Aoe Rm Guide : FlyFF Submissions

This Guide is not by me and is created by _Kira from gpotato flyff forum

The Mercrack AoE Ringmaster
INTRODUCTION:
Welcome to the second edition of my guide for the Mercrack AoE Ringmaster. Within this guide you will find information on how to build your Ringmaster, what sort of gear to invest in and upgrade, the type of awakenings to shoot for, and the pets that will be most useful to you, and when.

The last guide was designed for those who were financially well off, level 95 or higher, and with an advanced sense of AoEing. This guide is different, and includes information for every Ringmaster, starting from level 60 on up.

For all those of you who are just joining the realm of the AoE Ringmaster, the method described in this guide is not for those who want a relaxing cruise in the Caribbean. The method can be taxing for some, adrenaline pumping for others. It takes much more attention to detail than the Merkaba-only AoE variants, as you will constantly be changing your weapons to maximize the damage you deal to maximize your leveling. The biggest trademark of this method is that we use both Burst Crack and Merkaba in our AoEing.

I will say now that if you fear death in-game, and prefer the much safer alternative of Merkaba-only AoEing, it would be best to hit the back button on your browser and ignore this method.

With that out of the way, I present to you the Mercrack AoE Ringmaster.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
- Builds
- Armor
- Jewelry
- Weapons
- Awakenings
- Pets
- Buffs / Skills
- AoE Gathering and Attack Techniques
- PvP Discussion
- Piercings
- Pros, Cons, Myths

Builds
OVERVIEW:
Included in this guide are four builds, which show the maximum amount of STA you are recommended to have at any one time - which you should have by level 120. I do not place a cap on STR, as you will continuously increase STR once you reach your STA cap.

RECOMMENDED BUILD:
STR: XX
STA: 140
DEX: 15
INT: 15

You may of course vary the build specifics to suit your own purposes, either more or less STA, but this guide recommends following what is outlined. To that end, I have included three variants on the recommended build which you may use at your leisure.

LEISURE BUILD:
For those who prefer to have a little more padding between life and death.
STR: XX
STA: 180
DEX: 15
INT: 15

BLEEDING EDGE BUILD:
For if your gear is good, such as +10 set, 28% HP, but no awakenings or pets.
STR: XX
STA: 90
DEX: 15
INT: 15

SUICIDE BUILD:
Recommended only if you have very, very good gear, awakenings, and pets at your disposal.
STR: XX
STA: 40
DEX: 15
INT: 15

I have a guide for your STR/STA levels at 10 level intervals using the recommended build, providing mini-goals for your stats on your journey to 120 and beyond. Generally, it's expected that if you follow this chart, you'll have Plug Earring +9's, and a +3 set with modest piercings. Otherwise, you may wish to up your STA and lower your STR some.

LEVEL 60:
STR: 108
STA: 40
DEX: 15
INT: 15

LEVEL 70:
STR: 113
STA: 55
DEX: 15
INT: 15

LEVEL 80:
STR: 123
STA: 65
DEX: 15
INT: 15

LEVEL 90:
STR: 128
STA: 80
DEX: 15
INT: 15

LEVEL 100:
STR: 128
STA: 100
DEX: 15
INT: 15

LEVEL 110:
STR: 128
STA: 120
DEX: 15
INT: 15


LEVEL 120:
STR: 128
STA: 140
DEX: 15
INT: 15

For Master-class Ringmasters, I recommend adding 50 STA initially, with the rest of your points into STR. Each level, increase your STR by 2 and your STA by 1 until you reach the STA you want, then pump STR.

Armor
OVERVIEW:
While this method can work fine with Blue sets, they will not be addressed. Instead, I will address each of the Green sets, show their bonuses and DEF ratings, and discuss each of them in turn, as well as when you should switch to them. Note: Only the male version of each set is featured.

Now, if you have reduction A's or B's at your disposal, you may of course switch to the higher set sooner, but this is only recommended for the higher level sets, the Rimyth and the ultra-rare Revenio.

I will also cover Elementing.

GREEN SETS:
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Starting out at level 60, you should find yourself a Shurand Set. This set has an HP percentage modifier bonus, which when upgraded to +5 (recommended as a minimum) will come to a total of 20% additional HP. This will increase your tanking ability with respect to your low STA at that point. By 75 (65 with reductions) as your STA is increasing and the spawns growing in size, you will need additional defense.

