RP boreal dwarf paladin, need some input.

[svdk]

So I want to play as a boreal dwarf paladin because I found a very nice looking portrait.

http://imgur.com/a/0eR0m

The order I have chosen is [The Shieldbearers of St. Elcga]

I have mainly looked at the dispositions when making this choice because I want to play an honest guy who tries his best to solves problems diplomatically where possible.

I have also looked at the [Goldpact Knights] but don't like the fact that gold is king for them, but I don't know that much about them so I might be wrong here.

I have chosen for [Deadfire Archipelago - Mercenary] background because I read most boreal dwarfs are from there and from all the options available mercenary seemed most likely for a paladin in that region.

He is supposed to be a diplomatic guy that tries to resolve conflict with words rather than swords, but does not back away from a fight when someone is asking for it.

I plan to play with the NPC's and my character will try to protect them at all costs, he wants to get to know them and help where ever possible.

Now for the combat and stats part, I want to play him as a off-tank, support character that buffs his allies and keeps them in fighting shape.

The stats I have in mind are;

MIG:15, CON:9, DEX:11, PER:13, INT:17, RES:13

I want to be able to take most conversations options but also be decent at healing and buffing, are these stats any good or should I adjust a little bit?

So, does this make much sense lore wise or are boreal dwarfs not known for being paladins?

Thanks in advance!

Edited July 26, 2016 by svdk

[Boeroer]

Nobody knows if Boreal Dwarves are known for becoming paladins or not because the lore of this game is new an few, but why shouldn't there be a boreal dwarf who becomes a paladin. Can be totally plausible.

 

For dialogue options you may want to raise RES a little bit. There are quite a bit dialogue options that can be chosen when RES is high (like 15 and even higher). I think I would go for 15 and take away 1 point from DEX and one from INT.

 

With those stats and a shield you can easily use him as a frontliner, not only offtank. As the main character you will get nice bonuses on Faith and Conviction (raises your defenses) for your reputation. This will turn your paladin into a good tank with great support abilities. As you are a Shield Bearer you most likely want to wear a shield - and guys with shields should be in the front row. I strongly recommend the Outworn Buckler which you can buy at the first smithey in the game. It has a permanent defensive aura that supports your mates and you - it stacks with every other defensive buff and the size of that aura is influenced by your INT as well. It is also a paladin-only item and a strong one - especially so early in the game.

 

Besides that it all sounds nice.

 

If you want to support your team mates even further, look out for a one handed melee weapon with the "marking" enchantment (such a weapon, a sword, you can get from the Knights of the Crucible when you choose their side. I think for a diplomatic and honest character that's the only choice anyway). This sword and it's marking enchantment can be combined with the paladin's ability "Coordinated Attacks". Those two will stack and give a team member who attacks the same enemy as you +20 accuracy. That is really good. It does nothing for you but it's a nice and powerful support feature that costs you nothing except one ability but has a great effect. And it also stacks with other accuracy buffs.

Edited July 26, 2016 by Boeroer

[svdk]

Nobody knows if Boreal Dwarves are known for becoming paladins or not because the lore of this game is new an few, but why shouldn't there be a boreal dwarf who becomes a paladin. Can be totally plausible.

 

For dialogue options you may want to raise RES a little bit. There are quite a bit dialogue options that can be chosen when RES is high (like 15 and even higher). I think I would go for 15 and take away 1 point from DEX and one from INT.

 

With those stats and a shield you can easily use him as a frontliner, not only offtank. As the main character you will get nice bonuses on Faith and Conviction (raises your defenses) for your reputation. This will turn your paladin into a good tank with great support abilities. As you are a Shield Bearer you most likely want to wear a shield - and guys with shields should be in the front row. I strongly recommend the Outworn Buckler which you can buy at the first smithey in the game. It has a permanent defensive aura that supports your mates and you - it stacks with every other defensive buff and the size of that aura is influenced by your INT as well. It is also a paladin-only item and a strong one - especially so early in the game.

