Slowpoke Herald

[Darkpockets]

Hey there! While this board game me some great advice on a Mystic of Wael recently that I definitely still might take out for a spin, I'm also wondering about the viability of an old(-ish?) Herald build that Nerd Commando cooked up on the Steam forums. The basic gist of his idea is that a Herald can dump DEX and still get by as a solid damage dealer & support because of how many instant-ish casts they get -- and with Brisk Recitation on, chants are growing rapidly in a way they obviously wouldn't for, say, a slow Skald. It seems really neat, and I was wondering if I could get input on some very slight tweaks to the original idea. 

I'm especially curious about these things:

1. Would having the self-buff of Courageous (from Hands of Light) really be frequently available enough in the late game that the long cast of Seven Nights could still be viable? 

2. Does Brand Enemy really do decent damage? Does Come, Come Soft Winds?

And apart from that, I'm curious about any general reactions to the build. Do the quick casts really obviate the godawful recovery? Would this be boring on a main character? Totally subjective, I know, but I'm curious to hear folks' reactions!

 

Herald (Human)

Chanter (Troubadour) / Paladin (Shieldbearer of St. Elcga)

MIG - 18 / CON - 8 / DEX - 4 / PER - 18 / INT - 12 / RES - 18

 

1 - Sworn Enemy / Thrice She Was Wronged / Come, Come Soft Winds of Death

2 - Deep Faith

3 - And Hel-Hyraf Crashed &c.

4 - Zealous Aura / Weapon & Shield Style

5 - Divine Purpose

6 - [not sure what I'd take here!]

7 - Brand Enemy / The Shield Cracks

8 - Her Revenge Swept Across the Land

9 - Hands of Light

10 - Exalted Endurance [or Focus???] / Aefyllath Ues Mith Fyr

11 - Liberating Exhortation

12 - [The Long Night's Drink?]

13 - Practiced Healer / Seven Nights She Waited &c.

 

And so on from there!

[omgFIREBALLS]

44 minutes ago, Darkpockets said:

Does Brand Enemy really do decent damage?

No. Expect single digits. But if you want to play the outlast game, it's great. There's no avoiding it, there's no removing it. If the target isn't immune to fire (or heals from fire), it's a death sentence.

[Boeroer]

Endless duration DoTs are potentially OP and so is Brand Enemy. It even is an auto-hit - no misses, grazes or crits. 100% hit death sentence (if not immune). You just have to stay alive.

Soft Winds of Death doesn't do an awful lot of damage, but since it's raw you can deal damage to anyone regardless of AR (if you can overcome the fortitude). The decent part is that is also heals as long as you hit at least one enemy with it. Ancient Memory is more potent, but of course it doesn't damage anything.

With a lot of Zeal for Brand Enemy and combined high defenses, AR, Soft Winds + Exalted Endurance you can outlast most enemies while grinding them down.

Fast casts ok - but recovery will be bad, especially when combining low DEX with heavy armor. Doesn't matter too much if you rely on DoTs and high defensive capabilities as well as auras and passives though.

Calling summons (good thing to have when going solo) will take a long time. Summons have the longest casting times...

 

Edited March 10, 2020 by Boeroer

[Kaylon]

I recommend picking Darcozzi instead of Goldpact because the long lasting damage shield will add to the damage dealt by your weapon/spells and will shorten the fights considerably. Brand Enemy with high strength will deal 10+dmg and will add nicely to your overall damage. Your main offensive invocation should be Her Revenge... You can use Sun and Moon as weapon to debuff reflex on enemies. You should get also Bardatto's mace because it gives robust inspiration each time a summon is killed (works best with Many Lives Pass...). Another great weapon for solo is Keeper of the Flame which deals great AoE damage with high religion (with your armor/defense you will take just minor damage from it). You should lower constitution and resolve a bit and max intellect instead because you want to keep your buffs/summons as long as possible. The only summon you should get are the Animated Weapons because they're the only ones scaling with your level. The ideal is to have the damage shield, Eternal Devotion up the entire fight and Brand Enemy on as many enemies as possible.