Force Shielder
CONTENTS
1. Introduction
2. Skills
3. Combos
4. Skill Bars
5. Gear Builds
1. Introduction
Welcome! I see you have begun your journey into Nevareth my young padawan. The Force Shielder (FS) class is one of the easiest classes to play, however, if played correctly it can be quite deadly and indestructible. For FS, everything is about trade-offs. First off, the class starts out with a low base attack, however to compensate for this we gain a powerful rate buff as well as additional critical damage embedded within our higher level skills. Secondly, we have the option to trade our high defense to gain that high attack back. This means that if we can survive at a very low defense, we have the potential to do tremendous amounts of damage. When this potentially is fully unlocked, FS excel at PvE when in BM3. Naturally, FS excel at PvP to begin with due to the rate buff and the critical damage within our heaviest skills. This means that FS are above average in nation war, free style, and dueling.
This guide will teach you how to unlock that potential, as mentioned above. There may be more than one particular style or preference; however, this guide will illustrate my own style. It will serve as a basis to develop your own critical ideas and thoughts about FS so that you can mature your own individual style.
2. Skills
These are the skills and their levels that I use. The choice of attack skills will be explained in the next section for combos.
Sword Skills
- Mighty Wish gives FS 60 extra base attack, and should be used at all times in conjunction with crushing blade which is described in the magic skills section.
- Sheild Grenade(SG) is your best friend. It hits hard and with only a 3s cool-down, it has the highest damage per second(DPS) of all your moves.
- Shield Splinter(SS) hits as hard as SG, but with a 4s cooldown its pretty slow.
- Shield Break(SB) hits just about as hard as SG/SS due to the 20% gain from hitting a single target. i.e. the yellow text which states “The numbers of targets and their location within range affect the number of attacks. The number of attacks affects the amount of damage. Pierce through the selected target.” This is set to Lv. 20 to focus more on the dueling and nation war aspect of the game than PvE and because you already have two other harder hitting moves. You will find that you rarely ever use Shield Break due to its extremely long cast time of 4s. So if you do use it, you want it to be worth using in the first place.
- Force Kick(FK) is irreplaceable due to its ability to cover long distances in about 1s. This is how FS catch FA/WI as they attempt to range from a distance.
- Shield Charge is very useful due to its ability to charge the enemy from a range of 4. Much like a tackle, it allows you to move distance while attacking, though not as much as FK.
- Impact Stab is the most powerful filler other than Force kick.
- Shield Ray is very useful for its long range of 7; however the DPS is not as high as other moves.
- Rising Shot, Power Slash, Force Stab, Soaring Shot are extra fillers. They really don’t do anything special.
- As a side note, Provocation and Field of Provocation should be utilized in PvE dungeons to take the agro from WI/FA so they do not take damage.
HP is a must, therefore Vitality Mastery must be equipped. Offensive Sense & Impact control are also a must as they give attack. Damage Absorb & Defensive Sense give defense. Sixth Sense gives defense rate. Pretty basic selection, however, defense, hp, attack should all take priority.
- Regeneration is semi-useful for dueling in tight situations where the extra few hp make a difference but overall not that useful of a skill.
- Crushing Blade is the single most important buff an FS has. It gives 24 rate and 45 critical damage. Do I really need to say more?
- Heal is useful to heal yourself randomly after a PvP, although not really useful unless time correctly during a dungeon, but more often than not it is a waste, but we have the magic points to waste so why not.
- Shield Harden gives 29 extra defense, this is pretty good for dungeons.
- Resist intension helps prevent down, knock down and stun. This is pretty useful in situations where these are common. i.e. Nation War & dungeons like Maquinas Outpost.
- Shadow Shield is very useful for PK and PvE. It is never used in a duel. Shadow Shield can be effective in Nation War, but it must be used when a party member only needs an extra second or two to survive so he or she can run away. This means that you have to pay careful attention to party members health at all times to use this effectively to save par ty members in nation war. Similarly, Shadow Shield should be used the same way in dungeons. It should be saved until the last second before a party member dies. It takes practice to get the timing right, but if cast too soon, it is often completely wasted.
