Challenge! Build a beefy, powerful POTD 5-man

[Frog Man]

Looking to leverage the collective smarts of the forum for my first POTD run. Here are the rules of the challenge:

 

1) team needs to be powerful!

2) no weak links that need to be babied/protected. Hoping each member can pull their weight and not be a liability

3) no repeat classes. I like variety. Don’t care to do a 5 Chanter run

 

That’s it! Looking forward to seeing everyone’s version of a kickass 5 man team

[Torm51]

My current Triple Crown which is 95% complete has these 6 so if you want to do 5 you can look at these and take what you like if you like them.

You can google these builds I am using all story characters.

1. Council ploi but he's a Darcozzi

 

2. Bat **** crazy Druid

 

3. Dragon thrashed dragon wailed Chanter

 

4. DW DPS warhammer Fighter with Charge

 

5. Illusionist Wizard. Meaning he has arcane veil+ hardened veil, wizards double, all of the Llengrath defensive spells. He can temperaroly become unhittable for about 30 sec. if he takes aggro he can blind the offenders and you can DPS them down.

 

6. General buff priest with weapon and shield style and a large shield. Throws up circle of protection and changed to a shield if he takes hit. It's durance he's got 19 resolve with a large shield if he takes hit he's very hard to hit with just that.

Edited September 26, 2017 by Torm51

[Frog Man]

Dude very nice! Thank you. A few questions:

 

1) what’s circle of protection?

2) any particular equipment needed for chanter? What weapon?

3) would love more info on the wizard! Does he do any damage or just tank? What’s the stat spread?

4) what does your formation look like?

[Torm51]

Dude very nice! Thank you. A few questions:

 

1) what’s circle of protection?

2) any particular equipment needed for chanter? What weapon?

3) would love more info on the wizard! Does he do any damage or just tank? What’s the stat spread?

4) what does your formation look like?

1. third level priest spell gives +20 to all defense if you stay in the circle.  Does the same thing as Scroll of Defense.  Except you dont have to stay in the circle with the scroll so that could be an option.

2. Kana wears the White Crest Armor and Helmet , Little Savior and a hatchet.  I just went max deflection  and other defenses with him from the start with him.  In the early game he would summon and kill ranged guys with the hard hitting ghost.  Once you hit lvl 9 I just Dragon Thrash, Dragon Wails and he melts stuff.

3.  Aloth has Llengraths spells (the early and late game ones) and does damage through Kalkoth's Minor Blights and the talent Dangerous Implements.  He also has penetrating shot for the implements.  He hits pretty hard.  Plus he is a master debuffer and escape artist thanks to being unhittable for a duration.

4. Formation  x (Fighter) x (Paladin) x (chanter)

                                       

                                        x (storm druid)

                      x (wizard)                       x (Priest)

Edited September 26, 2017 by Torm51

[mosspit]

@OP

 

I just completed a Frozen Crown (PotD, Trial of Iron, Expert Mode) with a 5 man party too. Inspired by the 5man party change in Deadfire.

 

My party setup is:

1. Cipher main with dual sabres

2. Fire retaliation monk (barefist with dual hatchets on swap)

3. Kind Wayfarer Pally (start with greatsword, end with sword board)

4. Chanter (start with sword board, end with greatsword)

5. Priest (mace and shield)

 

It has good regen and a mix of strong AoE and single target damage. A little less spammy on CC effects through. But it is pretty effective. Was able to recover from bad decision during the game due to the strength in combat

Edited September 26, 2017 by mosspit

[Torm51]

@OP

 

I just completed a Frozen Crown (PotD, Trial of Iron, Expert Mode) with a 5 man party too. Inspired by the 5man party change in Deadfire.

 

My party setup is:

1. Cipher main with dual sabres

2. Fire retaliation monk (barefist with dual hatchets on swap)

3. Kind Wayfarer Pally (start with greatsword, end with sword board)

4. Chanter (start with sword board, end with greatsword)

5. Priest (mace and shield)

 

It has good regen and a mix of strong AoE and single target damage. A little less spammy on CC effects through. But it is pretty effective. Was able to recover from bad decision during the game due to the strength in combat

Who did your debuffing the Cipher I am assuming?

