Guide to the Duskblade
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CapnK - Sanctuary
Posts: 1,166 Arc User
This is a beginner's guide/introduction to the Duskblade. I will be updating it with new information as it becomes available.
The Duskblade is a bit of a hybrid melee class, combining elements of the Blademaster (aoes), Assassin (teleport stuns), Seeker (combo attacks) and Barbarian (damage reduction/avoidal).
Pros of the Duskblade
High damage: dexterity build leads to strong damage and crit rate
Multiple teleports: can zoom around to multiple enemies over a short period of time, excellent botting toon
Useful buff: Moon Chant provides useful squad benefits in PVE and PVP, and is unpurgeable
Cons of the Duskblade
Light armor: LA doesn't take hits well, and DB doesn't have the range of archers or as many escapes as sins to rely on
Huge MP usage: will eat through MP potions constantly
Slow: lacks the reliable run skills of other classes, hard to move around when not teleporting
Recommended Builds
I'm only going to recommend one build. The standard dex build is 1 strength and 4 dexterity per level. This allows you to use any saber and most light armor of your level. There are a few exceptions where helmets are concerned - they usually take a bit more strength to wield. For example the level 85 Quicksand maze helmet takes 105 strength. You can either drop more points into strength for a few levels to wear these, or make do with lighter helmets in the meantime.
Alternate builds
Heavy armor: dropping more points into strength will allow you to wear heavy armor which is better defensively at the cost of your offense. But generally speaking the best defense is a good offense - killing things faster makes you take less damage than tanking them better. Not recommended.
Arcane armor: swapping strength points into magic lets your wear arcane armor. You'll still lose a bit of offense compared to full dex build. You will completely destroy casters with the combination of arcane armor and your ranged defenses but lose terribly to other melee toons (and mobs!). Not recommended.
Skills
As you level you won't have enough spirit to max out all skills for a while. I recommend maxing the following as you level. Motionless Move, Night Owl, Dual Accordance (cheap reliable moves), Galemark, Everlasting Ode, Winged Dragon, Strigimorphic Dive, Eternity (combo moves), Blood of the Nightshade, Saber Mastery, Moon Chant (buffs), and Relentless Drift (telestun). The others can be leveled as you wish but are less useful while you get your levels up. I will be adding information on Sage/Demon skills in the future. In the meantime, it is important to note that Demon triple spark does not increase your attack rate like other melee classes. Instead it increases your crit rate by 25%.
Basic attacks
Motionless Move: At level 10 does base damage +929. Your basic starter attack, it's fast and cheap. S/D version available from Old Book Pages.
Night Owl: At level 10 does base damage +1655.1 and increases your speed by 60% for 3 seconds. Increases the damage of your next Motionless Move by 35%. Another fast skill, although the movement increase is fairly useless. You're already in combat, you shouldn't be running away. S/D version available from Old Book Pages.
Dual Accordance: At level 10 does base damage +2239. Increases the crit rate of your next Motionless Move by 50%. If your hp is less than the opponent's after striking, you gain 5% of your hp back. Otherwise they take an additional 15% of base damage +335.9. The 5% hp gain isn't anything to get excited about, but this is still a reliable move worth using. S/D version available from Mysterious Pages.
Combo attacks
These attacks must be used in series (after Galemark) in order to execute. After using a skill, you will get flashing hotkey popups in the center of your screen. Click these (or just click on the skill) to execute the next skill. If you do not hit the hotkey within about 7 seconds OR if you click on ANY other skill, you lose your "charge" and have to start over. Personally I made a "tree" out of these skills on the vertical hotkeys, with Galemark on the top row, Everlasting Ode and Eternity on the second row, and Grief, Constellation Arc, and Winged Dragon on the third row. That way I can just click down the tree and activate the skills in succession.
Galemark: At level 10 deals base damage+2454.4 and slows the enemy by 40% for 3 seconds. This hits in a small fan-shaped AOE in front of you, so avoid using it in situations where aoes are undesirable (like Base Trial 1). Other than that it's a great move that you will be using constantly. S/D version available from Old Book Pages.
Everlasting Ode: At level 10 deals base damage+2601.1. This is the standard followup to Galemark and is nearly identical, including the fan-shaped aoe. S/D version available from Mysterious Pages.
Winged Dragon: At level 10 deals base damage+3798.9. This is a rectangular aoe in front of you, 12 meters long and 6 meters wide. This is the third combo move you use when you want to build chi quickly as it adds 30 by itself. S/D version available from Mysterious Pages and Old Book Pages.
Constellation Arc: At level 10 deals base damage+4057.2 and decreases their physical defense by 30% for 7 seconds. I don't find this move that useful due to the limited defense drop and 30 chi cost. It's more desirable once upgraded to Sage/Demon version. S/D version available from Advanced Mystical Pages.
Grief: At level 10 deals base physical damage+4220. This damage is divided into 3 hits, each of which can crit independently. The target is also paralyzed for two seconds and you are completely immune to damage while casting this skill. Very good skill and very worth the chi cost, although it is somewhat outclassed by Strigimorphic Dive later. S/D version available from Advanced Mystical Pages.
Strigimorphic Dive: At level 10 deals base physical damage+60% of weapon damage+4826.8. The damage is divided into two hits, each of which can crit independently. This also paralyzes the target for two seconds and you are immune to damage while casting the skill. This is Grief on steroids, it does more damage and gives you chi instead of using it. Use this whenever it's off cooldown. This is a great move for farming mobs; if you use Relentless Drift, Galemark, Strigimorphic in quick succession then their initial attack against you will be blocked. S/D version available from Pages of Fate.
