Dragon Nest CN Artillery PvE Build

Dragon Nest CN Artillery PvE Build by sieg_freedom

Hi Everyone

Writing this guide at the suggestion of some people, though I was more motivated by the debate on the use of technique vs FD accessories ^^

I hope to encourage more people, especially fellow Artillery, to try for DDN. Will be more than welcome to share my DDN experience. For Scorpion at least, Artillery really has little pressure, and the gear requirements aren’t as high as people think.

Please take note that I advocate the use of technique accessories for Artillery, over any FD accessories (Honorable or Great Ancestor both). For the reasoning, do refer to the accessories section. The 4 technique accessories I recommend are:

1. Aerial Chain Shot +1 Necklace (799 INT / 608 VIT)
2. Swift Shot +1 Earring (599 INT / 497 VIT)
3. Bulls Eye +1 Ring (411 MDMG, 110 VIT)
4. Magical Breeze + 1 Ring or Crossbow/Longbow Mastery +1 Ring (411 MDMG, 110 VIT)

Mainly decided to do this due to the huge number of artillery I see using honorable accessories. Before deciding that I am flaming people for their gear choices, do let me clarify that I am looking towards building an artillery from an optimal point of view (the effective ability to do most content group and solo), people are welcome to use whatever gear they want.

Skill Build

The basic skill build:

Artillery’s 4 main DPS skills (in order of DPS Ranking) – Swift Shot EX, Aerial Chain Shot, Extension Arrow EX, and Rapid Shot EX are maxed in the most generic of builds. This build focuses only on these, as well as maxing the buffs to support them. See the below for a rough idea of how much each skill does – I did badly with ACS, but just use the rough damage x 24 hits, which is what you will get when you use it close to bosses.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMAenVrPl1o

This skill build is the most recommended for most artillery, especially if one has no idea why and how to use Arrow Shower. Is Arrow Shower worth taking? The damage is mad awesome –

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=IvIeq4YzyIM#t=337s

The conditions for releasing it, the long cd, and the way damage is calculated under Magical Breeze makes this skill not worth taking in general. It will never be a main DPS skill, and you will be squeezing SP to get it out. It’s use in DDN is pretty limited as well. As the skill most often sacrificed to up Arrow Shower is Spirit Excellation, how much base INT you have can be a pretty big determining factor. (If you have over 4000 INT, dump Arrow Shower) Arrow Shower’s damage under Magical Breeze is decided by the different between physical dmg and magical dmg, the larger the difference the better. This also makes your gear and pot choices very limiting (No PDMG or AGI).

Can Arrow Shower be worth the reward? Yes. Are there specific uses for it? Yes. The one I am most concerned with is the potential to solo Prof K Hell Mode. In Stage 2, there will be a point where you have to break 2 barriers erected by the Calamari. Arrow Shower is the best solution for Artillery to clear both barriers.

Example of an Arrow Shower Build:

There are 3 other considerations when making an Artillery’s skill build –

1. Solo scenarios where DPS alone is or might not be enough – at the level 60 cap, this basically refers to Stage 3 Typhoon Hell. The 180s is incredibly hard to achieve without ankle shot (solo) – not impossible, but made much easier with it.

2. Using honorable accessories instead of technique – This isn’t recommended, and I will go over why later. Falls behind in DPS so much that I am not making the effort to envision such a skill build.

3. The imminent arrival of Guided Shot EX, and the preference for letting ACS be used for movement instead of DPS. Make no mistake, ACS is the second highest DPS skill of artillery, your damage will most likely be lowered. In return, this allows for a much safer environment to DPS in. If you find yourself using guided more than ACS, maxing guided and lowering ACS can be considered.
ACS vs Tracking / Guided Calculations

Gear Recommendations

Yes, the gear is supposed to be higher end. One reason is that DPS characters get kicked often for having sub-par gear. The other reason is for DDN considerations. Remember to adjust according to your own budget / goals. I will make the preferred recommendations, then focus on the minimum later

Cookie Cutter 1
4 pieces Honorable Armor (Helm, Bottom, Sleeves, Shoes)
1 high enhanced non-set (+12? ^^) Torso Armor
2 high enhanced non-set 60A weapons (+12, anything below stick to other choices)

Considering you can get +12 weapons cheaper than +10 honorable weapons for better results, it is worth the cost. If you can afford to build some FD, then bloody weapons +10 will outdo +12 non- set weapons. This gear is meant to be the most cost-effective setup possible. 4 pieces of honorable for 276 FD, 1 high enhanced torso armor for the best return on HP. From a practical perspective, you can leave sleeves and shoes at +6 really, the growth from enhancing them is too low to be worth the effort – channel all of that $$ for getting a highly enhanced non-set torso armor. To not get kicked by trigger happy chinese though, I would suggest minimum +8 head, sleeves, shoes, +10 torso, bottom.

Cookie Cutter 2
5 pieces Honorable Armor
2 Bloody (Arena) Weapons +10

In the freedom server, there is a very common trend of asking for minimal +10 weapons (chinese parties), so as a guideline, do attempt to obtain these if you don’t want to get kicked ^^. This is a more offense oriented setup – the 5th set effect bonus for honorable is critical, which artillery lacks in general. The bloody weapons help to build FD. This is also the most common setup people use. Costs way more though. Same recommended minimum, +8 head, sleeves, shoes, +10 torso, bottom.

