chaose5's In-depth Analysis on Prefix Effect II: Armor

IMPORTANT NOTE: Due to recent tweak in armor suffix in cDN, the following analysis is no longer valid. But , I think it might still working in Dragon Nest SEA. Read this guide at your own risk.

INTRODUCTION

In the second part of the guide, the prefix effect for armor will be discussed. Unlike weapon, armor effect has a cooldown after its activation. Agan, i will only focus on effect which is useful in PVE. PVP-oriented prefix effect will not be looked into at the moment.

Refer to PART I of the guide for prefix effect of weapon.
In-depth Analysis on Prefix Effect I: Weapon

LIFE PREFIX ARMOR

The most popular prefix for armor is the Life prefix: there is a chance to recover a certain amount of HP when you are hit. The reason for its popularity is the cooldown for the activation is the shortest: 5sec.

The amount % HP recovery varies with armor type and class. 4 parts of Life armor parts (no life prefix for helm) give a total of 3.1% HP recovery for cleric, 4.0% for warrior, 6.6% for sorceress and archer. The % Hp recovery will be increased when the armor is enchanted beyond +8. For example, the basic Hp recovery for cleric life armor is 1.05%, after +8, the Hp recovery becomes 1.15% (approximately 10% increase).

IRON WALL & CURTAIN PREFIX ARMOR

It was recently discovered that iron wall (sturdy in DN NA) and curtain (adorned in DN NA) prefix effect were mistranslated. Instead of reducing damage received BY 25%, the iron wall and curtain prefix has a chance of reducing phy or mag damage received TO 25%.

[ 25th AUG KR update: the iron wall / curtain prefix effect of reducing damage by 75% is confirmed to be a bug and was fixed. The guide will be update soon to account for the change ]

While the chance of activation is the same as life, the main reason that most players stay away from those 2 prefixes is the long cooldown. For example, the activation cooldown for iron wall/curtain prefix armor and pants is 2min 5sec. The cooldown will be reduced by roughly 15% if you manage to +8 the armor.

Despite the long cooldown, can the iron wall and curtain prefix armor be more effective than the life prefix armor?

To answer this question, first we need to understand that, HP recovery effect of the life prefix is also a form of damage reduction. So the damage reduction effect from iron wall/curtain prefix effect can actually be compared with life prefix quantitatively.

COMBINATION AND ACTIVATION CHANCE

I have categorized the armor parts according to their activation chance: 25% High (H) chance armor (shirt, pant and helm) and 12.4% Low (L) chance armor (glove and shoe). Fortunately, the activation chance for Life, iron wall, curtain and intelligence prefix are all similar for a particular armor parts. Table I shows the activation chance for all possible combinations of High chance and Low chance armor.

Table I: Armor parts combinations and their activation chance


Life Prefix Combination

This is where things get very interesting. For Life prefix, you would want to equip as many as possible parts (max 4 parts, because life prefix helm doesn’t exist) to increase the chance of activation.

The combination that gives you the highest chance of HP recovery activation is H+H+L+L (shirt, pants, glove, shoe) , which offers 41% for one part to activate, 13.8% for two parts to activate, 1.9% for 3 parts to activate and 0.1 % for all 4 parts upon receiving the first hit. This means there is a total of 56.8% (1 in every 1~2 hits) of chance to activate at least one part and heal your HP upon receiving the first hit. If more than 1 part activate, the % HP recovery will be higher of course (or you can say that those HP recovery effect stacks). Since the cooldown is merely 5sec, you would expect the effect to trigger quite often.

However, remember that you need to get HIT to trigger the Hp recovery effect. That means while trying to recover HP, you might actually lose more HP if you receive higher damage than the HP recovery amount. This is especially true because the Hp recovery amount is actually very low for individual part.

Iron wall / Curtain Prefix Combination

On the other hand, we have Iron Wall and Curtain prefixes which have very high damage reduction, up to 75%. However, the cooldowns are 1min 40sec (helm), 2min 5sec (shirt and pants) and 2min 55sec (shoe and glove).

Once the damage reduction effect activates, a buff stays on your character for certain duration: 3sec for helm/glove/ shoe and 6 sec for shirt/pants. The buff is very useful because it protects you from further life-threatening combo from bosses, for example the 3-hit earthquake punch of archbishop or the2-hit raise-leg chasing stomp of Monta in sea dragon nest.

The chances of activation for Curtain/Iron wall prefix parts are the same as the corresponding life parts. However, you can wear up to all 5 parts of curtain/iron wall prefix armor parts. This gives you a 67.6% chance to activate the damage reduction effect.

However, the % damage reduction in Dragon Nest is capped at 80% only. Let say, you receive a 30% damage reduction buff from a priest and the 75% damage reduction buff from Iron wall prefix. The total damage reduction from phy. damage should be 30%+75% > 100%. In theory, you should receive 0 damage. However, due to the 80% damage reduction cap, you will still receive 20% of the damage. Even if 2 parts of the iron wall prefix activate upon hit, you will only get a maximum of 80% max damage reduction. The second part which activates can be considered as wasted.

To avoid this problem, it is not advisable to wear a full set of iron wall armor or a full set of curtain armor unless you want extreme protection from phy or mag damage. Take a close look at Table I. What we want is a combination which gives us:

* the highest possible 1 part activation
* low chance possible 2 or more part activation
* low chance for 0 part activation.

3 parts and 4 parts combinations give very good chance for 1 part activation. However, 4 parts tend to have higher chance for 2 or more part activation (wasted activation). On the other hand, 3 parts have higher chance for 0 part activation (no damage reduction triggered). I can’t tell you exactly which combination is the best, but the choice will largely depend on how safe you want to be and how often you willing to waste some of the activations.

DAMAGE REDUCTION per MINUTE (DRM)

After understanding both the properties for life and iron wall/curtain prefix effects, it is finally time to compare the damage reduction effect. I will define an important determining parameter called Damage Reduction per Minute (DRM).

DRM is introduced to take into consideration the long cooldown effect for the iron wall/curtain and intelligence prefix effect. In other words, DRM allows you to spread the damage reduction over time, even if it is just activated once over a long cooldown period and tell you how much damage you can reduce per minute.

For simplicity, I will only compare Life prefix and Iron wall prefix for A rank sorceress armor. Intelligence and Curtain prefix or other classes gears follows more or less the same argument. Also, the comparison is done by assuming you are wearing only one piece of armor and no combination effect.

Life – High (H) chance part: When being hit, 25% of chance to recover 2.25% of Max HP. CD 5sec.
Life – Low (H) chance part: When being hit, 12.4% of chance to recover 1.05% of Max HP. CD 5sec
Iron wall – High (H) chance part: When being hit, 25% of chance to reduce phy damage to 25%. CD 2min 5sec.
Iron Wall – Low (H) chance part: When being hit, 12.4% of chance to reduce phy damage to 25%. CD 2min 55sec.

High chance parts refer to shirt and pants. Helm is not included in the comparison because there is no life prefix helm, though there is iron wall helm. Low chance parts refer to shoes and glove.

