Hey everyone! My name is Twinrova, known as ‘RareShirou’ in game, and I’ve compiled a thorough guide of the Thunder Breaker class’s in-depth gameplay mechanics. I’ve based this guide off of personal experience with the class, as well as the ample amount of research I’ve had to put in over the many months I’ve played the class. With this guide I hope that I can inspire people to understand how mechanically deep this class truly is, and to educate all Thunder Breaker players, new and old, to take a deeper look at the class. And while my guide may be thorough, the amount of knowledge it takes to fully understand all of the interactions this class has with every scenario is vast, so much so that most people don’t even know where to start. My hope is that with the proper knowledge and tools available to players, Thunder Breaker will become more popular than it is. Back when I begun playing Thunder Breaker, I had to completely learn all of the nuance on my own, so now I hope that people can take my knowledge and expand upon it, as to further develop the class. This guide features everything from a basic introduction to the core mechanics unique to Thunder Breaker to an in-depth look at all of the most important Combos, and what makes Thunder Breaker truly unique.

  • In this guide I will assume the following:
    • You have adequate knowledge of all the abilities, both active and passive, up to and including the 5th Job Skill, Lightning Union.
    • You are at least Level 150+, and have leveled up your respective hyper active, as well as maxed all of your 4th Job Skills.
    • You have a solid understanding of the ‘V Matrix’ system.
  • I will also refer to Linking as ‘Into’ and ‘Onto’
    • ‘Into’ refers to the ability in question being used before another ability in succession
      • For example, Ascension Links Into Thunder, as it is used before Thunder in sequence
    • ‘Onto’ refers to the ability in question being used after another ability in succession
      • For example, Thunder Links Onto Ascension, as it’s used after Ascension in sequence
  • A ‘Variant’ is defined as a Link with 2 abilities separated by usage of Thunderbolt, Lightning Punch, or Shark Sweep

The General Structure of this Guide reads as follows:

Topic – Overview of Specifics

  • Thorough Description and Overview of the Topic
  • Specific Topic #1
    • Specifics related to Specific Topic #1
      • Specifications related to Specifics of Specific Topic #1
    • Additional Specifics related to Specific Topic #1
  • Specific Topic #2
    • Specifics related to Specifics Topic #2

And so on.

Table of Contents:

Updates

Linking Mechanic – Heavily Reduced End Lag, Limitations, Other Interactions

Lightning Mechanic – Overview, Buffs, Stacking

Introduction to Variants – Thunderbolt, Lightning Punch, and Shark Sweep

Lightning Punch and Shark Sweep Variants – Annihilate, Typhoon

Thunderbolt Variant Basics – Annihilate, Typhoon

Mobility Links – Ascension, Thunder, Tidal Crash, Flash Jump, Flash

Alternate Links & Shark Sweep Variants

Character and Passive Buffs

Conclusion

Updates

Update #1 – 11/03/16

I’ve updated this guide with some additional features, including an update for some of the major Links, new sections for Inner Ability, Hyper Stats, and more. You can find a complete list of the updated information below.

  • Added:
    • Hyper Stats
    • Hyper Passives
    • Link Skills
    • Character Cards
  • Changed:
    • Thunderbolt Variants
    • Lightning Punch Variants
    • Shark Sweep Variants

Update #2 – 1/31/17

  • Added:
    • Crit Rate
    • Attack Speed
    • Inner Ability
    • 5th Job Nodes (WIP)
  • Changed:
    • Linking Mechanic
    • Shark Sweep Variants
    • Mobility Links
  • Removed:
    • Deep Rising and Flash

