[CLASS BUILD] UPDATED - The Bleeding Arcanist 2.0

[Not So Clever Hound]

[CLASS BUILD] UPDATED - The Bleeding Arcanist 2.0

Subclass: Blood Mage

UPDATE: Following my initial post I did another solo playthrough, 100% completionist this time and improved on a couple of things I wanted to share. Sorry for double-posting, I couldn’t edit my original post… Added A LOT more details about no-rest bonii, more specific ability/spell picks and Megaboss strategies. Sorry for the wall of text! Hope this is interesting or useful to anyone considering a pure class Bloodmage solo playthrough. I very much recommend it with this build or any build.

The Concept: Sturdy, impossible to interrupt, versatile, no rest solo Blood Mage who can win 100% of fights in the game with the most explosive and rewarding barrage of high level spells (thanks to Rekvu’s fractured casque + Vaporous Wizardry Grimoire), but can also enter easy & cheesy god mode for Mega Bosses and such (through his Blood Mage abilities + Wall of Draining + potion of final stand etc). He also has tons of skills & utility so it doesn’t feel like a very restrictive power-build, and scales really nicely throughout the game.

Works with latest updates and DLCs as of v5.0.00040. I recommend the Full Community Patch and the No Forced Rests mod (otherwise just metagame around them, it’s fully viable but just a bit annoying).

POTD Solo: Yes, very much. Two playthroughs completed with a lot of flex/forgiveness on how you want to play (upscaled: untested but definitely fine with an optimized spell list & strategy at all times – less experimentation possible).

Companion: Nope

 

-----WHY PLAY THIS BUILD------

 

For lots of veterans this will likely be a no-brainer and sorry if I sound like Captain Obvious, but I wanted to post this build as I haven’t seen this one consolidated anywhere, and I’m having so much fun with it. Really brings back the feeling of power and adaptability that a solo Sorcerer could give in BG2, or solo Mage in Arcanum for example. It also plays a bit differently than your typical SC Wizard in POE 2 because you have a lot more spells to cast, don’t rely on Nina’s Teachings and you don’t take the Empower abilities… which is liberating. You can really approach each battle differently while keeping a nice feeling of power and very high defenses (until a random enemy transforms you into a piglet out of RNG luck).

SC Blood Mage = maximum class power/ability levels, no empower, blood sacrifice hurts, bloodied enemies are a pain, but if you work around those issues you have virtually unlimited spells which is really strong. Then you need to mitigate the tradeoffs:

Go for lowish Might = you will hurt yourself a bit less with Blood Sacrifice, without much impact to your damage output + you can spend the points on more relevant attributes. On the other hand, pumping CON a bit brings some nice sturdiness/peace of mind to this build, which also bolsters experimentation (you're not a glass cannon, just a cannon). 

Rekvu + Vaporous = 50% more spells, no interrupt, turning most fights into a total spellfest! Very little opposition can still stand after some crazy self-buffing, several Chill Fogs to blind & group everybody, Combusting Wounds, then 3x Wilting Winds (of Abi Dalzim or whomever) + 2x Meteor Shower – mix as required.

Your Vaporous Grimoire comes with the answer to the Injury issue: chain-cast necrotic lance outside of combat on your toon (spell comes with the book) and you will inflict the Acute Rash which has very little impact on your combat readiness (you can use Voidward to mitigate, but it is not required).

Cherry on the cake, you can exploit the different buffs available to a no-rest run for your full benefit, and end up with insane stats and permabuffs (more than making up for the Acute Rash minor injury). If any other injury comes up: pop a luminous adra potion/bath, chain-cast necrotic lance, done. More details on no-rest bonii later on.

Finally when you need even more firepower, you can still rely on high-level, matured cheese strategies:  wall of draining, potion of final stand, Brilliant proc from shroud of phantasm, blight proc from belt of magran’s chosen, True Lover’s Kiss from Lover’s Embrace… and other shenanigans. Immortality and chain-casting Missile Salvo until the end of times.