Eternity: At level 10 deals base physical damage+70% of weapon damage+5075.2 to all enemies withing 10 meters. It also either stuns or immobilizes them. This is a great move to aoe with in large pulls. S/D version available from Old Book Pages.
Reflection of the Moon: This level 79 skill is used independently of Galemark. When used it copies a skill of the target and saves it. You retain the charge for 40 seconds or until Galemark is used. Using other skills does *not* waste your charge. When used against a mob it turns into a very strong attack that uses 30 chi. More details coming soon.
Charge attacks
When activated, these charge for three seconds before executing. You can cancel the charge early by clicking on the skill again (clicking anything else or trying to move does nothing).
Slash of Pride: At level 10 deals base physical damage+310% of weapon damage+5163.1 to all enemies within 12 meters. Also stuns them for one second and disarms them for 9 seconds. If canceled early does approximately 10% of normal damage, still stuns for one second, and disarms for an amount of time proportional to how long it was charged. Not a great skill for pve, but the disarm is useful in pvp, especially against rank 9 casters. S/D version available from Pages of Fate.
Dragon Trap: At level 10 deals four hits of 390% weapon damage+5175.9. If canceled early does fewer hits proportional to the point at which it was canceled. Each hit briefly paralyzes the target. Not usually worth using due to the charge time, although an immediately canceled one might be useful for knocking someone out of an attack. Or put them to sleep first and then charge it. S/D version available from Advanced Mystical Pages.
Teleport attacks
Relentless Drift: At level 10 deals base physical damage+1270.8 and stuns the opponent for 1 second. It is important to note that this is a "damage over time" attack. It will not show in the damage log or trigger crits or weapon effects (including an opponent's Purify proc). The damage is not affected by your attack levels or the enemy's defense levels. This is a fantastic move and you should be using it constantly. S/D version available from Mysterious Pages.
Blinking Moment: This move paralyzes your opponent for 2 seconds. Leveling it only increases its range. It does no damage, so is another good move to use on opponents with Purify. S/D version available from Old Book Pages.
Distant Cloud: At level 10 deals base physical damage+130% of weapon damage+4503.7. Increases your crit rate by 35% for 6 seconds. There is also an unlisted 1 second paralyze on the target with this attack. I don't use this much in pve, but it has applications in stunlocks due to resetting the cooldown of Relentless Drift. S/D version available from Mysterious Pages.
Lunar Grace: At level 10 makes you immune to movement-impairing effects for 12 seconds. Another move used in stunlocks due to resetting the cooldown of Blinking Moment. S/D version available from Pages of Fate or Advanced Mystical Pages.
Miscellaneous attacks
Divine Moonlight: At level 10 deals 5160 earth elemental damage. This is a damage over time skill. It will not show in the damage log or trigger crits or weapon effects (including an opponent's Purify proc). The damage is not affected by your attack levels or the enemy's defense levels. This damage is pretty pathetic in PVP, you're using this for the sleep and nothing else. S/D version available from Old Book Pages.
Destiny Hunter: At level 10 deals base physical damage+4040.7. This is *not* a dot and thus is dangerous to use against casters with Purify. Although the description says it goes away if the enemy deals damage, it actually goes away if the enemy uses any skill, including genie skills. Functionally useless skill in PVP until fixed. S/D version available from Old Book Pages.
In Silence Dread: At level 10 gives you 31 stealth levels+your current level and increases your speed to maximum for ~4 seconds. This is basically a getaway move, but you could use it creatively as an offensive move by stealthing into a group and unleashing your aoes on them. S/D version available from Pages of Fate.
Shadow Prey: At level 10 deals base physical damage+190% of weapon damage+5795.3. Paralyzes the target for 1 second. This moves hits twice, a weak hit when it strikes the target and a strong hit after the target is dragged. If the target cannot be dragged the second hit still occurs. This is an upgraded version of the blademaster's Reel In. Unlike Reel In it is not based on soulforce and will not miss (perhaps with accuracy?). Great except for the large chi cost. S/D version available from Pages of Fate.
Settling Ripple: At level 10 deals base physical damage+400% of weapon damage+6440.6 to all enemies with 12 meters. The damage is divided among 4 hits, each of which can crit independently. You take 75% less damage when casting. At first glance this appears to be the "2-spark ulti" for duskblades. But the damage is really rather poor. What this really is, is a pulling move. Gather a big group of mobs and hold them while your teammates ready their big attacks. S/D version available from Advanced Mystical Pages.
Buffs and Passives
Reaper Form: At level 10 lasts for 30 seconds and reduces damage from ranged attacks by up to 21.3% and your attack speed by 20%. In pve it's useful for lowering the cooldown of your combo moves. You can do Galemark - Everlasting Ode - Winged Dragon continuously while it is active and build up chi rapidly. It's also a nice panic button in pvp when you're getting hit with ranged damage. S/D version available from Old Book Pages.
Moon Chant: Buffs all squad members for 30 minutes. At level 10 they receive 15% bonus damage to skills against pve opponents, and 40% reduction in critical damage from pvp opponents. This buff cannot be purged, but disappears when changing instances. So you can't buff yourself outside of TW with your alt and then reenter TW. S/D version available from Pages of Fate.
Saber Mastery: At level 10 boosts your damage by 60%. Nuff' said, max it. S/D version available from Mysterious Pages and Old Book Pages.
Blood of the Nightshade: At level 10 reduces your damage taken from ranged attacks by up to 42.7%. Useful in most situations, max it. S/D version available from Advanced Mystical Pages.
Recommended Genie skills (thanks Euthymius and Crones)
General
Holy Path - Obligatory for general movement.
Cloud Eruption - There's a lot of Chi costs to our skills, especially when using Prey or Dread. Having a Spark on demand is worthwhile
Absolute Domain - Temporary invulnerability. Expensive energy cost, but very useful in a dire situation.
