Post by Nathan on Feb 18, 2017 16:52:36 GMT -5
Before reading this post it is important to note that:
Special thanks to John Robinson for posting the character progression tables/worksheets! If not for those tables, there's no way I could have put this together, as I used those tables to plan and track my characters' development.
Generalizations/Realizations:
My play/build style, prioritizes accuracy above all else. If you don't hit your target, all of the hit bonuses are irrelevant (critical, critical damage+, elemental damage, etc), and if you are not hitting, you're not killing, which means you're being attacked more.
I wanted each character to be able to reliably deal damage to a single target.
Armor didn’t play as much of a role in damage reduction as I thought it would
Somewhere along the way I learned the difference between Will and Knowledge pertaining to spell/magic defense
Vraes
Summary:
Stats: Not much changed. Going forward I'm planning to alternate between Int and Wil until I have enough SP (Int 9-ish), then either dumping 4 points into Dex, or all remaining into Wil… I'm thinking the Wil will pay off more than the 4 Dex/3 Dodge.
Skills: The primary change here was sacrificing Lore for Leadership to accommodate new Talent choices.
Initially, I couldn't decide between Blades and Polearms which is why I raised them in parallel. Now that I had the smith make the 1-H spear (well after this respec), it's a matter of maxing out Polearms then alternating between Leadership and Lore... whatever's left (if anything) will go into Blades.
I decided against Hammers early on because they seemed to miss much more often than the other two weapon-types.
Talents: I dropped Stone Skin in favor of Phalanx Shield - the add armor and HP from Stone Skin didn't pay off as much as I expected - Even with an armor value 2-3 times Kjartan, it seemed the difference in damage received was negligible. Kjartan saw larger damage spikes, but the majority of hits seemed relatively close.
Only 3 points into Burst of Speed, and will probably stay there - with the movement boosts from Juggernaut it seems unnecessary.
I've since added 1 point into Berserk Rage. After maxing out Juggernaut, I will max out Ferocity - Reason being that I had the smith make the 1-H spear... if I had gone with the armor, I would have chosen Berserk Rage instead of Ferocity.
Notes:
Due to his versatility, I had a difficult time deciding how I wanted to set Vraes up.
(1-H + Shield vs 2-H vs Dual wield)
Because of this, I couldn't justify putting points into Phalanx Shield. After the respec, and based on how I use him, dropping Stone Skin for Phalanx Shield was definitely the right choice.
Additionally, it seemed like the damage output per turn across the set up options was fairly balanced, so the added defensive bonus of the shield made that setup much more appealing.
Natural Mastery just seemed like a must… more accuracy, more defense, and a little more damage for every Vraes setup.
To me it seems that Phalanx Shield and Natural Mastery are his best core talents. After that, it's just a matter of deciding True Tank, Glass Cannon, or something in between.
Kjartan
Summary:
The respec was primarily to focus/prioritize.
Stats: Swapped some Wil to boost Con. The Intent now is to max Kno, then Wil, then… put points into Dex, Con (in pairs) or Int as needed, likely in that order… With this build, it's doubtful that any points will go into Int.
Skills: Not much change here.. Max Sorcery, now it's just to decide how high to raise Conjuring vs Polearms - buff/debuff duration vs melee defense (which he shouldn't have to do… often)
Talents: Initially I couldn't decide what to focus on, so tried a little bit of everything.
I dropped Pureflame Shield because the armor and elemental defense bonuses didn't seem to matter much, in favor of a maxed out Burning Blades (great choice in my opinion - the extra damage and critical chance was immediately noticed).
I also chose to drop Firestorm and Immolation in favor of maxing out Choking Ash.
After maxing Firebolt, I'll max Immolation... then... maybe Firestorm.
I chose Immolation over Firestorm for the critical bonus, and reduced SP cost... Kjartan is built to set everyone else up to deal damage, so might as well optimize it.
Notes:
I don't see the benefit to his remaining 3 talents:
Tamlin
Summary:
The respec was primarily to gain back a few misplaces points.
Stats: Swapped some Wil, Int & Kno to boost Con. Most remaining points will go into Wil, with some in Int… also debating 4 more into Con (4 or 0)
Skills: Not much changed here. The plan is to focus on Bow and Throw, then probably put the rest into Lore
Talents: Not much change here either. The plan now is to max Aimed Shot, then bring Ranged Onslaught up to 9, and debating between boosting Torrent of Steel or Blacknight for the rest.
