Introduction

The point of this thread is to guide players along via the providence of generic skill builds for both hybrid and pure builds regarding moonlords & gladiators.

Use these skillbuilds and build your OWN customized skillbuild and post it as a reply, for format please scroll down to the bottom of the thread.

I’ll comment/advice/assist and give insights on your customized skill build and guide you along.

Table of Contents

• Generic Skill Builds without maxmized usage of SP for both Moonlord & Gladiator, PvE and PvP, Hybrid or Pure Builds
• 2 Skill builds I’ve customized with reasons stating why
• Important things to note with regards to certain skills

Let’s cut to the chase,

First up, Generic Skill Build for Hybrid Moonlord (Meaning getting phy side until Line Drive)

Direct Link : http://dnarmory.com/skill-calc?i=1-11-24-50#Rbt7F_6gV.vlB1HnWLV

Skils Allocation Analysis

Warrior Tree

1. Aerial Evasion/Tumble/Dash Maxed (Don’t think there’s any need for explanation for this)

2. Relieve Lvl4 (Why not 5? because 5 only reduces the cooldown, getting Lvl4 meant 3 debuffs removed)

3. Rising Slash Lvl6 (For the 2 rising motion to continue into Aerial Combo)

4. Highlander (Important Party Skill for Nest)

5. HP Maxed

6. MP *Optional, because Moonlords have High INT meaning a decent mana pool as well*

7. Circle Break Lvl1 *Optional* More for PvP usage, but has decent Super Armor Breaking Capablilities

Swordmaster Tree

1. Physical Side, get minimum requirement for skills until Line Drive

2. Parry side of the tree, minimum requirement until parrying stance (Parrying Stance is definitely a very useful skill in pve/pvp)

2. Provoking Slam Lvl5 (Each Level from 1 to 5 gives 5% more Dmg,  Lvl6 increases dmg by 3%, Lvl7/8 gives 2% increment each, the diminishing returns per level is thus why it’s only Level 5 for the generic skillbuild)

3. Moonlight Splitter Lvl11 for MLS Ex

4. Cyclone Slash Lvl6 for Larger Cyclone

5. Crescent Cleave Lvl5 for 5 waves instead of 3

6. Half-Moon Slash Lvl3 for Great Wave Requirement

Moonlord Tree

1. Moonblade Dance Lvl1 (Not 2 because it’s only a 0.9% Increase in dmg, who knows what skills we have in Lvl60 cap)

2.  Flash Stance & MLS Ex self explanatory

Basically the reason for this generic build is to help you understand the foundation of how you want to tweak/tune your skillbuild. With this you can then see where you want to add the rest of the SP to craft the type of character you want to be. As long as you have this generic structure in place, your skill build cannot go too wrong.

Note : Cyclone Slash Lvl6 is debatable, some Moonlords might disagree with the increase in size being a must-have.

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Next, Generic Skill Build for Hybrid Gladiator (Meaning getting the magic tree side up till HMS)

Direct Link : http://dnarmory.com/skill-calc?i=1-11-23-50#TmVwiPxibnYxetZyqup

Warrior Tree

1. Aerial Evasion/Tumble/Dash Maxed (Don’t think there’s any need for explanation for this)

2. Relieve Lvl4 (Why not 5? because 5 only reduces the cooldown, getting Lvl4 meant 3 debuffs removed)

3. Rising Slash Lvl6 (For the 2 rising motion to continue into Aerial Combo)

4. Highlander (Important Party Skill for Nest)

5. HP Maxed

6. MP *Optional, because Moonlords have High INT meaning a decent mana pool as well*

7. Circle Break Lvl1 *Optional* More for PvP usage, but has decent Super Armor Breaking Capablilities

Swordmaster Tree

1. Magical Side, get minimum requirement for skills until HMS

2. Parry side of the tree, minimum requirement until parrying stance (Parrying Stance is definitely a very useful skill in pve/pvp)

2. Provoking Slam Lvl5 (Each Level from 1 to 5 gives 5% more Dmg,  Lvl6 increases dmg by 3%, Lvl7/8 gives 2% increment each, the diminishing returns per level is thus why it’s only Level 5 for the generic skillbuild)

3. Triple Slash Lvl11 for Triple Slash Ex

4. Crescent Cleave Lvl5 for 5 waves instead of 3 (reason why it’s hybrid Gladiator)

Gladiator Tree

1. Evasion Slash Lvl2 (Not 1 because unlike MB dance, having an extra level is around 40%Attackpower increase compared to MB Dance 0.9%)

2.  Final Attack and Triple Slash EX is self explanatory

Note: This is a hybrid Gladiator build. Knowing that most of the SMs here have followed a Lvl40 Hybrid Skill build which meant that you probably got Lvl5 Crescent Cleave as well as Lvl 1 HMS even if you were a physical side SM. So this is merely a continuation. If you’re interested in a Pure Gladiator Build it will be discussed further below.

