I was wanting to know what are the best tattoos for a phantom summoner? i intend to hunt with both my cubics and summons at all times, so was thinking maybe +4 int, +4 wit, and +4 dex?
Also gear for 40+...was thinking of going duals for the cubics, but not sure about armor. Should I go with robes or light? Thank you in advance for all your help ^.^
Cubic trigger rate being based off attack frequency is an ongoing debate - don't make your weapon choice based off it.
Especially at low levels, you will still be trying to tank for your summon - in C4, this will become nearly impossible thanks to beat soulshots. As such, for C Grade I would invest in light armour (plated leather is sufficient in defense, and thus best overall for its bonus). I believe that later on, you will want to use robes: They are simply superior to light in terms of surviving PvE. In PvP however, there is no question: You're squishy, make yourself as solid as you can. Light all the way.
For the weapon, all kinds of things will do - I've used an emi bow, a berserker blade, and a dark screamer, all doing nicely under the right circumstances. The big problem with the bow and the berserker was that my sleep was nigh useless with them - as a summoner, you have mana to waste on sleeping to interrupt (i.e. pushing a sleep on a mob trying to stun/silence/slow/para/whatever to interrupt its action), but if you're using a slow weapon, most mob actions will be long done by the time you finish your swing or attack.
I've also used duals and thought I felt an increase in cubic fire frequency, but I was aware of the rumour at the time, so it might well have been my imagination.
On a whole, I'd say go for a top C Grade - simply so you can use mammon to experiment with the various weapon types, and find out which suits you best.
i intend to hunt with both my cubics and summons at all times, so was thinking maybe +4 int, +4 wit, and +4 dex?
To that, I would say one part of your configuration is wrong and another is weird (not wrong, just weird). I'm assuming you meant +4int/-4men, +4wit/-4men, +4dex/-4str.
For your mental stats, you're thinking like a nuker. You aren't one. You won't have the MP to spam nukes like an ES or Warlock, since your summons don't recharge, and now that your servitor's damage will be fixed there's really no point in trying. Thus, for a PS, as a melee summoner, Int isn't a stat to raise--it's a throwaway stat. I'd recommend +4wit/-4int, and maybe +4men/-4int. Faster spellcasting is nice, and men actually is a decent stat, just not a critical one.
The +4dex/-4str seems odd to me. All I can assume is that you're going for increased attack speed to raise the cubic fire rate. Don't. You won't see any particular difference from such a small increase, and your damage will suffer for nothing. If you're going for pure PvE, you could try +4str/-4con (common in C3 but really not as good now). Otherwise, I predict the standard PS setup is going to include +4con/-4str and a health weapon--now that your summon can do damage properly, if you can afford the SS, your main job is to not die.
i would advise against going swords or dagger right off the bat, yoru accuracy isn't fantastic till 52 or so but yes a fast weapon is what you want, if you get a dagger also grab a shield for archers. Hunting will everything summoned will be expensive till about 48, after that your adena to XP ratio goes quite high. Definately light, plated leather is a nice set due to damage output, i myself went drake since i talk full time for my pet. That'll be harder in C4 but there are ways to make it work and still be efficient.
Do not take + int tatoos, they are a waste in the longterm. by the mid 50's your nukes will start failing and their damage will have already become disappointing. with those tats i'm assuming you were ogiong to drop wit, this is possibly the worst option you could do. You're pumping a dump stat in favor of one you really need.
Wit controls cast speed so it's very important as now you're mainly a healer/tank hybrid. if you're going to + dex i'd recommend dropping dex not con. lowering the con makes a noticable stun vulnerability though the HP hit isn't really that bad. Lowering str will lower your patk but if you rais your dex by an equal amount and are using a dagger or even duals the net result will be more damage .
Also be warned, stun cubic is fairly pathetic till about 48 and it's hard to level with shadow till 44 when you get haste.
with those tats i'm assuming you were ogiong to drop wit
Nah, she had suggested +4wit and +4int. Men must be the stat she was going to drop.
if you're going to + dex i'd recommend dropping dex not con.
You meant dropping Str, right? Otherwise you have me confused ;)
Lowering str will lower your patk but if you rais your dex by an equal amount and are using a dagger or even duals the net result will be more damage
Only with buffs, though. It's the multiplicative effects of the various crit chance / crit damage buffs that makes +dex shine, by itself it's rather unimpressive. If she parties a lot, +dex is ok, but for soloing +dex/-str will lower damage.
I'm going to repeat this for emphasis:
Also be warned, stun cubic is fairly pathetic till about 48 and it's hard to level with shadow till 44 when you get haste.
...in fact, I would say in retrospect that you shouldn't summon at all until 44. Instead, keep nuking with the weapon you were using at 39, your experience rate will be higher. Only pull out your summon after you're getting low on MP. Don't worry, your level 35 nukes still work beautifully in the early 40s. Naturally, if you go this route, you won't be doing -int until 44. Switch to a melee weapon at 44 when you can be smashing alongside a good summon.
If you like, grab a C-grade nuker weapon at 40 but switch it to a melee weapon with Mammon when you hit 44. Same difference.
Also, a minor tip: the servitor version of Might/Shield is the same spell as your level 7 mystic Might/Shield. For Servitor Physical Shield 1 and Mighty Servitor 1, just use the mystic ones, they're nicer.