Any way to make a tanky damage dealer?

[helpimsobad]

I've read enough to know that the stats system as implemented favors one extreme or another, but is there really no way to make a tough DPS character? Having characters which could weather blows and deal damage in melee was my main past-time in Infinity Engine games, and so far at least my experimental pure tank Wild Orlan Monk is a total snoozefest. I can't take enough damage to use an ability if I tried, and do no real damage(Might 2). On the other hand I don't like having the main character be someone that needs to hang back, lead from the front and all that.

 

My ideal class for RP and flavor would be a Paladin if that's possible, but they seem to lack damage options.

 

What if anything can be done in the game as it stands, preferably without picking a fringe race like Fire Godlike? How badly are relatively middling(i.e. no stats dumped below 8 ) handicapped?

Edited April 4, 2015 by helpimsobad

[MachoGrande]

It's things like this that are keeping me from liking this game. I also like to play melee guys in the BG games, specifically paladins and it seems that Obsidian went with the bizarre MMO notion that paladins should only be meat shields, I guess this is how they were in Everquest so that got copied over and over. I would also like to play a D&D style ranger but once again all we have is this MMO style ranged pet class for a ranger. A dual wield berserker is another favorite class from BG, but that doesn't work in PoE either. The only hope I have for this game is modding really, I don't see myself playing it otherwise.

[KennethTopp]

I wanted a melee ranger, alas , secondly why is a dual wield Barbarian not viable?

[Caerdon]

Sure, you can make a tanky damage dealer, you just can't make the ultimate tank that's also the ultimate damage-dealer. But you can definitely make something that's perfectly viable at any difficulty.

 

People are way too obsessed with reaching the absolute pinnacle. Seriously, there isn't a big difference between having, say, 18 or 14 in a stat, yet some people act as if not having the absolute maximum stats for the particular role makes a build totally worthless.

[Infares]

Sure, you can make a tanky damage dealer, you just can't make the ultimate tank that's also the ultimate damage-dealer. But you can definitely make something that's perfectly viable at any difficulty.

 

People are way too obsessed with reaching the absolute pinnacle. Seriously, there isn't a big difference between having, say, 18 or 14 in a stat, yet some people act as if not having the absolute maximum stats for the particular role makes a build totally worthless.

Gear, abilities, and talents are the core of your character, actual stat spreads, while significant low-level, become less so later on.

[Longknife]

I think you could pull it off with a Fighter, but it'd mean skipping out on the defensive upgrades.

 

Basically get the accuracy boosts for weapons and get the per encounter moves you want.

Edited April 5, 2015 by Longknife

[Lasci]

EVERYTHING is viable in this game. It's very hard to create a character that isn't viable. Most of the NPC's that you can pick up in the game aren't optimized in the least bit, but you can easily make them work. 3% increase in damage or +1 deflection or a bit extra duration on abilities isn't very significant considering that damage in this game never goes over ~70 for the most powerful end game spells. 

 

Attributes do not a character make. You can easily make someone that can do well up front and also dish out pretty good damage. I used Pallegina as an off-tank two-hander throughout the majority of my first playthrough of the game, which was on PotD.

 

 

 

Sure, you can make a tanky damage dealer, you just can't make the ultimate tank that's also the ultimate damage-dealer. But you can definitely make something that's perfectly viable at any difficulty.

 

People are way too obsessed with reaching the absolute pinnacle. Seriously, there isn't a big difference between having, say, 18 or 14 in a stat, yet some people act as if not having the absolute maximum stats for the particular role makes a build totally worthless.

Gear, abilities, and talents are the core of your character, actual stat spreads, while significant low-level, become less so later on.

 

 

I mean, technically, attributes have a larger effect in the late game than they do in the early game. For Might, your abilities do more damage in general. For Intelligence, there are way more enemies in the later parts of the game than there are in the start of the game. So I definitely wouldn't say that attributes are more important early than late.

 

It's things like this that are keeping me from liking this game. I also like to play melee guys in the BG games, specifically paladins and it seems that Obsidian went with the bizarre MMO notion that paladins should only be meat shields, I guess this is how they were in Everquest so that got copied over and over. I would also like to play a D&D style ranger but once again all we have is this MMO style ranged pet class for a ranger. A dual wield berserker is another favorite class from BG, but that doesn't work in PoE either. The only hope I have for this game is modding really, I don't see myself playing it otherwise.

