Aspect Lore Skills - The Hidden Effects

[Flix 5,167]

Aspect Lore Skills - The Hidden Effects

 

 

Introduction

Players of Sacred 2 learn early on that to have the most effective Combat Arts (Combat Arts), they must enhance them by taking either an Aspect Focus or Aspect Lore skill, or both. Both types of skills earn the player modification points with which to customize their Combat Arts, so picking at least one is important (I usually prefer the Focus skills, but that's a discussion for another time).

 

Aspect Focus skills are fairly simple, because they all do the same thing: they improve regeneration time and allow the player to raise their Combat Art levels higher without a regeneration penalty. Now that's very important, but also very predictable and not very interesting to discuss.

 

What IS interesting are the Aspect Lore skills. Now, according to the manual and in-game tooltips, Aspect Lore skills also all do the same thing: they increase Combat Art damage, critical chance, and casting speed. Seems pretty simple, but questions arise:

• What about all those Combat Art that don't do damage? Are they enhanced by the Lores? If so, how?
• And what about all those Aspects that use Tactics Lore as the aspect Lore? Does it act just like the other skills? Tactics Lore doesn't increase casting speed, so how do I increase the execution speed of Combat Arts affected by it?

This topic will address those questions and more.

 

 

CA Effects That Are Increased In Place of Damage

Many times when a CA does not do damage, the Lore skill will enhance some other major property of the CA. This section will list those types of "other" effects, organized by the type of effect and listed in descending order of frequency:

 

• Life Leeched per Hit (7 Combat Arts): This is a very powerful modifier because it is a special type of damage that cannot be resisted by enemies. Lore skills will boost this damage and therefore the amount healed as well. This property is only granted to Combat Arts through modifications, and it is highly recommended. Note that the Dragon Berserk form has this effect natively but it's not increased by Lore.

• Armor (7 Combat Arts): Another very commonly increased value is armor (resistances). This applies to both Combat Arts that increase the player's armor as well as those that enhance the armor of any minions (summoned creatures). Note that Lore skills will only enhance armor when a combat art directly provides armor resistance values (flat numbers, not percentages).

• Hitpoint Regeneration (5 Combat Arts): Hitpoint regeneration is another common property, mostly appearing on buffs and temporary buffs. Lore skills will increase the rate of hitpoints gained per second.

• Max. Hitpoints (2 Combat Arts): Only two combat arts will boost the player's maximum number of hitpoints: Grim Resilience (Shadow Warrior) and Familiar (Dragon Mage). These buffs will both provide even more life with a Lore skill.

• Healing (2 Combat Arts): Not to be confused with hitpoint regeneration, Healing directly and instantly restores hitpoints. There are only two Combat Arts that have this effect visibly increased by Lore skills: Hallowed Restoration (Seraphim) and Charged Grid (Temple Guardian). At least 8 other Combat Arts can Heal (for example, several in the Inquisitor's Nefarious Netherworld aspect), but the healing numbers are not immediately visible, so further testing may be required to be sure if the Lore affect them - if it does, then this effect is the most common of all.

• Block Warding Energy (2 Combat Arts): This value is unique to Energy Shields. There are two energy shield buffs that use a block warding energy value (Seraphim's Warding Energy and Temple Guardian's T-Energy Shroud), and they are both increased by Lore skills. Block Warding Energy is a special type of flat damage mitigation that blocks a certain amount before the damage is applied to the shield/hitpoints. Lore skills will increase the amount of damage blocked.

• In-Combat Energy Shield Regeneration (T-Energy Shroud only): This value is unique the Temple Guardian's energy shield buff. Normally shields only regenerate out of combat (the rate is increased by Warding Energy Lore), but with a modification, T-Energy Shroud can regenerate in-combat, and the rate is increased by the aspect lore (Tactics Lore).

• Stealth Value (Shadow Veil only): This is another unique value that only appears on this Shadow Warrior CA. It increases how close the stealthed Shadow Warrior can get to enemies before they "see" him and pierce his shadow veil (ending the cloaked effect).

• Spell-Banishing Effect (Expulse Magic only): A value unique to this High Elf CA. Increases the effectiveness of Expulse Magic's ability to cancel out enemy Combat Arts (the enemy spell will have no effect).

• Chance that opponents cannot evade attacks (BeeEffGee): This modifier is available on the BFG and it increases the chance of "sure hit" - a very effective offensive property. Note that several other melee Combat Arts can be modified to have this property, but since the value isn't visible in any tooltips or bonus lists, it's impossible to tell whether it's increased by Lore skills without detailed testing.

 

 

Tactics Lore

Tactics Lore serves as the Lore skill for many aspects of the various character classes. Most but not all Combat Arts in these aspects will be Weapon Damage Based Combat Arts. The increase to damage and critical chance of Tactics Lore therefore naturally boosts the power of any weapon-based Comabt Arts within those aspects.

