Melee Shadow what's the appeal
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I just started today and rolled a melee shadow..
Its fun and my dmg is great.. Just a little squish but what melee DPS isnt in most games.. Invasion - No Sacrifice No Glory
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I have a caster shadow in top 10 hardcore ladder and its survivability is (and was, during leveling*) excellent. The same strong defensive synergy (es+evade+block+whirl) would also make for a fine hit and run melee character (likely using flicker strike + viper strike + one of the better single target 1-hand weapon skills). Youd have to play it accordingly, though... wading in and tanking would likely lead to a quick end.
Regarding mana management, youve got 4 main choices: Cost reduction, regeneration, mana leech and flasks. Early on you only have realistic access to flasks (others wont be available in high enough amounts), so while the constant flask management may end continue through to endgame, it doesnt have to if you decide to build differently. Agree that ethereal knives is currently poor; id rate it closer to near-unusable. If its going to be short range, have a slow base cast speed and access to far fewer spell damage nodes than elemental spells, it at least needs to be useable as a shotgun, and atm it doesnt even have that. *Vipers and fragments (or anything with ranged chaos damage) were brutal pre chaos inoculation, which i couldnt take until near 50 due to poor gear, but they were managable with good movement and also comprise a tiny percent of the monster population. IGN: KoTao
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" Qarl's response surprised me, but always a pleasant surprise. Ethereal Knives needs a lot of work (see its individual thread under the skills feedback board) but there's been no real indication that would happen. I still like it as a skill -- the physical damage can sometimes tear through the many elemental-resistant mobs out there. But like I said, you really have to build toward it. There are easier options, and I think these might appeal to you more. Edit: this is slightly dated but still impresses me -- UristMcDwarfy clearing MoC with EK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7zuqEXIwec Survivability in general with evasion appears to be inferior to armour, but...eh, we'll see what happens. Warhammer 40k Inquisitor: where shotgunning is not only not nerfed, it is deeply encouraged. Dogma > Souls, but they're masterworks all. You can't go wrong. I was right about PoE2 needing to be a separate, new game. It was really obvious. Last edited by Foreverhappychan on Jul 4, 2012, 5:01:16 AM
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Whirling blades would need to not desynch and hit more frequently to be a good aoe option comparable with sweep or cleave :(
ATM it's great... as pure utility. Last edited by TinyAngryCrab on Jul 4, 2012, 6:30:59 AM
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" My shadow is around lvl 40, and I been also waiting for a right moment to take Chaos Innoculation. I am not sure what kind of equipment should I go for. What do you suggest? More ES armors, or more hybrid ones? Currently with evasion aura I got about 45% evasion and good block chance as well. Do you use the ES aura or evasion aura? | |
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I play a necro dual wield melee discharge shadow. I'm in ruthless about to go to merciless. No flicker strike, no lightning warp, etc and for some reason I've never been given the option to take whirling blades. My survivability is acutally very very good. I do engage in combat, but I'm also doing a lot of other things at once.
The thing about the shadow is he can do melee and magic, but not be as good as a pure mage/attacker. This is where most people seem to be having the most trouble with. No strenght nodes for good survivability like a pure melee, and his magic won't be mage tier either. There is too much dexterity, and dexterity nodes don't help melee. My HP is about 527 btw. DPS isn't that far off either. Monsters in ruthless hit like a truck, but I can take it. I wear pure armor since i'm melee. Evasion/energy shield doesn't work for melee at all. The shadow can be tricky to play. That's why so many shadows use flicker strike/lightning warp. Once you don't use any of those 2, then you're going to have to be a bit more creative in how you takes things down. Last edited by SoujiroSeta on Jul 4, 2012, 9:16:36 AM
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Actually shadow is better mage than mage by lvl 60-70. He is only worse in first 30 levels.
The thing is Shadow got best evasion/ES and shield block passives real close to his starting point. And you can ignore most Dex passives if you so choose. Also cold passives are between witch and shadow. You are only a weaker mage until you get enough levels to get to witch tree which I did by lvl 40 and took most of mage elemental damage passives. I also got better critical then witch and better defenses. What I lack is more mana and good supports that you get through quests. Last edited by Torin on Jul 4, 2012, 1:10:35 PM
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Interesting read. I was thinking of making a shadow char for HC but now I am considering changing my plans a bit.
Since I don't have deep grasp of pasives and skills yet I usually just play along and plan only a few levels ahead. That claws seemed interesting, also hybrid armor. But I guess regarding the armor you got the point. What about claws, useless? And a shield definetely. How do you counter very hard hitting stuff when they penetrate evasion a few times in a row? Also I guess you go to hybrid armors after chaos inocculation? Or just go pure ES? | |
" The hybrid es/evade armors are better if you can get a high %hybrid affix with a medium to high +es affix (es taking some precedence due to chaos inoculation; equal relative amounts of both defenses are fine on a non-ci build). Grace and discipline are both core components of my build. IGN: KoTao
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And while I might be a staunch advocate and defender of the Shadow, if the result of this thread is him somehow receiving a buff, particularly to durability, I certainly won't complain. ^_^
Warhammer 40k Inquisitor: where shotgunning is not only not nerfed, it is deeply encouraged.
Dogma > Souls, but they're masterworks all. You can't go wrong. I was right about PoE2 needing to be a separate, new game. It was really obvious. |
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