[Boeroer]

One thing to Circle of Defense: as far as I know it only does +15 to all defenses?

However: it's short - but unlike other defensive buffs it stacks with most other things. So for example Outworn Buckler + Shields for the Faithful + Circle of Protection = +45 to deflection and +20 to all other defenses party-wide.

Also the Shieldbearer's talent that raises deflection on kill and also Inspiring Triumph stack with everything. You can make a pretty sturdy party out of dps chars if you let your Shieldbearer kill stuff and have a priest at his side.

Edited September 26, 2017 by Boeroer

[mosspit]

Who did your debuffing the Cipher I am assuming?

Yeah Cipher is my debuffer, but I dont use hard CC as my general strat as I want my Monk to get damaged. I did used things like Whispers of Treason in the early game or to even up odds if they are too many enemies in a pack, or Mental Binding if an enemy is wailing on my priest. 

 

Early game Cipher favored Psychvampiric Shield to reduce enemy's deflection and improve her own deflection early game. Late game it will be Defensive Mindweb, Time Parasite and finally Borrowed Instinct. I didn't even bother doing hard CC on the dragon fights at all, this party is study enough to take the dmg and regen through it.

Edited September 26, 2017 by mosspit

[Torm51]

Ya my bad +15 for Circle of Protection. For support priests I usually master it. Unless you are casting scrolls of defense all the time.

Edited September 26, 2017 by Torm51

[Lampros]

 

Dude very nice! Thank you. A few questions:

 

1) what’s circle of protection?

2) any particular equipment needed for chanter? What weapon?

3) would love more info on the wizard! Does he do any damage or just tank? What’s the stat spread?

4) what does your formation look like?

1. third level priest spell gives +20 to all defense if you stay in the circle.  Does the same thing as Scroll of Defense.  Except you dont have to stay in the circle with the scroll so that could be an option.

2. Kana wears the White Crest Armor and Helmet , Little Savior and a hatchet.  I just went max deflection  and other defenses with him from the start with him.  In the early game he would summon and kill ranged guys with the hard hitting ghost.  Once you hit lvl 9 I just Dragon Thrash, Dragon Wails and he melts stuff.

3.  Aloth has Llengraths spells (the early and late game ones) and does damage through Kalkoth's Minor Blights and the talent Dangerous Implements.  He also has penetrating shot for the implements.  He hits pretty hard.  Plus he is a master debuffer and escape artist thanks to being unhittable for a duration.

4. Formation  x (Fighter) x (Paladin) x (chanter)

                                       

                                        x (storm druid)

                      x (wizard)                       x (Priest)

 

 

I like a Tall Grass Chanter much better than a tanking Chanter - especially at PotD. The reason is that a Chanter is still a bit fragile for the 1st line tank role at the early levels, so he is even more of a drag on the group as a tank than Chanters typically are until level 9. In contrast, a Tall Grass Chanter will be relatively safe in the 2nd line and contribute even before Dragon Thrashed. (Also, in your formation the 1st line will be congested and you will have "idling" issues in some indoor fights.

[Lampros]

@OP

 

I just completed a Frozen Crown (PotD, Trial of Iron, Expert Mode) with a 5 man party too. Inspired by the 5man party change in Deadfire.

 

My party setup is:

1. Cipher main with dual sabres

2. Fire retaliation monk (barefist with dual hatchets on swap)

3. Kind Wayfarer Pally (start with greatsword, end with sword board)

4. Chanter (start with sword board, end with greatsword)

5. Priest (mace and shield)

 

It has good regen and a mix of strong AoE and single target damage. A little less spammy on CC effects through. But it is pretty effective. Was able to recover from bad decision during the game due to the strength in combat

 

May I ask why the Chanter and the Paladin change roles at the end? Is it because a Paladin is sturdier and can tank end-game bosses like Dragons?