 

-----STATS------

 

Race: Human (maximize accuracy and damage output when it really matters / when you have to cheese)
Background: The White That Wends – Explorer (great mix of important stat boosts)

 

FINAL STATS WITH ALL PERMABUFFS AND NO-REST BUFFS AS OF 5.0 (without combat buffs):

MIG 13 (7 Base + 1 Human + 2 Berath + 1 Gift from Machine + 2 Alchemic Brawn)
CON 22 (13 Base + 2 Berath + 2 Alchemic Brawn + 2 Konstanten Boon + 3 Girlde Eoten CON)
DEX 20 (13 Base + 2 Berath + 2 Alchemic Guile + 2 Firethrower Gloves + 1 Boots of Stone)
PER 28 (18 Base + 1 White that Wends + 2 Berath + 1 Konstanten Boon + 1 Effigy: Sagani + 2 Alchemic Guile + 1 Savage Cunning + 1 Cauldron Brew + 1 Kuaru’s Prize)
INT 25 (17 Base + 2 Berath + 1 Konstanten Boon + 2 Alchemic Wits + 2 Charm of Bones + 1 Kuaru’s Prize)
RES 19 (7 Base + 1 Human + 2 Berath + 2 Alchemic Wits + 2 Nature’s Resolve + 2 Rikuhu’s Blessing + 2 Eviee Pet + 1 Boots of Stone)

 

ADDITIONAL PERMABUFFS:

Adratic Glow
All Trainings
Dawnstar Blessing
Hylea’s Bounty (best food for this build)
Luminous Adra Potion
Nature’s Resolve (Accuracy)
Savage Cunning (Survival)
Galawain’s Gift x3 (Acc. against beasts)

 

BERATH BLESSINGS: I like everything that reduces Port Maje tedium and provides long term power (Infamous Captain etc). I am not ashamed of investing all 105 points. BUT none is required to win with this build.

 

SKILLS: If you exploit the no-rest bonuses to their fullness you will have free extra points everywhere, plus the free Berath ones if you enabled them. It will be BOTH a spellfest and a skillfest! I typically spread around a bit for skill checks, with a focus on Mechanics, Athletics, Diplomacy, History is the highest at 20 (giftbearer cloth) and Survival. Mix of story stuff and power play.

 

-----PASSIVE ABILITIES BY PL------

 

1 None
2 Weapon & Shield
3 Bear’sFortitude, Bull’s Will
4 Scion of Flame, Secrets of Rime
5 Farcasting, Rapid Casting, Uncanny Luck, Tough
6 Improved Critical
7 None
8 None
9 Prestige

 

-----SPELLS BY PL (TO COMPLEMENT VAPOROUS GRIMOIRE)------

 

1 Chill Fog, Eldricht Aim
2 Combusting Wounds, Infuse With Vital Essence, Arcane Veil
3 Displaced Image, Deleterious Alacrity
4 Wall of Flame, Iron Skin
5 Torrent of Flame, Safeguard
6 Precisely Piercing Burst, Arcane Reflection, Freezing Pillar
7 Killing Bolt
8 Wall of Many Colors
9 Missile Salvo

 

-----GEAR------

 

Griffin’s Blade + Lethandria’s devotion: my go-to set for versatility + power + survivability, but Magran’s Favor and Sun & Moon are of course really good (only for specific keywords/situations though). Lethandria’s Devotion is much better than any other offhand item. Griffin has really a lot to bring to the build. Also keep close the Lover’s Embrace dagger to cut some cheese...

Rekvu’s Fractured Casque: crucial with Vaporous!

Grimoire of Vaporous Wizardy: crucial, +50% spells per encounter! Keep Illuminating Discoveries, Iron Clasped, and Nina’s Teachings grimoires close. Especially Illuminating Discoveries for Brilliant Departure (few other grimoires have this spell too).

Miscreant’s Leather: great action speed which drives DPS and perfect style with Rekvu’s casque. Contributes to making you eventually invulnerable to Reflex attacks (even your own).

The Giftbearer Cloth: perfect (caution: buggy can make items/weapons in 4^th slot disappear)

Firethrower’s Gloves: perfect

Necklace of Charm of Bones: perfect

Kuaru’s prize: perfect

Ring of Minor Protection: great to elevate defenses (increasing returns)

Boots of Stone

Belt of Eoten CON or any belt with +CON and other bonii

Eviee Pet is nice as base, swap as needed

Potions: Major Healing, Final Stand, Ascension, Perfect Aim, Deftness…

Always keep somewhere Sandals of Waterlily, Burglar’s Gloves, Ajamuut Cloak + Lover’s Embrace + Rakhan Field Boots especially f you run out of ideas in a ****ty fight… Just keep the uniques to have options, especially if you haven’t played PotD a lot. If you come across items with immunities/resistance, hold on to them.

