Talissa skill guide

Revision : 1.05 Date : 28-09-2007 23h40 Created by : Talissa Copyright 2007 Sylvia Massicotte This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright. To obtain permission for posting or using this FAQ please e-mail me for permission. I will more than likely give you permission if you ask for it. talissaeveningfall@hotmail.com All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders. Theft of this guide may result in legal action. General Note on Power costs. All power costs were taken at lvl 1. So this means that by the time you get them they WILL be more expensive. The value given here is to give you an estimate of what it would cost were you to find that skill on an item at lvl 1. Aura skills General category comments : The only problem to keep in mind with aura's, is that besides Grand Aura, they do not stack with one another. So choose wisely and don't waste points into an aura you won't use later. You'll regret it. Aura of Renewal : Description: Through meditation and the channeling of holy energy, the natural healing abilities of a Templar are greatly increased. SKill effects cap at 8 enemies. Ranks: up to 10 Effect at rank 1 : Renegerates X(scales with lvl) hitponts per minute per enemy in the Holy Aura radius. Comments : This skill is useful until you get Aura of Defense, then you will stop using it. It starts being a little to weak at level 9. 1 rank in this skill should get you to level 5, at which time you will stop using it completely. You MAY bypass this skill, though you will need a good shield to compensate. Aura of Power : Description : When placed in greater danger, the Guardian's faith increases, fueling and regenerating Holy power. Skill effects cap at 8 enemies Ranks: up to 10. Effect at rank 1 : Power regeneration increased by X(scales with lvl) per minute per enemy in the Holy Aura radius. Comments : This skill may seem useful, but once you get Aura of defense you will seldom use it. It may be a good skill to invest maybe 1 point. When out of immediate danger but surrounded by mobs you can handle, you turn it on until you get filled up. Then, you restart Aura of Defense. Only drawback is that you will find yourself out of HP very quick in this kind of situation. So its a love or hate. Caldwyn's comments: Nice writeup but I heavily disagree on AoP. I will try AoD once again but I have very very seldom used it in Alpha and I honestly don't expect to use it that much now. You can get up to 6 just fine without it and then it's energy > all especially with the now insta-cast PoH, Shield Turn and Shield of Faith. Cvett12321's comments: Agreed, I found AoP to be quite useful in certain circumstances, and in many cases made progress through certain levels much quicker. At times when you find your character is having few problems with the monsters at hand, AoP will allow you to cut through them even faster. As Caldwhyn noted the usefulness is enhanced even more by the fact that skills are more fast paced now, I understand this is a pre-beta guide however. When all is said and done, AoP is more for Guardians that will focus on using more abilities, control, and offense at the cost of survivability. AoD does have its uses especially with abilities like anchor, where the tanking nature of the guardian really comes into play. Aura of Defense : Description : Having been specially trained to combat multiple enemies at once, the Guaridan draws upon supernatural protections. Skill effects cap at 8 enemies. Ranks : up to 10 Effect at rank 1 : Armor increased by 9% per enemy in the Holy Aura radius. Prerequs : Character level 10. Comments : Take it, max it, love it. This is your armor skill, what makes you a tank, what compensates your lack of DPS. Though you will need from time to time to switch to Aura of Salvation if you encounter several ranged enemies that do Special effects damage. Aura of Salvation : Description : The Guardian offers a prayer for salvation and gains protection against the very elements themselves. Skill effects cap at 8 enemies. Ranks : up to 10 Effect at rank 1 : Defense against Stun, Ignite, Shock, Phase, and Poison increased by X(scales with lvl) per enemy in the Holy Aura radius. Prerequs : Character level 15. Comments : Again, take it, max it, love it. This is your defense skill against special effects damage. Only drawback is that you have to lose the effects of Aura of Defense while this is on. Not a big problem as most of the times, enemies are either ranged or melee. The only mob that is annoying in this regards is the imps, as they always have a mix of sniper and melee guys. Aura of Thorns : Description : The Guardian calls the embattled spirit of Nature to the defense. Ranks : up to 10 Effect at rank 1 : Thorns damage increased by 20% per enemy in the Holy Aura radius. Prerequs : Character level 15 Comments : You get hit, a small AoE bursts around you. I would not recommendit, as it implies removing Aura of Defense. If someone finds a good strategy that uses this tell me I'll update the description. Aura of Deflection : Decription : This templar invocation calls upon heavenly spirits to turn aside ranged attacks that enter the Holy Aura. Ranks : up to 4 Effect at rank 1 : Grants a 30% chance to destroy projectiles. Prerequs : Character level 20 Comments : Good if you have snipers attacking you, though you will need to invest in this skill a lot. Put 3 points in this if you want Aura of Vengeance or nothing if you don't Aura of Vengeance : Description : Turning their own dark powers against them, the Templar calls upon the divine to reflect ranged attacks entering the Holy Aura. Ranks : up to 4 Effects at rank 1 : Grants a 20% chance to reflect projectiles Prerequs : AUra of Delfection rank : 3 and Character level : 30. Comments : Again, if you want to use this skill, then max it to get the greatest percentage. Will return damage at the enemy instead of applying it to you. Grand Aura : Description : Diligence in studying the tactics of demons increases the radius of the Guardian's Holy Aura Ranks : up to 5 Effects at rank 1 : Holy Aura radius increased by 20% Comments : Thanks to a nifty sword, I managed to test this. This is the ONLY aura that stacks with the others. Get this, it increases the radius of your aura's so you have more chance of having 8 mobs in them, thus maxing the effect of the aura in use. Shield Skills General category comments : Shield skills are what makes the guardian's life fun and easy. I strongly suggest investing heavily into this and getting used to the skills very early in your career as a guardian. I usually place my shield bash skill on the left side of my character (left hand item) and the standard sword attack on the right side (right hand). I would suggest placing healing items on the Q key quickslot and Mana items on the E key quickslot (beta build). This will save your life more then once. Shield Bash : Description : The Guardian slams a shield into the enemy. While doing only a small amount of damage, this attack can stun foes. Power Cost : 10.0 Ranks : Up to 10 Effect at rank 1 : Stun, Ignite, Shock, Phase, and poison attacks increased 30% Comments : Take it, love it, put only 3 points in it <IMG SRC="style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif" NAME="graphics1" ALT="tongue.gif" ALIGN=BOTTOM WIDTH=75 HEIGHT=38 BORDER=0>. Don't waste too many points at the start, you want the later skills and 3 points is more then enough for 1 mob. Puting more will not make the stun part longer, only enhance the attack increase of special effects (from weapons in your case usually). Shield Turn : Description : The Guardian rapidly spins in place, smashing any surrounding enemies with a shield. Rate of use : every 12.0 seconds Power Cost : 30 Ranks : up to 10 Effect at rank 1 : Stun, Ignite, Shock, Phase and poison attack increased by 90% Prerequs : Shield Bash rank : 3 and Character Level : 10 Comments : Again, take it, love it, put only 3 points in it <IMG SRC="style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif" NAME="graphics2" ALT="tongue.gif" ALIGN=BOTTOM WIDTH=75 HEIGHT=38 BORDER=0>. Don't waste too many points at the start, you want the later skills and 3 points is more then enough. Puting more again will not make the stun part longer. Shield Charge : Description : The Guardian puts the strength of conviction into a headlong assault against the forces of darkness. Power Cost : 30.0 Skill Rage : 22.0 meters Ranks : up to 10 Effect at rank 1 : Stun attack increased by 200% Rate of use : Every 15.0 seconds Prerequs : Shield Turn rank : 3 and Character Level : 20 Comments : AAH Finally you have a charge. Put a minimum of 2 ranks in it to unlock the 2 skills dependent on it. You may put more later if you have spare skill points, the more the better against though mobs (specials, bosses who are very resistant to stunning, etc). Stampede : Description : The Guardian charges forward. Using a shield to bash every enemy within reach. Rate of use : 8.0 seconds Power cost : 36.0 at rank 1 Ranks : Up to 10 Prerequs : Shield Charge rank : 2 and Character level : 30 Comments : Though I haven't used this skill at all and it has no description as of righting this walkthrough, having been stuck in big mobs, I would recomment this skill. Will update when information becomes available. Shield Master : Description : Advanced training in using shields as weapons increases the effectiveness of the Guardian's shield bash attacks. Ranks : up to 7 Effect at rank 1 : Stun, Ignite, Shock, Phase and poison duration increased for all shield attacks by 25%. Shield damage increased by 12%. Prereqs : Shield Charge rank : 2 and Character Level : 25 Comments : Remember when I said not to put more then 3 points in Shield Bash and Shield Turn? Well its because of this skill. Take it, love it, Max it. It enhances many skills and is a good investment. Anchor : Description : The Guaridan uses heightened strength drived from armor to stand firm, granting better leverage against foes. Activating this skill anchors the Guardian, h lating movement. Deactivating the skill or moving cancels the stance. Power Cost : 45.0 Rate of use : every 10 seconds. Ranks : up to 10 Effect at rank 1: Damage increased by 60% Prerequs : Character level : 5 Comments : The damage this skill does is insane compared to your standard damage. Only drawback is that you can only use this skill realistically with melee opponents that stay close to you. Take it and invest spare points in it, they will not be wasted. Comments by