plus -25 reflex debuff with profficiency modal on

- Kapana Taga: which is good for a variaty of builds; plus it's a club, so -25 will on hit

 

Also I would consider:

- who can handle The Willbreaker (for the fort and will debuff)

- who will learn Confounding Blind (because I love that deflection debuff)

- who can wield battle axes in their alternative weapon set. (because their modal is one of the most effective things vs very high hp-and-AR bosses)

- and lastly if I can capitalize on: marksman ring, ring of focused flame, wotep, red hand, dragons dowry, prismatic quarterstaff, tuotilo's palm, and the list goes long enough to re-check the wiki again for the unique stuff.

 

That said, so far I consider companions built in the following manner:

- Eder: trickster/tactician (cc-offtank)

- Aloth: evoker (dps), bloodmage (dps), wizard/tactician (cc-offtank), wizard/berserker (dps)

- Pallegina:

> (if with removed racial but unlocked head slot): wayfarer/skald: with Bone Setter's Torc, Footprints of Ahu Taka, Ring of Focused Flame / Prosperous Fortune and either Fair Favor, modalled Rannig Wrath + Pukestabber/Embrace; or with Survivor's Tusks + modalled Ranning Wrath + Kapana Taga.

> (otherwise): wayfarer/trickster or even wayfarer/nalpazka (with Ranning Wrath + Tuotilos' Palm)

- Xoti: built as either single-class and damage-oriented Nalpazka, or as wayfarer/nalpazka above instead of Pallegina.

- Seraphen: can shine as single-class berserker, or wizard/berserker or ascendant/berserker. The only problem is that these start to bloom closer to higher levels, because Bloodthirst. Or he can be built as cc-focused trickster/beguiler.

- Maia: tactician/gunhawk (with red hand, and sure-handed-ila chant) or gunhawk/assassin (with Saint Omaku and Assassins Boots; as I'm curious how will 50% chance to skip recovery on crit will work with Driving Flight).

 

MC gonna be a soublade/x, since my last two MCs were ascendants and I want to try something new. Although I still haven't figured out a cipher build that:

- would out-dps my previous ascendant/streetfighter.

- would feel great starting not later than level 8.

 

 

So there is that, and a question: will you be using companions with their default classes/subclasses?

If yes, during my first run (before DLCs) I've used:

- frontline: Eder (fighter), Pallegina (herald), Aloth (cc wizard/fighter)

- midline: MC (ascendant/devout with two pistols and Charge - before the change)

- backline: Maia (gunhawk/rogue) - with Red Hand

And the game was a breeze. Although PotD was tweaked since then and charge reworked. Thus ascendant/devout better be replaced by ascendant/streetfighter (with pistol in one hand and Kitchen Stove in another, with modal on).

 

P.S. If this suits you: don't forget to make Pallegina - Kind Wayfarer, Learn Shared Flames and to use Sure-Handed Ila.

 

 

Edited December 31, 2018 by MaxQuest

[Kaylon]

 

Pick a MC who's able to max reputation with every companion or else you will lose the benefits of one of the most powerful items in the game (Heart at Home)

I've never seen that item. What it does?

Or do you mean Hearth Defender's Scale armor? (if yes - do agree, it's a really powerful item).

Yes, this one...

 

 

For MC one of the best damage dealers is trickster/soulblade (Sun and Moon + Tuotilo's Palm/Whispers of the Endless Paths/Red Hand).

Trickster is great, but soulblade is a bit too greedy for him. I mean: soulblade wants to squish as much damage as he can, dump the resulted focus in annihilation, and he won't be spending his time on crowd-control stuff. How about a soulblade/assassin with assassin's boots instead?

For me the main advantage of the trickster are his self buffs (Llengrath's Displaced Image, Ryngrim's Repulsive Visage) which add to his survivability. An assassin can work also of course, but he's more squishy...

[TheMetaphysician]

To OP:

 

- I really like an Eder build I saw on the forums here. I've been using it and it is great.

 

- That Lost Sinner Serafen build is very good, but I have to say that Whispers of Treason is so good that I pretty much just ended up setting his AI to use that whenever he could. Contrary to another commenter, I didn't really notice the Wild Mind kit hurting me.

 

- The Tuono Fulmine Pallegina build looks totally awesome and I can't imagine using anything else on her.

