SW 2h viable in later tiers?

[Penril]

I just wanted to say: mine is longer.

We must be still talking about punts, obviously.

[Morf]

Just to add more fuel to the fire of this ego trip nonsense..While i wasnt around on live the first year or so i can remember the talk on the old forums of so and so the god of war has returned, the best of the best, the best group etc etc when half of them were terrible.
I dont claim to be good(i let others do the judging) but most of you are **** terrible

[Nanji]

@foof
I could link you some 6on6 from your region, NA or EU but unfortunately I dont know you or your region either.
I just know a terrible mara with foof in its name, hope thats not you.
It would be great if you could link me one of your 6on6 performances aswell.

[Wraithedge]

SM are terrible on almost any performance scale and if you feel like you are owning the world as a SM then you have missed your calling as a KotBS.

Having said that, I love the SM. I want them to be something I can be proud of so much but the tools just aren't there. All the war stories are from a land far away and a time long ago. And in all the discussions, people cringe away from anything that would make them worth considering seriously right now.

Knights get to stomp around like ancient monsters but we can't make SW tougher, or do more damage, or have a self heal, or proc anything else or be more mobile or have an early gap closer or an early silence, or anything else. Noooo those are terrible ideas. I'm glad I don't have to sell this crowd on auras for a tank. Certainly that too would be a terrible idea.

Current discussion is how to make them more useful to their team, like a suitcase or a nice serving tray. Well I play lots of mdps so lets have sword master buff up mdps, yeah that would be great! Have them increase BW output with their little swords, that's the ticket.

I am sure there are many dissertations on group mechanics ready to pounce (pounce, pounce, pounce) but in the end the SM will break your heart. While you watch your health get chopped away as the Knight takes no discernible damage at all, while you are riding back and the IB is still in the field cutting down casters, while all the healers are struggling to keep you alive and the knight doesn't even notice.

It will break your heart.

[Fuklebark]

Okay, so I'm jumping in here a bit late, and most likely off the current thread of [X > Y but not = Z, reroll] etc.

I main a swordmaster, and I actually love the class, as unpoular as it is now, and believe you me, it's plenty unpopular. Let me share with you my observations and philosophy on the SM:

Swordmaster is a rather unusual tank, ans he seems to be more offensively focused than other tanks, to the detriment of your defense. The only defensive mechanisms you have are parry boosts, and a few bubbles, the latter of which go down fast in a fight. You have no auras, and besides Nature's Blade, which steals stats for your group, you have no group utility. Your punt is a 360 degree aoe punt, often punting people you don't want to and giving them CC immunity when you'd rather not.

These are many of the cons to playing a SM, which the critics will often harp upon, and are, truth be told, correct. No point in hiding it, as an order tank, you are the least desirable and effective of the 3 for group play.

But, my philosophy on the SM is a little different. You never will as good as the IB or the omnipitent KotBS. So don't try. The way that I play my SM, and quite effectively, is as an MDPS's best friend.

Look at it this way: You have a slayer buddy, who deals great damage but is squishy. You guard him (or her) and move with them, shadowing their every step. You attack their targets, snaring and knocking the enemy down to set up the kill, using Dragon's Tooth and Challenge to knock down the incoming damage your buddy takes, and guard to share it. If they're doing well, you support them with sustain damage and Blurring Shock and , for a DPS boost that mitigates the effects of their incoming heals, allowing the MDPSs burst damage to stick. You break their absorbs with Shatter Enchantment, and buff his stats with nature's Blade.

Your primary attacks all deal spirit damage, which can be mitigated by toughness, but bypasses armor, and you have a great tactic called Ensorcelled Agony, which pretty much lets you keep up a 300+ damage dot on your target at all times. At later tactic levels you can get a good disrupt, parry and armor boost, and a marvelous 5-hit combo called Ether Dance.

In effect, you are not a tank, but a tank/dps hybrid that's never quite as good as either, in the way that a WP/DoK is a hybrid in that way. Still, when slotted and played correctly you can serve a unique purpose, and do it damn well.

The sad fact is that you'll almost never get a sopt in a premade over and IB or KotBS, but if you (like I do) have a pretty accepting guild, you can expect to find some fun to be had, if you have the right mindset.


But also, in reference to you original question, yes, SMs get their best stuff in later tiers (T3/T4). Ether Dance, the third tactic slot for Great Weapon Mastery, and Wall of Darting Steel at 40. Right now, stuck at 26 is a frustrating place to be because you have very little of your best tools at your disposal. I'm sticking it out because I believe in the class, and it's ability, but you should be warned they're mediocre right now in terms of abilities and progression.

Sorry for the wall of text, but I hope that helps!

[Coryphaus]

thats great and all...but lets be real if you wanted to shadow a slayer you would do much better with an IB than a SM

IB who is already very durable in of himself can also make the slayer more durable with armor and tough buffs while also being able to buff other stats like str

[Fuklebark]

But what if I don't enjoy the IB? I enjoy the SM, and enjoy the unique challenge of finding a niche for an unpopular class. Should I be persuaded to play an IB because it is commonly hailed as "better"?

I think what gets forgotten a lot in discussions like this i that we are playing a game for enjoyment, and should play what makes us happy. Too often sentiments like this get rolled under, and folks who play unpopular classes are shamed or dissuaded from doing so.

I'm not arguing with the logic, or the fact that a KotBS or IB do a better job, in fact I stated that almost word-for-word. I agree, an IB is more effective in that role.

What I'm offering is a counter-argument for playing what you like, and finding ways to make it work in an environment that's altogether too critical of styles outside the norm. Find creative solutions to both play what you like, and help your team and realm, that's what creates new life in games.

[Pixie126]

Good, whatever. It's a game. Have fun. My main was a swordmaster. 2 hand most of the game, but went sword and board the last transfer to Badlands. Play your swordmaster lilke it's a KotBS or IB, prepare to hate your toon. Accept the flaws, move on, and learn to play the best you can. You may have some fun. As long as you are enjoying it, who gives a horse's arse what other people say. But then again, this is coming from a person who only plays High Elves. I am a masochist.