I'm not totally mad about incoming nerf, i mean divine is so much better even if i have more fun with ap build. I prefer that she is not powerful cause she is a very popular pick maybe a little bit weak consider the negative wr and the abnourmus popularity of asol which is our favorite prey after veigar
The only thing that drives me mad is the riot contraddictions with kata management. if I remember correctly several times the balancers nerfed my beloved divine to push kata on the ap (last summer buff). the problem is that THEY DRIVE US INTO DIVINE instead full ap nash.. and thats why:
a)STATS USELESS you have chosen nashor as core item of kata but on Thursday it will have 2 stats which are not optimal on kata
WHY I SHOULD BUILD AS on a full ap build? AS scales with ad scaling on ult riot. Why add another almost useless stats? I think after divine is not that bad but just my take.
b) COST INCREASE TOO MUCH FOR KAT the nashor will cost 200 gold more by postponing the spyke for which kata ap becomes a de facto champion by nerfing a not strong champ
Why i should chose nash if with longsword start divine is cheaper (2950) and i can spyke earlier
c) ONHIT ITEMS ON AP BUILD
We lose lots of ap for the onhit thing. Since the lich is a suboptimal item in the ap build, the only item that takes advantage of the onhit is the nashor. kata has lost tons of ap ratio with the rework of the items for a mechanic that is exploited by an item and that has created more problems and madness than anything else.
Divine builds abuse better the onhit thing why i shouldn't build it riot?
d) MR STATUS The mr items do their job too well and are too easy to itemize in ad builds. Champions who are behind build maw or fon and become immortal even in situations that should die despite the mr. Don't get me wrong I'm not saying that kata 15 0 should win against a bruiser with 5 kills equal lv but neither that it survives with a minefield of daggers after 4 resets. the divine in these situations proves to be more solid and secure than a full ap build with void in my opinion. it's a delicate point and I can understand that a tank and a bruiser, even if with few kills, shoot straight and go straight 1v5. Is the next point that I don't understand and the most important
e)THE MAGE SITUATION
It is from the durability patch that the mages are the pick. LOWRISK SECURE REWARD Against assassins that with all indirects nerf are HIGHHH RISK NOT SO HIGH REWARD
Mages got TOO MUCH HELP over the months. At the starts all of that was right cause they were weak but riot give them sooo much. already with the durability they were in good shape. Being not happy riot has rebuffed the damage of the towers making it more difficult to punish / abuse the mage who makes mistakes under the tower. even the minor takedown exp you can get from bot roaming is a situational indirect nerf to roamers assassins.
These are just crumbs though, the thing that really broke wizards is the ROD and the archangel. just think that mages who synergize well with the everfrost which is an excellent and very funny item build the rod... (like sylas) understand how broken it is. It is an item that gives everything:life, mana ap, sustain in lane, even cdr even one more level and detaching it takes nothing if not 10 minutes, very low sacrifice for a mage that all he has to do is vomiting aoe spells in fight.
No important drawbacks and intermediate items are so powerful and they give a more safe laningphase
In midgame they have like 2.7/3k life which is insane.
If kata is meant to be a weak laningphase champ how kata can burst a mage in midgame with rod stacked? The answer is probably going for a divine base build. Not guarantee kill but it is right as it is imo, assassins should be a skilled class but i feel like is so unfair if you dont have enough damage to kill a class that you should kill counters excluded
The magebuff thing is a huge mess for kat in fight cause with a decent positioning the dont recieve damage and they are unburstable so no resets and you had to play differently and you will have less kat moments compared before rod arcangel. The fact that you had to play very perfect is a good thing but going full ap like you meant riot is sometimes impossible.
The juice of all this is that: Im not saying nerf rod for kat im saying take your time to make a balancing project on removing her onhit that causes only madness builds and buff her ap or give her other stuff based on ap.
Idk but i think that if they dont nerf divine kat im fine with that state cause i feel like divine is a huge solution for kat problems rn. If they decide to nerf divine without a huge kat change i feel like we are fucked.

There are many OP and meta builds out there which are very good but most of them have more or less drawbacks, that’s I why I tried to make a build that’s very good at everything, which in this game can be summarized to offense, defense and utility.
This build relies on elemental damage in general and ethereal damage in particular which is probably the best damage type in the game (aside from raw damage) all the while having immense defense and very high mana and stamina recovery rates, here it is :
Breakthroughs : Primal ritualist (nurturing echo) ; Philosopher (fire affinity) ; Hex mage (rupture) ; Brains.
Faction : Holy mission (divine assistance).
New Sirroco buildings : enchanting guild (expanded library) ; Chapel (lotus of light)
Armor : Green copal armor (spirit of Berg) ; antique plate sallet (economy) ; antique plate boots (economy)
Weapons : Frozen chakram (telekinesis) ; Gep’s blade (molepig sigh) ; Sunfall axe (fulmination).
Other : Buzu backpack ; whatever tent you like.
Quickslots : welkin ring ; haunting beat ; brace ; chakram pierce ; chakram arc ; jinx ; torment ; rupture.
Strategy : This build is pretty easy to play and is very forgiving, inside the totem AoE you have barrier and protection bonuses which adds up with all the passives you get from the Holy Mission quest and buildings. You also want to be very tired to benefit from the +30% elemental dmg, the stamina penalty will be negated by the enchantments and the divine assistance passive.
Against trash mobs which will be most of the enemies, you don’t need the totems, just use jinx/torment/rupture and/or your chakram, against harder enemies and bosses (mainly in Caldera, the others are a joke with this build), before the combat replace jinx with a health potion in the quickslot (just in case), buff up with potion/boons, place your totems, cast torment to reduce their damage by 40%, use chakram to inflict elemental vulnerability, use torment, hit them near the totems to build up their charge. The vast majority of the enemies will be destroyed by Gep’s blade, the rare enemies that would resist that are the ancient dwellers, the best weapon against them would be the sunfall axe, burning will be converted to holy blaze and the ethereal totem will trigger aetherbomb which means that even the most nasty boss will be chewed by those effects while you keep a safe distance betwwen you and them.
Here's a quick and dirty demonstration against the Elite Crimson Avatar, I didn't play very well, didn't use the totems enough and didn't even have my elemental damage to the max and yet dispatched him with relatively few hits, also notice that I'm basically immune to his melee attacks which is kinda crazy:
https://youtu.be/8UYN95zZVOk

how someone explain to me why the hell do low elo ( bronze) players love to overstay or 1v5 when THEY ARE CLERALY WEAK AND UNABLE TO FIGHT MUCH LESS KILL. why on earth cant people just sit behind their tank can poke form a range. and no I am not talking about a sylas or attrox going in those are fine because that is what their champs design to do and frankly still scary even tho they are a bit behind. i am talking about these ADC and MAGES that build FULL damage and yet still think they can even fight a melee champs IN MELEE RANGE.
and for those of u idiots that be like " oh u should have stayed with them and help them escape" EVERYTIME I help , EVERYTIME I DIE and for those be like " oh just let them die and try to make the right play" I cant do shit cause enemy is fed like really fed cause bronze idiots dont learn from mistakes and will once again die
is there any way to actually climb instead of praying for your teammates to have BASIC common sense? ( any constructive advice Is deeply welcome)
coming from a jungler that used to be silver (before transfer to lol sea) now bronze. https://www.op.gg/summoners/sg/shadowtiger123

Used to my favorite race in WH2 because of all the multiplicative scaling they have. With administrator and entrepreneur nerfed now, their economy feels pretty meh. Orcs unironically felt richer because I would get like 10k gold after every battle and nasty skulker spam was super cost efficient. Dark elves were also so much better. I just parked 2 armies to raid a tier 5 settlement and I was getting 3k+ slaves a turn on top of money. I could just super boost all my buildings and use every slave edict with pretty much infinite slaves.
​
But the bigger problem I feel is that high elf roster is also very mediocre. Early game is fine with archers spam, but sisters spam just don't feel very good. There are so many strong melee factions now and the AI with their matrix dodging is really annoying.
​
Artillery factions like empire and dwarfs are also annoying to deal with because high elves legit has the worst arti in the game. Dwarves in particular because they have high armor, magic resis (and fire resis on irondrakes) so they are super hard to kill, on top of long range arti. Dragons are super squishy, swordmasters dont really tank, phoenix guards are good at holding but their building chain is really inconvenient and they take 2 turns to recruit compared to something like chosen. Even high elf mages, which should be their strongest thing, are weak compared to empire mages or dark elf sorceresses because of the lack of a flying mount in comparison.
​
Only Yvresse feels good to play imo because the pure AP mistwalker archers are super good. The skill that can pin down a unit also makes dealing with lords very easy. Nagarythe is also pretty good tho but that's only because their ambush attack stance makes auto resolving to victory really braindead, the archmage +30% ambush chance makes it even easier.

