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Post by amongstshadows on Feb 22, 2017 23:45:41 GMT -5
En1gma - I brought PSh to 10 with Vraes, and then brought BoS to level 3(for the +2MP). Now I'm looking at Juggernaut. My Vraes is using swords.
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Post by drath on Mar 7, 2017 9:48:47 GMT -5
As the Steam forums are to be honest, quite dead, I've decided to make my way here. /waves to the devs and to wascalwywabbit  Currently at L26 with the same party as per this Steam thread and would like some opinion as to how to proceed with the next few levelups. Some attribute choices are quite clear (at least to me) - going for Str with Vraes/Kyera and Will/Know with Kjartan, improving their to-hit chances and upping minimum damage. Some are quite a bit less clear - Selen. She's had Dex maxed at this point and I'm wondering what else to put points in as there doesn't seem to a clear winner. I suppose a natural choice would be Con, improving her tanking and adding a bit more insurance in that she doesn't go down if she fails her Stealth check. I'm wondering if Str would ever be an improvement though. Dualwield ignores Str bonuses but while I'm mostly dual wield with Selen these days, I feel like I have to depend more and more on Pinning Shot, so I do quite a bit of switching back and forth. This has made me wonder if a Str blade might be workable or even better at higher levels. Skillwise, I'm seriously wondering if going for mastery of a 2nd weapon would be worth it at all for Vraes (currently have maxed Polearms). It's going to be a very long term investment, as it'll take a good while to hit 16. However I like having a bit of versatility, in case spear drops in future turn out to be all bad (so far it seems I'm having a little better luck with blade drops). The default would be of course to go for skills to extend buffs but as I do not currently automatically buff up in every fight, it doesn't seem to be really quite worth it (during my playthrough, I've noticed once a fight finishes, those buffs tend to disappear). On talents, I'm again a little unsure with Vraes. Higher level talents cost quite a bit of SP and Vraes really doesn't have much to start with. I suppose I could take a couple of more levels in Phalanx Shield and perhaps 1 more in Savage Sweep. Burst of Speed and Natural Mastery are good buffs but the SP cost tends to ramp up a bit too quickly for my liking. I suppose I could put more SP drain gear on Vraes but I'm not sure if that would be a good idea as trading Parry/Armor for SP drain would affect survivability. Would be nice to hear what others think. As for the other characters, I think it should be relatively straightforward: Sacrifice for Kyera for better efficiency, Ash for Kjartan to maintain/improve to-hit chances and a few levels in Firebolt, incremental advances with Pinning Shot and Quicksilver Defence for Selen (Selen doesn't play offtank that often, but when she does, IMHO it's vitally important that she doesn't get destroyed in ambush encounters where survival definitely takes precedence over SP conservation). Thanks in advance for comments/discussion. |
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Post by En1gma on Mar 7, 2017 11:52:08 GMT -5
Allow me to be the first to welcome you to the Forum, drath! I'm reading over your group in the Steam thread presently, and I'll jump back here once I'm finished, and I'll see if I can offer any insights as to where your group could head. |
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Post by En1gma on Mar 7, 2017 12:40:43 GMT -5
Vraes first and foremost looks like he needs to full stop on his attack talents, and devote EVERY POINT POSSIBLE to maxing out Phalanx Shield, or bolstering Natural Mastery/Stone Skin. The SP cost of his Buffs is far and away the most valuable SP he could ever spend. Most of my groups don't put more than a point or two in ANY of his empowered attacks, simply because getting his defenses way up should always be your first priority. I would strongly consider respeccing him altogether in order to make him into the tank this group so badly needs. -Phalanx Shield, or Nat Mastery, possibly Berserk Rage if he needs the damage. -He needs more Con than Str, which can be made up for by using Nat Mastery for the extra min damage. -SP spent on buffs > SP spent on attacks, every time. -Take a point or two in Int and watch his SP level out almost instantly. A dedicated gear slot could help here as well, but the Int should be made a priority IMO -Pick an attack, and ignore the others. If you're using Pinning Shot and Ash from KJ, then I go Crushing Blow. If not, Savage Sweep makes up for lost accuracy. Selen, if you aren't using her bow, needs to be respecced. If you want her to use the bow, put another point into Pinning Shot 5 (The added AoE helps TREMENDOUSLY), with