Dungeon Siege III - Reinhart - Skills (Abilities, Proficiencies, Talents)

Here are general tips for playing Reinhart in Dungeon Siege III and the Treasures of the Sun DLC. A list of all our Dungeon Siege III posts can be found here.

Reinhart - Skill Selection and Use

Stances

Dynamic

• Melee range fisticuffs, essentially.

Entropy

• Interesting but hard to use normal attack.
• Best when you have a melee ally keeping the enemy busy so you can mass-attack them.
• Do not judge the range and scope of this attack based on its performance against statics such as barrels. There is no short-range effect. The third attack in the sequence does have a slight area that is closer than normal, but still not melee-ranged.
• You can use this to attack from cover, such as behind a wall, but with the Treasures of the Sun DLC, it appears that this won't do any damage. Sometimes if you are at a corner and only partially exposed, it will do damage if you have line of sight to at least one enemy. 
• Some really interesting battlefield controlling Abilities here that could make for playing a very tactical experience IF you didn't have to run around madly trying to get to the proper standoff distance.

Defensive

• Dodging cannot go past obstacles, but CAN go "through" (i.e. go past) enemies because you are teleporting.

Abilities

If you are frustrated at not being able to reach Mastery in some or all Abilities because of the tediously slow rate of achieving Mastery, you may want to consider using the console code.

Dynamic
Lightning Strike - Launches a deadly lightning bolt against a single foe.

• Very slow to fire and has a long cooldown, but very strong.
• Auto-targets and will choose a different target if the original one died during the start-up animation.
• You do not need to face the correct direction when you launch the attack.

Lightning Strike > Thunderclap - Each time Reinhart casts Lightning Strike, he causes a shockwave that stuns nearby enemies for 0.4 seconds per rank.

• Barely any stun unless you go all in for 5/5.
• The fact that this stun always happens makes it an interesting choice. The area also means you can get Reinhart out of trouble if swarmed in melee, especially as his dodge is a teleport that is not stopped by enemies in the way.
• Major bosses and some large creatures are not affected by stun.

Lightning Strike > Power Surge - Lightning Strike gains a 10% chance per rank to bounce to an additional target.

• Instead of investing early here, consider investing in another power that automatically hits multiple targets, such as Creative Destruction.
• Maximum 50% chance to hit one extra target. Lightning Strike is powerful, but too slow to really be very useful, and a 5-point investment here only gives you a 50-50 chance to hit one more target.

Mirror Leap - Teleports Reinhart to a chosen location and leaves behind a decoy image of Reinhart. The duplicate summoned by empowered Mirror Leap lures all enemies, forcing them to attack it.

• You cannot have a "chosen location". This power actually teleports you to the currently selected enemy (whichever one has a targeting ring on it). If there are no enemies targeted, Reinhart doesn't move.
• To avoid moving toward the enemy, you can run in the opposite direction while using Mirror Leap. That should counteract the "teleport", which is actually a very fast run.
• The duplicate attacks with Dynamic stance and runs around VERY quickly. A good way to use this is to send out the duplicate at the start of combat. Even if you are in the thick of combat and have to retreat, at least your duplicate is creating havoc by attacking.
• The Empowered version is notable for drawing enemies away from you, which can help you use your area-effect Entropy stance when there are enough enemies that they still split up to attack everyone.
• If either yourself or your companion is still conscious, your Mirror Image can revive whoever is unconscious.

Mirror Leap > Temporal Wake - Each time Reinhart uses Mirror Leap, he stuns enemies near his point of departure for 1 to 3 seconds.

• If you are using the Empowered version of Mirror Leap, this is wasted since enemies are drawn to your decoy anyway.
• Major bosses and large creatures are not affected by stun.
• Also see the Timely Escape talent for an alternative.

Mirror Leap > Damaging Illusion - Reinhart's mirror decoy reflects 10% (+2% per rank) of the damage he sustains back at the attacker.

• Best when paired with the Empowered version because it forces enemies to attack your decoy.

Electrocute - Reinhart unleashes a continuous torrent of energy on an enemy target for as long as the attack is held or until he runs out of Focus.

Electrocute > Arc Mage - Reinhart's Electrocute ability causes additional splash damage to enemies near the chosen target.

Electrocute > Killerhertz - Electrocute causes 5% more damage per rank.

• If I had to choose between the two Proficiencies, I would prefer more damage to hasten a kill since wounded Enemies fight just as well as healthy ones.

Entropy
Clockwork Trap - Summons a trap at Reinhart's feet. Any enemy crossing it will detonate the trap, unleashing a deadly blast.

• This takes about 2 seconds to lay a trap, and it doesn't last very long so you can't really do proper ambushes. You could try it right after firing a Thunderclap Lightning Strike when swarmed.

Clockwork Trap > Temporal Distortion - Enemies hit by the Clockwork Trap suffer a 12% per rank slowing effect for 2 seconds per ank.

• At 5/5 this is 60% for 10 seconds. Just one trap can buy you a lot of room to retreat and get the distance you need for something else, such as using your Entropy stance.

