The Eye of Wael

[Boeroer]

I think that Engoliero procs its Blade Feast on non-weapon hits is an oversight - but a nice one nontheless. It's especially great on a Barb/caster due to Blood Thirst. Used it with a Warlock - ouch. 

[Haplok]

So yeah, it is pretty nice. Don't even have Deathblows yet.

Doubtful whether it translates to more damage then 10% universal corrode lash on Blightheart (except vs large numbers of weak enemies), but the healing effect is kinda neat, even moreso for a Blood Mage Spellblade... who often cannot be targeted, even by friendly healing. Plus it has a pretty high coolness factor.

aaand there is the unintented synergy with Soul Hunger debuffing Might (among others) at the beginning of the combat - when you self buff and use Blood Sacrifice a lot to recover these slots - and then buffs Might (and Con, Dex) after 1st kill.

[Boeroer]

Yes, it's pretty awesome for a caster.

But I mean... if you want to really buff up your spell dmg then nothing beats Deltro's Cage Helmet on a Wizard. You can easily hit yourself with a Chain Lightning first (it jumps to the nearest enemy afterwards so it's not even 100% wasted just on you) and then you'll get a shocking lash equal to the shock dmg you received. So if you suffered 80 shock dmg you'll get a 80%(!) shocking lash on all dmg you cause, including spells. After (or before) casting that Chain Lightning I like to use Wall of Draining to prolong the lash's duration (or use a Priest with SoT). You can even stack it with Blightheart - or even better use Engoliero (which also gets the lash for all dmg it causes). It's a bit of a hassle to set it up (in RtwP at least) - but it's so powerful that it's totally worth it in harder fights.  

Of course it's also possible to use it with any other char if you have a reliable source of shock dmg (like a fellow wizard or Stormspeaker with Crackling Bolt/Chain Lightning or a shifted Fury or any guy with Essence Interrupter).

[Haplok]

Interesting. Very interesting. I mean, it almost needs the Wall of Draining to be worth the hassle in Turn Based (base duration is 1 round.. wonder if it can be extended via Intelligence and other means?).

So 1st round Wall of Draining, 2nd round Chain Lightning (not entirely wasted but relatively weak) and you only start serious business on round 3... still may be worth it for some tougher foes... and bragging rights.

But if it can last more then 2 rounds, it could be very potent indeed!

Edited April 27, 2020 by Haplok

[Boeroer]

I don't know anything about rounds. But with Wall of Draining on mutiple enemies I can buff it from its base duration (12 sec or so) to over 200 seconds. INT does apply as well. 

If you wear the Cap of the Laughingstock with another party member then enemies always have a buff on them that you can drain from.  

[Haplok]

Hmm, need to check this out. In smaller fights Fassina could potentially tickle my char with Jolting Touch.

Will need to try to steal the helm... that would be preferable to slaughtering all the Bardattos.

[Boeroer]

It's possible to pickpocket the helm from her with Sleight of Hand 7. She's also wearing the Deltro's Cage plate armor. You can only get that if you kill her though.

[dgray62]

7 hours ago, Boeroer said:

Yes, it's pretty awesome for a caster.

But I mean... if you want to really buff up your spell dmg then nothing beats Deltro's Cage Helmet on a Wizard. You can easily hit yourself with a Chain Lightning first (it jumps to the nearest enemy afterwards so it's not even 100% wasted just on you) and then you'll get a shocking lash equal to the shock dmg you received. So if you suffered 80 shock dmg you'll get a 80%(!) shocking lash on all dmg you cause, including spells. After (or before) casting that Chain Lightning I like to use Wall of Draining to prolong the lash's duration (or use a Priest with SoT). You can even stack it with Blightheart - or even better use Engoliero (which also gets the lash for all dmg it causes). It's a bit of a hassle to set it up (in RtwP at least) - but it's so powerful that it's totally worth it in harder fights.  

If playing with a Sage, would Deltro's Cage Helmet's lash stack with Lightning Strikes' lash?

[Boeroer]

Yes, it stacks with everything. 

[Haplok]

The results are nice indeed...

 

Thank you Boeroer, nearly missed that combo-wombo...

 

Currently lasts 3 rounds without Wall of Draining btw... enough to accomplish something

Edited April 27, 2020 by Haplok

[Haplok]

Even the initial Chain Lightning isn't too shabby... after hitting your char, the bounces already get the Deltro Cage leash....

 

Obviously killed myself once with a lightning crit... and had to unequip the Precognition for self-damage, as that was reducing crit damage by 75%...

Still, that was with only a humble 81% lash... Double that is certainly possible, if I affect my char with an Assassinate Crit... and survive (need to be careful with Blood Sacrifice prior to this).

 

 

Edited April 28, 2020 by Haplok

[Boeroer]

"humble" 81% lash.

[Haplok]

Well, Minoletta's Piercing Burst is pretty cool also... and reliably triggers Assassinate bonus (as opposed to Freezing Pillar with its "Extremaly Loud" cast noise)

Takedown Combo can enable some nice hits

Edited April 30, 2020 by Haplok

[Haplok]

That was even better

[Haplok]

A Paladin's Inspired Beacon is also such a lovely force amplifier

The effect is lesser then a Ranger Companion's Takedown Combo (and costs a Cast action).... but applied in a (small) aoe and lasts far longer then a single damage roll (1 round on Graze, up to 4 on Crit in case of my Pallegina, I think).

