Advice for PoTD

[Hermione]

Hello!  I was wondering if I could get some advice for my PoTD team? 

PC melee Cipher (this is my favourite way to play the game :D)

Paladin tank, off-tank Monk, Druid, Wizard, Priest.

I'm not sure if I should make the Paladin use Tidefall or some one handed + outworn buckler... 
My character will use dual sabres but I don't know if Bittercuts or Resolution+Purgatory will be better.

Thank you in advance

[Madd]

Hey! 

Firstly, sorry for my english, its not my first language so i will probably do a lot of mistakes!

About your question, the composition is very good.

Few things that i did on triple crown runs and make them cackewalk (and few general tips aswell):

1. outworn buckler + little saviour stacks. So if you have them on two different party members, and you stay in range you will have +10 to all defenses. Use helwax mod from keep mission and copy another little saviour, and all your party have +15 to all defenses. Absolutely incredible.

2. DR is important. Very important. Dont be afraid to put high dr armours on casters/range characters, especially if you dont know the game yet or your backliners are fewshotted by some nasty enemies with gap closers. Of course the less recovery penalty the better, but its small price to pay for survival of your mage/priest untill you can help them out

3. In pillars, and especially on potd, its hard to complete all challenges straight away. If you cant beat something, its not always your fault, get a level or two then try again. (examples: bear cave, eothas temple in gilded vale, endless paths, white march)

4. you can respec at every vendor, so if you feel like you've chosen something wrong, dont be afraid to try different approach. Money is not a problem later in pillars, so sparing 2k for respec is definetly worth it

5. One party member with max mechanics is must have. Give him one survival for extra +1 dr rest bonus and  put every other point into mechanics. Traps on potd later in the game can oneshot even fully geared  16 level character, so its always good to see them.

Now to party members!

Paladin -> as you said tank, outworn + hatchet early on, later I would switch hatchet for spelltongue to dispel enemy buffs with every hit. (good when dealing with broodmothers or endgame wizards/priests). White crest armour for that juicy overwhelming wave start, +9 deflection and +9/9/9 ring and you're pretty much immortal late in the game.  If you dont use Pallegina go wild orlan or moon godlike, both are very good. I like paladins with shield in party play more, because you have so many usefull utility spells, that its a bit waste to make them another dps. Remember to take accuracy aura and liberating exhortation, ability to suspend every cc/dot in the game for 20++ seconds, that you can use twice per encounter is extremly good (especially vs those nasty adragan petryfication) 

Monk -> you cant go wrong with monk. This class is absolutely amazing and fun/easy to play. You have everything you may want. Awesome constitution to hp conversion, huge dmg, utility. Untill very lategame you dont even need to think about weapons, cause your fists are always "upgraded" when you ding thresholdt level (4, 8, 12, 16). Torment reach will be your main source of dmg for whole game, take two weapon style for free 20% attack speed and weapon focus: peasant for extra accuracy. Also Ryona's Breastplate is making monks absolute jaggernauts, so dont hesitate giving your monk this sweet armour :D. Later in the game adding +15% attack speed gloves and We-Toki axe/Godansthunyr, along with high perception will allow you to prone/stun enemies on crits.

Wizard -> CC kings, debuff masters. Chill fog and blind will be your friend through entire game, especially when bodyblocking doors/entrances. Give them as much accuracy as you can (+5 gloves, +6 acc aura, +4 perception cloak, priest buffs). Dont fall into weapon focus traps, as it does not count for spells. For tough battles you can start with call to slumer, before enemies can buff themselves, and if you crit you have free win . For early game blast + improved blast + combusting wounds + chill fog + kakaloth weapon is making you aoe terminator, basically every wand shot/chill fog tick will trigger waves of another burn damage. Gyrd Haewanes Stenes have good synergy with wizard, so i like to use that weapon on them. 

Priest -> Well, nothing really interesting here. Interdiction at start, aoe heal for extra acc for most important abilities, so you can crit with them. Minor avatar at start of tough battles, so your buffs last longer. About the gear +9 def and 9/9/9 ring is more important that +extra priest spells, so dont buy those rings as they are waste of time. Remember that you have supress afflictions, to get your guys out of cc.  You have a lot of good buffs from early game: armor of faith, blessing, dire blessing, whithdraw etc, so dont be afraid and take your time to try them out to see what they do  In lategame your arsenal of spells is over the top and using them will make a difference.

I will write the rest later, as im running now out of time  hope that it help atlast a bit! Good luck!

 

[Hermione]

Oh thank you very much! I will take all of that into consideration!
Also, I apologise for taking so long to reply :/

I got IRL busy then forgot about my post here!

[demon72]

Hi Hermione,

six month ago I was more or less at the same point, as I wanted to start directly on PotD as new player.

First don't fear PotD that much, as it's not that hard, especially not after your party reaches L6/L7!

My "biggest" problem was, that I entered Defiance Bay / Act II very (to) late..

...some fights in Act I would be much easier, if you get some of the easy / free EXP there first!

 

If you want to stay on the save side, then go with the "great 6 person party" (with the cipher instead of the barb)...

...and if you want to play with a monk in your party, just skip the chanter.

 

DR is important, but I would also give some attention on fortitude and will defence, as many builds are quite weak on this (due to low CON & RES) and many enemies uses cc.

 

I can only support Madd on the statement, that one party member with MAX Mechanics is absolutely helpfull - Class AND Background Boni are mandatory for this member (as your MC is a Cypher, this should be your choice!)

Don't pick up any keys and disarm every single trap, as this gives you tons of EXP (go back to Cilant Lis to disarm the trapped symbols, if your party is complete!).

Sell everything you have/find on the encampment map to Heodan (before taking the Waterskin), as this will allow you, to recruit your complete party directly after you reach Guilded Vale.