What Main Character to choose when playing with the story companions on PotD ?

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Hey, i want to play the game with the a party full of story companions, but i am having a hard time to decide which Class to pick for myself. Oh and i want to play on Path of the Damned.

First thing i am usure about is whether i go Full Tank like a Pally or Hard DPS with some Caster or Ranger. Or if i just could go Barbarian/Monk and kinda do both at the same time

party whise i would like to pick:

Aloth - probally as some kind of CC wizzard since he lacks Might
Eder - Tank or frontline DPS since his stats seem kinda balanced to me
Durance - mainly for supporting and buffing the party and some extra dmg when there is time

last two slots i have not decided yet.
Pallegina because i want to play the sequel and that might be kinda cool to have her with me in the first game. Seems like she only really can be a good Tank.
Kana Rua seems like on of the strongest companions stats wise, so that might be a good choice
Hiravias as a damage caster with CC, because no one else beside the Main Character can fill this role

the last two i would kinda rate as unfit for my party.
Grieving Mother seems unfit because her lack of might would make her more of a CC kind of Cipher which seems redundant because Aloth already is doing this and someone in the Party has to dish out the DMG

Sagani seems the most uninteresting to me story wise, and also her stats does not seem to impressive to deal a good amount of dmg

because no of the Companions is really optimized to dish out really good damage, i am leaning towards a more DPS oriented Main Character.

would be nice if you could help me with suggestions :)

[ColorsFade]

Originally posted by fade:

the last two i would kinda rate as unfit for my party.
Grieving Mother seems unfit because her lack of might would make her more of a CC kind of Cipher which seems redundant because Aloth already is doing this and someone in the Party has to dish out the DMG

Cipher isn't redundant. Cipher is a superior CC to Wizard. It's my favorite class in the game.

That is why I make my main a Cipher. It's my favorite class and I can customize one far better than Grieving Mother.

Aloth is better served as a damage dealing wizard (and later as a melee wiz; he can self-buff and whack the heck out of stuff with summoned staffs).

For an all-companion party, my opinion:

1) Player Character: Melee Cipher (see my Steam guide).
2) Eder - best tank in the game. Don't neglect offensive abilities. He needs to do damage to sustain hate.
3) Aloth - Wizard. Great AoE damage dealer, and fantastic near end-game as a melee character as well. Just a great battlemage.
4) Pellegina - 2nd font-line tank. She'll end up with better defense than Eder. These are your two front-line fighters for choke-points.
5) Durance - I would never play without a priest. Their buffs are too strong. They make enemies weaker and party strong with all sorts of great AoE. Forget the healing; it's nice in a pinch. But the buffs are where it's at. And since you're playing on POTD, with that huge +15 attack advantage the enemies get, you need the buffs to catch up and bring the enemies back down to your level.
6) Kana - Ranged weapons, buff songs, and summoner (take all the summoning).

If you want your Player Character to NOT be a Cipher, my other choice (which I've done) is make it an offensive Paladin. Keep Pellegina as the defensive paladin and front-line fighter. Make your offensive paladin a Kind Wayfarer + Strange Mercy. Use Greatswords and Pikes (reach weapon). Take the offensive Aura (and have Pellegina take the defensive Aura). Your PC Paladin will make a lot of kills, so Strange Mercy will fire off a LOT. But if you do this, I'd strongly consider swapping out Kana and taking Grieving Mother, because personally I never want to be without a Cipher's ability to Charm/Dominate. It's just too strong.

So such a party would look like:

1) You (Offensive Paladin)
2) Eder
3) Pellegina
4) Durance
5) Aloth
6) Grieving Mother

Ultimately you have to figure out which combination fits your style the best.

[Armanz]

The answer is always barbarian.

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Originally posted by ColorsFade:

So such a party would look like:

1) You (Offensive Paladin)/(Melee Cipher)
2) Eder
3) Pellegina
4) Durance
5) Aloth
6) Grieving Mother/Kana Rua


Ultimately you have to figure out which combination fits your style the best.

the only thing here i would be afraid of is the realtiv low dmg out put,

1) noone of those is dedicated to dish out dmg, more like hybrids that can buff/dmg or debuff/dmg
2) would probally work as a dmg figher if speckt mostly into damage skills
3) no dmg, just tanks
4) has his hands full with buffing
5) is the only reall character in the group with mass AoE spells but has only 12 might/per which seems really meh to me
6.1) Grieving Mother has the same problem as Aloth, dmg potential seems limited
6.2) Has good dmg stats, but dunno if an Chanter can really dish out the dmg, especially if he skills into summons

maybe i have it all wrong and DMG is not as much needed with this kind of setup, especially AoE DMG, because there is a lot of CC and meaty bodies to sustain in a fight

but thanks for the recommendation anyway :)

[Armanz]

The thing is that none of the NPCs is that dedicated to dishing out damage. Apart from your list there's only 2 NPCs left: Segani (Rangers don't deal much damage either) and Hiravias who actually has great damage potential with his AoE damage spells. So the setup is really fine, but any setup with NPCs really is.

