[Dragonhope]

Note: This is catered to Party play.

Bold = Important information or Weapons/Armor

HQ of each gears are recommended but not needed.

Level 1 Grab a Harpoon/+1 and level 1 gears (Vagabond set is nice and can be reused a lot) pretty much.

Level 4 Buy an Obelisk. It's pretty cheap and is better then a Harpoon +1. Good for such a low level and price.

Level 7 Upgrade to Bronze Spear+1 and Leather gear. The boost in defense will help last longer and the new weapon will help kill them faster.

Level 10 Switch out the Leather stuff into Legionnaire/Royal Footman stuff. Especially the gloves/mittens as it boosts your atk.

Level 14 You get your first +acc gear at this level. Battle Gloves are quite helpful for a long time. You can use DEX rings or STR rings here as neither will make a big impact yet. Make sure they're HQ though at least so you get the most out of their small boosts. Also grab a Brass Spear/+1 to improve damage further. If you're ok with spending more gil, buy the Spark Spear instead and use batteries to do even more damage. Oh..if you're rich or want to go the extra mile, try out the Vision/Mighty Rings. The enchantment on them lasts 30 minutes as if it was food. A very good alternative to DEX/STR rings for sure.

Level 16 Get a pair of Bone Earrings +1. Upgrade to Bone equipment if you want but keep the Battle Gloves.

Level 17 If you didn't get the Bone stuff or just want these instead, get Lizard gears. Standard DD gear still at this point.

Leevl 18 OMIGOSH! We get an actual belt! Well...it's nothing great compared to the later stuff but at this level, this is the best a DD can use. Get the Brave Belt as Barbarian Belt isn't really worth it. But hey...if you'd rather be cheap go for it..just remember that you'll be using this into level 40 pretty much.

Level 20 This level is a turning point in terms of weapons. It is suggested that you now start to use Lances (you know...those DRG only weapons). Starting with the Platoon Lance. You can try testing out Fuscina but chances are, the Platoon will do more damage on the ITs you'll be fighting.

Level 21 Spike Necklace and 2x Beetle Earrings +1. Getting other Beetle gear/+1 is nice too but still keep Battle Gloves on. They're still more helpful then any other hand piece available at this point.

Level 25 Republic Subligar if you're not worried about style. If you are...try and use it for at least 9 levels anyway as +5 atk is hard to beat.

Level 28 If you can snag one, you might want to try and get a Military Spear here. It has decent damage for it's delay and is almost as strong as the Platoon Lance. You can get this or wait 2 more levels and get a Royal Squire's Halberd. The Military spear is better then RS Halberd but the other might be cheaper and both are pretty good for their damage to delay in comparison to a Platoon Lance at this point. Take your pick.

Level 30 Upgrade to Centurion set. You can mix and match with Merc Captain's stuff to boost the stats you want (namely STR/DEX as acc isn't available yet except on gloves). Oh...and keep the Battle Gloves on still. You can put your RSE satchet in the throw slot if you want at this level by the way (not like anything else goes there yet). You should switch your Platoon Lance to a Royal Squire's Halberd which has the same DMG but a lower delay. If you want, you can try and get a Shikaree/Archer's Ring at this level. If you use Vision Rings though, you don't need to worry as they're slightly better. This is the first level when you can start using Grips. The only one that's available for DDs at this level though is the Brass Grip. Make sure you get a Brass Grip +1 at this level. Don't buy the NQ. The HQ is cheap enough that you shouldn't have any problems getting it. The only way you couldn't afford this would be if you were an idiot...in which case I'm surprised you've been able to read this far.

Level 33 If you're rich or have another job at 40, try to get a Peacock Charm/Amulet. This is a great piece but it's price tag tends to send people away. If you have the time and people to help, try to get this at level 40. Even with the changes made, this is an awesome piece. If you're wearing this though, eat Attack boosting foods (like Rice Dumpling or Mithkabobs).

