[WIP] Basic Trickster Guide
 

Since it's maintenance night and there's nothing to do I'll compile some of the data I have gathered thus far on the class. This will be a work in progress as I level the class. Please take note that I do not have a main to fund the character so I may/will be slow in progress.

Class Summary
Taken from Outspark, Trickster class info.

Due to their incredible speed and agility, the Trickster is an expert at dealing damage in a short amount of time. They are trained assassins, taught to detect any weaknesses and use them to their advantage. With every slash of a claw or strike of a blade, the Trickster acquires a soul -- living essence used to unleash forceful attacks, powerful enough to bring even the toughest opponent to their knees.

Tricksters can equip either Claws or Dual Swords. They can only wear armor specific to their class and level. Main attributes are Strength (for damage) and Dexterity (increases the ability to evade attacks). To increase your SP (spirit points), ability to use more skills and chance for critical hits, try adding some points to Spirit.

For your skill empowers (under skills button "K" key), focus on decreasing the cooldown time of your important skill such as Claw Swipe and Lacerate. As you grow stronger, then focus on increasing the damage output of your soul consumption skills like Razor Claw and Claw Lunge.

Quick Points
Advantages

• Fast attack rate
• High critical rate
• High evasion
• Number of DoT (single-target) skills
• Unique soul capture system

Disadvantages
But of course there are some downsides to the class as well.

• Low (and I mean low) defense and HP
• No ranged attacks
• No AoE (may change in the future but for now none)
  
• Souls are only generated by skill and is renewed with each mob
  • Though the finishers are pretty strong so it may balance out

Stat Points
I assume that most of you are quite familiar with how stats work in Fiesta Online. Some of the recommended builds I have seen floating around are the following:

Full DEX
They have a naturally high evasion so it makes sense to fully utilize their best assets. But do keep in mind that your damage will be lacking so you may want to consider Dual Swords instead of the Claws and enhancing your weapon.

Full STR
They have a really fast attack rate and with full STR you can be sure that each hit hurts. You will want to invest in DEX/END gears to make up for lost defensive stats and aim as well as enhancing your gears.

25 SPR / 33 or 50 DEX / Full STR
Then there is, of course, the well rounded build for any class; the DEX bonus goes down after 33 (for Aim) and 50 (for Evasion) points invested so we stop there and STR free-stat ignores defense so that is always a plus. The 25 SPR will increase your naturally high Critical Rate and allow for a larger SP pool as well. It is a recommended stat for anyone who are not heavy CS users or just simply love those purple numbers and breaking glass SFX.

END based Builds
This is a no. While you may think that due to their low HP and defense that they would benefit from END -- they do not have a shield to fully benefit from the free-stat. Get the END from your gears and/or enhance your armour. But if you still feel this is the way to go then 50 END rest STR will be the path.

Equipment
Which weapon you choose is up to you really (doesn't really matter until you have to split paths at the last job change). If you plan on going for a evasion route you may consider the latter, Dual Swords for attack damage. Your DEX stat will make up for the lower Aim (compared to Claws). And in contrast you may opt for the Claws if you with to go the full STR build. As with any class, try both out and see which you prefer.

Claws
Low damage
High critical rate
High aim
Faster attack rate (1.6s)

Dual Swords
High damage
Lower critical rate
Lower aim
Slower attack rate (1.8s)

NOTE: The attack rate shown is the combined speed of both hands. If the Trickster was to only hit with one hand the speed would be, for the Claws, 0.8s per hit. So when you think of it that way the Dual Swords is 0.9s per hit making the speed difference minimal.

Soul Capture System
One of the unique features of the Trickster is their ability to collect souls from their enemies. These souls are then used to execute powerful finishing moves. The souls collected are shown on the target and they will disappear when you consume them for your skills or kill the monster/player.

Here's the breakdown on the damage multiplier.
1 Soul: 100%
2 Souls: 140%
3 Souls: 180%
4 Souls: 220%
5 Souls: 260%
6 Souls: 300%
7 Souls: 350%

Skills
In order to collect these souls you will need to use skills that generate them such as Lacerate and Claw Swipe. These skills have a fairly long cooldown when compared to how fast you auto-attack. So your focus will be lowering their cooldowns so that you can generate more orbs to use your finishing skills.

