Nateal's Guide On How Not To Suck As A Ripper [95 Cap Ripper Guide]

[Nateal]

Hello Ripper, you suck.

Rippers suck. They’re an exclusively close-ranged DPS characters with little burst, little to no AOE, horrible against mobile targets, and is probably the noisiest class in DN. Compared to the meta DPS characters like Adepts, Moonlords, and more recently, the new spinoff classes, Rippers are heavily outshined in comparison as we can’t just press a button and see the boss’s HP bar drop by 1x in the same way as those classes do. However, by the end of this guide, hopefully you’ll know enough not to suck as a Ripper and be a decent, competitive DPS.

So, aren’t Rippers completely shit then?

Fear not. Even though Rippers suck in those aspects, we do have our strengths. We’re not a class which can deal 1 bar’s worth of damage to boss in a single attack. Instead, a Ripper’s strength lie in its ability to deal a steady flow of damage which adds up to a lot after a certain amount of time. Basically, a Ripper is a DPS in the truest sense of the term.

…Or, so I would like to say. However, since the awakenings happened, Rippers were given some of the best burst skills in the game, although they come at the price of being very unwieldy, requiring certain circumstances to be used to their full effect. So yeah, Rippers are not only great at dealing that steady flow of damage, we can also do some serious damage during DPS windows now. Hurray for awakenings!

Is that so? Then what am I, as a Ripper, supposed to do to not suck?

This guide will be divided into three sections: Skill build, Item build, and General Tactics.

Read carefully and hopefully, by the end of this guide you’ll learn how to Ripper. Or something.
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I. Skill Build

The PvE Ripper build:








You skipped through my entire introduction didn’t you? That took a long time to write, you fuck. If you didn’t, good for you. Anyway, here’s the reasoning as to why I did what I did and didn’t do what I didn’t.

Assassin Skill Tree:
-Self explanatory. Get all the necessary passives, Max Physical Mastery for obvious purposes, as well as Mental Mastery and Mind Conquer for the mana.

Max Shadow Hand?
-Yep. It’s required for your Awakening, and is also one of your main DPS skills. More on that later.


Chaser Skill Tree:

Max Shift Blow?
-Yes, max it. Since having your Arsonist buff up gives this skill a -50% in CD. That means 1956% board damage every 5 seconds, with the chance to proc an illusion every time, essentially doubling its dps. The main reason for actually maxing this skill though is because of your ulti. More on that later. And it looks pretty cool too.

Can I take Fade? I like to look cool being invisible and all that.
-No. It’s a useless skill for PvE. And it costs 10 SP, SP that you could be putting in other useful skills.


Ripper Skill Tree:

-Just max everything. Seriously, just max it all. No explanation needed.


Awakening Skill Tree:

-Just max everything. All the skills there are useful.


Ok, so I followed your build and now I have 18 SP left over. What do I do with this?
-Now, what you see above is just the minimum requirements on what your build should look like. Since Ripper skills got buffed in the January 9 update, it's pretty much mandatory to max out everything in your Ripper tree since everything does decent damage. Now, what to do with the rest of that SP is up to you, but here are some suggestion:



Applause Build:




- For this variation, you take applause up to lvl 11. Applause at that lvl does around 2458% damage, or around 4916% if you get double hits consistently. It's decent.




Rain Drop Build:




-For this build, we instead take lvl 6 Rain Drop for that extra charge. Rain Drop is heavily outshined nowadays by other skills in terms of DPS, however it is still very useful in situations where you can't attack the boss due to certain mechanics.




My Personal Build:




-It's basically the same as the Rain Drop build above, but I took points off from Mental Mastery and Mind Conquer (which means less heals), and 1 point off from both Blade Runner and Flame Locust, and 2 points off from Shift Blow. By doing so, I managed to get Rain Drop to lvl 11 for that 3x charge. The damage from Rain Drop at lvl 11 is still lower than the damage of any other skill from the Ripper tree, so this build above is simply based off from my preferences and playstyle. It's up to you if you want to follow it.


