21 replies to this topic

[TifaValentine]

First off, hello everyone~!

 

So, I started playing in this server just some weeks ago, and I decided to go for Knight (I used to main a priest on the SEA server for a while). I got used to priests from back in the good ol' RO1, but I'm still inexperienced when it comes to other classes.

I'm still quite new to many aspects of the game, so excuse my ignorance/mistakes in many matters. I've done some research in some stuff, and try to pay attention or ask stuff in public chat when I can, but there's still so much to learn!

Basically, what I want is a decent build for a Knight who will be mainly tanking but would still like to do decent damage (I don't really expect be in par with a dedicated DPS class..), I'm often in party with a wizard of my lvl, and my guild is all friends of mine, so we generally team up for dungeons or anything we may need help for. Lacking one, I took the role of the tank of the group, and that's what I aim to be, but I'd like to deal a good amount of damage as well. 

I checked several guides, but there's so many and some contradict others; it only served to confuse me more!

 

So far, I'm lvl39 with the following skillpoints distribution:

http://www.ro2skills...0gNordBqoeBe1P1

 

Notes

- Battle Tactics was something I considered when I started playing and researching for build ideas, but then I stumbled across several guides that labeled it as "not worth it" and others suggested getting it only at higher lvls. What do you guys suggest?

- At first I was going to put more into Headcrush until I realized the DoT and dmg wasn't so significant as I thought it'd be. Went for Bash instead.

- Magnum Break was quite of help to me before  I could get Grand Cross, and still does some little help at times. I decided to max GC later on.

- Shield Bash, is it any worth putting even one point in this? Or should I not learn it at all?

 

My stat distribution is this (so far):

Str 41

Agi 13

Int 1

Wis 1

Vit 13

 

Notes

- I was considering putting more on Vit, until someone recommended me to drop it and go for agi since vit won't make too much difference on my hp number, and that agi would be more useful. I might consider getting a stats reset later if needed.

 

As for gear... so far is nothing impressive. Almost full set of Pandora accessories (missing the necklace, I have the green one), few blues (Hodremlin's Sword, Dim Dimensional Breastplate, and Plated Boots of the Vile Spirit), and rest is green from drops (the ones I got so far for my level). The wizard I mentioned before is a blacksmith and is more than willing to craft me gear as I need (including rarer recipes later on, providing we can help to get whats needed). So yeah.. nothing wow atm, but I hope to get better stuff soon as I can.

I should add that I haven't done anything like Colo, Raids, or other endgame stuff yet (either because of lvl restrictions or for not feeling ready for it yet). I plan to, but I'd prefer to be more well prepared when the moment comes. I do not plan on being extremely focused on pvp aspects though.

 

So.. that's it. I'd love any advice, suggestions, corrections, and if possible, "why" you suggest x thing. Thank you!

[VanS3n]

if you are going full tanking.. max that Shield Fortress and Aura Shield.. those 2 skills will save you and your party all the time.

 

Battle Tactics will help define your damage since you have intergrated AGI into your build..  if you aim for nice crit damage with the AGI getting Battle Tactics will be a good way to go.. you get your INT from the Accessories you have and from the Khara Title and Costumes etc.. the more INT you have the higher your crit damage. Some knights here get Colo INT accessories just for BT instead of the generic STR tank ones.

 

Shield Bash is good enough at Lvl1 .. higher level only increases damage and not cooldown.

[ChopChopz]

The tankiness of your knight is depends mainly on your gear and stat because most knight tanks have the same defensive skill - max aura armor, aura shield and shield fotress.

Shield Bash level 1 is a must, it stuns and obtain 2 Aura.

Battle Tactics is highly recommended, you do not really need to boost a lot of INT to benefit from it, your title, stat, accessories and and card easily give you 100+ int when you are level 50.

 

I also suggest you to start colo now, you lose nothing but you can always earn BP every time you enter, and BP gives you the very best gear in game.

 

Put point into your offensive skill and stat first - Bash, Aura Strike, and then Batlle Tactics, for stat AGI now and INT after you have BT, for easier leveling

 

Suggestion for your final build

http://www.ro2skills...gPrFdBqoeCebbs1

Edited by ChopChopz, 17 August 2013 - 05:41 AM.

