General Gear Guide [Unfinished]

• Syliara wrote on 2014-02-12 06:19
  *Posting what I have so far, I will update it after I finish coming up with more content. Currently only gotten through Human melee and range, havent touched reforges for them yet.*
  
  Introduction:
  In this guide I intend to give RECOMMENDATION for gear for each skill set and 3 tiers for each set of gear for each skill set. I will mention enchants and reforges for each piece and will give reasons for each type of armor/enchant (and reforge if necessary). I will give variations or choices you can choose that are entirely up to you based on your play style and how you might use each skill set. Lets get started.
  
  
  Human:
  
  
  Melee (Base Gear):
  -Basic Tier:
  
  

  
  
  • Honestly for all pieces at basic tier any heavy armor would work. Keep in mind you shouldn't invest too heavily into these pieces because you will most likely be trading up in the near future. For ease, defense, and set effects I would probably go with Dustin Silver Knight Armor or Valencia's Crossline Plate Armor.
    
  • Weapon: I would recommend blacksmithed Battle Swords for people who would dual wield, however currently it is pretty simple to get Focused Rainbow Beam swords and they are high Maximum Damage for low cost and almost no effort.
    
  • Accessories: If you are more defensive oriented you can grab some Droseras that have good rolls on Defense and Protection. If you are more offensive oriented you can grab some Purple Hearts that have good will and strength rolls (strength is preferred but will would be nice for extra critical chance). There are also a lot of pre-enchanted normal accessories floating around from multiple Gachapon that can help you get a boost in damage at an early stage (Stout Earthquake).
    
  • Shield: For those defensive oriented players a shield can be handy. I would recommend a Shield of Avon. Weapon of choice with a shield would be a Francisca.
    

  
  -Middle Tier:
  
  

  
  
  • At this point in time a Thames Plate Armor set would be preferred for the smash and assault slash enhancements. I would recommend getting both enhancements to activate, and getting high rolls on the body, head, and gloves is a better idea than having to get high rolls on the boots due to the fact that they are generally more difficult to come by.
    
  • Weapon: Dual wield is still a viable weapon choice at this point, but I would start branching out into two-handed weapons. Blacksmithed Battle swords are the best choice for dual wielding for their artisans and the fact they can get enchants and special upgrades. For two-handed weapons I would recommend Highlander Claymore. These are very cheap for the amount of power they can potentially boast. If you can find a already rank 1 reforged one that came from the Gachapon it would be in your best interest.
    
  • Accessories: At this point I would recommend getting your hands on some good rolled strength Purple Hearts and keeping those maintained.
    
  • Shield: I do not recommend using a shield anymore, the damage from using a 1 handed weapon starts to really fall short around this time.
    

  
  -High Tier:
  
  

  
  
  • Thames armor is a must at this point, the smash bonus and the assault slash bonus make a noticeable difference in damage.
    
  • Weapon: I would drop the dual swords at this point and move into two-handed weapons only. However now I think is a good time to pick up the Lances. Lance will be the most viable weapon for an end game melee player; it boasts incredibly high max damage potential, and has a special bonus... Piercing!! This stat decreases both defense and protection by a lot for each level, which makes your damage go extremely high against mobs that have annoying amounts of defense and protection. I would recommend Knight Lance for the casual players and Languhiris Bone-Breaker for players who are shooting for end game. Two-handed swords are still a viable weapon at this point, and I would recommend continuing to use Highlander Claymore with an already rank 1 reforge level on it.
    
  • Accessories: High roll strength Purple Hearts are still a good set of accessories to continue using even at end game.
    

  
  
  
  Melee (Enchants):
  -Basic Tier:
  
  

  
  
  • I personally wouldn't invest any enchants for armor for this tier. However if you wanted to keep your defensive stats going, Imp for your body is a cheap and easy way to get a little extra defense and protection.
    
  • Weapon: For Battle Swords I would recommend Goddess' for prefix and Caliburn for suffix. Both are easy to get enchants and add decent amounts of maximum damage.
    
