The Fellowship of DarkMatters 2 Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 A Huge Thank You to Tharkane for giving his permission for his brilliant Codex of Daemons Guides to be published here...the Following Guides are all accredited to him Codex of Daemons (Guide) There is a wealth of information available regarding the older, more established characters of Sacred, but little concerning the Daemon. Most of us who have run successful Daemons (online and/or in single player) came across our knowledge the old-fashioned way: trial and error. For gamers like myself, that way is the most fun, and the biggest part of what I enjoy about games. However, not everyone has fun doing the same things. Some of you may want to enter the arena armed with basic knowledge...well, this is what the Codex is for. Read on! Purpose The purpose of the Codex is to provide background information regarding the Daemonic succubus character of Sacred. It is not designed to be a guide supporting a particular build. Any number of builds work equally well in the game, as I have seen and experienced myself. Your build is a question of your own preference. That said, this guide should help you direct your own build efforts. The Daemon: Terror on the Battlefield The Daemon is a hybrid spellcaster/melee warrior character. Her spells are offensive in focus, designed to damage opponents and enhance her attack capabilities in combat. Her starting statistics - Strength and Mental Regeneration being the highest - lean towards a spellcaster that transforms into a killing machine through her combat forms and spells. The Daemon's melee prowess is linked to her forms...without her forms, she lacks any special attacks in melee combat. It is important to note that both the Daemon's forms and attendant special attacks are considered Combat Arts (more on the mechanics of her CAs later). What follows is a brief review of each form, and the special attack offered by each one. Fire Daemon - The Daemon assumes her fire form. She enjoys a boost to fire resistance while transformed. A percentage of physical damage she inflicts is translated into fire damage. While in her fire form, the Wall of Fire attack becomes available. This ranged attack creates a roaring wall of flames at the target destination, I.e., where you click the mouse button. She tosses the Wall of Fire as a bouncing orb of fire...opponents in the way of this fireball will receive fire damage. Imagine this orb as a red-hot grenade, and you will have the perfect visual. Energy Daemon - The Daemon assumes her magical form. She enjoys a boost to magical damage resistance while transformed. A percentage of physical damage she inflicts is translated into magical damage. While in this form, the Energy Orb attack becomes available. The Daemon unleashes multiple orbs of energy from herself that inflict magic damage on her opponents. The higher the Energy Daemon level, the more orbs she unleashes with the attack. Poison Daemon - The Daemon assumes her poison form. She enjoys a boost to poison damage resistance while in this state. Like the other forms, a percentage of her physical damage is translated into poison damage. While in this form, the Poison Ring attack becomes available. With this attack, the Daemon unleashes an expanding ring of poison which damages opponents in her immediate vicinity. The radius of the poison ring is static, and does not increase with the CA level. Battle Daemon - The Daemon assumes a powerful physical form. She enjoys a boost to physical damage resistance while transformed. Unlike her other forms, Battle Daemon adds damage to her attacks (in accordance with the nature of the form, the additional damage is physical). It also increases her attack rating in combat. The form's special attack is called Assail, which resembles the Attack CA of other Sacred characters. Soaring Daemon - The Daemon can fly through use of this form. This enables her to navigate many obstacles that earth-bound characters cannot cross. While in her Soaring Daemon form, she enjoys a bonus to movement speed, and a bonus to her defense rating. While transformed, the Descent attack becomes available. The attack is ranged and may occur virtually anywhere on the screen with a click of your mouse. When committed, the Daemon dive-bombs her target and executes a Hard-hit attack that features splash damage to all targets in the radius of effect. This attack is extremely powerful and upon its use, the Daemon reverts to her ordinary form. Very Important: Notes Regarding Forms and Their Special Attacks Forms cannot stack, nor can they be used concurrently. The Daemon can cast one of her forms (except for Soaring Daemon) upon any member of her party in sight. However, her selection is limited to any form she is not currently in. In other words, if she is in Fire Daemon form, she can bestow any form upon any party member except for Fire Daemon (and Soaring Daemon) form. She can never cast Soaring Daemon on anything or anyone except herself. The party member receiving a Daemon form cannot use any of the special attacks associated with the form. They benefit from the additional elemental resistance only. They also enjoy a cool makeover which consists of colored twirling light-thingies, and a radical-looking mowhawk. When you select a Daemon Form from your CA bar at the bottom right of your screen, the CA icon will then change to represent the Form's special attack. When your transformation expires, the icon will revert to the Daemon Form CA once again. There is no skill or statistic which accelerates the "casting times" for both the forms, and their special attacks. These remain static. The Physical Regeneration statistic, along with the Concentration skill, reduces the regeneration time for the Forms and their special attacks as they do with the combat moves of other Sacred characters. Hell Magic The Daemon's spells are offensive in nature. They are designed to achieve maximum carnage on the battlefield, whether they empower the Daemon to slaughter her foes effortlessly (ala Infernal Power and Call of Death), or