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Technomancer -> RE: [Archived] Advanced PvP Guide Corrections (12/21/2011 14:54:05)
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Part IVA: Melee Classes
This section will consist of very detailed guides for each and every Melee class that is good in PvP action. Each guide will consist of a recommended build section, an explanation on the main rotation, and special occasion rotation adjustments. Enjoy!
Berserker
Berserker is one of the best classes in-game. With its powerful attacks and crits you will see your foe's HP drop rapidly. However, this does not mean you are invincible.
Many Berserker players have a hard time with classes that can stun. A Berserker needs to hit or he can't get mana back, which makes a class that can dodge pretty difficult to handle in long battles.
Skills
- Breaker
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Rank Needed: 1
Mana Cost: 30 Mana
Cooldown: 8 Seconds
Type: Physical
Description: Deals weapon DPS as damage and reduces opponent's damage output significantly for 4 seconds.
Breaker is a great damage reducing attack, though it costs a lot of mana. Use it on heavy-hitting classes such as Berserker, Warrior, DoomKnight, ... .
- Broadside
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Rank Needed: 2
Mana Cost: 15 Mana
Cooldown: 2 Seconds
Type: Physical
Description: Deals 70% of weapon damage, cannot be avoided but also cannot crit.
Broadside is a great skill to spam. Combo it with Foregone Conclusion to deal lots of damage in a short period of time, and get more health back once Foregone Conclusion ends. You can use it often, but keep an eye on your mana so you don't run out.
- Blood For blood
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Rank Needed: 3
Mana Cost: 30 Mana
Cooldown: 10 Seconds
Type: Physical
Description: Deals damage based on the difference between your current and maximum HP.
This is the skill that makes Berserker awesome. Blood for Blood deals more damage the lower your HP is. Combo this with Foregone Conclusion to regain massive amounts of HP.
- Forgone Conclusion
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Rank Needed: 5
Mana Cost: 20 Mana
Cooldown: 30 Seconds
Type: Physical
Description: Increases haste by 25% for 12 seconds. When the effect fades, you will receive a small percentage of damage dealt under its effects as health.
This skill is really awesome. You attack 25% faster, and your skill cooldowns also come up faster. After the effect ends, you regain health back based on the damage you dealt. Even if the percentage is small, when comboed with Blood for Blood and Broadside, this adds up quite a bit. Use this when you need some extra damage, and to stay alive.
- Furious / Resolute
Rank Needed: 4
Type: Passives
Description: Increases all damage done by 15% / Damage taken reduced by 10%
For the enhancements there are a few different setups you can try. Use whichever option suits you best. Here are some of the enhancement combos you can try.
4 fighter enhancements.
This will give you the highest auto attack damage and crit rate a Berserker can have.
4 thief enhancements.
Now we're talking speed and evasion. Your auto attack will be weaker and your crit rate is lower, but in return, you will attack faster and evade more attacks.
PvE and PvP
- PvE:
In PvE Berserker is a great damage dealing class. When facing non-boss monsters, you should just kill them off with Forgone Conclusion+Broadside, possibly including Breaker as well. Foregone conclusion will help you get back some health so you don't need to rest that much. And of course when your health is low use Blood For blood for a fast kill. There is not so much to talk about PvE. Most of the time when you are facing a newly released boss you are fighting with several other people, so you don't have to think about skill order or special tactics that much.
If you want to solo a boss then you need a more tactical approach. The key is to use Foregone Conclusion's healing to make you stay alive. Use it directly after you have less than 50% health. Spam away Blood For Blood+Broadside+Breaker for a high damage burst so you get a lot of health back. Repeat this and you should be doing fine soloing bosses.
- PvP:
A lot of people ask me how to use Berserker well in PvP. The answer is simple: practice. Without practice you are destined to fail. All I can do is give some basic advice and techniques to make is easier to learn and evolve as a PvP Player.
I am going to start by telling you the secret to kill a stun class. Don't use your Foregone Conclusion the first thing you do, because then they will stun you and your Foregone Conclusion will give you less health back. Use it right after they have stunned you. If you do so, you will be able to make the most out of Foregone Conclusion. This will make you regenerate more health and do more damage faster. If it is a Warrior that you are facing, use your Breaker when they are using Prepared Strike to mitigate their damage output.
If you are facing a high dodge foe like Ninja/Assassin, you should try to use Broadside. Ninja/Assassin will use Thin Air, which will add 3% more dodge and 5% haste every time they are hit. Only use Auto Attack, then Broadside when Thin Air has stacked a bit to ensure a hit. Don't spam it too much, because you'll still want to hit your other abilities. Wait until your health is down to 50% and then use Foregone Conclusion+Blood For blood. Since you didn't attack too much, Blood For Blood should still have a reasonable chance to hit. If you can't take them out with that single big hit, spam Broadside until they die.
CardClasher
This class is unique. It comes with the code that you get when you purchase the AQW Anything Goes Card Game.
Skills
- Deal
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Rank Needed: 1
Mana Cost: 15 Mana
Cooldown: 2 Seconds
Type: Physical
Description: Deals a new card to you and your opponent. Cards make you stronger and your target weaker. Cards have additional effects when Tap is cast.
This move is entirely random, it can make or break the battle, but the cost is low and it's worth using if you have the chance. It has 3 buffs and 3 debuffs. (How to use it and why, will come later.)
- Tap
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Rank Needed: 2
Mana Cost: 25 Mana
Cooldown: 2 Seconds
Type: Physical
Description: Tap the cards on you and your target, removing the cards and applying powerful effects. Power is increased by the Raise the Stakes stacks which are consumed.
This activates the cards. Can also be used as pure DPS, without the cards.
- Raise the Stakes
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Rank Needed: 3
Mana Cost: 20 Mana
Cooldown: 2 Seconds
Type: Physical
Description: Each cast of this spells makes the effect of tap and clash more powerful, but it also hurts you and leaves you more vulnerable. Stacks up to 4 times. Consumed by Tap.
Inflict 50% damage to self increasing by 25% each time. In exchange it will make Tap and Clash 50% more powerful for each stack. Tap will consume Raise the Stakes if Deal is applied, but if not, you can spam both Clash and Tap, without having 'Raise the Stakes' fade.
- Clash
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Rank Needed: 5
Mana Cost: 10 Mana
Cooldown: 6 Seconds
Type: Physical
Description: Deals damage to your target based on Raise the Stakes stacks, but does not consume them.
100% Damage move buffed by Raise the Stakes. It's basically a second Auto Attack.
- Stacked Deck / Beat the Odds
Rank Needed: 4
Type: Passives
Description: Luck increased by 15%. / Crit, Dodge and Hit chances are increased.
How to use
To PvP with CardClasher, there's a variety of things you can do. First of all, there's tap hopping. Tap hopping is exactly how it sounds. You make use of Tap's range and immediately roomhop. Tap --> Hop --> Camp --> Tap --> Hop through next door, ... . It's a good way to bait anyone, really and it can basically work against any class.
Another way to use CC is to use Tap for an easy target then close in with Deal, then use Clash and Tap then proceed to room hop. You may take damage on the way, but getting Deal in can make the battle go on forever or be over fast. Tap --> Deal --> Clash --> Tap --> Room hop.
Raise the Stakes trolling is a FUN way to use CC, but it's not exactly the smartest thing to do, especially against a stun class. In fact, against those classes, that could be the worst thing you ever do. It works by stacking Raise the Stakes as high as you want and spamming Tap and hopping so you don't get hit. Then you'll probably find yourself spamming Clash or Deal and Tap in a doorway. Tap Weakness, Tap Imposition, Tap Vitality, Tap Vigor are also amplified, however, those will remove Raise the Stakes. If you want to live, you would prefer to end Raise the Stakes with Tap Vitality which would give an extraordinary heal and a very high HoT.
There's also the method of camping Deal and immediately just spamming as many Deals and Taps as you can.
Class vs Class
- DoomKnight:
Stuns are something to watch out for, but ordinarily, you can beat a DoomKnight easily by tap hopping. The thing you want to do against a DoomKnight is hop the stun. If they follow you in the door, by that time the stun will have worn off, or be close to wearing off and you can quickly spam Deal and Tap to get even more DPS in.