[Audn]

First off, hello everyone~!

 

So, I started playing in this server just some weeks ago, and I decided to go for Knight (I used to main a priest on the SEA server for a while). I got used to priests from back in the good ol' RO1, but I'm still inexperienced when it comes to other classes.

I'm still quite new to many aspects of the game, so excuse my ignorance/mistakes in many matters. I've done some research in some stuff, and try to pay attention or ask stuff in public chat when I can, but there's still so much to learn!

Basically, what I want is a decent build for a Knight who will be mainly tanking but would still like to do decent damage (I don't really expect be in par with a dedicated DPS class..), I'm often in party with a wizard of my lvl, and my guild is all friends of mine, so we generally team up for dungeons or anything we may need help for. Lacking one, I took the role of the tank of the group, and that's what I aim to be, but I'd like to deal a good amount of damage as well. 

I checked several guides, but there's so many and some contradict others; it only served to confuse me more!

 

So far, I'm lvl39 with the following skillpoints distribution:

http://www.ro2skills...0gNordBqoeBe1P1

 

Notes

- Battle Tactics was something I considered when I started playing and researching for build ideas, but then I stumbled across several guides that labeled it as "not worth it" and others suggested getting it only at higher lvls. What do you guys suggest?

- At first I was going to put more into Headcrush until I realized the DoT and dmg wasn't so significant as I thought it'd be. Went for Bash instead.

- Magnum Break was quite of help to me before  I could get Grand Cross, and still does some little help at times. I decided to max GC later on.

- Shield Bash, is it any worth putting even one point in this? Or should I not learn it at all?

 

My stat distribution is this (so far):

Str 41

Agi 13

Int 1

Wis 1

Vit 13

 

Notes

- I was considering putting more on Vit, until someone recommended me to drop it and go for agi since vit won't make too much difference on my hp number, and that agi would be more useful. I might consider getting a stats reset later if needed.

 

As for gear... so far is nothing impressive. Almost full set of Pandora accessories (missing the necklace, I have the green one), few blues (Hodremlin's Sword, Dim Dimensional Breastplate, and Plated Boots of the Vile Spirit), and rest is green from drops (the ones I got so far for my level). The wizard I mentioned before is a blacksmith and is more than willing to craft me gear as I need (including rarer recipes later on, providing we can help to get whats needed). So yeah.. nothing wow atm, but I hope to get better stuff soon as I can.

I should add that I haven't done anything like Colo, Raids, or other endgame stuff yet (either because of lvl restrictions or for not feeling ready for it yet). I plan to, but I'd prefer to be more well prepared when the moment comes. I do not plan on being extremely focused on pvp aspects though.

 

So.. that's it. I'd love any advice, suggestions, corrections, and if possible, "why" you suggest x thing. Thank you!

When you're trying to get tanky, one of the most important things is VIT, but when you're trying to get a tank that hits hard, Battle Tactics it's a must.

 

Basically, at level 50 I had a total of 58 int, which increased my critical damage by 40% of that... that'd be around 23%, instead of 200%, pretty neat for just 3 skill points, huh?

 

Right now I sacrificed my VIT by using 5 Gold Creamy cards [Normal+] (2 str, 14 agi, 14 int, 4 wis, 2 vit), so from solely cards I'm getting 70 int now, I have about 120 int, My bash crits for 1.1k and my max Aura Strike hits for 2.2k on field, in dungeons it is like 20% stronger for some reason... I have colo tank accessories + Sword  + Shield. But I'm seriously thinking about getting colo INT accesories for better colosseum performance.

 

When wearing battle tactics, High Agi+High Int does considerably boost your dps by giving you not onli crit%, but more ravashing critical damage, which is a big help.

 

I'm overall happy, I have 20% crit, and It'll get better once i manage to get Agi runes better than +5.

 

I personally like doing math in all my builds, and I see that knight DPS can grow like crazy, if people didn't always expect them to tank. I'd like to experiment on creating a full dps knight... you know:

Aura Blade + Concentration + Battle Tactics + Full DPS Skill Distribution. But I don't wanna change my tank and I don't wanna level another knight, either. I'd rather level an Asassin <3.

