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Post by johndramey on Sept 21, 2014 19:50:13 GMT -5
Haha, so glad to see my thread is still alive and kicking after I neglected it for so long.
Anyway, I'm building a Normal party and trying to take it through everything. Mostly I want to get a feel for Kincaid, but I also just like relatively easy romps through the game.
I'm running with Kincaid, Kjartan, Kyera and Selen. My main concept is for a dex heavy chainsaw up front (Kincaid/Selen) and supporters in the back (Kjartan/Kyera). How plausible would this be in everyone's expert opinion?
I'm thinking of focusing on light blades for both Kincaid and Selen, using their curses and empowered attacks selectively to get tougher opponents. I actually really like Kincaids throwing knives and their associated curse skill, so I've been boosting that.
Kjartan will basically be a walking choking sands machine, with occasional buff support. Kyera will be an HP factory and lend a hand with Ethereal Anguish and other buffs.
So.... what say you thread? Am I making a party that is doomed to failure?
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Post by fallen on Sept 21, 2014 20:18:19 GMT -5
johndramey - I ran this group on Nightmare recently and died in the Ratkin lair, just a few fights before the Great Shaman. I got overly cocky with Selen and charged into a fight too quickly. Four archers and two shamans all fired on her and it was over. I found the group to be a serious chainsaw. I was using only 1 AP blades up to that point, because Kjartan's Choking Ash was making everyone so easy to drop!
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Post by En1gma on Sept 21, 2014 20:28:36 GMT -5
I'm glad I'm not the only one who appreciates the TK  A word of advice- sick with the 1ap version- Ash and other debuffs will make sure they hit nice and hard, and they're a great way to burn off the leftover ap at the end of the turn. I would be careful about raising Crippling Strikes too high (if you use it)- I tried to boost it straight to lvl 6 for the AoE, but it was EXTREMELY expensive... It looks like it would stack up nicely with Ash, and it does, but at a price. Group looks fine, but consider Direct Damage, wether KJ or Kyera, but for all his dodginess, he can't stand there and take arrows like a SS or Phalanx Vraes can. This was actually a very successful group I had on my last phone... Consider BB for KJs buff... Burning Blades and TK makes for serious damage, especially when critical boosting. Ash and BB is a match made in heaven. By the time you reach Osk, you can have almost 10% crits, and 1ap TK gives you excellent chances of Critical slaughter. Keep us posted  |
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Post by johndramey on Sept 21, 2014 20:38:29 GMT -5
fallen and En1gma - Awesome! On paper it seemed like a very good, if a little dangerous, group to play. Glad to see all my serious strategerizing wasn't for nothing. I'm just pushing them through Red hills at the moment, so once I get a little farther a long I'll be sure to keep the thread updated. The 1AP draw was what really got me going on this build, it seems like I have a lot more freedom with light blades. Sure they don't hit as hard, but using the TKs and curses allows me to regularly clean up 2-3 enemies per round even when they're spread around an area. If they are concentrated... well, then I can really go to town. I was thinking of trying to boost up Kincaid's Sure Parry skill. Getting his dodge and parry up to astronomical levels (for very little AP/spirit cost) might help mitigate some of his paper-thin armor. Anyone got any experience with that?
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Post by En1gma on Sept 21, 2014 20:56:59 GMT -5
Sure Parry looks great on paper, and it is (at level 4, when it blocks 2 attacks per round). I don't really use it. Reason being that each successful auto-block degrades the Dodge/Parry of the ability. Cunning Footwork gives better bonuses to dodge and parry, while also boosting crit% - which is massive if you use 1ap TK. CFw is IMO his best ability. Hands down. I'm sure people disagree, but for me it is amazing and allows for offensive development alongside other abilities (Burning Blades!!!) If you do use SureP, I would bring it right to 4, then focus on a melee skill that your group is lacking, as SureP takes away from Kincaid's offensive prowess.
As to his armour. Kincaid is blessed with several abilities that boost his armour count, SureP being one of them. On normal I don't really worry about Kincaid too much when tanking- his Dex is great at keeping him out of trouble. I put his first few Att points into Con, then focus on Dex and Cunning Footwork, while slowly bringing up Ky or Fy's defensive talent- the two make for a great defense, and Kincaid is free to dance about merrily, slaughtering as he sees fit.
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Post by fallen on Sept 21, 2014 21:03:23 GMT -5
Every time I have played Kincaid, I go to SP 4. It is amazing insurance against getting killed with his lower HP barrier. Then, I focus on other stuff and don't touch SP for a long time.
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Post by tenbsmith on Sept 22, 2014 8:35:52 GMT -5
johndramey's group is the one I want to play next. It'll give me a chance to develop a Kyera that uses holy damage spells (Retribution?) and uses a staff instead of a hammer.
You might consider leaving Kyera's ethereal anguish at 1 and leveling up other things. Warder's Shield seems like a great match to you dex-based front line, could make them nigh on unhittable.
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Post by En1gma on Sept 27, 2014 23:29:36 GMT -5
New group I just started tonight.
Kinetic Energy
This is going to be a huge improvement on my previous and long since erased apology to Sacrifice.
Party Members: Kincaid, Vincent, Kyera, and Selen
Kincaid will be built very defensively, bringing SureP straight to 4, then bringing Live by the Blade up until he gets +2mp then boosting Lunge until it's doing over +12 damage. Slow but steady. I really don't want too much SP getting burned off until later, once Sacrifice is giving huge returns, then I'll be boosting Crippling Strikes or saving for his final attack.
