Hello all,
I wanted to create a modern, in-depth vanity and gear guide together. This guide is really meant for newer players or those who want to know more about gear/vanity combinations. Using this guide can help you create and 'hack' your way to the best loadouts possible. This guide does not cover the exact, best gear with specific items that exist but will help you understand how to get there.
There is literally more than a decade's worth of gear and vanities, and there are so many "level areas" (56, 66, 71, 85, 95, 105, and the current endgame of 110) but I really just want to focus on the best overall gear for endgame (110). This includes overall strategies that you can use to enjoy a better experience and accomplish your goals based on what you are doing.
I created a "Gold N' Gear" guide that covers gold farming, strategies, and what gear works best. You can find that guide here.
People use all classes (Int, Dex, STR, etc.) and use different combos (such as pure int mage, a dex mage, etc.). I won't really focus on combos or skills for each class, but I will just focus on the gear. I will make notes based on class suggestions at various points in this guide, though.
Stats You Need to Know:
I will just briefly cover the major stats that you want to factor in when using gear/combos - I rank damage being the most important, and armor as the least important (because there is an armor cap in PvE):
- Damage: the amount of damage you can deal in one hit to an opponent (there is a range of damage that can be dealt, with a low end of damage and higher 'max' damage)
- DPS: damage per second (DPS) - you get this by multiplying the amount of damage by the speed of your weapon (the fastest weapon in the game is 0.4spd and many weapons with 1.1spd+)
- Health: the max amount of health for your character. There is no limit to health (but there is no multiplier for health, and the 'limit' is just whatever the max amount of health gear you can wear)
- Crit%: critical hits are double damage, they are random but having a higher % will increase how often they happen.
- Dodge%: dodge helped you 'dodge' enemy attacks, dodge is random but having a higher % will increase how often they happen.
- Hit%: hit % plays into the game's battle mechanism, but having a higher hit % will battle your enemy's dodge % (and vice versa) - having a higher hit% will have you successfully hit attacks more often.
- Armor: armor reduces the damage that an enemy's attack will do. You cannot reduce an attack to zero. From my testing, there is an armor cap of 2.5k in general PvE. (To my knowledge, there is no cap in events - especially gauntlet events - and I doubt there is an explicit 2.5k cap in PvP.) I submitted a post - on forums that you can find here - that covers more detail on the armor cap.
Without further ado, I will break this guide into sections: Gear, Vanities and Loadouts.
Gear - What to Use and How to Use!
Goals - You really want to figure out the goal or what desired result it is that you want.
- Do you want max damage, or do you want max health (it is near impossible to have both)?
- Do you want to go exclusively for dodge?
- Do you want to deal the best single-shot damage possible, or do you want maximum splash damage?
- Damage or DPS?
...the list goes on!
For me, for general PvE fighting, I care more about damage and DPS. I primarily use pure dex bird, or dex mage already so focusing on damage makes more sense for me, too. There are different scenarios, such as fighting Ebon drag boss (so I want the best single-shot damage) or killing blues when farming gold (and splash DPS is perfect) so it really depends on the mobs/bosses you are fighting too.
Max Damage Gear:
Right now, the endgame level is 110 - so basically the 'best combo gear' in the game is the Mythic 110 Ebonthrax sets. These sets consist of helm/armor/weapon/shield/ring/amulet. Also, the 110 mythic sets/items are definitely considered the best mix of damage/health/stats. Meanwhile, the 105 elite sets are considered much more of a "health, dodge" set.
