Ric's Ranged Shadow Warrior for Enhanced Edition Mod

[ric7202 192]

5 hours ago, Hooyaah said:

I can happen (albeit rarely) with the Character Editor. However, the editor creates a backup .bak file that one may use to restore the character by deleting the corrupt file and removing .bak from the character's saved bak file.

I regularly save a character file and the chest file just in case something like that happens.

I have never used the Character Editor, so that can't be the cause of it. But I make plenty of backups (like I copy the whole savegame directory someplace else) That's why I only needed to backroll 10 levels on that character (I played for a looong time then without reloading, that's why several savefiles in a row were corrupted, I never noticed when it first manifested). 

[Hooyaah 3,111]

Well sir, I have never experienced a corrupt save file and I would imagine that it's quite frustrating. Could it be a PC issue relating to corrupt system files?

If so, you might benefit from this video:

 

[gogoblender 3,420]

10 hours ago, ric7202 said:

I have never used the Character Editor, so that can't be the cause of it. But I make plenty of backups (like I copy the whole savegame directory someplace else) That's why I only needed to backroll 10 levels on that character (I played for a looong time then without reloading, that's why several savefiles in a row were corrupted, I never noticed when it first manifested). 

Yeeks! sorry about that loss Ric... almost NOTHING is more painful than a loss of char due to the unexpected...hopefully someone here can help get you back your precious

Thanks Hooyaah for the video!

gogo

[ric7202 192]

3 hours ago, gogoblender said:

Yeeks! sorry about that loss Ric... almost NOTHING is more painful than a loss of char due to the unexpected...hopefully someone here can help get you back your precious

Thanks Hooyaah for the video!

gogo

Thx, but those corrupt saves are gone, I deleted them and moved on. And I didn't loose the char, I just had to backroll 10 lvls or so. I've since then carried on and am right now at lvl 42 and is stumbling through the dragon caves under the Seraphim Island. The Shadow Veil is at 52% and even if I drop out of invisibility often, it's easy to just hit 7 and get it back on. 

[ric7202 192]

3 hours ago, Hooyaah said:

Well sir, I have never experienced a corrupt save file and I would imagine that it's quite frustrating. Could it be a PC issue relating to corrupt system files?

If so, you might benefit from this video:

 

Thx for the video, I might do some checkups now. That dude explained things really good, and had some excellent tips. 

[Hooyaah 3,111]

Here's some more insight regarding corrupted saved files:

Corrupted files on ones PC may be a symptom of a computer virus or a malware attack.

Improperly saved files can also cause this issue and this might happen when your PC has bad disk sectors;this occurs on older SATA hard drives. If you have a SATA drive that is used frequently and several years old, consider upgrading to a Solid State Drive (SSD).

Stopping data saves during the data write process can also be a culprit; this includes removing a storage device before it completes its task.

It is also a good practice to save important drive in at least one alternative place, such as an external drive.

[ric7202 192]

23 minutes ago, Hooyaah said:

Here's some more insight regarding corrupted saved files:

Corrupted files on ones PC may be a symptom of a computer virus or a malware attack.

Improperly saved files can also cause this issue and this might happen when your PC has bad disk sectors. If you have a SATA hard drive, consider upgrading to a Solid State Drive.

Stopping data saves during the data write process can also be a culprit; this includes removing a storage device before it completes its task.

It is also a good practice to save important drive in at least one alternative place, such as an external drive.

