PDA

View Full Version : A Guide on All Skills to get for Bladers with Recommended Skill Levels



cadacus_ater
10-09-2010, 10:32 AM
Updated 8/30/2012 with new combo examples. First post has links to and descriptions of the most helpful posts in this thread, for easy searching.

I personally chose to avoid the party buffs, since they seem a bit useless to me. When not with your party members, Curse Dodge can be negated by a smart Force Blader. It might be useful when your party members are with you against a single Force Blader. Fatality Increase gives a small amount of extra crit damage, but it seems rather limited in actual usefulness. It is up to you whether or not you want the party buffs. When you get the skill book for it, Death Tempest can prove to be a usefull skill, and it really shines in PvP and War.
I will highlight skills you could consider deleting for the new transcender skills in itallics. Skills obtained in Porta Inferno will be underlined. Skills I consider optional will be in bold text. Abreviations for the skill names will be listed in parentheses next to the skill name when available. My recommended skill level is the number after the skill name. If you just want my recommended final skill build see the post after this.

EDIT: Here are some links to other posts in this thread you may find helpful....

Notes on Modified Combos, Combos and Skill Builds before Death Tempest, and General Skill Leveling Tips:
http://forum.cabal.com/showthread.php?10514-A-Guide-on-All-Skills-to-get-for-Bladers-with-Recommended-Skill-Levels&p=350280&viewfull=1#post350280

Stunlock and Stun + Down Combo Builds and General PVE Combo Tips:
http://forum.cabal.com/showthread.php?10514-A-Guide-on-All-Skills-to-get-for-Bladers-with-Recommended-Skill-Levels&p=121445&viewfull=1#post121445

Combos with VI 20 and DT 20 with Notes on Fillers for Modified Combos:
http://forum.cabal.com/showthread.php?10514-A-Guide-on-All-Skills-to-get-for-Bladers-with-Recommended-Skill-Levels&p=133857&viewfull=1#post133857
Updated 8/30/2012

Cast Time and Cool Time Chart with Notes on Combo Building:
http://forum.cabal.com/showthread.php?10514-A-Guide-on-All-Skills-to-get-for-Bladers-with-Recommended-Skill-Levels&p=135882&viewfull=1#post135882

---Sword Skills: Attacks--------------------------------
*Impact Stab (IS)-------20-----Novice
*Double Slash (DS)-------20-----Apprentice
(Keep this instead of DR when you get DT if good at comboing past 11.)
*Double Rising (DR)------20------Regular
(Keep this instead of DS when you get DT if bad at comboing past 11. I got rid of it.)
*Storm Grind (SG)--------20------Expert
*Assault-----------------20------Expert
*Force Kick--------------20------Expert
(9 if you want to use it a bit more often)
*Vital Intefere (VI)-------20-----Master
(That's what I use, but some put at 18)
*Twin-moon Slash (TMS)--20----Master
(Might want to keep this, it's our main ranged skill)
*Blade Scud (BS)---------09----Grand Master
(You could put this at 20 if you keep DT 9)
*Lightning Slash (LS)------09----Completer
(Some put this at 12)
*Death Tempest (DT)-----20----Transcender
(That's what I use, but some put at 9, 12, 15)

---Buff Skills-----------------------------------------
*Iron Skin------------20--------Expert
*Mirage Step---------20--------A. Expert (Helpful in PvE, I kept but you could lose it)
*Aura Barrier---------20--------Master
*Soul Blade----------20--------Grand Master
*Instant Immunity----20--------Grand Master
*Art of Fierceness----20---------Completer
*Intuition------------20---------Completer
*Intense Blade-------20---------Transcender
*Curse Dodge-------20---------Transcender
*Fatality Increase--20---------Transcender

---Other Skills------------------------------
*Fade Step-----------09--------Novice (I keep this to help evade people in war)
*Dash----------------09--------Apprentice
*Field of Fear---------20--------Transcender

---Upgrade Skills----------------------------
*Vitality Mastery---------------Novice
*Offensive Sense--------------Regular
*Defensive Sense -------------Regular
*Impact Control---------------G. Master
*Damage Absorb--------------G. Master
*Sixth Sense------------------G. Master

cadacus_ater
10-09-2010, 10:46 AM
EDIT: Here is the skill set that I use now (Note: I replaced mirage step with fatality increase around level 160).
Remember, it is advisable to keep VI at 18 before you get DT...you may keep it at 18 if you want to continue using true stunlock combos.