Will Surge - counteracts psy buffs
Strength Oriented
Occult Ice - Very useful PvP-Wise. With enough strength, its a reliable way to get in another charge attack, set up Arc, or just wait out a cooldown.
Tangling Mire - If you're going with the above skill, you'll likely be going with a Str Genie, so Mire will benefit from that build. Could be great for situations where you're AoEing with Gale>Ode>Winged or Settling Ripple
Second Wind - Mostly PvE related pre-endgame. A small Heal doesn't hurt since we're a bit lacking in defenses.
Virulent Poison/Mantle Ripple of Death - Another PvP skill, and quite optional. If you're of the Demon cultivation, using it with Everlasting Ode and Mo-Zun's during a lock can drain a good amount of chi and further reduce your opponent's options
Faith - Purifies all debuffs and grants debuff immunity for a short time. Will empty out your genie, though...
Dexterity Oriented
Wind Shield - A brief damage reduction skill. Can help when being attacked from multiple sources.
Extreme Poison- A flat 20% boost to all damage taken to a target, but its duration can last quite a while with high dexterity
Badge of Courage - If you're stunned while Lunar Grace is on CD, this could act as an escape option
Chi Siphon - A means of getting chi (like Cloud Eruption) that will require a target to work. Questionable application since it drains the target of their Chi before giving them a Chi Regen effect afterwards
Useful Techniques
My normal grinding on mobs is Relentless Drift, Galemark, Everlasting Ode, Winged Dragon, Dual Accordance, Night Owl, Motionless Move, then repeat at Galemark (which is off cooldown now). You can stick in Strigimorphic Dive or Grief when they're off cooldown. Against mobs that run away and attack with magic you can Relentless Drift, Destiny Hunter, wait for them to reach their maximum run away distance, Divine Moonlight, then move towards them and attack while they are stunned for 6 seconds.
Territory War Techniques
Shadow Prey is outstanding for making barbs lose their catapults. Fly in the air, use Shadow Prey, Blinking Moment, Galemark, Strigimorphic Dive, Divine Moonlight. They will 100% lose their catapult unless they use genie or a teammate attacks them right at the beginning of Divine Moonlight.
The Duskblade is a bit of a hybrid melee class, combining elements of the Blademaster (aoes), Assassin (teleport stuns), Seeker (combo attacks) and Barbarian (damage reduction/avoidal).
Pros of the Duskblade
High damage: dexterity build leads to strong damage and crit rate
Multiple teleports: can zoom around to multiple enemies over a short period of time, excellent botting toon
Useful buff: Moon Chant provides useful squad benefits in PVE and PVP, and is unpurgeable
Cons of the Duskblade
Light armor: LA doesn't take hits well, and DB doesn't have the range of archers or as many escapes as sins to rely on
Huge MP usage: will eat through MP potions constantly
Slow: lacks the reliable run skills of other classes, hard to move around when not teleporting
Recommended Builds
I'm only going to recommend one build. The standard dex build is 1 strength and 4 dexterity per level. This allows you to use any saber and most light armor of your level. There are a few exceptions where helmets are concerned - they usually take a bit more strength to wield. For example the level 85 Quicksand maze helmet takes 105 strength. You can either drop more points into strength for a few levels to wear these, or make do with lighter helmets in the meantime.
Alternate builds
Heavy armor: dropping more points into strength will allow you to wear heavy armor which is better defensively at the cost of your offense. But generally speaking the best defense is a good offense - killing things faster makes you take less damage than tanking them better. Not recommended.
Arcane armor: swapping strength points into magic lets your wear arcane armor. You'll still lose a bit of offense compared to full dex build. You will completely destroy casters with the combination of arcane armor and your ranged defenses but lose terribly to other melee toons (and mobs!). Not recommended.
Skills
As you level you won't have enough spirit to max out all skills for a while. I recommend maxing the following as you level. Motionless Move, Night Owl, Dual Accordance (cheap reliable moves), Galemark, Everlasting Ode, Winged Dragon, Strigimorphic Dive, Eternity (combo moves), Blood of the Nightshade, Saber Mastery, Moon Chant (buffs), and Relentless Drift (telestun). The others can be leveled as you wish but are less useful while you get your levels up. I will be adding information on Sage/Demon skills in the future. In the meantime, it is important to note that Demon triple spark does not increase your attack rate like other melee classes. Instead it increases your crit rate by 25%.
Basic attacks
Motionless Move: At level 10 does base damage +929. Your basic starter attack, it's fast and cheap. S/D version available from Old Book Pages.
Night Owl: At level 10 does base damage +1655.1 and increases your speed by 60% for 3 seconds. Increases the damage of your next Motionless Move by 35%. Another fast skill, although the movement increase is fairly useless. You're already in combat, you shouldn't be running away. S/D version available from Old Book Pages.
Dual Accordance: At level 10 does base damage +2239. Increases the crit rate of your next Motionless Move by 50%. If your hp is less than the opponent's after striking, you gain 5% of your hp back. Otherwise they take an additional 15% of base damage +335.9. The 5% hp gain isn't anything to get excited about, but this is still a reliable move worth using. S/D version available from Mysterious Pages.
Combo attacks
These attacks must be used in series (after Galemark) in order to execute. After using a skill, you will get flashing hotkey popups in the center of your screen. Click these (or just click on the skill) to execute the next skill. If you do not hit the hotkey within about 7 seconds OR if you click on ANY other skill, you lose your "charge" and have to start over. Personally I made a "tree" out of these skills on the vertical hotkeys, with Galemark on the top row, Everlasting Ode and Eternity on the second row, and Grief, Constellation Arc, and Winged Dragon on the third row. That way I can just click down the tree and activate the skills in succession.