Edited by Audn, 17 August 2013 - 09:20 AM.

[TifaValentine]

Thank you very much you all for your advice! I see that most of it is actually stuff I planned or considered to do, but I thought I'd best ask for advice from people who tried it and know more.

 

Maxing Aura Shield and Fortress was something I intend to do, as you saw I put points in it. Aura Armor is at max already. Will work towards the rest then, and probably get BT when I can. 

 

I might try doing Colo now. I probably won't do too good there yet haha but I don't lose anything by trying, and it'd help me to get an idea of how it is.

I'd also like to be somewhat ready for RHDs and such once I reach lvl50. I'll probably be partying with friends/guildies who won't mind if I make one or two mistakes as I learn, but I like to be prepared anyways.

 

I got a few more questions if you don't mind, guys? Like.. what does it mean when cards say "Normal+"? I can only guess. Also, any tips for a knight going to colo first time? Just basic things that I should keep in mind.

About gear, I understand most of it. However, I'm still slightly clueless regarding things like runes and costumes, etc. 

 

Again, thanks a lot for your advice, I really appreciate it =) And Audn, I don't see why a full DPS knight can't work. I think it's really a great idea! If anything, I think my boyfriend may want to test those waters~

[AhinaReyoh]

I got a few more questions if you don't mind, guys? Like.. what does it mean when cards say "Normal+"? I can only guess. Also, any tips for a knight going to colo first time? Just basic things that I should keep in mind.

About gear, I understand most of it. However, I'm still slightly clueless regarding things like runes and costumes, etc.

 

Normal+ cards are what you get when you successfully combine cards via a Card Master NPC. A random card of the five cards you give to him will become Normal+ and have its stats boosted.

 

And Colosseum tips hmm...

• Ignore other tanks (swordies/monks/bears) and priests unless their HP is low. It's a waste of effort to fight them when they're at/near full, and if they have colo gears they'll just kill you first.
• Save your Shield Bash for when the target's HP is around 1/3rd or lower, to help you finish them off without them running away.
• If your target is running away with a couple hundred HP, you can Grand Cross to try to finish them off. Chasing them rarely works as somebody else will gank them before you catch up.
• If you see monsters, try to kill them as they give points to advance to the next round too. You can use Provoke to grab them if they're chasing somebody else. Ignore the boss that appears near the end of the match though, it just one-shots people.
• If you suddenly can't move and see the Frozen status effect icon, Shield Fortress and start turning your camera to find the offending Sorcerer for a conterattack.
• Mage classes are usually the easiest targets, especially Sorcerers since they don't have a button to get you off them like Wizards and Rangers.
• Expect to be KSed a lot. Knight just doesn't have any good quick-burst damage to score kills, so people will often land the last hit instead of you.
• Kill nearby Novelty Porings and hope you get Enrage. (Yellow arrow with 30second duration.) With Enrage, your chances of killing people is increased and you can even kill Priests and tanks.

[EdsonDC]

A knight who does pretty good damage? look at hybrids. Something like this:

 

http://www.ro2skills...dnrFdBrBeDdBbs1

 

or this if you are a fan of battle tactics:

 

http://www.ro2skills...dCrFdBrBeDdBas1

 

 

Some points:

 

-You dont lose anything by being hybrid. You tank just as good. You have the same defensive stats as the "pure tanks". You are just more versatile.

-Use concentration wisely. Do not turn it on when tanking end game bosses or anything that seems like a real threat.

-Hybirds does decent damage in PvP(Colo). It also helps clear mobs in RHD's and raids faster.

-You'll be sitting at 3200 damage, 50% defense/parry, and 25% dodge/crit at end game(even more! I know I do). Pretty high for being the best tanking class in game.

-You'll be better at a lot more than tanking. You'll be able to solo world bosses like Sandial Queen(lvl 45 - 1 min 45 secs - no pots used), Willow Worker(2-3 mins - some pots), Haven't tried GL yet.

 

 

From what I can see on your current skill build it seems like you just used your skill points haphazardly. As if you have no real plan or goal for it. Exactly like me when I started playing, haha. You are looking at a reset if you are taking your knight seriously.

