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Elsword Skill Analysis.

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Saechika
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Elsword Skill Analysis.

Post by Saechika » Sun Aug 21, 2011 8:40 am

Alright. So based on my experience with this game, having acheived 3rd job for two of my favorite characters, getting to hi- bahforgettheminordetails. Not that anyone cares.
I decided to write a review for their skills.
Jobs: Knight, Sword Knight, Lord Knight, Taker, Sword Taker, Blade Master
NEW: Sheath Knight, Weapon Taker, Over Taker, Reckless Fist

Note: I'm giving analysis on Special Actives and Actives only. Certain Passives might be added.
Note 2: Might wanna study about Knockdown counters and skill notes:
Knockdown Counter = http://elwiki.net/w/Knockdown
Skill Notes = http://elwiki.net/w/Skill_Note

^ OLD LOLZ
TOPIC REVAMPED. WHAT? LOOKING FOR THE OLD ONE? IT'S GONE NOW, LOLOLOL. EDITED ON 29/12/13.
-Clears throat-
No really, with the new Skill Tree update the old analysis is as good as dead. I might as well write this new analysis focusing on a particular build instead.
My current main(s) are
Blade Master (70), Reckless Fist (63), Infinity Sword (52), Lord Knight (50)
Noooooow I won't focus on all of them at once, but I'll do builds for those that I'm really familiar with. Particularly my Blade Master.
For Blade Master, I won't focus on PVP Builds here, because I'm not a crazy insane PVPer in game anyway. I'm going to focus on two separate builds. One build is one that I use regardless of PVE/PVP, the other is one I have not yet tried but will do so once I can buy a second skill tree (LOLZ FIFTY MILLION, GOOD LUCK WITH THAT TROLOLOL)

Do note, these builds are built according to the Korean server's, so it may differ if you're in a different server. Nevertheless, I hope you can benefit from the builds, not just copying them blindly, but to be able to see things in a different light and help you in your gameplay.
Blade Master
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Blade Master Sustain Build
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This is my main build that I use post-Skill Tree revamp, and I'm sticking with this build as my bread and butter Blade Master build. Because this new tree has me make choices that force me to abandon some skills that were crucial in my few years of playing, I make choices based on my own style. This is not influenced by anybody.
Spoiler
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I don't know about you, your friends, your superiors, or what they do, but this is built by my own personal opinions. I'll gladly discuss opinions if anyone has anything to say or suggest, but please refrain from making severe harsh critics like LOLZ THIS BUILD IS SUX.
Before we get to it, let's beg the question: Why Blade Master?
Raven is without a doubt, one of the harder characters to use out there, especially among the male characters. He's the hardest guy to use out there, Chung coming behind second. Sure he may seem easy and fun for some, but veteran players should know that Raven's fullest potential is brought out from a wise user.
Blade Master is no exception, in fact; Blade Master pushes that difficulty up. Unlike the dynamic powerhouse Reckless Fist or the infernal hazard Veteran Commander, players can notice that Blade Master's character in itself is refined and elegant. In terms of gameplay, he is no different. Reckless Fist easily piles up powerful blows while Veteran Commander burns his enemies away. Blade Master moves more fluid than them, combining style and elegance into his play.
Blade Master is always a good class for one to try out, in my opinion. He may be difficult to get used to, but he helps you learn the difficulties of combo mechanics. Of course, we'll leave the girls like Eve, Ara or Elesis out. Look at Sword Taker/Blade Master's extensions. They either involve knocking down, knocking away, or launching at the end. They require alot of getting used to.
I tell the truth, a year into playing Blade Master at Japan and I was still a fool spamming the Z button. It took time and effort, but it was worth the work.
Long story short, Blade Master is a class that requires diligence and honing of skills to utilize fully. Regardless, it doesn't stop him from being a good class. Let's move to our build!


Honestly, there's alot to explain. Let's go through all of this one by one. Here's an overall skill tree of the build.
http://brokendisc.web.fc2.com/elsword/skillsimulator/English/revamp2/st.html?700001010000000000000100002020001716000014001201011108000007070000000402
We'll talk about skill lineups.
For me, I line my skills up accordingly
100, 200, 300, Active
You can line yours according to your preference, but that's just a simple guide and layout.
According to that build, I line my skills like this
Q W E R
Berserker Blade, Flying Impact, Extreme Blade, Shadow Step
A S D C
Wolf Fang, Shockwave, Bloody Accel, One Flash

Without B slot it's a harder choice. Probably something like this
A S D C
Berserker Blade/Wolf Fang, Shockwave/Flying Impact, Bloody Accel, One Flash/Shadow Step
OR
100 MP, 200MP, Extreme Blade, Bloody Accel
Really, that's just my preference w/o B Slot. I'm just highlighting out the core skills that are needed. Granted a B Slot, I don't face dilemmas often with my Blade Master's skill lineup.
Special Actives
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Let's take a look at the Special Actives.
Our 100MPs, bread and butter (some people don't play 100s, but so far I haven't seen many Blade Masters going no 100) skills for dishing good damage and crowd control.

or
This is a dilemma I face. Wolf Fang was my bread and butter 100 MP, before I got B Slot. I use Wolf Fang as a chasing mechanic, to reach enemies far away, closing gaps, almost anything that can be used with. The initial leap provides good coverage, and immediately puts you into a dash if you miss.

