Definitive Soul Hound Guide 2021 By xi7x - Essence Ruby Server Introduction Hello guys! I'm i7 and I play lineage since 2006, mostly as Storm Screamer and Soul Hound, I've seen practically the entire evolution of this one-winged dove, from the time it was possible to play as just a mage style, or just a fighter style in the Gracia or h5 versions, or just as a mage (FEOH) from the Goddes of Destruction version . Now on Essence patch they make this class work perfectly as a hibrid mage/fighter class! And I'll share with you my 2 years of experience about this class as i know on Essence. If u are tired to see just Orcs and Dk running around take a look here and have a fun. General aspects Soul hound is a hybrid class, which means it can do a great damage on both, magic and fighter. This happens because in Essence they implemented physical skill that provides magic debuff to be able to use the magic skill with more power on the debuff landed. It has great DPS when under its second transformation, is extremely strong for 1v1 combat, especially against robe user classes due to multiple attacks coming from a skill with low coldown, various immobilization and paralize debuffs that keep the enemy from playing. However in the current essence patch it has a big disadvantage related to its very low HP and for not having received rework like the vast majority of other classes, but it is not far from receiving its boost! There are currently only a few classes left that will be upgraded in korea and soul hound is one of them! Skills Lets see the skills ,starting by the most important passive ones!! Passive skills Soul Link is the most important passive for Soul Hound, it uses a % of u p.atk as M.atk, its a good passive due the many items like Mana Helmet , Silence Gloves and Evasion Boots that gives you both status, INT and STR, that scales a lot with Soul link. So is very important go for P.Atk. to boost u M.Atk. and never try to use dyes or points in INT on Soul Hound or u gonna lose nice damage on physical skills. https://l2central.info/essence/skills/soul_hound/1378_5_0.html Soul Sense has the same logic as Soul Link, but it uses a % of you P.critical Rate as a M.critical Rate , with a decent gear u can reach 400 m.crit easy due this passive, but we just need to remember that, l2 has that thing about M. Critical Rate gap of 500 but just uses 333. https://l2central.info/essence/skills/soul_hound/1379_5_0.html Death Mark on previously versions of lineage always has been an active skill, not this time in essence, where it became an passive that can trigger on enemy, that land an debuff of 25% p.critical and m.critical damage received on the max level of skill on the target, its a strong debuff and nice for the next passive that we gonna see below. https://l2central.info/essence/skills/soul_hound/1435_5_0.html Soul Strike its an amazing skill, it hit to many times and enemy cant expect when it will hit, you just need pay attention on coldown when it lands and use normal attack , physical skill and magical skill, so , there is many ways to active and each way has a particular chance to land, and its based on magic damage. https://l2central.info/essence/skills/soul_hound/1516_10_0.html Active Skills Soul Piercing is the main Soul Hound skill, it gives a physical double hit in a row, and debuff for 10 seconds the target for -10% m.def , so the other magic skills like Soul Strike, gives more damage after that, when under shadow transform , the skill get enhanced and give 3 hits in a row, being more powerfull and lethal, u can get crit on the 3 damages and give a insane damage on the target. If Soul strike lands at the same time u can give 5 hits in a row. https://l2central.info/essence/skills/soul_hound/45161_8_0.html Soul Spark is the main magical skill from Soul Hound, has a nice damage and under the shadow transform, hits double per cast and give more damageif target is under Soul Piercing + Death mark debuffs. https://l2central.info/essence/skills/soul_hound/45163_8_0.html Soul Slash on the perfect combo can give a insane damage if the target is with Soul Piercing +Death mark + Any paralize effect, also it ignores 10% target defense, you don't need to spam it all time but, when target is on that condictions, go ahead!! https://l2central.info/essence/skills/soul_hound/45160_10_0.html Lightning is for shure the most powerfull debuff of Soul Hound, it paralizes the target for 3 sec, and he cant use any potion, so in the right time u can use it to finish the tharget, its a nice skil to combo with Soul Slash. https://l2central.info/essence/skills/soul_hound/791_4_0.html Voice Bind its a stong debuff, it can block magical and physical skills from the target, when u see target using Hellfire, u can throw it and block the DK AOE combo. Lightning + Voice bind its like 6 sec that target don't do nothing! https://l2central.info/essence/skills/soul_hound/1447_5_0.html Shadow Bind, this powerfull hold will not let the target go to anywhere! https://l2central.info/essence/skills/soul_hound/1446_5_0.html Soul Chase, this is the Soul Hound Rush, is not too effective like orc rush, but helps a lot to approaches target. https://l2central.info/essence/skills/soul_breaker/45183_1_0.html Lightning Barrier, another paralize skill , its a nice defensive skill that also debuff target for you, he can't use potions so, its a easy target to finish! This barrier works when the target hits you. https://l2central.info/essence/skills/soul_hound/1515_5_0.html Blink is always usefull, but here on essence the big delay of 40 sec+ on skill make it forgotten, hope they rework it. https://l2central.info/essence/skills/soul_hound/1448_1_0.html