Archive:A/E Perma Sliver Farmer

This build uses the power of Sliver Armor combined with permanent Shadow Form to farm foes while being almost invulnerable.

Attributes and Skills
[build prof=A/E Shadow_arts=12+1+3 earth_magic=12 deadly=3][glyph of swiftness@0][deadly paradox][Shadow Form][Glyph of Lesser Energy][Ebon Battle Standard of Honor][Sliver armor]["By Ural's Hammer!"][optional][/build]

Optional Skills

 * Air of Superiority (see note below for more information)
 * Intensity
 * "I Am Unstoppable!" (in areas with non-targeted/touch/signet knockdowns)
 * Feigned Neutrality
 * Shadow Refuge
 * Death's Charge (useful for boss farming, body-block-breaking, and minor healing)
 * Shock
 * Dash/Dark Escape (run to farming area)

Equipment

 * Radiant Insignia and Runes of Attunement.
 * Any 20% of Enchanting, preferably with extra energy. A Totem Axe or Rajazan's Fervor is ideal.
 * 20/20 Earth focus. Droknar's Focus or Joffs' Focus is ideal. Also try an earth focus from Bariel Darkroot in Mineral Springs.
 * Zealous scythe or other weapon for e-management; switch to this weapon and Auto-attack. Switch Deadly Arts for Dagger Mastery if using daggers.
 * A Vampiric Weapon (optional: used to keep your health low to lengthen "By Ural's Hammer!" and prevent scatter).

Usage

 * Auto-attack with zealous daggers (or a scythe) whenever not casting--you would normally just stand there waiting on recharge, so might as well get energy instead. Dagger mastery increases the chance of a double-strike.
 * Cast Glyph of Swiftness followed by Deadly Paradox and Shadow Form. This will reduce Shadow Form's recharge to 23 seconds, which allow you to keep it up all the time.
 * "By Ural's Hammer!" and Ebon Battle Standard of Honor are used to buff Sliver Armor with additional damage.
 * To prevent scatter, allow Shadow Form to expire once, so that your health drops. Then, keep your health low by periodically switching to a vampiric weapon. Keeping health below 50% will also lengthen the duration of "By Ural's Hammer!"
 * If taking Air of Superiority, have it up whenever Sliver Armor is active, Asura rank allowing.
 * Death's Charge can both be used to jump to a groups boss, in order to kill him first, and it can also be used to heal up damage you might experience from non-targeting sources e.g. Giant Stomp

Counters

 * Non-targeting/non-spell enchantment removal (Soulrending Shriek, Signet of Disenchantment)
 * Non-targeting/non-spell damage (Twisting Jaws). However, an optional self-heal can counter this counter.
 * Non-targeting knockdown. An optional anti-knockdown skill can counter this counter (see Optional Skills).
 * Energy removal skills such as "Fear Me"

Variants
Variants of this build often replace "By Ural's Hammer!" & Ebon Battle Standard of Honor with other options. The Shadow Arts attribute can be changed as long as it is 14 or higher with a 20% enchanting weapon. Using Essence of Celerity allows Glyph of Swiftness to be replaced with another skill.

List of Farming Locations
Please add any you know of with special tips on how to complete them if needed. Assume Hard Mode unless otherwise stated

Core

 * The Underworld
 * The Labyrinth: Boring. Take GoLE to counter "Fear Me!"
 * The Ice Wastes: Smites are difficult, but possible--take Glyph of Lesser Energy and Shadow Refuge. Aggro as many smites and coldfires as possible.  Be sure to stay out of range of the coldfires' pbaoe--note that the range of sliver armor is greater than it.  Once aggroed, spam Shadow Refuge and be sure to wand the coldfires (NOT the smites because of their Shield of Judgment) as it is ending to get the extra health.
 * Chaos Planes: Easily cleared with mass aggros in HM, though it is excruciatingly slow due to the massive HP of the mobs.
 * Bone Pits: Kill the minions before their masters, as once masterless the minions will be targeted by AoE spells which will "splash" onto you through Shadow Form.

