Combo + PvP Guide! By:Corvalia

General Guide to DarkBlood Online Combos!

This guide will focus on multiple aspects of Comboing in the MMO DarkBlood Online.

-The differences in PvP and PvE Combos

-Server lag and what it means to you

-Player lag and what that means to both players

-Some general "fighting game" terminology

-Class specific combo guides + general strategy

-Player requested guides and/or how to create your own combos

-Training Dummy + aspects of class weight.

-(Maybe general gameplay tips if people need them)-

PvP vs PvE

PvP=Player vs Player

PvE=Player vs Environment (A.I Controlled Monsters)

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First, we'll begin with the basics of why PvE is different from PvP.

The main difference between the two are player weight vs monster weight, and that players will instantly drop to the ground after a certain % of damage (If they're in the air) to prevent you from doing an infinite combo.

Monsters fly through the air.

Players won't fly as much as you think.

PRACTICE AND LEARN THIS, IT WILL HELP. Alright, onto some general things.

Monsters rarely have I-Frames (Invulnerability Frames) which are moments when the monster cannot take damage.

As most players have probably noticed if they have dueled anyone so far, you can pull off a lot of different combos on monsters without them not taking damage. The reason for this is players have I-Frames when they are recovering off of the ground.

This allows for the opponent to have a chance of getting off the ground without you murdering him before he can fight back. Monsters on the other hand rarely have this and you can beat them down and hitstun them for quite some time. (Refer to Note)

Note: Hitstun is that moment when you come in contact with the monster or player with an attack and they can't recover from it. Different skills and attacks have different amounts of hitstun and will be covered later in the guide.

Also, there is a state called Super Armor which is the thick yellow barrier you may see around some monsters that have been buffed. (Or bosses that naturally have it during an attack) when they are in this state, hitstun has no effect, keep this in mind as some classes do have a buff for it.


Lastly, some of the classes have recovery skills for when they are on the ground and if they're in midair being combo'd, you'll want to watch out for these. (There are only a few of these, pretty easy to memorize)


Now that you've learned a couple of the elements of PvP and PvE differences, we'll make an example here. (Using the Knight class)
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PvE- X-X-X-Upper Slash (We'll let the monster drop for now) you'll still be able to use other skills that otherwise wouldn't even hurt the target in pvp at this point..Strike may be one example!

Some players might complain about this example because they'll be Combo Master's already and know there are other combos to be had here.

PvP- X-X-X-Upper Slash (Let the player drop)
Strike clearly won't hit because monsters have no I-Frames to certain attacks and have huge hitboxes. Any player at this point will only be hit by ground attacks or OTG's (off the ground attacks)

Advanced players will also complain about this example due to players being on the ground isn't literally I-Frames, but players have them ONLY when they're recovering or take too much damage from a combo.

For the basic comboers in this stage of the guide, yes there are combos where you can bounce them off the ground and continue your combo, and plenty of aerial attacks so you can get cuhrazy all over your opponent.

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(This is for PvE combos) Comboing a monster is extremely easy compared to a player, you really just have to dodge their initial attack and then move in, use a basic attack, then smash them with skills.


(This is for PvP combos)The main goal is to just practice against other players to find out what classes have different weights and how different players use their character. Everyone plays differently and you'll have to learn how to read the opponents moves before they do them. You can also use the training dummy which is located here in Elwood.


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Server and Player Lag vs You

Lag can be a huge problem when it comes to your comboing abilities. I'll tell you why, and how you can try to reduce mistakes if there is any lag problem.

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If you're having issues with server lag, which most of us are (you can tell by the delay of looting items) PvP and possibly even PvE will take a bit more effort to get a solid combo in. This has nothing to do with computer lag, if you're unable to run the game properly, I cannot help in this regard, I apologize.


When the server is lagging you'll notice a delay either in commands or damage and effects of some skills, such as pushbacks, knockdowns or upper attacks. This can really screw up your combos especially if the server wants to unlag itself midway and everything will work all nifty when you just got the hang of it.

Example: Using Upper Slash as a knight won't send the monster into the air and the damage will be delayed.


What you can do in this situation is either wait it out, or just play the run and skill game where you won't even try for combos and just use your heavy hitting skills to do all the damage. This usually doesn't matter in PvE since most of the monsters won't lag all over the place, only if you're lagging really bad and not the server.

Where this makes the most difference is in PvP, where you can also have the other player lagging as well. If the server is lagging and the player you're going against is teleporting all over the place, I suggest trying your best to just get a few hits in. In a duel it won't matter, in the Arena (Unlocked at level 30) this will make you extremely upset.

The variants of player lag can be them teleporting mid combo, teleporting around the map, you not being able to see their skills, or you getting combo'd out of nowhere. All of which ARE a possibility and will probably happen in your Dark Blood Online career.

