Death's Herald Abilities, do they matter ?

[Lonlon]

Hello,

I just remembered about the Berath's ability you unlock during Eotath/Gods interactions.
i'm wondering if those abilities matter in the end game...I found that Chorus of the lost could be quite impactful (-> AoE Immobilize), but is it ?
Also if you make the "good" dialogue choices, you can end up with a rank3 inspiration on PER/MIG/INT on the Death's Herald ability... Seems quite strong..
Are some of them stronger than others ? What do you think ?

Also, because of my Histories from POE1 (I think), I received no Gift of the Machine after the completion of Distant Light in Hasongo (i dont remember if I made a bad choice in POE1 or not..., can you explain this to me ?) 

Thx

[thelee]

honestly i have a real hard time generally remembering to use the "of the lost" abilities (e.g. chorus of the lost). they are once/rest and generally not any more powerful than a tier 1 or tier 2 spell. i feel like pathfinder: wrath of the righteous and bg2 nailed the "specialness" requirement of the mainchar's unique abilities better. at once/rest it should be much more impactful.

 

the main one i ever use is the one you get that can heal your allies. it's a decent heal with a big radius and sometimes i'll just be in a pinch and it'll be the one extra heal i need to give me some breathing room in a fight.

 

edit: the death's herald abilities can be super important, but in a niche metagamy sense. i only ever really value the brilliant inspiration (resource gen) or the energized inspiration (crit-based builds), though, intuitive just isn't as impactful in any build i've done. earlier on in my playing time, i would use the lower-level version of the intellect inspirations too for certain builds that really wanted more duration on buffs, but these days i don't even bother until i get brilliant. I do periodically use the might inspiration version once it gets to tenacious-tier, since +2 PEN can be extremely relevant especially for spellcasters.

 

14 minutes ago, Lonlon said:

Also, because of my Histories from POE1 (I think), I received no Gift of the Machine after the completion of Distant Light in Hasongo (i dont remember if I made a bad choice in POE1 or not..., can you explain this to me ?) 

if i remember correctly, not only do you have to absorb the machine energy in poe1 history, but you also have to stay cruel in poe2. if you aren't cruel, the option is blocked off, and your soul is like "are you the same person as blah blah" and your only option is "no, i've changed."

Edited April 14, 2022 by thelee

[Not So Clever Hound]

1 hour ago, thelee said:

not only do you have to absorb the machine energy in poe1 history, but you also have to stay cruel in poe2. if you aren't cruel, the option is blocked off, and your soul is like "are you the same person as blah blah" and your only option is "no, i've changed

That doesn’t influence your ability to keep Gift from The Machine and Skaen Pool Sacrifice. It’s just flavor chat with your soul post Ashen Maw.. zero stat impact. I always get and keep those bonuses and am almost never cruel… at least not in disposition. 

[NotDumbEnough]

The only way to not get those perks is to go to Ashen Maw before you go to Hasongo. If you do that you don't get to talk with Eothas after Hasongo since he's obviously already left.

[dgray62]

I usually go for intuitive, simply for the reason that it is the hardest inspiration to get late game, unless you use least unstable coil. Brilliant can be gained from a cipher companion, and energized is easy to achieve once you have access to slayers claw. But intuitive is not possible for non-fighters without using the coil and abilities that proc multiple inspirations with it.

[thelee]

8 hours ago, Not So Clever Hound said:

That doesn’t influence your ability to keep Gift from The Machine and Skaen Pool Sacrifice. It’s just flavor chat with your soul post Ashen Maw.. zero stat impact. I always get and keep those bonuses and am almost never cruel… at least not in disposition. 

oh dayumn i always assumed it mattered. so even in the cases where i had the cruel option locked, i still got it? i just never checked lol

[dgray62]

Yes, you need to make the cruel choices in POE1, but in POE2 all you need to do is push past the lost souls to find your own soul in the first interaction with Eothas in Port Maje, which has no impact on your dispositions. You also do not need any cruel disposition points to get the bonuses later.

[Not So Clever Hound]

15 hours ago, dgray62 said:

in POE2 all you need to do is push past the lost souls to find your own soul in the first interaction with Eothas in Port Maje

Isn’t the Maje interaction conditioning which “of the Lost” abilities you get e.g Chorus of the Lost? It doesn’t impact gift from the machine and effigy resentment.  Then you automatically gain back gift from the machine and effigy resentment after Hasongo no matter your dispositions and choice in that interaction. Finally the 3 gods interactions dictate which “of death herald” ability you get - which @thelee and @Noqnand others summarized very nicely in various places. 

[dgray62]

When you first talk to Eothas below the arena, you have the choice to either reach out to the lost souls or push past them to find your soul.  I was always under the impression that you have to chose the latter "selfish" choice to get back the gift of the machine and effigy resentment bonuses in Hasongo. But maybe I am wrong about this?

[NotDumbEnough]

No, it only determines which version of the "the Lost" ability you get.

[dgray62]

Thanks. How exactly does this conversation choice impact you?

[Not So Clever Hound]

5 hours ago, dgray62 said:

 

Thanks. How exactly does this conversation choice impact you?

 

Phantoms of the Lost (Starting)

 

First Talk (You get it, after you leave the Arena):

 

Chorus of the Lost (Eothas! Stop) (Distracted / Hobbled)
Sympathy for the Lost  (Reach for Lost Souls) (Distracted / Heal)
No Pity for the Lost (Search for your soul) (Distracted / Steadfast Inspiration)

 

Second Talk Hasongo: Nothing

 

Third Talk:

 

Mercy for the Lost (Upgrade from Symphathy of the Lost - Fit inspiration)
Commandment of the Lost (Upgrade from Chorus of the Lost) (Immobilize foes)
No Time for the Lost (Upgrade from No Pity for the Lost - Reduce hostile effect duration and increases beneficial effect duration)

[dgray62]

Thanks! I think I got confused about this because I never remember to use these abilities.