__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ _______



The PvP Ripper build:





Assassin Skill Tree:

-Self explanatory. Get all the necessary passives, Max Physical Mastery for obvious purposes, as well as Mental Mastery and Mind Conquer for the mana.

Why are we getting Edged Fan and Triple Edge this time?
-You’re doing this mostly for Triple Edge. It’s a very good skill for PvP. Works as a tumble extender, and most importantly, as an opener to your combos.


Chaser Skill Tree:

Why get punishment?
-Punishment is very good for PvP. You can use it to re-lift enemies on the ground, or as a mid-ranged skill to catch that pesky Elestra that's barely out of reach.

Ripper Skill Tree:

-Same as the PvE build. Just max everything.


Wait, this skill build has 17 SP left over? Like, u wot m8?

-Well, the thing with PvP is that everyone has a different style. Some people like to get lvl 11 on Piercing star, some like to get lvl 6 Rain Drop, some like to max other skills like Applause, or some get Fade for invisibility purposes(just remember to unequip your spirit, mhhkay?), etc. Basically, the skill build here is just an outline on what skills you should have. Everything else is up to personal preference.



Disclaimer: These are my builds, which I made to suit my playstyle. It’s been tested by me, and it works for me. Now, if it doesn’t suit your playstyle, or just doesn’t work for you, then feel free to make adjustments.

[Nateal]

II. Item Builds


Sir Nateal, I don’t really mean to sound stupid, but is Ripper Str or Agi? Or is it secretly Int :O?

- It really is a question that needs to be answered. Is Ripper Str or Agi!? The answer is… *Cue drum roll* : Both!



The comprehensive 3rd stat guide:

One of the most often asked question about Rippers (or hell, assassins in general) is “What 3rd stat should I get?”. As easy as this question sounds, Rippers are actually deceptively hard to gear. This is due to Assassin’s garbage stat conversion. Despite the fact that we are a hybrid AGI/STR class, assassins actually struggle to max both Crit and Crit damage without proper itemization, unlike other pure STR or INT classes. So, here are some tips on how to build your stats properly:


- Rule of thumb:Always stack crit/crit damage over stats. As I’ve mentioned above, Rippers have garbage stat conversion, so don’t bother stacking STR or AGI 3rd stat, it’s not worth it.


Crit vs Crit damage:


-Prioritize maxing your crit first, then start working on your crit damage. After all, crit damage doesn’t do shit if you don’t actually crit. So start off by maxing your crit, then once you hit the cap, start working on getting more crit damage.

-With that said though, I still highly suggest stacking 3rd stat crit damage on everything. You see, crit is something that you can easily get %multipliers on easily through various sources. These include costumes, cash accessories, epic pet, Genesis earrings, and if you have it, the “Jakard’s Demise” title. Meanwhile the only source of %multiplier for crit dmg that I’m aware of are Genesis earrings, FDN earrings, Ring of outlaws, and Epic pets. This, along with the fact that Crit damage has a higher stat cap of roughly 1.35M compared to crit’s stat cap of 840K, makes it a lot harder to max than crit.


- tl;dr : stack that crit damage.




Okay then, so what Plates should I get?

Epic plates:
-Bear
-Destruction
-Wind
-Life Vitality
-Health
-Fatal
-Ultimate
-Limitation

Unique plates:
-Chaos
-Lebria
-Elevation
-Attack

Those are your Main plates. Of course, as with most things, those are not set in stone. You can change them if you want. Some other Plate choices could be: Iron Wall, Attack, and Concentration. If you ever want to replace any of these plates, well, don't. Buy heraldry slots instead. They're free from the board shop anyway.



Hmmm… how about jades?
-As mentioned above, crit damage is harder to stack than crit damage. So stack STR jades. "But what stats to I get with my STR jades?" you ask? Well, ask yourself these questions:

•Am I dying in nests like it's a new soulsborne game? Get HP Jades

•Do I want more crit + crit damage and am I feeling like a praw dodger? Then you can drop some HP jades for Crit/crit damage ones if you haven't maxed either yet.


-As for Attack jades, a 50/50 split between Fire and P.att jades seems to be the meta now. Since there's a lot of other sources of elem(costumes, cash accs, buffs), Rippers can afford to switch a couple of Fire jades for P.att jades.