Now, there is no reason to switch to Pact if you have a decently upgraded and pierced Shurand set, but if you're putting a minimal amount of Penya, SProtects and GProtects into your sets until you get the Rimyth, then you may as well switch and upgrade the set to +3 and get a moderate piercing, such as two Earthquake cards or two Lightning cards.

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Shupon is available to you at level 90 (80 with reductions), and may be switched to at your leisure. If you have a highly upgraded Pact or Shurand, you may forgo upgrading yet another set in favor of sticking with what you already have, saving your upgrading energy for when you get to Rimyth. If you do instead choose to use Shupon, you are recommended to get the set to +5 for the basic HP and Block bonuses, and at least two piercings, either two Earthquake cards or two Lightning cards.

Navil is okay for AoEing, but as there are two 105 sets, you should try for the Rimyth as it is the better of the two for AoEing. If you are restatting at 105 (95 with reductions) or later from an FS build and your Navil set is already heavily upgraded and pierced with Volcano Cards, then go ahead and use that. The more heavily upgraded a set is, the more useful it is, and if you don't have the funds to get and upgrade a Rimyth set to match your Navil, stick with the Navil until you can get around to building your Rimyth set.

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Having reached level 105 (95 with reductions) you now have the Rimyth set at your disposal. This is your power-house set, and is the set you will spend many an intimate hour with as you grind your way to level 120. Upgrade this as high as you can manage, and get the best piercings you can. This set is a major investment, but it has major returns, and is worth every Penya.

At level 110 (with reductions, and quite a bit of fortune) you may have a Revenio set available if you invested in the time and Penya required to get the 10,000 Red Chips. If so, then you probably don't need to be reading this guide... but anyways, I do try to be thorough. This set is your end-game set, and will see you to the end of Time, as it were. Upgrade this to the maximum, piercing it with Lightning (7%) or Earthquake (7%) cards. Nothing less than the best for the best set, eh?

OPTIONS FOR FEMALE CHARACTERS:
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The Yuandain set, which is dropped from Clockworks and is available as soon as level 50 is actually a decent alternative from the Shuran and Paxt sets. It has approximately the same defense ratings as the Paxt, as well as a +80 DEF bonus. If you have the money to spend, you may want to consider using this from level 60 through to your Shrian set. If you've upgraded it far enough, such as +8 or +10, you may even consider using it through to your Remingster set. Up to you.

ELEMENTING:
At all times you should element your Suit with the element that is strong against whatever element the Monsters you are AoEing are. This will reduce the damage they do to you, and allow you to tank more, longer, and focus on killing and less on running.

The following is a diagram of what element is stronger than another. It's a lot like Rock, Paper, Scissors. Flame beats Wind, Wind beats Earth, Earth beats Electricity, Electricity beats Water, and Water beats Flame. Simple, really. Reverse the arrows for what each element is weak against.

Jewelry
RINGS:
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The staple of your jewelry, the Vigor Ring is your best friend. Unless you have problems tanking, use this Ring (typically Vigor+9's, as they are the most common) in order to increase your STR, thereby increasing the damage you deal with Burst Crack.

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A back up Ring, of a sort. If you seem to have problems tanking, or your HP isn't quite up to scratch, throw on a pair of STA rings (typically +6, higher if you can afford it) to increase your HP and augment your STA.

EARRINGS:
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The main Earring that you will be using, the Plug increase the defense at your disposal by hundreds, which will reduce damage done to you by a significant amount, thereby increasing your tanking ability. Typically, you will find Plug+9's to be more common. Albeit expensive, they're worth every single Penya you pay for them.

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If you find your Defense is so high that the Monsters you AoE deal minimum damage to you, you may want to consider swapping out your Plugs for a pair of Demols. These will increase the damage done by Burst Crack and Merkaba, which will in turn accelerate your AoEing, and by extension your experience gain overall. Remember, though, these aren't suggested as your primary Earrings, only as spares for when the damage you take is as low as it can go that you can sacrifice your Defense.

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An alternative to either a pair of Demols or a pair of Plugs is a pair of Speedos. Dropped from Clockworks, and exceedingly expensive for a +2 (6% Melee Block) or +3 (10% Melee Block) earring, it dramatically raises your Block Rate. This translates to a reduced chance of taking a hit from mobs that you AoE, translating to less damage. It is the more expensive route for Earrings, taking potentially billions to purchase.

