(note: I may edit this later to add to it. Now, it's just going to be a few short tips)
Aegis Knight is a very good class, but often in 1v1s I see AK's run around, waiting until they have 1 or 2 MP bars to use Divine Slash or their 2nd MP. Not to say that tactic sucks; sometimes it works, but Aegis Knight has so many other things, that shouldn't be all that you do.
Here are a few basic tips for Aegis Knight:
Guard vs. Block: Incase you forget, Aegis Knight has a Guard and a Block. They both do the same thing: nullify attacks. However, you may be thinking, "Which one should I use?" Guard is easier to execute, with the same button inputs as a ragna bolt, but takes too long to actually block something. Block is much harder to execute, as you have to time the arrow movement just right, but it's much more effective.
In most practical situations, you'll be using Block instead of Guard to nullify attacks. Does this mean that you shouldn't use Guard? It definitely doesn't; Guard has other purposes, like...
Sheild Stunning: The good thing about Guard is that it can be made on a key input. While you can only Block when someone attacks you, you can Guard whenever you darn well please. Guarding is a very, very key part of an Aegis Knight's fighting strategy if you're fighting somebody really offensive.
Consider this: somebody likes to contantly charge at you and jump attack. You don't like being constantly jump attacked, but they don't stay on the ground long enough for you to jump attack-fall into them and combo them during the stun. What do you do? When they charge into you, Guard. When they run into you, they're stunned momentarily, and you can start your combo on them. And Aegis Knights have a very deadly combo.
The good thing about Sheild stunning is that you can guard in the air. So if a first job Elesis is charging at you in an air dash, do a slight air dash in the opposite direction and Guard in mid--air. If they're just dashing straight towards you (and I can't imagine why they would) you can simply Guard and stun them. Generally, the former seems to work better, because if someone is just running straight towards you without jumping, they probably have a skill charged up and are probably about to try and kill you.
Psychic Force: AK has so many skills, yet, just like any class, there are practical uses for each. If you're fighting someone who lags quite a bit, you're going to be more inclined to use skills like Divine Slash more and grab much more, since it's harder to combo a lagger. But if the person you're fighting barely lags or is virtually lag-free, there are situations where Psychic Force is better to use than Divine Slash.
Reasons why Divine Slash isn't always your best bet: It's really good for getting out of sticky situations, i.e. if an Arme has a deadly meteor coming to you, you can dodge out of it. Divine Slash is also pretty good in Team Match or Survival, where there are multiple opponents that can get caught in it. However, I generally don't like it in 1v1 for a few reasons.
1) If someone manages to inch out of it, you're vulnerable at the end of the skill. You aren't as vulnerable as you are after Infinity Sword as a DK, but you're still vulnerable. That's an easy grab for your opponent.
2) Really, if you're trying to be offensive, you could just wait for one more MP bar and try your luck with that attack. It's a much more powerful attack, with a better success of hitting someone, and you aren't as vulnerable at the end.
So why would you se Psychic Force?
The first reason; if you aren't facing someone who lags, you can use it at the end of a combo. Yeah, Psychic Force is a hard skill to hit people with, so you have to be careful as to when you use it. If you're fighting someone with high defense and your regular combo doesn't do much, you could tack a Psychic Force at the end of it.
Psychic Force is also good in Survival and Team Match if everybody's grouped up or camping in the same spot.
Because you can go up, down, left, or right with Psychic Force, it can be more surprising. Take, for example, the avid Lire, Lass, Amy, whatever job camper at Forgotten City who likes to stand on that tall pillar towards the left of the map. As everyone's killing everyone else in Team Match or Survival, or if he's just trying to get MP in 1v1, you can use an up Psychic Force, hit them, and knock them down.
What to do with 3 MP bars?: In Team Match or Survival, you're probably going to use your Blame Buster or your level 3 white magic skill to hit a ton of people at once. But what if you're 1v1ing? Those skills are hard to catch people with (generally with any class, level 3 skills aren't the best option in 1v1). You only get one chance to hit someone. And if you mess up (which you probably will)? Then you have to wait for 3 more bars of MP to charge.
Or, you could do like many other jobs do. Use a level 1 safety skill to pause and see if someone is in your range, and then use a level 2 skill that can do a lot of damage. This is what you should do with an Aegis Knight.
