Table of Contents:
Beginning pointers
Statting the Obvious: Builds
–STR
–STA
–DEX
–So what is a good build for me?
The Right Tool for the Right Job: Equipment
–Sword or axe or both?
–A refined gentleman demands a refined slashing tool
–What’s in your socket?
–Burn baby burn
–Okay I got it, so what’s the low down on the actual equipment out there?
—-Level 60
—-Level 75
—-Level 90
—-Level 105
—-Other Items
Learning to murder with style: Skills
MURDER: Leveling Tips
–Kitty Death Squads: How to party!
–Swing your partner round and round
–Abusing the Cashshop
Other Things
–I’m a pill popper with the munchies! …just kidding, sorta…
–Murdering Poor Endangered Clockwork Beasts
–Murdering Lesser Giant Beasts

Beginning pointers:
Flyff is a game, we play it for fun. Fun means different things to different people, so the first thing you should know is that there is no single BEST way to play a blade. We are all here to be entertained and that’s all.

That said, decide on a concept for your character. Blades are meant to wield 2 weapons at the same time. Are you an elegant sword swinging assassin? Are you a powerful axe crushing berserker? Do you want to slay giant monsters? Or would you rather strike fear into your fellow humans? Flyff has many options available to you so don’t be afraid to try things out.

There is more to your character than your stats and your items. There is also the way YOU personally like to play. Don’t be fooled by arrogant high-level fools like myself who claim there is only one true path to awesomeness. Be your own kind of blade.

One more thing… you may have heard of something called being "power-leveled"? Don’t be one of those people, they rarely make it past level 60. If there is power-leveling to be had then YOU be the one who is fighting. Do the work, get the loot, and level faster. Don’t be a weakling, don’t ask for power-levels, do honor to the blade name.

Statting the Obvious: Builds
A build is the way you distribute your stat points. You start out with 15 points in each stat, and you get 2 stat points at each level. Everyone has their own strong opinion about these and no build is completely the best for every situation. So the key is to figure out what you need. While there are many builds the most important thing you should think about is whether you prefer to kill best against one monster, many monsters (AOE, areaof effect attacks), or other players. I highly recommend against trying to create a pure build (all DEX, all STR, or all STA). If you want a pure build then save up for two Restates later – one to restate you to a pure build, and the other to restate you to something else after you see how badly it does (you can always sell off the second one if, by some chance, you like the pure build).

For the sake of all that is (un)holy do not add INT to your blade. If you accidentally added some points of INT at some time that’s okay, but nobody has yet to notice any effect that INT has on the abilities and skills of a blade (i.e. it is useless).

STR: If you want to level fast, you need lots of this, but you still need some points in the other stats. When you are happy about everything else about your character you should probably only add STR unless you want to AOE. If you want to only use skills and AOE then I recommend a maximum of only 30 STR, though 15 STR is preferable.

STA: High STA is great if you are level 105+ and you just want to kill other players. Otherwise it is not that great. Don’t take too much STA if you still want to level decently fast. You will need at least 30 STA to fight things respectably above your level (fighting Glaphans to level 105+ is not that respectable). If you plan to AOE you should have at least 50 STA, probably more. If you want to kill giant monsters like Clockworks before level 105, you will want a decent amount of STA.

DEX: High DEX is great for winning duels and AOEing. But if you are like most blades you kill monsters one-by-one and you want to do it fast, so don’t put too much into DEX. A common misconception is that DEX is only good for attack speed, this is not true. DEX impacts how often you hit monsters higher level than you, how often you evade and block attacks, and helps out your crit rate. I recommend at least 60 DEX for optimal leveling (though I personally think that 80-90 is better). If you want to AOE then put all your extra stat points into DEX. At certain amounts of DEX your character will also get noticeable increases in attack speed (called speed breaks).

A good quick reference for DEX speed breaks can be found here:
http://flyff-forum.gpotato.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=79611

A good reference for the effects of hit rate (accuracy) is here:
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2542189

So what is a good build for me?
The important thing to remember is that the way you play – how focused you are, what type of partners you attract, how many risks you take – all of these things impact how well a build will work for you. I recommend adding stats as you think you need them. Start with keeping your STR, STA, and DEX about equal until your STA is where you want it. If you want a STR build then stop adding DEX once it is where you want it (i.e. your block and hit rates are satisfactory). If you want a DEX build then stop adding STR once it is where you want it. The key to easy leveling early on is keeping these stats mostly balanced until they are where you want them. I provided some example Blade Styles in a linked post which will have exact stat numbers that you can use if you need to.