What about skill plates?
I’ll split the skill plates into 2 categories: Mandatory and Suggested.


Mandatory:

Artful Chaser-Damage
-Since the January 9 update, Artful Chaser's AS got buffed and it's now nearly as fast as pre-patch AS plated Artful Chaser. This means that getting a damage plate for it is the way to go.

Burning Coal-Damage
-This is now one of your main DPS skill. Get this plate for more damage.

Crippling Punisher- CD reduction
-Ever since the Awakening happened, this skill is now your biggest DPS skill. Having it on a low CD is a must. Get this plate.


Suggested:

Mortal Blow-Damage
-More damage on a skill which does 3115% damage with 3 charges. And since the awakening happened, this is also now one of your main DPS skills. It’s a great plate to have.

Dedicate Shadow-CD
-Dedicate shadow is your personal healing skill. It's basically your panic button whenever you get hit and there's no heals available on your supports. Nothing wrong with having it on a lower CD.

Shift Blow-Action Speed
-Although it’s not as slow as Artful Chaser, the extra action speed makes it a lot easier to use somehow. You’ll see the difference once you use it. It’s also incredibly useful for PvP purposes.

[BananaCredits]

You missed the new lvl95 striking plate. Now it is becoming more and more affordable, even with the 80k CDMG one. Should replace the elevation plate instead.
About jades, it really depends on the elem/patk guide posted by Remmy, about balancing both the %. Some ripper could go full Patk jade tho.
On the skill heraldies, why dont you include Izuna Drop damage? It has decent damage, and is one of the skill in Ultimate which you will be using frequently.

[Nateal]

What about Accessories?
There are a shit ton of possible Accessory combinations that you can do, so I’ll just list down things about them. It’s up to you how to mix and match them.


Chiron Accessories (lvl 95 Epic)
-You can literally buy them from the Priestess of Darkness NPC as long as you have enough Goddess Sparkles. Needless to say, they are incredibly easy to get. If you’re just starting out, get these.

Unique Nest Accessories(lvl 95 Uniques)
-More specifically, these refer to two specific accs: Memory of Mist Queen, and Crystal of Flame. They're probably what you'll be wearing for as a beginner. These drop regularly on nests, and if you happen to get a 5th step one, it's entirely viable to wear it 'till endgame.

Refined Genesis Accessories(lvl 95 Legendary)
-What used to be the best accessories have now been overshadowed by newer additions. However, I still believe that Refined Genesis Earrings are the best Earrings for Rippers. They provide two things that Rippers really lack: Crit and Crit damage. I highly suggest using them.

GDN Accessories(lvl 95 Legendary)
-Currently the best accessories in the game. Due to them having an incredibly OP 2pcs set bonus, it is almost mandatory to wear two of them minimum always. I highly suggest getting 2x White Eye rings, upgraded for Crit damage. Not only do they provide a lot of crit damage, they also give a ton of p.att, FD, and a %HP boost if you have 2 of them. The neck is also very good, and is definitely an upgrade to the Refined Genesis Necklace. As for the earrings, I'd still say get Genesis earrings, unless you can max both crit and crit damage without it.

FDN Accessories(lvl 95 Ancient)
-FDN accessories are very situational. The necklace can arguably be the best necklace in the game, or the worst, depending on who's using it. It provides a 15% FD increase

[Nateal]

III. General Tactics

Ok, now that we’re done discussing where to put your SP on and which items to get, it’s time to teach you how to use your Ripper.

Since the introduction of the Awakenings, Rippers have turned from an easy, super spammy, keyboard breaking class, into a somewhat difficult to use class which requires the player to learn how to position properly as well as to know the boss’s mechanics well enough to be able to unleash the class’s full potential. Oh, and it’s still a super spammy and keyboard breaking class.

Skill Rotation
As a Ripper, your main job is to keep dealing continuous DPS on your opponent. However, just randomly pressing buttons like you’ve probably been doing would lead you to doing less than optimal DPS. So Im gonna show the proper order of skills for you to use.

