Chapter 9 is difficult but it’s gd cause it makes you figure out how to really play the game
Sounds 2 me like ur relying on ur skell a bit 2 much maybe you should just lvl up a bit more. Try to stagger and topple as much as possible and debuffs really help as well.
Best way to power level is to find a data probe to fast travel to that has high level enemies there. I used probe 315 on Oblivia and kept traveling south down the narrow canyon where the large insectoid things are. There are two level 44-45ish fuckers right there when you spawn in and you can aggro one at a time. Then keep going down the path and some giant tarantulas will drop down that you can engage one at a time. Once you fight them all, fast travel back to the prone and everything respawns.
This is a great way to boost to level 40 because of the exp scaling if you are in your 20s and 30s. Also, equip a different class because you get class rank exp while in your skell.
For levels 40-50, I grinded at the easten most data probe in Oblivia, below the prone base. You spawn in down below on a narrow beach and you can engage some level 55-56ish mechs one at a time. You’ll want everyone in a skell and to have at least one G Buster for this, but it’s a pretty quick way to boost to 50 from 40, and you can farm some level 50 skell gear that those mechs drop. I did all of this with four level 30 skells and got to level 55 pretty quick.
Part of it does have to do with being underlevelled (I’m 32, Elma/Lin are 30, and my best 4th is only 25), while I’m dealing with shit that’s L34.
Really, though, Duelist is proving to be a really underwhelming class, mostly due to the fact AR is… kinda shitty. Meanwhile I got a friend of mine playing this in tandem that will probably laugh at this at L31, considering he went down the beamlord path (aka Psychocorruptor). All he has to do is put in the 10 seconds to get his secondary charges and have the TP ready to pop off OD into laser death, it’ll be over. Dude’s alpha strike was over 100k by L24. :bluu:
If you’re a Duelist, go full Melee. It’s probably the best class in the game because of the damage output it has in addition to infinite overdrive.
Yeah, right now I am a rank 7 Duelist, so I’m kinda stuck with Sword/AR, so I basically have a nearly-dead half set that I use almost exclusively for Soul Voices. My plan is now to go down Enforcer path to get the raygun and come back, or maybe just STAY there, if my friend’s time is any indication.
…infinite overdrive? 
I did enforcer path first to galactic knight. Now I’m doing the first path just so I can use ARs with it, lol.
…why?
Like, seriously, what is good about AR other than a melee attack that has a high chance of topple?
I just like them better, more dps for auto attack. I have my character built to max damage from the photon saber. I want that topple art that doesn’t use TP.
I’ve found AR’s auto-attack to be incredibly underwhelming. It’s a damn peashooter. Yeah, 20-30 shots, but unless you crit on a secondary-charged art like Furious Blast, the shit plinks for single-digit (or at best, low double-digit) damage per shot. And then there’s the cooldown on it. Compare that to the raygun and sniper rifle, which both kinda shit all over the AR in every way, even auto-attack damage output.
And then its arts in general… holy christ they’re mediocre AND have terrible cooldown. Maybe those quest-prereq arts make up for it, but having access to the lot of ‘em sans flippin’ Last Stand… the whole line is really bad aside from Assault Hammer.
I feel the same way about the psycho launchers, as being underwhelming for auto attacks. Each attack might hit more, but you only get six shots. I have a build geared more towards melee and I like the arts, specifically the one that causes topple, that you get with the ARs. Once that is charged and used on a staggered enemy, then I can chain my melee combos with the photon saber for some serious dps.
I plan on eventually unlocking all combinations, but right now that’s the path I’m going to try out. My skills play into this too, with the bonuses to melee combos.
Ok, that’s one thing I haven’t entirely grasped. Maybe I’m missin’ something huge, but I don’t exactly understand what consitutes a “combo” in this game.
Combos happen when you use specific art styles consecutively (melee, beam, aura,). For example, I have three melee arts lined up for my Photon saber, and they have inherent bonuses for using in combos, plus those granted by my skills. Bonuses include reduced cooldowns, bigger damage, higher crit rate, ect.
To activate the combo, start with one art. Then use another of the same type within a few seconds after. I’m not sure what the time allowance is, but I believe the opportunity to chain an attack is visually indicated by the available arts being encircled by some kind of pulsing light (not the same as the flash indicating using a soul voice- and I’d have to double check but I think it’s like a blue circle around the art or something, but I could be wrong). Either way, if the combo is successful, the damage will be displayed in big font with the flashy cartoon bubble thingy behind it.
That’s why I want that topple melee art from the AR. If I let that thing charge up and my three other melee arts get to second tier charged, then I think I could do some insane damage.
I’m still learning this shit, too man. It seems there is a lot of depth to the battle system and arts and skills, and finding good combinations for max dps.
Oh yeah, and then there are skells and all their weapons which I’ve barely scratched the surface on understanding. And I’m almost at the level cap, lol.
@Iduno and @Eskills could probably explain all this better since they’re pretty much wrecking all kinds of shit in this game.
Ok, so it’s just same-type art chaining. Wasn’t sure, but that’s what I figured. I’m guessing that in a given chain, the bonus grows for each link in the chain? Meaning, for example, a 3 link chain that gets a 100% bonus for combo damage would do 100% (aka 2x), 300% (4x), then 700% (8x)? Or 100% (2x), 200% (3x), 300% (4x)?
You know, I’m not sure about that. I’d like to think so, though.
I ask mostly ‘cause the first example is how the stacking is working for my friend’s raygun setup, and is a large part of how he’s busting out so much damage. He’s runnin’ around with about 7600 TP, potential up the ass, an ether raygun, and all arts/skills that award bonuses to ether damage. It was this reason he ho-hummed over Skells when he got the first one, and is a large reason why he still prefers to treat the thing as merely a mount, 'cause he feels it’s a nerf.
You built it in a way that prolongs Overdrive indefinitely.
You can also watch the video I posted at the top of the page to see how good the Longsword can be.
Huh.
That looks incredibly tedious. Wonder if that can be done in a raygun setup…
Not really… Once you know what you’re doing, it’s all about keeping up a rhythm or rotation. Idk about Rayguns, but look for TP boosting Arts and Skills.
I just meant how long he had to do that for to kill that thing. I mean, it was a big guy, but it was at level parity.
He was bullshitting around. A better build would’ve had that thing dead in seconds.