3 important factors that affect the efficiency of damage reduction have been identified:
* Max HP
* Damage received per hit
* Frequency of you receiving hit (number of hits received per minute).

The changes of DRM under the variation of the 3 factors are shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1 : The effect of (a) Max HP (b) Damage received per hit and (c) Number of hit received per minute on damage reduction per minute for Life and Iron wall prefix armor

Max HP
Refer to Fig. 1(a)

DRM for Life prefix armor increases with higher Max HP.
DRM for Iron wall prefix armor is constant regardless of Max HP.

Assuming the char is receving 6 Hit per minute, each hit deals 10,000 damage,
H: Life is better than Iron wall if your max HP > 110,000
L: Life is better than Iron wall if your max HP > 300,000

Interpretation: It is very clear that the life prefix efficiency is closely tied to the Max HP of the char because it heals a percentage of the Max HP. You will get higher healing amount if your Max HP is higher. Otherwise, if you have low HP, iron wall would be much more efficient. Also note, Life glove and shoe are very inefficient as compared to Iron wall glove and boots. Typically, you will need extremely high amount of HP to make the Life glove and shoe worthwhile.

Damage Received per Hit:
Refer to Fig. 1(b)

DRM for Life prefix armor is constant regardless of the damage received per hit.
DRM for Iron wall prefix armor increases with higher damage received per hit.

Assuming the char has 60,000HP and is receiving 6 hits per minute,
H: Iron wall is better than Life if the damage received per hit > 6000
L: Iron wall is better than Life if the damage received per hit > 2000

Interpretation: The efficiency of Iron wall prefix increases with higher damage received per hit. Life prefix is only good if the damage deal to you is low. In other words, you will need to have high defence or when the monster deals low damage to you to make good use of the Life prefix. On the other hand, iron wall will protect you from receiving heavy damage if it triggers at the right time, since it reduces a hefty 75% of the damage.

Number of Hits Received per Minute
This basically refers to the frequency of you getting hit. Refer to Fig. 1(c).

DRM for Life prefix armor increases with higher number of hits received per minute.
DRM for Iron wall prefix armor is constant regardless of numbers of hits receive per minute (provided that the frequency exceed a certain minimum threshold).

Assuming the char has 60,000HP and each hit deals 10,000 damage,
H: Life is better than Iron wall if the number of hits received per minute > 11
L: Life is better than Iron wall if the number of hits received per minute > 31

Interpretation: Life prefix is good only if you are getting hit very often. Having said that, if your defence or Max HP is high enough, receiving as much as 11 or more hits per minute in a high difficulty nest is simply suicidal. Unless you are a tanker, who use block and various invincible skills most of the time (which doesn’t even trigger the life prefix!) while getting hit, most skilled player will not get hit at such a high frequency in normal nest. If you rarely get hit, using iron wall prefix would generally be more efficient.

Conclusion:

* If you have high max Hp, Life is more efficient; if you have low max HP, Iron wall is more efficient.

* If you receive low damage (high defence), Life is more efficient; if you receive high damage (low defence), Iron wall is more efficient.

* If you get hit very often, Life is more efficient; if you seldom get hit, Iron wall is more efficient.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
Iron / Curtain prefix has a very serious flaw: it reduces either phy. or mag. damage. It is absolutely possible for magic attack to trigger the iron wall prefix effect or physical attack to trigger the curtain prefix; the effect will be wasted.

Life prefix on the other hand, reduces both physical and magical damage indirectly by healing your hp. Do consider that factor too when choosing which prefix you want to add to your armor.

INTELLIGENCE PREFIX ARMOR

While intelligence prefix offers low damage reduction as compared to Iron wall and Curtain, it adds a more useful stats: Int which gives you more m.att, MP, and mag defence. It also has slightly shorter cd as compared to Iron wall and Curtain (1min 40 sec for shirt+ pants, 1min15sec for helm, 2min 5sec for shoe)

It also protects you from both phy. and mag. damage, but only if it is ELEMENTAL (we rarely see elemental phy attack though). Since the effect gives 20% elemental resist, you will be seeing 20% damage reduction from elemental attack.

An important feature of intelligence prefix is that the effect stacks effectively with other damage reduction buff because elemental resist is calculated separately from other damage reduction %.

Damage received= base damage received x (1-% damage reduction) x (1-% elemental resist)

While the % damage reduction is cap at 80%, % elemental resist has no known cap (probably it is 100%). This means it will give additional damage reduction on top of other buff or iron wall/curtain buff effect, to further reduce the elemental damage received.
Some deadly elemental damage skills in Sea Dragon Nest (SDN) are Ring of Fire/Fire Charging by Lava Golem, AOE lighting and ice rain from the lizard brothers, Monta Poison Field and Sea Dragon’s Breath/Ice Claw/Ice flower.

Sea Dragon Breath and Prefix Buff
Sea Dragon Breath dispels all buffs from you, including prefix effect buffs. However, the damage for first hit of the attack will be reduced by the buffs, while subsequent hits from breath will deal full damage to you.

There are two category of dragon breath:
Single Hit type: Swoop (Linear) Dragon Breath , Fan-shaped (Frontal) Dragon Breath
Multi-hit type: Rotating Dragon Breath, Side Dragon Breath
Prefix-triggered elemental resist, or any other prefix buff will be good against the single hit type while almost useless against the multi-hit type. Unfortunately, the single hit type of dragon breath is very easy to dodge; the multi-hit type is much more deadly.

BONUS BASE STATS FOR ARMOR PREFIX

Table II shows the base stats for various 50A armor prefix. It briefly tells you what is the trade-off for choosing a certain prefix over other prefixes. Again only the stats that shows the meaning of the prefix are listed. Some prefixes give you additional stats on top of the one listed here.

Table II: Bonus stats for 50A armors with variuos prefixes (not up to date)


EXAMPLES OF ARMOR COMBINATION

Below are just examples of possible combinations and the outcome that you will get from the combinations. They are not listed because of superiority as compared to other combinations. It's purely for illustration purpose.

Combination 1:
Iron wall: Helm, Glove, Shoe
Life: Pants, Shirt
Effect: 42.4% chance to reduce phy damage to 75%~80%. 43.7% chance to heal HP.
Pros: Good protection from phy damage. Medium HP healing capability.
Cons: Weak against magical damage.
* Suitable for mages, archer or any class which is weak to physical damage and has high magical defence.

Combination 2:
Curtain: Helm, Glove, Shoe
Life: Pants, Shirt
Efffect: 42.4% chance to reduce mag damage to 75%~80%. 43.7% chance to heal HP.
Pros: Good protection from mag damage. Medium HP healing capability.
Cons: Weak against phy damage.
* Suitable for sword master, archer or any class which is weak to mag damage and has high phy defence.

Combination 3:
Int: Shirt, Helm
Iron wall: Pants, Glove, Shoe
Effect: 42.4% chance reduce phy damage to 75%~80%. 43.7% to reduce elemental damage by 20%~40%.
Pros: Good protection from phy. damage. Medium protection from elemental damage.
Cons: No HP healing capability.
* Suitable for dungeons with high phy damage and medium elemental damage.

