The annoying noob strikes back!

[Boeroer]

Just as a general observation, I would advise against using Blunderbuss with Flames of Devotion. Just like the six pellets themselves, any Lashes on those pellets individually reduced by DR so it suffers much more against high DR targets. Moreover, Lashes don't benefit from DR reduction (either from the weapon itself or from effects like Penetrating Shot or Vulnerable Attack). Arquebus is the best weapon for this, but staying in the Ruffian WF a pistol is also usually a better bet in this regard. 

True - although a blunderbusses is by far the best weapon to use for FoD when you meet foes with low DR (like ghuls, most enemy wizards and such). So the ruffian group is not bad for adapting to different enemies: pistol for the guys in thick armor, blunderbuss for the soft ones.  There are some nice pistols out there. The base damage is not as good as those of arquebuses, but the uniques have really nice enchantments. Same with the blunderbusses. Arquebuses don't have such a nice variant of uniques.

 

What you can do in order to make blunderbusses work against most targets is to have party members who can lower DR - like fighters (Sundering Blow, -8 DR, late), chanters (Hel-Hyraff, -5 DR, early), wizards (Expose Vulnerabilities, -5 DR, early), cipher (-7, Borrowed Insticts, mid). I don't know if all those stack - and if it's all worth the fuzz.

 

 

Edited August 10, 2016 by Boeroer

[Ben No.3]

The difference between my and boeroer's build is that boeroer simply goes for a lot of elemental damage, while we go for a somewhat backdoor-way. Sadly these two builds are tough to combine... We invest to many talents into dr bypass to justify a two hander (example: estoc has a dr bypass of 5, estoc of 3. Add Vurnable attack and you get 10 and 8. Now, the estoc has a higher chance to deal damage anyway because it's base damage is so high, however this would require a much more speed oriented Build that would also suffer greatly from speed penalties thus also suffering from armour... You will simply loose defensive capabilities which are quite important to you as I take it. Also when only the bypass is applied when dealing with extreme DR, the fast stilletos should surpass the estoc). And while Boeroer's build is the technically better one when talking DD, mine is simpler to build in the first place... That's the problem with item based builds (which might not be ideal for our dearest noob). Also, mental stats.

[Ben No.3]

God, I'm on the phone and didn't see what was coming... Oh well...

[Slack83er]

Hehe thanks for your affection Say... seing as the two builds are tough to combine, how about maybe respeccing him later in the game? I started with Ben's configuration and must say that even with low dex, he IS quite fast and damaging. It's easy to build and has strong mental attitudes..Is stiletto the only weapon that bypasses dr? 

[Boeroer]

No, besides stilettos there are also all estocs (5 DR bypass) and all maces (3 DR bypass). There's one special estoc that has even 8 DR bypass (Drake's Bell, first bounty quest) as well as one stiletto that has 6 (Bleak Fang, late game).

And all guns have inherent DR bypass (pistols and arquebuses 6, blunderbusses 4)

 

Then there are some unique weapons that have DR bypass as special enchantment:

- Sword of Daenysis: a rapier with 3 DR bypass, also speed enchanted. Early to get and a great weapon - also together with the March Steel Dagger (speed enchanted). With those two you can play a duelist themed character who hits superfast.

- Cat's Claw: a sword with 3 DR bypass, late game

- Hearth Harvest: a hatchet with 3 DR bypass, early/mid game

 

And other ranges weapns like two bows and a rod and whatnot.

[Ben No.3]

No, also got the mace (big one handed) and estoc (two handed)... But since you wanted the hyprid aspect stilletos seemed the strongest choice due to being in group with the blunderbuss (I have fallen in love with the DR bypass blunderbuss)... Surely you can add some flame-flavour to your cheetah, perhaps enchantments?

 

Edit: Dammit phone... Second time

Edited August 10, 2016 by Ben No.3

[Boeroer]

Yeah - but as Loren Tyr pointed out: blunderbusses with FoD are very weak against high DR targets - even if you use Lead Spitter with Penetrating Shot (=12 DR bypass) because the FoD elemental lash and also the lash enchantments don't profit from those DR bypasses - only the initial piercing pellets will bypass DR, not hte elemental lashes. So the burning part of FoD  will just evaporate. You have to lower the enemy's DR directly (not stack DR bypass) to make blunderbusses with FoD worthwhile against high DR targets. For soft targets they are awesome. But then: no need to lower DR anyways.

