Temple Guardian Guide Version 1.0 Copyright 2009 John "The Ogre" Kwitkowski. Contents: [INT] Introduction [DIS] Disclaimer [YOU] Your Build -Available Class Skills -Available Class Combat Arts [SBB] Sample Builds (that work) -Deathly Spears/Fiery Ember build -Shopper (spears/ember) -Lost Fusion/Melee Build -Tri Tree Build [VHS] Version/History [THX] Thanks [INT] Introduction ____________ This guide is for those interested in the Temple Guardian and will cover available skills, combat arts, and good combinations of each so as to set newcomers to the class in the right direction for a good, fun character class. It is written for the Xbox 360 version of the game and parts of the guide or it as a whole may or may not apply to the Play Station 3 and PC versions. The guide is solely my opinions based on my personal experience with Temple Guardians in game only, any opinions or discoveries of the class from any outside sources at all have been omitted from the guide entirely. The Temple Guardian is without a doubt the most difficult class to understand at first because he is a relatively weak character in the lower levels but careful planning and some common sense can turn him into a powerful killing machine. This is the third installation of my Sacred 2 character guides and as before I will not be explaining game mechanics and assume readers will know the difference between Combat Arts and Skills etc. * The information in my Guide is based off of my Temple Guardians: levels 120, 84, 75, & 50 and also my long time knowledge of the game mechanics & play time/experience. [DIS] Disclaimer __________ This character guide is my own work, and has been created by me for use on www.GameFaqs.com. For questions, comments, additions contact by email: [email protected] ,credit will be given for any additions or comments by you if they are integrated into the guide in any way, shape, or form. [YOU] Your Build __________ I've taken a very different approach to this Temple Guardian guide because of the uniqueness of his skill sets and the unusual usefulness that each has the potential to have if used correctly. Instead of listing my main Temple Guardian build & play style I am going to describe everything the class has at it's disposal and give insight on what works, what doesn't and the best combinations for builds. It might come off as a bit confusing but I will try to rate each ability and immediately inform the reader of junk skills or mods so they can be avoided from the get-go (with an explanation of course). I will also include 3 builds that work very well for the sake of readers looking for the best of the best (or don't have the time or want to create their own build) So read on, take note, and get ready to start a new TG! Available Class Skills ______________________ *Please keep in mind that you cannot choose any secondary skills until you invest a minimum of 5 skill points into a primary skill of the same type. So to unlock Bargain & Devine Devotion for choosing you must have 5 total points in either Riding, Blacksmith or Enhanced Perception. A good rule of thumb for a strong build is to include (as your skill choices) at least: Aspect skills from 2 different aspects (a full set of focus + lore at least for one of your aspects, if not both). 2 Defensive Skills 1 Weapon Skill 1 Damage improving skill (combat discipline etc. Aspect Skills ------------- Primary: Devout Guardian Focus- Focus Skills decrease regeneration times for the entire aspect tree, raise maximum CA level without penalty, and allow for Combat Art Modification Points (also for the aspect). Lost Fusion Lore- Increases damage, critical hit chance & casting speed for the aspect. Source Warden Lore- Increases damage, critical hit chance & casting speed for the aspect. Secondary: Lost Fusion Focus- Reduces Regeneration times for the entire aspect, and allows for higher combat art levels without penalty. Source Warden Focus- Reduces Regeneration times for the entire aspect, and allows for higher combat art levels without penalty. Combat Discipline- Increases damage and regeneration time for combat arts in combos, also allows 3 combat arts in a combo and at level 75 4 combat arts in A single combo. This is a very powerful skill because despite the misleading description, Com bat discipline grants a damage boost to all combat arts whether or not they are in a combo. Not a skill to pass by, no matter what build you will use. Concentration- Concentration is another important skill for a temple guardian because chances are you will want to use more than 1 buff at a time and concentration allows 2 when chosen and 3 at mastery. Also this skill lowers regeneration times for all combat arts, not bad. General Skills -------------- Primary: Riding- Riding is a very useless skill in that it increases bonuses from mounts such as horse combat art damage (rear up, charge etc.). Best to avoid this one at all costs and take a skill that improves your combat/survival ability