Pikeman Archive

NEWBIE PIKEMAN'S GUIDE TO SKILL ATTACHMENTS

------------------------------------------------

(*Note: This document exists because, every now and then, there's an influx of questions related to skill attachments. I've created this guide because I figured it would be good to be able to point people to one place for the information they need instead of reposting the same info over and over again. A lot of the info contained herein is pretty generic but there are a few Pikeman-specific bits. If anyone finds any inaccuracies or cares to supplement any of the info I've provided, let me know and I'll amend accordingly.)

--What are skill attachments?

Attachments are items that can be added to clothing & armor and provide a bonus of some sort. You can see what kind of bonus an attachment will give you by examining it.

--Where can I find them?

Skill attachments are loot and loot only. They are not player-made. If you're looking to find your own tapes, you'll need to tackle high-end NPCs or go spelunking in a variety of caves (such as the Borgle Bat Cave on Rori) and looting the containers you find within them.

--How much do attachments usually cost?

Prices vary from server to server but, generally, skill tapes of +1 are fairly common and you can pick them up on the bazaar for 6K or less. Sometimes you will stumble across a +2 but that doesn't happen very often.

Skilltapes with block bonuses are twice as hard to find because Riflemen can use those as well. You will usually have a harder time finding +3 or better tapes unless you visit vendors that deal in skill tapes or check the trade forums. Usually you will pay A LOT of money for tapes with bonuses of +5 or better, as in MILLIONS of credits.

--Which attachments do I need for Pikeman?

Block, Polearm Speed and Polearm Accuracy are the only tapes you will see benefits from. The rest do not work properly (Polearm Damage) or have never worked (Polearm Evasion and Polearm Counter-Attack).

--How do I use them?

Just drag and drop them to an article of clothing or armor with sockets. The attachment will disappear and the clothing will now grant you the bonus if you equip it.

--Does this mean I can't use them on backpacks?

Yes. It's a known bug(?) that, even though backpacks can be made with sockets, there is no way to use attachments on them because, obviously, dragging and dropping them just places them into the backpack.

(This workaround was provided by littlegut.)

"You must have the backpack full of items in order for the attachment to go into the slots. Otherwise the attachment will go into the backpack's inventory."

--Can I stack bonuses in the same piece of clothing?

Nope. You can't add two enhancements of the same type to the same piece of clothing or armor and get the bonuses to stack. Theskill with the higher bonus will overwrite the other and you'll lose the slot.

However, bonuses in different pieces of clothing will stack. For instance, if you have +10 accuracy in your shirt and +5 accuracy in your pants, you will see a total bonus of +15 accuracy.

Furthermore, if you have an attachment with one or more bonuses, usually the skill with the highest bonus will take when you add the attachment and the other(s) will vanish into the ether. Be wary of attachments with multiple bonuses.

--How can I check to see how much of a bonus I have?

Open your Skills window (Ctrl+S by default) and look up the name of the bonus in the "Skill Mods" section. You will see a number like "+71/+84", where the lower number if your default bonus for that skill (usually granted by your proficiency in your chosen professions) and the higher number is your bonus to that skill with your clothing factored in.

--Is there a cap on the amount of bonuses I can add to my clothing?

Yes, +25 is the max for each skill. You can add more, of course, but you will not see any additional benefit.

--What happens as my clothing and armor decay?

Theoretically, you will see the full benefit of the bonuses until the clothing is completely destroyed and reaches a condition of "0/0". After that, the bonuses should no longer function, however, there have been reports that some bonuses continue to work even after the clothing decays. Just don't be surprised one way or the other and be sure to plan accordingly.

--Can I extract the attachments and use them again in another piece of clothing?

No. Attachments can only be used once, so be careful and use them wisely.

--Is there any particular article of clothing or armor that works better than others?

Yes. Your best bet is to find articles of clothing or armor that do not decay. Unfortunately, there are currently only three types of armorthat can be made with sockets that do not decay. They are: The Marbari Belt, the Ubese shirt, and the Ubese bandolier. All three of these items can be made with up to four sockets and they do not have condition stats (which means they do not decay).

These items require armor attachments (not clothing attachments) so be aware of that before forking over your hard-earned cash.

--What about wookiees? (This info provided by annelid0 who is, apparently, a wookiee):

"Nope. The closest we can get is if you get some clothing attachments and stick them in arm wraps to wear under your bracers. ... I'd recommend holding onto any really good attachments until the other wookiee armors come out. I assume the nondecaying shirt, belt, and bandolier are unintentional, but maybe we'll get lucky and get something similar for wookiees. ... Incidentally, it's worth noting that the bandolier can't be equipped at the same time as a backpack."

--Is there anywhere I can go for more info on skill attachments?

Here's a good place to start.

http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/board/message?board.id=csystems&message.id=7076&page=1

Message Edited by BackBite on 07-18-2004 02:42 AM

---

SkelloUK wrote:

What would happen if your a dumbass like me and used attatchments wrong way round

say i had a Polearm speed +5 with dodge +7 CA and i wanted the Speed to stick but i put it in shirt soon as i got it

now the Dodge would stick

If i then place a Dodge +8 CA into the same shirt would that then take over the +7 so to speak and make the speed stick?

---