I just returned from a really long break from the game, and decided to switch guilds and have just recently become a shadowdancer.
I have 800 credits and 700 lessons(free) left over after transing out my guild skills. The rest of my skills look like this:

Common Skills Rank
------------- ------------
Combat Transcendent
Resilience Transcendent
Discernment Fabled
Magic Gifted
Planar Transcendent
Discipline Fabled
Environment Expert
Influence Capable
Riding Inept
Arts Inept
Lowmagic Virtuoso
Dramatics Inept
Aethercraft Inept

Guild Skills Rank
------------- ------------
Nature Transcendent
Wicca
Totems Transcendent
Night
Hexes Transcendent


You'll notice a lack of a trade skill. I think bookbinding sounds really cool, and useful since I'm more interested in PVP than anything else. However, if I take that I figure I'll have to also spend 350 credits on the rune to make my dagger usable like a shield. So that's close to 650 credits if I go that route. Alchemy also seemed interesting and would fit my character RP, but 300 credits for a level 1 sip bonus and a trade skill that it seems like is a pain to use(since you can't get the herbs yourself) seems a bit much.

Aethercraft seem really interesting as well, but I don't know if I have quite enough credits to go that route. Would have to get a manse and what not first, right?

I was also considering some artifacts(only have the three pipes atm). Perhaps the level 2 magic damage enhancing rune? My character is Lucidian so with nightkiss is usually at 15 INT.

Transing out Magic or Discipline also seemed like they could be useful.

Mainly I just can't seem to pull the trigger on this one, so any advice would be more than welcome.

Thanks in advance.

Bookbinding + shield-athame is a decent way to go. Alchemy's not as much of a pain as you might think, you can make good money.

Lucidians are only so-so - to do really well as an SD, go mugwump.

Transing Discipline should be a pretty high priority, focusing your body with 1 second is pretty nice and good against a lot of archtypes. Secondly, since you mostly will PvP against Seren, I'd advise you to get trans Magic too, every tad knocked down damage from Moonburst helps. Trans Lowmagic can also be useful for raids, though I am not sure how often Shadowdancers have 10 power lieing around during fights.
Alchemy is a pretty nice skill, it's easier to get herbs than potions nowadays, so you can brew your own whenever you need 'em. Tome is also nice, but personally, I'd go for Alchemy.

Trans Magic and Trans discipline.

Seconded. I still don't have trans magic, but then I don't fight Serens much. Against MDs, it is important.

For the trade skill, alchemy is viable, but alchemists seem to be everywhere. That may just be in Seren, though, I don't know about Glom. The tome would be very nice for pvp; if you have the spare credits I would go with it. The shield rune for the dagger would be nice, but it's not an absolute necessity. Shields only really help noticeably against warrior archetypes. As a SD, you won't really be able to stand toe-to-toe with them anyway unless you hinder the hell out of them, in which case the shield wouldn't do you a lot of good regardless. I would go for trans discipline, trans bookbinding, and trans magic. If you have any left over credits, I would go for a rune of absorbtion first and then the shield rune later.

First of all thanks for all the quick, informative replies.

Transing discipline now sounds like a no brainer so I'm going to do that first.

Now from what I remember from years ago when I played(as a celestine, mind you) shieldstun and shield riposte seemed super useful for helping to pin someone down. I'd think that in choke that would be even more true, no?

Shieldriposte is okay, but I rarely use shieldstun. It can be useful in groups, if you are very large/recover balance quickly, but most of the time for me it is just wasted balance time since the enemy recovers long before I do. It would be okay in choke, since it might stop one of their commands from going through, but most likely it will slow you down more than it would be worth. In any case, I don't think it's worth the credits right away. Absorbtion will be much more useful, IMO.

as a shadowdancer your best bet first would be trans tailoring if your going to pvp splendour robes are what you need, then if you decide to switch to bookbinding etc after just make sure you keep them mended.

also as a shadowdancer you should be able to stand toe to toe with most warriors 1 vs 1 definitely though not top tier without choke so that shield rune could help alot but its not strictly necessary and id want to trans magic/discipline first

With a lot of hindering afflictions, yes. Without them, not a chance. But then, if you have them tied down with afflictions, you're not getting hit enough to make the shield rune all that useful. It's not useless, but I would still definitely put it behind a rune of absorbtion.

Trans tailoring is not a bad idea, though, splendour robes seem very nice.

you should only need to hinder against a very top tier/very heavy hitting warrior otherwise you should be fine just getting on with killing them, rune of absorbtion ive used lots not impressed or helped at all, taking less damage is pretty useless as thats not what kills you at all as a sd, its the afflictions that stack regardless which allow them to take you down eventually much rather have the shield to stop those then take a bit less damage every now and then..

Dude, you need more periods.

And to be around more.

He is.

- Reincarnate into mugwump.
- Trans discipline definitely.
- Don't necessarily listen to the people telling you to trans magic unless you happen to have leftover credits lying around, it's not at all necessary IMO since you have garb (I only have capable magic and I handle single moonbursts fine, though I imagine it'd help tanking multiple people).
- If you want a defensive artifact, get the Rune of Absorption, not the shield rune. Neither is particularly necessary, though, and I don't think they're really worth the credits.
- Bookbinding gives a nice little damage shield, but splendor robes (tailoring) or a sip bonus (alchemy) are probably better.
- Shieldstun is mediocre and shieldriposte is crap. There are much better things for you to do in choke.

Acrune, Silimaur is Sharael, in case you haven't figured it out yet.

Well, yeah, but he needs to be around more as Silimaur

i completely vote against absorbtion rune used it lots raiding did nothing, shams right in the fact one moonburster will never kill you ever (i take only 500? on average?) but im used to going against groups now in which it would help lots..(referring to trans magic)

I think we just have different definitions of a top-tier warrior. For the most part, I would agree with you. As an MD (and as a Geo, for that matter) I have trouble with damage from most warriors who are active in combat, but then most of them are relatively hard-hitters. Now that I think about it, I don't really fight many warriors who do not hit hard, so that could be skewing my opinion.

Err, RoA only blocks physical damage. Now, if it worked against ALL damage, it would be godly and would definitely be worth 500cr.

ah well most warriors i fight do not output enough damage and wounding to have any real effect, and most of the ones that do will go down before theyve caused a problem thats without hindering..grr sojiro though actually ive got much better dealing with you

sham i edited that before you post

People are already complaining about it being OP. Can you imagine if it worked against all damage?