 

Shield bash is the best possible skill you could spend 1 skill point on.

 

Knights are awesome in PvP. It might be the opposite of what you read here in forums but it's true(At least for me). Be it hybrid or pure tank. Just bring master red pots with you and look for enrage. Get them speed elixirs from woe dailies.

 

Best of luck!

[TifaValentine]

I'm honestly kind of... hesitant about taking concentration. Not sure if it will be really a good idea, or perhaps it's just me. I was considering taking BT, but the build you suggest leaves Aura Shield at only 1 point.. wouldn't that make me slightly less good as tank? Again, I'm simply asking and taking many things into consideration. Worse comes to worse, I can get a skill reset if it's really needed. I'm still far from trying endgame content, and my gear is just not so good atm, only what I could get from field drops/crafted.

[EdsonDC]

It is a tradeoff. At 50% defense/parry I realized having aura shield in my build is a bit overkill. It's a pretty decent skill to have if your sole concern is tanking. I decided to drop it cause I felt like I needed some balance. I needed to focus on the areas where my knight was lacking and that was damage.

[ChopChopz]

It is a tradeoff. At 50% defense/parry I realized having aura shield in my build is a bit overkill. It's a pretty decent skill to have if your sole concern is tanking. I decided to drop it cause I felt like I needed some balance. I needed to focus on the areas where my knight was lacking and that was damage.

 

From your stat I believe you have full colo or at least near full colo.

It is overkill not because of your build, but simply because colo gear is overpowered.

This would not work for OP, a knight can hardly tank raid bosses with RHD gear and level 1 aura shield.

Even OP starts doing colo now by the time OP reaches 50 can at best get the weapon and shield, which is still far from 50% def/parry.

Edited by ChopChopz, 19 August 2013 - 06:48 AM.

[Audn]

Again, thanks a lot for your advice, I really appreciate it =) And Audn, I don't see why a full DPS knight can't work. I think it's really a great idea! If anything, I think my boyfriend may want to test those waters~

You might be right, I think knights can be one of the not-so-paper-made dps ingame, but I also am in love with tanking, so... until my guild gets more tanks, I'm going to stay tanking for them ;3

[TifaValentine]

From your stat I believe you have full colo or at least near full colo.

It is overkill not because of your build, but simply because colo gear is overpowered.

This would not work for OP, a knight can hardly tank raid bosses with RHD gear and level 1 aura shield.

Even OP starts doing colo now by the time OP reaches 50 can at best get the weapon and shield, which is still far from 50% def/parry.

 

Exactly. I think I'll start doing colo anyways (whenever I can, since my playing time depends on my free time, which is usually restricted by irl stuff) and slowly save up for gear/accs/etc. Atm I'm more focused on tanking, since I have my boyfriend and two more friends who party with me often for dungeons or whatever I can't really solo for now. But we don't have another tank yet, so I took up the role. I was asking about how to improve my damage, while remaining a good tank still, mainly for colo/raids/rhds purposes. Even if I'm still far from qualifying for those yet, I'll eventually do them and I also wanted to be able to solo some world bosses without much difficulty.

I'll probably change my build again once I get better gear,etc., but for now I won't take concentration, since Aura Shield is more needed atm.

Plans plans plans~

 

You might be right, I think knights can be one of the not-so-paper-made dps ingame, but I also am in love with tanking, so... until my guild gets more tanks, I'm going to stay tanking for them ;3

 

Definitely. I understand that, and I'm quite in love with tanking as well, not just because my (very small) guild is lacking a dedicated tank, but because I do like it myself. Hence why I asked for advice. Later on, I could try a more dps-y Knight. I mean, why not? *o*

 

I'm a fan of discussing different builds and ideas, even if it sounds crazy, and I love people who go beyond the "standard" classes/builds. I come from playing an mmo where you don't have fixed classes, but you are what you want and equip whatever gear/weapon you want, because of the high flexibility of the skills system; you can mix and match different skill trees, combining and maxing some or not, always within the max skills points limit ("expertise" is how its called there). Crazy, but think of the supernovice, somewhat like it. Believe me, you can see so many crazy wtf classes in that game xD from "spin-gunners" to "mage-gunners" and "support-melees", etc. And smart players can make possible and effective what seems impossible or silly. 

