Beriel

https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/106214-class-build-sorcerer-elemental-arsenal/ I'm thorn between calling it the Avatar or Earth Wind and Fire. It's good enough for PotD and probably some of the challenges.

Tried it. Repeatedly. I really overhauled my playstyle to go from normal and "letting the AI work" to PotD and micromanaging and I read extensively on this forum to find advice, and I just don't like Slicken. Plus even with homemade AI Eder and Pallegina ALWAYS end up in it and I'm out of walls for this squishy guy, it just doesn't feel party play friendly.

I didn't list slicken because despite reading repeatedly how good a spell it was, I never liked it nor did it do good for me too compared to a fleet feet and chill fog opener, which was pretty awesome for the first 9 levels.

Sorcerer, Fury edition Wizard : No Subclass Druid : Fury Version : 3.0.1 Difficulty : PotD Solo : untested, unlikely. After my first sorcerer run I decided do away with the niceties, I realised that I was using only half the spells I had, some of them I had used about once in the entire run, and PEN was a real pain in the ass for the later third of the game. Race : Any, I played Aumauna Background : Rauatai & Scholar (or one of the other giving Metaphysics) Skills : Metaphysics and Athletics Stats : MIG : 16 CON : 8 DEX : 12 PER : 18 INT : 16 RES : 8 To be boosted with Gift of the Machine, Effigy Ressentment, Cauldron Brew, Savage Cunning (I wanted to go all PER but I forgot to change effigy, so it was DEX) Grimoire : Ninagauth’s Weapons : dagger and medium shield (start), Cadhu Scalth (Old City) & Griffin’s Blade (Random encounter Neketara), Chromoprismatic Staff (Nemnok) Armor : Aloth’s Leather Armor Rings : Kuaru's Prize (Huana Quest line), Ring of Greater Regeneration (Brass Citadel Shop) Gloves : Firethrower’s Gloves (Berath’s Blessing Merchant or Ashen Maw) Belt : The Undying Burden (Delver’s Row Shop) Boots : Leaping Boots or Footprints of Ahu Taka (Whenaru Cleft) Headgear : Horn of the Bleak Mother (or any +PER) Necklace : Protective Eothasian Charm (Gorecci Street) Cloak : Cloak of Greater Protection or Shroud of the Phantasm (Berkerna’s Observatory) Abilites: Free (f), picked upon leveling (p), Grimoires (g). Abilities I won't use are unmentioned. lvl 1: Dancing Bolts (f), Chill fog (p), Sunbeam (p) lvl 2 : Fleet Feet lvl 3 : ADL (p) lvl 4 : Infuse with Vital Essence (p), Burst of Summer Flame (f), Insect Swarm (p) lvl 5 : Weapon and Shield Style (p) lvl 6 : Automn Decay (p) I didn’t write in Burst of Summer Flame at the beginning, but that’s because I didn’t notice the cast time. It’s a great little instant damage button, sometimes Insect Swarm is not the right spell. lvl 7 : Returning Storm (f), Infestation of Maggots (p), Expose Vulnerabilities,(p), Ninagauth's Death Ray (g), Fireball (g) lvl 8 : Llengrath’s Displaced Image (p) lvl 9 : Combat Focus (p) lvl 10 : Hail Storm (f), Calling the World's Maw (p), Ninagauth's Shadowflame (g), Secrets of Rime (p) lvl 11 : Overwhelming Wave (p) lvl 12 : Heart of the Storm (p) Hail Storm is not great except for its massive AOE, I enjoyed using it as a out of stealth opener. lvl 13 : Plague of Insects (p), Relentless Storm (f), Rapid Casting (p), Ninagauth's Bitter Mooring (g) lvl 14 : Embrace the Earth Talon (p) lvl 15 : Llengrath's Safeguard (p) lvl 16 : Sunlance (f), Venombloom (p), Death Ring (g), Ninagauth's Freezing Pillar (g), Gaze of the Adragan's (p) lvl 17 : Scion of Flame lvl 18 : Spirit of Decay lvl 19 : Rusted Armor (p), Tayn's Chaotic Orb (p), Ninagauth's Killing Bolt (g) lvl 20 : Accurate Empower This is not a difficult build. Stay back, buff, throw a Stun/Blind/Paralyse, look for the smallest AR/Defense rating, cast, repeat. Plenty of room for adaptation, no grimoire/weapon switching, no PL to keep track of. The last quarter of the game was spent casting CC in a chain and watching every possible ennemy getting their ass helplessly handed to them by Eder and Maia, while still having the highest dps.

I'm not a great player or builder or anything but I thought the Sorcerer needed some love I'll just post a new topic for the Fury one and let this one die, it's not bad but it doesn't feel good enough to be a reference.

finished the main quests, just BoW & the 3.0 content to do but the build is having too much trouble with spell PEN in the last quarter of the game, I've got another Fury based with better PEN sorcerer that I'm currently playing, should I post it here? another post? or should I finish the game first?

Thanks for your input Manveru, however since I knew about Teheku's prowess and did not ask for a companion but for building help, this is not exactly on topic.