The Right Tool for the Right Job: Equipment
Where, oh where, can my little axe be? Oh where, oh where, can it be?
With version 9 we blades are in somewhat of a bind. Unique weapons (a.k.a. "greens") no longer drop from monsters. Now you have to make them. Blades need twice as many weapons as other classes so we end up paying more for it. I’m going to assume for the purposes of this guide that you have access to the penya you need to get these items, though I know that many people do not. Do not underestimate the usefulness of just using decently awakened NPC weapons – it can be a cheap effective substitute (though not quite as good).

Sword or axe or both?
Swords are faster than axes. The skill Blazing Sword makes swords more accurate than axes. Swords have easier to reach speed breaks and even when both are at 100% speed, swords perform faster (that’s right, 100% attack speed is not the same for swords and axes). However, axes deal more damage. The more STR you have the more insane damage you get out of axes. If you keep adding strength, axes will eventually kill faster than swords of the same level because of their raw damage output, but don’t expect that to happen anytime before level 90. Do not rely on axe damage to help you at all between levels 60 to 75.

Wielding a single weapon (with or without a shield) is faster in speed than wielding two weapons. So why do we dual wield weapons at all? Well two big super important reason: First, we get to stack the bonuses from each weapon. Second, we get bonus damage every other hit based on combining our two weapons. So while dual wielding results slightly slower hits, those hits are much stronger on average. The dual weapon bonus hits are roughly 100% of the first weapon + 75% of the second weapon. When wielding two weapons the blade hits in a pattern of: single-hit, combined-hit, repeat. If you are a skill blade, then the attack on your offhand weapon will not matter at all (skill damage is based only on your primary weapon).

An empirical study on the killing efficiency of blade weapons is here:
http://flyff-forum.gpotato.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2512873

It is a possibility to use a combination of a sword and an axe. If you do, the game treats it as if both weapons are of the same type as your primary weapon. You get the special bonuses of both items, as always. As of version 9 you can also use the skills, including self-buffs, that match with whatever your primary weapon is. If you go this route I typically recommend using a sword in the main hand. A sword has better speed and arguably better support skills. If you have high STR it would be worth it to test out whether you actually get better overall killing speed with a sword as your primary weapon or your axe. Still, many people are purists and prefer to have the same weapon in both hands. Sometimes just for looks, other times for the wonderful stacked abilities. I just wanted to make both options known.

A refined gentleman demands a refined slashing tool
Another issue is that of refining (upgrading) your weapons. Your primary hand weapon is more important than your offhand weapon, but your offhand weapon still effects your attack. If you are upgrading your own weapons, as a general rule keep your offhand weapon within a range of 2 from your primary hand weapon. For example: if your primary weapon is +8, make your offhand weapon +6 to +8. This is because of the dual wielding bonus and you get more damage for your penya by keeping your weapons upgraded within +/-2 of each other (e.g. upgrading one weapon to +10 and the other to +3 will cost a lot more than upgrading two weapons to +8, and the +8 weapons will do more overall damage).

Ultimate weapons are hard to make, but if you pull it off you will do a lot more damage. An ultimate +0 weapon does more damage than a +10 normal unique weapon 30 levels higher (that’s right, Ultimate +0 Guardian Swords deal more damage than normal +10 Angel Swords). Unless you want to socket your ultimate weapon, I recommend not upgrading it beyond ultimate +0. The damage difference between a +0 and +10 ultimate weapon is very little compared to a normal unique weapon. The sockets make all the difference, however you have a better chance of getting struck by lightning then you do of getting your ultimate weapon to +6 (which is where it needs to be to put the first jewel into it).

Awakening weapons is a really good idea, but don’t do it if you can’t afford to undo it with a reversion scroll. If you don’t have billions of penya to spend, do NOT try to get an uber awakening. Be thankful if you get something very good, but settle for something decent if you want to save yourself a headache. NPC weapons are a good choice to awaken, since you can just awaken a new one instead of using a reversion scroll. Awakened abilities can make the best weapon a piece of junk, and the worst weapon a godly instrument of destruction, so pay attention to awakenings when buying and deciding to use different weapons. If you are an AOE blade, it can be much more cost effective to awaken cheap NPC weapons (like the Wooden Sword) until you get +25 dex or something else useful.