Edited September 27, 2017 by Lampros

[Boeroer]

Don't know the reasons of mosspit, but with durgan steel a shield makes your main hand faster - which can lead to higher dps than with a two hander which hasn't reached low or 0 recovery (for example if the main hand wields Drawn in Spring). And maybe because of Sacred Immolation, too.

 

Chanter can get "The Champion braved the Horde alone" and it might be more fun to fight with a really speedy two hander (with 0 recovery best dps). 

Edited September 27, 2017 by Boeroer

[Torm51]

 

 

Dude very nice! Thank you. A few questions:

 

1) what’s circle of protection?

2) any particular equipment needed for chanter? What weapon?

3) would love more info on the wizard! Does he do any damage or just tank? What’s the stat spread?

4) what does your formation look like?

1. third level priest spell gives +20 to all defense if you stay in the circle. Does the same thing as Scroll of Defense. Except you dont have to stay in the circle with the scroll so that could be an option.

2. Kana wears the White Crest Armor and Helmet , Little Savior and a hatchet. I just went max deflection and other defenses with him from the start with him. In the early game he would summon and kill ranged guys with the hard hitting ghost. Once you hit lvl 9 I just Dragon Thrash, Dragon Wails and he melts stuff.

3. Aloth has Llengraths spells (the early and late game ones) and does damage through Kalkoth's Minor Blights and the talent Dangerous Implements. He also has penetrating shot for the implements. He hits pretty hard. Plus he is a master debuffer and escape artist thanks to being unhittable for a duration.

4. Formation x (Fighter) x (Paladin) x (chanter)

 

x (storm druid)

x (wizard) x (Priest)

I like a Tall Grass Chanter much better than a tanking Chanter - especially at PotD. The reason is that a Chanter is still a bit fragile for the 1st line tank role at the early levels, so he is even more of a drag on the group as a tank than Chanters typically are until level 9. In contrast, a Tall Grass Chanter will be relatively safe in the 2nd line and contribute even before Dragon Thrashed. (Also, in your formation the 1st line will be congested and you will have "idling" issues in some indoor fights.

idling on doors is ok with that group. The only one who needs to melee is the Fighter everyone there can stand around and melt groups of enemies. So if the chanter is not in melee cause hes blocked its irrelevant cause hes got AOE dots on every mob in the fight. Only in Dangerous Fights does my melee matter and its the Fighters Melee in Conjunction with Paladin Marking. That being said I see what you are saying. They are the most fragile tank out of all of the tanks. Even in the end game so if all he does is auto attack with his pike and spread his DOTs thats a good call. I agree Edited September 27, 2017 by Torm51

[Lampros]

 

 

 

Dude very nice! Thank you. A few questions:

 

1) what’s circle of protection?

2) any particular equipment needed for chanter? What weapon?

3) would love more info on the wizard! Does he do any damage or just tank? What’s the stat spread?

4) what does your formation look like?

1. third level priest spell gives +20 to all defense if you stay in the circle. Does the same thing as Scroll of Defense. Except you dont have to stay in the circle with the scroll so that could be an option.

2. Kana wears the White Crest Armor and Helmet , Little Savior and a hatchet. I just went max deflection and other defenses with him from the start with him. In the early game he would summon and kill ranged guys with the hard hitting ghost. Once you hit lvl 9 I just Dragon Thrash, Dragon Wails and he melts stuff.

3. Aloth has Llengraths spells (the early and late game ones) and does damage through Kalkoth's Minor Blights and the talent Dangerous Implements. He also has penetrating shot for the implements. He hits pretty hard. Plus he is a master debuffer and escape artist thanks to being unhittable for a duration.

