Acrotecher Help

[Konjiki-Kitsune]

I've had my acrotecher for a good while but haven't really played with her as much as I would like too. I've got the buffs up to 21 so far and own a few good whips but I would like to know what spells and skills I should invest in. She's a level 38 newman so she has access to almost every Tech weapon.

Thanks for any tips and suggestions. :]

[that cast named kai]

i guess some general suggestions are

techs:

debuffs, they can be an offensive option in large party play, since they give exp with out dealing damage which can be a good thing depending on the party dynamics, as well as working good for speed runs, best choices out of the 4 are jellen (atp debuff) and zalure (dfp debuff)

giresta, ties into the 'buffs' as well with hp 'regen'

attack techs, i am not really sure which will work out for you depending on you play style, i honestly only use the basic and 'ra' techs, since they are good for distance play and the will likely give some good damage.

equipment:

i guess this depends on play style, (melee/support, support only, tech/support) generally get a good combo of wands and t-mags.

i guess for striking weapons whips and single daggers work rather well, whips are good for their SE , but the damage is not always the best, but acrotecher is not really a 'power' type anyway, both PA for this are rather good, so it is matter of looks really for them.

that is pretty much all i can think of for now,

here is a pretty in depth guide http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?t=130625

[Hiero_Glyph]

i guess some general suggestions are

techs:

debuffs, they can be an offensive option in large party play, since they give exp with out dealing damage which can be a good thing depending on the party dynamics, as well as working good for speed runs, best choices out of the 4 are jellen (atp debuff) and zalure (dfp debuff)

Debuffs are pointless. They are used for tagging enemies to gain exp and nothing more. Any AT casting debuffs instead of dealing damage is not worth their weight in a party, especially if they cast Zalure.

[biggabertha]

Oooh, I don't know... Jellen 41+ seems like a worthy investment, so does Zoldeel 41+, heh.

Debuffs are also nice to tag enemies with in a rush, heh heh.

[Hiero_Glyph]

Oooh, I don't know... Jellen 41+ seems like a worthy investment, so does Zoldeel 41+, heh.

Debuffs are also nice to tag enemies with in a rush, heh heh.

I can count the situations where they are useful on a single hand. Sure, they have their uses, but to use them all of the time is a waste of PP.

[Ffuzzy-Logik]

Also a waste of palette space.


I'd give you advice on how to play AT, but you said you're a Newman, so you probably wouldn't like my advice.

[Dymalos]

AT is probably my favorite type hands down, but I play a totally melee orientated Beast AT, meaning I don't even have any attack techs learned. I'm sure as a Newman your attack techs are a lot more viable than mine. What I can tell you is that you should outright ignore your debuffs, in high level play they don't have much of a chance to actually influence the course of a fight.

You haven't mentioned owning Giresta so that would be the Technic to get. A few tips about using it, first of all you should level it to 41 right off the bat, either get yourself into a Buff party (right now they're sometimes organised in the guardians' colonly 5th floor) or do it yourself in a party with your P.M. and an NPC. At level 41 it last 5 minutes, and you shouldn't recast it until those five minutes lapse, because it builds up a buffer or sorts which holds all of the HP it would be healing on someone with full HP and then releases it whenever they get hurt.

For the other buffs, not everyone likes Zodial, so be sure to ask. Some melee types hate having it because they don't like evading, as it interrupts their PAs. This attitude may change with a later update which ensures that someone is invulnerable while countering.

Equipment, get a couple of different Madoogs (TCSMs) it makes sorting your pallete a bit easier. Personally I roll with a Shato 10/10, Delpi 1/10, Pushan 2/10 all with around the same TP and with Giresta/Resta and a Doric (high PP) for Buffs. I have an entire pallete space for just the 4 buffs. As a melee AT that's all I really have in terms of Technic weapons. As a Technic wielding Newman I'm sure you should get yourself some mid grind Tesbra's or trade in Megispheres for some freebie Promoras.

[Ffuzzy-Logik]

AT is probably my favorite type hands down, but I play a totally melee orientated Beast AT, meaning I don't even have any attack techs learned.
Going a little off topic here, but this needs to be said. I play a Beast AT as well (well, I did), and you should really have Diga at the very least, if for nothing else than Momma Brain's arms. Foie and Megid can be useful in some occasions, I guess, but Diga definitely.

[Randomness]

Diga has the highest modifier of any tech, and the lob actually works for you at higher levels, hitting medium-altitude stuff like Rygutass.

[Magus_84]

I can count the situations where they are useful on a single hand. Sure, they have their uses, but to use them all of the time is a waste of PP.

This, pretty much.

WALL OF TEXT (I'm waiting for my food to get done)

Jellen's mainly used on very large things that either buff themselves or hit hard enough to kill you in a few hits. A fire-type Sonichi inflicts Jellen while also doing a knockdown hit, flinching them long enough to either move away or start a PA combo to continue flinching them. Meaning you'd take less overall damage. I'd rather sacrifice one inventory slot than one PA learned slot.

