Need some suggestions

[Archaven]

heya.. i can't decide if Pallegina should go dual wield or 2Hander. FoD seems to benefit for DW. But I have too many DW characters. I have Eder and Hiravias DW as well. Was wondering if i should respec Pallegina for Great Sword or Estoc.

 

I'm playing on POTD.. Dragon Thrashed chanter. Currently Level 8 and was wondering which is the best choice to side on the factions. Doemenels? I'm not sure if Dragon Thrashed Chanter is going to benefit on the Crit reward or Should i go crucible?

 

Currently Eder is DW 2xSabre but it seems like Hiravias is the shining star there. Also, i heard it's good to put Durance on heavy armor? I'm having him with Sword and Shield so.. i replaced his old robes to Hand Key though. hopefully it's not too bad on recovery?

 

Also. if let's say i complete one of the faction quest, am i not able to access some of the stores in either factions?

 

If anyone has any suggestions on best waepon focus for other companions. For Eder it's Sabre, Hiravias is peasant as i DW spears + hatchet. The whole reason was i read that Weapon Focus Peasant actually benefit unarmed which contributes to his Staelgar form. So for Pallegina.. should i got 2Hander? If so Estoc or Great Swords?

Edited September 30, 2017 by Archaven

[firkraag888]

having two dedicated tanks (with shields) on POTD makes a huge difference to your Survivabilty. I would give your chanter a shield and prob Eder a shield aswell.

 

Also why have you got everyone using melee weapons and not having some of them using ranged. i seriously wouldn't give durance heavy armour and shield, that would royalty f&ck up his casting speed and also lower his spell accuracy from using the shield.

 

You want your spell casters on the backline firing of spells as quickly as possible. Absolutely No heavy armour.

 

Two handed or two weapon style are both ok but paladins don't really benefit from dual weilding like other classes can. Optimally you would be better of with a shield for the pally as well. The paladin will not be a frontline damage dealing monster. You really just want to be able to hold your ground.

 

Your chanter may be better of with the faction that gives the extra DR because he is a front line tank. You won't be critting much with a chanter.

[Lampros]

having two dedicated tanks (with shields) on POTD makes a huge difference to your Survivabilty. I would give your chanter a shield and prob Eder a shield aswell.

 

 

Indeed. This was my first lesson in PotD. At least initially - until your folks gather the necessary gear and level-up Abilities/Talents, it's an excellent idea to go with 2 shield tanks if you are new to PotD. Once you power up, you can then take a more offensive approach, if the environment allows it.

[mosspit]

Currently Eder is DW 2xSabre but it seems like Hiravias is the shining star there. Also, i heard it's good to put Durance on heavy armor? I'm having him with Sword and Shield so.. i replaced his old robes to Hand Key though. hopefully it's not too bad on recovery?

Hmmmm, why is Hiravias DW'ing though? His Staelgar form is weapon independent. And once you progress further, you will get so many spells that might fare better than just auto-attacking out of Staelgar form. Plus he can also summon Firebrand.

 

Also. if let's say i complete one of the faction quest, am i not able to access some of the stores in either factions?

Yup, you can. But to be safe, clear the initial quest for all the factions before doing the secondary quest for the faction you wanna side with.

 

If anyone has any suggestions on best waepon focus for other companions. For Eder it's Sabre, Hiravias is peasant as i DW spears + hatchet. The whole reason was i read that Weapon Focus Peasant actually benefit unarmed which contributes to his Staelgar form. So for Pallegina.. should i got 2Hander? If so Estoc or Great Swords?

This had me curious and I did a test. You are correct about WF Peasant, it does improve the shifted form attacks. For Pallegina, the 2H choice it will likely be Blade of the Endless Path or Tidefall. Both are really good, but in the event you want her to anchor your Frontline, Tidefall's draining effect can help with her staying power.

 

No idea on Doemenel's Merciless Hand affecting chants though, never tried to main a Chanter yet.

[Boeroer]

Merciless Hand does nothing for DoTs, including Dragon Thrashed. Crits add duration to Dragon Thrashed (which is more powerful because it's multiplicative), not base damage - so Merciless Hand is a bit of a waste for a passive chanter with Dragon Thrashed. Second Skin seems to be the best pick.

 

If you want to try something different for Pallegina then you can try Forgemaster's Gloves which summon Firebrand and pick any two hander as backup. Firebrand works with any weapon focus and if you crit with FoD the damage is really nice.