Claw Swipe
Move swiftly and scratch your enemy. Obtain a soul.
Weapon: Claws
Recommended: Reduce cooldown
Optional: N/A

Lacerate
Jump high and give a lethal scratch to your enemy. Obtain a soul.
Weapon: Claws or Dual Swords
Recommended: Reduce cooldown
Optional: N/A

Razor Claw
Channel the energy of collected souls to unleash a powerful combo.
Requires one or more souls.
Weapon: Claws
Recommended: Increase damage
Optional: Reduce cooldown

Claw Lunge
Slash with your claws and infect your enemy with deadly poison.
Requires one or more souls.
Weapon: Claws or Dual Swords
Recommended: Increase damage
Optional: Reduce cooldown

Enfeeblement
Chance to decrease movement and/or infect decay damage every second for 10s.
Weapon: Claws or Dual Swords
Recommended: Reduce cooldown
Optional: Increase damage

Intimidation
Threaten your target by brandishing a weapon. Obtain a soul.
Weapon: Dual Swords
Recommended: Reduce cooldown
Optional: N/A

Nimble Defense
Increase your evasion when defending against AoE attacks. Self-buff.
Weapon: Claws or Dual Swords
Recommended: N/A
Optional: N/A

Version Update
List of changes made to the guide in order of latest changes.

7 April 2011
Revised information on 'balance' build.
2 April 2011
Added skill information up to level 20.
31 March 2011
Guide created. Added information on basic class information and overview.

Thanks for the intro to the class, definitely good info. If I can find you, I will throw some gold your way to help your progress, since I doubt I will play my Trickster much until my archer hits 100 in a few months.

I thought you get 2 Soul consuming finishers.
One is regular, while another one deals poison damage.

If you read carefully I was referring to Dual Swords. If you use Claws you have two finishers. At level 20 you only have one if you choose Dual Swords.

EDIT: Of course being a lowbie I'm not able to go to Uruga to check out their higher level skills so there may be more soul capture and/or finisher skills.

Thx for the info :)

Thanks for the great info
It's just what I needed.. didn't really know which weapon to go for but now I know I'm sticking to the claws for my Pure STR.
Trickster FTW!

Rather surprised this thread has 600+ views already.

After playing for a bit more I have to say that if you plan on Dual Swords it may be a better idea to stick with Claws until 35 when you get your second finisher for the swords. Max CD on Lacerate then save up. Or you can, of course, switch weapons but that seems like a hassle.

I personally stay Dual Swords and have maxed CD on both soul capture skills. Slap on a Def, Vit, and Evasion scroll and you're good to solo. The biggest draw back is SP consumption so stock up before leaving town.

My thoughts so far
 

Right now I am doing 25spr 50dex fullstr and it's kinda tough. Without a buff I will die in about 5 or so hits against monsters my level (17). I would be wary of doing a pure str build as it will be near impossible to solo at later levels. As of now, it's almost a given that tricksters need lots and lots of potions so having the potion making skill would be ideal. I'm not quite sure how well this class will work in a party as it does not have the defense to tank nor to handle AOE attacks if someone else tanks. Seems to me like it is just a melee archer.

Well, yeah, it is rather tough but I found that after I did the job change things weren't as bad.

I was actually able to tank Mara and Marlone in the KQ albeit I used up a lot of potions but it wasn't impossible. At one point I didn't even have a Cleric buff.

I'd say join an academy that always has the guild buff going to help you. 5% may not seem like a lot but it will help.

How's your dodge rate? I've been going full dex and I don't know if it's any good...

Well, their evasion is better than the other classes and that's about it. Right now it doesn't even save you... you're still spamming stones/potions.

So unless you have some godly amount of DEX from gears I would think that at higher levels you'll be faceplanting more than anything.

Or you know, you can always just enhance and charm... :rolleyes:

EDIT: So yeah, up to maybe 2 levels above you the mobs miss a bit more but again this class is meant more for solo or duo than a party. Later on they have buffs that increase the duration of their DoT but as a Trickster you don't want the mob to stay alive after 2-3 hits anyway... otherwise it'll be the death of you.

Definitely a good PvP class by the looks of it though.

