Quote from Vanof;129699:
Melee Elves do not suck!
Duh.
Quote from Vanof;129699:
So, elaborate on their advantages, please.
Alright. I've put it down that:
a) Elves are fast
b) Elves can hide
Butttt, what else? Elves naturally gain much more dex than humans, therefore it is easier to use low balance weapons. From ages 18~22, elves have the same strength gain as humans, so don't worry.(0.5 level per) If you're 3-week-rebirthing, this can become a disadvantage though, obviously.
Elaborating on their speed now, it can be advantageous for pulling off combos with more safe room.(such as charge->run up->wm when you are not r1)
Speed is definitely an advantage, but hide isn't worth much in actual fighting situations.
The natural dex growth is certainly convenient, but by no circumstances does this mean that anyone should neglect proper lifeskilling. Lifeskills are what make the difference between your average player and those people that are frequently selling ridiculously priced items on the housing board.
Quote from Vanof;129699:
Hmmmm... I see what you're saying... but how do you make up for the damage?
The same way humans make up for ranged damage-- By raising your strength skills. Now there's carpentry! You lose quite a bit of potential strength due to final hit, sadly~
No, you really don't ever get to make up the damage, at all. Elves have the lowest strength gain from skills, and while your strength growth is higher at age 18, it's not very convenient to be age 18. You have zero growth in Luck at age 18, which is a pretty crucial stat to elves REGARDLESS OF BUILD. Yes you can make up for the crit with enchants, but base Luck is also crucial, as maximizing crit is very valuable to elves.
The only proper way for an elf to make up the lost melee damage is through an ego weapon. Even then, other races are just as capable of making a melee ego weapon and outdamaging you again.
Quote from Vanof;129699:
I'm not convinced. What about weapons?
Personally, I recommend using the same sword setups humans use, but with a shield of your choice instead. 222 broads are very useable! If you really want the damage, go for a 200 build warhammer.
Honestly... If you intend to take the melee elf build seriously, you need to be prepared to make your ego weapon your MAIN melee weapon. Without that there's almost no chance you'll ever be able to keep up with other races, in terms of damage.
Quote from Vanof;129699:
As far as egos are concerned, I personally recommend the Mace, or Gladius. The mace offers much higher strength, and the gladius offers lower strength(~16 less max damage), but offers great critical.(30 as opposed to 5, and 45 as opposed to 9 maxed luck)
I can agree with this. Which one you use is very dependent on what age you rebirth to. If you rebirth to 10, then you can use either of these, or even a Bipennis ego (mad critz yo). If you rebirth to age 18 (17, but before age-ups on Saturday), then you should go with the Gladius or the Bipennis, as a means of making up lost crit. Since the difference in damage should be made up with your increased strength growth, it's not really a big deal. Be prepared to spend a great deal of money on your ego though.
Quote from Vanof;129699:
About the two-hander situation~... Brionac, lol..
Honestly, if you want good two-hander damage, actually use that Brionac and rank Spark to rank 1(assuming you can get it)
Spark+Brionac has probably the highest possible damage rate in the game right now.
It's really not worth it. In my opinion, and the opinion of a lot of people here, the high damage Brionac puts out is just not worth sacrificing legitimate character growth. In my opinion, Brionac should only be used to grind boring skills and for the generation quests (when it's needed).
Quote from Vanof;129699:
Elves lack heavy armor dood!
:lol:
Take advantage of it and either wear clothes or light armor, and use accessories as extra enchant slots! Dur!
If you don't mind using accessories, go right ahead. I personally don't bother with them, it's too much investment for me to care rofl. To each his own.
Quote from Vanof;129699:
Any other stuff you recommend ranking? for luls?
Uhhhh. yes, actually! You'll want rank 9 ice to better chain attacks, and once your melee is done(you can only do so much) I recommend exploring magic with blaze-- It works surprisingly well with melee attacks. It is an afterthought, though.
To make up for a lack of hp/defense, elves have mana shield as well. Yes, humans have it too, but when transformed elves get a pretty hefty mp boost.
Not necessarily rank 9 ice. Rank 5+ lightning works the same. But if you're going to bother going that far with either, you may as well get to r2 or r1 (depends if you want the efficiency vs. the stats+title). Blaze is good for elves, but not because it works well with melee attacks. Blaze is good for elves because they naturally have high Int and MP. Granted, Int is ridiculously easy to raise up for any race.
Mana Shield is pretty important, though not necessary. I personally don't even use it outside of PvP (sometimes I like to be super cruel in duels :v).
Quote from Vanof;129699:
Elves do less damage!
:T_T: Waaaaaah~ cry cry~
On the positive side, you're always using a shield and have that much more potential for defense and PD. An elf with a shield and upgraded light armor can have more defense than a human with upgraded heavy armor dual wielding.
You also get some PD to make up for the lack of heavy armor PD.
Every race is capable of using shields, and therefore all have the same potential for defense and PD. Some players just choose to use 2 swords/2 maces instead of one and a shield. Shields are really of little value except for their hidden stats (also that elves are ready to use Charge at all times, that's a nice little bonus).
Quote from Vanof;129699:
So in summary--
Elves have many shortcomings to human melee, but they're not as short as you might think. There is a ton of damage dealing potential lost, still, but elf melee can be seen as much safer and defensive, rather than offensive.
Once again, it's not really that its more defensive. It's more that you don't have a choice to use something other than a shield in the offhand.
Quote from Vanof;129699:
This is not a full guide covering everything, it's only to hopefully show you that elf melee is still effective.
Melee for an elf is like range for a human, they trade off. Humans have to work harder to do good range damage, as elves have to work harder to do good melee damage. That's how it is.
Of course elf melee is still effective. Everybody has to melee sometimes, it's just a given. Sometimes the enemy will get close to you, that's all there is to it.
Humans don't necessarily have to work harder to do good range damage, they just have to work harder to get the same output (since elves fire so much faster :v).
Quote from Vanof;129699:
Giants are still the best at melee, though. Sorry. :XD:
Which is why trying to hybrid in other tactics with them is a pain for many people.
Quote from Vanof;129699:
With that said, in closing I honestly think for all characters, ranking a variety will benefit you the most. In the case of being an elf, I recommend ranking range some and finding ways to work your bow into your melee combos-- that is when you'll become truly effective and you will shine! The same goes for magic and alchemy, of course, elves just happen to naturally be good at range.
Yeah. Range is definitely always a good thing for elves to have, whether it's a primary or secondary tactic. Same with magic and alchemy, it's important to have several back-ups.
Just to add a little merit to what I've been saying, here's a screenshot of my elf:
[Image: http://a.imageshack.us/img295/3510/mabinogi20100820001.jpg]
Not going to bother screening my stats because they're ever-changing. The title should be enough proof though. :v