Combination 4:
Int: Shirt
Iron Wall: Pants, Helm
Curtain: Glove, Shoe
Effect: 20% chance to reduce elemental damage by 20%, 43.7% chance reduce phy damage to 75%~80%. 23.3% to reduce magical damage by 75%~80%.
Pros: Good protection from phy. damage. Small protection from mag. damage. Additional elemental protection on top of the iron wall and curtain prefix.
Cons: No HP healing capability.
* Suitable for dungeons with high elemental mag. and phy damage.

Combination 5:
Life: Shirt, Pant, Glove, Shoe
Helm: Int
Effect: 56.8% chance to heal HP. 20% of chance to reduce elemental damage by 20%
Pros: Highest chance to recover HP. Small protection against elemental damage.
Cons: Susceptible to high damage skills.
* Suitable for high hp and high phy+mag def character (normally paladin/priest), or char with various damage reduction skill/buff (mercenary) who rarely receive life-threatening high damage skills. This is actually one of the mainstream combination and probably one of the most popular combination now.

Reference:
http://bbs.duowan.com/thread-20017607-1-3.html


Credits :
chaose5 from MMOsite.com

chaose5's In-depth Analysis on Prefix Effect I: Weapon

INTRODUCTION

A new prefix system for armors and weapons was introduced since the lvl50 cap opens. This article will present an in-depth analysis on the prefix effect of armor and weapon.

I will only emphasis on the prefixes which are important in PVE. There are some prefixes which can be very useful in PVP, but I will not touch on them in this article, at least for the time being.

NOTE: Actually to be precise, this new system should be called the "Suffix System" instead of "Prefix System" because the words showing the nature of the weapon is attached at the back of the weapon name. The old system has the properties shown at the front, hence named the "Prefix" of the weapon/armor. The name kinda sticks till now, and "prefix" is still widely used. We will stick to the word "prefix" for now.

What does Prefix offer?

Prefixes not only grant the weapon or armor some additional BASE STATS, but also give them special effect which has a chance to trigger when you are being hit (for armor) or when your NORMAL ATTACK hits a target (for weapon).

Unfortunately, prefix effect on weapon WILL NOT activate when you are using SKILLS to deal damage, except for some skills such as Extension Arrow, Ice Spear and Manticore’s Gravity Ball which are widely considered as a bug.

The ENCHANTMENT BONUS STATS for weapon and armor are NOT related to the type of prefix imbued. For example, a +10 Life weapon give the same enchantment bonus physical attack as a +10 Destructive weapon.

The additional stats for prefixes only come in the form of BASE STATS for the weapon/armor, which will not grow with higher enchantment level. For example, a Destructive weapon has higher base attack as compared to a Life weapon.

WEAPON PREFIX EFFECT FOR PVE

The popular and useful prefixes in PVE are destructive, magical, intelligence, wind and life prefixes.

To illustrate the effect of those prefixes, I list here, the prefix effect for a lv50A Bead.

Destructive: During normal attack, there is 18.6% of chance to deal 133.30% additional phy. damage.
Magical: During normal attack, there is 18.6% of chance to deal 133.30% additional mag. damage.
Intelligence: During normal attack, there is 12.4% of chance to deal 159.95% additional mag. damage and -10.70% elemental defence, this effect will last for 3.8sec.
Wind: During normal attack, there is 12.4% of chance to deal 120.00% additional phy. damage and 39.95% additional mag. damage, and -50.00% crit resist, this effect will last for 3.8sec.
Life: During normal attack, there is 10.0% of chance to recover 2.50% HP.

[ Note that, the above stats will differs depending on weapon type ]

TRIGGER EFFECT

Destructive/Magical

Rarely is there a build/class that relies on normal attack to increase their DPS. Therefore, attempting to normal attack and hoping to trigger the destructive and magical prefix effect might not be the best idea. However, sparingly normal attack and sometimes triggering the additional damage is not that bad. The % of triggering and the amount of damage differs depends on weapon type. I have categorized the main weapon into High (H) Chance, Medium (M) Chance and Low (L) Chance respectively (see the Table I). The % damage amplification also differs (will not list here, check blacksmith for details).

However, most players opt for destructive and magical weapon not because of the trigger effect, but for the base stats that those weapons offers. Details of base stats will be discussed later in the article.

Intelligence/Wind

Intelligence and Wind on the other hand, has similar additional damage triggering effect. However, it also comes with useful debuffs: elemental resist reduction.

For intelligence prefix, once the debuff activates, you will see black-heart surrounding the target. All elemental skills, even those from other party members will hence deal more damage. If you are carrying not one but two weapons or your team mates are carrying others Intelligence prefix weapon as well, the debuff effects will stack!



For Wind prefix, once the debuff activates, you will see small swords dropping from their body (only for the first second though).

You will notice your critical damage and those from your party members will less likely to be resisted by your target. So far, there is no rigorous test that shows the effect for this debuffs are stackable. However, I believe the effect can be stacked just like the intelligent prefix (awaiting further proof). Note that wind prefix is only useful forhigh critical char when fighting against high crit resist target.

See the video below for an idea on how effective is the Wind prefix on Electric Ogre which is notorious for his high critical resist.

http://zoome.jp/acronest/diary/155

Both debuffs have very short duration (3.8 to 6.3sec), which is the biggest flaw of the prefix. Low chance weapon give longer duration while high chance weapon give shorter duration.

Life

For Life prefix, once the prefix effect triggers, you heal a certain % of your max HP. Simple as that. No additional damage induced. The amount HP heal differs depending on weapon type too.

Chance of Triggering Weapon Prefix Effect

Table I: Prefix Trigger Effect Chance on Various A-ranked Weapons


The chance of activation for all the 5 prefix are listed in the table I. One key flaw of the weapon prefix is the chance of activation is not that high. The best activation chance you could harness from a pair intel, wind and life weapon is approximately 20% (1 in every 5 hits). Destructive and magical weapon has higher activation chance of roughly 30% (1 in every 3~4 hits).

BONUS BASE STATS

Besides the triggering effect, base stats that are attached to the prefix are something to be considered when choosing the type of prefix to be imbued to your weapon. Table II shows the additional bonus base stats that are attached to the 5 prefixes.

Table II: Additional Bonus Base Stats on Various Weapons for Lv50A Weapon



Note: I didn't fully list the additional stats here. I am listing the stats that is related to the meaning of the prefix. For example, intelligent prefix also give some additional agi, but it's not listed here, only the additional int is listed.

This table shows a very interesting point:

Magical/Destructive prefix subweapon for all class offers higher bonus mag/phy attack than their corresponding main weapons.

This is a very important thing to realize for those who like to hybrid their weapon prefix.

For example, an archer would like to have the high attack bonus from destructive weapon, and at the same time, want the crit resist debuff from the wind prefix weapon. What combination is better?

Destructive Bow + Wind Quiver? OR Wind Bow + Destructive Quiver?

The answer can be found in the table: Wind Bow + Destructive Quiver is a more efficient pair. Destructive quiver give 65 phy att bonus whereas Destructive Bow 26~32 phy att bonus. Interesingly, Wind Bow also give higher Agi (35) as compared to Wind Quiver (22).

