I’m looking for some solid advice regarding Fencer. My play-style is suited to tanking, mostly - with an incentive to deal damage. I was planning to, at least at the start, go SW1 then Pel; and I’ll be allocating stats to Str and Dex with Con here and there. Aside from that I’m not sure which skills I should get, and I really want to avoid making mistakes that will cost me later. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
There’s three main paths(of course there are others) on fencer, take a pick first.
Pelt > Barb 3 > Fencer
Pelt 2 > Rode 2 > Fencer
Pelt > Highlander 3 > Fencer
check some vids and read on their skills, then decide
Hm… The Highlander skills all seem to use dual-handed swords; yet Fencers use one handed rapiers. How does this work out? (I’m totally new, excuse my lack of information).
Also would it be best to do 2:1 dex to str?
Only cross guard requires 2H swords.
2 dex : 1 str is fine, but I prefer 3 dex:1str with some con
Which of your above recommended builds would yield the highest DPS output whilst still maintaining the ability to tank? I know that people look for DPS late game.
The one with Barb, you have your AOE stuns there, as well as warcry, if you want to follow my personal build it’s Pel>Barb2>Corsair>fencer2
Highlander also has higher dps, problem is you will have a hard time dealing with some monsters when you are alone.
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It seems the most popular option is to go Pelt > Barb 3 > Fencer 2; however the Pelt 2 > Rode 2 > Fencer seems appealing, though it also seems like it’d do lesser DPS. What’s the reason for the Barb path’s popularity?
It covers fencer’s #1 weakness, AoE attack ratio. Barbs also have stuns you could use to position yourself for Sept Etoiles, if you do it right you could finish your skill in time as the stun wears off. Warcry is another, an instant atk boost.
Rodel does the same, in defensive form however.
What is generally better regarded in late game dungeons / raiding? The offensive or defensive route?
That’s really up to you and your team, a safe choice as a tank would be rodel since you’ll have access to slithering, but personally I don’t like rodel class so I left that out.
If you have a team with a nice cc for example, you being rodel will be less effective, better do a nice chunk of damage while they’re on hold
I just want to level for a bit before deciding on this; what are some skills in the Swordsman circle 1 that are absolute for any of these paths that I should get as I level up for now?
For Pelt, decide on more Guardian for duration or just throw them on rim blow.
bash 3 will come in handy later on
How do I upgrade from SW 1 - Pelt?
At class 15, click advancement on the right side of your screen, click peltasta then press select.
I’m also S>Pelt>Barbx2>Corsair>Fencer, and it’s fuuuuun. Second one, actually, as I didn’t take pelt the first round. Pretty much everything Lostac said I second. Umbo Blow also has good stun chance, giving you more room to utilize Cleave, though not as often as Barb skills of course.
I highly recommend checking out builds here http://www.tosbase.com/tools/skill-simulator/builds/?class=Fencer&order=Likes&page=1 and theeeen making your own. I see a few people taking more Pelt circles than one, some even taking Squire for support/tank builds. I haven’t personally met anyone with these builds however.