Guide to Blades

Discussion in 'New Player Welcome' started by Cryodacry, Mar 12, 2018.

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  1. Cryodacry

    Cryodacry Avatar

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    This is a copied post from @Sara Dreygon

    Blade Tree


    Blade Combat 100 A great start... eventually 110 will give an additional 3.25% damage on all attacks and 6.5% damage on charged and auto attacks and only costs 2 million XP... worth it but maybe after a few other things
    Blade Speed 70 Meh... not the biggest fan of this skill and it only affects auto attack and is very spendy... I'd take 80 and leave it there for a long, long time.
    Vital Points 100 Noice! A great skill!
    Blade Master 76 I know this helps damage but that's about it... taking it to 90 isn't too expensive but I'd leave it there for a long while.
    Thrust 80 ?!?!? One of the best skills in the game... take this to 100 ASAP for sure and make it your most used attack.
    Riposte 80 Meh... I don't mind Riposte but its only good if combined with Parry and used after a successful parry. Against anything other than melee mobs that are hitting you all the time (so you're parrying quite often) it's situational although it is cheap and a very fast skill to use. I'd leave at 80.
    Double Slash 70 This is a cheap skill but does cost a lot of focus and the skill takes a while to complete use (i.e. the animation and cooldown is meh). Definitely worth having as your second attack against everything not AOE (whirling blades) or a boss (rend)... I'd take to 90 for now and 100 soonish.
    Rend 70 This is a great skill for mobs and PVP as it stacks 3 times. I'd take to 100 and use on everything that isn't undead and that has more than 1000 HP. Also, combine this with Trip for the combo Hamstring which is badass. I'd take to 90 for now and 100 soonish.
    Whirlind Blades 70 Great for AOE killing like Deep Ravenswood or the Kobold Expeditionary Camp. I'd take to 90 for now and 100 soonish.
    Coup de grace 56 Situational against bosses still but a fine skill to lock in your deck when fighting a dragon or daemon. Take to 90 and leave for a long while as 5x damage is 5x damage.

    Heavy Armor

    Absorb Impacts 40 Meh... leave at 40. This skill is good if being attacked by 100 bunnies at the same time but not much against anything that hits hard.
    Glancing Blow 55 ?!?!? One of the best skills in the game... take to 100.
    Inner Strength 70 This is a good skill and can be used on the overworld map as well as in your utility bar immediately before combat. I'd take to 90 and leave for a long while as it is a 2.4 million XP skill.
    Deflection 80 I'd take to 90 for now and 100 soonish.
    Endurance 80 I'd take to 90 for now and 100 in a long while.
    Hard Headed 70 I'd take to 80 for now and leave it for long, long time. Very spendy for what you get.
    Body Slam 60 ?!?!? One of the best skills in the game and cheap to use and cheap to level. Take too 100 right away and start every fight with it... after body slamming the mob, slide behind it for that sweet, sweet 2x crit bonus action.

    Earth School

    Root 40
    Strength of earth 70
    Sympathy of stone 70 I'd raise the innates to 90 and leave them for a long while until you've leveled a decent amount of other stuff.
    Bulwark of earth 70 I'd raise the innates to 90 and leave them for a long while until you've leveled a decent amount of other stuff.

    Life School

    Healing Touch 70
    Life Power 70

    Tactics


    You'll also want to take Defensive Stance and Berserker's Stance to 90 immediately and eventually to 100 as they're very good skills... Defensive stance it great if you're looking for survival and Berserker if you want to move fast and kill faster. Fortify Defenses is a skill you'll want to take to 90 immediately as it adds avoidance and decreases the chance of a critical attack hitting you.
    Healthy 70 I'd raise to 90 to get the extra 20 HP but leave it there for a long while until you've leveled a decent amount of other stuff.
    Parry 51 A great skill against melee. Great when you have Riposte in your deck and you're fighting something that it hitting you quite often (or many things that are hitting you quite often).
    Train Strength 71 I'd take to 80 for a while, then 90 for a long while... getting to 100 is extremely spendy and there are other things with more bang for the buck.
    Heavy Lifter 70 Fine here.

