3-4 Man PotD Party

[Hopekiller]

Hi!

So, I'm thinking I want to try running with a smaller group. The 6-man party feels abit unpersonal, but I don't understand the mechanics of the game well enough to attempt a solo run (nor do I want to, looks more tedious than fun tbh). I think a smaller group of 3-4 badasses will be fun.

 

However, as I said, I do not really understand the mechanics of the game, I just go with instinct and hope it somehow turns out well. I'm hereby asking for suggestions and tips on classes that mesh well together, and most importantly, how to distribute stats.

 

My favourite class is Chanter, so it will be my main character. For my PC I prefer a balanced statdistribution, since I don't want him to be a complete retard or a wuss. I'm thinking he will be a frontliner, likely a secondary tank\dps with his invocations. This will be a Wild Orlan.

From what I could deduce from MadDemiurg's analysis thread the stats looks something like:

MIG 17

CON 10

DEX 12

INT 19

PER 10

RES 10

 

However, this is probably build around a certain playstyle for solo, items etc. which I'm not sure is optimal with an actual group. Also, the low RES seems like denies me alot of conversational options.

 

Next up I need a Wizard. I'm actually thinking about using Aloth for this and build him as a melee dps with reach weapons. I'd like to use Aloth just to have some conversations etc. and he seems pretty messed up which is cool.

 

Last up is a Firegodlike Barbarian as my main tank\retaliate tank. Now, I am unsure if he will be strong enough to act as the main tank with no Priest in the group.

 

I found some builds for this and it's either:

(Keyen Moonlike Barb TCS)

MIG 16

CON 15

Dex 10

PER 3

INT 18

RES 16

 

or

 

(From another thread about a tanky Firegodlike ret barb pre-1.05)

MIG 19

CON 18

DEX 10

PER 8

INT 15

RES 8

 

Suggestions are welcome. Mostly on stats and party-composition. Skills and talents I can always freestyle or look up elsewhere. As a sidenote, Paladins are probably a good PC, but I don't wan't to be a Paladin and as I've understood it, NPC Paladins Faith and Conviction is not functioning properly.

 

So, I obviously know this can work since people are doing TCS etc., but will it be a good\decent group without abusing (game)mechanics and scrolls\figurines?

 

I will be using some scrolls, figurines etc. but probably not to a great extent.

 

From what I can deduce with my vastly inferior knowledge, it seems I will be lacking early damage and general survivability, so I might consider adding either a ranged Rogue (or another ranged DPS, since I have 3 melees) or a Priest (Durance would be an option as he seems like a badassmotherf*, but his DEX is so low)

Edited June 2, 2015 by Hopekiller

[Zwiebelchen]

Most TCS runs make heavy use of stealth, traps and figurines. So if you want to play "traditional", then I highly recommend having a least one "true tank" in your group.

 

Note that a properly specced wizard actually qualifies as a tank. And Aloth's stat distribution is actually pretty usable here aswell. Equip him with plate armor and a large shield and get arcane veil early for more difficult encounters (his armor is not bound to this character, so feel free to give it your barb or priest/druid).

You might still want an offtank in your group, though. Using your chanter as offtank might be the better idea here than using your barbarian.

You need at least one heavy hitter, so you can't afford to slap heavy armor on your barbarian just to allow him to take a few hits. Your barbarian should be your glass cannon.

For the fourth slot, I'd take either a druid or a priest. You need at least something with healing capabilities, or you will spend most of your money crafting healing scrolls... Druids have much higher offensive potential and you're lacking that, so I'd go with a druid.

 

You'll have a 20% XP advantage over going with a party of 6. So it probably won't take long for Aloth to reach the level at which wizards become really potent tanks.

 

Make sure to disable the autolevel option for companions, or Aloth will end up picking blast at second level.

For his first talents, you definitely want 1H+Shield style, Arcane Veil and the +1 melee binding. Also equip him with a weapon that adds another +1 melee binding. You'll mostly use spells for dealing damage later, so anything that boosts weapon damage is a waste of talents. Stay away from cautious attack. It doesn't stack with other deflection buffs.

 

Also remember that when you hire custom-made companions, they will start one level below yours. Minimize the XP gap by getting them shortly after a level up.

