Priest as an Off-Tank?

The priest is pretty decent as a backup tank. Just make sure you cast your buffs and use the whatchamacallit spell that AoE heals over time. I've had Durance as my off-tank for most of the game, although Pallegina is obviously better at the job. You don't really need to rush anywhere, you can make do with just Eder and any other other character until you find the companions you want.

 

Custom hirelings are a good way to plug the holes in your party even if just temporarily.

 

Beren, I put this game on hold, but will play it later. I love your walkthroughs. Any chance you can also make a printable version?

 

Depends on the faith.... Skaen Priests can really kick some arse if built properly for melee. Max Might. Reach weapons like Pikes are excellent.

But I have found Priests boring. Unlike I.E. Games they are not even remotely necessary. Pallys and Druids have healing covered. Plus equipment/talent combos can make characters immortal. Any character with Shod in Faith boots and fast damage dealing becomes nasty. There are so many build combos it is insane.... Search the Lady of Pain build.... I have tried it. Immortality achieved!

 

They aren't necessary in IE games either.

 

Some thoughts in reply.

1. Durance can indeed be used as an off-tank, if built and equipped properly. Definitely take the class talent that gives a +10 bonus to accuracy to his deity's weapons (sword and arquebus). And consider picking the Knight weapon focus for an additional +6 accuracy bonus for swords. Also, do your best to stick to swords and arquebuses, because Durance will see a MAJOR drop off in accuracy if you don't stick to his deity's weapons. And if you don't buff up his accuracy with these talents, that accuracy will be so much lower that it will hinder his ability to be a capable off-tank. Also, I suggest not playing Durance too aggressively where melee is concerned. He can be useful as a 3rd or 4th tank, but he'll still be softer than a legit tank.


2. Priests are not nearly as critical as they may have seemed in the old BG/IWD games, but that doesn't mean that their spells aren't useful. I do agree that paladin's are probably more useful as combat healers due to Lay on Hands/Greater Lay on hands. But don't discount having a priest (or a druid) around to be a secondary healer, particularly in tough fights where your pally's Lay on Hands may have been used up, or your pally is down. Also, priests have some excellent support spells that come in handy on a regular basis.

And for what it's worth, two of the priest's best healing spells aren't Restore Endurance spells at all. Consecrated Ground (the spell effect that's on the Shod in Faith boots) is better than any Restore Endurance spell, IMO, in large part because it's at level 2. And the level 1 Withdraw spell slaps a character in an untouchable/untargetable bubble for 30-ish seconds, during which the character is regenerating on its own. Plus, up around level 6, you have the Revival spell which revives unconscious characters. Paladins can do this too, but only for a single character, whereas the priestly Revival spell is an area effect spell which can revive multiple characters. And having more than one character capable of doing revivals is very nice when you're in the toughest battles when there's no guarantee that a single reviving capable character wouldn't be the one knocked out or would have expended his/her own revivals.


3. As for armor, whether for Durance or any priest, I think that it depends on how much the priest is going to be in melee. When I was constantly putting Durance into melee, I stuck with heavy armor and accepted the slow recovery time as the cost of doing business. But as the game progressed and I have been (in my current party) using Durance more for his spellcasting than for his melee abilities, I've had him in lighter armors to give him a better recovery time. So, I think that it's a balance that you have to determine for yourself.

 

Sticking a tank in a doorway and casting withdraw on them while your ranged party members take pot shots has been a favorite cheese technique for me ever since i first played the game.
And while i do agree a priest is not a necessity, i do love having one along simply for the "prayer against XXX" spells. fighting against those mushroom spores without Prayer against Bewilderment is a major pain in the ass with your own party members turning on you every few seconds.
Same thing with paralyzing enemies without a casting of Prayer Against Imprisonment on your party members.
The +60 will youget from Crowns for the Faithful also helps immensely vs paralysis and the charm effect adragans usually hit you with.

 

I actually treat priests and mages as if they're competing for the same slot in my games. They're similar in many ways, except one focuses on status effects/offensive magic while the other focuses on supportive/defensive magic. Lots of little exceptions here and there, but the end result is the same - they're a lot stronger when using their spells to complement the abilities of their party mates.

 

In some ways i feel like priests are more like pure casters then wizards. Sure, a priest is quite versatile in what he can do for your party with all the spells he gets, but overall the priest build is quite limited in scope.
Sure there are some ways to make a priest an at least decent off-tank, but even then i'd consider this to be something to do more for the early game when your priest does not have access to a lot of his spells yet - something to respec out of at a later point.

PC Priests will need a high intellect for their AoE range and their spell durations, as well as a high might score if you want to use them as healers.
They benefit from a high dex score as well so you can get off as much of your spells in the shortest time frame possible. (Though early on before a respec you might want to put these points into perception for the accuracy so you actually hit stuff.)

Durance doesn't really fit this template,as his might and intelligence are okay, but instead of dex/per he has a ton of resolve instead. the deflection this gives him makes him a bit more suited to stay as off-tank for longer, possibly with a shield + hatchet combo for added deflection. he also won't be suffering from interrupts as much so he should still be able to get off his spells without too much trouble. Still, while not a bad build, i'd consider this a far from ideal one.

Wizards on the other hand are a bit more flexible - you can build them as back-line damage dealers, either with reach weapons like a staff or pike, focusing on might and intellect (for damage and spell AoE size/Duration) and either dexterity to lay down more spells quickly and put out a bit more damage, or perception if you want to go more on the control wizard side and focus on getting a lot of interrupts off on the enemy. If you go with the perception over dexterity, a wand is a very good weapon to have as well, making it even easier to stay behind your tanks, and out of reach of most enemies. This build is not much different from the priest build really.

However, the wizard can also go full out on his debilitating/control abilities, foregoing might entirely and instead putting all his eggs in the dexterity, perception and intelligence baskets. you won't do much damage at all (nearly none if you minimize might to 2-3 like i do) but you will be able to put out your control spells super fast thanks to a high dexterity score, they will last very long thanks to a high intellect score and with a high perception you'll be accurate enough to overcome your enemies defenses and make sure they actually get hit by your spells.

To be honest i prefer the control wizard over the damaging one, as the damaging spells seem to really fall off for the later part of the game. Aloth has potential to be alright at both roles - he has decent intelligence (16) and dexterity (15) while his might and perception are both 12. if you make your way to ondra's gift district in defiance bay and complete the lighthouse quest there (which is tough but you can complete it without having to fight the boss at the top) you will be able to grab Lillith's shawl - a cape that adds +3 to perception, giving Aloth the much needed boost to make his spells stick.
There's also items that add +3 to might (amulet, ring, belt) but none of them are available before the start of act 3 and by this time you should be noticing your damaging spells starting to lack in effectiveness.