|
shalcar posted:I tend not to be able to get Bless off because there tends to be too much incoming damage on a low hp character (Warlock or Soc) and they won't survive a round without healing of some description, enemies seem to get much higher initiative than my party on a pretty regular basis. You should be blessing before initiating combat Incidentally you can enter turn based mode before a combat to set things up relatively efficiently
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2023 05:42
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 20, 2024 08:31 |
|
|
Mr. Lobe posted:Look at your side bar to the right On a PS5. Our interfaces are different, I think
|
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2023 06:06
|
|
|
Most combat encounters, especially early on, have some level of environmental manipulation that makes them significantly easier. Explosive barrels, collapsible bridges, precariously placed ledges you can push the bad guys off, etc. It helps to scan ahead whenever you enter a new room to see what’s available to you and what rough patches to avoid. Positioning can mean everything when your party is weak and can’t hit anything to save their lives. Shadowheart may only have a 50% chance to hit that goblin but she’ll always have a 100% chance to ignite that grease fire!
|
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2023 06:14
|
|
|
Trevor Hale posted:On a PS5. Our interfaces are different, I think Oh right, that makes sense On PC there's a special bar that gets populated with recast speaking with dead. Maybe look somewhere that isn't a list of your spells in available actions? That's my best guess
|
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2023 06:18
|
|
|
shalcar posted:I've just hit level 4 in Act 1 and my party feels kind of terrible and I'm not really sure where I'm going wrong. I've got a Dwarf Barbarian, Wood Elf Sorcerer, Wyll as Warlock and Shadowheart as Cleric, but it feels like combat is just... not great? Everyone has low AC and so we get hit constantly, which tends to tie up Shadowheart burning spells on healing all the time instead of being able to provide buffs, the Sorcerer does reasonably well despite being made of paper but doesn't have enough spell slots so tends to be just throwing cantrips for 1d10, Eldrich Blast on Wyll is decent but he's made of paper and the Barbarian seems to only really be able to throw or swing and not a lot else. Drop one of your two custom characters and pick up Laezel. Try to start fights on your terms. High ground is good and so is starting a fight with something that kills or incapacitates multiple enemies. Try to start fights with all of your characters going first. The feat "alert" does this, and high dexterity helps a lot. For your "getting hit too much" issue, it's obvious but wear the best armor/robes you can and give a shield to everyone who can use them.
|
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2023 06:20
|
|
|
shalcar posted:I've just hit level 4 in Act 1 and my party feels kind of terrible and I'm not really sure where I'm going wrong. I've got a Dwarf Barbarian, Wood Elf Sorcerer, Wyll as Warlock and Shadowheart as Cleric, but it feels like combat is just... not great? Everyone has low AC and so we get hit constantly, which tends to tie up Shadowheart burning spells on healing all the time instead of being able to provide buffs, the Sorcerer does reasonably well despite being made of paper but doesn't have enough spell slots so tends to be just throwing cantrips for 1d10, Eldrich Blast on Wyll is decent but he's made of paper and the Barbarian seems to only really be able to throw or swing and not a lot else. Okay, here's my best clinic with what you've said. Dwarf Barbarian You should be wearing the best medium armor you can find. This should be either Scale Mail (possibly Scale Mail +1 if Damon, the tiefling blacksmith in the druid grove, sells it to you yet--this is dependent on character level), or Lae'zel's Githyanki Half Plate. As a barbarian, it behooves you to have 14 dexterity, because medium armor allows +2 DEX to carry over to your AC. With Githyanki Half Plate and 14 dexterity, your barbarian will have 17 AC. This character is your bruiser--they should deal heavy damage in melee as well as be able to hold their own on the frontline. Regardless of their subclass, you should feel like this character is very reliable in a fight. Make use of your barbarian's high strength score--you can use the Jump bonus action to position yourself easily in combat. Wood Elf Sorcerer Your mileage will vary greatly depending on how you built this character's spell loadout. Level 5 is a big power boost for casters (your cantrips will deal double damage), so if you can hold out for another level you'll see this character get a big boost to their overall effectiveness. At level 4, this character could benefit from wielding a Longbow if their dexterity is decent, but at level 5 their cantrip will take over. A sorcerer's purpose is to cast decisive, battle-determining spells. At