shadow warrior vs. shadow master

[Millipede]

what are the main differences between these two? normally i just max out shadow master but im contemplating using the shadow warrior this time instead so it wont always be running off and doing weird things i dont want it to (like mind blasting everything) does it get equipment upgrades at higher levels like the master or is everything about it based on your own skills and equipment?

[zaphodbrx]

Well let me put it this way. If you have good equipment.. doesn't need to be godly like last wish or something, just decently good.. then you don't need either of these two, they simply get in your way. On the other hand if you're playing untwinked, then the shadow master is an angel sent from heaven. When I first started out ( untwinked ), I had a 'malice' scissors suwwayyah, some random greater talons given by anya, Hawkmail armor, random circlet, random gloves, etc etc ( you get the idea ), and I was able to make it all the way up till hell ancients- simply because of the shadow master. I think I could have still beaten them if I had persevered, but luckily I found a Duriel's shell and two Bartucs on my other characters so I used them to beat the game.

The main difference is that SW will only use the skills that you are using at the moment, while SM will use anything she feels like. On the other hand, SM is a much superior minion, better hp, better resists, and she mindblasts for you which is actually good if you're low on the gear curve.

[Millipede]

does the shadow warrior get gear upgrades like the shadow master (or valkerie) at higher skill levels? or is it's damage simply based on your own set of skills and gear? i notice it doesnt get resists either so does that mean it would have -30 resists in hell?

[stephan]

Shadow Warrior gets 4*slvl resists with a max of 75 (is maxed out at slvl 17). Shadows do not suffer from NM/Hell penalties and have a standard 40%DR at any level.

I don't remember exactly how the gear upgrades work for Warrior but it doesn't really matter, because you can use both Shadows really only as tank. The extra kill speed you get from them is minimal.

The biggest difference between them is the Master's autonomy.

[mephiztophelez]

The main difference is that SW will only use the skills that you are using at the moment, while SM will use anything she feels like.

bingo. for this reason, some PvP'sins tend to prefer the Warrior to Master.

[Millipede]

one more thing: the arreat summit says that shadow master gets a rare helmet (of the same type youre wearing) at level 11. i swear i remember reading somewhere that at level 26 or 27 it will spawn with its own rare circlet regardless of whatever your helmet is..

if thats not the case then would it make sense to wear some type of circlet seeing as how circlets can get awesome mods that other helmets cant? like if the shadowmaster rolled a circlet with +2 to skills would it benefit from it?

[jiansonz]

On the other hand, SM is a much superior minion, better hp, better resists

Only what may come from the Masterīs gear, as the their base HP are the same.

Master gets better resists than Warrior at lower leves, but they both max out at 75 (Warrior at slvl 19, Master at slvl 20). If your assassin knows the skill Fade, you can force the Warrior to use Fade, so in many situations, the Warrior is actually the potentially better tank against heavy elemental damage.



Here are their gear:

Shadow Warrior
Magical Cestus, Blade Talons and random magic Headgear and Body Armor (which is the same base type as the assassinīs).

Shadow Master
Initial equipment:
Superior Headgear (uses the base type of the assassinīs headgear)
Superior Body Armor (uses the base type of the assassinīs armor)
Superior Suwayyah/War Fist/Scissors Suwayyah (random)
Superior Battle Cestus/Runic Talons/Scissors Suwayyah (random)

Level 5: Add Superior Bramble Mitts/Vambraces/Ogre Gauntlets (random)

Level 6: Upgrade all equipment from Superior to Magic

Level 9: Add a magic Ring.

Level 11: Upgrade all equipment from Magic to Rare.

Level 13: Add a second Rare Ring.

Level 17: Add a Rare Amulet.

if thats not the case then would it make sense to wear some type of circlet seeing as how circlets can get awesome mods that other helmets cant?

Exactly. Circlets can get a little ED boost, a little elemental damage, resist all, +assassin/traps/MA skills (regular helms can get +Shadow Disciplines, though), life steal, faster run, etc. that regular helms canīt.

[Swamigoon]

What about defense? I remember the shadow warrior skill advertises defense bonuses that increase with skill level. Does the shadow master get the same defense bonuses?

[wickedswami]

extra question: how are the skill levels of the shadow master/warrior defined? Do they ahve the same slvl as you have? Or are they dependent on their own level.

[KiraZ]

Shadow warrior does gain Defense bonus per level, but the master also have a higher ilvl for her equipment as well as rares (and rings, and amulet, and...) at higher levels. Therefore, the master may get some enhanced defense % (or higher number of it) to offset some of the difference. Also, would you like more defense or more resist for your own char? Remember, high level Master is more likely to receive +res all prefix (or again, higher level of +res all) and be immune to all elements without the hassle of fade. I'll do a full A1-A5 MF run with her if I ever get that lucky

Regarding skill level, I believe the formula is Shadow master/warrior (whichever one u use) divided by 3 + the relevant skill divided by 2.

The Assassin FAQ stickied has many more info about them. Try to read them before making the decision. Oh, I'm going Master btw.