Guide to the Duskblade

This is a beginner's guide/introduction to the Duskblade. I will be updating it with new information as it becomes available.

The Duskblade is a bit of a hybrid melee class, combining elements of the Blademaster (aoes), Assassin (teleport stuns), Seeker (combo attacks) and Barbarian (damage reduction/avoidal).

---

Pros of the Duskblade

---

High damage: dexterity build leads to strong damage and crit rate
Multiple teleports: can zoom around to multiple enemies over a short period of time, excellent botting toon
Useful buff: Moon Chant provides useful squad benefits in PVE and PVP, and is unpurgeable

---

Cons of the Duskblade

---

Light armor: LA doesn't take hits well, and DB doesn't have the range of archers or as many escapes as sins to rely on
Huge MP usage: will eat through MP potions constantly
Slow: lacks the reliable run skills of other classes, hard to move around when not teleporting

---

Recommended Builds

---

I'm only going to recommend one build. The standard dex build is 1 strength and 4 dexterity per level. This allows you to use any saber and most light armor of your level. There are a few exceptions where helmets are concerned - they usually take a bit more strength to wield. For example the level 85 Quicksand maze helmet takes 105 strength. You can either drop more points into strength for a few levels to wear these, or make do with lighter helmets in the meantime.

---

Alternate builds

---

Heavy armor: dropping more points into strength will allow you to wear heavy armor which is better defensively at the cost of your offense. But generally speaking the best defense is a good offense - killing things faster makes you take less damage than tanking them better. Not recommended.

Arcane armor: swapping strength points into magic lets your wear arcane armor. You'll still lose a bit of offense compared to full dex build. You will completely destroy casters with the combination of arcane armor and your ranged defenses but lose terribly to other melee toons (and mobs!). Not recommended.

---

Skills

---

As you level you won't have enough spirit to max out all skills for a while. I recommend maxing the following as you level. Motionless Move, Night Owl, Dual Accordance (cheap reliable moves), Galemark, Everlasting Ode, Winged Dragon, Strigimorphic Dive, Eternity (combo moves), Blood of the Nightshade, Saber Mastery, Moon Chant (buffs), and Relentless Drift (telestun). The others can be leveled as you wish but are less useful while you get your levels up. I will be adding information on Sage/Demon skills in the future. In the meantime, it is important to note that Demon triple spark does not increase your attack rate like other melee classes. Instead it increases your crit rate by 25%.

Basic attacks

---

Motionless Move: At level 10 does base damage +929. Your basic starter attack, it's fast and cheap. S/D version available from Old Book Pages.

Night Owl: At level 10 does base damage +1655.1 and increases your speed by 60% for 3 seconds. Increases the damage of your next Motionless Move by 35%. Another fast skill, although the movement increase is fairly useless. You're already in combat, you shouldn't be running away. S/D version available from Old Book Pages.

Dual Accordance: At level 10 does base damage +2239. Increases the crit rate of your next Motionless Move by 50%. If your hp is less than the opponent's after striking, you gain 5% of your hp back. Otherwise they take an additional 15% of base damage +335.9. The 5% hp gain isn't anything to get excited about, but this is still a reliable move worth using. S/D version available from Mysterious Pages.

Combo attacks

---

These attacks must be used in series (after Galemark) in order to execute. After using a skill, you will get flashing hotkey popups in the center of your screen. Click these (or just click on the skill) to execute the next skill. If you do not hit the hotkey within about 7 seconds OR if you click on ANY other skill, you lose your "charge" and have to start over. Personally I made a "tree" out of these skills on the vertical hotkeys, with Galemark on the top row, Everlasting Ode and Eternity on the second row, and Grief, Constellation Arc, and Winged Dragon on the third row. That way I can just click down the tree and activate the skills in succession.

Galemark: At level 10 deals base damage+2454.4 and slows the enemy by 40% for 3 seconds. This hits in a small fan-shaped AOE in front of you, so avoid using it in situations where aoes are undesirable (like Base Trial 1). Other than that it's a great move that you will be using constantly. S/D version available from Old Book Pages.

Everlasting Ode: At level 10 deals base damage+2601.1. This is the standard followup to Galemark and is nearly identical, including the fan-shaped aoe. S/D version available from Mysterious Pages.

Winged Dragon: At level 10 deals base damage+3798.9. This is a rectangular aoe in front of you, 12 meters long and 6 meters wide. This is the third combo move you use when you want to build chi quickly as it adds 30 by itself. S/D version available from Mysterious Pages and Old Book Pages.

