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whisperwalk
03-08-2013, 10:54 AM
Whisperwalk's Definitive Guide to Rhinos

Sturdy and peaceful; rhinos have a hard time killing anything in Alterra. So I present to you the definitive guide for making a rhino that won't suck.

Table of contents
1. Why play a rhino?
2. Stats and Equipment
3. Endgame Builds
4. Skill guide
5. The journey

Why play a rhino?
A rhino is what you get when you combine the supportive powers of a Mage with the tankiness of a Bear. You heal the sick, revive the dead, and walk through the fires of hell receiving barely a scratch. You have ridiculous layers of defence: more than 50% dodge; high armor; two different heals. Even when totally surrounded, the rhino has a pushback AoE to open an escape route. You can still die, but rest assured that rhinos have some of the best defences in the game.

All this comes at the price of horribly low damage. So you won't be soloing many dungeons (except for fun). Bosses will moan as they (very slowly) fall to your toothless attack, while you neutralize every single move in their arsenal. For maximum humiliation, you will kill the boss while his minions watch, helpless to protect their leader. They will do every single thing in their power to stop you. But they just can't get through.

So if you're the type of player that likes this sort of thing, you might want a rhino.

Stats and Equipment

Every levelup gives you 5 points to spend, which goes into STR, DEX, or INT. But a common mistake new players make is to assume those points matter very much. So let me dispel your illusions:


DODGE: To get just 1% more dodge, you need 40 STR, 80 DEX, or 200 INT. So if you go full strength, it will still take at least 8 levels.
HIT: To get just 1% more hit, you need 6 DEX or 10 INT. But you will easily pass 100% hitrate with the Vital Force skill.
CRIT:To get just 1% more crit, you need 33.3 STR, 30 DEX, or 50 INT.
DAMAGE: To get just 1 more damage, you need 50 STR, 6.6 DEX, or 12.5 INT.
HP: To get just 1 more hp, you need 2 STR. Be aware that real threats will easily deal a few hundred damage.

Therefore, your stats come from items rather than points. You can junk any pretend guides that advocate 100% STR, 75% STR/25% DEX, 50% STR/50% DEX, or even 100% DEX, because all these vague percentages will do bupkis to your real power. The only rule you should follow is this: you must have enough stats to wear the items you need.


ITEM SLOTS: You have 5 slots, which are HEADPIECE, CHESTPIECE, WEAPON, SHIELD, and RING
STR ITEMS: In general, STR items have high armor rating and give DODGE + something else. It is highly recommended to wear STR items with both DODGE + CRIT, because CRIT raises your damage. STR items should be chosen for your headpiece, chest, one handed melee weapon, and shield.
DEX ITEMS: In general, DEX items have low armor rating and give HIT, CRIT + something else. Because you need DODGE as a tank, the only DEX item recommended wearing is a ranged weapon.
INT ITEMS: In general, INT items are exactly like DEX items except weaker. So the only INT item you should wear is the Fine Crystal Ring of Life.


Translating these into actual numbers, you need 157 STR, 157 DEX, and 37 INT. The minimum level to attain this is at lvl 70; after that, you can do whatever you wish with the remaining points. 157 is the pre-requisite for the highest level pinks from Blacksmoke Mountain. Due to the flexibility, you can don any combination of STR and DEX gears, as below.

Endgame Builds
If you begin with the end in mind, you'll know what you are working towards. Obviously, items before lvl 75 will be weaker than this. You will still do fine by always prioritizing Dodge, Crit, M/s, and Armor. And for damage get the highest one-handed weapon you can buy.

The Fine Crystal Ring of Life may seem off, but 3 M/s is godly especially for lower levels. You can heal hp quite easily the next challenge is to regenerate mana. For a rhino, 10-15 M/s means you never have to buy mana pots. And with the Restore skill, you will never need hp pots either. In the later levels, you might want to swap it out for other rings; beware this will cost Platinum (real money).


Total Defence Mode
- Savage Dragon Master Helmet (42 Str, 7% Dodge, 5% Crit, 9 Health, 6 H/s, 5 M/s, 22 Damage, 67 Armor)
- Savage Dragon Master Armor (42 Str, 7% Dodge, 5% Crit, 9 Health, 6 H/s, 5 M/s, 22 Damage, 90 Armor)
- Savage Dragon Master Buckler (42 Str, 7% Dodge, 5% Crit, 9 Health, 6 H/s, 5 M/s, 22 Damage, 79 Armor)
- Savage Dragon Master Scythe (234-254 Damage, 0.9 Speed, 42 Str, 7% Dodge, 5% Crit, 9 Health, 6 H/s, 5 M/s, 19 Armor)
- Fine Crystal Ring of Life (1 H/s, 3 M/s, 2 Damage)
Summary: 168 STR, 28% Dodge, 20% Crit, 255 Armor, 36 Health, 25 H/s, 23 M/s, 36 Health

Kiting Mode
- Savage Dragon Master Helmet (42 Str, 7% Dodge, 5% Crit, 9 Health, 6 H/s, 5 M/s, 22 Damage, 67 Armor)
- Savage Dragon Master Armor (42 Str, 7% Dodge, 5% Crit, 9 Health, 6 H/s, 5 M/s, 22 Damage, 90 Armor)
- Swift Dragon Master Recurve Bow (233-288 Damage, 0.9 Speed, 42 Dex, 12% Hit, 9% Crit, 4 H/s, 3 Mana, 5 M/s, 12 Armor)
- Fine Crystal Ring of Life (1 H/s, 3 M/s, 2 Damage)
Summary: 84 STR, 42 DEX, 14% Dodge, 19% Crit, 169 Armor, 18 Health, 16 H/s, 16 M/s, 18 Health

Nuclear Offence Mode
- Swift Dragon Master Helmet (42 Dex, 12% Hit, 9% Crit, 4 H/s, 3 Mana, 5 M/s, 28 Damage, 60 Armor)
- Swift Dragon Master Armor (42 Dex, 12% Hit, 9% Crit, 4 H/s, 3 Mana, 5 M/s, 28 Damage, 81 Armor)
- Swift Dragon Master Recurve Bow (233-288 Damage, 0.9 Speed, 42 Dex, 12% Hit, 9% Crit, 4 H/s, 3 Mana, 5 M/s, 12 Armor)
- Fine Crystal Ring of Life (1 H/s, 3 M/s, 2 Damage)
Summary: 126 DEX, 27% Crit, 153 Armor, 13 H/s, 18 M/s

Skill Guide
Damage Skills
The rhino has very low damage but neglecting these skills will make them even lower. So you must get these:


2 Charge: It closes the gap, deals some damage, and is Part A of a combo.
9 Redemption: Deals damage which heals you. If Charge was casted earlier, Redemption deals double damage.
9 Holy Tempest: 7m area of effect, knocks back enemies, 60% chance of reducing enemy hitrate by 30% for 3 seconds.
9 Rhino Might: Because rhinos are not mighty, Rhino Might deals crappy damage. However, at the highest level it has 100% stunrate for 3 seconds which is essential for endgame maps.




Support Skills
You should support the rest of your party. Max these skills.


9 Restore: Heals entire party and +health/sec for entire party
9 Vital Force: Increases damage for entire party, increases your own crit and hitrate
9 Guardian: Dispels enemy nasties, increases your dodge and armor. Some players look down on this skill but trust me you need the 10% dodge. Dodge is better than armor because it lets u evade an attack that can kill u in one hit.

These skills are optional because they don't get much better with additional skill points. So you can dump your extra points on them.


9 Revive: Resurrects dead party members.
1 Summon: Taunts monsters so that they attack you. Adding skill ranks does almost nothing so best to leave it at 1.

Ignore this skill:


0 Divine Aura: Because you're not a god, and mana regen with cooldown is worthless compared to the Fine Crystal Ring of Life. One ring to rule them all.

Defence skills

9 Brute Force: The skill description says it replaces Vital Force but actually it doesn't. Therefore you should take this for the 10% extra dodge (the 5 armor is just for show).
0 Stone Skin : A lot of players love this, but the cooldown is long, the armor is worthless (because you have too much armor and enemies can always deal some minimum damage), and the buff is short. You couldn't rely on Stoneskin if your life depended on it.

