Shaiya Fighter Skills and Weapons Guide

Shaiya Fighter Skills and Weapons Guide by Althamus

SKILLS GUIDE

For information as to which skills are usable with each weapon, check the third post. The in-game information is not always 100% correct.

HM skills
UM skills

Passive Skills

Strength Training; Level 1/12/23/34/45/56/67; Skill points 1/2/2/2/2/2/3
Max. Passive skill that increases damage. Useful for anyone.
nb. People have pointed out the this skill and Weapon Power-Up skills use up quite a lot of skill points. If you’re short of some points at the end, you can always ignore these. Although extra damage with every attack = generally a good thing.

Sharpen Weapon Power-Up; Level 5/16/27/38/49/60; Skill points: 2/2/3/3/4/4
If you use Sharpen Weapons, max.

Two Handed Power-Up; Level: 5/16/27/38/49/60; Skill points: 2/2/3/3/4/4
2Hs are the weapon of choice for grinding for fighters. If you’re grinding, max this. They’re still not bad in PvP either.

Spear Power-Up; Level: 5/16/27/38/49/60; Skill Points: 2/2/3/3/4/4
If you use Spears, max, but most people tend to only use spears end-game.
Apologies, I appear to have cropped the spear power-up picture. Will be rectified when I next am able. In the meantime, listen to this relaxing music.

Heavy Weapon Power-Up; Level; 5/16/27/38/49/60; Skill Points: 2/2/3/3/4/4
If you use a 1H weapon and a shield, you should probably be using a heavy weapon for the extra damage. This’ll probably be the weapon of choice for PvPers because of the extra lapis slots available (although loses out on wind spins).

Dual Weapon Power-Up; Level: 5/16/27/38/49/60; Skill Points: 2/3/4
If you use dual weapons max this skill. NMs who solo might use duals as their weapons of choice.

Relax Body; Levels: 6/18/30/42/54/66; Skill Points: 1/1/1/1/1/1
Max for every build. There is no time when regenerating HP/SP/MP faster is bad.

Backpack Upgrade; Levels: 20/36/46; Skill Points: 1/2/2
Get at least 1 or 2 levels IMHO. More backpack space can hardly be bad. And is very useful at times. Almost everyone suggests maxing this as backpacks tend to fill up fast.

Interpretation; Levels: 13/22/51; Skill Points: 1/2/2
If you’re PvPing at end-game or 20-30, or have friends in these areas max it. Otherwise skip. Its useless otherwise, and practically useless at L1.

Sharpen Weapon Mastery; Levels: 14/35; Skill Points: 3/5
If you use Sharpen Weapons, max, but I can’t see why you should.

Two Handed Mastery; Levels: 14/35; Skill Points: 3/5
2Hs are the weapon of choice for grinding for fighters. If you’re grinding, max this. They’re still not bad in PvP either.

Spear Mastery; Level: 14/35/50; Skill Points: 3/5/7
If you use spears as your weapon of choice, max. Spears become radically better at L50+ when you can get a third level of mastery, making them only 1 attack speed slower than 2H weapons.

Heavy Weapon Mastery; Level: 14/35; Skill Points: 3/5
If you use a 1H weapon and a shield, you should probably be using a heavy weapon for the extra damage. This’ll probably be the weapon of choice for low-level PvPers because of the extra lapis slots available.

Dual Weapon Mastery; Level: 14/35; Skill Points: 3/5
If you use dual weapons max this skill. NMs who solo or end-game PvPers might use duals as their weapons of choice.
Very sorry, but level 2 just increases attack speed by 2 total, just like every other mastery.

Basic Skills

Charge; Level: 1/12/24/36/48/60; Skill Points: 1/2/2/2/2/2
This skill is a must for PvP, and with the stun time on it, its very useful for PvE as well. At least lvl 1 is a must, but if you have enough points, level it up to get the improved stun and reduced cooldown. Level 3 is nice, giving you a decent stun/cooldown for relatively few points.

Town Portal; Levels: 1/20/40; Skill Points: 0/0/0
A free skill that lets you move to the nearest town faster than /town. Why wouldn’t you get it?

