Why pick a sword bm?

Sunspot - Lost City

Ok so Mike exposed me. I was being sarcastic, but I plan to make a serious post regarding swords when/if I reach lvl 90 b:laugh.

One thing new BMs/players to this game have to keep in their minds (and it should be mentioned like in every second post of our class section) is that you CANNOT limit yourself to one weapon... unless you choose axes of course. Yes, having several weapons is expensive coin and spirit points wise cause of skills and weapons you have to get, but it's worth it, trust me... ok lowbie like me is not very reliable, trust 9X BMs cause they'll tell you exactly the same.

Realn - Sanctuary

Yeah coz we all wanna be the damn same dont we?!
I thought the class was called BLADE master, not hammer freaks or pole weirdos, not to mention axes, why dont you just go be a barbarian like everyone else? You are all clones, have some integrity and originality, play for fun or have you forgotten this is a GAME?

Filet - Heavens Tear

Realn - Sanctuary wrote: »

Yeah coz we all wanna be the damn same dont we?!
I thought the class was called BLADE master, not hammer freaks or pole weirdos, not to mention axes, why dont you just go be a barbarian like everyone else? You are all clones, have some integrity and originality, play for fun or have you forgotten this is a GAME?

"the class is called BLADE master not AXE master" argument is so stupid... it's just a name get over it, if the class was called Cheese Stick Master would you attack with cheese sticks? If you're going to go blades/swords just because it's called blademaster then you're the one with no originality. Let people choose what they want, if they have fun with axes then why not? You're not unique by going swords/blades, tons of blademasters use those weapons. If you want originality go wands/magic swords -_-.

Granrey - Sanctuary

as hybrid.

I can use skills for one user (non aoe) when I dont want to pull agro from other mobs aside the one I;m fighting.

A sample of that is on TT or FBs. Sometimes, you are not strong enough to deal with several mobs but you still want to use skills on them to finish the mob quick and help others on their mobs.

I use drake bash, atmos strike (sword) and shadowless kick.

I like use myriad of sword stance as you dont need to do a follow up after using the skill. The other 3 skills require you do something after you apply the skill so you can take advantage of the effect.

I was in frostcovered city the other day and I was surprised to find flying mobs inside. Its funny that I had spirit chaser (sword) and drake ray to continuesly attack these mobs. I did not kill them as I was the only one in squad with good range attacks and I was not willing to take the risk.

Saying that, this does not justify a sword built but again. Sword has very good use as hybrid. You just need to be creative and think outside of the box.

CivicSouL - Heavens Tear

Filet - Heavens Tear wrote: »

"if the class was called Cheese Stick Master would you attack with cheese sticks?

couldn't help replying LOL to this b:laugh

i'd fight with cheese sticks b:pleased

WickedSwords - Heavens Tear

Mkay my reply to all current posts.All classes of Bm's have their own designated role in both pve and pve(mind anyone of you am pure Sword/Blade BM and i so far didn't had any objection on my fight overall and no flame intended.).To further notice am really not sure why ppl get so worked up about "use the axe,don't be a noob using swords" and lot of such QQ,all ppl chose class of their own gaming style and how it suits them(axes are good like any other BM class if you ask me since all of classes has their job in pve or pvp as i said at first,and they are not GOD's as many players sees them.)
The thing about all of those classes is they are good enough only if you are good enough to draw their full potential.
Would appreciate no further bashing of sword/blade BM since its rather ridiculous to slander other classes in order of glorifying the class ppl frequently use(either they been told to use that class or just because lot of ppl uses it so why not?),nonetheless respect to all fellow BM's.
And for short summery of why you should use sword/blade BM class i could say they are quite ballanced in regards of their build (they do have deacent str and dex and fine ammount of vit)which makes them quite suitable for pve and deacent pvp(the only con sword/blade could have is they don't posses great dmg overal (like axes(which most ppl strive for since its dmg in case))and that they are 1vs1 focused unlike axe/hammer.).
That would be all from me.
P.S kinda long post lawls but if anyone needs any help or advice feel free to look me up in here or in game :P.

Raydoit - Sanctuary

I started out as a sword BM because I like swords (I also love lances *Fire Emblem fanboy* but chose to go with swords) and ended up using lances at 70 and axes at 78. For me I use axes for RB, Lance for pk and pve, and sometimes use swords for its aoe which reduces damage for a very long 15 seconds and can be very effective. Swords are good for DDing bosses for it will get a 1 more hit in compared to spears and it pwns axes which is uber slow for single targets. Also fists bms are like an odd archer melee type class which is totally unique onto itself and deals way more hits than the others including swords and also has the coveted cancel casting skill which is loved by many.

