Returning player, are these still viable in 5.0?

[Neviskio]

Hello as per the topic, I've just returned after a few years to deadfire, I'm not super good at making my own builds so at the time I was using some builds but I'm not sure if they're still relevant as they seem to all be before 5.0 released. All my characters seem to be lvl 8 so I should be still decently early game. I usually play on normal with a party so not looking for top meta solo ultimate builds, but just good stuff that won't ruin my enjoyment of the game by being a horrible build that won't work. I've not installed any mod but might be tempted by the community bug fix and maybe enhanced ui, I usually don't like community rebalances tho for reasons.

I'm not sure if I can just direct link but my watcher is MC paladin(order of the golden something)/troubadour for herald and I was using the build from RPG division on youtube (should be easy to find it's named ultimate herald build) since it seemed really fun at the time. For my companions I was using sin tee (lost sinner on steam guides) for all characters I was using besides surprisingly aloth, which is a pure wizard, no idea where I got his build.

Are these build still relevant and working fine? They are all made 5 years ago which means they were definitely not close to 5.0, and I did notice a couple changes in the trees. I kinda don't want to restart so could see myself maybe respeccing if any build is not good anymore. If they're obsolete is it something that can be fixed from some adjustments or do I need to find entirely new builds?

for reference I made an https://imgur.com/a/Ipgrcdl since the files were too big some screens of the characters but in short:

1. party was watcher, eder, xoti, aloth, serafen, all lvl 8, everyone else is lvl 1 (konstanten, tekehu, ydwin, maia, pallegina)
2. eder is swashbuckler, xoti is priest, aloth wizard, serafen witch (all these should match lost sinner guides besides aloth)
3. konstanten is howler, tekehu tehurge, ydwin mindstalker, maia scout, pallegina crusader, I've not checked these since they're lvl 1 but I assume the class choice was again based on steam guides
4. No idea as said what aloth build I was looking at but I've posted its skills with grimoire maybe that can give an idea...

I can add more screenshots but didn't want to overdo it as a first post and should give you a bit the idea of what I was working with. I kinda like herald but yeah just worried if these builds maybe got changed at some point and they don't work well anymore? I'm kinda a min/maxer at heart even when playing casually on normal, but for some reason in POE1/2 I just like certain themes, so not playing the real meta builds, but still struggling to optimize...

I'm not 100% against restarting but would prefer not to if it's salvageable

thanks for the help, sorry for the long first post, was googling all night yesterday trying to figure it out

[Boeroer]

Hello and welcome!

Those are absolutely fine. They would be fine even for higher difficulties. The changes that were made with 5.0 etc. didn't invalidate normal/reasonable character- and companion builds. Maybe some powergamey stuff took a hit, but usually what was viable before still is viable now - when it comes to a full party and so on. Solo playthroughs on PotD difficulty or even Ultimate challenge etc. which require special tricks are another story. 

Edited September 5, 2023 by Boeroer

[Neviskio]

Ah great! Thanks for the answer, I was very worried since nowadays not much time and too many games to play still so kinda hate dedicating hundreds of hours potentially to a build that falls apart at the key moment

Btw was wondering, for both poe1 and 2 is there a guide that explains HOW to make/evaluate builds that is up to date? While I don't mind stealing internet builds I also kinda want to try and understand what I'm doing if possible, but I could not find one. For example aloth I'm not sure how to keep develop since I've not identified where I stole the build at the time but kinda getting a bit of a whimsy to try and make my own build on him, just as said I'm quite... mediocre at it usually <.<

[Shai Hulud]

 

19 hours ago, Neviskio said:

Ah great! Thanks for the answer, I was very worried since nowadays not much time and too many games to play still so kinda hate dedicating hundreds of hours potentially to a build that falls apart at the key moment

Btw was wondering, for both poe1 and 2 is there a guide that explains HOW to make/evaluate builds that is up to date? While I don't mind stealing internet builds I also kinda want to try and understand what I'm doing if possible, but I could not find one. For example aloth I'm not sure how to keep develop since I've not identified where I stole the build at the time but kinda getting a bit of a whimsy to try and make my own build on him, just as said I'm quite... mediocre at it usually <.<

Sintee builds are still good for potd party runs. I used them back in the day...

I'm unaware of like a meta "how to make builds" guide. That would be an interesting project but personally I'm too consumed by BG3 at the moment. Really it is kind of hard to mess up NPC builds unless you're trying like a trial of iron run or something. Aloth for example is good as a wizard, battlemage, or spellblade. They just fulfill different party roles. And speaking of party roles having them covered is more important than optimizing individual characters. Like you want at least 1 tank, 1+ healer/support, usually an offensive caster, and a couple DPS. Sometimes this adds to like 7 roles but multiclassing allows you to cover multiple roles with one character.

Your party seems fine as far as covering roles.

Much easier to mess up the main character like if you pick a weird multiclass and don't know how to make it work. But there are many good build guides on this forum for main characters. And heralds are always good.