This build can not solo Underworld any longer


 * The Fissure of Woe
 * Priest of Menzies : Can be farmed for Elite Monk tomes. Drop By Urals Hammer and bring Finish Him and Death's Charge instead. Run to the area you get the Army of Darkness quest from and kill the Shadow Priest, 3 Shadow Rangers and Shadow Beast. The ghosts will pop, take the Army of Darkness quest. Don't worry about the Skeletons aggroing the ghosts, - they no longer kill them. Run to the Priest of Menzies getting as much aggro as possible. Pull the Skeleton casters so they are just below the priest of menzies, but make sure the priest of menzies doesn't start running round. Deaths Charge up to Menzies. The warriors will start running round but the casters will keep wanding, so sliver armor can kill Menzies before any warriors steal Sliver's target. Once Menzies is dead, recast SF and pick up your drops. Be careful of any traps laid by Skeleton Rangers.

Prophecies

 * Grenth's Footprint
 * Gorrel Rockmolder
 * Flint Fleshcleaver
 * Thorgall Bludgeonhammer
 * Morgriff Shadestone
 * Gargash Thornbeard
 * An easy way of farming is to run to Sorrow's Furnace and run in and out only hitting the two spawns right outside the entrance. Wroth Yakslapper has the elite skill Mark of Protection, if he uses it, just wait ten seconds for it to wear off. Each cast of the Shadow Form chain will recover a couple of energy points as long as you don't use any other skills while you wait him out. Waiting is actually productive in this case. Also, if you see him cast MoP after you start hitting him, you will then KNOW he will be the target of Sliver Armor as soon as the MoP wears off. Be aware of the Stone Summit Herders in this area near all of these bosses. The Herders have the skill Giant Stomp and can sometimes interrupt one of your casts. The good news is, they don't use it much. If a Dolyak Master or Priest of Sorrows is in the spawn around one of the bosses you want to attack, try to position yourself next to it first and forget the boss until the yak or priest is dead. Aggro more nearby enemies (except groups with healers in them) for more fire power to Sliver Armor. If there is a Dolyak Master in the group with Yakslapper, kill the Dolyak first, then go for Wroth. Remember, BOTH Wroth and the Dolyak Master will be able to cast MoP, so it may require some waiting. You can also rezone and see if you get a better spawn when you zone back in. The same "Healer Kill" tactic works inside Sorrow's Furnace as well.

Factions

 * The Undercity
 * Baubao Wavewrath : Aggro all Kappas around him to speed up the killing.
 * Chung the Attuned : Start from Nahpui Quarter. He and his groups are hidden until you approach. Use Shadow Refuge to counter Barbed Signet. Watch out for traps.


 * Pongmei Valley
 * Arrahhsh Mountainclub


 * Mourning Veil Falls
 * Rahse Windcatcher
 * Xisni Dream Haunt


 * Drazach Thicket
 * Bezzr Wingstorm


 * The Eternal Grove (explorable area)
 * Jayne Forestlight, The Scar Eater, The Time Eater,  Wiseroot Shatterstone,  Bramble Everthorn
 * Take Shadow Refuge instead of Intensity. This whole list of bosses can be completed in one straight run. Start with The Scar Eater, which is very easy (Aggro three mobs). Then head east to Wiseroot Shatterstone (Aggro all mobs possible) Wiseroot Shatterstone can be hard to target with sliver armor so it may not be worth trying. Head back west towards The Time Eater and don't aggro the Warden (As few as possible from the mob you run by). The Ritualists put Splinter Weapon on them, and if you kill the Minion masters, they start to attack the masterless minions and you will take about 60 damage each hit. Jayne Forestlight is the hardest of this, so if you want to skip her, head up to Bramble Everthorn. If you do go for Jayne, make sure you don't have too many Wardens of the Tree on you (hammer melee) because sliver armor will target them over anything else, and Jayne will protect them, causing you to take lots of damage from Zealot's Fire. If only she is targeted, shadow refuge can keep you alive through it. For Bramble Everthorn, simply use the sliver combo and kill him. If you want The Ugly Stick, head west until you see Tembarr Treefall. Run to him and after 1 or 2 sliver uses against him he will die.
 * Note: Flower Spiritgarden and Spiritroot Mossbeard are not possible. Spiritgarden heals over all of your damage and Spiritroot kills you with explosive growth after sliver armor targets the spirits and kills them (Spiritroot may still be possible with Dark escape or some pulling away from the spirits).
 * Edit* 12/22/09, Farming Spiritgarden is possible, there are enough mobs to aggro to overcome his healing.