Level 34 Two gears to note at this point. Republican Cuisses and Republican Greaves. They're most useful when in areas controlled by your own nation but still quite nice. Republican Cuisses gives +7 atk while the greaves give +4 accuracy. Also switch one of the rings out to Venerer's Ring. And while you're at it, grab a Lance (NQ is ok as you'll get a better one in 4 levels).

Level 36 Buy a STR ring here (NQ will be fine at this point) and sell off your lvl 14 DEX or STR ring for some cash back. You'll only be using it for 4 more levels anyway.

Level 38 If you can, grab an Obelisk Lance +1. If you can't, grab an Obelisk Lance. Why PLDs can use this thing too i'll never know but it was made for DRGs I assure you.

Level 40 Sniper/Woodsman Rings. Dual up on these. Also try to do some BCNMs and see if you can get hold of a Peacock Charm through that. You can use a Tilt Belt until Life Belt as well. Make sure you've been eating attack foods though as you should have enough accuracy (around +30-35 depending on race) to get around 75-80% hit rate. If you feel the need for more accuracy, make sure to switch your gears around to make up for eating sushi. If you didn't get an Obelisk Lance, buy a Behourd Lance. If you can't afford this thing, you are retarded!

Level 41 If you can get a Voyager's Sallet at this point, go for it. Walkure/Valkyrie's Mask is better though until Wheeling Thrust.

Level 42 AF1 weapon, the Peregrine is obtained! It's a decent weapon but if you have Obelisk Lance +1, you can keep that one a bit longer if you want.

Level 43 You might want to get a Swordbelt/+1 here if you've switched over to eating sushi as your food or have enough accuracy in other slots to get a good hit rate above 85%. Get either Valkyrie's Mask or Walkure's Mask here. Valkyrie's Mask is slightly better but decide for yourself if the 1 extra attack is worth it for you.

Level 45 Get a Brigandine armor. It's not much and it might be ugly but it's only for 10 levels. Bear with it. Rest of the gears will be the same at this point. If you're into ENMs and can get people for it, you might want to try to get a Vanguard Belt. Decent piece to switch in for WS's but Swordbelt/+1 is better for TPing. Not far behind though.

Level 47 You get your first useful backpiece here. Jaguar Mantle. Get it if you can as you'll be using it until lvl 61.

Level 48 If you're a meat eater, throw away the Tilt Belt and switch over to a Life Belt here. Of course +10 accuracy is better then +5. You might want to use these if you don't have Sniper/Woodsman rings on top of sushi as well. Also if it's up, grab a Mythril Lance/+1[/b.

Level 50 You can get Spike Finger Gauntlets at this level if you're switching to sushi or have a high hit rate already. It's definetely worth it as +12 atk is pretty much the highest that DRGs can get on gloves.

Level 53 Switch out the Mythril Lance to a Sacred/Holy Lance/+1. I'd say the Sacred Lance is worth it's weight in gold as it adds an extra 15-25 damage a hit with it's effect on. Oh...and it doesn't cost that much in gold either.

Level 55 Get Jaridah/Akinji Peti or wait and buy an Scorpion Harness. The Akinji Peti is actually superior to a Scorpion Harness however but if you want to use a Scorpion Harness instead (only God knows why you would), feel free to do so. If you're getting tired of the Battle Gloves, you can switch to Jaridah/Akinji gloves here as well if your preference is atk food. If not, you might already have SFG (Spiked Finger Gauntlets) so no worries. Don't forget to upgrade Beetle Earrings to Spike Earrings. It's also a good time to upgrade your grip at this point. If you can, try to get a Mythril Grip/+1 if you can. HQ if possible but chances are, you'll only be using this for 5 levels so not as big a deal.

Level 56 You can get a Merman's Gorget at this level. Use it for TP gain and switch out to Spike Necklace for WS if you want. You'll be using this for only 4 levels but it's pretty cheap so not a big deal. If you have a Peacock Charm, skip this.

