General

Battlemage

12 reasons why Dark Shock should never be maxed

I was looking at battle mage guides and noticed that some of them were recommending maxing [b]Dark Shock[/b] over [b]Reaper/ABA[/b].
Do not do this. Maxing Dark Shock was the worst decision I made on my BaM pre Rise Against.
[url=http://imgur.com/MWIrd]This is the level it should be[/url]

1. Dark Shock sucks
2. It's slow
3. It gets screwed by the damage cap
4. It's range isn't even relevant now because Twister has almost the same range. Proof: [url=http://imgur.com/MWIrd]1[/url] [url=http://imgur.com/J6lqn,7wcFP]2[/url]
5. [url=http://imgur.com/D2eUW]Status resist[/url]
6. [url=http://imgur.com/80kYA]Reaper[/url]
7. [url=http://imgur.com/vXgO4]Reapers[/url]
8. [url=http://imgur.com/wYsYE]More Reapers[/url], screw the people who say Reaper is useless.
9. Reaper works in Evolving World/PQs If you really cared about aggroing monsters you could just not buff it.
10. The same patch that makes Dark Shock more useful gives BaMs Battle King, a skill that makes children, Evans and drop bears cry.
11. In PvP you use Dark Gene+Twister
12. [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPX1bctnpms]Irrelevant video[/url]

Thank you for your time.

November 22, 2012

11 Comments • Newest first

Cthulhusama

[quote=razormana]He intended to write Battle King Bar, the BaM hyper skill which can only be cast after Finishing Blow but has a massive range has a high % damage.

Dark Shock also becomes better with hyper skills, and will be useful in some situations more so then reaper.[/quote]

Almost depends on how you define better. The buffs to DS do make it "better" but they still don't make it useful. Even with all 3 buffs it still is worthless. FB is better in every way except range. It's like giving a hobo a penny and saying he is "richer." Technically true but not what the word implies.

Reply November 22, 2012
razormana

[quote=ashje]What on earth is Battle King?[/quote]

He intended to write Battle King Bar, the BaM hyper skill which can only be cast after Finishing Blow but has a massive range has a high % damage.

Dark Shock also becomes better with hyper skills, and will be useful in some situations more so then reaper.

Reply November 22, 2012
Mystelteinn

[quote=ClassOf12]Doesn't Dark Shock only gain 56% damage 15% crit 3 second cooldown reduction from 13 to max? I can't really see that as being too useful with the new PvP, then again I lie i n Australia so I couldn't even cast the old Finisher properly[/quote]

That's still quite a difference which could mean 1hk0'ing people vs not. As opposed to a few second more durations on a random summon which has limited usefulness (i.e. quest hunting).

@sakraycore : No. If you ever decide to change your gear/card set if they come out with something better, you're screwed.

Reply November 22, 2012 - edited
Maxfire

for my preference, until i see the day where i can hit cap on bosses with insane mdef, i'm keeping DS maxed

Reply November 22, 2012 - edited
ClassOf12

[quote=Mystelteinn]The fact that someone posts a build doesn't necessarily makes it useful/good.

I would NEVER max reaper over ABA. Reaper has limited uses while ABA is one of the main support of being a BaM : survivability. I wouldn't leave it at 7 either, even if I get 3 skills from 5 piece empress and leafre set, because if either gets replaced, I'm screwed.

Anyways, this whole debate is useless. It's all a matter of personal preferences anyways.

When the debate was about maxing ADC or Reaper, arguments in favor of both :

- ADC deals more damage and is more useful overall.
- Reaper is more useful, since ADC was a pulling move and not a damage dealer, and it reached it's max target at lvl 12 anyways (we left it at 13)

I personally wouldn't max Reaper over Dark shock, even if I barely use both. Why? Simple : PvP. Reaper is useless in PvP, whilst Dark Shock is a great 0hK0'ing move. Ofc, PvP sucks as it is now, but still. Reaper works perfectly fine at 13 (16 with + skills).

@Above : Battleking Bar, our main Hyper skill. Works like The finisher, with a greater vertical and horizontal range and deals 400% x7 damage. Can be used right after Finishing blow with no delay.[/quote]

Doesn't Dark Shock only gain 56% damage 15% crit 3 second cooldown reduction from 13 to max? I can't really see that as being too useful with the new PvP, then again I lie i n Australia so I couldn't even cast the old Finisher properly

Reply November 22, 2012 - edited
Mystelteinn

[quote=ClassOf12]Look at this http://strategywiki.org/wiki/MapleStory/Battle_Mage/Builds[/quote]

The fact that someone posts a build doesn't necessarily makes it useful/good.

I would NEVER max reaper over ABA. Reaper has limited uses while ABA is one of the main support of being a BaM : survivability. I wouldn't leave it at 7 either, even if I get 3 skills from 5 piece empress and leafre set, because if either gets replaced, I'm screwed.

Anyways, this whole debate is useless. It's all a matter of personal preferences anyways.

When the debate was about maxing ADC or Reaper, arguments in favor of both :

- ADC deals more damage and is more useful overall.
- Reaper is more useful, since ADC was a pulling move and not a damage dealer, and it reached it's max target at lvl 12 anyways (we left it at 13)

I personally wouldn't max Reaper over Dark shock, even if I barely use both. Why? Simple : PvP. Reaper is useless in PvP, whilst Dark Shock is a great 0hK0'ing move. Ofc, PvP sucks as it is now, but still. Reaper works perfectly fine at 13 (16 with + skills).

@Above : Battleking Bar, our main Hyper skill. Works like The finisher, with a greater vertical and horizontal range and deals 400% x7 damage. Can be used right after Finishing blow with no delay.

Reply November 22, 2012 - edited
ashje

What on earth is Battle King?

Reply November 22, 2012 - edited
sacklaca123

i max whatever the hell i want

Reply November 22, 2012 - edited
ClassOf12

[quote=AvidReader]No one maxes DS over ABA though...[/quote]

Look at this http://strategywiki.org/wiki/MapleStory/Battle_Mage/Builds

Reply November 22, 2012 - edited
AvidReader

No one maxes DS over ABA though...

Reply November 22, 2012 - edited