Just another Zakum Solo

After some research, I've found that between summer 2008 and now, we've gotten...

Attack Belts (0-->11)
Chaos'd PACs (4--> 12)
Chaos'd FS (2-->10)
Hammered Gloves/50%/100% glove scrolls (15-->21)
MoN (0-->10)
MW (5% increase --> 15% increase)
Bow (119-->135)

And blessing could be anywhere up to another 20 attack

19x captain in windia does it in like 35, so he told me. I have no solid proof.
But he does have 20 levels on alex, so it's dumb to compare.

Purj0? He posted a while back he did a 5x minute apple-less run, which is surprising.

Seems like classes that take even an ounce of skill are always underrepresented in MS. That's why everyone flocks to NLs and Heroes and Bishops.

Some things bishops/priests do take a LOT of skill, like Himes without HB at 75, or sed party at HT, or firing Gen before 1/1 every time while soloing Pap. But then again, most bishops/priests hate those and don't bother.


Congrats on the BEAST Zak solo. Inspiring for my nub lil gunslinger. <3

I went on two runs with a 19x Sair friend of mine basically soloing (12x NL, 17x F/P who d/ced halfway through first run, me and a 19x bishop). I think his solo time would be about the same as yours. o.O

19x captain in windia does it in like 35, so he told me. I have no solid proof.
But he does have 20 levels on alex, so it's dumb to compare.

That's just not true. Purj0 is the only 19x Corsair in Windia, and he hasn't logged on since before hammers came out. And even if you're talking about Subsight or icaptmaj, they'd have to have about a 75% higher range than I do appled for that to even be theoretically possible. As far as I know, neither of those people are even close to that rich.

I'm not a lazy ass that can't apply skills to a game, I just don't like them, And saying that someone doesn't have the skill for a game like ms is weird, I bet everyone can have a 'almost perfect' control on any char with a lil bit of practice,knowing where the keys are.

Generally speaking, that's probably true. But Corsairs, Buccaneers, and possibly Aran definitely take more... I don't want to say "skills" because pressing the buttons aren't hard, but maybe planning. For example, I think it'd be easy to tell right off if a person knows how to play their Bucc well or not, whereas it wouldn't be so noticeable on a Night Lord or a mage of some sort. Not saying that any of these fewer-button classes are in any way for people that are "lazy asses", just that they require more attention and a better strategy to use close to their potential.

Purj0? He posted a while back he did a 5x minute apple-less run, which is surprising.

I haven't heard of this. He told me he hadn't solo'd Zakum last I talked to him. Pretty sure his gear is nothing special too.

In defence of the so called 1-button phys. classes:

A generic NL would probably be easy going because of the way they roll, but any NL who aint a leech freak uses ninja storm, avenger, and drain as well as TT. Flash jumping in a practical way, using venom to do your work for you, stuff like that, makes the class not all that one button-ish. Of course, if you as a Nightlord spend your time sucking a bishops exp at skeles the way you attack is limited, simply because skeles are pushovers. At oblivion 4 you can at least make use of what you got.

Some things bishops/priests do take a LOT of skill, like Himes without HB at 75, or sed party at HT, or firing Gen before 1/1 every time while soloing Pap. But then again, most bishops/priests hate those and don't bother.

Himes without HB takes no skill at all. jump Heal tele jump Heal tele jump Heal tele. Wait, why does HB even matter? I can't imagine Genning before 1/1 is any harder than Air Striking before 1/1, which I do when my ship is broken. Can't comment on healing sed, but that doesn't sound hard at all.

^and yeah I don't mean that if you don't like playing Corsairs you're a lazy ass, but people who aren't skilled at the game tend to make comments like "getting on and off the ship in annoying" and "Buccs have too many buttons." I cringe when I watch a lot of Corsair videos. Some people think Corsairs are slow. Jeez.

This game is full of casuals and unskilled players. The easiest classes to play are very good classes, but you still have to wonder why classes that are just as good but less about hitting 1 button don't get played as much.

