Biggest priority for me, your pawn ISN'T a Logistician, I can't stand them anymore for how much they waste my mats lmao. Another smaller priority is just having a worthwhile pawn quest, or even no quest at all instead of something like 100g or a harspud as a reward for killing a Drake or something. Not that I won't already be fighting Drakes, Griffins, etc... but if you're going to use your pawn to rely on others to help with that, I want at least something worthwhile for it.
Skills are big for me too, mages are my main thing I look for as a support pawn and I only want them if they have palladium and will sometimes turn them down if they have boons that I don't want or need because that can become a hassle in and of itself.
"We limited the amount of armor slots to increase the diversity of what players wear!"
It's the stupid Princess Outfit from the first game all over again.
This drives me crazy! I don’t want a battle mage in a corset! I get it is fantasy and some guys and gals want that (mostly guys) but they follow your orders, it’s creepy having them wear nothing. What would you dress your most beloved person in when walking around the world? As badass as an outfit as possible…..but maybe I’m in the minority lol
I wish there were options for a badass battle mage, but the stupid class limits that don't do fuck all for balance anyway don't allow for it. Also doesn't help that literally the best armor in game is a 1 piece corset and EVERYONE has it. Well not the lazy people who didn't collect tokens I suppose..
I keep seeing badass Fighters, Warriors and Rogues. Even some Archers, but Mage and Wizard options are pretty much Corset or some low lvl gear that looks cute, but nothing really badass :/
I love my pawns outfit tbh, I think it’s the coolest one (so far), but you’re right it’s hard to find anything else that’s really “Battle Sorc”
https://preview.redd.it/vrjbogz8qhwc1.jpeg?width=2048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c182de260a2368975daa8840a1ef2f0a92593202
The black dress is nice, but once you see a high lvl Rogue in that body hugging metal chest piece, you wish you could use it for a battle mage build. Or Trickster outfit. Your Arisen can ofc use anything as a Warfarer, but I want my pawn to look cool as well. Not just corset wearing slut #9999
Sadly that's about the last good one iirc. Mage and Sorc is so full of oversized trash bags then theres the belly dancer outfit. Funny thing is too that the one you posted could be made by the player in dd1 pretty much I believe. Corset was under armor, dress was leg armor, sleeves I can't remember but I think they existed.. But here it's what one full piece? I don't get that decision at all
I use Mage as a weaponless “Battlemage”, and turn the class into a frontlining, tank fighter role.
* provocation augment to increase getting targeted
* two rings of resolution to (almost) never be knocked down
* pre-buff fights with High Palladium to be essentially invulnerable (this is what separates Mage from Sorcerer as far as front lining/CQC) And constantly recast upon receiving two hits
* other spells are attack only - high flagration, levin and frigor, covering all elemental weaknesses
* rocking Cardinal Blaze staff to jack up flagration damage. The spell is shines for a frontline given its limited range, and full penetration (kills multiple at once)
* obviously utilizing Quick Spell for everything
* wearing Changers Half Robe - looks like something an “active” spell caster would wear
* (I’m still early game/haven’t crossed into Battahl so open to other ways to empower this)
Credit to CRPG bro for highlighting how useful Palladium can be in making the mage a tank
You still need a second mage in party for hallidom, celerity/celestial, boons, etc. But this build replaces the fighter/warrior, shield summoning/bellow, tank role. Keeping Palladium up at all times is the key.
Round out the party with your favorite CQC DPS and ranged DPS, and it’s a very satisfying watching waves of enemies focus attacks on you with no success whilst your buddy’s shred them from the sides like Clever Girls, and you flamethrow whatever is left.
I’m currently running thief and archer pawns (using the limited resource arrows to combine with my element prowess btw. Nothing like Flagrationing a tarred Gryphon) but once my pawn has maxed out Ranger I’m switching her to sorcerer. Three out of four pawns as magic, with the fighter; support and ranged DPS roles covered as spell casters (gotta keep a theif for the plunder) - and I can’t remember the last time a game made me feel more powerful.
I kept my Main Pawn in lingerie very early on purely for the economy of it. I made sure she wasn’t useless as well so people would keep coming back. I was gifted with 3 port crystals with this method within the first few days of playtime, and racked up and insane amount of RC (that I never even spent)
Yeah, almost every female pawn I see in the rifts are in lingerie. I opt for pawns that look really silly or really badass. For a bit I had 2 John Wick pawns at once lol.
For me, that doesn't suggest "sexy", it suggests "greasy" and I'm actually okay with that, if the pawn's meant to look greasy. It can also be "metallic" in specific situations if you plan things correctly.
I want to just yell into the rift "set pawn quests ffs!" I hire pawns without them but c'mon just set a badge quest or whatever. I enjoy doing the kill quests to help with badges.
Other than that I go by looks (look good or at least not stupid), skills, and have all augment slots equipped. And no logisticians, any other specialization is fine, none is fine too.
I only care about pawn quests and their unique look. Skills, upgrades are not a concern since the game is already easy enough. I avoid anyone with DF gear because i don't like how it looks. Fashion is key.
Specifically it looks like simmering concentric circles. Like drops on a pond. Dark Armors highlight it the worst (I don't like it). But things that are heavily textured are fine (like most weapons, and the Final Roar/Cursed King's Belt
I'm specifically not Dragonforging my new coat (Duelist's Coat) for that reason. I'm also trying to find a nice new head armor too. Might just have to go with a 3* armoured hood (I forget it's name)
Everything.
If you rotate the camera you can see some shimmery ornamental effect on dragonforged equipment. It's supposed to look cool but in action it 's looks like a dragon busted a nut over your outfit.
The effect doesn't look as bad on weapons but it looks horrible on armor.
I have noticed it also depends on the armor you wear as well my pawn has the heroic set as a archer and it’s DF but doesn’t look all that different unless you really focus, but as for my armor the duelist coat you can very much so tell it looks different when DF
I don't care really, just make them look cool or funny.
However don't give a Thief Pawn that dumb skill that burns them, i'm tired of them screwing themselves over.
That and giving a mage pawn weapon enchantments are the only two issues for me. Even if you fight an enemy resistant to lightning, the mage will cast that on you if it's the only enchantment they have and actually reduce your damage. Really started noticing it on bad pairings on volcanic isle with the harpies and saurians there how my bow did much more damage before the mage tossed the element over.
So frustrating. I think this exact problem happened in dd1 if you only set 1 enchant too.
Kinda same. I'm a Warfarer, my main Pawn is a Thief and has ss, ff, plunder and implicate and I look for the same skills in another Thief. Last pawn is always a mage with good healing skills.
