Class Question

[Sizustar]

You might just want to go through the Build thread first.
http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?t=205010

[AOI_Tifa_Lockhart]

Iunno...i've been looking at the build recommendations etc and they don't really suit me. Fury Stance? Makes you stupidly vulnerable for better DPS but people seem to say avoid any critical benefits in HU or FI classes? If fury is about DPS then surely criticals should be an important thing to dedicate points to as well?

I'm on very hard now given how strong some of the enemies can be and how hard they hit, doesn't it make more sense to try and be more like a tank character? It seems like it'd be more solo friendly to be strong defensively instead of being super fragile but with higher damage output. I know in theory with higher damage you will kill enemies quicker and so receiving more damage from attacks shouldn't matter. But I find this Fury Stance is more of a hinderance than a benefit.

Got 2 skill tree reset tickets left so i'm not going to waste them by making any rash decisions. I'll follow the skill tree through to level 65 before deciding what to do next. But after 20+ hours of using this Fury Stance i'm not really a fan.

Tifa

[Kondibon]

Iunno...i've been looking at the build recommendations etc and they don't really suit me. Fury Stance? Makes you stupidly vulnerable for better DPS but people seem to say avoid any critical benefits in HU or FI classes? If fury is about DPS then surely criticals should be an important thing to dedicate points to as well?

Crits just deal your max potential damage, they don't have a multiplier or anything. Rare weapons boost your minimum damage, so crits aren't really worth going for specifically.

I'm on very hard now given how strong some of the enemies can be and how hard they hit, doesn't it make more sense to try and be more like a tank character? It seems like it'd be more solo friendly to be strong defensively instead of being super fragile but with higher damage output. I know in theory with higher damage you will kill enemies quicker and so receiving more damage from attacks shouldn't matter. But I find this Fury Stance is more of a hinderance than a benefit.

It sounds good in the short term, but in the long term, as you get better at the game you start getting hit less, at which point you're just doing less damage for no benefit, where as Fury Stance is the opposite. As you get better and get hit less, the extra damage you'd be taking is a non-issue.

EDIT: If you want something more defensive, try Automate halfline.

[isCasted]

Fury Stance increases received striking damage (it doesn't even increase ranged or tech damage you get) by 5%. I call that "behind RNG barrier". With a number like that 2x damage dealt can be considered an unconditional bonus.

Crits are worthless because, again, its DPS boost is behind RNG barrier - you can have average non-crit attack be stronger than most critical ones. If critical hits had some additional multipliers, it might be useful, but with DEX bonus given by rare weapons having 10 SP in Fury Critical will barely give you 3% DPS boost, while other skills have 10-20%.

[UnLucky]

On that note, Guard Stance is also only Striking Damage. You completely give up the most damaging skills in your arsenal in order to take... 25% less Striking damage.

That means an attack that used to do 75% of your health still kills you in two hits with 56% of your health. It means an attack that dealt 45% HP still kills you in three hits with 34%. Oh, and Ranged or Tech damage? Good luck, "tank"!

The best defensive abilities available to Hunter (Just Guard, Automate, Iron Will, Flash Guard) don't require Guard Stance at all.

[Kondibon]

I wish I had the guts to try a flashguard build...

EDIT: On that note, I want them to make Fury and Guard stance's defense bonus/weakness for every damage type, and make it larger for fury stance because, holy crap, taking 5% more damage is nothing compared to how much you dish out.

[TehCubey]

OP, if you want to die less you can invest in Iron Will + Never Give Up. Guard Stance is garbage.

But generally the best way to get hit less is not to have a defensive build (no such thing in this game, at least non-crappy ones), but to play more, learn boss attack patterns and how to dodge or avoid them.