-
Tally wrote on 2011-01-02 03:06
So, as of late, I have been pondering going alchemist as a secondary class. I am human by the way.
After the next rebirth, I will have finished ranking magnum shot completely, and will have finished production mastery.
Which would leave me with the following archer skills:
Ranged Attack r1
Arrow Revolver r5
Crash Shot r5
Magnum Shot r1
Support Shot r9
After my next rebirth ends, G13 will likely come out, which opens up bow mastery, hence opening up new dilemmas. I'd probably rank it up to r9 as soon as it comes out either way (23 AP for +10 damage? Yes)
As it stands, I want to branch out, because archery feels, at times, to be slow, unreliable, and underwhelming. I am torn between how I want to advance alchemy, however.
Plan A: Offensive Alchemy training
Intended to be used as an alternative combat style to archery, or supplement in some ways through offensive power.
Water Cannon to r1
Wind Blast to rD (prereq for flame burst)
Flame burst to r5 or r1
Chain Cylinder r9 or r5 (if I get it)
Heat Buster r9 (or further if I feel like spending tremendous AP)
Plan B: Supportive Alchemy Training
Intended to provide alternative approaches through the use of support/utility skills.
Water Cannon rA (prereq for Frozen Blast)
Frozen Blast rhowevermuchtobereliable (needs advice on that)
Summon Golem r5 (r1 later)
Mana Crystalization r5
I already have Barrier Spikes to r5.
Your opinions are much appreciated. Thank you.
-
Shanghai wrote on 2011-01-02 03:13
Water Cannon should be ranked to at least 5 no matter what kind of Alchemist you're planning to be for the loading speeds of it. Heat Buster should be capped at rank 8, 4, or 1 because that's when it gets it's big boosts in damage from ranking it(don't ask me why). I highly recommend ranking Flame Burst to 1, because it pretty much sucks at all skill ranks until then. Chain Cylinder is fine at any rank since successive ranks don't increase it's chaning % much until you hit rank 5. Just remember to turn it on since it's a toggle skill. Golem I haven't ranked yet, and Frozen Blast as well so I can't give any advice on that. Mana Crystallization... Well do you have advanced magic? It's more offensive than supportive since it helps your efficiency with Adv Magic Crystals.
-
Retard wrote on 2011-01-02 04:59
since youve already pout so much work into range, I'd say barrier spikes to 1 Frozen blast to 1 and wind blast to six (its more useful than you think.) Then you can put some work into the rest.
-
Cynic wrote on 2011-01-02 08:27
If you're going to rank Summon Golem, it's best to rank it as much as possible. Also make sure to rank Alchemy Mastery as it contributes a TON to SG.
-
Tally wrote on 2011-01-02 09:06
So what makes wind blast such a good pick? Yeah, it's knockback, but I don't see much point other than farther knockback each level. The most I could see it useful for is to retaliate after being knocked down. Though now that I think of it that way, it does sound slightly promising given its low AP cost.
As for Frozen Blast, I would probably level it up that high if it weren't that it costs as much AP as an adv magic.
-
Shanghai wrote on 2011-01-02 09:10
Quote from Tally;273153:
So what makes wind blast such a good pick? Yeah, it's knockback, but I don't see much point other than farther knockback each level. The most I could see it useful for is to retaliate after being knocked down. Though now that I think of it that way, it does sound slightly promising given its low AP cost.
As for Frozen Blast, I would probably level it up that high if it weren't that it costs as much AP as an adv magic.
You basically described it's usefulness right there. I hear it gets buffed up later on in G13 with the new cylinder, but I recommend just waiting and leave it as something you'd rank as an end-game skill when you've settled into Alchemy. Rank D is fine, and due to it's cooldown you can't really spam it. Do note you can load it while you're being knocked-down, and Heat Buster can do the same as well. Life Drain is nice if you've got CM to 1 and have around 200+ HP. I'm planning to leave it at 8 for a quick HP recovery and for utility use since crystals are pretty hard to make(unless you synth dupe)
-
Tally wrote on 2011-01-02 10:12
I've only got ~120ish HP for most of a rebirth, since I only have combat mastery rC, and I have two sacrificial enchants on (-12 HP total past a certain level). As a result, I'm pretty squishy. If I think I'll be at odds with an enemy, I either load barrier spikes or mana shield (I have twice as much MP as HP). While the extra HP from life drain would be nice, it's pretty low on my to-do list. I could rank up sharp mind and first aid and get much cheaper HP.
-
Shanghai wrote on 2011-01-02 10:46
Quote from Tally;273177:
I've only got ~120ish HP for most of a rebirth, since I only have combat mastery rC, and I have two sacrificial enchants on (-12 HP total past a certain level). As a result, I'm pretty squishy. If I think I'll be at odds with an enemy, I either load barrier spikes or mana shield (I have twice as much MP as HP). While the extra HP from life drain would be nice, it's pretty low on my to-do list. I could rank up sharp mind and first aid and get much cheaper HP.
It's okay not to do Life Drain since you don't have high amounts of HP and you don't seem the type to be WMing like mad. Besides, those crystals sell for a bit. Just focus on main starter Alchemy skills for now(Water Cannon, Flame Burst, Barrier Spikes, etc.) since it's more of an Intermediate sort of Alchemy skill that shouldn't be ranked until you're comfortable with Alchemy.
-
Tally wrote on 2011-01-02 11:09
Alright. So far what I've got in mind is... hopefully in order:
Wind Blast rD
Flame Burst rF (until ranked higher, use it to prof cylinders)
Water Cannon r5
Heat Buster rF (to have it available)
Flame Burst r6 or r5 (depends if duration/loadtime is important)
Chain Cylinder rA if I get it before now.
