[CLASS BUILD] Lady of Pain - High-speed, heavy-armored DPS Fighter

[lokiknight16]

so no real need for specific builds on these companions? saves on tons of micromanaging haha

[AndreaColombo]

No need in relation to the Lady of Pain build: She's as straightforward as it gets (buff, attack, kill, repeat.)

[Zeraili]

Hello im very interested in this build and I just wanted to ask how high is its dmg when compared to other dps classes like rogue or ranger?  Will dmg be higher with dual weapons like sabres?

[AndreaColombo]

Hello im very interested in this build and I just wanted to ask how high is its dmg when compared to other dps classes like rogue or ranger?  Will dmg be higher with dual weapons like sabres?

 

Hi Zeraili,

 

the 0-recovery variant of this build has the highest single-target melee DPS attainable, especially if you use Maegfolc Skull, Lilith's Shawl, and the +3 MIG resting bonus from Caed Nua. No point in dual wielding anything if you can reach 0 recovery with a two-hander, for two-handers pack the highest base damage to begin with (and estocs, in particular, come with a handy 5 DR bypass to boot)

 

Rogues have higher burst damage thanks to their class abilities (I've seen bursts as high as 300+ damage in other players' screenshots and videos), but likely fall behind this build in terms of sustained DPS. Rangers, on the other hand, can probably be built to have a higher single-target DPS if used ranged in conjunction with their pet (they can have very good AoE DPS too using Stormcaller with Twinned Arrows and Driving Flight.)

 

 

In the next few days I will be posting some updates and observations based on my most recent play through, so stay tuned

Edited March 13, 2016 by AndreaColombo

[Elric Galad]

In case someone wondered, Critical Defenses works with any defense, not just Deflection.

I believe it is a nice addition to Fighter's defenses.

[AndreaColombo]

As promised, here are some observations from my last play through:

• Triggered Immunity is a much better ability than I had initially thought. I gave it a spin and found it triggered more often than expected, making my character immune to the most immediate source of damage. It is a fine addition to any variant of this build, and I'd suggest taking it.
• Charge is basically the Fighter version of Flagellant's Path, and it deals a boatload of damage when your MIG's pumped. Being able to reach priority targets immediately and without a care for engagement or any physical obstacles has proven invaluable, to the point I now favor this ability over Sundering Blow. If you have two Fighters in your party, it might be a good idea to have Charge on one and Sundering Blow on the other—you never know when that -8 DR comes in handy—but if the Lady of Pain is your only Fighter, Charge is too good to pass.
• Potion of Llengrath's Displaced Image is an incredibly powerful consumable that I'd been iniquitously neglecting. +25 Deflection and +20 Reflex are a massive boost during tough fights; used in conjunction with Crowns for the Faithful, it can provide a whopping +50 Deflection at the beginning of the fight. It doesn't stack with Scroll of Defense, of course, but the latter still has value for everyone else in the party (and you get an extra +5 Deflection and +20 Reflex from the potion.) Totally worth having in your quick slots.
• Runner's Wounding Shot is good, but I found myself using it a lot less than I thought I would. Hobbled is a great affliction, but for as long as I have Knock Downs left, I'm gonna use those because prone enemies can't fight back. Once my Knock Downs are gone, I can usually get away with brute-forcing who's left and rarely need Runner's Wound Shot (however this might be due to my having Edér around for he, too, had this talent; things might be different if the LoP was the only one around that had it.) Many valid alternatives can be considered depending on your play style (Quick Switch or the damage vs. creature type talents being the most obvious candidates.)
• The Annihilation enchant appears to be actually working correctly, thus making the Lord of the Crits variant fully viable from right now. Rejoice!

Additionally, I have been following the discussion over Braven's excellent Fighter build, the Glass Tsunami. This inspired me to creating a fourth variant of the Lady of Pain, which I call—

 

 

Glass of Pain

Anything not explicitly mentioned below is to be considered unchanged from the build on post 96.

 

Attribute Scores

 

 

 

 

 

These are the final attribute scores, complete with a detailed breakdown:

 

MIG: 28 (18 base, +2 Aumaua, +1 The Living Lands, +1 Gift from the Machine, +1 Effigy's Resentment, +1 Galawain's Boon, +4 Maegfolc Skull)

 

CON: 7 (7 base)

 

DEX: 20 (17 base, +3 Ring of Thorns)

 

PER: 20 (15 base, +1 Song of the Heavens, +1 Mental Prowess, +3 Caed Nua resting bonus)

 

INT: 17 (12 base, +1 Mental Prowess, +4 Gwyn's Band of Union)

 

RES: 7 (6 base, +1 Mental Prowess)

 

Notes:

• Mental Prowess is the talent you get for choosing the peaceful solution to the fight with Llengrath. I'm keeping it into account at character creation to end up with a higher INT score; however, as Mental Prowess comes rather late in the game, you may want to start with 16 PER / 10 INT / 7 RES as with the regular LoP build and respec after getting the talent (if you're into this use of the respec feature.)
• The extra INT serves the purpose of extending the duration of your abilities—in particular Constant Recovery, which will make this variant virtually immortal. You can bring it up to 19 with Casità Casserole.

