Kniraven's PvP/PvE Sword/Blade Blademaster Guide

Prelude: I personally thought this forum needed a sword BM guide, as it has many for the other three weapons (Why isn't DrunkenChu's stickied yet? >.<). Here is a collection of my opinions, findings, and work throughout the game. Post comments for me, and send a reccomedation to a mod/GM to sticky it if you do indeed like it.

This Guide will be covering both PvP and PvE

Alright, so Swords/Blades have a bad rep here in PWI. Truth be told though they are pretty damn amazing when used correctly, just like any of the other 3 weapons. Swords/Blades' specialty is 1vs1 combat and survival.

Let me start off by telling you some of the Blade Tree's pro's.

Atmos Strike: Hardest hitting (until Sage Cultivation) direct damage BM skill that does not consume chi.

Myriad Sword Stance: Hardest hitting direct damage BM skill (until level 100).

Flash: Hardest hitting BM skill period (but you can't learn it until level 100)

Spirit Chaser: An extra ranged attack. Not as good as farstrike (pole tree), but it's still one more than Axes or Fists have; and you need it for hitting runner/kiters.




Advantages and Disadvantages

Pros:
Highest Direct Damage Skills a BM has.
Better ability to tank when necessary than a Pole or Axe BM.
Quick attack rate available for those that are too cheap to buy mana pots and who want chi faster.
High evasion and Accuracy.
An extra ranged attack.

Cons:
Lack of AoE skills.
Lower Hp than most (with my recommended build).
Inability to Amp Dmg for your party with this tree.




Levels 1 through 30 fly by quickly, and really the following is all just setup for later levels. Here is where you'll get your base high dex and the cap vit you need for the rest of the game.


4 str, 1 dex on Even levels (2,4,6,8,etc)
1 vit, 1 str, 3dex on Odd levels (5,7,9,etc)


By level 30 your stats should read as follows:
Vit:19 Str:79 Mag:5 Dex:62

11 more points in the next level set, and then you will not need to raise your vit ever again.
I know right now a lot of you are going, "WHHHAAAATT!?" but heres the deal, honestly. At later levels vit doesn't mean anything. You get your HP from refined and sharded gears. 30 Vit is plenty enough to carry you there. We aren't barbs and it isn't as beneficial a place to put our stats as it is for them.



*Don't Bother Leveling It.
**Level when you have Extra Spirit Points.
***Level it when you can.
****High Priority Skill.
*****Highest Priority Skill.

** Draw Blood: Learned at Level 3. Get it. You need it in order to learn some of your other skills. Whether you level it up more from there is totally up to you. I don't use it at all but it's a cheap skill so its not gonna hurt you to learn more of it *shrug*

**** Drakes Ray: Learned at Level 6. Get it. You need it for other skills and it is also your first ranged skill for hitting runners/kiters. It also makes for a good opening on the Physical Mobs you encounter during these levels. Max it whenever you can.

*** Stream Strike: Learned at Level 9. Get it. You need it in order to learn some of your other skills, and it is your only Aggro generating skill. You're mob control in PvE. Remember that. Move is pretty useless in PvP. It wastes chi.

***** Cloud Sprint: Learned at Level 9. Get it. It's you're GTFO skill, your chase down them enemy skill, your hurry over and save the squishy skill, not to mention your God damn it sucks moving around the map; let's speed things up skill. Plus it is a prerequisite for one of the best BM skills you will get later.

***** Aura of Golden Bell: Learned at level 13. Get it. It's your party buff. It raises your whole squad's physical defense. Very useful, very helpful. Always keep this skill maxed so you can lord over any other BMs in your party how much more important you are =P

*** Alter Marrow Magical: Learned at level 16. Do level this skill. It is VERY helpful when fighting magic mobs/classes. PvE/PvP it doesn't matter. This is a damned useful skill. Do not however, level it past 4 or 5. Because then you give up too much of your physical defense in order to raise your magic defense. People will take advantage of it if you level it too high.

***** Aelion Blade: Learned at level 19. This is one of your endgame skills. You will always use this skill. Level it as soon as you can. You use this move for it's high damage and it's chance at an extra stun. Use it whenever it isn't in cooldown and roar is.

***** Roar of Pride: Learned at level 23. This is another of your endgame ultimate skills. Your AoE High Chance of Success Stun. It's pretty pro and you best level it every chance you get. No matter what the opponent, use it when you can. An exception would be if you know your enemy is going to resist it somehow.

*** Alter Marrow Physical: Learned at level 23. I don't advise leveling it past 4. It's spectacular for grinding pure physical mobs and in the past it was great against BMs or Barbs in PvP; but now, with the appearance of genies, it's uses have become limited against other players.