 * Mount Qinkai
 * Tomton Spiriteater : Make sure to aggro the second group to speed up killing.
 * Hukhrah Earthslove : Aggro as many groups as possible. You might need to cast Sliver multiple times.


 * Archipelagos
 * Ssuns, Blessed of Dwayna : The actual run to the boss can prove very difficult. The almost unavoidable presence of Creeping Carp will usually kill you. If you see an opening, there are likely Oni there, so cast Shadow Form and hurry through. If you die, you will spawn away from all of the Creeping Carp, so you can easily make your way to the boss. Another way to approach him is to enter from Gyala Hatchery. Run by the Kappa on the way to Ssuns.
 * Ssyn Coiled Grasp : Run through the enemies with the build on. When you reach the boss, be wary of Destruction spirits from the boss and the other ritualists. Also it is advised to bring a source of healing just in case to deal with the damage Ancestor's Rage inflicts although Death's Charge by itself is sufficient enough.


 * Maishang Hills
 * Sessk, Woe Spreader : Run out of Eredon Terrace and go straight south, but watch out for hidden Oni along the way. May have to cast Sliver multiple times to target the boss. Drops Woe Spreader, which is an excellent staff for a Minion master. Also good for farming Monstrous Fangs.


 * Rhea's Crater
 * Focus Of Hanaku : Enter from Seafarer's Rest.
 * Arius, Dark Apostle : Enter From Gyala Hatchery.
 * Cultist Milthuran : Enter from The Aurios Mines.
 * Delic the Vengeance Seeker : Enter from Gyala Hatchery.
 * Talous the Mad : Enter from Seafarer's Rest. Do Not Aggro the nearby group of Afflicted. Bring a Speed Boost such as Dark Escape to run by the Rockhide Dragons. Do Not Aggro the Creeping Carp nearby.


 * Xaquang Skyway
 * Shreader Sharptongue : Run out of Senji's corner and head north west until you see the first group of Vermin, run past them and start to aggro the other groups. Once you get to the bridge cross it and go to the middle of the charred place. Lots of Vermin patrol here in groups of 3-4 excluding the big group containing Shreader Sharptongue. Once you have all the aggro hit your sliver, this should kill him in one use. Once he's dead don't bother with the other Vermin if in hard mode as the teleport away using Heart of Shadow.

Nightfall

 * Marga Coast
 * Lunto Sharpfoot
 * Bubahl Icehands : Bring a self-heal in the optional slot (like Shadow Refuge or Shadow Sanctuary), aggro the Termite groups around his location to speed things up, and cast your healing skill before you start casting the Sliver chain (if you don't you'll most likely get killed).


 * Arkjok Ward
 * Acolyte of Grenth : Possible in both NM and HM (note that in HM you might not always pull through, but it IS doable), though he still hits pretty hard through Shadow Form in both instances. Consider bringing healing skills like Shadow Refuge, Shadow Sanctuary, Death's Charge or an armor increasing skill like Armor of Earth. Another good idea would be Dark Escape to halve the damage.
 * Sunward Marches
 * Eshim Mindclouder
 * Birneh Skybringer : Aggro as many groups as possible and he goes down in a matter of seconds.
 * Acolyte of Lyssa :[hard] Some Skill go through Shadow Form


 * Barbarous Shore - The following Corsair bosses usually spawn with Corsair Weapons Masters. They carry "You're All Alone!", which cripples you and reduces attributes by 1. Make sure Shadow Arts is 16.
 * Lieutenant Shagu
 * Captain Alsin : After aggroing Alsin's group, approach him by walking backwards to prevent him from fleeing, then activate sliver armor.
 * Commander Wahli
 * Midshipman Morolah


 * Yatendi Canyons
 * Corporal Suli : With the recent change to Armor of Sanctity's functionality, this boss is most likely no longer possible.
 * Makdeh the Aggravating
 * Hajok Earthguardian
 * Tain the Corrupter : He is also doable (mix with harpies for a faster take-down).


 * Vehtendi Valley
 * Bohdalz the Furious : You might have to cast sliver a few times for it to target boss.

