i just started few days ago and i was worried how i should build my toon..also what weapons are good with aoe's and massive dmg but also to heal...if any1 could give me some info and insight. o 1 more thing any good places to grind for exp,weapons,etc. I'm level 23 and went daring cause i thought it was more balanced play and been adding power,vit and mind here and there ..Thank You for you time....

I would suggest just trying out a few weps and seeing what you like. Btw, stats determine your weapon affinities so going into a bunch of them is generally a bad idea :/

Pow=Axe, Sword, Odachi/Oodachi, some spear/ts/bow affinity
Dex=Bow, Twin Swords
Vit=Spear
Mnd=Staff
Wis=Wand

RobYa wrote:but also to heal

Only staff can heal and the mnd required is generally rank*10 but for the actual values, check here.

Spear is pretty common and has good aoe and dmg so a lot of ppl chose that. I personally chose bow which has really good dmg early on if you go pure dex but it also has ridiculously low drop rates for skill force magatama which you should be using after you max your aff (or around that time, see what deals more dmg).

If you can find a pt, there are ppl who grind byakkou cavern, so if you play support in a full pt in hell mode you should be getting a lot of xp. I grinded ankan forest in Kyoto but didn't know about grind spots at the time -.-" so idk how the xp compares.

Btw, if you ever want to change your stats, you get a free stat reset after some events in Kyoto in which you can also change your type.

-I ended up typing a lot -.-"
anyway, have fun :D

Welcome to Onigiri~!

As for your questions...
In terms of AOE damage, i'd rank it like this:
Wand > Spear > Odachi > Sword = Twin sword > Axe > Bow > Staff.

In terms of overall DPS/Damage output, I'd rank it like this:
Highest DPS = Axe, Twin, and Sword
Middle DPS = Wand, Odachi
Low DPS = Bow, Spear, Staff

As you can see, the more AOE a weapon has, the weaker it tends to be in terms of "DPS." If you're looking for a way to heal without using a staff, you can use Chiami magatama to heal up ridiculous values every time you crit. If you're looking for certain weapons, you can check the wiki for it. Search around and you'll be able to find great places to grind. As of now, I'd suggest grinding at byakkou cavern until you can reach Kyoto.

Moriya Suwako wrote:In terms of AOE damage, i'd rank it like this:
Wand > Spear > Odachi > Sword = Twin sword > Axe > Bow > Staff.

These are probably with ougi, btw, since twin sword has no normal skill aoe...

Firon wrote:

Moriya Suwako wrote:In terms of AOE damage, i'd rank it like this:
Wand > Spear > Odachi > Sword = Twin sword > Axe > Bow > Staff.

These are probably with ougi, btw, since twin sword has no normal skill aoe...

Without Ougi would be Wand=Spear>Odachi>Bow>Axe=Sword=Twin Sword>Staff.

Moriya Suwako wrote:In terms of overall DPS/Damage output, I'd rank it like this:
Highest DPS = Axe, Twin, and Sword
Middle DPS = Wand, Odachi
Low DPS = Bow, Spear, Staff

High Single Target DPS: Axe
High Single Target Bossing DPS: Axe/Bow
High DPS to large monsters and bosses: Twin Sword/Sword/Wand
High AOE Damage: Wand/Odachi
Low DPS: Staff
Most Utility: Twin Sword/Sword/Staff
Safe Clear: Twin Sword/Sword/Bow/Spear
Most Potential for Fast Clears: Twin Sword/Sword

Everything becomes extremely muddled as you get higher and higher level. The way I'm ranking this is based off optimal build with high or maxed skill levels for each class and no hybridized skill force and that each of these classes has a support with ~45+ tick invigorate (SP Recovery Buff) as well as near perfect play/player skill. If you're looking for what the general player base thinks and not what end game players think, the current meta is Sword/Twin Sword/Axe. For easy/cheap (Little to no money invested into game) play, use Spear.