I recommend reading the discussion from below, most of the posts from early stages of the game are now irrelevant.
You can continue your fencer-shinobi with either:
SW3 - Barb - Corsair - Fencer 3 - Shinobi
SW3 - Barb 2 - Fencer 3 - Shinobi
SW3 - Pelt - Corsair/Barb - Fencer 3 Shinobi
If you don’t like shinobi I recommend playing something else. There’s VERY LITTLE use for matador but no one will stop you if you insist on going that.
It’s just that you’ll feel yourself being a deadweight hitting for sht against mob and do sub optimal damage against bosses.
You will lose a LOT of aoe potential (which fencer really lacks) and burst if you don’t take shinobi.
I’m talking from a DPS point of view, if you’re aiming for something like a tank, go with whatever that has pelt/corsair or matador.
You don’t want to lose your positioning as a fencer and want to stay in front of bosses so I mostly recommend SW3 builds to pair with it.
lastly, despite the changes expect yourself to blow off more money to make your fencer strong. It’s not a popular class because it’s really underpowered when you compare it to a doppel with the same investment.