 

This is just asinine and indicative of the fact that you don't know what you're talking about. Paladins don't have to be meat shields. The D&D ranger has an animal companion and can focus on either ranged or dual wielding. A dual wielding ranger is not impossible in this game; instead of focusing on ranged talents and abilities, you prioritize gaining more damage and utility through your companion. A dual wielding berserk? Goodness gracious that sounds an awful lot like playing a dual wielding barbarian. It works perfectly fine. In fact, you can do very gimmicky, wonky, "non-optimized" builds and still easily succeed on the highest difficulties.

 

I have no idea what you're complaining about.

[Akos]

A character who tanks to any degree is going to have to give up some offensive talents/abilities to do it. Similarly, any offensive abilities you take will require you skip over something defensive. There is a balance between the two extremes that can be viable, whether or not its' "best" is debatable and only really relevant if such things matter to you. 

Personally speaking I tend to have more fun if my characters are a balanced mix of offense and defense. I prefer it when my characters are adaptable, rather than highly focused on any specific role. Which is not to say that roles do not exist at all in my party, but rather Aloth has a mix of crowd control and damage spells, Eder can hurt the guy he's fighting with his saber, and Durance likes to bash people with his stick about as often as I have him healing my party. 

It's harder to build for a balanced character as well, especially with how long it takes to level up in this game. It's easier to give people a role and have them take abilities that augment that role than trying to play at being clairvoyant. 

[Kromzor]

Make a Bleak Walker or Fire Pally.  Grab an Estoc.  Grab appropriate DPS talents, buff up your Flames of Devotion.  18Mig, 10Con, 16Dex, 11Per, 12Int, 11Res.  Slap on some heavy armor.

 

I happen to be a Death God-Like, so that gives 20% damage against anything under 25% HP.  I use a Monk as the Main Tank, Bleak Walker Pally as the Off Tank Hybrid, playing on Hard its working well enough so far.  Rest of the party is Cipher, Chanter, Priest, Druid.  Many buffs+debuffs.

[GatherYourParty]

Yup, highly recommend the barbarian as a "tanky" damage dealer. Granted it won't be the penultimate tank but from what I've seen the damage output is phenomenal and the barb can take a bit of damage with the proper skills.

 

Starting Stats:

18 Might

8 Con (Barbarian gains 16 endurance per level, and health is endurance * 16. Highest in game)

15 Dex

10 Per

14 Int

14 Res

 

At endgame fortitude/reflex/will were all ~5-10 point less than Eder's. My deflection was around 75, with shield Eder's was 100. Barbarian skills are absurdly good for damage dealing & tanking. Savage defiance is an unbelievable self heal, +90 endurance over 14 seconds. Was able to tank a lot of difficult mobs using this. Frenzy is great for damage dealing, +attack speed, +might. When you get to level 3 you can solo that bear pretty easily with Savage defiance.

 

For weapon choice I used the estoc. By endgame I would crit on every other attack it seemed like. Normally hit around 80, highest single target damage was 127. Dual spears is another good choice. Beat the game using a 4 person party on hard with expert mode enabled. PC took the most damage and dealt the most damage, pretty good build I thought.

 

[Kromzor]

Make a Bleak Walker or Fire Pally.  Grab an Estoc.  Grab appropriate DPS talents, buff up your Flames of Devotion.  18Mig, 10Con, 16Dex, 11Per, 12Int, 11Res.  Slap on some heavy armor.

 

I happen to be a Death God-Like, so that gives 20% damage against anything under 25% HP.  I use a Monk as the Main Tank, Bleak Walker Pally as the Off Tank Hybrid, playing on Hard its working well enough so far.  Rest of the party is Cipher, Chanter, Priest, Druid.  Many buffs+debuffs.

I forgot to mention another important thing for the Pally, epscially if you want to be an effective hybrid, that you might have overlooked.  Make sure you follow your Order's Code of Conduct.  Faith and Conviction gives you a BIG, "Free" Defensive boost for doing so (This is why I can still feel tanky with only 11Per and 11Res while running around with a 2 Hander).  And if you stray too far from the path you'll actually get a NEGATIVE Defense penalty (for free!).

Edited April 5, 2015 by Kromzor

[KDubya]

On hard I have a Boreal Dwarf fighter using two handed weapons, esoc, who hits like a truck and can tank enough to survive.

