Guides

[center][size=5][color=cornflowerblue][b]Boreal Brawler[/b] A one-Brawler, two-fodder build for farming the Boreal Woods.[/color][/size][/center] [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/gOcg3yr.png[/img][/center] [b][color=cornflowerblue]The Basics[/color][/b] That is [b]STR 97 / VIT 55 / QCK 79[/b] - any remaining stats go into AGI Necessary stones are Scratch, Eliminate, Rally, Sap, Berserker x3, and Ambush x2. If you don't want to Tincture, you can sacrifice a few points of VIT. Any element will work, but Water, Shadow, Wind, or Light are probably your best bets. This will one-hit KO anything except Yetis with a Rallied Eliminate. [color=cornflowerblue][b]Game Play[/b][/color] This build can start on any pack if you get lucky, but best packs are Longnecks, 2-packs, or worst-case, 3-packs of Slow enemies. Scratch until you have enough breath to Eliminate, as usual. With QCK 79, enemies fall into two categories: Quick and Slow, which changes how you handle them in a battle. [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/kHHs1sN.png[/img][/center] Slow: Wolves, Elks, Shalebuck, Hoarfrost Mauler Quick: Impalers, Rasas, Venerable Shalebuck, Poultrygeist After the intial breath-building round (you might need to restart depending on how lucky/unlucky you get, subsequent rounds will be handled like this: [b]Quick + Slow:[/b] Rally, Eliminate Quick, Eliminate Slow [b]Quick x2:[/b] Rally, Eliminate, get hit, Eliminate [b]Slow x2:[/b] Rally, Eliminate, Eliminate [b]Quick x2 + Slow:[/b] Rally, Eliminate Quick, get hit by Quick, Eliminate Slow, Eliminate Quick [b]Quick, Slow x2:[/b] Rally, Eliminate Quick, Eliminate Slow, get hit by Slow, Sap or Eliminate Slow [b]Quick x3:[/b] Rally, Eliminate, get hit twice, Eliminate, Eliminate [b]Slow x3:[/b] Rally, Eliminate, Eliminate, get hit, Sap or Eliminate [b]Longnecks:[/b] Rally, Eliminate Hunters then Wanderers [b]Yeti:[/b] Rally, Scratch/Sap, Scratch/Sap, get hit, Eliminate [b]Yeti + Other:[/b] Rally, Eliminate Other, Scratch/Sap, get hit, Scratch/Sap, Eliminate. [color=cornflowerblue][b]Further Breakdown of Stats[/b][/color] There is only one caster in the Woods, so element of your Brawler doesn't actually matter that much. If you want to be extra sure that the very rare occasion of getting hit by a Longneck Wanderer, I would suggest Water, Shadow, Wind, or Light. On the other hand, this means that almost every hit you take will be a Scratch that will land. Hence the high VIT and high QCK. Against most packs, the enemies will only get one turn in before you wipe them all out - and with the high health from the VIT, that one hit won't actually do much damage. Another advantage of the high QCK is that almost half the packs give you an extra turn to use for Sap or a potion, or even another breath-building scratch if you want to. With STR 96, you can kill everything except Yetis with a Rallied Eliminate. [color=cornflowerblue][b]Overall Speed and Effectiveness[/b][/color] The average XP gain from a battle in the woods is 280, compared to 1260 in the Ruins or the Mire. Obviously, it's going to take longer to train dragons. [b]If you want to get fodder levelled and exalted as quickly as possibe, this is not the build for you.[/b] Definitey go for a Ghostbuster or a Mireflyer. But if you want to grind the Woods for drops and do fodder at the same time, this is perfect. It's nearly as fast as two farmers with a fodder. How much longer? I figured it out. I am couching this in terms of battles, not actual time spent, since coli behaves differently on different computers and not everyone grinds constantly for 30-45 minutes. 1 -> 2 = 1 battle 2 -> 3 = 4 battles 3 -> 4 = 9 battles 4 -> 5 = 23 battles 5 -> 6 = 43 battles 6 -> 7 = 73 battles [center][color=cornflowerblue][b]Alternate Stats[/color] - if anyone wants to try these out, please let me know how it goes![/b][/center] [b]Level 20 Start[/b] I think it should be possible to start using this build at lvl 20 - I don't have one yet, but I'm working on a couple, so when I hit that point I'll try it out. Stats at lvl 20 would be STR 96/VIT 12/QCK 65. That can Rally Eliminate everything except the Elk - that needs a Rallied Scratch + Eliminate. But it's also the slowest monster in the Woods. Of course, the VIT is very low, so it will be slow going and need frequent refreshes - but you're working up a fighter and fodder simultaneously. [b]Gotta Go Fast[/b] To be fast enough to get a second turn against everything but the Squall Rasa, stats would need to be STR 96/VIT 33/QCK 93. Sacrifices some of that awesome VIT, but you get lots of extra turns to use Sap or potions.

@Redfoot: Interesting choice to do a guide on the Boreal Woods.

I'd say that it is an easier and safer zone for training than the Crystal Pools or the Ghostlight Ruins. I stayed there for a long time while I was leveling up to 25, and trained a one fodder, two level 20-22 dragons set there.

Eventually it stopped giving me enough XP to make it worthwhile, and so I had to move up to Harpy's Roost.

What I will say is that I prefer Boreal Woods to the Mire. I might try your build - I tried a couple turns there with Paradiso and some fodder, but it does give very little experience. I'd say that your build is definitely for someone who has a lot of patience, but it seems to be a good way to get some experience while farming for Swipp's items.

Thank you for creating this guide.

If eliminate really isn't necessary, this would be a definite improvement against other zones and builds. I followed Culex's guide up to around level 20 and am paying a friend back for my second eliminate. This build without an eliminate could be great for a thrifty player.

@MorganJoIsle You raise an interesting point about an Eliminate-less build. The problem I can see with that is that it would take 3+ turns to kill one enemy, which means more opportunity for you to get hit yourself. And considering how physical-heavy the Woods are, that could be a problem.

But god, the price of Eliminates is killing me ;-; I'm definitely going to put some thought into a build that could hold up without it.

Interesting! I have a pair for most venues down to Roost/Pools, with a bit of adjustment for element still happening, but I'd like to have a go at two fodder leveling again. I can't in the Mire due to magic attack lag, but that would be much less of an issue here.

I hate just grinding, so there's usually fodder along somewhere. I'd suggest this as a good spot for higher levels of fodder, since if you're just going to be sitting there for a while the slower xp gain is offset by a pair of partly useful fodder. I allocate xp points to strength and quick with leftover to vitality - pretty much Culex's points but not past 15 quick. They're backup in case of a miss, or to dump in the odd potion, not actually useful enough to take up normal turns.

Self ping for later, @Leiari

Interesting! I'd dearly love to get a two fodder leveler that can go somewhere else besides the Mire, but the xp seems slow. Has anyone tried this build?

@Redfoot Thanks so much for this! I was trying to work out the numbers needed on my own but couldn't quite pin them down, plus knowing how to deal with the mob types makes things go so much smoother. I need to grind in the boreal woods for swipp items, and being able to train some fodder while I'm at it has been a goal of mine for a while. Thanks again, I can't wait to try it out.