* While Elemental Spirits for the most part is the better choice, Time Dimensions is still useable and not completely obsolete.
* While Elemental Spirits for the most part is the better choice, Time Dimensions is still useable and not completely obsolete.
* Later on, you might decide to make a x1 character to gain the +50% Drop Rate buff, and you will be needing leveling up gears to get you to max level. Time Dimensions is already functional by Level 250, while Elemental Spirits won't be 'til you reach Level 265.
* Later on, you might decide to make a '''x1 EM character''' to gain the '''+50% Drop Rate buff''', and you will be needing leveling up gears to get you to max level. Time Dimensions is already functional by Level 250, while Elemental Spirits won't be 'til you reach Level 265.
* Additionally, the choice whether to use Time Dimensions or Elemental Spirits will also depend on your playstyle and preference. Time Dimensions distributes more skill and elemental modifiers for your lingering skills such as '''{{#skill:5372}}''' and''' {{#skill:5371}}'''. If your manner of playing is more about covering grounds by laying out puddles on the floor, then Time Dimensions might be the gear for you. Furthermore, if you don't want to rely on {{#icon:313427}}{{#linkitem:313427|Warrant of Bailiff}}'s procs all the time before you can OHKO monsters, then you might want to stick to Time Dimensions since this set of gear doesn't rely on procs and your damage is always on 100%.
* Additionally, the choice whether to use Time Dimensions or Elemental Spirits will also depend on your playstyle and preference. Time Dimensions distributes more skill and elemental modifiers for your lingering skills such as '''{{#skill:5372}}''' and''' {{#skill:5371}}'''. If your manner of playing is more about covering grounds by laying out puddles on the floor, then Time Dimensions might be the gear for you. Furthermore, if you don't want to rely on {{#icon:313427}}{{#linkitem:313427|Warrant of Bailiff}}'s procs all the time before you can OHKO monsters, then you might want to stick to Time Dimensions since this set of gear doesn't rely on procs and your damage is always at 100%.
** For me personally, I still use my Time Dimensions gears for Depth 2 specifically. As an Elemental Master that has access to the Poison element and with high burst damage, I would wear my drop rate shoes in Depth 2 and still manage to OHKO the mobs with my Poison-endowed '''https://static.divine-pride.net/images/skill/5380.png <span style="background:linear-gradient(to right, #FF3F34 0%, #2C6FBB 25%, #006400 50%, #B5651D 75%, #800080 100%); -webkit-background-clip:text !important; -webkit-text-fill-color:transparent;">Elemental Buster</span>''', including the Shadow element '''Depth Morroc Incarnation''' (huge thanks to my book's Fire/Shadow and Angel/Formless enchants). Also, farming Depth 2 is fast-paced and in the manner of my playstyle I find more efficiency when I also cast my lingering skills as well since mobs here will die in their 1st to 2nd tick even with drop rate shoes.
** For me personally, I still use my Time Dimensions gears for [[Varmundt's Biosphere Depth 2]], specifically. As an Elemental Master that has access to the <span style="color:purple;>Poison</span> element and with high burst damage, I would wear my drop rate shoes in Depth 2 and still manage to OHKO the mobs with my <span style="color:purple;>Poison</span>-endowed '''https://static.divine-pride.net/images/skill/5380.png <span style="background:linear-gradient(to right, #FF3F34 0%, #2C6FBB 25%, #006400 50%, #B5651D 75%, #800080 100%); -webkit-background-clip:text !important; -webkit-text-fill-color:transparent;">Elemental Buster</span>''', including the <span style="color:rgb(44,45,45); text-shadow: 0.5px 0.5px 1px black; font-size: 0.9rem;">Shadow</span> element '''Depth Morroc Incarnation''' (huge thanks to my book's <span style="color:red;">Fire</span>/<span style="color:rgb(44,45,45); text-shadow: 0.5px 0.5px 1px black; font-size: 0.9rem;">Shadow</span> and Angel/Formless enchants). Also, farming Depth 2 is fast-paced and in the manner of my playstyle I find more efficiency when I also cast my lingering skills as well since mobs here will die in their 1st to 2nd tick even with {{#icon:22069}}{{#linkitem:22069|Lian Shoes}}.
