9 Dragons Guides - The True Vagabond
Posted: August 25th, 2007, 7:34 pm
ABSTRACT (FOR THE READER ON THE GO):
- True Vagaboond (TV) hard, tough, but challenging and fun in a different way
- Pick up either Basic Wu-Tang Sword/Fist or Basic Demon Saber/Fist via their clan quests
- Pick up Lightfoot from either Wu-Tang or Heavenly Demon (or both)
- No stat resets = plan your build at Character Creation, and start your build at Losing Self 1
- STR and DEX most important stats (no particular order), CONS and ESS depend on how you play, and WIS useless
- If possible (i.e. using another character), go buy 3-pocketed clothing at Hangzhou or _______ (forgot name, will fill in later)
- Roam the world of 9 Dragons, both white and black maps, for best gameplay experience and enjoyment
- If not having fun, quit the TV path and join a clan
AUTHOR'S NOTE
I decided to completely rewrite this guide, because I didn't like how it read before. The concepts from the old one are still here; I've simply changed the tone to help convey the objective of my writing this to begin with. I personally like this one a lot better than the old one.
Enjoy. (Jan. 13-2007)
INTRODUCTION
So you've decided to be different. This guide is not meant to convince anyone to go out and build a True Vagabond, which is simply a character that does not choose a clan. Instead, I've put this together in order to give those who have already decided to take this path, a stepping stone of sorts, to get things rolling. Be forewarned: this path is tougher than playing conventionally, because of limitations with many things you might have taken for granted normally. But it offers a different type of challenge, all the while offering more freedom to the player. I'm simply offering some tips on how to get started. The rest is up to you.
Warning: the True Vagabond should NOT be your first exposure to the world of 9Dragons, because much of the fundamental gameplay concepts should be learned first. I will not cover any of the basics, because 1) this is not the place for it, and 2) there are many more guides on this board that can do more justice to gameplay mechanics than me. Moreover, the difficulty of playing as a TV as a first character may frustrate the newcomers and turn them off of this great game. Therefore, please experiment with the TV only if you are truly seeking a new way to play. Furthermore, there have been some talk of people hoping this path will lead somewhere (i.e. an exclusive clan otherwise unreachable by others). I would say that while it would be nice, don't start this path simply because of that hope. It makes the process become a chore, and takes away the value of doing this in the first place. In my opinion, at least.
You have been warned.
THE BIRTH OF THE TRUE VAGABOND: CHARACTER CREATION
You would be surprised to know the thought process starts as early as Character Creation. While a character that joins a clan will be offered 2 chances to reset their stats (once at choosing a profession and once more via an NPC), the TV will not have that opportunity. Therefore, it's time to think about stat distribution. Here is a breakdown of the five stats:
STRENGTH: should be the highest or second-highest stat, regardless of build. It serves the dual purpose of dealing damage as well as defence. Because a TV will not have many skills to rely on, high damage output will be your friend.
ESSENCE: a TV will not burn through Vital Energy quickly because they do not have Steps that continuously saps Vital Energy away. Moreover, because Basic Meditation will not offer that great of a bonus (though any advantage is welcome for a TV, so it's your call) you may not even choose to have it activated at all. Either leave at 8 and compensate later on with accessories, or put the bare minimum into ESS.
WISDOM: wisdom serves only 2 purposes: improve everything that is Chi Kung, and prolong the state of unconsciousness (the timeframe between losing all your Life and falling into a coma). TV's will not have any Chi Kung's, and while giving other players more time to come and revive you is always nice, unless WIS is into the numbers that only nukers would have, it is insignificant. Leave at 8.
CONSTITUTION: determines the amount of Life your character will have, as well as the regeneration rate. It's debatable as to how much should be put into CONS, because there always needs to be a fine balance between being able to survive long enough to kill an enemy, and dealing enough damage to finish the fight quickly. Again, as a TV don't expect to be running around slaughtering enemies. A recommendation is simply to put the bare minimum to fight comfortably, and increase it only when the situation is too dire for leveling purposes (i.e. having to rest without killing a single enemy).
