Shadow warrior: Paladin/tank help.

[St Frantic 0]

First I'm new to the forums so hi to all.

I am also new to the game of sacred 2. I messed around on bronze for a while trying different things and seeing what I may like etc.

Anyway I want to try a paladin/tank build ( I will be starting on silver ),so I would like some general advice on what direction I should go with skills combat arts etc.

 

Here is the 10 skills I'm thinking of:

1: Combat discipline

2: Concentartion

3: Sword weapons

4: Tactics lore

5: Armour lore

6: Shield lore

7: Toughness

8: Death warrior focus

9: Malevolent champion focus

10: Constitution

 

1: Are these skills ok in general for this build?

2: In what order should I pick these skills and which should I keep closest to my level?

3: 10th skill ( constitution ) Will the shadow warrior be ok with health without constitution? Could I use a more useful skill instead?

Or is constitution a no brainer here?

 

Attributes:

I'm thinking of putting the points into Strength and vitality equally- is this recommended?

 

Combat arts:

As stated only using DW and MC.

1: Which should I chose to start with in each first.

2: Second which to mod/tier first.

3: Would like advice on which tier/mod direction to go with things like : Demonic bow-frenzied ramp etc.

 

Like I said I'm new to the game and know next to nothing compared to people who have been there and done it,so to speak.

I want to start on slver ( bronze is too easy and feels a waste,my opinion ).

I know the are alot of questions here,but I would like as much feedback as possible....it would be much appreciated.

Thankyou.

Edited July 17, 2011 by St Frantic

[Aegis 256]

My playtime on this game had dropped significantly, and when I did pick it up again, all my characters had been deleted due to the console needing repairs. >.o

 

With that being said, I can tell you that the skill choices you've chosen are not much different from the ones used in a number of builds I've seen, so they are definitely decent. The skills I personally used first were Tactics Lore, Armor Lore, MC Focus, DW Focus, Concentration, and Dual Wield (or Sword Lore in your case). Pretty much equivalent to the first six skills chosen like in Furian's Ultimate Warrior guide and Mantis' Dual Wield beginner guide. I don't recall the exact order I chose specifically, and it doesn't really matter given how quick you gain skills early on, but I did make it a point to choose those first before filling the rest. Since the SW is pretty strong and the fact I can bash heads fairly decently in the early going, I didn't place so much emphasis on the dual wield (or sword lore), I dealt with tactics lore, armor lore, and the focuses first, with tactics and the focuses moreso. I wanted to get my regeneration times down for my CAs, and I want to get some modification points quickly. After I get what I need from my CAs, I then gradually start putting more points to armor lore, and then I just feel my way through and add points to my weapon lore. Now that's just me personally, and with you playing on Silver, you have plenty of time to experiment, but I can tell you that from me playing around as much as I did, my SW was still pretty tough. As far as Constitution goes, most people would say it's a no-brainer especially in the higher difficulties. Given the properties specifically once it's at 75, I made it my seventh skill rather than leave it to the last.

 

After that... I shall let others answer.

Edited July 19, 2011 by Aegis

[St Frantic 0]

My playtime on this game had dropped significantly, and when I did pick it up again, all my characters had been deleted due to the console needing repairs. >.o

 

With that being said, I can tell you that the skill choices you've chosen are not much different from the ones used in a number of builds I've seen, so they are definitely decent. The skills I personally used first were Tactics Lore, Armor Lore, MC Focus, DW Focus, Concentration, and Dual Wield (or Sword Lore in your case). Pretty much equivalent to the first six skills chosen like in Furian's Ultimate Warrior guide and Mantis' Dual Wield beginner guide. I don't recall the exact order I chose specifically, and it doesn't really matter given how quick you gain skills early on, but I did make it a point to choose those first before filling the rest. Since the SW is pretty strong and the fact I can bash heads fairly decently in the early going, I didn't place so much emphasis on the dual wield (or sword lore), I dealt with tactics lore, armor lore, and the focuses first, with tactics and the focuses moreso. I wanted to get my regeneration times down for my CAs, and I want to get some modification points quickly. After I get what I need from my CAs, I then gradually start putting more points to armor lore, and then I just feel my way through and add points to my weapon lore. Now that's just me personally, and with you playing on Silver, you have plenty of time to experiment, but I can tell you that from me playing around as much as I did, my SW was still pretty tough. As far as Constitution goes, most people would say it's a no-brainer especially in the higher difficulties. Given the properties specifically once it's at 75, I made it my seventh skill rather than leave it to the last.

