[Class Build] Blunderbuss Cipher: Hard/PotD difficulty

[Nobear]

There are. Just go bounty hunting.

 

Cool. I haven't finished all the bounties yet, but I just found another unique robe...

 

 

still early in Act 3: hidden in a house in Elm's Reach

 

Edited July 22, 2015 by Nobear

[Boeroer]

Yeah - after I found that accidentially I turned every stone in Twin Elms. But generally I think that the unique robes in PoE are not so much better than the ones you can enchant by yourself (excluding the superb enchantment because it's very limited).

[Dr. Hieronymous Alloy]

Ok, a general update for all the various patches, changes, and new information that's come out.

 

The biggest change is obviously that Perception now buffs Accuracy. I went into this review thinking the difference was getting overstated, but it really does make a big difference, especially on PotD. On Normal and Hard difficulty it isn't as big an issue  -- you get so many buffs to Accuracy just from weapon enchantments and basic spells, additional boosts are mostly wasted. On PotD, though, monsters get a +15 buff to all defenses, flat, right from the start. That's actually a big deal and means it's a lot harder to hit things on PotD, which in turn means that you get increased return from each additional point of accuracy. This is especially true at the start of the game, when you've got the fewest buffs to Accuracy.

 

This means there's even more of a premium on selecting Wood Elf as your ranged cipher choice.

 

So  for initial stat allocation, let's look at what each stat gives.

 

Might gives a boost to your damage, physical and with spells. This boost is actually slightly less than a 3% boost per point, because Might multiplies base damage, not extra damage from Lash type effects, which are calculated separately -- and Soul Whip, which you have right from the start, is a Lash-type effect. The more additional effects like that you gain, the less your marginal DPS increase from each point of Might (relative to what you'd get from boosting other stats instead). You can't neglect this stat, though, even on a pure-controller build, because you still need physical damage to gain focus.

 

Con is still a dump stat but because it now gives or takes 5% per point -- rather than 3% when the initial guide was written -- you can't dump it as hard. This is especially true on PotD where you need more survivability.

 

Dexterity gives a flat 3% boost to your attack speed and casting speed. This is just good with no real drawbacks.

 

Perception is now supremely important.  It makes sure everything hits; not just your weapons, but also your Powers. It'll increase chances of critical hits with spells, meaning longer durations. And you'll have fewer missed / wasted powers (which hurt Ciphers more than other classes, since you have to generate the focus again). In mathematical Damage-Per-Second terms, the marginal gain from each additional point of Accuracy is dependent on the opponent's Defense score, but against PotD opponents it seems to generally give an average damage boost comparable to what you'd get from boosting Might (i.e., slightly sub-3%), while also buffing the durations of your Powers (indirectly, through criticals and fewer Grazes), which Might doesn't do. (Admittedly I'm still working out the math here; it kinda needs a chart, graphing expected damage vs. opponent's defense differential). 

 

Int remains a very important stat for durations and areas of effect, especially if you're trying to play a controlly cipher.

 

Resolve is your true dump stat because you want to stay out of melee as much as possible.

 

As to weapons I think the Blunderbuss is still a very solid choice. There's a good argument for re-specializing in bows at max level once you get Time Parasite, but at that point, you've played almost the entirety of the game. The Blunderbuss remains the single highest-damage weapon in the game, especially if using Lead Spitter and Penetrating Shot, and Ruffian specialization lets you also use Sabers, which are a very effective and high-damage melee alternative (and they do Slashing damage, useful against Pierce-immune creatures). Bows can give you a more "steady stream" of focus but the first moments of most fights are decisive and there is a big advantage in packing the heaviest alpha strike you can, and a blunderbuss does that. 

 

So overall I think the general advice in this build is still good as of this writing, with the caveat that when building your character initially you should emphasize Perception over Might, especially if playing on PotD. Overall, I think the recommended starting stat split is probably something along the lines of 10/8/19/19/19/3 for a wood elf Cipher on PotD.

 

Talents and Powers have been tweaked around slightly (phantom foes isn't quite as bad) but overall the same recommendations seem valid.

 

For talents, one change might be to the *order* you take things in; I'd now recommend taking Draining Whip at level 4 and waiting till level 6 for Ruffian talent, for example, because now that starting focus is lower gaining focus is at a higher premium. Depending on your personal miss rate and what buffs you're getting from the rest of the party, you may want to prioritize Marksman talent as well if playing on PotD. But the basic talent list is still the same.

