Party is level 5 and still wimpy...

[SkySG1]

Playthrough: 1st
Toon: Ranger + Wolf
Difficulty: Normal

Just started this game and still getting a hang on the mechanics which are really nice and old-school. :)
I seem to still be quite wimpy though.
I can't survive any combat where I'm actually outnumbered or out-nuked by mages/clerics.
Can't even complete the Raedric quest even if I killed off most of his stronghold.
Still the fight with him himself smashes me to the ground.

I'm attempting to enchant as good as I can whenever I find the ingredients and make potions whenever I can.
I do micromanage with pause and slow mode.
My strength is pretty much at the level where I can pick off two Ogres in Endless Paths without much sweat. But that's pretty much it.

Any advice?

[angrytrex]

I found it helps a bit in the early game if you give everybody veterens recovery so they all auto regen health in combat. I think this requires the White March DLC though

[Batbro]

Who are your other party members and how are you using them?

Have you picked up Durance or another priest yet? Analyze what's messing you up in fights and check if they have a spell that protects you against it.

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

Yeah, tell details about your companions. One can do wonders, if exploring their full potential. Their base attributes are fixed and don't imply much, but talents, abilities and equipment can make a huge difference. Additionally, Survival based resting bonuses and food/drugs.

Originally posted by SkySG1:

Any advice?

As a last resort, do more in Defiance Bay and Dyrford before returning to Raedric and the Endless Paths.

[SkySG1]

Eder - tank
Aloth - damage
Durance is set as healer
Sagani - ranged
Kana - Singer and heavy ranged with his arquebus.
My character uses a crosbow and sometimes goes into melee.
Both, fox and wolf, do pretty nice damage but don't hold for very long.

[mainer]

I'm on my 4th play through, 1st since the WM2 came out, wanted to get a new save to import into POE2. For some reason, I always play as a Ranger w/ a wolf companion, it just fits the way I play the best. So I'll list some things that work for me since you have the same type of character.

Leveling up is huge in this game, as well as character creation. Your max level is 16 (if you have both White Marches), so you can't get all available skills/talents. I build my Ranger focusing on bow skills, with a high interupt (you can take out those pesky mages at a distance, or at least imobolize them or interupt their spell casting). I build up my resolve/perception, and have high sneak/stealth/mechanics skills. If he gets into close combat, I switch to dual weilding light/fast weapons.

I'd recommend picking up the available npcs like Eder/Aloth/Durance/ect, over creating other adventurers. You might be able to create a stronger party, but they have no personality, and you'd miss out on a lot of interaction as well as companion quests. The interaction isn't as deep as I'd like, but it is the reason I play this type of game. I'd also recommend that you manually level those companions rather than let the game automatically do it for you. That's available in the options menu.

As far as who to take, I find that Durance (priest)/Eder (fighter)/Aloth (mage)/Palaginia (paladin) are my party staples. That last available slot varies depending upon what quest I'm on and what enemy types I'm expecting.

You, or one of your party members, needs a high stealth/mechanics skill. There are areas that have many traps, as well as some containers that contain good loot. My Ranger likes to scout ahead, eliminating those traps, and finding out the type of opponent we're facing.

There are several quests, like Raedric's Hold, that seem like they are urgent to complete, but they're not. You can wait until you're a higher level and then try them. One level differnce is huge. It's not like Skyrim or FO4, where one level higher doesn't really mean that much. In POE, it can mean the difference in surviving or dying.

I rarely enchant my weapons early. I'd rather hold onto those unique/legendary weapons, and enchant them when I'm higher level. Resources are limited for enchanting. Higher character level unlocks higher enchantments. I hold out as long as I can. Don't enchant anything less than a magical (fine/blue highlight) piece of weapon/armor (and rarely those). Save your enchantments for the uniques (gold highlight).

Know your enemy's strengths & weakness, consult your journal, see what they are resistant or immune to. If characters rely on weapons, have them carry weapons that cover the different damage types (piercing/slashing/crushing). Mages like Aloth need to either change out their available spells based on the enemy type, or carry multiple spell books.

Scrolls, potions, & even food can make a difference. Scrolls & potions can be used during combat, while food must be used beforehand. While not used as frequently as in other RPGs, they can sometimes give you an edge in a prolonged battle.

Ranger specific, you can have your wolf flank out and come at the enemy from the side or behind. Giving them the Knockdown talent can be huge when dealing with mages.

Any spell or object that summons a creature or mulitple creatures is also a big advantage.

Hope some of this helps.

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

Originally posted by SkySG1:

Eder - tank
Aloth - damage
Durance is set as healer
Sagani - ranged
Kana - Singer and heavy ranged with his arquebus.
My character uses a crosbow and sometimes goes into melee.
Both, fox and wolf, do pretty nice damage but don't hold for very long.

That sounds pretty much unmotivated so far. When you use terms like "tank", they don't tell anything at all.

