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| Pillars of Eternity 2 Online Walkthrough by David Milward |
MIRKE, F ORLAN SHADOWDANCER (MONK / STREETFIGHTER)
Stats
Abilities
1st Level - Knockdown: A starting ability by default.
Force of Anguish: A starting ability by default.
2nd Level - Escape: Sometimes she'll have multiple enemies try to pressure her in Melee combat, so this provides a nifty option to both break any Engagement and instantly teleport to a safer location from which she can resume her gunfire.
3rd Level - Swift Strikes: Adds +5 Dexterity and +15% Action Speed for 10 sec. I also keep this one active when I have enough Mortification, as I want to keep my Streetfighter bonuses active by firing quickly enough to keep my self-inflicted Distracted from elapsing.
4th Level - Two Weapon Style: It reduces her Recovery Time by -15% when she uses two weapons, and therefore helps her fire her guns as quickly and as often as possible.
Dirty Fighting: It provides a 15% chance of converting Hits to Critical Hits. Mirke's build will depend in large part on scoring at least one Critical Hit with her explosive gun attacks, so this passive is definitely a must.
5th Level - Blinding Strike: The explosive shot of her Blunderbuss will apply Blindness (-5 Perception, +50% Recovery Time, Flanked, -10 Accuracy, distance of Ranged Attacks halved, immune to Gaze attacks and cannot use Gaze attacks), which certainly commends itself. It will also be upgraded to Confounding Blindness.
6th Level - Dance of Death: It helps build up her Accuracy by +3 every few seconds to a maximum of 12, which will help her land her Ranged Critical Hits that will become crucial to her build. It will also passively replenish a Wound every few seconds. Its benefits stop should she get Hit. But that is often avoided by a ranged character who usually stays out of the thick of it. And that will become even more so once she upgrades it with Enduring Dance.
7th Level - Lightning Strikes: It upgrades Swift Strikes so that her attacks have a +15% bonus Shocking Damage. It's the logical choice for a ranged Monk, as the extra attacks from Swift Flurry only trigger from Melee Critical Hits.
... Confounding Blindness: It upgrades Blinding Strike so that it applies a penalty to Deflection to its target, and the penalty stacks with each successive target that has been Blinded. I'll often use it as a primer, to set up her targets for subsequent uses of Stunning Surge. The stacking Deflection penalty makes Critical Hits through Stunning Surge more likely, and therefore makes the recovery of Mortification more likely as well.
8th - Stunning Blow: It spends two Mortification to inflict Stunned (-5 Might, cannot Engage, -4 Penetration, cannot take any actions) on its target on a Full Attack. By itself it is not a big deal yet. The ultimate point is to upgrade it to Stunning Surge, when it does indeed become a linchpin for Mirke.
9th Level - Snake's Reflexes: The +10 to Reflexes will augment her use of Adept Evasion.
10th Level - Duality of Mortal Presence: She'll use the modal that will increase Intellect by +10. That will increase the area-of-effect of her Blunderbuss blasts, as well as the duration of Stun when she uses Stunning Surge in the future.
Adept Evasion: Any attacks that target Reflexes and Graze will get reduced to a Miss. This passive is especially useful for a ranged Rogue, against whom most possible attacks do target Reflexes.
11th Level - Enduring Dance: Her Dance of Death will now only expire after she gets hit three times. Combine that with her keeping her distance, and it usually ensures a steady and unending supply of Wounds.
12th Level - Thundering Blows: It provides the Tenacious (+5 Might, +2 Penetration) Inspiration for 12 seconds. I activate it along with Lightning Strikes only once I reach 10 Wounds, with the point of maximizing the duration of both buffs. I then renew both Buffs after about 20 seconds, and when ideally Enduring Dance brings her Wounds back up to 10.
13th Level - Stunning Surge: It recoups Mortification spent on Stunning Blow if Stunning Blow lands a Critical Hit. The use of Stunning Blow with the hope of recouping it through Stunning Surge would be dubious if you were relying on using it only against a single target. It becomes much more viable when using it in conjunction with the area-of-effect attacks of Mirke's Blunderbuss, whether it's Hand Mortar during the early parts of the game or even better Fire in the Hole once she gets it. The Blunderbuss' area-of-effect attacks will apply Stunning Surge to all of its targets, and it only needs to land a Critical Hit on one of them to recoup the Mortification. That's why her build also emphasizes maximizing the chances of her landing Critical Hits. She'll become a character who can damage and Stun-lock entire crowds of enemies round after round after round.