---Sword Skills: Attacks--------------------------------
*Impact Stab (IS)---------20-----Novice
*Double Slash (DS)--------20-----Apprentice
*Storm Grind (SG)---------20-----Expert
*Assault------------------20-----Expert
*Force Kick---------------20-----Expert
*Vital Intefere (VI)--------20-----Master
*Twin-moon Slash (TMS)--20-----Master
*Blade Scud (BS) ---------09-----Grand Master
*Lightning Slash (LS)------09-----Completer
*Death Tempest (DT)-----20-----Transcender

---Buff Skills-----------------------------------------
*Iron Skin------------20--------Expert
*Mirage Step---------20--------A. Expert
*Aura Barrier---------20--------Master
*Soul Blade----------20--------Grand Master
*Instant Immunity----20--------Grand Master
*Art of Fierceness----20--------Completer
*Intuition------------20--------Completer
*Intense Blade-------20--------Transcender

---Other Skills------------------------------
*Fade Step-----------09--------Novice
*Dash----------------09--------Apprentice
*Field of Fear---------20--------Transcender

---Upgrade Skills----------------------------
*Vitality Mastery---------------Novice
*Offensive Sense--------------Regular
*Defensive Sense -------------Regular
*Impact Control---------------G. Master
*Damage Absorb--------------G. Master
*Sixth Sense------------------G. Master

>> I swapped out DR 20 for DS 20 after some tests due to it's higher dps and semi-decent AoE. You could do this as well, but it can make building and executing combos a little more complex depending on your own preferences and skill build. Never use DR in pvp as a rule of thumb, even though it is the next best dps skill after DS and Assault, the dps gap is very large. At least DR has down to help it out....

- I would recommend DR instead of DS for laggy or less experienced players who like pvp & pve about the same. However you need to move on to DS later on if you want to be able to keep your hp absorb/vamp going with fast skills against tough bosses later on, especially when soloing dungeons.
- For mostly pve, you may want LS 9 or 12, BS 9, DT 15 and VI 18 or 20.
- Love war and pvp? You might try LS 9, BS 18 (use once per combo of 11) or 20 (for pure damage), DT 9 or higher, and VI 20. If you don't like BS that high or the combos are too complex for your taste, try a combination of LS (9, 12 or 15), BS (9 or 12), DT (12, 15 or 18), and VI 20.
- Note these setups of LS, BS, DT, and VI are suggestions, experiment to see what you like. In general, all the other skills should be 20, except for Force Kick (9 for fastest cool, otherwise 20).

DeathlikeHowls
10-11-2010, 01:40 AM
It probably would've been easier to say, "Max everything."

Hash
10-11-2010, 03:35 AM
It probably would've been easier to say, "Max everything."

But some people need to know WHICH skills to max =)

fsflashy
10-11-2010, 03:41 AM
But some people need to know WHICH skills to max =)

well...how about this - max everything but ls,bs and dt and the skill levels of those 3 depend on your combos.

Hash
10-11-2010, 03:45 AM
well...how about this - max everything but ls,bs and dt and the skill levels of those 3 depend on your combos.

k not true .. ive seen people with lvl 18 fillers to suit their combos.

fsflashy
10-11-2010, 04:03 AM
lv18 fillers? lol fillers should not be lv18 because they're FILLERS, they need to hit as hard as possible while buying time for bigger skills.

Hash
10-11-2010, 04:06 AM
lv18 fillers? lol fillers should not be lv18 because they're FILLERS, they need to hit as hard as possible while buying time for bigger skills.

i totally agree with the fact that fillers should be lvl 20, but some people put VI on lvl 18 for stunlock combos (if they focus on mainly pve)

Havoc
10-11-2010, 07:34 AM
vi 20 should work with the stunlock.

i mean, it worked fine for the old stunlock.

chainlock
10-11-2010, 10:06 AM
It works fine with a stun/down combo at 20. I couldn't figure out a 100% stun until I put vi at 18.

