Perma Shadow Form

These builds are based around permanently maintaining Shadow Form, protecting the user from spells and dramatically reducing damage from attacks. There are a number of variations, since the core of the build requires only 1 or 2 skills. They are typically used for farming and speed clears.

Setup

Solo

Assassin/any + Consumables

• Shadow Form
  

Consumables such as Essence of Celerity can help you to maintain Shadow Form constantly, freeing one skill slot in your build and saving your energy.

Any/assassin + Consumables

• Shadow Form
  

With an Essence of Celerity and other consumables to increase your attribute points(Lunar Blessing, Candy Corn, Golden Egg, and Grail of Might) enable you to maintain Shadow Form with any profession. At least 3 consumables that increase your attributes need to be used. This makes it possible to use skills linked to the primary attribute from other professions. (Most notable Whirling Defense)

Assassin/any or any/Assassin

• Deadly Paradox
  
• Shadow Form
  

Using Deadly Paradox allows any primary or secondary Assassin to maintain Shadow Form, though it does cost three times as much energy as Glyph of Swiftness. High Shadow Arts (16) and a +20% enchanting weapon are also recommended.

Assassin/Elementalist

• Glyph of Swiftness
  
• Shadow Form
  

High Shadow Arts, 16 is recommended. At least 13 is required, so this does not work for E/A without consumables. A 20% enchanting weapon is needed (15% is ok too but it is a little harder to maintain).

Use Glyph of Swiftness before casting Shadow Form.

This technique is more susceptible for getting interrupted because the long casting time.

Assassin/Ranger

• Dwarven Stability
  
• Serpent's Quickness
  
• Shadow Form
  

If you don't need specific secondary profession, this setup allows to spam attack skills with reduced recharges that Deadly Paradox would disable otherwise.

Use Dwarven Stability and Serpent's Quickness before Shadow Form. If you have Dwarven rank high enough it is possible to mantain SF even with 0 Wilderness Survival this way.

In a team

Quickening Zephyr

Assassin/any
Shadow Form

Ranger/any or Any/Ranger
Quickening Zephyr
Serpent's Quickness

The second player (or hero) constantly mantains QZ, while the first player is tanking/farming in the spirit's range. Under effect of Quickening Zephyr it is possible to maintain Shadow Form even with 8 Shadow Arts. But keep in mind that all your skills cost 30% more energy.

Synergy

Shadow Form synergizes well with skills that block attacks and increase armor. For example, combined with Shroud of Distress, Mental Block and Great Dwarf Armor it provides 87.5% chance to block, decreased damage and health regeneration.

Common Uses

Running

Spell protection makes runners immune to most snare hexes and enchantment removal, as well as neutralising a lot of damage. Perma SF is often not required, but makes running a lot easier in some areas, especially for inexperienced runners.

Tanking

Perma SF sins make highly effective tanks; used correctly, they can be almost invincible. In some cases there can be multiple perma SF sins, so that one can hold aggro for the rest of the group to kill, while the other starts aggroing the next mob.

Terra

The traditional "terra" was an Obsidian Flesh elementalist, but the term is also used for assassins with Sliver Armor and rangers with Whirling Defense. Both of these are used for farming and in speed clears.

Wastrel's Demise

Wastrel's Demise is mostly unaffected by SF's damage cap, and SF makes caster foes unlikely to activate many skills, allowing Wastrel's to trigger multiple times. This is particularly popular for vaettir farming.

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