Miyu's Imperial Guard Devotion and Tank Guide/ms: Difference between revisions

<b>"All credit goes to their respective owners. ♥ This guide is crafted with love and passion, straight from my heart and soul."</b><br>

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   <pre style="font-size: 1.2em;">Copyright Disclaimer under Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for fair use for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational, or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.</pre>

   <li>Some tables and information are borrowed from external sources, but I have respectfully redesigned, improved, and created unique versions of them.</li>

   <li>This guide is still a work in progress. Everything you see here may change or be adjusted depending on future game updates.</li>

   <li>This guide is based on my personal experience, knowledge, opinions, and preferences in the game.</li>

   <li>This is a guide, it's up to you whether you follow all or part of it or not at all.</li>

   <li>This guide will assist you from the range of being a Swordsman class to the Imperial Guard class.</li>

   <li>I will strive to keep this guide up to date as long as I continue to play the game.</li>

   <li>There may be errors or inaccuracies in this guide. If you spot any, feel free to contact me, and I would greatly appreciate any corrections!</li>

<h2><span class="mw-headline" id="About_Arch_Mage"><span style="color:rgb(204, 242, 255); font-family: sans-serif; text-shadow: 1px 1px 2px black; font-size: 2rem">Pros and Cons</span></span></h2>

<p><i>A Soldier's Weakness and Strength.</i></p>

<h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Pros" style="font-size: 1.6em;">Pros ✅</span></h3> <ul style="font-size: 1.2em;"> <li><u>Exceptional Survivability</u>: Royal Guards boast one of the highest HP pools in the game, combined with strong defensive skills like <b>Prestige</b>, <b>Defender</b>, and <b>Auto-Guard</b>, making them nearly unkillable in the right conditions.</li> <li><u>Devotion Support</u>: Their signature skill <b>Devotion</b> allows them to protect key party members (e.g., DPS and healers) by redirecting damage to themselves, making them invaluable in both PvP and PvM content.</li> <li><u>High Damage Mitigation</u>: With access to <b>Defender</b>, <b>Shield Fortress</b>, and equipment focused on reducing physical and magical damage, Royal Guards excel at absorbing enemy attacks.</li> <li><u>Versatile Playstyle</u>: They can adapt to various roles, from tanking and supporting with <b>Inspiration</b> to dealing respectable AoE damage with <b>Overbrand</b> and <b>Earth Drive</b>.</li> <li><u>Strong Crowd Control</u>: Royal Guards possess effective crowd control skills like <b>Trample</b> and <b>Earth Drive</b>, which can disrupt enemy formations and keep mobs under control.</li> <li><u>Reflect Damage</u>: The <b>Reflect Damage</b> skill punishes attackers, making it a great tool for handling high DPS opponents or mob-heavy situations.</li> <li><u>Party Utility</u>: Skills like <b>Guardian Shield</b>, <b>Providence</b>, and <b>Ultimate Sacrifice</b> provide significant buffs to themselves and their allies, enhancing survivability and damage output.</li> <li><u>Immunity to Magic</u>: With skills like <b>Prestige</b>, Royal Guards can hold their ground and maintain positioning, even in scenarios where Massive magic aoe's are in your screen.</li> <li><u>Durability in PvP</u>: Their ability to absorb and redirect damage, combined with their crowd control and reflect skills, makes them a dominant force in PvP environments.</li> </ul> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Cons" style="font-size: 1.6em;">Cons 🅾️</span></h3> <ul style="font-size: 1.2em;"> <li><u>SP Intensive</u>: Royal Guards rely heavily on their SP pool for maintaining key skills like <b>Devotion</b> and <b>Inspiration</b>, making SP management a constant challenge.</li> <li><u>Gear Dependent</u>: Optimal performance requires heavy investment in specialized gear for tanking, devotion, and reflect builds, which can be costly and time-consuming to acquire.</li> <li><u>Limited Mobility</u>: Royal Guards lack inherent mobility skills, making them slower compared to other classes and reliant on mounts or external buffs to improve movement speed.</li> <li><u>Lower Damage Output</u>: While capable of dealing damage, their primary focus on defense and support means their DPS is generally lower compared to dedicated damage-dealing classes.</li> <li><u>Skill Cooldowns</u>: Many of their key abilities, like <b>Inspiration</b> and <b>Shield Fortress</b>, have long cooldowns, limiting their uptime in extended fights.</li> <li><u>Positioning Reliance</u>: Skills like <b>Devotion</b> require careful positioning to ensure the right targets are protected, making them challenging to play effectively in chaotic scenarios.</li> <li><u>Vulnerability to Dispells</u>: Despite their strong physical and magic defenses, Royal Guards can struggle against monsters that can dispell your defensive skills</li> <li><u>Complex Gameplay</u>: Balancing their various roles (tank, support, and dps) can be challenging, requiring significant game knowledge and situational awareness.</li> <li><u>High Cost of Maintenance</u>: Maintaining mounts, gear, and consumables for SP and HP recovery and buffs adds to the expense of playing this class effectively.</li> </ul>

