Cipher Blunderbuss/Pistol

[ChaosMaker90]

Hello

 

I made a decision that i will play Gun-Cipher charater, propably wood elf. I have some questions about this class since im beginner.

 

1. What are the best "spells"/powers for Cipher Gunslinger ? (he will propably use bow at the begining)

 

2. What do you think are the best talents for this build ?

 

3. What stat distribiution whoud you guys sudgest ? i give him something like 18 MI 6 PE 16 DE 10CON 18 INT and 10 Resolve.. is that good ? Patch is 1.6 if i recall....

[Nobear]

Hello

 

I made a decision that i will play Gun-Cipher charater, propably wood elf. I have some questions about this class since im beginner.

 

1. What are the best "spells"/powers for Cipher Gunslinger ? (he will propably use bow at the begining)

 

2. What do you think are the best talents for this build ?

 

3. What stat distribiution whoud you guys sudgest ? i give him something like 18 MI 6 PE 16 DE 10CON 18 INT and 10 Resolve.. is that good ? Patch is 1.6 if i recall....

 

Welcome!

 

Keep in mind that, even though 2.0 is coming soon, it will have a respec feature and you can take your current game into it, so you really don't have to worry about getting things "perfect" in 1.0.6. That said, there are many ways to play, but I've beaten the game on PoTD with a gun cipher in the party, and here's how I would build a new one in 1.0.6 from that experience:

 

1) Powers

 

-Level 1: Eyestrike, Antipathetic Field*, Whisper of Treason

*Antipathetic Field does TONS of damage, but does friendly fire and is hard to position. The easiest level 1 AOE nuke to position is Soul Shock, but it has a small range and you'll outgrow it quickly.

 

-Level 2: Mental Binding, Psychovampiric Shield, Mind Blades. Mental Binding is the super-essential one. The others less so, and honestly you'll rarely have enough spare Focus to use Psychovampiric Shield to good effect, but Recall Agony doesn't work at all in 1.0.6, and Phantom Foes is bugged. I've submitted/updated bug reports for both of these.

 

-Level 3: By far the most essential one here is Ectopsychic Echo. It's like Antipathetic Field without friendly fire. I love to cast it on a summon and have that summon run around behind the enemy, making all enemies melt between you and the summon. I generally like debuffs, but the debuffs in this tier are not the strongest for the Focus they cost, so you may not use them very often. I took Secret Horrors and ended up using it like once lol. Puppet Master is kind of a wash with Whisper of Treason costing less Focus and having a longer range. Basically, as long as you have Ectopsychic Echo, pick whatever else sounds cool and you can't really go wrong.

 

-Level 4: Body Attunement and Pain Block for sure. You probably won't need them in most fights TBH, but in the hardest fights they are great to have. The other level 4 powers all basically have better alternatives in other tiers IMHO, so again, just pick whatever third one sounds cool. I took Silent Scream FWIW, but I hardly ever used it. Instead I used Mental Binding even into endgame for CC, as well as a certain godly level 6 power - keep reading!

 

-Level 5: You might think Ringleader is by far the most obvious must-have for this tier, but the problem I've found is that it is often too good. The range is so huge that it often ends up controlling literally every enemy, which results in them all breaking control about one second later and you are back to square one with wasted Focus and a less controlled fight than you could have had. However, another player has told me that he can sometimes use it effectively if he targets an enemy on the very edge of the battlefield, but if it's a melee enemy it will probably run into range of all the others by the time it's done casting. Most players prefer Ringleader over Detonate, but TBH I'd probably test them both and see which I liked better. By the time you are making this decision, 2.0 will probably be live anyway, which, as I say, has a respec option. Now, the real must-haves of this tier are Tactical Meld and Borrowed Instincts, which do stack. You can even cast Tactical Meld on an ally before the fight starts, and have your starting Focus back by the start of the fight as long as a second or so passes.

