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Brand new player looking for some party/stats advice


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As a new player to PoE i'm quickly realising this is one hell of  a deep game with many stats and skills which allow for an incredible amount of viable class and party builds. As such I was hoping some more experianced community members could take a quick look at the party which i am intending to try my first run with and possibly provide any feedback or suggestions.

 

As its my first time playing this game any advice particularly on stat placement would be great as i'm sure i'll of missed something obvious.

 

My intended party is made up of my main PC who is a Paladin Tank as well as 2 other custom heroes hired from the inn. Tagging along with them will be Eder as a 2nd tank, Aloth for Emergency nuke / CC and Durance for some healing. 

 

Main Player Character

Paladin (ShieldBearer)

Role Tank

Moon Godlike

Old Valia - Slave

 

Mig - 17

Con - 17

Dex - 4

Per - 4

Int - 18

Res - 18

 

Custom 1

Ranger with Wolf Pet

Role Range DPS

Wood Elf

The Living Lands - Explorer

 

Mig - 19

Con - 3

Dex - 19

Per - 16

Int - 18

Res - 3

 

Custom 2

Rogue

Role Dual Wield/Ranged DPS

Wood Elf

The White that Wends - Drifter

 

Mig - 17

Con - 10

Dex - 19

Per - 21

Int - 3

Res - 10

 

Hopefully this basic info on my fresh party should give a flavour of where im heading with this party but if if missed any other important info dont hesitate to let me know. Thank for any suggestions you might have.

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First question: what difficulty are you playing on? If you're not playing on Paths of the Damned, then the game is a lot more forgiving to non-optimised builds*.

 

That said, here are a few thoughts:

  • You really don't want to build pure tanks in Pillars as the enemy will simply ignore them. For your Paladin I'd drop Constitution and Resolve down significantly and bring Dexterity and Perception up to more reasonable levels. If I were building a generic tanky Paladin I'd probably go with something like 18/10/8/14/18/10.
  • Similarly, you don't want to build glass cannons unless you are very confident in your ability to control the battlefield. The enemy are going to beeline for your Ranger because he'll have very low deflection and endurance and will be doing a lot of damage. I'd go with something like 18/8/18/14/10/8.

*Honestly, even on PotD you don't need to optimise unless you're also playing solo.

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Paladin:

Your paladin will be ignored by most enemies. And since he will hit like a wet noodle he can't do anything about it. You will also gimp your Sacred Immolation if you leave your PER at 4.

Also, your reflex defense will be really bad - and that's an important defense against dragons for example. You want your defenses to be balanced (not necessarily your attributes). 

In a full party, your tanks really don't need RES 18 and CON 17.

One single tank also doesn't work in PoE. There is not taunting or aggro system. If the paladin is too tough, enemies will not attack him but focus on the squishy damage dealers first (as you do with them) - see ranger (supersquishy). Edér can help - but even two frontliners may not be enough. 

 

Use the paladin for healing, not Durance (I mean not primarily).

 

Ranger:

He would be fine if you have any means of protecting him (CC, more frontliners or so). Once he gets engaged it's game over for him. And a dead ranger deals zero damage. I know that from experience. ;)

 

Rogue:

Your rogue is ok. But I wouldn't go for dual wielding (although it's totally viable and powerful) but instead grab Tidefall asap. It's wounding enchantment is so good with high MIG and low INT, you will be amazed. Combine it with Runner's Wounding Shot (only if you are not dual wielding). It also profits from low INT and also works great with an arquebus. However - this rogue will be fine with two weapons as well. I guess you will be using sabres...

 

Durance:
If you want to use a priest to his full potential, use him for buffs mostly and not so much for healing. Priests' buffs are the best. Devotions for the Faithful alone is a good reason to bring a priest. Also, later, use him for dealing damage and let Aloth do more CC. Priests have awesomest high level damaging spells.

Edited by Boeroer
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Thank you for the replies guys, I really appriciate the feedback.

 

First question: what difficulty are you playing on? If you're not playing on Paths of the Damned, then the game is a lot more forgiving to non-optimised builds*.

 

 

I will probably be playing on Normal although I have tried bouncing back and forth between that and Hard just to see the difference between the two levels and further test my party setup. In all honesty I will probably run it on Normal, in part becuase its my first run and mostly because of my job and kids Im lucky if I get a ferw hours every other night to game. So with limited time id rather play knowing I wont be stuck on one area/mob/boss fight for hours on end.

 

 

Paladin:

Your paladin will be ignored by most enemies. And since he will hit like a wet noodle he can't do anything about it. You will also gimp your Sacred Immolation if you leave your PER at 4.

Also, your reflex defense will be really bad - and that's an important defense against dragons for example. You want your defenses to be balanced (not necessarily your attributes). 

In a full party, your tanks really don't need RES 18 and CON 17.

One single tank also doesn't work in PoE. There is not taunting or aggro system. If the paladin is too tough, enemies will not attack him but focus on the squishy damage dealers first (as you do with them) - see ranger (supersquishy). Edér can help - but even two frontliners may not be enough. 

