Most skill dependent class/build?

[Suentous PO]

Simple question;
Other than pvp, and in any/every level, which class and stat set up do you think requires the most skill & is most difficult to play, yet effective) and why? Not looking for weird ones like pure strength Mage, they should be fairly normal ones.

Example: pure dex Mage because low health and mana, yet high damage. ( made that up on fly)

Conversely; which may seem easiest? Pve mind you

[Daueden]

Pure str bear because of the low hit percentage

[Suentous PO]

Would you call pure str bear effective?

[Caiahar]

A dexaldin: rhino with str for equips and rest dex.
I did PvE runs with mine :) even tho rhino isn't exactly a killing class, it's still decent (I think :p)

[DocDoBig]

I'm satisfied with 50/50 STR/DEX Bear, sometimes I even get a ''Whoa, pro tank!'' in a run. ;)

[CrimsonTider]

Taking elixirs out of the equation :), end-game pure mage and pure bird using 2h weapons. Because of the exponential rise in damage/armor of mobs and bosses and the little rise in armor and health within end-game sets, these classes are extremely frustrating to play.

Conversely, rhino and pure strength bear are the most ineffective. Yes, pure bears have insane armor and health, but they cannot maintain aggro due to poor damage and cannot hit the ocean with skills, especially beckon, due to ridiculously low hit.

[Suentous PO]

yes, no elixir.

Low st/high dex rhino does sound interesting Shadow, Ive been wanting to try one. do you have mana problems at higher levels, or is it like most endgamers where mana isnt a issue?

@ Doc i assume that a 50/50 bear would be a bit more chalenging due to some points Bearmaster general (honorific title) Crim illustrates.

agreed on the pure mage and bird, I play agressive on my pure bird and learned to spam the hell out of pots. I get asked sometimes why I use the talon, I dont tell the truth that a lot of pugs I join have unskilled players & I might have to be the tank even though theres a bear. I rarely play in front if Im using a 2h.

I remember you mentioning the pure mage tanking a while back so I made one for giggles and the sometimes comical death. Is fun.

hmm still havent heard what I thought i might..

[Daueden]

Pure str bear can be effective to pull in mobs and have the birds take them out fast mad you have a much lower chance of dieing

[DocDoBig]

Yeah not exactly 50/50, more Dex in the Stat Build of course.
I can give my stat build later when I get on.

[Cavoc]

I'm with doc on 50/50 bear. You have to know to how to crowd control and take all the heat.

[Fusionstrike]

Well, it depends what you mean by skill I guess. Crim's point is a good one, that pure int or dex classes at endgame require a certain kind of skill just to stay alive. It takes some doing to stay off the tracks when the train of enemy damage in Fang, Humania and BSM is coming though. My pure int mage and pure dex bird both routinely get one-shot by Lofus, supposedly a low 60s level boss, even with 3x combo.

However, I suspect you mean skill at using a class to its fullest, not just avoiding the ridiculously high damage STS resorted to in later maps to ensure pure classes are road pizza as often as possible. In that case, I have to agree with the others that playing bear well probably requires the most skill. I actually like playing my bear the best, and I don't think it's all the complicated, but it does take a concerted effort to learn. And of course some maps are much harder than others to pull off decent crowd control, so there's definitely a "degree of difficulty" component in there as well. (BTW, my bear build isn't exactly 50/50, but enough str for BSM str set, which is about 170 or so? and rest in dex.)

There's a possible third type of "skill", which is managing to be effective as a rhino in any build. I still haven't acquired that particular skill with that woefully underpowered class...

[Noodleleg]

Pure dex mage is kinda the hardest. I was a pure dex mage and going through a run without dying was soooo hard... But again... It's so fun :)...!

[Cavoc]

Well, it depends what you mean by skill I guess. Crim's point is a good one, that pure int or dex classes at endgame require a certain kind of skill just to stay alive. It takes some doing to stay off the tracks when the train of enemy damage in Fang, Humania and BSM is coming though. My pure int mage and pure dex bird both routinely get one-shot by Lofus, supposedly a low 60s level boss, even with 3x combo.