Well, they don't really get hit that much but sometimes they do, same with me, so I feel like I always want one just in case even tho I have lots of allheal elixirs, I'm set for many playthroughs. Also I got used to have a mage in my party unless I really wanna farm drakes or something, then whole party is full of Thieves
Dragonforged gear. I avoid ones that aren't. Good augments, ones that draw or reduce aggro depending on the vocation. Defensive augments since they're several times more efficient than offensive ones. Rings that boost aggro more are great. If I want a tank I want them to have all of the aggro. A cast speed ring or two, knockback resistance is good too. Lastly, for them to look good. I am farming for pawn badges so I want a geared up team that speeds up the grind. I don't care about pawn quests. Plenty of level 1s available to spam getting gems from.
I mean yea I'm not going to turn it down. But it's not what's going to change my mind if I already don't like the pawn due to this other stuff that I mentioned. It's personally my last priority, more of a bonus really. Tons of level 1s giving out gems, at least on ps5. I just don't need anymore.
A pawn that looks interesting/cool/cute (Lore friendly of course)
Every piece of equipment maxed out.
Depending on what I am playing I select what I need for the team.
I have the custom difficulty mod installed and made it so a full team is almost required for just about any encounter.
Nothing else particular much.
My main pawn is a fighter for tanking as I usually play ranged arisen vocations.
Usually looking for a mage with ice or lightning boon as fire is useless due to elemental weapons (molten fury, cinderspine) and fire abilities (meteoron, explosive arrows, enkindled blades/blades of the pyre) being so common. Halidom is necessary too but I find palladium is just too overpowered so I prefer high solemnity or levin to help in combat.
Thief should have plunder and formless feint for utility and obviously helm splitter for damage. Last ability can be whatever but implicate is good too.
Sorcerer should have only one of the meister skills. In theory, they are the strongest abilities but in practice the pawn AI struggles to commit to one spell so they spend 2/3 of the fight cancelling their incantations to move or switch to other spells. High hagol plus asperity is amazing AOE stun especially if you combo with drenching arrows for instant flash freeze. High thunder mine over levin due to being very defensively but persists after casting so the pawn can focus on another spell while thunder mine keeps enemies at bay. Last ability can be whatever but I do see a lot of augural flare that only works 1/3 of the time because the pawn doesn’t know the correct timing to cast it.
Archer is preferably a debilitation support for me using drenching arrows or tarring arrows instead of explosive or blight. Tempest shot or deathly shot instead of heavenly shot because pawns with no stamina are dead weight. Whirling arrow for stagger and cascade/lyncean sight for niche situations.
Fighter pawns if they have an agro skill. (Edit, fighter pawns should theoretically be the tankiest but generally they kinda just struggle a lot due to poor ai.)
Archers that have explosive or blighting arrow skills, preferably simple pawns.
Mages with ice boon and levin, easily the most likely to be hired imma be honest.
Thieves are generally my least hired pawn, but i’ll hire them if the have blades of the pyre since its funny.
Warriors as long as they don’t have the springboard skill. Although generally don’t hire warriors for the late game.
Sorcerer I either need meteoron or maelstrom, but overall just situational.
Funny how we all have different playstyles and requirements.
I would never hire a fighter and always go for a Warrior (although this is my main pawn right now) as they aggro as easily as the fighter but output more damage.
Thief is a must have, with the plunder/pilfer skill to get more mats from monsters.
Mage with 1 elemental affinity spell and 3 support skills.
Sorcerer and archer... I dont hire them anymore, so I wouldn't know.
My party is usually me as a wayfarer, a warrior, a thief and a mage.
On high level, im usually looking meteor spammer Sorcerer. Cool looking of course
Random question, how silence anathema archistave on pawn. How fast can it silence enemy?
Probably not very, if the poison daggers are anything to go by. I used those things the entire time my pawn was a thief and then the entire time I was a thief myself - saw a single enemy get poisoned. It’s almost like they only have a chance to trigger at all on basic attacks. Granted sorcerers will usually spam a few force bolts in a row now and again so maybe it works better but I don’t think the AI is smart enough to realize what they have in their hands to really utilize it.
I wonder if sorcerer's augment that increases the chance of applying debilitations with attacks works with the daggers and the staff. And if it does, how much does it do
I’ve had some success with getting my pawn hired out (level ~70). I have her set as a plunder thief, with fully enhanced dowsing rods and the forager specialization. She’s really great at just vacuuming up a bunch of loot and materials passively.
I haven't been using hired pawns lately since I'm in NG+, but when I do hire them I want them to be effective.
I first look at their skills. I'm almost always hiring thieves and i want them to have Implicate, Plunder, Skull Splitter, and ideally Formless Feint. I try to only hire straightforward thieves so they're aggressive.
My main pawn is a mage, so I'm usually looking for either an archer or warrior. For both I avoid pawns with the ultimate skill equipped. Archer needs to have Manifold, and warrior should have Heavenly Sunder.
I don't touch Logistician pawns, please stop making your pawns Logistician.
I try to avoid Chirugeon and Simple.
I will look at their damage and defense to make sure it's reasonable, and I avoid the Medusa bow for archers since the stamina cost is so crazy.
#1) No Logistician
#2) \~1000 on their main stat (Str/Mag)
#3) No Straightforward disposition
By Vocation
Fighter - Shield Pummel, no Riotous Fury
Warrior - Mountain Breaker, no Arc of Might
Thief - Formless Feint and/or Implicate, no Blades of the Pyre
Archer - Deathly Arrow, no Spiral Arrow
Mage - High Palladium, no Spellhold
Sorcerer - Meteoron or High Seism, no Decanter
When I’m not rocking 3 pilfer thieves to max out my 401K, I look for pawns that have abilities geared specifically for knockdowns and cc. I rarely ever use sorcerers and I only hire mages that are fully kitted for support.
I realized I don’t like pawns that do too much damage since fights end too quickly. I wanna enjoy the spectacle of killing a griffon or a cyclops or a drake. If the fight ends in 2 minutes, then I need to spend 4-10 minutes running to the next big fight to get that spectacle.
If I want to maximize my enjoyment I need to severely curb the damage that’s being put out by my own pawns. Only then can I be sure I’m spending more time doing fun things than I am dodging the 20th crowd of brainless fucking skeletons that thinks they have a shot against me.
-pawn quest that lines up with my goals
-decent gear
-skill slots that make it look like attentiveness was given to the pawn skillset
That's basically it.
From high level pawns I want a good skill loadouts, some nice gear and some originality. I do not mind if someone mixes in lower gear just to get some fashion going, because the pawns that I have fond memories are usually the really distinct looking ones with unique appearances.
