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| Pillars of Eternity 2 Online Walkthrough by David Milward |
ZARATHOS, M DEATH GODLIKE RAVAGER (BERSERKER / HELWALKER)
Stats
Abilities
1st Level - Frenzy: Once of the linchpins for the Build. Being a Berserker means that the +5 Might bonus also comes with a +2 bonus to Penetration, and the +5 Constitution bonus comes with a +2 bonus to Armor.
Swift Strikes: Adds +5 Dexterity and +15% Action Speed for 10 sec. The +15% Action Speed won't stack with the +25% Action Speed of Frenzy, but the +15% Action Speed from raising Dexterity by 5 points will stack. There's also the additional reason that it will be upgraded to Swift Flurry.
2nd Level - Lesser Wounds: Pretty much any Monk should choose this, with the idea of getting Wounds as quickly as possible.
3rd Level - Blooded: Provides a +25% bonus to Damage while the Barbarian is himself at 25% Health or less. A Death Godlike Ravager protected by Barring Death's Door will be able to make use of this passive often, and to devastating effect.
4th Level - Accurate Carnage: Increases the Accuracy of Carnage. Taking it is a given when the build emphasizes the range and damage of Carnage.
Two Weapon Style: The +20% bonus to Action Speed will benefit Monk fists as well.
5th Level - Thick-Skinned: It will have a synergy with the Reckless Brigandine as that armor increases in Armor Rating as the wearer becomes lower and lower in Health. Thick-Skinned also increases Engagement by +1. That also bolsters the same armor's power.
6th Level - Clarity of Agony: The key point here is to shorten the duration of the Confused effect that comes with using the Berserker's version of Frenzy. The -50% duration of all hostile effects is also a good buff that can be extended endlessly through Xoti's use of Salvation of Time.
7th Level - One Stands Alone: It adds +20% Melee Damage when near two or more enemies. And at least 3 enemies are needed to force the Flanked condition on him. It's a pretty standard passive for many if not all Barbarians.
Swift Flurry: Upgrades Swift Strikes so that Melee Critical Hits have a 33% chance of triggering another instant Melee Attack during its duration. It is the preferable choice over Lightning Strikes if you can design the character build in a way that maximizes the probability of Critical Hits, which this build does.
8th Level - Bloodlust: It provides a 20% boost to Action Speed for 10 sec on killing an enemy. Its duration can be prolonged by Salvation of Time.
9th Level - Bloody Slaughter: A passive that provides a 20% chance of converting Hits to Critical Hits and +50% Critical Hit Damage, both against Near Death targets. Landing the killing blow will trigger Bloodlust and later on Blood Thirst. It will also instantly recover any Rage spent on using Barbaric Blow once I get Barbaric Smash. And the damage bonus against near death targets from this passive will stack with the bonuses provided by the Death's Usher passive of being a Death Godlike.
10th Level - Spirit Frenzy: Attacks made while Frenzied will now hit targets with the Staggered Affliction, and that includes targets hit by Carnage. In the case of this Barbarian / Monk build, it's meant to lower the Fortitude of his targets in combination with Enervating Blows that he'll acquire later on. And combining those two with the Brute Force passive that he'll also acquire later on will mean Melee attacks against enemies with significant defense penalties.
Enlightened Agony: It upgrades Clarity of Agony so that it provides the Smart Inspiration. The key point here is that I use it immediately after using Spirit Frenzy, and the Smart Inspiration will cancel out the Confusion Affliction that comes with using the Berserker's version of Frenzy. I can have my cake and eat it too.
11th Level - Duality of Mortal Presence: I activate the mode that adds +1 Intellect for each Wound. It will increase the area-of-effect of Carnage, as well as the duration of his buffs. Although his buffs will be extended by Salvation of Time later in the game, there is value in maximizing the opportunity for his buffs to be in place until Xoti can get set up. It will also extend the duration of debuffs that he applies through his own attacks, such as through Enervating Blows and Spirit Frenzy. It is also done with a view towards the Turning Wheel upgrade, which adds +2% Burning Damage for each Wound.
12th Level - Barbaric Blow: It's a Full Attack with +20% Damage, +50% Damage on Critical Hit, a 30% chance of converting a Hit to a Critical Hit, and a +50% area of effect for Carnage. Any concerns about expending Rage points can be mitigated when it gets upgraded to Barbaric Smash.
13th Level - Interrupting Blows: A Critical Hit from his melee attacks will now have a 50% chance of causing an Interrupt. For a character build that's predicated on scoring Critical Hits as frequently as possible, it's only natural to pack as many additional effects into those Critical Hits as you can. And that theme continues with
Enervating Blows: Critical Hits in melee will cause Weakened (-5 Constitution, Healing Received reduced by -50%) to targets for at least 6 seconds. It will also synergize with Spirit Frenzy and Brute Force for making attacks against lowered Fortitude instead of Deflection.
14th Level - Barbaric Smash: It will recoup the Rage Cost of using Barbaric Blow. It is only after acquiring this upgrade that I am now open to working Barbaric Blow into a combat script.
15th Level - Tough: More Health is always a good thing, especially for a character who thrives in himself getting hit and taking damage.
16th Level - Brute Force: It's a passive whereby his Melee Attacks will target Fortitude instead of Deflection if the former is lower than the latter. And Zarathos can force the Staggered (-5 Strength, cannot Engage) Affliction on his targets through Spirit Frenzy. He can also force the Weakened (-5 Constitution, -50% Healing Received) Affliction through Enervating Blows. The two together can mean a cumulative -20 penalty on Fortitude, which often results in the passive coming into play.
Turning Wheel: Upgrades the Intellect modal for Duality of Mortal Presence so that it also adds +2% Burning Damage for each wound.