Dance of Shadows to +2 MP and Quicksilver Def to 4-5 and she can switch-hit with the best of them. If you want her to be on the front line, she needs more points in Con, and don't hesitate to throw light armor on her if she keeps getting slapped around. -Respec the Pinning Shot points into Quicksilver if you want her to be on the front line. -Again, Buffs>Attacks (in terms of SP useage), so seriously don't hesitate to bump them up if you need them (And you will need them) -Get her Con to 8-9, lowering Dex to get it if you want her to be on the front. Dex is fine for a switch hitter, but she will still need some Con to take the heat that the enemies bring in E2 moving forward. -For melee, Punishing Blades and Frenzied, combined with a leveled Dance Of Shadows makes her melee damage skyrocket, while QsD makes her capable of standing and fighting without taking too many hits. -I prefer her as a switch hitter, and I usually go QsD 4, Pinning Shot 5, Dance of Shadows to +2 MP. Raise Dance higher to raise MP and Crit% and really watch her put those arrows downrange for major effect. Kjartan, just at first look needs to drop Shockwave and Pureflame altogether. Respec him and get Ash to at least 5 for the 9-Block AoE. Take the rest of your points and either go deep into Immolation or Firebolt. Immo if you aren't using Pinning Shot for AoE, Firebolt if Selen is going Pinning Shot or if Kyera goes into Banishment (more on this to come...). You could also respec him into Firestorm, just scrap everything but Ash 5 and dump the rest into it. -Burning Blades is best if you go deep or not at all. Pureflame Shield just isn't worth it until late game. KJ needs those points to curse or attack. -If you want him to have some offensive presence, he needs an attack. -If you want him as a pure curse-build, (Ash wizard is one of the best builds for him) then go to Ash 10 and Meteoric Shockwave 6 (9-Block AoE is always better than the 5-Cross) But you will need his Conjuration up to 9 to make it most effective. -Conjuration 9 ASAP no matter the build (even if you go offensive, you NEED Ash 5 for the AoE) because it determines Target Count. -Kyera is the hard one for this group. If you're going Melee with Selen, there isn't a reason for Kyera to join in unless you need a striker. Str for her is nowhere near as important as Con, and honestly could be respecced outright to make her hardier. -For this group, I would go into Ethereal Anguish to 6 for the -2 AP, and keep the healing (Tears, Breeze) the same. Sacrifice isn't too big a deal right now (If you were using FEROCITY then I would say put her all in on supporting Vraes, but this isn't the case). EA, Heals, then honestly I would start on Warder's Shield until 10. Lore and Conjuring get the Skill Points here -If you wanted a striker, then Anguish to 4 for the 5-Cross AoE, then Heals, then all in on Warder's Shield. Put her points into Hammers and Con for this, not Strength. ************* I made a great deal of these same issues on my first few runs, and it's easily remedied, albeit with a total and targeted respec to get you back on track  . -I have made this group work, but the majority of your Talent, Attribute, and Skill points need to be put into things that keep you alive (Buffs, Con, Weapon/Spell accuracy) and not things that make you deal more damage (Heavy Empowered attacks, too much into Str). This will ring true for 99% of the groups you'll make. -SP is MEANT to be spent on Buffs first and foremost, and your attacks need to pick off the scraps left behind. This game will chew you up and spit you out in a hurry, and working against yourself by spreading out too thin will only make their job of slaughtering you easier. Defense first, then everything else =) If I missed anything, please let me know and I'll fix it. I hope some of this helps you!! |
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Post by fallen on Mar 7, 2017 13:26:34 GMT -5
Always good advice from En1gma. If you want to keep toward your original build, I'd suggest Vraes does NOT invest in a second weapon. As you gain further levels, the Skill Cap of 16 goes up toward 20, so just keep pumping Spears. Invest in more Buffs for Vraes at this time than more attacks. |
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Post by En1gma on Mar 7, 2017 13:40:26 GMT -5
Thanks fallen. I think I've played this game too much at this point  |
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Post by wascalwywabbit on Mar 7, 2017 14:40:48 GMT -5