FD Build
5 pieces Great Ancestor Armor
2 Bloody (Arena) Weapons +X

Well, pretty much common sense. If you end up building like this, you should hopefully know what you are doing… This is actually not very recommended by me. Ironic I know, since I am using the FD build myself. The reason to not use GA weapons is simple – the 27 FD doesn’t really cover much, and you got to enhance it yourself most of the time. Bloody weapons are much easier to get +10.

The Minimum – Gearing efficiently (cheaper over time Gear Progession)

Recommended Weapon Combinations (Order of Preference)

1. 2x Bloody (Arena) Weapons – the FD boost is pretty useful, and with the ease of stacking FD at 60 cap, should be the prime consideration

2. 2x High Enhanced Weapons – The boost from highly enhanced weapons (+12) beats the boost from Honorable Weapons, most of which are maximum +10 on the market.

3. Honorable Weapons – the set bonus is always good. The fact that most sold are +10 and below hurts it bad though. +12 non set weapons > +10 set weapons

4. 50L Weapons – High vit boost, high board damage. The lack of FD and suffix really hurts it bad though. It does solve the critical problem for artillery, due to the raw agi gains from enhancement levels. Not recommended at all for Arrow Shower builds. Highly recommended for DDN, especially for fixed teams, not as recommended for wild parties.

As a DPS, we cannot afford to skimp on weapons. Recommendations 1-3 are in order of effectiveness. With 50L, you need luck, gold, and if you get that far, you should know what you are doing.

Armor Suffix

Head – INT
Torso – INT
Bottom – INT
Sleeves – WILL / LIFE-GIVING (Will by far more preferred for me)
Shoes – INT

Why not vit suffix for top and bottom? Artillery as a dps character has to strike a balance between damage and survivability. If you are going for a full vit build, then playing a DPS character has no real meaning. It is much easier to swap accessories and sources than changing suffixes. If you are too focused on survival, it is a disservice to the party. Remember, an artillery has the freedom to select the range she attacks from, as well as all kinds of position changing moves. We are not supposed to tank damage. Of course, we need an allowance for mistakes, but setting that allowance too high has no meaning at all.

The will suffix is a no brainer. Here’s one scenario – If it activates, you can walk out of poison wall (DDN Scorpion) in the event of a mistake. Useful in plenty of other scenarios. Life-giving is an alternative, with the main use being keeping you alive at 1hp if it activates when you were going to die. Useful, but not as game changing as will in my opinion.

Weapons Suffix
1. Magic + Tent (Highest damage potential when it matters, option 2 preferred if someone else already has tent in party)

2. Magic + Magic (Highest board damage)

3. Int + Int (Lower damage for more mdef, mp, good team suffix if playing often with elemental classes using L weapons)

4. Life Giving + Life Giving/Tent (Solo suffixes, I personally use Life-Giving + Tent. A second Life-Giving gives much more room to make mistakes, but tent really makes a difference at the more important content. )

Longbow vs Crossbow

Crossbow is the better weapon for artillery.

Longbow: Higher crit, slightly longer range, much lower minimum mdmg, usually slightly higher maximum mdmg
Crossbow: Lower crit, slightly shorter range, much higher minimum damage, usually slightly lesser maximum mdmg

Before you point out longbows have a higher maximum, that isn’t always true. A 50L +13 crossbow and longbow have the same maximum damage. The average mdmg for crossbow is much higher. Crit is a concern for artillery, but it is way easier to push crit than damage. Critical also has a hard cap that is more easily reached. The range doesn’t matter for artillery – we are an all range class that does way more damage close range, where we would ideally be if it was safe. I am using a longbow because I +11 it myself.

Accessories
This is the biggest point of contention that people have. I really wanted to do the stats out myself, but fortunately or unfortunately, someone on duowan already did it. Please refer to http://dn.duowan.com/1303/227111654837_4.html

For those who do not understand chinese, let me translate part of and summarize the Article:

Great Ancestor = GA*

1. 2GA + 2 techniques (Bulls Eye + ACS / Swift Shot EX) vs 4 techniques

Around 800 FD, 2 GA + 2 techniques have around the same impact on total dps output (calculated from the impact of the skill accessories on dps output of your 4 main dps skills, expressed as a %) Above 1000 FD, it is worthwhile to change to a 2GA + 2 technique setup

2. 4GA vs 2GA + 2 techniques

Above 1000 FD, 4GA will outdps 2GA + 2 techniques. However, this does not take into account the effect of Bulls Eye for the party – decide for yourself which is better.

3. 4GA vs 4 techniques

Above 800 FD, 4GA will outdps 4 techniques. However, this does not take into account the effect of Bulls Eye for the party – decide for yourself which is better.

4. 4 Honorable vs 4 techniques

Unless you do not use ACS or Swift Shot, 4 techniques blow 4 honorables out of the water.

Chart References
2GA + 2 techniques vs 4 techniques (Page 2 of article)
4GA vs 2GA + 2 techniques (Page 3 of article, first chart)
4GA vs 4 techniques (Page 3 of article, second chart)
4 Honorable vs 4 techniques (Page 4 of article)

Now, you may be asking, if at certain FD values, 4 GA accessories or 2 GA + 2 technique would do better, then why is Sieg recommending 4 technique? (Aerial Chain Shot, Swift Shot EX, Bulls Eye, Magical Breeze/Longbow or Crossbow Mastery)

The main reason is that the calculation done on duowan excludes the accessories’ stats, as well as relative cost. Also, 4GA accessories doing better is excluding the effect Bulls Eye has for the party, especially in raids. He is only counting personal dps output. Anyone who has ever checked AH for accessories will notice how incredibly rare int based GA accessories are. They are mostly strength. Also, do take note of the cost of strength GA accessories, one of them is around the price of 2 50A 3rd stat fd plates on our server. Using 2 GA gives you 136 FD, using 2 50A plates gives you 170 FD. Assuming the ratio holds roughly, you could have 340 FD for the same price, depending on market availability etc. And those are for strength based GA accessories. Imagine how much an int accessory will cost.

