I’ve also heard that the value of each DEX point diminishes as you increase in character levels. The current formula for crit as I understand it is (crit rate- crit resist)*42/character level, so lets say for example at 280, using the formula, it takes ~6.67 crit rate per 1% crit chance whereas at 600 it takes ~14.3 crit rating per 1% crit chance. As you can see, it gets a lot harder to maintain high crit chance especially considering the fact that DEX does not receive 10% bonuses for rank. This is where my theory for high STR fencer started. I plan to go for 4:1 or 5:1 STR:CON and no DEX.
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I heard that Barbarian C3 + Doppel make the best mob clearer for swordsman ever (apparently best mob clearer of all class combinations in general in the game). Is this true?
Can u give some good skill build for me? Swordman>peltasta>barbarian c2>squire>fencer>shinobi.
Im already at barbarian c1. I want going hoplite c3>dragoon before, but i really dont like hoplite costume =x
Im thinking to get squire for arrest and repair. I need repair every time i go to dungeon now due to tank. Is it better to get corsair instead of squire, or just stick with it?
Regarding the armor choice:
Do i always take plate with swordsman?
If i have a build with more dex than con, isnt it more useful to use leather armor because of more evasion bonus?
Or why is plate armor better?
I go Highlander c3 - doppel c2 and i go like 3str 2dex, not many points in con.
There is no much benefit from using Plate isn’t it? Or am i missing something?
I also think when farming solo, the more HP i got, the longer it takes to regenrate = farming takes longer.
Dumb question, what’s better for hoplite?
7 mag def bracer with 10 max atk and 14 evasion
or
24 mag def
I dont think anyone is actually reading the guide at this point…
You might as well have posted a class Q&A, help post.
@Cathexis
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Guys and personally @Cathexis , what you about think about tank build that will go from hoplite? can it be used at higher lvl? (200+ i guess)
Like Sword>>PeltC1>>HopC1>>??? is it worth it? do high STR will do fine there? cuz i dont like concept of fencer to be honest…in theory 
Since i am new here,i really need some advice
You will miss a lot without the accuracy DEX gives.
@guitarlover00123 As this guy says, still need a bit of DEX to raise accuracy.
Even Hoplite builds with max finestra will still take a bit of DEX.
you cab affix accuracy to your gloves
You are making your analysis very simple by reducing your scope to only cover Critical Rate.
Try to run numbers with your main damage sources using the damage formula, comparing both the amount of Physical Attack and Critical Attack a High DEX build has, with the one a High STR one does.
If you consider all the modifiers that could or could not have an effect on the resulting damage, you will find that the difference at level 280 would only be between 7% and 10% of total damage. This is only IF you have the same Critical Rate than the High DEX build, which in practice you won’t really have as that other build has more tools to keep a higher consistent rate of critical hits because of the comfort in stat allocation.
Not to even take into consideration that for every increase in Critical Resistance there will be an even greater impact on the overall performance of the High STR build as the reliability it has highly depends on gems and equipment (which have a cap).
And while DEX doesn’t get the same 10% increase per Rank as STR, it still gets the bonus points for stat range.
For the level 600 factor, I think that is an extreme case. We are unlikely to see such a high level cap in anything less than 2 years, considering the amount of work the game still has to go through in terms of development as there are more important areas to focus on rather than that for the moment. And anything could change between now and then, including the formulas of the game.
I am too lazy to make a detailed post about that at the moment (I want to play the game too!), but you should run some numbers considering the flexibility the High DEX build has in gem and equipment allocation (it can get more Critical Rate or more Physical Attack through it’s gems and it is not forced to follow either or stick to one particularly and can also switch between them if needed).
You will be surprised of what results you might find.
Oh, and consider the context of a fight too. As in what scenarios would a 7 to 10% increase in overall damage be of benefit or any significance considering the other benefits you are giving up for it (mainly evasion and accuracy).
Not even close.
There are a million Wizard builds that are much better at killing stuff, and then some Cleric ones and then some Archer ones.
Ok, maybe not that many. But there is a huge list before that build.
But for Swordsman, it depends on what you consider a “mob clearer” and the context of it, but I think overall a few builds are pretty close to each other that the difference is meaningless.
If you only want Squire for Repair, it isn’t worth it. Even then, it isn’t worth it to just take 1 Circle of it. I think Corsair or other option would be better.
Try to make a skill build with the simulator, then link it here and we can continue.
You can read the posts linked on that section of the guide.
Pretty much the benefits you get from Leather are lower than those you get from Plate, and the +50 Evasion doesn’t do anything meaningful on a build that is already building DEX on it.
I would use that one until you get a better one from quests or as a drop.
Hoplite works better with High STR or Full STR. Although you could do an All-around build heavy on STR that would allow you to put more points into CON for making a “tank” build. For whatever purpose that would be.
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Thanks for reply! what you think,should i go after hoplite C2? Corsair>dragoon or Hoplite C1>cataC3 >dragoon since i will do allround stat for some tanking?
Hello again, do you think is worth to get Squire 1? Like: Pelt>Highlander2>Squire1>Fencer2 . Thinking in the support skills like repair or maybe circle 1 alone is not worth?
I think any of those builds work, including your original one. To be honest, just pick the classes you like the most and don’t worry too much about the stat allocation since you were going to need CON for PvP anyways (if intend to play that mode too).
Nope, clones don’t receive your buffs.
But you can use something like Deeds of Valor to increase your attack speed and since they react when you auto-attack then it would also make them attack faster…in theory…but the clones are kinda clumsy so they don’t always react to auto-attacks. They need to be improved to have better reactions.
Not worth it. Repair is too situational and is most of the time not even used during dungeons or similar content outside of towns.
