My Game Guide

Preview:
In Cabal Online, there are 6 classes and they can be categorized under 3 factions: Sword, hybrid and magic.
This guide will focus on the Force Shielder class, a member under hybrid faction.

Cabal Intro:
The invention of “Crystal” has created another possibility in force control. Force Shielders noticed that Force Archer’s Astral Bow can efficiently support long-range force control, so they studied how to precisely condense force around Crystal so that the force would not disperse while attacking enemies, and created the Astral Shield as the result.

The creation of the Astral Shield opened a new chapter in the history of Nevarethian armor. The Astral Shield has such high defense strength that it can serve offensive purposes as well. Warriors and Bladers, who desperately needed a better way to fight and defend have become Force Shielders. They wanted higher defense as well as establishing their own unique battle style. Thus, they started using the heaviest armor such as Warrior’s Armor Suit while carrying the Astral Shield.

Force Shielders specialize in short-range force control, which means that they are incapable of doing long-range attacks. However, they make up for this weakness by developing supporting magic spells which increase their attack strength by manipulating outer forces near their bodies. It’s these methods which match those of the Wizard’s strongest asset.

This revolutionary invention has become a turning point in the Nevarethian battle style. Force Shielders must invest a lot of their effort in physical strength in order to be equipped with Armor Suit, the strongest yet heaviest armor, as well as an understanding of force in order to skillfully control force. They also need to consider dexterity for decent hit rate since they can only use one-handed swords. Experienced Force Shielders know various ways of manipulating Astral Shields, and can perfect their defense if they master in short-range force control.

Astral Shield
Force Shielder is the only class that can summon and use Astral Shield.
Astral Shield adds Def and Def rate.
Lv 9 Astral Shield adds +37 def and +19 Def rate.

Force Shield must equip a sword to summon Astral Shield. No sword means no astral shield.
Some skills cannot be used when astral shield is not summoned. Be mindful of that.

The tier of magic weapon determines Astral Shield Lv.
No magic weapon = Astral Shield Lv 0
Topaz tier = Astral Shield Lv 9

Way of the FS

Rules of Ten (Written by Unknown)
01. A Force Shielder is neither a Magic FS nor Sword FS until it attains the rank of Veteran.
02. To achieve Veteran rank, the Force Shielder must be able to wear Osmium tier or higher.
03. All Veterans must consider which Way is most appropriate for him/her.
04. All Veterans should never commit its life to INT and STR at the same time.
05. All Veterans should never use skills inappropriate to its abilities.
06. All Force Shielders should never use the weak as a shield to protect their own safety.
07. All Force Shielders should never give in to temptations, including blood lust, whinging and scamming.
08. All Force Shielders should never yield to stubborn foolery. Dignified pride is not stupidity.
09. All Force Shielders should always act in an appropriate manner, whether he/she is on duty or off duty.
10. All Force Shielders should always obey the Rules of Ten.

Stats chart of Force Shielder

Force Shielders originate from Bladers and Warriors, thus they specialize in short-range force control.
Subsequently, many FS-specific attack spells are sword type.
Realizing their short-range capabilities could be a disadvantage in a war, Force Shielders eventually developed techniques that manipulate their Astral Shields to perform extraordinary feats, including long-range attacks.
This group of Force Shielders is commonly known as Sword FS.

Within the faction of sFS, there are two subfactions:
1. The Justicers (STR sFS) who favour having powerful defense and attack, so they can protect those who are important to them. This kind of FS prioritizes STR over DEX and INT.
2. The Adept (DEX FS) who believed that being alive is more important, so that those important to them will not grieve over their deaths. This kind of FS prioritizes DEX over STR and INT.

STR sFS
Pros:
High Def
Good crit rate and crit damage (due to crushing blade)
Powerful high-end buffs
Heal spell
High-end skills have moderate-to-high added damage
Several Limit 3 spells, including BoJ
Probably the only FS that will wear mithril

Cons:
Mediocre ATK rate
Mediocre Def rate
Few buffs
Some high-end skills are somewhat slow to cast.

Middle:
Average ATK
Average HP
Average MP
Skills have varying range and type (melee/ranged).
You can have a few somewhat flashy moves.
Will choose ATK Upgrades and ignore MATK upgrades

The development of Blade of Judgement was a strong turning point for the Force Shielders. With its stun capabilities and large Area-of-Effect, those awed by its power became motivated to hone their magic abilities.
After a period of training, these Force Shielders realized that they could train their physical bodies to wear armorset to bolster their defense and manipulate outer forces like Wizard to have long-range capabilities.
Consequently, this group of Force Shielders became known as Magic FS.

Within the faction of mFS, there are two subfactions:
1. The Harbingers (INT mFS) who believed their faith is impenetrable and their courage indomitable.
As such, they rely on their innate physical abilities and armorset to provide defense while they concentrate on overpowering their enemies with magic spells. This kind of FS prioritizes INT over DEX and STR.
2. The Adept (DEX FS) who believed that being alive is more important, so that those important to them will not grieve over their deaths. There are speculations that the Adepts were the first to convert to mFS. This kind of FS prioritizes DEX over STR and INT.

INT mFS
Pros:
High Def (lowest among the three FS types though)
Good crit rate and crit damage (due to crushing blade)
Powerful high-end buffs
Heal spell
BoJ
Ranged capabilities

Cons:
Mediocre ATK rate
Mediocre Def rate
Few buffs
Only one limit 3 spell

Middle:
Average MATK
Average HP
Average MP
Moderate spell-casting speed
Spells have low added damage.
Prepare to cast cannons, lances and BoJ for the rest of your life.
Will choose MATK Upgrades and ignore ATK upgrades

Unknown to many, there were once twin brothers who became Force Shielders.
One brother chose the way of the Adept.
The other brother scoffed and told his brother that the best hybrid FS is one who maximizes STR and INT.
Their opinions conflicted and both agreed to a match in the near future to prove whose ideal is right.
After reaching to their desired gear tier, osmium armorset, the first trained in DEX while the second trained in STR and INT.
After several years of training, both brothers fought each other in Tierra Gloriosa.
To one brother’s horror, he realized that his combat capabilities were significantly inferior to his brother’s.
When they fought on equal standings, he dealt less damage, missed more often and was hit more often.
In the end, his ambition came to an end and his brother stood triumphant.
His brother looked at him and said, “Don’t worry. There are always INT and STR extract potions for you.
Come and join me in the way of the Adept”.

