A build focused on Rapiers - fun MC options?

[foxinspace]

Hi all!

I would like to build a character that mainly focuses on using rapiers (although potentially could switch to a secondary weapon if needed to mitigate the common pierce immunity). I was thinking that one handed focus would be good to get crits more often, but dual wielding for higher attack speed could also be nice (with a stiletto or sabre in the off-hand). So far I have been thinking about monk/skald or monk/devoted, potentially taking helwalker when MC with skald for high dmg chants and shattered pillar with devoted (I play with the community patch which gets rid of the 5 wound limit for the SP monk). 

Alternative option would be to go rogue/cipher (ascendant and beguiler both seem nice, but possibley also soul blade) or shattered pillar/cipher to benefit from cipher's potential to greatly boost accuracy and aim for the DLC rapier for nice focus gain and high dmg from biting whip (improved by the community patch). Somehow I've been putting monk in all my potential MC options since their abilities are so hard to pass up, but also because instruments of pain with rapiers sounds amazingly badass (kinetic duelist!), but I would be interested in looking at other MC options that would make such character more effective. Pretty much any suggestions on how to build an effective and fun rapier-user are greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance! 

Edited March 7, 2021 by foxinspace

[Jayd]

Well there aren't many unique rapiers so I would think you would build with those in mind. The soulbound one from SSS (Seeker's Fang) is limited to Cipher, Rogue, Wizard, and Ranger, and it's definitely best on a Cipher. Since you were considering Cipher anyway maybe go with that to make the most out of it in late-game? The most interesting effect from the other ones is immunity to flanking and +20% action speed when surrounded from Squid's Grasp. Thinking about how to make the most of that, I'd want to pick a Fighter, because Fighters can pretty effortlessly stand in the middle of a bunch of enemies without dying (especially if they can't be flanked). I think it would be fun to start most fights by diving directly into the middle of enemies with Charge and start stabbing away, taking advantage of Mob Stance. You could probably get some really fast attack speed with Mob Stance + Squid's Grasp (always dual-wield - one-handed is a trap unless you're building heavily around crits or using pistol modal). As a Devoted with Hammering Thoughts you'll be able to penetrate anything and will probably overpen a lot. You can pick Monastic training to smash pierce-immune skeletons.

I've never played a Cipher MC, but maybe Ascendent would be best here because you're sitting on Focus for a while with it (powering up Seeker's Fang when you get it)? Could make for a satisfying gameplay loop to start fights by going stab-crazy on a mob and then spam some good spells when you ascend. I just saw that Soul Whip does more damage when ascended, so you don't even need to use powers to benefit from the subclass if you just feel like perforating goons all day. This would also make the absolute most of Seeker's Fang (helped out by Disciplined Strikes and a touch of extra Devoted Crit damage).

So yeah - if I were to do this I would go Devoted/Ascendent, slap him/her at the front of the party, and Leeroy Jenkins into every mob I come across. You could get higher damage with monk or rogue, probably, but this seems fun to play and is doing a lot with the theme (rather than just being a standard weapon dps build using rapiers instead of Scordeos or whatever).

[Not So Clever Hound]

5 hours ago, Jayd said:

The most interesting effect from the other ones is immunity to flanking

Of note, the Immune to Flanking from Squid's Grasp is nice if you want to build around Tactician. AFIK the only other item in the game with this effect is Gipon Prudensco.

A build around rapiers can be fun, I wish the game had a "disarm" effect that you could trigger with fencing specialists. That would be fun to quickly disarm an opponent with an expert thrust and turn the tide of the battle. Thematically a Riposte build with a Rogue would be very fitting, but IMO it's not a strong enough ability on its own to build around... unless you build around WotEP, but there goes your rapier idea . That being said, you could still be very powerful by investing a bit in Alchemy and drinking the occasional Potion of Ryngrim's Repulsive Visage which is amazing and inexpensive to buy/make. I wonder if with a Monk, the disengagement attacks from the Terrified effect can benefit from Heartbeat Drumming/Swift Flurry? In which case that + Overbearing Guard from Fighter would turn you into a Disengagement killing machine.

EDIT: I forgot to mention Parting Sorrow if you build around Disengagement!

Edited March 8, 2021 by Not So Clever Hound

[Waski]

1 hour ago, Not So Clever Hound said:

AFIK the only other item in the game with this effect is Gipon Prudensco.

