===[Fighter/Crusader/Hero/Soul Master's Lounge LIV]===

[darkiller]

Welcome to Our New Home!
Construction is still underway so you are advised to put on your safety boots and helmets.






===[Fighter/Crusader/Hero/Soul Master's Lounge LIV]===
"Heroes Make Legends. Legends Never Die."

Senior Lounger : darkiller (Resident Chemist + Biologist)
Lounge Mentor : xLawz aka AhBoy81 (Resident Accountant and MH News Informer)
Lounge President : Firestarter aka Flamegaia aka DecadeFusion (Resident Designer)
Lounge Vice-President: Currently None
Lounge Prime Minister : Currently None

IMPORTANT NOTICE - PLEASE READ
This Heros Lounge has been relocated from the AsiaSoft forums. As such, all content of the thread was written for the pre-big bang MapleSEA. As a MapleSEA player, it will take time for me to research on the gameplay post-big bang. As of now, I will only provide (post-big bang) information on issues that I am aware of. GMS players are most welcomed to contribute, we would love to hear from you guys about post-big bang gameplay.

The Fighter/Crusader/Hero Class is especially unique in many ways. There are several ways to have that well-coveted powerful Hero, which is the main reason behind this Hero Lounge. Fellow Heroes, come together to share our ideas and may we succeed together.

Junior Heroes, feel free to ask questions or make suggestions here. Do not be afraid to speak up what is on your mind. If you have any queries about the Hero class, do not hesistate to post your question here for your Seniors to reply.
Senior Heroes, do not criticize our Juniors but instead help them. You have far more experience than them, do not keep it to yourself but instead share it with all of us so that an idea can grow into something far better than you could have imagined.

To the Soul Masters of the Order of Cygnus who recently joined us, come join us and share your experience with your unique Soul skills. Learn from us about the basic skills which form a Hero.

Quick Links
TO BE EDITED
1. Hero & Soul Master Class Information - Post 2
2. The Weapons of a Hero - Comparison of 1H and 2H, Axe and Sword - Posts 3-5
3. Frequently Asked Questions - Please Read ALL before asking any questions, otherwise the questions WILL be IGNORED. - Posts 7-13

House Rules
1. Strictly no Vulgarities, Flaming of any sort.
2. Abusive or Obscene Content is strictly NOT ALLOWED.
2. This is a Discussion/Chatting Thread, not a Flaming Thread. Send your anger to An Empty House.
3. Although this is a Chatting Thread, nonsensical/pointless posts are NOT ALLOWED. In other words, PCWs please scam!
4. All contributions made will be noted of and credit accordingly.. Contributions can be in the form of Ideas, Screenshots, Videos, etc.
5. This Thread is open to everyone in the HiddenStreet Forums. Come in and learn all about us.
6. Once again, read all the information at the front of the thread before posting, questions that are already answered WILL BE IGNORED.



Latest Updates

1. Shifted over to HiddenStreet.net Forums!




Our Proud History
Thread I : http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=231067
Thread II : http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=300026
Thread III: http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?p=7862500
Thread IV: http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?p=7862373
Thread V : http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=508054
Thread VI : http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=517529
Thread VII : http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=522868
Thread IIX : http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=542453
Thread IX : http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=561337
Thread X : http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=582372
Thread XI : http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=592516
Thread XII : http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=606418
Thread XIII : http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=615368
Thread XIV : http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=627164
Thread XV : http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=644997
Thread XVI : http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=659232
Thread XVII : http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=672064
Thread XVIII: http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=680005
Thread XIX: http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?p=10661859
Thread XX: http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=685926
Thread XXI: http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=688169
Thread XXII: http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=690032
Thread XXIII: http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=692169
Thread XXIV: http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=694257
Thread XXV: http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=694808
Thread XXVI: http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=696890
Thread XXVII: http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=698847
Thread XXVIII: http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=701651
Thread XXIX: http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=705706
Thread XXX: http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=708645
Thread XXXI: http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=711278
Thread XXXII: http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=713082
Thread XXXIII: http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=714090
Thread XXXIV: http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=715416
Thread XXXV: http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=717365
Thread XXXVI: http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=721189
Thread XXXVII: http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=727034
Thread XXXVIII: http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=734046
Thread XXXIX: http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=747830
Thread XL: http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=759755
Thread XLI: http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=771128
Thread XLII: http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=777687
Thread XLIII: http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=781390
Thread XLIV: http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=785509
Thread XLV: http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=789784
Thread XLVI: http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=794869
Thread XLVII: http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=801110
Thread XLVIII: http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=815213
Thread XLIX: http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=824684
Thread L: http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=839297
Thread LI: http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=846976
Thread LII: http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=855615
Thread LIII: http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=862883
Thread LIV: You are looking at it!



Lounge Credits
1. Lordie for the "Pride of heros" banner, Saphira4597 for the "Heros make legends" banner.
2. All those who have contributed to the Screenies and Videos section (credits given appropriately in that section)
3. All Loungers who help reply to queries or start discussions.
4. Everyone who has contributed in one way or another.

Class & Skill Information (Post-Big Bang - Under Construction)

This Section is a summary of the Skills of the Fighter, the Crusader, the Hero and the Soul Master.


Characterizing the Hero

The Hero is able to deal 5-digit damage easily with the use of Combo Counter Charging. By charging the Combo Counter, a Hero's damage increases with each Combo Counter charged. When the Hero has gathered at least 1 Combo Counter, he or she is able to release the Counter with a finishing skill to deal extremely high damage.

In addition, there are some skills which make the Hero standout above the rest. Examples are Rage and the Combo Counter with it's finishing Skills. A summary of those skills will be done here.

From the Diary of a Fighter (ファイター)...

Rage ブレイブ
Description: Temporarily boosts the weapon attack level of everyone in the party around the area, but also decreases the level of weapon defense.
Level 1: MP Cost: 12, Weapon ATT: +1, Duration: 60 sec
Level 10: MP Cost: 12, Weapon ATT: +10, Duration: 105 sec
Level 20: MP Cost: 20, Weapon ATT: +20, Duration: 155 sec


From the Memories of a Crusader (クルセイダー)...

Combo Attack コンボアタック
Description : For a fixed amount of time, accumulates combo orbs with each attack. Allows you to charge 5 combo orbs max. Each combo orb increases the damage you deal.
Level 1: MP Cost: 22 , Duration: 100 sec, Max Combo Orbs: 3, Damage: +1% per combo orb
Level 10: MP Cost: 26 , Duration: 150 sec, Max Combo Orbs: 4, Damage: +3% per combo orb
Level 20: MP Cost: 34 , Duration: 200 sec, Max Combo Orbs: 5, Damage: +5% per combo orb

Panic (Sword/Axe) パニック(剣/斧)
Description : Attack one monster with dark power. You can use this skill only when you equip the sword/axe and your combo should be charged up.
Pre-Requisite : Combo Attack LV1
Level 1: MP -10; Weapon att. +150% and 32% probability to put it into darkness
Level 10: MP -10; Weapon att. +242% and 50% probability to put it into darkness
Level 20: MP -17; Weapon att. +301% and 70% probability to put it into darkness
Level 30: MP -24; Weapon att. +350% and 90% probability to put it into darkness

Coma (Sword/Axe) コマ(剣/斧)
Description : Enemy becomes panicked when they get damaged. You can use this skill only when you equip the sword/axe and your combo should be charged up.
Pre-Requisite : Combo Attack LV1
Level 1: HP -15, MP -12; Basic attack +84%, 32% probability to stun enemy
Level 10: HP -15, MP -12; Basic attack +120%, 50% probability to stun enemy
Level 20: HP -20, MP -19; Basic attack +160%, 70% probability to stun enemy
Level 30: HP -25, MP -26; Basic attack +200%, 90% probability to stun enemy


From the Grave of a Hero (ヒーロー)...

Advance Combo アドバンスドコンボ
Description : By maximizing the potential of the combo attack, it enables one to charge up the combo counter up to 10, and with a given success rate, the combo counter gets charged twice as fast. The Skill can only be obtained by fully mastered Combo Attack.
Pre-Requisite : Combo Attack LV30
Level 1: Damage + 1% , Max Combo counter 1 , Recharge 2 combo counter with success rate 31%.
Level 10: Damage + 10% , Max Combo counter 2 , Recharge 2 combo counter with success rate 40%.
Level 20: Damage + 20% , Max Combo counter 4 , Recharge 2 combo counter with success rate 50%.
Level 30: Damage + 30% , Max Combo counter 5 , Recharge 2 combo counter with success rate 60%.
NOTE : Advanced Combo adds 60% to Combo Attack's damage multiplier, not 30% as in Skill Description.

Brandish ブランディッシュ
Description : Enables one to attack multiple monsters forward twice.
Level 1: MP - 16 , Damage 135%, Attack 1 enemy.
Level 10: MP - 16 , Damage 180%, Attack 1 enemy.
Level 20: MP - 24 , Damage 220%, Attack up to 2 enemies.
Level 30: MP - 25 , Damage 260%, Attack up to 3 enemies.

Enrage インレイジ
Description : Temporarily increases the attacking ability by using up the 10 combo counters. [Time required between skills: 6 minutes]
Pre-Requisite : Advance Combo LV25
Level 1: MP - 11 , Weapon attack + 11 for 10secs
Level 10: MP - 20 , Weapon attack + 16 for 100secs
Level 20: MP - 30 , Weapon attack + 21 for 200secs
Level 30: MP - 40 , Weapon attack + 26 for 240secs


From the Blade of a Soul Master (ソウルマスター)...