  • Accessories: If you picked up pre-enchanted accessories then you wont have to worry about this.
    
  • Shield: This one is pretty tough, Professor is a decent enchant to throw on there though.
    

  
  -Middle Tier:
  
  

  
  
  • This is where personal preference and your cost limit is really a factor. You can go with Sight for prefix or Darkness for suffix, however Darkness is a rank 7 enchant and more than likely will either ruin your armor or cost you a lot with enchant protection potions. The alternative would be Imp, its not a bad substitute if you aren't ready to risk your equipment. For gloves I would recommend Expansive Elegant. For shoes Oblivion Fleet/Viscount. For head Deserted/Oblivion/Vine Dexterity.
    
  • Weapon: For the dual swords I would still keep Goddess' Caliburn, there isnt very much better honestly. For two-handed sword Lich Violent is a nice combination. Lich may be a higher ranked enchant, but it is an “Enchant Enabled Regardless” enchant which allows it to completely skip the bridging process.
    
  • Accessories: You can still continue to use Stout Earthquake pre-enchanted ones, or you can invest in Oblivion which has 2 more maximum damage over Stout. You could also move onto Purple hearts and put Oblivion Earthquake on them.
    

  
  -High Tier:
  
  

  
  
  • At this point you should be ready and willing to risk your armor pieces since you should be able to find replacements fairly easily. I would recommend Sight or Conceptual in the Prefix slot and for the Suffix good choices would be Champion (very difficult to find, this is end game), Darkness (Pitch-Black), and Avenger. Champion and Avenger will destroy your item if it fails unless you protect it, so enchant those first if you intend to use them. For gloves I would recommend Expansive/Steel Needle Elegant/Swarming. For shoes I would recommend Oblivion Viscount. For head Oblivion Dexterity. For those over achievers though, you can do Solo Viscount on boots, Steel Needle Difficult on gloves, and Oblivion Tournai on head.
    
  • Weapon: For lances I recommend Secret Penetrating. There really isn't a lot of wiggle room with this, Secret Penetrating are a rule of thumb for enchants on lances at this point. Secret is however a rank 6 enchant so either have protections or backups. For the Highlander Claymore I recommend Lich Crocodile. Lich is easy enough to put on it, but Crocodile will require a little bit of bridging.
    
  • Accessories: Purple hearts with a high strength roll are your best bet on this one, there are other ones (rare Gachapon accessories) but dont worry about those. Oblivion Earthquake is a nice combination for your Purple hearts, but you could go with Oblivion Swarming as well, you may lose a bit of maximum damage but you gain balance which will be helpful if your using heavy armor with a lance as a human.
    

  
  
  
  
  
  Range (Base Gear):
  -Basic Tier:
  
  

  
  
  • For gear on archery there really isn't much you can do besides Bohemian. If you can get a hold of a full Bohemian set with 10/10 for magnum and support shot then go ahead, however other than that the only thing you can really go wrong with is Heavy Armor. I cannot stress enough, heavy armor is a no-no for range it hurts your dexterity too much.
    
  • Weapon: A good starting bow would be the Elven Long Bow, or the Leather Long Bow. Both are decent bow and are sold by NPC's, so very very accessible.
    
  • Accessories: The Gachapon gave out a good amount of Precise Lilly enchanted accessories. These are nice for starting characters and very cheap, I would recommend either that or starting on some high dexterity Purple Hearts.
    

  
  -Middle Tier:
  
  

  
  
  • At this point I would recommend having a full 10/10 magnum/support shot Bohemian set. The magnum bonus is very very useful and you can use it all the way to end game status. While the support shot bonus isn't exactly all that useful, it can be nice to have and if you can get a hold of it I would get it just in case.
    
