92 replies to this topic

[Ucatolica]

My problem with this Skill is the Damage, i think is too low for the gears i'm wearing. i'm fully compromised to Attack and the damage done to mobs its around 12,000. I'm not wearing Black Ribbon (in the image i'm buffed by eden atk bonus). Also as you can see the AOE of the Skill is low too, don't hit the fabre is near... i'm level 104 and in the same level other Jobs like Rebels do much more damage with AOE, Rangers can be deal 40,000 more damage. 

Ok, "Wear Black Ribbon" i'm not because i need sp leech from +9 RWH, 12,000 plus 30% is 15,600 still low and i miss the option to gain SP.

"Use Fire converters!!" mobs from this week TI resist fire...
"Use the BB+IB Combo" That is not more combo than BB+DB or IB+DB with temporal Dex.

I really like  this skill was re think, because gravity is forcing us to make only RK's for Dragon Breath but, what about made Sword Classes funny again?

My Suggestion?
Increase IB Damage of course, made fix damage Aoe and decrease the SP consume because is a high.
 

Gears used on ths Image:
+9 FAW Wak wak Max ATTK.
Gold Scaraba FS3 RWC
FS7 Temporal STR.

FS9 Violet Fear.
 

 

[mildcontempt]

I don't think it needs a buff tbh. Eventually, it will be outclassed by DB in terms of damage and versatility, but for the first 20-30 levels it's quite fine.

 

If anything, they should just relax the pre-reqs to get the skill as currently it takes wayyy too many job levels to be able to use it to level.

 

Looking at your stats and gear, I feel like you're not very well optimized for it... and saying "current TI is resistant to fire" is not a valid reason to not use fire converters in any other area to level. Also, why not 120 str? Judging from your stats and flee value, you ought to be around base level 120. Could easily have put some of those INT and AGI points into STR, which would allow you to one-shot more monsters and thus save on SP cost and survive better. 

 

I realize you said that you want to use hp/sp leech stuff for headgear and so you are not using the black ribbon but... that is seriously a decision you are making to play suboptimally. That would be like me saying I want to use a quad malicious Jur instead of a Thanatos Katar because I want more HP regen, but then complaining about damage on my GX. It's the consequence of your choice. 

 

You could always just swap the headgear ofc. 

Edited by mildcontempt, 19 May 2016 - 06:59 AM.

[3025140119203620510]

BB+IB builds are pure trash in iRO honestly and they should be removed form iRO build page lol.

1- Too many job levels. By the time you get those job level, your DB RK will probably be more effective. Unless you just camp out low TI for days stacking jobs with huge tax. 

2- Expensive gears that become obsolete very fast once you get to 125+ level. 
3 - Very low damage output. You can have the sickest gear and your IB is probably 100-200k with huge cool down which is hardly impressive.  A well geared DB RK can spit out 200K damage three to four times a second. An average gear RK is probably 70-80k 3-4 times a second, still way more than BB+IB RK can ever could.
4 - BB, Stormblast, CS got some huge nerf few years back.


DB RK is pretty easy to level to 150. Gears are a lot cheaper as well. You're welcome in any TI party as AOE support. That pathetic 10k DB damage is annoying at first, but it goes up really fast to like 60-70k when you start getting mobs weak to Fire and Water. 

 

[Ucatolica]

BB+IB builds are pure trash in iRO honestly and they should be removed form iRO build page lol.

1- Too many job levels. By the time you get those job level, your DB RK will probably be more effective. Unless you just camp out low TI for days stacking jobs with huge tax. 

2- Expensive gears that become obsolete very fast once you get to 125+ level. 
3 - Very low damage output. You can have the sickest gear and your IB is probably 100-200k with huge cool down which is hardly impressive.  A well geared DB RK can spit out 200K damage three to four times a second. An average gear RK is probably 70-80k 3-4 times a second, still way more than BB+IB RK can ever could.
4 - BB, Stormblast, CS got some huge nerf few years back.


DB RK is pretty easy to level to 150. Gears are a lot cheaper as well. You're welcome in any TI party as AOE support. That pathetic 10k DB damage is annoying at first, but it goes up really fast to like 60-70k when you start getting mobs weak to Fire and Water. 

 

Thats my point, the gears i'm using are expensive, other job with that gears could be do a lot more damage. I have 175 RK and IB is not an option actually i deal more damage to Mora Dragon with DB, even if i'm using Aspersio and full ATK gears.

