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WiP Event Build: Lady of Worlds

Tags: #Event: Songs of the North  #CIIIIIIIIRRRRRRRIIIIIII *cough* 
  • March 15, 2018

    Just going to try fiddling around with some things this time around, really want to try out new presentation styles for this build. Text-wise at least, I mean to be entirely honest I'm fond of my general picture style but yeah, text changes to be made...Yep.

    Anyway, this build is based on Ciri  from the Witcher 3 (specifically the game, I believe the books portray a pretty different character), also more specifically, Ciri based off not playing the damn game for at least a year, and possibly longer since I actually got to playing Ciri (most likely more like two or three years). So if any of the stuff I'm writing feels a bit off, do feel free to mention it. Also

    Disclaimer: Will contain spoilers for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Skyrim and possibly the other Witcher games.

    The Basics
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    Race: Breton, Imperial or Nord

    At the moment I know that I want to play as a human because really I think that it's the most fitting choice. I think that arguably an Imperial or Breton makes the most sense, if you look at Ciri from the game her father (Emhyr var Emeris) was the ruler of the Nilfgaardian Empire. Straight off the bat, this is a pretty decent qualifier for the Imperial Race, though I think fair arguments can be made for the Bretons just based on how similar the two feel (the Nilfgaardian Empire definitely feels more...Breton than Imperial). So really in the end I'm going to narrow it down to Breton or Imperial, but leave it up to the player.

    Imperial

    Discipline: In combat, nearby allies gain bonus armour and attack damage.
    Imperial Virtues: Randomly gain bonus Health, Magicka or Stamina when entering combat.
    The Human Spirit: At levels 10/20/30, you may change your attributes/resistances/skills.

    Quest reward - Complete 20 quests for the people of Skyrim to unlock...

    Colovian Star: 1/day - Replenishes the two attributes with the highest remaining percentage.

    Breton

    Grail of Betony: Find a lost artefact that grants Magicka and Stamina regen.
    Spell Mantle: Resistance to magic, and absorb most incoming spells at low Magicka.
    Stones of Galen: Each standing stone grants its own bonus effect.

    Quest reward - Discover 10 standing stones to unlock...

    Shared Ancestry: 1/day - Temporarily gain the racial power of a target man or mer.

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    Standing Stone: The Shadow

    The Shadow Stone with Andromeda - Unique Standing Stones is an incredibly interesting Standing Stone that is going to define this character's abilities. Now it's normal abilities, Blur and Hide in Shadows are fine, but the unique ability that you gain from finding all 13 Standing Stones is incredible. Shadow Step, allows you to dash to any nearby enemey (75 feet) for the measly cost of 50 Stamina. If it works like I think it will, this will essentially allow us to fight 

    Blur: The Shadow increases movement speed by 20% in combat.
    Hide in Shadows: When near a wall or obstacle, sneaking and sneak attacks are 20% more effective.

    Unlockable...

    Shadow Step: At will - Expend 50 points of Stamina to dash to a nearby target within 75 feet.
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    Stats: 2 Health, 3 Stamina    |    Skills: One-Handed, Alteration, Light Armour and Block    |    Powers: Shadow Step and Whirlwind Sprint

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    Combat: 

    The combat for this build is remarkebly simple, while there are some tactics and special moves that I'll focus on at a later point but for now let's examine just two mechanics that are expanded on by Ordinator. Timed Blocks are a simple mechanic, block your opponent at the last second (literally) rather than just holding your weapon/shield up, gives you a massive range of boosts. The first is that you block 30% more and stagger your opponents and from there it just gets better and better as you increase your Block skill. The second is the Wardancer line of perks for Light Armour which foccus on providing positive effects until you get hit by an unblocked attack, but the negative is that if you do get hit, you lose all the benefits the perks give you for 6 seconds. These form the core of the build's idea, either block attacks or dodge them and use a combination of perks that allow you to stagger and strike back at foes with increased power. 

    It's simple, but based entirely off your personal skill rather than anything else. If you aren't good at Timed Blocks, the build can be rather hard to play with because of it's defensive nature. Of course Ciri still packs quite a punch doing fair amounts of damage, but with just an unenchanted sword and few Power Attack boosts, your best bet is always going to be blocking, dodging and striking back.