DEXTERITY: easily the most disputed stat in the world of 9Dragons. There are 2 main schools of thought: rely solely on defence offered by STR, or rely solely on dodge offered by DEX. I will not get into the argument on who's right simply because I do not know enough to contribute. I am in the process of experimentation myself as well. However, one point is certain, which is you must always put enough into DEX to fight competently against the enemies of your level. By this, I don't mean never missing, but simply being able to land enough hits in a reasonable time frame to finish the enemy. A great guideline is offered by lentz in his guide which is found at:
Register to unlock hidden link
lentz wrote:
Oh, btw... I have said that you need to maintain your dex at minimum required by your wep. I'm assuming you're using a wep that is around your lvl. In case you use something that is way below your lvl you need to make sure your dex is at least around the minimum requirement for your lvl wep.
Here's a simple look up table for maximum dex required for your lvl (SM, GB, and EC are minimum).
OC - 40
RC - 50
RL - 60
FD - 70
SM - 80
GB -110
EC - 130
Now that I have filled your head with many questions, here's something to make things easier: just put all your beginning stats into STR for the sake of creating a character. Both a STR and DEX build will have more than 18 STR, and 8 DEX is more than enough for the beginning levels. Discussion on increasing stats after Character Creation will come later.
Another big question is: Where should a TV start? Does it matter at all? Yes and no. The truth is, because the TV will not join any clans, it makes no difference where you start your journey. However, a big saving grace for TV's comes from the fact that both Wu-Tang and Heavenly Demon offer their basic clan kung fu's to any characters, as long as they complete the required quests. Therefore, any TV should strive to either start on one of these maps, or travel to these at around GC1 to start the quests. Obviously, starting off on either of these 2 maps is more convenient. A side note is, some people might not consider this the true way of building a TV, and instead would rely solely on the basic kung fu's purchased by sifu's instead. In that case, it makes absolutely no difference where to assign your character.
No matter what happens though, LEARN LIGHTFOOT from either Wu-Tang or Heavenly Demon. I don't have to tell you the agony you'd have of walking permanently. Both can be learned by doing the same quests that net you the clan's kung fu (as well as allowing you to join the clans). Better yet, learn both of them and strive to master both Lightfoot, partly for show and partly to combat the long recharge time so you can immediately take off on the other Lightfoot after stopping with one if needed.
THE TOOLS OF DESTRUCTION: WEAPON SELECTION
For those who do plan on using the clan's basic kung fu (Basic Demon Saber, Basic Demon Fist, Basic Wu-Tang Sword, Basic Wu-Tang Fist), it boils down to taste. The saber and the sword are exactly the same in every aspect save for looks, and their prices as regulated by player markets. What I mean is that since (to my best knowledge) the largest clan is Heavenly Demon, sabers might be harder to find in Hefei as sold by players, and might be slightly more expensive due to demand. This is seen at least in the demand for the advanced Demon Lightfoot tomes. Of course, something like this should not stop you from choosing the saber if you prefer how it looks over the sword, because as I've said before, both weapons do not differ from one another. The choice of fists is also viable. As you have seen (or will see), while sabers and swords deal a larger maximum damage, fists deal a larger minimum damage. In other words, saber/sword offers a larger range of damage, while fists are more consistent. I do not want to completely exclude fists from the equation, but in my opinion a TV would benefit much more from having a greater maximum damage output since it gives you a better chance of finishing an enemy faster. I'm partial to the saber and sword for this reason.
And, if you are the truly hardcore and will shun these clan kung fu's, then the choice is definitely yours. Of course, as a male you cannot learn Basic Wheel and Basic Dagger, and as a female you cannot learn Basic Cudgel. One more note is, I believe, from what I have seen and heard, that for some reason the axe is the weapon with the highest maximum damage, but also the lowest minimum damage. Just to mention it in case anyone is going this path.
TRAVERSING A THOUSAND MILES: THE FIRST STEP
The character is made. Now what? The first point is DECIDE ON A BUILD NOW. You will not have the luxury of any stat resets, so the stat distribution starts here. But of course, given that this is not your first character, you should have a good understanding of it all already. I have no recommendations on choosing either a STR build or a DEX build, except to say that while there is a sleuth of pro-DEX posts throughout the board which can be found easily, the one written by lentz is one of the few pro-STR posts. Again, it is found here:
Register to unlock hidden link
Either way, remember that the TV plays slightly differently than others, and that it also will depend on your style and experience. Also, that characters with professions have higher Life and Vital Energy even at 8 CONS and ESS compared to a TV (which is 160 Life and 120 Vital Energy), so you might need to adjust for that.