Notes:
The reason for pulling the point out of Precision Pick was because I realized that no lock requires more than level 1 to unlock.
The reason for leaving the 2 points in Disarming Touch is because earlier in the game I found myself in battles where the ability to disarm multiple traps with a single action was useful, but lately I have not found myself in that type of situation. I am considering another respec to get the 2 points out of Disarming Touch so I can put them into Torrent of Steel or Blacknight.
I left 3 points in Farsight because I find that talent useful for battle planning and preventing surprise back or flank attacks.
Deadly intuition is her greatest skill. It boosts all of her attacks and attack talents. I brought it to 10 before any other skill passed 2.
Kyera
Summary:
Stats: Swapped some Wil, Int & Kno to boost Con. The remaining levels will go into Wil, Kno, Int… and maybe top up Con (4 or 0). It's hard to decide because HP are always good for a secondary tank, Int means more SP and she is the one character that sucks back the SP potions, Knowledge for Banishment accuracy, and Will to raise the minimum Damage for Banishment...
... could also consider an item for the HP & SP, and go with Will & Knowledge... decisions, decisions...
Skills: Just rebalanced a little. Going forward I will Max Hammers, then Invocation, balance Conjuring, and Lore
Talents: I dropped Purifying Breeze and Holy Retribution for a maxed Warder's Shield.
Initially, I had great difficulty deciding how to build Kyera, and found that I had her way too diversified. I'm still having difficulty trying to specialize with her and finishing the build.
I've decided that her 2 must have skills are Ethereal Anguish (lvl 6) and Warder's Shield (lvl 10). I found that Banishment was more useful to this build and my play-style than Holy Retribution so I will raise it to at least 7. Then Smiting Blow (probably max) because, as a secondary tank, she always ends up face-to-face with enemies and needs a reliable close range attack. Near the end, I'll add points to either Smiting Blow, Banishment, Myshana's Tears, or Piety Ward as I see fit.
Notes:
In the early game, I didn't try Warder's Shield is because:
Maybe these 2 skills should indicate "shield required" / "shield not required"
I don't understand the need or use for Sacrifice as Kyera is the SP potion chugger. She is the only character that just can't maintain her SP.
I am seriously considering another respec where I would drop healing skills all together.
It is very tempting to try this build though.
- This post is based on my impressions and observations during my first play through, using the default party, at Normal difficulty.
- This post is not based on any logical, scientific, or mathematical tests
(hence the constant use of phrases like - "seemed like") - This respec took place immediately before entering the final battle in Ep3 for the first time.
- I tried to be as accurate as possible with the equipment on each character. It is based on my memory of the equipment I had during the time of my respec, so there may be one or two items that I acquired after my respec included in the pre-respec equipment, but it is pretty accurate.
In the tables, any equipment that is only listed in the"Pre-respec" column and right aligned was also used post-respec.
Special thanks to John Robinson for posting the character progression tables/worksheets! If not for those tables, there's no way I could have put this together, as I used those tables to plan and track my characters' development.
Generalizations/Realizations:
My play/build style, prioritizes accuracy above all else. If you don't hit your target, all of the hit bonuses are irrelevant (critical, critical damage+, elemental damage, etc), and if you are not hitting, you're not killing, which means you're being attacked more.
I wanted each character to be able to reliably deal damage to a single target.
- It seemed like the characters that dealt the killing blow received more exp.
- If an enemy is dead it can’t attack, so the ability to pick off individuals weakened by AoE attacks is important.
