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| Pillars of Eternity 2 Online Walkthrough by David Milward |
ALOTH, M ELF BATTLEMAGE (FIGHTER / WIZARD)
Stats
Abilities
1st Level - Crippling Strike: A starting ability by default.
Minoletta's Minor Missiles: A starting ability by default.
2nd Level - Disciplined Barrage: The +5 bonus to Perception is certainly welcome. The intention is to take Disciplined Strikes as an upgrade. I won't take Tactical Barrage, as I'll be getting an Intellect bonus through another ability instead.
3rd Level - Wizard's Double: Provides a +40 bonus to Deflection that lasts for as long as the caster can avoid a Hit against any of his Defenses. Grazes won't count. Getting the most mileage out of this spell therefore requires maximizing ALL of the caster's Defenses to the greatest extent possible, AND obtaining as many abilities and items as possible that will provide multiple chances to reduce Hits to Grazes. That's the basis for this particular Battlemage build. I take it on level-up because it won't be available in two of the Grimoires that I have in mind for him.
4th Level - Weapon & Shield Style: It provides a +6 bonus to Deflection when using a Shield, and adds the Deflection bonus of the Shield to the Reflexes Defense. It's a natural choice for any shield-tank build. A passive ability that grants a 15% chance of converting Hits to Critical Hits.
Infused with Vital Essence: It instantly adds +5 to both Constitution and Intellect, and has a quite significant duration. It's pretty much the first spell almost every Wizard has to cast first, as the Intellect bonus will increase the duration of any buff thereafter, as well as the duration of any other spell. The bonus to Constitution will be welcome for any Wizard multi-class that includes martial abilities as well. He takes it on level-up as it won't be available through any of the Grimoires that he'll be using.
5th Level - Merciless Gaze: It provides a 15% chance of converting Hits to Critical Hits. It will eventually help realize the power of the Frostfall, whose powers often depend on landing Critical Hits through either weapons or spells. He takes it on level-up as it won't be available through any of the Grimoires that I have in mind for him.
6th Level - Determination: It provides +20 to all Defenses against any attack that inflicts a Constitution, Intellect or Perception Affliction. And Aloth's build is predicated on maximizing his Defenses to the greatest extent possible.
7th Level - Disciplined Strikes: It upgrades Disciplined Strikes so that it now provides the Intuitive (+5 Perception, 25% chance to convert Hits to Critical Hits). I didn't get Tactical Barrage because Infuse with Vital Essence will provide an Intellect bonus. The chance to convert Hits to Critical Hits will eventually increase the ability to trigger a specific power from his weapon of choice, the Frostfall Mace.
Snake's Reflexes: I now start to take passives that help maximize all of his Defenses to the greatest extent possible. I start with the one that helps him avoid Powder Burns from Mirke's Blunderbuss.
8th Level - Bear's Fortitude: Add +10 to Fortitude, to continue with maximizing his Defenses to the greatest extent possible.
9th Level - Bull's Will: And now he rounds out the maximizing of his Defenses through passives.
10th Level - Vigorous Defense: It improves all of his Defenses by +20. It will be one of a multitude of buffs that he starts each fight with, and which will help him get the most out of Wizard's Double and Ironskin. It can also be extended by a Wall of Draining when he gets that.
Pull of Eora: It creates an orb that both slows down the Stride of any creature within its radius, and will also Pull any creature within its radius towards it. It's a crowd-control spell that he can use in addition to Grease. I get it on level-up because it won't be available through any of the Grimoires that I have him use.
11th Level - Weapon Specialization: It will help him score some extra damage with his Mace.
12th Level - Rapid Recovery: It increases the Health regeneration of Constant Recovery from +5 Health every 3 sec to +7 Health every 3 sec.
13th Level - Superior Deflection: increases his Deflection by +4. It's the logical choice for a Battlemage tank build that wants to maximize its Defenses.
Rapid Casting: Several of his spells, especially his offensive ones, will have significant casting times so this passive will definitely be a welcome addition.
14th Level - Armored Grace: The -25% reduction of Recovery Time will not only help him attack faster in Melee combat, it will also him Recover from casting spells faster. And some Wizard spells do have significant Recovery Times.