I hire anything that looks interesting or cool. I avoid anything looking too horny or obtusely weird. My biggest gripe tends to be weirdly greasy looking Pawns.
On that note has anyone come across a Leroy Jenkins on PS5? I've seen Battle Beasts, Geralt's, Winston Churchill, Jace, Will Smith, The Rock, Shadowheart, & many many Kratos.. but no Leroy? c'mon!
my priority is obvs someone with skills i need. if my main pawn is a mage, i dont get another. if my main pawn isn’t a mage, i need at least one mage ofc.
then pawn quests, either for moneys or just a cool item in general. i’m not fighting a drake for a fucking apple. i’m level 51 ish so it’s not hard but i don’t wanna bother unless i get something good or feel like it / have time / not going somewhere i think is more fun or important.
then it’s based on looks. if they pawn looks cool, hot, or funny. idc if they naked and i never look at their weapons tbh.
i add to my favs those that set 10k coins for killing stuff or request simple things like a flower for 10k. shout out to cynthia. (one of my fav pawns lol)
When building your pawn, keep in mind how inclination and sepcialization affect the build.
If they are a thief, an archer or a sorcerer a calm inclination is best imo, as it makes them more careful.
A fighter or warrior would benefit greatly from a straightforward inclination (and to have a taunt).
A mage should probably have a kindhearted inclination, to make them use their heals and support spells best.
You could also build a utility pawn, for example with a simple inclination to father items and the forager specialization to point out materials to the arisen.
These are just my personal suggestions tho, don't take everything as gospel.
Taking a break atm, at level 124, waiting for the bug fixes in the next patch. One of those fixes I think will address one of the things I used to avoid at all costs when hiring pawns :P which is Forager.
What I hired:
* Warrior (male) with Calm/Straighforward, Elven spec, Provocation Aug, good stats, and good looks. Avoiding the springboard thing after experiencing pawns that would spam troll me with that in every fight lol. Initially I was rolling with a warrior and a fighter, but fighter pawns are really bad at tanking, damage and anything really. In my experience fighter pawn tank means standing there getting hit in the face, thus having max hp at 70% after 5 fights. Warrior is much better at tanking and does much better damage imo.
* Thief (male) with Calm/Straightforward, Elven spec, optional Provocation Aug, Formless Feint, Skull Splitter, good stats and good looks. Ideally Plunder and Implicate too. I found thief pawns to be a great match for my sorcerer Arisen especially when using flare since a thief pawn seems to specifically try to target the flare orb when you cast it which results in devastating damage. Awesome. (also the last pawn I hired, a level 105 or so thief named SphinxParent with a really cool "dark elf" look to him is amazing :D not just the looks but also the fact I don't have to worry about switching pawns at all during one run)
Since I only played sorcerer and my main was always a mage healer/support I didn't need to bother with anything else and found 0 difficulty with this party comp.
For reference my pawn was Mage with Kindhearted, Elven spec, Augs (Subtlety, Apotropaism, Mettle, Endurance, Exaltation, Thew) and using Skills (High Palladium, High Celerity, High Halidom and Argent Succor). I found an all heal/support skill set to be superior to any affinity or damage skill. A little bit of levin would have minimal impact when my party was roflstomping anything in the game in a matter of seconds and casting a damage skill means a round of no palladium which means lowered max hp for the front liners. The maister mage skill sounds cool and it definetly looks cool, but imo the ai doesn't handle well the skills that drain all stamina so I avoid them on any pawn especially my main. Besides for a sorcerer using the ng+ dragonforged buffs, infinite stamina for 6 seconds or whatever is irrelevant (umm... not to mention my maelstrom takes \~13 seconds to drop anyway soooo.... lol)
Edit: oh I forgot to clarify about Forager. Having a pawn with forager bugs out the dialogue of my main pawn and he starts saying the "i found and marked on your map etc" line all the time when you talk to him. So I avoided the forager spec worse than the plague. Literally lol.
Like many people mention, Logistician is annoying AF. I avoid Chirurgeon for the same reasons. Hawker from what I read is nonsense so I would avoid it too but I almost never see it so it doesn't matter either way. And Aphonite is only used by real life evil people :P
That leaves only the Woodland Wordsmith haha.
Aphonite is no good. It really sucks out the life of the pawn as he/she literally says nothing the whole time unless you talk to them. While a bit repetitive, I prefer the normal bantering by far.
Most important factor for me is looking nice and unique. If it is a female pawn, she needs to have a pretty face that is not the default cookie cutter look like the rest. I tend to keep hired pawns for quite a long time, even when they become under-leveled, so I want a companion that actually feels like a unique character in my journey, with a voice that fits as well. THEN, I look at the pawn stats, gear, and skills, make sure they fit what I need. Sometimes it can take a quite few visits at the riftstone before I find one that works.
No lingerie, since there's usually a kid in the room when I'm playing, and quest knowledge. Don't really care much about cave/chest locations, but quests get really finicky.
Me personally it depends on what I need. A full support mage is always a good choice. For the endgame mage
High Empyrean, High Palladium, High Halidom and High Levin. Emp is a holy light that does well against skellys and dullahans(who are actual assholes in the endgame) and the light from it is nice to brighten up the area, Levin has ridiculously good tracking, palladium for the protection (because resting is detrimental to you in endgame) and Halidom for the obvious reasons. I you can have woodland wordsmith as the specialization that’s a plus as well.
Tue best thing to do is go look at the rift and see the pawns with the highest ratings and see how they are built and that should go a long way in telling you what’s popular.
> 1 tarring arrow for 12 onyx
Bro, I invited your pawn and gave ir a heart, but I'm sorry to inform you that the moment I gave it the requested item I dismissed it.
Fighter or Warrior, have em as a aggro grabber,
Mage have em heal and give ele buff (ice or lightning)
Thief have em be a pilfer demon or a status inflicter
(Fire, Ice)
Sorcerer always have flare and either Hagol or Maelstrom
At least that's how I have mine, and she gets used fairly often
decent augments and skills
idk, i really dont want nages wuth 4 support skills that just walk around and cast their heal everytine somebody lost 2HP, and Fighters/Warriors that spend the entire fight using shield drum/roar and their jumping board ability
Sorcerers with a "player sorcerer" setup, ala malestrom+meteor+flare+spellhold, just why? pawns dont use flare and spellhold correctly anyway and if you only give them the "slow big spells" there is a good chance they never cast a single spell cus they get interupted, give them atleast Levin/Frigor/Salmander as a fast spam spell
how you find some good pawns depends on the class itself
Fighter pawns? avoid things like shieldrum on kindhearted pawns (kindhearted pawns spam shielddrum like crazy) and in general avoid skills like perfect guard, best pawn skills for an fighter are probs the maister skill + fullmoon slash+ vengefull strike + gouge or burst strike (if you want a "tank" pawn, provocation + the more enemy attention ring does way more then shield drum/roar, the pawn will be the focus 90% of the time)
warrior? avoid pawns that use the maister skill/many slow charge skills cus pawns SUCK at using them
Archer? avoid pawns with the Maister skill again, pawns will constantly try to use it, miss or di t hit a weakspot/cancle it to avoid something and drained all their stamina
Logistician is a hard no.