Surprise, surprise, the once neglected Earth element is now your primary element and it's about time for our stalwart Terremotus to get his fair share of the spotlight! With Elemental Spirits now as your main weapon for endgame, most of your modifiers will be funneled towards Earth and Water elements. This is even further backed up when you pair Ilse El Heine Card with Yorscalp Crown of Judgment . This combo will give you 75% Terra Drive and Lightning Land modifiers when both your Yorscalp Crown and Elemental Spirits are refined to +15, and then on top of that you can capitalize on the 100% Earth/Water element magical property bonuses from [MVP] Polluted Queen Spider Card (27362) .
Due to the insane amounts of skill modifiers that you will reap off of the Episode 21 card Ilse El Heine and Yorscalp Crown combo, this gives Terremotus a sharper edge than Diluvio even though both of them will benefit from other sources of damage modifiers.
In a party composition where you will benefit from all kinds of buffs, Earth proves to be the strongest element to choose from. The Arch Mage class will act as a dedicated debuffer via their skill Level 4 Climax + Violent Quake (Climax Earth) to reduce the affected enemies' Earth resistance by 100%. Water element doesn't get such debuffs from the Arch Mage, but Fire will get some via Level 4 Climax + All Bloom (Climax Bloom), which will reduce the opponents' Fire element resistance by 100%. Combine all these debuffs with your own elemental insignias and you will for sure shine the brightest among all the magical classes in your party.
Apart from increasing the base MAtk% of your Terra Drive skill, Terremotus will also grant you the ability to endow your Elemental Buster to the Earth element. Both skills are burst type and their main purpose is to either delete monsters in a single cast or melt them fast enough to end the fight immediately. Elemental Spirits gives you the ability for both skills to coexist at the same time via autocasting, so I would advise you to utilize this advantage.
One of the best areas where Terremotus is ideally used is in the endgame dungeon Zero Cell Sector (Nox & Ark). Granted the monsters M.GN-6059, M.GN-0001 and their partner homunculus are Fire and Earth element and thus resists and are immune against Earth—respectively, Earth-endowed Elemental Buster will hit all the mobs here. Nox Floor mobs are also generally less tanky than Ark Floor's and they will die instantly with your Double Busters when you're endgame geared.
Diluvio also gets a glow up alongside Terremotus because she also benefits from Elemental Spirits 's autocast shenanigan. Every time you cast Diamond Storm, you will autocast Elemental Buster, and when you use the card [MVP] Polluted Queen Spider Card (27362) you will get 100% Earth/Water element magical property bonuses. As had been previously mentioned, the two primary reasons why Diluvio ranked 2nd and below Terremotus is because Diamond Storm won't get any skill modifiers from Ilse El Heine Card + Yorscalp Crown of Judgment , and Water won't get any less 100% resistance from Arch Mage's debuffs. However, Arch Mage can give you 30%Water property elemental modifier with their skill Level 1 Climax + Crystal Impact, but with the enormous amount of elemental modifier you will have and due to the so-called diminishing returns, the added bonuses won't be as impactful as compared to when elemental resistance is reduced by 100%.
Water gets access to one of your elemental floor buffs via Deluge, and this skill boosts any Water property elemental attacks by 20% including your Diamond Storm and Water-endowed Elemental Buster. The damage boost you get from Deluge will make it on par with Earth's Ilse El Heine and Yorscalp Crown combo. One of the key reasons why both Earth and Water builds are comparable to one another for solo-play, but differ greatly once placed in a party scenario.
Diluvio will retain all of its utility including endowing your armor to the Water property to give you 100% resistance against Water-based attacks via Level 2 Elemental Control (Defensive Mode). This will make you survive Encroached Tan's Jack Frost and Ghost Ship Captain's Water Ball. Even with no access to [MVP] Golden Thief Bug Card (4128) , you can easily cheese your way and make instance farming effortless.
Serpens for the most part is only really used for Varmundt's Biosphere Depth 2 and Forgotten Time. Nothing much has changed for Serpens with the addition of Elemental Spirits . Despite losing some Poison property modifiers from Time Dimensions combo, that was compensated with the ability to double cast your Elemental Buster without ever needing to switch books. It just made your farming speed faster for these two dungeons honestly. And if you worry too much about the loss of Poison property modifier, you can always find a good distribution of Poison magical enchants on your Encroached Book [2] (540109) first before reforming it to Elemental Spirits.
