[Full Merc Party Build] Outlast ALL THE THINGS

[omgFIREBALLS]

Do you like the idea of having great defense and healing, and the knowledge that time is on your side? Do you like having like, all the auras, and selecting like all the defensive talents? Then this guide is for you.

This is a setup that I keep playing; I've easily done it over a dozen times by now. Every time I do it, I try to find a way to squeeze more offense out of it, while staying true to time-is-on-my-side. So while this composition can always fall back on whittling enemies down, there is often the option to race towards the inevitable by blowing them up.

Context
I play in No Rest mode. I build my characters to pass nearly all skill checks, without having to change equipment or use consumables (because I'm lazy). I run all of Berath's Blessings. I like tall races. I like two digit stats, even if they're not useful. The entirety of the guide is based on these sometimes rational, sometimes aesthetic reasonings of mine. If any of this is not to your taste, you can still draw inspiration from this post. The following mods that I use are also relevant:

No Forced Rests
Deadly Deadfire (Hardcore)
Out With The Good (no balance impact, I just super recommend it for No Rest)
Waukeen's Berth
Binary Opposed Dispositions
(and Vindictive Ship Battles, but I can't find it)

Meet The Party
IMPORTANT: All five are multiclassed paladins of the Shieldbearers of St. Elcga order. The listed classes are their second class.

Heals: Chanter (Troubadour) - this should be your Watcher. Skill point suggestions assume this is the case.
Sabres: Chanter (Troubadour)
Tank: Fighter (Tactician)
Staff: Fighter (Devoted) - second best choice for Watcher
Brilliance: Cipher (Psion)

Pillars 1 Background

• You want Aloth to have become the Leaden Key Grandmaster, so you can get this hat.
• You want Devil of Caroc to have spared Harmke, so you can get this armor, though you won't be wearing it forever. 
• You want to have pledged to Hylea and followed through on that, because we do not play No Rest without by far the best dish in the game.
• Having sacrificed someone to the Skaen Blood Pool is fine as long as it's not Aloth/DoC. Having absorbed the souls at Heritage Hill is fine too.

General Build Info

• As Shieldbearers, everyone gets Lay on Hands for free.
• We do not take Inspired Defenses because it doesn't stack with Stoic Steel. If you want to take it early and then go through the respec hassle, you can.
• Base stats do not include racial/background bonuses, so you'll have more points at character creation.
• Skill point assignments assume you're following the rest of the guide strictly. It also means doing Cignath Mor Galawain's way for everything to add up.
• If heeding the skill point suggestions, go for Stealth -> Athletics first on Heals and Tank. This is so they can Party Assist the others. Sleight of Hand is just for some late game checks unless you want to run around pickpocketing.

Heals
Heals is your typical Herald providing large amounts of passive healing. She is also an off tank and she wears enemies down with Brand Enemy.

Race: Wood Elf
Culture: Old Vailia - Aristocrat
Food: Hylea's Bounty

Base stats (endgame stats in parentheses):
18 (26) Might
11 (19) Constitution
4 (13) Dexterity
6 (13) Perception
18 (27) Intellect
18 (24) Resolve

Skills (as the Watcher you have lot of "fill the gaps" duties)
Alchemy 3
Athletics 8
Sleight of Hand 3
Stealth 5

Diplomacy 3
Insight 6
Intimidate 2
Metaphysics 5
Survival 3

Talents by level
1: Sworn Enemy, Blessed Was Wengridh, Not Felled
2: Deep Faith
3: Free pick
4: Weapon and Shield Style, Zealous Aura (use Endurance)
5: Divine Purpose
6: Free pick
7: Ancient Memory, Brand Enemy
8: Bull's Will
9: Bear's Fortitude
10: ...Nor Flame, Exalted Endurance
11: Mental Fortress
12: Iron Gut
13: The Bride Caught, Righteous Soul
14: Practiced Healer
15: Snake's Reflexes
16: Tough, Uncanny Luck
17: Clear Head
18: Free pick - I suggest Reviving Exhortation
19: Set to Their Purpose, Stoic Steel
20: Mercy and Kindness

Proficiencies
Dagger, Medium Shield, Sabre, then whatever.

