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KickStarter Knights of the Chalice 2 Thread - Augury of Chaos
- Thread starter VentilatorOfDoom
- Start date
Yosharian
Arcane
Are phoenix wizards good?
Edit: oh phoenix is red wizard, well I'll definitely get one of those then.
I think I am not going to bother with Fighter because they fall off lategame apparently, I will just use the monk + barbarian companions to support my party of 6 casters lmao
Last edited:
Yosharian
Arcane
I found this on Steam forums, dunno if you guys agree with it:
SS: Psionicist
They're like Wizards, but can keep casting their best and latest "spells" (Powers) repeatedly without concern for spell slots, and most Powers scale can scale down for efficiency or scale up for greater effect. They don't have to worry about being Silenced, and they don't have to worry so much about being Grappled, Paralyzed, or Encased as they can keep casting. For area damage, they're unmatched overall and will probably outperform even a Red Wizard due to being able to spam Energy Ball nonstop while always choosing the best type of energy and the best defense to attack (Reflex vs Fort). Their control, debuffs, and save or suck Powers are just as good though.
S: Wizard, Cleric
Wizards get so many spells, so many unique spells, so many great buff/debuffs, and so many unique Feats that you probably want one in your group regardless of your group's strategy.
I don't usually rank Clerics so high in D&D/Pathfinder type games because high Initiative arcane offense is usually best. But in KotC2, there are lots of enemy casters and you probably can't prevent them all from casting, so the ability to prevent/remove bad things is more valuable. And there are improvements to Cleric spells like Sound Burst and Holy Smite that make them great on offense/debuffs too.
Wizard Attunements are all good so long as you make use of them in some way, but I think Green generally wins out for Move Action Haste. Similarly, while many Cleric Domains can be great so long as you make use of them, Mysticism would be my top pick for Move Action spells (and increased effect on them).
A+: Druid
They're efficient, versatile and they have nice summons. But they're ranked slightly lower than the other pure casters because they're missing too many good things: Accelerate, Break Enchantment, Mass Heal, True Rez, etc. Also, they're limited in small spaces where big area spells would hit the group and where large summons may not even fit. They do get several outdoor late game fights to shine in, though.
I'd put Earth above the other Spheres, but not by much. They're all good.
A: Fighter, Bard, Mage Knight, Rogue
Fighters get Wade In and tons of unique Feats, but fall off a bit in the late game.
Bard Songs are always useful and the +DC song scales particularly well into the late game because it becomes increasingly difficult to debuff enemy saves. Bard Spells can fill some gaps in your group, but Silence is probably going to be useful if nothing else.
Mage Knights can be extremely tanky, very good with Touch spells, and also very good with area damage. Consistently solid class all game.
I know ranking the Rogue here may be a little controversial, but mine are easily on par with Fighter kills in the early/early-mid game and effectively turn into casters for the late game because of the piles of high level Wizard scrolls the game gives you. The only time they struggle a little is in the mid game against certain enemies, but if you make good use of your Rogue spells and scrolls, they're still not bad. They're on par with Fighters (to me) because they tend to be tankier, more mobile, and do better in the late game.
A-: Psychic Healer, Sorcerer, Warlock
All these caster hybrids are weighed down by the fact that they're Multi-Ability Dependent. Add to that the loss of unique Psionicist/Wizard/Cleric Feats and slower spell/Power progression and you're almost always better off as a pure caster. They're still generally good by using half their spells/Powers for offense and half for defense/support.
B+: Monk, Psychic Warrior, Bishop
Monks are fine, but Fighters are usually better. That pretty much sums it up.
Psychic Warriors are great Grapplers and actually get some area damage later, too. But they're rather limited on Power Points and often can't justify taking time to cast slower buffs in combat. It's a fun class, but they're not as effective as many others.
Bishop is a mixed bag. The combinations of Domain Powers can make for unique/versatile characters, but usually you're just better off with a Cleric instead. They can be rather strong earlier in the game, but they're going to fall off compared to a Cleric later.