OT but Kapana Taga too.

[Haplok]

The rapier modal is very strong (+20 Accuracy!) and rapiers are fast enough that the penalty isn't so bad when dual-wielding. Then Rapiers have innate +5 Accuracy.  Rannig's Wrath even reinforces that Accuracy focus by providing another +4 Accuracy on top. So they are Accuracy beasts and, consequently, crit machines.

Therefore I feel a monk with Flurry and Heartbeat Drumming is kinda obligatory to capitalize on that. Dual rapiers lead to massive crit chains all the time. The second class I would choose between Cipher (probably Ascendant) to eventually use the awesome Seeker's Fang or Rogue - probably Trickster - for solid damage output and strong defensive buffs.

[Kaylon]

Cipher with Seeker's Fang is pretty much the best end game build around a rapier. 

Rapier with Borrowed Instincts means very high crit chance and the class that benefits the most from it is the monk (Swift Flurry, Heartbeat Drumming, Stunning Surge, Enervating Blows). I would pick Nalpazca (for better survivability and wound generation) or no subclass if you don't like drugs (with Tuotilo's Palm in the right hand of course).

For the cipher subclass the most obvious is the Ascendant and you should pick it if you want to mix casting and melee.

If you want to build a heavy melee character then pick instead Soul Blade. The bleed from Seeker's Fang doesn't stack with itself and your focus matters only when you apply it. That means you can use Soul Annihilation/spells freely after applying your bleed to your target(s). A good back up weapon for this build is Sun and Moon (you can use it until you reach max focus, then switch to Seeker's Fang to apply the most powerful bleed).

If you want to go the Soul Blade route then you can pick also a Trickster as second class because of the great synergy with Soul Annihilation (but less sturdy than a monk).

Edited March 8, 2021 by Kaylon

[foxinspace]

9 hours ago, Jayd said:

Well there aren't many unique rapiers so I would think you would build with those in mind. The soulbound one from SSS (Seeker's Fang) is limited to Cipher, Rogue, Wizard, and Ranger, and it's definitely best on a Cipher. Since you were considering Cipher anyway maybe go with that to make the most out of it in late-game? The most interesting effect from the other ones is immunity to flanking and +20% action speed when surrounded from Squid's Grasp. Thinking about how to make the most of that, I'd want to pick a Fighter, because Fighters can pretty effortlessly stand in the middle of a bunch of enemies without dying (especially if they can't be flanked). I think it would be fun to start most fights by diving directly into the middle of enemies with Charge and start stabbing away, taking advantage of Mob Stance. You could probably get some really fast attack speed with Mob Stance + Squid's Grasp (always dual-wield - one-handed is a trap unless you're building heavily around crits or using pistol modal). As a Devoted with Hammering Thoughts you'll be able to penetrate anything and will probably overpen a lot. You can pick Monastic training to smash pierce-immune skeletons.

I've never played a Cipher MC, but maybe Ascendent would be best here because you're sitting on Focus for a while with it (powering up Seeker's Fang when you get it)? Could make for a satisfying gameplay loop to start fights by going stab-crazy on a mob and then spam some good spells when you ascend. I just saw that Soul Whip does more damage when ascended, so you don't even need to use powers to benefit from the subclass if you just feel like perforating goons all day. This would also make the absolute most of Seeker's Fang (helped out by Disciplined Strikes and a touch of extra Devoted Crit damage).

So yeah - if I were to do this I would go Devoted/Ascendent, slap him/her at the front of the party, and Leeroy Jenkins into every mob I come across. You could get higher damage with monk or rogue, probably, but this seems fun to play and is doing a lot with the theme (rather than just being a standard weapon dps build using rapiers instead of Scordeos or whatever).

Thanks! I was thinking that Ascendant/Devoted would be a very cool character to roll RP-wise as a rapier-fencer and fighter abilities would add much needed survivability. The only thing I am a bit concerned with this setup is that the character will not have the option to switch weapon in case of pierce immunity. Since I'm going to be running with companions this should not be that bad, yet I am wondering if devoted with a rapier would be too crippling (since I won't be able to gain enough  focus against pierce resistances to do anything on the ascendant side of things)?

[Haplok]

48 minutes ago, Kaylon said:

Cipher with Seeker's Fang is pretty much the best end game build around a rapier. 