Galemark: At level 10 deals base damage+2454.4 and slows the enemy by 40% for 3 seconds. This hits in a small fan-shaped AOE in front of you, so avoid using it in situations where aoes are undesirable (like Base Trial 1). Other than that it's a great move that you will be using constantly. S/D version available from Old Book Pages.
Everlasting Ode: At level 10 deals base damage+2601.1. This is the standard followup to Galemark and is nearly identical, including the fan-shaped aoe. S/D version available from Mysterious Pages.
Winged Dragon: At level 10 deals base damage+3798.9. This is a rectangular aoe in front of you, 12 meters long and 6 meters wide. This is the third combo move you use when you want to build chi quickly as it adds 30 by itself. S/D version available from Mysterious Pages and Old Book Pages.
Constellation Arc: At level 10 deals base damage+4057.2 and decreases their physical defense by 30% for 7 seconds. I don't find this move that useful due to the limited defense drop and 30 chi cost. It's more desirable once upgraded to Sage/Demon version. S/D version available from Advanced Mystical Pages.
Grief: At level 10 deals base physical damage+4220. This damage is divided into 3 hits, each of which can crit independently. The target is also paralyzed for two seconds and you are completely immune to damage while casting this skill. Very good skill and very worth the chi cost, although it is somewhat outclassed by Strigimorphic Dive later. S/D version available from Advanced Mystical Pages.
Strigimorphic Dive: At level 10 deals base physical damage+60% of weapon damage+4826.8. The damage is divided into two hits, each of which can crit independently. This also paralyzes the target for two seconds and you are immune to damage while casting the skill. This is Grief on steroids, it does more damage and gives you chi instead of using it. Use this whenever it's off cooldown. This is a great move for farming mobs; if you use Relentless Drift, Galemark, Strigimorphic in quick succession then their initial attack against you will be blocked. S/D version available from Pages of Fate.
Eternity: At level 10 deals base physical damage+70% of weapon damage+5075.2 to all enemies withing 10 meters. It also either stuns or immobilizes them. This is a great move to aoe with in large pulls. S/D version available from Old Book Pages.
Reflection of the Moon: This level 79 skill is used independently of Galemark. When used it copies a skill of the target and saves it. You retain the charge for 40 seconds or until Galemark is used. Using other skills does *not* waste your charge. When used against a mob it turns into a very strong attack that uses 30 chi. More details coming soon.
Charge attacks
When activated, these charge for three seconds before executing. You can cancel the charge early by clicking on the skill again (clicking anything else or trying to move does nothing).
Slash of Pride: At level 10 deals base physical damage+310% of weapon damage+5163.1 to all enemies within 12 meters. Also stuns them for one second and disarms them for 9 seconds. If canceled early does approximately 10% of normal damage, still stuns for one second, and disarms for an amount of time proportional to how long it was charged. Not a great skill for pve, but the disarm is useful in pvp, especially against rank 9 casters. S/D version available from Pages of Fate.
Dragon Trap: At level 10 deals four hits of 390% weapon damage+5175.9. If canceled early does fewer hits proportional to the point at which it was canceled. Each hit briefly paralyzes the target. Not usually worth using due to the charge time, although an immediately canceled one might be useful for knocking someone out of an attack. Or put them to sleep first and then charge it. S/D version available from Advanced Mystical Pages.
Teleport attacks
Relentless Drift: At level 10 deals base physical damage+1270.8 and stuns the opponent for 1 second. It is important to note that this is a "damage over time" attack. It will not show in the damage log or trigger crits or weapon effects (including an opponent's Purify proc). The damage is not affected by your attack levels or the enemy's defense levels. This is a fantastic move and you should be using it constantly. S/D version available from Mysterious Pages.
Blinking Moment: This move paralyzes your opponent for 2 seconds. Leveling it only increases its range. It does no damage, so is another good move to use on opponents with Purify. S/D version available from Old Book Pages.
Distant Cloud: At level 10 deals base physical damage+130% of weapon damage+4503.7. Increases your crit rate by 35% for 6 seconds. There is also an unlisted 1 second paralyze on the target with this attack. I don't use this much in pve, but it has applications in stunlocks due to resetting the cooldown of Relentless Drift. S/D version available from Mysterious Pages.
Lunar Grace: At level 10 makes you immune to movement-impairing effects for 12 seconds. Another move used in stunlocks due to resetting the cooldown of Blinking Moment. S/D version available from Pages of Fate or Advanced Mystical Pages.
Miscellaneous attacks
Divine Moonlight: At level 10 deals 5160 earth elemental damage. This is a damage over time skill. It will not show in the damage log or trigger crits or weapon effects (including an opponent's Purify proc). The damage is not affected by your attack levels or the enemy's defense levels. This damage is pretty pathetic in PVP, you're using this for the sleep and nothing else. S/D version available from Old Book Pages.
Destiny Hunter: At level 10 deals base physical damage+4040.7. This is *not* a dot and thus is dangerous to use against casters with Purify. Although the description says it goes away if the enemy deals damage, it actually goes away if the enemy uses any skill, including genie skills. Functionally useless skill in PVP until fixed. S/D version available from Old Book Pages.
In Silence Dread: At level 10 gives you 31 stealth levels+your current level and increases your speed to maximum for ~4 seconds. This is basically a getaway move, but you could use it creatively as an offensive move by stealthing into a group and unleashing your aoes on them. S/D version available from Pages of Fate.
Shadow Prey: At level 10 deals base physical damage+190% of weapon damage+5795.3. Paralyzes the target for 1 second. This moves hits twice, a weak hit when it strikes the target and a strong hit after the target is dragged. If the target cannot be dragged the second hit still occurs. This is an upgraded version of the blademaster's Reel In. Unlike Reel In it is not based on soulforce and will not miss (perhaps with accuracy?). Great except for the large chi cost. S/D version available from Pages of Fate.