B: Barbarian, Death Knight, Storm Warrior, Champion
Considering how much the guide repeatedly focuses on Grappling, I'm surprised it ranks Barbarians last because they're great for it. The move speed bonus helps counter one of the biggest drawbacks of the best Grappling race. And Free Action Strength boost is always nice.
Death Knights are good when working with others, maybe Sneak Attacking a Grappled enemy or helping to debuff something with Aura of Dread. There are simply too many big groups of enemies for them to compete with slightly better classes though. Aura of Dread is the only thing keeping them from being in a lower tier.
Storm Warrior works better when they lean into their casting a bit more, but at that point... you should just be a Druid.
And Champion may as well be a Cleric/Bishop instead.
B-: Gladiator, Samurai
Gladiator is fine in the early game with the combat Feats, but they're too limited as time goes on. If Blinding Strike can't work or isn't useful in a particular light, they're just gimped Fighters.
Samurai are kind of like Gladiators: a good early game class that tends to fall off later.
C: Paladin, Ranger
You'll notice these are only C and not D or F because none of the classes are really bad in this game. These classes are just a little too niche to compete as well with the rest, though they can still be good in the right group.
I actually like Paladins in KotC2, but objectively, I have to acknowledge that they're not the strongest class. They get moments to shine here and there with Smite, but later they're probably better off just casting Cleric scrolls so your more useful party members can do more important things.
Rangers are nice interrupters and of course great at ranged combat. But ranged weapons are limited in this game, and you lose all your equipment at a certain point. Add to that limited ammo and early game Cover penalties and they're just more limited than others.
So what are your thoughts? For reference, the guidebook ranks them: Wizard, Psionicist, Cleric, Druid, Bishop, Fighter, Gladiator, Warlock, Psychic Healer, Sorcerer, Bard, Psychic Warrior, Monk, Death Knight, Paladin, Ranger, Samurai, Storm Warrior, Champion, Mage Knight, Rogue, and Barbarian.
They're like Wizards, but can keep casting their best and latest "spells" (Powers) repeatedly without concern for spell slots, and most Powers scale can scale down for efficiency or scale up for greater effect. They don't have to worry about being Silenced, and they don't have to worry so much about being Grappled, Paralyzed, or Encased as they can keep casting. For area damage, they're unmatched overall and will probably outperform even a Red Wizard due to being able to spam Energy Ball nonstop while always choosing the best type of energy and the best defense to attack (Reflex vs Fort). Their control, debuffs, and save or suck Powers are just as good though.
S: Wizard, Cleric
Wizards get so many spells, so many unique spells, so many great buff/debuffs, and so many unique Feats that you probably want one in your group regardless of your group's strategy.
I don't usually rank Clerics so high in D&D/Pathfinder type games because high Initiative arcane offense is usually best. But in KotC2, there are lots of enemy casters and you probably can't prevent them all from casting, so the ability to prevent/remove bad things is more valuable. And there are improvements to Cleric spells like Sound Burst and Holy Smite that make them great on offense/debuffs too.
Wizard Attunements are all good so long as you make use of them in some way, but I think Green generally wins out for Move Action Haste. Similarly, while many Cleric Domains can be great so long as you make use of them, Mysticism would be my top pick for Move Action spells (and increased effect on them).
A+: Druid
They're efficient, versatile and they have nice summons. But they're ranked slightly lower than the other pure casters because they're missing too many good things: Accelerate, Break Enchantment, Mass Heal, True Rez, etc. Also, they're limited in small spaces where big area spells would hit the group and where large summons may not even fit. They do get several outdoor late game fights to shine in, though.
I'd put Earth above the other Spheres, but not by much. They're all good.
A: Fighter, Bard, Mage Knight, Rogue
Fighters get Wade In and tons of unique Feats, but fall off a bit in the late game.
Bard Songs are always useful and the +DC song scales particularly well into the late game because it becomes increasingly difficult to debuff enemy saves. Bard Spells can fill some gaps in your group, but Silence is probably going to be useful if nothing else.
Mage Knights can be extremely tanky, very good with Touch spells, and also very good with area damage. Consistently solid class all game.