Let’s take a look at stats as well. With technique accessories, you can choose between a 799 int or 608 vit neck, and 599 int or 497 vit earrings. Do take note that in cdn at least, if you swap between different techniques or technique/non technique, there is a high chance for the skill to be DISABLED. Buffs won’t work, damage skills deal 0 damage. Technique accessories provide an easy way for an artillery to balance between damage and survivability, start with vit and change to int as you feel comforable. You do not have this freedom with nest accessories.

Also, while the 8% benchmark for ACS + Swift Shot technique’s contribution to overall dps might be more or less correct, do remember that Swift Shot is definitely the top tier DPS skill in artillery’s arsenal. Under TA, this skill does millions of damage every 2 seconds. The swift shot growth is approximately 11% after using the skill earring (ACS is 17.5%). Considering the use of spirit boost and TA, the damage potential of technique accessories actually rises. (The contribution to total dps becomes distorted since your rate of using the top DPS skill rises. Assuming you use all 4 skills whenever you can, Swift Shot EX’s damage / (4 main DPS skills) = 42%, without even considering TA)

As you can see from the chart, honorable is the worst performer. Assuming you need just honorable accessories to max FD, the overall damage growth is lower than 8%! (Using the same method to compute overall contribution to dps) That is the highest leap in damage honorable can achieve, and without even counting bulls eye party application, it cannot even catch up to using just 4 technique accessories. It will only do better if you seal your 2 highest dps skills – Swift Shot and ACS. You cannot adjust your stats with it as well. In other words, honorable is the worst end game accessory choice you can have on an artillery. You lose out on survivability, overall dps, and party support in order to report higher mdmg and fd values. Yes, it sounds cool on paper. But we are talking about dps here, for a dps character. The numbers speak for themselves. (For those who don’t get it, you do more DPS using technique over honorable at any FD level, even if honorable would max your FD!)

Also, some might question why I mention Longbow/Crossbow mastery, while the chart on duowan lists Magical Breeze only. As you can see, the damage growth from magical breeze becomes lesser as your fd increases. (Refer to 瞄准暴雪技巧输出提升） That is because it works similar to plates, and does not multiply with fd, only adding to it. The more fd you have, the better mastery becomes. Do take note that the benefit one has over another hovers around 1% when either are in better position. In other words, they are interchangeable.

Just a tidbit, for those who do not understand why Bulls Eye raises damage by 4% consistently, (even though it is 5% in the skill description), the actual increase in damage is calculated by 130%/125% (Effect with technique / Effect without technique)

Choice of other technique ring besides Bulls Eye to maximize DPS

Magical Breeze vs Longbow/Crossbow Mastery Calculations

Low FD – Magical Breeze Ring
High FD – Longbow/Crossbow Mastery

Pot Choices

Armor, Necklace, Earrings: INT + VIT + HP

Rings: MDMG + INT (To push VIT, I am using MDMG + INT + AGI + VIT)

Weapons: MDMG + INT (Best pot overall is MDMG + INT + CRIT + MP RECOVERY, till you reach crit cap)

Plates

Stat Plates
HP, VIT, DEF, MDEF, INT, MDMG, CRIT, FD

Yes, skip the agi plate. You are better off pushing crit on artillery than agility, mainly due to pots. If you cannot have enough agi pots on your gear, then it is better to pile pure critical over using agi.

Third stats suggested: FD, INT, VIT, MDMG

FD depends upon market availability and your own pockets. INT is generally the best choice, it gives you a nice amount of both MDEF and MDMG. VIT for those who need to push survivability even more (generally not a good idea, there are cheaper ways to push than using third stat plates), MDMG (recommended only for those who want to push their mdmg value to the extreme, INT provides more bang for your buck) Crit is possible, but not recommended. Pots are still the best way to up your crit.

INT vs MDMG 3rd stat basic calculations

Skill Plates
Aerial Chain Shot, Extension Arrow EX, Swift Shot EX, Rapid Shot EX (All +% DMG)

Arrow Shower builds with plate expansion slots can consider adding an Arrow Shower plate.

Recommended Stats (DDN)
HP: 270k – 300k (Safe enough for scorpion, watch out for line drive from Death Knight Stage 1, can potentially OHKO you with that skill at 270k HP)

MDMG: At least 15k (People will ask for more, but this is the baseline you should have after sneakily changing your INT accessories to VIT accessories ^^)

Solo DDN Scorpion for Artillery

Re-posting my videos from the general entertainment thread – Please take note that due to lag while recording, and relative unfamiliarity at that point in time, the DPS output is really low – the run can be sped up way faster. What I want to achieve with this section is to highlight the experience and tips that I have fighting scorpion as an artillery (generally solo).

4X to 3X
This video is kind of long, but showcases the main skills the Scorpion uses. This bar is extremely easy, and most of your party shouldn’t have died at this point in time (if they are any good…) Go all out and attack here. Instead of using ACS to dodge stomp, use triangle shot instead. Spam ACS when you can. There is no need to use triangle to dodge the charge attack, I do it because it looks cool… Reserve triangle for stomp.

