During your time playing Lineage II, you've learned how to play your class well and where to go to get the most experience points. By now, you have many tips and tricks to make leveling your character more efficient and enjoyable. Claim recognition for your wisdom by sharing your knowledge with other players! The Words of the Wise contest invites you to write a guide to help fellow players level up their Lineage II characters. Because no one knows the game better than its players, this contest will be judged by the players themselves.
Many great guides were written in this contest, and the players have selected the nine winners, whose guides are displayed below. All guides, including the winners' and those of the other entrants, are also displayed on the Official Lineage II Forums, so that everyone can partake of their wisdom.
First Place Winners:
- Class: Maximizing Your Eva Saint! by Ceasar1427 of Chronos
- Zone: EXP in SOA by RUMBLY of Chronos
- Level: A-grade Levelingby CRUMBLY of Chronos
- Class: The Paladin: Withstanding the Impact by Bandaalk of Naia
- Zone: Primeval Isle: Aden's Jurassic Park by Aquato of Chronos
- Level: D-grade to S-grade by DimondCutter of Chronos
- Class: Blade/Spectral Dancer Class Leveling Guide by Naeri of Naia
- Zone: Infiltrating the Dragon Nest by MDY of Naia
- Level: No Need for Double XP to Double Your Level! by Abricottes of Naia
Class: Maximizing Your Eva Saint! by Ceasar1427 of Chronos
Being an Eva Saint can mean taking on many roles. Sometimes you are only needed as a recharger for a nuker, or perhaps a cardinal is in the party. Other times you may be the main healer and recharger. This guide will work to describe the best skills in certain situations and ways to maximize your Eva Saint's efficiency in any PvE party.
Although rare, nuker and recharger duos are still a good form of experience. As the recharger in the party, it is critical to always keep Clarity, Wild Magic, Concentration, and if applicable, Mana Gain and Prophecy of Water on the nuker. Do not forget to buff yourself with those as well! (Except Mana Gain which cannot be used on a recharger.) With the quick speed of kills, it is also easy to run Arcane Wisdom at all times and pick up hp herbs. As the recharger, it is also your job to pick up all drops. You should be recharging consistently so that if an MP herb drops, you are the main one that needs it. The nuker should not have to stop killing unless you both run out of MP (which hopefully won't happen).
For a more standard party of nine, no matter what place, if you are the only recharger in party and you have a Cardinal, your main job is to keep the Cardinal with MP. Again, Clarity and Mana Gain on the Cardinal are critical. Also, remember to put Clarity on yourself! Your second responsibility is to assist healing should a bad situation arise due to back spawn or perhaps over pulling. Even though you are the assistant healer, it is still vital for the Cardinal to have MP. With Balance Life being more effective, do not let the Cardinal run out of MP. In a bad situation, even run Arcane Wisdom to help preserve your own MP. Balance Life and the group heals the Cardinal will be throwing will cover your health as long as you stay back away from the mobs. Lastly, work on managing the other group members' MP. Most standard parties have a Bladedancer and Sword Singer. Many times, they may need MP assistance as well. Once you have cast Mana Gain on the Cardinal, when Mana Gain resets, put it on either the BD or SWS. Then when it resets again, place it on the remaining support. From there, cast it upon any damage dealer that may need. Once you have established the order of toons that need Mana Gain, continue casting it in that order so that it does not run off on a toon that needs it.
For a party where you are the healer and the nuker, using your skills efficiently is vital. One of the best examples is a Dragon Valley nuker party. As the healer in the group, using Major Heal over Greater Heal is imperative. Greater Heal has a much lower healing power and the MP cost is a lot higher. It burns your MP faster for a less effective heal. The 15 seconds HP regeneration bonus is not worth the MP cost. Secondly, for group heals, do NOT use Greater Group Heal. Again, the HP regeneration bonus is not worth the MP cost and the overall heal itself is much less effective. Eva Saint's receive Mass Vitalize. The skill cures Poison and Bleed, but it also uses a Major Heal. The healing power is much stronger than greater group heal and the MP cost is much lower. It has a 5 second reset period, but using that coupled with a few Major Heals on those that need it will more often than not stabilize the party. Spamming any sort of group heal is a good way to run down MP quickly. My general rule is if 4 or more members in the party have lowered health, then use Mass Vitalize, or Major Heal if that is your Pomander skill. If 3 or less are losing health, single target each player and use Major Heal. The best thing an Eva Saint can do in a DV nuker party is to never stop recharging. Make sure every person has Clarity, including the Fortune Seeker. At the beginning of the party, get in your mind a rotation to keep mana gain on the nukers and even the Fortune Seeker and BD. Never let mana gain fall off them. To keep the party constantly moving and maximize experience, the recharger should continue recharging with the goal that the nukers will always be as close to full as possible. The recharger can then be the primary person who picks up MP pots. This way the nukers continue killing without hesitation. In general, it is also ideal to save Mass Recharge for sudden emergencies. With an hour long reset, do not use it just when everyone is somewhat low. Just keep recharging them as best you can using your own MP conservation skills and picking up herbs. With higher levels, Eva Saint's will have Invocation, Healer Enlightment, Arcane Wisdom, and Blessing of Eva. Once an Eva Saint is 83+ and has these skills, their own mp will last a very long time. Blessing of Eva completely refills the target's MP/HP/CP every 15 minutes. Ideally like when picking up herbs, let your own MP run down with the goal that the nukers stay as close to full as possible and then just use Blessing of Eva on yourself. For all nukers don't forget to buff Wild Magic, Clarity, Concentration and Mana Gain!
Lastly, no matter what, never forget Trance. Eva Saint's can be great at crowd control with an over-enchanted trance. Encourage the party to follow the main assist (MA) so that if necessary, you can effectively keep mobs asleep and prevent a dangerous situation.
I hope this guide has been helpful to not only Eva Saint's out there, but anyone else interested in learning about the class!
