CB and Focus

[Rodi]

Is focus generally considered a priority for CB builds?

[~KeNnEtH~]

I thought it was Artillery.

[SenpaiDaisuki]

Yes, 1 combo only then you'll get the red charge.

[Diavolo]

Yes, but only for impact phial.

If you're running an elelmental CB then you don't need Focus at all, since the gameplay is totally different.

[Zombina]

you don't need focus at all only artillery

[Suzaku]

*little mexican girl* "Why not both?"

[Superlative Smegma Savant]

Originally posted by Suzaku:

*little mexican girl* "Why not both?"

I use focus on both as saed is great dmg on both and phial uptime is necessary on both. Artillery is the thing that is only needed on impact as power element phials DO NOT get any increase from it. With focus three it should only take a draw attack, charged B, then round slash to be at red phials with cap boost

[tuna_fan68]

Full focus 3 makes it easier to SAED spam a downed opponent since it lets you build phials significantly faster and also very slightly speeds up your charge time for some of the attacks.

It's not really 'necessary' to be able to use the CB to great effect, but it's a really helpful skill to have

[Armageddon]

It helps, but if you have a chocie between focus and more damage, go for damage.

IMO, i find that with focus, whilst you charge up your phials quicker, your generaly not going to get any more chances to SAED a target than wihtout focus, your likely goign to be waiting on the right moment ot unload, so i find simply having the hardest possible hitting SAED as you can get , better than having a slightly weaker one with focus.

I for example run with Diablos Tyrannis II
7/7 attack
3/3 weakness exploit
3/3 artillery
2/3 partbreaker
1/3 peak performance
1/1 cap boost
1/1 non ele boost.

[lmaogg]

focus is good to have but not necessary.

Artillery, capboost, attack boost are the main stats for impact phial. The rest is really dependant on what you have.

[1stp Klosr]

good for SAED spamming.

[Smug Kot]

Focus its sure a QoF skill for Cb,SA and HS makes those weapon a lot smoother to play so in effect makes you dps bigger.

but its not mandatory just makes the weapon more easy to play around.

Other stuff you need Focus 3 becouse focus 2 and 1 makes no changes at all so its all or nothing.

[Safari0710]

Q: Why Focus 3?

Focus improves two aspects of Charge Blade. First, you fill phials faster from attacking in sword mode. With no Focus, the fastest way to get red phials is charged double slash, shield thrust, charged double slash. With level 3 Focus (doesn’t work with 2 or 1), you can use a faster combo of advancing/weak slash, charged double slash, roundslash finisher. It also allows some longer combos to charge your shield and end with full phials.

The second (minor) benefit of Focus is shortening the charge time for charged double slash and condensed elemental slash. The exact frame data for this can be seen in this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLvo9e8oAs0&feature=youtu.be&t=1m44s) Focus 3 is universally used by CB speedrunners, even those that use elemental CB builds.

[Safari0710]

Originally posted by Armageddon:

It helps, but if you have a chocie between focus and more damage, go for damage.

IMO, i find that with focus, whilst you charge up your phials quicker, your generaly not going to get any more chances to SAED a target than wihtout focus, your likely goign to be waiting on the right moment ot unload, so i find simply having the hardest possible hitting SAED as you can get , better than having a slightly weaker one with focus.

I for example run with Diablos Tyrannis II
7/7 attack
3/3 weakness exploit
3/3 artillery
2/3 partbreaker
1/3 peak performance
1/1 cap boost
1/1 non ele boost.

**********

In patch 2.0, phial damage scaling for impact phials was adjusted to use a new formula. Basically, base attack from your weapon and attack from all other sources (non-elemental boost, attack boost, food buffs, power talon, etc) are weighted differently when calculating phial damage, and the base attack from your weapon is weighted twice as much as attack from other sources. What this boils down to is that the difference between 4 attack and 7 attack is only 1 damage per SAED phial, instead of 2-3 damage before the patch. So in my opinion, going farther than 4 attack and non-elemental boost just for phial damage isn’t worth it.

As a corollary, this is why Attack augment is still quite good since it increases the base attack of the weapon and benefits from the higher weight in calculating phial damage.

[Passan]

So what Focus basically does:

1. Your Charge Double Slash generates 18+9 energy, while 30 is required for the yellow glowing(. Focus boosts it to atleast 21+10, giving you yellow with only one the CBS.
This is only truly beneficial in multiplayer when spamming SAED. If you have good timing on every single monster, solo play it becoms extremely powerfull aswell.
2. This one might be a slight placebo effect, however I feel like the Condenced Elemental Slash and teh CDS also benefit from the reduced chargetime.
3. Once you get used to it, it might become an addiction. I need one or two practice hunts when going without Focus.

Focus1 and Focus2 are worthless on CB, in order get a benefit from it, you need Focus3. It is not a must-have skill, so it is up to you. I highly recommend to ignore other CB player and give it a shot. It might be the skill of your dream or just a waste.

[Ordaeli]

Originally posted by Passan Cat:

2. This one might be a slight placebo effect, however I feel like the Condenced Elemental Slash also benefits from the reduced chargetime.

Yup
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S76rU_ptAag