The Journey
Questing

Questing is the main part of Pocket Legends. Since the rhino is a team player (a good way of saying we suck solo) it is vital to join and host parties. Birds and foxes are good friends because you can keep them alive and they can kill bosses. Bears are bad because they are another set of stone walls. Mages are OK but bosses tend to take longer.

Most quests in Pocket Legends follows the formula: kill X monsters to get Y items. Then receive item Z as reward. So it's pretty straightforward.

Bossing

Due to your overflowing armors and ridiculous dodging, bosses might find you difficult to kill. So they will usually ignore you and go for the birdie's neck. Your counter is to spam Summon and buy time for the birds. Of course, there are some melee bosses that the birds can kite. For those types, you should let the bird kite (why let the enemy do any damage at all?), while you pummel it in melee range. The boss will ignore you while chasing the bird.

There are some bosses with a one-hit-kill skill: Magnetic Golem, Gurghox, Shadow Witch, Auntie Emma etc. When you're with a noob party, a single wipe can murder everyone, leaving the whole crew to walk the long distance all over again. As a smart rhino you should not allow this. Stay outside the room (after all, how much damage can you contribute), wait for someone to die. Only then do you walk in to revive. Then get the hell out. You only return when the boss about to die - and you do this so you can get the exp, loot, and credits for the kill. I call this the Rhino Ambulance Service.

Player Vs Player

A rhino can pvp as long as no one runs away from you. Be aware that these are humans so they will run, unlike the silly AI monsters that haplessly stand there for 5 minutes (while you kill them). Mages are the easiest targets because they don't really do single target; these will fall after 5 minutes. Bears are even chance because you can heal and they cannot. Birds are very very difficult - they will absolutely murder you. The only problem with all these people is they will run, so you won't get a single kill.

While pvp-ing with a teammate, the rhino is no good because your 'friend' will take credit for all your kills. Even if they only landed the last hit and u did all the work. So if anyone is on your side, leave. With friends like these, who needs enemies?

In the endgame the Rhino is no good for PVP. Other classes start to score outrageous 1-second kills while the rhino is still slow. In fact I found the place infested with birds birds birds and only a few mages/bears. Birds are too good in the endgame; they can easily pwn anyone wearing crap equipment, while other classes have to work hard to score a kill. Because skills are not really balanced they give birds way too much dodge, damage, and debuffs.

Capture the Flag

Rhinos are said to be kings of CTF due to their overgrown dodge stat and revive skill. CTF is just like rugby, except that the players kill each other. So, the job is to grab the flag and run. And that's all there is to it.

whisperwalk
03-08-2013, 10:04 PM
Armoring Considerations

As you can guess, this is not a bird thread. Therefore rhinos look at defensive topics such as staying alive. Armor is found on your headpiece, chestpiece, shield, weapon, and ring. The sum of this (plus a little bit more from base stats) gives you your armor rating.

Armor Rating = 5 + (STR / 18.75) + (DEX/ 36.67) + Item_Armors

Your armor subtracts enemy damage by that exact amount. For example, if the enemy deals 200 damage, but you have 50 armor, you only receive 150 damage. This is a strictly linear relationship but there is a cap. All enemy monsters deal a minimum amount of damage. Having too much armor is a waste (hence StoneSkin is overrated).

Total Defence

Total defence is the tanking setup for maximum dodge % + armors. The value of armor vs dodge follows three mathematical laws:

1. Extra armor is useless after the maximum armor cap (see next section)
2. If your total armor is less than 100, then 1 armor > 1 dodge
3. If your total armor is more than 100, then 1 dodge > 1 armor
4. If there are enemies that can kill you in one hit, then dodge always > armor.

Therefore, the path to tankiness is to reach the maximum armor cap. This varies by area so we will consult the next section. After that, you'd want as much dodge as possible. Achieving this will bring you total defence. One additional consideration - you'll want between 10-15 M/s (mana regeneration per second) to avoid wasting money on mana pots. Finally, it is nice to get some crit from your gear.

If max armor is not achievable, then rules 2 and 3 will be used to prioritize between dodge and armor.

Twinking represents the best possible build for each area / level. We will look at items, stat points, and skill points. Continuity will also be taken into account, so that you can levelup from one best build to another best build. We will neglect prices because these things fluctuate according to market conditions.

It is possible to diverge from my recommendations, if you have good reason for doing so. For example, you could sacrifice some armor to deal more damage. This post assumes that your goal is total defense, which is the main strength of a rhino. If you don't like it, you might want to play a bird instead, or maybe just look at my next post. It calculates the damage you can do.

Maximum Armor before Minimum Damage Kicks In, by Area
Forest Haven (Lvl 1-10)

[Mob] Rogue Knight Melee: 28 Armor
[Boss] Brom Dandy: 29 Armor
[Special]Skull Knight Swordsman can debuff armor
[Special]Barbrax the Demon can sometimes pierce armor for massive damage

Dark Forest (Lvl 10-15)

[Mob] Rogue Knight Swordsman: 37 Armor
[Boss] King of Bling and King of Hearts: 47 Armor
[Special]Skull Knight 1H-Swordsman, Rogue Knight Melee, and Rogue Knight Swordsman can debuff armor
[Special]Barbrax the Demon can sometimes pierce armor for massive damage

Balefort Castle (Lvl 15-20)

[Mob] Rock Golem: 57 Armor
[Boss] King of Hearts: 55 Armor
[Special]Skull Knight 1H-Swordsman, Rogue Knight Melee, and Rogue Knight Swordsman can debuff armor
[Special]Goblin Warchief and Spirit of Fire can debuff armor
[Special]Goblin King can summon 5 waves of 3 suicide bombers

Fathom Crypt (Lvl 20-25)

[Mob] Skeleton Swordsman w/ Shield: 57 Armor
[Boss] King of Pain: 66 Armor
[Special]Captain Bones can sometimes pierce armor for massive damage

Sand Cave (Lvl 20-25)

[Mob] n/a
[Boss] n/a

Lost Expedition (Lvl 25-30)

[Mob] Blue Beast: 74 Armor
[Boss] Ernesto the Yeti: 84 Armor
[Special]White Knight 1H-Swordsman and White Knight Melee can debuff armor
[Special]White Archer can sometimes damage you with knockback attack

Frozen Nightmares ELITE (Lvl 25-30)

[Mob] Blue Beast: 196 Armor
[Boss] n/a
[Special]Most mobs require only 136 Armor

Ancient Swamp (Lvl 30-35)

[Mob] McCroc Melee w/ Hooch: 86 Armor
[Boss] Beaux Beaux and Fabio the Fireblaster : 84 Armor
[Special]McCroc Spear w/ Shield, Scalefield Croc Spear w/ Shield, and McCroc Melee w/ Hooch can debuff armor
[Special]Pappy Scalefield can do up to triple non-critical damage
[Special]Ma' McCroc can spawn highly damaging bombs in the room

Return of Skeller Krunch (Lvl 30-35)

[Mob] Rogue Knight Swordsman: 37 Armor
[Boss] King of Bling and King of Hearts: 47 Armor
[Special]Skull Knight 1H-Swordsman can debuff armor
[Special]Barbrax the Demon can sometimes pierce armor for massive damage

Alien Oasis 1 (Lvl 35-40)

[Mob] Black Marauder Spear w/ Shield: 92 Armor
[Boss] Anubis: 99 Armor
[Special]Black Marauder Spear w/ Shield can debuff armor

Alien Oasis 2 (Lvl 40-45)

[Mob] Blue Alien Swordsman: 112 Armor
[Boss] Anubis: 104 Armor
[Special]Black Marauder Spear w/ Shield can debuff armor
[Special]Mummy Melee can reduce your armor

Alien Oasis 3 (Lvl 45-50)

[Mob] Alien Berserker: 148 Armor
[Boss] n/a

Shadow Cave ELITE (Lvl 50)

[Mob] n/a
[Boss] n/a[/INDENT]

Balefort Sewers (Lvl 50-55)

[Mob] Goblin with Spear and Shield: 107
[Boss] n/a

Nuri's Hallows (Lvl 55-60)

[Mob] n/a
[Boss] n/a

Mount Fang (Lvl 60-66)

[Mob] n/a
[Boss] n/a

Isle of Humania (Lvl 65-71)

[Mob] n/a
[Boss] n/a

Blacksmoke Mountain (Lvl 70-76)

[Mob] n/a
[Boss] n/a


Dodgy Ring of Valiant Glory

Although I mentioned the Fine Crystal Ring of Life, it turns out there is something even better. After you finish the game. The Black Ring of Valiant Glory is awarded to players who have reached the level cap. And there is a long, circuitous quest involved.

