[Discussion] Companion Builds

[AndreaColombo]

I usually spec Durance as a pure-support Priest; search this forum for "How I Buffed The Others" to find it. Durance is noticeably slower, but also sturdier.

[Stasis_Sword]

I usually spec Durance as a pure-support Priest; search this forum for "How I Buffed The Others" to find it. Durance is noticeably slower, but also sturdier.

 

Thanks AndreaColombo that was exactly what I was looking for. Would you switch the weapon to sword so Durance could use Holy Flame?

 

I'm assuming most people use Sagani ranged with storm caller. Any must have ranged ranger talents?

[AndreaColombo]

^ Indeed, I forgot to mention that but yes, when I play that build with Durance I use a sword.

[MaxQuest]

I'm assuming most people use Sagani ranged with storm caller. Any must have ranged ranger talents?

Well, you definitely need Twinned Arrows and Driving Flight to maximize Stormcaller's proc rate.

Stalker's Link and Stunning Shots are pretty much mandatory too.

[Elric Galad]

The fox hits as hard as a wolf, so you should take all the pet boosting talents : resilient, vicious, mercyless companion, and predator's senses. You need a DoT in your party to apply predator's sense bonus reliably. A chanter with Dragon slashed chant would be perfect.

[Crucis]

^ Indeed, I forgot to mention that but yes, when I play that build with Durance I use a sword.

 

Durance is pretty straight forward.  Because he's a priest of Magran, you absolutely want to take the Inspired Flame talent which gives a +10 accuracy bonus with Sword and Arquebus.  And because much of the time, if he's not casting a spell, you'll have him hanging in back using the gun, Marksman and Gunner are fairly important picks as well.

 

With Durance, I tend not to pick a weapon focus talent because unfortunately his two Magran preferred weapons aren't in the same group.  Still, I can see some people who might like to pick the Soldier group to get the +6 acc bonus for the gun, or the Knight group for the bonus to the sword.

 

One might consider taking Penetrating Shot, but since he is firing an arquebus, which already has 6 DR Bypass and a high damage range, as well as Durance himself having a rather low DEX, I'm not sure that reducing his attack rate is really worth it in this case.

 

I'd suggest picking Superior Deflection and Weapon and Shield Style to boost his DEFL.  When you get him well equipped and with at least one or both of these 2 DEFL enhancing talents, Durance isn't terrible in melee.  Oh, I wouldn't want him charging in there most of the time, but if he's in good armor, with a good small or medium shield to go with his sword, he's not so bad.

 

Midgame, I like equipping him with the Whispers of Yenwood sword that has the anti-spirit effect and a boost to CON on it.  Makes him rather useful against spirits.  All in all, this is a pretty good sword to keep around, particularly if you upgrade its general quality to Fine or Exceptional. 

 

As for the Arquebus, I give him the best one I have at any point in the game, since he's the one who is going to be using it most often in any given battle, as opposed to a front liner who might only use it for an opening alpha strike before switching to a melee weapon.  In fact, early game, the moment I pick up Kana, I give Durance the arquebus that Kana starts with.

 

Other talents to consider are the class talents that enhance a priest's Holy Radiance ability, and the ones for bonus spells at spell levels 1, 2, 3, or 4.  I personally don't take the extra spell talents, but i could see going with the one for level 3 or 4, as those contain some useful spells.

 

One other talent that I think is worth considering for Durance is Field Triage.  If you're a player who rests extremely often, then this talent probably isn't of much value for you.  But if you're more of a role player who likes to stretch out the time between rests, you might find the Field Triage talent useful as a way to give a very badly wounded team mate some extra Health in a critical situation.

 

Oh, and one might consider taking the Scion of Flame talent since some of a priest's best offensive spells are flame based.

[Crucis]

 

I'm assuming most people use Sagani ranged with storm caller. Any must have ranged ranger talents?

Well, you definitely need Twinned Arrows and Driving Flight to maximize Stormcaller's proc rate.

Stalker's Link and Stunning Shots are pretty much mandatory too.