    Subterfuge


    Train Dexterity 70 I'd take to 80 for a while, then 90 for a long while... getting to 100 is extremely spendy and there are other things with more bang for the buck.
    Armor Weak point 70 I'd take to 90 right away for the extra crit and then leave it there for a while as it is a 4.8 million XP skill.

    Focus

    Hightened Awareness 70 I'd take to 80 for a long while but eventually 90.
    Train intelligence 70 I'd take to 80 for a long while but eventually 90.

    Thank you !
     
  2. Crendel

    Crendel Avatar

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    Very nice and I am a bit mirrored except I use leather for pure speed. What does you deck look like?
     
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  3. ErikRulez

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    Just wait, @Chris is going to add a spell to the chaos school that summons 100 rabid bunnies. Better boost this one asap! :)
     
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  4. FrostII

    FrostII Bug Hunter

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    Concerning Hamstring......... Sara's post was 5 months ago. Chris decided it was OP and nerf'd it into oblivion. Worthless now.
     
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  5. Cryodacry

    Cryodacry Avatar

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    yea i was digging this up as it's old but still very good information
     
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  6. Sara Dreygon

    Sara Dreygon Avatar

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    Aye... I'll revise some stuff as specializations has be been added, hamstring fixed, absorb impacts buffed (good for some types of PVP at least, etc.).

    Would it help to revise everything and then put a version 1.0 book out on my vendor before launch?
     
  7. Shade Cido

    Shade Cido Avatar

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    A few additional skills can be useful for blades as well, I find Ignite Weapon (Fire Magic) and Poison weapon (Subterfuge tree) can add very useful DOTs to your blade attacks, and they will stack together. The Poison weapon skill is the most useful, as you can have various effects depending on what poison you use and stacks up to 3 times (however it can be expensive to get the poison, is useless against the unliving, and can be difficult to train) while Ignite weapon DOT works on almost everything, and is easy & cheap to train and use.

    You can also find Daggers on certain bandits that actually increase Poison effects as well (Bandit Dagger)
     
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  8. Sara Dreygon

    Sara Dreygon Avatar

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    I could use a second-person review of my Blades Tree write-up. Check for consistency of descriptive words, verbs, etc., etc. as well as any information that may be incorrect or not stated as clearly as it could be. @Spoon is a god at proof-reading so tagging him on this.

    I'll be writing up other trees that help to complement a blades user (heavy armor, tactics, shields, subterfuge, etc.) in the coming week prior launch.

    Thanks so much for any feedback!


    Blades Tree: Blades are very versatile and useful in both PVE and PVP. The best weapon to use against unarmored targets and in 1-3 mob fights as most glyphs hit 2-3 targets depending on attack and type of blade used. The main attacks in the Blades tree - Thrust and Rend - use low focus compared to attacks from other melee trees. Great for boss hunting due to Rend DOTs, healing modifier debuffs from Rend and Blade Specialized Thrust, and Coup de Grace doing 5x damage when an enemy is low on health.

    Bladed Combat: Leveling this skill is obviously a good start for any swordswoman as it affects the damage of every bladed attack. Every additional ten levels will give an additional 3.225% damage on all glyph attacks and 6.45% damage on charged and auto attacks. Experience costs are 180k for 80, 467k for 90, 1.2m for 100, 3.1m for 110, 8.2m for 120, 21m for 130, 55m for 140, and 142m for 150. This should be your highest blades skill at around ten levels higher than Thrust and Rend.

    Blade Speed: This skill only affects auto attack so if you use charged attack, this innate won't help you at all. Because this innate only affects auto attack and is very spendy, I'd suggest taking it to 70 and leave it there for a long, long time. Increases are only 0.65% more for every additional ten levels so it does not scale well given the experience costs of 278k for 70, 721k for 80, 1.9m for 90, and 4.8m for 100.