In Depth 2 and Forgotten Time, all the mobs, with the exception of the Valkyrie and the Contaminated Spirits, are made up of Fire, Water, Wind, and Earth properties and if you still remember from the previous section we've talked about—Poison is strong against the four (4) basic elements. Levels 1 & 2 monsters of these elements take 150% damage against Poison while Levels 3 & 4 mobs receive 125% damage. Serpens is perfect for these two dungeons.
Serpens outside of Depth 2 and Forgotten Time is not technically bad; you may still use him but there are just better High Elementals for those areas. Poison element is also mostly for coverage where it's there to hit the mobs that the four (4) basic elements resist.
When using Serpens, avoid using Lvl. 2 Elemental Control (Defensive Mode). While Poison element is strong offensively against Fire, Water, Wind, and Earth, it is also weak against them defensively; if you endow your armor to Poison 1, you'll receive 150% damage. Better to just leave him in Passive Mode or Waiting Mode.
Ardor has still retained its strengths and utilities and don't ever think he is no longer a powerful spirit to use. I would say he just got outranked by both Terremotus and Diluvio due to the distribution of skill and elemental modifiers, but he did not necessarily lost his viability.
There will be places where Ardor is still the most preferred High Elemental to summon. Places like Varmundt's Biosphere (Grass, Death, & Venom) and Ruined Valkyrie Realm where Fire will hit the hardest or has far greater coverage, you will for sure need the assistance of our beloved Ardor.
Ardor's ability to endow your armor to the Fire element by activating Defensive Mode with the skill Level 2 Elemental Control makes him the best spirit to use for The Immortal and Recreated Dark Whisper instances. You will survive Lasgand and Immortal Monarch's Meteor Storms and resist their Heaven's Drive skill; likewise, if you use Ardor for Mjolnir Underground Cave, you will survive the Aferdes that cast hard hitting Fire magical spells and some random Ignition Break here and there.
The elegant Procella has finally found her sunny day and gets her well-deserved flowers because with the Chapter 1 patch that introduced the Frontier Rune Crown (Elemental Master) [1] (400982) + Frontier Elemental Book [2] (540110) combo as part of the Frontier Rune Crown and Weapon series, she is hands down the best spirit to use for Spell Fist build. The Frontier combo lets you autocast the Arch Mage skill Soul Vulcan Strike at a 60% chance every time you cast your Magician skill Soul Strike. Soul Vulcan Strike will be autocasted coming from any sources of casted Soul Strike including ones from procs such as our own Auto Spell and Foreign CD In Mouth (18666) .
Now what makes Procella the overall best spirit to use for Spell Fist build is because when you use the [MVP] Gioia Card (4576) you will get 100% Wind/Ghost magical property modifier which it will boost our Wind-infused melee magical attacks, Lightning Bolt, Soul Strike, and SVS at the same time!
I've played the revamped build for Spell Fist and trust me when I say it has gotten a lot stronger now, and is no longer a meme build. The [MVP] Bulgasari Card (300666) lets you autocast another Arch Mage skill called Rock Down and the Abyss Chaser skill Abyss Flame at a 10% and 7% chance, respectively. What's more, this omits the need to wear Furious Boots [1] (470265) in place of Moan of Corruption [1] (470204) or Dimension World Spell Shoes [1] (470337) , which gives you a lot of SPL bonuses. More things will be discussed in Spell Fist's own build section, and for now let's rejoice and be happy for our glamorous Procella.
Ventus will always going to make it to the list no matter what despite her being an Elemental because it is simply necessary and I just can't help it but include our baby Ventus!
We're already in 4th jobs era and Ventus is still our best friend and our close confidant for everywhere else we go~ Whether we need to have Guyak she'll give it to us for free with the help of her Wind Step skill. Now you can casually farm Eden Coin (25223) at Second Power Plant and when you don't want to be late for events she'll make your move faster than the speed of light!
Baby Ventus with her Adolescent and Adult Forms can also provide easy access to 1 second FCT reduction when Lvl. 1 Elemental Control (Passive Mode) is activated which helps newbies early on in their journey.
