Physical vs Magical defense

bkloes · March 2010

Ok, so its really late......I was reading the forum looking for an answer regarding later stages with a BM. Most early monsters are physical, so BM is well protected but later in the game.....Do they become easy marks in PvP and PvE magic Mobs? I could fill all sockets with magic gems? I am a bit confused on the difference between element and magic defense VS physical defense......

Sword swinging mob.....I assume physical
Enchanted creature often magical?

I have found that picking my battles smart is vital, as some things do 20 points whereas others of same level do like 400:D...Thank you for helping me understand the progression and life of a BM.

Sel_Darkmore - Dreamweaver · March 2010

bkloes wrote: »

Ok, so its really late......I was reading the forum looking for an answer regarding later stages with a BM. Most early monsters are physical, so BM is well protected but later in the game.....Do they become easy marks in PvP and PvE magic Mobs? I could fill all sockets with magic gems? I am a bit confused on the difference between element and magic defense VS physical defense......

Sword swinging mob.....I assume physical
Enchanted creature often magical?

I have found that picking my battles smart is vital, as some things do 20 points whereas others of same level do like 400:D...Thank you for helping me understand the progression and life of a BM.

I am one who invested in Mag Def gems...I figure Phy Def already up there so I went that road..and it makes a differance for me. Before PVE magic damage would come like 600 or more, but now alot of it is reduce to about 200-500 range. I can live longer now for pots lol.

AdvanceZero - Heavens Tear · March 2010

Most BM's use elemental ornaments and refine them to get some added magic resistance. Also they often get the Tauran Chieftan Cape which adds more magic resistance. Try that for now xD.

Granrey - Sanctuary · March 2010

I guess it depends how you play, what you like, how active you want to be, etc.

you can block/cancell all magic mobs and be accurate in doing so by 90% or more. So, you dont need to add magic shards or ornaments on your BM. I suggest to add the opposite, which is more phy defence.

research about these:

Genie skills to counter magic mobs:

Balance and lighting strike. The first kind off increase you magic defence and the second cancell the magic attack while casting.

BM Skills:

Leap back and leap foward: If you aproach the mob from outside its agro zone by leaping, he will not do a magic attack right away. Therefore, this is good to cancell first magic attack.

Shadowless kick: you can use level 1 and it works without weapon (so, if you are an axes guy, you just unequip and use the skill and equip again), this skill will cancell mag attack even from bosses. but timing is critical.

Roar of the pride and Drake Bash: The both stun and if you stun during casting, it will also cancell the mag attack. Aelian Blade is good for this but I dont recomend it since the stun chance is low for this purposes of cancelling.

Speed running skills: we have two skills that make your character run very fast. If you approach the mob from outside mag range a high speed, it will work same as leap.

Marrow Physical and Marrow Magical: as weird as it sounds I dont use marrow magical vs magic mobs as right after the magic attack they turn physical. So, I use the physical all the time with magic mobs as I;m confident I will cancell the mag attack.

So, a good BM should kill a regular magic mob prior a third magic attack (axes guys usually kill right prior second attack), if you dont, you should check your game play.

However, if you want to avoid all written above, get a cleric prior grinding magic mobs LOL.

Other stratagies:

If the magic mob is one of those buggers that explode after you kill him. what you need to do is to stun him, when he is ready to die in on one or two hits. Then leap back and finish him with range attacks like bow, lighting strike and other range skills from BM. But keep in mind that you must have him on low hp prior you do it. By doing this he will not even explode. It kind of the mob saying: "you got me, smartass"

Getting out of mag range: This is tricky and requires tons of practice, I did not master it myself. But I think is worth mentioning. when the mob is casting an skill you can knock him back outside of mag range or you simply leap away of mag range, that will cancell the mag attack and you must right away leap towards him.

falling from sky: if the mob is on the ground and you are flying high, you can fall inside melee range and this will also work as leap.

BTW, magic mobs have magic range and melee range, it varies per mob but explaining that would make the post too long. LOL

Ax - Harshlands · March 2010

Yeah many start with a shadowless kick on mobs. Or you can just start with Aeolian and hope for stun, doesnt really matter if the attack hits you as they usually switch to using phsy attacks after that.

TheDan - Sanctuary · March 2010

never ever ever shard phys def lol, the phys def gives diminishing return as you increase it more, there's no point to shard p def.