- Warrior:
Same thing as DoomKnight. Except that you need to be even more careful about their stun. It's an extra second, so it won't wear off as fast and means they can get 1, or both, Prepared Strikes in. If that happens, you HAVE to rely on Tap hopping, because you need to clear distance. Tap hopping also means they'll be wasting On Guard if they activate it, which can be a lifesaver.
- Rogue:
Going against a Rogue, the only thing to do is wait until your opponent's Footwork has run out. Try to hit Fortitude as many times as you can; don't waste time tapping if you get Vigor. If you hit Fortitude or Vitality, tap them. After the Footwork runs out, just flat out Draw/tap.
- Healer:
The way to beat a Healer is to beat it down to make them waste their mana. Tap hopping only prolongs this fight, which is not something you want. The best to fight a Healer is head on. With Deal, Tap and Clash spam. Hopping to waste Inhibition and Clear Mind can be a lifesaver, but you really need to get the damage in to get rid of their mana straight away.
- Ninja:
Tap hopping. Wasting Shadowblade is priority number 1 and Tap hopping does it perfectly. Rush in and out of the NPC rooms so they can't abuse the range and auto target for Shadowblade and get the damage in with Tap.
- Starlord:
Tap hopping. If they successfully stun you, use the method under ''DoomKnight''. If they debuff, then keep room hopping and wasting their mana.
- Dragonlord:
Wing it with Deals and Taps. There's not much you can do, but if you're hopping and/or are out of range, they can't attack you and their Cursed Blood debuff is near useless. Asides from that, the only threat is Lifestealer, which can be avoided by manipulating ranged skills.
- Guardian:
Because all of their skills are timed, throwing them off balance by Tap hopping will destroy any Guardian.
- Evolved Clawsuit:
You don't want to play hopping with an ECS. Spam Deal and Tap, and don't let them stall with their Naughty spam hopping. If they use Arctic Stamina and attempt to take you head on, feel free to hop that off and make them waste their mana.
- Shaman:
If the Shaman lands Elemental Embrace, there's not much you can do. You don't want to wait it out, yet you can't do much. Though from my experience, you can still annihilate a Shaman pretty easily in Doomarena even if they do get an Elemental Embrace in. If they use it, keep close and dish out as much DPS as you can with Clash, Deal and Tap. Raise the Stakes can be useful here as well because you can't crit yourself at that moment, and you can get and exponential amount of damage in. Just kill them quickly.
- Chronomancer:
Don't stall, just fight. This is one of the few cases where you'll want to use Raise the Stakes for damage.
- CardClasher:
Depends on who's playing what way, but whoever camps more is gonna win for the most part.
- Mage:
Camp out Frozen Blood until it dies. If you can get in close then Tap --> Deal --> Clash --> Tap --> Hop. Note that trying to use the Tap hopping method may waste a lot of mana . Which you'll really need to fight back against a Mage.
- Paladin:
Do not let a Paladin camp, get as much DPS as you possibly can to waste their mana on heals. You can't control Deal or Tap, but spamming them will definitely give you the edge. Remember that Clash is like another Auto Attack too. That can come in very useful.
- Defender:
Tap hopping from range will completely trump their Retaliation hopping.
- Necromancer:
In Bludrut Brawl, Tap hopping will destroy them. Have them use Deadly Frenzy and let them drain themselves with their own DoT to save yourself half the trouble. Do your best to avoid Weaken as well.
- Bard:
Watch out for the debuffs while Tap hopping.
- No Class:
All the advantage in the world. Since they have only one skill, destroy them with your skill combinations.
- Ranger:
Ranger, obviously, has the advantage of range. A CardClasher's only ranged attack is Tap, which means you can just Tap hop with the Ranger if they're sliding. Stack Raise the Stakes if you can.
- Evolved Shaman:
They will most likely stun/freeze you. Try to keep the Fortitude running, so they're less likely to hit you. Otherwise, Deal/Tap.
Defender
Skills
- Commanding Strike
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Rank Needed: 1
Mana Cost: 10 Mana
Cooldown: 3 Seconds
Type: Physical
Description: Deals moderate damage and forces the target to turn its attention to you for 6 seconds.
All melee classes have a skill that is like a controlled Auto Attack/second swing. This is that attack. It can be used for quick damage to finish off weak opponents, to use excess mana while doing damage, or as an in-between skill while waiting for other skill cooldowns. (Also keep in mind that this skill will not focus the target's attention on you in PvP.)
- Crushing Sweep
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Rank Needed: 2
Mana Cost: 20 Mana
Cooldown: 4 Seconds
Type: Physical
Description: Strikes up to two targets in melee range, dealing light damage. Also applies Crushed, reducing the target's outgoing damage by 15% and increasing incoming damage by 10%. Lasts 10 seconds.
This is the attack that is most often used when waiting for the cooldown on Retaliation. It can also be used to finish off weak opponents when more than 1 enemy is present. Also, since it is a semi-ranged attack, it allows for better sliding and easy targeting. This isn't the type of skill you'd want to spam, but you can still use it fairly frequently.
- Retaliation
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Rank Needed: 3
Mana Cost: 25 Mana
Cooldown: 5 Seconds
Type: Physical
Description: If the target is a monster, deals damage based on the amount of damage that monster has done in the current fight. Deals moderate damage to players.
This skill is the reason defender can be used on par with the other classes. Use as frequently as possible!
- Defender's Oath
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Rank Needed: 5
Mana Cost: 30 Mana
Cooldown: 30 Seconds
Type: Magical
Description: Heals a friendly target for a small amount. Also applies Safeguard, absorbing all incoming damage up to an amount based on Attack Power. Lasts 8 seconds.
- Veterancy / Founder's Mark
Rank Needed: 4
Type: Passives
Description: Critical strike chance increased by 10% / Endurance increased by 15%
Stats
- Strength: Considering most of the defenders skills are physical damage based, its useful to use strength or luck on your weapon as defenders skills deals an amount is based on weapon damage.
- Endurance: This, combined with your passives, gives you a large amount of HP, making you last longer in battle. And, with the added heal skill, giving you an even better chance against higher level bosses. This makes you pretty much the 'tank' of a group.
- Luck: I enjoy using luck to increase the crit damage. Which can be useful when soloing bosses.
Useful Builds:
1 Fighter, 3 Luck
2 Fighter, 2 Luck
Full Fighter
Defender relies mostly on Endurance, Strength and Luck.
This class is best used with at least 3, if not 4 lucky enhancements. To increase the potential damage of Retaliation.
PvE and PvP
- PvE:
In PvE Defender is a great damage dealing class. When attacking non-boss monsters, you should just kill them with Commanding Strike, Crushing Sweep and Retaliation.
Commanding Strike will do 75% weapon damage with a 3 second cooldown. When you get low on health in a battle use Defender's Oath, allowing you to absorb damage based on your attack power for 8 seconds. Most of the time when you are facing a newly released boss you are fighting with several other people, so you can become a healer and attacker.
If you want to solo a boss then you need a more tactical approach. The key is to use Commanding Strike, Crushing Sweep and Retaliation to deal as much damage as you can and use Defender's Oath when your health drops below 50%. Spam Commanding Strike because of its 3 second cooldown and low mana cost. Keep repeating this and you should be fine.
- PvP:
Again, the best way to use this class is to spam Retaliation. Though it deals 'moderate' damage to players, the damage is still very decent, and can add up fast. If used while sliding/roomhopping, you can take a good chunk off of your opponent's health, leave/avoid them until it recharges, then come back to take the rest.
DoomKnight
Skills
- Soul Steal
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Rank Needed: 1
Mana Cost: 10 Mana
Cooldown: 3 Seconds
Type: Physical
Description: A quick attack that applies Dark Wound on the target, dealing 100% of weapon DPS over time per stack, immediately healing you for twice this amount once stacked. Lasts 8 seconds, can be refreshed, stacks up to 5 times.
This move will heal you however the cooldown for it has been nerfed, so it's hard to spam to heal yourself. The way to get around this is to incorporate dexterity into your build (Thief Enhances).
- Soul Crush
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Rank Needed: 2
Mana Cost: 10 Mana
Cooldown: 4 Seconds
Type: Physical/Magical
Description: A quick attack dealing physical and magical damage, improved by the number of Dark Wound stacks on the target.