MrFatty
10-11-2010, 10:29 PM
Got a question. You know for FB, im new. And i dont know what to add for the stats. Dex? Str? I have no idea. Anyone help me?

Shunsui007
10-11-2010, 11:18 PM
what is stun lock combo? well my pve combo is vi 12 ls 12 dt 15 vi 12 bs 9 .... and repeat

Hash
10-12-2010, 02:31 AM
Got a question. You know for FB, im new. And i dont know what to add for the stats. Dex? Str? I have no idea. Anyone help me?

1. This is the BL section not the FB section
2. For a fb Dex is the best stat. So get enough int and str for gears n pump the rest into dex

cadacus_ater
10-12-2010, 04:55 PM
what is stun lock combo? well my pve combo is vi 12 ls 12 dt 15 vi 12 bs 9 .... and repeat


In theory, it might be possible to use this as a higher damage "stun+down" combo (might be able to use BS > DT):
--VI 20 > LS 12 > DT 15 > BS 9 > SG 20 (repeat)
Or if you put DT 12 you might be able to use:
--VI 20 > LS 12 > DT 12 > BS 9 (repeat) (note you might need LS 9 if you are having trouble with cool time)
If you want more stun time than this, either put VI at 18 or be prepared to look into slightly more advanced combos, usually using more than 5 different skills.

EDIT: True "stunlock" combos use VI 18 and usually cast VI one skill or two skills before LS and then again just as the 5 second stun is wearing off:
VI 18 > LS 12 > skill A > VI 18 > skill B > skill C (repeat)

Since VI has a stun of 5 seconds, stunlock combos attempt to use VI 18 every 5 seconds or so; often this results in 2 skills between each VI 18, with the 2nd skill being a "down" skill. Between stuns, you will usually try to use skills with "down" to fill the time needed to cast VI again, ideally BS or DT (sometimes SG), and use VI right after one of these skills. Keep VI at 18 or 20 for optimum damage. With VI 20, true stunlock is not really possible, but stun+down is; in such cases, you want to use VI before a skill without down as much as is practical.

DT 15, LS 12, BS 9 and VI 18
An example of a good stunlock combo:
VI > LS > DT > VI > DS* > BS > VI > LS > DT > VI > BS
*Can use SG or DS here...DS is faster, SG has more aoe.

DT 15, LS 12, BS 9, and VI 20
A stun+down combo:
VI > DS > LS > DT > SG > BS > VI > LS > DT > SG > BS

For some nice AoE, you could omit VI entirely and use a 4 skill down combo:
LS > DT > BS > SG > LS > DT > BS > SG> LS > DT > BS
While it is slower with a lower DPS than some combos, this combo is good for large groups of enemies.

Note - The primary reason my skill build uses LS 9, VI 20 and DT 20 is that it offers the best balance of utility and damage for PVP and PVE that I've found. In PVP, I've found that putting DT and VI at 20 allows you to compete a bit more effectively in 1-on-1 combat. For PVE I've built my primary combo to have decent AoE, high DPS and a shorter total cast time for both large groups and single targets. For more info on combos with DT 20 and VI 20, go to the following post: http://forum.cabal.com/showthread.php?10514-A-Guide-on-All-Skills-to-get-for-Bladers-with-Recommended-Skill-Levels&p=133857&viewfull=1#post133857

packetj
10-18-2010, 01:48 AM
Never thought of using DT when in BM2? This is very useful and efficient in MWAR.

I think DT should be at least at lvl12 for spamming purposes. For me I didn't see DT as a finisher skill, rather it's one of those that are spammable.