    Vital Points: This is a great skill and the cheapest innate you'll find in any tree so having this skill at 100 is a great deal. This is one of the few skills that give straight critical hit percent (i.e. 6 percent is actually 6 percent and not rolled into a formula). Increases are only 0.65% more for every additional ten levels however due to the low cost of the skill and the massive DPS bonus higher critical hit chance gives; it is well worth the cost of taking this skill high. Experience costs are 1.2m for 100, 3.1m for 110, 8.2m for 120, 21m for 130, and 37m for 136 (at which time you'll be at 8.5% crit). For cheapest critical hit percent per experience spent, you'll want to keep this skill sixteen levels higher than Armor Weak Points.

    Blade Mastery: This innate helps the base weapon damage of all bladed weapons but is fairly expensive given the bonus and scales poorly at higher levels given the experience cost. Having this skill at 76 for 1.0 weapon damage will be enough to start. Every eight levels give an additional 0.1 weapon damage, but I would not raise this above 100 unless you're a level 120 adventurer. Experience costs are 492k for 76, 1.1m for 84, 2.3m for 92, 4.8m for 100, 10.4m for 108, and 22m for 116.

    Thrust: One of the best skills in the game and easily the best blades glyph. Is very cheap to level, the cooldown for the skill is short at a measly 5 seconds, and the focus cost to use the skill is very low so leveling Thrust early in your adventures is in your best interest. Does 125% the "base" blades damage that all bladed damage is calculated from and with Blade Specialization also gives a small chance to apply a -5% healing modifier debuff to the target that can stack twice. You'll want to use the maximum number of unlocked glyphs in every one of your decks and make it your most used attack. Having a sword - or two - with a bonus to thrust damage is a must for any highly advanced swordswoman. Experience costs are 467k for 90, 1.2m for 100, 3.1m for 110, 8.2m for 120, 21m for 130, and 55m for 140. You'll want Thrust - along with Rend - to be your highest level blade attack glyph at around ten levels behind the base Bladed Combat skill.

    Riposte: A very situational skill that does 75% the "base" blades damage that all bladed damage is calculated from however does 200% if used immediately after parrying an attack with Blade Specialization increasing the window of time you have to use the attack after a parry. Is only good if combined with the Parry skill when fighting 1-2 individual melee mobs (especially polearm users) that are attacking quickly so you're parrying often. Only hits one target so not good when fighting multiple mobs as you're better going with another attack that hits more targets. Has a short cooldown of only 1.2x more than thrust, however the focus cost to use the glyph is around 1.5x more than Thrust. Experience costs are 180k at 80, 467k for 90, 1.2m for 100, 3.1m for 110, and 8.2m for 120 but is best left at 80 until further into your journey.

    Double Slash: One of the better blades glyphs. Does two quick attacks at 75% the "base" blades damage that all bladed damage is calculated from. Is very cheap to level, however the focus cost and cooldown of the skill is very high when compared to other blades skills, at around 2x the focus cost and 1.6x the cooldown of Thrust and Rend. At level 80 Blade Specialization, Double Slash has a 25% chance to instead be a triple slash! You'll want to use the maximum number of unlocked glyphs in most of your decks as the overall damage is very close to Thrust, however be sure to watch your focus pool. Experience costs are 467k for 90, 1.2m for 100, 3.1m for 110, 8.2m for 120, 21m for 130, and 55m for 140. To keep the focus cost low, you'll want Double Slash to be around ten levels behind Thrust and Rend.