This move gets weaker for every Dark Wound casted on the target, it also will do consistent damage meaning the damage it deals will be the same every time it's based on the weapon DPS.
- Void Strike
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Rank Needed: 3
Mana Cost: 20 Mana
Cooldown: 10 Seconds
Type: Physical
Description: A strong attack which deals weapon damage plus an amount derived from your current HP and MP.''
This is the overall power move of DoomKnight.
- Blood Offering
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Rank Needed: 5
Mana Cost: 25 Mana
Cooldown: 10 Seconds
Type: Physical
Description: If Dark Wound is on the target, the caster will take additional damage per attack for 10 seconds, but will add some of the amount taken to their next autoattack. Otherwise, applies a 3 second stun. ''
This move is rather unique. There are two options:
1) Blood Rite buff: Activates if the opponent is affected by Dark Wound. This move buffs your Auto Attack. You will take increased damage BUT that damage will buff your Auto Attack. This move is a double-edged sword, most of the time it'll kill you, but it can do massive damage. Sometimes up to 900 non-crits.
2) Stun: You will stun the enemy for 3 seconds if they don't have Dark Wound casted on them.
- Aggression / Resolute
Rank Needed: 4
Type: Passives
Description: You deal 10% additional damage with physical attacks / Damage taken reduced by 10%
- Doom Strike
Rank Needed: 10
Type: Passive - Small chance to activate on melee swing.
Description: A darkness attack for about 50x your weapon damage.
Stats
DoomKnight's Base Stats at level 45!
Strength: 94
Intellect: 17
Endurance: 104
Dexterity: 76
Wisdom: 35
Luck: 21
- Strength: A very important stat for a DoomKnight, it increases your crit rate and it increases your overall damage output. It also buffs every skill since they are all physical.
- Dexterity: This stat increases dodge and haste. The dodging will keep your health up, while the haste will allow you to spam Dark Wound. Attacking faster also increases the damage output you get from Blood Rite.
- Endurance: This stat is mostly for Void Strike. The more health you have, the more damage you'll get from Void Strike.
- Luck: This stat is to increase your crit damage. It's a bit unreliable, though. You can't always depend on crits to save you. However, it's still a helpful stat for a DoomKnight, as it can make your crits EPIC! You can crit around 1,000 with Void Strike with a consistent weapon, if you set it up right.
Couple notes
1) PvP amulets buff void strike with more health.
Skill Chain
- Blood Offering (stun) --> Soul Crusher --> Void Strike --> Soul Crusher/Room hop/Delay --> Stun --> Repeat
- Soul Crusher --> Dark Wound --> Blood Offering (Blood Rite) --> Void Strike (Not recommended to use but Blood Rite can be fun)
Useful Builds
2 Fighter, 1 Thief, 1 Luck
Very smooth, very fast. Good for non-crits rather than crits. Feels like DoomKnight on steroids.
2 Thief, 2 lucky
Hits hard and fast. Useful for spamming your stun.
Full lucky
Not recommended.
2 Fighter, 2 lucky
Hits hard, crits hard, and often.
Class vs Class
- DoomKnight:
There is a 99% chance it's a Dark Wound spammer. (Extra Info)
- Rogue/Renegade/Leprechaun/Pirate/Alpha Pirate:
Spam whatever you can, and hope something goes through. Use whatever move that does go through as a start to see what you could pull off. Every move on Rogue is timed, so you'll definitely want to keep that in mind. Room hopping and sliding kills their offense!
- Warrior/Warlord/Pumpkin Lord:
Warrior is like DoomKnight but stronger. It's a battle of stuns and the Warrior's is one second longer. Their stun is always followed by Prepared Strike, and you don't want to be hit with that too much. This means stun them first, do all the burst damage you can, then room hop to avoid their stun/Prepared Strike combo. Always keep an eye on the doors; they can save your life. In case they activate On Guard, just wait it out.
- Mage/Sorcerer:
Try to avoid being debuffed if possible that will only lead to a fireball ripping out a large chunk of health. If they use Arcane Shield use that opportunity to stun them and Cast Dark Wound and let the DoT eat at their mana while you stay a safe distance away. Also, you'll notice that crits that go through Frozen Blood feel like normal crits, at least that's what I've observed.
NOTE: Do NOT chase a mage. If you must, then camp them.
- Healer/Acolyte/Witch:
They're SO annoying. Make them waste Inhibition (which is where they'll get most of their mana regain from) as often as possible. Stun them when it's up, then follow the basic rotation. Once their MP goes down, it should stay down.''
- Berserker/Beta Berserker:
Do NOT let them use Blood For Blood, be a stun spammer do ANYTHING but you do not want to be debuffed and you do NOT want to be killed off by an overdone BfB (Blood for Blood) crit, basically preserve yourself and room hop whenever necessary, if you're hit by Breaker then hide behind your NPCs and wait it out, if hit by BfB and you live you should be able to get a stun in and crit off the rest of their Health, worst case scenario is you stun, soul crusher, void then room hop immediately.
- Paladin:
They aren't too hard. Hope for some crits to get their health down and they'll heal. Do it again and they'll heal again. Wait out Zeal and let as few hits go through as you possibly can and you'll win that fight.
- Shaman
My, my; they're so much trouble ... . However, there is a way to win. Hide behind your NPCs so they only have 2 attacks they can use (and can't 'manipulate their auto-target?'). If they use an AoE attack regardless, that's when you stun them and watch as they get mauled by your NPCs. A big problem still is Elemental Embrace. It nullifies crits, so if you plan on taking them on 1 vs 1, you'll want a non-crit oriented build. That being said, I also find using Blood Rite on Shaman to be pretty effective.
- Ninja/Assassin:
Wait out Shadowblade if it's casted on you and camp them. Use your stun plus the basic rotation, then room hop when you feel the need. Stick to trying to get your stun through, and don't let them abuse Shadowblade.
- Bard
Don't fall victim to the debuffs. Wait it out, be smart about it. DoomKnight suffers a lot without its crits. Don't let Dissonance stay active, but if Crescendo is on you, you must pursue them regardless of Dissonance. Do as much damage as you possibly can and hope for the best.
- Dragonlord
These guys are tricky. They'll hit you from a distance so do what every desperate DoomKnight does! Use your stun AS SOON as you can, then use Soul Crush then Void Strike and room hop. Wait for them to pursue you and stun them. Even if they're low, they should've maintained their mana so Lifestealer is still a threat. Spam your stun to try and keep them from healing and use whatever you have to finish them off.
- Guardian
Just use the basic rotation of stun, burst damage and room hop and you should be fine. There's nothing a Guardian can really do that's that threatening.
- Starlord:
This is tough but what you want to do is the basic rotation of stun, burst damage and room hop. But you can't account for any moves going through because of their dodge rate. Stick to the doors and do what you can. An AoE class won't chase you into a room with an NPC, so consider that a safe zone to rethink and stall for cooldowns.
- Defender:
You do NOT want to get crit by Retaliation, but there's only one way to fight them and that's head on. Use the basic stun rotation and you may find yourself putting out more DPS than the Defender can within those 3 seconds. The heal isn't really a problem and Safeguard lasts a small amount of time, so the only fear is Retaliation.
- ProtoSartorium/Enforcer/Rustbucket:
They're actually pretty underrated for their mana regain problems. They do a good deal of Burst damage but their mana regain has some issues. Be cautious when fighting them but you should win easily.
- Dragonslayer:
Dragonslayer is SERIOUSLY underrated, these guys wreck at 1 vs 1 with a Luck Oriented build. Bane of Scales is a weaker form of Breaker with RANGE, Talon Twisting is like a less suicidal Blood Rite and Scorched steel is like a ranged Decisive Strike. Impale is basically useless because the stun can't be relied on. Anyways, if you see a Dragonslayer you should be able to take them but don't underestimate them.
- ClawSuit:
Not too much of a problem because they have issues with mana regeneration. Just watch out for the stun on Rudolph's Revenge. If they're using Hearth's Embrace, just wait it out. You should be able to take them with ease.