Deep Wounds: It will apply Raw Damage over time to all the multiple victims of her attacks.
14th Level - Shadow Step: It's similar to Escape, but it also provides the option of spending 3 Guile instead of 1 for Escape so that the next weapon Attack will also cause Paralysis.
15th Level - Tough: More Health is always good for any character.
16th Level - Improved Critical: It's a natural choice for a Monk / Thief build that wants to maximize the probabilities of Critical Hits to the greatest extent possible.
Slippery Mind: She'll enjoy complete immunity to any Intellect, Perception or Resolve Afflictions should she go below 50% Health.
17th Level - Spell Resistance: It provides a 10% chance to avoid the effects of any spell outright.
18th Level - Crucible of Suffering: It provides +20 to all Defenses for at least 20 seconds should a hostile effect, like Distracted for example, expire.
19th Level - The Dichotomous Souls: It summons two replicas of herself, one made of fire and the other of ice. They inherit her armor and accessories, but use unarmed attacks with one scoring bonus Burning Damage and the other scoring bonus Freezing Damage. There are some fights where bringing lots of summons can be helpful. And there are some fights where I want to summon the Dichotomous Souls non-stop, with Enduring Dance passively replenishing the needed Wounds.
Deathblows: It adds 50% Damage to her weapon attacks to targets that have two or more Afflictions. She'll get herself partway when fighting mobs by using Stunning Surge with Fire in the Hole. Shadow Step and Confounding Blind can add the second Affliction if she needs to force the point. Other party members also have methods of forcing Afflictions on enemies. Paralysis from Alliria casting Ninagauth's Shadowflame or Hobbled from Aloth casting a Wall of Force would be but two examples.
20th Level - Uncanny Luck: It provides a 5% chance to avoid any attack. The real point is that the 5% chance to convert a Hit to a Critical Hit improves the chances of replenishing Mortification when she uses Stunning Surge.
Inventory
Fire in the Hole: Given by Remaro in Sayuka as a reward for completing the Quest called A Sorcerer and a Gentleman. The idea behind her using a Blunderbuss is that she fires it with the Powder Burns modal active. That means she accepts the Distracted (-5 Perception, Flanked) Affliction on herself. But the self-inflicted Flanked will activate and sustain her Streetfighter bonuses, and avoid the possible penalties. Fire in the Hole has an additional benefit in that it has an explosive shot that deals Piercing or Slashing Damage in a 1.5m area of effect from the initial target. And that area of effect can be expanded through Intellect. Furthermore, I enchant it with Chain Shot. That means its Attack will bounce once, and that means two Explosive Shots with each Attack. And two Explosive Shots with each Attack means Stunning Surge is that much more likely to recoup the Mortification spent on it. And that in turns means I can pretty much spam Stunning Surge at will in mob fights. Chain Shot does impose a +15% Recovery Time penalty. But the Streetfighter's Heating Up, the Monk's Lightning Strikes, and the stacking Attack Speed with each hit from Scordeo's Trophy will more than make up for it.
Eccea's Arcane Blaster: Looted from Eccea at #2 in the Collapsed Coal Mine. Scordeo's Trophy and Fire in the Hole work together as a primary gun set against mobs of enemies. I design my secondary gun set for use against single particularly powerful enemies. This Pistol's projectiles score Raw Damage, which already makes it ideal for use against powerful single targets. I also activate Imbued Ammunition, which adds bonus Corrosive or Crushing Damage, but with a Recovery Time Penalty. I gladly spend two Adra Ban to add Elemental Shot: Force. The Pistol now has a 20% chance to Knockback and Interrupt its target, which will come in handy against powerful bosses. I don't bother with Fractured Bullet, which can result in multiple attacks against multiple enemies, as I use this gun for powerful single-targets. I instead go with Bullet Time, which provides a 10% chance of instant Reloading.
Xera's Empirical Explication: Given by Fleet Master Okaya in her Quarters at #6 in Sayuka as a reward for completing the Hunting Season Quest. Its projectiles score +15% Raw Damage, which will be a plus against bosses. I add the Inexplicable Mass enchantment, which upgrades Matter Repulsion so that Critical Hits no longer push the target back but will now knock the target Prone. I also add Full Choke, which adds 50% Range in exchange for a -10 Accuracy penalty. It does help her keep a greater distance from bosses.
