Ranger: Demon Slayer build help

[Vip]

I've just reached level 3. This is what I have planned so far. Any changes and suggestions are welcome.

Race: Human
Background Acolyte (Use Wis for Persuasion)

Str 14
Dex 20
Con 10
Int 12
Wis 14
Cha 7


1 Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus(Longsword?) Use a light weapon until level 3.
2 Combat Style: Menacing - Power Attack
3 Slashing Grace (Dex to damage with LongSword)
4 DEX
5 Boon Companion
6 Combat Style: Corungon Smash
7 Precise strike (if any companion has it) or Outflank (if any companion has it)
8 DEX
9 Critical Focus
10 Combat Style: Shatter Defences or Improved Critical
11 Sickening Critical
12 DEX
13 Outflank (if any companion has it) or Precise strike (if any companion has it)
14 Combat Style: Improved Critical or Shatter Defences
15 ?
16 DEX
17 ?
18 Combat Style: Dreadful Carnage
19 ?
20 DEX?


Thanks.

[Mr Fred]

I'd say about half the feats are suboptimal and you also have to know that currently that archetype favored enemy is bugged and stay at +2/+2 against demon, it doesnt upgrade properly every 5 lvls.

Also if you plan on getting to lvl 20 youre wasting a stat point with that current build as you get 5 bonus point to set. Could start at 19 dex and put some extra in con.

[Vip]

Thanks for the help
Any pointers on which are the suboptimal feats?
Any suggestions?

[SpiralRazor]

improved crit over shattered defenses....imp crit still works late game.
14 go with something else. You can safely ignore Fred, assuming youre not playing unfair. Sickening crit isnt that great as most outsiders cant be sickened.

[Vip]

For the bonus combat feats the only remaining choices instead of shatter defences are dazzling display and intimidating prowess.
Playing on normal (I want to actually finish a playthrough lol, restarted so many times, not been past level 3 yet.)
I saw sickening had the same -2 penalties as shaken so was hoping they would stack, did not even consider if the enemy would be immune :( I'll probably go for one of the other debuff on crit feats.
Thanks.

[asy]

Unless there is an ability that gives longsword finesse wielding that I'm forgetting about, using a longsword with slashing grace only applies dex to damage, not to attack/on-hit.

[Midnight]

If you're gonna pick weapon focus for DEX dual-wield then pick a light weapon so you don't pointlessly get -4/-4 for dual-wielding longswords. Also, longsword is not finesseable, that would be Estoc or Dueling Sword for one-handers.

Intimidation build is also kinda suspect on this kind of character. If you want those feats anyway you will easily qualify for them without wasting ranger combat style feats, that you could use to get two-weapon fighting feats earlier than usual or even with a full STR build.

Speaking of which why 14 STR on this character? Any why pump DEX all the way to 20 instead of saving a bunch of points at char creation to use elsewhere and setting it to 19 and then topping it up at lvl 4.

[Vip]

Originally posted by asy:

Unless there is an ability that gives longsword finesse wielding that I'm forgetting about, using a longsword with slashing grace only applies dex to damage, not to attack/on-hit.

Slashing grace seems to retrospectively allow the longsword to get weapon finesse. I'm seeing my dex bonus to hit being added with a longsword after I take slashing grace. Is that a bug? Should I not count on that in case it gets patched out?

[Vip]

Originally posted by Midnight:

If you're gonna pick weapon focus for DEX dual-wield then pick a light weapon so you don't pointlessly get -4/-4 for dual-wielding longswords. Also, longsword is not finesseable, that would be Estoc or Dueling Sword for one-handers.

Intimidation build is also kinda suspect on this kind of character. If you want those feats anyway you will easily qualify for them without wasting ranger combat style feats, that you could use to get two-weapon fighting feats earlier than usual or even with a full STR build.

Speaking of which why 14 STR on this character? Any why pump DEX all the way to 20 instead of saving a bunch of points at char creation to use elsewhere and setting it to 19 and then topping it up at lvl 4.