create nasty entities which ferociously attack her enemies on her behalf (such as Blazing Disc, Hellsphere, and Tentacles). Dread - As a spell, Dread is very similar in mechanics to the area of effect (Area of Effect) spells of the Battle Mage, such as Fire Spiral, Circle of Fear, and Circle of Ice. However, that is where the similarity ends. Dread creates a circle within which the attack and defense ratings of enemies are greatly reduced. The duration of the spell never changes - it remains static at 25 seconds - but its effectiveness increases with additional levels. The higher the spell level, the greater the reduction in attack and defense ratings. Abysmal Choir - When she casts this wicked spell, all enemies directly around the Daemon suffer its effects. Movement rate is slowed dramatically. Each affected enemy will also suffer damage over time while under the spelll effect. Like Dread, the higher the spell level, the greater the reduction in movement rate, and the greater the damage inflicted. How to tell that an enemy is affected by the Choir: they will be cursed with a black cloud while affected. Damage types: Physical and Magic. Tentacles - Certainly the most gory and graphics-intensive spell in the game. When she casts Tentacles, the Daemon is imbued with an aura for the duration of the spell. The corpses of every enemy she kills adjacent to her person while in the Tentacles aura will suddenly sprout nasty tentacles in an explosion rich with gore. These tentacles then proceed to attack any enemy target in their reach. Note to Daemons with a Vampiress in your party: the tentacles destroy the corpses they pop out of, which means one less dead for the Vampiress to awaken. Also, this spell is graphics-intensive and drains system resources. For this reason, well-mannered Daemons refrain from using the Tentacles spell in multiplayer. A well-mannered Daemon gets to have lots of friends to run with. Damage Types: Magic and Poison. Hellsphere - This spell creates a sentry orb that can be placed wherever the Daemon wishes. This orb will dutifully attack any enemy which approaches the Daemon while she is within the sphere's line of sight (LOS). She may only create one sphere per casting of this spell. Damage Types: Fire and Magic. Blazing Disc - This spell creates an airborne entity which hovers directly around the Daemon. The entity - the Blazing Disc - will attack any enemy which approaches the Daemon. The disc will follow the Daemon wherever she goes, but spellcaster beware: discs cannot follow you through portals. A Daemon loses the discs she creates when she passes through a portal. Also, they can be lost if you travel too quickly through caverns and around tight turns. Remember your disks, and they will serve you well. The spell creates one disc per casting. Damage Types: Physical and Fire. Infernal Power - This buffing spell enhances the Daemon's attack rating in combat. Also, it adds fire damage to the Daemon's attacks. It also increases the percentage of fire damage done overall. Although this spell is ideal when used to complement the Daemon while in her Fire form, it serves well in every circumstance, and with any form. The Daemon may cast Infernal Power upon any member of her party. They enjoy the full benefits of the spell. Call of Death - Call of Death is a particularly nasty combat spell. It is a buffing spell. For every foe the Daemon kills, her damage is expotentially increased. Note that any lag between kills resets the damage multiplier: one dead foe after another means more and more damage. Daemon Synergies The Codex would not be complete without a treatise on the subject of Daemon synergies. Certain forms and spells lend themselves to one another in spectacular ways. The synergies are due to the fact that the damage translation of the forms (and spells) are not restricted to weapon damage alone. They apply to both weapon and spell damage. Fire The simplest and most obvious of these synergies is the relationship between the Fire Daemon form and the spell Infernal Power. Fire damage is elevated and multiplied. Little known is the increased fire damage Blazing Discs will do while the Daemon is in her Fire form - portions of the disc's physical damage is translated into fire damage. Infernal Power further boosts fire damage by adding it. Discs and Hellspheres do more damage this way. For this reason, Fire builds are the most popular choice amongst players. Physical Battle Daemon form is the only form that adds to the total damage done by the Daemon. Therefore, spells are affected accordingly (Blazing Discs will inflict additional physical damage). Also, Battle Daemon is the only form that increases her attack rating. In concert with Infernal Power, the Daemon enjoys a tremendous boost in attack power. A particularly devastating tactic for a Daemon in Battle form is the employment of claws and knuckles in combat. Note that the Daemon cannot specialize in the weapon skill these weapons fall under. The weapon skill in question is Blade Combat (the exclusive realm of the Dark Elf). However, the Daemon is unnaturally fast when using these weapons...faster than she is with any melee weapon at the maximum speed possible in the game (220)! Whether she uses one of these weapons and a shield, or dual wields, the effect is devastating. Another item worth noting: these weapons normally feature a bonus to their physical damage along with a set amount they inflict. This bonus is usually a percentage amount of one of the statistics, usually Dexterity. In Battle Daemon form, she adds even more damage...with Infernal Power active, add additional fire damage! What About Poison and Magic? Alas, this is where her synergies end. The Daemon lacks the ability to add additional poison or magic damage to her attacks (beyond what normally occurs via the Magic Lore and Weapon Lore skills)...she can only do so with fire damage and physical damage. She can only translate physical damage into poison damage, or magic damage (depending upon her current form). Still very useful when used as part of a sound tactical plan. Soaring: Fly the Infernal Skies! There are many benefits to using her little wings. First and foremost, obstacle-hopping power. Depending on how much you've invested into the Soaring form, you can fly across large bodies of water (within certain limits, as I have discovered) and reach patches of dry land unavailable to all the other characters, even teleporting Battle Mages. If it's not on the screen, he can't reach it. Not so for the Daemon! Secondly, Soaring Form is the only way a Daemon can boost her defense rating beyond skills, items and equipment. This is an important factor to consider when you reach the higher difficulty levels. The more defense you have, the better. Thirdly - and this is a synergy - while Soaring, the Daemon enjoys an incredibly high rate of fire (ROF) using the only ranged weapon she can use in the game: crossbows. The difference between the ROF while Soaring and on foot is remarkable. Experience it for yourself and you will agree: the Daemon makes an excellent medieval jet fighter. And finally, there is the trivial matter of the Descent attack of the Soaring Form, by far this author's favorite Daemonic combat move. The attack is absolutely devastating...combined with spells such as Infernal Power and Call of Death, only Dragons and other healthpoint-wealthy targets can hope to survive a direct hit. The area of effect is a great boon, enabling a Soaring Daemon to wipe out groups of monsters, complete with their boss, in a single attack. By far the best tactic: target the boss, who is usually in the midst of a group. Dive-bomb and witness their pitiful deaths. For now, that is all I have to post in the Codex. More will be added at a later date. It is not intended to be my work alone: other posters may feel free to add anything they wish to the thread. If you notice a mistake or an omission, inform me via PM and I will correct it accordingly. Link to comment
The Fellowship of DarkMatters 2 Posted March 23, 2007 Author Share Posted March 23, 2007 Tips and Advice Pure Melee, Hybrid, or Spell Caster? For those considering the development details of your Daemon and what to do with her build-wise, you might find yourself stumped on the subject of her Hell Magic and combat ability. Are they truly independent of one another? Can a non-magical Daemon be viable in the game? Important factors to consider regardless of your goals: the Daemon's magic essentially covers two realms: attack enhancement, and damage-dealing. Each one of her spells fall into either one of those categories; in the case of Infernal Power, both. Her spells cover a broad spectrum of damage types: physical, fire, magic, and poison. In this regard, she is a more adept spellcaster than the Seraphim, though nowhere near the equal of the Battle Mage. Magic ability is an important part of the Daemon, as vital as her combat prowess. Her awesome potential in combat is in fact partly due to her magical ability. Call of Death and Infernal Power, both buffing-type spells, amplify every one of her blows. The power these spells add to her damage output actually negate the need for the Daemon to rely on combat moves such as the other Sacred characters possess. Case in point: My Daemon Yiloth - Experiments in Combat and Magic Enter Yiloth, a 112th level Daemon just barely into Platinum difficulty. With Aarnum's Fiery Blade equipped, endowed with the full set bonuses and enhanced by Infernal Power, she achieves "normal" hits in the range of 20K - 50K, even against fire-resistant targets. Quite impressive when you also consider the amount of damage she achieves using the Descent Attack, the special attack of the Soaring Daemon form. Her highest hit in my memory was in the neighborhood of 420,000 damage. Part of the reason why her "normal mouse-click" attacks are so powerful: critical hit bonuses. The other reason: I have her Infernal Power spell nicely developed. It adds considerable damage to every attack by itself. When I add Call of Death on top of everything else, nothing on the screen lasts very long. She zips around in Soaring form whacking everything into clouds of bloody mist. The resistances of her targets are overcome by the sheer damage of her hits. I have tested the forms alone with no spell enhancements, and find her lacking. The only exception: using a crossbow while in Soaring Form. The rate of fire is not unlike an Uzi with unlimited ammunition. Of her combat moves, it seems that the Descent Attack of the Soaring Daemon Form and the Wall of Fire of the Fire Daemon Form are by far the most effective and useful. The energy orbs of the Magic Daemon come in a close second here, being ranged in nature. Unfortunately for the Daemon, she has no magic that enhances her magical damage. Fire is a different matter. As we all know, Infernal Power adds to fire damage. For this reason alone, the Wall of Fire attack becomes much more useful and powerful. The DOT it inflicts increases as the level of the form itself, and the Infernal Power spell, increases. Then there is the Physical/Fire synergy, as discussed earlier in the Codex. While in Battle Daemon form with the Infernal Power spell active, her Blazing Discs inflict almost 300% more damage than they do on their own! Had I the chance to do Yiloth over again, I would have changed her skill selections. She rarely uses any magic beyond what I like to think of as Melee magic - Infernal Power and Call of Death. With this is in mind, I submit the following for Daemon players to consider: There is no such thing as a "pure" melee Daemon. She is a spellcaster by default...all that differs is the amount of investment you channel into her magical abilities. Any debate over the merits of Hellpower vs. Meditation becomes somewhat moot when it is really just a matter of what method you choose in her rise to the top. Hell Magic Caster: She will use all of her Hell Magic, both attack enhancements and damaging spells. Since Meditation offers the biggest reduction in spell regeneration time, the selection of this skill is important. Hellpower would be an excellent choice too, since the casting time reduction and