Now that I have your attention :P
For this guide, I will be using L for Normal Attack and R for Smash Attack, Dodge for Weave, Tab for Portal Leap, R at the start for Mana Munitions with WAD for its 3 corresponding skills. That's 14 names you don't need to remember, so hopefully there is less confusion.
Important parts will be in bold and underline, so you can skim to those areas if you want to avoid the detailed explanations and get answers quickly.
Ever wondered which attacks to prioritise while the effect of RD (Entropic Rounds) is up?
Which attacks let you build up SP or MP faster?
Whether Tab is better than LL, and likewise with TabTab and LLLL?
Is Infinity Shot worth it? Or should I stick with just Phase Burst and Quantum Ruin?
Well, this guide will answer all that and more.
This guide uses frame by frame analysis of recorded battles to give near exact values of each attack.
* The times in this chart includes a cancel at the end, as this is what is used while attacking.
* The move (dodge or tab) used to cancel the end is not included in this time as your attacks mostly start with a Tab anyway. Dodge takes 0.7s.
* The chart will assume there are no misses. Gravity Rounds, Infinity Shot, Quantum Ruin, Phase Burst, RRR often partially miss.
** But
Quantum Ruin, Phase Burst and RRR can be used point blank to almost guarantee all shots hit.
* For Mana Phase and RA (Gravity Rounds), the chart will only take into account of casting time for MP/S and SP/S.
With this data in mind, at the start of the battle, the optimal combo for damage against a boss which remains stationary for some time (such as Dullahan, Braha, sometimes Eochaid) is:
RA -> Paw -> RD -> LLRRR -> Repeat TabRRR/TabTabRR -> Quantum Ruin (before the debuff from RD ends)
But most of the time the boss will move, so you'll most likely be doing this instead:
Paw -> RA -> RD -> Repeat TabRRR/TabTabRR -> Quantum Ruin (before the debuff from RD ends, Phase Burst if not enough SP).
After that,
the skills to priorise in battle are in order of:
*
RA (Gravity Rounds) when the boss seems to be stationary. If you have aggro and the boss is about to leave, you can Tab teleport through the boss to make him turn around and stay in the circle.
** At 58 Speed, the time to cast RA is 2.361s but it will take in total 6.196s for the total damage. The boss needs to remain in the circle for the damage to occur. The DOT effect increases SP and Stamina per tick when used on a boss monster.
** If the boss remains in the circle for at least 3 of the 6 seconds, you are gaining DPS. But considering how much more damage it does, you would want to aim for the full 6.
** RA hits 8 times during the 6s.
** Gravity Rounds will continue to inflict damage even if you die after putting it down.
*
RD (Entropic Rounds) but try to combo with other SP skills with high damage. Note: If you only use TabRRR, you will need to attack for 10s to make up for lost damage from casting RD.
** If both are off cooldown (like at the start of the battle), it is better to use Gravity Rounds first, then Entropic Rounds.
** It is generally not worth waiting for another Skill's cooldown to end before using this.
*
The RD bullet must hit for the debuff to take effect.
** RD description may be misleading. Increase 30% damage refers to the damage of your bullet shot by RD. The effect is a debuff which makes
the boss that was hit by RD take 20% more damage for 20s.
** RD increases the damage from Trans Steal (Grasp for Paladin), but it will not increase the damage of any of the Trans Skills that use SP. So do not use Spear of Stigma or Punishment while RD is in effect (Trail of Light and Sacred Sword in the case of Paladin).
*
Phase Burst whenever you can.
This is your highest damage to SP move. Unlike Infinity Shot, you can adjust your aim during the setup and it is fast to use, but it is best to use it point blank for easy hits.
** If you hit at least 5 of the 9 shots, you are gaining DPS.
** Note that both Phase Burst and Quantum Ruin can used to cancel out after TabRRR. Which is great because you should be very close to the boss after TabRRR.
*
Quantum Ruin whenever you can, but prioritise Phase Burst if you have enough MP. Not only does this do a lot of damage, it restores a lot of MP too.
**
During the jump, you will have be invulnerable to damage. Unlike Phase Burst and Infinity Shot which can be cancelled because you can be hit.
**
After jumping into the portal, you can press R to exit early and save time. If you used this at point blank, you can just exit right away and hit easily.
** This move hits 11 times, with the last hit dealing a bit more than double the damage of each of the first 10. If you hit at least 6 of the 11 shots, you are gaining DPS. But considering how much more damage it does and that it can also restore up to 275 MP, you wouldn't want to miss any.
The next two have short range and are slow attacks, so they only work well if you have enough DEF to take hits or if the boss is slow and you have enough time for the whole combo.
*
LLRRR if you have just dodged or are walking/running. But since the difference is negligible. it is totally fine to just use TabRRR the entire time without using this.
*
TabRRR if you were attacking since the Tab acts as a cancel, allowing it to cancel your last skill or just chain to itself quickly. LLRR and TabRR are not as good but still viable if you mistime and must dodge, but still more DPS than below.