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The most important stat on this ring is the 67 health. There is no other item that gives such a massive boost. Secondly the 5% dodge. Dodge is the most important stat as a tank, and, this ring enables u to reach the maximum of 68% Dodge:


Base Dodge: 1.575 Dodge
226 Base Str: 5.65 Dodge
157 Base Dex: 3.925 Dodge
Savage Dragon Master Set: 28 Dodge
168 Str from Set: 4.2 Dodge
Guardian Skill: 10 Dodge
Brute Force Skill: 10 Dodge
Ring of Valiant Glory: 5 Dodge
TOTAL: 68.35 Dodge

I'm not sure if there are ways to go even higher, but this is what I have calculated so far. Oh, and you will have 305 armor.

whisperwalk
03-08-2013, 10:10 PM
Going on the Offence

This part discusses the rhino's attacking capabilities.

Forgetting something? Remember to bring these

In the beginning, nothing beats the Punctually Forgotten Bow, which just needs 32 dex for ridiculous range and damage. You can of course opt for traditional melee, but no one hits hard enough at the low levels to require a tank.

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At level 11 the Tentatively Forgotten Bow becomes available, with 35 dex required, and so on. These bows are good till level 30, when it is outclassed by the extremely cheap Frozen Longsword of the Bear, with Req: Lvl 30 and 94 Str; 137-172 damage, two handed, 5 str, 2 crit, 2 H/s, 1 armor. Conveniently, the need for strength comes just before your first elite dungeon, the Frozen Nightmares.

You'll need 68 dex for the Lvl 22 Cleverly Forgotten Bow and then quickly transition to 94 str for melee. After that, mobs hit for harder and harder, so it's time to do your proper tank job and equip one-handers with shield.

Immortal aliens

It was in Alien Oasis 3 when I first felt under-equipped. The problem was Alien Snipers, which shoot high while taking forever to die. Alien Sniper has two friends known as the Alien Lorekeeper (tank) and Alien Berserker (also tank, but high damage). Not only this, but 3 out of 5 boss Aliens are overpowered: Crush the keeper can pin u against a wall (forever), Gurghox will one-shot entire parties, and Galactic Overlord is invincible with Shield (and can AoE every second). I confess that during these levels I was a rhino ambulance which is still pretty useful because I had to revive often.

So I had a Limbchopper of Destiny (Req: Lvl 45, 100 Str; 105-125 damage, 0.9 speed, 8 str, 2 dodge, 4 hit, 2 crit, 2 H/s, 2 M/s, 3 Armor) and a shield. For damage I would recommend Plasma Axe of the Rift or Gurgox Hammer of the Rift.

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Glyph Maces: The Return of Damage

Tanking responsibilities mean that rhinos will never two-hand again for many levels. Shields are also improving at each cap, your character will feel naked without it. They give dodge, crit, M/s, and tons of armor.

Once at Nuri's you should definitely get Strongman's Glyph Mace, or if you cannot afford it, the cheaper Glyph Mace of the Big Top. The ultra rare Demonic Glyph Mace is a crafted (and marginally improved) Strongman mace. There will be some scammers that try to tell you a Taming Club of the Big Top is "good for dps", but you should never listen to them. Monster armor at these levels are high enough to make quick weapons look like toys. You need slow but hard-hitting weapons to get skills such as Redemption and Holy Tempest through.

Strongman's Glyph Mace: Required Lvl 56 and 128 Str; 190-265 damage, 1.4 speed, 20 Str, 5 dodge, 5 H/s, 5 M/s, 9 armor. There are slightly improved copies at Lvl 58 and 60. (The Lvl 56 one is the most expensive because lower levels, and therefore more players, can wield.)

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Skipping Humania and going Straight to Blacksmoke

Both Mount Fang and Humania don't give much, because both promote two-handers which are dead-on-arrival. Mobs in Mount Fang can zerg rush even a tank, while single yetis in Humania are known to wipe entire parties. To say nothing about Mount Fang bosses, which are the strongest in the entire game. You need your shield.

This means that your next and final melee weapon is Beastly Dragonscale Scythe, which can be crafted into Savage Dragon Master Scythe. For two hands I do not recommend melee at all, because dragons must be taken down from range. You should instead raise to 157 dex, to steal the bird's Flying Dragonscale Recurve Bow.

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How Important is Crit?

Crit is a chance of dealing double damage. You'll of course want as much crit as possible, but mathematically speaking what does crit actually do?

You'll have to bear with me for some algebra. Suppose your Damage = D. When you crit, you deal twice as much, Crit = 2D.


Scenario 1: 0% Crit
D' = D (no chance of dealing double damage)

Scenario 2: 25% Crit
D' = (0.75 * D) + (0.25 * 2D)
D' = 1.25D

Scenario 3: 50% Crit
D' = (0.5 * D) + (0.5 * 2D)
D' = 1.5

Scenario 3: 75% Crit
D' = (0.25 * D) + (0.75 * 2D)
D' = 1.75D

Scenario 4: 100% Crit
D' = 2D (always deal double damage)

So Crit raises overall damage by the exact percentage of the Crit. If you have 25% crit, you will deal 25% more, and if 50%, you will deal 50% more. So this provides a simple way of comparing weapons. More crit is not always better, you have to multiply it with your (total) damage.

Damage vs DPS

I equipped two weapons, both Lvl 60, and these are my resultant character stats:

Glyph Mace of the Big Top: Damage 272-347, Speed 1.3 DPS 221
Reptilian Dagger of Obedience: Damage 180-183, Speed 0.4, DPS 454

On the surface, the dagger is twice the damage of the mace. To confirm this, bring a low-armor monster such as a LE blue troll. How long does it take to kill?

Glyph Mace: 16 seconds
Reptilian Dagger: 8 seconds

Matches predictions exactly. Now try high armor monster, the Humanian mini-yeti.

Glyph Mace: 15 seconds
Reptilian Dagger: 19 seconds

This proves that DPS is negated by armor at higher levels. The high speed daggers are only better in two circumstances, which are:

1) Low level farming
2) Elixir / Daily Blessing buffs

For everything else, the ultra slow mace is better.

Screw that, I still want dps

There you go.

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Molten set gives the highest dps: crit rates superior to flying dragonscale, easy to assemble (non-pink). The downside is total disregard for armor and dodge. It can still work because of elixirs and daily blessings. Just let your bear tank for you while u move in like a sneaky rogue.

Note: You can avoid the problems of dagger's low base damage by equipping the molten set with Beastly Dragonscale Scythe.

How Important is Damage as a Tank?

If you ask me, damage is not important at all. I completed all the difficult maps at low levels being a healer/reviver/tank; piggybacking off the damage of other classes. I hit 100 while they pull out 1000's. This is the role of a rhino/paladin: we are supporters so that other characters can shine better.

With that said, you want enough damage to mop the lone straggler missed by other players. It's not a difficult job, so standard weapons will do. The rule of thumb is to find the most damaging one-handed melee; I mean base damage and not dps. And of course it is possible to build the rhino differently, perhaps with pure DEX or with pure INT. Those builds would be a serious compromise of dodge and armor; I think they only work at the lower levels.

Now, we can go the other extreme of full STR. Not recommended, because there are situations that can only be negotiated by bow. Also, when you are Lvl 76 and want to farm a lower lvl map (for whatever reason), it would be nice to drop all the STR armors and wear fully equipped DEX gear. Dex gives higher crit and higher base damage. There is no way those Plasma Pyramid aliens can harm you anyway.

