Soul blade multiclassing

[foxinspace]

Hi! Planning a soul blade multiclass build that I want to use with seeker's fang eventually.
Thinking of multiclassing options, I like the idea of Bleak walker/Soul blade - perhaps using melee FoD or a ranged FoD with a Spearcaster to get initial focus burst then melee (probably with WotEP then switch to dual wield once I get seeker's fang). Devoted/Soul Blade seems interesting, but I'm not sure I want to be stuck with rapiers for the whole playthrough.  Do you have any suggestions for getting the most out of seeker's fang with a cipher multiclass? Have been wondering whether seeker's fang might be a waste on a soul blade (vs. e.g. ascendant), since SB has reduced focus and tends to spend it all often on soul annihilation... I know cipher/FF is often suggested, but I played this one before.

Thanks!

[Boeroer]

Soul Blade will increase his max focus on kill though.

With Seeker's Fang in mind I think I would go Monk/Soulblade.

[foxinspace]

4 minutes ago, Boeroer said:

Soul Blade will increase his max focus on kill though.

With Seeker's Fang in mind I think I would go Monk/Soulblade.

Thanks for a quick response! What about SB/Helwalker? Too squishy?

[Boeroer]

Maybe, depends on the party.

I played a Soulblade/Shattered Pillar (with Community Patch tough to raise the max wound counter back to 10) and I really liked that you will both get wounds and focus with auto-attacks. But I used Whispers of the Endless Paths with Offensive Parry (and high deflection - as well as Nomad's Brigandine for the guaranteed misses on Disengagement Attacks against me). Hits from Offensive Parry both generate wounds/focus as well as trigger Swift Flurry/Heartbeat Drumming procs. I could spam Soul Annihilation a lot because enemy misses against me (in melee) would give me focus and wounds. But I guess the combo could also be fun with Rapiers or whatever. 

I also guess that Forbidden Fist/Soulblade could be good (only with Community Patch again because else Forbidden Fist attacks won't generate focus). The Seeker's Fang DoT would not only be prolonged by +10 INT/+50% (at max wounds) but also by Enfeelbled (+50%) - also no healing for enemies then.

Generally speaking a great weapon for Soulblade is Sun & Moon (dual heads = two chances to hit with SA and if both hit the second one already generates focus again). And it's also the best weapon choice for a Monk with Swift Flurry (way easier to proc crit-chains). So the Monk/Soulblade combo kind of yearns for that weapon - at least as backup weapon... or maybe on the main hand while Seeker's Fang goes into the offhand (because Swift Fkurry procs from the offhand get executed with the main hand weapon and SA also gets executed with the main hand weapon. Also Stunning Surge is great with Sun & Moon and another accurate offhand weapon.

Weapon Set 1: Seeker's Fang + Tuotilo's Palm / WS2: Sun & Moon + Tuotilo's Palm

That would be my pick with a Forbidden Fist I think (only with Community Patch).

I would go with Sun & Moon + Seeker's Fang dual wielding setup on a Shattered Pillar (only with Community Patch).

Nalpasca is always an option imo. Unless you get hit by Arcane Dampener the added wound generation is very nice. 

With Helwalker I might try to use a reach weapon first and later use Instruments of Pain with Seeker's Fang in order to not get hit too much in melee. I think Soul Storm from Chromoprismatic Staff generates focus if I'm not mistaken. And Swift Flurry could lead to 5 consecutive crits (which trigger Soul Storm) quite quickly...?

A fantastic ranged opener for gaining massive amounts of focus is Kitchen Stove with Thunderous Report by the way. A Stunning Surge with Mortars into a group of enemies is also a fantastic opener imo. Same is a shot from Watershaper's Focus + Blast from stealth (longer range than mortars or blunderbusses - although the cone of Thunderous Report can get ridiculously big/long with some bonus INT).

Edited August 7, 2021 by Boeroer

[Kaylon]

A trickster/soulblade can gain focus pretty fast and you can stack multiple dots on enemies.

[dgray62]

5 hours ago, Boeroer said:

I also guess that Forbidden Fist/Soulblade could be good (only with Community Patch again because else Forbidden Fist attacks won't generate focus). The Seeker's Fang DoT would not only be prolonged by +10 INT/+50% (at max wounds) but also by Enfeelbled (+50%) - also no healing for enemies then.

In my experience FF/SB is a great multiclass. You get two fantastic abilities starting at lvl 1, the forbidden fist attack and soul annihilation, and, if you have Community Patch installed, you can alternate between them with sufficiently high RES to minimize the curse duration. The subclasses harmonize very well, since the cipher can maximize the length of enfeebled and other afflictions you inflict, while the cipher can boost your RES, which is great for the monk. You can destroy single enemies quickly, and when you want, you can cast cipher powers for CC and damage to multiple foes. It's a great pick if you want to play a melee oriented transcendent.

[Faraleth]

my strongest char so far was a heart orlan assassin/soulblade with stiletto/rapier/dagger combos