Edited June 2, 2015 by Zwiebelchen

[Kaigen42]

I agree with Zwiebelchen that moving your Chanter into more of a tanky build might be a good call. Pumping up Perception and Resolve will require some sacrifices, but it will improve your conversation options and deflection considerably. You might be able to get away with sacrificing some Int (along with Dex) to get those stats up, as Int mainly affects the radius of your chants, and with a smaller party combat is likely to be considerably less spread out, meaning you don't have to cover as much of an area. That's assuming that you're going to be using powerful phrases like The Dragon Thrashes as opposed to throwing out lots of invocations. That said, Chanters have a lower base deflection than other classes and no class-specific way to improve it, so you won't want to use your Chanter as your main-tank. They'll be a little squishy for the first few levels until you can get Weapon and Shield style and Cautious Attack in place to bump up Deflection.

 

Druid is also a good call, as they have more efficient healing than a Priest, and better offensive powers to boot. IE Mod has an option to fix Faith and Conviction for NPC Paladins, but using Aloth as a mage-tank will give you more tactical flexibility. Throwing a Barbarian into the mix means your entire party has good AoE damage potential, which will be handy for negating your numbers disadvantage. If you're worried about healing, the Moon Godlike Barbarian might be a better option, especially considering that the Fire Godlike retaliation build had its offensive power cut down by the One Stands Alone fix in 1.05. It's still a good build, mind you, but the Moonlike's passive healing is also a big plus. I think both of the builds you posted are overdoing it on Con and underserving Dexterity, though.

[Hopekiller]

What I've been doing with an offtank chanter earlier is choose Wild Orlan, dumpster MIG and DEX and max out PER, CON, INT and RES. But, since chanters require so little micromanagement I think he's suitable for using scrolls, however the low MIG and DEX hurts in that regard. And I was watching MadDemiurgs solo Adra Dragon and the frostinvocation did SO much damage which seemed fun

 

So, my question regarding that, is it ok to dumpster MIG and DEX and just max the other stats?

 

Also, a reason why I've been abit hesitant to use Aloth as a tank, despite how good I've read it is, is that it seems very reliant on using spells, which requires me to rest alot early on (which I kinda find tedious to do due to a low spec laptop and long loading times). However, I might try it out despite of that.

 

I'm not much of an RP'er, but I do like to go with the theme of the game and I don't feel like druids have any place in the game. But despite that, how would I distribute the stats? Would it be like a Priest? (I usually just dumpster CON and PER and max MIG, DEX, INT and any leftover to RES).

 

With the suggestions my party looks like

Aloth - Tank and CC

Chanter - Offtank

Barbarian - Melee DPS (reach weapons for doorway fighting?)

Druid - Healer\DPS?

[Kaigen42]

I would hesitate to dump Might on a Chanter, since some chants/invocations rely on it to modify their damage output. Dex can be safely dumped, though. You're right that a Chanter is a great character to have as a designated scroll user (as a side benefit, high lore will give you even more conversation options).

 

Druid stat build is basically the same as the Priest stat build, so you're on target there. If it helps you from a thematic standpoint, keep in mind that a major part of the plot is figuring out what's causing children to be Hollowborn, which represents a huge break in the natural cycle that a Druid would certainly be motivated to investigate.

 

As for the Barbarian, being having a reach weapon on hand for choke points isn't a bad idea. Soldier weapons are probably your best option for that, as you can switch between great swords and pikes depending on the situation. If you were more inclined to dual wield, you could go with Peasant weapons for spears and quarterstaves, but there aren't many good quarterstaves in the game, and one of the better spears requires you to make a specific choice in order to obtain it.

[Hopekiller]

How does this spread seem for the chanter?

MIG 10

CON 15

DEX 3

PER 16

INT 16

RES 18

 

Should I re-allocate some points from CON -> MIG?

[Zwiebelchen]

How does this spread seem for the chanter?

MIG 10

CON 15

DEX 3

PER 16

INT 16

RES 18

 

Should I re-allocate some points from CON -> MIG?

 

Definitely. CON is dead weight on almost all characters (even tanks). No real reason to go beyond 10 imho. Invest those points into DEX or MGT to improve his weapon and scroll damage.

Edited June 4, 2015 by Zwiebelchen

[Hopekiller]

Well, it's too late now

 

I'm now entering Searing Falls after clearing everything so far area by area without rushing ahead to pick up better gear to make fights easier. I did cheese the Raedric fight (pulling the guards into the room) and Maerwald (by aggroing spiders), everything else has been bruteforced. 

 

I think I did mess up my druid quite abit tho. I took marksman and gunner with the intent of having him use an arquebus. It seems good on priest, but I've never played druid before so I wasn't aware of the low range on several spells nad my druid ends up dead alot of the times.

 

I'll take some screenshots later cause I need some advice on my gear and some of the abilities I've picked and have yet to pick for my casters (never played melee tank wiz or druid before)