My Shadow Warrior

[sigma20xx 0]

I'm planning in the middle of making a shadow warrior and I would appreciate it if you all could give me some improvements on this build that I'm posting. I currently do not have access to a high level EP or Bargaining character. So keep that in mind when you post. I am playing on the PS3. Please be sure to try and answer my questions that will be in bold font that are in the post along the way. I tend to repeat myself a lot and I'm hoping that this will cut down on that. I will be asking other questions in my post later, but the ones in bold will be the questions that pop into my head immediately. I've been playing the game for a few weeks now and I have a few characters that I'm working on all in the silver difficulty. CHANGES TO ORIGINAL POST ARE IN RED

 

Attributes

1-49- 1vit

50-149- 1vit/1sta

150-200[if I go to 200]- 1vit/2sta

 

The skills that I am choosing are pending on advice that I get, so they are subject to change. The skills aren't in any particular order, I just wanted to list them for now.

 

2. Astral Lord Focus

3. Concentration- I will be using 3 buffs

5. Death Warrior Focus

8. Malevolent Champ Focus

12. Astral Lord Lore

18. Tactics Lore

25. Armor Lore

35. Combat Reflexes Combat Discipline

50. Spell Resistance Constitution

65. Toughness

 

About my skill choices. I would like to work constitution and combat discipline into the mix, but this is solely based on the info that you give me. I plan to only use 2 handed swords or hammers/axes as my weapons. I don't plan to use just combat arts all the time. I would like to know if using opponents chance to evade -X% or chance opponents can not evade attack +X% items over shadow chance to hit bonuses given by a weapon skill? If this is the case, then I will remove the weapon skill and and just use Tactics Lore.

 

As you can see, I don't have constitution. Can the Grim Resilience Buff mod Rejuvenation overshadow the hp regeneration of constitution at higher levels? If not, then I will drop Astral Lord Lore for it constitution.

 

Combat Arts

 

Death Warrior Aspect

 

Demonic Blow Vehemence-Frailty-Trauma

 

Vehemence gives me some Area of Effect for the attack, Frailty reduces the armor and I'd rather cause more damage than the leech life. I can find leech life equipment later on.

 

Scything Sweep Knockback-Intent-Rage

 

Knockback lets me damage enemies that are slightly out of my reach with the bodies of other opponents, Intent gives me a chance to crit and rage stores up energy for my next attack. I might switch out Intent for Numb since tactics lore already increases my chances to crit. I am also still on the ropes on the bronze mod, because as cool as knockback sounds, knowing that I'm guaranteed to get a 15% increase to damage on the attack sounds better. I need something to deal with and clear out mobs, so I'll cross that road when I come to it. I'll have to see how I do with massed enemies. I'd like to hear your opinion on this Combat Art with mods as a whole?

 

Rousing Command undecided-Impulse-Surge

 

I would like to go with Persistence as the first mod. According to the wiki, there is no way to reduce cooldown time. Can I make the duration time almost as long or exceed the cool down time? If not, then I'll go with the war song mod. Impulse because why would I need to run faster? Surge to help my other Combat Art's regen faster.

 

Grim Resilience Undecided-Discipline-Undecided

 

Rejuvenation or constitution? Discipline to keep regen times down since I'll have this activated 24/7. As for the final mod, I really don't know. Reflex will allows me to evade magic and melee, where as safeguard will allow me to deal with melee damage that I do and will get hit by. What's worse at higher difficulty levels, physical or magical damage?

 

Malevolent Champion Aspect

 

Frenzied Rampage (partially modded) 2X attack-2X attack-Life Leech

 

I already have both of the double attack mods and I'm going with the life leech mod in the end. I don't find poison that big of a deal and if I'm going to be swinging on something 4 times, I might as well get some life while I'm doing it.Does anyone know if this stacks with life leech items? If so, then I think LL is the way to go, if not, then I might be inclined to go with poison and let my LL items get life for me while the Combat Art is being used.

 

Augmenting Guidon Elite-Tutor-Fear

 

Elite, because who doesn't like an increase to attack and defense. Tutor because I'll be getting my life from elsewhere and Fear to reduces attack values and I mostly play alone.

 

Killing Spree Control-Perseverance-Sway

 

Control so I can hit harder. I don't intend to be injured enough to make Berserk effective. Perseverance so it'll last longer and Sway so I can swing my large 2 handed weapon faster. Has anyone used the Burst and Sear mods? The description alone turned me off to them.

 

Reflective Emanation Backlash-Antimagic-Riposte

 

Reflecting attacks is good. I am considering the bronze mod Tough. I think I've seen enough of Ancaria to know that ranged attacks aren't that bad, at least in silver anyway lol. What I'd like to know is if ranged attacks are considered as anything not melee such as magic? I know there are a lot of arrows, rocks and elements that are hurled/ranged at you, but I'm shrugging those off now. What kind of ranged attacks are the bosses hitting with that makes Backlash better than Tough? If I could reflect any stun such as the kobold chief's rock toss attack, I think that could be very useful to reflect all stun attacks later on.

