Farewell Epith ~ 1.11 Gems in One Week

Well, my one week stay has come and gone and as I stated before, I thoroughly enjoyed myself noobing it up on an unfamiliar server.  I came in with nothing, used no SparkCash (aside from a Beauty Shop Coupon), and am retiring with a decent amount of money in the bank.  My inspiration for this whole journey was the numerous postings I see complaining about how expensive it is to get established on a server, I intended to prove otherwise, and I think I've accomplished that.

This post is actually a week late, but I haven't logged back in to Epith until today for the sake of taking some screenshots and doing some last minute vending.  Keep in mind too that this was before the recent patch that increased dungeon drop rates tremendously, your results now should actually be better.

So how did it go?  Pretty well I think.  A lot can be learned for the budding adventurer here.  Hopefully someone will be able to follow along with what I did and get themselves set up to be financially successful in whatever server they choose.

Where to begin?  Well with the sword and shield of course!  Starting from scratch, the Fighter is the best choice for the new adventurer who finds themselves with nothing but lint in their pockets and a mystery vault in their inventory.  With the highest base HP and DEF along with decent damage even with a 1H, the Fighter class is truly ideal.  Remember, this is starting from zero, if you're financing gears using another "main" then your experience will be different.


The Build: The build I used was full STR.  I wanted as much damage output as possible to make up for the fact that I will not be enhancing gear into the "break" point of enhancing, that meant a maximum of +5 on my one-hander.  With how I planned out this character along with other alts to do my alchemy, the STR build was fine.  If you want to add some DEX, END, or SPR, by all means, that's your choice.  In my opinion, it's easy to add Aim/Evasion/HP/DEF via T1 or T2 buff scrolls, no need to alter your build to boost these.

The Empowerments: Since this character will only be used for farming low level bosses using a sword and shield, I fully empowered Slice and Dice for both damage and cooldown.  Remaining points could possibly go into Concussive Charge duration.  Again, she has no other purpose than low level farming.

Crafting: Potion crafting needs to be started immediately.  Since potions become the life-blood of the "farmer" character, my Fighter needed to be able to make these while she was out adventuring.  Stone production and Scroll production I left to two other alts that did nothing but stay in Roumen to craft these items from materials transferred through storage.  All the scrolls and potions I crafted, I kept for my own use.  Stones were also made, but I did sell some T1 Lix to add some additional income.  If you are ahead of the game and get on your crafting early, this saves you a tremendous amount of money.  It also keeps you alive out in the field, making your adventure time longer and more profitable.  I'm also on the cusp of T2 Elrue which is exactly where I need to be given my character's level.

What I Didn't Do That May Surprise You:  Many people suggest farming the Ratman repeat for easy money being that you can sell the town scrolls and what not.  However, since I only had a self-imposed one week deadline, I needed to make more money sooner.  I did do the Ratman repeats for the EXP gain, but banked all of the town scrolls.

Academy Rewards:  As stated in a previous posting, this is essential to getting yourself geared early on.  I was able to join a good academy that had excellent rewards, all told I was able to earn 12.6g leveling from 10-30.  It could have been a bit more, but my academy's funds dried up by the time I hit 29.  I had one level with no reward and another level with a fairly small 300s reward from another academy.  I stumbled upon the first academy by chance, they were roaring to join, so I did.  Thankfully, their rewards were true to what they were advertising.  You can also check the rewards for your academy at the Guild Manager in any town.  Be advised that you need to join the academy before you can verify what they are offering.  Also, you need to be a member of that academy for 1 hour before you can leave, unless you request getting kicked out, though most guilds I've seen don't accommodate such requests so I never ask.  If you do your research and ask around, you should be able to earn quite a bit here.

Mentor/Apprentice:  Just as important as the Academy rewards are the Mentor/Apprentice rewards through the Holy Promise system.  The most important thing to earn here are the 1 hour Hunter's War Rant cards.  These are extremely precious to you as you try to earn your own money.  These should be saved for when you are sure you can dedicate the time to farming.  Use these in conjunction with a high-level Endure buff from a 100+ Holy Knight if possible.  The better your survivability, the more able you are to take advantage of your drop-rate boosted time.

Cards:  Cards at this early stage in the game are truly a luxury item.  Valuable cards should be sold, not used, unless you have many multiples of cards that give you a title and stat boost.  Personally, I stuck with the Quest Expert title which gives a 1.3% increase to HP/SP and +10 to both Physical and Magical Defense.  The Slime S and King Crab A cards I received, I sold for 5g and 10g, respectively.  I also sold various other cards like Hungry Wolf for 3-5g while some others sold at 100-300s.  Again, an easy moneymaker for the newbie.  Look around the marketplace and see what the prices at which cards are being vended for.  If you're unsure, ask in your academy.  More on cards later.

