Fiona general guide.

[Baku]

So in this guide I'll try to mention all the little and important info you'd need to play Fiona properly. And hopefully you'll learn something!

Updates

11/12/2010
-Added "Charts" section.
+Percentile charts from my other thread (http://mabination.com/vindictus/vindictus-guides/12480-damage-formulas-percentiles.html)
+New chart, showing damage per second, damage per stamina.

11/01/2010
-Fixed erroneous translations.
-Added all skills available to Fiona in Mabinogi Heroes (Korean "Vindictus")
+Hammer Mastery
+Butterfly Swing
+Stigma Hammer
+Health Potion Mastery
+Large Shield Mastery
+Shield Rush

10/22/2010
-The Reaper strategy added
-Red Tyrant strategy added

10/20/2010
Small update
-Added some info under "Other Tips"
-Modified / added some info under a few skills.

10/13/2010
- Added skill information up to level 38 (Level cap in OB).
Need to change Slashing High name in the image. And Flame of Life skill name.

09/26/2010
-Fixed Long Sword Mastery table (Required rank was wrong, C was D). Thanks Shaboozie.

09/25/2010
- Fixed Strength Mastery table (AP info was wrong) - Thanks to katalystx for the report.
- Added White Tyrant Video

09/24/2010
- Added missing skills, and a new table showing level and rank requirements.


Table of Content
-Introduction
-Skills
Requirements, recommendations
-Charts
Damage charts, and DPS charts
Height Difference
-Skill Tips
-Other Tips
-Boss Specific Tips


Introduction

Fiona's main advantage is obviously, her shield. Not only as defense, but for offensive too. She can use her Guard skill to quickly defend against normal attacks, allowing to chain combos much faster than even Lann, if done properly.
She also is, by far, the character with the best chance to stun bosses, with amaranth kick, blossom blow, counter attack and shield bash.

I'm going to be calling the combos by "Sword #1", "Sword #2", etc. So people that do not know the specific names of each smash attack can still follow. I'll still be calling Amaranth Kick by it's name, because the awesomeness of this smash combo should be known across the land.
Sword #1 would be Left Click > Right Click
Sword #3 Left Click > Left Click > Left Click > Right Click, etc.

I'll be mentioning "sprint smash" often, that is the smash attack that is done while sprinting. (shift+direction key+right click)

Also NOTE this guide is mostly based on SWORD, as it is what I specialize in, I don't know enough about hammer skills to give good recommendations, but everything I recommend below besides sword-specific skills are also useful for Hammers, unless specified.
And remember that this guide is based on opinion as most guides are. It is what I believe to be the best choices for your Fiona, and what I found to be helpful or not.


Skills
002

Table showing level and skill requirement:

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a178/letixferrance/Fiona%20Guide%20stuff/skilltable-2.png


Skill tables showing AP requirement, and recommendations.

http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x339/kenjito1/thingi.png
If there's no recommended box that doesn't mean it's not recommended to rank it at some point (as explained in some descriptions below), same goes for ranking it higher than the red box, these are just the highly important skills and good places to stop to keep ranking other skills.

Lv1

012Guard
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a178/letixferrance/Fiona%20Guide%20stuff/guardskilltable.png
Ranking guard is a good idea to reduce durability damage on the shield when guarding. Rank D is a must to get Heavy Stander and C for Counter Attack. Recommended: Rank A and 9 later.
-Rank 9 gives another bonus to Perfect Guard, which gives you two "free attacks" after PGing. i.e: After PGing you can perform Ivy Sweep after one single normal attack, or Amaranth Kick after two.
(Rank D needed to learn Heavy Stander; Rank C needed to learn Counter Attack)

022Shield Mastery (SM)
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a178/letixferrance/Fiona%20Guide%20stuff/shimasteryskilltable.png
The extra durability on shields will be great when you get Counter Attack. And the reduction in weight will come in handy like always. Recommended minimum: Rank A, and rank 9 as soon as you can.
(Rank 9 needed to learn Large Shield Mastery)

Lv4

152Meditation
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a178/letixferrance/Fiona%20Guide%20stuff/meditationskilltable.png
Don't rank this, plain and simple. The amount of AP that it requires makes it tremendously inefficient.

Lv6

062Ivy Sweep (Sword #3)
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a178/letixferrance/Fiona%20Guide%20stuff/ivyskilltable.png
Good range, and does good damage. Recommended ranking it to 9 at some point, but not a priority since it's only useful against trash mobs.
-Rank 9 adds a third strike to the combo.

Lv8

032Heavy Stander (HS)
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a178/letixferrance/Fiona%20Guide%20stuff/heavystanskilltable.png Though usually a better idea to dodge rather than use Heavy Stander, this skill will save your skin several times. Recommended minimum: Rank A.
How to get it: Finish the "Decisive Battle", and talk to Marrec with Rank D (or higher) Guard.

Lv10

092Heavy armor mastery
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a178/letixferrance/Fiona%20Guide%20stuff/heavymasteryskilltable.png
Lowers weight, and increases durability. Good skill. Recommended rank A, and rank D needed to learn Plate Armor Mastery.

Light armor mastery
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a178/letixferrance/Fiona%20Guide%20stuff/apskilltable.png
Rank E for Savage Set.

Cloth armor Mastery
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a178/letixferrance/Fiona%20Guide%20stuff/clothskilltable.png
Not needed for Fiona.

Standing Endurance
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a178/letixferrance/Fiona%20Guide%20stuff/standingenduranceskilltable.png
Can save your life, but not necessary until higher levels.
At r9 you can stand up really quickly by pressing spacebar after being knocked down.

082Long sword mastery
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a178/letixferrance/Fiona%20Guide%20stuff/swordmastskilltable-1.png
Some weapons require higher ranking in this skill. Rank D needed to learn Long Hammer Mastery.

Lv12

142Campfire
http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x339/kenjito1/campfireskilltable.png
This skill is awesome. The armor regeneration is just plain awesome and there's no other way to describe it, it will allow you to do many many more counter-attacks and heavy standers. Recommended rank: A.

Lv14

Strength Mastery
http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x339/kenjito1/strengthskilltable.png
Ranking it to A adds 326 ATT, It's a nice bonus at first, but less noticeable at higher levels. But recommended to rank smash mastery first.

Intelligence Mastery
http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x339/kenjito1/intelligenceskilltable.png
Fiona doesn't need this.

Lv18

112Combat Mastery
http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x339/kenjito1/combasteryskilltable.png
Adds damage to normal attacks, not so hot, but rank D needed to learn Smash Mastery.
Still, you'll want to rank this at some point to maximize damage when possible, since it adds 4% per rank, which is pretty nice, and from A to 9 it adds 8% damage.
Note: Normal Attacks slow down the combo when they hit.
LLL takes 1,87 seconds to perform completely when all attacks hit.
LLL takes 1,58 seconds to perform completely when no attack hits.
This is good to be aware of when a few milliseconds can actually make the following smash attack hit or not.

Defense Mastery
http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x339/kenjito1/defenseskilltable.png
Requires way too much AP, and it isn't that great. Not recommended.

052Amaranth Kick (Sword #4)
http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x339/kenjito1/amaranthskilltable.png
Amaranth kick is good, especially at lower levels, you'll be using this mostly, but Blossom Blow (see below) is much better. The use of Amaranth becomes limited at higher levels.


102Critical Hit
http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x339/kenjito1/critskilltable.png
Criticals are awesome. Rank it to E at least, only costs 30 AP and gives +%10 of damage and chance to get a crit. After that it costs more and doesn't improve as much. But at higher levels you'll want to get it to rank 6 eventually.

Lv20

042Counter Attack (CA)
http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x339/kenjito1/counterskilltable.png
Amazing skill, enormous stun chance, but does serious damage on your shield; but ranking it reduces this damage. Recommended minimum: Rank A and eventually rank 6.
This skill is one of the most important skills for Fiona.
How to get it: Finish "Dethrone the White Tyrant", talk to Marrec and then talk to him again after achieving 120pts in "Brynn's Research".

Lv22

Agility Mastery
http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x339/kenjito1/agilityskilltable.png
Not really needed, 81 Defense at Rank A. The stamina regen is the only decent thing about this. Maxing it is not a bad idea but don't rush on it.

Will Mastery
http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x339/kenjito1/willskilltable.png
At rank A it adds 163 will which translates to 2.4% critical chance. Same as agility maxing it is not a bad idea, but don't rush it.
Rank D recommended for Flame of Life

Life Flare
http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x339/kenjito1/flameoflifeskilltable.png
Gives you a chance to survive a blow that would otherwise kill you, leaving you with 1 HP.
Your choice: Rank E, 9 or 6.
If you plan on ranking this high, I recommend giving it lowest priority. It may allow you to survive, but so does your other shield skills (and with much more efficiency).

122Smash Mastery
http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x339/kenjito1/smashskilltable.png
Adds damage to smash skills, hot skill. And you'll want it at rank 6 eventually.
The damage added is really noticeable. Fiona smashes make massive damage in a single blow which makes this and excellent skill.

Lv24

Long Hammer Mastery
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a178/letixferrance/Fiona%20Guide%20stuff/hammerskilltable-1.png
Rank E needed for Butterfly Swing
Rank C needed for Stigma Hammer

Rank E needed to wield Capricorn Hammer [Level 32]
Rank D needed to wield Armadillo Hammer [Level 36] / Stigma Hammer [Level 44] / Barnacle Hammer [Level 48]
Rank B needed to wield Ivory Long Hammer [Level 54]


Butterfly Swing
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a178/letixferrance/Fiona%20Guide%20stuff/butterflyskilltable.png
-Does multiple consecutive swings as your stamina allows.
-Increases 2% damage per rank.
-First swing already does similar damage to Amaranth Kick.
-Following swings does less damage.

Stigma Hammer
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a178/letixferrance/Fiona%20Guide%20stuff/stigmaskilltable.png
-Does A LOT of damage
+Adds 3% damage per rank.
-This skill charges up to three times.
+First charge - adds about 10% damage (7,69%)
+Second charge - adds about 20% damage (23,07%)
+Third charge - adds about 50% damage (53,84%)


Lv26

132Combat Respiration
http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x339/kenjito1/respirationskilltable.png
Faster stamina recharge? YES PLEASE. Get it to rank A. The regen is quite noticeable.

Stone Skin
http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x339/kenjito1/stoneskinskilltable.png
Increases your defense when armor is broken. Not worth it, better to just repair your armor.

Lv30

Plate Armor Mastery
http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x339/kenjito1/platemasteryskilltable.png
Rank C needed for Spider Lord set (Level 38 set)
Rank B needed for 샤이닝 (shining?) (level 50 set) and Laghodessa set. (Level 42 set)

Secondary weapon mastery
http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x339/kenjito1/secondarymasteryskilltable.png
Costs too much AP. The flash bang is decent though, so rank it to E if you want an extra secondary weapon to choose.

Blossom
http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x339/kenjito1/blossomskilltable-1.png
Awesome skill, adds a second attack to Sword #2 combo, and a third one at rank 9.
This skill is probably what you'll be using the most against higher level bosses when Amaranth kicking becomes limited. It has really good damage for time spent doing the combo.
To obtain this skill finish chapter 3 (Blood Prince) then talk to Aodhan, then Kristie, she asks for 50 pts in White Tyrant. (If you already have 50 pts you don't have to do the battle again)

Life Force
http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x339/kenjito1/lifeskilltable-1.png
Increases HP, rank 9 is not a bad idea. But low lower priority.

Lv34

Weight Mastery
http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x339/kenjito1/weightskilltable.png
Rank it as needed. Adds a good amount of maximum weight, and pretty much a must to wear plate armor + large shield properly.

Lv36

SP: Shield Bash
Consumes: 1 SP Bar
http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x339/kenjito1/bashskilltable.png
Extremely useful skill, Shield Charge is better, but until you have that, this is great skill for extra stunning. A total 21% of stun chance.