further regeneration reduction only serves tomakes her deadlier in combat with Hell Magic. As a Hell Magic caster, you want multiple Burning Discs, Hellspheres, and the Abysmal Choir all doing their thing at the same time. Option 1: Take the Meditation and Hellpower skills. Biggest benefit: you will be able to enjoy the large bonuses to Hellpower that many of her set items give (one of her platinum set pieces gives a +22 bonus to Hellpower by itself). Also, bonuses to the Meditation skill are given on many of her items, and the "generic" Daemon items. If you find Regeration Spells: +x% items, all the better! Option 2: Take the Meditation skill. Rely on Regeneration Spells: +X% items to augment.Melee Magic Caster: Like my Daemon Yiloth, you use Infernal Power and Call of Death either constantly, or quite frequently. You want the satisfaction of doing the killing yourself. Option 1: Take the Meditation skill. Since the spells that will be used are duration buffs, casting them multiple times in succession only applies if you want to buff allies and hirelings. Simply keeping the regen time below the duration is all that is needed. In my opinion, this option has worked very well with my latest Melee Magic Daemon. Option 2: Take the Hellpower skill, and rely on Regeneration Spells bonus items to augment regeneration times. Note that the Melee Magic caster can add a few Burning Discs as friends if you stack up on spell regeneration power somewhat. Your discs will do alot of damage since you're constantly buffed with Infernal Power, and even more so if you like Battle Daemon form. That's a sort of compromise between melee prowess and a little magical specialty. I created a Hell Magic caster, and have to say that her carnage is spectacular. So if it's a question of who does more injury to enemies, both types of Daemon do equally. Yiloth kills anything (including some dragons) with one dive, and Daedra my Hell Caster makes the entire screen suffer with her spells. Depends on my mood. Final Opinion: The "Best" Hell Magic Daemon The most effective Hell Magic caster would use Battle Daemon as her preferred form, and keep the buffing spells constantly active on herself. She then adds damage to every damaging spell in her arsenal. Here's how: Battle Daemon form (adds physical) + Infernal Power (adds fire) + Call of Death (multiplies damage done) = Blazing Disc (Physical + Fire, enhanced by Call of Death) Hellsphere (Fire + Magic, enhanced by Call of Death) Abysmal Choir (Physical + Magic, enhanced by Call of Death) Tentacles (Magic + Poison, enhanced by Call of Death) Link to comment
The Fellowship of DarkMatters 2 Posted March 23, 2007 Author Share Posted March 23, 2007 Daemon Build Hell Caster (Build) The Hell Caster focuses on the use of daemonic magic. She becomes powerful in combat through the use of her spells. She attacks multiple opponents by managing the infernal entities at her command. Skill Selections Magic Lore Weapon Lore Meditation (3rd level) Hellpower (6th level) Concentration (12th level) Armor (20th level) Constitution (30th level) Parrying (50th level) Primary Daemonic Form Battle Daemon. Optional secondaries: Fire Daemon, Soaring Daemon Statistics to Pump Up: For every 4 levels, put 3 points into Mental Regeneration, and 1 point into Physical Regeneration. The Daemon's starting stats are heavy on Strength and Mental Regeneration, weak on Physical Regeneration and Charisma, and moderate on Endurance and Dexterity. One option would be to reverse the statistic pump for the first 12 levels by placing 9 points into Physican Regeneration, and 3 points into Mental Regeneration. This would serve to increase your Hell Caster's health points during the early levels. The Daemon's default Strength score is high enough not to require any investment: a big bonus and one reason why she is so effective in combat. Primary CAs: Battle Daemon form, Fire Daemon form/Wall of Fire attack, Soaring Daemon form/Descent attack. Spells: Any Hell Magic spell of the player's choice. Suggested specialties: Infernal Power, Blazing Disc, Hellsphere, Abysmal Choir, Dread. The Hell Caster begins her quest with a definite edge over her enemies. Her default form is Battle Daemon, and normally the first Hell Magic spell she acquires is Abysmal Choir (that usually drops from the starting point chest). She is very, very fast using the Claw weapon she starts out with in her weapon slot. Your Hell Caster will be very strong...if you are in single player, you will quickly become bored with Bronze difficulty. I suggest reaching 6th level before you leave Bronze. That is easily accomplished by the time you make it to Silver Creek. Once that is done, export your Daemon and start a new Silver difficulty Ancaria campaign game. Hint: Single Player is ideally suited for experimentation and testing. If you are new to the Daemonic Succubus, then you'll want to take your Hell Caster through the single player game to at least the Gold level of difficulty. If your ultimate goal is online play - especially Hard Core closed internet - then doing this will give you the chance to gain experience you will need to get out of tricky situations when they arise. Learning the ropes = longer life in Hard Core play. Weapon Skills The Hell Caster does not specialize in any particular weapon skill, apart from Weapon Lore. The infernal entities of Hell Magic are her emissaries in battle, extending her reach far across the battlefield. These entities - Blazing Discs, Hellspheres, and Tentacles - are magical and never fail to strike the Hell Caster's enemies. In the realm of magic, she is surpassed only by the Battle Mage in spell selection. However, at her command are spells which inflict damage across the entire spectrum: physical, fire, magic, and poison. This places her on equal footing with the Battle Mage in this regard. Her spells are much more effective than weapons. Her primary combat enhancement spell, Infernal Power, affects not only the properties of her weapons, but the damage-dealing properties of her spells as well. The Battle Daemon form, the primary form of