PF:KM; Teammate "Ekundayo" UNMODDED Ranger Build

HI all! Brothermutant here. This is another in a series of vids showcasing how I might level your various allies. I plan to do vids for most (if not all) of your found teammates, both as a MODDED version as well as the UNMODDED variety so that all can get a feel for what I might do with these deadweights... err, I mean, viable and useful allies against evil. FEAT and Ability picks as well as suggested GEAR are listed in a PINNED comment below.

[@brothermutant7370]

UNMODDED "Ekundyo" Human Ranger Build STATS: Str 16 Dex 20 to 24 Con 14 Int 10 Wis 13 Cha 10 Lawful Good (matters for some gear) Class Levels: Human; Ranger 20 In Order of the video: LVL 1- Point Blank Shot & Precise Shot; Favored Enemy - Giant Humanoids 2- Combat Style Feat (Rapid Shot) 3- Weapon Focus - Longbow; Favored Terrain - Forest; Endurance (Free) 4- Animal Companion - Wolf (Free) 5- Boon Companion; FE - Magical Beast & Giant Humanoids START HERE TO LEVEL HIM UP 6- CSF (Manyshot); 7- Armor Focus (Light Armor or Medium Armor--pick one) 8- +1 DEX; FT - Underground 9- Dodge; Evasion (Free) 10- CSF (Point Blank Mastery Longbows); FE - Undead & Undead 11- Deadly Aim; Quarry (Free) 12- +1 DEX; Camouflage 13- Clustered Shots; FT - Urban 14- CSF (Improved Precise Shot) 15- Blind Fight; FE - Humans & Humans 16- +1 DEX; Improved Evasion (Free) 17- Improved Blind Fight 18- CSF (Improved Critical Longbows); FT - First World 19- Improved Initiative; Improved Quarry (Free) 20- +1 DEX; FE - Fey & Fey; Master Hunter (Free) PIE in the SKY gear to look for: Stuff that increases his PHYSICAL ABILITIES (especially DEX and STR) and MENTAL ATTRIBUTES (especially WIS), best Light or Medium Armor that allows HIGH DEX modifiers, best bows (especially composite bows), quivers in belt slots that allow him to add to his damage, gear that increases his Attack Bonuses for bows/ranged attacks. Decent SPELLS by Level: 1) Longstrider, Acid Maw, Hurricane Bow, Aspect of the Falcon 2) Barkskin, Sense Vitals, Chameleon Stride, BUFFS 3) INSTANT ENEMY, BUFFS 4) Freedom of Movement, Animal Growth, Blessing of the Salamander *SKILL points invested should be maximizing Athletics/Mobility/Stealth/Perception/Lore Nature

[@quickpawmaud]

I wish you put some specific items to look out for in these comments. If there are any unique items that are good for the character I want to make sure not to miss them. Also here is the build that was posted on my thread. You take Improved Precise Shot way later than this build and you add in some AC bonuses instead of more crit bonuses and Shatter Defenses. I think for my team Shatter Defenses will be really good since I will have a front liner with the Cornugon Smash build. They are mostly the same build though I guess you can't go wrong with Ekun really. IIRC Ekun starts at level 5 with Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot, Weapon Focus:longbow, and Boon Companion with giants and Magical Beasts as his two Favored Enemies. ranger 6: Combat Style -> Improved Precise Shot ranger 7: Clustered Shots, Woodland Stride (free) ranger 8: +1 DEX, Favored Terrain->Underground ranger 9: Dazzling Display (pre-req for Shatter Defenses), Evasion (free) ranger 10: Combat Style -> Manyshot, Favored Enemy->Undead (x2) ranger 11: Shatter Defenses, Quarry (free) ranger 12: +1 DEX, Camouflage (free) ranger 13: Critical Focus (pre-req for Blinding Critical), Favored Terrain->- First World ranger 14: Combat Style->Improved Critical->longbow ranger 15: Blinding Critical, Favored Enemy-> Fey (x2) ranger 16: +1 DEX, Improved Evasion (free) ranger 17: Deadly Aim ranger 18: Combat Style->Point Blank Master, Favored Terrain-> ranger 19:

[@brothermutant7370]

@@quickpawmaud Wow, you take Deadly Aim really late. Isn't that the one that increases your arrow damage by +2 for every -1? You would really want that no later than level 11 imho. I dig your idea about IPS, it does help quite a bit (dam phase spiders), but I would rather roll the chances on missing and do more damage (Deadly Aim). As for GEAR, any good bow is his oyster. Add those bracers (there are 3 of them) that increase your attack bonus with bows, I think the "best" is called Ruby Phoenix. Some solid armor for him (and there are plenty to choose from) could be the one you get from the Stag Lord fight, that allows you to cast Barkskin once a day, that helps him a ton. But yeah, you really can't go wrong with keeping Ekun a ranged attacker. He murders things once you give him a solid composite longbow.

[@quickpawmaud]

@@brothermutant7370 I know you mentioned a couple items in the video I just think you should have name dropped a couple good specific items in the comments at the bottom when you talk about them. You are vague when talking about items in all the builds but for a new player like me if you name drop an item then I can look it up and find out where to get it to make sure I don’t miss it. Just something I noticed that I thought would improve the guide a bit. I tried looking up a list of the best items in the game but it is really hard to search for. It is like all the experienced players just know the items and think it is obvious so don’t say anything. I guess I can just look up every unique composite longbow and read their effects. I assume there are a bunch of items that are hidden places that could be amazing and I just walk right past them.

[@brothermutant7370]

@@quickpawmaud I did that before, but another Commenter pointed out that SOME of my gear drops I find using a mod are NOT in game (or not in the main story, but instead in the DLC). So I started turning away from actual gear suggestions. PLUS, most people would not be able to (or want to) use certain gear on a teammate but INSTEAD use it on their main character, so while I can suggest stuff, it really falls to you for what you equip on your team. If you want to know what I like on certain characters, just ask and I will type in his or her latest gear list so you can see what I do.

[@MegaSebasti]

@@brothermutant7370 Question sir, Can I start a MC with this build? Thank you for the videos they are awesome.

[@chairmanzia3556]

just couldn't get over the 'getting mugged at night part...' woooda hell wooooda hell....

[@DeltaPi314]

Level 11 I doubled Enk as a Rouge just to give him a nice sneak attack, with haste casted and Devourer of steal bow equipped his 4 strikes on a new enemy all have sneak attack bonuses. Takes down a cyclopes in one attack 90% of the time.

[@Choteron3]

24:27

[@marcosalvadori81]

Congratulazioni davvero per i video che pubblichi. Ho trovato questo e mi sono iscritto al tuo canale. Passa sul mio!

[@brothermutant7370]

Done and Done. Thanks for joining my channel!

[@DragoonIceX]

Ok so my lizard brain understands. The favored enemies feat can stack? So you'll do more damage if you have double human

[@brothermutant7370]

Yuppers, and I think a better to hit chance too, can't remember. Whatever one gives you, two (or more as you can grab it MULTIPLE times) gives you twice as much.

[@reedxiii2775]

Great breakdown. 👍

[@redvenge709]

Hey Brother Mutant. I wanted to pick your brain on something, but you don't need to make a video. It's about a couple of weapons. I'm having a hard time wrapping my brain around the elven curve blade. It does 0.5 more average damage per hit than a falchion, but has a lower minimum damage. It requires exotic feat, where the falchion only needs martial. It seems like the curve blade is special by being a two handed finessable weapon, but you need three levels of rogue to really take advantage of it. So, my question is, how would you build a character using the curve blade? Would you take 3 rogue and go magus or ranger? Would you go fighter? As for why I would want to use the curve blade, well, it does look cool. The other question is about the thrown weapons. Javelins are one handed and throwing axes are two handed. So, you can dual wield two thrown axes or a thrown axe and a javelin. It seems like this would lend itself to fun times, but when i try to capitalize on it, the attack bonus tanks. Two handed penalty is -2, rapid shot is -2 and deadly aim (which seriously contributes to damage) also lowers your hit rate. Also, when I have a build that makes lots of attacks, I want to capitalize on sneak attack, but most sneak attack classes have medium BAB, which makes the problem worse. How would you build a dual wielding throwing character? As for why I want a double fisting throwing character is for the coolness. Seeing lots of axes fly at my enemies is very satisfying. I really enjoy your builds content. Keep up the good work! I've been avoiding your BG3 stuff because I want to play it myself and I am trying to avoid spoilers, but I do want to watch it. I found your Trumvirate playthrough of Kingmaker very informative, which is why I would like to pick your brain.