General Strategy + How-To

This section will give some general comboing tips and How-To create your own combos.

General Tips

-Try to confirm a hit on an enemy before you start using skills

This means to make sure the enemy doesn't "break" (block) or moves out of the way and counter attacks you.


-Use jumping to your advantage

Alot of players will be blindsided by a jumping attack, especially if you dash before since it gives you a boost of speed in mid-air. In PvE, monsters also rarely have upward attacks so you're safe in the air.


-Try to mix up your combos or use dashing/escapes to your advantage

Most of the time in PvP if you use the same combo over and over, the enemy will catch on and learn what to look out for. You can use different skills or cut a combo short to use different attacks to catch them off guard. Dashing or using rolling abilities and slides will benefit you if a player or monster is attacking nothing when they're trying to hit you. This will lead to a free combo on the enemy and even backattack bonus damage.

-If your character has a block skill, since most of them do, use it as much as possible

In PvP this will make all the difference whether you win the battle or not, when you guard and the enemy hits you it will create the "break" status which allows you to counter attack. In PvE you can also use this to block a boss attack if you don't have enough time to get away.

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How-To create your own combos!

We all know you want to style on all of your friends and strangers alike, this will help you get started.


First, you'll want to learn all of your skills inside and out, find out which skills can hit the enemy off the ground, or how much time you have to use a skill. A lot of the upper attacks, when leveled, will launch the enemy higher into the air, this is helpful when going against Knights and Warriors since they're both heavy weight.


After you've got the basics of all of your skills learned, you can start creating your own combos. Use auto-attacks (basic attack) to your advantage while comboing, you'll be surprised how much added damage you can get when you add them inbetween skills or aerial attacks.

An example would be (crusader class) Dash-Jump-X(Or X-X)Land-X-X-X-Upper-X-X->Continue combo here

This varies with skills and what character class you're going against, but practice makes perfect. Another way to start a combo is with a skill to bring the opponent to you.

An example here would be (as sorcerer class) Dark Impact-X-Ice Ball-Dash-Rising Spine-Lightning Bolt-Jump Cancel-Dash-Magic Fountain-(Jump Fireball/Down Ice Arrow)

Dark Impact is a skill that hits the enemy from the front then hits them from behind and pulls them towards you, this gives you a chance to unleash a massive combo on them as shown in the example. You can also swap out the dash/magic fountain for the jump cancel/fire bomber variant. The latter takes perfect timing and is a lot harder to master, but definitely worth it if it lands.

You'll learn that the main combos are either in the air or on the ground, but some of the classes have brutal standing combos. Two of which are the Breaker and Paladin, they can add a lot of auto attacks with minimal skill usage to do massive damage. Try not to get caught by them.

When you're creating your own combos though, you'll want to make sure not to use a lot of either ground attacks or just aerial attacks. The system in this game doesn't like that and will either instant recover the enemy, which will make you miss, or drop them to the ground. If you fight against the Training Dummy, he likes to break the laws of the game.

The two variants would be using an upper attack after a series of either skills or auto-attacks to launch them in the air, or use a grab/hard hitting skill to knock them to the ground. From this point you can unleash everything you've got in your arsenal to devastate them.


TL;DR- Mix up your combos, use auto attacks, don't waste skills, dash around the battlefield and be quick.

Class Specific/Community Requests

This section will be used for class specific guides or guides that the community requests.

I'll write this up as people request the guides, as much as I'd love to sit here and create a massive guide for every character class, that would take a lot of my time. If something is requested enough, I'll spend some time and do it for you guys.

I'll let you guys vote on what class you want a guide for and If anyone wants to help me contribute, you can add me or message me on here. I don't want to give out all of my comboing secrets, but I'll give you a lot of them if you ask.

Most of my knowledge is with the Sorceror and Crusader classes, I have average knowledge of Breaker, Shooter, Paladin and Berserker classes.

Thanks to everyone who read my guide, or just skipped to this part, be sure to vote for what guide you want and if you want to contribute!

My in game names are as follows, if you want to hit me up or duel me to practice, I'm more than willing to.

Corvalia

OutOfMana

ShootAndLadder

WickedSickCombo

[CuteGirl-IRL™]

My character name is Corvalia, Anna.

[76561198068006100]

Please uploade the guide with your character name!

[CuteGirl-IRL™]

Thanks, I've only touched the surface of what I want to do with this guide, it'll end up being a general PvP one too eventually. I figure you pretty much aced the Crusader guide I'll just redirect people to there.

[kyuisu]

Thanks for the referral! And great guide here ^ ^

[CuteGirl-IRL™]

Refer to the "Crusader Combo Guide: ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!"
By kyuisu for all of your crusading needs, he/she has everything listed that you'll want to know.

[EPGAH]

Can you report which combos are best? And any partitular Builds that are best?
I am playing a Crusader right now.