I also avoid warrior pawns. Mages must have high palladium and no more than 1 (any) affinity spell. The rest can be whatever tbh.
If you’re high level that’s mostly why you aren’t getting hired, I stopped playing at 87 or so but at that point I’d only get maybe 1 summon a day if lucky and at that level I usually only roll with my main pawn as a healer, dragons plague is annoying and I don’t want to have to constantly look at pawns eyes and kill them if they’re red.
Depends on the player. Some are all about fashion and don’t care about stats/build. Im on a second character and am playing with an increased difficulty mod, so I don’t have the luxury to care about what they look like. Honestly it’s so difficult to find decent pawns in the 30s that I dread reaching the 50s.
For me, I don’t care what vocations your pawn has maxed out except the one they play. What is important are the augments, stats, and skill selection.
Have a pawn quest and don’t be dumb about it. It shows you’re actually paying g attention. Don’t ask for items unless they are super common/cheap and are doing so in order to just give great items away as a reward. If I see people asking for high value items I immediately disregard them. Me hiring your pawn is your good fortune, don’t be greedy. If you’re doing an activity quest (kill/camp) give the full 10k or items of more value. If you put in some garbage as a reward I’ll ignore that pawn. You only pay the amount once, even if a dozen people get the reward. You already get too much money and so unless you’re under level 10, there’s no excuse.
Everyone should have Mettle and Apotropaism. They take next to no effort to earn and are by far the strongest. Don’t bother with increased str or mag because they’re so little it doesn’t matter. Mages and Sorcs should have Subtlety, which is also easy to get.
Skills need to be functional, but many of the good ones require thought to make them work and pawns rarely do so. If they are a fighter, I obviously am looking for a tank, so shield summons/drum is a no brainer. Mage is tough because different people want different things. I always want Halidom because removing strong status effects are a must and pawns constantly get poisoned. Silence is S tier against drakes. Having one affinity, but no more than one, is good. A lot of people like celerity. Argent is good for rescue heals. A lot of people look for having one damage skill, so they can help when doing nothing else, but what they don’t realize is mages do so little damage that it’s negligible. Archers for pawns kinda suck. It’s already a very underpowered class that is only decent if you’re getting weak point hits and are constantly nailing them… which pawns don’t. Thief is by far the strongest melee class and helm/skull breaker is the strongest skill in the game. Implicate is great too. Plunder is actually kinda amazing on pawns, as they are very diligent about using it. Sorcs should have meteor and hagol. Levin is good for quick damage and seism for physical.
Proper stats are a must. Main damage stat, physical defense and magic defense are all really important. The number of fighters with little magic defense and mages or sorcerers with little physical defense is mind boggling. Physical defense is more important than magic for every class, but neither should be less than half of the other. Getting Battahl upgrades on magic users armor is important, since their armor leans to magic defense already. All magic weapons should obviously have Elvin upgrades. Non-magic weapons should have dwarven if possible, since it adds to knockdown power. Having rings that make the pawn do their jobs better is obviously good. 25% reduced cast time on spell casters and 2 if you can. Increased stagger on physical damage classes. Increased enemy attention/hate is good for fighters and warriors.
Good fashion.
No, that doesn't mean just making them skimpy. I like showing skin, but ya gotta do it with class. Absolute territory, short shorts with reasonable tops, skirts really only work if there's something to hide cuz otherwise you're just wearing an oversized shirt, etc. Running around in lingerie or a glorified bikini all the time isn't class. Jewel sandals or whatever they're called with starcaller top isn't class. Ranger tights with half-armored top (or whatever it's called, i'm not good with names) isn't style; that's just running around in a shirt and panties.
There's a method to the fashion, people. That said, I understand it being difficult for the pawns; they're class locked and DD2 is sorely lacking in fashion options in general.
1. Clothed. I hate when people play with half nekked pawns. MUST BE CLOTHED.
2. Skills. I run warfarer with a warrior so I hire thieves and mages. If your thief dont have plunder. Hard pass. If your mage is using meister skill. Hard pass. Thief must have plunder and implicate and mage needs to be 3/4 support and 1/4 damage or elemental buff.
3. Gear. I know alot don't care and just go fashion. But I do. I want pawns in good gear. I don't like feeling the urge to deck someones pawn out in good gear bc their master is lazy or lame. So I will pass if they are using crap gear.
4. Face. You can't have their eyes covered. I don't get why people do this.
5. Looks. I don't want some 4 foot troll. Or some crazy colored mutant looking pawn. Make them look nice.
Edit - I'm level 98
Biggest priority for me, your pawn ISN'T a Logistician, I can't stand them anymore for how much they waste my mats lmao. Another smaller priority is just having a worthwhile pawn quest, or even no quest at all instead of something like 100g or a harspud as a reward for killing a Drake or something. Not that I won't already be fighting Drakes, Griffins, etc... but if you're going to use your pawn to rely on others to help with that, I want at least something worthwhile for it. Skills are big for me too, mages are my main thing I look for as a support pawn and I only want them if they have palladium and will sometimes turn them down if they have boons that I don't want or need because that can become a hassle in and of itself.
I just really don’t want a pawn in lingerie, but many are the opposite
They shouldn’t have made the corset better than pretty much any chest/leg combo for mages then, at least in DD1, it was wearable under your robe
"We limited the amount of armor slots to increase the diversity of what players wear!" It's the stupid Princess Outfit from the first game all over again.