[3025140119203620510]

That's why I think they should remove BB+IB out of the wiki page or mark it as outdated. It's misleading new players to a horrible and expensive build. If you could spam bowling bash during IB cooldown, then it would still be pretty ok. Right now you could probably use 2x meg w/ +14 weapon w/ 2x Randgris and BB+IB DPS will still be suck comparing to Tao RK. The only downside of DB RK is it's slave dependent, but RK is mostly a party character anyways. If you want to physical melee soloist, GX is much much better for that.

I think the range skills are getting too much love in RO especially those expert Archer enchant and Kingbird. It's better just to accept that as fact than workaround it  to be hoenst.

[spikexp]

idk how to put it errrr. if you don't like it, leave it. I personally love IB as is, I have fun leveling with it rather than using cookie cutter DB build.

I wouldn't say that you're doing it wrong, but your stats aren't gonna help you and you need to work around your gears. also you are a RUNE knight, use them :v mildcontempt has given a pointer about how you can improve your RK. in the end, if it's too hard for you then I think it's not the build for you.

P.S: if you have a 175 RK vs mora dragon, use crush strike, why limit yourself to IB? USE RUNES. or asir and auto attack.

[yamasakai90]

I got a 175 DB RK and this is my fun char IB/Crit Baby Rune (she's 108) 

 

My Gears

 

Violet Fear FS5

Luk Boots BP/FS7

The rest are just normal eq, not slotted and such.

 

 

 

Image on the left is with fire converters and image on the right is without. I only use Eden buff for this. As you can see my stats are weaker in terms of str since this is mostly a crit based RK. But wearing that black ribbon and fire converters does make a difference.

 

1. Alternative for SP Leeching - at lvl 120 you get access to the Thanatos Weapon Series which gives SP leech, also Incubus pet at any lvl. A +9 Vana is definitely better for SP leech than a +9 RWH.

 

2. This week TI is fire element. Okay, just don't endow it with fire then, endow it with water instead. Its like when I face water monsters on a DB RK and i have to use a Fire DB on it cause I can't use water. You have the option to make it neutral.

 

3. I have a friend who's a 175 Physical RK and yeah DB probably does more dmg than him. But then, his RK is more fun to play. IB+Sonic Wave+Crushing Strike and auto attack crits with frenzy. And really, he can hit Valk, I can't  

 

100% dmg at 11x11 is still decent. Its just that you have to be in the middle of it. Its the same with RC and Axe Tornado. But yeah, swordsman class smack in the middle of monsters, just how I like it. Its different than my DB RK that I have to run and kite since lower hp = lower dmg.

 

Anyway 55sp (IB) vs 75sp (DB), yeah I get it. You run out of sp really quick. You can't get around this except more sp leech and sp items.

 

But cons of playing a physical RK, definitely.

 

1. Too much job lvl to get IB

2. Lower dmg compare to DB RK, but hey. Its more fun to watch crits coming out from autoattacks and using multiple skills than spamming a single button like DB or AS. 

 

Sadly, Fun does not means it has to be OP.    OP is just too cookie cutter build. 

Edited by yamasakai90, 21 May 2016 - 09:27 PM.

[Talvis]

Welcome to RO where everyone where everyone celebrates the fact that you can build your chara however you want unlike other mmos, but fail to tell you that unless you use one or two common builds you'll be a nuub.

 

 

[hotel]

BB+IB builds are pure trash in iRO honestly and they should be removed form iRO build page lol.

1- Too many job levels. By the time you get those job level, your DB RK will probably be more effective. Unless you just camp out low TI for days stacking jobs with huge tax. 

2- Expensive gears that become obsolete very fast once you get to 125+ level. 
3 - Very low damage output. You can have the sickest gear and your IB is probably 100-200k with huge cool down which is hardly impressive.  A well geared DB RK can spit out 200K damage three to four times a second. An average gear RK is probably 70-80k 3-4 times a second, still way more than BB+IB RK can ever could.
4 - BB, Stormblast, CS got some huge nerf few years back.


DB RK is pretty easy to level to 150. Gears are a lot cheaper as well. You're welcome in any TI party as AOE support. That pathetic 10k DB damage is annoying at first, but it goes up really fast to like 60-70k when you start getting mobs weak to Fire and Water. 

 

 

BB+IB is trash? Dafuq are you on lol. IB is way better early to mid and only gets outclassed by DB in end game, and the difference isn't nearly as huge as you make it out to be.