[Slack83er]

I see! so either that or mace to be fast enough.... with mace a little stronger but little slower, correct? Why the blunderbuss over pistol, for example?

 

EDIT Boeroer almost answered my question... I really like though the idea of a "lawless paladin" or such... would pistol do a better job or shall i bring 3 slots?

Edited August 10, 2016 by Slack83er

[Boeroer]

As I said: since it's both in the same weapon group, you can use pistols for enemies with high DR and blunderbusses for enemies with low DR. But sadly sou will not know how many DR the enemy has before the combat starts - because it's your first run.

 

A save choice would be Weapon Focus Soldier with arbalests, arquebuses (both great for FoD shots, arbalests also knock down the enemy when you crit - with FoD and Sworn Enemy this happens often) and war hammers. Those do damage like maces, but without the DR reduction. Instead they have two damage types (crush or pierce) which I - personally - like better than 3 DR bypass. The hammer will roll damage agsinst the DR that is weaker. In a lot of cases the difference is higher than 3, making it better than 3 DR bypass. It's also very convinient if you meet enemies who are immune to pierce, crush or slash damage. Also, dual wielding hammers looks better than dual wielding maces - but less good than dual wielding stilettos or sabres.

Edited August 10, 2016 by Boeroer

[Climhazzard]

To be blunt, you can't judge a class at all based on your experience of it from level 1 to 4.  You need to actually play further into the game and learn its mechanics instead of rerolling your MC everyday.

 

Some Tips and knowledge to help you learn the game...

 

Spacebar pauses combat.  Pause combat frequently to make decisions, select enemy targets, cast spells, etc.  In the game options you can set when you want combat to pause automatically, such as when a character has low endurance.

 

If 2 melee characters attack an enemy from different sides it creates the flanking debuff which makes the enemy easier to hit, same thing happens to your own characters if they are hit by multiple enemies from different sides.  This also happens to be one of the debuffs that enable rogues to sneak attack.

 

When melee attack they engage their opponent, if their opponent attempts to disengage from them (move away) they get a free attack against the opponent.  Because of this it is dangerous to freely move around melee opponents, especially with squishy characters like casters.

 

Accuracy determines whether your attacks and spells will miss, graze, hit, or crit your opponents.  All attacks and spells use accuracy and roll against different defenses.  An attack or spell that grazes does 50% reduced damage and will have a 50% reduced duration.  An attack or spell that crits does 50% additional damage and has a 50% longer duration.  

 

Your defenses are deflection, fortitude, reflex, and will.  

 

Deflection protects you from mainly physical attacks, swords, arrows, etc.  The higher your deflection the less you'll get hit or crit from these kind of attacks.  Shields and deflection items (such as the ring of minor deflection) improve your deflection score.

 

Fortitude attacks are generally effects like poison or crowd control like prone.  Prone causes your character to get knocked down and be easier to hit, for this reason it is a very important defense for your front line characters and fighters.  Constitution and Might scores improve your fortitude defense.

 

Reflex attacks are generally area of effect damage spells, examples include fireball, and dragon breath attacks.  There are many such attacks, having a high reflex defense will help protect you from them.  Reflex defense is increased by dexterity and perception scores.

 

Will attacks are generally crowd control that negatively effect your character.  Example include stun, paralyze, charm, and dominate.  You can imagine how devastating those effects can be, having high will defense protects you from them.  The will defense is improved through intelligence and resolve scores.

 

Your base accuracy and defenses are determined by your class.  They all improve as you level up, and can be further improved by talents and items.  All spells that target enemies will tell you what defense they target in their description.  If expert mode is turned off the target information will tell you what defenses the enemy has, use this information to determine which spells to use against them.  If for example they have a high deflection but low will defense, use a paralyze spell which targets their will defense and will lower their deflection substantially when successful.

 

Another kind of defense you have is provided by armor, and certain spells or items.  This is damage reduction, DR for short.  DR reduces the damage from attacks once they hit you.  For example, a normal breastplate has 8 DR, if an attack hits you for 20 damage, 8 of that will be subtracted if you're wearing a breastplate, so that the attack only hits for 12 damage.  That is not an uncommon example, so armor is a very important defense to your survival.  Armor comes with a downside though, it slows you down by increasing the recovery time after any of your actions, the heavier the armor is the more it slows you down.