Zalure...isn't worth the time and PP it takes to cast. It will increase your damage by around 30 points per hit. Even if you're using a mechgun (whose low base damage and rapid fire mean it'd benefit the most from a damage increase), you'd kill faster by getting off the three or so extra shots you can hit with in the time it takes to cast Zalure once.

If you want to level one for tagging, I'd suggest Zoldeel. It's still not "WTFAMAZING", but it probably has more general use than Jellen or Zalure. I recommend Zoldeel for two reasons. First, AT has utterly amazing EVP. It's your best "defensive" stat. Combine this with Vivi Danga or Hikai (two PAs that benefit greatly from Just-Countering their first hits), and watch enemies die quickly. Secondly, Zoldeel seems to have slightly more of an effect on hitting enemies than casting Zodial on yourself, more noticeable the higher the enemy's EVP. They both contribute, but if you have to pick only one, Zoldeel seems to help a bit more. I don't have hard data on this, other than personal experience.

It seems most people who wholeheartedly recommend debuffs are in the PSO mindset, where they were amazing. Here, the time they take to cast combined with their pitiful effect means they aren't nearly worth it.

As far as general AT advice goes...guns are better for "sustained" damage, while your melee's better for burst damage. "General" meaning "damage that doesn't get interrupted since you're out of harm's way" and "burst" meaning "stuff that has to die now, and damn the consequences". PA's I'd suggest for melee are Hikai, Vivi Danga and Rising Strike (single dagger, whip, and saber, respectively). Twin Daggers are kinda fail, moreso when you lack the third hit of their combos. :/

Hikai kills single enemies and multi-target enemies quite well (and provides a good combo with the previously-mentioned Fire Sonichi). Vivi Danga murders groups and does great against slow-moving multi-target stuff, if you can get it off without being interrupted. Rising Strike is probably the most useful "defensive" melee PA in the game.

Bullet-wise, I like Cards, Machineguns and Twin Handguns for AT. Cards pair well with healing wands, as you can fire two sets of shots, switch to the wand, heal and be back to your card by the time you can fire again. Great for single enemies and some bosses. Machineguns are your group-suppression weapon. Strafing back and forth and spraying small or mid-sized enemies with bullets lets you lock them down in flinch animation while your teammates proceed to murder them. They also build SUV/nano bars very well. Twin Handguns are your best FPS-able option for bosses. They'll benefit greatly from being able to raise to 21 after/if we get the supplemental update, but they aren't so hot for damage right now.

For support techs, grab Resta, Reverser, Shifta, Giresta, Retier, Zodial, Zoldeel, Deband for priority, in about that order. You'll want all, but if you have to drop one, start with the end of the list and work your way back. Heals are essential. Shifta has the most effect of any of the buffs on a majority of the classes in the game (including you), and teammates will <3 you. Giresta helps keep you alive a little bit longer. Retier is mainly useful for boosting tech damage. The MST boost is relatively garbage. Zodial and Zoldeel have been mentioned. Deband can be brushed aside, as it doesn't do that much, but it may wring an extra tick of stored buffer HP out of your Giresta (blame the DFP calculation, not the player).

Attack techs are sorta meh. Diga for MB's arms, Megid for general use on anything your size or smaller. The incapacitate doesn't proc that often on non-robots, but if you spam it enough you'll get lucky surprisingly often. Foie can be useful occasionally, but it doesn't do much that the above options won't cover. Barta/Zonde, with AT's cap, are about as effective against small enemies of their opposite element as Megid is against anything not HUEG, due to Megid's far superior SE. Level them if you like them. Same goes for Ra-techs and Gi-techs. Nos-techs and Dam-techs waste one of AT's best assets (casting speed), but can be good for the lulz. If you're a Newman, you may wanna carry around Nosdiga anyway for melee-resistant big things, but half the time melee'd still work better. Regrants has niche use, but I find Fire Sonichi + Hikai works just as well at suppression while killing far faster. If you're seriously considering using Megiverse offensively, seek professional help.

/wall of text

TL,DR version:

Hikai / Rising Strike / Vivi Danga (3 melee)

Resta/Reverser/Shifta/Giresta/Retier/Zodial/Zoldeel/Deband (8 support tech)

Diga/Megid (2 offensive tech)

Twin Handgun/Card/Mechgun for elements you use often. (up to 18 bullets)

Any other offensive techs or melee you have a fetish for. PA bullets for the guns AT can use are fail. With the above listing, you have 5 PA slots open.

Hope this is useful.

[Dymalos]

Going a little off topic here, but this needs to be said. I play a Beast AT as well (well, I did), and you should really have Diga at the very least, if for nothing else than Momma Brain's arms. Foie and Megid can be useful in some occasions, I guess, but Diga definitely.

I was considering picking up at least Diga. What kind of numbers do you have on a lvl 30 Diga? I don't really care to use it against say a Rygutass because a Kaza-kikami level 20 dark bullet does upwards of 1,600 damage to those but Mother Brain and the lightning robots make a good argument.

[Ffuzzy-Logik]

I don't know, the only time I ever really use it is on her arms, where it is the best way for an AT to damage her (while the shield is up). Sometimes it's good on robots too, but I wouldn't use it on a Rygutass. You're on the right track with cards for that one.