Soul Blade ソウルブレイド
Description : Materializes the invisible soul and flings it at the enemy.
Level 1: MP - 15 , 95% Damage , 3 Enemies , 250 range
Level 10: MP - 15 , 140% Damage , 3 Enemies , 250 range
Level 20: MP - 20 , 160% Damage , 4 Enemies , 250 range
Level 30: MP - 25 , 180% Damage , 5 Enemies , 300 range

Soul Rush ソウルラッシュ
Description : Move quickly for a moment by receiving the power of the soul.
Level 1: MP - 60
Level 10: MP - 15

Soul Driver ソウルドライバー
Description : Push power of Soul under the ground and attack multiple monsters 4 times at once.
Level 1: MP - 15 , 46% Damage , 3 Enemies , 4 Hits
Level 10: MP - 15 , 55% Damage , 5 Enemies , 4 Hits
Level 20: MP - 25 , 65% Damage , 6 Enemies , 4 Hits
Level 30: MP - 35 , 75% Damage , 8 Enemies , 4 Hits

Soul Charge ソウルチャージ
Description : Empower holy element to sword for certain period of time.
Level 1: MP - 20 , Damage +101% for 15secs
Level 10: MP - 20 , Damage +111% for 15secs
Level 20: MP - 30 , Damage +120% for 300secs

[darkiller]

The Weapons of a Hero - The following information are all for MapleSEA players AKA PRE Big Bang Patch

The 1-Handed vs 2-Handed Debate

In the early days, 1-Handed crusaders were obsolete due to the shorter range of the weapon, and the lower multiplier in the damage formula for 1H weapons. However, new additions to the game has changed all that. Firstly, the introduction of 4th job and hero's signature move - brandish, which comes with a fixed range or 200%, solved the shorter range problem of a 1-Handed weapon (presumably using a 1-Handed weapon results in a slightly shorter vertical range, but the difference is so slight that it is negligible). The release of Scrolls for Shield for Weapon Attack solved the problem of the lower damage multiplier - by compensating with a shield that adds Weapon Attack. With the release of the item maker skill and together with it the reverse weapons, holding a 1-Handed Reverse Executioner, together with a Weapon Attack scrolled Maple Shield, seems to be the best possible choice for the ultimate Hero.
down 2 earth! some blackish slime!
The Formulas and Numbers


Damage Formulas
Maximum damage:
1-handed sword: (STR * 4.0 + DEX) * WA/100
2-handed sword: (STR * 4.6 + DEX) * WA/100

across16 - its a place. or rather, map.

Minimum damage:
1-handed sword: (STR * 4.0 * 0.9 * Mastery + DEX) * WA/100
2-handed sword: (STR * 4.6 * 0.9 * Mastery + DEX) * WA/100

Weapon Speed (Spamming brandish, with booster)
Slow (8): 68/min [Berzerker]
Slow (7): 74/min [The Beheader, Tavar, Dragon Battle Axe]
Normal (6): 80/min [Heaven's Gate, Blue Screamer, Devil's Sunrise, Dragon Claymore, Colonian Axe, Reverse Nibleheim, 2H SpearGrave/FlairGrave sword]
Fast (5): 87/min [Ribgol Sword, Fraute, Sparta, Dragon Carabella, Reverse Executioners, Night Raven Wing]
Fast (4): 96/min [Japanese Map, Red Katana, 1H SpearGrave/FlairGrave sword (1H laser sword from Neo Tokyo, note its the 1H only)]

The Numbers

(originally posted by kwanhua & edited)

1H Sword vs Ribgol

1) Pure STR at LV180
179 x 5 = 895
895 + 10 = 905 (3rd and 4th adv)
905 + 13 (base AP) = 915
For for simplicity's sake we take the base Weapon Attack and STR of Weapon and Shield. For other items, both 1H and 2H Sword wielders can use them, therefore we hold them constant and can be omitted. Advance Combo not taken into consideration and the skill in view in Brandish 30.

Taking Normal (6) speed as 1, the multiplier for Slow (7) is 1.0875, and 1.175 for Slow (8).
The divider for Fast (5) is 1.0875, and 1.175 for Fast (4)

a) Red Katana 123WA 21STR and Maple Shield 30WA 20STR
One Handed Sword - [(STR * 4.0 + DEX) / 100] * Weapon Attack

{[(915 + 21 + 20)STR x 4 + 4DEX] / 100} x (123 + 30)WA = 6064 Max Damage

6064 x (2.60 x 2) x 1.4 x 96hpm = 4.238m dpm


b) Ribgol 142WA 21STR
Two Handed Sword - [(STR * 4.6 + DEX) / 100] * Weapon Attack

{[(915 + 21)STR x 4.6 + 120DEX] / 100 } x 142WA = 6284 max damage

6284 x (2.6 x 2) x 1.4 x 87hpm = 3.98m dpm


c) Dragon Carabella 143WA 21STR and Maple Shield 30WA 20STR
One Handed Sword - [(STR * 4.0 + DEX) / 100] * Weapon Attack

{[(915 + 21 + 20)STR x 4+ 4DEX] / 100} x (143 + 30)WA = 6622 max damage

6622 x (2.6 x 2) x 1.4 x 87hpm = 4.194m dpm

Therefore if you consider pure raw damage, Dragon Carabella has got the best damage.
But if you compare damage over time, Red Katana has the best damage over time.


Note the above was made before the release of reverse weapons. From the above, it is easy to see that holding a 1-Handed reverse executioners will no doubt out damage a similarly scrolled ribgol, and even the red katana, due it its higher base weapon attack, and 3 possible level ups.

Using the Item Maker Skill - Theoretical Best Possible Weapons

Reverse Executioners - 3 jewel slots
Normal Base WA = 108WA
Perfect WA = 113WA*
With Adv Diamond = 116WA
With Adv Black Crystal = 119WA
With Adv Power Crystal= 119WA 5STR
After Max Item Lv = 125WA 11STR 3DEX
Scrolled with 7x10% = 160WA 32STR 3DEX

Best possible stats for a fully scrolled and leveled 1H reverse = 160wa 32str 3 dex
*Note: The highest possible WA of the sword would be the highest possible WA found through hunting. As no such data exists, an arbitrary value of +5WA is used instead. This is most likely to be an underestimate though, as can be seen from the WA increase from the normal for Red Katana, Dragon Carabella, and other weapons. (Data from hidden-street.net)

Red Katana - 1 jewel slot
Base WA = 82WA
Perfect WA = 88WA
Adv Diamond = 91WA
Scrolled with 7x10% = 126WA 21STR

Best possible fully scrolled Red Katana = 126WA 21STR


Dragon Carabella - 3 jewel slots
Base WA = 103WA
Perfect WA = 110WA
Adv Diamond = 113WA
Adv Black Crystal = 116WA
Adv Power Crystal = 116WA 5STR
Scrolled with 7x10%= 151WA 26STR

Best possible fully scrolled Dragon Carabella = 151wa 26 str


1H SpearGrave/FlairGrave sword - No slots, No use of stim allowed
Base WA = 105WA 2STR
Perfect WA = 110WA 2STR
Scrolled with 7x10%= 145WA 23STR

Best possible fully scrolled 1H SpearGrave/FlairGrave sword = 145wa 23 str

Note that the Ribgol is a Gachapon item and cannot be forged using item maker. Also, as item maker is still a relatively new feature, not much is know about this skill. Please let me know if the calculations above does not show the best possible stats achievable.


Using the Item Maker Skill - Damage per second of best possible weapons

All calculations here use the same parameters as kwanhua above so a direct comparison between the two set of values can be made.

a) Reverse Executioners 160WA 32STR 3DEX with Maple Shield 30WA 20STR
One Handed Sword - [(STR * 4.0 + DEX) / 100] * Weapon Attack

{[(915 + 32+ 20)STR x 4 + (4 + 3)DEX) / 100 } x (160 + 30)WA = 7362.5 max damage

7362.5 x (2.6 x 2) x 1.4 x 87hpm = 4.663m dpm


b) Red Katana 126WA 21STR with Maple Shield 30WA 20STR
One Handed Sword - [(STR * 4.0 + DEX) / 100] * Weapon Attack

{[(915 + 21 + 20)STR x 4 + 4DEX] / 100} x (126 + 30)WA = 5971.68 max damage

5971.68 x (2.6 x 2) x 1.4 x 96hpm = 4.2171m dpm


c) Dragon Carabella 151WA 26STR with Maple Shield 30WA 20STR
One Handed Sword - [(STR * 4.0 + DEX) / 100] * Weapon Attack

{[(915 + 26 + 20)STR x 4 + 4DEX] / 100} x (151 + 30)WA = 6964.88 max damage

6964.88 x (2.6 x 2) x 1.4 x 87hpm = 4.411m dpm


d) 1H SpearGrave/FlairGrave sword 145WA 23STR with Maple Shield 30WA 20STR
One Handed Sword - [(STR * 4.0 + DEX) / 100] * Weapon Attack

{[(915 + 23 + 20)STR x 4 + 4DEX] / 100} x (145 + 30)WA = 6713 max damage

6713 x (2.6 x 2) x 1.4 x 96hpm = 4.692m dpm

From the calculations, the perfect spear/flairgrave wins, showing that even with a lower wa, fast attacking speed can make up for it. Not only that, the user need not depend on their luck in getting perfect stats during weapon level up, something that would be tremendously hard to achieve considering that reverse weapons cannot be traded once equipped. However when in a party with viper casting speed infusion, speed 4 swords do not get any additional speed boosts, and the speed of reverse 1H and ribgols will be the same as the red katana/spear/flairgrave. Thus in such situations, the sword with the highest maximum damage, i.e. the reverse 1H, wins.


Using the Item Maker Skill - Comparing Reverse Executioner and 1H SpearGrave/FlairGrave sword

Reverse Executioners - 3 jewel slots
Normal Base WA = 108WA
Perfect WA = 113WA
With Adv Diamond = 116WA
With Adv Black Crystal = 119WA
With Adv Power Crystal= 119WA 5STR
NO LEVEL UP
Scrolled with 7x10% = 154WA 26STR

Best possible fully scrolled Reverse Executioners (w/o leveling up) = 154WA 26STR

Reverse Executioners 154WA 26STR with Maple Shield 30WA 20STR
One Handed Sword - [(STR * 4.0 + DEX) / 100] * Weapon Attack

{[(915 + 26 + 20)STR x 4 + 4DEX] / 100} x (154 + 30)WA = 7080.32 max damage

7080.32 x (2.6 x 2) x 1.4 x 87hpm = 4.484m dpm

Compared with 1H SpearGrave/FlairGrave sword = 4.558m dpm, Reverse Executioners will lose in terms of damage per second if the the sword is unleveled or the user is very unlucky with the leveling up.

