Saku 6 Posted October 27, 2022 (edited) A Comprehensive Full Support Cardinal Guide, by Yours Truly, Saku Edited as of current patch: Patch 2022-10-29. 1. INTRODUCTION 2. THE GOAL 3. SKILLS 4. STATS 5.1 GEARS, 5.2 COSTUMES AND SHADOW GEARS, 5.3 TL; DR/SUMMARY 6. CONSUMABLES/SELF-BUFFS 7. SKILLBAR/HOTKEYS 8. TIPS/TRICKS/MISCELLANEOUS 9. CLOSING REMARKS 1. INTRODUCTION Hello, I am Saku. I started playing in Shining Moon in Helheim server back in February 2020, and then completely migrated to Niflheim (because I love jRO items, amongst many other reasons) in September the same year. And now, for some reason, I'd like to think that I am a ''support classes'' enthusiast, and I sure do love Cardinal. A bit of definition here: Full Support here means that we are NOT the damage-dealer of the party and will primarily be there as a man-of-many-tricks: buffs, heals, resurrections, lex's, damage steroids, etc. This implies that this build is NOT for hybrid/battle Cardi (that of which takes skills for damage), also NOT tanky support Cardi (we barely have any resistance gears). So, this guide will mainly focus on building FULL SUPPORT Cardinal with bunch of heals for end-game contents. Many things have changed since the 4th job update, as well as the most current patch we have right now. After scouring the forum (briefly), I witnessed the lack of current updated builds, gears, and guides, especially that of which revolves around the new 4th job skills, with the latest guide being unavailable to be read for some reason. So, the rational of me posting this guide here is to provide a comprehensive, updated guide on how I build a FS Cardi that people could use as reference and point of compare-and-contrast, as well as some alternatives to work from or with. I will put a disclaimer from the get-go: there are MANY ways of building a FS Cardi. So, who's to say which build is better than others? In this post, I will simply show my current build, and some of the alternatives I have observed from other Cardis as well. Alright? Got that? Let's go. 2. THE GOAL Spoiler Before we even start discussing gears and stats, to put it simply, FIRSTLY, a FS Cardi must aim to achieve: 100% Fixed Cast Time (FCT) reduction Spoiler can be reduced by FLAT seconds OR reduced by percentage reduction but multiple percentages do NOT stack and will take only the highest percentage. For example, if you are equipped with a Fenrir Card (70% FCT reduction) while affected with Sacrament (50% FCT reduction), only Fenrir Card effect will be taken into account. Also, due to the formula subtracting the flat seconds first and then only the percentage, this means that you CANNOT fully reduce FCT with the combination of both. It's a choose-this-or-that kind situation. A lot of our major skills have 1.0-1.5 seconds FCT (only exception being Renovatio having 2.0 seconds), so reducing this amount is paramount for smoother experience. In this guide, I will be focusing on the PERCENTAGE REDUCTION through our lord and saviour, jRO item (which will be explained in Gears section) 100% Variable Cast Time (VCT) reduction Spoiler can either be achieved with stats alone (the formula being: INT + 2 * DEX = 530) OR with percentage reduction alone(stacking with gears, cards, costumes, etc), but NOT with combination of both, due to how the formula is written (same as FCT, with difference that multiple percentages DO stack). A LOT of our skills have a long VCT as well, with some as immense as 3-4 seconds, so reducing this is also paramount for smoother experience. There are certain skills that have VCT which CANNOT be reduced by stats (a prime example in our case would be Redemptio) and can only be reduced by percentages. Inversely, no skills cannot be reduced by percentages. Hence why in this guide, I will be focusing on PERCENTAGE REDUCTION through stacking some gears. Also, worth to be noted is that Suffragium's 20% VCT reduction could also factored into the percentage reduction. However, since the cooldown for the skill is rather long (30 seconds), and buff being gone once dead, it is not a reliable method to always achieve 100% VCT, and primarily exists as a way to help teammates who are still struggling with cast time. 100% After Cast Delay (ACD) reduction Spoiler Refers to the delay/global skill cooldown that occur after you cast certain skills. Reduction can be achieved by percentage reduction through stacking with gears, cards, costumes, etc. Majority of the party buffs have no ACD, and some party and singular buffs have some ACD. By right, 100% is unnecessary, and would be just a luxury. Unfortunately, a particularly important skill to be spammed to keep up the DPS, namely Lex Aeterna, has an ACD of 3 whole seconds. This, on top of how our server has the Smart Casting system that could bypass the animation delays, means that completely removing the ACD (and having 193 ASPD) is crucial to bring out the most DPS. 100% ACD seems a bit overkill, but very much EASILY achievable (especially for Cardinals), without the usage of expensive Kiel-D-01 card, again, through our lord and savior, jRO items. After achieving these, according to this order of priority, a FS Cardi should aim to have as much as possible: Spoiler Attack Speed (ASPD). Maximum ASPD being 193. Can be increased by flat amount (such as +5 ASPD enchants on costumes & +1 ASPD on ASPD Stone (Dual)) AND percentages (sentances like "reduce delay after attack") through stacking gears, cards, etc. Healing Effectiveness. Can be increased by percentages through skills (Offertorium, Meditatio) and the myriads of gears, cards, costumes, etc Max HP (MHP). Can be increased by flat amount, or percentages (MHP%) through gears, cards, costumes, etc. H.PLUS. A fairly recent trait that was introduced with the 4th job update. Currently, can only be increased by skills that increases CRT (Marine Festival of Kisul, Benedictum), and certain shadow gears. 3. SKILLS Spoiler This is my current skill build. There is literally too much to be explained if I go through all the skills, so I'll mention some of the most important ones. The unmentioned ones are either not that important, not that game-changing, pretty niche applications, simply a prerequisite, or simply allocating extra points. 