 

Also your dps calculations are way off. An average geared DB RK will do around 60-70k per DB without elemental weakness every 1-1.5 seconds, an average geared IB RK will be doing 30-40k per IB without elemental weakness every 2~ seconds. Difference is the IB RK can use BB and Wind Cutter in the downtime between IB casts to bump up DPS while the DB RK can't do anything during global delay. 

 

Plus, while DB RKs can only DB to kill stuff IB RKs have way more versatility in terms of both skill use and build variety. If you go aspd crit your single target dps way outclasses DB RKs and crush strike is an amazing burst skill. IB RKs also scale with zeny better up until you can afford mvp cards. 

 

They're both viable builds with clear strengths and weaknesses.

[spikexp]

suddenly this thread fits more to be in the class guide section rather than proposal/suggestion.

[3025140119203620510]

BB+IB is trash? Dafuq are you on lol. IB is way better early to mid and only gets outclassed by DB in end game, and the difference isn't nearly as huge as you make it out to be.

 

Also your dps calculations are way off. An average geared DB RK will do around 60-70k per DB without elemental weakness every 1-1.5 seconds, an average geared IB RK will be doing 30-40k per IB without elemental weakness every 2~ seconds. Difference is the IB RK can use BB and Wind Cutter in the downtime between IB casts to bump up DPS while the DB RK can't do anything during global delay. 

 

Plus, while DB RKs can only DB to kill stuff IB RKs have way more versatility in terms of both skill use and build variety. If you go aspd crit your single target dps way outclasses DB RKs and crush strike is an amazing burst skill. IB RKs also scale with zeny better up until you can afford mvp cards. 

 

They're both viable builds with clear strengths and weaknesses.

 

The fact that BB+IB gets out classed by DB 10-20 levels later makes it a horrible build in my book. There are simply no reason to drop 2B on a gear that becomes obsolete 10-20 levels later. DB and BB+IB gears are also so much different, why waste so much money on BB+IB?  There are no cheap transition out of BB+IB to DB without huge re-investments and stats reset.  Ranger can use Elven + WWS and slowly upgrade their set all the way to 175, no resets required. 

Normal DB RK spits out 60-70k about 2 times a second w/ Temporal DEX boot under a string. RK is a slave dependent class. String and Wandy are always needed. If you don't have a stringer friends, just dual client string / wandy alt+tabbing and set it to auto follow. You will outmatch any BB+IB RK by long shot even at level 100 on the cheapest gear.  If you're wearing 2x Kiel, it's like 4-5 DB a second, and with Tao you're likely doing over 100-150k per shot as well. Only down side is that it's limited to fire and water. 

But if you want the best single target DPS for your money or instance grinder in PVM, RK is not a good class for that. Crush Strike is a horrible burst damage comparing to Acid Bomb or no limit Ranger in a comparable gear for zeny cost. Also highly refined KvM gears are not transferable and very expensive. 

In PVM, BB+IB builds at its current state are simply bad for almost any newer players who value their zeny and gear investments. Sword builds used to be very good in PvM until they got gutted hard awhile back. Now they are probably more for PvP arena due to much lower HP pool of PvP opponents than MVP bosses. 

[mildcontempt]

After talking to a guildmate, I think reducing the cool down on IB would be a good start, even if only to half what it currently is.

 

I absolutely hold that you should be able to get IB before job 23 (for level 5). It's ridiculous that you have to wait on that for so long if it's to be your main leveling skill. Removing even just 10 job levels worth of pre-reqs would work, or just reducing the level you need on enchant blade, sonic wave, wind cutter, and/or death bound to 1 would work just fine too. 

 

I think the SP cost is a leftover from when RKs were envisioned to have higher INT, but with enchant blade only working for auto-attacks and as a self-targeted buff, that concept goes out the window now -- tho I don't think this bothers me greatly. 

 

I think the damage is fine, but the other stuff about IB is deserving of a tweak. The ridiculous damage of DB RKs is more of a consequence of all the ranged damage mods than the skill itself, where-as IB seems to be hamstringed on its own. 

 

edit: typos

 

Edited by mildcontempt, 23 May 2016 - 04:51 AM.

[hotel]

The fact that BB+IB gets out classed by DB 10-20 levels later makes it a horrible build in my book. There are simply no reason to drop 2B on a gear that becomes obsolete 10-20 levels later. DB and BB+IB gears are also so much different, why waste so much money on BB+IB?  There are no cheap transition out of BB+IB to DB without huge re-investments and stats reset.  Ranger can use Elven + WWS and slowly upgrade their set all the way to 175, no resets required. 

