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[Swordmaster] Builds, hints and tips.

Swordmaster, Shadow Warrior, White Lion, Archmage
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Achilleos
Posts: 131

Re: [Swordmaster] Builds, hints and tips.

Post#251 » Thu Oct 19, 2017 2:02 pm

Skyy wrote:
Also I simply don't see the 2h SM as a proper tank by any means. He is more of a sturdy DPS with some tank'ish gimmicks. And therefore should Focus on his DPS potential with Strength Talis. And maybe Wounds as second choice.
I do not agree with this at all. If you play a tank class and can't guard then you are doing it wrong (imho). Don't get me wrong I love playing dps SM and want to do as much dmg as possible. But as a tank i also need to help my grp. Otherwise ANY other dps class can out-dmg a SM with right circumstanses. Played right SM might be the best 2h off-tank just because he can guard AND do dmg.

Dont want to name and shamy any1 but there is a certain high RR SM who is the perfect example of SM-lol-dps mentallity. He runs in yelling "Heal me!"/"Guard me!", then overextends and die. Release --> Repeat... Don't be like him ppl.

SM is insanely effective when paired with the right other classes but for that he needs to be able to guard. I ran 3p Ruin + BL + Worldbreaker jewels on low RR, together with max out parry and disrupt/dodge. This will give you decent dmg and survivability enuff to guard.
Of course I guard. But I consider that a bit more gimmicky on the 2h SM. You are even a great Support mauling the assist target with your guarded true-DPS... small misunderstanding there. :)

And we all know who you're talking about. ;)
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Madcatmech
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Posts: 91

Re: [Swordmaster] Builds, hints and tips.

Post#252 » Fri Oct 20, 2017 8:22 am

GodlessCrom wrote:Ah didnt catch that before, thanks. Who are you from Fusion btw? Thought all their SMs were peter and Cythe?

So before I get full Dom, I assume mixing merc+BL is the way to go?

EDIT: Also, no deft defender? Is WoDS enough to help with ranged spam? I take DD on all my tanks, feels weird to not have it.

And no Winds Impervious rings? I feel like this will end up being pretty squishy against ranged.
Merc+BL --> dominator yes sir (did I just assume your gender?).

BO+Sorc/Magus are 2H SM bane no matter how much disrupt you spec (luckily no premade worth mentioning runs sorc/magus). Also since you mentioned you are looking for a build in group play I assume you have a kobs that has more than 2 braincells and can simply switch guards to you when you are getting focused? 18% disrupt (around 14.5% now since change) is not gonna help much overall. You need parry as much as possible since there is no skilled rdps on destro playing atm, best destro premades all run meleetrain. For RvR Shield + WW is a must so 2H build is irrelevant there.

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Marsares
Posts: 364

Re: [Swordmaster] Builds, hints and tips.

Post#253 » Fri Oct 20, 2017 9:12 am

GodlessCrom wrote:Ah didnt catch that before, thanks. Who are you from Fusion btw? Thought all their SMs were peter and Cythe?
We have 4 active SMs: Skepta, Cythe, Eiger and myself (Nirneath). All are RR55+.

Personally, I run the following:

Gear: 5pc Merc, 3pc BL. Will in 2pc Domi when I have it. Full Domi + BL is BiS obviously... the +taunt proc is very good.
Accessories: Genesys/Beastlord/Epic mixture, with a focus on +parry
Talismen: full Strength
Weapon: +parry Epic (although I really should get the +taunt Epic one)
RR: full +parry, rest in futile strike
Pots: Strength and Armour

Therefore, I'm offensive spec, but make up for it with very high parry, WOSD and futile strikes (which is a must against pre-mades). Against RDPS I don't have much more than WOSD, but you'll have to accept that RDPS will be our weakness.

For Tactics I use Enscorreled Agony, Balanced Accuracy, Great Weapon Mastery and Discerning Offense. You could swap the latter out for another DOT tactic, but as a lot of good Destro melee stack Parry as well and a lot of Destro tanks are deftard spec, I don't want to waste my hard hitting abilities when I'm blocked or parried.

Play-style wise I play as an off-tank, so guard the main damage dealer and support him/her but am also very conscious of my surroundings and guard-swap when needed. I definitely play more defensive than if I'm SnB and even though 2-hand SM is very sturdy, you can't afford to over extend.
Karak-Norn /// Asildur - RR100 WL /// Marsares - RR95 AM /// Nirnaeth - RR64 SW

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anarchypark
Posts: 2073

Re: [Swordmaster] Builds, hints and tips.

Post#254 » Fri Oct 20, 2017 5:40 pm

Achilleos wrote: Also I simply don't see the 2h SM as a proper tank by any means. He is more of a sturdy DPS with some tank'ish gimmicks. And therefore should Focus on his DPS potential with Strength Talis. And maybe Wounds as second choice.
tank's first role is taking damage for others.
so many ppl ignoring this tradition of RPG.
any tanks can do it with high toughness, avoidance and right skills. SM too.
they have unique trait doing it with 2h.
most SM miss this part and fallen to squishy dps path.
it's gift and curse.
anyway, SM can tank.
SM8, SW8, AM8, WL7, KoBS5, BW5, WP8, WH7, IB7, Eng5, RP5, SL6
BG8, Sorc8, DoK8, WE7, Chs8, Mg8, Ze7, Mara8, BO6, SH7, Shm5, Chop4
SC summary - viewtopic.php?f=8&t=20415
( last update : 2020.06.09)

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GodlessCrom
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Posts: 1297

Re: [Swordmaster] Builds, hints and tips.

