Dragons and Titans : Blood Thief

Overview

1st Edition Dragon Lord Dragon Guide ISSUE #1 BLOOD THIEF : THE CURSE OF THE NIGHT Everything you need to know about The Blood Thief all in one place.Covering Everything from the basics right upto advanced strategies. Includes statistical detailed look at The Blood Thief’s skill set and how its best used.Guide will be updated on a regular basis detailing more in depth advanced strategies.Check out our Expansion section in Guide to see how you can Contribute Join our steam group to find out more !Dragons and Titans Dragon Lords Group http://steamcommunity.com/groups/DragonsandTitansDragonLords

Lore

Gulenstradd was, and for most still is, a city of no importance nestled in a forgotten crag of the Spine of the World, but for the rulers of the City of Night, that village has been a scourge to color their rule for generations. It began easily enough, Lord Falkren the seventy-first Lord of Night made war on the continent. With mighty Ulfberht in his hand, it seemed no power could stop him and soon his kingdom reached as far as Castegaul to the north and the swamps of Mephos, to the east. Even the Beastmen of Rodar fell to Falkren’s armies and the flaming hell their master wielded in each battle. For a time. In truth, the beastmen are seldom conquered for long and it was no different in Falkren’s time, though not perhaps, for reasons that would seem obvious. It was not beastmen, but the gnomes of the mountains that proved the end of the seventy-first Lord of Night.

When his armies began the march to take the mountain holds and delvings of the little men of the mountains, they were too numerous to count. Rank upon rank of warriors, each in black silks and wielding blackened blades, as was their custom, marched in a row that, the histories tell us, stretched from the City of Night itself all the way to the spine of the world. How terrifying such a sight must have been, but then of course, when the same army returned, it numbered less than one hundred souls. Not so terrifying then, eh?

Gulenstradd was the first town held by the mythical “gnomes” of the Spine of the World that Falkren’s army set upon. It seemed so tiny, so inconsequential and yet for four solid months, its stone walls and the countless murderous traps hidden within held the tide of Night back. Falkren himself, was forced to deal with the “damned hamlet”, wielding the Town Killer’s magical fire to crack and batter the gates for a week until finally they fell, but when his legion of soldiers poured through the gates, they found the city deserted.

Not a soul remained behind to greet the soldiers. It was as if the city had never been populated, even the trinkets and trash of the little stonekin had been removed. Falkren cursed his army as he ordered them to secure Gulenstradd, thinking the time it took to break the town’s defenses gave the little men time to retreat further into the mountains, to the greater delvings the Lord of Night knew were waiting to be plundered.

In his arrogance, Falkren had failed to understand his enemy. It was the mistake that doomed the Lords of Night forever more. Gulenstradd was the pride of the stokenkin, not a town, but a trap and contrary to what Lord Falkren had thought, he had not yet breached its defenses fully. The greater element of the trap waited to be sprung.

Snow, bitter blowing and cold, came in from the north heralding winter and Falkren realized his army could not mount a campaign in such cold. So, he took residence in Gulenstradd for, he thought, the winter. The first deaths occurred within a fortnight. It seemed nothing at first, patrols that failed to come back. Falkren dismissed them as fools lost in the cold or too clumsy to keep their footing on the treacherous mountain passes. Either way, he assumed them lost to incompetence. That a horror had come to stalk and devour his army had never occurred to the Lord of the City of Night, would be conqueror of the Lands Below.

No, in fact hundreds of his men died before the Lord of Night realized he was under siege. It was only when the first of his men standing the walls at Gulenstradd fell that the stories began of the black-winged horror, the blood drinker. Few caught glimpses of the beast, but even they could describe nothing but inky blackness and blood the color of darkened ruby. The victims, on the other hand, were another story altogether, one far more grisly.

The monster’s victims were torn apart, as if gnawed upon by countless mouths and the blood, the blood was everywhere, as if the foul demon had reveled in extracting every last drop the soldiers had to spare and then, in orgiastic glee had used that foul humor to paint the gray stone of Gulenstradd a deep, blacked crimson.

