Dark Avenger (Gracia Final) guide — Hell Knight

Dark Avenger class guide for Lineage 2 Gracia Final: how to get the class, which skills to take, what to wear and where to level.

Contents 1 Introduction 1.1 DA cons 1.2 DA pros 2 Chapter 1. Leveling 3 Chapter 2. Armor and weapons 4 Chapter 3. PvP at the Olympiad 5 Chapter 4. Tattoos, fighting style, and a couple more things 6 Chapter 5. Skills 7 Class gameplay videos

Introduction

The Dark Avenger (DA) is a summoner-tank hybrid. More tank, partly summoner. The DA's appeal lies in its summon: Dark Panther. They're the only tanks deprived of the 360-degree block angle, so the DA must always rely on its skills or luck to keep its shield between itself and the mobs. They also have tons of HP, like Paladins.

DA cons

• Low P. Atk. With our ice-cream stick we're practically unable to pick apart an x-boosted mob, let alone players.
• No attack skills. A tank is a tank. No point arguing here.
• Running speed - we run at an average pace, slower than daggers and archers, but we "outrun" Destroyers and Gladiators.
• At sieges we're just meat; we can't do anything when there's ranged combat.
• Mages don't care that you're dying in front of their faces and somehow pulling aggro onto yourself while they shoot from behind your back.

DA pros

• A tank is a tank. High P. Def./M. Def. make for a long stay on your feet without seeing the "To Village" window.
• Self buffs for P. Def./M. Def. - there has to be some justice somewhere, right?
• A summon - Mother Nature gave us a love of cats and a wonderful little beast, which we control quite well and which doesn't let us be bullied.
• The DA is a fairly tanky character, raised on milk; it has no shortage of HP.
• Very useful skills, described below.
• One of the BIGGEST pluses is the ability to experiment with stats (tattoos) and gear. (also described below)

Chapter 1. Leveling

Well, I don't think the first levels are worth describing in detail, but still: when you appear, knock a blue crystal out of a gremlin, talk to the helper and get shots. Then talk to the NPC standing nearby, get shots, and fly to the Kamael village; there, at the south gate, do Markela's quest for the wooden set and reach level 6. Then everything's simple: do 2 quests from the newbie helper and start the first class quest.

• 20-40
  • After getting the class we're level 20, and here it's worth doing 3 quests (if I'm not mistaken): the first in the DE village at the WH, the second in the Orc Village in their guild on the first floor to the left, then fly to Schuttgart, also to the orc guild, and take the quest (I don't remember the NPC's name). Then turn in quests 2 and 3 and reach level 21.
  • The optimal leveling option at these levels is the catacombs: register for the 7 Seals and go to the catacombs south of Gludin and then the ones east of Dion (there are 2 there). Sit calmly in the catacombs until level 35, then go do the 2 class.
• 40-52
  • At these levels there are 2 ways to level: run with the panther and stun mobs (the panther is expensive, but it deals the main damage, so the right thing is to buy shots only for it and go without them yourself, but if finances allow, go ahead)
  • Or run in the transformation with duals, but in the transformation it's better to go where mobs are weak )
  • From 40 you can level at Cruma; from 48 you can move to floor 2, the first rooms, and stay there until 55; or in the Sea of Spores from level 40 to 49, and from 49 to 52 in the Abandoned Workshop.
  • As alternatives - you can visit the Garden of Eva, Alligator Island (both locations belong to Innadril Village), or the Timak Outpost (Oren), the pit and forests south of the Ivory Tower. The Cemetery and the area around Aden. The Ruins of Pavel (Schuttgart). All these locations are quite interesting and well suited to developing your character.
• 52-61
  • At these levels it's most convenient to go to the Ice Labyrinth.
  • Also at these levels the Enchanted Valley location (Hunters' Village) will be quite interesting. The Cemetery and the Forbidden Gateway (Aden) are also convenient.
  • Or you can go to FP and stay there until 60 – 63.
• 61-70
  • It's time to get acquainted with the Valley of Saints (Rune). A fairly hard solo location, mainly because one group of monsters has high evasion and you'll simply miss them (though that's no problem for the panther), while another group deals colossal magic damage. Spots to your liking; I went right from the NPC. Two spots before the bridge. Two spots at the bridge. A double spot behind it by the mountain, etc.
  • Or you can go to Goddard (and stay there until 75; good XP, simple mobs).

