Post by Random595 in Anyone have optimal skill progression for the various classes?

Viewing post in Anyone have optimal skill progression for the various classes?

1. I usually take mental clarity first, as I find levitation and reflection is not required early on. I am not taking ranged damage (LB 2 outranges everything), jumping in pits, or needing to avoid terrain (just don't stand on the water, it's easy :P). As long as I have enough MP to LB everything, nothing else matters. I almost put it as take mental clarity 1/2 first, then take shroud, as I do think its stronger that way.

2. Disengage 2/Lunge 1 take 12 dex. Lunge 2 takes 14 dex. Even if you get 1 additional dex, the earliest you can get Lunge 2 is lvl 6. No extra attributes and it is lvl 9. What will you do with the talent points before that? Take disengage 2 at lvl 3, then lunge 1 at lvl 4. This won't delay lunge 2 at all.

The difference between having disengage 2 or not early game is massive. The game plays so much faster when you are keeping your SP on every kill. Disengage 2 is also the safer option, if you get in a dangerous situation, being able to disengage and step back, keeping pace with fast enemies and getting the maximum amount of SP is what you want.

I left the duelist talents early, as I don't use strafe attack enough to know exactly where it fits. I probably could have said: Disengage 2, Lunge 1/2, Dash Attack.

3. I find discord 2 is a massive upgrade. It is a 33% dmg increase, per attack, which by itself is strong. It also has very positive interaction changes, like reducing the number of hits most early backline enemies need to die by 1 (saving you both a turn, and from being damaged at all in many situations). What else can an enchanter take early?

TheAtiumMind336 days ago

I always prefer to take confusion over discord II. I just love being able to turn a group against each other. Plus distracting the boss is invaluable. As to lunge, I tend to take lunge 1 over disengage 2 these days if idon't take that I take strafe attack, because strafe 2 + bow. When disengage 2 got a damage nerf, it lost priority on my list although youmake some fairly convincing points so Ill look into it on my next duelist run. Oh, and shroud of wind is definitely still OP early game. The upper dungeon has some of the most pits out of the mainstream dungeons and the rails across give a whole new meaning to the word kiting. Meanwhile, the only things even capable of hitting you, being ranged, are hitting themselves instead of you. On such levels I rarely even need lightning bolt (except to take out supporters outside my rage). Unfortunately Idon't have the time to write an opinion piece on shroud of wind so for now I'll just wish you a happy new year!

Random595336 days ago

I find confusion just doesn't do enough at lvl 1 for 6mp, compared to what you can get for 4mp. It feels like a waste of mp whenever I try. The only boss you can't kite from easily, the archer, dies so fast to discord 2.

We will just have to disagree on shroud of wind, imo it doesn't give much value early game compared to more LB2 killing everything.

Happy new year to you as well :)

TheAtiumMind327 days ago

recently encountered Argyl the swift as enchanter, you're right.

TheAtiumMind329 days ago

Looked into it, I should stop taking lunge 1 early game. But strafe attack is better then disengage 2.

Random595329 days ago

Strafe attack 1 vs disengage 2? How?

TheAtiumMind328 days ago

With limited SP points early game disengage will not be used as often as strafe attack which could activate every turn. it also makes those annoying little ranged units a lot more manageable.

Random595328 days ago

I would never even think of taking strafe attack until after disengage 2, lunge 2, and dash attack. Disengage 2 is way, way more powerful then strafe attack, and every other ability gives a lot more value as well.

TheAtiumMind327 days ago

Um, have you seen strafe attack 2 + bow?

TheAtiumMind327 days ago (1 edit)

It's basically time stop. And while the duelist has much better options upon being close enough to melee, a good ranged wepon can sometimes see them dead before you even get there.

Random595327 days ago

Strafe 2 would come a long time after disengage 2, so taking strafe 1 instead of disengage 2 doesn't make sense. Strafe lets you attack more, but gets much less value out of each speed point. Combining lunge and disengage lets you kill far more stuff, with 3+ actions per turn, often keeping multiple speed points. I value dash attack more then strafe as it provides additional gap close and utility (ability to move through enemies). Even against Yendor I find I often prefer to chain disengage, lunge, dash attack, knockback (charge, power strike, cyclone strike), lunge, disengage, compared to just spending all the speed points on basic attacks with strafe.

TheAtiumMind327 days ago (1 edit)

I agree with you late game, but strafe attack is an invaluable asset to an early game duelist who can't afford to use their other (admittedly very powerful) abilities often. strafe attack allows one to stay mobile while continuing to doll out modest damage (+ you get that sweet strafe dodge) . While I agree that dash attack is much better, strafe attack has some good distance applications as well. I'll admit that strafe attack pales in comparison to many late game tactics available it is usually enough to trivialize most upper dungeon encounters (assuming that you have a bow otherwise it just makes melee more interesting).

Random595327 days ago

If you have a bow I find upper dungeon is completely trivialized by that alone, no need for strafe attack. Additionally, a bow greatly multiplies the power of disengage 2: You can put everything into kill range, and keep 100% uptime on your SP by always getting the points back. A bow and disengage 2 is far more powerful than a bow and strafe attack in UD. Disengage 2 is all about letting you use those more powerful abilities more often, that's why it is essential imo for a duellist to get it immediately.

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De2nail142 days ago

yessir strafing hard carried me in RF3

itch.io

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