Can i clear PotD without a "pure" tank?

[Animaillusionaria]

I plan on doing:

 

Mc: Cipher using bows, focusing on dps but can help out with cc/debuffs if needed.

 

Aloth: Main CC user with decent ranged damage thanks to the blast talents.

 

Durance: Buffer/Caster, gave him a staff so he can poke from behind the front lines while still being able to intercept enemies going for Aloth/MC.

 

Eder: 2h dps with Tidefall, using regens & some spellholding items.

 

Hiravias: Dual wielding sabers ( no spiritshift) and loaded with spellholding items to stay alive and support the front along with his self centered aoe spells.

 

Pallegina:I really want to play her as a 2h support pally with the BotP & Spectacular Spetum where she throws out buffs/Marks for her allies/deals damage herself, would use up whatever leftover spellholding items are left.

 

 

I know that changing Pallegina to a SnB support tank with Outworn buckler/little saviour and a 1h marking weapon would most likely be better and easier to manage but i find pure tanks boring so i would like to know if i can get away with this by just stacking DR on my frontlines and buffs/cc?

Edited August 1, 2017 by Animaillusionaria

[ColeTrain9192]

Honestly, someone won The Ultimate achievement (solo PotD + White March, with completion of several of the hardest battles in the game) using a Wizard. If that's possible, I think anything is possible. Haha. It's just a matter of using your strategy to its highest potential.

[Boeroer]

Wizard is one of the most powerful classes in the game. So of course you can do the Ultimate with it.

 

Besides that, your party is totally fine for PotD.

You'll have four casters in you party (cipher, wizard, priest and druid), that alone will make your game easy once you reach Definace Bay. No matter what Edér or Pallegina do. Act I will be a bit harder because the vancian casters won't have a lot of spells and will start with weaker attributes (like deflection and accuracy). But you will manage.

 

Most of my playthroughs don't have pure tanks by the way.

[Torm51]

Everything Boeroer said is correct.  I am actually doing it backwards this time.  I am doing a run with 2 pure tanks which is likely ill advised lmao but I want to see how a Fighter and a Paladin can stack hit to graze.  The party will likely end up dead at some point.  But I will say they did survive a deadly Brawl in Raedrics hold with the guards in the chapel.  I went into the sewer after getting the "password" from a certain someone and came back up stairs in my regular armor as he said I didnt need it...well I did.  and thanks to having Eder and my Paladin with sky high deflection, and HUGE DR thanks to Zealous Endurance plus a blunting belt we outlasted the encounter and won...... MIN Damage from Great Swords at lvl 4 is funny lol....my Paladin is also a Pale Elf so spirits do extremely minimal damage even while perma stunned lmao...plus veterans recovery and they are a tanky group for sure.

Edited August 1, 2017 by Torm51

[scythesong]

The idea is that you want a few characters who will act as a sort of buffer between your guys and some of the nastier enemies in the game. It's a more basic form of crowd control that helps with aiming spells, minimizing the amount of damage your enemies do and just giving you more control over the flow of combat.

 

It doesn't matter who actually does this, it just matters that they do it right.

 

Personally I just have my frontline types carry a good shield on a weapon switch and take a few key defensive talents (Weapon and Shield Style, Fearless for Eder, etc). The rest of the time they're on the offensive and use gear like two-handed weapons. Summons definitely help.

 

Note that in PotD mobs tend to go after characters with weak defenses regardless of the presence of frontline characters, so make sure the rest of your characters don't completely ignore their own defenses. You don't have to aim for tank-level defenses on everyone, but you should try to have a defensive setup (even a temporary one) on all your guys to discourage that kind of behavior.

Edited August 1, 2017 by scythesong

[ColeTrain9192]

Wizard is one of the most powerful classes in the game. So of course you can do the Ultimate with it.

 

Powerful, yes. But also squishy. You've got to be at the peak of your game with defensive spells. Strategy and timing is everything. My point is just, if a character as killable as a wizard can solo the game, a whole party, lacking a tank, can definitely beat it.