* Oceans Edge: Learned at level 26. I found the move useless. It does little damage and the slowing effect has never been very helpful for me. It is especially useless in these low levels. Get it anyway though, as it is a prerequisite for other skills. Just don't bother leveling it.

***** Blade and Sword Mastery: Learned at level 29. It's your bread and butter. It takes priority over all other skills. Level it. It increases your damage.

* Mage Bane: Learned at Level 29. It is your first move on the Sword/Blade Skill Tree, and to be honest it sort of sucks. I've used it a couple times though for the 100% chance to hit effect when at higher levels archers have that killer evasion buff. Other than tha though Never really use it.

**** Diamond Sutra: Learned at Level 29. This is your self heal. Get it and level it whenever you have the chance. It will save you from having to use health pots too often while grinding.

*** Tiger Leap/Leap Back: Both Skills Learned at Level 29. One makes you leap forward, the other back. Pretty self explanatory. Useful for leaping into or out of mobs, then running away. Good for leaping away from close range attacks right before they cast. Good for improving your speed in the water and in the air.

Levels 1-30 you don't really AoE and your skills don't do significantly more damage than your normal attacks. You should probably wield a single sword for the quicker attack rate and so you waste less money on mana potions by spamming skills. You should of course be using heavy armor, and while I can't stress enough the importance of magic defense ornaments (belt/cape/necklace), until you hit the orchid temple area it is mostly physical mobs so you can use physical defense ornaments to make it easier on yourself. If you can, try and stack the 1 man army quests with your normal quests so you can get reputation faster and have Rank Armor by the time you hit 30.





5 str on Odd levels
4 dex 1 vit on Even levels (until level 52) After level 52, dump all 5 into dex.

By level 60 your stats should read as follows:
Vit:30 Str:154 Mag:5 Dex:126

Now a lot of people will say that this is too low vit (see above) and that the dex does not need to be this high in proportion to your strength. Trust me though, it's of great help. I have restatted several times to experiment with different builds. People will miss you often, especially when you start to use Will Of Bodhisatva. Even archers will have a difficult time hitting you. Remember, as a BM you get more evasion per dex point than any other class in the game. Use it to your advantage.



** Fan of Flames: Learned at level 34. This is a really crappy AoE move. However, since you lack AoE moves it does have it's place and you will indeed use it. Get it, and level it whenever you can spare the points. You basically pick a target on the edge of a group of mobs, then run over there so that it will hit all the targets (It's a cone AoE).

*** Spirit Chaser: Learned at level 39. This is your second ranged skill for runners/kiters. It's pretty nice. Level it when you can to extend it's range. It will help you when you are frozen/on the other side of some object the slippery archer you're fighting caught between you. The damage from this skill is pretty good too all things considered.

*** Drake Sweep: Learned at level 44. This is an actually decent AoE. It hits decently hard too, so level it when you can. Using Roar of Pride and then this skill is a good way to establish aggro against a bunch of mobs so you cleric can begin healing you. It also works well as a spam skill in PvP because of the decent damage.

**** Atmos Strike: Learned at level 49. This is your hard hitting pro skill. It is great in PvP. Use it to your advantage. The knockback effect is nice in PvE for running behind a mob and smacking it toward a direction it wont run into other mobs. Afterwards you use your two ranged moves. It can also be used to knock a venomancer's phoenix away from you (and get it stuck in a rock if you're near one).

***** Myriad Sword Stance: Learned at level 59. There you have it, the hardest hitting BM skill in the game up until level 100. It also debuffs your opponent's attack and is an AoE move. Wonderful for tanking many mobs or a boss for a short period of time. It can one shot Arcane Armor users your own level if they don't have good gears. The move is all out nice. Last but not least, you can use it to tank a group of opponents in PvP if they come and surround you. It doesn't amp like Heavens Flame does but the direct damage from it is MUCH higher.

***** Will of Bodhisatva: Learned at level 59. Here is where all your shoving points into dex really pays off. This skill is amazing. For 15 seconds you have double your already high evasion. You are immune to stuns, freeze, sleep, and the like. And you move at 200% your normal speed so good freaking luck to anyone kiting you. Barbs and other BMs will miss like crazy. Other BMs will totally waste their stun moves on you. Clerics can't sleep you. Archer's freeze and stun will not work. I advise using this kill whenever it becomes available after cooldown in PvP.

Levels 31-59 You had better start wearing magic defense ornaments (cape/belt/necklace).