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Debuff:

Blade Runner

Before attacking, always remember to use Blade Runner. It's a -20% elem debuff.


Main Skill Rotation:

Burning Coal

This is your main skill rotation. Press Burning Coal. Win. Tadah.

woah woah woah hold the fuck up sir Nateal. You said that Rippers are now “super difficult to use” and all that. So what the hell is this then?

Ahem. Yes. It seems stupid to call it skill rotation. Let’s just call it Main Skill then. Now, here’s the thing with Rippers you see: Ripper combos are fluid enough that anything outside of pressing Burning Coal combination can work. There is no rotation. Your Burning Coal does 6000% damage every 5s and reduces your ulti's CD by 3s. Everything else is just a filler skill until you can cast Burning Coal again. So instead, here’s a priority list on which skills you should prioritize on using:


Filler Skills priority:

Beast Swipe -> Flame Drag -> Artful Chaser -> Flame Locust -> Shift Blow -> Raindrop/Applause


That’s basically it. Once you’ve cast Burning Coal, look at your skills and see what’s available. Is Beast Swipe off-cd? Cast that then. If it is on CD, then cast Flame Drag. So on and so forth. However, do learn to read the situation as well. Will casting Artful Chaser get me killed? If yes, then skip it. Will Casting Flame Drag place me in a dangerous spot? If so, skip it then. Everything is situational. Just remember to cast your Burning Coal every time it’s off-cd. It is your main skill, after all.

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Ok, that makes sense. But then, what’s up with that “Proper positioning” crap that you’ve been saying all this time?

I’m glad you asked. This is because of the new Ripper awakening. This awakening is specifically concerned with two skills: Shadow Hand and Mortal Blow.

Shadow Hand’s awakening gave it a massive damage bonus. An additional 900% damage as a matter of fact. In case you’re too lazy to do the math, Shadow Hand does 576% damage. And on top of that, you're going to add 900% of the skill's damage. That makes it 5760% damage, 10x of the normal value. All in one skill.

As for Mortal Blow, the Class Mastery III makes it so that if you cast it directly after Shadow Hand, it gains 50% bonus damage. That takes it from a 3115% damage skill to a 4672% damage skill. And you can cast it 3 times.

That means that if you cast Shadow Hand, followed by 3x Mortal Blows, that comes to a grand total of 19776% damage.

Sounds cool right? Well, here’s where the positioning stuff comes in. You have to hit the boss either on the back or on the sides to get all of that bonus damage. If you don’t, you’ll literally lose millions from your DPS. This is what makes Rippers a significantly harder class to use now. You should always be behind the boss now. In cases wherein you’re forced to stay in front of the boss, or if you happen to get the boss’s agro and it keeps on facing you, you’ll be missing out on a lot of damage. You’re pretty much Riki now.

Burst Combo:

(From Side / Behind Boss) Shadow Hand -> Mortal Blow (3x)

This will serve as your Burst Combo. Always try to get in as many of these hits as possible

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Sounds cool, but then again other classes have skills that do that much damage without all the stupid skill mechanics. Don’t Rippers have any other super OP skill

Yes, in fact we do. And it is, surprise, surprise, our ultimate skill: Crippling Punisher. The Awakening not only changed how we use Shadow Hand and Mortal Blow, it also changed how we use our ultimate.

After a bunch of buffs and reworks to Crippling Punisher, we were left with the arguably most powerful skill in the game, provided that we get a chance to fully utilize it. You see, Crippling Punisher gives us a 15s buff. While the buff is active, casting Artful Chaser, Izuna Drop, and Shift Blow does the full damage of that skill (non-EX version), and also summons an illusion to cast it for you (EX version). Also, casting Beast Swipe uses that skill, while simultaneously summoning all three illusions for Shift Blow, Izuna Drop, and Artful Chaser.

Sounds complicated? Let me break it down then. Basically, when you cast Artful Chaser under the effect of Crippling Punisher, it does the damage of Artful Chaser in a single instance of damage, and also summons an illusion of Artful Chaser. That means that in the single time that you used Artful Chaser, you did 2 casts worth of its damage. The same goes for Izuna Drop and Shift Blow. As for Beast Swipe, it casts the skill normally, but at the same time, also summons an illusion for Shift Blow, Izuna Drop, and Artful Chaser.