Based on testing, there is also a 5-piece (there are no 3/4/6pc bonuses - just the 5pc bonus) myth ebon set bonus of:
+50 base stats, 11% hit* 13% crit*, 1,055 health*, +4 health regen*, +326 mana pool*, +407 dmg, 330 armor
*= could be influenced by the +50 base stat
Note: the 110 arcane weapons (OPS, Clutch, Sunshark all noted below) should work to complete the 5-piece bonus as well
However, the best pure "damage" set of gear is actually going to be the Mythic and Arcane 110 Valentine sets. I will discuss the valentine sets in more detail, within the "Loadouts" section further down this guide. The mythic 110 set offers a 6k damage bonus (the same as a Wolf 2pc set bonus!) and 3x experience bonus. Arcane offers 7k damage and 4x experience bonuses. As of now, the mythic 110 valentine sets offer a huge edge in PvE because the vanity weapon completes the set (allowing you to use any 1h weapon/shield or any 2h weapon, while still getting the damage bonus). Note: the 110 Arcane set does not yet offer that vanity feature combo.
5-piece Mythic 110 Valentine set = helm/armor/ring/amulet and weapon (can be the actual mythic weapon, OR the Love Nest Vanity weapon)
5-piece Arcane 110 Valentine set = helm/armor/ring/amulet/weapon (vanity weapon does not work)
There are levels 10-110 pink and elite valentines sets as well - those are all covered in the formal, forum post that you can find here.
DEX:
When people think of 'max' damage, most immediately think the mythic ebon bow 2h is best. For the price, it's great - it does higher damage than any other bow, does splash damage and has a fire/damage proc - but others also like the Old Platinum Sides (110, arcane) blaster that has a cannonball proc. It's high single-shot damage the cannonball proc has a splash explosion. OPS does not work well in gold farming, though. And if you read my gold farming guide, you will know that the pink 110 Captain's Sextant Bow may be the best option out of everything (because sextant bow is 0.6spd, same range as ebon myth bow and is splash dmg with procs).
I also want to briefly talk about the 105 Elite Craftable items - Arothraxis, Hawken's Talon and Volta Dagger:
Arothraxis was considered the best bow in the game until 110 came along - but now, it's a watered down version of the 110 admiral or 110 myth ebon bows. It does damage and has a fire splash proc, but it's not often and not a good option now. It is RARE though! The recipe is hard to find.
Hawken's talon - based on various combinations, hawken's talon offers more health/dodge than ebon tooth
Volta Dagger - may be the best dagger in the game. It has a lightning proc that does a ton of damage by itself, and it's very fast. Most pros consider Volta a must-use when facing Ebon drag boss, and because of the dodge addition, some use it in gauntlets/events too.
INT:
For int, it's similar to dex where the ebon wand set is generally considered best for damage. There is the arcane 110 Cannonball Clutch, which is higher single shot damage and also has a splash proc (lighting). The splash proc actually triggers quite often (seems much more often than most other procs) and works great. Ebon scepter actually has higher max damage than ebon wand, but it's slower and the lower end range of damage makes it less appealing.
I also want to briefly talk about the 105 Elite Craftable items - Eloia's Wand and Wyzamiro:
Eloia's Wand - amazing option, it is faster than ebon wand (but lower pure damage), has a health pool proc and has higher health/dmg (highly recommend trying)
Wyzamiro - 2h staff, better than ebon staff in my opinion. It has a electric debuff proc (works well against Ebon drag boss) and has great damage/health/dodge comps versus ebon scepter
STR:
Most people consider STR the weakest PvE class/strategy in the game. This is partly because it is considered to have the worst skill options and (while not necessarily true!) lower damage. It is true that STR just doesn't have great ranged options but there are some hidden gems in STR.
Ebon sword (1h) set is considered the best option overall and I agree. I don't like the Ebon axe (2h) or Longsword (2h) sets, and the 1h Ebon sword is splash damage! (Same goes for the admiral 110 sword 1h, and most players do not know this.) In the modern era of gold farming, STR also isn't preferred because you are close combat and can accidentally pick up gold (when not wearing your gold gear).
I also want to briefly talk about the 105 Elite Craftable items - Karro's Axe (may be the best STR weapon in the game), Tyben's Sword and Zaelwyn:
Karro's Axe - 105 elite, 0.6spd and is a splash weapon (fastest STR splash weapon) but also has a "terror" proc that triggers quite often. It triggers a swarm of bat-like terrors who do damage. One of my personal favorite procs in the game. It's the best splash option for STR and does high DPS compared to ebon sword or other STR options.
