Attacking: single techs, nuking, or physical?

[NetNomad]

Ooh, my opinions get to go first this time, whee.

Okay, it really depends on what kind of force you are. I have seen a 100-leveled FOnewearl and a 50-leveled FOmar played by my offline friends (even took control of the FOnewearl briefly to pipe my RAmar's Secure Feet ). Personally I have a level 99 FOnewm and level 36 FOnewearl, and will eventually create a FOmar.

FOnewearl gets a boost on the simple techs, and she can take down enemies at ridiculously easy rates using them. My friend's FOnewearl carried a Summit Moon (which also helps simple techs) and a Foie Merge, and that character's Foie did damage in the 700s in the Temple (where I went to pipe the Secure Feet). Not bad. That's definitely one way of maximizing potential; focus on the simple techs and boost them as much as you can. Or, you can opt to boost all your techniques with the color merges; my FOnewearl's most often-used shield is a Red Merge, although I will probably buy some more Red Barriers when I get online. Either way, you'll never be able to melee decently with her, so don't even try.

FOmar is usually classified as the "melee force..." I haven't personally looked into it yet, but he must have more ATP or something; at any rate, people play melee forces usually by using all the support techs to give them decent damage rates and defenses (I've played online and offline with melee FOmars). However, you could also make a mind FOmar - not sure what the advantage of one is though (I have one friend with a FOmar that uses no weapons not even tech-boosting weapons; only techs).

About the FOnewm... he's the one I've spent the most time with so far, and I'll say this: he was given boosts on the gi and ra techs for a reason... but he was also given half-decent attacking stats for a reason. Get one thing straight: this guy is NOT a FOnewearl. If he had to melee, he could (although probably not in the absence of support techs). I've found that most of my tech-casting with him is along the lines of nuking crowds of grunt enemies again and again with Rafoie or Gizonde (with a Fire Scepter: Agni to boost his Rafoie, and sometimes he borrows my FOnewearl's Red Merge). When you're comfortable in a level, though, you can melee if you cast all the support techniques. I just wish he had better ATA; I don't really care about the ATP, but I wish I could use my TP-stealing weapons with at least some accuracy. :ermm:

As for the FOmarl, I don't have any experience with them at all. People say they're more support forces than anything else, and there's some truth to that (they do have double Resta range, IIRC). I've only played with a FOmarl once, offline, and it was four-player splitscreen so I was sorta busier watching my RAmarl. I recall that he'd put a Resta Merge on his FOmarl and he was using some weapon (I wanna say Striker of Chao, but I'm not sure) that also offered a Resta range boost. The result was 8x Resta range, in theory - although my non-PSO-playing friend who borrowed my HUnewearl kept leaving his Resta range for some reason (you should've seen my HUnewearl's mag synchro after that fiasco ).

When all's said and done, there is definitely a "best" way to play some characters, like the FOnewearl, but then again you don't always have to play the 100%-best way to have fun with your force, IMO. Perfection is overrated.