Be careful not to aggro too many Sapphire Djinns, they might kill you with Heart of Holy Flame.
 * Dasha Vestibule (explorable area) - This run can be done in HM but can be a bit of a challenge for beginners to shadow form so bring Shadow Refuge with you to counter the Sapphire Djinns. Beginners should do this in NM. The three bosses can all be done in a row starting with Shakor Firespear then moving to  Leilon, Tranquil Water and finally killing  Yammirvu, Ether Guardian.
 * Shakor Firespear
 * Leilon, Tranquil Water
 * Yammirvu, Ether Guardian : Avoid aggroing Behemoth Gravebanes or they will kill you.


 * Forum Highlands
 * Churahm, Spirit Warrior
 * Korshek the Immolated
 * Commander Sadi-Belai - Possible in HM, but requires a lot of firepower, so aggro as many groups (Harpies, Elementals) as you can. Her group is relatively remote; be careful not to break aggro when pulling other groups. Do not auto-attack her; she will cast Shielding Hands on herself.
 * Grabthar the Overbearing
 * Bolten Largebelly


 * The Mirror of Lyss
 * Yammiron, Ether Lord : Leave from Kodash Bazaar and aggro the beetle group on the way. Note: Roaring Ethers resurrect Yammiron after he is killed, but he doesn't drop any loot after the first time you kill him.
 * Riktund the Vicious : Aggro the beetle groups on both sides of the boss group to speed up things.


 * Turai's Procession
 * Korr, Living Flame If he has a Stone Shard Crag, It might be hard because their attacks can get through Sliver Armor. This is very easy when he is surrounded by only Cracked Mesas


 * The Sulfurous Wastes
 * Dupek the Mighty, Hauseh the Defiler, Tanmahk the Arcane + Monoliths
 * Take a full group of henchmen, take the bounty and get in a Junudu. You can either go on the south route and run by only one mob to where Alem the Unclean is (South West corner of the map) or you can follow the normal SS/LB Farm Route to get points from this as well. Once you are in front of the temple and you killed the popups, send your heroes, which should be out of the wurms, into the wastes north of you. Once they are all dead, go inside the temple with shadow form up and start activating all the shrines (Leave one off so you can repeat this quest easier). If you are being blocked, put up sliver armor early, as it will also remove all of your DP quickly. Then simple maintain sliver armor and kill them all. Note: You must have Air of Superiority with you and active during the entire temple.


 * The Ruptured Heart
 * Rual, Stealer of Hope : You only need to aggro the boss group. Be aware that sometimes there is Arm of Insanity that cast QZ. Just put SF up at out of QZs range. If there is Margonite Reaper in his group, wait for him to hit you with Mystic Twister, and use Death's Charge after that to get healed.


 * Gate of Pain (Mission)
 * This whole mission can be completed (inc. master reward) in HM. Drop "By Ural's Hammer!" and replace the two optional skill slots with Lightbringer Signet and Heart of Shadow. Important note: Terrorweb Dryders are NOT demonic servants of Abaddon, so Lightbringer Signet cannot be used to gain energy. A video guide can be seen here.


 * Depths of Madness
 * Ravager of Dreams : Leave from Abaddon's Gate and head to where the end of Gate of Madness was completed. Take Shadow Refuge instead of Intensity to reduce the risk of the Necromancers there killing you with Well of Silence Also, be aware of Shadow Warriors as they damage you during the run with Hundred Blades.


 * Domain of Fear
 * Flame of Fervor : You might want to take Shadow Refuge to counter Reversal of Damage. Also doable on HM, but if there is Scythe of Chaos in his group, just rezone and come back. You may have to cast Sliver multiple times. Also, if you have energy problems, you can take Lightbringer Signet. This boss drops a perfect staff for this build.
 * Storm of Anguish Just aggro all the groups which don't have Scythe of Chaos, and he will go down in a matterr of seconds. Make sure to cast Shadow Form outside of the range of Quickening Zephyr. Since you will in most cases be fightning in the range of QZ, you won't be able to reapply Shadow Form. If he drops anything worth picking up, just come and collect drops after you have respawned.
 * Shrieker of Dread
 * Domain of Pain
 * Fahralon the Zealous : Take Shadow Sanctuary to mitigate damage from Mystic Twister. Should be an easy kill with 2 torment groups right next to him.
 * Bringer of Deceit

