Charcter build Melee

Content
1. Introduction
2. The N
3. States of Enemy Sponginess
4. Attack Types and Effects on Sponginess
5. Player-Created Strategies and Combos
6. Closing
7. Related guides
8. Update notes

1. Introduction

As a more experienced player, it’s always frustrating to see new players being so gung-ho during combat that they lose all mindfulness for the very basic of basics, ultimately causing the death of those around them. Despite the frustration, I think that even the most experienced of players (myself included) can be at fault for causing various mishaps during battle, so, I don’t fully believe the lack of experience to be at fault, but rather, the lack of knowledge.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and sometimes the best type of preventions is the right kind of knowledge. This guide will focus on the very fundamentals of combat in Mabinogi. Once you’ve grasped a firm handle on these fundamentals, I guarantee that your skill level will increase by at least 50% or your money back! I’m kidding about the money part, but not so much about the skill. So despite my incessant babbling, I must guide must start some time, might as well make that time…now.

2. The N

If you’ve played Mabinogi for a decent amount of time, you may have heard the terms, N+1, N+bolt, N+ mill, and the like tossed around. These terms are derived from the number of combo attacks, N, used with a follow-up attack. Before we start off with more complicated mumbo-jumbo I’ll explain the most basic combo, N+1, and more specifically, how it actually works. As simple as it is, the mechanics behind this combo will be a basis for the entire guide.

-N+1, more than meets the eye?

N+1 is a term used to refer to a very basic combo in which an extra normal attack can be executed before pushing the enemy back. If the number of your normal attacks is 3, you will hit 4 times with this combo. In other words, it refers to the total number of attacks in a normal combo + 1 extra round of attacks. While dual wielding, it will be possible you will be able to get add in an extra 2 attacks if you take the time to pause after every round of attacks.
The combo works like this: after every swipe (or round of attacks if you are dual wielding) you take a small pause, just enough to almost get back into preparation stance, before attacking again. By doing this after every round of attacks, you will have conferred an extra round of attacks at the end of your combo before knocking the enemy back.
This brings up the question, “Why does this work?” The answer lies in the fact that enemies, and even players, are able to “recover” from combos over time, but not in the sense that they are recovering health points.

-So what N God’s name am I talking about?

Both enemy characters and player characters share an unnamed, and almost overlooked, status that I like to refer to as “Sponginess,” though you can call it ham sandwich for all I care; the important thing is that you understand that it’s there. Depending on the number of attacks in your basic combo, the enemy’s sponginess will decrease a certain amount with each hit. For convenience sake, assume that the enemy’s sponginess stat value is R and that each attack reduces the stat by R/N. When a sufficient number of attacks have been executed to reduce the sponginess value until it reaches or drops below 0 (R-[R/6]x[6 attacks]=0, for instance where N=6), the character will be pushed back. In a nutshell, the more attacks a character receives within a set amount of time, the less responsive it becomes until it is able to break away.
Now it becomes clearer why N+1 works. Because the sponginess value is recovering during the pauses in between attacks, by the time N number of attacks has been executed, enough sponginess would have remained to permit an extra round of attacks.

-Things to remember about sponginess

An enemy character’s sponginess affects the attacks of all characters that assault it. For example, if one party member reduces an enemy’s sponginess to 0, the other party member’s attacks will affect the enemy as though it has 0 sponginess.
Moves that knock back the enemy, such counter, smash and windmill, reduce the enemy’s sponginess to 0 if successful. That said, players who prioritize smash and windmill over their basic combo will need to pay attention to enemy states (explained in the next section) rather than sponginess, although sponginess and states share a close relation.
A character’s own sponginess determines the number of hits you are able to take before being knocked back, not the number of hits he is able to land on the enemy before a knockback occurs.

3. States of enemy sponginess

So, what happens once an enemy’s sponginess is depleted? What happens when an attack is launched on an enemy afterwards? This section will go into detail on the effects of sponginess on enemy characters and how to exploit each scenario.

-Normal

Enemy sponginess: variable
Enemy skill loading: Yes
Enemy skill execution: Yes
Effective strategies: Depends on AI and other factors
Ineffective strategies: Depends on AI and other factors
Use discretion and prior knowledge of enemy AI to deal with enemies in this state.

-Knockback

Enemy sponginess: 0
Enemy skill loading: Yes
Enemy skill execution: No
Effective strategies: Waiting for down/recovery, ranged attacks, windmill, Freezing
Ineffective strategies: consecutive melee/ranged attacks
Knockback occurs once enough normal attacks have been executed to deplete the enemy’s sponginess. After the last of the normal attacks have been execute, the enemy will slide back and pause momentarily. The sliding back is what players refer to as “knockback.” During the slide animation the enemy will have no sponginess and any single-hit attacks launched against it will cause it to bounce. Attacks from dual wielding characters will only hit once and cause the enemy to bounce. Elven ranged attacks will hit the enemy twice and then cause it to bounce.
Warning: Although the enemy is vulnerable to attacks in this state, the knockback speed exceeds running speed. It would be unwise to pursue the enemy with regular attacks unless the enemy’s movement is impeded and the recovery for the weapon used to attack is small. This tactic, also known as “edging,” will be discussed later (probably). It should be noted that the enemy may load skills in this state, but will not have enough time to execute them before it lands.

