Ask the Devs! (11/5/2010) Bonus Point Allotment

Bonus Point Allotment

Q. What are these so-called "bonus points"?
A. The term "bonus point" refers to a type of point awarded to aplayer when his or her physical level rises. Once acquired, thesepoints may be freely assigned to any of a number of stats, allowingplayers to take a more active role in their character's development.Though the amount of bonus points awarded every level will continue togo up as a player progresses, the amount of bonus points required toraise stats will also increase as the value of the stats themselvesrise. Below are two charts displaying the number of bonus pointsawarded at each physical level, and the amount of bonus points requiredto raise stats at certain values, respectively.
Physical Levels and Bonus Point Awards

Physical Level	Bonus Points Awarded
2	4
3–4	5
5–9	6
10–20	8
21–23	10
24–26	12
27–29	14
30–32	16
33–35	18
36–38	20
39–41	22
42–44	24
45–47	26
48–50	28

Stat Values and Required Bonus Points

Attribute Value	Bonus Points Required
≤40	1
41–80	2
81–127	3
≥128	4

Q. I am having a hard time deciding where toallocate my bonus points. What effect will raising each of the variousstats have on my character?
A. The effects for each available stat are listed below:


Strength (STR)Increases damage dealt by physical attacks

Increases damage prevented when blocking attacks with a shield




Vitality (VIT)Reduces damage taken from physical attacks

Increases maximum HP




Dexterity (DEX)Increases accuracy of physical attacks

Increases chances of evading physical attacks

Increases critical hit rate of physical attacks and resulting damage

Increases parry rate for certain weapons




Intelligence (INT)Increases damage dealt by magic attacks




Mind (MND)Reduces damage taken from magic attacks

Increases maximum MP




Piety (PIE)Reduces chances of your magic attacks being resisted

Increases your chance of resisting magic attacks of others




ElementsIncreases damage dealt by attacks of that element

Reduces damage taken from attacks of the opposing element





Hints as to which attributes are most advantageous to each class can bediscovered in-game by speaking to NPCs or examining the stats of itemspurchased with guild marks. For those who simply wish to have the factsstraightaway, however, we have provided the following lists.


Disciplines of War & Magic

Disciples of War rely most heavily upon the STR, VIT, and DEXattributes, while for Disciples of Magic the emphasis is on INT, MND,and PIE. This is useful to remember for players who wish to maximizetheir character's potential when allocating bonus points.
In addition, there are bonuses to the effect of magic spells thatare also based on attribute values. Below is a list showing the generalrelationship between attributes and magic types. The conditions thatresult in such bonuses, however, varies between spells.

Magic Type	Attribute
Offensive (attack/counter)	INT
Healing, Defensive	MND
Absorb, Damage over Time (DoT)	PIE

Discipline of the Land

Indications as to which attributes are most important to classes withinthe Discipline of the Land can be found in-game by closely examiningthe gathering-related abilities obtained via guild marks. Again, forthose not willing to invest that sort of time, we have listed therelationships below.

Class	Attribute
Miner	VIT, MND
Botanist	STR, INT
Fisher	DEX, PIE

Discipline of the Hand

The effect of attributes on synthesis is limited. When attempting tocraft a high-quality item, however, the likelihood of success increasesas the attribute most closely associated with the tool being usedrises. As the attributes associated with the main and off hand tools ofeach class are different, players may wish to give carefulconsideration to the class on which they wish to focus. A list showingthe attributes related with the main and off hand tools of each classcan be found below.

Class	Related Attribute
	Main Hand Tool	Off Hand Tool
Carpenter	VIT	DEX
Blacksmith	STR	MND
Armorer	VIT	STR
Goldsmith	DEX	INT
Leatherworker	VIT	INT
Weaver	DEX	MND
Alchemist	INT	PIE
Culinarian	MND	PIE

It is possible to reset allocated bonus points and free them up for redistribution by selecting Reassign from the Point Allotment screen. Players are encouraged to make use of this feature as needed.

Q. I pressed the Reassign button but did not get all of my bonus points back. Why?
A. Using the Reassign feature will reset only a certain numberof allotted bonus points. The feature will then become available foruse again after a short period of time. Players wishing to reset all oftheir bonus points will be required to use the Reassign featuremultiple times.

Q. I allocated all of my bonus points to STR, but it did not increase my damage output nearly as much as I had hoped. Why?
A. Each attribute has an upper limit, or "cap," that riseswhenever a character's class rank goes up. Therefore, even if a playerallots all of his or her bonus points to a single attribute such asSTR, it is not the case that this will yield overly dramatic results.Distributing bonus points across several attributes rather thanconcentrating on a single one will result in a much more well-balancedcharacter.

Quests

Q. I am having difficulty with the rank 30quest for leatherworker. The class rank needed to successfully completethe requested synthesis seems to be high. Is this going to be balanced?
A. Balancing of synthesis recipes, including the leatherworkingrecipe in question, will be part of the version update scheduled forlate November. Adjustments will be made to both degrees of difficultyand required rank