Water Cannon r1
Flame burst r1
Wind Blast r6
Chain Cylinder r5 or r1
Ranking alchemy mastery as it becomes available.
Not planning past that yet. Any criticisms?
-
Shanghai wrote on 2011-01-02 11:17
Quote from Tally;273204:
Alright. So far what I've got in mind is... hopefully in order:
Wind Blast rD
Flame Burst rF (until ranked higher, use it to prof cylinders)
Water Cannon r5
Heat Buster rF (to have it available)
Flame Burst r6 or r5 (depends if duration/loadtime is important)
Chain Cylinder rA if I get it before now.
Water Cannon r2
Flame burst r1
Wind Blast r6
Chain Cylinder r5 or r1
Ranking alchemy mastery as it becomes available.
Not planning past that yet. Any criticisms?
Flame Burst is really sucky until rank 1, so don't stop at rank 5 or any rank at all unless you have no AP for it. Water Cannon can be left at rank 2 much like Icebolt due to a higher consumption rate with not much damage difference. Heat Buster at rank F is a big drain on crystals due to it's underwhelming damage that can be outmatched by 2 Water Cannons at rank 2. Rank 8 is a nice stopping point for it, but it's a really great skill and to get the most out of it would be to rank it all the way to 1 of course, but that's not until you get WC to 2 or 1. I personally think Wind Blast is just fine at rank D, so I wouldn't rank it straight away but at the end.
You can usually branch off into being a Fire-oriented Alchemist or a Water-oriented Alchemist. You can always do both if you have the AP, but specializing in one helps conserve AP. If you're planning to be a Fire Alchemist, Heat Buster at 8 and WC at 5-2 are good stopping points, and from then on Flamer is pretty efficient on it's own provided you have the charges for it. If you're being a Water Alchemist, then rank WC to 1. Heat Buster is also useful to increase your overall DPS as a Water Alchemist, so 8 again is a good stopping point.
So overall it's more like:
Fire Alchemist:
Wind Blast to D and Water Cannon to E to get Flame Burst
Flame Burst to r1
WC to r5-2
Heat Buster to 8
From then on you can start branching as a Fire Alchemist into other types of Alchemy. Your Barrier Spikes won't help as much due to Flamer being unable to pass through them and dealing damage to your spikes, they serve as good stoppers for charging up Flamer. Fire Cylinders are always recommended to increase your damage with Flamer. Upgrading it with Critical % upgrades help since Flamer ignores protection and most of it's damage comes from criticals. This is the path I took, and it's pretty efficient, although you'll be in a tight spot if you can't OHKO something with a fully-charged Flamer because you didn't score a critical.
Water Alchemist:
WC to rank 2-1
Heat Buster to 8
Yeah. Water Alchemists got it easy. Tower Cylinders and Water Cylinders should be your weapons of choice. Only use the Tower Cylinder in certain missions though(Procovation) because it's pretty annoying to re-set up them in more mobile missions(Shadow Wizard). Barrier Spikes is a great help to these Alchemists since you can fire across them.
Ranking Alchemy Mastery as it becomes available to rank of course. With the new Masteries for Alchemy coming out, it's probably good to master them as well.
-
Cynic wrote on 2011-01-02 11:18
Alchemy mastery is available as soon as you equip a cylinder. o.o;
-
Shanghai wrote on 2011-01-02 11:30
Quote from Cynic;273209:
Alchemy mastery is available as soon as you equip a cylinder. o.o;
I think she means when she can rank it. ^^:
-
Tally wrote on 2011-01-02 11:47
Quote from Shanghai;273211:
I think he means when he can rank it. ^^:
Fix'd. Though I understand the name might appear feminine. I've also had people tell me I appear feminine aside.
I appreciate the help. I would just like some clarification, however... as an archer, which do you believe would help me more? Fire or water? My initial assumption is water, as it would allow me to fire over barrier spikes, and the knockback would allow me to combo into archery skills (ergo, it becomes a better comeback or high-stress skill). On the other hand, I already have close to 30% crit because of my stiff tail cap and innately high will, so flame burst would also be a good pick. I'd probably only use range if I'm hiding behind barrier spikes anyway.
-
Cynic wrote on 2011-01-02 12:25
Ahhh.~ I was going to say, lmao.
This is coming from someone who still has a low rank Flame Burst, but.. the continuious effect of FB compared to the knock-back (remember you need to be close enough) of WC kind of evens them out in terms of 'what does it do other than damage'.
FB is great in parties, whall WC shines when you're solo-ing AND in parties. Though I haven't tested a highly ranked FB during a solo mission, soooo.. not 100% sure on that, just going by what I've heard.
-
Shanghai wrote on 2011-01-02 21:11
Flame Burst is versatile in both solo and party missions, since each have their good sides and bad sides. The good thing about FB is that it can deal great damage when fully charged, usually killing most Adv monsters with a full charge. The bad thing about it is if you don't kill the enemy because you didn't land a critical(which will usually happen), you'll have to resort to using single charges of Flame Burst to keep the enemy at bay, or switch to another form of attack(WC, Archery). Flame Burst also requires you to charge stacks for it to be actually useful(It deals 1s with one charge for normal hits). In party-situations, most party members will keep enemies at bay for you to fully charge FB, but the downside is that players will often ignore that cone of fire coming out of your Cylinder and proceed to knock the enemy away with a Smash or a Windmill. It's awfully annoying, and unless the player says "Sorry!" and understands you need a good 5 seconds to unleash your damage on a monster, then switch to another method of attacking since it's not going to be useful when players are just going to smack your targets away from your cone. It's also wise to wait for Windmillers to mill the enemies around you first before firing, then pick off the weakened ones for the Windmiller.
WC is just good overall, and it has some coordination with Barrier Spikes so I suggest ranking that first. It's also fairly spammable.
And sorry for not knowing your gender. :x