Linking Mechanic – Heavily Reduced End Lag, Limitations, Other Interactions

  • The Linking Mechanic makes up the foundation of the Thunder Breaker class’s strength. As an overview, if multiple different skills are ‘Linked’ or used consecutively, the End Lag of the abilities is very Heavily Reduced. This, in addition to the very high innate Attack Speed of Thunder Breakers due to Speed Infusion and Knuckle Booster, allows you some of the fastest attack rates among all classes.
  • Certain abilities and items are not able to Link efficiently with others, certain ones are only able to Linked into/onto specific others, and some cannot Link at all. The full list is as follows:
    • Ascension can only be linked into Thunder, and Thunder can only be Linked onto while Airborne, though this does not have to be as a result of Ascension.
    • Deep Rising cannot be Linked into or onto any other abilities.
      • It’s worth noting that Flash and other abilities/items with no cast animations can be used during Deep Rising
    • Flash Links very poorly with abilities, and as of GMS Patch v.180.2.0, fails to complete any attack when used onto a Link. It will, still, conduct an attack if used by itself.
    • As Tidal Crash cannot be used in the air, if attempted to be Linked into while airborne, no other actions can be performed until you reach the ground and Tidal Crash can complete, to which other abilities can be Linked onto.
    • Buff Skills cannot be Linked with other skills, save for when other buffs are used in a Macro.
      • It’s worth noting that Buffs without a cast animation, such as Call of Cygnus, Glory of the Guardians, and Hero’s Echo, cannot be used during a Link.
    • Certain consumables are useable during Links. The list of valid items is as follows:
      • Power Elixirs, and other healing items
      • Temporary Buffs (Guild Buffs, MPE Potions, etc.)
    • The List of items which are not useable during Links is as follows:
      • All Cure Potions
      • Potion Pots (Cash Item)
      • NX Effects
  • All Cures are able to be used during a Link with usage of a Pet Auto All Cure Skill, and Potion Pots are able to be used with both Pet Auto HP and/or Pet Auto MP Skills.
  • Lastly, as long as a Link is continued, certain properties are applied:
    • A free 100% Stance is given
      • This only applies if the Link has already damaged monsters twice, and will only last a short duration after the last time monsters were damaged twice within a Link. The timer on this buff can be refreshed and extended simply by damaging monsters twice with a continued Link or with a new one.
        • It is possible to extend a stance buff between two separate Links.
        • The duration of the stance buff after the Link ends seems to be based off of how many hits were conducted during the Link. It appears to cap out at around 10 hits, lasting around 5-6 seconds, but there’s no way to confirm this.
    • Certain Statuses have unique interactions (As long as the Link is continued)
      As of GMS Patch v.178 – V: Limitless, Thunder Breaker no longer has any special interactions with Status Effects.
      • Stuns and Seductions, including those of which applied by Crimson Queen’s Mirror, are completely ignored
      • Seals will not prevent spell usage, rather all attacks will miss instead
        • With Pet All Cure enabled, Seals will not longer affect you, as long as the All Cure is able to be consumed
      • It’s worth noting that certain boss specific Status Effects, such as Arkarium’s snake Transformation, will often apply, regardless of a Link existing.

Lightning Mechanic – Overview, Buffs, Stacking

  • The Lightning Mechanic is the other of the two driving forces behind Thunder Breaker’s strength, and is one of the few factors used in determining which Link to use for a given scenario.
  • There are two ways in which Lightning can buff you:
    • Held Lightning stacks
      • Attacking with any ability besides Typhoon and Annihilate will grant a stack of Lightning. Lightning stacks are held for 30 seconds, unless refreshed.
      • Each Lightning stack gives two buffs per stack held (up to 5):
        • An additional 9% IED, totaling to 45%
        • An additional Line on Annihilate (up to 7 from 2)
    • Typhoon consumption buffs
      • When Typhoon is used, all Lightning stacks will be consumed, giving you a temporary 7% Damage buff based on the number of stacks that were consumed, up to 35%, for 90 seconds.
        • Typhoon can be used with 0 Lightning stacks, causing a 0% Damage buff to be applied.
  • It is extremely important that both of these buffs are refreshed and maintained during all Links that utilize this system, as this will significantly increase your damage output.
  • The quickest methods of stacking Lightning are as follows:
    • Shark Sweep + Lightning Punch
      • This is the fastest method of generating Lightning, and is generally recommended against bosses.
      • This method does not involve large amounts of movement, making it ideal against bosses such as Magnus, where it is easy to get killed via his Meteors.
    • Ascension + Thunder
      • This is the second fastest method of generating Lightning, and is generally recommended against regular monsters.
      • This method involves large amount of movement, making it ideal against monsters and bosses which cannot 1-hit ko you, due to having more raw damage.
  • Alternatively, Lightning can be stacked through normal usage of an Annihilate + Lightning Punch/Shark Sweep Link.