    Rend: This is a great skill that applies a damage-over-time (DOT) and healing modifier debuff to targets that stacks three times. A must use in PVP or against high HP non-undead mobs such as dragons and trolls. Is very cheap to level, the cooldown for the skill is short at a measly 5 seconds, and the focus cost to use the skill is very low. Blade Specialization increases the healing modifier debuff. Rend can combine with Trip for the combo Hamstring which does the same approximate damage as Rend but also applies a move rate debuff to the target. Rend can also combine with Whirling Blades for the combo Sawblade Sweep which damages multiple targets when used and also has a chance to apply a DOT that does the same approximate damage as Rend. Try locking Rend in your deck and charging up multiple nastier, longer duration DOTs on your target. Every twenty levels of Rend at 81, 101, 121, and 141 will add an additional "tick" (2 seconds) of damage to the target. Experience costs are 198k for 81, 1.3m for 101, 9m for 121, and 8.2m for 120, 21m for 130, and 60m for 141. You'll want Rend - along with Thrust - to be your highest level blade attack glyph at around ten levels behind the base Bladed Combat skill.

    Whirling Blades: A great skill that does area-of-effect (AOE) damage to multiple targets when used. Best utilized when attacking multiple, closely packed mobs such as a pack of wolves or gang of bandits. Does 100% the "base" blades damage that all bladed damage is calculated from (25% less than Thrust). The cooldown is low at 1.2x that of Thrust and Rend. The focus cost is high, at 1.5x that of Thrust, however Blade Specialization does decrease the glyph's focus cost slightly. Whirling Blades can combine with Rend for the combo Sawblade Sweep which damages multiple targets when used and also has a chance to apply a DOT that does the same approximate damage as Rend. This skill is fairly expensive with experience costs of 360k for 80, 935k for 90, 2.4m for 100, 6.3m for 110, and 16m for 120. Due to the high cost, you'll want Whirling Blades to be around twenty levels behind Thrust and Rend.

    Coup de Grace: A situational skill that does 5x damage to mobs that are at 20% or less health. Best used in your deck as a locked glyph and only against high HP mobs such as a dragon or daemon so it can be used multiple times very quickly at the end of a fight when your enemy is weakest. Blade Specialization increases the amount of health a mob can have for Coup de Grace to be effective working at only 30% or less health at level 80 Blade Specialization. The skill is fairly expensive with experience costs of 360k for 80, 935k for 90, and 2.4m for 100 but due to the situational nature of the skill, and how effective it is at even low levels, I would never level this skill above 100.

    Blade Specialization: A must have for any serious swordswoman. Benefits include a small chance for Thrust to apply a -5% healing modifier debuff to the target that can stack twice, increasing the window of time you have to use Riposte after a parry for a vicious attack, a 25% chance at level 80 to have Double Slash be a triple slash, increasing the healing modifier debuff for Rend, decreasing the focus cost of Whirling Blades, and increasing the amount of health a mob can have for Coup de Grace to be effective working at only 30% or less health at level 80. Is EXTREMELY spendy with experience costs of 3.6m for 80, 9.3m for 90, 24m for 100, 94m for 110, and 163m for 120. Only a crazy person would take this innate above 100.

    Heavy Armor Tree: Heavy armor is the armor of choice for a swordswoman who is looking for high survivability in combat as it gives great damage avoidance as well as high damage resistance. Skills in this tree such as Glancing Blow and Body Slam are indispensable and the innates are some of the best of any tree in the game. The strength granted from Inner Strength, the Endurance innate, and heavy armor masterworks easily adds an additional 10% damage to all attacks.

    Glancing Blow: One of the better defensive skills in the game as it gives a large increase to damage avoidance for a lengthy amount of time which increases the number of glancing blows received from targets. Due to the duration and flexibility of the skill, this should always be in your deck as a locked glyph that you always have active, or use immediately upon starting a fight. The damage avoidance of Glancing Blow will be tripled for the initial 2 seconds after using the skill. Experience costs are 467k for 90, 1.2m for 100, 3.1m for 110, 8.2m for 120, and 21m for 130. You'll want Glancing Blow to be around ten levels Defensive Stance.

