Return of Reckoning

Hello,

I got some questions about the aSW build.

1.BiS gear for a solo player?
2.BiS gear for playing in a group?
3. Which renown point for solo play?
4. Which talismans? Str or full WS?
5. Which liniments to use?
6. What renown points to use?
7. What tactics to use?
8. What rotation to start the fight?

Thanks for answering.

AD. 4. You should consider reaching soft cap for STR, but aim to get it via BS talismans which are converted by the Stance mechanik, then use either Wounds, Ws or now even INI.

Ad. 1. I would recomend getting at least 4 piece Triumfant to get the proc for WS buff and Toughness debuff on enemey.

I tried to teach few guys how to play it but they all failed.
I don't want to lose another one.

Triumphant 4pcs at least (vanquisher before that) to get the buff/debuff proc.

Tactics I recommend :
- No respite
- Pierce defense
- Instinctive Aim
- Bullseye

You can switch bullseye or pierce defense with Wrist Slash wich is now a very potent buff/debuff.
Drop bullseye if you already high in crit chances (25+ %), or pierce defense if you find your antiparry (sentinel jewel is good for that) is high enough.

Renown full parry, full dodge/disrupt, 2-3 anticrit and rest on Initiative or Crit chances.

Use shadowstep for gap closer + defensive buff, grim slash (if using tactic), crosscut tu place all debuffs on target, disarm/kd when needed (before final burst).
Dont hesistate to start your fight with broadhead arrow + shadowsting, then switch to assault and immediately use Vengeance of Nagarythe to get full enhanced damage on all your DoTs and subsequent skills.
If you are struggling keeping up with target, either get some distance with Wirlhing pin, then some kiting (using skirmish stance), then return to Assault + shadowstep when you cant escape your target anymore.
Or slow is with arrow then keep pressure (you can use flee and AP potion to keep up distance while firing arrows on skirmish stance).

When you fear WE attack, spam detaunt (stay in assault to get very defensive on first impact), with her opener (damage on move) you will auto target her and most than certainly detaunt while she kd you on the first move. then Shadowstep, before or after whilring pin + potion, then kill them quietly (maybe not regen one though).

Fenris78 wrote: Fri Feb 28, 2025 1:11 pm Tactics I recommend :
- No respite
- Pierce defense
- Instinctive Aim
- Bullseye

I disagree with the list, but that also depends if you see yourself as 1vs1 char or not....
goin for crit with Bullseye but not for merciless soldier for +50% crit dmg is a mistake in my opinion.

I agree with the 4piece vanq/triumphant

as a standard burst rotation to assist a WL or something i reccomend:


or when already in melee:


keep in mind that this is highly situational: sometimes you want burst without calling it out with the Healdebuff before ... sometimes you want to have the knockdown later ... but in general your class is the only one with HD without cooldown ... so you are responsible to apply it !

way too many SWs prefer to use an additional dmg style instead of appling healdebuff even while the target gets healed .. and at the same time their fellow mates are qq'ing that Heals are OP

Today is your lucky day

1. BiS gear for a solo player?

Tbh it really depends what you want to achieve. You can either run :

- 6triumphant/3 offsov
-> Biggest burst damage of all of the gear mixes with WL armor debuff

- 6 triumphant/ 3 defsov
-> Little less burst damage than mix before, but more AA speed which works great too

- 5 triumpant / 4 offsov
-> This setup gives you the %arpen which in solo roam you want to have atleast 85% (because everyone know that armorpen cap dont exist right...)
-> Good for solo roam and to start group play but not as efficient as 6/3 since you have WL armor debuff

- 5 offsov / 4 triumphant (which i don't recomend)
-> Damage is okay but -2% dodge from shoulder piece gives me headache

- 5 defsov / 4 triumphant
-> Tankiest mix . gives you really good survivability if you use 2x fort weapons instead of bloodlord sword

2.BiS gear for playing in a group?

- 1th mix since you have WL and IB which buffs you everything

3. Which renown point for solo play?

- I don't like to be a punching bag in RvR so i like to play 3 FS 4 Crit and rest as you like
- Some of you will ask me " wtf Catch where is the parry renown? ". In thrash can mate . Imo this 18% parry is usless since aSW is burst dps so even if 1v1
fight last longer than 10 second (which should be enough to kill everything tbh)

4. Which talismans? Str or full WS?

- In every mix you run 4 triumphant which with wrist slach tactic gives you a looooooot of WS. For group play 75% arpen is enough, so in assault stance you want to have 55% arpen base without any buffs
- In every situation (solo roam/ casual scs/ city / 6v6 ranked) i like to have atleast STR softcap , so invest in those Balistic Skill talis (preferable number of
them 3-5)
- After you reach STR softcap you can either invest 2 into WOUNDS or ARMOR

5. Which liniments to use?

- Now it gets really tricky. You can run the budget version :
-> Liniment of Savage Vigor (which is okayish, you lose wounds which is **** but you have some crit and you want that)

But preferable some of those ones:
-> Bessie's Roots (1h 60 wounds + 5% crit)
-> Liniment of War : Blood (30 min 60 wounds + 5% crit)
-> Liniment of War : Demise (30 min 60 wounds + 50 melee power) (only if you have Kotbs+IB comp)

6. What renown points to use?

point numero 3.

7. What tactics to use?

- I mostly use :
-> Wrist Slash
-> No Respite
-> Merciless Soldier
-> Instinctive Aim
I use this setup in 6v6 and damage is huge (ask Beanie ;P)

8. What rotation to start the fight?

- I will give you 2 of them

1. Group play or fight against healer
-> Grim Slash
-> Shadow Sting
-> Draw Blood
-> Vengeance of Nagarythe
-> Exploit Weakness
-> Crosscut
-> Brutal Assault
-> Swift Strikes
-> Wrist Slash chain till VoN cd expires

2. Solo play against non heal class

-> Glass Arrow
-> Shadow Sting
-> Grim Slash
-> Draw Blood
-> Vengeance of Nagarythe
-> Exploit Weakness
-> Crosscut
-> Brutal Assault
-> Swift Strikes
-> Wrist Slash chain till VoN cds expires


I hope I answered all of your questions.
Wish you all the best and have fun with this stupid af class

Kind regards,
Catch

Thx 4 all the input so far!
What masteries should be run on aSW? RR40/50.

Shaoruij wrote: Fri Mar 14, 2025 10:33 am Thx 4 all the input so far!
What masteries should be run on aSW? RR40/50.

RoR.builders - Shadow Warrior

This is personally what I would run at rr50. Just make sure you invest enough into FS to try and offset the Bullseye debuff. When you hit rr60, you can pick up No Respite to swap out Bullseye if you wish.

Thx!