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I am so pretty!

Risque’s Super Pretty Guide to PvP Season II (KR)!

September 20th, 2012 | Posted by Conspire in Guides - (12 Comments)

I am so pretty! Conspire is here to help you understand the changes behind the latest PvP Season II update in Korea. As you all know, the centerpiece of this change was reweighing the relative strengths of special actives, actives and combos in PvP – related to all of the complaining over the power creep with skills lately. As a result, PvP has changed completely into a combo orientated game (although special actives still do have a major role, mind you), where it is no longer possible to simply tank hits and win a match via 200 MP. I, personally, am extremely excited over the new changes. Let me go over them, and speculate what this bodes for the current PvP landscape in KR!

Rewards for PvP Season I:
In recognization of your accomplishments during PvP Season I, you will receive in the mail, a title corresponding to your rank (expectedly, most people got consolation prizes), and scroll back accessory that sports 2% Attack Speed and 2% Accuracy.

I personally got the top PvP Medal reserved for the top 10 rankers on each server (20 people total)! Unfortunately, the stats are rather dismal at only 4% Attack Speed and 2% Accuracy. You can see the title and accessory below (I am so pretty!):

Getting a Match:
2v2 has been removed, but to compensate, you may now queue up for 3v3 with only two players, the third player being randomly matched with you. This decision was made due to the extreme unpopularity of 2v2 in KR due to the prevalence of abusers in that mode.  For servers such as NA, where 2v2 is more popular than 3v3, I highly doubt that this change will apply.

The frequency of Epic NPCs seems to have increased slightly (emphasis), but you are also matched with NPCs based on your rank as well. For instance, a lower ranked player may only run into Lowe and Speka, whereas higher ranked players will run into PROTO, Edan and Valak more often.

You also have a reduced chance of running into the same person/team multiple times in a row with the new arena matching algorithm, which was a huge complaint of last season.

Finally, the first ten matches of the season (if you had PvPed during the last season), will be Demo Matches where you are assigned your initial rank. This rank will be based upon how many of the matches you have won, and your rank during the last season. The maximum possible rank is S and the minimum possible is D; however, you are only able to receive a maximum of one rank above your previous season’s rank (i.e. if you were C rank during Season I, you will only be B Rank during Season I), assuming you win all 10 of your demo matches.

Ranking Up:
While the rank system has remained largely unchanged, F Rank has now been removed and SSS Rank has now been added (I’ll post SSS Rank when I get it, I’m too exhausted to fight today!) Furthermore, ranks are less fixed in stone based upon AP gain; if you lose a rank, you may not rank immediately up despite winning your next match, and if you win a rank, you may not rank immediately down upon losing your next match. Instead of being sorted by Rank and then RP, the new leaderboards are purely sorted by RP. Under this system, deranking is still encouraged to gain AP and amass RP; however, you will have to derank more regularly.
Mechanic Changes:
First, your stats now factor differently into PvP. Defense Stats (that is, not just Damage Reduction, but your actual physical defense) are now unnerfed in PvP, and HP now actually works in PvP. Previously, the conversion of additional HP was about 50,000 HP to 2,000 HP; now it is a 1:1 conversion. So if your Aisha has 130000 HP, she will have that amount in PvP. While attacking damage has been somewhat normalized, having a +11 will still play a huge role in PvP.  Furthermore, damage reduction, critical and additional damage remain the exact same. Players are now encouraged to add HP and Defense to their gear, and stat budgeting remains a major part of being a good player.

Second, special actives have been drastically reduced in damage, while combos, actives and basic techniques have been drastically increased in damage. Not all special actives have been reduced equally; here is the general list of changes:
– 100 MPs have been weakened the least. The majority of 100 MPs will do about the same damage as before, even if they have a special effect (e.g. Impact Hammer).
– 200 MPs have been weakened the most. The change is not completely uniform and is based upon the skill – for instance, Screw Driver is not nerfed at all and retains the same modifier damage as before.
– 300 MPs have been somewhat weakened, but still can pack a good punch.
– Any “Special Effect” Special Active (e.g. those that cause a status ailment such as Aging, Heaven’s Fist) has been drastically reduced in power.
– The majority of buff Special Actives and Actives have also been reduced in damage (e.g. Nature’s Force, Queen’s Throne, Land Demolisher). Giga Drive’s damage increase and Magical Make-up’s Starball Damage (since they count as “Mode Changes” and not strictly buffs) seem to be unchanged, however (may not be limited to those two). Nature Force, despite being an active, falls into this category and is significantly weakened.
– Actives are buffed, having the same damage scaling as combos in PvP.
– Accelerators/Adrenalines work the exact same, increasing damage by the same proportion.
– Nasod Core has been significantly weakened as well.

