Need advice on end game gear and Durgan Steel upgrades

[HoopleDoople]

NOTE: Please avoid White March Part 2 and Crägholdt plot spoilers. Item spoilers are obviously acceptable as they are necessary for this topic.

 

 

I'm in the middle of my first playthrough with the expansions (I've previously beaten the base game) and I just completed the White March Part 1. I chose to enhance the Forge for cheaper Durgan steel, and based on the info I've seen I should be able to eventually obtain 12 Refined Durgan Iron Ingots. This should be just enough to enchant every end-game weapon/shield/armor for my party, though I may need to utilize a couple soulbound items.

 

However, I do not have a sufficient knowledge of the items available to know what I would like to use my limited upgrades on. I don't want to waste my upgrades on items I will later replace, but I'd like to upgrade end games items as quickly as possible to get full value from them.

 

My party and their roles is as follows:

 

Kind Wayfarers Paladin PC - off-tank/healer focused on cleaning up kills to trigger strange Mercy (and wrecking everything with Sacred Immolation). Currently wielding St. Ydwen's Redeemer.

 

Kana Rua - tank and passive DPS and/or buffs (mostly uses the two fire chants). Currently wielding Cladhalíath (marking/coordinating) and Badgradr's Barricade.

 

Zahua - tanky brawler that engages the strongest enemy. Currently wielding his fists.

 

Maneha - off-tank that uses Dragon Leap to dive the enemy backline. Currently wielding The Grey Sleeper.

 

Aloth - disabler/nuker. Currently wielding Gyrd Háewanes Sténes.

 

Durance - buffer and strategic reserve. Currently wielding Exceptional Arquebus; often switches to Nightshroud and Sura's Supper Plate.

 

I prefer heavy armor on most of my party. Aloth sticks to light armor and Durance uses light to medium armor depending on the situation.

 

Please let me know which weapons, shields, and armor you would recommend as end-game gear for this party. Any other gearing advice relevant to efficiently using limited resources is also welcome.

[HoopleDoople]

Anyone?

 

At the very least, can someone let me know if the wiki includes all White March 2 weapons/shields/armor so I can try to put together a proposed list of items for upgrade?

[Boeroer]

Eh sorry - I did write an answer yesterday but apparently I didn't send it, oops.

 

For information on items use Gamebanshee instead - it's complete.

 

You have to decide yourself which weapons you like best. At the moment you are using mainly soulbound weapons - so no durgan steel there. Using it on armor is usually a good idea. Luckily there are no "oh my god" armors late in the game. Ao using durgan steel on the ones you have and like is relatively safe.

 

Using durgan steel on a gun is quite pointless. The best thing about durgan steel is it's +15% speed, aka "reducing recovery phase by 15%". This does not much for guns because their limiting factor is the reload, not the recovery. It's not a total waste because of the imprived crits, but it's better to use durgan steel on weapons without reloading phase.

 

Great weapons to use durgan steel on (you don't want to use the ones that come superlate - of what use is durgan steel if only one fight is left? My favs with a *):

 

Bows: 

- Persistence*

- Borresaine (if you're not a ranger, becausethose have stunning shots)

- Sabra Marie (if you're not a ranger, because those have stunning shots)

- and basically all the other unique bows - they are all good

 

Implements:

- The Golden Gaze* (when you are a wizard)

- Curoc's Brand (dito)

- Engwythan Scepter* (dito)

- Rod of Pale Shades (dito)

- and other which have on-hit or on-crit effects

 

Two Handers:

- Tidefall*

- The Blade of the Endless Paths*

- The Hours of St. Rumbalt*

- Mabec's Morning Star

- Llawran's Stick

- Tall Grass*

 

 

 

One handed:

- Bleak Fang

- Blesca's Labor

- The Unforgiven

- Starcaller

- Godansthunyr*

- Shatterstar

- Strike Hard

- Cladhaliath*

- Vile Loner's Lance

- Danulya

- Resolution*

- Purgatory*

- Bittercut*

- Edge of Reason

- Rimecutter

- We Toki

- Drawn in Spring*

- March Steel Dagger*

- Sword of Daenysis*

- Spelltongue*

 

And there's shields. Here I would say that Outworn Buckler, Little Savior and also Aila Braccia are worth durganizing as well as Old Gerun's Wall, the Last Tower and also Badgradr's Barricade if you like it's mechanic (I do).
 