  • Weapon: I would trash the Leather Long Bow and the Elven Long bow at this point and pick up a Highlander Long bow. This is a very nice weapon that can serve you all the way till end game, and (what luck) a lot of them are pre-reforged for rank 1 from a Gachapon. If you can get a hold of a rank 1 Highlander Long Bow then I would do so. You are also welcome to start a spirit weapon, because range has one of the only spirit weapons that aren't complete crap. If you do intend to get a spirit weapon, keep in mind these are a long term weapon that will cost you millions over a long period of time to make them worth it. If you still want to get one, I would recommend the Ring Bow as your weapon of choice. It has the highest Maximum damage potential of all the bow spirit weapons.
    
  • Accessories: I would make some high roll dexterity Purple Hearts at this point and enchant either Precise Lilly on them or Oblivion Lilly/Swarming.
    

  
  -High Tier:
  
  

  
  
  • You should have a full 10/10 magnum/support shot Bohemian set by now, if you don't GO GET ONE!
    
  • Weapon: I still recommend you use the Highlander Long Bow. However, if you truly want to be the best of the best, you can take it a step further and try to get your hands on a Bhafel Hunter and if you get that you will need the Bhafel Huntress. These weapons however are extremely expensive and hard to get, I only recommend this to people who have nothing left to spend their money on to make themselves stronger in archery.
    
  • Accessories: I recommend making high roll dexterity Oblivion Lilly/Swarming Purple Hearts at this point.
    

  
  Range (Enchants):
  -Basic Tier:
  
  

  
  
  • I do not recommend enchanting on anything besides a Bohemian set for range.
    
  • Weapon: You can use Goddess' Caliburn again, cheap enchants without much trouble to obtain.
    
  • Accessories: If you got Precise Lilly accessories from the Gachapon then you don't have to worry yet.
    

  
  -Middle Tier:
  
  

  
  
  • For your body I would suggest Special as a prefix and you can put Camo/Ambush/Glass Fragment as a suffix. For shoes I recommend Oblivion Butterfly/Camo. For gloves I recommend Oblivion/Classic Swarming/Camo. For head I recommend Vine Dexterity or Oblivion Dexterity.
    
  • Weapon: If you decided to use a Highlander Long Bow I would suggest Glorious Fancy, and if you made a Ring Bow ego you can't enchant it anyways.
    
  • Accessories: I would recommend you have moved on to high roll dexterity Purple Hearts and I would recommend you put Oblivion/Precise Swarming/Lilly on them.
    

  
  -High Tier
  
  

  
  
  • For the body I recommend putting Encore on as a prefix and a good roll ambush on for suffix. If you can somehow get a hold of Daunting then by all means put it on your Bohemian. For shoes I recommend Oblivion/Solo Butterfly/Camo. For gloves I recommend Solo/Oblivion Camo/Difficult. For head I recommend Oblivion Dexterity/Target.
    
  • Weapon: For your weapon I recommend Glorious Thorn Lotus. However if you somehow got a hold of a Bhafel Hunter I would recommend Shadow Hunter Thorn Lotus because of the repair multiplier on Glorious.
    
  • Accessories: You should have high roll dexterity Purple Hearts by now, I recommend you put Oblivion Lilly/Swarming on them.
    
• ironwoman wrote on 2014-02-12 07:00
  I'd like to point out that by the time you're mid-high tier, you're most likely hybriding.
  That being said, light armors could be mentioned too.
  Also, heavy armor's still important to keep, since it does make solonogi easier in some situations. I still use my thames for solonogi ss.
  Another thing I want to add is that you can also get Spike Battle swords from the market pretty cheap.
• alwmiioktm wrote on 2014-02-12 07:29
  Nice so far, I agree with most of the things you said in this! Looking forward to see what you had in mind for magic; however ,"For gloves I would recommend Expansive/Steel Needle Camo." I was under the impression that camo can no longer be put onto gauntlets/ metal shoes. Can someone confirm or deny?
• Syliara wrote on 2014-02-12 07:40

  Quote from ironwoman;1197488:

  I'd like to point out that by the time you're mid-high tier, you're most likely hybriding.
  That being said, light armors could be mentioned too.
  Also, heavy armor's still important to keep, since it does make solonogi easier in some situations. I still use my thames for solonogi ss.
  Another thing I want to add is that you can also get Spike Battle swords from the market pretty cheap.

