Build summary | Build dedicated to the Moon Uchigatana (Baldur's Gate 2 die-hards may get the reference) |
Recommended starting class(es) | Knight |
Recommended Soul Level | |
Recommended stats (Leave at default (**) if not raised) |
|
Vitality | 24 |
Will/Intelligence | 14 |
Endurance | 40 |
Strength | 32 |
Dexterity | 32 |
Magic | 40 |
Faith | ** |
Luck | ** |
Recommended equipment |
+5 Moon Uchigatana As for armor, whatever you particularly feel like, with that much endurance, should be fine. Stamina regeneration is something to consider, for with heavier armor it comes back more slowly. Notice however, that vitality is an untouched stat—you'll have low health anyways, so while higher armor helps, it will probably be more beneficial to focus on not being hit or blocking what you can. I stuck with leather and an assassin's mask (since I felt the leather helmet looked dumb). |
Recommended spells/miracles |
Warding |
Gameplay tips and progression |
For stat progression: The Vitality is actually optional, I had 14 points left to spare, so you -could- get Dexterity to 40 and Strength to 38 as well to get some more damage out of it. PVE: Why not use a Flamberge, the highest damage Moon weapon available? Because it's massive, slow, and inefficient. What it ultimately comes down to is that a +5 Moon Uchigatana does so much damage that you can trivialize almost every encounter. Lava Bow and Fire Arrows are your long range option—since Fire Arrows scale off magic and the Lava Bow scales off all three stats, you'll find yourself doing massive damage with the bow against almost all targets outside of level 2 (And even then, you trivialize level 2 with a moon weapon). There isn't an enemy in the game that the Moon Uchigatana doesn't absolutely dominate. Bosses: If you'd like to be very thorough, the +5 Dark Silver Shield ensures you can handle any magical oriented damage coming your way. How to get Started It takes a bit to get rolling, but once you do you're solid. Focus The highlight of this build is that in melee combat I don't think there's any way to output as much damage as an optimized Moon Uchigatana can. There isn't really much magic usage outside of warding and (optionally) evacuate for farming. There's really not much else to say, the build just dominates. You should be able to one shot just about every mob in the game in your first playthrough as well as two or three shot every enemy in the second playthrough. |
SL 120 Kensai Mage
I will state this then: you would be MUCH better off using light weapon on the hiltless than trying to boost the physical damage from a moon uchi. OR using light weapon on the meat cleaver since you have the stats (except for FTH). You should have at least 30 VIT to be competitive in pvp, 40 if you're purely melee. Second chance, while not necessary, is of great help; warding is not the way to go because it is useless against mages, faith builds, spellswords, BBS users, etc.
I figured it would be obvious by the lack of a PVP section, that the build isn't really intended for PVP. Although it fares (from what I've experienced) quite alright in it. I wasn't terribly thrilled with the game's PVP system, since online lag has a very adverse effect on the experience. I've yet to lose a battle post SL100 in my current build, but I noticed far too often I'd be slashing at an opponent who suddenly stops taking damage, or alternatively, I'd be quite far away, roll, see him swing at nothing, it would "hit" me in that I would stagger but I would receive no damage.
The game just isn't well designed for competitive PVP when lag so dominantly determines the outcome of any attack.
In regards to the hiltless suggestion, I'm open to it. However, it is relatively annoying to have to reapply the buff every minute. Moon Uchi's sustain high, mostly magical damage output with no maintenance. But the damage difference is noted. I'll experiment with it. In regards to the meat cleaver, personally? No, too slow for my tastes.