1st Job: Acolyte Spoiler Increase Agility: MAX because 3rd Job Canto Candidus is affected by this skill's level Blessing: MAX. Similar reason as above (Clementia) Warp Portal: MAX. Important for memo-ing Purgatory/Gateway/any places, for faster transport. Ruwach: MAX. Important in certain instances where there are cloaked/hidden monsters. Pneuma: MAX. Could be a clutch save from ranged attacks 2nd (&Trans) Job: High Priest Spoiler Kyrie Eleison: MAX. Unlike Clementia and Canto Candidus, Kyrie level does not affect Praefatio. But with 100% ACD, a Kyrie spam is viable in some situation to keep the tank/DPS alive. Impositio Manus: MAX. A (very) minute boost but a needed skill for to get Odin's Power from using Valkyrie's Drop Gloria: MAX. The additional LUK gives extra Crit, which could prove useful against the Crit Shields of monsters... but is not favoured that much due to duration too short-lived, as well as putting a lot of ACD on all party members. Still, use it before bosses whenever you remembered. Resurrection: MAX. Crucial skill. Useful in resurrection one or two (read: small number) dead teammates. Requires a direct line of sight between you and dead teammate. Assumptio: MAX. Neat skill that gives +250 HARD DEF (which is half the amount that is given by consumingShining Defense Scroll). The HARD DEF aspect of this skill is important as it reduces damage multiplicatively, as compared to the SOFT DEF of Angelus that only reduces damage by subtracting the damage by the amount of DEF. Lex Aeterna: MAX. One of the reasons why Cardinal is so valuable is because of this skill: doubling the damage of a single attack. If an attack dealt 1 billion damage, Lex doubles that to 2 billion damage. Crucial to keep spamming this so that the DPS can kill the boss A.S.A.P. Meditation: MAX. More Healing Effectiveness. More MSP. Redemptio: MAX (Acquire from Platinum NPC in @go office). We have arrived to the ONE and BIGGEST reason for 100% VCT reduction via percentage reduction: this skill. As mentioned before, Redemptio's 3.2s VCT CANNOT be reduced using stats, and only can be reduced by percentages. Using this skill revives ALL teammates on your screen, disregarding obstruction between you and the dead teammate, at 50% HP. It is SUPER effective in a situation where a wipeout happened (which is, to be honest, more often that you'd like to think). A Cardi could revive themselves and press one button to instacast 11 resurrections of teammates. As mentioned before, this works even if there are obstruction between you. As long as the dead teammate is on the screen, just press this button and you could revive them (as compared to Resurrection that requires a direct line of sight and must be within 9 cells between you and the dead person). However, the downside is that you would immediately be put to 1 HP so you need to immediately heal yourself. 3rd Job: Arch Bishop (AB) Spoiler Clementia: MAX. Wide area Blessing. Canto Candidus: MAX. Wide area Increase Agility Praefatio: MAX. Wide area Kyrie Eleison. Lauda Agnus: MAX. Cleanses a number of status effect, as well as increases MHP%. It has a lower duration than the above 3 buffs, so consider spamming it frequently. Lauda Ramus: MAX. Cleanses a number of status effect, as well as increases Critical Damage%. Similarly, as above. Renovatio: MAX. MHP% recovery every 5 seconds which could help recovering the constant burn damage in Custom Contents. Offertorium: MAX. A Healing Effectiveness steroid, at the cost SP cost increase, as well as having a cleansing effect. Always have this skill casted, especially when you are putting Mediale Votum on yourself. However, if there is another Cardi in the party that casts Magnificat, this skill will be cancelled. But no sweat, Offertorium has no cooldown and can always be re-casted. (If it really bothers you, you could work it between you guys to ask him kindly to stop the spam). Clearance. MAX. A potent tool that could cleanse a number of debuff and status effects which cannot be cleansed in any other way, but it also removes buffs of teammates. To be used carefully. Oratio: MAX. Reduces Holy resistance of all monsters on the screen by 20% = more damage from Holy property attacks. What's neat is that it affects the cloaked/hidden monsters too = revealing their position --> Ruwach to expose them. 4th Job: Cardinal (Cardi) Spoiler Dilectio Heal: MAX. A spammable heal with considerable strength (lesser than Highness Heal but higher than Coluceo Heal) on a 7x7 AoE around the target. Recovers 1 AP per cast, which is one of the methods to gain AP without needing a target dummy/enemy/during idle times. Generally, one of the two ways to AoE heal party members in current settings. Mediate Votum: MAX. The game-changer skill on how heals are done in current contents is all due to this skill. Put this on a target and the area around target will heal every 2 seconds. According to the formula, the amount of heal is the Healing Effectiveness% multiplied with, surprisingly, 10% of Current HP of the target of the skill -- on a full health target, the higher the target's MHP, the higher the Current HP, thus a higher heal is dealt, if this makes sense. Inversely, if you have 1 HP left, you will just heal 1 HP. This is why MHP is stacked on Cardinal currently (and why a Mediale Votum on a tank IG would not be healing as much as a Cardi due to lack of Healing Effectiveness). A high MHP Cardinal with high Healing Effectiveness could counter the constant burn & shared damage in Custom Contents. Take note that H.PLUS do NOT increase healing dealt by Mediale Votum! Generally, the second way to AoE heal party members in current settings. Reparatio: MAX. Fully heal to 100% HP, but with 10 seconds cooldown. A useful skill to be used to nearly dying DPS/tank, who are in cooldown for their pots. Also, a useful heal to self after casting Redemptio , which leaves our HP to 1. Besides that, useful application is to fully heal self after damage dealt by Darkness/Bomb in Purgatory contents while on Mediale Votum . A full HP, high MHP Cardinal with Mediale Votum usually heals the whole teammate into full health. If in cooldown, get ready to eat your Superb Fish Slices, Ygg Berries/Seeds, Concentrated