[Swordmaster] Builds, hints and tips.

[TenTonHammer]

Considering how brokenly good knights are to the extent that they stand above every tank in the game in terms of grp utility

Saying kotbs > sm is not saying much

[th3gatekeeper]

Considering how brokenly good knights are to the extent that they stand above every tank in the game in terms of grp utility

Saying kotbs > sm is not saying much

IMO Chosen > Knight.

I guess it depends on how you want to play the class. I think it fair that not all tanks will be equal. Some will be better at various things. Knights are the ultimate "buff tool" however I DONT think the knight is "overpowered". They are incredibly tanky, even with a 2h, due to auras but they dont deal damage at all - even with a 2H +str stacking.

A SM, on the other hand, will always out DPS (or should) a Knight. However there is a HUUUUUUUGE difference in the value to the team as well as the "survivability" of the class.

I even stack disrupt/dodge on my SM having both over 20% (working on more). My Knight I think has 9%? Yet my Knight has over 900 Spirit Res without trying, while my SM has ~ 500-600?

SMs are "squishier" but have more damage output than Knights. I am fine with that and dont think all tanks need to be the same.

What I WOULD love to see are a few minor adjustments to Knights but since this thread is about SM, I only proposed my SM changes...

Overall the class is FUN to play but frankly feels "clumsy" at times. Its probably just my NA ping, and maybe some might say I shouldnt play a melee class with me being in the NA. Well.... on my knight its not an issue, on my SM however, if a target is JUST out of range, and I use E.B. to get into improved stance, itll show the animation on my screen and even make a sound like it "connected" but after spamming Q.I to slow only to realize I am not in that stance.

Its like you have to always "check" which stance you are in before pressing buttons while other classes can just spam away. Which is my biggest beef with the class....

Moving Q.I. so it can be applied immediately would HELP some of that, since it would be more reliable to apply the slow and keep it active. Thats just me. Im sure if you are in EU you dont have the issue I have and might "prefer" the current situation, but its really painful for some of us that have 200+ ping...

[th3gatekeeper]

1) not sure I'd agree with stealing, the group-path enchantment might add something else useful. Personal preference would be a tiny group heal(at around level*2) on proc or a group ap-buff(1-5 maybe?)
2) I disagree with the duration, since it's usually easy to get the buffing part up - try standing in a crowd. Increasing the base and growth a bit would help, but I'd say, that would need to be applied to most buffs and debuffs, that are not permanent and/or group affecting to balance it with other classes.
3) that is something I'd highly disagree with, since it would weaken out mechnic even further. I would prefer some passive rewards for proper rotations instead. The catching in turn should just be handled by another person.
4) WL and AM do, it's actually a very dangerous combination if it's set up well. Most utility I see in WoH is actually provinding blade enchantment procs, so "fixing" or scaling up all of those would make it more valuable anyway

1) Issue there is it doesnt add to the "tankiness" of the class which IMO is what is lacking with the SM... A heal is a little silly (to me) since this is a tank class. An AP buff might "work" however doesnt seem as apprepriate as the pain simple "buff/debuff" resistance - which IMO is what this class needs.

2) Yeah, its easy to get up, unless you are getting NUKED by a sorc free casting, then you try to LOS and guess what, your buffs fall off. I actually dont have a HUGE issue with duration, I think some love there would be appreciated when comparing buffs to Knight/Chosen, however again, when you compare the fact that the Knight gets to buff/debuff all resistances, and then 2 other auras (like STR/Toughness) in stats... Its basically like having both blade enchantments up at the same time and ALL the time.... Since these must be applied and @ 25% chance, it seems the debuff should be a little stronger... either in severity or duration or BOTH to make it more relevant.

