I wouldnt use those.
At B grade you want Zubei Heavy, -3 con +3 str dyes and Tsu*SLS +4. You'll have 43 str, same as with BW, 30 dex, 2 more then with BW, and 40 CON, 2 less then with BW, but the HP bonus makes up for that. Also Enchanted Zubei to +3 on all bits is still cheaper then BW and will have more p def with the 5% bonus.
Errr yeah i know what CON does.
Ive tried both haste and focus duals. FOCUS IS SUPERIOR! You kill faster AND use less soul shots, dont listen to any one who says haste is better. 4% attack speed or 52 crit rate...err 52 crit please...
As for Going bw and -4 con +4 str, thats all fine if you never expect to take a hit in your life. Being a gladiator he will be likely to tank in most parties and he will want to pvp, everyone does, and in PvP health is superior to STR.
Please go with the set up i told you, Zubei set +3 and Tsu*SLS+4 and +3 str -3 con dye.
If you want to lvl up fast, you're partying most likely with a SE/healer, so HP doesnt really matter. And the faster you kill, the faster you lvl, to a certain point(waiting for respawn is boring).
And a 52 Gladi is 2 shots in PVP, so he'd better lvl up first, then start pvping. So using a pve build until 60+ isnt that bad, after that he can switch to a pvp build and be even remotely useful.
Errr yeah i know what CON does.
Ive tried both haste and focus duals. FOCUS IS SUPERIOR! You kill faster AND use less soul shots, dont listen to any one who says haste is better. 4% attack speed or 52 crit rate...err 52 crit please...
As for Going bw and -4 con +4 str, thats all fine if you never expect to take a hit in your life. Being a gladiator he will be likely to tank in most parties and he will want to pvp, everyone does, and in PvP health is superior to STR.
Please go with the set up i told you, Zubei set +3 and Tsu*SLS+4 and +3 str -3 con dye.
PvP? At 52? What's he gonna do, bleed on them?
Look it all depends on who you play with. If you are in a full party, con means nothing to you. More or less con isnt going to make a difference. You're going to die if the party dies or you're going to die if the healer doesn't notice the % your hp bar is at. Healers can't see total hp so it makes no difference. If you're going to TRY and tank for a pt as a gladiator (and I use the term tank loosely) maybe be concerned with the pdef.
If you're a solo player who has clan hall buffs all the time, BW, +str and maybe even +dex. VR is everything and while I dont generally suggest dropping con much, you have room, you're a human. It's still only risky if you get stunned. Keeping yourself alive will be entirely about leaching back exp from VR. The same goes for general parties. You just want to dish out damage. Mages/archers are gonna rip you up from a distance anyways so don't think you're gonna pull off miracles in pvp with 50 more pdef or 200 more hp. Be realistic. You're only 52 and you want to keep leveling. If you're tanking, take the pdef; if you're soloing take the damage.
Definately don't go for haste SA. Focus is free damage, haste costs you adena and melee classes are the MOST expensive because it's all about soulshots*price/kill. GL and happy hunting.
Maybe he wants to pvp people his level? he isnt the only lvl 52 out there omg. Im not suggesting he goes and fights lvl 76's ffs.
Speaking from EXPERIANCE not theory, as a gladiator you will be the parties meat shield and main agro holder, almost all the time. very rarely is there a true tank about. In which case zubei is your best friend. At his level 1 STR is about 25 p atk, thats pitiful for a gladiator. ZUBEI is the armour you want, all parts +3, with a con-3 str+3 dye aswell as crit duals.
Solo HP/Defense > Offense. Parties as main assist HP/Defense > Offense. The only case a gladiator can max out his attack is when he is always partied with a true tank class. Which is rare.
Weapon: Sls+Tsu is no brainer
Jewels: BO or C grade (jewels are not prior. to can endure some hits)
Tats: +4str -4con (priority);+4dex -4con (you can wait a bit here)
Armor: Either BW heavy or PL (PL adds more dmg, more str. more attack speed, more crit than BW). Just don't solo in PL. If you can afford it it's very good in grps. W/ VR2+ and haste2 you will never have any troubles keeping your HP even if you get hit quite a bit.
Pre-ToI parties mobs don't deal massive amount of dmg, so even a sensible nuker can battle heal you if things go worse.
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No PvP until you get decent TSS which happens in the mid 60's.
You repeated everyone else congrats. & Gladiators are diverse if you still need more advice go to player guides and read the Gladiator Guide. My strong opinion tho is to ignore everyone else and go Zubei Heavy+ with Str+3 Con-3 Dye.
Go zubei, even tho its ugly. Its cheaper, and the pdef is better as soon as you hit lvl 55 (armor mastery + %pdef). Duals are easy, unless you want to be a wierd glad and use a 2h sword or a blunt (not reccomended, but 2h sword is interesting). You can also go Light Armor, but that is also not reccomended. So:
Zubei+BO+SLS*TSU
Dyes only if you find it necessary. If you -con stay away from stunners, you will be meat.