This guide is for any future Guillotine Cross/Shadow Cross mains on a budget or is a light spender. The main goal of this guide is to give a breakdown of the mandatory gears for each build as well prices for each of said gears. THIS IS NOT A HOW TO EARN ZENY GUIDE. PLEASE REFER TO CAPTAIN SUNBEAR'S CONTENT OR IRO WIKI FOR HOW TO EARN ZENY. THE MAIN PURPOSE OF THIS GUIDE IS TO GIVE A ZENY BREAKDOWN/ESTIMATE OF MANDATORY GEARS FOR THE 2 BUILDS LISTED. I will try and include high end/best in slot gears to my knowledge if able, however I do not have the funds/means to conduct high end/best in slot gears dmg tests. I just know that it is more than enough to reach lvl 200+ and clear most of the content in the game.
Before I start, I would like to thank Fish, Fufu, Samza, Vin, Gon, Sho, MadToucher(Arecovery/Mad), Jay, Kartographer Prime(Leandro), Sanggoro, Lord Xeres(He is a Forgetful God as am I), Randy, Saber, Bean, Vividort, Amber, Meow, Turnip, Night, Lach, Shoguna, Yongky, Himari, Captain Sunbear, Wizzzzard, Nico Tongson(Cloudseeker), as well as everyone in Shoguna's Nameless SX Discord, everyone in Juno Citizen Discord, everyone in the Ramen Discord, everyone in Amber's iRO Leveling Community Discord, and others whom I may have missed or forgot to include. You know who you are. You guys are the best! Thank you guys for helping me along my iRO journey whether it be directly or indirectly. Your advice, content, and knowledge of the game is priceless and incredibly beneficial to all players whether they are new, returning, or veteran. Thank you guys for your ongoing contribution to the game as well as doing the maths and science for everyone. You guys are the best! Keep doing you and keep killing it!!! Also thank you to everyone who convinced/pestered/nagged me to make this guide, as well as everyone who let me borrow their gears for dmg test purposes because this would not be possible if not for that.
For a bit of background information, I really started playing iRO in November 2023. I am still a noob and my knowledge of the game is quite minimal, but I played and researched a lot about this class(GX/SX). iRO is a very punishing game; it feels like a 2.5d dark souls at times, especially when you get hit with a 5% sonic blow or ignition break, but I digress. I main GX/SX. I enjoy the class a lot; I currently have 5 GX/SX and plan to make 3 more. I would like everyone to enjoy the game to the same capacity, if not more, as I do which is another reason why I am making this guide. I know information of the game is limited, scattered, and or difficult to find, so I would like to follow the footsteps of others and help as many people as I can with the knowledge I have accumulated. I have dabbled with Rolling Cutter(RC), Cross Ripper Slasher(CRS), Meteor Assault(MA), and Cross Impact(CI) builds, and I have found that MA and CI has the best dmg output for the investment. These builds have to potential to hit lvl 200+ and clear most of the content in the game.
My philosophy is, if a class/char/gears can hit 250k per spammable kill, then they can reach lvl 175. If they can hit 1m+, then they can reach lvl 200+ as well as clear most of the content in the game(excluding "Whale" content such as Challenge OGH and Geffen Night Arena). FURTHER DAMAGE INCREASE/GAINS CAN BE CONSIDERED A LUXURY AND MAY NOT BE NEEDED. If you have the funds/means/resources, then by all means go for it. At the end of the day, it is a game, and the reason people play games is to have fun and enjoy themselves so HAVE FUN!
The builds covered today are Meteor Assault(MA) and Cross Impact(CI).
Credentials:
Build 1.) Meteor Assault(MA). This is one of the only usable area of effect(AOE) skills that guillotine cross has outside of rolling cutter(RC). This scales with weapon attack, STR, and base level. The wiki says 5x5, which is a 2 CELLS AROUND THE USER. The skill has a fixed cast time(FCT) of 0.25 sec and a variable cast time(VCT) of 0.25 sec. The skill is unaffected by Enchant Deadly Poison so you can save money on poison bottles, however most people, myself included, swap to cross impact build once we cannot 2 shot with MA(depends heavily on gears/funds). Please see iro wiki for more detailed information on Meteor Assault(MA): https://irowiki.org/.../Meteor_Assault YOUR MIDDLE HEADGEAR HEAVILY AFFECTS YOUR STAT SPREAD AND GEAR OPTIONS.
