Post your most overpowered/favourite team composition

[Yosharian]

So in preparation for the launch of WM2, I'm considering a PotD playthrough.  Hell, I might actually finish the game this time.  I've been thinking about what my favourite team might be.  So my question to you all is, what's your most overpowered, or alternatively just your favourite team composition.  It would be awesome if you guys could post explanations of why you picked each class, since I'm looking to learn a bit more about how certain classes work in combination with each other.

 

My own thoughts on each class (although I have not absorbed the 3.0 changes fully yet so these may be obsolete...) are, from strongest to weakest:

 

OP

----

Druid: seems like one of the best classes because of nuking power, some heal/CC, and the ability to go animal form early on which really helps this class' playability.

 

Cipher: I used Grieving Mother in my first playthrough (pre-WM) and holy **** was she overpowered.  I haven't played any kind of Cipher recently.  Are they still OP?

 

Wizard: it seems common knowledge that Wizards are OP but since I've only used Aloth and only in my first playthrough (stopped around level 9ish) I don't have a lot of experience with it at high levels.

 

Rogue: I have yet to find the perfect build for this class but they are pretty insane at dealing damage, no other class seems to come close.

 

Ranger: Rangers are brilliant now, apparently?  I've been using Sagani in my most recent playthrough and she kicks ass.

 

Priest: seems like one of the best support classes really, I don't think anything supports better than a spamming priest.

 

Monk: I have been using the Juggernaut build with Zahua and he kicks so much ass with it.  A very fun class.

 

AVERAGE

---------------

Fighter: been wanting to try out the Lady of Pain build for quite a while.  Fighters seem like they still need love in certain areas, though.

 

Paladin: I only put it in 'average' because I haven't a clue how to make this class shine.  I only have experience using Pallegina (lol).

 

BAD

------

Chanter: had a bad experience with this class and gave up on it, just seemed too slow to do anything.

 

Barbarian: very disappointed with this class, mained it last playthrough and gave up towards the end.

 

For a possible party I have been considering a frontline of Monk (Juggernaut) Fighter (Lady of Pain), a second line of Rogue (some kind of melee build) and Ranger (pet build then respec into bow build later on), with a support line of Priest and Wizard/Druid/Cipher.  I've been hearing great things about Paladins though, so I was considering trying to fit one in somewhere.  Also, it's so hard to pick between a Wiz, Druid or Cipher.  Argh.

 

Anyway I hope to see some interesting ideas from you guys on your favourite PotD (or otherwise) party combinations...

Edited February 11, 2016 by Yosharian

[Seeders]

6 Chanter Party is insane OP.   For Act 1, your AoE Endurace Drain stacks and kills everything.  Plus you can summon 6 phantoms. 

 

For Act 2 you get more chants and invocations (paralyze, stuns, etc).

 

Then you get 6 Drakes and another AoE DoT.  

[AndreaColombo]

I'll be updating the LoP build when TWM pt II drops (probably over the weekend thereafter) so keep an eye on it if you use it for your next play through. The 0-recovery version will be pretty powerful (especially after you stack a lash on the BotEP.)

 

My favorite party composition is fully custom with Lady of Pain, Juggernaut, my support Priest build, a debuff-focused Wizard, a support-oriented Paladin, and either a Cipher (with the Backlash Beldam build) or a Spiritshift-focused Druid.

 

 

Re: Chanters, they also get Brisk Recitation in 3.0 which makes them build up chants faster.

Edited February 11, 2016 by AndreaColombo

[Gfted1]

From what Ive been reading it seems they neutered the Cipher. Is that not the case?

[AndreaColombo]

From what Ive been reading it seems they neutered the Cipher. Is that not the case?

 

Well, they made it slower by increasing the Focus cost of each power level, but they also buffed many of its powers in the subsequent release of the beta patch. They also increased its focus-generation rate; my understanding is that Ciphers are still not as fast as they used to be, but not as slow as they had been made in the original 3.0 beta release.

Some of the powers have become very strong now.

[Yosharian]

6 Chanter Party is insane OP.   For Act 1, your AoE Endurace Drain stacks and kills everything.  Plus you can summon 6 phantoms. 

 

For Act 2 you get more chants and invocations (paralyze, stuns, etc).

 

Then you get 6 Drakes and another AoE DoT.  