In conclusion, with the new item maker skill, the Reverse Executioner is still the best weapon to choose from in terms of both damage over time and raw damage per hit, although the 1H SpearGrave/FlairGrave sword may win if the leveling up of the reverse sword is poor. However the materials of making a 1H SpearGrave/FlairGrave sword is harder to get compared to that of the reverse sword. Comparing the prices of normal speed 2H Swords, Ribgols and 1H Swords, saving up mesos for a Weapon Attack shield while hunting time pieces to forge a Reverse Executioner will be able to give the user the most value for their money.

Special Note for Soul Masters:
As Soul Masters have Soul Blade, a skill with fixed 250range at maxed level, in second job, as well as Soul Driver in third job, they can switch to using 1H in second job without suffering much from the reduced range as Soul Blade and Soul Driver will replace all other attacking skills (during training) once they are of a decent level.

Using the Item Maker Skill - Comparing Reverse Nibleheim and Ribgol sword


Getting a maple shield scrolled with weapon attack is quite costly and unfunded heros will definitely have trouble with getting enough mesos to get the shield. Hence below is a comparison between two 2-Handed swords, the fast ribgol, and the normal speed Reverse Nibleheim.

WITH LEVELING UP:
Reverse Nibleheim- 3 jewel slots
Normal Base WA = 110WA
Perfect WA = 115WA*
With Adv Diamond = 118WA
With Adv Black Crystal = 121WA
With Adv Power Crystal= 121WA 5STR
After Max Item Lv = 127WA 11STR 3DEX
Scrolled with 7x10% = 162WA 32STR 3DEX

Best possible fully scrolled Reverse Nibleheim = 162WA 32STR 3DEX

Reverse Nibleheim 162WA 32STR 3DEX
Two Handed Sword - [(STR * 4.6 + DEX) / 100] * Weapon Attack

{[(915 + 32)STR x 4.6 + (4 + 3)DEX) / 100 } x (162)WA = 7069.38 max damage

7069.38 x (2.6 x 2) x 1.4 x 80hpm = 4.117m dpm


WITHOUT LEVELING UP:
Reverse Nibleheim- 3 jewel slots
Normal Base WA = 110WA
Perfect WA = 115WA*
With Adv Diamond = 118WA
With Adv Black Crystal = 121WA
With Adv Power Crystal= 121WA 5STR
NO LEVEL UP
Scrolled with 7x10% = 156WA 26STR

Best possible fully scrolled Reverse Nibleheim (w/o leveling up)= 156WA 26STR

Reverse Nibleheim 162WA 32STR 3DEX
Two Handed Sword - [(STR * 4.6 + DEX) / 100] * Weapon Attack

{[(915 + 26)STR x 4.6 + (4)DEX) / 100 } x (156)WA = 6758.86 max damage

6758.86 x (2.6 x 2) x 1.4 x 80hpm = 3.936m dpm

Compared with Ribgol = 3.98m dpm, Reverse Nibleheim will lose in terms of damage per second if the the sword is unleveled or the user is very unlucky with the leveling up. Overall, the reverse nibleheim is still able to slightly edge out the ribgol in terms of damage over time.


The Axe vs Sword Debate

Most Heroes choose the Sword due to the unstable damage of the Axe, and its slower speed.
The Damage Factor
The Axe does different damage on the stab and swing animation, whereas it is the same for the sword. The Axe does better on a swing, and for Power Strike, Slash Blast, Panic, Coma, and normal attacks, 60% of the time you will get a swing, and 40% a stab. However, this trend is broken in 4th job with the introduction of Brandish. Brandish is calculated as 1 swing and 1 stab, thus effectively reducing the percentage of swings and lowering the damage output from the axe. In terms of maximum damage, the axe has a higher maximum than a sword with same weapon attack and strength. However, the minimum damage of the axe is significantly lower than that of the sword.

The Speed Factor
The axe is significantly slower is speed to the sword. Many of the 1-handed axes are normal speed, whereas all the 1-handed swords are fast speed; similarly, many of the 2-handed axes are slow speed, whereas the 2-handed swords are normal speed - a full speed level slower than their sword counterparts. Not to mention that there exist the ribgol sword - a 2-handed sword with fast speed, and the red katana and japanese map, the two fastest sword in the game with a fast speed of 4 (the rest of the 1-handed swords are ranked 5). This means that even if the axe has a higher weapon attack and is able to do higher damage per strike, it may very well still lose to the sword in terms of damage over time. This becomes a huge factor in higher levels when bossing becomes a common affair and damage over time becomes extremely important.


The Formulas and Numbers


Damage Formulas
Maximum damage:
1-handed sword: (STR * 4.0 + DEX) * WA/100
2-handed sword: (STR * 4.6 + DEX) * WA/100
1-handed axe (swinging): (STR * 4.4 + DEX) * WA/100
1-handed axe (stabbing): (STR * 3.2 + DEX) * WA/100
2-handed axe (swinging): (STR * 4.8 + DEX) * WA/100
2-handed axe (stabbing): (STR * 3.4 + DEX) * WA/100

Minimum damage:
1-handed sword: (STR * 4.0 * 0.9 * Mastery + DEX) * WA/100
2-handed sword: (STR * 4.6 * 0.9 * Mastery + DEX) * WA/100
1-handed axe (stabbing): (STR * 3.2 * 0.9 * Mastery + DEX) * WA/100
1-handed axe (swinging): (STR * 4.4 * 0.9 * Mastery + DEX) * WA/100
2-handed axe (stabbing): (STR * 3.4 * 0.9 * Mastery + DEX) * WA/100
2-handed axe (swinging): (STR * 4.8 * 0.9 * Mastery + DEX) * WA/100


The Numbers
From the previous section on 1-handed versus 2 handed swords, it becomes clear that speed is a huge factor in damage over time, and it is clear that axes will loss to swords in this aspect. Hence here I will only compare the difference in damage range of the axe and the sword.

Using a theoretical level 180 pure strength character with 915 str (refer to calculations by kwanhua) and fixed total weapon attack of 150 for both 1-handed and 2-handed weapons:

Maximum damage:
1-handed sword: (915* 4.0 + 4) * 150/100 = 5496
2-handed sword: (915* 4.6 + 4) * 150/100 = 6319.5
1-handed axe (swinging): (915* 4.4 + 4) * 150/100 = 6045
2-handed axe (swinging): (915* 4.8 + 4) * 150/100 = 6594

Minimum damage:
1-handed sword: (915* 4.0 * 0.9 * 0.6 + 4) * 150/100 = 2970.6
2-handed sword: (915* 4.6 * 0.9 * 0.6 + 4) * 150/100 = 3416.3
1-handed axe (stabbing): (915* 3.2 * 0.9 * 0.6 + 4) * 150/100 = 2377.7
2-handed axe (stabbing): (915* 3.4 * 0.9 * 0.6 + 4) * 150/100 = 2525.9

Comparision
From the calculations, it can be seen that the Axe clearly has a higher maximum damage than the Sword, however its minimum damage is much lower, resulting in a lower average damage from the Axe. This is especially so when using Brandish, and the swing-stab ratio changes from 60-40 to 50-50. Moreover, the slower speed of the Axe results in lower damage output over time, adding another blow to Axe users.

However, for those out of the box player who prefer to go against the flow, the high and low damage of Brandish can make the game more exciting and less monotonous (yes, there are such people out there who prefer to see a variety of numbers), and thy have the advantage of being able to buy well scrolled Axes or scroll their own godly Axes at a much cheaper price than Sword users.

[darkiller]

Reserved for Equipment discussion

UPDATE COMING SOON, dont bother reading this.
Pasted for my future reference
The Dual-Wield Hero - The Rebirth of the Concept

Introduction

The Dual-Wield Theory is a concept that allows the user to utilize every bit of the Hero to truly unleash maximum potential.

Due to Brandish's unchanging attack distance, a Hero can use a 1-Handed Weapon without suffering from the additional risk of contacting an enemy or having to waste time walking closer to an enemy due to the short range of 1H weapons. The release of scrolls for shield for weapon attack allows the Hero make up for the lower strength multiplier in the damage formula for 1H weapons, hence opening up a whole new area of weapon choices for the Hero.

The famous discovery of the varying weapon speeds by Rippa also caused a major uproar. It was uncovered that any given weapon speeds had two other unseen categories, and eventually it was found that there was a weapon that was faster than the Ribgol Sword. The infamous Red Katana, a mere level 70 1-Handed Sword, yet it possessed speed that was never seen before. With the release of Neo Tokyo, the new SpearGrave/FlairGrave weapon series had another surprise in stall for 1H users - the SpearGrave/FlairGrave 1H sword also possesses the same fast speed as the red katana, only with a much higher base weapon attack.



The Theory

The Dual-Wield theory thrives to make the best out of every situation, be it bossing or training. During training the weapon that enables the fastest KILLING speed should be used regardless of its damage over time. In bossing, the weapon with the highest damage per second should be use instead.

As seen from earlier calculations, the Reverse Executioner outright wins in terms of damage over time and damage per hit, yet there is a 3rd factor to consider - the speed of the weapon itself. There will come a point in the life of a hero whereby they will find they need the same number of hits to kill the mob they are training on, regardless of whether they are using their higher Weapon Attack 1H/2H sword, or the lower Weapon Attack Red Katana/SpearGrave/FlairGrave. Several reason could lead to this result, but in all cases, the results is the same - using the Red Katana/SpearGrave/FlairGrave will enable to the Hero to kill faster, increasing their killing speed and therefore training efficiency.

The Two Cases:
Case 1:
With the variety of new equipments(medals, belts) and methods of increasing damage/weapon attack (bless of fairy, hammer), it is much easier for the Hero to achieve high damage and eventually be able to 2HKO, or better still, 1HKO the training mobs regardless of whether they use a lower Weapon Attack Red Katana, or the higher Weapon Attack 1H reverse. Either way, as long as the number of hits taken to kill is the same, the faster weapon - the Red Katana prevails.