- Evolved Clawsuit:
Don't let range take the better of you. Stick to the door and get the first strike. Don't allow them to spam Naughty, since the debuff lasts a long time. Use every opportunity to make them drain their mana. Make them waste Lump of Coal, Arctic Stamina and Blitzen Blitz with room hops and stuns. If they're out of mana, you can easily overpower an ECS.
Dragonlord
One of the best Melee classes in PvP action ever. Best recommended enhancements I would say would have to be 3 fighter and 1 luck (on the weapon). This class is a verified class. To get it, you must have bought a Dragon Amulet in DragonFable and verified your account.
Skills
- Cleave
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Rank Needed: 1
Mana Cost: 20 Mana
Cooldown: 4 seconds
Type: Physical
Description: Deals moderate damage to up to two targets in melee range.
As stated above, it can hit up to two targets at once. This is normally an "in-between" skill. Mostly used as a quick means of damage while you're waiting for the cooldowns on your other skills. Most battles start with Heated Blade/Cursed Blade. It is also a great go to skill if you want to finish off a weak opponent, especially if they are trying to run away.
- Heated Blade
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Rank Needed: 2
Mana Cost: 15 Mana
Cooldown: 4 seconds
Type: Physical
Description: Deals light damage and applies Searing Heat, reducing haste and hit chance by 5%, stacking up to 4 times and lasting 10 seconds.
This is Dragonlord's base spam skill. It not only slows your opponent down and makes them miss more often, but it also does decent damage. This is your only skill that has a somewhat defensive effect, so it's best used as often as possible.
- Lifestealer
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Rank Needed: 3
Mana Cost: 35 Mana
Cooldown: 10 seconds.
Type: Physical
Description: Deals damage based on the difference between your current and maximum HP, and heals you for some of the damage dealt.
This skill is best used at low health, especially if you have the effect of Cursed Blade active. The health regain is fairly minor and cannot be depended on. However, the damage if great. If you are low on health, it would be a great idea to wait next to a door. An opponent will eventually have to come through. Using this along with Cursed Blade is likely to KO your opponent.
- Cursed Blade
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Rank Needed: 5
Mana Cost: 20 Mana
Cooldown: 8 Seconds
Type: Physical
Description: Deals damage inversely proportional to your current MP to up to 2 targets. Applies Cursed Blood, increasing the target's damage taken by 12% for 10 seconds.
This skill is the reason Dragonlords are considered a threat. It deals decent damage at high mana, which increases as your mana lowers. It also lowers your opponent's defenses, which is a great advantage when your opponent is being attacked by multiple targets. Since both this skill and Cleave hit 2 targets, these skills should be limited in use around your opponents Restorer/Brawler areas unless there are two opponents within range of you. If you'd like to attack a single Restorer, you should go to the corner of the screen where the range of this skill includes just one of them. Use this skill at every single opportunity you get! (Most Dragonlords start with this skill, but I usually start with Heated Blade before this skill to drain off a bit of mana and slow my opponent down.)
- Furious / Resolute
Rank Needed: 4
Type: Passives
Description: Increases all damage done by 15% / Damage taken reduced by 10%
Class vs Class
- Dragonlord:
Most likely, they will start off by spamming Lifestealer and Cursed Blade. Counter them with the exact same method, but don't spam it. Spamming these will deplete your mana very quick. Use the combination once, and then let Cleave and Heated Blade pave the way to victory.
- Rogue/Renegade/Leprechaun/Pirate/Alpha Pirate/Vampire:
They will most likely start with Viper's Blood. If they do, use Lifestealer to counter. This will put you at decent health. Then, spam Cleave. If they're still at good health, use the Lifestealer+Cursed Blade combination.
- Warrior/Warlord/Pumpkin Lord:
These guys will try and stun you. Use the Lifestealer/Cursed Blade combination immediately, and then spam Cleave.
- Mage/Sorcerer:
You should watch out for Explosion and Arcane Shield here. If they use Arcane Shield, use Lifestealer to get yourself in shape for when the skill expires. Then, spam Cleave. And if you have enough mana at the time, use the Lifestealer/Cursed Blade combination.
- Berserker/Beta Berserker:
Blood For Blood will kill you. If they get a chance to use it, spam Lifestealer as many times as you can. While Lifestealer is on cooldown, use Heated Blade.
- Shaman:
These guys are a Dragonlord's worst enemies. They'll probably open with Elemental Embrace, meaning you won't get any crits. This negates the Lifestealer+Cursed Blade combination. Instead, spam Cleave and Heated Blade, using Lifestealer when needed.
- Ninja/Assassin:
These guys are tough. Watch out for their Thin Air skill. This raises their Dodge by 3% and Haste by 5% every time they are hit. Use Lifestealer to gain some health, and use the Lifestealer+Cursed Blade combination.
Dragonslayer
Dragonslayer is considered a specialized Warrior. This is due to its higher base damage range and unique way of dealing damage compared to the brute strength of most other classes. Usually underrated, a Dragonslayer can actually be more effective than most other physical classes because of this unique way. A quick note, watch your mana. Do not become hasty and waste all of it straight away, as that will likely put you at a disadvantage.
Skills:
- Bane of Scales
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Rank Needed: 1
Mana Cost: 10 Mana
Cooldown: 16 Seconds
Type: Magical
Description: Taunts a dragon, forcing it to attack you, while reducing the dragon's damage dealt with all attacks by 30%. Lasts 10 seconds.
One of the most powerful nerfs in the game. It allows the Dragonslayer to take far less damage from its opponent. This, combined with the high health a Dragonslayer has, makes it very difficult to land a decisive strike on the Dragonslayer. Do not hesitate to use your mana on this ability.
- Impale
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Rank Needed: 2
Mana Cost: 30 Mana
Cooldown: 12 Seconds
Type: Physical
Description: Causes 200% of weapon damage over 12 seconds, and has a chance of stunning the target for 3 seconds.
The stun is pretty unreliable, so don't count on it.
The DoT is based on your weapon damage which means depending on the weapon you use, will change this abilities DoT. Like normal auto
attacks, the number of the weapon damage is randomly generated based inside the range of your current weapon. Then is multiplied by 2, further divided by the amount of ticks (which is 6), which gives you your damage per tick. If you use a default weapon range, this ability will deal more consistent DoT, however if you use a very wide weapon, it can deal both massive and miniscule damage. Also, the stun is roughly about 15% which makes the stun very unreliable. It is recommended not to use this ability unless you have mana to spare.
- Scorched Steel
<Picture>
Rank Needed: 3
Mana Cost: 20 Mana
Cooldown: 6 Seconds
Type: Magical
Description: A fiery attack dealing 150% weapon damage.
Like a Warrior's Decisive Strike, this attack will take the weapon damage and multiply the damage by 1.5. Again, you will see more consistent damage using a default weapon, while using a large range weapon will result in both very high and very low damage values. The attack has a wider range than Decisive Strike, allowing you to be further away from your target.
- Talon Twisting
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Rank Needed: 5
Mana Cost: 15 Mana
Cooldown: 12 Seconds
Type: Magical
Description: If used in combat with a dragon, 50% of the damage done to you will be added to your attacks. Lasts 8 seconds.
A Dragonslayers main source of damage. For every point of damage you take, half of that will be added to your next attack. Meaning the more damage you receive, the more you'll dish out yourself. Note that the damage will not stack. If you take damage, then half of that will be added to your next attack. If you take no damage, no damage will be added. However, if you are stunned while the ability is active, the damage taken while stunned WILL stack.
- Aggression / Resolute
Rank Needed: 4
Type: Passives
Description: You deal 10% additional damage with physical attacks / Damage taken reduced by 10%
Activation Combinations
Dragonslayer typically has two options to start the fight, and there are some consequences depending on which ability you apply first.
- Talon Twisting - Bane of Scales - Scorched Steel - Impale (User's Preference) - repeat. (If the user strikes before the 30% Scales nerf, it allows the damage to be reflected, but will be normal damage.)
- Bane of Scales - Talon Twisting - Scorched Steel - Impale (User's Preference) - repeat. (If the user strikes before Talon is applied, the damage will be nerfed but will not be reflected.)
Enhancements
Recommended: Luck and Fighter enhancements. Either can be used, but the preferred method of using a Dragonslayer is with a mixture of the two enhancements. Like all builds, the final decision is up to the user of the class.
