Revision as of 23:18, 23 April 2023

Description

Only the blackest pits of hell can spew forth the soul that will become a Shadow Knight. Before birth, this soul is molded in the direct image of the evil god that is to be his master. This fact is known early in the child’s life, and the soul’s dark aura draws the priests from the temples in search of their evil god’s new servant. From birth Shadow Knights are taught to hate all things pure, and the destruction of all that is good and holy is their foul mission.

At a young age, fueled by the hatred and bitterness imbued by their god, they are brought into training to become a dark knight. Day after day they train, becoming proficient not only in the arts of killing, but in magnifying the inflicted pain, reveling in watching their opponents suffer as they die. This is the fire that drives them from the temples that have become their homes and out to slaughter indiscriminately until they feel that their destiny has been fulfilled.

Shadow Knights begin their unholy crusade with only the skills they learn in the temples and their natural fighting abilities. The first few months are a test to see whether or not the creature will fare well in the overworld. Upon attaining their ninth rank, the gods themselves touch their Shadow Knights, giving them direct control over the dark magics. Fear, pain and mastery of the undead are among the many gifts bestowed upon those paragons of evil who survive their initial tests. These, coupled with the devastating ability known more commonly as Harm Touch, make the newly reborn Shadow Knight an entity to fear and avoid.

Because of the evil aura that emanates from these dark knights, most inhabitants of Norrath react to them in a fearful, almost terrified manner. Even in their own cities, they are shunned, spoken about only in whispers and avoided at all costs. Like rats, Human Shadow Knights live beneath the cities in the sewers and tunnels. Even in the cities of the evil races — the homes of Trolls, Ogres and the mysterious Dark Elves — they are shunned and distrusted.

In battle, the Shadow Knight is a fanatic; charging into the fight to stand toe to toe with the enemy, ably assisted by a skeletal minion. Though fanatics, these knights are wise fighters and will back off to fight another day if the tide of battle turns against them. If they are terribly outnumbered, a well placed Harm Touch or a fear spell may even the odds a bit or at least give them time to flee.

by Chris Skinner

Class Titles

Level 1-50	Level 51-54	Level 55-59	Level 60
Shadow Knight	Reaver	Revenant	Grave Lord

Creation Guide

It is important to make good decisions on Race, Starting Stats, and Religion. These things combined will allow you to create the Shadowknight that makes you most happy.

Choosing Race

Choosing a race for any class can be a difficult decision--do not choose a race based on abilities alone. Choose the Race that provides you with the right mix of racial benefits, religion, cultural armor sets, and statistics that benefit your class. Here are some considerations for your Shadowknight:

Dark Elf

Dark Elves make great Shadowknights. They have a decent Strength and a high Intelligence. These Elves can wear small to medium armor and have ultravision. While they are not the most frightening of the races, in full black plate with a skeletal minion by their side they are an awesome sight. Dark Elves are hated throughout Norrath, but so are the Shadow Knights of any other race. The biggest drawback Dark Elf Shadow Knights face is at higher levels, where it takes most of their Strength just to wear the extremely heavy Shadow Knight armor.

Erudite

Erudite Shadowknights are outcasts from Erudin and generally hated throughout the lands. They are the most intelligent of all the Shadow Knights, yet lack the infravision that the other races have. Erudite Shadow Knights can expect a hard life, particularly at lower levels where their unimpressive physical stats limit their development as fighters, and they face the hatred of almost all the creatures in their own starting lands.

Gnome

The addition of Gnomes as Shadowknights offers a unique opportunity to try something different during an era that did not offer this race/class combination. Don't let their small stature fool you--Gnomes can make formidable Shadowknights.

Human

Probably the most downtrodden of all the Shadow Knights, Human Shadow Knights are invariably banned from the cities and forced to live in underground sewer systems and tunnels. Even though they worship the same gods, and practice the same arts, they are also never allowed in the cities of the Dark Elves, Trolls or Ogres, unless they work long and hard to prove their sincere devotion to the dark arts. Humans lack infravision, regeneration or other unique abilities. They do have good all- around stats, and it’s somewhat easier for them to overcome hatred of their class than it is for their Erudite brethren.

Iksar

This race becomes playable after the launch of the Ruins of Kunark expansion. Iksars can only trade in Cabilis, and and are otherwise unwelcome in all other cities in Norrath except Thurgadin. They will level the slowest (along with Trolls) with a 20% racial experience penalty. On servers where the hybrid class experience penalty is still in place, which includes Original and Kunark servers, it will take an Iksar or Troll Shadowknight more than twice the experience to reach Level 60 as compared to a Halfling warrior. They cannot wear Plate armor until the Scars of Velious expansion. They do, however get to Forage, have increased armor class (+15AC), increased hp regeneration, infravision, swimming starting at 100, +5 Fire Resist, and -10 Cold Resist.