Clockwork Trap > Force Magnification - Clockwork Traps cause 10% more damage per rank.

Geometry of Annihilation - Conjures a circle of energy centered at a chosen location. Enemies are gradualy injured as long as they remain in the circle.

• Great against anything that likes to stand still and shoot at you.

Geometry of Annihilation > Enduring Negation - Geometry of Annihilation remains in effect for 2 additional seconds per rank.

Geometry of Annihilation > Temporal Inversion - Enemies hit by Geometry of Annihilation are slowed by 5% per rank and allies in the circle gain 5% per rank Agility bonus.

• Great for helping an ally like Lucas or Anjali who is stuck in melee.

Creative Destruction - Fires a conical blast for as long as the attack is held, or until Reinhart runs out of Focus. Allies hit by the blast receive minor healing.

Creative Destruction > Siphon Life - Reinhart recovers Hit Points equal to 3% per rank of the damage he inflicts with Creative Destruction.

Creative Destruction > Entropy's Shackles - Enemies struck by Creative Destruction take 5% per rank more damage from subsequent attacks.

• You could use this to get triple benefits helping a companion: You damage enemies around your companion, heal your companion, and help them inflict more damage.

Defensive
Circle of Healing - Reinhart enacts a healing spell that heals 50% of his health over the course of 30 seconds.

Circle of Healing > Vector Dampening - While Circle of Healing is active, Reinhart takes 5% per rank less damage.

• At 5/5 this is 25% and on HardCore this is worth more than almost any amount of Armor or Blocking you can do against a boss, some of which can kill you in one blow.

Circle of Healing > Aggressive Defense - While Circle of Healing is in effect, enemies suffer a slight damage over time effect as long as they remain near Reinhart.

• For you to benefit from this Proficiency, you would have to be in the thick of melee, which is probably not where you want to be.
• On HardCore, it is extremely difficult to do any sort of tanking because the incoming damage is so high. Even if you could, damage is "slight" and over time.

Barrier Field - Summons a powerful barrier around Reinhart that absorbs up to 33% of Reinhart's maximum Hit Points.

Barrier Field > Equal and Opposite Reaction - While Barrier Field is active, 10% (per rank) of incoming melee damage is reflected back at enemies.

• It is very tempting to try to tank with this plus Vector Dampening, but you should probably still not try it on HardCore.
• It only works on melee, and typically you might be trying to avoid getting swarmed in melee. That said, being swarmed in melee is troublesome and if you don't have effective coping when that happens, this can help.

Barrier Field > Angle of Incidence - Barrier Field has a 10% chance per rank to reflect projectiles that strike Reinhart.

• Projectiles are probably the hardest to avoid and often, because of the camera angle and limited sight range, enemies can shoot at you from off-screen.
• If you have thrown up Barrier Field because you are in trouble and need to retreat, then you are more likely to benefit from this than Equal and Opposite Reaction, which requires you to stay in melee to benefit.

Perpetual Momentum - For 30 seconds, Reinhart slowly recovers Focus and is immune to stunning and slowing effects.

Perpetual Momentum > Heightened Concentration - Reinhart's Focus regeneration is increased by 12% per rank while Perpetual Momentum is active.

Perpetual Momentum > Mind Over Mortality - While Perpetual Momentum is active, any healing Reinhart receives is increased by 5% per rank.

• Best used with Circle of Healing, but it costs you 2 Power Orbs to use both one right after the other. However, if you are so pressed in combat that you need more healing immediately, you might be better off retreating and using Circle of Healing twice for 100% healing over 60 seconds.

Talents
Genius! - Reinhart`s Will is increased by 4% per rank.

Dynamic Mastery - Enemies hit by Lightning Strike, Mirror Leap, or Electrocute suffer Charged status, taking 3% additional damage per rank.

• Not clear how an enemy can be "hit" by Mirror Leap, but presumably it means any enemy attacked by the Mirror Leap decoy.

Entropic Mastery - Foes hit by Clockwork Trap, Geometry of Annihilation, or Creative Destruction suffer Drained status, losing 3% attack power per rank.

Numismatics - The amount of money acquired from piles of coin that Reinhart picks up is increased by 20% per rank.

• Forget this. Just grind for money by looking for respawning containers or killing enemies.

Quick Thinking - Reinhart's Agility contributes to his Ability DPS by 10% per rank.

Eureka Moment - Each time Reinhart inflicts a Critical Hit he recovers 2% per rank of his total Power.

Timely Escape - Each time Reinhart dodges, he inflicts a modest slowing effect on enemies close to where he started his dodge.

Adept Spell Casting - The Focus cost of all Reinhart's abilities are reduced by 4% per rank.

Dynamic Mastery > Shock and Awe - Reinhart's Charged status effect has a 2% chance per rank to also inflict a short stun.

• Maximum 10% chance to stun for a "short" time, whatever that is. Way too chancy, but if you go for it, might as well go 5/5.

Entropic Mastery > Ruin and Restoration - Drained enemies have a 2% per rank chance, per second, to lose some Hit Points that are transferred to Reinhart in the form of healing.