Level 57 If you didn't get the Peti, this is when you'd want to get an Scorpion Harness. Don't proceed without at least having a Jaridah Peti if you can't afford the SH.

Level 58 Grab an Assault Earring if you can and sell off one of the Spikes if you do. Tiphia Sting is a nice investment as well if you're ok with spending that much for it. If you want, you can upgrade to a Darksteel Lance/+1 but you're 2 levels away from a better lance and the Holy/Sacred isn't that bad still.

Level 60 [red]Chivalrous Chain[/red] gives you +5 acc, +3 STR and Store TP +1. This is like having a Merman's Gorget and half of a Spike Necklace in one. Definitely worth the time to do some assaults for it or even make money to buy it. You can sell your Peacock Charm at this point if you want. Another thing you might want to consider getting is a [red]Potent Belt[/red]. It offers a small boost to STR while giving almost as big a boost to accuracy as a Life Belt. Do not proceed further without a [blue]Grand Knight's Lance[/blue] or [red]Dark Mezraq/+1[/red]. Grand Knight's Lance will help only your own hit rate while the Dark Mezraq will help every melee fighter in the party/alliance and has slightly higher DMG rating. Both are great lances. Now you can get your final grip here. After much talk, tests have shown that the [red]Pole Grip[/red] is best suited to a Dragoon (if not all 2-handed DDs). It's also rather cheap to get so there's no reason to continue using a Mythril Grip past this point.

[green]DO NOT USE ANY ARTIFACT ARMOR PIECE IN PARTY SITUATIONS.[/green] You can macro in AF Boots for use with Jump but other then that, DON'T WEAR THEM!

Level 61 Wow...a backpiece update finally! [blue]Amemet Mantle[/blue]/[red]Amemet Mantle +1[/red] is one of the best to use for melee DDs. Get the +1 if you can as it's quite comparable to the next backpiece in line.

Level 63/65 You can switch to [red]Feral Boots/Gloves/Pants[/red] for a boost to your attack if you don't have pieces giving a bigger boost already.

Level 65 You might want to get some [blue]STR rings[/blue] at this point to macro in for Wheeling Thrust. Optional but i'd say it's worth it if you want to go the extra mile to be better. Might want to grab some other +STR gears too such as [red]Enkelados/Pallas Bracelet (Alkys at 70+ if you're rich)[/red]. You should get these anyway for HNM and similar stuff where you'll be using Wheeling Thrust quite a bit.

Level 67 Try your best to invest the time to getting an [red]Assault Jerkin[/red]. This is one of the best armor piece available for DRGs (along with Homam/Ares/Askar) for TPing and Penta Thrust. You can also get [red]Rutter Sabatons[/red] at this level.

Level 68 If you have help, try and get your hands on a [blue]Gae Bolg[/blue]. With this lance in hand, you can skip all the way to Mezraq if you want (although it's not really recommended to do that). If you have Colossal Lance ready though, you can skip this if you want. Might want to get for a collection though if you're into that.

Level 69 [blue]Psilos Mantle[/blue] is a small upgrade from an Amemit Mantle if you want it and/or *gasps* don't have an Amemit Mantle at all.

Level 70 Pretty much [red]Barone/Conte Cosciales[/red] here. You'll be using this a lot. If you didn't like Rutter Sabatons or couldn't get help to get it, you can buy [red]Barone Gambieras[/red] as well (might lighten your wallet a bit though). [blue]Barone Corazza[/blue] definetely looks nice and if you're rich and want one, go for it but you won't be using it much in a PT. Great solo piece though. If you didn't get a pair of SFG or if the [red]Tarasque Mitts/+1[/red] are cheaper, you might want to get one here. Another good piece to get here would be the [red]Wyrm Belt[/red] (obtained in 2/4 Dreamworld Dynamis zones). A nice head piece worth getting if you're having trouble hitting is the [blue]Optical Hat[/blue]. Upgrade to a [red]Colossal Lance[/red] at this point. If you have a Gae Bolg, you can pick between buying this or waiting for a Dreizack instead. Both are good lances.