Berserker Blade was always not my personal choice due to the knockdown. However, over the years the damage output is worth it, and the nasod core can also put your enemy in a non-KD state. Over time I max out my Berserker Blade for damage output. The angle is tricky and can catch almost anyone who's jumping at the right spot. I would actually max both BBlade and WFang, but my SP prevents me from doing so :C.

Let's look at something common they both share.
- 100MP (LOLDUH)
- Crowd Control
- Trick Range

Crowd Control is important when you need it, almost all skills have that. But when it comes to Elsword, delay and crowd control play a very important part and can possibly screw things up if you're not careful. Wolf Fang and Berserker Blade both possess that crowd control that you need. Wolf Fang knocks enemies away a decent range, while Berserker Blade knocks them down directly. This can really screw up enemies that are taking their time using comboz and stuffz. Nasod core from your awakening helps too. It's more prominent in Wolf Fang's case, where the core intercepts your enemy midair and leaves them open to catch. Be warned, they can also attack you from that point afterwards if you're not fast enough. Berserker Blade's harder to do so, but it isn't impossible.

Pros and Cons?
Wolf Fang
- Reach
- Refund MP upon miss
- Can be an escape mechanism
- Decent Damage

Cons
- Can be predicted at times
- Can't really hit airborne enemies well
- Can land on platforms during the downward jump, effectively screwing your attack up (although sometimes the sweep is enough to hit enemies below you)

Berserker Blade
- Damage is good (Made better with Skill Note)
- Can kill unsuspecting enemies
- Has a good reach to catch airborne enemies

Cons
- Prone to Knockdown, can be bad sometimes
- Range is shorter
- Can also be predicted at times

Wolf Fang does suit my more Relentless-Combo attack style, but because I lack damage I chose Berserker Blade.
But, which one do I max? You might wonder. You can max both if you want to. Not recommended, sure, but if you have the SP to spare, you can opt for it since in my opinion they're both good.
Alright, the important part. 200 MPs. Raven's best choice of damage is either one of these two. As a Blade Master, at least in my opinion.
and or
Let's talk about Shockwave First.
Divider, or Cutter?
Divider existed as Sword Taker's locked skill 200mp back in the day, and was his only bossing skill that helped him out alot (now we have Extreme Blade and a buffed Berserker Blade to help abit). Cutter came along, but it wasn't really preferred due to the hit counts and huge knockback. It's been buffed since then, and now rivals Divider as a good 200MP wave clearer/bossing skill. Both are very good options regardless in my opinion, but I choose Divider because I'm used to it, and because of the skill note. The lifesteal effect of the note is very good in my opinion, and as I'm running a sustain build, I really need to survive on the battle field. As my main bossing skill and field clearer, giving it a lifesteal effect just helps out more than before. Cutter's Skill Note makes it stronger than your average Divider too, so both have their pros and cons.

Flying Impact.
This was pretty much a 200mp I didn't use until I obtained the skill note. Back when Flying Impact went vertically upwards, the skill note increased the spin and hits and made it very good. But the new FI moves forward, effectively screwing up potential hits, and the skill note increases critical hit rate instead of hit count. Regardless, Flying Impact is still a good skill to use with or without the skill note, and can be more precise compared to Shockwave. Shockwave moves more static and limited, Flying Impact can move more. But their uses and situations vary.

Similarities
- Have good range
- Decent damage
- Function well even without skill note
- Can clear fields or deal good damage to bosses

Pros and Cons
Shockwave - Divider
Pros
- Diagonal range makes it hard to avoid at times
- Can hit enemies that are midair or on the ground at the correct angle
- Can clear waves at unique angles
- Skill Note makes it a good skill for a sustain build

Cons
- Diagonal range can also make it limited
- Requires timing and skill to make full use of it
- Not really a pvp skill

Shockwave - Cutter
Pros
- Horizontal Range makes it harder to avoid than Divider at times
- Can clear waves directly in front
- Skill Note allows it to outdamage Divider

Cons
- Horizontal Range is limited to certain angels too
- You either hit up or below, not both sides like Divider
- Also not a pvp skill

Flying Impact
Pros
- Easier to land hits compared to Shockwave
- Easier to use as well, can help tremendously in PVP
- Skill Note gives good damage

Cons
- Can be mana broken because the full hits are not as fast as both Shockwaves
- Change of position due to the traveling can be a disadvantage at certain points of time
- Hits can fail if enemy lands on a platform when getting hit (pretty rare, but still)

You can max both, if you want to.
Don't have a B slot?
For this build you should bring Shockwave, especially if it's noted. It's a core of the sustain build. For PvP you should opt swapping Flying Impact for it, unless you want to enjoy some damage and healing with it which is fine.
Now, our 300MP highlight, the core of our sustain/lifesteal/soloboss build.
Derp, why give this build so many names?
They are all focused on this single 300MP that is a must for our build.

Bloody Accel.
Back in the day Bloody Accel wasn't my favorite, due to Hypersonic Stab being so flashy and all. After I got into Velder, Hamel and Sander, I began to appreciate this skill more. After the slight 'buff' where Bloody Accel's lifesteal no longer applies only to basic attacks, but actives as well, it became a must-get core skill in my Blade Master's skill tree.
Now, this skill is the main reason why a Blade Master can go sustain/lifesteal in the first place without a Triple Dark enchantment weapon.
It absorbs 10% of the damage you deal as health when you attack with basic attacks or active skills and boosts your attack by 20% In a dungeon, Blade Masters usually survive the longest out of almost any class (Chung can be an exception) without adding player skill into the equation. But that's only possible if they make use of Bloody Accel to the fullest. In PVP, this skill is also a good use when you're able to use it (please don't save up your MP for the sake of using this skill and then you die countless times before pulling it off). The Leg Wound effect prevents enemies from dashing for 5 seconds, effectively crippling their mobility and allowing you to chuck off more of their health for your own.

