Player character clinic.

[Veevoir]

He already has Vicious Fighting.

 

That said, yeah, Deflecting Assault is probably wasted. With the rules as they are, Deflection is sort of useless unless you're stacking it sky-high.

That build actually stacks deflection pretty high, especially if he goes up to 18 on PER and RES.

 

But yeah, there are so many better things to do with talents..

[Enduin]

Thanks for the input. I'm leaning a lot more towards the reduced CON to bump up PER and RES and so Interrupting Blows looks a lot better. As does Coordinated Positioning over Adept Evasion. 2x per encounter means that could be really useful for putting my Rogue into position to get those Flanking bonuses and getting next to ally targets to really bring the pain. And since I should be focusing on not getting hit it's a bit silly to have a Passive that's only useful in that scenario. At least with Coordinated Positioning I can potentially use that to get away from an unwanted attacker as well as just for general positioning to gain advantages.

 

Adept Evasion is also something I feel like is also better suited when matched up with Riposte as well which I don't have in there currently. 

 

Potent Potions or Powerful Traps might be useful as well if I find that I utilize either of those much, but I'll have to play the game a good deal to really tell if either of those are effective enough to drop a talent on them, on this character at least.

[Trius]

How would you build a priest of Eothas? I'm going Death Godlike for RP purposes. 

 

I was thinking at least 16 might and 16 intelligence. 

 

From what I understand priests aren't exactly like clerics where they function well in melee, but the bonuses to weapons for priests of Eothas are for the flail and morning star. 

 

Originally I wanted to use flails with a shield and medium to heavy armor. Would the penalties from the armor hamper my recovery speed too much? Would letting the front line fighters engage followed by the priest flanking work? 

 

For talents I was planning on focusing mainly on the priest ones, plus the accuracy bonus to flails (whatever group that's in) and the sword/shield style. 

 

Edit: I'd also like to avoid any penalties. I see some builds which take severe ones, but I'd be worried about how that would effect my chances during the story book instances. There are also the penalties to other defenses which could have a big impact later on in the game with tougher enemies who use a lot of spells especially AOEs. 

Edited March 21, 2015 by Trius

[budyn]

Hey can you cover my idea for POTD TOI EXPERT MONK ROGUE combo.

 

Monk

Race: Human/Wild Orlan ( human is dps/orlan is more suited to fight mages )

Stats: M15 C13 D14 R12 I14 P10

Main char, offtank that will jump into fight 1st, get wounds, and then jump into second rows starting to deal damage to mages/priest/rangers etc . Thats why i think of the races above, human will boost my dmg/acc after i get some wounds and damage vs 1st row tanks. and after that destroying the 2nd row. Wild orlan basicly same idea of tactics tho after getting wounds, he will get his defenses boosted after he goes into fight with mages etc ( will save throws cause he will be the target most likely ).

Fist fighter,lowering the wounds treshold , charge skill, passive with movement speed . and stuff like that

 

Rogue

Race: Boreal Dwarf

Stats: M20 C6 D18 R9 I9 P16

Skills:Mechanics for traps , Stealth for sneaking , and i dont know what finds the hidden objects like treasures etc?

This dwarf will be using blunderbuss so ill go with basicly everything to cover range fighting and reload.

[Lazarus]

Trius: i have almost the same build plan in my head too (warhammer instead of flail), but i have some worries if it would be effective at least to some extent...

[Karranthain]

How would you build a priest of Eothas? I'm going Death Godlike for RP purposes. 

 

I was thinking at least 16 might and 16 intelligence. 

 

From what I understand priests aren't exactly like clerics where they function well in melee, but the bonuses to weapons for priests of Eothas are for the flail and morning star. 

 

Originally I wanted to use flails with a shield and medium to heavy armor. Would the penalties from the armor hamper my recovery speed too much? Would letting the front line fighters engage followed by the priest flanking work? 

 

For talents I was planning on focusing mainly on the priest ones, plus the accuracy bonus to flails (whatever group that's in) and the sword/shield style. 

 

Edit: I'd also like to avoid any penalties. I see some builds which take severe ones, but I'd be worried about how that would effect my chances during the story book instances. There are also the penalties to other defenses which could have a big impact later on in the game with tougher enemies who use a lot of spells especially AOEs. 

 

I'm not sure you should be building Constitution as a Priest. The benefit is much lower than for the other classes (such as Barbarian, Fighter or Paladin). So you'll probably want to avoid direct confrontation, especially since Priests have very low accuracy. That doesn't mean you cannot fight in melee - but a reach weapon (such as a pike) or a two-handed one (Morning star or a Pollaxe) would serve you better. Let the Fighter or a Paladin take the enemies head on while you remain in the back, casting spells and attacking from a safe distance.

