Forums → Game Walkthroughs → Shadowreign - A few hints/Tips

If the answer to the marble riddle was:
"For the marbles - One more then the total of one color (i think theres 32 of each color, so it would be 33)"

He says specifically "how many marbles would I have to take to be sure that I took 2 different marbles?"
He says nothing about 2 different COLOR marbles...

I knew that the answer would be 33 if he said "2 different color marbles, but I thought it was a trick question and put 2, so I got it wrong...

@Djugan: I think you should revise the questions so that they're clear

i went to the left of the village but no nice little present still. i went literally everywhere on the map.

Recently went back through the game with an Arcane build. I was pleasantly surprised by how powerful this build turned out.

Nature's Grasp 1/1 - A must for bosses, and works wonders early game.
Scorch 1/1 - Primary damage skill. Spam it; you lose the dot damage.
Focused Mind 5/5 - You need the regen
Mind Race 3/3 - Faster cast = more damage.
Malicious Intent 3/3 - With shadowslayer set you have over 30% crit. Almost always active.
Siphon Energy 1/5 - Use this to regain energy if you're not into spamming potions.
Arcane Pulse 1/1 - Cast it on gates to pull enemies away from you.
Killing Spree 2/2 - This helps proc Malicious Intent/Aftermath.
Recovery 5/5 - You need something to get to Aftermath.
Fortify 3/3 - You need something to get to Aftermath.
Warrior's Spirit 2/x - You need something to get to Aftermath.
Aftermath 3/3 - A wonderful dot.
Life Steal 2/3 - You need something to get to Battle Aura.
Battle Aura 1/1 - One of the best skills in the game.
Wizard's Spirit Remaing - Put points here to get higher into the Arcane tree, and then pump it once you get all the other skills.

Against single enemies use NG, and spam Scorch till they die. Do the same with bosses, but you can include AP to freeze them. Against gates tab-target to dot them all with Scorch, or slow them with NG depending on how powerful you are. Then, kill them one at a time by spamming them with Scorch. When they get close just cast AP at the gate.

I was basically a pure mage with a like 5 ups in the wardens agility so I could dodge attacks. Boss fights were incredibly easy due to dazzle, which basically gives you a free 10-15 seconds to create distance and heal. Groups of enemies were more difficult. I made due by spamming the fire spell and auto attack and teleporting away whenever possible.

Also yeah that part with the inn was very difficult. I got thru it because the enemies glitched and went under the lower left building. If you stand at the top tip of that building some of the enemies will go under it. It's not foolproof but it helps.

I just finished the game with a melee build. Honestly I was expecting more of a challenge given how quickly my Warden and Arcanist lost health when they got hit. I focused my build around two concepts: Stun and HP Regen. By the end of the game I regenerated more health than damage that a group of 5 enemies from the final Shadowgate could deal.

~ Gladiator Skills ~
Recovery 5/5 - Central to build.
Fortify 3/3 - More armor = less damage taken.
Bash 1/1 - Stun skill.
Paralyzing Swing 3/3 - Passive skill giving all attacks stun chance.
Aftermath 3/3 - I simply love the damage potential of this skill.
Whirlwind 1/1 - Does wonders against a group.
Life Steal 3/3 - I consider this like regen. Combined with Whirlwind or Blade Flurry it actually gives decent health.
Battle Aura 1/1 - Central to build.

~ Assassin Skills ~
Killing Spree 2/2 - Crittastic.
Anticipation 3/3 - 6% dodge is 6% less hits you take.
Shadow Strike 1/1 - Your spam skill.
Stalker's Spirit 4/x - 4 points to reach T3 skills. Once build is finished pump this skill for added damage.
Backstab 1/1 - If you're quick you can get off 2 of these after a Bash.
Soul Link 1/1 - Central to the build. Doubles regen after a kill.
Blade Flurry 3/3 - This skill is devastating combined with Bash and Backstab. I can kill an entire group of enemies regardless of size in 2 backstabs + whirlwind with this skill active.
Malice 3/3 - At the time of writing this I have 44% base crit. +15% after a kill puts me at 59%. Add 30% to that and I have an 89% crit on Backstabs making this skill lethal.