NECKLACES:
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The only necklace you will ever need, the Gore Necklace increases your base HP, which when you throw on HP modifiers such as those found on the Rimyth and Shurand sets, can add up to quite a bit of HP. This in turn raises the trigger point for prevention, increasing the likelihood you will not die.

Weapons
OVERVIEW:
As a Ringmaster who is AoEing, you may use any knuckle that is available to you. If you do not have the funds to afford a particular knuckle at a specific time, such as an Angels Glove, do not despair. A blue knuckle is sufficient in order to be able to AoE. However, as we all know, greens are the weapon of choice in this game, and so they will be covered. Specifically, which greens knuckles are of interest to you, and which should be ignored. By request, I will also include sticks, though ultimately it really, really, really doesn't matter what stick you have: you're not doing damage with the stick.

GREEN KNUCKLES:
What follows are two categories of green knuckles, those that are useful for AoEing, and those that are not.

AoE Knuckles:
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The weapon of choice from level 60 to level 90 (80 with reductions) is the Guardian Knuckle. As it has an HP modifier of 15%, it is very useful to our purposes as an AoE Ringmaster.

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From level 90 (80 with reductions) to level 120 (110 with reductions), the Angels Glove fulfills the optimum requirement for AoEing. The HP modifier is the same as the Guardian Knuckles, but the base damage is higher, which yields higher damage. If you can't afford a leap to the Angels Glove from the Guardian Knuckle, don't worry too much, the Guardian Knuckle will suffice in the interim.

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The ultimate knuckle for AoEing, the Bloody Knuckle is the ideal. It has the biggest HP modifier of any knuckle, 20%, as well as a DEF bonus of 100 and an attack bonus of 250. All three bonuses are great for an AoE Ringmaster, especially the DEF and HP modifiers. This knuckle is the end-game knuckle, so once you get it, upgrade it to +10 as soon as you are able. It is available for use at level 120, or 110 if you have reductions.

1vs1 Knuckles:
The two green knuckles that follow, while nice, are wholly unsuited for AoEing. They have no useful bonuses that contribute to your overall character, and should be used as a last resort, or for moderately increased damage in their level range.
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The Historic Knuckle is suited primarily for 1vs1 combat, and has no AoE-useful bonuses. Available at level 75 (65 with reductions) it's only advantage is the higher attack rating that it has at the same upgrade as the Guardian Knuckle. However, it does not have the HP modifier of that Guardian Knuckle, and as such should be left alone in favor of the Guardian Knuckle.

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The Legendary Golden Glove, like the Historic Knuckle, is primarily suited for 1vs1 combat. As it lacks AoE-useful bonuses, it's only benefit to those level 105 and higher (95 with reductions) is the increased attack rating it has over the Angels Glove. It should be left alone in favor of the Angels Glove.

GREEN STICKS:
What follows are two categories of green sticks, those that are useful for AoEing, and those that are not.

AoE Sticks:
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The first of your sticks, the Guardian Stick, is available to you immediately at level 60, this stick is useful due to the 15% additional HP bonus. This allows you to have a higher prevention trigger point during your gathering and mid-AoE stick swapping periods.

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The second useful AoEing stick, the Angels Stick, is available starting from level 90 (80 with reductions), it is likewise useful due to the 10% additional HP bonus.

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Available at level 105, (95 with reductions), the Legendary Golden Stick can be used in favor of all others. While it does not offer an HP bonus, it does offer an additional 20 INT. This will raise your Stone Hand timer and Prevention timer, which all but guarantees those skills will not expire while collecting or AoEing.

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The final stick, the Bloody Stick is available at level 120 (110 with reductions), and is the one to die for (not literally). With a 20% increase in your casting speed, this allows you to drop your Merkaba faster, cast your Prevention faster, and get back to Burst Cracking in less time than it has ever taken you before. It will speed up your AoEing, as well as increase your margin-of-error in relation to how soon you have to cast Prevention during emergencies.

Useless Sticks:
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The Historic Stick stick is, and always has been, the most useless stick for Ringmasters. Avoid it.

SHIELDS:
Which shield you use is ultimately unimportant. Since version 11, shields are now merely items which allow you to get potentially amazing Awakenings, and use them. As such, what determines which shield you use is what sort of awakening you get on a specific shield. The better the awakening, the more you should use that shield. The defense values on a shield are small and meaningless, and only when you have money to burn should you begin working on getting a nice awakening on a very high level shield.