15th Level - Wall of Force (interim): It inflicts a small amount of Raw Damage and Hobbled (-5 Dexterity, reduced Stride) on any enemies that step on or through it. And it can be planted in the thick of combat since it only affects enemies. The Raw Damage and Hobbled are not in themselves big deals. But each tick of Damage from the Wall has the potential to trigger the Encroaching Frost power from the Frostfall Mace. Also, the spell will become available when Aloth finds Llengrath's Tome of Preservation. That means that he can instead take a useful passive during his 15th level-up when he retrains after finding the Grimoire. That passive being ...
Farcasting: It can be useful to increase the casting range of some of his spells, like Call to Slumber and Gaze of the Adragan.
16th Level - Refreshing Defense: Any Damage, even from Grazes, will add duration to his Vigorous Defense.
Spell Resistance: It provides a 10% chance of avoiding the effects of any spell outright.
17th Level - Tough: More Health is always good for a Battlemage who spends time on the front-lines.
18th Level - Uncanny Luck: It provides a 5% chance to convert a Hit to a Critical Hit, which will help a little with using Frostfall. It also provides a 5% chance to avoid any attack outright, which provides yet another roll to maintain his combat buffs.
19th Level - Reaping the Whirlwind: It adds +1 Discipline. His selections at this point emphasize martial and weapon abilities, as between his Grimoires he has the 7th-tier spells that I want for him, including Wall of Draining.
Improved Critical: It adds +10% Damage to Critical Hits.
20th Level - Weapon Mastery: It adds another +5% Damage with weapons that he is proficient with.
Inventory
Nerian's Ward: Obtained from the tree at #12 in Motare O Kozi. It provides Damage Reduction against Weapon Damage that increases as the wielder has less and less Health. The real point is that I spend an Adra Ban to add the Father's Masterwork enchantment to it. That means a Critical Hit has a 15% chance of being reduced to a Hit, a Hit has a 15% chance of being reduced to a Graze, and a Graze has a 15% chance of being reduced to a Miss. Combine that with the 30% chance to avoid any Attack provided by the Medium Shield modal, and the shield itself really helps to get the most mileage out of spell defenses like Wizard's Double and Ironskin.
Llengrath's Tome of Preservation: A reward from Llengrath for completing the Root and Branch Quest in her favour. This is Aloth's Grimoire of choice when he needs to prepare himself for Melee combat. Ironskin provides +5 Armor up until he gets Hit 10 times. And that can be avoided with high Defenses and chances to reduce Hits to Grazes. Llengrath's Displaced Image provides +10 Deflection, +20 Reflexes, and a 30% chance to reduce any Hit to a Graze. Wall of Force provides an offensive option. Wall of Draining provides the buff extender.
Jernaugh's Careful Calamities: Purchased from The Dark Cupboard #4, the entrance to which is at #3 in Periki's Overlook. It will be Aloth's Grimoire of choice when I want to conduct battles according to a crowd-control and damaging spell strategy. The Slicken spell is the primary method of crowd-control. Malignant Cloud and Ninagauth's Freezing Pillar provide the offensive spells for once crowd-control is set up. Kalakoth's Minor Blights provides an option for a ranged main-hand weapon. Wall of Draining provides the buff extender.
Grimoire of Vaporous Wizardry: Stolen from a bookcase at #4 in The Dark Cupboard. Its key benefit is that it provides a Wizard with an extra spell casting for each spell level. The drawback is that taking any Damage at all, even from Attacks that would otherwise not Interrupt, will Interrupt a spellcasting. Aloth will at some point find a Helm that neutralizes that concern, and that's when he'll transfer the Grimoire to one of his quick-item slots for use. The spells that he does take during level-ups tend to be the ones that he may want to cast a third time during battle, but are not in the Grimoire itself.
Rekvu's Fractured Casque: Purchased from Imuani at #9 in Delver's Row. It provides complete immunity to getting Interrupted as long as the wearer has at least one Injury. And I had Aloth trip a trap in the first level of the Engwithan Waystation to give himself Wrenched Knee, which gives him a barely noticeable penalty to Stride and nothing else. The helmet therefore lets him call on the extra spell castings provided by the Grimoire of Vaporous Wizardry when he needs it, while immune to its drawback of any Damage at all causing an Interrupt on the user.
Wise Teeth Necklace: Obtained from the Old Druid in the Upoho Woods at #4 on Maje Island. The +1 bonus to Intellect is welcome for any Wizard. The +1 bonus to History will help raise his defenses in conjunction with The Giftbearer's Cloth. The +1 bonus to Insight is sugar on top.
