Whom do I give Gyrd Háewanes Sténes?

[Lampros]

I got my first soulbound item: Gyrd Háewanes Sténes! Yay!

 

Now, whom do I give this to? The Priest or the Wizard? I suppose I can also give it to Cipher as well, but she's already got Borresaine.

 

Also, how do you do "raw damage" with a Priest or a Wizard?

 

Edit: Oops. The weapon says it does raw damage And Ciphers cannot bind it anyways

Edited September 4, 2017 by Lampros

[Lampros]

Also, I am wondering if I did this quest to quickly. I am only level 6, and the lord who wants my keep is coming after me? Am I under-leveled at 6? I am not close to level 7...

[JFutral]

This is one of my favorite weapons. I usually give it to my wizard, though when I once played a druid as my main character, he used it.

 

You have time (and should probably want a bit of time to build up alliances) before you have to battle that lord. That is not a timed encounter. You get to initiate the battle.

 

Joe

[Boeroer]

You'll have all the time in the world. You will decide when you face him.

 

The soulbound scepter's spellchance for dominat works with wizard's Blast. It helps to proc the dominate effect more often.

 

On the other hand the souldbound scepter also works nicely with any weapon focus and also with any of the priests' weapon talents (like Magran's Inspiring Flame that gives +10 ACC to sword and arquebus). That's because it's in the "universal" weapon group like all soulbouds and summoned weapons.

 

So it's up to you. If you plan to use Kalakoth's Minor Blights with the wizard a lot then I would give the soulbound scepter to the priest.

[Lampros]

This is one of my favorite weapons. I usually give it to my wizard, though when I once played a druid as my main character, he used it.

 

You have time (and should probably want a bit of time to build up alliances) before you have to battle that lord. That is not a timed encounter. You get to initiate the battle.

 

Joe

 

Ah, ok. Phew. I was terrified for a bit!

 

 

You'll have all the time in the world. You will decide when you face him.

 

The soulbound scepter's spellchance for dominat works with wizard's Blast. It helps to proc the dominate effect more often.

 

On the other hand the souldbound scepter also works nicely with any weapon focus and also with any of the priests' weapon talents (like Magran's Inspiring Flame that gives +10 ACC to sword and arquebus). That's because it's in the "universal" weapon group like all soulbouds and summoned weapons.

 

So it's up to you. If you plan to use Kalakoth's Minor Blights with the wizard a lot then I would give the soulbound scepter to the priest.

 

Wow, if it works with Blast, then it seems close to no-brainer. I think basic attacks that have a chance to AoE debuff effects is a must for a lazy player like me! If the Ranger had Rogue-like crit rate, I'd even consider using him with Borresaine, given Twinned Arrow and Driving Flight!

[Kaylon]

Personally I always give it to the druid for its unique ability to restore shapeshift.

[Lampros]

I ended up giving it to my Wizard (Gandalf), and it's kind of hilarious how much CC I have now with the Gyrd, Confusion, and a Cipher. I've actually seen 6-7 enemies (everyone except 1) show green circle. The problem with this much crowd control is that I am wasting DPS, and sometimes my formation gets scattered and let the enemy melees get to my ranged (once the CC wears off).

 

Edit: Confusion is a seriously crazy spell. If I knew Wizard CC would be this good starting mid-levels, I might have not gotten a Cipher...

Edited September 5, 2017 by Lampros

[dgray62]

I agree that it fantastic for a druid if you have one; it's the only way, to my knowledge, that you can get a second spiritshift in an encounter. Otherwise, it might be best for a priest, since it will employ the accuracy bonus for whatever weapon focus and deity talent you pick. The best implement for blast Wizards, IMO, is golden gaze.

[JFutral]

At some point (I forget when, exactly) I stop relying on Confusion for CC. I have to stop buffing my party or else the bad guys enjoy the buff and then Poof! They are enemies again! It is fun to watch a dragon wipe out the flash mob of critters that surround them, though. I prefer more targeted CC in mid to late game. Or something like stuck or paralyze spells and scrolls. Confusion is good when I absolutely have to get the enemy off my back.

 

Joe

[Lampros]

At some point (I forget when, exactly) I stop relying on Confusion for CC. I have to stop buffing my party or else the bad guys enjoy the buff and then Poof! They are enemies again! It is fun to watch a dragon wipe out the flash mob of critters that surround them, though. I prefer more targeted CC in mid to late game. Or something like stuck or paralyze spells and scrolls. Confusion is good when I absolutely have to get the enemy off my back.

 

Joe

 

I am having serious issues with mind controlled enemies keeping my buffs. I was planning on trying out the Wizard's Arcane Dampener, but I cannot imagine not using mind control CC at all. What forms of CC do you employ? Most of them - at least mid/early-game - are not FoE-only, so there are not a lot to pick from, I think?

