Deathknight v1.8 - Hybrid Necrotic Melee

[Razakai]

Originally Soul Reaper lacked the teleport and it was very painful to play - no Rush or the like meant you'd have to rely on ranged attacks. So they're a bit more mobile now. Not massively so though - it's intentional that Soul Reaper requires you to engage a target and you lack natural escapes, as a Deathknight once you commit to a fight the goal is to outlast stuff using your high mitigation and lifesteal-type effects rather than disengaging like more mobile classes.

And Rexcorcum provided some very cool and unique tiles for a new weapon, so I'll be adding a special artifact for Deathknights soon.

[daed4]

And Rexcorcum provided some very cool and unique tiles for a new weapon, so I'll be adding a special artifact for Deathknights soon.

Is it the Maw of the Damned?

[Razakai]

It's a Deathknight artifact weapon - so close! But not a weapon type that exists in ToME currently (although it'll be coded as an 'axe' for the sake of masteries).

[astralInferno]

When does Frostmourne get added?

[64legos]

I'm glad to hear that Death Knights are getting a new toy to play with. I do have one question:

Will the Tyrant tree (the one with the chains) and the multiple squire types be added eventually? They're the only things in the original Google Docs that are not in the game yet.

[Razakai]

I think the new Squire types are unlikely - I did play around with them in dev but they were quite hard to balance.
I do want to add Tyrant eventually - I have a long term goal to make a large scale necromancy themed mod that would include an updated deathknight.

[nsrr]

not a weapon type that exists in ToME currently (although it'll be coded as an 'axe' for the sake of masteries).

I smell a Scythe

I'd been wondering about the other Squire types, too. It's a cool idea, but having the multiple types makes it feel a lot like Thought Forms. I'm not too disappointed though, Squire is B.A. anyway. Also, though it's a minor point, the other types seem a lot less like 'Squires', thematically.

[Razakai]

Yeah, those 2 points are the other main reasons. Having your squire fighting with bow or spell feels a bit weird considering they're not things Deathknight can do - and having a set of 3 sustains with different skills is treading too much on the toes of thought form. Apart from that, trying to balance all 3 to be equally good was a nightmare - in practice the caster version was far stronger than any others as it could just chaincast nukes till things died.

[Chronosplit]

Ran into a bug. Relevant information to calculating the die at: I had 5/5 Drain Essence and 5 fragments, did not have Pale Rider used, had 5/5 Spirit Feed running, and was running an Ogre with a shield and 2-hander (actually looking at later times this has popped up, this is not related to going under 0 HP. I thought it was).


EDIT: I got this when I was disarmed and hovered my cursor over the block talent, also I'm using Rime with no Icebound Fortitude yet:

[Razakai]

Looks like a bug with the code that modified the block talent for the purpose of Frost. I'll have a look.

[Zul]

Looks like a bug with the code that modified the block talent for the purpose of Frost. I'll have a look.

I also ran into that bug when hovering the mouse over the block icon.

[Chronosplit]

Looks like a bug with the code that modified the block talent for the purpose of Frost. I'll have a look.

I also ran into that bug when hovering the mouse over the block icon.

Yep I can confirm now after a lot of run-ins in Dreadfell and the Elven ruins, this has been happening without fail when disarmed.

In the meantime, here's my opinion on notable race choices for Deathknight:

-Ogre: Enshroud+Rime makes all the sacrifices worth it. Scar Scripted Flesh benefits quite a bit from you already wanting to get a lot of crits going, you're likely going to be grabbing both locked trees with the first two cat points (maybe not, but you can't wait too long here because you're looking at a Spellpower penalty to do this). The wait for a new infusion slot can be long.
-Shalore: Suggested for two-handers. Drain Essence, Spirit Feed, Reaper's Shroud, and Enervate will ease the usual crap earlygame for them. Grace of The Eternals is extremely helpful due to Deathknight having precious few escape options outside items/equipment, and the crit help is much appreciated. Timeless's main use will probably be for Lightbane, the soulforaged buff from Soul Reaper, and using Death Vortex to bring jerkholes close to you.
-Thalore: Trees+Ghouls+Wraiths+Squire, it's like your own little private army. Unshackled and Guardian are pretty awesome here too, as you may not be getting much Mental Save. You may not need to boost Will all that much even under all that fatigue, so your first ability suffers (it's still nice though).
-Halfling: Good all-rounder for most classes in general. You'll want to crit a lot with Enshroud, and with Halflings this almost too possible. Duck and Dodge will also be somewhat appreciated for sword-and-board, and Militant Mind gets a lot of use with a lot of people in your aura, especially with Vampiric Embrace and Death Vortex.
-Dwarf: Great for sword-and-board if you're pumping Con as a third stat. Not much reason outside of what you already know about them though Rockwalk gets special note as it's an escape option that's also a teleport; if you've gotten wise enough to equip egos that grant buffs when teleporting (voidstalker, void-walker, etc), that means all of your movement abilities get the same buff.
-Doomelf: Haste of the Doomed gets the same note as Rockwalk (even though you most likely won't be pumping Willpower). If going two hander, Resiliance is really good and Corruption is brilliant for the Darkness damage buff.
-Ghoul: Sword and Board is way better than you'd think here. You're tanky as hell and the movement penalty doesn't really hurt all that much when your only movement abilities are teleport and you can bring things into your face. You also get Ghoulish Leap which is nice here. Infusion penalty doesn't hurt as much as you'd think due to your first racial ability and die at amount. Just make sure to get Drain Essence, Reaper's Shroud, Vampiric Embrace, and Hungering Blade setup somewhat quick.
-Skeleton: You'll want Dexterity if you're looking for a staff build, which goes well into your shield. Racials are all good here, but no infusions tends to hurt here way more than Ghoul. Vampiric Embrace and Hungering Blade are nigh essential here. Imagine if you will however, Re-Assemble+Shadow of Death.
-Cornac: Not much worth mentioning, but you do get to unlock Squire early. The generics you're given are typically good enough to not miss a racial tree (in my opinion anyway, I feel the same way about Doombringer), and you can always go for Tinkers or Light. Maybe even Harmony if you've had no luck with escorts.
-Orc: Orcish Fury is pretty awesome here for the same reason as Militant Mind, you might want to boost Con and go Sword and Board. Undying and Hold the Ground synergize well, though you most likely won't be putting Willpower in. Skirmisher, Reaper's Shroud, and Shackle Soul mean you'll have both defense and a meatshield after you kill something, which is nice.
-Yeti: You're gong to take a lot of hits, Resilient Body is cool for that. Mindwave isn't bad if Dark Tide didn't apply the bane you wanted, will break soul fragments, and Mind damage might be useful when you're around something that resists Darkness/Cold (or you're starring down the barrel of a Mana Clash). You probably aren't pumping Will but 30% chance to freeze still isn't bad considering it's instant with no cost, and the iceblock piercing will synergize with shields that freeze enemies (this shield ego tends to be cool with Frost). Keep in mind Remorseless Winter makes unbreakable blocks though.
-Whitehoof: Native Silence resistance is always nice. Good for Two Handers due to the ability to actually move fast (plus Dirge). Essence Drain gets some good synergy with your aura, Death Vortex, and Remorseless Winter.

Somewhat bad ideas:
-Yeek: Unlike Bulwark, a sword-and-board DK doesn't get much movement help outside of Dirge so speed might be nice (though Whitehooves might be better at this in DK). Your life sucks for staying in melee, but a high die at may just help you here. Wayist, Ghouls, Squire, and Wraiths are indispensable here because you probably need something to be a meatshield. You get Silence resistance and Mental Save, but you won't be pumping will for Dominant Will. Better for Necromancer IMO.
-Higher: The only abilities you're going to be benefiting from here are Born into Magic and Highborn's Bloom, and even then it won't be much help. Outside of a point or three in Heightened Senses sight radius is near useless here unlike Necromancer, and you won't be pumping will much. In 1.5 the healing got a buff with some healmod, but it's still not as good as you probably won't be doing much for Will.