level 4, this will be things like Cloud of Daggers, Scorching Ray, Chromatic Orb (to take out a priority target), Magic Missile (to finish off targets without wasting overkill damage), as well as control spells like Hold Person or Web. I personally think that Cloud of Daggers is the best overall level 2 offensive spell in the game for its sheer reliability. Wyll imo Wyll is one of the roughest party members to use. Blade Warlocks are kind of horrible because they only have light armor. If I were using Wyll in your party, I'd give him Cloud of Daggers and combo him with the Sorcerer's Web spell. The tome or chain pacts are better than the blade pact for a pure warlock, but go against his flavor a bit. Give him Leather Armor +1 or Studded Leather Armor, have him equip a shield, and use him as an eldritch blaster. He'll fill the role of basically an archer who can occasionally use a couple high-impact spells. Repelling Blast is extremely powerful for its ability to knock enemies off ledges. If you really want him to be a melee character like he wants to be in-lore, I would either recommend multiclassing him to pick up heavy armor proficiency, or treating him almost like a rogue and have him initiate combat from stealth with a pact weapon greatsword. Shadowheart Shadowheart is a force multiplier. Give her good medium armor--either Scale Mail or Githyanki Half Plate. Equip a shield. Make sure she casts Aid after you rest--it increases the HP of every party member for the whole day. In battle, Shadowheart can use Spiritual Weapon to summon a very solid extra combatant. Every meaningful battle, she should begin by casting Bless on your other 3 party members. This is her Concentration ability, so don't accidentally overwrite it with another Concentration spell. Other good spells for her are Healing Word for reviving allies in combat, Guiding Bolt if you really need to finish off a target this turn, and Silence if you are fighting a spellcaster (or harpy, for that matter). Her default stats and cantrips are kind of bad. I like to respec her immediately to have 16 strength or 16 dex, as well as the Produce Flame cantrip (much better than Sacred Flame). If you don't want to respec her, you can just have her use a crossbow and swap back to her melee weapon and shield after firing. Overall battle strategy Try to evaluate your enemy composition and terrain before initiating combat. This game is very much designed around its terrain. High ground is almost always preferable. Think about which enemies you want to attack first, and how you will initiate combat to attack them first. Can you alpha strike a high-priority enemy (ie a mage, cleric, or archer in a dangerous location)? D&D encounters often involve one or two especially dangerous foes who are padded out with more generic enemies. However, a horde of generic enemies can sometimes be more dangerous than a single powerful foe. This is the case with Gnolls, for example, where a few archers given freedom to multi attack from range every round is far more dangerous than a single powerful gnoll going toe-to-toe with your tank. However, if the unique enemy is a mage casting aoe spells or a cleric buffing their allies or debuffing your party, taking them out before dealing with the horde might be preferable. Many of the best features in the game are ones that do their effect, guaranteed, without dice involved. Examples of this are the spell Aid, which grants HP to every party member for the whole day. This adds a guaranteed, known quantity to your side of the battle. The spell Spike Growth is amazing as well because it slows enemies who walk in it and deals damage as they walk, with no save involved. Again--it is a known quantity around which you can design a strategy. This is why Cloud of Daggers is so good. It deals damage without a saving throw or attack roll. It persists through Concentration, so it adds a terrain feature that you can exploit through positioning or shoving. If you can cast Cloud of Daggers on at least 2 enemies, it does good enough damage to immediately pay itself off, in terms of cost and benefit. Finally, keep in mind that you should as much as possible be the one initiating combat. On your terms, rather than having the enemy get the drop on you. If you know there are enemies nearby, go into stealth mode to see their detection cones, position yourself accordingly, and start the fight. if you want to get more advanced, you can use stealth mode to initiate combat asynchronously, so you can have your party enter combat one at a time and guarantee their first round is as high-impact as possible. Also, for healing--Shadowheart shouldn't be thought of as "the party healer." Keep every party member stocked with Healing Potions. Drinking potions is a bonus action. They can heal themselves. Try to keep healing spells saved for emergencies, like raising downed allies. Cephas fucked around with this message at 06:27 on Dec 22, 2023 |
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2023 06:24
|
|
|
Did you not meet the blacksmith in the grove??
