TheDan's End Game Blademaster PvP Guide

Maelael - Heavens Tear

Yanno, if it's in the TW Video (Sano...post the ******* video already), I think I did smack a Barb through AD last TW, I wish I could say it was on purpose!

Good to know though, this gives more evil ideas. Does AD make you immune to slow?

Hurrdurr - Lothranis

Maelael - Heavens Tear wrote: »

Yanno, if it's in the TW Video (Sano...post the ******* video already), I think I did smack a Barb through AD last TW, I wish I could say it was on purpose!

Good to know though, this gives more evil ideas. Does AD make you immune to slow?

95% sure it does. Inb4provenwrongagain

Maelael - Heavens Tear

Well I've got PvP practice sometime this week where the experienced Karma BMs repeatedly whoop my butt and I learn a bajillion things. I'll have to test it out if nobody knows for sure.

Hurrdurr - Lothranis

Maelael - Heavens Tear wrote: »

Well I've got PvP practice sometime this week where the experienced Karma BMs repeatedly whoop my butt and I learn a bajillion things. I'll have to test it out if nobody knows for sure.

I would say 100% sure but I got proven wrong twice today...

TheDan - Sanctuary

I actually don't know the answer to that for sure because I don't actively check for that debuff; it gets overriden by holy path so I usually overlook it. I would assume it makes you immune to slow according to the buff description, but we all know how reliable pwi descriptions are... Someone would need to test it out to be sure. I would test it out now, but kinda still studying for midterm exams at school before spring break, so can't be on atm.

TheDan - Sanctuary

Just confirmed fortify and AD will resist slow.

_Mg_Zr - Heavens Tear

Nice guide very well done

HugeBallsLtd - Harshlands

Great job! I likes

Zanryu - Lothranis

Nice guide, I should refer a few BMs on this server to this thread. They could use it.


I remember finding out I could freeze someone with Bolt during the final seconds of AD... was a great moment and that knowledge REALLY came in handy. Freaking kiting arcanes b:angry

Euthymius - Heavens Tear

A truly impressive guide. I just managed to make an 81/100 Str genie, so I'm going to practice using the Chi draining skills during a Stun lock My only question is what do you BMs find more prefferable for your Genie? High Vit/Str to use multiple skills or High Mag/Str for faster regen?

TheDan - Sanctuary

Euthymius - Heavens Tear wrote: »

A truly impressive guide. I just managed to make an 81/100 Str genie, so I'm going to practice using the Chi draining skills during a Stun lock My only question is what do you BMs find more prefferable for your Genie? High Vit/Str to use multiple skills or High Mag/Str for faster regen?

I prefer magic/str because it's better in the long run. BMs usually take a while to kill someone so quick combo skills don't really apply to BMs. We just have tangling mire / occult ice / whirlwind on str genies, and they don't use up that much energy.

SpazzMcAps - Harshlands

http://verydemotivational.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/demotivational-posters-lets-eat-grandpa.jpg

MystieMoon - Dreamweaver

I'm noticing a common denominator here for mantle of of rippling death. Interesting

TheDan - Sanctuary

MystieMoon - Dreamweaver wrote: »

I'm noticing a common denominator here for mantle of of rippling death. Interesting

Chi drains over time will wreck people in 1v1, it reduces their chi as they accumulate it so it's nice as it disables either their genie or apoth for them to regen it back.

Michael_Dark - Lost City

TheDan - Sanctuary wrote: »

Reflective Aura : Only ever tried this skill once, it does not work in PK. Never tried it in TW, but can imagine it being low priority because there are more important skills you could use in TW for survivability

This is a very complicated and absolutely amazing skill for stun squad TW BM as long as you have a genie built specifically for it and if it suits your play style. I've had dozens of casters reflect one shot from it. It's also highly annoying, but you really need good timing... my genie gives 4 seconds of reflect.

After rushing deep to the backline and amping, stunning and/or running out of chi, when you're on your way back out is the best time to use it. It's effectiveness depends on you surviving your initial rush, how many people you've hit and whoever is in your range that has tab targeted you.

This skill passively adds to your long term survivability. In longer wars, or against opponents that you regularly fight... if you get a few well timed reflects you tend to get tabbed past by many casters. After a half-hour or so into a TW, depending on how well you've managed to use the skill, most casters nervously tab past you.

