Backline ranged chanter

[MortyTheGobbo]

Inspired by my recent Konstanten woes, I've decided to play my next Watcher as a pure chanter, rather than a druid. I don't like full casters anyway and I'd like to finally "get" chanters. But since it always seems like my frontline is more crowded than my backline, and because all my chanters so far have been melee, I'd like to play a ranged one.

 

What are the best ways to play a chanter who uses a ranged weapon and stays in the back? I figure I'd want to have a high intellect and just keep on buffing my party. And since offensive invocations tend to be cone-shaped and reward being up close, I should probably focus on summoning.

Edited January 12, 2019 by MortyTheGobbo

[Boeroer]

Sure Handed Ila used to be verygood with guns because those got the bonus (20%) twice for some reason. Maybe that's still the case?

 

Besides that: go for Eld Nary's curse and stack Power Levels.  You can still use the Singing Scimitar in a seperate slot and switch to it when you want to empower your Eld Nary 1/encounter. 

Edited January 12, 2019 by Boeroer

[MortyTheGobbo]

My current character is using guns and crossbows, so I'd rather not repeat that. What makes Eld Nary's Curse stand out here, though? Also, are chanter subclasses worth picking?

[Boeroer]

Troubadour is considered to be the best subclass and I agree. If no guns or crossbows then only bows or implements are left. Those have no special synergy with Chanters.

 

Would a reach weapon be a possibility? Because Pike + modal + Skald works ok as well.

 

Eld Nary's Curse scales extremely well with Power Level (gets additional jumps). With the Singing Scimitar can turn Empower into 1/encounter. Empower adds a lot of Power Levels. If you like that then I guess Bellower would be a nice subclass as well.

[Frog Man]

Running a single class troubadour right now and he’s the star of my party. We are about able to take down stuff way tougher than our current level ( due to his strength and flexibility. Right now the ogres are absolute beasts, they have tons of health and hit HARD. With brisk recitation I get phrases so fast I can keep the ogres up 100% of the time.

 

Looking forward to throwing out the occasional empowered eld nary later though!

[MortyTheGobbo]

A pike is a possibility, I suppose. It's a sort of mid-line option. But it's something I'll go back to with Konstanten, after giving him a single weapon didn't quite work out. So my own chanter might want something else.

 

I'm not looking for any special synergy, really. Just a comfortable way to play a ranged chanter on Veteran. Bellower is a curious choice, though either way getting to Eld Nary would take some time.

[DozingDragon]

I am a big fan of the Essence Interrupter hunting bow, as many enemies have a low Shock AR. Add in the Soul Diplomacy upgrade and you will consistently bring more allies on the field that do not count against your summoning limit.

 

The Sky Dragon Wurmling is a great pet for ranged characters generally, and the Ring of the Marksman can also be obtained pretty early. You can boost your Penetration with the PL 9 phrase and the PL 6 Invocation (Their Champion Braved the Horde Alone to get the Energized Inspiration for +2 Penetration). Add in the Hot Razor Skewers resting bonus, and your character should routinely Over Pen enemies, which means converting enemies into allied creatures even faster.

[MortyTheGobbo]

The character in question, formerly a druid, is a boreal dwarf from Deadfire, so a hunting bow would fit her fine.

[Boeroer]

As a ranged boreal dwarf you must use Aamiina's Legacy.

[Frak]

Well, if you want ranged chanter you have a few options. Due to the subclasses having a clear specialization, there is little reason to go default chanter.

 

Go beckoner if you want to focus on summons. This is almost evident. 

Go troubadour if ... well .. go troubadour if you want versatility in your pick of invocations. Troubadour is better than default chanter in any given circumstance. (This is a design bug, if you ask me)

 

Bellower is a bit weird. Positioning becomes paramount. The diminished radius of your chanting means you have to clump allies together. Invocations will gather at the default speed at 6 secs pr phrase. But the added power-levels are so sweet. Go bellower if you want more duration on your beneficial invocations or of you want more damage/higher accuracy on your offensive ones.