I get 27K p def marrowed which is 88% phys dmg reduction from 102 mobs, and when I buddha guard I get 90K p def which is 90% phys dmg reduction from 102 mobs..

not worth it, a 63K P def gain is only 2% less phy dmg intake... lol

hp/vit sharding with magic def orns all the way..

if you're low level without lv 11 bell, marrows, or a good genie maybe u could beef up your p def by refining your might rings, but never shard p def

No offense Ganrey, you have some valid points in your suggestions, but hp gives a constant value, whereas p def gives less reduction as it's increased

AdvanceZero - Heavens Tear · March 2010

TheDan - Sanctuary wrote: »

never ever ever shard phys def lol, the phys def gives diminishing return as you increase it more, there's no point to shard p def.

I get 27K p def marrowed which is 88% phys dmg reduction from 102 mobs, and when I buddha guard I get 90K p def which is 90% phys dmg reduction from 102 mobs..

not worth it, a 63K P def gain is only 2% less phy dmg intake... lol

hp/vit sharding with magic def orns all the way..

if you're low level without lv 11 bell, marrows, or a good genie maybe u could beef up your p def by refining your might rings, but never shard p def

No offense Ganrey, you have some valid points in your suggestions, but hp gives a constant value, whereas p def gives less reduction as it's increased

b:victoryb:victory

Granrey - Sanctuary · March 2010

TheDan - Sanctuary wrote: »

No offense Ganrey, you have some valid points in your suggestions, but hp gives a constant value, whereas p def gives less reduction as it's increased

Hey, no offense taken.

IMO HP is the only thing that works vs Mag or Phy regardless or PVP/PVE situation.

However, since I only do PVE, my VIT is on 3 and works just fine. I only add points to use gear either DEX or STR.

In TW and Duels, I get killed quick. 1 Shot sometimes is all that is needed.

Saying that, adding tons of vit is admitting that you will get hit. Keep in mind that with phy mobs having vit on 3 and getting hit by them is not a problem due to the high phy defence but the issue is only with magic mobs.

On my axes and sword. I prefer to add accuracy shards (which I have not done yet for being lazy, I have the shards on my mule LOL) and this is because I only use these two weapons for the skills and I hate the rare occasion in which they miss.b:angry

on my fists, I add phy shards to increase the dps, on My armor I add hp shards to increase HP. However, I dont buy any of that, I only add what I get from drops or quest rewards.

My bow has accuracy shard too.

TheDan - Sanctuary · March 2010

yeah i'm guessing if it were strictly phys def or magic def like the OP suggested then sure, but hp is also important xD

but you are correct in the statement that I am accepting I will get hit, but that's cause I pvp a lot, always get ganked in TW or stuff by wizards so I know I get hit lol. in pve u can predict it before it happens so u can prolly do fine without too much hp o_o but i know it doesn't hurt to have extra :P

bkloes · March 2010

Thanks guys...its late here again so I will be chewing on all the advice.....I am still abit confused about the types of defense...physical (obvious), magical vs elements? I have started to notice the big hit (magic) and then the damage goes way down the mobs physical attack. At my low level its not really an issue since I can close and kill them easily. When I struggle is when I get caught between two or more mobs that run away and attack. (hope that makes sense)

So......As a blademaster do we struggle later in the game since the mobs are more magical? I thought i heard that in the late stages the mobs have a greater dependency on magic attack. I play with my gf who is a cleric so I basically have my own "healing pet" b:laugh We figured that this would be a good combination.....

Michael_Dark - Lost City · March 2010

bkloes wrote: »

Ok, so its really late......I was reading the forum looking for an answer regarding later stages with a BM. Most early monsters are physical, so BM is well protected but later in the game.....Do they become easy marks in PvP and PvE magic Mobs? I could fill all sockets with magic gems? I am a bit confused on the difference between element and magic defense VS physical defense......

Magic defense is broken up into specific elements... so when you hear someone talk about mdef, they're referring to your elemental resistance, however due to some gear offering specific additional elemental resistance, your mdef may not always be equal across the various elements. Physical defense is just that.

Up until you get your TT90 gears, you shouldn't be spending much on refines and shards for your armor. For 7x average or common shards are just fine. For 8x beautiful or flawless (since they're so cheap now)... 9x flawless or immaculates... 99+ immaculates, perfects or gems/stones.

Up until 9x, you should only use citrines for HP and you shouldn't really refine much eaither, it's just too fast to level these days, and refines on lower grade gear don't give you much additional.

I'll try to help you map out your equips how I did it, and how I would recommend.