drath Welcome! There is a cool down cost of buffs at the end of combat based on diff. The higher the diff, the more turns ending combat costs your buffs, upto 8 turn cost on NM I believe... To mitigate that, save one or two low risk enemies to move into the next combat area before turn ends. Some string 4 combats together that way and only suffer end turn cool down penalty once, saving buff time and consequently sp. Obviously don't string together another combat if you really should run back to camp... The party members you have is best for armor removal, pretty good potentially for crits, but relatively weak on magical dmg, outside of good holy dmg AoE with banishment. Raising con first to make sure your tank and off tank con take a few hits are a common strategy. Raising acc via buffs and enemy cursing, then via attributes after con is raised. Int is a way to make sp go longer, works best for the one or 2 that run out fastest (acc and defense are still more important if you're missing or being hit hard). If Kyera is lasting a decent amount longer for sp than the bottom 1-2 then sacrifice can extend their sp use well too. Don't raise sac further than useful to even out hers with the worst sp user generally, though some only feed her potions and sac feeds everyone else because of conversion efficiency, I usually just camp a bit more instead cause camping score loss matters not to me... Never be afraid to raise ash ... super reliable for party hitting and hurting thanks to the dodge/parry and armor curse. IMO NM is the best way to raise Vraes personal acc. Sweep IS better on average for acc, upto 13 Strong dice (6+ on d10=success) vs NM max 17 std dice (8plus on d10) but... NM also gives good parry for melee D. If there is headroom on your str based weapon for more dmg than what your str alone is giving, the NM raises base dmg further, which is great, especially for knowing roughly how much hurt you're going to put on enemies hit by it. By contrast Sweep takes your dmg die and makes it bigger, so more spiky in dmg. Say you have a base dmg of 54 and dice dmg of a d40, Sweep 10 would make that a d77 (55-131 -armor/toughness), while NM 10 would instead leave the d40 alone and raise the base dmg to 66 (67-106 -armor/toughness)... Selen's one weakness imo is lack of AoE melee, making PS highly useful. This will in part change at some point down the line when Steel and Shadow is redone to better be used as a strong lvl 18 talent. Probably not til after crafting and the penultimate story chunk though ... unless the brothers have it as a surprise up their sleeve. Until then, con + dex for off tanking and then use ash and maybe punishing blades to make sure she's hurting enemies with her dex blades is probably best rather than str atm. After you raise dex and con to max then you should consider whether you want more sp (int), more curse res (will), more melee dmg (str) or better spell dmg dodge (know) imo.
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Post by drath on Mar 7, 2017 23:28:06 GMT -5
-SP spent on buffs > SP spent on attacks, every time There is a cool down cost of buffs at the end of combat based on diff. The higher the diff, the more turns ending combat costs your buffs, upto 8 turn cost on NM I believe... To mitigate that, save one or two low risk enemies to move into the next combat area before turn ends. Some string 4 combats together that way and only suffer end turn cool down penalty once, saving buff time and consequently sp. Obviously don't string together another combat if you really should run back to camp... Hmm, seems I've misunderstood how long buffs last after combat. That explains quite a few things and probably justifies investing in a good bit of Leadership for Vraes as also indicated by fallen and En1gma . The tip on dragging out combat and pulling another group before combat ends is very useful too. I've never really done this as I don't know where the next enemy group might be and prefer to play it safe but I can see how this would markedly help buff duration. I think this piece of info is important enough that it should be included when players choose difficulty. I believe I saw that "enemy level = player level + 4" and gold rewards are scarcer on Nightmare. Didn't really notice this being mentioned. Regardless I will work on buffs as advised (Phalanx Shield in particular) and forget the oddball plans for a 2nd weapon Vraes and Str Selen. The party members you have is best for armor removal, pretty good potentially for crits, but relatively weak on magical dmg, outside of good holy dmg AoE with banishment. Yep it appears that's how the cards have fallen. I didn't actually plan for things to be that way and was really picking characters based on what I felt I wanted to play but it's nice to know that's the way forward with such a group. No real issues against regular units so far as Choking Ash + Punishing Blades takes care of just about all their armor and opens them up to telling blows from all 3 meleers. Against Orc Berserks and Orc Warlords, my current amount of armor reduction is inadequate and while they are relatively low on Resistance, I don't really have the tools/attacks to deal magical damage effectively as you've stated. So