Lv38

Stamina Mastery
http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x339/kenjito1/staminamasteryskilltable.png
Increases maximum stamina.
F: + 1 Stamina
E: + 4 Stamina
D: + 5 Stamina
C & B: + 3 Stamina per rank.
A: +2 Stamina

It's a good trade for rank D. But after that it gets inefficient (But you'll end up ranking it anyway, just not really a good idea to get it to A quickly)

SP:Slashing High
Consumes: 3 SP Bar
http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x339/kenjito1/soulhighskilltable.png
Buff that does the following:
-Makes you attack faster.
-Prevents stamina from draining when attacking
-Prevents flinching (which means combos can't be interrupted)

. Lats 10 seconds at rank F with an increase of 2% in speed. 15 seconds rank A, 12% increase.
Not very useful. But for hammers is actually decent.

SP: Shield Repair
Consumes: 2 SP Bar
http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x339/kenjito1/shieldrepairskilltable.png
Repairs shield to 100%, awesome skill.
Skill has only one rank (F).
Tip: Can be canceled as soon almost as it's used (by rolling), and repair will still be 100%.

Lv42

Health Potion Mastery
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a178/letixferrance/Fiona%20Guide%20stuff/potionmasteryskilltable.png
Cheap skill and with a total of 40% extra health at rank A it's decent (600 HP Potion > 840 HP), this will save your money and life, so don't be afraid to rank this once you don't have anything else of importance to rank.

Large Shield Mastery
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a178/letixferrance/Fiona%20Guide%20stuff/largeshieldskilltable.png
You'll only be using large shield against giant bosses where countering is impossible or very rare.
It's cheap up to rank A/9 so that would be a good place to stop.

Lv52

SP: Shield Rush
Consumes: 4 SP Bars
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a178/letixferrance/Fiona%20Guide%20stuff/shieldrushskilltable.png
A well placed Shield Rush does ridiculous amounts of damage. You also gain invulnerability while skill is active. +2% damage and stun per rank, not huge increase, but since the skill already does a lot of damage, 10% at rank A is noticeable.


Charts

Percentile Charts (http://mabination.com/vindictus/vindictus-guides/12480-damage-formulas-percentiles.html)
http://img600.imageshack.us/img600/8813/percentiletablefionaswo.png

http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/9679/percentiletablefionaham.png

Damage Formula:
(ATK - DEF + 900 + extra damage * 6.25)* percentile * (1 + Base Mastery% + Mastery%)

Critical Damage Formula:
Damage * [1+ (Critical Skill %) + Will * 0.03/200]

Smashes PPS, PPSta, Combo time
The following chart shows more damage information for sword combos.
This is what each column in the table means:
Combo: Name of the smash attack, and mouse sequence of combo. (L = Left Click, R = Right Click)

T.S.P: Total Smash Percentile - The sum of the smash percentiles (i.e LLRR = Blossom #1 (0,092P) + Blossom #2 (0,048P) = 0,14P). The percentile of the normal attacks are not included, reasons being what is explained under "Combat Mastery" description above.

Time: Amount of seconds it takes for the combo to completely finish.
I got this information by recording videos (of 24 frames = 1 second) of each combo, twice, once without GCHS (if you don't know what this is, read below, in "Skill Tips"), another with it. After that I went frame by frame getting the exact numbers when the combo starts and ends, leaving me with the exact time it takes to perform the combo.
The last frame I counted as a combo is the one before you can start moving (or doing another action) again after attacking.

Sta: Stamina it takes to perform the combo.

PPS: Percentile Per Second, the amount of damage in percentiles, per second. Self explanatory.

PPSta: Percentile Per Stamina, the amount of damage in percentiles, per stamina point.

http://img813.imageshack.us/img813/8830/fionachart.png
Note: This was done with shortest Fiona.
I did a test with a tallest Fiona with Amaranth Kick, Magnolia(Blossom #1) and Bamboo Splitter
Times are (NO GCHS):
LLLLR 4,5'' (0,2'' slower)
LLR 2,6'' (0,1'' slower)
LR 2,4'' (difference is 0,01'')

Interesting to note how GCHS does not benefit a full Ivy Sweep (LLLRRR) at all. Since you can start doing HS at the same time you can start doing any other action.

* At first glance it seems like a full Ivy Sweep has more DPS than Amaranth (at the cost of extra stamina), but after more recording and testing, I have noticed that just like normal attacks slow down your combo, so does smash attacks, except that the difference is barely noticeable, with the exception of Ivy Sweep, the second attack of Ivy (LLLRRR) makes a huge difference, jumping to 4,9'' to perform, leaving us with a crappy 0,040 PPS.


Height, how important is it?
Since this is a question that is often asked, I'll put it with a big bolded subtitle.
The exact difference was tested in the table above, the difference between a shortest Fiona and a Tallest Fiona is of 4% of speed difference. (Tall Fiona is 4% slower than short Fiona)
If the difference is the same for Hammers, then the time it takes to perform a long combo may be somewhat noticeable.
But for swords it doesn't matter that much.
My opinion... shortest is the best choice, for trash mobs having a wider area of damage is better, but trash mobs are the least challenging part of Vindictus.
Bigger Hitbox also means you'll be hit from farther away too, so, as long as you can dodge, and use shield properly, being faster is the best choice.

Skill Tips
003

[013]Guard
Perfect guard (PG): A perfect guard is done by pressing your guard key right before the enemy's attack is about to connect. This will make guard consume NO stamina at all, and allow you to retaliate faster.
You'll notice a blueish spark when doing a perfect guard, instead of the regular white spark.
http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x339/kenjito1/perfectguard.png

Doing perfect guards will allow you to chain combos for a long time against enemies like most emuloch type of bosses. Being extremely effective against them, by just standing there, without having to waste time dodging, while doing a Sword #2 or #1. Depending on the boss' speed.
(watch the melee emulochs video for an example)

[023]Heavy Stander
It's usually better to dodge, at least until you have high rank HS and SM. Because your shield durability will be better used with CA. Of course, learn to know when a dodge is not possible and a HS has to be done.

Recovery Time (GCHS - Guard cancel heavy stander): By doing a heavy stander after a combo you'll be able to move out of the way faster.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBWeBIG4Xls

Watch the Gnoll or Kobold chiefs videos below to see this trick in a battle.

[033]And here's something really useful that can be done with this; sprint smash is quite a powerful attack, it has a good stun chance for such a fast attack. And can be done really fast thanks to heavy stander. Watch the following video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrnmQf7zG8E
This is helpful against those annoying archers, and other regular mobs, since it throws them to the ground. And can have it's uses against bosses.


Heavy Stander height:
Sometimes you can take advantage of Heavy Stander to DODGE. Since it reduces your height, the first example of this is against jagged tooth, if you HS close to him, he won't hit you (90% of the time). Then there's Reaper with his range attack, and then a few more when it isn't as practical.
http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x339/kenjito1/jaggedtooth-1.gif

004
Other tips
014
Learn to dodge while comboing, and starting a combo beforehand by predicting where the boss will be.
First, make sure you have "Attack in the direction of the camera" disabled under the advanced control options.

This will allow you to change the direction of your attacks in mid-combo. Which is useful everywhere.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSlIo9YyRoU


Sprint-Smash is good to do break-offs, try to do it against Kobold Chief for example, you'll be able to break-off his shield arm pretty easily with sprint-smash.
It can also be used to break swinging log traps.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClgSCeGqcz8



005
Boss specific tips
Note:

Only a few bosses will be showed here, what you learn from your lower levels should help you figure out the rest of the bosses on your own. How to dodge, when, what attack to do, will come from the experience gained from these.

015Small gnoll bosses:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqYDx1XP77A
Keep perfect guarding and retaliate quickly with Sword #2. And just move away for a bit to recharge stamina if needed.

025Revenge battle (Gnoll brothers):



Easy fight, you can loose aggro of one of the brothers, allowing you to fight one alone. The trick is simple, and it's easier done with the melee brother, let him follow you up the stairs, and when he charges at you (and he's going to end up at the top of the stairs) quickly run down the stairs, and he'll stay there.

Once you have the archer for yourself, do the following:

Stay close to him and
If he uses his bow:
Regular bow attack (he holds his bow diagonally): Do a Sword #1 and HS right next to him.
Smash bow attack (he holds his bow horizontally): Do a sword #2 and HS right next to him.

if he kicks: dodge/PG and sword #2.
If he charges, sprint to your side for a second and start comboing to do amaranth kick, and use the heavy stander trick.

Once you are done with him, get the melee brother off the stairs. He's even easier.
He can only charge at you, in which case do amaranth kick like with the archer. Or do a mace attack, just PG and Sword #2.

035Gnoll chieftain:
[video=youtube;pNZSXVU_aIY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNZSXVU_aIY
Gnoll chieftain has 3 attacks:

Whirlwind: His most destructive attack, and with huge range. It's a smash attack so it cannot be blocked with Guard. As soon as you see he'll be doing whirlwind do one of these things:

If the gnoll is going to whirlwind towards you, move backwards a bit and start comboing while moving this direction, with a bit of practice you can dodge the attack close enough so after doing 4 normal combos the amaranth kick will hit him.

If the direction of whirlwind is other way, then just do a sprint smash.

Hammer swing: This attack can be dodged while comboing, allowing you to do Sword #2 with ease, and even sword #3 (Evy Sweep) if done properly. Cannot be blocked with Guard.

Kick: He tends to kick when you are really close, just do a perfect guard against this, and follow with Sword #1.


045Small melee emulochs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVkinrtu0ho
They have two attacks- One that does a single swing, and another that does two.
They can both be perfect guarded. And followed by a Sword #2.

The single swing can be perfect guarded easily. as for the double swing, if you PG the first swing and just keep pressing your guard key the second swing will not be perfect guarded, you just have to time it right. After PGing the first swing release the Guard key for about 1 second and Guard again.

055Sling shot brothers:



The first one is really easy, you just have stay close to him let him sneeze on you a bunch of times on you while you PG. Eventually he'll bump against a wall, and if you stay close to him he'll just keep sneezing a lot. So just keep PGing and follow with Sword #1.

When you face the yellow and red ones together, it gets a bit trickier, but still fairly easy, but expect to use at least one potion. The trick is to keep the yellow one in front of his brother. This will not only server as a shield to you, but his attacks will stun his brother.
You could also take Mini Bombs which will stun both of them when thrown properly.

065Brynn's Research (Robust Echeloch)
[video=youtube;xX3W15qQs0I]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xX3W15qQs0I
This ebuloch is really easy, you'll be doing Sword #2 all the time, he can:
Drink a potion and it could be:

HP Potion (Red sparks): He heals a tad.

Acid Potion (Green sparks): He throws up in front of him.

Throw Potion (Orange Sparks): He throws the potion at whoever he's aggroing, hitting anyone in the way.

So what you have to do is move to his back everytime he drinks a potion, wait and see what kind of potion it is,
if green sparks or red: Sword #2
if orange sparks: PG and Sword #2

He can also do an attack with his weapon, just PG and Sword #2.

075Kobold chief

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8blvsnjW-0
He has 3 attacks, 2 of these have variations.

Smash punches: He lifts his arms in the air and smashes on the ground, he can either stop there, or chain another smash.
This double smash is what you want him to do, since it will allow you to do Amaranth Kick on him often, so stay a bit close to him, directly in front, when he lifts is arms, move a few steps away, and start comboing away from him, depending on how close you are, you might need to change direction on the 4th normal attack already, otherwise just change direction with Amaranth Kick. Be careful, if you don't measure the distance properly you'll get hit when switching direction.

Crouch and cover: When he does this he can either get up quickly, or stay for a bit longer, if he stays for a bit longer, he'll slam his fist on the ground and then do two attacks, first to his right and then to his left. You can do amaranth kick in this case by placing yourself on the left side where he'll end his combo. But be careful! you need to do the Heavy Stander trick to move away faster.
He sometimes stays longer with doesn't attack, he'll look around him in this case.

Normal punch: Easily dodged, follow with a sprint smash.

076White Tyrant

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRAqj-4v31k

White tyrant is actually pretty easy once you understand his attack pattern. He'll start with 4 different kind of attacks-

Left Paw attack: The bear hits the ground with his right paw before doing this attack, and immediately charges towards you. It does this when you are somewhat close and in front of him. You'll have to try and fail a few times until you get the right distance needed to do a good dodge and quickly do a Sword #2 (blossom), so you need to sprint just a bit backwards and start comboing for blossom.

Right Paw attack: Before doing this he puts his body down on the ground preparing for a jump. You don't have much time to combo after dodging this, but you should be able to use sprint smash twice with GCHS.

