Are bms truly unnecessary?

HH = Heaven's Flame. Venos, clerics, archers... they all love it. Stacks well with Amplify Damage, Extreme Poison and Tangling Mire... and seeing bosses just drop loads of HP in seconds is truly a nifty sight.

We're a 'jack of all trades' DD class. We don't do very high damage, but we're consistent and can take some really hard hits. We can tank when needed in many situations (depending on your build and gear).

When running HH or higher FBs, I stun and DD on mobs, and in case a barb or herc dies, I can usually Alpha Male and steal aggro (and possibly suicide) long enough for a veno to revive a pet or a cleric to rez a tank. I've accepted my role as to keep straggling mobs off the squishies and suicide if necessary.

7x pretty much sucked as a BM, but 8x has been a LOT of fun. Stick with it even though end-game gear is pretty lacking for an axe BM (90 gold)... The only other class I'd really think would be better would be Barb or possibly Heavy Veno, but I'm happy as a BM.

Slivaf - Dreamweaver wrote: »

Anyways am glad to hear it does get better, and although it may be situational, it can be pretty interesting rolling a Blademaster, and for the record I indeed rolled with swords. (another choice I am questioning, perhaps its why I am finding us bms so... situational.)

I haven't ever really gotten to be suicidal... which is something i really don't mind doing especially for the squad.

Yeah, 7x sucked so bad I almost quit. 8x has been a lot more fun. Kinda like how Tusk Town and kiting mobs really sucked and the Swamps was a nice change, but moreso.

And I don't *like* to suicide, but if it avoids a party wipe, then it's acceptable.

I am in the 7x lvls now and have had many friends give up on BM class to start a veno saying that it's a better coin and tank class. I was very dissapointed when an update broke my genie's lure ability, I used to be able to pick one at a time out of a mob now aggro whole group. In TT runs some ppl have a very wierd way do divide drops and seems that BM class is last on list, even though on all bosses are right beside tank (barb) which gets first pick. As for suicide as soon as barb dies aggro is transferred to BM if not stealing aggro already and by that time all in squad are running away. Each class has definte advantages and disadvantages, just kinda partial to being a human...lol since I am pretty sure humans made this game.

Hippie - Harshlands wrote: »

no class can outdo us in group pvp or TW

also u can be useful everywhere... 1 archer 1 bm is alwqays faster run than 2 archer.

..there lies your answer^.^

just a question,... i see here that you say bm is a jack of all trades,...
but i thought veno was that?

simple as this

there no such a thing as UNNECESSARY character in the game....

Mothergoose - Sanctuary wrote: »

They're useful for giving barbs that pdef buff. Other than that, yeah, bms are unnecessary.b:chuckle

Lol and the Genie with range pulling makes you venos useless, but hey thats how the game is played. Bms can Tank, DD, and they can do the best thing, crowd control. Also Like all classes(They can be purified, not like Veno pets)

But in all seriousness, Blademasters have alot of uses, they can debuff phy/mag attk/def, they can disrupt mobs/bosses, and slow their channeling. They can stun mass mobs in place, and have a huge number of aoes to take them down. They can bleed many targets at once, thus supporting crowd control. If needed a good blademaster can take on the role as main tank, if a barb cannot be found, or the barb drops. In Tw we can stun enemies and make it hard for them to do anything. So bms have alot of uses.

Thread needs more QQ imo.

Michael_dark - Lost City wrote: »

Yeah, 7x sucked so bad I almost quit. 8x has been a lot more fun. Kinda like how Tusk Town and kiting mobs really sucked and the Swamps was a nice change, but moreso.

And I don't *like* to suicide, but if it avoids a party wipe, then it's acceptable.

I'd say...it basically start's getting better for bms once u get misty forest rings,till then archers are close to invulnerable to ya.
Late game archer magic doesn't usually do enough dmg to by-pass your charm not to mention some stuns + your alter marrow magical make's you more of a tank to magic than barb.

As a lvl 99 wiz I find killing barbs MUCH easier than bms(vit ones are too much) ,and i'm not even counting the stuns. Without using a vacuity pot It'll take right crits at the right time to kill a bm like that.

I like to peruse the PW forums for insite, tips and opinions in regards to my 2 Characters.