Extra Tip #1: If you happen to end up soloing this bar, I highly suggest you train yourself on how to kite the boss by luring him around the edge of the map. This is in preparation of the spinning attack at the very last HP bar. It’s going to be a long fight anyway, so take the time to become familiarized with this, it’s going to save your life (I hope)

Double Stomp
This generally occurs only once a battle, at the end of 3X after flower kicking, but just be prepared for it. If you face lag, I highly suggest not doing stuff like chaining ACS after triangle, and keep your skills for the stomps.

3X to 2X
The real killer for most people begins at this HP bar – Poison Wall. If you have lag and idiot team mates, this will be an uphill task. First thing to take note of, never have a poison pool between the Scorpion and yourself – if you get dragged across it when the scorpion initiates poison wall, good luck. Next thing is that the Will Suffix, if it activates when you accidentally bang the wall, will allow you to force yourself out, so react fast and do it! Also, take note of the timing to kick the flowers – Kick the first flower when the timer reaches 0, and the next few flowers as your immunity buff displays 0s. I should have done it correctly in the video.. I hope so ^^. If there are only 3 flowers left (due to an accident by 1 of your team mates or yourself), this timing will allow u to go through. If there are all 4 flowers, and you are worried, it is ok to kick at 1s

Extra Tip 2: Poison Wall Training – The most important part to poison wall is having the confidence and patience to do it. In order to obtain these, I suggest practicing for the poison wall in this manner –

1. Sylph’s Aid + Keep Weapon. Hold W when the wall opens, you will run out easily.
2. Keep Weapon, watch the distance between the wall and yourself more, adjust as necessary, and run out
3. Do not keep your weapon, watch the distance, tumble when the wall opens up

Both 2 and 3 can work well, it is my personal preference to not have to TAB as much as possible, I want to retain the choice to buff and dps as much as I can without wasting time ^^

Extra Tip 3: How to know where to move for the flowers – I had someone ask me this, so including this here. It’s pretty simple, always head to the entrance area, and react accordingly. In a party, assign someone to kick the flower and follow that person’s signal. Always start by moving towards the entrance area, it is easier for people to gather that way. In wild parties, I usually have people gather beforehand, while I whittle the last bit of HP myself to trigger the AoE. Keep your weapon and run towards the group. This method is way safer than the mass panic generated sometimes. The usual preference for the flowers is to move in a clockwise direction, unless the pattern does not allow for that.

Extra Tip 4: When you see the Scorpion’s HP bar at it’s last bit of 2X, heading towards 1X, I advise to stop attacking and wait till after a Poison Wall to trigger the 1X special attack – Poison Spin. Both skills have a CD of 60s, if you force the scorpion to chain them together, you have a big allowance of distance between you and the scorpion before it can reach you, AND there is no pressure to count cd at all. Saves you a lot of mental effort.

2X to 1X

This portion of the fight is also the most mentally stressful, due to Poison Spin. It is highly recommended that you can do what I listed in Extra Tip 4. Also, from this point onwards, kite the scorpion along the edge of the map, as suggested in Extra Tip 1. This is to make sure that the scorpion does not start spinning from the centre of the map. Keeping your weapon and run is sufficient most of the time. The safest and slowest method is to become Usain Bolt – Slyph’s Aid + Keep Weapon, and run like mad. The scorpion can never catch up with you if you do this.

Solo DDN (Memorial) Flower for Artillery

Finally managed to get this vid up. I took damage twice – the first from a fireball that I couldn’t dodge (lag), and the second time was a misread of the 3 consecutive explosions. For those who still doubt the life-giving suffix though, check out how much HP I recovered ^^

Don’t ask me why I don’t Sylph’s Aid – The lag is scary enough while recording that I do not want to have to adapt to speed variance as well. Use it whenever you want.

For the Flower’s attacks, refer to Chaos’ DDN Guide. What I want to cover here are certain tips (especially for artillery).

Tip 1: Do not use your evade to dodge the fireball. As you will be able to see in the video, this boss loves to follow up the Fireball with Roar. When you see the boss following up with Roar, evade towards the left of the boss and you will be safe. If you do not have evade, prepare your aerial escape before you get blown out. I do this a few times during the video as well.

For bowmasters only – You will watch me do this a lot during the video – Triangle towards the boss, followed by ACS. Please take note that if you are not used to it, there is a chance to take damage from the remnants of a fireball on the ground. Train and get used to it if you want to do this!

Tip 2: Flame Geyser – I find it much easier to read whether the explosion is inner or outer when I tilt the camera away from the boss. You can do it otherwise of course, I just find it easier to read this way personally. If you are standing on the area that is about to explode, one tumble in the opposite direction will let you be safe.

For artillery only – You will watch me do this a lot during the video – When the pattern is inner outer inner (you can do it for the reverse, but the positioning will feel more awkward), when the outer explosion takes place, 1 swift shot ex will allow u to dps then get away from the final explosion with the free fake shot at the end. Make good use of this to DPS!

Tip 3: Positioning is important for this boss – As you will be able to observe, there are periods of time where the boss does nothing. This is because the boss wants to use the Bite attack but there is no target within range. When there is lesser lag (a.k.a I am soloing without recording), I will move in to draw out the attack before using a Fake Shot out. This gives you a DPS window to fire off one of your skills without worrying that the next attack is Fireball.