 

 

Those are actually Abilities, not Talents, 

 

For actual Talents, Marksman and Penetrating Shot seem like must haves.  And for Stormcaller, I presume that Heart of the Storm is a definite must take (as long as it works with the lightning lash and Returning Storm proc, of course).

 

 

 

One other suggestion.  Though Sagani does come with a Hunting Bow of her own, I might suggest NOT taking the weapon focus Peasant group.  Why?  The best one handed melee weapon in that group is spear, another piercing weapon.  And experience has shown me that it's a bad idea to have a character too dependent on a single damage type across the various weapons he carries.  IMO, it's better to have a slashing or crushing weapon as your HTH weapon if you're primarily a ranged character.  Oh, yes, Sagani could use a staff or a hatchet.  But staffs are 2H weapons so you can't use a shield (if you'd want to) and hatchets are rather low damage weapons.  And going hatchet and shield seems more like a "I desperately do not want to be in melee, so I'll stack up the most DEFL I can" combo.

 

Of course, I suppose that the way to get around this would be to pick a couple of weapon groups so that she could wield a hunting bow (before getting the universal Stormcaller) and another group that gets her access to some other 1H weapon type that you'd prefer over the ones in the peasant group.

[L4wlight]

But Penetrating Shot slows down Returning Storm Bolt proc generation with Stormcaller...

[atua]

I also prefer not to take Penetrating Shot on Sagani, since Stormcaller comes with a built-in -6 shock DR debuff. My preferred talents would be the pet talents Resilient/Vicious/Merciless Companion, Marksman, Weapon Focus, Heart of the Storm, Apprentice Sneak Attack, Outlander's Frenzy.

[Teioh_White]

That's pretty much what I do with Sagani, except take out Frenzy for Interrupting Blows. I don't like to slow down Sagani's 4x chance to proc Returning Storm CC, so no Penetrating Shot. I just take the Blows to take advantage of her decent Per (17) and keep up with the theme of locking down whatever she's targeting.

[KDubya]

I always take penetrating Shots as she will fight with a bow other than Stormcaller for a lot of the game. Either the Persistence hunting bow with Peasant focus or one of the War bows and Adventurer.

 

I've never really noticed the 20% slower fire rate, but I do notice the +5 damage per shot from a fast firing hunting bow.

[AndreaColombo]

^ with firearms recovery is less important because, in the grand scheme of things, it's the reload animation that slows you down the most. If you have Gunner a good DEX score to ameliorate it, the difference is certainly felt; I too never felt the Penetrating Shot penalty too much on reload weapons.

[atua]

I always take penetrating Shots as she will fight with a bow other than Stormcaller for a lot of the game. Either the Persistence hunting bow with Peasant focus or one of the War bows and Adventurer.

 

I've never really noticed the 20% slower fire rate, but I do notice the +5 damage per shot from a fast firing hunting bow.

That Stormcaller build was for people who don't want to respec a companion for either role playing or cost reasons. As you said, Sagani won't have Stormcaller for a decent chunk of the game, so I usually start off with a normal firearms build (which includes penetrating shots), then respec into the final build when I pick up Stormcaller. Edited March 19, 2016 by atua

[Crucis]

 

I always take penetrating Shots as she will fight with a bow other than Stormcaller for a lot of the game. Either the Persistence hunting bow with Peasant focus or one of the War bows and Adventurer.

 

I've never really noticed the 20% slower fire rate, but I do notice the +5 damage per shot from a fast firing hunting bow.

That Stormcaller build was for people who don't want to respec a companion for either role playing or cost reasons. As you said, Sagani won't have Stormcaller for a decent chunk of the game, so I usually start off with a normal firearms build (which includes penetrating shots), then respec into the final build when I pick up Stormcaller.

 

 

Frankly, I wouldn't let a 10% proc on a bow dictate whether or not I took a talent like Penetrating Shot.  P/S will still work just fine with Stormcaller, though if the 20% speed reduction really does get one undies in a bunch, just turn it off or respec.  In the long run, I don't think that it's worth NOT taking just for a bow you get later in the game. But to each his own.

