Pach 100, Fire 100, Cold 100 Guide [100 Cap]
First off, I just want to tell you a bit about myself, so you know this information is coming from a reliable source, not from a level 52 inexperienced bower on his first char, for example. I started this game roughly 4 years ago, in which I've had a few near to, or capped chars. The two which will be relevant here are the 78 Bower at 80 cap, and currently my 98 FF Bower that I’m playing right now. It used to be 100 Pach, 100 Fire, 80 Light, 20 Cold, but I deleveled Light mastery for the Cold tree. This guide will explain the basics of the build, and why I chose Cold over Light. To anyone reading who thinks Cold mastery for an Str build is a waste, I want you to read this guide with an open mind. When I was a Light Bower at level 95, I thought the same, that Cold was a waste of a mastery and Light would benefit me a lot more. Then after reading some threads and finding out the advantages and disadvantages of the Cold and Light masteries, I made my decision on switching, and since then I’ve never looked back.
Which Masteries Are Best?
Basically there are two options for a pure Str Bower. The 100 Pach, 100 Fire, 80 Light, 20 Cold build. This is an all rounder which is pretty good in PvP, and PvE. The other build is 100 Pach, 100 Fire, 100 Cold. It excels in PvP and in my opinion, at the current cap is the best Chinese PvP build out there.
Why I Prefer Pach 100, Fire 100, Cold 100.
Phy Defence Increase - At level 100, your phy passive and buff will increase your phy defence by 336 which is a considerable amount. To put it in prospective, a 98 +5 Chinese Shield has 230 Phy Defence. This phy defence increase gives you an edge over any other Str Fire/Light build in PvP, which is the main reason why it's so successful in PvP.
Cold Imbue – I’ve got to be honest, Ice Imbue was a bit of a disappointment for me. 95% of all capped players are ice immune, rendering Cold imbue pretty useless. It isn't without its strengths though, it’s useful for jobbing when you get those Hunters/Thieves that have just been ressed with Oblation, and are unbuffed (without Fire Shield or Holy Spell), then the Ice Imbue comes into its own. I also used it as my main Imbue for PvE. For the amount of SP it costs however, I didn't think it was worth it so I deleveled this skill, but don't let me put you off, just because I don't find it useful, maybe you will.
Ice Wall - Ice Wall is great for PvP, I mainly use it against nukers. It prevents them from using KD so you are free to hit them as you please. Then when their Snow Shield and Castle Shield has ran out, you have 45 seconds to kill them. Ice Shield comes into its own in this situation, because most S/S Nukers will spam KD until they have Snow Shield again, but obviously putting up Ice Wall will prevent this, leave them open for you to 2-3 hit them. This skill is also useful against Int Warlocks. Because Warlocks debuffs can't penetrate through Ice Wall, it renders their debuffs useless. To add insult to injury, they can't cancel the wall because they have no phy attack.
Why Pach 100, Fire 100, Light 80, 20 Cold Could Be Better For You.
Speed - Light 80 gives a 77% speed increase. For Cold Bowers it can be expensive to grind, 50% speed drugs cost roughly 100k that lasts 30 minutes, that would cost around 800k for just a 4 hour grinding session. What I tend to do is join exp/item share grinding parties. This saves money because you don't have to buy speed drugs. If you’re grinding in Jangan Tomb it would be a good idea just to buy 1 100% speed drug to get you to your grinding area. Light Bowers also have Phantom, which imo is the most useful skill in the Lightning tree. It increases versatility and is a life saver when jobbing.
SP Efficient - This build uses a lot less SP than the 100 Cold build which I think is why imo there are so few 100 Cold Bowers out there. Light Bower uses roughly 200k SP less than the Cold Bower.
Parry Increase - Parry is extremely important and often under estimated. At 80, the parry buff and passive gives 62 parry increase, which can be a life safe in PvP.