 

Later in the game, once you've accumulated a lot of accuracy buffs, it may be worthwhile to re-spec, take some points out of Perception, and move them back into Might; if you're always getting critical hits anyway, another point of Perception does nothing for you (for a more mathematical example, moving from +44 to hit to +45 to hit grants only a 0.8% boost in DPS). But that's something i'll have to playtest more.

 

I'll keep updating this thread for any changes in White March II. 

Edited January 13, 2016 by Dr. Hieronymous Alloy

[Raven Darkholme]

Ok...

 

Totally agree on your points.

May I add, that Ectopsychic Echo makes your cipher almost invulnerable to enemies meleeing it?

That's why you can completely dump RES and CON.

Foes aggroing you will get melted by Echo, combine that with a little micro and turn all your other ranged chars on whoever attacks the cipher and you will hardly take damage.

[Wolken3156]

IMO, stat priority should be Dexterity > Intelligence > Perception > Might > Constitution > Resolve. Dexterity helps with some of the slower casting powers as well as your weapon attack speed. Intelligence gives a boost to the duration of their powers which is extremely important. Perception is really good, since helps your powers graze less and crit more often. Since the duration for a lot of their powers is a tad bit shorter than the other casters, they value crits a lot.

 

That said, I'd still drop Con and Res all the way down. No amount of Con will change the fact your Cipher will die in no time flat if they take any damage.

 

 

As for talk on powers, in regards to the first post...

Level 1: There's no mention of Antipathetic Field, which is insanely damaging. Granted, its a nightmare to use effectively, but the huge amount of damage it can deal is really hard to ignore. Whisper of Treason actually has a few advantages over Puppet Master. For one, it has much lower Focus cost, secondly Whisper of Treason's range is much more ideal for a ranged Cipher. Puppet Master's range is only 5m, which requires the Cipher to be very close to an enemy target to use, which can be dangerous.

 

Level 2: Even with the nerf, I'd still say Mental Binding is a pretty potent power, since attacking a paralyzed target is an excellent way to generate focus. Phantom Foes has very long duration, so its a fairly decent Deflection debuff now plus it adds a short Frightening effect which can help your powers land easier. Plus if you decide to take Apprentice's Sneak Attack, it'll give yourself a decent damage buff as well. Psychovampiric Shield's buff effect isn't really that great unless there's heat on the Cipher. The main reason you would use this though is that its -10 Resolve on a target. That's really strong for a debuff at this point of the game. Its easily one of the most potent and useful powers a Cipher gets since -10 Resolve basically means a massive penalty to Concentration, Deflection and Will, the latter being really important for a Cipher!

 

Recall Agony is the Cipher's answer to Combusting Wounds (Though certainly nowhere near as good). It can be very damaging with the right setup though, so it is worth using to an extent.

 

Level 3: Pain Link can be a very powerful "AoE" attack if you cast it on your tank and can also be used outside of battle. Secret Horrors I feel is a must have since its an AoE Sickened that targets Will, which is very useful for lowering Fort defenses, which also means making Amplified Wave (when you get it) much more potent. Soul Ignition is pretty strong, but I prefer the other powers.

 

Level 4: Wild Leech would be really good if it wasn't for its random nature. Nothing else to add though. I'm not fan of the AoE powers, I'd rather use Secret Horrors, Phantom Foes or Amplified Wave instead when dealing with multiple targets. Usually I just skip one and grab a lower level power I missed. Mind Lance is pretty dang strong though, but if I'm going to go out my way to position for it, I might as well position for Ectopsychic Echo anyway.

 

Level 5: Borrowed Instinct deals damage to an enemy's Intelligence and Perception which is really good on its own but even better it also gives the Cipher a bonus to all their defenses and their accuracy. Far more useful than Detonate IMO, which isn't really worth the Focus cost. Plus if it kills a target, it explodes it into an AoE, which will likely harm your own allies more than the enemies. Ringleader isn't really that great either on a ranged Cipher IMO, since its range is painfully short. If it doesn't work on the intended target you put the Cipher at incredible risk.

 

Level 6: Disintegration is the Cipher's most powerful damage over time power, however its range is painfully short, so its hard to justify its use on a ranged Cipher. Mind Plague is much better than Ringleader, since it has a faster casting time, affects a much wider area and doesn't force the Cipher to be close to enemies. Confuse isn't as good as Dominate or Charm, but I still prefer it over Ringleader. Although it is hard to justify its use over Amplified Wave, which is still the best thing about a Cipher.

