Build request: Dual-Wield Grave Calling/Hel Beckoning Swift Striker

[Cheshire_Khajiit]

Hi all,

Been trying to come up with a build that can rapidly build up the stacks of Grave Calling and Hel Beckoning through high attack speed and/or mechanics like riposte (assuming riposte actually does add stacks in the first place). The idea would be to charge into melee and hit for relatively low damage but with a flurry of attacks that build in potency due to weapon buff stacking - death by a thousand cuts in melee form. I'm already aware of the incredible cascading effect of Monk crits and would like to avoid it for this build, as Monk completely trivializes PotD imo. Was considering a Streetfighter/Blood Mage Spellblade for controllable self-damage, high deflection, high action speed, and flexibility. Would appreciate any thoughts and/or tips!

[Cheshire_Khajiit]

Hi peeps,

Having done my own digging, I wanted to revisit this topic with a build recommendation for anyone else who may be seeking a similar concept. @thelee has written an incredibly detailed guide for a Wael-Priest/Streetfighter he calls the "Umezawa" (coincidentally, named after one of my favorite Magic the Gathering cards, Umezawa's Jitte). I think this build could very reasonably be combined with dual-wielding Grave Calling and Hel Beckoning to achieve something close to what I describe above, though I suspect the result would be less powerful than @thelee's weapon recommendations. Here are some useful descriptions of the build for anyone that's interested:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/227477-pillars-of-eternity-ii-deadfire/faqs/76599/case-study-1-umezawa

I also highly recommend reading through @thelee's amazing FAQ - the first link I shared above is part of it.

- Cheshire_Khajiit

[Boeroer]

That highest attack speed you would get from a Barbarian/Streetfighter. 

Frenzy + Bloodlust + Dual Wielding + Two Weapon Style + Heating Up

Barb also offers Blood Frenzy which adds a raw DoT that stacks with Deep Wounds and thus adds to the idea of "1000 wounds".

Besides that the dmg bonuses of both classes stack nicely, too. 

 

 

 

[Cheshire_Khajiit]

@Boeroer yeah that's a combination I've been considering. My main concern with barb/streetfighter is survivability. I'm assuming the barb frenzy deflection debuff stacks with the flanked status meaning a total of -20 deflection. Since streetfighter seems like a class that wants to get itself damaged to a certain degree and then stay at that hp level, I'd be worried about being hit too easily. As @thelee points out, the illusion spells that come with Wael priest give a "toggleable" deflection boost when you need it. Granted, what you suggest does exactly what I created this thread to ask about, so I appreciate the comment either way. Tangentially related - do you happen to know whether riposte full attacks count for stacking the lash on Grave Calling/Hel Beckoning? Barb frenzy has anti-synergy with riposte but it may not matter if riposte can't stack those effects to begin with...

[NotDumbEnough]

You're probably going to get the highest attack speed out of a singleclass Ascendant spamming Time Parasite, though that's hardly useful for a build like this.

[Cheshire_Khajiit]

Hmmm, interesting idea @NotDumbEnough. I guess the root question, then, is whether it's best to have the highest attack speed or have high attack speed and passive extra attack chances (assuming of course that those extra attacks proc the lash stacking). The reason I went with a streetfighter is that it combines high attack speed with the possibility of getting riposte for passive extra attacks. Another option would be to go single-class barbarian for the passive barbaric retaliation attacks, but that incentivizes going low resolve which in turn incentivizes a heavy armor/slow action speed build. Could certainly be good, assuming it still procs the lash stacking.

[dgray62]

While thelee's Umezawa build may not be the fastest possible that's out there, it is a very flexible build that's very fun to play. As you note, the Priest of Wael brings tremendous survivability that complements streetfighter nicely. Barb/streetfighter would be faster, but would likely need healing and support from a party member to stay alive.

[thelee]

1 hour ago, NotDumbEnough said:

You're probably going to get the highest attack speed out of a singleclass Ascendant spamming Time Parasite, though that's hardly useful for a build like this.

there's some friction points there, because in just a straight-forward usage, you're "wasting" some time trying to refresh it, which can be somewhat frequent depending on the enemies, so the long run speed bonus might not be as good. i'll admit i haven't played that much with time parasite, so i don't have too much visibility on the itneractions with it.

 

that being said, simply maximizing speed may not be the complete picture. riposte (and similar effects like barbaric retaliation and mob stance) gives you "secret" speed bonuses with its free attacks. part of why barbaric retaliation is so good - you basically get super huge effective speed bonus, passively, and the effective speed bonus is higher the slower you normally are (heavy armor, bleeding cuts, etc). but you don't have as much control over that, versus just auto-attacking.

 

2 hours ago, Boeroer said:

That highest attack speed you would get from a Barbarian/Streetfighter. 

Frenzy + Bloodlust + Dual Wielding + Two Weapon Style + Heating Up

add on blood thirst for periodic recovery-free attacks, and be a fury shaper so you get that action speed totem (+10% that stacks with everything)

edit: maximize athletics and get the contender's armor from SSS plus one of the pets that reduces armor penalty. i haven't done the math, but i suspect that'd be faster than light armor with -10% (pale hide, benweth's armor, the soulbound changeling armor) with a pet, but you really need to hunt those athletics bonuses down.

Edited February 10, 2022 by thelee

[Boeroer]

The good thing with Barbarian/Streetfighter is that you can use Smoke Veil or Shadowing Beyond if you feel you are about to go down. 

Also a pet that lowers armor recovery penalty and heals on kill (Abraham) will help.

Streetfighter can still use Riposte even if it's less likely to trigger due to the frenzy/flanked combo.

Blood Thirsty is of course icing of the speedcake.

Stalwart Defiance can help a lot.

I wouldn't pick Berserker because it's just annoying to manage the health of a Streetfighter without being able to see it. The dmg output is really good with a Berserker/Streetfighter and he goes into bloodied status all by himself - but you can't simply stop it and as I said it's hard to manage your health. Furyshaper is cool imo.

Edited February 10, 2022 by Boeroer