Case 2:
Being unable to afford a better weapon, an averagely scrolled Red Katana can be the better choice of weapon for the Hero who has yet to attain that high a damage. Simply because the user does not have a high enough Weapon Attack sword that will allow them to kill the mob in less hits, the Red Katana becomes a cheap/quick alternative to allow the Hero to increase their killing speed, while saving up for a better weapon (or hunting Pieces of Time to forge a Reverse Executioner). Although the damage per hit of the Red Katana losses out, when both weapons are able to kill in the same number of hits the Red Katana wins. (Note that comparing a sword with normal attack speed and the RK, the RK executes 6 brandishes in the same amount of time the normal speed sword takes to execute 5). In this case, the RK can possibly out damage the slower sword in terms of damage over time as well. However, if the sword with higher weapon attack can CONSTANTLY kill the mob in 1 less hit, than the slower sword should be used - provided the slower sword is able to kill the mob in 4 hits or less. At 5HKO, both the slower sword and RK will take the same amount of time to kill, anymore than that the RK will win provided it only takes 1 more hit than the normal speed sword. Note that in bossing, it should be the Damage over Time of the sword that you are looking at.

Hence the Dual-Wield Hero can make use of the varying sword speeds and damage over time to maximize their potential both at training, and during boss runs.


The important thing the user has to realize is that they have to choose the BEST possible weapon for their current purposes. Another example:
Farming at bye bye station - Instead of using your usual high WA DSR, a fast speed cheap, unscrolled red katana would work even better since you will still be able to 1HKO the mobs, but at the much faster speed.

[darkiller]

Frequently Asked Questions - Pre-Big Bang ONLY

Read them ALL before asking any questions, I wrote these for you to read, not for fun!
Q: What should my dex be? How much dex should I add?
Ans: It really depends on how much funding you have - actually, its not the dex that matters (unless you want to hold a ribgol), its the accuracy that counts. As long as you have enough accuracy to hit the mob you are training on, its fine.
If you have a lot of funding or another main character to earn mesos for your hero or soul master, keep you dex as long as 4, or 10. You will need to buy various equipments such as dex overall, acc or dex shoes, dex earrings, acc owl mask, dog nose... and so on.
For a moderately funded character, who can afford to buy just a few pieces of acc equipments, cap you dex at 20-40. I suggest you add dex slowly, only adding more when you really need the acc but dont have the funds to buy any more acc equipments.
For the unfunded character, cap you dex at 40-60. Of course no one is stopping you from adding more dex, but you might regret later on due to the damage loss from being having such a high dex. I suggest training at locations that will make money (as compared to pot spamming, although fast places) so that you can save up to get some equips such as a zak helm to make up the rest of the acc you need to hit higher leveled mobs.
Note that the blessing of the fairy adds acc too, so if you have a high leveled link character, your acc increases. (it is already added into the accuracy shown in the attributes window)

Q: Should I add final attack in 2nd job?
Ans: It depends on the circumstance - how you are playing your character and you personal preference. Final attack used to be a necessity as the days of the fighter and crusader were long and boring - we were stuck with power striking and slash blasting till forever, the final attack animation helped brighten up the day. However with the addition of new maps, and new quests such as the monster carnival and magatia party quest, training time from fighter to hero has been significantly shorten.

1st, some quick facts about FA:
1) It only works with power strike, and slash blast (except in soul masters, where it works with brandish as well)
2) The fighter's FA cannot be turned off once you have a single SP in the skill.
3)FA takes on the characteristics of the skill used to activate it. So if Power Strike is used to activate it, Final Attack will become a single target attack. If Slash Blast is used, it will become a mass target skill.

Pros:
1) Nice looking animation, makes training less boring - we dont get any new attacking skill till 4th job, FA is our poor man's replacement of a new attacking skill.
2) Save some mp pots - its a free hit for you
3) Final attack is slightly faster than your power strike or slash blast, allows you to charge up your orbs slightly faster in 3rd job. (FA counts as a separate hit when it comes to charging orbs)
4) Not really a good thing about FA, but hey, we dont have anything else better to add, do we?

Cons:
1) FA at maxed level is 250% damage. However when using slash blast, it is 250% damage spread over all the mobs, with the mob closest to you getting more damage. This is particularly apparent when using slash blast on high leveled mobs such as dreamy ghost aka mong - 3 digits and even 2 digit numbers from the slash blast final attack can be seen.

The spread of FA damage is as such (originally posted by Ah Jeff)
1st mob - 166.9%
2nd mob - 55.63%
3rd mob - 18.54%
4th mob - 6.18%
5th mob - 2.06%
6th mob - 0.69%

166.9+55.63+18.54+6.18+2.06+0.69 = 250%

As you can see, the 1st mob only takes 170% damage, and the last mob as good as negligible damage. This would lower the damage output per second of slash blast greatly.

2) FA is unpredictable. There is a 60% chance of activation only. Sometimes you might be waiting for FA to come out but it doesnt, and the delay you take to press you attack button and make the final kill causes you to take damage from the mob.
3)There is a delay when FA comes out. For a short while when FA is being executed, you cannot use another skill or move about. This results in a lack of complete control over your character, as you cannot predict when FA will activate. If FA executes when the mob is already killed and there is no other mob in front of you, you end up hitting air and wasting some time. In other circumstances, the delay could end up hindering training e.g. at gobies when the timing to release coma is very important - if you accidentally make an extra power strike after the fish house explodes and FA activates, you will miss the timing to coma.
4) The 250% damage for FA is lesser than the 260% damage that power strike deals. Not a problem in most circumstances, however in the crusader stage when training at dual ghost pirates, where high damage is needed to KB the monster, your power strike might be able to 100% kb the mob, but not your FA, resulting in you taking damage unnecessarily. The FA will also become irritating when it stuns the mob when you had wanted to execute a coma. Basically it is another issue with the lack of complete control over your character.

Thus it can be summarized as such: FA helps in training more during the early days, where complete control of your character is not essential. It helps to make the long and tiring days of a fighter and crusader a little easier. However during the late crusader days, FA can be more of a hindrance than help, mainly in the form of lost of control over the character, and the wasted time spent in hitting 'air'. With that, it is recommended that if the player intends to train the character by themselves without leeching, than final attack should be added early on, right after mastery. If the player intends to level their character as quick as possible, be it through the use of 2x exp coupons or leeching, than FA can be left out, and the leftover SP be used to max anything else the user fancies. There are guides which add FA at the very end of 2nd job, citing reasons such as the lower damage in slash blast affecting the damage dealt at crowded maps such as truckers. If the user feels should follow this line of reasoning, then perhaps it would be better not to all FA at all - the annoying part of FA comes when you are lvl 8X till 4th job, if you have managed to survive through the boring days of a fighter for that long without FA, you might as well bear with it for a bit longer. Furthermore the damage per second reduction if felt most greatly when monging in the late crusader days - if you did not wish for FA to lower your damage output at truckers, all the more you will wish you do not have FA when at mong.

As for soul masters, personally I feel that, having experienced the frustrations over the time delay and lack of control with FA as a hero, I would very much rather max booster and panic, than give up either for FA. Most of the skill builds do not max FA till much later on, with some of the even maxing FA when close to 120, by which you wont be experiencing much of FA anyways. Since FA for soul masters does not stack with soul blade and soul driver, which will be the main skills you will use in training (especially soul blade in 2nd job) I find the addition of FA pointless. Of course, there really isnt much harm in adding FA, since SM FA can be turned on and off. However, the delay issue with FA coupled with the fact that it will lower your overall damage per second, especially with brandish make FA really not very useful for soul masters.


Q: Do soul masters need skill books to get their brandish and advanced combo?
No they do not need skill books. Check out the KoC guide under the useful links for more information.

Q: I've read the dummies guide to 4th job, but I still have no idea how to find the shield for the enrage quest!!!!!
Yeah, I found the instructions in the dummies guide to 4th job rather vague too, so I made this: Mini Picture Guide to Enrage Quest


Q: Is there a glitch with shout? What is the glitch about?
Yes, level 4 shout has a 100% stun rate, unlike the 58% stated in the skill description. You can leave the skill at level 4 if you wish the max other skills, but note that the range of the skill at level 4 is extremely small.

Q: Why does my <insert name of 2-handed weapon> with a lower weapon attack gives a lower attack range than my <insert name of 1-handed weapon> with a higher weapon attack?
Please read the section above on weapons of a hero carefully, as well as this: 2H to 1H Weapon Conversion

Q: I've maxed combo, coma and panic (for crusaders). What should I add next?
Its really up to you. Mp recovery helps save a lot of pots, and with just 6 in mp recovery, you will be earning mana elixirs at gobies provided you are able to catch the coma timing properly - this skill should be maxed. Shout at max level has a decent range, and good enough stun rate, but save for hunting at extremely weak monsters (such as hunting maple weapon drops etc), by the time you max it is as good a useless in normal training. It does have some use when you wish to stun bone fish or squids when training at aqua road. With the introduction of Neo Tokyo, shout is also useful to stun the flying mobs to stop them from constantly casting status effects/hitting you while you work on killing other mobs, or to stun the flying mobs so that the drop down to within reach of our brandish. Armour crush is another useless skill, most of the monsters with defense up can be killed in the extra time you take to cast the skill. Exceptions are at bosses which cast the defense up skill, such as at horntail, zakum, however once again the skill is not a must. Shield mastery is the most worthless of all the skills. It only doubles the weapon defense on your shield, and the shield only. It does not double your total weapon defense, and of course it only works when you are holding a shield. Considering that most 1-handed heros will be wearing a weapon attack scrolled maple shield, the weapon defense added is negligible.
The most useful build would be as follows:
Max Mp recovery
Max Shout
11 Armour crush
You can choose to max Mp recovery or shout 1st as you like, but if you are training at gobies, adding a few points into mp recovery to eliminate the need to buy mp pots would be useful.

If you intend to go bossing really often, and dont want to waste time casting armour crush a 2nd or 3rd time, than you can max crush in place of mp recovery. However why I really really love mp recovery is that it is a passive skill that works silently in the background while you train or boss away. Unlike armour crush where you have to actively hit the button so make sure its worth the 20 SPs spent, mp recovery is constantly active, you will definitely get your 30 SPs worth as long as you are actively using skills in game.

