2018 Shadowdancer (Half-Kyton Version)
Feb 17, 2018 5:42:24 GMT
AuBricker, Torin, and 1 more like this
Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2018 5:42:24 GMT
I've been messing around with a Shadowdancer for the last few weeks and had an absolute blast playing it from scratch. Received a lot of questions about the build and was originally going to wait until SD class buffs came in before revealing it, but since I'm moving on from HG I'll go ahead and post it now.
Shadowdancers have traditionally been regarded as one of the weakest classes on HG (the last build posted here was in 2012), but they have a couple of interesting strengths:
*Offensively speaking, a pure SD gets 1 bonus attack which stacks with Wrap, and Shadow Rift gives +5 (!!!) Negative dice to a weapon with 10-minute duration.
*Defensively, they can access Epic Dodge and have a weak, dispellable conceal (60%) which is at least unlimited use.
Most importantly, they can use one of the strongest mechanics on HG, SHADOWSTEP! This is a quick-action which 1) teleports you to a target (including yourself) with quite good range, 2) puts you into GS for 1 minute, and 3) grants +4 AB for 3 rounds. While the teleport and the AB boost are nice, the true power lies in the quick-action GS via self-casting; no character other than SD's can do this, and it basically lets you instantly remove aggro whenever you want. With intelligent play, it is extraordinarily hard to die if you are using Shadow Step correctly.
Putting this all together, my approach was to make a glass-cannon 2Her to fully utilise the extra attack and bonus Negative dice, and primarily rely on Shadowstep to defend against anyone that can threaten my AC/conceal/Epic Dodge. This requires a lot of active play and is almost impossible to multi-box effectively.
I'll quickly pause to mention the other viable archetype which is the Monk-splash SD. While you can make a perfectly decent tank with that approach, it doesn't really benefit from the SD class-set and is barely different to other Monk-splash builds like CoT, Fighter-CC or Monk-CC... except that the SD-CC version is worse. So I personally don't like the Monk-splash SD, simply because you may as well be playing a different type of Monk-splash instead.
Overall, the build far exceeded my expectations with regards to both its damage output and survivability. Always take logger numbers with a grain of salt, but here are a few Hell/Abyss runs played at Levels 70-73 with 2-3 demi-iterations - certainly had some nice gear, but nothing truly insane (and using DB weapons in general):
Admittedly I used an XR race (Urdunnir) which will be inaccessible for most, but the BUR Half-Kyton is quite reasonable as well. It primarily loses a few points of AB, but this is not a major issue in most cases. The +4 WIS bonus from Half-Kyton is an aspect which frustratingly favours the Monk-splash version, but we'll stick to our glass-cannon idea for now.
Typical disclaimer that like most 2H builds, this is tailored for Level 70+ x2-demi toons - you really want some solid gear including a Wrap of the Dark Prince and probably a Strongheart to pull it off properly. If you are making it from scratch then choose a 1H weapon and use Plate of Uxan Uldorath instead until you are ready, the build still works well.
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Stats at Level 80:
AB: 104 with CL50 Divine Power, +1 with 120 Craft Weapon -> 108 AB after Shadowstep (use against against high-AC targets)
AC: 127 (+1 with 120 Craft Armor, +1 with XR Light Armor), with Epic Dodge and self-cast 60% conceal
Saves: 74F/85R/72W, with Improved Evasion + Slippery Mind
Don't feel too apprehensive about the relatively low AB; spend some time checking through the combat log and you will notice that the difference between 100 and 120 AB is only relevant against a handful of enemies. If you are using Shadowstep against those few high-AC enemies in the module then your hit-rate is not going to be significantly different to tanks in the conventional 105-110 AB range. FWIW in the screenshots posted above my toon was running with 103 AB.
Don't forget to use Divine Might for some extra damage, and being a Paladin you can use Holy Sword wands against any casters with buffs up.
I left the weapon choice open since it will depend on where you plan to play. I would choose one of Greatsword, Falchion, Heavy Flail, Halberd. The conventional Limbo choices are to focus in a Slashing weapon with the Alternate in Bludge, but you can easily mix and match to suit your preference.
----------
I had a lot of fun building and playing this toon, and I hope you do too.