Concentration; Levels: 3/18/33/48/63; Skill Points: 1/1/2/2/2
Max. More accuracy is never a bad.
*Note: No pictures because the description incorrectly states that it improves critical hit rather than accuracy.
L1 – Increases Physical attack accuracy by 6% for 300s
L2 – Increases Physical attack accuracy by 10% for 450s
L3 – Increases Physical attack accuracy by 14% for 600s
L4 – Increases Physical attack accuracy by 18% for 750s
L5 – Increases Physical attack accuracy by 22% for 900s

Double Damage; Levels: 3/15/27/39/51/63; Skill Points: 2/2/3/3/4/4
Some people like this skill, others hate it. It deals a tiny bit more damage than rising uppercut, but probably not enough to warrent taking it. Only hits once despite the misleading name.

Bash; Levels: 4/20/36/52/68; Skill Points: 1/2/2/2/2
Max it. More criticals ftw.

Heavy Swat; Levels: 9/19/29/39/49/59/69; Skill Points: 2/2/2/3/3/3/4
Improved for Ep 5 with greater damage, it’s now not a bad skill for damage dealing. Higher mode/better armoured toons should still be able to deal more damage with a single hit though.
It is however very good for PvP to prevent stealth, although bear in mind Tearing Slash is a very similar skill for that role, which deals a lot more total damage in less time.

Damage Skills

Rising Uppercut; Levels: 2/10/18/26/34/42/50/58/66; Skill Points: 1/2/2/2/3/3/3/4/4
This got a major buff in Ep 5, and is now the spammable 1v1 skill you need to be using whenever you want to take down single targets. NOTE: It also deals additional damage over your normal attack (the picture is incorrect).

Ground Shock; Levels: 4/19/34/49/63; Skill Points: 2/2/3/3/4
This is one of the big 5 AoE skills. If you are intending to solo AoE, this should be one of the first two skills you use for it (due to it reducing damage you take). IMHO, everyone should get it to at least level 4.

Wind Spin; Levels: 8/19/30/41/52/63; Skill Points: 2/3/4/4/5/5
At level 1 it only hits once, so is worse than standard attack vs 1 enemy. Levels 4+ deal additional damage to targets. It is another of the big 5 AoE skills, and should be used 3rd. Although I personally only upgrade this skill to level 4-5, it’s my favourite AoE due to it’s cheap SP cost and I use it all the time.

Energy Control; Levels: 11/21/31/41/51/61; Skill Points: 3/3/4/4/4/5
I personally always take one level of this skill so I can show off being UM (and at level 1, the skill points:SP ratio isn’t too bad). Subsequent levels cost a lot of skill points for only 100 extra SP though. If you got points spare, grab em, but don’t compromise other skills to get extra levels of this. Since the advent of orange stats though, it’s very easy to get SP elsewhere though (and UM is more common thesedays too), so it’s very optional (or even discouraged).

Deadly Strike; Levels: 13/26/39/52/65; Skill Points: 3/3/4/5/6
Again, I cannot see a reason why you would not max this skill. Its your best skill for targetting single mobs, and recharges quickly. Note: Damage dealt increases with skill’s level (so max it).

[img][/img]Tearing Slash; Levels: 15/28/41/54/67; Skill Points: 3/3/3/4/4
Deals a DoT which hits for about 5800 total damage at higher lvl. Not bad in PvP if you can hit a ranger before he wants to stealth away, and for most people, a bit better than Rising Uppercut at damage dealing per hit (although has a 12 sec DoT so obviously not at it’s best when spammed).
The fixed damage is dealt immediately though, so a useful spammable attack for weaker players vs purple mobs.

[img][/img]Explosive Sting; Levels: 21/37/53/69; Skill Points: 4/5/6/7
This is an excellent skill for spear-fighters, as up until now we only had 4 AoEs. It’s not quite as good as the Wind Spins as it only hits once, but still a nice new skill.

Dual Weapon Storm; Levels: 32/44/56/68; Skill Points: 3/3/3/3
This used to be a nice skill, but it’s been made redundant by Rising Uppercut. Ignore it.

Wild Dance; Levels: 32/42/52/62; Skill Points: 3/3/4/4
This used to be a nice skill, but it’s been made redundant by Rising Uppercut. Ignore it.

Enhanced Wind Spin; Levels: 33/45/57/69; Skill Points: 4/4/5/6
This is another of your big 5 AoE skills, and you should use it 4th. I can’t see a time when HM/UM toons would not want this maxed (subject to weapon choices).

Wide Shock; Levels: 34/44/54/64; Skill Points: 4/4/4/4
This is one of the big 5 AoEs, and should be used first or second (depending on whether you want to deal slightly more damage, or take slightly less). It lets all your subsequent skill deal a bit more damage. Max it.

Wild Rage; Levels: 36/47/58/69; Skill Points: 3/3/4/4
This used to be a nice skill, but it’s been made redundant by Rising Uppercut. Ignore it.