4. Formation x (Fighter) x (Paladin) x (chanter)

 

x (storm druid)

x (wizard) x (Priest)

I like a Tall Grass Chanter much better than a tanking Chanter - especially at PotD. The reason is that a Chanter is still a bit fragile for the 1st line tank role at the early levels, so he is even more of a drag on the group as a tank than Chanters typically are until level 9. In contrast, a Tall Grass Chanter will be relatively safe in the 2nd line and contribute even before Dragon Thrashed. (Also, in your formation the 1st line will be congested and you will have "idling" issues in some indoor fights.

idling on doors is ok with that group. The only one who needs to melee is the Fighter everyone there can stand around and melt groups of enemies. So if the chanter is not in melee cause hes blocked its irrelevant cause hes got AOE dots on every mob in the fight. Only in Dangerous Fights does my melee matter and its the Fighters Melee in Conjunction with Paladin Marking. That being said I see what you are saying. They are the most fragile tank out of all of the tanks. Even in the end game so if all he does is auto attack with his pike and spread his DOTs thats a good call. I agree

 

 

I guess it's context-dependent. My PotD group does not burn down enemies that fast, so it needs to squeeze every ounce of DPS as possible. And in my testing a Tall Grass Chanter did significantly more DPS than a tanking Chanter without requiring more "baby-sitting" - as well as of course provide the Prone effects.

Edited September 28, 2017 by Lampros

[mosspit]

May I ask why the Chanter and the Paladin change roles at the end? Is it because a Paladin is sturdier and can tank end-game bosses like Dragons?

I did it for a few reasons

 

1. Sacred Immolation - Boeroer is correct in that regards. I mean I didn't make the switch immediately at lvl13 so I did have some experience with a GS (Tidefall) until I got my desired 1H. In my experience, there was no noticeable difference in dps. Because main bulk of dmg came from SI, the actual melee dmg contributes relatively low.

 

2. Itemization - I planned to have my pally wield Steadfast and Outworn Buckler. In particular, the shield can only be wield by a pally. You are right in the improvement of sturdiness - early to mid game I had my retaliation monk as the anchor tank (5dex, 3res inspired by Dr <3 Anvil build). But late game, it is a little inconsistent in tanking bosses so thats when a Pally who can take over as the anchor tank. Also note that the game mode has Trial of Iron. So consistency is something I value over other aspects of combat. Steadfast is a good tanking weapon due to my playstyle and Outworn Buckler is just a good passive defence AoE buff overall. Note that as mentioned, there is no noticeable downgrade to the dmg output from the switch due to SI. Near endgame, I had my priest wield Little Savior for even more stacked passive AoE goodiness.

 

3. Best Deflection and Reflex - Since I am using Defensive Mindweb, it will be good to have a character that can push individual saves as high as possible. Pally can push these 2 saves without much difficulty - Weapon and Shield talent coupled with Faith and Conviction.

 

4. Tidefall... just Tidefall - I love this weapon so I had my Chanter wield it. I got enough shield wielders anyways. Tidefall has draining so while the Chanter will suffer from reduction in deflection, he will gain regen from the weapon. So little impact in his staying power overall.

Edited September 28, 2017 by mosspit

[Lampros]

 

May I ask why the Chanter and the Paladin change roles at the end? Is it because a Paladin is sturdier and can tank end-game bosses like Dragons?

I did it for a few reasons

 

1. Sacred Immolation - Boeroer is correct in that regards. I mean I didn't make the switch immediately at lvl13 so I did have some experience with a GS (Tidefall) until I got my desired 1H. In my experience, there was no noticeable difference in dps. Because main bulk of dmg came from SI, the actual melee dmg contributes relatively low.

 

2. Itemization - I planned to have my pally wield Steadfast and Outworn Buckler. In particular, the shield can only be wield by a pally. You are right in the improvement of sturdiness - early to mid game I had my retaliation monk as the anchor tank (5dex, 3res inspired by Dr <3 Anvil build). But late game, it is a little inconsistent in tanking bosses so thats when a Pally who can take over as the anchor tank. Also note that the game mode has Trial of Iron. So consistency is something I value over other aspects of combat. Steadfast is a good tanking weapon due to my playstyle and Outworn Buckler is just a good passive defence AoE buff overall. Note that as mentioned, there is no noticeable downgrade to the dmg output from the switch due to SI. Near endgame, I had my priest wield Little Savior for even more stacked passive AoE goodiness.