Equipment
Helm: Blackened Plate Helm
Cloak: Cloak of Greater Protection
Necklace: Baubles of the Fin (can also wear Bone Setter's Torc and give this to Brilliance)
Chest: Furrante's Breastplate (Love of Life, Vigorous Protector). You can trade armor with Brilliance. Before you get this, you can use Devil of Caroc Breastplate.
Gloves: Gauntlets of Ogre Might
Ring 1: Ring of Minor Protection
Ring 2: Chameleon's Touch
Boots: Footprints of Ahu Taka
Belt: Physicker's Belt
Pet: Nikki - I like accuracy. You can use another pet without breaking anything.

Weapon Set 1
Sasha's Singing Scimitar with Refreshing Finale and Companion's Prelude. Start with a dagger for the parry modal.
Lethandria's Devotion with Sheltering Light

Weapon Set 2
Sasha's Singing Scimitar from set 1
The Weyc's Oracular Focus with Lasting Channeled Shield

Playstyle

• Until you get Ancient Memory, chant Blessed Was Wengridh with Brisk Recitation. Then chant those two without it. Lategame, replace Blessed Was Wengridh with Mercy and Kindness.
• When you get Brand Enemy, DoT up important enemies, and then less important ones. Keep 1 or 2 Zeal in case you're needed for an emergency Lay on Hands.
• Keep up Not Felled by the Axe. Later, keep up The Bride Caught Their Ruse. If you judge it's too annoying to do these, that's usually ok. If you're at max phrases, your scimitar aura is at max strength.

Sabres
Because one chanter just can't get the job done. She also helps bring down bosses by debuffing them.

Race: Wood Elf
Culture: The White that Wends - Explorer
Food: Hylea's Bounty

Base stats (endgame stats in parentheses):
10 (10) Might
11 (15) Constitution
16 (21) Dexterity
9 (11) Perception
18 (19) Intellect
11 (11) Resolve

Skills
Athletics 19 (for the armor)

Bluff 6
Metaphysics 4
Survival 9 (do this first)

Talents by level
1: Flames of Devotion, At the Sight, And Hel-Hyraf
2: Deep Faith
3: Sworn Enemy
4: Two Weapon Style, Zealous Aura (use Focus)
5: Divine Purpose
6: Weapon and Shield Style
7: The Shield Cracks, Shared Flames
8: Bull's Will
9: Bear's Fortitude
10: The Bridesman Slew, Exalted Focus
11: Silver Knights' Shields (anyone using a dagger can replace it now - dagger modal doesn't stack with this)
12: Mental Fortress
13: Snake's Reflexes, Righteous Soul
14: Iron Gut
15: Clear Head
16: ...Each Kill Fed, Tough
17: Sworn Rival (you might take this earlier - this is needed so that Sabres and Staff can be angry with the same target)
18: Free pick - I suggest Reviving Exhortation
19: Uncanny Luck, Stoic Steel
20: Free pick - Spell Resistance if you want to stay defensive

Proficiencies
Sabre, Medium Shield, then whatever.

Equipment
Helm: Thaos' Headdress
Cloak: Cloak of Greater Protection
Necklace: Cog of Cohh
Chest: Contender's Armor (Heavy Mobility). Iridescent Scale is okay before you get that.
Gloves: Aegor's Swift Touch
Ring 1: Ring of Minor Protection
Ring 2: Ring of Minor Protection
Boots: Pathfinder's Boots (can trade with Tank if you want Might affliction resistance, but then she has to spend a free pick to compensate)
Belt: The Undying Burden

Weapon Set 1
Scordeo's Edge with Adaptive and Blade Cascade (before you get this you can just steal yourself Grave Calling)
Tarn's Respite with Brittle Frost

Weapon Set 2
Tarn's Respite from set 1
Any medium shield you want (I use Mundane Shell)

Playstyle

• Until you get Silver Knights' Shields, chant At The Sight with Brisk Recitation. Then chant those two without it. Turn on Brisk Recitation to keep trying to land The Shield Cracks on tough opponents.
• If shields don't need to crack, use the Brideman/upgraded version invocation.
• Keep swinging - you lower enemy deflection, that's fun for everyone!
• Shared Flames will not only help your party's regular attacks, it'll also help Staff do more damage with her scrolls.
• This will probably feel like your squishiest character, because she is in melee but doesn't wear a shield by default. Sometimes you'll just have to suck it up, swap to weapon set 2 and endure it.