[MaxQuest]

Aaa, remember when I was speaking of unexpected/unreliable nature of gyrd's cc

On other hand these random dominates are ok, if you have chanters, as the enemies will continue to take Dragon Trashed damage if they were afflicted before changing sides.

 

What forms of CC do you employ?

Mental Binding their frontliners I intend to kill.

Whisper of Treason their nasties (especially druids).

Plus wizard's Slicken, Shadowflame and Confusion.

Edited October 2, 2017 by MaxQuest

[Lampros]

Aaa, remember when I was speaking of unexpected/unreliable nature of gyrd's cc

On other hand these random dominates are ok, if you have chanters, as the enemies will continue to take Dragon Trashed damage if they were afflicted before changing sides.

 

What forms of CC do you employ?

Mental Binding their frontliners I intend to kill.

Whisper of Treason their nasties (especially druids).

Plus wizard's Slicken, Shadowflame and Confusion.

 

 

I didn't have issues at easier difficulties, but it became insane on PotD when I was running 2 Paladins, a buffing Chanter, and a buffing Priest. I nearly wiped in Maerwald, did wipe to Gathbin's hirelings (of all people!), and every fight seemed take 50 percent longer, because enemies kept also kept gazillion buffs I was using. Boerer suggested Arcane Dampener to debuff them back to pre-mind control status quo, but I am also looking into ways of not using Wizard's mind control CC as well (and not using the Gyrd on the Wizard).

 

As for your suggestions, unfortunately I do not use Ciphers and the Wizard's Confusion brings us back to the same problem.

 

Would rushing the Rod of Pale Shades on the Wizard plus Borresaine archer combined work? It's still too RNG dependent, I guess.

 

If I were to make a Rod of Pale Shades Wizard build and try to increase crits, then what is the best way to go about it besides the usual high Accuracy approach?

[firkraag888]

I ended up giving it to my Wizard (Gandalf), and it's kind of hilarious how much CC I have now with the Gyrd, Confusion, and a Cipher. I've actually seen 6-7 enemies (everyone except 1) show green circle. The problem with this much crowd control is that I am wasting DPS, and sometimes my formation gets scattered and let the enemy melees get to my ranged (once the CC wears off).

 

Edit: Confusion is a seriously crazy spell. If I knew Wizard CC would be this good starting mid-levels, I might have not gotten a Cipher...

That's exactly why I don't use the sceptre for the dominate proc. it's harder to target enemies when there charmed and you have to adijust around them if you want to make them most out of it. It's not needed and Is just a nuisance

[Lampros]

 

I ended up giving it to my Wizard (Gandalf), and it's kind of hilarious how much CC I have now with the Gyrd, Confusion, and a Cipher. I've actually seen 6-7 enemies (everyone except 1) show green circle. The problem with this much crowd control is that I am wasting DPS, and sometimes my formation gets scattered and let the enemy melees get to my ranged (once the CC wears off).

 

Edit: Confusion is a seriously crazy spell. If I knew Wizard CC would be this good starting mid-levels, I might have not gotten a Cipher...

That's exactly why I don't use the sceptre for the dominate proc. it's harder to target enemies when there charmed and you have to adijust around them if you want to make them most out of it. It's not needed and Is just a nuisance

 

 

And now on PotD I have discovered an even bigger problem: The enemies keep my buffs when they revert. And since I run buff heavy parties, this is more than a nuisance - it's fatal at times

[MaxQuest]

As for your suggestions, unfortunately I do not use Ciphers and the Wizard's Confusion brings us back to the same problem.

Well... you:

- either build a sturdy party, use buffs, kill everyone over time, and do not charm/dominate (except in emergency)

- or instead of focusing on buffing, build a high cc / high dps team => paralyze immediate targets while charming nasty stuff

and in a way use them as your figurines.

 

Would rushing the Rod of Pale Shades on the Wizard plus Borresaine archer combined work? It's still too RNG dependent, I guess.

On hard it would work. On upscaled PotD, not so much. You will be able to reach decent (like 40-60%) crit rate only after durganizing your weapons. Not to mention that I was often attacking enemies with already debuffed defenses...

[Gnomic]

Personally I always give it to the druid for its unique ability to restore shapeshift.

 

My initial strategy with Druids was to back-line with GHS (after dropping some CC spells), and use Spiritshift if enemies go around my front-liners -- but then the "restoration" always triggers before I even Spirtshift once.

 

What's the optimal way to use GHS on a Druid? Spiritshift almost immediately and then fall back, I guess?

 

Or maybe Spiritshift and then cast while shifted? Is that useful at all?