Some solid examples on MP pot savings:
Goby trainings for maybe 10 levels or so earned me over 3k mana elixirs, or maybe more.
I break even on mana elixirs at skeles during 2x drop rate, with max brandish, 2hko skeles (with def up), and lvl 28 rush - and mind you, lvl 28 rush costs a hefty 52mp per rush, and I rush like nobody's business while training, basically its my movement skill. If your rush is at lvl 1, you can very will break even on mp pots once you can 2hko at skeles w/o 2x drop rate.

Q: How does combo/advanced combo work? Is it like cabal/aran combo?
Our combo is NOT those kind of combo where you hit mobs multiple times in a row and a number pops up on the side of the screen according to the number of hits you have made.
Instead, our combo works by charging up orbs. Every hit (power strike, slash blast, final attack, normal attack, crouch attack, soul blade, soul driver, brandish) we make, we will charge up ONE orb (shout being the only exception that does not charge up orbs). This is regardless of whether slash blast hits 1 or 6 mobs, soul blade hits 1 or 5 mobs, soul driver hits 1, 3 or 8 mobs, brandish hits 1, 2 or 3 mobs etc... the fact that brandish animation is 2 hits doesnt mean that each brandish will charge up 2 orbs either. ALL the attacks will charge up combo's orbs ONE at A TIME. The orbs will show up a circles circling our character, with the maximum number of orbs you can charge up depending on your level of combo/advanced combo. Maxed combo gives you 5 orbs, and maxed advanced combo gives you 10 orbs. The number of orbs (and of cos, skill level) determine the damage boost you will get on your NEXT HIT. The orbs will stay by to encircle you until: 1) combo timing runs out. 2) a finisher skill (panic or coma) is used.

Example 1: level 1 combo activated
1st hit --> 1 orb obtained
2nd hit --> 2 orbs obtained (1 + the original one we had before we made the attack)
3rd hit --> 3 orbs obtained
4th hit --> you still have 3 orbs as that is the max number of orbs available at lvl 1 combo

Example 2: max combo activated
power strike --> 1 orb obtained
Power strike --> 2 orbs obtained + Final attack for power strike activated --> 3 orbs obtained
slash blast --> 4 orbs obtained
normal attack --> 5 orbs (and max number of maxed combo) obtained

With maxed advanced combo, we can have a maximum of 10 orbs, and gain a % chance to charge up 2 orbs at once (30% at max lvl for SMs, 60% for heros). The 1st 5 orbs is still that of combo, but the 6th to 10th orbs show up at a pink orb (as opposed to light blue) OVERLAPPING the original combo orbs.

Try reading this as well.

Q: How does the orbs of combo/advanced combo look like?
Listed in order from 1st to 10th (and max) orbs:


Q: How does the finisher skill works? What are finisher skills?
Finisher skills are panic and coma. These skills can only be used when you have at least one combo orb charged up. The higher the orbs charged up, the more damage you will see when releasing these skills. The formula for calculating the damage of finisher skills is as follows:
Finishers = Coma/Panic skill damage % * Combo Multiplier * Orb multiplier
The orb multipliers are:
1 orb = 100%
2 orbs = 120%
3 orbs = 154%
4 orbs = 200%
5 - 10 orbs = 250%

Hence to get the most out of your panic or coma, make sure that you have charged up 5 orbs before releasing the skill. Once panic or coma is used, all the orbs you have currently will be gone and you will be left with zero orbs. (i.e. you have to 'recharge' all over again)

Q: So how do heros and crusaders train with this orbs and finisher skills stuff?
Let me 1st clarify that the training style of heros and crusaders differ greatly. Let's start with how crusaders train.

In order to maximise their damage output, crusaders will use panic or coma the moment all 5 orbs are charged up. In training, normally coma is used as when there are more mobs around (as they normally are during training), the total % of damage given by coma is higher than that from panic. Saving up the 5 orbs to use on a fresh spawn of mobs rather than "overkilling" the mobs you are hitting halfway is definitely a good idea. By overkill, I mean hitting the mob for a lot more damage than it has in hp - e.g. using panic to deal 30k damage when the mob only has 3k hp left is definitely an overkill. In bossing, or when the mobs you train at hardly cluster together, panic is released asap instead of coma. Always release panic on a fresh spawn of mob to prevent overkilling.

For heros, coma and panic are hardly used in favor of brandish. Basically, the only times when coma or panic is used is when the combo timer is running out - where we release the orbs before re-casting combo. At very low (1-digit) levels of brandish, coma may still be released rather frequently for the stun effect - for the sole purpose of saving on hp pot consumption, and not to increase damage per second. Beyond that, frequent releasing of coma/panic will decrease your damage output, especially when a decent level of advanced combo is obtained. With advanced combo, the damage of brandish is greatly increased, but the additional number of orbs do not increase the damage of coma/panic. Hence by using a finisher skill, the damage of brandish is greatly decreased while the orbs are being charged up, for a single hit (on 1 or 6 mobs) that does no better damage than 2 or 3 hits of brandish - definitely not worth the exchange.

Special Case: When fighting at bosses that are SUPER DUPER dispel happy, get 5 orbs (more orbs no longer increase orb multiplier), panic get dispelled, cast combo and repeat. E.g.: Dunas 2 (Neo Tokyo boss)

Q: What is the damage boost of combo and advanced combo at max level?
Crusader's Combo: 140%
Soul Master's Combo: 120%
Hero's Advanced Combo: 190%
Soul Master's Advanced Combo: 180%

By this, I mean that when combo is activated, you damage will be multiplied by a certain %, depending on the number of orbs you have. So for the crusader with max combo, and 5 orbs already charged up, then all attacks they make will be 140% of their original damage.

For other levels, you can calculate the damage boost using the formula taken from here:
Combo Multiplier, 1-5 orbs = [Advanced] Combo Attack % + (orbs - 1) * (Combo level / 6)%)
Combo Multiplier, 6-10 orbs = [Advanced] Combo Attack % + 20% + (orbs - 5) * 4%

Q: How come my SM only get 5 AP per level? Arent we supposed to get 6?!?!
KoC characters get 6 ap per level as opposed to the usual 5 per level from lvls 1-70 ONLY. From level 71 onwards, they get 5 ap per level like adventurers do.

Q: Which is better? Blocking or Achilles?
Generally heros would favor the addition of Achilles. Blocking allows you to not take any damage 15% of the time(at max lvl, both magic and touch damage, can block 1/1 attacks too) and enable you to 'super knockback' the mob, whereas Achilles reduces all damage taken by 15% (both magic and weapon, at max lvl). Both may seem similar as in the long run they both save you from taking 15% of the damage, thus reducing hp pot consumption by 15%, but the difference is that Achilles ALWAYS REDUCES you damage taken. Meaning that when you get 1/1 in boss runs, you will always take 15% less damage and therefore always be left with some hp right after 1/1. It also means that at boss runs like horntail for eg, you will ALWAYS take 15% less damage, thus less hp is needed to tank the tail/whichever damage from the boss mob. This is EXTREMELY useful as the max damage of horntail's tail attack is more than 30k, to survive the attack warriors MUST have Achilles. You really cannot rely on the 15% chance of blocking to save your life in such situations. Blocking however, does increase your chances of surviving the HT run if say you end up as the main bait. It works like the fake of NLs, and considering how low our original avoid is, you will get to see blocking activate quite often.

The downside to blocking is that, upon successful activation of blocking, the mob gets KBed and stunned. However, during trainings, there are many instances when you would want to purposely bump into a mob for the sake of rushing it in the opposite direction, yet if you have maxed blocking, each time you do this "bump rush" act, there is a 15% chances that blocking activates and KBs the mob further in the wrong direction. It is still possible that the mob will still get further KBed when you attempt to "bump rush" a second time... considering that 15% of your "bump rushes" would end up in a total failure, it is not very worth to add this skill IMO if you do not go bossing often. Nonetheless for bosses like Scarlion and Targa, blocking can very well block the boss to the wrong side (yes, it works on bosses), meaning that you can accidentally kill ranged attackers by just taking a hit and blocking it... so consider carefully before adding to blocking.

For more comments on blocking, please read Alpha88's post here (the part on rush + blocking).

Q: How does enraged work? Does enrage have a cooldown time?
At maxed level, enraged gives you a 26 wa boost lasting for 4 minutes. Cool right? there is a catch however - enraged has a cool down time of 6 minutes, meaning that even at maxed lvl, every 2 out of 6 mins you will have to do w/o enraged (use rage or cider in the meantime). Note that as with all wa buff, enraged does not stack with any wa increasing potions, or other wa increasing skills like rage. To cast enraged, you need to charge up 10 combo orbs, before being able to cast the skill. If you have lesser number of orbs, than although you will see the enraged animation when pressing the skill, the skill will not activate and you will still be able to use enraged (as in, no need to wait for the 6 mins cool down, the game doesnt count you as having used the skill). After casting the skill, the combo orbs remain so the orbs do not get used up unlike casting coma or panic.

Note that there actually is a bug with enrage and you can activate the skill with just 9 orbs. Useful when you just get dispel or just re-cast combo and just happen to have 9 instead of 10 orbs - you can recast enraged already without having to make an extra hit.

Q: Enraged 1st or MW?
I would recommend enraged, mainly with the consideration that MW is a party skill and thus you can get the buff from fellow party mates. mw9 is a pretty common skill that many other jobs would add before us, so pretty much you can get mw9 from anyone else in your pt (unless u are pting a similar levels hero). If you can get your hands on the mw20 book any soon, then go ahead and get mw19 before enraged - fewer people has mw19 and thus if you get that 1st you will help both yourself and your pt mates.

Enraged overall gives more damage output than mw9, however it takes more SP to max. Assuming you have 700base str, than mw9 would give at 35 str boost, or roughly 6-7wa. Now that raged has been upgraded to give 12wa, you would need a level 16 enraged for the damage boost to be similar to having mw9. Even then, the long cooldown time makes getting mw seem much more worth it. Not to mention that you only need 9sp or 3 lvls to get mw9, compared to 16sp or 6 levels to get a similar damage output. However if you train in parties, than getting mw yourself seems wasted, simply because you can get the mw buff and still get enraged. However if you plan to solo train all the time, getting mw9 is not too bad a choice, after all it only takes 3 levels more to max enraged, not TOO much of a delay really. Either way i would recommend having maxed enraged and mw9 by lvl 163.