I was Light Bower until level 95, then deleveled Light to take Cold and since then I've never looked back. The phy def increase is really noticeable when PvPing other Str chars. I have won around 98% of every Light Str build my level, even those wearing Protector. The lack of speed is not really a problem because I just buy 50% or 100% speed drugs whenever I’m jobbing or PvPing. They dig a little hole in my pocket, but nothing which I can't make up with stalling.
Pure or Hybrid?
If you are planning on leveling up the Cold mastery, you may be tempted on going slightly Hybrid so you are able to use a higher Snow Shield. In my opinion it's not worth sacrificing your HP for a little more damage. Crits are what kill in PvP, and although your overall damage will be slightly higher, Hybrids crits will be the same, if not slightly lower than a pure Strs crits. Snow Shield will help your survivability a lot, however when it runs out, you are a sitting duck. This is just my opinion, if you want to go Hybrid, go for it. It all depends on your personal taste.
The Gear
For a Cold bower, Garment is perfect. Str builds have a high phy defence already, and the Cold phy buff and passive gives you an even higher phy defence. This leaves you with a low mag defence though, but Garment makes up for it. Garment is also useful for the 20% speed increase, and reduces your MP consumption by 20% which is extremally useful when PvPing with 25% Snow Shield. At the cap, your Garment set needs to be fully pimped and at least +5 to give you any chance against your own level in PvP. This is less important when your lower level.
Phy and Mag % - Obviously the higher the %, the more defence you will have. For most people, 41% is minimum. This is the least important white, so if you are struggling for money, you can probably leave these without it making a considerable difference.
Parry Ratio % - The most important white on your set. If you don't know what parry does, I will explain. Say the damage you receive from a mob has a range between 500 - 700 for example, the higher your parry, the more chance of the mob hitting 500 damage. Basically, the higher your parry, the higher your defence, and the less damage you will receive. This white should always be pimped at the cap or else you will be at a huge disadvantage to other players. I like to have mine at at least 61%. Obviously if you're low level it's less important.
Phy and Mag Reinforcment % - Your phy defence is dependant on how much Str you have. If you have 500 Str for example, and have a phy reinforcement of 50%, then the defence of that piece of gear will be phy defence + 0.5 x 500. This is why Str builds have more phy defence than Int builds, and vice versa for Int builds. Your total phy defence is all physical defences on your gear, plus the total of all the reinforcements. Like all the other stats, it only really makes a difference at higher levels.
The Bow
Phy and Mag % - Obviously the higher the %, the more damage you will make. Because you are Str, most of your damage is physical so a phy of 61%+ is essential. The mag % is slightly less important but it’s not completely useless. 41%+ would be recommended.
Attack Rating % - Extremely important to increase your damage. Works the same way as parry. This white should be at least 61%.
Critical % - As a phy build, this is the most important white on your bow. Without crits you probably wouldn't be able to kill anyone your level. As a Bower, crits are what kill your opponent in PvP. One crit will double your phy damage by 100%. At 100, one crit of Strongbow can hit up to 23k on other Str builds which is a lot bearing in mind they have only 41-44k hp. Your 98 Bow should have a crit of at least 10 (80%)if you can afford it, if not, a crit of at least 8 (60%) is essential.
Phy and Mag Reinforcement % - The second most important white on your bow. The phy rein % should be at least 61%, and the mag rein % at least 41%. The reinforcements on the bow work the same way as the reinforcements on gear, but increasing attack power instead of defence.
The Skills
Anti Devil Bow Series
Required - One of your main skills. You will be using it a lot for PvP and PvE. The 5th book gives a 40 critical increase, so around 50% of your hits with this skill should be a crit.
Arrow Combo Attack Series
Required - Pretty useless and weak in lower levels, but the 4th and 5th book give KB. Useful for PvP only. If you use it often in PvE, you will find the durability on your Bow will plumet, and your arrows will run out quickly. A life saver in PvP, one of the Bowers most useful skills. Can be used to cancel the opponents attack when your HP is low, giving you enough time for your HP to recover.