the Hell Caster, enhances the physical damage dealt by her effect spells and the infernal entities as it does her own weapons. It is for this reason that the Hell Caster seeks to optimize her spell casting abilities at the cost of skills with particular weaponry. Does this mean she is weak with weapons? Absolutely not! The Battle Daemon form and Infernal Power both enchance her attack capabilities in combat far beyond the scope of mere skills. The only real consideration is attack speed. This can be compensated by bonuses from items, armor and weapons which increase her attack speed. During the early levels, speed will not be much of an issue. Later in the game when it does become a factor, items will be available which will increase attack speed. Optimizing Hell Magic Regeneration The Hell Caster build is designed to maximize Hell Magic regeneration and casting times. This means more infernal entities can be summoned in increasingly less time. The more entities present on the battlefield, the more powerful your Daemon will be. Look for items (rings, amulets, or armor and weapons) that offer bonuses to spell regeneration, Mental Regeneration, the Meditation skill, and the Hellpower skill. Always opt for these bonuses above all others, and design equipment especially for this purpose. Link to comment
The Fellowship of DarkMatters 2 Posted March 23, 2007 Author Share Posted March 23, 2007 Melee Daemon Builds The Warrior Daemon The Daemon is quite different from the other characters in Sacred. Recognizing these differences is the first step in planning what to do with your Warrior Daemon. She is strong and powerful: this helps to compensate for her unique status and different abilities. Amongst the characters she is second only to the Gladiator in her starting health points, and Strength. A discussion of what makes her different is in order, then, before we proceed any further. *Note Before You Proceed*: In order to prevent any confusion regarding weapon skills as you read through the build options below, the following background information should be considered essential information: Weapon skills (I.e., Sword Lore, Axe Lore, etc.) are not required in order for a character to use weapons. For example, a Daemon who does not have Sword Lore may still equip and use a sword weapon. Some weapons in the game feature minimum skill requirements your Daemon must meet in order to equip (and subsequently use) it in a weapon slot. Aarnum's Fiery Blade, the two-handed sword component of Aarnum's Regalia set, requires a minimum Sword Lore skill of 10 to use. If your Daemon lacks at least 10 points in the Sword Lore skill, she won't be able to use this sword. This is one limitation (there is a way around this, but that is covered elsewhere). Another limitation: racially-restricted weapon types. The Daemon may not equip and use any weapon designated for a particular class, or the set weapon for another class. She may also never equip and use any weapon restricted to her in general: for example, all ranged weapons are off-limits to her, save for crossbows. In the build guides below, whenever you see the Dual Wielding skill mentioned as a skill pick, assume that your Daemon will also use two-handed weapons and weapon + shield as circumstances require. Dual Wielding is a unique skill in the game. It functions as both a Weapon skill, and the skill which permits two one-handed weapons to be equipped in the same weapon slot. Every one-handed weapon used this way, regardless of its "parent" Weapon skill (I.e., all swords are governed by Sword Lore), are affected by the Dual Wielding skill when wielded as a pair. I explain this more thoroughly elsewhere on the forums. It follows, then, that selecting the Dual Wielding skill affords your Daemon great flexibility and more options when it comes to populating your weapon slots. Special combat moves - The Daemon doesn't possess the standard complement of combat moves shared by most of the characters in the game. This is a key factor that heavily influences melee Daemon builds. Lack of racial weaponry - At this time, the Daemon lacks any racially-exclusive weaponry designed to take advantage of her skills and strengths. All she is possesses are the weapons of her special sets. Weapon Synergies - On the whole, the Daemon excels in the use of the generic Blade Combat weapons: claws, knuckles, three-bladed daggers, and bladed spears. She is fastest with claws and knuckles. Note that she has a very fast attack animation with these weapons despite her statistical weapon speed figure. She cannot acquire the Blade Combat skill, yet this does not affect her actual attack speed when using these weapons. Her actual attack speed will be faster than a Dark Elf with the Blade Combat skill! The only Blade Combat weapon the Dark Elf can employ at a comparable speed are fistblades, exclusive only to him. The Daemon also excels in the use of swords. Out of all the characters, her attack animation speed with this weapon is the fastest. Two-handed swords in the grip of a Daemon are swift and deadly, making their use a much more practical consideration in her case. The crossbow is the only ranged weapon the Daemon may equip and use. In any form other than Soaring Daemon, her speed with a crossbow isn't exceptional nor noteworthy. While in the Soaring Daemon form, however, her rate of fire is best described as "automatic weapon fire." Naturally, a Warrior Daemon will want to make use of crossbow while she is flying. Daemon Form Considerations The next step in planning a melee Daemon build centers around her five available forms. These forms were discussed earlier in the Codex: Battle Daemon, Fire Daemon, Poison Daemon, Energy Daemon, and Soaring Daemon. Four of the five forms are elemental in basis. The fifth form, Soaring Daemon, is different from the others as it changes how the Daemon interacts with the game environment. What follows are melee considerations for each form, and their impact on her performance in combat. Battle Daemon - Her resistance to physical damage increases while in this form. This has