Q: What is the difference between soul masters and heros? Which one is better?
Soul master is a knight of cygnus character. KoC characters are have higher damage than adventurers of similar level as they get 6ap per lvl up from lvl 1 to 70. They also get a variety of new skills that the normal adventurer does not get, and these skills make the KoC character much stronger than normal characters. E.g. Soul master gets soul blade in 2nd job and soul driver in 3rd job, both very powerful, ranged skills. SM also gets soul rush, a very useful skill that aids in movement during training. KoC chars also get their normal adventurers 4th job skills at 3rd job, for SMs, they get brandish at lvl 100 and advanced combo at lvl 110, much earlier than the normal adventurer who would only have access to those skills upon 4th job at level 120. Brandish, advanced combo, and the soul charge (similar to paladin's holy charge) allows the lvl 120 SM to easily surpass a lvl 15X hero in terms of damage at holy weak mobs. Thus, KoC characters are clearly very powerful for their level. Basically, the SM is a power packed character with great mobbing abilities, making leveling a breeze for SMs (never compare self training to leeching).

HOWEVER, there is always a downside to things. KoC characters are only able to reach a maximum level of 120. Thus, while a normal character can eventually reach lvl 200, the potential of a KoC character is very much limited by its 120 level cap. This is especially so when you consider the high hp requirement needed for bossing, the insane accuracy requirements when hitting mobs that are over lvl 120, and being unable to reach the level requirements for certain quests, such as the quests to unlock the red mobs at time temple requires character to be lvl 140 and above. The SM is also lacking in various skills essential to better training or bossing, eg. stance, power guard, rush and so on. All these makes the KoC character very limited in potential and indeed rather useless if you intend to play the character on a long term basis, and want to use your character to go to high levels bosses and so on.

Still, depending on what you are looking for, the limitation of KoC characters can become its selling point. KoC characters cant go beyond lvl 120, you dont have to worry about washing hp to go horntail since u'd most likely never get in there, KoC characters are quick to level, fun to play with all their new skills, a great choice if you just want to have a feel of the game/playing warrior characters. For those who are impatient, or do not wish to spend much time in maple, than KoC characters are a great choice for you. Just do not expect too much of you KoC character, they are meant to give you a preview of the adventure class they represent. If you want the 'real' thing, than make a hero instead. Don't expect nexon to increase the level cap of KoC characters any soon, that would completely imbalance the game. Instead of focusing on KoC characters, they have moved on to developing new classes instead (see the frantic release of new classes - arans, evans, dual blades, resistance {battle mages and wild hunters}). It is also clearly stated that the level cap of KoC characters is 120 in the character creation page, so really dont keep your hopes up.

Q:Should I buy the hog/mane/bird? They look cool but they cost some bunch of money which I dont have a lot of...
Well it really depends on how much money you have. If you are well funded, already have a good set of eqs, and still have plenty of mesos left over, go ahead and buy the mount. However for the rest of us people who are not so rich, there are several factors to consider. 1st up, I would strongly recommend you to spend/save the money for eq/weapons upgrade. If you have left over from upgrading your eqs, than save up and make sure you have enough pot money after buying the mount. Once both conditions are satisfied, than go ahead and get the mount. For normal characters, the mount would come in handy when training to your training ground, if there is no BS to door you. At higher levels, the training grounds are located further and further away from towns, and getting to your training spot can be quite a hassle - the mount allows you to move faster and thus reach your training ground faster. DURING training however, mounting and dismounting often is not a very convenient thing to do as each time we get on the mount, power guard is canceled off and has to be re-casted upon dismounting, unless you wish to make do w/o PG. The only instances where not turning on PG is a good choice is when you can 1-2 hit mobs and you hardly ever take the mob's touch damage at all, and of course the map has got to be big otherwise its rather pointless to ride the mount for a fraction of a second and then get off again. Basically its not at all that convenient to mount and dismount during training - meaning that the mounts only help you when walking long distances like when walking to your training ground, thus making it not essential.

In the case of SMs, mounts are really not necessary as they have the soul rush skill. Even with the 1 second cooldown, soul rush is able to move you forward faster (while walking forward of cos!) than the lvl 50 mount. Moreover, soul rush rather than mounting and dismounting will be using during trainings, thus making getting the mounts merely a matter of personal preference (and bank status).

Important!
You cannot manual pot while riding on mounts, so be careful in case of accidental death due to being unable to dismount and repot fast enough. The auto hp pouch on pets still works and will automatically consume the assigned pot when your hp falls below the set level.

Q:How should I set my keyboard layout to be?
Well, this will vary for each individual. Everyone has a different preferences, and more importantly, a different keyboard layout. This is especially so if you compare the keyboard layout of a laptop, VS that of a full keyboard - so dont be afraid to change you keys each time you change between using your laptop and desktop. Generally, you will want to put ALL your commonly used skills within the reach of your left hand, including all your buffs and attacking skills, and your right hand will be in-charge of hitting the direction keys and hp/mp pots (unless your keyboard has the direction keys on the other side). Go ahead and move away the default settings of A for stats window and so on, the 'factory' default settings are extremely inefficient. A possible setting is to put all your buffs on the second row of the keys, and the attacks on the 1st row. No need to worry about getting mixed up between different characters you play as well, what works/is convenient for 1 character works for the rest too E.g. you main attacking skill power strike is on skill V, then when you play e.g. a sin, you put L7 in the same location, mobbing skills in the same button, buffs on the same button, no need to worry about not being to play your other character after getting used to 1 key setting, just make it all the same will do.

For those who die die want a keyboard setting as a reference, here's my keyboard settings as a crusader, and a hero respectively. I'm using a laptop, so the keys closest to my arrow keys are 'ctrl', 'shift' and 'end', which i use for my putting my pots and mane (when I got it). You can see how my laptop keyboard is like here. Here is my keyboard configuration with the maple warrior skill added. The macro at key 'D' in both pictures is rage followed by iron body.

Q:Should I use macros?
Basically, NO. No with any of your main attacking skills that's for sure. Here's why:
1) Macro causes lag. Yes, comparing a macroed skill VS when the skill is used w/o macros, there is an extra period of time in which your character is 'stunned' and unable to move with the macroed skill.
2) Macroed skills have slower response. If you macro an attacking skill, you will realize you character will make 1 or even 2 extra attacks after you have let go of the macroed skill button. This will definitely lead to less efficient training and lowering your exp gained per hour.
3) Macros get disrupted if you get hit, make an attack, or move before the macro finishes its execution. So you will have to re-cast the macro and wait for the whole chunk of macro to finish just to buff the last skill you macro-ed in. Time wasting and mp wasting really. Also, its hard to wait till your macros finish casting ALL the skills during boss runs. Even in training, unless you purposely hang on a rope or go to a safe spot each time, things like sudden spawn of monsters will disrupt your macro casting, and you will have to re-cast the ENTIRE macro just for that last skill that keeps getting cut off. I'd rather hit each button individually thank you.
4) Buff time for each skill varies. It is inefficient time and mp wise to re-cast the entire string of 3 skills just because the shortest skill run out.

There are some good points about macros nonetheless, particularly with the shout name of skill function.
1) The shout name allows you to see whether the party skill (namely our rage) has been casted or not. In bossing or other party quests situations, things can get quite messy and the chat bubble eliminates the need for us to squint and look for the rage animation. That's the reason why my Rage is macro-ed, since i re-cast rage myself often, sometimes I cant tell from the icon at the side of the screen whether rage has actually been re-casted for the party, or was casted 20seconds ago to re-buff myself. Iron body is a completely useless skill that I dont care if it get executed or not, most of the time I cast another skill or move before it gets casted anyway.
2) If you noticed in the SS of my hero key settings there are 2 macros on the fulls top and comma button. Macroed there are Power Guard and Booster with the skill names "HS/SE/Haste" and "Tyty" respectively. Basically its very helpful to macro phases that you would other wise have to keep on typing when training in a party. Still normally I will press the un-macroed skill rather than the macro-ed one as using a string of macroed skills in a row causes severe lag during trainings. Note that the name of the macros accepts very limited number of characters however.
3) Macroing skills with the same duration such as combo and booster can save you from pressing 1 button during trainings, provided you always press the macros when you wont get disturbed. Otherwise, it is still better to hit each skill individually.

Q:Wow, reverse equips can level up and add 1 sp to skills? Means I can get level 31 brandish?
Reverse equips can level up 3 times, and have a 10% chance to gain an SP in a particular skill. However, it will not bring the skill level beyond lvl30, so if that skill has been maxed already, the SP is basically useless to you. Note that the extra SP is temporary and will stay only as long as the equip is being worn.

Q:Since I can get 1 free SP from reverse equips, I should leave all my skills at level 29?
Generally, NO. In any case, a quick look at the reverse equips and the skills they add from here and you will realize that that isnt much SP you can get from reverse eqs anyway.

The sword adds to brandish, gloves to AC, helmet to rush, shield to blocking, shoes to stance, and overall to Achilles. Most people will use a WA scrolled work glove and a WA scrolled maple shield instead of the reverse equips, and the zakum/scarlion/targa helm is way better than the reverse helmet.
So that leaves you with brandish, stance and Achilles that you can get free SP for. Unless you are able to get a reverse sword at 12X, level it up to max level and manage to get the free SP (1 in 10 chance), than you should still max brandish since it is our core attacking skill, like-wise for AC and the glove. Than, you have to make sure that you will be sticking with the same equip forever, until you add 1 more SP into the skill, or you are able to get another reverse eq with the free SP (but when lvling the 2nd reverse ur skill will be at lvl 29!). Say if you reach level 15X and decide to scroll or upgrade ur sword, than the sword had better not boom or you have extra SP at hand to max the skill.
Stance is pretty important to be maxed, but if you happen to get a reverse shoe with +1 stance while in the mist of maxing stance, go ahead and leave it at lvl 29.
For skills like Achilles, its still alright to leave it at level 29 as it isnt THAT important, you can train perfectly fine with lvl0 Achilles (in boss runs, that's a different story). However that would depend on whether you intend to forge a reverse overall or stick with a lvl 100 top and bottom.