 

-----GENERAL STRATEGIES------

 

Early on: any combo of buffing with whatever is available and then chillfog + combusting wounds and then later adding wall of flames and concussive missiles will win the day 90% of times. Add new spells as they come, especially freezing pillar. Don’t be afraid to get in close quarters, you can buff defenses severely and you’re not a glass canon (but don’t get overconfident). Remember that you can regenerate spells with moderation. Combusting Wounds is a force multiplier with anything that has multiple projectiles or hits over time. And of course, always hug a wall to limit engagement! Always walk close to the wall, and favor doorways as well as narrow corridors to engage/break stealth.

Later on: Just go ballistic with higher end, hard hitting spells after you’ve done a full or near full cycle of buffing depending on the fight. There is so much you can do and so many ways to win with the tools at your disposal. If you’re hitting a wall (so to speak) then use the Wall (of Draining) strategy. Find enemies you can drain (low-ish Will), buff like crazy, drink a potion of Final Stand (+ other potions) and use your WoD to become invulnerable. Works a bit too well, but can be sometimes tricky against high level casters with access to Arcane Dampener with high accuracy and especially Arcane Cleanse. Disable them first if you can. Remember that chillfog is a cheap -15 accuracy when it lands (so +15 all defenses).

Anyway the build and its gear provide really good defenses so there is room for human error, bear in mind that the weaker point is fortitude. Fully buffed you get something like 195 DEF, 162 FORT, 250 REF (!!!) and 215 WILL. Not impenetrable by highest level foes, but pretty good. A nice by-product is that you can drop any reflex targeting spell on your face without any worry that it will hit you. So go bathe yourself in your own meteors.

 

-----MEGABOSS STRATEGIES------

 

Dorudugan:
Sorry for the purists of Megaboss engagement but I just True Lover Kissed him, lured him to the North, then used Brilliant Departure, retreated to the South, and went on to have a few beers while he slowly met Rymrgand’s inevitability. Came back 3h later, saw the dawnfall of the hellfire colossus and upgraded my shield with his stone. It’s cheesy and lazy, but so is the boss in my opinion.

Belranga:
I did a full WoD buffing-to-oblivion cycle, wearing the sandals of water lilly, then I killed so many spiders that Belranga was at like 350 accuracy and came in close quarters. Then I tried to use the Cloak of Death spell and I was so happy to use it to full effect for the first time! Combined with Combusting Wounds, it really did a number on the Empress while I was just keeping my WoD up and occasionally throwing some spells around. Needless to say, WoD extends the duration of the Cloak, which makes it the cheapest, most effective PL9 spell against high accuracy melee attackers. Hit, Disappear, Suffer, Hit, Disappear, Suffer….

Hauani O Whe:
First I True Lover Kissed it and retreated to the south with Brilliant Departure, because its initial form has too high defenses, too much accuracy and the solvent ability for my usual strategies to work. When I came up some time later, it had nicely split into the two lesser forms, much more manageable with conventional means. I engaged them in a typical WoD + Full Buffing + Final Stand cycle, and once I was really unkillable I eradicated one of the blobs with the following sequence: Combusting Wounds + 2x Meteor Shower + Wait until they split + Gaze of the Adragan + 2x Freezing Pillar + maybe a finisher fireball. In one sequence I destroyed all the splits of the first blob to naught. Then I just repeated with the other blob. Done without stress or intricate Interrupt tactics (save the one Adragan spell cast).

Auranic:
Yikes. I know she’s supposed to be the easiest Megaboss but this fight is the one that made me reload a few times before I got it right. Here is my final strategy: First, I used Rakhan Field Boots in stealth to… True Lover Kiss her. Then, I went out of her sight to buff and withstand the assault of her bodyguard + sigils (without attacking them) until she opened up the cleansing sigil (keeping my health up). At this point I destroyed it in one go with combusting wounds + 2x missile salvo (works from a very long distance). Then I retreated to the entrance with the 2 goons in tail, and proceeded to use them to power up my WoD + Buff + Final Stand cycle. Once I got like 600sec of buffs, I killed the bodyguards and destroyed the 2 remaining sigils south of Auranic (remaining out of her range). Then I gulped a potion of invisibility and went to the northeastern most corner by the sigil (out of range for Auranic). I destroyed this sigil and the other, keeping out of her range. Then I gulped another invisibility potion and retreated to the entrance. Auranic was about half health by then, enjoying the Kiss and unable to do anything to me. I went on to have a beer and waited until her death shield animation triggered, then I came up to trigger her death. Done.