 

20 Might

7 Con

16 Dex

16 Per

3 Int

16 Res

 

I took the Disciplined Barrage instead of knockdown for a big Acc burst to start the fight. Added Confident Aim, Savage Attack, Two Handed Style and Weapon Specialization Adventurer. These give damage bonuses of  +30% (might), +20% (savage attack), +15% (two handed style), +15% weapon spec for +80% damage and another +20% to minimum damage from Confident Aim. His high Perception regularly results in strong interrupts and his high Resolve keeps him from being interrupted. With the high Per and Res his deflection is not bad considering he does not use a shield. In a pinch he could swap to a flail and give up the 15% damage from two handed style but so far he has not done so.

 

He has twice as many crits as the rest of the party, has 3x more damage done as anyone else, and also leads the team in damage taken.

 

He can crank out consistent single target damage while being in melee range with good survivability

[cctobias]

Yeah pretty darn certain you can make a Paladin that is good at damage and good at surviving.  Not the best damage, and not stand in the middle and everything and not bat an eyelash like some tanks can be pretty close to, but good.  Ok temporary offtank, won't fold like a lawn and hits hard enough to matter.  Pretty sure Paladin can do it fine.  Probably fighter too, but Pally probably easier.  

[Odd Hermit]

I think the trick to tanky damage dealer is Might / Per / Res. You won't hit fast but you'll hit hard enough to matter.

 

Monk can actually pull it off on PotD where damage is high enough to feed wounds pretty quickly. On hard it's maybe not as great. And you'd want to dump int. You can take Turning Wheel and Rooting Pain and deal solid damage. Rooting Pain is AoE and can interrupt adding to your tankiness a bit.

 

You won't be quite as tanky as Paladin or Fighter but pretty close and deal solid damage especially vs. weaker groups.

 

Other than that I'd say Fighter with Wary Defender but using a small shield to avoid accuracy loss, and a strong 1h weapon(maybe spear also for accuracy).

 

Paladin IMO kind of a waste to try it with. Low base accuracy, no special damage talents other than Flames of Devotion which you don't get enough uses of to waste talents on.

[Korgull]

I've read enough to know that the stats system as implemented favors one extreme or another, but is there really no way to make a tough DPS character? Having characters which could weather blows and deal damage in melee was my main past-time in Infinity Engine games, and so far at least my experimental pure tank Wild Orlan Monk is a total snoozefest. I can't take enough damage to use an ability if I tried, and do no real damage(Might 2). On the other hand I don't like having the main character be someone that needs to hang back, lead from the front and all that.

 

My ideal class for RP and flavor would be a Paladin if that's possible, but they seem to lack damage options.

 

What if anything can be done in the game as it stands, preferably without picking a fringe race like Fire Godlike? How badly are relatively middling(i.e. no stats dumped below 8 ) handicapped?

Like someone else already said, forget about people who say that you need to minmax stats for dps or tanks. I'm currently using Pallegina as a secondary tank with a two-handed weapon, and her stats are hardly minmaxed but she tanks quite well and deals a lot of damage just with autoattacks. If you want a tough dps character, I suggest a paladin or a fighter with stats spread across might, perception and resolve and maybe some points in other stats if you like, wielding a two-handed weapon. You may still need to have Eder as a main tank, but your character won't get destroyed if he gets targeted.

 

As for a monk, I tried a fire godlike with 16 16 8 14 10 14, and she was reasonably tanky in leather armor while dealing quite a lot of damage. I've only played her until level 3 but it seemed like a pretty strong build. You could probably switch the race to some other and do just as well, but the +3 dr and fire damage retaliation when under 50% endurance just seemed to synergize very well with a monk.

[Magrusaod]

I've read enough to know that the stats system as implemented favors one extreme or another, but is there really no way to make a tough DPS character? Having characters which could weather blows and deal damage in melee was my main past-time in Infinity Engine games, and so far at least my experimental pure tank Wild Orlan Monk is a total snoozefest. I can't take enough damage to use an ability if I tried, and do no real damage(Might 2). On the other hand I don't like having the main character be someone that needs to hang back, lead from the front and all that.

 

My ideal class for RP and flavor would be a Paladin if that's possible, but they seem to lack damage options.

 

What if anything can be done in the game as it stands, preferably without picking a fringe race like Fire Godlike? How badly are relatively middling(i.e. no stats dumped below 8 ) handicapped?

