I'm only playing on normal difficulty, and I'm not interested in power-gaming, so I'd like to keep as many of these characters as possible, at least until I learn their stories. A couple things in this thread confused me. By [4] He lost favor after trying to inform instructors about a student-run experiment that would eventually kill a dozen students, though this would later lead to his discovery of the Leaden Key. It's only momentary and can only be used once per encounter but it at least gives you a chance. Or is there a way to do that in game that I'm missing? They could just create a special vendor who edits your grimoire and adds the spells you want for a cost. Bonus spells are really good b/c Aloth will be able to caste 1st lv spells at a per encounter basis at lv 9 and then do the same for 2nd lv spells at lv 11. Permanent Additionally, several of his colleagues had abandoned their studies to pursue animancy, which Aloth felt needed to be stopped. Location "poor foreign handwriting" as a lore explanation) make them less effective or something. Got any tips? With auto-levelling enabled, companions will be levelled following a preset point distribution. Let's Go Luna! Whatever, strategic value the old system provided was imaginary or result of self imposed limitations by players. No one swapped spell books in PoE1, seems like some designer got annoyed that no one but him thought this was great and forced his view through that it would be cool to swap spell books. March 11, 2017 in Pillars of Eternity: Characters Builds, Strategies & the Unity Engine (Spoiler Warning!). I'm playing on hard and I'm not sure I shouldn't be playing on potd but using vanilla Aloth as my wizard for even normal difficulty is just not acceptable unless all I cared about was his supporty control spells and considered dmg a secondary concern.. Instant gratification central. Even with the big buff to Deflection, the Wizard's defenses are too weak for him to just stand and take punishment. Pick up the blast traits so he has a backup attack (though you'll be using that more often than your spells). For a possible PoE 3 they should overhaul it even more IMHO. Arcane Veil doesn't last that long so you may want to have an escape plan (Fleet Feet or similar). By My preferred Aloth tactic is to set him up with all the Blast/Implement-improving Talents. RapierStiletto . I reset my password just so I can login and like this guys reply, lol. ManOWar2. Attributes Basically you just cast defensive spells like the ones in llengrath's martial mysteries, summon weapons, and use fighter stances and abilities to tank and/or murder things. I really don't get it, why do people expect Wizards to be the only class with full access to ALL their abilities? Use it at the start of every fight. Level 12 - Hardened Veil or Deep Pockets. Learn the ones you are going to use the most and if you need a specific spell or spells only for a specific situation use a grimoire with that spell/those spells. Try to attack enemies that have these status effects for best results. 120, Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire characters, Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire wood elves, Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire companions, http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/74557-companions-who-wrote-what/#entry1622138, https://twitter.com/matthewmercer/status/581136312964489216, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Aloth is the first companion you can recruit. How should I use Aloth? Outside of combat, wizards can outfit their grimoires with any spells that they have learned. It's easy! There are several conversations where the player can influence these traits: Aloth's endings change depending if he feels responsible for the consequences of his actions or absolved. I believe this was mentioned above also. I played through the first game and the expansions with a Wizard and very much enjoyed my character but it almost felt like cheating that you could just copy spells into grimoires as much as you liked. The only downside is that you might not have 100% of them ready at all times. V Rising Expansion Reveals New Magic School, Weapons, and More. However, if you don't recruit him before the, The Collector's Edition Guide describes him as "obsessive, detail-ortientated, deferential, instructive, dutiful, imperturbed by violence. Druid spells, also called nature spells, are spells used by a druid. According to the pillars of eternity wiki, wizards can learn new spells by leveling up or by reading looted enemy grimoires and paying a research cost. It's awesome. Use them early, then cycle them out for more self-buffs or CC as you level (Eldrich Aim is not worth a slot at level 3, but is one of your best spells at high level). Companion 2 Pillars of Eternity quests; 3 Aloth Corfiser; Explore Wikis Universal Conquest Wiki. That appeased the people who didn't like long-term