Armor didn’t play as much of a role in damage reduction as I thought it would
- It seemed much more effective to focus on parry and dodge
Somewhere along the way I learned the difference between Will and Knowledge pertaining to spell/magic defense
- Will is like magic armor, Knowledge is like dodge/block for spells (someone please correct me if this is wrong… I know I ignored the curse resistance aspect of Will in that statement)
Vraes
| Pre-Respec | Post-Respec | |
| Roll: | Party tank with the ability to deal steady, reliably damage. | Party tank with the ability to deal steady, reliably damage. |
| Stats: | Str 16; Dex 4; Con 15; Wil 5; Int 4; Kno 4 | Str 16; Dex 4; Con 16; Wil 5; Int 4; Kno 3 |
| Skills: | Bla 11; Ham 3; Pol 10; Lea 3; Lor 18 | Bla 9; Ham 3; Pol 10; Lea 10; Lor 13 |
| Talents: | Sav 1; Cru 1; Sto 10; BoS 5; Nat 10; Pha 1; Fer 1; | Sav 1; Cru 1; Sto 1; BoS 3; Nat 10; Pha 10; Jug 3; |
| Equipment: | ||
| Keen Cross Blade (Dual wielding) | (First) Keen Cross Blade | |
| 2AP, 6 Accuracy, 6 Parry; 51 - 96 Dmg; +8% SP Drain | 2AP, 6 Accuracy, 6 Parry; 51 - 96 Dmg; +8% SP Drain | |
| Flambard Blade (Dual wielding) | (Second) Winged Spear | |
| 3AP, 10 Accuracy, 9 Parry; 63 - 148 Dmg | 2AP, 9 Accuracy, 11 Parry; 69 - 84 Dmg | |
| OR | Keen Long Blade (switched to 2H sword) | Reflective Guard |
| 3AP, 9 Accuracy, 11 Parry; 71 - 141 Dmg; +16 Lightning Dmg | 10 Parry; Auto-blocks 9% of ranged attacks; +8 All Resists | |
| Bone Plate and Chain | ||
| 96 Armor; -3 Evasion | ||
| Righteous Mantle | ||
| +3 Accuracy, +20 Holy Dmg, +3 Parry, +3 Dodge | ||
| Crystal Boots | ||
| +6 Accuracy, +20 Dmg | ||
| Right Fist of the Barbarian | ||
| +6 Accuracy, +24 Dmg |
Summary:
Stats: Not much changed. Going forward I'm planning to alternate between Int and Wil until I have enough SP (Int 9-ish), then either dumping 4 points into Dex, or all remaining into Wil… I'm thinking the Wil will pay off more than the 4 Dex/3 Dodge.
Skills: The primary change here was sacrificing Lore for Leadership to accommodate new Talent choices.
Initially, I couldn't decide between Blades and Polearms which is why I raised them in parallel. Now that I had the smith make the 1-H spear (well after this respec), it's a matter of maxing out Polearms then alternating between Leadership and Lore... whatever's left (if anything) will go into Blades.
I decided against Hammers early on because they seemed to miss much more often than the other two weapon-types.
Talents: I dropped Stone Skin in favor of Phalanx Shield - the add armor and HP from Stone Skin didn't pay off as much as I expected - Even with an armor value 2-3 times Kjartan, it seemed the difference in damage received was negligible. Kjartan saw larger damage spikes, but the majority of hits seemed relatively close.
Only 3 points into Burst of Speed, and will probably stay there - with the movement boosts from Juggernaut it seems unnecessary.
I've since added 1 point into Berserk Rage. After maxing out Juggernaut, I will max out Ferocity - Reason being that I had the smith make the 1-H spear... if I had gone with the armor, I would have chosen Berserk Rage instead of Ferocity.
Notes:
Due to his versatility, I had a difficult time deciding how I wanted to set Vraes up.
(1-H + Shield vs 2-H vs Dual wield)
Because of this, I couldn't justify putting points into Phalanx Shield. After the respec, and based on how I use him, dropping Stone Skin for Phalanx Shield was definitely the right choice.
Additionally, it seemed like the damage output per turn across the set up options was fairly balanced, so the added defensive bonus of the shield made that setup much more appealing.
Natural Mastery just seemed like a must… more accuracy, more defense, and a little more damage for every Vraes setup.
To me it seems that Phalanx Shield and Natural Mastery are his best core talents. After that, it's just a matter of deciding True Tank, Glass Cannon, or something in between.
