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If you really want to 'strategically' choose a path, it really depends on your character. DK's projectiles deal roughly 1/3 more than pally's, and DK gives roughly 5% more damage to normal hits/smashes. DK is obviously 'slightly' better for characters like xgun kai, CB vella, spear lann, hammer fifi, and arisha. Pally's SA is 'slightly' better than DK's, and is the obvious choice for characters more susceptible to interruptions like scythe evie or lynn. Even though DK might give slightly more overall damage, the slightly better SA from pally gives some characters more opportunity to attack. DK's projectiles also increase your ATT/MATT with each projectile hit on a mob, and can make leveling your character slightly easier. That said, there's really no point in changing your path if you decide you want the other one. You're only level 40ish, and making a new character is easy with the RISE update. You can easily get to level 80 in 12 hours now. I have multiple arishas with max trans so it's easy for me to compare the two. Although it would be nice to have all my arishas be DK, is really not that big of a deal.