 

Shields also have a downside, they reduce your accuracy.  Because of this, your tankiest characters which have a large shield and heavy plate armor, are slow and have a hard time hitting their opponents, they don't do a lot of damage.

 

My point is that there is a ton to learn about this game (that was barely the basics).  You don't need to learn it all, or any if you play on storytime mode, but learning the basics will make the game much easier for you and more enjoyable.  You should also know that most classes don't start to mature until level 6-10, some even later, judging them based on what is essentially the tutorial area is pointless.

 

What I'm trying to say is, get into the game, play it, learn it.  Play on whatever difficulty you find enjoyable while you're learning it.  What i'm seeing from most of your posts is that most of the advice you've got from all the good responses to your threads has been going over your head.  That's understandable as your new and this is a forum full of vets who think everyone plays games like them.  As you start to learn the game, go back through your previous threads and read the replies in them, you'll find many of the answers you need have already been posted, if you don't find what you're looking for then by all means ask away until you're happy and having fun with the game. 

 

EDIT:  I apologize if this comes off as rude, it's not intended to be.  Don't take me to seriously anyhow.

Edited August 10, 2016 by Climhazzard

[Slack83er]

Hi Clim and thanks for the big post you made me. When I reroll my MC it's usually not due to low strenght or other mechanical things, but it's mainly due to the fact that I don't like the flavor of the build... It can be aesthetical, it can look bad to me, or I simply may not like the flavor of the class (e.g. the chanter... don't like the idea of having someone singing when he flings his sword... it's a matter of tastes.. not of the class own strenght, I recognize it may be strong) Thus, I'm continuing to brainstorm over my MC to find a flavor (the class will be paladin..) that suits my own playstyle. Add this to the fact that I absolutely dislike stereotypes (knight in shining armor....y'know..) and see why I'm almost there with the pala suggested by ben, on which I'm making the final modifications.

What you wrote, instead, it's right, and as soon as the flavor meets my tastes, I'll surely play far more than 4th level, I promise!

 

P.s. Clim, it's not rude, by all means!

Edited August 10, 2016 by Slack83er

[Abel]

@Climhazzard; Your post makes sense. It's basically what i said earlier . Trying whatever class as a first game test, getting the few first companions, all this helps learning the basics. And once you've learnt enough to get the gist of things, it's time to ditch your first playthrough (once you are, let's say, lvl 6 or 8 ) to start over for good.

 

I will add (i like shields, sorry ) that if it's true that heavier shields lower accuracy (small shield -0 ACC, medium shield -4 ACC, tower shield -8 ACC), the weapon+shield style increases dramatically both deflection AND reflexes (since the deflection bonus of the shield is added to reflexes defense). As an example, a medium, exceptionnal shield grants +26 deflection, +26 reflex, -4 accuracy. If i'm mistaken in the numbers (i'm not this much into numbers), please, anyone, correct me .

 

EDIT: Han! Medium shield: (12) + exceptionnal quality (8 ) + weapon/shield style (6) = 26! Thx mister wiki.

Edited August 10, 2016 by Abel

[Slack83er]

Abel, I see your point, but I don't wanna spoil me the game until 8th level and then restart over. You can see from the start if a certain class is appealing to your playstyle... I don't like -let's say- chanting... and I see it right from the start... as I said... it's a matter of tastes..

[Slack83er]

Ben, when you log... What do you think of what Boeroer said? 2 Hammers and Arquebus? Maybe not Orlan... Dwarf maybe...?

[Ben No.3]

I find the idea of me approving Boeroer's build somewhat amusing when thinking about the great deal of things I learnt from his builds... Obviously I absolutely must hate it: It takes out the cheating around DR part thus taking out the cool name

 

For real though: What Boeroer implies is the other two ways of going around DR: Using a different damage type and simply do MOAARR DAMAAAGEEE!!! I find the last rather... unelegant, in a way? But that's roleplay. As I said, my build is more of a draft. Modify it at will. Same goes for race. Although when using dual hammers go for Auamaua (?) for optics... Big guy with big hammers. Personally, I would still use dual stilletos... I like the idea if fast reliable damage output for a first character. However, with the immunities added the hammer is indeed the better choice. Probably better than sword since crush is generally less resisted. A bit slower though... There is sadly no two-damage small weapon. The blunderbuss just hit me because well weapon focus... But the aralbest can also be one hell of a weapon. Otherwise I still like the Death Godlikes ability. Sad thing to loose a helmet slot, but since these mainly boost stats it's okay for lower difficulties (and higher... Just need to set preferences)

 

For Roleplay: the order that in my opinion would most likely turn rouge are the gold pact... If it pays of well, that is. Perhaps your character got hired from some pirates? There is a choice that implies that your character's crew got so good that several nations hunted it down and eventually suceeded, might be an interesting choice? Post your choice though, would love to see it fleshed out if you want...