Introduction to Variants – Thunderbolt, Lightning Punch, and Shark Sweep

  • Variants are important to understand in order to balance between risking death and dealing the most damage in the most effective way possible, based on the scenario. In general, Thunderbolt Variants are lower DPS than Lightning Punch and Shark Sweep Variants, and have the disadvantage of longer cast times, making it often difficult to dodge certain attacks. Thunderbolt does make up for this, in that it has a larger hitbox than the alternatives. A list of the most Dangerous Moves can be found below. Lightning Punch Variants, conversely, excel in the fashion of having shorter cast times, making it easier to quickly Link into a Tidal Crash or an Ascension into Thunder to dodge those aforementioned attacks. Unfortunately, they lack in damage compared to Thunderbolt Variants.

The “Dangerous Moves List”:

  • Zakum’s Arms & Lasers
    • Most important when multiple Zakum Arms have not been killed.
  • Hilla’s Explosion
  • Cygnus’ Genesis
  • Arkarium’s Screen Crack
  • Gollux’s Breath & Arms
  • Chaos Von Bon’s Clocks
  • Normal/Chaos Pierre’s Hats
    • Most useful after Pierre splits, and the number of hats dropped increases.
  • Normal/Chaos Crimson Queen’s Flame Breath & Hearts
    • Be aware of whether you are tanking Flame Breath with a party or not.
  • Chaos Vellum’s Tails
  • Magnus’ Meteors and Spin
    • Most important after 50% and 25% HP markers have been reached.
    • Tidal Crash and Thunder can pseudo-cancel the effects of Magnus’ Spin, effectively cancelling the momentum change of the Spin and replacing it with that of its own. Unfortunately, this will not prevent the Hitstun you receive from the Spin, so the Link must be continued or you will be stunned the same duration had you not have cancelled the momentum. This technique is performed by using it during a small time window before after being hit by the Spin, and only is possible if you are in the middle of a Link.
      • Keep in mind that you will still move according to the movement of Tidal Crash/Thunder, so be careful not to move yourself into a meteor. Often times, it’s safer to simply get hit by Magnus and not tech the momentum.
      • You can also Link other abilities in the same fashion as Tidal Crash and Thunder, which, though they won’t cancel the momentum, will ignore the Hitstun, which is usually a better alternative to simply getting hit.
        • Flash is the only ability which cannot perform this technique
  • Lotus’ Debris & Energy Ball
    • Most important as Lotus takes more and more Damage.
  • Damien’s Flying Swords

“When should I use a Thunderbolt Variant?”

  • Thunderbolt Variants are best used when you require additional range or mobbing ability to handle a given situation, and it’s safe enough to justify taking the extra risk. With higher ranges, using Thunderbolt can very easily pay off as long as you are aware of the inherent dangers involved with longer cast times. With enough practice, the difference in safety between Thunderbolt and Lightning Punch Variants can be minimized.

“When should I use a Lightning Punch Variant?”

  • Lightning Punch Variants are best used when it’s unclear if a situation is safe or not, and when you are looking to spam one particular ability. Being able to quickly Link into a clutch Tidal Crash can easily save your life.

“What about a Shark Sweep Variant?”

  • With maxed out Nodes, Shark Sweep has the advantage of marginally higher DPS over Lightning Punch when Linked with Annihilate, but is so small that it typically boils down to personal preference. Additionally, Shark Sweep is useful for when you need to hit both in front of you and behind you, but for all intents and purposes it’s hardly worth considering for that purpose, since you can change direction in the middle of a Link.

Lightning Punch and Shark Sweep Variants – Annihilate, Typhoon

Shark Sweep can be substituted for Lightning Punch in either of the following Links. These have a marginally lower DPS than their Lightning Punch counterparts, unless you compare the two abilities when both Nodes are maxed out. The difference between the two, in both animation length and damage, even with maxed out Nodes, is so small that it ultimately comes down to personal preference. This can also come down to the situation, as Shark Sweep’s hitbox is larger than Lightning Punch, extending behind the direction you’re facing, which can either be better or worse depending on the situation.