Basically topic. I've played a little with a flame DoT build using wraiths, mages, and the golem, and then an ice build that focused on buffing a single Ice Mage with the two wraith buffs.
The DOT build feels strong, but getting your summons back up during boss fights feels ROUGH. Adversely, the upkeep on the ice mage feels great, but it seems like it suffers with single target.
Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated!!!

As I’ve browsed this sub I’ve started to become more worried regarding the number of confrontational posts I’ve seen opposed to other parts of the community. As somebody who's been invading since DS3 I really don't think there is a need for discourse to be so confrontational. To start...
​
There is not sufficient evidence to show that the main Elden Ring sub is trying to actively discriminate against invaders.
​
I have seen a number of posts talking about the main Elden Ring sub discriminating against invaders because it is removing posts from BadRedMan members, but what I have not seen a whole lot of is the consideration of alternative explanations that could explain why some posts are getting removed.
Perhaps the moderators just don’t want there to be posts that in any way promote unnecessary hostility between different parts of the community. Isn’t that equally possible?
By no means am I saying this is 100% true but I think it is equally as plausible as just saying that the moderators are removing certain posts because they hate invaders.
In addition you still sometimes see invader posts on the sub. Last time I browsed there was an invader post showcasing a sneaky mage with what seemed to be dual staff of loss. As far as invading goes that is not even particularly honest but it didn't seem to be removed.
The evidence that all of this is happening because of invader discrimination just isn’t wholly there. And I think that if my alternative explanation ended up being true then I think it would be quite justifiable. Connected to this…
​
There should be no reason for hostility between invaders and co-opers.
​
Whether somebody is playing through the game alone, doing Blue duty, playing through it with co-op, or invading, or hell, even summoning their friend who is 200 levels higher, it doesn’t really matter. The level of skill required will often be different but all these different ways of interacting with the game are all intended by FromSoft, and somebody is not inherently a better gamer or a better person because they chose to play it in a particular way. Even summoning overleveled phantoms is alright considering FromSoft intentionally put it in as a feature of the game, and it’s simply a feature that allows a veteran player to guide and help out their friend who is just starting. Sure, overleveled phantoms are broken, but that is Fromsoft’s fault, not the player’s. Most people are doing it because it's a convenient way to help a friend, not because they’re trying to abuse a specifically imbalanced feature.
Obviously, everything I said here applies equally to co-op communities that view invaders as horrible people.
​
The term ganking is often misused.
​
Ganking is not when you are outnumbered. Ganking is when a group of co-opers camp themselves in one part of the map, with no intention to do progress through the level, and try to outnumber invaders. Taunter’s Tongue Hosts summoning only one phantom doing a 2v2 in Liurnia are not ganking (unless they are summoning in Blues for a 3v1 in which case it is ganking). A group of 3 going through a level and mercilessly killing invaders are also not ganking, because they are just removing any obstacles in their path as efficiently as possible, including the PvE, as well as any invaders.
​
Many people don’t like gankers but I think they have their place in the community.
​
Many invaders don’t enjoy invading into gankers, but there are certainly invaders who do, people like Steelovsky it seems, and for that reason I don’t think the PvP experience would be wholly improved if all the ganker groups just stopped ganking and left the game. Something would be lost I think.
But obviously ign build or chainsaw glitch abusers can go to hell.

I'm preparing a one-shot adventure for my dnd group. It's my first time DMing, as our forever DM will be a player for the session.
The campaing has a maximum of 6 encounters. The party are 4 players lvl 12, they haven't made their PCs yet.
First encounter: 9400 Adjusted XP • Orc War Chief (CR 4) (1100 XP). • Swashbuckler (CR 3) (700 XP). • Gladiator (CR 5) (1800 XP). • Master of Souls (CR 4) (1100 XP).
Second encounter: 9300 Adjusted XP. • Blackguard (CR 8) (3900 XP). • Mage (CR 6) (2300 XP).
Third encounter: 11500 XP. • Drow Inquisitor (CR 14)
Fourth encounter: 23400 Adjusted XP. • Dragonborn of Bahamut (CR 8) (3900 XP). • Diviner Wizard (CR 8) (3900 XP). • Martial Arts Adept (CR 3) (700 XP).
Fifth encounter: 15000 Adjusted XP. • War Priest (CR 9) (5000 XP). • Necromancer Wizard (CR 9) (5000 XP).
Last encounter: • Laeral Silverhand (CR 17) (18000 XP).
The players will have Heroes' Feast buff the duration of the campaign, and there will be an encounter per long rest.
Other option I was thinking about is just building character sheets for the NPCs as simplified PCs and do it more PvP style of combat because the campaign is a tournament.
I fear that the encounters are easier or more difficult that what I'm expecting. Any feedback is appreciated.
Thanks.

So here are some datamined unique items (build 0.8.0.39517). *Please note: These may not be final and there could be additional unique items added, or powers/names changed. I don't believe this is the final list, in fact, I've seen screenshots of many other uniques that aren't listed here. You'll notice a few fan-favorite uniques returning in the list from previous games along with uniques that are completely new.
*posted in the diablo reddit but was told I should post here as well.
In beta we got to see only a tiny part of charactebuild customization. Once we combine legendary powers, affixes and stats on gear, paragon boards, glyphs (socket these into paragon boards), uniques, skill trees, and the class-specific systems (enchantments, book of the dead, spirit boons, etc) we should be in a great place which should be enough to satisfy even the most veteran arpg fans out of the gate.
So uniques have the following:

• static affixes, any drop of that specific unique will always have the same affixes (although they still roll within a range, 5-15 strength for example. So it is possible to find a "perfect" rolled item).
• the affixes may be something that don't normally show up on that slot. For example, a helm could have 30% movement speed. Movement speed doesn't normally roll on the helm slot.
• There could be a unique affix on the item that doesn't appear on any other item in the game. For example, the Harlequin Crest has the affix "+45% crafting material find". I haven't seen that stat on any other item so it may be just exclusive to it. This list doesn't show those unique affixes.
• the number of affixes on the item don't have to follow rares/legendary. Could be more/less.
• the value of affixes can be unique. For example, if the max roll for a specific affix on a rare is 25%, you may find a unique that has a range going up to 50% instead. They don't follow any rules.
• Uniques are tied to lore/maybe have a tiny backstory or flavor text

Normal/Sacred/Ancestral tiers
Something that I've also not seen much discussion on are sacred or ancestral tiers of items. If you don't know what these are, they are similar to ancient items in D3. As you go up in difficulty (world tiers) you unlock the chance for any item that drops to be sacred or ancestral. All items; white, magic, rare, legendary or unique have a chance to roll as sacred or ancestral. Sacred items roll higher values and item power than normal tier, and ancestral items roll higher values and item power than sacred tiers. Finding an ancestral item at the highest world tier is actually pretty rare, so you can imagine that finding an ancestral unique or legendary item will be very rare and add to the actual endgame loot hunt.

