What would you play in this group?

[Laz0r]

Initially I had played through half of PoE I when it launched but quit because they were still ironing out all the issues the game had. Now that both PoE I and II seem to have most of the glaring issues dealt with, I figured now is a good time to go through both back to back. This playthrough will be on PotD.

 

I’m trying to plan a party that goes from one game to the next, preferably with the same character setup. I’ve read about most of the companions and my team for PoE II would look like this:

 

• Eder (Fighter/Rogue)
• Pallegina (Paladin/Chanter)
• Tekehu (Druid)
• Ydwin (Cipher/Rogue) or Aloth (Wizard)

 

Which leaves the question… what do I play as? I typically like to play wizards and I dislike playing as rogues or bards (chanters in this game). Though, I remember it being very awkward in the first game. I created a Wood Elf wizard only to be approached 20 minutes later by Aloth, who even had the same face as my character. It doesn’t help that if you don’t recruit him at all...

 

 

he apparently kills himself

 

 

The route I’m currently thinking of taking is to just dump Aloth, take Ydwin, and then play as a Wizard myself. With that said, I’d rather have the companions from the first game in my group, so if anyone has suggestions, I’d like to hear them.

Edited January 15, 2019 by Laz0r

[msyoung]

The Chanter does have one nice feature. I played as a Herald once and the Chanter half always called in three Wurms to help the party right at the start of combat.

[Laz0r]

The Chanter does have one nice feature. I played as a Herald once and the Chanter half always called in three Wurms to help the party right at the start of combat.

 

I had thought about playing a Chanter because of the summoning, but the whole "singing in combat" thing doesn't really appeal to me as a player. Just feels strange to me as a character concept.

[Verde]

One more Rogue multi for constant Sneak Attack shenanigans

Edited January 15, 2019 by Verde

[Ensign]

Pick your favorite damage dealer and roll. If you take Aloth as a Wizard I would take something more sustained, like a Cipher or Monk. With Ydwin I would take a Wizard or Monk.

[Marigoldran]

Monk.  Punch things into the ground with your fists.  

Edited January 16, 2019 by Marigoldran

[Boeroer]

Reading your preferences: I would try a Sage (Helwalker/Wizard)..They have enormous synergies in melee as well as in spellcasting (+10 MIG, +10 INT, generates wounds by himself using Dance of Death and Alacrity). You can cover so much area with the +10 INT and the foe-only part of your AoE spells will be huge while your spell damage will get boosted by MIG. Just watch your health!

 

A nice alternative for melee can be Battlemage (Fighter/Bloodmage).

 

The tankiest of all (for a limited time) is the Arcane Knight. I would pick Goldpact/Bloodmage I guess.

 

For spellcasting a Warlock (Furyshaper/Wizard) is great as well. His casting speed is unmatched. You get Frenzy +Bloodlust+Rapid Casting+Fury Ward and later Blood Thirst which sets recovery to 0 after a kill. Just spam-nuke away. If you use Infuse with Vital Essence you can remove Confused on a Berserker which means you are left with +2 PEN which can be a big deal for a spellcaster (at least on PotD).

 

Spellblade (Assassin/Bloodmage) with Arkemyr's Brilliant Departure as favorite spell is also very fun to play: lurk in the shadows and assassinate enemies with AoE spells like Fireball etc. which get all the assassination bonuses. And with Bloodmage you can repeat that of times. Sneaky playstyle.

[Laz0r]

Reading your preferences: I would try a Sage (Helwalker/Wizard)..They have enormous synergies in melee as well as in spellcasting (+10 MIG, +10 INT, generates wounds by himself using Dance of Death and Alacrity). You can cover so much area with the +10 INT and the foe-only part of your AoE spells will be huge while your spell damage will get boosted by MIG. Just watch your health!

 

A nice alternative for melee can be Battlemage (Fighter/Bloodmage).

 

The tankiest of all (for a limited time) is the Arcane Knight. I would pick Goldpact/Bloodmage I guess.

 

For spellcasting a Warlock (Furyshaper/Wizard) is great as well. His casting speed is unmatched. You get Frenzy +Bloodlust+Rapid Casting+Fury Ward and later Blood Thirst which sets recovery to 0 after a kill. Just spam-nuke away. If you use Infuse with Vital Essence you can remove Confused on a Berserker which means you are left with +2 PEN which can be a big deal for a spellcaster (at least on PotD).

 

Spellblade (Assassin/Bloodmage) with Arkemyr's Brilliant Departure as favorite spell is also very fun to play: lurk in the shadows and assassinate enemies with AoE spells like Fireball etc. which get all the assassination bonuses. And with Bloodmage you can repeat that of times. Sneaky playstyle.

 

I suppose the idea there would be to buff yourself to oblivion using spells so you don't die instantly and then smash things, which sounds interesting.

[dunhart]

Reading your preferences: I would try a Sage (Helwalker/Wizard)..They have enormous synergies in melee as well as in spellcasting (+10 MIG, +10 INT, generates wounds by himself using Dance of Death and Alacrity). You can cover so much area with the +10 INT and the foe-only part of your AoE spells will be huge while your spell damage will get boosted by MIG. Just watch your health!

 

A nice alternative for melee can be Battlemage (Fighter/Bloodmage).

 

The tankiest of all (for a limited time) is the Arcane Knight. I would pick Goldpact/Bloodmage I guess.

 

For spellcasting a Warlock (Furyshaper/Wizard) is great as well. His casting speed is unmatched. You get Frenzy +Bloodlust+Rapid Casting+Fury Ward and later Blood Thirst which sets recovery to 0 after a kill. Just spam-nuke away. If you use Infuse with Vital Essence you can remove Confused on a Berserker which means you are left with +2 PEN which can be a big deal for a spellcaster (at least on PotD).

 

Spellblade (Assassin/Bloodmage) with Arkemyr's Brilliant Departure as favorite spell is also very fun to play: lurk in the shadows and assassinate enemies with AoE spells like Fireball etc. which get all the assassination bonuses. And with Bloodmage you can repeat that of times. Sneaky playstyle.

@Boeroer  those all sound great and I personally wanna try all of them   Do you have any stat advice on any of those?  I kinda have a hard time  on what to prioritize for wizard multiclass especially  with  Bloodmage added into the mix. 

[dunhart]

not to rely just on the busy Boeroer, any tips in terms of attributes  for the mentioned classes from the theorycrafting community would be welcome am experimenting a bit myself but kinda get a feweling the stats I'm doing are sub-optimalthanks! 

[Ensign]

Attributes get pretty generic advice for a primary spellcaster off the front lines. Moderate (8-10) CON, dump RES as low as you are comfortable. High or max INT for all the synergies it has with buff / debuff / AoE powers. Split the balance between MGT / DEX / PER, where you'll get a dozen different opinions about which distro is best but the actual difference between those combinations is generally very small, so pick whatever flavor suits you.

[dunhart]

Ok awesome, thanks a lot. One more question, is tactitian/bloodmage viable for a party run? Most people seem to recommend it for solo, but is getting the brilliant buff that hard when you have a full party? Is going  e.g.devoted a better option for party?