2008-07-07, 09:44 PM
(Yes, I just c&p'ed this from sleepywood)
I'm a level 140 Dark Knight, without any HP washing, and to be honest, we have it tough. We need to max (or pseudo-max) at least 2 skills before our main 4th job skill is useful, but! Here's how I think it can be done best. Or, my rough build, or how I'd have done it if I had I had a little more experience or guidance on 4th job. So, let's go!
L120 - 1 Rush (1), 2 Beholder (2)
L121 - 3 Beholder (5)
L122 - 3 Beholder (8)
L123 - 2 Beholder (10), 1 Maple Warrior (1)
Rush needs to be one of your first skills, or you need to have a point ready to put on it when you can do the quest. It's essential, really. However, level 1 is plenty for a long time.
Beholder comes next because that's the first skill that will make you stronger. The extra 20% mastery is passive, so you don't need to summon the beholder (It makes a nice wee waste of 60 MP for a kinda cool effect though
)
L124 - 3 Maple Warrior (4)
L125 - 3 Maple Warrior (7)
L126 - 2 Maple Warrior (9), 1 Berserk (1)
I put Maple Warrior next because, despite the fact that if you party, you'll almost certainly have it anyway, I've found myself soloing way too much, and I don't know what I'd do without it. It helps, trust me.
EDIT: After what banditcom said, getting Maple Warrior later could be a good idea. I found the extra damage useful, but if you're partying a lot, there's really no point, and as he said, early Stance would probably be more useful.
L127 - 3 Berserk (4)
L128 - 3 Berserk (7)
L129 - 3 Berserk (10)
L130 - 3 Berserk (13)
L131 - 3 Berserk (16)
L132 - 3 Berserk (19)
L133 - 1 Berserk (20), 2 Power Stance (2)
Berserk next, because why not? Despite it being mostly useless for now, there are places where it helps. You can use it on weaker bosses, such as mushmom, geist balrog if your APQ party has no healer, or on weaker mobs, such as the Bain armory (Although I've found that to be bad exp)
However, if you can't get a Berserk 20 mastery book, don't bother getting more than 5 berserk. Cap your berserk at 5 until you have a mastery book for it, because L10 berserk is pointless. Don't bother with it. So, if you don't have a Berserk 20 mastery book, save your points or just continue with the next skill:
L134 - 3 Power Stance (5)
L135 - 3 Power Stance (8)
L136 - 2 Power Stance (10), 1 Aura of the Beholder (1)
Power Stance next because, as a DK, you're probably bossing fairly often, and it is really handy, and it does help with training, despite what people say. If you're hitting a mob and you don't get hit back, it helps you kill it faster.
L137 - 3 Aura of the Beholder (4)
L138 - 3 Aura of the Beholder (7)
L139 - 3 Aura of the Beholder (10)
L140 - 3 Aura of the Beholder (13)
L141 - 3 Aura of the Beholder (16)
L142 - 3 Aura of the Beholder (19)
L143 - 3 Aura of the Beholder (22)
L144 - 3 Aura of the Beholder (25)
This is the first of the two skills that will make your berserking life a lot easier. Since I started maxing this, I've found it useful, I no longer need to use HP pots when I'm doing cake (It's L13 for me right now), which I know, is a weak monster, but it just goes to show that it is helpful. 500 HP every 4 seconds is nice, and if you don't need a heal, it saves up the heal until you get hit.
Another note is this skill will not take you out of berserk. So if your berserking limit at L144 is 4350 or so, it won't heal you until you get below 3850 HP. And, like I said above, it will save up your heal until you get hit below there.
By this point, you really need L20 berserk, because you should (I might be wrong, I'm not quite 144) be able to berserk at himes.
L145 - 3 Power Stance (13)
L146 - 3 Power Stance (16)
L147 - 3 Power Stance (19)
More Power Stance now is optional, it's what I'll be doing because I boss run often. If you boss plenty too, go ahead with L20 Stance or save points for it (As, since Pap is being stingy to me, I'm likely to wind up doing), otherwise, skip it until later.
