Help a nooooob?

[Loren Tyr]

If you want more dialogue options RES in particular is the stat to get. If you're playing on normal you could go for a stat spread like 16/16 MIG/CON (or maybe 18/14), 14/16 INT/RES and 8 in DEX and PER. Naturally the high RES dialogue options tend to be of the rather assertive kind, so those fit a Barbarian quite well in any case. 

 

Additional dialogue and interaction options are mostly dependent on primary stats (RES most of all, quite a few with INT/PER as well), skills (in terms of dialogue you should probably get a couple of points, at least 4 I'd say, in every skill; the first few points are cheap to get anyway) and dispositions (these are usually more automatic; differences in responses you get rather than options for you to pick). You do get a few that trigger off of race/culture/background; I would imagine from class as well, though off the top of my head I can only recall ones for the Paladin and Priest kits. Ciphers might have a few of their own as well, but it's not likely to be significantly more than others.

 

You can certainly tankify any character, sure. There's a lot of room for different kinds of builds on any character, there aren't any artificial restrictions on what weapons or armour a specific class can use like there were in BG/IWD for example; you can put your mage in plate armour if you want. This gives a lot of build variety, you can have very effective melee-oriented mages for example, or a sturdy high-deflection rogue. Having said that, this does naturally affect how your character plays, what his role will be. Having your mage run around whacking people with his magic staff is great fun, but obviously he'll have less time (with all the whacking and running around) and less resources ('cause you do need to invest items/spells/abilities in making your mage not die quite so quickly) to do the stereotypical fireball-y mage stuff. It is always a trade-off. And in terms of sheer tankiness, being at the frontline taking hits, classes like Fighters, Barbarians and Paladins are just simply better at it. 

[Slack83er]

Perfect. Now I think I only got to try what you all suggested and decide what or who my char will be. How long shall I play before I can appreciate my settings, and understand if I made the right choice?

[Climhazzard]

Perfect. Now I think I only got to try what you all suggested and decide what or who my char will be. How long shall I play before I can appreciate my settings, and understand if I made the right choice?

 

 

As you're just learning this game, only you'll be able to answer that question.  Most character builds don't really start to mature until level 8-10, but some even later than that.  I normally wouldn't recommend Barb to a new player, as they're kind of a hands off class, which I find a bit boring, but if you're playing for the roleplay that might not even matter.  Nor do I recommend min/maxing to new players, as it creates weaknesses that you don't have the experience to overcome.  Try to play at least to act 2 or a bit longer before you make any big decisions, you'll probably be around level 6 by then and starting to understand the game somewhat.

[Slack83er]

Climhazzard, thank you for your suggestions. I'm curious, what would you recommend to a new player? I'm open to suggestions, barbarian was indeed just a preliminary idea, then the board developed on that matter..

[Climhazzard]

Climhazzard, thank you for your suggestions. I'm curious, what would you recommend to a new player? I'm open to suggestions, barbarian was indeed just a preliminary idea, then the board developed on that matter..

 

Don't get the wrong idea, if you're not in it for the challenging combat the Barb is a fine pick.  He'll take a licking and keep on ticking, so to speak, while not requiring a lot of extra care from you (as long as you aren't min/maxing his stats).  But for the same reason he's a boring class, so if you want to get the most fun from the combat he might not be your best pick.  As an example I know a few people that lost interest in PoE mainly I think because their first class pick were hands off classes.

 

Barbarian, FIghter, Paladin, Chanter, and Ranger, imo, are all hands off classes.  They have a few abilities you'll be using but for the most part you don't need to worry about them much.  Rogue requires a bit more hands on due to needing proper positioning to get the most out of his abilities.  Monk can be hands off but can also be hands on since you'll get more out of him by positioning for Torment's Reach, wound's management, and Force of Anguish usage.  Wizard/Druid are probably the most interesting classes to play due to their large selection of spells, Wizards are less newbie friendly though since you have to pick which of their spells you want to be able to use and that requires a better understanding of the game.  Priests are buff botts, yet an essential class due to their ability to hard counter all status effects.  Cipher is an interesting class, but requires knowledge of game mechanics to get plenty of focus for spellcasting.

