I already have a Cata 3 with pelt and as a solo player I regret getting pelt because all the high level mobs seems to be aggro that’s why I’m planning to reroll my char. Most of all, I don’t mind if people reject me in parties. I refuse to be a tank and I don’t mind if cata’s DPS are shitty.
2 Likes
okay then. everybody remember what this guy said if u dont want terrible dps and dont want to play solo
Disclaimer. A lot of the stuff below could be wrong. Whatever time I have for this game is just left over brain power from work.
Cata 3 here. Cookie cutter build of S1/P1/C3/D1. Currently 244 with 340STR, 100VIT, 40DEX. 35-40% Attribute upgrades across DGoon and Cata skills. Using a no-gem, +5 Catacombs pike.
What I have experienced so far.
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Rush/Earth wave damage is good sustained and constant DPS, but very poor burst DPS. They are used mostly to aggro mobs when Swashbuckling is on cool down, or my party sucks and needs help on DPS. Though there is no denying that the best AoE skill will always be Rush.
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I feel like I wasted dumping money on upgrading Doomspike attribute. Damage is ok, but because of the long charge duration I end up using D’Goon skills instead.
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Dragoon tooth, Serpentine and Dragon Soar are all fvcking awesome. Gona upgrade their attributes whenever I can. These skills at just 30% allowed me to run Alemeth solo, if with no party. Was able to kill Truffle mobs in less than 10 secs. (left over HP handled by Stabbing though)
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Stabbing, even at just level 5 is still useful at level 24X. @40% attribute.
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Trot is not 100% up-time at skill level 15. There is around 1-2 secs where it will not be active and you cannot cast it right away because of the cool down.
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Over-upgraded Glass bracelets are so underrated. Just at +4, they provide 101 MDEF and 45 block penetration. You can wear two.
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Spending money on over-upgraded weapons is not recommended. Spend your money on attributes and/or buy 3x +30 physical attack head gear for instant and permanent +90 physical attack.
Also, I have accepted the fact that this class is not a DPS class. As of now, I consider my class as a DPS/Tank utility class.
My HP and my speed are my weapons.
I would of course welcome any boost in my class, but I would not consider this class as gimped. It is retarded to demand similar DPS to a mage or archer yet retain the HP and mobility advantage.
6 Likes
honestly you dont get more dps from going sw2 or s3 or highlander. Sw1 + pelt + hop1 + cata 3 + dragoon or sw1 + pelt + hop 3 + doppel + dragoon are the most efficient builds because their skills work well together. Skipping pelt won’t change the fact that swordsman in general are gimped and forced into a specific role late game. You do maybe a tiny more damage, with the huge downsides of:
A: not being able to find parties
B: not able to farm efficiently due to the lack of SB
C: not able to use shield and switch weapon effectively
D: Not able to play as a tank when you feel like it
E: Have nothing else going for you since your dps won’t be higher than other class and you can’t tank
all for a tiny bit more dps and a few second more cc.
If you simply dig around the forum you’ll see that’s just how things are. That said, it’s your character to do with what you will, but for the time being not getting pelt is like not getting the one thing you can be useful for through out all stages of the game.
2 Likes
This is the complaint of Swordsman circle 3 Catas.
IMHO. Having a stun advantage at PvP via Restrain, is worth the ■■■■ leveling up. Will probably make a S3 Cata soon myself.
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IMHO, taking only Cat circle 1 will make you a prime candidate for a re-roll.
At some point you will feel like hanging yourself.
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Experience. Tried Cata 1 only, Cata 2 only during beta.
The long Trot cool-down alone will make you go mad.
I have two catas one is sw 1 > pelt 1 > hop 1 > cata 3 and the other one is sw 1 > pelt 1 > hop 2 > cata 1 (planning to make it c2 or 3) and yes the trot cool down makes me mad 
though I think getting c1 is okay as long as people enjoy it. I have a rainbow friend who took different job on each circle and he says he’s enjoying it.
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Trot is addicting.
Once you have tasted moving around with Trot active, you will go insane moving around without Trot.
