[X] My Assistant

Ok, so far I think I'm doing pretty well, can someone look over my stats and tell me if I missed something, or something o_o;? any advice would be appreciated!

[i46.tinypic.com] Stats/Proficiencies
[i49.tinypic.com] Abilities
[i45.tinypic.com] Equipment
[i48.tinypic.com] Auras

This is where I'm having trouble, I used to be able to do just fine in the arena, but now I can barely survive "a rolling stone" and "blazing field" on normal, I use up my SP and a lot of pots ;S is that normal?
[i48.tinypic.com] Arena Pic

It looks to me like you're doing quite well. I recall, back when I was around your level, having quite a bit of difficulty with Blazing Field as well.

Major suggestions:
1) Try to reduce your interference and burden. 90 of each is very high, even for a tank. I'd suggest looking through the various stores in the WTS forum and finding some less compromising equipment. Especially look to replace all of your crude and fair plate. Lower quality ratings make plate pieces VERY heavy, so if you want to stick to plate, make sure you use at least Average, and preferably Fine, pieces. Chainmail is another good choice for reducing your compromise without seriously reducing your defenses.

2) Replace your club with a Rapier. Stun really has almost no meanignfull affect on enemies, because it doesn't make them die any faster. However, the Penetrated Armor proc from Rapiers makes a huge difference in the amount of damage you deal. Try to find one with at least 15%+ chance to proc 2+ turns of PA, like this one from EvoKing's shop, which is especially good because it also has a very high accuracy bonus. Accuracy bonuses don't scale down with level nearly as much as other bonuses, so you'll be able to benefit quite a lot from it.

3) Fill out the Weaken ability with your currently available AP, and the AP you get next level. You're gonna want to get your deprecating prof out of the gutter, because it's a very important proficiency against minibosses. Weakening a miniboss and then killing all the normal monsters first is the strat I used in arena for the first 90 levels or so. You'll absolutely need Deprecating prof for when you face off against bosses, both in the RoB and the Endgame+ arenas.

4) Use the Shield spell more. When you've got your Supportive and Curative profs at around the same level, Shield prevents more damage per MP than Cure restores, so it's a better survival spell. It's also a really cheap way to level up your supportive prof.

5) You might want to rebalance your stats just a bit. I'd suggest letting your WIS stay where it's at for now and leveling up your AGI until it's even with your level. Unless you're a mage, INT and WIS have very minor importance, so letting them fall somewhat behind your level is worth it to get your other stats at least equal to your level.

6) If you want to stick with Dual Wielding, make sure you've got a high-parry offhand. Your offhand gets a +50% bonus to it's parry percentage, so having one with especially high parry makes it even stronger. I see from your equipment page that your parry is only 4.6%. At your level, you should be able to get at least 10% parry from a decent dagger, like this one in bladejtr's shop. By also equipping a Rapier instead of your club, you'd get even more Parry, since clubs always have 0 parry.
Or, you could switch to the 1H + Shield style. I was using that style for quite a while, since a good shield gives you a strong bonus to survivability, and you lose very little (if any) damage output compared to Dual Wield, because of the Overwheling Strikes and Counter Attack procs. I've got a pretty good low-level shield in my store which would give you about 19% block (after level scaling).

Getting the pieces of gear I linked (or ones like them), as well as upgrading your armor so it's got less burden and interference, will make a huge difference in your survivability and damage output. That will make Blazing Field, and later arenas, much easier.

It looks to me like you're doing quite well. I recall, back when I was around your level, having quite a bit of difficulty with Blazing Field as well.

Ok, searching for some decent armor now; already requested for the rapier and the dagger; filling out weaken; thanks for the shield advise, didn't consider that. Thought it was just an MP waster xD; ok, I'll leave the mage stats alone for now.

Thanks a lot! (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) I'll give you +k as soon as my power recharges to full xD!

4) Use the Shield spell more. When you've got your Supportive and Curative profs at around the same level, Shield prevents more damage per MP than Cure restores, so it's a better survival spell. It's also a really cheap way to level up your supportive prof.

That's really a good advise. Right now my shield spell is better and cheaper than Cure, Shadow Veil or Haste (high lvl people says that Haste is a better choice, but now isn't for me).
Soon I'll get Regen and I'm wondering if it will be better than Shield...

About DW or 1H + Shield, I keep both proficiency high, 'cause I use DW with good parry for Arena/Ring of Blood (shield have high interference that make my depreciating spells fail a lot), and 1H + Shield for Item World. Should I start to invest on 2H to use Niten Ichiryu fighting style, or that fightng style only have remarkable difference for high lvl people?

Thanks for the advise. I'll reopen my store and sell some artifacts.
PS: I don't know why, but I can't edit the topic title.

It seems you need to have at least one Gold Star to be able to Edit the topic title of a thread that you have started. Like Hari daid, just ask this person BunBun. (<-- PM link to him embedded.)

Ok, searching for some decent armor now; already requested for the rapier and the dagger; filling out weaken; thanks for the shield advise, didn't consider that. Thought it was just an MP waster xD; ok, I'll leave the mage stats alone for now.

