I took your advice and changed my 2H Sword build and I will do also the variant with Dragoon in the seventh class.
I love play with âKnight Classesâ so I will like to test.
Here is my Build:
I think that the two builds should have DexâŚam I right?
What distribution do you recomend?
Thank you for all the inputs, really helped me to dont start totally in the dark.
Already pinned by moderator. Good job cathexis 
Thanks so much for the guide, really appreciate your time and effort.
I have a question I have for you:
Iâm planning to go doppel but am torn between two paths and unsure which would be better, either
Build 1: Sword c1 >HL c2> Barb c2
Or
Build 2: Sword c2 >Barb c3
The reason for build one is crosscut/skyliner (Iâm aware of the potential nerf but I still think it will be a very useful combo) and to have more overall skills available to me.
Build number two I really enjoy the idea of getting stuns from restrain and combining it with lvl15 cleave and a more damaging/higher lvl siesm
Which one would you pick?
Any feedback you provide will be greatly appreciated
How viable is Cata in PVE? I want to go Cata due to the feel of a mounted class but I know Hop 3 is better. Question is how much better?
Hello swordsman master, any luck with finding that evidence for stacks staying after DoV refresh instead of going back to 1 stack? Im still considering a couple of builds and this mechanic is a major factor in it 
Sorry for repeating the question and thanks for all your work in educating people about swordsmen as well as general mechanics of the game. Much appreciated.
Love the guide 
I find it very helpful from the perspective of the player who wonât personally pick swordsman and instead will party with someone playing one starting OBT 
Now my inquiry is from a bit different angle. I would like to know how swordsmen with their build variations feel about wizards with some support circles in pve/pvp.
Currently Iâm tinkering with
Wizard c3 > Linker c3 > Warlock (or other dps filler class)
Wizard c 3 > Kino c3 > Warlock / Feather / Necro
Wizard c3 > Linker c2 > Kino c1 > Warlock
Iâm not too interested in Chrono since circle 3 takes rank 7 slot and itâs where the class shines.
The Dragoon I will be playing with most likely will go full 2h build with swapping to 1h only when itâs necessary to Swash Buckle.
Sword c1 > Pelt c1 > Hop c3 > Dop c1 > Dragoon
I was wondering with which build he would feel at ease at later levels. With recent Linker time and cooldown nerf and Kino cooldown reduction buff it feels like Kino c3 offers more in term of dps and support. Iâm not sure weather the Hop/Dra does better or not after they fixed Frintesa attribute when it comes to aoe (Btw does it apply to both auto attacks and skills?). Would Linker c2-c3 make a huge impact in party play or is more reliable CC of Kino c3 more important endgame?
Circle 7 Warlock is something that seems like a good follow up in build specializing in duo play. Mastema nuke is suppose to generate additional thread. Was it tested if it can be used to steal aggro from swordsman with aggression attribute? In situation like that would the Swash Buckling reset the threat level afterwards and allow swordie to continue âtankingâ?
Sorry for a long post.
At least heâs not a salty cucumber (Highlander) or a potato.
but Highlander is a pickle, itâs Corsair thatâs a cucumber.
Hoplite/ dragoon works great with linker, thereâs plenty of videos on youtube that I saw of it, you go through content like knife through butter.
Cathexis can you please help me here?
Cathexis , can you help me with a good peltasta semi dps build? i created this one but not sure if its good.
All changes are welcome
If your going c2 fencer, on a highlander then I donât recommend putting more then 1-2 levels in Flanconnade.
I hope you realize that this is more dmg then War Cry will net you in an increase and with half its cooldown for the same duration
Its also more dmg then frenzy if you have the frenzy attribute, AND itâs on a shorter cooldown.
The only time frenzy and war cry are stronger is during the lvling process, when enemies have trash tire DEF.
After lvl 200 ish when bosses/world bosses start to have over atleast 250 def (world bosses will be sporting almost 400 def skull swing far out classes those skills AND allows other physical classes to gain the being its as well.
Plus war cry only gives you high dmg when there are multiple enemies around, so itâs not good in any boss situation.
Not to mention that as you stated this will only get better as new content is released
Not to mention that even with the nerf the Cross-Liner combo STILL nets you more dmg then the cleave-chopper combo.
AND IT WORKS ON BOSSES, which the Cleave-chopper combo doesnât.
Itâs mean we need equip Dagger to get the bonus.
but not the skills that require dagger right ? i.e Dust devil, hexen dropper
If i use cyclone while equip dagger this attribute will also apply ?
also the max attribute level 3 or level 5 ?
Thank you so much! This was extraordinarily perceptive and I will be using it for any swordsman build I make from now on! Thank you again! 
Thanks for the help, man. You and @Autentist have been a godsend for a scrub like me trying to learn about the game.
I am not exactly sure about the formula or how it is calculated, but it is around a 30~35% increase in damage from what I have seen.
At first I thought it was based around the amount of reduced INT/SPR, but mobs have very low values of them. But it certainly isnât double the damage.
Attributes leveling is always about getting the ones that add ânew effectsâ to your skills. The attributes that enhance your damage can be very expensive to level up, so you do those when you have spare silver.
The idea is that you will have all of them eventually.
I couldnât find any videos for it or a Doppel with level 8+ Deeds of Valor so far.
My only experience with it was when I got to test level 10 Deeds of Valor with the exploited characters during iCBT2.
However, it looks like @Autentist is going to test this one soon, I believe he might have a Doppel C2 on kTOS. So we should be able to get a clear answer to this question.
If you really want to mix Hoplite with Fencer C2 because of Spear Lunge, then I think Circle 2 is more than enough.