Nice guide though.

locosup
10-29-2010, 02:29 PM
If you have all of your blader skills capped out you will surely cut out during combo.
I never have all the skills maxed because i personally dont wanna sit here comboing so
i change the lvl of skills so the combo i wanna run out will do so without any breaks and
without me having to combo making it easier for me to auto attack and kick back.

cadacus_ater
11-04-2010, 01:27 PM
Granted, maxing skills does cut back on the combos you can use, but many times you can work around this just by using alternate skills or fillers. If you are into pvp especially, you will generally want to max all of your skills, except for LS, BS, and DT. You could keep FK at 9 for more frequent use, but for pure pvp, you will only use this skill once, so best to max it for higher damage.

This is part of the reason why I didn't get the new trans buffs, because I use all of my skills already for different situations (and I hate parting with Mirage Step in pve). Also, to all BL, if you have the buff concentration as a BL...GET RID OF IT ASAP. It is a wasted skill slot since we have the highest attack rate value of any class.

You need to experiment to find the balance that works best for you. My guide is just a list of skills I consider worth getting/keeping and I recommend these skill levels because they offer high damage with a fair amount of combo flexibility for any situation. The only skills you may not want to max if you focus on pve are LS, BS, DT, and VI (I recommend VI 18 or 20, see my previous post for why). You should have no trouble making a good 4-5 skill pve combo with all the other skills at 20, assuming you have all the recommended attack skills.

For people who like stunlock combos, you should generally keep VI at 18, DT at 15 (or 12 if going for a 4 skill combo), BS at 9, and LS at 12 (or 9 if you want a 4 skill combo) to use 4 or 5 skill combos made to attempt a stunlock. Please note though, that DT 15 and LS 12 do less damage combined than DT 20 and LS 9 combined, especially in pvp. If you are going for damage, DT 20 and LS 9 is one of the better options, unless you don't mind BS 20. I would recommend against BS 20 for damage if you are still doing any amount of pve.

Sorry for the post length. I like explaining things in detail.

cadacus_ater
11-10-2010, 02:08 PM
A follow up on my previous post with a few additions (lengthy, but I put a bit of work into this, hoping to save some other people a little of the trouble):

After looking rather extensively at various skill setups, I've found that while it may be an option, pve combos with LS 20 are not very good for dps in pve, unless you plan on using short combos (under 20 seconds) with a random LS thrown in when it is cooled, but this isn't good for AoE damage. The best dps is usually with LS 9, since it tends to be the hardest hitting pve skill, but combos with LS 12 can come fairly close, depending on how you structure your combo. For those who are more serious about dps, you gain a fair amount of dps by replacing DR as a filler with something like DS > VI, however you may have to do some tweaking to your combo to get things working right. I've looked at several potential pve combos using DS instead of DR and it is definitely possible to make good stun+down combos with VI 20, LS 9 or 12, BS 9, and DT at 9, 12, 15, 18 or 20. For VI 20, LS 9 or 12, BS 9 and DT 20, it is possible to use 6 skill stun+down combos, but the combo can become complex when your best 'fillers' in pve are SG and DS depending on how you set it up.

As for fillers in pve, Impact Stab can be used in pve combos, but it is worse than DS in aoe and doesn't buy as much time. Though you can use TMS if you really wanted to as a filler, this is bad for dps and aoe: try to use TMS only to continue your combo on a new monster in pve. DR is a good filler for time, but as mentioned earlier, its dps is less than DS. If you don't want to use DS in pve, however, DR is the next best filler in terms of cast time and dps.

It is always ideal to experiment to see what combos and skill setups of VI, BS, LS and DT work best for you.
For those following my suggestion of putting DT and VI at 20, I thought I'd post a few of the pve combos I came up with, to give people some ideas.

--With LS 9, BS 9, DT 20, VI 20, SG 20, and DS 20, use VI and then start your combo immediately:

LS > DS > BS > VI > LS > DS > SG > DT > VI > LS > BS
My personal favorite, this is one of the best combos I've found with good stun+down and fairly high dps (compared to other combos with these skill levels). Allow yourself to break at the 11th skill (BS) and use VI before comboing again. If you want to continue past the 11th skill, use SG then VI to loop back to the beginning.