The only noticeable benefit of full STR is 75-ish more health; you should be fine without it. Defence in Pocket Legends is actually dodge (to evade one hit kills), armor (to counter mob zerging), and stun. Let the bears have a big health pool; we are fine with blocking.

whisperwalk
03-08-2013, 10:41 PM
Levelup Cheat Sheet

Lvl 2 +1 Charge (1)
Lvl 3
Lvl 4
Lvl 5
Lvl 6 +4 Restore (4)
Lvl 7 +1 Redemption (1)
Lvl 8 +1 Redemption (2)
Lvl 9 +1 Redemption (3)
Lvl 10 +1 Summon (1)
Lvl 11
Lvl 12
Lvl 13
Lvl 14
Lvl 15
Lvl 16 +6 Vital Force (6)
Lvl 17
Lvl 18 +2 Holy Tempest (2)
Lvl 19 +1 Holy Tempest (3)
Lvl 20 +1 Holy Tempest (4)
Lvl 21 +1 Holy Tempest (5)
Lvl 22 +1 Revive (1)
Lvl 23 +1 Holy Tempest (6)
Lvl 24 +1 Restore (5)
Lvl 25 +1 Restore (6)
Lvl 26 +1 Redemption (4)
Lvl 27 +1 Redemption (5)
Lvl 28 +1 Redemption (6)
Lvl 29 +1 Guardian (1)
Lvl 30 +1 Guardian (2)
Lvl 31 +1 Guardian (3)
Lvl 32 +1 Guardian (4)
Lvl 33 +1 Guardian (5)
Lvl 34 +1 Guardian (6)
Lvl 35 +1 Rhino Might (1)
Lvl 36 +1 Rhino Might (2)
Lvl 37 +1 Rhino Might (3)
Lvl 38 +1 Rhino Might (4)
Lvl 39 +1 Rhino Might (5)
Lvl 40 +1 Rhino Might (6)
Lvl 41 +1 Revive (2)
Lvl 42 +1 Revive (3)
Lvl 43 +1 Revive (4)
Lvl 44 +1 Revive (5)
Lvl 45 +1 Revive (6)
Lvl 46 +1 Brute Force / Stoneskin (1)
Lvl 47 +1 Brute Force / Stoneskin (2)
Lvl 48 +1 Brute Force / Stoneskin (3)
Lvl 49 +1 Brute Force / Stoneskin (4)
Lvl 50 +1 Brute Force / Stoneskin (5)
Lvl 51 +1 Brute Force / Stoneskin (6)
Lvl 52
Lvl 53
Lvl 54
Lvl 55
Lvl 56
Lvl 57
Lvl 58
Lvl 59
Lvl 60
Lvl 61
Lvl 62
Lvl 63
Lvl 64
Lvl 65
Lvl 66 +3 Restore (9), +3 Redemption (9), +3 Vital Force (9) ,+3 Holy Tempest (9), +3 Rhino Might (9)
Lvl 67 +1 Guardian (7)
Lvl 68 +1 Guardian (8)
Lvl 69 +1 Guardian (9)
Lvl 70 +1 Stoneskin/Brute Force (7)
Lvl 71 +1 Stoneskin/Brute Force (8)
Lvl 72 +1 Stoneskin/Brute Force (9)
Lvl 73 +1 Revive (7)
Lvl 74 +1 Revive (8)
Lvl 75 +1 Revive (9)
Lvl 76 +1 Charge (2)

Because Stoneskin and Brute Force are both weak skills, it is also possible to get Lvl 9 Charge, Lvl 1 Stoneskin, and Lvl 1 Brute Force. This represents a "pure offensive" build. I am using it at the moment.

The "pure defensive" build is Lvl 9 Stoneskin, Lvl 9 Brute Force, Lvl 1 Charge, and Lvl 1 Redemption. The "CTF" build is Lvl 9 Stoneskin, Lvl 0 Brute Force, and rest of points in Redemption.

Stat Build

1) CTF Rhino
+5 STR whenever you level up. No concern for other stats
Wear Acrobat's Fine Iron Band / elite ring
Pros: Highest HP pool
Cons: Low hitrate, low damage

2) Ring & String rhino
+37 int, +dex until 73% hitrate, everything else into STR
Wear Fine Crystal Ring of Life
Pros: High HP with 100% hitrate
Cons: Low damage

3) Sneaky rhino (My build)
+37 int, then 50:50 split between STR and DEX
Wear Fine Crystal Ring of Life
Wear Forgotten Bow and str armor

At endgame, re-spec all 37 int to STR and DEX
Wear Acrobat's Fine Iron Band / elite ring
Wear Molten set when mobbing (don't be a tank be a rogue)
Wear Savage set when bossing (bosses hit hard)

Pros: Versatile
Cons: Cannot CTF

Prack
03-09-2013, 09:47 PM
WOW awesome guide. The only question I have is since we have the extra points why not do 67 INT and Fine Crystal Ring of Life? 1 h/s 3 m/s and 4 dps vs 2.

Extreme
03-10-2013, 02:12 AM
Awesome guide!

whisperwalk
03-10-2013, 04:35 AM
WOW awesome guide. The only question I have is since we have the extra points why not do 67 INT and Fine Crystal Ring of Life? 1 h/s 3 m/s and 4 dps vs 2.

The 67 int ring is fine if you're willing to wait 6 more levels. Both have 3 M/s so they work equally well.

Xpistofepos
03-11-2013, 12:49 PM
Levelup Cheat Sheet

What happened to the info in this post?

Extreme
03-11-2013, 11:01 PM
^ he gonna post later

whisperwalk
03-12-2013, 06:47 AM
^ he gonna post later

Yap I need some time away from my day job.

Prack
03-12-2013, 03:14 PM
The 67 int ring is fine if you're willing to wait 6 more levels. Both have 3 M/s so they work equally well.

I'm already level 55 I'm just talking from an end game perspective.

whisperwalk
03-15-2013, 05:58 AM
Recently I re-speced to 1 Charge, 9 Rhino Might, and 0 Stoneskin just to deal with Humanian Yetis. To my surprise, it made quite a difference. At level 9 Rhino Might has a 100% stun rate and 7m AoE, almost as good as Holy Tempest. The damage sucks, of course, which is why I initially dismissed the skill. But 3 seconds of stun keep your fragile bird/enchantress friends alive, allowing them to do their proper job.

With a second bear/rhino in the party, Rhino Might has a perma-stun effect. Suddenly, a map like Lost Villas becomes accessible to non-elixired parties.

I might have to reevaluate the usefulness of this skill.

Prack
03-15-2013, 10:37 AM
9 points is a lot for a 3 second stun. But yeah I see your point and have wondered if it would be worth it at cap level.

whisperwalk
03-15-2013, 10:53 AM
I'm already level 55 I'm just talking from an end game perspective.

In the endgame the Black/Gold Ring of Valiant Glory beats everything else. 3 Str, 3 Dex, 3 Int, 5 Dodge, 5 Hit, 2 Crit, 67 health, 1 H/s, 10 Mana, 1M/s, 10 Damage, 20 Armor. Impossible to top that.

Extremely difficult to forge this ring, of course. But once you do, you'll want to re-spec the int back into str / dex.

vle_hoang
03-19-2013, 04:38 AM
Nice guide but a little question, why 9 revive and 0 stoneskin? Isnt it better that u put 1 revive and 8 in stoneskin? Even it have a short duration, but it gives u 50? armor instead of rev at fews metters more? Its like having another buckler for a short duration.

whisperwalk
03-19-2013, 07:00 AM
Nice guide but a little question, why 9 revive and 0 stoneskin? Isnt it better that u put 1 revive and 8 in stoneskin? Even it have a short duration, but it gives u 50? armor instead of rev at fews metters more? Its like having another buckler for a short duration.

Because I've never, ever, missed the 48 armor from StoneSkin. Mobs are either dealing the minimum damage, or bosses are dealing too much damage. And yet I revive all the time and being out of range is just sad.

StoneSkin is only active 35% of the time, which means that you cannot base your playstyle around it. This is more damaging than it seems: if you're sufficiently defended for the 65% of the time that StoneSkin is offline, then you do not need StoneSkin at all. Overall, I would consider StoneSkin a crippled skill. Also, if STS ever "fixes" the two force buffs to prevent them from stacking, then this would absolutely cripple the already weak rhino. The rhino atm should be buffed, not nerfed.

vle_hoang
03-19-2013, 08:53 PM
Because I've never, ever, missed the 48 armor from StoneSkin. Mobs are either dealing the minimum damage, or bosses are dealing too much damage. And yet I revive all the time and being out of range is just sad.

StoneSkin is only active 35% of the time, which means that you cannot base your playstyle around it. This is more damaging than it seems: if you're sufficiently defended for the 65% of the time that StoneSkin is offline, then you do not need StoneSkin at all. Overall, I would consider StoneSkin a crippled skill. Also, if STS ever "fixes" the two force buffs to prevent them from stacking, then this would absolutely cripple the already weak rhino. The rhino atm should be buffed, not nerfed.