Normal DB RK spits out 60-70k about 2 times a second w/ Temporal DEX boot under a string. RK is a slave dependent class. String and Wandy are always needed. If you don't have a stringer friends, just dual client string / wandy alt+tabbing and set it to auto follow. You will outmatch any BB+IB RK by long shot even at level 100 on the cheapest gear.  If you're wearing 2x Kiel, it's like 4-5 DB a second, and with Tao you're likely doing over 100-150k per shot as well. Only down side is that it's limited to fire and water. 

But if you want the best single target DPS for your money or instance grinder in PVM, RK is not a good class for that. Crush Strike is a horrible burst damage comparing to Acid Bomb or no limit Ranger in a comparable gear for zeny cost. Also highly refined KvM gears are not transferable and very expensive. 

In PVM, BB+IB builds at its current state are simply bad for almost any newer players who value their zeny and gear investments. Sword builds used to be very good in PvM until they got gutted hard awhile back. Now they are probably more for PvP arena due to much lower HP pool of PvP opponents than MVP bosses. 

 

DB RK is better in a party full of support classes dedicated to improving DB dps? Clearly, yes. But it's pretty silly to judge class balance based on how many other classes you'd have to alt to enable said class/build. 

 

An attack based RK with the right support/buffs/party can easily crush strike for several millions of damage and one shot pretty much anything in the game. This obviously doesn't also mean crush strike is the best burst skill in the game, right?

 

Point is, we're discussing the builds in isolation because very few people have a stringer/wandy/whatever other buff class to alt constantly for maximum performance. Nor should Tao/Kiels come into play either because even fewer people have access to those.

 

Both Acid Bomb and No Limits are absolutely top tier damage output skills so just because another skill falls short of them doesn't mean it's bad. Are you saying that unless a skill can match AB in dps or NL in burst it's worthless? Guess 90% of the skills in game are completely useless then and we should all re-roll to gene/ranger.

 

IB does suffer somewhat in PVM but that's only because it's worse than DB in parties. In terms of solo PVM, neither build holds a distinct advantage over the other without significant investment. There are some instances/MVPs a physical build does better and some a DB build does better with the same zeny invested.

[3025140119203620510]

 

Both Acid Bomb and No Limits are absolutely top tier damage output skills so just because another skill falls short of them doesn't mean it's bad. Are you saying that unless a skill can match AB in dps or NL in burst it's worthless? Guess 90% of the skills in game are completely useless then and we should all re-roll to gene/ranger.

 

 

You just answered the question. It's bad if you invest so much into particular build for a specific purpose (burst damage) but it just falls really short from any other classes that can do twice as good for half the cost. That's a definition of fail build to me It's pretty obvious why people don't recruit BB+IB RK in their bio4 party, people will probably pick RC GX before BB+IB RK for AOE in TI party to be honest, because BB+IB RK has really no place in the party or in this game. It is sadly gotten short end of the stick. You also mention that everybody shuld move over to Gene or Ranger, and I said that they are already did. There are millions of Rangers in the server for a reason and hardly any BB+IB RK existed.

Relative to other class, physical RK is a bad AOE, bad damage dealer, bad tanker, and just bad in every way.  The 9 million crush strike is next to impossible to attain due to how many impractical debuffs and buffs you have cast during combat.  Physical RK is really just for fun build at this point, unless they get some decent buff or gears in the newer episode that can match other classes. 

Decent / Average DB RK gears are also a lot cheaper than BB+IB / Physical RK and you will have no problem spitting out 40-50k damage. 
+9 Carat Turkey  160m
Blush Fatasm 100m
Octopus Balloon 30m
Peco Peco Meteo Plate 20m
Mace[4] x 4 Archer Skeleton 30m 
Low Level Dex Boot 10m
+4 Raydric Nidhogger  21m
Ur Seal +150SP x 2  20-30m 
 

[Ashuckel]

Yoo

[cory]

my posts.....

 

Anyways, Ignition break fine.  I've tried IB/Sonic wave 5 or Hundred spear.  The build has its purpose and honestly fares better in low-mid end PVM/MVP than DB if you don't have an elemental advantage on the target.  I'm trying to reach the highest Sonic Wave 5 damage because I think it can out-class hundred spears lmao.  

 

It's really comparing apples to pomegranates, each has it's own purpose as hotel stated.