LS > DT > BS > VI > LS > DS > SG > BS > VI > LS > DT
An alternative to the above combo; slower, but higher damage and slightly better AoE. I highly recommend this one for large mobs of enemies. Not as simple to loop, but can continue after 11th skill with the following skill string: x N, which is the last 9 skills of this combo repeated as many times as you can manage. If the mob isn't finished by this combo, you can revert to LS > SG > BS > ... since DT may not cool off for use as the second skill.

[B]LS > BS > VI > LS > DT > BS > VI > LS > DS > SG > BS
Another alternative combo; even slower, but with even higher damage and great AoE. It is much easier to restart after a break on the 11th skill; just use VI between each combo. Can loop with a skill string comprised of the last 9 skills: [VI > LS > DT > BS > VI > LS > DS > SG > BS] x N. Also highly recommended.

--Combos for LS 12, BS 9, DT 20, VI 20, SG 20 and DS 20 can be more difficult and may require you to break on the 11th skill, though if you want to continue past that, you could try something like VI > DS > Assault or VI > TMS to loop back, but it might be a bit harder. Starting with VI again before you combo:

LS > DS > SG > VI > BS > DS > DT > VI > LS > SG > BS
One of the best I could find that had good stun+down. There may be easier versions, but this is one of the most optimal uses of stun from VI 20 I could find with this skill setup. Testing this on my computer, I was able to use VI, hit combo, and proceed with LS, DS, SG, VI without VI failing to cool in time. Again, looping with this setup is a bit trickier, but it is possible.

cadacus_ater
11-15-2010, 06:22 PM
http://i47.tinypic.com/316xoc2.jpg

I might as well add a chart with cast times and cool times to help people with making their own combos. It's missing some info, but if you are following my recommendations, it should suffice. [EDIT: I added other attack skills and lvl 3 and 6 for those who want to combo with skills besides the final ones I recommend. Usually, you will level non-keeper attack skills to 3, then 6, then leave them at 9 until it's time to delete them.]

Notes on combo building - Why you broke when your fillers were as long as the cool time:
Please note that combo cast times are approximate, they can vary based on when you hit the button for the next skill. Often you may find you cast skills in combo slightly faster than the combo times given, especially for skills with longer execution. When building a combo, a good rule of thumb is to try and allow for around 0.5 seconds more than the given in-combo cast times to allow your next skill to cool. You might be able to get away with only an extra 0.3 seconds if you are good at delaying the combo, perhaps even less than that. An interesting principle to keep in mind is that the skill you break your combo on should be cast with it's normal cast time, rather than its in-combo cast time, buying you extra time to cool a skill, but at the cost of stopping your attack for a short while. Don't forget the delay time of starting your combo either (not quite sure what it is exactly, maybe around a second). For Bladers, the best skills to break on in pve are usually BS or DT, but you could break on skills like DS, VI, or even LS (since their normal and combo times are so close) if you wanted to minimize your time out of combo.

EDIT: An example of what I'm getting at with breaking and cast times (LS 9, DT 15, VI 20, BS 9)...
LS, DT, BS, SG, VI, LS, DT, BS, SG, VI, LS...here you will either break on LS, the 11th skill in the combo, or try to continue with DT. If you break, LS should finish its full skill animation and, as a result, be cast in the normal 3 seconds rather than the in-combo time of 2.8 seconds.

cadacus_ater
12-13-2010, 05:00 PM
bump

alenh
12-18-2010, 02:50 AM
http://i55.tinypic.com/2el9zjd.jpg

I might as well add a chart with cast times and cool times to help people with making their own combos. It's missing some info, but if you are following my recommendations, it should suffice.

Notes on combo building - Why you broke when your fillers were as long as the cool time:
Please note that combo cast times are approximate, they can vary based on when you hit the button for the next skill. Often you may find you cast skills in combo slightly faster than the combo times given, especially for skills with longer execution. When building a combo, a good rule of thumb is to try and allow for around 0.5 seconds more than the given in-combo cast times to allow your next skill to cool. You might be able to get away with only an extra 0.3 seconds if you are good at delaying the combo, perhaps even less than that. An interesting theory to keep in mind is that the skill you break your combo on should be cast with it's normal cast time, rather than its in-combo cast time, buying you extra time to cool a skill, but at the cost of stopping your attack for a short while. Don't forget the delay time of starting your combo either (not quite sure what it is exactly, maybe around a second). For Bladers, the best skills to break on in pve are usually BS or DT, but you could break on skills like DS, VI, or even LS (since their normal and combo times are so close) if you wanted to minimize your time out of combo.

