Tips thread

The druid has a nice spell that pushes enemies back quite a ways, this is generally good enough to get one more volley in before melee engagement. I have everyone with a bow, except the druid. Everyone fires and then the druid starts casting. By the time the enemy reaches melee his spell hits and everyone who fails the save gets pushed back for the second round. The druid then becomes a beasty and engages anyone who made the save and everyone else takes a second shot. This works really well with a spellcaster-led party. The spellcaster just can't take two volleys and live.

More tips.

For crowd control, use slicken, even though it's been nerfed a lot. It gives you precious time to set up other debuffs on the enemy, as well as getting a fireball off on them.

In tandem use the cypher Mental Binding spell to paralyze your most dangerous opponent (usually a spellcaster) while causing other nearby enemies to be stuck. It's party friendly, so don't be afraid to cast it into the middle of a ruckus later. It casts almost instantly (unlike slicken) so it's a good starter before your slicken takes off.

In tandem with these control spells, use your priest and druid to debuff the enemies. The priest's interdiction is a great way to daze (and weaken with the ability upgrade) your foes. Also casts almost instantly so it's a great starter before other spells that will work better on debuffed foes.

The druid's tanglefoot spell is a little slow getting off but has a large area of effect and long lasting hobble effect on your enemies (also slowing them down). It's not party friendly, nor is slicken, so be careful about moving allies into it.

Once your round of debuffs are in place it's time to go offensive and start buffing the party.

A fireball to get things rolling is a good softener. Enemies that have been previously paralyzed, stuck, prone, or hobbled get reductions to their reflex rolls. Also, the druid's Blizzard spell casts fairly quickly and seems to do some great damage, as well as slowing enemy attacks. It also is enhanced by reduced Reflex rolls. These 2 spells together may be enough to actually take out an enemy or 2 (on normal, at least).

Also, though recently nerfed, the Cypher spell Mind Blades does nice damage to multiple foes, and is party friendly. Cast this as a second action if no enemies are approaching, otherwise another Mind Blast is usually more effective if any dangerous foes are still approaching or shooting or casting.

In tandem with this have you priest buff the party with Armor of Faith and later the Blessing spell. By the time your front line is engaged (they should have been shooting using ranged weapons against the most dangerous opponent up until this point) they at least have the armor buff up, which applies damage reduction.

What happens next really depends on how things unfold…. But this is a good starter pattern that works 90% of the time for me.

Be aware that undead spirits aren't much affected by the blizzard spell and their ability to teleport on top of your back line can really mess up your tactics. It's best to pack your party into a tight corner to prevent the teleporters from having room to teleport onto your spellcasters.

I'm jealous that I haven't found the Cypher yet!

I played a cipher from the start. But the cipher companion can be found fairly quickly and safely if you know where to go. I can give you a vague hint if you want…

Hint away! I've not been east of DB, so I could just not have been there yet. If it's in an earlier map, just mention something else that is located there. It won't mean anything to those who haven't played….

very minor hints

Okay, I have that as either R's H or the Stronghold if we're talking GV. If you're talking DB, then I haven't been that far east. If she's in the BB town, then I haven't been there.

Spoiler:

I'm being purposely vague.

Very minor hint clarifications below…

One more to make it a bit easier

Hmm, tips, you say. Let's see…

If you roll a Ranger character, get a bear companion. Why? They can suck up quite a bit of damage and act as another tank in your party. In early levels, you can use a ranged weapon while the bear engages in melee and keeps them distracted. Works well.

When you have a full party, the bear is still very useful. I have a formation that looks like this:

x x x
x x

x x x

The front 3 are: Duke (my bear companion - left), Pallegina (middle), Sagani (right)
Behind them: Matthew (my ranger character - left), Itumaak (right)
Back row of ranged attackers: Kana (left), Durance (middle), Aloth (right)

Works extremely well, especially in close quarters.

Always use the formation of your party right before the enemies close in on you. You definitely don't want to go into a tougher battle out of formation.

Try to stick to the formation as closely as you can. Use the front line fighters to take the opponents head on, and attack with the back line to support them. In a tight spot, like a dungeon hallway or something, you can effectively shield your entire back line with this formation, so they will be unhindered and left alone for the most part.

Also, keep a back line fighter who can competently handle a melee weapon. Why? For the rogue enemies that break the line or find their way to the back line. Fampyrs, I've noticed, are especially keen to doing this. So, when I see that enemy heading for my weak characters, I quickly focus the ranged attacks on that character and switch Kana to a heavy estoc to interdict the enemy as best as I can.

What else? Summoning is also very useful and can help turn the tides of a tough battle. Summoning a phantom or 3 wurms with your Chanter can add another melee or 3 ranged characters, respectively, to your party. While they don't do a ton of damage, they can keep enemies occupied for a moment or two. Use the 3 wurms in the back line in front of the back row but behind the middle row, and they can be used as shields to the back row as well.

I'll probably make some tip videos sometime for my YouTube channel. Yeehaw.