Just be wary because once you use Ventus or any of the Sorcerer Elementals you won't be able to use or autocast your 4th skill Elemental Buster since this skill requires you to have your High Elementals present to activate.
Lil' Ms. Aqua is sometimes used in PvP scenarios like WoE and Battlegrounds (BG) where she's sought after because of her ability to increase Diamond Dust's crystallization's chance of effect by (JobLv ÷ 5)%.
Everybody knows how annoying the crystallization debuff can be when it's applied. You will be rendered susceptible to a couple of attacks, increasing the damage you take by 50% from Wind property magical attacks and several weapon types such as Maces, Axes, and Two-Handed Axes; not to mention you cannot move, attack, and use most of your skills and items. Truly, Aqua may look cute and innocent on the outside but she is as deadly as a viper!
Which is Stronger Against a Specific Race and Element
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Time Dimensions
Total DPS: 177B+
Conditions Observed
Damage Variance was set to Default. Element/Racial Advantage Against Neutral/Formless. Jitterbug combo was not used. Main Spirit is Ardor and Fire Element-Centric. The One Potion, Force Booster, Speed Booster, and Awakening Potion were used. Warg Blood Cocktail and Petite Tail Noodle were used. No Blue Herb Activator and Lunaphoma Buffs. Level 3 Elemental Insignias and Volcano were used. No External Buffs (e.g. Competentia) from other classes were used. 60% ACD and 193 ASPD.
Elemental Spirits
Total DPS: 186B+
Conditions Observed
Damage Variance was set to Default. Element/Racial Advantage Against Neutral/Formless. Jitterbug combo was not used. Main Spirit is Terremotus and Earth Element-Centric. The One Potion, Force Booster, Speed Booster, and Awakening Potion were used. Warg Blood Cocktail and Petite Tail Noodle were used. No Blue Herb Activator and Lunaphoma Buffs. Level 3 Elemental Insignias and Volcano were used. No External Buffs (e.g. Competentia) from other classes were used. 72% ACD and 193 ASPD.
In both DPS test, conditions were followed similarly for fair comparison and contrast. Noteworthy conditions observed include setting the damage variance to default to reflect realistic DPS gauge test, exclusion of Jitterbug combo, Lunaphoma buffs, and class buffs which may inequitably influence results, and consumption of The One Potion and ASPD potions to assist with reaching 193 Max ASPD.
Both builds are close in damage numbers, with Elemental Spirits being higher by ≈9B. The enchants on the Time Dimension Book were Varmundt's Crystal (Poison) Lv3 (312800) and Biosphere Gem (Vibra-rupt) (311934) , while Elemental Spirits had MAtk + 9% and Earth elemental magic skill damage +25%. The gap and range could be higher if perfect enchants (e.g. MAtk + 10% & MAtk + 20% Against Neutral Element) were used for Elemental Spirits, but with the current state of retrieving enchants on Encroached weapons this will be harder to apply.
Absence of specific Racial/Neutral enchants and reduced Elemental Buster skill modifier on Elemental Spirits were compensated with everyhalf a secondspammability of Elemental Buster, Warrant of Bailiff 's procs, up to180% Terra Drive skill modifiers, and two of our skills benefitting simultaneously from [MVP] Polluted Queen Spider Card (27362) .
Total MAtk% of all our skills for Time Dimensions weighed 101,450%, while Elemental Spirits had 147,100%.
Time Dimensions
27,050% (Elemental Buster) + 21,600% (3 ticks of Conflagration) + 15,600% (Diamond Storm) + 18,600% (3 ticks of Lightning Land) + 18,600% (3 ticks of Venom Swamp)
The conclusion to draw from these results is that Time Dimensions is still a strong and close choice for when you are up against a specific element/race hugely thanks to its enchants. While it is harder to get the perfect enchants for Elemental Spirits, it still performed a tad bit better and could even dish out higher DPS numbers when enchants are catered towards a specific element/race.
Which is Stronger Against a Non-Specific Race and Element
To view the images much more clearly, right click and open them in a separate tab and it should take you to the File's original size wherein you can freely zoom in and out.
