So, there was a walkthrough for beginners. But everyone's equipment differs. So what are the stats that can let you do 1-hit kills, so that you can level up quickly?
[Level 1] Native - Attack 3, Damage 8, Armor 3/Defense 3
[Level 1] Lost Sheep - Attack 6, Damage 6, Armor 2/Defense 9
[Level 1] Rat - Attack 2, Damage 4, Armor 2/Defense 2
[Level 2] Ragdoll Thief - Attack 10, Damage 17, Armor 4/Defense 3
[Level 2] Scorpion - Attack 5, Damage 11, Armor 4/Defense 5
[Level 2] Zombie - Attack 9, Damage 13, Armor 4/Defense 4
[Level 3] Ogre - Attack 7, Damage 21, Armor 6/Defense 10
[Level 3] Snow Leopard - Attack 9, Damage 19, Armor 8/Defense 12
[Level 3] Troll - Attack 7, Damage 22, Armor 3/Defense 10
[Level 4] Goblin - Attack 7, Damage 26, Armor 7/Defense 14
[Level 4] Skeletal Mage - Attack 12, Damage 28, Armor 9/Defense 9
[Level 4] Skeleton - Attack 9, Damage 29, Armor 7/Defense 7
[Level 4] Lesser Goblin Shaman - Attack 10, Damage 20, Armor 6/Defense 15
[Level 4] Vampire - Attack 10, Damage 24, Armor 7/Defense 15
[Level 5] Succubus - Attack 14, Damage 36, Armor 14/Defense 15
[Level 6] Desert Snake - Attack 17, Damage 43, Armor 23/Defense 24
[Level 8] Sand Golem - Attack 42, Damage 46, Armor 28/Defense 27
[Level 8] Djinn - Attack 33, Damage 50, Armor 18/Defense 23
[Level 9] Shambler - Attack 34, Damage 50, Armor 33/Defense 27
[Level 10] Ice Witch - Attack 36, Damage 70, Armor 26/Defense 41
[Level 10] Rock Golem - Attack 39, Damage 49, Armor 39/Defense 26
[Level 11] Serpentine - Attack 35, Damage 75, Armor 31/Defense 34
[Level 11] Nomad Warrior - Attack 31, Damage 81, Armor 47/Defense 39
[Level 12] Nomad Magi - Attack 39, Damage 80, Armor 39/Defense 38
[Level 13] Valsar Vampire Overlord - Attack 41, Damage 136, Armor 34/Defense 34
[Level 13] Vampire Lord - Attack 34, Damage 86, Armor 33/Defense 55
[Level 14] Slime Golem - Attack 28, Damage 140, Armor 25/Defense 81
[Level 14] Fire Snake - Attack 46, Damage 75, Armor 45/Defense 67
[Level 15] Fire Imp - Attack 30, Damage 104, Armor 56/Defense 36
[Level 16] Fire Golem - Attack 35, Damage 63, Armor 67/Defense 70
[Level 16] Goblin Mage - Attack 56, Damage 108, Armor 47/Defense 67
[Level 18] Orc Warrior - Attack 55, Damage 112, Armor 56/Defense 59
[Level 18] Lesser Fire Demon - Attack 45, Damage 102, Armor 64/Defense 68
[Level 19] Skeletal Ice Mage - Attack 67, Damage 101, Armor 62/Defense 51
[Level 19] Abomination - Attack 57, Damage 116, Armor 56/Defense 56
[Level 19] Orc Brute - Attack 67, Damage 126, Armor 65/Defense 65
[Level 20] Wild Cat - Attack 45, Damage 143, Armor 20/Defense 113
[Level 21] Raptor - Attack 36, Damage 191, Armor 19/Defense 136
[Level 22] Fell Demon - Attack 60, Damage 128, Armor 65/Defense 68
[Level 23] Demonic Frog - Attack 114, Damage 109, Armor 52/Defense 72
[Level 24] Nightshade - Attack 60, Damage 129, Armor 69/Defense 50
[Level 25] Ramdal Stalker - Attack 93, Damage 113, Armor 39/Defense 67
Sunday, November 1, 2009
The value of Doubler
So recently, I have questioned myself, what is the value of doubler? A 3x doubler allows you to kill a creature using 3x the amount of stamina, gain 3x the experience, 3x the gold. If you lost the battle, you lose only 1x the amount of stamina, the xp and gold lost are also not multiplied.
For those using the 'suicidal' style, where one only has attack and damage, no armor and defense, then effectively, you have lowered the death rate by 3x.
For those using crystalline items, the loss in durability is not multiplied, so again, you gain an effectively level 70 unbreakable spell.
On top of that, it is like walking into a room with 3 times the amount of creatures. But what do you gain in having 3 times the amount of creatures? Can it be measured? Well, that answer depends on the average creature you see in a room to begin with. So, if you see 2 creatures in a room on average, you would normall use 3 stamina (1 to walk into the room, 2 to kill each of these 2 creatures) for killing 2 creatures. Now, you use 7 stamina (1 to walk into the room, 6 to kill each of those 2 creatures with 3x doubler) for killing 6 creatures. Your effectiveness went from 2/3 to 6/7. That's a 29% increase (((6/7)/(2/3))-1). Again, all these depends on average number of creatures in each room, as well as the level of the doubler, so below is a short reference table :
So as expected, the doubler is more valuable when the average number of creature is less. The gains from higher level doubler is diminishing, as expected.
I used to keep a list of doubler buffers here, but this tool by Fallen Empire is doing a far better job in updating buffer list :
http://fallen-empire.wzarlon.dk/find-buffers.asp?sorting=buffprice&skillbuffID=18
For those using the 'suicidal' style, where one only has attack and damage, no armor and defense, then effectively, you have lowered the death rate by 3x.
For those using crystalline items, the loss in durability is not multiplied, so again, you gain an effectively level 70 unbreakable spell.
On top of that, it is like walking into a room with 3 times the amount of creatures. But what do you gain in having 3 times the amount of creatures? Can it be measured? Well, that answer depends on the average creature you see in a room to begin with. So, if you see 2 creatures in a room on average, you would normall use 3 stamina (1 to walk into the room, 2 to kill each of these 2 creatures) for killing 2 creatures. Now, you use 7 stamina (1 to walk into the room, 6 to kill each of those 2 creatures with 3x doubler) for killing 6 creatures. Your effectiveness went from 2/3 to 6/7. That's a 29% increase (((6/7)/(2/3))-1). Again, all these depends on average number of creatures in each room, as well as the level of the doubler, so below is a short reference table :
| Average \ Doubler | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 0.2 | 71% | 125% | 167% | 200% |
| 0.4 | 56% | 91% | 115% | 133% |
| 0.6 | 45% | 71% | 88% | 100% |
| 0.8 | 38% | 59% | 71% | 80% |
| 1.0 | 33% | 50% | 60% | 67% |
| 1.2 | 29% | 43% | 52% | 57% |
| 1.4 | 26% | 38% | 45% | 50% |
| 1.6 | 24% | 34% | 41% | 44% |
| 1.8 | 22% | 31% | 37% | 40% |
| 2.0 | 20% | 29% | 33% | 36% |
| 2.2 | 19% | 26% | 31% | 33% |
| 2.4 | 17% | 24% | 28% | 31% |
| 2.6 | 16% | 23% | 26% | 29% |
| 2.8 | 15% | 21% | 25% | 27% |
| 3.0 | 14% | 20% | 23% | 25% |
So as expected, the doubler is more valuable when the average number of creature is less. The gains from higher level doubler is diminishing, as expected.
I used to keep a list of doubler buffers here, but this tool by Fallen Empire is doing a far better job in updating buffer list :
http://fallen-empire.wzarlon.dk/find-buffers.asp?sorting=buffprice&skillbuffID=18
My base stats
I have been telling my guild mates to put all their base stats into damage.
I have all my base stats in damage (minus a few ignorant early levels).
Here are the reasons :
1. Attack items are generally cheaper than damage items. It is much easier to make up for lack of attack, and much cheaper also.
2. Berserk buff works on base stats. This means I will never need Rage buff to get the same buffing effect as those who split their stats between attack and damage. I use the Berserk buff when I am low on damage.
3. And when I am absolutely low on attack and cannot find gears to compensate, dark curse is a great buff that
I have all my base stats in damage (minus a few ignorant early levels).
Here are the reasons :
1. Attack items are generally cheaper than damage items. It is much easier to make up for lack of attack, and much cheaper also.
2. Berserk buff works on base stats. This means I will never need Rage buff to get the same buffing effect as those who split their stats between attack and damage. I use the Berserk buff when I am low on damage.
3. And when I am absolutely low on attack and cannot find gears to compensate, dark curse is a great buff that
Value of Wither
I had questioned myself on the value of doubler 4 months ago. At that time, I was still 1-hitting, and Wither had no value there. Now that I have past the stage of 1-hitting (it stops at level 186), I had been getting Wither buffs. But what's the value of wither?
Without wither, I'll need 2 hits to kill a creature. With wither, when it activates, I kill the creature in 1 hit. A level 150 wither gives a 30% chance of activation. Is it worth getting a higher level wither? Does a level 155 wither make a big difference? Does the level 350 wither potion make a big difference?
If you face 10 creature without wither, you'd use an average of 20 stam. With a level 150 wither, on average, 3 of the 10 creature will require only 1 hit, while 7 of the 10 creature will require 2 hits, making a total of 17 hits. So the average hit per creature will be 1.7 hits.
The true value of wither is a little more complicated, since telling you the average hit still does not translate to something easy to measure and comparable to Adept Learner or Librarian.
Now, consider the case where you face an average of 3 creatures in a room on average. Without wither, you'd use 7 stam to kill 3 creatures (6 to hit and 1 to move). With a level 150 wither, you'd use an average of 5.1 stam (1.7 hit per creature as discussed earlier) to hit, and 1 stam to move into the room. Your effective gain is (7/6.1)-1. Expressed as percentage, that is 14.8%. This makes it comparable to getting a level 148 Librarian buff.
In terms of stam, that means if you used 1000 stam, you have gotten an additional 148 stam worth of xp and gold. This is like getting a level 148 librarian AND a level 148 merchant together!
Since everything is a percentage, its value really depend on the stam you'll be using. If you need to pay 30k more for a level 170 buff than a level 150 buff, and will be using 1000 stam. Assuming an average of 3 creatures in each room, you'll need to ask yourself will you pay 30k for (17.1-14.8 = 2.3) 23 stam?
With the blog entry on doubler, I had maintain a list of buffers. But really, I am just repeating what others had done better, so instead of listing the buffers here, I encourage players to use this tool provided by the Fallen Empire guild to find players selling the wither buffs (or any other buffs) :
http://fallen-empire.wzarlon.dk/find-buffers.asp?sorting=buffprice&skillbuffID=18
Without wither, I'll need 2 hits to kill a creature. With wither, when it activates, I kill the creature in 1 hit. A level 150 wither gives a 30% chance of activation. Is it worth getting a higher level wither? Does a level 155 wither make a big difference? Does the level 350 wither potion make a big difference?
If you face 10 creature without wither, you'd use an average of 20 stam. With a level 150 wither, on average, 3 of the 10 creature will require only 1 hit, while 7 of the 10 creature will require 2 hits, making a total of 17 hits. So the average hit per creature will be 1.7 hits.
The true value of wither is a little more complicated, since telling you the average hit still does not translate to something easy to measure and comparable to Adept Learner or Librarian.
Now, consider the case where you face an average of 3 creatures in a room on average. Without wither, you'd use 7 stam to kill 3 creatures (6 to hit and 1 to move). With a level 150 wither, you'd use an average of 5.1 stam (1.7 hit per creature as discussed earlier) to hit, and 1 stam to move into the room. Your effective gain is (7/6.1)-1. Expressed as percentage, that is 14.8%. This makes it comparable to getting a level 148 Librarian buff.
In terms of stam, that means if you used 1000 stam, you have gotten an additional 148 stam worth of xp and gold. This is like getting a level 148 librarian AND a level 148 merchant together!
| Average \ Wither | 150 | 155 | 160 | 165 | 170 | 175 | 350 |
| 0.5 | 8.1% | 8.4% | 8.7% | 9.0% | 9.3% | 9.6% | 21.2% |
| 1.0 | 11.1% | 11.5% | 11.9% | 12.4% | 12.8% | 13.2% | 30.4% |
| 1.5 | 12.7% | 13.2% | 13.6% | 14.1% | 14.6% | 15.1% | 35.6% |
| 2.0 | 13.6% | 14.2% | 14.7% | 15.2% | 15.7% | 16.3% | 38.9% |
| 2.5 | 14.3% | 14.8% | 15.4% | 15.9% | 16.5% | 17.1% | 41.2% |
| 3.0 | 14.8% | 15.3% | 15.9% | 16.5% | 17.1% | 17.6% | 42.9% |
| 3.5 | 15.1% | 15.7% | 16.3% | 16.9% | 17.5% | 18.1% | 44.1% |
| 4.0 | 15.4% | 16.0% | 16.6% | 17.2% | 17.8% | 18.4% | 45.2% |
| 4.5 | 15.6% | 16.2% | 16.8% | 17.4% | 18.1% | 18.7% | 46.0% |
| 5.0 | 15.8% | 16.4% | 17.0% | 17.6% | 18.3% | 18.9% | 46.7% |
Since everything is a percentage, its value really depend on the stam you'll be using. If you need to pay 30k more for a level 170 buff than a level 150 buff, and will be using 1000 stam. Assuming an average of 3 creatures in each room, you'll need to ask yourself will you pay 30k for (17.1-14.8 = 2.3) 23 stam?
