looking for some GT advice

[Silver_Wyrm]

First off, I know theres guides above but the GT one seems outdated since my questions are mainly post aoti.

I just came back from a long psu break (left after firebeak) and picked up my lvl 20 human guntecher. I noticed right off in the new zones that there were many enemies of more varied elements than before. So my mainq uestion is, qhat bullets should I focus on as I lvl? right now I have virus bow which I figure is good regardless, but I was using frozen shot for both twin and machine guns, not sure if those are the best choice now. Picked up grav for my handgun since lots of lightning enemies now, but again not really sure.

on another note, how high do our techs go? I got most of my buff skills (which are mainly what I use aside from resta/reverser) and if they dont go above 20 theres no reason to lvl them further

[Aviendha]

You get lvl 30 support techs. Every element of Twin Pistols and Xbow is the way to go. Avoid handguns like the plague. They suck.

[Akaimizu]

Ok. I guess I'm one of the few that went to GT so fast, they were level 20 as a human GT. Now, the bad part is, I'm not too sure on the lower-level adjustments of a human GT. Not to mention, the ATP advantage over Newman doesn't really come into play until you're pushing the 80s and 90s.

On the other hand, your abilities in damaging foes take some good time to deal with. However, your best bet is to get your damage over time (DoT) bullets (fire/virus). It's almost imperative for an early Guntecher to raise virus and fire bullets (just in case the enemy is resistant to one and not the other). That alone will save you a lot of heartache. In fact, during certain phases of your level increase, your DoT effects will outdamage your actual abilities to do direct damage. (And in all actuality, you'll see quite a few late-game enemies as well. (Case in point. Goldovas.))

As for other stuff, I'd usually go with Light bullets first before Ground. Silence is pretty nice, but Confuse is better. The game is very iffy as to what attacks actually count as Tech attacks, so you'll be surprised how many elemental tech-like attacks will come at you that can't be silenced. However, Confuse seems to work on a lot more things. While precise physical attacks can still harm you from a confused mob, just about everything that isn't some direct "I'm hitting you" attack will not hit players from a Confused monster. To make things simple to understand there, it blantantly switches what possible things those attacks can hit from player to Monster. The added bonus is that often the confused monsters will attack each other.

Lightning bullets are a nice thing to have for physical enemies. Yes, Vahras and Go Vahras are lightning, but shock shuts down physical enemies, and the duration is rather good. I usually advice a good shotgun or even better, a crossbow for SEs. I favor lightning mainly because it serves the purpose precisely for its design. While Crossbows require you to get in closer to do it's best stuff, spreading Status effects allow you to stand a little further back. Shock is designed to shut-down melee attackers, who you'll find become very fast and very tough to run from. So if you're forced to deal with them close, then why not use a bullet to make being close not dangerous? Also, the Crossbow's triple bullet at 21+ kind of nullifies the damage drop of firing the same element on the same element monster.

A lot of the strategies on the other Guntecher slot are still quite valid. The GT is one class that hasn't changed a lot, in function, when it comes to bullets and traps. I always say it's important for a Guntecher to rely on his or her bullet Status Effects because they are very trap-limited for a gunner class. Not to mention, the low limitations of how many G traps you can have, you need to prioritize precise locations, in a level, where you should use them. (They run out, fast, in practice).

Take note, your Bows and/or Rifles are your key to your highest power Status Effects. You definitely want a Level 4 Virus and Fire bullet, eventually. Bows level to it fast, Rifles take eons. Mainly, you'll use the Level 4 DoTs to take really big things, or things with very high hitpoints down fast. If they are limited in encounters, it might be good to run in there and lay a G trap on them, first. Just to get them started (like lighter fluid). This way, while you're trying to land the SE4, you're already doing big *tick* damage.

However, especially for fire bullets, you'll see a big leap between SE3 and SE4 on those targets. For Virus, you know that the moment the SE4 lands, that monster lost 40% of its health without you having to do anything else to it. If you even chose to not attack it anymore, during it's virus, you're guarranteed that by the time it ends. Fire at SE4, on high HP monsters can mean the difference of over 1000 HP damage *per tick* compared to your Fire G-trap. So it's easy to see, even while their burning from your G-trap, when your SE4 kicks in.

And while not a damage over time bullet, Freeze is an important bullet to learn early. In fact, it should be one of your first few bullets. Oddly enough, it has more use in its elemental damage more than its freeze ability. Quite a few bosses (for low-to-mid range player levels) are either weak to ice or have parts of them weak to ice. Since Status effects are a no-go on bosses, it's important to plug them with elements they don't like. Ice bullets also really hurt Megid-spitting Jarbas in places like Parum.

Ground bullets, on the other hand, have had some extra use post-expansion, just based on damage more so than silence. There's a lot more enemies that are weak to them, now, and aren't at the danger level where other bullets do better against them. Also, there's new Lightning Jarbas in which you can plug them with ground like you did with the Parum Fire Jarbas. The difference is, the Lightning ones don't spit Megid, nor do they have super powerful Gibarta spells. Their threat level is much lower because of that.

