The General Builds Thread

[Luckmann]

I love that chanters were recognized as being very well-balanced and fun to play, and were nerfed into the ground, and monks were widely recognized as being wildly overpowered, yet were (mostly? completely?) untouched.

 

On a power scale, I'd definitely rate Rangers lowest whilst Rogues are almost right there with them.

 

In terms of mechanics, I still feel that the Paladin needs a lot of work, while many (most?) others primarily needs tweaking, sans perhaps the Ranger.

[Odd Hermit]

Right now it feels like you have to figure out the best mix that does the best damage (crit/damage/accuracy). After you have done that you can applie that template to any class. This makes stats basicaly none existand its only about how close you can get to those perfect numbers.

 

What mix is "ideal" for damage output is different for different classes. Some classes get more out of dex than might, some get more out of int, some classes aren't meant to be/aren't most valuable as pure damage in the first place. I've been finding a good balance so far that's not too min/maxy and the only big dump stat for me has been constitution because might makes up for the fortitude loss and the health/endurance hit is minor relative to the benefits of other stats including other means of survivability that are superior to just a bigger HP pool.

 

I haven't found a template that I can blindly apply to just any class, personally.

 

There are some trends but they're not as much about attributes as weapon/talent/skill choices.

 

 

I love that chanters were recognized as being very well-balanced and fun to play, and were nerfed into the ground, and monks were widely recognized as being wildly overpowered, yet were (mostly? completely?) untouched.

 

On a power scale, I'd definitely rate Rangers lowest whilst Rogues are almost right there with them.

 

In terms of mechanics, I still feel that the Paladin needs a lot of work, while many (most?) others primarily needs tweaking, sans perhaps the Ranger.

 

 

Chanters were overpowered too. Maybe in a more subtle way, but they gave some insane party wide buffs even at low levels. I'm not saying they weren't overnerfed, but they weren't fine as they were IMO. From a power-gamer perspective, I think almost every party regardless of class/build combos/synergies would still want a chanter if they'd have been left as they were in 392.

 

I agree about Rangers and Rogues though. I'm still doubtful Barbarians are in a good place either, it's hard to tell with interrupt being what it is though.

 

Mechanics wise, Paladin is lacking in things to actually do, but I think the Wizard class is the biggest mess, if that makes sense.

Edited February 6, 2015 by Odd Hermit

[Sensuki]

Some classes get more out of dex than might

 

Dex hasn't been working properly in any build, so how would you be able to determine that?

 

Right now, bumping Dex actually slows down your attack speed with weapons (but it works for spells).

Edited February 6, 2015 by Sensuki

[Odd Hermit]

 

Some classes get more out of dex than might

 

Dex hasn't been working properly in any build, so how would you be able to determine that?

 

Right now, bumping Dex actually slows down your attack speed with weapons (but it works for spells).

 

 

Well, presuming it actually worked as advertized, some classes would have higher synergies with faster attacks relative to others. And some weapon choices emphasize this as well, higher damage and/or DT bypass weapons will benefit more from speed whereas higher might would help faster weapons deal with DT more.

[Luckmann]

Dexterity and Perception are so broken (for different reasons) that any discussion on attributes in the current build is purely academic, philosophic and conceptual at best.

 

I'm not sure I like it anyway, but that's part of the problem, isn't it? I can't actually know that for certain.

[Sensuki]

I prefer actually testing to see if that's the case in the game, because often I find that what the developers say / what you would think is the case is often not actually the case in the game.

Making false statements (even though unintentional) could potentially be harmful to the game balance.

[Odd Hermit]

Dexterity and Perception are so broken (for different reasons) that any discussion on attributes in the current build is purely academic, philosophic and conceptual at best.

 

I'm not sure I like it anyway, but that's part of the problem, isn't it? I can't actually know that for certain.

 

This is a very fair point. I'm just feeling things out as best I can with the current build, and my feedback on some things has to be conjecture considering the issues with these stats.

Edited February 6, 2015 by Odd Hermit

[Andraste]

Assuming the current build is basically like the launch build: does a Druid that puts as many points as possible into Might and Intellect and stands at the back raining down AOE sound viable? Or is there some other attribute I should be pumping instead?

[Sensuki]

No, that sounds pretty optimal. When Dexterity is fixed, that would also be an option too if you wanted to cast quicker. ATM I'd ignore Perception and Resolve.

[Doxy]

/casting thread revive

 

What you all think about Pistoleer Rogue ?

Tried to build one with a Gunner perk and when Dex is fixed will pump it for extra 30% Action Speed.

I was doing 30ish+ dmg grazes and 40-48 dmg normal hits with sneak attacks hitting my own lvl 4 fighter.

 

 

Not to mention Finishing Blow can devastate a single dangerous target on a battlefield.

Any advice/thought is highly welcome. 

[Odd Hermit]

/casting thread revive

 

What you all think about Pistoleer Rogue ?

Tried to build one with a Gunner perk and when Dex is fixed will pump it for extra 30% Action Speed.

I was doing 30ish+ dmg grazes and 40-48 dmg normal hits with sneak attacks hitting my own lvl 4 fighter.

 

Not to mention Finishing Blow can devastate a single dangerous target on a battlefield.

Any advice/thought is highly welcome. 

 

Blunderbuss is my choice of ranged weapon for rogue, with penetrating shot and gunner. Rogues have some class-specific modals but they come with worse downsides IMO, making your rogue super-fragile isn't worth the damage increase.

 

That said, I don't think I'll be taking a rogue for my party. Cipher IMO is a better choice, more CC and stronger debuffs benefit the whole party.

 

Cipher +draining whip and a blunderbuss is a great combination too.

[Dr. Hieronymous Alloy]

I think ciphers will generally get more focus from blunderbuss + biting whip + penetrating shot, but taking draining whip isn't bad. It's just only going to give 16 focus per blunderbuss shot, max, while you might get more bonus damage and this more bonus focus from biting whip. Matter of emphasis more than better/ worse.

 

Edit: doing the math in my head I think that Biting Whip is going to be a better choice IF you can get your average based damage (before Biting Whip) up to 20 average damage per projectile (from 8-16, or average 12, base). That's a big jump  -- roughly two-thirds additional damage I think? but it's doable with a single level one +damage enchantment (for +50% damage) and a Might of 15. 

 

Of course penetration etc. also enters into it so draining whip might be the better choice at low levels before you're fully geared out. But once you have, say, Leadspitter I think Biting Whip is at least likely to be the better choice. 

 

Of course in reality you probably want both, and the ideal cipher blunderbuss build is something like ruffian skill set at level 2, level 4 Draining Whip, level 6 Biting Whip, level 8 Penetrating Shot. 

Edited March 4, 2015 by Dr. Hieronymous Alloy