How I build Aloth in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire
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- Опубликовано: 5 фев 2025
- My beginners guide to building Aloth in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire
Detailed Build Spreadsheet: docs.google.co...
My beginners guide to Deadfire video: • Try this game after BG...
Timestamps:
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:05:29 - Levels 2-5
00:18:06 - Levels 6-10
00:27:48 - Levels 11-15
00:33:03 - Levels 16-20
00:40:14 - Equipment
00:46:50 - How the build functions
00:48:36 - Outro
Nice guide! And finally somebody praises and recommends my favorite Wizard spell: Miasma of Dull-Mindedness. :) Little addition: the -10 Resolve debuff also reduces enemies' deflection by 10 points. That's nice to have on top of the ridiculous will-crushing goodness.
Boeroer himself! Nice to see you're still following POE, and thanks for all your insightful commentary on these games.
@@Bilessati He's at the peak of his powers! Him and I just recorded an interview where we discussed 5 new builds he developed. It blew my mind! Keep an eye open for that video!
@@Aestus_RPG More like at the peak of my midlife crisis. ;) Thanks for your appreciation, I also enjoyed our talk a lot.
By the way: going for Will-based spells is also my favorite way to build Aloth. And I also really like the Essential Phantom. You spoke about its advantages (copying your gear etc.) and you're totally right. Because of everything you listed Essential Phantom is one of my favorite spells (behind Miasma), too. It's just so fun to play around with it and come up with interesting combos.
That's why I like to combine Concelhaut's Draining Touch with the Essential Phantom if Aloth does massive Will debuffing and terrifies.
Concelhaut's Draining Touch has the highest base damage of any melee weapon. Because of that the dmg bonus from disengagement attacks (+100%) and also crits (+25%) work really well with it, especially if the wielder doesn't have many other means to raise weapon damage - like phantoms. :)
It also targets Will(!) instead of Deflection which is so great in this case bc. Aloth can destroy enemies' Will defenses easily.
It deals corrode dmg which is nice.
It also drains health which makes the Phantom sturdier and tank for you better.
It weakens on hit which is a nice debuff.
And finally (and most importantly): it doesn't dissolve after a hit if it's on a Phantom (like it would if you use it yourself). That's beause your items get copied for the Phantom, but the governing spell that will remove the weapon after a succesful hit will not get copied onto the phantom. This means the weapon will be permanent (until the phantom itself dissolves).
To combine that with disengagement just wear any item that adds an engagement slot (like a small shield for example) and your phantom will have an engagement slot, too. Now if you start to crush enemies' Will and then terrify them, your Draining-Touch-wielding phantom will hit like a truck (full of corrosive waste). It will also automatically follow terrified enemies and re-engage, triggering additional disengagement attacks every time the enemy moves in terror. And of course it will hit with its auto-attacks, too.
Imo it's the best phantom-setup for such an Aloth build that I know.
Maybe worth picking on one of the "dead" levels.
Some find it cheesy because you'd circumvent the drawback of Concelhaut's Draining Touch - but in this case I'm fine with the (quite small) cheese.
PS: of course you will be stuck with Draining Touch yourself if you don't hit anybody or summon another weapon. So the bonus from the scepter cannot be used for your spells while Draining Touch is in your hand. Little drawback... best to run to some enemy with DAoM (your are immune to engagment) and hit some enemy quickly to remove the weapon from your hand. ;)
If anyone is interested I could do a little list of all fun (and I think useful) things I know of (and which are pretty obscure) that cone be done with a Phantom.
Doing research for my build i surely went trough like 90 Posts, Builds and Comments of yours your a legend mate keep the builds and the crisis going i guess haha :D
For sure interested! Thanks for all you do on the forums! @@Boeroer
Great video, please make more pillars 2 content, build vids, tier lists, playthroughs, guides, I'm down for it all.
Awesome video, more pillars content and builds please
5 more builds are incoming in a single video!
Just wanted to thank you for these videos. Hopping into this game as a PoE noob and it’s overwhelming. Your videos have really helped to simplify/explain things.
Not sure if it’s worth it from a time investment standpoint but some build tips on the other companions would be nice.
