[X] My Assistant

Hi all!
I've been "playing" HV for several months now, but it's really just been fighting the occasional random encounter from visiting E-Hentai, and the free EXP I get each time I hit the front page. I've gotten to level 10 from this, but I've done almost nothing to improve my character because I'm not sure what to do. I want to really get into the game properly, but I don't really know how.

I've searched through this forum and developed a slightly better understanding of the game, but I'm still at a loss for some aspects. So, I'd like to ask for either direct advice, or links to places which have the answers I'm seeking, please.

I watched Sonic's Tutorial videos (I'd link them, but the forum won't let me include URLs in my first post), and they're great for explaining how the system works, but not really great for what a newb should do with his first ability points, EXP, and such. They're also somewhat out of date.

First I want to ask what the black, grey, and red numbers on my Primary Attributes page mean? I've boosted each of my black attribs to 5, but the grey and red numbers seem random.

I haven't applied much of my EXP to raise my attributes yet, because I don't know which ones I should focus on. The threads I've read so far say that keeping them fairly balanced is your best bet, but I don't know if I should be a melee, or a caster, so I'm not sure which to put more effort into. Should a newb focus more on melee or magic?

Should I spend any ability points on Health Tank, Magic Tank, Spirit Tank, or should I focus on offensive abilities?

Which training is the most important to level up first? I've trained 2 Ability Points, since those were fairly cheap and seemed good, but I've read that Scavenger and Luck of the Draw are important for increasing your long-term credit gains.

Any other advice that you pros out there might provide for a newb like me would be greatly appreciated!

Fast and hard overview. marcho has a good info thread that you should read if you haven't already. There's also a questions thread if you've got a question, it might have already been answered, and a general character building strategy thread.

1) The gray numbers are stat bonuses from equipment. The red ones are bonuses from offering an Artifact at The Shrine.

2) END will be the most important stat since that determines how much HP you have and how well you can withstand physical and magical attacks. WIS is useful for everyone since it determines MP (tanks still need MP to cast Cures). Depending on what class you take, you'll prioritize the others accordingly (STR helps you whack things faster, INT helps you nuke things faster, DEX helps you hit things, AGI speeds you up so you can hit fast and dodge).

3) Either is fine, but melee is generally less complicated. Put on the armor with the best defenses, get a strong weapon, whack things to death, heal as needed. Magecraft requires dedication to raising your magical proficiencies, optimizing damage output by using elemental weaknesses whenever possible, and careful MP management. You'll also need more AP to fill out the spell trees, especially if you max the elemental ratings (not necessary, but helpful).

4) Always dump your points into HP and MP Tanks first, then support abilities (the last few on the right end of the tree). Get that Aura Slot, that Item Slot, Cure/Shield. Early on, EXP Tanks can be useful, but you don't want to level too fast that your proficiencies can't keep up, so keep that in mind.

5) At least 1 Refined Aura and Pack Rats as you get higher in level, Scav and LotD to get more and better items.

Always dump your points into HP and MP Tanks first, then support abilities (the last few on the right end of the tree). Get that Aura Slot, that Item Slot, Cure/Shield. Early on, EXP Tanks can be useful, but you don't want to level too fast that your proficiencies can't keep up, so keep that in mind.

I have to disagree. That Aura/item slots should be got first, before that six-ap-worth-total tanks.
Also, If you are going to be a mage, you should consider leaving HP tanks last. Yes, it is painful, but you'd want to get your main weapon ASAP. Also, If you are going to be a mage, prepare to spend a fortune on AP training.

This post has been edited by hen_Z: Nov 6 2009, 07:32

Ok, so I think I'll go with melee class. Thanks for the suggestions so far!

Since I'm going melee, should I go for 2H weapons or 1H shield? So far, I've been 1H + Shield, and grinding some item world levels. I take virtually no damage, but I don't hit more than one target at a time for very much damage (I heard that 2H weapons can hit multiple targets, which sounds awesome!).

2H is great for clearing groups of weak mobs. But not so great for fighting anything stronger, since they usually have piss-poor accuracy if they have any at all. You'll need extra points in END and DEX to make up for not being able to hit anything. If you do land a blow, its gonna hurt like a bitch, maybe even several.

1HS is the general all-arounder for fighters, most of the warriors use it according to Tenboro. Depending on the shield, you can get a few extra points of defense, a nice STR, DEX, and/or END boost, and Block can defend against magic attacks. Fights take longer, but you have just a little more survivability.