I really detest chanters.  Thanks for the suggestion, though.

 

I'll be updating the LoP build when TWM pt II drops (probably over the weekend thereafter) so keep an eye on it if you use it for your next play through. The 0-recovery version will be pretty powerful (especially after you stack a lash on the BotEP.)

 

My favorite party composition is fully custom with Lady of Pain, Juggernaut, my support Priest build, a debuff-focused Wizard, a support-oriented Paladin, and either a Cipher (with the Backlash Beldam build) or a Spiritshift-focused Druid.

 

 

Re: Chanters, they also get Brisk Recitation in 3.0 which makes them build up chants faster.

Cool, I definitely will.  I might put off my playthrough until I upgrade my PC anyway (this summer? undecided).

 

From what Ive been reading it seems they neutered the Cipher. Is that not the case?

Like I said, I've glanced over the patch notes but I really don't have enough knowledge to be able to judge how much the changes have affected the class.

[Abalon]

Andrea!!! Are you the person that made the huge list of builds on steam community? If so they are awesome!

[Abalon]

The ciphers I said are more powerful then 2.03 the current live build the reason being is they buffed whispers of treason mental binding and silent scream are all very very good now

[AndreaColombo]

Andrea!!! Are you the person that made the huge list of builds on steam community? If so they are awesome!

 

Nope; that's NerdCommando (he's got the same username over here as well, though he hasn't been around for a while.)

 

I just happen to have a build with the same name as one of his; I found out about his list only after posting it and it was too late to edit my post.

Edited February 11, 2016 by AndreaColombo

[Boeroer]

At the moment I use official companions only on PoTD: Me (chanter, Drake's Ambassador build), Kana (also), Hiravas (Batsh!t Crazy build), Pallegina (mix of Engineer/Commendatore), Aloth (Hurtstacker light) and Sagani (Stormcaller). I'm currently lvl 9 in the White March (Durgan's Battery) and it's ridiculously easy. 2 * The Dragon Slashed + 2 * Come Sweet Winds + Combusting Wounds + Expose Vulnerabilities (Aloth's Golden Gaze) + Returning & Relentless Storm + Stormcaller just rips everything apart. Ituumak has not even a chance to engage. I really don't know what will happen if Pallegina gets Sacred Immolation.

 

Next playthrough will be Me(barb, Brute Force build), Eder(Lord of Pain build ), Zahua (Juggernautish build), Durance (Painful Interdiction guy), Grieving Mother (Quick Switch blunderbuss build), Devil of Caroc (Dual Retaliation build or Bagdrad's Barricade crit build). I guess it will be a bit tougher. If WM II is out I will maybe use an island aumaua quickswitching blunderbuss cipher myself and take the new barb companion instead.

 

edit: I also used Eder of Pain for the current Playthrough for a while - but Batsh!t Hiravas did fit in better because of DoT spells + Combusting Wounds. Eder will be better off with Durance and barb (Weakaning & Sickening) - his Knockdowns will be crits all the time I think.

Edited February 11, 2016 by Boeroer

[Barbedbeat]

Hmm... I am NOT a min-maxer, and I'm truly terrible at remembering specifics and optimizing characters, as I prefer to build each party member according to their character and background, trying to develop their abilities in the way I feel to best emphasizes the role they have in my watcher's story. 

But anyway,  here is my party of choice:

 

-Watcher, the Cipher. High MIGHT, Very high INT and PER. Must be a Fast Runner and has to possess the technique for a Graceful Retreat, so to quickly  move across the battlefield, aggressively spamming her mind-breaking powers before running back to the edge of the battlefield, Blunderbuss in hand, where she would mercilessly mow down every enemy from a distance, side by side with

-Aloth, the  Wizard. His weapon of choice is St Graham's Spark (Wood elf PER bonus works wonders with guns, and this pistol's ability to grant +10% accuracy to allies targeting the same enemies is just great), with which he would snipe and wear down even the most ferocious creature, before destroying it with one of his grimoire's devastating spells. He wears the legendary Aru-Brekr armor, and his fingers are blessed with two magnificent pieces of jewelry: the Ring of Wonders and Telda's Ring. 