Platform Jumping – Don’t worry about counting anything. I tried a few variants of platform selection in the video. First yellow line at the top – Head for 1 set of platforms, and wait at the second one. Second yellow line – Jump on the second one. You can jump after 2s if you really want, or just wait for the fire to extinguish before jumping. Do not panic and you will be fine. (I have noticed an issue for people who count the CD and pre-empt the platform – the flower sometimes shoots up a spurt of water, causing you to miss the jump. If you don’t camp too long while waiting, it doesn’t seem to happen)

Stomp Evading – Wait till the end of the sound when the flower jumps, then jump. Jump once more in case it is the triple stomp. I know you can see whether it jumps again or not in the video, but when I was recording I couldn’t. It’s better to be safe than sorry too…

There isn’t anything else that is specific for Artillery. This boss only has 1(2) real attacks that is aimed at the person holding the aggro – Bite(Roar). I don’t really count Roar because more than half the time, it is the follow up attack to Fireball (which is aimed at a random person). As long as you are familiar with the mechanics, this boss is pretty ok. Do let me know if there are any questions ^^

________________________________________________________________

Just to highlight suffix choices on this section:

1. Life-Giving suffix – This would have given me more margin to make errors if I had made any more. 50L’s extra vit is useful in a party, but from a solo perspective, life-giving is much more practical. Also, with FD vs board damage, it all depends on your other gear. One possible choice of gear would be 50L crossbow + 50L shoes, along with 5x GA (4 armor + 1 quiver) to maximize both vit while allowing you to use the life-giving suffix without losing FD. One of the problems is the cost of course…

2. Will suffix – I’m sure people would have noticed the Will suffix allowing me to tank Fireball without getting knocked back (and getting burned more in the pool of fire left behind). While I didn’t mean to tank the Fireball (it lagged, my controls weren’t responding), this is a good demonstration of the “imba-ness” of the Will Suffix. Yes, Will over Life-Giving!! ~by Sieg

DDN Strategy for Artillery (Stage by Stage)

Before I begin, please take note that what I am advocating is based on my playstyle and understanding of the nest. Regardless of whether it is the most optimal, the concepts here are what have led me to clear DDN.

Artillery is actually a CLOSE RANGE class, with all of it’s implications. Remember a raid is not solo, it is ok to take some risks/damage if you have confidence in your party members/yourself.

Tip 1: Sieg’s TA Combo: Slyph’s Aid, (Swift Shot EX, Rapid, Extension rotation, as long as you used Sylph’s Aid, you can rotate all 3 skills consecutively till TA is over. Whatever happens, always use Swift Shot EX if possible)

Tip 2: Triangle owns everything ^^

Flying Ship

Bulls Eye and whack away. Do not stand to the rear of the Snake Lady (If your team is any good, it won’t make much of a difference though). When the Death Knight appears, watch out for Line Drive. Red Wave’s knock down can be negated by Guardian Force. Tornado, if it appears, is easily evaded using the aerial escape method (Refer to Freedom guide)

Worm

As an artillery, nearly all our skills are able to hit the worm’s head. This makes us invaluable at breaking the SA on worm. Upon entering the stage proper, after the barrels, move towards the 5 o clock direction, get all the buffs. When the worm emerges from the centre, start moving closer towards it. You will have to learn to gain a sense for when to Sylph’s Aid, then proceed to jump + ACS when it does stomp, then unleash everything you can while it’s head is on the ground. Repeat this whenever it does stomp if possible.

For the normal pillars, 1 Swift Shot EX from me if positioned right can bring down nearly half the bar. My main approach to when the worm shoots out the 3 pillars are – go to where the party is gathered, help bring down the hp of that pillar. Move on to next pillar and Swift Shot EX. When the worm approaches the first pillar, use Rapid and Extension to break the first pillar. Rinse and repeat. If it is going to faint, Sylph’s Aid if possible,  triangle + ACS to cover the distance, then whack the tail.

Sandpit Hell – You will most likely be the main DPS here. Swift Shot + Extension + Guided should be enough for any artillery (that gets into DDN ^^)

Skills to watch out for

1. Stomp (both types)

Always keep your view on the worm, due to this move. Jump after it jumps. If in doubt, triangle or ACS

2. Spin + Charge

Triangle

3. Rolling Attack

Your position should not be either horizontally or vertically centre. Fake Shot, Triangle, Swift Shot EX for burst movement.

Scorpion

The boss I have done the most, as well as dislike the most for it’s mechanics.

Key DPS Points

Aim Extension at it’s claws, can get in extra 1-2 hits, more if at corner.

Before 1X Poison Spin, you should move in a circular motion when it spins to move closer to the Scorpion (and watch everyone backing away while you are being a hero ^^). Free Swift Shot EX opportunity.

If ACS is not cooling down, use it when Scorpion does Stomp. Higher chance to not get hit plus easy to land full hits.

When the Scorpion charges, good positioning can allow you to plant an Arrow Shower.

Keep to 45 degrees to 90 degrees of the scorpion (from the front), the best angle to see/avoid attacks. Actually, nothing much can really hit you there.

Scorpion moves so slow, you can use nearly any skill with no fear. Avoid using the Exploding Arrow in Artillery tree if not used to the tempo of the boss, it’s the skill that will let you get hit the most.