Double paw attack: Does this when you are far away from him (he usually jumps back to do this). You can amaranth kick when he does this, by predicting where he will end up after finishing the attack.

Side attack: Does this when you are behind or beside him. It's a fast attack, so you have to get away from him after dodging and attacking the previously explained attacks.

After over 50% of his HP is gone he will start doing another attack quite often, this is where it gets even easier, you'll be doing amaranth kicks often.
He'll stand on his back legs and roar sprint quickly behind him and amaranth kick him. Simple as that.

Third Boat and onward Note
By now every Fiona will have Counter Attack, so almost every strategy onwards will suggest to counter attack every single normal attack, barely dodging unless totally necessary.
So depending on your Counter Attack and Shield Mastery rank, you may or may not need a Campfire buff (always better to have it anyway).


The Reaper Dead end street
[No video yet]

He only has one smash attack, and will only do it when you are somewhat far from him.
Should be stunned after two Counters.

Uppercut: You can tell he's going to do this when he pulls his left arm downwards, after that he attacks, easily PGed > Counter.

He has two combos one fast, one slow, you can double counter the slow one.

Fast One: Attacks with left arm first, after that he quickly does a downward attack with the right one. PG the first attack release for half a second and pull up guard again, and counter after the second attack, unless you are positive the first counter will stun him, otherwise you'll be hit.

Slow One: Does a slash with right arm, then thrusts with it. Takes a bit longer between the two attacks, since he "charges" the thrust, so you can double counter here. PG the slash, quickly counter, and quickly pull up guard again > counter.

Smash Attack: Does it only when you are somewhat far from him. You can dodge it with height reduction of HS (see above under Skill Tips if you haven't). Or time a forward roll to dodge and get closer at the same time, to prevent him from spamming the smash attack.


Red Tyrant

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jk8mr2DXims

Like all my strategy guides, they show how to solo, but by taking these strategies into account, they'll of course come in handy when partying too. If you want to solo it too, you'll need some patience, Fiona has the most disadvantage against Bosses of this type, where everything is a smash attack, her disadvantage becomes lesser when you get Large Shields, but still not as good when compared to the other characters.

Fast Combo: Hardest combo to dodge, watch the vid to get the idea, but here's the explanation -
You can tell he's going to do this when he slams his right paw to the ground, after that he tries to slap you with the left paw, run backwards and then left, as soon as his arm is safe from hitting you (high in the air) start running towards his right hind leg, and quickly roll the your left to dodge the body slam, quickly Sword #1 and immediately do HEAVY STANDER, keep HS for a second, he will either jump, roar, sweep attack, or start turning to face you, in the last case he'll try to combo again.

If he jumps, roar or sweeps your heavy stander will block it. You should run a bit backwards there, always try to keep yourself ready to run towards the left, since that's where you'll be dodging both fast combo and the
Forward jump: Same attack as white tyrant, where he jumps and tries to hit you with the right paw, dodge to your left, and do a single blossom, heavy stander immediately again.

Roar: Stands in two legs, you can amaranth kick here if you calculate correctly the distance, amaranth kick range is bigger than his roar range. Again, heavy stander right away after the kick.
This is also a safe moment to drink an HP potion while standing, but you'll have to be quick about it, start drinking as soon as you notice he's going to roar.

Jump: He jumps upwards and slams the floor, you shouldn't have problems with this, since the range is small, you'll either be heavy standing because of the above, or running leftwards waiting for a combo, in which case this running will be enough to dodge.

Long range combo: Same as White Tyrant combo, where he attacks with left paw then right, while moving forward, he does this when you are at a specific distance from him, you can amaranth kick with the correct calculation of distance, and like always, heavy stander right away.




Credits:
Myself, duh <3
Marx from Inven for inspiration and useful information regarding some skills.
Mabinogi Heroes Research Guild for useful information regarding exact damage formulas.


http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-sa/3.0/88x31.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/)
Fiona General Guide by Bakuryu (http://mabination.com/members/413-Bakuryu) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/).
Based on a work at mabination.com (http://mabination.com/showthread.php?t=7221).

If you plan to re-post this guide somewhere else, PLEASE let me know. And understand that credits must be properly mentioned, as well as a link to the original guide (which is this one).
All of this isn't to be a bag of douche, but rather because I like and want to look through all possible feedback there could be regarding the guide, to further improve it, which in the case of being posted in another forum, I would be unaware of.

[Kazuni]

Woahhh so much stuff.

Awesome guide :>

[paladin]

awesom guide
Lan coming any time soon?
I wann get ready for ob

[Baku]

awesom guide
Lan coming any time soon?
I wann get ready for ob
I'm afraid I know crap about Lann, so not from me. =[
Unless I feel like playing Lann this CB week, since there's not much left for me to do other than keep leveling on the same stages. So we'll see but for now, nope :<

[Osayidan]

Epic guide is epic, and published.

[Cannibal]

+Rep. I'll be using this when OB comes around for sure.

[Baku]

Epic guide is epic, and published.


+Rep. I'll be using this when OB comes around for sure.
Thank you~

_

Added Gnoll Chieftain vid, I still have one vid to upload, which is Kobold Chief vid. My ISP upload rate is pathetic, so it's taking a while.

I forgot to add info about Brynn's research boss. So I'll add that in a bit and record a fight today.
Oh and the slingshot brothers. And the gnoll brothers O3O

[Phunkie]

I'm definitely gonna be a Fiona when OB comes out!

Loving the skill explanations! Great job on this!

[Science]

I love this guide, but I accidentally raised Meditation to RE so I wasted AP. +rep when I come back

/leaving

[Chocobo]

Does the guard need good reaction time o-o

[Baku]

Does the guard need good reaction time o-o
For perfect guard? It's not hard once you get used to it o;

[Lie]

You make me want to drop Lann and use a Fiona character.

[December]

Wooo first Vindictus Guide on Mabination:thumb:

[Invertex]

I was thinking of writing one of these.
Then I realized this is 10x better and killed any urge I had to write a guide...

I didn't see anything about Heavy Stander working on traps though, really useful against the spiked logs.

[Baku]

Added some more skills info. And some other battles info.


I didn't see anything about Heavy Stander working on traps though, really useful against the spiked logs.

Heavy Stander actually does not reduce the damage of those logs, only prevents you from getting knocked out. You are better off destroying the logs with an Amaranth Kick.

[Invertex]

Didn't know it didn't reduce the damage, never really tested it out to check.
Oops, guess that keeps me from running into logs.

[Baku]

It's no biggie either way, the logs don't do much damage :\

[Invertex]

They do alot of damage in Hoarfrost when they also hit you off that thin bridge.
Had someone die that way due to lag once.

[Baku]

Oh yeah o3o, those are dangerous. But can easily be broken, by throwing an enemy to them. Or amaranth kicking, the solution to all your fomorian problems.

___

update
I forgot to mention campfire, which is awesome for Fiona. (Under the skills section)
So added info about that, and showing another useful thing that can be done thanks to heavy stander. (Under the skill tips section)

[Science]

Baku, what level were you on KR Heroes? And are hammers significantly better than swords? Are they harder to get too? I might play Fiona instead of a scythe Evy because of all these interesting skills xD

[Baku]

I was low level on KR; only about 15. Finding a korean proxy every day was just plain annoying and boring.

And I didn't try hammers, I only know what I've seen. They are slower but have higher damage.
And no, Fiona can get hammers by level 15.

From what I've seen, I like swords much better, I love the blossom skill, and the prolongations you get later on looks so sweet. And I'm amaranth kick junkie. Though Hammer #4 looks sweet too.

Here's some videos so you can see for yourself

Hammer #4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-iGkOg0Y4o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6CPI70Lt4w

Hammer #3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MeMLGaPNlk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lx51gLSmuek


Gnoll chief
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDu0ykgRMZk

[Science]

Hammer seems good against non-boss monsters, but the speed is just sooo slow D: And the person who fought gnoll chieftain with the hammer really seems bad, or the hammer just isn't good xD Like I could literally solo chieftain with my Lv7 ; ;

[paladin]

Bakuryu
Did you play a another version of heros to get all this info
Am thinking of writing a lann guide but some of the info you have hear sounds like you played a foreign vesion
Like the extra skills

[Baku]

Played the only other version there is owo;; Mabinogi Heroes (a.k.a Korean Vindictus)

[paladin]

I do feel like writing a guide
But the fact that people will compare the 2 kinda scares me
Owo
Anyway you think i should?

[Baku]

You should really write one imo o3o. I'm sure whatever information you can provide will be helpful to a lot of people out there.

[Invertex]

Just a pointless note, but you may want to change Battle Breathing to Combat Respiration (as it's the name Vindi uses).
Not really necesary, but I felt like pointing it out.

[Baku]

Just a pointless note, but you may want to change Battle Breathing to Combat Respiration (as it's the name Vindi uses).
Not really necesary, but I felt like pointing it out.
hoho, I forgot about that. Saw today the name was different. Was too lazy to change it o3o.

/changed now. Thanks


__
On another note to inform readers: I recorded the 2 vids that still need to be added. Will upload them soon I guess.
And will probably be recording a solo fight with Polar Bear, and explain tactics.
Hopefully though videos are not really necessary and my explanations are decent enough to understand what the hell I mean.

[kadawman]

how do i get the blossom skill book in EAOB??? (early access open beta)

[Baku]

You can't.. I need to change the level requirements I mentioned, wherever I did. Since with the level curve change, level reqs changed too.

[Byte]

Baku, how are my skills atm... I'm only lvl 14. (I hate being ahead of people xD)

http://i837.photobucket.com/albums/zz297/AKB990/Vindictus/2010_09_20_0000.jpg
http://i837.photobucket.com/albums/zz297/AKB990/Vindictus/2010_09_20_0001.jpg

[Baku]

Looks good, I'd start ranking Shield Mastery now, or you'll do two Counter Attacks and shield will break :V

[Byte]

Okey dokey.

[Chiri]

I really want to throw in more sprint-smashes into my gameplay, but hitting shift is actually pretty unnatural for me while using WASD (especially with shift+A+click or shift+s+click). I usually run by double-tapping the directional keys. I'm guessing the answer is no, but is there anyway to make the shield-bash the automatic action when running around this way?

Edit: I think I might have been lagging, the sprint smash is working the way I want it to now. Ignore the above.

[Baku]

Don't think, so :<
You could try changing the sprint key to some other key you find more comfortable, and just try to get used to it? :V
Sprint smash is actually really awesome, a critical sprint-smash has pretty damn high chances of stunning for such a simple attack, and together with GCHS you can stun some bosses really quickly with sprint smash alone, not to mention it's also really good to break-off bosses armor, like Kobold Chief shield. So you should try getting used to it somehow, since it has many useful uses :v

edit: And now I see your edit :U

[Chiri]

I've spent some time on the boat, trying to replicate your SS+HSGC video, but it's not happening very fast. Gotta keep working on it...

[avnos]

First off great guide. I have a few questions though, as fiona do most people stack str or agility? Heavy armor tends to have tons more agi atm which makes sense, but I can see some people going light armor and being more "Dps" based. Does anyone have actual breakdowns of how much +STR raises your damage by? Also does equipping a newer shield affect shield bash type skill damage more? I'm betting it doesn't but needs to be asked ;]. Also do you know of a good website that has crafting material lists?

[Baku]

Both agi and str are really important, I usually just go for Agi / Heavy Armor. Stam Regeneration Please :v
+1 STR = 2 ATT
Shields don't affect damage afaik.
If curse's wiki doesn't have that info, then I dunno.

[notmuchstuff]

How important would you say choice in character height is when making the character?

[Baku]

I think it doesn't really matter, but more research may be in order.

[Razazriell]

Registered just to ask this. :<

What about plain outright Defence Mastery?

[Baku]

Not worth it until later IMO. And Rank 9 should be enough.

[Razazriell]

Ah right. Learning the book is worth it in any case. Semi-free 35 defence is always nice.

[avnos]

Hmm has anyone stacked tons of agil yet? Would love to see a comparison vid of stacked agil regen vs a str stacked fiona stam regen. To solo the giant bear btw, what build would you speculate works best against him? I'm imagining a str stacked fiona would do well just because she could toss large items to "maybe" stun the bear to do combos? Or would a shield mastery/heavy stander build do best? or Am I completely off base O.o.