Thanks a lot! (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) I'll give you +k as soon as my power recharges to full xD!

I used to use full plate with Interference and Burden around 100. The first mid-boss Arena was a brutal fight to the death for me. I had to use a Attack, Cure, Cure, Attack... tactic on the first mob, Attack, Cure, Attack, ... on the second mob, and then Attack, Attack, Cure, Cure, Attack, .. on the mid-boss, and hope the mid-boss and another mob didn't use a skill at the same time. Those were exciting, fun times. (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

Full Plate is really only doable for high level people who also have high Heavy Armor proficiency, even then Interference can be a problem.

That's really a good advise. Right now my shield spell is better and cheaper than Cure, Shadow Veil or Haste (high lvl people says that Haste is a better choice, but now isn't for me).
Soon I'll get Regen and I'm wondering if it will be better than Shield...

About DW or 1H + Shield, I keep both proficiency high, 'cause I use DW with good parry for Arena/Ring of Blood (shield have high interference that make my depreciating spells fail a lot), and 1H + Shield for Item World. Should I start to invest on 2H to use Niten Ichiryu fighting style, or that fightng style only have remarkable difference for high lvl people?

Niten is more a fun gimmick, for a change of pace, than a useful battle style. I have both a Katana and a Wazakashi blade and when I do use my Katana, I usually leave off the Waza, as the loss of 2h prof gain isn't worth the little extra damage the Waza does with a hit or its wimpy bleed, that rarely ever catches in the first place. A good lLongsword with 3+ turns of bleed is best for raising 2h prof and a useful change for long term grinding when you nee a break from killing 9 mobs a round one at a time.

This may be a little out of place, but is there a way to change the forum layout? The font is so small I can't see a damn thing >.<'

Free peace of cake for anyone who helps out xD

This may be a little out of place, but is there a way to change the forum layout?

I don't think there's any way to change the board settings to make the font larger. However, you can tell your browser to bump the text size up by pressing Ctrl+.

Just a quick question, how hard are the monsters in the ring of blood? Is it to early to go at them at lvl 52? I have almost no deprecating prof. and barely any supportive prof.
Do I have a chance, or am I just gonna waste the token?

Edit:
Nvm
39 9 You gain 10018 Credits!
39 8 You gain 406.15 EXP!
39 7 Your HP and MP have been fully restored!
39 6 Arena Token Bonus! Received:
[Token of Healing]
39 5 Arena Clear Bonus! Received:
[Superior Health Potion]
39 4 Manbearpig dropped [ManBearPig Tail]
39 3 You are Victorious!

This post has been edited by KamuiSeph: Feb 24 2010, 16:55

I have almost no deprecating prof. and barely any supportive prof.

You might have been successful in your attempt, but you probably want to work on these...

I have almost no deprecating prof. and barely any supportive prof.

You might have been successful in your attempt, but you probably want to work on these...

I agree with Boggyb here, you can be successful with the bosses, but you're won't stand a chance against the legendaries at l75.

I agree with Boggyb here, you can be successful with the bosses, but you're won't stand a chance against the legendaries at l75.

I can't think that far ahead into the future xD

I can't think that far ahead into the future xD

You probably misunderstood, I mean Level 75, not Level 175 (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/heh.gif)

This post has been edited by cmdct: Feb 24 2010, 22:19

I'm almost level 40 now, should I get poison up to level 5 by the time I'm level 50? I read it helps a lot against the boss mobs. I'm currently using weaken to level up deprecating.

Also full plate armor as suggested earlier in the topic only helps me in cake grindfests really. using 1h + shield helps a lot though (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I highly recommend getting Poison up to the full 5 AP by level 50 if you plan to fight the Boss monsters in the Ring of Blood. Having all 5 points doubles the duration and the damage of the spell, making it much more potent.

Also, good for you for leveling up your Deprecating prof. Folks who don't keep all their profs (primary armor and weapon type, supportive, curative, and deprecating) at least somewhat close to their level are missing out on a lot of potency to their spells.

I agree about full plate; it's really not good against anything except Cake-level monsters. Until you get to the very high levels, such that your Heavy Armor prof is significantly increasing your absorption and mitigation numbers, you get much more defensive capability out of the high evade and low burden of Cloth Armor. Not to mention that Heavy Armor makes deprecating spells much more difficult to use.

So, Grandmasters, this be me:


.....And I'm starting to get the sinking feeling that I'm not gonna beat Real Life without getting more Abilities/Magic than I currently have.

(I went in to fight her a total of two times, essentially wasting 6 precious, almost-as-as-hard-to-get-now-as-Artifacts Blood Tokens, and both times I only managed to take off a mere 60-75,000 HP before she simply wore me down by attrition.)


I am assuming that, just for starters, I'll have to invest in (and raise Proficiency in) both Holy and Soul.

My question to you folks is: in terms of MP Cost, Efficiency, Damage, and Economy, which Tiers of which Elemental Spells (yes I only said Holy and Soul earlier but I'll go after other Elements if I am so directed) should I start purchasing??


One assumes, for example, that spending AP on the first Tier of Elemental Spells of any kind (AoE or otherwise) is a waste of A-Points.



