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Schniepel's Punk Rock Dryad!


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Hi everybody. I'd like to share with you the build to the Sacred 2 character I've found to be by far the most entertaining. Of course, that's my own point of view, it could easily bore other people :)

Oh, feel free to skip the intro. It's just to explain why I built this Dryad, and a little exercise to hone my English skills :)

 

So there's this friend of mine I've played with in LAN for a while. I was using a standard Death Warrior/Malevolent Champion SW which I had mismanaged, so he wasn't a good boss killer at all even though he could mow down huge mobs in just one click (behold the almighty Frenzied Rampage!). My friend, on the other hand, wasn't faring well either. He had chosen to bring up a Dragon Mage, but knowing nothing about the game mechanics he built it in a rather shoddy way, which resulted in him having lots of trouble by level 30 circa, besides the fact he was obviously even worse at boss killing and by far much more fragile.

So he asked me to start over. He asked me for some advice in bringing up a Shadow Warrior, having noticed how easily I was destroying large packs, so I had to pick another character to spice things up a bit.

I have always found Dragon Mages to be a tricky class, due to their relatively high regen times and overall unbalanced between offense and defense, at least until you could afford the double buff (Familiar and Protective Runes). I've always also been a little goofy when it comes down to Inquisitors, and to a smaller extent Temple Guardians (a class which I now love nevertheless), while I really didn't want to spend time micromanaging a low level High Elf whose regen times are still high. Seraphims didn't seem like much at the time (that was, of course, before I even thought of building a BFG Seraphim). So the only char left, other than the SW, was the Dryad.

I had read a lot about the flabbergasting power of Ancient Bark, and given the fact that I have at my disposal player's chests with 12 runes for every combat art of every character in the game, I knew that survivability wouldn't be a challenge, at least at the early levels. All I really wanted was some fun, you know? A stripped-down, easy-to-use character, a satisfying build that at the same time wouldn't require micromanagement. So an archer Dryad seemed like the right path to choose. I looked on the internet for such a build, however, I didn't find one that met my craving for a powerful and ultimately simple build. So I started making up my own, with extremely satisfying results I have to say! The build was finished by level 50, and by the time I reached Gold I hadn't died once and was taking no damage at all, either by regenerating everything being thrown at me, by reflecting it or simply by shrugging it off with huge amounts of armor. The offensive side wasn't lackluster at all, either: this build was inflicting really nice amounts of damage, the only situations requiring a right-click (not really) being boss fights.

I am really satisfied with this little tree-hugger, she is now taking a break at level 155 in Niob, without having died once and still ruling all the figths.

 

P.S.: this build was brought up with no support from other characters whatsoever, meaning no shoppers nor blacksmiths nor finders have helped her. I took this to level 155 with my bare hands. :)

 

Ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, I give you... Arrowhawk, the punk rock Dryad!

 

- Step 1: Character creation. Attributes, Divine Gift, skills. -

 

when it comes to attributes, there is nothing simpler. Put all points into Dexterity, and from level 50 split equally between Dexterity and Vitality.

As for the Divine Gifts, I find Ker, Testa and Forens to be the best gods out there. Testa heals yourself and damages enemies, Forens reflects all damage back to the attacker (his reflection chance becomes 100% only at high levels however). Ker summons a huge Sakkara demon which helps you for about 20 seconds before a craving desire of killing you in the most brutal way possible invades him. What's so cool about that, you may (rightfully) wonder? Well, the beastie's a boss rank creature. So you can use it to se how well you fare against one of those before heading out for an actual XP giving, item dropping boss.

And we arrive to the skills section. I shall take delight in using your absolutely brilliant icon tag. Congrats on that one. :P

The number next to the skill's name is the level at which you should be taking it.

2. Ranged Weapons.pngRanged Weapons - we need to start piling up good amounts of attack and attack speed. Keep this at level at least until level 17 or 20. Sinister Predator will take care of the rest. If you find you're still having trouble hitting things, put a few extra points in this.

3. Concentration.pngConcentration - so we can use both Ancient Bark and Sinister Predator at the same time, ASAP. Just pick it and leave it there. No need to spend points in it at all.

5. Capricious Hunter Focus.pngCapricious Hunter Focus - this is here for obvious reasons. It increases the maximum possible level of our offensive buff, namely Sinister Predator. It also gives us modifier points for the Capricious Hunter combat arts, besides lowering their regen times and the Sinister Predator penalty.

8. Tactics Lore.pngTactics Lore - again, there's no need to explain what it does... it's a must for any non-caster build. It also increases the chance for critical hits, and gives us more CH mod points. You should get this to level ASAP once you have it, and keep it there all the way up.

12. Nature Weaver Focus.pngNature Weaver Focus - we squeeze this skill in to increase Ancient Bark's level and get mod points mainly. It also reduces its regen penalty, if you really do care. Put points here when needed, but as a rule of thumb you should keep this at a nice level to never have any trouble.