As you can see, you have a pretty broad collection there. There are not many uniques that stand out a lot. The most generally powerful or useful enchantments in my opinion are those of Drawn in Spring, Persistence and Tidefall as well as Spelltongue and Bittercut. That doesn't mean they are the best weapons for you though. It depends on your tactics and playstyle. For example a paladin who is a marker would maybe use Shame or Glory (not in the list above) or a marking Cladhaliath and durganize that. It's also not bad to use durgan steel on weapons which are already speed enchanted. Because that way it's supereasy to reach 0 recovery and an insane attack speed even in full plate armor. For example the Sword of Daenysis plus March Steel Dagger don't look like much, but when durganized and dual wielded they already give you the fastest attack speed there is. Add Two Weapon Style and you can even use Vulnerable Attack without penalty, add Gauntlets of Swift Action or something like Swift Aim, Swift Strikes, Frenzy or whatever speeds you up and you can even wear plate and you sill would be hitting with 0 recovery. That's powerful and way better than the weapons themselves would suggest. 

Edited August 3, 2016 by Boeroer

[HoopleDoople]

Thanks for the advice Boeroer. I've picked out the armor I'd like to upgrade, but I'm still working out weaponry for some of my characters. Here's what I'm considering so far:

 

Paladin - I'm looking for a 2-handed weapon that does massive damage per hit reliably, in order to easily secure kills. It looks like Abydon's Warhammer is my best bet for this, but I'm open to other options.

 

Kana Rua - I'm probably going to stick with the Cladhaliath and Badgradr's Barricade as my default. I'l l also probably use the Blade of the Endless Paths as a more damaging alternate.

 

Zahua - I want maximum single target sustained DPS. I know Fists are pretty good, but I'm not sure if they beat out dual wielding something like Drawn in Spring and Spelltongue.

 

Maneha - I'd like Maneha to have one weapon set focused on maximum single-hit damage and on-hit/crit spells to maximize the value of Heart of Fury. I think my best bet would be The Grey Sleeper or St. Ydwen's Redeemer, but it might even be something utilizing The Unlabored Blade. My second weapon set would be for sustained combat effectiveness. I'm intrigued by the idea of The Unlabored Blade and Dragon's Maw Shield. However, I'm uncertain to what extent Taste of the Hunt stacks or how it interacts with carnage.

 

Durance - I like the idea of Steadfast paired with Little Savior. Pliambo per Casitàs will be the ranged alternate (unlikely to be Durganized).

 

Aloth - I'm going to utilize both Gyrd Háewanes Sténes and Rod of Pale Shades depending on my needs.

[Boeroer]

Paladin: take Scion of Flame and Intense Flames. Take Tidefall and put on a burning lash for more kills. It is the two handed weapon with the highest dps because of the wounding enchantment. For even better damage per hit, if you don't know yet what weapon to durganize, you can try Forgemaster's Gloves which summon Firebrand, that burning great sword with huge base damage. Scion of Flame buffs it's base damage. When you use FoD with this sword, your damage will get buffed a lot because of Scion of Flame. But I guess a durganized Tidefall is still better.
Another good option is Bittercut + Outworn Buckler. The Buckler's heraldic enchantment stacks with Little Savior's - giving your Frontline +10 to all defenses passively (stacks with everything). Take Spirit of Decay on top of Scion of Flame. Spirit of Decay works wth Bittercut. Enchant it with a corrosive lash. The damage is as good or even better than with a 2hander (except Tidefall and Blade of the Endless Paths) and you'd have more defenses. Using Durgan Steel on the Outworn Buckler also makes Bittercut faster. You can't do that with 2handers. Or take Drawn in Spring if you don't give it to Zahua.

 

Kana: does Cladhaliath's marking apply when you do a bash with a shield? or does it get cancelled? I would check that and maybe take another shield if not. Like Little Savior.

 

Zahua: keep one weapon slot for fists and the other can hold something else if you meet crush immune foes.

Or, as a good alternative, take any dual weapon set you like and then The Long Pain. You can summon the Long Pain when you meet pierce or slash immune foes, they do nearly the same amount of crush damage like your normal fists, work in melee and also ranged (also woth Force of Anguish, Torment's Reach and such), have even more ACC as your "normal" fists and because they are summoned weapons they are universal, meaning they also work with weapon Focus Noble or whatever weapon focus you have.

 

Maneha: Heart of Fury. You can solo the whole game on PoTD with that ability. Give her two durganized sabres (like Resolution + Purgatory), let her jump into the crowd so that she can hit as many enemies as possible and then trigger HoF. Should end most encouters... Dragon's Maw works with carnage and also HoF - it is great (Badgradr's Barricade, too). HoF with it will heal you completely and kill a lot of foes with Taste of the Hunt. Unlabored Blade's Firebug enchantment is bugged (firebugged ) and only triggers 1/encounter atm - also with HoF - but it's still a great weapon. Using two weapons (or a shield with bash) for HoF is bettr because HoF is a Full Attack, meaning both weapons will strike. It doubles the damage output of HoF. If you give Drawn in Spring to Zahua I would also give him the Unlabored Blade for dual dagger aweseomeness.