In the meantime, the heart of the fight is dominated by

-Edér, the Fighter. Enemies stumble and fall under the Frenzied blows of his enchanted Sabre, while uselessly clawing at his sturdy shield (which looks suspiciously like a big Larder Door). His imposing, muscular figure looks even more menacing while clad in the White Crest, a magic armor which grants him control over the powers of the Sea itself. Side by side with him, an Aumaua of impressive size,

-Kana, the Chanter, rhythmically whirls his Pollaxe, all the while keeping the party's morale up with his booming voice, reciting melodious chants and summoning creatures of tremendous power to help them in battle. 

But, in order to ensure the victorious outcome of a fight, crucial is the role of 

-Durance, the Priest. Equipped with nothing but a simple mail armor, sloppily put over his old burnt robes, he heals his allies and shuns his foes by invoking the divine force of Magran's cleansing Flame... and occasionally stabbing people in the face with his crooked staff, muttering an infinite (and quite imaginative) string of curses. 

[DreamWayfarer]

How can you stab people with a staff, of all things ?

Edited February 11, 2016 by DreamWayfarer

[Barbedbeat]

How can you stab people with a staff, of all things ?

*You* can't. *Durance* can.

[DreamWayfarer]

 

How can you stab people with a staff, of all things ?

*You* can't. *Durance* can.

Lol. Must be the high Resolve. Edited February 11, 2016 by DreamWayfarer

[redneckdevil]

Player paladin, dwarf barbarian, human rogue, moon godlike chanter, human cipher, and Durance.

[id3a]

I think they are more suited now for DPS and less for CC at least in the beginning.

[Wolken3156]

I'm running a Pale Elf Priest of Skaen as my main character. Her build is similar to Boeroer's Schemer Needler build, only with a different race and I'm running Scion of Flames and Savage Attack over Interdiction and Painful Interdiction. I like the extra damage from both melee and Shining Beacon/Storm of Holy Fire over the mass Weaken. I have other characters to cover for it anyway.

 

I'm also running a Wood Elf Wizard using a Combusting Wounds based build. Which means mostly the Minoletta spells, DoT spells and of course the ever lovable Combusting Wounds. She's currently the team's powerhouse, tearing apart enemies with her spells and just being an overall badass. But that's to be expected from a Wizard =D

 

I also have a Hearth Orlan Cipher, running the build that I wrote a guide on recently. She's a glass cannon, and does attract a lot of hostiles, but she does have Ecto, Antipathetic Field and Whisper to deal with them. She's pretty high up there on the damage charts, losing out a small bit to my Wizard. I think Ciphers actually work really well now, the stronger powers do more than make up for the increased Focus costs.

 

Next is my Druid who is a Wild Orlan. He's kinda half-tank, half-crowd controlling monster, and he's damn good at both. Damage has been picking up as well since he's getting his higher level goodies. His spiritform has also served me very well in carrying my limited offensive options during Act 1, plus its fun seeing a giant bear punch things.

 

Next we have my Ocean Folk Chanter, who serves as one of my main tanks. He does pretty good damage with Come, Come, Soft Winds of Death but he's pretty lackluster at the moment. But I have used this class a million times and know all too well how amazing he'll be once he gets The Dragon Thrashed and the Dragon Wailed and Aefyllath Ues Mith Fyr. Being able to use Invocations a bit more often is good though, since he has solid CC with his AoE Paralyze and Charm Invocations. Their accuracy is a bit lacking though, which is probably from the shield penalties.

 

My last member is a Mountain Dwarf Paladin of St. Elcga. Pretty standard stuff with Shielding Touch and Shielding Flames. He also serves as a tank, though I occasionally have him pull out a 2-hander to cut apart lesser foes. He kinda stands out from the rest of the group in a RP sense... considering my main character =/

 

In my first run of the beta I used a very similar line up as the one above, but with different race choices. Before the beta though I had a Wild Orlan Barbarian, Human Darcozzi Paladin, Pale Elf Priest of Skaen, Wood Elf Wizard, Wood Elf Ranger and Hearth Orlan Cipher, which is much more standard. One of these days I'll play Monk... maybe. Its the only class I never really gave a real run over, which is kinda weird since I normally like running martial artists.

