[Swordmaster] Roll back (mostly) to December

[tazdingo]

i don't get why the shield punt had to go, it sort of made the snb spec. undefendable, low arc made good aim necessary but it was slightly higher than bg's punt so you could lob people over some props, really good "air time". never heard anyone on des ever complain about it. just a fun unique ability gone for the sake of homogeneity. i don't see anything appealing in this class now

[Paxsanarion]

I am really hoping they have plans to keep the classes unique and fun at the same time. If it all just ends up being a well-balanced, but no fun ball of nothing that would not be great stick to the lore and what makes the classes interesting and different from each other As long as you can have moments during the game where you can do something really fun that another class could not do it will be fine in my opinion

[Shalanor]

Have fun abuse order casual and roleplay guilds in rvr with 120%AAO, while all strong players will be so frustrated angry and tired that they just rerol destro or quit. Hope u all get a lot of fun of farming bots with nerfed key mechanics with faceroling gtdc cos its really high lvl of skill and chalenge.

My Main is a SM.
Actually i play Zealot.... We all should do this that the Dev's maybe learn you cannot buff one side the whole time and kick the other. let Destro play against walls and Doors. Let them learn it the hard way or enjoy the dying of the Game. Playerbase Drop nearly 50% since last year is not enough? Keep up the good work Devs! Failing never has been easier.

[Fey]

The fact that this discussion has completely ignored SnB SM tells you everything you need to know about the viability and success of two-handed SM. WoDS is not only one of the best tank abilities, it's maybe the best ability in the entire game.

I haven't played mine in a bit, but I'm a dumbass SnB SM so who cares? I'll leave you all to it.

[Aethilmar]

The fact that this discussion has completely ignored SnB SM tells you everything you need to know about the viability and success of two-handed SM. WoDS is not only one of the best tank abilities, it's maybe the best ability in the entire game.

I haven't played mine in a bit, but I'm a dumbass SnB SM so who cares? I'll leave you all to it.

There was some mention of it e.g. Redirected Force.

But, outside of WW and Raking Talons (which go for both specs), Shieldmaster is just weak compared to a Shield Knight and probably a Shield IB (although I don't play one of those so can't really comment authoritatively). But resetting to December would bring SnB back up a little imo. Ofc YMMV.

[Dobzse]

Why do you want to play 2H SM in a keep defense instead of S/B ? Maybe that is the real problem here : you want to have your playstyle (2H SM) being good in any game mode. This is not really possible. Especially because 2H SM doesn't bring anything in RvR/Defense Keep compare to SM S/B.

That not true you have the 10 sec cd aoe knockback. You have better preasure dmg since you got spammable aoe with 2h tactics.
I actually find the 2h SM pretty decent eventhough im low rr. Utility wise it does have its flaws. But I think that part could be fixed, like giving SM a group morale pump which can be used in both 2h and SnB. I would probably put it in the very bottom/mid of the left tree.
Atm the biggest issue when order face to face against destro is that destro is building morale waaaay quicker and not just tanks but everyone in their group. Its unlikely that a decent warband has no chosen or Blackorc in each party with a morale pump.

[Luckylancer]

The fact that this discussion has completely ignored SnB SM tells you everything you need to know about the viability and success of two-handed SM. WoDS is not only one of the best tank abilities, it's maybe the best ability in the entire game.

I haven't played mine in a bit, but I'm a dumbass SnB SM so who cares? I'll leave you all to it.

Class's name is SWORD master. Art style is a elf knight with a huge sword. Old devs bend bacwards to give this class a shield to make them tanks. So it makes sense that everyone wants to play 2h and talk about 2h stuff.

[Fey]

Destro has always had faster morale gain to deal with the potent front loading of order dps.

Since then Morales have been nerfed into the dirt, both in duration and effectiveness. No one will ever run Mountain Spirit, or, Eye of Sheerian ever again. They last 10 seconds. Why would you ever, when focused mind exists. Sprout Carapace and Thousand and One Blessings were there to reward the destro group for surviving the initial insane order front load.

Crippling strikes was also meant to assuage order's potent front-loading. All that is ancient history. I have no idea how Morales balance out these days. Other than focused mind, +morale is a useless stat.

[anarchypark]

As some have mentioned earlier, WoDS come with the drawback of channeling and AP drain.
However, even acknowledging these drawbacks, it's undeniable that WoDS is very powerful.
I think it was on the verge of being OP.
It's not entirely OP, so I won't demand it to be fixed, but it's not to the extent of being left unchanged either.
Therefore, I'm fine with a 5sec cooldown.

The cooldown can be eliminated with WW.
This encourages more strategic thinking regarding skill rotation rather than mindless spamming.
It also provides means for attackers to counter.
During those 5 seconds, SM should be prepared to counter the counter.
It seems like DPS SMs who can't do that in 5sec have left many comments.

As I always say, a DPS tank is 50% tank and 50% DPS.
Even then, it's talking about when you have intentions to tank.
Most are immersed in the DPS role, trying to survive a little longer and do a little more DPS.
Defensive tools like parry and armor are for performing DPS longer.

When multiple DPS tanks gather, they can produce an effect similar to a tank line.
You play DPS, but it's a playstyle where the tank line effect comes as a bonus.

Arguing as if it's impossible to fulfill the tanking role just because it's become a bit more challenging isn't being honest.
Isn't it more about having less time to DPS?

Of course, I acknowledge that's one playstyle.
But think about being on the other side, facing DPS 70%+ parry and ignoring interrupt.
You might think a 5sec cooldown is necessary.
( I'm not talking about WH btw. )

As for the single target punt, since more options have been provided, I have no objections.

Isn't the double resist debuff already long gone? It's unnecessary.

As for SNB warband play, I wish that darn blob bomb meta would shake up a bit, but that's a different long story.

[Fey]

"WODS come with the drawback of channeling and ap drain."

Any given ability costing resources is not a drawback. It is literally how skills work in the game. Everything costs either ap, class resources, or morale. The fact that WODS costs ap is hardly a drawback.

If it isn't channeled, then it's an ability with a set duration and longer CD. That's much worse as far as getting the ability back up asap when it gets interrupted.