[CLASS BUILD] Fulmineo Prondroni (fancy duelist monk on speed)

[AlexDeLarge]

What you describe about using the paladin as a vessel for ecto echo is exactly what i did in my last playthrough on potd. And it worked like a charm, even without boots of speed, my guy was so tanky (and also moon godlike) he didn't even get scratched from all the disengagement attacks. However, triple crown is whole other ball game i imagine. I'm currently thinking of adding a 2nd priest to the mix, just because they have so many abilities that prevent character death, and their buffs stack up nicely. Maybe i should remove the wizard from my party, since he is much harder to control on expert mode anyway? I mean he used to be crucial for the important counters with Gaze of Adragan, but now adra dragon is immune to petrify if i'm not mistaken, so there's not much reason to keep him around i reckon.

 

Slightly OT but still relevant to your posts, would you consider your cipher tank build to be more efficient than my pure tankadin? Maybe i could run a main char cipher tank (since paladin is also harder to develop on expert mode, without knowing which dialogs fit the preferred dispositions) and either remove my barb or wizard in favor of speedy monk to use in combination with the cipher. Many variables i must consider, which is part of why i love this game so much, endless options, if you use your imagination, the sky is the limit.

[Boeroer]

The Backlash Beldam is quite tanky, but not as tanky as a weapon & shield paladin, chanter or fighter. And remember this cipher tank wants to get hit in order to generate focus. Maybe that's too risky for a TC run. If it comes to "best balance of dps and tankyness", nothing beats a properly build monk in my opinion. Have a look at the Juggenaut build from KDubya.

 

A nicely build wizard is always powerful. Doesn't have to be a glass cannon. If you're not sure about spell radius and so on try a more tanky, melee oriented wizard. They are also great and even viable for a TC solo game. And they have some nice foe-only-spells, too.

 

Most powerful offensive build at the moment is still the stormcaller ranger plus wolf or bear with twinned arrows, driving flight and stunning shot, if you ask me. It's all in one: tons of dps, debuff, cc and low micromanagement. Because of the multiple hits from one shot and the high attack speed Returning Storm gets triggered all the time.

Rangers in general are pretty strong now. The dps of the animal companions alone is just insane if you know what you're doing.
Also: the animal companions cannot die from low health - so it's a good tactic to send them in first if you want to spare camping supplies or want to soak up the first hefty volleys of an encounter.

 

By the way: after the latest patches I always had the impression that the more sturdy characters I had in the party, the easier the playthrough. Encounters last a bit longer, true, but I don't lose. And by sturdy I don't mean pure tanks with no dps. But 3 CON 3 RES glascannon chars that fall apart when looked at get rushed too often. And once the enemy reaches them it's over for them. Every encounter you try so shield them and keep them away from harm - it's tedious.

[AlexDeLarge]

 

Is this the ranger build you are talking about, Boeroer?

Edited November 26, 2015 by AlexDeLarge

[Boeroer]

Wow - that vid is too long for me to watch.

However - doesn't matter if "ego" or not. All you need is Stormcaller, Driving Flight, Stunning Shots and Twinned Arrows. At lower levels you can use Swift Aim instead of Twinned Arrwos and retrain when you hit lvl 13. I don't because I don't like to use retraining in my builds. But it surely is more effective.

 

The rest is up to you. If you like your pet to be a dps powerhouse you can do that. You can skill your ranger further with Penetrating Shot and Marksman and Bloody Slaughter and so on (what they call "ego" in that vid)... Do what you like and try things out (well, not in a TC run isuppose ).

 

Another good thing about the Stormcaller Ranger: because he hits up to 4 enemies with one shot (and thus triggers Returning Storm all the time) he will also lower their shock DR by 6 AND stun them, if your pet engagend the initial target (and Returning Storm also stuns). So, stunning shots are greast for your buddies and your pet (because of Merciless Companion). Combine that with a Wounding Shot (DoT) and your pet does crazy crazy dps against the stunned and wounded foe. They hit slow but like trucks. Even high DR foes get hit by 50 points damage and above. Together with Marked Prey I had 100+ dmg crits against armored foes ON TOP of my ranger's damage. And now the lowered shock DR: If you have a buddy that does shock damage (Druid, Wizard or whatever) he will totally love your Stormcaller ranger. You can even cast Expose Vulnarabilites on top of the Stormcaller effect for -11 shock DR bypass an then finish them all with a Jolting Touch (melee wizard), Returning Storm (Druid) or what shock spell you like best. All in all I think Wildstrike-Shock-Druids and Stormcaller Rangers make the best team because the Druid also has lots of DoT-Spells that are great for the ranger's pet if you took Predator's Sense. Whatever - I think you get the impression that I love Stormcaller Rangers - and I do! Maybe I will wirte a class build for that. I just looked it up and although a lot of people use it nobody has posted a buil for it. 

