Attack Bear Guide

[Xiaou]

Nice write up Ellyidol! Good reading!

[Fallen Caccavari]

This guide really pumps me up to try out being an attack bear and see how I like it. Thanks.

[Ellyidol]

Thanks! If you have any questions or suggestions, please let us know here

[Ellyidol]

Added some references to my other guides and a "Weapon of Choice" section.

Before looking at weapons, it's important to know how damage is divided and calculated :

There's two things you need to think about: Damage vs skill damage. Damage is what you do when you do normal attacks, and it is seen in your character stat screen as "Damage: 192-204".

For damage:
1 point of STR = +0.02 damage
1 point of INT = +0.08 damage
1 point of DEX = +0.15 damage

As you can see, DEX adds the most normal damage per 1 attribute point used.

For skill damage:
STR adds more skill damage for bears
DEX adds more skill damage for birds
INT adds more skill damage for mages

But you also have to take into account that skill damage is calculated using a portion of your damage. So bears with high STR can have high skill damage, but bears with STR/DEX can also have high skill damage because DEX increases your damage by a lot, which in turns increases your skill damage.

Strength Weapons

Strength Weapon of Choice :

There are currently these weapons to choose from:

1H:

Sword vs Axe

The Axe shows higher normal damage, but the Sword has higher skill damage. The sword would be better for a bear since a chunk of its damage comes from skills, and not normal attacks.

2H:

There are a lot of 2H weapons to choose from, especially end-game.

Battle Sword vs Mace vs Hammer (Gurgox and Royal)

Hammers are more superior than a Battle Sword and Mace. That being said, lets look at the comparison between a Battle Sword vs Mace.

The Mace gives higher both normal and skill damage.

Hammers are the best of the 2H weapons. They have a stun proc on normal attacks which give you a chance to stun mobs (does not work on bosses). The Royal Hammer has 2 additional procs, a Freeze proc and a small Break Armour proc (4 armour max).

The first thing you should look at when choosing a Hammer is the base damage vs DPS.

The Gurgox Hammer has the highest base damage in-game, which makes it a better 2H weapon if you want to deal damage. Although the Royal Hammer shows more DPS, because of the huge base damage of the Gurgox Hammer, the G.Hammer has more "true DPS". More can be understood by reading this :

Hmm....so let's pretend in BS that an enemy has 120 armor.

When equipped on my dual spec build with a 1 dodge, 9 armor ring, Royal Sewer BFH has 183-213 dmg (198 avg), the Gurgox has 214-299 (251 avg)

(Effective damage = Avg weapon damage - enemy armor)

Gurg Hammer effective damage = 251-120 = 131
Royal Sewer BFH effective damage = 198-120 = 78

Gurg Hammer true effective DPS = Effective dmg/weap speed = 131/1.4 = 93.6
Royal Sewer BFH true effective DPS = 78/1.0 = 78

So even with slow-as-dirt speed, Gurg Hammer beats the Royal Sewer BFH. I know the Sewer has some procs though, I forget which.

Royal Sewer BFH = higher dodge, h/s, armor
Gurg = higher hit, crit, more "true" DPS

Overall :

You'd want a 1H weapon with the most SKILL damage for clearing mobs. Note that even if a certain weapon has higher base damage, doesn't always mean they have better skill damage. Its always better to check the actual skill damage from the skills themselves.

You can use a 2H if your feeling edgy, but be prepared to be very soft The Gurgox Hammer still has the best 2H damage in-game.

A 2H also works best vs bosses, since you need to maximise the amount of damage you deal, and not worry about taking damage as compared to mob clearing.

[Apostar]

Nice job, haven't played my bear for awhile and was soling at A.O. and kept getting these combos and couldn't figure out how. Came here for clairty. And here's my answer to how and a greater answer to how better to play my bear. Thank you.

[maximusorin]

Thank you very much, that was enlightening. I am going to go level up and put some dex' points on my attack bear. Thanx again!
Maximusorin lvl32

[Ellyidol]

Added a section :

End Results :

56 Str/Dex Bear : Full Bellow Set (No Ring) and Full Buffs (6 Rage, 6 Iron Blood, 6 Evade, and 6 Taunt x2)



Same bear, with a Gurgox Hammer :



Stomp Damage on Bellow Set/Hammer :

[Bozack]

awesome guide elly. Thanks for everything. Will be seeing you in black star. stay smexy brada!!

[Bozack]

again... u will be missed

[Ellyidol]

Added a small section to those bears who don't tank :

Please remember, EVEN IF YOU CANNOT TANK AS WELL AS A PURE TANK, DOESN'T MEAN YOU SHOULD NOT TANK.

The MAIN purpose of a BEAR, no matter what kind (Attack/Bow/Int/Dual) IS TO TANK!

[skylow]

Good guide...i like doing the dps but I like close the mobs also. I was making a warbird but I still fell like a tank but can this guide work on a bird.?

[Zeus]

Good guide...i like doing the dps but I like close the mobs also. I was making a warbird but I still fell like a tank but can this guide work on a bird.?

Nope, it's a bear guide, not a bird guide .

[skylow]

I have a question for furybear..can or will the self heal help any?

[NECROREAPER]

Not really, I'd rather spend the points in another slash or another buff.

[Ellyidol]

I have a question for furybear..can or will the self heal help any?

Sorry, just to clear up, fury bear or attack bear?

Thanks range

[Silentarrow]

Thanks for the guide.

[skylow]

Wht the diff? Im a little new still...

[Ellyidol]

Wht the diff? Im a little new still...

Fury bear = a bear wearing a Fury set (Level 55 Str Set)

Attack bear = what you see here

IMO, the 1 point in healing is only good in PvP. In PvE, you can just use one health pot instead. It heals way more, and is worth much less than one skill point.

Since this is an attack bear, I'd recommend you put that one point on another slash, extra 10 or so damage.

[TheLaw]

Fury bear = a bear wearing a Fury set (Level 55 Str Set)

Attack bear = what you see here

IMO, the 1 point in healing is only good in PvP. In PvE, you can just use one health pot instead. It heals way more, and is worth much less than one skill point.

Since this is an attack bear, I'd recommend you put that one point on another slash, extra 10 or so damage.

having one point in heal for PvP is also pretty useless. You may have died just when you clicked the heal. Not really recommended.

Edit: Dex actually gives more skill damage for bears. I've tested a few builds. And Dex Gives most to Birds/Tanks.

[skylow]

kk, thx for info