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Good luck to all who venture into the deepest level of Biolabs. Additions to the guide by veterans of Bio3 are quite welcome.
Solomon's Guide to Bio3, version1.5
2006 July 18
Contents
1. Learn BattleMode
2. Use Ventrilo
3. Know your Strategy
4. Equip yourself properly
5. Know the monster AI
6. Know your responsibilites
7. Know the map
8. Know special tips
9. End
1. Learn BattleMode:
Learn BattleMode (BM) if you haven't yet. BM is extremely useful for every class. It will make you a better player. It will you allow you to use all the skills and equipments and items you have, rather than just the 9 in your first skill bar.
Practice a lot before you go. Be able to change in and out of all your equipments. Know where all your skills are and be confident in using them, so that you're not mashing keys when an emergency happens. If you're going to switch between certain equips often, (like Immune Muffler + Muffler of Warmth or Superior Shoes + Assasinator Shoes), consider having those two equips visible in the skill bar to remind yourself which you have on.
To avoid bugs in BM
-Alt+i will access your 1:1 chat options. Turn off 1:1 chats, as receiving them as pop-ups messes up your BM.
-Keep chatting to a minimum, and use Ventrilo instead. You never know when you'll need to use a skill mid-sentence.
-When hitting the enter key for any reason, hit it twice. When you teleport, enter the bio2 pipe, etc, your BM chat line will open and it must be closed again.
-Set /bm as one (or several) of your emotes, so that you can activate it and deactivate it quickly.
2. Communicate on Ventrilo:
Download, install, and learn how to use Ventrilo. Vent is essential for fast communication between party members.
-The vent channel should be social, but chatter ("spam") should be kept down in emergencies. Don't tell the party how amazing your death was until the crisis is gone and everyone is safe and healed-buffed-assumptio'd.
-Make sure everyone can be heard and understood by everyone else. Tell quiet people to turn up their Outbound volume.
-Every party should have a forceful leader. The leader must tell people to keep to their roles. If characters are leaving the camped spot without good reason, they need to be told to get back. Most parties never get to a camp because some people follow the mobber forward to scout instead of staying in the party.
-Mobbers should be very communicative about what they see. They are the eyes of the party. When they are bringing back monsters, they should say what they are bringing back - the party might say they are overmobbed and to tele instead of return with monsters. When they see a wizard ahead they should ask for a priest to silence it before they come back to the party.
-When you see something that needs to be done, say it. If you see a sniper spawn tell the priests to pneuma. If you see a high wizard spawn tell the priests it's there and needs to be silenced. If you see a 99monster that you want to bring give the party advanced notice. If you see a 99monster that the party can't handle, tell the party how to make it tele.
-Respect the owner of the Vent channel. If certain people are banned from that Vent, find a Vent channel everyone can use.
3. Discuss Your Strategy:
Before you go, discuss how you will get to your camping spot. Discuss how you will handle each variety of monster, both on your way and once you are camped. Some parties will have a designated monk to gfist snipers, others will use firebolt or falcon assault. There's no single right way, so long as the situation is kept in control.
-Discuss roles for every party member, so that fewer mistakes and fewer lapses in judgement will occur.
-Designate killers for every class of monster.
-Designate which priests will have the initial responsibility of silencing high wizards.
-Explain to the party that they should set up milepost camps, and not to follow the mobber closely.
4: Equip Yourself
The best bio3 players never die. This is not because they have better equips, it is because they know when a situation is out of control. Your best defense is always a precasted Teleport, a fly wing, or a bwing. While white pots have their place, there are only a few situations in which you should use them instead of a fly wing. With that said, with the right equipments and a smart party you need to teleport less often.
Equipments
-Cranial shield, a must (Thara Frog Card).
-Poopoo hat, a must. 10% reduction is better than almost any def/mdef headgear. I hotkey drooping cat too.
-Unfrozen armor, a must (Marc Card). FD/JT is death for most characters. Whean you hear FD, hide from JT.
-Hide clip, a must (Smoky Card). Be mindful of the 30second limit on lvl 1 Hide and be ready to Teleport when the limit expires.