 

Durance: try this: give him Abydon's Hammer, Bartender's Ring, Bracers of Spiritual Power and the Maefolk Skull. Cast Aggrandizing Radiance + Champion's Boon (or Minor Avatar) on himself. This will lead to +20 MIG (=34 -> +72% damage and healing, +82% damage with the bracers, +102% against vessels and spirits). Then cast Shining Beacon + Cleansing Flame. Most things will be dead then. When you meet vessels only cast Holy Radiance with that prebuffing and most vessels will be dead or nearly dead. Give Little Savior to Kana.

 

Aloth: I also like the Golden Gaze + Blast and Alacrity. It triggers Expose Vulnerabilities very quickly beause it has 2 projectiles instead of one - then you can switch to another implement like the ones you mentioned (which are great). For max dps summon Kalakoth's Minor Blights.

 

That's how I would do it. Might not be the best way though.

[L4wlight]

Unlabored Blade's Firebug enchantment is bugged (firebugged ) and only triggers 1/encounter atm.

Is it just me, or doesn't Firebug proc at all?

[Boeroer]

If it doesn't proc at all (sometimes happens with spell chance items), try to unequip and reequip. That can help. If not, try to reequip, save and reload.

[L4wlight]

If it doesn't proc at all (sometimes happens with spell chance items), try to unequip and reequip. That can help. If not, try to reequip, save and reload.

It had something to do with IE Mod. This and the fact that Priest buffs do not work for him/ herself was enough for me to remove it. I was using it only for fast scouting anyway...

[AndreaColombo]

It had something to do with IE Mod. This and the fact that Priest buffs do not work for him/ herself was enough for me to remove it. I was using it only for fast scouting anyway...

 

I suggest reporting this on the IE Mod's Nexus page so it can get fixed. You know, for those of us who may want to use the IE Mod for more than just fast scouting

[Boeroer]

Whooha! Mr. Colombo, long time no see.

[AndreaColombo]

Whooha! Mr. Colombo, long time no see.

 

I know, right?

 

I've been mostly lurking in the shadows, though I've also been moderately pseudo-active in the 3.04 thread. Just updated the build list, though.

 

Once 3.04 drops (and the IE Mod is updated to comply), I may make a comeback for a full play through

[the streaker]

Ignoring the hit-crit bonus for durganizing weapons, has anybody worked out whether durganized armor or weapon gives you faster attack speed?

[AndreaColombo]

Both will make you attack faster. If you're asking for a comparison, it depends whether you have other attack speed boni active. If yes, you're prolly better off durganizing your weapons.

 

Also, on armors Durgan steel only reduces existing penalties. If you have no penalty, it won't make you faster.

Edited January 28, 2017 by AndreaColombo

[Boeroer]

Durgan Steel bonus (1.15) on weapons applies to that weapon's recovery and multiplies with other speed bonuses like Frenzy, DAoM, Gauntlets of Swift Action and so on. Also stacks with an existing speed enchantment on the same weapon. Also stacks with Spelltongue's speed buff. Stacks with everything to be precise.

 

Durgan Steel bonus on shields (1.15) does the same - but for the main hand weapon, not for the shield, even if it's a bashing one.

 

Durgan Steel on the armor lowers the recovery penalty.

 

So, very powerful enchantments.

 

But as AndreaColombo said: if you're already at 0 recovery this all does nothing for you. But then you could always add things like plate armor, Iron Circle or Vulnerable Attack and Cautious Attack and maybe still have 0 recovery.

Edited January 29, 2017 by Boeroer

[Lampros]

Eh sorry - I did write an answer yesterday but apparently I didn't send it, oops.

 

For information on items use Gamebanshee instead - it's complete.

 

You have to decide yourself which weapons you like best. At the moment you are using mainly soulbound weapons - so no durgan steel there. Using it on armor is usually a good idea. Luckily there are no "oh my god" armors late in the game. Ao using durgan steel on the ones you have and like is relatively safe.

 

Using durgan steel on a gun is quite pointless. The best thing about durgan steel is it's +15% speed, aka "reducing recovery phase by 15%". This does not much for guns because their limiting factor is the reload, not the recovery. It's not a total waste because of the imprived crits, but it's better to use durgan steel on weapons without reloading phase.