When it comes to leveling, it's all personal. If anything, you will be leveling in the same way as everyone else anyway, at least in the beginning. I will write out a personal leveling route, which I found to be quite effective (up until low RC anyway). Here it is:
Rather than focus on experience, focus on collecting enough enemy resources to earn yourself TWO level 1 elixirs from Hefei. For some reason, doing this brings you in sync with the correct enemy mobs at the correct levels. I'm unfortunately most familiar with Wu-Tang and Heavenly Demon's clan maps, so some references will be to only those 2 maps. Also, I am simply listing locations I found to be convenient. If you know better places for these enemies by all means go there instead. Begin collecting these items as soon as you are able to fight comfortably these enemies (which should start at around LS7 if I'm not mistaken):
1) 200 Big Pouches
-At Wu-Tang, from the different Thieves, pretty much everywhere outside the village
-At Heavenly Demon, from Bloodaxe Giants, found at Bloody Mound
2) 100 Viper Skins
-At Wu-Tang, located west of the village. They should be visible if you go that west toward the Zhengzhou entrance. Specifically, the vipers are located north of the abandoned structure where you find the Knife of White Shadows
-At Heavenly Demon, they are found in 2 major areas: in the southeast bend on the way to the Shi Zhang entrance (the really windy part where you find an NPC), and north toward the Hefei entrance, above the hill from where the Moonblade Ladies are (if you look at the map carefully you'll see that you can go around the rock formation on the east side to reach Hefei's entrance, which is where the vipers are)
3) 200 Cotton Pouches and 40 Golden Cases
-At Wu-Tang, both are found from Bandits, which are located north of the Central Passageway. Specifically, just north of the tunnel you must go through traveling from Lushan to Baoyang Village. HOWEVER YOU WILL NEVER FIND ENOUGH GOLDEN CASES BEFORE THEY TURN TO DARK BLUE MOBS. INSTEAD GO TO
-at Heavenly Demon, Steelclub Madmen are the absolute best mobs for these 2 items. Not only do they drop cotton pouches, but also golden cases at a much greater frequency than bandits from the white maps. Since you are clanless even if you were from a white map, definitely come here for this part of training. (for those who are reading but who are not building a TV, you should be around GC7~8 at this point. If you are from a black clan, there's no problem. However, if you are from a white clan bear in mind that you cannot come to this map as soon as you have joined your clan. It's up to you whether you want to do this, or simply collect 20 from other places and earn 1 elixir)
4) 100 Giant Spider Shells and 100 Tough Cobwebs
-for white maps, Tarantulas are found northeast of Baoyang Village. Specifically, they're found just west of the Y-fork in the road connecting to Longmen Cavern
-for black maps, they are at Shi Zhang, located far southwest after crossing one of the 4 bridges into the brownish patch of land. They are found between the third and fourth-southernmost bridges
5) 200 Leopard Skins
-for white maps, Leopards can be found south of the Central Passageway, or just south of the tunnel
-(can't remember where Leopards are on Shi Zhang; will update later)
5) 100 Red Fox Skins and 100 Red Fox Tails
-for both maps these should be easy enough to find. After all, they are for the OC Heroic Episodes, so I will be lazy and skip
6) 200 Bear Skins
-for white maps, located in Zhengzhou on the way to Wuan Village. If you travel from Baoyang, you cannot miss them, as the bears are littered on road north of reaching Wuan. You'll find Little Bears first, but if you keep going you'll also see Wild Little Bears and Bears
-for black maps, located in Shi Zhang. Specifically, Little Bears and some Bears can be found at Western Walled Plain. You must reach the very western edge of the map and should see them there. Alternatively, they are far south of the middle village in Shi Zhang (can't remember the name). It's the village that has the Red Fox Heroic Episode (I think it's the Nei Mountain region or something like that)
After doing all this, you should have reached around RC2-3. This basically kills 2 birds with one stone. From here on in, it comes to preference as well as choosing enemies that suit your build.