Thx for the tips. I only use SSD's nowadays. I suspect something went wrong while writing data. The PC is brand new and has updated virus/malware protection, so I don´t think that the cause. If it were, then the problem would be more persistent I think and cause trouble to more than just that one savegame. And, as it has happened before, on a completely different PC, the culprit is more likely to be the writing process. But I'm no computer whiz and lack the means and desire to dig into it very much. It was more a check if someone else had had the same problem, and knew a simple solution to prevent it from happening again. Something like "Ohh I've seen that before, it's the file xxx.xxx that needs replacing" or so. But it's no biggie really and as I said, I've moved on and the game runs like it should now. But I really do appreciate all your tips, insights and effort to help me, you are all great assets to this community and the world needs more people like you 

[gogoblender 3,420]

14 hours ago, ric7202 said:

But I really do appreciate all your tips, insights and effort to help me, you are all great assets to this community and the world needs more people like you 

awesome!!  Kindness trumps everything...

come join us for , errr.. *special* eggnog at the Christmas Party! Wishes to you and all your lovely family!

gogo

[ric7202 192]

2 hours ago, gogoblender said:

awesome!!  Kindness trumps everything...

come join us for , errr.. *special* eggnog at the Christmas Party! Wishes to you and all your lovely family!

gogo

Aww thx a lot.. that warms my frozen heart 

[gogoblender 3,420]

12 minutes ago, ric7202 said:

Aww thx a lot.. that warms my frozen heart 

lol...your sentence reminded me of the BEST line from the new Star Trek Season 2 Lower Decks, where Badgy becomes REALLY bad and takes control of almost everything and goes after his creator...

"I burn your heart with fire"

 

 

course, your heart is warm Ric, no burning can ever smite you

gogo

 

[ric7202 192]

Just a little update. I'm now lvl 51 and took out 2 Garganthropods and their minions at lvl 53-55 without even chugging a pot. My Astral Lord Focus is at 54 and gives lvl 32 CA without penalty. The Shadow Veil is lvl 33 and gives 68%. I can shoot several times without getting detected if I'm lucky, but it's still not very reliable. Btw, I didn't kill the scorpions with Veil on, but used Grim and Reflective Emanation for that, just to be on the safe...er side. Now moving on to the jungle. I can feel the consequences of not having much phys mitigation now, the enemies hit hard when they manage to connect. 

And another update. I managed to take down both Khrals with the veil up. That confirms that this works very well. But it's still a long way to go to get 100%. I had hoped to make it before taking on Nameless Guardians, but now I doubt that will be possible, at least not without a lot of grinding before going there. On the bright side... With the Veil up, facing those pesky Fen Fires on the dryad island will be a walk in the park. 

A note: One effect of running around invisible is that you have no aggro, so enemies won't be happily rushing to greet and hug you with their steely knives anymore. So I have found that having a sidekick can draw them to him/her and you can just stand on the sideline and mow them down with minimal risk. Also applies to them pesky jumping plants who have a knack for landing on your head and trying to pollinate you with fatal effect. The SW in EE has access to the Minotaur of course, but if you don't want to use up a buff-slot for him, you can use Hansi, the dude in the quest "The Final Concert" who follows you around until you have collected all the instruments for his concert. Just skip the last part where you hand in the last piece and he will follow you for eternity, and he is VERY tough. Doesn't do much damage, but survives just about anything and is great to gather up a bunch of enemies for you to fire at. 

A second note: So I just had a close brush with Death. It seems that even if you are invisible, you might get caught in a jumping plants mating ritual if you stand very close to your sidekick and he is getting jumped by one or more of those frivolous vegetables. It was horrific. One second I was just standing there, minding my own business (I.e. making life short for others) and suddenly... Wham!! Instant red-lining as two or three plants lands on my and Hansis head. Mind you, those are all physical damage, so with proper managment of phys dmg mitigation, that won't be an issue, but until you do, beware! 

Edited December 10, 2024 by ric7202
spellcheck

[ric7202 192]

Aaarrgghhh when will I ever learn? If you are a squeamish type, you do NOT just walk into into a nest of Gundarks!!! Ohh well... maybe I'll find something nice on the next run through the wastelands. This time... maybe make a savegame at halfway at least? 

Note: Funny thing... I'm playing light campaign and for some reason the roaming soldiers here in the wastelands seem to think Hansi is one of the bad guys and keep attacking him. Not that they do any harm to him, but it's a bit annoying. Poor Hansi. Maybe it's his reputation as a rock star that makes them jealous?