[Karranthain]

Revised Bleak Walker Pistoleer build:

 

Bleak Walker Pistoleer

Human, Aedyr, Paladin

Armed with a greatsword and dual pistols. The basic idea is to have a frontline character who can support the group but also deal respectable damage. Unload both pistols at the start of combat and then switch to a Greatsword. Reload after combat.

• Might - 18
• Constitution - 10
• Dexterity- 8
• Perception - 8
• Intellect - 16
• Resolve - 18

Talents:

• Weapon Focus Soldier
• Two-Handed Style 
• Bloody Slaughter
• Remember Rakhan Field

And for the pistols:

• Quick Switch
• Arms Bearer

Pistols are a personal preference, the build would obviously work better with an arquebus. I'm still torn over Quick Switch. I think I'll pick Intense Flames instead, which combined with Remember Rakhan Field will boost the Flames of Devotion nicely.

 

What do you think?

Edited March 23, 2015 by Karranthain

[Luckmann]

You cannot dual-wield pistols.

 

Also, note that Flames of Devotion have been nerfed and made into 2/Encounter, but we're not entirely sure what's changed or how. This was intended to kill the super-blaster-bleak-walker build, because Paladins can't have nice things and not even Blackguards are allowed to build for damage.

Edited March 23, 2015 by Luckmann

[Karranthain]

You cannot dual-wield pistols.

 

Also, note that Flames of Devotion have been nerfed and made into 2/Encounter, but we're not entirely sure what's changed or how. This was intended to kill the super-blaster-bleak-walker build, because Paladins can't have nice things and not even Blackguards are allowed to build for damage.

 

Yeah, I know. That's why I picked Arms Bearer in conjunction with Quick Switch - to fire one shot, switch to a second pistol, fire another one and finally switch to a Greatsword and go to town.

 

Shame about the Flames of Devotion - hopefully it'll remain viable.

Edited March 23, 2015 by Karranthain

[Luckmann]

 

You cannot dual-wield pistols.

 

Yeah, I know. That's why I picked Arms Bearer in conjunction with Quick Switch - to fire one shot, switch to a second pistol, fire another one and finally switch to a Greatsword and go to town.

 

 

Ah, fair enough. In my defence you did say "greatsword and dual pistols" and I know people have wanted to do that before.

 

I would definitely try to fit Intense Flames in there somehow, to synergize with Remember Rakhan Fields, but I cannot for the life of me think of what Talent you should drop for it. If you really want two pistols and fire both before engaging with your Two-Handed Sword, I would definitely not drop Quick Switch, especially if you intend to use heavy armour.

 

I would also question the choice of Resolve for a non-tank, since you won't really be benefiting from it that much at all. That being said, I assume it is important for your core concept, so it's understandable.

[Osvir]

Can I ask for some advice too?

I have the idea pretty set for the character (Orlan, Barbarian, Philosopher/Iximatil Plains). Going to be more of a smarty, not very good in combat, dude with some anger issues (Greater Frenzy = +6 Might and +6 Constitution ).

I don't know if I should put my MIG and CON all the way down to 4 and put as much into INT, DEX, PER and RES. Or if I should keep MIG and CON up at 8. As Frenzy is Per Encounter, with 4 MIG and 4 CON I'd get it up to 10 MIG and 10 CON when need be. Or up to 14 MIG and 14 CON if I put it at 8.

Basically, would 4 MIG and 4 CON be too low? (He is a small little Orlan after all)

Advice? Can you do lots of interrupts even if you have close to zero damage output?

EDIT: Nevermind, I figured it out

Edited March 23, 2015 by Osvir

[Karranthain]

 

 

You cannot dual-wield pistols.

 

Yeah, I know. That's why I picked Arms Bearer in conjunction with Quick Switch - to fire one shot, switch to a second pistol, fire another one and finally switch to a Greatsword and go to town.

 

 

Ah, fair enough. In my defence you did say "greatsword and dual pistols" and I know people have wanted to do that before.

 

I would definitely try to fit Intense Flames in there somehow, to synergize with Remember Rakhan Fields, but I cannot for the life of me think of what Talent you should drop for it. If you really want two pistols and fire both before engaging with your Two-Handed Sword, I would definitely not drop Quick Switch, especially if you intend to use heavy armour.

 

I would also question the choice of Resolve for a non-tank, since you won't really be benefiting from it that much at all. That being said, I assume it is important for your core concept, so it's understandable.