 

-----THE END------

 

Of course let me know if you have any question or feedback! This is all probably old news to a lot of readers. I’m just a very casual POTD solo practicioner of PoE 1 and 2, other people on this forum are a lot more cunning and knowledgeable. Still this toon did 100% of the game without any issue at all and playing really well/fun, so I hope you can get a similar experience. And congratulations if you read this far.

[thelee]

On 12/30/2020 at 3:33 PM, Not So Clever Hound said:

Of course let me know if you have any question or feedback! This is all probably old news to a lot of readers. I’m just a very casual POTD solo practicioner of PoE 1 and 2

dont sell yourself short, this is good stuff here. i think "casual potd solo practioner" is a bit of an oxymoron

[Constentin Lévine]

"...and you don’t take the Empower abilities… which is liberating. " Why do you think that?

[Boeroer]

On 12/31/2020 at 12:33 AM, Not So Clever Hound said:

I’m just a very casual POTD solo practicioner of PoE 1 and 2

Haha - reading that after learning how you beat the game including Megabosses was a bit like reading "I'm just a very casual basketball dude who happens to play in the NBA".

4 hours ago, Constentin Lévine said:

"...and you don’t take the Empower abilities… which is liberating. " Why do you think that?

Because it frees up several ability points which you can spend otherwise - is my interpretation. Rules may take away choice - which can liberate you from making tricky decisions.

 

[Not So Clever Hound]

Thanks for the replies! Really glad that contributors of your caliber liked the post

 

On 1/3/2021 at 6:10 AM, Constentin Lévine said:

"...and you don’t take the Empower abilities… which is liberating. " Why do you think that?

Boeroer is absolutely right. As other contributors have written before, not having/using Empower:

1) frees up high level spell/skill picks since you don't take the Empower series of skills
2) liberates you from wanting to start fights with empowered blackflame/fireballs which I personally don't like
3) lets you exploit the benefits of no-rest bonii which are in my opinion a million times more powerful than any per-rest mechanic including the Empower ability

Happy to hear if you have a different opinion! It's a matter of playstyle at the end of the day but even with builds that have the empower ability I never use it once. I think the only build that can really milk it is SC Monk, but it doesn't have to.

[yogaman28734]

Could you please explain, Potion of Final Stand — description seems to say it only works when Near Death, only lasts for 6 seconds, but 4 of those seconds are recovery?  What kind of +25% damage can you do in 2 seconds??  Why wouldn’t it be better to just pop a Potion of Major Healing before you are Near Death?  What am I missing?  Thanks for entertaining our questions, GREAT article.

 

 

[Powerotti]

32 minutes ago, yogaman28734 said:

What am I missing?

Immortality with wall of draining

[dgray62]

2 hours ago, Powerotti said:

Immortality with wall of draining

Yes, wall of draining extends all of your beneficial effects, including the six seconds of invulnerability.

[dgray62]

Thank you for sharing this build, Not So Clever Hound. I have never played a SC wizard for very long, perhaps due to the complexity of choices that the class presents. But your build is appealing, so I think I'll try it. I had once question, though. Considering that you are using the Grimoire of Vaporous Wizardry and Rekvu’s Fractured Casque combo, I wonder if it might be a good idea to use Rekvu's Scorched Cloak as well instead of the Giftbearer Cloth, and take the severe burn injury instead of the acute rash.?While you'd lose some defenses, it has a nice harmony with the Belt of Magran's Chosen, since the summoned flame blight would not only help set up Wall of Draining shenanigans, but it would heal rather than harm you in the process of doing that, making the tough battles where this strategy is needed somewhat easier. Maybe it would be worth switching out robes as well when you're using the belt?

[Not So Clever Hound]

@yogaman28734 this power-gaming strategy revolves around the following (more or less):