encounters with these tend to be pretty drawn out and quite traumatic. Here I make do by piling on AP debuffs (Ethereal Anguish and Pinning Shot) to reduce incoming damage. As such I probably need more levels in Choking Ash and/or Punishing Blades to keep up armor debuffs as that's my one main way to deal damage. Upping Sacrifice to make up for being less SP efficient. Raising con first to make sure your tank and off tank con take a few hits are a common strategy. Raising acc via buffs and enemy cursing, then via attributes after con is raised. Can take a few hits is certainly what is needed but I think it also depends on what one is facing. As Vraes can put on heavy armor, he has few issues against say Cultist Initiates and Adepts even if they do manage to land hits on him pretty often. Against Savage Orcin, no amount of armor is going to suffice, but as they have really poor defence and mediocre armor, killing them before they have a chance to strike isn't difficult with proper positioning. I want to go Con but the gains are not really too striking. 1 armor for 1 Con(?) or in Vraes's case 1.25 armor for 1 Con? Only half of Armor value is assured in any case. I suppose the main benefit here is HP totals. Vraes has enough in that regard. Selen certainly has way fewer than I like so I agree that Con is a good way to proceed. Int is a way to make sp go longer, works best for the one or 2 that run out fastest (acc and defense are still more important if you're missing or being hit hard). If Kyera is lasting a decent amount longer for sp than the bottom 1-2 then sacrifice can extend their sp use well too. Don't raise sac further than useful to even out hers with the worst sp user generally, though some only feed her potions and sac feeds everyone else because of conversion efficiency, I usually just camp a bit more instead cause camping score loss matters not to me... My overall strat is that Vraes and Selen should generally be able manage their own SP via SP drain items. Kyera has to be extra SP efficient as she needs to cover for heals and also to Sacrifice for Kjartan (who is the main SP hog in the group). SP conversion efficiency is definitely something I would aim for. With my current stats, I think the highest I can raise it to is 1 (returning 52SP for 52SP expended) but with more Lore and Sacrifice levels that would make supporting higher levels of Choking Ash a little easier. I will think about whether I need to put in some Int for Vraes. I agree that Acc is more important, which is why I'm still sticking with Strength in the meantime. Never be afraid to raise ash ... super reliable for party hitting and hurting thanks to the dodge/parry and armor curse. Kjartan, just at first look needs to drop Shockwave and Pureflame altogether. Respec him and get Ash to at least 5 for the 9-Block AoE. Take the rest of your points and either go deep into Immolation or Firebolt. Immo if you aren't using Pinning Shot for AoE, Firebolt if Selen is going Pinning Shot or if Kyera goes into Banishment (more on this to come...). You could also respec him into Firestorm, just scrap everything but Ash 5 and dump the rest into it. -Burning Blades is best if you go deep or not at all. Pureflame Shield just isn't worth it until late game. KJ needs those points to curse or attack. -If you want him to have some offensive presence, he needs an attack. -If you want him as a pure curse-build, (Ash wizard is one of the best builds for him) then go to Ash 10 and Meteoric Shockwave 6 (9-Block AoE is always better than the 5-Cross) But you will need his Conjuration up to 9 to make it most effective. Ash 5 shouldn't be an issue even without respeccing and was on the table anyway. I usually pull back and try to take enemy units one at a time so I don't have a lot of situations where that extra AoE coverage would make a difference. But I acknowledge in ambush scenarios against massed incoming mobs, it's really nice to debuff as widely as possible. I'm not using Shockwave or Pureflame much at all (certainly not used for regular pulls) but I'd like a few extra tools if I run into really tough encounters. I agree that having just a few points in Burning Blades is useless and a mistake on my part (my first group and honestly I didn't know damage mechanics back then - was under the impression that the fire damage added to base damage which of course it doesn't). I also agree that Kjartan really needs an attack, however he also burns through SP like nobody's business (even with SP drain and +Fire damage items) so he's really my last choice to put out hits. I'm leaning towards Firebolt for efficiency (currently have it a L3) but I will consider raising Firestorm as well for clutch situations. IMO NM is the best way to raise Vraes personal acc. Sweep IS better on average for acc, upto 13 Strong dice (6+ on d10=success) vs NM max 17 std dice (8plus on d10) but... NM also gives good parry for melee D. On NM vs Sweep, my concerns are really more of SP efficiency. Sweep connects almost all the time, is a reliable strike and is SP efficient enough that you can usually have all your SPs refunded from it provided enemy armor has been debuffed. NM I tend to use more as a defensive measure. Certainly the improvement to minimum damage is great as you've stated but as I've not upgraded Phalanx Shield much, I need another defensive buff when Vraes is getting mauled. Obviously the solution here is to get more levels in Phalanx Shield first as advised above, but I'll also look at putting a few more levels into NM later. Selen's one weakness imo is lack of AoE melee, making PS highly useful. Until then, con + dex for off tanking and then use ash and maybe punishing blades to make sure she's hurting enemies with her dex blades is probably best rather than str atm. After you raise dex and con to max then you should consider whether you want more sp (int), more curse res (will), more melee dmg (str) or better spell dmg dodge (know) imo. Much agreed here. To be honest I also find it a little odd that most talents for Selen are melee based and that one talent for range is so strong. Regardless, against tightly massed mobs, I agree that Pinning Shot appears to be the way to go. I will go with Con to be on the safe side as advised. |
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Post by wascalwywabbit on Mar 8, 2017 1:36:54 GMT -5
Sweep 2 (5 strong acc) + NM 10 (17 std acc) = 22 dice averaging 2.5 + 5.1 = 7.6 avg successes per hit for 8 turns (duration of NM not even counting lore), 2 3ap hits per turn = 16 3sp sweeps = 16x3=48 +64 sp =112sp for 8 combat turns. While Sweep 10 alone would use 16sp x 7 attacks for the same 112sp in barely better than 3 (3+1/3) combat turns at 3ap, has slightly worse avg acc (6.5 avg successful rolls - for an extra 8sp use NM 1 to bring them about equal), similar dmg, depending on dmg die size, and NM gives you a hefty 10-12 parry dice bonus ... The math is even worse for 2ap attacks... So you see, buffs are often much more sp efficient as you raise levels, especially after weapon is raised and you can start working on lore in this case. Of course with enough sp drain you can get back any losses and then some if you wanna go that route, but that's gonna cost other gear options potentially... and of course the parry of higher nm in this example. Taking on enemies 1 at a time is great for defense, but kinda terrible for efficiency. That's something I leave to you though, but if you can hit groups a little more often, you may appreciate the effect on your sp related purse strings. Nothing wrong with turtling in principle tho.  |
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Post by drath on Mar 8, 2017 3:27:15 GMT -5
So you see, buffs are often much more sp efficient as you raise levels, especially after weapon is raised and you can start working on lore in this case. Of course with enough sp drain you can get back any losses and then some if you wanna go that route, but that's gonna cost other gear options potentially... and of course the parry of higher nm in this example. Taking on enemies 1 at a time is great for defense, but kinda terrible for efficiency. That's something I leave to you though, but if you can hit groups a little more often, you may appreciate the effect on your sp related purse strings. Nothing wrong with turtling in principle tho. I appreciate the math and it does works out as you say in that raising buffs are more efficient than raising attacks. I acknowledge that. However I would like to say during actual play, things aren't necessarily so straightforward. In some battles I find it preferable to retreat beyond a bottleneck and let enemies approach in single file. This is certainly not turn or time efficient but things are generally safer that way and feel more under control. A result of this is that there may be some turns where enemy units are still making their way to the party, so there will be turns where if you have buffs on, that buff(s) will tick down without benefit. On the other hand, SP for strikes is only deducted when strikes are actually made. I'm not playing for any score (this is my first playthrough and I think I've already missed out on a few secret doors and additional xp awards) or to be fastest battle finisher so I'm not overly concerned at finishing battles fast (but since you brought it up - how much do turns used in battle influence score?). I was under the impression that XP was the major contributor to score and little else matters, but would like to be corrected if I'm wrong. I also prioritize Kyera's strikes as I need her to pick up SP the most, to fuel heals and Sacrifice to keep up Kjartan's Ash. As Selen frequently uses Punishing Blow and/or Pinning Shot, she comes