Edited September 30, 2017 by Boeroer

[Archaven]

Merciless Hand does nothing for DoTs, including Dragon Thrashed. Crits add duration to Dragon Thrashed (which is more powerful because it's multiplicative), not base damage - so Merciless Hand is a bit of a waste for a passive chanter with Dragon Thrashed. Second Skin seems to be the best pick.

 

If you want to try something different for Pallegina then you can try Forgemaster's Gloves which summon Firebrand and pick any two hander as backup. Firebrand works with any weapon focus and if you crit with FoD the damage is really nice.

 

I'm respeccing Eder from DW Sabre -> DW warhammer. Seems like dual dmg types are better. Thanks for the tips on Dragon Thrashed. I just reached level 9. So far don't have much problem at level 8. Only problem i'm getting wiped are those Adra Animats in Endless Path level 7. 

 

I already have the Forgemaster Gloves for Pallegina. Previously i have her DWed because i thought it deals more damage for FoD. Then actualy i found 2 casting per encounters are actually just icing on the cakes. I was thinking of respeccing her from DW Swords -> 2H Greatswords or Estocs. Kinda dilemma in choosing which. Estocs don't have dual damage types but DR (best IMO) but only with 1 damage type. I'm thinking Pallegina should go Estocs? As the Blade of Endless Path is actually Estoc? But seems like Tidefall is really great too.

 

I'm loving Hiravias so much. I'm aware he's a caster. His firebrand deals alot of damage too. Plus when he is in Shapeshift form.. he crits and hit so hard!. Hiravias compared to GM or Sagani, i always pick Hiravias. He basically has everything: cc, nukes, debuffs and can shapeshift!. Also, the favorite Returning Storm.

 

As for why i'm having Durance with Sword+Shield with some armor that's for backup purposes. I'm always using small shield (no penalty on ACC? plus fine small shield gives additional +4 Deflection. I'm not sure how bad is the recovery. I'm always using the Arquebus and only switch to sword and shield if enemy gets near him.

Btw my MC chanter using Persistence.. to draw some aggro and then when enemy nearby i switched from Bow -> Sword and Shield.. Insta 83 Deflection :D

Edited September 30, 2017 by Archaven

[Boeroer]

Dual wielding with the heavier one handed weapons - like sabres - actually does more damage with FoD in most cases (when enemies' DR is not superhigh - and if you crit in most cases).

 

Dual hammers is also my favorite on a fighter. Because of the two damage tyes and also because Shatterstar is guarding and annihilating which fits a fighter quite well.

Edited September 30, 2017 by Boeroer

[Archaven]

Dual wielding with the heavier one handed weapons - like sabres - actually does more damage with FoD in most cases (when enemies' DR is not superhigh - and if you crit in most cases).

 

Dual hammers is also my favorite on a fighter. Because of the two damage tyes and also because Shatterstar is guarding and annihilating which fits a fighter quite well.

 

Actually i would just say i like suggestions on how to build NPCs character instead.

 

Pallegina - Her Might is really bad here. I think the point of her is only as a main character support? How would you build her? Sword and Shield? I already have a main tank which is my MC Chanter. Since her low might, is there really any point for her to go melee at all?

 

Durance - I have him as my mechanics guy. Seriously this is only 1 guy i dont throw all my Survival points to him. Am i making a mistake? Also most importantly does Stealth detect traps? I was pumping to both Stealth and Mechanics. I only want a spot traps/disarm trap guy.  I only switch him to Arquebus after i done buffing everyone though.

 

Eder - Currently DW sabres. I think i'll respec him again for DW warhammers. Plus with WF: Soldier, Eder has a choice to go Greatswords as well. For Atk Speed, i think Pallegina Hastening Extortation should be cast on Eder? Or Coordinated attacks better?

 

Aloth - I find myself using his Parasitic Concelhaut ALL the time. Maybe i'm doing something wrong. My fav spell for him is Chillfog, Blind, Parasitic Concelhaut, Infuse Vital Essense, Deletrious Alacrity of Motion, Llengrath Displaced Image, Maura Tentacles. I'm going to have Citralz soon.. so i guess no point for Parasitic Concelhaut anymore? Spellmastery would goes to Chillfog?

 

Thanks for any suggestions!