Golden Yellow Syrups, or just any pots. Presens Acies: MAX. A single target buff to increase the new trait: Critical Damage Rate (C.RATE). Put it on both Physical & Magical DPS. Argutus Telum: MAX. A single target buff to counter the Defense 2.0: Physical Resistance. Custom content monsters have a high RES value. Put it on the Physical DPS. Argutus Vita: MAX. A single target buff to counter the Magic Defense 2.0: Magical Resistance. Similar to above, put it on the Magical DPS Religio: 3/5. Single target buff to increase the new traits SPL, WIS, STA. The reason for not maxing this is to give some skill points for Framen, as well as a literal cat () having a better way of applying the same number of traits to the entirety of members on the screen anyways. One of the methods to gain AP. Benedictum: 4/5. Single target buff to increase the new traits POW, CRT, CON. Same reason as above, because a cat can apply this buff quicker and less painful to every party member (). One of the methods to gain AP. Framen: 1/10. The only reason why I had Turn Undead 1/10 & Judex 10/10 is to get this skill, in case that I have to collect AP on my own (read: when there are no EMs in the party). This skill could be smart-casted, and generates 2 AP per cast, which means double the speed as compared to spamming all the other AP generating skills. If you do not want this skill at all (which is fair, really), you could relocate all those skill points in 4th job back into Religio & Benedictum, as well as skill points in 3rd job into Sacrament (which could prove useful to give FCT reduction to members who still are struggling with FCT) Competentia: MAX. The OP, party-wide damage steroids. Increase PATK and SMATK by 50. Needs 160 AP though, so ask the EM (nicely) for AP, or you farm it yourself by spamming AP generating skills. ETC Skills Spoiler Odin's Power (level 2): A unique skill that is obtained only through using certain gears, namely Bible of Promise (2nd Vol.) and Valkyrie Drop [1]. It gives the target +100 ATK & MATK but decreases HARD DEF & MDEF by -20 for 60 seconds. To put this into perspective, this skill provides the same amount of ATK and MATK as when you transformed using MVP Bio5 cards, with the price of making the target less tanky for a minute. A superb skill to be used to buff BOTH your physical and magical DPS, especially before boss fights (as it is pretty hard to maintain it on general runs, due to it having a short duration of 60 seconds only). Soul Control: Gives you +10 All Stats for 10 minutes. Neat Niflheim skill. Soul Escape: Hooray for Niflheim custom skill! Casting this skill will break you from 'any' crowd control/status effect that you have, and you can even spam it in conditions where you normally would not be able to do so (i.e. you can cast this when you are frozen, and you would be unfrozen). This is super important and neat skill especially if you are the main Cardinal of the group, as you could unfreeze yourself, and proceed to cleanse the whole party with Lauda Ramus & Agnus. Although, worth to be noted that almost all of the debuffs applied onto you when you kill something in Custom Content (deep blind, frostbite, crystallization, deep silence, etc etc) could not be cleansed this way. Sadly. Select Target: If you already have "@sc 1" on, you could just hover the mouse on a monster, and you could immediately spam Lex Aeterna. In case you hovered on other monsters that you are not intending to Lex, the Smart Casting system makes it so that you could change target via this skill, or you go left click a monster (i.e. you attack a monster face to face since you a melee class) which, more often than not, very dangerous as you are not as tanky and you could just get blasted and die. So, just use this skill on the boss/monster/MVP to have an easier time targeting it, and the target will not change even if you hovered on other targets. Materialize Soul: This is a Niflheim-exclusive skill where you could summon a monster that you have made contract with. This feature could be useful such as summoning a tanky monster to tank for you in some instances, but also could be disruptive as the Smart Casting system does get fucked up a bit with the summoned monster (circumvent this using said methods mentioned on the Select Target section). For more information about the Soul system of Niflheim, you could check this link. Don't forget to enlarge your bags with Gym Passes, and learn Storage skill by collecting Kafra Cards. 4. STATS Spoiler The stats & traits I have right now is as follow: To be honest, the stats allocation (in my build) is very lenient, and I don't think much. We only have 3 main things to focus on. 130 points into VIT. Due to Mediale Votum that rewards higher heal the higher your MHP is, having high VIT is important. Besides, it is important for resistance to many status effects (reduces chances of being afflicted + reduces duration if afflicted). 128 points into INT. This increases, Max SP (MSP) pool and help with some SP recovery. INT also increases Dilectio Heal, and leaving this at 128 is so that we get the fullest effect of the Seraphim combo 120 into AGI as possible. This is so that we achieve 193 ASPD. Besides, having high AGI gives us resistance to sleep and bleed. The rest of points (65) into LUK. Rationale of putting some points into this is so that we could resist more status affects, but I'd argue that, we are in Niflheim and Soul Escape is OP. What about the other stats? NO points into STR. We are not dealing physical damage in this build. Also, with the change that made Gym Pass that made it so we can carry as heavy as 100000 weights, STR no longer has any purpose (for us). NO points into DEX. If you have been paying attention to 2) THE GOAL, you would understand why there was no stats put into DEX at all. Unless we aim to reduce our VCT via stats, DEX serves no importance, else than increasing the attack speed by a negligible amount. Now, if you have literally had no gears on and 0 stats allocated, allocating points into DEX would increase it a lot, but with 120 AGI, 120 DEX = 3 ASPD increase (is this one of those diminishing returns they speak of?) ... Besides, DEX do NOT offer anything other than ASPD for us, which other