Time Dimensions
Total DPS: 82B+
Conditions Observed
Damage Variance was set to Default. No Element/Racial Advantage. Modifiers Mostly Catered Towards Size. Jitterbug combo was not used. Main Spirit is Ardor and Fire Element-Centric. The One Potion, Force Booster, Speed Booster, and Awakening Potion were used. Warg Blood Cocktail and Petite Tail Noodle were used. No Blue Herb Activator and Lunaphoma Buffs. Level 3 Elemental Insignias and Volcano were used. No External Buffs (e.g. Competentia) from other classes were used. 60% ACD and 193 ASPD.
Elemental Spirits
Total DPS: 106B+
Conditions Observed
Damage Variance was set to Default. No Element/Racial Advantage. Modifiers Mostly Catered Towards Size. Jitterbug combo was not used. Main Spirit is Terremotus and Earth Element-Centric. The One Potion, Force Booster, Speed Booster, and Awakening Potion were used. Warg Blood Cocktail and Petite Tail Noodle were used. No Blue Herb Activator and Lunaphoma Buffs. Level 3 Elemental Insignias and Volcano were used. No External Buffs (e.g. Competentia) from other classes were used. 72% ACD and 193 ASPD.
In both DPS test, conditions were followed similarly for fair comparison and contrast. Noteworthy conditions observed include setting the damage variance to default to reflect realistic DPS gauge test, exclusion of Jitterbug combo, Lunaphoma buffs, and class buffs which may inequitably influence results, and consumption of The One Potion and ASPD potions to assist with reaching 193 Max ASPD.
For this was a test against a non-specific element/race, the dummy's element/race were purposedly changed to Holy/Plant while the Neutral/Formless enchants on gears were left untouched. Most of the damage modifiers from cards and gears were funneled to size modifiers instead.
Based from the results of the tests, once element/race advantage are taken out of the equation, Elemental Spirits + Yorscalp Crown's 106B won and dealt the most in terms of DPS—so much so that the difference in damage leaped by ≈24B coming from Time Dimension's 82B.
Elemental Spirits gets an advantage in this scenario due to Yorscalp Crown of Judgment 's Warrant of Bailiff 's procs which basically grants 20% Size/Race/Element/Protocol modifiers, so even though we cut out all of the element/race modifiers from our gears and cards alike we won back some of them.
The conclusion we can draw out from the tests is that when doing instances like Tower of Trials or farming maps where there are a lot of unequal variations of element/race among monsters, Elemental Spirits will be the clear winner. It is just a matter of procing and upkeeping Warrant of Bailiff, though for our class that won't be a problem because we are almost always guaranteed to have it activated due to the nature of our skills being multi-hit.
When to Use Time Dimensions or Elemental Spirits
While Elemental Spirits for the most part is the better choice, Time Dimensions is still useable and not completely obsolete.
Later on, you might decide to make a x1 EM character to gain the +50% Drop Rate buff, and you will be needing leveling up gears to get you to max level. Time Dimensions is already functional by Level 250, while Elemental Spirits won't be 'til you reach Level 265.
Additionally, the choice whether to use Time Dimensions or Elemental Spirits will also depend on your playstyle and preference. Time Dimensions distributes more skill and elemental modifiers for your lingering skills such as Conflagration and Venom Swamp. If your manner of playing is more about covering grounds by laying out puddles on the floor, then Time Dimensions might be the gear for you. Furthermore, if you don't want to rely on Warrant of Bailiff 's procs all the time before you can OHKO monsters, then you might want to stick to Time Dimensions since this set of gear doesn't rely on procs and your damage is always at 100%.
For me personally, I still use my Time Dimensions gears for Varmundt's Biosphere Depth 2, specifically. As an Elemental Master that has access to the Poison element and with high burst damage, I would wear my drop rate shoes in Depth 2 and still manage to OHKO the mobs with my Poison-endowed Elemental Buster, including the Shadow element Depth Morroc Incarnation (huge thanks to my book's Fire/Shadow and Angel/Formless enchants). Also, farming Depth 2 is fast-paced and in the manner of my playstyle I find more efficiency when I also cast my lingering skills as well since mobs here will die in their 1st to 2nd tick even with Lian Shoes .