A list of some other useful builds:
Full Fighter
Will allow critical strikes to happen very often, but the damage of those criticals will be normal.
Full Luck
Critical strikes will be rather rare, but the amount of damage resulting from landing one will be massive.
2 Fighter 2 Luck
A well rounded build. Criticals will be semi-average, as will the damage from said criticals. This is the preferred build of a Dragonslayer.
Class vs Class
- Healer:
The Healer will not win due to the Dragonslayer's nerfing capabilities rendering Heartbeat (the healer's main source of damage) useless. The Dragonslayer should come out victorious.
- Mage:
Mage is the notorious Dragonslayer killer since the haste nerf badly affects your cooldowns, making you a sitting duck. Apply Scales and Talon, time your Scorched Steels and hope for the best.
- Rogue:
Scales and Talon will never miss which means they can be applied against a Rogue. Use that, and attempt to do as much damage as possible, landing a few decent hits. Using Impale in this situation can be useful as well (despite its 30 mana cost), as it can't miss either. Do note that, if you are not dealing much hits, you won't be regaining that much mana.
- Warrior:
Warrior can be a hassle because of its ability to stun. Use Scales first, as most Warriors open with a stun, then use Talon to reflect Prepared Strikes, Decisive Strikes and Auto Attacks.
- Ninja:
Same as Rogue.
- Bard:
Bard is a decent Dragonslayer killer as well, since the 5% critical strike reduction means luck build Dragonslayers are at a big disadvantage.
- Berserker:
Berserker should be rather easy until it drops to its notorious low health situation. Use Talon when the Berserker gets to about half health in an attempt to reflect half the damage the coming Blood For Blood will deal. If you live through that, you should typically win.
- Chronomancer:
Chronomancer, like Berserker, should be no problem until a specific situation. If you see 4 Temporals go up, apply Scales at that moment to nerf the damage of Riftburn by 30%, which may or may not keep you alive. Attempt to deal as much damage to the Chronomancer before that happens to ensure you beat it before it beats you. Also, Talon Twisting will NOT reflect Riftburn damage. However, if Rift Collapse is used and you still live, that will be reflected under Talon's effect.
- ClawSuit:
Watch out for Rudolph's Revenge. Otherwise a Dragonslayer should win.
- DoomKnight:
Get a DoomKnight's health down as quick as possible. This will cause Void Strike to not be as deadly. They'll usually open with a stun. Apply Scales first before that stun to lower damage taken while stunned. Apply Talon and attempt to lower their health down to non-fatal Void Strike levels. If you get to that point, watch for stun, though you should win regardless.
- Defender:
Watch out for Retaliation and Crushed. Use Scales first to lower damage taken from these abilities and apply Talon. Due to Crushed increasing damage taken, the effects of Scales are minimal in this fight but are still helpful in keeping Retaliation at bay.
- Dragonlord:
A Dragonlord is actually very vulnerable to a Dragonslayer. Typically you should open with Talon then Scales and time Scorched at times to whittle down the health of the Dragonslayer. The attacks the Dragonlord lands will be both nerfed and reflected under these effects. The higher damage they deal, the more they are hurt.
- Protosatorium:
Not needed. Proto is underpowered and usually will not win unless you are very very unlucky.
- Evolved Clawsuit:
Apply Talon and Scales. Like DragonLord, the more damage the ECS deals, the more will be reflected. Watch yourself during the down time between when the abilities wear off and when the cooldown expires.
- Leprechaun:
Same as Rogue. However, you have a better chance here due to the longer cooldowns.
- Starlord:
Same as Rogue. However, apply Scales before Shearing stuns to reduce damage while stunned.
- Shaman:
Apply Scales right away to reduce the damage from Dry Lightning then apply Talon. However, a DragonSlayer will usually lose here if Elemental Embrace connects.
- No Class:
Same as ProtoSartorium.
- Ranger:
Apply Talons first and wait for Death Marks to stack while you are dealing damage. As soon as the fifth or fourth Marks stack, apply Scales to nerf the incoming DoT or direct damage. Note, Scales will nerf the DoT and the HoT.
PvE and PvP
- PvE:
Since two of its skills only work on Dragonkind, and there are few Dragonkind monsters in PvE, the Dragonslayer is usually of little use.
- PvP:
DragonSlayer is NOT built for 1v2 or 1v3 situations. Its strong point lies in typical 1 vs 1 or group vs group situations. But a good thing to note is, the more damage you
take from any source will raise the damage you deal while under Talon which could result in you defeating one opponent with ease because his teammate is dealing so much damage to you.
Horc Evader
The Horc Faction class. To obtain it, you must reach Rank 10 for Horc Reputation, or purchase it for 2,000 Adventure Coins.
Skills
- Whistle
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Rank Needed: 1
Mana Cost: 45 Mana
Cooldown: 16 Seconds
Type: Magical
Description: Calls a pet to your side or sends it into a rage causing more damage but making you take more damage too
If you don't have a Battle Pet equipped, this will summon the Battle Boar to your side. Once it's there, this skill will increase your damage output but will also leave you vulnerable to attacks, making you take more damage. If they can hit you, that is. Once you get your dodge up high enough, you you shouldn't be afraid of using this skill (though keep an eye on you lifebar just in case).
Enrage (self-buff) doubles any damage you receive.
- Shadow Strike
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Rank Needed: 2
Mana Cost: 10 Mana
Cooldown: 3 Seconds
Type: Physical
Description: Your pet attacks your target causing Damage Over Time while also increasing your Dodge for a short time. Effect stacks up to 3 times.
This is your go-to skill. It should be the first thing you do after summoning your pet. Once you have three stacks of Shadow Strike applied, you will have a weak-ish DoT eating away at your foe's life AND you will receive the benefit of having raised your dodge stat pretty high. Remember that you need to keep three stacks of this skill up at all times. Though the DoT alone won't kill your enemy so you need to balance it with the other damage dealing skills. Since it's built on the Warrior mana-regain model you will be getting mana every time you hit, or get hit. You won't be getting hit a lot, though, so keep an eye on your mana.
The DoT "ticks" 6 times.
- Smell Fear
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Rank Needed: 3
Mana Cost: 15 Mana
Cooldown: 5 Seconds
Type: Magical
Description: Your pet sniffs out your foe's weak spot greatly increasing you Dodge and Crit but slowing your attack speed for a short time.
I'll leave it to you to decide when to use this skill. The dodge and crit are VERY nice to have, especially on top of the dodge buff from Shadow Strike but slowing your attack speed means even LESS mana coming in. It's a question of what you need at the time.
- Hunter's Call
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Rank Needed: 5
Mana Cost: 20 Mana
Cooldown: 6 Seconds
Type: Magical
Description: You decide to put an end to this fight quickly. You call out to your pet increasing you AND your foe's Haste for a short amount of time.
There are various uses for this skill. If you just activate it without using any other skills you should get a lot of mana rather quickly for a short amount of time. You can also use it counter the slowing effect of Smell Fear, though that means your foe's attack speed is essentially doubled compared to yours. It all depends on how high your dodge rate is at the time.
- Night Hunter / Shadow Wise
Rank Needed: 4
Type: Passives
Description: Increase Critical Chance by 10% / Increase Dodge by 10%
Ranking up the class unlocks the ability to get crits more often, plus EVEN MORE DODGE ... . They call it the ''Evader'' class for a reason.
- Smell Blood
Rank Needed: 10
Type: Passive
Description: You sense that your foe is near defeat which causes a burst of incredible speed for a few moments.
Ninja
This class is very, very useful in PvP. Why? Because it has great evasion, high attack power, and incredible versatility (the ability to adapt to certain situations). The class's main strategy is to retain as much health as possible by making your opponent miss while unleashing a barrage of attacks of your own. Most fights, you will have the skill "Thin air" active while tagging every available target with Shadow blade while moderately using Crosscut.
Skills
- Crosscut
[image]http://i40.tinypic.com/14t1ycl.png[/image]
Rank Needed: 1
Mana Cost: 15 Mana
Cooldown: 2 Seconds
Type: Physical
Description: Instantly attack twice, dealing extra damage.