    Body Slam: One of the best skills in the game. Using the glyph initiates an attack that quickly closes the distance on enemies (very helpful when fighting faster foes) however it also increases the amount of damage that your armor takes by 100%. Body Slam also does damage to the target but the main benefit is that it stuns the target so long as the enemy’s stun resistance isn’t too high or you haven’t used the skill on them too often in a short period of time. The cooldown for the skill is short at 5 seconds, and the focus cost to use the skill is very low so leveling Body Slam early in your adventures is in your best interest. You can either use Body Slam as a locked glyph in your deck or as 2-3 unlocked glyphs if you’re worried about over-using the skill accruing greater and greater focus costs each time. Despite the relatively high cost of the glyph, Body Slam is an extremely useful skill so take up to 100 early on in your adventuring and initiate every fight with it. To combat the additional armor damage from using the skill, as well as to take less damage yourself, slide behind and attack a mob from behind after body slamming and stunning it for a bonus to critical hit percent. You can usually repeat this tactic on a mob twice before the enemy becomes resistant to it and if used thrice in a short period of time, will most likely not stun. The skill is fairly expensive with experience costs of 360k for 80, 935k for 90, and 2.4m for 100 so leveling this skill above 100 isn’t necessary or recommended.

    Inner Strength: The only non-magic strength buff available (not counting Berserk’s Stance), Inner Strength is a good skill and can be used to increase carrying capacity (even on the overworld map!) as well placed in your utility bar and used immediately before combat for a long-duration increase in strength. Every 1 strength increases blade damage by 0.33%, your hit point total by 2-3 HP, as well as resistance to immobilizing effects such as stuns so taking Inner Strength to 80 early on in your adventuring will greatly increase your survivability. Every ten levels of Inner Strength adds 1 strength and a small increase to duration so there isn’t much benefit in leveling past 100 as there are usually cheaper and more permanent sources of strength available in other trees. The skill is fairly expensive with experience costs of 360k for 80, 935k for 90, and 2.4m for 100 so leveling this skill above 100 isn’t necessary or recommended.

    Deflection: This innate increases your maximum damage resistance so you’re able deflect a larger percentage of incoming physical damage. While the amount of maximum damage resistance gained from the Deflection innate is relatively small, it is also one of the cheapest innates so leveling it to at least 80 early in your adventuring, and eventually to 100 is still beneficial. Due to the relatively small gains of the skill, I wouldn’t recommend leveling the skill past 100. Experience costs are 180k for 80, 467k for 90, and 1.2m for 100.

    Absorb Impacts: This skill is very situational as it only affects physical damage and when active will damage your armor an additional 100%. The resistance granted from the use of this skill is best utilized against archers and quick attacking melee users as the benefit is very minor when seldom being hit and non-existent against magic users. Best used as a locked glyph if you’re just starting out, are wearing disposable armor or armor that does not take maximum durability damage, or going against non-magic users in PVP, this skill only helps. Experience costs are 70k at 70, 180k at 80, 467k for 90, and 1.2m for 100 but is best left at 70 until further into your journey and I would never level this skill above 100.


    Hard Headed: This innate grants stun resistance, which is extremely useful when fighting enemies using stunning attacks such as lightning, bludgeons, body slams, etc. Due to the relatively small gains of the skill and the cost of leveling this innate, I wouldn’t recommend leveling it past 100. Experience costs are 278k for 70, 721k for 80, 1.9m for 90, and 4.8m for 100.

    Endurance: Being one of the handful of innates that grant strength, it is a must have for any heavy armor wearing swordswoman. Every additional 1 strength increases carrying capacity, blade damage by 0.33%, your hit point total by 2-3 HP, as well as resistance to immobilizing effects such as stuns. This is a very costly innate to level however, and the gains diminish greatly at only 1 strength every 8 levels so there isn’t much benefit in leveling past 76 early on in your adventuring and not past 100 unless it is the cheapest source of strength available to you. Experience costs are 492k for 76, 1.1m for 84, 2.3m for 92, 4.8m for 100, and 10.4m for 108.

    Shields Tree: While you'll lose some DPS from using a one-handed sword and shield, the additional blocking ability, damage avoidance, and damage resistance is especially useful against bludgeon users and archers, or with Berserker's Stance active against high magic arrow/bolt using mages.

