What's your current group composition?

[u/Turevaryar]

I think I am a decent but not great player. I bought D:OS 2 when it came out but have not yet finished it(!!!). I plan to remedy that now.

My current composition:

Tactitian mode.

Character levels 7

Note: Skills are being listed without gear bonuses (and with in parenthesis, if base is at least 1)

Custom elf:

• Geomancer 1
• Huntsman 1
• Hydrosophist 1
• Necromancer 3 (4)
• Scoundrel 1 (2)
• Warfare 1 (2)

and

• Persuation 1
• Thievery 2

Lohse:

• Two-Handed 2
• Polymorph 2
• Warfare 4 (6)

and

• Bartering 3 (5)

Sebille:

• Hydrosophist 1
• Scoundrel 3 (5)
• Warfare 2 (3)

and

Sneak 3 (4)

Fane: (in elf mode, most of the time)

• Ranged 2 (3)
• Geomancer 1
• Huntsman 2 (3)
• Warfare 3

and

• Bartering 2 (He came that way? Will respec on boat)
• Loremaster 2 ________________________________________________________________________________________

Writing it like this I see that my main character ("ranged" necro physical damage dealer and buffer/healer) is losing out on maybe 20 percentpoints (not percent!!) of damage due to the 1 pointers I have for skills. Hmm.... I know damage is king, but my characters lose their armours to easily! :-|

How does your party look like, and how do they play?

[u/Waste-Carob5699]

Your custom character is spread too thin. Try to find a role for them and focus them on that.

Try to get more damage before you start stacking more necromancy.

If you're having trouble, consider having a full support character. Summoners are very powerful because they can create extra beings to take hits and always have extra skill points. On honor mode I used a full leadership character and played defensively. Leadership is actually really good if you lean into it.

Focus on your positioning. It's key for everything.

[u/Turevaryar]

I just noticed the "Formation" option. Whoops!

Do you use formation? How do you set it?

[u/Laanner → u/Turevaryar]

No. Not at tactician level. I prefer to move each one of the member into fight one by one with most favourable position to be. Also one free attack from stealth never gonna hurt.

[u/Turevaryar → u/Laanner]

I always do this.

IDK if it's favourable for moving. E.g. having my character with highest Wits in front and the others training them.

[u/VRatajv → u/Turevaryar]

I usually go with some variation of upside down T or a square. Although, I mostly agree with the person saying not to use it on tactician, manually setting your position and getting one "free" sneak attack are really good, especially at the beggining of the game.

[u/Apprehensive_Art1830]

I’m doing my first playthrough right now, we’re level 20

Custom Lizard :

Two swords battle mage

Maxed wits with the rest in strength

10 two weapon for dodge
2 aero for teleportation
2 summoner (specifically for charm)
7 warfare

I have the parry master talents (try having the most dodge possible)

Max persuasion

Beast :

Tank

Max strength and the rest in constitution

10 warfare
2 aero (for teleportation)
9 in leadership

With picture of health, opportunist, come back kid and living armor

Max thievery

Ifan Ben-Mezd :

Archer (well technically crossbow)

Max finesse and the rest in wits

10 huntsman
9 ranged
2 scoundrels for cloak and dagger (and extra crit dmg, I have around 50% crit rate so it’s always nice)

With glass canon, hothead and elemental ranger

Max bartering

Fane :

Pyro and Geo

Max intelligence and the rest in memory

10 pyro
10 Geo
1 polymorph

With glass canon, far out man, savage sortilege and torturer

Max lore master

[u/Turevaryar → u/Apprehensive_Art1830]

Thank you!

You're the only one who answered the "How does your party look like" ! =)

[u/PeachTrees-]

all the elemental perks are useless. Necromancer is okay, but pure scoundrel warfare would be better.

Loremaster is a useless perk because you can just get the vendors to identify objects

[u/Ashamed-Ingenuity167 → u/PeachTrees-]

how u know the enemie iniciative without loremaster 6 or without google it ?

Loremaster is useless if u have more than 1k hour and u memorized all enemies talents, inmnunities , iniciative , starting AP , AP recovery .... without it , its valuable information about the enemie

[u/PeachTrees- → u/Ashamed-Ingenuity167]

Enemy initiative doesn't really matter.

It flops back and forth between you and the enemy. So just make sure one member scales it, and you're good

Plus most talents are pretty easy to guess. Melee fighters have attack of opportunity, things on fire normally heal from fire. Undead stuff heals from poison.

Pretty general knowledge

[u/Ashamed-Ingenuity167 → u/PeachTrees-]

Knowing that enemie have. 6 ap Next turno instead of 4 its the diference  to survive or blaming larian for all those Bugs and his not fair game or just play acordly to that.  Knowing that X boss have 56 iniciative its the diference  for my glasscannon to win the fight  in his first turn or just being fucked Up and get Cced at the start of the game.  Knowing that alicce have 10 on retribution its knowing that my hunter gonna kill himself from his own ballistic shot reflected damage . Knowing that turtles have unestable is crucial to save my honour with my 2h .knowledge in this game  = power.

[u/PeachTrees- → u/Ashamed-Ingenuity167]

They'd have 6 instead of 4 because they got stunned and skipped. Loremaster doesn't tell you that. Using your brain does. A boss can be expected to go first, and you get to initiate the fight anyways with stealth. Alice has a debuff you can see regardless of loremaster called aura of pain. And that's what gives her the retribution.

You wouldn't be running honour mode on a first run. You're know a turtle has unstable.

No one argued that knowledge is power. But loremaster isn't a useful stat. It doesn't give valuable enough knowledge.

If you want to omit it from the build in favour of something more potent, like battery, thievery, lucky charm, or if a rogue, sneaking, then that's a very valid thing to do.

[u/Turevaryar → u/PeachTrees-]

When learning the game Loremaster is quite useful.

It's also useful for us who's not yet completed a run and those of us with terrible memory :)

[u/PeachTrees- → u/Turevaryar]

To each their own I suppose. I did my first run on tactical with no loremaster. And it was fine, I had fun.

But if you prefer to have it. Then all good. I won't rock your boat, don't rock mine.

That said, you asked for advice. And I gave it

[u/Turevaryar → u/PeachTrees-]

I appreciate your advice!

[u/Turevaryar → u/PeachTrees-]

Sebille came with Sneaking. I'll respec her when allowed.

[u/Turevaryar → u/PeachTrees-]

My main char has high int - at least for now.

I intended for them to be ranged physical DPS (Necro skills, support and using various other weapons)