 

3. Best Deflection and Reflex - Since I am using Defensive Mindweb, it will be good to have a character that can push individual saves as high as possible. Pally can push these 2 saves without much difficulty - Weapon and Shield talent coupled with Faith and Conviction.

 

4. Tidefall... just Tidefall - I love this weapon so I had my Chanter wield it. I got enough shield wielders anyways. Tidefall has draining so while the Chanter will suffer from reduction in deflection, he will gain regen from the weapon. So little impact in his staying power overall.

 

 

Thanks for the detailed response!

 

On the impact of Immolation damage to Paladin DPS: I know that Immolation DPS is stupendous, given that I have used MaxQuest's mod to actually record DoT damage and monitored its effect. But I'd really have to test myself to see if the damage difference between a 1H Paladin and a 2H Paladin was not so "noticeable." I guess it's a matter of perspective. In a similar vein, when I compared 1H/shield Chanter v. DW Chanter after Dragon Thrashed went into effect, the difference was still considerable - and this is one of the main reasons why I ditched the 1H/shield Chanter and kept the DPS version.

 

As for Paladins being a superlative tank - especially Outworn Buckler - no debate there. I guess I really want to make the DPS Paladin work? (By the way, did you have FoD?)

 

Likewise, I agree Tidefall being such an awesome weapon. I used it a bit the last playthrough and fell in love.

 

Edit: By the way, I just noticed you have all 5 in your party in a melee set-up. That's nuts! OMG, the overcrowding congestion!

Edited September 28, 2017 by Lampros

[mosspit]

I am not gonna lie, you will probably find the "noticeable" difference if you look for it. My experience is contained within the frequency of Strange Mercy and Inspiring Triumph triggers which I really cant notice any difference. Chalk it up to difference in perspective and qualifying conditions if you will. Moreover, I brought the pally in for mid/late gamer contributor of AoE dmg so to me the single target melee dmg is less of a concern. My Cipher is the character with the best single target dps potential.

 

I did use FoD alot in the early to midgame as I took Strange Mercy and Inspiring Triumph when they became available. When I can, I try to finish off enemies with FoD and even then it was not perfect. Late game, SI trigger SM and IT without me trying hard. So I used FoD just for the sake of using up per encounter abilities tbh. Maybe I should have bother more but meh.

 

About 5 melee, it is more like 4 melee. Early game my priest was a ranged wand wielder. But as game progress, he spent less and less time doing autoattacks. In fact, I had a dual stiletto Skaen Priest in my previous failed run, but I abandoned that build as it is difficult to synergize autoattacks whilst casting buffs at the same time.

After mid game I just make her wield Nightshroud and Little Savior. Little Savior rationale is already explained. Nightshroud is for the emergency invisbility (Shadowing Beyond) when needed. I alway liked my Priest to use Nightshroud for that purpose. She did very little melee combat.

 

I always find myself skewing towards melee as I enjoy it, so chalk it up to personal preference. To add, Chanter and Pally technically can do dmg even if they cant engage in melee so it isn't so bad.

Edited September 28, 2017 by mosspit

[Lampros]

After mid game I just make her wield Nightshroud and Little Savior. Little Savior rationale is already explained. Nightshroud is for the emergency invisbility (Shadowing Beyond) when needed. I alway liked my Priest to use Nightshroud for that purpose. She did very little melee combat.

 

I always find myself skewing towards melee as I enjoy it, so chalk it up to personal preference. To add, Chanter and Pally technically can do dmg even if they cant engage in melee so it isn't so bad.

 

Yes, I was thinking of re-trying the 1H/shield approach when I get Little Savior. But I am not sure if I can kill the Adra Dragon so easily on PotD!