    Deflect: The best shield skill for solo bladed combat as it gives a large increase to combat block modifier for a lengthy amount of time, increasing the number of blocked attacks from all blades attacks (except for Riposte after a successful parry), bludgeon attacks, and certain ranged archer and magic attacks, such as fire arrow, stone arrow, etc. The block bonus of Deflect will be tripled for the initial 2 seconds after using the skill so whenever you see an archer about to shoot or a dragon about to bite, use Deflect for a high chance at blocking the attack. How high you level this skill will depend on how often you use a one-handed sword and shield versus using a two-handed sword or dual-wielding. Experience costs are 180k at 80, 467k for 90, 1.2m for 100, 3.1m for 110, and 8.2m for 120.

    Bolster Balance: This glyph increases your stun resistance for a for a lengthy amount of time which helps to keep you on your feet and off the ground. The only other skill in the Shields tree that I utilize, and even then only sparingly as it is fairly situational. Use against lightning attacks and against bosses who use stun attacks, such as the dragon's bite. How high you level this skill will depend on how often you use a one-handed sword and shield and how often you fight dragons or air mages but taking this skill above 100 isn't recommended. Experience costs are 180k at 80, 467k for 90, and 1.2m for 100.

    Angles: This innate increases your damage resistance when a shield is equipped. Damage resistance stops a certain amount of damage from most physical attacks, +6.3 damage resistance at level 100 Angles. I would not raise this innate above 100 unless you're a level 120 adventurer. Experience costs are 278k for 70, 721k for 80, 1.9m for 90, and 4.8m for 100, 13m for 110, and 33m for 120.

    Redirection: This innate increases the damage avoidance when a shield is equipped giving a greater chance of glancing a physical attack and only take 1/3 of the damage from that attack, +5 damage avoidance at level 100 Redirection. Due to the relatively small gains of the skill and the cost of leveling this innate, I wouldn’t recommend leveling it past 100. Experience costs are 278k for 70, 721k for 80, 1.9m for 90, and 4.8m for 100.

    Shield Preservation: This innate decreases the durability loss that your shield receives, -20% durability loss at level 100 Shield Preservation. Due to the relatively small gains of the skill, the cost of leveling this innate, and the lack of combat effectiveness, I wouldn’t recommend leveling it past 80. Experience costs are 107k for 60, 278k for 70, and 721k for 80.

    Stand Your Ground: This innate increases your stun resistance as well as increasing the amount of damage that blocked when blocking an attack when a shield is equipped, +31.3 stun resistance and +100 shield block power at level 100 Stand Your Ground. I would not raise this innate above 100 unless you're a level 120 adventurer. Experience costs are 278k for 70, 721k for 80, 1.9m for 90, and 4.8m for 100, 13m for 110, and 33m for 120.

    Tactics Tree:

    Healthy:

    Armor Preservation:

    Defensive Stance:

    Train Strength:

    Parry:

    Weapon Preservation:

    Berserker's Stance:

    Heavy Lifter:

    Offhand Attack:


    Fortify Defenses:

    Offhand Defense:

    Offhand Power:

    Tactics Specialization:

    Subterfuge Tree:


    Engage:

    Trip:

    Train Dexterity:

    Poison Weapon:

    Silent Movement:


    Armor Weak Points:

    Safe Fall:

    Sneak Attack:

    Focus Tree:

    Heightened Awereness:

    Train Intelligence:

    Inner Calm:
     
    Last edited: Mar 23, 2018
  9. ErikRulez

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    Do the bonuses on the offhand weapon get applied to your attacks?
     
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  10. Sara Dreygon

    Sara Dreygon Avatar

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    Yup.
     
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  11. ErikRulez

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    [​IMG]
    Off to the crafting table!
     
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  12. Elnoth

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    Edit: I was wrong on this point - please see this post for my test for the true answer.

