Tree of Savior Forum

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

Class and Rank Swordsman
#1665

@Lostac well, it’s obviously a PvM-only build, not sure if I even need that much CON. (Do I?) That’s good to know though.

But at that point, is the suggested 1 DEX every 6 points even worth it? I don’t need the accuracy anyway, and the evasion gets wasted by Finestra… so I’d literally only get 1crit per point, whereas if I went STR with those points I’d get attack and crit attack (or I could just go CON).

That, and the guide mentioned zero-DEX being viable with lv15 Finestra, will -50 crit (lv10) make that not worthwhile? I realize 50 can be the difference between you denting the crit resist enough to crit consistently or not, so I’m not sure.


@GoldenCross thanks for the feedback on Arrest's functionality. I was already going with it at lv1 in the first place, now you've 100% confirmed it though.
@dsilverneck Pelt3 isn't needed no matter how you see it (except for _maybe_ ET), the most you'll want it at is 2 for all other circumstances. But yes, I guess Squire3 is the "true" tank atm, as GoldenCross mentioned.

Other than that, however, I personally consider Cataphract a far more versatile tank: you get 25% of your pet’s HP, 10% of its defense, and 8% of its evasion while mounted. That way, you get op mobility, great aoe, and actual CC/utility. Damage isn’t the best but it’s pretty decent, unlike Squire, especially if you go Dragoon for rank7.

The build you mentioned works, but is more damage-oriented than anything, and you do sacrifice a lot of dodge for lv15 Finestra. DEX/evasion means a lot for tanks, as it’s possible to get an 80~85% chance of dodging…

#1666

Thanks for clearing the doubt,so if i go swordman>pel>bar3?doppel>shinobi or swordman>pel>bar2>corsair2>shinobi is better? currently my character already reached barb2 stage, having dilemma whether barb3 is a necessity.

#1667

[quote=“Nekko, post:1666, topic:153860”]
Thanks for clearing the doubt,so if i go swordman>pel>bar3?doppel>shinobi or swordman>pel>bar2>corsair2>shinobi is better? currently my character already reached barb2 stage, having dilemma whether barb3 is a necessity.
[/quote]Barb3 is not 100% necessary, it will be nice to have IF we get the Barb buffs from KR, but it is not guaranteed that we will get them. Other than that Barb3 new skills aren’t very good, the CC skill can be good for pvp, but for pvm it’s meh… main point for Barb3 is higher level on Barb1/2 skills.

idk about Shinobi builds though, you should ask about that character in the Shinobi thread. Corsair2>Shinobi looks good since both Corsair2 and Shinobi are meant for burst dmg, but I can’t tell for sure.

#1669

Both builds could work out well so I think it’ll be preference. Barb3 is where frenzy and war cry will shine thanks to the attributes but you need to auto attack to build frenzy and I find myself doing less of that as shinobi. Cyclone, DoV, and pouncing are also great to have.

Corsair2 will provide big burst and more pierce damage with hexen. There are far more mobs wearing leather or plate armor at 200+ so pierce damage won’t gimp your DPS. Almost all the ones that wear cloth die fast regardless. Jolly Roger is also great for farming silver, recipes, and mats plus it’ll provide party buffs.

I went corsair 2 and hexen dropper alone has been worth the price of admission for me and JR 10 is some sweet icing on the cake. Hope that helps.

#1670

I have a question for a shinobi player. If I only had 1 clone out, would I still receive bonus damage? The skill description says x1 which would basically mean I don’t receive any extra damage but I’d like it verified if possible :open_mouth:

#1671

No bonus damage received with 1 clone.

#1672

sir, in this vedo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Q5ZQF2LZ7c your hoplite lvl 125 can do damage to mob on mage tower 4f 800-1200 and crit 2000+++ may i know the full list equipment and how many enchant on that equipment you use? coz i do damage only 500-700 use zefa spear. thx

#1673

Hi Cathexis. Really loved your guide and help me a lot.

Btw Cathexis. I haf 2 build in mine.

Swordsman > Pelt > Hop C3 > Doppel > Dragoon
Swordsman > Pelt > Hop C2 > Corsair C2 > Dragoon

What u think about this 2 build ??
Which one should i choose ?? (Pve 70%, Pvp 30%).

#1674

@Cathexis , i am thinking about taking hop c2> cata c1 > doppel c1 > Dragoon, any thoughts on it?

#1675

I wanna ask why you will take Cataphract C1. Every skill of Doppel make you unmount.
If you’re going to Hoplite C2 and Doppel, Hop C3 may be a better option than Cata C1.

Of course there is another option, Hoplite C3 > Cata C1 > Dragoon.

#1676

dunno, just thought on taking something else to mix up, i am sick of hop so far and am on 2nd circle.

#1677

Oh, make sense now.
You can try to go Hop C2 > Cata C1 > Hop C3 > Dragoon
Or Hopc C2 > Cata C2 > Dragoon.

Some people says that Cataphract C1 and C2 is a waste of time, I agree with them in some degree. But why not, with C2 you get a decent Trot lvl and speed, and two AoE skills, Earth Wave and Doom Spike.

#1678

[quote=“Cathexis, post:2, topic:153860”]
Umbo Thrust (Level 1): This skill has a chance to apply Armor Break (reduce defense to 0) to the target. Level 1 is more than enough to keep it’s utility through the rest of your build.

Langort (Level 1): A damage skill that has a chance to block attacks while using it. The scaling is terrible, so level 1 is more than enough.
[/quote]Umbo Thrust is 100% chance of armor breaking, according to tosbase feedback. Duration is 15s (25s CD). Dunno if it scales with levels, but I assume not.