[Invertex]

You don't need a special build for the Bear. Tossing items is pretty useless as the bear will probably trample you when you're unable to sprint or dodge. Str means you do more damage per short combo while stam means you don't have to wait as long before starting a new combo. However, solo-ing the bear is mostly running around, so Stam is a non issue (from what I've done anyways) and it's more of an endurance run then anything (thus making the slight damage increase from Str negligable).

[asmoron]

where does standing guard factor in?

[katalystx]

so umm. are lvling cloth and light armor proficency no-noes?

[jovicklee]

I can't help but notice you don't mention Strength Mastery at all anywhere in your guide.

[Baku]

where does standing guard factor in?
I'm sorry, I don't understand the question here.


so umm. are lvling cloth and light armor proficency no-noes?
Cloth = no.
Light Mastery = yes. Ranking it to E for Savage Set is a good idea, since it's a good Fiona set, and will last a bit. After that you can leave it there forever, or rank it to B when needed for the -dontrememberthename- set.


I can't help but notice you don't mention Strength Mastery at all anywhere in your guide.
I forgot about it, just noticed. Thanks for letting me know. Will add info in a bit.
For the meantime, rank D needed for weight mastery (needed) and rank A recommended, but for damage skills it's a better idea to rank Smash Mastery first imo.

_
P.S: Robust Echeloch vid added. White Tyrant is next I guess.

[Razazriell]

Oh. Not something super important but you mention the Sling shot brothers throwing up. While its probably just as gross they don't throw up. They sneeze on you.

[john775]

Great Guide, helped a lot while levelling my Fiona.

Regarding Smash Mastery, I had checked the vindictus wiki earlier, and was pretty excited for this skill, as it seemingly added a ton of stun chance to smash attacks (said 30% at max rank). I recently got it ingame, and it's not adding as much as the wiki said it would (only 1% chance per rank up so far). Is the wiki wrong? Or does smash mastery get better?

I've been using the Sprint Smash a lot (thanks to your guide, I had no idea this was even possible lol) and while I love it, the stun chance seems rather low. Does this get better later on? This really seems like the only fast move Fiona has, as building up to an Amaranth Kick takes ages, and I was hoping this would be a staple of Fiona gameplay/pvp, but the low stun/dmg at the moment almost makes me not want to waste the stamina on it.

Also, I was just wondering how Fiona holds up later in the game?
Is blocking/tanking useful later on? While I've seen it's uses during boss fights so far, isn't it just better to dodge? Not being able to counterattack smash attacks makes me feel less useful than a Lann on some of these boss encounters.
I imagine counterattack and heavy stander could make her fairly formidable in PvP, but her lack of speed and no real damage until Amaranth Kick might keep her down. Do Fiona's shield skills play a big role in pvp? Does her high stun chance give her an edge?

Sorry for all the questions, I'm pretty clueless about the late game, any answers will be a help. Thanks again for the great guide :)

[Baku]

Oh. Not something super important but you mention the Sling shot brothers throwing up. While its probably just as gross they don't throw up. They sneeze on you.

Oooh so that's mucus 8D yummy. Will change.


Great Guide, helped a lot while levelling my Fiona.

Regarding Smash Mastery, I had checked the vindictus wiki earlier, and was pretty excited for this skill, as it seemingly added a ton of stun chance to smash attacks (said 30% at max rank). I recently got it ingame, and it's not adding as much as the wiki said it would (only 1% chance per rank up so far). Is the wiki wrong? Or does smash mastery get better?

I've been using the Sprint Smash a lot (thanks to your guide, I had no idea this was even possible lol) and while I love it, the stun chance seems rather low. Does this get better later on? This really seems like the only fast move Fiona has, as building up to an Amaranth Kick takes ages, and I was hoping this would be a staple of Fiona gameplay/pvp, but the low stun/dmg at the moment almost makes me not want to waste the stamina on it.

Also, I was just wondering how Fiona holds up later in the game?
Is blocking/tanking useful later on? While I've seen it's uses during boss fights so far, isn't it just better to dodge? Not being able to counterattack smash attacks makes me feel less useful than a Lann on some of these boss encounters.
I imagine counterattack and heavy stander could make her fairly formidable in PvP, but her lack of speed and no real damage until Amaranth Kick might keep her down. Do Fiona's shield skills play a big role in pvp? Does her high stun chance give her an edge?

Sorry for all the questions, I'm pretty clueless about the late game, any answers will be a help. Thanks again for the great guide :)

First of all, I can't answer any pvp questions as I was unable to play pvp properly in Korean servers due to lag.

Regarding Smash Mastery, you read that wrong. Damage increases by 30% at rank 6 while stun change increases by 9%

Sprint Smash shines when it crits, most of my sprint-smash crits end up stunning most bosses. And you can almost-always squeeze in one or two sprint-smashes for the extra chance of stunning.

It won't always be as easy to dodge, and there's always a chance to counter-attack on most bosses (exception are raids mostly, in this case you'll be taking a large shield with you).
Also, Blossom is really powerful, and can be done fast.
Here are some vids that may interest you:
Episode 6 boss, you can see Heavy Stander giving advantage here, and how counter attack stuns often, something Lann wouldn't be able to do.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk_JWBI39qU
Red Tyrant, with large shield, heavy stander allows you to stay close to the enemy and keep hitting him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiNyDOATDUo&feature=channel

There was also this vid I can't find now, everyone was struggling to dodge and getting hit mostly, while Fionas kept using Heavy Stander.
Also, durability won't be as much of an issue at higher levels.

[john775]

Thanks for the response Bakuryu. Yeah it seems Vindictuswiki has it backwards for smash mastery (Damage of all smash skills increases by 9%.
Chance of knocking down opponents with a smash skill increases by 30%.) That would've been nice though :)

Those vids are amazing, I'm surprised that Fiona can just spam heavy stander like that without much durability loss (looks like none, maybe thanks to campfire). I tend use Amaranth Kick a ton, these Korean players tend to stick with just the lower hit combos, might have to try that.

[asmoron]

excuse me i mean Standing Endurance, the skill

http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/8153/201009230000.jpg

[Baku]

Ah, another skill I still have to add info. I will work on the missing skills tonight or tomorrow early, kinda busy, haven't even played much vindictus lately =<
That skill is pretty good, can save your skin several times. It only costs 350AP (total) to get it to Rank A. But you shouldn't worry too much about it until later, when you have more places to farm AP. And it isn't very useful until later, when the game isn't as easy, rank 9 is good then.

[DLMyst]

How do you get the blossom skill?

[Baku]

Kristie gives the story quest at level 30.

__

Guide update: More skill information.

[Narc]

I'm going to have to let you know that I made this account solely to thank you for making such an awesome thread (though I'll probably stick around). Thank you

[Paladuck]

thanks for updating :) i look at it every time before i use my AP lol

[katalystx]

awesome update!

[utbigred]

where can you get the flame of life skill?

[Baku]

I didn't rank will mastery yet, so I don't know if it has been released in Vindictus yet.
But you get it from a Story Quest provided by Marrec, and then you have to achieve 120pts in Prepare for counter attack.

[utbigred]

hmm I got will to D but didnt get any story quest from him.

[katalystx]

I noticed that in the Early Access Beta, Strength Mastery needs 90 AP for ranking it to Rank E and not 30 AP. I'm not sure if it changes to 30 AP later since this version is still in beta but I'm just telling ya! :D

[Baku]

Thanks for the report, I actually got the whole Strength mastery table wrong... lol >-> Will be fixing in a bit.

edit: Fixed.

[Suni]

I love you Baku lol! I'm glad I went Fiona :3. I r living up your name as Pedobear. Apparently my teacher calls me that now :|...

[katalystx]

No problem :D

[Shaboozie]

There's a little typo I noticed when reading through the guide; in the graph the line from Long Sword Mastery has rank 'D' connected to Hammer Mastery while in the description of Long Sword Mastery below it says you need rank 'C' to get Hammer Mastery.

Other than that minor issue, this is an amazing guide... it's basically my bible for Fiona! Thanks again for the guide. ^_^

[Baku]

ugh, thanks for letting me know x3 Rank D is the correct one.
This kind of mistakes happen when you are duplicating dozens of layers and forget to change some values :v
Will fix when I get back from work.

[sverreerik]

I love the update on the guide; Keep up the good work!

Fiona Forever!

[eoneagle]

This is a smexy guide O_O
Kinda wish all the other guides looked this organized:T_T:

[paladin]

This is a smexy guide O_O
Kinda wish all the other guides looked this organized:T_T:
That makes me sad Q.Q

Oh yea dude you put defense instead of agility for your desp of agility skill

[Arsik]

That makes me sad Q.Q

Oh yea dude you put defense instead of agility for your desp of agility skill

Right. Agility gives defense along with Stamina recovery. Like how Str adds to damage and Will adds to critical with smashes.

[paladin]

Right. Agility gives defense along with Stamina recovery. Like how Str adds to damage and Will adds to critical with smashes.

Didnt know that thanks for clearing that up

[TA]

I actually found this site cause of this guide, just so ya know... :P

Nice guide by the way...

[Spartaaaaa]

How do I guard in mouse mode? The skill description only gives the controls for keyboard mode.

[Baku]

Press the Spacebar.

[Lie]

How do I guard in mouse mode? The skill description only gives the controls for keyboard mode.

In default set up for Mouse mode, Spacebar is activating Guard.

Hold the Spacebar to keep Guard up. Spacebar + Direction is dodging.

Edit: Ninja'd. =/

[TA]

In default set up for Mouse mode, Spacebar is activating Guard.

Hold the Spacebar to keep Guard up. Spacebar + Direction is dodging.

Edit: Ninja'd. =/

Actually it's direction+spacebar. If you did spacebar+direction then you'd guard then stop and start running.

In the same light, for Fiona, spacebar+w is heavy stander (you'll learn it after Decisive Battle), and it's important that it's in that order. If you do it in the opposite order then you'll just dodge (flip forward, which might get you killed at inopportune times, not that it's ever opportune to die... xD).

[john775]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mXTq5wA25k
About 30 seconds into this videos, it shows Fiona doing Amaranth kick after only 2 swings of her sword (LLR). When does this become available/what skills do you need to rank for it? Also, does this mean you can't use Magnolia (or whatever the normal LLR combo is), or is the LLR Amaranth kick only available after a block (she blocks before doing it both times)?

[Baku]

It's Rank 9 Guard.


Guard
Ranking guard is a good idea to reduce durability damage on the shield when guarding. Rank D is a must to get Heavy Stander and C for Counter Attack. Recommended: Rank A and 9 when you reach level 30.
-Rank 9 gives another bonus to Perfect Guard, which gives you two "free attacks" after PGing. i.e: After PGing you can perform Ivy Sweep after one single normal attack, or Amaranth Kick after two.
(Rank D needed to learn Heavy Stander; Rank C needed to learn Counter Attack)

[kadawman]

Guard (Rank A)
Heavy stander (Rank A)
Counter Attack (Rank A)
Combat Respiration (Rank A)
Shield Mastery (Rank A)
Str Mastery (Rank A)
Long Sword Mastery (Rank C because i am going hammer, C is needed as a Pre)
Smash Mastery (Rank D)
Combat Mastery (Rank D)
Critical Hit (Rank E)
Standing Endurance (Rank F)
Campfire (Rank F)
Smash Ivy Sweep (Rank E)
Amaranth Kick (Rank F, dont need cuz i am going hammer)
Will Power Mastery (Rank F)
AGI Mastery (Rank F)
Light Armor Mastery (Rank E for savage set)
Heavy Armor Proficiency (Rank E)
Meditation and Defense mastery (Rank F)


These are my current skills for fiona... can anyone tell me what should i get next? im thinking of upping smash mastery but i dont know what to get after that... im lvl 26 playing NA vindictus in EAOB...

Pls give advice. THANKS! :D

[Andy-Buddy]

Guard (Rank A)
Heavy stander (Rank A)
Counter Attack (Rank A)
Combat Respiration (Rank A)
Shield Mastery (Rank A)
Str Mastery (Rank A)
Long Sword Mastery (Rank C because i am going hammer, C is needed as a Pre)
Smash Mastery (Rank D)
Combat Mastery (Rank D)
Critical Hit (Rank E)
Standing Endurance (Rank F)
Campfire (Rank F)
Smash Ivy Sweep (Rank E)
Amaranth Kick (Rank F, dont need cuz i am going hammer)
Will Power Mastery (Rank F)
AGI Mastery (Rank F)
Light Armor Mastery (Rank E for savage set)
Heavy Armor Proficiency (Rank E)
Meditation and Defense mastery (Rank F)


These are my current skills for fiona... can anyone tell me what should i get next? im thinking of upping smash mastery but i dont know what to get after that... im lvl 26 playing NA vindictus in EAOB...