Mandatory Items: Enforcer Shoes (Don’t even try this build without these shoes; it just doesn’t work), MCT garment, +13 Ruff Officer Hat, or +13 General Helm for -0.3 sec FCT reduction/instant cast meteor assault, OR a source of uninterruptable casting such as a Phen Card, Orleans Gown, Love Piece, and so on. INSTANT CAST OR UNINTERRUPTABLE CASTING IS REQUIRED FOR THIS BUILD FOR THE SAKE OF RATES OR QUALITY OF LIFE.
Optional Items: Ghost Whisper (If you’re rich; Requires MCT garment for instant cast OR a source of uninterruptable cast, but has dmg potential to hit lvl 200+ as well as clear most of the content in the game if at +11/+12), Leech gears such as Evil Dragon Armor, Tengu Scroll, Solar Sword, Thanatos Katar, and so on for sustain/survivability as well as saving zeny on potions. +10 Phreeoni Wings are optional if you lack Dex/hit or mandatory if you are using Seraphim Coronet (INT Build), Ear of Spirit (VIT Build), or Lucky Garden (LUK Build) for middle headgear.
I may be missing items in each section, but this is what I can remember off of the top of my head. If I am missing some items or gears, please let me know so that I may include it.
Hat: +13 Ruff Officer Hat, +13 General Helm, +11/+12 Ghost Whisper, Old Bone Circlet with Mettle enchant (in my personal opinion pretty wasteful, but if you randomly roll it, it’s worth keeping), Catherina Von Blood(CVB), or whatever you have. Headgear is quite flexible.
Middle Headgear: Seraphim Coronet(INT Build), Ear of Spirit(VIT Build), Little Garden(LUK Build), Heavenly Order(Mixed Stat Build), Mob Scarf/Sunglass Combo, or whatever you have. Middle headgear heavily determines the stat spread and gears of your MA build. Ex: if you are using Sera Coronet, Ear of Spirit, or Little Garden, you must wear Phreeoni Wings for hit. Otherwise you will miss your MA on the enemy. In terms of highest dmg output/potential for middle headgears for MA, it goes Ear of Spirit, Seraphim Coronet, Little Garden. I have not tested the dmg with heavenly order or mob scarf combo.
Lower: Love Piece(Uninterruptable Cast), Tengu Scroll(Leech), Mob Scarf/Sunglass Combo, or whatever you have. Lower Headgear is quite flexible.
Body: Death Bringer (if rich), Evil Dragon Armor (hp/sp leech), +11 Illusion/Automatic Armor with attack enchants (attacker enforcer if rich), Drake Coat (Mainly for Double Dagger builds for Size Nullification; could be considered luxury item), or whatever you have. Body is quite flexible as well.
Weapons: Any high damage and high refined weapon will work. Thanatos Katar for leech or any high dmg/refined katar works. Katars have a faster aspd, cast, and animation compared to double dagger. If double dagger, any high dmg/refined dagger/sword works. Off hand should be Solar Sword for leech/sustain, or whatever weapon(s) you have. Weapons are quite flexible, but it is recommended you get the leech weapons since they are the cheapest of all of the items.
Garment: +10 Phreeoni Wings if lacking DEX/hit, +9 Fallen Angel Wings with fighting spirit enchants for dmg, Avareco(Great garment option if also transitioning to CI), or whatever you have. If DEX/hit is not an issue, the noblesse/imperial/grace set works as well.
Shoes: Enforcer Shoes. You literally cannot get to end game with this build without these shoes. 1000% MANDATORY! The skills required are also mandatory. Level 10 Poison React for 300% dmg and lvl 5 weapon block, weapon crash, and counter slash for -100% variable cast time(VCT) of MA. There are no other alternative shoes.
Accessories: Anything with attack, Phen card if needed, or whatever you have. The accessories are quite flexible as well. Try and look for accessories with ATK to boost MA dmg.
DISCLAIMER: IRO IS A LIVE SERVICE GAME WITH A LIVING ECONOMY SO PRICES FLUCTUATE FROM TIME TO TIME. THESE PRICES ARE TAKEN AT THE MAKING OF THIS GUIDE SO PRICES MAY NOT CORRESPOND TO THE CURRENT PRICE WHEN YOU READ THIS GUIDE OR SEARCH THESE ITEMS. The server also closed for maintenance recently so there aren’t a plethora of vendors present which may also influence prices, but I digress; onto the maths.