With the blog entry on doubler, I had maintain a list of buffers. But really, I am just repeating what others had done better, so instead of listing the buffers here, I encourage players to use this tool provided by the Fallen Empire guild to find players selling the wither buffs (or any other buffs) :
http://fallen-empire.wzarlon.dk/find-buffers.asp?sorting=buffprice&skillbuffID=18
Attack Groups
Today, a guild member asked me to join a group to take on an Elite. So I checked and found that the group already have enough attack and damage. When I posted the stats needed, he was more than willing to learn and asked me how to get the stats. I felt that what I explained is probably useful for everyone, so I'll post this entry and perhaps elaborate on it.
First thing first, when you form a group to kill Elites or Champions, the purpose is usually to get a drop. You are also using not only your stam, but those of your guild mates. As such, I strongly recommend getting a Find Item buff at the least, and possibly even a Four Leaf buff.
Now, how do you determine the creature stats? Well, if you're already in the same room as the creature, you can view it. Otherwise, this link provides the stats for most creatures (if not all) : http://fallenswordguide.com/creatures/
First stats, you must be able to hit the creature, so the group needs attack. Note that the leader's buff counts towards the group attack, so it will be nice to get a DC buff which reduces the creature defense.
1. Group Attack >= Creature Defense * 1.1053
Your damage needs to be at least higher than creature's armor, otherwise, you'll be doing only 1 damage when you hit.
2. Number of hits = Ceiling [(Group Damage - Creature Armor * 1.1053) / (Creature HP * 1.053)]
If you can kill the creature in 1 hit, then that's all the stats you need. However, if you need more than 1 hit, then you need to survive an attack. You can have either defense which means avoid getting hit, or armor which reduces the damage you take.
3a. Defense > Creature Attack * 1.1053
3b. Armor > Creature Damage * 1.1053
You only need defense or armor, not both.
Now, you can view your group stats if your guild has the Military Advisor structure. Otherwise, the group stats is the sum of the group leader's stats, and 20% of the stats of every other member. Note that the group stats is dynamic, and is the stats of the member at the time of the attack.
First thing first, when you form a group to kill Elites or Champions, the purpose is usually to get a drop. You are also using not only your stam, but those of your guild mates. As such, I strongly recommend getting a Find Item buff at the least, and possibly even a Four Leaf buff.
Now, how do you determine the creature stats? Well, if you're already in the same room as the creature, you can view it. Otherwise, this link provides the stats for most creatures (if not all) : http://fallenswordguide.com/creatures/
First stats, you must be able to hit the creature, so the group needs attack. Note that the leader's buff counts towards the group attack, so it will be nice to get a DC buff which reduces the creature defense.
1. Group Attack >= Creature Defense * 1.1053
Your damage needs to be at least higher than creature's armor, otherwise, you'll be doing only 1 damage when you hit.
2. Number of hits = Ceiling [(Group Damage - Creature Armor * 1.1053) / (Creature HP * 1.053)]
If you can kill the creature in 1 hit, then that's all the stats you need. However, if you need more than 1 hit, then you need to survive an attack. You can have either defense which means avoid getting hit, or armor which reduces the damage you take.
3a. Defense > Creature Attack * 1.1053
3b. Armor > Creature Damage * 1.1053
You only need defense or armor, not both.
Now, you can view your group stats if your guild has the Military Advisor structure. Otherwise, the group stats is the sum of the group leader's stats, and 20% of the stats of every other member. Note that the group stats is dynamic, and is the stats of the member at the time of the attack.
New Offensive Buffs
Some of my previous blog might be outdated and needs update.
HCS has recently turned on creature enhancements
This means creatures can now do piercing strike, critical attacks and other enhancements.
However, new buffs have also recently been introduced.
Two buffs I'll like to get my thoughts out on are Spectral Knight and Death Dealer.
Death Dealer adds damage based on your kill streak, but max out at 20% damage.
For a level 160 buff, a player will need a kill streak of 65 to max it out.
For level 170 or 175 buffs, a kill streak of 60 is needed to max it.
For the remaining of this blog entry, I'll assume the kill streak requirement has been met.
For 1-hitting, the damage needed was [Creature Armor]*1.1053 + [Creature HP]*1.053
For most players, this used to stop at level 186.
But Death Dealer allows for an additional 20% damage, so together with other buffs, it might be possible to continue to 1-hit.
With Death Dealer, the damage needed is reduced to [Creature Armor]*0.9211 + [Creature HP]*0.8775.
Other damage buffs adds damage based on stats or items but can be used in conjunction with Death Dealer :
Berserk : With potions, adds up to 70% of your base damage stats.
Fury : With a max level 175 buff, adds up to 17.5% of your base damage stats.
Enchant Weapon : With Potion of Truth, adds 100% of your weapon's stats.
Enchant Armor : With a max level 175 buff, adds 17.5% of your armor stats, and armor can have damage stats too.
The following buffs/enhancements are rather similar.
Piercing, reduce creature armor by 50%
Shatter Armor, reduce creature armor by 75%
Spectral Knight, reduce creature armor by 100%
However, they do not always activate.
Piercing, enhancement. At 100% enhancement, it activates 66% of the time.
Shatter Armor, offensive buff. At buff level 175, it activates 8.75% of the time.
Spectral Knight, offensive buff. At buff level 175, it activates 17.5% of the time.
These are useful when you cannot directly 1-hit a creature with full armor.
These skills should be used together with Wither buffs.
To 2-hit (or 1-hit when Wither activates), the damage required is
[Creature Armor]*1.1053 + [Creature HP]*1.053/2.
To 1-hit when Spectral Knight activates, the damage required is
[Creature HP]*1.053.
Since above level 186, the creature HP will be more than twice that of its armor, the damage requirement is higher.
To 1-hit when Shatter Armor activates, the damage required is
[Creature Armor]*1.1053/4 + [Creature HP]*1.053/2.
To 1-hit when piercing activates, the damage required is
[Creature Armor]*1.1053/2 + [Creature HP]*1.053/2.
Example :: Level 186 (Cacti Cat)
Creature armor (max) = 655, Creature HP (max) = 3104.
1-hit : 3992 damage
1-hit with death dealer : 3327 damage
1-hit when wither activates : 2358 damage
1-hit when spectral knight activates : 3268 damage
1-hit when shatter armor activates : 3449 damage
1-hit when piercing activates : 3630 damage
So depending on what you can achieve with your damage, you may or may not benefit from the new buffs. Count your damage before buying those buffs.
(Anyone wants to write a calculator for this? Please let me know and I'll post a link to it).
HCS has recently turned on creature enhancements
This means creatures can now do piercing strike, critical attacks and other enhancements.
However, new buffs have also recently been introduced.
Two buffs I'll like to get my thoughts out on are Spectral Knight and Death Dealer.
Death Dealer adds damage based on your kill streak, but max out at 20% damage.
For a level 160 buff, a player will need a kill streak of 65 to max it out.
For level 170 or 175 buffs, a kill streak of 60 is needed to max it.
For the remaining of this blog entry, I'll assume the kill streak requirement has been met.
For 1-hitting, the damage needed was [Creature Armor]*1.1053 + [Creature HP]*1.053
For most players, this used to stop at level 186.
But Death Dealer allows for an additional 20% damage, so together with other buffs, it might be possible to continue to 1-hit.
With Death Dealer, the damage needed is reduced to [Creature Armor]*0.9211 + [Creature HP]*0.8775.
Other damage buffs adds damage based on stats or items but can be used in conjunction with Death Dealer :
Berserk : With potions, adds up to 70% of your base damage stats.
Fury : With a max level 175 buff, adds up to 17.5% of your base damage stats.
Enchant Weapon : With Potion of Truth, adds 100% of your weapon's stats.
Enchant Armor : With a max level 175 buff, adds 17.5% of your armor stats, and armor can have damage stats too.
The following buffs/enhancements are rather similar.
Piercing, reduce creature armor by 50%
Shatter Armor, reduce creature armor by 75%
Spectral Knight, reduce creature armor by 100%
However, they do not always activate.
Piercing, enhancement. At 100% enhancement, it activates 66% of the time.
Shatter Armor, offensive buff. At buff level 175, it activates 8.75% of the time.
Spectral Knight, offensive buff. At buff level 175, it activates 17.5% of the time.
These are useful when you cannot directly 1-hit a creature with full armor.
These skills should be used together with Wither buffs.
To 2-hit (or 1-hit when Wither activates), the damage required is
[Creature Armor]*1.1053 + [Creature HP]*1.053/2.
To 1-hit when Spectral Knight activates, the damage required is
[Creature HP]*1.053.
Since above level 186, the creature HP will be more than twice that of its armor, the damage requirement is higher.
To 1-hit when Shatter Armor activates, the damage required is
[Creature Armor]*1.1053/4 + [Creature HP]*1.053/2.
To 1-hit when piercing activates, the damage required is
[Creature Armor]*1.1053/2 + [Creature HP]*1.053/2.
Example :: Level 186 (Cacti Cat)
Creature armor (max) = 655, Creature HP (max) = 3104.
1-hit : 3992 damage
1-hit with death dealer : 3327 damage
1-hit when wither activates : 2358 damage
1-hit when spectral knight activates : 3268 damage
1-hit when shatter armor activates : 3449 damage
1-hit when piercing activates : 3630 damage
So depending on what you can achieve with your damage, you may or may not benefit from the new buffs. Count your damage before buying those buffs.
(Anyone wants to write a calculator for this? Please let me know and I'll post a link to it).
XP Gain
XP Gain is a great attribute that can help players advance faster in levels.
At level 150, a player can gain more than 30% of his level a day without having to use a single stam, just by XP Gain.
Every player starts out with +2 XP Gain.
There are items that can increase that XP Gain
Each upgrade cost 15 fsps, and a player can apply up to 50 upgrades.
At 50 upgrades, that will add +1250 XP Gain.
On the character upgrade page, XP Gain is defined as such ::
Note that your 'xp gain' is allocated, plus a bonus of your xp gain times a multiplier equal to your level minus 50 divided by '25' (rounding down).
Note the actual value is always reflected in the quick display at the top bar xp mouseover. Note also at lower levels this value is then scaled down up to a reduction factor of 10 to stop it potientially being too overpowering. Below level 25, no additional bonus is applied.
That description is not concrete and wrong. As described above, the XP Gains are added up. A multiplier is then applied, and the multiplier is actually [Player Level]/25 + 1 (rounded down).
Note that there are no subtraction of 50 level as described on that page.
Also, the description of a reduction factor is vague. I will appreciate if any players below level 150 reading this page can let me know the values they observed.
I wrote a calculator to compute the XP Gain, and the value has been observed to be correct for level 150 and higher. The calculator can be found on the URL below :
http://sisland83.bravehost.com/xpgain.html
So above describes XP Gain, but what's the value of such attribute?
Many players will agree with me that Stamina Gain is probably the most important upgrade.
And XP Gain will come in a strong second. When that upgrade is maximized, it contributes about 10% of a level for level 400 players (and more for lower level players).
The 750 fsps needed to maximize the upgrade could have been spent to buy stamina for levels, but that will only get you about 10 levels (at around level 400). So you get to break even in 100 days. That sounds like a reasonably fair tradeoff. However, its value can be higher, especially if you plan and rest to recover on difficult levels (levels that will require a higher level CA to 1-hit).
But how does it compare to Stamina Gain, is it even better than Stamina Gain? For a level 400 player, each upgrade earns 425 XP per hour, while a creature kill gets you about 2200 XP per hour. So it is clear that Stamina Gain is much more valuable to a level 400 player. I believe that comparison holds true for lower levels also.
What about relics? Is it worth more than Stamina Gain relics? Those relics that provide +200 XP Gain effectively gives 8 upgrades worth in XP Gains, worth 120 fsps in value, compared to Stamina Gains upgrades that are worth 25 fsps per upgrade. However, that is the wrong way to compare. Instead, for a level 400 player, +200 XP Gain with the multiplier actually earns you 3400 XP per hour. While a single stamina earns you a single creature kill, worth about 2200 XP. Of course, the Despair Crystals has both +200 XP Gain and +1 Stamina Gain, making it the most desirable relic. OK, so it is moredesirable than a Stamina Gain relic. But is it really worth all the walking? Assuming one needs about 120 stamina to return to the relic and back to the hunting grounds. That is 264k XP. To break even on the XP gained, one has to stay on the relic for 3.24 days. That clearly is valuable to some players with enough maximum stamina. But what if not all the players need to return? Let's say, only half needs to return (with players taking turns perhaps). Then it should be clear that the relic is very well worth defending.
What about items with XP Gains? The Shield of Bakmar adds +5 XP Gain. But at level 400, that adds 85 XP per hour. Those +1 XP Gain items add only 17 XP per hour. But that XP is much less than a single creature kill. In fact, the Shield of Bakmar only add 2040 XP per day, and a single Stamina earns you more than that. It is still all nice, better than nothing at all. However, if you have to spend 120 stamina to walk back to a relic, you really should be willing to give that up. Assume 9 players with 9 slots for defense. If you use the shield, there's really only 8 slots for defense. Instead, if only 8 players return (the 9 players can take turn on who can stay out), and not use the shield, they can get the same total defense, and save 120 stamina. Compared to all 9 players returning and getting 1 stamina worth in XP every day, it'll take 13 days to break even against the 120 stamina.
At level 150, a player can gain more than 30% of his level a day without having to use a single stam, just by XP Gain.
Every player starts out with +2 XP Gain.
There are items that can increase that XP Gain
- Shield of Bakmar (craftable, can increase up to +5 depending on craft)
- Fire Dragon Ring (+1 XP Gain)
- Jara Rune (+1 XP Gain)
- Writhing Ward (+1 XP Gain)
- Maximus Set (+1 XP Gain)
- Gurgriss Set (+1 XP Gain)
- Despair Crystal (+200 XP Gain)
- Ethereal Pillars (+200 XP Gain)
- Krul Pyramid (+200 XP Gain)
- Searing Orb (+100 XP Gain)
- Unholy Shring (+200 XP Gain)
Each upgrade cost 15 fsps, and a player can apply up to 50 upgrades.
