My swordie -> knight build, critique?

[destroika]

So I've used a certain agi build that has worked great for me so far on the original iRO as well as dozens of private servers. I'd like to think I've perfected it, but now I'm going to melt my pride and see how others would critique it.

Novice: start with
9 str,
9 agi,
6 dex,
4 vit

-starting with your first point in str, get
10 str,
10 agi,
10 dex,
11 vit
in that order.

-then, since the stat point cost is the lowest in this range and all these stats will be much higher later, finish off str, agi and dex at 11, now you're base level 10.
-by base level 12, get 14 vit and go become a swordie.
-even though this is a agi build, it's inefficient to start with agi since you can't get enough points in the agi stat at the beginning to sufficiently increase your attack speed and flee. For now, vit will be your defense, and at higher levels, it will aid in increasing your max hp.
-I stay with a 1H sword all the way to knighthood for the massive defense of a shield and increased attack speed over a 2H. Even though you hit for slightly less than a 2H, your over all damage per second (dps) will be greater.
-I also invest all my money in the weapons first as that will be your greatest benefit both in offense and in defense; "a good defense is a good offense" - I learned this in WoW as a warrior the hard way with arena points... get a blade and upgrade it to +7 asap, then save up for a ring pummel saber (rps) and upgrade it to +6. A +6 rps has a damage range very close to an un-upgraded tsurugi so you can stick with that for a while. (you'll have a much higher min damage, but a slightly lower max damage compared to the +0 tsurugi). After you get the +6 rps, then get armors until you begin to collect rough oridecons, then save for the tsurugi and get it and upgrade it as much as you can. Concentrate on upgrading the tsurugi to it's safe limit and then put your concentration back into leveling.

Swordie: 12/1 with
11 str,
11 agi,
14 vit,
11 dex.

-First, the order of skills, point by point, going to job level 50:
10 hp recovery,
10 1H sword mastery,
5 bash, 3 mag break,
5 bash, 5 provoke,
1 endure,
10 2H sword mastery.
2H mastery is needed for leveling as a knight and 1H swords with a shield have uses for heavy situations as a knight.

Balancing the stats as you level is tricky, you need more flee to have a better chance of avoiding damage per attack and more str to kill more quickly, reducing the amount of attacks that can damage you. Unlike the thief class, swordsman have the luxury of much higher max hp, an hp recovery skill that is actively healing you as you take damage and the ability to equip heavier armors, greatly reducing the damage that does manage to hit you.

-stats: level 20
11 str
11 agi
26 vit
11 dex
-stats: level 26
21 str
13 agi
26 vit
15 dex
-stats: level 42, job ~33
27 str (+3 at job 33)
41 agi
26 vit
18 dex
-stats: level 53
28 str
61 agi
26 vit
18 dex
-stats: level 63, ~44 job
36 str (+4 at job 44)
71 agi
26 vit
24 dex
-stats: level 68, ~50 job
36 str
80 agi
26 vit
24 dex

Knighthood

Skills, in order of point by point to job 50:

1 peco riding
5 cavalier mastery
10 2H quicken
10 spear mastery
5 pierce
3 spear stab
10 brandish spear
5 pierce

Since you are reborn as a novice for the Lord Knight tree, it is pointless to put the points in the skills that would normally unlock Lord Knight skills BEFORE you have been reborn. This is simply to get TO the reborn part.

Knight:
-stats: level 71, ~33 job
44 str (+6 at job 33 which rises really fast at this base lvl)
80 agi
26 vit
24 dex
-highest I ever got in iRO (2/2/2 sakray) was level 74, below is private servers-
-stats: level 82
44 str
99 agi
26 vit
24 dex
-stats: level 88
62 str
99 agi
26 vit
24 dex
-stats: level 99
62 str?? +8
99 agi?? +2
26 vit?? +10
24 dex??+6
56 luk?? +4

unbuffed/ungeared raw stats: 129 hit, 200 flee, 7 perfect dodge, 19 crit, 61 hp regen (basic hp regen, not the skill) and 4 sp regen.

Why so much of the luk stat?
Answer:
Since critical attacks are not linked to your hit ability - increased by dex - and since they ignore armor (and I think vit too) of your enemy, it maximizes your damage as well as provides a different attack angle. It also provides you with the perfect dodge, a different angle of avoiding damage that stacks in a unique way with flee. I honestly don't understand how flee and perfect dodge combine, all I know is if you have +100 perfect dodge, you are literally immune to physical damage as no attack will successfully land. (tested on a shr private server with 999 max luk stat.)

My basic leveling guide:

Novice:
-until level 12: kill anything that doesn't kill you.

Swordie:
- until level 26: *server specific: pay_fild01*, generally culverts_02 or pay_dun01
- until level 42: *server specific: moc_fild18*, generally culverts_02/03
- until level 53: mjolnir07 (poison spore mobbing) and/or orc_dun01
- until level 63: moc_fild17 (hodes), orc_dun02 zenorcs and/or coal mines03

Knight:
- until level 71: gef_fild08 (kobolds) and/or orc_dun02 zenorcs
- until level 82: cmd_fild03 anolians (you want a wind element spear for pierce here)
- until max level: not really sure, I'm guessing Sphinx_dun04/05

So let me know what you people think... where can this be improved?

Edit: clarified points of confusion.