The other thing you can upgrade is your set. Do it if you can afford it. Always use SProtect Scrolls when upgrading past +3. I recommend using Smelting Scrolls whenever you are trying to upgrade from +3 to +7. Why use Smeltings? Well in version 9, Sunstones are a lot rarer than power dice ever were, also the extra chance really does save you money in the long run. Don’t be fooled by vendors though, Smelting Scrolls should always be cheaper than SProtect Scrolls (I’ve seen a couple people trying to sell them for up to twice as much as a SProtect). Having a set all at +5 or better really helps out a blade because we tend to get right in the faces of some of the scarier monsters out there.

What’s in your socket?
Socketing your suit is a good idea too. With version 11 we can now unsocket our sets, so it is a good idea to fill up your suit with 4% cards until you have 3 or more 7% cards, if you can afford them at all. Once you have three 7% cards, you can empty your sockets and fill them with the good stuff. I highly recommend Thunder/Lightning cards for all of your suits no matter what sort of blade you are. If you really want to be a tougher target then go for Magma/Volcano cards. Maybe, if you are an AOE blade on a tight budget, you might go for Earthquake cards, but know that AOE blades are better off with HP over defense since their survival is block/evade based. Why is 4% attack/HP better than 7% defense? Because these numbers are percents and as a blade your attack should be much higher than your defense. Higher numbers mean that the percent bonus does more (okay it isn’t quite that simple, but I’m not going to explain why in extreme detail here). Again so that it is clear: I still recommend +4% attack way over +7% HP/defense for blades.

Burn baby burn
Elementing your equipment is another issue. The element of BOTH weapons count, so make the best of it. You can also element your suit. With version 9 we have the ability to de-element any weapon/suit for only 100,000 penya, so now there is NO REASON WHATSOEVER that you should be using a clean unelemented weapon for leveling. The same goes for suits, though suits tend not to be as important. However, it is understandable that you might choose to keep a highly elemented weapon the way it is and use it against monsters that it isn’t the most effective against because it costs so much to make. But if you have no element, or +1 to +3 element on your weapons, then make your weapons at least +3 of whatever element opposes what you are fighting. A +3 elemental bonus when combined with your Empower Weapon buff results in +23% damage, it’s better than having 3 Lightning Cards!

Use fire weapons/armor against wind monsters.
Use water weapons/armor against fire monsters.
Use lightning weapons/armor against water monsters.
Use earth weapons/armor against lightning monsters.
Use wind weapons/armor against earth monsters.

A useful extended post on dual weapon elementing can be found here:
http://flyff-forum.gpotato.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1486703

Okay I got it, so what’s the low down on the actual equipment out there?

Level 60:
Recorn/Rescorn Set: Def +50, HP +15%, ASPD +20%
This set is fantastic for leveling without a ringmaster, though leveling with a ringmaster always helps. It is the set for anyone attacking monsters one at a time (1v1) until level 75. The downside is that you still look like a mercenary, and the defense is low making it not so good for AOEing.

Shamutra Set (Male): Thunder/Fire Resist +34, Water Resist +68, Def +130, HP +250
This set is usually not used by blades, but it is better than the Recorn/Rescorn for AOEing, and arguably better than the Einy/Akan set for AOEing. It sports great base defense on top of the good defense and HP bonuses. If you do use this for AOEing you’ll get the best results against water monsters and the worst results against earth monsters. This set is NOT recommended for 1v1.

Shaentra Set (Female): Thunder/Fire Resist +34, Water Resist +68, Hit +38%, ASPD +8%
This set is pretty good for a build with low DEX, since not only does it give you a little bit of speed, but it also gives you some much needed hit rate. However most people don’t use this set as a whole at all. But, some people like to use the boots from this set at level 90+ in combination with the Dest Helm, Suit, and Gauntlets. The boots alone give hit +20%. This results in a combination that is supposedly really good for pure STR builds. I advise against pure builds unless you can afford a couple restates from the cash shop.