 

So yeah, normally for a ranged Cipher I would run:

Level 1 - Mind Wave, Antipathetic Field, Whisper of Treason, Eyestrike

Level 2 - Mental Binding, Phantom Foes, Psychovampiric Shield, Recall Agony

Level 3 - Ectopsychic Echo, Secret Horrors, Pain Link, Soul Ignition

Level 4 - Body Attunement, Pain Block, Wild Leech

Level 5 - Borrowed Instinct, Tactical Meld

Level 6 - Amplified Wave, Mind Plague

Level 7 - Time Parasite

 

I suppose I could run Stasis Shell over Wild Leech or Recall Agony. Its not a terrible power, but you can get the same thing from Beetle Shell, which a Druid has access to much earlier.

 

Anyway that's all my opinion. Feel free to disagree.

Edited January 13, 2016 by Wolken3156

[Dr. Hieronymous Alloy]

Good points. I think there is definitely an argument for valuing Dexterity over Int, but it seems like a coinflip and I'm not sure which side of things I come down on. There is also a certain minimum Might necessary just to make sure you can punch past DR, but it's been too long since I played the late-game for me to really pinpoint how much that is. 

 

As to Con, you can take it low, but take it to 3 and you're going to get one-shotted every fight on PotD; you need to be able to survive at least one or two hits. It might be worth dropping down to 6 Con and putting those two into Might -- so our hypothetical wood elf would then have 12/6/19/19/19/3 -- but anything lower than that is probably going to require an excessive amount of micromanagement and reloading, at least for me. Maybe less if you managed to grab a +Con or +End item fairly early? If you can get away with taking Con lower than that, you're a better player than I am and don't need this advice

 

As to powers, yeah, a lot of the recommendations above are general ones for people who are new to the class. As you say there are a few powers that really come into their own with specific party makeups (i.e., ciphers and rogues) or once you learn what you're doing (antipathetic field). Some powers --Whisper is a good example here -- are decent but are at the same level as even better powers, while also having alternatives at less congested levels.

 

 I also tend to prioritize fast-cast powers, so some things that would be good in the abstract, I never personally use because they take too long (psychovampiric shield). And some of the late-game powers I've just never tried out -- the beta only ran from levels 4-8 and there was no respec option. 

Edited January 14, 2016 by Dr. Hieronymous Alloy

[Blazin]

IMO, stat priority should be...

Exactly what i needed as i'm new to the cipher class. Thnx a lot!

[Raven Darkholme]

@H. Alloy

3 Con is not as harsh as it sounds.^^

The 6 Con you talked about, is what I use for my SOLO Wizard.^^

And as mentioned before Ecto Echo saves you from aggroers.

On my 3 chicks playthrough I had very low con, too:

With a full party this is even easier.

 

@Wolken

In the end it doesn't matter if you prioritise Dex, Int or Per, since they are all very good.

I always take Per or Int, but in the end it comes down to having 2 points more or less.

[Dr. Hieronymous Alloy]

@H. Alloy

3 Con is not as harsh as it sounds.^^

The 6 Con you talked about, is what I use for my SOLO Wizard.^^

And as mentioned before Ecto Echo saves you from aggroers.

On my 3 chicks playthrough I had very low con, too:

 

 

 

Yeah, but Wizards have a lot of tanking tools Ciphers don't More importantly though I feel like going below 6 Con takes either a lot of reloading or a lot of game knowledge  that the average person looking up a guide doesn't have yet (or they wouldn't need to look up a guide!); if nothing else, you need to know which targets are likely to one-shot you and prioritize them, etc. Expert players can probably get away with shaving a point or two more off, sure, but I think in a general guide you want to allow for some wiggle room.  

 

Admittedly this is more a matter of personal feel though than anything else -- functionally we're arguing over comma placement. 

Edited January 14, 2016 by Dr. Hieronymous Alloy

[Raven Darkholme]

 

@H. Alloy

3 Con is not as harsh as it sounds.^^

The 6 Con you talked about, is what I use for my SOLO Wizard.^^

And as mentioned before Ecto Echo saves you from aggroers.

On my 3 chicks playthrough I had very low con, too:

 

 

 

Yeah, but Wizards have a lot of tanking tools Ciphers don't More importantly though I feel like going below 6 Con takes either a lot of reloading or a lot of game knowledge  that the average person looking up a guide doesn't have yet (or they wouldn't need to look up a guide!); if nothing else, you need to know which targets are likely to one-shot you and prioritize them, etc. Expert players can probably get away with shaving a point or two more off, sure, but I think in a general guide you want to allow for some wiggle room.  

 

Admittedly this is more a matter of personal feel though than anything else -- functionally we're arguing over comma placement. 