~ Arcane Skills ~
Dazzle 1/1 - This skill comes in handy early game, and helps against bosses if you need some space. You can also use it at the start of combat to get a free backstab in.

The build is fairly balanced between Gladiator and Assassin skills. The first general gave me a tad bit of trouble (he would have killed me in 1 hit had I not killed him), but once I got past that point it was smooth sailing. For any of my playthroughs I've rarely, if ever, had to use a potion including with this build.

I figured I'd post my Warder build here too since more people might see it here. I've made a few modifications, and I also modified my Arcanist a little too. I pumped Stalker's Spirit instead of Wizard's Spirit. I didn't need the extra energy Wizard's Spirit gave. By level 50 I already had over 1k energy. Anyway, here's my Warder build.

~ Gladiator Skills ~
Fortify 3/3 - Need something to reach T3 skills.
Recovery 5/5 - Need something to reach T3 skills.
Warrior's Spirit 2/x - Need 2 more points to reach T3 skills. These points can also go into Terrifying Shout if you want, but your end-game rotation already has 3 skills in it. Your choice.
Aftermath 3/3 - As with all my build I like the added dot.
Life Steal 2/3 - Again, need 2 more points. Just put them where you want them.
Battle Aura 1/1 - All my builds include this skill. It's just that powerful.

~ Assassin Skills ~
Killing Spree 2/2 - I like the crit this adds. All my builds have it. I consider it a permanent 15% boost since I almost always kill something before it ends.
Stalker's Spirit x/x - Again, pump this. You don't need any more stat points than what you get from gear, and this skill adds more dps than +2 to any stat.

~ Warder Skills ~
Nature's Grasp 1/1 - The 1-point wonder for Warders and Arcanists. Absolutely destroys bosses.
Spirit of the Grove 9/x - You need these points to reach Shadow Shot.
Stalker's Fury 3/3 - This skill has its uses although you could easily place them elsewhere in the Warder tree.
Scorpion Bite 1/1 - Free dps is free dps.
Explosive Shot 1/1 - Best AoE in the game.
Shadow Shot 1/1 - Gate pull.

The Warder was my first class, and it's a very solid class. I think my Arcanist build might be stronger, but this one can more than hold its own. NG + SB solo enemies. SB + ES on gate groups. SS the gate when they get close. If you notice I dropped Dead Eye from the build. I decided to do that because you already have +50% crit. Since dots in the game only deal damage every 3 seconds you wind up not letting Aftermath deal any damage if you crit before those 3 seconds.

Where do you go after talking to the ancient hero (ie where is the final boss?)?

All the way on the top-right of the map.

Yet another build. Probably my last one. When I first made my Warder I pondered the viability of a 100% crit build. I haven't yet made a 100% crit build (there are a few pieces of agi gear I'm missing), but I've mustered up a buff-based 98% build using all 52 talents available:

~ Gear ~
Yes, gear is important. You have to wear the highest agi gear in the game, and it isn't the shadowslayer set. As said before there may be other pieces out there, and if you find any simply adjust your Spirit of the Grove talent as needed.

Hunter's Helmet ~ +22 agi (There's a helm that adds 30 I think, if you get it you'll have 100% crit.
Treegard Vest ~ +23 agi
Sylvan Guards ~ +20 agi
Death's Feetcovers ~ +30 agi
Shadowslayer Legguards ~ +13 agi (Again, I recall legs out there that are better, but I'm not up for farming hours to find them.)
Shadowbane ~ +10 agi
Mark of the Shadowslayer ~ +10 agi (I've found several jewels that add more str/foc, but not agi. I imagine one exists.)

~ Gladiator Skills ~
Fortify - 3/3
Recovery - 5/5
Warrior's Spirit - 2/x
Aftermath - 3/3 Yes, I kept Aftermath. It still has time to proc after an AoE.
Life Steal - 2/3
Battle Aura 1/1

If you haven't noticed by now all of my builds are based off this 'template.' I consider Battle Aura the best skill in the game if nothing else than for it's +20% aspd benefit.

