Stealing Skills - Guild Wars Forums

xenoranger · Nov 17, 2005, 03:43 PM // 15:43

Where do you get the ability to steal skills from enemies? I've come across several enemies with skills I want, but don't have the ability to steal them.

I've heard rumors that Lion Head has one such skill. Is this true?
If so, where is Lionhead? If not where can I go to get teh ability to steal skills?

What limitations are there to stealing skills?

What negatives are there to stealing?

Can only certain abilities be stolen?

So far, I've been to Ascalon, Rurik, Piken, & Sc_____ (Can't remember, but it's south of Ascalon).

PS: I've already searched the forums, and haven't found an answer to this yet.

Epinephrine · Nov 17, 2005, 03:50 PM // 15:50

Ok: You can't really "Steal" skills, at least not in any permanent way...you can learn a skill for your class from a dead boss however, using the Signet of Capture that you first get access to in Lion's Arch.

The skills that allow this type of stuff are:
Arcane Thievery: Steals a random spell from your opponent's skillbar. Doesn't come with the attribute level though, so unless you steal a spell from your class it's pretty useless, except as skill denial.
Inspired Hex/Enchantment: Removes a hex/enchanment from someone, and you get a copy on your skillbar. Doesn't come with the attribute though, so it sucks for use. Does give a bit of energy though, and acts as hex/enchantment removal.
Arcane Mimicry: Copies the elite skill from another party member. Can be usedto have some broken combos, but sadly opnly for 20 seconds or so, hardly enough time to do anything major with.
Blackout: Denies access to all skills for your opponent - and you.
Signet of Capture: Permanently acquire a skill used by a "boss" monster (enemy with an aura). The only way to get elite skills in PvE.

Valerius · Nov 17, 2005, 03:51 PM // 15:51

the skill is called Signet of Capture... and u can purchase these skills in Lion's Arch

u can only cap skills off of bosses... and u can only cap the skills that the boss uses

Shimus DarkRaven · Nov 17, 2005, 04:17 PM // 16:17

Signet of Captrue, first accessable in Lion's Arch from MAGI Malaquire's quests, allows you to "capture" elite skills <or normal ones, depending if you've already learned em> and you can only "capture" off dead bosses of your class<es> aura. Say you're a W/Mo, only yellow/blue aura bosses allow for you to cap skills off of them.

Hope this helped, this all you really need to know except that Elite Skill Bosses are hard to find or hard spots <like Snake's Dance or Hell's Pricipice>

--The Shim

xenoranger · Nov 17, 2005, 04:52 PM // 16:52

K... so is there a limit to usage?
Like, can these only be used once?

Also...I heard that you can capture skills off enemies that have a glowing aura (and that's what indicates if it's a boss or not).

chippxero · Nov 17, 2005, 05:01 PM // 17:01

The Signet can only be used once to capture a skill if you take one, if there isnt one you want then you can use the Signet again till you pick a skill.

You can purchase another Signet of Capture at skills trainers though.

Swampgirl Inez · Nov 17, 2005, 05:02 PM // 17:02

One signet of capture can be used to capture one skill. You can buy more signets from skills trainers. They cost one skill point and some gold. The gold amount goes up as you buy more skills.

And yes, you can only capture a skill from a boss (creatures with a colored glowing aura).

xenoranger · Nov 17, 2005, 05:15 PM // 17:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swampgirl Inez

One signet of capture can be used to capture one skill. You can buy more signets from skills trainers. They cost one skill point and some gold. The gold amount goes up as you buy more skills.

And yes, you can only capture a skill from a boss (creatures with a colored glowing aura).

Off Topic:
Max Headroom... Nice!

On Topic:
At a cost of 1 skill point.... hmm... are there other places to learn skills that don't cost skill points? I want to learn all I can without spending much in skill points.

EternalTempest · Nov 17, 2005, 05:17 PM // 17:17

You may want to buy as many signet captures, or at least 2-3 early on. The more skills you buy the more expensive it gets. Skill costs will cap out at 1 plat per skill down the road (but not go higher).

The mistake I made was buying all the skills (I do the quests 1st to some for free) and latter on being very pricey (after they made the change).

(Edit) Do all the npc quests, that is where you will get alot of free skills.

tuperwho · Nov 17, 2005, 05:20 PM // 17:20

Unless you get the skill from a quest reward, it will always cost 1 skill point. I have yet to meet anyone who ran out of skill points, though.... there are plenty, as long as you play the game, and dont plan on buying every skill for your professions.