Let's get to research.
Bloody Accel hits 360 all around you, with a good damage and initial hitstun (no KD, no launch, just hitstun). It also provides a good skill-freeze for your comrades in certain situations. Damage, decent. Buff? Very much worth it.

Basic attacks are the core of Raven players. Raven focuses more on basic attacks than perhaps anyone else except Elsword and Elesis. Blade Master is no exception. With a good array of active skills such as One Flash, Cut Tendon and Sonic Slash, Bloody Accel can be put to very good use and can be devastating at the right hands.

Pros
- Lifesteal can help you survive and make comebacks from situations that would usually kill off other players
- Has an overall good range and damage that can help you out of being ganged by dungeon mobs or even PVP players
- Leg Wound helps tremendously in PVP
- Skill Note increases duration by 5 seconds
- It provides you a level 3 enchant effect unique to Bloody Accel and Blade Masters only! (Edan why you steal our cool effects!)

Cons
- Hard to use at initial levels due to low HP drain, still good, but not as good as high leveled ones
- Skill Freeze can be bad at times and can really cost you the fight
- You can still get interrupted and throw away 300 MP down the drain
Actives
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The next section is important too. Actives. Unlike Special Actives, these skills come in various mana costs, usually below 100. They serve as non-skill-freeze skills that help you deal damage without having heavy impact on the current situation. Actives usually serve as alternate methods to prolong combos and as buffed up regular attacks. Some people don't use actives, it depends. For me, I always have at least one active in my current lineup in case I need the attack power at the cost of mana.
That's the intro. Actives, now. They play perhaps the most important part in this build of mine. Why?
If you've read the previous skill carefully, you'd know.
Yes, Bloody Accel. All actives from Base Job to 2nd Job absorb HP when used in conjunction with Bloody Accel's Blood Buff. This is another reason why Bloody Accel is important, and the main point of the sustain build.
I will start out by listing the most important skill and (for me) the best option to use with Bloody Accel's Blood Buff.


One Flash. My favorite skill to use regardless of the situation. (Multiple hits proc Super Armor? WHO CARES! ONE FLASH IS COOL, THAT'S THE ONLY REASON!)
Ahem.
I mostly regard this skill as my signature move, and this was one of the reasons why Blade Master piqued my interest. Over the years it's gotten a good damage buff, not too strong, but not too weak either. The mana cost has gotten an increase, but that won't stop me from using it.
Okay okay, moving on from the personal viewpoints, I'll get to the main reason.
One Flash is unique as an active, lately people overlook this and choose the alternate choice given during the Skill Tree Revamp, the Sonic Slash, instead.
Now, that's fine. Sonic Slash is a good skill, it's an active version of Sword Taker's XZZ combo, but doesn't knock down.
But really, if you want the most out of this build, One Flash is the choice I'd recommend you go with. Let's look at some interesting characteristics of this skill first.
(These following tips are taken from Elwiki, I hope you guys don't mind!)
- The dash covers a large range (approximately 5 meters) and moves very fast, making it very useful for evading and catching enemies.
- Can be used as a quick pass-through.
- If One Flash attacks multiple targets and one of them is killed by the attack, then the surviving target(s) receive additional hits that the slain target would have taken.
(For example, Level 5 One Flash (deals six hits) attacks Target A and Target B, and A is slain with only two hits; Target B receives the normal six hits plus four that Target A would have received.)
Haha, those first two aren't so bad, escape mechanisms and pass-throughs that I use alot.
However, the third one is what I want you to pay close attention to.
If you get it, you'll understand how good One Flash can be when dealing with a wave of enemies. Doesn't matter if they're at full health (please don't use One Flash on enemies with low health just because of the third tip) or low health, One Flash works wonders on waves.
But wait, what does that have to do with Bloody Accel?
See, the third tip basically explains the uniqueness and specialty of One Flash. It ensures ALL hits land, if someone dies, the other one just receives the remaining hits. Unless you kill the whole group off in the first few hits, you can be pretty much assured all your 6 hits per mob will connect.
The Blood Buff steals health PER HIT.
Imagine you have attack power of 10,000. You use One Flash on six mobs, all six of them receive six hits. That's 36 hits, recovering 36,000 health after each hit restores 1000 health.
See, that's the reason why One Flash works well with Bloody Accel. I'm not saying Sonic Slash doesn't, but we're talking about One Flash here. It ensures all hits connect, it can sap health well, and to be honest, when I use One Flash on a crazy number of mobs with Bloody Accel, I recover pretty much 1/3 or sometimes even half of my health back in just one go.
Heck, if you're crazy enough, you can use Giga Drive (I didn't because I ran low on Skill Points) to gain an unlimited active spam buff, coupled with Bloody Accel and start recovering health like a hungry vampire (LULZ, RIGHT? Not recommended, still.)
Basically, that's why One Flash is important.
But not all skills are perfect. There are pros and cons too.
I won't list Sonic Slash here because I don't recommend it as part of the build, by all means you can use it. I'm just saying One Flash is a more preferred option in my case.
Pros of One Flash
- Pass-through
- Quick Activation
- Can chain in most combos (most prominently seen is Black Master's Black Hole Combo, where One Flash can be chained immediately and you can restart it if you're fast enough)
- If you're ever cancelled mid-dash during PVP, your hits will still connect on the enemy :3
- Good wave clearer for an active skill
- Flashy
- Used with Bloody Accel can restore alot of health

