I've been stressing for the past hour about how to guide my friend into obtaining the famed "5600", but before I go into that, let me ask this; Is that number the base HP you need to survive the "important" things endgame? If I remember correctly, 5600 is the HP required to survive Anego's long ranged magic attack as well as HT with HB(?). I can imagine that keeping a distance from Anego isn't too hard if you know where the invisible walls are for when you need to rebuff, but this is in theory, not in practice. Am I right or am I wrong? I assume that Anego for Long range DPS is similar to BF for warrior classes, though is it quite as important since there are only 8 spawns vs 64? I also know that NLs can fight BFs as well anyway because one of my most common turbo partners was a NL. With the buff to Krexel as well as a few other alternatives, is Anego even "necessary"? My friend is currently level 122 and has 3893 HP with 2344 base MP(MP displayed within the AP reset screen). Using this formula it's saying that she should have a minimum of 1856 MP: Min MP Formula for Thief = 14 x level + 148 With 488 extra MP, she can already do 40 washes which would give her another 650ish HP? I was surprised at the amount of washes she can already do without any effort put into it. I searched and looked into other threads on the subject of HP requirements and saw that one can get away with just 50-60 washes by 155 and be all set for everything. If that's the case then I can just lend a few int equips when she's going to level up to provide her with the extra 20 washes necessary. I know that players often exaggerate the necessity of HP washing, which can scare newer players just starting off as well as turn people off to otherwise fun classes so either way, I'm guessing that she'll be fine but I don't want her to have to struggle. At first I was planning on giving/lending the money for resets to gain ~60 base int on the spot for some MP/HP washing but I'd really rather not have to do that because it'd be a pain for us both. Will she be fine as is with just a few int equips or should I try to plan out something more complicated?
To answer your first question, 5,600 is a good point where ranged classes can stop. With Hyper Body, you can survive an attack from Horntail and tank a magic attack from Anego. In my opinion, Anego is a fun boss along with Bigfoot and Zakum. They give you decent XP/Hour, but it's doesn't even come close to just regular grinding or leeching. The time it takes to find the spawn and recruit someone to fight along with you takes up a lot of time that could have been spent just grinding.
5600 is a good number to hit. I'm not sure that all of 5600 is necessary for HT - several sources say you only need mind 7k's WITH HB, and I've personally never taken a hit over 7800 besides a 1/1. Anego actually only requires maybe 5400 to tank the gun, and, assuming a run goes perfectly a gun atk should never happen. Of course lag happens, anego "teleports" the same as bigfoot does, and on occasion she just decides to unpin and walk right through your attacks. Having the HP to tank gun isn't necessary but it saves a LOT of headaches. Its 8 spawns per 6 hours, vs 64 spawns per 18 hours. Plus anego gives more EXP per kill, and has no iFrames. It's also got less competition because it isn't hunted by melee classes. It's not "necessary" but in most people's opinion it's better than BF for ranged classes. It's like choosing steak or lobster here really - why not both? on a NL, 40 washes is going to equate to more like 880 HP (avg) than 650 HP, provided you do the washes the right way. Don't point cycle on a NL, use fresh level up AP. That's 4.7k already. 13 level ups (to 135) is going to be another 289 HP (avg) so just a touch over 5k. If you could get 60 INT from equips, she could be tanking anego gun hits by ~140. It's true that the necessity of HP washing has been greatly exaggerated in the past. If your friend washes out completely right now, in 33 levels when she goes to HT she will likely have accumulated 5 or 6 more washes from zhelm, dep star, etc, putting her at 4.9k plus the HP from the level ups giving her (avg) 726. She should be fine to HT without any additional INT equips at this point. Highly unnecessary to go base int route. Only a convenience thing to go for the equips. Your NL friend will be fine as long as she wasn't hoping to tank a bigfoot someday.
I can only imagine the countless amount of time I'v wasted hunting for bosses lol. Point taken. I'll have to force her to start using safety charms if she goes to Anego. I actually assumed that Anego would have more competition since she'd be easier to track so maybe I'll start hunting her myself now too xD I feel a lot better knowing for sure that she'll be all set for everything with minimal effort! I can just provide her with my equips anyway so she'll only have to worry about the resets Thank you both for your responses!
Tanking her was one of my goals as well and I can count the number of times I've killed her on one hand ;-;
5,600 for Horntail is important also because, as far as I know, that much HP is required to survive everything else in the fight apart from tail/legs. This means that if your party's Dark Knight disconnects or otherwise leaves the fight, you'll still be able to live through everything (staying up on the top platforms until the tail and legs have been taken down). As a Warrior, I don't pay too much attention to how much I get hit for, and Achilles messes with my numbers anyway, so if someone could verify that, it'd be nice.
I've taken hits as high as mid 6k's while on the mid/top platforms before the wings go down. I was 1 hit on my last run with 6.2k HP and 522 magic def. Once the wings go down though, I've never taken anything above 5.6k
To give an example... I'm a shadower (same formulae as NL), never had any INT gear apart from a Zhelm at lv. 80 onwards, a deputy star and later on a HTP (155+), so basically only 2 MP extra per level since then. I washed out all my MP for 55 washes total and hit 5.6k at 155 (incl. HP from equips, about 100 I believe from deputy star).
Any high lvl NLs here that can confirm whether or not Ninja Storm works? I know on my shad that Ambush has never worked once... and possibly what SP I want to add to with TT at 20 so far. I was told I should max shifter now, Shadow Stars is at 1, Venom at 1 as well
Storm works but it's only a utility tool more than a damage assist. You'll want to go (shadow claw 1 , venom 1) -> TT20, MW10, Shadow shifter 30, Shadow claw 30 then from there you can decide whether you want to max venom (Doesnt currently work in oblivion in ToT, nor does it work on bosses), or any other skills like ninja storm. I'm 176 (almost 177) with 37 unusued SP- 20 saved for TT30 and MW20, the rest unspent.