Pls give advice. THANKS! :D

Campfire, for Counterattacks
Smash Mastery, for hax.
Combat Mastery, for the hell of it?

I assume you're not going to use large shields until much later.

[Baku]

Do Smash Mastery asap. Then go for crit or campfire.

[Science]

Is Amaranth worth maxing? I've been rushing it after getting my defensive skills down, but idk if the investment was worth it Dx

[Baku]

Yes, but I wouldn't give it too much priority. Max Smash Mastery + Max Amaranth Kick = LOTSOFDAMAGE.
But amaranth kick won't be used very often in boss fights, which is why Blossom is a better option.

[Science]

Aw, damnit D: I raised it thinking I'd use it only for bosses, and use Blossom only for normal PvE xD Guess I'm just gonna get it to A, since I'm ranking it atm, and then just go for HS.

[TA]

It's Rank 9 Guard.

Guard
Ranking guard is a good idea to reduce durability damage on the shield when guarding. Rank D is a must to get Heavy Stander and C for Counter Attack. Recommended: Rank A and 9 when you reach level 30.
-Rank 9 gives another bonus to Perfect Guard, which gives you two "free attacks" after PGing. i.e: After PGing you can perform Ivy Sweep after one single normal attack, or Amaranth Kick after two.
(Rank D needed to learn Heavy Stander; Rank C needed to learn Counter Attack)

Ohhh, that's interesting...

[heretic304]

Hey, your guide is excellent. It taught me a bunch of useful tricks. Though I do wonder if more priority should be given to Combat Mastery, if only for that video of Red Tyrant where Fiona used mostly Heavy Stander and Normal Attacks. What do you think about that? =x

Edit

(I just noticed the sprinklings of Blossom and Magnolia in there, but even so D: a lot of normal hits <_<)

Also, what is that buff that caused the shields to spin around Fiona called and what does it do?

[john775]

Is the SP skill 'Shield Bash' usable with a kite/large shield? Or just the smaller ones?

[Baku]

Hey, your guide is excellent. It taught me a bunch of useful tricks. Though I do wonder if more priority should be given to Combat Mastery, if only for that video of Red Tyrant where Fiona used mostly Heavy Stander and Normal Attacks. What do you think about that? =x

Edit

(I just noticed the sprinklings of Blossom and Magnolia in there, but even so D: a lot of normal hits <_<)

Also, what is that buff that caused the shields to spin around Fiona called and what does it do?
Normal Attacks aren't good, and Fiona has a disadvantage at Raid Bosses like Red Tyrant. And just ranking it for that seems wasteful, main strength of Fiona is her extremely powerful Smash Attacks.

As for that skill, I'm not sure, probably Holy Shield, it increases DEF.


Is the SP skill 'Shield Bash' usable with a kite/large shield? Or just the smaller ones?
Shield Bash can be used with any shield.

[john775]

Shield Bash can be used with any shield.

Is there any reason not to use this all the time? The wiki says it only costs 1 bar of SP, and Fiona seems to gain it back quickly from blocks/heavy stander, though I rarely see this move being used in high level videos I"ve seen. Are stuns not that important later on?

[Erubus]

OK so i have everything for my lann maxed, so I'm going to play fiona a bit before OB, what skills should i rank up and in what order?

[Science]

OK so i have everything for my lann maxed, so I'm going to play fiona a bit before OB, what skills should i rank up and in what order?

Guard and Shield Mastery help a lot. Then Heavy Stander once you get it. Then just go for whatever/Counter.

[heretic304]

Is there any reason not to use this all the time? The wiki says it only costs 1 bar of SP, and Fiona seems to gain it back quickly from blocks/heavy stander, though I rarely see this move being used in high level videos I"ve seen. Are stuns not that important later on?

From what I've seen in some videos, Fionas seem to prefer using that shield Dash SP Skill instead of the Bash. probably because it deals damage as well as stuns? Not sure though =P

[notmuchstuff]

Is "flame of life" in game yet? I have will at rank D and am level 26, but can't find a story mission for it.

[omgletmein]

I have a question...Does str mastery affects the dmg of the smash atks? some say yes some say no...need a direct answer hopefully with proof.

[Science]

I have a question...Does str mastery affects the dmg of the smash atks? some say yes some say no...need a direct answer hopefully with proof.

Str gives you pure ATK, so it positively affects both normal and smash attacks(I think).

[psyal]

Bakuryu, the table says you need Rank D Longsword Mastery for getting Hammer Mastery, but then you go ahead and have Rank C Longsword Mastery under your list of skills.

[Erubus]

Guard and Shield Mastery help a lot. Then Heavy Stander once you get it. Then just go for whatever/Counter.

So what rank do i rank guard to?then what do i rank shield mastery to?

[Andy-Buddy]

So what rank do i rank guard to?then what do i rank shield mastery to?

Guard = Max.

Shield Mastery should be maxed, if you plan on using shields, and not large shields. I say leave it D-C, and try out Large Shields when they come out, then make that decision.

[Erubus]

Alright so Guard> max then Shield mastery to D then heavy stander?

[Andy-Buddy]

Heavy Stander to A.

The ability to not take any damage while in Heavy Stander is worth it.

[Erubus]

Alright thanks for the help x3

[heretic304]

Depends on whether you plan on using counterattack though. If you do, Shield Mastery should be maxed as well since you'll need that extra durability. Also Heavy Stander is very durability intensive as well.

[john775]

So what about armor at higher levels? If the heavy armors in late game are the same as the EAOB ones, I assume they're all really heavy on AGI/DEF. The problem I see with stacking DEF, is that it only really comes into play when you get hit, right? With Heavy Stander, I'd think Fiona has to worry about getting hit the least, yet it seems common for her to stack up on defense. I know Agility also increases your stamina regeneration, but is it that big of a difference?

I mean, couldn't you just use some light armor with lots of +STR to maximize damage output, and just be on the ball with your blocks. I realize that if you screw up, you'll probably die just as fast as a Lann would, but I'm just being theoretical here. Is there something preventing Fiona from using Light Armor later on? Is higher level armor character-specific/locked? Is there Heavy/Plate armor that have a decent amount of STR as well?

Lots of questions, sorry :P

[Baku]

At higher level plate armor give a lot of STR together with def, heavy armor the same with a bit more agi here and there, and will sometimes, but less def. Light Armor tends to add more will and/or more int (Evie's Light Armors)

P.S: Sorry if I haven't been answering everyone's questions, I've been busy these days and don't have much time. But other people seem to be answering fine.

[himegoto]

hey guys, would like some pointers as well and here's my current list of skills:

- Guard (Rank A)
- Shield Mastery (Rank A)
- Heavy stander (Rank A)
- Counter Attack (Rank D or E cant remember)
- Critical Hit (Rank E, nice boost for rank E?)
- Standing Endurance (Rank E, nice boost for rank E? dont see much use of this skill going any higher?)
- Combat Respiration (Rank E)
- Long Sword Mastery (Rank C. thinking of going all sword)
- Smash Mastery (Rank C)
- Combat Mastery (Rank D)
- Campfire (Rank C)
- Smash Ivy Sweep (Rank F)
- Amaranth Kick (Rank E. will stop there I think, since I see far more benefits of using blossom later on. either that or the sword#1 skill is the only smash skill I'd spend AP on)
- Str Mastery (Rank F)
- Will Power Mastery (Rank F)
- AGI Mastery (Rank F)
- Light Armor Mastery (Rank F)
- Heavy Armor Proficiency (Rank E)
- Meditation and Defense mastery (both Rank E, sadly yes :( before I knew better. thats around 300AP put into waste..)

I am thinking which skill I should go for next? I couldnt go farm AP like a maniac thats way too boring for me meh, will just casual play a bit more fiona then maybe start a lann

that said, I know CA is a must. but some other skills I wanna do a bit lvl up are as you can see I have none in all the stats masteries. I dont plan on getting hit too much (dont we all D:) so Im thinking about ranking AGI for faster speed. I may be going to wear heavy armors just for the extra speed as well.

my style of play will mostly be running around looking for opportunities doing CAs to available bosses. so as much as I HATE dropping stamina I'll stop CR at rank E.

few more questions, is it weird that I have no ranks into STR mastery? damage wise Im thinking of maxing just Smash. will that translate well?
between STR and CH, which is suggested to rank up first?

I know this is pretty long so thanks in advance guys :2thumb:

[Andy-Buddy]

@hime

Smash Mastery + Combat Respiration.

Combat Respiration NOW.

Smash Mastery soon.

Since you have rA Shield Mastery, you might want to rank Counterattack and Campfire, so you can spam CA without having a shield break, as often.

[lithanor]

Which is more ideal for maxing first? Heavy Stander or Smash Mastery?

[zippo718]

Will the extra abilities you get from r9 of certain skills going to be available in OB? Weren't some of them added in patches to MH after its release? Things like the 2 free attacks after a PG, and the extra hits from blossom/ivy?

[Baku]

@himegoto
I'd start ranking smash mastery or CA.


dont see much use of this skill going any higher?I'm still trying to confirm this (I didn't play as high level in MH as some of you may think), but look at the videos I posted a few pages back, you can see she's standing pretty damn fast after every knockdown, that could be rank 9 bonus of SE.


ew more questions, is it weird that I have no ranks into STR mastery? damage wise Im thinking of maxing just Smash. will that translate well?A lot of people are worshiping str mastery like the god skill. When it isn't that important, at low level the ATT is noticeable but later on it's not that much (even so, it's still a plus). What I mean here, the skill is good, but not that good.

between STR and CH, which is suggested to rank up first?CH imo.

@lithanor Get heavy stander to a decent rank at least (i.e 90% damage blocked), and start with smash mastery then. Heavy Stander, as you may have noticed, isn't the best yet, as you can easily dodge a lot of times, gets better as the game gets harder.


@zippo Impossible to know. Probably not.

[john775]

How do Hammers fare? Fiona's attacks seem slow enough as is, and they're even slower with hammers from what I've seen. The last charge-up smash with the hammer looks pretty great, but I can't imagine it being practical, you need to charge it for a loong time : /

[Purutzil]

Hammer is more of a group skill if anything. Really looks to do well against regular mobs. I think its lack luster if your going to solo but for parties it can do wonders in terms of its damage ability so long as your not heavily being focused on by the monsters. Plus its always rewarding smashing things with a hammer.

[heretic304]

How do Hammers fare? Fiona's attacks seem slow enough as is, and they're even slower with hammers from what I've seen. The last charge-up smash with the hammer looks pretty great, but I can't imagine it being practical, you need to charge it for a loong time : /

That last charge-up smash can be released early by clicking the smash button =o So you don't HAVE to fully completely charge up that skill xD

[Baku]

Added skills up to OB level cap (38).

Need translation for 슬래싱 하이 . If anyone that knows Korean can be so kind to let me know. I'd appreciate it.

[psyal]

Well, hopefully someone will correct me if I'm wrong.
After some dissection into 슬 래 싱 하이, then roughing up some meaning via Korean Dictionary+Translate, I think it means something like "Beginning/starting in peace, away from barbarians"+ Irish being the subject
This is probably inaccurate, but I tried. What is it from anyways?

[Baku]

Thanks for taking the time and trying to help ^^ , though that doesn't seem very accurate in this case, since it's a skill :v.


SP: 슬래싱 하이 (Need translation)
Consumes: 3 SP Bar
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a178/letixferrance/Fiona%20Guide%20stuff/soulhighskilltable.png
Buff that increases attack speed, and makes attacks consume no stamina. Lats 10 seconds at rank F with an increase of 2% in speed. 15 seconds rank A, 12% increase.
Not very useful. But for hammers is actually decent.

[psyal]

Well...
Seems that translation of mine need some huge local interpretation, wonder if I can think of something


Edit: Yeah, doesn't seem like it, does it? But that's what the dictionary said. Feel free to try it, if you want Here's (http://stdweb2.korean.go.kr/main.jsp) the dictionary I used, though you'll probably need something like Google translator to figure out what it says.