Cons
- Multiple Hits proc Super Armor on bosses because of Super Armor's hit counter (use with caution)
- Has delay post-dash, can be dangerous at times
- Easier to interrupt compared to Sonic Slash
Okay, now we'll look at the second active skill present in my build (I didn't add a point into this in the original build, but if you want to, add a point into this guy, he can be useful)

Cut Tendon. This skill is a good alternative to One Flash if you don't have it yet, or if you just prefer this particular one over One Flash. (Like I said before, your choice, happy choosing :) )
Aight, let's get down to business. Cut Tendon works well as an active, and I would use this skill for several reasons too.
1) It has a quick activation speed, really. When I used this skill in PVP a few times, I found that the activation is faster than most skills. It's almost instant.
2) You seemingly 'slide' forward and deal the low-cut. The slide has VERY good traveling range in my opinion. Heck, if I ever need to escape from an enemy behind, I'll use Cut Tendon sometimes. Or if the enemy is around half a screen away, I'll use Cut Tendon to close-in and sometimes even land the hit.
3) The low-cut deals Leg Wound like Bloody Accel, but while it impairs movement, it also drains the enemy's health (doesn't heal you).
4) Like I mentioned before, Bloody Accel absorbs health with actives. Cut Tendon's damage makes it a good active to steal health with. This is best used in conjunction with Reason #2, the Slide.

Activation, Slide, Leg Wound/Bleed, Bloody Accel compatibility.
These four are important. The ones I focus on the most are number 2 and 4.
The slide you perform before dealing the dash is extremely good, you cover around half the screen approximately when you slide. Not only that, the slide speed is FAST. Enemies won't even be able to predict or expect it most of the time. You cover the whole distance in around 0.5 to 1 second. Coupled with the activation speed, Cut Tendon is probably one of Sword Taker's most unpredictable active skills. The cut range is also quite big, so you'll either be landing hits, or closing distances extremely fast without your opponent being able to react. Honestly, One Flash and this skill are both good. I'd recommend using both in PVP if you have a B Slot.
Pros
- Slide range is good, extremely fast to boot. Only a handful of players can predict a well-timed Cut Tendon activation.
- Leg Wound is a good debuff, it drains health too. Impairs movement, ensures they stay in your range.
- Good choice for PVP
- Damage is decent.

Cons
- Like One Flash, this can be interrupted mid-dash, although still quite rare
- Your delay still exists. Post-slash there is still a slight delay before you can move again, which can be dangerous.
- Won't be as useful in PVE as in PVP
- Can be countered by Elsword's Counterattack
Passives
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Now let's look at another important active skill to use in place of those two.
ACTIVE SKILL. I'll explain to you why it's in this section in a moment.

Shadow Step.
Back in the day I used to max out this skill.
Dash length increased. You pass-through enemies at a longer distance the higher your skill level is.
Now I don't have such liberty to do so because LOW SP!!! WHY!!!
But hey!
Shadow Step is still a good choice to put in your arsenal. Really, I don't mind this guy having a skill level of 1 (I don't want to dash too far at times and fall off a cliff or bang into a wall). It works as a very good pass-through, even better than One Flash because you cannot be interrupted mid-dash. Remember Wolf Fang? Yeah. If you hold the directional keys after your dash like Wolf Fang, you can immediately change from Shadow Step to regular dash. Alone, this skill may seem like a supportive-type skill. AMIRIGHT?
Truedat. But.
Let's look at two other passive skills that I invested in on this build.
Before that, what are passives?
They are skills that don't play a part in your activation or control. Once they are invested in, their effects are always there. They're the subconscious of your conscious.
Let's look at the two that work hand-in-hand with Shadow Step.
and
These two.
The first one is Shadow Piercing. When you use Shadow Step, you can press Z to lunge forward and stab an enemy, knocking them down.
This is useful for a few reasons.
1) You can cancel your Shadow Dash (although you DO lunge forward, you can knock into a mob that you want instead. Example, there's mob A in front of you and Mob B. Being the bully that you are, you want to hit Mob B. Use Shadow Step, pass Mob A, hit Mob B. Settled!)
2) Damage is good, around 300 - 400% damage on stab. This can recover a good health with Bloody Accel while you're using Shadow Step to dash to safety at the same time.
3) The Skill Note makes the skill unable to knockdown, allowing you to stun the enemy with the stab, heal with Bloody Accel's buff, and continue whacking them.

I'm not a master of using this Shadow Piercing combo (not playing for months can cause anyone to rust) but it's still a very good skill to have and to master. But I won't recommend you maxing this skill out, to save up skill points. Level 1 Shadow Piercing has only one difference with higher leveled ones, more damage. That's why I keep this at level 1.