Unique Items

Barbarian specific uniques:

Item Name	Type	Power	Flavor Text
Ramaladni's Magnum Opus	1h Sword	Skills using this weapon deal x% increased damage per point of Fury you have, but you lose x Fury every second.	"Without him the wine is less sweet, the hearth less warm, and our blades less keen. Our blood brother is gone, but Bul-Kathos willing, we will meet again one day." - Sorrowsong for Ramaladni *this is a tribute to Travis Day, a Blizzard developer who passed away.
Ancients' Oath	2h Axe	Steel Grasp launches 2 additional chains. Enemies hit by Steel Grasp are Slowed by x% for x seconds.	"Weapons wielded by the fiercest warriors often catch the eye of the Ancient spirits. If the wielder is worthy, the spirits may bless the steel with their strength." - Gerti, Oxen Tribe Forgemaster
Hellhammer	2h Mace	Upheaval ignites the ground Burning enemies for an additional x damage over x seconds.	The demon prince Ikonoth slew hundreds of the Heavenly Host with this infernal hammer before falling to none other than the Archangel Imperius himself.
Overkill	2h mace	Death Blow creates a shockwave, dealing x% of its Base damage to enemies. Enemies who die to this effect also reset Death Blow's Cooldown.	The malformed snake creatures that live in the swamps are not content with simply killing their prey. They seem to take a malicious pleasure from inflicting as much suffering as possible before death.
Fields of Crimson	2h Sword	While using this weapon, damaging at least one enemy with Rupture creates a blood pool that inflicts x Bleeding damage over x seconds. Enemies standing in the pool take x% increased Bleeding damage.	"We've been fighting these flesh-eaters for so long, been soaked in so much blood, that after a while it's difficult to tell what side you're truly on." - Daelyr, Crane Tribe warrior
Battle Trance	Amulet	Increase Frenzy's maximum stacks by x. While you have maximum Frenzy, your other Skills gain x% increased Attack Speed.	"The change that overtook my brother in battle was terrifying. His eyes turned hard like diamonds, and the way he moved... it was like he was dancing to music only he could hear." - Captain Dervin
100,000 Steps	Boots	After gaining the final damage bonus from the Walking Arsenal Key Passive, you automatically cast Ground Stomp and gain x Fury. This cannot happen more than once every x seconds.	"While many Barbarians remained in the Dreadlands, small groups from the Oxen, Crane and Bear tribes instead chose to search the land for a new home." - A History of the Children of Bul-Kathos
Rage of Harrogath	Chest	Lucky Hit: Up to a x% chance to reduce the Cooldowns of your Non-Ultimate Skills by 1 seconds when you inflict Bleeding on Elites.	Harrogath, the final bastion of resistance against Baal's assault on Mt. Arreat was destroyed along with the Worldstone. The survivors never forgave the betrayal that led to the loss of their home.
Gohr's Devastating Grips	Gloves	Whirlwind explodes after it ends, dealing x% of the total Base damage dealt to surrounding enemies as Fire damage.	"The brutish construction of these gloves belies the strength they bestow. Gohr was clearly no craftsman, but it would be foolish to ignore the triumph of his work." - Barrett's Book of Implements
of Hammering *(this is listed as unique test, but the name reads more like a legendary.)	2h Mace	(PH) Consecutive Hammer of the Ancients increase the next cast's damage by x% its radius by x%.	-

Druid specific uniques:

Item Name	Type	Power	Flavor Text
Waxing Gibbous	1h Axe	Gain Stealth for x seconds when killing enemies with Shred. Breaking Stealth with an attack grants Ambush which guarantees Critical Strikes for x seconds.	The nights preceding the full moon are sometimes far more dangerous than the event itself. The frenzy has begun to rise, yet the night is just dark enough to obscure a hunter from their prey's sight.
Greatstaff of the Crone	2h Staff	Claw is now a Storm Skill and also casts Storm Strike at x% normal damage.	"She has existed in Scosglen since before Fiacla-Géar walked the land. Her purpose is a mystery to us all. However, approach her with deference; she may grant you her counsel." - Airidah, to Donan
Mad Wolf's Glee	Chest	Werewolf form is now your true form, and you gain +2 Ranks to all Werewolf Skills.	"He was not a victim of the curse - he sought it out. As his skin split and his bones cracked, his laughter never ceased." – Tale of the Mad Nobleman
Insatiable Fury	Chest	Werebear form is now your true form, and you gain +2 Ranks to all Werebear Skills.	When the Days of Ash began, the great druid Nafain reminded his disciples that nothing, not even the loss of their humanity, was too great a sacrifice to protect Túr Dúlra from Astaroth's flames.
Tempest Roar	Helm	Lucky Hit: Storm Skills have up to a x% chance to grant x Spirit. Your base Storm Skills are now also Werewolf Skills	"Listen, child, to the music of the storm. It has its own rhythm. Its own melody. Hear how beautifully it sings, and perhaps one day you will be able to join in its harmony." – Airidah
Vasily's Prayer	Helm	Your Earth Skills are now also Werebear Skills and Fortify you for x.	"Roots from the Great Oak growing at the seaward statue of Vasily will, on rare occasions, be found twisted back upon themselves, suffused with ferocious magic." - Barrett's Book of Implements
Storm's Companion	Pants	Your Wolf Companions are infused with the power of the storm, dealing Lightning damage and gaining the Storm Howl ability.	"The storm's rage is my own, brother. I call, and the skies roar in reply." - Vasily, to Bul-Kathos
Hunter's Zenith	Ring	Gain a bonus when you kill with a Shapeshifting Skill: Werewolf: Your next Non-Ultimate Werebear Skill costs no Resource and has no Cooldown. Werebear: Your next Werewolf Skill will Heal you for x when damage is first dealt.	"By fang, claw, spear, or sword - send the bastards back to the flames from which they crawled! Soak the peat with their blood! For Fiacla-Géar! For Scosglen!" - Nafain, during the Days of Ash

Necromancer specific uniques:

Item Name	Type	Power	Flavor Text
Black River	1h Scythe	Corpse Explosion consumes up to x additional Corpses around the initial Corpse, dealing x% increased damage and with a x% larger radius per additional Corpse.	"The scrolls describe a river of tar that separated the living from the land of the dead. Any unfortunate soul who tried to cross would be dragged down into oblivion." - Notes of Scholar Kamien
Bloodless Scream	2h Scythe	Your Darkness Skills Chill enemies for up to x%. Lucky Hit: Your Darkness Skills have up to a x% chance to generate x additional Essence against Frozen targets.	"My companion swung her odd weapon in a wide arc, and our pursuer stopped short. The look of horror on his face as his body fell to pieces will haunt me forever." - The Ebon Pages, Canto II, Verse XI
Deathspeaker's Pendant	Amulet	Blood Surge casts a mini nova on your Minions, dealing x damage. Damage is increased by x% per target drained by the initial cast, up to x%.	Once a sanctum for Rathma's studies, the Temple of the Deathspeaker became a proving grounds for potential leaders of his priesthood. Its halls are filled with the corpses of those who failed.
Greaves of the Empty Tomb	Boots	Create desecrated ground beneath your Sever spectres as they travel, damaging enemies for x Shadow damage over x seconds.	"The massive door to my family's crypt, which had taken a dozen men to close, was thrown open. Had I known the horrors to come I never would have set foot inside!" -The Ebon Pages, Canto I, Verse VII
Blood Artisan's Cuirass	Chest	When you pick up Blood Orbs, a free Bone Spirit is spawned, dealing bonus damage based on your current Life percent.	"The infamous Necromancer Gaza-Thul's mastery over blood magic was indisputable. Many suspect that upon his death, his skin was used to fashion this eldritch armor." - Barrett's Book of Implements
Howl from Below	Gloves	Instead of detonating immediately, Corpse Explosion summons a Volatile Skeleton that charges at a random enemy and explodes. Corpse Explosion's damage is increased by x%.	"Can you not hear it? That endless scream from the cold earth beneath your feet!? They are down there, trapped, blind with rage! Waiting to drag us down into the sod!" - Ravings of Madman Gustav
Deathless Visage	Helm	Bone Spear leaves behind echoes as it travels that explode, dealing x damage.	"Rathma is endless. He was the first Ancient, and will remain at the end. He is the master of the Great Cycle of Being. When Death comes for him, why should he fear it?" - Vauntus, Acolyte of Rathma
Ring of Mendeln	Ring	While you have x or more Minions you gain: Lucky Hit: Up to a x% chance to empower all of your Minions, causing the next attack from each to explode for x Physical damage.	The signet of Mendeln ul-Diomed, the founder of the Priests of Rathma and the first Necromancer, was lost for over 3,000 years. The immense power over death held within, however, has not diminished.