Basically, it is not advisable to leave skills at level 29 in hope of getting the free SP. 10% chance is really not that much. But if you already have the free SP from the eq and the skill has not been maxed, go ahead and use your SP for other skills 1st. Ultimately at lvl 200, all the skills, including mw30 and lvl 10 hero's will be will maxed, with the exception of blocking. But blocking is not an essential skill for heros, in fact many may chose to safe the extra SP at the end than to add to blocking at all, so its perfectly alright to max all your core skills with your own sp instead of relying on the reverse equip.


Q: Does max brandish or leaving brandish at lvl 21 and adding to AC 1st give more damage?
Max brandish, then max AC will give you a higher damage output at all levels.

Q:Can I make use of MW to boost my dex to 120 or 95 so that I can hold the Ribgol or Night Raven's Wing ?
Yes, you can. If you do so, you will only be able to attack/use the sword with MW casted. Otherwise even though the sword is shown as being equipped in the equips window, you character will not appear to be holding any sword, and the name of the sword will be shown in red when you hover your mouse over the sword. Upon casting MW, the sword will 'magically' appear in your hands, making it look as if you are summoning your sword. Note that MW only increases your BASE dex by the percentage for that level of the skill, not your TOTAL dex. However, there is a bug with this - if you get dispelled in boss runs, you only have approximately 1 second or so to re-cast MW, otherwise, you will get disconnected from maple. So take note of that if you intend to go bosses that use dispel often, such as at horntail or pianus.

Q:Why am I missing mobs? Why do I miss when someone with as much accuracy as me does not?
Physical attacks in maple story require accuracy to hit. Whether you not or miss a mob depends on how much accuracy you have, how much avoid the mob has, and the level difference between you and the mob. Hence you will need more accuracy when your level is lower than the mob to hit - the someone you saw is of a higher level than you are hence they need less accuracy to hit the mob. The formula to 100% hit a mob is as follows: (55+(2*lvl diff))*mob's avoid/15
The avoid of the mob can be checked from hidden street, and the MINIMUM value for lvl diff is ZERO (NO negative numbers). For more information you are highly encouraged to read this Guide carefully.

Q:Will my accuracy increase as I level?
1 dex adds 0.8 acc, 1lk adds 0.5acc. If you arent going to add into dex or lk, which you most likely will not, your acc will not increase when you level. If you change equips but they do not increase your dex or lk, nor do they add any accuracy in itself, your accuracy will not increase either.

Q:My level is higher than the mob, so I need less accuracy to hit?
NO.
Formula: (55+(2*lvl diff))*mob's avoid/15
The MINIMUM value for lvl diff is ZERO (NO negative numbers)
So the accuracy needed to hit the mob reaches a minimum (for that particular mob) when you are the same level as the mob. It WILL NOT DECREASE FURTHER.

Q: I'm a soul master, can I max soul blade 1st in 2nd job?
You can, just like you can go ahead and make a pure INT warrior - no one can stop you from playing maple story the way you want, even the game wont stop you from doing so. Is it advisable to do so? NO. Without max mastery you will be hitting extremely unstable damage on all you attacks. You will be seeing numbers like 1.5k, 100, 200, 300, 900. Having stable damage will decrease the average no. of hits needed to kill a mob, and you will be able to level faster. Low level soul blade is rather useless anyway - its damage is way too low to kill efficiently.

Q: Can I use a spear/blunt weapon/pole arm on my SM or fighter since those weapons have higher WA?
You can equip those items, but you do not have mastery for any weapon besides sword (SMs use swords ONLY) or axe (depends on which you choose to max as fighter). Meaning that you will see pathetically unstable damage when using those items. Also, skills like soul blade/soul driver (for SM only), and brandish/ will only work when u have a sword equipped. Coma and panic are only usable with the respective weapon for the skill you have added (axe or panic), but SMs only have the sword coma/panic to add. So crusaders must take care when adding coma and panic for their correct chosen weapon type.

Q: I'm a soul master and soul blade pawns! So I can just leave out slash blast in 1st job right?
You can play the game anyway you want, but it is not advisable to do so. Mastery has to be maxed 1st in 2nd job, and low level soul blade gives lower damage output than slash blast. You will (or should anyway) still be using slash blast for at least another 10 levels into 2nd job, and a mobbing skill like slash blast really helps in speeding up training or winning mcpqs compared to just power strike. For a comparison between slash blast and soul blade, see here under example 2.

Q: I'm a soul master and soul blade pawns! So I can just leave out power strike in 1st job right?
Power strike is you attack of choice in situations when there is only 1 mob, such as during bossing, until you get brandish at level 100. Not getting maxed power strike in 1st job will greatly slow you down when bossing (e.g. 3rd job advance, magatia pq, mulang training center). You have enough SP to max power strike and slash blast anyway, so max BOTH.

Q: Soul master: What about the Soul skill? There wont be enough SP to max soul if I max slash blast and power strike!
Soul's damage is really pathetic, in 2nd job, you will easily hit 2k, 3k damage while still in mcpq 1, yet soul will still be doing a mere 200-300 damage. Might as well add a skill that WILL actually help you level up faster (slash blast), or one that will last you till level 100 (power strike). Level 11 soul lasts long enough for mob gathering purposes in mcpq.

Q: Is hp washing a MUST for heros?
No, hp washing is not necessary to play the game, however it is recommended if you have the real life money to spare. These days there are many heros around with 30k hp after HB, and it wont be easy getting into a horntail batch w/o washing hp. Hp washing also increases your survivability in general training or bossing, and the use of % pots like honster (heals 60% hp) saves you alot of mesos in the long run. Nonetheless hp washing is an expensive process and consider carefully before washing. (Are you really that interested in the game to throw in tons of real $$$? Will you continue playing your hero for a long time? Can you afford the $$$ to hp wash? etc etc) Remember that ultimately maple story is just a virtual game, and all the fame and wealth achieved in game will translate to NOTHINGNESS in the real world.

Q: How do I go about doing hp washing?
Guide on Warriors & HP Washing & 1H VS Ribgol Comparison Only FRESH AP that you get from leveling up will give you 50-55hp per AP. If the AP was washed out from mp or elsewhere you will only gain 20hp. READ the guide carefully.

Q:Why do people create low dex or dexless warriors?
Repeat: Warriors DO NOT NEED DEX. We only need accuracy. There are many, many, many ways/eq that warriors can get acc or dex (1 dex = 0.8 acc) from, but conversely there are not many equips for warriors to get str from. Hence in order to MAXIMIZE the damage potential of a warrior, ppl choose to add a minimal amount of dex (or none at all) to their character. This also ensures that the 4th job skill maple warrior increase their damage as much as possible.

Q: How come I cannot add any AP into hp! I want to do hp washing!
Hp washing is now 'restricted', you can only add AP into Hp after level 15 (or 30, needs confirmation).

Q: How do I make a reverse weapon?
Use the item maker skill.
Materials needed: 5 Orihalcon Plates
20 Advanced monster crystal 2
14 Advanced monster crystal 3
45 Piece of Time
3 jewels to put in the jewel slots
Some mesos (varies depending on jewels used)

Optional items: Stimulator

Q: What's the difference between lvl 1 and max booster?
The duration of the buff. NOTHING else. The speed boost to the weapon is the same at all levels

Q: What is the difference between dark crystal and black crystal in item maker?
Dark crystal adds either STR/DEX/INT/LUK if they exist on equipment [Advanced +5, Intermediate +3, Basic +2]
Black crystal add wa, ma, hp, mp, jump, speed, avoid, acc if they exist on equipment [Advanced +3, Intermediate +2, Basic +1]
Meaning that when making a sword, black crystal will never add ma or jump since those stats are not found in the clean sword, and when making a warrior shoe dark crystal will never add INT.

Note that both type of crystals can end up having NO EFFECT (at least no visible/discernible effect) on the resulting item. (It is possible but not certain that both crystals MAY end up decreasing the above stated stats instead of increasing them)

Q: Is stance really that good/important? What should i add after max brandish and AC?
YES, definitely. Stance really helps, both in training, and bossing. In bossing its obvious how stance can help. Even if you're only killing a noob sg boss, stance helps you down the boss even faster, and makes the boss fight as simple as just holding down your brandish button. No need to stop and move forward or backwards unless stance fails and you get KBed... not a very frequent occurrence with maxed stance. Training wise, stance really helps too, especially if training at dukus. At 14X dukus are probably the best place to train at in terms of exp and pot considerations - dukus are much much less pot burning than skeles. However, the bad thing is that the dukus stun and then fire lasers at you at will. W/o stance, you'll will hit to goodness knows where by the time you've recovered from the stun, especially irritating if you are clearing the top of the side lanes, or the middle top lanes and you end up getting hit to the bottom platforms. With stance chances are that you'll still remain in the same spot and ready to kill those dukus the moment you recover from stance - saving you the hassle of climbing up. Stance also prevents you from being KBed when they use magic attack on you while you are still hitting the mob - saves you the trouble or having to rush/walk/jump back to your previous spot, thus saving time and reducing the chance of you getting hit by yet another magic attack while getting back into position. So i would advise you to max stance after brandish and AC. Even at a mere level 5, stance gives you 50% chance to not get KBed for 50 seconds, worth the effort for me to hit my stance button every 50seconds.

Q: Where should I train at XXX level?
Check out my training grounds guide here.

Q: Meso please! I'm so poor, what should I do?
Go earn some mesos. Trading is a good way to earn, or you can try farming at various locations stated in my training grounds guide. My advice is you train at less pot consuming places so that you earn money as you train.

Q: Help! How do I do the 3rd job advancement? How do I answer the questions?
Tried reading this yet?

Q: Where can I get XXX skill in 4th job? Where can I get XXX skill book?
Read Dummies Guide to 4th Job and Mastery Book Droplist (MSEA v0.82) with SG/MY mobs AND search on Hidden Street

Q: Help? How to allocated my SP???
Take a look at the following threads thank you very much.
http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=793182
http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=814001
http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/showthread.php?t=779837

[darkiller]

Reserved for FAQ part 2 due to picture limit.

[darkiller]

Useful Links

Warrior's Damage/Stats Calculator
I personally find this Calculator very useful, especially during the Fighter-Crusader period. Use it to calculate the amount of accuracy you need and plan your future equipments with your budget accordingly.

