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Since I'm lvl 50 now, I want to ask: Is Shadow Veil worth to put 5 point AP in it and in what situation you use Shadow Veil?

Since I'm lvl 50 now, I want to ask: Is Shadow Veil worth to put 5 point AP in it and in what situation you use Shadow Veil?

In my opinion, Shadow Veil is ONLY worth a damn if you put all five points into it.

And combined with a High-Evade/Block/Parry loadout of Weapons and Armor, it can be a life-saver.

Let's put it this way: I'm a Heavy Tank who is encumbered by a big ol' buttload of Burden (near 100) and VERY low Supportive magic Proficiency, and it still increases my own Dodge by 7 points with all 5 AP filled in.
It is a VERY nice thing to see even a Legendary break down and cry in frustration because it keeps missing me because of my Twin Daggers or Sword and High Block-rate Shield, combined with Shadow Veil.

I can only imagine how useful this Spell is to a Spell-Sword or Rogue or Mage with much less Burden (and almost certainly much higher Supportive Proficiencies as well).


This post has been edited by Thanos008: Nov 18 2009, 19:51

This is probably the most sane words I've ever read so far about experience-gain. Everyone else just goes "Omg! Finally an exp-farming place (ItemWorld)".

Well, look at it this way. The ONLY way to beat bosses and gain the most useful abilities, is to level up. There's no alternative. You can't even challenge a boss one on one before level 50. You think Silence being bumped up from lvl 70 was an accident? You're supposed to level up. You HAVE to, every battle you win gives EXP, and you want to win. As you level up, you find more ways to deal with the monsters being around your level. I know I have way more options now than I did at lvl 10. With every level up, you get AP, which means more options. I bet you'll find certain Arenas easier with another item slot. And the only way to get one without paying for it is to, surprise, level up. From what I can say, leveling up has helped me far more than proficiency ever has.

Just as a matter of strategy in terms of fighting Legendaries and/or creatures on higher difficulties......


1]] They can NEVER use their Ultra-Attack until the Red Bar is completely filled.......right??

2]] If you have, say, a 30% Block or Parry rate, do you ALWAYS have that same chance of blocking/parrying in real terms....or can the monsters' Hit Rate "cheat" and whittle/overcome that percentage as they get more powerful and their own Hit Rates naturally go up??

It just seems to me as if you get less blocking/parrying as you either turn up the Difficulty or face a Legendary....and it seems to me that, logically, you should ALWAYS have that percentage to block or parry once you earn it.

Does the damage multiplier from your offhand, and the accuracy/crit bonuses on it, apply to both weapons while Dual Wielding? It seems like, with my axe in my offhand (my only other 1H weapon), my mainhand Rapier hits harder than it did with my shield equipped.

Also, out of curiosity, how quickly does the Offhand Strike proc chance rise? My DW proficiency is still piddly, and I have a 22.6% proc chance. Do you high level folks see crazy-high proc frequency, or does it rise really slowly?

Does the damage multiplier from your offhand, and the accuracy/crit bonuses on it, apply to both weapons while Dual Wielding? It seems like, with my axe in my offhand (my only other 1H weapon), my mainhand Rapier hits harder than it did with my shield equipped.

Also, out of curiosity, how quickly does the Offhand Strike proc chance rise? My DW proficiency is still piddly, and I have a 22.6% proc chance. Do you high level folks see crazy-high proc frequency, or does it rise really slowly?

1) The damage multipliers from both weapons are combined into that single multiplier stat you see on the Equipment page. That is what modifies how hard you hit. So if you have a high damage offhand, even if its halved, your offhand will still hit pretty hard and make your mainhand hit a bit harder.

2) I can't answer this one. I stopped paying attention to my offhand frequency stats when I was playing with it, so I don't know how high it got from when I started (something like 1) to when I stopped (90-something).

A snowball has a better chance in hell than me while trying to beat "Blazing Field" and I probably never will, unless there is this HUGE change in spells/abilities/etc when I hit lvl40 (I Keep reading that things will look different then? :/ ).

...

Question: Wtf?

Up to a certain point, it's pretty hard to do all the available Arenas. I looked up my old "yay, I cleared this one" posts, and I didn't attempt Fresh Meat until level 60, so I'm pretty sure I wasn't doing Blazing Field in the 30s. After trying that one, I found I could do up to Growing Storm - but only if I filled all my slots with Godly Mana Draughts.

Somewhere along the line, though, things get easier. Not necessarily level 40 - that's where Cure used to be - but each new challenge I face now seems easier in comparison to the last. Endgame, well, that has a boss in it, so it might be a different story...

Just as a matter of strategy in terms of fighting Legendaries and/or creatures on higher difficulties......
1]] They can NEVER use their Ultra-Attack until the Red Bar is completely filled.......right??

That's true of everything up to Mikuru. I don't know about the others. ISTR something about one of them only needing 1/8 of their MP to use a skill though.

2]] If you have, say, a 30% Block or Parry rate, do you ALWAYS have that same chance of blocking/parrying in real terms....or can the monsters' Hit Rate "cheat" and whittle/overcome that percentage as they get more powerful and their own Hit Rates naturally go up??