An alternative leveling option is the Wild Beast Reserve, teleport from Rune.

• 70-74
  • From 70 you can take the reagent quest and go to the spot on the hill in the Blazing Swamp and stay there until 74. At 73 you can go to the HS and do the 150 mobs for the 3 class.
  • Starting from 74, if you have a Prophet or Warcryer, go to Ketra/Varka (better Varka) and do the alliances.
• 74-79
  • Level in Varka, Ketra, the HS, the IT. Do the 3 class.

(Starting from level 63, you need a buffer (PP or Warcryer), since it's easier, more profitable and faster)

TIP: Take quests in the location where you level; it'll improve your finances - in short, it's useful for you ;)

Chapter 2. Armor and weapons

• 0-20
• At the start, as I already wrote, do Markela's quest for the wooden set. Run in it until level 20. Take a weapon from the newbie helper. (a bow or dagger, or a sword - your choice)
• 20-40
  • Here I suggest buying Common Item – Winged Spear, top D common D armor and jewelry, and if you have enough money, buy Common Item – Elven Long Sword and a shield. (level in the catacombs with a polearm; if the mobs are strong, with a sword)
• 40-52
  • At these levels buy an FP shield, Common Item – Samurai Long Sword, and also, if you have enough money, buy Common Item – Raid Sword*Raid Sword. (or run with shadow duals). For armor, buy a common FP set (gloves, helmet and boots respectively)
• 52-61
  • You don't really need to change gear here; you can buy Common Item – Samurai Long Sword*Samurai Long Sword, and if P. Def. is low, buy common B armor. (well, gloves, boots, helmet if you like); I don't advise buying jewelry, since M. Def. is quite enough, though if you have money, why not. Also take Common Item – Keshanberk in hand, or run with an SLS, and if finances allow, take a normal Keshanberk with Focus.
• 61-76
  • Now the time of A grade has come… We're offered a choice of 4 sets: . From personal experience I say [[]] isn't worth collecting. For leveling [[]] is better, and for PvP is better. The set is better than , but I wouldn't advise collecting it. If you're not collecting an A set (for example, you're saving resources, or your situation doesn't let you collect it), you can keep going up to level 72 (or even more) in common B armor, and at level 70 drop or buy a common top in BS, and common A limb pieces (gloves and boots) drop under Goddard. So we'll have enough P. Def. We can farm jewelry in WoA (valley of saints) or in BS at the phoenix glade.

You can keep running with , or buy common or . If you get a decent weapon, insert health into Tallum Blade, and into Dark Legion's Edge either health or cr.damage, depending on who you want to be (I'll write about it later)

• 76-80

No alternatives here: we need to buy (or make) the Imperial Crusader set. For a weapon it's better to take Forgotten Blade and make Draconic Bow

• 80-85
  • Here we make Dynasty Breast Plate, and of weapons we make Dynasty Sword

Chapter 3. PvP at the Olympiad

Before describing the fights, I'll list the gear needed for the Olympiad:

1. We need Staff of Evil Spirits (2 pieces (SA Blessed Focus, and Blessed HP))
2. Needed Spell Breaker (SA Magic Mental Shield)

1. Basalt Battlehammer (SA Health)
2. Homunkulus’s Sword (SA Acumen)
3. DarkCrystal Seth.

(All this gear is available to every class, with some exceptions)

