Let's start off with the basics in Silkroad.

1. Armor? Garments. Always. The increased moving speed and lowered mp usage plays right into your hands. Weapon(Silk Road Gold)? Sword. You are intelligence based, remember, and although it is hard to resist the looks of a blade, a sword helps you out much more. Also, always have a lot of potions and auto potion recovery turned on.

2. Normally, in a battle, you should have a guild member or party member attack the enemy first, and while the enemy is preoccupied, you can shoot in a few thunderbolts and sword dances, which will almost undoubtedly kill him. But if you're solo, just follow this basic strategy: never let the enemy get a hit on you.

3. When he first attacks, you should first look to see what he is wearing. If it is strength based equipment, such as a glavie or blade, you should immediately fire off a wolf's thunderbolt, then turn on thunderforce and use a sword dance on him. If all goes well, he will be damaged severely before he even reaches you, because he is an idiot strength character.