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[beorn080]

I've tried out solipists in arena a few times, and they play, effectively, like alchemists with slightly fewer options but no reliance on gems. Between the single target and huge radius sleep effects, three different and potent thoughtforms, a few beam attacks and smite attacks with added status effects, and the potentiallity to have EVERYTHING including straight up damage be resisted by mental saves is a nasty combination. I think, in theory, a solipsist can actually be invincible if properly invested in the solipsist talents. In fact, pour enough points into the solipsist tree and the thoughtform tree, and both you and your thoughtform will be nearly immune to everything. Just be careful with that first talent in the solipsist tree, maxing is a bad idea.

[Seriyu]

So, been playing the game lately, and the recent changes are great, cursed seem much more viable, and I like the reaver changes too.

However, I've got a question about stash management, (before Nur), namely, what should I be keeping and what not? Elemental resistances obviously, status resists, inparticular stun... is there anything else notable to hang on to?

[Frumple]

I'm... probably the wrong person to ask, ha. The only thing I habitually keep around pre-nur is artifacts and the occasional rare

Seriously though, certain activates and powers you want pretty badly. A source of teleportation per capable slot (staff, amulet), rush boots on melee, speed boots for everyone (even if you don't use them normally, they're a godsend in certain areas), psychoport torques, any tools you can use that grants silence, particularly useful various other stuff (some of the hats, healing amulets, there's kind of a list of etcs.)... I don't horde for stats much in the early game, but I most definitely will hold on to that elm staff of conveyance or whatever like the devil itself wants it.

Certain debuff weapons can be a good idea, too, just in case. Glacial/elemental/caustic, slime if you're not arcane, etc., so forth.

[Seriyu]

Okay, so activatables, stats generally aren't worth hanging on to, and anything that increases mobility, more or less it seems like. Thank yah!

[Frumple]

Not so much not worth hanging on to as "Frumple doesn't bother with it"

That said, everything except particularly lucky damage resist rolls obsolete pretty easily... there's some level of influence based on material level (so, ferex, a copper gladiator ring will never [caveat: so far as I know] get 10 on its stats, while a voratun glad ring can.), so it's not uncommon to replace older stuff fairly steadily. There's pretty comfortable tier breaks, and as a rule anything at least two tiers above an item is going to be noticeably better  -- it's next to impossible for an iron weapon to beat out a d-steel, steel to be out stralite, d-steel, voratun. Stralite and lower quality voratun stuff is more equitable, but you'll probably (eventually) replace everything with fifth tier stuff (barring certain artifacts). Similarly the best iron can beat the worst steel, best steel worst d-steel, etc.

As a general rule, just try and keep whatever the "best" for a particular slot or stat is, if you're going to go through the effort. It can make many encounters considerably easier if you kit up for them. I'm just too lazy to go through the effort of swapping crap out

Anyway, as you play more and see more crap (or code dive the objects folder and see what the maximum stats are ), you get a better feel for what's particularly rare or unusually powerful or useful.

[beorn080]

Depending on your playstyle and class choice, stats may or may not make a big difference. For instance, if you can get a half dozen items with +2 cunning early on as a summoner, that's another summonable several levels before you could get it. However, on an archmage stats are slightly less important in the early run.

[Seriyu]

I guess it kinad depends on how skill dependant the class is/how stat dependant the class's skills are. extra damage is nice, but maybe not worth sub par armor with extra stats, extra summons, well, now we're talkin.

[beorn080]

Forgot to mention, actually, that it is very possible that +stats from items can allow you to qualify for talents that you might otherwise have a hard time getting. Need armor training as a summoner but can't afford to divert the 10 stat points you need? Get +str armor. I'm about 82% sure that it still works.

[Frumple]

Still does, yup. Both talents and equipment. I definitely keep a hold of a pair of the best sneakthief, gladiator, and conjurer rings I can find, depending on which stats the class I'm using doesn't want to invest in. Sneakthief's particularly useful on tri-wield mindslayers that aren't going stars, before their cunning gets high enough augmentation starts qualifying them for better daggers. Same for temporal wardens that aren't investing much in dex early on, and dual-wield cursed.

Con kit helps pretty tremendously to qualify for the higher thick skin levels, heh. Quite a few little things like that, actually, especially with some of the odder artifacts that you might still be interested in using.

No guarantee the behavior sticks around, though. Quite a few folks with some influence over the development don't really like the kit swap mechanic, at least regarding stat qualification.

[beorn080]

Running my latest solipsist skeleton through the arena and found out something. PICK UP THE FIRST LEVEL FEEDBACK TALENT. I'm not quite sure what feedback is, not sure if its from you taking damage or damaging enemies or what, but regardless, it heals you as it decays, and that is always a good thing.

[Robsoie]

Anyone went in the Sanctum with a melee character in b42 ?

Last time i went in that place was the last time i completed the game, it was a year ago.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The last bosses are as powerfull as they were in the past : super high resistance , obscene amount of life and hit very hard, and they're 2.

But what i don't remember is the 4 portals around the map that do not only spawn monsters like in the past but are now spawning elites too that have as high resistance to everything as the bosses and hit as hard.

And honestly i can't see anymore how it is winnable for a melee character, as an example , in the past the powerfull Paladin that come to help you while being less strong than the bosses could survive though a dozen of turns.
But this time she was destroyed in 2 turns, yes, just 2 turns and no more Paladins

So any strategy with melee only character to beat Sanctum in b42 ?