Except archers aren't dead weight like buccs so they benefit the run more.

@ fifty, gtfo my boywife, go buy your own slave

lol but.... but... but... k it's settled... im comin to windia to steal him away from you ...>.>

wow alex, this is the first time ive seen this thread, prolly since i only 'restarted' my sair 3 weeks ago (i really consider it a fresh intro since im clueless)

you definitely inspire me, prolly moreso than u know since it's pretty vicariously lived thru Carlos' guild chat when u guys zak >.<

B> you as my sair consultant pls, i has tons of questions w/o answers!


oh, as for # of hands needed for a corsair, coming from a mage player who can level with half a hand n watching a movie n eating and talking on the phone and jogging in circles all at once....i need like 4 hands to keep from dying on my sair. i just suck that badly.

wow alex, this is the first time ive seen this thread, prolly since i only 'restarted' my sair 3 weeks ago (i really consider it a fresh intro since im clueless)

you definitely inspire me, prolly moreso than u know since it's pretty vicariously lived thru Carlos' guild chat when u guys zak >.<

B> you as my sair consultant pls, i has tons of questions w/o answers!


oh, as for # of hands needed for a corsair, coming from a mage player who can level with half a hand n watching a movie n eating and talking on the phone and jogging in circles all at once....i need like 4 hands to keep from dying on my sair. i just suck that badly.

Thanks Molly~
And sure, you can contact me and ask whatever. I'm always willing to help.

wow alex, this is the first time ive seen this thread, prolly since i only 'restarted' my sair 3 weeks ago (i really consider it a fresh intro since im clueless)

you definitely inspire me, prolly moreso than u know since it's pretty vicariously lived thru Carlos' guild chat when u guys zak >.<

B> you as my sair consultant pls, i has tons of questions w/o answers!


oh, as for # of hands needed for a corsair, coming from a mage player who can level with half a hand n watching a movie n eating and talking on the phone and jogging in circles all at once....i need like 4 hands to keep from dying on my sair. i just suck that badly.

hmm # of hands is .... def 2 for me if im skeleing/ToTing like 0.2 of a hand if im @ zak n feel free to run any questions past me too if this "alex" isnt answering you

I have to say, I'm impressed. That's a very, very respectable time. Perhaps you can try another solo on your BM with your improved gear and see how your times compare as well.

Gratz again

I have to say, I'm impressed. That's a very, very respectable time. Perhaps you can try another solo on your BM with your improved gear and see how your times compare as well.

Gratz again

My BM didn't really get much of an upgrade. I've been neglecting her like crazy. She doesn't have a belt or glasses at all, and she can't quite wear the bow I made for her yet. I don't think I want to do it again on my Bowmaster, especially since I just did it not that long ago at 170. Hell I don't think I'll even do another one on my Corsair until I'm 200 or some other crazy thing happens that would speed up the run. S'ides, I stole my Bowmaster's zhelm so my Corsair could wear it. I'm not rich enough to stat-whore to characters at once, so she'll have to deal with a clean helm.

My BM didn't really get much of an upgrade. I've been neglecting her like crazy. She doesn't have a belt or glasses at all, and she can't quite wear the bow I made for her yet. I don't think I want to do it again on my Bowmaster, especially since I just did it not that long ago at 170. Hell I don't think I'll even do another one on my Corsair until I'm 200 or some other crazy thing happens that would speed up the run. S'ides, I stole my Bowmaster's zhelm so my Corsair could wear it. I'm not rich enough to stat-whore to characters at once, so she'll have to deal with a clean helm.

Ahh, sad to hear. I remember when I first met you. You loved the hell out of your bowmaster. Regardless, I'm glad you're doing well on the sair. It's definitely gotten a lot stronger gear-wise. And damn you mad out leveled me. I was always trying to stay on your's and Carlos' heels to make sure I didn't fall behind in levels. *Sad face* Such is life is life I s'pose.

