Patch 2 cleaned up a bunch, but there are still a few scripting errors on secondary quests. That said all of the big ones I found on my first run have been patched.

I was referring to mechanically. As to full helms the Holy Lance Helm, Grymskull Helm, and Helm of Balduran are all good for Paladins.

As far as Ascetics, functional helms rarely look good for Tanks. You can look good or have a dent in your skull. Circlets are a mid point for half casters and full casters.

If you are really concerned about having a good looking helm that isnt a noose then equip the Flawed Helldusk.

Druids are tanky any route so long as you take a lvl of MonK.

Circlets my man. Diadem of Arcane Synergy is huge for Paladins.

Just go Tac at the start a Bard can take it. It’s probably the strongest class.

“Lives, all mortal lives … expire …”

I don’t want this to sound like criticism, but a lot of the length of this game is due to the Cinematic Dialog. It would probably only be 40-60 hrs without it, ie it’s about the same length as PoE or Tyrany. Planescape Torment, or both Owlcat Pathfinder games have considerably more content and depth; but the Cinematic Dialog is part of what has drawn so much attention to this game and that takes WORK.

This is going to be the game of the Decade due to the marriage of Classic RPG and Modern Graphic but it sacrifices a lot of Act 3 and some companion’s endings (namely Karlach) on this altar.

Thief Rogue is THE best 3 dip, but Rogues offer nothing between 3 and 11 that matters for this game. Reliable Talent is amazing but comes on line too late to matter for a 12 lvl campaign.

And Sneak Attack is functionally worthless. It’s a once per round damage buff (I’ve pulled off the Reaction SA twice in one campaign with a Battle Master). It gets out paced by Smite and fricking ring/gauntlet bonuses.

If your class feature is outpaced by ring bonuses it’s pretty much doomed.

Warlock, Druid, and Cleric can be built into tanks pretty easily via Feats and Subclasses. Heavy Armor proficiency solves a ton.

That said you did miss Lae’zel, the Str Fighter; and Karlach the Barbarian.

Can I get some love for my boy Raphael. Dude’s a literal Disney Villain. His fight in the house of Hope has been the highlight of 2.5 runs.

My first run I killed him in one round and had to reload to hear the conclusion of his song. Tell me that isn’t nailing a Performance check. He bought 1 minute of life with his voice.

The problem is Swords Bard 7/Thief 3/Fighter 2 does everything that build does but better.

Swords Bard 6 is double Gloomstalker Ranger 5’s damage in every situation, it gains more expertise and proficiencies, and it’s full spell casting is insanely useful in dialog and combat. Enhance Ability basically means never failing a skill check from Bard 3 on.

Even the Fall back of SB 8/Thief 3/Fighter 1 outpaces the Ranger build on all fronts.

Long Rest every 3-4 encounters. Short Rest after every encounter.

I’ve found this to be the best balance between seeing camp content, completing timed quests, and managing Elixir supplies. Camp supplies are abundant but Elixirs/Alchemy supplies are somewhat limited.

The autofill is kinda a problem. Tavern Brawler/Thrown Weapon builds expose it very fast. Nyrulna is a Hotbar menace.

They addressed my two biggest issues with the game’s current state: Act 3 bugs and Karlach’s ending.

If fixes for both of those make it into Patch 2, I’d be as happy as a pig in clover.

The ability to remove characters from Multiplayer will be very nice as well.

Your post is correctly formatted OP. The comment I responded to was not, it’s using Reddit’s spoiler markdown.

“You know, even if you know you had a discouraging day, remember: There is another one coming tomorrow!” - Robin Williams (Fender, Robots)

Your spoilers are showing.

Lemmy uses a different spoiler markdown than reddit. See this page for the appropriate formatting.

It is.

I used a version (SB 8/TR 4) on my first run for Astarion and it was so effective I decided to use the variation above for my Dark Urge run. I also prioritized skill Proficiencies and Expertise. Right now I’m about 1/2 way through Act 2 and I think I’ve only failed one skill check in dialog. And that’s on top of doing 100-200 dmg per round at lvl 9(without Haste or Elixir of Bloodlust).

I plan to write up a build guide but I’m having too much fun playing it.

Ahhh, no worries.

The Ranged Swords Bard is a Double Handcrossbow Sharpshooter build. There are a bunch of lvl splits you can do but Swords Bard 8/Thief 3/Fighter 1 is the best I’ve found so far. 8 Swords Bard for 2 ASIs (18Dex/Sharpshooter) and 4 lvl spells (Dimension Door/Greater Invisibility are the big ones), 3 Thief for Cunning Action, 2 Experitise, and an extra Bonus Action, 1 Fighter for Shield Proficiency and the Archery Fighting style. Generally speaking I prefer to reach 18 Dex via the ASI or Hag’s Hair rather than the Gloves as the extra Bardic Inspiration from the Wonderous Gloves is a pretty big boost to damage output every Short Rest, but if you were willing to sacrifice that ASI you could pick up an extra Fighter lvl for Action Surge.

Thief Rogue is a way better dip for a Swords Bard.

Ranger is pretty disappointing as a dip unless you want just 1-2 lvls for a Fighting style and Heavy Armor Proficiency. Hunter is pretty mid, Gloomstalker was nerfed from the Tabletop version, and Beastmaster is really meant to be single class.