At 50 upgrades, that will add +1250 XP Gain.
On the character upgrade page, XP Gain is defined as such ::
Note that your 'xp gain' is allocated, plus a bonus of your xp gain times a multiplier equal to your level minus 50 divided by '25' (rounding down).
Note the actual value is always reflected in the quick display at the top bar xp mouseover. Note also at lower levels this value is then scaled down up to a reduction factor of 10 to stop it potientially being too overpowering. Below level 25, no additional bonus is applied.
That description is not concrete and wrong. As described above, the XP Gains are added up. A multiplier is then applied, and the multiplier is actually [Player Level]/25 + 1 (rounded down).
Note that there are no subtraction of 50 level as described on that page.
Also, the description of a reduction factor is vague. I will appreciate if any players below level 150 reading this page can let me know the values they observed.
I wrote a calculator to compute the XP Gain, and the value has been observed to be correct for level 150 and higher. The calculator can be found on the URL below :
http://sisland83.bravehost.com/xpgain.html
So above describes XP Gain, but what's the value of such attribute?
Many players will agree with me that Stamina Gain is probably the most important upgrade.
And XP Gain will come in a strong second. When that upgrade is maximized, it contributes about 10% of a level for level 400 players (and more for lower level players).
The 750 fsps needed to maximize the upgrade could have been spent to buy stamina for levels, but that will only get you about 10 levels (at around level 400). So you get to break even in 100 days. That sounds like a reasonably fair tradeoff. However, its value can be higher, especially if you plan and rest to recover on difficult levels (levels that will require a higher level CA to 1-hit).
But how does it compare to Stamina Gain, is it even better than Stamina Gain? For a level 400 player, each upgrade earns 425 XP per hour, while a creature kill gets you about 2200 XP per hour. So it is clear that Stamina Gain is much more valuable to a level 400 player. I believe that comparison holds true for lower levels also.
What about relics? Is it worth more than Stamina Gain relics? Those relics that provide +200 XP Gain effectively gives 8 upgrades worth in XP Gains, worth 120 fsps in value, compared to Stamina Gains upgrades that are worth 25 fsps per upgrade. However, that is the wrong way to compare. Instead, for a level 400 player, +200 XP Gain with the multiplier actually earns you 3400 XP per hour. While a single stamina earns you a single creature kill, worth about 2200 XP. Of course, the Despair Crystals has both +200 XP Gain and +1 Stamina Gain, making it the most desirable relic. OK, so it is moredesirable than a Stamina Gain relic. But is it really worth all the walking? Assuming one needs about 120 stamina to return to the relic and back to the hunting grounds. That is 264k XP. To break even on the XP gained, one has to stay on the relic for 3.24 days. That clearly is valuable to some players with enough maximum stamina. But what if not all the players need to return? Let's say, only half needs to return (with players taking turns perhaps). Then it should be clear that the relic is very well worth defending.
What about items with XP Gains? The Shield of Bakmar adds +5 XP Gain. But at level 400, that adds 85 XP per hour. Those +1 XP Gain items add only 17 XP per hour. But that XP is much less than a single creature kill. In fact, the Shield of Bakmar only add 2040 XP per day, and a single Stamina earns you more than that. It is still all nice, better than nothing at all. However, if you have to spend 120 stamina to walk back to a relic, you really should be willing to give that up. Assume 9 players with 9 slots for defense. If you use the shield, there's really only 8 slots for defense. Instead, if only 8 players return (the 9 players can take turn on who can stay out), and not use the shield, they can get the same total defense, and save 120 stamina. Compared to all 9 players returning and getting 1 stamina worth in XP every day, it'll take 13 days to break even against the 120 stamina.
Fallen Sword Newbie Guide
I've been playing fallen sword MMORPG for a few months now and I'm finding that it's very addictive & fun. It's a simplistic game.... Here's some highlights (or click the link below for a free account!):
Fallen Sword Browser Based Game Highlights
-Browser Based: Play from anywhere
-MMORPG: This is a massive multi-player online game. You can join guilds and interact with other players.
-PVP: There are pvp elements to the game. If you don't like PVP you can place a bounty on players that attack you (retaliation without getting involved).
-FREE: Playing fallen sword wont cost you a penny.
Here's a summary description of the game I pulled off a google search:
Fallen Sword is a free massive multiplayer online game. In the game you battle creatures (and other players) in order to gain experience, gold and better gear as you travel through the many locations of the expansive virtual world.
To play, all you need is an internet connection and a browser (IE/ Firefox/ Safari, etc). With over 2,900,000 registered players in Fallen Sword and daily rankings of all players, you'll always know how you match up against other gamers.
Warning: This game is highly addictive.
Here's a guide for the game which you might find helpful starting out:
http://www.squidoo.com/fallensword-online-game (copy & paste into your browser)
It only covers the first few levels or so. After that you'll have to use the fallen sword wiki:
http://wiki.fallensword.com/index.php/Main_Page (copy & paste into your browser)
Here's a fallen sword tutorial you may find helpful as well:
http://wiki.fallensword.com/index.php/Badjoe%27s_Tutorial (copy & paste into your browser)
Here is the official fallen sword forum:
http://forum.fallensword.com/
FallenSword RPG - Play online now free!
My Fallen Sword Experience:
A TRULY SIMPLISTIC GAME, ON THE SURFACE...
At first I thought... what the hell is this game? It was almost a throwback to the primitive text games that I used to play in middle school (maybe that gives you an idea of how old I am...) Anyway, you'll notice the graphics are rudimentary, and the combat is simplistic too. However, once you join a guild and view the guild structures, or once you start to look at your FSP upgrades, or take a look at the auction house, or maybe even look at your skill tree options--and then you'll start to fathom the complexity of the game.
HOTKEYS
One of the first things you'll want to do is go to your preferences and set your combat to "instant". Something else you may want to do, is attack with 'Hot Keys'. Number keys 1-8 will allow you to attack creatures one through eight (you'll notice rats & natives in the very first area).
STARTING OUT
The first thing you'll want to do is go to each little landmark you can see when you start. Once you are on top of each landmark you'll be able to respectively start quests or purchase things at the shop. Almost right out of the gate, you'll see what looks like a little square wood towerish thing. That's the shop. Inside you'll find the recipe for the mystic pick axe. Make sure you buy it! The shop will provide you with one of the reagents you'll need to make the pick axe. Now, after you buy the recipe, be sure to click on it so you can then learn it (and it will no longer take one of your 3x inventory slots).
EARLY QUESTS (SNOW LEOPARD QUESTS/ELVEN FORT)
Now--once you make the mystic pick axe, you'll be doing decent damage. As soon as you're level 5ish, you'll want to go back to the elven fort near the start of the game. Make sure to accept the quest on the way to find snow leopard fur. Inside the fort, make sure to complete the quest--the wounded man will give you a the symbolic elvish rune.
Now, make sure you do all 3x leopard skin quests. You'll get some decent unique 'pink' gear, like now leopard gloves, armor, and boots... etc. Once you've completed the quests & gotten your gear, you're ready to head into the narrow passage, and down into the fire chasm.
WHERE TO PUT LEVEL UP POINTS
Now, as you're leveling up you may wonder where to put your points. You could put every single point in damage (probably a smart way to go). However, at the start this is very difficult. You may want to put up to 20 points in attack. Personally, I wouldn't put any more points there.
In fact, I recommend just getting about 20 points in attack, then putting 100% of the rest of your points into damage. Once you're past level 150 or 200 you may want to change. But for the first few (or several months), the advice I'm giving here should hold true...
STAMINA
Now, here's something you'll want to understand in this game. The biggest single limiting factor is your STAMINA. You need stamina to attack OR to move. You automatically regain 50 stamina per hour, and if you join a guild, there's a structure they might have which can give you as much as 15 extra stamina per hour, bringing your base stamina gain to 65 per hour.
If you want to level up quickly, you MUST kill monsters in 1 single hit. Now, once you get to level 500 and up I hear this is just about impossible. However, starting out, it's relatively easy. There's a formula you'll find on the official fallen sword forums to make sure you don't miss (since if you miss, you'll take another point of stamina to attack again, up to 20 points of stamina if you're missing too much).
GUILDS
Join a guild as soon as you can. Generally there are high level players who will be very helpful with finding you some nice gear sets, and they will probably buff you too. Whatever buffs you can't get from your guild, you should consider buying.
BUFFS / SKILLS
Here are some must have buffs for leveling, in order of importance.
1-Doubler: You'll multiply both your exp & gold with this skill. Less stamina is wasted moving around since (for example) a 150 doubler from another player will give you 4x the gold & exp. You can also buy "acceleration" or "doubler" potions from the auction house which effectively give you 8x or 10x exp & gold (and they also consume 8x or 10x stamina).
2-Adept Learner: At level 100 this skill gives you 20% more exp. This is a must have.
3-Treasure Hunter: the gold version of adept learner. Get 20% more gold at level 100.
4-Librarian: Combine this with adept learner & doubler & you will see some crazy exp gains about 10% of the time at level 100 (it's a 10% change to double your exp at that level).
5-Merchant: the gold version of librarian. A 5% chance to double your gold from any creature you kill. Combined with doubler you'll see some crazy numbers here too.
6-Conserve: This is an excellent skill--it's a chance that your attack will consume NO STAMINA! Now think about it.. if you're using 10x doubler & consume no stamina--and you've got adept learner/librarian/ and several other buffs--the benefit becomes exponentially better.
7-Animal Magnetism: This creates a chance for a monster you just killed to respawn on the same spot. Just another way of conserving your stamina for attacking.
FSP UPGRADES
The first thing you should do is get more stamina. If you buy buffs, they will go several times farther if you have several times more stamina. You also wont need to search for buffs as often, or even log in as often this way.
Early on, treat your FSP like diamonds. Make sure not to waste in on gear you're truly not going to need later. In order of importance, here's where your FSP upgrades should go:
1-Base Stamina + 10: You really want to hit at least 3,000+ stamina by level 200--the earlier you have more stamina the better. Doubler works better & stacking many buffs becomes more effective when you're doing this. Cost: 2fsp for 10 stam
2-Stamina Per Hour Gain +1: Instead of gaining about 1200 stamina per day, the maximum level of this skill (+25 stamina per hour) lets you gain about 2000 stamina per day. You'll level more than twice as fast if you combine this huge stamina boost with high base stamina. Cost: 25 fsp per +1 stamina per hour
3-Exp Per hour: past level 150 this becomes a substantial buff. The way this works mathmatically, it becomes better & better at high levels. At low levels it wont help much, so it's not a high priority until later.
4-AH Slots/ Inventory Space: You'll need this later on, but I would advise to put this off until later.
5-Gold Per Hour: trash (it will take 7 years to get your FSP back if you invest in this; its a complete waste)
6-There are many other options in the FSP upgrade section--but the most important, most key ones I've covered: increase your stam to 3k+, and get +25 stam per hour & once you start to hit higher levels, try & get the EXP per hour maxed out as well.
Be sure to read up on the official forum, there's many guides there that cover all these topics much more comprehensively. Theres also a leveling guide that will help you get through the first 50 levels more quickly (by helping you figure out where you should be).
FallenSword RPG - Play online now free!
Newbie Guide
A lot of new players join a guild asking for help. Granted that it is in the interest of the guild to help, a player should also learn to be independent. A guild (such as ours) providing 2 basic structures (Weaponsmith and Battle Totem of at least level 3 each), should provide sufficient help, at least until level 30, even if guildmates do not provide any further help.
This post by darkarchon provides a walkthrough on how one can progress from level 1 through 30, on the Frostbite set alone. If you get help beyond that Frostbite set, you should do even better.
http://forum.fallensword.com/viewtopic.php?t=39559
The guide goes on to level 65, but the Girath set mentioned in the post at level 30 now cost 6 fsps (market price), and will not be easy for a level 30 to accumulate. Perhaps at that time of posting, it was not that expensive.
So moving on from level 30, you may want to learn to plan your own equipment. If you have been following the guide above, all your level upstats (or at least 90% I hope), should go to damage. But how do you plan your equipment? What attack, armor, damage is needed?
maegglin posted this
http://forum.fallensword.com/viewtopic.php?t=32263
In summary, these are what you need (according to his post).
1. Armor >= Creature Damage * 1.1053
2. Attack >= Creature Defense * 1.1053
3. Damage >= Creature Armor * 1.1053 + Creature HP * 1.053
The principal is to survive occasional misses (and partly praying creature do not do piercing damage), but to 1-hit 98% of the time.
There is another thought, which is to simply have an overwhelming attack against creature defense. They never miss indicating that attack vs defense is not limited to 98% chance as discussed above. Reference players : zapwacker and Ishie (can be found in my ally list).
I have also seen other players choosing a defense style, where a high enough defense reduces the chance of creature hitting, instead of using armor to take that damage hit. This could be a better style at higher level, since creatures start to have piercing attacks at level 80s. Reference player : JoetheRat (can be found in my ally list).
Fallen Sword Browser Based Game Highlights
-Browser Based: Play from anywhere
-MMORPG: This is a massive multi-player online game. You can join guilds and interact with other players.
-PVP: There are pvp elements to the game. If you don't like PVP you can place a bounty on players that attack you (retaliation without getting involved).
-FREE: Playing fallen sword wont cost you a penny.
Here's a summary description of the game I pulled off a google search:
Fallen Sword is a free massive multiplayer online game. In the game you battle creatures (and other players) in order to gain experience, gold and better gear as you travel through the many locations of the expansive virtual world.
To play, all you need is an internet connection and a browser (IE/ Firefox/ Safari, etc). With over 2,900,000 registered players in Fallen Sword and daily rankings of all players, you'll always know how you match up against other gamers.
