The RPG Group » Discussions


PoE Build: Elthoras, the Delver

  • Member
    March 30, 2016

    Hello, reader! Thanks for opening up my Pillars of Eternity Character Build - the first on the site if I’m not mistaken. While this does follow the general template of Character Builds we have in other parts of the site, this is more based around a specific character. You can, of course, use this guide for the main character in your playthrough, or you could create this character through the companion interface and add them to your own party! Of course, you can feel free to simply use this as a template to create your own original character.

    Elthoras, an Aedyran elf, was always an unruly child - his insatiable curiosity often led him to dark back alleys and other places he shouldn’t have been. Such a childhood made him into quite a resourceful adult, and his wanderlust (and some bad blood with some more dangerous locals) drove him to join an expedition to the Living Lands as soon as he was old enough.

    In the Living Lands, Elthoras’ cleverness and keen eyes quickly made him an asset to the expedition team. He learned to disable traps, stay out of sight, and battle whatever the frontier threw at him. Other explorers, however, proved to be more treacherous than the monsters and wild weather.

    When the expedition leader crossed the wrong group of people, Elthoras cut and ran - fleeing to the Dyrwood and never looking back. Offer of land in Gilded Vale provided an opportunity to lay low for a time while he planned his next move...

     

    Elthoras, the Delver

    Race: Wood Elf. Elves have a bonus to Dexterity and Perception - some of Elthoras’ most important statistics. Wood Elves gain offensive and defensive bonuses against distant targets - useful when using melee or ranged weapons.
    Class: Rogue. Elthoras naturally fits into the Rogue archetype - a precise and cunning armsman favouring finesse over brute strength. Rogues can make devastating weapon attacks at any level and are also skilled in Stealth and Mechanics.
    Culture: The Living Lands. Elthoras’ trials on the frontier provided a small but much needed boost to strength and fortitude.
    Background: Drifter. Elthoras prefers to avoid staying in one place for too long, and the bonuses to Stealth and Mechanics are perfect for avoiding unnecessary trouble.
    Portrait: 38
    Voice: Male - Cocky

    Might: 13 + 1 (The Living Lands)
    Constitution: 10
    Dexterity: 12 + 1 (Elf)
    Perception: 16 + 1 (Elf)
    Intelligence: 14
    Resolve: 10

    This spread of attributes makes Elthoras a bit of a ‘glass cannon’ - his defenses are about average but his Health and Endurance are quite low. An above average Might combined with a high Perception and the Rogue’s very high base Accuracy ensures consistent hits and critical hits. Above average Intelligence also increases the duration of debilitating effects - key to scoring Sneak Attacks whenever possible.

    Progression
    Elthoras’ primary skills are Mechanics and Stealth, though some Athletics skills can allow for a Second Wind during combat and some basic Survival skills can make a night at the campfire quite beneficial.

    At level 12 (before bonuses from items and special talents), he has 8 Stealth, 3 Athletics, 11 Mechanics and 1 Survival.

    Like all adventurers, Elthoras has a number of abilities and talents.

    Abilities

    Rogues, of course, start with Sneak Attack - allowing them to deal 50% bonus damage with a melee or ranged weapon when an enemy can’t properly defend themselves. This is usually when they are flanked but there are a number of other conditions which allow for Sneak Attacks. At high levels, the Deathblows ability makes Sneak Attack even more powerful when a target is suffering from multiple effects.

    Blinding Strike allows a rogue to deal bonus damage and temporarily Blind an enemy, lowering their Accuracy and Defenses and leaving them open to Sneak Attacks. It’s very useful but only has a single use per encounter, requiring the user to pick their target wisely. At higher levels, the Crippling Strike talent can be acquired, allowing Elthoras to Hobble enemies twice per encounter. Hobbling isn’t as useful as Blinding but it allows for Sneak Attacks nonetheless.

    Escape is typically used by rogues to get out of dangerous situations, but it can also be used offensively - to dive through an enemy line without suffering disengagement attacks and attack ranged attackers or take advantage of a flanking position.

    Deep Wounds inflicts a small amount of Raw damage over time to any enemy struck. The duration is, however, affected by Critical Hits and Intelligence so it can really add up over a longer battle.

    Reckless Assault allows rogues to greatly increase Accuracy and Damage in melee in exchange for a Deflection penalty. The Deflection penalty can be significantly reduced with the Deflecting Assault talent.

    Talents

    Weapon Focus: Adventurer and Two-Handed Style are perfect for Elthoras’ weapons of choice - the Pollaxe and Estoc - providing significant Accuracy and Damage bonuses. Weapon Focus: Adventurer also provides bonuses with a solid ranged weapon - the War Bow.