18. Nature Weaver Lore.pngNature Weaver Lore - initially I thought NWF would be enough to manage Ancient Bark, and it probably is. But then I got greedy and found Nature Weaver Lore will increase your survivability by a really huge amount. It will increase the armor value given by AB and its added HP regeneration. Absolutely priceless. Put points here as you wish, but keep it quite high and in synergy with NWF. Plus, it helped me narrow down the skill options. :P

25. Spell Resistance.pngSpell Resistance - we all know how tricky those caster and LL% enemies be in Ice&Blood, especially in the higher difficulties! I think this is a must have for every Ice and Blood build, it's a real life-saver in the Blood Forest and gives nice survivability in general, especially by adding that chance to resist criticals. You should at least get this to mastery. I picked this instead of Combat Reflexes to get Armor Lore and Constitution because of the aforementioned reasons and the fact that you won't really need to have a higher chance to evade. Ancient Bark is such a great buff, it gives huge amounts of armor, defense, close combat damage reflection (if modded right) and HP regen, so even if they do hit you you'll shrug it off and walk unscathed.

35. Armor Lore.pngArmor Lore - no need to explain this, either. It will increase your armor, unlock item modifiers, allow higher-level items to be used without encumbrance and reduce armor regen penalty. Master this and leave it.

50. Constitution.pngConstitution - an increase in hitpoints and their regeneration, also in combat with Mastery! So definitely master this, so you'll run through niob unscathed by benefiting of your huge hitpoint regen at its fullest. No need to put any extra points after skill level 75.

65. Combat Discipline.pngCombat Discipline - I had to pick something, now didn't I? I guess I didn't. You can put Speed Lore here if you wish. Combat Discipline, however, give your Combat Arts a damage boost (nothing that big though). Your pick.

 

- Step 2: Combat Arts, Buffs and their respective mods. -

 

This build only uses 2 Combat Arts and 2 buffs. That's to keep a nice rune find and well, she doesn't really need much more. :P

Oh, keep in mind that regen per hit is nice to have so you can spam Ravaged Impact on bosses. It's not crucial, though. Just a plus. You can do very good without it as well, so no worry.

 

Ravaged Impact.pngRavaged Impact (modded for Perforate - Breach - Double Shot): improved single target damage. Nice to spam against bosses. With Perforate it carries a chance to inflict open wounds (damage over time), with Breach it may ignore enemy armor once in a while and inflict full damage, while Double Shot adds another projectile. The last mod essentially doubles your damage, triples it if you're using a blowpipe (three projectiles are fired with pipes).

Darting Assault.pngDarting Assault (modded for Reload - Wounding - Rotate): this is the Dryad's physical "Area of Effect" CA, and is reminiscent of S1's Attack as Ravaged Impact is of Hard Hit. Those were the days, huh? :P Well, nevermind; Darting Assault provides nice crowd control and lets you manage mobs better. Reload adds (1/3*projectile number) projectiles to the CA, Wounding is essentially RI's Perforate while Rotate lets you shot everyone around you, not only in front of you.

Sinister Predator.pngSinister Predator (modded for Rapid Shot - Marked Shot - Unflinching). This is our offensive buff, and provides us with attack and attack speed, making us better killing machines! The mods are picked in a manner that fully exploits this Buff's offensive potential. You will essentially become a sniper with this thing on!

Ancient Bark.pngAncient Bark (modded for Rugged - Divert - Invigorate): now this is what I call defense! As Sinister Predator was modded to be fully offensive, Ancient Bark is modded to be fully defensive and the two form a deadly synergy. Rugged will increase your armor and work in tandem with the next mod, Divert, which carries a chance to reflect close combat damage. The two ensure that when you do get hit, you either take ridiculous low amounts of damage, or you throw it back in your opponent's face. This will come in real handy in boss fights along with the last mod, Invigorate, which doubles the HP regen bonus! I want to make it clear that you life DEPENDS on Ancient Bark, therefore debuffing enemies will be a pain if you don't manage to take them out quickly, so beware! :P

 

- Step 3: Combat Strategies. -

 

3a. Single targets and Champions: pretty simple. Click on them until they die. It doesn't get much more basic than that. :P

3b. Mobs: Darting Assault, and if there are any still standing just see 3a.

3c. Bosses: take your time and, well, click on them until they die. :P The difference is, here you'll have the satisfaction of watching them struggling desperately to take a bite out of the red bar above your char portrait... and instead failing miserably or harming themselves. If your Ravaged Impact regen is low enough and you can spam it, don't hesitate, it will cut things short.

 

- Step 4: Equipment. -

 

A full Detheya's Agility set will give you a great 2,5% Life Leech. That ensures you kill anything in less than 40 hits, unless somehow you miss with every single arrow. In that case things will die in exactly 40 hits, due to 2,5% of their HP being forcefully taken away. :P Of course, you'll almost never miss and you'll have 150% attack speed, so bosses won't stand a chance anyway. Don't worry about the bonuses you're giving up by going this way, niob smith arts and the general set bonuses (along with the %LL of course) more than make up for that. For the weapon, go for the best bow you can find.