• So we've jumped into the Olympiad and have 40 seconds to buff. Put on DC (faster casts) and buff the self buff on yourself, holding the SOES and SB. Done the self buff, and if there's time left, buff the panther with Noblesse, also holding the SOES and SB.
  • DA vs Tyrant\Gladiator Put on Basalt to use the skill Touch of Death, this way we take the Gladiator's CP and some of his buffs. To kill the cat he'll need 2 – 3 series of hits or 1 – 2 crits in a series. Meanwhile we cast the skill Touch of Death, then cast a stun, then Shield Slam, put on FB next, cast Judgment, and keep stunning and hitting the Gladiator nonstop; if he starts to run away, put on a bow and shoot. When you're at half HP, use Vengeance (it's less noticeable, and under the combat animation from the soulshots the enemy may not notice it); if he has run off, hit with drain or the bow, turn on the shield block aura and summon the cat. The Gladiator/Tyrant will most likely start hitting with sonics from a distance, or run up; then cancel the cat summon and shoot the bow, or stun and hit. After UD I advise using the second UD right away; it's very noticeable, and the enemy will just go away and wait for it to wear off; meanwhile heal yourself with the heal you get at low level with a hammer in hand. When the UD is over, run up to the Gladiator/Tyrant and engage in melee holding Basalt, because the DA has a passive skill that increases P. Def. when HP drops, i.e. the more HP you have, the sooner it turns on.
  • DA vs Archer (any class) This is probably the most pleasant PvP. Before the fight, the same self buff. You can simply send the panther at the archer and aggro him onto yourself a couple of times. When the Panther goes down - root, drain, or shoot with a bow. If the archer is smart, he won't hit the DA with skills; at level 79 the DA gets a skill (Physical Mirror reflecting physical skills (I'll write about it later)). Thanks to the IC set and arrow resistance, the archer will hit for less than the DA with a bow in hand hits the archer. Usually the archer dies having taken only the tank's CP or a little more.
  • DA vs PP/Warcryer Here it's a bit harder. Immediately throw ToD and stun, don't let him buff himself again, and try not to leave melee. It's better to hold an FB, since the outcome of the fight will depend on crits and stuns.
  • DA vs Bishop/SE/EE In a fight with these classes your task is to hold out, because trying to kill a Bishop is masochism; even with frequently landing stuns, these classes try to insert an M. Atk. LS before going to the Olympiad, and with an EE, say, magic crits are very frequent. If you can keep them stunned and keep hitting, you'll win. Using UD is pointless, because (EE, Bishop, SE) will stand in invoke, and then they have lots of MP for healing again. Use UD at the end of the fight so you don't go down and make it to the end; you'll win on damage.
  • DA vs DA Here the main thing is not to get flustered and to act flawlessly, because any hesitation is your defeat. Kill the cat; at the start, hit a couple of times with the crit-cutting skill and hit the opponent with the FB (because crits decide it), or use a bow. If you get a smart opponent, he'll pull out a bow right after killing your cat and shoot. I don't advise using stun, root or hamstring; at level 78 the DA gets (a mirror) that reflects stuns, debuffs, roots; the chance isn't very high, but it still reflects fairly often. (whoever makes no mistakes wins).

Chapter 4. Tattoos, fighting style, and a couple more things

There are two distinct types of DA:

1. A hefty, brave DA. An HP build.
2. A wiry, nimble DA that quickly kills a careless enemy. A STR and DEX build.

• The advantage of a hefty, tanky DA:
  • An average mage will take him down in 20-25 nukes (a fully buffed DA has 15.5k HP). Not bad for being a nuisance and playing in your party's shadow.

You can easily resummon the little beast - the panther - in PvP. There are no problems with melee in PvP; some just get bored, burn all their MP, or die from the reflect (it happened more than once). A mighty tower of sorts. I played this build for a very long time; most DAs choose this path.

• • Downsides: don't even try hitting a stunned enemy with your weapon. The damage is negligible, and you'll break the stun; the cat will do everything for you.

As I wrote above, you need a weapon with the HP SA here; a TM Blade will do. Nightmare gear.

• • • Tattoos:
    • +4 con – 4 str
    • +4 dex – 4 str
    • +4 wit – 4 int (casting speed matters when casting our magic skills)

• The advantage of a strong, agile DA:
  • If you run up to an enemy mage, he takes crits of around 700. (DLE). A Soul Bow crit is around 1300.

Such a DA must have quick reactions, fast targeting and good judgment. This DA is geared more toward a dynamic PvP style.

• • Downsides: well, here he has only 1. You go down faster, and your HP won't be great.

Here you need a DLE with the Critical Damage SA. TM heavy gear.

• • • Tattoo:
    • +4 str – 4 con
    • +4 dex -4 con
    • +4 wit – 4 int.

• Your stats:
  • STR (Strength – affects only your P. Atk.) – 40.
  • CON (constitution – affects HP, HP recovery speed, carrying capacity, and resistance to stun and bleeding) – 43.
  • DEX (Dexterity – affects running speed, Atk. Spd., critical rate, accuracy, evasion and shield block chance) – 30.
  • WIT (Wit – affects casting speed, i.e. how fast you cast a spell, and the frequency of magic critical attacks) – 11.
  • INT (Intelligence – affects M. Atk. and the chance of your debuffs landing on enemies) – 21.
  • MEN (Mentality – affects M. Def., MP, MP recovery speed, and resistance to some magic debuffs) – 25.

