Soulblades here my call.

[old.Iunliten]

Soulblades hear my call.

How are your specc templates?

Being post 40 I feel like I would need start thinking about an end template. And would like to see if you got any ideas, I am having a hard time bringing 5 speccs up to a decent lvl, and at the same time getting stealth and sword to 50 with items (anyone know of any decent + sword items, so far I am having +1 from RR if not counting the sword itself only)

so please fill me up with your specc templates.

 

[Sharp Thing]

wow 40+ and you started on your template now? think thats a bit late unles u stil havent spent one point so far, but hey, it might stil turn out good

 

[klavrynd]

here's a nice item list

 

[necroscope_wr]

Hi!

My spec is like this atm at LvL 41

SW34 CS38 EN20 ST28

my first thought when I did my SB was to be an pure crit hitter..but I found it pretty hard to get the CS chains off in RvR so my end template may turn out like this

SW39 CS39 EN26 ST33 and LA 39

I hope that one will work out?

 

[matax]

Only level 5 at the moment, but the rough template I've come up with is:

35 Stealth
27 Envenom
44 Critical Strike
35 Axe and Left Axe

Could bring Crit Strike down and increase one (or both) of the Axe specs. CS 44 gives the 3 chain from an evade, but you said that you were having trouble getting these off, so might be better shoving into Axes for more base damage. This would then give much the same template as you already have stated above, so look quite good to me (from my limited knowledge)

 

[old.Iunliten]

Sharp I was going critblade in the beginnig but changed my mind at low 30 and am some kinda hybrid now still able to be a nice soulblade I think

Klavrynd thanks for the link

I am going 42 sword
+2 Infernal Torment Jerkin
+4 Golden Alloy Bastard Sword
+2 from RR making it 50 (getting +11 from items is hard!!)

37 stealth
+11 from items not hard to come by
+2 from RR
making it 50

15 envenom
+ some from various items I have on the way Not big fan of poison

39 crit
for 3:rd style in PA chain...

and rest in left axe
38

Looks nice and ready to kick arse =)

Just need darkness fall so I can get my items

 

[klavrynd]

still planning to make my sb a critblade all the way

can't choose between really high weapon/cs or less high weapon/cs and a bit more poison tho

either :
39 stealth
44 sword
44 cs
31 poison

or

39 stealth
48 sword
50 cs
6 poison

 

[Damon_D]

Crafted Svartafl neckless gives +2 to sword hammer and axe
ps : if thats not the name of it , its pretty darn close

 

[necroscope_wr]

Well , If I didnt speced my 38 in crit allready...I should had stop at 34 in crit. PA and CD is a kill combination and that something u cant overlook....

If respec is comin in the future I will definatly bring down my CS to 34

Here u have some really nice forums for all assasins classes. alot of templates discussion there

http://www.tarnished-dagger.com/forums/

 

[old.Andro]

The main idea of a critblade is to kill in one hit and stay stealthed. This will not happen anymore from 1.51, as soon as you enter attack mode you unstealth. Some have stated this is a bug which is untrue.

You can no longer stay stealthed!

Since my original though was going pure CS/weapon spec and a little poison I too have ended up with 39 pts in CS. Raising CS from 34 to 39 give you a little more damage output and a nice 3rd move in the PA chain (Stunning Stab) which is endurance friendly and does mega damage. But it is not worth 185 skill points.

There is a few reasons why I think LA is superior to CS now.

- More avarage damage
- 2 poisons (3 if u open with a 2 handed weapon)
- The Comback/FG combination off an evade which has a nice stun
- You are not as vulnarable if you miss a swing or 2

If you want to know my end template at the moment looks like 39 in CS, Axe and LA, 36 stealth and 24 envenom.

Luckily we are allowed to respec which will make me lower CS to 34. I will also consider going sword instead of axe since ther will be a new DF sword drop that procs a self blade turn.

People tend to say that you should go axe since you got no swords with LA bonuses and the axe in left hand can provide bonus to your right hand axe. Well with player crafted weapons being superior to drops this doesn't really matter.

To sum up here - shadowzerkers will become the future!

And Klavrynd: Your first template is by far the better

 

[necroscope_wr]

Totally agree with andro...

 

[Solid]

Here is some quick info on the 3 alternative builds to a crit blade.

Classic ShadowZerker build:

Is high Axe and LA, medium Stealth, good poison, no CS. This is a stealther killer, you go after infiltrators and nighstades.
Possible build - 44 Axe 44 LA 36 Stealth 34 Env 5 CS

Classic Soulblade build:

Is high Axe, CS, LA, good stealth, no/low poison
Possible build : 39 Axe 39 CS 39 LA 37 Stealth 20 Env
OR extreme Soulblade being 41 Axe/CS 40 LA 37 Stealth

Classic 5 spec build:

Is High Axe, LA, medium CS, Env, good Stealth
Most popular build : 39 Axe 39 LA, 34 CS, 36 Stealth, 30 Env (Last Env point from Autotrained Stealth to level 32).