Get Geared:  I was fairly lucky in that I was able to find a +0 level 20 Bone Top in a vendor for 10g.  I only had 8g at the time, so I whispered the vendor hoping he would accept my 8g, which he did.  The level 20 blue shirt, even at +0 is a huge improvement over the white NPC armor.  Just in base form, it has nearly double the DEF and also gives a +200HP bonus.  If you can find one, do whatever it takes to get it, you will need it.  I spent nearly all the money I had on just the shirt, but I was confident that I could earn it all back and then some.  At this point, you should have somewhere in the ballpark of 220 base DEF.   If you are unable to find a Bone Top, getting a decent buff is essential.  Moral here:  You often have to spend money to make money.

Enhancement:  By now, you've accumulated tons of old dusts from killing Greenkies, Phinos and the like.  You will need to start enhancing all of your gear.  With kind of a bare-bones approach to farming, you need every extra bit of DEF you can muster out of your gear.  Everything should be at a minimum +3, while going to +5 on your essential pieces, namely shirt, shield, and weapon (I did not enhance my NPC pants because at level 20 they are T2, I did not find Bone Pants which would have been a T1 enhancement).  Hats and boots give fairly low DEF gains even at +5, so take care of the bigger pieces first.  If you need more dust for stones, you can buy stacks of dust directly from Nina in Elderine then transfer them to your stone maker through storage.  Same goes for Lix[1].  If you find yourself out of Lix[1] and out of dusts, you can opt to just purchase the Elrue[1] from Kenton in Elderine of Pey in Roumen.  They sell them for 2.700s for a stack of 10.  If you've got a bunch of extra LQ Copper Ore and don't mind vending stones, you can also just buy the Elrue[1] and craft them into Lix[1] and sell them at a decent profit.  Check the other vendors around you though and price accordingly.  With a cost of only 810c +  3 LQ Copper Ore, you can easily vend at 20-40s and make a sizable (relatively) profit.  Copper Ore, you need to farm it yourself, take a pickaxe and go, don't be lazy.

What to Farm - Preparation:  Epith's Mara in Sea of Greed was always occupied whenever I went past there, so it was off to the Marlone Clan Hideout, where I intended to go anyway.  Before setting out you should have a ton of HP/SP potions (think 200 HP/100 SP, if you can manage another 50 T2 HP, that's great).  If you're running short on materials to craft them, go ahead and buy from Nina.  You will pick up quite a bit in Marlone Clan Hideout (MCH), but not unless you have your rant active.  Enough potions should be made that you are able to continuously spam them while fighting King Marlone.  Your DEF is not that high and you will get stunned and you will have a bleed debuff almost constantly.  Altogether there are seven King Marlones waiting to be farmed.  Respawn time on each is about 5 minutes from time of death.

What to Farm - Execution:  If you have your level 25 Mystery Vault Raccoon, great, it's ideal for fast travel within the MCH going from KM to KM and avoiding the other mobs along the way.  If not, then go with the hobby and do the best you can.  Try to avoid as many battles along the way as possible as these not only cut into your 1 hour War Rant boost time, but also heavily deplete your HP/SP stones and potions.  If mobs are following you, try to pull them as far as you can, dismount and kind of "wiggle", basically just move back and forth a bit.  Many of the mobs will give up and turn around, others may run up and hit you once then leave.  Unless they hit you multiple times, don't bother fighting them.  Remember, your target here is King Marlone, not the rest of his gang.  Fight what you have to, avoid the rest of the battles as best as you can.

What to Farm - The Target:  King Marlone will always have 2-3 minions surrounding him.  Once you approach one of them, they will all chase after you because their aggro is initially linked together.  In these fights, you should kill them in the following order:  Marlone Archer, Marlone Fighter, Marlone Megaton, King Marlone.  The Archer has the faster attack rate and also has a bind skill that locks you in place for a few seconds, take her out first.  The Marlone Fighter has a short stun skill and does decent damage.  The Megaton is basically just a grunt, he has no special skill to watch out for.  If you are able to confidently switch targets during battle, try to save your Concussive Charge (stun) for KM himself.  He will stun you often. If you're down to just the 1 vs 1 against KM, you can use your Rest House while stunned.  This helps alleviate some of the damage by recovering your HP a bit.  Just mouse over the stun debuff icon so you'll know when to pop back out of your house and immediately go back on the attack.  Always stun when you can and try to keep Bone Slicer on him since that will slow down his attacks meaning, hopefully, less stuns of his own thrown your way.  Another reason why the Bone set is great for Fighters farming KM, the two piece effect increases Bone Slicer's duration.  Another note:  if you do not kill all of his surrounding minions, he will not respawn.  The 5 minute respawn timer begins upon the death of the last mob in his grouping, whether it is KM himself or a Megaton, Archer, or Fighter.  Be a responsible and courteous farmer, please kill all minions.