 

No wonder, you made a monk with Might 2. Monks are fun as DPS strikers. They require to be hit in order to use their abilities, building a full tank monk with no Might means you can't use your abilities, and do no damage regardless of the situation. >.< 

[Odd Hermit]

 

Like someone else already said, forget about people who say that you need to minmax stats for dps or tanks. I'm currently using Pallegina as a secondary tank with a two-handed weapon, and her stats are hardly minmaxed but she tanks quite well and deals a lot of damage just with autoattacks. If you want a tough dps character, I suggest a paladin or a fighter with stats spread across might, perception and resolve and maybe some points in other stats if you like, wielding a two-handed weapon. You may still need to have Eder as a main tank, but your character won't get destroyed if he gets targeted.

 

As for a monk, I tried a fire godlike with 16 16 8 14 10 14, and she was reasonably tanky in leather armor while dealing quite a lot of damage. I've only played her until level 3 but it seemed like a pretty strong build. You could probably switch the race to some other and do just as well, but the +3 dr and fire damage retaliation when under 50% endurance just seemed to synergize very well with a monk.

 

 

Just because you can doesn't mean it's better.

 

The less focused a build the more poorly it does its job. Why have a character that does mediocre damage and is only somewhat durable when you can optimize a few durable characters to take the damage and then have damage builds that wreck everything?

 

Especially since deflection is so weak unless you stack it really high, and constitution is just terrible for anything but a dedicated tank. You gain very little from 14 perception / resolve, but 8 points put in Might and/or Dex can dramatically increase your damage. Especially since might is so important for pushing damage over DRs.

[Fardragon]

No one said anything about wanting to be "better". Non-specialised characters are quite capable of completing the game. Some people just play for fun, they don't need to turn it into a competition. It's a valid point about high Might being the easiest way to deal with DR, which is why I would choose a tanky class (fighter) and focus on increasing offence, rather than a DPSy class (e.g. Rogue) and build for defence.

 

I might go something like this:

 

Human Fighter (estoc):

 

19 Might

9 Con 

10 Dex

18 Per

3 Int

19 Res

[Odd Hermit]

No one said anything about wanting to be "better". Non-specialised characters are quite capable of completing the game. Some people just play for fun, they don't need to turn it into a competition. It's a valid point about high Might being the easiest way to deal with DR, which is why I would choose a tanky class (fighter) and focus on increasing offence, rather than a DPSy class (e.g. Rogue) and build for defence.

 

I might go something like this:

 

Human Fighter (estoc):

 

19 Might

9 Con 

10 Dex

18 Per

3 Int

19 Res

 

It's important to keep in mind when people are asking for builds what they actually want. OP's post suggest he wants something fairly effective. And just generally when people ask for build advice they don't want a "this is a build that sucks but you can still complete the game with it" response.

 

Dumping at least one attribute is the only way to make an effective tank + damage character in one build. And there are only a few classes that can pull it off.

 

If I had to make one w/out dropping anything below 8 though I'd say:

 

Fighter or Monk

 

17 might

8 Con

8 Dex

18 Per

8 Int

19 Res

 

Ideal would of course be dumping int entirely though.

 

Defender + Wary Defender or Cautious Attack for Monk should be taken

 

Could try to pull off 2h or dual wield, but I'd sooner go with a strong 1h weapon + small shield and Weapon and Shield style. Monk with Turning Wheel can do some solid damage even with a 1h weapon.

 

Alternatively could swap between one damage and one tanking weapon set depending on situation which is probably ideal once you have the equipment to do it.

Edited April 5, 2015 by Odd Hermit

[Fardragon]

There is no reason to suppose that 3 Int in PoE means the same as 3 INT in DnD (drooling imbecile). I think of it as being more equivalent to low normal (8 Int in DnD terms).

 

If you consider Might, you can do some direct comparisons. In DnD an average weapon does an average of about 4 points of damage before adjustments. Therefore -1 damage in DnD is around -25%. Equivalent to 2 Might in PoE. That is 4-5 Str under 1st and 2nd edition rules, or 8 strength in 3rd edition.

[Korgull]

 

 

Like someone else already said, forget about people who say that you need to minmax stats for dps or tanks. I'm currently using Pallegina as a secondary tank with a two-handed weapon, and her stats are hardly minmaxed but she tanks quite well and deals a lot of damage just with autoattacks. If you want a tough dps character, I suggest a paladin or a fighter with stats spread across might, perception and resolve and maybe some points in other stats if you like, wielding a two-handed weapon. You may still need to have Eder as a main tank, but your character won't get destroyed if he gets targeted.

