Tharkane's Book of the Ancestors (Dwarven Guide) Continued:Hall of Heroes Part 2

[The Fellowship of DarkMatters 2]

Book of the Ancestors, continued

 

Never Underestimate a Dwarf

 

Ancaria's Dwarf possesses a variety skills and abilities which make him a force to be reckoned with. He's every bit the front-line warrior, being able to stand alongside the likes of the Gladiator in combat. The skills available to him are:

 

(Note: an * indicates a skill available only to the Dwarf)

• Weapon Lore
   
   
  
• Trading
   
   
  
• Constitution
   
   
  
• Dwarven Lore*
   
   
  
• Weapon Technology*
   
   
  
• Forge Lore*
   
   
  
• Concentration
   
   
  
• Parrying
   
   
  
• Agility
   
   
  
• Armor
   
   
  
• Axe Lore
   
   
  
• Sword Lore
   
   
  
• Unarmed Combat
   
   
  
• Ranged Combat
  

The skills which affect the regeneration times of his combat arts are Concentration (combat moves), and Dwarven Lore (Dwarven Techologies). Weapon Techology improves the speed at which he executes and finishes Weapon Technology arts, such as Flame Thrower. The statistic which affects the regeneration times of both his combat moves and Weapon Technologies is Physical Regeneration. This simplistic approach makes improving all of the Dwarf's CA regeneration times easier to accomplish, unlike what hybrid warrior/spellcasting characters such as the Wood Elf, Seraphim, and Daemon face.

Trading - One Way to Unlimited Power

 

With Trading available as a first-level starting skill, the Dwarf can begin his quest with a definite advantage. While any number of builds are viable using the Dwarf's skills and abilities, this author has discovered the awesome power of a Dwarven Trader. I will post this character build as an example after this guide is completed.

 

Forge Lore - Portable Blacksmith!

 

The Dwarf is the only Sacred character that can craft weapons and armor on his own. At 20th level, the Dwarf may select the Forge Lore skill. Once he begins his career as Ancaria's premier Blacksmith, he has access to Blacksmith arts only he may use. In addition to the two standard attack and defense Blacksmith arts, the Dwarf may use a special Blacksmith art that features a bonus to all resistances, and a bonus to finding special items. A Dwarf with Forge Lore can place CA runes, skeleton skulls, rings, amulets, and Blacksmith arts into weapons and armor with sockets to receive them...any time, any where!

Dwarven Synergies

 

The Dwarf is a unique character that can serve as both a front-line warrior, and an excellent support buffer. Abilities such as War Cry help boost attack and defense ratings for both himself and his friends. Dwarven Armor increases resistance to fire and poison. Dwarven Steel boosts attack rating, and diminishes the physical resistance of foes. These abilities can work hand-in-hand to make the Dwarf very powerful in combat, and very desirable to have around in cooperative multiplayer games.

 

War Cry and Dwarven Steel: The Basic Melee Buff

 

Keeping these two CAs active means the Dwarf hits more often, is harder to hit, and inflicts more physical damage against enemies. Enough said!

Battle Rage, War Cry, and Dwarven Steel: Who Needs Weapon Skills?

 

Battle Rage increases attack speed; War Cry and Dwarven Steel both boost attack rating. When a character uses a weapon he or she has no skill with, they generally perform much more poorly with that weapon than a character that has that skill. However, the need for any weapon skill can be done away with completely with the use and development of these three combat arts. After all, a weapon skill such as Axe Lore gives a character increased attack rating and attack speed with axe weapons. But...why take Axe Lore when you can use these three CAs to make up the difference? Or Ranged Combat when it comes to muskets and pistols? Hopefully, the possibilities here become obvious. More freedom in skill choices = a happier Dwarf.

The Resistance Boosters and Armor Skill: Why They Rock!

 

The resistance boosts offered by Dwarven Armor and Entrench are calculated in the following way:

 

Natural Resist (without armor and items) + Resistance Boost from Dwarven Armor and/or Entrench + Armor Bonuses x Armor skill factors + special bonuses from items = Actual Resistance Amount.

 

In other words...the Armor skill increases the amount of resistance offered by Dwarven Armor and Entrench! Yes, this is a plug for a Dwarf to take the Armor skill. Doing so will improve the power of those two resistance-buffing CAs. This synergy works to your advantage, and to the advantage of your grateful multiplayer buddies with the Armor skill. Have lots of friends...buff freely.

Dwarven Lore or Weapon Technology...or Both?

 

For players familiar with the Wood Elf and Seraphim characters, Dwarven Lore and Weapon Technology will make immediate sense to you. Dwarven Lore is to Meditation as Weapon Technology is to Moon Magic or Heavenly Magic. For new players, this means that the Dwarven Lore skill offers the most drastic reduction in Dwarven Technology combat art regeneration times for each level invested in the skill. Weapon Technology, on the other hand, offers a reduction in regeneration time, and an increase in the speed of execution for these CAs. However, the regeneration bonus increments per level of this skill are much smaller than that of the Dwarven Lore skill.

 

Builds are a matter of preference and playing style. If you are obsessed with the Flame Thrower and plan on using that and other Dwarven Technologies as your primary attack CAs, then taking Weapon Technology might be a good choice. The reduction in execution times, especially as it relates to the Flame Thrower, is something to consider especially in the higher difficulty levels of the game. Taking advantage of the Regeneration Special Move (RSM) bonus on items, armor and weapons can help compensate for not having the bigger regeneration boost of Dwarven Lore.

 

It all depends on how you plan on spending your available skill choices. By taking the Trading skill and keeping it at your character level or above, purchasing goods from Merchants with RSM bonuses becomes much easier and is definitely a guaranteed thing as your character levels up. That is one way to approach it, and personally is my favorite way to deal with it. Having Trading opens up much more than just items with RSM bonuses...for example, it's possible to have a 40th level Dwarf Trader with a Weapon Lore skill level of 112...and he's only invested a measley 10-12 skill points of his own!

 

You can also take both Dwarven Lore and Weapon Technology, and come out just fine. Again, it all depends on what you want for your total skills package. That is the key to designing your own build...think about what skills your Dwarf will need.

 

The Dwarf: The Perfect WIDD Candidate

 

WIDD - Wounds Increase Damage Dealt - has been researched and tested by other veteran Sacred players. Information regarding their findings and builds can be found elsewhere in the forums. A search will produce the threads where this information can be found. I have no intention of duplicating any of that information here...only to add that WIDD bonuses dominate Dwarven equipment. Some Dwarven CA runes feature a bonus to WIDD when socketed! Battle Rage includes a percentage factor which increases the chance of WIDD damage occuring - it's called Berserk. It doesn't take much to understand that the Dwarf is ideal material for a WIDD build.