 

-Level 6: You can take all of these: there are only three. When you hit level 12 and start each fight with enough Focus for a level 6 power, if you're like me you'll be starting almost every fight with Amplified Wave. Literally every enemy on the screen will start off the fight both damaged and CCd. Can you say OP? :D

 

2) Talents

 

Biting Whip

Draining Whip

Weapon Focus: Ruffian (covers both Blunderbuss and Pistol, which are super good for low-medium DR and high DR enemies, respectively)

Marksman

Penetrating Shot (especially good for making your Blunderbuss more effective against medium DR enemies)

Gunner

 

3) Stats

 

That stat spread is good. If you don't mind min-maxing, you could dump Per and make sure Might, Int, and Dex are all maxed, in that order of priority. You could even dump Con and put more in Res. If you're playing a balanced party with, say, two tanks, your cipher will not get hit often. When s/he does, for example when fighting teleporting Shadows, that extra deflection and concentration will probably make a bigger difference than more health.

 

Keep in mind your ideal stat spread will change drastically in 2.0, but as I say, 2.0 will also include a respec feature, so no need to sweat the small stuff.

 

Enjoy!

Edited August 17, 2015 by Nobear

[ChaosMaker90]

Thanks for advices, i will propably will not update my game to 2.0 becouse i heard that perception in there is way more important, and if it is i will have weaker might, int, dex then in 1.6 :D The only thing that coud push me now to updating a game is major bug fixes, mayby i will beat a game on 1.6 and then update a game to 2.0 with some other character (for example someone who don't need high intelect, and will benefit perception :D)...

 

Again thans for your help..

[ChaosMaker90]

BTW i take How much i cant dump PER and Con in your opinion ?

[Raven Darkholme]

Your other attributes don't get weaker in 2.0, they stay the same.

In the end a char in 2.0 will be stronger because accuracy is hard to come by so buffing perception is huge.

[Nobear]

BTW i take How much i cant dump PER and Con in your opinion ?

 

I'm not sure what you're trying to say, but dumping a stat means making it as low as it can go, which is either 3 or 4 depending on your race.

 

Also, what Raven said. In 2.0 you would not dump Per, you'd have it high. You could dump Res instead in 2.0, which only benefits you if you're being hit, and you're only putting points into now because you have nowhere better to put them. Con also makes more of a difference in 2.0, so you might not want to dump it as you safely can now. Tanks will have less deflection and won't be quite as invincible as they can become now, but your cipher will get stronger, not weaker. You will just need to respec, which is also coming in 2.0.

 

2.0 is also the patch for the expansion, coming on August 25th. It will bring some significant bug fixes, but the game is certainly playable and enjoyable in 1.0.6. It's up to you whether you want to upgrade mid-game or not, but don't make that decision because you think your cipher will get weaker: it won't.

[Boeroer]

I'm using three ranged ciphers at the moment in PotD. Here's my simple advice:

 

Wood Elf

MIG: max

CON: min

DEX: max

PER: min

INT: max

RES: put rest here

 

Powers: Mind Wave, Mental Binding, Tactical Meld AND Borrowed instinct for a whopping +40 ACC, Amplified Wave. The rest doesn't matter that much. These powers I use mostly. Tactical Meld and Borrowed Instinct for bosses. Mental Binding and Amplified Wave are just insanely good.

 

Weapon Focus: Doesn't matter. I have Arbalests (because of Aedrin's Wrecker), Crossbows (Wendgär) and Blunderbuss/Pistol (Lead Spitter/Dulcanale) on my ciphers and their focus generation is on par. So you can take what you like best. Also had a war bow cipher the team. That also worked very well. I don't know about hunting bows. You can get a The Disappointer very early and enchant it - that's a good start for a ruffian cipher.

[Nobear]

I'm using three ranged ciphers at the moment in PotD. Here's my simple advice:

 

Wood Elf

MIG: max

CON: min

DEX: max

PER: min

INT: max

RES: put rest here

 

Powers: Mind Wave, Mental Binding, Tactical Meld AND Borrowed instinct for a whopping +40 ACC, Amplified Wave. The rest doesn't matter that much. These powers I use mostly. Tactical Meld and Borrowed Instinct for bosses. Mental Binding and Amplified Wave are just insanely good.