Rogue specific uniques:

Item Name	Type	Power	Flavor Text
Condemnation	Dagger	Your Core Skills deal x% increased damage when spending 3 Combo Points. Your Basic Skills using this weapon have a x% chance to generate 3 Combo Points.	"I've never seen such ruthless butchery. He deserves to be be shipped off to die in the swamps with the rest of the godless murderers." - Witness to the murder of Sergeant Walcot
Asheara's Khanjar	Dagger	Hits with this weapon increase your Attack Speed by x% for x seconds, up to x%.	When Caldeum's gates closed, Asheara led her Iron Wolves out of the city knowing full well they would never return. Instead they roamed Kehjistan pledging their blades to any who were in need.
Skyhunter	Bow	The first direct damage you deal to an enemy is a guaranteed Critical Strike. If you had maximum stacks of the Precision Key Passive when you cast the Skill, gain Energy, this can only happen once per cast.	"Genai took up her bow and aimed at the sun itself. The light burned her eyes, but her arrow flew true. Wounded, the sun hid, and brought forth the first night. - Fable of the Great Sky-Hunt
Windforce	Bow	Lucky Hit: Hits with this weapon have up to a x% chance to deal double damage and Knock Back the target.	"There have been numerous world-shaping conflicts throughout history. This bow has been found on the battlefield of every one, and always in the hands of the victors." - Barrett's Book of Implements
Word of Hakan	Amulet	Your Rain of Arrows is always Imbued with all Imbuements at once.	"Let the great gates of Caldeum be sealed. Let its proud walls stand fiercely defended. The rest of Kehjistan may suffer this plague, but my city, and my people, will not." - Proclamation of Hakan II
Grasp of Shadow	Gloves	Lucky Hit: Damaging a Vulnerable enemy with a Marksman or Cutthroat Skill has up to a x% chance to summon a Shadow Clone that mimics your attack.	Dark wisps creep hungrily across these gloves, like an assassin's blade seeking a life to steal on a moonless night.
Cowl of the Nameless	Helm	You gain x% increased Lucky Hit Chance against Crowd Controlled enemies.	"He is banished from the Guild, his name stricken from the Book. His punishment is to never have been." - Excerpt from a burned parchment
Eyes in the Dark	Pants	Unless it hits a Boss or Player, Death Trap will continue to re-arm itself until it kills an enemy. However, Death Trap's Cooldown is increased by x%.	"And so, when the sun dipped behind the hills each night, he knew that Ashen Jack would soon be near. Watching, and waiting." - Greenslade's Tales, Chapter 2: "Each Long Night" name*:* Eyes in the Dark

Sorcerer specific uniques:

Item Name	Type	Power	Flavor Text
Flamescar	Wand	While Channeling Incinerate, you periodically shoot embers that are attracted to enemies, each dealing x Fire damage.	The burn may heal, but the pain is eternal.
Staff of Endless Rage	Staff	Every 3rd cast of Fireball launches 2 additional projectiles.	"Leaving even blackened bones for your kin to mourn is too good an end for you." - Josiah
Staff of Lam Esen	Staff	Charged Bolts pierce, but deal x% less damage.	"Also known as the Greatstaff of the Old Religion, this powerful relic is one of only a small handful of Skatsimi artifacts that have survived to this day." - Barrett's Book of Implements
Esadora's Overflowing Cameo	Amulet	Upon collecting Crackling Energy, there's a x% chance to release a lightning nova, dealing x Lightning Damage.	The only thing more potent than Esadora's magic was her endless hatred of humanity. As she lay dying, the pale amulet around her neck drank in both.
Esu's Heirloom	Boots	Your Critical Strike Chance is increased by x% of your Movement Speed bonus.	"While scholars have proven these boots were not created by Esu herself, it is noteworthy that they have been passed down since the formation of the Mage Clans." - Barrett's Book of Implements
Raiment of the Infinite	Chest	After using Teleport, Close enemies are Pulled to you and Stunned for x seconds, but Teleport's Cooldown is increased by x%.	The power you have is never enough.
Gloves of the Illuminator	Gloves	Fireball now bounces as it travels, exploding each time it hits the ground, but its explosion deals x% less damage.	After Inarius returned to Sanctuary, he sought a way back to the High Heavens. His first step was to reignite the religion he had abandoned millennia before: the Cathedral of Light.
Iceheart Brais	Pants	Enemies that die while Frozen have a x% chance to unleash a Frost Nova.	The mad artisan saw his fingers turn black from frostbite as he worked the cloth, but refused to stay the needle and thread for even a moment.

General (used by all) uniques:

Item Name	Type	Power	Flavor Text
The Butcher's Cleaver	1h Axe	Lucky Hit: When you Critically Strike an enemy you have up to a x% chance to Fear and Slow them by x% for x seconds.	A nightmarish amalgam of blood, bone and steel, this axe is as horrific, and as deadly, as its creator.
Doombringer	1h Sword	Lucky Hit: Up to a x% chance to deal x Shadow damage to surrounding enemies and reduce their damage done by x% for x seconds.	Whenever this ancient sword has reappeared throughout history, it portends a time of great strife, as well as a devastating loss of life.
The Grandfather	2h Sword	Increases your Critical Strike Damage by x%. The other properties on this weapon can roll higher than normal.	An unbroken lineage of unwavering strength.
-	2h Sword	-	-
-	2h Sword	-	-
-	2h Sword	-	-
Melted Heart of Selig	Amulet	Gain x% Maximum Resource. In addition, when you take damage, drain x Resource for every x% of Life you would have lost instead.	"Do not allow your passions to become obsessions. Fuel the fire that burns within you, but it is madness to allow yourself to become ash to please an uncaring universe." - Last words of Master Selig
Penitent Greaves	Boots	You leave behind a trail of frost that Chills enemies. You deal x% more damage to Chilled enemies.	Remorseful devotees of the Cathedral of Light must undertake a grueling pilgrimage, journeying across the frigid glacier known as the Serac Rapture. Only then may their gravest sins be forgiven.
Razorplate	Chest	Gain x Thorns	Crafted by the cannibal Armoda, each piece of this interlocking armor has been sharpened into a knife's edge. Even a century after death, the plate remained on her corpse, unable to be removed safely.
Fists of Fate	Gloves	Your attacks randomly deal x% to y% of their normal damage.	"Will you let fear cheat you, or will you risk everything to find understanding? After all, death is simply the coin with which we purchase life." - Zurke
Frostburn	Gloves	Lucky Hit: Up to a x% chance to Freeze enemies for x seconds.	A touch so frigid it stops the heart and chills the very soul.
Andariel's Visage	Helm	Lucky Hit: Up to a x% chance to trigger a poison nova that applies x Poisoning damage over x seconds to enemies in the area.	The horrific whispers of the Maiden of Anguish flicker through your mind, pushing you ever closer to madness...
Harlequin Crest	Helm	Gain x% Damage Reduction. In addition, gain +x Ranks to all Skills.	"This headdress was once worn by an assassin disguised as a court mage. Her treachery was unveiled, but not before she used its magic to curse the king's entire lineage." - The Fall of House Aston
Temerity	Pants	Effects that Heal you beyond x% Life grant you a Barrier up to x% of your Maximum Life that lasts for x seconds.	"The revelation that master tailor Callas was in fact a witch only served to further fuel the desire for her uniquely enchanted legwraps." - Barrett's Book of Implements
Mother's Embrace	Ring	If a Core Skill hits x or more enemies, x% of the Resource cost is refunded.	"Every tome, every scroll, every book in this temple produces the same answer. The only being willing to stand against the Eternal Conflict, against the Prime Evils, was Lilith." - Elias
Ring of Starless Skies	Ring	Each consecutive Core Skill cast reduces the Resource cost of your next Core Skill by x%, up to a maximum of x%.	"Yours is the power to pluck the stars from the heavens with the ease of a child gathering fruit from the bough." - Unknown

Or how to mathematically oneshot every enemy in the entire game.
 
A braindead Maddening build guide with math and shitty gifs. With Wave 3, it was probably fairly obvious that Vantage+Reprisal is a disgustingly powerful combo. But in doing the math for stupid oneshot Silver Greataxe memes, I then started wondering about Thoron...
 
Well as it turns out, the heavy investment of Starsphere and a dust or two is enough to allow Jean/Anna/Citrinne/Ivy to hit the magic benchmark of 99 magic damage with a max forged Thoron to OHKO every enemy in the entire game at 1-3 range.
 
