View source for Optimization Guide


Every soul is a good soul. But some are better than others at doing their job. This is an attempt at systematically classifying every combat soul, and contains some tips for proper optimization.

=[[Army Magician]]=
'''Pros:''' 
* Extremely high raw damage output. (4th highest in game at 155% damage dealt)
* Excellent DoT damage
* High, Specialized Affinities
* Strong Skills
* Potent AoE

'''Cons:'''
* Poor HP
* Poor access to armor
* Low defenses
* Low accuracy
* Has no natural healing mechanism


'''Recommended Secondary Souls:''' 
* [[Ninja]] (Strong hpbuffer passive)
* [[Medicine]] Souls (Allows equipping field medicines)
* [[Dark Knight]] (Heavy armor access + Vampiric passive)
* Pet Souls ([[Machine Priest]], [[Golem Crafter]] for tanking pets)
* [[Windrunner]] (Niche item. [[Fine Tuned]]/[[Heavy]]/[[Guided]] [[short bow]] + attack and accuracy passive]] 

'''''Avoid:''''' 
* Cover souls (Fighter, Crusader)
* Fire souls (Lightning caller!!)

Building souls for Army Magician is very simple. Avoid high fire/air magic overlaps and focus on shoring up the extreme weaknesses of this DPS centric soul. Cover makes you take damage for allies. Avoid!!

'''Recommended Items:'''
* [[Flame of the Creator]]([[Venomous]]/[[Creator Inspired]]/[[Heaviest]] = 83 base damage over 4 rounds)

* [[Parrying blade]] ([[Fine Tuned]]/[[Heavy]]/[[Guided]]/[[Large]]) = Much needed 20 defense + 10 accuracy buff that is cheap and fast! Stronger with [[Heavier]] / [[Heaviest]] usable with [[Light weapons affinity]])

'''Recommended Dedications'''

'''Optimal:''' 
* Sphinx (Damagebuff + Technical on the Answer)
* Phoenix (Healing + free Revive)
* Elementalist (Tank pet or Healing pet)
'''
Ok:''' 
* Elemental Dragon (Some resists)
* Siren (AoEguard in party to take less damage)
* Cerebrus (DoT attack + some resists)

''Avoid:''
* Kraken (AoEmod capped at +1 target. -damagebuff hurtful)
* Kirin (Cover)

=[[Bard]]=

=[[Berserker]]=

=[[Cannoneer]]=

=[[Champion of light]]=

=[[Crusader]]=

=[[Dark Knight]]=

=[[Duelist]]=
'''Pros:''' 
* Great at fighting one or two enemies
* Variety of combat skills make for a versatile base
* High damage and high defenses stat
* Capable of heavy damage bursts
* Good proficiency selection
* Combat soul with some non-combat proficiencies

'''Cons:'''
* No inherent AoE attacks
* Defenses may be strong, but are very thin
* Very easy to burst through energy reserves
* Split focus means other souls are better at specializing
* No innate healing capabilities

'''Recommended Secondary Souls:''' 
* Souls with strong AoE ([[Army Magician]], [[Street Fighter]], [[Mage Adept]])
* Souls with ''complimentary'' styles ([[Samurai]] increases Defense and uses counter damage, [[Ninja]]'s [[Smoke Grenade]] and [[Sudden Decoy]] complement high defenses and the HPBuffer helps compensate for low resist/low HP)
* [[Army Magician]] adds two strong AoE attacks and a passive +Damage power, as well as enough Fire and Air magic to allow the use of [[Thunderbolt]], [[Flame of the Creators]], and [[Guided]].
* [[Monk]] and [[Street Fighter]] both add the [[Twirling Kick]] AoE attack, useful passive powers, and allow the use of high quality Moderate Weapons.

'''''Avoid:''''' 
* Souls that ''duplicate'' proficiency or with ''conflicting'' styles.
* [[Crusader]] and [[Fighter]] rely on toughness and durability without complimenting Duelist's strengths like [[Samurai]] or [[Ninja]]
* [[Scholar]] and [[Dark Magician]] have AoE debuffs, but Duelist does not have the base capabilities to fully use them
* [[Windrunner]], [[Rogue]], and [[Shrouded Assassin]] all have positive benefits, but their heavy overlap limits their utility.