 

Thanks for the tip on the Nightshroud. I did not know about the Shadowing Beyond bound spell. Now I will definitely use it on the Priest!

 

Finally, I, too, am a melee-centric player, but I found managing melee congestion too annoying when I tried a 4-man melee team earlier. But in the next PotD run I am giving 2 of them reach weapons and try the melee-centric approach again.

[Lampros]

Oops. Wrong thread. Sorry.

Edited September 28, 2017 by Lampros

[Lampros]

I am not gonna lie, you will probably find the "noticeable" difference if you look for it. My experience is contained within the frequency of Strange Mercy and Inspiring Triumph triggers which I really cant notice any difference. Chalk it up to difference in perspective and qualifying conditions if you will. Moreover, I brought the pally in for mid/late gamer contributor of AoE dmg so to me the single target melee dmg is less of a concern. My Cipher is the character with the best single target dps potential.

 

I did use FoD alot in the early to midgame as I took Strange Mercy and Inspiring Triumph when they became available. When I can, I try to finish off enemies with FoD and even then it was not perfect. Late game, SI trigger SM and IT without me trying hard. So I used FoD just for the sake of using up per encounter abilities tbh. Maybe I should have bother more but meh.

 

About 5 melee, it is more like 4 melee. Early game my priest was a ranged wand wielder. But as game progress, he spent less and less time doing autoattacks. In fact, I had a dual stiletto Skaen Priest in my previous failed run, but I abandoned that build as it is difficult to synergize autoattacks whilst casting buffs at the same time.

After mid game I just make her wield Nightshroud and Little Savior. Little Savior rationale is already explained. Nightshroud is for the emergency invisbility (Shadowing Beyond) when needed. I alway liked my Priest to use Nightshroud for that purpose. She did very little melee combat.

 

I always find myself skewing towards melee as I enjoy it, so chalk it up to personal preference. To add, Chanter and Pally technically can do dmg even if they cant engage in melee so it isn't so bad.

 

So upon your suggestion, I bound Nightshroud to my 1H/shield Priest. But here's the problem. I picked it up at level 13, and I couldn't even level it to level 3 by the end of the game - much less level 4 (which is when you unlock Shadowing Beyond). The main problem was that the Priest does the least weapon DPS of anyone in the group - and she gets a late start because she spends the opening moments of the fight buffing. So is there any "trick" to leveling Nightshroud on the Priest quickly other than the obvious of turning AI off on everyone else in easy encounters and letting the Priest solo? Otherwise, I think I am just going to give up on leveling this weapon and pick up something else...

 

Edit: By the way, otherwise, the Priest in 1H/shield mode worked beautifully. As you say, late-game Priests don't auto-attack much, so it's better to put them in 1H/shield - which will 1) protect them better; and 2) position them closer to the front-line, so they can buff the melees quicker.

Edited October 12, 2017 by Lampros

[mosspit]

So upon your suggestion, I bound Nightshroud to my 1H/shield Priest. But here's the problem. I picked it up at level 13, and I couldn't even level it to level 3 by the end of the game - much less level 4 (which is when you unlock Shadowing Beyond). The main problem was that the Priest does the least weapon DPS of anyone in the group - and she gets a late start because she spends the opening moments of the fight buffing. So is there any "trick" to leveling Nightshroud on the Priest quickly other than the obvious of turning AI off on everyone else in easy encounters and letting the Priest solo? Otherwise, I think I am just going to give up on leveling this weapon and pick up something else...

 

Edit: By the way, otherwise, the Priest in 1H/shield mode worked beautifully. As you say, late-game Priests don't auto-attack much, so it's better to put them in 1H/shield - which will 1) protect them better; and 2) position them closer to the front-line, so they can buff the melees quicker.

When I wrote that post, I was actually thinking about adding the leveling methods. In the end I decided against it, as they could be considered nuances and the methods will seem a little "micro-nature". But I guess I should have included those. A little disclaimer - some of the processes will seem gamey/gimmicky.