-Zephyrus armor, very useful (Dokebi Card). Switch back and forth between unfrozen and this. Some people just wear zeph all the time, others wear unfrozen all the time.
-Warmth muffler, very useful (Dustiness Card). Reduces JT / thunderstorm damage. Switch to it when encountering a HW.
-Immune muffler, very useful (Raydric Card). Wear it when dealing not wearing Dustiness or Cloaking.
-Cloaking muffler, very useful (Frilldora Card). Remember to switch out of it when not using it. Practice cloaking in PvP or elsewhere. Learn the nuances of the walls on the map so you don't come uncloaked by accident.
-Crystal pumps, very useful. Some people prefer firelock/verit/green shoes.
-Alligator clip / Long mace, useful. Good reduction of longrange attacks from Sniper/LK
Items
-Fly wings, a must. Carry at least 50, and use except for precasted Teleport.
-Butterfly wing, a must. When you are running out of fly wings use it to get home safely. You may also replace flywing with butterfly wing entirely if you want to be a total chicken totally safe.
-White pots, very useful. Carry slims or mastelas if possible, so that you can bring more with the same total weight.
-Green pots, a must (if silence on you lasts more than a half second).
-SP items, very useful. You should never see "Not Enough SP." Many players use Blue Pots or even Ygg Seeds.
5. Survive the Monsters:
The monsters act on AI. They are predicable, which is why lvling in bio3 can be as easy as any other map. Know how to survive them and how to kill them.
This section is divided by the monster types.
5a. Sniper
5b. High Wizard
5c. High Priest
5d. Assassin Cross
5e. Mastersmith
5f. Lord Knight
5g. Level 99 Versions
5h. MVP
5a. SNIPERS (Wind property)
Danger:
*These monsters use a ranged attack. They use arrow repel, arrow shower, and double strafe. They will agi up and fury - if you can avoid dealing with them while they are furied, do wait until they return to normal. Arrow shower will knock people out of pneuma by moving them 3 cells to the west, so some priests set an extra pneuma there ahead of time.
*They set 3 kinds of traps: Freezing traps will do a small amount of damage - this will interrupt non-phen'd gfist or knock you out of Cloaking status (they will also freeze you if aren't wear unfrozen armor, of course). Spring traps will throw you several squares in a certain direction, often into the sight range of other monsters. Flash traps will blind you, but will do not damage.
*NOTE: A future patch will make this monster's race Demon. It will be able to detect hidden/cloaked players.
Weak points:
*Snipers don't use skills when their target is at the edge of their range. When you are tanking a sniper and the sniper is NOT using skills, you should NOT move. Moving away from the sniper will cause it to change targets. Moving toward it will initiate it's use of skills - it will shower you out of pneuma and kill you or it will eventually repel you out of range and switch targets. When the sniper IS using skills, DO move away from it until it is still attacking you but not using skills anymore.
*Snipers are easy to silence and it lasts for a moderate time. Once silenced the tank can move closer to the sniper without fear of being showered or repelled. If it takes too long to kill, however, be mindful that silence status will wear off.
5b. HIGH WIZARD (Ghost property)
Danger:
*High wizards (HW) have extraordinary damage output. They use Frost Driver, Jupitel Thunder, Thunder Storm, Coldbolt, Fireball, Sight, Sightrasher, Quagmire, Safety Wall. If you become frozen by frost driver, you WILL die to the JT. Some people wear unfrozen and switch to zephyrus for the JT/Thunderstorm and then switch back, others stay in unfrozen.
*HW that use Sight can reveal you from Hiding or Cloak status from across a wall, making you visible to other monsters.
*HW take a long time to become frozen in Storm Gust, and they remain frozen for a very short time making them hard to gfist.
*HW are ghost property. They take no damage from gfist (unless they are frozen or stoned) and very low damage from most elements. Use immaterial sword or immaterial arrows if possible, or cursed water for shadow property.
Weak points:
*HW have low HP and low DEF. They are easy to silence and it lasts for a long time.
*If you are standing in safety wall directy next to a HW its magic will have no effect on you. Cast safety wall on yourself and hide/unhide to avoid the casts until the wizard is clearly standing next to you swinging at you with their staff (and missing). Also, you can steal your way into the safety wall that the HW casts if your footwork is good enough.