 

Occassionally Spell Damage Based Combat Arts are found within these aspects as well - their damage and critical chance is also enhanced. It may seem unusual that Tactics Lore (a skill that boosts weapon damage) can also boost the damage of certain spells, but it can in a few instances. Five spell-based combat arts are in aspects that use Tactics Lore:

• Dust Devil (requires "Sanding" modification to do damage)
• Deathly Spears
• Belligerent Vault
• Killing Spree
• T-Energy Shroud buff (requires "Derogate" modification to do damage)

 

Note: For these combat arts, Tactics Lore will ONLY increase damage and critical chance, while casting speed is increased by the appropriate weapon lore (for example, Sword Weapons when wielding a sword). This applies to ALL combat arts in these aspects, even the buffs and temporary buffs. This is somewhat unusual and counterintuitive since although the weapon itself may not be used for the combat art, its attack speed is.

 

Remember: For aspects that use Tactics Lore, casting speed and attack speed are one and the same. That means that weapon lore skills (such as Sword Weapons) and modifiers like +% attack speed can boost the casting speed of these spells and buffs. Likewise, the casting speed will be penalized by wielding a weapon with too high a level (thereby lowering attack speed).

 

Finally, Tactics Lore can increase other, unusual properties of combat arts within those aspects. This is a list of all the aspects that Tactics Lore serves, along with any unusual effects is has on Combat Arts:

Dryad

• Capricious Hunter: No additional effects beyond damage and critical chance.

Inquisitor

• Gruesome Inquisition:
  • Callous Execution - Increases life leech damage from the "Draw Life" modification.
  • Ruthless Mutilation - Increases life leech damage from the "Dolor" modification.

Seraphim

• Exalted Warrior: No additional effects beyond damage and critical chance.

Shadow Warrior

• Death Warrior:
  • Demonic Blow - Increases life leech damage of the "Life Leech" modification.
  • Grim Resilience - Increases the hitpoint bonus and the hitpoint regeneration from the "Rejuvenation" modification.

• Malevolent Champion:
  • Frenzied Rampage - Increases the life leech damage of the "Vampire" modification.
  • Augmenting Guidon - Increases the hitpoint regeneration of the "Healing" modification.

Temple Guardian

• Devout Guardian:
  • Combat Alert - Increases the hitpoint regeneration of the "Repair" modification.
  • T-Energy Shroud - Improves the block warding energy value, increases in-combat shield regeneration of the "Recharge" modification.

 

 

Complete List of Aspect Lores:

This is a complete list of all Aspect Lore skills (minus Tactics Lore). Visiting each Lore's page on the Wiki will list any unusual effects it has on the Combat Arts within its aspect.

Dragon Mage:

• Dragon Magic Lore
• Elemental Magic Lore
• Mentalism Lore

Dryad:

• Nature Weaver Lore
• Cabalistic Voodoo Lore

High Elf:

• Arrant Pyromancer Lore
• Mystic Stormite Lore
• Delphic Arcania Lore

Inquisitor:

• Astute Supremacy Lore
• Nefarious Netherworld Lore

Seraphim:

• Celestial Magic Lore
• Revered Technology Lore

Shadow Warrior:

• Astral Lord Lore

Temple Guardian:

• Lost Fusion Lore
• Source Warden Lore

Edited January 14, 2014 by Flix

[Ysne58 236]

This is really well done.

[Aegis 256]

This is the most comprehensive guide I've seen on aspect lores and their unusual effects on CAs. With all that information spread out throughout the wiki, it is good to see all that info put together in one post. Thanks for writing this.

[chattius 2,623]

Thanks

This was really missing

[gogoblender 3,206]

Flix, can't believe you did this! I'd always wished there was a true reference list of these super powers from the game... most peeps don't even know how neat these effects can be, and how they can add to builds.

Wiki was really missing this, but you've been keeping at it now, and now, combined all the work together you've put into wiki into a nifty guide.

I really hope you'll consider adding a link to this guide in the Notes section on the Wiki Aspect Lore Skills page. I'd been thinking that links like that in notes at the bottom to info source from DarkMatters can extend a reader's search into up to date data, and what you've written would be an excellent example of this.

Good work!!

 

 

gogo

[Flix 5,167]

Done! I like it when the forums and the Wiki have good interlinking...probably could have been doing a bit more of it along the way if I'd thought of it.

 

Honestly my favorite part of this was making the banner.

Edited January 13, 2014 by Flix

[gogoblender 3,206]

LOVE the banner

I actually spent some time going through it with some nostalgia remember how hidden the lore skill benefits were

They're important, and can make a good difference in setting up a character build, offering ideas for tradeouts versus other options

 

 

gogo

[DungVietVu 0]

hi, im new. anwesome topic