Tank
Tank is your tank, but she is not entirely dedicated to that task. Resist the temptation of making her a slightly ambulatory brick. If you make an immortal tank, well that's nice and you will love it early game, but later on two things will happen: you'll fight bosses who just attack other party members instead while she stands there looking stupid (and if Heals dies, you'll notice Tank is not immortal), and you'll be tough enough from gear/levels that you won't need every bit of tankiness you can get from other sources.

What we need for Tank is for her to be tough enough to tank groups of monsters, and for her to still be useful when bosses decide to just attack someone else.

Race: Pale Elf
Background: The White that Wends - Explorer
Food: Mohora Wraps (up for discussion what you feed her, but don't you dare spend a Hylea's Bounty on her)

Base stats (endgame stats in parentheses):
10 (16) Might
15 (17) Constitution
13 (17) Dexterity
13 (15) Perception
10 (11) Intellect
14 (15) Resolve

Skills
Athletics 6
Sleight of Hand 6
Stealth 7

History 19 (for the cloak)

Talents by level
1: Flames of Devotion, Disciplined Barrage
2: Deep Faith
3: Knock Down
4: Fighter Stances, Weapon and Shield Style
5: Determination
6: Divine Purpose
7: Bull's Will, Bear's Fortitude
8: Snake's Reflexes
9: Disciplined Strikes
10: Fearless, Mental Fortress (now we have negated both Tactician debuffs from her getting flanked)
11: Iron Gut
12: Unstoppable
13: Conquerer Stance, Righteous Soul (she is usually in Defender Stance, but Guardian Stance isn't much of an upgrade to it)
14: Clear Head
15: Mule Kick
16: Tough, Uncanny Luck
17: Vigorous Defense
18: Free pick - I recommend Armored Grace
19: Free pick (Spell Resistance, Superior Deflection, Unbending, One-Handed Style, Body Control so you can give away your boots...), Stoic Steel
20: Free pick

Proficiencies
Dagger, Medium Shield, Club, Rapier, then whatever.

Equipment
Helm: Pearlescent Rhomboid Helstone (not important)
Cloak: The Giftbearer's Cloth
Necklace: Wise Teeth Necklace
Chest: Blackened Plate Armor (Death in Life, Usher's Visage). Start by stealing her a Patinated Plate
Gloves: Woedica's Strangling Grasp
Ring 1: Entonia Signet Ring
Ring 2: Ring of Minor Protection
Boots: Boots of the Stone (can take the Body Control talent and give these to Sabres)
Belt: Free pick, can be Blunting Belt or Nature's Embrace for example

Weapon Set 1
Kapana Taga with All Comers and Lone Champion - wear any dagger before you get this
Nerian's Ward with Father's Masterwork

Weapon Set 2
Shattered Vengeance, nothing in the offhand

Weapon Set 3 (the third set comes from the cloak)
Rännig's Wrath, nothing in the offhand

Playstyle

• You're the tank. Stand in front with your first weapon set and Defender Stance.
• If you're fighting a boss and you've killed all its goons, swap to Warrior/Conquerer Stance and spam (because as a Tactician you're Brilliant when flanking all targets - do you still want her to be Unbroken? ) Mule Kick/Flames of Devotion with Shattered Vengeance if you haven't stacked the debuff yet or you want the club modal, otherwise with Rännig's Wrath for the crazy accuracy you get with the rapier modal. 
• Club modal is good for helping Brilliance (the Psion) contribute offensively.
• I strongly suggest you stick to the recommended enchantments for Kapana Taga. You're the tank and you use that weapon to survive. Staff will deal five times your damage, and the only reason you get that close is because your armor radiates damage, not because your attacks are powerful or would be powerful with different enchantments on Kapana Taga.

Staff
Here's the dam! While the Brand Enemy spam from Heals is good for wearing down multiple enemies, Staff can focus down a single enemy, or destroy groups by using scrolls.