 

And, as Andrea said: a Stormcaller cipher is also very nice. Not because of the dps (the ranger is better in that), but he will generate a lot of focus quickly because of the huge DR bypass that Stormcaller can grant. Imagine a DR bypass of 14(!) with that high attack speed (Stormcaller: -6 shock DR, Penetrating Shot: -5, Ryona's Vambraces: -3). And from time to time Soul Shock will be triggered. But I like the Stormcaller Ranger better because of... yeah well, all the awesomesauce that I described above. :D

[AlexDeLarge]

Ok, so to recap. A party consisting of: juggernaut tank monk main char, lady of pain offtank dps fighter for frontline, dps barb and support priest in 2nd row, and finally dps cipher + ranger in the backline. Would this be a very good party for TC? Just looking at it, feels like there might be a bit too much overlap in melee, having 3 martial units + the pet, also very little AOE. Do you think this ranger brings more to the table than the utility a wizard or 2nd priest would provide?

[Boeroer]

That's difficult - the ranger will do tons of dps (and helps others to do so) - but a wizard or druid adds a lot of flexibility and can really save the day because he can just cast spell after spell if things tend to go down the drain. But as I said earlier: avoid squishy glass cannons. It's better to reduce dps a bit and get at least enough survivability that one enemy can't kill you with two hits. OR be superfast so that you can always run away.

 

Juggernaut is great for TC, so is the Lady. They do good damage while being sturdy. Much better than pure tanks that just stand around while the enemy rushes past them. The priest has enough spells to save the day (just don't put him in cloth - his spells are relatively short ranged). 

 

Honestly... I think you should remove the barb - although I love barbs! But for TC runs... They drop dead all the time if they're not wearing Shod-in-Faith or use plate & Blunting Belt. And I guess that the Lady of Pain will wear those boots. A Tall Grass or Tidefall barb is surely great... but I think a sturdy wizard or druid might be better - especially if you have the Stormcaller in your ranks. Mass Confusion (wizard) alone can turn a tough nut into a piece of cake.  And there's nothing wrong about a spellsword-wizard in thick armor with Hardened Veil, so...

 

edit: another thing about the armored wizard: his phantoms will also be armored. You can use them as temporal tanks if you need more. I don't know if the duplicates still can use the Spell Bindings on items (the monk's duplicates can not - that was changed with the latest patch). If they can, that's even better for a TC run since you will have the opportunity to summon a duplicate that has a lot of Spell Bindings to spam. If it doesn't work any more - you still have a meat shield that you can put in front of someony who might get knocked out or cast it in front of the enemy if you want to flee and don't want to be followed.

 

edit: Yes, spell binding partly still works on wizard's duplicates. Things they nerfed: Forgemaster's Gloves don't work any more on duplicates, armor's spell bindings don't work any more (tested with the White Crest armor). But you can put on a Ring of Searing Flames and (hopefully) Rotfinger Gloves. That way your duplicate can do some serious aoe damage when combining COmbusting Wounds and Touch of Rod. Or you can wear the Ring of Changing Heart and let your duplicate dominate three foes. So I stringly vote for wizard instead of barb.

Edited November 26, 2015 by Boeroer

[AlexDeLarge]

Oh man.. now i have some really tough choices.. In my last playthrough, my death godlike barb with Firebrand was wreaking havoc, but he also took a lot of punishment thats true, and now i won't have a paladin to save his ass with lay on hands (a single priest can't keep everyone alive).

 

So you're suggesting i should go for a Parasitic Staff Wizard approach, with 20-21 might and arcane veil, remove the barb and add a ranger for last pick?

