Skill advice needed

[Swami]

Kyera currently has 7 saved up skill points... any suggestions as to what I should do with them?

Should I bump up her attack accuracy for when I get holy retribution or banishment?(currently she is a debuff/buff/healer.)

[VDX]

The Cleric class seems to be the most awkward class right now. Even upping her spell attack abilities, her attack spells aren't that impressive when compared to other classes. I tried a few different builds she kept being the lesser used hero. Sub-par magic attack. Sub-par melee stuff. Abd her buff spells don;t keep up well with other characters. Holy Retribution has too wide of a damage range to be consistent (sometimes it works as a last ditch clean up for those pesky "at least 10" survivors of a round. In contrast, her melee attacks get her killed. Right now, I'm trying a build with a focus on: upping healing spell as needed, one point (and only one point) to bless (to remove curses), Sacrifice to pass on her extra SP to the wizard and thief, and the rest of skills geared to maker her withstand a few attacks. Turns her into a minor meat shield, which might make her more useful in ambushes. My first play through Ep 1 was to make her a pure healer, but the lore increase to healing aren't that great and she got to the point she couldn't damage a half-drunk ratkin. Her anguish spell, that reduces AP in enemies is helpful in swarm attacks but not a tide turner.

[fallen]

Swami - as with all character, I would suggest focus. Pick your strategy for Kyera and stick to it completely. If you fail to do so, you'll end up with the sorts of results vdx is describing.

The last release saw a re-balance of Holy Retribution base damage and the next release sees a drop in its SP cost.

[Cory Trese]

I find the Cleric to be one of the most graceful and easiest to use/level classes in the game.

Sorry you are struggling with her -- don't despair, with a little bit of practice you will find her balance.

On level 25 with her right now, and she's is the backbone of this build.

Without her curses and buffs (which, for what they do, outperform all other Heroes) I actually don't think any of my groups would survive on Nightmare and certainly not Double Nightmare.

[fallen]

Swami - we'd be amiss giving you advice if we didn't know your Talent build.

[Swami]

Unfortunately she is now dead, so no advice needed for her.

[fallen]

Guess we all should have yelled "Hammers!"

[Swami]

Her successor is lore, lore and lore.

[contributor]

Feb 17, 2014 20:55:04 GMT -5 Cory Trese said:

I find the Cleric to be one of the most graceful and easiest to use/level classes in the game.

Sorry you are struggling with her -- don't despair, with a little bit of practice you will find her balance.

On level 25 with her right now, and she's is the backbone of this build.

Without her curses and buffs (which, for what they do, outperform all other Heroes) I actually don't think any of my groups would survive on Nightmare and certainly not Double Nightmare.

My problem with Kyera is that I can't seem to really develop different builds for her. With all of the other characters I can unfold them in different ways, but with Kyera it's always a little bit of MT a little bit of WS a little bit of EA (get it up to AoE) and a point in PB. Then develop her skills so she as enough SP and can still cycle into combat to finish off some baddies or shift to block some incoming mob and keep them away from mage/archer. On my pure magic build she's got excess SP (though banishment might change that). So I do find her very useful, but can't seem to get beyond her as an all-rounder. I've got one team where she may yet become the great searing white witch, but she needs more levels first.

[Cory Trese]

I have several builds.

EA is a good enough curse that it can be used at level 1 effectively until game level 25, at which point you should start aiming for -2 AP.

Every healer build (Paladin included) must first satisfy her role in the party -- healing HP loss. That means many levels of Tears or Breeze. Do no overlook Breeze as a pure healing play.

So, we're going to assume every build has to do healing -- just like the outlander slot has to stand toe to toe with bad guys and the sneak *must* start some turns on stealth and disarms traps.

You can build a Paladin-lite with Smite where she attacks and you try to provide damage with her. Hammers have enough top end damage that you can make this work for the entire 50 levels of the game, although because she cannot wear the ultra heavy end game armor, this build is inferior to a Paladin-Paladin.

You can also build a curse and crush magician with AE and HR, however, this costs a lot of Talent and skill points and leaves your healing dreadfully weak (might eliminate Lore/Breezing.) I have played this build through level 25.

Basically the question of a build breaks down into a couple of categories.

1. What do you spend you AP on each combat turn?
2. What advantages do you give the group?
3. What disadvantages to you apply to the enemy?

In episode 1, you face the dumbest AI and the weakest monsters.

In Episode 2 you might need to build your team to face:

- Monsters who shoot the weakest target
- Monsters who hit and run with move, attack, move, attack
- Monsters with area effect curses
- Monsters with area effect damage
- Monsters with really nasty curses (AP, MP, SP, HP drain)
- Monsters with major elemental damage
- Monsters who can force you to give ground when the hit
- Monsters who can regenerate damage

The Paladin is awesome and easy to play in Episode 1, but the build (if you aren't disciplined) struggles in Episode 2. Kyera is the opposite -- she seems alternatively over and under-powered in Episode 1 and really comes into her own in EP2.

[contributor]

Cory Trese, great post. This is what makes me not regret getting multiple, different teams waiting in the conquered keep. Who knows whether the team that was so much fun in Ep1 will be the same in Ep2. You're making me think that maybe I need to be building a team that is more magic resistant that might not be as much fun in 1 but would be better suited for 2. I don't like the idea of monsters that shoot the weakest target. That could be really bad new for Vince since he has to get closer to the action that KJ.

I know you guys don't do ETA's but do you have any ball-park figures on what might be coming out next and around when?

[algesan]

Paladin?

BTW, Kyera's melee buff (Warder's) is anything but sub par. In fact, if some other current encounters are left as they are and permadeath gets implemented for higher difficulties, then Warder's & luck are all that will get you past them.

[fallen]

contributor - we don't do ETAs, sorry

algesan - I too am amazed that Kyera is not getting more acclaim for Warders Shield and Ethereal Anguish. Maybe people aren't playing with them to see just how mighty they are, or are playing on lower difficulties where it just doesn't matter as much.

[Cory Trese]

And good lord, look at the resistance buff she gets -- at the top end it can prevent up to 150 damage that would otherwise bypass Armor and directly hit Resistance.

[Cory Trese]

Feb 18, 2014 4:13:20 GMT -5 contributor said:

Cory Trese, great post. This is what makes me not regret getting multiple, different teams waiting in the conquered keep. Who knows whether the team that was so much fun in Ep1 will be the same in Ep2.

It will be a gradual ramp up, you'll be getting more XP and introduction to the list above in stages, give you a chance to adapt each character to the new environment.

The game play changes and becomes increasingly involved. In Episode 1 you get V out front and he tanks with pretty much 100% reliability. His ability to hold the monsters in a fight is the first thing that goes in EP2 and it drives the rest of the change pretty naturally.