Skills to watch out for

1. Stomp

Look at scorpion when it goes up, jump at highest point. Go enough times and you go by feeling ^^. If in doubt, Triangle/ACS

2. Poison Wall

Sylph’s Aid if no Spirit Boost, wait for wall to open, tumble out

3. Poison Spin EX

Use one of your buffs as a counter, and move away before that. Move alongside the edge and you should be fine generally. If I do not have the aggro, I actually move towards the boss ^^

Manticore

This boss is the toughest to solo, probably the easiest boss in a party (with priest)

Key DPS Points

If the Tornado is on you, buff and fire your long range skills.

If you manage to position the manticore between you and the person with the Tornado, you can just fire off your skills. Close range Swift Shot EX.

Triangle + ACS is the answer to nearly everything, in terms of dodging then attacking. As the manticore NEVER stops attacking, you have to be quite alert throughout the whole fight.

Skills to watch out for

1. Stomp

When you see the manti raise it’s claws, at the point it starts to glow, jump. If you are aware of the safe zones from the resulting explosions (easiest being right in front of the head), move towards though. When in doubt, triangle (for the explosions, not the stomp).

2. Flying Stomp

Upon hearing it howl in the air, count 1,2,3 then Jump. Or 1,2, Triangle/ACS (Safer)

3. Tornado

Once I hear the manticore howl, I rotate my view trying to spot who has the tornado.  Even if that person is extremely close to you, out of position, if you respond fast enough, you will be safe (provided there are no jokers who move around)

4. Photon Missile

Sylph’s Aid, keep weapon, run. Imagine a third circle in between the outer and inner rings. Run there initially then switch rings, depending on who is in front of you/near you. You can adjust your speed at the edge of the map by pressing A + W (only recommended for those who are more experienced)

5. Charged Photon

Watch for jokers who remain at the middle of the map, there’s always an option to run to the sides. If you are familiar enough with the positions of everyone, there is numerous safe spots all over the map actually, I’ve gotten surrounded by a bunch of light spears without being hit plenty of times by now.

6. Light Balls

Either learn the safe zones, or same old Triangle + ACS. If you are too close to the light ball and do not know the trajectory, use Shift + AD + right click to triangle on the spot.

If you ever get hit by Photon Missile and have no confidence, just stay far away from Manti, watching out for Pounce + Stomp. You can hardly get hit then. Try to survive and dodge the next wave of Photon Missiles.
Remember to unequip and equip back your weapons if you get hit by Photon.

Flower

Easiest boss to solo once familiar. Very irritating though.

Key DPS Points

Swift Shot EX is crap here. Barely any hits.

Staying close to the boss makes it easier to dodge, and thus DPS. Since the tank will have the aggro, bite is nothing to worry about.

The alternate position to stand, which I use for solo, is the gap between the 2 lines of flame geyser explosions. Safer, but slower to DPS

Sylph’s Aid after platforming, you do not want it to be on when jumping platform to avoid accidents.

With Guardian Force you can just DPS blindly.

Skills to watch out for

1. Burning Ground (From Fireball)

Don’t stand on it =p

2. Flame Geyser

If in doubt, triangle towards the boss. If it’s inner, you will dodge the first hit. If it’s outer, just start moving as per normal.

3. Platforming

Approach the middle platform diagonally, to avoid any water sprouting from the ground.

4. Stomp

Jump after hearing the gurgling sound. Then jump again for good measure in case it is triple stomp. If it is, one more jump… For all jumps, use direction + jump. It is also possible to dodge stomps with i-frames.

5. Everything else

Just know where to move.

Most important thing is, NEVER STAND IN FRONT OF THE SMALL FLOWERS. Only in between. A mistake in front of the small flowers get sent to platform, and you will be floating…. (Ignore if there’s Guardian Force, but it’s still not good to assume such a risky position in case anything happens)

Golem

I don’t deal perfectly with golem. I get hit sooner or later, always get caught using a skill =p Don’t really die here though, unless too many people are dead and the stellai explodes.

Key DPS Points

At the start, wait for the option to fire Guided to light up before giving Bulls Eye

As long as the boss is not facing your side, go all out.

When the boss is facing your side, always be prepared to Triangle (yes, I know triangle is getting old, it’s just THAT GOOD!)

Skills to watch out for

1.Tornado

Run away

2. Rock Fist (from sky)

Run to southeast/southwest corner (safe zone)

3. Swipe, blah blah

Triangle

4. Triple Stomp

If you don’t know how to jump, practice at bishop hell mode. If you get hit by the first stomp, triangle + ACS will allow you to avoid the next 2 hits.

5. Everything else

Curse – Know where to stand, just use your long range skills. Swipe etc. all solved by tumble/triangle/swift shot ex i frame.

Dragon

Dragon is a triangle-fest… ^^

The position I assume is in front of left claw, just outside the edge of where the middle sandpit would be if it was summoned.

Tail swipe = Triangle to the left
Nearly everything else = triangle to the right

I don’t attempt to triangle out of flame prison when it activates now, just do it by avoiding the pits. If you triangle and fail to get out, and get knocked to the ground, it is much more dangerous!

Stomp = Hear the wings beat 3x, triangle/ACS, same thing for bind + stomp later

Normal tail spikes = move in a circle, provided there is no overlap

Flying tail spike I choose to move clockwise, since the angle it will come in is 30 degrees counter clockwise (from where it exit)… probably safer.

Sand Breath (including the one with bind), go to same claw position mentioned above.

Rotating Breath without spirit boost = Sylph’s Aid + Keep Weapon, with Spirit Boost, just Keep Weapon and move it.