Level 71 You can get a [red]Forager's Mantle[/red] at this level. It's stats are slightly better then the Amemit Mantle +1 and if you can afford it, will be the back piece you'll be using for everything from this point on. If you're ok with spending the time on Assaults for it, the [red]Imperial Neza[/red] is an awesome weapon to get. It's on par with the Mezraq due to being only 1 less DMG but having a lower delay to go with it. This weapon will work better then a Mezraq if you only have a small amount of haste gear. Not sure about the weaponskill damage thing though so you'll have to figure that one out on your own.

Level 72 At this level, you can try your hand with a mini-haste setup if you can find the help and gil. [red]Dusk Gloves/Boots[/red] will give you 5% haste and if you get a [red]Swift Belt[/red] as well, that'll bump it up to 9% haste which isn't too bad. My personal suggestion would be to wait for Homam stuff though as they'll let you optimize your power better. If you have time, you might want to try out some of the [red]Pahluwan/Amir set[/red] you get from Assaults. The [red]Pahluwan headpiece[/red] is slightly better then Optical Hat in that it gives +5 atk on top of a fairly nice accuracy boost. And the [red]Amir Boots[/red] are one of the best for TPing in as well as for Penta Thrust (boosts acc and atk).

Level 73 If you've started doing Dynamis, the [red]Wyrm Finger Gauntlets[/red] are worth noting. They have +5 acc among other things that's perfect for meat eaters (I believe this is tied as second highest acc boost on gloves for DRG with first being it's +1 form). Sushi eaters are better off with SFG or Tarasque Mitts. If you're in a HNM LS or have a way to get it, start getting [red]Hecatomb Harness/Cap/Boots[/red] to macro in for Wheeling Thrust (and Penta if you're eating sushi).

Level 74 [blue]Narasimha/Vishnu's Vest[/blue] is worth noting for it's small boost to STR. If you don't have any way of getting Hecatomb Harness or [red]Drachen Mail +1[/red], this is the next best thing. If you can get the Drachen Mail +1, use that over the vest. If you can, try to get [red]Drachen Brais +1[/red]. The +9 acc on this will help a LOT in merit PTs where you're normally better off eating meat while freeing up other slots to boost your damage. [red]Drachen Finger Gauntlets+1[/red] are a decent WS piece with +5 STR and DEX (STR for Wheeling Thrust/Impulse Drive and both STR and DEX for Penta Thrust) but if you can, it's better to go with one of the other hand pieces if you can get them for most WS's (Gigas stuff for Wheeling Thrust and SFG/Tarasque/+1/Wyrm Gauntlets/+1 for Penta depending on food). If you can get a hold of [red]Ace's Helm[/red]...wow...you lucky bastard. This is one of the ultimate headpiece for DRGs (well...that's my opinion anyway) and if you get it, you'd never want to switch it out if you're in a PT.

Level 75 This is the final level. Lots of goodies to get here. [red]Homam pieces[/red] and Hecatomb come to mind. Also stuff like [red]Wyrm Armet[/red] and [red]Wyvern Helm[/red] are nice for Wheeling Thrust damage. The +1 relics to aim for here are [red]Wyrm Armet +1[/red] and [red]Wyrm Gauntlets +1[/red]. Make sure you get a [red]Mezraq[/red] or [red]Thalassocrat[/red] when you get the chance.

Other/newer options include the [red]Ares set[/red] which offers a decent boost in accuracy and a large boost to attack as well as STR (and VIT for jumps). Some of the Askar Pieces like [red]Askar Zucchetto[/red] or [red]Askar Korazin[/red] are awesome too. The Askar Zucchetto is the only helm on par with an Ace's Helm for the head slot overall. The [red]Valkyrie's Fork[/red] is hard to get since it's from Einherjar but is a better choice over the Mezraq/Thalassocrat. Too bad it can't be bought. There's also the [red]Walahra Turban[/red] which is an awesome haste head piece. More on haste build further down.