[@brothermutant7370]

Going to answer by the paragraphs above: 1) Elven Curve Blade (isn't exotic if you are an ELF, just Martial), but there aren't MANY of those in game, just to warn you. If you go MAGUS then it is less of a problem as you can BUFF the hell out of it yourself. ALSO, if you are a SWORD SAINT, you can pick any ONE weapon (EVEN if it is EXOTIC) and you get skill with it at a level one sword saint. Fighters get SO many free feats that they could get it very easily. 2) I'd probably go dual Javelin and make sure my character has enough Strength to do extra damage with them, a lot of Dex to make sure they hit, and of course grab the following FEATS: Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Weapon Focus (Javelins), Rapid Shot, Deadly Aim, and (if you can) get Point Blank Master for Javelins. THEN, since you are not going Ranger or Fighter I assume, if you are a Magus-type, an Inquisitor-type or something similar, make sure to use those spells that BUFF your to Hit chance. Spells like: Divine Favor, Divine Power, Heroism, Greater Heroism, etc. See which stacks and make sure they are on your main whenever they need that extra UMPH for hitting. ALSO, if you are Magus-type that can BUFF your weapon's +s, make sure the LOWER buffed weapon is in your MAIN hand (the one that gets buffed) and the BIG +3, +4 or +5 is in the OFF-hand. Make sure to get all of the Two-Weapon fighting Feats (Two Weapon, Improved Two Weapon, and Greater Two Weapon Fighting). KNOW that Rapid Shot might not work with those weapons, so shut it off if it doesn't add to your attacks per round (follow the combat log to see the NUMBER of attacks a round). Shut off DEADLY AIM if you are missing a LOT (lame damage is better than ZERO damage). LAST POINT, if you went say VIVISECTIONIST (subclass of Alchemist), you can get a TON of buffs for those STRENGTH and DEX stats as well as getting a decent amount of SNEAK ATTACK dice. Alternatively, I love me some caster power so think about either MAGUS, or Eldritch Scoundrel. If you are using MODS (you didn't say), then you can get the SENSE VITALS spell by like level 5, 6 or 7 for MAGUS I think as EXTRA MAGUS ARCANA (SPELL BLENDING) and that will add up to 5d6 Sneak Attack Dice. Eldritch Scoundrel would get ALL wizard spells up to level 6. That is a TON of power AND you can even sneak attack with those Melee Touch Attack and Ranged (RAY) Touch Attack spells. That is SUPER fun. 3) Thanks for the kudos, I appreciate that. I wouldn't worry about the spoilers for BG3 as there is a TON of ways to handle each area, and this is still early access, PLUS the early access I think only covers the first (of MANY) chapters. Hope my advice up above is clear and helpful. If you need me to clarify or just have more questions, feel free to ask. Cheers!

[@redvenge709]