This post has been edited by Thanos008: Feb 25 2010, 04:09

So, Grandmasters, this be me:


.....And I'm starting to get the sinking feeling that I'm not gonna beat Real Life without getting more Abilities/Magic than I currently have.

(I went in to fight her a total of two times, essentially wasting 6 precious, almost-as-as-hard-to-get-now-as-Artifacts Blood Tokens, and both times I only managed to take off a mere 60-75,000 HP before she simply wore me down by attrition.)
I am assuming that, just for starters, I'll have to invest in (and raise Proficiency in) both Holy and Soul.

My question to you folks is: in terms of MP Cost, Efficiency, Damage, and Economy, which Tiers of which Elemental Spells (yes I only said Holy and Soul earlier but I'll go after other Elements if I am so directed) should I start purchasing??
One assumes, for example, that spending AP on the first Tier of Elemental Spells of any kind (AoE or otherwise) is a waste of A-Points.

Seeing as Soul Damage is pretty much the only viable way of damaging Real Life, I'd suggest you spend the 11 AP to get Soul Harvest and the 5 points in Magic Rating (also useful to reduce damage.)

Having acquired those Soul spells, you'll then need to put a lot of work into building up your Forbidden proficiency.

Having acquired those Soul spells, you'll then need to put a lot of work into building up your Forbidden proficiency.

Eh, looking back on when I did it, I only had 58 forbidden prof.

So, Grandmasters, this be me:


.....And I'm starting to get the sinking feeling that I'm not gonna beat Real Life without getting more Abilities/Magic than I currently have.

(I went in to fight her a total of two times, essentially wasting 6 precious, almost-as-as-hard-to-get-now-as-Artifacts Blood Tokens, and both times I only managed to take off a mere 60-75,000 HP before she simply wore me down by attrition.)
I am assuming that, just for starters, I'll have to invest in (and raise Proficiency in) both Holy and Soul.

My question to you folks is: in terms of MP Cost, Efficiency, Damage, and Economy, which Tiers of which Elemental Spells (yes I only said Holy and Soul earlier but I'll go after other Elements if I am so directed) should I start purchasing??
One assumes, for example, that spending AP on the first Tier of Elemental Spells of any kind (AoE or otherwise) is a waste of A-Points.

You don't need any offensive spells (except deprecating magic, of course) to fight the gods, you simply need to be super mana efficient, and have either an ethereal weapon or a high-bleed axe. Since you're obviously a melee build (based on all that OC boost I see), you should be able to take down Real Life relatively quickly with an eth weapon, especially an eth rapier (though those are insanely rare), but DWing any eth MH with a high-parry rapier in the offhand should also work. If you haven't got access to an eth, find an axe that bleeds for at least 300 per tick (after prof bonus), and pair it with a high-parry rapier.

What I mean by "super mana efficient" is that you have to spend as few MP as possible to keep yourself alive and RL deprecated. You should try to limit yourself to only Haste (preferably on Auto-cast), Regen, Silence, Poison, and a little bit of Slow. Your gear should make you capable of almost fully negating Real Life's damage just with Regen (and Slow when you get low on HP, to let Regen catch up). If you're not even close to that, you may need to switch up your gear style.

You're a heavy tank, I believe? I really don't think you'll be able to survive against Real Life without quite a bit more evade than that style provides.

Once you've gotten geared out so that Regen negates RL's damage, dealing damage to him is going to depend a lot on PA and/or bleed. Always apply Poison and do spirit attacks while PA is up. Once you've blown your initial spirit attack, it's actually worth using it again as soon as you have full OC and 3 or more SP, while PA is up. That "mini spirit attack" will hit for quite a lot (probably in the 4-digit range), especially since RL is weak to Soul.

The only items you should bring are Mana Elixirs, and a Scroll of the Gods in your scroll slot (for the Spark effect, just in case Silence falls off). This is a LONG endurance fight, and bringing anything less than your absolute best restoratives simply isn't going to be enough.

On a different note, you should drop Blind and Sleep for Haste and Shield. I'm quite surprised to see that you didn't pick up Haste and Shield. They're both outstanding; even more-so for a heavy tank than any other build. How do you keep your supportive prof at a reasonable level without Shield?

As for which elemental spells are worth taking, none are. If you're not a dedicated mage, elemental spells (including Holy and Dark) are worthless. They deal far too little damage without a staff equipped (at the very least) to be worth using. You do get a noticeable boost to the power of Cure and Cure II by getting the Holy Rating abilities, but since you're already so strapped for AP, it wouldn't be worth it.

How do you up supportive proc fast? I got the shield spell but unlike weaken, I cannot spam it much without the help of coalested mana and it's more costly. I can get deprecating proc close to my level but supportive proc is still to slow.

Unfortunately, there's isn't any easier way to level your supportive prof than the usual "spam shield at the end of each arena" to make use of the full heal.

The way that I keep it up is by keeping at least Shield on auto-cast at all times. If you don't have any ranks of Innate Arcana, just be sure to re-cast Shield at least once per round. Your prof will go up slowly but surely.