As for stat priority, typically for me it's STR=MAG>CON or CUN depending on build>DEX>WIL. Cunning if you're looking for more crits for Enshroud and possibly to help Grim Harvest, and Constitution for tanking harder (Dexterity is an alternative to Con. More Con will give you healmod which is pretty great for this build but crits suck.). Dexterity is a higher priority with Magic as your main stat with staves. Will isn't needed all that much; even with a whole bunch of sustains you aren't chopping much off, and most of your abilities don't cost a ton. Spirit Feed gives you good base mana regen anyway.

Quick prodigy list:
-Arcane Might is a bit of a given here, even moreso than classes like Doombringer or Arcane Blade due to Spirit Feed. The only reason why this wouldn't help you massively is if you're using a Staff build or are doing something weird.
-Temporal Form is nice for certain enemies. Cold damage focus especially can often run into 100% resist. Turn it on and kill them quick.
-Subcutaneous Metallization is worth noting. Imagine this with your huge die-at.
-Giant Leap can actually prove really useful given your movement issues, especially when you want to get at an Antimagic using rare.
-Eye of the Tiger is really nice with a Two-Handed setup, especially if Death Vortex or one of your teleports gets reset. May be overkill with Grim Harvest.
-Flexible Combat is pretty useful, considering how close ranged focused you are, especially if you have a breath or Greater Weapon Focus as a glove on-hit ability.
-Most builds will probably get a lot out of Pain Enhancement System.
-Irresistible Sun may sound slightly odd for having the direct opposite elements of a Deathknight and having functionality already present in your arsenal, but given you can do the required damage requirements you'll definitely find a lot of use in getting another button for bringing jerkholes into your face (provided you didn't get a Telekinetic Core, at least). A bonus is that it can be used in the presence of Antimagic rares or Orc Mage Hunters to kill them quicker.
-Range Amplification Device can help some of your skills, but the fatigue is something of a blow when you're in full plate (even with the 1.5 buff). I Can Carry The World can help you with this, as well as buff you in other areas.
-Spectral Shield is nice if you're going Sword and Board, but it won't really be as useful as with Bulwark. Ditto with Eternal Guard.
-Staff builds may appreciate Telos's Spire of Power because it basically ups all your abilities' damage (plus Enshroud) 37% and you have the ability to get some life drain, but you won't be able to use all of the staff's powers. It may be more appealing if you happen to be a Ghoul that likes to Retch a lot...
-Windblade for a pretty good ranged weapon attack especially if you didn't invest much in that area.
-Unbreakable Will is nice, because probably your worst status problems will come from mental. Draconic Will may be a little better in this case though.
-Armor of Shadows is unexpectedly useful for a DK, especially with Enshroud. You basically have the buff as soon as you attack given the right setup. However, you probably already have 100% hardness unless you're running a Staff build or use generic points for Armor Training past 3 somewhere else.

[astralInferno]

Got this error today on an abomination of a character. Their abominableness shouldn't affect it tho, seems to happen when Squire uses Dusk Shield, although it only happened the once - so presumably more complex than that...

[Razakai]

Yeah there's a few bugs revolving around the tooltip for block value with shields. Sorry! Been meaning to work on ToME but real life work is ridiculous at the moment so barely have any free time with all my projects and deadlines.

[dadito]

Gonna check the class out, i'm creating the character right now, but from what I see there are no free generics on the class? Only have 3 generics to spend since you start with 2 of them locked because shields, most classes get a few free generics right? I think bulwark has the most at lvl 1

Anyways, i'm taking a look at the skills and looks pretty promising, i'll be back later after I get the character rolling