Zone: EXP in SOA by RUMBLY of Chronos
Seed of Annihilation (SOA) is a very underutilized hunting area. This EXP zone provides both decent party EXP as well as a chance at a cute and useful pet! The real secret to SOA leveling is to have a good strong constant group. Grouping is very important to your success as any toon will perish if they attempt this areas alone.
To enter SOA you must be level 80 or higher, preferably level 84 and up so that you can take the quests. Unfortunately if you are 80 or higher you most likely do not need instruction on how to level quicker, but I'm going to continue this report as if you still have not learned how to make a group. If you are not interested in that skip to the end of the report to learn about the Maguens as a surprising amount of high level players are unaware of them.
Making a good party is essential to EXP in SOA. A "good party" means that the party has a cardinal, recharger, sword muse, blade dancer, tank, buffer, and up to 3 damage dealers of the same type. The optional types are archers, mages, and melees. I recommend the melees all use pole arms, so classes with polearm mastery are preferred. For an archer group other melee combat style classes with bows may be substituted.
I have not excluded any classes from parties, although some combinations work better than others. For instance, an Overlord or SE is obviously required in a mage group so that there is empower for the group. By the same token, an Overlord and SE is not a good buffing combination for a melee group due to the lack of VR.
These are the groups that can do SOA XP but there are some group setups which can do more mobs in a given amount of time than other groups. AOE able groups have the highest success, and proper support that caters to the specific group's needs is obviously better. For instance, Shillien Knight tanks have a useful buff for melee AOE parties while Hell Knights do not.
Once you have your perfect party, or a party that is perfect for you, you may proceed to SOA. Determine which style of hunting your party should do, melee archer or mage. When you enter SOA and take a tunnel of your choice you will see that these areas give a buff. This buff allows exp for The buff given is also indicated by the orbs outside the tunnel entrances, melee being red, mages being blue, and archers being green.
Inside your designated hunting area you can take the mobs as fast as your group can handle them. That sounds like an idiotic statement, but if you have low elemented individuals you will only be able to kill one group at a time. If you have fully elemented players you will more than likely be able to AOE the mobs quickly.
Now for the fun part, obtaining a Maguen pet! The Maguen pets give a windwalk buff to buff your entire party and this windwalk buff is stronger than a regular player enchanced speed buff. For this reason these pets can be very nice for seiges pvp and even an occasional EXP party. To obtain this pet get the free Maguen plasma collector before porting into SOA.
When you kill the Elite mobs anywhere in SOA it gives a chance for one person in the party to get a Maguen spawn. This Maguen is not a pet, but instead a Wild Maguen, but it has the title of the chosen player. This player can use his or her plasma collector on this Maguen and the Maguen will give that player a buff then run away. When this happens the Maguen will give either a red, blue, or green buff. The buffs give some enhanced stats, but this is not important. The important part is to get one buff of each color, or 3 buffs of one color.
If any player in a group gets three Wild Maguen buffs of one color, or one Wild Maguen buff of each color the buffs will turn into a 10 minute party buff. This party buff gives the chance to recieve a pet Maguen when SOA mobs are killed by anyone with the buff. This pet will apear in the players inventory similarly to how the pet dinos appear on Dino Island. Elite Maguens apear the same way but at a lower chance.
Make sure that you yell at your party members to collect buffs from Wild Maguens as the buff from the Wild Maguen collection can get you a real pet Maguen. Happy Hunting!
Level Range: A-grade Leveling by CRUMBLY of Chronos
There are many areas in which a player can level from 80 to 85, but it feels like there are fewer and fewer spots to level a toon from 61 to 76, the difficult A grade levels. It turns out there are many solutions to this problem, however. Unfortunately the ability of the player to pass these levels does depend on the means of the character, both in supports as well as weapons and possibly transformation scrolls.
There are many possible areas which a player can go from 61 to 66 or 68. These areas are: Frozen Labyrinth, TOI, Forbidden Gateway, Necro/Catas, Devil's Pass, Valley of Saints, Forest of the Dead, Ancient Battleground, Blazing Swamp, Swamp of Screams. The possible areas for the second half of the A grade levels are: TOI, Necro/Catas, Garden of Beasts, Wall of Argos, Archaic Laboratory, Pavel Ruins, Hot Springs, Shrine of Loyalty, Silent Valley, Imperial Tomb, Ketra Orc Outpost, Varka Silenos Barraks.
This seems like a staggering list to someone who has not previously leveled in these locations, but it is simple to narrow this list down based on your means and class. We can investigate the cases for individuals who have nothing but the weapons they hold all the way up to those who can buy highly enchanted weapons and have a full party supporting their toon to level as fast as possible.
For those who must go afk at times while they level, and who have nothing but their toon itself I suggest solo areas. These mobs are easy enough that, if you have to help a customer in your place of business, or tend to your children for a few seconds, the mob will not kill you before you return, in most cases. This will also provide you with buffs if you do not wish to return to town constantly for newbie buffs. These areas are: Frozen Labyrinth, Forbidden Gateway, Devil's Pass, Valley of Saints, Forest of the Dead, Blazing Swamp, Garden of Beasts, Wall of Argos, Pavel Ruins, Hot Springs, Shrine of Loyalty, Silent Valley, Ketra Orc Outpost, Varka Silenos Barraks. Use caution as some areas have portions designed for parties and many of the mobs are agro.
Of these areas I recommend Valley of Saints, and Forest of the Dead for nukers because of some mobs which have a weakness for nukes. I recommend Blazing Swamp for archers as this area has mobs that die quickly to archery attacks. For melee I recommend Pavel Ruins due to the weakness of these mobs to physical attacks. These areas are common favorites, but they may not appeal to all players.