 

[Dastion]

 

Frankly, I wouldn't let a 10% proc on a bow dictate whether or not I took a talent like Penetrating Shot. P/S will still work just fine with Stormcaller, though if the 20% speed reduction really does get one undies in a bunch, just turn it off or respec. In the long run, I don't think that it's worth NOT taking just for a bow you get later in the game. But to each his own.

 

With Driving Flight and Twin Arrows it's a bit higher than 10%

Edited March 20, 2016 by Dastion

[Teioh_White]

Also, P.shot costs a talent. Normally not a concern, but Rangers are far and away the most talent starved class due to the plethora of nice pet talents.

[Crucis]

 

Frankly, I wouldn't let a 10% proc on a bow dictate whether or not I took a talent like Penetrating Shot. P/S will still work just fine with Stormcaller, though if the 20% speed reduction really does get one undies in a bunch, just turn it off or respec. In the long run, I don't think that it's worth NOT taking just for a bow you get later in the game. But to each his own.

With Driving Flight and Twin Arrows it's a bit higher than 10%

 

 

No, it'd still be 10% on a PER HIT basis.  That wouldn't change.  It would change on a "per attack" basis, since prior to those abilities, you'd only have one chance for a hit per attack.  (BTW, when I say "per attack", what I mean by "attack" is each time you fire the bow.)  But with DF and TA, you are increasing the potential number of hits per attack.  Two potential hits from TA alone.  And who knows how many from DF.

[JerekKruger]

Could anyone give me suggestions on how to build Devil of Caroc? In most my previous playthroughs I've tended to drop her after quickly doing her quest (it doesn't help that she's usually the last companion I pick up), but in my next playthrough I'd like to actually use her.

 

I could simply spec her as an archer, but given her (relatively) high resolve and enforced use of a breastplate I fancy using her in melee. I'm thinking of equipping her with a one-hander (probably a sabre at first) and a small shield and using her as a fairly durable melee damage dealer. Do people think that'll work?

 

A related question: I'd like to pick her up fairly early on. What sort of level could a party reasonably go to the White March at on PotD? Do you miss out on much by not doing the White March at the upscaled difficulty?

 

Thanks.

[Guest]

Could anyone give me suggestions on how to build Devil of Caroc? In most my previous playthroughs I've tended to drop her after quickly doing her quest (it doesn't help that she's usually the last companion I pick up), but in my next playthrough I'd like to actually use her.

 

I could simply spec her as an archer, but given her (relatively) high resolve and enforced use of a breastplate I fancy using her in melee. I'm thinking of equipping her with a one-hander (probably a sabre at first) and a small shield and using her as a fairly durable melee damage dealer. Do people think that'll work?

 

A related question: I'd like to pick her up fairly early on. What sort of level could a party reasonably go to the White March at on PotD? Do you miss out on much by not doing the White March at the upscaled difficulty?

 

Thanks.

 

Here's the build I use:

 

Level 2 Weapon Focus: Ruffian - Stealth 2, Mechanics 6

Level 3 Dirty Fighting - Stealth 3, Mechanics 7

Level 4 Vicious Fighting - Stealth 4, Mechanics 8

Level 5 Deep Wounds - Stealth 4, Mechanics 9

Level 6 Bloody Slaughter - Stealth 5, Mechanics 9

Level 7 Persistent Distraction - Stealth 5, Mechanics 10

Level 8 Gunner - Stealth 6, Mechanics 10

Level 9 Withering Strike - Stealth 6, Mechanics 11

Level 10 Runner's Wounding Shot - Stealth 7, Mechanics 11

Level 11 Deathblows - Stealth 7, Mechanics 12

Level 12 Shot on the Run - Stealth 8, Mechanics 12

Level 13 Sap - Stealth 8, Mechanics 12

Level 14 Quick Switch - Stealth 8, Mechanics 13

Level 15 Feign Death - Stealth 9, Mechanics 13

Level 16 Backstab - Stealth 9, Mechanics 13

 