 

As for a monk, I tried a fire godlike with 16 16 8 14 10 14, and she was reasonably tanky in leather armor while dealing quite a lot of damage. I've only played her until level 3 but it seemed like a pretty strong build. You could probably switch the race to some other and do just as well, but the +3 dr and fire damage retaliation when under 50% endurance just seemed to synergize very well with a monk.

 

 

Just because you can doesn't mean it's better.

 

The less focused a build the more poorly it does its job. Why have a character that does mediocre damage and is only somewhat durable when you can optimize a few durable characters to take the damage and then have damage builds that wreck everything?

Well, as the op said it's pretty damn boring to play a main character that deals absolutely no damage, but he also doesn't want a character who falls over when the enemy so much as looks in his direction. As it's perfectly possible and viable and even pretty effective to play the game on a balanced build (at least on medium difficulty, probably on hard as well), why would he make a build he doesn't find fun playing?

[Katarack21]

I'm using a custom might/con/resolve barbarian as the off-tank in my party, with my MC a cipher and the rest premade companions (Eder, Aloth, Durance, Grieving Mother). The barbarian in question does pretty decent single-target damage with a big two-hander, can take a lot of damage when in heavy armor because of her high resolve and endurance, and works pretty well as the off-tank in the group. I'm thinking about making something similar for my PC on a playthrough some time.

[Korgull]

 

No one said anything about wanting to be "better". Non-specialised characters are quite capable of completing the game. Some people just play for fun, they don't need to turn it into a competition. It's a valid point about high Might being the easiest way to deal with DR, which is why I would choose a tanky class (fighter) and focus on increasing offence, rather than a DPSy class (e.g. Rogue) and build for defence.

 

I might go something like this:

 

Human Fighter (estoc):

 

19 Might

9 Con 

10 Dex

18 Per

3 Int

19 Res

 

It's important to keep in mind when people are asking for builds what they actually want. OP's post suggest he wants something fairly effective. And just generally when people ask for build advice they don't want a "this is a build that sucks but you can still complete the game with it" response.

 

Dumping at least one attribute is the only way to make an effective tank + damage character in one build. And there are only a few classes that can pull it off.

 

If I had to make one w/out dropping anything below 8 though I'd say:

 

Fighter or Monk

 

17 might

8 Con

8 Dex

18 Per

8 Int

19 Res

 

Ideal would of course be dumping int entirely though.

 

Defender + Wary Defender or Cautious Attack for Monk should be taken

 

Could try to pull off 2h or dual wield, but I'd sooner go with a strong 1h weapon + small shield and Weapon and Shield style. Monk with Turning Wheel can do some solid damage even with a 1h weapon.

 

Alternatively could swap between one damage and one tanking weapon set depending on situation which is probably ideal once you have the equipment to do it.

 

I wouldn't dump int on a monk considering that he has self buffs and strong disables which would be considerably weakened by the duration penalty. Also having a high constitution on a monk is very beneficial because of his innately huge health pool, which will allow you to get wounds in combat without having to rest after every second battle. I also don't find maxing deflection on a monk to be that amazing, considering that you actually want to get damaged. I'd much rather control the amount of damage I take by choosing what armor I wear, and have a nice big endurance pool so I can get wounds without being in danger of dying.

[Odd Hermit]

 

 

 

Like someone else already said, forget about people who say that you need to minmax stats for dps or tanks. I'm currently using Pallegina as a secondary tank with a two-handed weapon, and her stats are hardly minmaxed but she tanks quite well and deals a lot of damage just with autoattacks. If you want a tough dps character, I suggest a paladin or a fighter with stats spread across might, perception and resolve and maybe some points in other stats if you like, wielding a two-handed weapon. You may still need to have Eder as a main tank, but your character won't get destroyed if he gets targeted.

 

As for a monk, I tried a fire godlike with 16 16 8 14 10 14, and she was reasonably tanky in leather armor while dealing quite a lot of damage. I've only played her until level 3 but it seemed like a pretty strong build. You could probably switch the race to some other and do just as well, but the +3 dr and fire damage retaliation when under 50% endurance just seemed to synergize very well with a monk.

 

 

Just because you can doesn't mean it's better.