Constellation Arc: At level 10 deals base damage+4057.2 and decreases their physical defense by 30% for 7 seconds. I don't find this move that useful due to the limited defense drop and 30 chi cost. It's more desirable once upgraded to Sage/Demon version. S/D version available from Advanced Mystical Pages.

Grief: At level 10 deals base physical damage+4220. This damage is divided into 3 hits, each of which can crit independently. The target is also paralyzed for two seconds and you are completely immune to damage while casting this skill. Very good skill and very worth the chi cost, although it is somewhat outclassed by Strigimorphic Dive later. S/D version available from Advanced Mystical Pages.

Strigimorphic Dive: At level 10 deals base physical damage+60% of weapon damage+4826.8. The damage is divided into two hits, each of which can crit independently. This also paralyzes the target for two seconds and you are immune to damage while casting the skill. This is Grief on steroids, it does more damage and gives you chi instead of using it. Use this whenever it's off cooldown. This is a great move for farming mobs; if you use Relentless Drift, Galemark, Strigimorphic in quick succession then their initial attack against you will be blocked. S/D version available from Pages of Fate.

Eternity: At level 10 deals base physical damage+70% of weapon damage+5075.2 to all enemies withing 10 meters. It also either stuns or immobilizes them. This is a great move to aoe with in large pulls. S/D version available from Old Book Pages.

Reflection of the Moon: This level 79 skill is used independently of Galemark. When used it copies a skill of the target and saves it. You retain the charge for 40 seconds or until Galemark is used. Using other skills does *not* waste your charge. When used against a mob it turns into a very strong attack that uses 30 chi. More details coming soon.

Charge attacks

---

When activated, these charge for three seconds before executing. You can cancel the charge early by clicking on the skill again (clicking anything else or trying to move does nothing).

Slash of Pride: At level 10 deals base physical damage+310% of weapon damage+5163.1 to all enemies within 12 meters. Also stuns them for one second and disarms them for 9 seconds. If canceled early does approximately 10% of normal damage, still stuns for one second, and disarms for an amount of time proportional to how long it was charged. Not a great skill for pve, but the disarm is useful in pvp, especially against rank 9 casters. S/D version available from Pages of Fate.

Dragon Trap: At level 10 deals four hits of 390% weapon damage+5175.9. If canceled early does fewer hits proportional to the point at which it was canceled. Each hit briefly paralyzes the target. Not usually worth using due to the charge time, although an immediately canceled one might be useful for knocking someone out of an attack. Or put them to sleep first and then charge it. S/D version available from Advanced Mystical Pages.

Teleport attacks

---

Relentless Drift: At level 10 deals base physical damage+1270.8 and stuns the opponent for 1 second. It is important to note that this is a "damage over time" attack. It will not show in the damage log or trigger crits or weapon effects (including an opponent's Purify proc). The damage is not affected by your attack levels or the enemy's defense levels. This is a fantastic move and you should be using it constantly. S/D version available from Mysterious Pages.

Blinking Moment: This move paralyzes your opponent for 2 seconds. Leveling it only increases its range. It does no damage, so is another good move to use on opponents with Purify. S/D version available from Old Book Pages.

Distant Cloud: At level 10 deals base physical damage+130% of weapon damage+4503.7. Increases your crit rate by 35% for 6 seconds. There is also an unlisted 1 second paralyze on the target with this attack. I don't use this much in pve, but it has applications in stunlocks due to resetting the cooldown of Relentless Drift. S/D version available from Mysterious Pages.

Lunar Grace: At level 10 makes you immune to movement-impairing effects for 12 seconds. Another move used in stunlocks due to resetting the cooldown of Blinking Moment. S/D version available from Pages of Fate or Advanced Mystical Pages.

Miscellaneous attacks

---

Divine Moonlight: At level 10 deals 5160 earth elemental damage. This is a damage over time skill. It will not show in the damage log or trigger crits or weapon effects (including an opponent's Purify proc). The damage is not affected by your attack levels or the enemy's defense levels. This damage is pretty pathetic in PVP, you're using this for the sleep and nothing else. S/D version available from Old Book Pages.

Destiny Hunter: At level 10 deals base physical damage+4040.7. This is *not* a dot and thus is dangerous to use against casters with Purify. Although the description says it goes away if the enemy deals damage, it actually goes away if the enemy uses any skill, including genie skills. Functionally useless skill in PVP until fixed. S/D version available from Old Book Pages.

In Silence Dread: At level 10 gives you 31 stealth levels+your current level and increases your speed to maximum for ~4 seconds. This is basically a getaway move, but you could use it creatively as an offensive move by stealthing into a group and unleashing your aoes on them. S/D version available from Pages of Fate.