Settling Ripple: At level 10 deals base physical damage+400% of weapon damage+6440.6 to all enemies with 12 meters. The damage is divided among 4 hits, each of which can crit independently. You take 75% less damage when casting. At first glance this appears to be the "2-spark ulti" for duskblades. But the damage is really rather poor. What this really is, is a pulling move. Gather a big group of mobs and hold them while your teammates ready their big attacks. S/D version available from Advanced Mystical Pages.
Buffs and Passives
Reaper Form: At level 10 lasts for 30 seconds and reduces damage from ranged attacks by up to 21.3% and your attack speed by 20%. In pve it's useful for lowering the cooldown of your combo moves. You can do Galemark - Everlasting Ode - Winged Dragon continuously while it is active and build up chi rapidly. It's also a nice panic button in pvp when you're getting hit with ranged damage. S/D version available from Old Book Pages.
Moon Chant: Buffs all squad members for 30 minutes. At level 10 they receive 15% bonus damage to skills against pve opponents, and 40% reduction in critical damage from pvp opponents. This buff cannot be purged, but disappears when changing instances. So you can't buff yourself outside of TW with your alt and then reenter TW. S/D version available from Pages of Fate.
Saber Mastery: At level 10 boosts your damage by 60%. Nuff' said, max it. S/D version available from Mysterious Pages and Old Book Pages.
Blood of the Nightshade: At level 10 reduces your damage taken from ranged attacks by up to 42.7%. Useful in most situations, max it. S/D version available from Advanced Mystical Pages.
Recommended Genie skills (thanks Euthymius and Crones)
General
Holy Path - Obligatory for general movement.
Cloud Eruption - There's a lot of Chi costs to our skills, especially when using Prey or Dread. Having a Spark on demand is worthwhile
Absolute Domain - Temporary invulnerability. Expensive energy cost, but very useful in a dire situation.
Will Surge - counteracts psy buffs
Strength Oriented
Occult Ice - Very useful PvP-Wise. With enough strength, its a reliable way to get in another charge attack, set up Arc, or just wait out a cooldown.
Tangling Mire - If you're going with the above skill, you'll likely be going with a Str Genie, so Mire will benefit from that build. Could be great for situations where you're AoEing with Gale>Ode>Winged or Settling Ripple
Second Wind - Mostly PvE related pre-endgame. A small Heal doesn't hurt since we're a bit lacking in defenses.
Virulent Poison/Mantle Ripple of Death - Another PvP skill, and quite optional. If you're of the Demon cultivation, using it with Everlasting Ode and Mo-Zun's during a lock can drain a good amount of chi and further reduce your opponent's options
Faith - Purifies all debuffs and grants debuff immunity for a short time. Will empty out your genie, though...
Dexterity Oriented
Wind Shield - A brief damage reduction skill. Can help when being attacked from multiple sources.
Extreme Poison- A flat 20% boost to all damage taken to a target, but its duration can last quite a while with high dexterity
Badge of Courage - If you're stunned while Lunar Grace is on CD, this could act as an escape option
Chi Siphon - A means of getting chi (like Cloud Eruption) that will require a target to work. Questionable application since it drains the target of their Chi before giving them a Chi Regen effect afterwards
Useful Techniques
My normal grinding on mobs is Relentless Drift, Galemark, Everlasting Ode, Winged Dragon, Dual Accordance, Night Owl, Motionless Move, then repeat at Galemark (which is off cooldown now). You can stick in Strigimorphic Dive or Grief when they're off cooldown. Against mobs that run away and attack with magic you can Relentless Drift, Destiny Hunter, wait for them to reach their maximum run away distance, Divine Moonlight, then move towards them and attack while they are stunned for 6 seconds.
Territory War Techniques
Shadow Prey is outstanding for making barbs lose their catapults. Fly in the air, use Shadow Prey, Blinking Moment, Galemark, Strigimorphic Dive, Divine Moonlight. They will 100% lose their catapult unless they use genie or a teammate attacks them right at the beginning of Divine Moonlight.
Post edited by CapnK - Sanctuary on
0
Comments
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This is still a work in progress, but hope everyone finds it useful. If you have any suggestions feel free to post. I'd be interested in seeing people post reliable stunlock techniques (whether for demons or sage/level 10).
The following is a damage comparison between skills using a low-level NPC weapon versus the damage test mob. Moves which have an additional weapon damage % multiplier will fare better with a stronger weapon. All numbers are approximate.
Slash of Pride (quick cancel) 1020
Relentless Drift 1477
Motionless Move 2347
Dragon Trap (quick cancel) 2430
Night Owl 3475
Dual Accordance 4350
Galemark 4652
Everlasting Ode 4951
Divine Moonlight 5158
Destiny Hunter 6143
Winged Dragon 6649
Constellation Arc 7092
Grief 7322 (1837+1837+3648)
Distant Cloud 8110
Strigimorphic Dive 8362 (3350+5012)
Eternity 8728
Slash of Pride (full charge) 9500
Dragon Trap (full charge) 9720 (2430+2430+2430+2430)
Shadow Prey 10190 (1010+9180)
Settling Ripple 11504 (2876+2876+2876+2876)
Reflection of the Moon (mob version) 20110
Where to get skills from (* indicates more than one place to acquire them)
===============================================
Mysterious Pages: Dual Accordance, Relentless Drift, Distant Cloud, Everlasting Ode, Winged Dragon*, Saber Mastery*
Old Book Pages: Reaper Form, Motionless Move, Night Owl, Divine Moonlight, Destiny Hunter, Blinking Movement, Galemark, Winged Dragon*, Eternity, Saber Mastery*
Advanced Mystical Pages: Dragon Trap, Settling Ripple, Lunar Grace*, Constellation Arc, Grief, Blood of the Nightshade
Pages of Fate: In Silence Dread, Slash of Pride, Shadow Prey, Lunar Grace*, Moon Chant, Strigimorphic Dive0 -
Nice start of things. There are some things that I did or see a bit overall I quite agree. Maybe I should take the time to give feedback on things but first I should ask ? Is this under a mainly-PvE point of view or mixed ?
