Can someone breakdown for me the next paths to fencer?
Sw>Sw>Barb C3 > Fencer > Fencer
Sw> High> Barbc C3 > Fencer > Fencer
Sw > High c3 > cors > Fencer > Fencer
Sw> Pelt > High c3 > Fencer > Fencer
Sw> Pelt > Barb c3 > Fencer > Fencer
Which one is the more viable for an all-around and fun play?
PvE? PvP?
I’m not sure which one is the most viable of those options, but I can speak on my experiences as a level 238 Sw > Pelt > Barb c3 > Fencer c2.
Swash buckling is super useful for parties. At the moment I’m sprinting everywhere with my stamina pill addicted Fencer and taunting mobs on the Evac grind map. Damage wise I’m more on the tank oriented side of things so it’s not the best, but definitely enough to keep aggro. Seism and cleave work really well, and I actually enjoy investing in pouncing because it’s great for bosses. Prep and Coquille are also good for adding that extra damage for Lunge and Sept.
I personally enjoy this build a lot for PvE. Haven’t had enough practice in PvP except for some duels here and there. I think you’ll find that the swordie PvP experience is generally lackluster for most builds. You can find plenty of threads about the swordie struggle haha.
Not gonna say I’m the best, but I do love my build.
I went Sw2>Barb2>Corsair>Fencer1 (stopped there) before rerolling. I decided Sw2 was a big mistake. Rerolled and grabbed Pelt. It seriously just makes life easier for both yourself and your team mates. So now, SW>Pelt>Barbx2>Corsair and will go Fencerx2, probably Corsair2 when rank 8 is released.
PvE wise it’s great. You have Jolly Roger for farming and atk boost. Pelt for pulling aggro. Barb for AoE, buffs, and good single/small AoE target attacks. You’ll have to decide whether or not you want Helm Chopper, without Barb3 I decided to grab that instead of Frenzy due to lack of stack, and it works like a charm. Fencer will give super evasion and fast strong attacks, of course block too. I figure x2 Corsair for more DPS.
PvP I haven’t done too much of, but I figure with Iron hook it will give you or your team mates a solid 8 seconds (lvl 4 Iron Hook, lvl 1 pull because the atk just sucks) a chance to get some dmg in on an immobile target.
Barb skills are getting a nice buff as well on kToS. So it may be worth it to go Barb3 if that’s what your into, but for me Barb2 is efficient.
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Honestly, I’ve considered it. It’s a tough choice really, both shine in their own respective ways. You made me go watch Corsair C2 vids again, and honestly… it probably would sync better. I learned early on my first Fencer that Sept Etoiles just sucks if a target moves.
Hmmmm… What to do, lol.
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I’ve also theorized there will not be a Fencer C3. Call it women’s intuition.
Decisions. I think after sitting here 30 minutes weighting, I’d rather hit up Corsair C2. Thanks for the tip Dean. 
Hi, can I have a rough idea of ur skill distribution and also stat? Would love to see your tanky fencer in action too! XD
Sword3Cata1Corsair1Fencer2
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I felt like it would be meaningless to go swordsman if it won’t being able to tank and taunt, since DPS wise it’s clearly weaker than archers and mages. But at the same time I didn’t want to become just a punching bag that can’t dish out decent DPS.
So I went Sw> Pelt > Barb c3 > Fencer > Fencer with high DEX, good amount of STR and a bit of CON+All statue and quest points in CON. So far it’s been working well. Great for tanking and pretty good for DPS. The only other Swordsman build that does a little bit more damage than me is a Doppel>Dragoon build which can’t tank even nearly as good as mentioned Fencer build.
Gear is also important, obviously. Venier +9 with Karacha/Arde Dagger are great for taking advantage of Fencer’s multi-hit skills. Max Petamion for necklace and I prefer Gladiator Bands rather than Sissels because my crit rate is already pretty high from DEX and Green Gems, so Gladiator’s STR bonus seems better as well as AoE Attack Ratio bonus which is important for Fencer’s short range and narrow skills.
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This is my skill build. I just reached Rank 7 with this character recently so there are some undistributed skill points in this simulator. Also Venier gives +2 levels for all Fencer skills so there’s that.
Swordsman’s skills wise I was using both concentration and gun-ho at first, but later reset it because I didn’t like the idea of sacrificing some defense for a barely noticeable (at 200+) damage boost. Thrust is just there because it’s a 0 cooldown Pierce type damage, but I never use it anyway since there are other Fencer’s skills for that.
I cant say what classes are better, but i like pelt->highlander c3 -> Fencer.
Didnt test Fencer c2 yet, but i had solid dmg with highlander’s Crosscut - > Skyliner and Moulinet.
Im just planning to not get Flanconnade since i already have lots of slashing-type dmg.
Although Barbs are more popular, my preference is highlander…
Not sure about corsair, i feel its more like an auto-attacking class (I might be wrong) and im planning a high dex caster-like build. Cross guard’s debuff to thrusting atks looks neat though.
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If the 50% cleave slash buff comes to iTOS, would maximizing Flanconnade be a better choice for a barb-fencer? What do you think?
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