 

Besides that it all sounds nice.

 

If you want to support your team mates even further, look out for a one handed melee weapon with the "marking" enchantment (such a weapon, a sword, you can get from the Knights of the Crucible when you choose their side. I think for a diplomatic and honest character that's the only choice anyway). This sword and it's marking enchantment can be combined with the paladin's ability "Coordinated Attacks". Those two will stack and give a team member who attacks the same enemy as you +20 accuracy. That is really good. It dies nothing for you but it's a nice and powerful support feature that costs you nothing except one ability but has a great effect. And it also stacks with other accuracy buffs.

Was hoping you would leave a reply, you seem to have a solid grasp on the game

 

Thanks for the tips.

 

Was also wondering how important dexterity is for casting, does it improve the recovery time as well or only attack speed?

I don't really understand how to whole recovery time system works, is it a combination of armor/weapon type and dexterity?

[Loren Tyr]

Dexterity speeds up everything, including things like casting, drinking potions, etc. Basically there are three phases when performing actions: the action phase, the recovery phase and optionally the reload phase. There's also a slight amount of idle time before starting the next action phase, but that's not affected by any bonus or penalty.

 

The base duration of the action, recovery and reload phase is of course determined by whatever you're doing, what weapon you're wielding, etc. Slower weapons have longer action and recovery duration ('average' and 'slow' for melee have the same durations by the way, counter-intuitively). All three are modified by dexterity, reload speed bonuses obviously only improve reload time. The most common time of bonus or penalty are those for attack speed. These affect recovery, not the speed of the action itself (only dexterity affects that). They mostly affect reload as well, though not all of them (armour doesn't, I believe). These bonuses are also generally additive (there are some exceptions). For example you might have a -50% armour speed penalty and a +20% attack speed bonus from an item, this would result in a net attack speed penalty of -30%. 

[Boeroer]

Listen to Loren Tyr, for he knows the code.

 

In short: yes, DEX can be important for casting. It lets you cast faster.

Since some abilitiy usages can take a long time (aka "slow" casting speed, it's in the description of the ability/spell) high DEX can really make a differenc here.

But a paladin's abilities (Lay on Hands, Exhortations and stuff) normally don't take very long to cast /use, so you don't gimp yourself with 10 DEX. Other stats are more important for a melee paladin (namely MIG, INT and also RES and PER).

[svdk]

Listen to Loren Tyr, for he knows the code.

 

In short: yes, DEX can be important for casting. It lets you cast faster.

Since some abilitiy usages can take a long time (aka "slow" casting speed, it's in the description of the ability/spell) high DEX can really make a differenc here.

But a paladin's abilities (Lay on Hands, Exhortations and stuff) normally don't take very long to cast /use, so you don't gimp yourself with 10 DEX. Other stats are more important for a melee paladin (namely MIG, INT and also RES and PER).

Could I take some points out of DEX and put them somewhere else and if so where?

Or would this be a bad idea for what this build is trying to do?

 

Really appreciate the help so far!

[Boeroer]

Yes, you can. You will be hitting quite slowly with your weapon then (and drinking potions and casting scrolls will take noticably longer), but a shieldbearer support paladin tank is not the best dps char anyway. Your Lay on Hands and Exhortations will be fast enough even with 3 DEX and your reflex defense (which will suffer) gets boosted by Weapon & Shield Style. If you want your healings to be stronger and last longer then put the points into MIG and INT. That's also good for the AoE of your auras, the damage per Flames of Devotion use and later Sacred Immolation. You could also put some points into PER if you like - especially if you plan to use Sacred Immolation later on (which I totally recommend). But my focus would be to further boost MIG and INT (especially when you're not playing at Path of the Damned difficulty). You don't have to dump DEX completely of course. 3 DEX is just an example and it works well.