2 DEX vs 1 INT 1 STR is +0.11 ATK, +0.16 MATK, +0 Def, +2.7 ATK rate and +1.7 Def rate

DEX FS
Pros:
High Def
Good crit rate and crit damage (due to crushing blade)
Powerful high-end buffs
Heal spell
BoJ
Able to switch between two play styles - sFS or mFS

Cons:
Few buffs
Have to prioritize one play style over the other, due to game limitations.

Middle:
Average MATK (weaker than INT mFS)
Average ATK (weaker than STR sFS)
Average HP
Average MP
Average ATK rate
Average Def rate
Have to choose between MATK and ATK upgrades, unless some other upgrade skills are sacrificed.

Skills
Force Shielder is the true hybrid among the six classes.
It can choose to use sword attack skills or magic attack skills.

Sword FS will usually use ATK-based skills.
However, MATK is not completely redundant as it may use Blade of Judgement, which is based on MATK, to stun mobs.

Magic FS will only use MATK-based spells.
In short, ATK is generally redundant for mFS.

Secondary Effects
Blade of Judgement is the only AoE stun skill FS has and it is magic-based.
The other stun skill is Force Kick, which is single-target and is sword-based
Shield Splinter is the only skill that can cause HP down.
Force Shielders do not have any buffs that improve on secondary effects. Note that I do not recognize crit as a secondary effect.

Support spells

Force Shielder has few buffs, totaling to 7.
Only Shadow Shield can be cast on others but it is party-exclusive.
As a result, FS will be dependant on others to bolster its abilities, especially after stacking buffs of same type is allowed.

There are six types of buffs and buffs of the same type cannot be stacked until a certain rank is achieved.
The type of buffs are [Strengthen Body], [Strengthen Spirit], [Strengthen General Attack], [Strengthen Attack], [Strengthen Weapon] and [Strengthen Equipment]

In addition, there is a buff limit. If the buff limit is 5, whenever you cast the sixth buff, one buff will be replaced, even if it is of a different type buff.

Although FS has few buffs, 4 of those are powerful.

1. Lv 20 Crushing Blade adds +24% crit rate and +45% crit damage.

The following are restricted buffs, meaning their duration can only be extended by certain class ranks.
2. Shadow Shield is a damage-absorption buff. At Lv 20, it absorbs 4k damage.
3. Art of Defense is a buff that raises 2000 Def at Lv 20, at the penalty of being unmovable during its activation.
4. Mortal bane is a double-edged sword. It raises MATK and ATK by 300, at the cost of –70% Def at Lv 20.

In addition to the buffs, FS is one of the two classes that have Heal spells.
However, do not mistake that it is anywhere comparable to FA’s heal series.

An example of buffs that would benefit a FS in a party.

Armor

Force Shielder’s default armor is armorset. Try not to say something stupid like heavy FS.
Thus, Force Shielder can wear class-specific armor, like mithril, at armorset type.

INT mFS and DEX FS are likely to stick with Shineguard and osmium armorset.
STR sFS is probably the only FS group that will wear mithril armorset without facing too many disadvantages.

Armor

Weapons

Force Shielder’s default weapons are crystal and blade.
STR sFS will continue using crystal and blade.
INT mFS will eventually switch to Orb and Katana
DEX FS can choose a variation or follow the standard weapons of choice.

Mithril Weapons

Topaz/Redosmium weapons

Stats requirements

From Lv 60 tests onwards, FS minimum stats are 144 STR / 115 INT / 88 DEX
Once you wear osmium armorset, you may forget the above ever existed.

Amor -

Osmium/Shineguard armorset at +7 slotted
Min Requirements: 283 STR / 227 INT / 113 DEX

Mithril armorset at +7 slotted
Min Requirements: 386 STR / 309 INT / 154 DEX

Sword FS

Topaz Crystal + Redosmium Blade at +7 slotted -
Min Requirements: 283 STR / 227 INT / 170 DEX

With osmium armorset,
Min Requirements: 283 STR / 227 INT / 170 DEX

Mithril Blade + Mithril Crystal at +7 slotted -
Min Requirements: 340 STR / 272 INT / 204 DEX

With osmium armorset,
Min Requirements: 340 STR / 272 INT / 204 DEX

With Mithril armorset,
Min Requirements: 386 STR / 309 INT / 204 DEX

Magic FS

Topaz Orb + Redosmium Katana at +7 slotted -
Min Requirements: 227 STR / 227 INT / 227 DEX

With osmium armorset,
Min Requirements: 283 STR / 227 INT / 227 DEX

Mithril Katana + Mithril Orb at +7 slotted -
Min Requirements: 272 STR / 265 INT / 272 DEX

With osmium armorset,
Min Requirements: 283 STR / 265 INT / 272 DEX

With Mithril armorset,
Min Requirements: 386 STR / 309 INT / 272 DEX

Basic mechanisms of Cabal

HP - Health points. When current HP is fully depleted, your FS dies and will incur a death penalty if the FS is killed by a monster.
MP – Mana points. This will determine whether you can cast spells or not.
When current MP is depleted to an extent, a MP potion in the inventory will automatically be used to replenish current MP.

ATK – Increases the damage of ATK-based spells. Generally redundant for FS.
MATK – Increases the damage of MATK-based spells.
AMP – This is a multiplier that acts on MATK/ATK, depending the AMP is Mag AMP or sword AMP.
If your skill amp is 2.00, then your potential damage from 600 MATK is 600 x 2.00.
If your gear amp is +30%, then your potential damage from 600 MATK is 600 x 0.30
Added damage – This is an additive that is added to your potential damage.
If your skill has 2.00 AMP and +1000 added damage, then the potential damage from 600 MATK = (600 x 2) + 1000
Note that potential damage may be seen on your character screen and it does not take the enemy into account.
Resultant damage is the final damage output after taking the enemy’s stats and various penalties into account.