** It is best to spam this while the boss is relatively stationary, use your Tab to circle around the boss making him turn too and allowing this to hit easier
** You'll want to be pretty much point blank to ensure that all 9 shots of RRR will hit. If you find yourself to be a bit distant from the boss after the first Tab, it is generally better to switch over to the TabTabRR combo.
The next two have long range and are fast attacks, so they work better than the above two when the boss is fast and moves a lot, or attacks hard and often.
*
LLLRR is surprisingly fast. Thus is actually quite good for DPS, unlike the slow LLLLRR. Use if you have just dodged or are walking/running.
*
TabTabRR is fast, this is the way to go, don't use LLLL to get to this as that is way too slow. I find it easier to aim by turning the camera with your mouse while you TabTab so that you are always following the boss, hold W (forward) and then RR.
*
DodgeLLRRR does about the same amount of damage as the two above but is close ranged. Use this when your MP is low.
* Use
Mana Phase when your MP is less than half max, but not Flux Rounds since it takes too long, unless you somehow still need MP, you really shouldn't be running out of MP even without Flux Rounds.
*
Infinity Shot is very bad if you are in close range as it takes a long time to cast, you cannot readjust your aim and it is easy to get cancelled. Unless you know the boss will stand still for the next three and a half seconds.
** However if there is some distance from you to the boss, this attack can be used with a low chance to miss as it has a very wide and long range.
** If both Phase Burst and Quantum Ruin are on cooldown, you have excess SP, and you definitely won't get interrupted or miss, then maybe you can consider using this.
** But don't force yourself away from the boss just to use this because it's off cooldown. Only use this when the situation just happens to arise.
** This move hits 8 times, with the last bullet dealing a bit more than double the damage of each of the first 7. All 8 shots must hit to gain DPS.
Now that you know what to skills to prioritise, your goal now is to practice, remember the boss's attack patterns so that you can get your attacks to hit as much as possible. Missing shots and getting flinched from being hit is what will decrease your DPS.
From here are comments about each remaining skill that hasn't been mentioned, in no particular order.
*
Chaos Warp uses no MP and can dodge Red Attacks, but since you should have plenty of MP anyway, it is better to save your SP for Phase Burst.
** Just dodge out of the way unless it is a Red expanding shockwave, in that case use Chaos Warp.
** Red Attacks are attacks that you normally cannot Dodge through nor Block. You normally Dodge away or run away from them. If you are hit, they will always a set amount of damage regardless of how much DEF you have.
** When exiting, you will always move towards the direction of the boss.
** This can also be used to skip things such as Glas' Gravity Inversion, Lugh's Tathlum Blast, Claire's small circle,
Agares' Red Shockwave, Neamhain's Gate,
Balor's last Fire Wall.
** Quantum Ruin can also be used to dodge these but only during the animation while you have jumped high into the air or have disappeared. But since that has very high DPS, it is not recommended to save that to use as a dodge and risk having it miss or cancelled.
* Dodge (
Weave) consumes 11 Stamina, 12 if you leave it on Rank B. But you should be using Tab to dodge instead, unless you know the boss is using consecutive attacks with no time in between for you to use your Tab attacks.
*
Distortion Shield does not consume Stamina but consumes MP instead. It can block multihit moves (like against Balor's ground fire attacks), in that case you might even gain MP instead.
*
Inverse Shot isn't really worth it in terms of DPS, but is usable when you need to put some distance although that would just lower your DPS as you want to stick to the boss for TabRRR.
*
Waveform Collapse is your hold skill. Like with hold skills from other classes, the DPS isn't that great. However it has its uses.
** Apart from the usual hold so your teammates can dish out uninterrupted damage.
** Use Gravity Rounds before this to hold the boss inside for maximum damage.
** Stall Agares if you got hit by his debuff.
** Skip some phases in Macha, Claire, Aes, Lugh.
*
LLLLRR takes too long to do, you shouldn't use this as the other combinations are far better. But if the boss is invulnerable, you can time your LLLL so that when you can start hitting the boss again, you are already at RR.
*
LR is too weak, not much reason to use this, other than to quickly kill weak mobs in early dungeons.
*
TabL is very bad in terms of damage and MP, but you do get a dodge during the L and then you can quickly chain it with another Tab. Basically it gives you extended invulnerability.
*
TabTabLR is faster than TabTabRR and will do more damage than just TabTabR, but you may as well just use TabRR which is practically the same speed, MP/S, SP/S but with more damage.
Cooldown Times
* RW (Flux Rounds) cooldown is 30s, RA (Gravity Rounds) cooldown is 45s, RD (Entropic Rounds) cooldown is 60s.
** However, since the cooldown for these Mana Munitions are in the form of a debuff, they will reset when you die. So if you are rich and have too many Goddess Grace, or it is during a free Goddess Grace revival event, you can deliberately die once and Grace to gain SP and reset the cooldowns for more DPS.
