Blademaster's Role

George_Bush - Harshlands
George_Bush - Harshlands Posts: 11 Arc User
edited October 2012 in Blademaster
I want to know what you guys think about a BM's role in mass pk . I know BM is for crowd control, but I want to know it more specifically. If the enemy team has EA, Mage, healer, and tank, which should be BM's priority target? Thanks.
Post edited by George_Bush - Harshlands on

Comments

  • _Mg_Zr - Heavens Tear
    _Mg_Zr - Heavens Tear Posts: 562 Arc User
    edited October 2012
    As a bm you shouldnt pick single targets but go for the biggest group you can find and aoe. If you had to pick a single target though i would probably go for either the healer or the dd's
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    _Mg_Zr - level 100 sage Barb / level 101 demon r9 aps barb on Harshlands
    Mg_Zr - level 100 demon Psychic
    _mg_zr_ - level 100 demon Blademaster
    |\/|erlin_ 7x Wizard
    Makaveli_ - 8x Harshlands sin
  • George_Bush - Harshlands
    George_Bush - Harshlands Posts: 11 Arc User
    edited October 2012
    My concern is that sometimes enemies are evenly spread apart hence I am forced to make a decision: should I go stunlock the clerics so the enemy team does not get any heals, or should I go control the archers so that they will not kill clerics on my team, or should I stunlock the wizards to prevent them from nuking our archers. Also many times clerics fly in mid air which forces me to fly up if my team does not have a barb with the morai skill to knock them off. Also BM should not blindly AoE because sometimes if there is a psychic around with soul of stunning b:cry
  • frendlydaddy1
    frendlydaddy1 Posts: 15 Arc User
    edited October 2012
    have you tried using smack its liek 18 meter range good for flying ppl ooh and dont forget poles farstrike 15 meter
  • Sakubatou - Sanctuary
    Sakubatou - Sanctuary Posts: 4,001 Arc User
    edited October 2012
    have you tried using smack its liek 18 meter range good for flying ppl ooh and dont forget poles farstrike 15 meter

    Add Reckless Rush in there. Tele freeze with damage and will keep them from dropping to the ground immediately. Its also important to fight airborne opponents while airborne and grounded opponents on the ground.

    Basic combat tactics, take out the medics first, then the dd's, then focus on the hardest to kill. We are crowd control and rarely kill, but alot of times if the target is squishy enough and doesn't take too long I'd rather just kill. Example of these are clerics, venos, psychic with their SoS or some other def skills in cd, and sins. I'd rather kill them now than have them attacking me, popping out of stealth on me, or healing something while I'm trying to kill it later.

    Although there has been times in TW where I've been in a melee position stunlocking an archer or a hard to kill wizzy and had the "lets go" command. I stunned one more time and HPd away without killing them because its better to be supporting your squad than to be 1v1ing something else.

    Usually we Bodhi in, RotP, HF, Highland Cleave, Fissure, RotP again, Leap back out and run away, depending on your gear. Once you light up an area with HF you can expect opponents to be dropping their aoes on you, so squishier BMs should get in, get the stun, get the HF, and get gone. Once I light up an area and use my aoes in TW I usually start looking on the hills for archers/wizzies coming in and tele at them or smack them.
    Seven 100+ characters leveled the hard way. Free to play. Mystic, Psychic, and Wizard left to level. b:victory
  • Zarkin_Baxil - Raging Tide
    Zarkin_Baxil - Raging Tide Posts: 452 Arc User
    edited October 2012
    Humm maybe I'm reading too much into this, but I think the answer is a bit more complicated. Is this mass pk say like outside west arch or tw we talking about. And if its TW then what squad are you talking about? Cata bm, pk squad bm, def bm, attack bm, all have diffrent targets and rolls. Yes you can pretty much break it down to stun and AoE but it can be more complicated that that.
  • TheDan - Sanctuary
    TheDan - Sanctuary Posts: 3,495 Arc User
    edited October 2012
    My favorite targets are Clerics + Venos (Top priority) then Archers/Wizards/Psychics in that order if I'm forced to focus a single target, otherwise your best bet is to AoE stun a large group of people. Whirlwind is an excellent genie skill to hold multiple targets for a second until you're in range to AoE stun them.

