[EMS] Better late than never...

Hi guys! A few significant things happened within the past few weeks. While every piece of news feels a bit small on their own to warrant a full blogpost, I've decided to rather combine them in a "recap". Let's get to it, shall we?

It was quite a while ago since I've obtained the Cannon Shooter and Mercedes Skill Links at Level 1, but the following is now considered "canon": both of them are raised to Level 2! Ha... see what I did there? Y'know, cuz Cannon Sho- never mind. The reason why I've decided to raise both of these is because at first I found them to be a rather, low priority set of Skill Links. However, now that 4 years has passed since the first Skill Link was introduced, we now have a wider variety of links to choose from.

At first I was kind of on the fence for keeping both. But when looking at the big picture of what else I could use, it was a matter of weighing what Skill Links would suffice the best for my build. The following might sound controversial: I'm considering to swap my Kanna and Demon Avenger Skill Links with Kinesis and with Beast Tamer (if Beast Tamer would be released in EMS, that is). Just don't forget that I've been building with Critical Rate on my Hero for over six years by now; and both Kinesis and Beast Tamer is going to help me run 100% Critical Rate passively/more efficient.

While the latter isn't necessary to me in order to run 100% Critical Rate (consider with the Heroes of Maple update
I could already run almost entirely without the Critical Rate Hyper Stat), it does open some opportunities for other Hyper Stats if I have to invest less Hyper SP into Critical Rate, doesn't it?

Ah well, in best case scenario, I can always add Kanna and Demon Avenger back when Nexon has raised the
Skill Link limit. That is why I've decided to keep both links at Level 1, by the way. Because I already suspected to swap these sooner or later, I would prefer to keep the "drop" as low as possible. Then again, if there will be more links to "link", that also mean Nexon will probably come with more links to choose from eventually.

Ever since the Additional Options were introduced in EMS through the Hot Time event, they lived a short life because Nexon disabled them for a few years. My best guess of "why" is probably because the Scissor of Karma limit is really dreadful, especially to most people who earn most of their incomes through Boss equips (and thus, there would be quite some backfire if EMS would have that system).

During the release of Night Walker back in 2015, they formerly re-introduced the system with a few exclusive changes. The Scissors of Karma limit was entirely removed, including to items who had Additional Options prior to that update. Items with a "white dot" on the top left of the thumbnail are pretty much "stuck" with those bonus stats, unless you use a Powerful Flame of Rebirth or an Eternal Flame of Rebirth. While the latter can be crafted through Level 11 and 12 Jewel Crafting, in EMS we can't (then again, crafting cubes here doesn't require Occult Shards because NexonEU decided to remove those, therefore cheap and easy cubing) - so you'll be limited to events (and yes, we do often get those two high-tier flames through events!).

That said, I've been slowly working on reshuffling the Additional Options to my Amaterasu equipment and my Chaos Pink Bean Mark. Phew, those Additional Options on that Chaos Pink Bean Mark look really fancy.

The reason why I'm not shuffling my Lionheart equips is because I'm planning to eventually transfer those stats onto my run Amaterasu equipment, and thus, it would be a waste of mesos if I would invest that much in the only stat that wouldn't be transferred in something that will eventually be replaced, right?

While the Chaos Pink Bean Mark seems pretty much finished, I still might want to work on raising the 2% All Stats from my Amaterasu's Shoes to 3%. However, I prefer to concentrate on obtaining 2~3% on my Amaterasu's Armor and saving up flames for the Amaterasu's Helm and Belt for a later stadium first.

Don't forget that Amaterasu, regarding to Additional Options, isn't treated like Cygnus or Fafnir equipment. They will not gain as much bonus as those specialized boss equipment would. The same would apply to equipment like Liberated Kaiserium, Elemental Staff 5~8, Sweetwater and Terminus too (therefore, the level of the equipment does not impact the maximum amount of stat you can gain).

Last but not certainly least, I want to congratulate my friend Doowdoow on Level 200! Similar to Carthager, I knew her from the FallenAngel group, the guild I've been part of since 2008.

And yes, like I mentioned before, I know you're reading this Mr. Wazaa (cuz RSS OP), so you know I'm still going to write a blogpost when you hit Level 200. Twenty left for you, at least.

That's it for today! I'll see you guys again next post!