Also it is very possible to have maxed skills for these weps and I can vouch for this. However I would think it nearly impossible to get enough spirit to get the sage/demon skills for all the weps. So if you use multiple weapons choose the one you rly want to master by 89 (for me its lances).

Beastyknight - Dreamweaver

Ya, i find swords pointless too, they are faster but who really cares the damage decrease from other weapons is just not worth it

Kniraven - Lost City

Swords aren't a dps weapon or a main spike dmg weapon. That doesn't make the path useless though. In PvE in particular, Myriad Sword Stance can really help out a party in trouble, or help a BM tank when a Barb falls. Atmos Strike's knockback is good for moving a mob away from a group after stun, pole's knockback is an AoE and can sometimes have a less than desired effect (aggroing more mob than intended).

Before 9x, Skill damage plays a more important role than weapon damage. It is at 9x that people start heavily sharding and refining. Because of this, the better skill damage on Atmos Strike out damages any of the axe skills (save Heavens Flame) at lower levels. Myriad Sword Stance, while not having as powerful a debuff in PvP, remains until 100 the most powerful single attack a BladeMaster has. At 100, the most powerful single Blademaster attack is Flash (another sword only move).

Poles have Farstrike which is a much better ranged attack than the Sword's Spirit Chaser. It is nice however to have both in my opinion. You can use Drakes Ray, Farstrike, and Spirit Chaser one after the other on kiting mobs and players alike. I've found it very useful when trying to finish a wizard or archer who's running for charm tick.

Mage Bane is virtually useless. I am trying to find an effective use for it but none have come up so far. Maybe hitting a wizard who's popped a stun-immunity pot when smack is in cooldown.

Swords are also a relatively cheap weapon, as has been stated earlier in the thread. Someone who chooses to only use one path can get a cheap Zerk weapon for them at 90, has an extra ranged skill, can AoE with their two all path AoE's, has more points to put where they want because of the sword's low stat requirements, has access to both a speed weapon (single sword) for DPS and a spike damage weapon (dual sword), and also has what is in my opinion the second most practical of the 4 path ultimates.

Swords are a kind of all around weapon. (And a good Defensive Weapon. Scarlet Blade [lvl 99] with it's Vit+Hp+Chi Shield Add ons, coupled with Myriad Sword Stance/Sage Spark makes for amazing defense)

At endgame PvP I use all four weapons, primarily CV claws for High DPS when my opponent is stunned. Axes I use only for Heavens Flame in group PvP or for their stun. I use Poles for Farstrike, and Farstrike alone (when trying to finish off someone kiting), Sword I use to kill debuffed Robe users with Myriad Sword Stance, to use Spirit Chaser after Drakes Ray and Farstrike, and sometimes to throw off an Atmos Strike for a quick spike.

Endgame PvE I use axes in Instances for AoE and Heavens Flame for the party until I get to the Boss. Sometimes when doing lower level instances with kiting mobs I will switch between pole and sword to use ranged attacks/knock-backs and prevent them running off (*cough* FB-59). When I get to the boss it is strictly Claws unless Heavens Flame for the party would be more effective than triple sparking. Sometimes I will uses pole's Glacial Spike on bosses that are immune to damage amps or when Heavens Flame is in cooldown. I use Myriad Sword Stance if it looks like the party is in trouble or the Barb needs help tanking.

Roin - Harshlands

Kniraven - Lost City wrote: »

Swords aren't a dps weapon or a main spike dmg weapon. That doesn't make the path useless though. In PvE in particular, Myriad Sword Stance can really help out a party in trouble, or help a BM tank when a Barb falls. Atmos Strike's knockback is good for moving a mob away from a group after stun, pole's knockback is an AoE and can sometimes have a less than desired effect (aggroing more mob than intended).

Before 9x, Skill damage plays a more important role than weapon damage. It is at 9x that people start heavily sharding and refining. Because of this, the better skill damage on Atmos Strike out damages any of the axe skills (save Heavens Flame) at lower levels. Myriad Sword Stance, while not having as powerful a debuff in PvP, remains until 100 the most powerful single attack a BladeMaster has. At 100, the most powerful single Blademaster attack is Flash (another sword only move).

Poles have Farstrike which is a much better ranged attack than the Sword's Spirit Chaser. It is nice however to have both in my opinion. You can use Drakes Ray, Farstrike, and Spirit Chaser one after the other on kiting mobs and players alike. I've found it very useful when trying to finish a wizard or archer who's running for charm tick.

Mage Bane is virtually useless. I am trying to find an effective use for it but none have come up so far. Maybe hitting a wizard who's popped a stun-immunity pot when smack is in cooldown.