My main is currently lvl78 Cleric - I learned early on that opinions were correct that everyone loves clerics - I would add to that.... AS long as the cleric is happy responding to calls for help "all day long" and willingly surrenders 250k - 300k in mana on dungeon runs(do the math and calculate the cost a "cleric" expends in comparison to the Barbs repairs).
We get creamed as soon as the tank makes a deadly mistake, my goal is always to attempt make sure the tank is fully protected to the best of my ability - for the most part spamming IH on tank Or BBing at crucial moments consistently receives praise.

BUT

In being so helpful and available for others comes at a cost, few people respond when I need a squad for my own progress. I reached a point where I contemplated killing off my cleric out of shear frustration.

Ultimately I decided to create an alt - after reviewing the popularity and abilities of the different classe I settled on the Blademaster.

My blademaster recently leveled to 70 and for the most part I am very pleased to play the role.

I see my role as a backup to the Barb. If barb is tied up with Boss and 1 or more wandering mobs enters the fray the last thing I or anyone else wants is the Barb having to break from boss in order to pull mob off of our squad mates. That's why i'm there, "I" can turn to the mob(s) with a quick stun and grab aggro. Using my aoe skills I can effect much damage on multiple mobs making the time other squad mates are distracted considerably shorter.

I love runing ahead in TT51/59 and stuning multiple mobs allowing all DD the opportunity to get there lock and wield damage easily and in the mean time I continue to use aoe/stun on the multiple mobs.

I don't see any comments here from friends that run with me but they are quick to acknowledge my role in completing dungeon runs, with OR without a barb.

Admitedly, it's the Veno's that get pissed at me cause they want their Herc to lead the way - Prob is that 1 on 1 killing drags the runs out too long.

Don't get me wrong, I love the veno's I play with, they are 2nd on the list of peeps I have to rescue when their pets fail and they are personally targeted by mobs.

Truth be told, I still see myself as a noob on both my characters - mainly because I don't sit around memorizing all the stats and attribs for desired gear, weapons and skills. I just focus on finding "anything" better than what I currently have and keep upping my attribs. Want to stump me? ask me anytime "what weapon you going to next?" OR "are you going for such and such gear?" I'm quick to admit I don't really give a **** ha ha ha... Just keep selling nice gear in catshops/AH and i'll gladly take it off ur hands when I find it!

You tell me? am I a noob?
I decided to use "only" hp stones in my sockets and select my gear for higher def stats built in. At level 70 I only have approx 4300 HP and my Dual axes BUT it seems to be serving me well, even as a tank on bosses - as long as there is a good cleric on me when it's needed. And YES, I realize there are some bosses I can't do(without cleric) at my level - but honestly, even with Higher hp and Def, what barb can either?

Build what you want, damn - quit worrying whether "other" people will agree with you on your build. Have fun - thats why you installed the game, isn't it?

Don worry about it, I think all BM's have at some point questioned their choice of class. After all every class seems to outshine us somewhere. Try as you might wizzies and archers hit harder, barbs tank better and for simple quests everyone wants a cleric and barb and no one wants a bm.

The thing you need to keep in mind is that a lot of classes, while they shine in one or two talents, that's all they do. A wiz DD's. A barb tanks. A BM however can do a hundred different things. We tank better than wiz, clerics, archers and even veno pets sometimes. We DD better than barbs and as well as most classes. We can aoe and 1v1. We can stun better than ANY class. We can support a party with extra defence from aura, amping from flame, damage reduction from myraid, canceling with fists, pulling mobs off squishies with aoes, any BM can do all this. We're fairly efficient at catching stray mobs with drakes ray. In grinding and pve we can buff any of our defences depending on the situation, heal ourselves, take on single or multiple mobs. We move the fastest of any class when we have to. In TW and RB we shine most, we're able to mass PvP with our wide selection of aoe's which can stun, slow, amp, reduce defence and damage. We can also become immune to stun/freeze.

Haden - Dreamweaver wrote: »

I am blademaster. I will not fail. Where you succeed in one area, I succeed in many. A barbarian, can tank, One enemy at a time; I can tank many. Where a venomancer can curse and deabilitate, she will never do it as well as I can. Where the Puller has failed, I will not. The enemy will not get through. When the barbarian falls, I must not. I must allow time for the cleric to restore the Barbarian, or else I fail. I am not necessary, but you will need me in the end, when a suprize comes your way, I can break away from the party and act as a free agent, preventing others from faultering. I can self heal, preventing the cleric from getting distracted by me, and my actions. I can draw a threat away, that would threaten the party, or intercept those who would subdue my friends. I will not fail

That sounds a bit like my rifle in Full Metal Jacket b:laugh

I think i b:cry just a little....