- Art of Defense is another one of the Force Shielder Trade-offs. AOD must be used effectively, at the right times in order to produce the best result. If used correctly, it is very powerful in all aspects of the game, although never used in dueling. You cannot move in AOD, but you also take little to almost no damage unless being attacked by a stronger player which has a high attack. BM3 can break AOD. Make sure to choose the right spot! This is often learned through experience, however if you see a large group of caps in nation war that are trying to take a common objective such as a resurrection tower and you are sure that they won't just leave the area after you go AOD. Perhaps they are trying to farm fellow procs that are respawning... however as a rule of thumb, do not ever go aod next to a medium or small guard. Caps will just move and the guard will follow, leaving you high and dry!
- Mortal Bane should be used in PvE in conjunction with AOD. This will boost your attack while having less of an impact on your defense. In other aspects of the game, this buff is for advanced users only. In nation war, I use mortal bane on the guards, but that is only because I can survive many hits, even in mortal bane. The key to using Mortal Bane effectively is high vamp. A vamp of 3-5% depending on your output damage with 100 or more HP absorb limit up is recommended. A check should be performed by ensuring that your HP Steal % multiplied by your non-critical damage is greater than or equal to your HP Absorb Limit up. Then you will be certain to gain your HP absorb Limit Up every hit, which should be at least 100 HP per Hit. This is critical.
The rest of the useful magic skills are cannons which are only used for fun or to knock down aggressive FBs after they root you.
3. Combos
The Force Shielder combo is very easy for dueling. The idea is to maximize the number of shield grenades you can do in a single PvP. To achieve this, start out by casting SG then follow with fillers like Force Kick, Impact Stab, etc. You may use SS during this period. When SG is ready again, cast it and repeat. If you are low on HP, and BOTH your SS & SG are on cooldown, you may wish to use Shield Break at Lv 20 to finish your opponent before he finishes you. You can experiment with different fillers to figure out what you like best, however keep in mind that the best DPS(damage per second) fillers are Force Kick, Impact Stab, and Shield Charge.
For nation war, the same idea as above follows only now you wish to focus on repeating SG, SS and SB as many times as possible, and using fillers in-between.
4. Skill Bars
Skill bars can pretty much be set up however you want as long as you utilize the ideas above. It all comes down to what is easiest for you. Here is how I have mine set up.
I take advantage of the ability to set specific key bindings for expanded quick slots.
5. Gear Build
Force Shielders should basically be setup in the following manner to maximize Rate/Critical Damage/AMP/Attack:
Killians/Merg
3xDamage Rings(Either CR2/3 or ROF10)
7%+ AMP in suit, boots & glove
7/40 Helm (36 DMG is good, but use ROL1/2 to replace a Damage Ring)
AOP6(AOP5 is good until you can afford AOP6)
EOF7/8 or SIG EOF7
Belt of Damp+4
BOF6/7
Earrings can be Drosnin, however:
Defense is preferred for PvE
Health for dueling/PK
Force Regen for Nation War
Weapons should be forcium grade+11 or equivalent(SIG+15) to maximize your attack stat.
Weapons should have a high element of Critical Damage.
Remember that your attack multiplied by your amp will determine if you are able to break your targets defense, if you are unable… your critical damage will not have as great an effect.
5. Gear Build
Force Shielders should basically be setup in the following manner to maximize Rate/Critical Damage/AMP/Attack:
Killians/Merg
3xDamage Rings(Either CR2/3 or ROF10)
7%+ AMP in suit, boots & glove
7/40 Helm (36 DMG is good, but use ROL1/2 to replace a Damage Ring)
AOP6(AOP5 is good until you can afford AOP6)
EOF7/8 or SIG EOF7
Belt of Damp+4
BOF6/7
Earrings can be Drosnin, however:
Defense is preferred for PvE
Health for dueling/PK
Force Regen for Nation War
Weapons should be forcium grade+11 or equivalent(SIG+15) to maximize your attack stat.
Weapons should have a high element of Critical Damage.
Remember that your attack multiplied by your amp will determine if you are able to break your targets defense, if you are unable… your critical damage will not have as great an effect.