L148 - 1 Power Stance (20), 2 Achilles (2)
L149 - 3 Achilles (5)
L150 - 3 Achilles (8)
L151 - 3 Achilles (11)
L152 - 3 Achilles (14)
L153 - 3 Achilles (17)
L154 - 3 Achilles (20)
This is the other skill which will help your berserking. This lowers your damage by 10%. On himes, this is about 170 damage, down to 1500-1600, on skelegons, this is about 330 damage, down to ~3000, depending on what your DEF and such is. And yes, this works on all damage, including 1/1 attacks.
Another way to look at this skill is to consider it effectively increasing your maximum HP (Because you can take more hits), by 11% at L20. At L154, this makes your HP basically 17.2k or so, or a 1.7k HP boost.
As an aside, if, by some miracle, you manage to get and pass a L30 berserk book, put points on that ASAP. Not for the 30% extra damage, but for the 10% extra HP. It'll do a world of difference.
Otherwise...
L155 - 3 Berserk (23)
L156 - 3 Berserk (26)
L157 - 3 Berserk (29)
L158 - 1 Berserk (30), 2 Maple Warrior (11).
If you don't want to save SP, don't, otherwise save SP for Berserk 30. If you want, you can also start putting points on MW 20 if you happen to get that, or save points for it. Saving points for it is optional, I doubt I will, mostly because I don't need it for a while. It will make you more attractive in parties though/
L159 - 3 Maple Warrior (14)
L160 - 3 Maple Warrior (17)
L161 - 2 Maple Warrior (19), 1 Hex of the Beholder (1)
Again, saving points for MW is optional. If you want, you can also put a point on Hero's Will if you happen to be a good SED mule for Horntail. I don't see it as being too useful, but most skills from here are less useful, so order and such are entirely up to you.
L162 - 3 Hex of the Beholder (4)
L163 - 3 Hex of the Beholder (7)
L164 - 3 Hex of the Beholder (10)
L165 - 3 saved SP
L166 - 6 Hex of the Beholder (16)
You want to save SP there because you don't want L11-15 Hex of the Beholder. At these levels it gives 10 accuracy, 10 less than Bless will give you. You don't want that, so just save your SP until you can get it up to at least L16 (Similar to when you (probably) saved SP for Crusher when it was going to hit 1 monster, to skip that bit).
L167 - 3 Hex of the Beholder (19)
L168 - 1 Hex of the Beholder (20), 1 saved SP
Kinda big choice. Cap Hex of the Beholder at L20, before it gives atk buffs, or get it up to 25, which means you won't be able to use Beholder and Onyx Apples/Pineapple Chews at the same time. I'm probably going to get L25, and I'll simply not use my beholder if I want to use a better buff. In either case, you don't want L21-23 Hex of the Beholder. 24 is fine because that's the same as blood/warrior elixirs, 25 is better than both of those.
From there... up to you, really. Max Hex of the Beholder, if you want to, otherwise, use your points as you see fit. You probably should save SP for Berserk 30 and Maple Warrior 20 by here, or have the skills, and apart I'd recommend maxing Achilles next, or start getting Rush up to L28. I wouldn't bother with L29/30 Rush, they don't increase the range further, just the damage and the damage fails badly anyway. Power Stance L30 can wait until later, it's only 10% extra chance, and Monster Magnet just fails.
For convenience sake, skillbook locations:
Berserk: 20 - Zakum // 30 - Horntail
Power Stance: 20 - Papulatus Clock // 30 - Zakum
Achilles: 20 - Skeles (Not sure which, can someone answer?) // 30 - Manon
Rush: 20 - Left Pianus // 30 - Right Pianus
Maple Warrior: 20 - Horntail
The rest of the Dark Knight skills achieve higher levels from quests from the NPCs where you gain the skills.