Post#255 » Fri Oct 20, 2017 5:42 pm

Thanks Nirnaeth and Madcat for your help :) Hope I shall continue the grand Swordmaster tradition of triggering the **** out of Destro wherever we go :twisted:
Rush in and die, dogs - I was a man before I was a king!

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peterthepan3
Posts: 6509

Re: [Swordmaster] Builds, hints and tips.

Post#256 » Fri Oct 20, 2017 5:49 pm

anarchypark wrote:
Achilleos wrote: Also I simply don't see the 2h SM as a proper tank by any means. He is more of a sturdy DPS with some tank'ish gimmicks. And therefore should Focus on his DPS potential with Strength Talis. And maybe Wounds as second choice.
tank's first role is taking damage for others.
so many ppl ignoring this tradition of RPG.
any tanks can do it with high toughness, avoidance and right skills. SM too.
they have unique trait doing it with 2h.
most SM miss this part and fallen to squishy dps path.
it's gift and curse.
anyway, SM can tank.
difference being that a tanky SM is doing your group a disservice, namely due to no super punt.

if playing in a group, you should always be dps orientated.
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anarchypark
Posts: 2073

Re: [Swordmaster] Builds, hints and tips.

Post#257 » Sat Oct 21, 2017 2:14 am

peterthepan3 wrote: difference being that a tanky SM is doing your group a disservice, namely due to no super punt.

if playing in a group, you should always be dps orientated.
big punt and HtL look critical but they are just tools.
don't blame tools. maybe grp need another tank with big punt, if they don't,
surely they have other tools.
i think dps build is limiting urself to simple brawl build.
tank can fit every situation to be center of action, providing foot hold.
every tanky tanks do and SM too. dps build can't do it alone.
choice is yours.
SM8, SW8, AM8, WL7, KoBS5, BW5, WP8, WH7, IB7, Eng5, RP5, SL6
BG8, Sorc8, DoK8, WE7, Chs8, Mg8, Ze7, Mara8, BO6, SH7, Shm5, Chop4
SC summary - viewtopic.php?f=8&t=20415
( last update : 2020.06.09)

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Zintair
Posts: 90

Re: [Swordmaster] Builds, hints and tips.

Post#258 » Sat Dec 02, 2017 11:56 am

So I've read through this thread start to finish about two times now. Luckily long commute to work haha.

I have a few questions that I think I k ow the answer but just want to clarify because some posts are dated over a year ago.

1) I know Hoeth is best for leveling. Will I ever be able to AoE pull and kill mobs? I'm only 14 but no AoE ability. I see the value in hoeth with tactics for heals etc just curious if this is ever possible for SM in the near future as I don't want to walk into T4 at lvl 16 lol.

2) are the main Renown abilities for 2h tank still parry / reduced crit and either melee crit or deft defender? Also what order do you guys think is best?

3) my goal is to eventually go 2h offtank DPS with a mixture of dmg and survivability. This however doesn't seem to be viable early on or low rr. Any recommendation on how I should handle early RR and level 40? Assume I guess RR25-40.

Thanks all appreciate the info in here as well!
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dansari
Posts: 2524

Re: [Swordmaster] Builds, hints and tips.

Post#259 » Sun Dec 03, 2017 2:35 am

There are much better SMs than me, but I will do my best to answer your questions:

1. Your aoe as SM is relatively poor. You have a few aoe abilities... not many. The heal tactics aren't that great. Most hoeth/vaul SMs go stuff like this unless you're snb then probably pick up Perfect Defenses: RoR.builders - Sword Master
2. Yes. Depends on who you talk to, but I consider Deft Defender a must on all classes because of the rdps dominance in the game. I would think Parry is next. Crit reduction is really only good if you get your initiative higher (~300).
3. Well, I think dps SM is really good but you have to have good gear unless you go useless glass cannon. snb SM can still deal good damage because of the dual spirit debuff, but if you don't want to stay snb and you don't want to be a WW bot there's really only one build to go for: RoR.builders - Sword Master something like that. I like PE over EA (Potent Enchantments, Ensorcelled Agony) but if you have high str/crit, EA is better because it can crit and works off of str, whereas PE is good for SMs with <550 str or so).
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zeBubb
Posts: 1

Re: [Swordmaster] Builds, hints and tips.

Post#260 » Wed Dec 06, 2017 4:16 pm

Heya,

Quick question. I found most of the infos I was looking for here, but I'm still wondering about some points regarding my build, as I'm about to drop my shield to go back on a 2H tank gamestyle. (and some things seems to have changed since i last logged in)

I took Balanced Accuracy, Great Weapon Mastery, and Ether Dance on Khaine.
Would it be more relevant to :

a) go for Vaul to get Crashing Wave because I'll need a hard CC

b) go for Hoeth and get Protection of Hoeth to get a defensive skill (which I like), and buff my Hoeth abilities ?

c) something else ?

Thanks in advance !
Lyane - SM - IRW

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