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Stock Fighter, A beginner's guide on using a fighter

Character Guide: Stock Fighter, A beginner's guide on using a fighter
by Odesseiron

Introduction
The fighter is among the most versatile character available in game. With such a wide range of stance to choose from, a fighter can be found to be very useful in most situations. This guide attempts to explain the usefulness of having a fighter as well as ways to better utilise one.

The Stats
STR: 6 (affects melee combat damage)
AGI: 6 (affects evasion and attack speed)
HP: 6 (affects maximum hit points)
DEX: 6 (affects ranged combat damage)
INT: 3 (affects magical combat damage)
CHA: 3 (affects constructed/summoned minions damage)

From the description, it is easy to tell the most important stats for a fighter are perhaps STR, AGI and HP. When compared to rNPCs, a stock fighter's stats may seem relatively weaker (e.g. Alejandro's STR, Adelina's AGI or Grandice's HP). However the true strength of a fighter is his flexibility and the wider range of veteran stances. A fighter is a jack of all trades and master of none.

The Basic Stances

Requires Level 1:

Dagger - Escrima
+15% Attack Speed, +15% Evasion

Sword - Back Guard
3% Attack Speed, +13 Block

Sword + Shield - Back Guard
3% Attack Speed, +13 Block

At the starting areas, Back Guard is more than sufficient to handle most enemies. Escrima fighters are rather rare due to the poor damage output.

Requires Level 12:

Saber - Middle Guard
+25% Attack Speed, +8% Critical Rate

Sword + Sword - Hack and Slash (Requires Back Guard level 6)
+15% Attack Speed, +10 Critical Rate, +10 Block

Sword + Shield - High Guard (Requires Back Guard level 6)
+24 Block

Though Back Guard is still useful at this level, it is also wise to try out something new. One can observe the great increase in damage when switched to Middle Guard or Hack and Slash. In my opinion, High Guard is a stance that is really necessary, especially at higher levels. It is never too late to start training now.

Requires Level 24:

Great Sword - Plow Guard
+15% Attack Speed, +12% Critical Rate, +10 Block

Pistol - Freestyle Shot
+25 Accuracy, +16% Attack Speed, +6% Critical Rate, +5% Evasion

Pole Arm - Blandir Cruz
+25% Attack Speed, +10% Critical Rate, +10 Block

This is the main highlight, also the time to switch out of Back Guard if you have not already done so. A choice between 3 stances. Both Plow Guard and Blandir Cruz use slow hitting weapons, but damage per hit is really high. It is especially so for Blandir Cruz as it has a small area of splash damage. Freestyle Shot is normally taken up for easier AFKing.

Requires Level 36:

Great Sword - Roof Guard (Requires Plow Guard level 8)
+30% Attack Speed, +6% Critical Rate

Pistol + Pistol - Double-Guns Shot (Requires Freestyle Shot level 8)
+35 Accuracy, +20% Attack Speed, +5% Evasion

Nothing new here, just a more offensive version of the relative stances.

Requires Level 40:

Sword + Pistol - Heaven and Hell
+30% Attack Speed, +6% Critical Rate

Cool-looking and high in damage. The skills may not be that spectacular though.

Requires Level 48:

Rapier - Epee Garde
+16% Attack Speed, +20% Critical Rate

Rapier - Sabre Garde
+8% Attack Speed, +15% Evasion

Rapiers!! I simply love rapiers. Decent damage, fast attack speed, and hit twice each time. Not forgetting they also have small area splash damage. Epee Garde is more offensive while Sabre Garde is a more defensive style. Both are common favourites for PVP.

When to use what stance?

General Grinding:
Middle Guard, Hack and Slash, Plow Guard, Blandir Cruz, Roof Guard, Heaven and Hell, Epee Garde, Sabre Garde.

These stances have decent damage and very useful skills for most situations. However, AoE skills may not be that effective when squading. This is because fighters’ AoE tend to be small in area or in a straight line, thus more difficult to control as mobs may target other squad members rather than your team.

Mobbing or AoE Grinding:
Hack and Slash, High Guard, Plow Guard, Blandir Cruz, Sabre Garde.

This style of grinding relies on wizards’ or elementalists’ AoE skills, while the fighter takes most of the damage by spamming Provoke. Thus stances with +Block or + Evasion are greatly preferred to keep the fighter alive. Blandir Cruz is especially useful as the large number of mobs tends to clump together, allowing spectacular splash damage. Switch to High Guard stance if you still find yourself dying too easily.

For AFK:
Freestyle Shot, Double-Guns Shot.

A weakness of the fighter is the poor ability to AFK, as they tend to run around chasing mobs. However, putting them on hold mode is usually inefficient and the fighter may end up “stoning” when mobs get too close. These 2 stances solve the problem by allowing the use of pistols and then putting your fighter on hold mode, thus being possible to engage mobs from a distance.

For Flying Mobs:
Middle Guard, Freestyle Shot, Double-Guns Shot, Heaven and Hell.

It is not totally helpless for a fighter when facing flying mobs. Spam Middle Guard’s Crescent Moon or Heaven and Hell’s Pistol Shot, both of these skills can engage flying mobs. Or even better, use Freestyle Shot or Double-Guns Shot, as their normal attacks are very much capable of ripping apart the flying mobs.

Boss Fights (Where time is not crucial):
High Guard.