We are now left with a few party zones that players with supporting characters and better gear may be able to do. These areas are: TOI, Necro/Catas, Ancient Battleground, Swamp of Screams, Wall of Argos, Archaic Laboratory, Pavel Ruins, Hot Springs, Imperial Tomb, Ketra Orc Outpost, Varka Silenos Barraks. TOI is a very good place to level now that the mobs give more exp and die quicker. This is the best place for those with the most ability. There are individuals who have leveled in mere hours by utilizing toons to fully support the leveling toon out of party.
Necros and Catacombs are a more popular place for toons with one or two supports to level. These areas used to make a lot of adena, but due to recent changes these areas are quickly losing popularity. They are still the best places for those who utilize the manor system. Imperial Tomb is better exp than the other similar areas, but it is also more difficult. Ketra and Varka mobs are perfect for those who cannot survive in the other high level party areas, or for two to three person parties.
The means of the character leveling will determine what areas are best for that individual to level, but any of these areas will give some exp. This basic summary should help an individual of these levels determine which area is best for his or her toon, and will hopefully inspire some to graduate to S grade.
Class: The Paladin: Withstanding the Impact by Bandaalk of Naia
The choice to play a Paladin may really prove the patience of the most enduring players but may also conduce to glorious achievements.
These key words can help you to figure out what a Paladin's duty is:
Provoke: drawing the attention of his enemies is how a Paladin starts a fight. The use of the skill "Aggression" makes the enemy FORCE its target on you. This means that while it will be busy striking on your indefectible armor, your fellows will have plenty of time to annihilate it. The combination between the skills "Aggression" and "Shield Stun" will make your targets unable to react.
Bullets won't hurt anyone if you channel them on you: "Deflect Arrow" will decrease the damage of arrows and make archers the firsts to fall.
Remember that somehow the attention will be on you from both sides of the battlefield.
Protect: being the protagonist is a difficult job but when others suddenly become protagonists of a storm of blows, they will count only the seconds between they ask help and you draw the enemy. Keep in mind that "Aggression" is also essential to make an enemy CHANGE its target so that weaker fellows will be saved. Your high physical defense is what a party need to better withstand the strength of its enemies. Use "Majesty" to increase your defense and remember to keep it up with "Iron Will" that will enhance your magical defense as well.
When a fellow find himself surrounded you won't have time to draw monsters one by one: "Aura of Hate" is what you need. It works like "Aggression" and hooks every nearby enemy.
What if your target is after a friend of yours? Shackle it! The skill "Shackle" can hold an enemy stuck on the ground and give your friend time to recover. You will find this very useful to root enemies who are too strong even for you so that they won't reach you. Speed is not your specialty, therefore use it also against the fastest targets and become the tracker of the struggle.
In an emergency situation your life is the aspersorium. Whereas the hand of a healer may be busy, your allies will have trust only on your healing skills: the skill "Sacrifice" will take part of your life and give it to your friend. Despite its high consumption of life, it has a fast casting. Being an human has his positive side and makes your Paladin more balanced in order to bear the loss of life. For this reason, be always the one who suffers damages so that healers find easier to focus only on you.
In case the catastrophe seems unavoidable, then you will have the chance to call your hidden and toughest defenses through the skill "Ultimate Defense". It will make you endure the most powerful blows maximizing your physical and magical defense. The combination of "Ultimate Defense" and "Aura of Hate" is also a good way to start killing a "Raid Boss".
Trust the party cause you are their last hope and remember that the weak shall be protected.
Calm and Awareness: never underestimate the seconds. Since the Paladin appears to be a calm, patient, cold and peaceful class, it also requires nerve and a patient mind to be played.
The flow of time is your friend and "Shield Stun" is what makes time go slower for your enemies. Take advantage of the shock they are feeling because you will then be free to study the situation. Will you need to immobilize your enemy on the ground? Will you need to heal yourself? If the whole party is assisting you, they will do it according to your rhythm. This is the time to think and pick.
The skill "Divine Blessing" is weaker than "Sacrifice" but it doesn't consume life. Since it has a slower casting speed, use it while your enemies are shocked. Remember that the party is the heart but you mark the beat.
Always keep an eye on what is going on during a battle. Light armored assassins and archers will usually target the weaker of your fellows and your help will be praised. Keep "Shield Fortress" and "Aegis Stance" up to make your shield stronger even at a 360 degrees area. Be aware of the amount of your HP because, if required, you may invoke the Gods through the skill "Angelic Icon" and destroy your enemies with an explosion of speed.
Holiness: the Paladin has been blessed by the Gods. Demons and undead know this and hate him for this reason. Let them know that the feeling is mutual. The skill "Banish Undead" is what makes the strongest undead vacillate and may kill it with a lethal shot.
Remember that "Holy" is your innate attribute so keep always up "Divine Blade" and "Divine Armor" to better absorb their blows. "Tribunal" is the most powerful holy skill of a Paladin, which curses enemies with a strong debuff, so use it in combination with a weapon blessed with holy attribute. Don't show mercy, they are already dead.
Equipments:
- C grade Full plate set + Samurai Longsword Focus SA [Many HPs + Big chance of critical]
- B grade Doom plate set + Damascus Focus SA [Same reason]
- A grade Nightmare set + Dark Legion / Sirra Health SA [Big amount of HPs + Huge P.Def.]
Try to over enchant your armor to +6 in order to take advantage of the extra P.Def.
Don't forget your cause and be always righteous.
Zone: Primeval Isle: Aden's Jurassic Park by Aquato of Chronos
This guide will be about the Mage-area Primeval Isle near Rune Township. The area is subdivided into the Plains and the Nest. Both areas drop many Herbs.
The Plains: The Plains are good for all players level 78+ with mage attack skills (Archmage, Storm Screamer, Soultaker, Mystic Muse, Healers and even Soulhound! Elemental Masters should wait till level 79 for Magnus the Unicorn who can 1hit the mobs at a skill enchantment of +1 and pet bsps).