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

My best try so far had me replacing my teleportation rune (something you may not want to do as the teleportation can allow you to escape back to the world map if death is too close) by a controlled phase door one.

It allowed me to close the 4 portal that spawn waves of monsters, but it can't do it quick enough to prevent at least 2 elite (that are as strong and resistant as the 2 bosses, only having half their immense health) to spawn.

And from there, it's 4 insanely strong enemies vs you (as the Paladin got killed in 2 turns) , i could resist a few turns, but the immense amount of damage you recieve each turn that is much more than all your regen and protection can sustain, can only lead into your death, and controlled phase door having a random landing can sometime not make you land where you want and need, but leave you open for more incoming missiles before you can read a corner.

[Robsoie]

Replying to myself in case it can help anyone using melee in the Sanctum :

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

In fact it is -completely- dependant on luck, not the luck attribute, your own personal luck.
Because if you're lucky, the 2 elites that will spawn before you're able to close the portal (i didn't replaced my teleportation rune with the phase door controlled one for this new attempt) will not be as powerfull as in my previous tries.

I just replayed the battle and this time i managed to kill them both and close the portals, letting only the powerfull 2 bosses chasing me around.
Unfortunately, looks like the Paladin is definitively underpowered, she dies again in 2 or 3 turns.
Fortunately, with the teleportation rune i was able to exit to the world map when the battle went to my disadvantage, for having another try later, but this time without the portal being able to spawn anything.

So again, be sure to have a teleportation rune, it can help even to the last battle

[Frumple]

Spoiler: Some strat junk (click to show/hide)

Movement infusions (no joke, these are hands-down better than C.Phase Door or telerunes, in most situations.), blinding speed (kit or talent), speed boots, etc. Ghoulish leap and similar stuff can help if you don't have access to infusions. Rush/rushing claws can get you there faster if something's managed to spawn before you can shut the portals; pop over to the critter, sidestep, close portal, then kill. One of the better strats for most melee builds in that fight is to just slap on the speed and close all the portals before anything too nasty pops out. If you spec for it (and it's not too hard to do that and still be survivable enough to either go on and take the bosses or at least live long enough to swap back into your primary kit), you can close all four portals before much (if anything, for one or two of them) come out.

AoE debuffs and suchlike can also help. All the melee classes have access to something along those lines... traps, if nothing else. I think. Shadowblade and marauder might be left out, but you can kit a bit to get past that, possibly.

[Robsoie]

I'll have to try the movement infusion, i saved one very nice in my equipment but forgot about it.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Rush/rushing claws can get you there faster if something's managed to spawn before you can shut the portals;

That's how i managed to get to the 3rd and 4th portals (the ones that spawned the elites by the time i could reach them), the 2nd rush only because i was lucky to get it on boots, as it's really important to not land randomly then, or you're dead if you're unlucky due to the spell barrage that land on you constantly.

The brawlers main debuff thing is about stunning or dazing when you land some of their combo dependant abilities. But the problem is that 90% of the bosses i fought shrug off the stun or daze malus, it simply does not affect them, so basically those abilities just give a little boost in hit.

And for those on which the stun and daze actually work, convenientely they activate a talent that remove them next turn, happened so much it ceased to be funny to try to use those abilities.

Hopefully now that the 4 portals are closed, i'll be able to focus on those 2 spell casting guys.
I wish the paladin was helpfull, but unfortunately she has no use at all anymore in b42 due to how quick she dies.

[Robsoie]

Yes !

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Yes !

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

comment :

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

As i thought closing the 4 portals thanks to having been -very- lucky enough to finally get a situation in which the 2 elites aren't spawned to be near invincible makes a big difference, as once i went back there, i could take each of the sorcerers separately on one vs one as had left them on opposite side of the battle map.

It was a long battle as they have huge resistances and tons of health, but in the battle of attrition my character prevailed, you need to be very cautious in how you use your runes and infusion, in which order and when.

The movement infusion helped in battling the 2nd guy, as he was constantly running away while casting spells at my character.

But still the ideal setup is doing that in 2 parts :
having the teleportation rune for the 1st part and hurrying in closing the portals, as once they're closed, if your situaition is desesperate (rune and infusion down , life down, and fully healed enemies) one of your teleportation can allow you to get to the world map.

Then for the 2nd part, you get back into the Sanctum, instead of teleportation, use your favorite rune to replace it, and take on the 2 bosses without losing precious time and rune/infusion counter on the portals and what is spawning from there.

But still, your victory potential as a melee character is very dependant on the luck factor in term of the elite generation at the portals while you're closing them. If you're not lucky you'll face elite nearly as strong as the end bosses and sometime worse as i had in an attempt an unique that 2 shotted me at my full health.

And do not count on the Paladin helper, in b42 she is a complete pushover unfortunately and will go down in 2 or 3 turns.

A little annoyance breaking immersion that is always not adressed since last year :

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Once you defeat those bosses, save the world, and etc ... not only the weakling Paladin is always alive in town like if she didn't died in the battle, but none of the main NPC that were involved in that main quest will acknowledge what happened or the world being saved, the dialogue are all the same.

Hopefully it will be changed in future version , as it really feel unrewarding for a game ending to have NPC that are not updated to the new situation.

And a bit annoying, for a melee character that the special item needs the magic stat to be at 60 to be worn and allow to decryp the language around some lore.
I had to gather all my +magic items just to wear it to read those writings. But i guess the game was developped while the dev was playing with magic users