Unarmed build Advice?

[Pinhead Larry]

So after losing a classic rogue run to having my equipped weapons destroyed by fire or acid or something (Got hit by an alphastrike of lots of stuff) and then lost the ensuing war of attrition, I feel the need to do a good ol' fashioned Kung Fu build (Your bare hands can't get destroyed by fire or acid! Right? R-right?).

Does anyone know if that's even feasible or how to go about it properly? I've only just started a new character with this build in mind and so far I found a boxing glove and a claw and both seem to actually do less damage than my bare hands but they scale off of martial arts? What's the point of those if they suck more than regular bare flesh? And is it better to invest in higher evade/DV versus raw PV? Should I equip a shield in the offhand or do I count as dual wielding with both hands empty?

[Shazza]

Shields with martial arts will significantly nerf your damage/accuracy, it's not recommended.

Martial Arts has its own class of weapons (gloves/claws), and very, very little actually affects bare hand damage in Elin right now. Bare hands aren't all that viable compared to every other weapon choice.

Acid can't destroy weapons outright, only negatively impact their stats (which is fixed with polishing powder at a grindstone). You need fireproof weapons/blankets and cold blankets to prevent item loss.

You likely lost your first weapons to fire because they weren't fireproof (wooden/flammable). Easy enough fix for the future.

[twitch.tv/GFYE]

Aim for metallic weapons that go into your hands unless you're playing something like a fairy. Metallic weapons are almost always fire-proof and sometimes acid-proof "acid coating can fix all woes, just get the fire-immunity" Blankets will prevent most of your equipment from being destroyed, though be extra careful around ICE/SNOW regions because ice seems to have a much more higher chance of destroying everything.

Claws and Boxing gloves can be found randomly. If you want the most damage out of fists, you need to get into the Fighters guild to pick up dual wielding or grind in Nefia dungeons to look for BOOK shrines to learn it that way.

If you end up finding a fist weapon that has great stats and bonuses but the wrong material type, just be on the look out for ELEMENTAL God Statues, they drop hammers that can change the material "quality and type are dictated by threat level of where it is found." :)

[Akameka]

also, one more quick tip against fire : You can carry around a watering can and water yourself when you see fire ennemies. 'Wet' status make your resistant to fire damage, you can't catch fire, and your stuff can't burn

[Pinhead Larry]

Ok, this is all good stuff, thanks fellas! Shame unarmed is kind of neglected right now, I was hoping it'd be one of those "Dark Horse" skills that spends a big chunk of time being weak but then gets some sort of awesome power spike later as a consolation prize for sticking it out through the hard-mode early levels.

One other thing that I need clarified, the weapon damage listed on claws and boxing gloves is always far less than my bare hands as of right now. My characters hands do 4d7+3 but claws and gloves only do 4d3+3? Isn't that kind of backwards? Or is the 4d3+3 added on TOP of my bare hand 4d7+3? Because if it's not an additive shouldn't fist weapons be doing more damage than regular unarmored and squishy, fleshy fists?

[Akameka]

It should get added on top of it, but I didn't try myself. You can check the real damage when you equip it on the right part of your inventory if you fly your mouse over the equiped weapon.

They will most likely increase your hit rate at least (unless you try to equip two without the dual wield perk or with low dual wield). And they might scale better on your martial art skill than your bare fists ( again, not sure, but there is a 'x2.24' [exemple] multiplier near the damage value of the weapon once equiped, that's your skill bonus.)

Lastly, the damage will depend of the material. Iron, then steel, Emerald, diamond, will drastically increase the damage of the weapon. they can also be upgraded up to +5 with scrolls and shrines (so +5 flat damage that get multiplied by your skill multiplier), blessed to get one more level of increase. They might also have good passives if miracle quality or above. I highly doubt you'll get worse than bare fist if you equip claws or boxing gloves.

[Axariel]

Just buy blankets in bulk, ignore everything else except for getting wet.

Also, ice is not worse than fire. It might seem that way if all of your gear is fireproof.

[Akameka]

yeah there are way less ennemies that attack with cold than fire. Fire is by far the worst offender in terms of gear destruction.

[BoxingBud]

Ranged weapons might help too no? I mean I haven't played Elin to an extent yet, love what I see, but if it's similar to elona guns, throwing stars, throwing knives, bows etc, should not get damaged by attacking anything with a counter that does that. They can still be burned if they are not fire proof or melted should they somehow be exposed to acid otherwise (on the floor)

Also companions with ranged! IF martial arts is the goto (I admit the aesthetic is cooler than a bow and arrow!) Maybe dojo it up and have companions that grind martial arts too. I think a few weapon skills need some love, but all good. Ranged magic attacks too.