Edited July 26, 2016 by Boeroer

[svdk]

Yes, you can. You will be hitting quite slowly with your weapon then (and drinking potions and casting scrolls) will take noticably longer, but a shieldbearer support paladin tank is not the best dps char anyway. Your Lay on Hands and Exhortations will be fast enough even with 3 DEX and your reflex defense (which will suffer) gets boosted by Weapon & Shield Style. If you want your healings to be stronger and last longer then put the points into MIG and INT. That's also good for the AoE of your auras, the damage per Flames of Devotion use and later Sacred Immolation. You could also put some points into PER if you like - especially if you plan to use Sacred Immolation later on (which I totally recommend). But my focus would be to further boost MIG and INT (especially when you're not playing at Path of the Damned difficulty). You don't have to dump DEX completely of course. 3 DEX is just an example and it works well.

I think I have found a nice stat spread with your help, so Ill share it here maybe there is someone else that wants to play a diplomatic paladin.

 

MIG: 17

CON: 9

DEX: 5

PER: 15

INT: 17

RES: 15

 

Big thanks to you, I am always kind of bad at deciding how I want to play my character but I am very happy with how this one turned out.

 

Will start playing right away!

[Kazuma]

I don't think you mentioned what difficulty you planned to play but if you're going for more of a roleplay run instead of PotD min-max you might consider lowering your MIG and DEX to bump your RES to max. When it comes to MIG dialog choices they are quite often attached to aggressive disposition which is one of your disfavored as a shieldbearer. Granted it's not all the time but I think you'll find that the RES dialog choices are more often a safe choice in regards to Paladin Faith and Devotion. If you are playing PoTD then it's a tough call as you'll want to make your stats count for combat too.

 

Mid-Late game you start to accumulate gear with stat bonuses that you will often have a chance to switch to before talking to an NPC. The problem is if a fight breaks out as a result and you're stuck with your talking gear instead of battle gear. So it helps situationally.

 

TL:DR If you're playing PoTD stick with combat oriented stats for sure. Dialog is secondary. Otherwise you have some flexibility.

Edited July 26, 2016 by Kazuma

[svdk]

I don't think you mentioned what difficulty you planned to play but if you're going for more of a roleplay run instead of PotD min-max you might consider lowering your MIG and DEX to bump your RES to max. When it comes to MIG dialog choices they are quite often attached to aggressive disposition which is one of your disfavored as a shieldbearer. Granted it's not all the time but I think you'll find that the RES dialog choices are more often a safe choice in regards to Paladin Faith and Devotion. If you are playing PoTD then it's a tough call as you'll want to make your stats count for combat too.

 

Mid-Late game you start to accumulate gear with stat bonuses that you will often have a chance to switch to before talking to an NPC. The problem is if a fight breaks out as a result and you're stuck with your talking gear instead of battle gear. So it helps situationally.

 

TL:DR If you're playing PoTD stick with combat oriented stats for sure. Dialog is secondary. Otherwise you have some flexibility.

I plan to play on Hard.

Hmm, interesting.

So taking 2 points from MIG and putting them in RES might not be a bad idea?

I have dabbled with this game a little, but most of my experience with these kind of games comes from years ago.

Didn't want to go crazy with PoTD on my first legit playthrough.

[Kazuma]

Well it's really up to you in the end. I primarily wanted to make the point that MIG dialog is usually aggressive. Keep in mind that this isn't set in stone. You can respec the stats on your MC (costs/level). I've respec'd my pally MC a couple times on the run I'm currently working on (first PotD).

[Jojobobo]

Something I've noticed currently playing a Paladin myself is that Sworn Enemy works great with Confused, Charmed and Dominate effects. Obviously the extra damage of Sworn Enemy is good, but if they really are a beefy mofo then sometimes it pays to Charm (Spirit Spiral or Arret Murnarca - Terra Arcanum for life), Confuse (scrolls) or Dominate (Ring of Changing Heart) them instead - often providing you with a crit due to added accuracy and giving you an extra buddy for 20 seconds or so with the kind of Intellect you're running. Give it a shot, and you won't be disappointed - besides Shieldbearers are supposed to be diplomatic so it kind of fits the premise too.