But again, I see a lot of people use Divine Slash and Aegis's level 2 MP skill with this combo. Again, not bad...if you catch someone. Divine Slash doesn't have an inital freeze, so this will only work if someone is caught in the Divine Slash, which has a dramatically reduced chance of happening if you're fighting someone who even lags a little.
Or, you could use Psychic Force as the freeze. Not only do you get to freeze and see if your opponent is in range, but if they aren't in range, you can just wait around for one more MP bar, and you still have a usable Psychic Force. PLUS, Psychic Force tacks on damage to Divine Slash and the level 2 skill. So even when you mess up with that, you don't mess up.
Crap! I'm stuck in a Combo!: Simple: Block your way out. Yeah, it's nifty that in an Elesis's or Ronan's or any melee classes'scombo, you can block and start your own combo. You'll LOVE fighting melee classes after you master this. While you could just button mash the direction that your opponent is facing, it's more effective to time the hit right and actually block. You block more of the time, and it gives you practice against ranged class blocking, and then you can be better at blocking arrows and firebolts. (And I'm not sure if this was a fluke or not, or I wasn't paying attention or whatever, but I could have SWORN I blocked a stone curse once).
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So what type of Aegis Knight should I be?: A defensive one, of course. (Please remember this is just my tactic, this is not the only one you can use.) Generally, you shouldn't run around if someone's trying to chase you; in fact, you should like it if people are trying to chase you, because you can Sheild Stun them and combo them! Or you can just block their melee attacks. Either or!
With this defensive strategy, characterwise...
You'll love fighting...
Elesis, all jobsRonans, all jobs except Aegis (fighting your own job always seems to pose a problem for me)
I would add Ryan, Amy, and Lass to this mix, because they're melee too, right? However, Elesis and Ronan are more direct combo-centric melee. Lass and Amy, as of now, are more grab-opportunistic. Ryan is a little more melee, but is also very varied in his attacks.
You'll love fighting, with a little practice
Lire
Hopefully, a little less No Lire! rooms (although to those Lires dismay, it ends up being an AK hosting the room). I can't block arrows consistently; I've only been playing AK for like 4 days out of the week I've had it, so I usually end up only blocking a couple of arrows out of Lire's combo. Plus, you can't block all arrows, because if an arrow is coming straight down or diagonally from the top, then you can't block it. Of course, this is more stage dependent. You'll be blocking more arrows on Forgotten City than you will on Elven Forest.
You'll probably hate fighting...
Lass's 1st job
This is a more running class. Please know that I'm not saying anything's wrong with running, but AK's shouldn't like it when their opponents run, they should like it when their opponents charge at them with attacks because they can block them. Most Lass's don't do this; they just use kunai's or attempt to grab you. You can't block grabs...so yeah, that's a problem.
Strategy-wise, however...
You'll love fighting
Offensive people
Block the heck out of them!
But you'll hate fighting
Evasive people (runners, people who wait and charge MP, etc)
Yeah...you can't really block someone who doesn't attack you.
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I hope this small little basic guide helped. At least, I'm trying to get a lot of Aegis Knights out of the habits that they formed while using DK, by that I mean using their level 1 skill over and over again (which was a crap way of fighting with DK anyway...). Remember, Divine Slash is only your friend sometimes during Team Match and Survival, and in 1v1 he's not much more than an acquaintance. AK has things other than just Divine Slash. Use them!
We need more guides in MyMMO. ;o;
If i dont get activity there, they'll fire me for Content Manager! Post it there Avarice. ;D
Oh, and nice guide, helped me. ;D
C4d Attempt *_*GGftw!
sweet this was helpful
i woundered why i alwas did better when i spamed gard and grab
iJustin: We need more guides in MyMMO. ;o; If i dont get activity there, they'll fire me for Content Manager! Post it there Avarice. ;D Oh, and nice guide, helped me. ;D
I posteed it. ._.
And thanks for the thanks, :D
*bump* I don't like the players who think they're hardcore yet can't take on lires. I say to them that they can block the arrows, but they shrug it off.
Hopefully an actual pro giving them this message would change a few minds.
I was a flower that tried to touch Grand Chase. But I didn't have much power or status so I died out.
*bumps*
I'm not sure if the actual pro bit, which I'm not, was directed towards me, or the players who think they're hardcore bit, which I'm not, was directed towards me. But thank you? o_o