[Audn]

Definitely. I understand that, and I'm quite in love with tanking as well, not just because my (very small) guild is lacking a dedicated tank, but because I do like it myself. Hence why I asked for advice. Later on, I could try a more dps-y Knight. I mean, why not? *o*

 

I'm a fan of discussing different builds and ideas, even if it sounds crazy, and I love people who go beyond the "standard" classes/builds. I come from playing an mmo where you don't have fixed classes, but you are what you want and equip whatever gear/weapon you want, because of the high flexibility of the skills system; you can mix and match different skill trees, combining and maxing some or not, always within the max skills points limit ("expertise" is how its called there). Crazy, but think of the supernovice, somewhat like it. Believe me, you can see so many crazy wtf classes in that game xD from "spin-gunners" to "mage-gunners" and "support-melees", etc. And smart players can make possible and effective what seems impossible or silly. 

 

Well, I'd like it to have a wider array of skills to choose from... I LOVE to experiment.

 

As for a tanky knight, I also use Magnum Break (LV 1) for off tanking, specially since it has the advantage of letting you move while using it, you can start chasing adds in PVE when they get widely spread out. I rotate like this:

 

Wide Provoke (if available) -> Alternate MB & GC until all mobs are aggro'd -> SPAM GC until there's 3 or less mobs -> Start bashing/aura-striking/magnum-breaking 1 by 1 when there is only 3 aggro'd mobs remaining, since the quicker the mobs' number is reduced, the easier it is for healers to keep the party/raid alive.

 

I always encourage fellow DPS party members to kill adds 1 by 1 rather than using AoEs even if there's 4+ adds, while AoEs grant more DPS overall.When enemy numbers are a huge threat, (like fighting Pertus' Black Locust Plague... 7+ adds spamming silence on the party), it is quickly reducing enemy numbers what really keeps the party safe.
 

Edited by Audn, 20 August 2013 - 11:59 AM.

[TifaValentine]

Our skill rotation isn't so different then! It is exactly what I do =) Of course, this is in most normal dungeons and field bosses so far for me. By experimenting and testing, I learned which skills should I use in which moments. I do welcome any and all advice, tho, especially coming from people who does play/has played the same class and experienced endgame content.

[VanS3n]

From your stat I believe you have full colo or at least near full colo.

It is overkill not because of your build, but simply because colo gear is overpowered.

This would not work for OP, a knight can hardly tank raid bosses with RHD gear and level 1 aura shield.

Even OP starts doing colo now by the time OP reaches 50 can at best get the weapon and shield, which is still far from 50% def/parry.

 

yeah he is full colo equipped and a frequent colo champ as well.. XD XD

he is our guild's main raid tank and I usually OT with him on raids.. 

 

--

 

and yeah I agree that Level 1 Aura Shield won't cut it if you are not that decently equipped.

[TifaValentine]

Yeahh.... still veeeery far from that. I'm not even 50 yet, barely 41 so far, and as I mentioned my gear isnt exactly the best. I'm still bit worried about what to do after lvl50 because I highly doubt I'll be geared enough to do much, and my friends are quite in the same boat. It's worth to try at least xD!

[VanS3n]

Yeahh.... still veeeery far from that. I'm not even 50 yet, barely 41 so far, and as I mentioned my gear isnt exactly the best. I'm still bit worried about what to do after lvl50 because I highly doubt I'll be geared enough to do much, and my friends are quite in the same boat. It's worth to try at least xD!

 

 

The good thing about being a tank is that you will be always in demand.. easy to farm World boss for Khara titles and weapons and easy to get into dungeon parties for quests. 

 

Reaching lvl50.. you should go farm Goblin Leader for a sword and shield..  then RHD gear hunt is no prob as well..

 

It will work well if you have a friend which is priest who is seeking equips as well. Having a priest partner means it's easy to farm RHD for your equips, it's always easy to fill in DPS positions. And you guys can do a marathon of Goblin Leader to atleast get everybody a weapon to make your RHD runs smoother.

Edited by VanS3n, 22 August 2013 - 07:14 AM.