 

Yeah, well the video I linked has a 4 con cipher in it.^^

But yeah as you say personal taste.

[Dr. Hieronymous Alloy]

Ok, now this is hopelessly outdated. It's still getting me "likes" though which concerns me. Moderators or someone, can the first post be edited with a "this is outdated don't use" or something?

[Abalon]

Let's make a new guide! I still think the new mental binding is very good is the new soul bound bow good for ciphers? It's now as opposed as it is on my ranger but meh

[Wolken3156]

Let's make a new guide!

Challenge accepted. This may take a while.

[Dr. Hieronymous Alloy]

 

Let's make a new guide!

Challenge accepted. This may take a while.

 

The problem is I can think of at least three cipher builds that look viable now, but I'm not going to have playtime to test any of them until WM 2 comes out at least.

 

First is blunderbuss CC-focused cipher with max dex/int/per, 6 con, 3 resolve, as above, but a different power set given the current revisions.

 

Second is a high might, low-int cipher focused on damage dealing powers or powers with fixed aoe/duration (beams, etc.)

 

Third is a retaliation melee cipher.

 

I suspect there are viable builds for all three but it's gonna take a lot of time to tease them all out.

[Boeroer]

Retaliation melee cipher like my Backlash Beldam build should still work - maybe even better than before. Focus generation was over the top with this setup - now there will be even more focus. I would just skip the Fire Godlike and go for another race in order to wear Garodh's Chorus as soon as possible and then pair it with Sura's Supper Plate. 

 

The 6 RES 3CON cipher will get rushed all the time. Andwhy the blunderbuss? Not that it doesn't work - but Carow Golan doesn't do +4 focus per hit any more.

[Dr. Hieronymous Alloy]

Retaliation melee cipher like my Backlash Beldam build should still work - maybe even better than before. Focus generation was over the top with this setup - now there will be even more focus. I would just skip the Fire Godlike and go for another race in order to wear Garodh's Chorus as soon as possible and then pair it with Sura's Supper Plate. 

 

The 6 RES 3CON cipher will get rushed all the time. Andwhy the blunderbuss? Not that it doesn't work - but Carow Golan doesn't do +4 focus per hit any more.

Blunderbuss is still the highest per-swing alpha strike weapon in the game, even more than an arquebus, and the ruffian group has a nice overall synergy with pistol, saber, club, etc. Only weakness of blundy is high-DR enemies and the cipher has the tools to address that.

[Boeroer]

That's right. If you want to target lower DR foes anyway (as you should do) then blunderbuss is good. It's even better if you have means of lowering DR (Expose Vulnerabilities for example).

[xakos]

Ok, i created a cipher post 3.0 patch (on last 2.x patch) with that guide, playing on hard difficulty, as for now (character level 5-6) i got no real problems, do you think im able to play along with this build (maybe except from choosing the same powers, but i may reskill), or is there a chance i run into truble later on? Ive read they want to buff the cipher with some future patch? maybe just go on and try?

[xakos]

Ok, i created a cipher post 3.0 patch

I meant pre 3.0 patch of course...

btw no edit function here?

[Dr. Hieronymous Alloy]

Ok, i created a cipher post 3.0 patch (on last 2.x patch) with that guide, playing on hard difficulty, as for now (character level 5-6) i got no real problems, do you think im able to play along with this build (maybe except from choosing the same powers, but i may reskill), or is there a chance i run into truble later on? Ive read they want to buff the cipher with some future patch? maybe just go on and try?

 

 

This guide is still probably good enough to get you through the game but there have been MANY changes, especially in the 3.0 patch, and overall it's wrong in too many places for me to actually recommend people follow it. 

[Boeroer]

 

Ok, i created a cipher post 3.0 patch

I meant pre 3.0 patch of course...

btw no edit function here?

 

I guess you have too few posts. If you get more you can edit - I think...?

[Elric Galad]

That's right. If you want to target lower DR foes anyway (as you should do) then blunderbuss is good. It's even better if you have means of lowering DR (Expose Vulnerabilities for example).

The good point with Blunderbuss is that it shares common type with Pistol. In case of animat national day, just pick up the magnum.

[Boeroer]

 animat national day

[Koth]

There is already a great Cipher 3.0 / WM2 guide on youtube here: 

 

Here is a brief run down / summarisation of the video: 

 

Race

 

Wood-elf (or any other, doesn't really matter too much)

 

Attributes

 

MIG: Max

CON: 10

DEX: 10

PER: Max

INT: Max

RES: 3

 

Background

 

Cultural (+might)

 

DEX isn't as useful on ciphers as the majority of their most useful powers are fast cast anyway. Consequently you can leave DEX at 10 or possibly take some out of CON to put into DEX. 