 

Well to be honest, you probably don't want to many hands on classes in your party, probably 2 or 3 at most, though everyone will have their personal preferences.  I personally prefer classes that can go either way for my main character, like the monk, or a Druid that just shapeshifts when spell casting isn't required to turn the tide of battle.  Druid would be a great pick for a new player imo, since shape shifter builds are very simple, require very few items (wild strike belt which is easy to get is the only item that even buffs shape shift form), yet are very capable spell casters when the going gets tough.

 

But you said that you're in it for the role playing and not the combat, so those hands off classes are probably a great pick for you, I don't know.  Don't heed me, just get into the game and learn what works for you!

Edited August 5, 2016 by Climhazzard

[Boeroer]

I guess on normal you will find that any build (that is not heavily gimped on purpose) will work. You can concentrate on roleplaying and the story. 

 

And Loren Tyr is right that you don't need certain things when not playing Path of the Damned. I only play that difficulty nowadays and sometimes forget that others don't - or what it's like to play on normal, sorry for that. Some abilites or even classes are better for PotD but they are not necessary or even good for lower difficulties. Like Veteran's Recovery on a barb who already has Savage Defiance. It's most likely a healing overkill on normal.

 

Generally speaking I also think that lvl 6 should give you a good outlook at how your build will perform. 

 

Other nice MC classes are paladin (but you don't want that again) and priest (very powerful but you need to know his stuff), because they benefit from the right dialogue choices. 

Edited August 5, 2016 by Boeroer

[Slack83er]

 Don't heed me, just get into the game and learn what works for you!

 

Oh, I'll do that instead! I'm collecting every word of advice from you guys, since I find all of your answers and insights very interesting! So I'll bother you some more ( ) and ask you something also about monk, priest and druid, some classes that I really like in pen and paper D&D.. I read somewhere on the internet that druid can be very tanky if you shapeshift into bear, and also read that monk is kinda unnecessary for any group... so I'll take your advices once more... Thanks fellow players! 

[Climhazzard]

 

 Don't heed me, just get into the game and learn what works for you!

 

Oh, I'll do that instead! I'm collecting every word of advice from you guys, since I find all of your answers and insights very interesting! So I'll bother you some more ( ) and ask you something also about monk, priest and druid, some classes that I really like in pen and paper D&D.. I read somewhere on the internet that druid can be very tanky if you shapeshift into bear, and also read that monk is kinda unnecessary for any group... so I'll take your advices once more... Thanks fellow players! 

 

 

 

The only class that isn't unnecessary for any group is really the priest, he counters status effects much better than any other class with his Litany's and Prayers.  But if you know the game well you can even do without the priest.  Monk is in fact a beastly class, he's great, look up the Juggernaut build in the builds index for a good place to start with monk (except take Iron Wheel which the build states as optional, at the earliest level available, and figure out how to acquire the shod in faith boots since they're great for monks).  Druids can be tanky in their shape shift forms but it doesn't last terribly long so it's best to build it out to do great damage imo, it's base tankiness is high enough to save your druid from trouble, building up its damage will eliminate the trouble altogether.

 

The Talents for such a Druid are pretty simple too, basically like... 

 

Weapon Focus: Peasant 

Two Weapon Style 

Wildstrike Shock

Greater Wildstrike Shock 

Heart of the Storm 

 

by the time you get those you'll probably do 100+ damage per swing in spiritshift form.  I'm not a Druid expert but I don't think the form you choose really matters that much, I like stag for the extra defenses and the Carnage ability completely wrecks when combined with the damage from spiritshift.  The Druid companion you can get for your party, fairly early on, makes an awesome candidate for a spiritshift Druid if you don't take one as your MC, his Stelgaer form just shreds anything in the early game.