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

Originally posted by ColorsFade:

Ultimately you have to figure out which combination fits your style the best.

+1

Originally posted by fade:

maybe i have it all wrong and DMG is not as much needed with this kind of setup, especially AoE DMG, because there is a lot of CC and meaty bodies to sustain in a fight

I wouldn't call it "all wrong", but you are clearly too focused on min-maxing attributes, such as MIG, of individual companions rather than building a team that performs well. One cannot discuss individual companions without talking about playstyle and combat tactics. For instance, if you played it like a solo run, you would not need a party of six.

Eder is quite a beast as an offensive Ruffian with Extra Knock-down and Charge. And once you build him with mostly offensive abilities/talents and equipment, due to PotD mode, you absolutely want to add a second capable warrior. Pallegina is versatile enough even for St.Ydwen's Redeemer or Abydon's Hammer or a warhammer for the extra accuracy bonus.

I would replace the companions regularly depending on types of enemies/dungeons and also include Zahua. For the player character, a quick monk would be a fine choice. Or a chanter, who doesn't duplicate Kana.

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hmm i guess i going with somethign like this then:


1) Godlike Cipher for flavor dialog; as some CC/DMG hybrid
2)Edar as a single target DPS oriented warrior and off tank
3)Pallegina as my main Tank
4)Durance as my Buffer/Healer
5)Aloth as a mainly debuffing AoE kind of mage with hopefully not so bad damage overall
6) open slot for Kana/ Hiravias. Depending whether i want more buffs and meatshields or overall DMG and CC


thanks for all the answers

[ColorsFade]

Originally posted by fade:

the only thing here i would be afraid of is the realtiv low dmg out put,

You totally miss the point of the Cipher or the offensive Paladin then.

With the Cipher charming/dominating, that's where a good chunk of damage output comes from. Your enemies kill your enemies. It's quite lovely in fact.

With the Paladin, as an offensive setup, he/she is ALL damage dealer. It's not a defensive tank at all.

Pellegina is the defense, along with Eder. But the offensive Palaind, your PC, is all offense. Offensive Aura, offensive talents, all offense. When I ran through the game with this character it was my highest damage dealer.

5) is the only reall character in the group with mass AoE spells but has only 12 might/per which seems really meh to me

Which is why you give him Might gear and buff him. Again, Priest Spells FTW.

6.1) Grieving Mother has the same problem as Aloth, dmg potential seems limited

Charm/Dominate. She'll still do damage. Played correctly, she'll probably be #1 on your team, if not top three.

Grieving Mother's real problem is she's specced to be a dual-wielding melee Cipher, which is the hardest to play. Given choke points and two tanks up front, it's better to play a melee Cipher with reach weapons, or 100% with ranged weapons. I'd probably respec Grieving Mother to use a Blunderbuss, TBH. But either way, you're underestimating the damage output.

6.2) Has good dmg stats, but dunno if an Chanter can really dish out the dmg, especially if he skills into summons

You're thinking is way too linear for this game.

maybe i have it all wrong and DMG is not as much needed with this kind of setup, especially AoE DMG, because there is a lot of CC and meaty bodies to sustain in a fight
but thanks for the recommendation anyway :)

Yes.

CC isn't just Everquest mez in this game; Charm and Dominate (hence Cipher) are a big deal.

Charm allows your enemies to attack. So now they're on your team for X seconds (hence why you want high INT for your Cipher, so the Charm/Dominate sticks longer). Dominate is even better because now the Charmed creature can use all it's specials - talents and abilities.

There is simply nothing more powerful than charming or dominating your enemies and letting them do a big chunk of the work.

Big hint here: there's an encounter later in the game, which I think is the most challenging and fun encounter in the whole game. It involves 2 dragons. Tiny game tip here: one dragon can be Charmed, and the other can be Dominated... Approach it with the mindset of "I need 6 damage dealers in my party" and it's going to be a really difficult encounter. Approach it with a Cipher... and it's manageable.