Falkren began to grow fearful. What monster could do such a thing and escape into the night undetected? What other horrors awaited them in the dark delvings of the stonekin? Still, he was nobility, a Lord of Night, no less. His was the name spoken to instill fear in the night and he would not – could not – shy away from this monstrosity, whatever it may be. Demon, dragon or even a Titan itself, he would face it as was his destiny. So, with Ulfberht in hand, he stood watch on the wall himself one night. He would be the first of the Lords of Night to fall to the Blood Thief and its rider, the sole defender of Gulenstradd.

It was cold the night Falkren stood the wall. Colder than any night before. A thick mist, clouds passing around the mountains to bring rain to the west, had settled into the low places of the pass and left the stone city in a dim white haze. On any other night Lord Falkren would have cursed such a terrible damp, but on this night it extended his life; by moments, at any rate. It was only against the white of the fog that the Blood Thief was visible. At first, the Lord of Night wasn’t even certain he had seen the beast. It was as if the shadows themselves suddenly detached from the stone walls and took on form against the mist. Slowly the shadow of a spire seemed to unfold revealing wicked wings and from its point, the neck of a serpentine creature unfolded. It was a monster! The very thing he had stood watch for. With a growl he drew Ulfberht and it hissed in the damp, its skin of fire snapping and dancing along the blade.

The creature answered the blade with a hiss of its own, suddenly snapping its neck forward. That was when Falkren saw the beast’s tongue for the first time. It was massive, as long as the creature’s neck itself and at its end was not the forked tongue of a dragon as Falkren expected, but instead what greeted him as it sped across the distance between monster and conqueror, was the grizzled and toothy maw of a demon! The tongue slavered and snapped as it opened wide, revealing snarled teeth, each razor sharp and dripping with saliva. With a start Falkren leapt aside, barely avoiding the wicked attack. He moved to strike back, raising Ulfberht high to cast a ball of fire at his enemy, but the beast was gone! Nothing but fog and shadows answered his scream of rage.

Still his cries were enough to rouse his army and soon hundreds more stood by him on the wall. When the beast attacked again, Falkren thought, they would pin it down and destroy it. Lord Falkren of the City of Night, conqueror of the west and scourge of fifteen cities, was wrong.

The beast materialized from nothing, suddenly appearing not on the other side of the wall but directly behind Lord Falkren. It roared and Falkren straighten with a groan, only to slump forward, a hole where his heart should have been. The drooling, fanged tongue of the monster wasted no time recoiling from its surprise attack and tore the now-dead monarch apart, sending rivulets and showers of blood and viscera across the wall. Countless arrows struck at the beast, the archers of the City of Night seeking vengeance, but even as the arrows sunk home the wounds they caused sealed and closed with each drop of the Lords Blood swallowed by the blackened beast’s terrible red tongue.

Soon, the creature set upon the now-dead Falkren’s army directly, stalking no more. Even for such a beast, the sheer size of the Army of Night was too much and eventually those few survivors managed to drive the beast off.

The Blood Thief: The Curse of The Night – Overview

One of the most difficult Dragons in the game to master however in the right hands The Blood Thief is one of the most formidable dragons in the game to be up against, he is able to disappear from sight within seconds and appear in an instant with a barrage tongue lashing snaps and deadly high DPS weapons decimating enemy dragons in seconds and often leaving foes shocked and dazed as to what just happened. And here’s how you do it …

• The playstyle you must understand and adopt when using The Blood Thief
• A detailed look at The Blood Thief’s Skill Set
• Weapons that fit best with The Blood Thief’s style of play
• Some tips and tricks to help you get the most of The Blood Thief’s Potential
• Some Do’s and Dont’s that will help you survive
• Enemy Hit List {these are the guys you don’t want to be up against}
• The Blood Thief’s Weaknesses and how to manage them

Playstyle : The Glass Cannon

Thats right, you pack one hell of a punch but if your not careful enemies will shatter you in an instant.This is what makes Blood Thief so Difficult to play; but once you’ve mastered him its well worth the reward.