This is a skill I use whenever I have mana to burn, or want to do extra damage. It's a great "in between" move to use in a rotation. Against classes that are not a threat (i.e.: DoomKnight, Healer, Enforcer, etc.), I simply spam this skill.
- Shadowblade
[image]http://i43.tinypic.com/fkxk5c.png[/image]
Rank Needed: 2
Mana Cost: 25 Mana
Cooldown: 12 Seconds
Type: Physical/Magical
Description: Deals physical and magical damage, and blinds enemy for 6 seconds.
I use this skill whenever a class poses a threat. This skill applies a blind effect that makes all normally unavoidable attacks miss. Though it costs 25 mana, this skill is more than worth it because it allows you to use a few Crosscuts. You can also combine this with Shadowburn to stun. Therefore Ninja can completely destroy any class that doesn't dodge this attack. Note that, while this is a powerful skill, using it too often will result in you having little to no mana to spare. You'll have to use Shadowburn and regain it all and risk making yourself vulnerable. This move should only be used once per player, as it is very mana consuming and would leave you to rely on Thin Air to dodge if you waste all of your mana on one target. Unless the class is a very high threat (i.e.: Starlord, Rogue, Berserker, Dragonlord) you don't need to use this more than once.
- Shadowburn
[image]http://i42.tinypic.com/v4trtd.png[/image]
Rank Needed: 3
Mana Cost: 5 Mana
Cooldown: 6 Seconds
Type: Physical/Magical
Description: Deals light weapon damage plus magical damage, stunning any target afflicted by Shadowburn for 3 seconds, or returning 20 mana otherwise.
This skill is what completes Ninja's adaptability. Why? Because it can be used for two different areas that Ninja needs more support in.
After killing an opponent (especially if you used Shadowblade/Crosscut multiple times) you can be low on mana. This skill's first ability allows you to replenish your mana while inflicting damage. This skill is great to use while roomhopping. It is also great to use on NPC monsters such as Brawlers/Restorers. If you are in need of mana, jump in a Brawler/Restorer room, use the skill, and run out before it can damage you and you are 20 mana richer free of cost! That same strategy can be used in the often crowded center of Bludrut Brawl. Hop in, use the skill, hop out until you are ready to use it again, then repeat until you have enough mana to charge in with Thin Air and enough mana to make your opponent miss everything again.
Its second ability is to stun your opponent. Use of the stun makes a BIG difference! Do not, I repeat, do not ever stun immediately after Shadowblade unless absolutely necessary. (Such as when you see a Warrior's Prepared Strike coming.)
- Thin Air
[image]http://i41.tinypic.com/120md5d.png[/image]
Rank Needed: 5
Mana Cost: 30 Mana
Cooldown: 30 Seconds
Type: Physical
Description: Raises dodge by 3% and haste by 5% every time you are hit. Lasts 30 seconds.
This skill is pretty much self-explanatory. Keep this skill on at all times, or at least as much as you can.
- Elusive / Incisive
Rank Needed: 4
Type: Passives
Description: Dodge chance increased by 15% / Critical chance increased by 15%
Skill Combination
- Burning Blade Stun (defensive): Shadowblade then Shadowburn, stunning the opponent.
*Important tactic: timing.* Most Ninjas completely waste their Shadowblades effect by using Shadowburn just after. Why not let them miss a couple of hits, THEN stun them? The key is timing. Use Shadowburn when the cooldown to Shadowblade is about 6.5/10 cooled. If you time it perfectly, you will get a ''+Shadowburn'' at the same time as ''-Shadowblade''. For extra usefulness, spam this combo whenever Thin Air is not activated so your opponent can't attack while you're more vulnerable.
- Burning Crosscut (Offensive): Spamming Crosscut and Shadowburn. (2 Crosscuts for every 3 Shadowburns.)
This will give you continuous damage because Crosscut attacks again, while Shadowburn replenishes your mana and does some extra damage.
- Inferno Blade Cut (Hybrid): Shadowblade (blind), 2 Crosscuts, Shadowburn for more mana. Repeat afterwards.
This will render your opponent useless while you're causing some serious damage at the cost of nearly all of your mana after 2 rotations.
- Disappearing Act: Thin air, then Shadowburn. (Running afterwards optional.)
Personally, Thin Air should only be use outside of battle, when you have mana to spare. Since it costs 30 mana, I always use thin air, attack the nearest target with shadow burn to regain mana, then attack/run. All of the above combination work VERY well with thin air active. Try to get it active when you are at half health+. It's not going to be as useful when you are at lower health.
- Stun n' Run!: Shadowblade, immediate Shadowburn, run!
Normally used in VERY tight situations. Situations when you are at low health and Thin Air is about to expire, a Warrior has a Prepared Strike coming and you have Shadowblade on them, etc.
- Stun n' attack!:
When both you and your opponent come down to the last little bit of health, going defensive is always the best choice. However, you want to stun them JUST after you blind them so they have no possible chance of victory. This tactic is great for dealing the finishing blow on any class, especially if they are running to the safe zone.
Class vs Class
- Warrior:
These will be a nightmare if they know what they are doing. You want to go defensive when it comes to Warriors, so try your very best to get the first attack because you know that Imbalancing Strike is coming. If they get you down to low health, Stun n' Run!
- Berserker:
Not very hard at all to beat. You can either go hybrid or offensive, then defensive to take them out easily. When they get to low health, Stun n' Attack! Ninja can burst more damage than Berserker at high health. You'll want to avoid their Blood for Blood/Foregone Conclusion combo, which deals heavy damage and heals them, with your blind and stun towards the end.
- Mage:
Quite tricky. The best tactic is to go defensive because mages can do deadly spells that can kill you in about 5 seconds. You want to avoid those 1000+ crits.
- Rustbucket/Protosartorium/Enforcer:
Not really a challenge. Pure offensive is enough to dispose of this non-threatening class.
- Rogue/Leprechaun/Pirate/Alpha Pirate:
This is a Ninja's worst nightmare. This is where timing means everything. I tend to spam all attacks since most miss and you can adjust your rotation based on landed attacks. You must time you stun with their Footwork. I normally use Thin Air at the same time they use Footwork. You will most likely be able to live through their most powerful attacks towards the end because of the powered up Thin Air. When your Thin Air is about to expire, stun them! That will make them miss their Footwork. Then switch to offense and kill them while they are vulnerable!
- Ninja:
Other ninjas won't be much of a problem unless they know what they are doing. You want to go defensive because that is the best route, given that they can burst damage just like you. Getting the first attack is key in these battles.
If you don't get the first attack, and they unleash their burst (which they most likely will), you will have to go defensive, then switch to hybrid halfway through for the kill. If they dodge your hits, Stun (if possible) n' Run!
Ranger
This class has the most unique attack animation in the game. As the name implies, it can attack from a decent range. It requires you to be Rank 10 for the Sandsea faction.
Skills
- Mark For Death
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Rank Needed: 1
Mana Cost: 5 Mana
Cooldown: 1.5 Seconds
Type: Physical
Description: Deals light damage and applies Death Mark to your foe. Death Mark can stack up to 5 times unless consumed by a skill or allowed to fade, and reduces foe's damage up to 5% until consumed.
Effect lasts for 10 seconds.
- Scorching Arrow
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Rank Needed: 2
Mana Cost: 15 Mana
Cooldown: 10 Seconds
Type: Physical
Description: Launches a flaming arrow at your enemy, dealing moderate damage, also burning them with a fire Damage over Time (DoT). Fire damage over time can be increased by Death Mark.
The DoT lasts for 5 ticks over 10 seconds. If you miss this skill, Death Marks will not be consumed.
- Explosive Bolt
<Picture>
Rank Needed: 3
Mana Cost: 25 Mana
Cooldown: 3 Seconds
Type: Physical
Description: This arrow has an explosive tip which explodes on impact, dealing high damage. Nearby foes can also be caught in the explosion for minor damage. Damage increased by Death Mark.
May hit up to 4 targets. This skill will consume Death Marks, even if you miss.
- Vampiric Shot
Rank Needed: 5
Mana Cost: 40 Mana
Cooldown: 30 Seconds
Type: Physical
Description: You fire a magic arrow inscribed with runes at your target, dealing moderate damage to them but also applying a HoT effect to yourself. Both Damage and Heal Over Time effects are increased by Death Mark.