obvious benefits in melee. In addition, her physical damage output increases while in the form. The biggest drawback of Battle Daemon is the special attack, Assail. Because the Warrior Daemon relies on the action of her weapons instead of the infernal entities of the Hell Magic, a form's special attack assumes great importance to her. Assail is very limited in use. The attack animation sequence is very slow, which can mean death in the higher difficulty levels. The number of hits Assail affords the Daemon is negligible: more can be gained damage-wise by using normal attacks, and in less time. It is for this reason I do not recommend making Battle Daemon a mainstay of the Warrior Daemon. Fire Daemon - Of the four earthbound forms, Fire Daemon is perhaps the most effective. The special attack of the form, Wall of Fire, is an outstanding ranged attack that features a large area of effect at the detonation point, and excellent damage over time from burning. The spell Infernal Power amplifies the fire damage done by both the special attack, and by the elemental transference properties of the form. In this case, Fire Daemon transforms a percentage of physical damage into fire damage. A Warrior Daemon in Fire Daemon form under the influence of Infernal Power has outstanding damage potential, perhaps the best of all the other configurations. Modifiers which will increase fire damage done by the Daemon's weapons and the Wall of Fire attack: Infernal Power, Fire Damage: + X%. Poison Daemon - Poison Daemon features as its special attack Poison Ring. The primary limitation of Poison Daemon is the lack of synergies with the Daemon's Hell magic spells. It is possible to compensate for this by focusing on the Daemon's ability to inflict greater poison damage. Because her Charisma statistic begins so low in relation to others, this will be a challenge. The best way to think of Poison Ring is to consider it the Daemon's equivalent of the Multi-Hit combat move, only more effective since all targets in the radius of the ring suffer damage. Modifier which will increase poison damage done by the Daemon's weapons and the Poison Ring attack: Poison Damage: + X%. Energy Daemon - This is the Daemon's elemental Magic form. While the special attack - ranged magical orbs - isn't as effective as Wall of Fire, it nevertheless has great potential and should not be underestimated. In my estimation, Energy Daemon ranks second amongst the four elemental forms as the most useful and effective for a Warrior Daemon. Many opponents in the game are vulnerable to magic damage - especially undead. Modifier which will increase magic damage done by the Daemon's weapons and Energy Orbs: Magic Damage: + X%. Soaring Daemon - The most unique of the Daemon's available forms. Soaring Daemon has many benefits for the Warrior Daemon: The form increases defense rating The form increases movement speed Obstacle-hopping power - superior to the Battle Mage's Phase Shift and the jumping moves of the Dark Elf, Gladiator and Seraphim. Rate of fire with crossbows is absurdly fast while Soaring The Descent Attack, a ranged Hard-hit move that features area of effect damage and stun! It is for these very important reasons I strongly recommend that Soaring Daemon be an intregal part of a melee Daemon build. Since Soaring Daemon does not intrinsically favor any particular damage type, it can fit with any configuration. The Descent attack is extremely effective and can occur virtually anywhere on a screen. A must-have! Statistics and Skills Two of her statistics never need draw your attention: Strength, and Mental Regeneration. Both are very high at the start, especially Strength. Her weakest stats are Physical Regeneration, and Charisma. Focus on her weaker stats to increase as she increases in levels, and the rest will take care of themselves. Dexterity would be a good statistic to increase. Dexterity indirectly influences fire damage, which is a boon for a Fire build. It also will directly influence defense rating, and indirectly affect attack rating. Since the Daemon lacks in the defense department, this is a good choice. Her Charisma score is very low in the beginning. Charisma influences poison damage. If you desire a Poison build, increasing the Charisma statistic would be a good idea. Neglecting Charisma would be a handicap for a Poison Daemon. Skill Picks: Option One: Weapon Lore Concentration Weapon skill (3rd level) (Dual Wielding is a great pick here) Spell Regeneration skill: Meditation or Hellpower (6th level) Agility (12th level) Armor (20th level) Constitution (30th level) Parrying (50th level) Option one takes defense into serious consideration. The Warrior Daemon will utitlize dual wielding, 2 handed weapons and weapon + shield. This build is a bit more secure than Option Two. Option Two: Weapon Lore Concentration Dual Wielding (3rd level) Spell Regeneration skill (6th level) Constitution (12th level) Armor (20th level) Skill of your choice (30th level) (possible pick: Magic Lore) Defensive skill: Agility or Parrying (50th level) Option two isn't as concerned with defense. Bear in mind that you will need to compensate for this with generous amounts of life leech on your items and equipment. A melee Daemon doesn't have the benefit of infernal entities constantly feeding her life through life leech, making defense a higher priority for her then it is for a more dedicated spellcaster. The Hell Caster compensates for her lack of defenses with widespread damage saturation across entire screens. With the selection of Magic Lore at level 30, she effectively becomes a "hybrid" with the ability to deploy limited amounts of infernal entities in combat. Magic Lore makes the use of her damaging spells more practical. Although far from the equal of a Hell Caster, she can possess enough ability to make a difference. This skill pick will also have the side effect of increasing the fire damage of the Infernal Power spell. All of this could help compensate for the lack of defense in comparison to Option One. The Focus of the Builds: Damage, Critical Hit bonus, and Life Leech Dishing out damage in tremendous amounts is what the Daemon does best. She seeks critical hit bonus modifiers to drive that damage up even higher. She needs Life Leeching to help offset her lack of defensive powers/spells, for in the higher difficulty levels of Sacred, she will be hit quite often. For veteran Seraphim players, this will be very familiar to you. A common pitfall of many melee Daemon prototypes is short-sightedness. What works well in Silver and Gold will begin to fail in Platinum, and utterly perish miserably in Niobium! A build needs to take the following important criteria into consideration: 1. Is adequate offensive power provided? 