Rapier with Borrowed Instincts means very high crit chance and the class that benefits the most from it is the monk (Swift Flurry, Heartbeat Drumming, Stunning Surge, Enervating Blows). I would pick Nalpazca (for better survivability and wound generation) or no subclass if you don't like drugs (with Tuotilo's Palm in the right hand of course).

For the cipher subclass the most obvious is the Ascendant and you should pick it if you want to mix casting and melee.

If you want to build a heavy melee character then pick instead Soul Blade. The bleed from Seeker's Fang doesn't stack with itself and your focus matters only when you apply it. That means you can use Soul Annihilation/spells freely after applying your bleed to your target(s). A good back up weapon for this build is Sun and Moon (you can use it until you reach max focus, then switch to Seeker's Fang to apply the most powerful bleed).

If you want to go the Soul Blade route then you can pick also a Trickster as second class because of the great synergy with Soul Annihilation (but less sturdy than a monk).

I think I'd go with Forbidden Fist monk to pair with Ascendant. Greatly prolonging the hostile effects on enemies - as as the Raw DoT from rapier but also Disintegrate and various debuffs. Its my favorite monk subclass nowadays (although I play with the Community Patch).

 

Also the Raw DoT may not stack with itself, but if I'm not mistaken, each new crit will trigger it anew - with an instant primary tick, which will be almost as high as the weapon damage itself. So its still like damage x2 on a crit.

[Jayd]

3 minutes ago, foxinspace said:

Thanks! I was thinking that Ascendant/Devoted would be a very cool character to roll RP-wise as a rapier-fencer and fighter abilities would add much needed survivability. The only thing I am a bit concerned with this setup is that the character will not have the option to switch weapon in case of pierce immunity. Since I'm going to be running with companions this should not be that bad, yet I am wondering if devoted with a rapier would be too crippling (since I won't be able to gain enough  focus against pierce resistances to do anything on the ascendant side of things)?

Check this out from this great guide:

"Note that because you gain the devoted's +2 PEN, +25% crit damage to any weapon you're proficient with and not just the one weapon you choose at character creation, this has the side effect of making the devoted's bare fists also more effective (since everyone is proficient with their fists). This is particularly relevant for a monk multiclass or for a devoted who picks up Monastic Unarmed Training."

That's why I suggested picking up Monastic Unarmed Training. Perfect answer to pierce-immunes for a Devoted 

[foxinspace]

4 hours ago, Not So Clever Hound said:

Of note, the Immune to Flanking from Squid's Grasp is nice if you want to build around Tactician. AFIK the only other item in the game with this effect is Gipon Prudensco.

A build around rapiers can be fun, I wish the game had a "disarm" effect that you could trigger with fencing specialists. That would be fun to quickly disarm an opponent with an expert thrust and turn the tide of the battle. Thematically a Riposte build with a Rogue would be very fitting, but IMO it's not a strong enough ability on its own to build around... unless you build around WotEP, but there goes your rapier idea . That being said, you could still be very powerful by investing a bit in Alchemy and drinking the occasional Potion of Ryngrim's Repulsive Visage which is amazing and inexpensive to buy/make. I wonder if with a Monk, the disengagement attacks from the Terrified effect can benefit from Heartbeat Drumming/Swift Flurry? In which case that + Overbearing Guard from Fighter would turn you into a Disengagement killing machine.

EDIT: I forgot to mention Parting Sorrow if you build around Disengagement!

I do a bit of HEMA irl, and something I would love to roleplay here is a character that would use a rapier and dagger, focusing on riposte attacks. Unfortunately there are no riposte animations in this game, which makes sense due to its inner mechanics, but a bit disappointing for the flair of this character... As for terrified - I rolled a paladin/bloodmage earied who focused on buffing, Ryngrim's RV and spirit lance, and something I've noticed was that terrified enemies just sort of cower and do not flee as often as I expected. It was actually convenient for the arcane knight, since I could just keep on poking them with the lance, but for a character focusing on disengagement - would terrified be reliable enough?

[foxinspace]

1 hour ago, Haplok said:

The rapier modal is very strong (+20 Accuracy!) and rapiers are fast enough that the penalty isn't so bad when dual-wielding. Then Rapiers have innate +5 Accuracy.  Rannig's Wrath even reinforces that Accuracy focus by providing another +4 Accuracy on top. So they are Accuracy beasts and, consequently, crit machines.