Helm of the White Void: Looted from the frozen Pale Elf at #6 in the Temple of Decline. It provides a +10 Accuracy bonus when making an Attack that also inflicts a Body or Mind Affliction. The Affliction has to be an integral part of the Attack itself. Standard weapon attacks that do not use any activated abilities don't qualify. So Spirit Frenzy for example won't mean that weapon attacks gain +10 Accuracy. It is the activated attack itself that has to inflict the Affliction. Stunning Surge qualifies, because it is a Full Attack that inflicts Stunned on its targets. Equipping this Helm enhances Mirke's ability to spam Stunning Surge, as the Accuracy boost means that the Critical Hit needed to recoup Mortification is that much more likely to land. True, I do lose the -10% Recovery Time of Acina's Tricorn. But an increase by fractions of a second to Recovery Time is negligible (which will be proven shortly), and therefore a small price to pay for the Accuracy boost.
Protective Eothasian Charm: Found in a well at #2 in . It has a per Rest power that activates on the wearer being 'near death'. The real point is that it provides a +1 bonus to Perception, which will help Mirke in finding traps and hidden items.
Frostfur Mantle: Obtained by defeating the Beast of Winter in The White Void. Wearing the cloak means +5 to all Defenses when she self-Afflicts Distracted (-5 Perception, Flanked) on herself while using the Powdered Burns modal.
Guardian's Plate: Looted from the frozen Pale Elf at #6 in the Temple of Decline. Mirke's build is based on constantly accepting self-inflicted Distracted (-5 Perception, Flanked) when she attacks with the Powder Burns Modal active. It therefore makes sense for her to use items that confer benefits while she is under an Affliction. This armor already comes with the power to boost all Defenses by +5 while the wearer is under an Affliction. Its last soul upgrade will mean the armor will provide +2 to all Attributes while the wearer is under an Affliction. It might seem I'm taking a back step in terms of Mirke reloading her guns quickly. She's now going from wearing a Breastplate and Acina's Tricorn to wearing Plate Armor and replacing Acina's Tricorn. But it's partially offset by the fact that the armor itself will provide a +2 boost to Dexterity. In fact, making a comparison using this online Deadfire action speed calculator, which factors in the +2 Dexterity from the armor itself and a +15% Recovery Time penalty with Fire in the Hole, I went from a 2.4 sec Reload Time to a 2.8 sec Reload Time. My Reload Time only increased by 0.4 sec. It's Lightning Strikes and the Streetfighter's reduction to Recovery Time while Flanked that work together to really drive down Recovery Time, even allowing for heavy armor set ups. And that's before we even get to the constant boosting of Action Speed through Scordeo's Trophy, at least when she's using her primary gun set.
Gauntlets of Accuracy: Looted from a sarcophagus at #5 in the Ancient Training Hall of the Engwithan Digsite. The more Accuracy she has, the more likely she is to score a Critical Hit that will result in the Stunning Surge attack renewing the Mortification spent, and making Stunning Sturge a self-renewing attack that I can use over and over again.
Ring of Prosperity's Fortune: Purchased from Captain Thaenic at #5 in the Deck of Many Things as it nears Neketaka Island. It provides a percentage chance of converting Hits to Critical Hits that scales with how much money the party has. It ties in with maximizing her ability to score Critical Hits, and thereby make Stunning Surge (when she gets it) a self-replenishing attack.
Ring of the Marksman: Looted from Shrimp after defeating him at #25 in Queen's Berth during the Quest called A Bigger Fish. A natural choice for her as it provides +4 Accuracy and +1 Penetration with Ranged Weapons.
Upright Captain's Belt: A reward for completing the Symbols of Death Quest. I don't want Mirke to do anything but fire her guns from a distance, and the immunity to Push and Pull effects is thus a very welcome benefit for her. The +1 bonus to Constitution is sugar on top.
Boots of Stealth: Taken from a skeleton at #7 in the Dungeon of Fort Deadlight. The +2 bonus to Stealth will help her avoid detection while in Stealth, and sometimes help her disarm traps that are close to enemies prior to beginning a fight.