What to Farm - The Payoff:  Remember how I said cards are a luxury?  This is the biggest example of such.  The gear that KM drops is honestly, not all that valuable, but the cards can be.  The Marlone S (Marlone - King of Thieves) card can be sold for 40-60g, while the Marlone-A (Marlone) card can be sold for 20g, the final A card that he drops "Path of Sin" can be sold for about 5-15g.  The Marlone A card does grant a title and a good bonus to both damage and attack, a 2.5% increase in both and is desirable.  The S card will sell to collector's as well as the Path of Sin.  Most armors from KM can be sold from 1-10g depending on stats and class, typically fighter and mage stuff sells for more than the other 3 classes.  Rings can be valuable based on their stats, END/DEX preferred as base stat along with huge bonuses to them.  The weapons will also sell from about 300s-3g depending on stats, number of slots, and class.

Things to Keep in Mind:  While more expensive, it's better to use T1 HP pots to heal yourself rather than your HP stones.  Normally this is not the case, but because your stone capacity is so limited, use the stones when you need that bigger boost in HP recovery, use the T1 HP potions mid-battle.  Plan to carry about 4 stacks of these if possible.

Treasure Chests abound in the Marlone Clan Hideout

Other Loot:  There are some other decent cards to get in the MCH, including Grave Robber A (Tenacity Towards Treasure), Grave Robber B (The Gold Miner), Mage Book S (The Mage Book of Doomed Spirits), Mage Book A (The Mage Book of Darkness), Mage Book B (The Mage Book of Light).  There are also Treasure Chests galore in there, the best items being the occasional pet (500s-1g).

The Verdict:  All told, here's the bottom line.  One week of adventuring, averaging less than 2 hours per day, I amassed a total of 1.11 Gems, with still a ton of items remaining unsold.  My highest level character remains at level 30, the remaining are two level 1s, used strictly for productions.  The main character could be remade over and over with similar, if not better (because of the increased dungeon drop rate) results.  For someone without any SparkCash investment and new to the server, it's a great way to get your feet on solid ground financially.  The character's equipment can easily be passed along as you remake your farmer character once his/her War Rants have expired.  It's a bit of work, but there's potential there.

The Disclaimers:  Your results may vary tremendously depending on the server you choose to play on.  Epith has one of the highest populations and that helps when factoring in prices.  On a lesser populated server, items such as cards may not sell as well simply because there are less players.  It is up to you to analyze your own server's marketplace and see where you can fit in.  Epith and Bijou both suffer, surprisingly, from very few vendors selling gear of low to mid quality for the level 20-35 player.  This is a market that can be tapped into.  Not everything you sell needs to be uber godly, there is a market for players of all budgets, just price accordingly.  The lower quality items will keep your cash flow high while you can sit and wait on cashing in on the best items you've collected.

Some Other Differences - Know Your Server:  Between the hours of midnight and 3am, server time, Epith really is a ghost town around Elderine and the surrounding areas, many vendors, but few active players.  This is perfect for the well-equipped farming character, but makes finding a buff difficult for the farmer using lesser gear.

Another Prestige Down ... What Next?

Well after over a year of inactivity, I finally busted loose on WinterLace and got her to 100.  Much thanks to Blizzard_ and his Meteor_Shower guild for the help and motivation.  Couldn't have done it without you guys!

So what next?  Wizard?  Reaper?  Ranger?  Oh the possibilities.....  check back soon for an update!

Project: Tank - The Crystal Castle

It's somewhat hard to write a complete guide for the Crystal Castle because the layout varies each time you enter, but there are a few key things to look for as you enter each room.  I'll break down some of the harder ones and give you some tips on how to wipe them clean.  You can also view the video here:

Compliments are always a nice thing!  =)

We're not always perfect, but we come pretty close.

Zombies -
Zombies emerge from several different triggers.  Coffins, Kamaris, Chests, and Ores.  They have a quick attack as well as a high damage AOE.  I'm not 100% sure whether that AOE is M.dmg based or not, but it hurts.  A lot.  So how I tackle Zombies is usually 3-5 at a time, even without a Cleric.  This is not a case where you want to stick your chest out and pull the whole room.  If you do so and get caught by 3 or 4 simultaneous AOEs, you're done and chances are so is your party.  Zombies don't have much HP/DEF so they go down pretty quickly, especially if you have multiple 67+ Mages in your party.  It's just a matter of you, the Tank, taking that pounding and keeping aggro.  You can do Zombies without a Cleric if you're comfortable judging your ideal stone/potion usage.

Kinda my fault for not asking him to stay back....

The other Fighter actually ran towards the Zombies when the Kamaris died.

You can see him buried in here, pulling them all.  >. < !!!

I Mocked, but wasn't able to handle that many at once.