You could also try DW. Its not for everyone, but with the right setup you could get some decent damage output. You will have to sacrifice Block's ability to stop skills, though, and use the likes of Barrier, Absorb, Bewilder, and the Resist stat to mitigate some of the damage.

What's the tradeoff between wearing heavy armor and light? It seems like heavy has more defense but more "interference" and "burden." What do those stats do? If I'm playing a fighter, do I care?

The higher your burden is, the longer 'cooldown' period you have after you attack. A high enough burden means enemies will get multiple turns per turn you make, meaning you take a LOT more damage.

What's the tradeoff between wearing heavy armor and light? It seems like heavy has more defense but more "interference" and "burden." What do those stats do? If I'm playing a fighter, do I care?

Since Magenta already handled burden, I'll handle interference. Interference decreases your chances of successfully using magic against monsters. The more interference you have, the more likely your magic will fail. Also, interference decreases the power of your magic. You can check how much impact it's having on your various magics on the Equipment screen.

It just so happens that heavy armor typically has high interference AND burden, so it's not practical to wear it AND cast magic for damage, but the defense is great. On the other hand, light armor isn't as great defense-wise, but has less interference. Beyond that, cloth has even lower (if any) interference and is best for casting magic, though not so great at absorbing hits.

If you're going to be a pure fighter, though, interference wouldn't be as much of an issue as burden would.

Well no wonder the monsters seem to be hitting me so often! Sure, it's usually for between 0-2, but I guess they get in so many hits because my burden is so high (99.1!). I have on the cheapest piece of heavy armor I could get in the bazaar, on every part of my body. I guess I need to find some less burdensome gear, huh?

Well no wonder the monsters seem to be hitting me so often! Sure, it's usually for between 0-2, but I guess they get in so many hits because my burden is so high (99.1!). I have on the cheapest piece of heavy armor I could get in the bazaar, on every part of my body. I guess I need to find some less burdensome gear, huh?

Generally, the trick is to mix and match. Some heavy armor is almost always good to have, but you don't want it everywhere. Maybe two pieces heavy and the rest cloth, something like that. You have to keep in mind that too much heavy armor, while it looks impressive defense-wise, means that monsters hit you more than they normally would, so you may actually be taking more damage than if you had no armor at all. Most people keep their burden around 40-50 at the highest, assuming they aren't using magic.

If you need some armor cheap, you might try buying from someone on the forum. Some people offer very competitive prices.

Oh, and if I remember right, certain kinds of heavy armor are heavier than others. Plate is probably the heaviest, while chainmail tends to be a bit lighter by comparison. You might want to try a piece or two of that.

On Normal and lower difficulties, I've noticed monsters actually DON'T double-hit you as often as we might think. I really only notice them in long, drawn out battles where mobs get the chance to build up enough excess action points to earn a free hit. I've got 88 Burden and very rarely do I see a double-hit. I sometimes even get in my own double-hit, albeit even rarer an event.

As far as fighting gear, plate is the way to go for tanks. If you want something lighter and faster, throw in some mail, light, or cloth. In general, light armor is the middle road, so its not spectacular compared to cloth or heavy. There are quite a few successful mixed armor players, but I can't really give you any first hand experience with that. I'm a plate tank all the way.

Well no wonder the monsters seem to be hitting me so often! Sure, it's usually for between 0-2, but I guess they get in so many hits because my burden is so high (99.1!). I have on the cheapest piece of heavy armor I could get in the bazaar, on every part of my body. I guess I need to find some less burdensome gear, huh?

Now that you're fully equipped, it's better to save some money and buy good quality armor. Sometimes the difference between a mediocre (and cheap) armor and a good (and more expensive) one that give you roughly the same stats is that the mediocre armor has far higher burden and interference stats. Try to go for fine or better.

It may also be a good idea to look for equips way over your level, because that way their stats level up as you level up, so you don't have to replace your armor now and then. It comes with a downside of course: the higher the level, the higher the burden/interference, but I think it's pretty much worth it.

This post has been edited by midoriyama: Nov 6 2009, 20:46

It may also be a good idea to look for equips way over your level, because that way their stats level up as you level up, so you don't have to replace your armor now and then. It comes with a downside of course: the higher the level, the higher the burden/interference, but I think it's pretty much worth it.

So that's what those numbers in parenthesis mean! I'm lvl 17, and most of the gear I've bought from the bazaar is very high level (shield is lvl 135, axe lvl 99, boots 48, for instance). I was wondering why the axe that says it has a 148 dmg/tick bleed with 3-turn duration was doing 40/tick for 2 turns.