Race: Wood Elf
Background: The White that Wends - Explorer
Food: Hylea's Bounty

Base stats (endgame stats in parentheses):
11 (11) Might
9 (11) Constitution
16 (22) Dexterity
18 (21) Perception
10 (11) Intellect
10 (11) Resolve

Skills
Arcana 19 (and you will love it)

Metaphysics 19 (for the staff)

Talents by level
1: Flames of Devotion, Disciplined Barrage
2: Deep Faith
3: Sworn Enemy
4: Fighter Stances, Two-Handed Style
5: Determination
6: Divine Purpose
7: Disciplined Strikes, Bull's Will
8: Bear's Fortitude
9: Snake's Reflexes
10: Fearless, Mental Fortress
11: Iron Gut
12: Clear Head
13: Conquerer Stance, Righteous Soul
14: Weapon Specialization
15: Knock Down
16: Tough, Uncanny Luck
17: Mule Kick
18: Armored Grace
19: Weapon Mastery (this does really little so you could consider it a free pick - take Vigorous Defense here and then whatever at 20), Stoic Steel
20: Vigorous Defense

Proficiencies
Quarterstaff - who wudda thunk?

Equipment
Helm: Cowl of the Piercing Gaze (mostly because I'm obsessing about high perception)
Cloak: Cloak of Greater Protection
Necklace: Strand of Favor
Chest: Gipon Prudensco (No Fool, I) - can start with Benweth's armor
Gloves: Firethrower's Gloves (possibly The Left Hand of the Obscured later)
Ring 1: Ring of Prosperity's Fortune
Ring 2: Ring of Focused Flame
Boots: Boots of the Stone
Belt: Free pick

Weapon Set 1
Chromoprismatic Quarterstaff with Enthralled Blights and Entropy Shield - start with The Spine of Thicket Green or Superb Xaurip Quarterstaff

Weapon Set 2
Sungrazer (empty offhand) for bosses, or a non-crushing weapon for bog oozes

Playstyle

• Use Warrior/Conquerer stance unless you're playing at a low difficulty.
• Prefer to attack from the safety provided by your extra reach. Sometimes you and Sabres will hunt down enemies who don't want to be on Tank. In those cases, remember to move closer so you can flank your victim together.
• When fighting a boss, use Sungrazer until you land a crit for the debuff. Staff has great accuracy; it won't take long.
• If you get in trouble, turn on the quarterstaff modal and/or Defender Stance. Shields are taboo; you don't even have the modal.
• This character is supposed to pump Arcana, so you also have the option to obliterate hordes of enemies with Scrolls of Great Maelstrom and such. And the higher level you get, the less the party will mind if they "accidentally" get caught in those.
• Fun fact: Because of high Dexterity, Perception and her armor Gipon Prudensco, she will have the highest Reflex save and you can use that if you want to make AI cast spells on her (I use it to make Brilliance give her Ancestor's Memory).

Brilliance
Here is the final ingredient for all the longevity you'll ever need. Lategame she has two jobs - Pain Block and Ancestor's Memory, and being reluctant to spend her own Zeal because she's the only one who can't replenish it. If you can get her to 24 int, she'll have 29 with a Smart buff from Heals, and this will make Ancestor's Memory tick 4 times instead of 3. You can achieve this with less, but then you need a Potion of Ascension.

Race: Pale Elf
Background: Old Vailia - Artist (yes, she is on mechanics duty)
Food: Shark Soup (which is why we're not taking Iron Gut)

Base stats (endgame stats in parentheses):
15 (17) Might (for Robust healing from Pain Block, not for damage)
13 (17) Constitution
8 (12) Dexterity
9 (11) Perception
18 (24) Intellect
12 (13) Resolve

Skills
Athletics 3
Mechanics 13 (might not need that much)
Stealth 3

Diplomacy 2
Insight 12
Intimidate 5

Talents by level
1: Flames of Devotion (she won't really use it), Whisper of Treason or Eyestrike
2: Deep Faith
3: Iron Will
4: Psychovampiric Shield, Zealous Aura (use Charge)
5: Weapon and Shield Style
6: Divine Purpose (due to her food, only the Resolve boost matters)
7: Bear's Fortitude, Bull's Will
8: Snake's Reflexes
9: Free pick - Recall Agony has some lategame relevance, but Puppet Master can be pretty fun
10: Pain Block, Exalted Charge
11: Mental Fortress
12: Clear Head
13: Borrowed Instinct, Righteous Soul
14: Practiced Healer
15: Farcasting
16: The Empty Soul, Tough
17: Uncanny Luck
18: Free pick - recommend Lingering Echoes
19: Ancestor's Memory, Stoic Steel
20: Free pick - recommend Greater Focus

Proficiencies
Wand, Large Shield, then whatever. She will be using a flail, but the modal won't really matter.