Just for comparison sake, the phy. attack bonus from the 4 possible combinations of destructive/wind long bow and quiver are,
[ assumption: perfect opt on all gears: 5.8% phy att on 2 weapon and 2 rings, 4.5% agi on all 11 gears. Comes with Agi 10% and Destructive 10% A plate. Given: 1 AGI = 0.5 PHY ATT ]

Destructive Long Bow + Destructive Quiver: 129
Wind Long Bow + Destructive Quiver: 116
Destructive Long Bow + Wind Quiver: 60
Wind Long Bow + Wind Quiver: 47

As you can see here, Wind Bow + Destr Quiver combination only loses 13 Phy. Att as compared to Destr Bow + Destr Quiver. Here, you not only gain the normal triggering damage, but also the nifty crit resist debuff. However, do note that by using only 1 wind prefix weapon (long bow), the chance for the crit resist debuff to trigger is reduced significantly to 7.4% only ( roughly 1 in 13~14 hits). If you choose 2 x wind weapon, your attack is cut by 82 (only?), but your chance of inducing the crit resist debuff increases significantly to 16.6% (1 in every 6 hits).

Similar calculation and comparison can be performed for your own class based on the table. The above consideration put damage output as the main priority.

However, Life prefix weapon offer an interesting option:

Instead of increase your DPS, it heals your HP if the effect triggers.

In my opinion, mages and archer can make use of the HP leeching effect more efficiently than other melee classes, simply because they can move around while using normal attack. Just for your information, the paladin’s holy hammer or kick is not considered as normal attack and hence will not trigger the HP recovery effect.

Is the HP recovery effect worth it?

Let us examine an example, a mage with a single Life Bead, which recovers 2.5% of HP with 10% chance. Assuming that the mage is using normal attack at an average rate of 40 hits per minutes (I am taking a very low value because you will need to dodge attack while normal attack), with 10% chance, that mage will only trigger the effect roughly 4 times in a minute. That is equivalent to 4 x 2.5% = 10.0% of HP heal per minute.

As you might notice, it is actually very slow to recover HP in this manner. However, if you normally solo nest, such as farming bishop nest for materials, and time is not an issue for you, 10.0% per minute is actually not bad, since you don’t have much alternative to heal anyway, unlike priest/paladin. Of course, if you are using 2 x life weapons, you will notice that the efficiency will increase because the chance for healing increases, reaching approximately 16% HP recovery per minute.

Check out the video below for an idea of how good/bad of a pair of Life weapon in action in archbishop nest farming.

How much attack do I need to sacrifice for it?

However, in order to gain this Life weapon, you will need to sacrifice some mag attack and forgo the damage oriented prefix trigger effect. Mag Bead + Mag Staff give you additional 99 more base m.att. The value will be bloated to a maximum of 131(only?) if you take into consideration potential opt and crest boost.

The good news is, Life weapon also give you additional base HP. Assuming again perfect HP opt on all 9 accessories and armor parts, with HP A crest, you will gain ~2340 HP by choosing 2 x HP prefix weapon for mages.

CONCLUSION

There is no perfect combination under the new prefix system. It largely depends on what you want for your character and what suits your play style.

If you like maximum raw base attack (only slightly higher though), choose magical or destructive prefix.

If you like to have debuff effect (only very short duration though), choose wind or intelligence prefix. Note that wind will only benefit high crit char while intelligence will only benefit elemental attack.

If you like to play defensive by having higher base HP and have some HP leeching effect (very slow and minimal healing though), choose life prefix.

For a hybrid weapon prefix, you need to consider the activation chance and the base stats carefully by studying Tabel I and II before you choose which prefix to be imbued in which weapon.

* If you notice any mistake in the data or calculation, do inform chaose5 or me.

Credits :
chaose5 from MMOsite.com

Dungeon Farming (40 Level Cap)

This guide serves to help you decide which dungeon you should be running for gold farming or farming in Lvl40 cap.

This guide is based on this sole concept.

Gold farming or Farming in DN = Running the fastest dungeon you can run which is relevant to you

This is based on a simple logic that more runs completed overtime simply means more loots and also better overall loots should all dungeons have an equal chance to drop a certain drop. For instance in abyss mode, I assume that all dungeons have the equal amount of chance to drop epic codes from the last boss. However some dungeons have 2 final bosses which might/might not increase the chance to get a epic drop as we can’t confirm this unless we have a large data base to record. But in general, abyss dungeons with 2 final bosses usually have more chance to drop epic codes.

I’ll provide a short summary of what’s in the video below.

Introduction

Firstly, which dungeon or mode you should choose to run depends on what exactly you want to farm.

This is determined by which state you are currently in DN SEA.

Are you geared?

Not so geared?

New to the game?

What do you actually need? (gold vs intermediate codes ; i.e pure gold farming vs what you actually need to improve your character)

I’ve also added a damage range indicator to give you an idea how much damage you need to do well in that dungeon. (Meaning to be able to run it efficiently)

For Geared Players to Consider

Nameless Tyrant Tomb ABYSS (Using SMs as a gauge ; 2.5k patk/matk & above) (Recommended 4-5.5mins Runtime or less)

• Epic Intermediate Codes
• Rare Intermediate Reverts
• Nest Seals for Apoc/Manticore Nest (can sell for 5-6g EA ; 50-60G a stack)
• Fire Runes

Alternative for Force Users - Ruins of Lost Time (NTT has dark element resist mobs)(Recommended 5.5-6mins Runtime or less)

• FUs has teleport
• Micro Generators (40-50G EA)

Alternative For Paladins - Sunken Cargo Vessel ABYSS (Advice from Paladin Forums as well as guildmates

• dungeon suited for crusader builds paladins (according to my guildmate)

Alternative for Others - Dark Overlord Tower Both Abyss or Master (Good for Parties)

• Red Titanium Horn (30-40G EA)

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Not-so-Geared / New to the game

Nameless Tyrant Tomb MASTER (Using SMs as a gauge ; 2k - 2.5k patk/matk)(Recommended 4-5.5mins Runtime or less)

• Ordinary Agates 10-20+ per run (18-19G per stack)
• Fast run time since master level mobs alot easier to kill compared to Abyss
• Pure Gold Farming

Dried Marissa Spring ABYSS (Using SMs as a gauge ; 1.5k - 2k patk/matk)(Recommended 4-5.5mins Runtime or less)

• One of the fastest dungeon that you can run previously in 32 CAP
• Eye Ornaments
• 2nd Map trick (refer to video)

Dark Overlord Keep ABYSS(Using SMs as a gauge ; 1.3k - 1.5k patk/matk)(Recommended 3.5-4.5mins Runtime or less)

• 2 Final Boss
• 3 Mini Boss
• Good for Epic Intermediate Code farming

Dark Tower Magic Institute DTMI Abyss (Using SMs as a gauge ; 1.1k - 1.5k patk/matk)(Recommended 1.5-2.5min Runtime)

• Rusty Music Box 3.3G
• Epic Low Grade Diamond Code

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Other Tips and Tricks

What Guild Points can do for you

Cassius Palace

• 400 Points = Intermediate Epic Code Pouch (Gives 1 random intermediate epic code)
• Half of Sainthaven NPC Gifts from Abyss dungeons contribute to Cassius Palace Points
• Unlock the required NPCS (Duke, King Cassius, General Douglas)

Golden Goose

• VIP Membership Pass (Unique) 2500 points
• +15% Selling Price
• -50% Repair and enhancement fee

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Tips to Maximize Profit and Minimum Wastage of Time:
To make the most of every runs, I suggest you do the following:

1. Pick up only worthy items, stacking up isn't good with a limited inventory. The items worth picking up are:

-gifts (normal for master, magic grade for abyss) to profit from gifts.