Mainly asking since the charge skills make me doubt. PvE I agree they are often not worth the charge time, just slash of pride instant cast as filler aoe. But I've been going in NW with my duskblade lately and I use both charge skills a lot. So your comments on those confuse me a bit.0 -
My experience at the moment is in pve, so the pvp comments are just me "theorycrafting". I do intend the guide to be useful for both, so more will be added about that in the future.0
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I can't say I'm really experienced when it comes to pvp, but I do go to NW often. I take my time leveling without rushing, so I'm 90s now meaning that I'm often 1shot or doing 2digit damage. But I did run into equally strong players gear wise and I also consider it useful to know how to play when you are not a key figure on the map. So it's partly "theorycrafting" and partly tried out from my side :
Concerning Slash of Pride :
AoE-disarm is really really powerful. No matter what you do on charge, it will stun 1sec. I didn't really judge on the damage, as you can't cast it unarmed (should take a look at lowest lvl weap what that does for damage range though). The disarm "debuff" is proportionally long to the time you spend charging. Seems to go from 3 sec up to the 9 sec stated in skill description. I use this a lot when trying to assist taking down a r9.3 caster. It's of the reasons for me to choose demon, as it should increase the disarm time even if you have like 1.5sec to charge. Considering our paralyze skills (which can't be broken) it's fairly easy to get of a decent disarm time even if max 3 sec charged is a bit hard when you're weak like me.
Concerning pve, I think it's important to state that leveling reduces the cooldown. I can't say I noticed the damage being as low as you state, but when aoe-ing mobs and with bp, it does help to have an extra aoe.
Concerning Dragon Trap :
I got some issues to determine how the damage will be with decent gear, but multi-hit skills can be quite annoying on casters because it ruins def charms. The hits are also very fast pace. As a psychic, I can also tell you that it's a good way to minimize seal of silence annoyance. For me, it has become a key skill to pin down an opponent as long as possible. Using the sleep to get max charge time or try it on a target that is focused. Paralyze is horrible for casters with purify proc. I also noticed that when they run away and you release the charge, they actually need to be very far to not get knocked down. Not sure if this has to do with lag though.
PvE I agree though, there is not much use for this skill to be max charged.
Concerning your list of skills :
I'm not really sure why you put in Grief and Strigimorphic Dive. Personally, I would have put in Blinking Moment and Reaperform. Could be just me. Duskblade have a pretty easy time soloing pv with bp. Those 2 skills help quite a lot.
Concerning Blood of the Nightshade and Reaperform damage reduction :
From my testing it gradually reduces damage over the distance you are at, but only starts to take effect at 8m or so (didn't really have the means to measure the range exactly when I did the test though). Like, when you're on top of your target or close around (at a few meters), it won't do anything.0 -
Pretty good stuff thus far m8
Reaper Form:
Allows you to cycle Gale>Ode>Winged constantly since they're all given a 1 second CD. Combined with a spark burst, it can give you quite a lot of chi and damage in a short period of time. Reaper form also give you the ability to use Strigi and Eternity together/more readily because of said CD on Gale
Distant Cloud:
Also has a 2 second Paralyze in tandem with its critical rate boost.
Genie stuff
General
Holy Path - Obligatory for general movement.
Cloud Eruption - There's a lot of Chi costs to our skills, especially when using Prey or Dread. Having a Spark on demand is worthwhile
Absolute Domain - Temporary invulnerability. Expensive energy cost, but very useful in a dire situation.
Strength Oriented
Occult Ice - Very useful PvP-Wise. With enough strength, its a reliable way to get in another charge attack, set up Arc, or just wait out a cooldown.
Tangling Mire - If you're going with the above skill, you'll likely be going with a Str Genie, so Mire will benefit from that build. Could be great for situations where you're AoEing with Gale>Ode>Winged or Settling Ripple
Second Wind - Mostly PvE related pre-endgame. A small Heal doesn't hurt since we're a bit lacking in defenses.
Virulent Poison/Mantle Ripple of Death - Another PvP skill, and quite optional. If you're of the Demon cultivation, using it with Everlasting Ode and Mo-Zun's during a lock can drain a good amount of chi and further reduce your opponent's options
Faith - Purifies all debuffs and grants debuff immunity for a short time. Will empty out your genie, though...
Dexterity Oriented
Wind Shield - A brief damage reduction skill. Can help when being attacked from multiple sources.
Extreme Poison- A flat 20% boost to all damage taken to a target, but its duration can last quite a while with high dexterity
Badge of Courage - If you're stunned while Lunar Grace is on CD, this could act as an escape option
Chi Siphon - A means of getting chi (like Cloud Eruption) that will require a target to work. Questionable application since it drains the target of their Chi before giving them a Chi Regen effect afterwards[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]Remember: OP may be a duck|OP/GMs/Devs may not deliver|Search function is your friend|Lurk more|Be wary of Mods: they can't be trusted|This place isn't a hugbox|Your tears sustain me|Know what Bait is|"Soon" may never come|Postcount, Dubs, and other GETs are important|Don't revive long dead threads|There is a section for everything|You can be banned for anything|No Fun Allowed outside of OT|Sweetiebot rules OT|"Circlejerks" are inevitable|Threads can be derailed and saved|Those who use"XD" should off themselves at their earliest convenience|0 -
If your gonna pvp on a duskblade prolly best to look into Will Surge cuz almost everyone has a psychic buffer these days.[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
When you counter, you don't let them cut you...
