Blade 2h experts. need your advices.

Hello,

just came back to the game after over 10 months. I was using 1h and shield but, I decide to go 2h now.

I am having a hard time killing stuff at AL 75, may be me, may be the way I am building it, or it could be my skill use/Rotation anyway.

Here is a rundown of my skills and level of them (those that I think I should have) Could you 2h expert give me your opinion/advices on this.

What should I get that I dont have ?
What should i ditch ?
Which skill should I raise more and to what level ?

This will it not only help me but also, others leaning that way.

Blade Tree

Blade Combat 100
Blade Speed 70
Vital Point 100
Blade Master 76
Thrust 80
Riposte 80
Double Slash 70
Rend 70
Whirlind Blades 70
Coup de grace 56

Heavy Armor

Absorb Impacts 40
Glancing Blow 55
Inner Strength 70
Deflection 80
Endurance 80
Hard Headed 70
Body Slam 60

Earth School

Root 40
Strenght of earth 70
Sympathy of stone 70
Bulwark of earth 70

Life School

Healing Touch 70
Life Power 70

Tactics

Healthy 70
Parry 51
Train Stenght 71
Heavy Lifter 70

Subterfuge

Train Dexterity 70
Armor Weak point 70

Focus

Hightened Awareness 70
Train intelligence 70

Thank you !

 

Blade Tree

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.
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 10 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 10 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 16 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 8 levels gives 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 10 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 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 10 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 to 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 20 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 10 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, however 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 20 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. 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. The EXTREMELY expensive 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

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 !

 

Awesome, learning from the best !!! Anything else I am missing in there ?

 

nice thread.... thanks Sara for the information on skills. Can you give us your thoughts in weapons? i current use copper two handed swords with two enchants for stats. what would you consider a good farming weapon? what would be the high end boss killing weapon?

 

Augmented Chainmail or Epic Plate ?

 

I take it from this thread that it's probably wise to deeply cut the wide range of skills that I am leveling... LOL

 

depends on what you're doing magic-wise. sara doesn't have to worry about fizzle.

 

Healing touch.

 

Sneak attack in Subt. That attack pairs wonderfully with stunning things and getting behind them. I think it hits harder than thrust from behind and I believe it's a 1x multiplier exp required skill so it's "cheap".

 

Cool thanx, will look into it...

I guess best armor choice in my case would be Epic Plate in Meteoric

 

2x but yes, excellent skill if used from behind after a body slam.

I'd go copper/bronze epic plate (may as well go bronze if you're rich) for the +12.2% attack damage.

 

So Meteoric for Weapon if I follow your logic ?

 

I always go with increased crit% over increased damage - never crunched the numbers... just a feeling.

I've always used bronze hilt (gives 2% crit while a copper hilt only gives 1%) and copper blade (gives 10% crit and lower cost as opposed to the 6% crit, 7% crit damage, and higher cost of a bronze blade).

 

@Sara Dreygon I see you mention that Blade Speed skill doesn't impact charged glyphs. I assume that since Blade Speed increases attack speed, then that also means that attack speed in general doesn't impact charged glyphs. Is there anything that does increase the rate at which you can fire off glyphs, or is that a set speed depending on glyph?

 

Attack speed does affect charged attacks, just not speed using glyphs. Chaotic feedback, spellbinder's stance, and flurry affect draw speed. Also, some glyphs have a longer global cooldown which is why you can use a skill after using offhand or thrust quicker than after using double-slash.