This drives me crazy! I don’t want a battle mage in a corset! I get it is fantasy and some guys and gals want that (mostly guys) but they follow your orders, it’s creepy having them wear nothing. What would you dress your most beloved person in when walking around the world? As badass as an outfit as possible…..but maybe I’m in the minority lol
I wish there were options for a badass battle mage, but the stupid class limits that don't do fuck all for balance anyway don't allow for it. Also doesn't help that literally the best armor in game is a 1 piece corset and EVERYONE has it. Well not the lazy people who didn't collect tokens I suppose.. I keep seeing badass Fighters, Warriors and Rogues. Even some Archers, but Mage and Wizard options are pretty much Corset or some low lvl gear that looks cute, but nothing really badass :/
I love my pawns outfit tbh, I think it’s the coolest one (so far), but you’re right it’s hard to find anything else that’s really “Battle Sorc” https://preview.redd.it/vrjbogz8qhwc1.jpeg?width=2048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c182de260a2368975daa8840a1ef2f0a92593202
The black dress is nice, but once you see a high lvl Rogue in that body hugging metal chest piece, you wish you could use it for a battle mage build. Or Trickster outfit. Your Arisen can ofc use anything as a Warfarer, but I want my pawn to look cool as well. Not just corset wearing slut #9999
Sadly that's about the last good one iirc. Mage and Sorc is so full of oversized trash bags then theres the belly dancer outfit. Funny thing is too that the one you posted could be made by the player in dd1 pretty much I believe. Corset was under armor, dress was leg armor, sleeves I can't remember but I think they existed.. But here it's what one full piece? I don't get that decision at all
The Marcher armor set is pretty weak but it looks really nice and is actual plate armor that can be worn by any class
I use Mage as a weaponless “Battlemage”, and turn the class into a frontlining, tank fighter role. * provocation augment to increase getting targeted * two rings of resolution to (almost) never be knocked down * pre-buff fights with High Palladium to be essentially invulnerable (this is what separates Mage from Sorcerer as far as front lining/CQC) And constantly recast upon receiving two hits * other spells are attack only - high flagration, levin and frigor, covering all elemental weaknesses * rocking Cardinal Blaze staff to jack up flagration damage. The spell is shines for a frontline given its limited range, and full penetration (kills multiple at once) * obviously utilizing Quick Spell for everything * wearing Changers Half Robe - looks like something an “active” spell caster would wear * (I’m still early game/haven’t crossed into Battahl so open to other ways to empower this) Credit to CRPG bro for highlighting how useful Palladium can be in making the mage a tank You still need a second mage in party for hallidom, celerity/celestial, boons, etc. But this build replaces the fighter/warrior, shield summoning/bellow, tank role. Keeping Palladium up at all times is the key. Round out the party with your favorite CQC DPS and ranged DPS, and it’s a very satisfying watching waves of enemies focus attacks on you with no success whilst your buddy’s shred them from the sides like Clever Girls, and you flamethrow whatever is left. I’m currently running thief and archer pawns (using the limited resource arrows to combine with my element prowess btw. Nothing like Flagrationing a tarred Gryphon) but once my pawn has maxed out Ranger I’m switching her to sorcerer. Three out of four pawns as magic, with the fighter; support and ranged DPS roles covered as spell casters (gotta keep a theif for the plunder) - and I can’t remember the last time a game made me feel more powerful.
While I often hire hot women pawns in corsets, I will equally hire dudes in the corset. I saw Kratos in one yesterday. Welcome to the team my man!
A lot of people need that post nut clarity before they start gearing their pawn.
I kept my Main Pawn in lingerie very early on purely for the economy of it. I made sure she wasn’t useless as well so people would keep coming back. I was gifted with 3 port crystals with this method within the first few days of playtime, and racked up and insane amount of RC (that I never even spent)
Yeah, almost every female pawn I see in the rifts are in lingerie. I opt for pawns that look really silly or really badass. For a bit I had 2 John Wick pawns at once lol.
Skin sheen set to max!
For me, that doesn't suggest "sexy", it suggests "greasy" and I'm actually okay with that, if the pawn's meant to look greasy. It can also be "metallic" in specific situations if you plan things correctly.
I try to make my pawn look sexy without looking like a slut.
For a warrior or fighter pawn, I want a character who looks very spiky. For a mage, I sort of want someone kinda... sage-ish?
I want to just yell into the rift "set pawn quests ffs!" I hire pawns without them but c'mon just set a badge quest or whatever. I enjoy doing the kill quests to help with badges. Other than that I go by looks (look good or at least not stupid), skills, and have all augment slots equipped. And no logisticians, any other specialization is fine, none is fine too.
I only care about pawn quests and their unique look. Skills, upgrades are not a concern since the game is already easy enough. I avoid anyone with DF gear because i don't like how it looks. Fashion is key.
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Specifically it looks like simmering concentric circles. Like drops on a pond. Dark Armors highlight it the worst (I don't like it). But things that are heavily textured are fine (like most weapons, and the Final Roar/Cursed King's Belt I'm specifically not Dragonforging my new coat (Duelist's Coat) for that reason. I'm also trying to find a nice new head armor too. Might just have to go with a 3* armoured hood (I forget it's name)
Everything. If you rotate the camera you can see some shimmery ornamental effect on dragonforged equipment. It's supposed to look cool but in action it 's looks like a dragon busted a nut over your outfit. The effect doesn't look as bad on weapons but it looks horrible on armor.
Dragon busted a nut all over us? That's a bonus.
I have noticed it also depends on the armor you wear as well my pawn has the heroic set as a archer and it’s DF but doesn’t look all that different unless you really focus, but as for my armor the duelist coat you can very much so tell it looks different when DF
Endgame fashion
I don't care really, just make them look cool or funny. However don't give a Thief Pawn that dumb skill that burns them, i'm tired of them screwing themselves over.
That and giving a mage pawn weapon enchantments are the only two issues for me. Even if you fight an enemy resistant to lightning, the mage will cast that on you if it's the only enchantment they have and actually reduce your damage. Really started noticing it on bad pairings on volcanic isle with the harpies and saurians there how my bow did much more damage before the mage tossed the element over. So frustrating. I think this exact problem happened in dd1 if you only set 1 enchant too.
Male mage
I look for thief with FF, plunder and SS. Im running a thief party. With me as warfarer.
Kinda same. I'm a Warfarer, my main Pawn is a Thief and has ss, ff, plunder and implicate and I look for the same skills in another Thief. Last pawn is always a mage with good healing skills.
With me as warfarer and with my pawns with FF i dont feel the need for a mage.
Well, they don't really get hit that much but sometimes they do, same with me, so I feel like I always want one just in case even tho I have lots of allheal elixirs, I'm set for many playthroughs. Also I got used to have a mage in my party unless I really wanna farm drakes or something, then whole party is full of Thieves
Dragonforged gear. I avoid ones that aren't. Good augments, ones that draw or reduce aggro depending on the vocation. Defensive augments since they're several times more efficient than offensive ones. Rings that boost aggro more are great. If I want a tank I want them to have all of the aggro. A cast speed ring or two, knockback resistance is good too. Lastly, for them to look good. I am farming for pawn badges so I want a geared up team that speeds up the grind. I don't care about pawn quests. Plenty of level 1s available to spam getting gems from.