2. Is adequate defense provided? 3. Are the rigors and dangers of higher difficulty levels planned for? The best build is designed with Niobium difficulty level in mind. For the Daemon, criteria #1 is a no-brainer: Infernal Power. The other two criteria, however, are more difficult to meet. I consider melee Daemon Option One as the one most likely to survive Niobium, as defense is provided for more sufficiently. Option Two can work, but will require more effort. Both will require studious attention to the amount of damage she does per hit and a high percentage of life leech in her favor. The Daemon cannot acquire the Trading skill. Therefore, she will need to rely on her set items (jewelry, armor and weapons), and unique weapons and jewelry to provide life leeching. Vampiress CA runes can be used throughout levels 1 - 20...after that, however, you would need to use a great deal of them to supply the life leech you will need in tougher areas. Using that many will adversely affect your ability to dish out high damage (you need those slots for damage rings!!). It is important that you spend time combing areas that spawn bosses in search of unique and set drops. For a Daemon hunting in Soaring form, it's all too easy. Spot a gaggle of victims on the edge of your screen, switch to a heavy-hitting two-handed sword, and dive directly on the boss. You should only have to take one or two swings to mop up any unfortunate survivors after your feet hit the ground. Piece of cake. Melee Daemon Forms and Spells The Fire Warrior: Fire Daemon/Wall of Fire, Soaring Daemon/Descent Attack, Infernal Power, Call of Death, Dread. For skill pick Option Two, add Hellsphere and Abysmal Choir. The Poison Daemon: Poison Daemon/Poison Ring, Soaring Daemon/Descent Attack, Infernal Power, Call of Death, Dread. For skill pick Option Two, add Hellsphere and Abysmal Choir. The Magic Daemon: Energy Daemon/Energy Orb, Soaring Daemon/Descent Attack, Infernal Power, Call of Death, Dread. For skill pick Option Two, add Hellsphere and Abysmal Choir. Option Two Specific: The Battle Daemon: Battle Daemon form, Soaring Daemon/Descent Attack, Infernal Power, Call of Death, Dread, Tentacles, Hellsphere, and Abysmal Choir. Keep in mind that you will find you can concentrate on a primary elemental form, on Soaring Daemon, and another elemental form as a secondary. I only suggest Battle Daemon as a primary form if you go with Option Two and pick Magic Lore at 30th level. You will need to compensate for the lack of a decent form special attack with Hell Magic entities like Hellsphere and Tentacles. __________________ Link to comment
The Fellowship of DarkMatters 2 Posted March 23, 2007 Author Share Posted March 23, 2007 Now for Something Completely Different I'll introduce Options Three and Four now for the adventurous and the curious. Option Three Weapon Lore Concentration Dual Wielding (3rd level) Magic Lore (6th level) Agility (12th level) Constitution (20th level) Armor (30th level) Parrying (50th level) Option Three agressively goes after items and equipment with the Regeneration Spells: + X% modifier. Option Three, like Option Two, will likely use infernal entities as an aid in combat. You'll need to stack up on this spell regen bonus to begin to see a decent reduction in spell regen time as they increase in level. Option Four Weapon Lore Concentration Sword Lore, Axe Lore, or Unarmed Combat (3rd level) Agility (6th level) Constitution (12th level) Dual Wielding (20th level) Armor (30th level) Parrying (50th level) Option Four goes after the same external aid to spell regeneration as Option Three does, only to a lesser extent since no infernal entities will be used. This is probably the most pure melee build for the Daemon. Both of these options have a big shortcoming: reliance on copious amounts of Spell Regeneration bonuses. Your efforts might be better spent building up critical hit bonuses and life leech with Options One or even Two than these latter two melee templates. Link to comment
The Fellowship of DarkMatters 2 Posted March 23, 2007 Author Share Posted March 23, 2007 A character doesn't have to have any Weapon skills at all in order to use weapons. The only exception to this is Dual Wielding: if you want to equip two weapons in the same slot, you have to have the Dual Wielding skill. You may wield a one-handed weapon or two-handed weapon of any type without having any skill at all. The only thing that would prevent a character from doing this would be an actual skill requirement on the weapon that the character lacks, or a racial/set weapon for a different character. If you want to wield two weapons in the same slot, then you must have the Dual Wielding skill. A character who has the Dual Wielding skill may: use two weapons in the same weapon slot, use a one-handed weapon + shield, or use a two-handed weapon. A character without the Dual Wielding skill may use a one-handed weapon + shield, or a two-handed weapon. What this means: great flexibility is afforded to a character with the Dual Wielding skill. Nothing (save the aforementioned restrictions) stops them from using a weapon + shield, or a two-handed weapon. In the case of the Daemon, the Infernal Power spell supplies all of the attack rating she will ever need. The attack boost from this spell far outstrips the attack rating contributions of any Weapon skill alone. A 60th level Infernal Power spell supplies +1350% to attack rating, the last time