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3. Wild Card Build: Shadowblade

11/24/2016

16 Comments

 
Picture
Shadowblade (Jahan builds into this A):

1. Man-at-Arms/Scoundrel/Water/Fire/Air/Earth/Witchcraft- 1
2. Dual Wielding/Scoundrel- 3
3. Witchcraft- 2
4. Water- 4 (Post lv 15)
5. Air/Scoundrel- 4
6. Dual Wielding- 5
*7. Willpower/Body Building +1-3 

1. Far Out Man
2. Backstabber
3. Bully
4. Opportunist 
5. Parry Master
* Know-it-All and/or Bigger and Better 

Int +2 (7/9/11)
Dex +2 (7/9/11)
Con +1 (6/7/8)


OVERALL: As I describe below, this build is one of the best in the game, but not top two material due to not being able to use Grenades. This build would be used when you pick up Jahan (Jahan would have to be a pure Shadowblade with dual daggers as his stats won't support a dagger + axe/sword/mace hybrid hybrid) or if you are using a four person creation mod. Moderate early to mid but will become uber strong mid to end. 

How to play early to mid: For almost all intents and purposes the Shadowblade plays just like the Dual Wizards save that he uses pure daggers and thus uses only his Dex. Give your Shadowblade the same skills as you would a dual: pick up Burning Touch, Firefly, and Wildfire (fire) + Teleport, Thunder Jump, and Shocking Touch (air) + Midnight Oil, Boulder Bash, and Summon Spider (Earth) + Freezing Touch, Rain, and Regeneration (Water) + Vampiric Touch, Decaying Touch (awesome when used with Regeneration in water) and Oath Of Desecration (Witchcraft) + Helping Hand, Melee Power Stance, and Battering Ram (Man-at-Arms) + Winged Feet, Fast Track, and Walk-in-Shadows (Scoundrel). Craft yourself dagger with +1 speed (on each) and keep them on at all costs until you can craft +2 Spd and then +3 Spd on your daggers. For the first 25-50% of the game you will find that you won't be dealing very much melee damage vs enemies who all take reduced from daggers, this is fine, the power in the build comes from its extra hp (from the Con) as well as its massive AP boost you gain from daggers (from the +6 Spd) mid-end game. 

How to play mid to end: You will be able to deal more damage melee at this point in time, but frankly you will be using less melee from levels 15 to END overall as ranged master spells become available. The strength in the daggers is not in the actual daggers and backstab but in the extra +6 Spd you gain from using them. This massive AP boost when tied with Adrenaline (should be taken as a replacement for Fast Track around lv 15) makes the Shadowblade just as potent magically as the Ranger with her +3 Spd bow and Glass Cannon without sacrificing HP! Pick up Hail Attack in water, Storm in air when you hit 15.

Pro's of Build vs Dual: 
-Massive AP 
-Much greater HP pool 
-Great magic output (due to AP)

Con's of Build vs Dual:
-Massively less melee damage output early-mid with less melee output mid-end 
-Uses Dex as Prime vs Str means crappier gear all around
-Due to gear the extra HP may seem negligible as you take more damage across the board

Overall Thoughts on Build: Jahan builds into this seamlessly (pure build), making it a great fit. However, due to the massive loss in melee output early-mid when it matters the most and the extra AP and greater magic output coming mid-end game when you need it the least (it is more "overkill" than anything at that point) the build overall is not as good as the Dual Wielding. As a dual you will be dealing massive damage early-mid while the Shadowblade will struggle (grenades help a lot). As a dual you will be dealing massive damage mid-end with both melee and magic while the Shadowblade will be dealing either great damage with melee or even better damage with magic. Dual is very strong the whole game while Shadowblade will find his/her place somewhere between lvs 7-15 and have a stronger finish end (as magic will end up becoming more important). Because of this I would still say Ranger is the most powerful build in game, followed by Dual Wielding Grenade Wizard. I would also say that Jahan as Shadowblade would also make for one perfectly rounded party with Madora as the Leadership Knight, as she is very strong early and fades out a bit while the Shadowblade is the opposite. 
16 Comments
Pete
12/2/2016 08:06:01 am

Hey!
I was wodering which of Jahan's are less important..ar at least not deadly important. I kinda messed up the build before I read your guide and I have wasted 2 talent points. I have just opened the room with the Moloch, but Jahan will (obviously!) not take any deals with him. Unfortunately for me, he needed the demon's services the most compared to the rest of my party.
Thanks!

