What's changed, how are things

[ukhenry]

Sorry if this is the wrong forum I couldn't find a specific place to ask.
Hey I'm an old time player wanting to making a return to the game I believe I left when advanced quests for some capsules were the main end content @ level 60
http://i39.tinypic.com/2z8uqgz.jpg
I am 65 now from stored experience? Honestly can't remember half the game but yes to the topic what has changed is it ok for me to really try and get back into it, I do recall coming back at some point and leaving because I had no idea what I was doing (behind in content) some may remember me from Night Arks thanks for any info it's appreciated.

Edit:What are class choices like as well my character has force fighter techer
no idea what im doing level 50 monsters :S
40482

[Zysets]

I think defintiely Skill Rings and Collection Files have been the biggest game changers since then. Skill rings come in two varieties, Left and Right. Left rings modify class skills and attacks, Right rings let you use skills and abilities from other classes (and a few bonus effects). You make them by "Gathering", basically fishing and mining in Free Field quests, and using the materials to make them at the appropriate NPC in the new Lobby area, Franka's Cafe (Yes the Franka that would send you to find enemy bits and pieces).

Collection Files are limited time "sheets" that fill up as you kill specific enemies, and reward you with 13* weapons once completed.

Expert Lobbies are now a thing, where you have to beat the first 5 stages of the Heaven and Hell solo quest to gain entry.

In regards to levels and classes, I'm not the best to give you a wide overview of class setups beyond the Fighter/Hunter combo since I've been playing as that for years without much change, but the level cap is now 75, and you get permanent stat bonuses on all characters throughout all servers once you hit level cap with a class. I'd say level up the class you main, and look through the guide threads to find a good skill tree set up and subclass combination. Also, finding good gear is a must, grinding and affixing weapons and units helps a lot if you're having issues.

[ukhenry]

Cheers for the info I've got the idea of starting over until I've got the basic stuff down then switching back then, combat actually feels foreign to me and Oh man I wasn't expecting any difficulty in instance (or the fact that combat is foreign to me) I must have died about 10 times ^
4048340484

[Cyclon]

So... it's been about 2 years? Rough.

Well, Force main with Techer as a subclass is still bery good, so you can still play that if you liked it. The main difference about them is that you can craft your technics individually now(in your room), to lower their charge time, give them a better chance to inflict status effect, etc. It's something you definitely should look into. There's much more to the crafting system in general, but that would be the most important part as a Force.
There's also a three button layout available, which gives you a lot more space to work with on your weapon palettes, and overwrites the "1-2-3" style of PAs for melee weapons, which represents a lot more freedom.

As for Fighter, it's still good nowadays as a main(generally with Hunter sub), and allows for extremely high burst damage. Katana Braver is in a similar state, and you can be fully invincible during the skill Katana combat, so it's pretty good all around.

---

In terms of new classes, there's Bouncer and Summoner.
Bouncer is a melee/technic hybrid, though it's mostly competent at melee. Its two weapons are Jet boots and Dual blades; Jet boots are pretty unique and a bit difficult to explain, they're a close-ranged weapon with a double jump, that can cast techs. There's not that many PAs for them, but all of these have a second part to them that you can trigger at will, and is good for utility, to put it simply. Dual blades are a bit more straightforward, they're a fast-paced melee weapon with very flashy PAs and good aoe damage.

Summoner, is a pet class, meaning you're controlling a creature to fight for you. There's a lot(and I do mean a lot, it's very much its own thing) to say about it, but I've yet to really go out and play the class myself for a while, so you'll have to ask someone else.

---

As for new modes:
There's Ultimate, which if you know PSO is pretty straightforward; it's essentially the endgame and is for 70+ people only; we have Challenge mode, which has its own lobby and again, is sorta similar to PSO's version, but there's a lot more to it; it's not that relevant in terms of rewards anymore though.
Extreme quests are sets of specific challenges either made for 4 people or solo(beware that the solo stuff is a bit difficult if you're not geared appropriately), that you enter with Extreme passes; you automatically get one each day you log in the game.
Er... Ride quests are tied to the latest area, Las Vegas, and are similar to time attack in nature, except they're based around using machines that allow you to fly.
Featured quests are random picks out of Free fields and Arks quests that get boosted for the day, and can give you passes for Bonus quests at the end, which are very short missions that grant excellent rewards in terms of exp and/or loot.

---

There's a new type of grinding for weapons, which is indicated by the "NT" acronym at the end of their name. It's progressive and not random. Affixing(so putting affixes on weapons and units) has also been tweaked and is much more flexible, but beware as it can also get very expensive very quickly.