1) Cast a full buff cycle (so every buff spell that is in my build between learnt spells and the grimoire) to smoothen damage spikes and increase survivability pre-PotFS
2) Get hurt by enemies and/or use your Blood Sacrifice ability to get to Near Death (without dying  )
3) Before Near Death (as soon as you hit 50% or 33% of your max health), start casting a WoD hitting as many foes as possible. You can play with the cursor targeting to orient the line and hit as many enemies as possible. My experience is that a line almost parallel to where my toon is facing is best. Usually better to hit melee foes as they have a lot of autobuffs you can drain from (especially fighter-types). Yay!
4) At Near Death, gulp PotFS. Keep your WoD up and hitting foes. Gulp more useful potions as you see fit (you can do that anytime anyway). Refresh your buffs if someone countered an Inspiration with a matching Affliction. Check your tooltip/character sheet to see if your PotFS status duration is going up or down. Congratulations, you are now invulnerable.
5) Well, not quite... you have to further build duration before doing other stuff   and hope that no one is going to dispel your intricate layers of spells with an Arcane Dampener. Hence, the importance of reaching a high Will (215 in my case). If in trouble, you can keep handy a way to go invisible/untargetable. Oh and now that you are invulnerable, go crazy with Blood Sacrifice to replenish all your spells at will!

My last bit of advice: practice it to get the jist of it for really tough fights, but only use it when you really run out of options otherwise it ruins the fun!   Also please experiment and if you find something new, please post. I personally found out about the fun of milking Cloak of Death against Belranga with this strategy by experimenting. Enjoy!

[Not So Clever Hound]

2 hours ago, dgray62 said:

Thank you for sharing this build, Not So Clever Hound. I have never played a SC wizard for very long, perhaps due to the complexity of choices that the class presents. But your build is appealing, so I think I'll try it. I had once question, though. Considering that you are using the Grimoire of Vaporous Wizardry and Rekvu’s Fractured Casque combo, I wonder if it might be a good idea to use Rekvu's Scorched Cloak as well instead of the Giftbearer Cloth, and take the severe burn injury instead of the acute rash.?While you'd lose some defenses, it has a nice harmony with the Belt of Magran's Chosen, since the summoned flame blight would not only help set up Wall of Draining shenanigans, but it would heal rather than harm you in the process of doing that, making the tough battles where this strategy is needed somewhat easier. Maybe it would be worth switching out robes as well when you're using the belt?

My pleasure @dgray62! I've been lurking around this forum without contributing for a looong time, glad to finally get to be a bit more active.

I think your suggestion definitely has a point for style and offers some interesting and strong synergy for the roughest fights. I think it's a fun way to try out the build and, well, build on it if you're so inclined  . You won't need it to win against all the content that the game/DLCs can throw at you, but it would certainly enable you to beat certain megabosses (Dorudugan...) in a more honorable way than I did .

About Acute Rash vs. Severe Burn, my analysis is the following:

1) Reflex penalty is less hurtful than Fortitude with this build, agreed
2) However I think getting a Burn vs. Corrode armor reduction is worse overall - unless using Rekvu's Scorched Cloak all the time for synergy with Burn damage conversion to healing. But it's only helpful sometimes, Giftbearer Cloth is helpful in every fight  .
3) Most Importantly, it's pretty hard in my experience to hit yourself with a non-Reflex, self-targeting (because of high saves) Fire spell to cause the injury. Necrotic Lance is very convenient as you can do it without much prep (just remove your armor and +FORT gear) and just chain-cast it against your low-ish FORT. If for some reason your FORT outpaces your ACC in the beginning, just go to Old City Overlook to a pile of corpses to get Sickened and debuff your FORT  . Or temporarily hire Xoti as a Monk to beat the living s*** out of you with Weakening Blows and such while Aloth chain casts Necrotic Lance on your toon. Weird but effective.
4) The least harmful injury is Wrenched Knee but in my experience, is impossible to get on your own / without traps.

About switching Robes, since this build isn't supposed to get hit much and maximizes damage output, I considered the High Harbinger Robes... but it is such an insult to style! Net, there is a lot of room for tweaking the build to anyone's preferences, but in truth its overall effectiveness won't change much IMO.

Cheers.

 

Edited January 18, 2021 by Not So Clever Hound

[dgray62]

Thanks for the detailed feedback. I see that you have analyzed the injury types in depth. Indeed, the very high reflex defense on this build would make hitting yourself with a fireball pretty much impossible. Perhaps the cloak is best for dual wield or two-handed build, for which the reflex defense would be much lower.