Edited August 10, 2016 by Ben No.3

[Climhazzard]

@Climhazzard; Your post makes sense. It's basically what i said earlier . Trying whatever class as a first game test, getting the few first companions, all this helps learning the basics. And once you've learnt enough to get the gist of things, it's time to ditch your first playthrough (once you are, let's say, lvl 6 or 8 ) to start over for good.

 

I will add (i like shields, sorry ) that if it's true that heavier shields lower accuracy (small shield -0 ACC, medium shield -4 ACC, tower shield -8 ACC), the weapon+shield style increases dramatically both deflection AND reflexes (since the deflection bonus of the shield is added to reflexes defense). As an example, a medium, exceptionnal shield grants +26 deflection, +26 reflex, -4 accuracy. If i'm mistaken in the numbers (i'm not this much into numbers), please, anyone, correct me .

 

EDIT: Han! Medium shield: (12) + exceptionnal quality (8 ) + weapon/shield style (6) = 26! Thx mister wiki.

 

 

Yeah, shields are good, great even.  My point was just that these items will make a character tankier but do less damage.  General Pillars of Eternity knowledge that is different than previous similar games, such as Icewind Dale or Baldur's Gate.  In those games you would always wear the heaviest armor, in this game the decision is more complex.  If you came into this game with preconceptions from similar games, you might make wrong decisions, that's why it's important to play this game to learn about it.

 

@Slack83er  The story does not advance much from the prologue to the beginning of act 2, after that it starts to pick up speed.  I'm just telling you this so you know.  If you ignore the main story a bit after you finish Caed Nua, doing side quests around Gilded Vale or Defiance bay, you can quickly reach level 6 without spoiling it much.  That might give you a better feel for the game and it's classes.  Well, when I first started this game I remade my monk half a dozen times before I was happy, so I'm not really one to talk.

[Slack83er]

Otherwise I still like the Death Godlikes ability.

Well, godlikes can have any physique... so he can well be a towering Aumaua... hurting more the already wounded enemies is good imho... I'll think about it even if I find Godlikes a bit "weird" to say the least... I'm still between stilettos and hammers... seems like arquebus means lotta pain...but i only see this with a dwarf... y'know...hammers and rifle....  otherwise either stay Orlan or Elf perhaps... wood?

[Ben No.3]

Wood is bad if you want to go melee at some point, it'll loose any kind of racial advantage. If elf I recommend Pale... You can make them skincoloured if that's your concern.

Also, if you like the arquebus, go hammer: same weapon focus

[Slack83er]

Yes, I figured that would be the combination... Arquebus plus hammer... but I see this only on a dwarf.... dunno why... maybe lore... 

If not elf, what else is good as a stiletto-wielder? Orlan surely is as you decided... does the critical hit also extend to ranged? 

[Ben No.3]

Good question... It should

[Ben No.3]

A human could go stilleto, so could a dwarf... Assassins who need to hide their weapons perhaps

[Slack83er]

It doesn't specify that it must be a melee attack... wiki only states that the bonus activates once you attack a target already attacked by a mate... so I guess it should work... Tomorrow I will finally get my free day from work, and I'm gonna try both the builds, mountain dwarf (resistances venom & disease) plus arquebus and hammer, and continue the orlan one that I already started... Then I'll follow the guys' advice and bring them a little onward, we'll see which one appeals to me the most. Anyway ben, you rock. You gave me the idea that I was looking for!

[Ben No.3]

Happy to help... Is the idea the rouge paladin or the build? And use the other dwarf, accuracy bonus is worth much more in my opinion

[Slack83er]

The rogue paladin AS WELL AS the starting stats which enable hi social interaction without hampering combat!  As for the acc... everyone seem to think that situational bonuses are worth less than persistent.... so here's my choice... i don't know how many primordial/wilder enemies I will face..

[Ben No.3]

Enough to justify