Raskolnikov Maybe add on the anchor description that it affects ranged weapons, some people don't know / expect this I think. Shield Wall : Description : The Guardian stands firmly in place, focusing Templar spirit and will on blocking attacks. Power Cost : 60.0 Rate of use : every 15.0 seconds Ranks : up to 10 Effects at rank 1 : Shields increased by X(scales with lvl). Prerequs : Shield of Faith rank 2 and Character level : 25 Comments : Though this skill seems powerful, shielding as a guardian has proven to be not so effecient. Armor is a net reduction in damage points per hit. Shielding on the other end, substracts all damage you get and damages your total shield value instead. When the shield is down to zero, all damage according to your armor value. If you want to take this skill, consider it a skill that will save your behind when you are stuck in a tight spot, but not something you will depend on regularly. Swordsmanship skills Sword of Reckoning Description : Rising high above the minions of darkness, the Templar brings down the heavy hand of final judgment against a single foe. Power Cost : 20.0 Ranks : up to 7 Effect at rank 1 : Damage increased by 100% Comments : Put at least 2 points in this skill if you want Hamper. I personnaly made heavy use of this skill especially against though named/bosses. I usually put at least 1 point and from time to time, when nothing else seems interesting to invest on, I put another point in it. Hamper : Descirption : An attack designed to cripple the target, reducing both its movement speed and armor. Power Cost : 22.7 Ranks : up to 10 Effect at rank 1 : Reduces enemy movement by 25%. Decreases enemy armor by 20%. Prerequs : Sword of Reckoning rank : 2 AND Character level : 10 Comments : Though I haven't used it yet, I can easily see the value of it. Its one of your only debuff skill and against tough mobs (bosses and nameds), it will be a very good skill. Any points you can spare it this will be appreciated later when you need it, as your enemy will be slower and will have less armor. Heaven's Arc Description : The Templar leaps into the Air and takes the battle directly to those demons that call thei skies their home. Can only be used against flying enemies. Power cost : 10.0 Ranks : up to 7 Effect at rank 1 : Damage increased by 100%. Comments : This is a love or hate skill. As a templar you will have only 3 options to take flyers down, your grappler to bring them in melee range (though they will try to return to fly range), one of the few templar guns (not very letal but fairly enjoyed when faced with a pack of flyers) or this skill. Its a choice you have to make fairly early in your career. I personnaly prefer getting a gun and placing it in one of the 3 weapon configurations with a shield. I switch to that config on a need basis. Though this skill will finish off flyers much quicker then the gun will. Your choice here, sacrifice a few points or suffer the slowness of the gun. Taunt skills General category comments : This is it, the taunt line. Though I'm not a big fan of it myself, in grouping its what will save the behind of your glass canons. Aggro is sometimes very severe for them and a good placed taunt will make the group's life much easier. You will want Grand Aura if you take this line of skill. Challenge : Description : Decrying their very presence in the realm of mankind, the Templar draws enemies within the Holy Aura into melee range. Power cost : 20.0 Skill range : 1.5 meters Rate of use : every 2.0 seconds Ranks : up to 7 Effect at rank 1 : Taunt effect lasts for 5 seconds Comments : If you want to taunt, invest at least 3 ranks to unlock the following taunt skills. More is up to your taste and available points. Nyarlathotep comments : You may want to note that you can also use taunt as a means to bring flyers into close combat with you. It's always been the only skill I've used against them on my guardian (with only an item-based point invested). Denounce : Description : The Guardian condems a single demon, diminishing its armor by 25%. This causes the targeted enemy to attack! Power cost : 30.0 Skill range : 30.0 meters Rate of use : every 10.0 seconds Ranks : up to 10 Effect at rank 1 : Taunt effectiveness increased by 300% Prerequs : Challenge rank : 3 and Character level : 15 Comments : Againt, invest 3 ranks into this if you went this far, you want either of the 2 skills at this point. If you are going to invest in the taunt line, go for it all the way or don't. As the further you will go, the more mobs will resist your feable unboosted taunts. Heavenly Condemnation : Description : When denouncing a demon, the fervor of the Guardian's words strikes at the very core of the monster's being, weakening its defenses even more. Ranks : up to 7 Effect at rank 1 : (Passive, stacks with Denounce) Reduces enemy armor by 5% Prerequs : Denounce rank : 2 and Character level : 20 Comments : Now you are at the boosting skills, Passive that will enhance the first 2 taunt skills. I'd say invest a lot in this skill, as its your PBAoE taunt. Also make sure you have invested a maximum of points in Grand Aura to extend it as much as possible. Provoke : Description : The Challenge of the Guardian is more effective against intelligent demons which