Raiddinn Beatdropper · Nov 17, 2005, 05:28 PM // 17:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by tuperwho

Unless you get the skill from a quest reward, it will always cost 1 skill point. I have yet to meet anyone who ran out of skill points, though.... there are plenty, as long as you play the game, and dont plan on buying every skill for your professions.

I ran 4 whole PVE chars out of skill points when working on unlocking all the skills in the game.

I shored that up with PVPing probably at least a whole other 1.5 chars worth of skill points.

Worthless Player

Epinephrine · Nov 17, 2005, 05:57 PM // 17:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by tuperwho

Unless you get the skill from a quest reward, it will always cost 1 skill point. I have yet to meet anyone who ran out of skill points, though.... there are plenty, as long as you play the game, and dont plan on buying every skill for your professions.

Everyone runs out of skillpoints. All my toons are out of skillpoints. Unlocking everything on 2 classes takes a lot of points, and if you start fololing around with extra classes it gets really hard.

xenoranger · Nov 17, 2005, 06:11 PM // 18:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by Epinephrine

Everyone runs out of skillpoints. All my toons are out of skillpoints. Unlocking everything on 2 classes takes a lot of points, and if you start fololing around with extra classes it gets really hard.

Nah.. I just build a character and stick with the class sets as if they were set in stone. No point in jumping ship to get skills from other classes that don't fit my style of play. It's all about planning when building. And failure to plan often leads to bad choices.

If I have to spend skill points to capture too many.. then count me out. I think (based on limited knowledge) that only elite skills are worth a skill point.

Still...
I'm aspiring to be an Afflictionist (not sure if that build exsists, but if not, I will make it). I specialize in Death and Curses. I want all I can get from those two. I'll worry about Blood, Domination, Illusion, & Inspriation later. Death and Curses have some of the best hexes (from what I've seen) for my style of play.

DeanBB · Nov 17, 2005, 07:45 PM // 19:45

That narrow view may work fine for you but obviously based on other posts it isn't for everyone.

Myself, I'm not too concerned with PvP so am only looking to collect the skills needed for a particular character, including changing 2nd professions to try other builds. When doing so there are typically only 2-4 skills for that profession I am interested in and undoubtedly need to be purchased as you only get very few initially and through the few profession quests available.

So from that perspective I have plenty of skill points for what I am doing. Yes there are quite a few skills, both normal and elite, that I will not bother buying as I see no need for them. If I come up with a build that makes use of them I'll pick them up then.

And this is just from playing through the game normally, including redoing old areas like the desert to help advance guildies.

Shimus DarkRaven · Nov 17, 2005, 08:26 PM // 20:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by xenoranger

Nah.. I just build a character and stick with the class sets as if they were set in stone. No point in jumping ship to get skills from other classes that don't fit my style of play. It's all about planning when building. And failure to plan often leads to bad choices.

If I have to spend skill points to capture too many.. then count me out. I think (based on limited knowledge) that only elite skills are worth a skill point.

Still...
I'm aspiring to be an Afflictionist (not sure if that build exsists, but if not, I will make it). I specialize in Death and Curses. I want all I can get from those two. I'll worry about Blood, Domination, Illusion, & Inspriation later. Death and Curses have some of the best hexes (from what I've seen) for my style of play.

Btw, you can farm EXP post 20 for skill points, so you never can "RUN" out of them. My 2 cents.

--The Shim

xenoranger · Nov 17, 2005, 08:36 PM // 20:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shimus DarkRaven

Btw, you can farm EXP post 20 for skill points, so you never can "RUN" out of them. My 2 cents.

--The Shim

Huh? Are you saying that I can build skill points by trading EXP for them after lvl 20?

would that make it potentially possible to have god stats (meanning all skills at lvl 12)?

Shimus DarkRaven · Nov 17, 2005, 08:40 PM // 20:40

"Farming EXP" aka, just going outside outposts to get EXP. I mainly do this griffon farming in the desert, but it can be done anywhere your 20 stills recieves EXP. Yes, seeing as you can't level past 20, every "level" you'd level gives you a Skill point. Skill points; NOT attribute points. Therefore; it's possible to purchase more skills; but not more ATTRIBUTE for "line" skills, like healing prayers. I mean skill points like points you use to by skills. Sorry I confused.

