Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous, Part 5

[Gorth]

3 hours ago, Gromnir said:

ps (edit) am mentioning 'cause the result o' the hand's heal is unintuitive. is quite possible you don't realize how the mechanic functions until you spend considerable time in the abyss and then finally ask the hand to heal you instead o' camping. 

Short version, I'm stuck in hell for a while

 

Thanks for the heads up. I am getting the hang of the moving buildings and also made it to the top city level. Did Woljifs personal quest up there. After some street thug and his body guards had weakened my party before getting there (and me being too lazy to go all the nexus, as I don't have a token for the portal to this part of the city).

Also beat the local arena star, so I made myself a name (although they still call me Mephit Slayer, even if it's now for fun rather than derogatory it seems)

[Gromnir]

am kinda simultaneous doing treasure of the midnight isles in act iii with our aeon as well as a new run with a dirge bard.  for the hell o' it, we redid all o' blackwater on hard difficulty with the aeon and am now doing the dlc but have only finished island 1. the dlc vendor sells 99 scrolls o' everything, a large bag of holding, as well as a few endgame belts. is a lockpick iii at the bottom o' the regular item menu, which likely is unnecessary as is only a handful sooper difficult locks/traps in the game, but it were interesting nevertheless.

maybe this eve we will go through island seven o' the first group... or maybe we finish off grey garrison with the bard. perhaps we finish off some rl stuff which has bee demanding our attention? unlikely.

@Gorth

consider the search o' all rooftops accessible with mass dimension door. is not a huge amount o' content on roofs, but there are a couple o' nice bits o' loot.

warning: there is a particular challenging rooftop encounter in the same map as the slave markets. you might wanna save that fight until you are all but finished with alushinyrra. 

HA! Good Fun!

[Gorth]

7 hours ago, Gromnir said:

am kinda simultaneous doing treasure of the midnight isles in act iii with our aeon as well as a new run with a dirge bard.  for the hell o' it, we redid all o' blackwater on hard difficulty with the aeon and am now doing the dlc but have only finished island 1. the dlc vendor sells 99 scrolls o' everything, a large bag of holding, as well as a few endgame belts. is a lockpick iii at the bottom o' the regular item menu, which likely is unnecessary as is only a handful sooper difficult locks/traps in the game, but it were interesting nevertheless.

maybe this eve we will go through island seven o' the first group... or maybe we finish off grey garrison with the bard. perhaps we finish off some rl stuff which has bee demanding our attention? unlikely.

@Gorth

consider the search o' all rooftops accessible with mass dimension door. is not a huge amount o' content on roofs, but there are a couple o' nice bits o' loot.

warning: there is a particular challenging rooftop encounter in the same map as the slave markets. you might wanna save that fight until you are all but finished with alushinyrra. 

HA! Good Fun!

Would you look at that? It does indeed make roof top access easier!

It was probably one of those self fulfilling negative expectation things. I didn't expect it to work, so I never tried it, therefore it didn't work

Lesson learned (cleared out most of the roof tops).

Solved a few more companion quests. Greybor is finished, Lann and Wenduag's differences got resolved in a conclusive way. Camellia is happy (and horny as never before). Nenio got to experience "friendship", stopping short of "friends with benefits". Sosiel's brother joined my party. Not too shabby for the general brawl fights. Notable outstanding companion quests are for Arueshalae and Ember (oh my...). Got  hot date with a demoness at the arena. Still some ways off being notorious enough to be noticed by the local ruler. Bought a bunch of slaves too. In true chaotic fashion, some got sacrificed in the arena (to buy myself entry to the more interesting fights), some got set free, some got sent to the Nexus. The new proprietor of The Ten Thousand Delights was more agreeable to Camellia's requests. It was apparently not the first visit of hers. I did try out some of the merchandise before Camellia of course (just quality control, you know...), which gave me three demon heads, which i keep for later use, as I don't remember from top of my head having any use for them.  Herrax also functions as a vendor with some higher end equipment.

 

 

[InsaneCommander]

Ivory Sanctum done. Xanthir has a surprisingly low Will. Nenio cast metamagic Feeblemind on him and he didn't stand a chance. He ran away with his INT 1.

Finished the Forn Autumn quest.

