[Class Build] Please reccomend a ranged-sustained dps-martial-crit build.

[mangamancer]

Kind of like(but not exactly) this.

Is Frostseeker really the best choice? damage seems low.

what class/race/stats/abilities/items to go for.

kinda want a multi class that includes one or more of these classes/subclasses.

Bleakwalker Paladin.

Sharpshooter Ranger.

Devoted Fighter.

Barbarian.

Rouge.

[Adexrekt]

I just posted mine a few days ago to ask for help with it, but it is mostly done with the help of this forum. Maybe you are interested?

Of course the Arquebus could be switched to a Warbow if you prefer that, and if you are playing Real Time With Pause, No Subclass Rogue could be switched to Assassin.

The Ranger's subclass is not Sharpshooter, but Ghost Heart. But having a ghost wolf is very useful, because there is no penalty if it gets killed. Also, it is kinda cool 

Edited August 23, 2020 by Adexrekt

[mangamancer]

Thank you. I'll look into it.

[Boeroer]

For a sustained Frostseeker build (which does awesome damage as long as you crit a lot) I would pick Helwalker/Sharpshooter (because you want Sharpshooter) but even better Helwalker/Arcane Archer. Ranger because high ACC and Driving Flight which gives you a lot more chances to trigger a crit. 

With an Arcane Archer you have no ACC penalty when using Frostseeker no matter the ability you use. And later you can use Imbue:Web + Imbue:Eora to pull enemies very tightly together whilw shooting at them and triggering as many frost AoEs as possible. But Sharpshooter is ok as well. 

Helwalker gives you more dmg via MIG, more speed and a shocking lash (Lightning Strikes) and a bigger AoE size via Duality:INT. Most importantly the Monk can use Stunning Surge nearly endlessly because the cost gets refunded on crit. And if you do a shot with Frostseeker+Driving Flight it means that you have 6 chances to crit with every shot you do. Besides that Monks get Enduring Dance which is awesome for a ranged char and also Thunderous Blows which helps with higher AR of enemies. 

If you are looking for another crit based bow: look at St. Omaku's Mercy or Veilpiercer. They have a 50% chance to set recovery to 0 on crit which works with Driving Flight. If you pick something like Devoted/Sharpshooter you can achieve a lot of shots without recovery which is very nice.

 

Edited August 23, 2020 by Boeroer

[mangamancer]

Would the choice be different if heavier emphasis is put on the early game?

Also, how well would a Devoted/Bleakwalker perform?

[Boeroer]

Essence Interrupter can be bought very early in the game. So I would focus on that. 

Classes that are front loaded in terms of ranged offense and work well in the early game (at least if paired with a fitting second class): Ranger (Marked Prey, Wounding Shot), all Rogues (Sneak Attack, Crippling Strike), Bleak Walker (Black Flames of Devotion), Helwalker (Helscar, MIG bonus, Mortification of the Soul).

A Devoted/Bleak Walker is more suited for melee since both classes gain a lot of defensive capability (which would be kind of wasted) and most of their good offensive abilites work at close range/melee. Also the Fighter only has one active attack ability for ranged weapons (Penetrating Strike) as well as the Paladin (Flames of Devotion). I mean it will surely work and it would be a quite sturdy ranged char (so only few knockouts which can be very nice as well) but it's a bit limited (dare I say boring?) in terms of offense. 

Edited August 23, 2020 by Boeroer

[mangamancer]

I'm kind of reluctant to use monk because I have a feeling they got nerf a lot.

If I remember correctly they began battle with more wounds and nature godlike provided more PL in the old days. There might be even more nerf I'm unaware of.

[Haplok]

Yeah, they got nerfed a lot. Doesn't stop them from being one of the top martial classes AND one of the best choices for caster multiclasses.

[Boeroer]

Got nerfed compared to what? PoE? Several  classes that were quite strong were nerfed from PoE to Deadfire (see Priest, Cipher, Barbarian etc.).

Because I don't remember a lot of nerfs to Deadfire Monks since release. Fighters, Chanters etc. got hit way harder.

Monk is most possibly the best martial single class in the game and is awesome multiclass material, too. 

Some people don't like the wound mechanic of "get hurt in order to fuel abilities", which is fair, but there are even subclasses (Nalpasca, Forbidden Fist and Shattered Pillar) that use a different mechanic to generate wounds. 

Edited August 24, 2020 by Boeroer

[Haplok]

AFAIR their lashes (Turning Wheel, I think Lightning Strikes also?) were hit pretty badly. Switf Strikes trigger chance was reduced too?

Blade Turning is canceled on movement nowadays.

 

Yeah, there were quite a few monk nerfs, I think. Doesn't stop them from being one of the best classes.

 

[mangamancer]

On another note, Is this build really as good as they claimed.

https://brightrockmedia.com/2020/02/20/poe2-best-monk-build-pillars-of-eternity-2/

[Haplok]

Monks are great. Nalpasca is considered the strongest subclass.

But personally I don't like the consumable-reliant drug-monk. YMMV.

 

Also using Tuotilo's Palm makes sense, particularly when you need better defenses. Or focus on Primary (main hand) special attacks. But I wouldn't necessarily use it all the time, depending on build and encounter.

[Waski]

2 hours ago, mangamancer said:

On another note, Is this build really as good as they claimed.

https://brightrockmedia.com/2020/02/20/poe2-best-monk-build-pillars-of-eternity-2/

Nope, just by the filling cape slot by Violet Redemption (last drop in the game, in Ukaizo) you can say it was theorycrafted by someone with less hours played than most of veterans here spended watching intro (it was unskippable at realese).