Slashing Grace says it doesn't work with anything in the off hand. Was planning on just using a longsword with empty off hand.
I wasn't sure what stats to use, I initially picked Pure Ranger Auto level up and those were the same stats it recommended. Only went with 14 Str as only Dex & Wis had a thumbs up at character creation, thought they would be the safe stats to boost.

[Vip]

Originally posted by Mr Fred:

I'd say about half the feats are suboptimal and you also have to know that currently that archetype favored enemy is bugged and stay at +2/+2 against demon, it doesnt upgrade properly every 5 lvls.

Also if you plan on getting to lvl 20 youre wasting a stat point with that current build as you get 5 bonus point to set. Could start at 19 dex and put some extra in con.

Just saw this Edit regarding the stat change for Con, I'm not past restarting again lol. Cheers.

[asy]

Slashing grace seems to retrospectively allow the longsword to get weapon finesse. I'm seeing my dex bonus to hit being added with a longsword after I take slashing grace. Is that a bug? Should I not count on that in case it gets patched out?


I'm more familiar with how the feat works with tabletop, so if the feat works with attacks in game than I wouldn't worry about it being patched out.

[Vip]

Screenshot showing dex bonus to hit with longsword with both weapon finesse and slashing grace.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2608026240

With Dex 20 and Str 14 and Power attack active. . .
Just a cold iron longsword equipped I'm getting 1d8+8 for damage.
Just a cold iron longsword & a shortsword equipped the longsword damage drops to 1d8+4
The last paragraph of the description does state it doesn't work without offhand empty :(
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2608026171

I've not actually tested it in combat and viewed the combat log to see if it matches what it states on the Character sheet.

[Vip]

Thanks everyone, if there are any more suggestions, I'd gladly hear them :D
Just about to restart again lol :D (Maybe I'll make it past level 3 this time ha ha)

[Vip]

Originally posted by Mr Fred:

...
Also if you plan on getting to lvl 20 youre wasting a stat point with that current build as you get 5 bonus point to set. Could start at 19 dex and put some extra in con.

I've not reached level 5 yet, however I have noticed that it seems not all bonus are listed in the combat log.
eg against Cambion (is an Outsider and Slaughter Demon) the to hit breakdown in the combat log lists
BaB +2
Dex +5
Favoured Enemy: +2 [Favoured Enemy Demons of Slaughter]
Other: +2 Flanking
Other: +1 Masterwork
Other: -1 Power Attack

Which adds up to 11 but the Attack Bonus is listed as +13
Could the extra unlisted +2 be from Favoured Enemy Outsider?
Edit: I don't think the bonus is from difficulty settings as when attacking a none demon the attack bonus adds up correctly.

[Draken]

Can you use a buckler in the offhand? Or was that a different feat that allowed that?

[jsaving]

This DEX-based build will dish out 20-25% less DPS even with you getting DEX-to-damage. This is mainly because Wrath has more STR boosts than DEX boosts, but also because you lose out on 1.5x strength bonus and must use subpar weapons. Just want to make sure you're aware of that and accept lower DPS as a sacrifice you're willing to make, rather than thinking spending 2 feats for slashing grace elevates you to STR-based levels.

A better choice if you mainly care about damage would be a max-strength high-charisma deliverer who splashes 1 level of demonslayer and 1 level of scaled fist. Use a two-hander for added DPS while also freeing up a ton of feat slots in your build. Use those free slots for the crane line. Go menacing style and grab shatter defenses with your second menacing selection then (if desired) dreadful carnage with your third menacing selection. Take crippling strike the moment you reach slayer level 12. Once you hit slayer12/demonslayer1/monk1, you can either stick with slayer all the way to 20 or you can diversify your build with 1-2 paladin levels, 4-5 mutation warrior levels, 4 sanctified slayer levels, or even a traditional archaeologist2/DD4 splash.