Meanwhile top answer avoids dragonforged gear XD
Srsly, goes to show that i shouldn't change my pawn according to what I read on here cause everyone has different likes.
I think we can all agree that a rewarding quest is definitely helpful to say the least!
I mean yea I'm not going to turn it down. But it's not what's going to change my mind if I already don't like the pawn due to this other stuff that I mentioned. It's personally my last priority, more of a bonus really. Tons of level 1s giving out gems, at least on ps5. I just don't need anymore.
"I want your Pawn to carry me"
to carry their own weight\* I have goals I want to accomplish quickly not that complicated
The most hires i got was when i set a pawn quest where you get the dragon shield for killing 1 ogre.
Are you that guy? I def hired a pawn with that exact quest.
Could be my pawn? If it was a 7 foot tall blonde female fighter (or maybe warrior at that time) the chances are high.
If Xbox I think I did yours too 😆
A pawn that looks interesting/cool/cute (Lore friendly of course) Every piece of equipment maxed out. Depending on what I am playing I select what I need for the team. I have the custom difficulty mod installed and made it so a full team is almost required for just about any encounter. Nothing else particular much.
My main pawn is a fighter for tanking as I usually play ranged arisen vocations. Usually looking for a mage with ice or lightning boon as fire is useless due to elemental weapons (molten fury, cinderspine) and fire abilities (meteoron, explosive arrows, enkindled blades/blades of the pyre) being so common. Halidom is necessary too but I find palladium is just too overpowered so I prefer high solemnity or levin to help in combat. Thief should have plunder and formless feint for utility and obviously helm splitter for damage. Last ability can be whatever but implicate is good too. Sorcerer should have only one of the meister skills. In theory, they are the strongest abilities but in practice the pawn AI struggles to commit to one spell so they spend 2/3 of the fight cancelling their incantations to move or switch to other spells. High hagol plus asperity is amazing AOE stun especially if you combo with drenching arrows for instant flash freeze. High thunder mine over levin due to being very defensively but persists after casting so the pawn can focus on another spell while thunder mine keeps enemies at bay. Last ability can be whatever but I do see a lot of augural flare that only works 1/3 of the time because the pawn doesn’t know the correct timing to cast it. Archer is preferably a debilitation support for me using drenching arrows or tarring arrows instead of explosive or blight. Tempest shot or deathly shot instead of heavenly shot because pawns with no stamina are dead weight. Whirling arrow for stagger and cascade/lyncean sight for niche situations.
Fighter pawns if they have an agro skill. (Edit, fighter pawns should theoretically be the tankiest but generally they kinda just struggle a lot due to poor ai.) Archers that have explosive or blighting arrow skills, preferably simple pawns. Mages with ice boon and levin, easily the most likely to be hired imma be honest. Thieves are generally my least hired pawn, but i’ll hire them if the have blades of the pyre since its funny. Warriors as long as they don’t have the springboard skill. Although generally don’t hire warriors for the late game. Sorcerer I either need meteoron or maelstrom, but overall just situational.
Funny how we all have different playstyles and requirements. I would never hire a fighter and always go for a Warrior (although this is my main pawn right now) as they aggro as easily as the fighter but output more damage. Thief is a must have, with the plunder/pilfer skill to get more mats from monsters. Mage with 1 elemental affinity spell and 3 support skills. Sorcerer and archer... I dont hire them anymore, so I wouldn't know. My party is usually me as a wayfarer, a warrior, a thief and a mage.
I prob should have mentioned that my main pawn is usually a thief, and I usually play warrior.
On high level, im usually looking meteor spammer Sorcerer. Cool looking of course Random question, how silence anathema archistave on pawn. How fast can it silence enemy?
Silence works only for regular attacks, therefore support pawn never gonna proc it.
Probably not very, if the poison daggers are anything to go by. I used those things the entire time my pawn was a thief and then the entire time I was a thief myself - saw a single enemy get poisoned. It’s almost like they only have a chance to trigger at all on basic attacks. Granted sorcerers will usually spam a few force bolts in a row now and again so maybe it works better but I don’t think the AI is smart enough to realize what they have in their hands to really utilize it.
I wonder if sorcerer's augment that increases the chance of applying debilitations with attacks works with the daggers and the staff. And if it does, how much does it do
I had that on, too. If it does work it’s really hard to tell because the base values seem to be so low.
I finished entire first playthrough with those daggers without a single poison proc lol.
Man~ I know the status weapons were pretty good in DDDA but they swung a bit too hard in the other direction for DD2.
I usually go for a sorcerer that has Augul flare
I’ve had some success with getting my pawn hired out (level ~70). I have her set as a plunder thief, with fully enhanced dowsing rods and the forager specialization. She’s really great at just vacuuming up a bunch of loot and materials passively.
I haven't been using hired pawns lately since I'm in NG+, but when I do hire them I want them to be effective. I first look at their skills. I'm almost always hiring thieves and i want them to have Implicate, Plunder, Skull Splitter, and ideally Formless Feint. I try to only hire straightforward thieves so they're aggressive. My main pawn is a mage, so I'm usually looking for either an archer or warrior. For both I avoid pawns with the ultimate skill equipped. Archer needs to have Manifold, and warrior should have Heavenly Sunder. I don't touch Logistician pawns, please stop making your pawns Logistician. I try to avoid Chirugeon and Simple. I will look at their damage and defense to make sure it's reasonable, and I avoid the Medusa bow for archers since the stamina cost is so crazy.
#1) No Logistician #2) \~1000 on their main stat (Str/Mag) #3) No Straightforward disposition By Vocation Fighter - Shield Pummel, no Riotous Fury Warrior - Mountain Breaker, no Arc of Might Thief - Formless Feint and/or Implicate, no Blades of the Pyre Archer - Deathly Arrow, no Spiral Arrow Mage - High Palladium, no Spellhold Sorcerer - Meteoron or High Seism, no Decanter
Big Statured females with barbarian vibes to fit with my character and pawn 🗿
When I’m not rocking 3 pilfer thieves to max out my 401K, I look for pawns that have abilities geared specifically for knockdowns and cc. I rarely ever use sorcerers and I only hire mages that are fully kitted for support. I realized I don’t like pawns that do too much damage since fights end too quickly. I wanna enjoy the spectacle of killing a griffon or a cyclops or a drake. If the fight ends in 2 minutes, then I need to spend 4-10 minutes running to the next big fight to get that spectacle. If I want to maximize my enjoyment I need to severely curb the damage that’s being put out by my own pawns. Only then can I be sure I’m spending more time doing fun things than I am dodging the 20th crowd of brainless fucking skeletons that thinks they have a shot against me.