So let’s do the math, mhhkay? In the 15s duration of Crippling Punisher, you can cast Artful Chaser, Izuna Drop, and Shift Blow three times. Meanwhile, you can cast Beast Swipe two times. That means that all in all, during the duration of Crippling Punisher, you did the equivalent damage of 3 non-EX Artful Chasers, 3 non-EX Izuna Drops, 3 non-EX Shift Blows, 5 EX Artful Chasers, 5 EX Izuna Drops, 5 EX Shift Blows, and 2 Beast Swipes. That a lot of damage(I gave up on computing how much exactly, just know that it's over 110000% board damage) , assuming you get all the casts and that everything hits of course.

Let’s be honest though, you probably won’t get all the hits or even all the casts for this at some times. But in the situations where you do, you’ll be seeing some really large numbers pop up on your Combo Damage.

So… how do you use it, you ask? Well, here’s the order on how you should cast them then:


Crippling Punisher combo (This is literally half of your entire DPS):

Cast Crippling Punisher --> Artful Chaser -> Izuna Drop -> Shift Blow -> Beast Swipe -> *filler skills* -> Artful Chaser -> Izuna Drop -> Shift Blow -> *filler skills* -> Artful Chaser -> Izuna Drop -> Shift Blow -> Beast Swipe


That's basically how you should cast it, but since the January 9 patch, CD changes to skills under Crippling Punisher got changed. Unlike before where you have to specifically cast Beast Swipe last, you can pretty much cast these skills in any order now. The CD changes made it so that there's a ~3s leeway in Crippling Punisher's duration for you to be able to cast all your skills in time.

Also, very important, but always prioritize getting 2x Beast Swipe off. There's always gonna be a time when you'll end up casting your ulti, due to some reason, you ended up being unable to cast your skills instantly. In these cases, if you feel like you won't be able to pull off the entire combo, prioritize getting Beast Swipe off since it's the skill with the biggest damage out of the 4 skills in your ulti. It always sucks when you miss that 2nd Beast Swipe. That's a lot of damage lost.

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Skill Tips

Applause double hit
-Basically, instead of aiming your cursor at your target, aim at his side, until your target is somewhere between your cursor and the edge of your screen. By doing so, you’ll get twice the hits from Applause.


Shift Blow tips and tricks
-The last explosion of Shift Blow is slow as fuck. However, it’s actually possible to cancel it by pressing right click, and still get the damage for the explosion if you time it right. And also, did you know that cancelling Shift Blow gives you a half-second Iframe? No? Well now you do. You can use it for some really cool dodges if you time it right.


Izuna Drop is a better parry than Parry
-For those that didn't know, whenever you cast Izuna Drop, you will end up in an "Sitting" position. This position indicates that you are in a "Blocking" state, and any attack that hits you while in that position will be blocked. This is especially useful when dodging stomps (Quite redundant for single stomps, but very useful for multiple consecutive stomps like in VN stage 1, since you basically dodge 2 stomps), as well as blocking fatal but otherwise blockable attacks.


Burning Coal can be used in two ways, you know?
-As of the awakening, you can now use Burning Coal in two ways: The first being the regular “Explode followed by a backwards dodge” way and the second being “Stand still while exploding” way. The first one can be activated by holding A, S, or D while casting Burning coal, while the second one can be casted by holding W, or more specifically, while you're moving forward. Be careful though, only the first way has an Iframe. The second way doesn’t have any Iframe and cannot be used to dodge stomps(or anything really, for that matter)

-And again, hitting an enemy with Burning Coal reduces the CD of Crippling Punisher by 3s. Spam it like crazy.


Flame Drag is more than just a flying kick
-By pressing left click, you can skip the wind up animation of the flying kick. It pretty much cuts the cast time in half. Also, it is your only reliable ranged skill other than Rain Drop. If you press Right Click when casting it, instead of doing the flying kick, you'll instead do a backflip and send out a fire wave. It's been buffed like crazy, which is nice.