Oh, but the other, however, should be maxed at all costs.
It's Emergency Escape. Let's take a look at some backstory.
Emergency Escape is good friends with the skill Shadow Thrust. Emergency Escape is a locked skill. Shadow Thrust isn't.
Now let's see.
Shadow Thrust is like an improved Shadow Piercing. You press X during Shadow Step, you lunge forward and pierce through enemies without knocking them down. Heh, good. But.
We're running a sustain build here. Survival is the key for this build. Sapping health alone can't bring you survival. You need to escape dangerous situations too.
Emergency Escape is your friend here.
At the cost of 10 MP, Emergency Escape has a 10% chance (it can be lower or higher during certain skill levels, it was 10% pre-skill tree revamp) of activating Shadow Step on its own when you are attacked from behind. This essentially means when your enemy is busy laughing away as he whacks you from behind and you cannot turn around to attack him, you have a 10% chance to automatically Shadow Step forward and give your enemy SOMETHING to laugh about. Your own Shadow Step in the skill slot doesn't even go into cooldown when this is activated. Neat!

Careful of a few things.
- You can dash into a pithole if this procs automatically and unexpectedly. LOL.
- You might not want to just sit and get hit hoping and praying for Emergency Escape to activate every time. You're chipped meat if you do that.

Overall Shadow Step is a good active that I really recommend using. It's automatically level 1 at the beginning, so you don't have to worry about skill points. Piercing and Escape I've explained to you why they're important, and these three linked together form the main escape mechanism of Blade Master.

Pros and cons?
Pros
- Pass Through, better than One Flash
- Cannot be interrupted mid-dash
- If you're desperate to lose this stalker, after Emergency Escape you can use the regular Shadow Step to ditch whoever's hitting your back
- Piercing with skill note is very effective and can heal you a good amount with Bloody Accel's buff.
- Like Wolf Fang, puts you into dash immediately if you've been holding the directional key.

Cons
- This is uncontrollable, even with Shadow Piercing. Piercing only stops you when you have something to stab. If you dash right into a pithole, it's ggwp.
- Emergency Escape's chance is 10%. Harder to expect at times.
- Don't dash into enemies in PVP or even PVE when they're busy doing funky skills. It's easier to perform this mistake when Emergency Escape procs.
Now we look at several other passives that are a MUST to max out.

Basic Strength Training, Intermediate Strength Training and Infinity Cause.
The first two are a must to max. They increase your overall physical attack power, that's very much needed if you want to dish out damage and absorb it back with Bloody Accel.

Infinity Cause is very important as well. It decreases your base knockdown ratio by 20% (at max level). Your combos will have a 20% longer time chaining max hits before knockdown unlike other classes. This is very important to a Raven. You want to ensure you get to hit as much as possible when your enemy is up and standing so you can sap more health (for a Blade Master) or deal maximum damage (for other classes). Knocking them down in dungeons will halve damage (in pvp you don't even get to hit your opponents when they're down). This is why Infinity Cause is a must to have, it's a basic fundamental that serves as your main reason of being able to prolong combos. If you combine it with Giga Drive - Limiter's knockdown reduce buff, your knockdown ratio will be decreased by another 20% to 40%, allowing you to prolong your combos by 40% longer than any other job. If you max out Limiter, it decreases by 30% instead of 20, which further allows you to execute combos 1.5x longer than other jobs.


Counter Chance.
When you are knocked down, you can press X to perform a quick 180 slash that does hitstun and doesn't knock your enemy down. This allows you to stun your attacker and turn the tables around by giving you a chance to whack them.
Counter Chance used to be a must-max skill, because each level increases the chance that you do not knockdown when pressing X. However, the revamp makes it 100% no knockdown at level 1, and instead it increases your base accuracy of attacks hitting. Heck, I leave it at level 1 because I need the SP for more skills.

In life we always make choices. This is no exception.
or
Blade Mastery or Exquisite Swordsmanship.
Blade Mastery increases your critical chance. Exquisite Swordsmanship increases your attack speed and accuracy.
Most people opt for Blade Mastery because attack speed is usually maxed out using socket gems on their weapons and equipment.
I would recommend you doing so as well. Because I find lack of attack speed a problem on my current character, I'm actually using Exquisite Swordsmanship until I can increase my attack speed further, at which I shall replace for with Blade Mastery. But still, it is your choice. Both are very good and vital passives for Blade Master in my opinion, and getting either one of them is just a preference of your own.

or
Reversal Fighter or Trained Body?
Honestly, in my sustain build, I'd say Trained Body.
Reversal Fighter increases your damage when you're at a certain percentage of low health, whilst Trained Body reduces the damage you take from all sources.
The main point of this sustain build is to keep your health up as high as possible while you whack your enemy down, I wouldn't want to put myself in a lousy situation just to trigger Reversal Fighter.
What? Invest in Reversal Fighter in case I'm at low health at a certain situation?
Nooooo no no no. Not good. If your health is low at that point, Reversal Fighter CAN help you build up your health with the attack buff. But only for at least one recovery. Your second and third wave of recovery attempts will already put you past Reversal Fighter's limit. Heck, in that situation if you have Trained Body, you can reduce incoming damage and heal more at the same time. It's still a recommendation. I can't force you to choose.