Talents & Abilities

 

 

 

Talents:

Weapon Focus

Weapon Mastery

Two-Handed Style

Bonus Knock Down

Savage Attack

Vulnerable Attack

Apprentice's Sneak Attack

Rapid Recovery

 

Notes:

• Even though I never list talents in a prescriptive order, for this variant I suggest taking Rapid Recovery earlier rather than later.

Abilities:

Knock Down

Disciplined Barrage

Confident Aim

Weapon Specialization

Armored Grace

Fearless OR Critical Defense

Charge

Triggered Immunity

 

 

 

Equipment

 

 

 

Head: Maegfolc Skull

Neck: Cloak of the Tireless Defender

Body: Sanguine Plate (enchanted to Legendary; Damage-proofed; Durgan-reinforced.)

Hands: Gauntlet's of Accuracy OR Gauntlets of Swift Action

Ring: Gwyn's Band of Union

Ring: Ring of Thorns

Boots: Frythr's Plated Greaves OR Boots of Speed OR Fenwalkers OR Boots of the Long March

Belt: Belt of Bountiful Healing

 

Notes:

• Maegfolc Skull is an all-around better choice than Sanguine Plate Helm for this build, even though I have generally stuck to the latter for aesthetic reasons. However, as MIG directly affects the amount of healing per tick you receive from Constant Recovery, for this variant it is important to pack as much as possible. The Skull also gives the Unbending ability, which is one of the staples of Braven's Glass Tsunami build; this way, you won't have to invest an ability point in it.
• Cloak of the Tireless Defender and Belt of Bountiful Healing complement your Constant Recovery + Rapid Recovery combo, which I suggest you further boost by selecting Heal Multiplier as your Survival resting bonus (with a score of 14 you should be able to get the third-tier version, which amounts to +60% healing received.) Add your stellar MIG score to the mix and, when fully buffed, your Endurance regeneration should be in the neighborhood of 22-23 per tick.
• As you're getting your MIG bonus from Maegfolc Skull, you no longer need to wear Pensiavi més Rei; better replace it with Gwyn's Band of Union to boost your INT and increase the duration of all your abilities—in particular, Constant Recovery.
• Last but not least, it seems that the healing from Shod-in-Faith doesn't stack with the bonus recovery from Cloak of the Tireless Defender. Better then to give the boots to someone else and replace them with another pair. My suggestion is Frythr's Plated Greaves, as their +3 DR bonus should stack with your armor's from patch 3.02 and will make up for the extra DR you lose by renouncing Hiro's Mantle (and will in fact be even better, as the bonus from the Greaves is universal.) The extra 5% attack speed penalty means you'll attack with 2% recovery instead of 0 if you play the 0-recovery variant—that's about 1 frame before DEX, so ... so close to 0 as it makes no difference. Alternatively, I offer a list of popular solutions above.

When all is said and done (and Champion's Boon is cast), this build's DR will look like this:

 

 

and all healing it receives will be increased by 169% (84% MIG + 60% Survival resting bonus + 25% Belt of Bountiful Healing). This means most enemies will hit for minimum damage all the time, and by the time they hit again, Constant Recovery will have ticked and healed you for 22-23 points of Endurance. For enemies who hit harder, there's Triggered Immunity. Voilà!

Edited March 16, 2016 by AndreaColombo

[Mocker22]

Hey man looks good. I've been running the Glass Tsunami setup to try it out and like both of these builds a bunch. I had been toying with the idea of a zero recovery LoP with a lot of Glass elements thrown in like your above mentioned post. I'm slowly slogging my way through endless paths right now at level 9....not to sure I'll be able to get all the pieces of the blade at my current level but we'll see. I was thinking I'd probably keep the fully drained Res and be able to keep his int even higher. I've been absolutely loving the increased durations. 25 sec + of Disciplined barrage and very long prones are great. I've been considering playing around with Clear Out since it would last so long in the cone. Might be a sick opening move as the mob streams towards you to allow the casters time to really set up the CC. I'll throw in some input here once I've tested it out some.

 

 

P.S. I'm pretty bad at using the loot charts. Is there any known "best" way to get the Gauntlets of Swift Action.

Edited March 15, 2016 by Mocker22

[AndreaColombo]

I have no magic formula for that, I'm afraid. So far I've just been lucky and found the gauntlets randomly (last time it was in Durgan's Battery); if all else failed, I'd just use the console and call it a day.

[Braven]

I like how this option fits in with the rest of Lady of Pain and mostly agree with your changes. I found that having a minimum res/con was actually going too far. Just a little below average in those ( like 6 - 8 ) is actually a more powerful distribution. Early game, I really liked the +2 int hat which is easy to get and the amulet of +25% healing (particularly if you get rapid recovery early). That is when the constant recovery is most important (particularly the duration) since you haven't got all the items yet to turn the fighter into an ultra fast killing machine.

 

Hopefully the lower INT won't hurt too much.

 

Another option I would suggest is "Unbroken" at level 11 (instead of fearless or critical defense). It can be a real lifesaver and I actually used it quite a bit. Because of the high MIGHT, it restores endurance back to full and gives defense bonuses. I strongly agree with "Charge" - I found that more useful than sundering blows. It does so much damage and is tactically invaluable by getting to the priority target.

Edited March 16, 2016 by Braven

[Braven]

I have no magic formula for that, I'm afraid. So far I've just been lucky and found the gauntlets randomly (last time it was in Durgan's Battery); if all else failed, I'd just use the console and call it a day.

 

I never found them in my fighter play through, which made me sad.

[Mocker22]

I like how this option fits in with the rest of Lady of Pain and agree with your changes.  I found that having a minimum res/con was actually going too far.  Just a little below average in those ( like 6 - 8 ) is actually a more powerful distribution.  Early game, I really liked the +2 int hat which is easy to get and the amulet of +25% healing (particularly if you get rapid recovery early).  That is when the constant recovery is most important (particularly the duration) since you haven't got all the items yet to turn the fighter into an ultra fast killing machine.  

 

Another option I would suggest is "Unbroken" at level 9 (instead of fearless or critical defense).  It can be a real lifesaver and I actually used it quite a bit.  Because of the high MIGHT, it heals for a ton.  I strongly agree with "Charge" - I found that more useful than sundering blows.  It does so much damage and is tactically invaluable by getting to the priority target.

I feel like the min Res is fine but min Con was really tough....if for no other reason than a lot of resting to regain Health.

[Braven]

The higher resolve and con matters more in this build since the +20 defense ability wasn't included. Resolve helps to avoid interrupts, which is the main benefit.

 

The biggest thing I would change is swapping the INT and PER stats. Perception mostly just adds a bit of extra accuracy, but INT does that and a lot more. The longer an enemy is prone, or barrage lasts, you (and your allies for prone enemies) have effectively a +20 accuracy boost. INT helps a lot of things for fighter including equipment effects (like the armor's frenzy, shod-in-faith boots, and cloak of tireless defender), the 3 knockdowns, watcher abilities, scrolls, a multitude of "instant cast" passive buffs like constant recovery, rapid recovery, triggered immunity, unbroken, unbending, activated barrage/defense buffs, frenzy, and more. All fighter abilities (and equipment powers) take zero additional action time to activate and can be used every encounter which makes long durations so good. No reason not to try and use them all.

 

That said, this build still has a decent INT, so maybe it is not a big deal. Also, wounding weapons seem to be negatively affected by INT, so PER might be better if using Tidefall and constant recovery duration is less important with a endurance-draining weapon, since at that point you are likely taking much less damage.

 

Another talent choice to consider is choosing between savage attack and weapon mastery. The difference is +10% damage modifier vs +5 accuracy. Most people prefer the accuracy gauntlets over the 10% damage modifier gauntlets, which is the same comparison as these two talents.

 

For boots, in the late game, I really like the +4 dex boots. Not only do you get the dex (to speed up your attack speed animation and do even more damage), but it comes with a whopping +3 lore. Granted, in a party you might have someone else better suited for the lore wearing the boots, but it is great for solo when you want to cast the "protection scrolls" for immunity to various status effects (aka priest replacement)

Edited March 16, 2016 by Braven

[Mocker22]

Not sure if it was mentioned in the Glass Tsunami thread, but there is a level 1 Priest spell that adds 30 conc and 10 will. In my opinion the best level one priest spell once you get leveled up some. I actually ended up using mastery on this and its now part of my regular buff rotation.

[AndreaColombo]

 Another option I would suggest is "Unbroken" at level 11 (instead of fearless or critical defense). It can be a real lifesaver and I actually used it quite a bit.

 

The reason I didn't consider it is that while the Glass Tsunami was built around soloing, the Lady of Pain was born with a full party in mind. When you solo, you need abilities like Unbroken a lot more since all fire is constantly focused on you. If one were to solo with the Glass of Pain, they might indeed get more mileage out of Unbroken than out of, say, Critical Defense.

 

Same goes for Vigorous Defense vs. Confident Aim.

 

The biggest thing I would change is swapping the INT and PER stats.