gameplay decisions, but it did massive collateral damage: I could go on, but suffice it to say many of us see the loss of these things as a catastrophe for the genre. He has some Might, good Dexterity and Perception and excellent Intelligence which is better for Real Time With Pause than Turn-Based. ), Pillars of Eternity: Lords of the Eastern Reach, http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/73696-wizard-spell-guide-spells-you-get-for-free-early-on/. He is initially strictly opposed to its practice, viewing it as an affront to the gods. Really great responses above by Ezekiel and Wormerine (and others), I encourage anyone who wants more insight into this decision to read and internalize them. So, what am I missing? As the person above me just said you can't really expect wizards to be the only class that maintains access to all spells in a per encounter system. Don't get me wrong: the Deadfire world looks amazing, the art is unreasonably beautiful, the game is immersive, and the writing, humor, and voice acting are top tier. Aloth's father considered this to be shameful; not only was his wife the primary breadwinner of the household, but her absence led him to believe that she was involved in an affair with the thayn. Overall Ciphers and druids are better however wizards do have some great and useful abilities. As mentioned before. With Ciphers, you can just respec if you don't like something. Class If Aloth did not suppress Iselmyr, they come to an agreement where she can partake in battle.[6]. Hood However, this started to break down when CRPGs began to pursue a more mass market / casual audience, many of who would play by spamming everything they had even in small fights to feel powerful, and then be left in a lurch. . While in this form, spells are disabled, but physical attributes are increased. The spells make the Rogue fun to play and give him nice bonuses to hit, defense and movement. What would you choose? There was a lot on the line, sometimes hours of gameplay, so you were forced to take matters seriously rather than mash F5. He joined because it would provide postings far away from the Cythwood, Aloth's father, and his erl. WCG More than enough. So it's nice to have 5 . I manage without it though. I think a great point that I missed that others have pointed out and bears emphasizing:Wizards are now the only class that has access to every single spell without respeccing. I would welcome an RPG which would focus on this aspect of gameplay (standalone adventure in White That Wends focuing on survival - go for it Obs! That's all I want: an option, so I don't have to deal with what feels to me like an eviscerated RPG experience. Gameplay For the record, I think you do get access to almost every wizard spell in the game through looted grimoires. Aloth is a 62-year-old slender Wood elf with pale skin and straight, dark brown hair. He should be in Conquerors Stance for +10 Accuracy, again applying to both spells and weapon attacks. Waste of a talent to give him more. Sure, you won't get the enemy's back line, but you'll get all the ones by your front line. +1 Autonomy, "Let's just hope that's not the case." All rights reserved. Fear. He also has to get close to use them and wait until my fighters have stabilized the front line (if they ever do - those damned shadows! Espaol - Latinoamrica (Spanish - Latin America). They are only usable by wizards, providing them the ability to store and recall spells that the wizard has learned. You are especially in luck because with two Wizards, you can pick different spells for each level for your MC and Aloth and then write them into each other's books as well, so you can have a lot quickly. Knowing the truth can only make them better." Thank you for the time and effort you put into this. I think I'm going to kick him and add someone more useful, like a pala or another fighter.I don't really like Kana either A good list of useful spells is:http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/73696-wizard-spell-guide-spells-you-get-for-free-early-on/. He asks the Watcher to help him find the ancient Leaden Key sect known only as "The Painted Masks". Wiki. I found the bonus spells to be useful, but mainly because they were broken so that I ended up between 8 and 26 extra casts. For this purpose he created the persona of Engferth, a talented pupil with a tragic past, to ingratiate himself with the Vailian animancers at Port Maje. I very much agree, I do not like this either. Stay tuned for more Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Guides, as we cover all the Companions in preparation for the console launch. This is how I set Aloth. You should definitely be gently forced to specialize and maintain one (YOUR) grimoire except for extreme emergencies. As he meets your eyes, he gives you a knowing nod. I thing 1 talent is enough, better cast Mirrored Image for added protection, if not having done already or the