Are there any high level forces out there (or anyone else) t

[Zephyr]

Are there any high level forces out there (or anyone else) who can give me some tips for offline V. Hard Ruins?

I have a level 88 Fonewm. My only good weapon is a Soul Eater +35 which does 140 or so points of damage per hit on the Dimeans (with Shifta on).

Let me describe a typical attempt at soloing the ruins and you can tell me what I?m doing wrong.

I enter V. Hard Ruins 1. I walk into the first little room and a bunch of Dimeans appear so I shoot off a RaFoi and then they?re all over me. If I run around and get a little space I get off another every once in a while. After about 6 or 7 RaFoi?s and 3-4 minutes I defeat the room?s first wave. Now this strategy has many problems? first, one misstep and I?ll get surrounded -- my def is high enough so I can?t be knocked down so they then precede to tear me to pieces while I can?t cast a Resta. Another problem is if there happens to be an enemy that can get around quickly, like a Delsaber, mixed it won?t work either since they just pounce on me the moment I stop to get off a spell. If I try to start with a RaBarta it never seems to freeze enough enemies to keep them from still overwhelming me. If I try to use the Soul Eater it works ok, but I if I miss with a swing (my ATA is maxed out? for a force), which happens too often for my liking, once again they?re all over me. The real problem with my strategies is they take way too long and they?re very dangerous (I get killed a lot).

It seems the sweet spot for me right now is the Mines. I can basically handle everything with the Ra-series spells since most everything is very slow moving -- that makes it so I can I can move through at a good clip. The only Mines problem enemies are Sinows, which kill me more often than not. But I can deal with that by carrying a lot of scapedolls or by running from the room and making a portal before engaging them.

So anyway, any tips or ideas would be appreciated.

[Zephyr]

Sorry, I messed up the topic somehow... it should have been 'v.hard ruins tips?'. ;p

[Evafan01]

I have a tip: Don't play offline

[Ayanami]

I am a level 77 force as well, and all I can say is... they are support players. They can't take swarms of fast moving enemies, and they are not made to get into the fray of things. They are meant to stand behind the Hunters and rangers and cast their spells there. I too used that method of clearning out rooms, and I was dissatisfied. I had maxed out my MST at a very early stage in the game, and there seemed to be no room for improvement. I was stuck doing a crappy 173 points of damage since level 60 something and it seemed it wasn;t going to go any higher =/
I'm now working on a new character.

[Zephyr]

I hadn't considered the possibility that v.hard ruins wasn't meant to be soloed by forces. I enjoy playing online more, but if I want to get basically any materials or special items, offline seems to be the way to go. The only times I've been in games where people didn't snatch the special weapons and materials the moment they walked over them was on the Japanese servers. Sometimes Japanese players only take their share of the items, or they make huge piles of stuff they found in town for everyone to sort through after finishing up a boss. Very cool .

Ordinarily I don?t care too much about hunting for materials and items, but the problem is, once I hit lvl100 that?s all there is left to do. Without it my character will cease to have any signs of progress. I?m thinking maybe soloing mines2 might be good enough though for loot.

As far as forces various shortcomings are concerned, I really like playing them mainly because they are support characters. I love buffing everyone up, healing and curing, freezing enemies and debuffing bosses? I only wish forces support powers were more exclusive to them. If for example forces and only forces could do area affect party buffing/healing/curing spells they?d be in much greater demand, and be more appreciated as well .

[Mistkerl_Zwo]

I started my characcter as force too. I am extremely dissapointed, because now that i am at a higher level, the force is even weaker compared to the other races than at the beginning!

I mean, honestly, i hav less than 400 HP at lvl 60+, whats up with that BS? And, regardless of what attack method (technique or wepon), i have yet to do more than 200 pts of damage in a single blow.

[Zephyr]

Yeah we have it rough . I wasn't able to survive a sword swipe from V.Hard Dark Falz until last night (lvl. 90).

Yesterday I traded for a double saber. It turns out they're really good force weapons... with it's special attack you can refill your TP without fluids and then keep blasting away with spells. You won't do much damage with it, but that's not the point really. I mean if you want to cast some spells and mainly be a melee fighter, HUmar or HUnewearl are much better choices. If you're going to make a force you might as well specialize. I mean making an almost pure DEF mag (MIND becomes a waste eventually when you max out MST), and mainly using techniques. You're much weaker than the other classes in almost every respect but as long as you play a support role and buff/heal/cure/freeze/etc it is still very rewarding. And just imagine, when the game becomes boring and super easy for everyone else, it will still be a challange for us -- so there is a bright side .

[Ifurita]

Yeah, I am only level 57 now. But my friend gave me a double saber the other day, and it's definitely very useful for a Force. I don't have to buy fluids much anymore. Though fighting through vhard is still very challenging. But like Zephyr said, taking on a support role can be rewarding too.

[miles]

I've been playing one for awhile now and found a couple things have helped. I always use a pistol for most of my damage. Three hit combos (weak strong strong) can run 300-500 points of damage. Yes you must run and run and run but you can eventually clear the room if you're careful.
Second there's a minor glitch in the third lightning spell that will enable you to hit bad guys even if you're standing on the threshhold out of their reach. I herd them towards the doors and blast two or three before they can move away to soften them for gun barages.
Forces do still suck pretty bad until you get them online with insane ranges on resta and anti. Just keep an eye on teammates and try and make yourself useful.

[MunKEE]

Forces definately are the support class of the game. I am lv 75, and that is my main function. Healing and shifta/deband. Sure blasting off tons of RaFoie spells is cool and helps, but if it wasnt happening it wouldnt be missed.
I think Sega really missed the boat w/ these guys... as far as I remember about mages, they should be pretty good in the offense department... it is the defensive department that is lacking... too bad this isnt the case in PSO. Our Forces would make Lutz/Noah a sad esper indeed.