I know ranking the Rogue here may be a little controversial, but mine are easily on par with Fighter kills in the early/early-mid game and effectively turn into casters for the late game because of the piles of high level Wizard scrolls the game gives you. The only time they struggle a little is in the mid game against certain enemies, but if you make good use of your Rogue spells and scrolls, they're still not bad. They're on par with Fighters (to me) because they tend to be tankier, more mobile, and do better in the late game.
A-: Psychic Healer, Sorcerer, Warlock
All these caster hybrids are weighed down by the fact that they're Multi-Ability Dependent. Add to that the loss of unique Psionicist/Wizard/Cleric Feats and slower spell/Power progression and you're almost always better off as a pure caster. They're still generally good by using half their spells/Powers for offense and half for defense/support.
B+: Monk, Psychic Warrior, Bishop
Monks are fine, but Fighters are usually better. That pretty much sums it up.
Psychic Warriors are great Grapplers and actually get some area damage later, too. But they're rather limited on Power Points and often can't justify taking time to cast slower buffs in combat. It's a fun class, but they're not as effective as many others.
Bishop is a mixed bag. The combinations of Domain Powers can make for unique/versatile characters, but usually you're just better off with a Cleric instead. They can be rather strong earlier in the game, but they're going to fall off compared to a Cleric later.
B: Barbarian, Death Knight, Storm Warrior, Champion
Considering how much the guide repeatedly focuses on Grappling, I'm surprised it ranks Barbarians last because they're great for it. The move speed bonus helps counter one of the biggest drawbacks of the best Grappling race. And Free Action Strength boost is always nice.
Death Knights are good when working with others, maybe Sneak Attacking a Grappled enemy or helping to debuff something with Aura of Dread. There are simply too many big groups of enemies for them to compete with slightly better classes though. Aura of Dread is the only thing keeping them from being in a lower tier.
Storm Warrior works better when they lean into their casting a bit more, but at that point... you should just be a Druid.
And Champion may as well be a Cleric/Bishop instead.
B-: Gladiator, Samurai
Gladiator is fine in the early game with the combat Feats, but they're too limited as time goes on. If Blinding Strike can't work or isn't useful in a particular light, they're just gimped Fighters.
Samurai are kind of like Gladiators: a good early game class that tends to fall off later.
C: Paladin, Ranger
You'll notice these are only C and not D or F because none of the classes are really bad in this game. These classes are just a little too niche to compete as well with the rest, though they can still be good in the right group.
I actually like Paladins in KotC2, but objectively, I have to acknowledge that they're not the strongest class. They get moments to shine here and there with Smite, but later they're probably better off just casting Cleric scrolls so your more useful party members can do more important things.
Rangers are nice interrupters and of course great at ranged combat. But ranged weapons are limited in this game, and you lose all your equipment at a certain point. Add to that limited ammo and early game Cover penalties and they're just more limited than others.
So what are your thoughts? For reference, the guidebook ranks them: Wizard, Psionicist, Cleric, Druid, Bishop, Fighter, Gladiator, Warlock, Psychic Healer, Sorcerer, Bard, Psychic Warrior, Monk, Death Knight, Paladin, Ranger, Samurai, Storm Warrior, Champion, Mage Knight, Rogue, and Barbarian.
Yosharian
Arcane
Information on companions from the KOTC2 guidebook apparently (SPOILER WARNING):
Recruitable Companions
Augury of Chaos has recruitable companions you can use. Although you can create
up to six characters to start with, later on your party size can increase to eight.
Note that you will always be able to recruit a new companion, even if you already have
eight party members. But then you will have to decide which characters should be
active or inactive, so that your party size does not exceed the maximum.
If you don’t want spoilers, skip this section. In case you want a bit of information, but
not too much, the information has been layered in the following order: Number of
companions, what class they are, what race they are, when can they be accessed, where
are they precisely found, who are they.
Now, as for the companions, there are eight of them. Five of them can be met during
the Prologue while the three others can be met afterwards. The last three companions
have more dialogue than the five first ones, so you may want to activate them when
you get them, possibly in replacement of companions recruited earlier.