    Just remember not to get too far out of position, especially when you're being kited heavily. As a BM you may be needed at times to defend your own Cleric as well. There are many situations where an enemy cleric or veno will kite you so far out of position that it leaves your front line open and AA vulnerable. You just want to be aware of your positioning and where the rest of your squad is; no point in dropping an AoE stun and HF when your squad is no where to be found. Often times they can't assist you due to being attacked themselves.
    BM PvP Guide: pwi-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=1320761

    YouTube channels: youtube.com/TheDan912 and youtube.com/TheDanPWI
  • George_Bush - Harshlands
    George_Bush - Harshlands Posts: 11 Arc User
    edited October 2012
    You just want to be aware of your positioning and where the rest of your squad is; no point in dropping an AoE stun and HF when your squad is no where to be found. Often times they can't assist you due to being attacked themselves.

    +1. Being a demon BM I love staying close to my teammates and spam demon bell.

    My last question is if the enemy's cleric is healing in midair while everyone else is on the ground fighting, should the BM abandon what he's doing and fly up to attack the cleric (provided that he does not go too far from his teammates) or should he leave the job to the archers? I see archer is really the best class to kill clerics due to spirit blackhole.
  • TheDan - Sanctuary
    TheDan - Sanctuary Posts: 3,495 Arc User
    edited October 2012
    +1. Being a demon BM I love staying close to my teammates and spam demon bell.

    My last question is if the enemy's cleric is healing in midair while everyone else is on the ground fighting, should the BM abandon what he's doing and fly up to attack the cleric (provided that he does not go too far from his teammates) or should he leave the job to the archers? I see archer is really the best class to kill clerics due to spirit blackhole.

    It's particularly useful against a sparked and IGed sin to demon bell / buddha guard another squad member.

    I tend to stay where the main action is because a good geared and competent cleric can kite a BM too well with Faith/badge + vac, plume shell, sleep etc. Reel in works to pull people down as well if you have your morai skills, as well as the barb Morai skill that prevents people from flying.
    BM PvP Guide: pwi-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=1320761

    YouTube channels: youtube.com/TheDan912 and youtube.com/TheDanPWI
  • Jaabg - Sanctuary
    Jaabg - Sanctuary Posts: 2,256 Arc User
    edited October 2012
    +1. Being a demon BM I love staying close to my teammates and spam demon bell.

    My last question is if the enemy's cleric is healing in midair while everyone else is on the ground fighting, should the BM abandon what he's doing and fly up to attack the cleric (provided that he does not go too far from his teammates) or should he leave the job to the archers? I see archer is really the best class to kill clerics due to spirit blackhole.

    Depends on situation basis, squad make up. We usually have 8~10 people in squad. Archers and sins take out other clerics, venos, heavy dd usually. If squad is in dire need of help, on my bm, i will hf, aoe, stun, do other things to help out. If everyone is sitting pretty, i will go after the cleric if no one else is.

    If the cleric is a priority target, i let the group know, we focus on the cleric, and the cleric dies and we move to wipe out the rest of the squad.

    Other times it goes badly, you go in to kill the cleric, out of no where, a sin stuns you, 3 psy aoe on you, archer unleash their fury on you, and you are dead and you see your squad wiping. Fortunes of war favours no one.
  • HolyDivine - Lost City
    HolyDivine - Lost City Posts: 3 Arc User
    edited October 2012
    My favorite targets are Clerics + Venos (Top priority) then Archers/Wizards/Psychics in that order if I'm forced to focus a single target, otherwise your best bet is to AoE stun a large group of people.

    This.
  • Maelael - Heavens Tear
    Maelael - Heavens Tear Posts: 1,497 Arc User
    edited October 2012
    Dan is hitting the nail on the head.

    Really, you have to think about what your role is in the mass PK. If you have multiple BMs, some like to play chase, some like to stick around and protect the DDs. You're gonna have to communicate with your group, or fall into line of where you are needed most.

    No matter what, your first job is crowd control (CC) imho.

