There is an option in the menu to have them auto-level up when they join, so I believe if you have that turned off they probably come in at level 1 and you level them up manually. Also, when a companion or side-kick joins, you can pick one of three options for what class they will be (like Eder can be a Fighter, a Rogue, or a Rogue/Fighter). Here is the chart for that, by the way.
I really think that, aside from the interesting combat scenarios that dual-classing brings to the table, one of the biggest pluses is being able to mix up the classes for the joinable characters. It adds a lot of variety without causing the developers a tonne of extra work trying to get a larger number of jNPCs just to get a bigger mix of classes for them. In those 7 primary NPCs, 11 single classes are represented with an additional one in the other four, and that’s without the dual-classing. Really want to bring Eder along, but you’ve chosen to play a straight-up Fighter, make him a Rogue! To me, that’s a huge deal, as it’s practically a must that I have a mix of classes in my parties and not duplicate too much.
Deadfire is pulling in so many customization options, for gameplay and character design/development, that I can’t help but be impressed at the improvements from PoE.
Yeah the multiclassing really opens things up.
Cool, thanks for the info about companions
I would go Great Sword over the quarterstaff, flames of devotion offsets the accuracy cost and you get a 50% dmg boost, which is awesome when you come out of stealth.
The nature godlike battlemage build is pretty killer, but nothing is touching the holy slayer for raw dmg output.
I think it’s that Flames of Devotion (especially with the bonus corrosive damage from Bleak Walker) - such a power house.
Oh, and I went Quarterstaff because that’s what Josh Sawyer looked to be doing in his build (and I never really use them, though I like them for ranged spell casters for the extra deflection bonus with the modal).
EDIT - I actually had a Great Sword proficiency with that character, but with my Stealth at 6 I couldn’t get an attack in before he spotted me, the reason the Quarterstaff worked was due to the increased reach - it literally got me into range before stealth was lost.
And I thought to try an Empowered Flames of Devotion from stealth. It was… messy.
Methinks a Monk/Paladin (Votary) combination could hit very hard?
edit: your laugh when you smashed the first enemy. Man that was funny.
edit 2: in my most recent poe1 playthrough, my monk build was based of torments reach, as per nerdcommando’s akagi monk build. Do you know if torment’s reach has been altered at all? It was pretty powerful in poe1, meant I could solo the bear in the cave at lvl 1.
Methinks you are totally right. But see for yourself.
I can’t answer for sure, but here are the ability cards for that ability and it’s optional upgrade. I took the base ability screenshot when the character was at level 5 and had just acquired it and the second screenshot when he was at level 9 and had just acquired it, so he was a few power levels higher.
I made a little clip of it in action since I A) forgot to give my Monk/Paladin a damned spender ability last time and B) to show off how much you can spam this thing once you start getting smacked around a fair amount.
That Votary is a nicely defensive build. The armor rating synergy is very nice, because you’re gonna mark enemies and you’re gonna get hit.
I’m really starting to get psyched for this with all the great info being presented here. Great job @Scotch_Lufkin. All the multiple classes looks interesting. There are a number of them that intrigued me. For instance, barbarian and cipher is a witch?? I’m trying to figure out how that one works!
How firm is the May 8 release date do you think? Pretty much set in stone at this point?
I think I improved on Scott’s Votary a bit. I went Helwalker instead of Pillars and with a mountain dwarf’s strength I immediately start each fight at Might 23 (+39% dmg) and typically end around Might 27-28 (51-54% dmg boost). The downside is I felt like I had to take Lay on Hands because of the incoming dmg the Helwalker takes. That and heavier armor, which increases the recovery times.
But nothing survives those unarmed Flames of Devotion attacks for long with that kind of damage output.
Edit: Ended a fight at 30 Might against a few lizzie mages who were peppering me with small hits. Definitely less defensive than the build Scott showed in his video, I didn’t take the passive to deflect ranged attacks and probably should’ve, though I put lots of points into Athletics for a strong Second Wind. But 30 Might with Flames of Devotion feels like the Hulk punching someone/thing through a wall.
You can be assured that date is effectively a marble statue on the front lawn of Obsidian HQ, yeah. We can only hope the additional 6 weeks and feedback from this latest beta will produce a super polished and bug free product! But it’s a huge game, so I’d assume some small bugs (hopefully nothing major) will be present at launch.
I rolled up a completely custom party, which I’ll talk about later (my son is upset with me for how long THIS is taking to type as we start watching Agents of SHIELD!), but it’s just so freaking fun to “play” the game, so pleasing and enjoyable.
And purdy!
Can you tell how enjoyable it is in terms of story and ‘uncovering the map?’ I don’t have much interest in skill trees, but I’m all for tales of adwenture.
Not at all. The beta has been a vertical slice that’s not even complete in terms of game mechanics designed to act as just a character build / combat feedback release. No companions, no story, just a few quests and one small dungeon to explore.
Yeah, like @John_Reynolds said it’s just a small piece of the game off the beaten path, so to speak. That said there are a few quests to do and they have wildly different outcomes based on how you complete them (and different rewards), and dialoging with the NPC’s feels good.
On the world map, exploration reveals locations as you get close to them, both in your ship and without, and most locations are either a “choose your own adventure” type scenario that lead to a full on map to explore, including dungeons and overland regions.
Ta. I’ll wait for reviews post completion.
I finally made a video on the AI Scripting. Apologies to whomever asked for that it took me so long (that person may have been in the YouTube comments, I honestly can’t remember). Enjoy!
Do the one-handed weapon and two handed weapon abilities apply to ranged weapons?
Kind of depends on the ability. For example, Knock Down I believe states it requires a melee weapon and is grayed out when you have a ranged weapon equipped. But some abilities work with both ranged and melee. Do you have a question about a specific class or ability? I could look it up for you?