could otherwise ignore a taunt. Ranks : up to 10 Effect at rank 1 : (Passive, stacks with Challenge) Challenge strength is 125. Prerequs : Heavenly condemnation rank : 1 and Character level : 25. Comments : Increasing the strength of your single target taunt will be a must against late game bosses, so I'd invest available points into this if you envision yourself as being a group taunter. Good taunts, lots of defense will more then make you a decent tank in this game. Though your dps will suffer from it a bit, as you won't have enough points to compensate. Make up for it with good weapons. The more damage you do, the more chance you got to remove a monster from a fellow glass canon who did one spell to many <IMG SRC="style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif" NAME="graphics3" ALT="biggrin.gif" ALIGN=BOTTOM WIDTH=75 HEIGHT=38 BORDER=0> . Prayer Skills General category comments : Prayers are instants and therefore pseudo spammable (as they have a cooldown). I am not sure if Grand Aura affects this skill, but I suspect that yes it does. I will revisit this if every I get confirmation. Prayer of Healing : Description : The healing power of prayer grants 25% health to the templar and nearby allies Power cost : 40.0 Ranks : up to 10 Effects : Cooldown reduced at each rank. Prerequs : Character level : 10 Comments : Take it, love it, max it. Its THE only PBAoE healing effect in the game. Has a Its instant cast, and a small cooldown. Heals 25% of your total hitpoints to everyone in the effect. Its a MUST. Prayer of retribution : Description : All enemies within the radius receive a powerful spectral attack - probably phasing them. Does x-y(scales with level) spectral damage. Power Cost : 25.0 Rate of use : Every 10.0 seconds Ranks : up to 10 Effect at rank 1 : Does X(scales with level) to all enemies within the Templar's Holy Aura Prerequs : Prayer of Healing rank : 3 and Character level : 20 Comments : Though I haven't had the chance to use it yet, the description speaks for itself and its instant cast. Phasing enemies makes them more vulnerable to all attacks (take double damage) and reduces their attacks by 50%. Will have the added advantage of annoying all within the PBAoE and make them attack you instead of the group. Good Initial Alpha strike type of attack. THough it won't replace a good Denounce if you are in a group (if you are alone who cares about aggro anyways <IMG SRC="style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif" NAME="graphics4" ALT="tongue.gif" ALIGN=BOTTOM WIDTH=75 HEIGHT=38 BORDER=0> ). Great Defender : Description : Calling for celestial aid in a righteous cause, the Guardian and allies enjoy divine protection and renewing health. Lasts for 20 seconds Power cost : 50.0 Rate of use : every 180.0 seconds Ranks : up to 7 Effect at rank 1: Armor increased by 100%. Regenerate X(scales with level) hit points per minute. Prerequs : Prayer of retribution rank 3 and Character level 30. Comments : Again, I haven't had the chance to use this skill, but 100% armor increas and a fair regenerate per minute (11hp per minute at level 1 and it scales), is a boon in case of tough mobs. Your group will LOVE you for doing this against tough mobs. Even solo its a great buff skill. Other skills Shield of Faith : Description : This invocation creates a protective shield around the Guardian Rate of use : every 60.0 seconds Power cost : 32 Ranks : up to 10 Effect at rank 1: Shields increased by X(scales with level). The effect lasts for 13 seconds Comments : Frankly everyone hates this skill as of writing this walktrough. It doesn't give a large enough boost to shielding to be worth the spending of even 1 point. Skip it, if you really want it, I would suggest maxing it to maximise its output. Caldwhyn's Comments : here's an experienced Guardian player who doesn't hate it, it is just another way of getting a def boost. You just have to know what to expect, but I always invested heavily in this skill and I found it quite useful up until level 22 during the last builds (although I had +2 skill items for it so it gave me about 1000 shield at lvl 20) But this might also have to do with the "energy route" I used to skill. But I will try to get 2 guardians up and running during the beta now and find out whether the defense rout is really superior or more a matter of personal likes and dislikes. Spiritual Strength : Description : Through intense physical and spiritual training, a Guardian can carry much more then a human's strength should allow. Ranks : up to 7 Effect at rank 1 : Decreases Strength feed by 12. Requirements : Character level : 15 Explanation : Each item has a certain amount of stats requirements. For example lets say you have an armor that requires strength 15 and a sword that requires strength of 10. So in total you need to have a strength of 25 in order to weild both items simultaneously. BUT, with this skill, it gives you a bonus of 20 at rank 1. SO, instead of requiring a strength of 25 for those two items you would only require a strength of 5 (if you have the skill at rank 1). Comments : Invest a skill point into this when your feed strength becomes too thight. Its much better g to put a point her as it saves your 15 points of stats to put somewhere else.