Def – This stat will reduce the amount of damage inflicted by the enemy.
Note that the enemy has a MIN/MAX damage range.
In addition, there is something called a minimum damage cap, where inflicted damage cannot go below that amount.

ATK Rate – Affect whether you will hit the enemy or not.
Def Rate –Affect whether you are able to evade an enemy’s attack or not.
Flee rate – Reduces your chance of being hit.
Although you can see it on your gear or skills, you cannot see it on your character screen.
It is a hidden factor.

How atk rate, def rate and flee have to do with each other?
The three factors are tied to a hidden factor known as hit rate .
You can also call it dodge rate , if you alter the formula slightly.
In simple terms, hit rate affects your chance to hit.

ATK rate and hit rate sounds similar…?
Yes, because ATK rate is the main contributing factor that affects your chance to hit.
It’s like being surprised that the main ingredient of boiled cabbage is cabbage .

Def rate and flee rate sounds similar…?
Yes, they sound similar because they act against the enemy’s chance to hit you.
However, Flee rate is percentage-based while Def rate is numerical-based, so they function differently in the hidden formula.
Only idiots will think def rate = flee rate because they sound similar.
Might as well say orange = apple because both are fruits.

Crit Rate inc. – Chance of getting a critical damage.
Applicable to normal attack and skills.
Critical damage is always shown in blue, so you’ll know whether your hit is normal or critical.
Base crit rate is 5% and default crit rate cap is 50%. Crit rate cap can be increased by +max crit rate effects.

Critical Damage inc. – Increases the amount of resultant damage by a percentage.
Applicable only for critical hits. That means if you fail to crit, this factor is useless.
Base crit damage is +20%. Crit damage cap is currently unknown.
For example, if your resultant damage is 1000 on enemy X and your crit damage is +900%, your resultant damage becomes 10000 whenever it crits on enemy X.

Class rank Up

At every 10 levels, you are allowed to take a test to increase your class rank.
Class rank up is fairly important because you may gain stat increase and certain attractive rewards as you go along.
For example, after the Lv 140 test, you will be able to stack two of the same type buffs together.

Contributions made by Khayantos (cabalonline, 02-27-2008)

Level 10: Combo possible

Level 20: Aura Mode possible

Level 30: Battle Mode 1 (Counter Attacker) possible

Level 40: Buff Time 50% UP
Battle Mode 1 + Aura Mode Possible

Level 50: Board Chain Attack Skill Level 1
Battle Mode 2 (Shield Master) Possible

Level 60: Battle Mode 2 + Aura Mode Possible
Board Chain Attack Skill Level 2

Level 70: HP Boost
Max HP UP (Values may vary depending on the Battle Style)
Board Chain Attack Skill Level 3

Level 80: Buff Time 100% UP
Board Chain Attack Skill Level 4

Level 90: Combo accessible in Aura Mode
Training Dummy Restriction Removed
Bike Chain Attack Skill Level 1

Level 100: Bike Chain Attack Skill Level 2
Second storage inventory unlocked

- Promotional Quests for Lv. 110 or higher can be played only those who completed the “War Clouds” Quest group.

Level 110: Battle Mode 1 (Combo accessible)
Bike Chain Attack Skill Level 3
* Defeat 200 Bloody Orcs in LakeSide and 30 Blaze Hounds in Volcanic Citadel

Level 120: Buff Time 150% UP
Buff Quantity Limit to 6
Bike Chain Attack Skill Level 4
*Defeat 100 Bloody Ogres in LakeSide and 50 Dark Phlanaxs in Volcanic Citadel

Level 130: Battle Mode 1 + Aura Mode (Combo accessible)
Buff Quantity Limit to 7
* Defeat 70 Flame Zombie Warriors in Tower Of Dead (B2F) and 150 Ectoleafs in Mutant Forest

Level 140: 2 Identical series of Buff can be used and overlapped
Buff Quantity Limit to 8
* Defeat 80 Durahans in Tower Of Dead (B2F) and 100 Viants in Mutant Forest

Level 150: Buff Time 200% UP
Buff Quantity Limit to 9
* Defeat 80 Death Knights in Tower Of Dead (B2F) and 150 Armaps in Mutant Forest

Level 160: Buff Quantity Limit to 10
* Defeat 40 Vice Felichras in Forgotten Temple (B1f) and 60 Lobatums in Mutant Forest

Level 170: 3 Identical series of Buff can be used and overlapped
* Defeat 30 Groga in Forgotten Temple (B1f) and 50 UMD-02 Cornus in Pontus Ferrum
Congratulations, you are finally Class Rank 18

Aura Mode

After you complete your level 20 test, you will obtain Battle Aura. Battle Aura has 6 aura codes, ranging from Water, Ice, Fire, Lightning, Earth and Wind.
There is no known stat difference between the Aura Codes for CabalSEA, so just choose the graphical appearance you prefer.

For FA, Aura Mode adds ATK, MATK, Def, Def rate, Atk rate, Crit rate, Crit damage and HP restore.
For Lv 10 Aura Mode (Wind), it adds +48 ATK, +75 MATK, +120 Def, +100 Def rate, +1100 Atk rate, +12% Crit rate, +12% Crit damage and HP restore +2 (per 2s).

1. Battle Aura can be stacked onto Battle Mode 1 and Battle Mode 2 later.
2. Battle Aura is the only mode that adds crit rate and crit damage.
3. Combo can only be used after a certain rank is achieved.

Battle Mode 1

After you complete your level 30 test, you will obtain Counter Attacker.
Counter Attacker adds ATK, MATK, Def, Def rate, Atk rate and HP restore.
For Lv 9 Counter Attacker, it adds +80 ATK, +90 MATK, Defense +130, ATK rate +1000, Def rate +90 and HP restore +5 (per 2s).