~ Assassin Tree ~
Killing Spree 2/2 - 15% crit
Dead Eye 5/5 - 5% crit
Stalker's Spirit x/x - If you have any points left over they go here.

~ Warder Skills ~
Nature's Grasp 1/1
Spirit of the Grove x/x - This makes up for the agi your gear lacks. I'll explain in more detail at the bottom of this post.
Stalker's Fury 3/3 - 10% crit for 12 seconds (this is how long you can sustain max crit)
Scorpion Bite 1/1
Explosive Shot 1/1
Shadow Shot 1/1

Now then, the agi to crit ratio is 2.5 agi to 1 crit. With no modifications to your crit you have -2% crit. This means you need 255 agi to gain 100% crit. You can get a constant +20% crit (The aame as 50 agi) by spending 7 points on Killing Spree (+15%) and Dead Eye (+5%). You can also gain another 10% for 12 seconds on a 30 sec cool-down from Stalker's Fury (30% total, 18 sec with no Fury bonus). This leaves you with 72% needed crit, or 180 agi. My listed gear gives you 128 agi. This leaves 52 agi needed for 100%. Add points to SotG at 2 agi each until your character sheet reads 75% crit. From there, if you have any points left, add them to Stalker's Spirit for more damage. My listed gear only gets you to 98%, but with only a few more points of agi you'll achieve 100% crit.

I only did this for fun, but due to the nature of the build it 'does' hold its own well, and you could technically start from level 1 with it since you'll beat the game well before pumping SotG.

Is there a shadowslayer Necklace? If so where do you get it, because I just talked to the ancient guy and got the special sword, but now idk what to do.

nevermind, soz, I'm blind

For anyone else asking the same question caligula there is a Shadowslayer jewel, but it's a drop instead of a quest item. You can find it off of any of the enemies in the north-east area. I usually find at least 1 on each of my characters while grinding the final shadowgate to level 50.

for those who don't get the trees puzzle:

there are 12 trees. the one at the top is 12,1,2,3 etc.

"first come 17, but it is known by that only at night"

17.00 on a clock is 5 o' clock, so go up to tree no. 5

Note: walk into the trees very slowly and you won't turn them red. this makes getting to the right trees easier

second comes halfway through

go to 12, i don't know why, 6 turns it red

last comes the 3/4 of the last half

its 9 o clock, because that is the 3/4 mark of the clock.

You have to go to 12 because the whole is 24. Half of 24 is 12.

This build is going to be my last one I mention here. I've pretty much exhausted every tree combination I'm interested in exploring. Offensively this one is by far my most powerful. His highest hit is 536.

Gladiator:
Fortify - 3/3
Recovery - 5/5
Fire Fists - 1/1
Paralyzing Swing - 3/3
Aftermath - 3/3
Whirlwind - 1/1
Life Steal - 3/3
Battle Aura - 1/1

Assassin:
Killing Spree - 2/2
Stalker's Spirit - 13/x
Soul Link - 1/1

Arcane:
Focused Mind - 5/5
Wizard's Spirit - 4/x
Energy Nova - 1/1
Mind Race - 2/3
Malicious Intent - 3/3
Arcane Pulse 1/1

Total Talents:
Gladiator - 20
Assassin - 16
Arcane - 16

The entire premise of this build is AoE damage. The skills used to achieve this are Whirlwind, Energy Nova, and Arcane Pulse. Arcane Pulse pulls everything to one spot, and gives you a short breather from damage. Once the enemies are all grouped together simply rotate Energy Nova and Whirlwind. Throw in an Arcane Pulse when necessary, and everything dies within seconds.

It uses Fortify, Recovery, Paralyzing Swing, Life Steal, Battle Aura, and Arcane Pulse to mitigate a ton of damage.

Fire Fists, Aftermath, Killing Spree, and Malicious Intent server to significantly buff my damage. Once I crit and something dies everything else is soon to follow.

I can take on all 13 normal spawns plus the final boss at once with this build, and when it's all said and done I've lost little health in the process. This thing is a beast.