OK, so after checking the only subclass that doesn't lose AP for spells I don't want compared to Animist is shifter... Not what I was looking for, so it stays Animist. Also, went over all the druid and wizard spells again and I am going to make a few changes, finished (albeit untested) version soon, with more PER (I'm really going to need all the accuracy I can get).

Thanks for all those comments, a few answers; - I really wanted to get Ninagauth's Shadowflame, fireball with paralysed is awesome, but Spore-Loated got all the spells I like/wanted on a wizard, and it feels a bit of a pain to get a Grimoire switch just to get one spell, albeit a very cool one. - The goal here is a druid caster focused on damage and CC, and the 8/9 levels on druid don't feel very good for that, thus multiclassing with wizard for more spells and utilities. - Lifegiver doesn't really lose anything and gets better healing spells, however the heals are not the focus here. I didn't check if I could get a similar spell selection while taking Lifegiver. Same thing for Fury but with better PEN, I really need to check if it works, will edit today, however the point of the build is that I don't have to worry about PEN if I always have a spell that focuses on the enemy weakness. - I have not given the shifting mechanic much thought, on test I picked the antelope for additionnal defenses but I might want to take bear for emergencies... I could really use advice on that one. Your cat combo sounds cool, and it would free points, but I worry, what happens if I shift back and the enemy is still not dead with my lowered action speed? - Two things; first your sorcerer and mine don't seem to have the same starting point; I want a druid with more, you seem to have got an evoker nuker with druid spells. Both cool, but different (I also seem to focus more on CC than you are? Just an impression). Second, we don't use the same spells, I don't favor DAoM because I'm already squishy and I feel fast enough from the DEX (I do inted to pick some items, probably similar ones). Additionnaly, I just don't trust the party AI with AOE spells that are not FOE only. A badly placed Chill Fog (looking at you Aloth è_é) can really wreck the party, so I'll have more hands down control on that guy.

The -mostly- finished version, in testing, of Waethir the mean. Version: 2.1, POTD Compatible, Solo run untested. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sorcerer: Animist / Wizard (No Subclass) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A magical dps that focus on dmg, CC, Debuff and general unpleasantness. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Race: Nature Godlike ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mystic Background ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Might: 15 Con: 8 Dex: 14 (+1 NG) Per: 15 (+1 NG, +1 White that Wends) Int: 15 Res: 8 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Skills: Metaphysics (for the Chromatic Staff), Sneak and Sleight of Hand (for fluff) or any you want. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Weapon Focus: Medium Shield, Dagger, Staff, Flail ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spellbooks: Ninagauth's Grimoire & Snakeskin Grimoire ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spirit Form: Stag ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Abilites: Free (f), picked upon leveling (p), Grimoires (g). Abilities I won't use from the grimoire are unmentioned. lvl 1: Sunbeam (f), Chill fog (p), Nature's Mark (p) lvl 2 : Fleet Feet (p, replace once you get DAoM) lvl 3 : Talon's Reach (p, replace with Touch of Rot later) Slicken (g) Sunbeam and Chill Fog both blind, but don't deal the same dmg/target the same defense. Nature's Mark makes Sunbeam and Talon's Reach hit easier. Talon's Reach got great early dmg, but will be replaced with Touch of Rot for additionnal DOT dmg to synergize with Combust wounds. Fleet Footed will be replaced by Arkemyr Dazzling Lights. lvl 4 : The Moon's Light (f), Infuse with Vital Essence (p), Insect Swarm (p) lvl 5 : Automn Decay (p) lvl 6 : Combust Wounds (p) Could pick Combust Wounds earlier but felt like I needed enough DOT to make it worthwhile (YMMV). At this point I rush to Neketara to do the Arkemyr Manor and get my grimoires and some items. lvl 7 : Returning Storm (f), Infestation of Maggots (p), Llendrath's Displaced Image (p), Arduous Delay of Motion (g), Ninagauth's Death Ray (g), Noxious Burst (g) lvl 8 : Deleterious Alacracity of Motion (p) lvl 9 : Expose Vulnerabilities (p) lvl 10 : Conjure Blight (f), Moonwell (p), Heart of the Storm (p), Ninagauth's Shadowflame (g), Ironskin (g) lvl 11 : Calling the world's Maw (p) lvl 12 : Form of the Delemgan (p) Here I got Nannasin's Cobra Strike. It doesn't work that well with the build, but I must try it once to see if it's as cool as it seems. lvl 13 : Plague of Insects (f), Relentless Storm (p), Rapid Casting (p), Ryngrim's Enervating Terror (g), Malignant Cloud (g), Ninagauth's Bitter Mooring (g) lvl 14 : Embrace the Earth Talon (p) lvl 15 : Llengrath's Safeguard (p) lvl 16 : Sunlance (f), Venombloom (p), Death Ring (g x2), Ninagauth's Freezing Pillar (g), Gaze of the Adragan's (g) lvl 17 : ? lvl 18 : ? Another two slots I'm not sure how to fill. I already got all the spells I wanted, so either more spells (if I missed something important, do tell) or passives. lvl 19 : Lashing Vine (f) Nature's Bounty (p), Lasting Empower (p), Tayn's Chaotic Orb (g), Ninagauth's Killing Bolt (g) lvl 20 : Potent Empower ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Equipments! Weapons: Dagger and Medium Shield at first for the increased defense using the modals (only if I read correctly and the additionnal recovery time is only for weapons), then options are; The Spine of Thicket Green, Chromoprismatic Quarterstaff, Magran's Favor or Watershaper Focus & Sun and Moon, Griffin's Blade, The Eye of Wael are all going to be in my bag. Griffin's Blade and Chromoprismatic Quaterstaff have my preference however. Armor: Aloth's Leather Armor, Miscreant Leather, Effigy Husk or Spider Silk Robe all feel like good choices. Gloves: Firethrower's Gloves Neck: Baubles of the Fin, Charm of Bones or Stone of Power Rings: Kuaru's Prize, Ring of Greater Regeneration Cloak: Ajamuut's Stalking Cloak Belt: The Undying Burden Shoes: Footprints of Ahu Taka This build plays pretty easely; Buff up, throw a spell that include Crowd Control or Debuff that your enemy is weak against, throw a few DOT spells, add Combust Wounds and wrap up with Infestation of Maggots. Although I included more defensive spells and items, it's still pretty damn fragile and qualifies for the crystal chekhov armory. I intend to have a pretty amoral POE1 backstory to have Effigy ressentment (CoC). This build can Blind, Stun, Petrify, Sicken, Weaken, reduce defences and attributes... I hope I'll make Galawain proud.

