While it’s supposed to just be a fun weekend where we play and just see what happens, i still somewhat want to be a little prepared for what’s coming.
So i guess my point is. Any easy builds the 4 of us could go for? It would be great if they are somewhat different in skills and also gear so it’s easier to share loot, although it’s not really a requirement.
I’m not sure how a party setup would work, if people even run these sorts of things. But i suppose a main tank, off tank, and two DPS characters are the ones to go for? Or should we just do our thing and team up and not think to much about roles?
FYI, there is a bug with friendly auras that is not HC-friendly to say the least. I don’t know if it occurs on LAN though. But it’d probably be prudent not to use any friendly auras just in case until this bug is fully fixed.
In terms of efficient collaboration you could have one guy cast maxed CoF, one guy cast maxed OFF, etc. instead of having multiple guys casting the same debuff.
Oh damn that really sucks. Is that for all the friendly auras or just persistent buffs? Funny how the bug is so old but still not fixed.
I’m not familiar with the terms you use but from what i understand you mean we should max different skills/buffs to benefit the team instead of people using the same ones. Good and logical thinking.
If you’re looking for build options, you might try a single-target damage-dealer(such as a nightblade or cadence soldier), an area damage dealer(arcanist or ranged demolitionist), a healer(in as much capacity as possible)/buffer/debuffer(occultist/demolitionist/shaman) and tank(soldier/shaman).
Your single-target damager needs high burst. Things with minor AOE is usable(such as Callidor’s), but standard attacks can dish out a ton with Nightblade WPS or Soldier Cadence. Area damage dealer should be at your frontline, killing everything in sight. A Trozan’s Arcanist, bomber/grenadier Demolitionists, Phantasmal Blades Nightblade, Dreeg’s Evil Eye Occultist, or ranged weapon Firestrike Demolitionist can all do these things, there are lots of combos.
Depending on the focus, Occultist, Shaman, and Demolitionist can serve healing/buffing/debuffing. Occultist is practically a must between Blood of Dreeg and Curse of Frailty w/ Vulnerability(some call it the strongest skill in the game), and Shaman has Wendigo Totem and Mogdrogen’s Pact w/ Heart of the Wild. Demolitionist of course has tons of CC to throw out, between Stun Jacks, Blackwater Cocktail, Flashbang, etc.
Your tank will pretty much require the soldier class, with a sword-and-board. When you go in to fight a boss, they should be at the front, drawing aggro first and using skill such as War Cry and any item/component abilities that “Generate additional threat”. They can then debuff the enemy with Markovian’s Advantage and Zolhan’s Technique, while supporting the team with Field Command and Squad Tactics. Secondary class is pretty flexible, but the ultimate tank is a Warder, Soldier + Shaman. Wendigo Totem is the best non-devotion heal in the game, but other classes have their benefits too.
My friend and I got this to play MP, and decided to go HC despite not knowing anything about it, so I went with Lazy Pokemon conjurer, since it was the most pet-heavy build I could find. Early on the summons flat out smash everything, and even later they offer pretty reasonable damage and protection for his druid who rolls in with sky shards all over the place.
The build is obviously not as… interactive as most. I think it would be pretty boring on softcore. But on HC, once you’re into act 2 and 3, even on normal, hiding behind your pets and pumping physique doesn’t mean you can faceroll through. Plus, like Omni said, shaman with Mogdrogen’s Pact and Heart of the Wild will ramp your party survivability super-high, unless you all keep running in separate directions.
If you’re all starting fresh with no stashes to lean on, somebody going this route wouldn’t be a bad idea.
I wouldn’t say avoid auras altogether. I think that bug was specifically with piercing aura. The truly annoying bug with auras was that they would drop off and not function for allies when playing with 3+ players. I played with two friends and we had about 4 auras going between the three of us and it would be very hit or miss which would be in effect or not. I do remember that auras for the player generating them never fell off that player though, so I would still get them to at least benefit yourself.
I briefly considered pet builds, and I think that they just aren’t team players(with actual players, not their loyal minions). They can do pretty much everything. Pets can do serious single-target damage, and when you have a ton of them they just eliminate every enemy you can see, then you probably have enough points to invest in debuffs against enemies and/or buffs for yourself and pets. Then your pets will be engaging for you, somewhat removing the need for a tank as long as you can resummon them.
For two players like you’re doing, pet build is fine as the petmaster can handle most situations while the other person can focus on damage and whatnot. But for a full 4-man, the people who aren’t doing a pet build might feel left out.
GD on LAN is great.