  
  
  Didn't want to go into hybridizing. This already is gonna be a big guide, its too much work XD
  
  @no2 Fixed, thanks.
• Snowie Stormflower wrote on 2014-02-12 09:37

  Quote from Nui;1197500:

  This already is gonna be a big guide

  
  
  In that case I recommend making use of spoiler tags and making the font slightly less big.
  
  You should also consider making clickable links out of certain things to make it more convenient.
  
  For example:
  
  

  For your body I would suggest Special as a prefix and you can put Camo/Ambush/Glass Fragment as a suffix. For shoes I recommend Oblivion Butterfly/Camo. For gloves I recommend Oblivion/Classic Swarming/Camo. For head I recommend Vine Dexterity or Oblivion Dexterity.

  
  
  ....Nevermind, -that- would be too much work.
  
  :llama_ohnoes:
• Syliara wrote on 2014-02-12 10:13

  Quote from Snowie Stormflower;1197529:

  In that case I recommend making use of spoiler tags and making the font slightly less big.
  
  You should also consider making clickable links out of certain things to make it more convenient.
  
  For example:
  
  
  
  ....Nevermind, -that- would be too much work.
  
  :llama_ohnoes:

  
  
  Lol I know, I intend to clean it up after I've typed it all up. I had thought of using hyperlinks but I use alot of things that would need hyperlinks.... I'll probably just do a list of hyperlinks at the bottom for it.
• arochia246 wrote on 2014-02-12 13:02
  For middle tier human melee, I would recommend, as an alternative, pre-enchanted Snake Hunter's Avenger Spika Armor/Rose Plate Armor that comes from the Desert Dragon or a high-roll Pitch Black enchanted Linen Cuirass that comes from Prairie Dragon. With that, middle tier humans could easily obtain Cold-Hearted and enchant that onto the River Raven Admiral Owen's Fingerless gloves you obtain as a reward from one of the G15 quests.
• Yuuki Asuna wrote on 2014-02-12 14:33
  This is a great start, nice job!
• M wrote on 2014-02-13 15:22

  Quote from Snowie Stormflower;1197529:

  In that case I recommend making use of spoiler tags and making the font slightly less big.
  
  You should also consider making clickable links out of certain things to make it more convenient.

  
  
  To go with this, you might even want to consider the fact that if your each the character limit on your original post, the rest of your guide is going to be separated by posts. To resolve this, you could make a new thread when it's complete and double(triple, quad) post all your stuff together as needed before other people reply with advice/feedback.
  
  Alternatively if you wanted to reserve posts for you know it's going to be long, you could make a new thread and post 3-4 replies stating "reserved" and edit them with your information later. If you decide to do either of these (and when you do them/after you make your new thread so we dont lose anything) just let one of us know and we can remove the old thread.
• Syliara wrote on 2014-02-13 17:10

  Quote from ╔╦╗╒╕║╒╕;1197867:

  To go with this, you might even want to consider the fact that if your each the character limit on your original post, the rest of your guide is going to be separated by posts. To resolve this, you could make a new thread when it's complete and double(triple, quad) post all your stuff together as needed before other people reply with advice/feedback.
  
  Alternatively if you wanted to reserve posts for you know it's going to be long, you could make a new thread and post 3-4 replies stating "reserved" and edit them with your information later. If you decide to do either of these (and when you do them/after you make your new thread so we dont lose anything) just let one of us know and we can remove the old thread.

  
  
  Ill probably end up doing this, just wanted to test the feed back on wat I had so far and it seems alright so far so I will continue with the current format and clean it up when I'm finished to make it look prettier. Magic is giving me a bit of trouble for enchants and I have an essay due soon so ive been a bit busy. Ill probably post magic soonish if it fits in the op and save the rest for when I make a completed version.
• Friggerton wrote on 2014-02-13 17:58
  "For middle tier human melee, I would recommend, as an alternative, pre-enchanted Snake Hunter's Avenger Spika Armor/Rose Plate Armor that comes from the Desert Dragon or a high-roll Pitch Black enchanted Linen Cuirass that comes from Prairie Dragon. With that, middle tier humans could easily obtain Cold-Hearted and enchant that onto the River Raven Admiral Owen's Fingerless gloves you obtain as a reward from one of the G15 quests."
  