Kamaris -
Kamaris themselves aren't much to handle, but after they die, they spawn a roomful of either Zombies, Trees, or Magic Staffs (the three drop repeats).  A word to the wise, keep other players out of that room including other Fighters.  While they can help kill the Kamaris faster, the chances that they will pull too many mobs once the Kamaris dies, is extremely high.  If the mobs happen to be Zombies, more than likely it'll end up in the party getting wiped out.  (Viewable at 5:25 of the video)

Vampire Bats -
Vampire bats are similar to Zombies, but they only show up mixed with those other fat, Piggy Bat looking guys.  Usually the fat bats have a magic "immunity" (their word, not mine) that increases their m.def tremendously.  The Vampire Bats also have a high dmg AOE so be careful where you're pulling.  Typically you want to pull stuff like this into one of the far corners awayf rom the party, with enough sightlines that you can still see them should a Bat wander off towards them; you'll be able to Kick it back to you.  Don't pull these back to the party or into the near corners if possible.  The near corners are to always be avoided because the Cleric will be unable to heal you without running into the room.  That puts the Cleric at risk as she's running, she may take a smack of that nasty AOE.

Orcs -
Orcs, like the rest mentioned above have a deadly AOE.  Just be mindful of your pulls and aggro control and you'll be alright.  No reason to panic.

Archers / Skelelton Archers / Pinkies -
Ranged mobs can cause some distress if not handled properly.  Ideally, the Tank should rush the room, pulling all the mobs back into the entryway creating a chokepoint.  At that chokepoint, you should do your aggro grabs (Mock + Demoralizing Hit) and hit Devastate.  This will disable most of the mobs you've pulled making it much easier to take them out as a collective group.  If everyone charges the room, it gets extremely chaotic as you run from mob to mob while keeping an eye on non-aggroed mobs attacking the backline.  Establish control of your party and let them know your plan ahead of time.

Boss Fights -
The Boss battles are actually pretty straight-forward.  There are three different bosses:  Jewel Golem, a Guardian Lizardman, and a Guardian Great Orc.  Of the three, the Jewel Golem is the worst and always the longest battle.  All three bosses should be pulled out of the top room and down to the bottom entry room.  This way, you avoid the waves of summoned mobs from the boss.  All summons appear in that top room, so unless you want a challenge, just pull them down. 

For the Lizardman and Great Orc, you'll notice that they have a buff when you first encounter them, there are three ways of eliminating that buff:  Purge from a Mage, destroying the light pillars in the top room, or simply waiting it out.  Purge does not have a 100% success rate vs. Bosses, so it may take the Mage several attempts before he can delete that buff.  Having him Chain Cast + Purge is a good idea.  Killing the Light Pillars isn't very hard, you just have to deal with the mobs that are in there if you didn't pull all of them at the beginning.  Waiting it out really doesn't make much sense but you can do it if you choose.  Not sure how long that buff lasts, maybe 10 minutes?



For Jewel Golem, you'll see that he has two buffs.  The first one looks like the "idle state" icon you see when you log in or change maps.  For him it's an "Unattackable Status".  What this means is he cannot be hurt by anything.  The Tank will need to maintain aggro on the Jewel Golem while the rest of the party takes out the four Light Pillars.  While the rest of the party is in the top room, there's really not much for you to do.  I would recommend spamming your debuffs as they will help ease the damage you take (Demoralizing Hit, Immobilize, and Bone Slicer).  If you choose not to spam skills for some reason, your auto-attack should be sufficient to maintain aggro over your Cleric.  If you're unsure, toss a few Kicks in here and there.  Once those Pillars come down, the party should join you on the bottom and wipe the floor clean with Jewel Golem.

All three bosses have a pretty heavy AOE attack, so if you have some weaker members it might be better serrved to just have them sit back and wait it out instead of dying, minimizing your party buff, and altering your Cleric's focus.

Project: Tanker - Spider KQ

Hi guys!  Welcome to the next installment in the Project: Tank series.  Today's video details the Spider Kingdom Quest!



Now as you all know, Spider can be a bit tricky, there is usually a division between the people that want to kill the Great Spider at the end, and those who would rather just kite it to ensure a win for all.  Me?  Of course I always want to kill it.  Personally, I don't think either Spider or Robo should be able to be kited to the end of the timer, just seems cheap.  I think they should either eliminate the whole "Kiting-to-Victory" or have a greater reward for killing the end bosses, but that's a story for a different day.

Okay, so entering this KQ, as the Tank, typically you'll want to party a Cleric as soon as possible, especially if your intentions are to kill the Great Spider.  Unfortunately, this didn't work out for me in the video.  There was only one Cleric, ThatGuyWhoHeals.  He was scooped up into a party while I just kinda ran solo a bit, I later partied some other people.  We were unsure if we would attempt a kill on GS, but we decided to give it a try.  Thankfully, we had a bunch of Mages and Archers so that made the end a lot easier.

ThatGuyWhoHeals did a great job of keeping his party alive, but also turning his focus to me, the main Tank, despite not being in his party.  This is extremely important for Clerics, as much as possible, pay attention to everything going on.  If you see your party isn't taking any damage, click on the mob with the highest threat level and see who he is attacking, good chance it's the Tank, focus healing the Tank until your party start to take damage. once your party is safe, find the Tank again.  I thanked ThatGuyWhoHeals during the KQ and again afterwards.