stats do, such as providing resistance to status affects. What about the traits? There are two ways I see with traits: points into CRT or no points into CRT. CRT, by definition, will increase your H.PLUS which is essentially Healing Effectiveness 2.0 applied after the normal Healing Effectiveness. However, Mediale Votum does NOT include H.PLUS into the formula, hence your amount of healing from Mediale will be unaffected by H.PLUS. However, healing from other sources (such as Dilectio Heal) will be increased. As of current meta, Dilectio Heal does not do a great of a job enough to heal the whole group, especially if we are to compare to Water Spraying from Cat, which could heal twice as much and cover more AoE. Thus, putting points into defensive stats would be the better option IMO. 100 points into WIS. More magical resistance against the bullshittery of Elemental Days. 97 points into STA. 90 points allow us to reap the maximum benefit from the Nebula Armor of Stamina and get more physical resistance. At the end of the day, the stats & traits could very much change depending on your own build~ Please try out and experiment your own stats and traits that work the best for your preference! (Don't come for me) 5.1. GEARS Spoiler This is my current gear as of current patch. Please excuse some of the weird refines. Just read the item and refine to the maximum potential, and according to your own capabilities. Generally, the first gear on each section is what I am currently using, and what I consider as the Best-in-Slot (BiS) personally. But feel free to mix-and-match! P/S: Feel free to skip to the TL;DR/SUMMARY section below (5.3) to see the core items. Headgear Spoiler Upper: Spoiler +15 Spirit King's Crown (SKC) (craft at @go exc at the Otherworldly Prisoner: Wolfchev's Laboratory): At +15, this headgear will give us 100% FCT reduction, as well as 20% ACD. This is a core item. GET IT ASAP. (And you would be glad to know it is very much usable for any other supportive classes in the game for ez support gearing). +14 Spirit King's Crown : SKC at +14 makes us have minimal FCT (2%) but this cast time allows us to more consistently animation cancel our AP generating skills () and spam it faster in case you have to generate AP by yourself. (Refer to section 8 Tips/Tricks/Miscellaneous to see what I mean) The same effect can be achieved by reducing VCT slightly as well. However, in our case, reducing VCT does not work as all AP generating skills do NOT have VCT and only FCT. Foreign Heritage Hat [1] (craft at @go exc, Otherworldly Prisoner --> Oktober 2022): A recently released jRO upper headgear that reduces damage from boss by 20% (a possible tank gear), as well as lotsa Healing Effectiveness, especially if combo-d with White Lady (MVP) card. We are looking at 160% Healing Effectiveness at max refine. But then again, using this hat would mean you have to find another way to get 100% FCT Reduction (no other item reduces 100% through percentage, and would have to opt reducing via flat seconds). Middle: Spoiler Seraphim Coronet (obtainable from World Boss Boxes or bought at World Boss NPC using 25 World Boss Coins): Gives 31% Healing Effectiveness, but also increases VCT%, at 128 INT. Combo with Seraphim Feather to nullify the VCT penalty. Due to the VCT penalty, not advisable to use only Seraphim Coronet, unless you are willing to offset the VCT penalty with other gears/cards/etc. Cor Core Booster [1] (farmable in sp_rudus4): A slotted middle headgear, which provides 5% VCT and 5% ACD. Victorious Wing Ears [1] (farmable in amicitia2 OR slotted through the Spiritual Auger): An old, slotted middle headgear that provides base 4% ACD, but can be enchanted to give either VCT, Healing Effectiveness, or more ACD. Lower: Spoiler Seraphim Feather (obtainable from World Boss Boxes or bought at World Boss NPC using 25 World Boss Coins): Gives 35% Healing Effectiveness at 120 INT and nullifies the VCT penalty when combo-d with Seraphim Coronet. Rosary Necklace (craft-able through Rosary Necklace Combination Scroll, which can be obtained through Mysterious Combination Bundle dropped from MVPs): Gives 30% ACD when combo-d with a max refined Light of Recovery. An alternative in achieving 100% ACD on top of 5% Healing Effectiveness. CARD: All of our headgears will not have a slot due to them being OP jRO gears. In case you are using placeholders/alternatives, you could equip: Spoiler White Lady (MVP): 30% Healing Effectiveness Blue Moon Loli Ruri: 5% VCT + 1% per refine, 8% Healing Effectiveness on +11 Parus: 1% Healing Effectiveness per 2 refine Pharaoh (MVP): Reduces SP costs by 30%, if you are concerned with SP (I wouldn't particularly since Concentrated Blue Syrups are easy to craft). Melted Poring: 10% MHP Or, basically, any cards that increases ASPD, Healing Effectiveness, or MHP... anything that you are particularly lacking. Armor Spoiler Spoiler Nebula Power of Stamina[1] (craftable at @go exc, Constellation Tower NPC): Hoo boy. Constellation Armors. With grade A +14 refine & Cluster of Stamina Level 3 at 90 STA (and if I am doing maths correctly), we are looking at 103% MHP, so... yeah. Not entirely sure if there are any subsequent released armor that can top Nebula, but I think it is going to stay here for a long time. This armor also provides hella bunch of RES, but you do not think yourself as a tank though. You will die lesser, sure, but you are not at the level of tanks, not with this build anyways. Vit Soutane [1] (obtained from Odin's Relic): A highly refined, with Vit Blessing will give you ~50% MHP, as well as 7% ASPD, 7% VCT and 5% ACD. A good (but quite expensive) alternative. Mostly used if you already had one lying around in your storage (from building other classes) to begin with. Rite Robe [1] (buy from @go exc, Instance Points NPC --> jRO gears using 150 Instance Coins): A inexpensive yet great armor to start from as it only needs +9 refine to have maximum related effect. Provides 30% Healing Effectiveness, 20% MHP, and 10% ACD at +9. To be honest, I'd like to think this is simply a great armor to keep on using regardless of if you want to proceed into Nebula Armor or not. Feel free to keep using this especially if you do not want to spend a lot