Do you find Devoted worth it (question for people who got far in game)

[Haplok]

Sure, they are a pretty great class. Not a prime DPS material... but prime material for various multiclasses, which can include DPS.

Edited September 19, 2018 by Haplok

[Lampros]

Sure, they are a pretty great class. Not a prime DPS material... but prime material for various multiclasses, which can include DPS.

 

What would you consider the main DPS classes then - melee-wise (I don't enjoy ranged combat)?

[Haplok]

Rogues.

 

Long nothing.

 

Then Monks

 

Then Berserkers

Edited September 19, 2018 by Haplok

[Boeroer]

That also depends. On multiclass synergies for example.

 

I'm playing a Nalpasca/Berserker at the moment (hireling) and am pretty amazed by the overall usefulness but also by the damage output.

 

The combination of high INT and Berserker-Frenzy + Stalwart Defiance = powerful Wound Generation (aided by Enduring Dance and drugs) is giving wound so fast that I can't spent them quickly enough. Rooting Pain is triggering all the time but I'm still at 9-10 wounds all the time. In addition I have some Barbaric Smashes as nice finisher (combined with Bloody Slaughter and Death Godlike - good for fists!). The crit rate is nice for Swift Flurry and Heartbeat Drumming (which works with the AoE cone). The damage is pretty damn awesome. I'm using WotEP as main weapon because the cone is very big with Duality:INT and a big cone hits many enemies which help trigger Swift Flurry/Heartbeat Drumming. 

 

Then melee usefulness is not always = dps. I'm also playing an Assassin/Priest of Skaen with Oathbreaker's End and Assassin's Boots. Man this is fun! You get plenty of invisibility uses which lets you deal awesome bursts (especially with Assassinate + Backstab + Devastating Blow). The dps is not high because you alternate between attacking and being invisible, positioning for the perfect strike - but the enemies can't fight back so who cares. I'm clearing whole groups with that guy alone: sneak in, Arterial Strike, Devastating Blow: kill *pouf* invisible, Arterial Strike, Devastating Blow : kill *Shadowing Beyond*, Arterial Strike... and so on until I have only 1 Shadowing Beyond left which I use to retreat and end encounter. Rinse and repeat. Plays like a different game. And on top you are a full blown priest with Devotions and stuff!

Edited September 19, 2018 by Boeroer

[Teclis23]

Rogues and monks are probably equal in terms of effectiveness . I would even say monks are stronger then rogues.

 

Beserkerers have some some significant and frustrating penalties. Hidden health, confused and raw damage are to much for me and I avoid berserkers simply because you don’t need them. You will do fine with a plain barb.

 

Don’t forget wizard multis make good melee guys aswel

[Haplok]

Sounds neat. Though I believe the Nalpasca/Berserker will be quite fragile. Even if he can run Blade Turning, ranged focus fire would spell his doom quickly?

Not quite as fragile as a Helwalker / Berserker though...

[Boeroer]

Yes, at the beginning he drops all the time. You need to provide healing. But once you get Savage Defiance it gets a lot better (also because it lasts a looong time because of Duality:INT). And you can stack some regeneration like rings and Whiteleaf (quite good with high alchemy and MIG). Whiteleaf can be emulated with the Sopul Void amulet (gives you a Whiteleaf trip after rest) if you want to spare drugs. At some point I had so many drugs that I used another amulet though.

 

In this case the Berserker's self damage is a feature: it generates tons of wounds but doesn't break Dance of Death (later Enduring Dance). And the Confusion I quickly circumvent with the Devil's Breastplate. This is also great because you'll get +2 Mortification and +2 Rage.And another source of regeneration... 

Edited September 19, 2018 by Boeroer

[Haplok]

On DoC I typically take Self-Mending. +2 AR when Blooded seems more valuable to me then a weaksauce self-heal on crit.

[Boeroer]

In this case I don't get hit too often (Force of Anguish or Stunning Sruge + cone is great) but the problem is the raw self damage. +2 AR does nothing against it (in my special case). THat's why I chose the regeneration on this guy.

Edited September 19, 2018 by Boeroer

[dunehunter]

On DoC I typically take Self-Mending. +2 AR when Blooded seems more valuable to me then a weaksauce self-heal on crit.

 

The problem with Self Mending is, it's proc on bloodied, and gone when >50% hp, so if u go bloodied and instantly healed, the self mending buff is off, and it's not unlimited, it's twice per encounter. So unless u are able to stay alive at bloodied without healing or dying, it's not so good. 

[Haplok]

I have wondered about its limitations, but didn't know how it works. Thank you.

[Hulk'O'Saurus]

'Are devoted worth it?'

 

Yeah.

 

Personally I'd always like to sub something caster-y with a Devoted, but you're always proficient with your fists, too, so Monastic Training is a good option. I really like single-handling a Sabre and chain Mule Kick because it doesn't miss.  

[peolone]

That also depends. On multiclass synergies for example.

 

I'm playing a Nalpasca/Berserker at the moment (hireling) and am pretty amazed by the overall usefulness but also by the damage output.

 

The combination of high INT and Berserker-Frenzy + Stalwart Defiance = powerful Wound Generation (aided by Enduring Dance and drugs) is giving wound so fast that I can't spent them quickly enough. Rooting Pain is triggering all the time but I'm still at 9-10 wounds all the time. In addition I have some Barbaric Smashes as nice finisher (combined with Bloody Slaughter and Death Godlike - good for fists!). The crit rate is nice for Swift Flurry and Heartbeat Drumming (which works with the AoE cone). The damage is pretty damn awesome. I'm using WotEP as main weapon because the cone is very big with Duality:INT and a big cone hits many enemies which help trigger Swift Flurry/Heartbeat Drumming. 