You have 4 lances to pick from for endgame usages now. Valkyrie's Fork is on top followed by Thalassocrat/+1 and then Mezraq/+1. The Imperial Neza is also an option that is comparable. More information with a better comparison will be posted once more tests are performed with the 4 listed weapons. Until then, which is used is up to the players themselves. I figure that I should also mention something about the [blue]Love Halberd[/blue] as well since it's not that bad a weapon. But for the most part, this is something most Dragoons tend to use for entertainment purposes.

Endgame Gear builds:

Haste setup:
Head: Walahra Turban(5%)/Ace's Helm(4%)/Askar Zucchetto(4%)/Homam Zucchetto(3%)/Patroclus's Helm(2%)
Body: Wyrm Mail+1(2%)
Hand: Dusk Gloves+1(4%)/Dusk Gloves(3%)/Homam Manopolas(3%)/Askar Manopolas(2%)
Legs: Barbarossa's Zerehs(3%)/Homam Cosciales(3%)
Feet: Dusk Ledelsens +1(3%)/Homam Gambieras(3%)/Dusk Ledelsens(2%)
Waist: Ninurta's Sash(6%)/Sonic Belt/+1 (6%)/Speed Belt(6%)/Swift Belt(4%)/Quick Belt(2%)

Most recommended setup is to use either Ace's Helm or Askar for the head slot but Walahra is great too for pure haste. Check if the 1% extra haste will add up to another hit or not. If it does, use the Turban and if it doesn't, use Ace's or Askar for the small boost to other stats on top of haste. The Patroclus helm can be used if you have only a minimal haste build going (minimal haste needed to make a difference is 9% for a Polearm with 492 delay). If you can get Dusk Gloves +1, that's what should be on your hands for haste. Otherwise it's a toss up between Homam and NQ Dusk. Only use the Askar Manopolas if you got it lying around and/or can't afford Dusk or get Homam. As for the pants slot, either piece will work although I think the Homam Cosciales are less rare or a drop. For the feet, either Dusk Ledelsens +1 (if you can afford it) or Homam Gambiaras. Both offer their own benefits so go with which you prefer. NQ Dusk is still worth it if you can't get the others and are able to get at least 9% haste total with it. As for Waist...good luck getting a Ninurta's Sash but if you got it somehow, this is the best one in the waist slot. Sonic Belt/+1 and Speed Belt are basically the same thing except Sonic/+1 has more defense but all 3 are quite expensive. Swift Belt is what's commonly used for the waist though as it's the easiest to get for the boost it offers. Quick Belt only if you have other haste pieces and no swift belt to make 9% or more with. Haste build is best used for TPing in with swap to Strength setup for WS.

Attack Setup:

Will be added in the future.

Strength Setup:

Will be added in the future.


I know it sucks but someone wanted a gear listing of what to get so I wrote one up >.> It might be biased...not sure.

Thanks to Starr, Sugami, MrOctopus, Kaikaitos, Ariakan, Jaybar, Morak and more for help on this guide.

Edit: Once I get a better listing of stuff, I think I'll spread the info out more and make it easier to read as well...also keep posting with anything I might have missed in my haste to write this up.

Edit2: Updated with weapon info and color coded!

Edit3: Added the backpieces in.

Edit4: Updated on 18/02/2007 with Psilos Mantle. I don't think i'll list any RSE stuff in this though as people that still keep them around know when it should be used in most cases.

Edit5: Updated on 08/02/2008
- Added in Dark Mezraq
- Extended level 75 gears to include the newer gears which have been tested better now
- Changed value of existing equipment to reflect changes from a recent patch to make it so two-handed weapons use 75% of stats instead of 50% like one-handed weapons
- Removed some equipment to reflect changes from patch
- Fixed typos, spelling errors and some grammatical mistakes

Edit6: Updated on 25/03/2008
- Added in Thalassocrat
- Added a bit more detail of the endgame weapons available

Edit7: Updated on 08/04/2008
- Condensed my Thanks to all the people who have helped.
- Made changes to try and better reflect value of gear post-2hander patch
- Removed some lingering bias I had towards accuracy gear
- Removed some equipment that are not worth wearing anymore
- Added endgame gear builds section

Edit8: Updated on 11/06/2008
- Added grips into the guide. Should have done this long ago.

