[CLASS BUILD] Support Priest, or How I Buffed The Others

[AndreaColombo]

This is my support priest build. There are many like it, but this is mine

 

 

Class: Priest (of Eothas)

 

Race: Human*

*but it can be anything that strikes your fancy. I chose human just because.

 

Background: Old Vailia - Aristocrat*

*again, it can be anything that strikes your fancy. I chose Aristocrat for the +2 Lore as the priest is also my main scrolls guy. Old Vailia can be swapped for any other location so long as you move the stats around to reflect those given below.

 

Stats:

 

MIG: 10

CON: 10

DEX: 18

PER: 10

INT: 16

RES: 14

 

Why these stats?

• The main thing I want from my support priest is the ability to dish out buffs fast, which implies having a high DEX score. The faster he buffs, the sooner my other men reach their full potential and start wreaking havoc.
• The second thing I want from this build is long duration for my buffs, and of course a wide AoE so I can buff as many people as possible even when they're not crammed together in a itty-bitty living space. So INT follows.
• Last but not least, I want my priest to avoid being targeted from enemies, and to be able to withstand some blows if he is. So RES (and of course a shield, as you'll see below.)

Skills:

 

Lore: 10

 

Everything else is up to you (and patch 3.0 will significantly change how Athletics and Survival work, so no point in mandating scores in those two skills right now.) All I need from skills on this build is the ability to use all scrolls.

 

Talents:

in no particular order

 

Interdiction

Painful Interdiction

Empowered Interdiction [or Savage Attack]

Hope Eternal

Weapon and Shield Style

Weapon Focus: Adventurer

Aspirant's Mark [or Vulnerable Attack]

 

Why these talents?

 

• Hope Eternal and Weapon Focus: Adventurer give you +16 Accuracy with flail, which is the weapon we're going to use. If you want this build to contribute to the fight after buffing/debuffing, it will come in handy.
• Weapon and Shield Style boosts our Deflection and Reflexes, thus making it more likely that enemies won't target the priest (and won't crit if they do.) This means the priest can buff/debuff unhindered and doesn't risk leaving the fight prematurely.
• Interdiction + Painful Interdiction are a pretty good per-encounter debuffs. Empowered Interdiction gives +10 Accuracy to the main Interdiction effect, which is always nice (especially if you plan on using the debuff before buffing your Accuracy), but it is not vital so you may swap it for an offensive melee talent if you want to go into the fray after buffing/debuffing.
• Aspirant's Mark will become 1/encounter in patch 3.0, which makes it a pretty good per-encounter debuff too.
• Alternatively, Savage Attack and Vulnerable Attack will increase your damage potential if you plan to make the priest contribute to the party's offense once all buffs have been cast (this build attacks fast and can reach good Accuracy once buffed, as you'll see.)

 

Equipment:

 

• Garodh's Chorus (offensive version)
  Use Dunryd's Demon until you get Garodh's Chorus.
• Clothing (enchanted to Exceptional, Proofing of your choice, +2 INT.)
  Don't get the +2 INT enchant until you replace Dunryd's Demon with Garodh's Chorus as the two won't stack.
• Ring of Deflection
• Ring of Protection
• Dream Dancer's Sidestep
• Gauntlets of Swift Action
• Blunting Belt
• Boots of Stability
• Redfield
  Use Ilfan Byrngar's Solace until you get Redfield.
• Unforgiven (enchanted to Superb*, Durgan-refined.)
  *or keep it to Exceptional if you need the Sky Dragon Eyes for something else; I had one to spare and used it for this character. Also, it makes no sense to enchant this weapon to Superb if you don't plan on making the priest contribute to the fight beyond casting buffs and debuffs.

These will bring your MIG to 13, DEX to 20, INT to 18; you'll also get +15% attack speed from the Gauntlets of Swift Action, and bestow a -3 Accuracy penalty on your enemies just standing there (Redfield.)

 

 

So how does it work?

 

