[Ranylyn]

Disclaimer: Digging up info from the Wiki, since my comp sucks and I can't SL2 + forums at the same time. As such, I'm not factoring in skills from recent updates, like Heavy Tackle. I know they exist, but I don't have numbers to work with since the Wiki has not been updated, and as such, they are being left out of this discussion.



List of Strength gain classes, from highest to lowest:

40%: Arbalest
30%: Kensei, Void Assassin, Black Knight
25%: Verglas, Tactician
20%: Monk, Ghost, Engineer
10%: Lantern Bearer, Grand Summoner
0%: Magic Gunner, Evoker


There's really no choice in the matter. If you want high Str, you need to at least SUB Arbalest. Even a something like a Kensei/VA is prone to fairly low strength gains. And, of course, if you either want Vit or Cel, maining Arbalest is not an option.


So, let's look at what arbalest skills are able to do -ANYTHING- for a non-bow user, shall we?

- Special Armament: It could be used to let a Kensei still use Couloir? Otherwise, pointless.
- Deadly Aim: Could be useful, against evasive foes, but too rarely worth the FP cost and/or skill slot.
- Whoo, a + skill innate. Further making Deadly Aim a waste of FP and skill slots.

... and... that's basically it. Unless you count Fortune Wind from Archer.

Compare to virtually anything else... Non dagger users at least get Absorb Veil/ Veil Off/ Blotch/ etc, for example, or many classes having access to very good passives (Such as all the duelists.) a lot of the time.

Heck, even magic gunners, whose skills are almost entirely gun based, still get Stand off (+1 Def per 4 will? That's VERY nice to have on a high will character) and Recklessness, to Negate and even become immune to Fear/Hesitation/Charm, often quoted as the most aburd PVP ailments. By comparison, subbing an Arbalest without a bow seems even worse than before.


What am I proposing?

- Chained boomerang's skill description says "SWING" your sub weapon at your opponent. I always imagined this as a thrown skill, rather than a bow skill. Make it usable without a bow in the main hand. It already counts as a melee attack, from what I understand.

- Let Oil Chain, and related skills, apply to Chained Boomerang at reduced efficiency. Full power Violent Reaction Oil Chained Boomerang would be too powerful, since it can be reused with near-impunity, unlike a cannon's reload time. I'm thinking half power as a decent starting point, for a trial run?

This would give someone subbing Arbalest a few more options while still giving them a bit more Strength.