Re: Petrify - it doesn't penetrate Dex inspirations (as far as I'm aware); Inspirations and Afflictions always completely cancel each other out no matter what tier they are. Petrify is a "pseudo" tier 4 Dex affliction, so applying it to an enemy with Resistance to Dex afflictions (i.e., incoming Dex afflictions get downgraded a tier), it will get "downgraded" to a Paralyse, which is exactly the same effect, whereas hitting the same enemy with a Paralyse (tier 3 Dex affliction) will downgrade it to Immobilised (tier 2)
Yew! Love it. Though I’d love some other companions guides as well. Hoping you keep putting Deadfire content out!!! Looking forward to whatever you’re putting out next :)
Was waiting. For the video so bad !! Thank you very much
Turn based comment:
Hey Aestus, huge fan of your content. I recently did my second playthrough of Deadfire, on POTD, using turn based mode ( I was tired of microing in poe1). I used all builds you suggested and came out with some changes for Turn based mode specifically and wanted to leave them here for future players:
-Obvious change to mention in TB no.1: Action speed barely matters. Casters get some use from quicker casting, but it's almost never worth more than additional AR/Pierce. As an example, Modal for Warbows is great.
-Obvious change to mention in TB no.2: Free actions are incredibly good and wizards have tons of them. Some buffs that are not worth the spellslot in RTwP become viable in TB.
My suggestions:
Equipment:
Miscreant's leather can be easily replaced by a heavier armor. This is low priority, though, since it's still a solid armor in TB, but all the recovery time is wasted. Rest of EQ is great.
Levels 2-5:
-Chill fog- great early but rarely gets used late. If you have another way to apply Blind (ex Cipher) it might be worth to consider Eldritch aim- Getting the +5 Perception turn one amplifies your first AoE and helps with mob encounters (which are much more irritiating in TB due to length). Free action, lasts 2-3 turns on later levels. Eldritch Aim is also a great spell to get at any "dead" levels
Levels 6-10
Llengrath's Safeguard- With Alacrity, higher armor rating, free buffs and TB AI, Aloth will never be focused by more than one dangerous enemy. Citzal's Lance is incredible in TB, esecially with Essential Phantom. Again, TB mob encounters are exhausting at early levels, and Double AoE lances save a lot of time. Sadly, Llengrath's Safeguard is a cast action so with unlucky turn order it might do nothing.
Rapid Casting- Sadly, useless in TB. I suggest replacing with any defensive free action/ passive buff/ Penetration/ Any spell that sounds cool. Possibly even Uncanny luck would be better, but it feels bad to take it with so many options available. Farcasting is also much more valuable.
Levels 11-15
Martial Caster: Again, basically useless.
I'd suggest investing dead levels into penetrations, instead of random defensive stats. My Aloth runs with Secrets of Rime, Scion of Flame AND Spirit of Decay. Lacking Penetration is more frustrating in TB and Death Ring is often a solid spell against trash mobs. I know i focus a lot on fights that are meaningless for RTwP players, but the time really adds up on those long fights against 15 weak opponents.
Levels 16-20
Nothing to comment here. I'm level 18 so I'm yet to figure out PL9 spells in TB. I agree that Arcane Cleanse is a must.
Gameplay patterns:
95% Encounters in TB mode can be started in Stealth which gives a boost to initiative and makes casting extremely fast. I start almost every battle with Eldritch Aim/ Infuse with Vital essence/Alacrity/Spirit Shield. From there, if a fight feels short Aloth starts bursting with Pillar/Wind/Fireballs. If there's a lot of enemies, 1st turn Blackbow, 2nd turn Phantom will grant a lot of damage and Terrifies over a couple of turns (Phantom starts attacking the same turn in was casted). Boss encounters depend on a specific enemy.
As a final word, Terrify startegies are both incredibly OP and kinda meh in TB. Enemy Ai only takes a couple of steps when terrified and often won't leave the engagement range, so abusing terrify for disengagement attacks often won't work. However, terrify takes the enemy turn (but gives them high inititiative next turn) so it's extremely strong as a form of crowd control
P.S. If there is any fault in my logic I'd love to hear from more experienced players. I found it really difficult to find solid builds and advice for turn based, so I improvised a lot. If this advice seems solid I'd appreciate for Aestus to pin this, so other people like me will have an easier time with TB. Apologies for messy writing, English isn't my first language and i rarely write in it. I will probably make a similar comment on the Eder video, but he changes much more in TB, so I need to optimize him better myself first.