Barstool Swing; Levels: 38/48/58/68; Skill Points: 4/4/5/5
The final of the big 5 AoEs, and also to be used last. Also very nice against casters with the MP damage. I prefer it to explosive sting because of a) cheaper skill points and b) deals a reasonable amount of MP damage, despite Ex sting dealing slightly more physical damage.

Special Skills

Invincible Warrior; Levels: 1/20/40; Skill Points: 0/0/0
Its a free accuracy buff. Max it. At L3, its cooldown is the same as the duration, so it becomes another permanant buff. Lightside only.

BattleCry; Levels: 1/20/40; Skill Points: 0/0/0
It’s a free health regen buff. Max it. At L3 its cooldown is the same as the duration, so it becomes another permanant buff. Darkside only.
L1 – 2% health regen for 90 secs
L2 – 3% health regen for 120 secs
L3 – 5% health regen for 180 secs

Leadership; Levels: 7/19/31/43/55/67; Skill Points: 1/2/2/3/3/3
Max it. Party-wide buff giving extra damage. Need I say more?
Note: As far as I know, this skill raises your attack power, meaning that it will also increase magic-users spell damages. Have not conclusively tested though, although it makes little difference – it should be perma-buffed anyways.

Eagle Eye; Levels: 13/30/47/64; Skill Points: 2/3/3/4
If you are grinding in new maps or PvP then max this. Its very useful if you get jumped by archers. Mostly useless everywhere else.

Potential Power; Level: 17/29/50; Skill Points: 1/2/3
I’d say max it. If you’re incredibly brave or stupid, you can purposefully trigger it to deal more damage. Otherwise, on occassion you’ll trigger it before you pot, and suddenly become a lot more adept. Passive skills are always worth it IMHO.

Beserker; Levels: 10/23/36/49/62; Skill Points: 4/4/5/6/7
If you have hardly any defence, this can be quite nice as the disadvantage doesn’t matter too much, but means that your damage can spike quite nicely. The speed buff is useful even if you already have max speed as it prevents speed debuffs slowing you down.
Useful when grinding in DD2 or similar, where fights tend to only last a very little time, and the cooldown doesn’t matter, but in D-water PvP the cooldown prevents it of being of great use. I’m personally not a fan, despite the whole “fighters should kill/be killed fast” ethos. Probably because I don’t PvP much and don’t like the painful CD.

Deadly Shock; Levels: 27/45/64; Skill Points: 4/5/5
Half of the fighter’s stunning skills. Great for PvP, duels, killing single mobs and giving you a little extra time to do… whatever you want. Max.

[img][/img]Energy Blackhole; Levels: 28/48/68; Skill Points: 6/6/6
DOES work on mobs. Hits for very little damage (on players or mobs) but ignores the target’s defence (but not their absorbtion). It does however create a blackhole effect which pulls effected players (and mobs?) towards the player for a second or two. Is useful in PvP purely because of this (1114 damage minus absorbtion doesn’t hit hard), and can be useful in PvE because it’s another AoE (giving you 6, by which time the first two have regenned). Is expensive in skill points. Has a very pretty animation though.

Demon Hushing; Levels: 36/46/56/66; Skill Points: 4/5/5/6
This used to be the fighter’s golden skill. It’s now pointless, as you can deal more damage with Rising Uppercut. The only advantage of it is the increased range of 6m making it only justifiable in laggy PvP.

Eraser; Levels: 37/45/53; Skill Points: 7/8/9
This is a great skill in PvP, particularly if you are conscious of your kill:death ratio (triggering Eraser doesn’t count as a death, no matter how outnumbered/outgunned you are). It only really becomes useful at L2/3 though (L2, damage dealt = your total HPs; L3, damage dealt = 2xYour Total HPs). It WILL cause you to lose a res rune if you use it on UM, unless you are ressed, use a cont etc.

HelI Lord; Levels: 47/57/67; Skill Points: 7/8/9
Awesome skill, giving you an ace in the hole for tight situations. However, pricey on skill points.