(0~+7) Enforcer Shoes (MANDATORY) – 500M~1B
+10 Phreeoni Wing (If lacking hit/dex) – 180M~350M
Tengu Scroll (Leech) – 100~150m
Evil Dragon Armor (EDA)(+10 for full leech effect) – 50m~160m
Thanatos Katar (Leech) – 40~400m depending on refine/enchants. FARMABLE IF YOU DO THE GHOST PALACE INSTANCE DAILY. ~25 SHARDS PER RUN SO ABOUT 10 DAYS TO GET THE ITEM. Less if you do the Captain Sunbear strategy and steal before killing.
Solar Sword – You should pay no more than 1m for this. If anything, ask someone in your guild or a random stranger, I’m sure people have a bunch of them sitting in storage. If you can enchant at malangdo, aim for fighting spirit enchant to boost MA dmg.
Little Garden(LG) – 900m~1b LUK build, good if transitioning to CI build after
Ear of Spirit(EoS) – 45m~70m VIT Build, great dmg and great survivability
Seraphim Coronet(SeraCoro/Sera/Coro) – 500m~700m, great dmg and saves zeny on blue syrups/sp potions because of high int investment
Mob Scarf – 150m~300m
Sunglasses – Unslotted can be bought from an npc in paramarket for ~50k(Need to double check price for accuracy). Slotted Versions cost around 25m~100m
+13 or higher Ruff Officer Hat – 350m~ 600m
+13 or higher General Helm – 400m~950m
+11 or higher Ghost Whisper – 2b+
Heavenly Order – 20m~40m
Love Piece – 100m~140m
Ring of Silver Claw - 100~150m
Old Bone Circlet(OBC) (MUST BE LVL 170 TO WEAR/CAN BE CRAFTED AT BASE LVL 100+ ACCORDING TO WIKI),(For more detailed information regarding biolab 5 headgears, please refer to the wiki: https://irowiki.org/...Headgear_Quests), (regardless of enchant or refine) -
Cost Breakdown for Old Bone Circlet(Just to craft) (MUST BE LVL 170 TO WEAR; I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH): 2m for safe passage; this being a requirement for choosing a guaranteed special enchant according to the wiki, 270k~ 450k per Energy Fragment, 800k~5m for Costume Bone Circlet, and 50~400k per Soul of Thief. If doing the gamble/risky/cheapest way possible, the total price at lowest current market value at making of this guide is about: 5.4m(20 Energy Frag @ 270k ea) + 50k(Soul) + Costume Bone Circlet(800k) = 6.25m excluding the price of safe/unsafe entry price WITH NO ENCHANTS(Please see biolab headgear link for more details).
If you choose the safe entry and safe crafting method without enchants, then the total price at lowest current market value is: 2m for safe entry + 27m(100 Energy Frag @ 270k ea) + 250k(5 Souls @ 50k ea) + Costume(800k) = 30.05m
THE TOTAL COST OF GUARANTEED LEVEL 5 SPECIAL ENCHANTS (INCLUDING SAFE PASSAGE AND SAFE CRAFTING COST) AND FIRST 2 ENCHANTS IS: 30.05m(For safe entry and safe crafting method) + 35.5m(For Guaranteed selectable lvl 5 special enchant) + 136.4m(1100 Cursed Fragments @ 124k ea for Guaranteed lvl 5 Special Enchant) + 2.48m(20 Cursed Fragments @ 124k ea for the first 2 enchants; please see biolab headgears wiki link for more detailed info) = 204.5m zeny +/- 1m per reset cost BEFORE SELECTING SPECIAL ENCHANT OPTION(I.E. IF YOU ARE NOT SATISFIED WITH THE 2 STAT ENCHANTS)(Sentimental Fragment @ 10~13k ea; 10 needed to reset item).
Damage Maths:
Credit and props to Arecovery/Mad for doing the science
Stat Spread for Ear of Spirit Build
Phreeoni Wings Are Mandatory For This. Otherwise you lack the proper hit/dex to hit enemies.
Aim for 99 str and 99 vit before job changing to gx or stat reset after job change quest (Killing is required for the GX Job change quest. For more information, please refer to the wiki for more detailed information. https://irowiki.org/...ob_Change_Guide ). Then aim for 120 str, then 120 vit, then 125 str, and 125 vit in that order. You may change these stat allocations as you see fit; ex: if you would like faster aspd, add more agi; if you want to transition to CI build, add more Luk.