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<h2><span class="mw-headline" id="About_Imperial_Guard"><span style="color:rgb(204, 242, 255); font-family: sans-serif; text-shadow: 1px 1px 2px black; font-size: 2rem">Stats and traits</span></span></h2>

<p><i><span style="font-size: 1.1rem;">Imperial Guards excel at both defense and damage reflections - making them the ultimate tanks!</span></i></p>

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<th style="background-color:#cdddff; color:#8c8cd9; width: 100%; font-size: 1.0rem;" colspan="3">[ Stats ]</th>

<td style="background-color:#e6eeff; font-size: 1.1rem;">Primary stat that increases weight capacity and physical attack power. (Aim for at least 40 STR for optimal tanking.)</td>

<td style="background-color:#e6eeff; font-size: 1.1rem;">Provides ASPD and Flee. Every 5 AGI grants 1 SoftDEF. (Focus more on damage absorption than evasion. 60-90 AGI is sufficient for most tank builds.)</td>

<td style="background-color:#e6eeff; font-size: 1.1rem;">Core tanking stat that increases HP by 1% per point and enhances defense. Imperial Guards have excellent HP modifiers. (Aim for at least 120 VIT for maximum survivability.)</td>

<td style="background-color:#e6eeff; font-size: 1.1rem;">Provides SP management and magic defense. (Mostly for SP, magic defenses and for prestige activation)</td>

<td style="background-color:#e6eeff; font-size: 1.1rem;">Important for faster casting. (90 for pure tanks, 120+ only if you are lacking stats for no-cast)</td>

<td style="background-color:#e6eeff; font-size: 1.1rem;">Helps with perfect defense chance and Resistance to most debuffs. (Specifically for prestige activation)</td>

<th style="background-color:#cdddff; color:#8c8cd9; width: 100%; font-size: 1.0rem;" colspan="3">[ 4th Job Trait Stats ]</th>

<td style="background-color:#e6eeff; font-size: 1.1rem;">Primary trait stat that increases physical attack. not as necessary as you may think.</td>

<td style="background-color:#e6eeff; font-size: 1.1rem;">Core defensive trait that directly increases physical resistance. Crucial for tank builds.</td>

<td style="background-color:#e6eeff; font-size: 1.1rem;">Provides magic resistance. Important for overall survivability against magic damage.</td>

<td style="background-color:#e6eeff; font-size: 1.1rem;">Not a primary focus. Only invest if using magic-based shield skills.</td>

<td style="background-color:#e6eeff; font-size: 1.1rem;">Only used for Specific Flee Tanking Builds. Otherwise don't get it.</td>

<td style="background-color:#e6eeff; font-size: 1.1rem;">Optional for pure healings. although not necessary but an option .</td>

<h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Stats_2" style="font-size: 1.6rem;">Stats 📀</span></h3>

<p style="font-size: 1.0rem;">★ <b>Strength (STR)</b> <b><span style="color:blue;"> [Optional]</span></b><br>

▷ Your primary stat for both defensive and offensive capabilities. Each point increases weight capacity and physical attack power. Higher STR allows you to wear heavier shields and armor while maintaining good damage reflection. For optimal performance, aim for [40+ STR].<br>

STR also helps with Shield Chain damage if you're using that build variation.

