Aloth, Eder, and keeping things fresh: 4th POTD Upscaled playthrough.

[mjo2138]

Hello Everyone,

 

How do you usually build Aloth and Eder?  First of all, I always choose Aloth as a pure wizard. I just love the wizard spells, especially AOE, which feels like a game changer throughout the Game. Fassina is no good.  I have always loved magic users, so maybe I am biased. As for Eder, I choose swashbuckler. I don't see any real advantages to pure fighter; in fact, I think the rogue passives, escape ability, and damage skills make him a better tank because he can kill mobs faster.  

For variety, I might try Aloth as a battlemage, and eder as a pure rogue or DPS swashbuckler, but I have some questions:

1.  Is a swashbuckler / ranged DPS rogue viable for eder?

2. How does a battlemage tank perform throughout the game? I would choose a cipher for brillance to maintain active buffs for Wizard. 

3. My MC is a FF monk. Should I choose a different monk that focused on DPS and backline disruption? I am not sure I want to play a FF monk for my first monk. I feel like a vanilla monk or a subclass would be more enjoyable for a more traditional monk experience. Thanks in advance!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[dgray62]

You might consider trying Fassina as sorceror (wizard/druid) combo. That's my favorite way to play her, as she pretty much never runs out of spells from mid game onward. I have always played Eder as a sword'n'board tank, so I cannot comment on a ranged build for him.

[thelee]

2 hours ago, mjo2138 said:

2. How does a battlemage tank perform throughout the game? I would choose a cipher for brillance to maintain active buffs for Wizard. 

i did this fairly recently with aloth. it worked pretty well. i gave aloth heavy armor, had an AI script that automatically cast spirit shield at start of fight, and cast deleterious alacrity of motion if he didn't have a dex inspiration already. i also would cast a reflection spell and bulwark depending on the fight. i would cast various illusion magic as necessary (repulsive visage and mirror image; in some fights a wizard's double). he was pretty tough to kill in most fights. remember that vigorous/refreshing defense stacks with pure +deflection active bonuses for extra hardiness. wall of draining will keep your buffs up and can make unbending extremely powerful.

 

if you haven't tried a spellblade, it's also worth a shot. sneak attack + kalakoth's minor blights is absolutely brutal.

[mjo2138]

20 hours ago, dgray62 said:

You might consider trying Fassina as sorceror (wizard/druid) combo. That's my favorite way to play her, as she pretty much never runs out of spells from mid game onward. I have always played Eder as a sword'n'board tank, so I cannot comment on a ranged build for him.

Thanks! Yes I could she that as a good supporting caster role. I might try that for variety. 

20 hours ago, thelee said:

i did this fairly recently with aloth. it worked pretty well. i gave aloth heavy armor, had an AI script that automatically cast spirit shield at start of fight, and cast deleterious alacrity of motion if he didn't have a dex inspiration already. i also would cast a reflection spell and bulwark depending on the fight. i would cast various illusion magic as necessary (repulsive visage and mirror image; in some fights a wizard's double). he was pretty tough to kill in most fights. remember that vigorous/refreshing defense stacks with pure +deflection active bonuses for extra hardiness. wall of draining will keep your buffs up and can make unbending extremely powerful.

 

if you haven't tried a spellblade, it's also worth a shot. sneak attack + kalakoth's minor blights is absolutely brutal.

Thanks! I bet a battlemage with all those buffs would be quite strong, especially late game using wall of draining and other buffs.  

 

I haven't tried a spellblade, so I will check out minor blights. I honestly have not used that spell much, nor the snakeskin grimore. More experimentation to come! 

[Boeroer]

Snakeskin Grimoire's Nannasin's Cobra Strike is very strong, especially as Spellblade. You have to come really close though (very short range for a ranged weapon) and it doesn't work against poison immune foes. 

Minor Blights affects all enemy in the AoE with Rogue's strike effects (Arterial Strike, Gouging Strike, Toxic Strike etc.) so it can be very effective. 

[mjo2138]

  

Thanks! I really like the unique grimoires and their spells. I will have to try it out!

 

That is interesting how AOE spells carry the strike effects, something not explicitly stated in the descriptions for vanilla game. Thanks again for the advice. 

Edited October 21, 2020 by mjo2138