 

Great weapons to use durgan steel on (you don't want to use the ones that come superlate - of what use is durgan steel if only one fight is left? My favs with a *):

 

Bows: 

- Persistence*

- Borresaine (if you're not a ranger, becausethose have stunning shots)

- Sabra Marie (if you're not a ranger, because those have stunning shots)

- and basically all the other unique bows - they are all good

 

Implements:

- The Golden Gaze* (when you are a wizard)

- Curoc's Brand (dito)

- Engwythan Scepter* (dito)

- Rod of Pale Shades (dito)

- and other which have on-hit or on-crit effects

 

Two Handers:

- Tidefall*

- The Blade of the Endless Paths*

- The Hours of St. Rumbalt*

- Mabec's Morning Star

- Llawran's Stick

- Tall Grass*

 

 

 

One handed:

- Bleak Fang

- Blesca's Labor

- The Unforgiven

- Starcaller

- Godansthunyr*

- Shatterstar

- Strike Hard

- Cladhaliath*

- Vile Loner's Lance

- Danulya

- Resolution*

- Purgatory*

- Bittercut*

- Edge of Reason

- Rimecutter

- We Toki

- Drawn in Spring*

- March Steel Dagger*

- Sword of Daenysis*

- Spelltongue*

 

And there's shields. Here I would say that Outworn Buckler, Little Savior and also Aila Braccia are worth durganizing as well as Old Gerun's Wall, the Last Tower and also Badgradr's Barricade if you like it's mechanic (I do).

 

As you can see, you have a pretty broad collection there. There are not many uniques that stand out a lot. The most generally powerful or useful enchantments in my opinion are those of Drawn in Spring, Persistence and Tidefall as well as Spelltongue and Bittercut. That doesn't mean they are the best weapons for you though. It depends on your tactics and playstyle. For example a paladin who is a marker would maybe use Shame or Glory (not in the list above) or a marking Cladhaliath and durganize that. It's also not bad to use durgan steel on weapons which are already speed enchanted. Because that way it's supereasy to reach 0 recovery and an insane attack speed even in full plate armor. For example the Sword of Daenysis plus March Steel Dagger don't look like much, but when durganized and dual wielded they already give you the fastest attack speed there is. Add Two Weapon Style and you can even use Vulnerable Attack without penalty, add Gauntlets of Swift Action or something like Swift Aim, Swift Strikes, Frenzy or whatever speeds you up and you can even wear plate and you sill would be hitting with 0 recovery. That's powerful and way better than the weapons themselves would suggest. 

 

Awesome list of gear to look for newbs like me! )

[Lampros]

I just bought Blesca's Labor. I am a Ruffian, so I need a club in case I run into slash resistants. Is this the best club option?

[Boeroer]

It's the best club I'd say. But if you are a Ruffian and want a weapon with two damages types, why don't you use Bittercut?

[Lampros]

It's the best club I'd say. But if you are a Ruffian and want a weapon with two damages types, why don't you use Bittercut?

 

I haven't found one yet. And I'd need a club for the other hand anyways, no?

[Blades of Vanatar]

Helewax mold turns any weapon into two. Dual wield Bittrrcut is a game ending weapon set.

[Lampros]

Helewax mold turns any weapon into two. Dual wield Bittrrcut is a game ending weapon set.

 

I just Googled its location. I guess I have to detour into WM then.

[Blades of Vanatar]

It also works on other items, not just weapons. The Saber with Fireballs from the Endless paths duplicated partnered with a necklace of Fireballs is pretty nice on a high Mig/Int warrior type. Makes Fighters a not just a single target type of class.

[Boeroer]

Amulet of Summer Solstice, Sun Touched Mail and Flames of Faîr Rhian plus Bittercut basically makes you a mini-caster (12 casts per rest).

[Lampros]

It also works on other items, not just weapons. The Saber with Fireballs from the Endless paths duplicated partnered with a necklace of Fireballs is pretty nice on a high Mig/Int warrior type. Makes Fighters a not just a single target type of class.

 

Amulet of Summer Solstice, Sun Touched Mail and Flames of Faîr Rhian plus Bittercut basically makes you a mini-caster (12 casts per rest).

 

Honestly, guys, I think using all the spells and activation skills that come embedded with the various classes is too much micro-management for me. This is why I love Chanters and Paladins - as well as no micro caster builds like Boerer's Blaster build. So no thanks to adding item-based spells on top of all those for me!

 

Of course, unless there is a truly OP activation item. Is there?

Edited September 7, 2017 by Lampros