next choice: Grimoire Slam. Aloth is underpowered severely because of his low might. Armor-wise youll want something Light to keep your Attack Speed and Cast Times low. [3], During his final year of training, one of Aloth's instructors introduced him to the Leaden Key. But oh man am I not happy with wizards. Gentry Bonus spells are really good b/c Aloth will be able to caste 1st lv spells at a per encounter basis at lv 9 and then do the same for 2nd lv spells at lv 11. It debuffs enemies with -40 deflection, -40 will,-30 concentration and -20 reflex without inflicting a status effect - which means it STACKS with status effects, allowing you to reduce a CROWD's defenses to almost nothing. Aloth Corfiser is an elven wizard and one of the companions in Pillars of Eternity and Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire. However, note he doesn't say wizard spells ignore the elemental talents. That's actually exactly why he works well with a cipher. Yes, you need to swap Grimoire, just like my a melee character has to swap weapons to change damage type, but by keeping several themed Grimoires around they can access any spell available to the class, which is something that no other caster can do in the new system (for the reasons outlined by others above). Bonus Fan of Flames and Necrotic Lance are beastly at level 3, but kind of meh at level 13. Resting is never limited to you, so mismanaging your resources wastes your time in the worst case. The Leaden Key seemed to offer solutions to these problems and Aloth "sincerely believed they wanted to keep kith from the folly of their own foolish ambitions". Many of the Rogues passives are only effective in melee range (Riposte, Backstab, Persistent Distraction), while Fighter provides some abilities that benefit even ranged DPS (Disciplined Strikes, Conquerors Stance, Armored Grace). Imbue spell effects gain increased Accuracy from Arcana skill. Probably going to restart with a different class and hope for an eventual fix or community mod. The income was enough to support her family, but she was away from home most of the time. And the elemental talents? They create a buffer between you and your enemies, taking the heat away from you and allowing you to damage the other dudes. You spent 2 talents for a rare bad situation just for a 10+sth seconds buff. Being on your ship or resting in town makes the necessary time pass at full speed, while resting in a dungeon or waiting makes your memorization rate . - Douglas Adams. Kind of meh, but it doesn't hurt to have an engagement-breaking button for Aloth, especially if your spells position you close enough to the action you're gonna attract attention. He works for the mysterious faction known as the Leaden Key to stop use of Animacy. If Grimoire Slam helps with that I'll try it out. Aloth always starts at a minimum of level 2 (the stats above are before he joins the party). There's no more pressure when you start a fight down to a few weird spells you've never used before, and have to improvise and create clever tactics. Finally, I would argue that having to carefully choose spells is a required prerequisite for having (mostly) balanced multiclassing. Game Pick up chill fog and slicken on him, those are probably the best first level wizard spells. If you don't like Aloth's spells you can retrain him, if you don't like his AI you can change it, or turn it off. IV) Promotes wizard specialization and variability. You can turn any wizard into a ranged auto-attack AoE murder machine by taking, Pillars of Eternity: General Discussion (NO SPOILERS), Cant decide on what talents to give Aloth on level up, Things are as they are. Everything else seems wonderful so far. For now as I'm using Aloth I just use him without a grimoire equipped, that way he only gets and uses spells he learns via level up progression. Male The Watcher meets Aloth at the Engwithan Digsite outside Port Maje. Pleasure. He has poor Constitution, making him less than ideal for front lines, and why I wouldnt advise making him a Spellblade. Conquerors Stance This skill will further increase your Accuracy with spells and Weapons by +5. Arcane Archer is an ability in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire. You no longer have to play smaller fights. Second, they are ranged weapons that keep you at at safer spell casting distance. Disciplined Strikes This upgrade of Disciplined Barrage increases the likelihood that you will Crit by 25%, which helps increase our overall damage. It is the same reason why druids and priests lost access to all of their spells and have to choose as wizards do. Now I just feel like I have an unrelated series of standalone fights, and I'm reset after each one so I can meet the next with the full catalog again. Especially the Wizard has so many spells that can be totally awesome in the right situations that it's very difficult to give a general answer. I just had a fight where he took 5 