*Divest Helm will reduce the HW matk by 40%
*Shield of Def (Golden Thief Bug Card) will negate all damage from HW magic. Frost Driver will still freeze you if you don't wear Unfrozen armor. Remember to take it off when you want to receive buffs or heals.
5c. HIGH PRIEST (Holy property)
Danger:
*High Priests (HP) can kill most players with Lex Aeterna followed by Holy Light. When mobbing a HP you might consider letting it hit you once with its rod after being Lex'd, rather than have it keep chasing and eventually Holy Light for 2x damage. Relogging will also remove the Lex Aeterna status.
*Apart from the HP's powerful Holy Light cast, they are more pesky than dangerous. Be ready to counteract their Lex Divina with Cure, their Agi Ddown with Agi Up, their stun skill with Stat Recovery. They also use Safety Wall and Pneuma.
Weak points:
*HP are easy to silence, and do low damage so they are easy to tank. Drag them out of their Pneuma or Safety Wall so that the killers can deal with them properly.
5d. ASSASSIN CROSS (Poison property)
Danger:
*The SinX attacks very fast and has a good Sonic Blow. He can agi up and be hard to escape without Endure.
Weak points:
*The SinX is fairly easy to silence. Also, his damage is the lower than Howard or LK, making him easy to tank or out-pot in a no-Assumptio-emergency.
5e. MASTERSMITH aka "Howard" (Earth property)
Danger:
*Howard cannot be silenced due to his high vit. He can break armor, Cart Revo, and Mammonite. He can also fury. Don't try to tank him.
Weak points:
*Howard has no ranged attacks so he can be Ankle Snared safely, or even Firewalled to death.
5f. LORD KNIGHT (Fire property)
Danger:
*LKs crit often and use bash, magnum break?bowling bash, and spear boomerang. LKs can fury. Their damage output is ridiculous.
*When trapped or beyond a snipe-able barrier (icewall or a map-native snipe spot) a LK will use spear boom repeatedly. Pneuma is only a partial solution, as LKs will switch targets with their spear booms.
*Silence lasts a short time on LKs.
*NOTE: A future patch will make this monster's race Demon. It will be able to detect hidden/cloaked players.
Weak points:
*LKs take high damage from Storm Gust (and Waterball, for certain party setups).
5g. LVL 99 MONSTERS
Danger:
*99s can see hidden/cloaked characters.
*99s cannot be silenced or frozen or otherwise statused
*99s move faster.
*99s have higher HP and higher stats.
*99s have more skills.
?*99s give less exp and fewer drops?
5h. MVP
Danger:
*The mvp summons a mob of 99s. Sometimes you will not be able to tell that a 99 is actually the MVP until it summons its mob. Try to be aware of what class the MVP is after each maintenance, to avoid bringing the MVP into your party thinking it is just a 99. Maybe you can tank the MVP high priest but when it summons its mob your party will perish.
*The mvp has 1.4mil hp and higher stats.
Weak points:
*The MVP High Priest and MVP Sniper are the easiest to kill, followed by the MVP SinX. The MVP Sniper, much like the Sniper and 99 Sniper, will not use skill if its target is at the edge of its range. The MVP High Priest has little damage output apart from a stream of Holy Light, which can be avoided by standing in Safety Wall.
6. Know Your Responsibilities
Each class can do everything, but it's not always practical. Here are traditional roles for each class and how to fulfill them properly. This section is divided by the Class/Responsibility types:
6a. Priest / High Priest
6b. Wizard / High Wizard / Stalker (SG)
6c. Monk / Champion
6d. SinX / Sniper / Stalker (BB) / GypsyMinstrel (AV)
6e. Crusader / Knight / Paladin / Lord Knight / Mobber
6f. Bard / Dancer / Minstrel / Gypsy (Singing)
6a. PRIEST: You are responsible for giving your party increased survival chances. You may be responsible for mobbing.
*Refresh buffs before they go down, if possible. Assumptio everyone, not just the mobbers. When people die and get rez'd they should be rebuffed - it seems obvious but it is often forgotten.
