Temporal Warden builds

[KnightGoblin8]

Please suggest me your favorite Temporal Warden builds. :) I am working on my first win on the game after 200+ hours and it would be cool to win once before the next DLC comes out.

EDIT: I have all the DLC released so far.

[zoutzakje]

Temporal Warden is one of my favourite classes. Won 7 of them so far on Insane Roguelike, all with a similar build. I love playing it like a full hybrid, spending an equal amount of time in melee as well as ranged. Buffing speed with Time Dilation and Haste is key here, and so is obtaining Out of Phase bonuses (all res on teleport) to 40%. It's a low paradox build, so I set it to 250-300, depending on the amount of sustains I have.
I do not get Temporal Hounds at all, but I do get Threaded Combat at lvl 20. At lvl 25 I take either the Ethereal Form prodigy or Arcane Might, depending on whether I feel I need more offense or defense. At 42 I take Flexible combat (works well with Warden's Call).
Items to look for: Blade of Distorted Time, Shantiz, Aetherwalk, Stormbringers Gauntlets/Dakhtun's/any randart gloves with strong procs.

[a weed]

Hounds can single-handedly carry you through most of the game.

[KnightGoblin8]

Thank you for the ideas. :) I ended up taking Threaded Combat already at level 10 and have been pumping mainly Magic up and using Dexterity as the first dump stat. I really like the Hounds too so I might get them at level 20. :)

Can you please help me understand how Paradox works? I have noticed that higher numbers causes more fun stuff to occur but I am not sure if I fully understand how to adjust the preferred value etc.

[a weed]

Originally posted by KnightGoblin8:

Thank you for the ideas. :) I ended up taking Threaded Combat already at level 10 and have been pumping mainly Magic up and using Dexterity as the first dump stat. I really like the Hounds too so I might get them at level 20. :)

Can you please help me understand how Paradox works? I have noticed that higher numbers causes more fun stuff to occur but I am not sure if I fully understand how to adjust the preferred value etc.

Higher paradox = more spellpower but it also increases the chance of talent failure, which can incur an anomaly that could kill you. If you keep your paradox low you will never have to worry about anomalies and you can spam your talents more frequently.

[zoutzakje]

Your weapons scale with both mag and dex, so I wouldn't call dex a dump stat really. Mag definitely comes first though.

I think the talent used to set a paradox number is called Spacetime Tuning?
Using talents raises your current paradox. The higher your paradox gets, the higher the chance an anomaly will occur. An anomaly wastes your turn and makes something random happen. Resting and certain talents will lower your paradox closer to your set paradox. Investing in willpower will allow for a higher paradox number before the anomaly chance stops being 0%.
Certain talents like Time Stop have breaking points, which is where high paradox builds come in. With Static History and the Hidden Resources prodigy, people can play with the benefits of high paradox without having to worry too much about triggering anomalies. However, while absurdly powerful, I also consider this style of play more complex. Low paradox play is more straightforward.

[KnightGoblin8]

Thank you for the advice. I really hope that with this character I would finally beat the first continent. :) And hopefully get the first win too. Splitting the timeline is so fun.

[KnightGoblin8]

What's the best way to use See the Threads? :) Is it better to save it late in the zone or use it early in the zone?

EDIT: Ok I think I figured it out. Killing the boss for ton of exp 3 times is nice.

[zoutzakje]

I personally don't use See the Threads at all, so I probably won't have the best advice for it. I believe it can only be used once per floor? I suspect the best way is to use Precog or Track to scout, then use See the Threads when there's something really scary nearby. Or if scouting ahead regularly feels too tedious, just use it when you run into something nasty. Either way it requires you to recognise threats ahead of time. Perhaps to start with, you could use it right before opening a vault or chest, as those are likely to house dangerous enemies.
Somebody else might have better suggestions for the talent.

[zoutzakje]

Do you actually get the exp 3 times? I thought you had to choose 1 of the paths.

[KnightGoblin8]

Originally posted by zoutzakje:

Do you actually get the exp 3 times? I thought you had to choose 1 of the paths.

EDIT: I confirmed, you don't get to keep the exp. I guess I just earned so much in critical moment in one timeline that I got confused.

The tip regarding chests or vaults is good too! Much appreciated.

[Bumc]

On the topic of "see the threads" its about as bugged as you'd expect save-load-but-not-really to be.
In one character it managed to
* Bug out several encounters.For example, if you wake up sleeping dragons they stay up after you return to original point of timeline split.
* Brick the Sher'tul fortress.Weirdling beast got killed only in one of the threads and then it wouldn't let me into fortress or respawn the beast.
* Get into semi-infinite loop against future self.When he kills you or an anomaly fires off, you get into a alternative timeline and then threads get disjointed. Had to kill him like 3 times total and overall it was a lot of de ja vu.
* Crash the game several times
* Finally, get an error trying to use threads in illusory castle and die on one of the resets.

Do not screw with timelines, folks.

[Geothermal1159]

Originally posted by Bumc:

On the topic of "see the threads" its about as bugged as you'd expect save-load-but-not-really to be.
In one character it managed to
* Bug out several encounters.For example, if you wake up sleeping dragons they stay up after you return to original point of timeline split.
* Brick the Sher'tul fortress.Weirdling beast got killed only in one of the threads and then it wouldn't let me into fortress or respawn the beast.
* Get into semi-infinite loop against future self.When he kills you or an anomaly fires off, you get into a alternative timeline and then threads get disjointed. Had to kill him like 3 times total and overall it was a lot of de ja vu.
* Crash the game several times
* Finally, get an error trying to use threads in illusory castle and die on one of the resets.

Do not screw with timelines, folks.

There is a reason why the Temporal Wardens magic meter is not a reserve of magical power but, instead is a measure of how much potential catastrophe their tampering causes.

They have the power to screw with time but, time and, the fabric of reality (the game as well as it's engine) have the ability to screw you back.

[Local Jerk]

Hounds, hounds, hounds, hounds....