Help choosing between Harbinger or Herald

[Murio]

Finished the game on hard dificulty two days ago as a beguiler/debonaire and had so much fun that I decided to replay instantly but this time as a chanter (bc I love bards as much as I love summons) multiclassed with another class that might increase my overall dps. 

And then the problem began, bc im stuck at the character creation screen unable to decide between Harbinger (street fighter/troubadour) and herald (kind wayfarer/troubadour)... And since I have some concerns that influentiate my decision (or lack there of), i'd really love any help. 

(firstly, I wanna say that I plan to use this character as a summoner with two blunderbuss (i dont know how to say this thing in plural so I wont even try) and second as a debuffer, with xoti as healer, Eder as tank, maia as dps and ywin/serafen as suport... so lets get it started.)

Question 1:

Ive seen a lot of people praise heralds as great healers and tanks, but although I really like the idea of being durable, I have concerns if the paladins's auras, passives, FOD and sworn enemy Will be enough to make my character a great heavy hitter? (taking the buffs to summons into consideration) 

Question 2:

Regarding harbingers, I really like the idea of blunderbuss street fighters mixed with chanters, but my concerns lie in their ability to survive at the front-midline, hence my question, is the chanter kit of the harbinger enought to secure its survivability? (ill have xoti as the healer) 

[yorname]

paladins are not good damage dealers, and summons suffer from penetration issues so not much damage either. The aura doesn't stack with other accuracy buffs so you really want to stick with Exalted Endurance, they don't have offensive passives either.

if healing is what you need, consider replacing xoti with tekehu/pallegina. Priests are more like cheese specialists rather than healers.

[Boeroer]

If it's about damage output then def. stick to the Streetfighter. 

By the way: a Troubadour/Streetfighter can also deal awesome damage with an arquebus once you get the upgraded Wisp summons. You can let them target yourself, their attack does little damage but distracts, unlocking the Streetfigther passive. This stacks with Sure-Handed Ila (which grants 2*-20% reload time for reloading weapons, so it's a must-have for a reloading dps chanter, blunderbuss or arquebus). With the Red Hand this combo deals incredible single target DPS. You can combine with Deltro's Cage Helmet for some easy shocking lash (the Wisps deal shock dmg). 

Blunderbusses also work of course, right from lvl 1. The arquebus only has the advantage of longer range and higher PEN as well as the excellent modal should you need it (Harbinger doesn't come with particularly high Accuracy). Disadvantage would be that you cannot summon other creatures than Wisps if you want to keep triggering the Streetfighter passive.

Blunderbusses have the advantage of multihit or even AoE (both nice for CC purposes), but the Powder Burns modal (which unlocks your Streetfigther passive) also hurts your friends and summons. And Range/PEN are pretty low. 

Anyway, for best weapon dps pick Troubadour and use Aefyllath Ues Mith Fyr + Sure Handed Ila and turn off Brisk Recitation. This will slow down your summoning but allow you to keep the burning lash and the dual reloading bonus up at all times which both contribute to your and your party's weapon dmg output (best if someone else also uses reloading weapons, too - for example an Arbalest or so which then becomes a great tool for interrupts).

Edited July 22, 2022 by Boeroer