The biggest change (though it didn't change mine, since I was a support build GT from day one) is the level 30 support techs. They're good and human GTs can now heal REALLY well now. Get your Resta past 10 and you're already in the 4 digit healing category. In fact, that and the new wand access has you pretty much able to heal nearly with the best. (The best being acrotechers) However, at this point, the best is overkill and the GT has the potential to top everybody off, with the way things are now.

Buffs and Debuffs are good, but as with the evidence of this forum's history, they get better as you deal with tougher monsters and higher player levels. They work on a percentage, and while your early game wont see a lot of advantage of buffs and debuffs, your late game rocks with them.

Actually, I lied in one point, your debuffs make a huge difference even at level 1 for certain things. Like when monsters buff themselves, even a level 1 debuff completely turns that off. Also, monsters that have mean attacks based on them doing a whole lot of hits (eg. Bill De Vear's tornado spin) lose a significant amount of damage just with any Jellen. Having them stuck with that defect can quickly quell the danger level of the right encounters.

The main wish I kind of had was the ability to *Tech down* a monster. It's the only debuff we don't have, right now.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Akaimizu on 2007-12-28 07:43 ]</font>

[Aviendha]

Fire and Virus are much, much less useful than they used to be. Unless you are solo/duo or your party is stupid beyond measure, everything will die in 10 seconds, so why bother DoTing it?

Rifles/Bows suck. Buy Mayalee Shot for bosses and Killer Shot for robots and level them up. Then you have all the PAs you need for those two weapons. Don't get me wrong, I love bows, but the only argument in favor of these two weapons is that they do SE4(who cares?) but Bows do it slower.

You can tag multiple enemies with SE3 from a crossbow in the time it takes to hit one enemy with SE4 from your rifle. And the Xbow is doing more damage. And is more mobile. Twin Pistols/Cards are great for things you want to fight from a distance and do good damage to. Xbow for close combat. Laser Cannon is great for mobs/SE now as well. Rifles are only useful for bosses/robots. Every other enemy is better fought with another weapon.

[Akaimizu]

There are still enemies that seem to never take status from anything less than SE4 (outside of traps). The current problem with that, is that post-expansion, there's a whole lot less of those monsters. Heck, the only ones I know, these days, exist in the Mother Brain mission.

Ahh, I remember the days when your only real prayer of doing good bullet damage, on many enemies, was to get SE4 attacks.

I actually still like Bows for one main purpose. They are counted as Melee damage weapons so that if you needed to take large amounts of life, off a bullet resistant enemy that's dangerous to be close to, the Bows outdamage anything else you have. Actually, in a a lot of ways, they generally will outdamage much of what you have when they're bullet-resistant.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Akaimizu on 2007-12-28 08:43 ]</font>

[CelestialBlade]

Twin Handguns / Cards / Crossbows - Every element, if you can. These are your main damage-dealing weapons so it's good to have a variety, especially with Crossbows because they spread around SEs so well.

Bows / Rifles - Up to you, but I am of the belief that SEs are going to become useful again once we start seeing S2 variants of the new AoI missions, so Fire and Dark are winners there. I've also found my Ice and Light Bow bullets to be pretty useful. Don't forget Killer Shot.

[CelestialBlade]

On 2007-12-28 08:40, Akaimizu wrote:
I actually still like Bows for one main purpose. They are counted as Melee damage weapons so that if you needed to take large amounts of life, off a bullet resistant enemy that's dangerous to be close to, the Bows outdamage anything else you have. Actually, in a a lot of ways, they generally will outdamage much of what you have when they're bullet-resistant.

That's not exactly true, they simply ignore enemy DFP. They will not to full damage to anything Ranged-resistant, in my experience.

[Akaimizu]

Well, whenever I encounter the ranged-resistant, the Bows are the only thing in my Arsenal that can still hit them for their attack power. So, in a way, I have no other ranged that can hit them as hard, directly. Not Crossbows, not Twin handguns, not Rifles, not anything.

[Criss]

I personally have completely dropped bows since we got AoI. Sure, they ignore defense, but most of the time, the raw power of cards still outdamages bows. And for first person aiming needs, I think Twins do the job just great, while still outdamaging bows in almost all situations. I would however, recommend using laser cannons. Lasers have almost the same att as bows, get better att % mod on bullets if I remember right, and can hit multiple enemies. Lasers can be your most damaging weapon in the right situation.