Awakenings / Blessings
OVERVIEW:
Awakenings function much the same as pets, able to provide nearly identical bonuses in similar amounts, but with a few marked differences. Firstly, there are three awakening slots possible for each equipped item (your stick, your knuckle, your shield, and your suit). Secondly, it is possible to have significantly more of some stat or modifier than it is with a pet alone. Thirdly, there exists the chance that the awakening will be a negative modifier, thereby reducing your stats.

As such, you will want to exercise some care as to what you awaken, when you awaken it, and if you want to live with the potential of really god awful, bad awakenings; i.e., have a Scroll of Reversion handy.

Now, along with awakenings are "Blessing of Goddess." These are similar to awakenings, with a few differences. Firstly, they can be used on your Cash Shop Suit and Cape, and secondly, they do not have any negative possibilities. And, of course, thirdly, they are Cash Shop.

AWAKENINGS:
There are quite a few awakened attributes that are possible, however only some are relevant to an Mercrack AoE Ringmaster. For your convenience, the possible awakenings are:

- HP
- MP
- FP
- STR
- STA
- DEX
- INT
- Attack
- DEF
- Speed %
- Attack Speed %
- Critical %
- Additional Damage of Critical Hits %
- Decreasing of Magic Motion Time %

Of these, the ones that are useful and should be sought after, are these:

- STR
- STA
- Attack
- DEF
- Speed %
- Attack Speed % (Sticks / Suit only, useful for Gathering)

BLESSING OF GODDESS:
Blessing of Goddess adds the same things that the Awakening system does, but it will add only one modifier, and it will always be positive. Of the possible Blessing of Goddess you can get, you should seek after these:

- STR
- STA
- Attack
- DEF
- Speed %
- Attack Speed % (Useful for Gathering)

Pets
OVERVIEW:
Pets can provide a significant amount of either raw stats, defense, or attack power. As such, they are a valuable asset to the Mercrack AoE Ringmaster. I will cover the five pets that are useful to you in this section, ignoring the two pets (Fox and Rabbit) which are not directly, or indirectly useful to this method.

This section will be flushed out further when I finally get some images to work with.

LEVELING TIPS WHILE AOEING:
I would suggest two things for leveling your pet while using this method:
1. Level the pet to C Class before using it in combat, that way you aren't feeding it every 2 minutes.
2. Put the Pet Feed on the third bar, or an extra slot on bar 2, and switch to it to feed your pet, then back to whichever bar you were on before.

DAMAGE INCREASING PETS:
There are two pets available that will contribute greatly to the damage that you deal as a Mercrack AoE Ringmaster. They are the White Tiger and the Dragon, listed below in order of usefulness.

White Tiger:
STR Pet, adds between 5 and 75 STR at S Class.

Dragon:
Attack Pet, adds between 25 and 375 attack at S Class.

ENDURANCE INCREASING PETS:
When I say endurance, I am referring to how well your character can survive tanking mass numbers of monsters. There are three pets that fall into this category, the Unicorn, the Babari Lion, and the Griffin. They are listed below in order of usefulness.

Unicorn:
HP Pet, adds between 455 and 6825 HP at S Class. Will add more HP to your character as a 1/3/5/7/9 S Class Unicorn than a 1/3/5/7/9 S Class Babari Lion.

Babari Lion:
STA Pet, adds between 5 and 75 STA at S Class. Contributes to both your HP and DEF, a fair tradeoff. Will not add as much as either the Griffon (to your DEF), or the Unicorn (to your HP).

Griffin:
DEF Pet, adds between 20 and 300 DEF at S Class. Contributes directly to your DEF rating, more so than the Babari Lion. However, as at later levels you will likely max out the amount of damage reduction you can get, it would be wiser to invest in a different pet long term.

Buffs / Skills
BUFFS:
These buffs are those that are recommended to be in effect at all times. I recommend that you have a Full Support Ringmaster accompanying yourself so that you don't have to concern yourself with it while you are gathering and AoEing. Geburah Tiphreth and Spirit Fortune are not shown, but they are highly recommended.
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Order of importance:
For those of you who want to max the skills in the event your Support Ringmaster doesn't have all the buffs, these are they in the order you should max them:

- Heap Up
- Quick Step
- Beef Up
- Haste
- Cats Reflex
- Protect
- Mental Sign
- Cannon Ball
- Patience

Remember, this assumes you have already maxed Burst Crack, Merkaba Hanzelrusha and raised Stonehand to at least level 19 and Prevention to at least level 18.