48 Armors with x3 Combo is 144 armors, when u farm at feast, 144 Armors will save u from being OHKO from Lofus and Vlod.

OverkillED
03-20-2013, 03:11 AM
Amazing, detailed, and thorough guide on the paladin class! Bravo!

Zerious
03-22-2013, 07:39 PM
the minimum damage section also opened my eyes to how i build my bear for pve. GREAT help there, I commend your work and thank you for your post :eagerness:

whisperwalk
03-25-2013, 08:35 AM
Str/int Rhino

I have sucessfully confirmed that 2 int = 1 skill damage for the spell Holy Tempest (Lvl 9). This clears one of my biggest 'road not taken' mysteries.

Presently equipping Lvl75 Beastly Dragonscale Sword, my Holy Tempest deals 368-427 damage. A rhino with 160 int would have 448-507, or +20%; a rhino with 160 dex would have 392-451, or +6%. These numbers are for Holy Tempest only. Int adds much less moolah for Rhino Might, Charge, and Restore.

Because rhinos only have two AoE skills (one good, one sucky), adding int is not recommended. By the way, mages have three AoE skills, which are all good.

Str Rhino

I re-specced to a STR Rhino because I was getting tired of dps (prior to this, a dagger rhino build proved too fragile for PvE). So now I have 331 base STR, 45 base Dex, 4 base Int, 100% hitrate naked, and 635 HP fully clothed.

This build (similar to CosmicXGhost's super-CTF rhino) was quite fun to play because i can walk to the middle of a mob, chat, and ignore the mobs. Since I don't care too much for CTF, I deployed a "zero attack" layout:


1 Charge
1 Redemption
1 Summon
9 Restore
9 Revive
9 Stoneskin
9 Guardian
9 Vital Force
9 Brute Force
9 Holy Tempest

Yes, both combo pieces at 1 pt.

Surprisingly, this build is capable of PVP! I have outdated humania equips and limited PVP experience but was able to kill a few birds and one rushing fox. (I finally met a fox in PVP. It tried to rush me, so I instantly killed it.) I definitely should try PVP again once I have the full Savage set, Cap ring, and Lvl 9 Redemption. The strategy for killing birds is actually quite straightforward although getting the timing right is hard:


1. Buff and run away (IMPORTANT!).
2. As they charge forward, u suddenly run forward, Charge, then Rhino Might.
3. Wait 3 seconds then Holy Tempest.
4. Wait 3 seconds then Rhino Might.
5. If you are lucky the bird will be locked in perma-stun. At this point u cherry tap it to death.
6. If the bird tries anything, u cast Heal, or Guardian.
7. If the bird knocks u back to an sliver of your life, u cast Heal, and laugh evilly.
8. Sometimes u will die instantly to a crit. Just say GF and respawn.

The following routine is used against bears. Bears are a very difficult opponent:


1. As they beckon, you let it pull u in. Just before it finishes the combo, you cast Rhino Might to stun it.
2. At this point, the Bear will cast Stomp. Your response is heal.
3. Hit the bear with normal skills. Run away whenever u think high dmg moves are coming.
4. Use Guardian if the bear stuns u.
5. After some time, the bear's buffs run out. This is the time for perma-stun (Rhino Might + Holy Tempest).
6. Kill the bear after 2 minutes.

I havent found anything that works against Mages. They heal AND have 100% crit. Gf rhino.

PVP is not my intention for Rhino; otherwise I wouldn't use a "zero attack" formation. I actually built it this way for bossing and farming Lost Valley. It is inspired by Spain's "no strikers" football strategy.

Dagger Rhino

Dagger Rhino is possible due to the Molten set (purple) giving 56% crit at the expense of low armor and no dodge. This build is fun, but I get tired of dying randomly.

I used two variations, a pure Molten set, as well as a hybrid Molten set. The pure Molten is just asking to be murdered. The Hybrid has reasonable armor but very low dodge:


Str Helm
Blackened Shard of the Dragon
Molten armor
Str Shield

This build has high DPS (600!) but requires elixirs to really bring on the pain. As I have mentioned, high speed weapons are mitigated by armor. But purchase a Trasher Pwnage, and you will literally rain death while having max armor. I am not a plat user (all my plat is from free offers), so I had to discontinue the build. But I never had to worry about having no Break Armor skill since a bird was always in the party.

Battlegrinder
03-25-2013, 01:06 PM
Why would you put more than one point into revive? Charge and Stone Skin are at least moderately useful, and could benefit more from those points. I've never been in a situation as any class in any map where having a slightly wider radius for the revive decided the fate of the party. Putting so many points into Revive in order to widen the radius of effect seems unnecessary, especially when your playing as a tankzilla class like paladin and could just walk a little bit closer to the downed teammate.

whisperwalk
03-26-2013, 06:00 AM
Because dmg, as strange as it sounds, is not the focus of a rhino. Adding points increases skills by a pitiful amount (4-5 dmg), and this will not matter for mobs with 5k hp. Then you add in that Charge/Redemption have cooldowns, are single target, and barely improve over auto-attacking. I used to have both at max level and don't notice anything after knocking it down to 1. It IS that bad.

I have been in many situations where a wide area Revive is required. Such as: multiple party KO, party members died after super-knockback, cannot see dead guy, CTF, reviving while kiting with a bow, and just entered new map with dead guys far away. You might try adding dmg skills to save time killing the boss, but rhino dmg is weak anyway. Reviving the killer bird or elixir user saves more time, and deals more dmg overall. It is disheartening than to miss a Revive and wait 5 seconds to recast it.

Max Charge and Max Redemption is for PVP rhinos which is odd because rhinos suck at PVP anyway.

Battlegrinder
03-26-2013, 10:01 AM
Because dmg, as strange as it sounds, is not the focus of a rhino. Adding points increases skills by a pitiful amount (4-5 dmg), and this will not matter for mobs with 5k hp. Then you add in that Charge/Redemption have cooldowns, are single target, and barely improve over auto-attacking. I used to have both at max level and don't notice anything after knocking it down to 1. It IS that bad.

I have been in many situations where a wide area Revive is required. Such as: multiple party KO, party members died after super-knockback, cannot see dead guy, CTF, reviving while kiting with a bow, and just entered new map with dead guys far away. You might try adding dmg skills to save time killing the boss, but rhino dmg is weak anyway. Reviving the killer bird or elixir user saves more time, and deals more dmg overall. It is disheartening than to miss a Revive and wait 5 seconds to recast it.

Max Charge and Max Redemption is for PVP rhinos which is odd because rhinos suck at PVP anyway.

Ok, thanks for the clarification. I've found Charge and Redemption to be very useful for tanking, since mobs have a hard time killing you when you get a huge chunk of health back every few seconds when you use Redemption, and I've gotten around the small range for Revive by using Charge to move to the mob nearest to the dead teammate. That said, I can see why you like maxing out Revive, and maybe its more useful for a DEX/STR paladin, as opposed to a pure STR like me.

Prack
03-29-2013, 10:02 AM
What ring for a full str rhino that is at level 60 or so?

whisperwalk
03-29-2013, 10:57 AM
What ring for a full str rhino that is at level 60 or so?

Acrobat's Fine Iron Band: Req 67 STR
20 Hp, 2 Dodge, 4 damage

Battlegrinder
03-30-2013, 01:29 PM
Acrobat's Fine Iron Band: Req 67 STR
20 Hp, 2 Dodge, 4 damage

Why would you want to use that ring? The stat boosts seem pretty trivial. Why not use something like the iron band of life, or maybe steel band, or whatever its called, that gives you +3 HP regen, +1 Mana Regen, and I think +2 to armor. That sounds a lot better than a few extra HP and some extra damage and dodge.

whisperwalk
03-30-2013, 09:51 PM
Why would you want to use that ring? The stat boosts seem pretty trivial. Why not use something like the iron band of life, or maybe steel band, or whatever its called, that gives you +3 HP regen, +1 Mana Regen, and I think +2 to armor. That sounds a lot better than a few extra HP and some extra damage and dodge.