All this and more can be found on this amazing SB thread on IGN
Shadowblade Creation Guide on IGN

hope this is useful

Regards

Solid

 

[old.Iunliten]

humm... I changed my end template again (been doing that for 40 levels now so what a surprise)

37 stealth
42 sword
34 CS
39 Laxe
23 envenom

Gives me a good envenom base and still able to hit that darned 50 with my main weapon Infs must have it easy =/ shitloads of points and their dual wield only needed to 25 for good damage output from calculations I have seen.

 

[klavrynd]

Playing a gimpzerker i dont really feel like going the shadowzerk way and I think that LA might be a tad overrated.

Take into account as well , that in the future (when using a low or no cs shadowzerk) doublefrost will be toned down and that's nearly the only style you'll use after your opener (grmbl you sb's caused this!!!! )

The stealth nerf is rather annoying but you'll still aim for lonely targets as an sb since a sb attacking a group == dead sb so this isn't the end of the world as i see it now (still low level so that might explain )

 

[old.Iunliten]

If you miss with a 2hander you are close to screwed needing to wait years for new swing while a Laxe specced shadowblades hopefully gets through his laxe as hit applying one poison
(snare if you wanna get away, str/con giving them a HP debuff if longer fight), and you can get in your next attack much faster.

And as onehits disappear in a coming patch the ability to get off CD fast is really really good; taking massive HP of them before they get chance to hit back. Making some to choose the decision to flee.

 

[old.Andro]

Take into account as well , that in the future (when using a low or no cs shadowzerk) doublefrost will be toned down and that's nearly the only style you'll use after your opener

I disagree on your point of view here. Evade makes the Comeback/FG combo very useful and you will most likely be using that one more than Doublefrost. Doublefrost also cost a LOT of endurance. Doublefrost damage is insane and that nerf was needed.

If your only reason for speccing LA was Doublefrost then leave it. But LA has other good styles as well. The evade combo for one and Ravager/Atrphy/SB which is an anytime use chain is good.

Edit/add: Another good reason for speccing LA is that you can use 3 poisons. Open with a 2H sith snare poison using PA or BSII. Then switch to 2 1H weapons with str/con debuff and dmg ticks.

 

[klavrynd]

Doublefrost does not do insane damage and is toned down because of shadowblades sharing la styles with berserkers.
(eg my 46 zerk hit a bluecon caster for less then 400 damage when i was fully shammy buffed and using a luminious netherium waraxe + brilliant ebony axe of mindless rage, which imho is pathetic)

Made a quick test template and it is possible to have both doublefrost , pa+cd and a respectable weapon and stealthskill

That gives you the highest damage opener style and the highest damage use anytimes style (39 stealth, 44 weapon, 34 cs, 34 la , 23 envenom).

Commenting the Ravager/Atrophy/Scathing Blade chain, it is a 3 style chain with only the last style doing decent damage , that's someone imho you will never get off in RvR

Not speccing left axe allows you to use 3 poisons as well . You do have the proficiency to use a left axe, it'll just do less damage over time then a specced left axe and you don't get the styles.

 

[Solid]

Not speccing left axe allows you to use 3 poisons as well . You do have the proficiency to use a left axe, it'll just do less damage over time then a specced left axe and you don't get the styles. [/B]

Does not speccing LA make you LA hit less often than someone who has specced it to a good level? If you do hit less often, then the likleyhood of actually hetting that second poison off is much lower with no LA skill.

Can someone answer this please with some facts about the hit ratio and miss chance of the Offhand when using LA styles and also when using CS styles like PA and CD?

I have personally noticed when PA'ing, that quite often my Offhand does NOT hit with the CS styles, and sometimes doesnt hit with the LA styles.

Currently I am level 36 with 34 Axe, 32 LA, 31 CS (all including +item bonuses)

 

[thorungla]

Having completed the task of levelling
a hunter, only RR3 still but growing day
by day, decided to face the challenge
of a Shadowzerker.

axe 40, la 40, envenom 40, stealth 40

maybe with a couple of tweaks once I
study what items with what skills are
available for the end template. Basically
aiming for 50 across the board.

 

[old.Andro]

Klavrynd:

Doublefrost damage is still the anytime use style that does the most damage. And yes - you can use 3 poisons without speccing LA but it is not worth the effort unless you do spec the LA. The weapon damage you give up for hitting with that extra poison with an unspecced LA is simply too much.

My reason for recommending 39 in LA was not the chain you commented. I just mentioned as a decent damage dealer as an alternative to Doublefrost. The main reason for 39 in LA was the after evade Comeback/FG combo that stuns your opponent.


Solid:

I got no idea wether speccing LA improves your chances to hit with your offhand but it would seem very reasonable if it did.