  • Lightning Punch + Typhoon
    • Abuses Typhoon’s incredible horizontal and vertical hitbox, making it an effective mobbing tool against weaker monsters on a large map with multiple platforms.
    • Similar to Thunderbolt + Typhoon, this does not take advantage of any of the Lightning buffs, so use it very situationally
    • Since Typhoon has such high base DPS, this Link can be used effectively against monsters with low Defense such as Horntail
    • Very efficient for clearing early Dojo floors
  • Lightning Punch + Annihilate
    • Highest DPS Link against single targets with high Defense, as long as you’re in range to hit Lightning Punch.
      • Technically this is the 2nd highest DPS Link against single targets, but only if you have Shark Sweep Nodes maxed out as opposed to Lightning Punch Nodes.
    • Much faster alternative to Thunderbolt + Annihilate, allowing for faster reactions to dangerous moves.
    • Uses the Lightning and Typhoon buffs, making this more effective against higher Defense enemies.
    • Smaller Hitboxes than Thunderbolt variant, which is useful in certain situations, such as in Chaos Pierre in order to avoid healing his double.

Thunderbolt Variant Basics – Annihilate, Typhoon

  • Thunderbolt + Annihilate
    • This is the third highest DPS Link against single targets when both Lightning Punch and Shark Sweep are not in range to hit. It has the biggest hitbox of the three.
    • Only useful when used with optimal Lightning buffs.
    • It’s Horizontal Range can be stretched slightly, the hitboxes are slightly bigger than they may seem, particularly on Thunderbolt.
  • Thunderbolt + Typhoon
    • This is your bread and butter, Highest DPS Link against multiple targets when, and only when, Lightning buffs aren’t relevant.
    • This Link loses a lot of ground when against monsters (particularly bosses) with high Defense.

Mobility Links – Ascension, Thunder, Tidal Crash, Flash Jump, Flash

  • Thunder Breaker excels in having a variety of effective Mobility options, and has numerous skills that can accomplish this.
  • Flash Jump
    • It’s worth noting that:
      • In addition to the normal Flash Jump, you can hold up and use Flash Jump to jump very far upwards
  • Ascension + Thunder
    • This is the bread and butter in the majority of your Mobility Links. It:
      • Takes advantage of Lightning buffs
      • Links Thunder very efficiently into other Abilities
      • Provides solid base damage, making it the best option for attacking multiple monsters if Lightning buffs are needed
      • Is a very efficient mobbing tool, particularly at extremely high ranges and on horizontal maps, such as Scrapyard Hills.
    • It can also be volatile against certain bosses, such as Magnus, Lotus, and Chaos Von Bon. As such, be careful when using it.
  • Ascension + Thunder + Tidal Crash
    • Most efficient Mobility Link in terms of distance traveled over time
    • Very inconsistent and ineffective in terms of Mobbing and attacking
    • The direction of Tidal Crash can be changed mid-Link to move in smaller, incremental distances.
  • Flash Jump + Ascension + Ascension + Thunder + Tidal Crash
    • This is your single, longest distance maneuver. It’s performed by Flash Jumping immediately followed by two Ascensions in succession, then Thunder and potentially Tidal Crash for extra distance. 
      • Really only useful when covering extended distances. I recommend using Ascension + Thunder + Tidal Crash to cover smaller distances.
    • It’s not worth considering attacking with this maneuver, so I’m not going to go in-depth covering this.
  • Tidal Crash + Lightning Punch
    • This is your ground-based mobility option, it covers the most amount of ground without having to go into the air, which is useful in certain situations.
    • Like the previous maneuver, this is hardly worth considering for damage.
  • Tidal Crash + Typhoon/Thunderbolt/Annihilate/Shark Sweep/Lightning Punch
    • Use Tidal Crash with other abilities to keep you within their effective range, as it’s the quickest way to boost you forward a short distance. This can not only keep you within attacking range, but if spaced correctly, keep you at any consistent distance away from the monster you’re fighting, regardless of whether or not you’re attacking.
    • Doesn’t consume Lightning buffs, unless Linked with Typhoon
  • Flash
    • Flash can be added onto any of the previously mentioned Mobility Links, extending the distance covered by a short distance.
    • Flash can also be used by itself to simply teleport you 300 units ahead, but can teleport you to a monster in a large range in front of you.
    • Be aware that it links very poorly to other abilities, and that as of GMS Patch v177.2, it does not deal damage when Linked onto other abilities. It does, however, deal damage when used by itself.
    • Flash can teleport between platforms, which can be situationally useful when crossing certain maps

Shark Sweep Variants

  • All of the following Links all have a slightly lower effective DPS than their Lightning Punch counterparts, with the exception of having Shark Sweep maxed out with Nodes. The difference between the two, in both animation length and damage, even with maxed out Nodes, is so small that it ultimately comes down to personal preference. It’s worth noting that Shark Sweep’s hitbox is larger than Lightning Punch, extending behind the direction you’re facing, which can be useful depending on the situation.