-intermediate codes, both rare and epic grade. (epic ones need seals, and price depends on the class, Bravery ones are most expensive. )

-magic grade equipments only if you have purchased an extra adventurer's bag. You can profit from them through disassembling.

-gold coin loots of course

-normal grade boss loots (warning signs etc..., most are worth 1g+ each)

-crafting loots (fire runes for NTT, the red horn thing for DoT) Note: NTT has 2 bosses at abyss difficulty, therefore you have a chance of getting more fire runes/run.

2. Bring an extra weapon, and don't wear armors. No matter how strong your equipments are they won't last for 3 consecutive runs (abyss/master), and unfortunately a trip back to town would cost you at least 3 minutes and at times your farming momentum (or spirit, motivation, pretty much anything you call it.) Try bringing an extra equipment to prolong your farming time. Trust me, wasting 3 minutes every 2 runs is significant in the long term.

As for your armors, their durability deplete along with the weapons, and a full repair costs around 7g (LvL 40 Epic). Huge isn't? That's why keep them at storage if you only plan to farm. If you find it hard not getting hit however, at least wear magic grade equips (or even rare grade if you want to). They're disposable.

3. Farm with the right character. Apparently, the most useful class for farming are PvE oriented swordmasters (crit-type I assume?) because of their DPS and Dash which significantly cuts the completion time. Classes like Mercs, Paladins, and Priests don't fare well in farming without excellent equipments (DPS boosting equips). I farm with a BM and sometimes a fully equipped Merc, and is pretty much happy with it.

4. At least try to go for the gold chest. If ever you don't know, gold chests have a small chance of giving Epic Skill Plates at abyss difficulty. Yeah, so don't waste the probability.

5. Don't forget the bunny. Even if you're not their for the frags (frags won't drop without a d.key), gifts and bunny loots are worth looting!

6. If ever you're bored, there are many gold farming alternatives like the ones listed below:

- Nest Farming - Forget the weekly limit. The key here is to have multiple characters. More nest runs = more chance of getting gold nest chest loots!

Normal: Manti/Apoc equips, Lvl 40 equips (nerwin, barnac etc..), Crafting parts etc...
Hell: Epic grade accessories (Take note of destruction!), Nest Skill Plates...

- Bunny Farming - DTMI and Sigh Canyon abyss runs. Approx 1-2 mins / run. Sure loots are 15pcs d.frags, 2 d.keys, and gifts for a silver bunny and an additional epic skill plate for gold bunnies. Take a look at here.

Note: Gold Bunny Hunts are different! Gold bunny hunting means you won't click on silver bunnies and only on gold ones. These are encountered on Sanctuary Core Abyss runs etc...

Based on my own experience, I came out with a conclusion like this...

The conclusion of Farming Dungeon should be something like this:

• Hunt the dungeon with most in the demand materials.
• A dungeon which can be completed fast.
• A dungeon which have 2 boss in the final stage. ( more chances for Epic Codes and etc)
• Less time wasting on repair or others distraction.
• Bunny Box are always good to open as Nest Entry Tickets worth money too.
  

Credits:

http://www.dragon-nest-guides.com/ for Tips to Maximize Profit and Minimum Wastage of Time.

http://kazudragonhaven.tumblr.com/ for details in dungeon farming.

Merchanting

Introduction:

Gold farming is playing a massively multiplayer online game(MMORPG) to acquire in-game currency which is then sold to other players.People in China and in other developing nations have held full-time employment as gold farmers.

While most game operators expressly ban the practice of selling in-game currency for real-world cash,^[1] gold farming is lucrative because it takes advantage of economic inequality and the fact that much time is needed to earn in-game currency. Rich, developed country players, wishing to save many hours of playing time, may be willing to pay substantial sums to the developing country gold farmers.

This is where the Trading House located.

So you’ve got yourself a PremiumTrading House Ticket and now all too bored to go hard-core dungeon running. Don’t worry because there’s a lot of gold farming techniques aside from dungeon runs. This one that is discussed in this guide is the gold farming/money making method common to all online games – Buy-and-Sell.

Merchanting is occurs in almost every MMO . If you are not familiar with merchanting, here’s a quick definition. Buy for less, sell for more. It’s self explanatory. You simply hunt in the market/all chat to see if anyone is selling something underpriced. There will always be that impatient seller who is willing to sell for less. Take advantage of that and buy from that seller, then sell that item at its original price. This method requires patience, if you do not have the patience to sell, then I recommend you try out the other methods.

The first dilemma of an online game marketer – what item should you market? Here in Dragon Nest there are many. Starting from Jewel Stacks, Epic Grade Intermediate Codes, Epic Heraldies(3rd Stat), Set Equips, and Accessories, to Cash Items. If you’re starting low however I suggest you go for jewel stacks as they’re of the least risk. But if you’ve got the guts to Gamble your gold, epic set equips and heraldies (w/ good 3rd stats) are the best investments. This is because rich gamers always searching for 3rd Stats heraldies to achieve full potential for their character. So , if you able to get a good 3rd stat heraldry, it can sell a very decent price up to a few thousand golds.

This 2 pictures show the difference between 2-stats heraldries and 3-stats heraldries. This is how you earn some extra money by gambling.

Once you’ve found the item of your choice, RESEARCH its price all over. Knowing the right price is the most crucial step. The Trading House is always a good start. But only take note of the first few items both in the premium and non-premium section; they’re the lowest priced ones and often are around the real price. The TH however is only good for scouting low profit items (jewels, epic codes and 2-stat heraldies). Highly priced items (epic set equips and 3-stat heraldies) here are often overpriced. And, if you don't have Premium TH Ticket, simply pricing item will waste a lot money for nothing because of the tax.

Now here’s the point where low-risk and high-risk marketing separate from one another. For definition purposes, low-risk marketing sells jewels, epic codes and 2-stat heraldies. High-risk marketing on the other hand involves over-upgraded epic equips, set items, high-stat skill accessories, and 3-stat heraldies. Aside from the risks involved, the differences is that low-risk marketing profit by volume and thus sells more easily while high-risk marketing profit by piece and therefore requires more effort to sell.

Low-Risk Marketing ( Jewels, Epic codes, 2-stats Heraldries, Rare Material)

As to what was discussed above, low risk markets include those items that are somehow ‘easier’ to sell. This type of marketing mostly involves farmer (supplier) - dealer (distributor) partnership. You play the role of a dealer by buying in bulk then selling by piece. Since the risks involved are low, the rewards for each stack of item sold are also low. The primary benefit is that you are able to play safe. When prices fluctuate, your losses are minimal.

