Question about polearm and axe BMS

flameblade44

How much do axe BMs rely on skills?
How much do polearm BMs rely on skills?
Are polars any good at non DoT single target?
If so, how do they compare to swords?

Raein - Lost City

Hmm I don't know about polearm, but as far as I have discovered (lvl 32 axe BM) I don't really rely on skills, having a wide range of damage is kind of like using a skill, when I get a good spike I can do about as much as a basic skill. From what I've read before though on other guides, lower level BM's are supposed to be heavy on skills beacause of the poor survivability, meaning you need to spam skills in order to loose the least ammount of hp during a battle. I haven't really had this problem because of the wonders of Apothecary manufacturing, making the item that heals you 50hp every second takes away the worry of survivability (as long as you can get the mats for them).

Averian - Lost City

Well I am a sword BM so I dont know much axes and polearms. However I know that axe BMs rely on skills a lot at later lvls. Because all their skills are AOE which is really good for grinding. So they have a gold charm on and they just keep spamming skills and for that reason, many people choose axe BMs cause of their fast grinding and stunning. Pole is good too cause they have AOE too but is more of frontal AOE. For sword and fist, we kill mobs one on one. Read lyndura's guide for more info.

Faeia - Dreamweaver

Polearm blade checking in

1,2) Blademaster skills are versatile and very useful; we have a great DoT (two for the polearm blade at 29, and yes, they stack), stun, slow, what amounts to a blink ("leap"), sprint...can you ask for anything more? Yes, your low mp doesn't permit you to spam these, but PW will give you oppurtunities to use all of these, even if you stick to PvE. Now, as regards axe vs polearm - well, when it comes to the harder fights, axes rely on stunlock, polearms on DoT, swords and fists on high dps and a little creativity This is not to say that blades can't use a combination of those three - versatility is the blademaster's greatest asset. But do you absolutely need skills to survive? No, you can tank a bit also...and you certainly don't need a gold charm and 200 pots in your inventory at all times

3) Why non DoT? But yes, if my mp is low and I don't feel like using a potion, I can grind through two or three same-level wraiths without the use of skills or a rest. By the way the basic DoT "Draw Blood" is the blade's lowest mp cost attacking skill.

4) Swords and polearms are I think your best choices if you want a wide range of options. In my opinion, axes and fists can be very good in both PvP and PvE, but they take more dedicated building. At least, that's what it seems like from browsing the guides and staring at the skill tree I don't have any xp with fists and not much with swords (I use them now and then for mage-killing or just for the lolz), so I can't offer sage advice there.

edit - Averian is quite right about the nature of our AoE. But with a little practice a circle is very much the same as a line or arc, and everyone can get the roundabout dd later on. And yes, the polearm blade can still stun...it's a question of what's your biggest and best asset, not which you are bound and determined to use in every instance.

Phoenix - Dreamweaver

4) Swords and polearms are I think your best choices if you want a wide range of options. In my opinion, axes and fists can be very good in both PvP and PvE, but they take more dedicated building. At least, that's what it seems like from browsing the guides and staring at the skill tree

Using fists and axes doesn't require a very dedicated build. You'll be low on VIT, and as with any hybrid build you'll feel the SP/coin crunch in trying to keep two skill trees updated, but they're easily manageable and more effective than going polearms/swords. (Not to say that polearms/swords are ineffective...well, swords probably are considering Axe AoEs tend to outdamage the 1v1 sword skills, anyway.)

At level 73, I only have 3.7k health, but unless I'm getting gang-**** by a squad of Venos, Clerics, and Wizards, it rarely becomes an issue. In PvE, I can comfortably handle 10 physical mobs at once without much issue.

Faeia - Dreamweaver

That's good to know, and yes, I've seen personally what you mean about swords...they're lovely for 1v1 but the mobbing is awful/nonexistent. To clarify, what I mean is swords *or* polearms for a good start at lvl 29. Personally, I think every blade should consider axes as their second (if not first) choice.