Edited May 6, 2020 by Haplok

[Boeroer]

If it hadn't such a long recovery phase. It's nice on a tank who's standing there, holding enemies and somebody else is casting nukes though.

[Elric Galad]

Just a question : Does Trickster's and Priest of Wael's Illusion spells tagged as Illusions ? If not, I would add the keyword for my mod. 

[Boeroer]

They are tagged as illusions. Wael's Eye and Whitewitch Mask both raise their Power Level.

[Haplok]

I do love those Engoliero de Espirs cascades...

[dgray62]

Haplok, what are the base stats on your spellblade? Did you keep STR relatively low and DEX, PER and INT high? Also, did you take backstab?

[Haplok]

My stats are:

Str: 10 +2 Berath's Blessing (-3/+3 from Engoliero Soul Hunger)

Con 17 +2BB (-3/+3)

Dex 10 +2BB (-3/+3) (probably would be higher outside Turn Based)

Per 19 +2BB

Int 19 +2BB

Res 4 +2BB

 

And no, no real reason to pick Backstab. It's not like I'd want to waste a precious Assasinate opportunity for a relatively weak, single target strike.

In fact Escape and Shadowing Beyond are my only Active Rogue skills.

 

Deathblows passive is useful to further empower Engoliero Ghost Blades though.

Edited May 7, 2020 by Haplok

[dgray62]

Thanks, Haplok. I presume that you took some of the passive rogue skills, such as persistent distraction, deep wounds, and so forth? Also, did you primarily rely on grimoires, or did you pick spells when leveling up?

[Haplok]

Persistent Distraction is pretty useless, as I'm not engaging anyone. 

Deep Wounds only apply to Engoliero Ghost Blades, but as I play with the Community Patch, the effect is really negligible (something like 1 damage per round) and not worth the point. 

Dirty Fighting, Two Handed Weapon, Uncanny Luck (debatable without Community Patch), Improved Criticals, Slippery Mind (useful, you should play with a human and be nearly always Blooded from Blood Sacrifice... then again, you're often impossible to even target). 

Don't take Adept Evasion, as that will prevent lightning grazes from enabling Deltros helm shock lash. 

As for spells, Ninagauth's Teachings grimoire got you nearly covered on offensive spells. You only need Chain Lightning (cast blooded from stealth with Assasinate  bonus on self) to trigger Deltros Cage hełm. Before you get Chain Lightning, Jolting Touch can be used as substitute. 

Oh and Concelhaut's Corrosive Siphon - solid aoe damage AND health drain for yourself - what's not to love? It's a staple in early game. 

Arkemyrs Dazzling Lights to use from Stealth (without hitting anyone) to draw attention and group enemies before fireballing and paralyzing them with an opening Assasinate Ninagauth's Shadowflame. 

Oh and my favorite big number spell, Minolettas Precisely Piercing Burst. 

I mostly picked nearly all instant buffs (except Iron Skin, as it breaks from Blood Sacrifice damage and that spell that offers 10 Deflection and Reflex and doesn't stack; some version of Arcane Reflection is highly debatable/very situational), and some staples, like Wall of Draining and Llengrath's Safeguard (for long, tougher fights), maybe also Miasma and Rymgrands Enervating Terror (that I nearly never used). 

 

Note to only use Armor and Reflex buffs after hitting yourself with lightning. 

 

Also I recommend using Devil of Caroc armor - at least when it allows for extra use of Shadowing Beyond. 

Assasin Slippers can be helpful, but are somewhat difficult to take advantage of (at least in Turn Based mode). 

Edited May 8, 2020 by Haplok

[dgray62]

Thanks for the tips, Haplok. Do you take Secrets of Rime for the extra penetration with your Ninagauth's Shadowflame? Or is this not necessary, since assassination already gives you +4 PEN? I guess you don't need Rymgrands Enervating Terror for the same reason you don't need Persistent Distraction. Do you keep Rust's Poignard in an offhand for an extra shadowing beyond use?

[Haplok]

11 hours ago, dgray62 said:

Thanks for the tips, Haplok. Do you take Secrets of Rime for the extra penetration with your Ninagauth's Shadowflame? Or is this not necessary, since assassination already gives you +4 PEN? I guess you don't need Rymgrands Enervating Terror for the same reason you don't need Persistent Distraction. Do you keep Rust's Poignard in an offhand for an extra shadowing beyond use?

I did take secrets of rime and also the pen boost for shocking effects. The former mostly for Ningauths Freezing Pillar, which is possibly best bang for buck spell, but rarely benefits from Assasinate. Shadowflame is a great opener for the combo of damage and CC, but late game it does not do great damage anyways. Certainly can live without the cold pen boost - simply don't use ice spells on ice resistant enemies. 

Shock pen boost is more important, Deltros lash applies to all direct damage spells and seems to have not great PEN. 

Rust's was a disappointment for me here. The effect is limited to 1 per rest, and I hate relying on those. Can keep it for a pinch I suppose. And YMMV. 

Edited May 9, 2020 by Haplok