This battle mode is quite interesting. A 360 degrees barrier is created around the FS.
1. The limit of the barrier is approx. 3, I think.
2. Any enemy within its range will be damaged at each interval.
a. Each interval takes a few seconds.
b. Damage is not affected by your defense or the amount of damage you receive.
c. Damage is affected by mob’s defense
i. I do not know which is the main determinant – ATK or MATK
ii. I do not know whether the boosted damage is based on AMP or added damage.

Battle Mode 2

After you complete your level 50 test, you will obtain Shield Master.
Shield Master adds ATK, MATK, Def, Def rate, Atk rate and HP restore.
For Lv 7 Shield Master, it adds +135 ATK, +135 MATK, Defense +200, ATK rate +800, Def rate +70 and HP restore +5 (per 2s).

This battle mode is rather unique. You transform your sword and shield into a giant-sized shield.
1. When normal attack is used, the Force Shielder throws its shield.
a. The attack is ranged
b. The attack pierces
i. I am not sure if the limit is 1 or 2. Probably 2.
ii. I do not know which is the main determinant – ATK or MATK
iii. I do not know whether the boosted damage is based on AMP or added damage.

2. During Shield Master, many sword attack skills cannot be used.
a. Among my sword skills, I can only use Shield Charge and Shield Break.
b. Blade of Judgement (magic attack skill) works fine.

3. Shield Storm can only be used during Shield Master.

a. Shield Storm is a limit 3 spell, with the FS as the origin.
b. It seems to cause Down Effect
i. I do not know which is the main determinant – ATK or MATK
ii. I do not know whether the boosted damage is based on AMP or added damage.

4. Combo is currently unavailable during Shield Master, even at Lv 170.

Skill Rank

Posted by DuoBlader (http://forums.playpark.net/showthread.php?t=199916)

For Magic novice -> transcender, you will gain a total of
+96 DEX, +96 INT, +270 HP and +540 MP

For Sword novice -> transcender, you will gain a total of
+96 DEX, +96 STR, +270 MP and +540 HP

In total, you will gain,
+96 STR, + 96 INT, +192 DEX, +810 HP, +810 MP

Regardless whether you are a Sword FS or Magic FS or trash, you still need to get to dual Transcender one day.

This section will evaluate several methods of training skill ranks.

1. Punching / Normal attack
Pros:
You gain both magic and sword skill EXP at the same time.
You will reach higher skill rank at lower level than the average player.
You will reach the next tier armor at lower level than the average player.
You can skip purchasing lower ranked skills and buy only the necessary skills, thus saving Alz.
It takes less Adept EXP to reach the cap. With max adept EXP for punching, punching may be more efficient than skilling unless the adept EXP exceeds a certain amount.
You can do other things while you punch. For example, reading.

Cons:
Punching is tedious and boring.
FS’s natural ATK is not low so mobs are likely to die faster, compared to a low ATK class.
Punching earns less Alz and items than a skill user, thus you may not have enough Alz to purchase new skills.
Punching has a low adept EXP cap. Exceeding the cap does not improve the efficiency.
You are only semi-AFK when you punch. Your presence is still required.

Recommendations:
Wear Adept EXP until it reaches the cap for punching.
Reduce as much ATK as possible while punching, unless you punch at a large spawn spot.
Try not to get ATK upgrades while you are concentrating on punching.
Punch the highest leveled mob that deals you at minimum damage.

2. Skill Casting
Pros:
You earn Alz and items at your normal pace.
Adept EXP for skills is capped higher than punching. With 30+ Adept EXP, you can earn faster than punching.
When using combo, you reduce the cast time of spells. Increasing frequency of spell casting increases the earning rate.

Cons:
Spell casting will only earn one type of skill EXP.
When your adept EXP is not high enough, punching may earn faster than casting skills
Using combos with fast cast time spells require a significant amount of concentration. I usually get headaches after 1-2 hours.

Recommendations:
Try to get at least 30+ Adept EXP for this method.
When you satisfy the above point, use spells with low cast time.
This method basically relies on earning skill EXP via Adept EXP.
For Example,
Skill A has 6.0s CT & Skill B has 2.0s CT.
With 30 Adept Exp, skill A earns 5 sXPps (skill EXP per sec) and skill B earns 15 sXPps via Adept EXP.
Although Cast Time affects the amount of skill EXP earned, the sXPps due to cast time is roughly the same for both skills.

The following section will evaluate consequences of prioritizing or balancing skill ranks
DURING LOW SKILL RANKS.

Raising Sword rank will earn DEX and STR. Raising Magic rank will earn DEX and INT.
Raising Sword Rank will earn more HP than Magic Rank at the same level. Raising Magic Rank will earn more MP than Sword Rank at the same level.
Force Shielder’s buffs are all in the magic rank.

As a point of warning,
I chose prioritizing Magic over Sword during low skill ranks.
I chose the route to max my regeneration level, get Heal to adequate level and get Shield Harden for more def before I became more serious in training sword rank.
However, that does not mean I completely ignored training sword rank. It simply meant that I used more magic skills than sword skills.

1. Prioritizing Sword rank before Magic Rank
You will gain DEX and STR faster than gaining INT.
You will gain HP faster than MP.

Force Shielder’s ATK and MATK at low skill rank are rather mediocre.
Sword skills at lower rank have low added damage, so damage output is rather weak.
Only from A.Expert onwards, the pinch will feel less painful.

Low magic rank means you get your buffs slower.
Not having crushing blade early means your damage will remain relatively weak for a long time.
Not having BoJ early means your mobbing ability remains subpar for a long time.
Not having Heal early means you need to pot normally.
Your regeneration level will be low, thus recovering less per tick.

Evaluation:
Worst Choice when your skill rank is low.
The foolish player is likely to feel weak for a long time.
It is better to get your essential buffs first before prioritizing sword rank.

2. Balancing Sword and Magic Rank
You gain DEX, INT and STR at a relatively balanced pace at 2:1:1.
You will gain HP and MP at a balanced pace.
This route takes the longest to gain upgrade skills and upgrade slots. Lower skill rank means lower Lv upgrade skills.
You get to wear the next tier armor earlier than the other routes.