Rippers and buffs
-Buffs are a pretty important part of a Ripper's kit, so it's obvious that you should know how they work, right? But in case that you don't, here's a quick summary on how each of them works:

•Arsonist - Your main buff. Increases your Fire Attack by 20%. Lasts 60s and has a CD of 10s. Also, it decreases Shift Blow's CD by 50%. Make sure to always have this buff up. You'll lose a lot of damage if you don't.

•Raid - Your party buff. Gives an additional 10% HP and 8% elem. Pretty good as far as buffs go.

•Dedicate Crow - Your Steroid buff. Basically, if the boss's HP is above 50%, you'll do 1.1% more damage per %HP above 50%. Sounds confusing? Just think of it as a reverse FA, but it's a buff. The higher the boss's HP is, the more damage you do. The less HP the boss has, the less this buff increases your damage, and when the boss hits 50% HP, this buff becomes completely useless. Also, ever wondered what those white + numbers are in your screen? This is that.

•Dedicate Shadow - Your Panic button. Heals you for 6% HP every 2s. Lasts for 10s. So all in all, it heals you for 30% of your max HP. That's literally more heals than an LF's Chakra Miracle (minus the awakening bonus ofc). However, such an awesome self-heal comes at a great price: It costs 30000 MP to cast. That's a lot of mana. It is very much possible to drain all your mana by using this skill, although it's not something that would happen unless you get hit a lot.

•Fade - Makes you invisible, causing mobs 5m around you to "lose agro" or something like that. It's not really worth it to take this skill for PvE, but it can be kinda useful in PvP. Just remember that it doesn't make your Spirit invisible, so it's actually hilarious to see people cast this in Ladder without being aware that they're actually still visible. So remember to unequip your spirit, mhhkay?




Anyway, this is about it for now. I’ll try to update this guide with some other things (like a pvp guide maybe, although Im not so good at it) when I feel like it. Also, if I missed anything, or if you find any mistakes, questionable info, or have any questions, feel free to reply.



-Credits to NearLawlet (Post #10) for pointing out calculation mistakes

[BananaCredits]

You missed one important point too: any Fire elemental skills reduce the ulti CD for 2s, just like Burning Coal except lesser.

With the implementation of Premium Stone, and the action speed buff for Artful Chaser, and recently Flame Dragoon and Beast Swipe, Ripper skill rotation had became so fast it is not that fluid anymore. If under Lancea/Archer buff, I could skill so fast I will have an empty gap if not done properly. Generally, I play like this:

Filler Skill: Burning Coal, Flame Locust, Shift Blow.
All 3 of them has 6s of CD, hence it can be all cast together in a sequence as you like. Personally I would use Flame Locust first (because FDN weapon), at the same time move myself near to boss, and Burning Coal. Shift Blow is last to reposition myself in case I need to use Shadow Hand combo. In short, just spam the hell out of them, as they reduce Ultimate CD in total of 7s every 6s.

High DPS skill: Beast Swipe, Flame Dragoon, Artful Chase, Izuna Drop.
These skills has relatively high damage compared to the 3 mentioned before, hence "High DPS skill". During the duration of 6s CD of the first 3, I will cast these skills while waiting. Normally, I would cast only two of them, grouping them into two groups: Awakening and non-Awakening (just my habit). So feel free to arrange yourself here. Also noted that each of these skills reduce Ultimate CD for 2s as well.

Main DPS skill: Ultimate, Shadow Hand combo
Well just spam these when the CD is off, refers to Natael combo up there, it is the same.

In normal circumstances (in nest), these combo is just right to not have a blank gap. If done right, normally you could reduce the Ultimate CD to maximum around 14s (in BTG), or around 20-30s in nest, and without any blank gap.

Where is Blade Runner you say? Well where do you think it is? XD

[Nateal]

Applause Double Hit:

Shift Blow Cancelling:

Shift Blow Iframe:

Burning Coal Iframe:

Izuna Drop Block:

Crippling Punisher Skill Rotation:

[Nateal]

• 01/11/18 - Guide updated for January 9 patch. Skill balancing notes are somewhere in the middle.