out of 6 enemies out of the fight with it. Note that slick is hands down the BEST control spell in your arsenal. I've mostly only played up to level 4 so far as I keep rerolling to try new builds and to perfect my characters, but I believe my current group is perfect for me at last. It's for Aloth and Grieving Mother. If they come across a spell in an enemy's grimoire, they can choose to learn that spell . He arrived in the Dyrwood in 2822 AI to observe animancy and its spread in the region. With the new rest/food mechanic, you can last for a long time on a given rare food/inn bonus if you keep your party members from being knocked out. BTW, many other casting classes (clerics, druids, etc) also had dynamic access to their whole spell catalog, so it's not just wizards. Sign up for a new account in our community. At character creation, wizards select one 1st level spell (active only). When you on occasion fight something with a strong will defense (or run into Lagufaeth Broodmothers spamming Crowns like it is going out of style) it's useful to be able to target a different defense and still debuff those mobs. I didn't realize that. It's not so much for me. His handler met with him every few months to receive his reports and issue new leads. You don't. Hmm, damage went up significantly when Aloth took Scion of Flame. I n this Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Build Guide we're going to be taking a look at the Spellblade Class, which is a mixture of Wizard and Rogue.I'll be providing information on Attributes, Weapons, Armor, and most importantly, what Abilities to take and how to use them. That's cool with me - to each his own! +1 Authority, "She shouldn't have abandoned you like that." But yeah, I understand why someone would hate it. First, you should use your melee fighters (especially a tank, Eder can becoime him) to block enemy fighters from going to Aloth by engaging them (keep in mind doorways, they are good to put there one ore two fighters and not to worry for ranged comrades). 2) Aloth: Pure Wizard. I was irritated to realize that the spell slot talents I chose became irrelevant at 9th and 12th level. As a melee cipher, you want to have higher deflection than your tank so the AI doesn't choose you Pikachu. Of cause, I think that if you do play on normal/easy difficulty, equipped your party for melee and used to fight without pause, then he would give you trouble because you should activly using pause for battles with Aloth (except situations when he is out of reach for enemy fighters). Make sure to use your party members to reduce the Deflection of enemies you are attacking, further helping your Critical Chance. Let me remind all of your that if you really want to get more spells you can create a wizard at the inn and select the spells you want. I think it sounds interesting in theory at least, more interesting than the first game where I basically never once swapped a Grimoire, and finding new ones was mostly pointless except in the few rare ones that had unique spells to learn. So you should start casting protective spells on Aloth when you see that he would be engaged soon enough. superluccix Biography and appearance It's easy! Companion_Aloth [1] But, he becomes conflicted during his travels with the Watcher. It's kind of part of why you play a wizard. With that said, here's what I typically do with Aloth: Level 4 - Weapon Focus (Noble). ), Curse of Blackened Sight (Party friendly long duration AoE blind, use when things too messy for chillfog), Fetid Caress (Decent single target paralyses), Miasma of Dull Mindedness (Good to soften up before will attacking spell), Deleterious Alacrity (One of the best buffs in the game, cuts recovery in half with 0 armor penalty leads to no recovery for spells), Expose Vulnerabilities (Better than dropping a fireball), Kalakoth Minor Blights (With Blast, Penetrating Blast + Combusting Wounds + Deleterious Alacrity + expose vulnerabilities will pressure cook enemies), Llengrath's Displaced Image (Good buff if under duress), Confusion (Great AoE confusion, party friendly), Maura's Writhing Tentacles (Very good, keeps dudes locked down), Ninagauth's Shadowflame (One of the best spells in the game, fast cast AoE Paralyse), Ninagauth's Death Ray (Decent single target damage with good might), Pull of Eora (Use to suck people for Barbarians/Citzals Spirit Lance), Wall of Flame (great for interrupt/combusting wounds), Arkemyr's Wondrous Torment (For when you really need a will spell to land), Call to Slumber (One of the best AoE CCs in the game), Malignant Cloud (Good Raw aoe damage, combine with, Ninagauth's Bitter Mooring (Good damage), Ryngrim's Enervating Terror (Great Debuff), Wall of Force (Good for combusting Wounds/Interrupt), Citzals Spirit Lance (Has an AoE effect, does great damage), Gaze of the Adragan (Probably best CC spell in the game, petrified targets take 2x damage), XXX Blunt Wisdom (Insane damage weapon