So, any comments/suggestions/whatever?
I'm a level 140 Dark Knight, without any HP washing, and to be honest, we have it tough. We need to max (or pseudo-max) at least 2 skills before our main 4th job skill is useful, but! Here's how I think it can be done best. Or, my rough build, or how I'd have done it if I had I had a little more experience or guidance on 4th job. So, let's go!
L120 - 1 Rush (1), 2 Beholder (2)
L121 - 3 Beholder (5)
L122 - 3 Beholder (8)
L123 - 2 Beholder (10), 1 Maple Warrior (1)
Rush needs to be one of your first skills, or you need to have a point ready to put on it when you can do the quest. It's essential, really. However, level 1 is plenty for a long time.
Beholder comes next because that's the first skill that will make you stronger. The extra 20% mastery is passive, so you don't need to summon the beholder (It makes a nice wee waste of 60 MP for a kinda cool effect though
)L124 - 3 Maple Warrior (4)
L125 - 3 Maple Warrior (7)
L126 - 2 Maple Warrior (9), 1 Berserk (1)
I put Maple Warrior next because, despite the fact that if you party, you'll almost certainly have it anyway, I've found myself soloing way too much, and I don't know what I'd do without it. It helps, trust me.
EDIT: After what banditcom said, getting Maple Warrior later could be a good idea. I found the extra damage useful, but if you're partying a lot, there's really no point, and as he said, early Stance would probably be more useful.
L127 - 3 Berserk (4)
L128 - 3 Berserk (7)
L129 - 3 Berserk (10)
L130 - 3 Berserk (13)
L131 - 3 Berserk (16)
L132 - 3 Berserk (19)
L133 - 1 Berserk (20), 2 Power Stance (2)
Berserk next, because why not? Despite it being mostly useless for now, there are places where it helps. You can use it on weaker bosses, such as mushmom, geist balrog if your APQ party has no healer, or on weaker mobs, such as the Bain armory (Although I've found that to be bad exp)
However, if you can't get a Berserk 20 mastery book, don't bother getting more than 5 berserk. Cap your berserk at 5 until you have a mastery book for it, because L10 berserk is pointless. Don't bother with it. So, if you don't have a Berserk 20 mastery book, save your points or just continue with the next skill:
L134 - 3 Power Stance (5)
L135 - 3 Power Stance (8)
L136 - 2 Power Stance (10), 1 Aura of the Beholder (1)
Power Stance next because, as a DK, you're probably bossing fairly often, and it is really handy, and it does help with training, despite what people say. If you're hitting a mob and you don't get hit back, it helps you kill it faster.
L137 - 3 Aura of the Beholder (4)
L138 - 3 Aura of the Beholder (7)
L139 - 3 Aura of the Beholder (10)
L140 - 3 Aura of the Beholder (13)
L141 - 3 Aura of the Beholder (16)
L142 - 3 Aura of the Beholder (19)
L143 - 3 Aura of the Beholder (22)
L144 - 3 Aura of the Beholder (25)
This is the first of the two skills that will make your berserking life a lot easier. Since I started maxing this, I've found it useful, I no longer need to use HP pots when I'm doing cake (It's L13 for me right now), which I know, is a weak monster, but it just goes to show that it is helpful. 500 HP every 4 seconds is nice, and if you don't need a heal, it saves up the heal until you get hit.
Another note is this skill will not take you out of berserk. So if your berserking limit at L144 is 4350 or so, it won't heal you until you get below 3850 HP. And, like I said above, it will save up your heal until you get hit below there.
By this point, you really need L20 berserk, because you should (I might be wrong, I'm not quite 144) be able to berserk at himes.
L145 - 3 Power Stance (13)
L146 - 3 Power Stance (16)
L147 - 3 Power Stance (19)
More Power Stance now is optional, it's what I'll be doing because I boss run often. If you boss plenty too, go ahead with L20 Stance or save points for it (As, since Pap is being stingy to me, I'm likely to wind up doing), otherwise, skip it until later.