of money into building a FS Cardi. Medical Scrub [1] (buy from @go exc, Instance Points NPC --> jRO gears using 150 Instance Coins): An alternative to the above choice. More tanky options, with +300 DEF at +9, at expense of no MHP% and no Healing Effectiveness. CARD: Spoiler Tao Gunka (TGK) [MVP]: 100% MHP. Too good. But that increased MHP does not ensure tankiness at all due to reduction of DEF and MDEF so avoid excessive tanking. Any MHP% cards. If you do not have/do not want to spend a fortune on TGK card, alternatives can include Amitera (20% MHP at Level200+) Ominous Solider (10% MHP, +1% per 3 refine) Pecopeco, Toxious, Deep Sea Strouf (10% MHP) Any status effect resistance cards (but, then again, Soul Release is OP). Weapon Spoiler Spoiler Light of Recovery [1] (farmable at lhz_dun03). There is still no other weapon that specifically increase Healing Effectiveness as much as this weapon, on top of it being easily obtainable. At +20, we are looking at 120% increase, on top of giving 30% ACD if you combo-d it with Rosary Necklace. Can be enchanted for a minimal increase of stats and Spell enchant (Spell3 = 8% VCT, but honestly? Not that worth considering how they keep on breaking on failure). Spoon [1] (farmable at prt_q): A niche weapon that simply increases your ASPD by 10. Neat. CARD: Spoiler Sanare: Increase Healing Effectiveness by 10% at +11 Dancing Marionette: Increases ASPD 10% As usual, any cards that increases ASPD, Healing Effectiveness, or MHP... anything that you are particularly lacking. Shield Spoiler Spoiler Phoenix Shield [1] (craftable at @go exc, Otherworldly Prisoner --> June 2022): An Osiris effect (100% HP/SP when resurrected) and 18% MHP at +18 60% MHP & MSP at +20 (this shield actually grants 3% MHP & MSP per refine rate. It was updated in the last patch, albeit the description was not changed). Scutum [1] (obtainable at @go exc, Instance Shop NPC --> jRO using 250 Instance Coins): 10% MHP at +10 refine. Neat shield. Nice place to start from, I reckon. Purified Knight's Shield [1] (Transformed from Cursed Knight Shield by spamming Silver Angel Idols): ASPD +2 & +10%, and 5% ACD. Can be enchanted to get more ACD, Healing Effectiveness, and ASPD. Excelion Shield [1] (craftable from @go exc --> Otherworldy Prisoner --> Charleston Crisis): 10% MHP at Lvl130+. Putting it here since some may already have it (but the refine that gives ATK & MATK gives negligible change/not worth the investment for FS Cardi) Rose of Eden [1] (obtainable at @go exc, Instance Shop NPC --> jRO using 150 Instance Coins): 10% Healing Effectiveness. Bible of Promise (2nd Vol.) (farmable at lhz_dun3): Can be switched to buff party members with Odin's Power and switch back to another shield, if you choose not to use Valkyrie Drop [1]. CARD: Spoiler Mushy Ant Egg: +10% MSP & +1% MHP per refine. Good for over-refined shields. Diligent Deniro & Diligent Andre: +1% MHP per refine. Similar as above, but also reducing damage from insects. Golden Thiefbug [MVP]: GTB has always been useful. It makes you immune to 80% magic, albeit you are also immune to your own buffs and heals (except heals coming from Mediale Votum). With the release of the Elemental Day mechanics in Custom Contents, this might be put into more usefulness. Garment Spoiler Spoiler Temporal Vit Manteau [1] (craftable at @go exc, Otherworldly Prisoner --> Old Glastheim --> Temporal Crystal Shop): +15% MHP & 4k flat HP at +20 refine, and +10% MHP enchant (oooor if you need more ACD, there is also a 15% ACD enchant). We love MHP. Technically, this should be the "best in slot" if we are purely looking at MHP% but, I am currently using the below garment. Mysterious Muffler [1] (obtainable at @go exc, Instance Shop NPC --> jRO using 150 Instance Coins): 20% MHP, +2 ASPD, and increased movement speed! What's more, you just need +9 to reap the most of its benefit. I am currently staying with this, even if it provides lesser MHP% simply because I could remove the usage of Guyak Pudding. For comparison, it does NOT give the same speed as Pudding if you are simply walking, but it will reach the maximum speed with a Halter Lead, as if you are using Pudding! Automatic Engine wing B-type [1] (craftable at @go exc --> Automatic Doll OR exchanged via Automatic Wing Coupons through Booster Coins but will be untradable): Provides some flat MHP, but most importantly gives a total of 37% VCT (at refine +11 with 2 Automatic Modification Module (Caster) enchants). Lindwurm's Skin [1] (obtainable at @go exc, Instance Shop NPC --> jRO using 150 Instance Coins): On the similar spectrum of 'inexpensive yet useful' garment, but with more focus towards VCT. At +8, with 120 AGI and 120 VIT, this gives at +12% MHP and 24% VCT. Old Morroc Shawl [1] (obtainable at @go exc, Instance Shop NPC --> jRO using 250 Instance Coins). Grants +5% MHP, a lot of Flee & Perfect Dodges, and an Osiris effect. With an Osiris card equipped, the redundancy is rewarded by granting us additional +15% MHP. CARD: Spoiler Cenere: 2% ASPD per 10 AGI = 20% ASPD at 120 AGI. Ancient Stalactic Golem: +150 MHP & 1% ASPD per 10 VIT = ~1850 MHP & 13% ASPD at 130 VIT. On top of that, 3% ACD also at 120 VIT. The best of all worlds. Infinite Chimera: 8% MHP. Archbishop Magaleta [MVP]: Call it a meme, but all of the stats are useful for FS Cardi: +20 All Stats, +10% MHP, 15% Healing Effectiveness. Of course, I am not justifying the buying of this card just because you want to build FS Cardi because building one is very much viable without this card LOL. This card is simply a luxury~ Any other Bio5 MVP: +20 All Stats would be useful for more ASPD and more MHP. But same argument as above: if you have it then use it if you want. As usual, any cards that increases ASPD, Healing Effectiveness, or MHP... anything that you are particularly lacking. Shoes Spoiler Spoiler Purge Shoes (craftable at @go exc, Otherworldly Prisoner --> Oktober 2022): Good lord. Our lord and saviour jRO-sama has graced us again with another one of their OP inventions for Cardinal. 