Equipment
Helm: Heaven's Cacaphony
Cloak: Cloak of Greater Protection
Necklace: Charm of Bones
Chest: Magnera's Chain (Magnera's Commitment, Outlaw's Instincts). This gives +10 to all saves; if you don't love this, how did you get this far in the guide
Gloves: Burglar's Gloves
Ring 1: Kuaru's Prize
Ring 2: Ring of Minor Protection
Boots: Boots of the White (rather whatever)
Belt: Free pick, I have Girdle of Mortal Protection

Weapon Set 1
Keeper of the Flame with Sweet Aroma - this is a really late game item and assumes you just stand around providing the aura. If you attack, you invite enemies to attack you back; also, no one needs the reflex debuff from the modal. Any wand you like before that.
Shining Bulwark

Weapon Set 2
Anything without a shield - this is your "no accuracy penalty" set for spellcasting. Dual wands for example.

Playstyle

• You are a Psion. You generate focus as long as you're not taking damage, so don't make yourself an attractive target.
• Stand in the back with a large shield, possibly with the modal on (especially in ship battles).
• You will get harassed by enemies who are scripted to just go for the farthest target. It's up to Sabres and Staff to convince them of the error of their ways.
• When trying to facilitate longevity in lategame battles, use Pain Block and Ancestor's Memory (on party members who need it to cast defensive spells like Lay on Hands) only. Note how you need no accuracy for this.
• When trying to help bring down tough enemies, Psychovampiric Shield followed by Psychovampiric Shield again is a good opener. They have less Resolve after it's landed once, so the second one will last longer and land easier. Follow it up with Recall Agony.
• Borrowed Instinct can be used on goons, sigils, barrels... any pointless target can boost your accuracy so you can land the good stuff on the boss. Or if the boss has a low will defense, you can of course go for it directly.
• If you picked Eyestrike at level 1, note that blinded enemies are considered flanked, and if all enemies are flanked, Tank becomes Brilliant. This will probably never happen in a situation where it makes a difference, but it's a cute synergy. Whisper of Treason has more uses, but requires you to get closer.

General Strategy

• You are Shieldbearers, so remember to pick Honest/Diplomatic dialogue options to boost your Faith and Conviction, while avoiding Aggressive/Cruel.
• If you want to kill someone but starting the fight requires Aggressive behavior, you can either provoke them into starting it or, ahem, diplomatically manually attack them outside of conversation. Or let's call it an honest display of hostility?
• Lay on Hands makes the target briefly unkillable when cast by a Shieldbearer on someone else, so try to have your party members cast it on each other and not themselves. The best one to cast it is whoever can do it the soonest, not the one who has the most +healing.
• Remember that LoH lasts longer than the unkillable buff, so you're not immortal in the last 2-or-so seconds.
• Lay on Hands is usually a far better use of Zeal than Flames of Devotion. Use FoD to remove regeneration from trolls, or because it's a trivial encounter, or because you really need your target to die fast, or because you know you won't need the Zeal to heal.
• A disproportionate amount of enemies are immune to fire damage or even heal from it, so Brand Enemy can't win every battle.
• You are a powerhouse of auras, chants and invocations. Stick together so everyone benefits!

Combat Example - Boarding Battles
Boarding battles really bring out the essence of this party. Lately, my strategy has been to wait until level 10, then clear the seas of bounties. Level 10 means Exalted Endurance and Pain Block, both significant for your outlast capacity. So how do we do them? First of all, we ignore anyone not in the party. They will run off on a silly adventure and get knocked out, at best buying us time. We can't even cast Lay on Hands or Pain Block on them. We don't take inspiration from their ideas to go after some easy targets either. No, we get in this formation:

Note how it's playing to our party's strengths:

• Heals is in range to cast a lot of Brand Enemy, while also presenting her tanky self as a target.
• Tank is slightly in front so that only one enemy each can elect to melee Heals or Sabres.
• Staff and Brilliance are tucked away nicely in the back, with Staff still being able to hit people on the stair (or just in front of the tanks) due to her reach.
• A bunch of enemies aren't doing anything but waiting for those in front to die.
• Everyone is enjoying all the auras and all the chants!