 

What do you think of Torment's Reach in this setup? Does the AoE damage proc more than once if you hit more targets with the cone attack of WotEP or is it considered a separate roll which has nothing to do with the primary attack?

Edited September 19, 2018 by peolone

[Boeroer]

Torment's Reach only procs off of the initial hit it seems. So no AoE² stuff. That works with Spirit Lance but not with WotEP. Still a nice combo since both are cones and you can pretty much deal dual AoE damage + stun with one attack. Torment's Reach cone is much bigger (more length) though.

[peolone]

Torment's Reach only procs off of the initial hit it seems. So no AoE² stuff. That works with Spirit Lance but not with WotEP. Still a nice combo since both are cones and you can pretty much deal dual AoE damage + stun with one attack. Torment's Reach cone is much bigger (more length) though.

 

Schade. I'm now playing a similar build to yours; my plan for the endgame is to spam Torment's Reach + Engoliero do Espirs and to stick with Eager Blade until I get Engoliero. But now I'm torn between Eager Blade and WotEP. Do you think that WotEP will perform better?

[Boeroer]

That totally depends how you play your monk. For example it can be very good to run around and take out single threats like caster asap with Force of Anguish and Barbaric Blow. In this case fists or Eager Blade or so would be better.

 

If you like to flank a bunch of enemies and like to Torment the heck ot of them then WotEP is unmatched I think (except when using Citzel's but that can't happen on a Monk/Berserker).

 

But hey - nothing prevents you from using both: Giftbearer's Cloth is a nice cloak anyway and you can use fists as backup, Eager Blade as main and WotEP for the situations where you wish to do more AoE dmg/CC.

 

Engolio is crass. Everything that kills (and is of your origin) will trigger Ghost Blades. It's a blast with Blood Thirst (only lvl 19 though). BUT: I did a quick test with some bowling pins (aka cre_dummies) and compared Engolio vs WotEP: The speed at which I can kill them all is higher with the WotEP. Of course that is because they don't move and I can always hit all of them (which is the optimal situation for the WotEP). But it shows that when it comes to AoE dmg the WotEP is great until the endgame on such a character. Maybe also because you have a double chance to apply Blood Frenzy with Torment's Reach? Didn't analyze that in depth. Also the reach is nice for cramped up spaces.

 

But all in all Engolio is maybe better because unlike WotEP it's also a good weapon against single targets. So you spare yourself switching and all (except when meeting pierce immune foes).

 

By the way: Ripple Sponge + Sated Ravenous Soul Hunger are a nice match - combined they give you +3 to all stats. Sadly Ripple Sponge's bonus to INT gets suppressed by Duality:INT.

Edited September 20, 2018 by Boeroer

[Haplok]

With the new melee Accuracy stacking boosts Ranger gets in 3.0 beta (against an enemy race/type?), I wonder if that class won't become the king of critical hit rate. Wonder how well that would go with Monk Swift Flurry/Heartbeat & multihit WotEP. The Accuracy (& Defense or Damage) stacks would quickly cap with a multihit weapon...

[peolone]

Thanks a lot. I play him as a flanker who does AoE damage, as I have already an assassin/ghostheart in my party who jumps around and backstabs casters. I'll forge WotEP and use eager blade as backup.

[dunehunter]

With the new melee Accuracy stacking boosts Ranger gets in 3.0 beta (against an enemy race/type?), I wonder if that class won't become the king of critical hit rate. Wonder how well that would go with Monk Swift Flurry/Heartbeat & multihit WotEP. The Accuracy (& Defense or Damage) stacks would quickly cap with a multihit weapon...

 

It heavily favors multiple class imo, because almost all other class have a way to boost damage bonus, but lack efficient way to boost accuracy. And rangers are so good at it.

[Boeroer]

I guess all AoE weapons will be pretty great with Hunter's Claw (and upgrades) because it stacks per hit - and AoE weapons produce a lot of hits in a short time.

 

I also suspect that blunderbusses and Frostseeker will work nicely because they stack the ACC bonus pretty fast (multi-projectile)?

Edited September 20, 2018 by Boeroer

[Elric Galad]

I guess all AoE weapons will be pretty great with Hunter's Claw (and upgrades) because it stacks per hit - and AoE weapons produce a lot of hits in a short time.

 

I also suspect that blunderbusses and Frostseeker will work nicely because they stack the ACC bonus pretty fast (multi-projectile)?

The real question is : what happens when you hit 2 different races with initial shot ? Edited September 20, 2018 by Elric Galad

[JerekKruger]

The real question is : what happens when you hit 2 different races with initial shot ?

Easy: suppose you hit both a beast and a wilder. You then get +1 Accuracy vs. Beasts when attacking Wilders, and +1 Accuracy vs. Wilders when attacking Beasts. It's great!

[Haplok]

I guess all AoE weapons will be pretty great with Hunter's Claw (and upgrades) because it stacks per hit - and AoE weapons produce a lot of hits in a short time.

 

I also suspect that blunderbusses and Frostseeker will work nicely because they stack the ACC bonus pretty fast (multi-projectile)?

My understanding is that those abilities to gain stacks are melee only. Edited September 20, 2018 by Haplok

[Boeroer]

Really? On a ranger?

[Elric Galad]

Really? On a ranger?

 

The great return of the Drizzt trope has already been celebrated with a parade of whirling striking dervish with dual sabers.

 

I guess some Riptide brought them to PoE.