I can't remember how it was back then, but nowadays getting your weapon to max element(the number on the right of its attack power, which caps at 60 for 13* weapons and 50 for everything else) is a must, though the element itself doesn't matter all that much unless you're a Force. It's better to start with a cheap red/blue weapon that you fully grind and get to max element than use even a 13*star left as is, not to mention much easier. Note that 13* are quite accessible though, so once you're back on track, your priority should be getting one.

Honestly there's more to say, but that's already quite a bit of information, plus there are guides around that will generally be more helpful than me throwing walls of text at you.

[ukhenry]

Thank you again for the information, while I may find this out myself but let me ask 1 more thing
is it necessary to be premium as it was before I remember the weapon pass and other similar restrictions being a pain which made me buy it or some other benefits (Don't recall them).

Ps your wall of text was more helpful than the information I have so far found

[Sizustar]

Thank you again for the information, while I may find this out myself but let me ask 1 more thing
is it necessary to be premium as it was before I remember the weapon pass and other similar restrictions being a pain which made me buy it or some other benefits (Don't recall them).

Ps your wall of text was more helpful than the information I have so far found

It wasn't necessary back then.

Now, there's weapon collection file, and there's also title reward that give 12* weapon pass.

[ralf542]

Thank you again for the information, while I may find this out myself but let me ask 1 more thing
is it necessary to be premium as it was before I remember the weapon pass and other similar restrictions being a pain which made me buy it or some other benefits (Don't recall them).

Good weapons below 13★:

7★ Red weapons with potential level 1(need photon booster for it) and crafted to Lv9 or Lv13


These 12★ weapons cost a lot to buy(completed) or make it. You can grind 13★ weapons to max with 300k gil, so I wouldn't waste millions on 12★.


Gloriously (broken) balanced

(DB) Niren Orichi 60% damage under Break Stance. Beats any other DB under these circumstances. Every DB Bouncer should have these. This has another potential:25% crit rate, 22% crit damage

(Bow) Edel Arrow 34% damage under Rapid Shoot. It's slightly below the best 13*s.

(TD) Lavis Blade 23% damage from the front.

(TMG) Blitz Fender 25% crit rate, 22% crit damage. With a crit ring even GuRa reaches 100% crit.

SUPER GOOD : Note quite as "balanced" but still super strong

(Sword) Elysion 15% damage, 60% increased PP regen from attacks, 30% increased heals

(Partisan) Bardiche 15% damage and a bunch of PP regen

(Knux) God Hand same pot as Bardiche, 15% damage a lots of PP regen. ALL CLASS.

There are 1-2 more strong 12★ weapons, but yeah those are expensive. Some 13★ weapons are trash, like badge weapons.


Units, 11★: you can get Saiki from Tokyo bonus quests or Brisa from Megatsu bonus quests, not sure about Austere units. But you could always get Zieg's units or craft Hiei(7★) units to Ex8-Ex10.

You may need premium to get into Pro™ blocks but in EQ time the premium space is full so you're SOL if you don't get there 30-60min before EQ starts.

If you happen to play Force(Rod) and/or Fighter(Double Saber) then hurry and do Emilia's and Vivienne's CO's to get their 13★ weapons, you need at least 4 from them.

Edit: Yes, you can do Emilia's and Vivienne's CO's on any class as long they are Lv50(or 55?) since you need to kill Lv61+ mobs on Super Hard difficult.

[ukhenry]

"If you happen to play Force(Rod) and/or Fighter(Double Saber) then hurry and do Emilia's and Vivienne's CO's to get their 13★ weapons, you need at least 4 from them." I assume I can do this for every class? I'm currently using BR HU but my FI stat is up there too (dunno why fighter is leveled unless br/fi was ever a thing), I'll give bouncer/summoner a play around with once I've settled back into the game.

[sol_trigger]

What's changed, how are things
you missed 500 millions meseta exploit, now the market price is shit because of that, ofc those cheaters and exploiters haven't been punished
quit this shitty game man.

[isCasted]

Naww, market went to shit when Magatsu started to give hundreds of cubes, devaluing FUN forever. Market went to shit when Austere weapons were released, massively bumping up prices for 5% element boosters. Market went to shit when Layered Wear became a thing, for obvious reasons. Returner exploit is just an extra, it didn't even affect much.

Other than that, the game is great for its combat alone. It's much faster, much more fair, much more diverse etc. Gearing up to a decent level isn't hard, just use Red until you get 13* from collection files, which is much better than relying on luck for everything.