[yogaman28734]

 

 

On 1/18/2021 at 4:03 PM, Not So Clever Hound said:

@yogaman28734 this power-gaming strategy revolves around the following (more or less):

1) Cast a full buff cycle (so every buff spell that is in my build between learnt spells and the grimoire) to smoothen damage spikes and increase survivability pre-PotFS
2) Get hurt by enemies and/or use your Blood Sacrifice ability to get to Near Death (without dying  )
3) Before Near Death (as soon as you hit 50% or 33% of your max health), start casting a WoD hitting as many foes as possible. You can play with the cursor targeting to orient the line and hit as many enemies as possible. My experience is that a line almost parallel to where my toon is facing is best. Usually better to hit melee foes as they have a lot of autobuffs you can drain from (especially fighter-types). Yay!
4) At Near Death, gulp PotFS. Keep your WoD up and hitting foes. Gulp more useful potions as you see fit (you can do that anytime anyway). Refresh your buffs if someone countered an Inspiration with a matching Affliction. Check your tooltip/character sheet to see if your PotFS status duration is going up or down. Congratulations, you are now invulnerable.
5) Well, not quite... you have to further build duration before doing other stuff   and hope that no one is going to dispel your intricate layers of spells with an Arcane Dampener. Hence, the importance of reaching a high Will (215 in my case). If in trouble, you can keep handy a way to go invisible/untargetable. Oh and now that you are invulnerable, go crazy with Blood Sacrifice to replenish all your spells at will!

My last bit of advice: practice it to get the jist of it for really tough fights, but only use it when you really run out of options otherwise it ruins the fun!   Also please experiment and if you find something new, please post. I personally found out about the fun of milking Cloak of Death against Belranga with this strategy by experimenting. Enjoy!

Thank you for the detailed explanation of the strategy with WoD + PotLS.  Makes me wish I had killed all the Naga on Hasongo instead of going “bloodless” — some extra reptilian blood would have been handy to make more Potion of the Last Stand.

Today I went immortal in that first big brutal fight against risen in the Hanging Sepulchers, which was kicking my butt before this.  I started from stealth in the doorway and threw a wall of many colors making sure it hit somebody for combat start.  Then I threw another one to make an X.  By the time I cast ironskin and gulped a potion of ascension, that annoying risen champion who usually hits you from behind went right past me to hit one of his dominated pals!  Now I was getting hit hard by the archers, casters, and two engagers so I threw the WoD on a couple of risen who never move, and gulped the PotLS.  Combusting wounds, meteor showers, and expose vulnerability did the rest, with one repeat of WoD. The last archer I just beat to death with griffin’s blade.

This is really something generous you’ve given us here, and I can’t thank you enough.

[Not So Clever Hound]

On 1/19/2021 at 10:05 PM, dgray62 said:

Thanks for the detailed feedback. I see that you have analyzed the injury types in depth. Indeed, the very high reflex defense on this build would make hitting yourself with a fireball pretty much impossible. Perhaps the cloak is best for dual wield or two-handed build, for which the reflex defense would be much lower.

Agreed. The Belt of Magran's Chosen is still a good addition, especially to win in a less cheesy way against Dorudugan by summoning a blight + WoD and have a real fight vs. using True Lover's Kiss. There is still a fair amount of cheese involved though! I usually find the process of invoking a blight a bit too tedious for my taste.

[dgray62]

4 hours ago, Not So Clever Hound said:

 I usually find the process of invoking a blight a bit too tedious for my taste.

Thanks! This makes sense, given the belts small chance of proccing the blight.

[Not So Clever Hound]

11 hours ago, yogaman28734 said:

 

 

Thank you for the detailed explanation of the strategy with WoD + PotLS.  Makes me wish I had killed all the Naga on Hasongo instead of going “bloodless” — some extra reptilian blood would have been handy to make more Potion of the Last Stand.

Today I went immortal in that first big brutal fight against risen in the Hanging Sepulchers, which was kicking my butt before this.  I started from stealth in the doorway and threw a wall of many colors making sure it hit somebody for combat start.  Then I threw another one to make an X.  By the time I cast ironskin and gulped a potion of ascension, that annoying risen champion who usually hits you from behind went right past me to hit one of his dominated pals!  Now I was getting hit hard by the archers, casters, and two engagers so I threw the WoD on a couple of risen who never move, and gulped the PotLS.  Combusting wounds, meteor showers, and expose vulnerability did the rest, with one repeat of WoD. The last archer I just beat to death with griffin’s blade.

This is really something generous you’ve given us here, and I can’t thank you enough.

Cheers mate! The Sepulchers include a few nice fights considering how early you can get the quest.