- True Vagaboond (TV) hard, tough, but challenging and fun in a different way
- Pick up either Basic Wu-Tang Sword/Fist or Basic Demon Saber/Fist via their clan quests
- Pick up Lightfoot from either Wu-Tang or Heavenly Demon (or both)
- No stat resets = plan your build at Character Creation, and start your build at Losing Self 1
- STR and DEX most important stats (no particular order), CONS and ESS depend on how you play, and WIS useless
- If possible (i.e. using another character), go buy 3-pocketed clothing at Hangzhou or _______ (forgot name, will fill in later)
- Roam the world of 9 Dragons, both white and black maps, for best gameplay experience and enjoyment
- If not having fun, quit the TV path and join a clan
AUTHOR'S NOTE
I decided to completely rewrite this guide, because I didn't like how it read before. The concepts from the old one are still here; I've simply changed the tone to help convey the objective of my writing this to begin with. I personally like this one a lot better than the old one.
Enjoy. (Jan. 13-2007)
INTRODUCTION
So you've decided to be different. This guide is not meant to convince anyone to go out and build a True Vagabond, which is simply a character that does not choose a clan. Instead, I've put this together in order to give those who have already decided to take this path, a stepping stone of sorts, to get things rolling. Be forewarned: this path is tougher than playing conventionally, because of limitations with many things you might have taken for granted normally. But it offers a different type of challenge, all the while offering more freedom to the player. I'm simply offering some tips on how to get started. The rest is up to you.
Warning: the True Vagabond should NOT be your first exposure to the world of 9Dragons, because much of the fundamental gameplay concepts should be learned first. I will not cover any of the basics, because 1) this is not the place for it, and 2) there are many more guides on this board that can do more justice to gameplay mechanics than me. Moreover, the difficulty of playing as a TV as a first character may frustrate the newcomers and turn them off of this great game. Therefore, please experiment with the TV only if you are truly seeking a new way to play. Furthermore, there have been some talk of people hoping this path will lead somewhere (i.e. an exclusive clan otherwise unreachable by others). I would say that while it would be nice, don't start this path simply because of that hope. It makes the process become a chore, and takes away the value of doing this in the first place. In my opinion, at least.
You have been warned.
THE BIRTH OF THE TRUE VAGABOND: CHARACTER CREATION
You would be surprised to know the thought process starts as early as Character Creation. While a character that joins a clan will be offered 2 chances to reset their stats (once at choosing a profession and once more via an NPC), the TV will not have that opportunity. Therefore, it's time to think about stat distribution. Here is a breakdown of the five stats:
STRENGTH: should be the highest or second-highest stat, regardless of build. It serves the dual purpose of dealing damage as well as defence. Because a TV will not have many skills to rely on, high damage output will be your friend.
ESSENCE: a TV will not burn through Vital Energy quickly because they do not have Steps that continuously saps Vital Energy away. Moreover, because Basic Meditation will not offer that great of a bonus (though any advantage is welcome for a TV, so it's your call) you may not even choose to have it activated at all. Either leave at 8 and compensate later on with accessories, or put the bare minimum into ESS.
WISDOM: wisdom serves only 2 purposes: improve everything that is Chi Kung, and prolong the state of unconsciousness (the timeframe between losing all your Life and falling into a coma). TV's will not have any Chi Kung's, and while giving other players more time to come and revive you is always nice, unless WIS is into the numbers that only nukers would have, it is insignificant. Leave at 8.
CONSTITUTION: determines the amount of Life your character will have, as well as the regeneration rate. It's debatable as to how much should be put into CONS, because there always needs to be a fine balance between being able to survive long enough to kill an enemy, and dealing enough damage to finish the fight quickly. Again, as a TV don't expect to be running around slaughtering enemies. A recommendation is simply to put the bare minimum to fight comfortably, and increase it only when the situation is too dire for leveling purposes (i.e. having to rest without killing a single enemy).