It's a skill that certainly requires skill and timing to use and it's benefits aren't something you can directly see any benefit from. The first time I had a factor mage whisper me wondering how the f**k I one shot killed them without even being near them made me love this skill. So many complaints and accusations that I'm hacking. lol It annoys the hell out of casters.

It's also great because after the amp/stun push deep, you have the backline focused on your retreat while your front line has an easier push forward and all that reflect damage is occurring as your front line is attacking them. Each reflect is one less hit that your DD squad had to take and one less they'll need to kill as well as giving them a few extra seconds before they're targeted.

My TW genie has HP, RA, WW, AD and CE. AD and WW are probably the two least used... I could probably do better dumping AD and WW and go with Fortify or something else, but I use reflect and holy path the most.

Then again, I'm just a simple and effective TW stun BM... I'm just there to confuse and frustrate my opponent's back line, but I wouldn't give this skill up for anything.

Every time I go into TW I feel like I'm trolling the enemy's casters. b:pleased

TheDan - Sanctuary

Michael_Dark - Lost City wrote: »

This is a very complicated and absolutely amazing skill for stun squad TW BM as long as you have a genie built specifically for it and if it suits your play style. I've had dozens of casters reflect one shot from it. It's also highly annoying, but you really need good timing... my genie gives 4 seconds of reflect.

After rushing deep to the backline and amping, stunning and/or running out of chi, when you're on your way back out is the best time to use it. It's effectiveness depends on you surviving your initial rush, how many people you've hit and whoever is in your range that has tab targeted you.

This skill passively adds to your long term survivability. In longer wars, or against opponents that you regularly fight... if you get a few well timed reflects you tend to get tabbed past by many casters. After a half-hour or so into a TW, depending on how well you've managed to use the skill, most casters nervously tab past you.

It's a skill that certainly requires skill and timing to use and it's benefits aren't something you can directly see any benefit from. The first time I had a factor mage whisper me wondering how the f**k I one shot killed them without even being near them made me love this skill. So many complaints and accusations that I'm hacking. lol It annoys the hell out of casters.

It's also great because after the amp/stun push deep, you have the backline focused on your retreat while your front line has an easier push forward and all that reflect damage is occurring as your front line is attacking them. Each reflect is one less hit that your DD squad had to take and one less they'll need to kill as well as giving them a few extra seconds before they're targeted.

My TW genie has HP, RA, WW, AD and CE. AD and WW are probably the two least used... I could probably do better dumping AD and WW and go with Fortify or something else, but I use reflect and holy path the most.

Then again, I'm just a simple and effective TW stun BM... I'm just there to confuse and frustrate my opponent's back line, but I wouldn't give this skill up for anything.

Every time I go into TW I feel like I'm trolling the enemy's casters. b:pleased

Heh yeah, you would know more than me about that skill. I never had the opportunity to try it cause it didn't work in PK or duels. But now that you've mentioned it, it really is like a passive survivability boost rather than a visible one. I would think it'd be a good skill on the offensive side of TW where the main opponents are psychics and wizards. If you can manage to out-tank them for the 4 seconds it may be useful. Does it allow you to use the skill while stunned though? I know certain skills like true emptiness won't.

SpazzMcAps - Harshlands

that would be nice considering i get one shot by every magic class out here

Michael_Dark - Lost City

TheDan - Sanctuary wrote: »

Heh yeah, you would know more than me about that skill. I never had the opportunity to try it cause it didn't work in PK or duels. But now that you've mentioned it, it really is like a passive survivability boost rather than a visible one. I would think it'd be a good skill on the offensive side of TW where the main opponents are psychics and wizards. If you can manage to out-tank them for the 4 seconds it may be useful. Does it allow you to use the skill while stunned though? I know certain skills like true emptiness won't.

I honestly wouldn't love TW if I couldn't use this skill anymore... I'd have to seriously readjust my tactics. I'm sure it wouldn't fit everyone's play style... a lot of BMs do try to play DD and go after kills, and if you like doing that then this skill wouldn't really be a priority.

The best use is when you're targeted by numerous casters and can take advantage of the 4 second reflect up to 100k damage. And yes, you need to have decent survivability to use this skill consistently and effectively, but like I said earlier, if you use this skill often, your survivability does go up just from the amount of casters nervously twitching because they don't want to be halfway through casting an ulti to see your reflect proc.