If you are a puncher, there is not much problem except you spend a significant amount of time and tedium leveling your skill.
If you are not wearing Adept gear, the tedium will be even greater.

If you are a skill user, your skill setup may feel a little awkward at low skill ranks.
You have to decide whether to buy new skills and delevel some later or stick with your current ones until you get to the desired skills.

Although it is better than the above route, you still get your buffs slower than one who prioritizes magic rank.
Not having crushing blade earlier means your damage will remain relatively weak for some time.
Not having BoJ early means your mobbing ability remains subpar for some time.
Not having Heal early means you need to pot normally.
Your regeneration level will be low, thus recovering less per tick.

Evaluation:
Too average.
For punchers, it is to be expected.
For skill casters, I recommend that once you reach Magic Apprentice, you should prioritize Magic first until you get at least Lv 20 Crushing Blade.
Better still, wait until you get Lv 9 BoJ or Lv 9 (or higher) Shield harden.

3. Prioritizing Magic rank before Sword Rank
You will gain DEX and INT faster than STR.
You will gain MP faster than HP.

As Magic rank does not give STR, most of the Lv points have to be invested into STR and a little into INT.
If the player cannot even balance such a minor issue, I suggest the player to quit early.

As a warning to the brainless, prioritizing magic over sword does not mean to completely ignore sword rank.
You can always punch or incorporate sword skills in your spell setup to increase your sword rank if you have difficulties in surviving.
Then again, the brainless should just quit Cabal.

You get your low-ranked support spells and BoJ the earliest in this route.
This includes Heal, Regeneration, Shield Harden and Crushing Blade.

For this route, I suggest the player to play the magic style.
That means using lances, cannons and the like until BoJ is unlocked.
When the FS has 3 upgrade slots, I recommend it to get MATK, HP and Def.

Evaluation:
Getting Lv 20 Crushing Blade gives you more chances to crit, especially when you wear +crit rate accessories.
Getting BoJ early will give you a considerable boost in damage output and mobbing capabilities.
Once you get the necessary buffs and BoJ, getting stats from leveling Magic will be less efficient than leveling the lower-ranked Sword.

After getting Lv 9 BoJ or after achieving Magic Master rank, I recommend the player to catch up with its sword rank.
a. Use BoJ and sword skills
b. Get Force Change M->S and cast magic skills to earn Sword EXP
c. Punch
It’s up to the player to choose how it wants to suffer the belated tedium.
However, note that Force Change can only be bought in Port Lux and it requires an upgrade slot.
I started training my sword rank more seriously when I had 4 upgrade slots and could enter Port Lux.

After Sword rank has caught up, the player should decide its future play style.
For both, you can always punch.

For sFS,
Just use BoJ and buffs regularly and you should be fine, unless you want shadow shield earlier.
You will probably want to replace Force Control with Offensive Sense.
You probably want to cancel Force Change, if you have bought it.

For mFS,
If you have bought Force Change, consider canceling it only after getting Shield Ray. As Shield Ray is a ranged, ATK-based skill, you can incorporate into your magic setup for skill training. If you want to cancel it later, it’s also up to you.
If you did not buy Force Change, good luck in finding an optimal path for yourself.

The power of FS – Sword

Let’s refresh a little.
AMP – An amplifier that acts on MATK
Added damage – An additive that is directly added to the potential damage.

Secondary Effects
Down – A secondary effect that makes a target fall onto the ground.
Knockback – A secondary effect that knocks the target back and also fall onto the ground.
Stun – A secondary effect that stuns the monster. Ineffective against certain monsters. Duration is reduced against players.
HP down – A secondary effect that reduces the monster’s HP. Can be resisted by higher-level monsters.

Limit Effects
Limit 1 – Single-target spell
Limit 2 – Any mob that is around the spell’s target may be affected
Limit 3 - Any mob that is around the spell’s target may be affected. Area of Limit 3 is bigger than Limit 2.
(Piercing) – Any mob in the spell’s range will be affected.

SP Cost
For Lv 2-9: You need 1 SP each to raise the skill level – Total: 8 SP
For Lv 10-12: You need 2 SP each to raise the skill level – Total: 14 SP
For Lv 13-15: You need 3 SP each to raise the skill level – Total: 23 SP
For Lv 16-18: You need 5 SP each to raise the skill level – Total: 38 SP
For Lv 19-20: You need 10 SP each to raise the skill level – Total: 58 SP

AMP Bonus
Whenever you raise a skill level to the next tier, an extra 0.05 AMP will be added to the skill.
Tier 1 – Lv 1 – 9
Tier 2 – Lv 10 – 12
Tier 3 – Lv 13 - 15
Tier 4 – Lv 16 - 18
Tier 5 – Lv 19
Tier 6 – Lv 20
Hence, at Level 20, the spell has 0.25 AMP more than when it is Lv 9.

Novice

Impact Stab is good for skill training.
Flash Draw is okay for skill training.

Apprentice

Regular

Rising Shot is okay for skill training.

Expert

Force Kick is good for PvP.
Shield Charge is good for PvP and skill training
Note that Force Kick and Shield Charge are ranged melee-type. If you cannot move, you cannot execute the move unless the mob is at point-blank range.

A.Expert

“Behold the wrath of my sword, Storm Crush!” – Unknown FS

Storm Crush has high added damage. For low-level mobs, you can 1-2 HKO them.
However, its casting time is long so it is less useful when your level is higher.
Furthermore, it has no secondary effects, making it even less useful.
Moreover, its limit is only 2.
Last but not least, its default AMP is only 1.50.

Master
This is a turning point for Sword FS. From Master onwards, buy all the sword skills.

“FS is weak because we are short-ranged? Why don’t you have a taste of this ‘short-ranged’ move? Shield Ray!” – Unknown FS

Shield Ray is a ranged attack.
That means even if you cannot move, you can still execute this move as long the mob is within range.