Thank you very much Aestus for making those videos, They helped me a lot when starting POTD.
Wizard is by far my favorite class I can't help myself but always play one as my watcher
Thanks for making these brother, really helped me out.
These hae been fantastic videos. Thank you so much for doing them. This will help me getting started in the game hopefully in a few weeks once i finish up a few other ones. Any recommendations on 3-4 Main Characters builds that would compliment these 3 starting characters?
I'll have a video with more MC builds coming out soon.
Another excellent video! though I usualy dump Aloth myself...
Perfect to see just as I get home!
Haven’t watched the vid yet, but it’s probably better to engage with the video sooner than later. Because of that, I’m just gonna blurt out some rapid-fire:
Any thoughts on your next steps with Deadfire, Pillars, or RPGs in general?
Might as well do a Cipher guide while you’re at it. Every time a new player asks for class recommendations, it’s always Cipher, Cipher, or Brîshalgwin.
In your Pillars Philosophy vid, you also teased a similar narrative appreciation vid for Deadfire. Have you since considered doing something like that?
+1 for the Deadfire narrative appreciation vid
Any thoughts on your next steps with Deadfire, Pillars, or RPGs in general?
I have an interview with Boeroer that I am editing. That video is next. Then I want cover PoE1 for a bit. I'd love to interview Sawyer, Patel, and Fenstermaker, but those are long shots. At some point Avowed will release and I'd like to cover that. I'm also really interested in covering table top rpgs as well. I am extremely hyped on Draw Steel.
Any thoughts on your next steps with Deadfire, Pillars, or RPGs in general?
I can't remember teasing that tbh. I guess I must have considered it back then, but I haven't thought about it since really. That video was a ton of work. I played through both games and read a several Nietzsche books and articles, plus a general book on philosophy history to refresh my memory on the enlightenment (Durant's book). It was a blast, but not really financially viable sadly, so its hard to justify doing more videos like that. Maybe if I went all in on that kind of content it would be profitable eventually, but its a scary bet to make.
@@Aestus_RPG sweet. Looking forward to it
Loving these guides.. playing this in the PlayStation. I’m finding it a little challenging to stack these spells and such with the real tilme mode. Are you writing these guides using real time or turn based?
@@kylegraham6273 Real time, but they will probably work in turn-based
Thanks for the build! Do you plan to have builds for Maia and Pallegina?
I really liked this series and it showed me quite some different ways to look at those characters. I kind of neglected Aloth a lot of the times and I forced Xoti in the role of a healer/buffer when she is capable of doing so much more. I totally want to start a new playthrough now. You mentioned that you have a certain setup in mind when it comes to Aloth that focuses around attacking the willpower of enemies. Which other characters/classes would you think about ? I assume come clubs will be used for the modal ? Also would you advise against using two Wizards in the same group, because they would compete for too many similar items, especially the Grimoir ?
Thank you!
Hey Aestus, your vids inspired me to give the Pillars of Eternity a shot. Just a quick question, are "battlemages"/gish builds viable (in this videos case, the battlemage)? I love gish classes and want to give that a whirl
@@perry7416 Yes! Wizards make a great Battlemage. Fighter/Wizard multi is even better.
@@Aestus_RPG Thank you for the reply! I genuinely love your vids and have been watching them since BG3 release. Thanks for bringing my attention to Pillars of Eternity
@@perry7416 Thanks for your support!
Great vid! Do you ever play with the AI tactics in pillars 2? Seems like a great system that I’m not smart enough to build right.
Do you mean the AI scripting system? If so, then yes, I use it regularly. Its very convenient. I discuss it a bit in my intro guide.
It's most useful for automating buffs which isn't very hard to learn. And once if you master it you can do almost all of the basic(non ship boarding) fights hands free.
@@Aestus_RPG That’s the one. Thanks!