Eder is a Fighter. The Fighter class in this game is tanky be design. He regenerates Endurance and has high Health. His base Deflection is very high. His base Accuracy is very high, too. He becomes more helpful, if not giving him too many defensive talents. Choices, such as hiding him behind a large and bad shield drops his Accuracy. And he will not become invincible anyway, since a single Graze or Hit can cause devastating status effects. Offense is the better defense. Wielding one single-handed weapon adds an implicit +12 Accuracy.

Aloth as a wizard is versatile and should cast crowd control spells more often than doing only damage. Cause afflictions on your enemies to take away the danger.

Durance should focus on support not only healing. Give him heavy armor, learn Inspired Flame for +10 with Swords and Arquebus, perhaps give him a shield and let him strengthen your companions and himself with spells before joining the fight.

Sagani would be a second Ranger. Why not explore Defiance Bay a bit and fetch Pallegina? Or Hiravias in the areas around Defiance Bay where your main missions lead you? Or hire an adventurer at any inn.

Kana develops very slowly, but Arquebus is not his strength. He is better in second line or between your frontline warriors. Heavy armor, shield and warhammer, axe or sword. Twohanders are an option for him only much later. Let him chant at least three level 1 phrases as to summon a Phantom.

For your main ranger. Crossbows are slow and can't really make you happy before you find a very good one. Faster bows should be your primary weapon.

[SkySG1]

Thanks. This clears a few things. I was never really sure on "what works" given the completely new mechanics of this game.
I was so used to d20 :P

[SkySG1]

I will go and get Pallegina as I've been wanting to.
I have to figure out the Grieving Mother aswell. She seems to have potential in control and disruption.

[smilehigh]

For Raedric's fight use doorways as bottlenecks - keep your casters and shooters in the bedroom with the dead wife, block the doorway with your tankier characters.

Use Aloth for crowd control. Make his level 1 spell Slicken one of your main ones - it is one of the best crowd control spells in the entire game up untill the end.

Cast Chill Fog - it inflicts Blindness (a great debuff) and interrupts casters.

Use Bewildering Spectacle to confuse enemies - a great crowd control spell at this stage.

Use Deleterious Alacrity of Motion (cast it at the start of battle if necessary) in combination with Kalakoth's Minor Blights which basically temporary creates a ranged weapon in the casters hand that outperforms other weapons availble this early in game.

Use Durance as buffer/debuffer. Heal with Consecrated Ground (cast in advance) and Iconic Projection (which also damages enemies) and not Restore Endurance. Use Repulsing Seal for crowd control. And Pillar of Faith for combination of Damage and CC.
Painful Interdiction has a huge area of effect and is often very handy.

[Wolveen]

And you should not hesitate to move to other region or quest ... Some quest can be start and be complete later... Best example his Caed Nua that can be start for the first floor of the dungeon but the more you go down the more you need streight. So time and effort can be deployed on your group... And sorry for my english... Can be messy sometimes ;)

[Enfys Ellezard]

Try switching from Bow to blunderbuss in the early game. I feel like ranger are quite mediocre with bow until you start unlocking the good stuff. Blunderbuss insane burst damage (With DR pen Modal) and pistol for higher DR target are way better for killing stuff with your pets to help tanking and killing. You can even carry 2 of them to use in a fight and swap to another one after the first shot to get 2 quick shots in before you have to start reloading.

And don't bother playing Wizard for pure damage. They are way better at CC/debuff and self-buff going god mode with a bunch of buffs on them with their special weapons. Druid is what you will like way more for damaging AoE spells.

[SkySG1]

It's getting better.
I killed this Chief Ixil with only one fatality.
The Grieving Mother is awesome. Turning the enemy cleric to my side for some extra heals is wicked. She doesn't have the casting limit that others have so it suits my playstyle.
I'm now exploring the cult ruins near the Dryford Village I believe.
I will explore the dual pistol option for my Ranger.
That's a very "ARRRRRR!!" idea :P
Thanks for all your input. Very appreciated.

[Virtual Swayy]

Youve gottem some good advice but i suspect your problem is more tactical than use of gear. THe specific advice above about ow to use chipher and wizard are good. You need to focus on combining many effects (remebering that similar effects generally do not stack) FOR EXAMPLE:

use wiz spell that gives + fire damage to everything int he area every time it gets hit
WITH - eveything that ticks in the area:
chanter - any pulsing damge song
cipher - soul shock - super cheap area damage tick
wiz - fog has multiple ticks
pally - at high level sacred immolation
chanter - while you pulsing dmage go ahead and AE stip 5 damage reduction so every hit ticks for more

That jsut one example of how to comd damage on an area - comboing damage and CC is even better

Big bosses are also about combos but there its more debuffs, get something on them to reduce defense and then stack dots/CC - preists really help here they have tow spells that reduce defensses pretty substanitally on single targets (well more than 2 but 2 really good ones).

[EDIT]: Looking at your party you have a lot of ranged dmage dealers and seem to be weapon focused so the chanter is going to be huge for you. THe song that make ranged attacks faster and the song that adds 25% fire damage to attacks - those should be monstrous for your party.