 

Weapon Focus: Doesn't matter. I have Arbalests (because of Aedrin's Wrecker), Crossbows (Wendgär) and Blunderbuss/Pistol (Lead Spitter/Dulcanale) on my ciphers and their focus generation is on par. So you can take what you like best. Also had a war bow cipher the team. That also worked very well. I don't know about hunting bows. You can get a The Disappointer very early and enchant it - that's a good start for a ruffian cipher.

 

To keep it simple, it's hard to go wrong following Boeroer's advice here. The one super-strong power he forgot to mention, of course, is Ectopsychic Echo. Since Antipathetic Field is so hard to position effectively for a ranged cipher, Mind Wave would be a decent alternative for level 1 powers after Eyestrike and maybe Whisper of Treason. The prone effect is very short and you don't have any fine control over its area of effect, but the fact it's fast-casting and deals Raw damage to the target makes it decent just for finishing off a target quickly. Eyestrike will usually be the first power you use until you get Mental Binding, which will become your bread and butter for CC/debuffs until max level. Even at max level, when you will usually want to use other powers first, there will occasionally be good uses for Eyestrike and Mental Binding.

 

Some of the weapons Boeroer mentioned have the speed enchant, which doesn't work in 1.0.6, but will work in 2.0. There are some great unique blunderbusses and pistols in mid-late game without the speed enchant.

[Boeroer]

Right - I wanted to concentrate on the powers I use mostly. I abused Ectopsychic Echo with three ciphers and a fast running priest that ran behind enemy lines. Everything dies in seconds - really, seconds. But it also requires a lot of pausing and sometimes goes horribly wrong. Since I have access to Amplified Wave I don't use that tactic any more. Amplified Wave is superstrong when you combine it with a priest's Powerful+Painful Interdiction AND a char that can do sickened AOE. They stack, dropping fortitude by over 40. Amplified Wave then hits like a truck because it targets fortitude.

[Boeroer]

The weapons I mentioned are all great - even without speed enchantm. With that they will be even better.

[Nobear]

Right - I wanted to concentrate on the powers I use mostly. I abused Ectopsychic Echo with three ciphers and a fast running priest that ran behind enemy lines. Everything dies in seconds - really, seconds. But it also requires a lot of pausing and sometimes goes horribly wrong. Since I have access to Amplified Wave I don't use that tactic any more. Amplified Wave is superstrong when you combine it with a priest's Powerful+Painful Interdiction AND a char that can do sickened AOE. They stack, dropping fortitude by over 40. Amplified Wave then hits like a truck because it targets fortitude.

 

Sickened + Weakened stacking is something I only recently was made aware of. This does sound super effective, considering that Amplified Wave is awesome even without enemy debuffs when cast instantly at the start of combat. Using it at the start is especially useful for preventing certain enemies from CCing you while your priest buffs with the appropriate spells to counter, and your wizard buffs his crit and accuracy in preparation to follow up that Amplified Wave with his own Slicken while your cipher's Focus builds back up. Your druid, in the meantime, can lay down Tanglefoot so that the Slicken will also be as effective as possible.

 

The OP was asking in another thread about the dream team party we'd recommend. Maybe those synergies I mentioned with priest, wizard, and druid will give him some ideas. Then add a fighter tank and paladin tank, and you've got one smooth-sailing, well-balanced party with super controlled fights. Very beginner friendly.

Edited August 18, 2015 by Nobear

[Raven Darkholme]

Since I have Wave I use Echo way less, too.

But don't forget it's a level 11 spell and Echo still has its uses.

[Nobear]

Since I have Wave I use Echo way less, too.

But don't forget it's a level 11 spell and Echo still has its uses.

 

Very much agreed. Echo is crazy good for its level, and remains a welcome part of your toolkit even at max level.

