by Siegfried. Mon Sep 17, 2012 7:46 amSo, the new arena means that PC players are making their characters with multiples of SL50 in mind, meaning that the three "must be" levels for each major tier are going to be 50, 100 and 150. The latter two are obvious; the alterations from SL120 can be pretty minor. SL50, on the other hand, is a bit more of a challenge. Here are a few builds that try not to go for the obvious combination of high vitality, endurance and elemental weapons. Add your own, comment, whatever floats your boat.
Dragonslayer Knight
The idea behind this build is to get some use out of the Dragonslayer Spear at SL50. While the Knight class is less efficient than a couple of other classes by a single point (as usually seems to be the case), it doesn't really make a whole lot of difference and I think the theme lines up nicely anyway. While this build obviously has to watch out for its low poise, it has a strong offense and good range, although it'll have to be using the Dragonslayer Spear in two hands. I suspect that to be successful with this build, a player will have to hinge on offensive dodges with recovery attacks or use narrow areas to best take advantage of the spear. Fragile and difficult to use, but it has an awesome weapon and keeps true to a theme.
The Schwarzenegger
I think strength builds will be a good choice for those who don't want to use elemental weapons, since everyone can get the +50% strength modifier at a moment's notice. So this build takes advantage of that, using the well-balanced Wanderer's set, the Wolf Ring and a zweihander. There's not much to say, really, since this is basically a parred-down quality build for zweihander users towards the beginning of a run through the game's content. Float like a butterfly, sting like a bear. A bear with a great big bloody sword.
We are ninja, you are ninja!
The dexterity counterpart to the above, essentially. Same ring combination, but with the Shadow set, and uchigatana, winged spear and a good bow with poison arrows. Might be worth getting some poison throwing knives, too. One variation might be taking some points out elsewhere to give enough attunment for a spell, which could be used on Poison Mist to really milk the ninja theme. Keep the psychological pressure on with your nasty poison tricks and go in for the kill when your adversary's on the defensive -- pretty much how a ninja actually gets stuff done.
Pyroblade
Enough fast rollers, especially since this build takes advantage of the fact that the Pyromancy Flame can be at any level without soul level coming into it at all, making this a stupidly powerful build on the offense while still having decent poise and defense. You can attack quickly with the two combustion spells or hit more slowly for more stagger with the man-serpent greatsword. The lack of a weight restriction means we can use the Balder shield, too. This build also features the Cloranthy ring, meaning it never has to stay out of the fight.
Spellsword
While it's generally common wisdom that the Faith buffs are better than the Intelligence buffs, the requirements make them a bit restrictive for SL50 PvP, which is where I think the latter kind of buff might come into its own. Pretty simple stuff, and you'll easily be matching or exceeding elemental weapons as well. This build also has really good poise while still sporting decent defense. If you somehow run out of buffs, however, you're pretty much on your own.
Dragonslayer Knight
The idea behind this build is to get some use out of the Dragonslayer Spear at SL50. While the Knight class is less efficient than a couple of other classes by a single point (as usually seems to be the case), it doesn't really make a whole lot of difference and I think the theme lines up nicely anyway. While this build obviously has to watch out for its low poise, it has a strong offense and good range, although it'll have to be using the Dragonslayer Spear in two hands. I suspect that to be successful with this build, a player will have to hinge on offensive dodges with recovery attacks or use narrow areas to best take advantage of the spear. Fragile and difficult to use, but it has an awesome weapon and keeps true to a theme.
The Schwarzenegger
I think strength builds will be a good choice for those who don't want to use elemental weapons, since everyone can get the +50% strength modifier at a moment's notice. So this build takes advantage of that, using the well-balanced Wanderer's set, the Wolf Ring and a zweihander. There's not much to say, really, since this is basically a parred-down quality build for zweihander users towards the beginning of a run through the game's content. Float like a butterfly, sting like a bear. A bear with a great big bloody sword.
We are ninja, you are ninja!
The dexterity counterpart to the above, essentially. Same ring combination, but with the Shadow set, and uchigatana, winged spear and a good bow with poison arrows. Might be worth getting some poison throwing knives, too. One variation might be taking some points out elsewhere to give enough attunment for a spell, which could be used on Poison Mist to really milk the ninja theme. Keep the psychological pressure on with your nasty poison tricks and go in for the kill when your adversary's on the defensive -- pretty much how a ninja actually gets stuff done.
Pyroblade
Enough fast rollers, especially since this build takes advantage of the fact that the Pyromancy Flame can be at any level without soul level coming into it at all, making this a stupidly powerful build on the offense while still having decent poise and defense. You can attack quickly with the two combustion spells or hit more slowly for more stagger with the man-serpent greatsword. The lack of a weight restriction means we can use the Balder shield, too. This build also features the Cloranthy ring, meaning it never has to stay out of the fight.
Spellsword
While it's generally common wisdom that the Faith buffs are better than the Intelligence buffs, the requirements make them a bit restrictive for SL50 PvP, which is where I think the latter kind of buff might come into its own. Pretty simple stuff, and you'll easily be matching or exceeding elemental weapons as well. This build also has really good poise while still sporting decent defense. If you somehow run out of buffs, however, you're pretty much on your own.
