Party w/good synergy and/or Up-to-date info

[Kaylon]

The little details can make the difference - that means finding the best equipment as soon as possible, change your weapons to adapt to your enemies, use the survival accuracy bonuses, etc... Most enemies in ch.1 target deflection and if you add a potion of wizard's double you can reduce all their attacks to grazes. Before going to Eothas temple or clearing the courtyard of Caed Nua you can first stealth and pick the sword from the entrance of Caed Nua for example. The bear is the second toughest monster in the ch.1 and can be tanked easily at lv4 (you can reduce his dmg to 5).

Edited July 18, 2016 by Kaylon

[Boeroer]

And if you find Rhymrgand's Mantle and combine it with plate then Caed Nua and Temple of Eothas lvl -1 will be a lot easier (if you don't want to sneak and pick locks all the time). It feels like you're only losing health, but not endurance. Very powerful item if you know how to use it. Maybe even more so when you're a pale elf.

Edited July 18, 2016 by Boeroer

[Kazuma]

Yeah... I sorta looted all hidden/special containers up to Raedric's Keep. When I decided what to get from them (using the random loot list) I figured I didn't need Rhymrgand's Mantle because I wasn't really using the "cast-on-top-of-the-chanter" aspect of your chillfog build.

 

Instead I got -

Boots of Stability

Boots of Stealth (so I could save some skill points on sneaking)

Belt of Bountiful Healing

Gauntlets of Accuracy

and Gloves of Manipulation

 

From what I can see on the wiki the next logical place to look for it is in the endless paths... you know, after all those spirits I have to kill? ahem..

 

Ah, well. I started to clear the Temple of Eothos B2 and realized it's going to be annoying. So I went and grabbed Kana. Deciding if I still want to do chillfog or something else with him. He might be lacking in the RES department but it hasn't mattered thus far. HP Battery?, yes pls.

Edited July 18, 2016 by Kazuma

[Boeroer]

The mantle is of little use against enemies who don't deal freeze damage. 

[Kazuma]

Yeah, I guess your advice was on the assumption I was soloing it. I forget the name of the mob but the white spirits that stun (lock) you are pretty annoying. I might have been able to kill one by itself while I was soloing but splitting them inside the temple's close confines is a bit harder (or maybe impossible? AI seems inconsistent on when mobs leash). The mantle could have definitely helped with endurance between the stuns.

 

But I figured I'd stop being stubborn and pick up kana for the healing/dps. I'll duo until I can pick up pallegina. At any rate I cleared the courtyard of Caed Nua easy with his help before I went to bed. I did try the first pull inside and it was going well until I got the brilliant idea to use white worms as a finishing blow after I had thinned out their numbers. In my sleep deprived state it didn't occur to me that they seldom leave corpses behind, oops. With Kana's chant gone I got unlucky and my pally got knocked out (more like I waited too long to use LoH). *edit* Looks like this is the place people typically sneak past and use figurines/scrolls to finish up. My second try was much worse. Must have gotten lucky first time. Next time I'll wait till lvl 5 when I have 5 stealth so I can find a better position. I eventually killed them no thanks to fan of flames - 1 hit, rest miss. Kana with the Yenwood and end chant one the day.

 

I probably could have continued to solo with my pally but I felt it was getting a bit tedious. If I do an actual solo run next it'll be with a class/build that can hopefully dps faster or has aoe.

 

@Kaylon - Yeah the bear was pretty easy at lvl 4 once I downed some consumables and found the corner I could chokehold the bears pathing. Out of curiosity what is considered the hardest mob in ch.1?

Edited July 19, 2016 by Kazuma

[Kaylon]

Yeah, I guess your advice was on the assumption I was soloing it. I forget the name of the mob but the white spirits that stun (lock) you are pretty annoying. I might have been able to kill one by itself while I was soloing but splitting them inside the temple's close confines is a bit harder (or maybe impossible? AI seems inconsistent on when mobs leash). The mantle could have definitely helped with endurance between the stuns.