Warning: This game is highly addictive.
Here's a guide for the game which you might find helpful starting out:
http://www.squidoo.com/fallensword-online-game (copy & paste into your browser)
It only covers the first few levels or so. After that you'll have to use the fallen sword wiki:
http://wiki.fallensword.com/index.php/Main_Page (copy & paste into your browser)
Here's a fallen sword tutorial you may find helpful as well:
http://wiki.fallensword.com/index.php/Badjoe%27s_Tutorial (copy & paste into your browser)
Here is the official fallen sword forum:
http://forum.fallensword.com/
FallenSword RPG - Play online now free!
My Fallen Sword Experience:
A TRULY SIMPLISTIC GAME, ON THE SURFACE...
At first I thought... what the hell is this game? It was almost a throwback to the primitive text games that I used to play in middle school (maybe that gives you an idea of how old I am...) Anyway, you'll notice the graphics are rudimentary, and the combat is simplistic too. However, once you join a guild and view the guild structures, or once you start to look at your FSP upgrades, or take a look at the auction house, or maybe even look at your skill tree options--and then you'll start to fathom the complexity of the game.
HOTKEYS
One of the first things you'll want to do is go to your preferences and set your combat to "instant". Something else you may want to do, is attack with 'Hot Keys'. Number keys 1-8 will allow you to attack creatures one through eight (you'll notice rats & natives in the very first area).
STARTING OUT
The first thing you'll want to do is go to each little landmark you can see when you start. Once you are on top of each landmark you'll be able to respectively start quests or purchase things at the shop. Almost right out of the gate, you'll see what looks like a little square wood towerish thing. That's the shop. Inside you'll find the recipe for the mystic pick axe. Make sure you buy it! The shop will provide you with one of the reagents you'll need to make the pick axe. Now, after you buy the recipe, be sure to click on it so you can then learn it (and it will no longer take one of your 3x inventory slots).
EARLY QUESTS (SNOW LEOPARD QUESTS/ELVEN FORT)
Now--once you make the mystic pick axe, you'll be doing decent damage. As soon as you're level 5ish, you'll want to go back to the elven fort near the start of the game. Make sure to accept the quest on the way to find snow leopard fur. Inside the fort, make sure to complete the quest--the wounded man will give you a the symbolic elvish rune.
Now, make sure you do all 3x leopard skin quests. You'll get some decent unique 'pink' gear, like now leopard gloves, armor, and boots... etc. Once you've completed the quests & gotten your gear, you're ready to head into the narrow passage, and down into the fire chasm.
WHERE TO PUT LEVEL UP POINTS
Now, as you're leveling up you may wonder where to put your points. You could put every single point in damage (probably a smart way to go). However, at the start this is very difficult. You may want to put up to 20 points in attack. Personally, I wouldn't put any more points there.
In fact, I recommend just getting about 20 points in attack, then putting 100% of the rest of your points into damage. Once you're past level 150 or 200 you may want to change. But for the first few (or several months), the advice I'm giving here should hold true...
STAMINA
Now, here's something you'll want to understand in this game. The biggest single limiting factor is your STAMINA. You need stamina to attack OR to move. You automatically regain 50 stamina per hour, and if you join a guild, there's a structure they might have which can give you as much as 15 extra stamina per hour, bringing your base stamina gain to 65 per hour.
If you want to level up quickly, you MUST kill monsters in 1 single hit. Now, once you get to level 500 and up I hear this is just about impossible. However, starting out, it's relatively easy. There's a formula you'll find on the official fallen sword forums to make sure you don't miss (since if you miss, you'll take another point of stamina to attack again, up to 20 points of stamina if you're missing too much).
GUILDS
Join a guild as soon as you can. Generally there are high level players who will be very helpful with finding you some nice gear sets, and they will probably buff you too. Whatever buffs you can't get from your guild, you should consider buying.
BUFFS / SKILLS
Here are some must have buffs for leveling, in order of importance.
1-Doubler: You'll multiply both your exp & gold with this skill. Less stamina is wasted moving around since (for example) a 150 doubler from another player will give you 4x the gold & exp. You can also buy "acceleration" or "doubler" potions from the auction house which effectively give you 8x or 10x exp & gold (and they also consume 8x or 10x stamina).
2-Adept Learner: At level 100 this skill gives you 20% more exp. This is a must have.
3-Treasure Hunter: the gold version of adept learner. Get 20% more gold at level 100.
4-Librarian: Combine this with adept learner & doubler & you will see some crazy exp gains about 10% of the time at level 100 (it's a 10% change to double your exp at that level).
5-Merchant: the gold version of librarian. A 5% chance to double your gold from any creature you kill. Combined with doubler you'll see some crazy numbers here too.
6-Conserve: This is an excellent skill--it's a chance that your attack will consume NO STAMINA! Now think about it.. if you're using 10x doubler & consume no stamina--and you've got adept learner/librarian/ and several other buffs--the benefit becomes exponentially better.
7-Animal Magnetism: This creates a chance for a monster you just killed to respawn on the same spot. Just another way of conserving your stamina for attacking.
FSP UPGRADES
The first thing you should do is get more stamina. If you buy buffs, they will go several times farther if you have several times more stamina. You also wont need to search for buffs as often, or even log in as often this way.
Early on, treat your FSP like diamonds. Make sure not to waste in on gear you're truly not going to need later. In order of importance, here's where your FSP upgrades should go:
1-Base Stamina + 10: You really want to hit at least 3,000+ stamina by level 200--the earlier you have more stamina the better. Doubler works better & stacking many buffs becomes more effective when you're doing this. Cost: 2fsp for 10 stam
2-Stamina Per Hour Gain +1: Instead of gaining about 1200 stamina per day, the maximum level of this skill (+25 stamina per hour) lets you gain about 2000 stamina per day. You'll level more than twice as fast if you combine this huge stamina boost with high base stamina. Cost: 25 fsp per +1 stamina per hour
3-Exp Per hour: past level 150 this becomes a substantial buff. The way this works mathmatically, it becomes better & better at high levels. At low levels it wont help much, so it's not a high priority until later.
4-AH Slots/ Inventory Space: You'll need this later on, but I would advise to put this off until later.
5-Gold Per Hour: trash (it will take 7 years to get your FSP back if you invest in this; its a complete waste)
6-There are many other options in the FSP upgrade section--but the most important, most key ones I've covered: increase your stam to 3k+, and get +25 stam per hour & once you start to hit higher levels, try & get the EXP per hour maxed out as well.
Be sure to read up on the official forum, there's many guides there that cover all these topics much more comprehensively. Theres also a leveling guide that will help you get through the first 50 levels more quickly (by helping you figure out where you should be).
FallenSword RPG - Play online now free!
Newbie Guide
A lot of new players join a guild asking for help. Granted that it is in the interest of the guild to help, a player should also learn to be independent. A guild (such as ours) providing 2 basic structures (Weaponsmith and Battle Totem of at least level 3 each), should provide sufficient help, at least until level 30, even if guildmates do not provide any further help.
This post by darkarchon provides a walkthrough on how one can progress from level 1 through 30, on the Frostbite set alone. If you get help beyond that Frostbite set, you should do even better.
http://forum.fallensword.com/viewtopic.php?t=39559
The guide goes on to level 65, but the Girath set mentioned in the post at level 30 now cost 6 fsps (market price), and will not be easy for a level 30 to accumulate. Perhaps at that time of posting, it was not that expensive.
So moving on from level 30, you may want to learn to plan your own equipment. If you have been following the guide above, all your level upstats (or at least 90% I hope), should go to damage. But how do you plan your equipment? What attack, armor, damage is needed?
maegglin posted this
http://forum.fallensword.com/viewtopic.php?t=32263
In summary, these are what you need (according to his post).
1. Armor >= Creature Damage * 1.1053
2. Attack >= Creature Defense * 1.1053
3. Damage >= Creature Armor * 1.1053 + Creature HP * 1.053
The principal is to survive occasional misses (and partly praying creature do not do piercing damage), but to 1-hit 98% of the time.
There is another thought, which is to simply have an overwhelming attack against creature defense. They never miss indicating that attack vs defense is not limited to 98% chance as discussed above. Reference players : zapwacker and Ishie (can be found in my ally list).
I have also seen other players choosing a defense style, where a high enough defense reduces the chance of creature hitting, instead of using armor to take that damage hit. This could be a better style at higher level, since creatures start to have piercing attacks at level 80s. Reference player : JoetheRat (can be found in my ally list).
Fallen Sword Buffing and Potion Guide
This is a short guide you can use as a reference to search the auction house & find the potions you need so you can get cheap powerful buffs. You don't need to completely depend on the guild, more expensive potions, or other players to get these buffs. So use this freely as long as you're not bidding against me at the AH (auction house)! *wink*
From the start, here's some key buffs you should ALWAYS use (for xp). These all work together synergistically & make a huge impact on how much XP you gain (if you use ALL of them especially!). Missing one of them will prevent you from maximizing your XP. (offensive buffs are only critical if you're not 1-hitting & that's another subject, but I have also included them in what I've listed):
Critcal Skills for XP Gain
Adept Learner
Librarian
Conserve
Animal Magnetism
Doubler
Critical Gold Gain Skills
Treasure Hunter
Merchant
(Doubler will effect this too)
The auction house is your friend when it comes to buffs. New players don't realize there are many AH buffs you can get quite cheap if you're good at bidding on auctions and you're willing to spend some time. For each potion, just use the search function at the auction house with the text name of the potion, then sort by starting bid amount.
If you're using several potions get the BREWING MASTER buff from a guildmate; (or pay a buffer 10k) this skill TRIPLES the length of the potion timer at level 150. This will increase the duration of your potions (some only last 15 minutes!). The key here, is that you can be a level 5 player, using deathwish, animal magnetism, conserve, adept learner, librarian, you name it! So take a look at this list & start leveling faster!
---------------------------------- Critical Skills ----------------------------------
(listed in order of importance)
Doubler Skill
Potion of Experience: (sold by AH, 100 Gold) level 100 (2x)
Potion of Doubling: (sold by AH, 50k Doubler) level 450 (7x)
Accleration: (65k) level 500 (8x)
Doubler: (85k) level 750 (10x)
Adept Learner Skill (Max Modifier 20% w/ 100pts)
Potion of Learning (sold by AH, 100) lvl 125
Librarian Skill
Potion of the Scholar (sold by AH, 100) level 100)
Conserve Skill
Potion of Conservation (sold by AH, 2.4k) level 100 (Max. Modifier: 5% w/ 100pts) (e.g.4k)
Animal Magnetism Skill
Luring Potion (sold by AH, 100) Max. Modifier: 20% w/ 100pts (e.g.3k)
---------------------------------- Offensive Skills ----------------------------------
(listed in order of cost)
Wither Skill (start combat with enemy @ 50% HP)
Potion of Decay (sold by AH, 100) level 150
Potion of Fatality (sold by AH, 50k) level 350
Shatter Armor Skill
Potion of Shattering (sold by AH, 100) level 150 (7.5% to reduce armor 75%)
Deathwish Skill
Potion of Death (sold by AH, 100) level 125 (3.75% to instant kill)
Berserk Skill (only good with high base DMG, expensive)
Dragons Blood Potion (sold by AH, 100) level 200 (+40% base damage)
Dark Curse Skill (Important at Higher Levels)
Sludge Brew (sold by AH, 10k) level 200 (40% enemy def reduction)
Death Dealer Skill (expensive)
Potion of lesser death dealer (75k) level 25 (gain stats with each kill)
Enchant Weapon Skill (expensive)
Potion of Truth (500k, sold by AH 2.5k) level 1000 (wow!)
---------------------------------- Defensive Skills ----------------------------------
(listed in order of cost)
Spell Breaker Skill (pvp)
Breaker Potion (sold by AH, 100) level 125 (% to remove a buff from pvp opponent)
Sanctuary Skill (potion only skill, increase defense)
Potion of Lesser Sanctuary (sold by AH, 100) level 25
Potion of Sanctuary (sold by AH, 100) level 50 (25% to armor @ lvl 100) (sells @12k+)
Force Shield Skill (Also helpful for SE hunting)
Potion of Shielding (sold by AH, 100) level 200 (20% chance dmg vs you will equal 1)
Unbreakable Skill (prevent gear damage, good on crystaline items)
Potion of Unyielding (sold by AH 25k) level 100 (max level, 50%)
Potion of Indestructibility (3 fsp) level 200
Constitution Skill (expensive)
Heartfelt Stew (Sold by AH, 25k) level 250 (25% to defense)
Last Ditch Skill (Only good PVP, too expensive)
Potion of Final Strike (sold by AH, 25k) level 100 (not worth it)
---------------------------------- SE Hunting Skills ----------------------------------
Find Item Skill (an absolute MUST if you're killing an SE / Elite)
Runic Potion (Cheap Find Item Potion, 2500 sold by AH) lvl 250 (25% find item)
Potion of Greater Discovery (90k) (80% find item)
Potion of Supreme Luck (24k, sold by AH) lvl 1000 (100% find item!)
Super Elite Slayer (helpful for killing an SE)
Potion of the Slayer (70k to 1fsp) (lvl 125) (reduce SE dmg/atk/def by 25%)
Four Leaf Skill
Potion of Luck (sold by AH, 2.4k) level 200 (Max. Modifier: 10% w/ 100pts)
---------------------------------- Unavailable Skills ----------------------------------
(These are a few of the skills I could not find potions for)
(The only way to get these skills is to buy it from a buffer, learn it, or ask in guild & hope someone has it)
Treasure Hunter Skill (Max. Modifier: 5% w/ 100pts)
None.
Merchant Skill (Max. Modifier: 5% w/ 100pts)
None.
