Zealous Charge is the best aura. Discuss.

[PrimeJunta]

In my ongoing playthrough (Darcozzi Commendatore), I've given Pallegina Zealous Charge and checked the "keep moving when engaged" gameplay toggle, and hoo boy does it ever completely change the way the game plays.

 

I've had mobile strikers before: used them to rush behind the enemy to gank the soft, high-value targets. It's very effective; from the early game, the Raedric fight for example becomes way easier if you're able to gank the archmages and Favoreds of Berath early on. But, with Zealous Charge, the whole party becomes mobile. It's no longer a game of positioning, it's a game of movement. On big maps, you can pull mobs apart and then crush them one by one; if you're getting overwhelmed, you can pull back in good order, regroup, and then counterattack. If you notice a squishy getting targeted, you can immediately grab a tank to rescue him while pulling back the squishy. The bonus to defense against disengagement attacks means that I can just ignore them most of the time; they're only a real problem with those squishies.

 

The upshot is that the game plays way faster and more dynamically and has less per-character micro. It's more a matter of lassoing the ones you need and putthing them on a target, and keeping the whole thing in motion. It's true that if you're moving you're not recovering or attacking -- but then neither is the opposition.

 

CC becomes much less important, which means you can focus on a whole different set of spells and other abilities. For example, I've got GM in the front line, and instead of opening with one of her wide-area CC's, she's now using the abiltiies that target individual enemies. That one that steals 7 DR and puts it on her instead and is Fast? Yummy. And Aloth can be used very effectively as an Eldritch Knight of sorts -- pop a defensive self-buff, summon a weapon, and go to town, and when the self-buff is about to run out, retreat.

 

In other words, it plays like a whole different game. It's a good deal more IE-like in a way.

 

I wasn't 100% serious about "the best aura" by the way. Playing this way isn't necessarily any more efficient, and it's definitely faster-paced: if you're having trouble staying on top of what happens in the combat without the aura, this isn't going to make it any easier. Also the pathfinding issues become even more obvious. 

 

But it sure is different, and I'm hugely impressed that Pillars has this kind of variety in gameplay experience. 

[Boeroer]

I also like it a lot. +2 move speed makes you faster than 99% of the enemies. If you retreat they will quickly realize that they can't get you and stop chasing you. It's also great for doing things the AI likes to do: rushing squishies. The good thing is: the AI is even worse than us players when this happens.

 

Zealous Focus is also very nice - especially in the early game. Later on 6 ACC and stuff are not superimportant anymore - but at the beginning it's really great. And that's the hardest part of the game. The correspondig talent is very weak though.

 

Zealous Endurance is good throughout the whole game. I always wanted to build a fighter/paladin double team with Zealos Endurance and see how high you can push the crit-to-hit and hit-to-graze conversions with abilities and items. 

 

I think the devs did a great job on these three auras. If you ask three people there will be four opinions about this topic.

 

Best thing is to use three paladins and have all three auras at the same time. Take Coordinated Attacks and Inspiring Triumph. Then use Outworn Bucker, Little Savior and Redfield for +13 defense on top of their FaC bonuses. They should be nearly unstoppable. 

 

edit: darn - now I want to do that. 

Edited January 4, 2016 by Boeroer

[Elerond]

Try riposte rogue in that party that is fully build just run around and make riposte attacks when enemies miss their disengagement attacks. It is build that has quite unique gameplay style

[Torm51]

It is the best aura for the reasons you stated. My successful ToI/PotD run Paladin used ZC while Pallegina had ZF. And especially in the early game it was awesome for ganking, positioning and for intercepting bad guys with tanks. You can also out run dragon breathes. This time I have ZF (DFO build) and Pallegina is running ZC.

Edited January 4, 2016 by Torm51

[PrimeJunta]

@Boeroer I tried a party once with three paladins and three chanters. It was lulzy. 