--The Shim

Fungus Amongus · Nov 17, 2005, 08:49 PM // 20:49

I didn't find much need for the skill points early on except for cap sigs. I did, however, find them much more useful late in the game for aquiring skills when changing second professions. All the quest reward skills are for your current 2 classes, but when you switch secondaries, you can only aquire a few more skills for each profession by "class only" quests. Certain areas are easier with certain combos so I can change my secondary and buy the skills that I feel will compliment my primary in any given area or mission.

Zaklex · Nov 17, 2005, 08:50 PM // 20:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Epinephrine

Everyone runs out of skillpoints. All my toons are out of skillpoints. Unlocking everything on 2 classes takes a lot of points, and if you start fololing around with extra classes it gets really hard.

I'm sorry, but please don't say everyone, with judicious play style and depending on how you move along the game it is quite possible to get all the skills for a character without running out of skills points. Now, how do I know this, well, my Mo/Wa(Wa was only for ascending) I ended the last mission with 50 skill points, and that included getting every single skill from quests, then I went and bought all of the non-elites that I wanted that I didn't get from quests and had 32 left over, have capped a few elites and now am back up to 36 skill points.

xenoranger · Nov 17, 2005, 08:53 PM // 20:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shimus DarkRaven

"Farming EXP" aka, just going outside outposts to get EXP. I mainly do this griffon farming in the desert, but it can be done anywhere your 20 stills recieves EXP. Yes, seeing as you can't level past 20, every "level" you'd level gives you a Skill point. Skill points; NOT attribute points. Therefore; it's possible to purchase more skills; but not more ATTRIBUTE for "line" skills, like healing prayers. I mean skill points like points you use to by skills. Sorry I confused.

--The Shim

Yeah... I understand that stats don't go up. I refer to "God Stats" as when you max out all of the places stat points could be allocated to. In Guild Wars, it would be having all your skill sets at level 12. That's what I refer to as "God Stats".

Either way... you answered my question.
Thanks

Nov 17, 2005, 03:43 PM // 15:43	#1
xenoranger Wilds Pathfinder Join Date: Nov 2005	Stealing Skills Where do you get the ability to steal skills from enemies? I've come across several enemies with skills I want, but don't have the ability to steal them. I've heard rumors that Lion Head has one such skill. Is this true? If so, where is Lionhead? If not where can I go to get teh ability to steal skills? What limitations are there to stealing skills? What negatives are there to stealing? Can only certain abilities be stolen? So far, I've been to Ascalon, Rurik, Piken, & Sc_____ (Can't remember, but it's south of Ascalon). PS: I've already searched the forums, and haven't found an answer to this yet.

Nov 17, 2005, 03:50 PM // 15:50	#2
Epinephrine Master of Beasts Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Ottawa, Canada Guild: Servants of Fortuna [SoF]	Ok: You can't really "Steal" skills, at least not in any permanent way...you can learn a skill for your class from a dead boss however, using the Signet of Capture that you first get access to in Lion's Arch. The skills that allow this type of stuff are: Arcane Thievery: Steals a random spell from your opponent's skillbar. Doesn't come with the attribute level though, so unless you steal a spell from your class it's pretty useless, except as skill denial. Inspired Hex/Enchantment: Removes a hex/enchanment from someone, and you get a copy on your skillbar. Doesn't come with the attribute though, so it sucks for use. Does give a bit of energy though, and acts as hex/enchantment removal. Arcane Mimicry: Copies the elite skill from another party member. Can be usedto have some broken combos, but sadly opnly for 20 seconds or so, hardly enough time to do anything major with. Blackout: Denies access to all skills for your opponent - and you. Signet of Capture: Permanently acquire a skill used by a "boss" monster (enemy with an aura). The only way to get elite skills in PvE.

Nov 17, 2005, 03:51 PM // 15:51	#3
Valerius Desert Nomad Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Canada Profession: R/	the skill is called Signet of Capture... and u can purchase these skills in Lion's Arch u can only cap skills off of bosses... and u can only cap the skills that the boss uses

Nov 17, 2005, 04:17 PM // 16:17	#4
Shimus DarkRaven Desert Nomad Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Titusville, PA <nowhere> Guild: KOD <Knights of the Dragonrose><Guild Officer> Profession: W/Mo	Signet of Captrue, first accessable in Lion's Arch from MAGI Malaquire's quests, allows you to "capture" elite skills <or normal ones, depending if you've already learned em> and you can only "capture" off dead bosses of your class<es> aura. Say you're a W/Mo, only yellow/blue aura bosses allow for you to cap skills off of them. Hope this helped, this all you really need to know except that Elite Skill Bosses are hard to find or hard spots <like Snake's Dance or Hell's Pricipice> --The Shim

Nov 17, 2005, 04:52 PM // 16:52	#5
xenoranger Wilds Pathfinder Join Date: Nov 2005	K... so is there a limit to usage? Like, can these only be used once? Also...I heard that you can capture skills off enemies that have a glowing aura (and that's what indicates if it's a boss or not).