Equipment:

Devil of Caroc's Body (Exceptional, Of Might, Burn-Proofed, Durgan Reinforced)

Ring of Deflection

Ring of Protection

Lilith's Shawl

 

Weapons:

Fellstroke (Exceptional, Slaying-Kith) <- Use this with Runner's Wounding Shot to open (Sneak Attack, Ambushing, Backstab...if you can get close enough)

Nightshroud <- Switch to this and move in to flank (Persistent Distraction). Attack using Blinding Strike, Withering Strike, or Sap (depending on enemy immunities) to trigger Deathblows. Dirty/Vicious Fighting, Deep Wounds, and Bloody Slaughter will make her crank out a lot of damage. She will get Finishing Blows and Shadowing Beyond for free in the process of unlocking Nightshroud.

[JerekKruger]

Thanks Achilles, looks good.

[Guest]

Does anyone have a priest build for Durance (since he  isn't a Skaen Priest)? Also any ranger builds for Sagani?

 

Durance

 

Level 2 Athletics 2, Lore 5, Mechanics 2 - Bear's Fortitude

Level 3 Athletics 3, Lore 6, Mechanics 3

Level 4 Athletics 3, Lore 6, Mechanics 4 - Sanctifier

Level 5 Athletics 3, Lore 7, Mechanics 5

Level 6 Athletics 3, Lore 7, Mechanics 6 - Brilliant Radiance

Level 7 Athletics 3, Lore 8, Mechanics 6

Level 8 Athletics 3, Lore 8, Mechanics 7 - Interdiction

Level 9 Athletics 3, Lore 9, Mechanics 7 - Spell Mastery: Barbs of Condemnation

Level 10 Athletics 3, Lore 9, Mechanics 8 - Painful Interdiction

Level 11 Athletics 3, Lore 10, Mechanics 8 - Spell Mastery: Divine Mark

Level 12 Athletics 3, Lore 10, Mechanics 8 - Scion of Flame

Level 13 Athletics 3, Lore 10, Mechanics 9 - Spell Mastery: Pillar of Faith

Level 14 Athletics 3, Lore 11, Mechanics 9 - Vulnerable Attack

Level 15 Athletics 3, Lore 11, Mechanics 9 - Spell Mastery: Searing Seal

Level 16 Athletics 3, Lore 11, Mechanics 10 - Empowered Interdiction

 

Equipment:

Durance's Robe (Of Constituion, Burn-Proofed)

Ring of Searing Flames

Seal of Faith

Unwavering Resolve

Shod-in-Faith

 

Weapons:

Durance's Quarterstaff (Damaging 2, Slaying-Vessel)

Rod of Pale Shades (Slaying-Vessel)

 

 

 

Sagani

 

Level 2 Marksman - Stealth 4, Survival 5

Level 3 Vicious Aim - Stealth 5, Survival 6

Level 4 Primal Bane - Stealth 5, Survival 7

Level 5 Stalker's Link - Stealth 6, Survival 7

Level 6 Penetrating Shot - Stealth 6, Survival 8

Level 7 Heal Companion - Stealth 7, Survival 8

Level 8 Accurate Wounding Shot - Stealth 7, Survival 9

Level 9 Revive Companion - Stealth 8, Survival 9

Level 10 Faithful Companion - Stealth 8, Survival 10

Level 11 Stunning Shot - Stealth 9, Survival 10

Level 12 Merciless Companion - Stealth 9, Survival 11

Level 13 Twinned Arrows - Stealth 9, Survival 11

Level 14 Resilient Companion - Stealth 10, Survival 11

Level 15 Predator's Sense - Stealth 10, Survival 12

Level 16 Vicious Companion - Stealth 10, Survival 12

 

Equipment:

Wayfarer's Hide (Of Perception, Pierce-Proof)

Stalker's Torc

 

Weapons:

Persistence (Slaying-Beast)

Aattuuk (main hand),  Dîal Ewn Dibita (off-hand)

 

Note: your results may vary, but I try to avoid anything that causes Sagani to fire too quickly. Her job is to apply the effects that make Itumaak lethal. Her DoT attacks don't stack, so there isn't a whole lot to be gained by making her rapid-fire. IMHO.