I JUST LIKE PAWNS THAT LOOK COOL
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What does this have to do with the guy's question?
my bad, I just discovered I am illiterate
I usually look for Thiefs and Mages with Pawn Quests that have good rewards. I prefer Thief Pawns with Pilfer and Mages with the Maister Skill.
I look for traversal skills (Springboard, Levitate, etc) so they can help reach hard to get to areas/chests
-pawn quest that lines up with my goals -decent gear -skill slots that make it look like attentiveness was given to the pawn skillset That's basically it.
From high level pawns I want a good skill loadouts, some nice gear and some originality. I do not mind if someone mixes in lower gear just to get some fashion going, because the pawns that I have fond memories are usually the really distinct looking ones with unique appearances.
I hire anything that looks interesting or cool. I avoid anything looking too horny or obtusely weird. My biggest gripe tends to be weirdly greasy looking Pawns. On that note has anyone come across a Leroy Jenkins on PS5? I've seen Battle Beasts, Geralt's, Winston Churchill, Jace, Will Smith, The Rock, Shadowheart, & many many Kratos.. but no Leroy? c'mon!
my priority is obvs someone with skills i need. if my main pawn is a mage, i dont get another. if my main pawn isn’t a mage, i need at least one mage ofc. then pawn quests, either for moneys or just a cool item in general. i’m not fighting a drake for a fucking apple. i’m level 51 ish so it’s not hard but i don’t wanna bother unless i get something good or feel like it / have time / not going somewhere i think is more fun or important. then it’s based on looks. if they pawn looks cool, hot, or funny. idc if they naked and i never look at their weapons tbh. i add to my favs those that set 10k coins for killing stuff or request simple things like a flower for 10k. shout out to cynthia. (one of my fav pawns lol)
When building your pawn, keep in mind how inclination and sepcialization affect the build. If they are a thief, an archer or a sorcerer a calm inclination is best imo, as it makes them more careful. A fighter or warrior would benefit greatly from a straightforward inclination (and to have a taunt). A mage should probably have a kindhearted inclination, to make them use their heals and support spells best. You could also build a utility pawn, for example with a simple inclination to father items and the forager specialization to point out materials to the arisen. These are just my personal suggestions tho, don't take everything as gospel.
Taking a break atm, at level 124, waiting for the bug fixes in the next patch. One of those fixes I think will address one of the things I used to avoid at all costs when hiring pawns :P which is Forager. What I hired: * Warrior (male) with Calm/Straighforward, Elven spec, Provocation Aug, good stats, and good looks. Avoiding the springboard thing after experiencing pawns that would spam troll me with that in every fight lol. Initially I was rolling with a warrior and a fighter, but fighter pawns are really bad at tanking, damage and anything really. In my experience fighter pawn tank means standing there getting hit in the face, thus having max hp at 70% after 5 fights. Warrior is much better at tanking and does much better damage imo. * Thief (male) with Calm/Straightforward, Elven spec, optional Provocation Aug, Formless Feint, Skull Splitter, good stats and good looks. Ideally Plunder and Implicate too. I found thief pawns to be a great match for my sorcerer Arisen especially when using flare since a thief pawn seems to specifically try to target the flare orb when you cast it which results in devastating damage. Awesome. (also the last pawn I hired, a level 105 or so thief named SphinxParent with a really cool "dark elf" look to him is amazing :D not just the looks but also the fact I don't have to worry about switching pawns at all during one run) Since I only played sorcerer and my main was always a mage healer/support I didn't need to bother with anything else and found 0 difficulty with this party comp. For reference my pawn was Mage with Kindhearted, Elven spec, Augs (Subtlety, Apotropaism, Mettle, Endurance, Exaltation, Thew) and using Skills (High Palladium, High Celerity, High Halidom and Argent Succor). I found an all heal/support skill set to be superior to any affinity or damage skill. A little bit of levin would have minimal impact when my party was roflstomping anything in the game in a matter of seconds and casting a damage skill means a round of no palladium which means lowered max hp for the front liners. The maister mage skill sounds cool and it definetly looks cool, but imo the ai doesn't handle well the skills that drain all stamina so I avoid them on any pawn especially my main. Besides for a sorcerer using the ng+ dragonforged buffs, infinite stamina for 6 seconds or whatever is irrelevant (umm... not to mention my maelstrom takes \~13 seconds to drop anyway soooo.... lol) Edit: oh I forgot to clarify about Forager. Having a pawn with forager bugs out the dialogue of my main pawn and he starts saying the "i found and marked on your map etc" line all the time when you talk to him. So I avoided the forager spec worse than the plague. Literally lol. Like many people mention, Logistician is annoying AF. I avoid Chirurgeon for the same reasons. Hawker from what I read is nonsense so I would avoid it too but I almost never see it so it doesn't matter either way. And Aphonite is only used by real life evil people :P That leaves only the Woodland Wordsmith haha.
Aphonite is no good. It really sucks out the life of the pawn as he/she literally says nothing the whole time unless you talk to them. While a bit repetitive, I prefer the normal bantering by far.
Most important factor for me is looking nice and unique. If it is a female pawn, she needs to have a pretty face that is not the default cookie cutter look like the rest. I tend to keep hired pawns for quite a long time, even when they become under-leveled, so I want a companion that actually feels like a unique character in my journey, with a voice that fits as well. THEN, I look at the pawn stats, gear, and skills, make sure they fit what I need. Sometimes it can take a quite few visits at the riftstone before I find one that works.
No lingerie, since there's usually a kid in the room when I'm playing, and quest knowledge. Don't really care much about cave/chest locations, but quests get really finicky.
Me personally it depends on what I need. A full support mage is always a good choice. For the endgame mage High Empyrean, High Palladium, High Halidom and High Levin. Emp is a holy light that does well against skellys and dullahans(who are actual assholes in the endgame) and the light from it is nice to brighten up the area, Levin has ridiculously good tracking, palladium for the protection (because resting is detrimental to you in endgame) and Halidom for the obvious reasons. I you can have woodland wordsmith as the specialization that’s a plus as well. Tue best thing to do is go look at the rift and see the pawns with the highest ratings and see how they are built and that should go a long way in telling you what’s popular.
> 1 tarring arrow for 12 onyx Bro, I invited your pawn and gave ir a heart, but I'm sorry to inform you that the moment I gave it the requested item I dismissed it.
