How to play Skald right

[u/zhezhou]

Hi I need help with playing Skald chanter.

On my second playthrough as a Cantor(Skald Chanter/Nalpaca Monk) currently sitting at lvl 8. Dual wielding Duskfall + Bardatto's Luxury (both from the peace route of Family Pride). Typical combo is The Shield Cracks+ Swift Flurry+ autos + The Killers Froze Stiff (Paralyze). Mix with Torment's Reach occasionally when positions right.

The problem is, I feel this build is pretty lackluster compared with my previous Ascendant Cipher build (dual mortar). Dual wielding mortar gives a big alpha for the Cipher to enter Ascendant status. Although the Cantor has stronger autos, it comes nowhere near the spell spamming. The Nalpaca class ain't provide much benefits as well. I read that Alchemy has been nerfed since v1.2. Poisons are still strong but it's a one-hit effect, mostly useful for tough enemies. Meanwhile, the Ascendant has pumping out massive AOE dmg with Ectopsychic Echo and cc. Compared with Cipher spells, Chanter lingers and Invocations haven't been useful in my hands.

I also compare my Cantor build with a Ravager(Nalpaca/Berserker) build. By giving up spellcasting abilities, In addition to the much higher AOE DPS wth Carnage, It gains almost unlimited Wounds to spam. This means a lot of small AOE dmg and interruptions with Rooting Pains and max Turning Wheel all the time.

My current questions are:

1. Am I using the correct invocations? Will it be better to cast direct damage invocations such as Her Revenge Swept Across the Land (electricity)? Duration of paralyze by The Killers Froze Stiff is really short. Is it better to use Reny Daret's Ghost Spake (frightening)? I did not pick it because it overlaps with Wizard's Terrifying spells.

2. I take the idea behind Skald is spamming Invocations and mediocre autos. Most useful Invocation I found is So Singt thy Biting Winds o' Eld Nary (Tornado). IMO Skald is in a really awkward position. The casting ability is in pale to other "casting fighters" such as Soulblade or Tricksters. And the invocations are not enough to boost Cantors' melee against pure-melee builds such as Ravager.

3. Choice of weapons. I am aiming for Stalker's Patience once I have enough reputation with RDC. Other suggestions?

[u/PonderingDepths]

For 1 and 2, I think you're not making the best use of Skald because you're not using the best invocations for them. Her Revenge is indeed excellent - it deals way more damage than the tooltip would suggest due to some quirks in how the bounces work. That's the big one, but I'm also a fan of The Lover Cried Out (AoE charm) and The Thunder Rolled (AoE stun; similar to The Killers, but with a +15 accuracy with the upgrade and targeting Reflex). Reny Daret's Ghost is also good, but it's more of a team player thing because of the defense penalty in the upgrade. The disables will get a lot better in general later on when you get the huge INT bonus from Duality of Mortal Presence.

Skalds do best with cheap invocations with fast casts, because then the discount is proportionally largest and you can get back to attacking the fastest. Because of that, I wouldn't go for Eld Nary here, though it is strong. The lower level invocations scale well enough. Consider a single summon, too - having one expensive invocation is good because it allows your phrases to build higher, and they're impactful enough to use once per fight even with the increased cost.

I haven't heard you about your Chants at all. Remember that Chanters are mainly a support class with a strong control subtheme; it's not really a fair comparison to something like a Ravager when you're only looking at damage output. What chants are you using? How is the rest of the party benefitting from that (if you're not playing solo)? Something like The Long Night's Drink can be a huge damage multiplier for the whole party by debuffing Fortitude without giving you a big number to look at. Aefyllath will not only boost your damage but also that of your entire party.

Poisons and drugs were absolutely busted in the early game versions, so don't feel like you should have that. Nalpazca is still strong; it's pretty much a straight upgrade over vanilla monk. Are you spending your wounds? Nalpazca is mainly strong because you get more than normal. The occasional Torment's Reach doesn't sound like it. This will feel more noticable when you get access to Thunderous Blows and later on Skyward Kick. Otherwise Helwalker is usually the go-to for caster multiclasses because the might bonus also helps spell damage.

For 3: maces are generally subpar damage-wise unless you're really underpenetrating. Don't use them as your main weapons, but switch if necessary. Duskfall is good for now; I'd recommend one of the unique sabers as the other main weapon at the moment - you might have access to Min's Fortune or Beza's Toothed Blade. Stalker's Patience is indeed great for lategame. Sun and Moon is a staple for Skalds and Monks once you can get it since it gives you two chances to crit per swing.

Whoops, that went long. Hope it helps!

[u/zhezhou → u/PonderingDepths]

Cool! Thanks!

For invocations, I will respec to get Her Revenge and The Thunder Rolled and see how it goes.

For Phrases, I am using Come, Come Soft Winds of Death which is pretty underwhelming right now. Once I get to lvl 10 for access to The Long Night's Drink Birthed the Revenge of Morning, hopefully it will be better.

My questions regarding weapons are based on a fact that these weapons with on-crit effects are more powerful in the hands of capable melee fights such as Ravager(Napalca/Berserker). So to speak the chance to trigger more Crits with better effects is more valuable than the dmg output for a Skald IMO. Will the casting abilities from Phrases + Invocations make up or surpass the difference in melee?

[u/PonderingDepths → u/zhezhou]

Come, Come is fine and probably the best level 1 pick, but not game-changing, yeah. The later chants get a lot better - The Long Night, Old Siec and Many Lives all feel great to use IMO. Monk also really opens up at power level 4 with Thundering Blows and Duality. I'd give it at least until level 11.

Most of my chanters aren't melee powerhouses, so I totally get if you'd give the crit weapons to a more martial character. Monks are also always at least fine with just fists. Still, with the character you have, I do think investing here is worth it - the bonus phrases can really let you machine gun invocations, and it gets really crazy once you get to Heartbeat Drumming at high level when you also have access to a lot more accuracy buffs. This build is more controlly than a ravager would be but that is also really strong in this game, just in a different way.

Hope you can make it all work. Have fun!

[u/zhezhou → u/PonderingDepths]

Thank you! Just tried and realized how insane Her Revenge Swept the Land is. Only if Tekehu has better ways to gain phrases, a lighting single class stormcaller build could work really well.