Another thing I don't like about Spider KQ is that you can't really set the pace as the Tank.  The mobs are summoned around you and you really have no control over that.  If you're trying to tank all of the spawns, then oftentimes you're scrambling, if you can manage to do this, great, if not, focus on the biggest threats, like the Madness Grave Robbers or Ultra Spiders and maintain aggro on them via Kick, Mock, Demoralizing Hit, and Slice and Dice.  Target switch if necessary.  When Vivis and Magebooks appear, run by with a Mock or Demo to establish a bit of aggro.  If the mobs already targeted other players, you'll probably have to use Mock or Kick.

The final battle with Great Spider can be tricky, especially if you lag when the Minis are summoned.  As you can see in the video they come in waves by the dozens.  Since I didn't have a dedicated Cleric, I didn't spam Mock, but I did spam Demoralizing Hit.  While Demoralizing Hit doesn't have the aggro draw that Mock does, it does have a -DMG debuff associated with it.  If you choose to let some of the spawns go, it's best that they have that debuff, it will lower the chances of them killing off the other players that they will eventually target.  I did Mock when I could, but I didn't want to keep aggro of everything on me because I didn't know what kind of situation ThatGuyWhoHeals would find himself in.  I couldn't monitor his health, so I didn't know what kind of danger he was in and if he would just take off and run and leave me stranded, so I Mocked when I could.  If you watch the video though, you'll notice my party taking loads of damage at the end.  Looking back, and after another round, I found that I could safely maintain aggro on GS as well as more of the Minis even without a Cleric around.

Okay, so GS is dead now what?  Why are all the spawns still around!!?  Well it's about 30 seconds of mayhem after Great Spider is dead.  During this time, try and round up as many of the strays as possible, continue helping out the rest of the KQ participants, use Mock, use Kick, use Demoralizing Hit, but keep yourself safe also.

This was kinda fun... in a KQ I entered last night, I ran into JAZMYNE6969, the same Fighter that called me a "nub" in MiniDragon.  Prior to the final battle, Jaz and I agreed to see who could generate the most and hold aggro on Great Spider, myself being a modest Tank build, Jaz being a DD build.

Honestly, I was a bit concerned when Jaz announced he/she had over 3500 dmg compared to my measly 1245 dmg! Jaz claimed more DEF than I had even though I had a shield and Jaz was also loaded with SparkCash,... 12% Crit Swimsuit, 8% Crit Angel Helm, 5% Crit Angel Wings, 3% Crit Sunglasses, and Papillion Weapon Skin on his/her +10 Axe! All I had was a Mexico Soccer Uniform 3% Dmg, 5% Crit and DJ Headphones 2% Eva. With the odds stacked in Jaz's favor, I had to work on aggro grabs quickly.

Oh, did I forget to mention our KQ had NO CLERICS? Not a single one. So, not only did the Fighter who held aggro on Great Spider have to deal with his attacks, but also tons of spawned Minis! So how did it turn out? Watch and find out!

What? Me? PK? Never (again)!

People ask me what my stance is on PKing and specifically PKers in Abyss, and for the most part, maybe surprisingly, I don't have a problem with it.  However... (you knew there was a caveat right?)

What I don't condone is the farming of kill points off of unwilling combatants.  An unwilling combatant is someone who's in Abyss pretty much just to grind or farm mats, they're not there to PvP other players.  They'll pretty much just keep their head down, their mouth shut, and go about their business.

Of course I fully understand that technically, the Abyss is NOT a grind map, several CSRs have stated this fact quite bluntly, and that's fine.  I take that risk myself quite often when I'm leveling up characters below 80.  Again, I'm never in Abyss to PvP, I'm there to grind.  Period.  If I were there to PvP, I wouldn't be in a map 20 levels higher than my current level would I?  What threat do I pose to someone 30 levels higher than myself?  Zero.

Yes, I've been PKed before, did they know it was me?  I couldn't say for sure, it's not like I ask them.  If I happen to get killed, I just click out or wait, I don't say anything to the PKer, what's the sense?  Me, personally, I'm never one to announce who I am when I'm on an alt.  People figure it out sometimes or ask if I have a main, but it's not something I generally disclose.  Honestly, I'd rather people not know since I'm better able to see who they truly are without some kind of fake mask they put on to talk to me.

But anyway, yeah, I don't think the farming of kill points is at all something to be proud of or to hang your hat on.  But that's me.  People have different values, different reasons for doing or not doing things, and that's perfectly fine.  You do what you do, I'll do what I do.  Just don't expect me to forget.       ^. ~

Have I ever considered being a PKer?  This may surprise some of you, but yes at one time I did.  I have a 5x Fighter named HeavensVengeance.  After I acquired my Rage of Cainance, I thought maybe I might try my hand at PKing.  Afterall, I swung the biggest stick in 4x.  Keep in mind that this was in late 2008, early 2009, my 'main' Fighter, WinterLace had already out leveled the use of that Rage of Cainance, so I made another Fighter solely for the purposes of PKing. And of course, nobody except a few of my closest friends knew that was me.  I had complete anonymity, so why not right?  No damage to my reputation if nobody knows this is me......