Guardian Sword: STA +5, DEX +5
This weapon is ideal for AOE blades, though not really the best for typical 1v1 blades. It does have 2 less attack than the Dretra Sword, but that’s hardly a difference worth noting.

Guardian Axe: Reflect +5%, Def +30
This weapon is really not that good, the reflect is fun but not that effective. The Guardian Axe has 10 more attack than the Taytra Axe, but that doesn’t make a huge difference.

Dretra Sword: ASPD +5%, Hit +20%
This is the the best 1v1 weapon for a blade at this level. You will miss your attack speed when you outgrow your Dretras.

Taytra Axe: Def +20, Hit +20%
This is a good cost effective axe. Sturdy, cheap, nice warranty, comes with a complimentary air freshener. If you are going to use axes at level 60, these are the ones to use. Rumor has it that these axes use to have 40 less attack than Guardian Axes… if that ever was the case, it isn’t now (only 10 less attack).

Level 75:
Einy/Akan Set: Def +55, STR +10, HP +15%
A wonderful set that looks good. Highly recommended for all types of blades. Personally, I recommend this set up until level 105, since the extra crit rate that the Dayst/Dest gives isn’t so hot until you have Legendary Golden Axes to go with it.

Historic Sword: STR +5, Crit +7%
This weapon by far deals the most damage per minute at this level. It isn’t necessarily the best though. If you have lower DEX and STA then you should pass up these beauties for some protective Historic Axes. Why? Because of the Pinky Roaches – they hit hard but give some of the best experience for this level range and you ought to be ready for them.

Historic Axe: HP +20%, ASPD +7%
This weapon will give you godly HP. People with lower STA can make good use of it, even though it is less effective for those people since it is a percent based bonus. If you attempt to kill a Clockwork before level 90 you better bring these along. The attack speed is nice too. Many people element their Historic weapons very high with water, which helps at Pinkies, Luias, and Kerns.

Level 90:
Dayst/Dest Set: Def +55, Crit +15%, DEX +5
This set is the ultimate set when you are leveling 1v1 at level 105+. The key here is at 105+, before 105 it’s just okay because until level 105 you do not have bonus crit damage. Many people get all the Dayst/Dest parts but the suit to save penya, since the suit is expensive and the +5 DEX that you get from having all 4 parts isn’t that great. Some female low/no DEX builds will use the Dest Helm, Suit, and Boots, but use the Shaentra Boots to help recover their horrible hit rate.

Angel Sword: HP +15%, ASPD +10%
This weapon is fun when you don’t have a ringmaster handy. The extra HP is nice if you have low STA and want to CW. It is particularly effective in battles with other players since the GT buff is not always available.

Angel Axe: DEX +7, Crit +20%
This weapon will do the most damage at this level, uncontested. Many people fire element their Angel Axes. I do not recommend it. I recommend upgrading your level 75 weapons high with water and using them until level 98 at the Kerns. Then element your Angel Axes with Wind and jump over to bears. Of course you’ll need some DEX and STA to be able to face the bears at that level so this isn’t for pansy pure STR people.

Level 105:
Hanes/Haganes Set: Def +50, HP +13%, Reflect +10%
This set is mostly bad with two exceptions. First, it looks awesome, way better than the s&m style Dayst/Dest and the protective ‘Nerf’ blue Blain/Virain. Second, if you are a high DEX and STA build looking to AOE at the really higher levels (115+) you might not care about block as much. Instead you might use the Hanes/Haganes to crunch out the little bit of reflection damage. It won’t be much extra damage, but it’s better than nothing.

Blain/Virain Set: Def +15%, Block +15%, HP +15%
This set is awesome for player versus player. It will save your life. The problem is that when leveling it’s not that useful unless you are an AOEer. Many people keep their Dayst/Dest Helm, Gauntlets, and Boots, but use their Blain/Virain Suit. This way you can shell out the big penya to socket the suit with some lightning cards, and use it for both sets.

Legendary Golden Sword: Hit Rate +10%, ASPD +15%
These swords are fun, and most useful if you have no buffs. For the typical blade you are going to want the axes at this level if you usually level with a ringmaster. These swords are great in duels where you only use your own buffs. They are also great in other situations where you only have your own buffs to help you.