2 dodge is way better than 2 armor. In fact, its better than 4. And HP regen is superfluous to a character that heals twice. Let's consider a Lvl 60, pure STR (base 302) rhino wearing Strongman Glyph set (best set at this Lvl):


Armor = 41 + 9 + 64 + 51 = 165
Dodge = 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 11.75 = 31
M/s = 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 = 20
HP = 400 + (382/2) = 596
Damage = 11.5 + (382/50) + 235.5 = 254

Now, consider the rings. First up is Acrobat's Fine Iron Band:


+Armor = 0%
+Dodge = 2/31 = 6.45%
+M/s = 0%
+HP = 20/596 = 3.35%
+Damage = 4/254 = 1.5%

Next in line is Fine Steel Ring of Life:


+Armor = 4/165 = 2.4%
+Dodge = 0%
+M/s = 1/20 = 5%
+HP=0%
+Damage = 0%

Lastly Fine Iron Band of Life:


+Armor = 0%
+Dodge = 0%
+M/s = 1/20 = 5%
+HP = 20/596 = 3.35%
+Damage = 4/254 = 1.5%

Percentage wise, the dodge ring gives bigger bang for the buck. It is also better to avoid an attack (take 0 damage) than to reduce damage from an attack (take D-4 damage). And whatever benefits of 4 armor has been swamped by 20 hp from the dodge ring. You have to receive 9 attacks in rapid succession (before either one of your two heals kick in, and assuming 3 were dodged) before 4 armor is better than 20 hp. This should not happen most of the time. You can heal every 2.5 seconds.

For mana, I have found 20 M/s to be sufficient for spamming skills all day long. 21 M/s is just extra. The 3 M/s from Fine Crystal Ring of Life is more for the earlier levels where mana is tight. Endgame, there are better things.

Your choice.

Oskitopee
04-11-2013, 04:14 PM
about guardian, does it actually protect the rhino? I feel like it doesn't.

whisperwalk
04-12-2013, 11:25 AM
about guardian, does it actually protect the rhino? I feel like it doesn't.

The armor and dodge are real, if that's what u mean. The short timer (8s) on Guardian could be why it doesn't feel protective enough.

Wendellism
04-15-2013, 07:24 AM
about guardian, does it actually protect the rhino? I feel like it doesn't.

When it comes to PvP, guardian is your lifesaver and your only lifeline to kill the enemy without any debuffs against you. Mess up that precious eight seconds, and your game is over in a flash amidst mass debuffs etc etc...

Wendellism
04-15-2013, 07:55 AM
Nice guide Whisperwalk, however you also forgot in your guide that Str/Dex is especially powerful if you have been experienced as a tank.

With Str/dex, your rhino will have no problem with hitting, and would benefit the party as well, since INT only affects Heal and Holy Tempest, and grants less hit instead of survivability, I made the transition onto Str/Dex.


Amazingly, playing as a Str/Dex rhino in PvP works well against birds and mages, though it kind of fails against bears. Pure birds are literally food for me thanks to my Savage set, and Mages has a hard time landing their debuffs once I use Guardian in the middle of the fight. Though, it kind of sucks against FFA, even though I could dash away at times to avoid a potential gank.


Now considering Str/Int Heal VS Str/Dex Heal, by using my Savage set and comparing;

Str/Int is 220-235.
Str/Dex is 165-180.

Thus I would suggest you save the "spam Heal" job directly to the Mages, since Adding Int does not make much of a difference when it comes to Endgame.

Now to all new rhinos, think about it, you are a hybrid class built for survival, so if someone claims that the rhino is a support class, do you really have to follow? Unless of course, if you are new to the game or too poor to buy a Savage Set, I suggest we treat the Rhino as a tank because most of his skills are based on Str, and only 2 skills are based on Int. Dex not only allows you to hit well, but grants better dodge and critical compared to Int.

whisperwalk
04-16-2013, 09:50 AM
Nice guide Whisperwalk, however you also forgot in your guide that Str/Dex is especially powerful if you have been experienced as a tank.

With Str/dex, your rhino will have no problem with hitting, and would benefit the party as well, since INT only affects Heal and Holy Tempest, and grants less hit instead of survivability, I made the transition onto Str/Dex.


Amazingly, playing as a Str/Dex rhino in PvP works well against birds and mages, though it kind of fails against bears. Pure birds are literally food for me thanks to my Savage set, and Mages has a hard time landing their debuffs once I use Guardian in the middle of the fight. Though, it kind of sucks against FFA, even though I could dash away at times to avoid a potential gank.


Now considering Str/Int Heal VS Str/Dex Heal, by using my Savage set and comparing;

Str/Int is 220-235.
Str/Dex is 165-180.

Thus I would suggest you save the "spam Heal" job directly to the Mages, since Adding Int does not make much of a difference when it comes to Endgame.

Now to all new rhinos, think about it, you are a hybrid class built for survival, so if someone claims that the rhino is a support class, do you really have to follow? Unless of course, if you are new to the game or too poor to buy a Savage Set, I suggest we treat the Rhino as a tank because most of his skills are based on Str, and only 2 skills are based on Int. Dex not only allows you to hit well, but grants better dodge and critical compared to Int.

I wish that birds are literally food for me - I wear half a savage set, and getting two-shot by them is a pretty common experience. Occassionally I land a Rhino's Might and win but nothing to shout home about.

Since you are apparently a strong PVPer, I would like to see some screenshots + basic discussion on how you pwn the superior classes. Not that I disbelieve you but it would be helpful to all rhinos.

However, thank you for your contribution on Str/Int rhino. I've always suspected it was not good so I omitted it in the guide.

Wendellism
04-17-2013, 12:44 AM
I wish that birds are literally food for me - I wear half a savage set, and getting two-shot by them is a pretty common experience. Occassionally I land a Rhino's Might and win but nothing to shout home about.

Since you are apparently a strong PVPer, I would like to see some screenshots + basic discussion on how you pwn the sauperior classes. Not that I disbelieve you but it would be helpful to all rhinos.
However, thank you for your contributions on Str/Int rhino. I've always suspected it was not good so I omitted it in the guide.

Aww whisperwalk, you flattered me! I am but an average gamer experienced in Mages venturing into the rhino class. Anyways, what I was wearing as my outfit was the crafted savage set, which grants me great dodge for PvP, and also the Golden Dragon ring, since this would be my first cap for my rhino. Seriously with strong dodging, even a rhino could out beat a pure bird with little effort.

I will see if I could meet you in game to talk to you. I'm really sure I have met you in-game before. See you on Saturday! =P

Wendellism
04-17-2013, 05:53 AM
Okay, right now, Forgotten weapons is starting to be rarer by the day, and that Black Dragon Sets could be safe to state that it is no longer in CS anymore, so I would suggest you should probably edit the Going on the Offence section to cater to the less privileged, as not many people has the chance to buy platinum in this game.

Wendellism's Going on the Offence

When I first started out as a rhino, I focused primarily on random Strength loot to boost my tankiness since most of early-game's instance was primarily Tank and Spank. For me, I trained at Forest Road to level up quickly to level 8, so that I could venture onwards to Dark Forest.

At Dark Forest, I continued my routine of donning random strength loot, and I went to farm in any King Of Bling Rooms, as those roms are straightforward and grants better EXP gaining. I geared up straight to Level 13, before I set off to Wyldwood.

Now you might be asking why I had to make a detour towards Wyldwood instead of farming at Balefort. That was because I figured that if I were to advance onwards throughout early-game, I would have to start with the earliest pink weapon that I could find. Here in Wyldwood, I mainly keep a lookout for Bad Mojo because killing this boss would grant me an almost guaranteed chance of a pink weapon; in my case I was lucky and looted Board and Nail of Legend and Conqueror's Ironrock Shield. Those pinks, along with Azure Longblade of Legend and their variants of 15, 17 and 19, are your early game core weapons; a level 19 Board and Nail of Legend is much better than having a full defensive Crystalline Strength Set.

On Level 19, I went to Sand Caves and with the help of Ragericon, managed to unlock all maps of Sand Caves which unlocks Golem Gauntlet. Golem Gauntlet is how I got my L25 Crystalline Strength Set.; albeit incomplete since I didn't actually obtain the Conqueror's Crystalline Axe. Do note that for new players, it is generally not advised to go for Sand Caves, unless you have a really great party that sticks with you; a decent party that is competent of DPSing and having Map Awareness, and popping potions knowing potions would regenerate to a cap of 25. If you are the sort that do not want to use potions, or randomly spam skills around, I suggest you pack your bags all the way to Fathom Crypt instead; Sand Caves is too harsh on you.