The HoT lasts for 5 ticks over 10 seconds. If you miss this skill, Death Marks will not be consumed.
- Ranger Secrets / Target Vitals
Rank Needed: 4
Type: Passives
Description: Increases Dexterity by 15% / Crit chance increased by 8%
Class vs Class
Just to point out, this class is meant and used better in PvE (Player vs Environment) situations. I suggest you do not use this class in 1 vs 1 PvP Action.
- Dragonlord:
Keep out of range from these guys. Use Mark For Death and Scorching Arrow. Sliding helps as well. Do not get in range of a Dragonlord, since that could mean your defeat.
- Shaman:
Another long ranged powerhouse that is just as good up close. Use the same strategy that is used against a Dragonlord.
- DoomKnight:
You don't have to get as far away from these guys as you do from Shamans and Dragonlords, considering DoomKnight doesn't have any ranged attacks. You can get close, and spam Auto Attack and Vampiric Shot. If you are getting destroyed up close, go ranged, slide, and use Mark For Death or Explosive Bolt.
- Rogue/Leprechaun/Pirate/Barber/Renegade/Alpha Pirate:
Good range on these guys, try and counter them with Ranger's luxurious range by using Mark For Death or Explosive Bolt.
- Warrior/Warlord/Pumpkin Lord:
They will most likely try to stun you. Seeing as these guys hit slow compared to Ranger, stay back and hit them with Mark For Death and Explosive Bolt. If you notice they do not have enough mana to use their stun, you can move in for the kill using Auto Attack and Scorching Arrow.
- Berserker/Beta Berserker:
They will most likely start off with Foregone Conclusion. Stay outside of their range, attacking them with Mark For Death and Explosive Bolt while you wait for Foregone Conclusion to wear off.
- Chaos Shaper:
Sliding and ranged attacks can take out a Chaos Shaper. Do not use your melee fighting tactics on Chaos Shapers. If used right and enhanced to its best, its crits can kill a Ranger very quickly.
- CardClasher:
Use the same tactics as above. CardClasher and Chaos Shaper are both high attack, and frequent critting machines. Just stay back and hit them with your ranged attacks, Mark For Death and Explosive Bolt.
- Guardian:
Guardian uses its furious crits against everyone. Literally no time to build up Marks, just start off with Vampiric Shot and the DoT. Then, stack Marks and use Bolt. This should crit the opponent, effectively killing them. If not, keep stacking Marks and keep your DoT up.''
- Starlord:
Like Ranger, Starlord is also a ranged class. Keep it at bay by keeping your DoT up, and using Marks/Explosive Bolt.
- Ranger:
Not much to say here. Whomever stacks up the most Marks and DoTs will inevitably win.
Rogue
Rogue is second only to Ninja, but easier to use!
Skills
- Viper's Kiss
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Rank Needed: 1
Mana Cost: 20 Mana
Cooldown: 3 Seconds
Type: Physical
Description: Instantly causes 50% weapon damage, and applies a poison dealing additional damage over 10 seconds.
Small DoT, lasting for 5 ticks over 10 seconds.
The low mana cost, DoT and synergy with Opportunity Strike (increase in damage) means this is a skill worth having active at all times.
- Opportunity's Strike
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Rank Needed: 2
Mana Cost: 10 Mana
Cooldown: 4 Seconds
Type: Physical
Description: Deals damage based on how much time is left on your application of Viper's Kiss. (less time means higher damage)
As you can tell, this is a Rogue's main damage skill. A lot of Rogues will use Viper's Kiss, then try to time this skill to do the most damage. However, the best tactic would be to spam this skill so that it would get stronger each hit instead of waiting for that last one.
- Stiletto
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Rank Needed: 3
Mana Cost: 20 Mana
Cooldown: 60 Seconds
Type: Physical
Description: Deals moderate damage, and applies Concealed Blade, causing your attacks to do more damage the lower your target's HP are (if below 40%) for 20 seconds.
Does absolutely nothing when enemy HP is over 40%, but increases damage every time you attack when HP is under 40%.
Ever wonder how so many people crit in well in the 3000s using Rogue? This is one of the reasons here. This skill is pretty much self-explanatory. An additional tip would be to use this skill repeatedly in long boss battles, since you can use it multiple times, even with the long cooldown.
Stiletto + opponent at low health + wide ranged weapon + last second of Viper's Kiss + Opportunity Strike + crits + 1 or more luck enhancements = HUGE damage!
- Footwork
<Picture>
Rank Needed: 5
Mana Cost: 25 Mana
Cooldown: 30 Seconds
Type: Physical
Description: Increases haste and chance to dodge by 30% for 15 seconds.
Exactly what it sounds like. Plus 30% evasion and haste for 15 seconds. This is what makes Rogue overpowered. The three skills above have great damage output, but being able to use them while rarely taking damage? That's insane!
- Elusive / Incisive
Rank Needed: 4
Type: Passives
Description: Dodge chance increased by 15% / Critical chance increased by 15%
Activation Combinations
- Dodging Attack: Footwork -> Viper's Kiss -> Opportunity's Strike (Spam) -> Stiletto when enemy HP is 40%
Great for general attacks. Footwork makes you near unhittable, Viper's Kiss is mainly for the Opportunity's Strike. With Stiletto, you can get up to 600 damage per hit.
- Annoying Tactic: Footwork -> Viper's Kiss -> Run -> Go back -> Viper's Kiss -> Repeat.
Footwork for obvious reasons. Viper's Kiss keeps a steady supply of damage going. This basically ensures your survival, while at the same time annoying the enemy.
- Mortal Wound: (When the enemy is at >100 hp left and decides to run) Viper's Kiss -> Wait.
Viper's Kiss will kill the enemy, even when they run away. This also means you can already go and focus on other tasks.
Notes
Rogue crits quite a bit, so why not use some luck?
All skills are physical, so use thief or fighter enhancements. Thief is recommended because you gain both mana and health when you dodge. Timing is everything with this class.
Class vs Class
- Ninja:
You're pretty evenly matched, but I would say Ninja has a slight advantage. For this reason, use the Annoying Tactic.
- Warrior:
This is tricky. Use the Dodging Attack, until Warrior does his Prepared Strike, then tag him with Viper's Kiss and run for your life!
- Mage:
Just use the Dodging Attack and you should be fine.
- Starlord:
Use Dodging Attack and get in a room with Brawlers or Restorers. This will restrict him to only use Pulse Compression and Pulse Dilation, which pretty much guarantees your win.
- Dragonlord:
Use Dodging Attack.
- Healer:
Use Dodging Attack.
- Rogue:
This comes down to level, health, and rank.
Starlord
Starlord is a verified class. Which means that, in order to buy this class, you must be upgraded in another AE game, MechQuest. The link to verify your MechQuest membership is here. Once you've verified that, join the /tower map in AQW. Inside, go to the far left until you see 3 shops. Click on the NPC ''Korin'' to buy Starlord.
Skills
- Pulse Compression
<Picture>
Rank Needed: 1
Mana Cost: 20 Mana
Cooldown: 3 Seconds
Type: Physical
Description: A moderately powerful ranged attack. Applies Pulse Compression, reducing the target's haste by 15% for 6 seconds.
This skill can be spammed because of its low cooldown. It deals decent damage, and also ties in with the other skills. Having Pulse Compression active on a target means Pulse Dilation will stun, and High Energy Arc will heal you. Just remember to keep an eye on your mana if you choose to spam this spell.
- Pulse Dilation
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Rank Needed: 2
Mana Cost: 25 Mana
Cooldown: 10 Seconds
Type: Physical
Description: If Pulse Compression is present on the target, deals heavy damage. Otherwise applies Shearing, a 3 second stun, but deals no damage.
This skill is VERY important to Starlord users. If Pulse Compression isn't on the target, you stun the opponent (but deal no damage). I usually start off with this skill and stun the opponent and THEN use Pulse Compression. The 3 second stun gives you time to run away, deal heavy damage, heal with High Energy Arc, or just spam skills.
- Energy Arc
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Rank Needed: 3
Mana Cost: 15 Mana
Cooldown: 3 Seconds
Type: Physical
Description: Emits a burst of energy that will hit up to 3 targets. Also applies Loose Energy, a moderate DoT, to each.