It doesn't always do a lot of damage. A lot of 1-2k reflects, but if you see half a dozen reflects on your retreat as your front line is advancing, it can cause a little chaos which does help. If they crit an ulti, it's very likely that they'll die. And again, the more dangerous the backline, the more effective this skill becomes if you can get it in before you die. The higher priority target they make you, the more you end up annoying them.

This skill would be completely broken for PK. If you use it when you see a caster channeling an ulti, in TW you can't be sure if you're the target.

Yes, you can use the skill while stunned, and if you're in deep and get stunned or silenced it's probably a good time to use that skill. lol


Oh, btw, great job on the guide! Everything else is way outdated.

TheDan - Sanctuary

Michael_Dark - Lost City wrote: »

I honestly wouldn't love TW if I couldn't use this skill anymore... I'd have to seriously readjust my tactics. I'm sure it wouldn't fit everyone's play style... a lot of BMs do try to play DD and go after kills, and if you like doing that then this skill wouldn't really be a priority.

The best use is when you're targeted by numerous casters and can take advantage of the 4 second reflect up to 100k damage. And yes, you need to have decent survivability to use this skill consistently and effectively, but like I said earlier, if you use this skill often, your survivability does go up just from the amount of casters nervously twitching because they don't want to be halfway through casting an ulti to see your reflect proc.

It doesn't always do a lot of damage. A lot of 1-2k reflects, but if you see half a dozen reflects on your retreat as your front line is advancing, it can cause a little chaos which does help. If they crit an ulti, it's very likely that they'll die. And again, the more dangerous the backline, the more effective this skill becomes if you can get it in before you die. The higher priority target they make you, the more you end up annoying them.

This skill would be completely broken for PK. If you use it when you see a caster channeling an ulti, in TW you can't be sure if you're the target.

Yes, you can use the skill while stunned, and if you're in deep and get stunned or silenced it's probably a good time to use that skill. lol


Oh, btw, great job on the guide! Everything else is way outdated.

I'm pretty sure if it works in TW it would also work in SP/DT/PvP Tourney/Blood Arena/etc, so might do a few tests on other R9 chars to see if the attack/def levels are affected by it.

All that's really left I can think of is adding an analysis of the new Morai skills in the PvP guide, which would take some time before getting all of them. Everything else involving basic gear/basic skills seems to be already written a dozen times over in other guides.

Michael_Dark - Lost City

TheDan - Sanctuary wrote: »

I'm pretty sure if it works in TW it would also work in SP/DT/PvP Tourney/Blood Arena/etc, so might do a few tests on other R9 chars to see if the attack/def levels are affected by it.

All that's really left I can think of is adding an analysis of the new Morai skills in the PvP guide, which would take some time before getting all of them. Everything else involving basic gear/basic skills seems to be already written a dozen times over in other guides.

Never tested it in those instances, mainly because reflect is on my TW genie. My TW genie is absolutely horrible for PvP. It would be pretty awesome for 1v1 against casters but I consider it's value for reflecting multiple attacks simultaneously. That's really it's strong point. The more R9 psychics and mages attack you, the better the skill is.

Yeah, it is kind of hard to cover everything, but nothing new has really been written, and I guess the axe guide has renewed usefulness, seeing how axes are factor once again.

stealthxbomber

Could I get a little bit more info on Mantle Ripple of Death? Like how often does it reduce chi and is it really worth the 50-70ish energy? b:thanks

TheDan - Sanctuary

stealthxbomber wrote: »

Could I get a little bit more info on Mantle Ripple of Death? Like how often does it reduce chi and is it really worth the 50-70ish energy? b:thanks

It's a nice 1v1 skill because a chi drain over time, so it can be casted to leave an opponent at 0 chi as they try to regen chi from attacking.

The effectiveness increases as you get more STR. At 100 str it would continually drain 1 spark , 20 chi at a time within in 40 seconds. Together with virulent poison and mo zun taunt I can drain 3.5 sparks in 1 minute.

Sakubatou - Sanctuary

TheDan - Sanctuary wrote: »

It's a nice 1v1 skill because a chi drain over time, so it can be casted to leave an opponent at 0 chi as they try to regen chi from attacking.