|
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2023 06:27
|
|
|
Cephas posted:An amazing post Thanks so much for this, it's been incredibly helpful! I really feel like this changes how I'm looking at the battles and my party. I really appreciate it!
|
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2023 07:02
|
|
|
I dunno if my game bugged out or what but I was investigating that quest where someone puts the bombs in the toys in Act 3 and I got into the donation warehouse and found the bombs. A guard came in and questioned me about it but I told him there were bombs in the toys and he freaked out about it. However for some reason my conversation broke and before I could keep talking to him the whole warehouse went hostile. Since it's honour mode I had to massacre all those Flaming Fist. It at least appears to have not made all the other fists in the zone hostile though.
|
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2023 07:04
|
|
|
Trevor Hale posted:On a PS5. Our interfaces are different, I think I have it on PS5 here is what you do. When you cast speak with dead after that until a long rest everyone who is a corpse and has something to say will glow green so you know which ones to cast it on. Now you have two skills cast speak with dead and recast speak with dead. If you get a spell for speak to dead it will be a menu with a submenu on the radial dial. Like disguise self. If you can't find it which sounds like the case here, go to a spot on the radial, click square I think to get the menu options, set skill, and look for recast speak to dead. It should be right next to the cast speak to dead.
|
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2023 07:15
|
|
|
Ginette Reno posted:I dunno if my game bugged out or what but I was investigating that quest where someone puts the bombs in the toys in Act 3 and I got into the donation warehouse and found the bombs. A guard came in and questioned me about it but I told him there were bombs in the toys and he freaked out about it. However for some reason my conversation broke and before I could keep talking to him the whole warehouse went hostile. Since it's honour mode I had to massacre all those Flaming Fist. It at least appears to have not made all the other fists in the zone hostile though. Did you talk to them before you went inside? You usually have to get permission
|
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2023 07:15
|
|
|
shalcar posted:I've just hit level 4 in Act 1 and my party feels kind of terrible and I'm not really sure where I'm going wrong. I've got a Dwarf Barbarian, Wood Elf Sorcerer, Wyll as Warlock and Shadowheart as Cleric, but it feels like combat is just... not great? Everyone has low AC and so we get hit constantly, which tends to tie up Shadowheart burning spells on healing all the time instead of being able to provide buffs, the Sorcerer does reasonably well despite being made of paper but doesn't have enough spell slots so tends to be just throwing cantrips for 1d10, Eldrich Blast on Wyll is decent but he's made of paper and the Barbarian seems to only really be able to throw or swing and not a lot else. I’d suggest not having both a sorcerer and a warlock in the party at the same time. The warlock will probably be better before level 5 and the sorc will be better after. Respec shadowheart if you haven’t already to make her stats more useful; and make her light domain, she’ll get a super powerful AoE.
|
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2023 07:17
|
|
|
Shard posted:Did you talk to them before you went inside? You usually have to get permission Yeah I persuaded the guy at the front to let me go in there. And he seemed fine with my explanation about what I looted but then they all went hostile. I assume I somehow got flagged as stealing stuff but I dunno why.
