Swordmaster....

[BlackRobe]

...hiho community,
i would like to try playing a sm, so i checked the forum first but i don't find anything like a guide or must haves for the class.
I asked in /ad yesterday too for some needful things but i#m a bit confused atm.

So i like to ask here and perhaps i found the answers here.

2h or s&b: in /ad someone told me everytime 2h, but i lost block then - isn't it?

I would like to play 13 in hoeth for ww, so i have to play s&b or is it possible in 2h?

Priorities in stats? I didn't found anything helpful. Some said all str, another one told me to raise toughness, another one armor...confused.

Bladeenchants: i know that i will have 3 at last, but did i use only resi debuff?

and the last question is: priorities in rr-spec...i don't found some hints here. Some said, parry, some disrupt, some block...confused to

Sorry for the mass of questions, i read the tooltips too but my confusenrating raise up fast to check the tooltip with some older posts and newer posts.

I hope to find some advanced sm-player for some guideance.

[Ugle]

There is a guide on this forum if you use you eyes

[anarchypark]

there are various ways to play class.
what do u want to be, dps? it's strength. tank? it's toughness.
full str, full tough or run between them. plus there minus there.
SnB, 2h dosen't matter much until 40.
at 40 u get wall of darting steel for 2h.

just test with your body. it's easiest way.

[BlackRobe]

There is a guide on this forum if you use you eyes

Ty sir, but the guidelink ya used in another thread are outa august 2009 - if ya mean that one. So between 2009 and today maybe are some differnce. I read all 3 pages, sure, some questions won't be answered there.

[Wiede]

Most of the guides are using the double spirit debuff of SM, that actually doesn't stack (See last patchnote thread, undocumented but discussed there).
A little bit reflection about SM builds doesn't seem that bad.

[peterthepan3]

Given that Swordmaster can capitalise on crit more than any other class (bar BO), I tend to invest heavily in crit. Bear in mind that: a) you have blurring shock, which procs from crits; and b) you have an ini debuff via statsteal.

I run only around 650str, with 45% crit, and the damage is through the roof. I don't value strength so high, and when you're in Dominator with a 30% damage proccing all the time, you can invest more in ensuring your damage is critting and, thus, blurring shocks are going off all the time.

[Ugle]

There is a guide on this forum if you use you eyes

Ty sir, but the guidelink ya used in another thread are outa august 2009 - if ya mean that one. So between 2009 and today maybe are some differnce. I read all 3 pages, sure, some questions won't be answered there.

viewtopic.php?f=76&t=10741
This would be the thread. Read it, check class change wiki, play.

[Martok]

i would like to try playing a sm, so i checked the forum first but i don't find anything like a guide or must haves for the class.

There is a running thread on SM's elsewhere on the forums, but rather than just posting a snotty, petty and puerile reference to it I will attempt to address your questions.

2h or s&b: in /ad someone told me everytime 2h, but i lost block then - isn't it?

I would also advocate going 2H, as between the two forms 2H is more fun. However I have played both styles and both styles can be quite effective. If you go 2H then there is no need to ever worry about your Block rating, you don't need it and don't want to waste any resources investing into Block. Of course the opposite is true, if you decide to play S&B then you want your Block rating as high as you can reasonably get it. For 2H the primary skill tree you follow is Path of Khaine, as Eather Dance is a must have.

Here is the thing about running a 2H SM. It is a trade-off, as you can never have everything. You want to invest in Strength, but given the range and abilities of Sorcs, Squggys, and the Magus, you also have to invest in Dodge and Disrupt. True, SM's have Wall of Darting Steel (once you reach rank 40) but group combat rarely allows you to use it just to prevent incoming damage from some ranged DPS. As 2H you want to invest in Parry with a percentage of your renown points, but the trade-off there is typically armor. Don't worry about it. The armor sets themselves provide decent armor protection along with set bonuses. Investing in Parry means you can prevent many attacks from ever hitting, which in accordance with my play-style is far more advantageous than having a maxed-out armor rating. Against Witch Elves you could roam the lakes inside an M-1 tank and it wouldn't matter, likewise any good Squig Herder. Against them you need the means to prevent the damage from ever landing, which means Parry and Wall of Darting Steal.

