Khego
Khego’s Elphame’s Arena Survival Guide
I played through all beta versions of EA and thought I'd share some info. This guide is intended to highlight some differences between the main server (Finvarra’s Fortress) and the upcoming seasonal server (Elphame’s Arena) then provide some strategies to help you have fun and succeed.
For a more thorough explanation of the server, check out Jordan’s Announcement here: https://realmserver.com/forum/announcements/elphame-s-arena-launch
If you care to follow the progression through beta testing, check out Jordan’s Updates here: https://realmserver.com/forum/announcements/elphame-s-arena-beta
Key Features
*Level Cap is 100. This means you only have a maximum of 102 Build Points. Spend them wisely.
*Gold is scarce, very scarce. Make good decisions with your spending. This includes decisions about repairs and insurance.
*There is no enchanting. Items can drop with a random enchant, but only one per item and not Strength or Dex. This puts more emphasis on your starting stats.
*After the newb zones, all areas are PvP (including dungeons). There are built in mechanics to limit camping but be ready to encounter PvP past level 20. Expect someone waiting outside your combat cloud most of the time.
*Group size max is 2. No 6-boxing here but I highly suggest you dual box or find a friend to play with if you're adamant about playing solo. You will be jumped by dual boxers.
Classes
The changes made on EA and level 100 cap result in a decent balancing of the classes. I'm very confident that almost any build, if piloted well, will be able to succeed. However, with limited resources (Build Points, Stats, Gold) it's very important to have a plan. How will I win PvE fights? How will I win (or avoid) PvP fights? Which skills do I need to execute that plan?
Warrior
*Starting Skills: Level 2 in all weapons and shield. This is valuable in terms of build point savings but also gives you some flexibility using whichever weapons you find early on. Level 1 in Acrobatics.
*Unique: Level 1 Mysticism spell 'Enrage'. I found threat management a little more valuable on EA than FF.
*ASGW: Still good. However, the weaknesses you can cover up on FF (low dex/int) are more exposed on EA. Not only accuracy but to GM Critical Strike will cost ASGW 52 build points (Critical Strike cost is based on Dex+Int).
*Hot Take: Warrior is a good choice if you plan to use a 2-Handed Weapon and/or if you plan to keep threat off an alt/friend.
Adventurer
*Starting Skills: Level 2 in Longsword and Shield. Level 1 in Acrobatics, Critical Strike, Theurgism and Sorcery.
*Unique: Level 1 Sorcery spells 'Combat Stance' and 'Caster Stance'. These may be valuable if your plan is that of the hybrid.
*Hot Take: Adv is a good choice if you plan to sword and board and/or plan to play a hybrid.
Thief
*Starting Skills: Level 2 in Dagger, Throwing, Critical Strike and Acrobatics. Level 1 in Shield, Pickpocketing and Disarm Traps.
*Unique: None
*Hot Take: Thief is a good choice if your plan is Thrower and/or your plan leans heavily on Crits and Dodges.
Wizard
*Starting Skills: Level 2 in Thaum, Elem or Necro (alignment dependent). Level 1 in Sorcery or Myst (alignment), meditation, theurgism, shortsword and acrobatics.
*Unique: None
*AIEW: Similiar to ASGW above, this build is still good but the weaknesses are exposed, namely health and carrying capacity.
*Hot Take: Wizard is a good choice if your plan is spells. However, understand that while in combat, mana is a finite resource (It only regens out of combat). If you run out of mana, you may need a backup plan.
Magic
Not covering every spell, but some key points that might assist in decision making. Even AIEW cannot GM all spell circles AND meditation, choose wisely.
Sorcery:
*Home, Gather, Teleport: Great for Quality of Life. Note: The Gatekeepers do no offer teleport services on EA. It's a long walk from EL to Kurz.
*Shift: Must-have for anyone making a living as a "caster" or "thrower".
*Greater Invis: There's a real choice to be made here whether to pursue this GM level spell or not. The skill point investment is high but depending on your plan, it may be worth it.
Thaumaturgy
*Heals and Shields: Close to a must-have for your duo (or solo). Can be bypassed with potions, orbs and scrolls but that becomes very item dependent.
*Light Dart and Wrath of Gods: Very good in PvE as majority of content is evil. Worthless in PvP.
*Faery Summons: Situationally useful but subpar compared to Necromancy.
Necromancy
*Poison Bolt: Vital in certain encounters and useful in PvP. Worthless against content with poison resistance.
*Touch Spells: Good damage but require touch range.
*Curses: Great.
*Summons: Very useful, situationally.
Elementalism
*Gust of Wind and Sandstorm: These are drop only, but they're level 2 spells. If you get lucky and find one early, they're great for leveling. Good value AoE.
*Fireball: Still a beast.
*Ice Storm, Stoning, Crushing Boulder, Cold Snap: The % to proc an effect (freeze or stun) can be very powerful.
Mysticism
*Very good in PvP
*Useful but less reliable in PvE
Meditation
*Important for both damage and mana regen rate (out of combat) but Master and GM levels a bit pricey. Do you choose to GM Med or get more spells?
Theurgism
*Wands and Orbs are very good on EA but come with a twofold cost: Build Point investment in Theurg and Item Farming.
*See Mysticism regarding WoZ and OoH.
*Great backup/supplementary plan for almost any build. Not a great primary plan due to the reliance on items/farming.
Loot
Reminder: All weapons and armor will have randomized stats, which includes; damage, armor rating and +HP/+MP. Not all random rolls are created equal.
Disclaimer: The way I've spelled out the tiers here are likely not exact mirror of the loot tables in game, but they're close enough for reference.
Tier 1:
*Magic Rings, Magic Amulets, Mythril Armor/Weapons, Troll Leather Armor.
*Location: Beginning zones and lower level dungeons.
Tier 2:
*Obsidiante Armor/Weapons, Imp Leather Armor, The Defender and Fangblade.
*Location: Lower-midrange content, including some of the easier world bosses.
Tier 3:
*Admantium Armor/Weapons, Daemon Leather Armor, Vulcan Edge, Nullsword, Stinger, Life Leech and some of the old school helmets (Raptor, Tribune, etc).
*Location: Upper-midrange content, including world bosses.
Tier 4:
*The Wrath, Executioner's Axe, Bonecrusher, Plate of Invulnerability, Bracers of Defense and Finvarra's Cowl/Bracers/Boots
*Location: End game content, including the hardest world bosses.
Loot Hot Take
*Dungeons are not instanced on EA, there will be fierce competition for the bosses that drop Tier 4 loot. This presents a real choice in which weapon you'll chase in order to spend your build points wisely. Will you swing for the fences and go for tier 4? Or is it more prudent to settle on a Tier 3 to advance and claim your baldric?
Final Thoughts
If you intend to play EA I hope you found something useful in here. If you're questioning whether to play, I'd highly recommend you give it a shot. It's a fun, different take on the game we love and there's a lot of future possibilities (for both seasonal and FF) if it's successful. And, Finvarra's Fortress will still be there when the season wraps up.
If you have more questions, hit me up on Discord. I'm more than willing to share info or answer questions. But yes, I WILL kill you once the server launches :swords:
