[A complete guide to a mentalist Dragon Mage]

1 hour ago, chattius said:

Alchemy is working in CM-patch1.6, modifiers from inventory not. A fully modded dragon berzerker with runes kept at a high level is a terrible beast if he has demontooth trophies to recharge the berzerker special ca's quickly. I used to put trophies in the shared chest for my characters with alchemy - and yes the drtagon berzerker has a buildin alchemy skill, even the main character has not.

My advice is: play as a berzerker early on when the standard dragon mage is slow to play.

Thanks for the info! For sure will try out a pure Dragon Magic build with a deadly Berserker shapeshifter someday \m/  

[A complete guide to a mentalist Dragon Mage]

56 minutes ago, chattius said:

The interesting part of a Mentalist is that it is able to do a metamorphosis. I don't know if I would have played to level 200 if not for the 3 in 1 build.

Level 0-25(?)

You are a berzerking drakeling. Your mental powers are not developed, pure instinctiv fighting machine. Trying to stay in berzerk mode as long as possible. (But for opening doors and such you have to be human.)

level 26-100(?)

You are a polearm fighter who just learned to use mental powers. But your focus and reflexes are still on physical combat so your mental powers take time. Luckily you learned to focus on them in a fight. ( Character charges his mental energies with weapon hits. A typical hybrid character like the common fighter mage.)

Level 101-160(?)

Doing the full metamorphosis. You can kill with your mind alone. (Weapon hits are not needed anymore. Half regeneration time is at 100%, combat discipline mastered, lot of +CA-range items, not the fastest killer at a single enemy but a safe one fighting whole groups.)

Level 161-200

You are a wandering monk offering help to others to spread your faith. (The point when quest experience does the most of a level.)

Very detailed and helpful tips, Chattius! Thanks for the informations! To be honest I rarely used the transformation spells (Dragon Berserk and Dragon Form) in the vanilla versions of the game because I found them too buggy (unable to access inventory, potion bar, use merchants etc.). After the Community Patch I rarely played a shapeshifter Dragon Mage and I wasn't sure if the things mentioned were fixed (at least the potion bar and inventory disable cons).

[A complete guide to a mentalist Dragon Mage]

1 minute ago, lacr said:

Probably, he should have attended a swordsmanship school alongside with Jubei

Actually, our Jubei is a grand mage and a pole arms master, he was never into sword weapons since he learnt fighting using a bamboo in his childhood 

[A complete guide to a mentalist Dragon Mage]

48 minutes ago, lacr said:

I was never into fighting games

Well, I have to admit this as well. Fighting and shooter-type games never caught my attention. I usually love the open-world RPG games or games that require a solid strategy in order to be successful, such examples can be both Sacred 1 and 2, Warcraft III, The Elder Scrolls series or even Dota 2  

[A complete guide to a mentalist Dragon Mage]

1 minute ago, lacr said:

Well, actually, Jubei Yagyu is a real historical person, probably quite popular in Japan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yagyū_Jūbei_Mitsuyoshi

Wow  The Asian culture and history never fail to impress  

[A complete guide to a mentalist Dragon Mage]

2 minutes ago, gogoblender said:

@RavenLight

again, another beautiful manuscript/guide ... love this energy! you know, actually the mentallist was the only build I got to try out with HardCore for the game when it came out...and I was able to get it all the way up to Niobium, but finally gave up as my own build just wasnt able to make it into the higher levels... wish I'd had a guide ^^

 

gogo

Thanks for your kind words and your feedback, Gogo! My personal opinion as well is that the Mentalism (combined with a bit of Dragon Magic aspect) build is the most efficient one for the Dragon Mage since it enables him to do all he need to do: high damage, very high resistance, huge area of effect crowd control. Also adding the fact that Familiar grants such nice bonuses as well. I usually find Elemental Magic to be the least entertaining one, if I can say that just because I don't find any particular reason that Protector buff is more useful that the Runes of Protection one and the rest of combat arts from the aspect are a bit inferior to the other aspect combat arts. Although I never played a Elemental Magic focused Dragon Mage so I might be wrong  

[A complete guide to a mentalist Dragon Mage]

1 minute ago, lacr said:

 

"As with Haomarush, Genjuros, and Khanzo, Jubei'Thos is named after a character from the Samurai Shodown fighting game series, Jubei Yagyu"(c)wow wiki

To be honest, I never searched deep enough to check where these video games names come from  I knew it had to do with Samurai theme though. Thanks for the feedback, Lacr! 

[A complete guide to a mentalist Dragon Mage]

5 minutes ago, Dax said:

Jubei? Smells like Ninja Scroll.

It's actually a Warcraft III reference since a lot of Blademasters from the game are usually named Jubei (most of them Jubei + a secondary name, like Jubei'Thos)  

[A complete guide to a mentalist Dragon Mage]

4 minutes ago, chattius said:

Nice Guide

Bosses

A decade ago a dragon mage with mentalism was my very first character in the then new AddOn.

Boss killing was a problem, so I opted for the polearm skill to have a weapon with x% Lifeleech. I called the build a Sohei. The first Soheo was more or less a testbed for the possibilities of the AddOn: new dragon mage, regeneration per hit now working....

 

Early Levels

If you have CM-patch or extended edition installed, choosing dragon magic focus and pushing it to level 9 at level 9 solves some problems. Play as a dragon berzerker for the first levels. You could do it in vanilla do, but you have to avoid champions and bosses. The vanilla dragon berzerker lacks a good life leech and resistances.

Approaching Level 200

Gear will have better stats, emptying some slot for other stuff or re-ordering. At higher levels the elementalists set is a better option because of +CA-Range for example. The only hardcore character I ever played to level 200 was a pure mentalist.

Boosting intelligence with items like this can be quite useful at higher levels

My level 200 one:

 

Your guide is great as well, Chattius! About the Sohei name (and Jubei for mine), since the first preview and release of this character I had the feeling that his appearance and story is somehow (or at least it can be) related to the asian traditional culture, like martial arts fighters, battle monks as you mentioned, and so on.

Level related, well, you got me. I rarely get my characters above level 100-120 because I always think and create new builds and strategies and I am eager to try them out so I forget about my old toons  

Also, related to the hardcore mode, I never risked playing it since sometimes I admit I can be lazy and not careful enough and I stupidly die (it was painful to lose a 75% survival bonus Seraphim on standard mode too )

Anyway, thanks for replying to my build! Any feedback supports me greatly! 

[A complete guide to a mentalist Dragon Mage]

7 hours ago, Flix said:

Great work.

If you have the Community Patch there are a lot of good Pole Arm choices to round out the rather meager vanilla selection. 

Definitely look for Danse Macabre, this was built with a Dragon Mage in mind.

    

Yeah, I do have the Community Patch installed but no Pole Arms examples came into my mind when I wrote the guide. I'll edit it soon and post more examples of Community Patch Pole Arms that can work with the build  

[A complete guide to a mentalist Dragon Mage]

Jubei, the Mentalist Dragon Mage

1. Character introduction

Once a noble apprentice of the High Temple of the Mages' Guild seeking magical knowledge, Jubei quickly earned a name for himself in the Great Council. His fast learning abilities combined with the accurate magic and fighting skills acquired during the short stay at the Temple turned him into one of the most promising students in the land.  The ranks and grades he obtained were bolstered day by day, slowly climbing on his way to the top. One day, following his hard work and commitment at the Temple, Jubei managed to came into the Grand Archmage's attention who wanted to personally greet and teach him all the knowledge he had. Finally, the young student, got the opportunity to fulfill his childhood dream, that to meet and directly learn from the Archmage himself. But he never got the chance to fully complete his wish. At a time, the men's long forgotten enemies had returned, the Demons. They shortly begun to slaughter everything in their path, man by man, kingdom by kingdom, quickly making their way to the Mages' land. Overcome and outnumbered by the demonic army, Jubei and his fellows retreated into the mountains to seek shelter, but only a few of them managed to fulfill the long and tedious journey to the peak of the mountain. Little did they know that they had taken refuge close to a dragon's lair so they were taken by surprise by the dragon's return, who surprisingly allied them against their common enemies, teaching Jubei vast mentalism and dragon magic knowledge. Since that day, the now fearsome and skilled Dragon Mage seek to avenge the loss of his former colleagues and masters, entirely driven by his own will in order to banish the evil once and for all.

2. Skill build and skill mastery

2.1 Skill build

Level 2 -  Mentalism Lore (at least 75 points here (I recommend 200); match its level by your character's level so you can master it at level 75) - What's a mentalist without his Mentalism Lore skill? Mentalism Lore is a crucial skill in our build, increasing both damage dealt and casting speed of the combat arts from the Mentalism aspect as well as granting Runes of Protection buff further resistance increase. Also allows modifications for our most important spells.

Level 3 -  Tactics Lore (at least 75 points here (you can go even 200 if you want a more melee oriented character); keep it 3/4 of your character's level so you can master it by level 100) - A good mentalist has to be a skilled fighter as well. Tactics Lore provides us increased weapon damage as well as better chance for critical hits.

Level 5 -  Armor Lore (75 points here; keep its level around 2/3 of your character's level in order to diminish the penalty caused by high level gear; usually, the penalty level has to be at least 20 levels higher than your character's level, meaning that a level 75 Dragon Mage (for example) should use level 95 or even 100 gear without any penalty) - A balanced mentalist should not only focus on his offense but on his defense as well. Armor Lore provides us a decent amount or resistance and regeneration decrease as well as a penalty level decrease for our equipment.

Level 8 -  Mentalism Focus (75 points here; match its level by your character's level so you can master it as level 75) - In order to be a complete mentalist, we should have the focus skill of this aspect as well. Like Mentalism Lore, Mentalism Focus is another crucial skill in our build that greatly reduces regeneration time for Mentalism aspect combat arts and diminish the penalty levels too. Also allows further and faster modifications for our Mentalism spells.

Level 12 -  Concentration (75 points only; keep its level 1/4 of your character's level until mastery; don't put too many points into this skill since we're using it mostly for the second buff) - Learnt by Jubei in the loneliness of the mountains, Concentration is a must have skill that comes in handy even with a single point into it. It reduces the regeneration time of all combat arts but most important, it enables the use of 2 buffs at the same time.

Level 18 -  Dragon Magic Focus (75 points here; keep it 3/4 of your character's level so you can master it by level 100) - The mighty dragon's knowledge finally comes in handy. Dragon Magic Focus greatly reduces regeneration time for Dragon Magic aspect combat arts and diminish the penalty levels as well. Also allows modifications for our Dragon Magic spells.

Level 25 -  Pole Arms (75 points here; keep its level around 2/3 of your character's level in order to diminish the penalty caused by high level weapons; like Armor Lore, the penalty for Pole Arms weapons has to be at least 20 levels higher than your character's level, meaning that a level 75 Dragon Mage (for example) should use level 95 or even 100 weapons without any penalty) - Like a skilled Shaolin fighter that uses long-handled weapons, our mentalist will focus on learning the power of the pole arms weapons. Pole Arms increases attack speed and chance to hit as well as a penalty level decrease for our weapons.

Level 35 -  Constitution (75 points; keep its level around 1/2 of your character's level; try to master it by level 150 'cause we'll badly need it for Platinum and Niobium difficulties) - Constitution provides increased health and health regeneration, empowering our Mage's survivability.

Level 50 -  Combat Discipline (75 points; keep its level around 1/2 of your character's level until mastery; we won't really need 4 combat arts in a combo so don't hurry up mastering this skill) - A Concentration-like skill that comes in handy without many points in it. Combat Discipline improves the damage of all combat arts as well as the number of combat arts that can be put in a combo. 

Level 65 -  Toughness (75 points; keep its level around 1/3 of your character's level until mastery) - One final defensive skill for the mentalist, Toughness provides a little bit more resistance as well as a minimal damage mitigation percent. I picked Toughness as a final level 65 skill simply because I find resistance and survivability in general a higher priority for the late game (Platinum or higher) rather than damage increase skills (we already have Mentalism Lore as well as Combat Discipline skills to do it).

If you intend to give the build a personal 'touch' or you want to define it in a particular way, some other possible level 65 skill choices can be (instead of Toughness):

•  Dragon Magic Lore (75 points; keep it around 1/2 of your character's level until mastery) - Only if you really want to further improve the Dragon Magic aspect combat arts in terms of more Eternal Fire and Dragon Strike damage and a little bit of Familiar health bonus as well; I personally prefer Ancient Magic skill to increase the spell damage and the health bonus granted isn't that much of a thing since we already have Constitution)
•  Ancient Magic (at least 75 points here (you can even go for 200); keep it around 1/2 of your character's level; try to master it either on Silver or Gold difficulties since we'll badly need the opponents' spell resistance reduction on Platinum and Niobium) - If you want to maximize the damage dealt, choose this skill. It boosts our spell damage by a decent amount and it decreases opponents' spell resistance when mastered (my personal favorite skill as a Toughness replacement because it can be a good choice for Platinum and Niobium too if you master it before entering those difficulties since it reduces the enemies' already high resistance, dealing with them a bit faster)
•  Spell Resistance (75 points only; keep it around 1/3 of your character's level until mastery) - Good skill to choose if you feel your Runes of Protection buff can sustain you in battles against weapon attacks. As the name says, Spell Resistance increases our Mage's resistance against magic spells and adds a protection against spell-based critical hits as well.
•  Enhanced Perception (75 points; keep it at least 2/3 of your character's level for better effectiveness) - Learn Enhanced Perception if you like a greedier approach to the build since it increases our chance to find valuables. Good skill to take if you like to play with a lot of set and special items.
•  Bargaining (200 points here; if you want to fully benefit from it match its level by your character's level) - Learn Bargaining if you intend to do a lot of shopping to constantly upgrade our gear.

2.2 Skill mastery order

1st -  Mentalism Focus: for further decrease of the regeneration time and even more penalty level diminish for the Mentalism aspect combat arts. Master it at level 75.

2nd -  Mentalism Lore: for further damage increase for the Mentalism aspect combat arts. Master it at level 75.

3rd -  Tactics Lore: for even more damage and chance for critical hits increase. Master it by level 100.

4th -  Dragon Magic Focus: for further decrease of the regeneration time and even more penalty level diminish for the Dragon Magic aspect combat arts. Master it by level 100.

5th - depending on your skill chosen at level 65:

•  Pole Arms (only if you didn't pick Ancient Magic at level 65): to have the chance for double hits. Doesn't have a certain level to be mastered with.
•  Ancient Magic (only if you picked it at level 65): to be able to reduce the enemies' resistances against magic. (if you picked Ancient Magic at level 65 then master it 5th, right after Dragon Magic Focus and delay the order of the rest of the masteries afterwards by 1; try to master it either on Silver or Gold difficulties since the spell resistance reduction to the enemies will be much needed in Platinum and Niobium).

6th -  Armor Lore: for further reduce to the regeneration penalty. Doesn't have a certain level to be mastered with.

7th -  Constitution: to increase the health regeneration rate during combat. Try to master it by level 150.

8th -  Combat Discipline: for further combat arts' regeneration time decrease and to allow up to 4 combat arts in a single combo. Doesn't have a certain level to be mastered with.

9th - depending on your skill chosen at level 65:

•  Toughness: for even more resistance increase and damage mitigation. 
•  Dragon Magic Lore: for further damage increase for the Dragon Magic aspect combat arts.
•  Spell Resistance: to be able to reduce the duration of detrimental effects (the five secondary damage effects like open wounds, burn, freeze, poison and weaken) and damage over time effects.  
•  Enhanced Perception: to grant a chance to find secret compartments in chests and hiding places (not really sure what this means to be honest since I never mastered Enhanced Perception).
•  Bargaining: for better quest rewards. All of these skills mentioned in this section doesn't have a certain level to be mastered with.

10th -  Concentration: for further combat arts and buffs' regeneration time decrease and to allow up to 3 buffs to be used at the same time. Doesn't have a certain level to be mastered with. I choose to master Concentration last because we don't really have a useful buff as our 3rd one since we didn't focused on the Elemental Magic aspect to modify the Protector buff.

3. Combat arts and modifications

3.1 Combat arts

 Mentalism aspect

 1. Energy Blaze: Our main offensive combat arts we'll be using. It creates a magic energy that damages and burns (damage over time) enemies in the area of effect. Very good for dealing with groups of enemies.
(I don't really have a certain number of runes to be read here, just pay attention to not go above the penalty level; the damage dealt will be primarily increased via +% Magic Damage modifiers and not via reading runes but we'll eventually end up with 200 runes at character level 200; on a personal note, I try to keep this spell's regen at around 1.5-1.8 seconds)

 2, Combat Trace: Powerful castable buff that reduces our combat arts' cooldown and protects us against root and stun effects as well. Very good ability when used before boss fights.
(200 runes here since we won't really spam this; can even go above the penalty level a lot without any major issues)

 3. Maelstrom: Good crowd control combat art that slows the enemies inside the area of effect. Also slows the missiles inside the field. Probably better when used in a combo paired with other combat arts than used as a standalone spell.
(200 runes here; can go up the penalty levels by your wish)

 4. Runes of Protection (buff): Our main buff we'll be using. It basically provides the Dragon Mage a magical armor that protects him against melee attacks and spells. Extremely powerful defensive buff.
(200 runes here eventually but keep an eye out on your Energy Blaze's regen and also to the penalty level to not go above it; don't increase your spells' regen too much with this, so, my advice is to start occasionally reading runes after you reach level 25-ish)

 Dragon Magic aspect

 5. Eternal Fire: Another area of effect damage ability that ignites an enemy and spreads the fire over to nearby targets. Might be better used in a combo paired with another area of effect or crowd control spell rather than a standalone ability.
(occasionally read runes up to the penalty level and keep this around the penalty level as well; 200 runes will go there eventually, later in the game)

 6. Dragon Strike: Heavy area of effect offensive spell that comes in handy in a possible combo. Calls down a dragon that casts a massive fireball at the targeted area, dealing fire damage over time to the enemies.
(similar to Eternal Fire, occasionally read as many runes as the penalty level lets you; 200 runes here as well) 

 7. Familiar (buff): Our second buff after we'll learn Concentration. Summons a small dragon companion that increases our Intelligence, Health and Willpower. Very good second buff if modified according to the build.
(as this is a very important defensive buff, I recommend to reduce its regen a lot via item modifiers and read a lot of runes here; can even go above the penalty level but not too much; 200 runes will go there)

3.2 Modifications (modify the combat arts in the exact same order as listed below)

 Mentalism aspect

 1. Energy Blaze

 Confusion: targets attacks more slowly (30% + 0.02% per Energy Blaze level) - I find this modification to be more effective than Blind (opponents' hit value decrease) just because it synergies better with Maelstrom's slow (Energy Blaze and Maelstrom combined provide movement slow, attack speed slow, missile slow as well as a weaken effect)
 Zone: increases the area of effect (+5 meters) - I personally prefer this one over Impact (damage increase) because we can increase the Energy Blaze's damage much easier than increasing its area of effect.
 Afterglow: magical burn gets stronger (2.5 damage/second + 1.25 damage/second increase per Energy Blaze level) - I personally find this better than the regeneration decrease modification (Experience) because we'll reduce the regeneration time of all spells via items, Combat Trace or Energy Flux Familiar modification, so a little damage increase over regeneration decrease won't hurt us that much.

 2. Runes of Protection (buff)

 Protection: increases protection against physical damage (8 + 5 per Energy Blaze level) - Very good modification since most of the enemies in Ancaria's lands uses physical damage (or physical + other damage type).
 Stone Skin: increased chance to block missiles (25% + 0.3% per Runes of Protection level) - We already have one Protection modification as well as Armor Lore and eventually Toughness, so we have enough physical resistance. An increased chance to block incoming missiles would be better this way.
 Flux: reduces the costs to keep up the runes (-25% reduction to the regeneration penalty) - A huge modification to take since it reduces the regeneration penalty caused by Runes of Protection buff, thus meaning a shorter regeneration time of all our combat arts.

 3, Combat Trace

 Awareness: increased stun resistance (16.7% + 0.1% per Combat Trace level) - I find this better than the Light Footed modification (increases root resistance) because we can still use combat arts and attack while rooted, while we're completely defenseless while stunned.
 Experienced: reduces the Trace's cooldown (down to 40 seconds) - Self explanatory. Shorter cooldown, more Combat Trace uses we have.
 Energy Flux: markedly increased regeneration (-15% + 0.3% per Combat Trace level) - Highly recommended modification to take for further regeneration decrease to all aspects.

 4. Maelstrom

 Grind: further reduces the armor of enemies caught in the Maelstrom (-50% + 0.2% per Maelstrom level) - The less armor they have, the more damage we inflict. I choose this modification over the Burden one (further speed reduce) because Maelstrom has a -50% speed slow by default, which is more than enough for huge crowd control.
 Thicken: missiles are further slowed inside the field (200% slow) - A total of 400% missile slow after this modification. I'm not a big fan of the Extension modification (Maelstrom duration increase) since 8 seconds by default is more than enough and we usually finish opponents in less than 8 seconds.
 Demoralize: attributes are further decreased inside the field (5.5% + 0.1% per Maelstrom level) - Similar to the Grind modification, the less attributes they have, the more damage we inflict. I prefer this modification instead of another Thicken one since a total of 400% missile slow is usually more than enough.

 Dragon Magic aspect

 1. Familiar (buff)

 Insight: increases experience per kill (+10%) - A free 10% increase experience per kill will help us level up a bit faster. I pick this over Firebug modification (chance to ignite targets) because we won't rely on the Familiar to kill our targets, we'll do it with Energy Blaze and Eternal Fire.
 Quick Mind: increases casting speed (15% + 0.2% per Familiar level) - From my perspective, Dragon Mage has a lot of slow casting spells so I always prefer this modification over the Protection from Fire one (self explanatory name).
 Energy Flux: reduces the regeneration time of all spells (-16.7%) - Another huge regeneration decrease modification and a must have one since it decreases the regeneration of all spells from all aspects, not just from the Dragon Magic aspect. Also, the Life Force modification (health increase) can be a bit overkill since we have Constitution anyway (and a lot of resistance from our items and Runes of Protection buff).

 2. Eternal Fire

 Licking Flames: fire can jump to enemies that are further away (+0.8 +0.01 meters per Eternal Fire level) - As the description says, more spread range with more burning enemies. Can be deadly in certain combos. 
 Hunger: increases the chance to jump over to nearby enemies (+10% +1% chance per Eternal Fire level) - Like the previous modification (Licking Flames), this one increases the fire spread further more.
 Fury: fire burns stronger (+37.5% damage increase from base damage) - The more damage dealt, the more deadly Eternal Fire will be. 

 3. Dragon Strike

 Heat: fire burns faster, reducing time between the pulses (+0.34 hits/second) - Faster damage over time to the enemies caught. Since this spell will only be used in a combo, we won't take the other modification, Terror (chance to stun the targets).
 Heat: fire burns faster, reducing time between the pulses (+0.34 hits/second) - Another Heat modification for even shorter damage intervals.
 Fury: fire burns stronger (+33% damage increase) - Very good modification to take to maximize the damage potential of this spell.

4. Combos

• Combo 1:  Energy Blaze +  Maelstrom - Both crowd control and damage focused combo.
  (Energy Blaze rips enemies apart and the survivors (if they exist) will be greatly slowed and will be finished only by weapon)
• Combo 2:  Energy Blaze +  Eternal Fire - Maximum damage focused combo.
  (Energy Blaze heavily damages the enemies in the area of effect while Eternal Fire sets them ablaze, finishing the rest of the survivors (if they exist))
• Combo 3:  Dragon Strike +  Maelstrom - Another crowd control and damage focused combo.
  (We'll put Dragon Strike first into the combo since it has a short delay before the fireball falls.)
   
• if you want to use 3 combat arts in the same combo (after learning Combat Discipline, level 50), the third combat art that will be put into the combo is pure preferential (same thing applies after Combat Discipline mastery when we can combo up to 4 combat arts); I usually use combos with just 2 combat arts into them
• a suggestion for a maximum damage 3 combat arts combo:  Dragon Strike +  Energy Blaze +  Eternal Fire (can be good against certain slow bosses)

5. Attributes

• level 1-30: add points into  Strength (for increased attack value and pole arms weapon damage; note that we won't be using blunt pole arms which are only affected by Dexterity attribute since Strength-based pole arms are usually easier to find and comes with better damage values as well) and  Stamina (for better combat arts' regeneration time early on) in a 60-40 ratio (at level 30 you should have around 18 points added into Strength and around 12 points added into Stamina; if you prefer you can even add 16 points into Dexterity and 14 into Stamina)
• level 31-50: put points into  Strength and start to occasionally up  Vitality as well (for some health bonus) in a 60-40 ratio as well (by level 50 you should have added around 12 points into Strength and 8 into Vitality)
• after level 50 when you will have 2 attribute points to spend: ONE point should always go into  Strength while the other one should go into  Vitality or  Intelligence (for a bit of spell damage and spell intensity); my preference is to improve Vitality one level and then Intelligence next level and so on
• after level 150 when you will have 3 attribute points to spend, TWO points should always go into  Intelligence (to be able to scale our spell damage better into the higher difficulties) and the other one into  Strength

6. Weapons and equipment

6.1 Weapons

• since there are no set pole arms specific to the Dragon Mage, we're going to use some unique ones (if we're lucky enough to find some)
• otherwise, rares are good too (even some blues can be found with nice modifiers as well)
• best weapon modifiers to use: +X% Lifeleech is the best modifier so far (+X flat value Lifeleech is good too), +X/X% Damage, +X% chance for critical hits, +X% chance for double hits, -Combat arts regeneration time, +X% damage to the same damage type you use, +Regeneration/hit, +X all combat arts, +X all skills
• try to keep each one of the weapon slots for each damage type and focus on one main damage type (I personally use magic damage due to the weaken effect that synergies with the weaken from the Maelstrom spell)
• only use pole arms that are affected by Strength attribute (thus meaning that all blunt pole arms that doesn't have a sharp edge or a point won't be affected by Strength)
• best unique vanilla-version pole arms you can use (for lucky people): Cordell's Javelin of War (+All combat arts, +Strength, +Attack and Deathblow), Gronkor's Downfall (+Chance for double hits, +Chance for critical hits, +Regeneration/hit, +Attack and Defense), Optimus Minimus (+All combat arts, -Regeneration time, +Offensive Skills), Torik's Wrath Ice and Blood version (just for the sake of role-playing but fortunately it has some nice bonuses such as +Attack speed, -Opponent's chance to evade and a huge +Ice damage boost)
• if you have the Community Patch installed (thanks Flix for reminding me), then the best pole arms weapons you can use are: Danse Macabre (+% Lifeleech, +Chance to disregard armor, +Attack, +Spell Intensity), The Earth-Shaker (+% Strength, +All skills, -Opponent's armor: physical, -Opponent's attack value, +Chance to slow), Soulflay Fork (+Chance to reflect combat arts, +Damage, +All combat arts, +Intelligence, +Regeneration/hit) and Waton's Dreamblade (+Chance to halve regeneration time, -Opponent's chance to evade, +Duration of potion effects, +Chance to hit additional opponents)
• best modifiers to socket into your weapons (from jewelry): +X/X% Lifeleech, +X% Chance for critical hits, +X/X% Damage, +X/X% Magic damage, +Regeneration/hit or even +X Attack

6.2 Equipment

• best type of armor to use are the set ones (we're going to use Torik's Oath set for the bonuses to the Mentalism aspect)
• until you find all pieces of the Torik's Oath set, mixed gear containing rares, uniques or other set items are also good
• best modifiers to use on your armor pieces: +X/X% Lifeleech, +X/X% Defense, +X/X% Armor, -Combat arts regeneration time, -Regeneration penalty from buffs, -Regeneration aspect: Mentalism, +Mentalism aspect, +X all combat arts, +X all skills, +X% Damage mitigation,+X% Magic damage or +Spell Intensity
• best modifiers to socket on your armor pieces (from jewelry): +X/X% Lifeleech, +X/X% Armor, -Combat arts regeneration time, -Regeneration penalty from buffs, +X to all skills, +Regeneration/hit, +X% Damage mitigation, +X Defense, +X% Magic damage or +X Max hitpoints modifiers

6.3 Jewelry

• the best jewelry you can equip are the ones that provides the bonuses mentioned above (like +Resistance, +Defense, +Regeneration/hit, -Regeneration time, -Regeneration penalty from buffs, +X to all skills, +X Defense/Attack or +X Max hitpoints)
• pieces with individual skill bonuses such as +Mentalism aspect, +Mentalism Lore, +Mentalism Focus, +Constitution or pieces with individual attribute bonuses such as +Strength, +Vitality, +Stamina (or even +Willpower) etc. are good too
• don't socket more than one jewel into a single item (if it has more socket slots) because you'll lose the other ones when you will take one of them out (fill the rest of the slots with Blacksmith arts; Anneal and Enhance are the best ones for armor pieces while Whet for the weapon slots)

6.4 Relics

• have a main relic slot with mixed resistance relics (I personally use one Magic relic, one Fire relic and one Poison/Ice relic for every character and build I follow)
• the rest of relic slots should focus on the following resistance types: one entire slot filled with Fire relics, one with only Ice relics and the remaining one filled with Poison relics
• if you have the Community Patch installed, the new set relics added with the patch are one of the best ones to use (following the rules mentioned above as well)

7. Play style

• Expert Touch option should be ON since we're mainly focused on the Mentalism aspect
• you can use both standalone spells or put them into different combos, it's your choice
• Combat Trace should not be put in any combo, just use it as a standalone spell because I heard people saying it can crash the game when used in a combo; didn't experienced it on my play nor even tried to verify the eventual bug yet (I'm not sure if the Community Patch fixed this bug either)
• control groups of enemies with Maelstrom, slowing them down, then follow with an Energy Blaze to wipe them out
• use the "hit'n'run" kiting style a lot early on since we're not a casual 'hack'n'slash-kill-everything-in-our-path-overpowered-toon' and we need some time and a lot of modifications to fully outline our build (later levels you can stand and fight in almost all battles because we'll eventually grow stronger and resistant)
• don't forget to always use a Concentration potion followed by Combat Trace before tough battles or boss fights
• try to use the maximum damage combos (Energy Blaze + Eternal Fire or Dragon Strike + Energy Blaze + Eternal Fire) against bosses since most of them are slow-ish and in majority of the cases we won't need Maelstrom to slow them down (however, slowing projectiles and missiles with Maelstrom is always a good thing)
• don't hesitate to often use Mentor potions since we're mainly fighting against hordes of enemies (also, we find potions quite easily and Mentor potions stacks with the Familiar Insight modification if you have the Community Patch installed)
• try to complete as many side quests as possible and collect all items found (even the common ones) because we need some levels and enough gold to outline the build and constantly upgrade our items (I always do all of them in all my playthroughs, from the 1 star ones to the 5 star ones)
• although boss killing can be a bit slow, try to complete all 4 and 5 star side quests since they give a lot of experience and good item drops after completing them
• if you find the character's casting speed a bit slow then you can slaughter single enemies only by your weapon

8. Pros and cons

As a part of all my guides so far, in the end of each one I show the players both pros and cons in order to help people understand advantages as well as disadvantages of each particular build I create. So, without further ado, I came to the following conclusions:

8.1 Pros

• very good crowd control and damage against huge groups of enemies
• high amounts of damage dealt with the offensive spells
• amazing resistances (one of the highest physical resistance in the game from all characters) due to the Runes of Protection buff (Familiar buff also provides some health bonus)
• combat arts that synergies very well between them as well as their modifications
• interesting and extremely powerful combos to use
• can be an interesting build for the players who are into role-playing
• awesome looking Mentalism focused set (Torik's Oath)

8.2 Cons

• can be a bit weak early on
• requires a lot of combat arts modifications to fully come on-line
• boss killing can be a bit slow since it requires a lot of 'hit and run' strategy
• not that flexible build in terms of combat arts, modifications and items since it requires certain choices to work well
• Dragon Mage is the only character in the game who doesn't have access to weapon-based combat arts
• the use of two-handed pole arms turn the player unable to use shields, thus decreasing his resistance a little bit

 

 

[Exalted Sword & Shield Seraphim]

On 5/21/2012 at 12:51 AM, FuZzNuG said:

I have a noob question though.. Does rev tech lore effect Divine protection or warding energy in any way?

Yes, it increases the shield power, both Divine Protection and Warding Energy shields.

[Ker's Sakkara Demon question]

1 hour ago, Flix said:

Unfortunately no. It's definitely the worst of the Divine Gifts unless you have a mod that changes it.

In Enhanced Edition the Sakkara self-destructs at the end of the duration instead of turning against you.

 

58 minutes ago, gogoblender said:

It's unfortunate about this gift as being such a let down in original game.. The gifts was a novel idea, and I remember being so pumped to unleash a daemon

had so much character!!

gogo

 

Thanks for your answers! I got hyped too seeing that I can summon Sakkara demon, it reminded me of Sacred 1. I thought that I can use it against me for some item farming   

[Sacred 2 side quest (bugged?)]

Hello people! Today I was looking at the whole Sacred 2 map when I stopped upon an unusual side quest. As the pictures attached below show, the quest is kinda in the middle of the map and isn't showing in the logbook either (while on the map and quest marker shows it as active). Does anyone knows what is it and how to get rid or complete it? 

[Ker's Sakkara Demon question]

Greetings everyone! 
I post this topic as a question for Ker's divine gift for shadow campaign paths. To be honest, I never ever chose this God when I was playing shadow campaigns because I found it annoying that the demon turns against me. I'm asking you if someone knows if the Sakkara demon summoned actually give experience and boss drops after I kill him? 
Thanks in advance! 

[Dual Wield Hybrid Inquisitor Build]

2 minutes ago, gogoblender said:

Your formatting is incredible.  Talk about a build that any player can easily follow along and sink their casting hands into.  I adored the concept of this class e'ever since it came out... just wish that my build'd damage hadnt flattened out o'er time and became squishy    

Especially love your playstyle, pros and cons at the end... Giving a player perspective and knowing what to expect when and why is always beloved oracular advice

Good job

gogo

Thanks for your support! I played this build a few years ago on my old pc and was pure class. It was hell of a fun to see mobs whirling into the Maelstrom and face their death, feeding my Soul Reaver for huge boosts  I only played it in silver though, up until level 75-ish or so. Sadly that old pc decided to stop working and lost every save I had. On my new one I only have a Seraphim level 67 that's about to finish silver  Will see if I'll make her way into gold or try out again this Inquisitor style 

[Dual Wield Hybrid Inquisitor Build]

  Dual Wield hybrid Inquisitor build

Greetings! After sharing my personal Seraphim guide on these forums, today I am back with a personal hybrid Inquisitor build that I want to share. As the title say, the following guide is a Dual Wield oriented style of Inquisitor, focused on a little bit of each one of his three aspects, Gruesome Inquisition, Astute Supremacy and Nefarious Netherworld. From the Gruesome Inquisition aspect, we will be using Callous Execution, Frenetic Fervor and Purifying Chastisement (buff) combat arts. From the Astute Supremacy aspect we'll be using Clustering Maelstrom, Zealous Doppelganger and Reverse Polarity (buff) combat arts, while from the last aspect, Nefarious Netherworld, we will be using only the Soul Reaver (buff). Here we go!

 

1. Skill build 

Level 2 -  Tactics Lore (at least 75 points for mastery) - Our main 'melee' damage increase source. Very important skill which pumps up our weapon damage and chance for critical hits. Also allows further modifications to Gruesome Inquisition combat arts, Put points into Tactics Lore equal of to your character's level (or at least try to keep it close to so you can master it at level 75).

Level 3 -  Armor Lore (1/3 of your character's level or even 1/2 if you like a more 'tanky' style) - We already have one offensive skill, so it's time for a defensive one. Armor Lore improves resistance and diminish penalties for our equipment; also reduces regeneration time of our combat arts. This skill's penalty threshold should be around 15-20 levels higher than our character's level (for example, a level 60 Inquisitor should have no penalties wearing level 75 armors). This is because we'll use a lot of set or unique items.

Level 5 -  Gruesome Inquisition Focus (at least 75 points for mastery) - Reduces Gruesome Inquisition combat arts' regeneration time and allows further and faster modifications. Diminishes penalty levels as well. You should aim to keep this skill at 3/4 of your character's level for regeneration reduction of Callous Execution, Frenetic Fervor, but most important, Purifying Chastisement buff.

Level 8 -  Dual Wield (keep it around 1/3 of your character's level or, if you like to be more 'melee' oriented, 1/2 of your character's level) - As the name says, it enables the use of two one-handed (non-ranged) weapons at the same time as well as increasing attack speed and chance to hit with them. The penalty threshold should be 15 or even 20 levels higher than your current level (for example, a level 60 Inquisitor should have no penalties for weapons level 75 or lower). This is because we're gonna be using set and unique weapons as our artillery which mostly comes in way higher levels than ours.

Level 12 -  Astute Supremacy Focus (at least 75 points for mastery) - You're wondering why Focus and not Lore first? Well, our main objective for now is to reduce Clustering Maelstrom's (Zealous Doppelganger's too) regeneration as much as possible. Aim to keep it close to your character's level (or at least try to do it so you can master it by level 75) to maintain regeneration as low as possible, as well as modifying them. 

Level 18 -  Nefarious Netherworld Focus (at least 75 points for mastery) - We won't need the Lore skill for this aspect since we'll only use Soul Reaver from it. You should keep this a bit lower than Gruesome Inquisition Focus and Astute Supremacy Focus skills since we're using this only for the Soul Reaver regeneration reduction and modifications. A 1/2 of your character's level ratio is enough.

Level 25 -  Concentration (1/4 of your character's level should be enough since we use this mainly for the 2 active buffs effect; if you prefer having 3 buffs more faster, you can keep a 1/3 ratio). We're taking Concentration at level 25 because we want a fully modified Purifying Chastisement buff before we use 2 buffs at the same time, so try to fully modify it by now. Even though we're not pumping up many points early on in this skill, it's an extremely important one because it allows the use of both Purifying Chastisement as well as Soul Reaver buffs at the same time.

Level 35 -  Astute Supremacy Lore (1/2 of your character's level should be enough) - By now, we should have some good levels into Clustering Maelstrom, so it's time to pump up its damage and casting speed. It also helps fastening modifications of our Astute Supremacy aspect combat arts.

Level 50 -  Constitution (a ratio of 1/3 of your character's level should be enough; you can keep a 1/3 ratio if you like a more 'tanky' approach) - Good skill to have for more health.

Level 65 -  Toughness (1/3 or 1/4 of your character's level) - Just like Constitution, Toughness is a good skill to have for more resistances.

***Other possible choices for the level 65 skill (instead of Toughness) can be:

 Combat Discipline (1/3 of your character's level; pick it if you like to focus more on combos rather than single combat arts since it improves both their damage and regeneration time; it also allows you to put up to 3 combat arts in a single combo)
 Ancient Magic (1/3 of your character's level; pick it if you prefer a more 'wizardry' approach of the character since it increases the damage dealt by your combat arts, especially by Clustering Maelstrom)
 Damage Lore (1/4 of your character's level; pick this if you'd like a more 'melee' approach of the character since it increases the chance to use your elemental damage secondary effect (Burn, Poison, Weaken, Freeze, Wound) more often)
 Bargaining (keep it equal to your character's level if you picked this and you want to fully benefit from it; you should add 2 points per level up until you match its level by your level and 1 point per level up afterwards)

1.1 Skill mastery order (personal preference)

1st mastery -  Tactics Lore (for even more critical hit chance; more critical chance = more damage)

2nd mastery -  Astute Supremacy Focus (for further decrease of regeneration time and penalty of Clustering Maelstrom and Zealous Doppelganger; or Reverse Polarity buff once we master Concentration too, so we can have 3 buffs)

3rd mastery -  Gruesome Inquisition Focus (for further decrease of regeneration time and penalty of Callous Execution, Frenetic Fervor and Purifying Chastisement buff)

4th mastery -  Astute Supremacy Lore (for even more damage dealt by Clustering Maelstrom and Zealous Doppelganger; or Reverse Polarity as well once we master Concentration too, when we can have 3 buffs)

5th mastery -  Dual Wield (for chance to deal double hits; double hits = more damage if we're lucky enough)

6th mastery -  Concentration (for further decrease of combat arts regeneration time and regeneration from buffs as well and also to be able to maintain 3 active buffs at the same time)

7th mastery -  Nefarious Netherworld Focus (for further decrease of regeneration time and penalty of Soul Reaver)

8th mastery -  Armor Lore (only for further reduce of penalties from our gear)

9th mastery -  Constitution (to be able to increase health regeneration rate while in combat)

10th mastery -  Toughness (for further resistance increase as well as "+Damage mitigation: All channels +X%" modifier, which sums up all other damage mitigation your character has)
*If you didn't choose Toughness as your level 65 new skill, then the 10th mastery will be your skill chosen instead of Toughness; check the Skill build section for other possible choices as level 65 skill.

2. Combat arts and modifications (modify them in the same exact order as listed below)

 Gruesome Inquisition aspect

 1. Callous Execution - A powerful blow or stab that deals heavy damage of a single target. Our main combat art against single target enemies where Clustering Maelstrom is nearly useless (if not completely useless). An ideal regeneration time of Callous Execution should be between 2 and 3 seconds.
Modifications:
 Bleed - chance to inflict deep wounds (50% + 0,5% chance per level of Callous Execution)
 Lacerate - chance to inflict deep wounds that will decrease the base hitpoint value (19,8% + 0,2% per level of Callous Execution)
 Judgement - increases chance for critical hits (19,8% + 0,2% per level of Callous Execution)

 2. Frenetic Fervor - Increases the attack speed and maximum weapon value of the Inquisitor. Very good synergy with the Soul Reaver buff, which increases our attack and defense values. Note that Frenetic Fervor is the only combat art or effect (if I'm not wrong) that increases the maximum attack speed cap from 150% to 170%, turning the melee Inquisitor a fearsome warrior!
Modifications:
 Fanaticism - further increases the attack speed (14,8% + 0,2% per level of Frenetic Fervor with a 50% increase from the base value)
 Resolve - increases the attack value (40% + 10% per level of Frenetic Fervor)
 Relentless - increases the duration (33,3% increase)

 3. Purifying Chastisement (buff) - The Inquisitor deals more damage when wounded; the more wounded, the more damage dealt, up to a maximum threshold. Kinda risky to use it at full potential, which is at 25% health remaining, but has an outstanding effect if used efficiently. Just be careful and always keep an eye out on your health bar if you don't want unnecessary deaths.
Modifications:
 Purge/Mystic - increases inflicted fire/magic damage (18% + 2% per level of Purifying Chastisement) - Pure preferential modification, depending on your main damage used; I personally use the Mystic modification since I mostly use magic damage weapons (upgraded with Magic Pearls) due to Weaken effect.
 Eradicate - increases the chance for critical hits (9,9% + 0,1% per level of Purifying Chastisement) - I find this way useful that Merciless modification (increases the threshold for max effectiveness) because the critical hit chances are the same at every health percent rather that just when wounded.
 Hallow - adds more damage (18% + 2% per level of Purifying Chastisement for EACH DAMAGE TYPE) - A must have modification if you'd like to maximize the damage dealt.

 Astute Supremacy aspect

 4. Clustering Maelstrom - Draws every enemy within the range and pulls them to the core, dealing physical damage. Our main combat art when facing groups of enemies. Ideal regeneration time should be between 3 or 3,5 seconds.
Modifications:
 Chaos - opponents tumbling into others will inflict more damage (49,5% + 0,5% per level of Clustering Maelstrom) - I find this modification better than Gravitation since this deals way more damage if more enemies are pulled into the Maelstrom (the more enemies, the more damage is dealt).
 Vortex - increases the range of the Maelstrom (18,75% increase) - at least one Vortex modification should be taken due to Clustering Maelstrom's small area of effect without modifications.
 Vortex - increases the range of the Maelstrom (18,75% increase) - I personally take both Vortex modifications for a total of 37,50% area of effect increase, which means more enemies can be caught into (remember, the more enemies caught, the more damage dealt)

 5. Zealous Doppelganger - One of the most powerful combat arts of the Inquisitor that allows you to create a perfect copy of your character to aid you in combat. One particular aspect of this spell is that when you die somehow, the clone will become the new Inquisitor (unfortunately, the survival bonus acquired is still lost).
Modifications:
 Incentive - increases the Doppelganger's attack and defense values (25% + 5% per level of Zealous Doppelganger)
 Equal - the Doppelganger gains the aspect of Gruesome Inquisition (I find this modification better than the Domination one because we want a more offensive approach since we're using the Doppelganger mainly against bosses and we're fighting most of these bosses with Gruesome Inquisition combat arts such as Callous Execution)
 Determination - increases the lifespan of the Doppelganger (33,3% increase) - I prefer this modification rather than having the Doppelganger as a permanent buff since we're gonna be using this combat art to aid us in tough battles or against bosses and it's not needed all the time. Also, the Inquisitor already benefits from some really strong buffs such as Purifying Chastisement or Soul Reaver and waiting for Concentration mastery to use Doppelganger as a 3rd buff is a bit too much.

 6. Reverse Polarity (buff) - A strong buff that grants the Inquisitor a chance to reflect ranged damage back to its source. Comes in handy as a 3rd buff later on in the game when we'll have Concentration mastery and way tougher opponents (starting from Gold difficulty onward). With the following modifications we'll have a chance to be protected against mainly all damage types.
Modifications:
 Rebound - adds a chance to reflect magic damage (20% + 2% per level of Reverse Polarity)
 Counterblow - adds a chance to reflect close combat damage (20% + 2% per level of Reverse Polarity)
 Evade - increases the defense value (10 + 5 flat value increase per level of Reverse Polarity)

 Nefarious Netherworld aspect

 7. Soul Reaver (buff) - Our main and most important buff we'll be using and at the same time, the only combat art used from the Nefarious Netherworld aspect. Basically, each slain enemy raises a soul that surrounds the Inquisitor, granting him increased attack and defense values for each soul while they're up. Very good synergy with Clustering Maelstrom for providing a large amount of souls.
Modifications:
 Zealot - increases the lifespan of each soul (50% increase) - more souls, more attack and defense granted.
 Source - decreases the regeneration time of ALL Inquisitor's combat arts when souls are up (10% + 0,5% per level of Soul Reaver) - a must have modification for lower regeneration of your main combat arts
 Zealot - increases the lifespan of each soul (50% increase) - two Zealot modifications for a total of 100% increased lifespan, each soul lasting for 30 seconds; like I said, more souls, more attack and defense boost.

3. Attributes

• until we learn Concentration (level 25), all attribute points should go into  Stamina (main regeneration decrease source until we find decent items) and  Strength (to increase our melee damage and attack value) in a 60-40 ratio
• after level 25, start pumping up  Strength and  Vitality (for some health bonus) in a 70-30 ratio
• after level 50 (until 150) when you'll gain 2 attribute points to spend, ONE should always go into  Strength and the other one is choice based; you can choose between  Stamina,  Vitality or  Intelligence, depending on your need (I personally increase Vitality one level, then the next one I up Intelligence and so on, until level 70 where I always upgrade Intelligence along with Strength)
• after level 150 when you'll gain 3 attribute points to spend, TWO should always go into  Intelligence (to be able to scale our spell damage better into the higher difficulty levels) and the other one into  Strength

 

4. Weapons, equipment, jewelry and relics

4.1 Weapons

• try to have a weapon slot for each damage type (I personally use slot 1 as a main slot with magic damage weapons, slot 2 for fire, slot 3 for poison, slot 4 for ice and slot 5 for physical)
• try to use fire or magic damage weapons because of Purifying Chastisement Purge/Mystic modification
• weapon types are pure preferential (you can choose freely between swords or hafted weapons but don't combine them into the same slot)
• set and unique items (occasionally legendary) are the best weapons to use
• best effects and modifiers to use: +X Damage, +X% to the damage type you're using (or +X% physical damage to increase Clustering Maelstrom's damage) +X Attack, +X% Attack, +X% chance for critical hits, +X% chance for double hits, Combat arts regeneration decrease, Regeneration per hit or +X to Gruesome Inquisition or Astute Supremacy aspects (Lifeleech can be good too, but if you want to maximize the effect of Purifying Chastisement, I'd recommend not using it)

4.2. Equipment

• you can use both mixed set and unique items to wear or complete sets (I personally prefer full sets because they look more epic )
• best set items to use Deylen's Power set for Astute Supremacy aspect bonuses, Dreadbringer set for bonus to enraged players (damage increase when wounded), making a good synergy with Purifying Chastisement buff, Ilgard's Judgment for Gruesome Inquisition aspect bonuses or The Judicator Community Patch set for a huge damage boost, damage over time mitigation, as well as a regeneration penalty from buffs reduction.
• best effects and modifiers to use on your equipment: +X Defense, +X% Defense, +X to Armor, +X% to Armor, Regeneration reduction for combat arts, Regeneration penalty from buffs decrease, +X to all skills, +X to all combat arts or some damage mitigation effects (damage of enraged players can be good too if you prefer to use it)