 

But I figured I'd stop being stubborn and pick up kana for the healing/dps. I'll duo until I can pick up pallegina. At any rate I cleared the courtyard of Caed Nua easy with his help before I went to bed. I did try the first pull inside and it was going well until I got the brilliant idea to use white worms as a finishing blow after I had thinned out their numbers. In my sleep deprived state it didn't occur to me that they seldom leave corpses behind, oops. With Kana's chant gone I got unlucky and my pally got knocked out (more like I waited too long to use LoH). *edit* Looks like this is the place people typically sneak past and use figurines/scrolls to finish up. My second try was much worse. Must have gotten lucky first time. Next time I'll wait till lvl 5 when I have 5 stealth so I can find a better position. I eventually killed them no thanks to fan of flames - 1 hit, rest miss. Kana with the Yenwood and end chant one the day.

 

I probably could have continued to solo with my pally but I felt it was getting a bit tedious. If I do an actual solo run next it'll be with a class/build that can hopefully dps faster or has aoe.

 

@Kaylon - Yeah the bear was pretty easy at lvl 4 once I downed some consumables and found the corner I could chokehold the bears pathing. Out of curiosity what is considered the hardest mob in ch.1?

The hardest is Raedric of course...

[Boeroer]

Not with a chanter who uses White Worms. In fact, with said chanter the whole castle is a joke once you have a few bodies piled up in some doorway...

 

The bears are tougher then: no bodies for his White Worms.

Edited July 19, 2016 by Boeroer

[Kazuma]

Ah, yes. I don't really remember much about the fight against Raedric besides there being a lot of guards. In potd I'm sure it's fun... especially with white worms... I guess I know what I'm doing next.

 

Hit lvl 5 clearing out the first lvl of paths. I haven't done Maerwald though. Trying to decide what I should get from the random loot spots on this level. Another pair of boots of stability and another ring of overseeing maybe. Ring of searing flame?

 

*edit* I just realized a bit ago that regen talents like Ancient Memory and Veteran's Recovery have a duration. In hindsight I should have realized this was the case. It doesn't make much sense mobs would get persistent regen (assuming they share the same mechanics for abilities). It's kinda disappointing though. Guess pulling a whole room to a choke point is not always the best idea if your healing is limited to such talents as they'll run out before you're done with the killing queue.

 

*edit* I should have known bodies don't persist between areas or loading (that's at the very least needless savegame bloat). I at least have the room just before the throne room left to accumulate bodies. Raedric is the last thing I need to do before heading to baldurs gate Defiance Bay. All the guards have to donate to the stronghold restoration fund first.

 

*edit* Oops, I should have pulled the worm food guards to the bedroom door to the right of Raedric's thrown. It's a real choke point and Kana wouldn't have died seconds after he cast white worm (paladins are tough, who knew?). From what I can tell Raedric's dialog doesn't really give any rep (you'd think the paladin order topics would give you one of the favored reps) so I'll probably just pull him without talking this second time. It'd also help if I was wearing my armor... ><

Edited July 20, 2016 by Kazuma

[Kazuma]

Hey Boeroer,

 

A while back you had suggested a rough idea for a build on Pallegina (Fire Missile General I think you called it) and I had some questions -

1) Arm's bearer is for swapping multiple blunderbuss for more frontloading/alpha strike? Something like - Sworn Enemy -> Blunderbuss FoD + Wrath + PenetratingShot x 2 -> Minor Missiles x 3-5 -> Swap Acc Weapon + Shield for rest of fight.

2) Is Prestidigitator's Missiles a must have in your opinion? It seems kinda lackluster from what I've read compared to just wearing the Cloak of minor missiles? It has only 2 missiles vs the 3 of the wizard spell that the cloak grants?