Reply
Pete
12/2/2016 08:07:25 am

which of Jahan's TALENTS are less important?
I ate a word :))

Reply
Ssenkrad_II
12/13/2016 09:04:01 am

For the most part I try to put the "more important" things earlier on, so in this case

4. Opportunist
5. Parry Master

Would be the ones you would skip if you wasted a couple.

elessar
12/13/2016 09:48:26 pm

How come this build doesn't rely upon strength at all? Mine is currently level 9 and love him.

Reply
Ssenkrad_II
12/13/2016 09:59:13 pm

Daggers require dex to use and not str- this includes equipping daggers as well as chance to hit with daggers as well as damage with scoundrel skills. The Dual Wielding Wizard needs Str because he is using an axe (Str based) as well as Man-at-Arms skills which use the Str stat for %'s and damage- and that is why this build does not need Str!

Reply
elessar
12/28/2016 01:56:29 pm

In the card says "slow" - do you mean "mass slow" or "slow current"?

Reply
Ssenkrad_II
12/28/2016 02:25:04 pm

If ever in doubt (because I am sure I have made other typos) look in the spells/skills/items/abilities overview section. In this case I am referring to the novice skill slow current, although the skill mass slow is also taken (2 skills over from slow). Also the pictures of the skills should be accurate and the list of skills written below should appear in the same order as the pictures of the skills.

Reply
sprakkattak
1/5/2017 12:58:57 am

I just watched your crafting guide and found out that knives are rare in this game. I think you didn't mention it in your shadowblade guide that we must keep knives because we need it for crafting for the +speed.

I crafted all knives that Ive had and sold it. I already looted hall of heroes and homestead for it. I'm level 6 at the moment, where else can I get knives so I can start hoarding them and not sell them? Thanks.

Reply
elessar
1/6/2017 04:38:51 am

another question about Jahan: I have a unique book that gives +1 Int, -1 Per, shall I give it to him?
His Per is now 6, will become 5.

Reply
Ssenrad_II
1/6/2017 09:34:37 am

I talk about this book in the section Henchmen and Companions; Jahan

Reply
Hansen
2/22/2017 02:51:45 pm

I is it possible to use this build as my starter main character?

Reply
NewYears1978
4/30/2017 04:14:03 pm

How do you use him with the build..when I added him to my party he already had many other things Scientist for instance...?

Reply
Ssenkrad_II
5/2/2017 02:29:00 pm

The build only has 5 talents for this reason all his ability points will feed into build. Build him just as it describes, if still confused, read the Build Guide "How To" section.

Reply
SideWays
9/4/2017 05:14:08 pm

How do you add +1 Speed to weapons? Didn't see anything in crafting guides on how to do this.

Reply
TKGriffiths
12/16/2019 05:14:55 am

Don't you think you should have 3 Man-At-Arms rather than 4 Scoundrel to get Rage? I find the Scoundrel abilities quite bad, especially the master ones. Rage seems far more useful, and you can get some mileage from more novice Man-At-Arms skills as well like Encourage and Defensive Stance which could come up occasionally.

Reply
Jos
1/30/2022 02:22:33 am

Hi,
Amazing guide. I'm replaying this game in 2022 and trying out your composition.
Would love to know your thoughts about using Elessa instead of Jahan as shadowblade.
Cheers.

Reply



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    Divinity Original Sin Enhanced Edition Tactician/Advanced Guide

    Ssenkrad_II

    Guide Index

    All

    Changes From Original
    General Gameplay Tips
    General Combat Tips
    Traits
    The Four Elemental Rooms
    Party Composition
    Henchmen and Companions
    Build Guide "How To"
    1. Power Build: Ranger
    2. Power Build: Dual Wielding Grenade Wizard
    3. Wild Card Build: Shadowblade
    4. Synergy Build: Leadership Knight
    5. The Mule
    Spells/Skills/Items/ Abilities Overview
    Spells/Skills/Items/
    ​Abilities Specific
    Crafting; All You Need to Know
    FAQ
    Character Creation
    Cyseal
    Luculla Forest A
    Hiberheim
    Luculla Forest B
    Phantom Forest
    End Game Stats
    End Game Bosses
© Ashley and Micah English and The II, 2019. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Ssenkrad_II and The II with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.