So finally going to start my playthrough, what are the best resources for character / party builds?
Main PC is going to be a wizard, any recommendations on stat allocations?
I plan on playing on veteran (or whatever is one tier up above normal).
Any must dos when it comes to party or skill allocations? Pretty sure Eder (tank), Xoti (support) and Maia (damage) are locks. Debating on the 5th character. I'm assuming I need an offtank so thinking that I'd go with Pallegina but Serafin seems like an interesting character.
Any and all recommendations regarding class / skill selections is appreciated. Thanks
This guide is a good resource for thinking about Deadfire's mechanics in detail, but it's not really a party composition guide, and imo it's targeted more at players who have been around before and want to move toward Path of the Damned mode than a new player trying out Veteran.
Reddit and the Obsidian forums have lots of character build suggestions.
For stat allocations on a wizard, it depends a bit on what you want the wizard to do. Intelligence is great for any wizard -- it will expand your AoE effects (and the safe zone for spells that otherwise target all combatants) and prolong the statuses/crowd-control conditions you inflict. Might is important if you're going to be a blaster or throw on a defensive spell and rush into melee, less so if you plan to focus on crowd control. Dexterity's significance will scale with the number of long-cast spells you want to select (for a blaster-type, that could be a lot). Perception is similar in that if you're focused on slower, bigger spells, it's really important that they hit. Resolve is safe to dump. Constitution is also not so important because you can use either range or spells to cover your low health pool.
Eder (tank), Xoti (support), and Maia (damage) is already a well-rounded party. You're right that an off-tank will be helpful in some encounters, and Pallegina as a Herald is pretty ideal for that role, but with some equipment selection and targeted spells, any of your characters can fill that role in a pinch. If you like the look of Serafen, go ahead and try him out.
As far as class recommendations, the main one with the group you mentioned is that Xoti is best as a single-class priest, and Maia is best as a scout.
Skills-wise, I wouldn't stress too much. You want someone to focus on mechanics for lockpicking and someone else to focus on stealth so you can steal (stealth can also be fun for a wizard sneaking up and dropping an empowered fireball on unsuspecting enemies). Diplomacy, insight, and intimidate come up a lot in dialogue choices, but frankly all the options get a good amount of reactivity. And it's nothing that dramatically changes the course of your game.