The more HP you lose in proportion to your opponent and the more of a disadvantage your team is at lives, the greater your damage will be. In 1:1, a 100% to 1% HP advantage is roughly estimated to be the same as PvP before, so watch out for sudden reversals at low HP (for instance, Dread Chase may be able to 1hko again at a 100:1 disadvantage).

Items are still present under the switch location every three change-over mechanism, but failure chance has been drastically increased (unfortunately, programming seems to mean that this change also applies to dungeons, so expect your dungeon items to backfire quite regularly).

Analysis and Speculation:
While the change to PvP from special active to combo orientated is certainly welcomed, it definitely changes the standings of certain characters. In particular, look for the following characters to become a major threat where they weren’t previously before:
– Code Empress and to a lesser extent, Code Nemesis, have become incredible threats: Active Damage is majorly boosted, and CEm with Wind and +11 can deal 10-20% of your HP per tick of Oberon Guard now. Code Nemesis, on the other hand, benefits from her stellar combo multipliers (arguably however, they are more of a skill curve and still less effective than CEm’s actives). Code Battle Seraph, however, remains slightly weak in PvP as before, not sporting the same array of passives and combo capabilities as her counterparts.
– Elsword and Raven remain generally at the same tier thanks to their offensive catching options and incredible array of actives, plus other bonuses granted by their unique special actives (Arma Blade, Phoenix Talon and Phantom Sword still remain as crippling buffs for Elsword, for instance). Despite the core debuff, it can still deal major damage when buffed with the proper stats. However, due to the long-term reliance of most Elswords and Ravens on special actives, it will take time for the community to adapt and make use of these tools.
– Chung remains a huge threat, but for different reasons now: a full Siege Shelling is capable of taking you from full to none given the correct circumstances. Tactical Trooper can take the most advantage of this, but all three Chungs have their distinct features with full sets of actives to chain.
– Rena now becomes an active threat. Siege Mode can strip down your HP extremely quickly, and Rena now no longer has much reason to save up MP for special actives to compete. Furthermore, her diverse range of actives on all three classes coupled with mobility now benefit from damage increases, which mean that they no longer are simply for the effects. Arrows now can deal significant damage as a stand-alone. WS’s ordinary strategy of Nature Force combined with ZZ>ZZ is weakened, however.
– Void Princess remains highly viable as Hell Stone was not touched majorly, as well as thanks to her strong combo capabilities, void balls and good actives. However, Aging no longer is a skill to be used, shutting out VP’s major offensive support in 3v3. In other words: VP has become more 1v1 orientated than 3v3.
– Elemental Master gets a shining boost with the strongest but cheapest accelerators combined with the highest damage multipliers for basic combos in the game. A good EM will blow through opponents in just a few xzzs and xxvxxs. Unfortunately, the EM community has not yet risen up to this fully, as their playstyle is still largely stuck upon meditating to gain MP for special actives (Magic Missile is pathetically weak now, impacted by the “Special Effect” debuff). However, should an EM choose to play combo orientated, they will quickly win out.
– Dimension Witch loses her major offensive skill Energy Spurt, and still suffers from highly lag sensitive combos with poor multipliers and poor-damaging (plus latency dependent) actives that reduce her capability to deal damage via combos. However, she now gets a huge reason to use Magical Makeup, which essentially grants her with 60+ seconds of psuedo-invincibility given that combos are now the big damage dealer (via constant mana break), plus a huge damage buff via starballs. Impact Hammer has  been slightly weakened (but not by much since it’s a 100 MP), but still retains its purpose, as its major purpose was to catch, grant time for cooldown to wear off and extend combos, rather than deal any major damage.

Overall, while PvP has certainly become more balanced, the power of balance has shifted such that certain classes are still overpowering compared to others. Look for CEm and Chung being the major two contenders in PvP now, with Ravens and Elswords still close behind.

 
Prizes:
A new Elite PvP Set has been added, but this set cannot be purchased by AP – rather, it is received through doing Epic Quests (check 5-1 in your Epic Quest menu for it, it begins in Besma and goes to Altera for all 5 pieces), and scales with your level. All of the stats from the pieces are PvP only, although they do sport rather powerful bonuses, leveling out the stat advantage predominant in the previous season. While the set can be upgraded (to a Unique set, presumably), the mechanism for this has not been found yet. You will also be rewarded with a set of PvP-based (e.g. Nasod Googles, Ring of Fury) accessories timed for 7 days and a permanent PvP only title (3% Attack Speed and 4% Accuracy) for completing the quest chain. The set cannot currently be equipped as the exchange mechanism is coming out on September 27th.

