Shattered Pillar build?

[dukat111]

Can someone advise on a Shattered Pillar build?.. particularly the attribute point distribution.

 

I'm finding conflicting information. Some says go low on CON and very high on MIG/DEX/PER.

Some say no PER, high on RES.

 

I'm at a loss which is the best way to start and don't want to play 6-12 hours and have to restart because the allocation was poor.

 

Thanks

[PIRI]

Nature godlike

16

9

18

19

10

6

 

Rise Res and Def with items

Stat priority for items/buffs:

Dex >= Per > Might >= Res > Con >= Int

[Climhazzard]

I don't really recommend min/maxing for anyone who isn't confident in what stats they should be using.  Keep resolve and constitution at 10.  You can't really go wrong with the other stats.

 

Might = hits harder

Dex = hits faster

Perception = misses less

Intelligence = Buffs last longer, Area of effect hits more targets.  For example with decent intelligence lighting strikes last significantly longer, and torment's reach hits halfway across the screen.

 

If you're still not sure then just average out might/dex/perception and leave everything else at 10.

[marc5477]

What is his role? Do you plan to multi-class?

I play on POTD and I have tried two polar opposite pillar monk combos.

1. Tank with consistent DPS and reliable wounds.

• Max Resolve. You need to stand toe to toe without a shield. No real choice if you want to tank well. 
• Very High Perception. You need to be able to hit stuff consistently to build wounds. Perception is more important than speed or damage.
• High Might. More damage, no need to explain this.
• Below Average Dex. I wouldnt dump dex. But something needs to give to optimize the above. 
• Low Intelligence/Constitution - Again I dont recommend dumping either one. I wouldnt let anything drop below 6 or 7. Int helps with duration and con, obviously, helps with hit points.

1.  DPS role. Give up survivability for damage.

• Max Perception. Missing is bad.
• Very High Dex/Might. Speed and damage output. They should be at least 15 each if not higher.
• Below average Con. Because you stink at avoiding damage but you don't want to die too fast so dont dump it.
• Low Resolve/Intelligence.

If you want game breaking damage output, simply stay a pure monk for the level 8 & 9 abilities. But be warned, many view them as broken due to how trivial they make the game. 

 

If you want a better tank, then multi-class with warrior or paladin or chanter (beckoner). The warrior/paladin multi should be obvious, but I was surprised at how good the beckoner is on the front line. Why? Because summons are awesome. As a tank, your jobs is to soak up damage and keep enemies off your team. Summoning 2-6 creatures is very powerful and their DPS is not shabby either. A warrior also offers good aoe dps with cleave stance and a lot of engagement. A paladin will give you better personal defenses but I would say, not as good at keeping enemies off your team. 

If you want tons of utility (regardless of role) try a pillar + wizard or chanter (troubadour). My pick is wizard. Wizards have a lot of quick cast spells with 0 recovery and good duration thus do not interfere with your melee damage output. They also have some nice summoned weapons which allow for interesting melee options without needing weapon slots. Also, since spell damage scales with might and accuracy with perception, you can still put out good ranged damage with any caster. The troubadour with low int works because you are already on the front line thus you dont need a huge radius to make use of bard spells.

I am currently having a blast with this non-optimal build:

Human Pillar/Wizard

Might - 18
Constitution - 7
Dexterity - 7
Perception - 18
Intelligence - 9
Resolve - 19

He is not the best tank nor the best DPS but he is pretty fun and always active. He is a front line heavy armor tank with insta-cast wizard spells who can nuke (hard) every now and then. Despite the low con, he is hard to kill and can stand side by side with Edar on the front lines. He does not need to run like a chicken though I do use him for flanking. In a defensive pinch, I have a ton of fast cast spells for support such as level 1 spirit shield and wizard double or level 2 mirror image. I can also summon a staff (though due to cast speed and recovery, I dont do it often) and activate the defensive modal for even more melee defense. His only issue is lack of engagement which is why I still need Edar on the front line, but this guys DPS is much higher than full warrior Edar and is also a lot more single target tanky thanks to wizard spells. Be warned, he is VERY active so you should set up your team to be a bit hands off (edit their AI and select hands off classes).

Edited May 13, 2018 by marc5477

[Zargan]

Hi all,

 

I'am on my way to try the monk, too.

