Audrey

[No One]

Audrey

So I ran the numbers on DD1 GR, and I realized DD2 GR is nearly a straight expy. They buffed pick and darts+ for some reason, which makes lunge look less OP than it is. In fact DD2 GR is just better - lunge pierces everything, dagger has a huge +acc buff instead of a cringe bonus, and of course she can taunt and heal herself.

Everyone seems obsessed with darts+ 6-9 melee equivalent, but blight resist exists, and lunge+ is 7-11. +20 crit is also not exactly low. Sure she usually doesn't hit as hard as a hellion or leper, but she does it at the top of round 1 instead of the bottom, which is also exactly what she was so good at in DD1.

Consider GR-HWM-DST-CRU. Lunge-fleche-2tap. Simply explode whoever is in row 3 before they get to do anything. Can also explode row 2 if something is clogging up the back. Highly resistant to turn order shenanigans.

fade-dagger-lunge-dead.night-pirouette. The big mistake DD2 players make: using the self-heals out of what is, frankly, paranoia. You have a healer, try using the healer's heal. Let Audrey can use her tools. See also: salve exists. Have Audrey carry a salve instead of absinthe.
Once 3 simply explodes, Audrey can use dead of night, row 4 is row 3, and the duellist can fleche it again. Between the DST and CRU, Audrey will start turn 3 in stealth and ready to lunge (with benefits) again.

All three can also hit row 4 if someone is clogging up the middle ranks, or you want to assassinate an urchin or something.
If for some reason row 3 isn't exploding enough, do HWM-DST-GR-CRU, and start with t.aim, prep, fade, bulwark. Now it will explode. Promise. The major upside of this strategy is enabling all the prot/dodge bypasses by default. Since this team has t.dagger on by default, you don't have to remember to switch it on to kill drummers or antiquarians.

There's also the lunge-fade-lunge-pirouette school of thought. Maybe remove a corpse in 3 using sharpshot grapeshot.

Ironically, the wanderer wants pick to deal with pirouette's downsides, but doesn't get enough from fade either without pirouette, meaning she doesn't want to be able to move herself back. T.dagger twice is far better than fade-lunge, unlike the case in DD1.

Note that if you get tired of huge, fast alphas, you can refit the squad to have three tanks.
But, before that, consider bloodthirsty grave robber. 7-11 +30%, at 30% crit.

[Gal Kraft]

I'm a simple minded bloke but my first thought when considering Audrey is always Repartee. Top of the round damage mitigation 1 button any rank. I even used to equip it regularly when it required stealth.

[RopeDrink]

GR was my favourite in DD1 until the COM rework. There was nothing more satisfying than having her consistently explode a priority with extreme prejudice at the start of every single fight, and then decide between cleaning up everyone else's work - or contributing stuns via self-re-positioning (pre-COM fade), all while passively reducing stress via buckets of CRIT.

Then, they removed her stun, gave her stealth, reduced her damage, and inserted preamble requirements as a counterbalance - in a franchise where acting fast (and hard) typically beats ramp-up. You can still casually lunge to victory, but it just wasn't the same.

Cut to DD2 EA, and people were complaining about how GR felt more like a tank than a damage dealer, but she quickly became a favourite again. Self-managing health and stress - requiring minimal external assistance while enjoying (as usual) gross two-way mobility, flexible positions, hyper projection, and underappreciated token bypass. Her damage paled compared to the usual assassin archetype, but she was no slouch.

Fast forward, and she's better than ever - and I confess, I have been a Blight Dart+ enjoyer since the very beginning, despite my past fondness for what I called Lunge-gunning (all the way to conquering most dungeons with nothing but Triple or Quad-GR for fun and frolic).

If I pick GR, it's typically because she has a strong bread-and-butter that can be permanently played from 3/4 positions against ANY enemy rank - along with a kit that functions from either side of the board - so she's a prime filler pick when you want a self-sustainable and always functional damage dealer who can step up into a tank role if desired. Whether in R4, R3, R2, or mobile, Blight is my most used button, the rest being used as situations demand.

