Here it is, the build that probably nobody has been looking for!! This is my first write-up for my new round of games on my new phone, and the build is named:
Electrickening
This group is made for the slow burn, but will be capable of dealing with any issue that befalls it until it comes into its own. The centerpiece of the build is being worked around the beautiful combo/damage stacking of Strickening and Energy Storm. Kincaid is being made into a Throwing Knife master, doling out death from a short distance away. Selen is a dual purpose cursing machine, and is already at PS 5. Every character is level 8 at the moment and we just crushed the Nordhall Troll in three turns.
Kincaid is my favorite part of this build, hands down. I have always been a fan of his Throwing Knives and Darting Steel, so I really wanted to capitalize on them. To do this, you must first understand their strengths and weaknesses, and thus lies the Tao of TK. TK strengths include an inherent boost to accuracy, granted by Darting Steel (DS) thus leaving valuable points to be used for Blades, or elsewhere, as long as to put a few points into them here and there, you will hit consistently, esp with curse support. Another great bonus of TK is that you can deal the same amount, or more damage than you could with a comparable dagger, WITHOUT BREAKING FORMATION!!! This allows you to engage skirmishers and archers easily, darting in and out of combat. Lastly the TK work PERFECTLY with +crit boosting talents, such as Footwork and Flashing Blades. This in mind, I have build Kincaid thusly.
Attributes: 5 str, 7 dex, 7 const, 3 wil, 6 int, 4 kno
Skills: 6 blades, 4 thrown, 2 lead, 4 lore, 2 stealth
Talents: Lunge 1, Darting Steel 2, Footwork 4
Yeah, he's awesome. I'm trying to stay 2:1 Blades to Throwing to keep defense up, he does still need to tank after all. Right now he's hitting for 18+ consistently against lightly armored opponents, and around 10 for heavy armor, until resistance debuffs kick in, then the gloves come off. I see no reason whatsoever to move up to 2ap TK, as he is using a 2ap dagger, and needs to be as flexible as possible- that means only ever using 1ap TK. Lightning Damage makes up for more than what I miss on base damage.
Vincent is part one of my two part plan to subvert enemy resistances.
Attributes: 4 str, dex, con, and wil. 9 int, 7 kno
Skills: 3 blades, 8 sorcery, and 4 conjuring
Talents: LS 1, ES 3, Frigid 1, Flash Freeze 1, Thundering Blades 1
I know it seems like too much, but bear with me on this. From this point on he is alternating TB and ES, until ES 5, then switching to TB, while splashing one or two more Talent points into Lightning spear for cheap attacks. He will keep FF where it is for the foreseeable future- he just needed something to compliment Selen's PS 5, and help weaken boss creatures. TB INSTANTLY makes Kincaid's TK more and more lethal- the higher TB ad ES go, so goes Kincaid's damage output. TB also helps Selen penetrate with both PS and Punishing Blades, once she starts ranking that up.
Fyona is part two of my devious plot. She isn't putting anything into melee talents, only SoC and Strickening for now, and once they get high enough, she will move on to different things, but stat wise she is being built to take a beating.
Attributes: 5 str, 4 dex, 9 con, 5 wil, 5 int, 4 kno
Skills: 3 hammers, 6 invocation, 3 leadership, 3 lore
Talents: ZS 1, HB 1, Strickening 2, Aura 2, SoC 2
She didn't put points into Strickening until just before Vincent got TB, as the curse from ES was enough to keep damage up. She will continue her round robin of Strickening, SoC, Aura until aura gets one more point, then she switches to alternating Strickening and SoC. A point will be given to Battlefield Devotion when I feel it's time, and she may invest a few in Reckoning just to have 3 ap curses on the team.
Selen is being groomed for a life of curses. She went straight up to PS 5, and there it shall remain for good. From here on out she is focused on ranking up Punishing Blades. Resistance hate is great, but if the enemy still has high armor counts, then damage is being wasted! As soon as she gets her first rank into PB, she will switch to 1ap daggers, to curse as many as she can, after using her shock arrows. Again, TB will help to raise the damage of her bow attacks, and her 1ap PB, so it will be as if she is getting 7 2ap attacks per round if they are all around her and she doesn't need to move. I'm not planning on DoS right away, as I'm not expecting her to be on the front lines until I want her to be, and by that time everything will be weakened and low on ap.
Attributes: 5 str, 6 dex, 8 con, 3 wil, 6 int, 4 kno
Skills: 5 blades, 4 bow, 2 lore, 2 security, 5 (11) stealth
Talents: FB 1, PS 5
Like I said- she is focusing exclusively on PB from here on out.
I have to say I really have high hopes for the group. Kincaid is crazy powerful with TK, and I hope this will convince some of you that these are a highly valuable part of his repertoire. Any TB or BB build using Kincaid honestly should be considering using his TK. I don't mean the 2ap kind either. With the 1ap version, TB+Strickening+PB plus crit boosting makes for the second highest damage dealt in the party next to Energy Storm. This group is only level 8, and with the cohesiveness I've built them around I feel like I'm invincible (granted I am playing on normal- I just want to get to the end of the current content for the first time ever...... don't judge lol) I'll keep you posted on the group as it develops further, please feel free to critique the build, or offer insight that I haven't thought of yet. Or better yet, make a ES/Strickening abuse build and we can compare notes.