Ogre

Their immense size and Strength give them an ominous presence, and their Strength is a bonus in many other ways. Not only will the Ogre be able to carry more equipment, she will also hit much harder in later levels. Their biggest drawback is their low Intelligence, but this is more than made up for by their massive physical abilities. The Ogre Shadow Knight is a truly fearsome creature.

Troll

An extremely fun combination to play, the Troll Shadow Knight is strong and hardy, and comes fully equipped with infravision and enhanced regeneration. The large stature of this race can be somewhat cumbersome, but the image of a massive creature in solid black followed by an undead minion is one that will leave your opponents with nightmares. Their biggest downside is their low Intelligence and slow accumulation of experience, the worst of all the races.

Starting Statistics

It is important to note that each race has slightly different starting statistics. For Clerics, your WIS is important for a larger mana pool, and AGI contributes to your AC. You will likely find that it is easiest to max WIS if you pursue raiding and high-end gear.

Race	STR	DEX	AGI	STA	INT	WIS	CHA	Bonus
Dark Elf	70	75	90	70	109	83	65	20
Erudite	70	70	70	75	117	83	75	20
Gnome	70	85	85	75	108	67	65	20
Human	85	75	75	80	85	75	80	20
Iksar	80	85	90	75	85	80	60	20
Ogre	140	70	70	127	70	67	42	20
Troll	118	75	83	114	62	60	45	20

Each race gets 20 bonus points to apply to the base stats of their choosing.

Religion

Religion is not of a huge concern to Shadow Knights as they are already hated. Most choose to worship Innoruuk the Prince of Hate, as it ties in well their role. The other choices are Cazic-Thule, Bertoxxulous, or Rallos Zek. Shadow Knights cannot be agnostic, as their dark powers are directly linked to their study or worship of their deity and the dead.

Skills

Male Shadowknight from Casters Realm ~2000

Casting Skills

Level	Trained	Skill	Cap Until 50	Cap Above 50
1	No	Abjuration	235	235
1	No	Alteration	235	235
1	No	Channeling	200	220
1	No	Conjuration	235	235
1	No	Divination	235	235
1	No	Evocation	235	235
8	Yes	Meditate	185	235
30	Yes	Specialization

Combat Skills

Level	Trained	Skill	Cap Until 50	Cap Above 50	Feb 21, 2001*
1	No	1 Hand Blunt	200	225
1	No	2 Hand Blunt	200	225
1	No	Bind Wound	100	200
1	No	Defense	210	230	252
1	No	Hand to Hand	75	100
1	No	Offense	200	230
15	Yes	Dodge	125	155

Note: Defense skill cap made exactly same as warriors in the Feb 21, 2001 patch.

Miscellaneous Skills

Like all classes, Shadowknights can raise the following skills:

Level	Trained	Skill	Cap Until 50	Cap Above 50
1	No	Alcohol Tolerance	200	200
1	No	Begging	200	200
1	No	Fishing	200	200
1	No	Sense Heading	200	200
1	No	Swimming	200	200

Disciplines

Shadow Knight disciplines were introduced with the Velious expansion; they offer short term advantages with a long re-use: These are most useful in dragon/boss encounters.

Discipline Name	Level Obtained	Description	Duration	Reuse Time	Feb 21, 2001
Resistant Discipline	51	+10 to all resistances. The reuse time for this discipline will decrease as you level.	1 Min	72 Min
Fearless Discipline	54	Immunity to "Fear" and all spells that cause "fear". The reuse time for this discipline will decrease as you level.	11 Sec	72 Min
Unholy Aura Discipline	55	25% increase to damage done by Harm Touch in addition to making it nearly un-resistable.	Next Harm Touch	72 Min
Leechcurse Discipline	60	Heal self for every point of melee damage dealt while discipline is active.	15 Seconds	72 Min	Increases hit probability in addition to its other effects.

Hybrid Casting

The following patch message was included in the February 21, 2001 patch on EQ Live just over two months after the launch of The Scars of Velious. It will not apply to FV server until the project reaches Velious:

Hybrids that cast spells in combat were taking double penalties at higher levels. The casting times of their spells went up, and the amount of melee damage they do per second went up. This results is having to take longer to cast spells, and losing more damage/second for each second taken in casting. To help offset this, Rangers, Paladins and Shadowknights casting non-beneficial spells that have casting times greater than or equal to 3 seconds, now get a 3 % reduction in casting time for each level over 50. 3% at 51, 6% at 52, etc., to 30% at 60. Again, this applies only to non-beneficial spells.