 

Leveling of Nightshroud:

Overview

- when intentionally leveling Nightshroud, you should leave your offhand empty. This will give the mainhand attack a +12acc bonus which will help with Priests generally low acc.

- most soulbound have criteria which are kill X number of enemy types or deal X dmg to a certain enemy types. So it will be desirable to leave fodder enemies littered across the opening area of the game.

- you probably need to do some micro to put your party in idle mode so that they don't accidentally kill steal

 

1. 13 Blind Procs

One of the easiest criteria to clear. Just hit your own teammates. Can be done out of combat. To quicken the process, unequip deflection boosting items on the teammates. If health gets too low, rest up. So it is more convenient to do this at Caed Nua. Just remember to save and reload after you first bind the weapon. There is a small issue where the game doesn't register that weapon is binded to give the blind proc without a reload.

 

2. 13 Humans or 65 enemies

For 13 humans criteria, I will leave the following fodder enemies alone until I reached this criteria. Not to say these are only ones available but these are the ones I personally will go through if I need Nightshroud unlocked. Also note that

- the enemies must be humans. Kith groups usually have Aumaua, orlans and elves. So don't be surprised if killing a kith type enemy doesn't get counted. It is likely the enemy is not a human type

- killing the human with Barbs of Concentration proc from the weapon doesn't count as a kill by the weapon. This one is hard and rng dependent. Way around it is to leave more human enemies available as a buffer just in case.

 

On the actual enemy locations

- humans from Brave Derrin quest. Right side of Ondra's Gift. If you show them the dagger you gotten from the quest earlier, you can choose to attack them.

- kith enemies on the right side of Maewald's room in Endless Path lvl 1.

- Skaen temple questline. Plenty of kith enemies and accessible around the time you get Nightshroud

- Devil of Caroc personal quest. The woodcutters are very desirable as there is a good number of them in that encounter and they are weak.

 

3. Kill 3 Cean Gŵla or 13 enemies

The 3 Cean Gŵla locations I know that are easily accessible in the early game are

- Lilith in the Wailing Banshee in Ondra's Gift

- Cean Gŵla with the 4 enthralled justicars in Heritage Hill

- Cean Gŵla which spawns when you get the Greenstone Staff in Longwatch Falls

 

However, there is chance that you kill those with Barbs of Concentration and screw up the kill count. In that case, the Battle Sirens in Durgan Battery also counts as Cean Gŵla too.

 

For me, I prefer to fulfill the 13 enemy kills instead by killing random xaurips, spiders and wichts I left alone in areas between Glided Vale and Caed Nua.

Edited October 12, 2017 by mosspit

[Lampros]

 

So upon your suggestion, I bound Nightshroud to my 1H/shield Priest. But here's the problem. I picked it up at level 13, and I couldn't even level it to level 3 by the end of the game - much less level 4 (which is when you unlock Shadowing Beyond). The main problem was that the Priest does the least weapon DPS of anyone in the group - and she gets a late start because she spends the opening moments of the fight buffing. So is there any "trick" to leveling Nightshroud on the Priest quickly other than the obvious of turning AI off on everyone else in easy encounters and letting the Priest solo? Otherwise, I think I am just going to give up on leveling this weapon and pick up something else...

 

Edit: By the way, otherwise, the Priest in 1H/shield mode worked beautifully. As you say, late-game Priests don't auto-attack much, so it's better to put them in 1H/shield - which will 1) protect them better; and 2) position them closer to the front-line, so they can buff the melees quicker.

When I wrote that post, I was actually thinking about adding the leveling methods. In the end I decided against it, as they could be considered nuances and the methods will seem a little "micro-nature". But I guess I should have included those. A little disclaimer - some of the processes will seem gamey/gimmicky.

 

Leveling of Nightshroud:

Overview

- when intentionally leveling Nightshroud, you should leave your offhand empty. This will give the mainhand attack a +12acc bonus which will help with Priests generally low acc.