 

Not as lulzy as my Brave Sir Robin And The Bards party though. That had one paladin and five chanters. The paladin had Zealous Charge, and they ran away a lot.

 

Portrait related.

 

Edited January 4, 2016 by PrimeJunta

[Raven Darkholme]

It's neat but not the best aura.

And it doesn't really matter since you can switch between auras anyway.

I'd never play more than one pally in a group, the damage output is just too bad.

And I'm definitely pro pally. but remember the time, when trolls flooded the forum with paladin is useless threads, which went on for an insane amount of pages?

[PrimeJunta]

It's neat but not the best aura.

And it doesn't really matter since you can switch between auras anyway.

I'd never play more than one pally in a group, the damage output is just too bad.

And I'm definitely pro pally. but remember the time, when trolls flooded the forum with paladin is useless threads, which went on for an insane amount of pages?

 

Taking more than one aura is a bit of a waste of a talent though, as there are many more which build on each other. Mutually exclusive modal abilities all are.

 

I usually play with two paladins, and have no complaints about the damage output. Flames of Devotion do serious damage, and the auras and exhortations boost damage for everybody which more than makes up for the paladin's lower "raw" damage potential. Finding it pretty smooth going with my current party actually. Got all the Marking weapons in use now, which means everybody gives each other +10 ACC all the time. Crits everywhere!

 

(My only complaint is with the loot table RNG. Not a Ring of Unshackling to be found anywhere!)

[Raven Darkholme]

 

It's neat but not the best aura.

And it doesn't really matter since you can switch between auras anyway.

I'd never play more than one pally in a group, the damage output is just too bad.

And I'm definitely pro pally. but remember the time, when trolls flooded the forum with paladin is useless threads, which went on for an insane amount of pages?

 

Taking more than one aura is a bit of a waste of a talent though, as there are many more which build on each other. Mutually exclusive modal abilities all are.

 

I usually play with two paladins, and have no complaints about the damage output. Flames of Devotion do serious damage, and the auras and exhortations boost damage for everybody which more than makes up for the paladin's lower "raw" damage potential. Finding it pretty smooth going with my current party actually. Got all the Marking weapons in use now, which means everybody gives each other +10 ACC all the time. Crits everywhere!

 

(My only complaint is with the loot table RNG. Not a Ring of Unshackling to be found anywhere!)

 

I'd rather waste a talent then a whole character, but I didn't use a party for a long time, so I might be overthinking it. ;P

Ofc you're not gonna have "complaints" about the damage if you play it right, but just compare the measly damage a paladin does compared to the true high damage AoE classes.^^

I think if I did a full party just for laughs sake, I really would have to constrain myself to pick other classes than ciphers, wizards and chanters. :D

Ok I guess I would take priests and druids, too. :D

But even though paladin is my fav class for solo I'd really have a hard time to fit one, let alone 2 into it.^^

 

Funny about the unschackling rings I always have at least 2 on my playthroughs which is too much for any solo char.

[Wolken3156]

You can always respec to change you auras, I personally do this myself, as well as do it to get Deprive of the Unworthy for specific battles. Early game, Zealous Focus is a boon for any characters (especially casters) you have, since their accuracy is really shaky at the early points of the game. Later on, you might want to change to Zealous Charge to give your party a mobility boost and to make cleaning up random mobs with a melee characters much quicker or maybe even Zealous Endurance to help with your Paladin or your party's overall survival

[Raven Darkholme]

You can always respec to change you auras, I personally do this myself, as well as do it to get Deprive of the Unworthy for specific battles. Early game, Zealous Focus is a boon for any characters (especially casters) you have, since their accuracy is really shaky at the early points of the game. Later on, you might want to change to Zealous Charge to give your party a mobility boost and to make cleaning up random mobs with a melee characters much quicker or maybe even Zealous Endurance to help with your Paladin or your party's overall survival

I feel like respeccing often is a little cheesy.

Ofc to each their own in a SP game, wasn't meant to be offensive or anything.