Ahh, sad to hear. I remember when I first met you. You loved the hell out of your bowmaster. Regardless, I'm glad you're doing well on the sair. It's definitely gotten a lot stronger gear-wise. And damn you mad out leveled me. I was always trying to stay on your's and Carlos' heels to make sure I didn't fall behind in levels. *Sad face* Such is life is life I s'pose.

Bowmaster was alright. 4th Job just got a little stale. I had no problems with my damage or anything, it just started to get boring. Corsairs, even before anyone thought they were good, always interested me. Being able to freeze, their weird semi-ultimate, and the ship were all incredibly interesting. As I had said, I tried to convince 3 different people to make Corsairs since they were going to make a new character anyway. None of them wanted to. At the same time, Carlos was peaching about how much he hated his Bucc and that he wanted to remake his Marksman at some point. So, on a whim, I tell him that I feel like making a gunner and that he should make his crossbowman at the same time so we could train together. Never expected to pass my Bowmaster, nor did I know I would enjoy Corsairs as much as I do. Even in their weak-as-hell 2nd job, they didn't fail to entertain me.

When I made my 'sair, I was aware of their good damage with Cannon as well as their godawful damage with Rapid Fire. I had suspicions that the boat would suck a lot more than it does, so I didn't make my Corsair simply because it could theoretically do a lot of damage. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out that I could outdamage my Bowmaster 20 levels below it. Though slower-paced (due to the nature of freezing monsters and the ADD, single-target nature of Bowmasters), their training is much more fun to me and Corsairs can do it well. Criticals had long since become a turn off because unreliability = weakness. I want to be able to shoot an attack and know before I see the numbers if the monster is dead or not.

And unlike my Bowmaster, I am excited to put points into all of my 4th job skills (with the possible exception of Hypnotize). I'm working on Air Strike at the moment and I'm anxious to start Octopus. And then Elemental Boost might make it so that I'd train faster at skeles off my boat than on it. Whereas Hamstring... screw Hamstring. It'd be a good skill if it worked on bosses, but what's the point if it doesn't?

EDIT: I realize this is probably just me gushing from reading the "Character Worth" thread and not having posted in it. It sure is convenient that the class I've enjoyed playing the most is also a class that can do crazy amounts of single-target damage. You could argue that I chose it specifically because of that fact (some people I know probably would/will), but I think I would have gone back to my Bowmaster if I didn't enjoy this class as much as I do. Bowmasters can solo more bosses than Corsairs, too.

Bowmaster was alright. 4th Job just got a little stale. I had no problems with my damage or anything, it just started to get boring. Corsairs, even before anyone thought they were good, always interested me. Being able to freeze, their weird semi-ultimate, and the ship were all incredibly interesting. As I had said, I tried to convince 3 different people to make Corsairs since they were going to make a new character anyway. None of them wanted to. At the same time, Carlos was peaching about how much he hated his Bucc and that he wanted to remake his Marksman at some point. So, on a whim, I tell him that I feel like making a gunner and that he should make his crossbowman at the same time so we could train together. Never expected to pass my Bowmaster, nor did I know I would enjoy Corsairs as much as I do. Even in their weak-as-hell 2nd job, they didn't fail to entertain me.

When I made my 'sair, I was aware of their good damage with Cannon as well as their godawful damage with Rapid Fire. I had suspicions that the boat would suck a lot more than it does, so I didn't make my Corsair simply because it could theoretically do a lot of damage. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out that I could outdamage my Bowmaster 20 levels below it. Though slower-paced (due to the nature of freezing monsters and the ADD, single-target nature of Bowmasters), their training is much more fun to me and Corsairs can do it well. Criticals had long since become a turn off because unreliability = weakness. I want to be able to shoot an attack and know before I see the numbers if the monster is dead or not.