Conqueror's Crystalline Helmet and Conqueror's Crystalline Mail should be farmed as they grant decent survivability as a Rhino and thus should be part of your early game core items. Having the Conqueror's Crystalline Shield is a bonus though, since you only get a meager increase of stats compared to the L19 Ironrock Shield.

I went to Lost Expedition at Level 27, and started to make do with any pinks I could find. Since I have played the game once as a Mage, I still have the L30 Iceberg Black Ice Axe from Frozen Nightmare's Elite Questing, plus Ragericon lent me his own L32 Iceberg Frozen Longsword to use while in Mid-game, so overall, I have no problems with this campaign as I was assisted by Ragericon in every Hidden Ice Cave runs I went.

It should be noted however, that the best strength item from this cap should be the L30 Iceberg Frosty Hatchet and L30 Iceberg Frozen Longsword as they are inexpensive. It is at this point players should decide on high burst damage, or stick defensively. Also, you should simply join any rooms you see in Lost Expedition, as all of the maps are straightforward with almost no siderooms.

I left Lost Expedition on level 33, skipping The Ancient Swamps as Swamp maps are extremely open and not being EXP friendly to me. I simply went on towards Alien Oasis and Mid-game and yet again picked up my habit of donning any potentially good pinks along the way. Alien Oasis' The Great Pyramid and Alien Oasis 2's Plasma Pyramid is a great place of gaining EXP quickly.

Alien Oasis 3 was a toughie though, the first campaign which most fail parties would start to be wiped all around by the bosses, however thanks to my guild's kind and graciousness towards me when I was struggling to farm Exp, I was able to get over Alien Oasis at long last and move on to Balefort Sewers at Level 48. In the time I was there, I finally used my hard earned cash from my Rhino's farming alone to buy Rift Set I (http://www.spacetimestudios.com/showthread.php?8939-Pinks-with-Stats-and-Pictures-Alien-Oasis-Part-III), a cheap and decent set that should be your Mid-game Core items.

A word of advice to new players, in Alien Oasis 3, your relationship with your guild that you have joined would be put to the test. If your guild members do not want to help you, you should probably leave that guild that you are in, since getting towards Level 48 would be hard on your part. Do note that you shouldn't leave the guild if your guildmates are too busy farming; they might help you when they have the chance.

On Balefort Sewers, I continued farming at Bandit Boy Hideout and The Catacombs, mainly because those maps have the least siderooms and are pretty straightforward. Any pinks looted at level 53 would be great, however Lady Luck wasn't with me in this campaign, thus I went on farming till I have reached Level 53, on which I went to farm at Nuri's Hallows.

During my time in Nuri's Hallows, I generally find the bosses readily dropping Pinks pre-60 as Nuri's Hallow's lowest item rarity is Green, and not Orange. Thus I went farming at The Haunted Symphony when I was 53 in order to level up just so that I could start questing for the "V.I.P" pass towards Nuri's Funhouse, the place where you could farm easily and loot pinks at the same time. After reaching level 60, I sold off my L56 & 58 Pinks, and painfully collect all of my gold obtained from my Rhino's income alone, to buy L60 Glyph Strongman Mace Set (http://www.spacetimestudios.com/showthread.php?35495-Pinks-with-Stats-and-Pictures-Nuri%92s-Hallows). This would serve as my early core items for the start of Endgame. At the same time, I finally took out my Golden Dragon Vanity Set from my Mage to allow my rhino to have a superior ring; the Gold Ring of the Dragon.

I went to Mount Fang on Level 61, and primarily farmed on Crypt runs and Vampire Feast farmings before heading to Humania at Level 63. Since Mount Fang's Pinks are cheap in comparison, I recommend buying L65 Crafted Orlok Sword Set for new players. Also, as Whisperwalk have stated, new players should play on in Mount Fang till they got the L65 Crafted Orlok Sword Set, as they would be useless further on without this.

As I reached Level 66 on Humania, I could finally equip my L66 STR Angel Set from the previous Humania Cap. My Angel Set is simply a souvenir from Mount Fang's Cap on which I first trained my Mage.

Also regarding Humania, I would advise people to not play the actual campaign, and focus on farming EXP on Lost Villas. Any pinks gained whist farming in Humania could be regarded as a bonus. Get to Blacksmoke Mountain at Level 68 instead of 70+ so that you never have to worry about Humania's stupid Yetis ever again.

In Blacksmoke Mountain, if you are just trying to go for the level cap like I do, I suggest farming on Lost Valley or Magma Fields. Those maps have the best potential of clearing mobs fast, and Magma Fields is the only Straightforward map with a boss that requires overall Gear Checking. Go for Underworld Eruptions or Forgotten Forest if you simply want to farm for great pinks here. And if you have managed to reach Level 76 against all odds, congratulations! You are 1 step closer towards the 3-piece Elite Vanity Ring, The Ring Of Valiant Glory!

Eventually, the Final Set you should get as a Rhino is the insane Crafted Savage Scythe Set. However, this would take some time as farming at level 75 grants more recipes and crafting Diamonds rather than equipment. So your best bet to obtain such a coveted set would be to farm at Level 71-73 by either disabling your EXP gain or learning to merch in towns.

Core Items for New Players.

Level 1-13
Make do with what you have.

Level 13-19
Get Board and Nail of Legend and Conqueror's Ironrock Shield.

Level 20-23
Farm in Fathom Crypts, and make do with what you have.

Level 24-32
Farm in Lost Expedition, and get L30 Iceberg Frosty Hatchet and L30 Iceberg Frozen Longsword

Level 33-42
Farm in Alien Oasis until 38, and farm in Alien Oasis 2 until 43. Make do with what you have.

Level 43-47
Save cash to buy Rift Set I (http://www.spacetimestudios.com/showthread.php?8939-Pinks-with-Stats-and-Pictures-Alien-Oasis-Part-III)

Level 48-52
Make do with what you have.

Level 53-60
Make do with what you have, if you're lucky in looting expensive pinks in the time that you are in here, get L60 Glyph Strongman Mace Set (http://www.spacetimestudios.com/showthread.php?35495-Pinks-with-Stats-and-Pictures-Nuri%92s-Hallows).

Level 61-67
Get L65 Crafted Orlok Sword Set. Skip Humania if you have not built that set yet.

Level 68-75
PRIORITY: Save cash to buy Crafted Savage Scythe Set.
Secondary: Save more cash to buy Red Dragon Set, and buy or earn 165 platinum via Free Offers to get Argos.

Wendellism
04-17-2013, 07:13 AM
Boss Problems

In the course of my adventures as a Rhino, I'd recommend players to be wary of some bosses that could kill you and your party rather easily while you are leveling. Most bosses in Pocket Legends are primary Tank And Spank, but there are a few bosses that even you as a Rhino and your party should be wary of.

Wyldwood - Goblin King
Type of fight: Tank and Spank
The Goblin King, before abdicating his throne to us mercenaries of Alterra, could summon 3 Goblins specially trained on the arts of Suiciding that will "suicide-rush" the party. Ensure that you avoid the goblins and let the ranged classes attack the adds before taking down this boss.

Sand Caves - Magnetic Golem
Type of fight: Battle For Survival.

The Magnetic Golem, a retired terrorist from Al-Qaeda may look like it's a simple Tank and Spank, however, it could cause the party to wipe by planting a set of explosives on the 5 rocks around his room, and using his special Magne Magne No Mi powers, could draw anyone away from the one and only safe Blue-orb Rock and into Oblivion.

Sand Caves - Sandstorm Golem
Type of fight: DPS Race

What? WHAT?! I don't think there could be sandstorms in a cave! However, this golem was one of the many candidates for the Antagonist of One Piece's Alabasta Arc, and I think you could probably guess the story. Dejected, this poor golem starts making use of his Suna Suna No Mi abilities to create sandstorms in his domain, and when not taken care of, could grow into a huge problem for the party. It would be either they got mass ripped by the sandstorms, or they got killed by this golem with his bare fists.