instead. Blacksmithing- Blacksmithing does not work on consoles at all. No parts of the skill work so DO NOT take this skill. Enhanced Perception- Enhanced perception is rather good actually if you plan on taking bargaining, this is where your 5 primary points will go. EP increases the chance to find valuables giving you a better chance to score rares, uniques, sets. Also opens up the modifiers for EP on items which include +exp per kill and +chance to find valuables. So if you want a shopper TG, 5 points minimum will be going here. Secondary: Bargaining- Merchants offer better gear in shops. With high levels in this skill, you can find a whole list of rare (**) items for sale. Better quest rewards (or chance for?) with the 75 mastery. The merchant wares with a high bargaining can be impressive indeed with +skill rings, rare armor pieces with many good mods, high damage weapons that can rival unique stat wise, and more. Bargaining is the only available way to find the Light sabers by the way, so not only can you outfit all your other characters with cool gear you can give them purple, red, green, and blue light sabers! Divine Devotion- Divine devotion increases greatly the benefits of your god power such as damage, duration, and cool down. This skill is not bad really, if you find a particular god power you would like to utilize more often or for certain instances (testa for bosses etc.). The problem with DD is that a Temple Guardian can cover what each god power does with Combat Arts already (even 1Hit boss kills that testa could provide). I would avoid this unless you really really love your god gift. Offensive Skills ---------------- Sword & Hafted (two separate skills) - Increases attack speed, chance to hit, and the maximum level of the weapon type equip able. Either of the two also increases casting speed for the Devout Guardian aspect making sword or hafted lore a prime choice for a Devout Guardian TG. Tactics Lore- increases damage and chance for critical hits with all weapons and weapon based combat arts (the devout guardian tree). Tactics also stacks with Devout Guardian focus in terms of gaining more mod points so having the two of them will improve the Devout Guardian tree greatly (think of tactics as a "devout guardian lore"). Secondary: Ranged- Increase attack speed, and attack rating with all ranged weapons. I have heard this skill affects the temple guardians arm cannon (not lost fusion, just attacking with the arm cannon). But I cannot be sure and recommend it be avoided until tested (by someone, I will not be testing it). Speed Lore- Speed lore is a mixed bag, many like it and I hate it for a few reasons. Speed lore increases attack and defense rating and run speed. The problem is that attack/defense is easily gotten through other skills, combat arts, and equipment and run speed is quite common on pants & boots. Avoid this skill at all costs because the benefits are too easily gotten elsewhere to warrant one of your 10 precious skill slots. Damage Lore- Damage Lore simply increases the chance to cause status effects such as poison or burn on creatures, also increases duration of such status effects. Another avoidable skill, status effects already have a high chance of occurring with most combat arts or weapons and the duration if negligible (unless you would rather wait around for small DoT when you can just zap enemies again). Defensive Skills ----------------- Primary: Armor Lore- Increases the level of armor you may wear without speed penalties. Also decreases the regeneration penalty on armor pieces. This is a great skill to gradually put spare point s into because of the option to wear better armor with higher levels. Armor lore also increases your total armor value some so it is an overall great skill that shouldn't be overlooked. Warding Energy Lore- Warding Energy Lore is a must have for Temple Guardians using T Energy Shroud because it maximum shield energy and damage mitigation. WE Lore only affects the Tshroud buff, so it is not needed unless you are utilizing that combat art. Spell Resistance- Spell resistance is an avoidable spell because there really aren't too many tough spell casters in the game and most defensive combat arts can absorb all damage types (not to mention your armor and defense rating). Item modifiers can also block spells and negate their damage over time. If you have the patience and micromanagement to invest in some magic heavy armor or look for mods to decrease magic damage, you need not take this skill at all, ever. Toughness- Toughness provides a small % of damage mitigation, too small of a % to make it worthwhile. Mitigation can be found on many items and through some combat arts making this skill another avoidable one. If the mitigation %'s were able to get somewhat large it would definitely be a good pick but I've only seen around 9% mitigation with 80 points in the skill. Not impressive. Secondary: Constitution- Constitution increases your maximum health and