Hello everyone. Just started a new character and I need some help with my build.
I must say that I do love PvE, and I do hate PvP. Also, dual-wield is something I really enjoy, no matter what game I am playing, so obviously I am going for a Corsair. Actually, I had a Corsair C1 on the previous beta, and due to rank 6 being the maximum, my build was planned until Corsair C2, but now the new limit is rank 7, and I do not know what I should choose as my last rank.
For my build, I want an all-around character capable of doing very well on every situation (PvE only).
My old build was: Swordsman > Peltasta > Barbarian > Barbarian > Corsair > Corsair
I have been thinking on Fencer as my last rank, but… I am quite unsure. Dragoon is nice too, but without Hoplite and Finestra it might be a bit lackluster. Also, I read that due to Warcry and Frenzy being a flat boost to my damage, they will fall off quickly, unless I stat STR - which is not good because DEX is much better for Corsair/Fencer.
So… Which class should I pick for my build? Dragoon? Fencer? Doppelsöldner? How should I stat my character? 4 DEX : 1 STR is good enough?
Anyway, any help is very appreciated.
I thank you all in advance.
Cya.
(Current build: http://www.tosbase.com/tools/skill-simulator/build/gjl0pp5z1z/2)
Thank you for this guide Cathexis. You and Autentest are the most valuable people in this swordsman community imo.
I plan on playing Cata C3 to Dragoon. I noticed 1 difference between your guide and Autentest in the stat distrubition. I posted the same question in Autentest`s guide.
You call for 2:2:2 (PVP) or 3:1:2 (PVE) - STR - CON - DEX
while Autentest calls for 4:2:2 or 4:1:2
Could you explain why there might be a difference between your suggestions. From that it seems you value strength slightly less than Autentest.
Pretty tough decision, but since you already played up to Rank 6, you have a pretty good idea of how Corsair fares in PvE scenarios.
I think that if you want to play the Barbarian route, then you can finish with Fencer, since most likely you will be following a DEX build and you will get a bunch of synergy between the Fencer skills and the Slash/Pierce damage you have from your previous classes.
However, if you prefer Dragoon then I think that Hoplite C2 would be better than Barbarian C2 because that way you get to buff the damage for all your Pierce skills (including Hexen Dropper) from Spear Lunge. You also get Finestra which is pretty nice because you can use those points instead to increase your Physical Attack with STR.
Doppelsoeldner can go with either one, although it probably has slightly more synergy with the Hoplite route because Deeds of Valor doesn’t activate with dodge and it’s effect has a bigger impact if you have a STR build. But you will get Cyclone either way and that increases your AoE potential.
If anything, I would say that Fencer would give you the higher single target damage, while Doppelsoeldner would give you the highest AoE. Dragoon would be somewhere in the middle.
Or you can do it for the costume, because why not.
It is simply the representation of the builds. I am using a 6 points distribution, while Autentist is using a 7~8 points distribution, this means that both of our distributions will meet every 24 points, which leaves us with:
-
Cathexis (every 24 points)
-
(PvE) 12 STR - 4 CON - 8 DEX
-
(PvP) 8 STR - 8 CON - 8 DEX
-
Autentist (every 24 points)
-
(1st build) 12 STR - 6 CON - 6 DEX
-
(2nd build) 12 STR - 3 CON - 6 DEX + 3 free stat points
As you can see, both distributions have the exact amount of STR in them for PvE. The difference lies in CON and DEX.
I overall value DEX more for PvE because of evasion and Critical Rate. Since you are using a 2H weapon then it is better to have a consistent amount of critical hits to further increase your damage. While CON isn’t that important in PvE beyond certain threshold.
For PvP, CON is more important because you already have good damage from your skills and weapon and you are more focused on being able to survive hits without dying in seconds, as well as being able to hit high evasion builds with your DEX. That is why I chose that distribution and because STR doesn’t have as much impact as your other stats on PvP so there is no need to have it that high.
But all of these stat distributions are just guidelines to give a rough estimate of the ratio between stats you should have on your build. You can always add or reduce the amount of stats from each one of them to customize your build to your liking.
Hello I finish reading your guide its cool btw. Thou I have a question, in all-around stat build. Can you suggest a good Con stat number. Bcoz I cant really determine a good CON points in my build. Btw my build is Swordsman>Peltasta>BarbarianC3>Doppel C2. Thanks for the reply.
I’ve heard arguments for both sides, I’ve seen the data though and heard from multiple streamers that high DEX is better up until around 200 then STR starts to scale ahead of it. It just seems easier to compensate for not having DEX then it is for not having STR, I mean end game boots can give upwards of over 200 evasion, that is like 200 points worth of DEX and gloves give accuracy, so I don’t see the value of high DEX over high STR. I think for now people are favoring high DEX because no one is at end game yet and I do believe that DEX > STR in the early game. Everyone has their own thoughts about it as I understand, I think I will be pursuing a STR:CON build on fencer rather than DEX. I hope they add stat reset potions into the TP shop eventually so I am able to do more testing regarding this debate.
Mainly why I think past 200 DEX becomes much less important is because there starts to be a lot more magic mobs and you can’t evade those attacks. Also like I said with crit, you need more and more DEX to maintain the dodge rating and crit rating and without 10% bonuses per rank this becomes very difficult. So before 200 you probably can maintain 80% crit and dodge chance by going high DEX with gear, but beyond that it will be much harder to maintain due the formulas the game uses. Both dodge and crit are calculated with a basis on character level, that becomes a issue the higher you go. Without solid, consistent damage, high DEX users will suffer in the end game. This is just my 2 cents though. Take it with a grain of salt.