• Casting speed: I typically make extensive use the +3 DEX resting bonus from Caed Nua and Rauatai Sweet Pie on all my party members to increase their action speed. This brings this build's DEX score to 25, or +45% action speed which is pretty rad. You may or may not decide to sip a Potion of Deleterious Alacrity of Motion at the beginning of the fight: If you do, you'll lose some time when the fight starts, but cast really fast afterward; if you don't, you'll cast at good speed right away but will need to sit through some recovery between spells.
• Attack speed: With a durgan-refined Unforgiven and the Gauntlets of Swift Action, this character packs +50% attack speed (which means 50% faster recovery) right off the bat, with no speed penalty from wearing armor (since they're wearing clothes.) What is left of their recovery is slashed almost in half by the +45% action speed bonus from DEX, which means this build attacks really fast. With a Potion of Deleterious Alacrity of Motion you'd attack with no recovery, or very little recovery if using Vulnerable Attack (which would be advisable.)
• Dishing out those buffs: My typical strategy is to start the fight with Devotions for the Faithful, followed by Champion's Boon on my main DPS guy, and Dire Blessing. If fighting specific enemies that bestow afflictions, I protect my men against those afflictions first (e.g. Prayer against Fear when facing dragons; Prayer against Treachery when facing spores or fampyrs; etc.) and remove the afflictions that went through at the beginning of the fight (Suppress Afflictions.) For tough fights, Crowns of the Faithful goes through after these last few spells, then I get cranking on the offensive buffs. This priest will be able to cast all these at speed and with good duration and AoE (I advise making extensive use of Casità Casserole to bring their INT to 20.)
• Debuffing the offenders: Painful Interdiction + Aspirant's Mark in rapid succession mean all enemies around get -10 Accuracy, -2 MIG, -2 CON, -2 DEX, -2 INT, -2 PER, -15% attack speed, -1 movement speed, -20 Fortitude, -20 Will, -8 Reflex, -8 Deflection. No need to debuff further: Pretty much anything will land after this, while enemies' DPS massively drops.
• Contributing to the fight: As mentioned above, this build attacks fast. Once buffed with Devotions for the Faithful and a Scroll of Valor (which this build could handle, but I typically delegate to my Wizard), its Accuracy is more than enough to handle most enemies. The only problem is its sub par damage output: Works great against no-DR or low-DR enemies; not so much against tougher guys (though the burning lash on Unforgiven helps.) Savage Attack and Vulnerable Attack are a great help in this department, if you elect to take them. At higher levels, you can cast the Minor Avatar spell once you're done buffing/debuffing to gain additional +42% damage (+24% from the extra MIG, +20% from the spell itself), +24% action speed from the extra DEX, +8 Accuracy from the extra PER, and more. At that point, you can really maim your enemies
• Avoid being targeted: Now, my parties generally comprise low-Deflection, offensive-oriented characters that make this priest's Deflection the highest I have. It ensues that, in my play throughs, this priest is never targeted. If you play high-Deflection characters, you may want to buff the priest's Deflection at the beginning of the fight 'cause at level 14, its Deflection score is 93. Not bad, but no particularly great either. Luckily, most foes will be unable to crit the priest if they engage them, and Garodh's Chorus gives you Retaliation which is always good for those cases.

 

Here's what this priest looks like when fully buffed (including Minor Avatar), without Savage Attack or Vulnerable Attack:

 

 

Active buffs: Devotions for the Faitfhul, Minor Avatar, Scroll of Valor, Scroll of Defense, Dire Blessing, Armor of Faith.

Not shown in screenshot: 30% graze-to-hit conversion, 40% hit-to-crit conversion, +30% crit damage, +50% attack speed, +25% burn damage.

 

... and that's all folks, I suppose

[Boeroer]

The thing with "high deflection is good for not being targeted" is important. It really helps.

[AndreaColombo]

The White March pt. II update.

 

The time has come for a brief update to this build, even though it won't undergo any major changes in the aftermath of PX2's release.

 

Attributes

 

No major change is required for attributes, although I find that starting with 18 INT and 12 RES is generally better than 16 INT and 14 RES (the extra AoE and duration are a boon, and enemies in PX2 are going to target your Priest even if he has the highest Deflection anyway.)

 

After a full play through with Durance, whose DEX I could buff up to 15 (I'm no longer using the +3 DEX resting bonus from Caed Nua), I have come to really appreciate the difference a high-DEX build makes when it comes to casting times. Durance really is as slow as a sloth.

 

Skills

 

Lore remains the main skill for this build, as I want my Priest to be able to cast scrolls of any level. This means, after the release of PX2, having a total Lore score of 12 to be able to cast Prayer Against Treachery from scrolls. If you select a background that grants a +2 bonus to Lore, you'll start out with a score of 4 and reaching 12 will be fairly easy.

 

Survival is the second skill I suggest putting ranks in, up to a minimum of 7, in order to get the 2nd-tier Damage Reduction resting bonus. Whether other 2nd-tier bonuses are worth the extra investment is up to you and your habitual play style.

 

Remaining points can be allocated as best suits your preferences or party-dynamics needs.