Hawk Training Series
Required - I would get the Blue Hawk only. The attack rating increase really does help with your damage. The Black Hawk is quite weak, doing less damage than a wolf of the same level.
Autumn Wind Arrow Series
Optional - I maxed this skill but deleveled it at later levels because it was weak. It's exactly like the Anti Devil Bow Series but without the crit increase. If you do get it, it shouldn't be used in PvP. Strictly PvE only.
Break Heaven Arrow Series
Required - Obviously you should get it. The USP of the Bower is the range, and this series allows you to hit further.
Explosion Arrow Series
Required - Your second strongest skill. The first 2 books are weak, however the 3rd book gets a lot stronger. Has an attack rating increase which helps with the damage, and does surround damage making it nice for PvE.
Strong Bow Series
Required - Your most powerful skill, and with the 4th book, best looking skill. The 3rd and 4th book have stun, crit increase and range increase.
Mind Bow Series
Optional - I had this maxed but deleveled it at later levels. It's useful for powerleveling and possibly grinding but the damage is seriously weak. It's up to you whether you get this.
Mind Concentration Series (Passive)
Required - Obviously get it, increases attack rating which helps with your damage.
River fire force
Required - This will be your main imbue.
Fire Shield Series
Required- At lower levels it's not really important, but at the cap it becomes extremally useful. Makes you immune to statuses such as burn, electric and freeze. You will need sufficent blues on your jewelry to be 100% immune though.
Flame Body Series
Required - Obviously you need this. Since your an Str based build, without this buff your attack would be low.
Fire Protection Series
Required - Increases mag defence, and as an Str build, mag defence is what you lack in. This buff should make up for it a little bit.
Fire Wall Series
Optional - Useful in PvP, useless in PvE. Prevents Bladers and Warriors from KDing you and is also useful to prevent Warlocks from debuffing you. It's also good to use as a final lifeline against Nukers, for example if your HP is low, cast Fire Wall and the damage will be absorbed by the Fire Wall for a few seconds, then continue with KB. If you havn't enough SP to max it, just level it to level 1.
Flame Wave Series
Not Needed - You don't need this. You can level them up to level 1 just for fun.
Fire Combustion
Optional - At higher levels, most people have PK2 so XBows/Wizards don't get the chance to go under Stealth or Invis.
Flame Devil Force Series (Passive)
Required - Increases your phy damage. Get it.
Cold Force Series
Optional - I leveled this up to level 98, then deleveled it. The majority of capped players are Ice immune so it was useless against most people. It is however effective in PvE to freeze mobs.
Frost Guard Series
Required - This buff along with the passive is the main reason why Cold mastery is so helpful in PvP. At 96, the buff maxes out with 158 phy def increase.
Cold Wave Attack Series
Optional - Because most capped players are ice immune, I didn't get this.
Frost Wall Series
Optional - Handy in PvP against Int Warlocks to prevent them from casting any debuffs on you, and also against S/S Nukers to prevent them from KDing you. If you don't have sufficent SP to max this, then just level it to level 1.
Frost Nova Series
Optional - Because most capped players are ice immune, I didn't get this.
Snow Storm Series
Not Needed - You don't need nukes. You can level it to level 1 just for fun.
Snow Shield Series
Required - I just maxed the first 2 books. 25% is the highest Snow Shield you can use for a pure Str in PvP. Any higher and your MP will drain.
Cold Armor Series (Passive)
Required - This passive maxed at 100 gives 178 phy def increase. This combined with the phy def buff 336 phy def increase. The most important skill in the Cold mastery.
If you have any constructive criticism, or any ways to improve the guide, or even any comments whatsoever, good or bad, I will be glad to hear from you.
Fire wall is really useful at higher levels when your capped. If you don't have enough SP, then leave it at level 1 and max it when you get a little higher. And Mind Bow I found really weak. I used to have it but deleveled it because the amount of SP it took was not worth it. I tried using it in PvE but it didn't do enough damage on the mobs.