Edited February 12, 2016 by Wolken3156

[KDubya]

I'm going to run in PotD the following:

 

Zahua - Juggernaut build

 

Devil of Caroc - sword and board durable rogue build

 

Kana - two handed melee, maybe Thayn's Reach pike for the debuff

 

Pellagina - take her new power, probably two handers

 

and not sure for the PC or the last spot. Was thinking of:

 

1.) Dual wielding Gold Pact Paladin, Island Aumaua sabres/stillettos/arquebus or Boreal Dwarf two hander with Estocs- this would get me two paladins and all the goodness that comes from that.

 

2.)Chanter - Drake's Ambassador but work in Stormcaller into the mix maybe - this would get me two chanters and all the goodness that comes from that

 

3.) Cipher - melee based maybe sword and retaliation shield like Backlash Bedlam or maybe with reach weapon like quarterstaff (the speed one from Endless level 3)

[limaxophobiacq]

Running a ranger with the double arrow modal + the superb speed warbow with durgan enancement + Angio Gambeson for double arrows with 0 recovery. She is top damaging in the group and that doesn't even count the damage from her stag companion.

 

I feel wizard and cipher both have taken a hit now that almost everything you fight has a laundry list of immunities.

 

This will be more interesting discussion in 4 days though.

[Boeroer]

I'm going to run in PotD the following:

 

Zahua - Juggernaut build

 

Devil of Caroc - sword and board durable rogue build

 

Kana - two handed melee, maybe Thayn's Reach pike for the debuff

 

Pellagina - take her new power, probably two handers

 

and not sure for the PC or the last spot. Was thinking of:

 

1.) Dual wielding Gold Pact Paladin, Island Aumaua sabres/stillettos/arquebus or Boreal Dwarf two hander with Estocs- this would get me two paladins and all the goodness that comes from that.

 

2.)Chanter - Drake's Ambassador but work in Stormcaller into the mix maybe - this would get me two chanters and all the goodness that comes from that

 

3.) Cipher - melee based maybe sword and retaliation shield like Backlash Bedlam or maybe with reach weapon like quarterstaff (the speed one from Endless level 3)

Pallegina's new power is really good. First of all it turns Sworn Enemy from per rest use to 1/encounter - that's really great on it's own. And those five burning balls from hell also benefit from Penetrating Shot for a total DR bypass of 15. And the damage profits from the Sworn's Enemy +20%. The range ist also huge. You can use it as opener and then fire two FoD shots at the same target. It's great, but not too overpowered. OBS did a really good job on this. I love it!

[Gairnulf]

Barbarian: very disappointed with this class, mained it last playthrough and gave up towards the end.

I wrote a big post a few months agon on why the Barbarian is weak in comparison to other front line classes. I agree with your points on other classes, and I'm still looking for someone to justify the Barbarian's current state. Strange that no mention has been made by developers of revising it a bit. I'd suggest by upping its base deflection.

 

Here is my analysis of the Barbarian class: http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/82781-most-overpowered-builds-post-patch-202/?p=1746008

[Doppelschwert]

Pallegina's new power is really good. First of all it turns Sworn Enemy from per rest use to 1/encounter - that's really great on it's own.

Can't remember where I picked that up but I think sworn enemy is supposed to be per encounter now regardless of any additional talents?

Not so sure though.

[AndreaColombo]

^ it's in the 3.0 patch notes.

[Elric Galad]

I think barbarian are in a better position now that casters cannot cast AoE spells all day long. Barbarian AoE DPS is crazy.

 

And contrary to thief, they are decent off-tank. Not the level of fighters, paladins and juggermonks of course. Low deflection is misleading, they have crazy endurance, and a beasty self heal.

 

However, it's true that their lvl 11 and 13 abilities were really disappointing. I hope they could get some raw power this time.

Edited February 12, 2016 by Elric Galad

[MaxQuest]

I've been thinking about what my favourite team might be.  So my question to you all is, what's your most overpowered, or alternatively just your favourite team composition.  It would be awesome if you guys could post explanations of why you picked each class, since I'm looking to learn a bit more about how certain classes work in combination with each other.

At the moment I run my very first play-through. I use default companions, but with stats as if they were custom-made. So:

- Front-line: Eder and Kana tanks with maxed resolve

- Mid: Pallegina and Sagani, both with maxed might/per, and equiped with arbalests. Prones everywhere.