 

 

Yeah, I wish we were able to do that.

 

I suppose I could drop Bloody Slaughter, though not sure whether it's worth it. Intense Flames would seriously improve the alpha-strike capability, but Bloody Slaughter is likely to be a larger benefit in drawn-out fights. About Quick Switch - I did some light testing in the beta build, but with a bow and a pistol, so not sure whether that's reliable. Didn't seem so bad without it.

 

Regarding Resolve - it's mainly for roleplaying purposes (as it's supposedly checked when you try to intimidate someone, which goes perfectly with the Bleak Walker modus operandi), but I'd also like to be able to tank in a pinch.

 

By the way, what do you think about dropping Perception and Dexterity in this build, did I go overboard? Originally I thought that 18 Intelligence would be tempting in this build, but I was afraid I'd handicap this character too severely to achieve that.

[Rostere]

I'm currently thinking I'll play a Death Godlike Wizard.

Culture Rauatai or Old Vailia, background Mystic (preferably) or Aristocrat. Stats

 

MIG 10

CON 3
DEX 19
PER 18
INT 20
RES 8

I most often play a cleric or a paladin so I figure a wizard would be a welcome change.

 

So would going so low on CON be considered dirty min/maxing, or would it be a grave handicap in the game?

[Myrten]

I'm currently thinking I'll play a Death Godlike Wizard.

 

Culture Rauatai or Old Vailia, background Mystic (preferably) or Aristocrat. Stats

 

MIG 10

CON 3

DEX 19

PER 18

INT 20

RES 8

 

I most often play a cleric or a paladin so I figure a wizard would be a welcome change.

 

So would going so low on CON be considered dirty min/maxing, or would it be a grave handicap in the game?

Might 10? 18 Per? What are you trying to achieve?

[Karranthain]

Can I ask for some advice too?

 

I have the idea pretty set for the character (Orlan, Barbarian, Philosopher/Iximatil Plains). Going to be more of a smarty, not very good in combat, dude with some anger issues (Greater Frenzy = +6 Might and +6 Constitution ).

 

I don't know if I should put my MIG and CON all the way down to 4 and put as much into INT, DEX, PER and RES. Or if I should keep MIG and CON up at 8. As Frenzy is Per Encounter, with 4 MIG and 4 CON I'd get it up to 10 MIG and 10 CON when need be. Or up to 14 MIG and 14 CON if I put it at 8.

 

Basically, would 4 MIG and 4 CON be too low? (He is a small little Orlan after all)

 

Advice? Can you do lots of interrupts even if you have close to zero damage output?

 

EDIT: Nevermind, I figured it out

 

I reckon you'll probably do fine with such low Constitution, but equally low Might would definitely severely reduce your character's effectiveness. That said, since it's a party based game, I believe you could pull through. Might not be pretty, but if it fits your roleplaying concept, have at them!

[Elerond]

I'm currently thinking I'll play a Death Godlike Wizard.

 

Culture Rauatai or Old Vailia, background Mystic (preferably) or Aristocrat. Stats

 

MIG 10

CON 3

DEX 19

PER 18

INT 20

RES 8

 

I most often play a cleric or a paladin so I figure a wizard would be a welcome change.

 

So would going so low on CON be considered dirty min/maxing, or would it be a grave handicap in the game?

 

I would say that at beginning it could potentially be handicap, but as you can boost your CON so much that it don't necessary impact late game I would say it has potential to be dirty min/maxing.

[Eldram]

Was looking for some input on a viable character, my ideal class is melee based with a nice selection of active abilities or spells that allow for flexibility.  To this end the Cipher class has been very enjoyable in the beta, I really like the idea of using a 2 handed sword over the reach weapons (personal preference really, I just love the look of the giant 2 handed swords)  for damage/focus generation and medium armor for a bit of defense, but I'm worried playing on hard through the full campaign may give the build a fair bit of trouble.  

 

I do not plan to take hits but want to be in melee range to generate focus so I plan to drop CON to 3 and max out DEX, INT, and MGT. Will this be a viable build or should I be looking to a different class, such as the Paladin?  I just do not want to have to rely on scrolls to make the class active and flexible.

[Sock]

If going with low con like that, it's workable, but you will have to manage the Cipher the whole fight, to make sure they are only targeting engaged units, and are not at risk from enemy archers. Also, a lot of their abilities are AoE, so anything they hit that isn't engaged already is going to come after the cipher.

 

Melee is a lot tougher than ranged for a cipher.