I found out a few things about myself as I sat there, reputation-less, completely anonymous in 4x Abyss:
1.  I'm not a hunter.
2.  I was really bored.
3.  This wasn't for me, it's not who I am.

I'm not a hunter.  You know, I tried.  I really did.  I actually ran around 4x Abyss hunting players.  I'd enter the room they were in and see them grinding there.  They'd see me and have no idea what the heck kind of weapon I was holding since the ROC was extremely rare back then, and of course we had no silly Cabal weapon skins.  So I'd look at them... look at my Axe... then leave.  I just couldn't bring myself to do it.  Why ruin someone else's day?  Why impose my will on someone simply because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time?  I did kill a male Archer once, I think I may have 2 hit him... he just gave me a  "  = (   " and it killed me.  So after that, no more hunting.

I was really bored.  Yep.  Since I refused to hunt, all I would do was sit at the entry-way and wait for others to attack me.  Most people I just ended up chatting with instead.  Or they'd ask for a 1 Vs. 1, which I accepted.  I'd often wander into 5x also since it was a little busier back then.  I fared well there since my ROC was basically the equivalent of a GOC Axe, there were no +10s back then.  So yeah, hours of sitting there, scrolls burning, a few people to chat with, but nobody I'd consider a 'friend'.  I did the same with WinterLace later on at 76 and 86, but it didn't last, the boredom forced me to level.

This wasn't for me, it's not who I am.  That's the truth.  It's just not in me to be a PKer in that sense.  As I sat there mostly watching others, since nobody wanted to fight me, it all just kinda disgusted me.  The people there would kill some poor newbie then laugh in her face about it.  They'd chastise her and denigrate her until she gave up and left.  They'd do hideously juvenile things like tea-bagging the corpse.  Then the PKers would all huddle and laugh about it.  What kind of person does that?  And do I really want to, anonymously or not, ever be associated with these types?  Nope.  I felt more of a connection to the poor soul that was forced to leave the map than to the PKers.

So now that you've heard my moral spiel on PKing, when do I think it's acceptable? 

In Abyss, if you're fighting another willing and ready combatant it's perfectly okay.  You're probably pretty evenly matched and of course both of you want to be there to test your PvP skills.  Go for it!

In Abyss, if you're fighting over a grind spot, that's perfectly okay.  Some of the best grind spots are highly limited in the Abyss, think the two large rooms in 5x and the large rooms in 6x.  Then yes, you're competing for an area to grind in, that's fine.  If they want that grind spot back, come fight you for it.

Now, there's also this whole "PKK" movement which is basically like a vigilante-type system.  Some people have banded together to try and take down the PKers, which I guess is fine too.  It's basically example one above.  Everybody's there willingly to fight.

So why don't I take this route?  Well, again, it's just not in my nature.  I can be competitive, but not to the extent that the Abyss Residents are.  I don't think you can be a 'casual' PvPer in this sense, you just won't be able to compete with the Residents.  So why feed their egos?  Why subject myself to the ridicule and sophomoric behavior of the typical Resident?  I don't and I won't.  I enter Abyss, go about my business and leave.

That's where I stand, but again, I have no problems with people playing and enjoying Fiesta in whatever way they want.  Just remember actions speak volumes.

Project: Tank - The Level 60 Promo

A youtube commenter asked me to shoot a vid of the level 60 promo quest for Fighter.  I hadn't planned on doing one, but since it's not that hard to make a video, I went ahead and did it this evening.

Video's pretty straight forward, nothing too revolutionary for this, it's pretty simple.  For purposes of this video, I used some T2/T1 scrolls and got an HK buff.  I probably needed neither, but got them anyway.

Notes via annotations on the video itself.  Please view the video from my channel.

Project: Tanker - Mini Dragon KQ

Alright, another update for Project: Tank!  Today we go behind-the-scenes to follow FatalRemixed as she successfully dominates the Mini-Dragon Kingdom Quest!  Well okay, maybe that's an exaggeration, but it was a successful run highlighted by two competent tanks dueling for aggro for most of the KQ.

That in itself was pretty unique and kind of a first for me on this character.  Without any fanfare, I typically take the lead in the KQ more so because nobody else wants to step up.  However, this time, there was another player willing to do the dirty work:  JAZMYNE6969.  It's kinda funny because she even went so far as to call me a "nub" when I was Kicking the Minibosses she was running!

To be honest, I didn't even realize that she was talking to me on the Grave Robber Boss, until she called me by name and told me I was a "nub" when we were pulling Robo.  I turned off Fraps at that time so I couldn't get a screencap of it, rats.  But anyway, lesson to be learned here is to not underestimate the others that are around.  She was more capable than I thought, and I was definitely more skilled than she imagined.  Maybe we all just automatically assume the worst as far as the skill level of other players, but there are times when yeah, you can be surprised.