The downside is that enemy gunners (who tend to be a bit glass cannon-y) get to keep shooting you for free, since you have no way of reaching them until you've cleared out the throng in front of you. Sometimes they'll be in range for Brand Enemy, but Brand Enemy is not a fast killer. Brand Enemy is what we will use here anyway, on the captain and on any "tough" target we can find. Avoid using it on casters like druids; by the time it kills them, they will have run out of spells anyway. Chanters, ciphers, pistoleers and anything with a lot of skulls make good targets.

It's very much possible to have enough Arcana for Great Maelstrom at level 10 (this guide has enough at 9), which means if you can afford the scrolls (Waukeen's Berth will let you buy the ingredients en masse without camping any merchants) you can make ship battles a lot faster and easier. Or just exchange cannon salvos, but I think if you want to make this kind of party, you want these kinds of battles too, with or without the scrolls.

No Rest - Getting Started
An easy way to get the ball rolling. Upon reaching Neketaka, purchase the food for Tank and Brilliance, or the ingredients. With my recommended Waukeen's Berth mod, you can buy them in Queen's Berth, otherwise you may have to sail to Sayuka. Now, with all five dishes ready, leave Neketaka (by land or sea). At this point,

HARD SAVE.

There is no starting over with No Rest. You aren't getting more Hylea's Bounty. If you mess up, you have to make a new character or use the console. Okay, so you hard saved. Now let's go.

1. Rest, with everyone eating their assigned dishes - Hylea's Bounty for Heals, Sabres and Staff, Mohora Wraps for Tank and Shark Soup for Brilliance.
2. Return to Neketaka, enter the mill in Queen's Berth steal all the dust and crates (these will get you an easy Tarn's Respite).
3. Make everyone a Luminous Adra Potion and drink it. You can buy Reagent/Solution in Queen's Berth with the mod (hell, you can even buy the dust itself there), otherwise in Periki's Overlook.
4. With the mod (I hope at this point you've given up and installed it) you can also buy wardstones in Queen's Berth. Get one of each and use them right away. No mod? Go to the orlan merchant in the Brass Citadel, take your crew off duty and wait. A lot. Until she has sold you all five. Or postpone this part - you generally find wardstones in the same areas where they are actually needed.
5. Take a bath at the Luminous Bathhouse in Periki's Overlook.
6. While you're here anyway, steal (uh, I mean, diplomatically steal) all the things from the Dark Cupboard, Marihi's Metalworks and the Iolfr's Raiments, and buy gloves from the last shop.
7. You still want to get Dawnstar Blessing from Port Maje and Nature's Resolve from outside Tikawara. A bit of a trip, but no fighting involved unless you get attacked by enemy ships. You needn't rush this step or the next ones.
8. You want Ngati's Blessing (+2 con) from Te Hika Fishing Pools (let the creature pass) and Amira's Blessing (+2 dex) from the burning house random Neketaka event (enter the house and flee it). The first one you can grab right away, the other you have to wait until it happens.
9. You also want a buff from a courtesan. This guide assumes Irwena in Dunnage. You don't have to rush there; with 3x Hylea's Bounty and 5x Luminous Adra Potion, you're not about to fail any skill checks.
10. And later later later on, you want Alchemic Brawn/Guile/Wits from the northwesternmost island... and Magran's Blessing from Ashen Maw... that'll be all the No Rest benefits, I think.

Okay, you're an official No Rester. Remember if we get injuries, we can't rest them away without losing our one-time goodies, so what do we do? We drink Luminous Adra Potions.

The End
I was going to format it harder and use more links, but damn am I exhausted right now. And mildly terrified of losing all this work. So, enjoy! Might add more.

Edited April 4 by omgFIREBALLS

[dgray62]

This looks like a fun party, @omgFIREBALLS! Thanks for sharing this, and also for your excellent Waukeen's Berth mod, which made the game much less frustrating.