A thing to bear in mind to avoid instant deaths is not to be the one in your team who runs into the battle head first, hang back, keep your distance and wait to strike when the time is right. Let the dragons on your team with brute strength weaken your foes whilst you wait to strike. And when you do strike always hit your enemy with the tip of your tongue lash this is the key to maxing your dps and surviving.

Avoid any encounters where the odds are not in your favor, if you see multiple enemy’s heading for you fall back to safety at least during the early game. Remember as Blood Thief you thrive in 1vs1 combat thanks to the passive ability of blood drops which will restore your health giving you the sustainability to outlast your opponent forcing them to either retreat in which case you chase them down to secure the kill or they stay and face their demise with false hope.

Like all dragons in the game you need levels but since your so incredibly fragile and your only source of damage aside from weapons is your tongue lash your even more dependent than most other dragons to get levels and get them fast. Don’t be the dragon caught in the fray, diving into 3 enemy dragons to kill one is not your objective and even trying to do so will more than likely result in your death, wait in the shadows/sidelines until the time is right. If you can’t secure a kill within the first 30-50seconds then farm some minions get the gold, exp then return the the heart of the fight when you have some stats and lvl on your side. Throughout the course of the game you’ll always be fragile but the more levels you get the more your sustainability increases and in the eyes of your opponent your health will seem infinite.

Skill Set

This is Blood thief’s Primary Skill, in fact its your only source of damage outside of your weapons choice but most importantly it takes timed practice to master. Most other dragons primary attack regardless of whether they breathe fire, poison gas or even ice, the AOE spray effect of their primary attack is all pretty much the same meaning you can swing your dragons head from left to right and chances are your going hit something. So; same concept with blood thief right ? Nope ! Blood Thief’s Tongue lash attack is not a spray AOE like other dragons its more like cracking a whip and the tip of the whip is where you’ll administer the most damage.

* The additional Snap damage on Tongue Lash is awarded when the biters make contact with enemies at full extension.

Therefore its Key that you also aim to focus your tongue lashes with accuracy ensuring your get the extra snap damage as it will be the difference between a quick kill or a retaliating opponent. Don’t just hold Q and swing your mouse around like a mad man. Take aim and make your strikes count.

Remember when attacking with the tip of the tongue you trigger the chance to cause blood drops which when collected restore a portion of your health as well as peirce damage meaning you can strike multiple dragons at the same time when contact is made so practice on landing the tip of the lash whilst moving towards scattered blood drops to replenish your health keeping you in the fight for longer. This is probably the most important thing to master when playing as blood thief so prioritize this above all else. Once you get the hang of landing successful tongue lash’s an collecting blood drops its time to incorporate speed and maneuverability.

I recommend you try doing a few games playing as blood thief with Legacy controls; the reason for this is once you can land the tip on the lashes with these controls you will get an idea of the distance required to land a successful tongue lash. Once your comfortable with these controls…Change to Non-legacy controls.

Why? Simple, with the assisted aim in Non legacy controls you will find it much easier to land your tongue lashes especially since you have mastered it on legacy controls and your gauge of the distance will have been mastered. Moreover with these controls your maneuverability is doubled making it so much easier for your to collect blood drops whilst still keeping up a relentless attack on your target.
Practice makes perfect!

This ability is why your are most feared so utilizing it correctly is key to securing kills and objectives. By using shadow form after a short delay you will become completely invisible to the enemy team as well as gaining up to a 40% movement speed increase enabling to stalk and hunt down your pray with ease. Note however if you take any damage during the transition into shadow form, it will be canceled so use this ability wisely.

Whilst shadow form gives you some great Pro’s it also comes with its setbacks that you need to be aware of when using. As above if you get hit whilst transitioning into shadow from the ability is canceled and mana is NOT restored for the fail cast. Also whilst transitioning Blood thief will vulnerable for those few seconds, literally stopping whilst he transitions. This Skill is best used out of sight and range of enemy dragons and minions to ensure a successful cast.