I'm definitely enjoying the Trickster class - it's a nice break in between grind sessions on my archer. My experience has been quite a bit different than the others so far. My build is pure STR at the moment, although when I get to +50, I will add in 25 SPR for the crit bonus. I have died only once so far, Mara got me at L15 when I got cocky. Stun and 2 hits while the pot and stone cool downs were going is a bad combo for survival. Still using the claws for now, since they have a better crit rate and hit faster. My only negative for the class so far has to be the amount of SP stones. I constantly run out of SP stones long before I need HP stones. Luckily, I can still knock out a few quests before that point, but it is still annoying. At L28, I have 98HP stones and 54SP stones. I have been able to solo Marlone at L24 using a T2 Vitality and a T2 shield, couldn't do that until L26 on my Cleric, and at L27 on my archer, so I don't think it is as squishy of a class as is advertised.

Hmmm... Right now my trickster is on 23 (got lazy, made a fighter... xD) And I'm putting all my stats into DEX, using the twin swords. I was going to go 50 dex and rest STR, should I change my mind? XD

It's personal preference, STR build fits my playing style better - funny how I tend to play my cleric and archer pretty much the same way as I do my trickster, run into the middle and melee until the mobs are all gone. The one thing that I think they have wrong so far is that the claws have a higher crit rate than the dual swords. I would think the higher damage weapon would have the higher crit rate, like hammer over mace for clerics and Xbow over bow for archers. Also, in a class comparison, I have gotten L90 and L100 green weapon drops, and the damage for claws quite a bit higher for trickster over archer, while the aim is a bit lower. Really hoping trickster gets an AoE or 2 down the road.

I'm more defensive; if the class was good for it, I'd be putting my points in END xD So I guess DEX is better for me x3

I need a reset scroll for my cleric, she has too much in her STR for my taste... xD Want better END ._. /off topic

I'll hopefully get my trickster to 30 before school really takes my attention.. (NEXT WEEK) XD

Spam Gold Hill, especially from L26 -30, the experience keeps you from doing too many bad repeats (Glow Wolves, Skeletons). I was getting about a level an hour doing those.

Yeah, but even with Dual Swords I crit qute a lot so it's no biggie.

They don't seem squishy because they can avoid the full blow. And kill so much faster. Really, after job change your survivalbility goes up a notch imo.

how do you get things to miss you ;_;?

i swear nothing misses me, self buff or not. maybe if i had all my points in dex :x. just getting to 25 spr though.

I don't think that I get missed a lot, its just that I kill most mobs in a couple of hits before they get more than one in on me. Also, make sure you use the defense scrolls, they are really your best friend. I also solo all the time on all of my characters, so I've gotten good at timing my potions and stones. And Loveless is right, I did notice a difference at the job change in being able to withstand more hits.

Honestly. im more of a pvp person. The trickster needs the following skills even for pve. short duration invisible with short cooldown, dash, and stun. the squishiness would then make more sense. maybe even through a melee silence attack in there cuz a wizard at cap would eat these guys Q.Q sometimes i think these tricksters are squishier than my mage 0.0

I would add the only real reason for dex on the trickster may be for aim over evasion. it seems after reading the forum this class is mainly for pve. Tricksters fall over after a gust of wind everytime i come across one in a battle zone.

anyone (helion) have an opinion on where I should stop putting points into DEX and start adding it to STR? I already have all my 28 points into DEX, should I stop at 30-35, or head on to 50 points then go rest STR?

That depends what you are getting the dex for. The aim bonus for dex is 0.3% through the first 33 points, then it drops to 0.2% through point 67, and to 0.1% after 68.

The dodge bonus is 0.2 through 50, then drops to 0.1 after that point.

Personally, I would go to 33, then start dumping points into Str. I don't consider my trickster to be squishy at all, and I think it is because the extra str lets me kill quicker than I get killed. Soloed King Marlone today at L28, first time with any of my characters I think, although I might have with my archer.

That sounds like a plan to me. Thanks for the info.

Now about my cleric... how far does STR go? After a few reset scrolls, most from when I was a newb, she has like tons of END and 32 STR o.0;;

Str goes to infinity, I believe, so to +1.2 points damage for each point used. Check out the Wiki for a long detailed description, but basically any mob will get the same extra damage, so if you have 10 points in str, 10 x 1.2 = 12 points damage. So, if you hit a low level for 10,000 points, it would be 10,012 damage, if you hit it for 100, it would become 112 damage.

