Cursed NM/roguelike guide

[AbsoluteO]

This guide has been tried and won nightmare/roguelike without any deaths

http://te4.org/characters/140043/tome/d ... 5032ac8ef4
(I died trying Antomaton, without any way to deal with physical sustains I killed myself twice (blood of life respawned me).

Race
good to bad
Ogre: I went ogre to abuse the +40% infusion scaling combined with I can carry the world and antimagic. 2h wielding + shield was an added bonus as I got warmonger's sword (the one with +20% dmg vs living, and -20% dmg from living).
Thalore Thalore would be my second choice for the all res primarily
Halfling While the cc negation from their final isn't that needed, the crit from the first would actually have been nice. Since Cursed don't have any real way of getting high crit, having that boost for 100% would have helped.
Cornac A bad choice, but still better than the other races I haven't mentioned. You don't need the cat point, and their lowish hp per level will hurt you since you won't go any con.
The rest Since IMO antimagic is the way to go, the rest of the races just plain suck.


Talents

Cursed / Slaughter
Slash Good to leave at level 1 for a long time, I went 3/5 at the end, the scaling isn't good enough to justify going more. I would even consider leaving it at 1-2.

Frenzy is oftentimes your biggest damage dealer against a single target, and it's decent clearing aoe in a pinch, I went 3/5, and I don't recommend going higher because see above.

Reckless Charge Incredible skill, I went 3/5 and I would never go less, but you can go more here. I'd probably move the skills points from Slash to here .

Cleave; Just plain bad. You don't want to face more than 1 mob at the time, and when you do it's usually trash otherwise GTFO with reckless charge or teleport trinket.

End stats
1-3/5
3/5
3-5/5
0/5

Cursed / Endless Hunt
Stalk is nice. Will help you hit stuff easier, and if you’re fighting a crowd, it’s the only way you’re going to burst down something using Frenzy. Don't go more than 1 early, and get it to 3-5 by late game (30+).

Beckon is good, and better against casters. It can be used in tandem with leveled Preternatural Senses in order to lure targets into a one-on-one engagement, but mostly I use it so that casters waste turns. The scaling isn't great and with strong bump attacks, I left it at 1, and would recommend the same.

Harass Prey; excellent for reducing damage done and putting talents on cooldown, scaling is poor as hell, so leave it at 1.

Surge; I don't see the appeal. Between all your escape moves and a teleport trinket it just isn't necessary. Plus: repel.

End stats
3-5/5
1/5
1/5
0/5

Cursed / Strife
Dominate is an important opener vs bosses, making the remainder of your attacks do increased damage. Go 3/5 because it doesn't scale much after that, 4/5 works too for another turn duration.

Preternatural Senses Try to get 2 levels in it by maze, around level 14. then level it up as you go along, have it at 3-4 by far east, and max it if you want to.

Blindside’s like Reckless Charge; can get you in, but can get you out. Can also be used to target Stalked or Preternaturally Sensed targets. Abuse this. 4/5 for the cooldown, 5/5 works too.

Repel; 4/5. You will be using shield +1 or shield +2, and this is just too good. I got 35% chance to block with it at the end. Going 5/5 isn't worth it since the last point is just +1% more. Get it early to 3, and then 4 around 20 sometime.

End stats
3-4/5
4-5/5
4-5/5
4/5

Cursed / Gloom
Gloom is most likely your main form of control, and entirely automated. Able to hit enemies with a host of effects, all of it is randomized but each status can and will help you in virtually all battles. The only way to get mileage out of it throughout the game, I find, is to level all of Gloom's relevant talents in order to get it to proc consistently as you get higher in levels. 5/5

Weakness will up your survivability immensely if you can get it to proc. The best way to get it to proc is to pump it as much as possible, for that sweet, sweet ~30% damage reduction. 5/5

Dismay awful ability, no point going above 1/5 for unlock.