 

I don't want to play him as a tank nor offtank. More like assassin style without invisibility. I like to play a class with high mobility and saw that the monk have some cool skills to jump over the entire battlefield.

 

For that I thought that the shattered pillar monk should be the best choise because I don't want to have a high threat on my character. And without getting much hits I can't generate wounds.

 

At the moment I try the pure monk as a shattered pillar. Is this the best choise or should I try a multiclass too for getting some more versatility?

I'am not a pro like player and my preferences goes more the way to have fun instead of playing the perfect optimized build. So it would be ok for me to lose some dmg output when I can get more versatility for that.

 

Another question is what type of armor should I use as a non tank monk. In most cases there is a risk that my monk takes a bit damage and I dont like to be a one hit. So I think about to wear leather armor. But that makes him slow ... so...?

 

Thanks a lot.

[baldurs_gate_2]

Hi all,

 

I'am on my way to try the monk, too.

 

I don't want to play him as a tank nor offtank. More like assassin style without invisibility. I like to play a class with high mobility and saw that the monk have some cool skills to jump over the entire battlefield.

 

For that I thought that the shattered pillar monk should be the best choise because I don't want to have a high threat on my character. And without getting much hits I can't generate wounds.

 

At the moment I try the pure monk as a shattered pillar. Is this the best choise or should I try a multiclass too for getting some more versatility?

I'am not a pro like player and my preferences goes more the way to have fun instead of playing the perfect optimized build. So it would be ok for me to lose some dmg output when I can get more versatility for that.

 

Another question is what type of armor should I use as a non tank monk. In most cases there is a risk that my monk takes a bit damage and I dont like to be a one hit. So I think about to wear leather armor. But that makes him slow ... so...?

 

Thanks a lot.

Shattered Pillar has a 5 Wound limit, so turning wheel is not so good (+1 INT for each wound). I would play him without a subclass. Flagellant's Path is a very good skill. You can dash through enemies in line. Later on you will only use whispers of the wind. No Multiclass. I played with him solo on classic and most of the time it was pretty easy. High Might / Dex / Perception. Normal Con and Resolve und dump INT. Thats only good for swift flurry.

Edited May 22, 2018 by baldurs_gate_2

[KDubya]

Shattered Pillar fan here

 

Comments based on PotD companion party.

 

Turning Wheel does fine with the limit of five wounds, +25% damage is plenty. Especially with a pure class as you get so many Monk abilities that you can 'waste' one on Turning Wheel. Even at just two wounds it adds as much damage as a Fighters Weapon Specialization and lashes are better than damage buffs.

 

For stats I'd keep everything at ten and not dump.

 

Might - 10 or 15 - all your Transcendent Suffering buffs to fist damage are percentages so they just sum up with your Might instead of increasing the base damage like in PoE.

Con - 10 more is nice but run out of points. Plus focus firing alpha gun volleys can drop you very quickly

Dex - 15 - faster actions are always good

Per - 18 - hitting is important as is finding traps and hidden areas. None of the companions can serve this purpose  and you get a nice weakened on crit ability so more crits is good.

Int - 15 or 10 - more duration and bigger AoE for Torments is good. Also gives some good dialogue options

Res - 10 - you could dump some and compensate with Clarity of Agony usage but its up to you.

 

Shattered Pillars exist to spam out abilities so spend them on your Torment's, Efficient Anguish, Thunderous Blows and Clarity. 

[Porcelyn]

I'm also going to play a shattered pillar but I have no idea what weapons would be good to use.

[Voltron]

I'm also going to play a shattered pillar but I have no idea what weapons would be good to use.

 

Fists. If you want to use weapons on monk- swords or sabers as there is most of them (unique ones) in game and they have some nasty dual wield combos.

[KDubya]

I'm also going to play a shattered pillar but I have no idea what weapons would be good to use.

 

If you are going pure monk I'd go with fists. They have higher base damage than the hardest hitting one handers and attack at the speed of the fastest one handers. Fist damage is based on power level so pure class gets more as does a Nature's Godlike.

 

Multiclass will do less than a pure class but can have some abilities like Soul Whip, Sneak Attack, or Carnage that can make up the difference.

[Bugged Wolf Companion]

Nature Godlike Shattered Pillar:

 

Might: 16

Con: 15

Dex: 19

Perception: 17

Int: 7

Res: 4

 

After personal testing i found an Int value of 7 to be the sweet spot regarding tradeoffs in duration/range. Turning Wheel gives a huge bonus to Int so i dont recommend speecing a lot into it.