Edited December 11, 2024 by ric7202

[ric7202 192]

Wohoo... Nimunuil was a piece of cake! I really like this Shadow Veil now. At 72% now, so still a bit to go though. It takes several points in Astral Lord Focus to get a level of CA without penalties, and as you only get 1 point per char lvl now it is slow progress. I'm currently at Clvl 57 and Shadow Veil is lvl 35. At this rate of progress, I'm beginning to think I'll be like lvl 100 before I can get 100% on Shadow Veil. Which now when I think about it makes sense since it says bonus is 1% +1% per lvl on the Fade mod. We'll see how it goes with the Nameless Guardians next.  

Update: Ok, So the Guardians never hit me, but the Egg did and wasted me like nothing as I had the wrong set of relics active. Note to self: Next time be sure to have the frosty ones up. Ouchhh. Well, in the end I got them all, inclusive the Egg. One of the Guardians was kind enough to drop an Astaroths Star, which I could use on the Egg. Nice  

Edited December 11, 2024 by ric7202

[ric7202 192]

Feeling a bit lonely here. Am I the only one up playing all night? What do you DO at night? Sleep? What a strange concept   

Well, never mind. I'm starting the journey through Gold now, and the first thing I notice is that XP from mobs are very low. Now it pays off much more to do quests I think. I just blazed through Silver, only doing a few quests apart from Main Questline, but here I think it will be good to do a lot of sidequests as well. 

Sadly Hansi didn't follow me over here, so I'll have to go and get him again over in Clearview. He is such a good boy... yes come here boy... good boy, good boy!

Edited December 11, 2024 by ric7202

[ric7202 192]

Here's a short demo of the Shadow Veil on my guy Count Dooku. It's still only at 72%, hence the drop out after the first salvo. Most attacks goes undetected at this level, but not all. 

 

[ric7202 192]

Sometimes one needs a bit of a change, so I decided to get a new dryad going. And it's a struggle. Compared to my ranger SW the damage from blowpipes is quite low and killing a mob a few levels above you takes forever it seems. She's quite squishy too. I had to fill every socket with Sera-runes just to survive the Kobolds in act 1. But it will get better as soon as I can take Ranged skill and get to use the higher lvl blowpipes I have in the stash. Also my Lightsabre SW is slowly making progress. Regen-per-hit is the key to get it going like a lawnmower. 

[ric7202 192]

Count Dooku the invisible ranged SW is making progress in Gold now, lvl 68 and mainly just following the main questline. Focus has been on maintaining the Shadow Veil and I'm currently at 85%. It takes forever to level it now though. Astral Lord Focus is at 72 which grants a lvl 40 Veil without penalties. I don't know how many more levels I need to reach 100%, but I guess lvl 50 Veil. There is a severe diminishing return on the Focus though, so I've no idea how many more levels needed on that to get to lvl 50 Veil without penalty. At this pace, I guess at least lvl 100 Astral Lord Focus. I hope I'm wrong on that account though. And maybe I won't actually need lvl 50 Veil. I gained a few % chance to remain invisible just by going a bit over the penalty lvl, so maybe I'll reach 100% at like 47 Veil. We'll see.

Here he deals with the GarColossus x2:

And here at lvl 71 taking on the demons in the Cloud Arena:

As you could see, he broke invisibility only once, and luckily at the single demon fight. Should it happen while surrounded by a mob you're in big dodo. Even with 85% phys dmg reduction you're bound to take some serious dmg. The reason: If the attack with Frenzied breaks invisibility, it does so at the start of the animation, and the animation runs for a few seconds, leaving you unable to move or do anything at all really until the animation has stopped. During that time all enemies will target you and attack relentlessly. 

I have found at times like that it's best to chug a few pots (that you can do at least) and move a bit as soon as you are out of animation-lockdown. It can be tricky to get invisible directly, and if you stay in the same spot, the attackers might hit you more even after you have become invisible, especially if they have thrown traps or spells at you. So, just move away a little bit and then hit invisibility. Ohh another thing. You have to stop moving to activate the Shadow Veil buff. Can't do it on the fly sadly enough. 