regeneration and the mastery bonus grants in combat health regeneration so it is indeed a valuable skill but... Certain specc'ed temple guardians can get around needing constitution at all with enough mitigation and high energy shields it IS possible to not need constitution. Regardless, if you find yourself needing the extra health and regen this skill is a good choice. Combat Reflexes- Combat reflexes is a solid skill in that it increases you chance to evade (completely dodge) all attack types. It also reduces the chance that an enemy will score a critical hit on you but the evade % alone makes this skill a good one if you find your defense to be a little shallow. Pacifism- Pacifism lowers damage received from other players in PVP combat so it is deemed useless EXCEPT in a Player Vs Player build. So here is a list of perfectly acceptable Temple Guardian Skills: Devout Guardian Focus Combat Discipline Source Warden Lore Concentration Source Warden Lore Lost Fusion Focus Source Warden Focus Sword Weapons Hafted Weapons Tactics Lore Armor Lore Constitution Warding Energy Lore Combat Reflexes Enhanced Perception Bargaining And ones to avoid: Ranged Weapons Speed Lore Damage Lore Spell Resist Toughness Pacifism Riding Blacksmith Divine Devotion ******** All of the recommended avoidable skills can indeed be chosen if you have reason to except for blacksmithing. Blacksmithing is BROKEN on console versions of Sacred 2 and no parts of it work at all. ******** Available Class Combat Arts ___________________________ -Devout Guardian Tree -Lost Fusion Tree -Source Warden Tree Combat Arts and the mods with the best potential will be explained briefly with suggestions and recommendations. Good combinations of Combat arts will be laid out at the end (before the sample builds). Devout Guardian --------------- The Devout Guardian tree is a weapon based tree which allows for quick combat attacks, defensive abilities, and the almighty Deathly Spears. Dedicated Blow ______________ A powerful strike to a single target, a portion of the damage inflicted is automatically converted to the damage the enemy is weakest to. A quite powerful blow that can be used without fear of an enemy's resistances, the damage can become quite high and this is an overall good combat art foe any foe. Useful Mods 1. Be dazed- Chance for stun 2. Intent- Chance for critical hits 3. Impact- Chance for deep wound Battle Extension ________________ A mechanical close combat weapon is armed, which fights as an additional weapon with a series of attacks. Basically when you activate battle extension an extra arm appears and the temple guardian twirls around combining a series of attacks with the arm and his own weapon. Useful Mods None, the best way to use battle extension is to use it passively. To passively activate battle extension equip it to a hotkey and press the hotkey so the arm appears (outside of combat is best so the TG doesn't start his battle extension dance). Once the arm is passively activated (you will see an extra arm hanging out of your should) each melee attack you make deals another automatic attack from the arm so you get a double attack for free with it passively active and don't have to sit through the animation of activating BE regularly. No mods will affect the passive BE trick so none need be chosen. This is indeed the best way to use BE so if you intend to melee, it is your best choice. The arm will disappear if another Combat Art is activated to be quick to reactivate it if you use a spell or other attack. Deathly Spears ______________ Spears quickly extend out from the Temple Guardian hitting all enemies within a close 360 degree radius (melee range). This combat art is extremely powerful with the right mods and can easily be the workhorse of your build. Useful Mods Gore- Temple Guardian deals more damage when hurt Singe- Adds fire damage to the spears Jab- Spears strike out repeatedly (an extra set of spears is added with each use for every 15 or so combat art levels) Spears stack, so you can activate one set and have another going as soon as your regen allows (even if the previous still has "waves" left). Combat Alert ____________ When active, this combat art increases defense, attack, and damage. This is an extremely powerful asset to the Temple Guardian providing extra defense and reflection. Useful Mods Barricade- Provides extra defense Counterstrike- Chance to Reflect close combat damage Permanent- Transforms combat alert into the buff "Battle Aura". -Transforming Combat alert to a buff halves the bonuses of combat alert at the expense of having it as a buff. If desired you can leave combat alert as an activated combat art instead of a buff, which is not a bad idea but keep in mind you have to remember to activate it in combat. T Energy Shroud (buff) ________________ Force field of tenergy that partially absorbs incoming damage (60%) as long as shield energy remains to sustain it. A very powerful buff that can be altered to absorb 100% damage