This game is pretty hard, need some tips.

[xZabuzax]

I'm not new to RPG's but I'm definitely new to these type of CRPG's, I've never played Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, etc...

Anyway, I recently started playing this game, my main is a Moon Godlike Druid and I'm playing it on hard difficulty and boy, this game is pretty hard, I've struggled like hell clearing the Temple of Eothas even with 5 characters (the ones who joins your party), most of them lv 3, in most of the encounters in the 2nd level 1 or 2 of my characters dies and when someone dies I reload the game because I don't want any of my characters dying and this got me frustrated a lot, I finally cleared it with all of them alive but this was absurdily hard.

That being said, I'm definitely playing this game wrong, I suck at micro management and this game seems to be built around it and I don't want to lower the difficulty either because that won't be fun either but from what I can see so far, having 2 tanks is a must in early game and having someone with 10 Mechanic is also a must because those freaking traps will 1 shot you so you need to disarm them.

What am I suppose to be doing with my Druid? I want a build that focus on shapeshifting and surviavility I guess? I don't want it to tank, I rather have him dealing DPS but I also want him to stay alive longer because he seems to be a bit squishy. What type of weapons, armors, etc... am I supposed to be wearing in my Druid?

[Boeroer]

Even if it may fee like a defeat it's most reasonable to lower the difficulty to normal. This game's mechanics are not trivial but you learn a lot while playing it. As soon as fights seem to be too easy you can switch back to hard. The early game of PoE is the hardest part for most players. After reaching Defiance Bay (beginning of Act II) the difficulty drops significantly (if you don't rush certain tough encounters in this semi-open world).

Moon Godlike Druid is a good start actually. If you had/have picked the Boar form(?) even more so. Its regeneration would stack with Veteran's Recovery which I would recommend taking. Boar's wounding does very good dps. Cat form is also very good for dps.

Also pick up Shod-in-Faith Boots later on. This will give you enough passive healing to not get pummeled to death too soon. It's not enough for tanking but helps a ton with staying alive. All items will work while shifted except armor and weapons. 

Besides Veteran's Recovery pick Two Weapon Style, Weapon Focus, Wildstrike/Greater Wildstrike, the fitting elemental booster talent (Scion of Flame, Spirit of Decay or whatever Wildstrike element you picked). Outlander's Frenzy can be a good pick, too. 

The best spell for melee Spiritshift dmg is Avenging Storm later on. With it you can outperform a Rogue in melee single target dps. 

Items that can be cool: Sanguine Plate (shift once Frenzy got triggered). You won't need Outlander's Frenzy then. Wildstrike Belt: it's a must. It's mechanics are weird and way better than the description suggests - but what it does is adding a lot of dmg while shifted. 

A Ring of Searing Flames is also a good way to increase dps, especially with Avenging Storm later on. 

Things the party can use to make the early game significantly easier: Inspiring Radiance + Blessing (or Zealous Focus), Disciplined Barrage, Chillfog, Chillfog, Chillfog.

Edited December 19, 2020 by Boeroer

[xZabuzax]

6 hours ago, Boeroer said:

Even if it may fee like a defeat it's most reasonable to lower the difficulty to normal. This game's mechanics are not trivial but you learn a lot while playing it. As soon as fights seem to be too easy you can switch back to hard. The early game of PoE is the hardest part for most players. After reaching Defiance Bay (beginning of Act II) the difficulty drops significantly (if you don't rush certain tough encounters in this semi-open world).

Moon Godlike Druid is a good start actually. If you had/have picked the Boar form(?) even more so. Its regeneration would stack with Veteran's Recovery which I would recommend taking. Boar's wounding does very good dps. Cat form is also very good for dps.

Also pick up Shod-in-Faith Boots later on. This will give you enough passive healing to not get pummeled to death too soon. It's not enough for tanking but helps a ton with staying alive. All items will work while shifted except armor and weapons. 

Besides Veteran's Recovery pick Two Weapon Style, Weapon Focus, Wildstrike/Greater Wildstrike, the fitting elemental booster talent (Scion of Flame, Spirit of Decay or whatever Wildstrike element you picked). Outlander's Frenzy can be a good pick, too. 

The best spell for melee Spiritshift dmg is Avenging Storm later on. With it you can outperform a Rogue in melee single target dps. 

Items that can be cool: Sanguine Plate (shift once Frenzy got triggered). You won't need Outlander's Frenzy then. Wildstrike Belt: it's a must. It's mechanics are weird and way better than the description suggests - but what it does is adding a lot of dmg while shifted. 

A Ring of Searing Flames is also a good way to increase dps, especially with Avenging Storm later on. 

Things the party can use to make the early game significantly easier: Inspiring Radiance + Blessing (or Zealous Focus), Disciplined Barrage, Chillfog, Chillfog, Chillfog.