Pet Information

Spell	Level	Pet Level	Pet Class	Pet ~HP	Max Hit	Misc	Necromancer Pet Level
Leering Corpse	9	3-5	Warrior	70-90	8-12	-	4
Bone Walk	15	7-9	Warrior	180-200	9-14	Gains Bash and Kick	8
Convoke Shadow	22	9-11	Warrior	180-200	12-16	-	12
Restless Bones	30	12-16	Warrior	260-300	13-20	Gains innate magic attacks (without wielding a magic weapon)	16
Animate Dead	39	15-19	Warrior	325-375	14-22	Gains Dual Wield @ pet level 19 (requires weapons)	20
Summon Dead	49	22-25	Warrior	675-775	20-28	-	29
Malignant Dead	52	29-33	Warrior	800-1000	31-39	Gains innate Dual Wield (no weapons needed) and fast regen	39
Cackling Bones	58	33-37	Warrior	1100-1400	39-47	Gains Lifetap proc	44

Spells

Level 9

Spell Name	Mana	Cast Time	Recast Time	Skill	Duration	Target	Range	Description
Disease Cloud	10	1.5	6	Con	6m	Single	200	Increase Disease Counter by 1, Decrease HP when cast by 5, Decrease Hitpoints by 1 per tick
Invisibility versus Undead	40	4	4	Div	27m	Single	100	Invisibility versus Undead
Leering Corpse	40	6	9.5	Con	0	Self	0	Summon Skeleton Pet: skel_pet_5_, Uses: Bone Chips x 1
Lifetap	9	1.5	2.25	Alt	0	Lifetap	200	Decrease Hitpoints by 3 (L1) to 5 (L4)
Locate Corpse	5	1.5	3	Div	0	Self	10000	Locate Corpse, (Area 1000)
Sense the Dead	5	2	2.25	Div	0	Self	0	Sense Undead, (Area 240)
Siphon Strength	5	1.5	6	Alt	6m	Single	200	Decrease STR by 5 (L1) to 10 (L10)

Level 15

Spell Name	Mana	Cast Time	Recast Time	Skill	Duration	Target	Range	Description
Bone Walk	80	7	9.5	Con	0	Self	0	Summon Skeleton Pet: skel_pet_9_, Uses: Bone Chips x 1
Clinging Darkness	20	1.75	4	Alt	36s	Single	200	Decrease Hitpoints by 5 per tick, Decrease Movement by 24% (L4) to 30% (L10)
Endure Cold	20	2.5	2.25	Abj	27m	Single	100	Increase Cold Resist by 11 (L1) to 20 (L10)
Fear	40	3.5	7	Alt	18s	Single	200	Fear(1)
Lifespike	18	1.75	2.25	Alt	0	Lifetap	200	Decrease Hitpoints by 9 (L4) to 11 (L8)
Numb the Dead	20	2	3	Abj	2m	Und	200	Frenzy Radius(15/30), Reaction Radius(25/30), Pacify
Shadow Step	10	1	5	Alt	0	Self	900	Shadowstep

Level 22

Spell Name	Mana	Cast Time	Recast Time	Skill	Duration	Target	Range	Description
Convoke Shadow	120	8	11	Con	0	Self	0	Summon Skeleton Pet: skel_pet_11_, Uses: Bone Chips x 1
Dark Empathy	20	4	7.5	Alt	0	Single	100	Increase Hitpoints by 30
Deadeye	35	3	2.25	Div	27m	Self	0	See Invisible(1), Infravision
Engulfing Darkness	60	2.45	4	Con	1m	Single	200	Decrease Hitpoints by 11 per tick, Decrease Movement by 40%
~~Grim Aura~~*	25	3.00	2.25	Alt	12 minutes @L4 to 27 minutes @L9	Self		Increase ATK by 7 (L4) to 10 (L10) *14 on my SK lvl 22*
Spook the Dead	10	2	4	Alt	18s	Und	200	Fear(1)
Vampiric Embrace	30	3	6	Alt	7:30	Self	0	Add Proc: VampEmbraceNecro
Ward Undead	30	2.1	2.25	Evo	0	Und	200	Decrease Hitpoints by 35 (L5) to 41 (L11)

Note: Grim Aura was added at L22 for Shadowknights and enhanced in the February 21, 2001 3:00 am patch a few months after Velious launch. It was previously a Necromancer-only spell.