instead of the 60/40 split between your health. The mod "absorption warding energy +X" can be found on items and some set pieces which adds to the % shields absorb. So the base absorption being 60% if you can obtain 40% absorption from items then all damage goes to shields. This is the optimal defense because it is really easy to have a high shield count and with zero damage to the temple guardian. Useful Mods Power- Increase shield energy Reduction- reduces damage Power- Increases shield energy Lost Fusion ----------- The lost fusion skills are the Temple Guardian's gun skills, utilizing his arm cannon to launch impressive projectiles or effects of mostly elemental damage. Amplifying Discharge ____________________ A rapid bullet shot, chance to hit an additional target. Useful Mods Ice Bullet- Adds Ice damage Ricochet- Chance for another ricochet (in addition to the inherent one) For the last mod you can choose Ice Bullet again or Speed Shot which decreases the regeneration time by 33%. Either way this is a good skill for small groups of weak enemies. Furious Emblazer ________________ Basically the Temple Guardian shoots flames out of his arm in a little swirling flamethrower type motion. The damage of this Combat Art can be amplified with the use of source warden skills. Useful Mods Accelerant- Increased fire damage Incapacitate- Chance for stun Intensify- Increased fire damage The stun mod and the arc of fire make this a good combat art for small groups as well. Jolting Touch _____________ The Temple Guardian grabs an enemy, immobilizing and damaging it. The damage is sent out in waves or pulse which counts in as DoT. Useful Mods Payback- Chance to Reflect Melee damage Voltage- Lowers regeneration times for all Combat Arts. Shelter- Reduces incoming damage (mitigation increased with combat art level) ****** If you do not prefer the mods I deem more useful that is fine but be aware that Jolting Touch's silver "self repair" mod is bugged to heal the enemy and not yourself. Do not ever take it. ****** Archimedes Beam _______________ A powerful beam of concentrated energy is focused on a single target; other creatures passing through the beam will receive damage as well. Useful Mods Bundle- Increased Damage Weaken- Lowers Enemy's Attributes Annul- Removes helpful spells or buffs from the enemy The beam deals DoT and cannot be canceled once it is activated making you a sitting duck to other attacks. That being said the "shelter" gold mod (reduces damage taken while using beam) could be taken if desired. The beam is a good debuff for bosses and magically creatures (with buffs). Propelled Levitation ____________________ Temple Guardian uses a jet pack to cover medium distances and obstacles. Eat at least one rune for this to use it as an escape or to traverse small streams and the like. ***** While using Propelled Levitation on the Mobiculem it turns sideways and spins like a flying saucer to the destination! Neat! ***** Source Warden ------------- The Source Warden tree has mainly large AoE spells and is definitely a manipulative tree in that you can debuff enemies, slow they attack and movement, and lower their resistances to the elements making SW a good backup skill set for the other 2 trees. Primal Mutation _________________ Direct damage is caused to one target with a small chance to transform the enemy into a little animal. If using this one, it is best to make it a debuff for bosses and the like since it only targets one enemy and you only receive 1 experience for enemies turned into little animals. Useful Mods Combust- Converts damage to fire damage Helpless- Lowers targets attributes Helpless- Lowers targets attributes Fiery Ember ___________ Large molten craters open up in a large radius dealing fire damage and lowering enemy's fire resistance while active. The best part of this combat art is the lowering of enemy's resistance to fire damage which is why it is best to choose fire enhancing damage mods for other combat arts; they will be more powerful if used while fiery ember is active. Useful Mods Incinerate- increases fire damage Churn- lowers fire resistance of enemies even more Gold mod- either, one lowers regeneration time (not cool down) and the other increases duration. I have tried both and it made little different between my builds as I was always able to recast when necessary. Icy Evanescence _______________ Large ice crystals appear up in a large radius dealing ice damage and lowering enemy's ice resistance while active. The best part of this combat art is the lowering of enemy's resistance to ice damage which is why it is best to choose ice enhancing damage mods for amplifying discharge if you wish to use it. Useful Mods Ice Needles- Increased ice damage Deep frost- lowers ice resistance of enemies even more Like fiery ember, either gold mod can be chosen. Charged Grid ____________ T energy pulses hurt enemies and heal allies in a large radius. I personally don't use this combat art but it