Bosses are usually hard hitting. Thus it is necessary to use stances with high +Block or +Evasion to mitigate some damage. High Guard stance is perhaps the best stance for this purpose. Very high block rate and can be increased even higher with the Guardian skill activated. This is the safest way to fight bosses, though lacking on damage.

Boss Fights (Where time is crucial):
Hack and Slash, Plow Guard, Blandir Cruz, Sabre Garde.

The above listed stances are useful in quest missions where one have to defeat the enemy boss within a certain time period, and thus damage dealing is of a greater priority. These stances still maintain some form of damage mitigation.

PVP:
All Stances.

All stances have their pros and cons when it comes to PVP. There is no “Best PVP stance”. Choose a stance that is more suited to your play style. Fighters are often used as an interrupter for PVP. This is because most fighter skills does not have cast-time and thus can be activated instantly. This advantage is very useful in countering Precision Stikes, Chain Lightning, etc, hitting the caster even before he is able to finish casting the skill. Try to avoid using the level 16 skills for PVP, as they tend to take a long time to finish the skill, thus creates an opening where your fighter cannot use potions or perform other actions for that matter. Only use level16 skills when you have a good chance of finishing the opposing character with it. On the other hand, Level 1 skills are very effective. They are highly spammable and tend to have knock-backs, causing the opponent to be unable to utilise on his character for several precious seconds.

Stances to avoid:
Escrima, Back Guard.

These 2 stances deals relatively lower damage when compared to other available stances. The skills maybe useful, however most other stance also have similar skills.

Innate Skill - Provoke
Provoke is probably the best fighter skill one can have. It can be used both defensively and offensively.

Defensive use:
Using Provoke for tanking.

Provoke forces mobs to attack your fighter. If your fighter has a high defense, evade, or block, you will take less damage and thus helping you to carry on the fight longer. It is always a better idea to have mobs targeting your fighter rather than the physically weaker wizards, elementalists or scouts.

Offensive use:
Using Provoke as a debuff.

A level 10 Provoke causes affected mobs to have a 20 defense penalty. This reduction in enemies’ defense is especially useful in large raids, where this extra damage dealt by the Squad members all adds up, and thus increasing the raid's damage dealt per second.

The Armor
Stock fighters are able to equip both Heavy Armor and Leather Armor. Leather Armor (or medium armor) has less defense than Heavy Armor and are more susceptible to Medium Weapons. Heavy Armor has more defense, is less susceptible to Light Weapons and Medium Weapons, but it usually has an attack speed penalty. Heavy Armor is more susceptible to Heavy Weapons type. Always try to keep your armor up to date, that is to say the armor should not be more than 8 levels below your fighter's level. In this way, you will be able to maintain a relatively high Defense Rating(DR) to deal with most mobs around your level.

A Guide to Tanking

One of the most important role of a fighter is being a tanker. Listed below are some important pointers for tanking.

- Many bosses deal splash damage. It is always a good idea to keep your weaker characters (wizards, elementalists, etc.) from the tanking spot. Once you encounter a boss, have it engaged on your fighter, and then bring it to a side, away from the other characters.

- It is always a good idea to tank bosses away from other mobs so that it is less likely for the mobs to interfere. Look for a clear or low-spawn area as a tanking spot before going in to engage on the boss.

- Certain bosses have knock-back skills. Therefore, try to tank such bosses with your fighter’s back facing a wall. In this way, when you get knock-backed, your fighter will still remain at your chosen tanking spot, and also less likely to get knocked into nearby mobs.

- Granado Espada’s A.I. mechanics works in such a way that a mob is more likely to engage a target who has dealt the most damage to it. Therefore, while tanking, try to limit on other characters’ skill usage. A good gauge would be to use only normal attacks on the boss till its health hits 75%. The fighter should be spamming skill constantly so as to maintain the boss’ attention to himself.

-Sometimes, even when one is tanking correctly, the boss still choose to go for the other characters instead of the fighter (commonly termed “tank losing aggro”). Immediately get your fighter to go near the boss and spam on Provoke. Do not hesitate on using this skill, it can save lives. While in a squad, it is common for beginners to run away from the boss the moment it diverts it attention from the tanking fighter. This result in a comical situation where the player is running from the boss, the boss is chasing the player, and the tank trying his best to catch up on the boss so as to use Provoke. The proper action one should take is to run towards the tank, not away. This will help the tank to gain back aggro early.

Signs of an Under-utilised Fighter

Your fighter has full SP 99% of the time.
Use your fighter skills more often, and you will notice how much faster you are killing mobs. A fighter’s SP is gained when he deals or receives damage. Newly gained SP is being wasted when your fighter’s SP is full.

Your other characters die too easily.
A sign that you are not using Provoke very often. A fighter can take a lot of pain, do not be afraid of letting the fighter take the majority of the damage.

Fighter dies too often.
This usually happens when you are mobbing. Try switching to High Guard stance instead. Also, be more generous on your potion usage. A healing potion is much cheaper than a resuscitation potion.

Conclusion
A fighter is highly versatile and is able to adapt to many situations. Because a fighter is able to use most weapons, whenever you find a superior weapon, try switching to that stance instead. This saves you Vis that might be spent on upgrading the fighter's equipment.



Our guess writer Odesseiron (blackprince208@hotmail.com) is a player from Pachelbel Server who leads the Blood†Angel faction. All rights reserved to him.

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