[Boeroer]

Just did another quick test: it seems only rings with spell binding work with duplicates. That's a pity - they nerf everything that's cool. Now your duplicate can use Combusting Wounds, Suppress Affliction and Dominate for example. Still ok, but it used to be better.

 

What you use is comletely up to you. I don't want to talk you into something. If you love your barb that's more important than some tiny powergaming tweaks. Maybe your barb will be sturdy and can also do some tanking if you make him a moon godlike an give him Tidefall (give an estoc to the Lady of Pain). Silver Tide and carnage-draining are very good heals. And Tidefall has way more ACC than Firebrand and it's damage is also very high if you put a shocking lash (Stormcaller! ) on it - because it also does carnage-wounding. That's very good for a ranger's pet (Predator's Sense) or somebody who uses Combusting Wounds (from ring or grimoire - Combusting Wounds + carnage wounding = great aoe damage). So... sorry, that all sounds good, ha! :D

 

Maybe you should choose the chars that you love to play the most. That's the most important thing. And then we can help you figure out the best synergy effects between them. That also sounds like fun.  

[AlexDeLarge]

Well, i finally created my party. Decided to go for the comfort zone as you said, it's quite fragile but with proper micro and positioning, i think i can make it work.

 

So it's gonna be: Monk Juggernaut Tank - Moon Godlike, Lady of Pain - Fire Godlike (but dualing sabres instead of two hander) for frontline, Barb - Death Godlike(with tidefall or firebrand or tall grass, depending on situation - i'm also gonna put Shod in Faith on him, since he will be lowest deflection from my melees), Priest - also Moon Godlike, just too strong and sexy to have only 1(magran - arquebus early, sword and shield late) 2nd row, DPS Cipher - Boreal Dwarf (blunderbuss early, war bow late) and Wood Elf Wizard with Blights/Blast. The Cipher and Mage have 3 resolve, the Priest has 10 for now, but will respec to 3 later on, so i'm probably gonna use a lot of Holy Meditation to offset this weakness.

 

Boeroer, about the Barb build, you said i should use heavy armor early game, same for priest. Can i switch to light armor in the later stages?

[Boeroer]

Of course - if you have the feeling they can survive without it. Later you can find superb armors like Wayfarer's Hide that have +6 DR on top of the normal hide armor's DR - that should defin. be enough for the barb (especially with shod-in-faith). If you manage to keep your priest out of trouble he can also wear light armor. But sometimes the enemy just slips through. I remember the fights with returned Readric...

 

If you let the Lady of Pain go without Shod-in-Faith - and the Silver Tide from monk is not enough to keep her alive - maybe you want to try out the Cloak of the Tireless Defender + Trollhide Belt (+6 end. every 3 seconds, +7 if you take rapid recovery - which I don't recommend). Together with very high might that results in a significant heal over time (up to 10 per tick- without wasting any casting time). Dual sabres are viable I think.

 

Edit: if you want a plate armor very early: kill the moon godlike that stands east of the temple of Eothas in Gilded Vale. It will not result in reputation loss.

Edited November 26, 2015 by Boeroer

[AlexDeLarge]

TC Status Update: Had some really close encounters so far in Od Nua lvl 2 (with party lvl 4). Those huge groups of xaurips and wurms were nearly the end of me. My saving grace was the Priest's Withdraw Spell. It's insanely good, you can even use it to block choke points and cast aoe spells after. Raedric next (still lvl 4, but should be doable). Also, really glad i decided to pick a wizard instead of ranger, his aoe is crucial at these early levels, and targeting them efficiently on Expert mode isn't that difficult once you get the hang of it

 

note: I should probably create my own thread for this run, sorry i keep hijacking yours Boeroer

[limaxophobiacq]

Are you sure Iron Wheel actually works for you?

 

I tested and had my monk with Iron Wheel + Turning Wheel gain wounds and checking inventory and combat log she still had DR 0 unarmored.

Edited November 27, 2015 by limaxophobiacq

[Boeroer]

It works. Sometimes you need to reload to make it happen.

[limaxophobiacq]

I've tried reloading, resting, and area transitioning and still can't get it to work. Must be unlucky I guess?