DEXTERITY: easily the most disputed stat in the world of 9Dragons. There are 2 main schools of thought: rely solely on defence offered by STR, or rely solely on dodge offered by DEX. I will not get into the argument on who's right simply because I do not know enough to contribute. I am in the process of experimentation myself as well. However, one point is certain, which is you must always put enough into DEX to fight competently against the enemies of your level. By this, I don't mean never missing, but simply being able to land enough hits in a reasonable time frame to finish the enemy. A great guideline is offered by lentz in his guide which is found at:
Register to unlock hidden link
lentz wrote:
Oh, btw... I have said that you need to maintain your dex at minimum required by your wep. I'm assuming you're using a wep that is around your lvl. In case you use something that is way below your lvl you need to make sure your dex is at least around the minimum requirement for your lvl wep.
Here's a simple look up table for maximum dex required for your lvl (SM, GB, and EC are minimum).
OC - 40
RC - 50
RL - 60
FD - 70
SM - 80
GB -110
EC - 130
Now that I have filled your head with many questions, here's something to make things easier: just put all your beginning stats into STR for the sake of creating a character. Both a STR and DEX build will have more than 18 STR, and 8 DEX is more than enough for the beginning levels. Discussion on increasing stats after Character Creation will come later.
Another big question is: Where should a TV start? Does it matter at all? Yes and no. The truth is, because the TV will not join any clans, it makes no difference where you start your journey. However, a big saving grace for TV's comes from the fact that both Wu-Tang and Heavenly Demon offer their basic clan kung fu's to any characters, as long as they complete the required quests. Therefore, any TV should strive to either start on one of these maps, or travel to these at around GC1 to start the quests. Obviously, starting off on either of these 2 maps is more convenient. A side note is, some people might not consider this the true way of building a TV, and instead would rely solely on the basic kung fu's purchased by sifu's instead. In that case, it makes absolutely no difference where to assign your character.
No matter what happens though, LEARN LIGHTFOOT from either Wu-Tang or Heavenly Demon. I don't have to tell you the agony you'd have of walking permanently. Both can be learned by doing the same quests that net you the clan's kung fu (as well as allowing you to join the clans). Better yet, learn both of them and strive to master both Lightfoot, partly for show and partly to combat the long recharge time so you can immediately take off on the other Lightfoot after stopping with one if needed.
THE TOOLS OF DESTRUCTION: WEAPON SELECTION
For those who do plan on using the clan's basic kung fu (Basic Demon Saber, Basic Demon Fist, Basic Wu-Tang Sword, Basic Wu-Tang Fist), it boils down to taste. The saber and the sword are exactly the same in every aspect save for looks, and their prices as regulated by player markets. What I mean is that since (to my best knowledge) the largest clan is Heavenly Demon, sabers might be harder to find in Hefei as sold by players, and might be slightly more expensive due to demand. This is seen at least in the demand for the advanced Demon Lightfoot tomes. Of course, something like this should not stop you from choosing the saber if you prefer how it looks over the sword, because as I've said before, both weapons do not differ from one another. The choice of fists is also viable. As you have seen (or will see), while sabers and swords deal a larger maximum damage, fists deal a larger minimum damage. In other words, saber/sword offers a larger range of damage, while fists are more consistent. I do not want to completely exclude fists from the equation, but in my opinion a TV would benefit much more from having a greater maximum damage output since it gives you a better chance of finishing an enemy faster. I'm partial to the saber and sword for this reason.
And, if you are the truly hardcore and will shun these clan kung fu's, then the choice is definitely yours. Of course, as a male you cannot learn Basic Wheel and Basic Dagger, and as a female you cannot learn Basic Cudgel. One more note is, I believe, from what I have seen and heard, that for some reason the axe is the weapon with the highest maximum damage, but also the lowest minimum damage. Just to mention it in case anyone is going this path.
TRAVERSING A THOUSAND MILES: THE FIRST STEP
The character is made. Now what? The first point is DECIDE ON A BUILD NOW. You will not have the luxury of any stat resets, so the stat distribution starts here. But of course, given that this is not your first character, you should have a good understanding of it all already. I have no recommendations on choosing either a STR build or a DEX build, except to say that while there is a sleuth of pro-DEX posts throughout the board which can be found easily, the one written by lentz is one of the few pro-STR posts. Again, it is found here:
Register to unlock hidden link
Either way, remember that the TV plays slightly differently than others, and that it also will depend on your style and experience. Also, that characters with professions have higher Life and Vital Energy even at 8 CONS and ESS compared to a TV (which is 160 Life and 120 Vital Energy), so you might need to adjust for that.