In terms of AP exchange with Camila, the conventional items (potions, red gems, etc.) are still present, but new items have been added. Of particular note are the Stat Specific and Dual Stat Gems that are available for purchase. These gems have a minimum rank requirement for usage (while they can be traded, you still need to be at that particular rank to use them), and provide stats that only work in PvP (you can tell if an equipment is socketed by a PvP-only gem if the word “War Only” (In Korean) is listed next to the socket). AP gain works the exact same way as before, with AP gain corresponding to your rank and choice of mode (i.e. 1v1 yields less AP than 3v3).

A list of new exchange prizes:
– Random Elstone – 500 AP
– Run Speed Gem – 234 AP – Requires E Rank
– Jump Speed Gem – 234 AP – Requires E Rank
– HP Gem – 234 AP – Requires E Rank
– Accuracy Gem – 234 AP – Requires E Rank
– Dodge Gem – 234 AP – Requires E Rank
– Awakening Charge Gem – 294 AP – Requires D Rank
– Awakening Time Gem – 294 AP – Requires D Rank
– Critical Gem – 450 AP – Requires B Rank
– Attack Speed Gem – 450 AP  – Requires B Rank
– Additional Damage Gem – 606 AP – Requires S Rank
– Damage Reduction Gem  – 606 AP – Requires S Rank
– Additional Damage/Damage Reduction Dual Gem – 1140 AP – Requires SS Rank
– Critical/HP Dual Gem – 1140 AP – Requires SS Rank
– Attack Speed/Run Speed/Jump Speed Dual Gem – 912 AP – Requires SS Rank
– Accuracy/Dodge – 684 AP – Requires SS Rank
– Awakening Time/Awakening Speed Dual Gem – 684 AP – Requires SS Rank

Finally, PvP Coins have been added, which can be exchanged for prizes at Camila. You can receive one coin a day from a daily quest, and two coins a day from another daily quest that follows.

Prize List for PvP Coins:
– 1 Coin: Choose Between Rank 1 PvP Potion (3), Light Spear (4), Red Gem (1), Secret Ticket Scroll (1)
– 4 Coins: Choose Between Stamina Potion (1), Rank 2 PvP Potion (10), Red Gem (5), Random Elstone (4)
– 12 Coins: PvP NPC Card Set – while still unknown since no one has the item yet, it is theorized these cards will allow you to summon PvP NPCs to your aid in dungeons. They may or may not work in Practice Mode as summons, as the Angels did not.
– 20 Coins: 7 Day Timed Mana Observation Ring (New Content – this ring permits you to see your opponent’s MP in PvP, while granting +1 to all skills in PvP only)
– 30 Coins: 7 Day Timed Mana Necklace II (New Mana Necklace)

 

That is all for now! It’s a very quick guide, but I hope it helps you figure out the changes. Also note: don’t trust any isolated incidents you may see this week. Everyone is super buffed thanks to everyone having a +2 Skill Ring for 10 days, plus most people breaking out their Job Change sets to get ahead. For instance, I know there are some +11 DWs running around sporting Lv. 9 Energy Spurt. If you get highly damaged by one, that is not typical, trust me. Let me know in the comments if you have any additional questions! It’s such hard work being as pretty and popular as I am!

New iPIN Regulations: Further Information

August 27th, 2012 | Posted by Conspire in Korean Elsword Updates - (21 Comments)

Hi all,

Here at Babel, we have done a bit more research into the iPIN Regulations. For those of you who are unaware (read two posts below for more context), KR Elsword is moving away from KSSN to iPINs (Internet Personal Identification Number) as a way of registry.

To obtain an iPIN, you need to register with your KSSN and an official document with your name and KSSN (passport, identity card, etc.). Alternatively, you may apply with your KSSN in person. For any user under the age of 14, you will require not only your own ID, but also your parents’ ID in order to obtain your iPIN. Aboard applicants will require their passport number in addition to their KSSN. The iPIN will be good as your internet identifier as a Korean Citizen, not only for Nexon, but for a variety of Korean internet services as well.

Unfortunately, this makes things significantly harder for foreigners wishing to play KR Elsword. Unlike a KSSN, which is issued to every citizen in Korea, an iPIN is strictly optional. This means that a good number of the iPINs will be registered to players on Elsword already. Consequentially, while it was possible to use Google or another service to find a KSSN since the number of KSSNs actually registered to Nexon accounts was still very low, it will be extremely difficult to find an iPIN through brute luck that is not already associated with an account. iPINs are also more likely to be guarded closely since they are used for a variety of online services – thus, it may not even be possible to find one online.

