What is the easiest build to play the game on normal difficulty? I'm thinking of starting a new game (I've only played a few of hours so far) and I want to mainly concentrate on the storyline. Maybe I should even turn the difficulty down a notch?
Hey @Wilbur I don't know which build is strongest, but some classic PoE builds are INT/DEX barb, MIT/INT Muscle Wizard. INT is basically a good stat to pick up on any class, besides Monk. I'm running a INT/DEX barb using a estoc on path of the damned and he is killing like 90% of the enemies. Barbs do better with two handed weapons because higher dmg weapons do better against the insane damage reduction some enemies have, I use the estoc because it bypasses 5 enemy DR and that also applies to the barbs carnage passive.
Muscle Wizard is great if you focus on talents that buff his wand/scepter "Blast and it's upgrades" and spells like merciless gaze and Eldritch Aim. Once you get Kalakoth's Minor Blights a level 3 spell, it's game over. This spell creates a wand that last for around about a min, all your wand skills apply to it and the dmg output is just ridiculous. Aloth is a dmg machine, second only to my barb.
Monk is also something that becomes very strong later on, also pretty much the only class that needs a bit of CON by that I mean I leave it 10 and not the normal 6 or 7 it's on for every other class I play. Most Monks play, fish dudes, Fire or Moon godlike.
If you want a tank, fighter is far far far superior to pally, pallies got buffed and still suck. Also RES/PER are much more important than CON.
I'm sorry to say Druids are over hyped, they are good, but a properly built wizard will out dmg them and have better CC.
Cipher is stupid strong, give em two fast weapons and they can perma stun most enemies for most of the game.
Rangers are super average and Chanters are super versatile, true jack of all trades.
Thanks @SmilingSword ! I think I'll go with a barb with a 2H-weapon. I actually started my first game with a barb but started second guessing the choice to dual wield. Also INT/DEX barb sounds like a fun character
You might also consider a rogue since there are no NPC rogues in the game. Makes dealing with all the traps and hard to open chests easy. They can also be pretty beastly damage dealers with a little bit of micro management.
You might also consider a rogue since there are no NPC rogues in the game. Makes dealing with all the traps and hard to open chests easy. They can also be pretty beastly damage dealers with a little bit of micro management.
Any character can deal with traps and searching for hidden objects, all you need is a high mechanics skill. Rogues are the best at this because of their innate bonuses, but any character can do it.
@Wilbur there are a few ways to go weapon wise with barb I like DR so I go for the estoc, but most people with tell you a pike or quaterstaff are better because they have extended reach and with that you can block a doorway with a tank or two and smack dudes from over your tanks heads with relative safety.
You might also consider a rogue since there are no NPC rogues in the game. Makes dealing with all the traps and hard to open chests easy. They can also be pretty beastly damage dealers with a little bit of micro management.
Any character can deal with traps and searching for hidden objects, all you need is a high mechanics skill. Rogues are the best at this because of their innate bonuses, but any character can do it.
My Necro-Chanter actually covered this since they get bonuses to mechanics, just not as strong as the thief does.
@procco Rogue sound like an intriguing choice too. I just don't know if I want to make the game any harder than it already is (at least in the beginning). What would make a more combat efficient rogue?
@Wilbur I've liked a rogue in PoE a lot. My thief has been wrecking everything. The key is in positioning and using other party members abilities to your advantage. Once the enemies are either engaged or in some way stunned/paralyzed the rogue turns them into meat.
I don't think a lot of options can really match a dual-wielding rogue in single target damage output . I keep crowd-controling enemies, keep the tank in the middle of everything, and use my rogue to quickly finish enemies, one by one.
I also have several anti-engagement and escape options that can help greatly to switch targets or get a better place for an attack.
Shadowing Beyond - to break an engagement and make the rogue invisible for 10 seconds, which I spend to get to a new enemy and sneak attack it.
Escape - to breaka an engagement by diving out of range to a selected location.
And later Coordinated Positioning - to break an engagement and instantly switch the rogue's position with a target. Works with Eder a lot.
With those options the rogue is probably the most mobile combat unit.
@Wilbur, Rogues are the best single target dmg dealers in the game, Barbs have the most consistent AOE dmg in the game. Over all I think the barb deals more dmg, just because with a high INT it's carnage AOE is pretty big. My barb hits for around about 30 to 40 dmg on average on the target he is attacking and does 20 to 40 dmg to every enemy standing near by. Carnage is is rolled individually on every enemy for every hit, so sometimes my barb with graze a enemy and carnage will end up doing more dmg to the creatures standing around it than the actual target. Oh and carnage applies all on hit abilities. So if you want AOE all the time go Barb, if you want huge single target dmg go Rogue.
Okay I'll pick the rogue (for now ). I really like to be able to pick all the locks and disarm all the traps in the game. A huge damage output isn't a bad thing either
The thing about Rogues in PoE though is that they're not quite like the typical Thief-derived DnD Rogue. It's going less for the "agile fighter/skillmonkey" archetype and more for a "ruthless warrior" feel. A PoE Rogue would be examplified as well by the Hound as by Daario Naharys, in my opinion.
Maybe they should have changed the name to Blaggard.
I just completed act II. Should I have met a rouge companion right now? I have Eder, aloth, the short ranger, Kana, and durance right now, with grieving mother, feather paladin at my keep, and that annoying orlan I left out in the woods. Wait is that everyone? I just counted. Whatever. How many acts are there? I'm 48 hours in, according to steam. Is that about right?
I'm thinking of starting my second playthrough once the expac hits so I can try the new talents and such. I saw "Rhymer's Summon" as one of the talents. If it creates a skellybro I'll be doing my next playthrough as a Death Godlike Priest of Berath that summons skeletons.