 

After that... I shall let others answer.

 

Thankyou for the reply ,it's appreciated. I will use this advice.

[zconnor 1]

Frantic,

 

Welcome to the Sacred world! It is a great game!

 

As for your SW tanker, there are some builds for this on the website. But to summarize the builds, you should begin with your 2 buffs, Grim Resilience and Reflective Emenation. These two buffs working together and modded correctly will give you plenty of health, defense, and survivability.

 

The main CAs I've used with great success are demonic blow as the main attack and Frenzied Rampage while using Augmenting Guidon+Killing Spree+Rousing Command to clear large hedious mobs.

 

Tactics and a weapon specialization is critical. You won't be using many offensive spells with a SW so your wep damage must be high.

 

I put all points in strength. Grim gives you health bonus with a mod so I just use that. And constitution provides health as well.

 

I see your on XBOX, look me up l33t_locnar.

 

ZConnor

[Aegis 256]

Ah, yes, I didn't get into the CAs, did I?

 

My main aspect is Death Warrior, my secondary Malevolent Champion. Thus my main offence comes from Demonic Blow, with Scything Sweep used on occasion against mobs. Frenzied Rampage is my other mode of offence. Both my Demonic Blow and Frenzied Rampage, before gaining Combat Discipline, I would combo those with Rousing Command. Augmenting Guidon with added increase to offence and defence, I also cast quite a fair bit, moreso when I'm playing with a friend. It goes without saying that having both GR and RE buffs on is a godsend, and I learned the hard way just how effective these buffs were when my SW got killed by a scorpion while forgetting to turn those buffs on. >> Backtracking a bit to the skills, I only invested 1 point on Concentration. Reason being, I only needed it for the sake of using GR and RE at the same time. I let the focuses handle regeneration time for my CAs.

 

For Demonic Blow, the mods I went with were Vehemence, Poisoning, and Life Leech (though I have considered the idea of using Trauma instead).

For Frenzied Rampage, the mods I went with were Double Attack, Double Strike, and Vampire (I kinda have this fondness for life leech, so I figured why not again).

For Scything Sweep, the mods I went with were Force, Intent (I think), and Rage.

For Rousing Command, I went with Persistence, Impulse, and Surge.

For Augmenting Guidon, I went with Elite, Tutor (though I think this one should've been Healing given that Tutor was bugged), and Fear.

 

I don't remember what I used for Killing Spree, and in truth I hardly used it early on given the amount of punishment I was already capable of doing.

I also did use Belligerent Vault, though once again, I can't remember what I modded it with.

 

For Grim Resilience, the mods I went with were Rejuvenation, Readiness, and Safeguard.

For Reflective Emanation, the mods I went with were Tough (though in hindsight, I rather go with Backlash), Antimagic, and Riposte.

 

Basically, I wanted my SW to be a single player tank with little care for evasion and a healthy obsession over life leech.

Edited July 20, 2011 by Aegis

[St Frantic 0]

Thanks for the replies,it's appreciated.

Ok,I've completed silver no deaths,found it easy.

Anyway,I've deleted that character and I'm starting fresh.I will pick the same skills,but I'm wondering about shield lore.

Does it really add alot to defense or is the block chance more important? Especially with me having toughness and constitution later on.

I was told that with shield lore it's important to increase the block chance of close combat. Does block chance take effect before mastery,if the shield or slots has a block chance. Would combat reflexes be better than shield lore?...or am I worring too much here.

I know attack and attack speed is important,but I want a solid defence. Basically,how good is shield lore?

Thanks in advance.

 

I have set up an inquisitor.I'm taking him to level 20 for now just for the use of bargaining.So I can find better stuff,when I restart my tank/paladin shadow warrior.

[snacksmoto 0]

Before I start, I have to mention that I'm more of a casual player with little experience with Shadow Warriors and high level play. To anyone, feel free to poke holes in these thoughts.

 

Now since that's out of the way, may I make some suggestions to help with your tank build.