The key to profiting huge in this kind of marketing is by knowing how to play the ‘game.’ Here you play with your customers and suppliers, and if you don’t know how to manipulate the former and bargain with the latter, you lose.

Rule 1: As the supplies increases, the price decreases. As the demand increases, the price increases.

Ah, the Golden Rule of online game entrepreneurship (also maybe in real life). This is the reason why you should buy in bulk. Now if you would ask why is this so, just put yourself in the shoes of your suppliers. You’ve got so many loots that it’s a problem with your inventory and storage, you only have a limited amount capable of selling in TH, and it’s hard work and a waste of time selling by piece. Then you might just want to drop off all your loots to someone able to cash it all out. Yeah, that might be it. But hey, if you’ll think about it, these reasons are all too simple.

Truth is the reason behind is economics. And uh uh, I won’t elaborate it so your nose won’t bleed. Just accept as it is and think of it as a way of life. That way it’s easier for the both of us.

The point is if you have someone capable of selling bulk to you, bargain for a reasonably cheap price.

Rule 2: Master the DN player psychology

Just like Google search, it’s the front page that gets the most exposure. And logically, it’s the page where selling is easiest. Of course players would wander of the other pages looking for the cheapest goods but if you’re playing in an overcrowded market (like rough agate); the premium section covers at least 8 pages. You may want to get your item at least in the first or second page.

How to get to the first page you say? Simply sell your items cheap. Most of the time players would use the ascending price/pc sorting function so if your items are cheapest, you’ll grab the first spot.

However it’s not always the cheapest price that you should go for. Just go by the average per piece and don’t worry, it’ll sell. By saying average per piece I do not mean the average computed for you by the trading house, it’s overpriced. It simply means the average of the first 3-5 cheapest items available.

Another thing that you shouldn’t do is selling by full stacks. It’ll be better if you sell by /5pcs for a 20-stack item (jewels) and /pc for 5-stack items (epic codes). Abide by the first rule and check the cheapest price available per piece. Remember that players will likely buy only in the sufficient amount they need unless they plan on using them hardcore. (Like over-upgrading)

If you would notice, I emphasized on the price per piece. Why? Simply because it’s the most common mistake merchant players in Dragon Nest do. They scout and sell in full stacks and never realize that you can profit more per piece. Selling in lower stacks (ex: 5pcs/stack) offers greater profit and CHEAPER selling fee.

Another thing you should remember: Take advantage of rush sellers. Simply those that can't afford to wait for their items to sell. Check the trading house often. These people sell incredibly cheap and provides the best bargain. Why? Simply because better bargain = better income.

Rule 3: Play by the average

What sucks about selling low priced items is that the competition is fierce. What’s more? They’ll kick your items out of the front page by selling cheaper. Hey, don’t worry about them, just keep your cool. Play by the average and you’ll definitely sell.

In the trading house, there’s not much you can do to outperform your competition for low-priced items except by selling cheaper. (Yeah, it’s an online game. It sucks but that’s the way it is.) But as I always say it’s not always best to do so.

Rule 4: Monitor the market

This one’s very important. Whether playing low risk or high risk one thing that you should consider is to always monitor the market for price fluctuations. When does this happen you say? Prices fluctuate primarily after new important patches.

Especially during level cap increase, gameplay changes, and new item introductions. As a consequence, always think twice when bargaining for items before a major patch. Buying items during these times are always a gamble. You may pay off big but likewise, you may also lose big-time. I remember a colleague of mine buying several jewel stacks before the v42 patch. After the patch when the prices heavily dropped to almost 50%, he lost at least 1.5k gold.

Another situation is the introduction of incomplete seals. Prices of some items (epic equips and heraldies) dropped significantly due to the introduction of more items to the market. Remember this especially for high-risk marketers. A level cap increase would severely affect price drops on lower level equips. That’s why for a high-risk marketer it’s best to clear up your selling inventory even before a major patch if you can’t risk losing money.

High Risk Marketing (3rd Stats-Heraldry, Coding Set Equips)

So you’ve decided to go all out with your buy and sell eh? Yeah, the profits here are huge, but so do the risks. Here the rules of the game are entirely different. You do not use the Trading House, you sell by chat-rooms, forums, and possibly channel/server-wide broadcasts. It takes effort, but the rewards are promising.

The most crucial aspect of high-risk marketing is knowing your item’s right price. You can take a look at the trading house but don’t rely on it. The best move here is to go on your server’s marketplace forum. (Cherry Credits DN forum)

The forum's website is over here : http://forum.cherrycredits.com/forum/view/dragon-nest

And, always go look for your items average price. Also take a hint at your item, epic 3-stat heraldies for example, value more (around 2000-4000g) if the 3rd stat is an attribute, critical, or +atk/+matk. Overupgraded equips increases value by 30-40% per upgrade (+7-+9) and almost doubles for +10 and above.

Cherry Credits Marketplace

Selling is also tricky, you can post in the forum and wait for the best possible offer, or loiter around and wait in a chat room in-game. Thing is, you should do whatever it takes to get a prospect buyer with your dignity still intact. And when you’ve found one, don’t offer all out and never subdue to their offer thinking that you might not find another buyer anymore. Find the deal you are both comfortable with, if he can’t keep up with the right price then go for a take-it-or-leave it approach. Don’t worry because you’ll find another buyer if you would continue with your efforts.

Also remember that rule #3 and #4 above still applies. Now to tell the truth, I can’t clearly direct you on what you should do to sell highly priced items. It’s just that the selling approach is entirely unique from one player to another. Aside from the rest of this guide, what I would just advice is that you must be creative with your approach. Connections, like in-game friends and guild do matter. In an online game like Dragon Nest, it’s always best to have mates to do business with.

For coding set equips, this is because most players hunting set equips to achieve higher status and attack power. So, most probably they will need a good potential for their equip as well. For example , an Acrobat would need a complete Set Armors with potential like Agi%, HP%, VIT% as they are low in hp. Once you able to get this kind of potential , you don't have to enhance them. Just sell them as a clean piece in TH and you will get your profit significantly. But, don't forget that you will have another chance to get worthless one.

For your information, Gold Farming or Merchanting's technique is applied in all games as long as you need to earn more money. There only slight difference between the trading style.

Credits:
http://www.dragon-nest-guides.com

Bunny Farming

Introduction:


As you can see in Dragon Nest SEA now , a lot lowbie or newbie I would say , always requesting for a high level to train with them. From another perspective, this is an awesome method which provides an opportunity to both lowbie and high level player to earn some extra money.

Not only does this benefits the lowbie but you as the master can also reap some awesome rewards. And by awesome, I meant the chance of epic heraldies either through a gold bunny or through exchanging dimensional fragments, or lots of gold by selling these dimensional fragments out. Don't forget the Gifts, coz' making love to your NPCs yields good rewards!