EDIT: An example of what I'm getting at with breaking and cast times (LS 9, DT 15, VI 20, BS 9)...
LS, DT, BS, SG, VI, LS, DT, BS, SG, VI, LS...here you will either break on LS, the 11th skill in the combo, or try to continue with DT. If you break, LS should finish its full skill animation, and as a result, be cast in the normal 3 seconds rather than the in-combo time of 2.8 seconds. (In this case I would likely follow up with DT then VI out of combo after breaking on LS)

TY Id need really this

Good luck

cadacus_ater
01-06-2011, 10:30 AM
Bump for Bladers both fresh and seasoned

cadacus_ater
01-31-2011, 05:51 AM
Bump again.

Extra note: After you hit 160s, maybe earlier even, you could consider losing Mirage Step for a party buff. Fatality Increase has more uses, but Curse Dodge can be handy to have for war.

packetj
01-31-2011, 05:18 PM
Bump again.

Extra note: After you hit 160s, maybe earlier even, you could consider losing Mirage Step for a party buff. Fatality Increase has more uses, but Curse Dodge can be handy to have for war.

I think that it's proven that we don't need defense rate in PVE, but does it matter in PVP/NWAR?

chainlock
01-31-2011, 05:27 PM
I think that it's proven that we don't need defense rate in PVE, but does it matter in PVP/NWAR?

Nobody NEEDS defense rate, but it sure does help a lot.

Sephiroth
02-04-2011, 10:17 PM
Check my sig so ya know what future bladers capable of in the future as well. ^_^

cadacus_ater
03-17-2011, 09:07 AM
Bump to keep on 1st page! :)

cadacus_ater
06-05-2011, 06:55 PM
Bump for people new to bladers!

blazeuc
06-07-2011, 03:30 PM
This is the most extensive guide i have found lol. @.@ you saved me a good bit of time and alz for testing skills. Thank you kind sir.

cadacus_ater
06-07-2011, 05:29 PM
This is the most extensive guide i have found lol. @.@ you saved me a good bit of time and alz for testing skills. Thank you kind sir.

That's what I made it for :)

SaiyanRace
07-27-2011, 08:15 PM
Bump

Krelek
09-07-2011, 10:59 AM
Bumper-cars

btw are there not stickies on this forum..if so i nom this for a sticky

cdub2009
12-02-2011, 03:58 PM
just 1 question what about the magic skills do we need any of those????

y0bfael
12-10-2011, 09:54 PM
Great thread.. i been looking around and trying to figure out what types of combos and skill sets other Bladers use. AND also trying to see what if any of them are still using mirage step, especially since i have been and are running more in parties lately, (and been needing and using the party buffs, EVEN tho i find curse dodge to be pretty useless. If your lucky u get debuffed 1 less time than normal). as apposed to being solo. Most cases im not even using mirage step in the parties. But i still do run Solo often haven't really noticed much difference having mirage step on vs it being off. Maybe 1 or 2 more misses i guess. Anyways im wondering if dropping mirage step for another filler would be worthwhile in yall's opinion. or just keep what i have now and keep doing what im doing. Most cases in mobs.. i auto attack, throwing in VI (lvl 20) once in a while. bosses. well bm2, retarget the usual.

cadacus_ater
12-16-2011, 08:38 PM
Been on a hiatus for a while.
You don't really need Mirage Step after you hit 150+ or so. By that time it starts helping you less and less :(


just 1 question what about the magic skills do we need any of those????

Magic you don't really need, but you can use stuff like wind arrow to help lure enemies to you without drawing aggro for an entire mob.
Also magic is great for pet training if you have a spare moment lol.