    Superior Deflection increases survivability in close combat, and effectively counters the Deflection penalty from Reckless Assault after Deflecting Assault is learned.

    Finally, Shadowing Beyond and Backstab work together to allow Elthoras to escape dangerous situations and deliver devastating counterattacks. Shadowing Beyond allows Rogues to turn invisible twice per day - preventing detection and avoiding all engagements. Backstab grants a massive damage bonus when attacking from Stealth or Invisibility, which can even result in a one-hit kill!

    Gear
    Elthoras’ accessories are primarily focused on defense, allowing him to survive as long as possible in the thick of melee. A Perception-boosting item is a welcome addition however, further increasing his Interrupt rating and Accuracy, allowing for more hits and more importantly critical hits. At level 12 on my playthrough, his gear was:

    • Footpad’s Hood - Stealthy, +1 Perception
    • Ring of Deflection - +9 Deflection
    • Ring of Protection - +9 Fortitude, Reflex and Will
    • Boots of Stability - Sturdy
    • Trollhide Belt - Regeneration
    • Gauntlets of Swift Action - Quickness
    • Lilith’s Shawl - Aura of Stealth, +3 Perception

    Early on, Medium armour like Leather and Scale can provide ample protection (Edér’s Saint’s War Armour is an excellent choice). As foes increase in power, Elthoras’ protection will need to as well. The Sun-Touched Mail of Hyran Rath is a fine choice at middle levels, providing greater Damage Reduction and granting access to the Sunbeam ability - burning and more importantly Blinding enemies in the area of effect, allowing for some nasty follow-up sneak attacks. At high levels the Coat of Ill Payment offers exceptional protection and comes with some handy enchantments - increasing Resolve for a bonus to Deflection and Will, as well as dealing damage to attackers. The increased Recovery Penalty from these heavier suits of armour can be counteracted by a Quickness item, like the Gauntlets of Swift Action.

    As mentioned previously, Elthoras’ weapons of choice are Estocs, Pollaxes and War Bows. While they might be slow, their high damage per hit ensures that attacks always punch through enemy armour. Estocs are the primary weapon here, with their DR reduction further increasing the total damage dealt. The Drake’s Bell is a good choice at middle levels (after it is suitably improved, of course) and the Blade of the Endless Paths is a superb choice for high levels. While it can’t be enchanted further, the Speed quality increases overall damage output, and the Marking enchantment lets allies take advantage of Elthoras’ already very high accuracy.

    Elthoras fully geared up - practical and stylish.

    Playstyle
    As you’ve probably gathered already, Elthoras works best in melee combat, dealing significant per-strike damage with an Estoc. The trickiest part is being in the right place at the right time to maximize damage output and minimize incoming damage. This means striking at targets already engaged by allies or suffering from a hindering effect - avoid attacking targets that aren’t set up for a Sneak Attack. At early levels this usually means sticking to the side of the front line to take advantage of flanking, but later on once Elthoras and allies have access to more spells and abilities that set targets up for Sneak Attacks, he can strike alone at mages and archers in the back line.

    At the beginning of particularly messy fights or if badly wounded, it can be advantageous to escape to the party’s back line to receive some healing and/or switch to a ranged weapon. It’s surprisingly easy to land Sneak Attacks with a bow - you can still use all of your regular abilities at range, and targets that are being flanked by allies still take Sneak Attack damage from your ranged attacks.

    On occasion some enemies might break off from the main group and attempt to engage the party’s ranged attackers in melee combat - usually a very bad situation for the party. Elthoras is the perfect party member to retreat back and give those enemies a surprise - since they’re already engaged they can be flanked immediately. Elthoras’ high Interrupt rating comes into play here, seriously slowing down these enemies.

    A brief note on Resting bonuses - I always picked the Tower bonus from Caed Nua, granting +3 perception - boosting Elthoras’ total to 25. In combination with the rogue’s very high base Accuracy and the party Paladin’s Zealous Aura, Elthoras’s accuracy was an impressive 110 - meaning lots of hits and crits.

    Party
    Elthoras works best in a party composed primarily of front-line fighters, allowing him to take advantage of flanking and avoid direct engagement with enemy melee combatants. Ranged combatants are great for providing area-based damage and hindering effects - area damage is a capability Elthoras lacks entirely, outside of traps and item abilities.

    My main party consisted of Elthoras and 5 of the base game’s scripted companions.

    Edér was geared up to be a frontline juggernaut with the best defensive gear available. He focused on controlling the battlefield by engaging as many enemies as possible and weathering their attacks. He was effectively an enemy magnet - and Elthoras is just the guy to take advantage of this flanking opportunity. Edér’s Into the Fray ability found a lot of use as well - positioning is everything when it comes to melee Rogues.