 

- Aloth works as a pure Wizard, but he also works very well as both of his other options (Spellblade and Battlemage). I like the RP flavor of having the multiclasses, since I think of the other class (fighter or rogue) as the Iselmyr side of his personality. With both of those, you can make him a solid melee character. Set the AI to self-cast wizard buffs (most of which are in the Llengrath's Martial Masteries grimoire), and then use the fighter or rogue abilities in melee. Citzal's Lance at level 13 is kind of the capstone, and with Spellblade you can use Citzal's to apply the rogue debuffs (from gouging strike or toxic strikes) in an AOE. Since he can stack deflection high with wizard buffs, you can try to use the Whispers of the Endless Paths Offensive Parry on him, but if you are doing that with Pallegina with the Tuono build you can't do it with him too.

[Tygarus]

Dear friends!

 

A sincere thank you to those who have replied, and in so much detail.

 

What I'm reading is the following:

 

• MC: Assassin/BW or Assassin/Wizard(or Bloodmage) are both solid damage dealers that sound like I'd enjoy playing them.
• Learn behaviour editor and definitely use consumables instead of hoarding (my God this is hard! - I'm such a packrat)
• Serafen appears to be getting no love at all -thus, the tribe has spoken, he is the weakest link, and he's been sent to Siberia on permanent assignment
• MC needs to max rep with every companion. Can I do this with Eder, Aloth and Pallegina as the heart of the party? I originally scrubbed Teheku (I think) because he doesn't get on with Pallegina. Is max rep possible? I adore harmony in my group...
• Teheku is getting a lot of love - he or Xoti may be on the shortlist. Given my party combo and my MC being one of two comps above (most likely), who do you think wins out? Teheku seems quite powerful for heals and foe-only cc but I'm guessing Xoti's priest spells will be pretty powerful too?
• Aloth as blasting wizard is apparently irritating - are there other viable builds for him? He's a must in my party...

 

@MaxQuest:

 

A particular thank you to you for an alarmingly informative post that I've had to read twelve times with a separate wiki page to try to make sense of. I thank you kind sir. Please accept 1x hug. As to your question:

 

 

 

So there is that, and a question: will you be using companions with their default classes/subclasses?

 

I didn't know 'not' running them as default subclasses/classes was an option! I think, to be safe, and to make my planning a little less complicated for the first time, let's say yes. As I didn't know it was an option not to do so, I think it makes sense for my first perfect playthrough to work within the realms of 'standard'. Maybe next time I'll switch it up!

 

***

 

Given all the information so far, I now have follow-up questions that, again, I will trade hugs and spare puppies for any insights:

 

• Can I get max rep with my companions if I run Eder, Aloth, Pallegina and either Xoti/Teheku? Will it work?
• Are there any build recommendations for companions (even those I've linked) that are OK to use with current patches? Not having played at all, I'm completely in the dark on what changes the patches have brought. I've tried to read through it, but without context, it's hard to make sense of what ability changes will impact builds, if that makes sense.
• Does anyone have any advice on skill allocation? I've seen history is needed on someone for the giftbearer's something or other, and Arcana is apparently better than bombs or something? I assume the person with highest perception needs mechanics? Are there any massively important stat skill checks that I should definitely be aware of that I need to build around? A soulblade weapon not used in my party is unimportant, but if there's some gamebreaking thing I'm going to miss because I've got 13 RES instead of 14 or something any forewarning would be amaaazing!
• Does this revised party combo make sense: Eder - Swashbuckler, Pallegina - Herald, Xoti/Teheku - Heals, debuffs, buff, kind of mid-line support, Aloth - Bloodmage or some kind of dps variant (evoker etc), MC: Assassin combo with Paladin or Assassin with mage (if this case, then Aloth may go cc focused mage build)? Again - anyone willing to help guide me through builds would be nominated by me as person of the Year, 2018!

 

Thank you again, most kindly and sincerely, for any and all help. You're all amazingly kind and thoughtful and I appreciate the time you're spending in helping me plan. I'm already getting giddily excited about starting up! Hopefully this weekend

[Frak]

In order to get subclasses for companions you need a mod.  Not sure which as I do not use mods, yet.

 

My take on skill allocation is that you and companions should specialize. 1 or 2 things pr char, max. And then ofc put the team together so that all skills are covered over the whole party.

 

Tekehu seems get a lot of love for different reasons. He is good with AOE HOT and debuffs, and that is quite helpful if your positioning warrants it. Gotta love his Chillfog and Ondras Whip.

Xoti is more defense buffs and fast heals (I've only played til level 10).

Xoti (as a character) may also irk some. YMMV. Tekehu is conceited, but in a good way. Xoti can seem like a teenager with a holy crusade.

 

Your team composition makes sense to me. Pallegina will be tanky as hell. Eder, a sturdy damage dealer. I like Aloth as a pure wizard. I have no experience with him as a bloodmage.

 

Assassin with mage will be squishy as hell. You'll need to babysit your main, but likely have great CC and damage. If that's your bag, go for it.