-Flying Knockback

Enemy sponginess: 0
Enemy skill loading: Yes
Enemy skill execution: No
Effective strategies: Waiting for recovery, ranged attacks, windmill, Freezing, defense, counter
Ineffective strategies: consecutive melee/ranged attacks
Flying knockbacks occur during the use of smash, counter, firebolt, magnum, and during special cases with normal attacks. These cases are when strings of normal attacks end with a critical hit and when the enemy goes into deadly status. The only difference between regular knockback and flying knockback is that the distance the enemy is thrown is greater.

-Down

Enemy sponginess: none, recovering
Enemy skill loading: Yes
Enemy skill execution: No, however counter and defense may activate
Effective strategies: waiting for recovery windmill, freezing, knockback attacks, ranged knockback attacks
Ineffective strategies: consecutive melee/ranged attacks
After the sliding animation of any knockback takes place, the enemy will pause briefly for a short moment before taking action. This is the “down” state. During this time any attack will cause the enemy to bounce.

-Recovery

Enemy sponginess: N/A
Enemy skill loading: Yes
Enemy skill execution: Yes, but usually responds with normal melee unless windmill is loaded
Effective strategies: Wait for recovery, windmill, Freezing
Ineffective strategies: ranged attacks/ normal melee
Recovery occurs after the enemy is either bounced, or after the enemy gets back up from being downed. The enemy is only in this state for a brief period of time, but during recovery the enemy is momentarily invulnerable to the stun and knockback effects of one attack. After shrugging off the attack, it will usually go into retaliatory response.

-Retaliatory Response

Enemy sponginess: present, variable
Enemy skill loading: Yes
Enemy skill execution: Yes, but usually responds with normal melee
Effective strategies: ranged knockback attacks, windmill, Freezing, defense, counter
Ineffective strategies: normal melee, smash
Enemy gains Intuition-like abilities
There are a few situations where this can occur and whether or not it can occur depends on enemy AI. One is to attack an enemy with a-chainable attack and stop before the enemy is knocked back. Another is to attack a bounced enemy. In any case, the enemy will usually load normal melee and run at you, but, it can also counter the smashes, charges, and normal melee of any other character trying to get in his path with a melee swipe. If the enemy has windmill, it may activated it on nearby, hapless players instead of charging at them with normal melee.

Special states

While the above states can be caused using normal melee, each of the following like to obey their own little rules and may even have a few special effects associated with them.

Frozen (icespear)

Enemy sponginess: N/A
Effective strategies: wait for the freezing to end
Ineffective strategies: N/A
Freezing caused by Icespear is a very unique status in that it completely ignores the enemy’s current sponginess, and sends the enemy into a knockback state once the freezing effect terminates and explodes.

-Frozen (frozen blast)
Skill is not yet available.

-Windmill Knockback

Enemy sponginess: 0
Effective strategies: More windmilling, smash, freezing
Ineffective strategies: consecutive melee, consecutive ranged attacks
Windmill is a special little skill, so special that its unique knockback capability is deserving of its own section. What makes windmill knockback so special is that it hits multiple enemies and, not only that, the enemies caught in the windmill have a change in behavior. Some reset to normal state after they recover from being knocked back and down, and some choose to retaliate immediately. Laghodassas in particular become stuck in awareness state after being milled. Worms will only aggro after being hit with windmill.

-Charge stun

Enemy sponginess: full
Effective strategies: any skill that can loaded and be executed before the stun runs out
Ineffective strategies: N/A
Charge stuns the enemy and increases the enemy’s sponginess to full.
*I’ll add more later*

4. Attack types and effects on sponginess

There’s a defensive side to sponginess, and then there’s the offensive side. As enemies react differently to attacks based on their sponginess, your attacks determine their state of sponginess. Use a wrong move and get killed. So no, you can’t simply throw random attacks and hope for the best. You can, however, derive plans of attack to keep your enemy confounded and your hp bar safe. Ah, the tossing of helpless corpses…it’s really a thing of beauty.

-Normal melee attacks

Normal melee is probably one of the most complicated attack types, and probably one of the more risky. The main factor involved is the number of hits afforded by your weapons. A high number hits means a lower amount of sponginess will be taken off with each swipe. Another factor, weapon speed determines the overall speed and safety factor of your normal melee combo when chained with other attacks. The stun from your weapons determines the duration of each of your enemy states. Low stun allows enemies to reach recovery or retaliation faster. A final, and usually unmentioned, factor is the distance from you and your target. This determines your overall ability to react before the enemy changes states.

-Ranged chainable attacks
-Melee knockback attacks
-Ranged knockback attacks
-Defensive skills

5. Player-created combos and strategies

Here’s where we put theory to practice, and practice, practice, and practice until we make perfect. I’ll post some combos I’m familiar with and you post your combos, preferably with a video of it in action. I’ll give my take on it, and even post opinions of other contributors if they seem construction. Keep in mind, this section should be no stranger to criticism.
*to be updated at a future time*

6. Closing

I’ve written this guide not only to help new players understand combat, but to help seasoned players sharpen their battle methodology. But I’m only one player, and I only know as much as one player can. To construct a complete guide, with as much integral information as possible, I welcome any criticism and revisions from its reader and I’ll even give you due credit. Here’s hoping this guide will result in at least one less player-accountable death.

7. Related guides
*to be updated at a later time*

8. Update Notes

To be researched:
The time it takes to recover sponginess
Effects of weap0n speed on the recovery of sponginess, if any
Actual numerical values to sponginess
Better term to use than sponginess :U
To be added: Icons and pictures, cause they’re pretty
*Guide will be updated weekly. Just pray that it doesn’t escape my already small attention span.
This article was originally published in forum thread: The fundamentals of combat started by Rime View original post