Character and Passive Buffs

After posting the original version of this guide, I’ve received a lot of questions regarding the topics mentioned below. So much so, that I decided to add in a section for each of these topics.

You can find a Table of Contents for all the Character and Passive Buffs below.

Hyper Stats

Hyper Passives

Link Skills

Character Cards

Crit Rate

Attack Speed

Inner Ability

5th Job Nodes

Hyper Stats

This section focuses around the primary Stats you should be using in a general order of importance. Keep in mind that this should by no means be a concrete guide to your Hyper Stat Point distribution, only my strongest recommendations.

  • %Damage, %Boss Damage, %IED
    • These are all very core as a Thunder Breaker, as they are the most effective Stats for increasing your damage. If you plan on doing early bossing, take %Damage and %Boss Damage first and distribute them equally, up to around level 7 or 8. If not, raise only %Damage to level 4 or 5 before adding any points into %Boss. As soon as you begin to hit higher levels in both of these, begin to take points in %IED, as you’ll need it for later-game bosses.
      • After ~level 210, begin to take additional points into these Hyper Stats after you’ve raised your other Stats to higher ranks.
  • %Crit Rate, %Minimum Crit, %Maximum Crit
    • Thunder Breaker only has a base Crit Rate of 35%, meaning that it’s very important to take points in these Hyper Stats. 
    • For more details on % Crit Rate, there is a section below for all the information regarding that. 
    • For %Minimum and %Maximum Crit, I recommend Leveling these  up equally until level 5, where you should Level up %Maximum Crit up another 2 Levels or so.
  • STR Flat Increase
    • After taking the other most important Hyper Stats to higher levels, feel free to sink some points into STR Flat Increase. It’s not nearly as effective as the aforementioned Stats, but will give you the best Damage increase for the required Hyper Stat Points at earlier ranks, so I recommend leveling this up to around level 5 or 6.
  • %Status Resistance, %Maximum HP
    • With the Damage Hyper Stats leveled and late-game bosses approaching, it can be very useful to sink some Hyper Stat Points into %Status Resistance and %Maximum HP. These will aide you in staying alive against endgame bosses, which, given the nature of them having a high level requirement, means that you won’t need to put points into these Hyper Stats until higher levels. Once you’re settled with your Damage output, definitely consider putting as many Hyper Stat Points into these two as you are comfortable with, as they make bossing considerably easier.

Hyper Passives

In terms of distribution of points for Hyper Passives, I recommend putting as many points into Annihilate as possible, and using the other 2 SP into whichever ability better suits your playstyle. Personally, I recommend putting the additional 2 SP into Reinforce and Extra Strike for your ability of choice while bossing, and Spread for both Thunderbolt and Typhoon while farming. My personal choices are underlined below.

  • Gale/Typhoon
    • Reinforce – Damage +20%
    • Spread – Max Enemies Hit +2
    • Extra Strike – Number of Attacks +1
  • Thunderbolt
    • Reinforce – Damage +20%
    • Spread – Max Enemies Hit +2
    • Extra Strike – Number of Attacks +1
  • Annihilate
    • Reinforce – Damage +20%
    • Guard Break – Monster DEF Ignore +20%
    • Boss Rush – Boss Damage +20%

Link Skills

Before you read on, I highly recommend checking out Ayumilove’s Link Skill Guide for an in-depth description of Link Skills in more details than I will go into here. Within this section, you will find Link Skills broken up into 3 Categories specifically detailed for Thunder Breaker: ‘Required,’ ‘Recommended,’ and ‘Personal Preference’. The list is structured to go from most useful to least useful as it goes from top to bottom, based on my opinion, though only the Links labeled under ‘Required’ are necessities. Time and Server based classes, such as Beast Tamer and Zero, are labeled under ‘Secondary’ due to their limited availability.