 

Anyhow here's what I was thinking for talents/abilities, any suggestions? -

 

Pallegina

Skills: Stealth 4, Athletics 5, Lore 8, Survival 10

 

(The order probably needs work)

L1    Flames of Devotion (Lv1)
L2    Weapon and Shield Style
L3    Zealous Focus (Lv3)
L4    Wrath of the Five Suns
L5    Sworn Enemy (Lv5)
L6    Penetrating Shot
L7    Coordinated Attacks (Lv7)
L8    Arm's Bearer
L9    Lay on Hands (Lv1)
L10    Weapon Focus Ruffian Prestidigitator's Missiles or Soldier/Knight Focus (Warhammer/Sword)
L11    Healing Chain (Lv11) or Liberating Exhortation (Lv4)?
L12    Scion of Flame
L13    Sacred Immolation (Lv13)
L14    Superior Deflection
L15    Righteous Soul (Lv9)
L16    Prestidigitator's Missiles or

Veteran's Recovery

Vulnerable Attack

Intense Flames

Spirit of Decay (Might be a bit much for just the missiles)

 

As you can tell I can't really decide on the last talent.

 

WS1-Main    Strike Hard / Shame or Glory
WS1-Offhand    Outwarn Buckler / Little Savior
WS2-Main    Scon Mica's Roar
WS2-Offhand    
WS3-Main    Lead Spitter
WS3-Offhand    
Head    Hermit's Hat Oops, Godlike.
Neck    Cloak of Minor Missiles
Armor    Ryona's Breastplate or He Carries Many Scars
Belt    Coil of Resoursefullness or Belt of Bountiful Healing?
Ring1    Ring of Protection
Ring2    Pensiavi Mes Rei or Ring of Deflection
Hands    Ryona's Vambraces
Boots    Boots of Zealous Command
Quickslot    Scrolls of Revival

 

*Edit* Swapped talents around a bit. In hindsight being able to get two blunderbuss shots off is more dmg than what scion of flame would add so I prioritized Penetrating Shot > Arm's Bearer > Scion of Flame. I'm also wondering if picking Weapon Focus Ruffian is the right call as I'd be using sworn enemy for the alpha shots. Better to pick a focus related to my weapon and shield?

Edited July 21, 2016 by Kazuma

[Boeroer]

Wrath is a side effect of Sworn Enemy. You have to take Sworn Enemy before you can take Wrath of the Five Suns. So basically it would be: Sworn Enemy (+Wrath). Prestidigitator'S Missiles is really strong at the beginning of the game. At lvl 16 it's a bit of a joke. In fact, I would take it first. It makes a lot of low level encounters against unarmored foes a lot easier. Sadly you will get Pallegina later on, so I don't know if I really would take this again. 

Maybe I would retrain and take something else when I feel it doesn't contribute any more. But I kept it as a nice finisher for badly wounded targets (to maybe trigger Inspiring Triumph).

FoD I would take a bit later when there are guns around (and I don't mean the Disappointer ). At the beginning you can only use it with melee and bows after Anslög Compass maybe an arbalest (that's good). But when you get Pallegina you will all have this so it doesn't really matter at which level you take it.

 

Yes, Arms Bearer is for three weapon slots so that you can have two guns for a FoD shot each and then switch to (marking) weapon + Outworn Buckler for offtanking and defensive support.

 

So a typical attack of me went like: Sworn Enemy (+Wrath), then 2 FoD. Switch to melee setup. Then Pr. Missiles if i have them. In difficult encounters or when I needed to take out somebody really fast from range I also used missile scrolls like Missile Barrage (it's great when you have piled up a lot of DR bypass) or the cloak of Minor Missiles.

 

Spirit of Decay doesn't work with the missiles. They have crush/corrode, where crush is the main damage type. Sadly this doesn't work with Spirit of Decay. It would have to be corrode/crush in order to function. You can take it anyway if you plan to use Bittercut (corrode/slash).

 

Veteran's Recovery is not really needed. YOur recovery will start right at the beginning of the combat when you are not wounded at all (you wil shoot stuff then), so it's a waste in my opinion. You will have Lay on Hands and Healing Chain which is more than enough for offtaking in most cases.