 

Builds index: http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/85492-the-obsidian-boards-build-list-last-modified-20-jul-16/

 

They are all viable and up to date, many are item dependent (requires knowledge and know how to acquire said items as early as possible)  but spiritshift builds are not, as well as the Juggernaut monk (except for the shod in faith boots which are highly recommended for any beefy low deflection front line classes such as monk or barbarian).  Monk builds don't typically emphasize any conversation stats good for a main character though, especially not the Juggernaut, except for perception but it's a lesser conversation stat compared to intelligence and resolve.

Edited August 5, 2016 by Climhazzard

[Slack83er]

Mmmm I've been trying a monk just to see... man he whacks! Now... I completely left the barbarian behind, and have decided to go either monk or priest (still have to try this). Can you recommend a good priest build? One that can also strongly roleplay? 

 

EDIT:

 

Nope, no priest for me... Monk is the choice!  

Edited August 5, 2016 by Slack83er

[Climhazzard]

Priest is pretty easy, just give him Interdiction/Painful interdiction, and Inspiring Radiance, toss on some medium armor and a shield, he's now ready for Path of the Damned difficulty.  I've never played one as a main character, I just pick up Durance. 

 

More seriously though, stats to emphasize are dexterity for faster casting in a pinch as well as faster buffing, intelligence for longer lasting buffs, and resolve so you don't get interrupted while trying to drop withdraw on someone who's about to get wrecked.  If you're interested in fire priest or other damaging priest builds then you'll want to think about might/perception too (they would probably be more interesting for a main character than a purely buffing priest).  I haven't tried any of the priest builds posted here in the forums, I don't recommend minimizing resolve though like they do since you have to have specific items to counter minimizing resolve.

 

I've done several playthroughs with monk though, a couple were on PotD, so I feel better with monk recommendations.

 

My personal preference for unstoppable damage dealer is something like...

 

Talents:

 

Level 2-Weapon Focus Peasant

Level 4- Vulnerable attack

Level 6- Veteran's Recovery

Level 8- Two weapon style

Level 10- Apprentice sneak attack

Level 12- Savage attack

Level 14- Outlander's Frenzy (works great with The Long Pain), (if you took swift strikes you'd want lightning strikes instead of Outlander's Frenzy)

Level 16- Any defensive talent picks like bears fortitude, Gallants focus for better accuracy, Lesser wounds for extra ability use or faster max DR from Iron Wheel.  Guides say not to take Lesser wounds but I don't really see what's wrong with getting wounds 20% faster on a build that spends wounds and gets 10 DR from capped wounds)

 

Abilities

 

Level 1- Torment's Reach (swift strikes are good but for some reason I just don't care for using them and torment' reach is awesome)

Level 3- Force of Anguish (such fun)

Level 5- Long stride (wreck from anywhere and everywere), or swift strikes

Level 7- Duality of Mortal Presence (Put it on "other defenses" to protect from knockdowns, stuns, etc)

Level 9- Enervating Blows (synergizes well with Force of anguish and Apprentice sneak attack, not to mention any team members that can benefit from weakened status)

Level 11- Iron Wheel (makes your monk unstoppable, synergizes extremely well with his wound mechanics)

Level 13- Flagellant's Path (very fun way to spend wounds)

Level 15- The Long Pain (does so much damage, and you can force of anguish from long range, use outlander's frenzy with this for best effect)

 

Stat priorities for me are usually Might/Perception (16-18) then Constitution/dexterity (12-14), 10 in intelligence/resolve.  Max perception if i play on PoTD (everything is harder to hit).  All stats are good though, you could literally put 13 in every stat and still do great.

 

Pick Colonist (+2 survival) to get 60% healing received bonus from 14 points in Survival (I think it's 14), Synergizes even better with the shod in faith boots and Veteran's Recovery.

 

For Race literally anything works.

 

Offensive choices: Humans, Boreal Dwarf, Heart Orlan (consider that Hearth Orlan's synergize with enervating blows)

Defensive choices: Costal Aumaua, Pale Elf, Wild Orlan, Moon Godlike (really good), Fire Godlike

 

Do the Knights of Crucible storyline in Act 2 if you play monk for the extra damage resistance talent and to pick up the shod in faith boots early on (beware that finishing it excludes 2 other storylines, and that finishing them will exclude Knights of the Crucible storyine, they are all short though, and you can safely do the first quest from each one without excluding the others).

