Tree of Savior Forum

[Guide] Swordsman's Battle Manual (All classes) - By Cathexis

Class and Rank Swordsman
#463

hi cathexis can give suggestion to optimize this 2 build ? i will either go for 1 of this build.

or

#464

so in earth tower we tank mobs by kiting?
what about GVG? I think guild leader should always be alive to coordinate guild members and to keep morale high.
what stat ratio do your recommend for all around build str:con:dex?

#465

In term of pvp and gvg, how good block penetration passive from cata? Does it give significant diff? Does mdef and block penetration from spr giv a good amount endgame? How much it need to become viable later?

#466

Hi, First of All, Great Guide, following u since that Hoplite Guide before.

Well, i’m set on building a Hoplite based character, and by rank 7 going for Dragoon.

Following by SW>Pelt>Hop>Hop>??>??> Dragoon

My doubt lies in, what to choose for ranks 5 and 6:

Hop C3>Doppel>Dragoon (mainly for ciclone + deeds)
Or
Corsair>Corsair>Dragoon (mainly for hexen dropper + DWA)(man, dual wield is too much badass, worth it?)

So, by rank 6 while grinding, will there still be a good use for ciclone? heard ppl say there are fewer monsters/less mobs the higher lvl u get.

If thats really the case, does corsair single target focused dmg possibly outshines Doppel?

Talking about a PVE focused character.

Ty in advance.

#467

Thanks for the detailed swordie compilation !

If it’s not too much to ask, I would like to ask for a more elaborate insight regarding your view on Hop circle 3 since you took that route yourself.

Personally, I find pushing up to Hop3 to be pretty iffy as all you gain from taking that route is

-Throw Spear, a rather mediocre AoE imo without the right weapon.
-Level 15 Finestra which is easily replaceable with a critical gem. (though the % increase in block is a good bonus)

  • Rather mediocre base power gain on Stabbing and Piercing.

The way I see it, instead of taking Hop3, don’t you gain more millage by going Hop2 and taking another class to circle 2 then into Dragoon ?

Thanks in advance for your response !

#468

Thanks a lot for this Cathexis, this guide is just perfect. I actually read your Hoplite guide from the CBT and that helped me a lot too.

1 Like
#469

@Cathexis Do you know how to counter Cryomancer’s Sub zero shield… or anything to get immune to it? The skill duration is short enough to keep it on, very annoying skill.

#470

Thanks for helping me, how about stat distribution at early level? thus i need to boost first dex? and rely str on buffs and weapon?

and if i add 1 point on wagon? which skill will i deduct 1 point?

#471

For your first build:

  • I think you should get at least level 1 of Cross Guard. Being able to block incoming damage, as well potentially increase the damage output of your Fencer Pierce skills is something worth taking.
    Sure it requires you to weapons swap between 2H Sword and Rapier, but it is worth it.
  • I am not entirely sure about Preparation for PvP, I think level 1 is more than enough (because you have Peltasta to block anyways), so you could use those points on other skills for more damage.

For the second build, it would only be the second point.

I am assuming that you understand the advantages and disadvantages of the classes you picked for your build, as all your skill point allocation was pretty accurate.

It is one of the most effective strategies, this way you get to split the mobs so your party has an easier time clearing the remaining ones while waiting for cool-downs.

We don’t really have any GvG right now. At least not a structured mode, just open field skirmishes which are not very pretty.

Maybe in the future when they introduce a GvG war mode or something. Honestly, we don’t know.

If you want to be heavy on CON, then you could follow a:

1 STR : 2 DEX : 1 CON
or
1 STR : 1 DEX : 1 CON

The amount of MDEF and Block Penetration you get from SPR isn’t very significant and you would have to spend a lot of points on it, which would make your build weaker in the end.

The attribute doesn’t make any game changing difference, it might help a little bit, but there is no way to get most of your attacks to get through someone who is manually blocking them.

It is a viable way to build your character, it still deals good burst damage thanks to Hexen Dropper, while you get to keep the other Corsair benefits like Jolly Roger and Iron Hook.

DWA is mostly a filler, so not really a main reason to go for Corsair.

There are maps with not too many mobs around, and maps with a decent amount of mobs around.

Cyclone still remains as one of the best skills to take down enemies, regardless if they are in a group or alone.

It depends on what situation you are fighting in.

You have 2 seconds to deal damage? Then Corsair will be higher.
You have 5 seconds to deal damage? The Doppelsoeldner will be higher because there is enough time for Cyclone to deal it’s full damage.

Not to mention that Corsair gives you more Pierce-type burst damage, while Cyclone is Slash, so they focus on being better against different enemies.

Both are good options, so it depends on what style you like more.

Spear Throw is a rather nice filler and it can be better than auto-attacks under the right situation (being able to spam at melee range).

Finestra isn’t about replacing it with a Critical Rate gem, it is about being able to use those 50 extra points into STR rather than DEX, which will be affected by rank bonus and the stat range bonus and result in even more gained points. This is something that no other build can do but Hoplite C3.

And against opponents with high Critical Defense then it is better to have Finestra+gem rather than just a gem.