 

On Shield Lore, from what I understand of it, it helps a lot defensively in the higher difficulties more so than lower difficulties. Because it seems like you're going for more of a survivability defensive build, I would say to get it instead of Combat Reflexes. Since the raw damage numbers in higher difficulties can get rather high, it's better to tend towards blocking the damage in the first place. (I.e. shield lore's chance to block, equipment's damage mitigation, reflect and so forth) The second defensive priority would be evasion and defensive values (shield lore defense +%) to lessen the frequency that you're getting hit. The shield itself will also give you more armour to help lessen the amount of damage that gets through.

 

Because of that, I think Combat Reflexes' evasion chance +% isn't as good as Shield Lore's block melee % that comes at the skill mastery. That being said, if you plan on farming/shopping a lot to get a lot of all-channel damage mitigation, Combat Reflexes may be better.

 

On skill selection, I've noticed in build layouts that you can get 3 skills to skill level 75 by the time you get to character level 75, and a 4th skill to level 75 at around character level 80-85. Therefore, I'd say to pick four of the skills as your majors, although you don't need to have them as your first four picks. You'll need to have one of the focus skills early to be able to unlock Combat Discipline and Concentration. I'm not sure what a good skill pick progression nor skill mod progression would be though.

[Aegis 256]

Chattius' Kung Fu Spider Girl Guide comes to mind as far as shield lore is concerned.

[St Frantic 0]

Once again,thanks for the replies.

 

I've picked the same skills as I did before. I ended up taking my inquisitor to level 55 and just started in gold with him.He's nothing special,just a shopper really.But,I have to say bargaining really works well.The rings and amulets I find ect are really good.I bought lots of them and I've been putting them into slots for my shadow warrior weapons/gear.WOW!...what a difference it makes. My shadow warrior is now level 40 and barley gets scratched ( though I imagine that will change when I hit gold with him .)

 

For me it was worth grinding through the levels with the inquisitor to make him a decent shopper. I fought gar-colossus at level 25 and I stud toe to toe with him he was hardly hurting me,and he fell like a sack of spuds.All this was due to the high level ring's etc that my inquisitor socketed into my shadow warriors stuff.Usually Gar'Colossus hits hard,but I had to laugh when I just stud there and took the pain.....Yes,a true paladin. But,I know full well all this will change come gold and higher.

 

It's took me a while to get my regens right again,because at the begining of the game a few levels in,I thought I was putting the Grim Resilience runes in my chest....But guess what,I was eating them.....haha! Anyway my regens are sorted for now.The speed I take out the orcs with a high survival bonus is very good-like a knife through butter you would say.

 

I'm tempted to level the inquisitor more,but it's a bit of a grind.He's not really set up right ( for combat etc .)

I've also noticed that when survival bonus get's past 50% the drops get better even without EP.Especially in the orc area,and the orc cave.My survival bonus is in the 60's now if I remember right.

 

Question: Defense value.Now is that like evasion/enemies chance to miss,or is it better protection: As in instead of hitting me for 100,they hit for 60 etc?

 

Now not getting hit is good,but what do I look for if I want to get hit but take the punishment?....is that just armour alone?

Also,sorry to mention this here.But I don't understand the tiers for bargaining.

What are the tier's exactly? Does it have to do with stars,slots or the difference in hard /soft points.

My inquisitor is level 55-he has 55 hard points in bargaining,101 with the gear I have on him.But I have other gear in my chest,and when equipped he's around 138 for bargaining. Sorry to sound dumb.

Al I've noticed is that I'm finding more two star rings etc in the shops,with better stat's or with two good stats etc.

 

Anyway,thanks for the replies.

Take care

Dean.

Edited August 5, 2011 by St Frantic

[essjayehm 58]

Question: Defense value.Now is that like evasion/enemies chance to miss,or is it better protection: As in instead of hitting me for 100,they hit for 60 etc?

 

Now not getting hit is good,but what do I look for if I want to get hit but take the punishment?....is that just armour alone?Anyway,thanks for the replies.

Take care

Dean.

Heya, Dean!

 

I'll tackle this query... Defence value is like evasion or blocking in that it reduces the enemies' chance to hit you.

Armour (and/or resistance) reduces your incoming damage when you do get hit... and Mitigation is Armour's 'better' brother, it eliminates a portion of the incoming damage completely.

[Mystix123 60]

Also,sorry to mention this here.But I don't understand the tiers for bargaining.

