(TL:DR Version below)

Alright, so I’ve brought up the issue several times in the past that Soul Linkers are a fairly underpowered class on this server. You only need to look at how many individuals actually choose to play one here to see this, and I’d love to see that change (especially since Soul Linkers can only reach their full potential when they play with other Linkers).

I’ve thought about it for quite some time now, trying to figure out exactly why exactly Linkers are so much weaker here than on iRO. There are couple of reasons, which I will briefly explain:

1) Smaller server population

Linkers, as I’ve said, work best when two or more are together. This is because it is impossible to Soul Link oneself, and Soul Linkers can only pass along their Ka- style buffs when Soul Linked. Otherwise, they are limited to specific buffs for each class, which are useless as often as they are useful. Look up the Hunter Spirit if you want an excellent example of a useless Soul Link. Since Soul Linkers only have 50 job levels here, it is nearly impossible to get a decent range of Soul Links while still being useful in other ways.

2) Higher level cap

With a higher level cap comes higher ASPD, instant cast, less cast delay, higher damage, more HP, etc. Soul Linkers do not adjust well to this. Kaupe, for example, is one of a Soul Linker’s most powerful defensive skills on iRO. It is far less useful as a defensive skill here, since everyone is able to spam skills rapidly through high ASPD and low cast time/delay. Kaite is similarly hindered by instant-cast and low cast delay. And even at high levels, Kaahi’s healing is hard-pressed to keep up with damage at times. As a result, a Soul Linker’s defensive powers have been reduced from some of the strongest to some of the least-impressive on the server. Combine this with the fact that linkers have no offensive skills that work on players, and their options are limited. They don't have the damage potential to kill other players, they're helpless against any spammable skill (think Bowling Bash, Double Strafe, etc.), and their support suffers from the lack of other Linkers.

With that in mind, I’ve come up with a set of custom equips for Soul Linkers that could address these issues to a degree, and make the class more useful as a whole. Here they are:

(TL:DR Version: Soul Linkers are in need of some help, here are some equips for them: )

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Soul Collector [0]

A dagger that houses the spirit of a lonely child. The touch of the blade seems to tug at one’s very soul, inviting it within.

ASPD + 10%
Each physical attack absorbs 1% of the target’s total HP.

Class: Dagger
ATK: 140
Weapon Level: 4
Weight: 60

Guardian Manteau [1]
A cloak infused with a protective spirit. It surrounds the wearer with strange warmth, and seems to push away harmful forces.

Reflect 5% of all physical damage back to the enemy which inflicted it.
15% chance to autocast Level 3 Kaupe on the user when physically attacking.

Class: Garment
Defense: 4
Weight: 60

Ancient Charm [1]
A pendant that houses the spirit of a renowned Soul Linker, whom the user can call upon in times of need.

DEX +2
5% chance to autocast Level 1 Soul Linker Spirit on the user when receiving physical or magical damage.

Class: Accessory
Weight: 10

[+Soul Collector + Guardian Manteau]
DEX +3
10% chance to inflict Silence on the target when physically attacking (pierces VIT-based status immunity)
Each physical attack absorbs 1% of the target’s total SP.

Total Bonuses:
ASPD + 10%
DEX +3
5% physical damage reflect
15% Kaupe autocast on attack
5% Soul Linker Spirit Autocast when hit
10% piercing Silence infliction
Each physical attack absorbs 1% of the target’s total HP & SP.
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Right, so essentially, this set is designed to allow Soul Linkers to defend themselves while not giving them a ton of crazy autocasts or ridiculous attack power. The reflect is really the key factor, allowing the HP/SP drain, Kaupe autocast, and Silence effect to activate while a Linker is being attacked as well as while attacking. It will make people think twice before they just run up at start spamming their skills against a Linker, but it hardly makes Linkers unkillable, either.

Anyways, that’s all I’ll say for the moment, since I want to see what others think, and I’m sure plenty of you are already exhausted from reading this wall of text. I really would appreciate some feedback on this, though, so don’t be shy about sharing your impressions. ^^

What about Taekwons? They get crap for items.

The only thing we have going is 3 times HP and SP, But with our server cap thats almost nothing.

Well, frankly, I don't have the experience playing a TK ranker to suggest custom equips for them. Hence, this thread is about Soul Linkers, which I do have experience playing.

