@KungFu: I never really understood why it's extremely difficult for some people to choose builds after playing for some time. If you're new to the whole game then yeah, but if you aren't, you should have at least
some clue with what you're doing and not have people spoon feed you everything.
Spoiler!
Well, that's what guides and forums are for, so that we could ask others for opinions. I see nephilim12 has better ggftw stats than me so he must be better at this game. And yet he asks questions. What's wrong with me asking for a good build question?
And besides, almost everything is spoon-fed. Awesome guides are in the forums (to name a few: General Guardian FAQ, How Much MA is needed for.., A Brief Guide to Powerlevelling, etc.) Nothing is left for testing since most information is answered on forums, and thus less time wasted on trial and error, less money wasted on corrective MS items. Now isn't that more efficient?
And also, I can barely spend time to play this game, so as much as possible I better get it right on the first go since it will take some time to restart a new character, and costly to reset the stats or to get corrective gear.
I do love to read since it prepares me for the problems ahead. And it's always good to ask questions. And we are here to help each other out (guides, replies to posts, etc.)
Times have changed with each major patch. Newly pumped out MS equipments receiving higher and higher stats than previous releases and new skills flip our builds and equipment. With those and the general consensus that it's not the build, but [Myshop] equipments that make our characters, players[that spend] can pretty much go whatever route they want because it doesn't really matter anymore, since you find ways to balance.
Personally, I think weight is the most useless stat in the game and should just be scrapped all together. It's because of that dumb aspect, we are pretty much forced to do things a certain way, for some classes. Without it, all the things we can do better.
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The breakdown:
These should be the only things that you need to think about honestly:
Are you a spender or a non spender?
&
Are you dedicated & willing to spend or not spend(for a weight pouch)?
Go 1414:
If you are willing to regularly recharge for a pouch.
Go any other build higher other than 1414 if you don't want to recharge for a pouch.
Simple.
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Honestly, the builds don't even matter anymore. I find that if you are averagely Myshop geared, regardless of build, you pump out
at least a minimum of +200 LK on your gear. That is purely enough to hit 85% of monsters in the game. You can work with any build and still do well. Low luck? Just lol-comp 1 or 2 pieces of LK eq laying around or get a fortune and it's done.
Simple.
Low HP? Just lol-comp 1 or 2 pieces of extra HP equipment laying around.
Simple.
You don't need to be confused over something so simple. It's all either cash vs. no cash.
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If you aren't dedicated and are just trying out SM just for the lols, please do yourself a favor and just don't go a 1414 and play it safe. HP and DP are easy to make up, free or payer. If anyone says otherwise, you are seriously
not trying at all.
Edit: I still have a ton more to cover like end game and levels, but I don't want to overload.