[heretic304]

=( Is it me or are hammers and Spears not implemented yet? D:

[Science]

=( Is it me or are hammers and Spears not implemented yet? D:

Baku confirmed he can get Hammer mastery and craft hammers in another thread :V

[utbigred]

is there a prereq for blossom? I'm lvl 30 and I dont see a quest from Krisite?

[heretic304]

Is your smash mastery rank D?

[utbigred]

Most of my skills are A atm and yes my smash mastery is A

[Baku]

Blossom isn't released yet. Blossom and R9 skills are like ep4 or 5.

[utbigred]

R9 is released. I'm lvling currently lvling my ivy to r9. Also what does it mean when a skill is "challenged". I saw my shield (rank A atm) has the challenge button next to it and i clicked it.

[utbigred]

Ok found out how. To get blossom, you need to beat blood prince as well.

[Baku]

Interesting that they released all of this so early. Goody~

[utbigred]

Does anyone know what challenger means?

[TA]

I noticed you don't have the Long Hammer skills on there. Also... what's your opinion hammer vs sword?

[john775]

Ok found out how. To get blossom, you need to beat blood prince as well.

How exactly do you do this? Do you have rank up Ivy to get the challenge?

Also, I think I saw it mentioned here that something allows you to Amaranth kick after 3 swings (not the 2 swing after perfect guard), can anyone confirm, or am I dreaming? ><

[Baku]

I noticed you don't have the Long Hammer skills on there. Also... what's your opinion hammer vs sword?
I was too lazy to add those (sue me), since the guide is mainly for sword fiona.
I preffer Sword because of speed, Blossom is a great skill. And since I like to solo, soloing with hammer gets quite really hard later on.



Also, I think I saw it mentioned here that something allows you to Amaranth kick after 3 swings (not the 2 swing after perfect guard), can anyone confirm, or am I dreaming? ><
No, not possible. Unless I missed something in the latest MH updates.

[john775]

No, not possible. Unless I missed something in the latest MH updates.

Thanks for clearing that up. I just hit 30 in the OB and got my hammer skills, it's pretty fun. Still trying to figure out if/how I can get Blossom, I think I'll end up liking sword better in the end.

[Hombow]

We got r9 for Ivy Sweep so does that mean we also get the 3rd hit for it at r9?

[heretic304]

I noticed you don't have the Long Hammer skills on there. Also... what's your opinion hammer vs sword?

The Long Hammer seems to be very good at clearing mobs, but its attacks are quite slow. It also doesn't help that the after delays for every hammer smash is so long. It seems that every after-delay for hammer smashes are greater than that of Amaranth kick D: If you try HS canceling with a hammer, it seems to actually lengthen the attack animation, while using it with sword usually shortens the animation. There's also an issue where when you HS cancel with a hammer, you'll occasionally do a quick step forward without blocking at all, which can be a problem if you're soloing or if the boss is about to hit you x_x;

But I did notice that the hammer has a lot of damage potential. It is able to crit with even normal attacks, while all other weapons can only crit using smashes. This makes hammer very good at stacking stuns since each normal hit crit, as well as smash and smash crit can add to the stun amount. Hammer also looks like it could benefit a lot from Combat mastery because of the fact that it can crit with normal attacks.

These, however, are only observations that I made while I was goofing off with the hammer during a few missions. I can definitely say that I prefer sword to hammer due to the lower delays of most of the attacks. I can definitely see the potential in hammers. I also read somewhere that the hammers got some tweaks in Mabinogi Heroes, reducing the after-delays and increasing attack range. Apparently Butterfly Swing, if done consecutively swings faster with each hit, and you'll now be able to change the attack direction while charging Stigma Hammer, as well as cancel it using Guard or Heavy Stander... >_> not too sure about these because the place I read it posted one of those google translate gibberish things xD

I wonder if this update has been released in the NA client yet though >_> because at this moment none of those seem to have taken effect... Nexon confuses me sometimes =\ Auto-spear, which was a later addition, is in but like... our AP is still capped at 100 Even though the 1000 AP cap was released within the same update as the spearing xD Oh well >_>

[karai999]

can you tell me please how to even complete the 'skill:Long hammer mastery' quest? the quest details say kill 30 monsters by throwing objects at them, but the title 'Long hammer bearer' says kill 30 monsters with 'powerfull objects' what ARE 'powerfull objects' and how much STR i need to pick them up? or do i only need to kill monsters by throwing stuff at them?
please help!

P.S , I also like touhou heretic304!

[supamoex]

Does anyone here have a clue on when you want to Rank shield mastery to 9 , You click on the CHALLENGE TAB but that really doesnt need to something , How can you rank it to 9 ?

[TA]

can you tell me please how to even complete the 'skill:Long hammer mastery' quest? the quest details say kill 30 monsters by throwing objects at them, but the title 'Long hammer bearer' says kill 30 monsters with 'powerfull objects' what ARE 'powerfull objects' and how much STR i need to pick them up? or do i only need to kill monsters by throwing stuff at them?
please help!

P.S , I also like touhou heretic304!

You need to use the objects that have orange hands when you use your alt. Big boxes, barrels, etc. And even though it says "throw," that's totally wrong. It's a lie. It only counts if you smash them with the object.

Also, the break point for picking up heavier things is 300 strength. Character Stats - Vindictus Wiki (http://www.vindictuswiki.com/wiki/Strength)

[Baku]

We got r9 for Ivy Sweep so does that mean we also get the 3rd hit for it at r9?
Yes

[john775]

Ok, so I just got the Blossom skill book. All I really had to do was complete the Blood Prince quest, as in, kill him, which you need to be lvl 31 for. When I turned it in to that guy in the cloak inside the magic shop, he gave me the quest for it. I just had to talk to a couple people in town and Kristie gave me the book.

[Baku]

Yes, you start the skill quest by talking to Aodhan after finishing Chapter 3, then to kristie and she asks 50pts in White Tyrant. Will edit the info in a bit.

[TA]

How do you do the hammer charge up attack? :what:

[john775]

How do you do the hammer charge up attack? :what:

Gotta learn the skill book for Stigma Hammer. It's buyable. Requires Rank D or C Long Hammer mastery. Once you get that you can start charging the final smash attack, though it only charges up to three times.


Anyone know what the 'Challenge' / 'Challenged' things beside skills mean? I imagine it lets you get a skill to rank 9 since it happens for skills that are rank A, but it doesn't say what I have to do.

[TA]

Gotta learn the skill book for Stigma Hammer. It's buyable. Requires Rank D or C Long Hammer mastery. Once you get that you can start charging the final smash attack, though it only charges up to three times.


Anyone know what the 'Challenge' / 'Challenged' things beside skills mean? I imagine it lets you get a skill to rank 9 since it happens for skills that are rank A, but it doesn't say what I have to do.

From what I heard, you have to do a battle quest or something, then it'll be available.

[Hombow]

Does anyone know if we get SP: Shield Bash at lvl 36?

[Axx]

Love the hammer so far. Haven't really seen too much issue with the speed, since all the Ainle bosses stay downed for a pretty long time. About the only serious negative I've seen is that you don't get the '2 hits' Perfect Guard when you reach guard r9 (which lets you Aramanth Kick after 2 swings instead of four, Ivy Sweep after 1, not sure if you can go straight into Blossom Blow). Recovery time on the hammer sucks, but I think that's mostly an issue of player skill.

Although, I'm curious as to whether/when the Butterfly Swing (multiple smashes) outdamages Stigma when you can't charge up Stigma.

[TA]

The two problems I've seen are:
1. Sometimes stigma doesn't work for me at all... I do the 4 hits and hit smash and nothing happens, she just stands there.
2. It's really hard to guard because the delay.

I'll probably go back to sword later, but hammer is fun for now.

[Hombow]

Yay I got r9 Ivy Sweep ^_^

[Andy-Buddy]

FYI: You can hit in a different direction than the charge of the Stigma.

Just hold a direction while letting go of smash.

[john775]

Does anyone know if we get SP: Shield Bash at lvl 36?

I'd like to know this as well.

[Jess]

FYI: You can hit in a different direction than the charge of the Stigma.

Just hold a direction while letting go of smash.

This is what I do to doge the next attack when a boss stands. As long as I position myself right I don't even need to guard after a fully charged Stigma because I can hit them and step out of the way at the same time.

[Baku]

I'd like to know this as well.
I'm 30k exp away from lvl 36, but I'm at work T_T. So I'll let you guys know when I get back Dx

[Jess]

Has anyone else experienced this glitch while using a hammer?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHV3nTVFqA0

It wouldn't be so bad if you could control your attack direction. The only way I've found to remedy it is through incapacitation.

[john775]

I'm 30k exp away from lvl 36, but I'm at work T_T. So I'll let you guys know when I get back Dx

Awesome! I'm really looking forward to Shield Bash.

[utbigred]

Does anyone know if we get SP: Shield Bash at lvl 36?

lvl 37 here and never got it.

[Baku]

Yeah, seems like no shield bash yet Q_Q

[chaosdragoon1]

The hammer can be used to solo, but as said above it is best in groups. Ive literally raped some bosses while fighting in groups. Especially with the smash 3 combo making it do multiple hits. It's godly if it crits at least twice during the repeat spins.

It's a good idea to use the sword when solo-ing a mission that reqiures you to fight more than one boss at the same time. I got impatient last night and proceeded to solo "prepare for counterattack" after only 3 total hours of hammer play. I started bad and ended up having 5 bosses on screen at once(1 shooter, the 2 axe-users, "robust", and "sturdy). 14 spears, plenty of ice blocks, and 45 mins later I finished "sturdy" with a fully charged stigma. I was crying for the sword the whole time, lol. All that and I'm still a few % away from using that lvl 28 bone sword.

But one thing I noticed was that a couple times when charging stigma, I thought it showed some "superarmor" traits(unable to flinch from getting hit while charging). It hasn't been mentioned but does stigma hammer have superarmor? I have it at rank E now.

I have 2 hours left of work before I get on Vindictus. Thank God I found this forum(and was coerced into registering, lol).

[DeathKitten]

When I went to go train a skill it said Challenge instead... whats that do/mean?

[chaosdragoon1]

You have the skill at rank A, correct? From what I gathered here, by challenging the skill after that it upgrades by numbers. I have yet to achieve a rank A skill so I'm not entirely sure, lol.

[utbigred]

You have the skill at rank A, correct? From what I gathered here, by challenging the skill after that it upgrades by numbers. I have yet to achieve a rank A skill so I'm not entirely sure, lol.

I was told for the shield htere's a quest for it but it's at lvl 42. I'm guessing that's when the large shields come out.

[Andy-Buddy]

Stigma is not unflinchable during charging, only during the drop of the hammer. Both during the charging and in the recovery frames you are vulnerable.

[chaosdragoon1]

Stigma is not unflinchable during charging, only during the drop of the hammer. Both during the charging and in the recovery frames you are vulnerable.

Oh. Ok. That makes sense. I was actually in the release each time out of fear for it being cancelled and me not getting the hit. But there is nothing like hitting a boss with all the epicness of a full charge Stigma, lol.

[DeathKitten]

I was told for the shield htere's a quest for it but it's at lvl 42. I'm guessing that's when the large shields come out.

Oh okay o3o

[Juno]

I'm really liking the hammer, actually. I've only had problems with the sturdy kobold, but that's nothing new t.t

[TA]

I actually really like hammer too...

I went back to sword for the moment though because The Capricorn is 8 silver, Ainle Longsword was 3.

I'll probably use both...

[Science]

Hammer is really fun for low level stuff, but I end up using sword because I have rA Amaranth and Smash Mastery, so Hammer damage is pretty crappy relatively.

[TA]

Hammers use Smash Mastery btw.

[Science]

Hammers use Smash Mastery btw.

I know, but my Amaranth is stronger than any smash hammer has until I go for Stigma or get a Capricorn.

[TA]

Do hammers do anything special at R9 Guard? I just got it...

Edit: I can confirm: 1 -> Butterfly; 2 -> Stigma Hammer.
__________
I've also decided I really, really like hammers. Stigma Hammer has one clear advantage... It is uninterruptible. This was mentioned before, but you can really use this to your advantage, especially since you can power the skill up.