Arcane Shield? Yes! is the same as the elemental mage has! Nice defensive skill when used on the right time! https://l2central.info/essence/skills/soul_hound/1556_5_0.html Steal Divinity currently is very nerfed, its like 10% chance to stal any buff, but u can still, its a nice skill to prepare u for that pvp 2x1 3x1, just staling buffs from other classes and became a GOD mode for a few minutes. On korean patch each time u use this skill u get 100 p.atk and 100 m.atck, maximun stack of 3 times, so 300 of both status. https://l2central.info/essence/skills/soul_hound/1440_3_0.html Shadow Master is the most powerfull limit from kamaels, it enables ultimate skills that allow u hit 2 and 3 times in arow, also gives attack status for 1 minute, u can transform when reach 100 souls , this souls u get when receive damage 2 per time or when u use skill absorb shadow souls, that also give u 2 souls per time, coldown 4 sec, or collect shadow souls skill that give you 70 souls on lv1 or 100 souls on lv2. https://l2central.info/essence/skills/soul_breaker/45179_2_0.html Light Master is a nice balanced boost with atack and defensive skills, also very nice for pve, since it recover u mana and hp for 30 sec when hit. It works like shadow master with souls and absorb light + collect light to fill 100 souls and transform. https://l2central.info/essence/skills/soul_breaker/45178_2_0.html Equipments Early Game / PVE In this part of the game till 80 u can go for heavy Blue Wolf chest and pants, with nightmare light gloves boots and heavy nightmarem helmet. U will receive 3 points of STR from blue wolf and the vampiric from NM parts. You also until 80 can use Aden rapier from quest, or go for some +7 B grade Colichemarde , also you can use Dragon valley earring and Toi Ring 5~7, i preffer to use Sigil for pve but you also can use any shield that u can get. To kill mobs , just spam Soul Piercing + Absorb light to recover mp on auto use, not other skills needed, since Piercing knock back mobs and cancel their attack animation. End Game/ PVP The most funny part of Soul Hound is, the many skills he spams make him a very quick killer, but u also need some defensive things. We will use heavy Ice set, i know that we have light passive, but is useless since all physical classes hit on skill critical and not on critical damage. If u can afford u can go for full Protection Heavy armor, if not , go for silence gloves because of mana burn and silence to make target disabled. Also use Evasion boots and Mana helmet. All those items have int+str bonus, so u stack to many m.atk bonus from passive skill soul link. Shield, go for Shield of Vengeance for defense and because of reflect and will stack with other reflect buffs, otherwise if u can afford go for protection shield. The best weapom now for us its Ice rapier but if u can't go for it, use Eclair Bijou, with Aden Runes in HP , Defense and Hardin in P.Atk, Augment in skill power. Epics now are Frintezza neck, Antharas and Zaken earring, Baium and Beleth ring ( u can change beleth to core for cleanse debuffs on the pvp), Beleth is nice to this class, it has paralize and hold attack rate. https://l2central.info/essence/items/91551.html https://l2central.info/essence/items/accessary/earring/ https://l2central.info/essence/items/accessary/ring/ Other items we already know like, Dolls (SH use Orfen and Ant Queen dolls) Baium, Tezza, Antharas, Core, Zaken. https://l2central.info/essence/items/accessary/dolls/ Talismans Eva, Aden, Speed, Authority, Venir, Baium, Hellbound (u can remove aden for Hellbound to pvp).All talismans description below https://l2central.info/essence/items/accessary/talisman/ Brooch jewels like, Onyx , Spinel, Zircon, Opal, Coral, Amber (Moonstone for pve). https://l2central.info/essence/items/accessary/brooch/ Agathions Petram, Ignis, Procella, Nebula and Joy. https://l2central.info/essence/items/accessary/agathions/ Blessed Belt , Cloak of Protection and Circlet of Hero augment -10% damage received, Pendat Lv 4 minimum for pvp meta. Dyes : Go for STR +4 or more, since u need more P.atk to increase M.Atk. Tipes for PVP If u use Steal Divinity skill in the right way, u can beat targets with boosts more than you, so, what is that buffs and wich classes i must to level? Let start with Dominator and his skill Paagrio Wisdom, that gives us -15% M.skill coldown, that allow us to stealbuffs more fast, because Steal Divinity is Magic skill. The next will be the Human Death Knight with his skill Call of Flame, that give debuff of -30% p.def and m.def and when hit, also DOT damage, and u hit for both damage! Magic and physical! Lets go now for Hell Knight Damage Reflection, we gonna stack it with other reflect buffs. Now we gonna use some dances from Blade dancer , Like Dance of protection, Dance of berserker for p. critical rate and Dance of Mystic for magic reflection. And to finish the buff combo, we go to Sword Muse to steal Song of Wind for Speed and Song of Vengeance. EXTRA, u can also Steal Prophecy from Classes like, Shilien Elder, Hierophant ,Cardinal and Elven Leder. Also u can steal Salvation buff from Cardinal for a free ress . PS : There is already a patch on Korea, where the buff that u steal from target, have only 120 sec active on you, so next patch probably will be less effective this tactic. This was the guide, I have to say that, u can level you bird now, he will be more weak than reworked classes now, but when Soul Hound rework arrives, u will be prepared to get boost, and the rework is not so far, I gonna let a video of what happens when someone mess with the bird class Soul Hound! I hope it inspire someone! see u around!