That’s about it for DDN! Once you get used to it, your positioning is what keeps you alive most of the time. Will update if I missed out anything.

Spiritual Excellation Calculation

1. It depends on your INT (and agi if you need it for some slight critical boost)

I might as well address how Spiritual Excellation translates into MDMG. It is divided into 2 sections –

INT calculation = (Base INT + INT from Gear/Costume + INT from title + INT from set bonus) * (1 + % INT multiplier from gear)

A common question I get is whether Spiritual Excellation receives the bonus from % INT multipliers. That question comes from a lack of understanding as to the nature of the multipliers. Spiritual Excellation INT gain is the above INT calculation multiplied by (1 + % INT increase from Spiritual Excellation)

It is a A*B*C = D relationship. It doesn’t matter whether you multiply Spiritual Excellation to the absolute INT before applying INT%, or calculate INT% then Spiritual Excellation, it doesn’t matter either way since they are multiplied by each other. The INT% gain you have from Spiritual Excellation already includes the INT% on your gear.

This INT is translated into the base mdmg for the previous calculation I have given before:

Base mdmg x (1 + % increase from pots and plate) x (1 + % increase from crossbow/longbow mastery, striking, rock of blessing buff, battle howl, returnee boost, attack pots etc)

Whatever INT you gain is multiplied by 0.5 into MDMG. Depending on your own pots and plate (including bonus from costume), you will have a different value for the first multiplier. For the second multiplier, for a solo scenario you can consider longbow/crossbow mastery as well as rock of blessing. It is likely the 65 passive falls under this category as well (which will dilute our % gain from crossbow mastery, cementing magical breeze as the preferred skill ring for Artillery)

Let’s keep the calculation simple, no plate + costume, just 4x MDMG pots on the standard gear – 4x 5.75% = 23%

Crossbow Mastery = 9.1%, Rock of Blessing buff = 10%

Assuming 4000 INT, Level 1 Spiritual Excellation:
360 INT => 180 base MDMG
180 x 1.23 x 1.191 = 264 MDMG

If you have 15k MDMG as a base, it will boost the MDMG% side of your damage output (not taking tail damage into account) by 1.76%. Doesn’t sound like much, but if you have been following my calculations, you should know how hard it is to squeeze out a % increase to your DPS output. Artillery has mad % on her skills compared to tail damage…

In conclusion your INT value (pre Spiritual Excellation), and your current mdmg will determine your % gain to MDMG side of the damage equation.

Let’s use a CDN-esque calculation for fun:
5800INT (a value I saw before 60SII was released) x Level 4 Spiritual Excel = 5800 x 0.18 = 1044 INT
1044 INT => 522 base MDMG

MDMG % multiplier on gear
4 x 5.75% pot, 10% from plate, 6% from costume = 39%

Crossbow Mastery skill ring + Rock of Blessing Buff = 21.7%

522 x 1.39 x 1.217 = 883 MDMG
883 / 19000 = 4.65% boost to MDMG side of damage equation!!!

There are people with even more awesome stats ^^ I have a friend with over 8000 INT on his artillery now…

If you decide to stack up INT, go for Spiritual Excel. The more INT you stack up, the more godly the overall boost to damage potential is. -2 points off Rapid Shot and -1 off Ballista to get 1 point in Spiritual Excel. If for any reason INT stacking is not feasible, that build is fine, but will have a lower cut-off point in damage potential.

2. For many reasons, the non Arrow Shower build is preferable – in the long run it will have the easier time to maximize DPS. Using Arrow Shower to cover up the difference Spiritual Excellation gives is not an impossible task, but will require more effort on the part of the player. It comes down to how well you can use Arrow Shower + the opportunities you have to use Arrow Shower. It’s an active skill vs a passive skill that are competing for DPS, it is obvious which is easier to maintain the DPS consistently. Let us use some numbers to illustrate, the more realistic 500 gain from Spiritual Excel / 15k mdmg leading to a 3.3% damage boost.

ACS 2256% * 0.033 = 74.48%
Extension 1440% * 0.033 = 47.52%
Rapid Shot 1110% * 0.033 = 36.63%
Swift Shot = 3314% x 0.033 = 109.36%

Total = 268%, assuming each DPS cycle consists of these 4 skills, and that the average number of cycles before Arrow Shower is used again is 4, the damage roughly equals out. The calculation is not as simple as that of course… but this is a close enough approximation. Based on your main DPS skills vs potential Arrow Shower damage output, the numbers are fairly close.. BUT Arrow Shower takes more effort to keep up. In other words, this is mostly a gameplay choice that increases your risk of losing out on DPS. If you are 1. comfortable with that, 2. like Arrow Shower, it is okay to use an Arrow Shower build to maintain a roughly equivalent level of DPS. It is just more risky compared to using Spiritual Excellation (in terms of losing DPS) and takes more effort to maintain the DPS.

The choice is totally up to you. For most artillery players, the basic generic build is what I recommend, that’s why it is the first build in my guide. The advantages outweigh the disadvantages, but if you like Arrow Shower enough (and used to be a Sniper according to your guide) and is comfortable enough with using it often enough to maintain DPS, by all means go for it. Just remember that whenever you fail to use Arrow Shower at opportune timings after it’s cooldown is done (but it has lower priority than Swift Shot and ACS!!), it would have been better off going into Spiritual Excellation. Most players will lose potential damage output using Arrow Shower, that’s a fact. The other consideration for an Arrow Shower build is to solo Prof K Hell.