Shadowdancers have traditionally been regarded as one of the weakest classes on HG (the last build posted here was in 2012), but they have a couple of interesting strengths:
*Offensively speaking, a pure SD gets 1 bonus attack which stacks with Wrap, and Shadow Rift gives +5 (!!!) Negative dice to a weapon with 10-minute duration.
*Defensively, they can access Epic Dodge and have a weak, dispellable conceal (60%) which is at least unlimited use.
Most importantly, they can use one of the strongest mechanics on HG, SHADOWSTEP! This is a quick-action which 1) teleports you to a target (including yourself) with quite good range, 2) puts you into GS for 1 minute, and 3) grants +4 AB for 3 rounds. While the teleport and the AB boost are nice, the true power lies in the quick-action GS via self-casting; no character other than SD's can do this, and it basically lets you instantly remove aggro whenever you want. With intelligent play, it is extraordinarily hard to die if you are using Shadow Step correctly.
Putting this all together, my approach was to make a glass-cannon 2Her to fully utilise the extra attack and bonus Negative dice, and primarily rely on Shadowstep to defend against anyone that can threaten my AC/conceal/Epic Dodge. This requires a lot of active play and is almost impossible to multi-box effectively.
I'll quickly pause to mention the other viable archetype which is the Monk-splash SD. While you can make a perfectly decent tank with that approach, it doesn't really benefit from the SD class-set and is barely different to other Monk-splash builds like CoT, Fighter-CC or Monk-CC... except that the SD-CC version is worse. So I personally don't like the Monk-splash SD, simply because you may as well be playing a different type of Monk-splash instead.
Overall, the build far exceeded my expectations with regards to both its damage output and survivability. Always take logger numbers with a grain of salt, but here are a few Hell/Abyss runs played at Levels 70-73 with 2-3 demi-iterations - certainly had some nice gear, but nothing truly insane (and using DB weapons in general):
Admittedly I used an XR race (Urdunnir) which will be inaccessible for most, but the BUR Half-Kyton is quite reasonable as well. It primarily loses a few points of AB, but this is not a major issue in most cases. The +4 WIS bonus from Half-Kyton is an aspect which frustratingly favours the Monk-splash version, but we'll stick to our glass-cannon idea for now.
Typical disclaimer that like most 2H builds, this is tailored for Level 70+ x2-demi toons - you really want some solid gear including a Wrap of the Dark Prince and probably a Strongheart to pull it off properly. If you are making it from scratch then choose a 1H weapon and use Plate of Uxan Uldorath instead until you are ready, the build still works well.
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3 Paladin/30 Shadowdancer/7 Weapon Master
Human
STR 16
DEX 14
CON 8
INT 13
WIS 11
CHA 14
-> Half-Kyton
STR 16 -> 36 [+17 Levels, +3 Feats]
DEX 18 -> 26 [+3 Levels, +5 Feats]
CON 12 -> 14 [+2 Arti]
INT 13
WIS 15
CHA 14
*NOTE: If you are planning to play in Limbo a lot, instead take 14 INT and 13 CHA and add Pickpocket as a skill*
Skills:
Concentration 41
Craft Armor 63
Craft Weapon 63
Discipline 63
Hide 2
Intimidate 4
Listen 63
Parry 63
Tumble 63
-> Add Paragon points to Listen/Parry/Craft Armor/Craft Weapon to aim for the +50 magical cap
Leveling:
1-2 Paladin [Take 2 ranks of Hide at Level 1]
3-12 SD [Take 4 ranks of Intimidate]
13-17 WM
18 Paladin [Max Concentration to 21 here]
19-20 WM
21-40 SD
-> Add first 3 stat-points to DEX, then the rest to STR
Feats:
1 Bullheaded
1 Snakeblooded
3 Weapon Focus
6 Expertise
9 Spring Attack
12 Whirlwind Attack
15 Power Attack
18 Divine Might
---
21 Armor Skin
23 Great DEX 1 [Bonus SD]
24 Cleave
26 Great DEX 2 [Bonus SD]
27 Great Cleave
29 Great DEX 3 [Bonus SD]
30 Epic Weapon Focus