It just seems to me as if you get less blocking/parrying as you either turn up the Difficulty or face a Legendary....and it seems to me that, logically, you should ALWAYS have that percentage to block or parry once you earn it.

Block and Parry chance applies only to attacks that would otherwise have hit you. You can't block an attack if the monster misses, for example. If anything, I'd expect a Legendary to have a higher chance of hitting you, and therefore you'd block it more often.

Up to a certain point, it's pretty hard to do all the available Arenas. I looked up my old "yay, I cleared this one" posts, and I didn't attempt Fresh Meat until level 60, so I'm pretty sure I wasn't doing Blazing Field in the 30s. After trying that one, I found I could do up to Growing Storm - but only if I filled all my slots with Godly Mana Draughts.

Somewhere along the line, though, things get easier. Not necessarily level 40 - that's where Cure used to be - but each new challenge I face now seems easier in comparison to the last.

I totally agree with all of that. I just attempted and beat Fresh Meat for the first time today. I put it off because the Wiki said there were several minibosses, and just the one at the end of Blazing Field usually posed a problem for me. But my magic took a step up recently, probably because I got my first Rank 2 Aura. All I know is I can take out most normal monsters (on Normal) with a single spell, assuming they're weak against it and I target them. The minibosses still take several spells to take down, though, so I'm saving up for an Aura Slot in hopes that will boost me even more, until I can get the Rainbow Aura.

Of course, the problem may be my equipment choice. I love being a mage, but I was just taking way too much damage in all Gossamer cloth, so I switched out for a Battlecaster breastplate and some Emerald Plate Greaves.

Oh, and to give you an idea of how slowly I'm progressing in Arena, here's a pic.

Just as a matter of strategy in terms of fighting Legendaries and/or creatures on higher difficulties......
1]] They can NEVER use their Ultra-Attack until the Red Bar is completely filled.......right??

2]] If you have, say, a 30% Block or Parry rate, do you ALWAYS have that same chance of blocking/parrying in real terms....or can the monsters' Hit Rate "cheat" and whittle/overcome that percentage as they get more powerful and their own Hit Rates naturally go up??

It just seems to me as if you get less blocking/parrying as you either turn up the Difficulty or face a Legendary....and it seems to me that, logically, you should ALWAYS have that percentage to block or parry once you earn it.

I would have sworn someone posted something about a boss using its spirit attack before it had a full spirit bar, but there have been a few changes to bosses so it might not be like that anymore.

Theoretically at harder setting the stats of the monsters are higher too, so they should have more hit, however that has nothing to do with your block/parry, since those would have been misses. But ya on higher settings you will probably get hit more.

Does the damage multiplier from your offhand, and the accuracy/crit bonuses on it, apply to both weapons while Dual Wielding? It seems like, with my axe in my offhand (my only other 1H weapon), my mainhand Rapier hits harder than it did with my shield equipped.

Also, out of curiosity, how quickly does the Offhand Strike proc chance rise? My DW proficiency is still piddly, and I have a 22.6% proc chance. Do you high level folks see crazy-high proc frequency, or does it rise really slowly?

yes they both add together however remember offhand dmg multiplier is halved.

my offhand is at 39.5 chance I assume its probably directly proportional to prof, if its not you can atleast get a rough idea of the gain rate.

Well, these posts was very reassuring. Thank you for your time ladies and gentlemen.

In my opinion, Shadow Veil is ONLY worth a damn if you put all five points into it.

And combined with a High-Evade/Block/Parry loadout of Weapons and Armor, it can be a life-saver.

Let's put it this way: I'm a Heavy Tank who is encumbered by a big ol' buttload of Burden (near 100) and VERY low Supportive magic Proficiency, and it still increases my own Dodge by 7 points with all 5 AP filled in.
It is a VERY nice thing to see even a Legendary break down and cry in frustration because it keeps missing me because of my Twin Daggers or Sword and High Block-rate Shield, combined with Shadow Veil.

I can only imagine how useful this Spell is to a Spell-Sword or Rogue or Mage with much less Burden (and almost certainly much higher Supportive Proficiencies as well).

Yeah, but it only increases physical evasion, which makes it less useful than normal evasion. Those extra AP only increase the duration, btw. The strength is determined by proficiency. Yours must be around 20 to get up to 7 points.

Which do you veterans think is the better option to train first: Pack Rat 1 or Refined Aura 1?

By the time I can afford either, I'll be at least lvl 50. Since I used two of my aura points on magic-based auras way back before equipment was introduced (Indigo and Violet), I've got 5 auras unlocked: Orange, Green, Red, Indigo, and Violet. At level 50 I'll get an aura point that I could use to unlock Yellow, but I'd need a rank in Refined Aura to make use of it. I could also potentially re-activate Violet, and save the lvl 50 aura point for boosting an existing aura once I have Focused Aura 1 ten levels later.

However, being able to bring an extra item into battle (especially for the harder arenas) seems quite enticing.