Getting started: Before you start hunting at the Plains you should get a S-Weapon with 150 attribute (element depending on your class/skills) and preferably with Acumen-SA. Your Armor can be anything from a DC Robe Set to Major Arcana Set to Dynasty Robe Set. At level 78 I would recommend the Major Arcana Robe Set which gives you a bonus of +17% M.atk which is pretty useful especially for Mystic Muses. Storm Screamers also do fine in DC Robe Set.
Now you have your weapon and armor to slay some dinos, but the area is not only good due to the nice XP, but also due to the fact of the money-making aspect. For the Plains you can start the quest "Rise and Fall of the Elroki Tribe". You will get Bones of Plains Dinosaur from killing mobs on Plains. Those items can either be traded in for Adena, Dynasty Robe Recipes or random Top-A grade Weapon parts. With the current economical situation it is the best to just turn the bones in for Adena. One bone will give 1374 Adena.
Hunting: You will meet the following mobs at the Plains: Deynonychuss, Ornithomimuss, Elrokis, Wild Striders and Pachycephalosauruss.
There are two types of Deynonychuss and Ornithomimuss: The ones running around in groups and the ones standing around alone. The running groups will give half the XP and a low amount of adena, because they are usually down after 1 nuke. The ones standing there alone give a normal amount of XP. Both running and standing ones are not aggressive.
Elrokis just stand around. They're aggressive mobs who die in like 2 hits.
Wild Striders and Pachycephalosauruss are also in running groups of 2-3 or standing around alone. But they all give the same amount of XP and Adena. Furthermore they are aggressive and will follow you. Level 80+ Mages can abuse that to collect several of them to kill them with powerful AoE nukes.
One item that only drops at the Plains is SP-Crystals. Depending on the color (Green, Blue, Red) you can either get 50,000, 100,000, 200,000 extra SP for your character or anyone else being above level 76.
The Nest: The Nest is good for Nukers lvl83+ with a Healer in duo. Only Elemental Masters can already go inside Nest at lvl79 with Magnus the Unicorn. Before starting to hunt inside the Nest you should take the quest A powerful Primeval Creature. For hunting mobs you will receive Dinosaur Tissues. One Dinosaur Tissue will fill your pockets with 5000 Adena! You could also trade 150 Dinosaur Tissues and 1 Egg (which can be found inside Nest) for a Top-A Weapon Recipe or 400 Dinosaur Tissues for a Dynasty Weapon Recipe. But also due to the current economical situation it is best to turn in the Dinosaur Tissues for Adena.
Inside the Nest you will meet three new mobs: Velociraptors, Pterosaur and T-Rexs.
Wild Striders and Pachycephalosauruss are not inside the Nest. Deynonychuss and Ornithomimuss will be inside the Nest, but usually just in groups (sometimes you find single mobs but not many). The Velociraptors are a great source of Adena and XP, since they give nearly twice the amount of Adena and XP. They are usually in groups of 3-5 and aggressive, but do not drop any herbs. To put it in a nutshell, one should go for AoE attacks inside the Nest, since most mobs are in groups and just wait for you to slay them all at once.
Pterosaurs are standing here and there spread over the Nest. They are quite annoying since they love to stun not only you, but also mobs in the area. Therefore the Major Arcana Robe Set would also be helpful due to the extra stun resist bonus, especially for Elemental Masters who can go inside at level 79+ already.
T-Rexs are a big source of danger inside the Nest. If you see one near you or approaching RUN! Never get too close to one. Getting close to one is like playing Russian Roulette: Sometimes they will hunt you, sometimes not. Those mobs cannot be killed alone or in duo; you'd need a Nuker group with Bladedancer and Swordsinger in it.
For the Money-Makers out there: Primeval Isle is a nice place for Adena as mentioned above already. An Elemental Master for example can make roundabout 600.000 Adena in one round of hunting in the Plains and an average of 226 Bones of Plains Dinosaur, which are an extra income of 310.524 Adena (you can also sell some misc to Npc and get some more Adena).
For normal Nukers the amount of Adena and of quest items will be a bit lower, however, one can say one buffround of Primeval Isle Plains will get you 800.000 - 1.000.000 Adena!
Nevertheless the Nest is an even better source of Adena, especially for Elemental Masters. An Elemental Master can make roundabout 1.200.000 Adena in one round of hunting inside Nest and an average of 119 Bones of Plains Dinosaur (163.506 Adena) and 52 Dinosaur Tissues (260.000 Adena). With some misc drops like S-grade Weapon blades an Elemental Master can easily get above 1.500.000 Adena in one buffround! Other Nuker-Classes, who will be with a healer out there, still should make like 500.000 - 750.000 Adena per buffround. If you play the support classes on your own it will also end up with 1.000.000 - 1.500.000 Adena in a buffround.
Have fun getting rich and level 85 at the same time!
Level Range: D-grade to S-grade by DimondCutter of Chronos
Level 20-27: You can go the route of Abandoned Camp located near the town of Gludin, or you can go outside of Dion where you will find Monster Eye Searchers and Enku Orc Champions. Now they may be a little tough at first, but be careful, the Orcs are aggressive and the Eyes have a ranged attack. This is the boring part. You will find out grinding is an essential part of this game. When the Eyes finally turn light blue to you, you are ready to go to a new spot.
Level 27-35: Now the next spot is just North of Giran in a place called Breka Stronghold. Killing the Breka Shamans, Breka Warriors, and Breka Overlords might seem like genocide to some Orc classes, but hey, it's a living. You won't be here for long, just enough to get you to one of my favorite spots, still north of Giran but is at the very top of a place called Death Pass.
Level 35-40: You'll be looking for the monsters called Fettered Souls. (Disclaimer: These places are all about the speed of kills and the amount of xp you will receive, I am not including pole groups, because this is for the solo players out there.) Be forewarned the Grandis are aggressive, you can kill them too, but you don't get as much bang for your buck. Same with the Windsus.