  • Required
    • Elven Blessing (Mercedes)
      • 15% EXP Bonus makes leveling up considerably easier. Swap this out for a different Link if you need extra Damage, though.
    • Wild Rage (Demon Avenger)
      • 10% Damage buff is universally helpful for farming and bossing.
    • Elementalism (Kanna)
      • See above.
    • Phantom Instinct (Phantom)
      • 15% Crit Rate helps a lot with reaching 100% Crit Rate, which is useful for both farming and bossing.
    • Fury Unleashed (Demon Slayer)
      • 15% Boss Damage helps with bossing.
    • Light Wash (Luminous)
      • 15% IED helps with bossing.
    • Cygnus Blessing (Cygnus Knights)
      • 5-25% Abnormal Status Resistance is extremely useful against late game bosses, and though this requires a lot of work, it does not take up an additional Link Skill slot due to Thunder Breaker having it innately.
  • Recommended
    • Rhinne’s Blessing (Zero)
      • 2-10% IED and 3-15% Reduced Damage Taken is both useful while fighting against late-game bosses and while farming.
    • Hybrid Logic (Xenon)
      • 10% All Stat provides a sizeable Damage buff later-game.
    • Core Aura (Jett)
      • Random buff typically ranging anywhere from 3-20 of each Primary Stat and ATT is very useful for increasing Damage at all stages.
    • Iron Will (Kaiser)
      • 15% HP is very useful for surviving against endgame bosses if you are having trouble with that.
    • Focus Spirit (Beast Tamer)
      • 7% Crit Rate and Boss Damage, as well as 4% HP and MP is useful for a number of reasons mentioned previously.
    • Judgment (Kinesis)
      • 4% Crit Damage provides a more sizeable Damage buff as % Crit Rate begins to rise, more useful late-game.
  • Personal Preference
    • Knight’s Watch (Mihile)
      • 100% Stance is useful against a handful of bosses where you may have downtime between Links, such as Cygnus. Other than that, it comes down to the player.
    • Terms and Conditions (Angelic Buster)
      • 45% Damage increase for 10 seconds is useful if you don’t mind interrupting Links in order to gain a temporary buff. Very useful against Hard Magnus while he is bound and you can attack him freely for the entire 10 seconds.
    • Rune Persistence (Evan)
      • 50% Rune Duration is very useful both while doing daily bosses and farming, take this if you need additional EXP gained.
    • Combo Kill Blessing (Aran)
      • 650% EXP gained from Combo Orbs is useful while farming, but has no use elsewhere. Take this if you need even further farming speed after Elven Blessing and Rune Persistence, as well as Rhinne’s Blessing if available.
    • Pirate Blessing (Cannoneer)
      • 25 Flat All Stat and 10% HP is useful if you need additional survivability after Kaiser Link Skill.
    • Close Call (Shade)
      • 10% Chance to avoid death is very useful against certain bosses such as Magnus where death is common, but is very situational elsewhere.
    • Keen Edge (Hayato)
      • 10 Flat All Stat and 5 Flat ATT is useful for early game farming, though is outclassed by other Damage Links.
    • Spirit of Freedom (Resistance)
      • Up to 6 seconds of invincibility after reviving is extremely situational and usually not worth having, except in a handful of bosses, especially since you have to level up 3 characters to 120 to get it to max duration.

Character Cards

Character Cards serve a variety of purposes, and I recommend checking out Ayumilove’s Character Card Guide for a full list of Character Cards and their effects, as well as a more detailed overview of the system. In this section, I’ll simply be listing out my recommendations on which Character Card Sets I believe are the most useful. In addition, I recommend that all of your Character Cards are at least Rank S, or the Character is over Level 100, so that all of your Decks will grant the ‘Warrior’s Feat’ Deck Bonus, which gives an additional 3 ATT, 3% Boss, and 700 Flat HP and MP for each Bonus applied.