Legendary Golden Axe: Crit Dmg +40%, Crit Rate +20%
These are fantastic. With two of them you get +80% damage to your critical hits. Combine that with the Dayst/Dest set and you get that +80% damage 15% more often. Most blades find that the Legendary Golden Axes result in more damage per unit time than any other weapon, save for maybe Bloody weapons.

Other Items:
Vigor Ring: STR +1 to +40
Vigor Rings are great, and Vigor Rings +9 are cheap for the +10 stat points they give. Since stat points are stat points no matter where you put them, so long as they are for a useful stat, I recommend using Vigor Rings over Arek and Stam Rings. Add stat points to your character to compensate for your jewelry if you want higher DEX or STA.

Arek Ring: DEX +1 to +40
Arek Rings are great if you plan to be a skill-based blade, but otherwise go for Vigor Rings.

Stam Ring: STA +1 to +40
Stam Rings are great if you plan to be a pvp blade, but otherwise go for Vigor or Arek Rings.

Demol Earring: Attack +10 to +300
Demols are the best. Use them no matter what kind of blade you are (yes they impact skill damage). If you think you need more defense, do not switch to Plugs, just add some more DEX or STA the next time you level. That’s right, as much as I like telling people to do whatever they feel like with their characters, Plugs are not that good on a blade.

Speedo (Earring): Block +3%/6%/10%
Speedos are interesting little things. Very useful in player versus player combat. And they look shiny. For a blade I find that Speedos are better than Plugs/Penzuru, but Mighteers are still the superior for any type of leveling. Thankfully as of version 9 most monsters can no longer knock you backwards (except for Clockwork), so Speedos aren’t the time savers they once were.

Gore Necklace: HP +82 to 1018
The Gore Necklace is the necklace of choice for most blades. Extra HP never hurts. That said, if you have to choose between buying a necklace and buying rings/earrings… don’t buy the necklace.

Learning to murder with style: Skills
With the skill point system it is important to max out some key skills when you are a mercenary, and save your points up for when you become a blade. At level 120 you should be able to max out every possible skill, but it will take you a long time to get there. At the moment you become a blade, you should have earned a total of 300 skill points.

A reference for figuring out skill points at any given level:
http://blogs.inquirer.net/gamemagazine/flyff/flyffs-newer-skill-system/

Slash: This skill is needed to launch a sequence combo attack. Not really that useful to most blades, though some high STR blades use it with Keenwheel for player versus player combat. Damage is STR based.

Keenwheel: A fun attack skill where you spin around and do lots of damage. Damage is STR based. I don’t recommend spending skill points on it until you have everything else you want.

Blindside: This attack skill is just useless overall, don’t bother with it, save the points for other more useful skills. Damage is STR based. I would max all my vagrants skills before this one.

Special Hit: Damage is STR based. See Blindside.

Bloody Strike: When you are killing alone sometimes you need to heal, Bloodystrike is great for that. A maxed bloody strike can heal you fully in just a couple hits against something close to your level, unless you have a lot of HP then it might take more. Damage is STR based, and the more damage you do the more you heal. Not as important as your self-buffs, but I do love the thought of drinking the blood of my enemies…

Hit Reflect: Even in version 9 this attack skill is still pretty useless. Damage is STR based. See Blindside.

Guillotine: This is an amusing attack skill, the only ranged blade skill. You COULD use it and sneaker to kill safely like a Satan Psykeeper… but it is so slow. Use it for amusement, and duels with other players if you get them sneakered. Damage is STR based.

Protection: This self-buff skill adds a little bit to your defense. Not much though, even maxed it barely changes anything. Get the minimum level on this skill only.

Pan Barrier: This self-buff skill is great for combat against Bow Jesters and other players that rely on normal long distance attacks. If you are going the player versus player combat route then get it and max it.

Sneaker: This skill will make it so that your enemy cannot move. They can still attack and use skills if you are close enough to them, so be careful. Some use this skill to hold off attacking monsters in a monster spawn so that they do not attack your ringmaster friends. It is also still good to use when killing a Clockwork so that the beast doesn’t pin you against the wall. The funnest thing is using this skill against other players.

Empower Weapon: This self-buff skill can greatly increase your damage when you have an elemental advantage against an enemy. I recommend maxing it.