[RaveMaster]

so much salt in this thread 

[VModCinnamon]

Please be constructive. Posting "so much salt"/"salty" is not far from spam, really now.

[Ashuckel]

Continuous rants ignoring others posts and opinions is no far from spam too.

[hotel]

You just answered the question. It's bad if you invest so much into particular build for a specific purpose (burst damage) but it just falls really short from any other classes that can do twice as good for half the cost. That's a definition of fail build to me It's pretty obvious why people don't recruit BB+IB RK in their bio4 party, people will probably pick RC GX before BB+IB RK for AOE in TI party to be honest, because BB+IB RK has really no place in the party or in this game. It is sadly gotten short end of the stick. You also mention that everybody shuld move over to Gene or Ranger, and I said that they are already did. There are millions of Rangers in the server for a reason and hardly any BB+IB RK existed.

Relative to other class, physical RK is a bad AOE, bad damage dealer, bad tanker, and just bad in every way.  The 9 million crush strike is next to impossible to attain due to how many impractical debuffs and buffs you have cast during combat.  Physical RK is really just for fun build at this point, unless they get some decent buff or gears in the newer episode that can match other classes. 

Decent / Average DB RK gears are also a lot cheaper than BB+IB / Physical RK and you will have no problem spitting out 40-50k damage. 
+9 Carat Turkey  160m
Blush Fatasm 100m
Octopus Balloon 30m
Peco Peco Meteo Plate 20m
Mace[4] x 4 Archer Skeleton 30m 
Low Level Dex Boot 10m
+4 Raydric Nidhogger  21m
Ur Seal +150SP x 2  20-30m 
 

 

I wasn't talking about any other class. I was only talking about two - Ranger and Genetic. So you're saying the definition of a fail build is a build that can't meet Ranger burst or Genetic dps with the same investment? That 10 out of 12 classes aren't worth playing at all?

 

See, there's always going to be a tier list, a power ranking, a class hierarchy in every single game ever but just because a certain class or build isn't at the top doesn't mean it's not worth playing at all.

 

Gens and Rangers are strong, sure - but that doesn't mean every single other class/build simply falls flat on its face when attempting the same content. It also doesn't mean they don't have their weaknesses - niche as they may be - which other classes/builds can take advantage of and worm their way into the meta. Then you have to consider playstyle and fun factor - if you think a build is weak maybe you're not playing it correctly. And maybe not everyone's playstyle is suited to optimizing ranger/gen performance and they do a lot better on an objectively speaking worse class.

 

Going back to the DB RK vs IB RK argument, there's something that should be made clear. In a party context, yes, DB RKs are almost always better and contribute far more to the party than an IB RK. From a solo standpoint with a mid tier budget it's a lot less clear cut.

 

AoE: I've already discussed DB vs IB, along with the fact that IB RKs have the option of chaining other skills (BB, Wind Cutter) in between IBs to supplement dps. DB has the advantage of being ranged, but dps wise it doesn't win by a huge margin (it flat out loses on Shadow/Holy mobs).

 

Damage: Assuming you're talking about single target damage here since you've already mentioned AoE separately. Don't even see how this is a talking point since an IB RK with an aspd crit frenzy build deals a -_-ton more single target dps than a DB RK ever could. If we're talking cheap - with a budget of around 600m I was still hitting 80k Turisus crits in frenzy at 191 aspd. You can also use converters for an advantage against a much wider variety of elemental monsters.

 

Tank: Tanking as an RK is a matter of gear and the use of Runes (and maybe Parry). There's virtually no difference between IB and DB RKs on this point since they learn the same skills and can use the same gear.

 

With a super cheap budget at 175, yeah DB is better than IB purely because the skill itself is pretty broken. But with an average end game PVM budget (which is more realistic, since you have no business playing RK at all if you're dirt poor) there's no clear winner. Like I've said both are good in different situations.

 

The impression I get from your posts is that you've never played a physical RK in endgame PVM before. If this is true, please say so before you go and make sweeping statements like "they're just bad in every way".

[Necrohealiac]

^this guy gets it

[3025140119203620510]

I play physical RK and I quit when I realized that my Gene, Ranger, and GX outperformed it by a looong shot on much less expensive gears on the damage department and my  Sura outperform RK in the tanking department by far. Physical RK is very versatile, I admit since it's not restricted to particular element. But there's nothing that Physical RK can do that other classes cannot perform it better. If DB RK can't do the job, I just switch to other class that can do that job better. I would consider Physical RK very viable if their top tier gears and stats are transferable between DB. 