*Know when to pneuma and when to safety wall. The two are exclusive - pneuma and safety wall can't be put in the same area. Don't safety wall someone who is tanking a sniper, and don't pneuma someone tanking a melee class.
*Silence an unsilenced wizard, but do not unsilence a silenced wizard. Be on the same page with other priests so you know who will have this responsibility.
*Be careful when using party-wide buffs like Magnificat and Angelus. The animation from these buffs will cause mobbers to position-lag when they are returning with monsters.
6b. WIZARD: You are responsible for protecting the party by freezing all the incoming monsters.
*Keep Storm Gust up at ALL times. When you are under 700sp ask the scholar to refill your sp. If your dex and the magic strings permit, use lvl 10 SG and Mystical Amplification.
*Not all monks can kill LKs and Howards in a single Gfist, so it is often up to SG damage to make up the difference. Having SG up when their Gfist goes off ensures that if a monster doesn't die, it will freeze again. For your protection, try to be in a safety wall if monsters are going to come unfrozen and refreeze.
*If the party relies on your SG damage to kill the monters and there is no Safety Wall, move away from the frozen monsters before casting SG again, then watch them drift to your new position and then move back and SG again.
*Some parties like their wizards to use Quag to slow down incoming monsters.
*Some parties like their wizards to use Ice Wall and SG to make certain 99s teleport away. Ask them how to do this.
*Some parties will have a Crusader to use Sacrifice on the wizard. Ask the Crusader if you should wear Unfrozen or Zephyrus armor.
*Be careful about when you cast SG outside the party, as you can pull unwanted monsters. Hitting a HW will make it switch to you, and if it is unsilenced, you and the people around you will find a quick death to its magic.
6c. MONK: You are responsible for killing most things.
*Be prepared to kill. Whenever you have sp you should be in Fury with 5 Spirit Spheres, ready to Gfist.
*When killing something frozen, wait till SG is up if you are not certain it will die to your Gfist.
*When killing a sniper, look beyond the sniper in case there are other monsters - don't go into dangerous situations, because if you die and can't be rez'd your party will be short a killer. Also be mindful of freezing traps that would interrupt your cast or freeze you, or spring traps that would repel you.
*Some monks hit the silenced high wizard and use Root, to make it easier for the wiz-killer to kill. Ask if they want you to do this.
*Carry extra sp items in case the scholar disconnects or dies. You are responsible for killing, even if your regular sp source is gone. *Be communicative, say when you need buffs or sp.
*Know what your Gfist damage is, and what monsters you can KO without Lex Aeterna. Let your party know.
*Use Snap to escape danger and get back into the party's SG. Walking is too slow, because a stun will get you killed.
6d. SNIPER / SD SIN / STALKER: You are responsible for killing certain things.
*Be prepared to kill. When you need sp ask the scholar for it, preferably ahead of time.
*When killing HW, wait till they are silenced before attacking them, unless the tank is not going to move.
*When killing Snipers, keep your eye on the tank. If the sniper is using skills be ready for the tank to dissappear in a series of showers and repels, because the sniper will switch to you and kill you. Let your partymates know how to tank snipers properly.
*Some parties like to have a scout to keep tabs on where the 99s and MVP are. Ask if you should do this.
*If you dual wield or use a bow to kill something, switch back to cranial buckler when not attacking.
6e. CRUSADER / KNIGHT / OTHER: You are responsible for mobbing.
*Be patient. If monsters are too close together, wait for them to move into a more favorable position.
*Pull HP LK SinX and Howard first, if possible. Snipers and HW are harder to deal with. Pull HW next. If possible, leave Snipers till last so that no melees get onto you while you are tanking the sniper at the edge of its range. If monsters spawn on you while you are tanking a sniper, tell the sniper-killer to return to the party, then take the melee back into SG - don't leave the sniper-killer to die to the sniper.
*Be communicative - let the supporting priest know when you need Pneuma or Safety Wall or when you've been Agi'd Down.
*After pulling a Howard, make sure your armor hasn't been broken. If it has been, go fix it immediately.
*If using Hide/Unhide to avoid HW casts, be fast so that the HW doesn't switch to another person. They might not be ready to deal with having a HW on them. Be on the same page with the priest who will silence the HW.