Smite Axe: This self-buff skill gives you some decent attack and defense bonuses when you use an axe as your primary weapon. If you are going to use an axe as a primary weapon then max this skill.

Axe Mastery: This self-buff skill is like having an extra Mighteer on your character. Max it if you plan to use axes.

Blazing Sword: This self-buff skill gives you some decent attack and accuracy bonuses when you use a sword as your primary weapon. If you are going to use a sword as a primary weapon then max this skill.

Sword Mastery: This self-buff skill is like having an extra Mighteer on your character. Max it if you plan to use swords.

Silent Strike: This attack skill will move you towards your enemy while dealing them damage. If the enemy is normal sized then you will be on the opposite side as it. This is good when you are gianting and you want to get on the other side of the giant before you crit it into a place you rather it not go. This skill is also a way that you can get to the center of a Clockwork when you are attacking it from the edge. Damage for this skill is based on your DEX.

Blade Dance: The is the first AOE attack skill you will have access to. It requires swords and the damage is DEX based. It attacks enemies all around you. Sonic blade does more AOE damage, but has a narrower area of effect.

Spring Attack: See Blindside.

Hawk Attack: This is a fun axe attack skill that has a chance of leaving your enemy unable to hit you because it lowers their accuracy. Best against giants. Damage is DEX based.

Armor Penetrate: This skill is a one shot attack that isn’t that great. It does not lower the enemy’s defense like it says, it only lowers the enemy defense for that one hit (and not by a noticeable amount, except on other players with insane defense). Damage is DEX based. See Blindside.

Berserk: This is a wonderful self-buff skill, but it does not last long. It dramatically increases your attack speed and damage. Unfortunately you cannot use other skills while this skill is active. Max it unless you plan to always be an AOE blade.

Sonic Blade: This attack skill does more damage than any other blade skill, and it is an AOE attack. The area of the attack is a cone outward in front of your character. If you are going to AOE as a blade, this is the skill to max. Damage is DEX based.

Cross Strike: This is the fastest blade attack skill and it does almost as much damage as Sonic Blade. It only effects a single target, but I’ve won duels with it. Damage is DEX based.

Now that you’re read about the stats, items, and skills of a blade – now might be a good time to look at these community provided character concepts which combine the things you’ve just read about in useful ways:
http://flyff-forum.gpotato.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2543496

Also, an EXTREMELY useful blade character tool can be found here:
http://www.greydown.net/flyff/BladeTest.html
…of course I’m more than a little biased given that I wrote it…

MURDER: Leveling Tips
I’m eager to kill… but what do I kill?
It is rarely best to kill the highest level monster you can tank, usually you get the best experience per hour at other other monsters. When AOEing it is important to collect up a lot of mobs to make the slow AOE damage worth the trouble, but it can be a waste of time running around to each monster in a spawn. Try to find the happy medium. Regardless of what kind of blade you are you should never level on monsters lower than you level unless you have no other choice. You get a crippling exp penalty for fighting things lower than you, and even with junk NPC equips you should be able to handle things that are at least your level.

What monsters you want to level at depend very much on your build and playing style. Blades that 1v1 with a Dark Assassin build tend to do best at monsters that are 5 to 9 levels higher than they are, while the Barbarian Berserker tends to level fastest at monsters only 1 to 4 levels higher than they are. When you AOE, like with the Tenacious Tank build, you can do well AOEing monsters from 1 to 9 levels above you, depending on how many monsters you want to AOE at the same time.

There are two keys to good leveling at the higher levels for any player, blade or not. First, try out a couple monster types and see how much experience you get at each one in an hour. In the long run this will save you a lot of time at level 75+. It is not always obvious which monsters will give you the best experience over time because of factors like elemental advantage, monster spawn rate, the layout of the land, competition with other players at popular spawning grounds, etcetera…

Kitty Death Squads: How to party!
Second, join or host a party, get it full, get it advanced, and make sure the party gets set to ‘contribution’ after it is advanced. A party with at least 6 people in it set to ‘contribution’ is at least as good as having the party on ‘level’ for EVERYONE (even leechers). When you have fewer that 6 people in the party, full support assists and leechers get less experience on ‘contribution’ than they would on ‘level’. Blades that fight like they should always get better experience in a ‘contribution’ party.