Hmm, there's a Priest of Berath/Animist build on the forum but it's a support/debuff more than a dps... Corrode/Decay/Rot spells for a mean nature guy sounds like something I'd enjoy playing (in a melt your face while smiling sort of way), but there's so many spells in this game x) I guess it's reading time for me.

Raw damage and ilness spreading sounds great, I'm looking it up right now. So many spells though, any rule of thumb I should follow with an evil caster druid?

OK, thanks a lot for the advice. During my run I had Eder, Seraphen, Xoti and Teheku and with those last two buffs I didn't have such a thing as a squishy character, but I worry it won't hold at higher difficulties, Devoted/Troubadour could tank with a little help from Xoti, and once Teheku could cast Returning Storm and Avenging Storm, the fights got really easy since everything was stunned. So I can't build an evil poison druid caster? *disappointment*

I was playing on normal difficulty to discover the quests and story, will probably up to Veteran afterwards. Streetfighter/Sharpshooter would be a good equilibrum of damage and penetration then? Should I go with 16 DEX/ 16 PER/ 16 INT and then boost those with a buffer and items? The Devoted special bonuses and Fighter passives are really nice though, with those recovery and deflection malus, wouldn't I have a harder time in early game? Thanks for the info Manveru but the build was around the Blunderbusses, so changing weapons wouldn't be in my interest ˆˆ. I had 13 PEN before any spell, and was using the shield cracks, so I pretty much never had PEN problems (and could switch to fists if I really needed crush damage). Anything on those Poison Keyword spells? I was thinking of doing a Evil caster run, and +5 Poison Level seems real nice...

Hi everyone, So I've picked up the game and I'm having a blast with it, I've just finished my second run... And I'm itching for more! However I've been trying to wrap my head around the finer mechanics of the game and there are things I'm still not sure about. I've done this run (I'm roleplaying to a certain extent but I like to maximise build efficiency) with this Orlan frontal shooter, using Seraphen's Handmortar and Fire in the Hole (cajole your friends, threaten others, blow **** up was my style, good times). I've picked Orlan for the situationnal crit bonus, and went with tons of Perception for high crit ratio (I'd crit 75% of the time by the end), however Eder had nearly 20k more damage by the end (he was a swashbuckler with two sabers, Min's Fortune and Grave Calling) than my char. I used Devoted/Troubadour build for the sure handed Ila, that +15% Burn dmg song and the Drake summon, but I'm wondering if Bleakwalker wouldn't have been a better choice, or if I should have handed singing duty to another char... More build Info: Sats: Might 10, Endurance 10, Dex 16, Perception 18, Int 12, Res 10 (with Berath Blessing) In combat with buffs and Items my Per would reach 30, my weapons speed 0.7/2.0 I focused on passives in my build (Weapon spec, Armored Grace, Affliction Resistance, Two Weapon Fighting etc.) I was wearing Devil of Caroc armor, ring of marksmanship, that ranged weapon hood and stuff with Per/Dex bonuses or Affliction resistance bonuses. My questions are: Could this be done better? Is there some kind of accuracy sweet spot I could have stopped at (I had around 110 each hand by the end), should I have focused less on perception and more on other things like INT for AOE or Dex for even faster attacks? Should I have gone Devoted/Bleakwalker and gotten Teheku to sing Sure Handed Ila? I don't understand the mechanics to do the math myself ˆˆ Secondary Question: I've found those cool items that give + Poison Power Level, but there isn't a single spell with that descriptor AFAIK. Is this intended? Is there a list somewhere? Thanks in advance for your patience and help