As far as bullets go, here's what I'd recommend for each weapon:
Twins: Twins are great for damage in any situation, especially with an impressive 36% element at lv 31+, so I'd say get all elements. It's an investment, but well worth it in the end.
Cards: Again, get the elements that work best against the enemies you're usually fighting. Cards get 25% element at lv 21+ and 29% at 31, and with triple bullets, they're probably the most damaging weapon a GT can have against single enemies. And on the plus side, card bullets level rather quick.
Xbows: Xbows deal great damage, but have pretty low element and get SE3 at lv 21+, so I'd recommend getting elements according to the SEs you want to inflict. I personally have fire, lightning and dark, but light could be good for confusing.
Mguns: Machineguns are pretty good at dealing damage but only get SE1. Just get an element with higher att mod. Dark could be good since virus inflicts the same damage at all SE levels, and only doesn't last as long. But again, mguns rely a lot on your character's base ATP, so you might get less out of it than would a cast or beast.
Shotgun: I'm not a big fan of shotguns on GTs, since I prefer mobility when playing GT, so I'd say just get one or two element. Get one with higher att mod (fire/ground/dark) or maybe ice or lightning to make sure you don't get slapped after shooting.
Rifle: Not much to say here since bows would still be more useful to a GT, unless you want to use Killer Shot.


Erm... I think that's about it. ^.^

[Silver_Wyrm]

wow thanks for all the responses^^ I didnt see much on machineguns, so are those not really worth it or can they be decent?

ah and another question, I heard it mentioned I should be debuffing too, how on earth do I manage the tech slots? I already got 3 wands on palette for the 4 bufffs + resta/reverser so how do I manage to fit the debuffs too?

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Silver_Wyrm on 2007-12-28 15:22 ]</font>

[CelestialBlade]

Machineguns are okay, they're just outclassed by Cards and Crossbows.

Debuffing isn't all that important, if you ask me. Leave that to the ATs or the fTs or something.

[Aviendha]

2 Palette slots
Mag/Wand - Buffs
Mag/Wand - Giresta & Debuffs.

[Dragwind]

I'll say I adore the xbows for almost everything including the SE spread ( if needed ) and closer range damage. I actually like to pair it up with a dagger equipped with Shunbu for a little knockup fun on the side.

For mob spawns that are a bit far off I'll usually whip out the duals and whip out some damage before closing in. I'll also tend to use them for some aerial combat if needed along with the bow.

I'll usually always keep a laser on hand as well. If the enemies are lined up half decently, I'll whip that out and unload. Lasers are very damaging when you're hitting 4 + targets. Probably one of your best mob damaging guns.

If I need to inflict an SE on a bigger enemy, I still reach for the rifle vs bow.

Cards seem to work dandy in almost every situation imo, especially with the lovely GT atp for them.

Aerial boss portions? Rifle, sometimes bow depending.

[Kion]

On 2007-12-28 17:35, Aviendha wrote:
2 Palette slots
Mag/Wand - Buffs
Mag/Wand - Giresta & Debuffs.



really not necessary. if you're the only techer in the party (with all the AT's around is a stastical impossibility), then save a spot for buffs. GT excells in one hand mobile weapons, so pair them with resta (or giresta) + reverser on a wand. debuffs aren't effective enough to warrant their use of space on a pallet. with level 21 zalure i do a whole 5 more damge each subsiquent shot. jellen works pretty well for keeping damage down, but GT moves around too much to really need it.

[SolomonGrundy]

with regard to shotguns, GTs are actually the worst users of them (lowest ATP modifier). PT is second best, and fortegunner is (by far) the best.

With regard to DoTs, they are still usefull for soloing, just not essential like they used to be.

crossbows are your staple weapon for mobs, and twin handguns vs more mobile enemies. Cards work very well vs bosses or single target enemies or for more mobile bosses (dimmagolgus comes to mind), rifles work wonders.

I went with fire rifle, and I still stand by the choice. Killer shot is another great bullet. I do plan to get sleep shot, but only because I am too lazy to level elemental rifle bullets.

twin handguns and rifles take forever to level, by the way. Crossbows are clase second, and worse, are nearly useless at level 1-10.

[Criss]

On 2007-12-28 15:14, Silver_Wyrm wrote:
wow thanks for all the responses^^ I didnt see much on machineguns, so are those not really worth it or can they be decent?

ah and another question, I heard it mentioned I should be debuffing too, how on earth do I manage the tech slots? I already got 3 wands on palette for the 4 bufffs + resta/reverser so how do I manage to fit the debuffs too?

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Silver_Wyrm on 2007-12-28 15:22 ]</font>
Debuffs aren't necessary. It's really just if you want to go the extra mile on the support side of things. I personally keep a debuff madoog with a dagger I sometimes use against ranged resistant monsters. But unless you play in small parties, enemies die so quick that debuffs really aren't needed.

As for machineguns, even if their damage is slightly lower than xbows or cards, the greatest thing about it is the flinching. You can easily flinch-lock small or medium enemies by just firing at them nonstop, or spread fire on several targets to prevent them from shooting, attacking or using techs (know those annoying laser cannon casts in AMF HQ? Mguns own them). As for pure damage, mguns really work best on enemies that have low defense (and when you've got shifta on).