Edited October 1, 2017 by Archaven

[Lampros]

 

Merciless Hand does nothing for DoTs, including Dragon Thrashed. Crits add duration to Dragon Thrashed (which is more powerful because it's multiplicative), not base damage - so Merciless Hand is a bit of a waste for a passive chanter with Dragon Thrashed. Second Skin seems to be the best pick.

 

If you want to try something different for Pallegina then you can try Forgemaster's Gloves which summon Firebrand and pick any two hander as backup. Firebrand works with any weapon focus and if you crit with FoD the damage is really nice.

 

I'm respeccing Eder from DW Sabre -> DW warhammer. Seems like dual dmg types are better. Thanks for the tips on Dragon Thrashed. I just reached level 9. So far don't have much problem at level 8. Only problem i'm getting wiped are those Adra Animats in Endless Path level 7. 

 

Yup; I tried both dual sabers and war hammers, and the latter seem a lot better due to both 1) two weapon types; and 2) debuff/CC enchants on war hammers. Of course, this may be an idiosyncratic preference, as I 1) do not like to change weapons mid-fight or even carry back-up weapons; and 2) I love CC on melee weapons - especially on fast, accurate dual wielders for the near perma-CC.

Edited October 1, 2017 by Lampros

[Lampros]

Dual wielding with the heavier one handed weapons - like sabres - actually does more damage with FoD in most cases (when enemies' DR is not superhigh - and if you crit in most cases).

 

Dual hammers is also my favorite on a fighter. Because of the two damage tyes and also because Shatterstar is guarding and annihilating which fits a fighter quite well.

 

Exactly.

[Boeroer]

Actually i would just say i like suggestions on how to build NPCs character instead.

Ok

 

Pallegina - Her Might is really bad here. I think the point of her is only as a main character support? How would you build her? Sword and Shield? I already have a main tank which is my MC Chanter. Since her low might, is there really any point for her to go melee at all?

I'd give her a marking weapon (Shame or Glory or Cladhaliath) and take Coordinated Attacks as well as Outworn Buckler and mark targets for the damage guys. It's really benefical to give +20 stackable ACC to a party member. And the buckler is one of the best shields in the game because the herald aura stacks with everything - even the herals aura from Little Savior. So you will make everybody in range more sturdy. An alternative is to get a ranged marking weapon and do this from afar without the buckler.

Her might is not that much of a problem because Flames of Devotion still hits very hard (if you also take Intense Flames + Scion of Flame and put burning lashes on your weapons) even with 12 MIG. And her Wrath of the Five Suns (Sworn Enemy talent) is very good as opener if you also take Penetrating Shot. You can also take Prestidigitator's Missiles then and use Arms Bearer and get the Coil of Ressourcefulness. And put on a Shimmering Cloak if you find one. An then you do Wrath otFS -> Missiles -> Missiles -> FoD-gunshot -> Fod gunshot -> switch to buckler. Or you go for the fully ranged option and do Wrath otFS -> Missiles -> Missiles -> FoD-gunshot -> Fod gunshot -> Runner's Wounding Shot. It's a blast of burst damage that is very helpful in order to take out high priority targets. You can mix pistols and blunderbusses for example and end with the St. Garam's Spark and keep attacking foes with it in order to mark for your friends. SHe's like a walking artillery and that's fun.

 

Durance - I have him as my mechanics guy. Seriously this is only 1 guy i dont throw all my Survival points to him. Am i making a mistake? Also most importantly does Stealth detect traps? I was pumping to both Stealth and Mechanics. I only want a spot traps/disarm trap guy.  I only switch him to Arquebus after i done buffing everyone though.

That is a good approach.

 

Eder - Currently DW sabres. I think i'll respec him again for DW warhammers. Plus with WF: Soldier, Eder has a choice to go Greatswords as well. For Atk Speed, i think Pallegina Hastening Extortation should be cast on Eder? Or Coordinated attacks better?

Coordinated Attacks is better.

In order to boost Edèrs damage you should take Armored Grace and also Confident Aim (never forget Disciplined Barrage - it stacks with the paladin's +20 marking and also Durance's Inspiring Radiation and Devotions of the Faithful). You can then prone dragons with him. Confident Aim's MIN damage raise is actually done after all other dmg mods are appplied, so it's a multiplicative raise and thus way better than the numbers suggest. It's better than Weapon Mastery for example. Taking Savage Attack is good with so many ACC bonuses.