That's all for this build. I hope you've benefited from this and have a better understanding of what these can do and help you out. I hope you can make the choices that suit you and your playstyle best.
Yato Sig
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Post by Saechika » Mon Aug 25, 2014 11:59 pm

Lord Knight
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Add a silly hat and I'll probably look like Bruno Mars swinging that sword around. Or any other pop star.
Lord Knight PVE Build
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Now for a simple introduction.
Lord Knight is one of the first few classes available when the game was out, over the course of the game's evolution and change the class went through several changes as well. Infinity Sword came, Rune Slayer got reworked.
Infinity Sword and Rune Slayer are the more popular choices due to their more dynamic gameplay.
The current Lord Knight is a class that requires perseverance and patience. He boasts fantastic 1v1 combat, and even more fantastic bossing. Regardless of the boss size, Lord Knight is able to beat them down. He was made for it.
If you're in for dynamic magic or sword summoning, Rune Slayer and Infinity Sword are classes you can go for. But if you're in for very orthodox, formal and powerful swordplay that brings out the very definition of what a Knight is, then Lord Knight is a class you'll find enjoyable.
Lord Knight was the very first class I had along with Blade Master in Elsword JP, which is why I still hold him in high regard. He may be outclassed by the other two paths, but hey. If he's fun to play and you enjoy it, why not?

There are two separate paths Lord Knight can go, you either go PVE, or PVP. Either those, or you do hybrid. I'm not a middle-person, in everything I do I'm probably leaning towards one side more rather than being in the middle, so this is a PvE build for you people who want one. Again I built this using personal opinions and preferences, by all means you're free to change. It's meant to help you decide as I highlight points and factors regarding the skills.
Here's an overall skill tree of the build.
http://brokendisc.web.fc2.com/elsword/skillsimulator/English/revamp3/sk.html?700001010000000000000100000120170000161400120000011108000007000606000402
As usual we go with lineups.
I haven't bought a B slot yet, probably will when I have the money.
For A slot your core skills will probably be...
Sonic Blade, Sandstorm, Double Slash and Armor Break.

Since B slot can now be sold on the market normally, alot of players have B slot so it's become more common.
A full B slot lineup I'd probably use would be
Rolling Smash, Spiral Blast, Gigantic Slash, filler (explained later)
Sonic Blade, Sandstorm, Double Slash, Armor Break
Special Actives
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Oh boy, here we go again.
Alright. For this build your 100 MP is really straightforward.
Let's take a look at Sword Knight's new 100MP post-rework, this cool-looking thing

Mortar Blo- I mean Mortal Blow.
This Special has you stab the ground and create a shockwave along it. No cooldown. Just stab, shockwave boom, damage. Neat, right?
When you hit Sword Knight, I recommend you invest into this skill first and get it as high as possible. This skill has decent range, and good damage to boot. It functions as a good clearer, usually on mobs who love to line up for no reason.
It also has a nice small vertical range hitting enemies around your maximum height.
Just that once you hit Lord Knight and use your SP Reset potion, Sonic Blade takes this skill over. But they're both worth using.
Pros:
- Good range
- Decent damage
- Simple and easy to use
- Doesn't knockdown

Cons:
- Linear
- Minimal vertical coverage

EDIT: I've tested it out, and the skill actually has more vertical range than Sonic Blade! I left mine at level 5, since my SP allowed it.

...still wish they named it Mortar Blow. Suits well. Burning mortar-
-ahem-
Alright, cool. Let's go to our buddy Sonic Blade

This skill used to be the highlight of an inside joke between me and my friend Sonic.
Sonic Blade is another fairly simple 100MP (refer to the preview image above). You spin around, wait 1 second, a blast of air hits them for damage (You're invincible during that time, cool.).
Now veteran Lord Knight players might notice that Sonic Blade now vacuums the enemy in slightly. Back in the day Sonic Blade pushed them back slightly so you'd rather use it at close-range to catch them. Now Sonic Blade's wind blast draws them in slightly (around a step or two closer?) which is better. The wind blast's range also got wider, you'll probably hit mobs two characters-width away.
Now this may seem like a PvP skill for some (hey it does fit the requirements), and that's true. The reason I put Sonic Blade instead of Impact Smasher is because of its invincibility frames. You're able to move immediately when the blast collides, allowing you to escape danger. During your frames everyone freezes except for you, which means even dungeon mobs have to take your hit. You're at least a second ahead of them. This can help you and your teammates out by providing a time freeze of roughly a second or two for them to analyze.
Pros:
- Good damage
- No knockdown
- Simple and easy
- Draws enemies in
- Has slight vertical range (hits slightly above wind blast)
- Invincibility frames and skill freeze helps to reformat/re-maneuver your actions and w/e
- Somewhat viable for PvP if you want a hybrid build

Cons:
- Damage abit too normal (I guess. Doesn't deal much hurt, it's just middle-tier)
- Skill freeze can ruin other people's timings (doesn't happen frequently, but hey)
- Horrible vertical range (I'm being very frank here)

You can tell those two cons are pretty trivial (I just needed to put something there lul). Overall Sonic Blade is really a good skill to have, especially in PvE if you know how to put use of its advantages to suit yours. That's why I highlighted it as a core in this build. The improved range and vacuum helps you deal with mobs easier too.
...I want a silly hat. No really, that would be hilarious, swinging around that Sonic Blade. The left hand's position even fits perfectly with the pose. I should probably look for a cowboy hat...

Honestly speaking Sonic Blade is better off than Mortar Blo-*slapped* Mortal Blow. If you want to use Mortal Blow, you can put it in the filler slot (yeah I left it blank for many reasons). Just so you know Mortal Blow doesn't freeze enemies and allies when you use it (even if it does I think it was barely half a second), so you're better off using Sonic Blade.
Hehey! 200 MPs! Hahahaha...
Haa...
Pardon me. Let me just voice out my complaints as a whole (this is personal preference deal with it)
Lord Knight's condemned to that crappy Spiral Blast until you get Sandstorm ^o)
-Assaulted by people throwing rocks at me-
Okay, Spiral Blast isn't crappy. Let's get to the explanation.