Empower Skill (Max. Modifier: 10% w/ 100pts)
None.
Keen Edge
None.
Brewing Master
None.
***The max modifier comments are straight from the wiki. I have asked in chat, but no one has answered--is there truly a maximum effect on all these skills. I look forward to finding out soon....
Find Buffers
This is an ASP based buff tool:
Any buffs you can't get on this list or from a guildmate, can be purchased here:
-->http://fallen-empire.wzarlon.dk/find-buffers.asp
Fallen Sword Wiki
This is the fallen sword wiki, you'll find changes & updates here. I think they will eventually add more potions for abilties like keen edge when the level cap increases/
-->http://wiki.fallensword.com/index.php/Category:Quest_Items
I posted this publicly as well here: http://fallen-sword-mmo.blogspot.com/
FallenSword RPG - Play online now free!
From the start, here's some key buffs you should ALWAYS use (for xp). These all work together synergistically & make a huge impact on how much XP you gain (if you use ALL of them especially!). Missing one of them will prevent you from maximizing your XP. (offensive buffs are only critical if you're not 1-hitting & that's another subject, but I have also included them in what I've listed):
Critcal Skills for XP Gain
Adept Learner
Librarian
Conserve
Animal Magnetism
Doubler
Critical Gold Gain Skills
Treasure Hunter
Merchant
(Doubler will effect this too)
The auction house is your friend when it comes to buffs. New players don't realize there are many AH buffs you can get quite cheap if you're good at bidding on auctions and you're willing to spend some time. For each potion, just use the search function at the auction house with the text name of the potion, then sort by starting bid amount.
If you're using several potions get the BREWING MASTER buff from a guildmate; (or pay a buffer 10k) this skill TRIPLES the length of the potion timer at level 150. This will increase the duration of your potions (some only last 15 minutes!). The key here, is that you can be a level 5 player, using deathwish, animal magnetism, conserve, adept learner, librarian, you name it! So take a look at this list & start leveling faster!
---------------------------------- Critical Skills ----------------------------------
(listed in order of importance)
Doubler Skill
Potion of Experience: (sold by AH, 100 Gold) level 100 (2x)
Potion of Doubling: (sold by AH, 50k Doubler) level 450 (7x)
Accleration: (65k) level 500 (8x)
Doubler: (85k) level 750 (10x)
Adept Learner Skill (Max Modifier 20% w/ 100pts)
Potion of Learning (sold by AH, 100) lvl 125
Librarian Skill
Potion of the Scholar (sold by AH, 100) level 100)
Conserve Skill
Potion of Conservation (sold by AH, 2.4k) level 100 (Max. Modifier: 5% w/ 100pts) (e.g.4k)
Animal Magnetism Skill
Luring Potion (sold by AH, 100) Max. Modifier: 20% w/ 100pts (e.g.3k)
---------------------------------- Offensive Skills ----------------------------------
(listed in order of cost)
Wither Skill (start combat with enemy @ 50% HP)
Potion of Decay (sold by AH, 100) level 150
Potion of Fatality (sold by AH, 50k) level 350
Shatter Armor Skill
Potion of Shattering (sold by AH, 100) level 150 (7.5% to reduce armor 75%)
Deathwish Skill
Potion of Death (sold by AH, 100) level 125 (3.75% to instant kill)
Berserk Skill (only good with high base DMG, expensive)
Dragons Blood Potion (sold by AH, 100) level 200 (+40% base damage)
Dark Curse Skill (Important at Higher Levels)
Sludge Brew (sold by AH, 10k) level 200 (40% enemy def reduction)
Death Dealer Skill (expensive)
Potion of lesser death dealer (75k) level 25 (gain stats with each kill)
Enchant Weapon Skill (expensive)
Potion of Truth (500k, sold by AH 2.5k) level 1000 (wow!)
---------------------------------- Defensive Skills ----------------------------------
(listed in order of cost)
Spell Breaker Skill (pvp)
Breaker Potion (sold by AH, 100) level 125 (% to remove a buff from pvp opponent)
Sanctuary Skill (potion only skill, increase defense)
Potion of Lesser Sanctuary (sold by AH, 100) level 25
Potion of Sanctuary (sold by AH, 100) level 50 (25% to armor @ lvl 100) (sells @12k+)
Force Shield Skill (Also helpful for SE hunting)
Potion of Shielding (sold by AH, 100) level 200 (20% chance dmg vs you will equal 1)
Unbreakable Skill (prevent gear damage, good on crystaline items)
Potion of Unyielding (sold by AH 25k) level 100 (max level, 50%)
Potion of Indestructibility (3 fsp) level 200
Constitution Skill (expensive)
Heartfelt Stew (Sold by AH, 25k) level 250 (25% to defense)
Last Ditch Skill (Only good PVP, too expensive)
Potion of Final Strike (sold by AH, 25k) level 100 (not worth it)
---------------------------------- SE Hunting Skills ----------------------------------
Find Item Skill (an absolute MUST if you're killing an SE / Elite)
Runic Potion (Cheap Find Item Potion, 2500 sold by AH) lvl 250 (25% find item)
Potion of Greater Discovery (90k) (80% find item)
Potion of Supreme Luck (24k, sold by AH) lvl 1000 (100% find item!)
Super Elite Slayer (helpful for killing an SE)
Potion of the Slayer (70k to 1fsp) (lvl 125) (reduce SE dmg/atk/def by 25%)
Four Leaf Skill
Potion of Luck (sold by AH, 2.4k) level 200 (Max. Modifier: 10% w/ 100pts)
---------------------------------- Unavailable Skills ----------------------------------
(These are a few of the skills I could not find potions for)
(The only way to get these skills is to buy it from a buffer, learn it, or ask in guild & hope someone has it)
Treasure Hunter Skill (Max. Modifier: 5% w/ 100pts)
None.
Merchant Skill (Max. Modifier: 5% w/ 100pts)
None.
Empower Skill (Max. Modifier: 10% w/ 100pts)
None.
Keen Edge
None.
Brewing Master
None.
***The max modifier comments are straight from the wiki. I have asked in chat, but no one has answered--is there truly a maximum effect on all these skills. I look forward to finding out soon....
Find Buffers
This is an ASP based buff tool:
Any buffs you can't get on this list or from a guildmate, can be purchased here:
-->http://fallen-empire.wzarlon.dk/find-buffers.asp
Fallen Sword Wiki
This is the fallen sword wiki, you'll find changes & updates here. I think they will eventually add more potions for abilties like keen edge when the level cap increases/
-->http://wiki.fallensword.com/index.php/Category:Quest_Items
I posted this publicly as well here: http://fallen-sword-mmo.blogspot.com/
FallenSword RPG - Play online now free!
Xinderoth - The path I took
Xinderoth, the realms from level 400 - 420. Considered as a nightmare for some players. I'm nearly done with it, and many guild mates are just about to enter this stage. I won't say what I did was perfect, but I will share my encounters and experience, and some suggestions.
Level 400
Level 400, the City of Xinderoth, is a big realm. There are 10 different creatures in that realm, some harder to 1-hit than the others. There are 5 different quests in this realms, and some has mentioned in forum that they could not advanced to the next realm due to uncompleted quests. So what's needed, and what are not?
The quests are, in a way, designed to be completed in this order (counter clockwise) from where you enter.
1. Filthy Animals
2. Festival Revelers
3. Lead Astray
4. The Heat of Ambition
5. Bite the Hand
I have completed only ONE of those 5 quests. The quest that I completed is Filthy Animals. Doing quests can be fun for some, and I am not suggesting that you follow in my footstep.
Another suggestion on creatures to attack is to select a CA level that allow you to kill at least 5 of those 10 creatures, and simply pass up on those you cannot 1-hit with that CA level. I selected CA 36 with 11x doubler.
Also, the level 401 quest will require a Summoning Seal, which can be found on Xinderoth Watcher. Xinderoth Watcher is one of the 10 creatures found on this level. So I recommend getting the seal on this level.
Level 401-409
These levels are pretty straight forward. The realms are large, so the creatures are sparse. For level 402 and 403, you may have better luck finding creatures in Sanctum of Doth Realm, and Circle of the Fiend Realm respectively. I needed a low level CA for 407 and 409. There is a path from the world map to level 410, so I actually ended level 409 early and let XP gain do the job to complete that level. Since 409 is a relatively tough level that requires CA, the XP gain was worth more.
Level 410-420
I needed a low level CA for level 414. When I hit level 416, I stayed back on the 415 realms. The level 416 creatures requires a CA level higher than 100, so I was better off just staying back. Looking forward, I will need a low level CA for 419, and CA75 for 420.
Equipment
I used the Argus set, Sphynx Helmet, Sword of Ursa, Octo-Spine Shield, and Crushing Fist Ring. At level 408, I switched my weapon to the Double Axe of Demrhyle. From 410-413, I was using Pharaohs Sarcophagus instead of the Octo-Spine Shield. For level 419, the creature has a higher defense, so I am planning on using the Doth Blades set. And finally, at level 420, the weapon of choice will be the Master of Magic Spear. All my gears are perfect and fully forged.
Items to Hunt for
For most items mentioned above, I want them before I start on the level, so that means I bought them. However, at level 408, the Opticor set is a very nice standby set, so I hunted for them. I got only 1 drop, bought the rest. The Sarabaite set at 415 have nice attacks, and probably more useful when used in PvP and SE hunting.
Level 400
Level 400, the City of Xinderoth, is a big realm. There are 10 different creatures in that realm, some harder to 1-hit than the others. There are 5 different quests in this realms, and some has mentioned in forum that they could not advanced to the next realm due to uncompleted quests. So what's needed, and what are not?
The quests are, in a way, designed to be completed in this order (counter clockwise) from where you enter.
1. Filthy Animals
2. Festival Revelers
3. Lead Astray
4. The Heat of Ambition
5. Bite the Hand
I have completed only ONE of those 5 quests. The quest that I completed is Filthy Animals. Doing quests can be fun for some, and I am not suggesting that you follow in my footstep.
Another suggestion on creatures to attack is to select a CA level that allow you to kill at least 5 of those 10 creatures, and simply pass up on those you cannot 1-hit with that CA level. I selected CA 36 with 11x doubler.
Also, the level 401 quest will require a Summoning Seal, which can be found on Xinderoth Watcher. Xinderoth Watcher is one of the 10 creatures found on this level. So I recommend getting the seal on this level.
Level 401-409
These levels are pretty straight forward. The realms are large, so the creatures are sparse. For level 402 and 403, you may have better luck finding creatures in Sanctum of Doth Realm, and Circle of the Fiend Realm respectively. I needed a low level CA for 407 and 409. There is a path from the world map to level 410, so I actually ended level 409 early and let XP gain do the job to complete that level. Since 409 is a relatively tough level that requires CA, the XP gain was worth more.
Level 410-420
I needed a low level CA for level 414. When I hit level 416, I stayed back on the 415 realms. The level 416 creatures requires a CA level higher than 100, so I was better off just staying back. Looking forward, I will need a low level CA for 419, and CA75 for 420.
Equipment
I used the Argus set, Sphynx Helmet, Sword of Ursa, Octo-Spine Shield, and Crushing Fist Ring. At level 408, I switched my weapon to the Double Axe of Demrhyle. From 410-413, I was using Pharaohs Sarcophagus instead of the Octo-Spine Shield. For level 419, the creature has a higher defense, so I am planning on using the Doth Blades set. And finally, at level 420, the weapon of choice will be the Master of Magic Spear. All my gears are perfect and fully forged.
Items to Hunt for
For most items mentioned above, I want them before I start on the level, so that means I bought them. However, at level 408, the Opticor set is a very nice standby set, so I hunted for them. I got only 1 drop, bought the rest. The Sarabaite set at 415 have nice attacks, and probably more useful when used in PvP and SE hunting.
Killing Super Elites
Yes, I am talking about the Super Elite creatures, and not players like jmaisc or zenji. I am not a SE hunter, but as I approach level 420, the quest "A Sorry Tale" will require that I kill one. So I might as well plan for it.
In training, I typically equip my gear, and then figure out which buff and buff levels I will need. But when attacking with a group, this procedure has to be reversed. You get your buff, and then figure out how big a group you will need. So save the stam of your guild mate, one should lock the group when the group has sufficient stats to kill the creature you want, maybe with a little buffer, just in case one of the group member switches gear.
Let's start with buffs. Which buffs are most useful?
Super Elite Slayer is naturally useful, since that is its sole purpose, to help with killing a Super Elite. One can get that buff from a potion also. Potion of the Slayer offers a level 125 SES buff with a 60 mins duration.
Any buffs that affect the opponent is more useful than a buff that affect yourself. You are forming a group, of maybe 10 members. A buff that increase your ability means increasing 1 out of the 10 members. While a buff that affect the opponent affect it as a whole, and that applies whether it is a super elite or a relic capture.
So what are the buffs that affect the opponent?
Dark Curse can dramatically reduce the defense of your opponent, and that means a big reduction in the attack you will need. Potions can give a buff higher than the levels a player can cast, and they include Sludge Brew (DC 200), and Potion of Black Death (DC 225).
Flinch, a buff that was pretty much unavailable until recently where AzUK became the first player to reach level 600. It reduces the attack of your opponent, and therefore useful, but only when you want to attack in defense mode (which is the preferred mode).
Terrorze, can reduce opponent's damage, and can be useful in armor mode. However, we are still waiting for content to allow players to reach level 700 to get that buff.
Wither halves the HP of your opponent, but its effect depends on a roll of the dice.
Mesmerize can also reduce the creature stats, but also depend on the roll of dice. This is yet another buff that is still unavailable due to lack of content.