Shadow Prey: At level 10 deals base physical damage+190% of weapon damage+5795.3. Paralyzes the target for 1 second. This moves hits twice, a weak hit when it strikes the target and a strong hit after the target is dragged. If the target cannot be dragged the second hit still occurs. This is an upgraded version of the blademaster's Reel In. Unlike Reel In it is not based on soulforce and will not miss (perhaps with accuracy?). Great except for the large chi cost. S/D version available from Pages of Fate.

Settling Ripple: At level 10 deals base physical damage+400% of weapon damage+6440.6 to all enemies with 12 meters. The damage is divided among 4 hits, each of which can crit independently. You take 75% less damage when casting. At first glance this appears to be the "2-spark ulti" for duskblades. But the damage is really rather poor. What this really is, is a pulling move. Gather a big group of mobs and hold them while your teammates ready their big attacks. S/D version available from Advanced Mystical Pages.

Buffs and Passives

---

Reaper Form: At level 10 lasts for 30 seconds and reduces damage from ranged attacks by up to 21.3% and your attack speed by 20%. In pve it's useful for lowering the cooldown of your combo moves. You can do Galemark - Everlasting Ode - Winged Dragon continuously while it is active and build up chi rapidly. It's also a nice panic button in pvp when you're getting hit with ranged damage. S/D version available from Old Book Pages.

Moon Chant: Buffs all squad members for 30 minutes. At level 10 they receive 15% bonus damage to skills against pve opponents, and 40% reduction in critical damage from pvp opponents. This buff cannot be purged, but disappears when changing instances. So you can't buff yourself outside of TW with your alt and then reenter TW. S/D version available from Pages of Fate.

Saber Mastery: At level 10 boosts your damage by 60%. Nuff' said, max it. S/D version available from Mysterious Pages and Old Book Pages.

Blood of the Nightshade: At level 10 reduces your damage taken from ranged attacks by up to 42.7%. Useful in most situations, max it. S/D version available from Advanced Mystical Pages.

---

Recommended Genie skills (thanks Euthymius and Crones)

---

General

Holy Path - Obligatory for general movement.

Cloud Eruption - There's a lot of Chi costs to our skills, especially when using Prey or Dread. Having a Spark on demand is worthwhile

Absolute Domain - Temporary invulnerability. Expensive energy cost, but very useful in a dire situation.

Will Surge - counteracts psy buffs

Strength Oriented

Occult Ice - Very useful PvP-Wise. With enough strength, its a reliable way to get in another charge attack, set up Arc, or just wait out a cooldown.

Tangling Mire - If you're going with the above skill, you'll likely be going with a Str Genie, so Mire will benefit from that build. Could be great for situations where you're AoEing with Gale>Ode>Winged or Settling Ripple

Second Wind - Mostly PvE related pre-endgame. A small Heal doesn't hurt since we're a bit lacking in defenses.

Virulent Poison/Mantle Ripple of Death - Another PvP skill, and quite optional. If you're of the Demon cultivation, using it with Everlasting Ode and Mo-Zun's during a lock can drain a good amount of chi and further reduce your opponent's options

Faith - Purifies all debuffs and grants debuff immunity for a short time. Will empty out your genie, though...

Dexterity Oriented

Wind Shield - A brief damage reduction skill. Can help when being attacked from multiple sources.

Extreme Poison- A flat 20% boost to all damage taken to a target, but its duration can last quite a while with high dexterity

Badge of Courage - If you're stunned while Lunar Grace is on CD, this could act as an escape option

Chi Siphon - A means of getting chi (like Cloud Eruption) that will require a target to work. Questionable application since it drains the target of their Chi before giving them a Chi Regen effect afterwards

---

Useful Techniques

---

My normal grinding on mobs is Relentless Drift, Galemark, Everlasting Ode, Winged Dragon, Dual Accordance, Night Owl, Motionless Move, then repeat at Galemark (which is off cooldown now). You can stick in Strigimorphic Dive or Grief when they're off cooldown. Against mobs that run away and attack with magic you can Relentless Drift, Destiny Hunter, wait for them to reach their maximum run away distance, Divine Moonlight, then move towards them and attack while they are stunned for 6 seconds.

---

Territory War Techniques

---

Shadow Prey is outstanding for making barbs lose their catapults. Fly in the air, use Shadow Prey, Blinking Moment, Galemark, Strigimorphic Dive, Divine Moonlight. They will 100% lose their catapult unless they use genie or a teammate attacks them right at the beginning of Divine Moonlight.