Divine Burst Level: 50/60/70; Skill Points: 7/8/9
Save points for this skill – you’ll need em. This is the reason to get to L70. You will be laughed at if you get to high levels and do not get this skill.
Level 1 is available in HM/UM, and Level 2-3 is UM only. UMs can choose to just get L1 of the skill if they should so desire, but any UM worth his salt should max it.

~~~~~
If anyone should find any mistakes I’ve made, please point them out to me ^_^
Also, if anyone should have the endgame / highest lvl skills and can screenshot them, please doso and send them to me Smile It’ll be much appreciated ^_^

Thanks to:
Where’s Lupers for proof-reading + pointers.
Elfstruck for extra pictures

WEAPONS GUIDE

Contents:
Which Weapons Can Use Which Skills.
Weapon Information and Thoughts
Weapon Suggestions Based on Area

Which Weapons Can Use Which Skills.

Note: I include Demon Hushing for completeness. Rising Uppercut is better than it in every way.

Weapon Information and Thoughts

Duals – The fact that you can’t use most of your AoEs is a big downer for levelling, although you still do get the two most damaging ones. They’re still the joint-fastest weapon you can use with a Fast speed. If you can afford ice cream and a flash lapis, you’ll reach max speed (nb. Getting Etain Blessing or other speed buffs isn’t a bad thing, since if you get any speed debuffs, you can retain the fastest speed).

1H sharp/blunt weapons – Allowing you to take a shield (and another load of lapis slots), 1H weapons are good for PvP. However, they were badly hit by Ep 4 removing the option of using wind spin, making D-water impractical for them. I’m still a little dubious about how useful they are in the lower zones, although am well aware that extra lapis slots are a godsend there (and they can use all the useful 1v1 attacks fighters get). Needless to say, the lack of AoE attacks makes them impractical for levelling with.
1H heavy weapons are better in every respect than 1H sharp weapons. The only reason to use 1H sharps is that because they’re worse, they’ll probably be cheaper.

2H sharp weapons – Often just called 2H weapons, these are the weapon of choice in HM/UM due to their ability to use the Big 5 AoE attacks (Ground Boom, Wide Shock, Wind Spin, Enhanced Wind Spin, Barstool Swing. In that order, you can take down yellow mobs easy as pie. Maybe orange mobs. I myself have killed 18 yellow mobs in 22 seconds constantly for half an hour until bless went without resting or potting. Solo AoEing cannot be underestimated.) The epic weapon at L45 keeps them great for players on a budget as well as it’s elemental (and will outdamage almost any fighter non-elemental weapon in the game), and cannot be dropped (meaning no need for a Prevent Item Drop if you have a pair of them in your inventory).

2H blunt weapons – I’ve not recommended these be used at all. They have the skill limitations of the 1H blunt weapons, but without the extra lapis slots. They are a comparable speed and damage to 2H sharp weapons, but can only do a fraction of their skills. Leave these weapons to combat defenders.
Spears – My favourite weapons Very Happy Spears are the slowest weapon, which often excludes them from choices (being 1 speed level slower than 2Hs and 2 slower than duals). They can use almost every skill though, losing only one of the AoEs.

If you can afford to spend a lot of money on the spear (for example, the epic 52 with flash, ice cream and weapon mastery nostrum still reaches max speed), then they can be very damaging though. I believe they also have a slight range bonus over duals and 2H weapons.

Weapon Suggestions Based on Area

NM – Duals. They’ll let you use Wind Spin and are the fastest weapon at your disposal. They’re very common to find. The downside is that quite a few of the skills don’t work with them, but this doesn’t matter because NM toons don’t have access to them anyway.

HM/UM AoE grinder – 2H sword. They’ll let you use all of the big 5 AoEs, plus the L45 epic is a 2H, and one you MUST use until like 53+ unless you’re loaded. If you’ve taken your NM to L45, you’ll have a second/third epic 45 as well, making it supremely awesome for a fighter on a budget.

1-15 / 20-30 PvP – 1H blunt wpn/shield. You lose out on Wind Spin which hurts, but gain extra lapis slots, which are very nice. If you really want wind spin, grab a pair of duals to retain the speed advantage.

D-water (1-60 PvP) – Duals or 2Hs. I’m really torn on which of these is better. Duals gain 1 level of speed advantage, but 2Hs gain a LOT of extra skills (although not necessarily very useful in PvP).
I guess it mostly comes down to whether you’re going to grind at all, or only PvP. Grinders will need the extra attacks, PvPers will need to maximise the front-end damage dealt.

Endgame – L50+ – 2Hs or Spears. Pretty much the same conundrum as the previous paragraph. 2Hs gain the slight advantage of being faster and allowing you to retain the L45 epics. Spears gain a slight power bonus over the 2Hs though, and the speed difference and loss of one AoE isn’t so noticeable when you only get time to cast 2 AoEs on DD mobs.

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