There's no rogue companion in PoE, there will be one in the White March expansion.
It seems you've found everyone.
As for the hours, I've reached the Act 2 after 65 hours, so... everybody's playthrough is different:)
As for the number of acts, I'm still to find that out:)
I'm right at the end of Act II and lost track of the hours on my current playthrough (I tend to play in airplane mode so Steam doesn't fire up when I start the game...it has improved the game's performance on my laptop considerably...so Steam hasn't tracked most of my play time) but it's gotta be in the 100 hour range. Glad to hear I'm not the only one taking forever to finish the game I was going to try to keep from loading the 1.02 patch until I finish this play through, but I'm not sure how soon I'll play it again. Probably not before it is "complete" with both parts of the expansion. I am curious to see how the new patch affects the feel of combat.
My run of the game took 80 hours but I haven't done any of the bounties nor have I done the 15 floor dungeon under your stronghold. Saving those for when I run the game next.
Just finished Act II finally...and it ends with a bang! I absolutely love this game!
I liked the politics bit. I thought it was a little short. I like that sort of thing in games. I also played it while watching that first republican primary debate, which I though was a nice pairing. Since this is no spoilers
I thought it was a bit over the top that the whole city went up in flames immediately. I mean, riots, sure, but Jesus.
Josh Sawyer was a guest on http://www.twitch.tv/twitch/v/10008524?t=1h54m25s yesterday, where he once again showed off the recorded Pillars of Eternity: The White March gameplay footage. With ten minutes this time instead of just six, he did manage to say a bit more about it.
The expansion will be adding "high level combat areas" to the game, meant to challenge endgame parties.
One of these areas, a location called Craghold Bluffs, appears in the footage. It will also be putting more emphasis on CYOA scripted interactions
Josh Sawyer was a guest on http://www.twitch.tv/twitch/v/10008524?t=1h54m25s yesterday, where he once again showed off the recorded Pillars of Eternity: The White March gameplay footage. With ten minutes this time instead of just six, he did manage to say a bit more about it.
The expansion will be adding "high level combat areas" to the game, meant to challenge endgame parties.
One of these areas, a location called Craghold Bluffs, appears in the footage. It will also be putting more emphasis on CYOA scripted interactions
Also, another video was released, narrated by Bobby Null and showing the expansion's new areas - the village of Stalwart, Durgan's Battery and Cragholdt Bluffs.
Comments
Muscle Wizard is great if you focus on talents that buff his wand/scepter "Blast and it's upgrades" and spells like merciless gaze and Eldritch Aim. Once you get Kalakoth's Minor Blights a level 3 spell, it's game over. This spell creates a wand that last for around about a min, all your wand skills apply to it and the dmg output is just ridiculous. Aloth is a dmg machine, second only to my barb.
Monk is also something that becomes very strong later on, also pretty much the only class that needs a bit of CON by that I mean I leave it 10 and not the normal 6 or 7 it's on for every other class I play. Most Monks play, fish dudes, Fire or Moon godlike.
If you want a tank, fighter is far far far superior to pally, pallies got buffed and still suck. Also RES/PER are much more important than CON.
I'm sorry to say Druids are over hyped, they are good, but a properly built wizard will out dmg them and have better CC.
Cipher is stupid strong, give em two fast weapons and they can perma stun most enemies for most of the game.
Rangers are super average and Chanters are super versatile, true jack of all trades.
So, there will be as much as 2 new levels.
@Wilbur I've liked a rogue in PoE a lot. My thief has been wrecking everything. The key is in positioning and using other party members abilities to your advantage. Once the enemies are either engaged or in some way stunned/paralyzed the rogue turns them into meat.
I don't think a lot of options can really match a dual-wielding rogue in single target damage output . I keep crowd-controling enemies, keep the tank in the middle of everything, and use my rogue to quickly finish enemies, one by one.
I also have several anti-engagement and escape options that can help greatly to switch targets or get a better place for an attack.
Shadowing Beyond - to break an engagement and make the rogue invisible for 10 seconds, which I spend to get to a new enemy and sneak attack it.
Escape - to breaka an engagement by diving out of range to a selected location.
And later Coordinated Positioning - to break an engagement and instantly switch the rogue's position with a target. Works with Eder a lot.
With those options the rogue is probably the most mobile combat unit.
You can read more about my views here: https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/629605/#Comment_629605
I'm playing as a thief in Morrowind right now and I'm liking it a lot so perhaps that is the way to go...
Maybe they should have changed the name to Blaggard.
Whatever. How many acts are there? I'm 48 hours in, according to steam. Is that about right?
It seems you've found everyone.
As for the hours, I've reached the Act 2 after 65 hours, so... everybody's playthrough is different:)
As for the number of acts, I'm still to find that out:)
I was going to try to keep from loading the 1.02 patch until I finish this play through, but I'm not sure how soon I'll play it again. Probably not before it is "complete" with both parts of the expansion. I am curious to see how the new patch affects the feel of combat.
Since this is no spoilers
I thought it was a bit over the top that the whole city went up in flames immediately. I mean, riots, sure, but Jesus.
The expansion will be adding "high level combat areas" to the game, meant to challenge endgame parties.
One of these areas, a location called Craghold Bluffs, appears in the footage. It will also be putting more emphasis on CYOA scripted interactions
There're new screenshots on Paradox's website - https://www.paradoxplaza.com/pillars-of-eternity-the-white-march.
Man, I like these CYOA interactions!
Also, another video was released, narrated by Bobby Null and showing the expansion's new areas - the village of Stalwart, Durgan's Battery and Cragholdt Bluffs.
Next Tuesday is not far away:)
I try to resist but the PoE virus is back, stronger than ever...
28.13 euros for the hero edition. Have you downloaded the "update 2.0" ? It's a 2.2GB free download.