And unlike my Bowmaster, I am excited to put points into all of my 4th job skills (with the possible exception of Hypnotize). I'm working on Air Strike at the moment and I'm anxious to start Octopus. And then Elemental Boost might make it so that I'd train faster at skeles off my boat than on it. Whereas Hamstring... screw Hamstring. It'd be a good skill if it worked on bosses, but what's the point if it doesn't?

EDIT: I realize this is probably just me gushing from reading the "Character Worth" thread and not having posted in it. It sure is convenient that the class I've enjoyed playing the most is also a class that can do crazy amounts of single-target damage. You could argue that I chose it specifically because of that fact (some people I know probably would/will), but I think I would have gone back to my Bowmaster if I didn't enjoy this class as much as I do. Bowmasters can solo more bosses than Corsairs, too.

Sure Bowmen can solo more bosses(big foot and maybe the guardians or body guards or w.e) but the ones corsairs can do they do it so much more effectivly

Holy mother fucker....

Sure Bowmen can solo more bosses(big foot and maybe the guardians or body guards or w.e) but the ones corsairs can do they do it so much more effectivly

I have to disagree with this one. Bowmasters can solo bosses much more effectively just because of puppet. I can solo pap much faster on BM than I can on corsair which takes almost 1.5x longer, even though it's almost 10 levels ahead of the BM.

This isn't limited to just pap, its the same for many other bosses
-relik
-hsalf
-red nirg
-Lyka
-Lilynouch
-even Dodo, unless you want to keep jumping over its attacks.
-bodyguard A, didn't try to finish B and C yet since B is glitched.
-Leviathan is also a bit easier to do on BM, but its already easy enough on Corsair too

All of this is solo offcourse. Corsairs have the advantage in party fights most of the time.


Lol at BM big foot solo Sure we "can" solo it, but who wants to sit there for 20min spamming at something missing 75% of the attacks... Easier to just go and kill 2 female bosses within that same time. Big foot solos take less time on my mage than it does on BM lol. Need some tips to try it on corsair, last time i tried it kept getting killed

I've seen a 18x BM solo it -multiple times- in under 10 minutes with a cider only. All he was doing was casting puppet and running away if it got out of his pin. Granted that was four patches ago, but I haven't heard any changes to her since then.

I have to disagree with this one. Bowmasters can solo bosses much more effectively just because of puppet. I can solo pap much faster on BM than I can on corsair which takes almost 1.5x longer, even though it's almost 10 levels ahead of the BM.

This isn't limited to just pap, its the same for many other bosses
-relik
-hsalf
-red nirg
-Lyka
-Lilynouch
-even Dodo, unless you want to keep jumping over its attacks.
-bodyguard A, didn't try to finish B and C yet since B is glitched.
-Leviathan is also a bit easier to do on BM, but its already easy enough on Corsair too

All of this is solo offcourse. Corsairs have the advantage in party fights most of the time.


Lol at BM big foot solo Sure we "can" solo it, but who wants to sit there for 20min spamming at something missing 75% of the attacks... Easier to just go and kill 2 female bosses within that same time. Big foot solos take less time on my mage than it does on BM lol. Need some tips to try it on corsair, last time i tried it kept getting killed

by effective i meant speed not pot cost/ease of kill, when it comes down to it i would rather take 5K damage every second and be able to kill a boss in like 2 mins vs taking like 5K damage like once every 40 seconds and take 3 mins to kill, this can be evident by his Zak solo i guess... under an hour on sair and longer on his bowman from what he expects.

and i guess if your going to be soloing cwkpq bosses and taking your hours to do so... then all the power to the bowmen who can stand there with puppet cast and not take damage (yay for being able to KB all of those bosses) and simplly stand on the archer boss of doom to avoid the stuns n crap, Pap is prety straight forward and easy either way for the few mins its alive but i would def give the edge to BM's on the 3? ToT bosses and guardian(s) also. Leithian is well .. ya easy liek pap

alex did admit that pap was faster on his BM than his sair just cuz of puppet (back when his sair wasnt as pimped out as now and they were abut the same lv).

everything else you said is sadly true fifty.