 

 

I have been noticing this exact issue where both my tanks PC Paladin and Eder are ignored in favour of my ranger and esspecially my rogue. Once I engage him with his dual wields with the sneak attack and reckless assult bonuses he seems to be a priority target. I had assumed that perhaps it was his high damnage making him the main target but from reading above perhaps its more that his defence is so low.

 

 

 

 

Rogue:

Your rogue is ok. But I wouldn't go for dual wielding (although it's totally viable and powerful) but instead grab Tidefall asap. It's wounding enchantment is so good with high MIG and low INT, you will be amazed. Combine it with Runner's Wounding Shot (only if you are not dual wielding). It also profits from low INT and also works great with an arquebus. However - this rogue will be fine with two weapons as well. I guess you will be using sabres...

 

 

After googling Tidfall I was surprised to see it was a 2H. I guess my main instinct with Rogue was to go a very traditional dual wield build. I never gave much considaration to him having that class of weapon. Ill need to look into it and possibly respec / restart as that could be a very interesting build.

 

 

 

Ranger:

He would be fine if you have any means of protecting him (CC, more frontliners or so). Once he gets engaged it's game over for him. And a dead ranger deals zero damage. I know that from experience. ;)

 

 

I was giving some more thought to the Ranger and I was wonder if you guys thought it might be more benficial to have a second rogue fill this roll instead as a dedicated range DPS character. My thining was that both would benefit from the sneak attack procs caused by each others abilities?

 

 

Once again thank you both for the responses. Its given me a bit to think about. I can se me restarting this game for a 3rd time now lol. At this rate ill be lucky to finish Act 2 let alone the game!

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Thank you for the replies guys, I really appriciate the feedback.

 

First question: what difficulty are you playing on? If you're not playing on Paths of the Damned, then the game is a lot more forgiving to non-optimised builds*.

 

I will probably be playing on Normal although I have tried bouncing back and forth between that and Hard just to see the difference between the two levels and further test my party setup. In all honesty I will probably run it on Normal, in part becuase its my first run and mostly because of my job and kids Im lucky if I get a ferw hours every other night to game. So with limited time id rather play knowing I wont be stuck on one area/mob/boss fight for hours on end.

 

Paladin:

Your paladin will be ignored by most enemies. And since he will hit like a wet noodle he can't do anything about it. You will also gimp your Sacred Immolation if you leave your PER at 4.

Also, your reflex defense will be really bad - and that's an important defense against dragons for example. You want your defenses to be balanced (not necessarily your attributes).

In a full party, your tanks really don't need RES 18 and CON 17.

One single tank also doesn't work in PoE. There is not taunting or aggro system. If the paladin is too tough, enemies will not attack him but focus on the squishy damage dealers first (as you do with them) - see ranger (supersquishy). Edér can help - but even two frontliners may not be enough.

 

I have been noticing this exact issue where both my tanks PC Paladin and Eder are ignored in favour of my ranger and esspecially my rogue. Once I engage him with his dual wields with the sneak attack and reckless assult bonuses he seems to be a priority target. I had assumed that perhaps it was his high damnage making him the main target but from reading above perhaps its more that his defence is so low.

 

 

 

Rogue:

Your rogue is ok. But I wouldn't go for dual wielding (although it's totally viable and powerful) but instead grab Tidefall asap. It's wounding enchantment is so good with high MIG and low INT, you will be amazed. Combine it with Runner's Wounding Shot (only if you are not dual wielding). It also profits from low INT and also works great with an arquebus. However - this rogue will be fine with two weapons as well. I guess you will be using sabres...

 

After googling Tidfall I was surprised to see it was a 2H. I guess my main instinct with Rogue was to go a very traditional dual wield build. I never gave much considaration to him having that class of weapon. Ill need to look into it and possibly respec / restart as that could be a very interesting build.

 

 

Ranger:

He would be fine if you have any means of protecting him (CC, more frontliners or so). Once he gets engaged it's game over for him. And a dead ranger deals zero damage. I know that from experience. ;)

 

I was giving some more thought to the Ranger and I was wonder if you guys thought it might be more benficial to have a second rogue fill this roll instead as a dedicated range DPS character. My thining was that both would benefit from the sneak attack procs caused by each others abilities?

 

 

Once again thank you both for the responses. Its given me a bit to think about. I can se me restarting this game for a 3rd time now lol. At this rate ill be lucky to finish Act 2 let alone the game!

On adding a second Rogue....

 

You will lose your pet meatshield which can hurt as with a little micro management he can delay the enemy enough for you to debuff/cc.

 

But the enemy can't aggro everyone so it might give one of your Rogues a chance to deal some nice damage/cc. Any ranged weapon that stuns/prones or delivers some type of cc can be excellent in the hands of a high dex Rogue in a party setup. If you go with the second Rogue make sure to use figurines as blockers as well to buy time.