Edited March 26, 2016 by Achilles

[Crucis]

 

Does anyone have a priest build for Durance (since he  isn't a Skaen Priest)? Also any ranger builds for Sagani?

 

Durance

 

Level 2 Athletics 2, Lore 5, Mechanics 2 - Bear's Fortitude

Level 3 Athletics 3, Lore 6, Mechanics 3

Level 4 Athletics 3, Lore 6, Mechanics 4 - Sanctifier

Level 5 Athletics 3, Lore 7, Mechanics 5

Level 6 Athletics 3, Lore 7, Mechanics 6 - Brilliant Radiance

Level 7 Athletics 3, Lore 8, Mechanics 6

Level 8 Athletics 3, Lore 8, Mechanics 7 - Interdiction

Level 9 Athletics 3, Lore 9, Mechanics 7 - Spell Mastery: Barbs of Condemnation

Level 10 Athletics 3, Lore 9, Mechanics 8 - Painful Interdiction

Level 11 Athletics 3, Lore 10, Mechanics 8 - Spell Mastery: Divine Mark

Level 12 Athletics 3, Lore 10, Mechanics 8 - Scion of Flame

Level 13 Athletics 3, Lore 10, Mechanics 9 - Spell Mastery: Pillar of Faith

Level 14 Athletics 3, Lore 11, Mechanics 9 - Vulnerable Attack

Level 15 Athletics 3, Lore 11, Mechanics 9 - Spell Mastery: Searing Seal

Level 16 Athletics 3, Lore 11, Mechanics 10 - Empowered Interdiction

 

Equipment:

Durance's Robe (Of Constituion, Burn-Proofed)

Ring of Searing Flames

Seal of Faith

Unwavering Resolve

Shod-in-Faith

 

Weapons:

Durance's Quarterstaff (Damaging 2, Slaying-Vessel)

Rod of Pale Shades (Slaying-Vessel)

 

 

 

Sagani

 

Level 2 Marksman - Stealth 4, Survival 5

Level 3 Vicious Aim - Stealth 5, Survival 6

Level 4 Primal Bane - Stealth 5, Survival 7

Level 5 Stalker's Link - Stealth 6, Survival 7

Level 6 Penetrating Shot - Stealth 6, Survival 8

Level 7 Heal Companion - Stealth 7, Survival 8

Level 8 Accurate Wounding Shot - Stealth 7, Survival 9

Level 9 Revive Companion - Stealth 8, Survival 9

Level 10 Faithful Companion - Stealth 8, Survival 10

Level 11 Stunning Shot - Stealth 9, Survival 10

Level 12 Merciless Companion - Stealth 9, Survival 11

Level 13 Twinned Arrows - Stealth 9, Survival 11

Level 14 Resilient Companion - Stealth 10, Survival 11

Level 15 Predator's Sense - Stealth 10, Survival 12

Level 16 Vicious Companion - Stealth 10, Survival 12

 

Equipment:

Wayfarer's Hide (Of Perception, Pierce-Proof)

Stalker's Torc

 

Weapons:

Persistence (Slaying-Beast)

Aattuuk (main hand),  Dîal Ewn Dibita (off-hand)

 

Note: your results may vary, but I try to avoid anything that causes Sagani to fire too quickly. Her job is to apply the effects that make Itumaak lethal. Her DoT attacks don't stack, so there isn't a whole lot to be gained by making her rapid-fire. IMHO.

 

 

 

 

Honestly, I don't like either of these builds. 

 

Durance, like any priest, seems to me should be taking the talent that gives him a +10 accuracy to his diety's favored weapons, which happen to be sword and arquebus for Magran.  (frankly, it's pretty damned silly that we have a durance carries such a nice staff, but Magran's favored weapons do not include staff!!! Ridiculous.)  Also, not enough athletics to empower the Second Chance ability.