Unfortunately, I'm now stone broke (I donated money to the site and got lots of credits when I first started, but now I'm down to 62 >_<). What's a good way to make credits? I joined H@H for Hath, which will hopefully get me some decent credit income through Hath Exchange, but what else can I do to maximize my income (without paying out more real cash)?

As for buying gear on the forum... how do you do that? Once I build up some more credits, that sounds like an excellent way to get gear.

Yes, the numbers in parentheses mean exactly that.

As for the way to get credits, the game proper is very slightly over being credit-neutral, and that if you don't spend credits in healing or buying potions. You have to be very patient to earn a few credits in the game. H@H and the gallery system give you a great boost, however.

As for the equip market, there are two subforums called WTS (want to sell) and WTB (want to buy). Go to the sellers' forum and look for good offers, or go to the buyers' forum to specify what you're looking for. If you find anything in WTS, just and PM the owner of the item to make him an offer or follow whatever instructions the seller has written.

So I've been grindfesting and Item worlding a bunch, and I've noticed that it's kinda slow, heh.

What do you guys suggest as the best method for swift grinding? I've got a great 1H Axe with a bleed proc (I'm not sure how to link to it though), and an high level Emerald Shield, but I've noticed that I take little to no damage (even on normal) with my 2H Mace equipped. I've been grinding with that 2H, but I'm wondering if it would be worth my while to buy/trade for a 2H weapon with a bleed proc. I figure that a bleed proc is better at the moment because stun means almost nothing, since mobs hit me for 0 most of the time anyway. Would that make sense?

Also, is there a different, besides EXP multiplier, for playing on Cake vs. Normal? I'm on round 36 of my first Cakefest, and I haven't cast cure a single time yet. So, if I can get equal credit/item drops on Cake, I'll probably stick with that until I can improve my kill speed.

you get less exp and credits on cake, item quality is lower but the rate of drops should be the same. And its generally recommended that you have a 2h with bleed for fast grinding. You have to remember though that the enemies get 1% harder each level you go through, and they start at half strength.

This post has been edited by uth: Nov 7 2009, 04:33

When you have your mouse over the item and you see the stats, just do Ctrl+C and a new window will open with the stats of that equip. You just have to copy the URL and paste it in your post so that we can all see what your equips are like.

Is there a particular proficiencies to level ratio that one should aim for? Earlier in this thread, someone mentioned that I shouldn't put too many points into bonus EXP abilities because I might outlevel my proficiencies. Since I already have the Bronze Aura from donating $20, I'm afraid that I might be doing just that, since I miss annoyingly often with my 2H sword.

Also, I just finished a several hour long item world grind to get my Fine Titanium Axe from lvl 99 to 100, but now that I've finished Item World my axe is still lvl 99... wth?

I'm also having trouble getting the links to my items to work. Midoriyama's suggestion of Ctrl-C while hovering my mouse over the item isn't working.

This post has been edited by coredumperror: Nov 7 2009, 14:38

Item not leveling... maybe it's because you tried to level it at a setting lower than "normal". AFAIK, "cake" and "easy" don't guarantee the equip leveling up. That said, it must be really hard to level up a level 99 equip in normal, and besides that, you won't feel any difference as the stats the equip gives you will still be toned down for you baceuse your level is lower than that of the equip. In fact, the only thing you will feel that's going up is burden and interference, because those are not reduced. So I wouldn't advise you to level up those, instead, try leveling up any piece of equipment that's at most around your own level.

As for the Ctrl+C thingie... maybe you have popups disabled. Make an exception for e-hentai.org and it should work.

Item not leveling... maybe it's because you tried to level it at a setting lower than "normal". AFAIK, "cake" and "easy" don't guarantee the equip leveling up. That said, it must be really hard to level up a level 99 equip in normal, and besides that, you won't feel any difference as the stats the equip gives you will still be toned down for you baceuse your level is lower than that of the equip. In fact, the only thing you will feel that's going up is burden and interference, because those are not reduced. So I wouldn't advise you to level up those, instead, try leveling up any piece of equipment that's at most around your own level.

As for the Ctrl+C thingie... maybe you have popups disabled. Make an exception for e-hentai.org and it should work.

I just wanted to level it because lvl 99 is sooo close to a nice round number. I guess that since I did it on Cake, it just didn't work. At least I got two levels out of it, though!

I thought I had AdBlock disabled on the site, but it looks like it may have still been blocking hv.e-hentai.org by mistake. I'm in a Montage atm, though, so I can't check if that fixed it.

With folks being so helpful, I want to bestow some positive Karma, but I'm not sure what the customary method/amount is. What should I do?