- most soulbound have criteria which are kill X number of enemy types or deal X dmg to a certain enemy types. So it will be desirable to leave fodder enemies littered across the opening area of the game.

- you probably need to do some micro to put your party in idle mode so that they don't accidentally kill steal

 

1. 13 Blind Procs

One of the easiest criteria to clear. Just hit your own teammates. Can be done out of combat. To quicken the process, unequip deflection boosting items on the teammates. If health gets too low, rest up. So it is more convenient to do this at Caed Nua. Just remember to save and reload after you first bind the weapon. There is a small issue where the game doesn't register that weapon is binded to give the blind proc without a reload.

 

2. 13 Humans or 65 enemies

For 13 humans criteria, I will leave the following fodder enemies alone until I reached this criteria. Not to say these are only ones available but these are the ones I personally will go through if I need Nightshroud unlocked. Also note that

- the enemies must be humans. Kith groups usually have Aumaua, orlans and elves. So don't be surprised if killing a kith type enemy doesn't get counted. It is likely the enemy is not a human type

- killing the human with Barbs of Concentration proc from the weapon doesn't count as a kill by the weapon. This one is hard and rng dependent. Way around it is to leave more human enemies available as a buffer just in case.

 

On the actual enemy locations

- humans from Brave Derrin quest. Right side of Ondra's Gift. If you show them the dagger you gotten from the quest earlier, you can choose to attack them.

- kith enemies on the right side of Maewald's room in Endless Path lvl 1.

- Skaen temple questline. Plenty of kith enemies and accessible around the time you get Nightshroud

- Devil of Caroc personal quest. The woodcutters are very desirable as there is a good number of them in that encounter and they are weak.

 

3. Kill 3 Cean Gŵla or 13 enemies

The 3 Cean Gŵla locations I know that are easily accessible in the early game are

- Lilith in the Wailing Banshee in Ondra's Gift

- Cean Gŵla with the 4 enthralled justicars in Heritage Hill

- Cean Gŵla which spawns when you get the Greenstone Staff in Longwatch Falls

 

However, there is chance that you kill those with Barbs of Concentration and screw up the kill count. In that case, the Battle Sirens in Durgan Battery also counts as Cean Gŵla too.

 

For me, I prefer to fulfill the 13 enemy kills instead by killing random xaurips, spiders and wichts I left alone in areas between Glided Vale and Caed Nua.

 

 

Thanks for the detailed explanation.

 

So the bottom line is that I have to turn AI off and solo the easier enemies. I am thinking the best thing for me to do is to wipe out either the Doemenels or the Dozens after I get Nightshroud then? I kill these off for the extra cash (and the Doemenels give you 2 Rings of Protection to boot) around the end of Act 2, so I am not holding off much anyways.

 

By the way, if you were to field an alternative 1H weapon for a melee/support Priest, what would it be? Give me a few alternatives, in fact, if possible! (At least in my current run, it's going to be hard to level Nightshroud as I am almost done, and there are no easy fights left that my Priest can solo.)

Edited October 12, 2017 by Lampros

[mosspit]

Any hatchet will do. After all you aren't gonna melee much so just take advantage of the +5 Deflection. Otherwise equip something that give status like Whispers of Yenwood for its +2 Con if no one else is using.

[Lampros]

Any hatchet will do. After all you aren't gonna melee much so just take advantage of the +5 Deflection. Otherwise equip something that give status like Whispers of Yenwood for its +2 Con if no one else is using.

 

Ah, a good idea. Nobody is using the Whispers in this run; and I can look for the better hatchets, too.

[Lampros]

Ya my bad +15 for Circle of Protection. For support priests I usually master it. Unless you are casting scrolls of defense all the time.

 

I stopped using this spell entirely once I discovered scrolls. The scroll version in fact has a higher Defense value, larger AoE radius, and longer duration. And scrolls are cheap once you hit a certain economic threshold. So I literally saw no point to using this spell.