 

Astral Lord Aspect

 

Rallied Souls Armament-Vivification-undecided

 

Armament and Vivification adds a longer life span to the corpses. Now, Furor is supposed to raise their damage. I asked about this Combat Art in another post and it seems like no matter what you do, the corpses will still pale in comparison to the Nether Allegiance crew. With that being said, I'm still undecided on if I want to use this Combat Art or not. If I do, it'll be purely for cannon fodder unless someone can tell me a way to get some more damage out of this. If I can't get more damage, then I'll just go with the Contagion mod.

 

Shadow Veil Creep-Fade-Shadowmaster

 

I don't intend to use Shadow Veil to hide. I'll be using it more as a panic button to catch my breath and regroup.

 

Nether Allegiance Sharp Blades-Spectral Shield-Elite Equipment (fully modded already)

 

What can I say but I love these guys and I take them every where I go. The only thing that worries me is the fact that I could get hit by any Area of Effect spells that hit them. I could easily turn them off during a boss battle if that's the case. When and if I get hit by this weird damage transference thing that's mentioned in the sacred wiki, do I take 2X the damage from Area of Effect spells if both of my skeletons get hit or 3X since I'll be standing in the thick of battle with them?

 

Well, that's it for my build, let me know if there are any ways I can improve on this?

[sean19_98 0]

The first thing I notice is that you didnt put any attribute points in strength

Edited February 10, 2010 by sean19_98

[sigma20xx 0]

If I end up using strictly combat arts to attack, then strength won't be necessary. If however a weapon skill will be more useful in raising my chance to hit as opposed to using opponents chance to evade -X% or chance opponents can not evade attack +X% items, then I will put some attribute points into strength.

Edited February 10, 2010 by sigma20xx

[Numerii 1]

Strength is a very overrated stat, easily circumvented by adding runes to Combat Arts via the additional regen reduction from Stamina and stats such as -opponents chance to evade %.

[Spunky 16]

That is indeed true in Ice and Blood as the gain from it damage wise is pathetic, chance to hit modifiers is easy found on anti evasion gear such as "opponents chance to evade & chance that opponents cannot evade attacks".

[essjayehm 58]

That is indeed true in Ice and Blood as the gain from it damage wise is pathetic, chance to hit modifiers is easy found on anti evasion gear such as "opponents chance to evade & chance that opponents cannot evade attacks".

 

I havent' played a Shadow Warrior personally, but from watching my buddy playon my machine -

 

Drop spell resistance skill. If you are using Grim Resilience, that boosts your willpower to god-like levels, and spells will not be your main concern. As long as you have GR pumped nicely, it will provide all the spell resistance you should need. I am basing this off watching him cruise thru Platinum with 3K armour value and 350-ish defense value at character levels 65-75 ish. (QUITE low defense, by any standards).

But you REALLY should have constitution skill mastered (75 hard points) as soon as your build allows, as long as you are planning on using melee attacking without Shadow Veil.

 

HOWEVER...

 

If you're change your mind on using Shadow Veil as a buff later on, my point is moot. Veiled Shadow Warrior's "shouldn't" get hit.

 

A lot of your questions, I have no idea where to begin... maybe a couple I can take a stab at -

What's worse at higher difficulty levels, physical or magical damage?

You will (for the most part) have a lot more physical armour than magic, and the Demons in the wasteland do almost all magic damage... hinthint

 

What I'd like to know is if ranged attacks are considered as anything not melee such as magic - if an archer uses a combat art, it is considered a "spell" - confirmed on PS3 with my Temple Guardian reflecting spells with his shield buff.

 

Does this lore improve the damage and crit chance of the Nether Allegiance buff better vs memorized runes and increase of focus skill through hard points? This question... kinda confuses me. YES, ASL will increase the damage output of your skeletons. This is not "proven" but we did notice that the skellies were better killers after ASL was chosen. BETTER? The lore will increase damage by a % and increasing the Combat Art level with runes (and focus skill) increases the base damage. They are closely tied, but at the end of the day, you need both to have acceptable damage from your friends.

[bigfoot69 0]

First thing I noticed was you dont have any offense..dual wield, sword weapons, etc. you can take out spell resistance for sure and swap it with whatever offensive skill~you need the attack speed. Combat reflexes, I'd say stray away from that 1 because he has reflection as it is. My level 35 reflects 72% of attacks...

 

And if you mod you're shadow veil right you can use ranged weapons without breaking the veil~at least on the consoles. Mod it (enemies need to get closer) (Fade) (and make it a buff) Couple ruins and you're completely invisible. I just started to make a ranged shadow warrior and it is awesome! If you mod you're scything sweep right, you can kill other players next to you in the campaign haha The enemies just fly into them as projectiles and boom (I tend to not do this on purpose because it is mean) But heres my 2 cents for new adventure with your shadow warrior

[sigma20xx 0]

I chose tactics lore as an offensive skill. This way I can use whatever weapon I want. I'll use items to increase my chance to hit and attack speed. I edited my post. I will not be using combat reflexes or spell resistance. I also don't intend to use shadow veil as a buff. Hiding the whole time not my style.

Edited March 23, 2010 by sigma20xx

[sigma20xx 0]

I could only assume by the inactivity of this thread that there is nothing wrong with this build?