Back in the day Spiral Blast dealt magical damage which was a huge blunder (Lord Knight is a physical class, you get the idea). Recent buffs made it physical damage, which is okay I guess.
Again this is personal, but I honestly wouldn't have put this skill in if I wasn't annoyed at Lord Knight's one major weakness. His vertical range is just crap if you're not running something like Armageddon Blade. You see the problem with Sword Knight is that he doesn't have any skills that cover a good vertical range except for Armageddon Blade and Spiral Blast. I'll get to the 300 MPs later, but as you can see Spiral Blast is perhaps your best bet at vertical coverage until you hit 55 (one reason why I mentioned the above where you're condemned to Spiral Blast).
(The above was a personal opinion voiced, please do not send anonymous hate mail saying how this person sucks at covering vertical range)
So what exactly makes Spiral Blast the skill we need to cover vertical range in this build? Given how we abandon Armageddon (get to that later), this skill's sparks are what we need.
Spiral Blast's animation goes as this.
Slash the enemy, then perform an upwards slash that sends a blast of sparks up a good range dealing damage.
If you don't run Armageddon Blade (this build doesn't) then you'll probably want to use this as your wyvern/airborne enemy killer. Because this is about as good as you get to covering them skill-wise. Of course you can just use basic attacks to do so, but in Hamel's water dungeon where your speed is crippled, dealing with those swimming creeps can be so annoying you'll just want to hit them in the face with a skill.
Pros:
- Buffed to deal physical damage, good for mob clearing
- Vertical coverage is decent
- Leans to PvE

Cons:
- Some people can walk out of it (If you buy a skill note you'll stun them on the first hit, preventing this)
- Not a PvP skill, leave it out of a hybrid build/PvP build (recommended)

Yeah... that's the main point of this skill. I still keep a fair amount of invested points in this because it has its own uses as a mob clearer (again this is as close as Sword Knight gets to mob clearing).

Now let's get to our highlighted core 200mp of the build, my all-time favorite Lord Knight 200MP skill.

Oh boy the memories. Back in the day when I advanced to Lord Knight, I couldn't wait to get access to this skill. Sandstorm has you turn invincible and spin around gathering momentum over the course of 0.7 seconds. You'll then send a powerful cyclone that deals multiple hits and damage. It also has a chance to debuff your enemy with blindness.
Back in the day, Sandstorm wasn't powerful. Damage was mediocre, sometimes horrible. But the vertical range was the solution to Lord Knight's Y-Axis coverage, which was why I used it.
The recent revamp made the damage better, and also the skill as a whole.
Sandstorm now travels forward slightly, growing in size as it does so. It'll travel about a range of2 to 3 characters-width, dealing some nice damage at that. It fills your Vitality gauge a good amount, and it's stronger than the previous one could be.
Pros:
- Deals with Lord Knight's vertical weakness
- Considerable damage and range, making it very useful
- Can rack up hits easily to fill awakening and aura gauge
- Blind debuff is always good to have

Cons
- Needs positioning and timing to pull off for effective results
- Can restore mana to enemy quickly (multiple hits helps mana regen in PvP)
- Need to reach level 55 before this skill is unlocked

Some of you might wonder why didn't I just grab windmill and put Armageddon in to make it devastating. Truth be told, Sandstorm can be more reliable as it has a definite range compared to Windmill where you'll have to navigate manually. The vertical plus is always a prominent factor that makes Sandstorm the preferred choice in my build.
Alright! Let's get to the part where we dish out damage! The 300 MP.

Our primary damage-dealer for Bossing, Double Slash.
Remember back in the day how this was so good combined with Armor Break you'd perhaps have an easy time clearing dungeons (I cleared Hamel with Marina using my level 49 Lord Knight back in ELJP, it was a long time ago)? Then remember how it got nerfed and wasn't really that good anymore? Sheesh, sucks huh?
Recent revamp made it slightly better. Paired with Armor Break, Double Slash still yields devastating results which is what you'll want to do in PvE.
You slash once, stunning whoever's hit by it. Charge for a second or two, then bring down a powerful meteor strike that hits up to nine times. Total damage is around 6700%+, combined with Armor Break makes it more.
Since we're focusing on PvE I left out Armageddon because mobbing isn't Lord Knight's thing. Granted, he has Sandstorm and Spiral Blast to help out. But Lord Knight shines at 1v1, and that's where your bossing comes into play. Armor Break combined with Double Slash can really hurt, be it using it while you're in Vitality to rack up more MP or using it in Destruction to dish out more hurt. And that's the point of using this skill in the first place. You want to contribute as much by bringing the boss down quickly.
Pros:
- Main bossing skill
- Use with Armor Break for awesome damage
- If used in PvP you'll inflict tons of hurt since they can't mana break the meteor strike
- You're doing a meteor strike, +10 Coolness and GFX Powerz

Cons:
- It's easy to mess up (Party members can push the boss away, which is the main cause of rage whenever they do this to me)
- If expected, people can walk out of it
- Not as good as it was before
- Better for PvE, not really a PvP skill (unless you fancy saving up 300mp just to dish out hurt, some people don't even survive that long)
Actives
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Actives are another important part of any build. Extending combos, dealing extra funk. Of course, you'll need some of those for PvE as well.