[EDIT2]: Don't get too married to using charm as CC or once u fight undead you'll be screwed. Even beyond undead there is realtively high levels of imuunity to that spell. It's still awesome. I have the level 1 charm and use it liberally on my chiper, but i think in general youll find other forms of CC to be better. Prone and paralyze are favorites of mine.

[SkySG1]

It's now:
Eder, Pallegina, Durance, Kana, My Ranger, Grieving Mother.
I'm still a bit bogged down in spell descriptions and tactics ideas of how to mix and match them.
It's just the first playthrough.
Getting better though.

[ColorsFade]

Originally posted by SkySG1:

It's now:
Eder, Pallegina, Durance, Kana, My Ranger, Grieving Mother.
I'm still a bit bogged down in spell descriptions and tactics ideas of how to mix and match them.
It's just the first playthrough.
Getting better though.

I really should write a priest guide...

Anyway, I saw your post and thought I'd offer some tips. You're playing a group fairly similiar to the group I used first time through the game.

Durance

First up, the priest. This is your most important member for making fights easy due to his buffs and debuffs. Holy Radiance and Interdiction (the latter of which you need to select during a level up) are two core abilites for the Priest. You can fire them every battle. With Painful Interdiction you'll be able to Weaken and Daze opponents at the start of a battle. Daze reduces stats of enemies, their attack and their attack speed. Weaken reduces more stats and defensive abilities so futher spells can land easier. In all, Painful Interdiction (when you upgrade Interdiction) should be the first thing you cast most battles. Against Spirits, follow up with Holy Radiance. Then get to work.

Priests have a ton of great buffs. Over time you'll figure out which ones are the best. Spells like DIre Blessing at the start of a battle help all your other companions land critical hits. Remember - spells can crit (which makes duration long). Aloth can crit a spell, making it last longer. Spells like Blessing, Armor of Faith, Consecrated Ground, Circle of Protection and my favorite: Devitions of the Faithful are great ways to turn tough battles into easier ones.

Your priest is less useful healing than he is as a buffer and debuffer. If you're casting these spells as fast as you can, your party should be sufficiently buffed and enemies debuffed and so you'll need far fewer direct healing spells (I hardly cast any, ever).

The key to a good priest is being fast. He needs fast action speed and lots of INT so his spells last longer and his AoE is bigger. Unfortunately Durance is not the best in this regard. Keep him in a robe (0% speed penalty) and give him INT and DEX gear. Give him ranged weapons (wands work) and keep him in the back row, periodically moving him as necessary so his Consecrated Ground hits your front line fighters (it's a small area of effect).

Aloth

Aloth can do a lot of crowd control, which really helps early on. Slicken is simply one of the best spells in the game and is useful against a litany of creatures from level 1 to level 16. Use it against groups of casters to put them on their butts. Aloth has a ton of other good spells like Bewildering Spectacle (Confusion), Curse of Blackened Sight (Blind), Expose Vulnerabilities, Confusion, Call to Slumber, Arkemyr's Capricious Hex and Gaze of the Adragan.

Wizards can equip different Grimoires. You should setup multiples grimoires for different enemies. Some enemies are immune to all the Crowd Control spells, so have a Grimoire setup that has a lot of direct damage spells available for those intances.

Pellegina

She's your off-tank. You have no one else in your party who can really use 2-handed weapons and there are a lot of good ones in the game. Give them to her. Estocs especially since they have Damage Reduction bypass. Give her Weapon Focus: Adventurer so she gets better accuracy with the Estocs.

Make sure on level up sometime, when it's available, you give her Wrath of Five Suns. It causes huge balls of flames to erupt from her when she uses Sworn Enemy (you need to take that too, I think, but she may already have it by the time you find her). It's a great way to kill off a lot of mobs right at the start of a fight. She needs (and may already have) Flames of Devotion. Try to give her Zealous Aura (improves everyone's offense).

Kana

I won't go into much here. He's a neat character but I don't care for Chanters much. But his summons are great. Consider taking those when choosing new Invocations.

Grieving Mother

Cipher is my favorite class in the game. I wrote a guide for melee Ciphers:

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1293352068

Grieving Mother is already setup to be a dual-wield Cipher, so ignore my guide's advice about 2-handed weapons. Consider giving her Stilettos if you find some - they have Damage Reduction bypass. But in general, just give her the two best fast weapons you have. She's fragile (Ciphers are basically mage-types). Follow my guide for the rest. She'll be a powerful player in your party if you play her right.

Eder

Sword and Shield. Enough said. Give him a good mix of offensive and defensive abilities. Stay away from anything that only works for 15 seconds. Choose the more permanent choices (passive abilties). Knockdown, Defender, Critical Defense, stuff like that.


Above All - pay attention to your enemies. Look at their information sheet in the top left corner. Pay attention to their immunities. When casting spells against them with Wizard or Cipher, pay attention to the resist. Don't try and Charm an enemy with an 80 WILL score when there's an enemy with a 40 WILL score standing right next to it (for instance).

Learn what your enemies are immunte to, strong against, and weak against, and then act accordingly.