Note: Having the Veil is great while you don't have full protection (like good evade, reflect, dmg reduction and such) but can be hazardous when it breaks if you are surrounded by baddies, still it makes travelling through the lands of Ancaria a breeze. You can target only the most rewarding enemies, like elites, and skip the lower ranks alltogether. It's excellent for bosses too as the video of GarColossus show. Of course, until you can get Concentration up to Master, you'll miss out on the other buff, Reflective Emanation, which provides you with some nice evade, but hey... if they can't see you, they can't hit you either, so...

It has been argued that being totally invisible makes the game dull and uninteresting, but you don't HAVE to be cloaked all the time. You can very well turn it off and run around like a maniac and mow down everything with your Gatling Gun too. It is most rewarding to do this in EE with the Superspawn mod. 

Edited December 19, 2024 by ric7202

[ric7202 192]

And a little chat with Magmadur. He looked like he'd seen a ghost. Which he actually didn't.  But he did turn into one at the end  

I just noticed.. He's not lvl 70 as indikated by the title. He's lvl 79. Too lazy to fix it though. And the loot sucked too. Bad dragon... bad dragon!!

Edited December 19, 2024 by ric7202

[Sethi22 274]

You confuse me Pioneer sir, I thought the invisible one was melee with lightsabre. But whatever, let's see the skill choices for this impostor then, who replaced Squishy the magnificent!

And do you use a high level boomstick, or a low level one socketed with big rings, as advised by our mentor?

Edited December 19, 2024 by Sethi22

[ric7202 192]

1 hour ago, Sethi22 said:

You confuse me Pioneer sir, I thought the invisible one was melee with the lightsabres. But whatever, let's see the skill choices for this impostor then, who replaced Squishy the magnificent!

And do you use a high level boomstick, or a low level one socketed with big rings as advised by our mentor?

Ahh, sorry about that. I made a new ranged one as well. You are correct, I began with the melee lightsabre guy, but moved on to this one as I got a bit frustrated with the melee. As predicted. But that's no fault of the character and skills per se, it is indeed a very good build. If you like melee. And I'm more of a ranged type. 

Same skills apply except for the Astral Lord Focus. It's pretty standard. Not the most efficient as I've chosen Blacksmith and EP, but it works quite well so far.

I'm not sure the lvl 10 lightsabre trick applies to ranged builds at all. As far as I know, only weapons that are connected to either Intelligence (boosted by the dryads Acute Mind) or Willpower (boosted by Grim Resilience) will work like that. There is no way to boost the Dexterity attribute like you do with Willpower and Grim Resilience, so it won't skyrocket like with the lightsabre. And the energistic staves are ranged and connected to Dexterity so... 

I do notice that it takes more hits to take down the targets now, midways into Gold. I have put Sera-runes with phys dmg mitigation in almost every socket in the armor and that leaves less room for stuff that brings the mobs down quicker, like Opponent Health for Deathblow or +Dmg or such. I also have not boosted either Tactics Lore or Ranged Weapons to the maximum, so there is some improvement to be had there. Ranged mostly to be able to wield higher lvl weapons (I have a couple of nice ones at lvl 104 and 108 found by the late Black Knight before I retired him). 

So, yes I do use as high lvl weapon as possible, and so does Squishy. But to be honest, I haven't tried out using a low lvl staff with high lvl +dmg rings. I should do that, just to test my theory that it won't be as effective. Good point you made there. 

For future builds, relying on 100% invisibility, I am contemplating loosing the defensive skills maybe and go for more offensive ones. But then again, that might be devastating for the few times the Veil fails you, which might happen from time to time. More testing with a 100% Veil is needed, and I'm not there yet, so it will take some time. 

[ric7202 192]

Another note. I took a look at the dmg numbers displaying on-screen as I hit the targets, and they range from a couple of hundreds to about 5500 with this weapon, with an approx medium around 3500. But I guess that would differ depending on a lot of factors, like the level and armor of the baddies, so it is to be taken with a pinch of salt. Not sure this observation is of use to anyone, but there it is anyways.

[Sethi22 274]

Well in the original game it was a no brainer to leave every defensive skill out with the invisible build, but here, you have to get there somehow, so if you don't want to hunt kobolds for like 80 levels, you should have some defensive stuff, I get that. But once you reach 100%, it will be useless.  As toughness is still so low level, it doesn't add much survivability, so if you think you can get to 100% without it, I would consider leaving it out too in future builds.

I asked the low level boomstick question because our mentor said that even builds that don't stack attributes should become stronger in the end with the level 10 weapon socketed with big rings trick. As far as I remember, he said that the "break even point" would be somewhere around 300 attribute, that's where your big weapon does about the same damage as the small level 10 one with big flat damage rings socketed. And after that the small one will outperform the big one. And since you're almost there with dexterity, maybe you could check if all this is true? Do you have a similar, level 10 boomstick with the same number of sockets (and a Jotun 's maw maybe) to do this important test?

Edited December 19, 2024 by Sethi22

[ric7202 192]

53 minutes ago, Sethi22 said:

Well in the original game it was a no brainer to leave every defensive skill out with the invisible build, but here, you have to get there somehow, so if you don't want to hunt kobolds for like 80 levels, you should have some defensive stuff, I get that. But once you reach 100%, it will be useless.  As toughness is still so low level, it doesn't add much survivability, so if you think you can get to 100% without it, I would consider leaving it out too in future builds.

I asked the low level boomstick question because our mentor said that even builds that don't stack attributes should become stronger in the end with the level 10 weapon socketed with big rings trick. As far as I remember, he said that the "break even point" would be somewhere around 300 attribute, that's where your big weapon does about the same damage as the small level 10 one with big flat damage rings socketed. And after that the small one will outperform the big one. And since you're almost there with dexterity, maybe you could check if all this is true? Do you have a similar, level 10 boomstick with the same number of sockets to do this important test?

I might have one, at least a lvl 12 unique. But it shouldn't be hard to find an exact lvl 10, I still have a few low lvl toons I can use to hunt for it. 

[Sethi22 274]

Oh, the level 12 would do I guess. I tried to do the test myself, but I could not find a single level 10 ranged weapon with two sockets in it, the best I could come up with was a level 10 melee weapon, an Orc shock axe (that scales on strength instead of dexterity, but that shouldn't matter much, just hover over with your low level boomstick to dexterity instead of strength to see the weapon damage the attribute scaling gives you).

So I put two flat damage rings in it (no Jotun's maw, just some regular rings with +24 and +29 damage on them I had with my current level 107 lightsabre dude.) Now he didn't put a single point into strength, so his strength when undressed is 398 now. As you can see, that resulted in 298 weapon damage if I hover over to strength to see the attribute scaling. Which is right there where your boomstick is with 231-321 on it. Had I used two Jotun's maws, it would be much higher, and already better with a level 10 weapon than with the big ones you would find at that level.

And this was without any gear, and without putting any points into that attribute. If you put all your points into dexterity with your boomstick build, wearing some +dexterity gear, then it would outperform the high level weapon already at this point, by quite some margin!

The only thing sad about this is that I had several mules packed with level 100+ weapons I used to drool at from time to time, but now... There's no more drooling. They all look like junk to me. Level 10 is what you need! Maybe some high level one handed ones with useful stats on them have some value as a stat stick when dual wielding, but that's it. Rubbish! All of them!!!

 

Edited December 19, 2024 by Sethi22

[ric7202 192]

Oh crapola... note to self: Be alert when making games. I was shopping around for nice rings with my lvl 91 dryad. All went well for at least 20 rounds. Then I forgot to change from Campaign to Free game, and the two bandits in the opening scene for Dryads just runs up to her and kills her in a second. No time to react or switch weapon (she was all dressed for shopping, not fighting). Sigh... another one bites the dust...