Level 40-52: Our next little adventure is Alligator Island, just north of the port you will find... that's right, Alligators, and some Crokian Lads and Dailaon Lads. Start killing. After you get a respectable amount of XP here you will be going a little more north where you will find Crokian Lad Warriors kill these until you are B Grade.
Level 52-58: Now it's time for Enchanted Valley. First you start off on the lower levels, killing Satyrs, Unicorns, and the like, when you feel more comfortable you can more on to the upper level killing the elders of said monsters.
Level 58-61: Next up is The Forsaken Plains. You will want to look for monsters usually found in the northern part of forsaken plains called Fallen Orc Captain, Sharp Talon Tiger, and Fallen Orc Shamans. Some of the Shamans will transform after the first hit into Sharp Talon Tigers, you might want to retarget just in case. The Sharp Talon Tigers are social, (same with the transformed Shamans) if there are other Tigers near they will come after you. Tigers and Captains are aggressive.
Level 61-72: I have found that hunting near Devastated Castle just outside of Aden is challenging, but worth it. You'll want to start off with the Doom Guards and Grave Predators, eventually as your level progresses you will want to move up to Doom Warriors and Doom Knights, these monsters stun, so be careful.
Level 72-79 or 80: Silent Valley, do not let the name fool you, this place is packed sometimes. Finding a spot could be difficult. The monsters right off the port are the ones you want to start killing: Chimera Piece and Soldiers of Ancient Time. Again, as your level gets higher you move further down the Valley, where you will find the monsters called: Shaman of Ancient Time, Warrior of Ancient Time, Non-Existent Man, and Giant's Shadow. I say this to level eighty because the monsters still give good xp for your level. Well now that you are in S Grade, you might think that it is almost over, but you would be wrong, going to seventy six to eighty five is a road just about as long as the one I just put you through, but that is another guide. Enjoy and Have Fun!
Class: Blade/Spectral Dancer Class Leveing Guide by Naeri of Naia
The class I will mention in this paragraph is Blade/Spectral Dancer. I've played this class from the very beginning of my Lineage II adventure and I have worked out my way of leading this class which I like to share with you.
I would like to start with general description of Bladedancer. BD is very universal class. Maybe the most universal in Lineage. You can play solo, you can exp in any party mage, archer, melee. You can buff, you can debuff, you can be dd AND tank at the same time. Weather is it PvE or PvP, you have a world of possibilities.
How to play BD class itself? It is not hard but it takes a lot of focus. You must be mobile. Fast eye and fast reaction. You have to know and anticipate your party needs depending on situation. Dances really make the difference in any party so you must dance in right time and place so that everyone get all the dances they need. When you play solo or in fighter/archer party you use Dance of Fury first, because dancing speed is based on your Atk. Spd. And then the rest of fighter dances like Dance of Fire and Warrior. Depending on your party setup and hunting zone you add Dance of Vampire for yourself and other melee fighters; Dance of Concentration for healers/supporters in party; Dance of Light if most of party members use Holy attribute and Defense Motion for your own protection. All the time you must examine mobs and see if you can help by adding resist dances like Dance of Aqua/Earth Guard or Dance of Alignment. For mage party the basic dance setup is Dance of Concentration, Mystic, Siren and other defensive dances mentioned before. An 83+ BD has also an amazing and purely offensive Dance of Berserker which works great in any party. If you have SWS in your party you must know which dances are most important and essential to your party needs, and which of them can be omitted to make room for songs. I placed my dance setup in order of their importance so depending on the situation and number of songs needed in party you can add your dances up to 12 songs/dances to fill the bar, but remember that the cost of song and dances is rising with every song/dance added to the list. Keep that in mind when optimizing your cooperation with SWS. You both have to manage your mana to keep the party going. BD/SWS mana management is essential for the party. You must make sure you have Clarity and Bless the Soul buffs on but first you think of yourself. What you can do to have more mana and more mana regen. Enhance your Inner Rhythm and Focus Mind skills as high as you can and of course dances must be enhanced for reduced cost. Step by step you use less and less mana for dances and songs in party and your regen is higher, so you can keep the dances up effectively. At 76+ you can count on Dynasty set and songs from SWS to help you both in mana management. But BD use mana not only for dances. Use Hex for solo/ pt exp and for luring the mobs;Hex is also great on RB and PvP. If you tank the boss you must add aggression of course which is free but you must remember that BD tanking is based on dps and Vampiric Rage not on aggression skill only. You don't have to take Greater Shield instead of might or delete Berserker buffs to tank. They actually help you to tank because you do more damage and heal faster on Vampiric. If the boss does high damage based on P. Atk. you use Power Break and Demonic Blade Dance which reduces M. Atk. also. In critical situations pop the Ultimate Defense this can save not only you but your entire party. When discussing skills we can't forget to mention subclass certification skills. In my opinion there is only one optimal setup. I recommend warrior and enchanter for two first sub classes. From 75lvl subs we get great Warrior Ability - Haste, an trigger skill that works great on BD, and Enchanter Ability - Barrier, which is necessary for any class. The third subclass can be anything, because we aim at Master Ability - Focus, passive critical chance skill which, when mixed with Haste and Fighter's Will from 81lvl, improves DPS of your Bladedancer significantly. When it comes to Emergent Ability I recommend Attack for more P. Atk. combined with enchanting your Dual Weapon Mastery skill also on P. Atk.
When it comes to equipment BD is quite flexible. From C to A grade I recommend Plated Lather set for DPS and fast exp. An A grade BD is starting to be great DPS using enhanced duals and Tallum set. On S grade Spectral Dancer works perfectly with S duals bonuses and Dynasty set. When changing to S80 or S84 equipment SD can face problems with mana when in party with Sword Muse but as I mentioned before skill enhancement and Clarity/songs will do the work.