Kjartan
| Pre-Respec | Post-Respec | |
| Roll: | Buff/Debuff and deal steady, reliably damage. | Buff/Debuff and deal steady, reliably damage. |
| Stats: | Str 3; Dex 4; Con 6; Wil 15; Int 6; Kno 14 | Str 3; Dex 4; Con 8; Wil 13; Int 6; Kno 14 |
| Skills: | Pol 2; Sor 19; Con 12; Lor 2 | Pol 2; Sor 20; Con 11; Lor 2 |
| Talents: | Fb 8; Cho 7; Pur 10; Bur 1; Fs 2; Imm 1 | Fb 8; Cho 10; Pur 1; Bur 10; |
| Equipment: | ||
| Staff of Nahanna | ||
2AP, 4 Accuracy, 8 Parry, 31 - 56 Dmg; +40 Max HP, +280 Max SP, +4 Accuracy, +12 Dmg | ||
| Storm Robe | ||
60 Armor, +6 Evasion; +80 Max SP, +4 Accuracy, +16 Lightning Dmg, +12 All Resists | ||
| Thief's Hand | ||
| +6 Ranged Accuracy, +12% SP Drain | ||
| Fremat Dance | ||
| +2 Move Point, +2 Parry, +2 Dodge | ||
| Lone Torc | ||
| +4 Ranged Accuracy, 2% Critical, +6% SP Drain |
Summary:
The respec was primarily to focus/prioritize.
Stats: Swapped some Wil to boost Con. The Intent now is to max Kno, then Wil, then… put points into Dex, Con (in pairs) or Int as needed, likely in that order… With this build, it's doubtful that any points will go into Int.
Skills: Not much change here.. Max Sorcery, now it's just to decide how high to raise Conjuring vs Polearms - buff/debuff duration vs melee defense (which he shouldn't have to do… often)
Talents: Initially I couldn't decide what to focus on, so tried a little bit of everything.
I dropped Pureflame Shield because the armor and elemental defense bonuses didn't seem to matter much, in favor of a maxed out Burning Blades (great choice in my opinion - the extra damage and critical chance was immediately noticed).
I also chose to drop Firestorm and Immolation in favor of maxing out Choking Ash.
After maxing Firebolt, I'll max Immolation... then... maybe Firestorm.
I chose Immolation over Firestorm for the critical bonus, and reduced SP cost... Kjartan is built to set everyone else up to deal damage, so might as well optimize it.
Notes:
I don't see the benefit to his remaining 3 talents:
- Warding Words - for the very few instances where opening a lock from a distance would have been nice I can't say it's worth investing a single point into this
- Spirit Sight - Tamlin's Farsight seems much more cost effective
- Meteoric Shockwave - well... might be useful when swarmed to reduce accuracy of ranged attackers or a close heavy hitter, so maybe I could try it instead of Firestorm to see how effective it is, and how much I'd actually use it... but it's a hard sell because it doesn't do any damage, while Firestorm offers extra range, AoE and damage.
Tamlin
| Pre-Respec | Post-Respec | |
| Roll: | Ranged single and AoE damage with debuff support. | Ranged single and AoE damage with debuff support. |
| Stats: | Str 5; Dex 16; Con 8; Wil 6; Int 8; Kno 5 | Str 5; Dex 16; Con 12; Wil 4; Int 7; Kno 4 |
| Skills: | Bow 14; Thr 12; Sec 3; Ste 4; Lor 12 | Bow 14; Thr 13; Sec 3; Ste 3; Lor 12 |
| Talents: | Pre 2; Dis 3; Far 4; Bla 4; Dea 10; Aim 2; Tor 1; Ran 4 | Pre 1; Dis 3; Far 4; Bla 4; Dea 10; Aim 1; Tor 3; Ran 4 |
| Equipment: | ||
| Assassin's Spines | ||
| 1AP, 10 Accuracy, 4 Parry; 35 - 74 Dmg at 4 Range | ||
| Great Bow | ||
2 AP, 10 Accuracy; 37 - 115 Dmg at 7 Range; 4% Critical, +6% SP Drain | ||
| Plated Overcoat | ||
| 62 Armor, +3 Evasion; +80 Max HP, +2 Parry | ||
| Ring of Danka | ||
| +16 Dmg, 7% Critical | ||
| Crystal Boots | ||
| +6 Accuracy, +20 Dmg | ||
| Right Fist of Blade | ||
| 5% Critical, +5% SP Drain |
Summary:
The respec was primarily to gain back a few misplaces points.
Stats: Swapped some Wil, Int & Kno to boost Con. Most remaining points will go into Wil, with some in Int… also debating 4 more into Con (4 or 0)
Skills: Not much changed here. The plan is to focus on Bow and Throw, then probably put the rest into Lore
Talents: Not much change here either. The plan now is to max Aimed Shot, then bring Ranged Onslaught up to 9, and debating between boosting Torrent of Steel or Blacknight for the rest.
