I have a gladiator, I have a Hawkeye, and I have a Shillen Elder. I know how to level each and even use them if you can believe it. What I do not like is everyone and their brother thinks they are right to say that a Gladiator sucks, because thats horse [edit]. :mad:
Gladiators are a very good class in PvE and especially in castle sieges. I dont care who you are, it is laggy in a castle siege and I am on a 3meg DSL line getting horrific lag down by the castle walls before we break in.
I can see why people think a Gladiator sucks in PvP though. 1 vs 1 in that stupid arena is not PvP, that is a controled environment for people to have at it. PvP in my honest opinion, is not so much castle sieges, its when you are out doing whatever it is you do and are at war with another clan. To me, that is PvP unless its a gank squad vs one person. Then its a gank squad, so keep a Bsoe on hand if your warring and your the one person.
Things to remember about a Gladiator is we can use two things, Duals or Blunts.
People seem to forget that Gladiators can use both Duals and Blunts, and also get skills with either or both if you want to waste SP doing both at the same time. However, if you go Duals, then your SP is very precious so do NOT waste it on anything but Dual skills unless you like buying SP scrolls.
Also in PvE a Glad "can" do pole parties. I have a lvl 60ish Gladiator, and I also have a lvl 60ish Shillen Elder. Anymore I just keep my Gladiator solo and farm the greens and light blues in the catacombs/necros solo.
In recap, Gladiators are good DDs, can Off-tank, get skills in BOTH Duals & Blunts, and are very good in 3 to 5 man groups. Downside to Gladiators is, you are not a tank so dont even try unless you know exactly what your doing because there is no room for error if you want to excel, while you deal excellent damage with duals your blunts dont, your Mdef is low so stick with the lowbie Cgrade jewelry until you hit Agrade and then get Agrade to save adenas, and never ever think you can beat a nuker or PR because you cant simple as that. And yes I know Gladiators do beat nukers and PRs, but those are far and few between. Also the biggest thorn in my side other than them two classes is the god awful DA with that one freeze move for 15 seconds where I cant do jackall, and with low Mdef it lands all the time. So the 3 things to watch for is the big wow effects from nukers, the bow users, and the lightning thingy from the sky from DAs.
Hope this helps people out if they think glads suck, because they dont. Glads are like every other class, they have their strengths and also glaring weaknesses. But in all, funnest class in the game in my honest opnion. And if you play on the Lionna server, PM Avakar (thats me) for some fun. As of June 7, 2006 im lvl 60ish with my own SE to buff and even heal me if your in the same area as me I will buff you, but im not coming to you lol. :D Also no disrespect is intended to glads or the above classes mentioned. As a Glad myself i generally dont like ranged and nukers in PvP, especially in that arena :p
My bad, getting in a hurry to finish the post up because I spoke with a lowbie trying to decide between going Gladiator or not. Basically I told him whats in this post and I havent heard back from them. Sorry sorry I got it wrong though. :confused:
While I am thinking about it though I have a thought/question/idea whichever you prefer to call it.
For a Gladiator to try and use:
Armor:
Nightmare Light Set
Weapon:
Dual +4+ Dama*Dama
or
Dual +4+ Dama*Kesh
Tattoo:
+4Str -4Con
+4Dex -4Con
Now I realize with -8 Con just from the tattoos is a very bad thing for a Gladiator, and on top of that -1Con from the NM Light Set = a whopping -9 Con. The upside is for the Glads that grind solo alot like me. The upside is you deal damage harder and faster with the +4 Str +4Dex and also the +1 Dex from the NM Light set.
Now I know what you might be thinking. The NM Light is for dagger users only. I am here to say that is total horse [edit]. Nowhere does it say for dagger users only. And the fact that some people have tried that argument on me is proof of their either ignorance or my own stupidity hehe. But seriously here is a copy and paste of the Lineage 2 sites text on the NM Light Set:
Upper and lower body armor. Produces the following effects when worn with helm of nightmare, gloves of nightmare and boots of nightmare (light): M. Def. +4%, Sleep and Hold Resistance +70%, Restores 3% of melee damage inflicted on the enemy to oneself, DEX +1, and CON -1.
You have to admit though the bonus Mdef and sleep/hold resists are a very nice plus. And on top of that the VR like effect of the Sets 3% health restore with every hit. Can we say VR3 from SE & the NM Light Set for a pole user = very nice HP restoration????? Just a thought, and also for Glads in PvP the resists and Mdef are very good too, as is the HP restore. I have a brain and im using it... sort of. :D
Now I ask for some feedback or even modifications to my idea. I am not the cookie cutter glad, I am one who wants to be at least a little different than the next glad. I even use a pole solo, and I highly recommend this to other glads grinding to hit the catacombs/necros with a SE and hit the light blues and light greens. If you have the Zubie Set or BW set and a Lance with Crit Stun you are well-to-do in my opinion. ;)
In the front rooms of Apostate, those should be light green or even light blue if your trying to AOE them. Basically bo straight and follow the corridoor tot he next room and youll have the front, the middle, and a middle-small room if your lucky to pull from. Best of luck to you if your AOE and duo with a SE. :)
The NM Light set could work, but, theres better options for like armor, like DC. 4% P Attack and 4% Attack speed kind of beat out the inherent 3% vamp.
Also, -9 Con isnt horrible. I know glads who are -10 and seem to do well, although i havnt gone as far as to try it out myself yet. I can imagine its great for PvE with mobs that done stun, but, its seems scary for PvP.
The fastest glad tatt setup is -11 con (+5 str or dex, +4 the other, and a +2/-2 con armor set like Tallum heavy). You will level very fast this way. If you do this, HP duals suggested. Re armor, best armor to wear A grade is tallum heavy, unless you are going to fight a mage, in which case tallum robes work best (8% mdef makes a world of difference). Good luck.
My clan leader has a great set up. +4STR +4DEX -8CON with tallum and dual kesh...when he pops a haste pot or has a PP to give him haste and zerk, he throws on duelist spirit and dang does that kid move. To top it off sometimes he get BD buffs, all I know is he practically kills as fast as my SpS, on some mobs he is even faster...it just looks like a huge cloud when he hits from the SS.
I have written negative posts regarding the class in the past, but it was always in reference to PVP.
PVE they rule.
Another great 60+ spot is ascetics. I am -8 CON but I use a Talum Glaive with Health SA. Pull entire rooms with a SE stationed that has bless the body 5 SA on staff, easy EXP.
And the attack speed gets better. I have Tallum armor, dualist spirit and +4 dex. With haste 2, zerk and a BD I cant see my arms. I want to borrow kesh*dama just to see it! :D