 

Powers

 

Level 1: Whispers of Treason, Antipathetic Field, Soul Shock (The Former two of these are your bread and butter)

Level 2: Amplified Thrust (Currently insane due to the fact that it returns more focus than it costs to cast, possibly bugged), Mental Binding, Psychovampiric Shield, Recall Agony, Mind Blades

Level 3: Echtopsychic Echo, Puppet Master (More reliable but 3 times less efficient than Whispers of Treason)

Level 4: Nothing here matters, as everything is too inefficient for the cost get whatever you want

Level 5: See level 4 powers

Level 6: Amplified Wave, Disintegration (Note, do not deal the killing blow with disintegration as you will lose all loot from the body)

Level 7: Time Parasite

Level 8: Reaping Knives (Cast on a DW rogue / barbarian & never run out of focus again), Defensive Mindweb (When you get this power you have just won the game as it trivialises all content from this point on)

 

Basically Hotkey: Whispers of Treason, Antipathetic Field, Amplified Thrust, Time Parasite, Reaping Knives and Defensive Mindweb. 

These spells will be used 99.999% of the game. 

 

Talents

 

Level 2: Biting Whip

Level 4: Penetrating Shot

Level 6: Draining Whip

Level 8: Marksman

Level 10*: Weapon Focus: Ruffian / Adventurer

Level 12: Apprentice's Sneak Attack

Level 14: Greater Focus

Level 16: Outlander's Frenzy

 

* At level 13 when you pick up the level 7 power time parasite, respec from the blunderbus to bows (Weapon Focus: Ruffian, to Weapon Focus: Adventurer) as the bonus from time parasite will max out attack speed bonus and you will shoot 3 times as fast.

 

Hope this helps, Cheers,

 

Koth.

[ottffsse]

There is already a great Cipher 3.0 / WM2 guide on youtube here:

Here is a brief run down / summarisation of the video:

Race

Wood-elf (or any other, doesn't really matter too much)

Attributes

MIG: Max

CON: 10

DEX: 10

PER: Max

INT: Max

RES: 3

Background

Cultural (+might)

DEX isn't as useful on ciphers as the majority of their most useful powers are fast cast anyway. Consequently you can leave DEX at 10 or possibly take some out of CON to put into DEX.

Powers

Level 1: Whispers of Treason, Antipathetic Field, Soul Shock (The Former two of these are your bread and butter)

Level 2: Amplified Thrust (Currently insane due to the fact that it returns more focus than it costs to cast, possibly bugged), Mental Binding, Psychovampiric Shield, Recall Agony, Mind Blades

Level 3: Echtopsychic Echo, Puppet Master (More reliable but 3 times less efficient than Whispers of Treason)

Level 4: Nothing here matters, as everything is too inefficient for the cost get whatever you want

Level 5: See level 4 powers

Level 6: Amplified Wave, Disintegration (Note, do not deal the killing blow with disintegration as you will lose all loot from the body)

Level 7: Time Parasite

Level 8: Reaping Knives (Cast on a DW rogue / barbarian & never run out of focus again), Defensive Mindweb (When you get this power you have just won the game as it trivialises all content from this point on)

Basically Hotkey: Whispers of Treason, Antipathetic Field, Amplified Thrust, Time Parasite, Reaping Knives and Defensive Mindweb.

These spells will be used 99.999% of the game.

Talents

Level 2: Biting Whip

Level 4: Penetrating Shot

Level 6: Draining Whip

Level 8: Marksman

Level 10*: Weapon Focus: Ruffian / Adventurer

Level 12: Apprentice's Sneak Attack

Level 14: Greater Focus

Level 16: Outlander's Frenzy

* At level 13 when you pick up the level 7 power time parasite, respec from the blunderbus to bows (Weapon Focus: Ruffian, to Weapon Focus: Adventurer) as the bonus from time parasite will max out attack speed bonus and you will shoot 3 times as fast.

Hope this helps, Cheers,

Koth.

Only change is that instead of one of weapon focus or marksman and greater focus I would pick quickswitch on island aumaua and arms bearer and quickswitch on other races - you want those early gunshots to do something devastating like cast two 7+ level powers at the beginning of the fight. Imagine a defensive mind Web and reaping knives to open a fight.

 

Outlander is still useful though as it basically makes you not need to use focus on time parasite. But even that can be interchanged with something else once you get time parasite.