Still can't decide on a build to play for my first and only play through

[Jae Addison]

Hello, I've been trying to decide what build to play for quite sometime now, ever since deadfire first released on the ps4, I've gone through multiple builds all the way from fextralife builds to sin tee builds, but none of there's really catch my tastes, but I have notice I prefer melee casters with regenerative resources and I've decided the three melee casters builds I've  come to like is fighter(tactician)/wizard(bloodmage) , fighter(tactician)/cipher(soulblade), and paladin(steel garrote)/wizard(bloodmage).    Also I would appreciate if you could tell me how much reactivity that cipher and wizard have in the game,as well as which build will allow me to beat the entire game including dlc and megabosses. Thank you.    P.S. I'm know I'm asking alot but would really appreciate the help as I've haven't gone farther then when you first get to nekataka, and I would really like to actually get through the game as I really do enjoy it, I just get caught up in making the perfect build for me.

[Jayd]

The fun and longevity in this game is constantly starting over to try new builds - at least for me  I have almost 1000 hours and have only rolled credits once. Would encourage you to embrace that if you can.

If this is to be your only playthrough, I would focus pretty singlemindedly on what you find most satisfying to play (combat and roleplay) and make the rest fit into place. This isn't the type of game where your class choice is going to be so weak as to lock you out of content if you're using all the tools the game gives you. So if finishing the content is your concern (as opposed to being the strongest character possible) I wouldn't worry about it.

I believe that Wizards have more reactivity than Ciphers, especially because of the Forgotten Sanctum DLC, but I've never played a Cipher myself. 

I've never bothered doing a megaboss myself just because I kinda loathe that kind of encounter design (radically different parameters to normal encounters) but if you're using a party I'm sure you will be able to figure out strategies for them. It's more about executing specific strategies than having characters "strong" enough to beat them toe to toe. With party options, you will be able to find such a strategy.

Hope this helps somewhat.

[Boeroer]

If you like Steel Garrote/Bloodmage to begin with might I interest you into an Offensive Parry build with the weapon Whispers of the Endless Paths?

You can cast spells with this while retaliating in melee with the weapon. Those Offensive Parries don't use any action time and happen passively. They will also drain health from the enemies who miss you in melee because Offensive Parries will daze the ones you hit and thus your Steel Garrote passive will get unlocked without you having to do anything. 

So while you are parrying (and dealing a bit melee dmg and draining health) you are free to cast your spells. 

You will need high deflection for this (the higher the better) which is achievable with items, wizard buffs and paladin passives. High deflection also prevents getting interrupted by most weapon attacks which is a good thing if you want to cast while engaged in melee. You can also use Rekvu's Fractured Casque though to be immune to interrupts. Just down yourself with a spell like Necrotic Lance out of combat to gain a rel. harmless injury. 

Items you want are all those which give you bonus RES and deflection. Especially armor like Nomad's Brigandine or Gipon Prudensco or Casita Samelia's Legacy are great. I recommend Nomad's Brigandine because it also has an enchantment that turns all Disengagement attacks against you into misses --> always triggering Offensive Parry. 

Besides that look for Bracers and Cloak of Greater Deflection (see special merchant you can get in Port Maje with Berath Blessing points).

For me it was great fun, this combo of "hitting stuff and healing while casting stuff at the same time". 

Unbroken/Bloodmage with focus on terrify-effects (Ryngrim's stuff for example) is also fun: engage lots of enemies with Defender Stance, cast Ryngrim's Visage and deliver deadly Disengagement Attacks to those who leave your engagement zone. Boots of Speed help to follow and re-engage and get Disengagement attacks again.

[Jae Addison]

 

5 hours ago, Boeroer said:

If you like Steel Garrote/Bloodmage to begin with might I interest you into an Offensive Parry build with the weapon Whispers of the Endless Paths?

You can cast spells with this while retaliating in melee with the weapon. Those Offensive Parries don't use any action time and happen passively. They will also drain health from the enemies who miss you in melee because Offensive Parries will daze the ones you hit and thus your Steel Garrote passive will get unlocked without you having to do anything. 

So while you are parrying (and dealing a bit melee dmg and draining health) you are free to cast your spells. 

You will need high deflection for this (the higher the better) which is achievable with items, wizard buffs and paladin passives. High deflection also prevents getting interrupted by most weapon attacks which is a good thing if you want to cast while engaged in melee. You can also use Rekvu's Fractured Casque though to be immune to interrupts. Just down yourself with a spell like Necrotic Lance out of combat to gain a rel. harmless injury. 