Tyben's Sword - while listed the same 0.6spd as Karro's axe, it does NOT do splash but actually offers a higher DPS (not too sure why though...)
Zaelwyn - 2h weapon, slow at 1.3spd, but offers great dodge/health and proc slows down and debuffs enemies. Not great, but it's fun to try.
Vanities - Sets and Combos!
Now that I have covered most of the best endgame gear, I want to cover vanities. Vanity items/sets are worn on top of your actual gear and can offer multipliers and stat bonuses that can impact your game tremendously. Again, there is nearly a decade of vanity gear to choose from, but I will focus on the best and most practical options below.
The "best" vanity stat sets in the game are going to be the following (although many expect better sets to be released each Halloween, with Halloween 2022 coming up soon...):
- Wolfman 2pc (helm/armor) - 60 STR, DEX, INT, 3X speed and 6000 Damage
- Drakula 2pc (any helm/armor/weapon/shield/wings) - 5000 Damage, 3000 Health, 1000 Armor, and 3X Speed
- Drakula 4pc (any helm/armor/weapon/shield/wings) - 5000 Damage, 5000 Health, 5000 Armor, and 3.5X Speed
- Merman 2pc (any helm/armor/weapon) - 3500 Damage, 3500 Health, 3500 Armor, and 3.5X Speed
- Merman 4pc (any helm/armor/weapon) - 4000 Damage, 4000 Health, 4000 Armor, and 4X Speed
- Frankenstein 2pc (helm/armor) - 3000 Damage, 3000 Health, 3000 Armor, 30% Gold Loot and 3X speed
- Space Invader set: 50 STR, DEX, INT, 3X speed, 5000 Damage, 5000 Armor, and 5000 Health
Note: Space Invader set is considered one of the best, but also visually fun and desirable because of it being a leaderboard event reward. There are very few in the game.
The best multiplier sets (such as offering multipliers for 3x damage, armor, experience or specific luck/gold % boosts, etc.) are the following (although new sets could be released at any event):
- The Pompetus of Love - 3pc (helm/armor/wings - the Pompetus Wings and Legendary Wings of Love BOTH work to complete the set) = 3X Speed, 3X Damage, and 3X Armor
- BLIZZERAX - helm/armor (or very rare backpack) + any Arctic Ice weapon = 3X Damage, 3X Speed
- Ruby Dragon - 4pc, helm/armor/weapon/shield = 3x Damage, 2x Movement Speed
- Mystic Serpent - 4pc, helm/armor/weapon/shield = 25% Gold Loot, 25% Luck 2X Damage, 7 INT, DEX, and STR
- Toy Man - 3pc, helm/armor/banner = 3X Speed (PvE Only), 3X Experience
- Golden Dragon Master - 4pc, helm/armor/weapon/shield/wings = 50% Gold, 3X Speed, 3X Armor, 3X Damage
- Silver Dragon Master - 4pc, helm/armor/weapon/shield/wings = +50% Luck, 3X Speed, 3X Armor, 3X Damage
- Dream Dragon - 4pc, helm/armor/shield/wings = 25% Gold Loot, 3X Armor, 2X Speed
- Swamp Dragon - 4pc, helm/armor/shield/wings = 25% Gold Loot, 3X Speed, 2X Armor
- Black Ops Tactical - 3pc, helm/armor/weapon = 3x Damage, 3x Speed, 30% Gold
- ICE KNIGHT - 4pc, helm/armor/weapon/shield/wings and Chunk pet (RARE) all work: 3X Armor, 3X Damage, and 3X Speed
- Winter King 3 pc, helm/armor/weapon/shield/banner = 100% Gold Loot and 3X Speed
- Winter King 4 pc, helm/armor/weapon/shield/banner = 300% Gold Loot, 3X Damage, and 3X Speed
- Winter King Note - the "Holiday" weapon and "Holiday Light" shield work to complete the WK set.