When you protect someone, you don't let them die...
When you attack, KILL!!!!
I've found my resolve.0 -
How tanky is this class? Is HA viable at all after RB?[SIGPIC]http://pwi-forum.perfectworld.com/image.php?type=sigpic&userid=15031077002&dateline=1409280330[/SIGPIC]
5 years lurking forums0 -
Fail_BM - Raging Tide wrote: »How tanky is this class? Is HA viable at all after RB?
Untill the demon/sage skills and r9.3 comes out, nobody will know for sure. It's just theory until some start to reach "endgame" or close to that gear and start to do some serious PvP and gain some experience. But for now, I'm positively surprised by the survivability of this class, especially since it's LA.0 -
Untill the demon/sage skills and r9.3 comes out, nobody will know for sure. It's just theory until some start to reach "endgame" or close to that gear and start to do some serious PvP and gain some experience. But for now, I'm positively surprised by the survivability of this class, especially since it's LA.
I dont really care about r9, I am never going to get it.b:chuckle[SIGPIC]http://pwi-forum.perfectworld.com/image.php?type=sigpic&userid=15031077002&dateline=1409280330[/SIGPIC]
5 years lurking forums0 -
Fail_BM - Raging Tide wrote: »I dont really care about r9, I am never going to get it.b:chuckle
Who said anything about you getting it ? b:question
Just how do you want a real answer, when the class simply can't be at the level yet of a random other class even if you don't care about r9 ? We are limited in passives as well. Limited in weapon. Limited in skills. Limited in spirit. It takes more time to get a decent idea.0 -
Pointless reply.
I feel like this will be another overlooked class like mystics.[SIGPIC]http://pwi-forum.perfectworld.com/image.php?type=sigpic&userid=15031077002&dateline=1409280330[/SIGPIC]
5 years lurking forums0 -
Fail_BM - Raging Tide wrote: »
I feel like this will be another overlooked class like mystics.
I think so too. I guess now Mystics will have competition on the most underused class b:chuckle
I like my Duskblade, but I've no plans of getting it anywhere beyond basic Nirvana gear and PvE.
[SIGPIC]http://i.imgur.com/MtwcqjL.png[/SIGPIC]
★ Venomancer videos - tinyurl.com/k6ppkw4 ★ Desdi - Demon ♪ Wyvelin - Sage ★0 -
Added the genie suggestions and some damage numbers to the second post. Thanks for the suggestions, I definitely underestimated reaper form before!0
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For end game pvp, the frequency of crits should also be addressed. Everyone talking about how squishy a LA build is, would be forgetting that they have a built in reduction of crit damage automatically. So with 90%+ crit levels, the buff acts as an automatic damage reduction. And with the amount of TPs, they can control how many can be close to them, and jump as needed to keep the ranged at damage reduction range.
Another thing to add would be how the buff would have different effects based on the rage damage a specific character has. Like a sin with Wolf Emblem would have a different damage reduction with their 220/230/240% vs. a different class with 200%. Not sure exact amount, since would need to find out if it's just a -40% rage modifier, or if crits trigger it like a protection to reduce all damage by 40% from the crit. Wording is rather vague.
Haven't tried, but it seems worthwhile to have a TP ready in case the target goes full defense (IG on immune to debuff so they can still attk). This way once they turtle or change the circumstances, use a tp on a different target to change the range so they either must chase you (not attacking and killing time), or attack at a penalty to damage from buffs/passive. Most effective against archers popping wings of grace/AD/IG to prevent them from getting the upper hand, and gives you something else to kill while waiting for their skills to run their course to jump back in with their apoth/genie on CD.0 -
Sylvae - Sanctuary wrote: »Another thing to add would be how the buff would have different effects based on the rage damage a specific character has. Like a sin with Wolf Emblem would have a different damage reduction with their 220/230/240% vs. a different class with 200%. Not sure exact amount, since would need to find out if it's just a -40% rage modifier, or if crits trigger it like a protection to reduce all damage by 40% from the crit. Wording is rather vague.
I tested this often enough to assure you that it just plainly reduces the rage damage by 40% (45% at lvl11), so any character attacking a DB group buffed target without any rage damage buff would have 160% rage damage, so dealing 1.6 times damage instead of 2 times.
Same applies to rage damage buffs, so sins would have 180/190/200% at lvl10 DB group buff.
Since lvl11 gives 45% rage damage reduction it is a lot of difference and any class without any buff to it will have a harder time killing targets with the DB buff, especially archers, since they have to rely on criticals to kill a lot plus the DB buff can not be purged.Just because I don't write on forums too often, doesn't mean I don't know what I'm talking about.0 -
Euthymius - Heavens Tear wrote: »
Distant Cloud:
Also has a 2 second Paralyze in tandem with its critical rate boost.
I finally got around to testing this, it's a 1 second paralyze instead of 2. Nice find though, Distant Cloud seems like a pretty good skill in general.0 -
Too bad that destiny hunter is so useless right now. Even buffs such as bramble or soul of vengeance will remove the debuff (since it's technically them doing damage to anyone). Also, the description for Settling Ripple is incorrect. It has a 90 second cooldown but states that it's 120 seconds.0
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Epikhai - Sanctuary wrote: »Too bad that destiny hunter is so useless right now. Even buffs such as bramble or soul of vengeance will remove the debuff (since it's technically them doing damage to anyone). Also, the description for Settling Ripple is incorrect. It has a 90 second cooldown but states that it's 120 seconds.
