Hi !
What are the Pros and Cons of each of these cicles since you cant have both in the same character ?
I know that people get Finestra for the Crit (And maybe block if you’re aiming to tank a bit more) and Cataphract 3 for Damage, Mobility and a little more HP from your mount, anything else?
Thanks in advice
Depends on the rest of your build, but in a very resumed way Cata is more utility and Hop is way more straight foward, but once again, it all depends on incial classes, for exemple, if you go pelt1 in both the Cata is probably better, not because of the damage only but because you will lack control/utility, so rush will help a lot, with a pelt1 it is quite possible to do a viable Hop3, tanking well and dealing some damage, one other thing i would like to say is that i’m starting to see some heavy damaging Cata dragoons and Hop3 as well, so it’s uo to you
In my case i’m Swd>Pelt>Hop> I’m ready for the next ranking still thinking about the next rank.
I am a biased player.
Mobility > DPS.
Hoplite C3:
Cataphract C3:
Hop C3 grants you more damage overall, but requires precise positioning to deal damage (aside from Spear Throw) due to tiny skill hitboxes.
Cat C3 grants you vastly more mobility and isn’t hindered as much as Hoplite by skill hitbox size, but deals less damage overall.
I see, I think i’ll pick Cataphract then, since I like the tanking part and the mobility and AoE seens very nice ! 
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Welcome rider. You choose wisely. Swordsman dmg is terribad. Utility from speed outvalue dmg from hop3.
When comparing dmg always compare it to the highest dmg dealer class. Wiz and archer. If u cant out dmg them and out dps them then going for dmg sword is the same as being worthless.
Its like wiz is from Oxford, archer is from Cambridge and dps swordies is from the University of loserstan. Now who gona hire you and give u a job?
Well, I would like to tell you guys that now I’m a cataphract too
So the next steps are Cataphract 2 > 3 > Dragoon !
I made some research and just found out that the Velheider (100k mount) has more HP and Defense than the Hoglan, but its not a huge diference so it can be a aesthetics choice.
when u become a cata u get a free mount
Thanks OP. I’m stuck at basically the same point, i don’t know how much damage difference would Finiestra lv.15 be over lv.5. I know if i go CataC3 I’ll also miss maxing stabbing and getting spear throw, for bosses and grinds respectively. I’m just hoping Rush will make up for both of those once i can get it. Maybe EW will help too.
If there’s an experienced Cata around, at higher levels (When you could actually max out Rush), how big of a difference is Fin lv5 to Fin lv15? Is 100 Crit a lot? As a cata c3, how much dex should i add to kind of compensate for that? I messed up and gave my first 100 stats to STR… Dex and Con seem so much more valuable now I’m kinda stuck.
This is my first post here, so Hi Everyone!
I know, but I have Hoglan as well, thats why I’m trying to see if there is a better choice for cata.
i would say hoplite dopple damage is higher than cata,
but cata is way more fun than hoplite :X
As @paulbohphoto said, if you’re really looking for damage… yeah, Hop 3 and Doppel should do more damage than Cata, but the point is (at least for my build) is do something more, since you cant outdamage Mages and Archers being a Swordsman, so Movespeed and a bit more HP might help 
EDIT: Hoplite have more Block % buff from Finestra !
Yeah that block rate too… I would definitely NOT go hopC3>doppel just because doppel can’t mount. Old RO Knight here (Still a knight in ROVU) so I’d miss mounting too much. So this made me think, if I’m not willing to give up the mount for extra damage (doppel), I’m not willing to give up utility. Hope the dex and con I’m adding to my build now add up to make up for most of the benefits of finiestra, hope those are less noticeable at higher levels… oh well. 
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Nice !
So far I’m building mainly Str/Con, I like having high HP numbers hahaha
Another option is to go Hop2 Cata3 and skipping any rank 7 class. You get most of Hop’s spear DPS and utility skills while still being able to fully utilize the Cata class.
I saw a Youtube video of one with that exact build and it seems really viable to solo with and as DPS in parties (though still not comparable to archers/mages) even at 240+ levels.
I’ll stick with my Sword3 build though since I’ve specifically built mine for PVP/GVG.
Ride on!
That’s what I’m talking about! feed me the numbers!
25%… seems… negligible for the utility loss. Cata C3, here I go! 
Yeah, STR isn’t a waste, but I should’ve gone for full DEX first. Will probably be doing all Dex now, that leaves at approximately 120 dex at level 150. I think I won’t take CON until later on, if I like the PvP environment I might build for it. I’m going too far ahead of myself now haha
I’m lv.70 with a +6 asegai i see no replacement for anytime soon, but I’m not even aware of my crit damage as I’m mostly fighting cloth clad stuff 10levels above my own. I guess I’ll have to pop the exp books I’ve collected since level 40. Magic damage kills me reaaaal easy for now.
Thanks haukin 
Well at lv246 cata i hardly use rush because of the sp cost and not being able to keep finestra up all the time is annoying however once u reach lv200 u never solo anymore because everything require a party.
If u group up a mob with a party and u cant finished off the mobs before a lv5 finestra expire then you have a terrible party.
That extra block and crit from higher lv finestra is nice as you get more stats point into str and con but frankly speaking if ur looking at finestra for more str/dmg than your playing the wrong tree. U should go wiz or archer tree for dmg. Use the spare points you managed to shave off from dex into con.
Now the extra block is fantastic but auto block is for situation where u miss or screw up the c block timing. Or ur just lazy to time it. However it wont really matter since c block is better than auto block and auto block is just there for mistakes even though having a high auto block rate would be perfect but to get it really high enough to make c block obsolete is impossible.
Now that you understand dmg, auto block only looks good on paper for swordman. You should roughly see the value of movement speed as its obvious game changer affix. You gather up mobs with swb then let your party kill it within 3sec. With higher hp pool u can withstand alot of hits and since ur in a party u dont need to worry about recovery. U have a healer for that.
during ET mob wave. Your job is to kite a train of mobs round and round luring them into the aoe attack zone of your team. Because you move so fast you dont get hit at all by melee dmg. And u cant dodge range magic attack so dex is usless. Only mdef gear stacking and con will help.