Reboot Builds

  • General Use Build:
    • No Set Bonus:
      • Kanna (3% Boss Damage)
      • Phantom (3% Meso Obtained)
      • Demon Avenger (3% Boss Damage)
    • Warrior Set (8% Max HP as Bonus Damage):
      • Hayato (3% Critical Damage)
      • Blaster (3% IED)
      • Kaiser (+40 STR)
    • Pirate Set (6% IED):
      • Mechanic (15% Buff Duration)
      • Shade (3% Critical Damage)
      • Angelic Buster (+40 DEX)
  • Farming Build:
    • No Set Bonus:
      • Phantom (3% Meso Obtained)
      • Wild Hunter (1.5% Chance to Instant Kill on normal Mobs)
      • Crossbowman (3% Crit Rate)
        • Replace this with Beast Tamer if available, making sure to cap your Crit Rate Hyper Stat at Level 3. Otherwise, cap your Crit Rate Hyper Stat at Level 6.
    • Warrior Set (8% Max HP as Bonus Damage):
      • Hayato (3% Critical Damage)
      • Blaster (3% IED)
      • Kaiser (+40 STR)
    • Pirate Set (6% IED):
      • Mechanic (15% Buff Duration)
      • Shade (3% Critical Damage)
      • Angelic Buster (+40 DEX)
  • Bossing Build:
    • No Set Bonus:
      • Kanna (3% Boss Damage)
      • Demon Slayer (3% Abnormal Status Resistance)
      • Crossbowman (3% Crit Rate)
        • Replace this with Beast Tamer if available, making sure to cap your Crit Rate Hyper Stat at Level 3. Otherwise, cap your Crit Rate Hyper Stat at Level 6.
    • Warrior Set (8% Max HP as Bonus Damage):
      • Hayato (3% Critical Damage)
      • Blaster (3% IED)
      • Demon Avenger (3% Boss Damage)
    • Pirate Set (6% IED):
      • Mechanic (15% Buff Duration)
      • Shade (3% Critical Damage)
      • Angelic Buster (+40 DEX)

Non-Reboot Builds

  • General Use Build:
    • No Set Bonus:
      • Kanna (3% Boss Damage)
      • Demon Avenger (3% Boss Damage)
      • Zero (8% Experience Gained)
    • Warrior Set (8% Max HP as Bonus Damage):
      • Hayato (3% Critical Damage)
      • Blaster (3% IED)
      • Kaiser (+40 STR)
    • Pirate Set (6% IED):
      • Mechanic (15% Buff Duration)
      • Shade (3% Critical Damage)
      • Angelic Buster (+40 DEX)
  • Farming Build:
    • No Set Bonus:
      • Wild Hunter (1.5% Chance to Instant Kill on normal Mobs)
      • Phantom (3% Meso Obtained)
      • Zero (8% Experience Gained)
    • Warrior Set (8% Max HP as Bonus Damage):
      • Hayato (3% Critical Damage)
      • Blaster (3% IED)
      • Kaiser (+40 STR)
    • Pirate Set (6% IED):
      • Mechanic (15% Buff Duration)
      • Shade (3% Critical Damage)
      • Angelic Buster (+40 DEX)
  • Bossing Build:
    • No Set Bonus:
      • Demon Avenger (3% Boss Damage)
      • Kanna (3% Boss Damage)
      • Beast Tamer (3% IED)
    • Warrior Set (8% Max HP as Bonus Damage):
      • Hayato (3% Critical Damage)
      • Blaster (3% IED)
      • Kaiser (+40 STR)
    • Pirate Set (6% IED):
      • Mechanic (15% Buff Duration)
      • Shade (3% Critical Damage)
      • Angelic Buster (+40 DEX)

Crit Rate

Crit Rate is extremely important to consider, as Thunder Breaker only has a base total of 35% Crit Rate, meaning that you need an additional 65% to reach 100%. The list of the best ways to obtain it are as follows:

  • Phantom Instinct (Phantom Link Skill) – 15%
  • Focus Spirit (Beast Tamer Link Skill) – 7%
  • Crossbowman Character Card – 3%
  • Crit Rate Hyper Stat – Up to 15%
    • Gives 1% Crit per Level for the first 5 Levels, and 2% for the last 5.
  • Legendary Inner Ability – 25-30%
  • Event-Based Pivotal Adventure Ring – 15%
  • Decent Sharp Eyes Potential (Gloves) & 5th Job Skill Node – 10%
  • Potential Lines on Weapons – 9-13% (Per Line)
  • Roll of the Dice (4) [From Loaded Dice Skill Node] – 15%