 

I would take Intense Flames I guess. Can make a difference between a dead or a casting enemy wizard.

 

Righteous Soul is a waste in my opinion when there are items and scrolls that grant immunity.

 

Superior Deflection pays off when you take it early. But for thi kind of shooting offtank I would skip it.

 

If you don't take Quick Switch then wear Coil of Resourcefulness.

 

So maybe my talents/abilities would be like (no warranty):

 

L1    Lay on Hands
L2    Weapon & Shield
L3    Zealous Focus or Zealous Endurance
L4    Weapon Focus
L5    Sworn Enemy
L6    Wrath of the Five Suns
L7    FoD
L8    Arms Bearer
L9    Coordinated Attacks
L10   Pen. Shot
L11    Insp. Triumph or Reinforcing Exhortation
L12    Scion of Flames
L13    Sacred Immolation (Lv13)
L14    Intense Flames
L15    Healing Chain
L16   Prest. Missiles for fun or Deep Faith or Marksman or Envenomed Strike or whatever

Edited July 21, 2016 by Boeroer

[Kazuma]

Oh, duh. For some reason I was thinking wrath was attached to FoD. Oops.

Can you actually respec a companion's level 1 ability? Pallegina comes with FoD as her first pick. Not that it matters. As you say you don't get her till later. Lvl 6 atm so I only have one lvl till I pick up LoH below.

Good to know on the dual dmg type buffing.

Righteous soul a waste then. I think I have that on my MC build might have to adjust that too.

Deep Faith > Superior Deflection anyways. Or at least more well rounded defense.

I'd like to fit Quick switch just so I can wear w/e belt but I suppose it's not a big deal in the end.

 

L1 FoD
L2    Weapon & Shield
L3    Zealous Endurance
L4    Weapon Focus
L5    Sworn Enemy
L6    Wrath of the Five Suns
L7    LoH
L8    Arms Bearer
L9    Coordinated Attacks
L10   Pen. Shot
L11    Reinforcing Exhortation (Lv9)
L12    Scion of Flames
L13    Sacred Immolation (Lv13)
L14    Intense Flames
L15    Healing Chain
L16   Deep Faith or Marksman

 

I'll probably swap Zealous Focus in on my MC Pally as Charge is becoming less important (besides there's consumables+chanter+equip). Therefore Zealous Endurance seems like the right pick here. I was thinking Weapon Focus for ranged attacks would be overkill but blunderbuss have -10 acc from the start, right? I suppose Sworn Enemies 15 Acc buff still helps but it's not as huge a buff as a result. Between Inspiring and Reinforced I like the idea of the later more. I can control when it happens whereas Inspiring may not be active when you need it. I can decide on the last talent later when I have a feel for where my Acc is at in practice. Or for that matter how squishy she feels w/o Deep Faith.

 

Thanks again

[mosspit]

No, first level skill selection is fixed without using console commands or mods. Otherwise I would have replaced summon skellies on Kana for his first skill long ago...

Edited July 21, 2016 by mosspit

[Boeroer]

Right - I was talking about talent choice in general first and then I remembered that we were speaking about Pallegina.

[Kazuma]

No, worries. I was just making sure I wasn't mistaken as I've been numerous times

 

As an aside this was what I planned for my MC Paladin tank but from what you said there's probably at least one thing to swap out. Tbh I didn't spend much time on this and copied it from a video I saw. It was enough to solo the first 4-5 levels and there are respecs /shrug

 

Build: MC Solo(ish) Paladin
Order: Goldpact Knights
Race: Wild Orlan
Bg: Living Lands / Merchant
Stats: MIG: 18 CON: 18 DEX: 8 PER: 12 INT: 3 RES: 19
Skills: Stealth 3, Athletics 2, Lore 4, Mechanics 12, Survival 5

L1    Lay on Hands (Lv1)
L2    Weapon and Shield Style
L3    Zealous Charge (Lv3) Zealous Focus
L4    Deep Faith
L5    Flames of Devotion (Lv1)
L6    Scion of Flame
L7    Coordinated Attacks (Lv7)
L8    Body Control
L9    Righteous Soul (Lv9)
L10    Superior Deflection
L11    Sworn Enemy (Lv5)
L12    Bear's Fortitude
L13    Sacred Immolation (Lv13)
L14    Unstoppable
L15    Liberating Exhortation (Lv4)
L16    Snake's Reflexes

 

Of course with his Int he's not going to have much of an aura.