<p style="font-size: 1.0rem;">★ <b>Agility (AGI)</b> <b><span style="color:blue;"> [Optional]</span></b><br>

▷ Provides ASPD and Flee bonuses, with every 5 points granting 1 SoftDEF. For tank builds, [60-90 AGI] is sufficient since the focus is on damage absorption rather than evasion.<br>

AGI also helps reduce the duration of movement-impairing effects in PvP/WoE.

<p style="font-size: 1.0rem;">★ <b>Vitality (VIT)</b> <b><span style="color:red;"> [Essential]</span></b><br>

▷ Your core tanking stat that increases Max HP by 1% per point and enhances defense. Imperial Guards have excellent HP modifiers, making VIT extremely effective. Aim for [120+ VIT] for maximum survivability.<br>

VIT provides resistance against Crystallization, Freezing, and other status effects in PvP/WoE.

<p style="font-size: 1.0rem;">★ <b>Intelligence (INT)</b> <b><span style="color:red;"> [Essential]</span></b><br>

▷ Primarily useful for SP management and magic defense. [90-100 INT] is sufficient for most tank builds to maintain SP and for Prestige.<br>

INT helps reduce the duration of mental status effects like Sleep and Confusion.

<p style="font-size: 1.0rem;">★ <b>Dexterity (DEX)</b> <b><span style="color:blue;"> [Optional]</span></b><br>

▷ Important for insta-cast via stats. Pure tanks can manage with [70-90 DEX].<br>

DEX also helps reduce the duration of some status effects like Crystallization.

<p style="font-size: 1.0rem;">★ <b>Luck (LUK)</b> <b><span style="color:red;"> [Essential]</span></b><br>

▷ Contributes to perfect defense chance and provides critical resistance. [90-100 LUK] is sufficient for most builds, though most players would like 100% magic dodge chance. Can also help with status resistance in PvP situations.

<h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Traits" style="font-size: 1.6rem;">Traits 💿</span></h3>

<p style="font-size: 1.0rem;">★ <b>Power (POW)</b> <b><span style="color:blue;"> [Optional]</span></b><br>

▷ Primary trait stat that increases physical attack. again not useful, unless you went for physical build tank.<br>

Status physical attack increases by 5 per point.<br>

P.ATK increases by 1 per 3 points.

<p style="font-size: 1.0rem;">★ <b>Stamina (STA)</b> <b><span style="color:red;"> [Essential]</span></b><br>

▷ Core defensive trait that directly increases physical resistance (RES). Very Crucial for tank builds.<br>

RES increases by 1 per point.<br>

RES increases by 5 per 3 points.

<p style="font-size: 1.0rem;">★ <b>Wisdom (WIS)</b> <b><span style="color:red;"> [Essential]</span></b><br>

▷ Provides magic resistance (MRES), crucial for overall survivability against magic damage.<br>

MRES increases by 1 per point.<br>

MRES increases by 5 per 3 points.

<p style="font-size: 1.0rem;">★ <b>Spell (SPL)</b> <b><span style="color:blue;"> [Optional]</span></b><br>

▷ Not a primary focus stat. Only invest if using magic-based skills.<br>

Status Magic Attack increases by 5 per point.<br>

S.MATK increases by 1 per 3 points.

<p style="font-size: 1.0rem;">★ <b>Concentration (CON)</b> <b><span style="color:blue;"> [Optional]</span></b><br>

▷ Only if you are going for Flee Tanking, which i do not reccommend, but it is an option.<br>

HIT and FLEE increase by 2 per point.<br>

Additional defensive bonuses every 5 points.

<p style="font-size: 1.0rem;">★ <b>Creative (CRT)</b> <b><span style="color:blue;"> [Optional]</span></b><br>

▷ Optional for higher healing numbers<br>

H.PLUS increases by 1 per point.<br>

C.RATE increases by 1 per 3 points.