* Phase Burst cooldown is 50s, Infinity Shot cooldown is 1m20s, Quantun Ruin cooldown is 3m, Waveform cooldown is 20m.
* Mana Phase cooldown is 1m30s, Chaos Warp cooldown is 30s.
* With the cooldown times in mind, if you know the raid will end before the next cooldown ends, so you only can use that SP move once more, save it for Entropic Rounds combo.
*
Critical Hit/Smash Mastery: These increase the damage of almost all your Skills.
*
Mana Revolver Mastery/Armor Mastery: Rank these as required for the level of the equipment you need to equip.
*
Bullet Storm/Bullet Rain/Bullet Hail: This is what you will use for almost everything, from clearing mobs and attacking the boss. It is your highest DPS smash attack. Although it has a lengthy downtime after being used, all SP moves, tab and dodge can be used to cancel it out.
*
Portal Leap: Your best "dodge" and the one you will be using the most. It not only allows you to avoid attacks, it is used to save time skipping LLs for your strong smash attacks, as well as allows you to cancel excess animations after your smashes and Mana Phase animation. Max Rank of A with 1350 AP for 10 MP per stretch.
** Currently there is a bug which allows you to dodge Red Attacks while exiting the portal early with Tab.
*
Mana Munitions/Gravity Rounds/Entropic Rounds: The skills with the highest damage potential.
*
Phase Burst/Quantum Ruin: The SP skills with the highest damage.
*
Mana Phase: Best way to restore Stamina and MP.
*
Disruptor Shot/Disruptor Blast: The second best smash attack set with the advantage of range.
*
Warp Shot/Warp Blast: The third best smash attack set.
*
Battle Respiration: To
Rank A, higher ranks much more expensive and increases much less.
*
Weave: You won't by using these too often since it is better to Tab for Portal Leap. But when you're low on MP it does become a viable way to cancel excess animations. You may want to keep this at
Rank B because at rank A you can press R at the end of the dodge to perform a weak smash attack which is a waste of time, lowering your DPS and gets in the way of Mana Munitions.
*
Infinity Shot: It is a time-consuming easily-flinched high risk move, so it is usually not worth using unless you are very familiar with boss's moves. Max Rank of A with 950 AP for +30% Damage.
*
Standing Endurance:
*
HP Potion Proficiency: To
Rank 9. Not really useful until Season 3 battles, then it becomes quite important.
*
Stone Skin:
*
Defense Mastery: Don't underestimate DEF, remember that your DPS is 0 while you are dead.
*
Life Flare: This skill saves you from a KO, at max rank for +35% and with 2000 WIL for +30%, it's a 65% chance to survive.
*
Campfire: May as well since it is cheap and is required in Character Growth Goals, but keep in mind that your Buff goes away when you die.
*
Distortion Shield: You won't be using this too often since both Tab and Dodge are better, only when there is a multihit move, which are rare.
*
Intelligence Mastery: To
Rank A, higher ranks much more expensive and increases much less.
*
Willpower Mastery: To
Rank A.
*
Stamina Mastery:
*
Health Mastery:
*
Waveform Collapse: You'll likely be using this 0-1 times per battle. So it's not really worth the AP investment.
*
Flux Rounds: A low Damage time consuming move. Mana Phase and Quantum Ruin should be enough for your MP restoration needs.
*
Inverse Shot: The damage is subpar, not really useful unless you want some distance, like you're about to use Infinity Shot, but you'll just break even in terms of damage again, so it's better to not use this to force the use of Infinity Shot. Max Rank of A with 790 AP for +30% Damage and 11 Stamina to use.
*
Chaos Warp: Ranking this only reduces the cooldown, the uses for this is rare enough even with a slightly higher cooldown.
*
Mana Launcher: While it is fast, the damage is very small so it's not worth using.
*
Combat Mastery: This increases your Normal Attack damage, they do very little damage anyway and since your main DPS is TabRRR, you won't be using many Normal Attacks either.
*
Agility Mastery: To
Rank A.
*
Secondary Weapon Prof: Secondary Weapons are
pretty useless, apart from using Spears and Sticky Bombs to do Break Off, but it is generally not worth the time to do using this method. Do not ever use Fine Spears as there is a bug which may cause no items to drop at the end of the battle if it was used. Ranking this up will not increase the damage of the Secondary Weapons you pick up in some Raids such as Devil's Tower.
*
Meditation: With the nerf, Meditation now only gives AP while one of your characters are online. So, Rank E requires 155 days to break even. 219 days for D, 261 days for C, 296 days for B, 326 days for A. This is if you are online 24/7, so your days required would be more than 3-4+ times this.
So you probably don't want to Rank this.
*
Strength Mastery: This
is useless for Eira. It's probably there by a mistake. Do not rank this, keep it at Rank F.
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CONTINUED IN THE NEXT POST
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and 2 others.
