[InsainArcaneBirdbrain]

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Concepts and Viability

"Guide Part 4: Talis is Unbreakable (Yes, really)"

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Tackling another question I've been getting a lot of late, "Is X/X viable?". There is actually a way to kinda figure this out on your own, but before I cover that, please keep in mind that as a new player, don't be afraid to try things out. 

SL2 is a roleplaying game before all else after all. 

In terms of pve, most anything regardless of how unoptimized it is can generally get by just fine. While this bar is much higher for builds meant for winning pvp, this is not the primary focus of the game. I consider a "good" build one that matches the character's ic the best, while being enjoyable for the player to play. For that reason, I won't be covering what is "meta" and such in this guide, as it shouldn't be a focus for any new player (or anyone really for that matter). Instead, I'll be focusing on how to push your own unique ideas as far as they can in a way that you can properly enjoy what rp the game has to offer while being able to have a comfortable time when mechanic combat gets involved.

With that, let's get to creating your character's build.

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"What classes should I play/What does X class work with?"
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The first thing one should figure out is what method of attack they want to lean into. The two main categories attacks fall under are skill based attacks (Often referred to as "Specials" or "Autohits"), and basic attacks. Basic attacks mainly utilize the base attack action, and are used in any skill that states "preform a basic attack on target" or something along those lines. Skill based attacks are skills that have a %SWA or %Element scalings tied to them. 

-Basic Attacks-

Pros:

• Basic attacks can critical hit, boosting damage by your Crit DMG mod.
  
• The first crit with each unique weapon per round generate 1 momentum. This means with the help of certain skills or careful weapon management, you can manage more than two 3m attacks/actions per turn.
  
• Many weapons, class effects, and buffs have effects tied to a "on-hit" or "on-crit" conditional. These apply only to basic attacks, and not to Specials.
  
• If you have GUI built, you can get a fairly large damage amp on your basic attacks.
  

Cons:

• Basic attacks not only rely on hitting, but they also have to pass a crit check to get many of their benefits.
  
• Glancing denies the momentum gain from critical hits, sometimes leaving you in a bad spot.
  
• Often reliant on passive skills such as Fleur or Twin Dance in order to help make the most of the momentum gain. Not using these skills forces a basic attacker to use two weapons, which both must be crit with before granting the desirable 3rd 3m action.
  
• Enemies with high Crit Eva can be a headache to deal with.
  
• More stat intensive as LUC becomes a mandatory stat to build.
  

-Specials-

Pros:

• They are not reliant on passing a crit check, making them "safer" than basic attacking.
  
• The % scaling on the skills means that having a high SWA or Ele Atk will result in strong hits without being too hard on your stats.
  
• Many Specials have additional effects, AoE, and range that basic attacks don't always have.
  
• There are a few specials which "ignore evasion", meaning they never miss, making them the natural counter to dodgy foes.
  

Cons:

• Relying on Specials for your damage will drain FP reserves quickly. Be sure to build one or more FP stats in order to accommodate.
  
• Even though they are "safer" than basic attacks, they are less rewarding in the fact they cannot crit, nor activate on-hit effects. This also means that you won't get the momentum gains that basic attackers get, limiting your actions a bit more.
  
• Glancing will end up denying many of your inflicts and additional effects. 
  
• While there are a couple basic attack skills which boost hit chance, there isn't all that much for Specials.
  

The reason you should keep these points in mind when choosing a class combo is due to how some classes work better with one style or another. While this next list should help give a better idea which classes lean into what, as well as helping one figure out what might mesh, do not take this list as concrete fact. SL2 has a pretty flexible system, and some of my favorite builds involve using things in a non-obvious or unorthodox fashion. (MC will refer to the class in the main class slot, and [] will detail notable things they provide.)


High Basic Attack Synergy: 

• MC Duelist Promos (Ghost/Firebird/Kensei) [Fleur allows for triple action with one weapon, Poise grants crit, Sidecut/Silcut are decent mobile basics]                     
  
• MC Rogue Promos (Engineer/Void Assassin/Spellthief) [Twin Dance to gain both weapon's crit momentum in one attack, Throwing Daggers allows for ranged dagger basics.]
  
• Archer Promos (Ranger/Arbalest/Magic Gunner) [Ranged oriented basic attackers]
  
• MC Bonder [Install and Fight as One provide many stats and boosts desirable for basic attacking. Pinball Strike and Warp Strike are amazing basic attack skills for their flexibility.]
  