    If you're got 2-3 BMs already chasing Clerics/etc, well you could go play suicide and harass their DDs, or you could stick back and protect your DDs. I'm also a fan of pulling as well...lots of DDs will chase you to their death. But if theres others fulfilling one of those roles, its a matter of switching. Watch the battlefield, know your allies, and know your enemies.

    The scant times I've gone out and mass PKed, 30ish, Im not a big PKer - and until recently the scene on HT was a joke. I've done all three of those, it just depended on who was out there. I've run around and chased people playing distraction, stuck around and murdered people, and stuck near the DDs/cleric and just played CC/protect/distraction. Mass PK becomes more about coordination than individual skill, and then its all about genie and apoth usage...
    pwcalc.com/bb6fc16982637a5c / pwcalc.com/28948ee5778526f5
  • Saethos - Raging Tide
    Saethos - Raging Tide Posts: 1,239 Arc User
    edited October 2012
    Completely disregarding everything here already like a boss!

    In TW, I am the leader of my factions TW defense squad. Of course there are multiple ways to defend in TW, but we'll talk about the turtling technique. This is pretty much when you just sit tight in front of or by (preferably in front) your towers in TW with people scouting, and you catch the enemy and kill them.

    Take note, I am a rare breed...A sage BM.

    Being sage I can stray in front of my group, making it so that I can get to the enemies before my enemies get to my DDs. The first thing I typically would do is run in there with a speed buff and maybe an anti-stun, depending on how things have been going, and use roar. I have been known to use Reckless Rush on the barb and then use roar, but it's not a favorable combo because Reckless Rush not only costs chi, but is great for better uses.

    Once the enemy squad is stunned, I tab out, and if I get hit by a DD out of range, I automatically target them, naturally, and use Reel In. Just in case I fail I press tab to target someone who I know is close enough to me, and I begin to AoE, HF if I have the chi and have the go ahead from my DDs.

    However, there is a little more to this. If things are going hard, and we have another BM in squad (usually we do) I have a different role. Many times, with me being in a not-so-OP faction, we get overwhelmed by "that damn r9 (insert class)". This changes things for me. Since, as Maelael once worded, BMs have a Swiss army knife of stuns freezes and seals (Sage BM get's a chance to seal on a decently spammable skill) my role becomes to play distraction. If this person is caught in with the initial stun, after HF and the harder hits, I quickly pull a fast one and use leap back and follow up with Reel In. This pulls the person from their main group by at the very least, 16 meters, but also provides for a sudden stun or silence to follow up. Then the rest of my squad takes out the other not-so-major threats, then we take out the big threat to us since he has less or no support.

    Reel In is also great on cata barbs if you have a well coordinated plan. If the cata barb is running a wee bit fast and the cata is a tad far from the barb, stand as far as possible and use Reel In. I have made barbs lose their cata by doing this, afterwards, just keep a stunlock and the cata will break.

    That's all I can think of at the moment, but I'm lacking caffeine in my blood for now :(
    It is said that apple pie is best served Al La Mode, so if you are the pie, consider me your ice cream.
  • Zarkin_Baxil - Raging Tide
    Zarkin_Baxil - Raging Tide Posts: 452 Arc User
    edited October 2012
    Use p marrow and aps crystal, that's a bms job >.>


    Eh I just felt like being a troll today.b:chuckle
  • Jaabg - Sanctuary
    Jaabg - Sanctuary Posts: 2,256 Arc User
    edited October 2012
    Use p marrow and aps crystal, that's a bms job >.>


    Eh I just felt like being a troll today.b:chuckle

    Sometimes i do that, because there is no one left to kill on the field b:cry. Everyone is spawning behind the towers b:surrender.
  • Saethos - Raging Tide
    Saethos - Raging Tide Posts: 1,239 Arc User
    edited October 2012
    Sometimes i do that, because there is no one left to kill on the field b:cry. Everyone is spawning behind the towers b:surrender.

    Blade Tornado, Ironguard, trollface...
    It is said that apple pie is best served Al La Mode, so if you are the pie, consider me your ice cream.