But this doesn’t mean that it is the best way to go, as there is no such way. There are different options available and if another class is more appealing to you, like Corsair for example, then it might be better to pursue that path instead.

There is no real way to reliably counter Freezing or other CC’s as a Swordsman.

At early level it is usually better to put points into STR, as it is the best way to get fast through the early content. So you probably want to get 40~ points into STR, then go into DEX and add CON once you are level 100+.

Cartar Stroke.

#472

First, I am so sorry to disturb you, but I have no choice because I can’t find any experience friends around.

I just have few questions about my build.

My build : swordsman C3> Barbarian C2> Doppelsoeldner> Dragoon

I am building a main character, thus, I consider to build a dps type character and so the build is emphasis on damage.

I read your guide. It is a amazing and the best guide, in my opinion. However, I disagree your statement about swordsman C3 which you mention in “swordsman: all classes and best builds”. I think C3 is a good class. Why?

First, it give a space to improve Gung Ho and Concentrate which direct increase physical damage by 100 and 126 (include attributes). It is good buff other than Deeds of Valor (because it increase in percentage).

Then, if I place my emphasis on Double Slash, it may not be a bad class. The Double Slash deal additional damage to bleeding mob. “Bleeding” is what I focus on. There is a attribute “Thrust: Bleeding” which will cause bleeding effect by using Thrust on stunned enemies. “Stun” may cause by Restrain (20%), Helm Chopper(?%) and Seism. It is full of option to cause a stun, and follow up by thrust which have 0 sec COOLDOWN!

Imagine every stun you cause and, then, follow up by a thrust. The bleeding damage is proportional to your STR. I am sorry, I have tried to test the ratio but I can’t get the answer. In addition, Double Slash has 2 types of attributes which increase 100% of damage and 35% critical rate (Maximum) Therefore, by combining Stun+Thrust+Double Slash will do a good enough DPS in early or even mid game (I tested it is fast enough to do this).

Questions come.

1.Do the critical rate increase of Cleave stack with Double Slash’s critical?

  1. Do Helm Chopper and Seism stun bosses?

3.Do Helm Chopper level affect then stun chance?

  1. Which 3 skills of Dragoon worth to spend points on it?

I am sorry and thank you if you reply me.

BUilld: http://www.tosbase.com/tools/skill-simulator/build/clzbb63r74/

#474

Much appreciate the input provided to my previous post.

Would you also mind sharing your opinion regarding stat distribution for Fencers ?

I 101% agree that dodge builds should not be attempted halfheartedly, which made me concern whether attribute bonuses from Pelt is enough to cover for a CON-less build when it comes to tanking as I have heard horror stories of the reverse of dodging is dying when it comes to Dodge Tankcers holding World Bosses aggro.

Whereas a 1:2:1 STR DEX CON build could easily mitigate that issue, I would have to compromise a huge chunk of points I could’ve gotten for DEX into CON; which is a massive hit to the dodge stat.

tl;dr;
Are CON-less shield dodge Fencer builds relevant as primary tank against world bosses with their subpar health pool and mediocre Block stat assuming being paired with an average cleric player ? If not, wouldn’t CON-less dodge builds be rather lack-luster in raid-esque content as they can’t take hits nor can they deal amazing damage ?

#475

Both of them only stay relevant for a while because of their attributes.

Only Gung Ho remains relevant at high levels, as the damage Concentrate gives is negligible.

Basically, you give A LOT to gain a meaningless amount of damage that is pretty much useless in comparison to the other great tools you could have acquired from picking other classes.

Double Slash is pretty useless outside of using it for a gimmicky Shinobi build. Same with Thrust in general.

And Bleeding competes with Cross Cut + Sky Liner from Highlander at Rank 3, which are better options to take into higher levels.

Restrain and stun in general is not very useful in PvE, as the mobs who they would be useful against are immune to stun.

And in PvP the chance of Restrain activating is halved, and parties are immune to it with a Plague Doctor in their parties.

Yeah, Cleave increases your Critical Rate stat while Double Slash has a modifier of it’s own, so they work together.

No.

No.

All of them are worth spending points on, and should have at least level 1 of each one of them. It is usually Dragontooth and Serpentine maxed out, while choosing between Gae Bulg and Dragon Soar depending on preferences.

Just follow the High DEX build on this thread as a guideline to follow as to possible stat distribution:

Uh, this is not that type of game.

Most likely you are not going to be the one tanking the world boss, as with so many people in there and so many high damage sources the aggro is going to be switching around quite constantly.

No matter what Swordsman build you choose, none has “subpar” health. They all have a good HP pool, so you will be able to take hits no matter.

And with a shield to manually block, you can also mitigate stronger incoming attacks, plus all the protection that the healer(s) in your party will provide you with.

EDIT:

What makes you a good tank is not your HP pool, it is your ability to position yourself correctly, manually evade incoming attacks (or block them) and having a good rotation of damage to keep aggro.

You can pretty much do most world bosses without ever receiving a hit if you position yourself correctly and play around the attacks of the boss.

#476

#Guide Update:

I am getting a lot of messages in and out of the game about possible path builds.