4.3 Jewelry

• effects and modifiers from the rings you wear can be pure preferential (though the best ones are these who helps our build like +X% physical damage for Clustering Maelstrom's damage, +X% magic damage (if you're using magic damage on your weapons and if you chose Mystic modification from Purifying Chastisement buff), +X% fire damage (if you're using fire damage on your weapons and if you chose Purge modification from Purifying Chastisement buff), +X% chance for critical hits, +X% chance for double hits or Regeneration per hit)
• like the rings, amulet's effects and modifiers are preferential as well (you can use some bonuses to resistance, armor, attack and/or defense boosts, +X to all skills, +X hitpoints, some regeneration reduction effects and even +X% experience per kill or +X% chance to find valuables for better gear with a bit of luck)
• you can freely socket any of the mentioned effects on your weapons and equipment, but if you want to keep your items, socket just one ring/amulet into your gear and fill the other slots (if the gear you use has more) with Blacksmith arts (Whet for your weapons and Anneal and/or Enhance to your equipment)

4.4 Relics

• use a relic slot for each of the following resistances: Poison, Fire and Ice
• have a main slot for a mixed resistance relics
• relic sets from the Community Patch are always good to have

 

5. Play style

• use Callous Execution combat art against single targets or fleeing enemies (mages and archers will hate it)
• gather large groups of enemies and watch them being torn apart by Clustering Maelstrom (will fill your souls from Soul Reaver as well, granting huge boosts to attack and defense)
• use Frenetic Fervor and Zealous Doppelganger before facing tough enemies or boss fights (otherwise try to keep them until you really need them due to their long regeneration time)
• try to avoid teleportation between locations if it's not really necessary because doing it will reset the souls count to 0
• as I am a big fan of collecting all dropped items, I advise you to do the same since we'll be using lots of gold to upgrade our gear
• don't forget to switch between weapon damage types (since you should have all 5 of them because that's why we have 5 slots) and relic slots when needed (like using poison resistance relics against Poison Lord, fire resistance relics against Carnach or fire damage against Octagolamus)
• try to complete as many side quests as possible because we need some time to fully outline our build (also, the drops after completing them can be good too)
• Expert Touch option? I personally vote for using it since lower regeneration is always good to have and we aren't spamming both of Callous Execution and Clustering Maelstrom anyway (we're using each one of them based on the situation we're facing)

6. Pros and cons

In the end of the guide, I'll show you both the pros and the cons of this build, because, like every aspect and individual thing or being in the real life, it has to present some advantages and disadvantages as well. So, if my build helped you or it will help you in any way, I'll be more than pleased knowing I could support you in this diverse and complex game.

Pros

• very flexible build, good against both single enemies and groups
• huge amounts of damage dealt if used effectively
• almost invincible later in the game with lots of souls consumed (after Concentration mastery with all Reverse Polarity modifications it will be even more stronger)
• extremely good combat arts and buffs to choose from (for some players this can even be a disadvantage since we're limited to just 2 buffs since later on)
• powerful combat arts and buffs modifications
• diverse and fun to play type of Inquisitor
• lots of set and unique items that synergies with the build

Cons

• slow start since it's dependent on a lot of modifications to combat arts and buffs
• boss killing might be a bit slow
• can require a certain play style since the Inquisitor has to be wounded to maximize the damage dealt
• mainly limited to only one damage type (fire or magic) due to Purge/Mystic modifications from the Purifying Chastisement buff (depending which one you chose)
• not advised for 'lazy' players since this play style requires a lot of APM (actions per minute)

[Dual Wield Seraphim - Exalted Warrior/Revered Technology build]

5 minutes ago, Flix said:

Great first post. Very in-depth build.  Glad you decided to make an account on the boards.  

Thank you very much for your support!  

[Dual Wield Seraphim - Exalted Warrior/Revered Technology build]

7 hours ago, gogoblender said:

Holee molee, what a briliant first post here Gabriel! I cant believe how much beautiful formatting you've put into your creation... bravo on the work here! The energy shield has probably been one of the Seraphim's most  prized tools.  It's one of the only  reasons I wanted to get to this in a build, but got stuck on my Dryad's and Daemons.  If you're posting this as an aide to help others find great value from this game's leading class, you have certainly made your mark as a generous member of Sacred's fanbase  

Very happy you've found your way to these Sacred Forums.. and welcome to DarkMatters!

 

 

gogo

Thanks a lot! And thanks for your warm welcoming too! Actually, I've been here on these Sacred forums (both Sacred 1 and 2) for a lot of time, but didn't actually had an account  Now I wanted to share my build and started to post here because I found it so fun to play. I'll probably post more guides that I did and I'm using for different characters and playstyles as well. Once, again, thanks for your kind words!  

[Dual Wield Seraphim - Exalted Warrior/Revered Technology build]

  Dual Wield Exalted Warrior/Revered Technology Seraphim

Hello everyone! For those who still play this game nowadays, in the following lines I will share my personal Sacred 2 guide for one of my favorite characters, the Seraphim. As the title say, we will mainly be using combat arts from the Exalted Warrior aspect and a few from the Revered Technology aspect, mainly the energy shield. So, let's begin!

1. Skill build

Level 2 -  Tactics Lore (keep this close to your character level) - One of the most important skills for our Seraphim since it increases the damage dealt by weapons and the critical chance as well! (you should put at least 1 point in Tactics Lore per level up or if you want, 2 points every 2 level ups so you can master it at level 75).

Level 3 -  Exalted Warrior Focus (at least 75 points for mastery) - Probably our second most important skill after Tactics Lore due to the regeneration and penalty decrease for the Exalted Warrior combat arts. Master it at level 75.

Level 5 -  Armor Lore (keep it around half of your character's level) - Great skill due to the regeneration reduction of our combat arts as well as penalty diminish from the equipment. Try to have the penalty limit around 15-20 levels higher than your character level (for example, a level 60 Seraphim should have no penalty for gear level 75-80). This is because we will mainly be using set or unique items that mostly comes with a way higher level than our character, especially if they're dropped from bosses.

Level 8 -  Dual Wield (you can keep this at half of your character's level) - Good skill for a bit of attack and attack speed boost. The penalty limit threshold should be the same as Armor Lore's, you should be able to use weapons up to 15-20 levels more than yours without penalties.

Level 12 -  Revered Technology Focus (at least 75 points for mastery; you can keep it 1/2 of your character's level) - We'll learn the Focus skill first for the regeneration time decrease as well as penalty threshold. Very important skill in our build.

Level 18 -  Revered Technology Lore (you can keep this 1/3 of your character's level since we will be using Flaring Nova more for crowd control rather than damage and also the energy shield benefits more from Warding Energy Lore rather than from Revered Technology Lore)

Level 25 -  Constitution (keep it around 1/3 of your level until later levels, when it can be 1/2) - More health is always good to have.

Level 35 -  Concentration (don't put too many points in this since we are using it mostly for the second buff) - At this point of the game we should be able to have some regeneration reduction equipment (or at least some gear with regeneration reduction from buffs), so the regeneration increase from the second buff shouldn't be a major problem.

Level 50 -  Warding Energy Lore (put as many points as you need; you can keep the ratio from Constitution as well, 1/3 of your character's level on Silver difficulty and then at higher difficulties you can keep it 1/2 or even 2/3, if you like a more 'tanky' approach) - Improves your energy shield and indirectly, your health, since it strengthens your survivability in battle.

Level 65 -  Toughness (don't spend too much time on this, just keep it 1/3 of your character's level or even 1/4) - Just for a little more resistance against every damage type.