 

 

 

In Sagani's case, I think that you're throwing away a great chance to use Stormcaller by stiicking with Persistence. As for skills, I don't see Sagani needing nearly that much stealth.  She's not a melee character. And ranged characters just don't need that much stealth to get into range of their ranged weapons.  Furthermore, not having even a minimum or 3-4 in Athletics means that Sagani will get exhausted far too quickly, like every 2-3 battles.  That's just not enough.  And frankly, I don't see the point in having that many points in Survival.

 

But if you're really bound and determined to use a build based on Predator's Sense,

 

a) you should take it ASAP, and

b) you should probably have Sagani wearing an INT enhancing item to further extend the duration of any wounding effect.

 

I personally don't like sublimating a ranger's own damage production just to empower his animal companion.  Oh, if it weren't for the existence of Stormcaller, sticking with Persistence would be a perfectly good decision even without thinking about using it to empower the animal companion.  But Stormcaller really seems to me to be a game changer for a ranger, for two reasons.  One, it's a pierce or lightning damage bow, with a DR reduction of -6 on any hit.  And very few targets are going to be strong against both piercing and lightning damage.  And two, the 10% chance of a returning storm proc on any hit.

 

As for sagani's melee weapons, I'd think that you'd want at least one and maybe both of her dual wielded weapons having a wounding effect, if you're going to go hard down the path of empowering the pet this way.

[Guest]

Sorry to hear you don't like them.

 

I play Durance as an offensive caster. +10 with swords and arquebus doesn't align with that (and the lesser Burst of Summer Flame isn't worth it either). Durance has enough Athletics to pass the Scripted Interaction checks that I need him to pass. And if he needs to heal, well, I'm probably using one of his, you know, healing spells for that (rather than Second Wind). Not that he takes much damage standing behind my tank, hitting things with his staff.

 

I think using Stormcaller is throwing away a great chance to to use Persistence. DoT (and what Itumaak can do with it) is just too hard to walk away from (for me anyway). And I don't use stealth in every fight, but it's nice to have in the ones that I do. As for exhaustion, you either haven't installed any of the 3.x versions, or haven't read the patch notes - party members don't get tired anymore (unless they exert themselves in a SI). The points in Survival mean that has the full run of the 2nd tier camping bonuses. Extra damage against flanked opponents is kinda nice when Itumaak is also getting a damage bonus. 

 

Nope, the last thing I want is to extend the duration. DoT effects don't stack. There's no point in prolonging them. Per my last message, I'm using Vicious Aim and Penetrating Shot to slow her down. It makes more sense to put the points in Perception (increased Interrupt and Accuracy).

 

I'm not impressed by Stormcaller. I'm glad you like it though.

 

As for her melee weapons, they are her "oh ****"  back up weapons, in case anything decides to close on her. If you're using them too often in this build, you're doing something wrong.

 

EDIT: Oh, regarding when she takes Predator's Sense - she doesn't get Persistence until everyone gets back from Stalwart (around level 12), so there wasn't much point in having it before that. You're right that 15 might be too late though. Might swap that and Twinned Arrows.

Edited March 26, 2016 by Achilles

[Crucis]

Sorry to hear you don't like them.

 

I play Durance as an offensive caster. +10 with swords and arquebus doesn't align with that (and the lesser Burst of Summer Flame isn't worth it either). Durance has enough Athletics to pass the Scripted Interaction checks that I need him to pass. And if he needs to heal, well, I'm probably using one of his, you know, healing spells for that (rather than Second Wind). Not that he takes much damage standing behind my tank, hitting things with his staff.

 

I think using Stormcaller is throwing away a great chance to to use Persistence. DoT (and what Itumaak can do with it) is just too hard to walk away from (for me anyway). And I don't use stealth in every fight, but it's nice to have in the ones that I do. As for exhaustion, you either haven't installed any of the 3.x versions, or haven't read the patch notes - party members don't get tired anymore (unless they exert themselves in a SI). The points in Survival mean that has the full run of the 2nd tier camping bonuses. Extra damage against flanked opponents is kinda nice when Itumaak is also getting a damage bonus. 