Therefore I wrote a small script to compute the effects with those buffs (excluding Wither and Mesmerize).
http://sisland83.bravehost.com/superelites.html
To use that script, select the creature you want, enter the level of the buffs you have (or plan to get), and hit the 'Calculate' button. It will show you the stats needed in your group. As with any creature hits, you don't need defense nor armor if you have the attack and damage to kill in 1 hit. However, if you need more than 1, then you will need either defense OR armor, but not both. Guilds with the Military Advisor structure can view the stats of the group and determine if it is sufficient to kill the SE.
However, there are buffs that do not show up on the stats.
Buffs that does additional damage based on lead attacker and not shown in group stats includes Blood Thirst, Ignite, Holy Flame, Death Dealer, Savagery, Chi Strike, Assist, and Counter Attack.
Constitution can increase defense, and Sanctuary can increase armor. Sanctuary is a potion only buff.
Shield Strike looks risky, especially if you need 3 or more hits to kill the creature. Nightmare Visage reduces attack, and is not shown on the stats, so beware.
Since I am not an SE hunter, I am not 100% sure that all those buffs apply in group attacks. Please let me know if you have experimented with them. Thanks.
In training, I typically equip my gear, and then figure out which buff and buff levels I will need. But when attacking with a group, this procedure has to be reversed. You get your buff, and then figure out how big a group you will need. So save the stam of your guild mate, one should lock the group when the group has sufficient stats to kill the creature you want, maybe with a little buffer, just in case one of the group member switches gear.
Let's start with buffs. Which buffs are most useful?
Super Elite Slayer is naturally useful, since that is its sole purpose, to help with killing a Super Elite. One can get that buff from a potion also. Potion of the Slayer offers a level 125 SES buff with a 60 mins duration.
Any buffs that affect the opponent is more useful than a buff that affect yourself. You are forming a group, of maybe 10 members. A buff that increase your ability means increasing 1 out of the 10 members. While a buff that affect the opponent affect it as a whole, and that applies whether it is a super elite or a relic capture.
So what are the buffs that affect the opponent?
Dark Curse can dramatically reduce the defense of your opponent, and that means a big reduction in the attack you will need. Potions can give a buff higher than the levels a player can cast, and they include Sludge Brew (DC 200), and Potion of Black Death (DC 225).
Flinch, a buff that was pretty much unavailable until recently where AzUK became the first player to reach level 600. It reduces the attack of your opponent, and therefore useful, but only when you want to attack in defense mode (which is the preferred mode).
Terrorze, can reduce opponent's damage, and can be useful in armor mode. However, we are still waiting for content to allow players to reach level 700 to get that buff.
Wither halves the HP of your opponent, but its effect depends on a roll of the dice.
Mesmerize can also reduce the creature stats, but also depend on the roll of dice. This is yet another buff that is still unavailable due to lack of content.
Therefore I wrote a small script to compute the effects with those buffs (excluding Wither and Mesmerize).
http://sisland83.bravehost.com/superelites.html
To use that script, select the creature you want, enter the level of the buffs you have (or plan to get), and hit the 'Calculate' button. It will show you the stats needed in your group. As with any creature hits, you don't need defense nor armor if you have the attack and damage to kill in 1 hit. However, if you need more than 1, then you will need either defense OR armor, but not both. Guilds with the Military Advisor structure can view the stats of the group and determine if it is sufficient to kill the SE.
However, there are buffs that do not show up on the stats.
Buffs that does additional damage based on lead attacker and not shown in group stats includes Blood Thirst, Ignite, Holy Flame, Death Dealer, Savagery, Chi Strike, Assist, and Counter Attack.
Constitution can increase defense, and Sanctuary can increase armor. Sanctuary is a potion only buff.
Shield Strike looks risky, especially if you need 3 or more hits to kill the creature. Nightmare Visage reduces attack, and is not shown on the stats, so beware.
Since I am not an SE hunter, I am not 100% sure that all those buffs apply in group attacks. Please let me know if you have experimented with them. Thanks.
Arterial Strike
Arterial Strike is a skill in the offense tree. It is a level 500 skill, and has dependency on Spectral Knight, which in turn has dependency on Shatter Armor. However, until Shatter Armor and Spectral Knight which reduces or eliminates opponent's armor, Arterial Strike is more like Adept Learner or Librarian and gives extra xp for killing creatures. The skill uses 20 stamina, and has a base duration of 60 minutes. Here's the official description :
Gain additional 0.1% xp per point for every additional round of combat. (Note that this does not activate if conserve activated)
So, if you have been following my blogs, you will know I am a big proponent of 1-hitting. Note the word 'additional' in the description. That means you do not get any extra xp if you 1-hit. So what use is it if you are 1-hitting?
Well, even if you are 1-hitting, you will miss, at least 2% of the time. And that was why we need the shield imp. Each time you use an imp, you get 17.5% more xp (than you would in a single attack). So assuming you are using the 16x doubler, and no CA, then that 17.5% translates to 2.8 stam in xp. Since the buff uses 20 stam, the break even will be 20/2.8 = 7.14. If you use CA, then you can reach the breakeven even sooner. Refer to the chart below for the breakevens. Note the breakeven number 7.14 is not limited to imp blocks, but should include dodges, shockwave, or any other incidences that may require you to go 2 combat rounds.
Does that mean AS is better when you use 16x doubler, or when you use CA? Actually, that's a little misleading. A hunting session is not defined by a fixed number of hits (and therefore the ratio of misses), but typically defined by the stam used. When you use 16x doubler or a higher CA, you will be killing fewer creatures. Assuming you are 1-hitting smoothly, and misses only 2% of the time, then the breakeven is about a 6000 stam hunt. That said, if you are encountering tough creatures, with nullify, dodge, first strike, and the 2-hit rates are higher than 2%, then it might even be worth getting it for a shorter hunt.
Gain additional 0.1% xp per point for every additional round of combat. (Note that this does not activate if conserve activated)
So, if you have been following my blogs, you will know I am a big proponent of 1-hitting. Note the word 'additional' in the description. That means you do not get any extra xp if you 1-hit. So what use is it if you are 1-hitting?
Well, even if you are 1-hitting, you will miss, at least 2% of the time. And that was why we need the shield imp. Each time you use an imp, you get 17.5% more xp (than you would in a single attack). So assuming you are using the 16x doubler, and no CA, then that 17.5% translates to 2.8 stam in xp. Since the buff uses 20 stam, the break even will be 20/2.8 = 7.14. If you use CA, then you can reach the breakeven even sooner. Refer to the chart below for the breakevens. Note the breakeven number 7.14 is not limited to imp blocks, but should include dodges, shockwave, or any other incidences that may require you to go 2 combat rounds.
| Doubler and CA | Breakeven |
| 16x Doubler with no CA | 7.14 |
| 16x Doubler with CA25 | 6.72 |
| 16x Doubler with CA50 | 6.35 |
| 16x Doubler with CA75 | 6.02 |
| 16x Doubler with CA100 | 5.71 |
| 16x Doubler with CA125 | 5.44 |
| 16x Doubler with CA150 | 5.19 |
| 16x Doubler with CA175 | 4.97 |
| 11x Doubler with no CA | 10.39 |
| 11x Doubler with CA36 | 9.52 |
| 11x Doubler with CA72 | 8.79 |
| 11x Doubler with CA109 | 8.16 |
| 11x Doubler with CA145 | 7.62 |
| 11x Doubler with CA175 | 7.14 |
Does that mean AS is better when you use 16x doubler, or when you use CA? Actually, that's a little misleading. A hunting session is not defined by a fixed number of hits (and therefore the ratio of misses), but typically defined by the stam used. When you use 16x doubler or a higher CA, you will be killing fewer creatures. Assuming you are 1-hitting smoothly, and misses only 2% of the time, then the breakeven is about a 6000 stam hunt. That said, if you are encountering tough creatures, with nullify, dodge, first strike, and the 2-hit rates are higher than 2%, then it might even be worth getting it for a shorter hunt.
Buy stam or buy xp
If you have fsps and want to use it to power level. Should you buy stamina or buy experience?
The 2 upgrades that I am comparing are :
+25 Current Stamina (cost 1 fsp)
+1% Experience towards next level (cost 2 fsp)
Some players frown upon the second option, but I think it is fair game. There are reasons why you will not buy experience, such as buying experience will not add to your guild experience. It will also not get you any creature drops, if there are any that you wanted. Setting those aside, is it better to buy stamina to kill creatures or to buy experience?
So at level 431, I took 10 samples of average creature xp. I got it as 32567 (halving when librarian activates). Assuming you hunt like me with 16x doubler, level 175 Adept Learner and Level 225 Librarian, the librarian should activate 22.5% of the time, giving an average of 39637 xp per creature attacked. Assuming 2% misses and 50/6 stam used for shield imps when you miss, the average stam per attack comes to 16.4867. That means, for each fsp, you can buy 25 stam and gain 60105 xp. 2 fsps can buy 1% xp, and at level 431, that is 55599 xp. So it is definitely better to buy stamina than to buy 1% xp, at least at level 431.
Even with CA 100, 2 fsps of stamina an still buy 96362 xp, significantly more than buying xp. Even if creature xp does not increase (and it does), that is more than 1% for level 567. Added with the the advantage of getting gold and possibly item drops, and xp contribution to guild, one should clearly buy stamina instead of xp. There are some instances where it may make sense to buy xp. One such possibility would be where that 1 % gain means you don't need a higher buffs to kill a tough level, or perhaps that 1 % puts you over a level so that you don't have to walk to a far realm. But those upgrades should be used sparingly, and buying stamina is almost always a better option.
The 2 upgrades that I am comparing are :
+25 Current Stamina (cost 1 fsp)
+1% Experience towards next level (cost 2 fsp)
Some players frown upon the second option, but I think it is fair game. There are reasons why you will not buy experience, such as buying experience will not add to your guild experience. It will also not get you any creature drops, if there are any that you wanted. Setting those aside, is it better to buy stamina to kill creatures or to buy experience?
So at level 431, I took 10 samples of average creature xp. I got it as 32567 (halving when librarian activates). Assuming you hunt like me with 16x doubler, level 175 Adept Learner and Level 225 Librarian, the librarian should activate 22.5% of the time, giving an average of 39637 xp per creature attacked. Assuming 2% misses and 50/6 stam used for shield imps when you miss, the average stam per attack comes to 16.4867. That means, for each fsp, you can buy 25 stam and gain 60105 xp. 2 fsps can buy 1% xp, and at level 431, that is 55599 xp. So it is definitely better to buy stamina than to buy 1% xp, at least at level 431.
Even with CA 100, 2 fsps of stamina an still buy 96362 xp, significantly more than buying xp. Even if creature xp does not increase (and it does), that is more than 1% for level 567. Added with the the advantage of getting gold and possibly item drops, and xp contribution to guild, one should clearly buy stamina instead of xp. There are some instances where it may make sense to buy xp. One such possibility would be where that 1 % gain means you don't need a higher buffs to kill a tough level, or perhaps that 1 % puts you over a level so that you don't have to walk to a far realm. But those upgrades should be used sparingly, and buying stamina is almost always a better option.
Light Foot
I have been asked this many times, and have done the calculation many times. Now that we actually have players who are level 700 and can have this buff, I thought I should add it to my blog.
Also, it has been 3 months since I wrote and I must acknowledge that I feel a little guilty for not writing after getting so many positive feedback.
Light Foot is a level 700 skill. It requires 15 stamina, and the official description is :
0.05% chance to use no stamina while moving on the world map.
I believe the description is wrong, and that it is actually :
0.05% per point chance to use no stamina while moving on the world map.
Since it is level 700, we can presume that the buff will be a level 175 when used.
So, is that buff worth it?
Let's compute the breakeven.
At level 175, there is a 8.75% chance to use no stamina.
That means, even 11.43 step you take, you should save one stamina on average.
Since the buff takes 15 stamina, the breakeven point is 171.43 steps.
At a regular realm for level 500, and using 16x doubler, an average hunt should take about 60 moves at least. If you go back to defend your guild's relic, this buff at stam cost is almost definitely going to be worth it.
A potion version is also available.
The Potion of Lesser Light Foot is a level 25 buff and cost about 2 fsp in AH.
Being more expensive than the stam cost for the level 175 buff, I will definitely suggest not getting the potion.
Also, at level 25, it is only a 1.25% chance to use no stamina.
That translates to 1 stamina saved in 80 steps.
At the cost of 2 fsp, you'd have to take 4000 steps for break even.
Otherwise, you're better off using those 2 fsps to buy 50 stam.
Also, it has been 3 months since I wrote and I must acknowledge that I feel a little guilty for not writing after getting so many positive feedback.
Light Foot is a level 700 skill. It requires 15 stamina, and the official description is :
0.05% chance to use no stamina while moving on the world map.
I believe the description is wrong, and that it is actually :
0.05% per point chance to use no stamina while moving on the world map.
Since it is level 700, we can presume that the buff will be a level 175 when used.
So, is that buff worth it?
Let's compute the breakeven.
At level 175, there is a 8.75% chance to use no stamina.
That means, even 11.43 step you take, you should save one stamina on average.
Since the buff takes 15 stamina, the breakeven point is 171.43 steps.
At a regular realm for level 500, and using 16x doubler, an average hunt should take about 60 moves at least. If you go back to defend your guild's relic, this buff at stam cost is almost definitely going to be worth it.
A potion version is also available.
The Potion of Lesser Light Foot is a level 25 buff and cost about 2 fsp in AH.
Being more expensive than the stam cost for the level 175 buff, I will definitely suggest not getting the potion.
Also, at level 25, it is only a 1.25% chance to use no stamina.
That translates to 1 stamina saved in 80 steps.
At the cost of 2 fsp, you'd have to take 4000 steps for break even.
Otherwise, you're better off using those 2 fsps to buy 50 stam.
Path of the Dread Mist
Yes, I am upset at the surprises I have today, but there were no information on them. So I thought I should document it, so others can learn from my mistake instead of having everyone make the same.