Items you want are all those which give you bonus RES and deflection. Especially armor like Nomad's Brigandine or Gipon Prudensco or Casita Samelia's Legacy are great. I recommend Nomad's Brigandine because it also has an enchantment that turns all Disengagement attacks against you into misses --> always triggering Offensive Parry. 

Besides that look for Bracers and Cloak of Greater Deflection (see special merchant you can get in Port Maje with Berath Blessing points).

For me it was great fun, this combo of "hitting stuff and healing while casting stuff at the same time". 

Unbroken/Bloodmage with focus on terrify-effects (Ryngrim's stuff for example) is also fun: engage lots of enemies with Defender Stance, cast Ryngrim's Visage and deliver deadly Disengagement Attacks to those who leave your engagement zone. Boots of Speed help to follow and re-engage and get Disengagement attacks again.

I see, thanks for the build advice, but yea constantly regenerating health back does sound pretty cool. How well does paladin (steel garrote)/wizard(bloodmage) fair against the mega bosses  in the game and dlc?

[dgray62]

I've enjoyed playing a Forbidden Fist monk/Ascendant cipher multiclass. Like you, I enjoy playing melee/caster hybrids, and there's great synergy between these subclasses since with forbidden fist you get a really powerful attack (which enfeebles, one of only a few abilities that can impose this powerful debuff) that you can use again and again, and which lowers fortitude (along with the monk's stunning surge), making it easier to land Disintegration, one of the best offensive cipher powers. Forbidden Fists need high resolve, and fortunately as a cipher you can boost that stat. Soulblade is fun, but I prefer Ascendant, because you can easily ascend after landing one or two forbidden fists; once you're ascended, you can buff up and then jump back into the fray with an additional 20% damage boost so long as you're ascended. I like never having the soul whip bonus turn off; if gives you one less thing to have to keep track of. Generally, I mainly take defensive cipher powers like psychovampiric shield and borrowed instinct; the only offensive ones I take are Mind Blades (which is great against mobs) and Disintegration, for tougher foes once you've debuffed their fortitude and resolve. There's good reactivity for ciphers in the game generally, which makes them a bit more fun to play.

Edited February 13, 2021 by dgray62
Additional information added

[Jae Addison]

Ahh dang that sounds pretty cool too,  how do you think it would fair if I combined forbidden fist with bloodmage and used life draining spells to counteract damage taken from using both classes special skills?

[Exanos]

Streetfighter/bloodmage melee is fun. Magran's shield+concelaut corrosive touch (summon it with a grim and swap grim, it won't disapear) give you good damage, survivability and healt drain. Get yourself flanked and bloodied (bloodmage is nice for this) and enjoy carnage with auto riposte while casting spell. You can get more riposte with wotep but no health drain then, except if you bring a chanter or a sc furyshaper. The good part is you can swap playstyle easily from melee to ranged (mortar...) if you are tired of melee.

 

Edit : being a rogue allow you to cheese 2 megaboss easily. You should be able to solo the game without much difficulty, bloodmage power!

Edited February 14, 2021 by Exanos

[Exanos]

9 hours ago, Boeroer said:

Unbroken/Bloodmage with focus on terrify-effects (Ryngrim's stuff for example) is also fun: engage lots of enemies with Defender Stance, cast Ryngrim's Visage and deliver deadly Disengagement Attacks to those who leave your engagement zone. Boots of Speed help to follow and re-engage and get Disengagement attacks again.

Is it working on real time now? Some time ago it was a bit strange. If it work well, citzal lance aoe on multiple disengage should be awesome.

[Boeroer]

Works pretty well.

[Boeroer]

18 hours ago, Jae Addison said:

 

I see, thanks for the build advice, but yea constantly regenerating health back does sound pretty cool. How well does paladin (steel garrote)/wizard(bloodmage) fair against the mega bosses  in the game and dlc?

That guy wouldn't be particular useful against bosses in general - besides being a Bloodmage which is one of the best choices against (Mega)bosses because of the theoretically unlimited spells. But in general it's a lot of fun against mobs - but "only" a normal Arcane Knight against other enemies. But Arcane Knight is always a good combo so that's okay. 

If you pick Brand Enemy instead of Sworn Rival you'll have a tool that can help to win against most Megabosses quite easily - even if it takes a lot of time. But don't use it on Dorudugan.