My simple definition of a failed build:
  - There are better class / build that much cost less but perform a lot more effective in any area. 
 

I wish Physical RK would be a lot stronger on cheaper gears , because it is an obvious choice for many new comers to play physical RK. Then they realize how much it's going to cost to be just as amazing as other classes. For many non expert RPGer, that would be a fail build right there. Saying that the class is only viable to the richest player is kind of my point also. 
 

You're obviously a veteran who understands the mechanic very well. Physical RK is not easy to play as it requires a lot of understanding, rune maintenance, and many good gears. But with all the skill it requires, it come out a bit short comparing to other classes. Shouldn't the game reward better gear and better player? Physical RK should have been a power abuser to a god like player. Unfortunately, it would be lucky if it can outperform other classes. 

Edited by 3025140119203620510, 24 May 2016 - 05:49 AM.

[hotel]

A physical RK is a sub optimal build, yeah. It's pretty average across the board but it's definitely not a fail build. Calling it a fail build implies to me you don't think its capable of achieving anything, which is entirely untrue. You won't finish as fast as a Gen/GX/Ranger but a physical RK is still incredibly able to clear most of the PVM content in the game solo. And you don't need to be the richest player to do that, either.

 

It's a bad build for new players, I wholeheartedly agree. It's worse than DB for leveling, it's deadweight in parties, and the build doesn't shine until you hit higher levels as well as a higher budget for better gear. But that doesn't mean it's a bad build full stop.

 

It's not a beginner friendly build, but it's also not exclusive to veterans either (unlike something like a dd crit gx). You do need a fair bit of investment but it's nothing ridiculous in the tens of billions of zeny. Knowledge and understanding is something that can be gained easily even if you don't already have it from playing the game for a period of time. That's what the guide/these forums are for.

 

Point is, when we're comparing two solo builds for the same class with the same average PVM budget - DB vs physical - there's really no clear winner. At lower budgets, DB does more damage and is more effective. But you'll see that the more zeny you throw in the more the gap closes, and DB doesn't win out again until you hit MVP card tiers.

 

A GX obviously wins out versus a physical RK with the same budget, but that's because they're the same type of build. DB RKs and physical RKs, however, are different types of builds, so they're much harder to compare since neither has a clear advantage over the other.

[Darksorrow1234]

wait for the old rune circlet[1] plus True Seyren Card and IB will be great again!   

Edited by Darksorrow1234, 24 May 2016 - 09:42 PM.

[3025140119203620510]

A physical RK is a sub optimal build, yeah. It's pretty average across the board but it's definitely not a fail build. Calling it a fail build implies to me you don't think its capable of achieving anything, which is entirely untrue. You won't finish as fast as a Gen/GX/Ranger but a physical RK is still incredibly able to clear most of the PVM content in the game solo. And you don't need to be the richest player to do that, either.

 

It's a bad build for new players, I wholeheartedly agree. It's worse than DB for leveling, it's deadweight in parties, and the build doesn't shine until you hit higher levels as well as a higher budget for better gear. But that doesn't mean it's a bad build full stop.

 

It's not a beginner friendly build, but it's also not exclusive to veterans either (unlike something like a dd crit gx). You do need a fair bit of investment but it's nothing ridiculous in the tens of billions of zeny. Knowledge and understanding is something that can be gained easily even if you don't already have it from playing the game for a period of time. That's what the guide/these forums are for.

 

Point is, when we're comparing two solo builds for the same class with the same average PVM budget - DB vs physical - there's really no clear winner. At lower budgets, DB does more damage and is more effective. But you'll see that the more zeny you throw in the more the gap closes, and DB doesn't win out again until you hit MVP card tiers.

 

A GX obviously wins out versus a physical RK with the same budget, but that's because they're the same type of build. DB RKs and physical RKs, however, are different types of builds, so they're much harder to compare since neither has a clear advantage over the other.

 

Let's just agree to disagree. Our points are pretty much the same. It's really just come down to different interpretation of a "fail build" and comparison between build performance against another, which is subjective in nature. 

Meanwhile, I will personally stay clear of Physical RK, at least until they get the kRO gears and the iRO exclusive nerfs and delays are removed. The OP issue with under-performing IB damage is not uncommon at all, and it may be wiser to spend extra resources switching to DB instead of dumping more into sub optimal physical build.