Elven Fighter guide

Elven Fighters and their higher-level derivatives are the fastest things on two legs. However, they are also the most fragile of the close combat classes. This, however, is not a big deal. The Elven Fighter is almost always played as an archer until around Level 20, regardless of what class is intended for the character later in the game. Because Elves can kite rather efficiently, and because of the large populations of naturally-occurring monsters near their starting area that are slow enough to kite, Elves are almost invariably sighted carrying a bow from Levels 1-19. The Elven Scout and Rogue classes are among the best at high levels due to their naturally high movement speed, and the Silver Ranger in particular is commonly regarded as the best soloing class in the game. Don't dismiss Elven Knight classes either, as they can be quite powerful in a group.

Plenty of DEX (= speed).

A "Hit and Run" approach is very viable for lower levels and will keep you alive on more than one occasion

Accuracy and evasion are the Elven Fighters strongest assets. Soloing at low levels is easy.

Low CON and STR relative to other Fighters.

Low magic points — using specials can eat through your MP quickly, so be smart and use your specials sparingly

Don't group yet! Soloing is much faster from Levels 1-20 because the starting classes aren't good enough at any specific task to be effective in groups.

Do cash quests. Every starting area except Talking Island (Human start) has at least one repeatable low-level quest worth several thousand adena. Find them. Do them. Repeatedly.

Use a bow An integral part of the hit and run method, bows are really good. Pick one up as soon as you can. Bear in mind that you can only use arrows that are appropriate for your bow's weapon grade. Don't spend a ton of money on bone arrows if you only have a short bow, they won't work.

Weapons are more important than armor. They cost more for a reason. Buying a new weapon will improve your performance more than new armor.

Spare the soulshot. Once you have about a 54k weapon, you'll have the ability to use soulshots to double your damage on a single swing. Don't Use Any. Carry some for emergencies, but don't waste money during normal hunting. Your cash is much better saved and spent on a better weapon.

Level 5. Start out with the first attack skill in your chosen weapon type. If you are going to use the bow (recommended) grab Power Shot. If it's sword, Power Strike. For Dagger, take Mortal Blow. If you do a little forward thinking and decide that your character's eventual class is going to be in the Rogue category, you can ditch the sword skills altogether and take up the nimble dagger. Similarly, if you know you want to be a Ranger, concentrate your skill points on the bow skills. If the way of the

noble knight is the one for you, then concentrate on the sword skills. A word of advice — if you are considering a Rogue, it's a good thing to look into both bow and dagger skills. The multifaceted abilities of range and ultra-fast melee are a great combination.

Next, go with Weapon Mastery. A few permanent points of boost to your attack power can go a long way. After this pick up Defense Aura. Although it's temporary, it's more of a boost than Armor Mastery. Round out your Level 5 skills with Armor Mastery and the last levels of your remaining attack skills. Don't worry about not spending all your skill points. You'll use them later on.

Level 10. Now you have a choice, more defense or more attacking power? It's a toss-up really, except you should consider the naturally high Evasion skills of the Elf. Taking that into account, the recommended sequence is: Attack Aura, Weapon Mastery 2, and the next 3 levels of the attack skill(s) of your choice, and then finally Armor Mastery 2 and 3. Similar to Defense Aura, Attack Aura is a short-lived spell, but it enhances your stats more than the second level of mastery does. In conjunction with Weapon Mastery 2 your attacking power has increased noticeably and you have 2 levels of a permanent stat boost. Gaining the final level of your attack skill(s) will see you fighting at power levels of 137, 122, or 46 with respect to dagger, bow or sword. Not too shabby. The final two levels of Armor Mastery will permanently increase your defense.

Level 15. Finally! You have a heal spell — take it while the taking is good, all three levels of it. Keep in mind, this is a selfish spell, it will only heal you. Next take Weapon Mastery 3. This will be your third permanent attack-increasing stat boost and also marks your final general weapon boost. For your profession change you will have to pick between sword, dagger and bow. Now take all three levels of the attack skill(s) of your choice. Finally take the last 2 levels of general Armor Mastery. Similarly to Weapon Mastery, in the next go-round you will get to choose between light and heavy armor types.

The Fighting Way. A Fighter is a very general melee class that has the basic abilities of a tank, archer and rogue all rolled together. And that's good, because all these classes start as Fighters, and don't separate until Level 20. The often-overlooked side effect of this shared heritage is that a Fighter can and should take advantage of all three classes' advantages while they last.

Find good targets. Some monsters have weaknesses or strengths. Be aware; if monster X is weak to bows, and monster Y is strong to bows … hunt monster X!