This skill can be used to take out multiple enemies. It also applies Loose Energy (a DoT effect). This skill is especially handy against Mages who uses Arcane Shield because the DoT ignores Arcane Shield's effect. You can also spam this skill due to its short cooldown and its low mana cost. Remember that, since it's and AoE skill, it can cause you to collect unwanted monster aggro, which may lead to defeat.
Also note that the DoT doesn't vanish when you die, which means that applying the DoT the moment you die may still secure you a kill if your enemy was very low on health as well.
- High Energy Arc
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Rank Needed: 5
Mana Cost: 20 Mana
Cooldown: 12 Seconds
Type: Physical
Description: Emits a burst of energy that will hit up to 3 targets, dealing less damage with each bounce, returning part of the damage dealt as HP if the target is affected by Pulse Compression.
This skill can be used as a normal AoE attack, though is best used in conjunction with Pulse Compression to get most out of it.
When used against an enemy who has Pulse Compression applied on them, you are healed for a small portion of the damage you dished out with High Energy Arc. This heal isn't major, but it can help when you find yourself in a tight spot.
- Evasive Maneuvres / Locked On
Rank Needed: 4
Type: Passives
Description: Dodge chance increased by 15% / Hit chance increased by 5%, critical strike chance increased by 10%
In my opinion, these are some of the best passives you can get. You get 15% dodge on top of your already high dodge % which means you are VERY hard to hit/stun. The hit % increase means you will have a better time facing those pesky Rogues/Ninjas and you also get a 10% critical chance boost. This means you will be able to dodge most of your opponent's hits and land more hits yourself, with more of those hits dealing extra damage (crits).
Tactics and tricks for PvP
- Stun and Run:
When you are low on life and Pulse Dilation is ready, just stun your opponent and run. This isn't a complicated tactic but it can save your life. Just make sure Pulse Compression is not active on your target.
- Pulse Explosion:
This combo costs a lot of mana, but with the correct timing this mana will be put to good use. You start off using Pulse Compression on your target, then using Pulse Dilation. This combo applies a debuff and then deals massive damage if Pulse Dilation connects. And with Starlord's passives, connecting hits shouldn't be a problem. Use High Energy Arc to heal yourself a bit if needed.
- Pulse Stun:
This is used to stun enemies and deal damage fast. You start off with Pulse Dilation, applying Shearing, for the 3 seconds stun. You then follow up with Pulse Dilation and Energy Arc spam to apply a constant DoT and deal massive damage to your enemy.
- Pulse Revenge:
When you are low on HP and mana (lower than 100 HP), and so is your opponent, you should use Energy Arc. Should you die, or should they run, the DoT will most likely kill them regardless before they can heal. (Not taking account possible healer classes on the opposing team.)
Build
Since all of the skills for Starlord are physical, I DO NOT recommend any wizard/healer/hybrid enhancements.
People use all luck because of the passive buffs for dodge % and crit/hit%. People also use thief (though that means losing out on higher crits), or a mix of thief and luck. I don't recommend fighter since I believe dodge is more crucial to this class. It's best to try some builds and see which one works best for you.
Warrior
Warrior is one of the post powerful classes in the game, even if it's underrated. With 2 offensive and defensive skills plus an offensive and defensive passive, it is the only class that completely counters the Rogue class's Footwork (one of the most feared ... ). It is also one of the easiest classes to use.
Skills
- Decisive Strike
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Rank Needed: 1
Mana Cost: 20 Mana
Cooldown: 2 Seconds
Type: Physical
Description: A powerful strike dealing 150% weapon damage.
This skill is basically self-explanatory. Used mostly whenever you'd like to do extra damage. This skill is often used in a combination with Prepared Strike to do a powerful 3-hit combo. I normally use this skill when I have extra mana after using prepared strike and stunning.
Use of this skill is what separates a good Warrior from the rest. Since Warrior has decent, but not perfect mana regain, this skill is what most Warriors would waste their mana on since it's spammable. It's quite obvious that both Prepared Strike and Imbalancing Strike are important, but limiting the use of this skill maximizes your damage output. A lot of Warriors are left to spamming this skill to do what little damage they can after about 2 rotations. SAVE YOUR MANA! This skill should NOT be used if you have below 30 mana unless you would otherwise die.
- Imbalancing Strike
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Rank Needed: 2
Mana Cost: 30 Mana
Cooldown: 10 Seconds
Type: Physical
Description: A precise blow which stuns your opponent for 4 seconds.
This skill is very useful since it disrupts the opponent's strategy and holds them in place for a Prepared Strike. This is a VERY decent move for using against other sliders/room hoppers. Why? Because it stops them in their tracks long enough for your Prepared Strike. Not only that, but it can incite your teammates to pile, or team up on your opponent to kill them before they have a chance to respond.
- Prepared Strike
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Rank Needed: 3
Mana Cost: 20 Mana
Cooldown: 15 Seconds
Type: Physical
Description: Your next two auto attacks taken within 5 seconds will be powerful critical hits which cannot be avoided.
A powerful attack that makes your next two Auto Attacks automatic crits!
This is the skill that warrior is known for, and it is also why it is a force to be reckoned with. Two unmissable crits? The first things that come to mind would be to use this against those horrid dodge classes that you seem to barely get a hit on.
It would be wise to include at least 2 or more luck enhancements in your build for the heavy damage. Because you're guaranteed to crit with Prepared Strike, anything that increases crit damage will see a lot of use.
- On Guard
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Rank Needed: 5
Mana Cost: 30 Mana
Cooldown: 30 Seconds
Type: Physical
Description: Challenge your opponent, dealing 75% normal damage, and taking 50% damage from all sources for 10 seconds.
This is a great skill and every battle (where your enemy is attacking you back), should be started with it. It is especially useful when you are up against two players as well. Most warrior ignore this skill, however, it is VERY important to include this skill in your rotation. Nerfing your opponent's damage output can be very disruptive to them, and possibly safe your life.
This skill gives you a 25% edge on your opponent, and should be used when being attacked at all times. However, if not being attacked, it would be wiser to skip this skill, as you'll be wasting mana.
Tips
Luck-out!
It's useful having an all-luck Warrior since you have a skill that is guaranteed to crit, making Warrior a powerful class.
Stun your opponent!
Always make sure to stun your opponent at the start of the battle. This gives you a chance to go all out for 4 seconds. Only use it if you have reserve mana, though.
Use Prepared Strike!
Prepared Strike, a Warrior's most useful skill, grants your next two Auto Attacks a 100% Crit chance. It won't miss either! Not only that, because Warriors regain more mana on crits, you're getting a lot of mana back so you can use more skills.
Class vs Class
- Warrior:
Interesting match, this fight tests how adept you are at using your Warrior class against the same class. Use your skills well, make sure you stun your opponent first before he/she stuns you. Use prepared strike often, and if you are in critical condition, use On Guard to lower your enemy's attack.
- Mage:
You won't have much trouble with this aside from the Ice Shard and Fireball combo. Stun the mage before he can attack you and just go all out!
- Rogue/Ninja:
This may be one of the hardest matches for a warrior, mostly because the rogue can dodge most of your attacks, except one!
Stun the rogue if you can, if you miss, immediately follow up with prepared strike. Since Prepared Strike won't miss, you will be able to hit the Rogue with a critical hit.
If you are up against a ninja, make sure you stun him/her before he/she can do that to you. Just follow the same procedure as above.
- Healer:
An irritating match. The Healer will just heal as much as he/she can. So you may want to start off by stunning them, rendering him/her unable to heal, then just go all out on attack.
- Paladin
Since a Paladin is a hybrid, it can both deal damage and heal itself. Just follow the same procedure as Warrior vs Healer and you can win.
Enhancements
Powerhouse Warrior
Helm: Fighter
Cape: Fighter
Class: Fighter
Weapon: Fighter
Critical Hitter
Helm: Luck
Cape: Luck
Class: Luck
Weapon: Luck
Evasive Type:
Helm: Thief
Cape: Thief
Class: Thief
Weapon: Thief
Balanced Type:
Helm: Thief
Cape: Thief
Class: Fighter
Weapon: Fighter
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