I was originally planning to add a more detailed version that would complement @Autentist 's guide about builds.

But for now I will just list viable class paths that I consider are good guidelines to build a character, while letting the description of the skills on this guide help people on choosing the skill point distribution they want to use.

Most likely I am going to add more details to it for now, but hopefully this helps to guide some of the people asking me if their build is viable.

The “Recommended Builds” section has been modified to the following:

#Recommended builds (under construction)

I am still unsure as to what structure to order the builds with, so I will just start listing them and worry later about it.

Remember that these are just guidelines. You can customize your build to fit your playing style as much as you want.

Use these builds to get an idea of what classes have good synergy with each other, then customize your build by adding points to the skills that are more appealing to you, based on the information that was detailed on previous sections.

Once you have made your build if you have any questions or if you would like to have a review on it, just make a post on this thread and I or other members of the community can give you feedback on it.

Try to give as much information as possible, maybe follow a similar template to:

  • Comments and questions: This can include but not limited to:
  • Why did you pick those classes?
  • What are you looking for in your character? (What is your playing style)
  • What are your doubts about it, etc.

###Templar Builds

  • Swordsman > Peltasta > Hoplite > Cataphract C3 > Templar
  • Stat distribution: All-around, High DEX or DEX/CON
  • Swordsman > Peltasta > Barbarian C3 or Highlander C3 > Fencer > Templar
  • Stat distribution: High DEX

###Sword builds

  • Swordsman > Higlander C3 > Peltasta or Corsair > Doppelsoeldner C2
  • Stat distribution: High DEX, All-Around or High STR.
  • Swordsman > Peltasta > Barbarian C3 > Doppelsoeldner C2
  • Stat distribution: High DEX, All-Around or High STR.
  • Swordsman > Peltasta > Barbarian C2 > Corsair C2 > Doppelsoeldner
  • Stat distribution: High DEX, All-Around or High STR.

###Spear Builds

  • Swordsman > Peltasta > Hoplite > Cataphract C3 > Dragoon
  • Stat distribution: All-Around
  • Swordsman > Peltasta > Hoplite C3 > Doppelsoeldner > Dragoon
  • Stat distribution: Full STR or High STR.
  • Swordsman > Peltasta > Hoplite C2 > Corsair C2 > Dragoon
  • Stat distribution: High STR or All-Around

###Rapier Builds

  • Swordsman > Peltasta > Barbarian C3 > Fencer C2
  • Stat distribution: High DEX
  • Swordsman > Highlander C3 > Peltasta or Corsair > Fencer C2
  • Stat distribution: High DEX
  • Swordsman > Peltasta > Highlander C2 or Barbarian C2 > Corsair C2 > Fencer
  • Stat distribution: High DEX
  • Swordsman > Peltasta > Barbarian C3 or Highlander C3 > Fencer > Doppelsoeldner
  • Stat distribution: High DEX

###Squire Builds

  • Swordsman > Peltasta > Hoplite > Cataphract > Squire C3
  • Stat distribution: High DEX or DEX/CON
  • Swordsman > Peltasta > Hoplite C2 > Squire C3
  • Stat distribution: All-around

###Rodelero Builds

  • Swordsman > Peltasta > Hoplite > Rodelero C2 > Fencer > Fencer C2 or Dragoon
  • Stat distributioin: High DEX or DEX/CON
#477

Thank you, I am finding way to solve my mistake a level 60 swordsman C3 ( don’t know how to reply)

#478

Well, if you are already there you can do something like:

  • Swordsman C3 > Hoplite C2 > Doppelsoeldner > Shinobi
  • Swordsman C3 > Hoplite C2 > Doppelsoeldner > Dragoon
  • Swordsman C3 > Cataphract C3 > Dragoon

Which are builds where Swordsman C3 is more viable.

They are a little more oriented towards PvP, but give you still good enough tools for PvE to not struggle at later levels. If you are interested on any of those, we can explore it further.

#479

I will go with the second case because Shinobi, as you said, there are still many ways should be develop. Thank you for your advice.:relaxed:

#480

will i miss out big time if i go dop2 and not get dop2 skills that require 2 hand swords?

#481

Most likely yeah. It would depend on whether or not you have enough tools to deal consistent, high damage with the previous classes you chose. But even then, I think it would kind of be a waste to go into that circle and not get the new skills for your kit.

It could work, but I think you are losing more than you are getting out of it compared to other options like Dragoon.

#482

What you think about this build? I’m not sure about getting HL C2 and Fencer. Thought about getting Peltasta, but it doesn’t make much sense to use Guard while having HL’s Cross Guard. Also picked Fencer because of the attack speed, while combo’ing after blocking with Cross Guard, since i like hitting hard without being too slow.
I’m planning on using 1H Swords + Shield most part of time, switching to 2H Sword to block and then Rapier to combo, but i feel it’s too much switching. Thanks in advance

#483

The skill has 100% reflect and 60% frost chance then the cd and duration is 45sec… the skill has even no hit limit count. Lol how are we suppose to hit them now? This is the class we swordsmans should worry about unless we can one shot them.