When it comes to leveling, it's all personal. If anything, you will be leveling in the same way as everyone else anyway, at least in the beginning. I will write out a personal leveling route, which I found to be quite effective (up until low RC anyway). Here it is:
Rather than focus on experience, focus on collecting enough enemy resources to earn yourself TWO level 1 elixirs from Hefei. For some reason, doing this brings you in sync with the correct enemy mobs at the correct levels. I'm unfortunately most familiar with Wu-Tang and Heavenly Demon's clan maps, so some references will be to only those 2 maps. Also, I am simply listing locations I found to be convenient. If you know better places for these enemies by all means go there instead. Begin collecting these items as soon as you are able to fight comfortably these enemies (which should start at around LS7 if I'm not mistaken):
1) 200 Big Pouches
-At Wu-Tang, from the different Thieves, pretty much everywhere outside the village
-At Heavenly Demon, from Bloodaxe Giants, found at Bloody Mound
2) 100 Viper Skins
-At Wu-Tang, located west of the village. They should be visible if you go that west toward the Zhengzhou entrance. Specifically, the vipers are located north of the abandoned structure where you find the Knife of White Shadows
-At Heavenly Demon, they are found in 2 major areas: in the southeast bend on the way to the Shi Zhang entrance (the really windy part where you find an NPC), and north toward the Hefei entrance, above the hill from where the Moonblade Ladies are (if you look at the map carefully you'll see that you can go around the rock formation on the east side to reach Hefei's entrance, which is where the vipers are)
3) 200 Cotton Pouches and 40 Golden Cases
-At Wu-Tang, both are found from Bandits, which are located north of the Central Passageway. Specifically, just north of the tunnel you must go through traveling from Lushan to Baoyang Village. HOWEVER YOU WILL NEVER FIND ENOUGH GOLDEN CASES BEFORE THEY TURN TO DARK BLUE MOBS. INSTEAD GO TO
-at Heavenly Demon, Steelclub Madmen are the absolute best mobs for these 2 items. Not only do they drop cotton pouches, but also golden cases at a much greater frequency than bandits from the white maps. Since you are clanless even if you were from a white map, definitely come here for this part of training. (for those who are reading but who are not building a TV, you should be around GC7~8 at this point. If you are from a black clan, there's no problem. However, if you are from a white clan bear in mind that you cannot come to this map as soon as you have joined your clan. It's up to you whether you want to do this, or simply collect 20 from other places and earn 1 elixir)
4) 100 Giant Spider Shells and 100 Tough Cobwebs
-for white maps, Tarantulas are found northeast of Baoyang Village. Specifically, they're found just west of the Y-fork in the road connecting to Longmen Cavern
-for black maps, they are at Shi Zhang, located far southwest after crossing one of the 4 bridges into the brownish patch of land. They are found between the third and fourth-southernmost bridges
5) 200 Leopard Skins
-for white maps, Leopards can be found south of the Central Passageway, or just south of the tunnel
-(can't remember where Leopards are on Shi Zhang; will update later)
5) 100 Red Fox Skins and 100 Red Fox Tails
-for both maps these should be easy enough to find. After all, they are for the OC Heroic Episodes, so I will be lazy and skip
6) 200 Bear Skins
-for white maps, located in Zhengzhou on the way to Wuan Village. If you travel from Baoyang, you cannot miss them, as the bears are littered on road north of reaching Wuan. You'll find Little Bears first, but if you keep going you'll also see Wild Little Bears and Bears
-for black maps, located in Shi Zhang. Specifically, Little Bears and some Bears can be found at Western Walled Plain. You must reach the very western edge of the map and should see them there. Alternatively, they are far south of the middle village in Shi Zhang (can't remember the name). It's the village that has the Red Fox Heroic Episode (I think it's the Nei Mountain region or something like that)
After doing all this, you should have reached around RC2-3. This basically kills 2 birds with one stone. From here on in, it comes to preference as well as choosing enemies that suit your build.
