5 replies to this topic

[FatherBob]

Ok, I need to pick the brains of those who are still really into the game, because due to life and whatnot I haven't had time to really look into this little dilemma I have.

I've got a ME HP. Yes, that HP down there in my sig. Pre-Renewal I discovered that ME was getting the extremely short end of the AOE-stick, with every Wizard spell out-damaging and out-casting it. Hell, I couldn't even get a decent leveling party into Nameless if it wasn't with my guild, and don't even think of telling me that I wasn't looking in the right places. Been there, done that, got told to [censored].

Anyways, I made this ME HP anyways, figured out my gear set, crunched all the numbers for the bonuses, and determined the best way to build him was to get a stupid level of Int and Dex (127/133 respectively, supposed to be 130/130 but the Orleans' Gown stat enchanted to the wrong +3). I ended up being able to hold my own in Nameless, namely when the crud hit the fan if I was in MS I could have the entire screen covered with MEs faster than you could say "Hey look a demon!" Also, being able to throw near instant buffs of any sort outside of Strings was quite useful.

Post-Renewal the first thing I noticed was that my cast time took a significant hit (even with the regular buffs), and ME got hosed with the base cast time. The skill is pretty much getting neglected by the dev team (unless something changed in the last 6 months to make it wicked awesome), and I'm left wondering why I should even play a ME HP at all? The damage is weak compared to a Wizard, and the cast time is like watching paint dry. If something takes that long to cast it needs to do epic levels of damage, not this piddly crap that can be smoked by your typical 80-something Wizard. Can anyone out there bestow upon me a good reason or two as to why being a ME Priest / High Priest is even worth it in RO? I hate playing the dime-a-dozen builds if I don't have to, but at this point in time the game seems to be telling me to go screw myself wasting time on this build, unless, as I said before, something has drastically changed in the last 6 months.

[Charon]

Well the fixed cast portion has recently been adjusted on iRO from 3s to 1s (which should really be done to the wiz skills too), and the delay was shortened.
But otherwise, yea it's much lower damage than pre-renewal, due to matk formula being tough and mdef being too strong...
What weapon are you using?

[Ularis]

They have modified the fixed and after-cast delay. ME is useable and further improvements on the skill have not stopped. ME users still propose increased damage. It does kill just not as fast as Warlocks AoEs.

Nameless is always good with a party but I find Nifflehiem more appealing for trans.

[FatherBob]

I'm using a Divine Cross / Spiritual Ring combo with a +7 CoD (I did a TON of research into what gear was best for my playing style, DC/SR won out). Since I haven't reset with Renewal, I'm still using the classic 99 Int/Dex build (127/133 total respectively with Bless 10). I'm dropping Dark Priests in 1 or 2 waves (seeing anywhere from 8k~13k per wave). It would be nice if ME wasn't limited to the 50 hits (get rid of the 3 second immunity) and behaved more like other AoEs (I've got no problem with it staying Demon/Undead only).

I have noticed that the cast time has gotten better, but it's still not quite near where it used to be. Damage though is something that needs to be addressed and fast. It was annoying me pre-Renewal to see HW's running around Nameless not only outcasting me in speed, but also dishing out significantly more damage.

Ularis, I do agree that Nameless is good with a party, pre-Renewal I would be going through around 3k blue gems a week down there spamming ME. As for Niff, while it is decent if you have a party and build up some large mobs, it's not all that good for solo leveling as most of the monsters down there have a relatively high MDEF and take a little longer to kill (2~3 waves in my experience). I've found GH Churchyard to be much better suited to solo mobbing/leveling as I can clean up all of the Wraiths and EDs in one wave, and DPs within two waves, and Holy Light spam everything else.

Edited by FatherBob, 12 July 2011 - 10:29 AM.

[Kagrra]

Just a little gear advice, weapon wise; I use a Holy Stick + Exorcism Bible set occasionally as well, and I'd have to stay it does do slightly less damage ( I do about 14.5k on a Ragged Zombie with a +7 Divine Cross and about 13k with a +7 Holy Stick ( also uncarded atm ) and Exorcism Bible set ), but for certain things, like cast time reasons, I really prefer my Holy Stick + Exorcism Bible set. But really, it's up to you. I sometimes enjoy the added protection from a shield when mobbing. I also use my Holy Stick with a +7 Valk shield with a Khalizburg or Teddy Bear card for mobbing up monsters and then switching to my Divine Cross mid-cast. :> I think it's a good way to mob, that's if there's no monsters really around. But, once again, your choice.

And to be honest, with 89 DEX on a 112 AB, my casting time is slightly faster than pre-renewal, with more dex, even with my phen on. It could just be my gear, or something. :/ I'm not too sure. Or maybe the VIP buffs. lol. But, I also could have gotten so used to ME's cast time before they reduced it. But, whatever it is, I find it to be pretty fast as it is. Now if it could do more damage on certain monsters, that would be nice. >>

Also, soloing Nameless is very easy once you get in range. My build has more Vit in it for mobbing and general survivability, but Nameless is great exp for me. I usually just go around with a RG tank, for added protection because I'm horrible at remembering to heal myself or pot during big mobs, and ME stuff. I'm more of a person who prefers to solo, because I like to do stuff on my own time, so I built around survivability. I also got from about 90 to 97 at Dark Priests as an HP, but once I hit 97 and went to Niff once or twice, I had really wished I leveled there. :< I think ME leveling gets easier as an AB if you get Adoramus. I'm mainly using Adoramus to deal a bit more damage while I'm waiting for ME to get closer to running out, but usually that's if I have my tank. It also helps with Necromancers as a lower level AB. >>

That's just me though, hoped that helped a little bit.

[FatherBob]

While the cast time is somewhat annoying, continued play has shown it to not be all that much of an issue. I'm coming close to knocking out a rather large portion of the variable time, but that fixed after cast delay is what's killing me. I built my ME to maximize speed and damage, finding that while survivability is good, leveling in parties is much better. Once I move onto AB I'm planning on using the time to round out the build to maximize damage as much as possible. Once again, from my experience NIff is OK in the higher 90s for a party, but soloing I was running into too many difficulties with the higher MDEF found there.