As you get more confident with using WoD, don't hesitate to not gulp PotFS and simply use it to get just the extra duration you need to win fights. My point is: powerful buffs like Arcane Veil get balanced in the game by having a short duration. If you use WoD you make them really S-Tier if they weren't already. I do a lot of non-boss but still big fights with a full buff cycle, then a WoD on the poor first line of opposition (by now not really able to hit anything) to keep buffs going and then surgically remove everybody while the WoD crits and crits and adds duration to my buffs. No potions needed. This is all made even better by the fact that you have so many spells per encounter with the build (ok I will stop selling my build now  ).

Enjoy.

[yogaman28734]

1 hour ago, Not So Clever Hound said:

(ok I will stop selling my build now  ).

I was sold already!  My first solo run was a monk, and the next was a wizard with Nina’s Teachings, Sun & Moon, Whitewitch Mask, etc and both of these builds relied a lot on food and drugs and per-rest abilities. This is so much more fun, and I’m selling food and drugs instead of buying them.  (Took me a while to stop grabbing a luminous lobster every time I found one. No more special trips to Sayuka and Dunnage.)

Now if I could just figure out how to install the No Forced Rest mod on a Mac — I can’t find a simple answer to that, but the Steam Workshop mods install themselves, if that one was available; it’s not.  I ran all the way up to level 18 without using Hylea’s Bounty, because of those forced rests;  I took the Dawnstar Blessing too soon and lost it. Anyway, Thanks again.

Edited January 21, 2021 by yogaman28734
Had more to say

[dgray62]

9 minutes ago, yogaman28734 said:

Now if I could just figure out how to install the No Forced Rest mod on a Mac — I can’t find a simple answer to that, but the Steam Workshop mods install themselves, if that one was available; it’s not.  I ran all the way up to level 18 without using Hylea’s Bounty, because of those forced rests;  I took the Dawnstar Blessing too soon and lost it. Anyway, Thanks again.

yogaman28734, are you playing the game via Steam, or did you purchase it via the Apple appstore? I went the latter route, and it took me awhile to figure out how to install mods. This is how I did it:

First, open your applications folders. Right click on the Pillars of Eternity II icon, and select the "Show Package Icons" option. Open the "Contents" folder, then the "MacOS" folder. Then once again right click on the Pillars of Eternity II icon, and select the "Show Package Icons" option, and open the "Contents" folder. In this folder, create a new "override" folder, and then place into it the folders that you download and decompress from the Nexus Mods website. This worked for me. If you have a problem decompressing some of the archives from Nexus mods, such as the .rar format, I found that The Unarchiver app available on the  Apple appstore works fine.

Good luck!

[yogaman28734]

9 hours ago, dgray62 said:

yogaman28734, are you playing the game via Steam, or did you purchase it via the Apple appstore? I went the latter route, and it took me awhile to figure out how to install mods. This is how I did it:

First, open your applications folders. Right click on the Pillars of Eternity II icon, and select the "Show Package Icons" option. Open the "Contents" folder, then the "MacOS" folder. Then once again right click on the Pillars of Eternity II icon, and select the "Show Package Icons" option, and open the "Contents" folder. In this folder, create a new "override" folder, and then place into it the folders that you download and decompress from the Nexus Mods website. This worked for me. If you have a problem decompressing some of the archives from Nexus mods, such as the .rar format, I found that The Unarchiver app available on the  Apple appstore works fine.

Good luck!

dgray62, so kind of you.  With Steam there is no individual game icon in the Mac “Applications” folder, but you can get to the local files through the Steam interface.  I found the “Contents” folder and added an “override” folder, put the unzipped mod in there, closed and reopened Steam and the game, lo and behold! the No Forced Rests mod is now in the game’s Mod Manager!  Not only that, but there is a button to conveniently add more mods from Nexus. If I could buy you a beer or a milkshake I surely would.  Thanks a lot!

Edited January 22, 2021 by yogaman28734
Typo

[dgray62]

You're welcome! I spent months on and off trying to figure this out, until a comment by Boeroer pointed me in the right direction. I'm glad that you figured it out. There are some great mods, which really liven up the game. The mod manager makes it easy to turn them on or off as you wish, too.

[yogaman28734]

On 12/30/2020 at 6:33 PM, Not So Clever Hound said:

Of course let me know if you have any question or feedback!

I’ve run into a snag with stacking permabuffs.  Currently aside from what carried over from PoE 1, I have Hylea’s Bounty, Konstanten’s Boon, Nature’s Resolve.  If I pray at the shrine on Poko Kohara looking for Rikuhu’s Blessing, I lose all of the above.