Edited November 27, 2015 by limaxophobiacq

[Boeroer]

Maybe it's a problem related to patch 2.03. I played a monk with Iron Wheel when 2.03 wasn't out yet. Sometimes Iron Wheel didn't work - but after reloads it did.
Maybe they broke it completely while they fixed the "Turning Whell and Lighning Strikes do not stack"-problem. 

 

If I have time today I will also try it out. If it's the same for me, I will confirm your bug report in the Technical  Support section.

Edited November 27, 2015 by Boeroer

[aweigh0101]

you can even have a druid cast Returning/Relentless Storm and then have your priest cast Withdraw while blocking a chokepoint

:D :D

[Boeroer]

note: I should probably create my own thread for this run, sorry i keep hijacking yours Boeroer

No problem - this way it always stays on top without me poking it.

[Ben No.3]

Now... I'm late, but: wouldn't Angio's Gambeson be THE ideal armour for this build? It's a padded, so low recovery time (even less with durgan), has valian lore ( ), a +2 Athletics AND (most important) a DAoM spellbind. And that spellbind would make this build very.... Entertaining. Also the spellbind could make the build more independent from the speed enchant, so he could carry something like spelltounge and unlaboured blade or simply even more speed-stacking to make the fastest attacker in the game

 

Edit: imagine... Dual wield + talent + speed enchant + swift strikes + DAoM + move speed 6 (7 on sugar)...You won't even need interrupts, casters will drop dead before they can cast a single spell!

Edited September 11, 2016 by Ben No.3

[Boeroer]

Sure - although it's a bit overkill to add Alacrity to dual wielding and Two Weapon Style. You will be already near 0 recovery with dual wielding + Two Weapon Style + Swift Strikes with a padded armor. No need to add another big bonus like +50%. I'd leave that armor for other chars most of the time who don't have easy or early access to speed bonuses and will profit a lot from the 50% speed and movement boost in tough encounters - like priests, druids or ciphers (or a Stormcaller ranger with Twinned Arrows or Vicious Aim if lower than lvl 13).

 

Especially with durgan steel and the two speed enchanted weapons you already get so fast that you can wear armor and use Vulnerable Attack without any speed loss. Of course this only counts towards weapon attacks. But a monk most of the time does use his weapons - most of his special awesomenesses are connected to his attacks, not spells and such. Alacrity is really good for casters, because it's a huge universal speed buff and not only works for weapon attacks which you can already buff with dual wielding and stuff.  

 

The lore and additional move speed is nice though. 

[Boeroer]

I think that Eldryn's Jacket (also padded) might be a nice fit for this monk. You get hit a lot as a monk anyways so dishing out some blindness for protection and easier crits from time to time might be nice.

[Ben No.3]

Hmm... I think I'll still use the gambeson to compensate for using the unlaboured blade/spelltounge combo lacking a speed enchant. This is speed run 2.0...

Edited September 11, 2016 by Ben No.3

[Boeroer]

But Unlabored Blade with a durganized Spelltongue has nearly the same speed as durg. Sword of Daenysis + durg. March Steel Dagger:

 

Unlabored Blade: 20% speed enchant + 15% stolen (Spelltongue, works universally)

Spelltongue: 15% durg. + 15% stolen

 

So no need for mighty Alacrity in my opinion.

[Ben No.3]

Don't destroy my dreams

[bigwillystyle]

There's definitely no need for Alacrity. 

 

This is a fun build - I tried it last night with Zahua and it was super fun.  Now that we better understand the mechanics of attack speed, for a hireling, I'd probably swap the Dex into Con, but otherwise lots of fun.

 

I actually need to upgrade my armor, as I appear to have leftover attack speed, which is crazy.  Playing Zahua with the Antilei power, this can go up to Durganized Scale, I think.

 

There's nothing quite like a monk blitzing across half the battlefield to crit the enemy mage and prone him shortly thereafter.  

[Boeroer]

Yeah - back then it was only about building a monk who needs a lot less micro than the usual Torment's Reach spammer (hence the "droni" = drone in the name) and about stacking move and attack speed.

 

It's def. not the most powerful monk build, but it's a lot of fun because of the absurdly high move speed and the hefty push/prone effect. It's great for picking off single targets, but not so much for AoE damage. This build works quite well on it's own with AI settings.

Edited September 12, 2016 by Boeroer