Vincent will be bringing LS immediately to 10. After that I'll see what my party needs most, but likely he will just start Eye of the Storm. Over half of the total damage in the group will rest solely on his able shoulders, and I want him to be several steps ahead of the damage curve, and this is the fastest way to do it, IMO.
Kyera will be my Blue Mana Battery. Obscure MTG references aside, most of her life is going to be spent maxing out Intelligence and Lore. She will bring Tears to 3 early, then start saving for Sacrifice. The whole goal for her is going to be increasing the long-term effectiveness of the entire group. Everyone in this group is designed to use a shit-ton of SP, so she needs to keep the tanks topped off. Kincaid will be a defensive monster with SureP, Vincent will be chewing through SP with LS, and Selen will be doing her thing with whatever it is I want her to be doing..... Right.
Selen.... My dearest Selen. I think I'll also have her focus on defensive talents. QsD and DoS, with heavy investment in the very expensive Punishing Blades, with supporting points into Frenzied...
Not one person is going to get my obligatory point into SP at the waystation, except for Kyera, of course. This will leave the rest of the group open to boost Dex and Con as needed to keep themselves moving along. Early on I'm not worrying about AP too much, Vincent isgoing to be ripping through enemies, and with the extra MP on both Kincaid and Selen, the frontline will always be moving forward so pressure can be poured on ranged mobs. With QsD, Selen will become my ranged diversion, while Kincaid and his SureP will allow large groups to get stacked up on him for LS to just ruin their day. Let me know what you think. This will be my new group, as I don't see my Electrickening going much farther.... I should have done SureP..... I don't want to talk about it.....
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Post by En1gma on Sept 28, 2014 10:50:07 GMT -5
Sure Parry looks great on paper, and it is (at level 4, when it blocks 2 attacks per round). I don't really use it. Reason being that each successful auto-block degrades the Dodge/Parry of the ability. Cunning Footwork gives better bonuses to dodge and parry, while also boosting crit% - which is massive if you use 1ap TK. CFw is IMO his best ability. Hands down. I'm sure people disagree, but for me it is amazing and allows for offensive development alongside other abilities (Burning Blades!!!) If you do use SureP, I would bring it right to 4, then focus on a melee skill that your group is lacking, as SureP takes away from Kincaid's offensive prowess. ....... I was doing so well with Footwork..... Until I got to the Vermin Warren. Let me just say that I was entirely wrong to neglect SureP.... I can admit it..... I'm man enough.... But damnitall he was doing so well, getting critical hits left and right. Once the rats start doing over 50 damage per swing, Footwork starts to fail. Miserably. I'm done fooling around, and now I'll do Kincaid how he needs to be done. Straight to SureP 4. |
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Post by fallen on Sept 28, 2014 12:54:27 GMT -5
En1gma - does that mean brutal death? Ouch! SP to 4, it is worth it.
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Post by En1gma on Sept 28, 2014 13:26:57 GMT -5
I haven't died yet (down to 11hp in the first fight after the first Ratkin), fallen, but I haven't even been in a big fight yet... Electrickening the way I made it isn't going to work. I don't have the time to get SP up before the assault on the Shamans main force- that big uphill fight that puts groups through their paces. It's just not going to work. How about that respec, eh? |
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Post by fallen on Sept 28, 2014 13:33:50 GMT -5
En1gma - sounds too close for comfort. Respec is on the list, and we're working our way down in priority order. I hope you appreciate the Active Effects list and their "turns to expire" counts! That took higher priority than repsec, based on the numbers of users requesting it across Steam, email, forum, Facebook, and reviews.
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Post by En1gma on Sept 28, 2014 13:47:59 GMT -5
Oh, of course I appreciate it, fallen. The active effects list and the turns remaining are great... It's just that now I need to start over again- and need to go through everything yet again. I love the party and the concept I was playing, the only flaw with the group was not using SP... To do it all over again with the same group would be too redundant for me, so I'll try a new concept- the Kinetic Energy seems good enough for me to bring through... Hopefully this build will come out better, but in the meantime I'll put poor Electrickening on the shelf until respec comes out. It's all good. |
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Post by Cory Trese on Sept 28, 2014 13:56:53 GMT -5
Everyone should be aware that Episode 3 includes some new types of gear that will change the equation on SP, serious.
If you've got a group that at the end of Episode 2 is SP bound, fear not -- we've seen this coming for months and designed a game changing class of gear for Episode 3 that will help you boost your builds into the final stages and prepare for the savagery of Ep4.
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Post by plunk on Sept 29, 2014 9:07:40 GMT -5
Will there be an option of even a one time respec to better take advantage of said game changing class of gear?
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A word of advice- sick with the 1ap version- Ash and other debuffs will make sure they hit nice and hard, and they're a great way to burn off the leftover ap at the end of the turn. I would be careful about raising Crippling Strikes too high (if you use it)- I tried to boost it straight to lvl 6 for the AoE, but it was EXTREMELY expensive... It looks like it would stack up nicely with Ash, and it does, but at a price. Group looks fine, but consider Direct Damage, wether KJ or Kyera, but for all his dodginess, he can't stand there and take arrows like a SS or Phalanx Vraes can. This was actually a very successful group I had on my last phone... Consider BB for KJs buff... Burning Blades and TK makes for serious damage, especially when critical boosting. Ash and BB is a match made in heaven. By the time you reach Osk, you can have almost 10% crits, and 1ap TK gives you excellent chances of Critical slaughter. Keep us posted 