Swords are also a relatively cheap weapon, as has been stated earlier in the thread. Someone who chooses to only use one path can get a cheap Zerk weapon for them at 90, has an extra ranged skill, can AoE with their two all path AoE's, has more points to put where they want because of the sword's low stat requirements, has access to both a speed weapon (single sword) for DPS and a spike damage weapon (dual sword), and also has what is in my opinion the second most practical of the 4 path ultimates.

Swords are a kind of all around weapon. (And a good Defensive Weapon. Scarlet Blade [lvl 99] with it's Vit+Hp+Chi Shield Add ons, coupled with Myriad Sword Stance/Sage Spark makes for amazing defense)

At endgame PvP I use all four weapons, primarily CV claws for High DPS when my opponent is stunned. Axes I use only for Heavens Flame in group PvP or for their stun. I use Poles for Farstrike, and Farstrike alone (when trying to finish off someone kiting), Sword I use to kill debuffed Robe users with Myriad Sword Stance, to use Spirit Chaser after Drakes Ray and Farstrike, and sometimes to throw off an Atmos Strike for a quick spike.

Endgame PvE I use axes in Instances for AoE and Heavens Flame for the party until I get to the Boss. Sometimes when doing lower level instances with kiting mobs I will switch between pole and sword to use ranged attacks/knock-backs and prevent them running off (*cough* FB-59). When I get to the boss it is strictly Claws unless Heavens Flame for the party would be more effective than triple sparking. Sometimes I will uses pole's Glacial Spike on bosses that are immune to damage amps or when Heavens Flame is in cooldown. I use Myriad Sword Stance if it looks like the party is in trouble or the Barb needs help tanking.

+1


and love your sig lol

DrDrakken - Lost City

Roin - Harshlands wrote: »

+1


and love your sig lol

Note that it's a duelb:laugh

Also, Holy Necrob:shocked

Sjuggs - Lost City

Lol... instead of being a noob BM with a build only for swords or whatever, go min strength for axes and min dexterity for fists and rest into vitality, that allows you use every weapon b:thanks

Also about sword skills, they are only useful for pve imo.

Zolex - Lost City

b:victoryyup...use everything !!!!

Eilexa - Heavens Tear

Hey, I know this post is way past all the other dates, but maybe for future players wanting some info on the same question...

I'm a blade BM and I like playing the sword, our skills are just as good. Yes, you sometimes are laughed at because others assume you are not as good as them

A higher level BM gave me some great advice a few days ago...you can have more than 1 weapon. Get yourself some axes (calamity axes are good, they'll do the job), get and max Heavens Flame (and more axe skills as you can afford) and then just shortcut your axes and blade, for example my pots are 1 and 2 my axe is 3 and my blade is 4. When controlling mobs, you stun and when you have sparks, switch to axe (press 3), use HF (heavens flame) and switch back to sword (press 4). This way you can be a blade BM and use axe BM skills successfully. It's gonna take more money and spirit, but this way you better than them b:chuckle. Also axes are good for AOE grinding.

But hey that's just my way and my opinion. (Swords look cooler anyway b:victory).

WhiteToufu - Raging Tide

b:cute so can i come in here and say i am a Magic Sword BM?

b:victory for originality

but seriously any build is good.. as long as you are confident with sticking it out no matter how much it sucks.

if you cant.. please follow a cookie cutter build of 3str 2dex and use the best weapons you can get your hands on.

LuckyGuest - Dreamweaver

I use all weapons... but MAINLY Sword/Blade!! Now flame me.

Hey, a Magic BM would be fun... I'm going to try one.

rinuruc

does the rank 9 gear change anything in this??? (idk but i thought only a sword or so was for bm???) maybe thats the improvement u needed for swords to become good??? (idk i think its only a sword, not sure,...))

Longknife - Harshlands

Hello all. Not a BM here but I had just asked myself the same damn question this thread asked and had to read.

Some points I just wanted to throw out there:

All other weapons have nice damage. The damage on spear skills is nice, Axes are naturally good damage-wise and fists of course do 5.0 aps. Besides that, spears offer SOME distance and SOME AOE ability (limited distance and AOE ability, but hey it's something), Axes offer stun and Fists offer speed. If you look at the ultimates, Spears reduce defense for 10 seconds, axes increase damage taken for 6 seconds and fists add fire damage for 15 seconds. ALL add some form of offense.