Edited January 1, 2019 by Frak

[guildwriter]

Given all the information so far, I now have follow-up questions that, again, I will trade hugs and spare puppies for any insights:

• Can I get max rep with my companions if I run Eder, Aloth, Pallegina and either Xoti/Teheku? Will it work?
• Are there any build recommendations for companions (even those I've linked) that are OK to use with current patches? Not having played at all, I'm completely in the dark on what changes the patches have brought. I've tried to read through it, but without context, it's hard to make sense of what ability changes will impact builds, if that makes sense.
• Does anyone have any advice on skill allocation? I've seen history is needed on someone for the giftbearer's something or other, and Arcana is apparently better than bombs or something? I assume the person with highest perception needs mechanics? Are there any massively important stat skill checks that I should definitely be aware of that I need to build around? A soulblade weapon not used in my party is unimportant, but if there's some gamebreaking thing I'm going to miss because I've got 13 RES instead of 14 or something any forewarning would be amaaazing!
• Does this revised party combo make sense: Eder - Swashbuckler, Pallegina - Herald, Xoti/Teheku - Heals, debuffs, buff, kind of mid-line support, Aloth - Bloodmage or some kind of dps variant (evoker etc), MC: Assassin combo with Paladin or Assassin with mage (if this case, then Aloth may go cc focused mage build)? Again - anyone willing to help guide me through builds would be nominated by me as person of the Year, 2018!

• Rep shouldn't be an issue.  Not everyone on that party is going to get along as Pallegina won't get along with Xoti or Teheku.  But it shouldn't be too much of an issue.  
• The setups depend on how you want to play.  Personally I run something like Eder as Swashbuckler, Pallegina as Herald, Xoti as Cleric and Aloth as Wizard and Teheku as Chanter.  Personally I think you have a lot of support and would consider some kind of auto attacker that can help carry damage, but if you're going Assassin/Wizard then you can carry damage by yourself if needed.  I think my character has 80-90%+ of damage and kills.
• If you go Assassin max Stealth and some conversation choice that you like.  Giftbearer's is good choice for sure if you want.  My personal play style is to rely on stealth and smoke veil to prevent damage (untargetable means everything misses including friendly and hostile AoEs.  Only rays can target through stealth).  So the way I play ends up tanking my deflection and saves for as much offense as possible.  One of the reasons to use Modwyr and DoC breastplate.  
• There are no mandatory stat checks that can't be worked around.  It's mostly fluff or a way to avoid a fight or save some rep.  I will say that you should have someone get Athletics as high as possible to deal with Whernu Cleft when it comes along if you go there.  You can generally use a mix of consumables and rest buffs to get through most checks.  
• Your approach is similar to my team.  Eder as Swashbuckler(main tank, hold engagements), Xoti as Priest (offtank/heal/buff), Maia Rua as Geomancer (The Red Hand autoattack brokeness and cc), Ydwin as Mindstalker(damage/cc/buff/debuff).  I run this because if you play right, you don't really need more than one tank and a bodyblocker (Xoti).  The way I end up playing is pseudo solo honestly and many times I don't even get my party involved except to cleanup or hold things in place.  Sparkcrackers and Nina's Shadowflame and some of your best friends.  I like Ydwin for the additional damage and control but almost anything works in the fifth slot.  
• Reccomended stat priority for Assassin/Wizard is Dex and Int.  Dex so you can cast and attack quicker (and pop Smoke Veil ASAP).  Int to make everything last longer and larger AoEs.  If you have BB I recommend raising Might as well (exception is Blood Mage as the Might bonus affects the self damage.  I've almost killed myself with one Blood Sacrifice).  I don't reccomend fully tanking Resolve or Con personally but YMMV.  Per is nice to have but I wouldn't call it mandatory.  I like Wood Elf for the stats and the Dexterity Affliction Resistance.

Assassin/Wizard is squishy but it gives as much as you're willing to put into it.  Shadowflame from stealth will more often than not paralyze everyone in the group.  You can chain shadowflame and other AoEs after that to blow apart the entire group and use your high powered Rogue attacks to wipe out the survivors.  If you really want to add insult to injury, bring in your party once everyone is paralyzed and just mass nuke with Aloth and Xoti/Teheku all blasting away.  Eder can enjoy the pyrotechnics with a pipe and beer and greet anyone who tries to break out to the backline.

Edited January 1, 2019 by guildwriter

[Marigoldran]

BTW, what are you using to change the companion classes? 

 

For Aloth, consider Bloodmage/Monk, depending on if you can see Aloth as a monk or not.  Iron wheel and turning wheel are excellent for wizards, and the blood mage mechanics gives your monk wounds.