The Duelist 
'''Recommended Items:'''
* [[Parying Dagger]] - Thanks to Avoidance 3, the defense bonus from this item is increased by 45% - easily providing 60 or so defense for the Duelist.
* [[Swift Sword]] - Instant attack for high damage, although the bonus penetration from Duelist's combat skills doesn't add much.
* [[Martial Training]] - Even without Flurry, the Martial Training is an excellent option for a duelist's 'main' attack.

'''Recommended Dedications'''

'''Optimal:''' 
* Spyguard - Thematically fun and provides a lot of bonuses to RP rolls
* Kraken - Duelist -needs- good equipment, and Kraken's Technical boosts it. Also, AoE Swift Swords.

Ok:''' 
* Phoenix - Fiery Rebirth comes in handy
* 3D Magister - Duelist gets many fast attacks, so can reliably proc the abilities every turn; the energy drain will hurt though.


''Avoid:''
* Kraken - Damage shifted by cover uses the source's defense, and not yours. This will kill a duelist quickly
* Gryphon - The Duelist's innate attack powers are weak; it relies heavily on equipment.

=[[Fighter]]=
=[[Monk]]=
=[[Priest]]=
=[[Windrunner]]=
'''Pros:''' 
* Decent damage dealer
* Light Weapons (No energy problems or cooldown issues)
* High Athletics (No energy issues)
* Strong at Repeats (2 attack, high accuracy, has 2 flurry. Has access to [[Guided]])
* Fast cooldowns

'''Cons:'''
* Below average base damage potential (127%)
* Poor access to armor
* Low defenses
* Has no natural healing mechanism
* Weak soul powers


'''Recommended Secondary Souls:''' 
* [[Ninja]] (Strong hpbuffer passive)
* [[Medicine]] Souls (Allows equipping field medicines)
* [[Dark Knight]] (Heavy armor access + Vampiric passive)
* Pet Souls ([[Machine Priest]], [[Golem Crafter]] for tanking pets)
* [[Gunslinger]] (2 strong passives. Can afford to pay energy for [[Double Tap]] and can use [[quick draw]]) 

'''''Avoid:''''' 
* Light weapons classes (Large overlap in proficiencies)
* Cover souls ([[Crusader]], [[Fighter]])

Windrunner is a very specialized class. As a light weapons class, it never runs into cooldown issues. As of such, avoid picking classes that have many active skills to deal damage as they will not fit into a strong light weapons rotation. It has a niche role providing defense debuffs with guided longbow and hand crossbow that no other class can provide.

'''Recommended Items:'''
* [[Short Bow]]([[Venomous]]/[[Creator Inspired]]/[[Heaviest]] = 83 base damage over 4 rounds)
* [[Short Bow]]([[Fine Tuned]]/[[Crystal Sheened]]/[[Toughened]]/[[Heaviest]]) = Get statusboost, defense, damageresist and apply defensedebuff, energyresistdebuff, damageresist debuff to shred boss defenses!!
* [[Swift Sword]] ([[Guided]]/[[Heavier]] Optimized for Windrunners, it provides a lot of damage and buffing power)
* [[Guided Longbow]] ([[Heaviest]]/[[Fine Tuned]] One of the stronger defense debuffs around)


'''Recommended Dedications'''

'''Optimal:''' 
* Sphinx (Damagebuff + Technical on the Answer)
* Phoenix (Healing + free Revive)
* Elementalist (Tank pet or Healing pet)
* Kraken (Free AoE proc chance + technical)
* 3d Magister (Can sustain heavy energy cost on toggle)
* Spyguard (Very potent repeat attack actually worth using)
'''
Ok:''' 
* Elemental Dragon (Some resists)
* Siren (AoEguard in party to take less damage)
* Cerebrus (some resists)

''Avoid:''
* Kirin (Cover)
* Basilisk (2 weak actives)

=[[Winter Witch]]=