SSBM's High Damage PvE Build



The Build My belief when it comes to Soul Benders is that the best defense is a good offense.

Ghost Slash and Ghost Slash Drive
Ghost slash drive's bremen mode is a reliable escape technique if you have time to charge up the thing. It's damage output is only slightly lower than phantasmal slayer. Thanks to Ghost Slash and Drive's many purposes it's a good idea to max both of them.

Moonlight Slash, Full Moon, and Moonlight Cancel
Moonlight slash isn't a move meant to do massive damage to your opponents. It's strength lies elsewhere.

It's first use is as a launch. With the cancel bought you save sp you would've spent on upper slash. Three attacks then moonlight gives the enemy a high launch.

It's second use is grouping enemies together. It tends to carry the enemies along with you and it's reach and speed is absolutely absurd, this sets you up for just about any one of your skills.

It's third use is to keep enemies downed so you can make a getaway. When the enemy is knocked down by tombstone or drive the enemy has a small moment for retaliation. Use moonlight then make a break for it to do additional damage and get away without a scratch.

Afterimage of Keiga, Ghost Step, and Kalla
Being a cloth class Soul Benders NEED Keiga, it decreases all damage they take by percents as well as increasing their evasion. MAX IT.

Ghost step may be useful under certain circumstances but it does it's job at 4, use it if your other escape options wont work.

Kalla does it's job at level 1. It's a decent projectile that does DoT, for this build's purposes you're using it for the dual wield strike.

Triple Slash and Wave Wheel
Both of these skills are used for escape utility. Grab the enemy when you're surrounded then make a run for it. Or just break through with triple slash. Keep both at level 1.

Phantasmal Slayer
Another skill that does it's job perfectly at level 1. It is a safe escape move that does decent damage to all enemies caught in it's path.

Tombstone
Perhaps your strongest attack. Makes tombstones randomly fall around you with each hit doing moderate damage. Definately worth maxing, it makes quick work of large bosses.. small bosses.. mobs.. .. k it's anti-everything.

Rhasa of the Plague
Rhasa is a ghost which does many different effects on whatever it affects. The catch is that the enemy has to be grabbed by smaller ghosts for it's effect to take place. A random effect goes onto the enemy every couple of second "per ghost attached." This can be poison, decreased attack speed, bleeding, decreased physical defense, decreased hit recovery, ect. Worth maxing for party play.

Kazan
Quite simply put, it's an aoe buff that increases you and your allies magical and physical damage. Definately worth maxing.

Bremen
One of the most helpful skills you have access to. Maxed it lowers the enemy magic defense by over 7000. All your skills are magical and this is a godsend in parties. It also has a secondary effect, all enemies inside it's range have their status resistance reduced meaning they are more likely to be affected by status effects.. like say.. Freezing?

Saya
Definately the single most helpful skill you have access to. It's an Aoe that you leave out and it has a chance of freezing the enemy as well as doing water damage to everything inside. Mixed in with Bremen the enemy is frozen much more often. Worth maxing, easily the best skill Soul Benders have.

Lunar Curtain
This is a great skill most people ignore. What it does is increase your own shadow resistance and lower the enemy's. Doesn't sound so great until you realize that it basically "multiplies" your damage. Leave it at 4 or max it. Personnaly I'd go with the latter.

Furious Blache
Your final skill and highest damage one. It's a high cost high reward skill where you try to sacrifice as many ghosts inside it's pool as possible. When Blache swallows the enemy it does enormous damage. This is perhaps the highest damage single hit skill in the entire game. since this is a PvE build it's definately a good idea to max it.