 

Gear
Head: Maegfolc Skull
Chest: Aru-Brekr
Ring1: Deflection Ring2: Protection
Boots: Fenwalkers
Belt: Girdle of Eoten Consitution
Hands: Gauntlets of Accuracy
Neck: Spellward Amulet
WS1: Drawn in Spring/Aili Braccia
WS2: St. Ydwen's Redeemer

 

Admittedly focused on solo play so I'll change it up a bit now that I have 3 members.

[Boeroer]

You should look at all the paladin abilities that work without INT. Like Sworn Enemy also Healing Chain is independent from INT. Same with Coordinated Attacks, Righteous Soul (with 3 INT it's maybe not the worst choice and it fits with Aegis of Loyality). Aegis of Loyality and Abjuration could also be good things for a 3 INT pal.

[Kazuma]

You know I've been looking for the stats for sacred immolation for a while. The question comes to mind, I look for a while, and then get sidetracked. All the forum posts I find just talk about it in general terms so I found a video that showed the in game description around January of this year. Dunno if it's changed since then but I'm just going to throw this here -

 

Sacred Immolation (Lv13)
1 per encounter
Speed: Average
AoE: Self Target + 4.44m Radius from caster @18 INT
AoE Duration: 42 sec
Effects:
  Self: 6 Raw
  Foe AoE: 25-38 Burn vs Reflex @12 MIG
  Allied AoE: +12.7 Endurance

 

If I did my math right this is the base numbers -

Sacred Immolation (Lv13)
1 per encounter
Speed: Average
AoE: Self Target + 3m Radius from caster
AoE Duration: 30 sec
Effects:
  Self: 6 Raw (Assuming this is static)
  Foe AoE: ~25.5-35.8 Burn vs Reflex
  Allied AoE: +12 Endurance
 

And here's the pathetic Radius @ 3 INT - 1.74m! I'm thinking the auras have to go unless I change stats.

 

Is abjuration a single target ability or is it like priest turning? Though the fact that you mention it means it's probably not an AoE dependent on INT. I assumed Healing Chain was affected by INT too but it jumps targets rather than be a proper AoE. Also if you have less than 5 members in your party can it hit the same target more than once? Or will it only hit any given member one time per cast? For that matter I'm not sure how many casts you get. Another one to look up if I can find it.

 

I stumbled on a thread here talking about how Aegis of Loyalty will trigger it's cleanse on any AoE that hits charmed party members i.e. Sacred Immolation. That's pretty cool but it still is constrained by low INT. I could keep his INT low but there's a lot of abilities that become almost useless. Things to consider. Otherwise something like this would make more sense -

L1    Lay on Hands (Lv1)
L2    Weapon and Shield Style
L3    Flames of Devotion (Lv1)
L4    Deep Faith
L5    Sworn Enemy (Lv5)
L6    Scion of Flame
L7    Coordinated Attacks (Lv7)
L8    Body Control
L9    Righteous Soul (Lv9)
L10    Superior Deflection
L11    Healing Chain (Lv11)
L12    Bear's Fortitude
L13    Abjuration (Lv13)
L14    Unstoppable
L15    Aegis of Loyalty (Lv7)
L16    Bull's Will

[KDubya]

A ten intellect base works fine. An item and some casserole gets it to 14 which is plenty. A 3 intellect Paladin is a real fringe build, sure you can make it work but most of the really great abilities of the Paladin get ruined.

