New Player Looking for More Info

I just wrote this on another thread of the same topic, so i'll just cut and paste it here;

I'll try to put all the Basic points i've learned and read and accumulated here. First for weapon choice;
In general Axes do the most PvE dmg and at later PvE they have the best AoE solo grinding capabilities.
Swords hit for less but crit and hit more, in general still a little less PvE output, but a little more PvP usefulness then Axe.
Polearm i'm not sure about, but seem to be the weapon of choice for more tank style BM.
Fist has the worst dmg output but highest crit & hit potential, still overall lower then both Axe & Sword, but the skills have the most usefulness in PvP.

For Armor, in general you want to wear Heavy armor, since being up close forces most mobs to do largely physical attacks, but still be capable of putting on Light armor for purely magical enemies. To do this, make sure at least 2.5 out of every 5 points goes to Str, and 1 out of every 5 points goes to Dex. (if you don't care at all about 1 type of armor or the other, Heavy is 2.5 Str & 0.5 Dex per level, Light is 1 Str & 1 Dex per level requirement). You might need more Str or Dex based on your weapon choice however.

Spirit Point spending is harsh on BMs. I cant speak for most classes but i play a Veno also and my Spirit budget doesnt seem at tight on that class as it does on my BM. Someone pointed out not to spend anything on Tiger Maw & the like (the early skills). From a late in game point of view thats right, but unless you're prepared to have no attack skill at all before 20, you need to spend some until the later skills are available. All in all, if you look at later game skills costing 120k (in the 70s) or more for 1 level, the amount you might have used early on is insignifigant in terms of loss. But stop levelling them and drop em as soon as better skills are available, here are the important ones;

Your Weapon Specialty of Choice - Choose 1 at lvl 29 & Max it out.
Stream Strike - ONLY IF YOU MIGHT TANK - BMs only high threat builder
Aeolian Blade - Awesome skill!!! this is your 50% stun & great damage - Max ASAP
Roar of the Pride - Only other stun (that doesnt cost a spark), close to 100% and AoE but costs chi & no dmg. Still Max ASAP
Alter Marrows, Physical & Magical - Max both ASAP
Aura of the Golden Bell - Max ASAP
Diamond Sutra - Only Self Heal to keep grinding & save alot of money on Pots/Charms - Max ASAP
Drake's Ray - Only Ranged attack to pull or other reason - Max out
Cloud Sprint - Fast getaway or Fast move in to attack - Max out
Leap Forward & Leap Back - ONLY IF YOU PVP - these are great in PvP, worthless in PvE for the most part.

It took me till about level 73 to max all those out (i dont PvP so i didnt do the Leaps). Notice most of those arent even your damage dealing skills, but are all alot more useful then damage dealing skills. After all those are done can you start putting points into your damage output skills of choice, ussually in your weapon choice tree. I also Maxed Ocean's Edge, i like its slow effect and 1v1 dmg to alternate with Aeolian Blade if i need to kill something fast.

Well i think that covers alot of the requested information, take it or leave it as you choose.

Its the fact that it comes with stun. Damage and keeping them from damaging you = longevity. Aeolian Blade is posted (and i agree) on most blademaster guides as a skill to max along with any stun type skills. For the most part, Blademasters are behind the other 2 damage dealers (archer & wizard) in damage output, but our usefulness comes in being able to keep our enemies from attacking back.