Because all of those kicks are completely useless, right?
And Flying Side Kick becomes virtually useless, even with the Running "spurt" combo.
And, you know, 300% damage, and 400% damage kicks, which are spammable, are completely "crap".
I know, if you're not a ranker you can't have the combo's, but still, you will be at a better chance than a Soul Linker.
Also, 3x the HP/SP. Yeah..If I had 3x the HP on my linker, that would be glorious.
Giving yourself 3x HP gives you the(1st or 2nd) highest HP on the server. (Having 1 vit and looking at HP Modifiers).

Soul Linkers are pretty much useless due to the small population, and the inability to defend themselves from majority (if not all) players.

Linkers are a rare sight and as mentioned before, have very limited ways to be effective in WOE or PvP. I would be happy to see Soul Linkers gain new equipment as proposed by the Soryu, but if not this at least for some tweaks to happen for linkers like letting Es- skills target players. Another solution would be to add some platinum skills to give them more application rather than just being buff slaves.

TK Rankers are quite powerful already without gear. They are the hardest class to kill given 3x HP and the percentage heal items (pies). Berserked LKs and high defense paladins don't hold a candle to their survivability, which is not even bringing to light how effective kick spam + warm wind is. Hardly a class that needs any sort of buff since everyone that mains as a TK is also ranked. They benefit just as much from the high level cap as any other class.

Aye, the main reason I'm suggesting equipment over new skills or letting Es- skills (Estin, Estun and Esma, at least) target players is because the staff has expressed an interest in keeping this server similar to official servers, and I can respect that sort of approach. In iRO, WoE Linkers are not spellcasters, but must either attack with a dagger or play a full-support role. Due to the distortions caused by level cap and the smaller server population, though, Linkers can't play those roles effectively here, which actually makes it less like official servers. The proposed gear would also bring a status ailment outside of Freeze and Stone Curse back into play during WoE, which, again, makes it more similar to WoE on official servers.

That's not to say I don't approve of having some unique gameplay aspects present in WoE, but I don't really see how indirectly crippling Linkers makes any sort of positive contribution to WoE. I don't personally think this gear would be overpowering, but I'd like more perspectives on the matter if possible. Someone may see something that I've overlooked, and the more the idea can be refined, the better. I'd really rather not have this just sit to rot in the suggestion box. >.>

You've obviously never been a ranker.

Counter Kick does about 300%-400%

You cant equip Weapons..

So at about 100 strength you get about maby... 100-250 atk?

250 times 4 is 1000 dmg.

Subtract the average defence most players have on top of high levels usually going for 100 vit.

Then counter will do around 500dmg a kick.

at an aspd of 186 or higher, thats about 2 alternate kicks a second.

Considering the other kicks are alot weaker, thats like... maby 700 per second?

LK's do more dmg, and they get almost the same ammount of HP.

every glass can easily exceed that dmg ratio, even gunslingers.

TKR's also suffer from terrible Def due to lack of good equipment

Soul Linkers are mainly support, and have been classified as full support on iRo

If your going into WoE with a SL.. thats kind of ur problem, have a friend make one too?

Hmmm I never see Soul Linkers really so I wouldn't be able to say for sure if it's alright. But for our current population size, it would be nice to do something like this to make Soul Linkers a more viable class to play.


As for TKs...make another thread for that. This one is for Soul Linkers. But since the topic of TK damage was brought up, I'll give a more accurate presentation of it. Everything in quotes is off-topic from this thread's purpose but up here to give some corrections in how TK damage is actually like.

Thanks Sketches. I'll leave TKR's out of it since that pretty much explains it.

The first part of your statement is actually quite inaccurate. Full Support is certainly one style of WoE Linker, but Emp-Breaker Linkers are also quite popular in iRO. The reason? The Taekwon Kid skill Fighting Chant. As I'm sure you're aware of, playing a Taekwon class yourself, Fighting Chant adds a 10% ATK bonus for each party member on the same map as the Linker. This is typically combined with Warm Wind level 6 (Darkness), a Dagger of Counter, a Berserk Potion, standard buffs, and a Soul-Linked Blacksmith using Full Adrenaline Rush, so that a Linker can quickly break the Emperium...presuming that they have 12+ party members present in the Emp room. I've never even seen 12 players defending a castle on our server, let alone going in for the break. On iRO, however, the scenario is quite viable, and happens on a regular basis. The gear I suggested isn't meant for Emp-breaking because that has far more potential to disrupt WoE tactics on the server, but I would most certainly like to see Soul Linkers have some sort of offensive capability in WoE. Priests are classified as full support, too, but they at least have Holy Light (which becomes a deadly weapon when they're Soul Linked).

Also, you can't just say it's my problem because I (and a few others) have chosen to play Soul Linkers. You'd hardly be satisfied if I said it was your problem that you chose to play a TK Ranker, so you should just forget about trying to kill high DEF characters.