You can only get the extra bonus experience in a party if you have at least one person with you who is in the party. When choosing who to hang with in a party, there are a couple things to keep in mind. Do not level as a huge group of people unless you are the highest level person there or there are plenty of monsters for everyone (even then it typically isn’t as good, even though it can be really fun and it is safer with people who got your back). I recommend leveling as a pair or a trio. If you level as a trio, having one ringmaster and two fighters is both fast and fun experience. If you level as a pair, like most people, then you want to pick a partner that compliments you well.

Swing your partner round and round
For a Dark Assassin built you want either an assist/billposter/ringmaster that is 10-19 levels lower than you, or a fighting partner that is about your level and kills 1v1 (a pair of Dark Assassins is crazy good experience). For a Barbarian Berserker, you only really do well with a full support ringmaster. The Tenacious Tank can level decently well with or without a healer, depending on which monsters they want to go after, later in the game they do awesomely with a ringmaster who has their AOE attack too (the two of them will gather up monsters, meet somewhere and both will proceed to AOE while the ringmaster heal rains).

With version 9 there is introduced the buff limit, which can be a problem if you partner with a ringmaster. This limit will not effect you until your ringmasters start to get up there in level, but when it does happen you need to lay the smack down on your ringmasters and get them to give you useful buffs only. Usually, this just means telling them NOT to cast Mental Sign, Holyguard, and Patience (though there is sometimes room for Patience or Holyguard if you don’t have a reason to use Empower Weapon and/or Berserk). Make sure to train your ringmaster to keep the Geburah Tiphreth (GT) and Spirit Fortune (SF) buffs active on you. My ringmaster and I use a signal so I can easily tell her when she forgets (I dragged the /surprise emoticon onto my quick bar and use that).

Abusing the Cashshop
Blessing scrolls are your friend at the higher levels. They prevent experience loss when you die. If you do die from something, then you would normally have to recover the lost experience, wasting valuable leveling time. It is highly recommended that you always keep a stack of them on you, and always keep one active.

There are other things you can do to level faster. You can use AMP Scrolls, Upcut Stones, Medicines and other Cashshop items. Overall, unless you have unlimited funds, these items are not worth it. Even if you have them, you can sell them for way more penya than you can typically make in the small amount of time that they last. The exception is with VitalDrinkXs, and Activations – these items really can make a worthwhile difference if you use skills (and they are cheaper than the other things too). If you are going to use AMP Scrolls, then you might as well use everything in order to get the most for your money and time. Azria is nice if you can afford it, but partners can be difficult to find and the extra experience is not essential. You can get equivalent experience in the Darkon Mines now that they’ve opened up the whole mine to everyone over level 60 (even if it is a lot more dangerous than Azria).

Overall, if you are going to use the Cashshop, which you should because the game needs to make money in order to survive, then focus on things that will last. Get blessings, upgrade related scrolls, and any fun looking clothing that you feel like wearing in game. There are other fun and useful items for sale too, so go check it out.

Other Things
I’m a pill popper with the munchies! …just kidding, sorta…
If you can afford it, always keep a stack of pills on you. I recommend keeping them on your quickbar too. They are there to save your life when you take a huge crit. Pills are on a different (and slower) recharge counter, meaning you can pop a pill even if you just ate food and are still waiting to eat more. Choose the pills that restore as much of your HP as possible. Later in the game you should always have Gold Pills on hand. They are only sold at the Darkon3 outpost in the valley just north of Arians and cost 20,000 penya each, but are well worth it. If you can’t afford Gold Pills, there are cheaper and weaker pills for sale in every city.

Food is also important to keep on hand, and with version 9 some of the foods that were once the bane of all cashshop pet owners are finally useful. I’m talking, of course, about Meat Salad. Keep them, use them, they are better than Star Candy because while they heal a little less, they recharge a whole lot faster. All food in version 9 has a maximum recovery of 20,000 HP, so any food you find can be put to some use.

Man’s Best Friend
Pets can be very useful too, however they can be very difficult to keep alive for some blades. If you are an AOE blade I recommend a dragon, it can help you when you Clockwork and when you AOE. If you are a 1v1 blade then I highly recommend a Tiger. If you want something to help you in the arena, then I recommend a Lion or a Unicorn (don’t worry, if you die in PvP combat your pet will survive). A rabbit can also be very useful for any skill blade.