Before I respec my character to get Religion 15 for Bleakrock Shrine, the other place to get Rikuhu’s Blessing, is praying there not a rest that kills the permabuffs?

Is there anything else we should know about the “loading order” for permabuffs?

 I discovered that the +2 skills from a Luminous Adra Potion do not stack on top of the +2 skills from Hylea’s Bounty, so in that case it’s just good for unwanted injuries.

Again, thanks a lot.

 

[Not So Clever Hound]

8 hours ago, yogaman28734 said:

I’ve run into a snag with stacking permabuffs.  Currently aside from what carried over from PoE 1, I have Hylea’s Bounty, Konstanten’s Boon, Nature’s Resolve.  If I pray at the shrine on Poko Kohara looking for Rikuhu’s Blessing, I lose all of the above.

Before I respec my character to get Religion 15 for Bleakrock Shrine, the other place to get Rikuhu’s Blessing, is praying there not a rest that kills the permabuffs?

Is there anything else we should know about the “loading order” for permabuffs?

 I discovered that the +2 skills from a Luminous Adra Potion do not stack on top of the +2 skills from Hylea’s Bounty, so in that case it’s just good for unwanted injuries.

Again, thanks a lot.

 

Good questions:

Bleakrock will stack with your permabuffs because you will pray and then be interrupted by slavers so it will not count as a rest. You can respec for the Religion skill check or if you're not on a 100% strict solo challenge, just temporarily hire Xoti or any other char with high Religion.

Luminous potion does stack with Hylea's Bounty. Sometimes you just have to save and reload after you drink the potion. After the reload you will see everything stacking. A bit buggy  . BTW a few little bugs in the game can be solved that way if something isn't stacking properly.

Other than that, no stacking order recos. You shouldn't wait too much to get Nature's Resolve on Tikawara because it may not be available if you made cruel/aggressive dialog choices (I never had the issue but I don't like playing a jerk anyway  ).

[yogaman28734]

3 hours ago, Not So Clever Hound said:

You shouldn't wait too much to get Nature's Resolve on Tikawara because it may not be available if you made cruel/aggressive dialog choices (I never had the issue but I don't like playing a jerk anyway  ).

Good to know; I generally play benevolent but can get aggressive, never cruel (except when I sacrificed Sagani or Grieving Mother).  Great info on Bleakrock and fixing stacking bugs, thanks. 

[yogaman28734]

On 12/30/2020 at 6:33 PM, Not So Clever Hound said:

-----WHY PLAY THIS BUILD------

I don’t want to wear out my welcome here, and this may be the last thing I post to this thread. There are a lot of reasons this build is a great one to play solo, that Not So Clever Hound hasn’t mentioned.

First off, the minute you hit Neketaka after launching your ship, you are level 5 or 6, and you have money from Berath’s Blessings, you can buy the two main items that make this build work: the Grimoire of Vaporous Wizardry and Rekvu’s Fractured  Casque.  (If you spent points on the Unique Merchant, “Well-Traveled Supplier,” you got some other items at 50% off in Port Maje; do get a Necklace of Fireballs, they help you through level 8 at least.)

Second, even if some of the full build doesn’t come until late in the game (buffs from Outcast’s Respite, the Giftbearer’s Cloth from Fampyr’s Crypt, etc), this build is plenty sturdy and the best part, it’s “‘very forgiving.’”

Once you get to level 14 or so, which doesn’t take long in solo play, you can make some of the mistakes I made, and still mop the decks with your foes if they are not way above your level:  (1) explore dungeons with a torch, and forget to change back to sword and shield when the fight starts (didn’t notice the difference); (2) go into battle with your thieving gear still on (Burglar’s Gloves, Boots of Stealth, Mirrorback Cape or the later one) and never know it until the fight is over; (3) buff your skills with a Luminous Adra Potion and forget to re-injure yourself, then board Oheiro to fight about 3 wizards, a couple of priests, some rogues and chanters and fighters, realize that you were interrupting yourself with the Vaporous grimoire, and you still annihilated about 18 tough Rauatai defenders (after your crew was knocked out in the first 20 seconds).

Maybe like me you’ve played a solo monk with all the monk gear, a solo wizard with Sun & Moon and Ninagauth’s Teachings, and you’ve done all kinds of party play — give this one a try, and you won’t regret it.

 

Edited January 23, 2021 by yogaman28734

[Boeroer]

Why would you buy the Grimoire of Vaporous Wizardry?