Sand Caves - Magic Golems
Type of fight: Council Encounter

Those Magic Golems were the descendants of the eternally famous Tiny from DotA. Born from 2 splinters from the great Stone Golem, the twins, with intelligence as well as strength, knew that they will not stay alive if they do not help one another, thus when Samhayne went looking for bosses to bring them to Pocket Legends, the two of them made the cut as they are extremely cooperative, unlike nub parties that just went rambo all about. Shame on you Nub Parties. Shame on you. J/K

Sand Caves - Earthquake Golem
Type of fight: Tank And Spank

This, is a perfect example of a complete failed prototype of the user that has eaten the Gura Gura No Mi. This guy has to charge up his Gura Gura powers to utilize them, and even then could only cause nearby stalactites to fall in an AoE around himself. Well at least Whitebeard does it way better than this, though this could still prove to be fatal for anybody that is near the golem himself.

Sand Caves - Onyx
Type of fight: DPS Race

Onyx, just a piece of exquisite stone, was brought to life by Silknight, which then began to recruit the other 4 golems previously mentioned just to make newbs sad and other low levelled players RAGE. Onyx has a Splash attack of butthurtness, and has 4 rooted golems made up of "diamonds" to heal him while he's at it.

Alien Oasis 3 - Gurgox
Type of fight: DPS Race

We all know that bears could stomp any mobs away, but did you know who actually taught the bears on how to stomp? Meet Gurgox, one of an alien race known as Gurgolians. Gurgolians' Stomp could move even the mountains of Mars, and are the sole reason why there is no life on our sister planet. During the First Space Invasion of Alterra, a veteran Gurgolian was Beckoned* by a bear and was captured by CP-AIGIS0** of Alterra. CP-0 then investigated the alien's primitive ability, and the very bear that captured the alien, Hankomachos was blessed by being injected with DNA of the now dead Gurgolian. Hankomachos survived the war, beget today's Bear Classes and Forum Trolls alike, and he became the father of other male-cubs and den-gals. And then he died. The End.

Gurgox has the same abilities like his ancestors, but forgot to keep Floating Orbs from his battlefield. Whoops!

*Long Story.
**Trustme, you seriously will NOT want to know it.

Alien Oasis 3 - Galactic Overlord
Type of fight: Battle For Survival

In the World of Azeroth, during the War Of The Ancients, Sargeras didn't have 2 lieutenants to carry on his plans. He had 3. The Galactic Overlord, whose real name is unknown, has the tendency of annoying both his colleagues with his Cowardly Energy Shield and his Plasma Shotgun even in conquest, even Sargeras. Thus Sargeras, Lord of The Burning Legion, gave The Galactic Coward his next objective, to become governor of an unexplored planet; named Alterra. Kil'jaeden and Archimonde both unceremoniously hauled the Galactic Nerd by his Robotic Rear and sent him out via a demonic circus cannon; something which they have always wanted to do when Sargeras gave him the sack. And so new players will call him a coward, and the Galactic Coward always act dumb. =)

Shadow Caves - ALL BOSSES
Type of fight: Tank and Spank, DPS Race, Council Encounter

These are but mere shadows of the one true scepter, The Avatar of Spacetime Studios. :ghost::ghost::ghost:

Balefort Sewers - Gold Fever
Type of fight: Tank and Spank

Struggling from his defeat back in the Ursan Wield, the King of Bling became so emotional that even his minions left him because us mercenaries took his bling, he ran to the Balefort Sewers, to search for the mythical Hand Of Midas. After a long quest, he finally found the Hand of Midas, and he accidentally touched himself with this artifact. Ever since, the demon that resides in the artifact now possesses the former King Of Bling, using his golden touch to give players some "Gold Fever", and ensures fail parties fail at the hands of their own Party member. GF.

Although, The Soul of the King Of Bling still resides in 5 chests around the demon, and apparently would be the weakest when the demon uses his special ability, so...

Balefort Sewers - Bandit King & Queen
Type of fight: Council Encounter.

Romeo proposed to Juliet, she accepts his proposal and both eloped and got married in Alterra, Bounty hunters captured them both, but both have harnessed skills while in Alterra, and zapped them with oblivion, now since their home is destroyed, they have to make do with the Sewers, and to earn money, they simply Beckon + Zap parties all around the Sewers for a living. As long as they are together, nothing matters even if the world would end the next day. *sheds a tear*

Balefort Sewers - The Cockroach
Type of fight: DPS race

A cockroach of the Carboniferous Era of Earth, this lucky critter found a time machine, and being simple, walked into the present day. Inside, the Cockroach found that lifeforms on Earth are smaller than the average cockroach in his era, and thus resides in the Sewers, chowing down on his sacred garbage, and on occasions any noobs that dares to destroy his garbage. Since the atmosphere isn't as oxygenated as his past era, it will take some time for the cockroach to reach his true strength.

Balefort Sewers - Goblin King
Type of fight: Tank and Spank

The Goblin King, ever since ousted from his throne, decided to create a new empire in the Sewers, along with the remnants of survivors after The Raid of Wyldwood. Since then, he just have an epiphany; that his loyal subjects are not just mere resources to throw upon, but are meant to be a responsibility he should handle. Thus the Goblin King forbids the teachings of Suicidology, and instead introduced a new art that made his people re-inspired once again; Shamanism. With this newfound power, The Goblin King created a totem next to him and proclaimed the object as his eternal consort. Ever since then, he isn't hesitant to come into combat with the help of his Channeling Heal Totem.

Nuri's Hallows - Gustav
Type of fight: Tank and Spank

When normally by then you would have thought out that all bosses are nothing against your team's magnitude, go talk to Gustav. Gustav is STRONG in his pure Auto Attack, and since you probably know why he's the champion of the Strongman Competition, He has one ENTIRE Strongman Game Set stolen from the circus, and when he hits it...... I would suggest running away from random falling concrete from the ceiling. Wait, tents have concrete ceilings??

Nuri's Hallows - Snake Charmer
Type of fight: Tank and Spank

Snake Charmer started out as an easy boss to deal with, but once he uses his Charm Slow, parties should run straight to a pillar or risk instant death.

More coming soon

whisperwalk
04-23-2013, 10:56 AM
I'm surprised you didn't mention Duke, Emma, Lofus, Count Vlod, and the most dangerous of them all, Koal.

Koal can kill the most prepared player, and the only way past him is a combo daily blessing....

Wendellism
04-23-2013, 10:58 AM
I'm surprised you didn't mention Duke, Emma, Lofus, Count Vlod, and the most dangerous of them all, Koal.

Koal can kill the most prepared player, and the only way past him is a combo daily blessing....

This is why I'm editing this long post whenever I have the time. Being in the Army really do kills PC time you know.

Apostel
05-21-2013, 11:04 AM
Maybe I missed the part while reading it but does your guide include rhino combos and double combos? Can't find them.

This is a good comprehensive guide, but a bit chaotic. You have to read through several posts. Try to organize it - it's worth it!

peeroy
07-06-2013, 01:28 AM
Hey whisper I love your guide, but could you please post a skill rotation....I am level 40 and trying to figure out the BEST skill rotation I can based off of your level up cheat sheet......I apologize if this request seems noobish...but.....it is what it is....and what it is....is my first character. Thank YOU for any help in advance.
~Peeroy~

peeroy
07-06-2013, 11:41 PM
Is a this thread still active?

Thrall Wire
08-28-2013, 11:18 AM
very good guide!

Duflie
08-29-2013, 03:36 PM
Hey is there any mega combo that associates with the Rhino class?

WhoIsThis
11-07-2013, 01:10 AM
At the moment, it looks like rhinos do need a buff in endgame PvP. I will open up a thread later on the matter.

Anurag Nayak
01-13-2014, 11:09 AM
i think this is the best guide in the pl forums i have seen till now.
do u have any explanations that how to defeat the magnetic golem?
and i have one more question-if we reach the lv 76 cap then is the valiant ring of glory awarded to us or do we have to complete a quest for it?

GreenLord
07-08-2014, 04:18 PM
Nice guide! But I still consider iron skin useful, because this saved me a few times in pvp

Ssneakykills
07-14-2014, 12:57 PM
i think this is the best guide in the pl forums i have seen till now.
do u have any explanations that how to defeat the magnetic golem?
and i have one more question-if we reach the lv 76 cap then is the valiant ring of glory awarded to us or do we have to complete a quest for it?

Beating low level bosses you need either a team or to level up about 10-20 levels higher than the map the boss is on to solo him and valiant rings isn't available anymore but their Is a quest at 76 which gives you a shadow vanity that looks like a bear

Prack
07-16-2015, 03:52 PM
Looks like it's been a while since anyone updated this guide. What stats/rings are people using now days?