This section studies some of the most interesting properties offered by certain pieces of equipment in the game. These can often be used to further specialize characters fulfilling a specific role, such as tanks, lockpickers or damage-dealers. For more details on abilities, attributes and resistances, consult the Strategy & Analysis chapter.
Bonus to lockpicking | Bonus to disarm traps | Bonus to evade traps
The actual effect of these bonuses is to increase your character’s cunning attribute by 50%, but purely in relation to the named task. So for instance a rogue with just 20 cunning but a bonus to lockpicking would be able to open complex chests, which normally require 30 cunning. With this property equipped, master chests become pilferable at 27 cunning.
25% chance to reduce movement speed | 25% chance to reduce attack speed
Every successful attack has a chance to reduce the enemy’s movement speed or attack speed by 50% for a brief duration. Some enemies have specific immunities to these debuffs, but all others will become far less dangerous for the duration of the effect – a very useful way to hamper enemy damage-dealers.
+ X% threat generation
Intended for the tank in your party, this property raises their ability to draw the attention of enemies. These bonuses are small, especially when proximity plays a role, but can help to postpone that moment in battle when a daunting enemy decides that your mage or rogue is a greater threat. See page 180 for a better understanding of threat.
- X% threat generation
This makes the wearer more likely to be ignored during combat. Proximity can always offset a minor threat, so this bonus is most effective when trying to avoid enemy archers.
Blood magic: each point of health provides 1 additional mana
Blood magic ordinarily provides 3 points of mana for every 1 point of health, so with just two items possessing this property, the ratio would increase to 5:1, making the mana pool available huge. The ever-present risk of blood magic, though, is that the caster cannot be healed normally and sacrifices health to cast spells.
Immunity to stun
Though useful to all, this is one of the finer properties tanks can obtain as it prevents their defenses and generated threat from being reset.
+ X damage vs. humans
This is a powerful damage bonus useful against many enemy groups, such as thugs, mages and templars.
+ X% healing to this character
This property is intended primarily for your warriors with high constitution. It means that healing spells cast upon them will restore more health than they normally provide.
+ X% healing by this character
This property is useful for Spirit Healers and supporting mages. More effective healing spells will need to be cast less often, which counteracts lengthy Cooldown periods in long battles.
+ X damage resistance
One of the most useful resistances, as this applies to all types of damage taken. It’s like having a few extra points of armor against any kind of attack.
+ X% attack speed
Individually, these bonuses tend to be small and often negligible. But if your character has abilities that enhance attack speed or companions who provide a speed buff, the cumulative effect can be worth pursuing. Increasing attack speed raises the probability of critical hits.
+ X% critical chance | + X% critical damage
The first of these bonuses raises the probability of landing critical hits; the second raises their power. Rogues will find that the latter becomes more important over time with the acquisition of automatic critical hits through ability or strategy. Stacking these bonuses can significantly increase a character’s effectiveness.
+ X% chance to knock back
Knockback and Knockdown work best with a little micromanagement, so that the character leaves the victim out of the fight or open to others.
+ X physical damage across 2m
This increase in range suits both the tank encircled by aggressors and the two-handed damage-dealer who wades into a horde of foes.
+ X% magic resistance
This is armor against magic, absorbing the damage inflicted by spells, which becomes increasingly useful toward the end of the game. It also reduces the duration of enemy spells, so that you break free of hexes and paralyze magic much faster.
+ X mana/stamina | + X% mana/stamina
This increases your initial (and maximum) reserve of mana or stamina. Just 5 points of additional mana/stamina is equivalent to 1 attribute point spent on willpower, so a couple of +8 items would surpass a level up. You can forgo spending a warrior’s or rogue’s attribute points in willpower if you make use of items with these properties.
+ X mana/stamina regeneration
This increases the regeneration rate of mana or stamina, which becomes appreciable during long battles. All classes require plenty of mana or stamina for their many abilities. Some top-tier talents can be used for stamina recovery later in the game, but a substantial bonus here benefits characters early on.
+ X fire/cold/electricity/spirit/nature resistance
This really comes into its own when fighting against enemies with elemental attacks, such as Rage Demons. Even a modest resistance begins to downgrade them. If you can’t find the elemental resistances you need, look for Rune slots and build your own. If you can find elemental armor and it has a Rune slot, apply a Rune of Warding of the same affinity for maximum protection.
+ X strength/dexterity/magic/willpower/cunning/constitution
These attribute bonuses are temporarily as effective as a Tome or level up in raising one attribute and can be transferred between characters in some instances. They can also help to meet the minimum requirements for other equipment.
+ X physical damage
Extra points of damage quickly add up when it’s on a rogue’s dagger, being applied at high speed on every strike.
+ X% fire/cold/electricity/spirit/nature damage
This is extremely useful for mages as it affects both their spells and their standard staff-based attacks. However this property can also be of benefit to other classes – for instance Bianca’s Bursting Arrow deals fire damage, while Fenris can master spirit-based attacks.
+ X fortitude
As it takes 1 point of strength to raise a warrior’s fortitude by 1 point, even small gains here can equate to increasing a level or two for a tank or for a class that doesn’t wish to expend points on strength.
Immunity to flanking
Tanks usually have enough passive abilities to counter flanking after the first few levels, so its best application is with a damage-dealing warrior or rogue who likes to dive in.
X% chance to stealth when hit
Effectively, the rogue gains a small chance to enter stealth when hit. The rogue then has an opportunity to strike from stealth, with appropriate advantages.
100% of basic attack damage vs. enemies that attack in melee
When an enemy attacks the character equipped with this property, they suffer an instant counter with damage equal to the character’s full basic attack damage. There is no animation for this retaliatory attack as it can occur instantly and simultaneously against multiple enemies. It does not apply to ranged attacks and magic.
Enemies drop more coin
With this property, coin drops are 5% larger than usual. So if you’d normally receive 20 silver from an enemy, you will now receive 21. The good news is that these properties stack, so having two items active would raise the haul by 10% – a significant sum over the course of a game.
Enemies drop better equipment
This increases the quality of enemy drops (a sword doing 24 instead of 22 damage, for instance, and having a better attack property). There is also a lower, secondary chance that the item gains an extra property or bonus. When you’re trying to save money, keeping this equipped can turn up some better generic equipment that will fetch a more profitable sale price.