@@brothermutant7370 Thanks for the reply! My question about the curve blade is because it does not fit the two handed sword "meta" for turn based combat (which I prefer). In turn based, you use Enlarge + Vital Strike when you have to move more than 5 ft. However, Enlarge will lower your Dex by 2 and your attack bonus by 1, which is pretty terrible for the curve blade. Vital Strike is fairly meh with the curve blade's base 1d10 damage. I was thinking you could go ranger and take the two handed weapon style to get power attack without meeting strength requirements and it gives you access to lead blades which is functionally similar to enlarge, but you would still need 3 levels of rogue for finess training. It just feels like you need to be level 6 before you can start being effective, where if you used a strength based falchion user, you would be effective at level 2. I'm not sure how to get around this. For throwing weapons, I had not considered Vivisectionist. I was using an Eldrich Scoundrel who had metamagic rods to extend sense vitals and greater invisibility. The problem with dual wielding javelins is that they are one handed. That means the two weapon penalty is -4. Rapid shot does work with thrown weapons, but adds another -2 penalty. So, if you use javelins, your first 3 attacks are at -6, your second two attacks are -11, and your third two attacks are -16. If you have 16 or more BAB, you get one more attack at -21. Haste will give you one more attack. So hasted, with 16 or more BAB, you have -6/-6/-6/-6/-11/-11/-16/-16/-21 for a total of 9 thrown attacks. You cant actually hit anything, but it is cool to see all those attacks being made. That is where my problem is. Trying to mitigate those penalties so most of those attacks actually hit. I can lower the penalty by 2 by using a throwing axe in the off hand, but other ideas are greatly appreciated.

[@brothermutant7370]

@@redvenge709 Actually, if you are finessing, Enlarge Person would lower your attack bonus by TWO (one for -2 DEX, the other for SIZE -1). But if being level 6 before you are effective worries you, don't be. If you solo even a little bit in chapter one (before the stag lord fight), you will be level 6+ in no time. Again, the downsides are there are very little good curved blades OR Falchions in game (sorry bout that). BUT, as to your ranged query, if you buff with spells like Greater Heroism (+4 to your swing for caster level minutes per use), Divine Favor or Divine Power (+3AB vs +6AB at max), you have point blank shot (+1 as all those attacks are within 30 feet iirc), you shut off Rapid Shot when needed (regain 2 points to AB), get gear that boosts your ranged attacks (two different sets of gloves that give either a +4 or +5 to your ranged attacks), use spells/gear/mutagen that ups your DEX stat (can get your DEX and AB up another 18-20 more DEX and a +10-11 AB as a result using GRAND MUTAGEN, Reduce Person, +8 DEX gear) AND don't forget Weapon Focuses, Magic Weapon BONUSES, and the Transformation spell (can't cast after its up but prebuff first and go to town), you would have a TON of To Hit buff on your toon. It would be a rough road to travel, and I wouldn't recommend it solo, but you could be fine. Are you using MODS at all? If so, there are a couple other tricks I would do, so let me know if you are and what mods you use. Honestly though, if you tell me race and requirements (more or less) for your build, I can easily make you a vid...either MODDED or UNMODDED that can show you what I come up with, including pie in the sky gear demands.

[@redvenge709]

@@brothermutant7370Sorry for the late reply. I've been messing with different race/class combos for the thrown weapon character. Currently, I am going with Eldritch Scoundrel for a few reasons. Self buffing is nice since it gives me more flexibility with party combinations. Greater Invis makes targets flat footed, which is a huge debuff to AC in many cases. Bewildering injury is another huge debuff that helps iterative attacks hit. Self haste and sense vitals are good for increased damage. Top it off with transformation and it works fairly well. Going with human for the extra feat, but I'm not really invested in humans in particular. If you feel like making a video, would you mind making it about thrown weapons and what class/race/gear combinations that work best with thrown weapons? Most build videos on KZbin are about a class. It's rare to find a video concentrating on a fighting style like thrown weapons or two weapons or a two handed weapon. If there are mods you think will improve thrown weapon combat, please include them. I am looking for ways to improve performance and fun!

[@brothermutant7370]

@@redvenge709 I will work on one tomorrow. Will respond to this comment again when its uploaded. Cheers!

[@MerkinMuffly]

As soon as I got Ekundayo, then Devourer of Metal bow, I had to turn the difficulty up because he's just murdering mobs, along with his dog.

[@brothermutant7370]

Oh yeah, he's a monster for the team for sure. Built right and with the right gear, he destroys for the team consistently. He IS the reason I thought of a ranged Eldritch Archer or Divine Hunter build.

[@eddiebulls7851]

Ekun MODDED build please.

[@brothermutant7370]

I added it to the list and will work on it after the next two. Should be here by next weekend, sorry for the delay, but the other two builds were asked for first.

[@MerkinMuffly]

He's deadly enough as he is, I wouldn't even bother.