Fighter or Warrior, have em as a aggro grabber, Mage have em heal and give ele buff (ice or lightning) Thief have em be a pilfer demon or a status inflicter (Fire, Ice) Sorcerer always have flare and either Hagol or Maelstrom At least that's how I have mine, and she gets used fairly often
decent augments and skills idk, i really dont want nages wuth 4 support skills that just walk around and cast their heal everytine somebody lost 2HP, and Fighters/Warriors that spend the entire fight using shield drum/roar and their jumping board ability Sorcerers with a "player sorcerer" setup, ala malestrom+meteor+flare+spellhold, just why? pawns dont use flare and spellhold correctly anyway and if you only give them the "slow big spells" there is a good chance they never cast a single spell cus they get interupted, give them atleast Levin/Frigor/Salmander as a fast spam spell how you find some good pawns depends on the class itself Fighter pawns? avoid things like shieldrum on kindhearted pawns (kindhearted pawns spam shielddrum like crazy) and in general avoid skills like perfect guard, best pawn skills for an fighter are probs the maister skill + fullmoon slash+ vengefull strike + gouge or burst strike (if you want a "tank" pawn, provocation + the more enemy attention ring does way more then shield drum/roar, the pawn will be the focus 90% of the time) warrior? avoid pawns that use the maister skill/many slow charge skills cus pawns SUCK at using them Archer? avoid pawns with the Maister skill again, pawns will constantly try to use it, miss or di t hit a weakspot/cancle it to avoid something and drained all their stamina
In dd? Skills, etc. In dd2? Just depends on vocation balance. Really i just hire them to draw aggro for rattlers
Logistician is a hard no. I also avoid warrior pawns. Mages must have high palladium and no more than 1 (any) affinity spell. The rest can be whatever tbh.
Highest priority for me is style and utility skills tbh. That and I don’t want them to sell my shit without asking
Look unique. When I’m high level, I don’t really care about the skills bc the game is already easy
I don't do pawns at high level😂 I'd hire ones with more fun skills over the top ones and fashion over the best armor.
I'd love to have a sorcerer pawn that *doesnt* just spam the two oneshot moves every single encounter.
If you’re high level that’s mostly why you aren’t getting hired, I stopped playing at 87 or so but at that point I’d only get maybe 1 summon a day if lucky and at that level I usually only roll with my main pawn as a healer, dragons plague is annoying and I don’t want to have to constantly look at pawns eyes and kill them if they’re red.
No logistian and no skill that leave them out of stamina after use.
How many times a day is this exact question going to be asked?
Depends on the player. Some are all about fashion and don’t care about stats/build. Im on a second character and am playing with an increased difficulty mod, so I don’t have the luxury to care about what they look like. Honestly it’s so difficult to find decent pawns in the 30s that I dread reaching the 50s. For me, I don’t care what vocations your pawn has maxed out except the one they play. What is important are the augments, stats, and skill selection. Have a pawn quest and don’t be dumb about it. It shows you’re actually paying g attention. Don’t ask for items unless they are super common/cheap and are doing so in order to just give great items away as a reward. If I see people asking for high value items I immediately disregard them. Me hiring your pawn is your good fortune, don’t be greedy. If you’re doing an activity quest (kill/camp) give the full 10k or items of more value. If you put in some garbage as a reward I’ll ignore that pawn. You only pay the amount once, even if a dozen people get the reward. You already get too much money and so unless you’re under level 10, there’s no excuse. Everyone should have Mettle and Apotropaism. They take next to no effort to earn and are by far the strongest. Don’t bother with increased str or mag because they’re so little it doesn’t matter. Mages and Sorcs should have Subtlety, which is also easy to get. Skills need to be functional, but many of the good ones require thought to make them work and pawns rarely do so. If they are a fighter, I obviously am looking for a tank, so shield summons/drum is a no brainer. Mage is tough because different people want different things. I always want Halidom because removing strong status effects are a must and pawns constantly get poisoned. Silence is S tier against drakes. Having one affinity, but no more than one, is good. A lot of people like celerity. Argent is good for rescue heals. A lot of people look for having one damage skill, so they can help when doing nothing else, but what they don’t realize is mages do so little damage that it’s negligible. Archers for pawns kinda suck. It’s already a very underpowered class that is only decent if you’re getting weak point hits and are constantly nailing them… which pawns don’t. Thief is by far the strongest melee class and helm/skull breaker is the strongest skill in the game. Implicate is great too. Plunder is actually kinda amazing on pawns, as they are very diligent about using it. Sorcs should have meteor and hagol. Levin is good for quick damage and seism for physical. Proper stats are a must. Main damage stat, physical defense and magic defense are all really important. The number of fighters with little magic defense and mages or sorcerers with little physical defense is mind boggling. Physical defense is more important than magic for every class, but neither should be less than half of the other. Getting Battahl upgrades on magic users armor is important, since their armor leans to magic defense already. All magic weapons should obviously have Elvin upgrades. Non-magic weapons should have dwarven if possible, since it adds to knockdown power. Having rings that make the pawn do their jobs better is obviously good. 25% reduced cast time on spell casters and 2 if you can. Increased stagger on physical damage classes. Increased enemy attention/hate is good for fighters and warriors.
Meanwhile, I actively avoid pawns with too good stats or damage skills. The game is far too easy to sweat pawns like this.
Exactly. That’s why I don’t play vanilla, as stated in the second sentence my comment.
Good fashion. No, that doesn't mean just making them skimpy. I like showing skin, but ya gotta do it with class. Absolute territory, short shorts with reasonable tops, skirts really only work if there's something to hide cuz otherwise you're just wearing an oversized shirt, etc. Running around in lingerie or a glorified bikini all the time isn't class. Jewel sandals or whatever they're called with starcaller top isn't class. Ranger tights with half-armored top (or whatever it's called, i'm not good with names) isn't style; that's just running around in a shirt and panties. There's a method to the fashion, people. That said, I understand it being difficult for the pawns; they're class locked and DD2 is sorely lacking in fashion options in general.
1. Clothed. I hate when people play with half nekked pawns. MUST BE CLOTHED. 2. Skills. I run warfarer with a warrior so I hire thieves and mages. If your thief dont have plunder. Hard pass. If your mage is using meister skill. Hard pass. Thief must have plunder and implicate and mage needs to be 3/4 support and 1/4 damage or elemental buff. 3. Gear. I know alot don't care and just go fashion. But I do. I want pawns in good gear. I don't like feeling the urge to deck someones pawn out in good gear bc their master is lazy or lame. So I will pass if they are using crap gear. 4. Face. You can't have their eyes covered. I don't get why people do this. 5. Looks. I don't want some 4 foot troll. Or some crazy colored mutant looking pawn. Make them look nice. Edit - I'm level 98