First, the Master-Apprentice method is not a bug. It's a feature implemented by Eyedentity to help new, beginning Dragon Nest players to build a good foundation in the game. How do you do it you say? Assuming you are level32, just run through an abyss dungeon with a level 9-23 player and that's it, simple. Once the bunny appears, just click it (you should have a dimensional key) and viola!, there are 1-2 gifts, 15pcs dimensional fragments, low grade codes, and you'll still regain your dimensional key back! (sometimes you even gain an additional key)

If you would ask what the party should consist of, the answer is any. Basically the rule is just the party should have at least 1 apprentice (a gap of at least 9 levels within the highest and lowest level players in the party, with the lowbie commonly around 9-23) and the rest doesn't matter anymore. You can go by 3 masters - 1 apprentice or just plain 1 master and 1 apprentice. For me, I do it with my buddy and we do it by just the two of us. There's no problem with it, the clearing time is still almost the same.

So how do you cash in? Basically there are two ways:

Sell it to a NPC:

Well, a stack of dimensional fragment (500pcs) sells for 50g. With a unique Golden Goose VIP however, it sells for 57.5g/stack. If you manage to rack up 20 stacks that's an extra 150 gold. So basically you need to rev up for a golden goose VIP membership before cashing it all out if you chose it this way. Again don't worry, the bunnies here drop gifts. And by the time these gifts are enough for exchanging with a unique VIP membership, you should have collected enough stacks to make it to 1k gold. It takes time, not to mention inventory slots, but anyway, all farming technique does. You should get used to it.

Exchange Fragments to Epic Skill Heraldries:

Yep, and an epic heraldy pouch should be around 1.2k frags (to include lvl 32 skills) with the price varying for lower level plates. The skill plates are random, so here it all comes down to your luck. And well, since 1.2k frags sells for 120g, exchanging them if it means obtaining a 300g or more skill plate is a good bargain. If lady luck seldom smiles to you however and only gives you a 100-150 g or lower skill plate. It's not that bad. But sometimes, it's just freaking hard to sell these not-wanted plates. And this is what would tire you out.

Well, as I've said, this method depends on your luck. You could profit big, but sometimes, since the required number of frags is significantly large (1.2k pcs), just plain golding it out is an option. This happens especially if you're not a hardcore bunny farmer, or you just spend more time looking for parties rather than the run itself. But if you're dedicated to this method, like you can farm up to 20 stacks (It's possible - I do it.) exchanging them is always better.

So my main point is, if you're a hardcore bunny farmer (probably with someone you know playing as the lowbie), exchange it for skill plates. Otherwise, just gold it out. It's hard to rack the frags up to 1.2k pieces if you don't always have a lowbie along with you and you spend a significant amount of time looking for parties. If this is the case just farm jewels and codes or so, you might get a higher gold/hr rate there.

Note: Exchanging dimensional fragments to heraldy scholars comes in different denominations for different levels of skills (1.2 k frags include the level 32 skills). If you want gamble these fragments to obtain highly-priced low level skills like side kick, impact punch, twin shot etc... you may do so if you wish. In fact you can even profit more by doing so because 1 low level skill pouch is 800 frags so you can gamble for more. Chances are however you may receive not-wanted skill plates and simply waste your frags.

Gold Bunny

Though the dimensional fragments are the main focus of this method, other loots do count. Dimensional keys are used in chaos opening dungeons, where you can farm ingredients for epic skill accessories. Gold bunnies, which you would probably meet about 3-5% of the time if you're not that lucky, drops epic skill plates (commonly 1st job for Sigh Canyon and higher chances of 2nd job plates for DTMI). Though most of these 1st job epic plates sells only around decent prices (50-100g), a couple like the premium twin shot sells for around 500g+. 2nd job epic skill plates also sell decently for most skills. The dropped rare-grade codes sell for a few gold, but when taken in the long run, do amount to something. Low grade epic codes sell pretty decent, especially the diamond ones. The only problem with them is sealing. Incomplete binding seals also drop, but they're better off when used to seal intermediate codes - the product of your DoK, Dried Marissa Spring, DoA farming runs.

Now enough with the loots, one big question about this technique is what dungeon to run. Well, for a level 9-16 party the shortest possible and probably the easiest one is Sigh Canyon abyss. The first stage here requires you to destroy the large black crystals and not wipe out all enemies. Doing so won't even exceed one minute. The second stage however, requires all enemies killed. Overall each run averages from 2-3 minutes, so doing the math by taking the second derivative of time with respect to the integral of bla bla bla results to the conclusion that a one hour worth is about 25 runs more or less (probably less) including the loading time. Once again the math sums up to about 375 dimensional frags/hr. (Around 3 and a half hours for a skill plate) So basically you'll be farming at a rate of 37.5g/hr (No Golden Goose VIP membership). Its pretty decent, because that simple calculation excludes the profit from rough jewels, low grade codes, coin loots, dimensional keys, epic plate rewards (yes, gold chests DROP epic skill plates.) and gold bunnies if ever. Also, that calculation is only for selling the frags to NPCs. Since the profit from exchanging them to skill plates depends on what plate you obtain, you basically can't estimate the gold/hr rate there.

Videos:


Video above show how a party run Bunny Farming in Sigh Canyon.

If your partner is within the level 16-23 however, Dark Tower Magic Institute (DTMI) is the perfect dungeon to run. Completing DTMI is easier, faster, and yields more frags/hr (around 400+). That's why it's the choice of most people.

Aside from the gifts, dimensional frags and keys, DTMI also has decent priced loots like music boxes (3-4 g/ea). Here you can yield an average of 6-8g/run when lucky.

Take note that bunny farming is applicable to levels 9-23. Partying with level 24 and above won't return your used dimensional keys. If you're leveling a level 24+ partner, better do hunts and not farm. (No clicks on silver bunnies)

If your partner is kinda high level , try Dried Marissa Spring instead. It's another good place to farm.

And so that spells the end of this guide. Remember that gold farming in Dragon Nest takes time, and so with that good luck on your gold farming efforts!

Notes: This method only suitable for 32 LV cap or you're starting another new character. For current 40 LV cap , there are more methods to farm quickly and efficiently.

Credits:
http://www.dragon-nest-guides.com

Contact Us

This is Dragon Nest Vault.

Feel free to email me at jackyxtan@live.com with any questions , suggestions.

• You can share your guide in Dragon Nest Vault too.
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I will give credit to anyone who has put the effort in this website. Thank you.

Kindly follow my Blog to show your support as you think it do benefits you in some way.

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chaose5's Majesty Skill Build

First of all , I would like to emphasis that Skill Builds are very unique and meant to be cope with gamers' play style. So , take this as a guide line but don't follow it solely.
This is a skill build which created by chaose5 from MMOsite forum.
The proposed build is a PVE build, taking on supportive and disabling roles in nest party, while dealing decent damage with mostly dark elemental skills.

Majesty Build







Heraldry/Crest ChoiceTeleport CD -20%
Gravity Ball Damage + 20%
Triple Orb Damage +20%
Summon Comet + 20%

That’s all for now. Feel free to comment.

Credits to chaose5 from MMOsite forum.

Manticore Nest Guide

Introduction

Basically, you can enter the Manticore Nest 5 times per week for Abyss mode, and 3 times per week for Hell mode. The entry stamp will drop from various Abyss Dungeons from Lv33-40 which is located in Saint Haven.