1.1 Skill mastery order (personal preference)

1st mastery -  Tactics Lore (for more critical hit chance)

2nd mastery -  Exalted Warrior Focus (for further regeneration and penalty decrease for Pelting Strikes, Dashing Alacrity and Battle Stance buff)

3rd mastery -  Revered Technology Focus (for further regeneration and penalty decrease for Flaring Nova and Warding Energy buff)

4th mastery -  Dual Wield (to grant the chance to inflict double hits with your weapons)

5th mastery -  Armor Lore (for further regeneration penalty decrease)

6th mastery -  Warding Energy Lore (for even more faster shield regeneration)

7th mastery -  Revered Technology Lore (for more Flaring Nova damage; it improves the energy shield as well)

8th mastery -  Constitution (to be able to regenerate health while in combat)

9th mastery -  Toughness (for further increased resistance against all damage types)

10th mastery -  Concentration (only for 3 active buffs at the same time; we kept Concentration at 10th mastery because we don't have a single point in Celestial Magic aspect Lore or Focus skills so we don't have a third fully modified buff to use)

 

2. Combat arts and buffs

 Exalted Warrior Aspect

 1. Pelting Strikes - Our main combat art to use. The ideal regeneration time should be around 3 seconds (if you have gear with regeneration per hit bonuses of 1 or 1,5 seconds then you can have a regeneration of even 4,5 seconds). Keep it equal or lower level to the penalty threshold of Exalted Warrior Focus.

 2. Dashing Alacrity - Very important combat art due to increased move speed and attack speed bonuses. Use it for long distance runs or before boss fights and watch them shred with Pelting Strikes.

 3. Battle Stance (buff) - Our main buff that we'll be using. Provides a decent amount of damage, attack and defense boost.

 

 Revered Technology Aspect

 

 1. Flaring Nova - Very good combat art when facing groups of enemies. Don't keep an eye out on the regeneration because we won't gonna be spamming this like Pelting Strikes. A regeneration of under 7-8 seconds should work.

 2. Warding Energy (buff) - Our secondary buff after Battle Stance. Don't take it at early levels since it will increase the regeneration of Pelting Strikes and Flaring Nova too much and we won't gonna be using it against rats and brigands anyway. Level 30 should be enough to start read Warding Energy runes.

 *OPTIONAL* - 3. Divine Protection - You can use it during boss fights after your Warding Energy shield got depleted for some more protection. (be careful because it will deactivate your Warding Energy buff when the duration ends; I don't know if this is now patched or not)

 

 Celestial Magic Aspect (Optional)

 1. Hallowed Restoration - Just a good healing effect after fights if you want to spare some health potions.

 

3. Combat arts and buffs modifications

Pelting Strikes
 Succession - chance for double hits (20%)
 Focus - require less energy (20%)
 Precision - increases the chance to land critical hits (9.9% + 0,1% per level of Pelting Strikes)

Dashing Alacrity
 Bloodlust - further increases attack speed (10% + 0,3% per level of Dashing Alacrity)
 Delay - increases the duration of Dashing Alacrity (with 50%)
 Impatience - reduces the cooldown of Dashing Alacrity (with 33,3%)

Battle Stance (buff)
 Premonition - further increases attack value (12,5% + 2,5% per level of Battle Stance)
 Drill - reduces the energy cost to maintain Battle Stance (not sure how much to be honest but it's always good to have)
 Retaliation - small chance to reflect close combat damage (20% chance, increases slightly per level of Battle Stance)

Flaring Nova
 Impulse - sends out 2 pulses, but reduces strength (around 30% damage reduction)
 Stun - chance to stun enemies within range (19,8% + 0,2% per level of Flaring Nova)
 Laggard - slows the targets down (25% + 0,5% per level of Flaring Nova)

Warding Energy
 Field Force - strengthens the energy field and absorbs more damage until it is exhausted (50% increase from base value)
 Field Force - improves the energy field and absorbs more damage until it is exhausted (50% increase from base value)
 Resource - reduces the energy cost to maintain the shield (50% + 0,5% reduction per level of Warding Energy)

Divine Protection
 Dampen - absorbs more damage (10% + 0,1% per level of Divine Protection)
 Uplifted Force - improves the energy shield (33,3% increase)
 Improved Reflection - chance to reflect projectile damage (50% + 1% per level of Divine Protection)

 

4. Weapons and equipment

4.1 Weapons

• by the level 50 mark you should have a different slot for each damage type (Physical, Magical, Fire, Ice and Poison)
• I personally use Poison damage weapons for the main slot (upgraded with Poison Fangs) due to Poison secondary effect (damage over type), which is a personal preference of mine - you can use any damage type as a main, it's pure preferential
• you can either use swords or hafted weapons, but don't combine them in the same weapon slot (like a dual wielding a sword and an axe)
• always keep the weapon with the higher damage on your right hand because it's the first hand we attack with and combat arts like Pelting Strikes or Soul Hammer will deal more damage this way
• best modifiers and effects to use on your weapons: +X% damage to the same damage your weapon has, Regeneration per hit (1-1,5 seconds should be more than enough), Lifeleech, Critical hit chance, Double hit chance, +X% Attack, +X to Attack or +X to Exalted Warrior aspect
• for greedier players, Experience per kill and Chance to find valuables are good too, but don't imprison yourself just in these or you'll suffer later in the game (tip available for both weapons and equipment)

4.2 Equipment

• I personally prefer Niokaste's Blade Dance set due to bonuses to Exalted Warrior aspect
• LATE EDIT: I also find Genesis Siderea set amazingly good due to the % Lifeleech bonus (if you can find both pieces of the Tooth and Nail set you'll have another % Lifeleech bonus)
• best modifiers and effects you can use on your equipment: +X% or +X Armor, +X% or +X to Defense, Regeneration per hit, Regeneration decrease to Combat Arts or to Exalted Warrior aspect, Lifeleech, +X% shield absorption, Spell resistance or +to all skills
• jewelry is pure preferential, I personally use +Damage, +Attack, Lifeleech or Regeneration per hit rings and +Armor, +Attack and Defense, +to all skills or Damage mitigation amulets (you can socket some of these modifiers in your weapons and equipment as well)

4.3 Relics

• use each set of relics for every resistance needed (I personally use the main set with mixed relics and the other ones with Poison resistance relics, Fire resistance relics and Ice resistance relics)
• unique or set relics (from the Community Patch) are the best ones, so keep every one of these you find until you find better ones

 

5. Attributes

• at early levels (1-25), you should put points into both  Strength (for some melee damage and attack boost) and  Stamina (for some regeneration decrease until we find proper equipment) in a 50-50 ratio (60-40 or 40-60 ratio can work too)
• after level 25 you can occasionally start putting points into  Vitality (for more health) and  Willpower (for a little bit more Warding Energy shield power)
• after level 50, when you will gain 2 attribute points to spend, ONE should always go into  Strength and the other one either into  Vitality,   Willpower or   Stamina (into Stamina only if you really need to); if you feel you don't need either Vitality, Willpower or Stamina then you can up both points into Strength
• after level 150, when you will gain 3 attribute points to spend, TWO should always go into  Strength and the other one either into  Vitality or  Willpower, based on your personal preference; if you feel you don't need either Vitality or Willpower then you can up all three points into Strength

6. Play style

• Expert Touch option is pure preferential (I personally have it ON since I am using a lot of Regeneration per hit modifiers)
• control large groups of mobs via Flaring Nova (remember that we send 2 pulses from the modification, so, it's an increased chance to either stun or slow down the annoying enemies)
• slay champion type enemies with Pelting Strikes (3 or 4 hits should pretty much wipe them)
• use Dashing Alacrity to chase down fleeing enemies, ranged fighters or mages who tend to run away at distance in battles
• before entering boss battles, don't forget to switch to the relics set that offer the needed resistance (example, Fire relics against Carnach)
• cast Dashing Alacrity before boss battles as well and spam Pelting Strikes until they die (Pelting Strikes will hit faster due to increased attack speed from Dashing Alacrity modification)
• after your Warding Energy shield gets depleted during a boss fight (or you get debuffed by certain bosses like The Harpy Queen or The White Griffin) cast Divine Protection shield to protect yourself
• best unique mount you can use: Exalted Warrior Sabertooth Tiger (-33,3% regeneration decrease to Exalted Warrior aspect)
• collect every dropped items from mobs (even the common ones), you will need lots of gold for constantly upgrading our weapons and gear

7. Pros and cons

Pros

• extremely powerful against both single targets and groups
• fast and easy boss killing
• huge amounts of damage dealt in small periods of time
• both offensive and defensive build
• extremely tanky type of Seraphim

Cons

• some players may find it boring and repetitive
• low versatility since it requires a certain play style
• very dependent on Battle Stance and Warding Energy buffs
• pure melee style can be a bit weak and slow without Dashing Alacrity and Pelting Strikes combat arts

As a final word, I really hope this guide will help you in developing a really strong and fun to play type of Seraphim. Good luck and have fun wiping the lands of Ancaria!