[sigma20xx 0]

HELLO OUT THERE! I took a huge break from playing SC2, but as you can see I'm back in the saddle. I'd still like some help with this build.

[gogoblender 3,070]

lol you were gone whole summer! Hope you had a great one, have fun on the boards, and Welcome back Sigma.

 

 

gogo

[sigma20xx 0]

I hadn't been playing because I didn't want to out level a friend of mine since we always play together. He's military like me and I had to wait until he made his move, got situated and was able to get back in the game. We both got trapped in our own lives and couldn't escape to the wonderful world that is SC2. Now that I'm starting back up, I figured I'd fire up this old character of mine whose currently at level 27 and doing fine. I leveled up but I didn't change any stats, I kind of wanted some input before I started tinkering with things.

[Furian67 15]

Aloha and Welcome back. looking through what you have looks good. only advise I could give at this time is to run the silver campaign and test the waters in every area to see if you have any weakness that has slipped through your cover.

 

Rousing Command undecided-Impulse-Surge

 

I would like to go with Persistence as the first mod. According to the wiki, there is no way to reduce cooldown time. Can I make the duration time almost as long or exceed the cool down time? If not, then I'll go with the war song mod. Impulse because why would I need to run faster? Surge to help my other Combat Art's regen faster.

Persistence - Prolongs the duration of Rousing Command. (+50% from base value)

 

Grim Resilience Undecided-Discipline-Undecided

 

Rejuvenation or constitution? Discipline to keep regen times down since I'll have this activated 24/7. As for the final mod, I really don't know. Reflex will allows me to evade magic and melee, where as safeguard will allow me to deal with melee damage that I do and will get hit by. What's worse at higher difficulty levels, physical or magical damage?

Rejuvenation - Increases the hitpoint regeneration rate. (2hp/s + 2hp/s per CA level)

Readiness - Adds a defense value rendering the Shadow Warrior harder to hit. (10 + 5 per CA level increase)

Reflex - Increases the chance to evade attacks. (20% + 0.2% per CA level increase) These are the mods I have used and recommend. Readiness and Reflex work so much better for me than extra armor does. I try to spread my defenses out and try and get a bit of it all instead of huge amounts of armor.

 

 

I already have both of the double attack mods and I'm going with the life leech mod in the end. I don't find poison that big of a deal and if I'm going to be swinging on something 4 times, I might as well get some life while I'm doing it.Does anyone know if this stacks with life leech items? If so, then I think LL is the way to go, if not, then I might be inclined to go with poison and let my LL items get life for me while the Combat Art is being used

.

Good choice. yes it stacks.

Augmenting Guidon Elite-Tutor-Fear

Elite, because who doesn't like an increase to attack and defense. Tutor because I'll be getting my life from elsewhere and Fear to reduces attack values and I mostly play alone.

Ensign - Expands the area of effect. (50% increase) the attack/defense values are huge as is. The area that is affected by the normal size of the ring is actually pretty small. I like using the Ensign because the mobs aren't going to come stand where I want them to.

 

Reflective Emanation Backlash-Antimagic-Riposte

Reflecting attacks is good. I am considering the bronze mod Tough. I think I've seen enough of Ancaria to know that ranged attacks aren't that bad, at least in silver anyway lol. What I'd like to know is if ranged attacks are considered as anything not melee such as magic? I know there are a lot of arrows, rocks and elements that are hurled/ranged at you, but I'm shrugging those off now. What kind of ranged attacks are the bosses hitting with that makes Backlash better than Tough? If I could reflect any stun such as the kobold chief's rock toss attack, I think that could be very useful to reflect all stun attacks later on.

Tough - Adds a chance to reflect stun effects. (20% + 2% per CA level chance)

Antimagic - Adds a chance to reflect incoming spells. (20% + 2% per CA level chance)

Riposte - Adds a chance to increase to reflected damage. (14% + 1.4% per CA level chance)

I think Tough is the wasy to go. My SW have never really had any issues with tomatoes being thrown at them.

 

Shadow Veil Creep-Fade-Shadowmaster

I don't intend to use Shadow Veil to hide. I'll be using it more as a panic button to catch my breath and regroup.

Good Idea!

Nether Allegiance Sharp Blades-Spectral Shield-Elite Equipment (fully modded already)

What can I say but I love these guys and I take them every where I go. The only thing that worries me is the fact that I could get hit by any Area of Effect spells that hit them. I could easily turn them off during a boss battle if that's the case. When and if I get hit by this weird damage transference thing that's mentioned in the sacred wiki, do I take 2X the damage from Area of Effect spells if both of my skeletons get hit or 3X since I'll be standing in the thick of battle with them?

Nice, I remember when I ran this on xbox and it really got on my nerves. Since moving to the PC I have learned so much more. like the Area of Effect in the swamps from the spiders..... now no more worries socket 50% all channel damage over time for silver and gold difficulties, 75% for Platnium, and Niobium 75% or more if you can afford the socket space. With this socket I took no more damage that transfered from my Hanson Brothers

Edited October 11, 2010 by Furian67