32 Great DEX 4 [Bonus SD]
33 Improved Critical
35 Great DEX 5 [Bonus SD]
36 Epic Prowess
38 Epic Dodge [Bonus SD]
39 Greater Weapon Focus
---
42 LSA Discipline
45 Legendary Weapon Focus
48 LSA Parry
51 Overwhelming Critical
54 Devastating Critical
57 Great Strength 1
60 Great Strength 2 (the odd point here will line up with the 1st Paragon STR point)
---
63 Paragon Weapon Focus
66 Paragon Weapon Alternate (optional - otherwise push this back and consider Paragon Balance or an ESF/LSF in some skill that you want some extra points in)
69 Environmental Adaptivity 1
72 Environmental Adaptivity 2
75 Great Strength 3
78 Environmental Adaptivity 3
Artifact: CON (switch to STR if high-level and playing a lot of Limbo
Pandect: Flexible - I would recommend Sneak or Craft Armor (if you aren't using already an Augmenter to hit 120)
Human
STR 16
DEX 14
CON 8
INT 13
WIS 11
CHA 14
-> Half-Kyton
STR 16 -> 36 [+17 Levels, +3 Feats]
DEX 18 -> 26 [+3 Levels, +5 Feats]
CON 12 -> 14 [+2 Arti]
INT 13
WIS 15
CHA 14
*NOTE: If you are planning to play in Limbo a lot, instead take 14 INT and 13 CHA and add Pickpocket as a skill*
Skills:
Concentration 41
Craft Armor 63
Craft Weapon 63
Discipline 63
Hide 2
Intimidate 4
Listen 63
Parry 63
Tumble 63
-> Add Paragon points to Listen/Parry/Craft Armor/Craft Weapon to aim for the +50 magical cap
Leveling:
1-2 Paladin [Take 2 ranks of Hide at Level 1]
3-12 SD [Take 4 ranks of Intimidate]
13-17 WM
18 Paladin [Max Concentration to 21 here]
19-20 WM
21-40 SD
-> Add first 3 stat-points to DEX, then the rest to STR
Feats:
1 Bullheaded
1 Snakeblooded
3 Weapon Focus
6 Expertise
9 Spring Attack
12 Whirlwind Attack
15 Power Attack
18 Divine Might
---
21 Armor Skin
23 Great DEX 1 [Bonus SD]
24 Cleave
26 Great DEX 2 [Bonus SD]
27 Great Cleave
29 Great DEX 3 [Bonus SD]
30 Epic Weapon Focus
32 Great DEX 4 [Bonus SD]
33 Improved Critical
35 Great DEX 5 [Bonus SD]
36 Epic Prowess
38 Epic Dodge [Bonus SD]
39 Greater Weapon Focus
---
42 LSA Discipline
45 Legendary Weapon Focus
48 LSA Parry
51 Overwhelming Critical
54 Devastating Critical
57 Great Strength 1
60 Great Strength 2 (the odd point here will line up with the 1st Paragon STR point)
---
63 Paragon Weapon Focus
66 Paragon Weapon Alternate (optional - otherwise push this back and consider Paragon Balance or an ESF/LSF in some skill that you want some extra points in)
69 Environmental Adaptivity 1
72 Environmental Adaptivity 2
75 Great Strength 3
78 Environmental Adaptivity 3
Artifact: CON (switch to STR if high-level and playing a lot of Limbo
Pandect: Flexible - I would recommend Sneak or Craft Armor (if you aren't using already an Augmenter to hit 120)
AB: 104 with CL50 Divine Power, +1 with 120 Craft Weapon -> 108 AB after Shadowstep (use against against high-AC targets)
AC: 127 (+1 with 120 Craft Armor, +1 with XR Light Armor), with Epic Dodge and self-cast 60% conceal
Saves: 74F/85R/72W, with Improved Evasion + Slippery Mind
Don't feel too apprehensive about the relatively low AB; spend some time checking through the combat log and you will notice that the difference between 100 and 120 AB is only relevant against a handful of enemies. If you are using Shadowstep against those few high-AC enemies in the module then your hit-rate is not going to be significantly different to tanks in the conventional 105-110 AB range. FWIW in the screenshots posted above my toon was running with 103 AB.
Don't forget to use Divine Might for some extra damage, and being a Paladin you can use Holy Sword wands against any casters with buffs up.
I left the weapon choice open since it will depend on where you plan to play. I would choose one of Greatsword, Falchion, Heavy Flail, Halberd. The conventional Limbo choices are to focus in a Slashing weapon with the Alternate in Bludge, but you can easily mix and match to suit your preference.
----------
I had a lot of fun building and playing this toon, and I hope you do too.
thx