can be useful in a source warden heavy build. It can be modded for extra ally healing, deathblow, larger radius, and longer duration. It looks like it could turn into a heavy healing, large radius support type spell I suppose. Untouchable Force _________________ (buff) A small force field around the temple guardian causes slight damage and adds chance to stun. This might not look impressive on paper, but if you mod it correctly it will be another combat art that is too valuable to pass up. Useful Mods Mind Control- Increases chance to stun even more Calm- Reduces attack speed of enemies in range Crumble- Chance to destroy projectiles on impact negating the damage. So basically with this buff active your opponents attack speed is extremely slow, they will be stunned half of the time, and you have good ranged defense. 2nd best buff at the Temple Guardians disposable if modded this way. [SBB] Sample Builds (that work) These are just sample builds for you based on builds I have had success with myself (all the way through Niob difficulty) But you can still reference the above skills and combat arts to make changes you feel necessary, though these builds all have their choices for a reason and everything complements the other. If there is a standalone skill or ability it is mainly for flavor or experiment and will not be documented as these are final, tested builds. ***** All these builds share a common Tanking based build using T shroud, Untouchable force, combat alert, and the skill Warding Energy Lore so concentration is needed for each, though it need not be mastered. Depending on the player that could free up some skill points. ***** The Builds: -Deathly Spears/Fiery Ember -Shopper (Spears/Ember) ***********To BE ADDED SOON********** -Lost Fusion/Melee -Tri Tree For each build what is included is the skill choices (in order chosen), combat arts used, and play style. Specifics such as how many levels should be in a combat art of skill will be vague and more simply I will point out if a skill/combat art needs few, some, or tons of points because specific values will differ from player to player based on equipment, difficulty etc. Enjoy. The Infamous Deathly Spears/Fiery Ember Build --------------------------------------------- This build is for the player that likes to round up every enemy on screen into a tight little group and then mercilessly slaughter all of them in one swift, fluid, motion. It involves utilizing the combat art "fiery ember" to agro all available enemies forcing them to surround you and lead them right into your spam able, wave after wave of "deathly spears". The spears/ember combo is further amplified by the lowering of enemy fire resistance ala fiery ember & the added fire damage of deathly spears. This little one trick pony can literally do it all, even kill bosses quickly and easily. All available skills and runes go into the strengthening of these 2 abilities leaving little room for anything else. It is a focused build and will serve anyone well for a first Temple Guardian. **A melee weapon with passive battle extension is recommended with regen per hit mods to use in between spears** Skill Choices (in order) ________________________ Level 2 Devout Guardian Focus Level 3 Tactics Lore Level 5 Source Warden Focus or lore Level 8 Armor Lore Level 12 Concentration Level 18 Sword or Hafted Weapons Level 25 Combat Discipline Level 35 Warding Energy Lore Level 50 Source Warden Lore (can be 65) Level 65 Constitution (can be 50) Skill Priorities: DG focus- Keep at or around your level so you can have 75 points in it at level 75 to keep spears regeneration low and the available max level for it high. Tactics Lore- Split points between tactics and DG focus in the lower levels to meet mod requirements so you can fully DG combat arts quickly and keep your spears damage up. Source Warden Focus/lore- 35 points is good for mods and you can always place more points later on if needed. Armor Lore- 5 points to open up 2nd tier defensive skills, you can add spare points here to increase max item leave and regen penalties but not at the expense of mod points. Concentration- If you plan to make Combat Alert into a buff, pump this skill so you can master it at 75 for 3 buffs. If you are content with using Combat Alert as an active skill, only place one point here to unlock the two buff allotment. Sword/hafted- This skill is mainly to increase the cast speed of deathly spears ensuring you can get the attack off quickly enough. 