Level 29

Spell Name	Mana	Cast Time	Recast Time	Skill	Duration	Target	Range	Description	Expansion
~~Strengthen Death~~	50	6.00	30.00	Alt	1 hour	Pet	100	Pet Only Melee Buff

Note: Strengthen Death was was the pet buff added at L29 in the February 21, 2001 3:00 am patch a few months after Velious launch.

Level 30

Spell Name	Mana	Cast Time	Recast Time	Skill	Duration	Target	Range	Description
Endure Disease	20	2.5	2.25	Abj	27m	Single	100	Increase Disease Resist by 19 (L9) to 20 (L10)
Feign Death	60	1.5	15	Abj	0	Self	0	Feign Death
Gather Shadows	35	5	2.25	Div	20m	Self	0	Invisibility
Heat Blood	72	2.45	4	Alt	1m	Single	200	Decrease Hitpoints by 17 per tick
Lifedraw	63	2.45	2.25	Alt	0	Lifetap	200	Decrease Hitpoints by 39 (L12) to 45 (L18)
Restless Bones	160	9	2.25	Con	0	Self	0	Summon Skeleton Pet: skel_pet_16_, Uses: Bone Chips x 1
Wave of Enfeeblement	40	2.5	5.5	Alt	4m	PB AE	0	Decrease STR by 11 (L12) to 15 (L20), (Area 30)

Level 34

Spell Name	Mana	Cast Time	Recast Time	Skill	Duration	Target	Range	Description	Expansion
Shieldskin*	41	3.50	2.25	Abj	36 minutes	Self		Protective Skin Spell

Note: Shieldskin was moved from L39 to L34 in the February 21, 2001 3:00 am patch a few months after Velious launch.

Level 39

Spell Name	Mana	Cast Time	Recast Time	Skill	Duration	Target	Range	Description
Animate Dead	200	10	2.25	Con	0	Self	0	Summon Skeleton Pet: skel_pet_19_, Uses: Bone Chips x 1
Cancel Magic	30	3.5	5	Abj	0	Single	200	Cancel Magic(1)
Expulse Undead	60	2.75	2.25	Evo	0	Und	200	Decrease Hitpoints by 88 (L14) to 94 (L20)
Heart Flutter	80	2.75	7	Alt	1:12	Single	200	Decrease STR by 15 (L16) to 20 (L26), Decrease AC by 7 (L16) to 9 (L24), Decrease Hitpoints by 12 per tick
Resist Cold	50	4.5	2.25	Abj	36m	Single	100	Increase Cold Resist by 39 (L24) to 40 (L25)
Shadow Vortex	40	1.5	6	Alt	7:30	Single	200	Decrease AC by 9 (L20) to 12 (L30)
Shieldskin*	41	3.50	2.25	Abj	36 minutes	Self		Protective Skin Spell
~~Shroud of Hate~~	60	1.50	6.00	Alt	10 minutes	Single	200	Transfer ATK from target to caster

Note: Shieldskin was moved from L39 to L34 in the February 21, 2001 3:00 am patch a few months after Velious launch.

Level 49

Spell Name	Mana	Cast Time	Recast Time	Skill	Duration	Target	Range	Description
Breath of the Dead	45	2.5	2.25	Alt	27m	Self	0	Water Breathing(1), Uses: Fish Scales x 1
Dismiss Undead	90	3.3	2.25	Evo	0	Und	200	Decrease Hitpoints by 140 (L24) to 162 (L35)
Dooming Darkness	120	4	2.25	Con	1:30	Single	200	Decrease Hitpoints by 20 per tick, Decrease Movement by 49% (L29) to 59% (L48)
Invoke Fear	100	2.5	7	Alt	42s	Single	200	Fear(1)
Life Leech	315	2.5	120	Alt	0	Lifetap	200	Decrease Hitpoints by 280
Shadow Sight	50	3	2.25	Div	27m	Self	100	Ultravision, See Invisible(1)
Summon Dead	290	12	2.25	Con	0	Self	0	Summon Skeleton Pet: skel_pet_25_, Uses: Bone Chips x 1
Word of Spirit	133	3.5	9	Evo	0	PB AE	0	Decrease Hitpoints by 97 (L29) to 103 (L32), (Area 20)

Level 50

Spell Name	Mana	Cast Time	Recast Time	Skill	Duration	Target	Range	Description	Expansion
~~Shroud of Pain~~	100	1.50	6.00	Alt	10 min	Single	200	Transfer AC from target to caster

Level 51

Spell Name	Mana	Cast Time	Recast Time	Skill	Duration	Target	Range	Description	Expansion
Siphon Life	72	3.10	2.25	Abj	Instant	Single	200	transfer life from target to caster
~~Summon Corpse~~	700	5.00	12.00	Alt	Instant	Single		summons corpse to your location, within the same zone