 

Aloth - I find myself using his Parasitic Concelhaut ALL the time. Maybe i'm doing something wrong. My fav spell for him is Chillfog, Blind, Parasitic Concelhaut, Infuse Vital Essense, Deletrious Alacrity of Motion, Llengrath Displaced Image, Maura Tentacles. I'm going to have Citralz soon.. so i guess no point for Parasitic Concelhaut anymore? Spellmastery would goes to Chillfog?

YOu are doing right. The staff is one of the best early game weapons and a very effective way to spare spell uses. The spirit lance is better of course but as long as you don't have it the staff is great. Spell Mastery would be Spirit Shield for me if I was going melee all the time - Slicken is also a very good pick as well as Eldritch Aim. Chillfog as well. Those are all good options. Edited October 1, 2017 by Boeroer

[Archaven]

@Boeroer

 

Thanks for the insights! If after marking by attacking and then use Lay Hands, will it remove the marking? Also, the marking is only granted on an ally. That means just one? Who will it grant to? Automatically to the nearest? Prestidigator's Missile is just 1/per encounter. How are you pulling missiles twice? With Arms Bearer, can you mark 2 enemies instead of 1?

 

Also, maybe you miss the question. Does stealth has any use for detecting traps or purely mechanics are enough? Besides to also get Shame or Glory, i think i need to go with Crucible instead of Doemenels? Hopefully i dont miss out so much on the crits.

Edited October 1, 2017 by Archaven

[Boeroer]

If after marking by attacking and then use Lay Hands, will it remove the marking?

Yes, if you do something that is not attacking the enemy the marking will go away. As soon as you click on a target it works again. You don't have to strike the enemy or even be in range. The user action of clicking on an enemy is enough to trigger marking. That means that you will already mark an enemy with a melee weapon even if you are only running towards the target (in order to strike).

 

Also, the marking is only granted on an ally. That means just one? Who will it grant to? Automatically to the nearest?

Yes, the nearest ally who is also attacking the same target. And only against that enemy. If you want to make really sure that Edér gets the bonus for an important Knockdown you simply let the other party members attack somebody else (or do something else) until Edér landed his Knockdown (for example).

With casters it's even better: because they usually go into idle mode after a spell was cast, they free up the marking for the next caster who also targets the same enemy.

So as long as your spells don't hit exactly at the same time both casters' spells will get the bonus. Because the first one will attack with a spell (uses marking), goes idle (loses marking) and the next caster's spell hits (using the free marking) and so on.

Marking + Coordinated attacks is not highly benefical in trash fights but it's supergood in the hard boss fights where you will have troubles hitting the enemy. Edér for example can send dragons prone reliably with this approach.

 

Prestidigator's Missile is just 1/per encounter. How are you pulling missiles twice? With Arms Bearer, can you mark 2 enemies instead of 1?

You are right. I was thinking about the Shimmering Cloak I mentioned before. It gives you 3 Minor Missile uses per rest and can be used to boost you alpha strike capability in tough encounters. I should have made myself clearer. In a normal encounter you would only use Prestidigitator's Missiles.

 

Also, maybe you miss the question. Does stealth has any use for detecting traps or purely mechanics are enough?

Sorry, yes, I overread that. Points in stealth do not improve your detection skills. It is only determined by the mechanics skill and it's easier to detect traps and secrets when you are scouting (some say sneaking). So you just have to trigger scout mode and put points into mechanics to discover stuff.

What stealth does: you see that dashed cirlce around you when you scout. If you get near enemies it fills clockwise with a yellow color, then red and then that eye symbol gets displayed and you are discovered and stealth breaks. The nearer you get the faster it fills. Now every point you put into stealth slows down that filling process up to the point where it takes forever for that circle to fill up and you can sneak past nearly everything. That's all stealth does.

Edited October 1, 2017 by Boeroer

[Archaven]

@Boeroer

 

Hats off to you!. Thanks for all those awesome answers!. Can't believe you are still hanging around after so long and still helping newbies like me!.

Last but not least, in older BG games there's point blank penalty. Do we have it in PoE? For eg. using a bow at point blank.

 

Also, does Gunner talent helps reload speed of Blunderbusses? Is it a significant talent? For range is it rely on Attack speed or reload speed or both?

 

Next would be, would Pallegina lose the coordinated attack or marking if she use a scroll? Point is i'm dumping all the skills to survival. I think bonus ACC or Damage vs Flanked wouldn't be bad either.