Babel is currently working on collecting iPINs from their Korean connections who are willing to donate them to foreigners, as it may still be possible to make multiple accounts per iPIN as with KSSN (3 is typically the limit).

As we need to know the demand for iPINs, please express your interest by tweeting to @ConspireOnAisha or commenting on this post. Also note that the use of the iPIN may not be completely free, as we will likely require a one-time donation to the provider of the iPIN for use of the iPIN.

 

Conspire

 

Introducing Our New Korean Translator!

August 27th, 2012 | Posted by Conspire in Site News - (0 Comments)

A big round of applause to our new Korean translator, Cissnei!

Name:
Cissnei
Role:
Korean-English Translator
Age:

22
Favorite Character:
Wind Sneaker
About Me:
I study economics at the University of Edinburgh and I want to marry Renaaaaaaaaa!!!

We’re all very glad to have you aboard.

Also, Gwenny Chiffoniataeko Marikake, our site owner (better known as Kenny in some spheres) will now be doubling as an English Editor. Yaaaaaaaay. (Seriously, though, all of you need to start calling him by his formal name from now on. Because it is so pretty! Like me! I am so pretty!)

Next?

Congratulations to Our Banner/Logo Winners!

August 25th, 2012 | Posted by Conspire in Site News - (3 Comments)

In an unorthodox move, we have decided on two separate winners, one for the Banner and one for the Logo. Each winner will receive 25m, payable by LuzCeleste (for the winners, please make arrangements to catch her in-game ASAP! She will be in contact with you soon.)

Without further ado, here are our winners!

LOGO by Sylence

Our team really enjoyed the classic feel of this logo. Very comic-like to reflect the origins of Elsword, and done in the traditional colors of Elsword – good job to Sylence!

 

BANNER by Sennyu:

Our team loved the black-tie spy theme of this banner! The Babel team only wishes they could be as cutting-edge and cool as Elsword, Eve and Aisha in this banner.

 

Finally, an honorable mention. While TrickArt won’t be receiving any prize, I wanted to showcase the amazing submission we got!

Banner/Logo by TrickArt:

We were impressed by how well the colors and lightning blended, as well as the art style of the stock images. That’s some skillful blending there! (I laughed at the logo too)

 

We were also impressed by the logo that Sennyu sent in, but it unfortunately didn’t make the final cut:

But still, so cute!

 

Thank you to all of the entrants. We were really stunned by the high quality of the submissions we got this time around. Congratulations to the winners, as well!

 

Conspire

 

 

 

The Banner and Logo Contest has now ended!

August 24th, 2012 | Posted by Conspire in Site News - (1 Comments)

Thank you for all of your submissions to the Banner and Logo Contest! We are currently deliberating on the results, and will announce a winner this weekend!

Thanks to our donators, we are now up on the new server, huzzah!

However, our chief Korean translator, Roo, is currently recovering from LASIK Surgery, which limits our ability to translate from KR to English.  We may be able to push out a few updates, but they will be considerably slower than usual. Thank you for your understanding, and we all wish Roo a fast recovery!

ElWiki and Babel Needs a Server Upgrade!

August 15th, 2012 | Posted by Conspire in Site News - (0 Comments)

 

Thank you for all of your support up to date! Babel has proven to be immensely popular, amassing viewcounts far beyond our initial expectations. We are thrilled at this, and we hope to continue to offer you our valuable services in the future.

However, thanks to the growing popularity of Babel – and the sustained popularity of ElWiki – we now need your help in keeping our servers up. Currently, our site owner, Kenny, pays for the majority of the hosting on a monthly basis for ElWiki and Babel, out of his own paycheque. Unfortunately, since Babel has been such a resounding success, we are desperately in need of a server upgrade. If you have noticed the server has been constantly crashing at times, and this is due to the bandwidth problems that we have been having from the increased load of viewers.

Furthermore, Babel is trying to expand, which is currently not possible under the current c0nstraints. We want to begin to offer the following services, but we cannot until we upgrade to a bigger server:

  • Translation Ticketing System – Send in your KR screenshots and get them translated within 24 hours!
  • Talk to the Pros Ticketing System – We will recruit one KR pro of each character to field your questions within 48 hours!
  • Upgrade of Babel to an English/Korean/Chinese website
  • More comics – in particular, we hope to translate all of Evil00000’s comics!
  • More guides from the top players in KR
  • A more professional and refined looking theme!

Thus, I hope you can support us in our endeavors. If you’ve enjoyed the Wiki and Babel up to this point, please support us so we can keep it going, and so we can continue to provide you with the updates that you need!