Roll. This is a very useful active in PvP, but it's also good in PvE. You perform a dodge roll, colliding and dealing damage and passing through mobs. I recommend putting this in the last spare slot (if you're running B slot). It works as a good pass-through as Raven's Shadow Step. The only thing you get by leveling this up is extra damage which I feel is better for a PvP build.
Pros:
- Pass-through skill you'll need
- Quick activation
- Decent cooldown at 5 seconds

Cons:
- Uses 1% HP as a cost (Eh, it's not a huge impact but you'll need to be mindful at times)
- Certain fat mobs can't be rolled past
If you want a safety measure and a tricky skill to use, Roll is definitely a good one. You can time it for various purposes, ranging from a Boss' super armor stun proc to dodging painful skill freezes like Ran's Black Destiny. Honestly it's Elsword's main escape mechanism apart from combos, which is one you'll want to have.


But let's look at our core active. Here it is, Sword Knight's specialty that makes him excel at 1v1 situations. Armor Break has you bash the enemy for some nice damage. That bash has a chance of reducing the enemy's armor by 80%, allowing you to dish out more damage. In the past the skill note allowed you to increase the chance, but now the chance is 100%. What increases per level now is the damage you deal with the bash and the amount of defense reduced. Okay I guess. The skill note now increases the amount of defense reduced by 10% instead, which is a good thing to have.
Armor Break with the skill note is really what sets Sword Knight apart. Over Taker has Armor Crash, but Sword Knight is the only guy around with a note to increase the efficiency of his armor break. This helps you out tremendously either when you're soloing or when you're in a party. This skill makes bossing fun, and it isn't half bad in PvP as well.
Pros:
- Reduces enemy defense
- Decent damage for an active
- One of the best debuffs in PvE

Cons:
- Without Skill Note you're doing the same thing Over Taker can do with his Armor Crash
- Doesn't overlap with other defense reducing debuffs
- Only reduces Physical Defense

Again, trivial disadvantages. But of course, the fullest of gameplay comes from the Skill Note applied. No skill is perfect, and we should be glad Armor Break is a good skill to add to our arsenal in PvE.


Hello there, Rolling Smash. This is a fairly simple skill that is fun to use. You launch yourself forwards, spinning and dealing damage. Higher skill level gives more damage and a longer distance.
Rolling Smash isn't the best active out there, but it isn't the worst. You can say it's somewhere in-between. But when it comes to fun using it, I enjoy the fullest. If you use this underwater you'll launch higher and deal more hits. Better if you're being sucked into something like Coral Sea Serpent's laser, you'll be sucked into the suction point while spinning and remain there, dealing more damage.
Again, this is my preference. This skill isn't the best to use. It's quite situational, but it has its uses too. If you're using it with Armageddon Blade, you can probably hit the whole map. Of course this build doesn't, but that doesn't mean it's useless.
Pros:
- Decent active to have around
- Simple and nice to use
- Fun to use
- Can be really good if used wisely

Cons:
- Has a slight delay before spinning
- Can be hit while spinning
- If you're hit with a status effect, you'll still be inflicted
Passives
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and
No brainers. Get these if you want to dish out more damage. May be low power boost, but it's better than nothing.


Press X when you're knocked down to deal a blow that doesn't knock them down. Leave it at level 1 because the X proc is all you need. Later levels raise accuracy which you can boost with sockets.


This skill is awesome. It increases the amount of mana you get from basic attacks based on percentages, essentially meaning you'll be gaining more mana than usual on your third to fourth hit. Higher levels give more mana regen, which makes this a must to max. Why not?
Combine this skill with Aura of Vitality and you'll be regaining more mana from your basic attacks than other classes.

Let's move on to Lord Knight's funky passives.

This passive increases your attack damage when you're attacked during a debuff. If your enemy thinks they're laughing while you're being debuffed, why don't you give them some more hurt with this skill?


Now let's look at this new passive Lord Knight got from the recent rework. Wind Cutter has a chance for you send out a small sword wave forward whenever you attack with a basic attack, dealing extra damage. This is extremely useful for you to stack up more hits and damage as basic attacking is your forte as a Lord Knight. It's nice to have in both PvE and PvP, making it another core skill that's worth getting.
Downside is you'll have to wait until level 55 before you get this awesome skill :c


I haven't unlocked this skill yet, but I can pretty much tell it's going to be a core. However it has a rival in terms of usefulness, and I really can't decide between them.

The first one, Pain Suppression; has you remove debuffs at a certain chance when you use actives or special actives. Special actives have a higher chance to remove them. Now that's useful, but when you consider the second one...
The second one is Muscular Structure, which increases your HP and reduces damage taken. It may be simple and basic, but it doesn't mean it's useless. It is in fact about as useful as the Trained Body in my Blade Master build.
Now I know this build has been more decisive in making choices compared to the Blade Master one, but this is one choice I will leave entirely for you to choose. Both skills are important and vital to me, so I really cannot help you choose.

That's it. I'll add on more updates and changes to this in the future if there are any to be added, but I hope it can benefit you as it is now.
Personally I'll be glad if you enjoy reading this guide because you want to know more about Lord Knight, because he's as much of a fun class as Blade Master is to me. It was fun covering Lord Knight's PvE build, and who knows? I might do a PvP and a Hybrid build once my exams are over.
Jeramu of Rocknarok, I hope you've benefited from this. Have fun!
Yato Sig
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