The classes of the first five companions are Barbarian, Monk, Druid (Fire sphere),
Druid (Water sphere) and Storm Warrior.
The classes of the last three companions are Sorcerer (Phoenix attunement), Paladin,
and Warlock.
The races of the first five companions are Toughbone Half-Giant (Barbarian), Mul
Human (Monk), Fire Drake (Fire Druid), Stone Mantis (Water Druid), and Water Elemental (Storm Warrior).
The races of the last three companions are Kobold (Sorcerer), Succubus (Paladin), and
Moon Elf (Warlock).
You can get the first five companions from level 1.
You can get the Kobold at around level 4-6, depending on the order you do things.
You can get the Succubus at around level 9 at earliest, at around 10 in all likelihood.
You can get the Warlock at around level 10.
The Barbarian can be found inside the inn of the Golden Griffon in Finchbury. If you
want him to join your party, you will have to defeat him in single combat.
The Monk can be found inside the inn after the party has spent time resting. He will
only join you if your party already comprises a Wizard or Sorcerer with the Phoenix
attunement, a Cleric or Bishop with the Sun or Fire domain, or a Fire Druid.
The Fire Druid can be found in the Mysterious Cave right when you enter the area,
and you can get him after you’ve defeated his enemy, the Water Druid Zalapha.
The Water Druid can be found in the Mysterious Cave near the river of lava, and you
can get her after you’ve defeated her enemy, the Fire Druid Sardabbras.
The Storm Warrior is a friend of the Water Druid. You’ll get him when the Water
Druid joins you.
The Kobold is found at the Grey Goblin holding cell. His name is Erzimon. You need
to free him.
The Succubus has been turned into a stone statue by a coven of hideous hags. You’ll
need to restore her back to flesh to recruit her, which means either helping the crones,
or slaying them, or both.
The Warlock can be found at the beginning of Chapter 3, after the huge battle.
Jorad the Toughbone Half-Giant is Neutral Good. He’s enjoying drinks at the inn of
the Golden Griffon. Jorad has Strength 20 and Constitution 18, which are ideal ability
scores for a Barbarian. Of special interest is the weapon that he’s holding. It’s the
artifact Waraxe Bloodlust. Bloodlust has an expanded Critical Hit range of 19-20.
Xantrix the Mul is a Lawful Neutral Monk from Salamandora. Xantrix has Strength
20, Constitution 16 and Wisdom 18. Xantrix has a special power, a Sun Bolt
Spell-Like Ability that can be used two times per day. This power benefits from the
character’s Zen Archery feat.
If any character in your party completes the Elemental Transformation ritual later on,
talk to Xantrix afterwards. His Sun Bolt will improve from a standard-action ability to
a move-action ability and the number of uses per day will increase from two to three.
In addition, Xantrix will receive a +5 increase in maximum Hit Points. Each party
member will receive 100 Experience Points.
Sardabbras is a Neutral Evil Fire Drake Druid. He has been planning to summon an
army of Fire Elementals from the lava rift underneath the village of Finchbury. His
plan has failed to come to fruition because of the intervention of a Water Druid.
Sardabbras has Strength 20, Constitution 18 and Wisdom 13. He worships the elemental sphere of Fire. As a Fire Drake, he has a Cone of Fire Breath Weapon. Even
though Sardabbras is a Druid, he’s a competent melee warrior thanks to his extremely
high Strength.
Zalapha is a Stone Mantis Water Druid currently watching over the lava rift for any
sign of invasion by Fire creatures during the Full Moon phase of Phoenix. She is
Neutral Good and she has Strength 14, Dexterity 20 and Wisdom 18. The high
Wisdom score and the Water Sphere will make Zalapha a powerful healer at higher
levels. As a Stone Mantis, Zalapha has a +4 Natural Armour bonus to Armour Class.
Driaghan the Water Elemental Storm Warrior is True Neutral. He is the loyal companion of Zalapha. Driaghan has Strength 17 and Wisdom 19. As a Water Elemental,
Driaghan has the subtypes Water, Extraplanar, Stable and Snake. The Water subtype
makes Driaghan an excellent warrior in environments requiring the party to swim or
fight underwater.
