Bowling Bash is the most potent of all sword knight
skills. It is used in a way similar to Brandish Spear, it is not as
simple to use, but it has a higher damage potential. When mastered it is
comparable to the best area effect skills of any other class, and a
great asset in every arena. It requires a good deal of skill points, and
patience to master. Together with the nature of attacking mobs, the
apparent unpredictability of Bowling Bash tends to give it a reputation
of being unreliable and risky as a primary attack. Most of the risks are
mitigated by a knowledge of the skill, the remainder of the risks can
be managed by practice and Priestly support. Once mastered, Bowling Bash
can be relied upon to deal devastating blows to multiple targets.
 Bowling Bash
Skill Prerequisites
Swordman Bash level 10 Magnum Break level 3 Two Handed Sword Master level 5 Knight`s Two Hand Quicken level 10 Counter Attack level 5  An 'Active' or 'Offensive' Melee skill Mastered at Level 10, Level Selectable Range: 2 Cells Duration: Instant May not be interrupted by attacks Costs 12 Skill Points + Skill Level
» 22 Skill Points at Level 10
During the Cast Time character's DEF is reduced to 2/3 Has a 0.7 second Cast Time reduced by DEX in the usual way
» 2/3 of a % (of base cast time) per DEX point
Has an Animation/Cast Delay of 1 second modified by ASPD Accuracy is determined by the attack on the initial target Damage is calculated as a multiplication of ATK by a percentage equal to
» 100 + (40 X Skill Level) for a single hit
 Bowling Bash involves a number of highly unusual effects
» Double Hit
» Splash Attack
» Knock Back
» Chain Reaction
» Gutter Lines
It will knock a target up to 5 cells, the attack will become a 3x3 cell melee Splash Attack if it collides into other targets. Knock Back and Splash Attack effects cause a Chain Reaction, potentially effecting large groups of targets
» Knock Back is disabled in War of Emperium
» Splash Attack is enabled in War of Emperium
» Double Hit is enabled in War of Emperium
» All effects enabled in Player versus Player
» All effects are modified by Gutter Lines in all arenas
Gutter Lines
The biggest secret to mastering Bowling Bash
is Gutter Lines. If you don't know what Gutter Lines are, they are the
reason why there are times when Bowling Bash just won't work.
Every 40 cells (starting at coordinates 0,0
at the bottom left of each map) there is a line where Bowling Bash does
not work, depicted in red. Using Bowling Bash while standing on that
line you will get 1 hit instead of 2 and it will not hit more than one
monster. You cannot Bowling Bash across the red line no matter what, a
critter will not be allowed to be carried over that line as a result of
Bowling Bash.
Along the leading edges of each 40x40 map
block there are 4 cells, the Demi Gutter, depicted in blue. You can
Bowling Bash into the blue as long as you are outside of the blue when
you connect. As long as you are not on the Gutter Line or in the Demi
Gutter, Bowling Bash will hit twice and the mob with knock together.
I have heard that the effect is due to the way
the game splits up the map both on the client or the server, but this
seems highly unlikely. Many skills have a similar Knock Back feature
untroubled by the Gutter Line effect. I have no doubt the Gutter Line
effect is simply an eccentric Nerf of Bowling Bash.
The Best method I know to correct for Gutter
Lines on an unfamiliar map is to move diagonally 5 to 10 cells. The best
method of all is to get familiar with the maps you frequent, knowing
where Bowling Bash works and doesn't work by landmarks means always
knowing where to take your stand. I have heard of other methods, which I
haven't found useful. It has been suggested that if you hotkey '/where'
you will have quick access to your coordinates and therefore be able to
quickly check your position. But divisibles of 40 are not easy to
recognize for everyone, and even if you were to recognize where the
Gutter Line was relative to your position, there is still the matter of
Demi Gutters. In my experience it hasn't helped me to know my
coordinates, the method is too complicated to use quickly. Others have
suggested that you open up a map that displays Gutter Lines. This is not
bad advice at all. I doubt it will be useful in a tense moment, but
studying the Gutter layouts of a map, when you have a moment can't hurt.
 
» I'm looking for a translation of this
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Mobbing
Building & Carrying
Building a mob of aggressive critters is often a
simple matter of walking into them. Building a mob of non-aggressive
critters usually entails provoking or hitting them. Sometimes a mob will
appear, sometimes you will need to create one. Mob building isn't
complicated when you solo. It is clear, you attract a critter, it moves
toward you, you stay just ahead of it, dragging it along and discovering
more critters until you have as many as you want. It helps to be able
to move quickly using a Pecopeco or being buffed with Agility-Up.
Carrying and building a mob is more difficult when
other people get involved. In the case of non-party members, wanting
the mob for yourself you will need to destroy your unfinished mob, it is
extremely rude to dump them on others. In the case of other party
members, they will need to gauge the distances, movement rates, and the
power of the attraction of your mob, as well as you do, and either avoid
pulling critters off of you, or take on the duty of carrying them
around for you until you decide to exterminate them. There is a
challenge in all of that; if you are near each other the mob will
usually break into two or more parts.
Unlike the case of supporting a Grand Cross
Crusader you don't want your support standing near you because then you
cannot move without dumping some or all of the mob on them, and you do
want to move, otherwise you cannot refine the mob.
One strategy is to run forward of the party and
collect or discover a mob, then to return a bit towards the party, and
once they arrive, to turn and destroy the mob. This way the party
doesn't interfere with mob building and is on the spot when you start
getting hit. If your FS can handle it, or if you have another
mob-builder in the party, some other options become viable, including
using the other as a tank to set mobs up for you, however movement speed
is usually the advantage of the Pecopeco rider.
Refining
Apart from Gutter Line effects, the other reason
for a failure of Bowling Bash is a loose mob. In general the optimum mob
is a set of Monsters sitting on a single cell. This rarely happens. You
must deliberately refine your mob to bring them close to each other.
This is simply enough achieved. If you have a group of creatures around
you in a disorderly fashion take a few steps and they will converge
behind you. I liken this to gently pulling a string taut. Once you start
attacking several different things can happen, but with a refined mob
to begin with, usually you can let loose a series of blows effecting the
entire mob. Refining is a skill you need to make Bowling Bash effective
and anyone in your party who doesn't know how to refine may be a
liability. Being attacked by a mob makes you vulnerable by reducing your
FLEE, while attacking with Bowling Bash reduces your DEF, in as much as
attacking an unrefined mob usually results in only partially killing
the mob, refining is a necessary survival skill. The Endure skill can be
very useful in this regard.
Rubbing
If a mob breaks, generally it ends up breaking up
between everyone present. So if 4 people are there you wind up with 4
separated mobs. Rubbing is when one person with a critter moves past
another person dumping the critter on the other person. Virtual-Rubbing
is a lesser solution, it doesn't work as often, to go and stand by the
other person, creating a looser but sometimes viable mob. Critter
behavior varies, some critters are easily rubbed off, others are not.
Experience will inform you. One typical problem here is that if everyone
tries to move toward each other, you wind up with the same problem,
broken mobs, only now standing in different places. It seems feasible to
designate a 'mover' and a 'stayer'.
Ethics
Mob-Training is legal within limits, please be
considerate of others. Ethical behavior in leveling allows us to be
proud of our progress. To get banned for mobbing will require failing at
mobbing properly resulting in dumping mobs on others while also being
callous enough to cause people to bother with reporting you.
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