[Kazuma]

True enough. He's not really a team player as it is. Well some of his abilities benefit a party. Stats are min-max for solo. I'll probably respec his stats once I pick up the monk companion and have another tank. Then he can be offtank/support. Speaking of which I'm not even sure when/what level/where he is. I suppose I'll have to look that up. I think Boeroer mentioned you can start part I of the expansion at around lvl 8. Do I need to wait till then?

 

Edit - I'm liking this pallegina build and I don't even have the third weapon set yet. It's nice to have someone to take out the ranged quickly. My paladin has just been eating their arrows/spells. Though really I'm just not used to having some burst dps. Tanky Pally DPS = slow.

Edited July 21, 2016 by Kazuma

[Boeroer]

You can go as soon as you get the letter from your steward in Card Nua - which can be way earlier than lvl 8. You can also go there at lvl 6 or so but expect a tough fight (the expansion starts with the defense of the village from Ogres). But it's doable even on PoTD. I did it solo with my current low deflection barb at lvl 10 and it was difficult because of all those cannoneer ogres.

 

I made a 3 INT superfast running paladin (look for "The Dull Runner") for 2.0 or so - for the purpose to get behind enemy lines and take out casters. It works pretty well because he's tanky enough to survive on his own for some time, gets everywhere very fast and does OK damage after his FoD shots. But it's a rather special build.

[Kaylon]

Until lv13 a paladin solo works very well with 3int. After lv13 you can lower his constitution and increase his intellect because his defenses are very high and he won't take very much damage anymore.

 

The best tank build for a solo paladin is:

 

L1    Lay on Hands

L2    Weapon and Shield Style

L3    Zealous Focus

L4    Cautious Attack

L5    Sworn Enemy

L6    Superior Deflection

L7    Flames of Devotion

L8    Deep Faith

L9    Righteous Soul

L10  Bear's Fortitude

L11  Aegis of Loyalty (when using figurines to prevent them to turn on you)

L12  Snake's Reflexes

L13  Sacred Immolation (once you have SI you can clear the endless paths very fast and get Drawn in Spring)

L14  Scion of Flame

L15  Abjuration

L16  Weapon Focus (Noble)

[Boeroer]

That may be right - you definetely have great experience there.

But Kazuma has a full party and in my opinion it's a shame when your paladin's low INT prevents his auras (also the heraldic one from outworn buckler) to reach other party members or when all his Exhortations (which are pretty useless when soloing anyway) are too short to be of good use. His supportive aspects get gimped a lot. 

[Kazuma]

@Boeroer - I guess I need to go back there once in a while then. Besides that I should probably make sure I rest until adventures are done so I have a higher chance at more of them, while simultaneously giving time for things to build. Afaik I need some of the gear from them. *Edit* - Man I need to keep my mouth shut when I'm tired. I thought it said days remaining on the adventure but it's turns. So I guess there's not much you can do but plow thru quests and hope you get the quests you want.

 

Also I think Kaylon was advocating raising INT after the early game as well Thankfully my heraldic shield is on pallegina so no loss there.

 

@Kaylon - Looks legit. I never got around to using figurines as I was using zealous charge to kite/split. Wouldn't have occurred to me that they could get charmed until it happened.   Would have assumed Aegis was useless solo.  The fact that you have Abjuration must mean it's not situational or at the very least I haven't seen the end of spirit packs.

 

Edit - Have to say I'm not a huge fan of manually resolving bandit raids on the stronghold. For whatever reason auto-pause doesn't kick in. Nor does it use your positioning or even formation when it teleports you to the new map/area. I'm sure if I was a little higher level (another LoH) or had a full party it wouldn't be so bad but it predictably turns into chain healing my chanter as they all go for him. Just a minor gripe for me. I'll just auto-resolve and deal with the damage for now on. Not that I can't win the fights. I just find them tedious. That said I didn't have any hirelings, I guess they'd be fodder to keep my chanter from being ganged on.

Edited July 22, 2016 by Kazuma