You can build decent Strength by investing to at least Might 4 and using Strength Talismans. Add in Armor set bonuses and a decent sword (like the Epic Quest sword at first and later the Subjugator sword from purple loot bags) and you can get your Strength rating up to around 900. You will also want to invest in percent chance to crit. This can be done via expenditure of renown points and/or items, weapons, and the GWM tactic. In regard to Toughness my suggestion is invest renown up to Fortitude 3 and use the Toughness Tactic. Dodge and Disrupt and Initiative you have to play around with, but you eventually want your Initiative up somewhere between 250 to 300, as this can allow you to spot a decent percentage of Witch Elves while they are in stealth. Initiative also reduces your chance to receive critical damage, so whereas in regard to the trade-off of abilities it will be hard to max you can't simply ignore it.

In addition as you level up there are a number of jewelry sets you can invest into by completing PvE quest. At the levels they become available the set pieces are better than anything you can buy from the vendors. The quest are tied to the library in Altdorf, just at the moment I can't recall all the details however there is a guide on all of these elsewhere on the forums.

I would like to play 13 in hoeth for ww, so i have to play s&b or is it possible in 2h?

If you decide to play S&B then yeah, spec for Whispering Wind. If you go 2H your first concern is taking the best from the Khaine Spec tree, which includes (at least IMO) Balanced Accuracy, Great Weapons Mastery, and Eather Dance. Do not worry about the Moral Four ability in the Khaine Tree, Whirling Geyser, as given the rate at which moral builds in combat you will never get to use it. Therefore once you gain Eather Dance begin to spec in Hoeth for the abilities Aethyric Armor and Protection of Hoeth. You may also want to take Bolstering Enchantments to slot in a group oriented tactic rotation.

A word on this. I believe Protection of Hoeth a quite useful skill, but not all SM's do. I view at it as a healing pot you can use every ten seconds. However other SM's use Bolstering Enchantments and/or Calming Winds. You just have to play around with different builds at times.

Priorities in stats? I didn't found anything helpful. Some said all str, another one told me to raise toughness, another one armor...confused.

As discussed above. However remember you will respec you renown quite often as you progress. Currently that cost nothing in terms of gold, but finding the right balance which you want to play can prove as varied as the number of SM's in game. In my opinion there is no "cookie-cutter" SM spec to be easily shared. Playing an SM properly, gaining the most from the class, is an art often defined by the abilities you don't have as opposed to those you do. A two-hand spec does not allow for a knock-down, the SM root ability is a joke and always has been, you have no charge or disarm or disable or speed boost just because someone hits you and you can't hop your way out of a fight.

But none of that matters. What matters is using the abilities inherent to an SM and beating the enemy at their own game. A 2H SM can do that, and in context of playing Warhammer Online, there is nothing more satisfying.

Bladeenchants: i know that i will have 3 at last, but did i use only resi debuff?

Now that Heavon's Blade no longer stacks with Wrath of Hoeth the debuff isn't quite as useful, of course, but I suggest running back and forth between HB and Phantom's Blade for small scale or solo action, and Nature's Blade for group activity.

and the last question is: priorities in rr-spec...i don't found some hints here. Some said, parry, some disrupt, some block...confused to

Again, Strength for 2H, Block for S&B, and fill in from there.

Sorry for the mass of questions...

I hope this helps.

I hope to find some advanced sm-player for some guideance.

I love the class and think I do OK with it. I have never made any claim to be the best and I never would. I just get out there and have fun. If you would like, follow the link below and click on my video entitled "All Hallow's Eve." Advance to the 17:20 minute mark and just watch for awhile. That particular video is heavy on one v. one and one v. two battles, and can provide you some idea of how the SM class plays. You can also advance to the 51:00 minute mark and watch a decent example of how the SM plays in group settings.

For other examples of SM combat the opening segments of either "All Glory To..." or "Looking Glass House" are suggested. Or perhaps my most recent offering will do, the sequence of fights against TheOddOne featured at the beginning of my video entitled "Mortal Combat."

Good luck out there.

viewtopic.php?f=54&t=18705&start=164

[zerquetcha]

Hey Martok!!

Thank you so much for this answer. I've been looking everywhere, like the op, for a comprehensive starter guide for this class.

I started llast week by leveling every class till 10-ish before commiting to one (used to play BO, chosen and DoK back in live).

A friend of mine got me into Warhammer lore, and the Swordmasters of Hoeth are just too goddamm cool not to want to play. Love the class mechanics and everything else about it.

Again: thank you man!! Totally commited to SM.

Cheers!