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Shadow Veil and the Orc Cave


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I had read about Dobri's Guide to the Orc Cave here at FDM, and decided to try it out with a Shadow Veiled Shadow Warrior. (as suggested by Dobri).

 

I had decided to try out r00ster's suggestion that SW do not need to take Creep (bronze mod) since their hiding ability will naturally be boosted by Astral Lord Lore, so Avoidance (less DoT) would be a good choice for a dedicated Astral Lord type build.

 

Well.

 

Collision of ideas.

 

Dobri is quite right that it is a great place for a SW to level.

 

However, that depends on not being noticed by the Orc Champions. At character level 22, with 16 runes read into SV, my SW was occasionally becoming unveiled. A quick 6 (toggle buff 1) would re-cloak him. If there was only one orc left, then I could afford to duke it out with him, no problem. I was careful in positioning my SF and my SW so that I had time to react if my SW became uncloaked.

 

However, the trouble came when I got careless and became visible when there were still 4 orc champions still alive. They caught me using SH on one of them. They turned as one and headed for my SW. I quickly pressed 6 to cloak (as I had done countless times in the past). And... cloaked and uncloaked. Wham! They hit. Cloak and Uncloak. Wham! Wham! Flash! Dead!

 

Things end so quickly in Sacred. I was playing in Silver, figuring that I would upgrade my armour when something good dropped. Which... well it didn't. 55 physical resist in the body armour.

 

I had thought I would be fairly untouchable with an 82% chance to cast without uncloaking... but missing the proximity boost to cloaking (which I'm used to)... was fatal.

 

One of these days I will get it right.

 

So. I thought recapping some of the ways my chars have died might help others avoid the same:

 

1) Don't use NA around Dragons, Octagolamus, spitting spiders, or other Area of Effect opponents.

2) Don't de-cloak unless you have to... (eg, you have to trigger the guardians)

3) If you're going to test something, don't test it online with your HC character. Export, go to SP, and test there. (A gold level Nimonuil level 62 against a level 42 SW is not going to end well)

4) Take "Creep" bronze mod for SV for added unnoticibility. You'll need it if you stand next to your opponents at any point in the lower character levels.

Edited by FrostElfGuard
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I was doing the same thing in the OC last night and have two tips I might share:

1) if you don't advance into the cave and have your view scrolled out, you can just see the orc champs feet and can cast SF in their midst (I should add that I always point myself west so the orcs are at the top of the screen). And then the only thing close to you if SV debuffs is an occasional spider.

2) socket rings and look for armor with "damage physical +%"... it directly boosts SF. In 30 minutes of shopping (given how slow shopping in Sacred 2 can be; rune masters were actually the best since they tend to have lots of jewelry) I managed to boost SF from the mid-400's to the low-700's in damage. Talk about a big help! Two or three arrows and each champ was down.

 

 

But now you make me curious if proximity detection mod still matters on a 100% SV toon... say one that's level 35 to 40'ish.

 

Of course it also occurs to me that I've been thinking about adding reflective emanation for those times I just want to tank. It might be that good 2nd line of defense for a SV debuff.

Edited by masteff
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  • 2 weeks later...
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Once Shadow Veil reaches 100% + permanent (with a mod!), you will be undetected and therefore not quite completely invincible. However, wrapping oneself in the dark energies of the netherworld has certain...disadvantages. Nothing in the spell description alludes to these dangers. Immediately upon casting Shadow Veil, several insidious monsters begin to track the player.

 

What follows is most precious: knowledge gained at the cost of one's life.

 

1. Being so undetectable that one can run through 95% of the game without taking any damage or even drawing your weapon gives one a great sense of relief -- perhaps even immortality, built on the rickety foundation of self-deception. The witch doctor, Appa'thee, tirelessly maintains a massive area-effect debuff that gradually drains the player's interest anywhere in the game, as long as Shadow Veil is active. A false sense of security coupled with a lack of interest slowly erode the player's defenses. The player becomes locked in a constant struggle against boredom. In the final stages, the player may begin to discard armor, defensive skills, due caution, etc. thinking himself invincible.

 

2. As the player's mind begins to weaken, Leff'klik, an invisible assassin will join the chase. Her methods vary. Often, she will use poisons of such subtlety that one barely notices the gradual dulling of the senses. Or she may lunge out from behind the shadows, sinking her knife deep into the player's heart. While caught between this world and the next, even simple movements become perilous. The player must use the keyboard to travel. If the player becomes lazy and clicks the left mouse button (out of habit), it may target an enemy, which may also end the spell, quite possibly in the middle of a room of momentarily startled monsters. Do not touch that button!

 

3. Focused on eluding the first two monsters, the player may fail to notice the others. Upon casting Shadow Veil, the world seems to dim slightly and grow quieter -- almost ethereral! -- yet, in reality, the player's perception of the living world has begun to deteriorate. The player may find himself standing in the path of projectiles, spells, and other undesirable actions. From out of nowhere, the player's health will begin to drop. At this point, Effek'ted-dha'rea's other unique debuff, paranoia will begin to feed on the affected player's mind. Killing speed will drop; minor events will be amplified to nightmarish effect. At full strength, the player may lose all desire for adventure!

 

4. The patient one, R'flekt, uses the dark energies of the Veil only to follow the player's progress. Fear is best achieved by doing nothing when something, anything, is expected. At first the monster's presence will go entirely unnoticed. Having spent ages carefully studying the Veil, he has devised a cunning trap for the player. He does nothing so predictable as extending reflect to enemies that did not have it. Nor does he grant special properties to monsters when the Shadow Veil is active. Instead, he has cast a curse on the other Astral Lord spells. When minions attack and in so doing trigger enemies' reflect-damage abilities, the reflected damage is directed back at the player. For normal players this may go unnoticed, but combined with the other dangers of the veil, the effect is simple, efficient, and deadly -- a combination born of true genius.

 

Yes, it is true: activating permanent, 100% Shadow Veil makes the game a walk in the park. But the park is filled with demons. Huge, cranky, invisible demons...who spend all their time arguing with other huge, cranky, invisible demons. Probably with split horns and hangnails. Either way, you now command their undivided attention. Happy hunting!

 

This was awesome. +1 Definitely made me :)

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I couldn't agree more :D As a fervent user of the cloaking effect of the Klingons' ships... sorry, the Astral SW... I can tell from experience that this is true 100% :)

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