As a BD is more a party-support type class i think more p.def from IC would benefit both yourself and your partymembers more with being able to survive longer than a drac set would. Both for PvP and PvE. With S duals buffs+dances you have quite decent dps already without needing drac to boost it.
Its just my thoughts but i could be wrong so if there's a proper BD that knows a li'l more about this class than i do please correct me ^^
most just use drac because the extra pdef is really meaningless, with 3k hp you drop fast enough anyway, and the +stats on drac are much more beneficial to you as a dd, and the -2 str on ic really hurts...
most just use drac because the extra pdef is really meaningless, with 3k hp you drop fast enough anyway, and the +stats on drac are much more beneficial to you as a dd, and the -2 str on ic really hurts...
its -2 DEX actually and most ppl go with drac due to the weight limit bonus.:p
most just use drac because the extra pdef is really meaningless, with 3k hp you drop fast enough anyway, and the +stats on drac are much more beneficial to you as a dd, and the -2 str on ic really hurts...
It really depends what you think your main job is. On HB for example, with the "standard" -con +str many bd have (because it works pretty well at lower levels), you will die. A lot. We're talking one hit by mob, nearly no hp left, second hit, splat. It got boring after a while. So I decided for myself to go more a "survive, so the party has dances all the time, I'm not the main DD anyway" route. Which means, sacrifice some damage output for more CON and defense. Without -con tats, with IC set and full buffs (btb cov vit) and +4 S duals, around 11k hp are quite possible for a BD - which means no more dying as often, and also a higher party hp pool for balance life. Also of course IC set has one more armor piece which you can put resists on. That's also nice. With 150 element duals, damage output is still decent even without +str tattoos. If you want to go all the way, put in maybe a +2con -2 dex tattoo (hey, it's only ca. 10 attack speed and 2 run speed), and you are scratching 12k hp AND you have a nice weight limit for shots/pots. Like I said, it's all about what role you want to play - more DD or more support class.
*sigh*
some people here dont even know what bonuses the armor sets give... cant take those suggestion seriously.
im 80 SD and for pve/pvp IC is better. +2 str -2 dex gives u nice dmg boost but u do lose some speed however its not notisable. as a darkelf your hp is always an issue so getting as much defense and hp bonus as possible is always a plus.
ull rarely see an experienced bd use only drac only for both pvp and pve. not saying drac is bad however.
for duals ofcourse use +4 or more if u can afford S duals with element. yet another cp and hp bonus to keep u going in pvp and pve. heck even mp bonus doesnt hurt right. ;)
In Drac, you have slightly less dps than e.g. in Tallum and less pdef, but you can put attribute stones on the armor. IC set has much higher pdef (ca. 400 more) and more hp than Drac, and a noticeable decrease in dps. Like I said, imo staying alive and keeping dances up > dealing damage (a SD is only a "secondary DD" anyway, so the difference in damage output does not really matter)
most just use drac because the extra pdef is really meaningless, with 3k hp you drop fast enough anyway, and the +stats on drac are much more beneficial to you as a dd, and the -2 str on ic really hurts...
Most BDs use IC not Drac. (where the hell u got that from?)
The extra P.Def is what will help you survive long enough to keep your party up with Dances.
Especially when u have some Heavy Armor Masteries (including the Critical Dmg. Reducing passive associated with it).
IC set gives +2 STR -2 DEX. (not -2 STR...)
+8% P.Def (huge difference from Drac. Light set)
If im not wrong, the DLE*Tal is better than Dynasty or Icarus Duals because of their pvp stats so those might be wortwhile to pimp out.
if you can afford S80 duals by all means go for it. its got an insane crit bonus of 109 crit, patk is amazing, and the increase in maximum HP by 10%. your only missing 5% hp and 30% cp which isnt much considering we already got low cp so its not much what youll be missing.
imo Drac. Bow +++ more important than Duals for BD.
you have to be really overpowered BD with Epics, 81 Books etc and +++ Duals to be able to deal decent dmg to kill people with melee.
IIRC JohnnyB, you are duelist from Teon.
So, BD's are not so weak with duals...ok they don't have burst damage skills, but usual dps from normal hits is not so low.
And to be honnest I believe that killing enemies during mass (party) pvp is not primary task, much more important are dances, debufs (hex, demonic blade dance), crowd control (medusa, root). Thats why I believe that BD is perfect secondary main assist (MA).
And to kill enemies only afterwords.
And btw, if you compare S dual +4 and drac bow +4 blade dancer dps, duals will win.
The only reason to use drac bow is when you are imobilized or have to deal some damage to fast enemy.
IIRC JohnnyB, you are duelist from Teon.
So, BD's are not so weak with duals...ok they don't have burst damage skills, but usual dps from normal hits is not so low.
And to be honnest I believe that killing enemies during mass (party) pvp is not primary task, much more important are dances, debufs (hex, demonic blade dance), crowd control (medusa, root). Thats why I believe that BD is perfect secondary main assist (MA).
And to kill enemies only afterwords.
And btw, if you compare S dual +4 and drac bow +4 blade dancer dps, duals will win.
The only reason to use drac bow is when you are imobilized or have to deal some damage to fast enemy.
I'm a GhostHunter on Franz.
DPS is not bad with Duals BUT u have to chase your opponent on PvP (and many classes can kite you) while with Bow u kill from range with much better spike dmg.
Especially BDs with Rogue Sub that have Long Shot passive sub skill.
Ofc BDs are not meant to kill people but assisting on Robes and Light Armor (when they don't miss) they do pretty well.
I'm a GhostHunter on Franz.
DPS is not bad with Duals BUT u have to chase your opponent on PvP (and many classes can kite you) while with Bow u kill from range with much better spike dmg.
Especially BDs with Rogue Sub that have Long Shot passive sub skill.
Ofc BDs are not meant to kill people but assisting on Robes and Light Armor (when they don't miss) they do pretty well.
i have to agree with JohnnyB on this one. only time i use duals is if im fighting a tank or something with ridiculous arrow resist. duals arent as effective if pvp because the enemy can take one step away and u have to play catchup before u can continue dealing damage. with a bow your basically doing damage from the time they get in range to the time the fight is over and the only way the enemy can stop u doing damage is if he kills u or runs away far enough to where ur bow cant reach. not only this but as a DE you wanna kite as much as possible to reduce melee damage (if your not fighting a mage or archer) because the odds of your enemy having more hp than u is pretty high.