Preview for 70 Cap

People who have been following this thread will know that I am no longer playing Artillery for 70 cap (most likely ^^) I most likely will NOT be following up on Artillery then. While I still have the time, based on my preliminary calculations, here are the results of my conclusion –

1. Archer Tree – Twin Shot to Magic Arrow

Since Magic Arrow gets a boost to Level 21, the DPS discrepancy between Twin Shot and Magic Arrow is gone now. Why would I prefer Magic Arrow?

– Since the DPS discrepancy is gone, the AoE of Magic Arrow becomes a larger advantage

– A(n) (good) artillery should be sending the main DPS skills on cooldown so often, the LONGER cooldown of Magic Arrow becomes an ADVANTAGE because whenever Twin Shot is not used, it’s return on potential DPS drops. Yes, DPS from archer page is low, but this is another advantage in favour of Magic Arrow for sure.

2. Bowmaster Tree – ACS vs Guided / Tracking vs Spiritual Excellation

My conclusion about the reduction of Extension Arrow previously had a major mistake – it is one of the DPS contributors under Time Acceleration. I am sure all artillery know exactly how the build should look like (please, no more Arrow Shower builds for 70 cap, it isn’t worth it any more by this point in time, Guided > Arrow Shower now )

Our DPS skills (none of them needs technique accessories to reach a peak level! Count ourselves lucky OR unlucky, since it might mean FD accessories = $$$)

Swift Shot EX (16) （Level 16: 2857.5% + 70268）- Value is likely to be HIGHER if used well, DDN Flower aside, taking a normal value for enemies with standard hit boxes, coefficient 7.5 (derived from averaging hits)
ACS (full hits at Level 16) (11/16)  (Level 16: 2256% + 30108) coefficient 12 (full hits)
Rapid EX (16) (Level 16: 1442.1% + 74796) coefficient 6.9 (full hits)
Guided EX (6/11) (Level 11: 1498% + 34029) coefficient 10.4 (full hits)
Extension EX (16) (Level 16: 1289% + 31872) coefficient 3.4 (9 hits)

Level 16 ACS + Level 6 Guided EX surpasses Level 11 ACS + Level 11 Guided EX by a very small, nearly non-existent margin only (yes, still surpasses), ASSUMING full hits for ACS. Therefore, Level 11 ACS + Level 11 Guided EX IS the better option at 70 cap, considering potential fluctuation in DPS – IF we cannot squeeze SP out elsewhere. And similar to 60 cap, the first and only choice to squeeze SP from is Spiritual Excellation. (Assuming the rate of usage for Guided goes up due to it’s higher priority now. If not, Level 16 ACS / Level 6 Guided has higher potential damage and is a valid option)

This will lead us to the problem I cannot solve at this point in time, which is our MDMG and INT values for 70 cap. Given that I no longer play Artillery, this will be hard for me to calculate at all. I know someone with nearly 49k MDMG (zomg!!, 30k more than me!) using 60L weapons. Depending on our INT at 70 cap, the (INT->MDMG / MDMG) ratio might be a tad too low, prompting us to switch the SP from Spiritual Excellation to ACS.

As long as the INT growth keeps up, ACS 11 + Tracking 11 will be the preferred choice at 70 cap. If NOT, then shift the SP from Spiritual Excellation to ACS, making it Level 16.

There is not much change to Artillery’s play style at 70 cap to optimize DPS, except that Guided EX is now a core part of our DPS rotation, jumping up in skill priority.

3. Artillery Tree

– Magical Breeze dilutes our FD growth even further now, and gives an even larger oomph to those less geared ^^

– Detonating Arrow left at Level 1, same as 60 cap

– Accessory for 65 passive is not worth it most likely, whichever accessory slot it is on.

Technique Accessory choices

If the debuff % keeps growing, there is going to be a point in time when people will hit the debuff cap easily. Thankfully, due to Bulls Eye’s as good as permanent nature, it is still worthy of a technique ring slot. The gain has been diluted from a maximum of 4% to 3.85%. The other technique ring slot will of course be magical breeze, which also has a lower maximum gain now, due to the increased values.

In other words, it will be EASIER for FD accessories to overtake technique accessories at 70 cap than 60 cap, with regards to DPS. Without FD values from 70 cap gear, I cannot make any conclusions regarding gain/loss on basic setups. The method to calculate the gains are sprayed all over my posts anyway ^^

It is hard to say which cap is harder to build for. From a skill build point of view, it is easier than 60 cap. From a gearing point of view, the results will be much more subjective to your own stats than for 60 cap, where technique accessories gave extremely high returns (well, Swift Shot and ACS did) to DPS.
Guided EX is really disappointing compared to Arrow Shower EX. The core of Artillery’s DPS still depends on Swift Shot EX. Honestly 70 cap doesn’t bring much to Artillery. The choice between ACS and Guided skill level now isn’t much of a choice, because they have extremely close DPS values (if Spiritual Excellation isn’t sacrificed at 70 cap). You will still have to hit those Swift Shot AND ACS for Artillery’s DPS no matter what.

On a side note, Rapid became a monster in tail damage ^^

Good luck to all Artillery for 70 cap ^^

Edit: Given the Level 11 ACS + Level 11 Guided EX combination, which plate should we use? The difference  in damage is (1824% + 15876) – (1498% + 34029) = 326% – 18153. The better plate to use is still ACS +% DMG, even at 60 cap MDMG values.