Required:

• Emblem Veronica
• Vantage (Leif)
• Holdout (Roy)
• Byleth-engraved Thoron+5 (Eirika if it's not being used or Leif as a distant third)
• Starsphere (Recommended for the midgame, but not required if you're willing to feed more boosters)
• Spirit Dusts
• Seraph Robes (for Citrinne and Ivy)

 
Some Proof of Concept  
Math on hitting final chapter enemy benchmarks
OHKOing a wyrm
Scuffed GIF of finishing CH26P1 in 30 seconds (Spoilers obviously)
 
Eligible Candidates:  

• Sage Jean
• MK Jean (if you don't mind missing MMs and High Priests)
• Sage Anna
• High Priest Citrinne
• Lindwurm Ivy

 
Guide:  
Pre-CH10 Recommendations (none of these are required)

• Take Citrinne's starting Thunder and forge into a Thoron.
• For not-Ivy, you can also inherit Vantage now. You can also inherit Starsphere to reduce booster dependency, though that will require SP scrolls.
• Throw the Leif engrave on your Thoron.

 
General Use

• Equip Veronica onto your mage of choice.
• Run your mage facefirst into the nearest axe user to enable Reprisal.
• Oneshot everything. If you early-inherited Vantage, you can already enemy phase with almost full effectiveness. Otherwise, I'm sure you can find a good use for a 3 range pocket nuke.
• (Recommended) Swap Leif for Byleth engrave for more accuracy. Eirika is probably ideal, but Eirika is more contested by your crit users and Byleth is less so.
• After you get back Roy, inherit Hold Out. You can technically even inherit hold out before and go full build from the beginning, but maybe you want to think a little or use stat boosters for other units.
• (Recommended) Give your mage Rewarp and literally run facefirst into the middle of the map and hit + to skip turn until stage/game/life is cleared.

 
Quick Stat benchmarks (read the math to get more details)  
There are effectively two damage tiers - 99 magic damage hits all generics and 96 hits everything minus Martial Master and High Priest. 103 is bonus extra credit that allows you to hit the final boss as well but is not attainable in fixed without extra growths or outside help (rallies, instructs, etc).
With Starsphere...
Sage Jean and Anna require anywhere between 0-3 Spirit Dusts depending on whether or not you give them some Starsphere levels and whether or not you care about hitting Martial Masters. Sage Citrinne might not naturally cap HP without Starsphere levels, so may need an extra dust. High Priest Citrinne and Lindwurm Ivy similarly require around the same number of Dusts + 1 but can also substitute up to 2 Seraph Robes for Dust.
If you forgo Starsphere, add 2-3 spirit dusts to all requirements. There are 3 (+1 from DLC) Spirit Dusts in the game so it'll be fairly tight, but still doable for all 4 characters mentioned if you settle for not hitting the arts-users.
 
FAQ

Does this actually kill everything in one hit?

Yes, you can look at the math link for numbers.

What about hit rates?

You have ~80% accuracy at worst on wolf knights/griffins/swordmasters with Byleth, 90 with Eirika assuming that's not being contested. Anybody else, you're reliably at 100. It's frankly incredibly reliable given universal OHKOs on everything. You can also lug around an accuracy support cheerleader if you really want - as long as they're not being onerounded, all enemies will go for your 1 HP mage. If your mage of choice isn't Ivy, you also don't even care about avoid terrain.

You put Starsphere and a whole bunch of statboosters on a carry mage, of course you're killing everything.

Yeah, I'm not saying it's a low investment build. Without Starsphere, it's all of the spirit dust you'll ever get. But the fact is, it's still doable without starsphere and that's kind of surprising for a build that's mathematically guaranteed to one shot every enemy in the game.
Starsphere also obviously breaks the game for early recruits and you can turn the massive stat snowball into any number of extremely busted builds... but braindead oneshotting everything at 3 range is a pretty nice step up from most usual strong builds still even.
FWIW, given how much combat this unit will see, it's also pretty likely that you'll hit a higher ilvl and Veronica even comes with Level Boost. I ended the game with an ilvl 43 Ivy, and if you allow yourself to level boost on the not-arts users (which are always in the back anyways), you can get an extra +4 damage closer to the margins required.
And that's not even considering Chrom's Rally Spectrum/Byleth Mag Instruct/Alear's Divinely Inspiring - as your mage is at 1hp constantly, as long as they're not being ORKO'd, you can use other units to help close that gap.

Can you set up more than one of these characters?

Technically, you could have Roy/Leif (Rise Above even does a good job of aping level boost as needed) on your non Veronica and you might have enough statboosters with Starsphere usage to make this work on two characters. You'll have enough from the natural SP conversion to inherit Reprisal on one of your two Thoroners anyways if the other plays as a standard mage build for most of the game. I don't know if I'd recommend it because I like giving the rest of my army something to do.

A +5 Thoron? I don't have that much silver!

Just take the silver from that +3 Brionac that you keep throwing on that doesn't even 2RKO a standard lategame halberdier. (joking, but in all seriousness, an early Thoron forge is a great investment early on even if you don't go for this build, and you don't have to instantly +5 it.)

This is a super boring build!

Fair. Don't think I'll do this again or the double-Thoron setup mentioned above, but it was a fun proof of concept. Also neurons do fire at seeing casual 79 damage beams being thrown around.

Why didn't you use High Priest for anybody else?

Because only Citrinne, Ivy, and Clanne get Thoron access in High Priest. Ivy has Lindwurm and Clanne will never get the magic required to pull this off.

Who's the best character for this?

By stats, Jean. Ivy has flight. Citrinne gets to go High Priest and be optimal as it.

Does this work on lower difficulties with anybody else?

Probably! I just don't know enemy stats for lower difficulties, but Chloe and Pandreo could probably squeeze in if the requirements are a bit less lax on both HP and RES.

Silver Greataxe?

Panette can pretty comfortably use forged Silver Greataxe/Ukonvasara and hit OHKO benchmarks with a similar build, but this is obviously limited to 1 range. Tomahawk is much harder (something like 18 points off from OHKOing CH26 generals) that you might as well just add Reprisal to her standard Vantage-Wrath build. I just wanted to justify ovecapping DEX and using Ukonvasara in her zerker dress to myself tbh.

As title really
I really enjoy the gameplay loop of bannerlord but want a game that is fully third or first person with similar combat but Skyrim esque I suppose
I've played kingdom come deliverance & really enjoyed it but I want something I can build up my mark on the world through clans or kingdoms & actually have a castle or settlement (or several) that I have to manage akin to bannerlord or warband
I'm open to mods, it doesn't need to be an out the box experience but does need to be sword & shield combat so no fallout mods unfortunately

Carian Knight set, Spellblade Set, Carian Glintstone Staff, Royal greatsword, Glintstone Kris, Carian Knight Sheild with Carian Retaliation, Radagon Soreseal, Starscorge Heirloom, Stargazer Heirloom, Great Jar arsenal, and 99 Lords runes

Carian Knight set, Spellblade Set, Carian Glintstone Staff, Royal greatsword, Glintstone Kris, Carian Knight Sheild with Carian Retaliation, Radagon Soreseal, Starscorge Heirloom, Stargazer Heirloom, Great Jar arsenal, and 99 Lords runes

I know that after the second playtest packet there are still many people hopeful and eagerly awaiting what is coming down the line from Kobold Press. I want to make it clear that I am not one of those people. What has been delivered so far is simply not enough material, nor has it been interesting enough to compete with WotC's One DnD. Before I am accused of "being overly critical" or "unduly negative" I ask folks to hear me out.
Kobold Press is right now fighting a losing battle. Every playtest WotC has released for far has been a full version of something to play. It is compatible with 5e enough that only minor adjustments need be made for certain classes. Overall it is clean, clear (for the most part) and easy to use. It is, in essence ready to playtest. So far, Project Black Flag has failed to deliver on this. Kobold Press is instead offering new mechanics that are more overhead for players and DMs (Luck) or simply worse or more boring options than what is currently available (PBF Fighter's Last Stand). Kobold Press makes it more difficult to want to playtest their material. Has One DnD been a smashing success? Gods no. The playtest Druid is boring, bland and while it's a fun concept, it doesn't feel worth using. However, unlike Kobold Press, WotC is being gradual in their approach and seem to be truly listening to player feedback. Kobold Press hasn't quite gotten into that part of their playtest yet, but the changes they would need to make thus far are frankly radical.
The core issue Project Black Flag faces is that it is competing with WotC. Kobold Press wants to be an alternative option. However, between glaring spelling errors, and just copying pasting SRD material things are not looking very professional on their end. And, if you want to sell a product you need to look just as good or better than your competition. I think Kobold Press has three key areas they need to improve upon as a whole if they want to compete with WotC.