50% VCT, 70% ACD, +20% MHP, +55 MDEF, 32% Healing Effectiveness... truly all of the things that we need, and we love. Never thought I'd see an item better than Pilgrim Shoes, but here we are. It is also fairly easy to craft, and I would recommend getting this A.S.A.P. This is one of the core items. Get it! Pilgrim Shoes (dropped from Archbishop Margaretha): Pilgrim Shoes provides what Purge Shoes do, albeit with smaller values in comparison (60% ACD vs 70% ACD, for example) but primarily, it does not give that juicy 50% VCT. However, this shoes still works just as well, but the build would have to shuffle around, to accommodate for the missing values. Automatic Leg B-type [1] (craftable at @go exc --> Automatic Doll OR exchanged via Automatic Wing Coupons through Booster Coins but will be untradable): Putting it here just in case you still have not crafted SKC yet, as this is an (affordable) alternative in reducing FCT (but note that I do NOT recommend going down this path at all, as both Purge and Pilgrim Shoes' effects are too good to be ignored). With Automatic Modification Module (Fixed Casting) and 2 Automatic Modification Module (Heal) at +11 refine, you are getting flat 0.8 seconds FCT reduced, and 34% Healing Effectiveness. On the notion of flat FCT reduction, other alternatives could be: Grade A +13 Hero Boots-LT [1] reducing 1.0 seconds flat FCT (not sure why would you do it for an FS Cardi, but hey, it's an option alright), Illusion Leg Type B [1] reducing 0.7 seconds flat FCT with Modification Module (Fixed Casting), Temporal Dex Boots [1] reducing 0.5 seconds flat FCT with just 120 DEX, and Grace Magic Boots [1] reducing 0.5 seconds flat FCT with refine +7. CARD: Since the best options are jRO gears, there are no slots to put cards in. But for any alternatives/placeholders: Spoiler Holy Skogul: 10% Healing Effectiveness at +9 Licheniyes: 5% Healing Effectiveness Arena Licheniyes: 20% Healing Effectiveness Ominous Freezer; Abyssman: +10% MHP As usual, any cards that increases ASPD, Healing Effectiveness, or MHP... anything that you are particularly lacking. Accessories Spoiler For accessories, we would have to mix-and-match some of the gears up. Spoiler Blaze and White Magic Ring [1] (dropped from Rune Knight Seyren): A versatile item that could contribute to our build depending on what we are lacking. Grants 15% ACD if worn on the Right slot, and 15% VCT & +15% MHP if weared on the Left slot. A trick to putting into your desired slot is that: when you are wearing no accessories at all, wearing an accessory will put it on the Left slot first. Hence, if you want this accessory to be on the Right slot, wear another accessory first, before wearing this one. This is one of the core items. Valkyrie Drop [1] (obtainable at @go exc, Instance Shop NPC --> jRO using 250 Instance Coins): 10% VCT, 5% ACD, but more importantly, learns Odin's Power when Impositio Manus is at MAX level. You may opt to forgo this accessory if you are using Bible of Promise (2nd Vol.) This is one of the core items. Arch Bishop Ring [1] (obtainable at @go exc, Instance Shop NPC --> jRO using 150 Instance Coins): Used to be the pinnacle accessory for FS AB prior to release of Cardinal. It allows the spamming ofHighness Heal when combo-d with Light of Cure enchanted with Cure Lv1 but now these are relics of the past. Still, Arch Bishop Ring remains useful till present time, as it increases Healing Effectiveness by 15%. Consider using this if you have achieved all of the goals. OR BASICALLY, JUST USE ANY GEARS THAT GIVE YOU THOSE GOALS. TRY CHECKING THE JRO SECTION OF INSTANCE SHOP IN CASE I MISSED ANY. CARD: Any TWO of the Episode 17.2 Combo Cards that will give us +10% MHP. With that, they also come with minimal stats increase such as VIT and AGI, try picking the one that you need the most. Examples are: Spoiler Broken Guard Beta. This should be the best fit for FS Cardi that has reached all 3 goals, as it gives +3 VIT (meaning 3% extra MHP = +13% MHP per card) Magic Poisoned Sanare. This is the AB combo, but, again, the set combo is irrelevant for FS Cardi. Elite Bellare Sewage Venenum Roaming Spellbook Bookworm etc etc etc BEELZEBUB: 30% VCT. THIS CARD ALSO EXISTS IF YOU WANT TO BUILD GEARS AROUND IT. Sealed Beelzebub: Ooooor, its sealed counterpart (15% VCT). Which I am assuming would be more accessible due to Sealed Card Album dropping from GA and obtainable through Purgatory Coins. Pet Spoiler Information on how to get/evolve your pets can be found on this link. Blue Moon Loli Ruri Egg: MHP +5%, Vit + 4. Currently using this as the heal from Mediale Votum is higher in my setup (and seemingly unchanged Dilectio Heal), as compared to older pet (Angeling). Besides, the occasional self-Kyrie is kinda fun. Angeling Egg: MHP +2% and Healing Effectiveness 8%. This pet still gets the job done~ Dark Illusion Egg: 5% VCT. If you still need VCT. Bacsojin Egg: MSP +5% and ACD 3%. If you still need ACD 5.2. COSTUMES AND SHADOW GEARS Spoiler Current set-up looks like this. Costumes Spoiler CUSTOM ENCHANTS Spoiler UPPER MHP% (20% maximum) OR FLAT MHP (closest to 10k as possible) RES or MRES (closest to 100 as possible). I'd suggest MRES just to give a little bit of magical resistance, since we already nearly max'd RES for the Nebula Armor. Also with the added fact that Elemental Day in Custom Content damage is magical too. MIDDLE IRRELEVANT/NEGLIGIBLE CHANGE/TOO HIGH OF A COST FOR LITTLE BENEFIT for FS Cardi But if you really want to, get MATK I guess? LOWER The most volatile/versatile costume enchant. Fill in the enchant according to what the build is currently lacking (refer to 2) THE GOALS) Lacking VCT? --> 30% VCT Lacking ASPD? --> +10 ASPD Not lacking either? --> 30% Healing Effectiveness Currently using +10 ASPD to reach 193. Not necessarily must be the same type of enchant. Feel free to hybridize the costume enchant to fill in the gaps in the build accordingly. PSST: If you are trying to reach 1.5 seconds FCT through flat seconds reduction, there are also FCT enchants here, with a max of -0.4 seconds FCT reduction. It's an option, although I'd say it times again that I do not recommend it. GARMENT Reduce damage from any size monsters/Reduce long-ranged damage (anything, really) GHOST element: reducing neutral auto-attacks from monster. Although, the most recent update would most likely require us to endow our armors according to the Elemental Days. COSTUME STONES Spoiler Currently