After so many levels, especially a tough level 533, I was looking forward to a rare Undead level 534. I looked at Mowglik's map and found that there are 2 level 534 realms with 2 different level 534 creatures. The Lower Beach has Glaucus Pirate which required a CA 50 to 1-hit. The Path of the Dread Mist is where I want to go, since the Loom of Shadow is an undead and will be an easy 1-hit without CA. And that's where things go wrong. I went through the Gloomy Vale, but could not enter the Path of the Dread Mist. To do so, I must complete the quest Gate to the Darkness, and for that I need a Shroud Key which I must make from a recipe from another quest, which requires me to reach the top of a lighthouse and that requires that I complete yet more quests before I can proceed up the lighthouse. So it's all a big mess, and I'll lay out the dependencies below in a clearer fashion.
To enter 'Path of the Dread Mist' : Require completion of quest 'Gate to the Darkness'.
To complete 'Gate to the Darkness' : Require a Shroud Key.
To get the Shroud Key : Require Shroud Key Recipe, Strange Mans Rune, Shroud Icon, Fishermans Heart.
To get Shroud Key Recipe and Fishermans Heart : Complete quest 'Marked by the Hag'.
To complete 'Marked by the Hag' : You will need quest 'Clash of Magics' (level 495) {to enter LightHouse Middle} and quest 'A Potent Brew' (level 503/510) {to enter Light House Upper}.
To get Shroud Icon : Complete quest 'Kidnapped Citizen' (level 529).
To get Strange Mans Rune : Complete quest 'A Potent Brew' {which you need to enter Light House Upper}
Summary ::
You should check that you have completed the following quests before beginning your hunt for level 534 ::
Clash of Magics (level 495)
A Potent Brew (level 503/510)
Kidnapped Citizen (level 529)
Marked by the Hag (level 533)
Gate to the Darkness (level 534)
There might have been more dependencies that I missed because I have already completed them and was not alerted to the requirements. If you encounter them, let me know and I will share it with everyone on this blog.
After so many levels, especially a tough level 533, I was looking forward to a rare Undead level 534. I looked at Mowglik's map and found that there are 2 level 534 realms with 2 different level 534 creatures. The Lower Beach has Glaucus Pirate which required a CA 50 to 1-hit. The Path of the Dread Mist is where I want to go, since the Loom of Shadow is an undead and will be an easy 1-hit without CA. And that's where things go wrong. I went through the Gloomy Vale, but could not enter the Path of the Dread Mist. To do so, I must complete the quest Gate to the Darkness, and for that I need a Shroud Key which I must make from a recipe from another quest, which requires me to reach the top of a lighthouse and that requires that I complete yet more quests before I can proceed up the lighthouse. So it's all a big mess, and I'll lay out the dependencies below in a clearer fashion.
To enter 'Path of the Dread Mist' : Require completion of quest 'Gate to the Darkness'.
To complete 'Gate to the Darkness' : Require a Shroud Key.
To get the Shroud Key : Require Shroud Key Recipe, Strange Mans Rune, Shroud Icon, Fishermans Heart.
To get Shroud Key Recipe and Fishermans Heart : Complete quest 'Marked by the Hag'.
To complete 'Marked by the Hag' : You will need quest 'Clash of Magics' (level 495) {to enter LightHouse Middle} and quest 'A Potent Brew' (level 503/510) {to enter Light House Upper}.
To get Shroud Icon : Complete quest 'Kidnapped Citizen' (level 529).
To get Strange Mans Rune : Complete quest 'A Potent Brew' {which you need to enter Light House Upper}
Summary ::
You should check that you have completed the following quests before beginning your hunt for level 534 ::
Clash of Magics (level 495)
A Potent Brew (level 503/510)
Kidnapped Citizen (level 529)
Marked by the Hag (level 533)
Gate to the Darkness (level 534)
There might have been more dependencies that I missed because I have already completed them and was not alerted to the requirements. If you encounter them, let me know and I will share it with everyone on this blog.
Dark Realm and Vision
The Secret Kingdom (Thicket), the level 523 Realm introduces something new to the game. That realm is a dark realm. What does it mean by a dark ream?
On the world screen, we can typically see a 5x5 grid showing us the areas around us. However, in a dark realm, you can only see the square you are standing on.
Vision is a level 500 skill. It is listed under the defensive tree. The official description :
Lights up dark realms. More skill points allow more vision on the 'Map' screen. (Vision radius increases every 50 levels.
However, the description is not clear on what is the 'initial' vision?
What if there is only 1 point in the skill? Does the vision radius increase?
Here's the deal :
Level 1-49 : Only 1x1 grid is shown.
Level 50-99 : 3x3 grid is shown.
Level 100+ : 5x5 grid is shown.
So, the first question, is level 1-49 even useful?
On undocumented aspect of a dark realm is that your attack is halved.
With vision, that penalty is removed.
What about level 150? Are there any advantage?
With level 150+, you can view 7x7 on the realm map.
It does not affect the world map.
Since most player use fallen sword guide or the wiki for their maps, I'd say level 100 is probably sufficient for most.
In fact, level 1 is probably enough, just to remove the half attack penalty, and any higher levels is more for convenience.
On the world screen, we can typically see a 5x5 grid showing us the areas around us. However, in a dark realm, you can only see the square you are standing on.
Vision is a level 500 skill. It is listed under the defensive tree. The official description :
Lights up dark realms. More skill points allow more vision on the 'Map' screen. (Vision radius increases every 50 levels.
However, the description is not clear on what is the 'initial' vision?
What if there is only 1 point in the skill? Does the vision radius increase?
Here's the deal :
Level 1-49 : Only 1x1 grid is shown.
Level 50-99 : 3x3 grid is shown.
Level 100+ : 5x5 grid is shown.
So, the first question, is level 1-49 even useful?
On undocumented aspect of a dark realm is that your attack is halved.
With vision, that penalty is removed.
What about level 150? Are there any advantage?
With level 150+, you can view 7x7 on the realm map.
It does not affect the world map.
Since most player use fallen sword guide or the wiki for their maps, I'd say level 100 is probably sufficient for most.
In fact, level 1 is probably enough, just to remove the half attack penalty, and any higher levels is more for convenience.
Strategy for Tough Levels
I was planning ahead, and it is not the first time I encounter levels where 1-hitting is impossible, not even with Death Dealer and high level CA. The Lao Xan Merchant Guard need even conservatively 18117 damage to 1-hit, and the maximum I can gather is 18048. 18117 is simply Armor + HP for that creature.
So as usual, I consider the option of staying back. The previous level requires CA 75. That has an efficiency of 1.48, which is worse than using the Potion of Fatality. That assumes that you can 1-hit when wither activates, as well as having enough defense not to get hit when wither did not activate. There's also another assumption that CA is not needed in this setup. If such a setup is possible, the efficiency would be 1.3.
I could not find a combination that has enough defense without the use of CA. The best I came up with was a setup that require CA 25. That adds a 1.0625 multiplier and the efficiency becomes 1.38. This is still better than staying back with CA 75.
That's when I thought about another possibility. What about simply going full damage, and use the shield imp 30% of the time. What's the efficiency of that? It turns out not to be such a good idea. Each imp used is about 8.3 stam. That means 30% of the time, you will not only be double hitting, but also use an imp block. That means the efficiency is 1.46. It is still slightly better than staying back with CA 75, but not as good as a defensive setup with CA25.
So why am I documenting this? Even though it is not the best setup for level 548, this is a viable strategy. If a level is so tough as to require CA 50 with wither in defensive mode, then this setup is no worse. Also, if you can get Imps at below stam cost, that will make this setup more efficient. That can be due to players selling imps below stam cost, or having a friend use Buff Master to buff the Imps.
Below table assumes 16x doubler.
It does not account for Shield Strike, Deathwish and Critical Hits. Please see updated table in my blog on Shield Strike.
So as usual, I consider the option of staying back. The previous level requires CA 75. That has an efficiency of 1.48, which is worse than using the Potion of Fatality. That assumes that you can 1-hit when wither activates, as well as having enough defense not to get hit when wither did not activate. There's also another assumption that CA is not needed in this setup. If such a setup is possible, the efficiency would be 1.3.
I could not find a combination that has enough defense without the use of CA. The best I came up with was a setup that require CA 25. That adds a 1.0625 multiplier and the efficiency becomes 1.38. This is still better than staying back with CA 75.
That's when I thought about another possibility. What about simply going full damage, and use the shield imp 30% of the time. What's the efficiency of that? It turns out not to be such a good idea. Each imp used is about 8.3 stam. That means 30% of the time, you will not only be double hitting, but also use an imp block. That means the efficiency is 1.46. It is still slightly better than staying back with CA 75, but not as good as a defensive setup with CA25.
So why am I documenting this? Even though it is not the best setup for level 548, this is a viable strategy. If a level is so tough as to require CA 50 with wither in defensive mode, then this setup is no worse. Also, if you can get Imps at below stam cost, that will make this setup more efficient. That can be due to players selling imps below stam cost, or having a friend use Buff Master to buff the Imps.
Below table assumes 16x doubler.
It does not account for Shield Strike, Deathwish and Critical Hits. Please see updated table in my blog on Shield Strike.
| Efficiency | Setup |
| 1.00 | 1-hit |
| 1.06 | CA-25 |
| 1.13 | CA-50 |
| 1.19 | CA-75 |
| 1.25 | CA-100 |
| 1.25 | Back-level (1-hit) |
| 1.30 | Wither 350 + Defense |
| 1.31 | CA-125 |
| 1.33 | Back-level (CA-25) |
| 1.38 | CA-150 |
| 1.38 | Wither 350 + CA25 + Defense |
| 1.41 | Back-level (CA-50) |
| 1.44 | CA-175 |
| 1.46 | Wither 350 + Imp |
| 1.46 | Wither 350 + CA50 + Defense |
| 1.48 | Back-level (CA-75) |
| 1.54 | Wither 350 + CA75 + Defense |
| 1.56 | Back-level (CA-100) |
| 1.64 | Back-level (CA-125) |
| 1.72 | Back-level (CA-150) |
| 1.80 | Back-level (CA-175) |
| 2.00 | 2-hit |
Fuvayus Vortex Stone and Polar Spine set
4 months ago, I wrote a blog entry on Octo-Spine set. Recently, 3 new items have been introduced.
The Fuvayus Vortex Stone is an Epic item. It is award to the guild with the most hits on a Titan. As with all other Epic items, the item alone has 100 Elite Hunter, making it a "1-item set". The Vortex Stone requires minimum level 400 to equip.
In a recent legendary event, a new legendary creature was introduced. The Polar Spine Chomper can be found in the caves via scavenging. They drop 2 items that form a set, much like the other spine chompers. These items are crystalline, like all other spine items. The items are Polar Spine Grips (gloves) and Polar Spine Neckpiece (amulet). This is a level 650 set.
The Vortex Stone has 880 damage when perfect crafted and fully forged. The Vortex Stone does not add to attack stats. The Octo-Spine set with Shield and Stone has 1686 damage and 561 attack, including set bonus. So for the Vortex Stone to beat the Octo-Spine set, the shield must have at least 806 damage. Such item comes only at level 577. So that is the level where I shall start my analysis.
Level 577 (Octo-Spine vs Fuvayus Vortex Stone)
The maximum damage items at this level are :
Gloves of Li Shang, Sphynx Helmet, Dazmorr Amulet, Master of Magic Spear, Armor of Kithdor, Shield of Roljill, Ring of Limjarrin, Sthenos Slither Boots, Fuvayus Vortex Stone.
Using that setup, the total damage is 7778, with 1142 attack and 897 defense.
With Octo-Spine set, the total damage is 7747, with 1518 attack and 280 defense.
The trade-off is therefore 31 damage for 376 attack. In fact, the trade-off for attack is more, since Keen Edge can give another 273 more attack with the Octo-Spine set. Keen Edge gives no bonus when using the Vortex Stone and the other max damage items.
Level 578-599 (Equal Improvements)
In these levels, the maximum damage can be improved with these items :
Level 578 - Boots of Abknar
Level 581 - Rune of Cralze (Higher damage, but does not add to Elite Hunter) (not applicable)
Level 582 - Ring of Reakel
Level 584 - Gloves of Corpia
Level 590 - Gloves of Renshar
Level 594 - Blade of Panethor
But they improve both the Vortex and Octo-Spine setups equally, so the comparison and trade-offs remain the same.
Level 600 (Adventurer set)
At level 600, the Adventurer set has 2 items that have the maximum damage for that level. They are the Aging Adventurer Breastplate and Looted Adventurer Tower Shield. The Shield actually shares the same maximum damage. The other 2 items that make up the set are the Looted Adventurer Gauntlets and Looted Adventurer Boots.
Using the Looted Aventurer set the accompanying items are : Sphynx Helmet, Dazmorr Amulet, Blade of Panethor, Ring of Reakel, Rune of Cralze. The total damage adds up to 7617, with 1290 attack and 2662 defense.
Using the Vortex Stone, the other items are : Gloves of Renshar, Sphynx Helmet, Dazmorr Amulet, Blade of Panethor, Aging Adventurer Breastplate, Shield of Roljill, Ring of Reakel, Boots of Abknar. The total damage adds up to 8196, with 1125 attack.
Using Octo-Spine set, the other items are : Gloves of Renshar, Sphynx Helmet, Dazmorr Amulet, Blade of Panethor, Aging Adventurer Breastplate, Ring of Reakel, Boots of Abknar. The total damage adds up to 8165, with 1501 attack.
So the trade-off for Vortex and Octo-Spine still has not changed.