Notes:
The reason for pulling the point out of Precision Pick was because I realized that no lock requires more than level 1 to unlock.
The reason for leaving the 2 points in Disarming Touch is because earlier in the game I found myself in battles where the ability to disarm multiple traps with a single action was useful, but lately I have not found myself in that type of situation. I am considering another respec to get the 2 points out of Disarming Touch so I can put them into Torrent of Steel or Blacknight.
I left 3 points in Farsight because I find that talent useful for battle planning and preventing surprise back or flank attacks.
Deadly intuition is her greatest skill. It boosts all of her attacks and attack talents. I brought it to 10 before any other skill passed 2.
Kyera
| Pre-Respec | Post-Respec | |
| Roll: | Secondary tank + Party healer + debuff and deal steady, reliably damage. | Secondary tank + Debuff and deal steady, reliably damage with the ability to heal. |
| Stats: | Str 4; Dex 4; Con 8; Wil 9; Int 11; Kno 12 | Str 4; Dex 4; Con 12; Wil 8; Int 10; Kno 10 |
| Skills: | Ham 12; Pol 2; Inv 10; Con 8; Lor 13 | Ham 13; Pol 2; Inv 10; Con 10; Lor 10 |
| Talents: | Smi 2; Mys 8; Pur 7; Eth 6; Pie 3; Hol 2; Ban 1; | Smi 1; Mys 8; Eth 6; Pie 3; War 10; Ban 1; |
| Equipment: | ||
Savage Spiked Mace (this is slightly better than what I had at re-spec) | ||
| 2AP, 6 Accuracy, 5 Parry; 61 - 104 Dmg | ||
| Reflective Guard | ||
| 10 Parry; Auto-blocks 9% of ranged attacks; +8 All Resists | ||
| Scaled Leather Coat | ||
| 84 Armor, -2 Stealth; +46 Max HP, +4% SP Drain | ||
| Dervish Ring | ||
| Ironskin Gauntlets | Seventh Ward Cloak | |
| +26 Armor | +6 Parry, +6 Dodge, +6 Armor | |
| Fremat Dance | ||
| +2 Move Point, +2 Parry, +2 Dodge |
Summary:
Stats: Swapped some Wil, Int & Kno to boost Con. The remaining levels will go into Wil, Kno, Int… and maybe top up Con (4 or 0). It's hard to decide because HP are always good for a secondary tank, Int means more SP and she is the one character that sucks back the SP potions, Knowledge for Banishment accuracy, and Will to raise the minimum Damage for Banishment...
... could also consider an item for the HP & SP, and go with Will & Knowledge... decisions, decisions...
Skills: Just rebalanced a little. Going forward I will Max Hammers, then Invocation, balance Conjuring, and Lore
Talents: I dropped Purifying Breeze and Holy Retribution for a maxed Warder's Shield.
Initially, I had great difficulty deciding how to build Kyera, and found that I had her way too diversified. I'm still having difficulty trying to specialize with her and finishing the build.
I've decided that her 2 must have skills are Ethereal Anguish (lvl 6) and Warder's Shield (lvl 10). I found that Banishment was more useful to this build and my play-style than Holy Retribution so I will raise it to at least 7. Then Smiting Blow (probably max) because, as a secondary tank, she always ends up face-to-face with enemies and needs a reliable close range attack. Near the end, I'll add points to either Smiting Blow, Banishment, Myshana's Tears, or Piety Ward as I see fit.
Notes:
In the early game, I didn't try Warder's Shield is because:
- I assumed armor would be more important/reliable than Parry/Dodge
- I tried Phalanx Shield and discovered it required an equipped shield to have an effect (makes sense). Because of this, I assumed Warder's Shield also required an equipped shield. Based on that assumption, I couldn't justify the expense for a buff that would only affect one maybe 2 characters.
Maybe these 2 skills should indicate "shield required" / "shield not required"
I don't understand the need or use for Sacrifice as Kyera is the SP potion chugger. She is the only character that just can't maintain her SP.
I am seriously considering another respec where I would drop healing skills all together.
- Healing items would be more efficient in terms of AP consumption,
- She would be able to specialize more (removing the need for investment in Lore),
- She would be able to put more into Ethereal Anguish/Piety Ward, or add Holy Retribution to her arsenal
It is very tempting to try this build though.