However, I suspect you mean skill at using a class to its fullest, not just avoiding the ridiculously high damage STS resorted to in later maps to ensure pure classes are road pizza as often as possible. In that case, I have to agree with the others that playing bear well probably requires the most skill. I actually like playing my bear the best, and I don't think it's all the complicated, but it does take a concerted effort to learn. And of course some maps are much harder than others to pull off decent crowd control, so there's definitely a "degree of difficulty" component in there as well. (BTW, my bear build isn't exactly 50/50, but enough str for BSM str set, which is about 170 or so? and rest in dex.)

There's a possible third type of "skill", which is managing to be effective as a rhino in any build. I still haven't acquired that particular skill with that woefully underpowered class...

I'd say the problem with my dex bird is having to watch my health more than anything. Between spamming potions or just spamming skills behind a pally or str bear it's definitely my least favorite in pve, but of course my favorite in pvp. I like my bear the most in pve because pots are hardly used. Being able to deal alot of damage without the constant worry of being 1 hit. Plus that feeling of controlling where your enemies go is pretty awesome.


Edit: plus with bear you can't just use whatever skill is ready. You have to use your skill accordingly. For instance, doing the ole pull them to a corner, running around, using your slashes, stomp, and going back to the corner to make sure those lil guys don't try to go anywhere.

[dudetus]

Taking elixirs out of the equation :), end-game pure mage and pure bird using 2h weapons. Because of the exponential rise in damage/armor of mobs and bosses and the little rise in armor and health within end-game sets, these classes are extremely frustrating to play.

Pure Dex unelixired burd using a bow in pugs is usually simply impossible as bird's damage aggros anyone u attack. For pugs, talon + wing is the way to go thanks to armor. With a group which knows even some basic team mechanics (at awfully low rate, smh) the bow is the way to go. Even though u will get a strain to ur thumb while spamming health pots, u should never forget bird's only role, which is ofc the damage dealer and bows obviously have the highest damage for birds.

Anyways, yeah, probably a dexbear variant is the hardest but yet effective class. Managing aggro is easier but survivability is ofc way less. Dexbears are the most effective tanks as they can keep the aggro with their damage as well. Needs an actually healing mage alongside with u in tight spots, but it's part of the challenge, aight?

[Suentous PO]

I'll admit I was expecting to hear a fox build! Being that they have both range and mele skills, but, set one up for range and you will also have to get toe to toe (and prolly take agro from high damage) due to mele skills. That and some oddities like needles which fly where you are facing and not where your auto attack is aimed.

BUT having played a dex bear for a while I'm agreeing with a lot of points being made here.
It's getting easier to tell by playing style who has never played at sewer cap when the bear was god of life and death in pugs.
Like Doc I'm surprised when people freak out at a traditional wall bear.
"wow your good!" (thinks to self) Uh, this is just how a bear should play, uh, I mean thx.

And now Noodle has me contemplating making a pure dex Mage just to see how much damage it could do O.o

[Blastyou]

I actually love playing dex bear. I use a talon set with ~50/50 str/dex and I can tank and hold aggro pretty easily (unless there's a thrashing bird in the party). Bear isn't really that hard to play properly IMO...but judging by the massive amount of scatterbears in pugs, that may not be the majority opinion.

[The Happiness]

I am with Ninny on this. Pure dex bow bird, unelixired, at endgame. Extremely tricky. Tbh, it comes down to the party here. If people know how to play their class effectively it makes an enormous difference between life and death....and blistered thumbs!

I still love my almost 50:50 dex bears. I recently leveled one in sewers and there was a mage helping others with xp runs. In the second run they stopped and said "Yay! A pro bear! Now I can do my job better" I had forgotten how much fun sewers were. The old Taarasauce/Gmosauhce combo was legendary! Oh happy days!

I might respec one of my mages and try all dex. Thx Noodle!

[Chopper]

I agree with Crimson. A pure Dex bird with a 2H bow makes you very vulnerable to dmg and attacks, but the sheer punishment you can dish out make you very valuable to parties. You just have to be very careful to stay in less dangerous spots on the screen