Shenanigans

[brasilgringo]

Did you see this thread on reddit about Clear Out + Whispers of Endless Paths?

 

https://www.reddit.com/r/projecteternity/comments/afpju8/whispers_of_the_endless_paths_clear_out_rank_6/

 

"Clear Out deals Primary Damage to every creature in the cone(so it's like you attack 1 by 1 by your normal swing) and each of those outputted Whisper's damage in an AOE. So try counting how many Clear Outs damage in the log that you do, it must be equal to (how many creature hit by Clear Out) multiplied by (how many creatures in WotEP's AOE)."

 

Sounds like something to try. 

 

[Elric Galad]

Wahai Poraga should provide similar results.

[Boeroer]

Both doesn't work (at least last time I tried... in beta - those guys are so late ) because the AoE attacks of both seem to be attached in a way that they don't work with other AoE attacks. Also not with HoF,Whirling Strikes (Ranger), Whispers of the Wind (Monk) and whatnot. Not even with Instruments of Pain. It's always the initial attack only, AoE gets omitted. Or got.

 

It works with Citzal's Spirit Lance though. Clear Out + Spirit Lance is the Battlemage's no.1 melee nuke.

Edited January 14, 2019 by Boeroer

[Elric Galad]

tsss tsss

Wizards

[heldred]

My ATF...  Fighter/Wiz...  (really doesn't matter the specialties, but I like vanilla wiz for spell selection)

Step #1:  Activate Tactical Barrage

 

Step #2: Buff... with rapid casting: Deleterious, Eldritch Aim, Infuse Vital, Llengraths Displaced, Flame Shield, Ironskin, Llengraths Safe, Citzals...

 

Step #3: Walk into the middle of mobs (your stride is basically maxed) ...  be sure Mob Stance is active

 

Step #4: Activate Clear Out

 

Step #5: Watch everyone in your party stop what they are doing to say, "I thought only Meteor Shower did that kind of damage..."

Edited January 15, 2019 by heldred

[brasilgringo]

I just tested this with Clear Out ant WotEP, and boy is it fun!  More so if you have the action speed enchant for WotEP (Blade Form, gives -17% recovery maxed at 10 stacks) and Mob Stance.\

 

The sheer number of attacks happen so fast that the mobs die about 2 seconds before the attack sounds stop playing.  Upgrading to Clean Sweep also seems to work well.

 

https://imgur.com/a/0CIzJ2c

 

Ah crap, now I want to make a battlemage specializing in Clear Out + Citzals lance with Dragonic Fury spell ... dangit.  Buff up, cast Pull of Eora on yourself as center, go to town.  I imagine it's even more absurd if you cast Avenging Storm from a scroll first, and use a poison?

Edited January 15, 2019 by brasilgringo

[srulz]

TBH stuff like this actually do frustrate me a little bit about the game. Like what is actually the supposed behaviour? If I build totally around this behaviour, and invest like 40 to 50 hours on it, what if suddenly Obsidian patches it out and totally destroy my build? All those hours down the drain. Especially on stuff that is apparently like this since the very beginning.

 

Another example, I actually just finally looted Red Hand in-game, after finally going on my first proper run. While testing the weapon, I apparently found out that the buffs actually persist even if you unequip the weapon and pass it to someone else. So the "correct" usage of that weapon is to pass that weapon to everyone to farm up the 20 kills each while upgrading it to the 0% damage taken. But is this buff's persisting actually correct? Because logically it should stay only while you're using the weapon, and/or while actually in your hands, then the better upgrade would be to 40% damage taken and use it on a glass cannon far away from the battlefield. The fact that you can't change the enchantment without consoling another weapon in also frustrates me. Alas last Red Hand change is a long time ago in which they fixed the stacking of before & after upgrades, that's all.

 

I mean, I still really enjoy the game, but all these inconsistencies are really grating.

[Boeroer]

Huh? Maybe they did something with WotEP so that it works now. They surely did something because its AoE doesn't transport afflictions from abilities like GOuging Strike, Stunning Surge etc. anymore. Somebody did some tinkering and it didn't end well.

 

https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/107888-bug-citzals-lance-not-working-with-affliction-causing-abilities/

[brasilgringo]

After some quick testing with spirit lance, it's possible that WotEP is better due to the enormous size of its cone if you have high Int.  Further testing needed!

[Verde]

If you totally create a build around this very specific type of behavior, then yes you run the risk of having your build nerfed or becoming useless if said behavior is changed. You knowingly made it when it's clear something is wonky. Don't blame the devs for fixing broke stuff.

[Boeroer]

This type of behavior (at least with Spirit Lance) has been in the game since beta though.

[Verde]

I'm just addressing it generally.

[Boeroer]

I just tested both Citzal's Spirit Lance as well as Whisper otEP with Clear out/Clear the Path/Clean Sweep.

 

This behaviour is new. It seems to trigger an endless cycle of "AoE triggers AoE". I'm pretty sure this has something to do with the new bugs:

 

a) when used with an active ability both weapons suddenly omit recovery after the attack and keep attacking with the same ability until there's not resource anymore

b) both weapons suddenly don't apply afflictions in an AoE anymore 

 

Something got changed and it also affects the synergy between Clear Out and Clean Sweep and both weapons' AoE. Clear the Path has NOT this behavior.

 

This is clearly broken and a lot more bonkers than the "former" synergy of Lance + Clear Out was. That was powerful but not an endless chain reaction.

 

I guess this will get fixed very soon.

Edited January 16, 2019 by Boeroer

[Boeroer]

Hm, on a second test the chain was not endless but stopped at some point (like it used to with Lance). Weird...

[brasilgringo]

I saw both results -- endlessly consuming resources until no more Discipline left, and stopping at some point.

It's obviously broken so I'm not going to build around it, but man is it fun.  So much fun. 

I did get my ass handed to me with a Brute build (no-sub Barb/Devoted) trying to solo Fampyr Cave and Flooded Cave with it tho.  

[Boeroer]

Clean Sweep works better than Clear Out. For some reason with Clean Sweep I always get an endless loop even when I'm only attacking one single enemy with it + Whispers otEP. It loops till death every time. So I recommend single class Fighter. Totally bugged but fun. But it's too broken to do a playthrough with it.

 

I just finished my Mortar Monk run (finally) and that already was borderline broken.

 

Next is my newest cheese: single class melee/ranged hybrid Ranger with some special tricky bits.

[brasilgringo]

Clean Sweep works better than Clear Out. For some reason with Clean Sweep I always get an endless loop even when I'm only attacking one single enemy with it + Whispers otEP. It loops till death every time. So I recommend single class Fighter. Totally bugged but fun. But it's too broken to do a playthrough with it.

 

I just finished my Mortar Monk run (finally) and that already was borderline broken.

 

Next is my newest cheese: single class melee/ranged hybrid Ranger with some special tricky bits.

You can install the mutliclass mod that gives lvl 8/9 abilties and get Clean Sweep with a mutliclass, if that's worth it.

 

I'd love to see your ranger build.  I keep trying rangers and being so disappointed. I tried a ranger/chanter using Red Hand with Gunner and Sure-handed Ila and everything, and was like "is that it?" for damage numbers.  Reload makes me cry.  Windsong was slightly better but meh. 

[brasilgringo]

FYI if you are messing around with this and want to make it even more fun, two words:  Avenging Storm (scrolls of).

[Boeroer]

I don't think I will follow up on this.