Single Swords/Blades are better for PvE. You'll waste less mana and they have a nice atack rate. The mana you save can be used to sutra so you don't have to use as many health pots either.

Dual Swords/Blades have higher damage output, so they are better for PvP where sword BMs should be spamming their different hard hitting skills the entire time (between stuns) and using Spirits Chaser + Drakes Ray on runner/kiters.

At level 60 be sure to get your HH60 weapon.




5 str on Odd levels
5 dex on Even levels (yes still)

By level 80 your stats should read as follows:
Vit:30 Str:204 Mag:5 Dex:176


Prepare for your life as a BM to totally suck. Loads of magic mobs. I hope you leveled Alter Marrow Magical atleast a couple times.
It really sucks to be a Axe BM because I can't even imagine trying to AoE half the things you'll encounter. On the bright side though, you now have most of your PvP skills. Grats.

You should approach your (PvP) opponents with Will of Bodhisatva, and then Roar of Pride them as soon as you get close. Next throw off an Atmos Strike, Spirit Chaser, and Drake Sweep (high damage skills). After that combo use Aelion Blade for a chance at a second stun. Then repeat the combo. At any point you want to use Sutra or Will again, go for it. Sutra may not help killing your opponent in PvP but it will make it even harder to get through your charm and to be honest you should be able to kill AA or LA user's without sparking. HA users you shouldn't bother with unless you have a caster to back you up. It's too bothersome to try and get through their charm until later levels. If you get 2 sparks, use Myriad on non-HA users and 2 spark then stun HA users to best use the full duration.

You're still pretty low level compared to most people PvP'ing. I highly recomend using both a charm and pots in order to try and make up for that a bit. If you're serious about it, then add on Elixers and Apothecary powders.



***** Bolt of Tyresius: Learned at Level 79. This is a PvP move primarily, and you can only use it while wielding fists. So get some. By now you should be learning a few skills from other weapons anyways. In group PvP, use this to freeze your enemies in place while another pary member nukes them. Its good for keeping archers or wizards from moving at the last second. It also does a hefty sum of damage if you have decent fists. It does 250% base, which actually stacks with Spark. It's very nice.

***** Dragon Bane: Learned at Level 79. Let me clear a misconception. This raises your critical hit % up by 25% and cuts your base damage in half, not your full damage. As a sword BM you get most of your damage from the skills you use as opposed to base damage anyways. Also to note, you have a high crit rate to begin with. After using this move you will be critting pretty much 1/3 of your strikes. If you have a cleric purify you then base damage goes back to normal for the full 30 second duration and you keep the crit rate. Also, triple sparking will remove the debuff from you when you get there. Personally, I use this move either
A: in PvE if I have to tank. I will use this move, then get purified (or triple spark now that I can) and spam my high damage skills in order to establish and maintain aggro.
or
B: in PvP when I want to sneak attack my opponent and hope for a nice 1-shot crit. *cough*DarkSniper*cough*.

***** Smack: Learned at Level 79. VERY USEFUL. Use it to seal your opponent between stuns. it also has nice range so you can interrupt & seal them in the middle of a move or so that you can run to them and get them in range. >_> Also to note, when you use it on a mob they will run away from you in fear, which is just hilarious right?

Levels 60-69 you don't really change gear much.
Levels 70-80 You better be using every legendary ornament you can find. Magic Defense Necklace, Belt, Cape, and even Headgear as stated before. You also want to get nice legendary rings.

Get These:
1. Helm of Aquavisciousness. I am sure there is a better 3 star out there you can find, but in all honesty, even up at level 90 I am having a hard time choosing a better helm. It gives you water defense, resists physical damage, and has a vitality bonus. It's pretty nice.
2. Cape of Tauran Chieftan. It gives great magic defense and you'll be using it for a long time so go refine it. It's an excellent equip.
3. Pirate king's Seal. Again, you got some good magic defense here, and the +10% evasion is gonna help you greatly with your high dexterity.
4. Equine Talisman. Magic Defense, Physical Defense, +HP, 1% resist. This baby has it all, and you'll be using it for quite a while.
5. You want 2 Misty Forest Rings. They give extra vit, and the accuracy will help you own harder on archers. You won't have trouble hitting them like other's will. While you may think your Sword BM dexterity is enough, it's not. Even with two of these puppies Axe BM's still miss frequently.

You want your HH weapon & armor (At 70 get the Warrior Blade because the extra strength it give can help make up for the pathetic damage that single blades do)

When you eventually get to 80, go for the Shinro Twins. The healing they give will help you in grinding and they do greater damage than the single swords (including the gold weapon).