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I appreciate you highly look up to the Pelt Swashbuckling, but please stop preaching others they must take Swash!
i said this:
That said, it’s your character to do with what you will
Really would appreciate you to at least read what i’ve written first. Recommending =/= preaching.
Anyone who wants to take Cataphract can post in here, and they certainly can make any build they want!
You can make any build you want, but others are free to criticize and question them. The goal of a cata thread is to help other catas and discuss what is viable. From experience, having rerolled twice, i’m questioning the validity of taking sw2 over pelt. If you think there are legit reason why sw2 is better, i’d be extremely interested in hearing what you have to say. such is the basis of a forum.
is that so? are u cata1 in game? speaking from your own experience?
Cataphract 1 is fun enough just Trot5 Earthwave5 Impaler4 Steed Charge1
There’s a popular notion that you either go cata 3 or nothing. This is because cata 1 is extremely weak. Long trot cd. only 1 useful aoe skill. Also impaler 4 is not really ideal. It might be useful in pvp, but you can save 3 skill point and use them for cata 2 skills.
Much better imo.
Also there’s a case to be made between going hop2 vs cata 3.
The argument is as follow:
hop2 has -
better stabbing & pierce
100% finnestra uptime
Spear lunge make enemy weak to pierce.
cata 3 has -
100% trot up time (though according to @Dogma there’s a 1 sec window where your trot will be down)
Rush
max earth wave and doomspike
Regardless of which one you go, you’d more likely to follow a cookie cutter build by going cata 3, which is perfectly fine. Cookie cutter builds are popular because they are optimized.
But once again, it is your character to do with what you will. Personally i’m still debating between hop2 and cata 3. If @Dogma can share his opinion on this that would be great.
2 Likes
IMHO going down your mount just to dash is too taxing.
Also, Trot levels is not just duration. It is also +1 move speed per skill level.
Ignore me, the 7 years I spent playing Knight/Lord Knight at RO makes me a very very biased person.
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This guy here has hop 2 > cata 2 going 3. I enjoyed watching his videos.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvMAWnhLJIUlKw_6Gn4qkLg/videos
But then you’re missing out on dragoon 
I dunno i’m so conflicted lulz. i’m getting closer to the point of no return too.
This guy is quite interesting because as strong as he appears to be, this is what he has to say about his own build:
“SW 2 - Hop 2 - Cata 2 … currently but going for Cata 3 as Rank 7.
Please dont follow because I think I’ve messed up my build anyway haha”
But I think his build is fine.
I really like dragoon so maybe I’ll get hop2 on R8 instead if R8 comes. Though Dragoon c2 or Lancer might offer more cool things than getting hop c2.
im gonna go with Sword 1> Pelta 1> Hoplite 1> Cataphract 3 > Templar 1 . the nice thing about having pelta and hoplite is the ability to swap from a 1 hand spear and shield to 2 hand spear . need more damage or to get though a high block enemy (thanks to Two hand spear mastery penetration ) 2 hand spear is your friend. need to play more defensively? swap to a 1 hand spear and shield. you may not do as much damage but with the help of the shield and the ability to manual block and swash buckle for more max hp than you already got (thank you hp boost from molunted) you should be able to take quite a bit of punishment .
the nice thing about it is 1 hand spear and shield are all compatible with the cataphract skills and every skill from the swordsman, pelta and hoplite tree are compatible with mounted at that rank. I mean bash can knock back, Umbo can stun, guardian has evade boost which is pretty nice when you also take a boost from your noble steed (8% I remember reading) swash buckler is always valuable for taunt and hp boost,
Hopltie offers that nice 1 hand spear swap, Finestra for crit rate boost while not 100% uptime its a nice boost for when you need it. idk how well stabbing would scale late game with only 5 points in it though all I remember is people saying multi hit skills scale well.
i was considering templar too since being able to start a guild seems very nice, but then there are also the downside of having to manage your guild, and said character being useless if your guild doesn’t do well.
Do let me know how you go when you get to templar though. Am probably gonna go cat3 into drag just to be safe.