I am using the Variable Cast Stone Set (Upper + Middle + Lower + Garment) which gives 30% VCT. Alternatives could include: Archbishop Stone (upper) giving 9% ACD, or Archbishop Stone (Middle) giving 12% VCT. Those also exist. The more you know. There is also options to reduce FCT by flat 0.5 seconds here, such as Fixed Cast Stone (Garment), a more recently released Archbishop Stone (Lower), and by using combinations such as Arch Bishop Stone (Garment) + High Priest Stone (Lower). Again, I'd not recommend it especially in Niflheim server where we have access to easy and OP items such as SKC, but it's definitely an option alright. For Dual slot, you could, again, choose whichever parameters you are still lacking, and equip with the corresponding Dual stone. Personally, I lacked ASPD, so I equipped ASPD Stone (Dual) into my Garment. Psst, there is also Variable Cast Stone (Dual) which reduces FCT by 0.5sec when paired with Variable Cast Stone (Garment). The more you know. Shadow Gears Spoiler There are many routes to this. But as usual, my build is simply me finding what I lacked, and supplementing with the appropriate Shadow Gears. Mega Blitz Shadow Weapon: Using this to patch up the remaining ACD and ASPD. Alternatives: Blitz Shadow Weapon (ASPD), Healing Shadow Weapon (combo-d with Healing Set). Healing Shadow Shield: More Healing Effectiveness. If you are still lacking something, alternatives: Separate Reload Shadow Shield (ACD, ASPD), Blitz Shadow Shield (ASPD). Lord Bearer's Shadow set (Armor, Shoes): +25% MHP and infinite Endure status. You can somewhat lure enemies now with lesser flinching and Kyrie/Heal spam yourself to keep safe. Maximum Mammoth Shadow set (Pendant, Earring): A minimal (+3% MHP) increase but gaining knockback immunity. You can now walk without being ping-pong'd around by Storm Gusts and Jupitel Thunder. As you can see there are a number of shadow gear sets that I do not use in my build but is very much viable in other FS Cardi builds, which are: True Gemstone Shadow set: This is useful to completely nullify the usage of Blue Gemstones for Resurrection and the skills that use Blue Gemstones alike, but that is just about it (for FS Cardi). Since the Gym Pass buff update, 10000 Blue Gemstone could be carried without any problem, which means the use/potential of this set is limited. Spell Caster Shadow set: This is useful to gain 20% VCT, but since I have already fulfilled that through the means of other gears, I do not use this set. Might be useful for others. Almighty Shadow set: This would have been a must gear if we are aiming VCT through stats. But VCT through percentage reduction do not require any involvement of stats. However, the All Stats should prove useful as it will give more ASPD and more MHP%! Perhaps, consider using this as the 'General Content' shadow gear, and swap with Maximum Mammoth on certain knockback-y contents (but I am lazy, so I don't even bother /heh). 5.3. TL;DR / SUMMARY Spoiler Remember the 3 GOALS? FCT + VCT + ACD +15 Spirit King's Crown = 100% Fixed Cast Time (FCT) reduced +7 Purge Shoes (50%) + Variable Cast Stone Set (30%) + Blaze and White Magic Ring [1] on Right (15%) + Valkyrie's Drop (10%) = 100% Variable Cast Time (VCT) reduced +7 Purge Shoes (70%) + +15 Spirit King's Crown (20%) + +9 Mega Blitz Shadow Weapon (6%) + Valkyrie's Drop (5%) = 100% After Cast Delay (ACD) reduced ALL OF THE OTHER GEARS ARE PUMPING INTO 193 ASPD, AND AS MUCH MHP, HEALING EFFECTIVENESS, AND H.PLUS AS POSSIBLE. 6. CONSUMABLES/SELF-BUFFS Spoiler The consumables I use are: Spoiler Superb Fish Slices (obtained from Superb Fish Boxes, from Lucky3): For urgent situations i.e. after Redemptio and you are left at 1 HP. Note that this shares cooldown with Yggdrasil Berry, but do NOT share cooldown with Yggdrasil Seeds. With that in mind, consider farming Ygg seeds and berries for instant heals. Concentrated Blue Syrups (crafted via Genetic's Special Pharmacy): To recover SP after spamming skills/counteract the SP burn in Custom Contents. Small Mana Potion (amassed a lot via Booster boxes): Counteracts the SP burn in Custom Contents nicely, but not the end of the world if you do not have it. Token of Siegfried (bought using Eden Merit Badge at @go eden --> Merry Badger) & Token of Purgatory (bought using Purgatory Coins at @go 48): Not potions per se, but you should always carry this in your inventory. This is especially important when you are resurrecting using Redemptio, since 9/10 times, you will just die right after resurrecting the whole team as the skill puts you down to 1 HP. PS: It's also very nice if you personally ask the secondary Cardi/Performer/person with good heart that actually brings Yggdrasil Leaf to immediately resurrect yourself after you died for their sins: TEAMWORK. The self-buffs I use are: Spoiler Soul Control: +10 all stats for free! Don't forget to reapply every 10 minutes. Biscuit Bag (obtained from Fortessa Content): Opening this gives us the 6 different bars of stats. But honestly? Since we have not that high of reliance to stat, you could get away with just Bar of Fitness for the extra 11-33% MHP, and perhaps Bar of Agility for a little bit more AGI for ASPD Almighty (obtained from Fortessa Content): Alternatively, if you are feeling lazy to press 6 buttons, this one will do, albeit it gives 5 all stats lesser. Shining Defense Scroll: Increase HARD DEF and HARD MDEF by a lot. Increases survivability by a lot subsequently. But still, you are not a tanker in this build, and it is simply to help you survive some attacks better, and not dying every 5 seconds (floor deco thingz). Guyak Pudding (obtained from Fortessa Content OR buy at the Monster Hunter NPC using Monster Hunter Coins): So that we can zooooooom. Use this in conjuction with Halter Lead for even faster zoomies (MAXIMUM speed). Infinite Berserk Potions (from Lucky3): Everyone can use Berserk Potions in Niflheim, even if they are Cardinals. +20% ASPD. HP Increase Potion (Large) (crafted by Genetic's Special Pharmacy): Extra MHP%. Easily crafted. 