@@Aestus_RPG Please can you post your AI script for these builds too?
I remember playing this game years ago and looking for information online of a similar level of quality to what Davaeorn provided for the classic Baldur's Gate Trilogy. And I couldn't find it. Fextralife videos are pretty worthless and that's about all there was. Finally your channel comes along (Slandered Gaming also likes the PoE games, which is cool) and we get some good videos like this. Since Pillars has its own engine instead of a tabletop-derived one, I find discussion of this series can be very fruitful. I still don't fully understand all of the system in Pillars. Certainly not like I do the systems in Baldur's Gate 1 and 2. I hope you continue to make PoE videos. I never know what to do with the companions, although I do prefer keeping Aloth and Xoti as pure casters.
could you provide AI spreadsheet for how to tune Aloth AI with this build?
Pretty please can you do a multi class guide. What are good combos, which subclasses lean into multi classing better than others, what other considerations with a particular multi class (party composition, etc)
@@chunkyback3692 Have you watched my class tier list video? I think I cover most of that stuff there.
@@Aestus_RPG indeed I have. What can I say I’m greedy for more
Kuaru's Prize is from the island with the tribe the slavers ask you to kill if I recall correctly. I think it might be a merchant, I am not sure.
Nice pillars vids I know it’s old but man I really was into shadowrun returns. Any interest in the future?
Its not likely, but never say never!
Do you play with AI behaviors or direct everything yourself?
I imagine you're skipping Eldritch Aim because of Dire Blessing? The self buff is worth a shout out in cases where you don't have easy access to Aware, or have a party comp that self generates perception buffs.
Yeah, I seldom use it because I almost always have Dire Blessing.
it's hereeeeeeeeee
Agracima, aimico.
Would you take a straight wizard or a blood mage on a watcher main character? The loss of empowers seems bad.
@@juliendrainville7131 Blood Mage is better in my opinion
I'm totally new to this game. How do I play this build early on? Now I'm at level 8 and the only reliable damaging spell I got is Chill fog, which doesn't even deal enough damage. Do I have to find some good grimoire? Or is it just because I haven’t grasped the essence of combat in this game yet? Is this build viable from level 1 or do I suppose to come back to this later on in the game?
It's viable from level 1, although it's not equally strong at all points. You can always switch Grimoires if you feel it's necessary. Ninagauths Shadowflame from the secret Ninagauth Grimoire is a great mid game damage spell.
@@Aestus_RPG Thank you for the tips. Much appreciate your guide, , been watching since BG3.
What did you use for your boots and amulet?
@@kylegraham6273 Everything is in the spreadsheet linked in the description.
I made a custom Blood Mage instead Aloth. Do you miss something really good? Item reward for his personal quest, for example...
No. Custom Blood Mage is just better.
Iunno I killed Bearn last night for the hell of it and Eder definitely did not hang around 😅
Algo!
Hey, any vid for PoE 1 planned in future?
Yep!
@@Aestus_RPG
can u give some tips how to build takehu?
@poteznaspodzielniaponczkow2492 I probably won't do a tekehu build, so post the tips the for everyone who wants one.
fish boy build soon? :D
I only planned on doing the first 3 companions to get new players started, but maybe I'll revisit the series, we'll see.
Great!!! I think he left my party in PoE 1 because I played a "good" paladin and because my "good" choices. Is it the case in Deadfire?
I've never had him leave my party, but he might if you piss him off enough.
in PoE2 it's REALLY hard to loose a companion unless you actually try it, at least until later in the game.
I played a good guy and tried to be diplomatic whenever possible. Seems hard to disappoint anyone like that so you should be safe.
@@rh7474 Yeah, I started replaying Tyranny after PoE2 and was kinda shocked how the first companion (Verse) HATES you for being diplomatic XD
Aloth, my favorite priest 😂
Fixed... Sorry!
Maybe he identifies as a priest, since anyone could identify as anything these days.
Nice, I love wizards in PoE! Now if only we could respec his personality :p
its a complete waste that citzal's armory is an 8th level spell. is looks so cool and can match so well in a martial multiclass
wait, this game only has 3 companions? :0
It has way more then 3. I just did builds for the first three to get you started.