Basically, it comes down to a choice of either 5% magic hit chance (for deprecating spells?), and +1 STR +1 INT; or +1% evade and +2 AGI; or an extra item slot. Which do you guys recommend for the best short term benefit (since I'll be able to afford both training options eventually).

In my opinion, Shadow Veil is ONLY worth a damn if you put all five points into it.

And combined with a High-Evade/Block/Parry loadout of Weapons and Armor, it can be a life-saver.

Let's put it this way: I'm a Heavy Tank who is encumbered by a big ol' buttload of Burden (near 100) and VERY low Supportive magic Proficiency, and it still increases my own Dodge by 7 points with all 5 AP filled in.
It is a VERY nice thing to see even a Legendary break down and cry in frustration because it keeps missing me because of my Twin Daggers or Sword and High Block-rate Shield, combined with Shadow Veil.

I can only imagine how useful this Spell is to a Spell-Sword or Rogue or Mage with much less Burden (and almost certainly much higher Supportive Proficiencies as well).

Mine now is +9.2 points, but I found it pretty useless.
Maybe I'll test again when I meet Legendary.
Thanks for your answer (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

shadow veil largely depends on you supportive prof. my shadow veil adds 22.5% evade so I pretty much use it all the time. It really depends on if your stacking mitigation or dodge whether you prefer shield or shadow veil... if your not using either well then your taking way more dmg then you need to be.

Which do you veterans think is the better option to train first: Pack Rat 1 or Refined Aura 1?

By the time I can afford either, I'll be at least lvl 50. Since I used two of my aura points on magic-based auras way back before equipment was introduced (Indigo and Violet), I've got 5 auras unlocked: Orange, Green, Red, Indigo, and Violet. At level 50 I'll get an aura point that I could use to unlock Yellow, but I'd need a rank in Refined Aura to make use of it. I could also potentially re-activate Violet, and save the lvl 50 aura point for boosting an existing aura once I have Focused Aura 1 ten levels later.

However, being able to bring an extra item into battle (especially for the harder arenas) seems quite enticing.

Basically, it comes down to a choice of either 5% magic hit chance (for deprecating spells?), and +1 STR +1 INT; or +1% evade and +2 AGI; or an extra item slot. Which do you guys recommend for the best short term benefit (since I'll be able to afford both training options eventually).

I'd probably get the extra pack rat before the aura, extra items are very very helpful for the longer arenas.

I'm thinking of respecing Shadow Veil back in for fighting in Triple-Mini and Boss Rounds (crap, another specialized spell). The mob size would make that extra bit of physical evade helpful, especially since I now know that a good many enemy skills are still a physical attack even if its got elemental damage. Though it probably wouldn't add that much due to Interference gimping.

I would also recommend the Item Slot. The difficulty of arenas is more in endurance rather than actual monster strength increasing. You're fighting larger groups for longer, so you run out of HP/MP more quickly. That extra item slot helps a lot -- back in the early days, it made a difference for me in clearing some arenas.

Think I'll try to go all leather to reduce the burden for spells then, Sleep on any strongest mob can be a life saver. Wish me and my credits good luck (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)
This is probably the most sane words I've ever read so far about experience-gain. Everyone else just goes "Omg! Finally an exp-farming place (ItemWorld)".

For that you also have to keep in mind that not only does leveling take awhile, but plenty of people are wearing higher level gear. So leveling makes their gear stronger plus they can pump up their stats. For best results you should try tough arenas on the tail end of your level after you've upped all your attributes.

I totally agree with all of that. I just attempted and beat Fresh Meat for the first time today. I put it off because the Wiki said there were several minibosses, and just the one at the end of Blazing Field usually posed a problem for me. But my magic took a step up recently, probably because I got my first Rank 2 Aura. All I know is I can take out most normal monsters (on Normal) with a single spell, assuming they're weak against it and I target them. The minibosses still take several spells to take down, though, so I'm saving up for an Aura Slot in hopes that will boost me even more, until I can get the Rainbow Aura.

Of course, the problem may be my equipment choice. I love being a mage, but I was just taking way too much damage in all Gossamer cloth, so I switched out for a Battlecaster breastplate and some Emerald Plate Greaves.

Oh, and to give you an idea of how slowly I'm progressing in Arena, here's a pic.

You too, huh??

Slow going, ain't it??

(I already have my White Aura, and love it, but sometimes I almost wish that I'd kept all those Hath up 'til now, to go with the 215 that I've saved up since then.)


And on that note, I've a question for those who have already achieved Rainbow:

If and when I get Rainbow, will that new set of Bonuses stack with, or completely override/replace, the White Aura that I have now??
(Sure would be nice to have both. (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif) )

If and when I get Rainbow, will that new set of Bonuses stack with, or completely override/replace, the White Aura that I have now??
(Sure would be nice to have both. (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif) )

I believe it's stacked (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

I believe it's stacked (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

Sounds like you're as "sure" of the correct answer as I am.

That's why I asked somebody who first went White/Black/both, what happened to their bonuses and gains once they went Rainbow.

We probably won't have to wait very long for an answer.

You should be able to answer that question yourself since the White Aura is not a prerequisite for the Rainbow Aura. (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)