DPS is not everything.

[Neponde]

My first playthrough was a 2h warrior, and I eventually abandoned him because i simply could not handle mid game. I got trounced so badly all the time.

So i switched to a rogue archer and effortlessly breezed through the game. I found that way easier to play and win. Why? I dunno. I'm sure, as a better player now (even though i haven't been able to touch the game in 3mo!) I would have no issues with a warrior. I agree with VDX, "best" is a relative term. I prefer to tweak. E.g., "how can I improve this staff summoner build?" Or, "I'm really enjoying this flurry rogue, but what can I do to improve my ability against bosses?" Etc.

I do like this dps suggestion. What I found effective was a range of weapons with elemental counters. Picking the right element for the enemies weakness did a phenomenal job capitalizing on the high attack speed of certain styles.

 

[stonedwolf]

My first playthrough was a 2h warrior, and I eventually abandoned him because i simply could not handle mid game. I got trounced so badly all the time.

So i switched to a rogue archer and effortlessly breezed through the game. I found that way easier to play and win.

LOL and my experience was 100% the opposite. I found 2H warrior god mode.

That said, build is key. Someone was on here years ago crying about their 2H build. My god, just, my god. No Body Development, etc., useless Skills. With one Respec he went from Mr Bean to John Wick.

 

[VDX_360]

Playing style is huge.

If you really love kiting, and are good at it, Rogue Archer is going to be your God Mode. You don't need defense if you never get hit...

A Warrior 2-H Combat build is brutal. My favorite is the Charge + Whirlwind combo. Get the timing and aiming down right and you can clear dungeons with taken little to no damage. Toss in Fury and Battle Rage and you can just about destroy anything without blinking.

 

[Kakost]

This game is a true work of art. There are some general guidelines that can be followed to improve any new starter's game, such as adjusting resistances and a few other tricks, like un-equiping your companion to replenish their lives, but other than that it becomes a matter of skill and style for the player. For instance, playing a glass cannon Mage for me is being a walk in the park, I adapted pretty well to be a dodge king, and on several dungeons Im not hit more than a half dozen of times, and sometimes I can go over without taking a single hit, if Im patient enough. Playing Meele Rogue however is being a massive challenge, but Archer for me is also being super easy. And I hated Cleric lol.

After a point, it becomes a matter of skill and "gut feeling". Which is best, slow but powerful attacks, or very fast ones? That depends on a ton of factors. A Boss with huge defense will be easier with powerful attacks; however, maybe using Archer Rogue, it would instead be best to stun him a lot (if possible); if you add poison on the mix, then it's another variable totally different. And those things will only come with time and experience to evaluate, so the best is to stack as many different "strategies" as possible. I right now have all the 4 valts in the bank and all the 6 chests over the 3 houses we have filled with items; so for example, when I need to deal with strong undeads or frost enemies, I have to take my sets in New Garand, and so on. And my many weapons are at Tremadans tower, with all kinds of elemental damage, while I keep 1 fire and 1 ice weapon at all times for me and for Griss (1 in the hand, 1 in the bag), which covers most of what I need; just eventually I go home to switch gears, and this feels like a TRUE RPG.

 

[VDX_360]

Player Preference, and Playing Style do factor into the overall game experience. That accounts for a lot of the vaguely tittle "gut feeling" about any given combat situation. Vague is not a bad thing, just a reflection of how difficulty it is to narrow down real damage once one goes beyond DPS.

Just for reference:
Damager Per Second (DPS): Standard term to refer to the raw damage output. DPH x Attack Rate.
Damage Per Hit (DPH): The damage of the attack per hit.
Raw Damage (raw): Total damage before adjustment for defense, armor, etc.
Actual Damage (actual): Damage done after all adjustments such as defense, abilities, bonus etc.
Time-to-kill: A less used term that is how long it takes to kill an enemy.
Damage Received: Damage player receives during the encounter.
Resources Used: Vague term includes, potions mana, etc.

Players choose, consciously or not, which factors to prioritize. For example, players using a Stab-centric rogue might freely choose a longer fight to avoid receiving damage (rather the definition of a kite fight). Or, a player trying to save up for that expensive +2 STR belt, might try to minimize resources such as healing potions, even if it makes the farming trip a little longer.

The lists goes on.

Given how complicated the discussion gets, it's not surprising, simply using DPS as a quick reference is an universal metric.

PS: It's also better to comment in a thread, not sending me a direct message.

 

[DaleTilgo2022]

LOL and my experience was 100% the opposite. I found 2H warrior god mode.

That said, build is key. Someone was on here years ago crying about their 2H build. My god, just, my god. No Body Development, etc., useless Skills. With one Respec he went from Mr Bean to John Wick.

I struggled with 1H warrior. After converting to 2H warrior and respeccing my character I was surprised when I out brute forced a dragon. My current AGL rogue is stab and stealth centered but I'm horrible at using bows. I realized that bows are not necessarily bad weapons for a rogue I just lack the ability to use them effectively.

 

[VDX_360]

A combat focused 2-H warrior has the easiest combat in the game, which is expected. Of course, going all-in on combat means you might miss a lot of quest triggers based on traits.

You touch upon a key point. Matching your build with your preferred playing style is really helpful. Not only will you improve your overall combat ability, you'll have a much more enjoyable time.

 

[Kakost]

To me so far Meele Rogue has been the hardest one to play so far. On Iron man it was... a series of disasters. I'll try it on Hard, but it's still a pain

 

[VDX_360]

Melee Rogues are better suited for:
1) Kite-and-stab-and-hope-like-hell-assassinate-kicks-in.
2) Let-your-companion-be-a-chew-toy-and-flank-like-a-sabercat-hunting-a-wilderbeast.

What Melee Rouges are not well suited for:
3) Traditional Melee.

So "melee" in Melee Rogues is a very, very, loose term.

 

[DaleTilgo2022]

What I've found with my rogue is that I have many more tools in my toolkit and that gives me many more options and greater adaptability. My 2H warrior was like having a sledge hammer but only a sledge hammer. This is great until you encounter a wall that you can't knock down.