[Ryo]

Good stuff. I hope ppl won't be gimp ass now.
In Garuda... booooy

[.Sotek.]

Ryo :
Good stuff. I hope ppl won't be gimp ass now.
In Garuda... booooy

Stop talking about me!? (

[Apollz]

Woo for Hope! poke the panda for a sticky.

It seriously annoys me when I see 71+ drgs in af1 =|

[Dragonhope]

Wait! Did I mention anything about AF in it?

Oh good...I didn't. Boots being macro'd in is ok but...not worth listing >.>

[Apollz]

Yea, don't say anything about af prz, just pretend it doesnt exist (except the helmet)

[Ryo]

Ahm I used boots until ... my hume RSE (Marine F boots xD +3 str +3 dex)
its lvl 62
forgive me ._.

[Dragonhope]

Helmet is for soloers and most of them already know about it's power so...no need to mention it here:p

[Apollz]

Ryo :
its lvl 62
forgive me ._.

That's not 71+! I know full well that teh mameshiba wont be wearing af at 71+~

[Starr]

Damn I can't find anything wrong with it Put Fowling Earring in at 70, Spike Fingers at 50 and Wyrm Fingers at 73 maybe.

[Ryo]

Apollz :

Ryo :
its lvl 62
forgive me ._.

That's not 71+! I know full well that teh mameshiba wont be wearing af at 71+~

My lvl 70 gear waiting at my MH...:
Barone Gambieras
Barone Cosciales
AJ
Gae Bolg

I wanna use them

[Sugami]

Fowling Earring seems very tastey for using Attack Food or even macroing for WS. Should mention getting STR rings and other gear for Wheeling Thrust perhaps? Also Wyvern Helm at 75 is quite nice and Narishima's Vest at 74 (more STR gear for teh WS).

Maybe mention a few AF+1 things? The Drachen Brais +1 have a rather nice amount of accuracy

Oh~ Assault gear. Pahluwan Head is a tastey substitute for O-hat (which you also forgot to mention), Amir Boots looks like another decent piece of gear for aiming towards using attack food, Amir body looks good for solo too.

What about lances?

[Seiferx]

i was thinking of doing this myself DH but... im too lazy. good job!

[Darkani]

And don't dare using any other gear then listed here!!!



Seriously tho it's a good guide, it doesnt say exactly what pieces to use so ppl can think for themselves hopefully.

[Dragonhope]

I'm always about options. There are 2 main styles to use when in a PT. One is the acc gear/atk food and the other is atk gear/acc food. Both are quite good and is more a preferance.

As for weapons...i'll let someone else write at. You'd have to be pretty dense not to know which weapons to use as you level up though IMO.

[Wolf~Knight]

Level 50 If you can get your hands on it, try out the Fowling Earring (STR+1, acc+3 and bird killer)

fail it is lvl70 edit out.
hecatomb should be at 73; brutal and homam for 75.

[Ryo]

Edit for lances DH
So this way the readers don't need to look in other thread for gearing as you lvl.
After all didn't you made this guide to make it easy for the newbies? xD
There aren't that much lances...
Start with platoon and upgrade them from other lances ...
just make sure you write the 'Must have' lances like GKL Bourdanasse and such ~

[Seiferx]

theres already a "compendium of endgame polearms" in the stickies. no need to be redundant and bump someone elses thread out of usefullness.

[Ryo]

Not end-game, but through out lvls.
This isn't a end-game thread but a lvl 1 to 75 equipment guide, where lances aren't being mentioned ~

[Seiferx]

ah yeah, that is true.