Edited October 2, 2017 by Archaven

[Boeroer]

Thank you.

 

There is no penalty for shooting at close range. But talents/abilites like Marksman and Distant Advantage (Wood Elf racial ability) only work when you are more than 4 meters away (I think it's 4, but maybe 5 or so, can't say for sure). So you would lose those bonuses if you shoot from point blank (if you took them in the first place). Those two are the only bonuses that work this way if I'm not mistaken.

 

On the other hand: with a rogue you can get a Backstab bonus with a ranged weapon when you are shooting from a very close distance: 2m or less gives you the Backstab bonus (if you shoot from stealth or invisibilty, +150% base damage).

 

Gunner will reduce the reload speed of blunderbusses, yes. It reduces the reload time for every weapon that has a reload phase: crossbow, arbalest, pistol, blunderbuss, arquebus. It will only reduce the reload time and nothing else. As a side note: armor penalty will not get added to the reloading phase, only the recovery phase.

If you don't want to use gun switching (with multiple guns in your weapon slots and Quick Switch) then Gunner is recommended, yes. It stacks with Swift Aim and also Sure Handed Ila. But in this case the stacking is multiplicative which reduces the individual effect of each additinal bonus - the more reload bonuses you stack. So with Swift Aim (50%) + Gunner (20%) and Sure Handed Ila (20%) you will not have a reduced reload time of 90% as one might think (if you added the values), but instead it's "only" a bonus of 68% because you multiply them instead. Still good to stack them.

 

If Pallegina uses an offensive scroll she would lose the marking of the weapn because she will not attack with it, but I think she will retain the bonus from Coordinated Attacks because she's attacking with a spell. But it would have to be a targeted spell like missiles or Stag's Horn. I don't think it works with AoE spells that you target on the floor like Fireball (all speculation). If she uses a scroll that is not offensive (prayer, buff and so on) she will surely lose both. I would not give her lore but survival as you said.

Edited October 2, 2017 by Boeroer

[Lampros]

@Boeroer

 

Hats off to you!. Thanks for all those awesome answers!. Can't believe you are still hanging around after so long and still helping newbies like me!.

 

 

My sentiments exactly! I'd given up on the game long time ago but for him!

 

By the way, is Prestidigitator's Missiles really worth it? I really do not like taking too many 1/per encounter skills. I do take Runner's Wounding Shot on many characters, because that's damage plus CC - and I love CC spamming - but Prestidigitator's Missiles is just pure damage. Of course, I guess it depends on how much damage...

[Boeroer]

For the early game it's very good. Especially with high MIG. The range is ridiculous and the damage is good for the early game, too. Think of it like a Spell Mastery - those come at lvl 9!

 

Since it doesn't scale it becomes a bit moot at higher levels - unless you are a rogue (Deathblows + Deep Wounds) or a ranger (Marked Prey + Driving Flight + Penetrating Shot) - or if you can stack a lot of DR bypass (like I usually do with Pallegina). Or if you take Merciless Hand and Dungeon Delver and so on - and crit with it reliably.

 

[Archaven]

@Boeroer

 

You mentioned Shimmering cloak. I have it. What's the use of this? Shimmering cloak grants mirror image and +10 deflection against range.  It doesn't grant any missiles at all.

 

Also, for my MC Chanter, it seems with Sword and Shielf it actually has lower ACC.  Would it be better equipping other weapons that increase the ACC helps hit rate (or crit) instead of Sword & Shield?

 

On spell mastery, what would be your pick?

 

Durance - I'm getting blessing as this is my No. 1 favorite spell. My opening of any battle starts with blessings.

Hiravias - I'm going for Sunbeam over Nature's Mark. It deals damage and it has Blinding status effect. That alone is far better than Nature's Mark IMO. 

Aloth - Would it be great if he picks MMM? More Missiles together with Pallegina ?

 

On the discussion of Gun vs Bow. Wouldn't it be better if Pallegina use Persistence / Bow instead of Pistol/Blunderbuss? Bow has higher range and marking will help MM or offensive spell ACC? Besides, Blundebuss/Pistol has -5 or -10 ACC. That suxs badly and the speed is Very Slow. Sure it has 6 projectiles for Blunderbuss but on average i think it may have lower damage compared to bows? What's your take on this?

 

Thanks