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    Perks:

    One-Handed - One-Handed Mastery 2/2, Disciplined Fighter, Rogue's Parry, Clash of Champions 3/3, Thundering Blow and Aftershock (9 Perks)

    Light Armour - Light Armour Mastery 2/2, Light Armour Fit, Initiative 2/2, Windrunner, Wardancer and Glancing Blows (8 Perks)

    Block - Block Mastery 2/2, Timed Block 2/2, Poke the Dragon, Apocalypse Proof 2/2, Dragon Tail, Timing Streak, Break Their Teeth, Deliverance, Dragon Scales, Power Bash and Skull Rattler. (14 Perks)

    Alteration - Alteration Mastery 2/2, Vancian Magic, Quadratic Wizard, Dungeon Master, Wild Shrines and Welloc's Dormant Arcana (8 Perks)

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    Closing Notes:

    This is (temporarily) the end of the line. Got something wrong with my Xbox at the moment, it's just even capable of trying to connect to the internet, and thus I cannot play. So I'm kind of stuck not being able to play the character for awhile, and I still need to do a bit more reading to figure out exactly how to translate Ciri's general story into Skyrim. It's not going to be exact because I've got a kind of weird idea for the whole...Elder Blood or whatever it's called, that's sort of going to make the build a lot weirder but hopefully a tad more interesting. 

    Any thoughts on the Breton/Imperial debate would be highly appreciated, at the moment I'm leaning towards Breton purely for the interesting stuff I think I can pull off with Stones of Galen, namely doubling down on Standing Stones with the Aetherial Crown, picking The Warrior (or Lord) with the Shadow Stone and kind of adding an insanely powerful Power Attack to the character. But Imperials have better bonuses with Colovian Star, Imperial Virtue and The Human Spirit...not sure. 

    Obviously going to edit the artwork a bit more. I mean it's awesome (almost all Ciri art is) but I just like to add my own flair to some images. 

    Image 1 - Original Link

  • Member
    March 15, 2018

    Cool presentation, but that Ciri image isn't loading, liking the build idea though!

  • Member
    March 16, 2018
    I believe Breton works best as Ciri DOES have some elven blood
  • March 16, 2018
    Cool presentation, but that Ciri image isn't loading, liking the build idea though!

    Very strange that the image doesn't work there Wulf, do you mind either screenshotting it or describing the way it isn't showing? Eh, actually nevermind, once I edit it and upload it there shouldn't be much of a problem. Still playing around with the presentation but glad you enjoyed it :D

  • March 16, 2018

    I believe Breton works best as Ciri DOES have some elven blood

    That's sorta where I was leaning, but it depends on where I end up. Because the more I look at it, the less useful Breton's Racial Abilities (with Imperious) seem when compared to the boosts that I get for playing an Imperial. I mean Colovian Star alone is more than worth it since if I combine it with the Warrior (in Aetherial Crown) it'd give me massive Stamina Healing capability...

    Hard to say though, it'll definitely end up as a Gameplay vs. Roleplay sort of thing, and the second is a lot easier for me to manipulate in the end.

  • Member
    March 16, 2018

    Ooh, now I was gonna mention that Illusion spell from Apocalypse which I saw Amo demonstrate - "Ghostwalk: Caster is invisible for X seconds or until broken, then teleports back to where the spell was cast." But your standing stones is even better! Looking forward to watching this take shape.

  • Member
    March 16, 2018

    Now Ciri's image works and she's looking awesome :D Good as ever, Deebs.

  • Member
    March 19, 2018
    Damn, I wish Andromeda was avaliable for PS4 modability. We got Turja, but that only gives passive buffa
  • Member
    March 25, 2018

    I hope you get this sorted soon, DB. Maybe you and I will be crossing the finish line at the last minute?

  • Member
    March 26, 2018

    Paws said:

    I hope you get this sorted soon, DB. Maybe you and I will be crossing the finish line at the last minute?

    See you at the finish line, then! I've barely started!