 

For monk I prefer medium armors, either something that reduces status effects like "Pike's Pride", or something that improves healing like the armor Maneha comes with.  Just any scale mail will work in the early game, like the armor Eder is wearing.  But you can always wear plate for those sticky situations where you're finding you need to be tougher.

 

Don't be afraid of disengagement attacks on your monk if he has 0 wounds, they're one of the easiest ways to generate a bit more.  Basically while positioning to use Torment's Reach or Force of Anguish you'll get the wounds you need to use them from disengagement attacks.

 

Unfortunately due to the stat preferences for this monk he's not the best choice for a role playing MC, so definitely consider playing around with priest if that's your thing.  Don't worry about messing up your stats/talents/abilities to much as you can respec them in game at any rest area like Taverns/Inns.

Edited August 6, 2016 by Climhazzard

[Abel]

Mmmm I've been trying a monk just to see... man he whacks! Now... I completely left the barbarian behind, and have decided to go either monk or priest (still have to try this). Can you recommend a good priest build? One that can also strongly roleplay? 

 

EDIT:

 

Nope, no priest for me... Monk is the choice!

 

 

Since you're about priest and roleplay... Maybe i can give my 2 cents. I'm still in my first playtrough, act 2, around 200H so far (yeah, i take my time, and the fact that i write the diary of my character in the notes actually consumes half of my play time , but reading it after several weeks of pause is great ).

 

I'm a huge fan of priests in Baldur's Gate. Mostly because of their healing spells and their capability to switch to melee. My priestess is not min/max (a pale elf with all stats between 11 and 15). But the good thing is that even though i never ever use any healing spell (which is a shame) in this game (hard difficulty), you can actually craft a melee priest in Pillars.

 

As far as priests are concerned, i see 2 ways to build them. Either you make them a pure spellcaster who will stay behind, using ranged weapons and spells, or... you can craft a versatile priest who can cast spells or act as a frontliner (but in this case, i would recommand good armor, and shield because of their poor health and deflection)

 

I chose a versatile priestess of Eothas (because the plot is much about Eothas). She came from the White that Wends to discover what happened to her God. lvl 10, i chose only combat oriented talents (weapon focus adventurer, superior deflection, Weapon and shield style, Vulnerable attack, eternal hope (+10 accuracy with flails and morning stars). She still has her spells when needed. But she mostly uses personal melee buffs (like "champions boon", lvl 5 spell, which is much like some priest spells from BG). She actually has her hands full, having much to do, and much choices in combat and outside. Which is why it could be a good idea to take in your party the NPC companion priest of Magran you find early in the game.

 

In the end, i think that if you like roleplaying deeply your character, then, chosing a priest of Eothas or magran should give you some good opportunities to feel really immersed in the game plot. At least, i don't regret my choice of Eothas in the slightest. And the good thing with priests is that they have buff spells, damaging spells, they can cure afflications, and they can become quite potent warriors too.

 

Well, my post is a mess, but i hope it gave you some clues. If my point of view helped, then i'm glad. Nice game to you.

[Climhazzard]

Quick gameplay TIP for new players...  use sneak mode often to detect hidden stashes and traps, and to get the jump on your enemies.  Set gameplay speed to fast (Press D to turn fast mode on or off) to make it less slow when sneaking, and combat speed to automatically switch to slow when combat starts (In the auto pause options).

Edited August 6, 2016 by Climhazzard

[Slack83er]

Hi again. Thanks for your last insights. I've tried the priest in a quick way... But something seems just... I dunno, too boring. I really like priests generally, so maybe I've done something wrong... I tried a dwarf with hammer and shield... He just waves the hammer.. Nothing more... Low level magic seems useless... What have I misunderstood? Where's my fault? Also.. How to put his stats so that he is role playable??