So for any guarantee, it's almost got to require an OI genie used in tandem. That way you can apply and OI, and as long as no one else comes along, gurantee the time without negating it with a paralyse damaging skill that would remove it if they are SoVed or Brambled. So maybe mixing the OI and timing it to use a charged skill as it ends for the damage spike as stun hits might be the route to go in that case.0 -
Epikhai - Sanctuary wrote: »Too bad that destiny hunter is so useless right now. Even buffs such as bramble or soul of vengeance will remove the debuff (since it's technically them doing damage to anyone). Also, the description for Settling Ripple is incorrect. It has a 90 second cooldown but states that it's 120 seconds.
Even mobs casting DoT skills remove the debuff...[SIGPIC]http://pwi-forum.perfectworld.com/image.php?type=sigpic&userid=15031077002&dateline=1409280330[/SIGPIC]
5 years lurking forums0 -
Alright I got to test my duskblade in a TW today. While I was badly outgeared for the most part (I'm only level 98), I was still able to make a huge effect on the TW by making enemy barbs drop their catas. This is even more broken than BMs doing it with Reel In, and I wouldn't be surprised if this is changed by the devs in the future.
The method I worked out with some trial and error is fly in the air above the barb, Shadow Prey, Blinking Moment, Galemark, Strigimorphic Dive, Divine Moonlight. The barb can only escape with genie. If they don't escape they will drop their cata. I added this technique to the first post.0 -
CapnK - Sanctuary wrote: »
Dragon Trap: At level 10 deals four hits of 390% weapon damage+5175.9. If canceled early does fewer hits proportional to the point at which it was canceled. Each hit briefly paralyzes the target. Not usually worth using due to the charge time, although an immediately canceled one might be useful for knocking someone out of an attack. Or put them to sleep first and then charge it.
Something interesting I found while killing stuff with this skill. If you use Relentless Drif + Dragon Trap on a runner (or player), it is not going to stop charging if the target run away, allowing you to hit targets that are not in melee range.
Slash of Pride + Settling Ripple, is a great combo if you release slash of pride immediately. Stop mobs from casting and lock them down for a while.
Does Reflection of the Moon HF consume 2 sparks?[SIGPIC]http://pwi-forum.perfectworld.com/image.php?type=sigpic&userid=15031077002&dateline=1409280330[/SIGPIC]
5 years lurking forums0 -
Few things from playing my DB
Looking to shard or get some dual add +mp on some gear. Since they eat mana like crazy, the best bet is to get mana food for cheapest cost; but that is screwed by such a low max mana. So thinking of getting some lvl 9/10 mana gems sharded for a few pieces of gear, and some mana adds either through rings or on r8r. That should drastically reduce the cost of leveling up with skill spam.
Also I feel Slash of Pride isn't getting its full potential used. Once I got it, I added it into my AoE rotations.
I start by gathering up and using galemark on the one I want to draw everyone to. It doesn't matter if it hits more than just one, I'm doing it to set up for Eternity. Once the rest start getting near in range, I hit Eternity so it goes off as the mobs get in range. That locks them down, during which I immediately channel Slash of Pride.
The mobs don't even reach me until about half-way charged up, and depending on amount can freely charge to max for a huge damage hit for BP to heal up. But even half-charged, it let's you go into the normal Galemark aoe combo. If needed can add in the Settling skill.
It's mostly using Eternity to buy time for the charge up of the skill, and once demonized will make pulling off a fully charged Slash of Pride ridiculously easy. The only annoyance is since it can be canceled early, you have to just hit the button and hope it doesn't mess up. That's usually when jumping to Settling can help save you, if it doesn't start from moving, lag, or something else that messes its charging up.0 -
Added places to get Sage and Demon skillbooks to the first two posts. Think I got them all right, but it's possible I made a mistake. I'm going to guess that there won't be drops for 89 skills in Brim/Eden. But the good news is that all skills can be acquired from pages, so there shouldn't be any uber rare FSP-only drops.0
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Oh snap I got a sticky. Thanks mystery moderator! b:victory0
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Fail_BM - Raging Tide wrote: »Something interesting I found while killing stuff with
Does Reflection of the Moon HF consume 2 sparks?
yes it does0 -
Please, tell me - where I can find FREE fly for my dusk? LvL 30 or some quest? Thanks ))0
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What of Normal Attack...at the Endgame what if you focus on strength and as your Chi build what if you Released a Chi attack and rebounded with a mana but to Dry attack...(Action not a Skill;Attack)and finish with a Ripple Attack of any can...it's one I need to write down,however I'm not a GM but I think the Reaper form is useless like the Sith's powers to a Jedi!b:victory0
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shenlongshang wrote: »What of Normal Attack...at the Endgame what if you focus on strength and as your Chi build what if you Released a Chi attack and rebounded with a mana but to Dry attack...(Action not a Skill;Attack)and finish with a Ripple Attack of any can...it's one I need to write down,however I'm not a GM but I think the Reaper form is useless like the Sith's powers to a Jedi!b:victory
What was most of that suppose to mean, and reaper form is far from useless if you use it right.0 -
Well I'm playing as a female Duskblade and she's the only flat chested female in town...So if I can remain flat chested instead going big breasted.As for normal attacks as Action not Skill you can conserve mana and with Distant Cloud I feel I don't need reaper. But I think the Reapers are like Siths and SDs and DBs are Jedi.Embalmed - Archosaur wrote: »What was most of that suppose to mean, and reaper form is far from useless if you use it right.0 -
Bump, guide needs to be updated badly. If creator is still around please do so0
https://youtu.be/opVr7YZgLwc
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