[Stardusk78]

Don't play Beckoner...it is trash compared to the Troubador.

[Elric Galad]

Bellower is best for alpha eld nary cast (and various alpha cast + beta cast with sasha's scimitar).

Beckoner is best for niche builds which rely on skeleton spamming.

Skald is best for martial multiclass spamming low level offensive invocations and okay for mid-level ones.

Vanilla chanter is useless.

Troubadour is best for everything else.

Edited January 13, 2019 by Elric Galad

[MortyTheGobbo]

Bellower seems a bit impractical for a ranged chanter, since I'd need to constantly pay attention to the chants' AoE and make sure they affect my allies. Probably not good for a first attempt at a chanter PC. So I guess troubadour it is. I'll pick the best party-buff phrases, summons and invocations that don't need be to stick close to the enemy.

 

And yeah, I see Aaamina's Legacy actually has a bonus if the wielder is a dwarf. I think it might be the only such item? I can't remember seeing other race-based bonuses.

Edited January 13, 2019 by MortyTheGobbo

[Boeroer]

Don't play Beckoner...it is trash compared to the Troubador.

It's not. It's just more niche. If you can't find that then better take Troubadour.

[Boeroer]

Bellower seems a bit impractical for a ranged chanter, since I'd need to constantly pay attention to the chants' AoE and make sure they affect my allies. Probably not good for a first attempt at a chanter PC. So I guess troubadour it is. I'll pick the best party-buff phrases, summons and invocations that don't need be to stick close to the enemy.

 

And yeah, I see Aaamina's Legacy actually has a bonus if the wielder is a dwarf. I think it might be the only such item? I can't remember seeing other race-based bonuses.

Yes, that's why I said you should pick it. It also has a boreal dwarven lore. It's a good weapon dps-wise, too. 

[Elric Galad]

Bellower with sure handed chant might be nice though, as you only need him/her close to your backrow.

 

But yeah, troubadour is the safest pick.

[Frak]

Bellower with sure handed chant might be nice though, as you only need him/her close to your backrow.

 

But yeah, troubadour is the safest pick.

 

Due to the small radius and the relative greater power-level advantage offensive invoc's get, I pretty much imagine bellower as a tanky frontliner. That might just be my perception (+20) though. 

[MortyTheGobbo]

I've created a troubadour with Reny's Ghost an Swift Winds of Death, then gave her At the Sight of her Comrades on level 2. It'll be a bit before I properly start this playthrough, so we'll see how it goes then. I wasn't sure if Thrice Was She Wronged is useful or not, but +10 to will and fortitude is handy enough.

 

Even though it's a cone, Killers Froze Stiff is probably too good not to take. It just takes some repositioning.

[Elric Galad]

 

Bellower with sure handed chant might be nice though, as you only need him/her close to your backrow.

 

But yeah, troubadour is the safest pick.

Due to the small radius and the relative greater power-level advantage offensive invoc's get, I pretty much imagine bellower as a tanky frontliner. That might just be my perception (+20) though.

You don't need to be close to spam eld nary, which is probably the best thing a bellower can do.

[MortyTheGobbo]

With my future chanter Watcher squared away, I guess I'll just give Konstanten a pike, have him use the modal and spam Killer Froze Stiff, Shield Cracks and White Worms. Reduced deflection and paralyzed enemies should work well for crit-fishing.

[Frak]

 

You don't need to be close to spam eld nary, which is probably the best thing a bellower can do.

 

 

That sounds utterly boring. With the added duration you can do a lot other fun stuff. Killers Froze Stiff last a long time on bellower, for instance. And you can do party buffs like a ... chanter.

[Elric Galad]

I don't think the PL bonus (+3 PL if you don't want to waste phrases) worth it compared to the 12s vs 18s that a troubadour provides for Killer Froze.

 

If you want to play a versatile chanter, go troubadour (Skalds have a few option too, but only for melee).

​Bellower and condemned to such niche in my opinion.

Edited January 14, 2019 by Elric Galad