|
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2023 07:18
|
|
|
Shard posted:I have it on PS5 here is what you do. When you cast speak with dead after that until a long rest everyone who is a corpse and has something to say will glow green so you know which ones to cast it on. Now you have two skills cast speak with dead and recast speak with dead. Is it fundamentally different if I use speak with dead from the amulet and not speak with dead as a spell I know? Cuz on things like call lightning or witch bolt, they’ve tended to layer in that use/reactivate behavior. I get that making the game for a console vs a pc is a big switch, but that’s unnecessarily wacky UX
|
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2023 07:34
|
|
|
Honor Mode is a real land of contrasts. I got one-rounded by Auntie Ethel crowd-controlling my entire party. Then of course, after having to continue in Dishonor, I was able to defeat her without taking a single point of damage. The Spider Matriarch also ended up dying like a chump. as far as I can tell, the secret to Honor Mode in Act 1 is to just play the game like a completionist and do as many quests as possible to hit level 5, and then take on the optional bosses.
|
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2023 07:53
|
|
|
The real secret to Honour Mode is to just start stabbing and don't stop. Bonus points if you do it all drunk.
|
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2023 08:08
|
|
|
Cephas posted:Honor Mode is a real land of contrasts. I got one-rounded by Auntie Ethel crowd-controlling my entire party. Then of course, after having to continue in Dishonor, I was able to defeat her without taking a single point of damage. The Spider Matriarch also ended up dying like a chump. as far as I can tell, the secret to Honor Mode in Act 1 is to just play the game like a completionist and do as many quests as possible to hit level 5, and then take on the optional bosses. This has been my experience. I just finished up act 2 in honor mode. Act 1 was much harder, just because I was so much squishier
|
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2023 08:53
|
|
|
space uncle posted:My camp chest has enough wine and vegetables to feed an entire army, dozens of Supply Packs, and yet I must check every Rotten Basket to make sure that carrot really is rotten and isn’t edible. I’m still looting chickens well into Act 3. "Today we slaughtered our way through a goblin warband. What's for dinner?" "Booze. Just booze. All the booze we have."
|
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2023 11:22
|
|
|
If you don't have the dwarfish dinner achievement you're probably prioritizing the wrong things
|
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2023 11:44
|
|
|
The Wicked ZOGA posted:If you don't have the dwarfish dinner achievement you're probably prioritizing the wrong things and if you haven't gotten it IRL then there's something profoundly wrong with you
|
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2023 11:49
|
|
|
Cephas posted:Honor Mode is a real land of contrasts. I got one-rounded by Auntie Ethel crowd-controlling my entire party. Then of course, after having to continue in Dishonor, I was able to defeat her without taking a single point of damage. The Spider Matriarch also ended up dying like a chump. as far as I can tell, the secret to Honor Mode in Act 1 is to just play the game like a completionist and do as many quests as possible to hit level 5, and then take on the optional bosses. How? I never reached level 5 until after doing everything except the goblin leaders and the gith.
|
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2023 14:42
|
|
|
If you go through the Underdark you can pretty reliably hit Level 5 before having to face the Goblin leaders or the githyanki.
|
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2023 14:46
|
|
|
Improve your XP yield from NPCs by passing their speech checks, then killing them
|
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2023 15:19
|
|
|
The Wicked ZOGA posted:Improve your XP yield from NPCs by passing their speech checks, then killing them To clarify, I think you have to pass speech checks, then quicksave and quickload, then kill them. I think you can even triple-dip your exp by talking, save/loading, knocking unconscious, save/loading, then killing.
|
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2023 15:22
|
|
|
Angry Diplomat posted:To clarify, I think you have to pass speech checks, then quicksave and quickload, then kill them. I think you can even triple-dip your exp by talking, save/loading, knocking unconscious, save/loading, then killing. I thought that was patched out? Haven’t tested it myself.
|
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2023 15:34
|
|
|
Snake Maze posted:I thought that was patched out? Haven’t tested it myself. Wouldn't surprise me. I just finished downloading a big patch, so it's entirely possible. Might even have been patched out ages ago; I never had the patience to attempt experience grinding in the first place 
|
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2023 15:37
|
|
|
There’s a certain point where you might as well just give yourself a level with cheat engine and cut out the middle man
|
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2023 16:07
|
|
|
I use this mod, which either gives you double xp the whole game, or gives you enough xp to hit level 6 right after you crash the nautuloid then sets it back to normal progression.
