Silkroad Online Forums

WHAT IS HAPPENING IN SRO CURRENTLY...
Int hybrid spear (IHS) users are not a rare sight in SRO nowadays. They exists in the form from 1:2, 1:3, 1:4 etc up to 90% mag balance build (for reference go to http://www.silkroadforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=20038) However whichever is the best choice is not an issue here...it's a common consensus that gears determines the best character.

SO WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS POST??
The purpose of my post is more of “propaganda" intended to provide people, especially those first timer and impatient souls out there an alternative to playing SRO.

There are too many posts; too many guides out there telling people what’s the best, or better build. These builds include pure int s/s, pure str glaive/blade, pure int spear etc and they are all focused on capped characters, meaning characters at level cap. But all these are not the concern here. The concern here is building an HIS that lvls fast, thus allowing players to experience what is it like to be a high lvl in SRO as soon as possible.

Many of you might have noticed, most IHS builds or guides on building IHS involves taking up fire mastery and using fire as the main imbue with lighting mastery as the sub force and heuksal mastery. They require you to take up fire imbue, fire shield, fire protection, flame body, fire passive and book 2 and 3 of fire nuke. It is so to allow for maximum damage and maximum protection. No doubt about that.

However, in order to maintain 3 masteries, namely fire, lighting and heuksal, farming or grinding with >4 level gap is inevitable. Regardless the choice of obtaining sp, it will definitely be long and boring and might eventually put off people, especially first timers, resulting in them quitting SRO.

SO WHAT DO YOU SUGGEST AND WHY??
My suggestion is as stated in the topic title.

There will not be a specific build recommended; it’s all up to individual preferences. But what is important is to get heuksal and lighting mastery only.
Heuksal Mastery
Soul Departs Spear Series – Max
Ghost Spear Attack Series – Max
Cheolsam Force Series (Passive) – Max

Lighting Mastery
Thunder Force Series – Max
Piercing Force Series – Max
Wind Walk Series – Max
Concentration Series – Max
Thunderbolt Force Series – Max
Heaven's Force Series (Passive) - Max

The way to go about building this is to keep a 2 lvl gap and it will provide more than enough sp to max out all the skills stated.

Why only lighting? As mentioned earlier, adopting the convention build that require fire need a lot more sp in order to maintain.

Farming to get the sp takes a very long time and is very monotonous. For first timers, it is an experience that will most of the time deter them from continuing in the game.

Grinding with >4 lvl gap means that the character will take a longer time to level and at the same time, the character will be using lousier skills compared to others, making them more vulnerable.

Training with a 2 lvl gap to maintain a lighting HIS, on the other hand, allows players to lvl fast enough to get to experience the life of being high lvl in SRO fast. As for the reason why lighting is recommended is because as an int heavy character, piercing force series is almost a must to get. In addition, there is also the wind walk series; another must get skill in the lighting mastery. Comparing to the skills in the fire series:

Fire Shield Series
A must get skills to be immune to abnormal status. However, immunity is almost, if not totally impossible at low level stages, including up to 5x and maybe 6x. If that is the case, what is the point of getting fire shield when in the end one will have to rely on pills.

Flame Body Series
Erm, this is arguable but as a int heavy character, the effect that this skill has on the amount of damage dealt is rather insignificant. At lv 5x where a SST deals around 800 damage average to a lv 5x monster, an additional 5% or 7% is still very insignificant.

Fire Protection Series
There aren’t many magic based mobs out there that make this skill a must. In terms of pvp, unless you are like 6x where the skill gives >70 mag def, the effect is again insignificant. Anyway, to get the extra >70 mag def at lvl 6x is just equivalent to wielding an invisible shield that cannot block. Furthermore, you are int heavy, meaning that your mag def is already high. In addition, the fire protection skill is only useful against magical attacks. If it is a nuke that deals a few thousand damage to you, the extra >70 mag def only reduces it by few hundred points.

Now comes the fire imbue and nukes vs lighting imbue and nukes
SP wise, lighting needs less sp.