He is also immune to stunning, sleep, paralysis, hampering, flanking, disease, critical
hits, ability damage, and ability drain. However, he has a Fire Damage Vulnerability,
meaning that all Fire Damage received by him is increased by 50%.
Finally, Driaghan has a +6 Natural Armour bonus to Armour Class and he can
activate a Daze Monster spell-like ability as a move action three times per day.
Erzimon the Kobold Sorcerer is a Lawful Good hero who has been imprisoned by the
Grey Goblins. He’s a Red Wizard, thus he will get the Phoenix moon Elemental Transformation at level 15. His highest ability score is Intelligence, thus his sorcery is
focused on wizardly magic, and his clerical magic is meant for supporting.
Asharzaelle the Succubus Paladin is likewise Lawful Good, but has been turned to
stone by crones. She has a racial Succubus Hit Dice, which makes her somewhat lesser
as a Paladin spell-wise, but she has natural access to the spells Enervation and
Dominate Person.
Her Charisma is extremely high, making her very powerful at Smite Evil. She has the
ability to fly, meaning she is unaffected by ground-type terrain spells like Web.
Pizarra the elf Warlock is True Neutral. She works for the main evil guy until you
defeat her in combat. Should you give her mercy, she will join your group (don’t worry,
she won’t betray you).
She has an extremely high Intelligence and Charisma, which makes her a superb
Wizard and she’ll have a decent amount of Power Points. Her Wisdom isn’t bad either,
so she’s good at Psionics. She has the Arcane Transmutation feat, allowing her to
change the element of her Arcane damage spells
Augury of Chaos has recruitable companions you can use. Although you can create
up to six characters to start with, later on your party size can increase to eight.
Note that you will always be able to recruit a new companion, even if you already have
eight party members. But then you will have to decide which characters should be
active or inactive, so that your party size does not exceed the maximum.
If you don’t want spoilers, skip this section. In case you want a bit of information, but
not too much, the information has been layered in the following order: Number of
companions, what class they are, what race they are, when can they be accessed, where
are they precisely found, who are they.
Now, as for the companions, there are eight of them. Five of them can be met during
the Prologue while the three others can be met afterwards. The last three companions
have more dialogue than the five first ones, so you may want to activate them when
you get them, possibly in replacement of companions recruited earlier.
The classes of the first five companions are Barbarian, Monk, Druid (Fire sphere),
Druid (Water sphere) and Storm Warrior.
The classes of the last three companions are Sorcerer (Phoenix attunement), Paladin,
and Warlock.
The races of the first five companions are Toughbone Half-Giant (Barbarian), Mul
Human (Monk), Fire Drake (Fire Druid), Stone Mantis (Water Druid), and Water Elemental (Storm Warrior).
The races of the last three companions are Kobold (Sorcerer), Succubus (Paladin), and
Moon Elf (Warlock).
You can get the first five companions from level 1.
You can get the Kobold at around level 4-6, depending on the order you do things.
You can get the Succubus at around level 9 at earliest, at around 10 in all likelihood.
You can get the Warlock at around level 10.
The Barbarian can be found inside the inn of the Golden Griffon in Finchbury. If you
want him to join your party, you will have to defeat him in single combat.
The Monk can be found inside the inn after the party has spent time resting. He will
only join you if your party already comprises a Wizard or Sorcerer with the Phoenix
attunement, a Cleric or Bishop with the Sun or Fire domain, or a Fire Druid.
The Fire Druid can be found in the Mysterious Cave right when you enter the area,
and you can get him after you’ve defeated his enemy, the Water Druid Zalapha.
The Water Druid can be found in the Mysterious Cave near the river of lava, and you
can get her after you’ve defeated her enemy, the Fire Druid Sardabbras.
The Storm Warrior is a friend of the Water Druid. You’ll get him when the Water
Druid joins you.
The Kobold is found at the Grey Goblin holding cell. His name is Erzimon. You need
to free him.