L148 - 1 Power Stance (20), 2 Achilles (2)
L149 - 3 Achilles (5)
L150 - 3 Achilles (8)
L151 - 3 Achilles (11)
L152 - 3 Achilles (14)
L153 - 3 Achilles (17)
L154 - 3 Achilles (20)
This is the other skill which will help your berserking. This lowers your damage by 10%. On himes, this is about 170 damage, down to 1500-1600, on skelegons, this is about 330 damage, down to ~3000, depending on what your DEF and such is. And yes, this works on all damage, including 1/1 attacks.
Another way to look at this skill is to consider it effectively increasing your maximum HP (Because you can take more hits), by 11% at L20. At L154, this makes your HP basically 17.2k or so, or a 1.7k HP boost.
As an aside, if, by some miracle, you manage to get and pass a L30 berserk book, put points on that ASAP. Not for the 30% extra damage, but for the 10% extra HP. It'll do a world of difference.
Otherwise...
L155 - 3 Berserk (23)
L156 - 3 Berserk (26)
L157 - 3 Berserk (29)
L158 - 1 Berserk (30), 2 Maple Warrior (11).
If you don't want to save SP, don't, otherwise save SP for Berserk 30. If you want, you can also start putting points on MW 20 if you happen to get that, or save points for it. Saving points for it is optional, I doubt I will, mostly because I don't need it for a while. It will make you more attractive in parties though/
L159 - 3 Maple Warrior (14)
L160 - 3 Maple Warrior (17)
L161 - 2 Maple Warrior (19), 1 Hex of the Beholder (1)
Again, saving points for MW is optional. If you want, you can also put a point on Hero's Will if you happen to be a good SED mule for Horntail. I don't see it as being too useful, but most skills from here are less useful, so order and such are entirely up to you.
L162 - 3 Hex of the Beholder (4)
L163 - 3 Hex of the Beholder (7)
L164 - 3 Hex of the Beholder (10)
L165 - 3 saved SP
L166 - 6 Hex of the Beholder (16)
You want to save SP there because you don't want L11-15 Hex of the Beholder. At these levels it gives 10 accuracy, 10 less than Bless will give you. You don't want that, so just save your SP until you can get it up to at least L16 (Similar to when you (probably) saved SP for Crusher when it was going to hit 1 monster, to skip that bit).
L167 - 3 Hex of the Beholder (19)
L168 - 1 Hex of the Beholder (20), 1 saved SP
Kinda big choice. Cap Hex of the Beholder at L20, before it gives atk buffs, or get it up to 25, which means you won't be able to use Beholder and Onyx Apples/Pineapple Chews at the same time. I'm probably going to get L25, and I'll simply not use my beholder if I want to use a better buff. In either case, you don't want L21-23 Hex of the Beholder. 24 is fine because that's the same as blood/warrior elixirs, 25 is better than both of those.
From there... up to you, really. Max Hex of the Beholder, if you want to, otherwise, use your points as you see fit. You probably should save SP for Berserk 30 and Maple Warrior 20 by here, or have the skills, and apart I'd recommend maxing Achilles next, or start getting Rush up to L28. I wouldn't bother with L29/30 Rush, they don't increase the range further, just the damage and the damage fails badly anyway. Power Stance L30 can wait until later, it's only 10% extra chance, and Monster Magnet just fails.
For convenience sake, skillbook locations:
Berserk: 20 - Zakum // 30 - Horntail
Power Stance: 20 - Papulatus Clock // 30 - Zakum
Achilles: 20 - Skeles (Not sure which, can someone answer?) // 30 - Manon
Rush: 20 - Left Pianus // 30 - Right Pianus
Maple Warrior: 20 - Horntail
The rest of the Dark Knight skills achieve higher levels from quests from the NPCs where you gain the skills.
So, any comments/suggestions/whatever?