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We will now discuss about pure builds, this means that you might forsake almost the entire side of 1 part of the phy/magic side of the SM tree so that you will be able focus on 1 side. This meant that you will probably need a reset scroll if you want to spec into these builds and we can only keep our fingers crossed to see if we will be getting one at lvl45 3rd job change

Generic Pure Moonlord Build (Physical side of the tree only get up till Front Shove for Mobility,Invincibility Frames for PvP)

Direct Link : http://dnarmory.com/skill-calc?i=1-11-24-50#RhWiOsyZO51YkQmzWLV

It’s basically around the same as the hybrid Moonlord except that you don’t spec down for Line Drive.

This basically opens up the option of maximizing alot of magical-sided skills such as Half-Moon slash which is shown in the Skillbuild Screenshot. Note that it’s not a must to maximize HMS, but it’s just an example of what you can do if you don’t go down the physical side tree up till Line Drive.

This is the template you should follow if you want to build a Pure Moonlord SkillBuild, personally I think Triple Slash, Aerial Combo & Front Shove are much needed filter skills, not to mention that if you PvP as a Moonlord, you will definitely need the Invincibility frames of Aerial Combo as well as the backstep of Front Shove, which is the reason behind why you stop at Front Shove and not just triple slash.

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Generic Pure Gladiator Build (Means getting only up to Cyclone Slash for the magic side of the tree)

Direct Link : http://dnarmory.com/skill-calc?i=1-11-23-50#TlqUbnt94qO8a1QyWLV

There’s drastic changes compared to the Hybrid Gladiator skillbuild, you only get the magic side of the tree up till cyclone slash.

This build is actually more suited to PVP Gladiators because if you watch YY’s MaxCombo Gladiator Videos he don’t use half-moon slash at all. Cyclone slash is definitely needed in PvP which is why we stop there.

Getting Max-lvl Line Drive definitely increases DPS greatly because it is a very very hard hitting skill.

After which the rest of the points is plug and play and will be elaborated below.

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The reason for all these generic skillbuilds is so that you can then continue to customize your own skillbuilds based on the generic templates given.

This way it minimizes any drastic mistakes you might commit which result in you needing a reset scroll.

I’ll be sharing some of the customized builds you can try with reasons why of course.

After seeing all these customized build, here’s what you can do so that I can assist you in building the ideal skillbuild which is relevant to the type of playstyle you enjoy.

Know that there’s no best skill build but definitely skill builds that suit a certain purpose or function.

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I’ll share the skill build that I’ll be going for since most people will be interested in that

Note: This is the tentative skillbuild that I’ve conjured, I might not use it in the end, but chances are high that I do

The point of this build is more like an all-rounder build that is useful for PvE as well as PvP.

I definitely will not give up line drive.

I’ve max-ed Provoking Slam because of it’s PvE utilization, 42% dmg increase for 15 seconds for party members is huge no matter if there’s diminishing returns on the skill after lvl 5.

For SDN, usually it’s around 15seconds of DPS time frame or less everytime you’re safe to DPS the boss, hence this 42% dmg increase on Nest bosses is definitely a HUGE plus in ensuring my slot for a SDN party

Direct Link : http://dnarmory.com/skill-calc?i=1-11-24-50#Rbt8sJi76CISSkLtZ4V

Note: This is definitely not recommended unless you are very sure of what you want. For me I’ll definitely be PvPing here and there. Basically I will say it’s a hybrid all-rounder build which will do fine in both PvE and PvP.

You can play around with this build, Cyclone Slash Lvl6 is optional once again, you can get that to Lvl3 and add the points into other places, maybe getting a higher dmg HMS, the build is pretty flexibile.

Impact wave is lvl10 for the increased range of 7m (up from 4), and I didn’t get MP % increase or recovery because Moonlord have high INT which means that their MP Recovery will be decent, MP Pool will be decent as well

You can don’t go for impact wave lvl10 and keep it to 4, and then increase points for MP % and mp recovery.