|
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2023 16:45
|
|
|
Trying to come up with a bleed/poison gimmick build. The Tiger barb AoE attack makes up to 3 enemies bleed. Using the Shattered flail to activate Broodmother's Revenge (I think the poison will only proc on the followup attack). Wearing the Poisoner's Gloves will force the enemies to save or get the poisoned condition. Due to them bleeding this will be at disadvantage. Anything I can add to this? Shattered flail + Periapt of Wound Closure also combos nicely but then I'll lose the source of poison damage. e: Another Shattered flail tiger barb gimmick is to combo it with Loviatar's mace to drop 3d6 necrotic mininukes while healing 3d6 (or 18 with the Periapt). Requires the dual wielder feat. Lima fucked around with this message at 17:29 on Dec 22, 2023 |
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2023 17:22
|
|
|
edit I think I am misremembering something
Goa Tse-tung fucked around with this message at 17:37 on Dec 22, 2023 |
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2023 17:29
|
|
|
If you're fully committed to the gimmick then you can permanently sacrifice someone from your party in the Festering Cove to receive BOOOAL's Blessing.
|
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2023 17:34
|
|
|
exquisite tea posted:If you're fully committed to the gimmick then you can permanently sacrifice someone from your party in the Festering Cove to receive BOOOAL's Blessing. BOOOAL lives! 
|
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2023 17:52
|
|
|
I made it to the city with my no party limit mod and my god - they should be worried I'm about to be an invading army. Freaking justice league rolling through.
|
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2023 18:21
|
|
|
I don’t really play video games much at all anymore but I picked this up for nostalgia purposes and drat they really knocked it out of the park, sucked me right back in and I got from the beginning to act 3 in a week of playing. I made the decision to leave my laptop home when I took off to visit family this week so I didn’t hide out in a guest bedroom and just keep playing instead of enjoying being with family, and I actually kind of regret it lmao Anyway when i got to sarevok i initially thought they modeled the room after the temple at the end of bg1 and i looked it up but i think i was wrong  That’s all thanks for reading
|
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2023 18:22
|
|
|
Mildly annoyed in act 2 the harpers promised to mark Last Light on my map but didn't, so I ended up going to the tower first. Did all the quests in there, seemed to make sense, released Nightsong, but then got forced into the climactic boss fights. Upside, saved Isobel without realising it, downside is the Lift the Curse quest NPC just vanishes, as does the Infernal Heart guy, so I lost Halsin and maybe the second stage of fixing Karlach
|
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2023 18:27
|
|
|
tarbrush posted:Mildly annoyed in act 2 the harpers promised to mark Last Light on my map but didn't, so I ended up going to the tower first. Did all the quests in there, seemed to make sense, released Nightsong, but then got forced into the climactic boss fights. Upside, saved Isobel without realising it, downside is the Lift the Curse quest NPC just vanishes, as does the Infernal Heart guy, so I lost Halsin and maybe the second stage of fixing Karlach Popups there for a reason.
|
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2023 18:33
|
|
|
What is the "best" wild heart barb animal?
|
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2023 18:52
|
|
|
I’m not sure about best but I really liked eagle for the dash as a reaction but I’m not an optimal player so it’s possibly a bad one
|
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2023 19:01
|
|
|
Jay Rust posted:What is the "best" wild heart barb animal? Bear. You take half damage from everything except psychic. It's always useful and since the barbarian is usually front and center anyway it means you need to devote less resources to keeping them alive or keeping enemies off of them which frees your other characters to do control or aoe stuff.
|
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2023 19:04
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 20, 2024 08:31 |
|
|
Elk gives not only you but everyone near you a movement bonus so that's nice, and you can body slam fools off of cliffs.
|
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2023 19:47
|
|