team composition

[F.O.A.M]

so reading the patch notes makes me want to play the game again after completing it once, and i want to know if i can play the game without having calibretto and gully. the game seems really hard towards the end when not having a tank would mean that the enemy 1shots your dmg dealers, and i just stayed with cali cuz i think he was the best healer out of 3 characters that can heal

[Ygolnac]

In a normal game you can have an healer and other 2 members of your choice, but without Calibretto/Gully/Garrison formation prepare to die now and then.

Other player report that in a NG+ Calibretto/Gully/Garrsion is the only viable choice toward the end. Didn't try myself yet, but they just made NG+ suyperdifficult with latest parch it seems.

[F.O.A.M]

i played with cali gully and monika my first normal run and i only got wiped once the entire game

[Ygolnac]

Originally posted by moffatt:

i played with cali gully and monika my first normal run and i only got wiped once the entire game

You still had best healear and only viable tank. Just dropped best DD for second best. Swap Gully from that party and you cannot control where dmg goes and the wipes would come more frequent.

[4thQueen]

I'm running Gully/Alumon/Garrison ever since Alumon was available. It's okay, but I am certain that 'Bretto is more effective than Alumon, but I just really value the ability to remove debuffs. Running Legendary dungeons no problems.

[Ygolnac]

I'm running Bretto/Alumon/Monika and the lack of a tank really kicks in. My 2 cents would be that another character is made a reliable tank, becouse now you are stuck with Gully. I'm thinking at Monika becouse she is outshined in DPS by Garrison and in tanking by Gully.

Originally posted by 4thQueen:

I'm running Gully/Alumon/Garrison ever since Alumon was available. It's okay, but I am certain that 'Bretto is more effective than Alumon, but I just really value the ability to remove debuffs. Running Legendary dungeons no problems.

Bretto 1st burst removes debuffs to entire party and heals good. Also beeing lvl 1 burst it becomes available pretty fast at higher levels. Alumon is amazing, even tough he is a little bit slower in healing becouse he requires more mana, he can squish serious dmg meanwhile. He could be a good "paladin", or self healing tank, but he requires some taunt.

[4thQueen]

I misspoke, I meant removing buffs from the enemy. Alumon can remove debuffs, though not as reliably. I've been leaning on group flasks for that, I must admit. The mana situation I never had issue with.

[Ygolnac]

I'm leveling every character to try different party composition and I have to say that after perk points start to go high Monika is more manageble and different party composition seems a bit better.

Now with Bretto/Alumond/Monika I have 2 healers that can also revive. So i'm not getting wiped anymore. I stockpiled Monika with dodge equipment and enchantments and her tank capability are getting better, also becouse I have found ways to get overcharge mana fast I'm finding routines that seem to work more reliably. Also every time Monika dodges she can use a counterattack that grants a second action where you can get another bit of overcharge mana.

Neklolan can regenerate mana so you can go wilder using blue mana too, and Bretto can give overcharge x turn.

Probably the times where you really need Gully is midgame before Monika gets stronger and lategame where you need to tank 5-10k attacks behind barriers.

The starting party is more straightforward, to move from that you need to dig game mechanics and can't go casual with gear, but it's fun indeed.

Also to be fair I'm not using potions a lot. I need to start brewing more seriously.

Also leveling all 6 members for sure will make the game longer. Whne I'll reach NG+ I'll see, but I want to get there with a ton of perks for every character.

[Tymgosi]

Alumon is amazing, even tough he is a little bit slower in healing becouse he requires more mana, he can squish serious dmg meanwhile. He could be a good "paladin", or self healing tank, but he requires some taunt.

Actually, Alumon DOES have a taunt, if you spec into it. Improved Devastation causes a taunt while casting. If you went with his counterdamage perk (it's one of the 10s, but I don't have the game open atm), you'd get some extra DPS from it. But I'd probably still make sure to pop a shield on him, or have Bretto or Knolan to back up his heals.

[Illuminary]

In normal I played with two parties, Gully/Bretto/Garrison, and Knolan/Alumon/Monika...Bretto's advantage is the super quick cleanse otherwise if you stay at level and gear appropriate you absolutely don't need Gully/Bretto/Garrison as Alumon can heal through afflictions, or you can use cleanse bomb, or mend wounds II from Knolan to remove debuffs. In normal you don't need a tank either, as long as you're level appropriate and have decent gear you will progress fine.

I like Knolan/Alumon combo for strong heals and strong dps depending on perk build. Can kill quick or heal quick as needed. Also Knolan's arcane missle II to remove enemy buffs.

Will find out who's best to use in NG+ shortly.

[Soulmancer]

I use Knolan, Alumon and Monica currently... The team has very good synergy together playing well off one another + 2 characters with the ability to heal. The party formation also makes me happy with a gunner and mage in the back and the shield bearer in the front.

I considered dropping Alumon for Gully for more tanking capabilities but Knolan's healing spells are pretty weak on their own... Granted Gully can tank much better and has better shielding abilities then Alumon... Though the party formation with Monica in the front and Gully in the back looks silly to me.

[Liskarm]

Originally posted by Soulmancer:

I use Knolan, Alumon and Monica currently... The team has very good synergy together playing well off one another + 2 characters with the ability to heal. The party formation also makes me happy with a gunner and mage in the back and the shield bearer in the front.

I considered dropping Alumon for Gully for more tanking capabilities but Knolan's healing spells are pretty weak on their own... Granted Gully can tank much better and has better shielding abilities then Alumon... Though the party formation with Monica in the front and Gully in the back looks silly to me.

I've also used Knolan\Alumon\Monica but failed miserably in Caldeus boss fight, and i was lvl 20.
But when replased Knolan with Gully, that fight(actually every boss fight) became a joke.

[Soulmancer]

I think Knolan must be pretty weak early on.. His healing spells are weak compared to Alumon n Bretto and he doesn't seem to inflict that much damage... but he is getting better.

[Ygolnac]

Originally posted by Soulmancer:

I think Knolan must be pretty weak early on.. His healing spells are weak compared to Alumon n Bretto and he doesn't seem to inflict that much damage... but he is getting better.

He has the invaluable ability to regenerate mana, so if you want to go crazy and use special abilities with blue mana you don't need potions. Since that's apply to all party members you can have crazy combos from turn one.

Mine is sitting at lvl 15 atm so i don't know it's full potential yet.

He seems to have good synergies with Alumon, both taking advantages by debuffing enemy magic def.

BTW before last patch you encoutered him at lvl 9, but now he is lvl 11 when you first meet him, so he already has second burst that can regenerate mana, meaning that devs might have had similar thoughts than you.

[Hoya Destroyer]

I was thinking about doing a new game + with Monika (I used her on my first play through, but she looks so good, that I cant drop her) Knolan and Garrison. Is this doable? Can Knolan heal well enough? I suspect not.
I had Bretto and Alumon on my first team and so I dont really want to use either again, because I want to try new characters.

[Soulmancer]

Knolan seems to be the weakest of the 3 healers, better as a supplementary/secondary healer when needed. His heals cast quick but they aren't nearly strong enough to keep up with damage. Finding this to be the case with his shields as well... This is at level 21 with a level 20 staff. If he is you're only healer that's all he is likely going to be doing.