New to the game

[Triptychguy]

Hey all, first time in the forums. 

Ive owned pillars for years, and after playing and beating baldurs gate series, never winter nights series and ice wind dale, I figured I’d give pillars a chance. 

 

Unfortunately the combat system while similar was a lot different in some ways from what I was used to, and I became quickly lost in how to build characters, what stats and talents were important, etc, and I moved into other games. 

 

But im ready now to give it a proper go, and have read a few guides in here to become familiar with the system.

 

my question is this; what classes are good ones to start off with? I usually play rogue types, but after reading the forums it sounds like rogues are at the bottom of everyone’s list of ranking classes from best to worst. 

Is there anything about rogues that make them not so great? Is there a class that’s good for a beginner into this series? In the previous mentioned D&D titles most classes were decent at the least. But it sounds like all spell casters are god tier in this game while melee classes seem to be less impactful? 

Any advice would be appreciated. 

[LittleArmadillo0]

Some good classes I'd recommend would be either a paladin or a ranger. Paladins are good healers and tanks, I found them pretty easy to adapt to when getting into the game.  If you aren't comfortable with the playing as fighter and you want to play something similar to a rouge the ranger is a good alternative. They have aspects of rouges but they also have an animal companion and can really help in situation where you have an enemy charging at you and instead of having to constantly run away from you can stand your ground while your buddy helps to take them down.

I can't really comment too much on mages or rouges as I've never really delved deep into those classes.

[draego]

If you like rogues then i would play them. Rogues may be at bottom of list but its not like Baldur's gate where a class at the bottom is so far away its a joke. Rogues still do great single target damage and you will have fun playing them. They are considered bottomish because they dont have a second trick in the base class. They excel at single target dps are pretty much nothing else. with some single target cc while still being squishy. Yes spell casters are considered better than other classes but again the gulf is not really that wide like Baldur's Gate wizard. Usually they are considered this way because they are more versatile and perform more functions on the battle field. This game was designed where classes would be balanced and compared to those old Infinity Engine Games they succeeded spectacularly. 

Also dont worry about the stats. They are not remotely as important as D&D and were designed for you to roleplay the character you wanted to and feel like the game rewarded you. There really are no trap builds or stats in this game unlike D&D.  I feel like the power gaming part of this game was a secondary focus in this game. Its there but i believe Josh wanted players to roleplay first and power game second. Especially for those who are not playing the game multiple times.

My favorite class is melee ranger that plays like two rogues with ranger and animal. This setup is not a power build and i still felt rewarded and that as i progressed i could do my flanking job really well. This is due to the games commitment to no bad builds. Also This is partly because like i said stats arent as big a deal and there is great gear in game to build around that can have big impacts on your characters.

Edited April 29, 2019 by draego

[Potwizz]

Pillars of Eternity is also open when to mixing classes up a bit. I am currently doing a playthrough as a mage, playing it as a battlemage (even though there is no such class), where I am mixing spells with melee combat. But if you like roleplaying/playing as a rogue, you should be encouraged to do so, but make sure to have a tank with you to aggro enemies. This makes the backstabbing much easier.
Other than that I recommend a paladin. They are great for new players because they can do a bit of everything and then spec out more to you wants and needs (Also resolve yields some really good dialogue options).

But whatever you choose, I hope you have fun with it!
 

[Boeroer]

Rogue is usually consindered to be the weakest class on Path of the Damned Difficulty. But it's not a huge margin - generally all classes are fairly well balanced and you can solo with a rogue as you can solo the game with any other class on the highest difficulty. So no "gimpage" when picking Rogue.

On lower difficulty settings than PotD (most new players will start on normal I presume) Rogues are actually quite potent.

Generally speaking: the more enemies on the field the less a Rogue will shine (because he's focused on single target damage). Higher difficulties mean longer fights and more enemies which shifts the "balance" towards classes with Area of Effect capabilites.

The Chanter class is the opposite: the higher the difficulty (the longer the fights and the more enemies) the better a Chanter becomes.

So - if you are planning to play on normal a Rogue is an absolutely solid choice.

Suggestions:

- Rogue with Rapier + Dagger (google Sword of Daenysis + March Steel Dagger/Drawn in Spring)

- Rogue with dual sabres (can't go wrong with that one)

- Rogue with low INT, high stealth & Backstab, wielding Tidefall (great sword)

- Rogue with Pike, attacking from second row (google Tall Grass pike)

- Rogue with Hours of St. Rumbalt

- Rogue with Battle Axes, aiming for We Toki (offhand) and Rimecutter or Edge of Reason or whatever axe is there.

- Rogue with Belt of the Royal Deadfire Cannoneer and Forgemaster Gloves, using Firebrand as summoned weapon

- Rogue with high deflection and Riposte (especially good with normal difficulty). Use a bashing shield to make use of Full Attacks (shield will hit first, applies affliction, main weapon will strike second with Sneak Attack enabled). Aim for Godanythunyr hammer + Badgradr's Barricade shield. Sturdy rogue with amazing dps (for a shield bearer).

- Rogue with focus on items with Spell Bindings (items which hold spells like a wizard would use). Secret is that Deathblows works with damaging spells (giving them awesome damage) and also Deep Wounds work with spells which deal pierce crush or slash damage. YOu are basically playing a spell slinging rogue/wizard who also is great with weapons.

And so on...

 

[technobrigade]

Thanks for sharing the post. Pillars of Eternity is also open when to mixing classes up a bit. I am currently doing a playthrough as a mage, playing it as a battlemage (even though there is no such class), where I am mixing spells with melee combat.