SKILLS:
The only skills that you need are colored. The ones you need to raise beyond the minimums required for the next skill and to max out, are:

- Stonehand
- Burst Crack
- Prevention
- Merkaba Hanzelrusha

You can get the other buffs as you see fit, but they are not necessary. A Full Support Ringmaster accompanying you as you level should take care of the buffs.

A word of note: it is not necessary to max either Stone Hand or Prevention. While they are shown maxed, you can save 6 skill points by leveling Prevention to 18, and Stone Hand to 19. There is no notable difference between those two levels and the max level.
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SKILL INFORMATION:
What follows is an overview of all the skills and party skills that you can and should use. If it is not mentioned, it's not a necessary skill, and is only optional. All information about the skill is when it is maxed.

Core Buffs:
ImageMental Sign:
INT+20
ImagePatience:
HP+210
ImageQuick Step:
Walking Speed+30%
ImageHeap Up:
STA+40
ImageCats Reflex:
Melee Block +12%
ImageProtect:
DEF+50
ImageCannon Ball:
DEX+20
ImageBeef Up:
STR+20
ImageHaste:
Attack Speed+25%

Attack Skills:
ImageBurst Crack:
Primary AoE Attack, based on STR and attack rating of the equipped weapon.
ImageMerkaba Hanzelrusha:
Secondary AoE Attack, based on INT and attack rating of the equipped weapon.

Support Ringmaster Buffs:
ImageSpirit Fortune:
Attack+140
ImageGeburah Tiphreth:
Attack+150, Attack speed+25%

Defense Skills:
ImagePrevention:
100% HP recovery when damaged at or below 10% of your maximum HP.
ImageStone Hand:
12.5% Stun rate on regular Melee attacks, and Burst Crack.

Party Skills:
ImageLink Attack:
10% increase to damage dealt, independent of your partner. If you have a red Expand Party Skill 15 scroll, the damage Link Attack deals may be increased to a maximum of 80%, based on the number of players in your party.
ImageFortunate Drop:
Increases the chance to drop unique items.
ImageGift Box:
Doubles the chance of items dropping.

AoE Gathering and Attack Techniques
PREPARATION:
Before you start gathering, you should make sure to have two skills newly casted, so that they don't expire while you are gather, and as a way to time yourself as you gather so that you can get into a precise routine of when to stop gathering and when to start AoEing. These two skills are Stonehand and Prevention. Cast them before you start gathering, and they should last through to the end of your AoEing.

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GATHERING:
To gather, I recommend using the second hotkey row, as outlined in the Hotkey section. Using the stick to collect allows you to re-cast prevention at a moments notice without the hassle of switching weapons. Also, with Haste and Geburah Tiphreth cast on you while you gather, you will likely have 100%, or close to 100% attack speed, which makes for fast casting no matter which weapon you use.

Tips and Tricks:
Now, there is a neat trick to maximize your attack speed. This trick involves attack a monster, and as the first swing of your stick is being delivered, click off to the side. This will cancel the attacks that follow the first swing so that you don't get stuck attack a monster. You can then repeat the trick on the next monster, and so on and so forth until you have completed your pull.

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Also, if you're really hardcore into weapon swapping, you can spend a few million Penya or so awakening vagrant Swords and Shields, hunting for Speed +% Awakenings. Using these while you gather will drastically cut down on your gathering time by increasing the speed that you move. The more Speed +% items you have, the further afield you can go to gather Monsters and returning to the mid-point before worrying about pull-distance limits.

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AOEING:
Now comes the fun part. Actually AoEing your monsters! What makes the Mercrack method fun, exciting, and ultimately different from all the other forms of Ringmaster AoEing, is that it uses both AoE attacks available to the Ringmaster: Burst Crack and Merkaba Hanzelrusha. There is a nice, formulaic method to this attack that works out smoothly.

You start by dropping a Merkaba Hanzelrusha, and follow it up with two uses of the Action Slot, which has 3 repetitions of Burst Crack in it. Repeat that process until your monsters are dead.

