I won't surrender!

[JerekKruger]

You are of course right... But most military pikes (and do correct me if I am wrong) were designed to pull down knights from horses, so they looked very different. I don't think that is the kind of pike pillars tries to recreate

 

You might be right, I always assumed "pike" only referred to the military weapon but I am no expert. Certainly a military style pike would be a truly terrible weapon in the sort of fights PoE has.

[Slack83er]

Yeah...maybe pike is the only weapon that can suit my MC's flavour and utility. Superb. 

I also thought earlier of quarterstaves because they share focus with unarmed... Boer's suggestion if I'm not wrong...

Staves include the greenstone, which is fine. The only thing I hate is that they're wielded like clubs... I mean... the char just smashes them in the head of the foe as if it were a bottle of beer... haha ...

[Slack83er]

 

found some pikes to showcase what I mean... You see how some of them are clearly aimed at pulling someone down. And Slacker... still thik pillars pikes are too soldierlike?

Well.. some of these...I'd call the halberds.... but no, you're right, they fit.

[JerekKruger]

Isn't a halberd just a specific type of pike? I think so....

 

No, a halberd is a specific type of polearm. A pike is a long, two-handed spear.

[Slack83er]

Well.. tomorrow morning I'll try my new dwarf-bear-pikeman-Druid-MC. He's almost ready. Just need some talents to make him the monster hunter... would you take the talent against beasts?

Then a high survival to get vs beast camp bonuses?

I also know that hunter suits more a ranger than a Druid but I didn't find any suitable bg I liked, and Ben still came up with an excellent bg anyway!

[Slack83er]

To be honest, I'd rather have a spell casting spirit shifting druid hunt down that giant dragon than some guy with his pet....

This I agree with.

[Slack83er]

I noticed there's a relatively low number or good/unique quarterstaves and pikes in this game... pity that.

Someone knows if they're the only long reach weapon available? 

 

Also... is Greenstone staff the only SB weapon I could use?

[Boeroer]

Pike and quarterstaff are the only reach weapons. Good quarterstaffs are Durance's staff and Llawran's stick. The best pike is Tall Grass. All of them can be obtained early, which is good.

Durance's Staff is the only reach weapon besides Citzal's Spirit lance that has two damage types.

[JerekKruger]

Yes, they are the only ones. But I think there are enough good pikes... Early and mid game you got Jena's lance, then mid and late game tall grass. You don't need more than that

 

I wouldn't even bother picking up Jêna's Lance. I'd run with a normal or fine pike until I could visit Dyrford then run with Tall Grass from then on (then again, I am a massive spendthrift). I wouldn't describe Tall Grass as mid to late game: you can (theoretically*) get it immediately after unlocking Caed Nua so, potentially as early as level 3 or 4.

 

@Slack83er whilst there aren't a lot of different pikes, do remember that Tall Grass is a very good weapon. Inflicting prone on crit is very good, and the synergy with 10% of hits converted to crits is great. 

 

*I say theoretically because you might be a bit short on cash at this stage.

[Slack83er]

Great, so I got three options to stay second line: Either reache 2h weapons OR Gyrd, which does a great thing... restore spiritshift...

Now, to become the real beastslayer... I need talents... maybe the ones that go Vs. specific creature types?

I could also borrow Durance's staff and get him at the back, casting support spells... Afaik, I and Eder should take care well enough of the front line.

[AeonsLegend]

Even for PotD you only need one real tank. I opt to go with a Paladin, because they will stay alive and be able to cast their per encounter support abilities (revive, heal, suppress afflictions, all the good stuff). The other frontliner can be an off tank and if you feel hyphy then you can go with a full dps non tank. Just send the tank in first and follow up with the non tank.

[Slack83er]

Shall I take out Eder in the second part of the game then? 

Keep Durance, Pallegina, Grieving Mother, Aloth....?

[AeonsLegend]

Shall I take out Eder in the second part of the game then? 

Keep Durance, Pallegina, Grieving Mother, Aloth....?

If you want only companions then that is the way to go. After you get passed Caed Nua you can get Pallegina rather quickly (completing the side quest "At All Costs" is required). If you give her the Zealous Endurance your party will be more durable. Make sure to set the options so companions do not auto-level up in the options menu.

 

To be fair Fighters are more all round tanks when concerning only themselves. If they can take aggro they can hold out for a long time. If not then their role is diminished, yes they can "leash"  enemies to focus them, but that may not be effective in all situations, especially when there is a lot of enemies (on higher difficulties). Paladins have aura's to support the party and abilities that benefit others more. Their stats are naturally higher due to faith and conviction passive. Note that they do not gain or lose any stats when your disposition is different from their preferred disposition. The stats increase with levels.

 

Eders personal quest can only be completed by gaining high enough reputation with Defiance Bay and then unlocking access to Clîaban Rilag through the main questline. So if you plan to complete this then you'd have to switch in Eder again at that point when you meet the prerequisites.

Edited November 1, 2016 by AeonsLegend

[Slack83er]

Yes, just companions, no created henchmen.

Forgot kana, btw...

[AeonsLegend]

Yes, just companions, no created henchmen.

Forgot kana, btw...