 

Tidefall is awesome on any character. Crazy deadly when wielded by a Rogue. Just make sure you can actually get a few swings in before he is surrounded.

No matter which fork in the road you take I am certain adventure awaits.

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I'm currently doing a 5 rogues/1 cipher run just to test 5 different rogue builds at the same time.

 

One is a rogue with Tidefall and 1 INT and 1 RES (via Ultimate Hat of Alluring Affection). MIG and CON maxed :)

Even though his strike abilities are not supernice, because he won't do fancy Full Attacks like a dual wielder would do, and even though he has no Veteran's Recovery because of the low INT, he is amazing. Highest damage count of all party members although he never engages first. He only uses Crippling Strike and Runner's Wounding Shot as special attacks atm (lvl 11). I put a freezing lash on Tidefall and put him in Wayfarer's Hide. With Runner's Wounding Shot + Tidefall he usually kills the target (can reach 200 damage with a crit plus Deathblows, no Backstab). Because is damage is so high he also drains a lot of endurance and is quite sturdy for a rogue. I can even use Escape to reach the enemy's backline and wreak havok.

 

A dual sabre or battle axe rogue is also nice - but I simply like this extreme approach.

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Wanted to ask the same question.

 

As for Tidefall - indeed it's a great weapon. But we should keep in mind that it comes ahead of the curve. I mean we can enchant with superb quality only starting from level 12, but can get Tidefall way earlier. And +15% to base damage for free is a nice bonus :)

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There is no particular reason - no trick or secret or anything. My other party members already had shocking, burning or corrosive lashes on their weapons. If i'm not forced to enchant with a particuar lash, I tend to put certain lashes on certain wepons because they fit the color of the weapon or the lore. For example I like to put a corrosive lash on Tall Grass and a shocking lash on Shatterstar. I can't enchant things like the White Spire with a burning lash or something like that. Just doesn't fit. Tidefall would be shocking or freezing for me...

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As for Tidefall - indeed it's a great weapon. But we should keep in mind that it comes ahead of the curve. I mean we can enchant with superb quality only starting from level 12, but can get Tidefall way earlier. And +15% to base damage for free is a nice bonus :)

Yes - it's the earliest weapon that comes superb and will boost your perfomance a lot just because of that. Most of the time I don't even have an exceptional weapon at that point.

 

Same reason why Concelhaut's Parasitic Staff is so powerful in the early game: a lvl-1-spell that gives you a weapon which is exceptional and has very high base damage.

 

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That's an interesting approach to lashes)

 

After checking the DRs of enemies from the base game, I never even considered other lashes than fire or corrode.

 

Especially on ciphers, I always get fire lash, because I know that they will attack spirits and spiders a lot, building focus on them. And than there are also Trolls, Lurkers, Fampyrs and Delemgams/Pwgra with weakness to fire.

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Burning lash is my favorite as well. Also because some of the best things do burn damage (Myth Fyr, Firebrand, FoD, Sacred Immolation, Battle Forged, Turning Wheel and so on). And then, when I'm already planning to pick Scion of Flame, I will also pick a burning lash for my weapons of course. 30% instead of 25% is great for a lash.

 

Spells aside, I think there are too many abilities with burn damage in the game and not enough with other elements.

Edited by Boeroer

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That's an interesting approach to lashes)

 

After checking the DRs of enemies from the base game, I never even considered other lashes than fire or corrode.

 

Especially on ciphers, I always get fire lash, because I know that they will attack spirits and spiders a lot, building focus on them. And than there are also Trolls, Lurkers, Fampyrs and Delemgams/Pwgra with weakness to fire.

 

Chilling Lash is actually pretty good on Tidefall.  I was curious after reading that and re-ran the numbers, and I think there's a strong case for it.  Not a lot of foes are vulnerable to chill (and a lot are resistant), but the highest DR enemies tend to be more vulnerable to chill damage than the other elemental types.  It's particularly noteworthy for its efficacy against the hardest fights in WM2 - both dragons are vulnerable to it.

 

Additionally, a lot of the mobs immune or heavily resistant to chill are also vessels - and the Redeemer is a great second weapon for a two-handed weapon specialist.  If you take vessels out of the equation, chilling lash doesn't look all that bad.

 

 

As for shocking lash, whenever you have a Stormcaller ranger in the party it immediately leaps to the head of the pack.  Everyone gets to free ride on the reduced shock DR!

 

 

I think there's a lot more room for choices other than burning and corrosive lash than popular wisdom may hold.

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Have to agree here. With specific party composition / fighting plan, every lash indeed can be good enough to be used.

 

My plan in the last run was: optimize party physical damage (especially that of ciphers and barbarians) vs trash / most encountered minions; while bosses are killed mostly with periodic effects (for example: Disintegration, Soul Ignition, Shinning Beacon, Hand of Weal and Woe, Scrolls of Insect Swarm (vs fire immune), Wounding; and Gaze of Adragan + Cleansing Flame for damage and tick rate boost).

Edited by MaxQuest
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