Unconventional class usage: Melee Highwayman or Ranged Abomination?

[Lampros]

I am using both Melee Highwayman and Ranged Abomination for a change of pace, and I really find them surprisingly effective so far (only up to level 3 on both though). I am wondering, however, if they will lose steam in later levels - or harder encounters - since they are, I presume, not the way most folks use these two classes. So I would be grateful if people can share their experiences with either builds later in the game. Right now, I am basically spam alternating the Duelist Advance and Point Blank Shot on the Highwayman (stacked with Dodge item and often accompanied by a Man at Arms for the double Riposte effect), and this guy is a massive damage dealer. The Abomination is less conspicuously overpowering, but is very steady with his stun chain and spit attacks, of course appropriately bolstered by stun chance Trinket(s).

Anyways, once again, I'd like any further advice on these two builds - as well as hearing about any other unconventional class builds folks have experimented with!

[Gin-chan]

Melee highwayman is hardly unconvential i think. I mean they are my best frontline fighters in my estate XD with all of em already reaching level 6 today .

Btw the main skills i always use for em are Point blank shot, Open vein,Duelists advance,tracking shot i would also sometimes swap tracking shot out with the pistol shot ability if i need another back hitter for the team.

[Včelí medvídek]

Originally posted by Eleventh Doctor:

Melee highwayman is hardly unconvential i think. I mean they are my best frontline fighters in my estate XD with all of em already reaching level 6 today .

Btw the main skills i always use for em are Point blank shot, Open vein,Duelists advance,tracking shot i would also sometimes swap tracking shot out with the pistol shot ability if i need another back hitter for the team.

Yep, even with ancestral trinkets even his damage ouput is very low range (and need mark first too) in comparation to melee

2 highwaymans that swap duelist advance and blank shot are very nice combo that works in lot situation where you can keep them otherwise safe (lot of option, keeps dodge high by trinkets and buffs, protect with houndmaster or maa, or simpyl it is nto needed be so tanky on frontline..)

[Lampros]

Originally posted by Eleventh Doctor:

Melee highwayman is hardly unconvential i think. I mean they are my best frontline fighters in my estate XD with all of em already reaching level 6 today .

Btw the main skills i always use for em are Point blank shot, Open vein,Duelists advance,tracking shot i would also sometimes swap tracking shot out with the pistol shot ability if i need another back hitter for the team.

Ah, ok. So they do okay in the end-game against tough bosses?

Originally posted by Včelí medvídek:

Yep, even with ancestral trinkets even his damage ouput is very low range (and need mark first too) in comparation to melee

2 highwaymans that swap duelist advance and blank shot are very nice combo that works in lot situation where you can keep them otherwise safe (lot of option, keeps dodge high by trinkets and buffs, protect with houndmaster or maa, or simpyl it is nto needed be so tanky on frontline..)

I will try the 2nd option, too, then. I also subscribed to one of the class mods that has a monk ("Prodigy," he is called) that switches position every time he acts, too. So that would also be a fitting class to pair with the melee Highwayman.

[Gin-chan]

Originally posted by Lampros:

Ah, ok. So they do okay in the end-game against tough bosses?

Havent tried the champion bosses yet since my guild and blacksmisth arent fully leveled yet. However champion dungeon runs arent that much of a problem with them. And they deal pretty good damages with the ripostes and the occasional crits. One thing i've noticed they are my most accurate fighters by far what with everyone else having around 57-70 hit chance and they are always around 70-90 depending on the enemies in the champion dungeons. so yeah very reliable damge dealers imo.

[Včelí medvídek]

Well to bosses - the highwayman combo works very good against swine god and maybe sirene.

Otherwise not so much - most bosses are on random spots (or at least 3-4) or are better with some particular strategy/group or bleed/blight effect.

Though highwayman get nice riposite allows him do nice damage to any slot in theory, it may better get someone else for bosses.

[Michelozzo]

Human-Mode Abominations work great in pairs - although honestly I find a lot of classes in this work well in pairs. Stacking the puke for both moar dots / lower blight resist for moar dots is pretty good and with two party members that can self heal / self stress heal your team becomes rather resilient. And of course Monster Form is always in your back pocket should you need it.

[Radical Rat]

I actually used melee Vestal quite a lot during my last run. With locked quirks she is pretty awesome in Ruins since her mace bash gets nice dmg boost against Unholy and she can also debuff big dudes turning them into vegetables.
Bad thing is that it requires loading cash into hero who is good only in certain setups and mostly in one area... it was cool to do things different though

[Lampros]

Originally posted by rusty-double-oh-seven:

I actually used melee Vestal quite a lot during my last run. With locked quirks she is pretty awesome in Ruins since her mace bash gets nice dmg boost against Unholy and she can also debuff big dudes turning them into vegetables.
Bad thing is that it requires loading cash into hero who is good only in certain setups and mostly in one area... it was cool to do things different though

Bloodsuckers should be Unholy type really :(

[CloudSeeker]

Originally posted by Lampros:

Bloodsuckers should be Unholy type really :(

You know. Just because the classic vampires are undead doesn't mean these actually are vampires. They are bloodsuckers and not vampires, no one in the game have called them vampires.

[Lampros]

Originally posted by CloudSeeker:

You know. Just because the classic vampires are undead doesn't mean these actually are vampires. They are bloodsuckers and not vampires, no one in the game have called them vampires.

You are right; my bad! ;)

Originally posted by Sasha-Jen:

Plague Doctor + Antiquarian/Grave Robber + Abomination + whatever else and blight, blight and blight some more is very effective. I once killed the Necromancer with these 3 blighters. In 2 turns he was recieving 20+ blight damage.

The non-transformed (human) abom is very powerful: can blight 2 enemies per round, can stun one enemy (with high chance, and great with plague doctor stun to get 3 stuns in a round) and a self-heal if he's in a tight spot (maybe your healer is stunned?) which also stress heals too (important for those who do transform him regularly).

I generally don't like DoT teams, because they seem to take too long, but I should try now that the game must've changed a lot since mid-beta - when I stopped playing. But so far I've been just using the manacle stun attack to good effect.

Originally posted by Sasha-Jen:

As with any party, it is the 3 others that pick up where he (humanly) can't. I only transform him as a last resort, going from a blight/stunner to one of the best tanks in the game, but if you're using him in position 2/3, you should have a dedicated tank in pos 1 and some support character in rank 4 with the other 1 free rank your choice - if I made a 100% random party with a abom used this way, his effectiveness would probably be only in transforming to pick up what others may not be able to do.

What is generally his role in beast form? Tank? Or damage?

[Lampros]

By the way, I am using the Plague Doctor with Incision and the Occultist with the dagger attack to pretty good effect - of course, not as pure melee but as hybrids. The game has a lot of viable ways to play!

[figbyfigbyfigby]

Too funny that the builds stated in the title as "unconventional" are maybe the most effective way of using those classes.

[Gin-chan]

Originally posted by figbyfigbyfigby:

Too funny that the builds stated in the title as "unconventional" are maybe the most effective way of using those classes.

Now that you mentioned yeah i just noticed that lol XD.

[Lampros]

Originally posted by figbyfigbyfigby:

Too funny that the builds stated in the title as "unconventional" are maybe the most effective way of using those classes.

Hey, I stopped playing mid-beta, and I don't think they were used that way then! ;)