*Let your party know when you are have a HW that needs to be silenced. Try to pull only the HW.
*If you see a bad situation (like a HW and a LK on you at the same time), try to avoid it as early as possible - teleporting is better than pulling the mess closer to the party. If you have a LK and an unsilence HW you are faced with the hard decision of risking your life tanking the LK or teleporting and leaving the mess on your supporting priest or your party. Teleporting is always better than dying (honestly, there is only one difference between a monster switching to your party when you die and a monster switching to your party when you teleport: 1% of your exp)
*Endure is your friend. So is Heal or hp items. Don't worry about spending zeny - exp is much more valuable at your lvl.
6f. BARD / DANCER: You make life easier with Magic Strings, Gypsy Kiss, and Mental Sensing. Everyone loves you and your job is easy, but don't let that spoil you.
*Keep your song up. Know how long it lasts (Magic Strings lasts 3minutes). Knife-stop and refresh it before it ends.
*Ask for sp before your need for sp is critical. Have sp items in case there is an emergency.
*Pay attention and resist the urge to multi-task while singing. Don't alt+tab or read a book or turn off your Ventrilo because everyone else is working hard for the party's success and so should you. Sometimes your song is interrupted by damage and you have to be ready to recast it.
*Because you have more free time, you can be the party's eyes and ears. Watch for spawning monsters, or type out commands said in Ventrilo for party members that don't have Ventrilo.
*Some parties like their singers to use melody strike on certain monsters to boost the exp gain. Ask when this is appropriate. In general, avoid doing so when it would break the ice on LK or SinX or Howard.
*Unchained Serenade can make everything but Sniper or HW teleport, if used properly. Ask how and when to do this.
6g. SCHOLAR: You are a sp factory and have special talents for defending the party from 99s.
*Be communicative - have a priest dedicated to healing you when you Indulge and say when you aren't being healed.
*Don't be stingy with Soul Exhale, when not refilling the Gfisters, give out sp on a rotation even if you people don't ask for it.
*If a monk does not have fury up and 5 spheres, that is a sign that they may need sp. Don't wait for them to ask for sp. If a monk has sp and is NOT in fury ask them what the heck is wrong with them.
*Some parties like the scholar to use Web to make some 99s teleport. Ask when you should do this.
*Some parties like the scholar ot use Blinding Mist on snipers in certain situations. Ask when you should do this.
*Because you will not be at full hp all the time, use Safety Walls for your protection when monsters are frozen in the party. Also use Safety Wall on other people when it would be helpful (the wizard, someone tanking a 99, etc).
*Some parties want Magnetic Earth to kill the 99HW. Be careful when you use it, so that it covers the party without people standing on the innefective edges. Tell people if they aren't standing on it properly. Take it down immediately (use deluge or relog) when it will not be used, so that the wizard's SG will be effective again.
6h. OTHER: You are leeching. Or maybe mobbing.
*Try to find useful things to do:
-If you are a Blacksmith or Alchemist, have a cartful of supplies like flywings, blue gems, etc. Cast geographers to heal people or let your Homonculus be an early-warning system for monsters spawning in the party. Fix broken armors.
-If you are a Rogue, Divest Weapon from melee classes or Divest Helm from the HW.
*Watch for spawning monsters and tell the party about them. Type out commands said in Ventrilo for party members that don't have Ventrilo.
*Be mindful of who is in the party and find ways to thank them for their help in leeching you.
*One way to reward the work of others is to offer to vend the party's loot. Collect it and distribute the zeny evenly. Screenshot the items and the party list for reference instead of trying to remember it all.
7. Know the Map
Depending on your party type, you will want to camp on a certain place on the map. You must be mindful of where wizards and snipers respawn often, and try to avoid camping in those places.
Gfist Party Spots:
*The top left elbow is an excellent spot.
*The bottom left and bottom right bedrooms make very good spots.
*The top right elbow is a considered an excellent spot by some. The hallway is not straight, this is good and bad.
*The rooms along the upper corridor are suitable for a party, though generally only temporarily so.