Edited July 26, 2016 by Jojobobo

[Boeroer]

Hm. Using Sworn Enemy to ease mind control spells is smart. Never thought about that. Now that Sworn Enemy is a per encounter ability this is really a nice trick. You can get Munacra Arret with 3 Whisper of Treasons per rest and +12 will relatively early and later you can pick up the Ring of Changing Heart with 2 dominates per rest which also gives you +3 RES. Cool twist on a shieldbearer, I like it. Munacra Arret looks really nice with Osric's Family armor by the way.

[Jojobobo]

Hm. Using Sworn Enemy to ease mind control spells is smart. Never thought about that. Now that Sworn Enemy is a per encounter ability this is really a nice trick. You can get Munacra Arret with 3 Whisper of Treasons per rest and +12 will relatively early and later you can pick up the Ring of Changing Heart with 2 dominates per rest which also gives you +3 RES. Cool twist on a shieldbearer, I like it. Munacra Arret looks really nice with Osric's Family armor by the way.

Not forgetting that Whisper of Treason has +10 accuracy to begin with, giving you +30 accuracy. It's an extremely strong combo, and not one I've seen people mention (I did do a quick search and brought up nothing - though it was a google search rather than a forum search so correct me if I'm wrong). Not one I'm centring my build around for sure, but it's sure nice tidbit to abuse on the way to what I'm looking to do.

 

Further that +12 Will synergises great with Defiant Resolve, Hearth Orlan being the most common race for Paladins as far as I'm aware. As a huge bonus, Arret Murnarca was designed by the great people at Terra Arcanum - the main place I suggest anyone goes to if they're looking to play Arcanum

Edited July 26, 2016 by Jojobobo

[Loren Tyr]

Wouldn't Enigma's Charm be a nice addition to that as well? If you're doing Sworn Enemy first the five second warm-up doesn't matter much anyway, and it makes it a wholly per encounter affair. Takes up a talent slot of course, but it frees up an item slot (or gives you more Charm power).

[Jojobobo]

It sure would be a nice addition, I suppose it depends on whether you want to dedicate the Paladin more towards that end or not - it's a definite nice forerunner to Sacred Immolation while the enemy is distracted (plus the fact you can use Sworn Enemy more or less as a pre-buff, it's instant cast and you can lead with it from stealth - and Whispers of Treason is now fast cast). You can make your Paladin a mesmerising machine, but on the flip side it's just as easy to have a regular Paladin use these items without any talent cost.

 

Having said that I have been thinking of a mesmerising build for a while, quite possibly a Paladin is the way to go rather than the obvious choice of Cipher. Maybe I'll have a look into it in the future, but as I'm currently playing a different kind of Paladin I'm not bothered about getting into it for the time being - if anyone else wants to give it a go by all means go ahead

Edited July 26, 2016 by Jojobobo

[Kazuma]

At first this got me thinking - Full Paladin party! As silly as it would be to run a full party just to exploit this tactic It occurred to me that sworn enemy shows up in a mobs debuff list but I don't recall it saying where the debuff came from. So having multiple sworn enemies might get confusing (especially on mobs that teleport). Too bad the whole party couldn't take advantage of sworn enemy. Then it'd be obvious to pair a Paladin and Cipher. Well you still have zealous focus and coordinated attack. +16 Acc is actually more than sworn enemy but stacking them is +31 Acc... and 20% damage.

[Boeroer]

Ciphers also have Tactical Meld and the paladin could use a marking weapon + Coordinated Attacks, giving the cipher +40 ACC. Looks like a great combo.