1 point should be sufficient as +offensive skill mods are common on most weapons/armor. If you must increase this skill, make sure available mods are chosen and your defense and damage is sufficient first. Combat Discipline- You want to have many points in this skill to increase your combat art damage (don't have to be in a combo to receive the damage bonus). Best to place points here until the damage bonus starts to have diminishing returns. Warding Energy Lore- Another skill you want to have many points in to maximize your shield effectiveness. Place as many points as you can here to power your shields. Source Warden Lore/Constitution- These skills are for flavor and extra defense/damage and can be raised a lot or little only after the above skills are maximized (to your liking anyways). Used Combat Arts (see previous sections for mods) ________________ T Energy Shroud (Buff) - Always active, CA level needs to be rather high to absorb incoming damage and not your health. First 2 mods are priority and need be taken quickly. Combat Alert (activated)/Battle Aura (Buff) - Always active in combat, first mod is priority; the 2nd can wait until spears are modded fully and the 3rd mod (buff) can be chosen at 75 with concentration mastered. CA lvl should be high for the best benefits with an average regen time (below the duration). Passive Battle extension- Used with regen per hit items to speed up the regeneration of deathly spears to keep the spears spam able. (Only 1 rune needed to unlock) Deathly Spears- Fully Modded, top Combat Art Priority. This needs to be fully modded and functional as soon as possible as it is your main assault. Steadily increase the combat art level which keeping the regen manageable (high levels = more damage and more waves, this is needed). Use in conjunction with fiery ember for maximum effectiveness. Fiery Ember- First 2 mods Priority, keep fire resistance penalty (opponent) high with rune consumption while keeping the regen manageable (can be lessened with the gold mod). Use to agro, lower resistances before deathly spears. Untouchable force (buff) - Always active, keep level low as the buff is used mainly for the slowing enemies attack speed and stun. While the stun chance increases with combat art level, the regeneration penalties might not be manageable with deathly spears until late game. Play style: With your active buffs running (T shroud & Untouchable Force) and combat alert (or the buff) simply use fiery ember with enemies in sight and they will start to gather around you, fire off deathly spears until they are dead. Please note that you can move and perform other actions while spears are active (even if the waves are still occurring), you do not have to stand still! Use passive battle extension attacks if you have regen per hit mods to ready spears for use faster. Bosses are the same, lower their resistances with fiery ember and spam deathly spears (you won't be able to actually spam spears but keep them continuously going as they regenerate). The Shopper ----------- This build is simply the above Spears/Ember Build with Enhanced Perception and Bargaining instead of Constitution and Source Warden 2nd skill. Shopping is a good way to obtain absorption warding energy items for your t shrouds power by the way. Skill Choices (in order) ________________________ Level 2 Devout Guardian Focus Level 3 Tactics Lore Level 5 Source Warden Focus or lore Level 8 Armor Lore Level 12 Concentration Level 18 Sword or Hafted Weapons Level 25 Combat Discipline Level 35 Enhanced Perception Level 50 Bargaining Level 65 Warding Energy Lore Remember 5 points in enhanced perception is needed to unlock bargaining. Bargaining strategy (smart shopper) ___________________________________ Do not throw all your points into bargaining right away, you have to be a smart shopper to increase your skill. With your first point in bargaining, merchants might have a few wares but mostly crap still. You start off buying relics with +general skills or +bargaining, and try to find 6 like that to equip. Then maybe add a few points until + skill/+general skill items start showing up in the shops (you may have to teleport around to reset shops). And buy the +general / +skill items to augment your bargaining. The reason to go through all this trouble is to save you some skill points in case they are needed elsewhere such as armor lore, or more mod points etc. Once your damage, defense, and mods are all desirable you can maximize the bargaining skill but try to upgrade it through items beforehand. ********************TO BE ADDED SOON********************** *Why? You would ask do I not simply add them now if I have the experience and the characters already played? Well quite simply I didn't have enough time as I wanted this weekend to finish these guides which have been a work in progress for a few weeks now. The point is that these other two builds will be integrated into the Faq by the end of the week and I wanted to have at least one of them on the faq so it could get uploaded as soon as possible. The other two builds are indeed on the way so please be patient. Lost Fusion/Melee _________________ Tri Tree ________ [VHS] Version/History _______________________ 2009/29/11 1.0 -Guide Completed, Revised, & Submitted. [THX] Thanks ______________ -Ascaron (RIP) for this amazing game. -Gamefaqs and its members -Koremega for the insight long ago on the "absorption warding energy" mod and its effect on the T energy shroud.