 

For Reference my whole party together excluding my monk did 133k damage. My monk alone did 266k.

[Nimishim]

So far, I am enjoying this build:  

[Zargan]

Shattered Pillar fan here

 

Comments based on PotD companion party.

 

Turning Wheel does fine with the limit of five wounds, +25% damage is plenty. Especially with a pure class as you get so many Monk abilities that you can 'waste' one on Turning Wheel. Even at just two wounds it adds as much damage as a Fighters Weapon Specialization and lashes are better than damage buffs.

 

For stats I'd keep everything at ten and not dump.

 

Might - 10 or 15 - all your Transcendent Suffering buffs to fist damage are percentages so they just sum up with your Might instead of increasing the base damage like in PoE.

Con - 10 more is nice but run out of points. Plus focus firing alpha gun volleys can drop you very quickly

Dex - 15 - faster actions are always good

Per - 18 - hitting is important as is finding traps and hidden areas. None of the companions can serve this purpose  and you get a nice weakened on crit ability so more crits is good.

Int - 15 or 10 - more duration and bigger AoE for Torments is good. Also gives some good dialogue options

Res - 10 - you could dump some and compensate with Clarity of Agony usage but its up to you.

 

Shattered Pillars exist to spam out abilities so spend them on your Torment's, Efficient Anguish, Thunderous Blows and Clarity. 

 

Hi,

 

sounds good. Thanks. )

 

Do you think it could be viable to multiclass with chanter like "shattered pillar/troubadour" for some "nice to have" passive utilities to get a little bit more survivability as a shattered pillar? I thought it should be easier to stay unnoticed behind the enemies and dont get hitted while my tank gets all the attention. xD

 

Or do you think that is way too much experimental for a casual like me?

 

Thanks again!

[KDubya]

 

Shattered Pillar fan here

 

Comments based on PotD companion party.

 

Turning Wheel does fine with the limit of five wounds, +25% damage is plenty. Especially with a pure class as you get so many Monk abilities that you can 'waste' one on Turning Wheel. Even at just two wounds it adds as much damage as a Fighters Weapon Specialization and lashes are better than damage buffs.

 

For stats I'd keep everything at ten and not dump.

 

Might - 10 or 15 - all your Transcendent Suffering buffs to fist damage are percentages so they just sum up with your Might instead of increasing the base damage like in PoE.

Con - 10 more is nice but run out of points. Plus focus firing alpha gun volleys can drop you very quickly

Dex - 15 - faster actions are always good

Per - 18 - hitting is important as is finding traps and hidden areas. None of the companions can serve this purpose  and you get a nice weakened on crit ability so more crits is good.

Int - 15 or 10 - more duration and bigger AoE for Torments is good. Also gives some good dialogue options

Res - 10 - you could dump some and compensate with Clarity of Agony usage but its up to you.

 

Shattered Pillars exist to spam out abilities so spend them on your Torment's, Efficient Anguish, Thunderous Blows and Clarity. 

 

Hi,

 

sounds good. Thanks. )

 

Do you think it could be viable to multiclass with chanter like "shattered pillar/troubadour" for some "nice to have" passive utilities to get a little bit more survivability as a shattered pillar? I thought it should be easier to stay unnoticed behind the enemies and dont get hitted while my tank gets all the attention. xD

 

Or do you think that is way too much experimental for a casual like me?

 

Thanks again!

 

 

Anything is viable, even on PotD with a full group of story companions. Solo is another animal though, I don't go for solo as it requires cheese but YMMV. If you find something fun go ahead and try it, worse case you re-start.

 

Not sure a Shattered Pillar/Troubadour staying in the back would be all that synergistic. The Shattered Pillar needs to cause damage in melee to generate wounds, not sure if that works with Long Pain ranged fists.

 

A Skald mix would work with both benefitting from melee damage and crits. A Beckoner would not be optimal as the Monk doesn't get any group buffs that'd help the summons. A Troubadour used in melee range would work but their benefits don't require or benefit from close proximity to the enemy.

 

Once you get a few levels under you the risk of getting alpha striked goes down a bunch. Early on you'd need illusion spells (Trickster, Wizard, Priest of Wael) or a pumped up constitution to avoid the firing squad.