Spoiler

So the elf sided with cultist Drows to kill the commander of the Crusade? Well, I'll gladly announce their secret to the whole world. And I'd accuse Kyonin of being on the demons' side too, if I had the option. Imagine Konomi's reaction.

 

[Gromnir]

+90% done with the ninth island of the act iii accessible portion o' the new dlc. unfortunate, the boss is missing. am s'posed to kill him (gender neutral) and take his treasure according to a message at the exit portal, but while am 100% in favour o' such a straightforward and bloodthirsty resolution, is impossible to accomplish if the boss don't spawn.

moderate annoyed, but unsurprised. guess am gonna be advancing the dirge bard for a bit. 

(edit) according to the description o' the most recent hotfix for wotr, our issue were addressed. 'course we only arrived at isle nine after the hotfix were downloaded, so...

(edit 2) figured we would give this another shot after seeing advice about resting on the world map. no luck. in fact, the undead regeneration which happens on the island nine map is now occurring in rt regardless if game is set to tb. is a bit like the rift of ruin bug which were happening at release. 

HA! Good Fun!

 

Edited October 8, 2022 by Gromnir

[InsaneCommander]

@GromnirReached the part you mentioned. I met with the Hand and he explained why the gods won't simply end the demonic invasion.

I still have some quests to do (Sosiel's and the DLC) so I didn't pick the Azata option to attack before the Queen arrives. When I talk to the Hand, Aivu urges me to attack but the Azata option is gone. Does anyone know if I can still attack with the Free Crusaders?

Edit: I googled this but I'm careful with spoilers. Apparently I can still pick the Azata option, but I have no idea how.

Edited October 9, 2022 by InsaneCommander

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

10 minutes ago, InsaneCommander said:

@GromnirReached the part you mentioned. I met with the Hand and he explained why the gods won't simply end the demonic invasion.

I still have some quests to do (Sosiel's and the DLC) so I didn't pick the Azata option to attack before the Queen arrives. When I talk to the Hand, Aivu urges me to attack but the Azata option is gone. Does anyone know if I can still attack with the Free Crusaders?

Edit: I googled this but I'm careful with spoilers. Apparently I can still pick the Azata option, but I have no idea how.

When I did my Azata run, I didn't see an option to do that. I also read that raiding the Midnight Fane with the Free Crusaders takes at least week or so to set up, so you can set that in motion and do all the quests.

[InsaneCommander]

1 minute ago, KP From Another World said:

When I did my Azata run, I didn't see an option to do that. I also read that raiding the Midnight Fane with the Free Crusaders takes at least week or so to set up, so you can set that in motion and do all the quests.

Ok, that should be enough time. I decided to go full Azata in this playthrough so I'm definitely not missing this option. Also,

Spoiler

can't wait to see the Queen's reaction, which, based on the little I spoiled myself, won't be the best.

 

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

Just now, InsaneCommander said:

Ok, that should be enough time. I decided to go full Azata in this playthrough so I'm definitely not missing this option. Also,

  Reveal hidden contents

can't wait to see the Queen's reaction, which, based on the little I spoiled myself, won't be the best.

 

Well I think you can gather that she is NOT happy. AT ALL.

Spoiler

Things can go good or bad depending on the choices you made in your court. If you did less chaotic stuff and more good, the surprise attack is a resounding success. If you were more chaotic, a lot of your friends die.

[InsaneCommander]

Ok, I figured it out. I didn't pick the Xanthir option, the first one in the dialogue. Now he didn't talk about calling the Queen* and he will stay there guarding the city. Aivu wants to attack soon, but I think there is no timer.

*Unless I rushed through the dialogue and missed it, but I think he didn't mention her.

[majestic]

8 hours ago, KP From Another World said:

Well I think you can gather that she is NOT happy. AT ALL.

  Hide contents

Things can go good or bad depending on the choices you made in your court. If you did less chaotic stuff and more good, the surprise attack is a resounding success. If you were more chaotic, a lot of your friends die.

Just do everything Early Sunset wants, I hear he can give you the ability to cast Hellfire Ray at-will at some point.

[bugarup]

Launched the game to see if mods still work with all dem updates (they do), also because you all keep talking and that makes me want to play again, and I have questions, like where was I going with that elemental rampager Druid? Aeon? Unlikely, that one's for a summoner. Angel? Court poet bard is probably for Azata --> Swarm now when I hear swarm's been upgraded...also, was coup-de-grace nerfed by chance? I can't coup that annoying wrock in that broken plaza of Chapter 1 anymore.