Eye of the North

 * Ice Cliff Chasms
 * Elsnil Frigidheart + Frozen Elementals
 * Johon the Oxflinger : Easy. On the way to Elsnil. Have to cast sliver combo twice.
 * Riven Earth
 * Rekoff Broodmother + Raptors : Run in with the Shadow Form combo up and aggro everything, including the boss. You need at least 300 health for this run, since the boss can still hit you with Twisting Jaws. Air of Superiority will remove the conditions and damage done and the boss will be dead before it can hit you with twisting jaws again. An ideal variant is bringing Viper's Defense and Radiation Field and use GoLE to counter its energy cost. After the boss dies, cast Radiation Field and wait 5 seconds for Disease to appear. When the hatchlings are diseased, cast Viper's Defense. (Note: Use Asuran title for the extra energy)


 * Magus Stones
 * Bredyss Longstride : Medium/Hard. Use the Intensity variant build. Make the run past the Wind Rider groups with SF up. There will be 2 groups of Krait + Bredyss group where you will find a Krait Devouss. Aggro one of the groups and approach Bredyss. Sliver Armor sometimes doesn't target the boss. If you're lucky and a second Devouss doesn't spawn you should be able to overwhelm the Devouss healing ability. In some cases it's possible you are killed by Death Nova.
 * Veturni Mindsquall : Easy. No particular tips. Sometimes when it's under 25% life he runs away making necessary to cast Sliver Armor another time.
 * Byndliss Flamecrown : Medium. Aggro at least one group of Krait.
 * Skomay Bonehewer : Hard. Sliver Armor doesn't always target him. Healing Signet plus Hylek Nahualli healing abilities can make him survive your damage.


 * Glint's Challenge : First wave - NM or HM


 * Alcazia Tangle
 * Pywatt the Swift : Take Shadow Refuge in the optional. Run south from Rata Sum (either through the spiders - with the risk of being stripped of the stance before casting SF - or around them). There's a second group of raptors near Pywatt which will prove useful in taking the boss down quicker, but also some ceratadons that WILL make short work of you. If the raptor didn't drop its talons, rezone and try again. If taking the short route (through the spiders) and getting killed more than halfway through, you'll be res-ed near the Alcazia portal. Don't worry about the DP, it will be lifted after slaying the boss and 3 of its mobs.


 * Varajar Fells
 * Asterius the Mighty : Drop "By Ural's Hammer!" and take Death's Charge and Shadow Refuge in the optional Slot. It would be faster if, on your route to the boss, you don't aggro any healers (Aurochs). There's a res shrine going west from Olafstead. Go west from there, up to the corner of the right-hand rocky formation. Wait for the boss there. If you aggroed bisons on the way, you'll have to use DC every now and then (preferably after all of them have their Renewals cast). When the boss comes, it would be good if DC is already recharged so that you can counter its (and his gang's) renewals. Not recommended for beginners.


 * Arbor Bay
 * Flannuss Broadwing
 * Alitta Guilebloom

Air of Superiority effects
The benefits gained are recognized by the different dialogue bubbles above the characters head:


 * "You're No Match for My Brains!" 	 Gain 5 energy 	 20% chance.
 * "Knowledge is Power!" 	 Healed for 50 health 	 20% chance.
 * "Kneel Before Your Master" 	 Double XP gained 	 20% chance.
 * "Is There Anything I Can't Do?" 	 Recharge all skills 	 10% chance.
 * "Buwahahaha!" 	 All conditions removed from self 	 30% chance.

Videos

 * Instructional video On Raptor farming in Hard Mode (uses slightly modified build)
 * HD Video Raptor farming in hard mode with the above build.
 * HD video - farming Sunreach's Shield in Normal Mode (Sunreach Warmaker)
 * BogusDudeGW Assassin Playlist I have too many perma videos to keep listing here so they're all in this playlist.Includes FoW, DoA, IDS, ToPK, Grenths, Hidden City, Lots of boss farms and more, always adding to the list.
 * Bolten Largebelly (Ranger Heket Boss)
 * See Discussion page for additional videos