Edited February 14, 2021 by Boeroer

[Jae Addison]

Wait why not on Dorudugan?, also what do you think about forbidden fist / blood mage for the entire game plus megabosses?

Edited February 14, 2021 by Jae Addison
Wanted to add morr

[Waski]

4 hours ago, Jae Addison said:

Wait why not on Dorudugan?

he heals from fire dmg

[Boeroer]

5 hours ago, Jae Addison said:

also what do you think about forbidden fist / blood mage for the entire game plus megabosses?

Most Forbidden Fist builds are good. And Sages (Monk/Wizard) are always fun - especially the combination of Spirit Lance + Monk's attack abilites like Stunning Surge or Force of Anguish. Spirit Lance + Swift Flurry can also be lots of fun.

Forbidden Fist/Cipher has even better synergy though - imo. Forbidden Fist + Psychovampiric Shield + Disintegrate is very good against some of the Megabosses, especially the Big Ooze. 

Paladin with Bloodmage is always good because Lay on Hands (and also Exalted Endurance) are great ways to couter the damage of Blood Sacrifice. And the highly stacked defenses are great, too. 

Fighter with Bloodmage can be really fun because Spirit Lance + Clear Out is like a melee explosion.

[Jae Addison]

So is did they ever buff up cipher to closer to how it was in poe1?

[Jae Addison]

On 2/14/2021 at 9:14 AM, Boeroer said:

Most Forbidden Fist builds are good. And Sages (Monk/Wizard) are always fun - especially the combination of Spirit Lance + Monk's attack abilites like Stunning Surge or Force of Anguish. Spirit Lance + Swift Flurry can also be lots of fun.

Forbidden Fist/Cipher has even better synergy though - imo. Forbidden Fist + Psychovampiric Shield + Disintegrate is very good against some of the Megabosses, especially the Big Ooze. 

Paladin with Bloodmage is always good because Lay on Hands (and also Exalted Endurance) are great ways to couter the damage of Blood Sacrifice. And the highly stacked defenses are great, too. 

Fighter with Bloodmage can be really fun because Spirit Lance + Clear Out is like a melee explosion.

Also which cipher subclass is best with forbidden fist?, lastly for forbidden fist do you gain wounds from when hostile effects expire on your character or on enemies?

Edited February 16, 2021 by Jae Addison
Added to it

[Haplok]

When hostile effects expire on your character. Note Forbidden Curse you get when you use Forbidden Fist also counts as a hostile effect. As does the small DoT the Talons inflict you with.

Later on you can also get a lot of Wounds from Parting Sorrow (also triggers when an enemy you're engaging dies...).

 

About Cipher subclass... depends on your taste, I guess. All have pros. Well, I guess a Psion is ill suited for close combat. Personally I like Ascendant the most.

Also because it has the highest Focus cap and can stay at max Focus for longer periods, even when actively using powers. And Seeker's Fang rapier does a mini Disintegration-like DoT on crit with damage scaling off current Focus... Certainly one of my favorite weapons, particularly on a Transcendent.

Edited February 16, 2021 by Haplok

[dgray62]

Forbidden Fist/Ascendent is a great combo, with some great gear that synergies well with the build. Seeker's Fang is amazing but you get it rather late unfortunately. But you can get Grave Calling much earlier, and it's great on a Transcendent. It paralyzes on crits (and you'll crit a lot), and the paralysis will last awhile due to high INT and Linger Echoes, which leads to more crits. You can permanently paralyze foes with it, although most will be dead before the first expires. And when you fight vessels, it can spawn a foe-only Chill Fog which generates focus for you when it ticks, and can paralyze on crits just like the weapon attack. It's crazy good then!

[masterty66]

On 2/13/2021 at 8:31 AM, Jayd said:

The fun and longevity in this game is constantly starting over to try new builds - at least for me  I have almost 1000 hours and have only rolled credits once. Would encourage you to embrace that if you can.

If this is to be your only playthrough, I would focus pretty singlemindedly on what you find most satisfying to play (combat and roleplay) and make the rest fit into place. This isn't the type of game where your class choice is going to be so weak as to lock you out of content if you're using all the tools the game gives you. So if finishing the content is your concern (as opposed to being the strongest character possible) I wouldn't worry about it.

I believe that Wizards have more reactivity than Ciphers, especially because of the Forgotten Sanctum DLC, but I've never played a Cipher myself. 