@Sketches: To be honest, I don't exactly see Linkers suddenly becoming a dominating force on the server even with this gear, but this would at least allow them to compete in PvP situations, which they currently cannot. As it stands, the class has no offensive skills, a fairly small HP modifier, fewer stat points than transcended classes, signature buffs that each only work on one specific class, general buffs that they cannot cast without the help of another Soul Linker, outdated defensive powers, and only 50 job levels (the only second class to have less than 80). That's why you never see them, and weighed against those factors, I believe this gear would be a balanced addition to the server. If nothing else, it would give them the ability to defend themselves against the numerous foes who kill them all too easily now.

You failed to mention the part where they werent "supporting" the other players.

I've been a TK Ranker in more than 1 server. I know how to play them.
100-250 atk, then there is the "Running" boost, giving an extra 100 atk, and an additional 10 str, so another 10. Giving 110.
So around 300. Also, regardless of ASPD, once you start kicking and initiate the Combo, I'm more than 100% sure you can do more than TWO alternate kicks a second. More like 4. If you're only doing 2 kicks, with the combo, you sir, have quite slow fingers, and cannot properly time the keys.
Yes, Extended class cannot wear newer equipments, giving them a much lower Defense, which overall, will hurt them. This does not mean they should just be forgotten, or not used. They should still be played.
LK's are not meant to be killed easily, they have massive HP, ATK, DEF, etc. Comparing a TK® to LK is stupid.
TKR's can be VERY difficult to kill, on an actual (meaning a low-rate.. || or even a server with 99 max stat) server. They have very high HP, can be very strong with the combo kicks (Stun, AoE, Push back) and if properly used, can stop a lot of pre-cast. But not in this server, where the max stat is 150 (right?). Allowing many classes, like LK's (if you still want to use them as the example) to get the extra Dex they need, on top of more VIT, maybe some agi for flee. If LK's have 100 vit (I would assume this would be called a VIT/Tank build) they have very low flee, probably won't do a lot of damage, but have high Defense. Even with this, a TKR should be able to kill him, since he won't be attacking at over 5 hits per second.

Note: I apologize for going off-topic. I agree with what meesh said, in the post below.

Unfortunately we've gone off topic again so lets just leave it at this: TKRs are being played actively in and out of WOE, and are effective at what they do.

On the other hand linkers are rarely seen in WOE, and look at a role similar to Priests who sit in town warping/buffing. Giving the Soul Linkers something to do during WOE other than sit in town is a good idea, whether that is done through equipment, cards, or modifications (skills or otherwise).

I might even prefer we not deal with gear and give a unique card set to linkers to provide those effects in the interest of keeping gear flexible. At least it allows us to bypass this useless bickering about TKRs, who have long had their own thread for gear.

this here post is about linkers not rankers you all may need glasses.

soul staff draining 1% hp and sp? doesnt that mean you can get max aspd and kill someone in 100 hits? or drain thier sp in 100 hits? while khaap is keeping you alive or koupe or whichever that one is the heals you.

pendent makes it seem like partying would become useless and no one would do it even less than now. kinda defeats the purpose of soul linking if you font have a soul linker.

If it's a staff/rod it will not be an easy thing to get to max aspd, as some other classes can obtain.
Daggers barely take away ASPD, that's why the weapon is a Staff. The SL would need to pump AGI to achieve maximum aspd possible, leaving their damage, vit, HP, dex, etc, much lower. So even with that, most other classes can STILL kill them quite fast.
LK -> BB spam. | Paladin -> Shield Skills + Grand Cross/Shield Chain
Sniper -> Distance/DS. | Clown/Gypsy -> Distance/DS.
Whitesmith -> CT/Mammo. | Creator -> Homunculus/AD.
Priest -> Safety Wall/HolyLight. They have Heal. (What HP's actually WoE?) | Champion -> Asura/PPS/FO
Assassin Cross -> SBK, SB, Grimtooth, EDP. | Stalker -> Distance/DS/SG [copied skill]
Wizard -> Safety Wall/Low-level Spells to diminish Kaite. | Professor -> Same as Wizard.

As you can see, most classes can actually still defend against Soul Linkers, except Mage class. Linkers always were able to defeat Mage class, but, Mage class can kill Soul Linkers if used properly.

Kaahi does not heal for EVERY hit. If you're getting hit with 190 aspd, you will not get healed 5 times a second. It would be more like twice~thrice a second. At level 7 (max), it heals 1440. So, healing you 2880 a second. I'm sure everyone can deal more damage than that a second..

