So what do you guys play on hard/dark mode? What class, abilities, armor, etc. do you use? Damage is okay but I seem to get resolve nuked like every other fight. Is there a way to overcome that? If so, how?
Dark Difficulty Builds?
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Focus reduces resolve damage according to the wiki. Maybe use gear that increases Focus? Initiative adds to the chance of you acting first. That might help aswell.
Can't get resolve nuked if your enemies die before their second turn.
I run a high-Cunning/Strength Thief build focused on big single-target hits like Shadow Strike and Dastardly. Paired with Brint and Cait or Arona she does hilarious damage.
I run a high-Cunning/Strength Thief build focused on big single-target hits like Shadow Strike and Dastardly. Paired with Brint and Cait or Arona she does hilarious damage.
So, you can pretty much go through Dark Difficulty / Dark Mode with whatever Class you really want, but you do have to make sure that you equip your PC with ways to deal with Resolve Damage.
I'd suggest you take a look at the Wiki for Items / Powers related to Resolve or Focus (bear in mind the aforementioned searches are for those specific terms throughout the entire Wiki; so there may be some results not pertaining exactly to what you're looking for, if you want searches just for specific items related to Resolve / Focus these will be here: Resolve:Items, Focus:Items).
The below are things that I've found can be useful (some providing Focus to aid with Resolve Damage, or some even providing Mental Resistance as well; others just for Regenerating Resolve (and some with Health Regeneration too)), and have split into two categories; Core (that pretty much every PC can make use of and can acquire via relative ease) and Situational (which some PC's may make use of but may not be that easy to include in a build nor to acquire).
Core:
- Camping Supplies
- Champion's Resolve Perk (acquired through Act 1 completion)
- Linen Tunic
- Oil of Oliban
- Ring of Pure Thought
- Trail Rations (Well Fed Status Effect, can use any of the other items listed if desired - but Bacon Strips and Creamy Cheddar increase the PC's Thickness)
Situational:
- Breastplate
- Charm
- Charmer Class' Bolstering Dance Power
- Cloak of Winter
- Comfortable Clothes
- Conjurer's Concoction
- Elegant Dress
- Fluffy Sash
- Fluffy Scarf
- Galon's Griefmaker
- Hornet Honey
- Kabuto
- Kaelirra's Tears
- Lamellar Armour
- Leather Coat
- Magatama
- Mail Bikini
- Mare's Ring
- Monastery Wine
- Swift Sword
- Ward Amulet
- Warhides
- Winterstem
- Witch's Corset
- Witch's Hat
- Wyldsap
Aside from the above lists; dealing with Dark Mode can be made somewhat easier by playing Charmer Class to begin with; or investing in Willpower for the Focus / Mental Resistance increase.
But yeah, Resolve Damage is pretty difficult to deal with in Dark Mode even with the Resolve rework. I usually just rely on the Bolstering Dance Power or Trail Rations to get through, but the early game can also be a bit rough (the Hornets in the Old Forest are pretty OP).
Thanks for the replies! However, I have a question... Is cunning worth putting points into for a Black Mage champ? I'm wondering because I'm not sure how that works. Does critical hit apply to spells? How does the catalyst tag come into play?
Yeah if you want to go for a more damage focused Black Mage then going with Cunning is fine (it also provides Ward and Magical Resistance). Your PC might be a bit squishy to Physical Damage and have limited Evasion, but you can always respec if it doesn't work out.
Spells don't typically crit unless the weapon you're using has the catalyst tag (see the Accuracy and Critical Chance sections); so if you plan on making use of one of those to synergize with your build then I'd suggest having a look at the wiki for a list of the items with the catalyst tag (this link for any mention of "Catalyst" on the wiki, this link for any weapons with the "Catalyst" tag on the wiki).
Also, I'd suggest reading this helpful post by WolframL.
Not quite true -- you just don't get your weapon's CritChance bonus unless it has the Catalyst tag. You still have the full CritChance provided by your Cunning and any trinkets even if you're just using a dagger.
Is there a one handed catalyst that is neither a piece of paper or attached to having an edgy fuckboi in the tavern as part of the deal?
Also, throwable, like Xena's chakram
Also, throwable, like Xena's chakram
The control rod from Kinu Quest seems pretty neat, -10 evasion though. There's also the Bone Seax. Looks like there ain't a throwable catalyst, yet.
Specifically it's a (possible) reward for doing the second part of the Winter Wolf quest, whether you actually get it depends since that quest has a ton of variables.Successfully reach the southmost part of the ship and open the Lockbox to obtain it.