Then, you get versions like this - designed to open every fight with Pirouette.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3038016325

Up until the DLC landed, GR-RUN-FLA-MAA was my go-to 'EZ' team. Healing, tanking, flexibility, mechanical cheese, and DOTs for days - laced with mobility or malleable kits that don't care about ambush, displacement, or random desires to shake up skills, positions, and roles. Everyone looks after themselves, but with no shortage of emergency care - so you can focus on hulk smashing 95% of the time, and have answers for practically every issue.

Versatile problem-solving teams that account for all problems are my jam, and GR fits right in.

Fun side-note:
I'm not a power scaler, but I enjoy battle edits, and when considering DD1, DD2, stats, lore, and mechanics, Audrey is on the upper end of the spectrum. If you're into that sort of thing, then I wager she would trounce most of the cast.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3138208516

She may be a greedy mariticide, but she's gone from decent/niche (DD1) to universally strong.

[Raki]

Grave Robber is also one of my favorite characters. I like to build flexible teams, and Audrey bings quite a bit of flexibility.

I have one problem with her, though: Stealth. For me, almost the only practical application of Stealth is consuming the tokens with Plague Doctor for a bigger heal.

The new Yellowhand is also able to buff his bleed. However, instead of (pointlessly) stealthing, the boost is on "Highway Robbery", which is a move I would use even if it didn't buff his DOT.

Conversely, on Venomdrop / Nightsworn I would use Shadow Fade even if it didn't stealth her.

For me, the Stealth Tokens are more of a liability. They prevent Shadow Fade from doing something actually useful. (aside from buffing the next move) The Heal (Dead of Night) is OK, but requires a corpse, so is semi-blocked in most bossfights.

What are your thoughts on the matter? How do you value the Stealth tokens?

[RopeDrink]

What are your thoughts on the matter? How do you value the Stealth tokens?

I've almost exclusively played Deadeye since EA, so I tend to keep a back-move (like Fade or Piro) solely to get back into position if needed - rather than stealth or ramp up. DoNight is my only exception, which I almost always take - mostly to farm relationships up to the final boss (and/or) heal + protect that sustain via stealth - or to hide/cheese mechanics. Then, swap it out once I reach lair bosses or the Mountain.

It's nice to have a dedicated healer, but it's better to have a whole team capable of doing it themselves whenever it's more practical - as that gives you more freedom of choice in battles - and GR is one of the more self-sustaining heroes in that regard. DON may require a corpse, but it's still a very chunky heal and up to 3x -1 stress every single battle, which is not to be sniffed at when you want to keep your entire team from roiling - coupled with her habit of frequent crits, with or without combo tokens.

I have no issue with stealth, but no great love for it either (on GR), whereas I am much more liberal with buttons like Run & Hide (RUN) for regen, DoT removal, positioning, and mechanical hide/cheese. Funny, that.

The comp I described above is great for funnelling damage onto the MAA+LEP via Stealth if you want to recover, ramp up, or fake-taunt - but in 9/10 cases, you're just going to lob Blight, Flames, and watch things melt while they're stuck dealing with normal taunts, displacements, or death.

As much as I loved Lunge-gunning in DD1, I can't be bothered with it in DD2, so I rarely bother with her physical path, nor do I bother with the X = Blight-chance path when I can just throw a good ole blight dart into desired targets from 75% of positions vs 100% of targets without caring about such things.

As for buttons like Repartee, it's a worthy consideration, but there are more than enough ways to taunt or protect without having one of the faster and most projection-heavy heroes do it when they COULD be crippling the back-rank, popping tokens, or blowing things up.

[Raki]

I think on Deadeye I'd rather use Pirouette to move back, or equip Pick or Glint to have an option in Rank 1. ShadowFade seems too slow. Maybe if I was running GR without a heal, as an emergency button, but then why pick GR in the first place? :)

I've been trying to get the new Pirouette work as a debuff on Deadeye/Wanderer, but it was more of a gimmick than actually useful. Also placed heavy constraints on the rest of the Team composition. Maybe a bit similar to Anamnesis.