The Succubus has been turned into a stone statue by a coven of hideous hags. You’ll
need to restore her back to flesh to recruit her, which means either helping the crones,
or slaying them, or both.
The Warlock can be found at the beginning of Chapter 3, after the huge battle.
Jorad the Toughbone Half-Giant is Neutral Good. He’s enjoying drinks at the inn of
the Golden Griffon. Jorad has Strength 20 and Constitution 18, which are ideal ability
scores for a Barbarian. Of special interest is the weapon that he’s holding. It’s the
artifact Waraxe Bloodlust. Bloodlust has an expanded Critical Hit range of 19-20.
Xantrix the Mul is a Lawful Neutral Monk from Salamandora. Xantrix has Strength
20, Constitution 16 and Wisdom 18. Xantrix has a special power, a Sun Bolt
Spell-Like Ability that can be used two times per day. This power benefits from the
character’s Zen Archery feat.
If any character in your party completes the Elemental Transformation ritual later on,
talk to Xantrix afterwards. His Sun Bolt will improve from a standard-action ability to
a move-action ability and the number of uses per day will increase from two to three.
In addition, Xantrix will receive a +5 increase in maximum Hit Points. Each party
member will receive 100 Experience Points.
Sardabbras is a Neutral Evil Fire Drake Druid. He has been planning to summon an
army of Fire Elementals from the lava rift underneath the village of Finchbury. His
plan has failed to come to fruition because of the intervention of a Water Druid.
Sardabbras has Strength 20, Constitution 18 and Wisdom 13. He worships the elemental sphere of Fire. As a Fire Drake, he has a Cone of Fire Breath Weapon. Even
though Sardabbras is a Druid, he’s a competent melee warrior thanks to his extremely
high Strength.
Zalapha is a Stone Mantis Water Druid currently watching over the lava rift for any
sign of invasion by Fire creatures during the Full Moon phase of Phoenix. She is
Neutral Good and she has Strength 14, Dexterity 20 and Wisdom 18. The high
Wisdom score and the Water Sphere will make Zalapha a powerful healer at higher
levels. As a Stone Mantis, Zalapha has a +4 Natural Armour bonus to Armour Class.
Driaghan the Water Elemental Storm Warrior is True Neutral. He is the loyal companion of Zalapha. Driaghan has Strength 17 and Wisdom 19. As a Water Elemental,
Driaghan has the subtypes Water, Extraplanar, Stable and Snake. The Water subtype
makes Driaghan an excellent warrior in environments requiring the party to swim or
fight underwater.
He is also immune to stunning, sleep, paralysis, hampering, flanking, disease, critical
hits, ability damage, and ability drain. However, he has a Fire Damage Vulnerability,
meaning that all Fire Damage received by him is increased by 50%.
Finally, Driaghan has a +6 Natural Armour bonus to Armour Class and he can
activate a Daze Monster spell-like ability as a move action three times per day.
Erzimon the Kobold Sorcerer is a Lawful Good hero who has been imprisoned by the
Grey Goblins. He’s a Red Wizard, thus he will get the Phoenix moon Elemental Transformation at level 15. His highest ability score is Intelligence, thus his sorcery is
focused on wizardly magic, and his clerical magic is meant for supporting.
Asharzaelle the Succubus Paladin is likewise Lawful Good, but has been turned to
stone by crones. She has a racial Succubus Hit Dice, which makes her somewhat lesser
as a Paladin spell-wise, but she has natural access to the spells Enervation and
Dominate Person.
Her Charisma is extremely high, making her very powerful at Smite Evil. She has the
ability to fly, meaning she is unaffected by ground-type terrain spells like Web.
Pizarra the elf Warlock is True Neutral. She works for the main evil guy until you
defeat her in combat. Should you give her mercy, she will join your group (don’t worry,
she won’t betray you).
She has an extremely high Intelligence and Charisma, which makes her a superb
Wizard and she’ll have a decent amount of Power Points. Her Wisdom isn’t bad either,
so she’s good at Psionics. She has the Arcane Transmutation feat, allowing her to
change the element of her Arcane damage spells
Yosharian
Arcane
I feel bad saying this but KOTC2's music is kind of annoying. I find myself wondering if there is a way to create custom music for the game.
Yosharian
Arcane
Erzimon the Kobold Sorcerer is a Lawful Good hero who has been imprisoned by the
Grey Goblins. He’s a Red Wizard, thus he will get the Phoenix moon Elemental Transformation at level 15. His highest ability score is Intelligence, thus his sorcery is
focused on wizardly magic, and his clerical magic is meant for supporting.
Grey Goblins. He’s a Red Wizard, thus he will get the Phoenix moon Elemental Transformation at level 15. His highest ability score is Intelligence, thus his sorcery is
focused on wizardly magic, and his clerical magic is meant for supporting.
- Joined
- Aug 23, 2015
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requirement for Monk is any fire related stuff, it can be Phoenix Wizard or it can be fire sphere druid. You can in fact recruit him with the fire druid companion from the spider cave. It's pretty much Fire Druid + Monk or Water Druid + Storm Warrior
Darth Canoli
Arcane
Lower Will saves (INT + WIS modifier), your 6 INT mage/psion will suck really hard.
They are, depending on your playstyle, if you want to nuke tour way through the game, they're the best at it with Psionicists but harder enemies require mages specialized in other magic schools or rely on luck.
Paladin and Ranger being subpar, I'd agree, Ranger last, sure, Paladin mostly because his features are bugged, or maybe it was fixed, I don't know.
Anyway, I think the DK is way way better than the Paladin because in this game, you want to strike first and strike hard and the DK Aura of Dread will help you do just that while Paladin's defensive skills will not do much against RNG and bad luck, there's so many enemies his defensive AOE probably doesn't matter.
Other than this, the list is garbage.
Also, it depends, some characters will carry you through 3/4 of the game, like a good fighter.
Other martial classes require specific builds and steamtards can't really grasp the complexity behind a Samuraï build or simply to give a pounce belt to your gladiator to make him an absolute beast...
Last but not least, some classes can be extremely fun to play for someone and not at all for someone else.
And some classes are nice to play on a second playthrough, to try something different.
Yosharian
Arcane
Ah I see. Ok maybe I will keep my Fighter then. What do you think about Bard? My new group is this:
1) Fighter - Damage dealer / tank
2) Cleric
- Domains: Mysticism, Silence
- Moon Elf?
3) Druid
- Geomancer/Aeromancer
4) Wizard
- Phoenix (Red)?
5) Psion
6) Bard?
7) Barbarian - Grappler / tank (COMPANION)
8) Warlock - Nuker (COMPANION
I am unsure what to take on my 6th custom character slot, perhaps a Bard?
1) Fighter - Damage dealer / tank
2) Cleric
- Domains: Mysticism, Silence
- Moon Elf?
3) Druid
- Geomancer/Aeromancer
4) Wizard
- Phoenix (Red)?
5) Psion
6) Bard?
7) Barbarian - Grappler / tank (COMPANION)
8) Warlock - Nuker (COMPANION
I am unsure what to take on my 6th custom character slot, perhaps a Bard?
If you go with less than 1feat/level as difficulty setting then i'd consider mostly humans - except for fighters. On the other hand there are some use of the skills of some races and it is good to avoid a surprise round and feels nice to get some small bonus occasionally but it's mostly some xp. From my experience class skills give more important "green" dialogue options.
About that, you will need a Samurai, Paladin or Champion to recruit Jorad the H-G Barbarian you meet 5 minutes into the game if you play on Archmage difficulty AFAIK. Sorry.
Edit: Just go with what you feel like as long as you don't forget at least one Wizard + one Psionicist (or two Wizards).
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Yosharian
Arcane
I don't really mind going with a variety of races for flavour rather than picking human because it is the most powerful, we'll see.
I'm not going to be playing on Archmage I don't think. The guidebook says you only need to defeat Jorad in a fight to recruit him? Are you saying that's wrong?
Yosharian
Arcane
What difficulty was that?