Project: Tanker

Those of you that have been following my Twitter feed and my Facebook have known that I've been leveling up a Tank recently.  I was inspired to create this character by a forum thread by realmatic called "The Lost Art of Tanking".  Basically, it was a plea or more of a "WTF happened to all the decent Tanks?" type of thread.  And having experienced all of the early level KQs through my Trickster, I couldn't agree more.

Time and time again, it was my Trickster, DaydreamBeliever, forced to step to the fore and tank end bosses.  Over and over, Tanks just wouldn't properly Mock, wouldn't spam aggro generating skills like Kick, so I would simply out-damage them and wrestle aggro away from them.  Of course, I did my best to do this as a Trickster.  I enjoy testing other people as much as I enjoy testing my own limits.  I constantly put pressure on Tanks and Clerics, never to the point where I'm surely going to die or where they or are party are put in serious danger, but just to test how skilled they truly are.  As far as the low-mid level tanks of Bijou go, it's pretty poor.



^--- Tanking Honeying KQ - (the annotations cut off, view in full screen) ---^


There are a small handful of decent ones and a ton that talk a good game, but really are more bravado than truly skilled.  I was hoping that by making a true Tank, maybe it could inspire some people to make that choice, to get in and do the dirty work rather than opt for the more glamorous damage dealing route.  I remember listening to a couple of Fighters go on and on about their damage, bragging back and forth and measuring their manhood by their damage range, only to see them both go splat when KKP jumped.  Of course I laughed like heck offline when it happened, but went about my business and got the KQ done.  Players that want to boast like that typically aren't very skilled, a knowledgeable player can see right through it, so I just let em continue to spout their nonsense, my eyes endlessly rolling in my skull.

As you know, I already have a 9x Fighter, WinterLace, so I am extremely comfortable in playing the class already so honestly, I'm mostly just powerleveling myself at this point when I get on at home.  I do participate in Kingdom Quests though just to test myself, meet some people, and have some fun.  The only failed KQ so far that I've been a part of was a Honeying KQ in which we had no Clerics from the start, we did make it to Giant Honeying, but ran out of time as we were killing the mobs surrounding him.

At this point, I'm pretty proud of myself, I've gotten a lot of compliments from partymates as well as others in the KQ, so of course that's pretty good validation for this whole project.  I'll continue to make videos of the KQs that I participate in since I think that's a better training tool than having other Fighters or other classes directly observe me, they really can't tell what I'm doing and why for the most part.  At least through video, I can show it and post some notes via the annotation tool.

So anyway, hope you enjoyed this entry, I'll continue to update Project: Tanker in the weeks to come.

Ask Fatal - Dragon's Tomb Edition (Sub-Tanking/DD Fighter)

Now to be honest, this isn't really a facet of gameplay that I have a whole lot of experience with.  If I play as a Fighter in Dragon's Tomb, I'm typically the Tank.  While I have a DEX heavy Damage Dealing build (40 DEX, 65 STR), I always carry a Tank-like mindset.  So let's see where this goes....

Q: Fatal, what are your thoughts about Sub-Tanking?
A: As prefaced above, I really don't have much experience with it, but this is how I see it.  To me, the "Sub-Tank" should be another Damage Dealing Fighter capable of taking hits from Cornelius as well as other mobs should the main Tank go down or lose aggro to Fear or Stun.

Q: So you would only want a Fighter to Sub-Tank?  Why?  Other classes can take hits too.
A: For me, ideally a Sub-Tank should have aggro generating skills that can be quickly cast to generate aggro as I stated.  I do see a lot of players, like Archers for example, claiming they can Sub-Tank.  While it's true that they can probably take hits from Cornelius, the problem with them, and any other non-Fighter Sub-Tank, is that they have difficulty generating aggro on non-targeted mobs because they don't have specific skills made to do just that.

By the time a Fighter reaches Dragon's Tomb, he has four really good aggro grabbing skills:  Sneering Kick, Mock, Demoralizing Hit, and Slice and Dice.  As a DD Fighter, you still maintain three of those four, unless you're extremely quick to weapon swap from an Axe/2h to 1h.

While I'm not saying that other classes aren't capable of Sub-Tanking, they're just not set up, skill-wise to be as effective as another Fighter would be.  In other words, it's not an ideal situation to have a non-Fighter Sub-Tank, but if you're put into it, you adapt.

Q: So is a true "Sub-Tank" really necessary?
A: Some people seem to think so, I'm not one of them.  Again, for me, the pillars of the DT party will always be Tank, Damage Dealer, Healer.  The other two spots can be filled with whatever.  However those other two slots can be filled to make up for some weaknesses in the party.  This is where players need to come to grips with their own skill level in game.  If the three pillars are highly skilled players with good enough gear to survive a few hits from Cornelius, then the last two positions can be considered luxuries.

As a party leader, if I'm confident in the pillars, I'd look to add an Archer, I wouldn't say out of pity, but let's face it Archers, you're typically the last class parties look for.  If my party is already solid, then by all means, join up and bring a friend!

If the Fighter and DD-Mage are exceptional players, an additional Cleric isn't necessary under most circumstances, just one is sufficient.