Langort’s attribute silences the opponent for 3s, also. Pretty decent utility vs bosses at a 15s CD.
EDIT: nvm, misread. Langort’s attribute only silences if it successfully blocks an enemy. Still potential utility to note though.

#1679

I was wondering of making a swordsman for fun and item hunting.
Regardless the skills, was trying to get this build:
Sword>Pelt>R3>R4>Cors>Dopple>R7

I’m not in rush for R7, so that can wait.
But regarding R3 & R4 which is better?
Hoplite C2 or Barbarian C2? Whats the cons, pros or synergy with the other classes.

#1680

This could happen if you went Barb2:

If it does indeed happen then you’ll be all set and ready to go. Imagine Cyclone with that debuff. Then you can choose to go Barb3 or Dopp2 for more slash damage and beef up your Cyclone.

If you go Hop2 then you should also take Corsair 2 for Hexen Dropper synergy with Spear Lunge.

1 Like
#1681

helm chopper, cleave, cyclone. not many stunnable mobs will live through that lol.

also, i have this bad feeling that the first cookie cutter build to be viable will be highlander/barb3/doppel2 :sweat:

#1682

Hi fellow Swordie enthusiasts and hi @Cathexis, thanks for making this comprehensive guide. I love having a good discussions. I am currently on the process leveling another soon-to-be-Fencer (Sw>Pelt>BarbC3>FencerC2) in another server in IndonesiaTOS since most of my friend played on that server instead of my previous.

i was at 94 Sw>Pelt>BarbC2 there. With all equips stripped:
STR 104 (59 points invested)
DEX 37 (26)
CON 36 (22)

Pretty much i love my character and planning to make the exact same build.

Now i want to ask why we need more DEX instead of STR since i experienced my builds there is quite devastating in damage-wise altho lack of crits rate but i was dodging quite a lot since im on leather set + leather mastery (which i see u are also opposing). From what i see Fencer skill does +evasion in percentage and thats it. i see that as a bonus and only happens in very short period either.

My logic is that in every rank we get +10%STR so that investing in STR gives more thus compensate the needs of DEX. So DEX (crits&evasion) can be pumped in equipment. The higher rank per point in STR will be higher than those at lower rank also.

Now that you said Plate is better what i can see that my builds switching from leather > plate could snatch some point in COX to be invested in other stats.

tl;dr:

  1. What i dont understand is why Fencer needs more DEX compared to other builds? Could you kindly elaborate?
  2. Does Fencer also better left to invest in plate armor set also instead of leather since many people believe Fencer is the leather-type armor that needs more crits&evasion, you could say perfect bled of tank & off-tank.

Thanks!

#1683

what should I choice guys?
Swordman C1 > Peltasta C1 > Hoplite C2 > Cataphract C1 > Cosair C1 > Dragoon C1?
or
Swordman C1 > Peltasta C1 > Hoplite C3 > Cosair C1 > Dragoon C1

maybe another build, I’m a newbie for this game

#1684

fencer has built in evasion mechanic that makes evasion stacking better than usual later in the game, which is why dex scales well defensively. it is about spamming skills which usually at a certain amount of base damage tends to scale more with crit than with str, reason for dex offensively.

leather: more evasion
plate: 15% damage taken reduction for physical and hp increase. this is big especially when you cant evade everything. keep in mind late game monsters won’t be constantly evaded for one reason or another, and magic cant be evaded so hp scales much better. say you go up vs a boss, and you have leather on, but he still hits you 3 times and without a healer you die. with plate, he may have hit you 5 times but you live (hp from mastery and more hp from a couple pieces of gear).

even iirc most archers should go 4 plate or 3 plate + leather gloves late game, and they get much more out of dex offensively depending on their build.

@pepubinhmuc95 if pve build. go pelt/hop2/corsair2 if you like dual weild (weapon swap to 2h lance for anything but corsair damage skills but this puts your swaps at lance/dagger and 2h lance, not a shield), otherwise go pelt/hop3/cata or hop2/cata2 or even hop1/cata3 for overall more damage as dragoon prefers 2h lance.

1 Like
#1685

Hello hello, newbie here! I have a few question about builds, more importantly, Corsair builds. Corsair is pretty much the class I’m most interested in and excited to play and I’d totally go corsair c3 if it wasn’t for the fact that C3 is (as I keep hearing) absolutely awful.

I’m looking to make a multipurpose tank, I really don’t like spears so hoplite/cata is a no no from me, and I don’t like ninjas so I don’t wanna play shinobi.

My first character is a level 63 Barbarian 1 currently, and I’ve been building him with a high DEX (pve) stat distribution as I was at first aiming for this build
http://www.tosbase.com/tools/skill-simulator/build/lpwbdobd5z/ while slowly upgrading my leather mastery (it’s currently 17).

And it was going well so far until I saw that I really didn’t have much in the aoe department, and the fact that fencer was an expensive class (though that should be offset by jolly roger lv10) and that it looked to be a way to upgrade my single target dps and my evasion with all those fancy skills.

Now I know I shouldn’t be too influenced, but I keep hearing that later on, people prefer hp tanks to eva ones, and I’m very interested in the cyclone skill from doppel.

I want to ask, how’s the synergy between doppel and corsair compared to fencer and corsair? I’ve also heard that one handed swords weren’t that great compared to other weapons and that sort of worries me.

I’m not worried about my stat points since I’m so early in the game, I can still go back to an high str build the moment I reach 126 basically. Plate armor attribute is just money so that shouldn’t be a problem.

If I had time, I’d make two characters with those two different builds.
(heck i’d want to make a corsair 3 third char if I could lol)