Damage wise, fire may be dealing the most damage, but it’s only at the later stages where the difference in damage is significant. In addition, one gains access to the lighting nuke book 2 at lv 50 lighting mastery. At level 1, the lighting nuke deals more damage then the fire nuke book 2 at lvl 4, that is level 49-fire mastery (263 – 489 (300%) vs 272 – 453 (300%)) and the lighting nuke will out damage fire nuke all the way until fire nuke is max at lvl 69.

Grinding wise, lighting definitely has the upper hand due to its splash effect. One just needs to alternate between the 2 books of lighting nukes (if there is) and ghost spear and one is able to take out a lot of mobs in very short time. This allows for maximum exp input vs time spent on dishing out the damage, thus enabling one gain level faster, which fulfils the purpose of me suggesting this build. Another point to take note is that be it fire or lighting, as long as one is IHS, one should be able to kill an orange mob in 2 hits. So its just a matter of how “over killed” is the mob.

PvP wise, what I can say about this build in comparison with the “traditional” IHS during pvp is that gear matters^^. Few points to take note, having a build with 2 level gap is definitely better than having a build that has >4 level gap (assuming that the player decides to maintain his fire IHS by keeping >4 level gap). As for fire IHS player who farmed at early stages, good for you, but if they were to take up this lighting IHS, they would have been at a higher level due to time spent on farming.

Reaching here, I would say I’m almost done with the “propaganda”, though there is some information that I might forget to include. With that, I welcome any comments regardless of its content, be it “NOOB” or “BULLSHIT” or “I DISAGREE…” or “LMAO” or whatever it is posted^^.

You don't use Ice Tree ? It's 84 phy defense for an I-need-all-the-def Int Hybrid Spear (IHS as you said).
There's no point just lvling up fast but have to abandon useful buff and skill. And if you don't lvling Ice Tree for Defense passive and buff so may I ask how can you gather mobs and tank ?
Some ppl may say that Phy Defense in Ice Tree won't important, that's up to you guys but is it better than nothing ? HP Passive + Defense Passive or just HP Passive ?

my build use sword/light/ice/heuksal...use alot less sp since i skip fire..

IMO,if u do want to use 2 mastery:spear and light better go with naked 69% phy and 70% mag...since more phy add to ur weapon attack and phy defense...lack of body wisdom from fire and lack of ice buff from ice

quite cool a cool idea..fast climbing to 80 and then farm for ice or fire at cap

Interesting view and point made. I like it.

i agree...new idea for fun playing...

actually i really want to try a variety of build but the balance is the element in this game is bias to fire and make it the most often element of choice of any player...

fire has status error negate,enhance physical damage,magic protection and most damaging....

joymax should balance this in the beginnig IMO...like

fire:magic protection,status error
light:parry,magical damage
ice:enhance damage and defense

i think with this balance will can end up with 2 masteries only...instead of saying "i really like ice but i cant skip fire"

RE: Charlotte
yes i agree that IHS is kinda i-need-all-the-def build. However, the qns here is is the amt of def that the ice provide that important in the process of leveling from lv 1 to lv 6x (where u can get 84 def from ice)

Take for example at lv 52 where u can get ice passive lv 5 (+18 def) and ice buff book 3 lv 3 (+20 def), so all in all u get 38 def.
A lv 52 +3 shield gives arnd 4x to 5x phy def (depending on %)
A penon on average hit me 500+ damage (w/o shield) whereas with shield, i only receive 450+ damage on average.
What im trying to illustrate here is with an additional 4x - 5x def, it only reduce the damage i receive by around 50+ to maybe a 100+, so what makes the 38 def so significant? Don't forget, the focus here is to 'enjoy' the game as you level and not entirely on the end game stage of it, meaning when you are lv 6x with +84 def.
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Ok I'm sorry I just didn't read the post carefully and I thought that you would abandon the Ice Tree
Anyway you have the point. Good guide.
And sorry again for my misunderstand.