High Elf, Shadow Warrior

When Malekith rose up in treacherous revolt against the Phoenix King and his servants, the majority of his followers came from area of Ulthuan known as Nagarythe. Before the civil war that irrevocably divided the Elven people, Nagarythe is said to have been the greatest of all the kingdoms of Ulthuan. It was from Nagarythe that the first Phoenix King, Aenarion the Defender, held court. There were some Elves of Nagarythe that believed Malekith unfit to rule, and chose instead to support Bel-Shanaar as Aenarion's successor.

Though he was eventually defeated and forced to flee the lands of his birth, Malekith was not without resources. At the end of the civil war, the Sorceresses in the Witch King's service cast a spell that tore fragments of Ulthuan free, thereby forming the Black Arks. The resulting damage to the Island continent resulted in most of Nagarythe being swallowed by the sea, and the Elves that lived there became disinherited nomads.

Tome Unlocks

Destruction Only

Task	Rewards	Destruction Text
Encounter a Shadow Warrior	XP: 84	N/A
Kill 25 Shadow Warriors	XP: 204	N/A
Victim	Title: The Heedless, XP: 336	Be Defeated by a Shadow Warrior
Kill 100 Shadow Warriors	XP: 500	N/A
Spoils of War	Pocket: Simpleton's Guide to Silence, XP: 806	Collect a Specific Item from a Vanquished Shadow Warrior
Kill 1,000 Shadow Warriors	Title: The Infiltrator, XP: 1050	N/A
What do We Have Here?	Pocket: Broken Bowstring, XP: 1476	Learn about the Shadow Warrior by completing a specific task
Kill 10,000 Shadow Warriors	Title: Favored of Malekith, XP: 1800	N/A
Drop the Top	Trophy: Golden High Elf Eliminator, One Pip, XP: 1800	Defeat the Current Highest Ranking Shadow Warrior Player
Kill 100,000 Shadow Warriors	Trophy: Golden High Elf Eliminator, Two Pips, XP: 1974	N/A

Order Only

Task	Rewards	Order Text
What do We Have Here?	Pocket: Broken Bowstring, XP: 1476	Learn about the Shadow Warrior by completing a specific task

Class Changes

• Leading Shots tactic critical hit rate reduced from 15% to 8%
• In Assault stance, Dodge Strikethrough increases from gear will now convert to Parry Strikethrough (link)
• +10% Parry when in Assault Stance, but reduces Dodge by 10% (link) (dodge penalty removed link)
• Melee attacks have a 25% chance to increase Autoattack speed by 25% 33% for 5s (original link proc increased)
• Morale 2 ability Unshakeable Focus removed (link)
• Disabled Ranged Autoattack while in Assault Stance (link)
• Increased melee autoattack damage by 65% while in Assault stance (link)
• Swift Strikes will now grant a movement speed bonus while being channeled (link)
• Merciless Soldier has had the AP reduction benefit removed and now grants a 50% critical damage increase to these abilities: Opportunistic Strike, Grim Slash, Exploit Weakness, Counterstrike, Brutal Assault, and Sweeping Slash; it will also grant a 25% critical chance increase to these abilities: Draw Blood and Swift Strikes. (link)
• Flanking Shot from the Skirmish tree is now a core ability (link)
• Barrage is now the 5pt ability in the Skirmish tree (link)
• Shadow Sting is now the 9pt ability in the Skirmish tree (link)
• Eye Shot is now the 13pt ability in the Skirmish tree (link)
• Fell the Weak now gains its increased damage modifier at 30% target hp, up from 20% (link)
• Reduced the AP cost of the No Quarter tactic to 13, down from 20 (link)

Builds

• Tier 1: When you're just starting out, it doesn't matter much where you put your points, but it's widely accepted that the Skirmish tree is the most viable.
  • Grab your Centuries of Training tactic at level 11, but at 15 you can explore swapping to Replenishing Strikes since Shadow Warrior is an AP hog. Note that Unshakeable Focus is not in the game, so you only have your morale 1 to slot with Point-Blank.
• Mid Tier: If you want the cookie cutter, top tier Shadow Warrior playstyle for mid tier, check out this Skirmish centered build.
  • Grab Masterful Aim at level 19 for a damage buff via more Ballistic Skill. At 20, your tactics should be Masterful Aim plus either Replenishing Strikes or Centuries of Training. Take Concealment as a defensive m1 (morale 1) to deal with enemy ranged dps, and Focused Mind since it's your only m2. Focused Mind will help you get out of bad situations by cleansing and making you immune to all slows for 10s. Continuing into Skirmish tree, you should grab Shadow Sting, one of the few spammable heal debuffs in the game, at level 25; add Powerful Draw at 28 and change it out with whichever tactic you were pairing with Masterful Aim. At 30, you get another tactic slot, so you can explore whether or not you want the extra damage from Centuries of Training, the added utility with Pierce Defenses, or the AP regen with Replenishing Strikes.
• Mid Tier Scout Alternative: If you want to explore the other trees Shadow Warrior has to offer, try this stationary single target bomb build through Scout.
  • The build is focused around Festering Arrow, boosted by the Enchanted Arrows tactic. Don't neglect Glass Arrow as it deals a good amount of damage and is instant cast, so you can trigger it while kiting or chasing before you swap to Skirmish stance. Grab Masterful aim and Enchanted Arrows as your core two tactics, and at 30 you can explore whether Centuries of Training, Pierce Defenses, or Replenishing Strikes feel right to complete the build. Remember to activate Steady Aim while your Festering Arrow is in flight, then Rapid Fire while Steady Aim is active since channeled abilities are not impacted by build time increases.