PoTD Trial of Iron Advice.

[Torm51]

Currently I am still alive after Maerwold/Raedric fight and the Spider Queen.  So it cant be that terrible but I suspect late game this party may cost me.  Party Set up is what is suspect and I need help with.  I have tried a 3 tank set up to make up for the extra mobs and it does give me a lot more staying power as I don't have to worry about my softees getting chewed up.. offtank 3 will pick them up.  Party is as follows:

 

Pc Paladin tank Darcozzi for accuracy buffs.

 

Eder tank spec

 

Kana offtank spec probably a mistake as his stats don't lend to tanking but his dex is low too so his dps is meh.  I gave him weapon and shield style and cautious attack and he can take on 2 bad guys without getting seriously hurt.  He cannot tank heavy hitters or 3+ mobs.  Obviously he doesn't have the stats for it. But PHANTOM is CLUTCH early game.

 

Rogue Warbow specced. I think she does good damage but isn't as good as my Blunderbuss Island Aumaua with 4 Blunderbusses at least not up front.  maybe in a long boss fight.  I don't know.

 

Durance standard priest buff/debuff stuff (doesn't get pro until level 9 I hate per rest classes early game).

 

Aloth CC/Damage (I have slicken, Accuracy buff, chill fog, missiles and Miasma but I should of taken blind first.  that's next level).

 

So obviously my burst is low which is why I think end game this is a no go.  Outlasting hard hitters like The Master Below with non min/maxed builds can cost you. my tanks will have about 140 deflection and high 110+ saves if I get there which is good but not enough to outlast her so she has to die FAST.  Would switching out Kana be safe? it has worked well early game but I am afraid the dps will just not be enough late game and ill succumb to bad rolls since the fight lasted too long.  Granted by then he will have Ogres and If I stick with 3 tanks he will have the time to cast it. 

 

What would you guys switch in this party set up?

Edited June 17, 2015 by Torm51

[SpectreX]

That is an interesting party setup indeed. Though I'm currently on my PoTD Trial of Iron run as well. Try this for size...a dual wielding Priest. Its crazy hard lol, though oddly enough works fairly decent as my PC. I'm not an expert on min/maxing so I can't really throw my advice out there though I don't think your setup is bad at all. I think two main tanks and an off tank to make up for extra mobs is a good idea. I can see how sustained fights towards endgame isn't an ideal situation, but its better to be able to sustain than to get wiped if you can't funnel mobs. 

[Psychevore]

Make an entire party is my advice.

 

1 tank (Paladin), 1 off tank (Barbarian/Monk) and 4 glass cannon spellthrowers.

 

Or like I'm doing at the moment: 1 fighter, 5 glass cannons (Rogue, Ranger, Wizard, Druid, Priest)

[Torm51]

With so many enemies on PoTD they must get to your back line. You just burn whatever gets through the tank?

[MadDemiurg]

For PotD ToI i would add some defensive talents for your spellcasters, for instance carrying a light shield does not hinder spellcasting, so switching to weapon and shield when engaged and picking W&S style talent is a solid option. Fully dps specced wizard can tank very well with proper spells and abilities.

 

For optimal party I would also go full custom. Aloth, Durance and Kana are all very far from optimal. You also have too little dps (rogue has no aoe and none of your casters is optimal for dps).

 

There are quite a few cheesy combinations you can pull off with a full party, for instance something like priest + paladin + 4 tank chanters will be a complete cakewalk for the most part.

 

You can also swap some party members during playthrough if you're not particularly fond of their performance at a given level.

[Torm51]

Agreed.  I am reforming the party for sure.

[Nobear]

So far I have only played through Act 1 on PoTD (including all side quests and tasks). This is with my main as a paladin tank and Eder as the other tank. Then I have Aloth, Durance and Kana, and a hired adventurer Cipher that I plan to replace with Grieving Mother because I enjoy the game more with companions (their funny banter, backstories, etc.) There were only two cases where I ever had trouble with enemies attacking members other than my two tanks. One is fighting spirits that teleport, and the other is those female tree-like creatures (forget their name) as you first approach Defiance Bay, who summon blights on your back row.

 

For both of these cases, or for the occasional mistake you might make in properly positioning the fight, what I did was have my tanks stay put while my four DPS all focus fired the offending target. It usually died quickly, before it could kill anyone. Alternately, I have tried putting plate armor on all my characters when I'm about to fight shades, focusing on the shades first, and this did not work as well. The DPS hit from playing this defensively outweighs the benefit. Your back row dies slower, but it eventually still dies and the enemies don't. You can get into situations where, if you have a lot of healing ability, your party members will eventually die from lost health even though their endurance is being replenished.

 

The other important thing is crowd control, to survive a messy situation, but also to prevent it. With the summoning she-trees or whatever they are, a Cipher can cast Mental Binding right away or after her alpha shot, then a priest can lay down a couple of Repulsing Seals to incapacitate them much longer than Slicken can. Then they don't summon blights and the fight becomes much more controlled.

 

In retrospect, I am questioning my decision to dump Con on my paladin tank. As I described can happen if your back row plays defensively when attacked, there were fights in Act 1 where my paladin tank died or almost died from loss of health, not endurance. I'm thinking of starting yet again (am I ever going to finish Act 2? LOL) with a Moon Godlike Darkozzi tank specced 10/14/4/18/14/18. I had a build like this but Shieldbearer, and I am thinking Darkozzi is the better choice for PoTD because their FoD buff actually lasts a whole tough fight instead of just a little slice of it.

Edited June 18, 2015 by Nobear

[Torm51]

That's good advice and very similar to what I have been doing.  Though I find that in act 1 even heavy hitters with high accuracy have A LOT of issues hitting stuff.  Even with my priest buffing them with accuracy.  I am playing a Paladin tank as well and I just do not have room for high INT (I don't dump it though leav it at 10) in order to get my back liners with Zealous Focus.  So I just take Zealous Endurance which is very good anyway for tanks and my front line.  The graze procs a lot (or maybe I am lucky) and its more DT. 

 

Currently I am running a similar build to your planned Moon Like except I playing a Coastal Aumaua with a similar build to your Godlike except he has more dex and 12/12 str and con.  My original Moon Godlike who I beat the game with (Trial of Iron Hard) was a Moonlike with 4 dex and I just cant stand how slow it is.  I know its good for dumping though on a tank.  If I did that I could get more Fort from more Con/Might or more Int but I just hate playing such a slow character.  At 8 Dex you really don't notice it at least and you get a few more points for Fort saves.

Edited June 19, 2015 by Torm51