*shrug* so theres nothing wrong with my stats? Other than the fact that she needs more END lol xD

i'm 36 or 37 now and i generally kill kind of fast. i still feel pretty squishy though when fighting anything that can hit me for more than just a little over 100 damage and actually requires a finisher to be killed quickly.


also, i'm crying because i cant' do that 92k xp repeat anymore (zombie master). fastest two levels i ever got ;_;.

also, it's awesome that dual sword only skills hit twice. now i just need a good dual sword. i bought a level 40 dual sword for 200s that has 17 dex but i was hoping for something with strength. i probably paid too much too but everything just looks so expensive anyways ;_;.

and helion add me. i kept trying to add you but i couldn't ;_;.

I've noticed things got way more expensive since the tricksters came out. Elrue, scrolls, weaps. Everything just spiked in price ;_;

The price spikes on Teva have been happening for the last month - T4 blessed Xir for 500S, costing more than Karis - ugh.

@ Destrus, I've been playing sporadically, but should be on quite a bit the next several days, so I will look for you.

Buying any sort of Trickster gear now will hurt your wallet badly. Everyone wants it and are willing to pay that extra, overpriced, tag.

I agree with Hellion. While going the Evasion route would have been nice if they had a higher base evasion rate but alas that's not the case so 33 for the aim and go rest STR for max damage out put. The idea would be to kill before getting hit.

And yeah, def and evasion scroll works wonders.

OK, here are the skills for levels 60 - 95

L60 Detoxify increase poison resistance

L60 Harsh Blow *** magical damage, obtains 2 souls

L75 Soul Trap the 3rd soul using skill, same bonus damage rate as the others
***Can freeze the opponent for a period of time***

L87 Styptic reduces bleeding damage

L95 Conflagration increase the effect time of fire damage

L95 Consume increase the enemy's SP usage

*** having used this skill now, I do not see any evidence that it is a magic attack, although the ninja graphics that go with the dual swords on this one are impressive. Unfortunately, the graphics slow down the casting of the next skill. Ugh...... This skill obtains 2 souls per use, so worth the slow casting time IMO.

And now, the Prestige level skills........

For both:
L100 Master Scheme cast next skill without consuming souls

L101 Force Slash damage, chance to knock back enemy

For Spectre (Dual Swords)
L100 Soul Slash obtains souls

L100 Lethal Assault 100% chance next skill will crit after casting

L100 Resilience decrease damage taken from all DoT spells

L100 Diminish reduce effect of all curses for 20 seconds

For Reaper (Claws)
L100 Cruel Claw inflict rotten damage for 12 seconds, uses souls

L100 Amazing Concentration skip cooldown of next skill

L100 Binding Blow pulls target enemy to your location, immobilizing both

L100 Sneak Attack moves behind enemy and attacks (possible stun)

L100 Exhaustion increase an enemy's poison, bleeding, disease, rotten, and fire damage

I don't see an AoE skill in these, although the Reaper's Binding Blow may work at a distance - if so, would be great for those pesky mage and archers in PvP.

Soul Trap and Harsh Blow are AOE.

I have been using both of these skills, and they are one on one skills. Not sure what data you have to suggest otherwise.

Soul trap is a skill that freezes everything that has been slowed down. I have seen it used in snake parties, and as expected all the mobs were frozen in place.

I am pretty sure harsh blow is AOE but haven't seen it in action.

Since tricksters can't attack more than 1 mob at a time, I have only seen Soul Trap work on one mob at a time. The skill only targets the mob you are attacking, so if it freezes multiple mobs, it would be a surprise. Harsh blow also only targets 1 mob. It's biggest value, given the slow cast time of the skill, is that it collects 2 souls from the mob. No skill we use as a trickster has a target ring to place as we cast the skill like the AoEs of other characters, so I don't believe that these skills are truly AoEs.

************************************************** ***

After partying in Dragon's Tomb, Soul Trap can be an AoE, but it is very flawed. The trickster needs either a mage or fighter to slow multiple mobs before it can cast Soul Trap to freeze them, and has to steal a soul to be able to cast it. You have absolutely no control over aiming it - your best bet is to be in the middle of the mage's or fighter's blast circle and cross your fingers. Also, the skill doesn't have a great success rate when cast.