[Boeroer]

I agree - Echo is superstrong and you can get it early. That's also the reason Mental Binding is so good. Amplified Wave - with the tactic I mentioned above (I use Painful Interdiction plus Threatening Presence or the cipher's horror-Power) - is also a great damage dealer because it's radius is so big and it often crits. I just send the Barb into the fray, cast Interdiction on his head an then three times Amplified Wave. 75% of the foes die instantly - the rest goes prone. And that's not only during lame fights against wichts or something. It also works with all bounty encounters. They were just ricidoulusly easy.

[joshua43214]

 

 

Also, what Raven said. In 2.0 you would not dump Per, you'd have it high. You could dump Res instead in 2.0, which only benefits you if you're being hit, and you're only putting points into now because you have nowhere better to put them. Con also makes more of a difference in 2.0, so you might not want to dump it as you safely can now. Tanks will have less deflection and won't be quite as invincible as they can become now, but your cipher will get stronger, not weaker. You will just need to respec, which is also coming in 2.0.

 

 

 

 

To be clear on this, respect does not allow you to change your starting stats, it only allows you to go back and re-chose spells/talents/etc.

 

If you will want to change your starting stats after 2.0 goes live, you will have to wait for IEmod or Keeper to get updated if you do not wish to use the console.

 

TBH, the respec is seriously badly done. I was really hoping to respec the companions (Sagani is especially badly done), but all you can do is change the talents and junk. The Keeper will let you easily change your stats with out modding the game, IEmod will let you go back to lvl0 and even change your race.

[bartlebooth]

T

 

 

 

 

Also, what Raven said. In 2.0 you would not dump Per, you'd have it high. You could dump Res instead in 2.0, which only benefits you if you're being hit, and you're only putting points into now because you have nowhere better to put them. Con also makes more of a difference in 2.0, so you might not want to dump it as you safely can now. Tanks will have less deflection and won't be quite as invincible as they can become now, but your cipher will get stronger, not weaker. You will just need to respec, which is also coming in 2.0.

 

 

 

 

To be clear on this, respect does not allow you to change your starting stats, it only allows you to go back and re-chose spells/talents/etc.

 

If you will want to change your starting stats after 2.0 goes live, you will have to wait for IEmod or Keeper to get updated if you do not wish to use the console.

 

TBH, the respec is seriously badly done. I was really hoping to respec the companions (Sagani is especially badly done), but all you can do is change the talents and junk. The Keeper will let you easily change your stats with out modding the game, IEmod will let you go back to lvl0 and even change your race.

 

 

This is incorrect, you can redistribute attributes for player characters and adventurers, just not companions. 

[joshua43214]

@bartlebooth

I stand corrected.

Thank you for pointing this out.

[Killyox]

with 2.0 you should guys try Per in place of Dex. You will be slower but more dmg and effects will go through. Less grazes, more crits, more interrupts. 

 

I think it may shift to Int,Might,Per instead

Edited August 20, 2015 by Killyox

[Raven Darkholme]

Nah, a cipher still needs Dex, because casting time.

I personally will only max Per in 2.0 and go for something like 12 MI, 15+/- IN, 12+ DEX.

Edited August 20, 2015 by Raven Darkholme

[Killyox]

I miss old Mind Blades

[Raven Darkholme]

Even old MB were **** compared to Echo. :D

[Boeroer]

Would be so awesome if Ectopsychic Echo worked with your pet... AND if you could control your pet of course.

[Raven Darkholme]

Would be so awesome if Ectopsychic Echo worked with your pet... AND if you could control your pet of course.

Wut? It even works with figurines. Yet another reason rangers suck.

[Nobear]

 

Would be so awesome if Ectopsychic Echo worked with your pet... AND if you could control your pet of course.

Wut? It even works with figurines. Yet another reason rangers suck.

 

Yes. My default strategy for it is to have Eder use a figurine (just behind enemy lines if that's within range of the summon) as soon as he's gotten in position, then cast Echo on the summon and have it run around as needed to melt enemies.

[Boeroer]

The PET - not the animal companion. That works of course. Especially with the fast wolf with bonus disengagement defense.