1. Kobold Press needs to up their mechanical proficiency. So far they're using too vague language and allow their mechanics to be easily exploited. Compared with current 5e and the One DnD playtest that isn't going to be acceptable. Not everything WotC has done is clear or concise, but if you forced me to rule on it as a DM I could justify my ruling soundly. That is not the case with Project Black Flag. Mental Fortitude is a clear example of mechanics being shoddy and wording being far too vague.
2. Kobold Press needs to tell us who this product is for. Is it for veterans like myself? Is it for new players? Everyone? If it's for verterans, then I don't see enough new material to invest me. New players would quickly get lost in the weeds of Kobold Press language and if it's for a general audience... well they need more content. I'm sorry, but eight levels for two classes will not cut it, especially after their first packet had absolutely nothing in it. Right now this feels like it was designed to pull in disillusioned and outraged players due to the OGL incident a few months back. However, here's the thing: Kobold Press has lost the ability to draw in interested players. WotC completely folded by giving 5e to the Creative Commons, Kobold Press no long has outrage on their side to fuel potential sales. So, now they need to compete on equal terms, and that means matching WotC, which they have thus far failed to do.
3. Competing with WotC at their own game isn't going to work out long term if Kobold Press doesn't distinguish itself. This ties into points one and two, but Kobold Press excels at world building first a foremost. Furthermore, their understanding of 5e has always been a point of contention when you look at their past products. By designing a System that is 5e compatible they're playing into their worst weaknesses and ignoring their strengths. They need to buckle down if they want to shore up these weaknesses and either really listen to player feedback, or take things slower instead of jumping the gun trying to get eyes on half baked ideas.

I know much of my critique is coming off as negative, and I admit, I'm not impressed with Project Black Flag. However, that does not mean I want it to fail. I think Kobold Press has good ideas. I like the idea of heritage and ancestries. I like the idea of failing forward. I like their Battle Mage, in theory. However, I do not like their implementations of most of these things. So far things are clunky, half baked and frankly feeling rushed. They're competing with WotC and if they want to succeed they need to do better, because as things stand, this is not it and they are not where they need to be.

I know that after the second playtest packet there are still many people hopeful and eagerly awaiting what is coming down the line from Kobold Press. I want to make it clear that I am not one of those people. What has been delivered so far is simply not enough material, nor has it been interesting enough to compete with WotC's One DnD. Before I am accused of "being overly critical" or "unduly negative" I ask folks to hear me out.
Kobold Press is right now fighting a losing battle. Every playtest WotC has released for far has been a full version of something to play. It is compatible with 5e enough that only minor adjustments need be made for certain classes. Overall it is clean, clear (for the most part) and easy to use. It is, in essence ready to playtest. So far, Project Black Flag has failed to deliver on this. Kobold Press is instead offering new mechanics that are more overhead for players and DMs (Luck) or simply worse or more boring options than what is currently available (PBF Fighter's Last Stand). Kobold Press makes it more difficult to want to playtest their material. Has One DnD been a smashing success? Gods no. The playtest Druid is boring, bland and while it's a fun concept, it doesn't feel worth using. However, unlike Kobold Press, WotC is being gradual in their approach and seem to be truly listening to player feedback. Kobold Press hasn't quite gotten into that part of their playtest yet, but the changes they would need to make thus far are frankly radical.
The core issue Project Black Flag faces is that it is competing with WotC. Kobold Press wants to be an alternative option. However, between glaring spelling errors, and just copying pasting SRD material things are not looking very professional on their end. And, if you want to sell a product you need to look just as good or better than your competition. I think Kobold Press has three key areas they need to improve upon as a whole if they want to compete with WotC.

1. Kobold Press needs to up their mechanical proficiency. So far they're using too vague language and allow their mechanics to be easily exploited. Compared with current 5e and the One DnD playtest that isn't going to be acceptable. Not everything WotC has done is clear or concise, but if you forced me to rule on it as a DM I could justify my ruling soundly. That is not the case with Project Black Flag. Mental Fortitude is a clear example of mechanics being shoddy and wording being far too vague.
2. Kobold Press needs to tell us who this product is for. Is it for veterans like myself? Is it for new players? Everyone? If it's for verterans, then I don't see enough new material to invest me. New players would quickly get lost in the weeds of Kobold Press language and if it's for a general audience... well they need more content. I'm sorry, but eight levels for two classes will not cut it, especially after their first packet had absolutely nothing in it. Right now this feels like it was designed to pull in disillusioned and outraged players due to the OGL incident a few months back. However, here's the thing: Kobold Press has lost the ability to draw in interested players. WotC completely folded by giving 5e to the Creative Commons, Kobold Press no long has outrage on their side to fuel potential sales. So, now they need to compete on equal terms, and that means matching WotC, which they have thus far failed to do.
3. Competing with WotC at their own game isn't going to work out long term if Kobold Press doesn't distinguish itself. This ties into points one and two, but Kobold Press excels at world building first a foremost. Furthermore, their understanding of 5e has always been a point of contention when you look at their past products. By designing a System that is 5e compatible they're playing into their worst weaknesses and ignoring their strengths. They need to buckle down if they want to shore up these weaknesses and either really listen to player feedback, or take things slower instead of jumping the gun trying to get eyes on half baked ideas.

I know much of my critique is coming off as negative, and I admit, I'm not impressed with Project Black Flag. However, that does not mean I want it to fail. I think Kobold Press has good ideas. I like the idea of heritage and ancestries. I like the idea of failing forward. I like their Battle Mage, in theory. However, I do not like their implementations of most of these things. So far things are clunky, half baked and frankly feeling rushed. They're competing with WotC and if they want to succeed they need to do better, because as things stand, this is not it and they are not where they need to be.

Yo! It's been a minute since I played PoE2 and I decided I wanted to run a Watcher from the beginning of PoE1. Built a melee mage who wrecked house in the first game, but now I'm realizing there are some key differences in how some of the spells work (also I miss being able to cheese my way through Grimoires and learn all the spells lmao)
Any general tips for melee mages (I stayed away from subclasses obviously since it splits your spell access)? Do weapon specialization abilities transfer to summoned weapons? Are there any spells that are a must/bust?
I'm staying away from full-on suggested builds since I really enjoy exploring building classes, however aside from rerolling, you're kinda locked into whatever spells you pick in Deadfire

Hi, i'm kinda new to this game and i play as mage. I need some help like what's the best stats and skill builds? And how to earn easy and fast spina.

I'm a mid main playing in Gold who's realized playing for their jungler is way better than trying to get fed in lane. I mostly play an off-meta AP on-hit Neeko, but I max Q first so I can shove waves in early while still having good consistent harass. I try to shove in when top scuttle's about to spawn and ward the river (or if the wave lets me, near the enemy's entry point into the river). If my jungler isn't already there when it spawns, I send a W clone down the river for vision, usually disguised as my jungler. I also try to ward dragon before it spawns and will sometimes ward the enemy's raptors (learned that from Pekin).
But my question is, are these things helpful? And what else should I be doing? I feel bad because I feel like my damage isn't good until I finish Nashors, but I take Future's Market and Magical Footwear to get it pretty quickly. Still, I've had river fights where I couldn't kill an enemy quickly enough, and my jungler would complain, even though I probably did better than I could have as a normal electrocute Neeko who would only have Hextech Alternator at that point. I feel like with this build, I'm able to skirmish better while still having good burst teamfighting, and I can actually take objectives.
But yeah, I just would like any feedback or input on what I can do to better help my jungler because I feel like it's so much better if we work together than if I just try to hyperfarm and 1v1 my laner all the time, especially since I've been seeing a lot of control mages who outrange me anyways.
Side note: I used to mostly play Ekko, Lux, and Seraphine mid, but I feel like I can't rotate as effectively yet safely on those champs early like I can with Neeko. Also, I've had junglers tilt when I play Seraphine because her early damage is really weak (which caused them to yell at me for not rotating for river fights, even though I did and just couldn't kill them), even though she scales excellently.

