Hello fellow Swordsmen, just wanted to stop by and share my journey so far build a Peltasta up to its highest rank. I am currently sitting 3 class levels shy of completing the 2nd circle and so far it has been a great journey.
For those who have started the game, Peltasta is the defensive class of the Swordsman tree. Currently it is the only class with an active Taunt Skill and allows you to make use of a shield manually and has a ton of attributes that increase defensive capabilities. A lot of players invest in a single rank in the class for those benefits and it is absolutely true that one can simply stay in that rank and perform effectively without any further ranks into it.
So why do it at all?
It’s a challenge, and getting more “Come at me, bro” skill levels and pummeling mobs with your shield just looks really cool. That’s why.
For those interested, here’s an earlier thread.
How I’m doing so far:
Currently I have the follow skills already.
As for stats I have 50 STR, 60+ CON, and 15 DEX. There are mixed suggestions on how to build this the stat points but here are a few thought on my personal journey.
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I haven’t felt a tremendous effect from STR yet. But it helps preventing my damage to go all the way down when using High Guard. I don’t see going past 100 on this just yet.
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I have started placing in some DEX at level 60+ as I find some mobs dodging my attacks. In the overall scheme of things it’s added support through dodge and critical hits but I am not sure what the cap for this is.
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CON I am build up to 100 at the moment. I’m just adding points to it every two levels now.
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SPR not really needed at the moment. There are a ton of Blue potions from quests and managing SP is quite easy. Attack Skills are there to thin out the mob you just taunted but Auto Attacks are just as important for clearing them completely. Don’t over-rely on skills. Timing and making them count is the most important thing.
General Tips
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Sacrament Buff. I cannot stress this enough. It’s helps! It doesn’t get gimped when you use High Guard, so your auto attacks still do some damage when Umbo Blow is on CD. (Paired with #3)
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Rim Blow is optional. You can certainly just save the points for later when you get Butterfly, Umbo Thrust, and Langort. Your damage during High Guard is pretty much covered by Umbo Blow alone. Don’t over invest in the skills related to that stance, instead save up to build your rotation outside of High Guard.
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Concentrate. (Level 5, and currently with 30 Attribute Levels) This is my opinion, but I think it also doesn’t get gimped by High Guard. Currently adds 71 Damage per Hit. Which isn’t bad when you’re in High Guard. At level 50, for a small amount of SP it will give you 111 Damage per Hit which can certainly fill the gap of your Umbo Blow on CD. It has about 3 - 6 seconds downtime for me at the moment. Again, Timing.
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Save those EXP cards. At least Level 3 and above. Use them only to match the level gap between your level and the mobs. If I’m not mistaken it’s -5 or +5. Try as much to be on the versus +5.
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Cover all maps and do all quests you get. It doesn’t hurt to spend a few hours backtracking some maps. I’ve done Ashdaq then went back for Crystal Mines just to cover all maps. (I think I missed out on a Level 39 multi floor map. I should make time to go back for that.)
What’s Next?
Considering getting Rodelero first. I’m not so sure yet. I am also quite tempted at stopping at C2 Pelt and do C2 Rod and get C2 Doppel for the jump in DPS. I don’t know yet. I will be posting my build here for comments.
For now, that’s it. Hope this is help to new players interested in getting more ranks into Peltasta. It’s a rare choice but it is a worthwhile one.