Sanctuary; Your other bread n butter beside repel. Go for an early 3/5 and then end it at 4/5 or 5/5

End stats
5/5
5/5
1/5
4-5/5

Cursed / Rampage
Unlock at 10

Rampage Rampage is great, but never use the active ability unless you absolutely have to. It's important to save to get out (+movement speed) or to fight a boss with. Never use it on trash. Go early 2-3, and then max it later (15-20).

Brutality Also good, go 3 points early, then 4 keep it at 4 until very late game where you max it.

Tenacity Meh ability, since it's just once per turn it's not really worth a lot. Go 1-2 points and leave it at that.

Slam Awful damage, and since you'll likely lose Physical power because of 2h + shield you won't get the proc that often on things that matter. 0/5

End stats
5/5
5/5
2/5
0/5


Cursed / Predator
Unlock at 36
Predator Grab orc and run with that in the prides, but make sure you never cleared the spellblaze area in the west. Go back for that before high peak and set predator to humanoid / shalore, or humanoid / human. go 1 point at 36, and then max it around 40ish.

Anatomy Crap, 1 point and leave it

Outmaneuver Great ability for some extra phys pen, max it by level 50, 0/5 till 45ish

mimic probably not worth a point, I went 1/5, but go 0/5

End stats
5/5
1/5
5/5
0/5


Technique / Combat Training
Thick Skin; a key survival skill for any class. If you cannot find con items, get some con after maxing str AND willpower to get enough for max thick skin.

Armour Training,
Weapon Mastery 4/5 by 20, 5/5 by 26
Combat Accuracy; 3/5 fairly early, 4/5 until high peak, 5/5 high peak


Cursed / Cursed Form
Unnatural Body 1/5 not much more to say

Cursed Form 4/5 early, then 5/5 by 28 ish.

Seethe pretty good damage, get it once you go east, 1-2 points early ish, and then go 3-4 later

Grim Resolve; nah.

End stats
1/5
5/5
4/5
0/5

Cursed / Cursed Aura
Cursed Aura You lack generics as AM, you won't be able to fit it in.


Cunning / Survival
Survival 0/0 everything

Ogre
Ogre wrath 1/5 to unlock, cannot use it as AM. Set it on auto use when mobs are adjacent and get some mileage from it early.
Grisly constitution 5/5 after you have 2-3 points in weapon mastery and 2-3 in accuracy.
Scar-scriped flesh 1/5 lategame when you have some critchance

End stats
1/5
5/5
1/5
0/5

Wild growth / Fungus
unlock at 20
Wild Growth 1/5 early, 5/5 mid 30s to get 100% uptime on your regen infusion
fungal growth 1/5
Ancestral life 1-2/5 early, 4-5/5 late to make sure you can keep antimagic shield up.

End stats
5/5
1/5
4/5
0/5

Wild Gift / Antimagic
Resolve 1/5 but you can go more here, 3-4/5 wouldn't be bad late gamte.
Silence 1 early, 4 early 30s
antimagic shield 2 early, can go more if you want to, but generally it won't be worth it.

End stats
1/5
4/5
2/5
0/5


Stats
Max str first, keeping will high enough for gloom then max willpower
Put points in con if you need it for tough skin, but try not to, instead max cunning.

Escapes
Besides your ordinary skills, try to save rampage so you can run with it if needed, and make sure to only use gapclosers if you actually need to, otherwise save to to GTFO or chase someone down. Never use reckless charge unless you have to, it's an excellent out.

Psychoportation Torquesare your final resort, for when you absolutely know you’ve messed up, but try to use it early, if you face 2 elites and an army and you just got stunned, pop a wild infusion and teleport out. better do it early so you can make sure to beat whatever you teleport into as well. Then rest up and pull them with beckon once you see em over a wall.

Iron Acorn (Good) or Cold Iron Acorn (Evil)?
I went evil, but I would go good if I went again, that +15 MP would help a lot, and the extra phys dmg isn't that great.