[Nateal]

*im so handsome aren't I?*

[Nateal]

*is this enough reserves?*

[AjiBuster499]

I can't see the skill builds just fyi. Might have some issue there. Or you just didn't put them in yet. o.o

[Nateal]

Weird, I can see them just fine. Lemme try to fix it.

[Nateal]

Is it fine now?

[AjiBuster499]

Yes sir/ma'am very much so. Thank you!

[NearLawlet]

Nice guide, you covered most if not all information I can think of when playing as Ripper.

There's a slight correction for Awakened Shadow Hand. I did some test this morning, and I believe its damage is multiplied by 10x with the awakening passive (900% is added to the original 100% value of the skill, making Awakened Shadow Hand to be 1000% or 10x stronger).

And I know we have yet to receive the update, but perhaps you can improve your guide in anticipation for the upcoming skill change?

EDIT:

Crippling Punisher ash clone attack is separated into two parts; when you press the hotkey to release a small explosion and when the ash clone use the same skill. But, the small explosion part is only as strong as the original skill WITHOUT EX.

For example, casting Izuna Drop EX with Crippling Punisher would give you: 3642% (small explosion) + 4734.6% (ash clone, EX version is 30% or 1.3x stronger than normal version).

I added some pictures to prove this calculation. Please note that this applies to Shift Blow and Artful Chaser as well.

[Nateal]

Tested the Shadow Hand myself, and yeah. It does seem to be 10x more damage lol. I guess I'll go change that.

Also updated the stuff on Crippling Punisher. Thanks!

[Lenxac]

About Awakening tumble:
some ppl says is shiits, and some ppl (including me) says its still an increase
So I took it anyway. Yes, the iframe is changed to block and u r still vulnerable to debuffs/removed buffs effects.
but honestly, as a ripper, u have many other iframe (including illusion step, if u still need to dodge with tumble)
losing a simple tumble iframe wont matters, tho prolly need a bit of practice to get used to it.

But again is it worth it to practice and get used to the new tumble?
I dont usually do calculation or testing dmg stuff, but awake tumble, I feel need to test whether its good or its really is shiits.
(do note, I'm noob at doing this calculation/testing kind of thing huehue, so bear with me if I'm wrong)

Sooo, I test them out. in stg1 LB-TKN (feels like the easiest place), using Izuna drops with buffs (arsonist/raid/guilds)

(number below is very rough, and I dont really care about crits, since Izuna have many hits.):
Izuna Drop Alone: 230m - 290m
Izuna Drop under Tumble Awake buff: 280m - 350m

So under awake tumble buff, my Izuna drops increase approximately 50m dmg (20% increase from my original Izuna drop)
and out of curiosity from your comparison of a level 1 open edge, I tested my lvl1 open edge and it deals (16m if not crits) (40-41m dmg if crits),
so yea, its approximately about right to the crit value, but better since u dont need to cast it (damage increase to ur skill, not casting another skill)

In conclusion:
For me, I would still suggest to take it, since its still an increase without extra cast/etc. tho it might not be much. and looking at my izuna drop,
it rise by 20% (50m dmg), if u use awake tumble a lot (which I do, every stomps and etc), it'll become worth it.
BUT, thats only for my case, where I have high patk/gears (820k in LB-TKN). for those of u who have less patk, ur gain MIGHT not be as significant,
or mabe it will still be that significant, idk, dun really understand this calculation kind of thing, perhaps someone can explain better..

[Nateal]

Well, yea. It does give you free damage, but Im honestly more concerned about the tradeoff of extra damage to losing the Iframe that Tumble gives. I haven't exactly done super in-depth testing with what Tumble awakening can and cannot get away with (I took it once when it got released to try it out, but removed it once I got the chance) , I do know for a fact that there are quite a lot of things in RuDN that can't be blocked but can be Iframed.

I'm planning to make another Ripper in the near future to fully test what the tumble awakening can and cant do, but atm, Im still leaning towards not getting it. Still, I guess it depends on your playstyle on whether you should get it or not.