Another aspect of the skill you must be aware of is although the enemy cannot see you whilst in shadow form; their abilities and all sources of damage will be applied if it makes contact with Blood Thief (note however this will not break the invisibility )
*Whilst in shadow from you are the fasted dragon in the entire game, no dragon can escape if your in pursuit.

Weapons Selection

So now you have an idea on how to use the Dragon Blood Thief itself time to glance over some ideal weapons choices that compliment its playing style.

There are a number of different ways play The Blood Thief and your weapons choice will be a deciding factor in that. Below are some worth mentioning and that if you haven’t tried them give them a shot to see what you think.

Forged in stellar fire and crowned by the glowing gem known as the Celeston, the Voidstar staff was the weapon of the Starcaller King.

• Void Mines Voidstar creates a sphere of dark energy at your location that explodes with the force of a dying star when an enemy touches it.
• Teleport: Hoard The power at the heart of the Voidstar warps space itself to return you to the nearest friendly hoard where you can heal and store your treasure.

Void star is an interesting choice as yes it may not Max your DPS per say but it will certainly make your presence on the map felt. Its pretty much the perfect weapon choice if you want to play an “all out Stealth style” kind of like your covert opps weapon of choice. As your able to sneak behind enemy lines thanks to your shadow form and take out key objectives;Void star almost guarantees a safe return after you hit and run enemy shrines / obelisks and be sure to leave void mines in the area to slow down defending enemy’s

The unexpected blow fells the mightiest foe. -Mister Grimjoss, Pirate

• Whip Thrash Slingsharp fills the air around the rider with deadly chain and blades, thrashing the enemy with wicked coils of steel.
• Minion Snap Slingsharp strengthens the wielder’s allied minions, increasing the damage that they deal, while protecting them as well, reducing the damage that they take.

Where this weapon truly shines in its use with your second skill Shadow Form giving you the ability to spring a massive surprise attack on your unsuspecting and following up with your onslaught of Tongue lash’s. Though the secondary ability will not exactly benefit your dragon directly it will help your teams push overall so bare that in mind. Make sure to always be using the secodary ability of Slingsharp whenever its off cooldown to keep up the onslaught.

“Laying low or standing tall, fear not – the catcher comes for all.” – Peasant proverb

• Binding Strike – Gorefist springs from the wielder’s grip of its own bloody volition, and flies forth to slow and damage the enemy.
• Thresher – The Rider may set Gorefist loose, and the whirling flail stands as a turret for a short time before returning.

This Weapon is one of the most effective when it comes to dealing with tank like foes (Wardhammer comes to mind) and destroys weaker enemies with quick succession. With the ability to slow down your prey this gives you prime time to unleash a barrage of tongue lashes on your crippled target. If you need to evade incoming enemies you can even use the Gorefist secondary abilities for a defensive get-away using it to deter enemies from continuing their pursuit giving you chance to use shadow form and get back into the fight.

Leveling skill order

This section will cover some tips to help you out leveling up your skills during battle, there is no “set” leveling system when playing any dragon and Blood Thief is no different as your leveling system mainly depends on the map and your weapon choice.

Therefore we’ve put together a template table below with some basic idea on the leveling suggestion when playing Blood Thief with high assault weapons with high DPS i.e Doom shard, sling sharp etc ( offensive onslaught weapons ).

Of course if your playing a support style Blood Thief your leveling up order would be different.
*We plan to add multiple Leveling tables for various play styles i.e support in the coming weeks – see our Expansion Tab for further details.

SKILL SLOT

LvL 1

LvL 2

LvL 3

LvL 4

LvL 5

LvL 6

LvL 7

LvL 8

LvL 9

LvL 10

LvL 11

LvL 12

LvL 13

LvL 14

LvL 15

Tongue Lash

X

X

X

Shadow Form

X

X

X

Raw Stats

X

X

X

Weapon Primary

X

X

X

Weapon Secondary

X

X

X

*This section is still very much a work in progress and we plan to add multiple Leveling tables for various play styles i.e support in the coming weeks – see our Expansion Tab for further details.