High Special Synergy

• Tactician [Strong utility spells, Orders, Enemy Evaluation, Analyze Weakness]
  
• Demon Hunter [Allows for free usage of Soldier/Reaver Stance skills with any weapon. Cobra allows for cheap movement.]
  
• MC Evoker [Strongest overall invocation caster. Charge Mind allows for massive burst damage potential.]
  
• Rune Magician [Runes can deal devastating blows if left unchecked.]
  
• Cleric Promos (Lantern Bearer/Priest/Aquamancer) [Many support and utility spells, and many passive effects. Rather immobile on its own.]
  
• Verglas [Strong attacks that tend to have high hit from scaling Ice Atk, and also has many attacks which can become evasion ignoring.]
  
• Boxer [All or nothing class that has to stick to it's own kit, but can deal rather ridiculous damage at high Schwarz Sturm.]
  
• Grand Summoner [The best FP regen of any class.]
  

Flexible (As in, are often used on both basic attack and special setups.)

• Black Knight [Strong specials AND basic attacks in its kit, along with many great passives]
  
• Evoker [Auto-enchant can enable many skills to gain elemental impact effects without utilizing a badge accessory, and blink remains one of the best movement options in the game.]
  
• Hexer [Same as above, but grants increased HP, and the possibility of boosting crit chance against those inflicted with curses.]
  
• Ghost [Fairly decent special skills, which scale up in damage/potency with Claret Call. Makes you fairly bulky with Wraithguard if MC]
  
• Firebird [On top of many strong high-hit basic attack skills, they also boast 3 specials which ignore evasion.]
  
• Monk [Has flexible tools that can fit in with just about any setup.]
  
• Shapeshifter [Has innate support for both styles between crit boosts, and momentum cost reduction on Yokuai skills.]
  
• Bonder [Provides FP regen like all summoner classes. Fight as One can still be utilized as a sub, and offers a substantial boost to hit, crit, and evade if the conditions are met.
  

On top of this, most classes benefit more from main class than subclass, as they gain access to "main class only" skills/passives. Out of all of them however, there are some classes that REALLY benefit from that main class slot more than others. I'll list some of the most notable MC skills below:

Duelist Promos: Fleur, Eviter, One-on-One.
--Ghost: Wraithguard

Rogue Promos: Throwing Daggers, Twin Dance, Quick Slide.

Evoker: High Speed Divine Words, Absorb Power, Tattoo Refresh

Rune Magician: Swift Rune Crafting

Lantern Bearer: Eternal Flame (Not technically a MC only, but it's highly inefficient without the MC effect.)

Martial Artist: Combination Strike, Weathered Body

Summoner: Install
--Shapeshifter: Install ( I want to point out that out of all the classes in the game, Shapeshifter is the one that wants MC the most due to almost all its mechanics revolving around Install. I really really recommend against subbing Shapeshifter.)

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Destiny

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Simply put, don't destiny as a new player. Just...  don't.

Alright, fine, I'll elaborate. Destiny is a mechanic which you can enable when you make a new character, or as an Ink reward. What it does is lock you into a single chosen base class, and its promotions. In exchange of being severely limited class choice-wise, your classes cap at lv50 instead of lv35 (Which gets reduced to 35 again if you undestiny, so don't even try it). You also gain 5 more skill slots to equip skills. This can be helpful for a multitude of reasons if you know exactly what you are doing. I have seen waaaaaay too many new players make the mistake of locking themselves into Destiny without knowing the consequences, and getting it undone is a hassle and a half. As new players, take the time to experience the system and try out things without artificially limiting yourself. If later down the road after you tried a few things out, and find a pair of classes from the same base class to your liking, you can always Destiny later with an Ink.



That's all I'll be covering this time, but it should allow you to more easily determine on your own if X/X class is good or not. Generally speaking, as long as the classes supplement your overall gameplan, whether it's between weapon type scaling, basic attack support, or other things, it'll probably work out fine. Don't be afraid to experiment and innovate!

For those of you who are still left with concerns on whether their idea will work out or not, the test server is always open to try things out. For more info, check out Kunai's very informative post regarding its functions and tools:  
https://neus-projects.net/forums/showthr...p?tid=8436