Group build feedback and advice thread

[CdrPlatypus]

En1gma You have a really good team set up to use juggernaut. CA + Pinning shot makes everything hit-able and pinning shot softens up then enemies then you use juggernaut to finish off the weakened enemies and get a free move into their square allowing you to clean house. You don't need juggernaut itself to be a one hit kill, just a finishing blow. One of my fav builds for Vraes (@ lvl 18) was SSK 4, NM 1, BOS 3, Ferocity 1, Juggernaut 1 Using 2-handed spear for acc purposes, but I think the 2 handed sword animation looks cooler.

You get a giant speed demon that with the right aoe support can sprint across the entire battlefield in a turn laying waste.

[brennan]

Ok here is the new group build I call it: THE ELECTRIC CHAIR it is kind of a mixture of ferocity vraes and electric slide
Vraes: I'll pump up ferocity and burst of speed he will be equipped with the best 2 handed hammer money can buy
Vincent: he'll pump up energy storm and thundering blades for devastating effect

Selen: she'll be a pinning shot queen I'll bump it up to 5 for extra accuracy for ferocity vraes as well as be an AP curse
Fyona: my main tank she will focus on bringing up blessed aura up to 3-4 then she will bump consecrated defense and shield of cortias

[CdrPlatypus]

@brenan that sounds like a lot of destruction! But it is going to be very SP heavy

[brennan]

Yeah I realise that now but all my groups are spirit heavy

[Sweet Polly Purebred]

My Flaming Blades team met their Waterloo at Gholla Outlook. I've been in mourning for them for several months, giving the game and the forum a rest. Now I'm trying out a new group using john Robinson's Gallows Tap Dancers build. It's a big change for me tactics-wise, but so far these guys are doing great. They just took down Baron Arhaive. First time I've handled that fight by charging in rather than retreating to the hallway. The poor baron didn't know what hit him! I've named the team Balgair's Bloody Buddies. Can't wait to see how they do in the Underforge.

[En1gma]

brennan-

It seems that you have chosen Vraes's two most SP intensive talents as his mainstays. To increase his longevity, I would invest in Lore to increase the duration of Burst of Speed. BoS is very short, and extremely expensive to cast during combat, so every turn it stays on him you are saving SP. I would also get FEROCITY to a level that you are able to handle, then leave it there. Once you get it to a level that you can handle its outrageous cost, I would invest in an off attack, since you only have Pinning Shot, I would consider Savage Sweep to make sure you connect when it matters most. I would invest maybe 2:1 Constitution/Intelligence until you get maybe +3-4 points into it, then switch to some STR to increase accuracy.

Vincent will chew through SP quickly as well, so don't neglect INT. Thundering Blades is a very efficient way to increase overall damage for comparably low SP cost, so this is a good choice for him. Energy Storm will get pricey, but it is manageable as long as you keep it balanced with how many times you can cast it divided by how much SP you have. Maybe invest a few points into Lightning Spear (3) to have a strong follow up to Energy Storm?

Selen is fine- 2 or 3 points into INT and she is always good for me when I run her with PS. Consider adding some points into DoS and Punishing Blades, as you don't have any armor stripping talent. With TB, ES, and her Pinning Shot, you have good Resistance removal and AoE to follow it up, but against the heavier armor enemies in the Keep and later, you wont be able to outpace their Armor and Resistances, and damage will begin to drop off because of it.

Fyona looks ok... personally, and I think CdrPlatypus might concur with me on this, but Consecrated Defense might be better off waiting until later. Since you aren't putting much into defensive talents, Shield of Cortias will be extremely important, more so than Consecrated Defense, which only helps Fyona. Plus, without anything other than Pinning Shot and Thundering Blades, CD might not connect as often as you want, which wastes SP and lowers overall effectiveness. I would work on SoC and BA, with one point into Battlefield Devotion, as curses will cripple your party badly. Once you get party defenses secure, focus on how you want her to tank- if you need extra damage from her, go with Zealous Strikes, if you need more hardiness I would start on CD or Fervor once you hit E2.

I hope this helps- the party looks good, just be careful not to let your SP usage outpace your characters' SP development.

[brennan]

Ok thanks En1gma

[CdrPlatypus]

brennan , En1gma

SOC > CD for so many reasons, cd is not up at the beginning of battle and you have to connect to get it up and it only lasts 2 turns

SOC benefits the whole group lasts I think 11 turns with the 1 pt added to leadership so it covers all 4 in one cast

With vraes and Fyona I would be considering bfd 3 instead of ba

[En1gma]

CdrPlatypus... Now Tamilin strips armor... I don't have the time in my life for another party, and now my brain hurts from thinking too much.

[CdrPlatypus]

En1gma Im running OG right now and the changes to her are very nice. Have +2mp from black night and have -4 armor to stack on ca. Going through Redhill keep. Cleared gatehouse. Hopefully get time to clear the rest today

[En1gma]

I'm thinking about Kincaid/Fyona/Vincent/Tamilin group to try out.

Blacknight +2mp, then all DI until Stalker opens up. Onslaught after that. I don't know though...

[CdrPlatypus]

You don't need the +2 right away I would suggest black night 2, far sight 1, dI 3, silent stalker 1 then +2 to black night then DI then onslaught then DI

[En1gma]

That's why I like having you around- I know what I want, but not always how to get there. I'll remember this for when I start that new party.

[En1gma]

I'm actually considering running a full damage reduction group for my next go.

Kincaid as Footwork as his primary defense talent. I have been having issues with his defensive rolls, so I want to push it to 10 as soon as possible. His primary attack will be Crippling Strikes until 6 for AoE -AP and damage reduction. I'll forgo Throwing Knives this go around so he can focus on damage. To supplement the damage reduction the party will be doling out, he will make good use of Live by the Blade to bolster his armor rating. Light armor, not stealth for him- armor = less damage.

Vincent will go full curse this time. Frigid Air (Crazy damage redux) and Flash Freeze (-2 AP= awesome damage redux) will be his focus, and he will work on maxing each of them out. He will need some sort of offensive capabilities, so I may go with Energy Storm around 4-5 so he can pack a wallop. Once his curses are at good levels, he will work on ES and Thundering Blades to stack damage.

Selen will be focused on being a mobile off tank, pushing up Punishing Blades (Not as much Damage redux, but still worth it), QsD, and Dance of Shadows.

The only one I'm not 100% sure about is who I should run with as the healer... On the one hand there is SoC and Fervor Fyona. SoC will handle boosting Parry, seeing as ranged enemies wont be doing much of anything with curse Vincent. Fervor boosts armor even higher, preventing even more damage overall. Once group defenses are handled, she can morph into a striker/off tank and begin boosting Zealous Strikes or even Strickening to help lower enemy defenses. On the other hand, there is Sacrifice/Retribution/Banishment Kyera to play with. The one thing this group will lack is strong ranged damage output, and since John Robinson has posted about how effective she is in this role, I'm seriously tempted to try it out.

I haven't started them yet, so any input as to who I should go with would be greatly appreciated here. The more I think about it, the more I think I should go with Kyera, but Fervor Fyona would help out so damn much with reducing the amount of damage... I DON'T KNOW!!!

[CdrPlatypus]

En1gma What your question comes down to is do you want to run a melee centric group or do you want to have ranged support? It is easier and more balanced to play with ranged support as well as it would give you a chance to try out spell caster kyera if you have never given it a go.

If you want to go all melee then you are going to want righteous fervor to increase everyone's hp and armor because they will always be in the thick of it.