The Giftbearer's Cloth: In a cave at #3 in the Cave of Threshing. Aloth wears it for the rest of the game. It adds an weapon slot and quick-item slot for the wearer's inventory screen. Recall that Aloth's build is based on making Wizard's Double and Ironskin last as long as possible. That includes maximizing all Defenses and chances of reducing Hits to Grazes, as Grazes will not eliminate Wizard's Double or wear down Ironskin. But the concept requires a recognition that attacks that roll a Hit against Fortitude and Reflexes and Will can bring the defenses down. This cloak is perfect for the build as it adds +5 to all Defenses, and scales to add +1 to all Defenses besides Deflection for every point in the History skill of the wearer.
Pale Hide: Purchased from Ramasa at #8 in the Radiant Court in Dunnage. The key point will be the Ghost in White enchantment, which will mean a 20% chance of reducing a Hit to a Graze. And that in turn will maximize the duration of Wizard's Double and Ironskin.
Swordsman's Bracers: Purchased from Henric at #5 in Port Maje. It provides a 10% chance to reduce Hits to Grazes from Melee Weapons, which ties in with an overarching theme of his build.
Entonia Signet Ring: Found in a hidden niche at #9 in the Court of Fort Deadlight. It raises all Defenses by +2 for each enemy Engaging the wearer, which stacks up to 5 times. It's all about maximizing Defenses and reducing Hits to Grazes as much as possible.
Ring of Minor Protection: Found in the Boar pen at #4 in the Undercroft. The obvious point is to maximize his Defenses and thus maximize the duration of buffs like Wizard's Double and Ironskin.
Spellkeeper: Purchased from The Dark Cupboard #4, the entrance to which is at #3 in Periki's Overlook. It can conjure Scrolls once per Rest. But the real point is that it provides +5 to all Defenses against spells.
Boots of Stability: Obtained from the Plagued Ship at #22 on the world map, while sailing the southeast Deadfire. The +5 bonus to Fortitude falls in with the theme of maximizing his Defenses to the greatest extent possible. There is the drawback of +25% duration of Dexterity Afflictions, but I have ways to manage that.
Possible Improvements: An interesting possibility is for the Fighter half of Battlemage to be a Tactician. A Tactician recovers 1 Discipline whenever his attacks Interrupt an activated ability of an enemy. The other feature is Brilliant Tactician. It provides the Brilliant Inspiration (+5 Intellect, +1 Power Levels, Recover one class resource every 6 sec) so long as all enemies are Flanked, and no one in the party is Flanked. So long as those conditions are set up, Brilliant Tactician will not only recoup Discipline but also spells. This is applicable for any Fighter / spellcaster build as well. It's a question of how to set that up. A Cipher casting Phantom Foes on all of the enemies can satisfy one of the conditions. The other would require three front-liner characters to each be equipped with one of the Gipon Prudensco armor with the Paranoid enchantment added, the Kapana Taga club with the All Comers enchantment added, and the Squid's Grasp rapier. A Barbarian with One Stands Alone can help too. Then it's a matter of keeping your other two characters (likely spellcasters) out of harm's way and avoiding having them Flanked whenever possible. Satisfy those conditions, and suddenly you're talking. But setting that up requires a certain kind of meta-gaming that conflicted with other plans I had for either the good party or the evil party.
Alternatives: There is a conventional Battlemage build that foregoes tanking and instead emphasizes maximized damage through the use of the spell called Citzal's Spirit Lance. It provides a weapon that hits its initial target with Piercing Damage, and then provides an explosive burst that damages enemies only in an area-of-effect. And abilities like the Mob Stance modal and Clear Out can mean multiple explosions of damage from the Spirit Lance. It's certainly a valid build. The reason I went with a Battlemage tank build is that a more resilient build was more in line with the good party's theme of always being able to regenerate itself from relatively minimal damage taken over the course of a battle.
I tend to think a single-class Wizard is better for a regular resting playthrough than a no rest playthrough. They have to keep casting spells to stay effective, and it's easy to run out during Path of the Damned. A single-class Wizard in particular can take advantage of the maximized Wit of Death's Herald per rest power that provides the Brilliant Inspiration for a significant amount of time, which of course can be augmented further with the Wall of Draining spell.