- The Champion of Love 2pc, helm/armor = 3X Speed and 3X Damage
- Love Champion Note: LC set is the fewest-piece required set for 3x damage
- Metal Maven 3pc (helm/armor/weapon/shield/wings) = 100% Gold, 3X Damage and Speed
- Metal Menace 3pc (helm/armor/weapon/shield/wings) = 100% Gold, 3X Armor and 3X Speed
- Metal Note: there was a patch that allows the Pink or Black Classic Wings to act as a 'wildcard' like the metal weapons/shield. You can wear metal weapon, shield and wings to complete both sets for 200% gold, 3x damage and 3x armor - AND the Metal set is the first set to offer a multiplier that works alongside a 2pc set (like Merm/Wolf/Frank) and pet.
- New Classic Fire Dragon 3pc = 100% Gold, 3X Damage, 3X Armor, 3X Speed
While these look like a lot (which is true!) there are actually many more sets that exist. Many of them offer inferior stats or options, or require more pieces to be worn than the ones listed above. Therefore, I will just ignore them - but there are Discord servers or other forum posts that you could explore to get a more complete list of what is out there.
Loadouts - How to Mix and Match Gear and Vanities
Now that we have covered the gear you want, and the vanity set options for stats and multipliers, I will cover some of the best possible options to mix and match them up. Loadouts can be saved in your inventory menu, so being able to have a great single-shot damage loadout + a great splash damage loadout + a health loadout + a gold or luck loadout will make your life so much easier!
Best Gear to Use When You Have an Awesome Daily Blessing (3x, 4x or 5x)
The 'formula' for best gear looks like: 110 Mythic Set (not just ebon...) + Best Vanity Combo of your choosing = best gear loadout
Mythic Set:
110 Mythic Ebon 5 or 6 piece sets (2h, or 1h weapon/shield sets)
110 Mythic Valentine 5-piece set (using the Love Nest vanity weapon works too)
Note: you can use the Mythic Valentine 110 set and GAIN 4-9k pure damage versus using ebon. The Mythic Valentine set is the best PvE set in the game, simply because of the customization options you have when using the vanity weapon. You can still keep all of the damage but use defensive pieces like 105 elites, or use splash weapons like Sextant/Lust staff, or the 110 Arcane weapons if you love em. Valentine sets don't work as well in gauntlet events because you are losing health/armor options, but for PvE and gold farming, using a myth valentine set makes all the sense in the world. (Tip: you can enchant your valentine set with health/damage/dodge options as well.)
Offense - Best Damage Vanity Combo:
Wolfman 2pc (helm/armor) 6k damage
Drakula 2pc (weapon/shield/wings) 5k Damage, 3k Health, 1k Armor
Zep pet (6k damage, health and armor)
Result: 17k damage, 9k health, 7k armor
Option:
Use the Drak 2pc (shield/wings) and that will leave your vanity weapon slot available. You can use a Love Nest vanity weapon, then use the 110 Mythic Valentine set and earn the 6k damage bonus AND then use whatever 1h weapon/shield or 2h weapon you want (since the vanity weapon completes set, it leaves your weapon/shield slots open).
Defense - Best Health/Armor Vanity Combo:
Merman 3pc (helm/armor/weapon) - 4k Damage, 4k Health, 4k Armor and 4X Speed
Drakula 2pc (shield/wings) - 5k Damage, 3k Health, 1k Armor
Zep pet (6k damage, health and armor)
Result: 15k damage, 13k health, 11k armor
Option:
Use the Merman 2pc set (helm/armor) and Drak 2pc (shield/wings) and that will leave your vanity weapon slot available. You can use a Love Nest vanity weapon, then use the 110 Mythic Valentine set and earn the 6k damage bonus AND then use whatever 1h weapon/shield or 2h weapon you want (since the vanity weapon completes set, it leaves your weapon/shield slots open).