Murdering Poor Endangered Clockwork Beasts
Clcokwork is a giant monster who drops awesome things like Strentes and Mighteers and Speedos and Meat Salads. Each guild can kill a Clockwork once. It is for this reason that some people, know as Clockwork farmers, do not have permanent guilds. They create a new guild every couple days (when the game will allow them) and kill Clockwork using that new guild. They typically do not bother with leveling the guild or anything.

A Clockwork team consists of the people that have joined that guild for the purpose of killing the beast and splitting the dropped items. These people usually create or buy a level 40+ party with at least 200 party points (though many people prefer 300 points just to be safe). This is enough to spam the party skills Linked Attack, Linked Critical for more damage for the entire lifespan of the Clockwork. When it is almost dead, the party leader then activates Fortunate Drop and Gift Box, in order to get the best chances for good drops. Party item Distribute Item settings are usually set to Manual, so that the party leader can easily split up the items. If you’re into gambling and have a team that won’t complain, random distribution can be fun too.

A little known fact is that setting the EXP Share to Level will result in better experience for killing the Clockwork for ALL team members (this probably has something to do with Clockwork not being "owned" by any single player or party in an area). This is true even if you are the primary damage dealer. At level 105, with my ringmaster friend as my only partner, we both got over 2% per Clockwork when on Level, and less than 2% per clockwork when on Contribution. So before the Clockwork dies, set your party experience to Level.

You have exactly one hour to defeat Clockwork. Clockwork has 62,582,890 HP. So you need to do lots of damage. Upcuts and Grilled Eels can help, but you don’t want to spend more on Clockworking than you get out of it with drops, so use them with sparingly. As a blade, you will probably be one of the top damage dealers to Clockwork in your team. The absolute best damage dealer should be made the party leader so that the most benefit can be had from the party skills.

Without any slowing effects (which are all gone now in version 9), it is possible for Clockwork to hit you twice before your pill timer can recover. Let me say that again so that everyone understands: it is possible for Clockwork to hit you twice before your pill timer can recover. This is the main reason that Clockworking is harder than it was in version 7. Clockwork has two very noticeable modes: normal and rage. When it’s HP bar is just under the "C" is it’s name, it will switch to rage mode. In rage, Clockwork can deal roughly 7000 damage to higher level players on it’s bigger hits. Clockwork will pin you against the wall if you don’t run under it and start attacking from the other side at some point, and you don’t want to be pinned against the wall.

If you can count on some blocks and misses because you have some DEX or a good set, then you’ll be find with 7500+ HP. If you have lower DEX and only a +3 set, then you’ll want about 9,000+ HP. Even with all that HP, you will need a ringmaster in your team to buff, Holycross, and when rage kicks in they should stick to spamming Heal Rain (with the occasional rebuffs which should be spread out so that nobody dies when the healing is interrupted). One last piece of advice: don’t let anyone run away from Clockwork, he might laser and kill you all.

Murdering Lesser Giant Beasts
Other giants are a whole lot easier. If you have lower DEX/HP then you can use Hawk Attack to make them miss more. If you have a build like the Dark Assassin or Tenacious tank then you won’t need to bother with that. Use sneaker, it helps in two important ways: 1. If you get critted back you have all the time you need to stand back up and heal. 2. If you die then your ringmaster can safely resurrect you, rather than being hunt down (which is what giants do in version 9 – they will hunt down your ringmasters if you die). The Barbarian Berserker usually fights giants at or slightly below his level. The Dark Assassin and Tenacious Tank can successfully face giants up to 8 levels higher. Giants from 4 levels lower than you, up to 8 levels higher than you have a good chance to drop items. Giants do not always drop items, however using Gift Box and Fortunate Drop can help.

Alternatively you can kill any giant with an acrobat friend by simply keeping it sneakered while your friend does long range damage to it. This even works if you are level 60 and you want to kill the Queen Popcrank… it just takes a really really long time and you can’t mess up or else you all die. Also, luring her out of the spawning grounds is dangerous and probably best left to the acrobat. Not really worth it most of the time, but amusing nonetheless.

Credits go to mrjoneleth.