As you probably noticed I prefer an offensive Bladedancer, with maximum DPS. My Dye setup for BD may seem a bit crazy but in my opinion it works perfectly: +5DEX, +4STR, -9CON. With Vampiric Rage we can tank every regular RB and tons of mobs at the same time. Solo exp in Forge of the Gods or Stakato Nest? Tanking Zaken or Kamaloka 83? No problem with me and my Spectral Dancer.
I hope you will enjoy reading my guide as much as I enjoyed writing it. If your play Bladedancer maybe you can apply some of my ideas to your own game style and if you did not know this class I hope my text was also helpful to you.
Zone: Infiltrating the Dragon Nest by MDY of Naia
Antharas has summoned additional ferocious monsters near his nest to keep infiltrators in check. Starting from Death Pass, through Dragon Valley and Lair, the hunting grounds cover a wide area of player levels and groups type, from solo and small party zones until top party areas; definitely a place for everyone over level 80.
The Drakos and Necromancers at the beginning can be approached even below level 80, with a medium-high buff/equip setup. You can start with the wider spots where killing is safer, and then gradually go to the tighter spots with high spawn rate, but don't be fooled by the abundance of mobs and watch for the overspawns.
If you have a small group or even a bigger one but a medium setup, you can try the Gem Dragons. These mobs are not designed for solo as they have high damage and use paralyze so make sure you are prepared for it by having a bishop or abundant heals. Notice at the beginning there are few alone mobs that you can test your setup with. Such "test" mobs can be found in most DV areas. Once your party can handle more than two, try the groups. You don't need an optimal party to hunt them, just make sure someone is able to tank, kill, debuff and heal.
The same applies to the Scorpions in the center and the Drakos Guardians in North. From now you should better make use of the Soul Separator NPC to move through DV. As the Gems, Scorps have high damage but are very weak to debuffs and you should take advantage of that with sleep, root, stun.
You are a tank and face a 3-mob group, how to engage it? Hate one, notice the hated mob will move slower, take advantage of those few seconds of no-damage and shackle another mob. The shackle is short but just enough to take out the damage until you kill a mob. You fight two mobs, stun one mob and hit the other, you can use and Alt+Numbers to access second bar for faster shortcuts like NextTarget. After stun and changed target very fast, use a damage skill instead of Attack to avoid retaking the previous target. If your tank is pulling by entering in agro range in order to avoid picking more mobs than necessary, make sure party doesn't hit mobs before tank will agro the whole group by hate/attack. An EE or bishop in party can clean the Scorps' Deadly poison, else you might find yourself waiting minutes for it to wear off.
Keep a Spoiler in party all over DV for Morale Boost, it works even if spoiler isn't near the party. The level will increase as rare classes are invited, like Dwarves, summoners and Kamaels. Apart from an increased income, the spoiler will also ensure party has enough Mana, as mobs spoil Mana herbs. Don't panic if the ground shakes! Open your eyes around and look for the stampede, the finest drops, spoils and XP will please you.
The beauty of DV is that both mages and fighters can hunt in the same party as mobs are evenly resistant. For mage exclusive parties it's recommended to kill the southern area with Leeches and Drakes. Some mages bubble alone the tight groups of leeches. There is even an undead spot in North for solo healers. Weapon element can also decide which spot to choose.
If you want a full party challenge, enter the Lair, but say goodbye to Mana herbs and Morale buff and take a recharger with you. Shadow will help you to move around more quickly but watch for Plandos, I mean Snipers, and Knoriks. Keep robes far from Knoriks during fight as he decreases the casting speed and just like with the other Patrols, don't forget to spoil him! Your noble armor will be ready sooner.
At the Bridge you will find a marathon of mobs circled like a sushi bar. Pick cautiously the Leaders, they are the only aggressive but don't hate them until they are far from the pack, their party will follow. Take out rangers and mages first and root/sleep the warriors. At the end, your elders should pick the Mana herbs, they are valuable.
In the other side of LoA, Guardians block the way to the old noblesse port. Pick them one by one with lure or simple pulls and use party assisting because the mobs have abundant HP and damage. The mages spam a petrify skill, so you should silence or keep them stunned. Avoid using Fear skill as it might pull you into the whole pack.
Passing the Guardians, the "money room" awaits filled with new Kariks. Here is the spot for top parties in term of classes, equipment, skills and tactics. Shadow will no longer help and any other class than a good healed tank will not survive the Kariks' constant hits. Don't rely on your debuffs here, raise awareness for spawns, especially for multispawns, when one monster can summon a new group after dying. When this happens, tank should UD immediately and hold the agro, meanwhile nukers should use bubble and AoE spells.
Make use of all the little tricks. Notice that mobs pulled a certain range farther than their spawn spot will get healed and retreat, be aware not to follow or hit them then. Also the mobs are agro only to those entering their agro area, which means if you are already there, you aren't agro. For example if a mob spawns near you it will not attack you, or if you receive a resurrection near a mob, you can go up and not be attacked.
As with any mob, the more you fight them the more you learn about them. Every death of yours counts to your experience for that area, so don't stop your curiosity to try new setups and tactics. Whether you're fighting Drakos, Scorps or Kariks, most of what you'll learn will be by testing yourself.
Level Range: No Need for Double XP to Double Your Level! by Abricottes of Naia
I) Introduction
Hello dear readers, I come today with a guide about leveling, and especially leveling from level 20 to level 40.
Why do I focus on this level range? It's because having level 40 characters is easy to do and useful, even for high level and skilled characters. I already think about two uses:
- Have one more character with a Wondrous Cubic. The Wondrous Cubic will give you each day a Cubic piece, and there is a chance to get some Cubics for Blessed Enchant Armor S/Blessed Enchant Weapon S, which are worth it.