Dragonyx
02-18-2012, 01:28 AM
whats a good pvp combo?

cadacus_ater
02-18-2012, 06:39 PM
whats a good pvp combo?

Depends on how strong you are relative to your opponent, your opponent's class and whether or not you need to worry about chase....
One of the most basic PvP combos is as follows:

FK > IS > VI > DT > LS > BS

cadacus_ater
03-17-2012, 11:58 AM
bump

Roxlyn
03-17-2012, 12:48 PM
seriously...wth kinda advice are you givin.....thats a sad combo for a bl..

Roxlyn
03-17-2012, 12:49 PM
this is much better

death/kill/death/maime/eatface/armageddon

cadacus_ater
04-17-2012, 05:07 AM
Bump...

And no, I have no comments on bm3. Life won't let me play games much anymore.

Skyfeather62
07-02-2012, 01:51 PM
Ok,1 quick question.Should I get Mana Upgrade or not?:confused:

cadacus_ater
07-04-2012, 07:38 PM
Depends. If you are ok with sacrificing sixth sense for it and have the mp rune, then you could get it to work towards mana freeze immunity. I wouldn't advise doing this though unless you are around 160s or higher. Up to you.

Skyfeather62
07-25-2012, 03:29 PM
Ok,what skill lvl should I get my Flash Draw & my Stab Slash?I just started my blader again as I am totally confused on lower lvl skills & skill lvls.Any help would be appreciated.Thx:)

cadacus_ater
07-26-2012, 11:57 AM
Level any skills you aren't going to keep to 3, 6, or 9...just enough to let your cool down times work out right for constant attacking. This minimizes the cost of deleting said skills later. The sword attack buffs are the only thing I would consider leveling to 20, even though you only keep the Soul Blade attack buff in the end...it's up to you though. The higher you level a non-keeper skill, the more you pay to delete it. Flash Draw and Stab 'n Slash are not skills you will keep at higher levels...unless you want to troll people, lol.

xRaiderx
08-18-2012, 09:30 AM
Umm this might be a noob question.. but here it goes

From what i understand with the guide you put the level you should get the skill to and the rank. But from novice to apprentice for example you cant level the first skill to level 20 :confused:

Oh nvm I'm assuming you mean.. that you get the skill at those ranks im assuming

Btw.. do you level each skill to max first or can you do it in whatever order ? for example do you max impact stab to 20 then move onto double slash

cadacus_ater
08-18-2012, 10:54 AM
Level all your skills evenly to 9 first (except buffs you keep, max those as soon as you can), then gradually level them up so that you can still combo with them. Once you get BS, LS, and later DT, you should start leveling everything except LS, BS, and maybe VI and DT, to 20.

EDIT: I've said it before, but I'll say it here as well...
Level any skills you aren't going to keep to 3, 6, or 9...just enough to let your cool down times work out right for constant attacking. This minimizes the cost of deleting said skills later. The sword attack buffs are the only thing I would consider leveling to 20, even though you only keep the Soul Blade attack buff in the end...it's up to you though. The higher you level a non-keeper skill, the more you pay to delete it. And remember...Concentration is worthless...don't get it!

You won't want to worry much about combos until you get BS and LS. It is not practical to combo without at least 4 skills, and some standard combos use as many as 6 skills. There are situations where you will want to modify your combo to increase DPS and HP absorb rates or avoid breaking early on targets with low HP, but these are not something you want to mess with until you are comfortable with adjusting combos on the fly. Note that you may want to keep VI at 18 until you get DT.

Often used against 1 target, or small clusters of 2 to 4, typical modified pve combos would be something like these:
LS > DS > IS > VI > SG > BS > DS > IS > VI > LS > DT
LS > DS > BS > VI > DS > IS > LS > SG > VI > DS > DT
They are not recommended for constant use however, as they drain your SP faster to kill a target due to their lower damage output. Modify your combos like this only when you feel you need the extra speed and for faster HP absorb rates...or against very low HP targets to get more attacks in your combo before breaking.

Here are some combos to use before getting Death Tempest:

With LS 9 or 12, BS 9 and VI 18...
VI > LS > SG* > BS > VI > DS > LS > SG > VI > DS > BS
*If LS is 9, can use DS for a faster combo.

