Tree of savior Hoplite class guide

Tree of savior Hoplite guide 

The first class for Spear users.

While Hoplite has had a few changes in recent months, the core of the class hasn't change much and it is still mainly an auto-attacking build (at least until it reaches Rank 7~8), with some high burst skills.

While they are not as dominant when killing bosses when compared to other classes from other trees, they are still in my opinion the best class in the Swordsman tree to bring them down.

It is also the introductory class for most Spear builds, including Cataphract, Corsair and Dragoon.

One of the most appealing factors of choosing Hoplite, is the skill Finestra, which increases Critical Rate and Block by a significant amount (while reducing Evasion). This provides a significant boost as they are able to use this to their advantage and instead get more damage as they have a reliable source of Critical Rate to land critical hits without requiring to get that stat from other sources such as DEX or equipment.

This makes Hoplite one of the most flexible classes in the entire Swordsman tree when it comes to stat allocation. Finestra also has an attribute to increase AoE Ratio (number of mobs you can hit with your attacks) by 3, which is a desired stat that any Swordsman loves to have.

Some of you might remember that some people, including myself, used a full STR build thanks to Finestra. And you might be happy to hear that it is still viable all the way up to level 280, if that is a build you are interested in.

Among other changes, the skills have a slightly faster animation so both Pierce and Stabbing feel smoother compared to their previous versions.

Finally, spears are a weapon that deal Pierce-type of damage and also have bonus damage against Medium and Large type opponents. Making them one of the best weapons for DPS builds.

Circle 1

Skills

• Finestra (Level 5): The pride of the Hoplite class.
• Stabbing (Level 1~5): This is a channeling skill, which deals a huge amount of damage. It fixes you into place, so make sure you use it at an appropriate time when you can't get interrupted or your opponent can't move out of the range of the skill. It now has a 25 second cool-down, which makes it great for any situation. Make sure to get level 1 as soon as you advance to Hoplite, as this is the skill that will have the most impact right away.
  The scaling isn't that amazing, but it is still a good amount of damage added considering that it deals multiple hits through it's duration. 
  You can choose to spend points from this skill elsewhere if you feel the need to, as level 1 is still more than enough to make an impact on your build.
• Pierce (Level 5): It deals a quick burst damage in the form of multiple hits, depending on how large the opponent is (3 hits on large enemies, 4 with an attribute acquired at Circle 2). The damage is good, even though it has no Overheat and a 30 seconds cool-down, so it is still worth it to spend points into this skill.
• Synchro Thrusting (Level 0~1~5): This skill got a recent change, and it now has Overheat and a 15 seconds cool-down. Unfortunately, it is still as underwhelming as ever because of it's awkward hit-box and slow animation. In my opinion it isn't worth it to level it up, but getting level 1 provides a decent source of Strike damage that Hoplite could use. You can also choose to skip it entirely, as it's impact is still pretty small in the overall build.

Circle 2

• Finestra (Level 10): Now you will get to have it with a 100% up-time.
• Long Stride (Level 1): It is utility skill which serves as a gap closer (with an unfortunate very long cool-down), so anything more than 1 point is a waste of points.
• Spear Lunge (Level 1): It makes targets vulnerable to Pierce-type attacks, which is most of the damage a Hoplite deals. The debuff doesn't scale with skill level, so level 1 is more than enough for every build.
• Pierce and Stabbing (Remaining points): The rest of your points will go into these skills. Usually it is better to max out Pierce and put the rest into Stabbing, but if you feel that it should be the other way around then that works too, especially if you are going into Circle 3, as it is better to max Stabbing at that point.

Circle 3

• Finestra (Level 15)
• Throwing Spear (Level 1~5): It now has 0 cool-down, which means that you can spam it as long as you pick up your spear after launching it, which is a pretty nice filler for your damage rotation as long as you use it at melee range. It also has an attribute that can bind the target for 7 seconds with a 60% chance, which certainly makes it more appealing for PvP than it's previous version.
  Unfortunately, you won't be able to use Geras Spear712 until level 170, it will still deal some nice damage at earlier levels.
  It is also an option to leave it at level 1 just for the utility, but in my opinion it is better to have this damage option available in your kit.
  Finally, there is a lot of confuson around the "throwing" part of this skill. You don't actually throw your weapon, it is just an animation, but you will get a decrease on your Physical Attack based on your weapon, at least until you pick it up. However, you can still use other skills and attacks.
• Pierce & Stabbing (Remaining points): Overall I think it is better to max Stabbing due to it's shorter cool-down, but a case can be built for maxing Pierce instead, since it is a good amount of burst damage that could be better in other scenarios (PvP for example). I think it is personal preference which skill to give more points to, either way both of them will get a good amount of points into them.

The contents of this guide serve as a reference for players looking to build a Swordsman character, tree of savior Hoplite class guide writen by Cathexis