To donate, simply click on the pledgie badge linked in this post. Our goal is $100, which will pay for the server – any excess will be used to buy the translators a nice gift, as they often work overtime. For instance – to translate the Event Page yesterday so everyone playing KR would be aware of the free +8 Scroll, 2na called in to be 30 minutes late to work!

New KR Elsword Regulation

August 15th, 2012 | Posted by Conspire in Korean Elsword Updates - (0 Comments)

Hi all,

I’m writing to inform you that Elsword KR recently just sent out an email regarding a new regulation pertaining their KSSNs – all accounts under the age of 14 will need to reconfirm their KSSN and emails shortly.

At the moment, we’re still translating the necessary documents, so stand by for more information!

 

Conspire

Translated from here: http://elsword.nexon.com/events/120814/main.aspx

01 – THE CAPTURED ARCHANGEL: Dark Angel Appears!

Demonic forces have captured and corrupted the arch-angels… If you happen upon these trapped angels in your dungeoning, please free her! If you set her free by destroying the magic circle that binds her, she will grant you her blessing…

02 – THE ARCHANGEL’S COINS:

If you collect the coins that are delivered to you daily, you can purify the demonic energy that was corrupting the arch angels. Collect the coins and bring them to the Angel NPC in any village – the more coins you have, the more blessings you will be granted.

  • 1 Arch-Angel Coin will be distributed on a daily basis after 10 minutes of log-in.
  • Items obtained cannot be traded; Archangel’s coins, unused cubes and offline shop tickets will be deleted on 9/6th maintenance

——————————————-

As the arch-angels were corrupted by demons, Elrios begun to become shrouded by shadows. Our heroes were slowly being outmatched by demons. However, the Guardian Angels, seeing this, came up with a new plan.

“At this rate, Elrios’ balance will collapse… We must save the arch-angel before she is fully corrupted by demonic forces…”

To save her, our six heroes need to get stronger faster!

001 – GRANTING FAST GROWTH

When? 6/28 to 9/13
Who? First Job Classes

First job classes will be granted 2x experience through the Guardian Angel’s cheer! (Only applicable up to level 35)
Furthermore, when you start job advance steps for 2nd job advancements, you will obtain a buff.
This buff will deactivate if you cancel the quest step, however.

002 – GRANTING JOB ADVANCEMENT

When? For Raven, Eve and Chung new 2nd jobs “Veteran Commander”, “Code Battle Seraph” and “Tactical Trooper” pre-events.

You will receive the class’ limited edition accessory, as well as a job shadow!

 

To save Elrios, us Guardian Angels will help our heroes with all our might. Please let peace return to Elrios!

 

Patch Notes August 16th

August 14th, 2012 | Posted by Conspire in Patch Notes - (1 Comments)

New Events

More information can be found on the event page (check above!)

  1. Arch-Angel’s Captivity: Dark Arch-Angel Appears!
    Check the event page translation for details!
    (August 16th to September 6th Maintenance)
  2. Coin of the Arch-Angel
    Special coins can now be traded in for fantastic prices – including a Lv. 8 Scroll! Check the event page translation for more details.
    (August 16th to September 6th Maintenance)
  3. Angel’s Feather – Just for You!
    Weapon Taker has been added to the list of characters eligible to receive feathers upon dungeon clear. (Night Watcher and Trapping Ranger are to be removed)
    (August 16th to August 23rd Maintenance)
  4. Preparing for Transform? Let Guardian Angel Guide You!
    Aspiring Code Electras will receive special buffs upon class change steps.
    (August 16th to August 30th Maintenance)
  5. Guardian Angels: Nam Ju Angel Mini-me
    Upon first logging into the game, the first character you log onto will receive a “Nam Ju” Mini-Me Angel.
    (August 16th to August 23rd Maintenance)
  6. Veteran Commander Pre-Event
    Commander of the Flame Quest added – permits you to obtain the timed accessory and Appointment Cube for Raven’s promotional accessory.
    (August 16th to August 23rd Maintenance)

New Cash Items

  1. A Pink Angel Avatar has been added for all characters!
    A special “Angel” motion is associated with the full set of this avatar that can be activated by typing /엔젤 in chat.
    (August 16th to September 13th Maintenance)
  2. A Pink Angel Accessories have been added!
    New Wings and Halos can be brought in the cash shop.
    (August 16th to September 13th Maintenance)

Bug Fixes

[System Fixes]

  1. Modified board search feature where when searching for stores on market, you may now search for level without selecting grade.

[Character Fixes]

  1. Shelling Guardian Elastic Bomb – Explosion Effect Fixes.
  2. Shelling Guardian’s Elastic Bomb – Skill Icon and Skill Note Bug Fixes.