- It could help your clan to get some Clan Reputation Points. A toon which levels from level 16 (or before) to level 40 in Academy is worth 650 Clan Reputation points (CRP). 650 CRP is like killing 650 enemies and it's not so far from a clan member being hero (+1000 points). In short, it is worth it.
- Third reason I just thought about: You are a new player and you want to maximize your XP time. If so, welcome in the world of Lineage II!
II) About your equipment
Ok, here we go. You just finished your class change quest, and you have some money to spare in a new Grade, D grade items.
All classes will need a set of jewels. Go to the Giran Jewelry shop and buy a set of common items - Elven jewels.
If you are a mage class get a Devotion Set (Devotion Tunic, Devotion Stockings, Leather Helmet, available in most of armor shops) and the best common gloves/boots you could find in the Giran Armor Shop (Check the one with the more P. Def). As weapon, get a Common Item - Staff of Life at the Giran Weapon Shop. Don't forget to get some Blessed Spirit Shots - D Grade.
If you are a warrior / tank class get a common Brigandine Set. If you could afford it, buy the full set with regular items. The bonus is one of the best ones. As weapon, take the best D common weapon your class needs, usually I go for a Spell Breaker and a shield for whatever class. I listed in this category the Orc Shaman since melee is the fastest way to XP them.
For all others classes (rogues, aka light armor users) just get the common light armor with the best P.Def existing, and the best common D weapon corresponding to your class (dagger for daggers, fists for Monks, rapier for Kamaels ...).
You could use this stuff until level 40, and you will not need anything except the following:
- If you are a fighter, it's a good investment to buy the best D Grade pole after level 30.
- If you have enough money and you are a fighter, go get a regular Brigandine set before you hit level 35 (you would waste your own Adena for almost nothing).
III) XP Locations
I'll here do a compendium of the best XP locations, with some details about each one.
a) Abandoned Camp: Good place for nukers from 20 to 24. XP is good, mobs are killed with two skills. They respawn quite fast, and they drop herbs.
b) Partisan Hideway: Good place for melee chars, until 25/26. Herbs, good XP, no hard mobs and some mobs are in group, it gives a nice XP bonus.
c) Cruma Marshlands: One of the places where you may spend a lot of time. You could start by killing the Ghosts and the leeches until you get to level 28, and then do some tries on the Stakatos, the spiders and the toads. It's really efficient for both melees and mystics.
d) Ant Nest: It's THE place to be from level 30 if you are a nuker. Just nuke, nuke, nuke, nuke, and each 42 nukes, stop to nuke a mob. It's easy, monster respawn is insane, and XP is insane so.
If you are a melee, you could do the same OR get a polearm and do some AoE. Don't forget that if you don't have any Pole Mastery, you won't hit more than 4 targets. Any room is good for AoE before the bridge leading to the deeper spot of Ant Nest (where the Ant Queen is). To say it easy: when you see some Noble Ant or Noble Ant leader, avoid them. Pole, pole, pole, and pole is the way to go.
e) Special - For Healers and Oracles: Healers and Oracles could have some issues to XP in the last zones, since they could only kill undead. I think the best set up for you is:
- Ruins of Agony from level 20 to 25
- Execution Ground from level 25 to 32
- Graverobber Hideout from level 32 to 35
- After level 35, it'll be faster to do the class change quest honestly.
IV) After level 35
When you reach the level 35, you could have two choices:
- Do the three class change quests, and get a bit more than 1 million in Adena from the quest rewards (and the Dimensional diamonds to sell). Those quests will give you enough XP to get to level 40.
- Skip those quests, level to level 39 and do the quest "Good Work's Reward". This quest allows you to avoid the three long and painful quests but you need to pay 3m Adena to do it. This quest will not give you any interesting XP.
V) Conclusion
I don't really know how to conclude! I hope you will enjoy your 20-40 levels time as much as I do!
The following is what the contest page was before the winners list was posted.
There will be a first, second, and third place winner for each of the three topic categories.
Three (3) first place winners will receive the following items:
- One (1) Clean* Masterwork (if applicable) Weapon of up to S84-grade of the winner's choice (No retail value)
- One (1) Agathion Seal Bracelet - Blue-Robed Tojigong (No retail value)
- One (1) Graduation Cap (No retail value)
- Ten (10) Chocolate Cookies (No retail value)
Three (3) second place winners will receive the following items:
- One (1) Clean* Masterwork (if applicable) Weapon of up to S80-grade of the winner's choice (No retail value)
- One (1) Agathion Seal Bracelet - Blue-Robed Tojigong (No retail value)
- One (1) Graduation Cap (No retail value)
- Five (5) Chocolate Cookies (No retail value)
Three (3) third place winners will receive the following items:
- One (1) Clean* Masterwork (if applicable) Weapon of up to S-grade of the winner's choice (No retail value)
- One (1) Agathion Seal Bracelet - Blue-Robed Tojigong (No retail value)
- Three (3) Chocolate Cookies (No retail value)
*A "clean" weapon means it has does not have any attributes, enchantments or special abilities applied to it.
All participants who submit an eligible entry and do not win the above will receive a participation prize:
- Three (3) Chocolate Cookies (No retail value)
1. Pick a Category
The topic of your leveling guide must be in one and only one of the following categories of Lineage II gameplay. Although there may be some overlap between categories, your guide must clearly belong to one of these categories.
- Class Type: Your leveling guide is suited only to one class or class type. Examples include Bladedancers or Healers. You can mention what zones are best suited to the level ranges of the class you are writing about, but your guide should focus on how to play the class itself: explain the best skills to use in what order and in different situations, and what kind of equipment and items are most useful to the class.
- Zone: Your leveling guide refers to a particular hunting area or dungeon. You can include other areas only if they are adjacent to that area or dungeon and are in the same region. Examples include the Goddard area, Catacombs, or Monastery of Silence. You can say what character level range is appropriate for the zone, but your guide must focus on the zone itself. Include tips such as how to navigate to or through the zone safely and what kinds of monsters are found there and their weaknesses.