[Lenxac]

U can block almost any boss common atks.

Thing that easy for u to block and gain ur buff (and I usually use it on purpose):
All Stomps (s1 s2 s3 s4) - nice and easy
S4 dragon frontal swipe (dont usually use this on purpose)
S4 dragon star aoe. - nice and easy
S4 dragon/S1 rings aoe. - nice and easy
S2 4slashes aoe - nice and easy


Things Must not / cannot be blocked:
s3 pizza (VERY Crucial, can block one: but get debuff + remove buff tho not getting dmg, 2nd block if have debuff alrd = death, even if block),
S4 dragons tail (never tried actually, but pretty sure it cant, or atleast still drain MP)
S1 Breath (again nvr tried if it deals dmg or not, but prolly will still remove ur buff + burn. Also the small stomp after breath)

Things that can be block but I dont recommend to purposely use it:
S3 can block poison balls and nothing bad happen to u (but the ball will still leave floor poison mark)
S2 can block Line drive but u get def debuff (u will be fine, if u r confident of not getting dmg along that debuff duration)
and ofc, things that u wont iframe, u dont block tumble it too, like s1 crossroad breath -.-

I prolly missed something but thats the general idea.

[Illumina007]

I don't really play Ripper but this guide might help if i choose to do so in the future, Thanks Nate!

[BananaCredits]

Extra points:
1. When using Crippling D-e-p-r-e-s-s-i-o-n- Punisher, after you used up all the ash skills and were on CD, just spam your Enraged Attack for which 1 hit = 1s of CD reduced for your Crippling Punisher.
2. Use Kick to fast activate your Burning Coal, in case you are totally new to Ripper. Just fast Right Click + Space.

[BananaCredits]

It actually depends on the situation. If you in need of a burst then just use the 30% action speed for spamming skills, or else I would suggest to reduce the ulti CD instead.

[Lenxac]

tbh, other than the summons, CM3 and burning coal, other skills is pretty much low dmg.
so if all those are cd, reducing ulti CD will always be prioritise for next round burst.
like flame locust, blade runner, flame dragoneel, (or raindrop if u take them) are pretty much low dmg. so better to use enrage atk instead.

The only thing I'm not sure is to prioritise enrage atk to reduce CD or to use CM3 (if cd alrd) during ulti duration.
Since cm3 gives tons of dmg, while enrage atk have no dmg but will reduce ulti for next burst (sacrificing few seconds to dps, for more burst later)
so what i did is just whichever mood I want that time CM3 vs Enrage Normal atk. or prolly depends on some conditions (current positioning / boss moving/etc)

[BananaCredits]

Lenxac From my playstyle I would use CM3 if they are off CD, and all my clone skills are on CD. Since Crippling D̶e̶p̶r̶e̶s̶s̶i̶o̶n̶ Punisher gives you 30% action speed, CM3 can be used within seconds, probably time duration equal to 2x Enraged Attack considering you are using 3x MB.

[Nateal]

Added explanation for buffs, and edited out typos, phrased some stuff better, etc.

Do comment if you see anything wrong in the guide lol

[BananaCredits]

Did you mentioned about Shadow Hand damage plate 20% bonus is not multiplicative but additive? It is not 1000% *20% = 1200%, but rather it is 1000% + 20% = 1020%, therefore not worth to wear it.

[ChiefTheDogo]

what about rotation when u dont have crippling punisher buff ?.

it kinda will helps also since i found only rotation for crippling punisher buffed
because u have a time when ur Cripplin is on CD for about 40-50 seconds
and u will still have to combo the boss

[Nateal]

Follow the Main Skill Rotation that I wrote above. Spam Burning Coal then use skills according to the order of importance that I listed (Or not, just use whatever skill fits the situation), then spam Burning Coal some more. Use your Shadow Hand + Mortal Blow Combo whenever possible. That's about it.

tl;dr: There is no clear, set-in-stone skill rotation that you have to follow with Rippers unlike a class like Black Mara for example, where you need to make the most out of your bubbles. Just use your skills as the situation allows while spamming your strongest skills as much as possible.