Adding an additional Mage, or two(!), is always a nice luxury, DT runs can be remarkably fast with three Mages.

Q: So what are some reasons why Fighters Sub-Tank?
A: Typically it's because of their build, gear, and playstyle.  As a Fighter, I cannot resist doing aggro grabs, no matter the situation.  It's just in my nature to always want to pull aggro and defend my party, that's why I have a difficult time, and don't really have much experience Sub-Tanking.  If a Fighter lacks the defense to step up as the main Tank, then life as a Sub-Tank is their next best bet, but to accomplish that, it's best to fulfill that role as best you can.

Q: So in your opinion, what are the essentials for a Sub-Tank?
A: As a Sub-Tank you do need decent enough gear to withstand taking aggro should the need arise.  If you can't take the hits with just armor alone and Axe in hand, be extremely quick about switching to 1h/Shield to make up for your lack of DEF.  The Sub-Tank/DD should have a +9/+10 two-handed weapon, either 2H or an Axe.

As the Sub-Tank, you need to be cognizant of your Tank's playstyle.  Take some time early on to observe how she pulls and how well she maintains aggro on ranged mobs in particular.  You also should stagger your Devastate so not to overlap each other.  I would allow the Tank to cast that first Devastate and then time yours afterwards.  There's more on the plate for the Tank, so your role as support becomes a bit easier.  Let her cast first, then you follow when the Stun has worn off.

The Sub-Tank/DD should also immediately target mobs with the highest threat level to the backline players (Clerics, Mages, Archers), those being in order:  Nerpas, Krugers, Caravans, Flame Spirits, Fire Shellas, and Gargoyles.  Read the Tankers guide if you're unfamiliar with the status effects the mobs can inflict on you and your party.

Q: What are some options for the Sub-Tank/DD?
A: If I were put into this role, I would pretty much handle the job as a straight line DD, while keeping a watchful eye on the others.  Meaning I would Might VIT, and run a Gabriel Set at all times.  Just be careful as always when to equip your Mighty Set.  If the Tank is exceptional, it won't matter and you can equip/un-equip at any time, but just be aware your defense drops tremendously.  As far as the Gabriel Set (55 Jewelry) what it essentially does is it allows you to have an "endless" Vitality.  The cool down and duration with the Gabriel Set, so long as you have 5 points empowered in Vitality's CD and 5 points in its' Duration, will overlap each other meaning you can recast.  I think there's a slight window without the Gabriel Set, I'd have to double check to be 100% sure.

Q: So how do I handle the final fight with Cornelius?
A: As far as positioning goes, I would try to position myself on the sides of Cornelius, opposite the Cleric.  What you don't to happen is for you to get aggro when the Tank is feared and then having Cornelius immediately launch into an AOE killing you and possibly the Cleric.  So stand off to the side if possible.

Now this part, I'm also unsure of, but what I would do is I would cast Kick and Demoralizing Hit every-so-often.  I wouldn't spam it as I don't want to pull aggro from the Tank, but I want to ensure my aggro level remains higher than that of the Cleric and any of the DDs.  I'll have to field test this later with a decent Tank.

Again, if anyone else has some thoughts on this, by all means leave me a comment!

Ask Fatal: Dragon's Tomb Edition (Tanking)

After generating some interest in Dragon's Tomb with the release of my Mage solo videos, I decided I'd tackle some questions that I've been asked a few times.  Due to the length of these answers, I'll break these up into several postings.  Look for them in future posts.

Q: What makes up the ideal Dragon's Tomb Party?

A: That's not really as black and white as you think.  There are 3 pillars to every successful Dragon's Tomb Party: the Tank, the Damage Dealer, and the Healer.  Mindblowing right?  Of course not, we all knew that already.  But here, it can't be stressed enough.  Admittedly there are times when one player can fill multiple roles, such as Tank + DD, and that's typically a charmed, extended Mage, but per the norm, the above three roles are your foundation. Much of the success of your party is determined by everyone's awareness and ability to carry out their defined roles.  Those that are unable to can be a significant detriment and danger to the party.  While I wouldn't say to immediately kick them, it can be a time to educate them, tactfully.

Ask Fatal: Simple Questions With Not So Simple Answers

Time for another round of questions.... These are mostly questions that I've gotten asked in my chat box that I just can't answer in such a limited amount of space... So here are a few I figure I'd tackle today since the servers were down.

Fatal's Mailbag - What's a Good Non-Cleric Duo?

I get messages from time to time asking me random questions about the game or even about myself or my experiences within Fiesta.  So why not answer these 'common' gameplay questions here on my blog?  So here we go!

Hi, I'm Winter. I'm new to the game, while browsing the forums I saw that you seemed to be well educated about the game.

I plan to play on the Bijou server, where it so happens to be the same place where you reside.

Well it'd be nice to chat with you ig but when I logged on you were no where to be found lol.

Anyways I have a few questions.

What's a good duo that does NOT involve a cleric?

Sorry to take your time.