The entomologist is a character that is obsessed with everything related to bugs. They are born in Raven Rock, clad in the insects they’ve slaughtered for their studies, head to toe in light chitin armor for ease of use while casting their necromantic spells since they’re equally obsessed with death and other things that are “gross” since it sort of comes with the job. Upon entering Skyrim, they are planning on attending the college, hearing that they are accepting of necromancer, yet they somehow end up in Markarth (idk how to explain that yet) and they hear of a coven that would accept them. Hearing echoes within the crypts of they venture deep in, which changes their life forever. Through a swift initiation, they are served the first of MANY people they will eat as they are now the champion of Namira, the one and only “person” who can supply them with an endless supply of insects for study, hunting, and discovery! There are insects from the scuttling void they didn’t even KNOW existed! They can’t wait for their day where they will bath in insects for eternity. They praise Namira through cannibalism, persuasive spells to control Chaurus, and other insects, and their spreading work of necromancy!
Now, I think I’ll either go light chitin armor, or clothes for the ease of using spells. They will use conjugation magic, specially spells that summon skeletal armies. Along with that, when in physician combat, they will use dual daggers potentially? Now I don’t know which standing stone fits them best. Also any ideas of how to tweak this build? Or does it sound good?

This is the leveling guide I theory crafted for an Army of the Dead Necro:

• Level 2: Decompose
• Level 3: Enhanced Decompose
• Level 4: Blight
• Level 5: Acolyte’s Decompose
• Level 6: Enhanced Blight
• Level 7: Supernatural Blight
• Level 8: Corpse Explosion
• Level 9: Enhanced Corpse Explosion
• Level 10: Plagued Corpse Explosion
• Level 11: Corpse Explosion
• Level 12: Corpse Explosion
• Level 13: Decrepify
• Level 14: Enhanced Decrepify
• Level 15: Horrid Decrepify
• Level 16: Skeletal Mage Mastery
• Level 17: Skeletal Mage Mastery
• Level 18: Skeletal Mage Mastery
• Level 19: Skeletal Warrior Mastery
• Level 20: Corpse Tendrils
• Level 21: Enhanced Corpse Tendrils
• Level 22: Plagued Corpse Tendrils
• Level 23: Skeletal Warrior Mastery
• Level 24: Skeletal Warrior Mastery
• Level 25: Gollum Mastery
• Renown Pt: Gollum Mastery
• Renown Pt: Gollum Mastery

Full Build: https://lothrik.github.io/diablo4-build-calc/#N4BgNAjGBMkGyQOyQJxgMwoFwFYwBZwd8t0wdsy4o5Y59JoyJoTnoAOMAYwBsBDAM6CAcvwC2AUywA7SdwBOAe3H8Z3SQsgQIAWlg6c+7XH0BfIA
This is a pure theory craft as I did not have time to dive into the Necro during the Closed End Game Beta. One thing I'm not sure of is how many skills we will be able to put on our bar, does each pet summon ability take a spot on the bar leaving us room for just 3 skills?

So I have been replaying Dragon Age 2 over the last couple of weeks, and I am always surprised by how much I enjoy this game, despite its reputation. That isn't to say that the game is by any means perfect, but I do genuinely think that there is a lot to be enjoyed.
Firstly, the writing. Generally, I think the game is quite well written, at least in comparison to some of the other things that I have been playing or watching, recently. For example, my girlfriend has been playing another RPG lately, and Dragon Age 2 is just leaps and bounds ahead of that game's comparatively very dull characters and story.
In terms of the plot, I am generally interested in just about everything that is going on, and I really enjoy the game's three-act structure. The game does a really good job of setting up each conflict early on, and slowly escalating each one, before their respective eventual boiling points. Nothing ever comes out of left field, and I enjoyed reading about or hearing about certain characters, long before I would eventually meet them, like Knight-Commander Meredith.
One other thing that Dragon Age 2 does, is it really expanded the Dragon Age world. Dragon Age Origins excelled with its characters and some political intrigue, but whilst its setting had some interesting ideas, it was quite focused on its more arguably generic aspects. You must unite the Humans, and the Dwarves, and the Elves, and fight off the evil horde of Orcs Darkspawn. The Elves live in the forests, the Dwarves live underground, etc, etc. Nothing you haven't seen before. But then there were some really interesting aspects sprinkled in, like how mages were vulnerable to being possessed by demons, and how the church had to control them through an order of warriors called Templars. Also, one of your companions was from this strange society known as the Qunari, with a very interesting straightforward, and straight to the point view of the world, and way of communicating - but these aspects were never really greatly explored in Origins. Dragon Age 2 takes these, and runs with them.
Your companions are all also pretty great. I would say that some of them are definitely more likeable than others, but they are all generally very interesting. I feel like this is one of BioWare's biggest strengths, and Dragon Age 2 really flexes, in this department.
The only real conceit from a writing perspective, is how the game handles mages in your band of companions. Again, in the Dragon Age world, mages outside of the control of the Templars are viciously hunted. In Origins you had an excuse, because the Grey Wardens operate outside of their control, but in Dragon Age 2, you, and/or up to three of your companions are constantly launching fireballs from your fingers, often right in front of Templars, and they often do not even acknowledge it, or just wave it away, and never bring it up again. It is admittedly pretty daft.
Though I think one of the biggest criticisms of 2 comes from the locations that you visit, and occasionally that Dragon Age 2 doesn't feel like much of a sequel, because of its drastically smaller scope. To the latter point, I think that there is a lot of value to telling a smaller scale story, that focuses on a small group of characters, in a smaller location. This allows you to become intimately familiar with the places that you visit, exploring all of the secrets than can be discovered, and really getting to know all of the characters that you meet along the way. From a story perspective, I think that Dragon Age 2 succeeds quite admirably in this aspect, but from a gameplay and visual perspective, it fails quite miserably.
Dragon Age 2 takes place almost exclusively inside, and around, the city of Kirkwall. "The city of chains", once a hub for slaves and slavers, named for the obvious, and also that giant chains hang in Kirkwalls harbour. Whilst this is frequently mentioned in dialogue and in codex pages, from a visual perspective, this is not used at all. As a city, Kirkwall is incredibly dull. Hightown is just grey stone buildings, Lowtown is just brown mud buildings, and there are almost no points of interest, or landmarks across the entire city. What is worse, is that the city never changes at all, over the years in which you inhabit it. There are no opportunities to improve the conditions of the more impoverished districts, and the city doesn't bare the scars of any previous battles that occur in it. One of your companions even inherits a mansion; it looks abandoned and haunted when you first arrive, and after 6 years, it still does. It is both static, and dull - the worst combination.
It is also worth mentioning the constant re-use of environments for its various dungeons. There are a few different ones that show up every now and again, but the same cellar could be a secret passage out of the city, or a criminal gang's hideout, or the secret lair of a crazy mage. It is more than a little distracting, especially because the way the game of blocks off unused passageways is less than obscure.
As for the combat, I do generally have positive things to say about it. Compared to Origins, each spell has more depth, through the use of various upgrades - like the ability to add stagger, disoriented, or brittle debuffs to enemies, which other classes can then exploit for extra damage - but there are less spells overall. Combat animations and audio feedback are also much improved over Origins, which is definitely welcomed. As a result, combat feels much more energetic, and is much more interesting to watch. I do definitely miss the tactical camera, though.
The biggest issue with the combat, in my eyes, is how the game handles enemy spawning. In virtually every encounter, you walk up to a group of enemies, and initiate combat. Halfway through the encounter, or just as you are about to kill the last enemy, a new group of enemies will just appear out of nowhere - jumping down from an invisible ledge, or appearing from around a nearby corridor. Combat encounters can often contain two or three times the amount of enemies than you initially thought would be there. There is no way to predict or prevent this, which makes it difficult to anticipate when to use any abilities with long cooldowns, and it also makes it tough to appropriately position your companions, when enemies can suddenly appear in your backline at any moment. Sometimes, you end up barely surviving one group of enemies, only to have a fresh group appear almost out of thin air, and finish you off.
Also, enemy mages are pretty absurd. They particularly favour three abilities, one of which is some kind of area of effect death ball that will kill you in moments. There is no obvious telegraph of this attack, It just appears on the floor, and immediately starts taking chunks out of your health. Combined with the previous issue of enemies just spawning out of thin air - and sometimes it is a mage - it can be really annoying to deal with, and is probably my number-one cause of death for this entire playthrough.
Overall, I do really like Dragon Age 2, but in almost every regard, there is one crippling aspect that prevents the game from reaching higher highs. Still though, it is a miracle that Bioware managed to pull this off in around 16 months of development time, warts and all.

