QUOTE(Ichy @ Dec 28 2011, 06:48)

As a melee on normal your mana is best spent on nerf. It makes them die a little faster.
QUOTE(dcherry @ Dec 28 2011, 10:04)

What about weaken? I thought that lowers defense? Why not spirit mode? Wouldn't it be in your best interest to use as *many* potions as possible if that'll speed the process up? And, have you tried bleed?
My current experiences with End of Days are as follows after trying out a few things:
WeakenWith Spirit Mode: Schoolgirls die must faster, but often not fast enough to stop them from using their Spirit Attack, which usually drains the maximum amount of Spirit Points possible. That, along with the SP drain from Spirit Mode leads to extremely fast SP drain. I carry no Spirit Potions, so this leads to me casting Silence instead.
Without Spirit Mode: They die faster, but almost always not fast enough to prevent a Spirit Attack. No SP drain because of no Spirit Mode, but losing a large chunk of SP every few rounds still leads to me casting Silence instead. Iris Strike is used when Overcharge is full.
Final Impression: Low on MP cost. Extremely high on SP cost. Saves some time.
SilenceWith Spirit Mode: Silence allows me to use Spirit Mode as freely as possible, but due to Overcharge being drained at a rate faster than it's being generated, it has its limits. Additionally, the sheer number of rounds and HP of the schoolgirls means I can't use Spirit Mode right off the bat, since I'd soon run out of SP and be stuck with regular nerfed damage for the later rounds. Spirit Shield can't be left out of Innate Arcana in place of something else, but all other spells have a cost greater than my MP regen.
Without Spirit Mode: I'm freely able to use my Iris Strike, but I ultimately don't. Why? Blind cancels out Silence. This means I have to maximize damage by giving it the Stun and PA proc and hope that it's enough to kill it. Otherwise I am vulnerable to a Spirit Attack that'll kill me should I not have Spirit Shield on through Innate Arcana.
Final Impression: High on MP cost (since Silence costs much more than Weaken). High/Low on SP cost depending on if Spirit Mode is on or off. Slowest but safest.
I'll try out Nerf when the arena's reset, but given its cost is even greater than Silence, and I'm still vulnerable to Spirit Attacks, I'm not holding my breath for anything noticeable.
I've thought about using a Bleed weapon, but I'm not sure if it's worth the loss of my rapier's PA and parry bonus. That, and I don't have an Ethereal one. Also, I'm trying to conserve potions as of this latest patch, and I generally use the amount of potions I use as a gauge of how well I'm doing in an arena.