Dark Elf Shadowknight help

[Gatorsmash]

Originally Posted by Mankong [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Hey, was gonna roll a Shadowknight and it was a coin toss between Delf and Human... Until I realized that Delves get more early on (like a decent starter shield??) and can get a bind anywhere ring. So that decided me. [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Now, I was wondering; where am I allowed to go, how do I gain rep with, say, Qeynos, Freeport, and Butcherblock. Any low level shadowknight gear I should know about? ETC

Go big race or you are going to regret it.

By the time you get FD and invis you wont care where you are KOS because you will still be able to bank and sell and no gear in game including Kunark will make up losing the ability to slam/bash with a two-hander which means losing any ability to generate dps solo and getting your face melted off by casters if do try going 2h as a small race.

[Graventhel]

Originally Posted by Gatorsmash [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Go big race or you are going to regret it.

By the time you get FD and invis you wont care where you are KOS because you will still be able to bank and sell and no gear in game including Kunark will make up losing the ability to slam/bash with a two-hander which means losing any ability to generate dps solo and getting your face melted off by casters if do try going 2h as a small race.

Believe it or not there are literally dozens of us who do not care about min/maxing in this re-release of a 20 year old elf simulator.

[Danth]

Slam is not a lot of damage and (eventually) the epic allows you to 2H bash if it really matters that much. In Kunark if you don't have the epic there's a fair chance you're using a 1H/Shield anyway (mace of shadowed soul, noctivagant blade, ebon mace, etc) Fighting a caster? Snare--fear--problem solved. Never regretted being a non-large-race SK even once in many years of playing the thing.

Danth

[Mankong]

Originally Posted by Gatorsmash [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Go big race or you are going to regret it.

By the time you get FD and invis you wont care where you are KOS because you will still be able to bank and sell and no gear in game including Kunark will make up losing the ability to slam/bash with a two-hander which means losing any ability to generate dps solo and getting your face melted off by casters if do try going 2h as a small race.

I don’t like ogres or troll appearances. Maybe a shaman will be one.

[Gatorsmash]

Originally Posted by Graventhel [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Believe it or not there are literally dozens of us who do not care about min/maxing in this re-release of a 20 year old elf simulator.

Lol wut? It has zero to do with min/maxing and everything to do with just enjoying your playing time.

The Shadowknight sword + board dps is so low that by lvl 25 if cant interrupt those casters and mob healing with slam AND produce at least a little dps with a 2 hander, solo'ing becomes a real chore and limits where you can even go solo while you wait for a group invite if that's what you choose

Edit- And that's a big part of what makes shadow Knight so enjoyable is you can main tank in a group or you can solo relatively effectively but enjoyably.

[Kendir]

As a dark elf you have access to 3 free bags. One from necro guild, rogue guild, and warrior guild. All can be obtained at level one.

The rogue guild bag can eventually turn into the shield you mentioned. Also in the warrior guild you can get a quest for the Footmans Voulge, its a 2h slashing weapon.

A merchant down the hall from the bank in neriak sells invis potions for 10p buy some if you plan to travel somewhere hostile before 30.

Collect the pelts in nektulos forest and make yourself some tattered/patchwork so you raise your ac up as high as you can for free, atleast until you can grab some rawhide pieces from the undead at the obelisk near EC. Save every single bone chip you collect during your time in Nektulos and you shouldn't have to buy any for a looong time, especially if you move to befallen to go after the thex mallet for the ring/reaper.
Theres a level 10 paladin in Lavastorm you can kill for a quest to get a cloak that has a couple charges of invis vs undead.

Get banded as soon as you can afford it, prioritize the chestpiece. Buy a magic 1h weapon as soon as you can as well. The easiest to get on your own is probably the spear from the skeletal spearman, soloable in midteens, or buy a combine weapon from a gypsy merchant, iirc a decent one is 50ish plat.



You can go anywhere you like within Neriak. In Freeport you're pretty safe in the sewers, but you're also safe from most (not all) npcs above ground too in East/West Freeport. North Freeport is basically off limits to you until 30. Oggok/Grobb are safe.

Highpass you can start working on getting dubious with by killing the gnolls (magic 1h ax and sweet shield drop here) or orcs (wr bag, invulnernabilty idol, and 2h slashing drop here). Qeynos you're kos on the surface and you are kos to atleast one npc in the sewers, only one I remember seeing and he murdered me. But you can still bank by using the same trick you use in freeport.

When you decide to go traveling to Faydwer you can get to the FP boat just fine, go through the sewers and then swim to the docks, watch out for a couple of npcs you will swim past. Once you get to BB just jump and swim to shore outside of the harbor. If you really want to fix your faction with the dwarves (idk that it can be done) I would start by killing the goblins in butcherblock or maybe you can figure out a way to turn in cb belts (no faction hit for neriak btw).

[korzax]

Thanks. Never knew about half this stuff.

[Mankong]

Originally Posted by Kendir [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Good advice placed here.

Wow, thank you! Such good advice [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[Danth]

Buy "small" banded (or bronze) on a Dark Elf. Same armor rating as as the "medium" stuff but it weighs less. That can be important on Dark Elf characters who typically don't have the greatest carry capacity. Try to carry lighter weight bags (such as 1-weight large bags vs 3-weight backpacks) for the same reason. Running around encumbered is no fun!

If you're solo it's preferable to fight things that flee at low health. The flee period reduces the amount of fearing you have to do and also gives a window where you can freely lifetap health back up if desired. Next on the preference list is undead because spook the dead is so cheap. Least desirable are non-undead that won't flee.

In groups don't be a "one button wonder." There are a lot of mediocre Shadow Knights who spam disease cloud and do little else. In ordinary situations that'll often be enough, but you can set yourself apart by using your other spells appropriately when needed. Snare-Fear is one of the most effective means of stopping casters (especially healers) in the game, for example.

Make liberal use of the pet at low levels, especially during the teens. During the teens melee output is very limited due to lacking skills and low caps of the skills you have. A pet armed with a rusty 2H will often do more damage than a player armed with a level-appropriate weapon. It's great for helping get through those dreary late-teens levels. The pet falls off in effectiveness rapidly after level 20.

Danth

[Mankong]

Originally Posted by Danth [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

More good advice

Danth

Thank you again, I wouldn't have thought about that. [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]