[Climhazzard]

Priest is mostly a buff class, he can't do much damage until later on when he gets his fire spells.  In general his role isn't to exciting.  You'll start off most combats with an Interdiction, followed by an Inspiring Radiance once your front-liners get hit a few times (for extra accuracy and to heal them a little).  

 

After that will depend on the priorities of the combat, from your level 1 spells you'll use Blessing for extra accuracy and damage, Armor of Faith for extra protection, Prayer against Fear to prevent the fear/terrify status effects (terrify is a huge accuracy debuff), Withdraw to save teammates whom you can save by no other means.  From your level 2 spells Consecrated Ground and Iconic Projection are 2 of your most useful heals, Suppress affliction is useful to temporarily relieve a party member of status effects (usually you would use a Prayer instead but Prayers don't really work on confused or dominated party members so it can help to suppress their afflictions first).  Generally each spell level has useful buffs or debuffs, some really useful.

 

In easier combats you literally just use Interdiction, then Inspiring Radiance, then start whopping things with your mace or whatever weapon you chose to use until everything is dead.

 

As for role playing stats...   other players are probably more qualified to answer than me, since I always have the option that shows qualifiers for conversation options turned off.  I believe you should probably have at least around 16 intelligence and resolve though.  And to use items that boost both late game.

Edited August 6, 2016 by Climhazzard

[Dr <3]

Priest is super strong, but start really weak. Until you reach at least lvl 3 spells he give you wrong impression. After that iconic protection, seals, shining beacon start wreack things. High lvl spells like avatar, champion boon, crowns for the faithful are absurd powerful when you chain cast them. Read the fire Priest build of maxquest in the build index, is precise and tell you how abuse this class.

Edited August 6, 2016 by Dr <3

[Slack83er]

Hi, good day all of you guys. I've just tried to build a priest according to the flame priest build. It's very squishy, due to low con, but it kinda kicks a**es from the start with a simple crossbow, even if it's terribly slow. What I'm wondering is... How many dialogues and situations will be affected by the fact that I'm a cleric? Is he more role playable than other chars? Matter is... I don't want to be limited by casting amounts or the like, so I continue to prefer monk over priest. Will I be forced to take Durance? Is he so bad or annoying as they depict him?

[Abel]

I play with qualifiers on. Priest is actually one of the class that has the most dialogue options so far. Durance, the priest can be quite interesting... Well he's a priest of Magran, and as i said, playing a priest of Magran or Eothas makes things... more personal due to the main plot. IMHO it can become especially relevant if your character is priest of Eothas, once more, because of what happened in the Saint's War. There is no specifical plot branch as far as i know, but when roleplaying your character, you feel more concerned about things.

 

Anyway, i don't even have interdiction or inspiring radiance. The first level spell i tend to use the most is actually... holy meditation (once i've got Pallegina in the party). Since Pallegina has zealous focus, which don't stack with blessing, and since Eder and Pallegina are devoted to cast all the anti affliction spells with scrolls, my priestess is actually quite free. She has her hands full because she has many options and things to do. There is no stereotipical way to play her. And to me, it's the most interesting member of my party to play. It's definitely not boring. But it's true that the priests become more powerful/fun after a few levels. But i guess it may be the same for other classes.

 

One of the many examples of the things she can do in a fight:

 

1- cast holy meditation to protec low will companions from spells and abilities targetting will, and helping them not being interrrupted (+30 concentration)

2- cast champion's boon to raise her might and perception by 10 points.

3- cast lvl 2 spell divine mark on this awful frost troll (targetting its low will) and crit it for 90 damage and -25 deflection

4- Tore the troll into pieces with chain crits in his face with vulnerable attack and her flail

5- Help Caroc to kill the others while helping her qualifying for sneak attacks (flank affliction). (In my party, Caroc is actually a high deflection rogue with small shield and riposte)

 

But she can do something like this too:

 

1- cast buff 1

2- Cast buff 2

3- Cast debuf

4- use her war bow until the end of the fight

 

Or this:

 

1- Plunge into melee directly because Eder could not protect the front line alone and ennemies are coming for squishes.

