Im levling up an SwS and am atm an elven knight, that means that all i got for attack skills is autoattack and the common Power Strike / Mortal Strike / Power Shot. I have tried playing with a dagger, a sword and a bow, and basically i seee no difference at all on my performance. I end up sitting just as much from all 3, but i sometimes kill people faster with dagger/bow. So basically i am now coming here for some help with all the weapon types and what is best.
What i know is:
Daggers crit high but have low accuracy
Swords are very balanced weapons
Blunts have high accuracy but crit very low
2h weapons and Bows have a high p attack and are slow/medium speed.
I do know i have an increased damage with swords and blunts, but does that make up for the increased in P.attack 2h weapons and Bows have? Or should i run around with a dagger instead, since it also kills fast ?
Gl leveling that class, one of the toughest to solo.
What weapon do you have now?
Go with what you have, dont use SS ( unless its the newbie SS ) and just go with it, make some cash action, then sell your weapon and buy a new one. But i need to know what weapon you have now.
see, i twobox, (i use two accounts windowed) with an elven oracle and an elven knight of same level.
its my newest project, and im not used to melee fighting.
i am using a sword. i crit a lot, i miss sometimes, and im generally not killing fast, which means i can take the time to switch to my oracle, so i can heal myself.
i havent had downtime EVER so far, albeit we are both a meager lvl 23.
. I end up sitting just as much from all 3, but i sometimes kill people faster with dagger/bow.
Daggers crit high but have low accuracy
Swords are very balanced weapons
Blunts have high accuracy but crit very low
2h weapons and Bows have a high p attack and are slow/medium speed.
I'm not sure you're having a problem with your weapon. Make sure you are killing mobs whose name is GREEN to you first of all.
A melee with either a sword or dagger isn't going to have a lot of downtime on green mobs at your levels.
That's assuming you have best-in-class.
If you goal is fast leveling stay away from bows. Since you get zero blunt skills that's probably not your first choice.
On low melees I personally like swords but have leveled with a dagger in the past, too.
If you're sitting a LOT as a melee then I'm guessing your in the wrong spot! The only reason you are sitting is cause you're getting the crap knocked out of you--waiting for HP regen. You don't need your mana to attack (powerstrike isn't worth using except as last over-hit for exp bonus).
Pick lower mobs first--scout a little. Solo is gonna be tough with a relatively weak melee (light elf). Perhaps that argues for the dagger--idk.
The only light elves I leveled past 1'st class change I took scout so they have bows now--I leveled them both with falchions 1-20 though.
You can do okay with good weapon at 22 in ruins of despair on Franz. On your lvl 12 elf, take him back to the area around starter town for another level--grind up goblins and such for a bit longer. The elven forest, if you have top NG weapon, is better imo from 14-16 or 17....then you go to the Elven Fortress to finish out before class change.
That's my 2 cents.
as drakkos tried to point out, you dont have any attack skills -- at all.
better to go with highest accuracy and damage per swing. i.e. blunt or sword. i choose swrod cause it crits mroe often than blunt, albeit at lower power. youll miss often with arrows, and wont crit much. youll still be able to sing with a bow tho, so after lvl 40, take what you need to deal the damage, but prepare to face the consequences of having no good passives to back yourself up.
As elven knight u have sword-blunt mastery. Sword is very ok, and u can use ur mana only to heal urself (learn that skill). U can use blunt too, and pick mobs weak against blunt attack. See this page, l 2 w h (separated letters and without the dot com to avoid censor)... go to tools, and see grind tips. U will find mobs in the lvl u want, with the weak point u need.
When i made my SwS I had a One Handed Sword with a Shield. For an Elven Knight to get the advantage, they block more attacks with their Shield so they can get more attacks in with their Sword over time. Its a different aspect comparing to an Palus Knight or something. Plus instead of buying overpriced Brigadine, buy Heavy Mithril. (Mithril BP, Mithril Gatiers, 'Helmet' & Hoplon (Shield)) It still gives +126 HP, and the whole set costs the same as a Brig Top & Legs.
thinking back to the D-Grade days I found that Sword&Shield worked very well and as a matter of fact I am using a "Focus" Keshanberk´&Shield still.
A SWS is a hard class to solo, as is the Elven Knight because you lack offensive power in terms of both Strength and special attacks.
It will get better once you advance through the levels as both Song of the Hunter and Song of the Earth greatly improve your fighting abilities - but never think that they form you into veritable Tank or DD...
Yes, you could tank raids until you turn SWS and yes, you can contribute some damage to the whole party because you are a frontline buffer, but in reality, raid groups will always chose Human Knights and their high-level classes before picking you (its a CON thing in the end).
If you become frustrated, remember this: you are easily the fastest heavy armor class around (extended speed of over 200 possible once in the right b-grade set and with DEX build) and you should not compare yourself to DD`s and tanks, since you are a buffer class after lvl 40...with the highest DEX and CON of them all and second only to the BD in damage output;)
Advise:
- Brig is too expensive atm - stick to whatever heavy set you can get your hands on
- Don`t try light armor or robes - you are a frontline buffer and WILL get hit; best thing is to put as much protection between you and your enemy as possible.
Light armor did work ok untill they reduced Song of the Water from +10 evasion to a mere +3 btw, but Robes never cut it because high starting MP mean little if you can not regenerate them and I can tell you, a SWS is not too high on the Elders "Recharge me pls" list anyway.
- If you finally turn SWS try avoiding parties that have a BD in them - once again most parties will want you once Hunter becomes available, but being SWS in such an enviroment is amongst the dullest and most thankless post imaginable.
Because of the BD/SWS nerf and the fact that most parties value Offense>Defense you are little more then a weak asset :(
- Most groups will advise you to use a 2-h sword as to contribute as much as possible to the party damage - an ok option if you have the cash.
On the other hand remember that you sacrifice your only advantages - high attack speed and shield blocks- for that...and especially in your lower 40`s chances are good that you start pulling aggro from your DD`s by accident, simply because your songs create aggro.
As one of my 75+ colleagues once said "A badly played SWS is of little use to his party - but a DEAD SWS is of no use at all!"
- Self-buffs are very important if you want to solo - good thing is that you can self-buff yourself to a workable degree without a Prophet or Elder...you still want the bffs they have to give, trust me ;)
- Don`t take "Charm" - simply a waste of SP as the skill works now
- Join a party at lower levels and don`t try to solo, especially once you turn into a SWS
- Duals may look nice, but they don`t work out for SWS as we lack both the masteries and relevant skills to put them into proper use.
They are also quite expensive and need to be over-enchanted to at least +4 to activate their respective SA.
- "Focus" SA, combined with Song of the Hunter and your high DEX work well as far as additional damage is concerned
If you have more questions please tell me so - I can`t help you in terms of end-game, but as far as the mid-60`s I will readily supply you with any help I can.
Btw...you have realized by looking at your SWS skillset that this class is primarily ment for group&mass PvP support and not for solo play and PvE? ;)