I know the title is a bit presumptuous so let me elaborate a bit.
I was doing a bit of a masochistic run - tactical solo JoaT trying to avoid combat as much as possible. At the start of act 3 I was level 6 and every NPC is 9+. So I figured the "no fighting" part was a bad idea so I am restarting my run.
In every discussion I've seen the consensus is that you should go with Ranged using lv 2/3 Wizard spells as support.
On my first run I was going with a similar approach but using Eldritch Blast instead. The idea being that - sure Ranged stacks with DEX but EB can stack with CHA if you use the Potent Robe. Interestingly if you get the Ne'er Misser in act 2 your Sneak Attack now deals Force damage instead; that also scales from CHA with the robe. The Stalker Gloves in act 3 (extra sneak attack 1d4 force damage) also scale with the Robe. So at level 10 you have your 3x EB + the SA + the ESA all scaling from CHA. My gameplan was basically - spam Darkness and EB from the center of it. There is a ring in act 2 that prevents blindness so accuracy wasn't that much of an issue. Darkness also counts as advantage for Sneak Attack.
I did all the math that I could and from what I can tell using dual hand crossbows is about the same damage before level 10 (and less after that because EB gets another blast) even though it has only 2 attacks. As far as DPS goes the best I could think of was the Diadem of Arcane Synergy + Callous Glow Ring + Weapon dipping + Lightning Charges + any of the damage boosting gloves. Technically you can boost with another ring if you are not using Darkness (I can't really figure out how you'll be fighting bosses/big groups like that, but you technically can). I couldn't figure out how to consistently get lightning charges with dual hand crossbows but I am just assuming it's an option.
For EB the boosting comes from the Potent Robe + Callous Glow Ring + Lightning Charges. Boots of Arcane Bolstering sound good on paper but from what I saw while playing you need to dash before you attack in order to get the boost; and I can't find a reliable way to both keep the Darkness up (so no Expeditious Retreat) and dash + EB each turn. For the amulet - Elemental Torment with Caustic Brine if you have a caustic bulb for every fight. Before you say "Hex" -> Can't really have it up while also having Darkness.
Math:
Hand crossbow base: 1-6
Enchantment: 2
DEX (assuming 20): 5
CHA (assuming 18): 4
Dip: 1-4
Gloves: 1-4
Ring: 2-2
Electric Charges: 1-1
One hit = 17-28
Both hits + Sneak Attack = 35-62 (average of 48.5. You can boost it a bit with arrows, but I doubt you'll have enough arrows for all the fights)
Eldritch Blast:
Each blast is boosted with (I will assume 16 CHA it obviously can be more but I am spreading my stats for solo): 3 from CHA + 2 from ring + 1 from Electric Charges or a total of +6 per hit. You can also + 1d4 acid from the ground + amulet combo. Before level 10 thats:
Blast: 1-10 +6 + 1-4 = 8-20 (average of 14)
Blast: 1-10 +6 + 1-4 = 8-20 (average of 14)
SA: 1-6 +6 + 1-4 = 8-16 (average of 12)
ESA: 1-4 + 6 + 1-4 = 8-14 (average of 11)
That's an average of 51.
Now since the DPS is about the same for the most part (unless, and most likely, I am missing something severely important) the utility comes to mind.
- You still have your bonus action with EB, which ironically you can spend on a hand crossbow attack (I often did to clear up trash and for Arcane Acuity) or as much as people dismiss it - just chugging potions.
- EB has a range of 18m and a Hand Crossbow comes with a range of 15m.
- EB deals Force Damage. As far as I can tell almost nothing is resistant to Force Damage. Some harder monsters on the other hand are resistant to Pierce.
While I was fighting the Apostle of Myrkul I can safely say that being able to chug potions and the extra 3m range won me the fight (after 1 grueling hour until I could figure out how to position myself). This fight alone is the only reason I am making the thread as I cannot see a viable way to clear it with Ranged. You can ignore Pierce resistance with ... gloves you can get in act 3.
The one upside that I can see with using dual hand crossbows is that my armor slot is now free and honestly Shadeclinger Armour + Darkness looks appealing. But right now the armor seems to be bugged and you can just equip it -> get the boost -> remove it -> the boost stays until long rest (or at least the UI for it does).
TL;DR - I am 100% sure I am missing something important but I can't figure out what it is. I tried asking on Reddit, got 2 replies telling me basically "Just use Ranged" with no elaboration on why.
EDIT: Spelling errors.
Last edited by Hajutze; 17/10/23 10:33 AM.