SEE ABOVE FOR DMG EXAMPLES WITH EAR OF SPIRIT
Stat Spread for Little Garden
For Little Garden, same thing; Phreeoni Wings Are Mandatory For This Build otherwise you lack the proper hit/dex to hit enemies. Aim for 99 str first and 90 luk for the first Little Garden buff, and however much vit needed for survivability. Then aim for 120 str for MA dmg, then try and aim for 125 luk for the last boost of Little Garden. Add other stats if needed such as more vit for better survivability, int for more sp, or agi for more aspd/ less after cast delay.
SEE ABOVE FOR DMG EXAMPLES WITH Little Garden MA Build
"INSERT SERA CORO DMG TEST/STAT SPREAD/BUILD HERE" (I ran out of funds/resources/gfss to reset my toons to do appropriate dmg tests for these at the moment. Updates will come shortly, I promise!)
"INSERT HEAVENLY ORDER DMG TEST/STAT SPREAD/BUILD HERE"
"INSERT MOB SCARF COMBO DMG TEST/STAT SPREAD/BUILD HERE"
*Disclaimer* A lot of the above tests are done with/without active 20th anniversary equip buffs such as the stat and attack boost. 255k~375k depending on weapon choice at lvl 147 with Ear of Spirit. 1.6m at higher levels. The last picture is to demonstrate that MA scales with base level; the character does not have the stat spread to fully benefit from Ear of Spirit, but it has the dmg potential to reach lvl 200+ and has the capability/potential to clear most of the content in the game granted you fill out the empty gear slots. Total cost for my above gears: ~1b if you purchased all of the gears at the current lowest market value. ~2b if you bought all of the gears at the highest market value. Cost Breakdown: +13 Ruff Officer Hat/General Helm(250~600m), Ear of Spirit(30~70m), +0/7 Enforcer Shoes(500m~1b), +10 Phreeoni Wing(180~350m), +7 crimson dagger/sabre/katar(1~5m? depending on element(Just farm one or ask someone. +7 safe weapon certs are about 1m)), and +7 Solar Sword(1~5m? ask as well).
TL;DR: It costs about 1~2b to get the above gears to get to level 200.
Build 2.) Cross Impact(CI). This is a single target instant cast skill with a range of 7 cells and a cast delay of 0.5 seconds and a cooldown of 0.35 seconds at max level(5). This skill scales with half of total base crit and base level. Crits and other skills that scale with crit bypass flee check so dex/hit is not mandatory/necessary. When using a katar, your current crit rate is doubled, not shown in stat window. When using dual wielding or using double daggers, it is recommended to get a visual crit rate of 220~243 (Varies depending on opposing monster's luk value). Please see iro wiki for more detailed information about the skill: https://irowiki.org/wiki/Cross_Impact
Mandatory Items: Poison Bottles(Either buy them(90~120k each) or farm and craft them(if farming/crafting poison bottles, I suggest you invest in a Red Lantern to save time on farming Karvodialnirol(main ingredient for poison bottles))). Captain Sunbear calls these steroids, and he is not lying. They greatly boost your dmg output for a short time. Enchant Deadly Poison has a vanilla duration of 2 minutes, but can be extended to a 5 minute duration if you max out the New Poison Research skill in the Guillotine Cross skill tree.
2 Ring of Silver Claw IF DUAL WIELDING OR USING DOUBLE DAGGER. ACCORDING TO HIGH LEVEL/END GAME GX/SX MAINS, IT IS RECOMMENDED TO REACH A VISUAL CRIT VALUE OF 220~243+(HEAVILY DEPENDS ON OPPOSING ENEMIES LUK VALUE) FOR DUAL WIELD/DUAL DAGGER TO REACH EQUAL OR GREATER DMG THAN KATAR FOR CI
Optional Items: Leech Gears(These could be considered mandatory since CI is a single target skill, and any group of enemies 4 or higher could easily be a death sentence if careless, but I digress; please see above for leech gear options). Leech gears are optional, and could also be considered a luxury, but it is very beneficial in most instances; also if you have the means/funds, why wouldn't you want to be semi-immortal?
I will update/revise/add onto this guide.
Edited by 4786231125013925267, 26 March 2024 - 09:43 PM.