 

Can do. The difference is just 3 points and, in terms of Accuracy, they really aren't going to make that much of a difference for this build. At higher levels, a fully buffed Lady of Pain has Accuracy north of 140 and giving up 3 points from it to gain 12% extra duration from abilities is a fair deal.

 

This could be as easy as to simply swap the +3 resting bonus from Caed Nua from PER to INT—or you could start with a base score 3 points higher in INT and 3 points lower in PER if you wanted the higher INT from the very beginning.

 

 

Another talent choice to consider is choosing between savage attack and weapon mastery. The difference is +10% damage modifier vs +5 accuracy. Most people prefer the accuracy gauntlets over the 10% damage modifier gauntlets, which is the same comparison as these two talents.

 

I always take both as they stack and I'm a sucker for damage

 

For boots, in the late game, I really like the +4 dex boots. Not only do you get the dex (to speed up your attack speed animation and do even more damage), but it comes with a whopping +3 lore. Granted, in a party you might have someone else better suited for the lore wearing the boots, but it is great for solo when you want to cast the "protection scrolls" for immunity to various status effects (aka priest replacement)

 

The reason I didn't go for those (besides the fact that I generally give them to my Priest) is that the LoP already gets +3 DEX from Ring of Thorns, which comes packed with a handy +5 Reflex and bonus defense while Stuck or Prone. I could use the +4 DEX boots and free up a ring slot, but there aren't rings that would get me half as much mileage; Frythr's Plated Greaves, on the other hand, give that bonus to DR that is functional to the whole "take minimum damage and regenerate" concept

[Elric Galad]

The nice secondary effect of your build is that this character would be a premium scroll/items user. With all this might/per/int/dex plus natural accuracy !

 

Does anyone know if confident aim apply to spells (and charge) ?

Sorry I can't test myself for a few days.

[AndreaColombo]

The nice secondary effect of your build is that this character would be a premium scroll/items user.

 

To say nothing of Amaia's Codex, which lies comfortably in your pet slot!

 

Would test Confident Aim with spells but I don't have the ability on my current play through and I'm busy testing another build. Wording for the ability suggests it should work globally, however.

[Dr <3]

What is amaia codex?

 

Btw I'm testing your buils, they are doing DMG comparabile to a quite fully optimized shapeshift cat druid [wich recenlty had become the DPS gold standard, at last for ~15 sec] and they are really MORE resilient( don't die before shapeshift expires ;D) and much more durable, the output remains good also after the buffs end.

between new ispiration and what you writed i will try a solo run with a pale Elf warrior that dual wields bittercuts, because i want to free your LOP from her addiction to potion of deleterious alacrity ( they are bad for healt )

[AndreaColombo]

What is amaia codex?

 

You get it from one of the stronghold quests:

 

 

i want to free your LOP from her addiction to potion of deleterious alacrity ( they are bad for healt )

 

I tried to make her go to rehab; she said, "No, no, no."

[Blunderboss]

Can u recharge that codex by resting ?

[AndreaColombo]

Can u recharge that codex by resting ?

 

Nope. Once the charges are gone, they're gone.

 

They're very good, though—especially on high-MIG, high-INT builds.

[MaxQuest]

That codex is.. the best pet I ever seen. If Eder won't agree on this, I know who is going to slip next.

[Dr <3]

Just wondering : if you reach 0 attack recovery, there is a difference in attack speed between 1h weapon and 2h weapon?

I remember that a non-fast weapon in 1h have 30f attack + 60f recovery

In 2 weapon become 30f attack + 30f recovery. So the 2 weapon mode is kinda "faster" until you reach 0 recovery, in wich speed is equal.

But the speed of a 2h weapon ( es great sword) is the same of a sabre? In the case if you manage to reach 0 recovery with a 2hand weapon like in your " 0 recovery variant" you do the same number of attack every minute as using 2 sabres? In that case go for 2 weapon style have no meaning...

[AndreaColombo]

Average and Slow speed weapons both have an attack animation of 30 frames which can only be altered by DEX. Dual-wielding is faster for as long as a recovery time exists, and it makes it easier to reach 0 recovery. Once reached, however, speed will be the same if DEX is the same and two-handers will have higher DPS.

[Blades of Vanatar]

I am by no means an expert on game mechanics... but..... wouldn't any melee weapon with a crit modifier be the ideal weapon of choice once you reach 0 recovery? Of all the 'base' abilitiesof the various melee weapon types it seems to me only crit mod or DR bypass would be the standouts. Of course tuis is taking into consideration that by the time you reach 0 recovery it is later in game...

Edited March 18, 2016 by Blades of Vanatar

[AndreaColombo]

If a two-hander existed that had both Speed and Annihilation, it would indeed be a great choice. As this build tends to crit most of the time, that would result in minimum extra 7 points of damage versus the extra 5 provided by an estoc's DR bypass. However, DR bypass is more reliable and such a weapon does not exist anyway