Also, don't bother getting HH80 unless you feel like spending unnecessary money and time or you just want to be the all out best possible throughout every level. The Legendary chest and legs will work just as good.
These would be:
Proud Plate of Corsaire (Chest Piece)
Cuisses of Sea Captain (Legs)
To be honest I just used HH70 boots and wrists up until level 90. It didn't hurt me any but you may feel different. Basically I did this because the HH80 armor is not required in order for you to make HH90 armor. So I felt the HH80 armor was a waste of my money and time.





5 str on Odd levels
5 dex on Even levels (yes still)
[I advise during one level, taking a point from dex and throwing it to strength. This way your dex will be a multiple of 20 and that extra 1 point won't feel like a waste.]

By level 90 your stats should read as follows:
Vit:30 Str:230 Mag:5 Dex:200


You get a lot of easier quests here, with phy mobs. It's pretty nice. Being a BM doesn't seem quite so bad anymore. You will also be approaching 89, where you make the toughest decision you'll make in this game. You'll be deciding whether you go Sage or Demon.

By now, you should be using multiple weapon paths, which you can learn how to use by checking out other guides, but I personally and many of you who have come this far on my guide may wish to have sword as your main weapon still. That's fine, but do realize that even if it is your main weapon you will be needing to use it in combo with the other paths in order to be all you can be.

I bring this up so that you'll look at the Sage vs Demon skills for all 4 paths.
I advise using Ecatomb.net as a resource for this.

I chose Sage. Some of you may choose Demon.
I do not want this thread to become a Sage vs Demon argument.

I will however tell you a few combos to check out.

Heavens Flame + Myriad Sword Stance takes out many squishies right off the bat. At 89 you will have 3 sparks and a full bar available. So, you can cast an ultimate, use a marrow for quick chi to fill up that next bar, then cast another one right after.

If you're using a single sword, which i reccomend you do at Level 90 (HH90 gold Zerk Blade), you can use Cyclone Heel to speed up your sword's attack for a bit to almost fist speed and then auto attack with it.

If needing to attack ranged, you can use Drakes Ray, Spirit Chaser, and the pole move: Farstrike pretty much as an endless ranged combo. I like to throw in Smack when i can too =P

Switching to axes for drakes bash and then back to the weapon of your choice, in order to maintain a stunlock, is never a bad idea.

Switching to fists for shadowless kick and canceling the enemy's casting, is quite useful when you see them channeling something big.

When you get to 90, you should be wearing/getting the following gears:

Sword = firelotus blade of the dragon (HH90 Gold Zerk Sword). It is a single sword, so to make it's damage competitive you need to refine it. Once you do, the high attack speed will be such a blessing. You should be refining all of your gears at this level to atleast +4 anyways.
NOTE: The gold sword takes sacred mother's aura's, which are a much cheaper mat than those needed to make the HH90 gold GX. Grats on saving money.

Chest Plate = HH90 green HA
Wrists = HH90 gold wrists (They will give you negative interval, making your attack speed even greater).
Legs = HH90 green HA
Boots = HH90 green HA

NOTE: If you wear 2 pieces of HH90 gold HA then you get a bonus of +10 strength. However, because you recieve a vitality bonus from each piece I don't think that it is worth it to give up your vitality for that extra str bonus, and besides that, HA 90 gold is expensive so just get the wrists.

When it comes to ornaments, you'll probably want the following:
#1 necklace choice is HH90 gold Swindler Necklace. It raises your hp, and provides excellent mag def. If you can't afford that, then I suppose go for the Sky Demon's Pearl until you can. The pearl is a phy def necklace, but it will gibe you a +5% hp bonus which is quite nice.

Belt-

Rings-

Helm-

Cape-

-To Be Continued-





Still experimenting with genies (Which is a pain in the **** because good genies are hard to come by and/or expensive); however I can tell you this.

Balance & True Emptiness are totally OP. You really should get them.

True Emptiness works best with a Strength genie, and if you have a Vit genie then that is almost as good. At level 10 it has a 95% chance of casting a magic shield around you and in the air it can one-shot most AA and many LA users. I've even managed to one-shot a 9x BM with it for 12k dmg because I got a zerk + crit. Even if the damage at full energy doesn't draw you in, it casts for "x" energy, where x is the amont of energy your genie currently has (don't confuse energy with stamina) and it can be spammed over and over after it cools down for a magic shield. Other HA users typically do not do enough damage to get through your charm and with this shield on casters will do next to no damage to you. In addition to this, even if you are fighting a venomancer who is on the ground, her phoenix is always in the air. It will one shot most nix's if you have a good pure-str genie.