The good thing about my current build is that some of my main skills don't technically care about "damage" as much as the status effects. One is Scarlot Rot, which AFAIK should always do about the same per tick, and it's only the initial blast damage that should be much different, and Swarm of Flies, which procs blood loss, which is always percentage based.
Upgrading the Brass Shield to 25 will put it at around base level Greatshield stability. It takes a heavy investment of smithing stones, but it can be worth it on a lower STR character who also wants to watch their equip load. And actually be able to block some things. It seems like every 2-3 upgrade levels is when you'll get a boost to stability.
You can use the tear in your physick that gives you 10 seconds of free FP to cast it from what others have been saying. Also, if you're a caster, I'd argue the Mimic is still probably the best, but for most every other build that isn't doing spells or incantations, Tiche is probably the best. Or, you could try these other four out too:
Prior to using the Mimic (like first five days of release), I used the Mad Pumpkin Head summons, but that cost 125 or so FP. That thing would last through multiple dragon stomps and fire, basically staying up from start to finish on most every boss fight, including the double ones. Then I went to Lhutel, which was just a straight up upgrade.