 

Talents

 

The new level cap means you get to pick an additional talent beside those listed in the OP. My suggestion (not necessarily as your very last pick; I never list talents and abilities in a prescriptive order in my builds) is Outlander's Frenzy. Since you're not likely to buff this build with spells that increase MIG and CON (those are for your DPS characters), a +3 bonus for each is definitely welcome; however, what we really are after is the +25% attack speed bonus for it applies to spell casting as well. As mentioned in the OP, one of the main goals of this build is to dish out buffs as fast as possible at the beginning of the fight and a 25% reduction to your recovery is going to make a noticeable difference. As a bonus, the ability is faster to use than drinking a potion of DAOM.

 

Addendum: After realizing that the +10 Accuracy bonus from Inspiring Radiance stacks with pretty much every other Accuracy bonus out there, I strongly advise you take it instead of Empowered Interdiction. Thanks limaxophobiacq and Elric Galad for the tip!

 

Spell Mastery

 

Patch 3.0 introduced Spell Mastery instead of per-encounter spell levels, and which spells you choose to master for each level is entirely dependent on your preferences and play style. My picks are usually like this:

 

1st Level: Blessing OR Armor of Faith

2nd Level: Suppress Affliction

3rd Level: Dire Blessing

4th Level: Devotions for the Faithful

 

Equipment

 

Patch 3.0 and PX2 introduced a number of items that are potentially very interesting for this build. However, as a pure-support build, this Priest shouldn't take priority over your DPS or CC party members when it comes to calling dibs on equipment; hence, I will suggest multiple items that I think would work well provided no other party members have a use for them.

 

Head: Maegfolc Skull, White Crest's Helm

Neck: Swaddling Sheet, Lilith's Shawl

Hands: Gauntlets of Accuracy, Gauntlets of Minor Accuracy, Celebrant's Gloves, Siegebreaker Gauntlets

Rings: Ring of Overseeing, Gathbin Family Signet, Pensiavi mès Rei*

Feet: Viettro's Formal Footwear, Fenwalkers, Greenstained Boots, Shod-in-Faith

 

* I purposefully left out Seal of Faith as I believe it costs a tremendous amount of gold (not that gold would be a problem in this game) for very little beneft. At higher levels Priest can cast more than enough spells, and to be honest, I never felt the need for more spells of levels 1st–4th once I got Spell Mastery. If you beg to differ, by all means equip Seal of Faith

Edited March 20, 2016 by AndreaColombo

[Teioh_White]

The thing with "high deflection is good for not being targeted" is important. It really helps.

 

I think there has to be more to the formula than just that. Most recent playthrough I had nekkid wand Aloth and SnS plate mail Durance in the back line, and mobs still always made a bee-line for Durance. It was at the point most fights were Durance running in a circle around the 2-3 mobs stuck on Watcher+Eder, while Aloth pewed away.

 

I don't like to use kiting strats, but the Mobs just would not leave Durance alone.

[AndreaColombo]

It was the same in my last play through: Durance would get targeted a lot.

 

IIRC there was a user who tested A.I. attack clauses and posted their findings over here some time ago. Damage Reduction and damage dealt turned out to be among the main factors A.I. considered in its target prioritization.

[Teioh_White]

Hmm...weird then, that Durance got targeted so often despite only throwing out a buff or too. He had the highest deflection and tied for highest DR on the team, and wasn't hurting anyone. Didn't have a chance too, as he'd have to start running as unengaged mobs would start lumbering towards him right from the start.

 

Maybe the mobs just hate Durance. It's not like he doesn't deserve it.

[AndreaColombo]

In my case, Durance had a relatively low DR in the team but his DPS was so close to zero as it made no difference (he spent 90% of the time buffing and debuffing.) Not sure what gives; he's just an overall unlikable fellow.

[Dorftek]

Bahh!! Pfft! Durance is a charming fellah!

[chickenhed]

Great build. I was thinking of ways to make a priest hold his own in melee. This build does a great job of still doing what a priest does best, but still being able to contribute damage.

 

Thanks for posting.

[Andvare]

Great build/update!

[limaxophobiacq]

Why no Inspiring Radiance? Seems odd to forgo for a Support/Buff build especially now that it's been buffed to +10 accuracy.

 

IMO durgan-reinforced Angios Gambeson is unmatched for a buffing priest, the instant-activation compared to spending time drinking a potion lets you go straight to buffing and the DR is so much better than clothing.

[AndreaColombo]

Why no Inspiring Radiance? Seems odd to forgo for a Support/Buff build especially now that it's been buffed to +10 accuracy.

 

Because I never use the Radiance ability anyway, and because it doesn't stack with Scroll of Valor which I use all the time. A matter of play style, really; definitely a viable talent for this build if you use Radiance and don't (ab)use Scroll of Valor like I do.