Stat wise you should stick to just three main stats. though with a high cunning thief build you can get some pretty good damage out of spells along with a willpower drink. whether or not it's worth it is up for you to decide because I personally don't use much magic.
I don't think so. I love strange hybrid builds, but right now the system rewards specialization. If you ever tried to play a monk in D&D 3.X, you know what is to be MAD (Multiple Ability Dependant for you muggles out there). It doesn't mean that you can do a hodgepodge monster of a character and still clear all the content in normal, but it's far from optimal.
The thing is, the most valuable resource in any turn based combat system is turn. The more turn you have (as in: being able to act), the less turn your opponents have, and the most you can do in your turn ofter determine the effectiveness of your characters. So...
- How do I get more turn? You can't right now, so skip it.
- How do I take turn away from my opponents? Well, you can either inflict a status such as stunned that takes a turn to remove (which is unreliable, tied to long cooldown skills, and unrewarding on double-turn enemies) or you can kill their face (which is better, has a lasting effect in group battles, and dead enemies can't do damage, a phenomenon that is known as proactive healing).
- How do I get the most out of my turn? You maximize the stats that your powers depend on.
Think of your stats as the butter you spread on a toast. The bigger the toast, the less flavor you get... until it's so spread out that it looks like some sort of sweaty, oily smelling piece of bread. What you want is every bite to be a chunky hit of creamy, buttery flavor. And that's why I don't write just after breakfast.
Just as Kingu2 says, max three stats, tank the rest. The way I see it:
- If you want to do damage of any kind, max Agility for Accuracy.
- Pick Strenght, Willpower, or Presence in order to do fat physical, magical, or tease damage, respectively.
- If you're gonna do just one type of damage, go for Cunning in order to boost crit chance and crit damage. For multiple damage sources, forego crit entirely and pick two of the aforementioned damage sources (although you could be souping things up a little too much with the limited selection of powers you can equip).
- If you don't like doing damage to people and enjoy giving smooth handjobs to the rest of your party, stick to Presence, Toughness, and Willpower. Remember that a good support wakes up their fellow party members with a loving blowjob and a good, varied breakfast.
Funny thing, because I tried doing a spellblade build where I evenly split Strength & Willpower and noticed my spells did less damage than if I focused entirely on Strength - those spells I was swapping between being Power Wave, Leech, Smite Evil and Vitality Reap. Weird how spells did more damage focusing on physical attack than splitting...
That's because Power Wave and Smite Evil are also melee attacks. They add a spellpower component to a standard physical attack, so if your strength increases they get stronger.
And then Leech and Vitality Reap? Cuz they also did nore damage based off of Strength than if I had split between Strength & Willpower, and they're both spells.
That's a bug. They don't have the weapon or melee tag and I just checked the wiki, they're only influenced by spellpower.
Can you show me your stats at the time of casting? Because that definitely shouldn't happen. The majority of spells don't care about strength at all.
Strength increases all forms of penetration by 1 point.
Wait, that means spell penetration as well!?
Why? The spiraled staff specifically mentions spell penetration as something different from normal armor penetration.... ugh, my head hurts.
Our design philosophy for stats was to have no stat be completely useless for any build.
I haven't really been playing hard mode but I have been experimenting with some solo builds(no companions). it's been an interesting challenge on normal difficulty. the to most successful ones have been very high damage thief and a very tanky paladin with heals.
Not only is the bleed on-hit working but it's able to crit, best news I've heard on here. I will have to test it out later, sounds nutty for single monster/boss fights.
FWIW I just beat the new dungeon (Coming Next Patch) with Winter Knight Brint, Etheryn, and a Spiral Blade-armed Champ with Heal, Shadow Strike, Cleave, and Dastardly Trick. Revive Ult, did not need to use. Pretty challenging, but did okay. Sure proves you don't need to be HYPERoptimized to beat Dark Diff 
Having Brint in the party is just cheating really. I luv me some OP warrior minos~
Isn't the next dungeon the actual city of minotaurs? I'm curious to see the combat encounters though~
Thinking of making a support build for dark diff here's what I got so far.
Stats - Willpower, Presence and Agility
Skills - At-Will(Heal/Great Heal), Recharge(Group Heal/Blessing, Shield of Light), Encounter(Spirit Veil), Ultimate(Revive/Inspiration)
Any changes needed and what gear is good for this?
Stats - Willpower, Presence and Agility
Skills - At-Will(Heal/Great Heal), Recharge(Group Heal/Blessing, Shield of Light), Encounter(Spirit Veil), Ultimate(Revive/Inspiration)
Any changes needed and what gear is good for this?