3) So clearly you are an EU player then and dont know what I am talking about. Fine. We can have different opinions. "catching" can and should be done by tanks. Other tanks can. Given the B hop problem wasnt even fixed with the recent update, it just makes it a little ridiculous for some of us with 200-300+ ping who try and play whose animations show on your screen that E.B. "connects" but then spamming QI only to realize EB never even registered and you sit like a fool spamming E.B. just so you can apply Q.I. just so you can START a rotation is silly. I dont see how this would "weaken" the mechanic at all, you get better and better abilities as you go further in stances... Its just a QoL issue that NON EU players experience. If the server was located in NA, you would probably be complaining about how you cant hit people too.

4) Ok so 2 VERY under populated classes benefit from a Spirit resist buff.... Yet again, Knight+Chosen can debuff ALL resistances... Playing in a party, if you dont have a WL, Wrath ONLY buffs your own damage. And you are a TANK. So your basically saying to me "if you dont have a WL, dont use this ability" since we need to be applying QI to keep the slow - because these are in the same stance. It just doesnt have much benefit except in certain scenarios (like having a WL). I agree the AoE can proc blade enchantments here as well, but so do other abilities. But again, with 10 second duration, you basically have to use THIS ability instead of the slow to apply your blade enchantments...


Again, I like the class, but I play Knight and SM (Both 2H BTW) and while SM dishes more damage than Knight, its VERY clear you really dont actually benefit the group much and I would probably put SM at the bottom of the list of tanks in total group efficiency. Maybe if you are doing a 2 tank combo, SM MIGHT be more viable, but even doubling up Knights or an IB would probably be better.

This class needs some QoL fixes and some better utility for the group.

[TenTonHammer]

Well i respectfully disagree about chosen > knight simply because knights can equip 3 tactics slap a guard on a target and afk follow them and they will be just as if not more relevant in a group as any other tank

Its a pity that SM does not have a ranged snare type dealie like BO's do with big brawlin, even with NA ping issues i can still easily now apply snares thanks to it

[peppex91]

Stance dancing in order to use properly QI (and other situational tools) without having to hit a target with classic skill rotation is the core of the pvp sm. I'm hardly against this.
Learn to properly use sudden shift and PoH and u'll have all your stances readily avaible.
The lack of a ranged snare it's another story and i agree with Grufrip, but QI it's already on top having virtually no cd... leave it be

TheGatekeeper do u mind duelling my sm? U seem to think Knight is better all-around, maybe i can change your mind.

[Annaise16]

The easiest way to add extra utility to your play is to equip a shield. The shield will take care of a lot of Guard damage, as well as providing extra defense against melee (and ranged) dps. Having the extra defence means you will rarely need the parry buff from Eagle's Flight. This will allow you to cycle Quick Incision and Intimidating Blow as your main Improved Stance abilities, improving your utility.

Of course, it also means you can't have Ether Dance. However, it opens up spec options such as Whispering Wind and/or Crashing Wave. Having either or both of these abilities will also allow you to improve your utility.

Not feeling the pressure to use Ether Dance every time its available also frees you up to use a wider range of Perfect Stance abilities such as Dazzling Strike and Dragon's Talon, both of which have useful debuffs, further improving your utility.

[shaggyboomboom]

Does the stance crit tactic work like this?

I used the best stance ability and I get a +20% on the best stance ability (e.g. Ether Dance)?

[TenTonHammer]

yeah on every hit

[peppex91]

The 20% bonus is applied when u reach perfect stance, this give u chance to benefit from it using a Shatter Ench too.

[Enyr17]

Biggest thing you have to remember when doing a ED build is: Just because ED is up, doesn't mean you should use it.
You should gauge the situation deducing what the best ability is to use.

For example, if you're getting mauled by a Melee DPS, it's probably more beneficial to keep EF and DT up to reduce their damage as much as possible, saving ED for when you have BS and Taunt up, to maximize it's damage.

Same concept for casters and healers, it may be more beneficial to keep DS up so it's harder to cast, saving ED for when you use Taunt to interrupt a cast, essentially catching them with their pants down, because in my experience, Burst is what brings home the bacon.