When deciding what Crit Rate build to pick, understand that there are two primary methods of hitting 100% Crit Rate, and it depends on whether or not the Beast Tamer Link Skill is available. If no event items or Link Skills are available, the best build is as follows:

  • Phantom Instinct (Phantom Link Skill) – 15%
  • Legendary Inner Ability – 30%
  • Crit Rate Hyper Stat Level 6 – 7%
  • Crossbowman Character Card – 3%
  • Decent Sharp Eyes – 10%

If Beast Tamer is available, then the build is changed to as follows:

  • Phantom Instinct (Phantom Link Skill) – 15%
  • Focus Spirit (Beast Tamer Link Skill) – 7%
  • Legendary Inner Ability – 30%
  • Crit Rate Hyper Stat Level 3 – 3%
  • Decent Sharp Eyes – 10%
    • Crit Rate Hyper Stat can be Leveled to 9 in place of this

Attack Speed

Before I can get into Inner Ability, I must clear up the misconception that +1 Attack Speed is an effective line for Thunder Breakers. If you’re not keen on your Attack Speed math, there’s a guide over at Basilmarket you can read to learn more.

The important weapon speeds are as follows:

  • Terminus Striker – Fast (5)
  • [Empress] Shark Tooth Wild Talon – Fast (4)
  • [Japanese] Susano-o’s Bloodstained Knuckler – Fast (5)
  • [Sweetwater] Sweetwater Grip – Fast (5)
  • [Chaos Root Abyss] Fafnir Perry Talon – Fast (5)
  • [AbsoLab] Absolute Labs Blast Knuckle – Fast (5)
  • [Arcane] Arcane Umbra Knuckle – Fast (5)

Since the Average Speed for a Knuckle is Fast (5), we’ll be using that for all of our calculations.

We’ll be using the increases of:

  • Knuckle Booster (2)
  • Speed Infusion (2)
  • Monster Park Green Potion (1)

Innately, by only using Knuckle Booster and Speed Infusion we’re able to bring our Attack Speed down to Fastest (1). At that point, the Green Potion becomes enough to bring us to the hard cap at Fastest (0), and it’s no longer necessary to have the Inner Ability line of +1 Attack Speed.

Inner Ability

There are a handful of Inner Ability lines that are worth considering, and most of it is based around your Crit Rate. As we’ve already discussed, there is no need for a +1 Attack Speed line. With that said, a tier list is below of the most useful options for your primary, secondary, and tertiary lines.

SS Tier

  • Critical Rate Increase
    • Skip this if you have enough Crit Rate elsewhere. If not, then this should be your main line.

S Tier

  • Weapon ATT Increase
    • Use this as an alternative to Critical Rate Increase, in case you can’t get it and roll this instead, or you have enough Crit Rate elsewhere.
  • Boss Damage Increase
    • An alternative to Weapon ATT Increase, and Critical Rate Increase by extension.

A Tier

Use anything below here as a viable option for your secondary and tertiary lines.

  • Drop Rate Increase
    • Very strong if you are in the process of farming a lot of Nodes or (particularly end-game) boss drops.
  • Buff Duration Increase
    • Strongest after you are comfortable with the amount of Nodes you have.

B Tier

  • Mesos Obtained Increase (Reboot Only)
    • Use this if you plan on doing a lot of farming and are especially in need of Mesos, especially if you don’t have a dedicated farming character.

5th Job Nodes

<WIP>

Conclusion

In conclusion, I hope I’ve done my best to educate you and provide you with a wealth of knowledge you will be able to refer to while making your own Thunder Breaker the best it can be. I’ve covered everything from the core mechanics, such as Linking and Lightning, to the specific highest DPS Links such as Thunderbolt + Annihilate, to the ludicrous mobility found in Links such as Flash Jump + Lightning Punch + Ascension + Thunder + Tidal Crash + Flash. As I’m sure you’ve figured out, this class is everything you make it to be. Thunder Breaker is by far my favorite class, and is the only one I still love to play, even after playing for years upon years and class upon class. It’s a breath of fresh air in an otherwise often stale game, which I can’t help but say is a gem in and of itself.

  • Twinrova

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