Also, I always configure Pallegina as an extra damage dealer. Her stats are so high that she doesn't need a shield. So I give her:

Dual wielding weapons

Bloody Slaughter

Two Weapon Style

Savage Attack

 

Next to her defensive talents. That way she can also kill stuff and not just stand around absorbing hits.

[Slack83er]

Good. I'll remember that. Now, on to playing. Hehe

[AeonsLegend]

As soon as she gets sacred immolation, you don't need to focus on DD to deal lots of damage. So I always have her as a tank that does an awful lot of damage on the side.

 

Yeah, I never pick that, because something about the whole "I'm going to set myself on fire" doesn't sit right with me. But to each his own.

[Boeroer]

But teleporting a fighter across the battlefield in a blink while leaving behind a trail of invisible destruction is totally cool?

[AeonsLegend]

But teleporting a fighter across the battlefield in a blink while leaving behind a trail of invisible destruction is totally cool?

Yes, totally lore friendly. Setting yourself on fire disturbs me somehow. I don't care how strong it is. It doesn't do it for me.

[Slack83er]

Ok, began playing, quite always easy to destroy things, and bear is HUGE. 

A doubt has come to mind: What am I using equipment for, if when I'm shifted I lose EVERY effect? Rings of deflection, of cure, belts of resistance to slash and crush...all useless??

Most fights end way before i shift back... so... am I going to give every good piece of equipment only to companions? This thing is really meh...

[AeonsLegend]

Ok, began playing, quite always easy to destroy things, and bear is HUGE. 

A doubt has come to mind: What am I using equipment for, if when I'm shifted I lose EVERY effect? Rings of deflection, of cure, belts of resistance to slash and crush...all useless??

Most fights end way before i shift back... so... am I going to give every good piece of equipment only to companions? This thing is really meh...

Thing to note. Early game fights are easier than later game fights (unless you are on PotD). And the higher the difficulty the more enemies. So if you play on easy mode you'll have an easier time. Later you'll have fights with more and more durable enemies so spirit shift will run out before the fight ends and then you'll be happy you aren't naked

[Slack83er]

Ok, so.. is the shifted form only good for dishing out damage? Because I always open the fight with the transformation... but maybe I should do something before? 

Magics are targeted on the ground, so if I open with a magic, the enemy will move next to me and I will end up catching my friends as well in the fire.

 

I'm still unsure of my role in party... I don't seem to be a leader...more of a damage dealing beast which lasts for some time, and then it turns much much weaker...

[Slack83er]

The Druid as a caster is the opposite of weak

 

Druids have the role of a jack of all trades casters... You name it, they have it. Summons, damage, buffs, heals, debuffs, CC... They have everything

Yes, I understand that, but it takes long time to cast, while abilities are quite always fast.. furthermore, if I'm in the fray, it's hard to exit and not be followed, I'll be dead already... And most magics I have damage my own party too...

[JerekKruger]

Ok, so.. is the shifted form only good for dishing out damage? Because I always open the fight with the transformation... but maybe I should do something before? 

Magics are targeted on the ground, so if I open with a magic, the enemy will move next to me and I will end up catching my friends as well in the fire...

 

Early game in most fights you'll simply spiritshift straight away as you don't have that many spells per rest yet and fights are mostly easy and quick to beat. In harder fights, you might want to cast a few spells first, before shifting and going into combat. In the later game fights tend to be longer, and you have a lot more spells per rest (and after level 9 you get spells per encounter too) so you'll probably start most battles with some spells before shifting.

 

Don't target AoE spells on an enemy. By this I mean when casting an AoE spell, don't click directly on an enemy when targetting. As you've discovered, if you do the enemy will move and hence so will your AoE template. Instead you should target the ground where the enemy will be when the spell fires. This might sound hard since the enemy is moving, but remember that the enemy is moving towards you so if you keep your party standing still then you know, with a reasonable degree of accuracy, where the enemy will stop moving - just in front of your lines. With this knowledge, you cast your AoE spell so that it hits just in front of your line and the enemy will obligingly walk into it. Alternatively, you can always wait until all melee combatants are engaged before casting AoE spells, but once again don't target an enemy, target the ground.

 

Also remember that a fair number of Druid spells are FoeAoE, so you don't have to worry about friendly fire with these.

 

As for taking damage when disengaging: you don't necessarily have to disengage. Unless you're taking massive damage you can stay in melee and use your spells from there. The druid actually has a fair number of spells which are best used in this range (cone spells, point blank AoE spells etc.). As Ben No.3 says, it might be sensible to use a shield to make yourself tankier for this role. If you do find yourself taking lots of damage whilst in melee, if you have a Priest you can cast Withdraw on your Druid to allow you to escape.

[Slack83er]

Ahhhh all this is far too complicated!! Shift in, give a beating, shift out. From that point on, it's ME the one that takes a beating. on easy mode, 1 sec and I was lying dead to 3 bandits.....and Eder was aside.

 

Also... I'd like to give him a slight feeling of "leader".... but since I also had this problem with a paladin, I'm afraid I'm stuck.

 

I don't have a lot of CON, I know..but damn... IT'S EASY MODE!!!

I think I'm hopeless. (and I'm wasting your time, which isn't fare at all)