I've never bothered doing a megaboss myself just because I kinda loathe that kind of encounter design (radically different parameters to normal encounters) but if you're using a party I'm sure you will be able to figure out strategies for them. It's more about executing specific strategies than having characters "strong" enough to beat them toe to toe. With party options, you will be able to find such a strategy.

Hope this helps somewhat.

Yeah I've had so many playthroughs where I get pretty far and then reroll to something else. It's so hard to get myself to finish because there's always another fun build to try on the horizon lol.

[Haplok]

12 hours ago, dgray62 said:

Forbidden Fist/Ascendent is a great combo, with some great gear that synergies well with the build. Seeker's Fang is amazing but you get it rather late unfortunately. But you can get Grave Calling much earlier, and it's great on a Transcendent. It paralyzes on crits (and you'll crit a lot), and the paralysis will last awhile due to high INT and Linger Echoes, which leads to more crits. You can permanently paralyze foes with it, although most will be dead before the first expires. And when you fight vessels, it can spawn a foe-only Chill Fog which generates focus for you when it ticks, and can paralyze on crits just like the weapon attack. It's crazy good then!

Indeed. Of course, with a Chanter in your party you can also spawn your own vessels - skeletons - to kill with Grave Calling and create those party friendly aoe paralyzing Chillfogs, that provide Focus with each tick! I like to spawn them in front, soften them - and incoming enemies that engage them - with a fireball or some such and then manually go for the kill.

Edited February 17, 2021 by Haplok

[Boeroer]

9 hours ago, masterty66 said:

Yeah I've had so many playthroughs where I get pretty far and then reroll to something else. It's so hard to get myself to finish because there's always another fun build to try on the horizon lol.

Welcome to my endless odyssey that is named "Deadfire". ;

[dgray62]

7 hours ago, Boeroer said:

Welcome to my endless odyssey that is named "Deadfire". ;

Ditto!

[Not So Clever Hound]

22 hours ago, dgray62 said:

Seeker's Fang is amazing but you get it rather late unfortunately. 

It's a great point and one that I forgot to mention in another post where the OP was really into a build where Slayer's Claw was one of the cornerstones of his planned playstyle. On one hand, OK late game gear gives you something to look forward to. But on the other hand, getting your build complete at the end of SSS when you are playing Party or Solo PotD is looooong. I personally favor builds that will come to fruition and be somewhat complete earlier. Like if a build is amazing with all the Weyc gear from FS. Some of those items are powerful and potentially transformational to certain builds. But by the time you've finished FS... you are usually 99% done with the game anyway.

Edited February 17, 2021 by Not So Clever Hound

[Jayd]

1 hour ago, Not So Clever Hound said:

It's a great point and one that I forgot to mention in another post where the OP was really into a build where Slayer's Claw was one of the cornerstones of his planned playstyle. On one hand, OK late game gear gives you something to look forward to. But on the other hand, getting your build complete at the end of SSS when you are playing Party or Solo PotD is looooong. I personally favor builds that will come to fruition and be somewhat complete earlier. Like if a build is amazing with all the Weyc gear from FS. Some of those items are powerful and potentially transformational to certain builds. But by the time you've finished FS... you are usually 99% done with the game anyway.

This is why it's great that you reach max level fairly early in this game though. When I'm playing a character that wants a SSS item I certainly don't wait until I'm done with 99% of the game. It's more around 70-80% so there's still lots to do with the item. That's why I disagree with the opinion that leveling is too fast in the game. Peaking early means that you get to target endgame gear to use in the rest of the endgame.

That said, if your build really relies on one of these items to be good then that's a bummer. Best case scenario is if you have endgame gear that substantially improves your build so you have something to look forward to, as you said.

[dgray62]

1 hour ago, Jayd said:

This is why it's great that you reach max level fairly early in this game though. When I'm playing a character that wants a SSS item I certainly don't wait until I'm done with 99% of the game. It's more around 70-80% so there's still lots to do with the item. That's why I disagree with the opinion that leveling is too fast in the game. Peaking early means that you get to target endgame gear to use in the rest of the endgame.

That said, if your build really relies on one of these items to be good then that's a bummer. Best case scenario is if you have endgame gear that substantially improves your build so you have something to look forward to, as you said.

Very true. The really nice thing about forbidden fist builds is that you get your best weapon, the forbidden fist, right at the start of the game, and it gets better and better as you gain PLs. Various other weapons you can get, like Grave Calling and Seeker's Fang, are icing on the cake.

[Haplok]

And you can get Grave Calling VERY early.