Some Rogue Tank Questions

[Jojobobo]

So I made a solo Rogue tank on PotD, and I've got to level 15, and it's working well. However, I'm wondering, could it be better? I don't want to respec, at least on the current playthrough, so as such I'll run down my current situation - and while it's potentially inadequate - and my musings on the new build I want to make. Here we go:

 

Current build:

 

Max Might, max Con, max Res, dump Dex.

 

Talents: Crip Strike, Reck Assault, Deep Wounds, Riposte (a very bad choice), Blind Strike, Sap, Dirty Fighting, Death Blows.

 

Abilities: Weapon and Shield, Vulnerable Attack, Deflecting Assault, Cautious Attack, Superior Deflection, Shadowing Beyond, Vicious Fighting.

 

16th slot choice: who really cares?

 

Essential equipment abilities: Retaliation

 

Conclusions: It's worked well. With the Machine's Gift and Galwain's Blessing plus relevant equipment and Training Ground bonus I hit 27 Might - meaning 5 Deep Wounds proc damage which with Retaliation is beastly. However, Riposte isn't at all great, and if it was subbed for Withering Strike (which damages Will) then I could crit on Sap, following a crit on Blinding Strike, etc. It builds a nice chain of crit effects that I currently lack - not saying it's the end of the world, but I want better.

 

Current thinking: Hit Might 16 for 4 rather than 5 Deep Wounds damage, max Int and Per for more crits and very long duration debuffs, dump Dex again, leave Con as is and slightly boost Res (talking about 1 point). Take Withering Strike over Riposte. With the higher Int my damage output will be much better, and will allow for Death Blows to proc easily which isn't currently the case. High Per lets spell effects like Overwhelming Wave from White Crest Armour hit really well (which is already damn sweet).

 

My problems with the new set-up: Is the Con too low? I haven't dumped it, but I do want to (somewhat) tank while maintaining DPS - is 10 too low on this kind of build late game (ultimately, will the well-rounded defenses and damage output offset the lowish endurance)? Also is my concentration too low to whack out some nice item spell effects and scrolls or not?

 

Reassurance on the problems, or not, would be much obliged. I could always run a more average set - maxing Int (which I'm now convinced is the best idea with Death Blows) but averaging stats between Con, Res and Per.

 

Thanks in advance cheery people.

Edited March 11, 2016 by Jojobobo

[Boeroer]

Don't know about RES and CON - you'll have good experience what you can raise/lower on that char. I just wanted to add: if you want to have high MIG and INT and also use Deep Wounds: look out for all items/scrolls that grant you spells that cause either pierce, slash or crush in an AoE. Like Overwhelming Wave from White Crest (crush) that you mentioned. Because they all cause Deep Wounds in an AoE. Look out for the Swaddling Sheet (stronghold quest). It will cast a foe-only Overwhelming Waves in multiple directions when you receive a crit. Bittercut has three uses of Vile Thorns (pierce). And a scroll of Twin Stones can be nice, too. Same with Concussive and Bounding Missile. 

 

But maybe you knew that already?

[Jojobobo]

I tried some of these on your suggestion before, and I found Bittercut to be extremely underwhelming due to the radius. However, Overwhelming Wave is literally os OP as all hell and the Deep Wound it inflicts are pretty severe. Spell scrolls and spells attached to items as you mentioned are reasonable due to the Rogue's natural accuracy. I suppose what I'm after now is a character with a higher chance to crit on his per encounter effects, and with spell effects bound to items, without compromising on bulk.

 

I guess I'll probably try the build as is (more Per to Con and Res doesn't seem too rewarding) but if it doesn't work out I'll restart again and switch it up fairly early for a more average build. I'm still looking to make a class build out of this at some point, Deep Wounds and Retaliation is a fundamentally good combo.

 

I will say maybe the current build I'm running is good - it certainly seemed that the jump from 26 Might and 4 Deep Wounds damage to 27 Might and 5 Deep Wounds damage (upon getting Galawain's Boon) really did make all the difference in cracking Stalwart Village when you arrive there solo and can't rest (as well as many other encounters besides). However, the 11 Might investment you need from 16 to 27 to ensure that extra damage seems a little needless, when you can be using Deathblows and high Int to wrack up a lot more damage 1-to-1.

 

I guess I'm struggling with the optimum here. I know Might must hit 16, and Int is likely good to max to eventually ensure some stun-locking with Sap precluded with Withering Blow, however what's the best compromise with the other stats between tankiness and accuracy. I'll take a stab and see how I go.