Therefore I feel a monk with Flurry and Heartbeat Drumming is kinda obligatory to capitalize on that. Dual rapiers lead to massive crit chains all the time. The second class I would choose between Cipher (probably Ascendant) to eventually use the awesome Seeker's Fang or Rogue - probably Trickster - for solid damage output and strong defensive buffs.

 

1 hour ago, Kaylon said:

Cipher with Seeker's Fang is pretty much the best end game build around a rapier. 

Rapier with Borrowed Instincts means very high crit chance and the class that benefits the most from it is the monk (Swift Flurry, Heartbeat Drumming, Stunning Surge, Enervating Blows). I would pick Nalpazca (for better survivability and wound generation) or no subclass if you don't like drugs (with Tuotilo's Palm in the right hand of course).

For the cipher subclass the most obvious is the Ascendant and you should pick it if you want to mix casting and melee.

If you want to build a heavy melee character then pick instead Soul Blade. The bleed from Seeker's Fang doesn't stack with itself and your focus matters only when you apply it. That means you can use Soul Annihilation/spells freely after applying your bleed to your target(s). A good back up weapon for this build is Sun and Moon (you can use it until you reach max focus, then switch to Seeker's Fang to apply the most powerful bleed).

If you want to go the Soul Blade route then you can pick also a Trickster as second class because of the great synergy with Soul Annihilation (but less sturdy than a monk).

Thanks a lot for very helpful tips! I have to say the monk/cipher multiclass is the MC that's most interesting to me at the moment, although maybe trickster/cipher would be (potentially) stronger? Monk/trickster also sounds nice, but as @haplok said I would really like capitalize on the awesomeness of the seeker's fang (I know it's a late-game weapon, but I also like to have something to look forward to in the later stages of the game). I have also been thinking about soulblade as a cipher subclass - but I've never used it and I've seen comments from cipher-users here that with the soulblade it makes sense to store and use focus only on soul annihilation, and it would not be efficient to spend it on other cipher powers, other than occasional buff/debuff. This kind of character sounds like it might become a bit boring fast...

As for the monk subclass, I am not very familiar with the forbidden fist (would it need to have low int and max resolve to be effective?). I mainly played helwalker in my monk MC characters and it is a fantastic class, but using it in melee with priest of berath/helwalker was a bit too squishy for my taste, so I am not sure whether I would like to pair it with a melee cipher. Nalpazca sounds amazing in theory, but I am a bit concerned with drug management. Do crash effects last only for some time or always, until a new dose is used? I'm also curious, is Nalpazca then pretty much the same as no subclass monk if no drugs are used at all? I was also thinking about shattered pillar, but I have no idea how efficient it is to generate wounds solely by dmg, even with the community patch that sets the shattered pillar's wound limit to 10 again.

[Haplok]

I think I'd go with cipher/monk then. Trickster will be fine and more of a tank, but cipher synergy with Seeker's Fang is great and monk Int synergizes well with cipher abilities. Damage wise Flurry/Heartbeat chains will be just as effective (or more) then all the rogue boosts (although maybe not quite AS reliable - but still extremely frequent - and killing enemies in a single flurry is both fun and very helpful - as a dead enemy is the best form of CC).

Flagellant's Path will be great later on. Weaker enemies will be killed outright on the charge, without triggering Recovery.

On Forbidden Fist: low Int not necessary, but max Resolve very advised. Plus food that Reduces the duration of hostile effects (Mohora Wraps). And MAYBE items that do the same.

Note the default "Forbidden Fist" is not treated as a weapon attack (more like a spell ability), so it doesn't provide Focus. Community Patch changes this. Forbidden Fist is neat, as it uses your fist damage even when you're holding a weapon. So you can use rapiers, shields and other weapons and still deliver devastating punches when you want to (mainly when you want to debuff the enemy).

Edited March 8, 2021 by Haplok

[Not So Clever Hound]

1 hour ago, foxinspace said:

would terrified be reliable enough?