summon, but gotten very late in game), Ninagauth's Freezing Pillar (Good damage), Concelhaut's Crushing Doom (Insane single target prone, made for messing with dragons), XXX Siphoning Image (Very good protection spell, gotten late), Wall of Draining (Insanely good spell, can get infinite duration buffs = near invulnerability), Chaotic Orb (Good when there's two targets), Kalakoth's Freezing Rake (Insane Damage), Antipathetic Field (Insane damage for early game, withdraw a guy at a choke point then do this over them), Whisper of Treason (useful from start to finish, fast cast single target long duration charm, messes up dragons), Mental Binding (Great AoE CC, cheap with good duration), Phantom Foes (Use in combination with vs flanked resting bonus for certain classes, increases spell damage too), Recall Agony (Good damage vs single targets), Ectopsychic Echo (Party friendly version of antipathetic field, cast on your own dudes), Puppet Master (Dominate version of whisper of treason, insanely good, messes up dragons), Ringleader (Great AoE dominate/charm debuff), Tactical Meld (Stacks with every other ACC Bonus, great for landing CC against high def targets), Amplified Wave (Insane spell, damage and prone in massive area), Disintegration (Insane single target damage, doesn't destroy loot! He's the dude putting all the bad guys to sleep so your off tanks can murder them. Finally, just picking a Grimoire you like and then building around it will still leave you with a majority of spells available. In the end, it was a design decision (of which the pros and cons can be argued endlessly) which is here to stay. See Deadfire endings for more info. The only reason why I keep him its because I'm curious to see how his character progresses (story, dual-personality thing, etc) and the occasional time where some of his spells are actually useful. In no small part due to the fact that Iselmyr was an uncouth provincial from a very long time ago (judging by her Hylspeak vernacular). 35 His father worked hard as a steward to an erl, but it was his mother who supported their home through a haemneg to another man (an Aedyran institution derived from the human-elf imperial concubinage, allowing for a married human and elf to formalize a relationship, ostensibly for the purposes of politics and administration). +1 Favor, The final dialog happens just after speaking with, "I can't imagine having her in my head." Merciless Gaze This ability will increase your Critical Chance by 15% for a very long Duration, but it has quite a lengthy cast time. Envenomed Strike is of little use as well. Thank-you. The endings are decided in one of two ways: Aloth's initial skill, talent, and ability distribution depends on the level of the Watcher when he is first added to the party, but only if the "Auto Level Companions" option is checked in the difficulty settings. Wood elf Aloth comes with Proficiency in Scepter, Rod, and Rapier. In the same vein, giving a single class access (whether through loot or upon lvl) to all their spells AND a per-encounter based system would mean that class becomes a diversity machine monster, and as a result the spells for that class would probably have to be toned down to prevent an auto include in each party. But it was nice being able to learn all the spells. "A sharp-featured elf comes to the fore. I normally prefer sandbox games, but so far, the setting and the story in this one has been superb. Character ID I stuffed the bearded, raving lunatic (Durance the trance addicted flagellant of fire) into plate mail and gave him two weapon fighting, as that late in the game one has the flail and morningstar, which my main char had no use of before. Please, regale us with your experiences on how useful these abilities are in your experience. Equip a Grimoire focused on Fire spells. Bonus 2nd Lv usefulness depends on your play choice. This can be achieved by Paralyzing them, Flanking them and Knocking them Down. If I found something I found better, I could swap one out. I do not have any complaints about the effectiveness of the wizard. -- attributed to George Orwell. (I thought the red area would get the full damage, while the yellow just partial damage.). If you sort out his little problem with the locals, he'll join up with you. I figured Grimoire Slam wouldnt be that useful since I guess its a melee attack? If you don't like Aloth's spells you can retrain him, if you don't like his AI you can change it, or turn it off. Aloth starts out a bit helpless, but he gets better. Equipment III) Promotes planning, and upon complete party knock-out, rewards a different grimoire load out. All fights are driven towards the same thing, because start each fight with my spells reset. By the time he met the Watcher he was on his own for several months. However, it would be a nice choice to get the utility talent that increases speed and have Aloth move fast in the battlefield, position himself where necessary.