You get your Stigma going on the boss (or whatever), then if something happens where you know you're going to get hit and be interrupted, just release and it will always hit, even if you get hit. You can't do that with Amaranth. You probably couldn't get out of the attack animations fast enough on either of them to do it, although sword does have the clear advantage when it comes to guarding because of the greater delay that hammers have.

But, I'm really liking the bigger damage and not being interruptable. I'm even getting to a point that I can block with the hammer too. And well... I can't help but feel that the hammer attacks are just superior.

Definitely a group thing though... I think it's played more like a mage than a tank. Sword is probably better for soloing since you can get the perfect guards more easily. Buttt.... I guess I'll eventually find out.

[john775]

Is the damage between hammers and swords really that big? I haven't noticed this huge damage gap between stigma and amaranth that people are talking about.

[Axx]

Is the damage between hammers and swords really that big? I haven't noticed this huge damage gap between stigma and amaranth that people are talking about.
Personally, my Amaranth rank isn't all that high, but even with the Ainle (lvl 32) sword unless you hit a vampire mob with a few normal attacks first (or crit), you can't 1HKO them with the smash kick. Using the free hammer you get (lvl 24?), both Butterfly Smash and Stigma 1HKO on the smash portions. Also, a full charge stigma took out 80% of a Polar Bear's health bar (but I'm not even sure it critted).

Those are my experiences, but someone with better sword smash ranks may differ.

[Juno]

Someone told me that hammers didn't get the guard bonus at r9, so I stopped ranking it >.> Guess I'll get started with that again.

Also, what did you mean by 'hammers use smash mastery'?

[Baku]

He means Smash mastery affects hammer smash attacks. Which I see no reason why someone would think otherwise D:

[Juno]

.-. oh I see. I've been ranking it since it seems loads more efficient than ranking any single smash.

Also, is plate armor out yet? I haven't seen anyone wearing it and I've yet to hit 30 myself.

[Baku]

.-. oh I see. I've been ranking it since it seems loads more efficient than ranking any single smash.
It is. Unless you are going for a r9 bonus in a specific smash

Also, is plate armor out yet? I haven't seen anyone wearing it and I've yet to hit 30 myself.
No, there's only a crappy plate helmet.
The first good plate set for Fiona is on 4th boat. Which is the shining set, and looks pretty darn awesome.

[TA]

Is the damage between hammers and swords really that big? I haven't noticed this huge damage gap between stigma and amaranth that people are talking about.

Yeah, it's a pretty big difference. I'd say a Stigma is about 3 amaranth kicks or so...

[Baku]

Hammer is basically godly against bosses where you can counter in almost every attack. For the rest, sword is much better.
Good Fiona Players end up using both weapons, and switch between them depending on what are you fighting.

[Promethean]

Not that this entire thing is TL;DR, but has anyone mentioned Heavy Stander canceling Fiona's NNSS?

[Juno]

Not that this entire thing is TL;DR, but has anyone mentioned Heavy Stander canceling Fiona's NNSS?

First post covers HS canceling in detail, I believe.

I don't know much about r9 bonuses for smashes, at least not hammer smashes. I'm really not having any speed issues with my hammer since between guard, heavy stander and campfire I can hold a boss at bay indefinitely until he's stunned. With a party it's even easier to land a good stigma.

[Promethean]

First post covers HS canceling in detail, I believe.

I don't know much about r9 bonuses for smashes, at least not hammer smashes. I'm really not having any speed issues with my hammer since between guard, heavy stander and campfire I can hold a boss at bay indefinitely until he's stunned. With a party it's even easier to land a good stigma.

Indeed there is a good amount of information about GCHS but no mention of GCHS being used after NNSS.

[Baku]

Indeed there is a good amount of information about GCHS but no mention of GCHS being used after NNSS.
I believe it's clear it can be used after almost everything.
It says "after combo", which includes all of them so .. yeah.

[TA]

I don't have a clue what those abbreviations stand for.

[Baku]

I don't have a clue what those abbreviations stand for.
NNSS I assume is Normal normal smash smash. First time I see it used though. But I guess that's what it means.

GCHS is guard cancel heavy stander.

[karai999]

About the new skill 'Slashing high' , the skill book says it makes your attacks unintteruptable, could be worth leveling it then no? might even be decent for sword since your amaranth/blossom wont be intterupted.

[Cucurbita]

From what I know, Slashing High gives you superarmor. Could be wrong though.

If its unlimited stamina, then I'll abuse Butterfly Swing like mad. Nonstop smash is amazing.

If its superarmor, its a free full charged stigma smash. Which will probably stun. Which will probably give me another free stigma smash. Which is like a full hp bar (or more) for most bosses.

[Baku]

From what I know, Slashing High gives you superarmor. Could be wrong though.

If its unlimited stamina, then I'll abuse Butterfly Swing like mad. Nonstop smash is amazing.

If its superarmor, its a free full charged stigma smash. Which will probably stun. Which will probably give me another free stigma smash. Which is like a full hp bar (or more) for most bosses.

Ah, I forgot to update after trying it out myself.

So, updated


Buff that does the following:
-Makes you attack faster.
-Prevents stamina from draining when attacking
-Prevents flinching (which means combos can't be interrupted)
Like I said, for hammers is a decent skill, and it would be a very good one if it lasted more.

[john775]

Ah so you can get SP skills. I wish Shield Bash was in :(

[utbigred]

Stamina is actually:

Rank F +5
Rank D +10
Rank C +13
Rank B +16

and im assuming rank A is +19 (I'm currently at rank C).

[Baku]

Stamina is actually:

Rank F +5
Rank D +10
Rank C +13
Rank B +16

and im assuming rank A is +19 (I'm currently at rank C).
Actually, I guess my info is confusing. Or Vindictus description is.
At rank F you have 131 stam (a.k.a you just gained 1 stam and description shows the grand total of 1)
At rank E you have 135 stam (a.k.a you just gained 4 more stam and description shows the gran total of 5 )
At rank D you have 140 stam (a.k.a you just gained 5 more stam and description shows the grand total of 10)
etc

[Cucurbita]

Thats a pretty sad amount of stamina gained.

You might as well just max combat respiration instead for the recovery speed. I mean, I'd get both eventually, but such a small gain is kinda low priority.

[TA]

Wow, that really is a crappy amount of stamina...

[Andy-Buddy]

I feel slow. I didn't realize Butterfly was Chaining until 2 days ago. x.x

It feels like its stronger than Amaranth.


(Weird how first swing is strong, but the subsequent swings are less than half the strength.)

[keniken416]

Is R9 Roundhouse Kick on Ivy Sweep implemented in the Open Beta? Has anyone tried it?? And how much damage does the roundhouse kick do?

[Baku]

Is R9 Roundhouse Kick on Ivy Sweep implemented in the Open Beta? Has anyone tried it?? And how much damage does the roundhouse kick do?
Yes it is. The damage is not as high as blossom, but has much wider range, and quite useful against trash mobs.

[utbigred]

Wow, that really is a crappy amount of stamina...

Meh. Extra stamina is always nice. When you got ap to spare, it's not a bad place to put it.


Actually, I guess my info is confusing. Or Vindictus description is.
At rank F you have 131 stam (a.k.a you just gained 1 stam and description shows the grand total of 1)
At rank E you have 135 stam (a.k.a you just gained 4 more stam and description shows the gran total of 5 )
At rank D you have 140 stam (a.k.a you just gained 5 more stam and description shows the grand total of 10)
etc

Er I meant E +5. Late last night =p. But ya it was kind of confusing but the way you have written now is easier to understand.

[keniken416]

Yes it is. The damage is not as high as blossom, but has much wider range, and quite useful against trash mobs.

Thank's for the quick reply Bakuryu. Wow, So Blossom is stronger.. I just ranked Ivy to rank A just to see the roundhouse kick. Gonna finish ranking it tonight. I'm really looking forward to kicking those mobs with my Fiona's sturdy legs.. :P and afterwards I'll get the Blossom skill as well.

So Blossom seems to be destined to becoming the bread and butter combo later in the game for Sword Fionas.

[Renges65]

Hey I don't know if you want to add this, but as Fiona I've been able to knock off breakable pieces on bosses using sprint+smash. It works fairly consistently for Gnoll Chieftain and Kobold Chieftain, but not so well for the White Tyrant. Here's a link to a vid of me knocking the helm off to show how.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YLRO6rgVfE

It seems as though the break point becomes vulnerable to regular hits at very specific times. For the Gnoll Chieftain this is just after his head moves back up after he attacks with his hammer. For the Kobold Chief it seems to be easier to hit his shield arm if you Sprint+Smash the side of it from the front as he hunkers down. A counterattack also hits his shield often in my experience (block+counter the hit as he's hunkering down). Lann's Double Crescent can also hit Gnoll Chieftain's Helmet at about the same time.

Edit: Also I've been able to hit Blood Prince's sword with Counterattack, it can happen if you use it as he jabs his spear arm at you. I have this on video as well, at 7:15-7:20 in-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1V-ZX29OB8

Hope this helps.

[nitemare]

Very AWESOME GUIDE!!!!
You just made me to start Fiona over again from dropping my lvl 27 Fiona. lol

[TA]

Hmm... that's interesting...

I'm not sure but I think one of the hammer attacks can knock off the Kobold Chieftain's shield as well.

[Baku]

Yeah, I'm aware of sprint smash break-off. Will add it along with another minor but helpful tip of sprint smash when game comes up, I want to record that one.

edit:



10/20/2010
Small update
-Added some info under "Other Tips"
-Modified / added some info under a few skills.

[john775]

Damn. I can't decide between hammer and sword :(

I currently have a +5 Capricorn and a +5 Ainle Longsword, along with the heavy tyrant set, and I keep switching between weapons every mission I run.

The sword is definitely faster by a bit, but the thing that sets it apart for me is the ability to Heavy Stander Cancel so reliably whenever you need it. Mid-combo, right after Amaranth kicks, after every sword attack. Being able to just stop what I'm doing and go into Heavy Stander has saved me (and my party) countless times.

On the other hand, the hammer does surprisingly high damage. I thought it would be relatively high when compared to the sword smashes, but I'm dropping 3/4 of a boss's HP bar with this thing. Getting a charged Stigma smash is pretty much reserved for stunned bosses, but it's fun. My issue is how slow everything is. There's a lot of recovery on each swing/smash and not being able to HS when I need to results in a lot of extra damage.

The thing is. I spend most of my time counterattacking for the knockdown anyway. If I have a chance to actually attack I usually throw out a Blossom Blow. I think in the end I think I'll stick with swords, but it's hard to put down that big hammer :P

I used the sword to solo Blood Prince on season of macha @ lvl 37, a nice 45k experience to get me to 38 :D

[Icegoten]

Damn. I can't decide between hammer and sword :(

I switch between both. Usually if there is another fiona in my party I will choose the weapon that fiona isn't using. So if they use sword I expect them to counterattack and stun to let me get off the stigma. If they are using the hammer then I go with sword so I can counterattack and stun for them.

When there isn't another fiona I usually go with sword anyway because I'm maxing those smash combo skills first and I do more damage with it anyway than with my regular smashes for hammer when I don't have the skills for them.

[Cucurbita]

I switch between both.

Not very AP effective.

[Renges65]

There's more than enough skills one can focus on early on that would be useful to both Sword and Hammer, which will result in ample time for any Fiona to decide if they have a favorite. As well, going for both weapons helps reduce the monotony, and in general it's not too bad of an AP hit to at least level both sides moves to at least E. Even if you don't put points into the other, you can still use it every once in a while when you're redoing old missions that you're already familiar with.

If you're going to eventually specialize in both types you can limit which abilities you will level as well, for example I chose one move from each to focus on, Butterfly Swing and Amaranth Kick (easy choice for me since I had Amaranth at A before Early Access closed, newer Fionas could go Blossom instead).

Overall you're looking at a higher AP if you do this, however I don't find it that big a deal, in return you are able to adapt to different situations with more choices of weapons, and the trade off is worth it in my opinion.

[Icegoten]

I was thinking of going with something like Stigma for Hammers and Blossom for Sword getting to max rank with Smash Mastery. I wouldn't like trying to put point into Ivy Sweep and Amaranth Kick if I don't even use those moves when fighting. I also wouldn't put them into the other hammers if all I ever went for was doing stigma's.