Kaupe (at level 3) dodges ONE attack/spell. Many classes, that have a high aspd, can still kill a Linker. The classes it probably will help against are Creators (Spamming AD..but then again, they have Homunculus), and Mage class.

Killing someone with this gear would actually be quite a bit harder to pull off than it sounds. Since Soul Linkers don't have the extra stat points and gear that transcendent characters do, and they don't have any AGI job bonus, reaching max ASPD requires a considerable sacrifice to other stats. A max level Linker with 150 base AGI, 150 base DEX, Blessing/Increase AGI 10, and a Berserk Potion can still only reach 191 ASPD, and has only 2 stat points left over. You can factor in equips to reclaim some stat points, yes, but Linkers still aren't going to last long in PvP/WoE with that sort of stat imbalance. Realistically, a Linker is going to land 3-4 attacks per second, and if you can't kill the Linker in 25-33 seconds, then you probably deserved to die. =P

Edit @ Hale: Actually, it is a Dagger, but as you can see, it doesn't make much difference in the grand scheme of things. A Linker who aims for that sort of ASPD is still going to get burned badly.

Also, Kaahi doesn't work against any skills, just basic attacks. The Silence effect can disable skills, it's true, but all you have to do is use a Panacea and you're good to go again. If you don't carry Panaceas around, then again, you probably deserved to suffer from the Silence/Kaahi combo. Even then, Kaahi is quite SP-intensive, so a high-ASPD character could potentially wipe out a Linker's SP reserves and finish him/her in short order. The Soul Collector won't restore very much SP when faced with a character like a Sniper or Lord Knight, since they usually have low total SP values, and certainly won't counterbalance Kaahi's rapid drain rate.

And I really don't understand your statement about the Ancient Charm. Yes, it means you don't need two Linkers around to Link each other, but if anything, that's going to encourage partying, since it allows Soul Linkers to use their Ka- buffs more freely on other characters. While it would be lovely to just find another Soul Linker and party with them, it's simply not that easy. Remember, hardly anyone on this server plays a Soul Linker, and of those who do, I have yet to find one who has the Soul Linker Spirit (other than myself). Without an item like the Ancient Charm, there's no realistic way for a Linker to become Soul Linked.

i personally think my SL is pretty darn good in pvp because they are hard to kill and spell scrolls have no delay so you can just spam level 5 spell scrolls. in case youve never thought of that. but of course your arguement is that you dont want to hunt those for hours but its quite easy... Marduks drop level 5 fire and wind ghots level 5 lightnening and so on... sage worms drop various ones.

there are various other ways you can kill people. dont think that just because spells dont work on people you have to thwack em with your stick.. it just takes alot of time and money, which i personally dont like spending my time on, but watever its how the game is.


just spell scrolls = win, hunting them = lose.

Um...I don't know what players you've faced in PvP, but a typical LK, Sniper, SinX, or other decent offensive class has no trouble tearing through a Soul Linker in PvP. I'm playing a Linker with high VIT and proper Demi-human resist gears, and it really isn't an issue for them to wipe me out, even during WoE, when their damage is considerably reduced. No offense intended, but if they're having trouble killing you, they're probably doing something wrong. o.o

And yes, I have thought of the scrolls, but most Linkers I've spoken with on other servers say that it's not even worth the time, and frankly, I'd probably have to agree. A Soul Linker's damage potential using normal, level 5 spells will never approach that of a High Wizard, Scholar, Ninja, or Soul-Linked Priest, even without cast delay, and as I've already stated exhaustively, their defensive skills simply aren't up to par. So why not just make a proper magic-using class? Should I spend hours of time hunting scrolls just so I can be the game's weakest spellcaster? A Soul Linker's supportive powers certainly don't justify their use, since their own Soul Link is nearly unobtainable, so what else could I be in such a scenario?

Again, I must return to the fact that barely anyone plays a Soul Linker on the server, and there's a reason for that. Plenty of people have made Linkers, but I am one of 5 individuals who actually bothered to reach max level (3 of the others no longer play their Linkers). Furthermore, most other players on the ladder have not advanced a single level for at least a month now, which is when I began to keep track. This does not speak well for the viability of the class at the moment, if most players who start a Linker abandon it so quickly. If I were asking for overpowered pieces of equipment, I could understand the issue, but I do not believe I am. I'm simply asking for a decent way to make myself, as well as other Linkers, useful to others, and to allow them to defend themselves to a degree against other players. Is that so unreasonable?

I COMPLETELY AGREE! SL's are the best XD Well one of them, the deserve to have costume gear