Thorungla:

Dunno about your template. It seems a bit odd to me. Try reading this post from the VN Boards. It's an excellent shadowblade guide:

http://vnboards.ign.com/message.asp?topic=26084754&replies=213

 

[belth]

50 LA>50 DW/CD
1 DW/CD>1 LA at 50

Because:

Left-Axe: Both weapons swing every time, at 0 spec, they do 60% of their "real" damage, add 0.5% per specpoint. Swing speed=(Main-hand SPD+Left-Axe SPD)/2. Use slowest possible in main, fastest possible in off-hand for maximal SPD benefit. Maximum damage from weapons is 95.5%, assuming 50 spec, +11 items and RR11

DW/CD: 25% base chance to swing both weapons, add 0.25% each character level, 0.5% each specpoint. Both weapons hit (when they swing) at full damage. Swing speed, if using a style, is always taken from the (usually slower) main-hand weapon. Without styles, it's a 50/50 chance which of the SPDs is used. Use fastest possible in main-hand, slowest possible in off-hand to get maximal benefit of slow off-hander - drawback: when not styling, 50/50 chance of taking an eternity to swing again due to slow off-hander.

Left-Axe styles are superior to DW-styles, on average I've seen the style doubling the damage of my zerkers (lvl11) mainhand axe. Outdamaging oranges without any strength-relics... You won't see a lvl11 merc/blademaster outdamaging oranges easily even with 3 strength-relics, especially when using DW/CD styles. I'm willing to bet it's the same with level 50 ones.

As for infiltrators having it easy with DW... If you want Dragonfang, 50 (36-37 base) stealth, 50 (36-38 base) envenom, 44 (base) CS, you won't get much DW unless you autotrain stealth quite high. Adding points to DW is more of a nice thing, not something you should waste (yes, waste) points on. For a BG-infiltrator, high DW could be viable, but - you can't stay in BGs forever... I'd also go slash with a BG-infiltrator, ammy-slash at 29 is good.

If I was to make a SB (that I'd play, got a lvl5 one, it's 2 months old), it'd be norse, +10 str, +11 con, +1 dex, +7 qui. Unbuffed end-stats are 95 str/dex, 81 con, 80 qui. Don't need high dex, because weapons are pure strength 37 stealth/envenom, 44 LA, 41 axe - 0 points left over - possibly auto stealth to 12 (gain 6 points) and get 42 axe and drop stealth to 36, 1 point left over. Don't know how much +'s can be gained from various items in Midgard, so the spec would propably be changed with the knowledge.

Flame away

 

[Solid]

I am sorry but noone should base anything on level 11 damage logs.

End game is what its all about, or the very least 40+

Have a read thru some US posts regarding LA and its not as great as everyone pictures.

In my personal experience, off hand damage is so poor, it gets no style bonus, none of the CS styles scale the off hand damage, it rarely hits (no to hit%).

The only benefits for a SB I can see are that you can swing faster using a slower Right Hand weapon and use 2 poisons

 

[belth]

I am sorry but noone should base anything on level 11 damage logs.

Yes, that's why I compared it to a lvl11 merc/bm - the zerk without strength relics does more damage than the merc/bm with all 3.
--> I'm willing to bet it's the same with level 50 ones. <--

In my personal experience, off hand damage is so poor, it gets no style bonus, none of the CS styles scale the off hand damage, it rarely hits (no to hit%).

Hmm... With DW/CD, off-hand damage is acceptable - when it hits - no style bonus, etc... Try a DWer and play with just the DW-styles, you'll quickly see why LA is better, assuming you spec both with the appropriate characters. You get full benefit of the weapons displayed SPD, but swing faster with LA - and your weapon swings every time. I fail to see how specced LA isn't superior to DW. None of the DW/CD styles add anywhere near the same amount as the corresponding LA-styles either.

You spec LA to do more damage/hit, DW/CD you spec to raise the chances of swinging with your off-hander.

 

[Solid]

I dont give 2 hoots bour DW or CD tbh, this is a shadowblade post and I am talking about left axe and left axe alone, not compared to other realms dual wield.

left axe for any non ShadowZerker build is usless, its a waste of spec points IMO.

we will see when I hit 45+ if I change my mine, but currently, my spec is more soulbladey than 5 spec and at 36 I got 34 Axe, 31 CS, 32 LA, 13 Env, 28 Stealth (including +items)

Left Axe bloes atm using CS styles (PA, Backstab 2, Garrote, Hamstring) and even Offhand damage using LA styles kinda blows.

Lets hope it improves, but atm ith 75%+ spec in LA it aint all that

 

[old.Andro]

I've read a number of tests on the VN Boards and all agrees one thing: Dual wielding SBs outdamage SBs using 1 large weapon and spec CS over time. That means that PA do a massive amount of initial dmg with on large weapon but if the fight lasts more than few swings the LA/Axe (or sowrd) combo catches up.

This is why soulblades will rule: You got the massice opener and the good damage in case you dont end the fight. In the future with realm abilities like "Ignore Pain" you will see more fights will last more than a few swings.

There is also a realm ability called "Purge" that dispels "all negative spell effects from your character, such as rez sickness, DOTs, poisons, mesmerization, stun, etc". That one will probably make envenom slightly less usefull.

We will see how it works out but I still trust that soulblades will become the ultimate shadowblade.

 

[Solid]

On VN Boards the 5 spec is now the hot favourite, there is a poll on the Midgard Rogue forum and 90% of the people that voted are either 5 Spec or CrtBlade, and the soulblade seems in the decline.

Nevertleess I will perservere with y 5 spec and hope it mproves once I hit the 40's and start getting halfdings