loot Any generally important items to look out for from the random loot pool?

[SirMirrorcoat]

I couldn't find a list of recommendations for these items.

I made my own list up to Raedric's Hold, but aside from Stalker's Torc and of course the infamous Gloves of Manipulation, I got just some general stuff there.

[Boeroer]

Gauntlets of Swift Action. Best random loot item imo because its speed bonus stacks with everything. Makes it way easier to reach 0 recovery because speed bonuses that stack often do so with increasing returns.

Edited June 10, 2021 by Boeroer

[SirMirrorcoat]

Thanks, I will keep a lookout for that then

[demon72]

On 6/9/2021 at 9:20 PM, SirMirrorcoat said:

Gloves of Manipulation

1x for the "mechanic"-build (just to put them on if you need them)

3x "Girdle of Eoten Strength" and 4x "Boots of Stability" are also very good "finds" if you already "found" 3-4 x "Gauntlets of Swift Action"...

...at least for my party.

 

[demon72]

On 6/9/2021 at 9:20 PM, SirMirrorcoat said:

Stalker's Torc

is very nice if you use a ranger (what I wouldn't recommend).

[SirMirrorcoat]

39 minutes ago, demon72 said:

is very nice if you use a ranger (what I wouldn't recommend).

Why would you not recommend Ranger? Or did you mean Stalker's Torc/Stalker's Link specifically?

[demon72]

10 hours ago, SirMirrorcoat said:

Why would you not recommend Ranger? Or did you mean Stalker's Torc/Stalker's Link specifically?

Stalker's Link is great for a Ranger...

...but on my experience the Ranger is one of the weakest (if not the weakest) class in PoE.

[Boeroer]

That's if you constantly igonore the Animal Companion of course.  

Players tend to forget that you get two bodies for the price of one. And that additional body doesn't even have a health pool, only endurance - so it will never force you to rest even if it goes down a lot. 

Nobody would call a class weak if it had a summon that costs nothing to call forth and even can be revived as often as you wish (with the right party member(s)). I value Rangers a lot higher than Rogues - at least on PotD difficulty and when you look at a whole playthrough.
Stunning Shots + Driving Flight  + Twinned Arrows (multiplicative +100% dmg) is better in the late game than most stuff a Rogue has to offer (also because the ACC can be higher) - and the Animal Companion comes on top of that. It can do tremendous damage per attack for a "permanent summon". And even if it attacks slowly it's useful against highly armored enemies.

I attempted a very early PotD playthrough (didn't finish) with 6 Rangers and it made at least the early game a whole lot easier (just because of the 6 additional bodies). I also did 6 Rogues and it was pretty bad from beginning to the near end (where I also abandoned that run).  

Granted: Rogues are not a top tier class either in my book. And the impact of a class strongly depends on the party composion, role, build etc. - but if you'd force me to rank Rangers in general I'd say they are above Fighters and Rogues. Anyway: since all classes are fairly balanced compared to other games (that is if you don't rest after every fight to refill spell uses) it doesn't matter that much anyway.

Stalker's Torc is a cool item for a Ranger, I agree. 

other random loot I personally find interesting/useful:
- Belt of Bountiful Healing (great in combination with high survival and the resulting healing bonus + Veteran's Recovery and other "passive" healing)
- Blunting Belt (very good in the early and mid game)
- Bracers of Spiritual Power (since there's not much you can do to boost your spell dmg besides MIG, +10% is nice to have)
- Rugged Wilderness Hat (just equip before camping to get access to better survival bonuses without skilling survival that high)
- Rymrgand's Mantle (superb in the early game for the temple of Eothas: shadows/shades deal freeze dmg - makes fighting them a lot easier)
- Stag Helm (great if you are using a lot of "stuck" abilities, for example Binding Web - of always against spiders etc.)
- Boots of Speed (for obvious reasons)
 

 

[demon72]

Boeroer has definetly much more experience than me, but what I wanted to say (based on my limited experience):

 

Tier-1 Classes:

• Wizard
• Druid
• Priest

 

Tier-2 Classes:

• Paladin
• Cypher

 

Tier-3 Classes:

• Chanter
• Monk
• Barb

 

Tier-4 Classes:

• Fighter
• Ranger
• Rogue

at least from my experience.

Never tried it, but it's obvious that "two bodies" will definetly be helpfull in the very early game.

And as the very early game is the hardest part of PoE, you could argue, that the Ranger is a very good choice, but in the later game the additional "body" could even be a handicap, as it will block your way and "pathfinding" / "movement in battle" is programmed really really bad!

Edited June 11, 2021 by demon72

[SirMirrorcoat]

What do you think of Nature's Embrace? is Woodskin on crit good for a frontliner?

[Boeroer]

It's def. good against freeze and burn damage (the passive DR of the belt and Woodskin's DR bonuses stack iirc) and also not bad against ranged attacks of all sorts because those tend to be pierce dmg mostly. 

[baldurs_gate_2]

I always play solo, so boots of stealth are not really important for you. But Gloves of Manipulation in Raedrics Keep are always nice to have or the Ring of Searing Flames in the dungeon.