 

I made that mesmerizing chanter build once (Drake's Ambassador) with all those mind control items and also Enigma's Charm, paired with Fireballs and The Dragon Thrashed. When you think about it you can easily translate that to the paladin with Sacred Immolation. Maybe fits even better.

 

This is great - you should evolve a build around it. I mean the paladin also has things like Righteous Soul and Aegis of Loyality which fit the theme pretty well. Put on Hand and Key as well!

Edited July 27, 2016 by Boeroer

[Kazuma]

Ahh, it's been so long since I've played a cipher. Tactical Meld > Sworn enemy. At least in terms of pure Acc. It doesn't have the damage bonus and has a base duration of 30 sec. Probably more than enough for most targets.

 

Well the chanter has a mind control invocation, right? So it has more options that way? *Goes to look at Drake's Ambassador again*

[Loren Tyr]

At first this got me thinking - Full Paladin party! As silly as it would be to run a full party just to exploit this tactic It occurred to me that sworn enemy shows up in a mobs debuff list but I don't recall it saying where the debuff came from. So having multiple sworn enemies might get confusing (especially on mobs that teleport). Too bad the whole party couldn't take advantage of sworn enemy. Then it'd be obvious to pair a Paladin and Cipher. Well you still have zealous focus and coordinated attack. +16 Acc is actually more than sworn enemy but stacking them is +31 Acc... and 20% damage.

 

With regard to multiple paladins, note also that multiple Sworn Enemy's on the same target lead to all but one of them being suppressed as well. 

[Kazuma]

Which is kinda strange since the buff only applies to the paladin who cast it but I suppose that is a limitation/oversight as the buff must look the same to whatever code handles sorting and suppresses all but the "most powerful" effect.

 

Unless I'm wrong and it does apply to everyone? The tooltip for sworn enemy seems to indicate otherwise.

[Loren Tyr]

It doesn't, it's specific to the paladin. I was wondering that myself so I was testing it out, which is when I discovered the suppression.

[Kazuma]

Figures. Well it hasn't really effected me because I'm using pallegina's wrath as part of her alpha strike against casters and such. Tbh, I forget to use it on my MC most fights because my monk and chanter kill things so fast.

[Jojobobo]

You can always use Sworn Enemy against different targets anyway, so it's not a big deal. It be intentional, as to stop say 4 Paladins with 2 arquebuses a piece straight up annihilating any enemy in the game.

 

Something I've been having fun with on my Paladin, though not relevant to Shieldbearers, is the Black Path talent for the Bleak Walkers - which I've not really heard anyone talk about before. If you're playing with a standard Sacred Immolation setup with high Int, than the radius is pretty large. As it's -10 accuracy, you can see it as a +10 defense buff to all your defenses (and your party's) which I think is pretty decent if you're trying to tank in the first place. Beyond that, with FoD you're bound to get some kills, and the Black Path also works with kills from Envenomed Strike poisoning (which I wasn't sure it would do, given that's not a direct hit - it this way you can get a steady stream of kills on the go).

 

I'm recommend people giving it a try, you know for the 5% of you wanting to play a Bleak Walker who doesn't just pick up Bittercut and horribly murderate everything.

[Kazuma]

Well, yeah that would be broken stacking sworn on one enemy. My original point was that you can't tell targets apart if you're marking multiple mobs. Usually it won't be a problem if you don't take them off their targets. But if someone needs LoH, etc and the mobs are still in motion (or disengage due to pathing issues) you may find yourself wondering which one it is. Not that you can't figure it out by process of elimination more often than not and it doesn't matter a whole lot with charming.. unless you want to reapply it. It's a situational issue, but it would be nice if had the characters name next to the sworn enemy icon in the mob tooltip.

 

/shrug Running 6 charming paladins seems a little fringe to begin with

 

Speaking of pathing issues I somehow managed to get my monk chasing a mob that was chasing him.. endlessly in a circle around my paladin. Well not endlessly but it did go on for quite a few circuits. *Queue chase music*