- Backline: MC (pure-dps cipher, maxed mig/dex/per) and Grieving Mother (cc/dps, maxed mig/per/int), both with warbows

 

So far I was playing on Hard. And at first it felt like it. But once I've delved into mechanics, built the party and respec'ed them, it feels easy and OP as hell. Sly Cyrdel and his gang evaporated in 4s, against a level 5 party. Clearing Od-Nua levels 5,6,7 without rest at level 6. Send Itumaak scouting ahead, let tanks engage, alpha-strike those who would run past them, and cross-ectopsychic echo Itumaak who just arrived in position behind enemy ranks. Or, if he got stuck, just double 2xmind blades. The amount of damage is insane (Eder once got dominated and got in the way of two echo-rays. He has evaporated before I could even charm him back, together with all the enemies)

And that's with everything cast on per-encounter basis. Perhaps I should not wait for next play-through, and just switch to potd..

 

 

My own thoughts on each class (although I have not absorbed the 3.0 changes fully yet so these may be obsolete...) are, from strongest to weakest:

OP: Druid, Cipher, Wizard, Rogue, Ranger, Priest, Monk

AVERAGE: Fighter, Paladin

BAD: Chanter, Barbarian

I believe it is important to consider how often are you going to rest.

Lets take wizard for example. If resting mainly on fatigue or when tanks run out of health, then he feels somewhat lackluster. Always saving spells for that big fight and contributing close to nothing on trash/medium encounters; he just isn't worth his spot in party, at least not before level 9. Now if you are going to rest often... it's a different story; he will out-cc even cipher.

 

My opinion on class balance so far would be the following:

If resting very rarely:

- op: cipher, ranger, fighter

- good: paladin, rogue, chanter

- average: druid, barbarian

- bad: wizard, priest

 

If resting very often:

- op: wizard

- good: cipher, druid, priest, chanter

- average: paladin, rogue, ranger, fighter, barbarian

- bad: none

 

And if I had to elaborate on each class:

 

 

(again, that's my current (after playing the game for around two weeks) opinion, and which is subject to change)

 

- Cipher: always good addition to party. High damage, decent cc. Versatility to chose what you need. Can spam and spam. That extra 1.4 damage modifier is super sweet in bypassing enemy DR.

- Paladin: with high might and reloading weapon: awesome alpha-strike via FoD and that apprentice wounding-shot on all trash encounters. Super strong heal via LoH. Strong buffs and auras. Decent single-target damage if fight goes longer, due to sworn enemy. Their main con imho is that they are not that good in long battle against many enemies. Their aoe comes a little bit late.

- Wizard: most versatile class in the game. The amount of builds you can come with him, is above everything a barbarian could dream of. Super strong if has his spells up. Can easily trivialize 'bigger half' of the game. Ofc if you are in the mood to get back to the tavern. Again.

- Priest: useless piece of caster for 90% of the game, but mvp for those boss and bounty fights. Love them and hate them.

- Rogue: highest single target dps, which is probably not worth all that babysitting he requires.

- Ranger: a well mannered and self-sufficient rogue. Has a built-in offtank that can be used in multiple ways, including scouting and serving as target for echo-spam.

- Fighter: a well rounded class. Excelent base acc/def/hp. But has it's own problems. He can deal nice damage, but probably not as stelar as dedicated dps. He can somewhat control via knockdown, but not as good as wizard or any other caster. He can tank. He can be a great tank. You leave him somewhere, deep burried in the enemy ranks, and at the end of the fight he will still be there. Standing. The problem is you probably don't want a tank that good. If you are going to rest anyway all that health left is wasted. And you probably would end better with a chanter or paladin, which would also buff all your party.

- Chanter: utility through passivity. Put him as offtank in a hole in your frontline. Let him chant and buff the party. Fight is going longer than expected? It's invocation time! Bassically a tank with buffs and summons. Or paralize. Win-win really.

- Barbarian: somewhat an antonym of rogue. No ST damage. Loads of cleave/carnage. Has high hp. Wants to be surrounded, but can't tank. Doesn't seem to fill any role that well, aside from standing behind tanks and stunning enemies with a reach weapon. Poor man wizard, which stuns on encounter basis.

- Monk: no idea, really. Too controversial. Wants to get hit, but not hard. Could be a tank but has disengagement abilities. Requires lots of DR, but doesn't want to wear heavy armor.

 

Edited February 12, 2016 by MaxQuest