Thanks for those awesome tips, I appreciate it mate. Maybe I screwed up because I picked the Cat form but apparently Boar form is better, I also ditched Veteran's Recovery and picked something else (Weapon Focus: Peasant), darn it, should I spend money and reroll those points again? I'm trying to go for The Thundercat build but using a Moon Godlike instead because I wanted that extra heal but this build appears to be out of date: 

Is The Thundercat build still viable in the expansion The White March? also, which character should I use for the Mechanic skill?, should I recruit a new Rogue and go ham on Mechanics on him or should I use Aloth, Kana or maybe Durance? when Durance joined the party he already had 3 points in Mechanic so should I keep investing Mechanic points on him or go with the other options? I'm probably thinking in making Aloth or Kana the Mechanic because I put 7 points in Lore on them and I'm realizing that Lore is a bad skill, I probably won't be using Scrolls that much so yeah... I'm thinking in resetting their talents and start from the beginning with one of them and go full ham with Mechanic but I need some advice by someone experienced to point me to the right direction, I don't want to screw this up.

Also, in the 2 weapons style should I be using something like a staff, a sword or 2 handed crossbow? I'm thinking that a 2 handed crossbow would help me pull the enemy and do some ranged damage in case Cat form runs out of time. I quite don't understand the skill Weapon Focus: Peasant, is this skill activated on 2 handed weapons (2 handed sword, 2 handed crossbow, etc...) or dual handed weapons (a weapon in each hand)?

 

Edit: Nevermind on that last part, I just figured out that Weapon Focus: Peasant and Two Weapon Style are 2 different skills, when you said Two Weapon Style I was thinking that I should be using a 2 handed weapon but Two Weapon Style is actually a skill for dual wielding weapons.

Edited December 19, 2020 by xZabuzax

[Boeroer]

The Thundercat build is still perfectly fine. But if you are looking for more sturdyness and less falling over I would recommend Veteran's Recovery (and other sources of healing.
The Cat form does better dps against normal foes because it's the fastest form - while the Boar shines against the touzgh nuts the most (because his raw lash cuts through armor nicely) - he needs a lot of MIG though to get the most out of his wounding attacks (because the wounding lash does scale with MIG).

Another way to ensure your melee guys don't get attacked too fiercely is to ensure that you use a lot of "hard" CC - e.g. stuff that stuns, paralyzes, charms, causes prone and so on. What also helps a lot is to only unstealth your tank when starting combat and unstealth your other guys only once the enemies gathered around the tank. 

[xZabuzax]

4 hours ago, Boeroer said:

The Thundercat build is still perfectly fine. But if you are looking for more sturdyness and less falling over I would recommend Veteran's Recovery (and other sources of healing.
The Cat form does better dps against normal foes because it's the fastest form - while the Boar shines against the touzgh nuts the most (because his raw lash cuts through armor nicely) - he needs a lot of MIG though to get the most out of his wounding attacks (because the wounding lash does scale with MIG).

Another way to ensure your melee guys don't get attacked too fiercely is to ensure that you use a lot of "hard" CC - e.g. stuff that stuns, paralyzes, charms, causes prone and so on. What also helps a lot is to only unstealth your tank when starting combat and unstealth your other guys only once the enemies gathered around the tank. 

Perfect, thanks for those tips. What about my other question regarding the character I should use for the Mechanic skill?

[asnjas]

On 12/18/2020 at 11:18 PM, xZabuzax said:

I'm not new to RPG's but I'm definitely new to these type of CRPG's, I've never played Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, etc...

Anyway, I recently started playing this game, my main is a Moon Godlike Druid and I'm playing it on hard difficulty and boy, this game is pretty hard, I've struggled like hell clearing the Temple of Eothas even with 5 characters (the ones who joins your party), most of them lv 3, in most of the encounters in the 2nd level 1 or 2 of my characters dies and when someone dies I reload the game because I don't want any of my characters dying and this got me frustrated a lot, I finally cleared it with all of them alive but this was absurdily hard.

That being said, I'm definitely playing this game wrong, I suck at micro management and this game seems to be built around it and I don't want to lower the difficulty either because that won't be fun either but from what I can see so far, having 2 tanks is a must in early game and having someone with 10 Mechanic is also a must because those freaking traps will 1 shot you so you need to disarm them.

What am I suppose to be doing with my Druid? I want a build that focus on shapeshifting and surviavility I guess? I don't want it to tank, I rather have him dealing DPS but I also want him to stay alive longer because he seems to be a bit squishy. What type of weapons, armors, etc... am I supposed to be wearing in my Druid?

Lower the difficulty. Thats what its for face palm. Yes it will be fun. You can find the right challenge for you so you dont get stuck on whats "absurdly hard."