7. SKILLS/HOTKEYS Spoiler This is how I allocate the slots for my hotkeys. It is simply the one that I think works the best for me right now. Truthfully, every now and then I find myself readjusting the skill bar, so there is never a truly "finalized hotkeys", in that sense. Just take your time to allocate skills to the bar according to your preference with reference to 3) Skills, and, with time, your muscle memory will remember where and what buttons are the skills that you are searching for. 8. TIPS & TRICKS & MISCELLANEOUS (W.I.P.) Spoiler LEX AETERNA SPAM Once you have 100% ACD, the limiting factor becomes your ASPD (besides the uncontrollable, external factors such as ping/latency, and keyboard capability, but I digress). For demonstration, both situations have 100% ACD but on the left is 168 ASPD and on the right is 193 ASPD. A noticeable change, and definitely an important change for highest of DPS to burst down the boss. PARTY PLAY/TEAMMATES MANAGEMENT Did you know that you could use a skill/buff/heal onto your party member without actually needing to click on their sprite? You could do so with the Party tab (Alt+Z) and simply clicking the skill on their names. However so, sometimes, mishaps could happen in the panic and chaos, and you could mistakenly drag names out, accidentally whispering them, etc etc. This could be avoided by just dragging the names of your party members out of the party window in the first place, and arrange it accordingly such as Physical DPSes, Magical DPSes, and Supports/floor decorations/etc. This way, you would have easier time to: buff accordingly (Argutus Telum/Vita), as well as tracking health of members, tracking of dead members, and easier single resurrections (not needing to look for their bodies on the floor). ANIMATION CANCELLING/DILECTIO HEAL SPAM Here is a comparison of Dilectio Heal on 100% FCT (+15 SKC on the left), and 98% FCT (+14 SKC on the right). Having that very minimal cast time allows us to animation cancel the delay between cast, and results with more consistent/faster spamming. However, I have heard people saying that this does not work for them. In fact, I myself had times where the spam works and flows incredibly smoothly, and other times where the spam is a horrible slow mess. I have no exact idea what causes this, but if I am to take a gander, it must be due to ping/latency. That, or your own computer/laptop setup. I dont really have any solid advice for this, so the best I could say is... good luck with the spam :^) But still, let's pray for AP from the EM, lest you want your fingers tortured. MEDIALE VOTUM SHOWCASE This is my current Mediale Votum heals. Will be even more inflated with party buffs especially those that increases MHP%. Note that the healing is nerfed by 50% in Custom contents, so you still have to spam Dilectio/Reparatio on self from time to time. BUFF TIMING AWARENESS I use self-timer after casting Competentia (buff lasting 300s) and immediately afterwards, re-buffing (DPS) party members with the single-targeted buffs (mostly the 4th job ones, which lasts 240s). This is useful to keep track when to recast the buffs, and and to try to keep the 100% uptime, for smoother runs. Try it for yourself by putting into the macro "@countdown 300 0". In some cases that the DPS dies, you kinda have to mentally remind yourself to rebuff them though. This also includes the whole repertoire (Clementia->Canto->Lauda..etcetc) Rebuffing after death is super important. This is especially true for certain DPS players who have a setup so optimized that they need the specific buffs to be active at all times to be able to perform at their best. Usually, this meant that they need the stats buff from Increase Agi and Blessing the most, especially to maintain insta-casting of their skills. Hence, it is best to be aware of the deaths of party members, resurrect, and rebuff accordingly. Make a habit out of rebuffing every few moments or so. Seriously, they will appreciate it. There is a command "/q2" that allows us to cast skill using the mouse wheel: up for F8 and down for F7 (or "/q1" which is using left-right click for F9). This could potentially be good for Lex spam, but I could never make it as fast as I am pressing on the keyboard, perhaps due to my cheap mouse. Try it out and please tell me if it works on your end. A note to myself and prospective Cardinals: above all else, what matters the most is to understand what to do at what time. Adapting to the circumstances is the key. 9. CLOSING REMARKS Thank you for reading until the end of this guide and I hope you guys find it useful. As much as I could, I would try to update it accordingly when we have new patches (especially, if there are new jRO items for Cardinal again maybe?). There might have been things that I have overlooked, so I look forward for your opinions. I would also like to emphasize that making this build was possible through taking inspiration from other Cardinals over the year as well. Special thanks to Lizzy for becoming my point-of-reference even way back then and has always been creative with the builds; as well as Vin for also showing me some of the updated stuff that was brought into the game while I was gone. And thank you for everyone who may have helped with this guide indirectly. See yall. Ps: Feel free to contact me on Discord Saku#0435 if there is any question, or anything to be discussed. I would really love to hear your points and opinions to better the guide if there are anything to be rectified/added! CHANGES: Spoiler 27/10/2022: Posted to forum 29/10/2022: Added some alternatives to Costume Stones, changed the flow so that skills are explained first before the stats; many alternative cards on many gears (credits to ExoGenesis) 30/10/2022: Fixed descriptions of Phoenix Wing & Temporal Vit Manteau; added alternative on garment (Mysterious Muffler); added recommended 17.2 card on accessory (credits to SilentLightning) 1/11/2022: Added new pets' recommendation as of latest patch (Patch 2022-10-29) 5/11/2022: Added the ETC section for Skills; added some notes on achieving flat seconds FCT reduction on Shoes, Costume Enchants, and Costume Stones 28/12/2022: Formatted the guide for ease of reading/skimming; updated the traits section of stats; added bunch of information on the tips/tricks/miscellaneous section Edited December 29, 2022 by Saku 3 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