2- Cast one fast spell or two while in melee to help the party while killing things like a fighter would do.

 

In the end, i think that to me, the boring way to play a priest would be to use it as a ranged caster/squishie who cast systematically the same boring spell at the sart of each combat. That's why i did not take interdiction. I tried to emulate the dual class warrior/priest from BG. And aside from the useless healing spells, i'm quite satisfied, even if it took several levels. In hard mode, lvl 9,  i cleaned the entire Durgan's Battery (3 lvl dungeon) without sleeping once (because i would never sleep in a haunted dungeon). With such a build, i could spare my spells until the end. I barely ever come short of spells with her or Aloth, even though i barely ever camp outside (same reasons as before) and never come back to town unless i've finished what they left for. If you play on normal, you won't have to use your spells all the time.

 

As for the attributes... I don't quite know about monks. But probably might and constitution are the most important. And about the melee priestess. Quite hard. Everything is important. But i found out that might, intelligence, perception and dexterity are probably the most crucial. Mine is 14 Might, 11 Con, 12 Dex, 15 Per, 14 Int, 12 Res. Actually i have one huge problem. Might governs spell power AND physical strenght. My priestess has some spell power but no physical strenght. So... while i would have taken 9 Strenght and 18 spell power, i picked 14... I did not want her to demonstrate herculean strenght in scripted interaction. This design choice about might is awful to me....

 

In the end, there is no bad choice i think. It all comes down to your own tastes and play style. To find yours, you wuill have no other choice but to play and test. There is a huge chance you will ditch your first playthrough at some point and start over, once you have figured some things out. I did the same, though i started over with the same kind of priestess :D

[Slack83er]

Mmm so I understand that Eothas spices things up a little... that's good news. Aside of that, I noticed that ranged weapon are terribly slow... should dex raise the speed enough? I tried one of the builds in the builds section, the one with the dwarf... no luck. Squishy as hell even in normal...slow... does practically nothing until maybe sixth or seventh level... definitely not my playstyle. I don't know if I should pick dwarf.... leave all builds behinds, since most of 'em are just PotD archetypes, and try to forge my own toon...

[Abel]

Crossbows, arbalests, firearms do huge amounts of damages (and thus are ok for high DR foes) but are really, really slow. And they need to be reloaded. I use them, but only with my tanks at the start of combat; one shot, then switch to melee weapons, and engage ennemies. Though, i tend to do this less and less since some of my party members have other stuff to do at start of combat: like using an ability, or casting a spell. Even with high dex, these weapons will be slow. Though their DPS may not be lower than that of a bow, due to the amount of damages done. But i tend to think that such slow ranged weapons are a bad pick for a spell caster. The reason is that once you have fired your bullet, you will be hindered by a long recovery time before being able to cast a spell. I like my casters to be reactive and able to cast when i really need it (therefore, i use bows or magic implements, which are way faster). There are two armors i like with my melee priestess: Osric's family plate (breastplate, and because of the look of it, which is great with her skin tone, hairs, and the shield badgradr's barricade ), and Rebel's call (leather armor). They are medium armors, with moderate recovery time. The heavier the armor the less often your character will perform his actions.

 

To me, Eothas spices things a bit. But i guess it's true only because i roleplay my character. The reason is that many things in the story are linked to the Saint's War, in which Eothas had a huge role. When i roleplay my priestess, she would obviously take things at heart. And since her reason to come to Dyrwood was to find out what really happened during the Saint's War... Obviously, it's great roleplay value for me. I can't spoil, but there are story related reason for Magran as a priest deity to be an interesting pick, too. One of them (it's no spoil) is that since the Dyrwoodan Revolution against Aedyr, Magran is the patroness of the Dyrwood, and his cult is widespread in the country. Keep in mind, though, that there won't be any specific plot branches depending on your faith. It's only helpful to get yourself more immersed in the story, because, well... all the stuff relating to what Eothas or Magran did will have a special signification to your character.