Past 40-ish and up until you hit 90 and can get your TT90 armor, your best option is to find a nice elemental belt and necklace for your level... basically 1-3* full resistance with at least one or two decent add-ons, +vit +hp or str/dex... I wouldn't invest in any Legendary equips until you can get the Equine Talisman (good until 9x) and Pirate Kings Seal (good up until you can get past map belt or Demon Slaughter Belt). Don't be afraid to spam a few dozen mirages during refining hours to get them to +2 or +3 without orbs or tishas and just leave them there. The extra refines don't really look like the add up to much, but with such low mdef every little bit really helps.

For necklaces, stick with the Equine Talisman even though the Sky Demon's Pearl will look like the better option, it really isn't. The HP, pdef and 1% damage reduction from the Equine pretty much negate the +5% HP you'd get with the SDP, except you lose all the mdef you'd get from it. The Equine is one of the only disposable ornaments that is really safe to refine up to +5 or so as long as you're not afraid to tisha it... till you can afford to farm/buy a TT90 Swindlers Necklace or if you're into farming or are rich, theLunar neck or Cube badge are much better alternatives. All are pretty much end game for BM.

For belts, same, stick with 1-3* until you can get Pirate King's Seal and keep that till you can wear a Demon Slaughter Belt or one of the past map belts. I'd throw a couple mirages at the PKS and get it to +2 or +3 but not really any further... the DSB could be refinable higher depending on how fast you're going through your past map cultis... endgame here is really the 4th map belt which is just amazing. It's not really that much worse than Warsong belt, and it's free. You just need to get your past culti done to get it... it's really the toughest quest chain on PWI.

Fighting magic mobs isn't really much different than fighting physical mobs, except they hurt you a lot more. Your first experiences will probably be in Kings Valley or Tusk Town... shurnkens or pyrogoths... these mobs like to kite you and lure you into others, so watch out. Best to get an archer or veno to help you on those quests. Most of the magic mobs after do mixed magic and melee, so being relatively balanced will help you out the most. The next ones that come to mind are the 7x air mobs over lake of woe/dreaming cloud which like to **** you. Then come the bunnies. lol.

Genie skills such as balance or true emptiness do give you great magic shields, but at your level will cost more in genie stamina than you'll get from grinding... I consider these mostly PvP or for elite mobs or bosses. They're just too expensive to use just going after quest mobs, imo.

Anyway, I didn't intend to write much really.... shows you how much there is to do when you hit 10x.

Granrey - Sanctuary · March 2010

bkloes wrote: »

Thanks guys...its late here again so I will be chewing on all the advice.....I am still abit confused about the types of defense...physical (obvious), magical vs elements? I have started to notice the big hit (magic) and then the damage goes way down the mobs physical attack. At my low level its not really an issue since I can close and kill them easily. When I struggle is when I get caught between two or more mobs that run away and attack. (hope that makes sense)

So......As a blademaster do we struggle later in the game since the mobs are more magical? I thought i heard that in the late stages the mobs have a greater dependency on magic attack. I play with my gf who is a cleric so I basically have my own "healing pet" b:laugh We figured that this would be a good combination.....

you have really good advice on this tread, try it out and see what works for you.

Something I forgot to mention but I do not like to share since I get so much flame for it but I will say it anyways.b:chuckle

You can have two sets of Armor and ornaments (and switch to the armor and ornaments you need based on the mob or situation). However, there are very few cases in which this strategy pays off. For instance in dungenos with tons of magic mobs like: FB59, FB29 and when you have to do quests of pure magic mobs like the magic mobs right outside FB59.

I used to switch armor and ornaments when I was in those situations but I stop doing that, since I did not find more pure magic mobs and I need it the storage.

Keep in mind, there is no reason to use heavy armor if the mob will not do physical attack on you.

bkloes · April 2010

Ok....so I have been learning. I wanted to post something to see if I understand it correctly. Physical defense is just that.......none magical attacks. The magic defense is more complicated. It is broken down into elements. If I add to my magic defense all my elemental defenses increase. However, I am assuming that a shard that increases my magic defense say 25points does not raise each elements defense by 25 points? I hope I am being clear....in other words a shard that raises say fire defense 25 will protect more against fire then just 25 straight magic defense.

Michael_Dark - Lost City · April 2010

bkloes wrote: »

I am assuming that a shard that increases my magic defense say 25points does not raise each elements defense by 25 points?

A sapphire gives x amount of mdef. That is x amount for each elemental defense. There are shards that give specific elemental defense. Hope that helps.

bkloes · April 2010

Simple enough:D So if you are buying shards......Mdef shards are better because they add across each element where as a (blank) is just fire.

Thanks guys

Physical vs Magical defense

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