    Durance joined Edér on the front line, clad in Plate armour and dual-wielding swords, with an arquebus for backup. As a Priest, he brought plenty of defensive and foe-only offensive abilities to the party. Withdraw, Consecrated Ground and Shining Beacon were the most useful. His job was to provide another frontline target while dishing out steady damage and keeping the rest of the party standing.

    Pallegina, a Paladin, stood just behind the front line, wielding a Pike and Arquebus. Her Zealous Focus aura greatly boost the effectiveness of the rest of the party’s melee combatants, and her various exhortations helped Durance keep everyone fighting fit. Her Sworn Enemy and Flames of Devotion abilities also let her focus down dangerous single targets, even those behind the front line.

    Aloth, the wizard, was the party’s main source of area debuffs and damage. Wizards have a huge array of useful spells that don’t deal damage - Curse of Blackened Sight, a level 2 spell that blinds enemies in an area, was hugely useful. Wall of Force was another excellent spell - Hobbling enemies in the area of effect, allowing them to be sneak attacked. There’s useful spells at every level, but too many to list here in a post about a rogue!

    Finally, the ranger Sagani provided ranged firepower. Her Wounding Shot ability is great for setting up Sneak Attacks on distant foes, but strangely enough her animal companion stole the show in my playthrough. Her companion, Itumaak, paired up amazingly well with Elthoras. The Vicious Companion and Resilient Companion talents boost Itumaak’s base attack and defense stats. He really starts to shine with the Merciless Companion talent, allowing him to Sneak Attack for 30% bonus damage, and the Predator’s Sense ability gives a huge damage boost when attacking an enemy suffering from a damage over time ability, such as Elthoras’ Deep Wounds - which activates on every strike.

     

    Conclusion
    Thanks very much for reading my build! I’ve done a complete playthrough with Elthoras on Hard difficulty and it was a lot of fun. He might require a bit more micromanagement than some other archetypes but it’s very much a high risk/high reward playstyle. Let me know if you decide to have Elthoras in your party - I’d be glad to hear your feedback and provide some tips!

  • March 30, 2016

    Very good, very good, Ponty! I love it. Rogue with two-handed weapons sounds really interesting. I'm not sure if I would ever come up with this combo.

    How was your Attack Speed btw? I feel like that with this particular combo high dex and int would work better than high perception. How many attacks have you get before Blinding Strike run out? Speaking of which, Crippling Strike is much better option early on, mainly because it gives you 2 uses per encounter.

    I´ve been planning to start another playthrough so I might make this rogue my best pal. I love this aspect of the game, adding other´s characters to your party is so god damn awesome!

  • Member
    March 30, 2016

    Hi Karver, thanks for your kind words!

    I'm not sure exactly what my attack speed was but it was high enough. Keep in mind as I'm increasing the weight of my armour I'm equipping more items that boost my attack speed!

    Dex/Int might be another way to play it but I felt like I really got a lot out of the Perception stack. This fighting style was all about effect per strike, which works really well with the DR system in Pillars. More Perception = more accuracy = less Grazes = more Crits. Crits increase the duration of status effects as well as damage! At high levels I was critting more often that not.

  • March 30, 2016

    Yeah, I was just wondering. But still, because you have two weapons covering all melee defenses, Grazes should be very rare. I was running dual wielding and archer rogues, and grazes with these guys are really rare, especially when you position yourself well for Flanking bonuses.

    But I like your stats, because I noticed that min/maxing is quite popular out there, but I never was big fan of it. I like my stats balanced.

    Also, noticed it just now. I think you should find different headpiece, because beside the Stealth bonus, it doesn´t increase your Perception - because of Lilith´s Shawl.  Azalin´s Helmet increases your crit multiplier - can be aquiered in Salty Mast. But if you were using it for the Stealth bonus, then it´s alright.

  • Member
    March 30, 2016

    Yeah, I mainly stuck with the hood because it looks cool! The stealth bonus is nice too.

  • March 30, 2016

    Hehe, yeah, those hoods are cool. Shame there isn´t more enchanted ones.

    Btw, you don´t have the DLCs right? You plan getting your hands on them?

  • Member
    March 30, 2016

    Nah, don't have the DLC. Might pick them up when they're on sale though.

  • Member
    March 30, 2016

    Two-handed style

  • March 30, 2016
    I highly recommend them. Not only they make the game longer but also add lots of new abilities and cross class abilities. Like any character can pick certain abolity from other classes. Like weaker Sneak Attack for example, which is kinda nice.
  • April 27, 2016

    How did you get your Gaming Corner tag to stay all together?