Level 600-649 (Damage upgrades)
Level 609 - Rune of Howbale
Level 612 - Helmet of Grunthar (After 232 levels, finally a helmet upgrade)
Level 616 - Ring of Gasrel
Level 618 - Weapon of Shalok
Level 625 - Boots of Banevor
Level 629 - Rune of Staveal
Level 632 - Ziprael Amulet, Armor of Fellaphel (After 233 levels, finally an amulet upgrade)
Level 633 - Amulet of Lihhal
Level 635 - Weapon of Acualle, Rune of Eassel
Level 636 - Amulet of Tinale
Level 637 - Amulet of Phalla
Level 639 - Boots of Aeroni
Level 647 - Shield of Stalia
Level 650 (Polar Spine set)
Other than the polar spine set, the Gloves of Sarlonde also increases the maximum damage at this level.
Using the Vortex Stone, the other items will be : Gloves of Sarlonde, Helmet of Grunthar, Amulet of Phalla, Weapon of Acualle, Armor of Fellaphel, Shield of Stalia, Ring of Gasrel, Boots of Aeroni. The total damage is 9448, with 947 attack and 1917 defense.
Using the Octo-Spine set, the other items will be : Gloves of Sarlonde, Helmet of Grunthar, Amulet of Phalla, Weapon of Acualle, Armor of Fellaphel, Ring of Gasrel, Boots of Aeroni. The total damage is 9289, with 1069 attack and 1537 defense.
The Vortex Stone - Octo-Spine trade-offs has increased to 159 damage for 122 attack (and another 195 attack in Keen Edge).
Using the Polar Spine set, the other items will be : Helmet of Grunthar, Weapon of Acualle, Armor of Fellaphel, Shield of Stalia, Ring of Gasrel, Boots of Aeroni, Rune of Eassel. The total damage is 9394, with 1799 attack, 1124 defense, and 1765 armor. This setup clearly out shines the other two.
Conclusion
The Vortex Stone was not a big boost. The reduced attack was huge, and the best way to increase the attack is to go back to the Octo-Spine setup. As the level increases, new damage items get introduced and Vortex Stone setup begins to out shine that of the Octo-Spine. But at level 650, the Polar Spine gets thrown in. Even though it has less damage, it has a lot more attack. The trade-off at level 650 is 52 damage for 852 attack.
Thanks to andypearce, UveBinHad, grimnok, and SirJamez for helping me gather the stats of some items mentioned in this blog. Thanks to andypearce who did a sanity check on my initial calculations.
The Fuvayus Vortex Stone is an Epic item. It is award to the guild with the most hits on a Titan. As with all other Epic items, the item alone has 100 Elite Hunter, making it a "1-item set". The Vortex Stone requires minimum level 400 to equip.
In a recent legendary event, a new legendary creature was introduced. The Polar Spine Chomper can be found in the caves via scavenging. They drop 2 items that form a set, much like the other spine chompers. These items are crystalline, like all other spine items. The items are Polar Spine Grips (gloves) and Polar Spine Neckpiece (amulet). This is a level 650 set.
The Vortex Stone has 880 damage when perfect crafted and fully forged. The Vortex Stone does not add to attack stats. The Octo-Spine set with Shield and Stone has 1686 damage and 561 attack, including set bonus. So for the Vortex Stone to beat the Octo-Spine set, the shield must have at least 806 damage. Such item comes only at level 577. So that is the level where I shall start my analysis.
Level 577 (Octo-Spine vs Fuvayus Vortex Stone)
The maximum damage items at this level are :
Gloves of Li Shang, Sphynx Helmet, Dazmorr Amulet, Master of Magic Spear, Armor of Kithdor, Shield of Roljill, Ring of Limjarrin, Sthenos Slither Boots, Fuvayus Vortex Stone.
Using that setup, the total damage is 7778, with 1142 attack and 897 defense.
With Octo-Spine set, the total damage is 7747, with 1518 attack and 280 defense.
The trade-off is therefore 31 damage for 376 attack. In fact, the trade-off for attack is more, since Keen Edge can give another 273 more attack with the Octo-Spine set. Keen Edge gives no bonus when using the Vortex Stone and the other max damage items.
Level 578-599 (Equal Improvements)
In these levels, the maximum damage can be improved with these items :
Level 578 - Boots of Abknar
Level 581 - Rune of Cralze (Higher damage, but does not add to Elite Hunter) (not applicable)
Level 582 - Ring of Reakel
Level 584 - Gloves of Corpia
Level 590 - Gloves of Renshar
Level 594 - Blade of Panethor
But they improve both the Vortex and Octo-Spine setups equally, so the comparison and trade-offs remain the same.
Level 600 (Adventurer set)
At level 600, the Adventurer set has 2 items that have the maximum damage for that level. They are the Aging Adventurer Breastplate and Looted Adventurer Tower Shield. The Shield actually shares the same maximum damage. The other 2 items that make up the set are the Looted Adventurer Gauntlets and Looted Adventurer Boots.
Using the Looted Aventurer set the accompanying items are : Sphynx Helmet, Dazmorr Amulet, Blade of Panethor, Ring of Reakel, Rune of Cralze. The total damage adds up to 7617, with 1290 attack and 2662 defense.
Using the Vortex Stone, the other items are : Gloves of Renshar, Sphynx Helmet, Dazmorr Amulet, Blade of Panethor, Aging Adventurer Breastplate, Shield of Roljill, Ring of Reakel, Boots of Abknar. The total damage adds up to 8196, with 1125 attack.
Using Octo-Spine set, the other items are : Gloves of Renshar, Sphynx Helmet, Dazmorr Amulet, Blade of Panethor, Aging Adventurer Breastplate, Ring of Reakel, Boots of Abknar. The total damage adds up to 8165, with 1501 attack.
So the trade-off for Vortex and Octo-Spine still has not changed.
Level 600-649 (Damage upgrades)
Level 609 - Rune of Howbale
Level 612 - Helmet of Grunthar (After 232 levels, finally a helmet upgrade)
Level 616 - Ring of Gasrel
Level 618 - Weapon of Shalok
Level 625 - Boots of Banevor
Level 629 - Rune of Staveal
Level 632 - Ziprael Amulet, Armor of Fellaphel (After 233 levels, finally an amulet upgrade)
Level 633 - Amulet of Lihhal
Level 635 - Weapon of Acualle, Rune of Eassel
Level 636 - Amulet of Tinale
Level 637 - Amulet of Phalla
Level 639 - Boots of Aeroni
Level 647 - Shield of Stalia
Level 650 (Polar Spine set)
Other than the polar spine set, the Gloves of Sarlonde also increases the maximum damage at this level.
Using the Vortex Stone, the other items will be : Gloves of Sarlonde, Helmet of Grunthar, Amulet of Phalla, Weapon of Acualle, Armor of Fellaphel, Shield of Stalia, Ring of Gasrel, Boots of Aeroni. The total damage is 9448, with 947 attack and 1917 defense.
Using the Octo-Spine set, the other items will be : Gloves of Sarlonde, Helmet of Grunthar, Amulet of Phalla, Weapon of Acualle, Armor of Fellaphel, Ring of Gasrel, Boots of Aeroni. The total damage is 9289, with 1069 attack and 1537 defense.
The Vortex Stone - Octo-Spine trade-offs has increased to 159 damage for 122 attack (and another 195 attack in Keen Edge).
Using the Polar Spine set, the other items will be : Helmet of Grunthar, Weapon of Acualle, Armor of Fellaphel, Shield of Stalia, Ring of Gasrel, Boots of Aeroni, Rune of Eassel. The total damage is 9394, with 1799 attack, 1124 defense, and 1765 armor. This setup clearly out shines the other two.
Conclusion
The Vortex Stone was not a big boost. The reduced attack was huge, and the best way to increase the attack is to go back to the Octo-Spine setup. As the level increases, new damage items get introduced and Vortex Stone setup begins to out shine that of the Octo-Spine. But at level 650, the Polar Spine gets thrown in. Even though it has less damage, it has a lot more attack. The trade-off at level 650 is 52 damage for 852 attack.
Thanks to andypearce, UveBinHad, grimnok, and SirJamez for helping me gather the stats of some items mentioned in this blog. Thanks to andypearce who did a sanity check on my initial calculations.
FI 800 vs FI 1000
Potion of Greater Discovery gives a Find Item buff of level 800. It is relatively cheap. At the time of writing this blog, the lowest is going for 44,000 gold buy-now price.
Potion of Supreme Luck gives the same buff, but level 1000. Its can be found in the Special section of Auction House. The items are bounded and you cannot resell them. The minimum bid is 24,000 gold but bidding often go above 200,000 gold or even more during events.
But what is the Find Item buff? The description says :
+0.1% per point increase of creatures current drop rate.
So the FI 800 potion gives 80% increase of creatures current drop rate.
The FI 1000 potion gives 100% increase of creatures current drop rate.
Let's say the drop rate is X, then FI 800 will increase it to 1.8 X, while FI 1000 will increase it to 2.0 X. Therefore, the FI 800 drop rate is only 10% less than FI 1000 and not 20% like some thought it to be.
In scavenging, that 10% can still matter a lot. If you are spending 2 mil, that 10% amounts to 200k, and you should break even if you have to pay 200k more (ie, 244k) for the FI 1000. And if you are hard core and spend 10 mil, your break-even will be 1 mil for the FI 1000 potion.
Potion of Supreme Luck gives the same buff, but level 1000. Its can be found in the Special section of Auction House. The items are bounded and you cannot resell them. The minimum bid is 24,000 gold but bidding often go above 200,000 gold or even more during events.
But what is the Find Item buff? The description says :
+0.1% per point increase of creatures current drop rate.
So the FI 800 potion gives 80% increase of creatures current drop rate.
The FI 1000 potion gives 100% increase of creatures current drop rate.
Let's say the drop rate is X, then FI 800 will increase it to 1.8 X, while FI 1000 will increase it to 2.0 X. Therefore, the FI 800 drop rate is only 10% less than FI 1000 and not 20% like some thought it to be.
In scavenging, that 10% can still matter a lot. If you are spending 2 mil, that 10% amounts to 200k, and you should break even if you have to pay 200k more (ie, 244k) for the FI 1000. And if you are hard core and spend 10 mil, your break-even will be 1 mil for the FI 1000 potion.
Shield Strike
When I wrote the entry "Strategy for Tough Levels", my guild mate Andypearce pointed out that Shield Strike can improve the efficiency of the Wither + defense setup.
Shield Strike is a level 700 skill and was not generally available until relatively recently. It is under the Offense tree, cost 20 stamina to buff and has a duration of 45 mins. Its description is :
0.1% per point chance that your defense stat is reduced to zero and your damage is doubled.
So, at level 175, it gives a 17.5% chance of activation.
While we are at it, a level 175 Deathwish has 5.25% chance of activation.
Wither at 350 has a 70% chance of activation.
Critical strike also has a reported chance of 3% activation if max'ed. If you have statistics to show otherwise, please let me know.
All the above skills enhances the 2-hit defensive setups. When any one of those activates, it will turn the 2-hit situation into a 1-hit. Some players mentioned Spectral Knight. I beg to differ on the usefulness of that buff. If the creature is easy, then you can 1-hit without the need of armor reduction. If you can't 1-hit and need to use a defensive setup, chances are that you won't be able to 1-hit even if Spectral Knight is activated.
Now, do NOT add all those percentages.
So the chance that none of them activate is (30% wither, 82.5% shield strike, 94.75% deathwish, 97% critical strike), multiply those, and that will be about 22.75%. That gives a 77.25% chance of 1-strike, and the efficiency is about 1.23.
Note that below assumes 16x doubler, and the Wither setup includes the use of Shield strike and Deathwish.
Shield Strike is a level 700 skill and was not generally available until relatively recently. It is under the Offense tree, cost 20 stamina to buff and has a duration of 45 mins. Its description is :
0.1% per point chance that your defense stat is reduced to zero and your damage is doubled.
So, at level 175, it gives a 17.5% chance of activation.
While we are at it, a level 175 Deathwish has 5.25% chance of activation.
Wither at 350 has a 70% chance of activation.
Critical strike also has a reported chance of 3% activation if max'ed. If you have statistics to show otherwise, please let me know.
All the above skills enhances the 2-hit defensive setups. When any one of those activates, it will turn the 2-hit situation into a 1-hit. Some players mentioned Spectral Knight. I beg to differ on the usefulness of that buff. If the creature is easy, then you can 1-hit without the need of armor reduction. If you can't 1-hit and need to use a defensive setup, chances are that you won't be able to 1-hit even if Spectral Knight is activated.
Now, do NOT add all those percentages.
So the chance that none of them activate is (30% wither, 82.5% shield strike, 94.75% deathwish, 97% critical strike), multiply those, and that will be about 22.75%. That gives a 77.25% chance of 1-strike, and the efficiency is about 1.23.
Note that below assumes 16x doubler, and the Wither setup includes the use of Shield strike and Deathwish.
| Efficiency | Setup |
| 1 | 1-hit |
| 1.06 | CA-25 |
| 1.13 | CA-50 |
| 1.19 | CA-75 |
| 1.23 | Wither 350 + Defense |
| 1.25 | CA-100 |
| 1.25 | Back-level (1-hit) |
| 1.3 | Wither 350 + CA25 + Defense |
| 1.31 | CA-125 |
| 1.33 | Back-level (CA-25) |
| 1.35 | Wither 350 + Imp |
| 1.38 | CA-150 |
| 1.39 | Wither 350 + CA50 + Defense |
| 1.41 | Back-level (CA-50) |
| 1.44 | CA-175 |
| 1.46 | Wither 350 + CA75 + Defense |
| 1.48 | Back-level (CA-75) |
| 1.56 | Back-level (CA-100) |
| 1.64 | Back-level (CA-125) |
| 1.72 | Back-level (CA-150) |
| 1.8 | Back-level (CA-175) |
| 2 | 2-hit |
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