I just don't know that the things a Samurai gets really compares to the absolute shitload of feats the Fighter gets, and also the unique Fighter-only feats it gets.
Sure, the Sam gets some nice abilities, and then the Fighter gets most of those abilities anyway as feats, and then some. And the unique selling point, the crit boost, is only a difference of +1 point compared to what the Fighter can achieve. And he can do it while wielding two weapons, or using a shield, or whatever. Or using a weapon that isn't a sword.
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Fireblade
Erudite
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- Mar 27, 2004
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- 207
Don't know about that. Having a red phoenix wizard is enough to recruit the Monk, and a red phoenix wizard will probably be one of the most popular things to have in a party to begin with.
Yosharian
Arcane
Fighter gets tons of damage bonuses that aren't conditional on wielding specific weapons. -1 to AC, yeah I guess that's neat. Armoured Reflex - the fighter can pick up these feats. Speed bonus, yeah that's definitely a big plus.
Does the Samurai's DR stack with Adamantine DR?
I'm planning on wielding two massive fuckoff weapons in each hand on my fighter, so that Haste gives him two extra attacks. Somehow I think that will be more effective than the Sam's bonus damage
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Yosharian
Arcane
I'm surprised that Pierre doesn't seem to have given Dwarf the ability to be unaffected by armor speed penalties, this seems to make Dwarf rather a bad race
Yosharian
Arcane
Alright that's fair, I must admit Sam has some really nice flavour to it.
Personally I'm interested in that Psy Warrior class, I think I will leave it for a second playthrough though
Yosharian
Arcane
Initially I thought Elf would be godlike based on its bonuses and stuff but the minimums for some of the ability scores such as CHA and INT really hurt it, I wanted to make an Elf fighter but damn me if I'm putting 16 points into INT on a straight Fighter
You are correct. Elf are only really good with classes that need INT. They make good wizards and psionicist, perhaps something that requires all 3 mental stats to be high (warlocks come to mind) but as melee or casters than don't require INT (despite their high WIS/CHA? Avoid.
The variety is being rewarded somewhat in the game with the "green" dialogue options - if you ever played FTL this looks the same. That is a plus.
Humans are simply good from min-maxing perspective. If you play with 1feat/3level (or fighter) then two additional feats at level 1 are huge. Add that human's stats can be at least good for everything and you have a winner. With more feats /level they loose some of the edge but are still good. Most other races' advantages are relatively small. Exceptions are Half-Giants(size), Mantis(4"hands") if you can leverage it, Centaur speed... but other than that it is mostly different stats and humans are good at it.
I'm a little mad at Pierre's treatment of my favourite Dwarfs. They don't excel at anything. The speed for wearing armour not being penalised would be a move towards "fixing" them. Or add some additional defences, he changed the races and classes already.
Not from my experience with Jorad. To be able fight him requires, AFAIK, "word of honour" class skill that very few of the classes posses. Easy to check, he literally is found less than a minute from the game start - if you skip a fight.
Yosharian
Arcane
Well shit.
But apparently you get an extra skill on Hard difficulty so I can get it that way?
Yosharian
Arcane
Ok apparently Bards are just weird martials in this game? wtf
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Negro que?
- Joined
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- 6,154
The only classes with Word of Honour is Samurai or Paladin. If you don't have either you can't recruit the giant.
The Druid on Spider Cave is much easier as it only needs you to side with fire/water druid.
plem
Learned
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- 155
you can turn off the combat and dialogue music, which are the truly ear-bleeding guitar tracks. the rest of the music is fine imo but you can always just turn off the music and put something in the background.
bards are a weird in-between of martials, rogues and casters. they get enough feats and weapon proficiencies to be useful in combat but not enough to come close to a real martial. their songs are really useful though, not only the ones that buff but the offensive ones as well. pipes of pain and heavenly song are as good as some control spells, and arcane rhyme is great for magic-centric parties.
when in doubt, pop a summon. in early game with augment summoning the cleric's elementals are probably out-dpsing your PCs. of course, all casters (except psionics) can summon as well, but more's the merrier.
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