next in terms of SP drain. Vraes is mostly cleanup if the Kyera and Selen aren't able to kill off whatever enemies are within melee range so there are sometimes turns where he will not see much action. For some groups, I don't find their defense high enough to justify using a buff throughout and would rather just use powered strikes on the few members which I think are more problematic. Most Orcin, Hounds, Wolves and various archers appear to be fairly easy/easier to hit as compared to say Armored Orcin, Trolls, Bladed Cultists, Giant Rats, etc. This is fairly subjective of course and I don't have actual numbers to back this up, but that's the general impression I've gotten in that Parry/Dodge values for enemy units can be quite different. You could stride forward with full buffs as you say, stand your ground and engage them all as they come, but I find that on Nightmare, even if everyone manages to land hits, if the party is swarmed, they're not likely to kill everything in range and the next bunch of enemy units will get their strikes in. At some point this racks up heal costs majorly. Of course in ambushes and in cornered and open field battles with no choke points (and I certainly do get hammered quite a bit in those cases), what you have stated would be best - having strong buffs for safety and efficiency but I don't find that to be the case in most of the fights (which I use as an opportunity to recover - as in using minimal buffs/debuffs and focussing on SP recovery via unempowered strikes and low SP strikes). |
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Post by wascalwywabbit on Mar 8, 2017 3:45:39 GMT -5
Definitely some enemies are harder to hit and/or harm for sure... CA, PS and EA are your team's go to curses for acc boosting, probably in that order of priority... If you use sly look, know enemy ranges, use +mp talents+gear for position just out of range at turn end and curse ap/acc etc of those potentially still in range, you may save yourself a few turns while retaining safety of the retreat and hunker style. Ranged attackers don't move AND shoot generally. Melee however will use remaining ap to attack after moving. Look for posts by matrim and phaze - both top end players of nightmare ironman (as in #1 and 2 on the leaderboards AFAIK) with excellent knowledge and advice. I've personally learned a lot from them in regards to top level tactics. Mind that they both prefer Kincaid to Vraes due to range and group acc buff plus AoE of the darting steel talent, FU group dmg and acc, sure parry's guaranteed melee blocking, stealth armor's increased dodge/evade etc. They build to minimize healing so get by on potions and infrequent camping almost exclusively - Vraes meanwhile has higher HP potentially, better mobility and single target damage potential - the highest in game in those 3 cases... That of course requires a bit more knowledge of the lay of the land and enemy specifics. For now your approach makes sense in getting to know the enemy capabilities slow and steady, that's why I finished the previous post with the paragraph about turtling up - nothing wrong with it... |
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Post by Zhivago on Mar 8, 2017 12:01:44 GMT -5
An intimate knowledge of mob tactics and capabilities is important for success in any strategy game. On Nightmare difficulty of HoS, you will certainly fall behind the steep level curve if you do not focus on building your party's accuracy, damage mitigation, and armor/resistance stripping. Party buffs are the most effective and efficient way to do that regardless of SP use (think of the total cumulative increase in stats a party buff like Warder's conveys, for example).
While retreating and turtling is certainly a viable tactic, you will eventually be confronted with situations in which without dependable, curve appropriate accuracy, damage mitigation, and armor/resistance stripping you will be overwhelmed and crushed.
I too prefer Kincaid, simply because he mitigates so much potential damage by dodging. My NMI philosophy is one of redundancies, but there's a lot of tremendous information on these boards about effective NMI groups. The Trese Bros have done a great job in balancing heroes abilities and capabilities, giving us many different viable options and synergies.
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Post by En1gma on Mar 10, 2017 21:07:08 GMT -5
Having an issue with the Reaver build. Vraes is falling behind in utility, despite having CB 2 and FEROCITY 3. His damage is sporadic at best at this point, but when he hits hard, the damage is great. Right now the points up for Respec are:
CB 2
FEROCITY 3
NM 1
SSk 6
I could get him to Juggernaut 6 comfortably by scrapping everything but SSk, but my problem is that the group isn't dealing enough damage to get groups low for Juggernaut to make a difference.