A.Master

“The Raging fist of Gaea, Power Geys—No, it’s not? It’s called Shield Explosion?” – Unknown FS

Congratulations, you have reached the first limit 3 spell for sword rank.
As this spell has low cooldown time, you can easily level it to Lv 15 and its cooldown is still lower than Lv 9 BoJ.
This spell uses the caster as the point of origin. If you don’t understand, imagine a bomb exploding from your hands.

G.Master

“The Epitome of Sword and Shield, Shield Break!” – Unknown FS

Congratulations, you have reached the uber PvE spell for sword rank.
This spell has high added damage and good AMP.

Although the description seems somewhat enigmatic, the gist is that Shield Break deals more than 100% of the resultant damage.
Lv 9 Splinter and Lv 9 Break’s potential damage is closely matched (Difference of 22.5 damage in Splinter’s favour).
Although I could not kill an Elder Spector with one non-crit Splinter, I could kill it easily with one non-crit Break.

Shield Break is rather interesting. It has two components of attacks.
The first component is a melee type where the FS will run up to the target and executes multiple slashes.
The second component is a ranged type where the FS will throw its shield.

If the FS is unmovable, the FS will still throw the shield component as long as the target is within range.
The unmovable FS can only execute the sword component at point-blank range.

As Shield Break cooldown is high, it is better to leave it at Lv 9. Lv 9 CD = 7.8s

Completer

“The Shield that splits apart Heaven and Earth, Shield Splinter!” – Unknown FS

This is the second and final limit 3 spell for sword rank.
This spell is also ranged, where the FS throws its shield.

If this spell crits, the damage inflicted is rather painful to the receiver, largely due to the +100% crit damage effect attached to Splinter.
This is also the only FS spell that inflicts HP Down.

The power of FS – Magic

Novice

Get Regeneration and max it. You can level it one time per magic rank, up to Lv 4
It will regen at +6 HP (per 2s).

Shield Shock is somewhat useful as it is the only magic spell that knocks back until you reach Magic Regular. However, its range is rather poor.
Since its cast time is pretty fast, I’ll recommend getting it for skill training.

Apprentice

“The blade that tears into your soul, Crushing Blade!” – Unknown FS

At Lv 20, Crushing Blade gives you +24% crit rate and +45% crit damage.
Get this buff and max it as soon as you can. It will be your bread-and-butter for life.

Forget about getting blast series.
All Arrows and Blasts will be replaced once you reach Magic Regular.

Regular

If you play the Magic style, get Tera Lance and Fire Lance, as both spells will give the most damage in the long run.
It’s up to you if you want Flying Shield for the short run. It is not useful for the long run.

Expert

“I can cast Heal and you cannot. I am alive and you are not.” – Unknown FS

Get Heal and max it. Lv 20 Heal recovers around 200+ HP.
At low level, this spell can completely replace HP pots.
Until I reached UG, I did not even use a single HP pot during normal leveling once I had Lv 20 Heal.

As Heal does not recover a lot, it is less effective at higher level.
Since HP pots have cooldown time, you can always use it in during the pot cooldown phase to increase your survivability to an extent.
Furthermore, Heal will help to save Alz in the long run.

If you play the Magic style, get Stone Cannon and Fire Cannon, as both spells will give the most damage in the long run.
It is up to you if you want other Cannons.

A.Expert

“The Sword of Promised Victory, Excali–Huh? I’m supposed to shout ‘Blade of Judgement’?” – Unknown FS

Get Shield Harden and max it. Lv 20 Shield Hardens adds +29 Def.

Blade of Judgement is a keeper, regardless you become a sword FS or magic FS later. Get it to Lv 9 or 12, depending on your combo.
This is probably the first limit 3 spell you get.
This is the only stun spell FS gets that has a limit of 3.
This spell uses the caster as the point of origin. If you don’t understand, imagine a bomb exploding from your hands.

Master to Transcender

It’s up to you if you want Resist Intension.

Get Mortal Bane, Shadow Shield and Art of Defense and max them.
These three buffs are restricted buffs, meaning the duration of these buffs cannot be increased normally. Achieving certain class rank is the only way to increase their duration.

“If I’m only good at defending, then why are you the one lying on the ground? Is my Mortal bane too painful to handle?” - Unknown FS

Mortal Bane is a powerful buff that increases your MATK & ATK by 300.
However, it comes with a def penalty. At Lv 20, the penalty is reduced to –70% Def.
If you don’t know how to use Mortal bane effectively, I suggest you do not use it alone. Combine it with Shadow Shield (less effective) or Art of Defense (Typical complement).

“Put your faith in me and unleash your true nature. Shadow Shield” – Unknown FS

Shadow Shield is a buff that absorbs damage. At Lv 20, it absorbs 4000 damage.
Shadow Shield is a party-exclusive buff, meaning that it can only be cast when the FS is in a party.
Paraphrasing the sentence, it means if you are not in a party, you cannot cast Shadow Shield.

Shadow Shield is the only buff that FS can cast on others.
The designated target can be the caster or any party member within range. You cannot cast it from Port Lux on a member who is in UG.
After the target is selected, an AoE (Area-of-Effect) of limit 17 will buff all party members within range. The caster is always in range.

The buff will automatically cancel when time runs out or damage absorbed reaches its limit.
The buff is independent for each affected member. It is not shared.
In addition, damage absorbed is calculated normally. Def is not ignored. If you receive 50 damage normally, you will absorb 50 damage.
Last but not least, during SS activation, all absorbed damage will show a “MISS” because the game mechanics cannot show “0 damage”.

Shadow Shield is not an effective buff that minimizes Mortal bane’s weakness at higher levels.
If the damage inflicted by a mob during MB’s activation is 500, Shadow Shield will be cancelled very quickly.

“Even if I have to fight a thousand grunts, I will be the one left standing. My Art of Defense is incomparable.” – Unknown FS

Art of Defense is the ultimate form of Defense for FS. There is no buff that grants more Def than AoD.
At Lv 20, this buffs adds +2000 Def.
When this buff is activated, most forms of attacks will deal minimum damage to the caster.
While this buff is active, it basically makes the FS inviolable in most situations.
An exception is like when a boss’s minimum damage for attack X is 500.