What are the tier's exactly? Does it have to do with stars,slots or the difference in hard /soft points.

My inquisitor is level 55-he has 55 hard points in bargaining,101 with the gear I have on him.But I have other gear in my chest,and when equipped he's around 138 for bargaining. Sorry to sound dumb.

Al I've noticed is that I'm finding more two star rings etc in the shops,with better stat's or with two good stats etc.

 

Information about Bargaining Tiers can be found in the following links:

General Tier Information Thread - http://forum.sacred2.com/showthread.php?t=56777

Modifiers that show up at each tier - http://www.sacredwiki.org/index.php5/Sacred_2:Modifier_Tier_List

 

Those links should explain quite a bit, but if you have any other specific questions after reading them, feel free to ask.

[St Frantic 0]

Also,sorry to mention this here.But I don't understand the tiers for bargaining.

What are the tier's exactly? Does it have to do with stars,slots or the difference in hard /soft points.

My inquisitor is level 55-he has 55 hard points in bargaining,101 with the gear I have on him.But I have other gear in my chest,and when equipped he's around 138 for bargaining. Sorry to sound dumb.

Al I've noticed is that I'm finding more two star rings etc in the shops,with better stat's or with two good stats etc.

 

Information about Bargaining Tiers can be found in the following links:

General Tier Information Thread - http://forum.sacred2.com/showthread.php?t=56777

Modifiers that show up at each tier - http://www.sacredwiki.org/index.php5/Sacred_2:Modifier_Tier_List

 

Those links should explain quite a bit, but if you have any other specific questions after reading them, feel free to ask.

 

 

Thankyou

 

I'm also thinking of having fun with an hand to hand build ( shadow warrior ).

1: Has anyone attempted this?

2: Can you get unarmed claws/weapons on console?.....if so, how?

3: What weapon skill ( if any ) affects unarmed combat: Attack speed,damage etc?

[essjayehm 58]

Hello, St. Frantic!

 

WRT an unarmed build...

1) JK just did a claws build and posted this video.

2) Belive it or not, I have had a claw weapon on console. ONCE. I assume it was a glitch, as they should not drop on the consoles.

3)On console, none... but on PC they (the CM team) coded the claws to be Sword weapons, IIRC.

[St Frantic 0]

Hello, St. Frantic!

 

WRT an unarmed build...

1) JK just did a claws build and posted this video.

2) Belive it or not, I have had a claw weapon on console. ONCE. I assume it was a glitch, as they should not drop on the consoles.

3)On console, none... but on PC they (the CM team) coded the claws to be Sword weapons, IIRC.

 

Thanks for the reply,it's appreciated.

 

1: That video was great.

2: It's a shame there are no claws on console.

3: I see. For some reason I thought duel wield might help,but nevermind.

Will attack value,attack speed and stuff like that in slots effect hand to hand.

I'm still playing my tank build ( as posted above ),but I also want to try a monk type shadow warrior with hand to hand and ( polearms )poles only. Just trying to find out what I can before I attempt a monk build. I take it life-leech works with unarmed?

I tried hand to hand with my tank.Took away his sword and shield and started using fists with frenzied rampage,alot of fun.Although his damage was poor he seemed to hit more with frenzied rampage with his fists. Seemed like 12 hits or more,as compared to sword. Great fun though.

Anyway,thankyou for the reply.

Edited August 17, 2011 by St Frantic

[essjayehm 58]

1: That video was great.

2: It's a shame there are no claws on console.

3: I see. For some reason I thought duel wield might help,but nevermind.

Will attack value,attack speed and stuff like that in slots effect hand to hand.

I'm still playing my tank build ( as posted above ),but I also want to try a monk type shadow warrior with hand to hand and ( polearms )poles only. Just trying to find out what I can before I attempt a monk build. I take it life-leech works with unarmed?

I tried hand to hand with my tank.Took away his sword and shield and started using fists with frenzied rampage,alot of fun.Although his damage was poor he seemed to hit more with frenzied rampage with his fists. Seemed like 12 hits or more,as compared to sword. Great fun though.

Anyway,thankyou for the reply.

Yeah, "kungfu" or a monk builds as you said are viable. And yes, you do have to get your attack speed, etc from sockets.

Life leech, as you saw in the video, works fine... for PC version. I am speaking of the LL%, of course. On consoles, LL% will heal you the correct amount, but the damage portion is borked.