It's true that the disengagement only works if you're applying the effect after you've been engaged - and of course it's better if you have a lot of engagement slots. I like it on an Assassin Devoted wielding Amra because even if you only get 1 or 2 disengagement attacks, they  are very strong between your base weapon DMG and your Rogue goodies with persistent distraction etc. Maybe you won't take as much advantage of this strategy with a rapier but on the other hand, you will surely crit which will very often trigger additional attacks from Monk and give you a free wound so it could still be situationally nice.

[foxinspace]

7 hours ago, Haplok said:

I think I'd go with cipher/monk then. Trickster will be fine and more of a tank, but cipher synergy with Seeker's Fang is great and monk Int synergizes well with cipher abilities. Damage wise Flurry/Heartbeat chains will be just as effective (or more) then all the rogue boosts (although maybe not quite AS reliable - but still extremely frequent - and killing enemies in a single flurry is both fun and very helpful - as a dead enemy is the best form of CC).

Flagellant's Path will be great later on. Weaker enemies will be killed outright on the charge, without triggering Recovery.

On Forbidden Fist: low Int not necessary, but max Resolve very advised. Plus food that Reduces the duration of hostile effects (Mohora Wraps). And MAYBE items that do the same.

Note the default "Forbidden Fist" is not treated as a weapon attack (more like a spell ability), so it doesn't provide Focus. Community Patch changes this. Forbidden Fist is neat, as it uses your fist damage even when you're holding a weapon. So you can use rapiers, shields and other weapons and still deliver devastating punches when you want to (mainly when you want to debuff the enemy).

Somehow it seems to be a bit of a dysergy to use ascendant (who wants very high int to extend ascended on himself) and forbidden fist who doesn't want too much int. Maybe it would be awesome if I just roll a character and play it, but when theorycrafting I am not sure how I would use it best.. Maybe if going sky high resolve (+ items and the food bonus) it doesn't matter how high the int is... What would you suggest for the other stats in this build?

I might also try going with nalpazca/ascendant, I guess it should be easy to hoard drugs and maxing alchemy increases the effect duration...

[foxinspace]

Just realized that forbidden fist lowers fortitude which is asking for a good combo with disintegrate... Damn, I'm almost sold on this one  

Edited March 8, 2021 by foxinspace

[Jayd]

12 minutes ago, foxinspace said:

Just realized that forbidden fist lowers fortitude which is asking for a good combo with disintegrate... Damn, I'm almost sold on this one  

Not just lowers fortitude, but the special effect of enfeebled in prolonging negative effects makes disintegrate and other cipher powers especially effective.

[Exanos]

I would go forbiden fist / berseker  or hellwalker/devoted for a rapier focused melee build. 

[foxinspace]

2 minutes ago, Exanos said:

I would go forbiden fist / berseker  or hellwalker/devoted for a rapier focused melee build. 

Helwalker/devoted sounds pretty neat, the only downside (for me) is not getting as much use out of the seeker's fang...

[foxinspace]

6 minutes ago, Jayd said:

Not just lowers fortitude, but the special effect of enfeebled in prolonging negative effects makes disintegrate and other cipher powers especially effective.

Amazing! Ok, I was getting ready to take the high road with nalpazca, but now I just have to give it a try and roll forbidden fist / ascendant. Just need to figure out the stats on this one...

[Exanos]

1 hour ago, foxinspace said:

Helwalker/devoted sounds pretty neat, the only downside (for me) is not getting as much use out of the seeker's fang...

well, seeker's fang come quite late, and the two rapier you get before (early) are great on late too. hellwalker/devoted have no real downside when it come to melee : great accuracy, epic pen, ton of damage, lot of crits and epic on crit effects. You are just a whirlwind of blades, with possibly nearly no downtime. Monk/cipher, while very good will have bigger downtime (spell recovery and no armor feat from fighter) and if you just aa, you miss from cipher spells, and if you cast cipher spells you miss great aa effects. It's still a very good MC, don't get me wrong. I will say it depend how you view your character : melee focused or a melee/caster.

[Kaylon]

As a monk with high crit chance you can easily lower fortitude with Enervating Blows and/or Stunning Surge. The +50% duration on hostile effect is nice, but the Forbidden Fist will generate wounds much slower and you have to invest heavily in resolve instead of other attributes. Also if you need to extend the effect of your spells/abilities it's better to debuff resolve using Psychovampiric Shield (it has a stronger effect, is resisted less, has longer duration).