As the title says, i'm wondering what the best value options are when buying a PC? Is having a custom build ALWAYS better than a pre-built? At what point are you hitting the law of diminishing returns? (the point at which spending more money doesn't necessarily give you a significant enough performance boost to warrant spending that much extra)
My laptop (Acer Predator Triton 300) has, unfortunately, died on me over the weekend, it's looking like its the motherboard, my warranty expired in February and it's gonna cost me £60 just to have it assessed, if it is the motherboard that is fucked then I dread to think how much that is gonna cost to be replaced, so i'm now thinking about just buying a new PC when I get my work bonus in May/June (looking at £1200 low end, £2000 high end) so somewhere between that is what i'll have to spend on the PC itself, and then the peripherals i'm not concerned about, I can buy them separately if needed.
So, what's my best option? I'm still relatively new to PC gaming again (only bought the laptop in January 2021 after not PC gaming since the early 2000's) so my knowledge around components or what my options are isn't too good to be honest. So any help or any direction you can point me in to get the best value for money would be greatly appreciated!
Oh, I should probably say that gaming wise I mostly play Football Manager, Sid Meier's Civilization 6 and Apex Legends. I occasionally play Skyrim and MGS5 when I want to play something a little more story driven.

My rep page:
https://old.reddit.com/IGSRep/comments/zipbc1/deadfishcros_igs_rep_page_numbe
​
I have

• Edge of eternity
• Hero's hour
• Rogue lords
• Demon turf
• Fallout 76
• Fallout 1
• Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales
• Othercide
• Shady part of me
• Scourgebringer
• Fobia - St. Dinfna hotel
• Five Dates
• Deathloop
• 11:11 Memories retold
• ATOM RPG Trudograd (PC) - Steam Key
• Banners of Ruin
• Lawn Mowing Simulator (PC)
• Legend of Keepers: Career of a Dungeon Manager
• Siege Survival: Gloria Victis
• Call of the Sea
• The Last Door: Season 2 - Collector's Edition
• Chaos Reborn
• Night Blights
• Robot Roller-Derby Disco Dodgeball
• CastleStorm
• Horizon Shift
• The Walking Dead: 400 Days
• Detached VR
• Vanishing Realms VR
• Swords of Gurrah VR
• Tower Tag
• The Morrigan
• Duet
• Fieldrunners
• Fallen Enchantress - Legendary Heroes
• Kromaia
• Flat Heroes
• Seasons after Fall
• Midnight Protocol
• Farmer's Dynasty
• Rustler
• Rebel Cops
• John Wick Hex
• ADOM (Ancient Domains Of Mystery)
• Deadly Days
• Kill It With Fire
• Cat Quest
• Puzzle Agent 2
• Blade Symphony + Soundtrack
• Might & Magic VI-pack Ubisoft Connect Key
• Dangerous Golf
• Alpha Kimori 1
• Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
• Super Splatters
• Breach & Clear
• Worms Blast
• Galcon Legends
• FLYING TIGERS: SHADOWS OVER CHINA
• Super 3-D Noah's Ark
• Torchlight
• Blood Knights
• Lichdom: Battlemage
• Cast of the Seven Godsends
• Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes + I am the Boss
• A-Tech Cybernetic
• Panoptic
• DISCIPLES: LIBERATION
• EPIC CHEF
• RAILROAD CORPORATION
• GOLF GANG
• Populus(Origin)
• BIT.TRIP Presents... Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien
• ARMA: Cold War Assault
• Awesomenauts Cluck Costume
• Frozen Synapse Multiplayer Key
• Tower of Guns
• Worms
• Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Adventure
• War of the Roses: Kingmaker
• Darkest Hour: A Hearts of Iron Game
• Contraption Maker
• 140
• Beatbuddy: Tale of the Guardians
• Tulpa
• Men of War: Assault Squad GOTY
• Abyss Odyssey
• Space Run
• Pix the Cat
• Tiny Troopers
• Nuclear Dawn
• Inside My Radio
• Darkness Within 2: The Dark Lineage
• Darkness Within 1: In Pursuit of Loath Nolder
• Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy Remastered
• Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People: Season 1
• Tharsis
• Lumino City
• Killing Floor - Community Weapon Pack 3 DLC
• Killing Floor - Community Weapon Pack 2 DLC
• Killing Floor - Community Weapon Pack 1 DLC
• Else Heart.Break()
• Uurnog Uurnlimited
• Void Destroyer
• Valhalla Hills
• Turmoil
• The Journey Down 1 + 2 Bundle
• The Interactive Adventures of Dog Mendonça and Pizza Boy
• Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan
• Umbrella Corps™ Deluxe Edition Upgrade Pack
• Lakeview Cabin Collection
• DreadOut Soundtrack & Manga DLC
• DreadOut: Keepers of The Dark
• DreadOut
• Infested Planet - Trickster's Arsenal DLC
• The Flame in the Flood
• The Shrouded Isle
• Scanner Sombre
• The Elder Scrolls: Legends: 2 Card Packs (Skyrim) 1 Event Ticket 100 Gold 100 Souls
• Tormentor X Punisher
• Epistory - Typing Chronicles
• Mr. Shifty
• HIVESWAP: Act 1
• Immortal Planet
• The Town of Light
• Evergarden
• 11-11 Memories Retold
• Legacy of Dorn: Herald of Oblivion
• Golf With Your Friends - OST
• Smoke and Sacrifice
• Idle Champions Celeste's Starter Pack
• Archangel: Hellfire - Fully Loaded
• RAD
• Wands (VR)
• Paper Beast
• State of Decay 2: Juggernaut Edition Soundtrack
• Kingdom: New Lands
• Cook-Out (VR)
• Blaston (VR)
• Tacoma
• Traffic Jams (VR)
• Propagation VR - Co-op
• Down The Rabbit Hole (VR)
• Strider
• Bionic Commando
• A PLAGUE TALE: INNOCENCE
• GAS STATION SIMULATOR
• MIND SCANNERS
• EMILY IS AWAY <3
• OMNO
• Tower of Time
• Battle vs Chess
• Gorky 17
• Two Worlds Epic Edition
• Septerra Core
• KnightShift
• Jagged Alliance 2 - Wildfire
• World War II: Panzer Claws
• Earth 2150 Trilogy
• Earth 2140
• One Finger Death Punch 2
• God’s Trigger
• The Textorcist: The Story of Ray Bibbia
• Do Not Feed the Monkeys
• Shadwen
• Syndrome

Want:
Soulslikes
FPS games
rts games
action games
Specific things from my steam wishlist

• Project nimbus
• State of decay 2
• Vr Dungeon knight
• the sinking city
• rebel galaxy outlaw
• condemed criminal origins
• halo wars
• space hulk tactics
• time carnage vr
• dead effect 2 vr
• the mages tale
• neverinth
• bloody spell
• lost ember
• the falconer
• project freedom
• heroes of anhiliated empires
• karnage chronicles
• subnautica
• omensight definitive edition
• icey
• vampire the masquarade redemption
• mechwarrior 5
• gun club vr
• shadow legend vr
• nier
• hades
• remnant form the ashes dlc
• ultra age
• ender lilies: quietus of the knights
• vigil the longest night
• tomrented souls
• terminator resistance
• the riftbreaker
• remorse the list
• blacktail
• songs of konquest
• grime
• prodeus
• into the radius VR
• blade and sorcery
• mo astray