Notice the different results above - you can gain 2k damage using the offense set, or you lose 2k damage and gain 4k health and 4k armor using the best defense set. In PvE, you just care about the damage and health since there is a 2.5k armor cap, but in events with no caps, the defense set makes a lot more sense!
What I shared above is definitely the "best" gear in the game - and it's expensive! - but that is the best gear to use when you have a good daily blessing or are using damage multiplier elix (or any plat elix). For pricing (and prices can change, and I could certainly be pricing wrong!), Zep is 200m+, Wolf is around 250m and Drak wings alone are 150-250m. For dex (which is generally the most popular), Ebonthrax sets are cheaper than ever before (15-30m) and mythic valentine sets are probably around 80-120m.
When You Do NOT Have a Good Daily Blessing
I shared the best possible gear above, but I want to take a more practical approach and cover some easier combinations. Because there are a ton of multiplier vanity sets in the game, that helps drive the prices down for lots of quality options.
Quick notes:
- For damage/health, you probably just need a Drak 2pc set and for most people that means a weapon (5-10m) and a shield (65m+).
- If you have Wolf, Frank or Merm sets, it's a little harder to include a 3x multiplier set. That is why most people use Drak and a multplier set.
- If you do not have a multiplier set, but you DO have a Drak/Wolf/Merm/Frank set, you want to find a multiplier set that works WITH your stat set.
- Love Champion set (2pc, helm/armor) is the easiest (and since it is more recent, it's not as expensive) option to get a 3x damage multiplier.
The 'formula' for quality, practical gear looks like: 110 Mythic Set (not just ebon...) + Best Vanity Stat/Multiplier Combo of your choosing
Example Vanity Combos
#1.
Drak 2pc (weapon/shield)
Pompetus of Love set (helm/armor/wings) - 3x dmg/armor
Pet
#2.
Love Champion Set (helm/armor) 3x dmg
Drak 2pc (weapon/shield) - option: if you have drak wings, use it instead of weapon and that would leave Love Nest weapon option for Myth Val set.
Pet
#3. Metal Set combo (popular right now, due to 200% gold option) and Pet
You can complete both Metal sets (and get 3x dmg/armor and 200% gold) by using...
1 Maven Helm (or Armor) and 1 Menace Armor (or Helm) and any Metal Weapon (wildcard) and Metal Shield (wildcard)
Note: while this option does not include Drak, your Metal sets get 200% gold and will multiply the stats of your Pet
The options above are relatively cheap (each combo is probably less than 125m) but offer 3x damage and bonus stats that would make you a competent fighter and quality teammate in any PvE map. I know that 125m (or more) doesn't sound 'relatively cheap' but gold farming is just simply a part of the game now. People can farm lots of gold in shorter amounts of time, and they will spend it! The good thing is that items will go up in value, and the items that drop in so many maps will go up in value - you just got to farm and play. Events are also a huge benefit to newer players, because if you just play the event and drop any item (especially the rarer loot), you can sell for quite a bit of gold.
If you are on a budget, being able to know what gear you need early on - or at least what would benefit you the most - will save you quite a few headaches!
Recap!
Phew, hopefully all of that was helpful to you. I covered gear, vanity sets/combos and loadout options that would benefit players the most. I covered the best possible options, while also covering some more practical and easier-to-get options, too.
Goals: know what you want to boost, whether that is damage/health/dodge/gold/luck and make a gameplan
Vanity Combos: know how to build vanity combos, such as using Drak with a 3x set, or knowing which stat sets work together
Loadouts: build different pre-saved loadouts that you can swap back and forth as needed!
I love to learn new things about this game - it makes my experience so much more engaging and fulfilling - and the whole reason for these guides is to hopefully help provide you that same, positive experience. Doing the Gold N' Gear guide really forced me to learn about various items and set combinations for gold farming, and along the way I learned some of the options above.
Perhaps I will do a more specific guide for the absolute best, specific gear loadouts with some photos and exact stats, but this guide should hopefully help you figure those out on your own. =)
Good luck! - WizzyWhite, ThyNeighbor
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