[Gromnir]

1 hour ago, bugarup said:

where was I going with that elemental rampager Druid? Aeon? Unlikely, that one's for a summoner.

am suspecting elemental rampager druids got a kick in the cojones from a recent patch. no more elemental barrage for elemental weapon damage. gonna assume this change impacts elemental rampager. 

nevertheless, particular if you got a skald in a party, we can see an elemental rampager aeon doing exceeding well. a few o' the gazes is exceeding nice, but am gonna admit most is highly situational and is gonna be tough to not use the attack bonus boost for most o' the game. when you get the chance to activate two gazes simultaneous, your choice depends  depends on if your party is attack of opportunity focused or a caster party... though as a rampager am guessing combat were in your mind. perhaps have a skald in your party to add additional natural attacks to your impossible to hit  high dex leopard wildshape? am thinking most folks who haven't played aeon fail to realize just how effective is the dispel-on-hit powha o' an aeon with a high number o' attacks per round. those boss battles get much easier when in round one you eliminate all enemy buffs. the ever ready mythic feat stacks with the aeon attack of opportunity gaze, resulting in silly kinda party attack bonuses and damage when at least one party member crits. strength ain't bad neither, but am personal thinking high dex for better initiative + aeon dispelling is a major selling point. you serious wanna act first if at all possible.

am knowing the neoseeker site is popular for wotr build ideas, but don't take it as gospel. is more to aeons than sooper buffed summons.

angel is an obvious choice, 'cause as a full caster, angel spells is all but functional win button. am gonna admit we purposeful didn't do our angel as a full caster precise 'cause it felt kinda exploitive to be having spells which rendered us all but immune to everything while being able to spam screen clearing spells with impunity. nevertheless, at one point am likely to do a shaman or druid angel run, just 'cause is not oracle or cleric. 

if you go the strength route with your build, then azata ain't a bad choice as you get access to the incredible might sooper power. 

you got options.

HA! Good Fun!

 

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

4 hours ago, majestic said:

Just do everything Early Sunset wants, I hear he can give you the ability to cast Hellfire Ray at-will at some point.

That sounds like something Bruno would do once he realizes the Free Crusaders are squatters.

[Gromnir]

5 hours ago, majestic said:

Just do everything Early Sunset wants, I hear he can give you the ability to cast Hellfire Ray at-will at some point.

"at some point," is mythic level nine and is an ability and not a spell, so no metamagic feats or rods. furthermore, if you are an endgame blaster, then you are already gonna be able to spam hellfire rays, so am admitted kinda curious what is the point o' this ability. 

am knowing you were joking, but have seen folks mention devil's hellfire rays at-will as some kinda significant benefit, but am not seeing a major upside. sure, if you are not a caster it may be kinda fun to smash foes with a melee weapon and then finish off an archer or two at range with your hellfire, but from a practical pov, am wondering how we would get use outta the extreme late game devil ability.

HA! Good Fun!

[majestic]

22 minutes ago, Gromnir said:

am knowing you were joking, but have seen folks mention devil's hellfire rays at-will as some kinda significant benefit, but am not seeing a major upside.

Blasters would go Devil Azata for the combiation of Favorable/Zippy Magic and the Decrees, so the free infite Hellfire Rays don't really factor into it, no. Not much trash left after Mythic 9 after all, and otherwise you'd just bolster/empower real Hellfire Rays. There's just not enough game left after getting it, I agree, even with Inevitable Excess.

[InsaneCommander]

Wait, what is Aivu doing in Arue’s dream?? She wasn't even in the tavern and Arue didn't touch her.

Luckily nothing inappropriate happened there.

[InsaneCommander]

2 hours ago, KP From Another World said:

That sounds like something Bruno will do once he realizes the Free Crusaders are squatters.

Fixed that for you.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

2 hours ago, majestic said:

Blasters would go Devil Azata for the combiation of Favorable/Zippy Magic and the Decrees, so the free infite Hellfire Rays don't really factor into it, no. Not much trash left after Mythic 9 after all, and otherwise you'd just bolster/empower real Hellfire Rays. There's just not enough game left after getting it, I agree, even with Inevitable Excess.