The effectiveness increases as you get more STR. At 100 str it would continually drain 1 spark , 20 chi at a time within in 40 seconds. Together with virulent poison and mo zun taunt I can drain 3.5 sparks in 1 minute.

Had questions on this skill. The description says strength reduces duration but does that mean the same effect in a shorter time, or it takes the same amount per tick just for not as long. An example would be if a skill caused 3k bleed damn over 30 seconds its 100 a second, so does reducing the duration to 20 seconds mean 3k over 20 seconds or 100 a second for 20 secs still. Does reducing the duration of this skill increase the chi lost per tick, or just decrease how long it works at a normal rate. And does it stack?

Anyways, I tried it on a sin friend, asking him to start with full chi so we could get a rate. First I used Virulent poison and it seems virulent poison works on chi, not sparks. So 3 sparks and 99 chi was reduced to 3 sparks and 77 chi and did about 80 poison damage, so bleh. Then I tried Mantle Ripple of Death and we both watched there to watch the rate... nothing. I tried it again to see if it'd stack. nothing. Do they need to be attacking or visa versa?

TheDan - Sanctuary

Sakubatou - Sanctuary wrote: »

Had questions on this skill. The description says strength reduces duration but does that mean the same effect in a shorter time, or it takes the same amount per tick just for not as long. An example would be if a skill caused 3k bleed damn over 30 seconds its 100 a second, so does reducing the duration to 20 seconds mean 3k over 20 seconds or 100 a second for 20 secs still. Does reducing the duration of this skill increase the chi lost per tick, or just decrease how long it works at a normal rate. And does it stack?

Anyways, I tried it on a sin friend, asking him to start with full chi so we could get a rate. First I used Virulent poison and it seems virulent poison works on chi, not sparks. So 3 sparks and 99 chi was reduced to 3 sparks and 77 chi and did about 80 poison damage, so bleh. Then I tried Mantle Ripple of Death and we both watched there to watch the rate... nothing. I tried it again to see if it'd stack. nothing. Do they need to be attacking or visa versa?

From what I've observed on people using it on me in a few 1v1s I did because I can't see enemy chi, it will reduce the same amount of chi at closer intervals of time when you have higher str. So instead of 5 reductions of 20 chi in 60 seconds in between 12 second intervals, at 40 seconds it would be in between 8 second intervals of 20 chi loss.

The virulent poison and mantle ripple of death don't need to be stacked but they can be. You just want to use virulent poison first as it can drain a full spark when you have 100 STR on the genie. The poison you leave at lv 1 and the mantle has to be level 10 otherwise it has a chance to fail. You probably observed no effect on mantle because it must have missed; you want to leave this at level 10. The poison reduces a percentage of the current chi they have so if they have 4 sparks at beginning it can shave off 25% of that being 1 spark.

You pretty much have to have 80-100 str to be able to use the skills to their full potential.

Nigoshi - Raging Tide

so after using mantle several times on an alt in pk mode while i'm attacking it, and it's attacking me there was no actual chi loss from mantle, the skill hit, and the debuff is shown but no actual effect. Unfortunate

On the plus side, virulent poison+MZT is still ftw.

TheDan - Sanctuary

Nigoshi - Raging Tide wrote: »

so after using mantle several times on an alt in pk mode while i'm attacking it, and it's attacking me there was no actual chi loss from mantle, the skill hit, and the debuff is shown but no actual effect. Unfortunate

On the plus side, virulent poison+MZT is still ftw.

Did you test it with a STR genie? It's only effective with a STR genie (80+ str recommended), and it's a chi drain over time so it may be harder to notice unless you watch it the throughout the whole 30 second duration.

Nigoshi - Raging Tide

i tried it again a few mins ago with the same genie (80 str as before) and it somehow worked 0_0 i'm not exactly sure why it didn't work the previous 10~ times but yeah, odd stuff, very odd stuff. Ty for your time b:thanks

Bloodpage - Sanctuary

b:victory great guide dan i look forward from more tips from you later

TheDan - Sanctuary

Will be a while before there's any new tips. I fell behind on Morai dailies cause of work and other stuff going on irl. Still needing to learn Reel In as the next major pvp component in my guide lol. So far reckless rush is a fail, delay in skill cast and isn't magical aoe like whirlwind; won't be able to stun-lock through expel in that case without wizard water buff / elemental wood pot.

stealthxbomber

Will there ever be more vids? b:cry