[TifaValentine]

The good thing about being a tank is that you will be always in demand.. easy to farm World boss for Khara titles and weapons and easy to get into dungeon parties for quests. 

 

Reaching lvl50.. you should go farm Goblin Leader for a sword and shield..  then RHD gear hunt is no prob as well..

 

It will work well if you have a friend which is priest who is seeking equips as well. Having a priest partner means it's easy to farm RHD for your equips, it's always easy to fill in DPS positions. And you guys can do a marathon of Goblin Leader to atleast get everybody a weapon to make your RHD runs smoother.

 

Yup. Just thinking of it. I do have a friend who is an awesome priest and will be seeeking for gear as well. However, my main concern is actually being useful for RHD parties... Like, not sure what is exactly required for it or more especifically, what's expected of my class. I was already planning on going for some goblin leader huntin, ofc. Tsk, I admit I've been neglecting some of my dungeons quests though @_@ And it's hard to get ahold of some of my friends sometimes.

[VanS3n]

Your job is simple and that is to tank the dungeon.. keep the threat only to you and survive anything the mobs and the boss will throw at you.

A good way is to have a good experience running all dungeon at normal. To be familiar with routes and how the mobs work and how the boss fight is. RHD will be similar to that except that they hit harder and requires more coordination within the parties.

Even if you don't have the gear yet, as long as you know what to do in the dungeons you can own the dungeon.

I have seen full colo tanks who leveled skipping dungeon and just did colo. When they eventually jumped into actual tanking dungeon and raids, they don't even know when to use their raid skills and how to control the boss.

Each of us have different styles in tanking dungeon and raids. You just need to experience tanking stuffs yourself to get your own rhythm. And experience over time will make things easier for you. Same with raids.

First time in raids, things are slowly. I kept asking what to do etc. After a few more runs, you are not even afraid to jump into the middle of a boss fight.

And yeah, if you are not familiar with the dungeon and the raid don't be afraid to ask anybody in your party on what to do.

[TifaValentine]

Yep, I've been doing dungeons in party and I am quite certain of what I'm supposed to do in them. It's been only normal dungeons so far. I said I neglected some, but it's been mainly biolabs and hell of deadly poison, and because I couldn't get my guildies to do it with me (darn timezones). I didn't dare to join random parties tho; wasn't sure if I was ready for it, and it'd bother me if i were to be kicked out of them without a single reason as to why D:

Nonetheless, your advice and kind words are pretty encouraging, Van ^^ I will do my best~

[Audn]

Yep, I've been doing dungeons in party and I am quite certain of what I'm supposed to do in them. It's been only normal dungeons so far. I said I neglected some, but it's been mainly biolabs and hell of deadly poison, and because I couldn't get my guildies to do it with me (darn timezones). I didn't dare to join random parties tho; wasn't sure if I was ready for it, and it'd bother me if i were to be kicked out of them without a single reason as to why D:

Nonetheless, your advice and kind words are pretty encouraging, Van ^^ I will do my best~

Don't be too scared, messing up is a part of learning. And what if strangers don't see you fit? The important thing is that you learn, even if you end up wiping and/or being kicked, that was the way I learned to tank when I started playing back in May. I'm nothing close to being the perfect tank. However... it is important that you dare face bosses and learn their mechanics, because poor tanky execution means people will die...

 

It's okay to die with a first-timer or a second-timer... but I assure you your partners won't die when you get enough experience (unless they're unconscious of the party limitations and get rambo-ish).

[Erodoeth]

Lot of people think tanking is just having high HP. Well, they are wrong. You also need high defense and to maintain the threat.

 

With a STR/VIT build, high dps classes will out-threat you (so you will have to spam pots, which from my point of view is a waste).

 

I really think STR and VIT stats are useless for Knights; you don't get A LOT of extra damage nor a decent amount of HP. Your equips will give you the STR/VIT you need.

 

Battle tatics is a MUST if you going to tank as a Knight, plus using the 40 40 8 build (AGI/INT/VIT) Get all the INT accesories and the TANK armor gear. You will do just fine.

 

For runes... well that's up to you. You can either get AGI/INT or full VIT to get more HP.