Newb: Twenty (20) Things (6-13)

6. Builds are NOT that tough Choose one Weapon Skill and 2 Force skills (to conserve on Skill Points needed).

Pure STR and STR Heavy Hybrids:

Pure STR means all into Strength, Zero into INT)

7:1 Hybrid (Heavy STR Hybrid) Level to lev 7 with Pure STR, then when you reach level 8 put 3 points into INT. Keep doing this with INT increased at levels 16 and 24 only – Voila! You’re on the way to a 7:1 Str Hybrid.
Pure INT and INT Heavy Hybrids

Pure INT means all into Intelligence, Zero into STR.
1:1 Hybrid: Level once  All into INT, level again  All into STR /// repeat
70:70 Balance Hybrid (mostly for BOW weap) is a different approach and does not directly compare STR to INT ratios but instead considers the “Balance Percentage” statistic.



7.You won’t ever be able to change your “build” that is, once a point is spent into STR or INT that choice will remain forevermore.

BUT… if you are, for instance, a level 20 Pure STR and would like instead to become a 70:70 Balance Hybrid (Heavy INT BOW), it’s not too late. Place 100% of your stats into INT until you are approximately level 45 and voila! As you might infer, making another character could be considered easier.

8. Some choose to complete the lower levels with a BOW and switch weapons later, mostly this is for those who already own a Sox Bow and want to SPFarm at Bandits solo. They don’t raise their masteries beyond level 7 and plan on recovering those spent into Pacheon (Bow Weap Skill) later with the curst heart quest at level 20. The main advantage to a BOW is that they give range and you can target a different mob while you are killing your current one.

9. Partying with others can increase both EXP and SP gained per kill.

There are two (2) types of Parties:

Four (4) member parties (a.k.a. SP parties) All characters in a full SP party (4 players) gain 10% skill experience points bonus per kill (400 skill experience points = 1 SP) and it doesn’t matter if they are close to each other or not. Of course less people in the party means less bonus.
Eight ( member parties (a.k.a. EXP parties) or PLeveling. Characters need to be within range to benefit from kills made by other players. Typically this distance is ~how far you can see if you are zoomed out. You can check your picture to be sure. The amount of xp you would get per kill (if you are in range) depends on the number of people and their levels relative to yours. Best experience for all is found from an 8 member party where everybody is participating.
There are differences for Euro characters (because their skill and exp mechanics are different but I don’t know anything about that, having only played Chinese so far. My guess is that Euro characters prefer the 8 man type parties.

10. If you die you will lose approximately 2% of your Level Experience

“Deleveling” ones self involves dying sufficient number of times to lose a level. Clerics or friends who can RES are very useful if you are going to attempt this.
“Deleveling” ones skills involves buying from the ITEM MALL [F10] or getting the ‘curst hearts’ quest at level 20.

11. It’s much easier to (if your guildmate doesn’t mind) to be PLeveled at Peons, but this again assumes that you are not a newb, that you have a guild or at the very least friends who are willing and able to Power Level you.

Pardon a little pet peeve of mine (others too, I'm sure) please. Don't be a rude newb. We have our reputations to think of. At some point we will figure it out and part of that is the understanding that the people on our server are our community. We're going to be playing with these people for a long time (hopefully) and causing first impressions by begging isn't the best use of our limited wisdom and foresight.

12. You don’t need to carry (if you are Chinese, that is) a certain Weapon to use that weapon skill passive

Heuksal Cheolsam (Passive) increases HP
Pacheon Mind Concentration (Passive) increases Attack Rating

13. The number one thing I wish I would have known about builds and skills when I started SilkRoad Online was that here on the SRF Forums all the “good stuff” is permanently stickied on the top posts. Learning how to find the information needed (when it’s needed) is paramount.
http://www.silkroadforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=82102