All good sc monks(mortar monk, melee helwalker, builds abusing Eders armor and keeper of the Flame or disengegment/parting sorrow)  are build around WotW/resonant touch/ajammut cloak and steady stream of wounds.

Edited August 24, 2020 by Waski

[thelee]

32 minutes ago, Waski said:

Nope, just by the filling cape slot by Violet Redemption (last drop in the game, in Ukaizo) you can say it was theorycrafted by someone with less hours played than most of veterans here spended watching intro (it was unskippable at realese).

i think you can theoretically just go on a killing spree in the VTC building and get it there? but yeah, that definitely reads like someone just going through items on a wiki page without consideration of feasibility or effectiveness.

 

edit - tuolito's palm is only useful for a more tanky appproach - equipping it and also dumping res seems nonsensical to me for a "best build." regardless of hte upgrades and the fist scaling on the palm, base fists do comically more dps. the real "best build" is any build that gets ajamuut's stalking cloak and spams whispers of the wind

Edited August 24, 2020 by thelee

[thelee]

2 hours ago, Haplok said:

Nalpasca is considered the strongest subclass.

i think this is debatable. helwalker is brutally metagame-able. i'd probably pick that over nazpalca.

monk is versatile enough that even xoti's subclass looks top-tier in the right set up (aforementioned whispers of the wind set up => high and neverending wound generation as you clear out a fight singlehandedly)

Edited August 24, 2020 by thelee

[Waski]

33 minutes ago, thelee said:

i think you can theoretically just go on a killing spree in the VTC building and get it there? but yeah, that definitely reads like someone just going through items on a wiki page without consideration of feasibility or effectiveness.

nope, Nirro wears it and before Ukaizo he is only present during cutscenes (palace, Castol trial), by going murderhobo in VTC you can get Ragged Cloak  from Alvari

Edited August 24, 2020 by Waski

[Boeroer]

Nalpasca really reeks once you meet guys with Arcane Dampener.

[mangamancer]

I was thinking about dual weiding scepters. Testing an assassin/bleakwalker and found out that full attack doesn't work with assassination, witch I was quite expected.

I wasn't expecting this though. Has it always been like this?

 

[thelee]

no, not always. it was a nerf like in the 2.0 or 3.0 patch range to bring dual-wielded full attacks more in line with at least 2h attacks. (it's almost the exact negative inversion modifier you need to make the expected damage identical between a dual-wielded full attack and an equivalent 2h full attack)

dual-wielding has always been a little bit too good; it's still very good, now just a little less so.

[mangamancer]

I tried a devoted/assassin. The damage from assassination that crit is kind of bonkers.

[Boeroer]

It might seem so at the beginning. But those crit damage bonuses are only additive and they don't scale. With every step of weapon quality (fine, exceptional, superb etc.) and with every Power-Level for Sneak Attack and later with Deathblows those crit bonuses play a smaller and smaller role. The PEN bonus and the ACC of Assassinate always stay viable though, as does the PEN bonus of Devoted (although it's often better to just switch a weapon with a dmg type the enemy is most vulnerable to). 

Lashes on the other hand (like Paladin's Flames of Devotion or Monk's Lightning Strikes) are multiplicative dmg bonuses which retain their part of contributing to the dmg output. They don't diminish and work especially well with dmg bonuses like Sneak Attack. 

If you want "sustained" dps as you mentioned in the title then Assassin is not the best pick since he can only pull off Assassinate from stealth and invisibility which both are very limited per encounter. 

A really impressive dmg output can be done by Streetfighter with blunderbusses (and mortars). Also works well as Devoted/Streetfighter or Sharpshooter/Streetfighter. The trick is that the modal of blunderbusses (Powder Burns) always triggers the passive "Heating up" of Streetfighters which leads to an insane reload speedup and also boosts Sneak Attack dmg. The Devoted or Sharpshooter will help with more PEN, Devoted will add crit dmg, Sharpshooter can add Driving Flight and more ACC. Also works very well as Single Class to pick um Gambit later. It is sustained because you don't need any resources to trigger the passive. With Hand Mortar from Serafen (pick  Blinding Smoke by all means) you can unlock Sneak Attack + Deathblows with a crit without using any ability. Fire in the Hole will jump automatically with Chain Shot and nearly double the dmg. 

[mangamancer]

Thank you. I'll look into that.

I don't like guns much because I'm afraid to run into piece immune enemy. But it seems like Hand Mortar deals the best of 2 types of damage. Should be suitable for me.

Should I go for single weapon style with this, or should I find something to dual with it?

p.s. will I get dual wield penalty If I dual hand mortar with a melee weapon?

[Haplok]

Its even better/more interesting. Hand mortars don't target Deflection defense (like pretty much all other martial weapons do), but rather enemy Reflex. That's bad against SOME enemies (mostly rogue-ish, agile types) but usually great vs everybody else!

 

You should go dual style. Conveniently there are 2 such hand cannons from Serafen: Hand Mortar and Fire in the Hole (the latter is gotten when finishing his personal quest).

 

And yes, you'll get the dual wielding penalty if you use dual weapons.

[mangamancer]

Wouldn't recovery time be the same whether I dual with another gun or a melee? Was it to utilize full attack?

I presume INT would be very important to this build, more than might?

[Haplok]

Yes.

Rogues and dual-wielding monks usually rely on full attacks.

And yeah, Might's impact on overall damage done isn't great with a rogue. Int to increase aoe damage radiuses might be better.

Although if you multiclass with monk, you can get A LOT of Int from Duality of Mortal Body. Then again, a multiclass with a Sharpshooter isn't bad either.