Oh, one thing: as I haven't used shoppers, but managed to gain great results nevertheless, I'm sure you could get an even more overpowered build if you do use them. If you find a good blowpipe, preferably with silver/gold sockets, grab them for the early levels an keep them anyway (I'm talking of course about higher-level pipes) for boss fights so you deal triple Ravaged Impact damage.

Good things to socket are niob smith arts, and rings/amulets with things like +all skills.

 

- Step 5: Overview. -

 

Maybe I've been a little too cocky in the writing of this build. I realize I'm not breaking any new ground and such, but that was never my goal. All I ever wanted was a fun build requiring minimal effort to bring up.

Oh, and you may wonder: why "punk rock Dryad"? Well, I think it's obvious: this is a simple, stripped-down, basic build, which can be easily brought up by anyone. Just like punk rock is simple, stripped-down, basic music, which can be pretty much be played by anyone.

 

Alright, now time for some pro's and con's.

PRO'S:

- simple as hell

- can get you all the way to niob without much danger

- very balanced between offense and defense

- good for beginners who want a solid alternative to the BFG Seraphim or the Dual Wield SW

CON'S:

- all of the above are my opinions (excepting the pro's). It may well bore somebody else, even though I found it fun

- can possibly get too overpowered if given shopper/niob blacksmith support

 

 

- Step 6: Special Thanks. -

 

There are some people I would like to thank for making the writing of this post possible.

- Ascaron, for having created the wonderful Sacred 1 and thus turning me on to the series; and for creating the countless bugs all over Sacred 2, the only things that've proven to be an obstacle.

- Deep Silver, for not fixing Ascaron's bugs and keeping the challenge alive.

- Dryad, Dryad and Dryad: the chars I've used for testing and error hunting.

- My dear friend, for lighting up my mood in the Blood Forest with his pole arm melee Dragon Mage failing miserably every now and then.

- You, for (hopefully :P) having read my post and for the warm welcome here at DarkMatters. :)

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Hey, nice guide. It's one of 'classic' Sacred 2 builds, that are well-suited both for newcomers and veterans. That kind of dryad was my third toon, when I was new to the game :)

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thanks for feedback, ololcat. for being the first one to comment, you'll receive a chocolate cookie!

...

...

yeah, you wish

:P

 

anyway, I agree, though a veteran will surely squeeze more out of it. maybe even improve it, as there's always room for that. :P

 

come on, people! get your blood pumpin' and tell me what ya think of my wee lil' build! :D

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Hiya, Schniepel! I always thought the Dryad was the 'punk' of Sacred 2 :whistle:

Nice guide, but real dryads don't use defensive skills ;)

Without Bargaining, that is another story, though :thumbsup:

 

Yeah, Ancient Bark is quite powerful... although I do have to admit that if I played my build on PC Ice and Blood or CM-patch then I would take Spell Resistance, but still no other D-skills.

 

At any rate, this is a nice, detailed but simple guide that anyone would be able to play... with or without the "shopping network" or a chest full of "Legendaries".

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Solid build. I'm a dryad fan as well, when the game came out, I couldn't stop plying this ranged class for a few months, I'd found nothing as fast in gaming as it could do with a instant travel blow dart gun. Your introduction got me to remember all of the great plusses that come with this class with a little digging and good choices. I'm glad you mentionned that you brought this build up all alone and solo. Not everyone has the time to build the shopping networks, it's great news for casual players that good result can still be had without 'em.

 

Do you have a downloady ou can upload for us to try out?

 

 

Nice work

 

:)

 

gogo

 

p.s. Forum's Sacred 2 display icon bbcodes, compliments of Schot.

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@essjayehm: yeah, dryads probably don't even need many defensive skills to survive. I mean, just look at ancient bark... it's insane! though those few essentials do make her much more durable and virtually immortal. I'm a big fan of no-risk builds, and this is by far my favorite. I wonder what it could do with a throwing star+shield... though she probably doesn't need one ;)

 

@gogoblender: hehe, this build is practically a testament to what you can achieve without a network and a bit patience, though the dryad is a quite a special character, I don't know how true that is for other classes. if you plan on doing something else you're probably much better off with a shopper's network, especially if you're playing hardcore. if you just want a quick build, then pick either this or the BFG seraphim... though this one is much more durable. it's probably the lowest risk build of the game. because you're not in any danger even if the enemies come close and hit you like a ten ton truck. I'm really curious how she'd turn out if I did use shoppers and niob smiths.

unfortunately, had to reinstall windows on my PC and thus format, so I don't have anything to give ya guys. :( but just give me some time and I promise I'll upload a fresh high-level character. ;)

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I've been trying to get back into playing for awhile now but just haven't found anything that holds my interest for more than 20-30 lvls. Never really played a Dryad yet, but after reading your write-up I think you just convinced me to give a Dryad a go :D

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

couldnt u just use this for all skill rings from drops and stuff to put into lower lev chars? I meen u dont need barganing and smithing to socket low level armour and make it good nice build ima give it a go

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  • 1 month later...

Thanks so much for the guide Schniepel~ I just beat Niob with my dryad using your guide, she's a blast to play :) Only difference is that I use

blowpipes all the time instead of just on the bosses, because I just love the instant-hit projectile of pipes.

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