• Subclasses:

All subclasses are useful, and basically all suit the DA, and everyone has their own opinion) Still, I decided to write what IN MY opinion matters for a DA. So, we've done the sub quest and got EWA(J). We have a big choice of what to take as an additional class. First of all, like any tank, the skill Counter Heal matters to us. So take a Bishop, EE or SE sub. (with a good clan, leveling won't take long) So we've leveled the first sub, and if we have nothing better to do, we can level a 2 sub. For the second sub I advise taking the skill Counter Haste For that we need to level a Gladiator, WL, Spoiler, Tyrant, or a Destroyer, Berserker or Soul Breaker. And if we're complete fools, we level a 3 sub ) Here you can level either an archer or dagger, or any tank.

Chapter 5. Skills

So, the last chapter, in which I'll describe our character's skills. I won't describe all the 0-40 skills in detail; I'll write about just a couple…

So, from the first levels we'll need 2 skills:

• Power Strike
• Power Shot

(These 2 skills can be used at the Olympiad)

• Next, the 2 class skills:
  • Drain Health Absorbs the target's HP
  • Aura of Hate Forces enemies to attack
  • Aggression Forces your enemy to attack.
  • Life Scavenge Drains HP from corpses and uses it to restore your HP.
  • Majesty Temporarily increases P. Def. and lowers Evasion.
  • Reflect Damage The damage the attacker deals to you is reflected back.
  • Shield Stun A powerful shield strike that stuns the enemy. While the effect lasts, another stun is impossible. Requires a shield
  • Summon Dark Panther Summons a Dark Panther capable of fast attacks. Consumes 1 C-grade crystal when summoned and 1 more crystal during each of 4 time intervals. **Consumes 15% of the XP gained.
  • Iron Will Temporarily increases M. Def.
  • Deflect Arrow Temporarily increases defense against bow and crossbow attacks.
  • Hamstring Instantly lowers the target's speed.
  • Vanguard A brave, swift charge into the very heart of battle. Lets you attack more freely thanks to a two-handed sword. Lowers P. Def. and **Shield Defense. (transformation)
  • Horror Frightens the enemy into fleeing for 10 seconds.
  • Corpse Plague A corpse releases a cloud that poisons surrounding enemies. Instantly poisons nearby enemies.
  • Ultimate Defense Instantly increases P. Def., M. Def. and debuff resistance. The skill immobilizes the character.
  • Judgment Uses the dark energy you've gathered, forcing the enemy to attack with a lower Critical Rate. Requires a sword, blunt or dual swords. Overhit possible.
  • Shackle Provokes the enemy to attack, then temporarily holds them in place. A target is immune to hold skills if it's already under a similar effect.
  • Banish Seraph Strikes fear into an angel and makes it flee. Lethal blow possible. Consumes 5 Spirit Ore.
  • Shield Fortress Increases Shield Block chance. Consumes MP while active.

• 3 class skills:

• • Fortitude Greatly increases resistance to stun/paralysis attacks. Consumes MP. while active.
  • Shield Bash A shield strike that interrupts the enemy's physical attack and makes them lose their target. Requires a shield.
  • Vengeance Instantly increases defense against the removal of effects that boost P. Def. and M. Def. Draws the aggression of surrounding monsters to the character, who can't move while the skill is active. Usable only with a shield.
  • Physical Mirror: a shield that reflects buffs/debuffs received from physical skills. Requires a shield."
  • Shield of Revenge Temporarily lets you reflect melee damage back to the enemy.
  • Iron Shield Has a certain chance to increase Shield Defense effectiveness when the character is attacked by an enemy.
  • Shield of Faith A Shield of Faith protecting party members. When activated, maximizes the party members' P. Def. and M. Def. and absorbs most of the damage they receive.
  • Symbol of Defense Creates a symbol that maximizes the defensive abilities of those around. Applies to all targets in the area of effect. The effect disappears if you leave the area. Requires level 2 Battle Force. Consumes 1 Battle Symbol.

Class gameplay videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-HbXTWrD7E&feature=related