With LS 9, BS 9 and VI 20...
LS > BS > VI > LS > DS > SG > BS > VI > LS > SG > BS

If you can't do the final BS for the above combo, try...
DS > VI > LS > DS > SG > BS > VI > LS > DS > SG > BS

Or alternatively...
LS > BS > VI > LS > DS > SG > BS > VI > LS > SG > DS*
*Use VI after breaking this combo on DS, then start this combo again. Can swap the order of the final SG and DS to DS > SG, but you remain out of combo longer.

With LS 9, BS 9 and DR 20...
Though I don't recommend them, the easiest combo, with excellent area of effect (AoE) damage, is as follows:
LS > SG > BS > DR > LS > SG > BS > DR > LS > SG > BS
Use VI in between combos if you want or start one right up from the last BS. Can add VI before LS, but you sacrifice your AoE damage a bit.

cadacus_ater
08-21-2012, 08:34 AM
Bumping with a quick heads up.

I've updated a few of my most useful posts in this thread and included links to them in the first post of the thread, allowing for easier searching.

DreamQuake16
10-24-2012, 05:36 PM
Are IS and assault really worth it? as far as I see they're in none of your combos you've posted and most of your combos don't need fillers. couldn't we get rid of them and get the other sword buffs so we can use them at 140 and 170 so we have more atk?

chainlock
10-24-2012, 07:10 PM
Are IS and assault really worth it? as far as I see they're in none of your combos you've posted and most of your combos don't need fillers. couldn't we get rid of them and get the other sword buffs so we can use them at 140 and 170 so we have more atk?

I don't have IS or assault on my character and have no problems.

You can only have 1 Evoluated skill active at a time.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h210/tjxs/soulblade.jpg

cadacus_ater
10-24-2012, 08:19 PM
Are IS and assault really worth it? as far as I see they're in none of your combos you've posted and most of your combos don't need fillers. couldn't we get rid of them and get the other sword buffs so we can use them at 140 and 170 so we have more atk?

That's because those are PvE combos for the most part. IS is one of the highest DPS skills we have, but its AoE is horrible, which is why it isn't used in PvE much. PvP combos will often use it though as a filler. I will occasionally use it in PvE combos too against single targets just for the boost in DPS...and vamp speed.

Assault...is kind of a tossup. It is mainly used to help continue combos onto other targets. It can be used in place of DS, but its AoE isn't as strong. I keep Assault anyway because the alternative attack skills in our arsenal (Blade Cry, Round Cut, Rising Shot, etc.) don't have nearly enough DPS to compete against it and I'm not a huge fan of Mirage Step and the party buffs. I wish you could stack the 3 attack buffs, but sadly, Bladers (and Warriors) can't stack them.

The best attack skill you could replace Assault with in terms of DPS is Double Rising, which has about 300 less DPS, depending on your gear. You could make an argument to do so for PvE, as it has a larger AoE, but I don't recommend sacrificing that much DPS. I will say that if you have VI 20 and DT 20, using fast combos for improved DPS and vamp speed with just IS, DS, VI, LS, DT, BS against single targets can be a bit trickier without Assault as an added filler here and there.

DreamQuake16
10-25-2012, 08:11 PM
LS > DS > BS > VI > LS > DS > SG > DT > VI > LS > BS

This is the combo I set up for because I saw personal favorite and didn't even look at the PVE above it in your paragraph. I don't really combo in pve. I know its worth it because of dps and stuff but whenever I have more than enough def I get distracted and play around on the internet while I'm killing enemies.

cadacus_ater
03-08-2013, 06:34 PM
Well...my guide is now almost moot thanks to new update, lol. Just put everything at 20 seems to be the best way to go now. As for whether or not certain attack skills I didn't recommend are worth getting, I've yet to test anything, but I doubt it has changed much....

chainlock
03-08-2013, 07:42 PM
Reflex>defensive sense. Assault is now useful. Dex>str. Everything else is about the same.

Oh, and bm2>bm3 damage, even tho both got buffed.