    Bladed combat does nothing for glyph attacks. It only affects auto-attacks. Tested on QA 5 mins ago dropping my GM skill down to 20 with a potion of reclamation and my glyph skills stayed the same damage. As such I would recommend this only to 100 unless you use an auto-attack heavy build with berserker stance for example. (you will need to update other information about levels being x below this skill due to this change)


    Delete this line, it looks like it is there in error.
     
    Last edited: Mar 19, 2018
  13. Spoon

    Spoon Avatar

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    @Sara Dreygon

    When doing this at work I usually ask what type of feedback one wants, how much feedback on details/minutae, and if there is a context.
    I usually do that since it can be very daunting or discouraging experience :p in getting pointers high and low and everywhere if one is not used to such a climate/culture.
    (As in I usually only get to do this once ever to managers from an economy background - this since those managers really don't have experience with being corrected on multiple levels, while I usually get to do it a couple times with technical managers, and with engineers they usually come by multiple times during a project run).

    So I will start with a 'short' one mostly focusing on the metalevel and not minutae, hehe. Let me know if you want more.;)

    -

    For instance who is the intended audience of the text?
    I ask since the text seems not to be for new folks starting with blades. Talking about X% and top skills at 120 would only confuse or discourage them.
    So from reading the text I'd guesstimate it is for seasoned veterans. Where the language is indicative of a conversation between minmaxers.
    Is that the audience you are aiming for?
    Otherwise I'd suggest dividing up the text in three segments, novice - journeyman - expert. Where the text you have there is perfect for the expert level.

    -

    Is the text in the OP a start or completely separate from the second text where you pinged me?
    I ask since the text in the OP mention a couple of other trees which are useful for a swordsmaster, while the later only goes through the blade tree.
    https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/f...experts-need-your-advices.101898/#post-890217

    -


    Then a short tip before anything else - start with a picture.
    The info you are giving would be much easier to digest if you had the pic of the skill tree preceding it. That way the user can easily refer to the pic to see where in the tree or what the exact name is etc.

    -

    You asked aobut clarity. There I would advice using some sort of template. If the info is in a template format then it is much easier for the brain to digest it.

    For instance you talk about Experience Cost, effect, and prio in each, but you mix the order and you don't label them. This makes it more difficult to 'swipe' up and down in the text looking for patterns.

    Let's take the first section and showcase the point, this is how the text looks like unformatted:
    Bladed Combat: Leveling this skill is obviously a good start for any swordswoman as it affects the damage of every bladed attack. Every additional 10 levels will give an additional 3.225% damage on all glyph attacks and 6.45% damage on charged and auto attacks. Experience costs are 180k for 80, 467k for 90, 1.2m for 100, 3.1m for 110, 8.2m for 120, 21m for 130, 55m for 140, and 142m for 150. This should be your highest blades skill at around 10 levels higher than Thrust and Rend.​
    Here is a suggestion on how to organize it:
    Bladed Combat
    Leveling this skill is obviously a good start for any swordswoman as it affects the damage of every bladed attack.​
    Effect:
    Every additional 10 levels will give an additional 3.225% damage on all glyph attacks and 6.45% damage on charged and auto attacks.​
    Experience cost:
    180k for 80, 467k for 90, 1.2m for 100, 3.1m for 110, 8.2m for 120, 21m for 130, 55m for 140, and 142m for 150.​
    Priority:
    This should be your highest blades skill at around 10 levels higher than Thrust and Rend.​

    That means we get the template format of:

    Skill
    Descriptive text, notes and tips.​
    Effect:
    List of effect.​
    Experience cost:
    List of XP per Y level.​
    Priority:
    Text of relative prio.​

    By using that we will note that some of the texts lack one of these key elements, or that some need to be a bit more elaborative, or that we could be a bit more concise with some data. For instance, skills can be innate/glyph. Then the Experience Cost is really based on a multiplier, so some skills are x2 some are x4 etc. Also the Prio could be given values to make the user experience easier.
    So lets take that and add those to your text and see if it improves the text:

    Bladed Combat (innate)
    Leveling this skill is obviously a good start for any swordswoman as it affects the damage of every bladed attack.​
    Effect:
    Every additional 10 levels will give an additional 3.225% damage on all glyph attacks and 6.45% damage on charged and auto attacks.​
    Experience cost:
    Multiplier: XXX
    180k for 80, 467k for 90, 1.2m for 100, 3.1m for 110, 8.2m for 120, 21m for 130, 55m for 140, and 142m for 150.​
    Priority:
    1 - Top prio +10
    This should be your highest blades skill at around 10 levels higher than Thrust and Rend.​

    So the minmaxer in me could easily see the multiplier, and the relative prio and what level it should be above the next relative prio.
    Also the color coding makes it much easier to scroll up and down in the text to find relations and comparisons.

    Happy hunting

    Spoon
     
    Last edited: Mar 19, 2018
  14. algumacoisaqq

    algumacoisaqq Avatar

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    This was great insight, helped me a lot to understand the game mechanics. What I don't understand, though, is how 2 handed weapons vs. dual wielding works. You mentioned the benefit of having thrust bonus stacking, but what else? Will the base damage of the skills increase? The cooldown decrease? Or is it only a reduction on autoattack speed?
    Thanks!
     
  15. Sara Dreygon

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    Done... Damn copy/paste.
     
  16. FrostII

    FrostII Bug Hunter

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    Was just gonna ask about the discrepancy there, but Elnoth nailed it....... ;)
     
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  17. Weins201

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    Ok Here is the question - Was the note in the glyph the same?

    That does NOT mean that the end damage after a hit is the same.

    So here is what you have to do - Do 100 hits on a training dummy or better yet a real fight and take the damage results.

    Notes on the skill tree is not viable.

    Not saying that specialization does not change the note, and give an increase but if the base damage skill in the skill trees really means nothing then the whole combat system is even worse than thought.

    Yes there was a problem LOOONG ago with Auto attack doing insane damage as a result of this problem, and that was where there was more math put into damage results.
     
  18. Jezebel Caerndow

    Jezebel Caerndow Avatar

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    OH I'm pretty sure bladed combat effects your glyphs. It may not show on your glyphs on your skill page, but I can feel the difference with bladed combat 100 or 140. And that is with auto attacks off.
     
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  19. Antrax Artek

    Antrax Artek Avatar

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    Yea from what i noticed main weapon skills (bladed, bludgeon, polearm, ranged combat) affect damage of glyphs, seems it's referred to any damage releated to the specific weapon.
     
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  20. Elnoth

    Elnoth Avatar

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    [​IMG]

    Here are a few hits of a training dummy with 100 bladed combat and 100 thrust. Note that the thrust damage states 50-84 for me. If you look at the highest and lowest non crit hits, you will see they range from a low end of 52,52,53,53,51 and the high end of 81,82,82,83,80. This correlates to the 50-84 stated range.

    [​IMG]

    Here is the corresponding data with bladed combat unlearned to 20. The stated thrust damage is the same range of 50-84. The hits range from a low end of 41,41,40,41,41 and a high end of 65,61,62,62,65.

    So indeed, at lvl 20 there is a reduction in thrust damage!

    Now that I know this I decided to level bladed combat to 120

    [​IMG]

    The data at 120 shows the same thrust tooltip of 50-84, with the lowest hits being 54,54,55,56,54 and the biggest non-crits being 87,84,87,88,87.

    So In summary I was wrong, bladed combat does seem to affect the damage of glyph skills despite the tooltip for the glyph skills not changing the stated damage.

    By the looks of it, I'm guessing it takes the average of the two skills to work out the true skill level - which is why at 100 on both it acted like the 100 thrust for me (which is why I thought it had no effect - I was looking at the bladed combat tooltip at 100 and the +58% damage did not correlate to anything)

    @Sara Dreygon - my apologies, further investigation has revealed the truth for me!
     
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