 

I went with clothing to save on Durgan Steel but Angio's Gambeson is definitely a good alternative

[Blunderboss]

I didnt like Interdiction+Painfull Interdiction for offensive skaen priest , would not even consider it for a buffing priest , imo :

Interdiction + Painfull Interdiction is GREAT , but you need to spend 2 talent points for it ........ And then it becomes so much less valuable .

I cant understand why Interdiction wasnt given to priests automatically like holy radiance , and then u would choose which of those abilities u want to enhance further with talents according to your priest playstyle ( same as i cant understand why shadowing beyond is still per rest for rogues thats just sick) Mods will fix this i guess after PoE is finished .

I believe when ur going with full party effect from painfull interdiction can be easily replicated with other classes without spending 2 talent points on it .

Edited March 19, 2016 by Blunderboss

[L4wlight]

Taking Interdiction and Painful Interdiction is most of the time dependent on your party setup (Are there other classes who can afflict the Weakening effect? Does it enable powerfull combos like the famous Threatening Presence + Brute Force + Painful Interdiction combo?) and whether you intend to let your priest attack physically or not (which limits the amount of talent points alot).

 

I know this does not fit to the semi frontliner concept of this build, which is really great, don't get me wrong, but something I want to add is, that I consider Gyrd Háewanes Sténes one of the best weapons for a supporting priest in the game. Thanks to the Llengrath's Displaced Image proc (on beeing hit) you are free NOT to use the Weapon and Shield talent at all. The +10 ACC talent of every god (remember the new soulbound weapons are universal weapons in 3.02) alone is usually enough to make good use of the dominating property of the scepter, because it comes with the Accurate 6 enchantment (+21 ACC), which is ideal to make the best out of the lowish ACC of the support priest. You can safely attack from the second line with it, and you are free to switch to weapon and shield if something breaks through your frontline (just wait for the Llengrath's Displaced Image proc first). All in all, the scepter makes room for other talents (like Interdiction, Painfull Interdiction, Inspiring Radiance, Scion of Flame, Aspirant's Mark and so on...) .

 

But that's all a matter of play style.

Edited March 19, 2016 by L4wlight

[AndreaColombo]

^ You make an excellent point about the scepter. I must've mentally dismissed it because I usually give it to my Wizard, but it would be a very good alternative for this build too.

[Elric Galad]

 

 

Why no Inspiring Radiance? Seems odd to forgo for a Support/Buff build especially now that it's been buffed to +10 accuracy.

Because I never use the Radiance ability anyway, and because it doesn't stack with Scroll of Valor which I use all the time. A matter of play style, really; definitely a viable talent for this build if you use Radiance and don't (ab)use Scroll of Valor like I do.

 

Are you sure about this ?

Passive talents added to active abilities usually stack with everything.

And if I remember well, this was confirmed for inspiring radiance.

[AndreaColombo]

Are you sure about this ?

Passive talents added to active abilities usually stack with everything.

And if I remember well, this was confirmed for inspiring radiance.

 

Holy Accuracy, Batman!

 

I've just tested it and it stacks. Enter "Inspiring Radiance" as a new must-have for this build, exit "Empowered Interdiction" which was never that great to begin with.

 

Thank you for the ... inspiration

[Boeroer]

Yeah - also Aggrandizing Radiance stacks with everything. The +2 move speed and the +2 to every stat. And you only loose 75% healing for yourself - NOT your friends. They still get 100% healing. Not too bad if you wear Shod-in-Faith anyway...

[AndreaColombo]

You mean I've been missing out on 2 extra points of MIG for the LoP due to my inane prejudices on what would stack and what wouldn't?

 

I feel dirty inside...

[L4wlight]

No of course not. The attribute bonus of Aggrandizing Radiance only works on the priest.

Edited March 20, 2016 by L4wlight

[Elric Galad]

And 10 accuracy, dude.

 

Your powergamerness should scream for some flagellant workouts.

 

It's eventually better for you that there's no whip in this game...

Edited March 20, 2016 by Elric Galad

[Boeroer]

No of course not. The attribute bonus of Aggrandizing Radiance only works on the priest.

Yes, only for the priest - also stacks with Minor Avatar for a nice +10 bonus to all stats.  

[JerekKruger]

It's great that you're buffing the others, but have you learnt to stop worrying?

[omgFIREBALLS]

How certain are you about taking Aspirant's Mark? I'm not sure how all debuffs interact, but when I throw my cacophony of debuffs with a caster party, Nature's Mark tends to end up being suppressed.

 

Edited March 21, 2016 by omgFIREBALLS

[Boeroer]

Yeah it gets suppressed by a lot of other debuffs. However - I think it's great a an opener for every encounter because it's fast and... well... it's per encounter.

After that your more precious debuffs (targeting defl. or refl.) will hit better.