Selen is using Pinning Shot for AoE, and Kyera is using Banishment, so we have some decent damage getting sent out, and we're already almost through the Orcin area (waiting until later for Gholla), so the UF is coming, and Jugg would do quite well down there. I also have Kyera using Sacrifice, so SP isn't an issue...
Do I stay the course and just keep bumping FEROCITY (respeccing later), or Respec and use Jugg as the AoE develops? Any thoughts are more than welcome.
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Post by johndramey on Mar 24, 2017 3:16:58 GMT -5
Ok folks, after a long hiatus from HoS, I've decided to hop back in and play some more. This is mostly due to the recent crafting update, but also just because I have a hankering for some dungeon diving. Since it's been so long since I've crunched the numbers on HoS, I figured I'd post my group idea here and let you folks pick it apart. I'm thinking of playing a group of Kincaid, Vincent, Kyera, and Selen on Brutal. My thoughts for each are: Kincaid will be my main "tank," in quotes because he'll be dodgy. I'm thinking light blades+throwing knives, maxing his dex, and trying to keep him light and mobile. Talents will be: - Sure Parry - best defensive talent in the game, imo
- Darting Steel, need them debuffs.
- Cunning Footwork - more defensive and building up crit%
- Flashing Blades - for those particularly scary foes
Sure Parry and Darting Steel are the main focus early game, with just a point or two in Cunning Footwork and Flashing Blades. Later game, more points will go into Cunning Footwork, leaving Flashing Blades for last priority. Kincaid will use 1AP blades/knives. Vincent will be my main debuffer/janitor. Staff for sure for him, I'll pump his int, knowledge, and dex, in that order. He'll mostly stick behind the lines, lay curses and clean up/soften groups. Talents will be: - Lightning Spear - big blooey for packs of foes
- Frigid Air - go away arrows -and- weakening
- Flash Freeze - taking AP away -and- easier to hit
Lightning Spear will be a big talent sink, being a place I'll dump every other talent point. Frigid Air will be second priority, getting the bulk of the left over points, and Flash Freeze will get a point every now and then. I mostly just want it for -AP and will probably stop putting points into it once it goes AoE. Kyera will be a secondary debuffer/sniper. Staff for her, as well. She'll get pretty much the same attributes as Vincent. She'll stick behind the lines and deal out damage, occasionally laying a debuff on a particularly scary foe. Talents will be: - Holy Retribution - begone, foul beasts
- Warder's Shield - extra parry and dodge, yo
- Ethereal Anguish - for even more -AP goodness
- Banishment - for those big 'ole blobs
Holy Retribution and Warder's Shield will get focused on early game, with an occasional point being dropped into Ethereal Anguish (at least until AoE). Banishment is late, late game, so I'll probably toss a couple points into Myshana's Tears if I can afford it. Selen will be my off-tank/debuffer. Single light blade for her and a bow. The idea being she'll trail behind Kincaid, debuff scary foes, and just generally be a pain in the butt. Talents will be: - Punishing Blades - -Armor is the best
- Pinning Shot - for even more easy hitting
- Quicksilver Defense - dee-fence, dee-fence
- Fenzied Blows - for them extra scary foes
Punishing Blades is a big focus for her since both Kincaid and Selen will be light blade based, while Pinning Shot is a side deal for particularly troublesome enemies. Quicksilver Defense will be a big focus in the early-middle game, as I want her to be hard to hit. Frenzied blows will get an occasional point just to have an OH-NOES button that I can press if a big 'ole scary dude comes into play. As you can see, my build is focusing on raw damage coupled with crit% for my main and off-tank. I could see the light blades becoming a problem later, but as long as I keep Punishing Blades at a good level and am judicious with my stripping of AP, I think the defensive build of the team outweighs the lack of serious Vraes-level punch. Plus, Kyera and Vincent can wail on particularly armored foes with a smiting combo of lightning and holy damage. So, folks, how is my idea? Terrible? Doable but difficult? Great? Let me know! |
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Post by fallen on Mar 24, 2017 11:09:53 GMT -5
Looks like a strong build with a lot of potential for big -AP reduction and a wide variety of curses to toss based on who you are fighting!
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