  The gloves sound like an excellent recommendation for mid tier, but unless those armors are very common drops that could be purchased, I'm not going to hunt dragons just for armor if I'm level 400-1500.
• Syliara wrote on 2014-02-13 18:05
  You are all welcome to make your own suggestions if you would like in this thread, however keep in mind I most likely will not be adjusting the op for them due to laziness and that these ar all just recommendations based on research and personal preference not based on best cost efficiency and all that stuff. But again, you are welcome to post your own recommendations here if u feel they are better. Just don't go crazy with it.... Do remember this isnt a discussion thread....
• elemein wrote on 2014-02-13 18:48
  As a noob who would be looking to guides exactly like this to be very helpful for me. I find the content to be good, but the presentation is a little sparse.
  
  For example, you often mention getting "rolls" on equipment. Obviously this must refer to something that is chance-based, but using the term "rolls" is very... What's the word... Its a catch 22. You'll only understand a lot of the terms fully once you have no need for the guide, so perhaps a glossary or definition as you mention meta terms would be helpful.
  
  Also, could you maybe label a Cumulative Level or Combat Power or some kind of indication as to where somewhere would belong in a tier? I personally find even the Basic tier equipment to be difficult to get, such as the Dustin Armour. Killing a Desert Dragon or chancing r1 Blacksmithing isnt the simplest thing in the world to do, but it may be because I am likely far lower level than most (TTL: 371 with CP somewhere around 1K). Or if I happen to be exactly the demographic where the Basic tier is aimed at, you might want to make an even lower tier below that and reaffirm your demographic for the low end.
  
  Edit: Another thing comes to mind. It might be a good idea to mention the pros and cons of particular equipment. For example, the fact that Heavy Armour gives a massive Dex hit if Heavy Armor mastery is used (also mention that without Heavy Armor mastery, the benefits of the armor are greatly reduced.) I personally find using cloth or light armour at a lower level when you have low Dex and likely a low Heavy Armour Mastery level to be more beneficial than potential pinging. Having low balance is worse than pinging imo. Dead opponents are better than opponents who fail to interrupt your tactics SOMETIMES but can still rack up the damage. Attrition is a bad thing at a low level, battles must be short to minimize the potential for error.
• ironwoman wrote on 2014-02-13 18:56

  Quote from Friggerton;1197940:

  "For middle tier human melee, I would recommend, as an alternative, pre-enchanted Snake Hunter's Avenger Spika Armor/Rose Plate Armor that comes from the Desert Dragon or a high-roll Pitch Black enchanted Linen Cuirass that comes from Prairie Dragon. With that, middle tier humans could easily obtain Cold-Hearted and enchant that onto the River Raven Admiral Owen's Fingerless gloves you obtain as a reward from one of the G15 quests."
  
  The gloves sound like an excellent recommendation for mid tier, but unless those armors are very common drops that could be purchased, I'm not going to hunt dragons just for armor if I'm level 400-1500.

  
  
  It's only written that it comes from dragons, never did it say you have to hunt for them. It is a fairly common drop, I probably got at least 30 for the raids I've done. But like you said, they could easily be purchased.
  Kind of going off from this, I think it'd be nice to have an estimate of cost for gears for the tiers.
  
  

  Quote from Nui;1197942:

  You are all welcome to make your own suggestions if you would like in this thread, however keep in mind I most likely will not be adjusting the op for them due to laziness and that these ar all just recommendations based on research and personal preference not based on best cost efficiency and all that stuff. But again, you are welcome to post your own recommendations here if u feel they are better. Just don't go crazy with it.... Do remember this isnt a discussion thread....