Level 52

Spell Name	Mana	Cast Time	Recast Time	Skill	Duration	Target	Range	Description
Malignant Dead	390	14.00	2.25	Conj	Instant	Self		Summon a Skeleton Pet that has fast regen and innately dual wields
~~Summon Companion~~	50	5.00	2.50	Conj	Instant	Self		Summons your pet to your current location
Rest the Dead	75	3.00	2.25	Abj	3 min	Undead	200	Undead only aggro radius reducer

Level 53

Spell Name	Mana	Cast Time	Recast Time	Skill	Duration	Target	Range	Description	Expansion
Boil Blood	150	4.00	2.25	Alt	16 ticks @L29 to 21 ticks @L42	Single	200	Fire Based DoT

Level 54

Spell Name	Mana	Cast Time	Recast Time	Skill	Duration	Target	Range	Description	Expansion
Banshee Aura	60	5.00	9.50	Abj	4.2 minutes @L16 to 9 minutes @L40	Self		Self Only Damage Shield
Panic the Dead	50	2.00	4.00	Alt	9 ticks	Undead	200	Causes target to flee

Level 55

Spell Name	Mana	Cast Time	Recast Time	Skill	Duration	Target	Range	Description
Bobbing Corpse	100	6.00	2.25	Abj	1 hour 3 minutes	Self		Levitate, Water Breathing and poison Resist.
Expel Undead	130	4.30	2.25	Evo	Instant	Undead	200	Undead Only Direct Damage
~~Shroud of Death~~	100	3.00	6.00	Alt	20 minutes	Self		Imbue Self with Lifetap Proc
~~Shroud of Undeath~~	100	3.00	6.00	Alt	20 minutes	Self		Skeletal Form and Imbue Self with Lifetap Proc
Spirit Tap*	144	4.00	2.25	Alt	Instant	Lifetap	200	Transfer life from target to caster

Note: Spirit Tap was moved from L56 (Kunark Era launch) to L55 in the February 21, 2001 3:00 am patch a few months after Velious launch.

Level 56

Spell Name	Mana	Cast Time	Recast Time	Skill	Duration	Target	Range	Description	Expansion
Steelskin	149	4.50	2.25	Abj	1 hour 12 minutes	Self		Damage Absorber
Spirit Tap*	144	4.00	2.25	Alt	Instant	Lifetap	200	Transfer life from target to caster

Note: Spirit Tap was moved from L56 (Kunark Era launch) to L55 in the February 21, 2001 3:00 am patch a few months after Velious launch.

Level 57

Spell Name	Mana	Cast Time	Recast Time	Skill	Duration	Target	Range	Description	Expansion
Drain Spirit*	189	5.30	2.25	Alt	Instant	Single	200	Transfer life from target to caster
Vampiric Curse	144	4.00	10.00	Alt	9 ticks	Single	200	Transfers life from target to caster over time

Note: Drain Spirit was moved from L60 to L57 in the February 21, 2001 3:00 am patch a few months after Velious launch.

Level 58

Spell Name	Mana	Cast Time	Recast Time	Skill	Duration	Target	Range	Description	Expansion
Cackling Bones	450	15.00	2.25	Conj	Instant	Self		Summon a skeleton pet with a lifetap proc
Nullify Magic	50	4.50	6.00	Div	Instant	Single	200	Summon a skeleton pet with a lifetap proc

Level 59

Spell Name	Mana	Cast Time	Recast Time	Skill	Duration	Target	Range	Description	Expansion
Cascading Darkness	300	7.00	2.25	Conj	1.6 minutes	Single	200	Deals damage and slows movement of target
Diamondskin*	236	5.00	2.25	Alt	1 hour 30 minutes	Self		Self Only Damage Absorption

Note: Diamondskin was added at L59 for Shadowknights in the February 21, 2001 3:00 am patch a few months after Velious launch.

Level 60

Spell Name	Mana	Cast Time	Recast Time	Skill	Duration	Target	Range	Description
Asystole	210	6.10	2.25	Alt	1 minutes	Single	200	Debuffs AC, Str and does damage over time
Drain Spirit*	189	5.30	2.25	Alt	Instant	Single	200	Transfer life from target to caster
Drain Soul*	225	6.10	2.25	Alt	Instant	Single	200	Transfers life from target to caster
~~Death Peace~~	120	1.00	4.00	Abj	Instant	Self		Self Only Fake Death

Note: Drain Soul was added at L60 in the February 21, 2001 3:00 am patch a few months after Velious launch.