 

Nope, the last thing I want is to extend the duration. DoT effects don't stack. There's no point in prolonging them. Per my last message, I'm using Vicious Aim and Penetrating Shot to slow her down. It makes more sense to put the points in Perception (increased Interrupt and Accuracy).

 

I'm not impressed by Stormcaller. I'm glad you like it though.

 

As for her melee weapons, they are her "oh ****"  back up weapons, in case anything decides to close on her. If you're using them too often in this build, you're doing something wrong.

 

EDIT: Oh, regarding when she takes Predator's Sense - she doesn't get Persistence until everyone gets back from Stalwart (around level 12), so there wasn't much point in having it before that. You're right that 15 might be too late though. Might swap that and Twinned Arrows.

 

A. Honestly, the talent that goes you the +10 swords and arquebus and the Summer Flame thing are a must have for me.  And I find Summer Flame entirely worthwhile.  It's like a smaller and easier to target fireball.  Plus, it's an extra to have in addition to his abilities.

 

Also, as far as casters go, I never truly let lose with my per-rest casters unless it's a significant boss battle.  I want to take my parties as far as I can go on each rest.  And that means not spamming spells like crazy.  And I'd rather use Second Wind than any healing spell.  Frankly, other priestly "Restore XXXXX Endurance spells" are crap.  Second Wind is much better because it's a single character ability, plus I don't have to waste a casting that could go towards a more useful spell.

 

I guess what it comes down to for me is that I feel that priests wearing robes belong in temples.  If they want to be adventurers, they belong in armor, carrying weapons fit for a battle-cleric.  That doesn't mean that they necessarily dive into melee like the front liners.  But they should be READY to do so if need be.  And that's how I play Durance, as a battle-cleric. Essentially an off-tank, who prefers hanging back, using his arquebus and casting the occasional spell, but ready to plug a hole in melee if the need arises.  I don't play him as some namby-pamby robe-wearing wizard. 

 

 

 

 

B. I can't imagine why anyone would wait so long to get  Persistence.  It's not THAT hard to get past the 3rd level of the EP's ogres and down onto the 4th level where Persistence (and the Resolution saber) is to be found.

 

As for INT, I was only suggesting the use of INT enhancing items, not changing her stats (not that one can all that easily).

 

I agree that with Sagani, melee weapons are absolutely for emergencies.  But that doesn't mean that one can put some thought into them as well.

 

Honestly, I think that you're giving Sagani too much stealth.  Only a character who is looking to get into melee range unspotted needs that much stealth.  4-5 points of Stealth is more than enough to get a bow user into bow range of any target.  OTOH, I suppose giving her that much stealth may also mean that Ittumak also has that much stealth, and HE can sneak into melee range.

 

As for Stormcaller, what makes it great, regardless of which class is soulbound to it is the fact that it's a piercing OR lightning weapon.  And very few enemies have high DR's or outright immunities to both piercing damage and lightning damage.  Even animats who have very high piercing DR's are vulnerable to Stormcaller's electrical damage.

[KDubya]

With regards to Rangers and Stormcaller - it is miles ahead of anything else. The ability to use twin shots and driving flight to give you four chances  per attack to proc a lightning storm that covers the screen, lasts for a long time and stuns every 3 seconds is broken good. Non Rangers get lesser quality procs and only get a single 10% chance as opposed to four chances to get a 10% proc. I'd have Sagani use Stormcaller and have Devil apply Deep Wounds to Itumaak's target.

 

For building Devil I like to go with Weapon and Shield with We Toki and Twin Sting for the initial two shot from range. Throw in Reckless Assault, the hit>crit, Deep Wounds, a few deflection boosting talents (not Cautious Attack). With a deflection around 110 without external buffs she does fine in melee setting up her own deathblows with flanking.