Manticore Nest is the first 40 level nest which has a easier difficulty compares to Apocalypse Nest. Try this before you take steps into Apo.

Location:

After you enter the Hermalte Port, walk straight past the Dissembler and keep a lookout on your right. There will be a portal before you reach the Forsaken Islet dungeon area.

Alternatively, you can enter through the Garden of Time and Space.

Stage 1: Rotten Rock Demon

The 1st stage has a relatively small area, with various rock demons of various elements appearing. Eventually, the main green demon boss will spawn in the middle.

This should be a relatively easy stage, but take note of these pointers:

1、You have to drag the mobs to the sides and kill them, if not they will be healed by the statue in the middle. The amount healed is quite huge, so the battle can be quite tough if you didn’t lure them away from the middle.

2、When the boss releases a green array on the ground, prepare to dodge away from the area. If not, the array will trap you at that position and be prepared to be hit by the surrounding mobs.

PS：Cleric’s shield block is useless here. With it active, you will still be trapped. And few hits from the mobs will remove your block in no time.

Stage 2: Minotaurs

This stage is relatively easy too. When you get in the arena, one of the gates will be opened while the minotaur inside will be charge out to attack. After a certain time, another gate will be opened and the next minotaur will be released. This will continue until all the minotaurs are out.

I would suggest to kill off the smaller minotaurs before heading for the main Boss, but if you can kill them fast enough, just kill whatever comes first.

The only special thing to note：The minotaurs can use various skills to increase their defenses, for both physical and magic. These buffs can be removed by Mercenary’s silence, or be lightened by other armor reducing skills like Paladin’s Armor Break.

Stage 3：Medusa

Compared to the previous 2 stages, this stage can be considered as one of the harder ones.

The area is made up of 5 big squares, forming a “+” shape.

In the middle square area, you can see that there are 4 different coloured cubes stuck inside the ground, being Green, Red, White, and Yellow.

Whenever the Medusa boss raises her weapons, the screen will have a hint stating that the ground will be shifted within 5 seconds.

Then, one of the cubes will start hovering in the air.

The square area that is the closest to that hovering cube, will be the “Safe Area”. Even though you will still be damaged by the Medusa’s blade attack, this “Safe Area” regenerates your HP for 2-3 times. Your HP recovered will definitely exceed the damage done by the boss, so no worries.

As for the other 3 areas, you will be attacked by the blade attack without any regenerating heals. Paladins and SMs can use their various block skills to defend this blade attack, so they won’t need to dash to the “Safe Area”.

Be careful of this global blade attack. For female classes without good defense equipment, be prepared to die instantly if you don’t get to the “Safe Area”.

Stage 4：Stone Boss

This stage consists of a huge Stone Boss, accompanied by various small stone demons.

These stone demons will not attack, neither can they be damaged if the 2 dark crystals beside each of them are not destroyed yet. Similarly, if these small stone demons are not killed, the Stone Boss will have a blue protective aura that makes it invulnerable.

So, just kill the small stone demons asap then approach the main Stone Boss.

From time to time, the main Boss will resummon the small stone demons. At this point of time, the dark crystals won’t be recreated. Simply kill the smaller stone demons and head for the boss again.

Everytime the boss resummons the smaller stone demons, various food will be created at the area of spawn. These regeneration/buff potions include HP, MP, Damage, and even rotten potions (potions that reduces your HP/MP/stats) too!

When you’re eating the food, be careful that the food is actually the fresh one and not the rotten one. Also, the boss will throw stones from time to time, and has a long range rolling attack which can be quite fast.

Final Stage：The Dark Manticore

Do you still miss the Manticore Boss from the Prayer’s Resting Place? Now it has evolved to a black demon with various strong attacks. However, it can be an easy boss to deal with.

During the early stage, the Manticore will only use several basic attacks. Only after being reduced by 1-2 HP bars, then it will start casting various power moves. When it reaches the 2nd last HP bar, its frequency of attack will increase too.

These are the basic attacks of the Manticore

Back Tail Sweep, Claw Swipe, Diving Attack after flying up the sky, Front Pounce, Tornado, Energy Ball, Black Hole, Gravity Field, Power Stomp. (These should be all)

Back Tail Sweep: The boss will simply sweep his tail and to hit any enemies at his back. Don’t ever stay at the back of the Manticore. This attack can be quite painful.

Claw Swipe: Similar to the claw swipe from Cerberus, however the frequency of attack won’t be as high as Cerberus. Just time your blink/tumble well and you should be fine.

Energy Ball: The boss will just throw a huge black ball in front of him. As long as you stay close to the boss, you won’t be hit.

Diving Attack: The boss will fly up the sky. When the boss HP is still high, after flying up the sky, it will start flapping its wings 3 times. After the 3rd flap, prepare to jump to avoid the ground attack. However, that’s not all. Several spikes will be created around the boss, so remember to use your tumble/blink to evade. You can jump to evade too. If you’re lucky, these spikes won’t hit you.

Alternatively, you can drive up your PC volume during the gameplay. When it is about to dive down, there will be a significant sound. Take a look at this video I found in youtube, I’m sure you can get what I mean.

When the boss HP reaches 3 bars and below (to be confirmed), it will not dive down from the sky immediately after its flight. It will cast various Energy Balls to hit the ground. So please don’t blindly follow your team mates as you may die instantly from the attacks. Just move away from the balls. After this onslaught, it will flap its wings 3 times again before coming down.

When the Manticore has only 1 HP bar left, there will be some purple arrays shown on the ground before the Manticore decides to dive down, in which several flame demons will spawn and fly in some random direction. Just be careful not to get hit by them.

Front Pounce: When the boss has locked on to one of the players, and that player is far from it, it will do a pounce like what you see in Cerberus Nest. Just blink/slide/tumble or move away.

Power Stomp: The boss will raise both of its claw high while emitting a bright glow out from the claws. It will cause an earthshake while generating 4 blade waves spreading out of him. Just jump right before it stomps the ground, followed by a tumble/slide/blink.

Black Hole：The boss will raise one of its paws at this point of time. It will emit a slight red aura while creating a black array in front of it. Just continue moving away from that array and you should be fine. ELs can use Flame Road, Warriors can dash, others can simply unstance and walk.

The damage of this skill may be quite low, but clerics have to take note. The numerous small hits will remove your Block buff in no time.

Tornado：Several large tornadoes will be created in front of the Boss after it raise both of its paws. This time, there won’t be a glow emitting out from it. Subsequently, the tornadoes will fly outwards. It should be relatively easy to dodge. Just move away from them. The damage can be quite high.

Gravity Field：Incredible damage with superb AOE. Without a decent HP, you can die instantly from it. The boss will create 3 black arrays around him, but there will be safe areas in between these arrays. Just get to the safe areas and continue attacking.

**Take note that staying near the boss at all times is the best way to be safe.

This is a video showing a BM solo-ing the boss Manticore. She was able to dodge every attack throughout the entire fight. Watch and learn.

A full video guide by K4kashii from dragonnestsource forum.

Credits:

dragonnestblog.com