Rune/Spell Selection For Blood Thief

* * WORK IN PROGRESS * * SEE OUR EXPANSION TAB FOR DETAILS **

coming soon…

Your Weaknesses

Mana management

Well Aside from your very low defense and small health pool your main set back is your abilities high mana cost in conjunction with your low mana supply. If you have not returned to a horde for some time you will find yourself unable to cast your shadow form after 2-4 uses depending on your current level and even struggling to use weapons and tongue lash of your not vigilant so mana management is key and will come with practice.

However if one of you allies has an item/Weapon that provides mana regen your in luck ! Try to not venture to far from them and be aware of their location using mini map. Once your in need of mana try to save enough fro one last shadow form; the reason for this is due the 40% increase in movement speed you will be able to catch upto you ally in no time to replenish your mana.

Alternatively if you don’t know what your allies will be equipping there a few items that will help you yourself out with your mana issues, the down side to this however is you will be sacrificing a weapon slot that could potentially be DPS thus lowering your damage output so choose wisely.

Aside from your mana issues your most vulnerable when transitioning into shadow form, having good map awareness however will minimize your vulnerability during this state. Best to keep a look out and check the perimeter before deciding to blend into Shadow Form.

Enemy Hit List

Not quite how it sounds, In this section we’ll cover a select few dragons that you want to try your best to avoid unless your farmed and dominating.

Spineback

As Blood Thief you don’t want to be facing a sand storm, that thing will grind you to dust in no time so don’t bother engaging simply withdraw and look for easier prey.If your forced to engage and retreat does not seem viable simply do what you’ve practiced but remember that dodging a sandstorm whilst maneuvering to collect blooddrops AND keep up an attack will not be easy; having said that’s its not impossible either.

Nightmare

This guy really is a nightmare to deal with, his passive ability from his primary attack has a chance to cause fear. You have the ability to out dps him but in those moments when your disabled due to Nightmares fear triggering your losing the ability to replenish your health as it becomes increasingly difficult to collect your blood drops. Best way to engage if you have to is to try your best to avoid his auto attacks and attack from behind. You may find that encounters with Nightmare are not always profitable as even if you do manage to get him down to low hp his secondary ability acts as an escape mechanism; again avoid and search out easier prey until farmed.

Dragokin is not exactly the toughest opponent to worry about,when he’s alone..
But there is strength in numbers which like we mentioned at the very start of this guide don’t play the odds unless they’re to your advantage and 1vs3 is not to your advantage. The range on his auto attack will reach you before your tongue lash reaches him moreover the 2 dragons he can summon will seek you out if your near by and if your transitioning into shadowform this could really mess up your day.If you have to engage be sure to take out the 2 kin first but try to be sure its not off cooldown else you’ll be in for a nasty surprise. Use shadow form to scout the timing he summoned them and try to wait for them to break off from his lead then as always emerge from the shadows and strike when the time is right.

Expansion

Have your own tips and tricks you would like to share ?
Add me on steam and drop me a message, ill try it out in game and enter it into the Guide.

Do you equip a weapon with Blood Thief not mentioned above ?
Add me on steam and drop me a message, ill try it out in game and enter it into the Guide.

Do you have a Rune Slot dedicated to Blood Thief ?
Add me on steam and drop me a message, ill try it out in game and enter it into the Guide or Send me a screenshot.

Any suggestion or improvements that can be made to this guide are welcome my aim is to make 1 stop shop Guides where everything you need to know about how to play a specific dragon is all in once place and with your help im sure we can achieve that.

Also your contribution for the information will not go un-noticed, upon any contributions all those who helped complete this guide will be listed in its own Special thanks column as co-authors.

The more contributors the more accurate guides and with more to come join our group on steam and get involved.

Dragons and Titans Dragon Lords Group

[link]

Special Thanks

• KEYNUP

  – Providing tips and tricks as well as a wealth of accurate stats to also help with this guide and future releases – Thank you !