Nov 17, 2005, 05:01 PM // 17:01	#6
chippxero Krytan Explorer Join Date: May 2005 Location: norfolk Guild: Super Anti Rabbit Squad [SARS] Profession: Mo/Me	The Signet can only be used once to capture a skill if you take one, if there isnt one you want then you can use the Signet again till you pick a skill. You can purchase another Signet of Capture at skills trainers though.

Nov 17, 2005, 05:02 PM // 17:02	#7
Swampgirl Inez "I love reading trash!" Join Date: May 2005 Location: Home Again	One signet of capture can be used to capture one skill. You can buy more signets from skills trainers. They cost one skill point and some gold. The gold amount goes up as you buy more skills. And yes, you can only capture a skill from a boss (creatures with a colored glowing aura).

Nov 17, 2005, 05:17 PM // 17:17	#9
EternalTempest Furnace Stoker Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: United States Guild: Dark Side Ofthe Moon [DSM] Profession: E/	You may want to buy as many signet captures, or at least 2-3 early on. The more skills you buy the more expensive it gets. Skill costs will cap out at 1 plat per skill down the road (but not go higher). The mistake I made was buying all the skills (I do the quests 1st to some for free) and latter on being very pricey (after they made the change). (Edit) Do all the npc quests, that is where you will get alot of free skills.

Nov 17, 2005, 05:20 PM // 17:20	#10
tuperwho Wilds Pathfinder Join Date: Jul 2005 Guild: Tenacious Knights of Doom [TKD]	Unless you get the skill from a quest reward, it will always cost 1 skill point. I have yet to meet anyone who ran out of skill points, though.... there are plenty, as long as you play the game, and dont plan on buying every skill for your professions.

Nov 17, 2005, 07:45 PM // 19:45	#14
DeanBB Forge Runner Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Arizona Guild: Wizardry Players Guild, http://4guildwars.7.forumer.com	That narrow view may work fine for you but obviously based on other posts it isn't for everyone. Myself, I'm not too concerned with PvP so am only looking to collect the skills needed for a particular character, including changing 2nd professions to try other builds. When doing so there are typically only 2-4 skills for that profession I am interested in and undoubtedly need to be purchased as you only get very few initially and through the few profession quests available. So from that perspective I have plenty of skill points for what I am doing. Yes there are quite a few skills, both normal and elite, that I will not bother buying as I see no need for them. If I come up with a build that makes use of them I'll pick them up then. And this is just from playing through the game normally, including redoing old areas like the desert to help advance guildies.

Nov 17, 2005, 08:40 PM // 20:40	#17
Shimus DarkRaven Desert Nomad Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Titusville, PA <nowhere> Guild: KOD <Knights of the Dragonrose><Guild Officer> Profession: W/Mo	"Farming EXP" aka, just going outside outposts to get EXP. I mainly do this griffon farming in the desert, but it can be done anywhere your 20 stills recieves EXP. Yes, seeing as you can't level past 20, every "level" you'd level gives you a Skill point. Skill points; NOT attribute points. Therefore; it's possible to purchase more skills; but not more ATTRIBUTE for "line" skills, like healing prayers. I mean skill points like points you use to by skills. Sorry I confused. --The Shim

Nov 17, 2005, 08:49 PM // 20:49	#18
Fungus Amongus Wilds Pathfinder Join Date: Jul 2005 Guild: Fifteen Over Fifty [Rare] \| [Rare] Alliance	I didn't find much need for the skill points early on except for cap sigs. I did, however, find them much more useful late in the game for aquiring skills when changing second professions. All the quest reward skills are for your current 2 classes, but when you switch secondaries, you can only aquire a few more skills for each profession by "class only" quests. Certain areas are easier with certain combos so I can change my secondary and buy the skills that I feel will compliment my primary in any given area or mission.