 

The less focused a build the more poorly it does its job. Why have a character that does mediocre damage and is only somewhat durable when you can optimize a few durable characters to take the damage and then have damage builds that wreck everything?

Well, as the op said it's pretty damn boring to play a main character that deals absolutely no damage, but he also doesn't want a character who falls over when the enemy so much as looks in his direction. As it's perfectly possible and viable and even pretty effective to play the game on a balanced build (at least on medium difficulty, probably on hard as well), why would he make a build he doesn't find fun playing?

 

 

My argument is more with your medium attribute build and my point is that medium deflection builds specifically aren't worth it. Unless you're stacking deflection, you may as well get your durability elsewhere. DR preferably, since Con sucks.

 

I offered a solution I think is better.

 

Pallegina is not a very effective character - she's my favorite companion but she just sucks in combat period.

 

 

I wouldn't dump int on a monk considering that he has self buffs and strong disables which would be considerably weakened by the duration penalty. Also having a high constitution on a monk is very beneficial because of his innately huge health pool, which will allow you to get wounds in combat without having to rest after every second battle. I also don't find maxing deflection on a monk to be that amazing, considering that you actually want to get damaged. I'd much rather control the amount of damage I take by choosing what armor I wear, and have a nice big endurance pool so I can get wounds without being in danger of dying.

 

 

Depends on whether you're going Force of Anguish or Turning Wheel. Turning Wheel is damage output which is why I suggest low int. They don't play well together either especially on a tank that'll have somewhat limited wounds to work with.

 

Any tank is going to take a decent amount of damage on harder difficulties. You can still wear a bit lighter armor if you want more wounds, rather than sacrificing deflection. That has the benefit of reducing your recovery time as well.

 

8 Con also still leaves you with plenty of Endurance as a monk.

Edited April 5, 2015 by Odd Hermit

[Korgull]

 

 

 

 

Like someone else already said, forget about people who say that you need to minmax stats for dps or tanks. I'm currently using Pallegina as a secondary tank with a two-handed weapon, and her stats are hardly minmaxed but she tanks quite well and deals a lot of damage just with autoattacks. If you want a tough dps character, I suggest a paladin or a fighter with stats spread across might, perception and resolve and maybe some points in other stats if you like, wielding a two-handed weapon. You may still need to have Eder as a main tank, but your character won't get destroyed if he gets targeted.

 

As for a monk, I tried a fire godlike with 16 16 8 14 10 14, and she was reasonably tanky in leather armor while dealing quite a lot of damage. I've only played her until level 3 but it seemed like a pretty strong build. You could probably switch the race to some other and do just as well, but the +3 dr and fire damage retaliation when under 50% endurance just seemed to synergize very well with a monk.

 

 

Just because you can doesn't mean it's better.

 

The less focused a build the more poorly it does its job. Why have a character that does mediocre damage and is only somewhat durable when you can optimize a few durable characters to take the damage and then have damage builds that wreck everything?

Well, as the op said it's pretty damn boring to play a main character that deals absolutely no damage, but he also doesn't want a character who falls over when the enemy so much as looks in his direction. As it's perfectly possible and viable and even pretty effective to play the game on a balanced build (at least on medium difficulty, probably on hard as well), why would he make a build he doesn't find fun playing?

 

 

My argument is more with your medium attribute build and my point is that medium deflection builds specifically aren't worth it. Unless you're stacking deflection, you may as well get your durability elsewhere. DR preferably, since Con sucks.

 

I offered a solution I think is better.

 

Pallegina is not a very effective character - she's my favorite companion but she just sucks in combat period.

Actually my main reason to get 14 resolve and perception was the dialogue options. I just used the build as an example of one that I tried which was balanced around tanking and doing damage, and seemed to work well at least in the early game. I'm not saying it's the best, but it was still effective and fun to play. I think you and many others on this board are putting way too much emphasis on the importance of stat builds, while they actually matter way less than what class and talents you have and what equipment you use. I mean Eder only has 12 perception and 13 resolve and he's pretty much immortal with the right items and talents. People are saying that you're gimping your character unless you are minmaxing stats (which clearly led to OP creating a crappy, unfun character) while it's simply not the case.

 

In my party Pallegina has almost caught up with Eder in damage even though she has been in the party for maybe half as long, and she can also easily tank two enemies at a time. I don't see how she sucks in combat.