Anyway, thanks for your reply. Seems Stealth itself also has limited usefulness for you.

[RopeDrink]

I think on Deadeye I'd rather use Pirouette to move back, or equip Pick or Glint to have an option in Rank 1. ShadowFade seems too slow. Maybe if I was running GR without a heal, as an emergency button, but then why pick GR in the first place? :)

I tend to go with Fade simply because AOE'ing the front rank + starting the next round with a daze isn't always desirable - (especially if done for movement instead of damage) > as opposed to protecting your health/stress via fade/stealth + starting the next round at normal speed so you can dunk that pesky back-rank priority (who can't touch her without team-wide AoE due to said stealth).

Sure, it means you didn't do any damage that turn, but in the above-mentioned team: apart from RUN, the only other way they can capitalize on that fact is by pumping damage into a FLA or MAA, neither of which will care, because taking that damage is their job, and you're making it easier via two stealthers who can babysit themselves.

Just like DD1, there are plenty of notable front-rank threats, but in general, you're still better off blasting the squishes and back-rank priorities to set up a 4 v X while managing those front-rank foes in other ways. As such, I will always vie for keeping my GR's speed high, and keeping her in a position where she can respond to any desired rank with impunity, rather than any form of contained front-rank AoE and a slow.

Naturally, the above-linked screenshot is the type of scenario where Piro will take priority instead, because hey, if you've got a Bloodthirsty GR with Breacher, you absolutely should be opening every fight with a massive AoE dunk instead of popping Fade. It's a no-brainer.

Just like the COM rework in DD1, I can't be bothered with skills that require stealth to reach their peak when you can simply use it at baseline and casually stomp through the game anyway. As nice as huge damage and first-turn victories are, they have never been a requirement for easy wins, so it's the type of thing I do for fun or experiments - but when I want to stomp, Audrey is likely sitting in R4, R3, or R2 and spamming Blight Dart like a Queen.

Can't remember what I scrounged during this pre-DLC run, but it's funny watching a GR open a boss fight with a 60-damage blight dart using one zone of temporary power (10+10p5), and watching the boss gobble it up with 3-turns-per-round.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3081668533

Anything with more than 1 turn is going to melt itself into oblivion, and while PD is a better blighter, she has to consider positions and targets infinitely more than a GR does, who can hit 4/4 from 3/4 with one button, instead of 2/4 from 2/4 with grenades, and 2/4 from 3/4 with Nox - with GR being infinitely better at getting to (or staying in) desired positions.

That's the sort of thing people overlook when they compare damage in a vacuum. We all know Alchemist is a stupid-broken blighter, but that's not the only consideration. If my only slot left in a team is R2 (or R3, or R4), GR fits - whereas PD really wants R4/R3 specifically (to maintain two buttons instead of one), and isn't keen on being moved. Such things are of more variable value compared to plain blight amounts. In short, GR is obnoxiously flexible, and I prefer that over 'does more damage' (most of the time).

[Raki]

That's one nice Poison Dart. Guess you were lucky with your Foetor drops as well in that run. :)

However, it also shows why you want to rather stay in the back with a GR using Poison Darts. (probably even if it's a Venomdrop)

I think especially Venomdrop would really like some option to get Stealth in prolonged bossfights. I think the new Repartee would fit better on Venomdrop than Nightsworn. Nightsworn wants to dance back and forth anyway, granting easier access to Shadow Fade.

Anyway, agreement with the rest. Comparing raw damage numbers without factoring in flexibility and utility is lopsided. E.g. your video shows that having knockback is useful beyond raw damage.
Though maybe not - with that crazy Poison Dart, it wouldn't have mattered either way. ;)

P.S.: As Deadeye, I think you could just move back normally, without Shadowfade, much to the same effect. Unless you have to work around an enemy token with Thrown Dagger, the Stealth tokens do little for you in R4. I still think there's more worthwhile picks, even if we are talking utility. (Repartee, Absinth)

[RopeDrink]

I'll never claim anything I do is optimal, but I prefer fading in 9/10 cases. I often have Piro on the bar as well, but unless I know Piro will kill or maim foes near a victory condition - I typically Fade. The surviving enemies can't hit her in most cases, and she won't be forced to go last (next turn) if you cannot remove Daze.