Hidden-Street.net for MapleSEA
A great site with information about mobs, their drops, map locations, quests etc etc... Basically, if you play MSEA, you MUST visit this site.

Guide on Warriors & HP Washing & 1H VS Ribgol Comparison
The Guide on Warriors isn't that detailed as the sections on HP Washing & 1H-Ribgol Comparison. But overall a very nicely written Guide.

Ah Jeff's Guide on Crusaders
A very well written and detailed Guide for all Fighters and Crusaders. Formulas and numbers on the skills of crusaders are all included here.

wat do u think of when i say stuff toys?

2H to 1H Weapon Conversion
Extremely useful guide for those who want to change from 2H to 1H, check out this guide to find out exactly how much weapon attack you need to maintain the same damage per second, and damage per strike.

Timeless and Reverse Equipments
A useful guide showing the base stats of the timeless and reverse weapons, and their stat gain with each level up. Note that the guide is based on KMS and some of the names differ.

Dummies Guide to 4th Job
Want to know how to do the 4th job advancement? Or how/where to get your skillbooks? This guide answers all of that.

Mastery Book Droplist (MSEA v0.82) with SG/MY mobs
New, updated information on skillbook drop locations.

General Info of the Knights of Cygnus
A guide to all the knights of cygnus quests and skills.

Darkiller's Training Grounds Guide
An Up-to-Date training grounds guide for fighters/crusaders/heros and soul masters alike.

Item Maker Guide
Very useful thread regarding the item maker skill, functions of crystals etc all answered here.

Damage per Second Calculator
Extremely useful calculator to answer all your questions regarding which weapon will outdamage the other. MUST check it out.

MapleStory Formula Compilation
A compilation of Formulas of Skills and many more - its based on GMS but the formulas are applicable to MSEA.

Reference Images

A CMS LV200 Hero's Ability Points & Skills.

Commonly Used Hero/Soul Master Related Abbreviations

AC: Advanced combo
BBS: Bye Bye Station
BCM: Blue chainmail (lvl 35 overall with 4 dex, for males)
Cg Green/Blue/Red: The Chief Guardian of Memory/Regret/Oblivion
Crus: Crusader
Dex: Dexterity
dish/dishwasher: Brandish
Dsr: Devil's Sunrise (2H, lvl 90 sword)
Ms: Maple shield
NRW: Night Raven's Wing (2H, lvl 90 sword with fast speed, requires 95 dex to hold)
POT: Piece of Time
PS: Power Strike
Rk: Red Katana (1H, lvl 70 sword with fast speed 4)
RSS: Red snowshoe
sader: Crusader
SB: Slash Blast, skill book, or soul blade
SM: Soul Master
Str: Strength
TP: Time piece aka Piece of Time (official name in game)
TT: Time Temple aka Timeless Temple as it is officially named in game
WA: Weapon Attack
WD: Weapon Defence

[darkiller]

Screenshots & Videos - The Old Days

Screenshots


Contributor : kwanhua


Contributor : Henrich


Contributor : meyouKnight


Contributor : Oodin


Contributor : Henrich


Contributor : Henrich

Videos

[YouTube]L0JdXW-Jzqk[/YouTube]
MapleSEA Bootes All-Hero Zakum
Contributor : holycow

[YouTube]PQ9N3jGeBsk[/YouTube]
Crusader's Skills
Contributor : TamTam

[YOUTUBE]tvwQQF4IbpM[/YOUTUBE]
Darkiller's Guide to Training at Gobies (for crusaders)
Contributor : darkiller

[YouTube]YlLI_ulvrzM[/YouTube]
A Hero's Path
Contributor : Saphira4597

wat's another word of scarecrow? u might want to look in the eng - jap dictionary

Taiwan MapleStory LV180 Hero Zakum Solo (4 Parts)
Contributor : NEbbYLoRd™

[YouTube]FU0VtXzTGXE[/YouTube]
Soul Master Teaser
Contributor : NEbbYLoRd™

[YouTube]3behQ32VPLY[/YouTube]
Soul Master Battle Style
Contributor : NEbbYLoRd™

[darkiller]

Lounge Leadership

Introduction
Lounge Leadership was introduced in an effort to make to have some form of organization. By appointing Leaders as role models in the Lounge, a general Code of Conduct is established through the Leaders. Hence a general pattern of organization is formed.

Only these leadership roles are officiated and recognized across all Lounges: Senior Lounger, Lounge Mentor, Lounge President, Lounge Vice-President and Lounge Prime Minister. These leaders form what is known as the Lounge Council. The council is responsible for making all decisions in the Lounge. Council members change as leaders are re-instituted from time to time.

Within the Lounge Council is the High Council and the Council Board. The High Council is made up of the Senior Lounger, Lounge Mentor and Lounge President. The Council Board is comprised of the Lounge President, Lounge Vice-President and Lounge Prime Minister.

Leaders are expected to be exemplary role models for other Loungers to follow. In essence the Lounge Code of Conduct is determined by the Leaders through their actions and behaviour. Unsightly actions and behaviour which is generally discouraged will be immediate cause for a reinstitution.

Due to the rapid development of the Lounge, long term voting procedures cannot be carried out. As per council decision, the voting procedures were revised and a new system of election has been reinstated.



Leadership Institution
As per council decision the "Voting Proceedings" has been renamed "Leadership Institution".

Leadership seats are divided into two groups, Council Seats and High Council Seats. All leadership seats can be re-instituted either by Council vote or by resignation.

Council seats comprise the Lounge President, Lounge Vice-President and Lounge Prime Minister. Council seats are managed by the entire Lounge Council. Reinstitution orders must meet a majority vote by the Council Board or a whole agreement by the High Council before being passed.

High Council seats comprise the Senior Lounger and Lounge Mentor. High Council seats are managed primarily by their holders. However, Council members are allowed to propose orders for reinstitution but a whole agreement must be met before the order can be passed. High Council seats can only be occupied by current Council members.

If a Council seat holder chooses to resign from his/her post, he/she is allowed to appoint the next seat holder from any member in the Lounge. However the appointed seat holder must meet a majority vote by the Council Board or a whole agreement by the High Council before being passed. If no member is elected by the previous holder, then a Council election is held.

If a High Council seat holder chooses to resign from his/her post, he/she is allowed to appoint the next seat holder from any Council member. A whole agreement must be met by the remaining Council members before it can be passed.


The Senior Lounger
As the name suggests, the Senior Lounger is recognized as the most senior in terms of Lounge matters and in-game matters.

The Senior Lounger is NOT in charge of Lounge Management, but is expected to guide the Lounge Leaders in managing the Lounge. Most importantly, he/she is expected to provide advice to the Council and regular members.

The Senior Lounger will be thread starter for all Lounges during his/her appointment.



The Lounge Mentor
The Lounge Mentor, as the name suggests, is recognized as the most knowledgeable not in terms of Lounge Management, but in-game matters.

The Lounge Mentor is representative of the Council to the Lounge Members. He should be the visible icon of the Council to the regular member. And at the peak he should be the one that Lounge Members turn to for advice, whether regarding Lounge matters or in-game.


The Lounge President
The Lounge President, as the name suggests, is chiefly responsible for the general conduct within the Lounge. The President is allowed to, at his discretion, issue out official reprimands to Lounge Members.

The President is the main decision maker in the Council. The President represents the High Council to the Council Board and vice versa.



The Lounge Vice-President
The Vice-President holds 2nd responsibility for the general conduct in the Lounge. The Vice-President, however, is not authorized to issue out official reprimands to Lounge Members.

The Vice-President serves as 2nd Advisor to the President in decision making within the Council.


The Lounge Prime Minister
The Prime Minister is responsible for policy making and policy implementation. This will also include monitoring of how policies work out after implementation.

The Prime Minister serves as 3rd Advisor to the President in decision making within the Council.

Projects by Lounge Members

The Training Grounds Guide by darkiller - COMPLETED!
All-In-One Warrior's Calculator by darkiller - On hold, looking at KMST and KMS new patches developments.
All-In-One Warrior's FAQ by darkiller - In Progress!
Soul Master Skill Guide by darkiller - Almost Complete!

[darkiller]

Lounge Activities/Fun and Games

Suggest-a-Lounge-Theme
Rules:
-Themes must NOT be offensive in any way
-Themes must NOT violate the Lounge or Asiasoft forum rules
-Themes can be about anything under the sun
-Themes must be written in English
-Themes must fit within the character limit for thread titles

Suggest your desired theme to the lounge and the theme of the day will be decided by popular consensus. Each theme will last for at least one day. Themes may be re-used (but fresh/new suggestions are preferred).

Lounge Book of Records

Shortest Lasting Thread:
Lounge XXIV - Page 50 reached in 27 hours and 16minutes (From 1st post, till official closure)


Most Posts in 24hours:
727 Posts (Reach Page 37) in Lounge XXIV - From 12:33am, 2nd Oct 09 to 12:33am, 3rd Oct 09.


Most Lounges on 1st Page of Warrior's Hall:
THREE on 3rd Oct 09. All in the 1st 10 threads too. SS HERE

Four threads in 1st page (1st 20 threads) recorded on 7th Oct 09, 7th Nov 09 and 9th Nov 09.

Lounge Mousehunters

List of Lounger Mousehunters Regulars(in alphabetical order)

1plus1equal2
AhBoy81
darkill3r
darkiller

think old sch training places. like really old sch. d5

DecadeFusion
lickerzzz
MongGhost
ЯдЇЙЇЭЯ
xxGaarAxxx

List of Not-so-Regular Loungers

On Leave


Rules:
1. To stay on the regular lounger list, you must be present in the lounge for at least 5 days a week, with enough posts made per day to be noticeable (at least 5).
2. Nonsensical/offensive posts are not counted.
3. Forumites who constantly make nonsensical posts will NEVER be included in the list.
4. Member list will be updated as and when an old member disappears for long periods of time (1-2 weeks).
5. Member who are going away for extended periods of time should inform the lounge (by posting in the lounge) to apply for leave.
6. To join the member list, forumites must fulfill rules 1 and 2 for more than 1 week. (actual length may vary)

[darkiller]

Reserved for Future Use