[St Frantic 0]

1: That video was great.

2: It's a shame there are no claws on console.

3: I see. For some reason I thought duel wield might help,but nevermind.

Will attack value,attack speed and stuff like that in slots effect hand to hand.

I'm still playing my tank build ( as posted above ),but I also want to try a monk type shadow warrior with hand to hand and ( polearms )poles only. Just trying to find out what I can before I attempt a monk build. I take it life-leech works with unarmed?

I tried hand to hand with my tank.Took away his sword and shield and started using fists with frenzied rampage,alot of fun.Although his damage was poor he seemed to hit more with frenzied rampage with his fists. Seemed like 12 hits or more,as compared to sword. Great fun though.

Anyway,thankyou for the reply.

Yeah, "kungfu" or a monk builds as you said are viable. And yes, you do have to get your attack speed, etc from sockets.

Life leech, as you saw in the video, works fine... for PC version. I am speaking of the LL%, of course. On consoles, LL% will heal you the correct amount, but the damage portion is borked.

 

Thankyou.

I'm wondering,because I'm trying an unarmed build,where do I stick attribute points?

I'm guessing DEX and STR...Maybe evenly....I also thought about sharing the points around on VIT-DEX and STR,but not sure.

Without finding claws etc,is there anyway I can do additional damage with fists?.....like ice,fire etc?

If not I think I'll choose ranged or poles as backup.

Take it easy.

[essjayehm 58]

Thankyou.

I'm wondering,because I'm trying an unarmed build,where do I stick attribute points?

I'm guessing DEX and STR...Maybe evenly....I also thought about sharing the points around on VIT-DEX and STR,but not sure.

I'm not a big "you must do X" WRT attribute points. Put them wherever you feel is needed best. Probably STR would be my choice

Without finding claws etc,is there anyway I can do additional damage with fists?.....like ice,fire etc?

Demonic Blow has a modification that adds poison damage. It would be the only way I know of off the top of my head... other than adding Life Leech as an "additional damage"

If not I think I'll choose ranged or poles as backup.

Take it easy.

Always

[St Frantic 0]

Thankyou.

I'm wondering,because I'm trying an unarmed build,where do I stick attribute points?

I'm guessing DEX and STR...Maybe evenly....I also thought about sharing the points around on VIT-DEX and STR,but not sure.

I'm not a big "you must do X" WRT attribute points. Put them wherever you feel is needed best. Probably STR would be my choice

Without finding claws etc,is there anyway I can do additional damage with fists?.....like ice,fire etc?

Demonic Blow has a modification that adds poison damage. It would be the only way I know of off the top of my head... other than adding Life Leech as an "additional damage"

If not I think I'll choose ranged or poles as backup.

Take it easy.

Always

 

 

Ok,I've found something interesting,unless it's a bug....but I don't think so.

Anyway,I tried adding fire damage in some gauntlets: Like: Fire damage + 14.9%,and it didn't work with hand to hand.BUT...I found a pair of 2 star gaunlets,that had one or two mods on them.One of them said: Conversion to poison 34.5%.So I equipped them and started fighting/testing with them on and hand-to-hand.I then noticed enemies were indeed getting poisoned every now and then. I have nothing else that does poison damage,nor have I chose those in any combat art,so gaunlets with conversion damage must work. I will put my game on later,but I don't remember being able to buy armour with with the dull grey sockets for conversion damage.

 

I would like someone else to try this,or mention anything similar.( on xbox or PS3 ). I'm wondering if armour/gauntlets like that are rare,but they do seem to work.my shadow warrior was poisoning enemies when I equipped them,but not 100% of the time /or every hit.

 

I also haven't noticed any conversion to magic,poison,fire etc rings or amulets on my travels. Can you find rings and amulets like that?

Also I've double checked and those gaunlets do work.It also showed the damage conversion in my overview.

So I need armour with dull gray sockets,or conversion rings ( both of which,I haven;t seen yet. )

 

Does damage lore work with the shadow warrior's combat arts: As in the poisoning etc,and burning from killing spree?

Will it make them trigger more and for longer?

I also see from time to time orange text saying: additional damage x ( Whatever ).That's without damage lore selected.

Thanks in advance.

Edited August 21, 2011 by St Frantic