[TA]

I think this is only a problem for the time being. As time goes on and we have longer to get AP, we'll all have the skills for both our weapon sets maxed. So, endgame Fionas should be able to effectively switch weapons on a whim depending on what they expect to encounter and their party makeup. That's my take on it anyway.

[Noxux]

I think i got a error in my skill shield mastery, i tried to lvled it but it says challenged and i cant lv up that skill.
So plz if someone know how to fix it i will appreciate it

[Hombow]

I think i got a error in my skill shield mastery, i tried to lvled it but it says challenged and i cant lv up that skill.
So plz if someone know how to fix it i will appreciate it

We can't do anything to rank it to r9 atm it doesn't seem to be implemented yet so everyone has this problem.

Anyways I ranked ivy sweep and blossom blow to r9 but now I feel the urge to go hammers again, I don't know what to do >.<

[Noxux]

ok ty =D

[karai999]

The AP table for shield repair needs to go, its maxed at F (At least in open beta), and the level requirment for SP: Shield bash needs fixing as its level...52? i think 52 skill

[TA]

The AP table for shield repair needs to go, its maxed at F (At least in open beta), and the level requirment for SP: Shield bash needs fixing as its level...52? i think 52 skill

It's a level 38 36 skill...

[Renges65]

He might be talking about this SP Skill:

http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/506/201010220000.jpg (http://img258.imageshack.us/i/201010220000.jpg/)

[TA]

They're talking about this: SP: Shield Bash - Vindictus Wiki (http://www.vindictuswiki.com/wiki/SP:_Shield_Bash)

It's not added in NA though.

[Baku]

The AP table for shield repair needs to go, its maxed at F (At least in open beta), and the level requirment for SP: Shield bash needs fixing as its level...52? i think 52 skill
The table is there to show that the skill is free, no AP needed to make it useful.
Shield Bash is level 36, it isn't released in NA yet, Aodhan gives the quest and then you have to clear Red Tyrant.
The level 52 skill is Shield Charge.

_____

Update


10/22/2010
-The Reaper strategy added
-Red Tyrant strategy added
If anyone has any boss strategy request, ask. I'll try to do most of them anyway, but if someone requests I'll give priority to those.

[lithanor]

I think it might be wise to mention that you have to RELEASE guard to use counterattack. I can also do a Reaper video if I learnt how to use the video system XD

[heretic304]

Stamina Mastery
http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x339/kenjito1/staminamasteryskilltable.png
Increases maximum stamina.
F: + 1 Stamina
E: + 4 Stamina
D: + 5 Stamina
D~A: + 2 Stamina per rank.

It's a good trade for rank D. But after that it gets inefficient (But you'll end up ranking it anyway, just not really a good idea to get it to A quickly)

Apparently Rank C is 13 Stamina, or +3. I just checked the skill description D: I'm not sure about B and A though.

[Baku]

Indeed, thanks for pointing that out.

[TA]

It doesn't even seem like it's worth ranking at all. :what:

[Sora]

I bet when you start reaching high levels, and your skill's cost less and less Stamina, ranking it will seem a viable option.

Example, Rank F Slip Dash cost 16 stamina, but at rank 6 it costs 7 Stamina, so ranking Stamina Mastery might seem to be an okay idea since it costs a lot less, and can fit 2 extra Slip Dash at Rank B instead of only 1.

For Fiona, Guard uses % and it could help to have more Stamina, but getting perfect guard is best for no Stamina reduction..

[Lightman]

Awesome guide :thumb:
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[notmuchstuff]

Is there anyway to tell if an attack is a smash or not simply by the animation? Without trying to guard it basically.

[Science]

Is there anyway to tell if an attack is a smash or not simply by the animation? Without trying to guard it basically.

If you HS and it throws you back, its a smash. If you stay in the same place, it was a normal attack.

[Invertex]

You can't tell based off observation, I tend to go with what Shira said and assume everything is a smash until I don't get knocked back.
Though you tend to start noticing general trends, like how (nearly) all Vampire sword moves are normal attacks.

[Inverse]

Hammer Smash #2, and #4 (Sigma) can Break-Off if aimed correctly. Which can be tricky since they are unwieldy. Of course, both of these attacks have nice stun chance as well. It's key to note I have noticed more breakage by "grazing" a target (hitting it at its edge) with the hammer, than headon. Could have to do with how the attack hit box works.

Try hitting the duck on the boat with the hammer on the ground to see what I mean. You want the splash damage, not the hit~ for break-offs. I need to experiment more to be sure.

This is of course risky, and not recommended when Sprint+Smash can work as well in many situations, but it's good to know.

[VitaSoy]

Great guide.

I've heard that smash mastery affects normal hits when using a hammer, confirmation?

When creating a few Fiona characters for testing, I've noticed that height has minimal affects on speed, while noticing a semi-significant drop in how many targets I hit with amaranth kick and ivy sweep. Been combing through some Korean Fiona guides, but have not come up with anything conclusive.

[heretic304]

Great guide.

I've heard that smash mastery affects normal hits when using a hammer, confirmation?

When creating a few Fiona characters for testing, I've noticed that height has minimal affects on speed, while noticing a semi-significant drop in how many targets I hit with amaranth kick and ivy sweep. Been combing through some Korean Fiona guides, but have not come up with anything conclusive.

I'm pretty sure hammer's normal attacks are only affected by combat mastery and critical hit. Smash mastery only affects the smashes themselves. And the height difference doesn't actually affect attack speed itself. It affects the after-delays of the smash animations. Taller characters have a longer after-delay and a longer reach while shorter ones have a shorter delay but shorter reach.

For Sword Fiona, there is no bearing on her attack speed since heavy stander can be activated at the same moment whether she's short or tall. On hammer, however, it might be more noticeable since the after-delay of their smash is extremely short, giving hammer users less need to Heavy Cancel. As a result a hammer Fiona will probably feel the extra bit of delay on her attacks. But it shouldn't be significant enough for a taller Fiona to need to heavy cancel as a hammer user.

[VitaSoy]

Thanks for the reply. Completely forgot about the animation canceling. I figured there would be a general consensus like having shorter scythe Evie's to get chains off in time.

While stumbling around Korean fan sites, I came across this little gem. It's a list of Fiona boss solos. So I guess my stumbling is more of a frolic now. The videos are listed by numbers followed by a short description; google chrome to translate if necessary.

http://www.inven.co.kr/board/powerbbs.php?come_idx=2032&query=view&p=1&my=&category=&sort=PID&orderby=&where=&name=&subject=&content=&keyword=&sterm=&iskin=&l=27867

P.S. I always thought trolling was more of a western thing. some of these korean forums get pretty hilarious.

[baozicha]

Really good guide! Thanks a lot!:XD:

[Baku]

11/01/2010
-Fixed erroneous translations.
-Added all skills available to Fiona in Mabinogi Heroes (Korean "Vindictus")
+Health Potion Mastery
+Large Shield Mastery
+Shield Rush


All skills, now I was thinking of adding rank effects to the skill tables, but enough for now.

[Cucurbita]

No mention of hammer skills makes this hammer fiona very ronery.

[Baku]

Ooh hammer skills right right. o__o I ehem forgot about those yes yes.
I'll see about adding them in a couple of years.

Edit: Alright, added what info I can about hammer skills.

[risend]

In the Korean version, hammers only go up to A skill? And there is no skill book for #2 smash skill?

[Baku]

Hammer Skills are capped at A in Mabinogi Heroes atm.
Both skill books are sold by Ceara, they cost 12k ea.

[AsteriskCGy]

Hum, are those PG extra attacks doable after a counterattack or in place of.

[Andy-Buddy]

Hum, are those PG extra attacks doable after a counterattack or in place of.

In place of.

[Cucurbita]

You forgot to mention Butterfly Swing allows multiple consecutive swings.

[Baku]

Yeah, alright. Added :3

[risend]

Have you seen this Bakuryu?

Vindictus Forums | View topic - Fiona Longsword & Longhammer damage percentile (http://www.vindictushq.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=1242)

The formula is more complicated, but more accurate than the damage for each stigma charge you listed. It is also very neat.

[Baku]

ooh @.@ That's interesting I'll take a better look at it in a little bit, and see if I can make some adjustments or something. Thanks for sharing.

[utbigred]

Just thought u might want to edit but Life force is Health Mastery.

[rymd]

are you sure blossom blow rA does more damage than amaranth rank F?
im finding amaranth does WAY more damage in a double blossom rA

[Baku]

Unless I was drunk? But I don't drink ! D:
I dunno, too late for me to try again, ranked amaranth already. I guess I'll remove that if you say it's wrong... or maybe I was getting criticals and didn't even notice or something owo;;
I'll do the calculations with the percentiles table and fix if needed.

[Andy-Buddy]

I just did the calculations.

1000 Attack, Enemy has 0 Defense, rF Smash Mastery, rF Amaranth, and rA Blossom. No Extra Damage

Using this formula. (ATK - DEF + 900 + extra damage * 6.25)* percentile * (1 + Base Mastery% + Mastery%)

Blossom:
(1000 - 0 + 900 + )* 0.092 * (1 + 0.18) + [Second Hit] (1000 - 0 + 900 + )* 0.048 * (1 + 0.18)

Amaranth
(1000 - 0 + 900 + )* 0.18 * (1 + 0)

Blossom came up with 270.788 Total Damage.

Amaranth came up with 342 Total Damage.

[Hiccup]

O_o the refbacks on this thread

and I love my fiona <3 Too bad I've been neglecting her. Good guide btw

[Baku]

I just did the calculations.

1000 Attack, Enemy has 0 Defense, rF Smash Mastery, rF Amaranth, and rA Blossom. No Extra Damage

Using this formula. (ATK - DEF + 900 + extra damage * 6.25)* percentile * (1 + Base Mastery% + Mastery%)

Blossom:
(1000 - 0 + 900 + )* 0.092 * (1 + 0.18) + [Second Hit] (1000 - 0 + 900 + )* 0.048 * (1 + 0.18)

Amaranth
(1000 - 0 + 900 + )* 0.18 * (1 + 0)

Blossom came up with 270.788 Total Damage.

Amaranth came up with 342 Total Damage.
Alright thanks, fixing.
I guess the difference isn't that big though, so I probably didn't pay enough attention.

[Science]

Alright thanks, fixing.
I guess the difference isn't that big though, so I probably didn't pay enough attention.

Plus, Amaranth can be pulled off in around the same time as a triple blossom, and the stun chance is way higher too :D

[zerojw]

O_O oh.. I ranked my blossom blow to 9 b4 kick cuz of the guide...
Oh well.. i'll have to rank them all up eventually anyway XD
Plus blossom is so good clearing normal mobs.

[Baku]

O_O oh.. I ranked my blossom blow to 9 b4 kick cuz of the guide...
Oh well.. i'll have to rank them all up eventually anyway XD
Plus blossom is so good clearing normal mobs.
I ranked blossom to 8, ivy to 9, smash to 8, critical to 8, combat to 9 before amaranth.
You can blossom A LOT in between bosses combos, unlike amaranth.

[Gotejjeken]

You can also pull off six blossom blows in about the same amaranth time if you HS cancel. I find myself doing Amaranth less and less...I would actually be interested in a Ivy Sweep calculation vs. Amaranth, as Ivy R9 seems to do a ton of damage with that added kick, and it can also be pulled off a lot faster than an Amaranth. The only time Amaranth is really viable is if you PG into it...but I find myself CA'ing in that situation more than anything.

[Baku]

You can also pull off six blossom blows in about the same amaranth time if you HS cancel. I find myself doing Amaranth less and less...I would actually be interested in a Ivy Sweep calculation vs. Amaranth, as Ivy R9 seems to do a ton of damage with that added kick, and it can also be pulled off a lot faster than an Amaranth. The only time Amaranth is really viable is if you PG into it...but I find myself CA'ing in that situation more than anything.
http://mabination.com/vindictus/vindictus-guides/12480-damage-formulas-percentiles.html

The first hit of blossom does the exact same damage as the r9 ivy kick. So you are better off doing quick blossoms instead of Ivy Sweeps, which is pretty much only useful against trash mobs.
not to mention that Blossom Mastery gets higher % damage bonus than Ivy skill.