[Eldram]

If going with low con like that, it's workable, but you will have to manage the Cipher the whole fight, to make sure they are only targeting engaged units, and are not at risk from enemy archers. Also, a lot of their abilities are AoE, so anything they hit that isn't engaged already is going to come after the cipher.

 

Melee is a lot tougher than ranged for a cipher.

Thanks Sock, that's kinda what I was worried about. Maybe Cipher is the wrong pick, I really like the skill set and playstyle though. I have a feeling a melee Cipher will go down tons due to aoe, ranged, etc. And I do want to make use of the badass weapon and armor selections on my first playthrough.

[Junkermanz]

Hey everyone!

 

After playing through the opening sequences of the Beta with a number of different classes I found the Ranger to be the most effective and most enjoyable for me to playthrough.  I made a ranged ranger using a Warbow with the Wolf pet and focused on Might and fairly distributed the rest of the attributes.

 

I feel like I need more information when building my main character and I've read on the forums here that there are viable Melee builds for the Ranger class as well. Not being especially tied to the idea of a ranged character or a melee one I'd be interested in learning more.

 

So!  If any competent ranger players wish to educate me on the do's and dont's of the class I would apprecite it!

 

What kind of attributes are useful?

Which talents should I play close attention to?

Are the pet specific talents useful?

 

I've seen a lot of pet hate on the forums here, and while I'm not especially impressed by its usefullness as a damage dealer on the field, I found the Wolf to be especially powerful as a flanker and for kiting mobs around the encounters on harder difficulties; functioning more like a high micro CC rather then DPS. I'm not sure they'd benifit from the pet talents at all though over taking the ones that make the Ranger more powerful.

 

Regarding attribute spread, is dex actually useful at all? I've played both high dex and no dex characters and havent really been able to notice much of a difference compared to playing with armor or without armor. For RP purposes I'd like to use DEX as a dump stat in favor of resolve and perception which seem to fit more with the quiet observer Ranger conept I see in my head for the character.

[Cantousent]

Merged a ranger question into the clininc. :D

[Sock]

 I'd like to remind everyone that min-maxing isn't necessary, not really. I don't min-max (I usually go 10 con, 12 dex, 14 might/res/int/per), and I am quite capable of defeating PotD difficulty on the backer beta.

 

Sure, you can drop a melee character to min con and just micromanage them so that they're never attacked directly, but they're vulnerable to AoEs which will primarily target your cluster. And sure, per and res mean little to a ranged character, but they also provided buffs against non-standard attacks (enemy ciphers will love your low will characters, and wurms target reflexes instead of deflection).

 

For the first time in a long time, I think we can afford to have a wide spread of stats and still play the game with a viable character. Every stat has some value, and the gains you get from creating a dump stat aren't so massive that it's a non-issue. The difference between 4 and 8 is the exact same as the difference between 16 and 20.

Edited March 24, 2015 by Sock

[Luckmann]

[...]

 

[...] Every stat has some value [...]

 

This is a bold-faced lie. Whether a stat has some effective value or not depends entirely on your build.

 

While it is possible to succeed with any combination, not every Attribute contributes remotely equally in any way, and the Attributes are very far from balanced in that regard. This has nothing to do with min/maxing.

[Oneiromancer]

Hey everyone!

[...]

I'd like to use DEX as a dump stat in favor of resolve and perception which seem to fit more with the quiet observer Ranger conept I see in my head for the character.

Completely dumping dexterity in favor of resolve and perception for a ranged heavy hitter is really sub-optimal. I'm sure you could do fine even with a low dex, low might, high resolve, high perception build "somehow" but I guess it really depends how much RPing is important to you and how much you care about "optimizing" your character (not necessarely min-maxing mind you).

Low dexterity, high resolve and perception would make a fine tank character but as rangers are kinda stuck as ranged dpsers (as far as I know) those stats are kinda working against you. Average dexterity (10-12) could still work with a ranger using very slow weapons as you wouldn't hit often enough to notice much of a difference except in very long fights. Perception would help you interrupt enemies from afar so it wouldn't be completely wasted even though I'm not sure how reliable it would be with a slow weapon. Resolve though it's a completely defensive stat and would be almost completely useless for anything but rping.

If you're set on this character I would max might and get a bit of dex and then distribuite the rest of your points on per/int/res as you see fit. Use a slow ranged weapon, the slower the better. I'm not sure what advice to give you on talents beside taking the ones that will buff your preferred weapon (like weapon focus: knight if you're using a warbow, or marksman, decent for all ranged characters). A lot of those choices really depend on what playstyle you're going for once you start playing: a lot of talents buff your pet and your synergy with it, which you might not want to focus on.