Skeletal Darts - a hidden star?

[rol]

Is it just me or are Skeletal Darts really such an awesome weapon?
I play hunting / nature and use mainly throwing weapons. It seems that I cannot find the one legendary weapon that would suit me best (Jagged Silk; I have dozens of Ladon's Maw and Neith's Will....).
So I just tried the monster infrequent "Skeletal Darts", and this weapon really rocks (50% pierce ratio instead of 10 to 15 of most other throwing weapons). I have never read anything about the Skeletal Darts or about anyone using them. Why is that? Or, what is the drawback of this weapon? What are you experiences?

[Sampei22]

My dragon hunter build (Act IV Epic right now) relies on Skeletal Darts actually (dual wielding them). In my opinion one of the best Monster Infrequent weapon, for dexterity builds that is. The chance for extra pierce damage is great, 50% ratio, they're easy to farm, can put relics/charms on them, and they're very fast. The only drawback i can see is the low-ish base damage but if you are able to get good affixes and some flat damage on gear it shouldn't be a problem honestly. They even sinergize with Thunder strike (well what doesn't :P), since i believe every projectile can proc the +200% extra damage and the reduction to enemy's healt.

[rol]

Thank you for your quick answer and for sharing your experience.
Do you know where the best place is to farm legendary Skeletal Darts? I think I found some in the Telkine Tomb in Valley of the Kings (the bottom-left chamber of the large centre room contains some throwing skeletons). Are there better places where more skeletons with throwing weapons appear?

[Sampei22]

I'm not sure but it seems to be dropping from every skeleton type, so a lot of places could be good, maybe the upper-war camp just before the Gorgon queens cave?

[Wonder]

Skeletal Drops Are MIs They'll Drop From Every Single Skeleton, With An Increse Drop Chance From Heros And Even Bigger Chance From Quest Mobs, The Best Place To Farm For Skeloton MI's Is The Undead Raiders Quest Outside Of Megara Seeing As There's 3 Quest Heros And Can Spawn Regular Heros, As Well As The Town Before The Ruins Has Skeletal Heros Just Use The Megara RF And Farm There

[Sampei22]

Those quest mobs use different weapon types, doubt they'll ever drop a throw weapon. But it is a good place nonetheless. Spartan road and Mycenean ruins are two other nice spots aswell. The thing is skeletons are so abundant and drop the darts like candy :P.

[Wonder]

I Havent Recieved Any On Legendary But I Did Get 3 Normal Darts On A Single Clear Of That Area. 1 Fighting The Ice Skeletal Mage In Myc Ruins Unsure If They Were The One To Drop.

[rol]

I did some runs on skeleton-infested areas as you recommended. I found 4 Skeleton Darts, all dropped from skeletons with throwing weapons (= the skeletons which shoot mid-range and have kind of "boomerangs" in their cold dead hands).

[Footman]

Stumbled on the realization by accident, but the Darts can be especially powerful with a properly built Asssassin. Only at level 22 achieved a DPS of 431.

Warrior Skills
- Weapon Training
- Battle Rage (optional but vicious when triggered)
- Dual Wield

Rogue Skills
- Calculated Strike (4th darts will punch through columns of enemies)
- Blade Honing (SDs count as Swords)
- Envenom Weapon

Add in enhancements from items, charms and runes for further power. An artifact like Shroud of Night is a very sweet bonus.

The end result is the Asssassin pretty much turns into a Grammaton Cleric. Dart Kata.

The Darts have shorter range than bows and staves but a lot more than melee, which in most cases mean monsters die before they can inflict significant damage to you. The 50% piercing rate along with their grab bag package, plus whatever you pile on will make them better than even most Epic and Legendary throwing weapons.

And this is just at Normal rank and low levels. A developed Assassin with Epic or Legendary rank Darts? Who knows.

Keep in mind some enemies will require melee weapons to deal with.

[Dakota]

They're great weapons and new with the ragnarok expansion, so there's little documentation on them. If you're using Hunting mastery they're pretty much the best option, and they also pair up with Rogue extremely well.