- Level Range: Your leveling guide is suited to one particular level range. Examples include leveling from D-grade to B-grade, getting the most XP at levels 80+, or playing levels 84-85. This guide must be useful to all class types in that level range. You can mention what zones are best for parties or for soloing, but your guide must focus on giving instructions for how to gain XP most efficiently at that level range regardless, of class or place.
2. Write Your Guide
Write your leveling guide within the following parameters:
- Your guide must be between 500 and 1,000 words long.
- Your guide must be written in full sentences, in paragraph form, and in English.
- Your guide must have a title, preferably one that includes the topic.
- You may provide one screenshot or image to help explain something in the guide. If you include an image, it must be no larger than 1024x768.
- The leveling guide you submit must be an original work. You are not expected to have tips that have never been thought of before. However, the text you submit must be in your own words and based on your own experiences.
3. Submit Your Entry
Only one leveling guide entry per person.
The entry period begins at 00:00 a.m. (PDT) on Thursday, August 18, 2011. Entries must be received by 11:59 p.m. (PDT) on Wednesday, August 31, 2011. When an entry is submitted, the entrant will be notified whether the entry is eligible or not. If an entry is ineligible, the entrant will be notified about the entry is ineligible. If this happens, the entrant may correct and resubmit the entry before the entry period closes. No adjustments or changes to ineligible entries will be accepted after the entry period closes. Entries must be emailed to l2submissions@ncsoft.com and must include:
- This subject heading: "Lineage II Words of the Wise Contest."
- The name of the category: Class Type, Zone, or Level Range.
- The title of the leveling guide.
- Your first and last names (both real-life names).
- Your Lineage II character name and server name. This character name will be the character that receives the prizes if you win. Only one character can receive the prizes.
- Your Lineage II account name.
- Your age.
- Your email address.
- Your telephone number. (We will only use this if we cannot contact you by email regarding this contest.)
- Your full street address, including city, state/province, country, and postal code.
- This paragraph pasted into the body of the email: "If I am a winner, I permit NC Interactive, Inc. and NCsoft Europe Limited to use my name, likeness, photograph, hometown and any comments which I may make about myself and/or this Contest that I may provide for advertising and promotional purposes. By submitting an entry to this Contest, I accept and agree to be bound by the Lineage II Words of the Wise Contest Official Rules and Conditions as displayed on the Lineage II website."
- A Word (.doc) or text (.txt) document that is your leveling guide. Leveling guides submitted in any other file format or as text in the body of your entry email are not eligible.
- If applicable, the image you are including with your leveling guide. The image file must be in JPEG format.
- Read the Lineage II Words of the Wise Contest Official Rules and Conditions. Submissions must follow the entry format described above and in the official rules and conditions. A submission that does not follow the entry format will not be considered eligible.
- Entrants must comply with the rules and conditions described in the Lineage II Words of the Wise Contest Official Rules and Conditions.
The selection process is split into three stages.
- We verify eligibility of all submitted entries. All eligible entries must have:
- The proper information in the email.
- The unique leveling guide you've written, within the word limit and inside a .doc or .txt file.
- If applicable, the image you're including with your leveling guide, in JPEG format and no larger than 1024x768.
- The proper information in the email.
- All of the eligible entries in each category will be read by staff. If there are more than 10 entries in a category, the staff will read, assess, and select the best 10 entries of that category to continue to the next stage. If there are 10 or fewer entries in a category, all of the entries will continue to the next stage. Staff may correct typos, spelling errors, and grammar mistakes.
- All of the entries will be posted on the Official Lineage II Forums in poll threads, so that fellow players can judge the entries and vote on the winners.
- There will be three poll threads, one for each of the three categories. Each poll will ask "Choose the best guide in X category." All of the entries for each category will be posted in its respective thread. The titles of the entries will be listed as answer options in the poll question. The identities of the authors will not be revealed in the poll threads.
- The poll threads will be open for voting for one week, from Friday, September 2 to Friday, September 9, 2011.
- To vote, a player must have an active Lineage II game account and a forum account on the Official Lineage II Forums. Votes made by players with trial game accounts will not be included, and they will be pruned out of the voting numbers throughout the judgment week.
- Voters will be asked to read the entries in each category and judge them. Winning entries should be the most accurate, the most helpful, and the best written. Voters will choose the guide they think is the best for each of the three categories and submit their votes by answering the polls accordingly.
- The forum name of a person voting in the polls will not be seen by other users.
- When the judging period closes, the poll results will determine the nine winners. The guides with the most votes in each category become the 1st place winners. The two runner-ups in each category will become the 2nd and 3rd place winners according to their vote numbers. The winners will be notified by email. The winning guides will be posted on the contest event page.
- There will be three poll threads, one for each of the three categories. Each poll will ask "Choose the best guide in X category." All of the entries for each category will be posted in its respective thread. The titles of the entries will be listed as answer options in the poll question. The identities of the authors will not be revealed in the poll threads.
Submissions are open to any Lineage II player who meets the following criteria:
- Is 13 years of age or older by August 18, 2011.
- Has an active Lineage II account. (Players with trial accounts or inactive accounts are not eligible to enter this contest.)
- Has Internet access, an email account, and access to a personal computer.
- Is a legal resident of the United States*, Canada**, or the European Union.
**Residents of Quebec are not eligible to enter this contest.
By submitting an entry to this contest, you accept and agree to be bound by the Lineage II Words of the Wise Contest Official Rules and Conditions.
Review the Lineage II Words of the Wise Contest Official Rules and Conditions for further information.
If you are a winner, you permit NC Interactive, Inc. and NCsoft Europe Limited to use your name, likeness, photograph, hometown, and any comments that you may make about yourself or this contest that you provide for advertising and promotional activities.
For further questions regarding this contest, please visit the contest thread on the Official Lineage II Forums.