[dgray62]

Kaylon makes a good point regarding tradeoffs. As a FF/ascendant cipher you will generate wounds more slowly than a helwalker or nalpazca subclass monk. However, with high enough resolve and Mohora wraps food, the FF curse will expire quickly, giving you a good stream of wounds. Hylea's Talons will also give you additional wounds. Once you are optimally geared you'll be fine. For this build, I'd recommend max RES (20 with berath's blessings), and decent STR and INT (15 with berath's blessings). The forbidden fist attack does so much damage you'll ascend very quickly. With Tuotilo's Palm in your offhand and whatever weapon you want in your main hand you'll be an indestructible pulverizer, with very high deflection and defenses and you'll shrug off afflictions very quickly, which will then heal you and give you a wound.

Edited March 8, 2021 by dgray62
Edited for clarity

[foxinspace]

34 minutes ago, Kaylon said:

As a monk with high crit chance you can easily lower fortitude with Enervating Blows and/or Stunning Surge. The +50% duration on hostile effect is nice, but the Forbidden Fist will generate wounds much slower and you have to invest heavily in resolve instead of other attributes. Also if you need to extend the effect of your spells/abilities it's better to debuff resolve using Psychovampiric Shield (it has a stronger effect, is resisted less, has longer duration).

 

23 minutes ago, dgray62 said:

Kaylon makes a good point regarding tradeoffs. As a FF/ascendant cipher you will generate wounds more slowly than a helwalker or nalpazca subclass monk. However, with high enough resolve and Mohora wraps food, the FF curse will expire quickly, giving you a good stream of wounds. Hylea's Talons will also give you additional wounds. Once you are optimally geared you'll be fine. For this build, I'd recommend max RES (20 with berath's blessings), and decent STR and INT (15 with berath's blessings). The forbidden fist attack does so much damage you'll ascend very quickly. With Tuotilo's Palm in your offhand and whatever weapon you want in your main hand you'll be an indestructible pulverizer, with very high deflection and defenses and you'll shrug off afflictions very quickly, which will then heal you and give you a wound.

Hmm, so maybe something like 10 CON 15MIG DEX PER and INT and 20 RES with BB bonuses? I am also now thinking whether FF/ascendant would be really in the spirit of a fast rapier fencer. The class combo definitely sounds fantastic, but, for example, nalpazca/ascendant would be more of a fast, critting character, darting around the battlefield, while for FF the main point would be to abuse the forbidden fist and not so much in using the wound abilities. Also, missing the FF attacks is a bummer, so seems like it would be good to bump per for this char as well, but not much room left after maxing res. Very, very difficult choice...

Edited March 8, 2021 by foxinspace

[dgray62]

22 minutes ago, foxinspace said:

Hmm, so maybe something like 10 CON 15MIG DEX PER and INT and 20 RES with BB bonuses? I am also now thinking whether FF/ascendant would be really in the spirit of a fast rapier fencer. The class combo definitely sounds fantastic, but, for example, nalpazca/ascendant would be more of a fast, critting character, darting around the battlefield, while for FF the main point would be to abuse the forbidden fist and not so much in using the wound abilities. Also, missing the FF attacks is a bummer, so seems like it would be good to bump per for this char as well, but not much room left after maxing res. Very, very difficult choice...

That is exactly the range I went with when I played a FF/ ascendant cipher. I think you'll be fine with 15 PER. First of all, rapier with modal already has sky-high accuracy. And the forbidden fist attack scales with PL; for this reason, you might consider going with Nature Godlike, and also making use of potions of ascension for tough fights, to boost your PL. With a bit of tweaking it will be devastating, with high damage, PEN and accuracy. And as a cipher you'll have borrowed instincts to seriously boost accuracy when this is needed. You could also drop RES to 18 and bump PER to 17; it wouldn't make too much difference I think.

[Bosmer]

Maybe I could chime in here and promote @Elric Galad's "Balance Polishing Mod" (in combination with the community patch). I think it makes very reasonable adjustments to abilities/subclasses that are generally inferior to other same-tier abilities in the vanilla game. This includes the single-target spell "Fractured Volition" to apply now the enfeebled affliction, allowing you to choose a different monk subclass, if you wanted to, but still benefiting from the nice interaction of enfeebled with many cipher spells. 

I definitely enjoy it on my current cipher run, without making anything to powerful.