Didn't part of the "fix" for Azata that stopped favorable and zippy magic working on kineticist blasts also apply to other slas what the Devil gets? It's moot for me, because despite my edgelord forum persona killing Aivu is a bridge too far. What would Usako say?

I think the Aeon > Devil makes a lot more sense thematically, but I'm not sure how it is mechanically.

38 minutes ago, InsaneCommander said:

Wait, what is Aivu doing in Arue’s dream?? She wasn't even in the tavern and Arue didn't touch her.

Luckily nothing inappropriate happened there.

Aivu smelled a cookie and Aivu will go anywhere for cookies.

31 minutes ago, InsaneCommander said:

Fixed that for you.

Bruno won't play Azata because he'll butcher the Desnans dispense Law and Order in Act 1. Then go Legend because Aeon kills his romance

[InsaneCommander]

Is this a Mythic Ability? She rolled a 20.

 

[Zoraptor]

This game has the weirdest difficulty spikes. Did the entire ivory sanctum on a single rest, yet then you go do some random questline (Blackrock? Black something anyway) that's on the to do list and get stomped hard by a random squad of augmented demons. And that quest fails if you don't do it before going off to stop the local demons from using crystal therapy (presumably that's the chapter transition)?

Camellia's plot line is hilarious. Shame she isn't into girls, really. No doubt you'd end up feeling pretty stupid if you thought telling her to stop would work, but it's pretty obvious it won't and I'm willing to sacrifice some non existent people on the altar of over the top silliness.

[InsaneCommander]

9 minutes ago, Zoraptor said:

stomped hard by a random squad of augmented demons.

Edit: that is not exactly a "random" squad. They are among the strongest enemies in this act, at least if you don't metagame.

Edited October 9, 2022 by InsaneCommander

[ShadySands]

I was able to finish the chapter 3 DLC3 islands. I won't get into spoilers but I wasn't expecting that. 

[Gromnir]

complete aside, but now that there is a vendor in act iii where you may buy up to 99 pillar of life scrolls, am suspecting playful darkness becomes a much easier encounter for us. as we noted earlier, we don't like crazycakes and daeran rare fits our party, though is possible to have nenio cast creeping doom via a loremaster secret. regardless, nenio may use scrolls at her caster level, so between sosiel and nenio, and recognizing the spell duration, we should be able to stack +14 pillars at a single point, and such is cast pre combat.

given our dlc3 obstacle, am gonna try and advance our bard, though am having second thoughts as the change from sacred to competence for guarded hearth is invalidating the bonuses from bard and skald attack bonus buffing songs. admitted, the manner am which am building the bard song is a nice bonus but hardly a deal breaker as we were attempting to see if a we could make use o' powerful enchantment spells as well as getting use outta the blackwater dc boosting greatsword. even so, kinda feels as if the signature ability o' the bard is wasted during boss battles 'cause am obvious gonna be using a guarded hearth. 

(edit) as to the difficulty spikes Gromnir and others has mentioned ad nauseum, am s'posing if you played kingmaker and nevertheless purchased wotr, is difficult to pretend to be caught off-guard by inexplicable challenging rando encounters and mobs. nevertheless, the manner in which owlcat balances encounters is almost as strange as the developer's stubborn belief that as more fans complain 'bout their puzzles, owlcat must necessarily increase puzzle frequency and importance.  

HA! Good Fun!

Edited October 9, 2022 by Gromnir

[Gorth]

1 hour ago, ShadySands said:

I was able to finish the chapter 3 DLC3 islands. I won't get into spoilers but I wasn't expecting that. 

Currently at Island no. 7 I think. I didn't do them in chapter iii (I went there by accident, not knowing I got keelhauled into the DLC on the main map). Completed 2 islands, decided it was a bit challenging for my then level 11 or thereaboutish party. Now doing it at level 15 in chapter iv. A walk in the park so far. Would like to emphasize 'so far'. As mentioned above, you never know what to expect difficulty wise when you move 10' further ahead in this game

I suspect the treasure isles doesn't level scale, hence why it feels so much easier with a handful extra levels gained.

Edit: Hardest encounter so far (just landed on island 7):

 

The first island, a place where you walk from a hallway into a larger room and have missile equipped enemies attacking you from the flanks when you try to enter the room from the doorway. No, didn't bring any protection from missile spells

Sic'ced summons on them, as well as mirror image/blur/displacement/haste buffed party members rushing them to close the distance