Infusions/Runes… Which, and how many?
you run 3 till you get back to the west from the east, you'll use the cat point you get from the heart for another infusion (around level 35-37).

early game:
Wild (physical/mental)
Regeneration
Heal

Mid game
Wild (physical/magical) (when you have 100% confusion resistance)
heal
heal

Late game
Wild (physical/magical)
heal
heal
regen (get one at 13 or lower cd so you can cycle it 100% with maxed wild growth)


Which Prodigies?
Superpower
I Can Carry the World!

In that order. You'll need the damage, from superpower, and it gives you a lot of MP so your gloom will become significantly stronger at level 30. Pick up I can carry the world at 42 for better repel, and a lot more damage and MP. I see no other prodigy that even comes close as cursed, since you need the damage and MP badly.


What equipment should I be looking for?
+ healing mod is important early, you need at least +50% so you are comfortable at 100% without hate and 150% with. After that +50% confusion immunity is essential, +50% stun is needed to, but not as needed since you'll always have a physical infusion. Getting 100% conf let's you drop for a phy/magical which let's you ditch annoying magical effects such as flameshock and impending doom which will fk you over as AM. After that it's +str and +will that are important. Crit on cloak, gloves and belt are nice too, as is size modifier on belt and boots. +mindpower is very strong too, so try to get it.
Weapon, only run 2h if you gain a lot from it. You'll lose a lot of mindpower, so try to make sure you get at least 30% damage from 2h. Warmonger's sword is probably best in slot, that +20% dmg and -20% dmg taken is legit, the frenzy is very good too for a class without 100% crit chance (it's +30% aspd, +12% crit chance, only die when -30% hp).

Don't underestimate girdle of calm water, imo it's top 5 belts in the game as AM, the healing mod is legendary and the resists are incredibly good as blight is usually a main killer.

End fight
If you've had it here, you're home safe. By now you'll have enough damage to kill them both before your ally is dead since predator will kick in hard.
Against Elandar & Argoniel, ALWAYS start with killing the caster. I got them both in less than 20 turns, with the melee one taking up 15 of those.
Pop dominate and frenzy and go all out on the caster, he'll die in 5-8 turns, then blindside to the melee and just cycle your skills while the pala tanks. If something would go wrong, don't be afraid to reckless charge away and close portals instead.



Overall, winning nightmare as cursed on roguelike was the easiest run I've done. After having died as a Sunpala twice (once in high peak and once on the final boss (not enough dmg), and 3-4 mindslayers in high peak, along with an oozemancer and a paradox mage, getting this win was easy. Nothing was ever close in this run, no boss ever posed a deathly threat, and once I got blood of life in the armory I always felt safe. With permanent 300 hp regen, 2 heal infusions at 800 each, and very high flat DR along with 35% block chance and -30% dmg from ranged any damaging threat isn't very threatening, at least not until high peak bosses. So you can skip one or multiple of them if they are strong.

[HousePet]

Tenacity is not just once per turn.

[AbsoluteO]

Tenacity is not just once per turn.

Really? It reads exactly like it's once per turn,

"Nothing will stop your rampage.
Rampage Bonus: You shrug off up to [20]100cTStD:Str damage each turn during your rampage. If you shrug off more than (4 * [20]100cTStD:Str) damage, the rampage duration increases by 1.
The amount of damage you can shrug off improves with your Strength. "

Are you saying that the tooltip is wrong and that you negate up to 100cTStd:str damage per attack? If so then you obviously max tenacity, and it'll be even easier winning as cursed.

[HousePet]

Nah, it is that much per turn, but over any number of attacks.

[AbsoluteO]

Nah, it is that much per turn, but over any number of attacks.

Okay, so still as bad as I thought. I mean, negating 100 damage per turn isn't going to do much. It's not a bad skill, but the scaling past level 2 isn't great, and there are other skills to take, plus it's not up all the time. And generally, when you're in rampage you're fine.

[ArschAngel]

thank you for this guide, much appreciated. It's thorough and short at the same time, good job. Please consider writing guides on other classes too

I will give it a go tomorrow, I want to beat nightmare badly.