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This skillbuild will be the one I’ll go for if I’m a Gladiator, definitely PvP sided. Will state reasons for choice of skills below.

Direct Link : http://dnarmory.com/skill-calc?i=1-11-23-50#TlqUZX4ytwu4kKPFhLV

Relieve Lvl5 – I’ve spare points why not? Faster Cooldown means it being available faster in Compensation ON PvP

MAX MP % Lvl2, MP Recovery Lvl3 – Unlike moonlord counter-parts who have high INT, Gladiators might have mana problems, PvE wise, Gladiators will definitely be dashing in and out much more compared to Moonlords due to their limitted range.

Provoking Slam Lvl 8 – 42% Dmg Increase on affected, Similar to above, ensures my PvE Slot probability

Eclipse Lvl4 – 50% Super Armor Rate Reduction, good for fighting against Mercs in PvP, as well as added plus for PvE

Parry Lvl9(passive skill) - 16.4% chance to parry, higher than Paladin’s Aerial Block of 15%, will definitely be useful in PvP, this is also better than increasing parrying stance since parrying stance duration can be increased via a plate, and in softban PvP it is not allowed but well the passive skill can’t be banned right?

Line Drive Lvl7 – When Max-ed dmg increases alot for PvE, for PvP wise, getting hit by a full line drive ensures certain death for most classes once in-coporated successfully in your combo.

Note: This is probably not the best PvP skill build, but I will say it helps you be competitive in both PvE and PvP, I prefer building all-round builds since this game isn’t just PvE or PvP.

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Important things to note while customizing your Skill Build

Basically, I’ll list the skills in which getting them to a specific level will grant a special effect as well as other important information.

• Eclipse Lvl4 onwards (50% super armor attack rate deduction, instead of 40% from Lvl1to3)
• Provoking Slam Lvl8 (42% Dmg Increased, Lvl5 gives 35% dmg increase, has a diminishing returns from Lvl6-8)
• Cyclone Slash Lvl6 (Larger Cyclone)
• Impact Wave lvl10 (7m Range, increased from 4m)
• Relieve Lvl4 (Removes 3 Debuffs, getting to 5 only decreases CD)

Let me know if I’ve missed out any skills and I’ll add them to the list. Generic skills like increased in duration for Parrying stance will not be included as they are pretty easy to notice. I’ve added provoking slam because it’s a skill that plays a significant role for SM’s to be in nest parties.

BUT WAIT! How come no duo ultimate skillbuild?

For the last and final time, for all the new players out there, here’s what you need to know about the duo ultimate patch

• Unlocking 1 Ultimate will automatically unlock the other, you NEED NOT learn the pre-requisite skills in order to learn it
• Both ultimates cooldown are shared, using 1 ultimate will automatically cause the other ultimate to be on cooldown
• Cooldowns are not the same, cooldown for respective ultimates remain the same. (this means that using greatwave first doesn’t mean that you can use infinityedge after 120s, you still need to wait another 25s to use IE, but of course using IE first will mean Greatwave will be up after 120s)

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It’s definitely a wall of text, so basically here’s what I can do for you.

• Use one of the generic templates provided here, customize it to the playstyle you want.
• Post the link of your skill build and if possible a screenshot of the entire skillbuild like I did above will be greatly appreciated
• Write down your reasons for adding certain points to a certain skill
• I’ll tell you my insights regarding your decision and advice you accordingly (give me sometime to do so)
• If your skillbuild with your reasoning fits very well for a specific type of play style, I’ll add your skillbuild into the guide here so people can simply take a look at it

Last but not least, there’s definitely alot of Moonlord/Gladiator builds out there if you google for them. I have not copy/paste any of their skill builds here because I don’t believe that there’s a best skillbuild in DN at least for Swordmasters. For other classes like paladins and priest there might be cookie cutter specs that fulfill a certain role due to the nature of their class, but for SM I think that we generally have alot of flexibilty in what we want to do as long as we have the necessary template of skills we are expected to get.

Hope this guide has helped you guys with some of your queries with regards to Lvl50 Skillbuilds, and don’t be shy.

Feel free to post your customized skillbuilds here and I’ll share with you my own insights on them.

This way we can help build a postive Moonlord/Gladiator Community in the warrior section.

Cheers,

AikawaKazu

Credits to dnarmory.com for providing such an awesome skill simulator tool for all of us