Hoplite Circle 3 is about Finestra level 15, and while Throwing Spear is nice, it is not something that will do anything new for your build. On the other hand, those 5 levels on Stabbing donât make any difference, and while they are slightly better on Pierce, you already have that more than enough covered with Attaque Composee on Fencer C2.
I do think that the Highlander route could give you more tools than the Hoplite one. The downside is that Cross Guard is a reactive skill, so you need to wait to use it block an attack for the effect to apply, while Spear Lunge is an active one and you can use it on demand.
The cool-downs also make a difference, while Spear Lunge has a 24 seconds cool-down with 2 Overheat, Cross Guard doesnât have any.
With that build you can go with Corsair or Peltasta on your Rank 5 choice, depending on which one you like more.
For Dragoon there are many ways to go. Hoplite C3->Doppelsoeldner, Hoplite C2->Corsair C2, Barbarian C3->Doppelsoeldner, Highlander C3->Doppelsoeldner, etc. So it depends on what you like more.
You can find more information about Dragoon on several posts in this thread.
For Squire, I said t his one a previous post:
The description says it increases block, but we donât know the amount by which it does. But from my experience, it is either a 100% chance to block or it is very, very close (I find it unlikely that I could have been THAT lucky with the skill).
And yes, you can use Flanconnade to block without using a shield and you can block ranged attacks (although I have never attempted to block at any distance that wasnât melee).
This video (2:02) is one I have where you can see how Flanconnade blocks without using a shield, and it also blocks the ranged attack from an Archer mob (although it is at melee range).
As for multi-hits, it should only block the hits that go through the time window of it, which is very small, close to 0.5 seconds.
Yeah, if you do want to follow that build, I would recommend you to follow the âHigh DEXâ build on the Stat allocation section of the guide.
You could also switch from âHigh DEXâ to âAll-aroundâ once you are at high levels if you feel that your evasion is working good enough already.
I think the first one is a better build to go for.
Not only because of the reasons you listed as to why Highlander has better tools for you to use. But because Swordsman C2 on itâs own doesnât do anything, and if one would want to follow a PvP âone styleâ build, then it would require Swordsman C3 instead.
But even then, I still think Highlander C2 would be better than Swordsman C3.
Both choices are pretty viable. And I think this also depends on the full build and if you are planning on taking Dragoon or not.
You can look for videos on YouTube about Cataphracts on TOS, but here is a quick video/channel that I found: VIDEO
It is using a Swordsman->Peltasta C2->Hoplite->Squire->Cataphract->Dragoon build, which is also built as a tank.
It is a very inefficient build, but you can see that even built that way it is not having too many problems in PvE. To be fair, those are fairly weak mobs and there are maps that have mobs with way more HP, but I think you can get an idea of how Dragoon is able to bring a lot of damage to even weak builds.
Now imagine what you could do with a better crafted build on your character.
Here are a few more videos of what it looks like without Dragoon and just Hoplite/Cataphract during Catacombs:
You can find more videos if you search for them, as well as comparison at higher levels like during the Allemet Forest (a popular one), etc.
First, yeah the Finestra attribute applies to both auto-attacks and skills.
To be honest, it doesnât really matter what build you pick. Ideally you want a really high damage class like Warlock at high levels, because that is the best way you can help your party: killing stuff fast.
The Dragoon doesnât really require any support from your part, but Linker always makes runs in dungeons easier/faster for the whole party, IF that is a class you would like to pursue.
Although, I donât think you will be able to steal aggro from such a Dragoon build as long as he stays focused, so you shouldnât worry too much about that. And Swash Buckling will simply override the aggro you have generated.
Since all your builds are fairly similar, with only Kino really being a key difference, I think it will come down to your personal preference on which class (Linker or Kino) you prefer. But as long as you get Warlock, you wonât have problems with your damage (at least at high levels).
Linker obviously gives you CC on demand as soon as Rank 4 in your build, while Psychokino will only have reliable CC at Rank 6, which is a long way to go. So it comes down to whether you want to be mostly supportive or if you would like to help with dealing damage too (before Rank 7).
I am sure that you can find better advise for the Linker vs Psychokino thing on the Wizard forums, but I can tell you that no matter which one you choose, both will be good for what you are looking for.
I just assigned them randomly, but you can imagine them any way you want and assign Doppel to the one you like more.
Oops, sorry. I get lost as to which ones I have replied to already, difficult to keep track on everything.
I am not sure what you are trying to do with your build, because you went for Peltasta C2 but didnât get Swash Buckling to level 10, which is the only reason to go to C2.
Still, I would recommend that you instead stay at Peltasta C1, then if you want a Hoplite build you could follow the same path and add Doppelsoeldner to your build, or you could even take a slightly different path with something like Corsair C2.
Something like this:
Swordsman->Peltasta->Hoplite C3->Doppelsoeldner->Dragoon
You can see the differences of skills which I do get (even if it is only level 1), and that you skipped on your build. So it is recommended that you get at least level 1 of those skills.
But it really depends on what you want to do with your build and what goals you have with it (PvE, PvP, party play, solo play, high damage, utility, etc).
It applies to any type of damage as long you attack from the back and you are using a dagger on your off-hand.
The max level is 5.
Just so I am sure this is the case, when was it introduced that one lost stacks? According to this video from january 14, he doesnât lose stacks despite changing targets on multiple occasions. Could I ask for yet another confirmation if you donât mind?
Thank you very much. Now I just need to decide if I want to focus on PvE or have some semblance of teeth in PvP.
That is not the way it should work, and there is no documented change on any of the patch notes as far I am aware. So probably it is bugged or it was bugged during the recording of that video.
It could also be fixed or behave differently in our version though. But that is not the intended way for the skill to work (from the description, the attribute and previous versions of the skill that many of us used).