A weakness of this buff is that it makes the FS unmovable during its activation.
This renders most melee-type spells useless unless the mob is at point-blank range.

Art of Defense is an effective buff that minimizes the weakness of Mortal Bane.
Even with –70% def, Lv 20 Art of Defense still adds +600 Def to the caster.
If the FS has 1000 def, the loss of def is only –100 Def. It is much better than losing 700 def.

A pic of what skills a high-end FS may have.

 

Upgrade skills

Upgrade skills are passive skills that you can obtain from instructors.

Cabal’s Explanation
Vitality Mastery – Increase the amount of one’s maximum HP by physical training. Adds MaxHP
Mana Mastery - Increase the amount of one’s maximum Mana through spiritual meditation. Adds MaxMP

Sharp eyes - Enables its user to increase the attack rank. Adds ATK rate
Reflex - Enables its user to increase the defense rank Adds Def rate
Defensive Sense - Increase one’s defense by practicing the sense of defense Adds Def
Offensive Sense - Increase one’s attack strength by practicing the sense of attack. Adds ATK
Force Control - Increase magic attack strength by practicing force. Adds MATK

Eyes of Mind - Increase attack rank by using the mind’s eye. Adds ATK rate
Sixth Sense - Increase defense rank by fully using your senses. Adds Def rate
Damage Absorb - Increase defense strength by absorbing a certain amount of damage that was dealt to the caster. Adds Def
Impact Control - Increase attack strength by improving hit efficiency. Adds ATK
Ruling Force - Increase magic attack strength by expanding the force control power. Adds MATK

For sFS, you should get
HP - Vitality Mastery
Def Rate - Sixth Sense & Reflex
Def - Damage Absorb & Defensive Sense
ATK – Impact Control & Offensive Sense

For mFS, you should get
HP - Vitality Mastery
Def Rate - Sixth Sense & Reflex
Def - Damage Absorb & Defensive Sense
MATK - Ruling Force & Force Control

STR sFS and INT mFS have mediocre ATK rate.
They can consider getting Eyes of Mind to improve their ATK rate in PvE or just combo.

PvE damage-based FS: 1 HP, 2 MATK/ATK, 1 Def & 1 Def rate. Last slot is Defensive Sense or Reflex.
PvE survival-based FS: 1 HP, 1 MATK/ATK, 2 Def & 2 Def rate.
PvP FS: 1 HP, 2 MATK/ATK, 2 Def. Last slot is up to player. I suggest getting sixth sense.

Upgrade slots

In order to get more upgrade skills, you need to have enough upgrade slots,
To get Sixth Sense & Reflex, you need 2 upgrade slots.

At Novice skill rank, you start with one upgrade slot.
As you level up your rank, you will slowly unlock more slots. Only the highest skill rank is taken into account.
At Transcender skill rank, you will unlock your sixth and final upgrade slot for EP2.

Levelling upgrade skills

Upgrade skills can also be levelled up and delevelled.
Levelling an upgrade skill does not occupy more upgrade slots. The higher Lv skill will override the slot of the existing Lv.

To level an upgrade skill, your current rank must be at least one tier higher than the most recently bought.
For example, you buy Lv 1 Sixth Sense at G.Master.
To buy Lv 2 Sixth Sense, you must be Completer or higher.
To buy Lv 3 Sixth Sense, you must be Transcender.

However, you cannot skip levelling.
If you bought Lv 1 At G. Master, you cannot immediately buy the highest Lv at Transcender.
You must buy all the Lv in order to obtain the highest Lv at Transcender.

To delevel, just click on the “-” button beside the upgrade skill and pay the Alz.

Upgrade stat amount

Below pic is what a Novice-ranked player would see.

The amount each upgrade skill adds is not static. It is also affected by your rank.
You get +10% per skill rank up. Hence, a transcender has about +90% of the above stats.

For example, a novice sees 310HP at Transcender Vitality Mastery.
When it is actually Transcender, Lv 10 Vitality Mastery grants it 589 HP.

 

[ Last edited by ren99 : 11-Jun-2008 at 09:29 PM. ]

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#9 01-May-2008, 03:52 AM

ren99 Of all and of nothing Trade Feedback: (0) Join Date: 15 Dec 2007

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————- Cooldown Time Non-Lightning Lance Cast Time = 1.8s Lightning Lance Cast Time = 2.0s Non-Lightning Cannon Cast Time = 2.0s Lightning Cannon Cast Time = 2.3s As one can observe, the cooldown time of Lv 10-18 spells will follow the cooldown time of a certain skill Lv. One probably realize that 1. Magic, Wind and Fire has the same cooldown time 2. Aqua and Ice has the same cooldown time

 

Equipment builds

Force Shielder

Sometimes, there are people who want to be different. Instead of following the norm, these people want to wear katanas or orbs or both.
Let’s see what are the pros and cons of such builds.
Note that in order to simplify matters, I’m going to ignore growth stats, class ranks, actual damage and such. Any expert can feel free to add his/her comments.

If one follows the growth route, just take the typical build until you no longer need to and then look at the builds. Rather obvious in the first place, isnt it?
Unfortunately, there is a dumb poster named S.K. who followed the growth requirements (typical build) and stupidly wore battleset. In the end, it wore battleset armor of one tier lower than the norm and then complained when its FS has difficulties to survive.

TYPES OF BUILDS
Typical build 1 & 2 - blade, crystal and armor
Alternative build 1 - blade, orb and armor
Alternative build 2 - katana, orb and armor
Alternative build 3 - katana, orb and battlesuit

—————————————————–
EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS
About equipment, it is possible to wear
orbs at FB’s requirements
battlesuit set at FB’s requirements
katanas at FB’s requirements.