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Now, if you aren't yet level 80, then you will be using solely Burst Crack. You should still use 3 repetitions of Burst Crack in your action slot, as that is the optimum trade off between the cool down time and usage out of your action slot. Once you reach 80, you just have to incorporate Merkaba Hanzelrusha into your AoEing, and you'll be set.

PREVENTION TRIGGERING MID-AOE:
In the event your prevention triggers, the way to cancel your attack is to hit ESC to untarget, click madly off to the side, switch to your stick, recast prevention, and resume your attack process. Hotkey row one is engineered to be both your attack bar and your emergency prevention bar.

Practice that a few times with smaller pulls, and you will get the hang of the technique, which will allow you to handle larger and larger pulls.

Piercings
OVERVIEW:
In this section we will cover what you should and should not use to pierce your equipment. Information about all the piercing cards is included for convenience, but there are individual recommendations for each card. This information is current to version 12.

SUIT PIERCINGS:
You have five components you can pierce your suit with, ordered by usefulness:

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Use these primarily, or in combination with Earthquake Cards. These are the most useful as they increase the damage you deal, which in turn increase the speed you kill off your AoE. The sooner you kill off your AoE, the less likely you are to be critical'd through your prevention.

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Use these secondarily, or in combination with Lightning Cards. These are nearly as useful as Lightning cards in that they increase your maximum DEF, which in turn reduces the damage monsters deal to you, allowing you to tank more monsters and for longer periods of time before your prevention triggers. You also have the option of using Demols instead of Plugs with this arrangement, as your DEF should come up significantly depending on the cards you use, which would compensate for the lack of Plugs.

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Use these as stand-alone if you can't afford Earthquake or Lightning cards, or in combination with Lightning cards. There is no PvM benefit to HP over DEF, as a mere increase in HP will not reduce the damage that is dealt to you, only slightly increase how long you can last. As such, rather than raise your prevention trigger point to what the monsters are hitting you for, throw in Earthquake cards to bring their damage down. If you do use these, augment your DEF with Plugs.

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Under no circumstance should you use these cards.

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Under no circumstance should you use these cards.

WEAPON AND SHIELD PIERCINGS:
You have five components that you can pierce your weapons and shield with, categorized by what piece of equipment that should be used on, and ordered by usefulness:

Knuckle / Shield:
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Fire Cards are the mainstay of your Knuckle and Shield piercing cards. They add STR to your overall stats, which will increase the damage you deal which will in turn result in shorter AoE's, and faster experience gained.

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Alternatively, you may use Land Cards in your Knuckle and Shield piercings, as it increase your STA, which in turn will raise your HP and DEF, increasing your ability to tank larger and larger spawns for longer durations, allowing you to complete your AoE easier. You may consider alternating between Fire and Land cards based on the type of spawn you are AoEing, if you have the money to afford it.

Stick:
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My personal favorite, and recommended for your Stick, are Wind cards. These cards increase your movement speed and your attack speed, which will result in faster gathering by a reduction in the amount of time spent moving from monster to monster, as well as the time spent attacking a monster to get it to follow you. That, and they come in handy in the Arena and Siege. Catch me if you can, eh?

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If you prefer longer self-buff timers, and a shorter time re-casting your skills, then Water cards are your goal. These cards increase your INT, resulting in longer timers (Stonehand and Prevention, anyone?) as well as a reduction in casting time, which speeds up how fast you cast, which will reduce how long you spend before and during AoE's casting your spells with the stick. The less time you spend with your stick, the more time you can spend with your Knuckle and Shield, Burst Cracking away at your pull.

Useless:
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Under no circumstances should you use these cards. DEX serves no purpose at any time.

SOCKETING YOUR CARDS:
You should socket your cards in order of importance. For example, say you have 1 Lightning (7%) card and 3 Lightning (4%) cards. Since you can remove socket cards and replace them with better ones, always socket the most important card first. In the example, you would socket the Lightning (7%) card first, and then the Lightning (4%) cards.

Why? Because when you remove cards, they are removed in the reverse order they were socketed, starting with the most recently socketed card. Also, because when you get another Lightning (7%) card, you can remove the three Lightning (4%) cards, put in your new Lightning (7%) card, and then throw in two Lightning (4%) cards to complete the 4/4 piercing, in the case of your suit. The same goes for either your weapon or shield, up until your slots are full for maximum effect.