[Boeroer]

 

I ended up giving it to my Wizard (Gandalf), and it's kind of hilarious how much CC I have now with the Gyrd, Confusion, and a Cipher. I've actually seen 6-7 enemies (everyone except 1) show green circle. The problem with this much crowd control is that I am wasting DPS, and sometimes my formation gets scattered and let the enemy melees get to my ranged (once the CC wears off).

 

Edit: Confusion is a seriously crazy spell. If I knew Wizard CC would be this good starting mid-levels, I might have not gotten a Cipher...

That's exactly why I don't use the sceptre for the dominate proc. it's harder to target enemies when there charmed and you have to adijust around them if you want to make them most out of it. It's not needed and Is just a nuisance

 

I agree. The randomness of the dominate means more micro. Especially when your main target gets dominated your char will stop attacking. i prefer targeted mind control.

But the insane ACC bonus and the raw lash are very unique and hard to beat.

I still like The Golden Gaze better.

[Lampros]

 

As for your suggestions, unfortunately I do not use Ciphers and the Wizard's Confusion brings us back to the same problem.

Well... you:

- either build a sturdy party, use buffs, kill everyone over time, and do not charm/dominate (except in emergency)

- or instead of focusing on buffing, build a high cc / high dps team => paralyze immediate targets while charming nasty stuff

and in a way use them as your figurines.

 

Would rushing the Rod of Pale Shades on the Wizard plus Borresaine archer combined work? It's still too RNG dependent, I guess.

On hard it would work. On upscaled PotD, not so much. You will be able to reach decent (like 40-60%) crit rate only after durganizing your weapons. Not to mention that I was often attacking enemies with already debuffed defenses...

 

 

Yes, those seem like the alternatives indeed: Fast DPS plus CC set-up or slower DPS but sturdier and no CC set-up. The latter requires less micro and presumably less heart attack scenarios (I am old, so this matters, LOL!), but then I was getting annoyed with how long the fights were taking as well.

 

Hmm, and I probably can't get Durgan weapons on PotD until like level 12, given my current skill level.

 

This is hard!

Edited October 2, 2017 by Lampros

[Moneo]

I agree that Domination debuff is a bit dubious, as long as all other, which include flipping alliance. That's good if you are playing solo, or your party consists of many vancian casters, in this case it's a good way to protect your chars. But if you are using protective auras, chants and a lot of healing, this will make your foes just stronger, not weaker.

 

Once I opposed the Sky Dragon with my lv 11 party (upscaled PotD). My Magran priest was armed with Gyrd and managed to dominate the damned beast, when it lost about half of his health! Of course this brute acquired paladin's Zealous Endurance on top of it's high defenses. That was an epic fail, lol.

 

After that I was disappointed in Domination and Confusion and don't use them even with cipher. I prefer debuffs which weaken enemies and make them more vulnerable for damage from weapons. Also, now I think, that the most powerful ranged weapon for a priest in terms of direct damage is Pretty Pretty's Rib in hands of Wael's follower. For a wizard, that's The Golden Gaze, yeah.

[Boeroer]

Dominate is special because it doesn't alter the stats of the enemy. So when he profits from a bonus of yours it's a bad thing.

 

Charmed enemies are a lot weaker because charmed is also a hefty debuff. It doesn't matter that much if charmed enemies get Zealous Endurance - their defenses are so abysmal because of charm that they will die quickly if you attack them during the charm duration.

[Moneo]

Charmed enemies are a lot weaker because charmed is also a hefty debuff. It doesn't matter that much if charmed enemies get Zealous Endurance - their defenses are so abysmal because of charm that they will die quickly if you attack them during the charm duration.

 

That's right, but don't forget that charmed foes start receiving your healing and are excluded from barbarian's carnage and wizard's blast.

[mosspit]

Still, Puppet Master has something going for it, which is fast cast. Fast cast CC abilities are very strong in my books.

[JerekKruger]

Whispers of Treason is also fast cast I believe. Both were changed in one of the later patches (they used to be average or slow cast) to make them more appealing.

 

Possibly Puppet Master had a higher accuracy bonus? Otherwise it honestly seems to be a worse ability all round.

[mosspit]

@JereKruger: You might wanna check Whispers again. I just did a playthrough with a Cipher, and also did a test as well.

[Boeroer]

Whisper of Treason is officially a fast cast and Master of Puppets is as well - in theory.

 

However, in game you will see that Master of Puppets is at least twice as fast (if not faster) than Whisper of Treason. Either Whisper of Treason still has average cast time despite the description - or Master of Puppets has something like instant casting time despite the description. I suspect the first one is true...?

 

I remember that MaxQuests posted a list of actual casting times a while ago - but I can't find it...

Edited October 3, 2017 by Boeroer