17th Level - Improved Critical: It improves Critical Hit Damage by 10%, making it an obvious choice for a character build that is predicated on scoring Critical Hits as often as possible.
18th Level - Uncanny Luck: The key point in this instance is to add another 5% chance of converting a Hit to a Critical Hit, which in turn means the possibility of extra attacks through either Swift Flurry or (in the future) Heartbeat Drumming.
19th Level - Bloodthirst: Landing a killing blow triggers the Barbarian enjoying instant Recovery after any and all actions for 10 sec. There will be the usual Recovery Time immediately after the killing blow itself. But once that Recovery Time elapses, that's when the 10 sec of instant Recovery begins. It often means Zarathos landing lots and lots of blows in a short period of time. In fact, it can often set off a chain reaction. He lands a killing blow to get temporary Instant Recovery. He lands several highly damaging blows on his next target in rapid succession, and that kills another target, and that extends the period of Instant Recovery, and the next and the next. The chain reaction can sometimes wipe out whole groups of enemies faster than any area of effect offensive spell could.
Heartbeat Drumming: It's a passive whereby any Melee Critical Hit has a 25% chance to instantly trigger an extra Melee Attack. The ability to trigger extra attacks through both this and Swift Flurry is the incentive to maximize Zarathos' ability to land Critical Hits.
20th Level - The Dichotomous Soul: He will now enjoy the ability to summon replicas of himself without limit and subject only to having enough Wounds (which are a renewable resource).
Inventory
Last Word: Looted from an altar in the Sandswept Ruins in the Desert Island. It can inflict Piercing Damage in addition to Crushing Damage as part of the secondary weapon set. And like the Kapana Taga, it becomes more powerful in proportion to the number of enemies its wielder has Engaged (+5% Damage per Engaged Enemy). I enchant it with the Final Say power, so that Critical Hits will suppress the target's use of activated abilities for 6 sec (instead of just 2 sec previously). It's a sensible choice for a build that emphasizes scoring Critical Hits as often as possible. The Steadfast (+5 Resolution) provided by the alternative Silence in Death power would have been less than redundant with the Resolute (+5 Resolve, +1 Concentration per 6 sec) Inspiration provided by Xoti's Holy Meditation spell. I also enchant it with Threatening, which adds +1 Engagement. It's the easy choice over Splintered Haft, which is a per Rest power.
Claim and Refusal: Obtained from Marofeto Liano at #4 in Sayuka. Another 10% Damage is always welcome for a hard hitting character. I will soon be able to keep him constantly invulnerable through the combination of Barring Death's Door plus Salvation of Time, which means taking an extra 10% Damage will cease to be of any concern. The taking extra Damage penalty will actually be welcome since it improves the chances of triggering the +3 bonus Power Levels when a Death Godlike reaches less than 25% Health.
Champion's Cape: Obtained as a reward for a Godlike Watcher for completing The Champion of the Hunt Quest. It offers a 10% chance of Riposte on an enemy Attack that Misses the wearer's Deflection. But that's irrelevant to Zarathos' build. The real benefit is the bonuses to Action Speed and Damage that are integral to his build, and will stack with similar bonuses provided by other items and his class abilities. The Cape's bonuses are dependent on Zarathos being Engaged by enemies.
Reckless Brigandine: Worn by the Death Guard Fanatic in the Forgotten Catacomb. It increases Action Speed by 5% per enemy Engaged by the wearer, and the armor itself adds +1 Engagement. His Thick Skinned passive adds another +1 Engagement. And he'll get another +3 Engagement whenever Ydwin casts Tactical Meld on him. I also add Into the Breach. It increases the wearer's Melee Weapon Damage and Armor Rating as the wearer gets closer and closer to getting knocked unconscious. These powers will awaken alongside Zarathos' increased Power Levels that awaken when he's near death as a Death Godlike. And I can take advantage of skirting the edges of death more and more during the later parts of the game when he'll enjoy a Barring Death's Door from Xoti that is extended endlessly by Salvation of Time, also from Xoti.
Woedica's Strangling Grasp: Looted from an Old Battleground at #7 in one of the Ofecchia Channel Islands. The key benefit is that the +2 bonus to Might is one of the items that helps him reach the maximum Might score of 35.
Ring of Prosperity's Fortune: Purchased from Captain Thaenic aboard the Deck of Many Things. It bestows on its wearer a chance to convert Hits to Critical Hits, and that chance increases the more money (cp) the party has. That makes it a perfect ring for a character build that includes both Berserker and Monk, and therefore strives to inflict Critical Hits whenever possible.
Ring of Greater Regeneration: Purchased from the Orlan Peddler at #9 in the Brass Citadel. Taking damage during battles is going to be a given, considering his build. So this ring certainly commends itself, moreso because his own Might and the Dawnstar's Blessing will increase the Health regeneration every 6 sec provided by the ring.
The Undying Burden: Purchased from Imuani at #9 in Delver's Row. The +2 Constitution is welcome for any character who dishes out and takes damage on the front lines. He'll often tease the edge of getting knocked unconcsious owing to the particulars of his build, so improving his survivability to a degree as he gets closer and closer to that can be helpful. And it can buy time for Xoti to put a Barring Death's Door on him during later stages of the game.
Boots of the Stone: Obtained by defeating Eamund the Fox during the Task called A Tidy Performance in Dunnage. The +1 to Dexterity will help him attack more often. The +1 Resolve will augment his Enlightened Agony ability in that any negative effects on him will be cut even shorter in duration. The Resistance to Might Afflictions is also helpful. It will at least prevent attacks that cause the Staggered Affliction (-5 Strength, cannot Engage) from cancelling out the Tenacious (+5 Strength, +2 Penetration) Inspiration provided by his Frenzy ability.