 

J.E.Sawyer, the game designer tried to make a game system where it's really hard to mess up your character. In the end, almost everything will work. Even a dumb, armor clad wizard. You can definitely make your own toon. it depends on the way you get satisfaction from a build. I use to roleplay, but i need to feel that my character is something special, too. I had a hard time finding a way to get this feeling with my priestess, but i guess in the end it worked out fine. Just one detail. If, by any chance, you choose to use weapons like the flail (low damage, crush), pick vulnerable attack at some point... Otherwise, you'll find yourself striking fast, but without any huge result.

 

Oh, and one last important piece of advice. If you want to make your own toon, i guess, the most important thing you have to consider is "what role do i want for my character to have in the party?". Narrowing down your options according to your playstyle/ideas of the character will be a huge help. Otherwise, you may end up taking talents and abilities that sounds cool, but don't work quite well together, or without fulfilling your real needs. As an example, while having more spells to cast with my priestess would be cool, i can't spare the talents to get some more if i want her to be potent in a melee role. I struggled a lot to figure this out.

[Slack83er]

I'm going elven priest of eothas, I want to see what comes out of it. Made him from aedwyr, and values are 14 10 12 15 15 12. Now n to see what happens in the first hour of play....

[Abel]

First hour of play: run, and go pick Eder lol. Don't try the bear alone...

[Slack83er]

I'm givin' him a try.. bow and arrows for the moment... i can't find a possible use for my magic....

[Abel]

Magic has to be spared. I think magic is meant only for harder fights. That's why i think a potent melee character as a MC spellcaster can do the job just fine. Just remember to make your priest pretty tanky if you go into melee. He won't have much health and endurance, so he will need deflection.

 

Spells, and especially priest ones have a learning curve. When i first played the game, i could not find any use for other 1st level spells than armor of faith and blessing. But now, i figured out the usefulness of the others too. Some will prove usefull only later on (such as prayer against fear, once you meet creatures that debuff your party with terrified afflictions). Just keep in mind that even level 1 spells will do wonders when you're lvl 10. I guess that unlike BG's spells, the ones in Pillars are meant to be usefull all the game long.

 

A priest can have the same melee accuracy than a fighter. But can be potent archers too with the right weapon focus. Anyhow, if i have one advice for you, here it is: the start of the game may be the hardest part for any character. And once you will have leveled up several times, the low base accuracy/deflection of your priest will be mitigated (since you get 3 each at level up). The 10 points difference at start will become trivial in the end. So, at first, have Eder take on the ennemies in melee, and be careful with your priest. You will have to level up several times before he can actually tank in melee correctly.

[Climhazzard]

Just don't use min/maxed stats from suggested builds, or if they suggest min/maxing then only read the build for the skill advices, they tend to make your character squishy which is ok for a Veteran that knows how to counter every ability from every encounter, but not a newbie.  Just study the builds for the talent/item/ability synergies they have.

 

For example the fire priest build has low constitution and very low resolve, this especially makes the early game encounters harder, but the players that make these builds know exactly how to counter every early game encounter so it doesn't matter to them.  Like picking up some fan of flames scrolls to counter the phantasms in the throne room of Caed Nua.

 

I wouldn't go below 10 in any stat until you become familiar with the game, it might lessen your late game potential slightly, but it'll make the early game easier if you're not squishy.

 

There unfortunately isn't a glut of priest builds posted.  The fire priest will probably be the hardest early game since it's the most min/maxed.

 

Once you figure out where the early game companions are you'll be in for some smoother sailing too.

 

Aloth

Eder

Durance

Kana

 

Can all be obtained in little time without skipping much, get them before you do the Temple in Guilded Vale at least.

[Slack83er]

You talking about temple of Eothas? If that's the case...I've tried soloing it on EASY and I die EASILY... With the monk this didn't happen. He could solo many things, and took very little damage....while punching like a smith.. I don't know... everyone here is suggesting Priest, especially for the sake of roleplay but... would it really be that different with a monk? Would I be losing SO MUCH dialogue options and lore?