  
  
  I know that the things written in the guide is based on your personal research, experience, and preference, and I do agree with most of it. However, as a guide, I think it has to be flexible and be able to account for numerous situations, like for those with less money. I tried to start a general gear (and character progression) guide (accounting for races as well), but it became too complicated for one person to finish in a forum, and I get the feeling that this guide will be very long too. Maybe you can turn it into a google doc and work with others, like Kinsoo and his friends did? I can help, and throw my old guide in that was never finished.
  Here's my old guide. It's a year old, but I think it's still pretty relevant. Maybe I'll start updating this at some point [S]Bringing back necro[/S]
  
  

  Quote from elemein;1197963:

  As a noob who would be looking to guides exactly like this to be very helpful for me. I find the content to be good, but the presentation is a little sparse.
  
  For example, you often mention getting "rolls" on equipment. Obviously this must refer to something that is chance-based, but using the term "rolls" is very... What's the word... Its a catch 22. You'll only understand a lot of the terms fully once you have no need for the guide, so perhaps a glossary or definition as you mention meta terms would be helpful.
  
  Also, could you maybe label a Cumulative Level or Combat Power or some kind of indication as to where somewhere would belong in a tier? I personally find even the Basic tier equipment to be difficult to get, such as the Dustin Armour. Killing a Desert Dragon or chancing r1 Blacksmithing isnt the simplest thing in the world to do, but it may be because I am likely far lower level than most (TTL: 371 with CP somewhere around 1K). Or if I happen to be exactly the demographic where the Basic tier is aimed at, you might want to make an even lower tier below that and reaffirm your demographic for the low end.
  
  Edit: Another thing comes to mind. It might be a good idea to mention the pros and cons of particular equipment. For example, the fact that Heavy Armour gives a massive Dex hit if Heavy Armor mastery is used (also mention that without Heavy Armor mastery, the benefits of the armor are greatly reduced.) I personally find using cloth or light armour at a lower level when you have low Dex and likely a low Heavy Armour Mastery level to be more beneficial than potential pinging. Having low balance is worse than pinging imo. Dead opponents are better than opponents who fail to interrupt your tactics SOMETIMES but can still rack up the damage. Attrition is a bad thing at a low level, battles must be short to minimize the potential for error.

  
  
  As for cp, this is really subjective, because even in melee areas, people can have different cp for their damage output. For example, my hp is on the low side because I never intentionally ranked hp stuff, and ranked things that gave str only. As a result, I can put out much higher damage than people that usually beat my cp by 300-500, but the lack of hp results in lower cp in general.
  
  It's similar for range. Generally, humans will have higher cp than Elves when it comes to ranging, because the chance is, they'll have more str with relatively similar dex.
  
  As for heavy armor, I'd actually recommend it on lower players, just because they most likely will have very low dex, and heavy armor will deduct very little dex. It's also easy to get balance with heavy armor too.
• elemein wrote on 2014-02-13 19:33

  Quote from ironwoman;1197964:

  
  
  As for heavy armor, I'd actually recommend it on lower players, just because they most likely will have very low dex, and heavy armor will deduct very little dex. It's also easy to get balance with heavy armor too.

  
  
  I agree that the dex subtracted isn't much and that there are ways to get balance, but the fact that most lower tier players wont have r1 Heavy Armour Mastery means they get much more dex subtracted, and the methods to get the balance on the armour are a little bit more complicated than a lower tier should have to go through. However, for the same effort you'd go through, you could end up with a great piece of cloth/light armour that'll bring higher damage output than heavy armour-- which I think is a priority at lower levels. Just my opinion of course, but I just find that my survivability goes up when I trade damage for sustainability ironically, since the needed skills and modifications (and therefore the required effort) to make the defensive equipment work could be put into cloth/light armour and you end up with something that kills enemies faster which I find more beneficial.
  
  This is of course, just my opinion as a lower tier player. But I certainly agree on TTL and CP being subjective... I guess it's hard to draw a line where people belong in what tier with a quantative measure.