There are times when enemies will eat a DOT tick that leaves them with a few points, so you may want to finish them off rather than let them squeeze out one last action, and it's harder to do that when your fast projection-bot has pumped damage into inconsequential front-rankers and slowed herself - but again, it's all variable and based on turn order. Piro, at times, will be the better choice, and someone else might be able to handle that issue anyway (because there is only one hero in that team who cannot consistently hit R4 from most positions).

Besides, the above team is all about watching the enemy melt to death via gross amounts of DOTS while you protect full health and low stress to farm EZ relationships.

It's the type of team that is very hard to put on the back foot - because you have two stress healers (and GR, who can manage her own), a healer and a half - backed by three heroes who can manage themselves - alongside multiple taunts, tonnes of projection, decent up-front damage, tonnes of mobility + displacement, and ultimately, a disgusting amount of projectible DOTS for all ranks, with GR leading the charge.

They're all flexible heroes, but she is faster than the rest, is tied on range + projection, and will easily resolve positioning concerns when you're not going for a General's Dream coach upgrade to root everyone in place (alongside RUN + MAA, both of which are mobile as well, so you only really care about FLA, who can technically work in any rank, but is close to optimal as far back as R3).

Furthermore, you can turn GR into an additional taunter if you desire, and happens to be one of the most usable and self-sustainable heroes in the game - which is a huge reversal of her role in DD1. Even if she wasn't one of my favourites, I'd be using her very often - because she's fun, varied, flexible, and has a very good kit.

[No One]

The stealth token itself is generally meh. The point is to activate her dodge bypass.
E.g. creature dens. Start with shadow fade, then dagger/lunge/fade cycle. 2x or 4x effective damage. Very worth.

Stealth doesn't clear dots, and there are lots of cleaves that hit her anyway - in a real emergency, use absinthe or a salve. It is nice if you're up front already, take a big hit, and you want to help out your healer.
I think shadow fade should be usable from every rank, so the GR can emergency stealth on demand. Being restricted to the front made sense way back when it was a stun, and reasonable sense when it was +100% damage. In DD2, in rank 4 it would just be two stealth...this is not exactly OP. (In DD1 you could also run 4 GRs and theoretically stealth all of them.) Likewise you can use dead of night but you're hardly guaranteed to have a corpse to use. If you could turn 1 dead of night+ it would mean not having to run fade, but...
Can you get enough shimmering powder to use one per fight?

Anyway, dodge bypass.
E.g. on the librarian, you start the GR in 1 or 2, fade immediately, and the result is nearly doubling her damage. That said this example is one where stealth is pretty good, as it discourages the librarian from blinding your best girl. Meanwhile a HWM almost wants to use t.aim+ because he always wants to, but if he gets dodged, he hates life; has to save it for a blind turn.
Nice in the sprawl in general. Dodge and block everywhere.

On the harvest child, if you have nothing upgraded (and aren't nightsworn), you would only use lunge for repositioning someone else. Generally just want to spam pick/glint, as the damage loss from fade or pirouette isn't worthwhile. However, Audrey is very useful for repositioning the rest of your team, both forward and backward.

Also great for repositioning on the leviathan, though on this and the general, even without dart+, you would spam darts.

However, if you have lunge+, then you want to do the fade-lunge-pirouette-lunge cycle if you can manage it. If you had infinity mastery points you would get darts too, plus pick and glint, but Audrey functions fine with only one.



That said if you're doing GR-HWM-DST-HEALER, you probably go for nightsworn.
Maybe lunge-fleche then med-repartee. Riposte-taunt combo that buffs further lunges.