Recommened Best AI Tank for PotD

[Fromatic]

I haven't played this game since release, got to the giant Dragon at the end/optional boss and stopped playing. Lost my save and playing it again on PotD and was curious what you guys would recommend as the best AI Tank.

 

Right now I'm playing as a Cipher, my Main Tank is a Paladin AI I made through the Inn

 

Paladin Tank

http://imgur.com/S8ZAs9r

 

and as a side mention, this is what my Cipher looks like

http://imgur.com/ihCcxMF

 

All of the recommendations for classes on this part of the forums are for player characters and the majority of research I've done for the game is all outdated and most being pre-2.0 let alone 3.0. I've never played on PotD before but going from the Sticky on the Reddit for Pillars of Eternity and here as well it's mentioned that I shouldn't wear any armor and just clothing, BUT, if I don't, right now at the start of the game all of my Tanks die instantly. So I have no idea what to do.

 

I'd like to use the companions from the game itself but you can customize their stats so I'm left with a limited choice at the beginning, I have the Wizard and Fighter with blonde hair.

[Ymarsakar]

Paladin or chanter main tanks are easy to use starting off in PotD. I only play POTD since the 1.0 days.

 

The thing about DR is that you need to self adjust it. Increase it as much as you can, until you notice your armored characters are not taking damage, then slowly reduce it. If you are learning new game mechanics, then go as high a DR as you can get, plus hatchet/shield combo for many as an emergency save.

 

Then you can slowly decrease it to robes or nakedness when you have a comfortable mix.

 

Because there's so many stat difference builds and what not, I just decided I was going to go with builds that didn't care about stats, other than Might and INt that is.

 

Using a 4 int monk atm. Very fun. Stats are mostly balanced. 16/14/15/15/4/12. Something like that.

 

For cipher, they changed some of the focus and focus gain stuff, as well as carow. Not that I ever used drugs and food to begin with... but I suggest taking amplified thrust and detonate later on. Amplified thrust regains some of your lost focus, which is an alternative dps method than just using antipathetic and echo all the time.

 

The paladin's lay on hands is pretty useful early on, especially due to per encounter on POTD. I prefer the chant's aoe death chant and later Dragon slash aoe, because it's easier to build, easier to use, easier to keep track of chants because of the dragon visual, I love summons, and the aoe damage keeps enemy aggro and attention without engagement. Something the paladin will have issues with early on.

[Fromatic]

Paladin or chanter main tanks are easy to use starting off in PotD. I only play POTD since the 1.0 days.

 

The thing about DR is that you need to self adjust it. Increase it as much as you can, until you notice your armored characters are not taking damage, then slowly reduce it. If you are learning new game mechanics, then go as high a DR as you can get, plus hatchet/shield combo for many as an emergency save.

 

Then you can slowly decrease it to robes or nakedness when you have a comfortable mix.

 

Because there's so many stat difference builds and what not, I just decided I was going to go with builds that didn't care about stats, other than Might and INt that is.

 

Using a 4 int monk atm. Very fun. Stats are mostly balanced. 16/14/15/15/4/12. Something like that.

 

For cipher, they changed some of the focus and focus gain stuff, as well as carow. Not that I ever used drugs and food to begin with... but I suggest taking amplified thrust and detonate later on. Amplified thrust regains some of your lost focus, which is an alternative dps method than just using antipathetic and echo all the time.

 

The paladin's lay on hands is pretty useful early on, especially due to per encounter on POTD. I prefer the chant's aoe death chant and later Dragon slash aoe, because it's easier to build, easier to use, easier to keep track of chants because of the dragon visual, I love summons, and the aoe damage keeps enemy aggro and attention without engagement. Something the paladin will have issues with early on.

Right now I'm having a really difficult time dealing with enemies. My Paladin Tank usually gets two shot before she can even heal herself or use Last Stand, in fact, the Tank companion you get at the first town last longer then she does.

 

She's using a Hatchet/Shield and is in Medium Armor and pretty much get wrecked every encounter.

 

Maybe I'm not good at CRPG's or something, I pause almost every other second and focus enemies down but normal named enemies or "bosses" usually destroy my team. Like right now I'm on the second level of the Temple in the first town and the ghost just faceroll my groups almost instantly.

[Ymarsakar]

 

 

Right now I'm having a really difficult time dealing with enemies. My Paladin Tank usually gets two shot before she can even heal herself or use Last Stand, in fact, the Tank companion you get at the first town last longer then she does.

 

She's using a Hatchet/Shield and is in Medium Armor and pretty much get wrecked every encounter.

 

Maybe I'm not good at CRPG's or something, I pause almost every other second and focus enemies down but normal named enemies or "bosses" usually destroy my team. Like right now I'm on the second level of the Temple in the first town and the ghost just faceroll my groups almost instantly.

 

 

The spirit ghosts are always tough. Which is why I ignore the temple until I'm level 5 or 6. I think I finished some city sectors in D before I went back there.

 

I'm currently on another playthrough, to get past Caed Nua. Used a few rests to clear out the spirits above ground, and 2 rests got me to Maer in my grasp. 

 

It's important to keep going on the critical quest path, in order to get hiravias and the other npcs in your party. You'll get more xp from the main quest too.

 

If enemies are too tough, leave them for later and just try to go around them while doing quests. Even a single level makes a big difference in Pillars. And for ghosts, level 4-6 is about right to take on swarms of them. My party is level 3, with an additional level 2 silver tide priest. So it's just PC Monk, Eder, Kana, Aloth, Durance. Taking on 2 shadows, 3-4 phantoms, at the beginning of the keep, wiped out half of my party. Thought I was going to die, but somehow killed em. I was freshly rested then too.

 

The phantom touch stun, their high defenses and deflection, are tough to get through. You need additional levels to increase your accuracy and probably better equipment. Full plate is in Raedric's Hold, and the area south of Gilded Vale, Anslog Compass, has some easier content. Just stay away from mushrooms in caves. They're bad.

 

It feels a little bit easier now getting past Caed Nua without doing any side quests to get to level 4 party. The first time I went through Caed Nua quest, it was with the old wizard and chanters. Wizard didn't have aoe daze raw damage back then. Also, I think I refused to level up my party to 3 the first time, as well, which required a lot of rests to clear out the keep. I think 3-4 from Gilded Vale to clear the top, and a few more to clear the bottom dungeon. The only way I killed all the spiders and paladin group was because I pulled them into each other first. The priest and wizard were always out of spells, and they didn't even have level 2 spells. Hilariously hard.

 

They should have had a hint to tell me which room the key was in though. If I didn't know in advance from hearing about it, I think I would have cleared out the entire dungeon still, lacking mechanics 3.

Edited March 1, 2016 by Ymarsakar

[Maxzero]

The most important thing to keep in mind with tanking is positioning. If you are face tanking 5-6 mobs any tank who is not heavily overleveled is going down.

 

For example I just did the Temple in my current Potd run without a using a single rest or item with nothing but story NPCs.

 

Shadoes need LOS to teleport. So get you tank to shoot one of them with a bow then run around a corner. Then ambush them with the rest of your party as they come around. Have your backline stealthed and your offtanks unstealth so that they catch an early teleport.