I checked. Needless to say, no Weapon skill can match that. Perhaps attack speed with one-handed and two-handed weapons is a concern for you. The law of averages finds that in the lower levels of play when excellent gear and items are scarce, attack speed is not really an issue. It becomes an issue in the higher levels of play...however, by that time, a character (through set items, rings, and bonuses on armor and weapons) can easily achieve a 220 attack speed across the board with whatever is placed in a weapon slot, independent of Weapon skills. Each of the melee characters in the game share one thing in common: all possess a CA/spell that, at a minimum, increases their attack rating. For the Gladiator, both attack and defense are nicely boosted through the use of one CA - Heroic Courage. The Wood Elf enjoys an attack rating and speed boost via Quick as a Flash. The Seraphim can boost her attack rating through Strength of Faith. The Dwarf can boost his through the use of a CA (War Cry), and a Dwarven Technology art (Dwarven Steel). The Dark Elf and Daemon share something in common with their combat buffs. Both his (Testy) and hers (IP) jack up attack rating to ridiculous levels, *plus* they enhance weapon damage big time. With all of this in mind, it pays for a Daemon who dual wields to also dabble in the use of weapon + shield and two-handed weapons. However, she needn't spend a skill pick on any other Weapon skills. She lacks any serious defensive buff save for what the Soaring Form offers - and that is a modest amount. A shield can be useful sometimes. After testing various weapon combinations when executing the Descent Attack move, I conclude that the best weapon to have equipped is a two-handed sword. Infernal Power compensates for any unskilled weapon use, supplying the attack rating increase. And, as I've mentioned elsewhere, her attack animation speed with all swords and claw weapons is very, very fast. A Daemon with an "official" attack speed of 140 will still swing a sword faster than another character with an attack speed of 220. Her speed with two-handed swords is awesome. She's as fast with a two-hander as she is with one-handed swords! So, a Daemon who takes nothing but Dual Wielding will do just fine. The only drawback to this is, you'll have to use "creative socketing" to use weapons with skill requirements. Link to comment
The Fellowship of DarkMatters 2 Posted March 23, 2007 Author Share Posted March 23, 2007 Call of Death - How Does it Work? After extensive testing of the Call of Death spell and watching damage figures float to the top of screens, I believe I can safely post the results without being lynched. As you'll notice, the spell lists "Maximum Damage Bonus" in the description screen. On the surface, this amount seems rather trivial. It would indeed be trivial if that's all the spell considered... The Maximum Damage Bonus is added to your Daemon's damage output each time an enemy is killed. This amount accumulates as the Daemon kills more enemies. Therefore: A Call of Death spell with a Maximum Damage Bonus of 4%: +4% to the Daemon's total damage for each slain enemy. 5 enemies slain = +20% to damage. Each additional enemy slain adds another 4% to total damage inflicted per spell/attack. This damage bonus applies to every spell, special attack, and weapon attack by the Daemon. The Wildcard Timer: Unknown at this time is the invisible "timer" which seems to run as kills are scored by the Daemon. If your Daemon makes 2 consecutive kills, then (using our example spell amount above) 8% will be added to all damage she does. However, if more than a few seconds passes before her next kill, the damage boost is lost. She will then have to build it back up again. It seems that the Daemon must maintain a steady stream of slain enemies to maintain a consistently high damage bonus. Here's one scenario during testing. The Daemon was using normal weapon swings vs. a group of enemies surrounding her. Infernal Power and Call of Death were both running. Her damage bonus from CoD is 5%. First Goblin: Hit for 24K, killed (5%) Second Goblin: Hit for 28K, sayonara (10%) Third Goblin: Critical scored, hit for 62K, dead as a door nail (15%) Fourth Goblin: Critical scored, hit for 83K, vaporized (20%) Fifth Goblin: Hit for 76K, obliterated (25%) Goblin Shaman: Struck for a decent critical of 108K, no chance to scream (30%) Note that her Call of Death spell isn't very developed. It's only at 23rd level at this time. Her Infernal Power spell, however, is level 72. With more levels in Call of Death, the damage would turn from insane to utterly mad. The Advantage of Split in Racking up the Damage The more enemies she kills in quick succession, the more damage she does. Therefore, a good Split modifier is essential in maintaining a steadily increasing output. Having Hellspeheres and Blazing Discs working for your Daemon will aid in this endeavor. They can attack enemies out of your immediate reach. With a good Chance for Open Wounds modifier, the chances for a split occurring are even better. Wounds Increase Damage Dealt: Another Factor If you wish to venture beyond the fine line between madness and complete insanity, a WIDD Daemon using Call of Death and Infernal Power theoretically has the greatest damage potential of any character. Link to comment
CrescentHunter 3 Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Hey Tharkane. Thank you for the wonderful guide on perhaps the best and most favorite character in Sacred Underworld: the Daemon. I hope you don't mind me asking this question but how can I build a soaring Daemon without having to tweak the settings.cfg file? I play on a pc and would hate to destroy a good game by tweaking it, that and I don't have the permission to do so. I got the inspiration to try and make one after wacthing Therion's Soaring Daemon on Rampage in youtube. Problem with his build is the thing I mentioned earlier: it requires changing the settings.cfg file. Thank you beforehand for all the advice and tips on how to make her. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now