STATS
In the following are the attribute increments for each stat

Force Shielder | Str. | Int | Dex .|
Atk …………|0.25 | 0.1 ..|0.23 .|
Magic ………|0.05 | 0.286 |0.25 .|
Def …………|0.25| 0.111 |0.182|
Hit Rate ……| 0.4 .| 0.4 ..|1.75 .|
Def Rate …..| 0.2 .| 0.1 ..| 1 ….|
(Credit goes to http://forum.cabalonline.com/archive…php?t-936.html)

*Note that growth rate is retrieved from http://www.cabalsea.com/info/items.aspx
It can be slightly inaccurate, so blame the site if you’re unhappy.

Armor set

Force Shielder Requirements
Defense Defense Rate
Str Int Dex
+3 +3 +5 +4 +2

Blade
Attack Strength Magic Attack Strength Str Int Dex
+3 +2 +5 +4 +2

Crystals
Force Shielder Requirements
Attack Strength Magic Attack Strength Str Int Dex
+2 +3 +4 +4 +3

BUILDS EVALUATION
Typical build 1:
From the above, +5STR +4 INT +2DEX growth is needed for armor set focus.
You will gain 2.11 ATK, 1.894 Magic ATK, 2.058 Def, 7.1 ATK rate and 3.4 Def rate for every 11 points.

You get blade and body armor at about the same time and crystal upgrades are gained slower since you prioritize survivability over damage. From my comparisons of blades and crystals, crystals are gained about one tier slower than blade. For example, by the time you wear Coraleye Crystal, you’ll be wielding shadowsteel blade already.

Some weaknesses of this build is that your astral shield special skill will level slower and your crystal is weaker.
An advantage is that you will get your next tier blade and armor quite quickly, so it may offset the disadvantages.

This build will be used as the basis for comparison.

Typical build 2:
If the player attempts to balance out all three items at once, the growth becomes +5STR +4INT +3DEX.
With every 12 points, you will gain 2.34 ATK, 2.144 MATK, 2.24 Def, 8.85 atk rate and 4.4 def rate.

One weakness is that TB2 may take longer to get its next tier armor than TB1.
For example, if it takes 14 rounds of TB1’s build (= 31 levels) to get from Titanium to Osmium body armor, it will take 34 levels of TB2’s build.

Comments on typical build:
Most practical build since you will easily satisfy the growth level and you don’t have much delay in getting your osmium armor.
This build is generally built towards sFS as Blade + Crystal offers the highest ATK (192ATK, 188MATK).
mFS can consider going this route and change into katana+orb after you are wearing osmium armor.
For hybrids, it is up to you.

#######
Alternative build 1:

Orb
Force Blader Requirements
Attack Strength Magic Attack Strength Str Int Dex
+2 +3 +3 +4 +4

Some suggested wearing blade, orb and armor set.

A good thing about this build is that INT is equal for all three items, so the things to balance are STR and DEX. +5 STR +4 INT +4 DEX is the prototype growth.
You will gain 2.57 ATK, 2.394 Magic ATK, 2.422 Def, 10.6 ATK rate and 5.4 Def rate for every 13 points.

………. Str Int Dex
Blade 243 195 97
Armor 243 195 97
Orb 146 195 195
Crystal 195 195 146

A weakness is that you’ll wear the next tier armor slower than TB1 and TB2.
A build that is difficult to juggle since orb need even more DEX than crystal. Might as well follow TB2 and then change to AB 2 later.

#######
Alternative build 2:

Katana
Attack Strength Magic Attack Strength Str Int Dex
+3 +2 +4 +3 +4

Some queried about wearing katana, orb and armor set.

Your growth rate becomes +5 STR +4 INT +4 DEX. Another 13 points growth.
You will gain 2.57 ATK, 2.394 Magic ATK, 2.422 Def, 10.6 ATK rate and 5.4 Def rate for every 13 points.

……… Str Int Dex
Katana 195 146 195
Armor 243 195 97
Orb 146 195 195

From the stats requirement alone, there are several problems.
One: You cannot offset any stat without affecting either the armor or two pieces of equipment.
Two: Unlike AB1, you do not get katana at the same time as the body armor. Hence, “rush first, compensate later” does not work with this build.
As a result, this build is rigid, so you’ll take about 37 levels to get from Titanium to Osmium body armor.

Coments:
This build is generally for mFS and not for sFS, due to the lower ATK, higher MATK the weapons offer.
mFS can consider switching to this build after they wear osmium armorset.

#######
Alternative build 3:

Battlesuit set
Force Blader Requirements
Defense Defense Rate Str Int Dex
+3 +3 +4 +4 +3

Str Int Dex
Katana 195 146 195
Battlesuit 195 195 146
Orb 146 195 195

How about wearing katana, orb and battlesuit set?

In the long run, you will have 195 STR, 195 INT and 195 DEX at a point of time. Your growth is +4 STR +4 INT +4 DEX.
By wearing osmium battleset, your FS will have 6 lower def but 12 higher def rate per piece, when compared to the osmium armorset.
You will lose 24 Def and gain 48 Def rate for your troubles.

This build is geared towards magic-oriented FS, as battleset requires less STR (48STR for +0) and those points can be added to DEX or INT.

A literal jack-of-all-trades?

Comments:
Note that shineguard and Mithril for FS is class-specific armorset.
After a certain level, your FS can choose to slowly pump into STR slowly so that it can wear its class-specific armor later.

——————-
Rejected build:

Katana, orb and martialset build.
Is this a viable build for mFS?

FS follows the blader’s requirements for martialset. As a result, FS does not save any points in STR.

Crystal, orb and armor requires the same amount of INT. As a result, FS does not save any points in INT.

Comparing between armor FS and martial FS’s base stat requirements for osm equipment, the former has an excess of points and can be put into DEX to have completely the same stats as the martial FS.

As a result, the difference between the two is simply Def vs Def rate from the gear’s stats.
An osm armorset FS has +48 Def -160 Defrate compared to a osm martial FS.
In this situation, 48 Def is comparably more significant than 160 Def rate.

————

If the player prioritizes aesthetic looks, please don’t complain when you feel weak.
This is a guide. It is not an Almighty-type instruction booklet. Learn to adapt to optimize your character.