I think swords issue is that it's the defensive player and WHAT it specializes in. Axes constantly imply that they're meant for AOEing and stunning, Spears imply they're meant for damage and range and fists imply they're meant for speed. Swords? Mage Bane is meant to slow a caster's casting speed and Myriad is meant to lower a target's attack damage. To me, both of these imply that swords are meant to stop casters, that they're defensive, and other than that, swords seem to imply this jack-of-all-trades stance. Not saying they're especially good at it, but I mean that seems to be what the devs are pointing to.
The problem with this is though, that realistically, casters die super quick already. Instead of using Myriad, you could just kill them with a spear. Instead of using Mage Bane, a fist user could just melee them for a sec or two. It's as if they were to assign a weapon the specialization of slowing enemy movement while another weapon specializes in flat-out freezing the enemy in it's place; it just makes swords obsolete.
The other thing is that Swords are generally defensive. The spark skills slow channeling and reduce enemy damage; other weapon spark skills focus on reducing the enemy's defense, stunning it or just hitting it hard. As the saying goes, "the best defense is a good offense." Why opt to take on a Wizard with slowed casting and halfed damage when you can just kill him before he gets a spell off, instead?


As a Psy, I find my slow enemy channeling spell incredibly useful on casters, but that's ONLY because those are the fights that'll take a while, since both my opponent and I have high magic defense; can't see a sword BM fighting THAT long with a caster so I can't see them needing a slow channeling skill. The Psy spell also slows channeling for more and for longer AND for cheaper; I'd probably never use my own slow channeling spell if it costed a spark.
Myriad sword stance, as I said: the opponents you would wanna lower their attack on are probably the ones who won't last 10 seconds to begin with. Better to just go full-out offense with the spear or axe ultimate so you can kill them before they get too many skills off.

If you ask me, THAT'S why swords are obsolete.


Just my two cents from the outside looking in.

Skippy - Dreamweaver

all i know is thad my brother has a sword BM

and i saw some stuff of it and i can honestly say thad it works better then u thougd it would be,

he has some interval gear on and at the point of 1.25 attack speed all interval received after thad gets an additional speed bonus, . and he has a verry nice critical hit.

sure, axe BMs spam skills, but an auto attacking sword BM with some interval and good crit over DD's an axe BM anytime.

and yea sure go axe barbs hit harder with axes anyway ( sages ) and outcrit archers ( demon )

sorry had to say thad x_x

buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut money talks in PW so

>____________<

Kagizyu - Heavens Tear

why does it matter what u roll weapon wise... unless u get a wand and poke people with it i dont think it matters who u poke. And nowa days hypers made so many bms get to 100 without learning how to stun lock. So if u get sword and can put a decent stun lock, u might beable to kill a fail hyper noob

morridune

atmos strike is and big damage dealer for pvp/ boss fights + zerk blade + ur high crit chance from dex and dragon bane its a good skill to have in ur arsenal

in the end what do u want from ur bm? if ur wanna simple easy to play toon then by all means follow the crowd. ppl don't like swords generally cos there harder to play bt with a couple of other skills for diff weapons and respectable gear u can stun lock, cleric hunt in TW, pvp or grind as a carebear as well as the rest of em


there is no fail class, no fail weapon tree. Only fail players who cant be bothered or lack the imagination to use em. find what works for you as you'll never progress playing a build you chose cos u felt u had to, rather than cos u wanted to.

ArchSaber - Sanctuary

this thread was made over a year ago? wtf

Michael_Dark - Lost City

morridune wrote: »

atmos strike is and big damage dealer for pvp/ boss fights + zerk blade + ur high crit chance from dex and dragon bane its a good skill to have in ur arsenal

in the end what do u want from ur bm? if ur wanna simple easy to play toon then by all means follow the crowd. ppl don't like swords generally cos there harder to play bt with a couple of other skills for diff weapons and respectable gear u can stun lock, cleric hunt in TW, pvp or grind as a carebear as well as the rest of em


there is no fail class, no fail weapon tree. Only fail players who cant be bothered or lack the imagination to use em. find what works for you as you'll never progress playing a build you chose cos u felt u had to, rather than cos u wanted to.

Yeah, sword and pole are pretty fail at endgame unless you have the money to burn to highly refine either lunar pole or zerk blades...

Axe/fist will cover 99% of your needs. I have all my max'd pole skills... they're so rarely useful I removed everything from my skill bar except for GS... even that isn't really useful unless you cancel cast it.... I can't be bothered...

And yeah, someone should close this thread now.

eraldus

There is no right...

There is no wrong...

There is only bias...

Michael_Dark - Lost City

eraldus wrote: »

There is no right...

There is no wrong...

There is only bias...

Yes, actually there is a right and there is a wrong.

Go stat your BM full magic.

Joshcja - Sanctuary

eraldus wrote: »

There is right

There is wrong

There are many idiots...

fixed for you

eraldus

Joshcja - Sanctuary wrote: »

fixed for you

Your post just proved what I said.

Typhyse - Sanctuary

-comment removed by poster-

Michael_Dark - Lost City

eraldus wrote: »

Your post just proved what I said.

Go stat your BM for Pure DEX LA evasion build.

/failmore