Non-Gfist Party Spots:
*The water in the center is good for a non-SG party. Safety walls are often used for tanking while the wizard uses Waterball.
*The thin hallways to the east and west of the water in center are popular among certain 2 person parties, especially Acidbombers, or as leech spots.
*The switchback-stairs are good for a Duo party that kill HW and HP (Minstrel/Gypsy/SinX/Stalker + HighPriest). HW tend to respawn instantly in the vicinity of the switchback-stairs.
Bad Spots:
*Certain areas on the floor will cause the curse status and a chatbox may appear. The room west of the upper water, the west Pit, and other areas do this. Avoid mobbing across the center of the west Pit.
*Some stairs can be very hard to walk on properly. Be careful of where you click to walk, as you may accidentally walk down the stairs to the floor and run into monsters. If this happens then Teleport rather than pulling the monsters back up.
*Certain areas are snipe-able. This means that monsters can use ranged attacks across unwalkable barriers. Watch out for snipers, LK spear booms, and wizard spells in these spots. The upper right water, the area just north of the center water, etc.
*Certain areas have respawning monsters. This can be good or bad. If it's bad for your party, try not to remain there, or get the respawning monster to teleport to another area.
8. MISCELLANY:
The longer you spend in Biolabs3 the more you will know how to remain safe there.
-Fly Wings and Teleport
*When flywinging around, you'll run into huge mobs. Use flywings, not Teleport (it's too slow). Even though you disappear after a split-second, you may still get hit by the skills of the last mob, like skid traps, freeze traps, frost drive, stun attack, etc. When in doubt, use bwing instead of flywing.
*Precast Teleport if you can. You can use Teleport when frozen to avoid JT. However, be ready to use flywing when all the monsters wander over to break your ice.
-Use the Best Weapons
*Use the weapon that will provide the highest possible damage for your attack. If you do not have the optimal weapon, let your party know - maybe someone can lend the proper weapon to you.
*NOTE: A future patch will make Sniper/LK Demons. Because Strouf Cards are so rare, my suggestion for Gfist-style parties is that the Monk use a 2xHydra 2xDranliar Mace[4] (as that will do the same damage on all frozen monsters) and to let a different class kill the Snipers.
-Inviting to Your Party
*Make sure everyone in the party has a role.
*Make sure everyone in the party has done the Friendship Quest (and has a Pass) and the Laboratory Research Quest (and has a Laboratory Permit) and is level 95 or lvl 90 Trans.
*If the whole party falls apart when a single person dies, something is wrong. Have backup plans for when something bad happens and roles must be filled, or invite extra players.
*Trans have more hp so have more survival ability, plain and simple. Generally their stats and skills allow them to do everything better than non-trans counterparts. This means that most parties will prefer trans to non-trans. For non-trans this means that you
need to learn fast and handle yourself well to demonstrate competence, or you might not get party often.
-Ending a Party
*When it becomes clear that the party is going to end, or if the team has lost a vital component, have the priests open Warp Portals. There is no sense in trying to level in non-optimal conditions, as your party will be obliterated sooner or later. Try to end on a good note.
*Collect all the loot found by your party and give it to one person to vend. Have them screenshot the party so that they remember who gets the zeny when the items finally sell. Be mindful of changes in the party roster - know who was present for big item drops and who was not.
*Add players to your friend list for future parties. Don't be afraid to deny friend requests if you didn't care for a person's performance.
-People pick better, nicer players
*Sometimes its enough to have connections, but if your don't handle yourself well in Bio3 chances are the people in your party won't want to party with you again.
*Be well-equipped and well-informed. Be friendly on Ventrilo. It's just a game.
-HW are easy
*Wear dustiness muffler. Even if you are frozen, it will still reduce JT damage - many crusaders survive this way wearing Dokebi-carded armor and high mdef (Drooping Cat, Crystal Pumps, Zephy Silk, etc)
*Stand in safety wall when you can, but be aware that it will not prevent the magic damage unless the wizard is close enough. Hide and unhide to draw the wizard closer to you and Teleport if you find yourself position-bugged.
8. END
credit goes to the roempire forums
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BIOLAB: raise your chances of success, a tip i found browsing here and there
