Questions about Blades

So, if you dont know yet, i do Drama and then try to find solutions.
To loose identification with my character was caused by leveling some fire although i allways wanted to be a healer / watermage with some Air and Moon Skills only
So this build is no longer or further viable, because i hitted a wall.
I cannot get Material from Bosses or Artifacts with that and need to branch out more.
I did this already before with some Earth and Sun etc..., but it allways felt a bit like a "foul compromise", but anyway i may have found something what is fun and i can get over it.
If this goes further i stop complaining and want to skill everything @Mac2
But dont hurry me, it's just a beginning, a try, something i am willing to do, because i really like this god damn environment we are "living" in with the housing and RP possibilities
I have a love-hate relationship with SotA i guess

So to my questions:

Ich decided to go the Gandalf Path and took a Longsword i once looted that look a little bit like Glamdring
But it's a one handed sword.
I also crafted me a copper 2 handed sword with copper Hilt.
Wanted the Bronze Hilt for more Crit, but i dont know where i can get the recipe.
I think it's a drop recipe and i need to find it. Any Tips?

I think dont want to use a shield (Maybe later i also skill shield and Bludgeon and use an axe, idk) i dont want to do dual wielding such big swords, all because of my RP.
I thinked over 2 daggers or 2 short swords, because i think they are better than a 2 handed sword, like it is with wands and a staff. But idk, any Info about?

The 2 handed sword is a bit too long imho. I also dont like the slight copper gloss, so the 1h Longsword looks way more Gandalf with Glamdring like, but if this is way more weaker than the 2handed, because i dont want to use a shield or dual wielding i may choose the 2handed.
What Tips you can give me, i may also ask @Andartianna

So looking for a blade that fit my RP plus isnt a waste of skilling because it's underpowered compared to sword + Shield or dualwielding?

One handed Longsword looks better, also because the 2h is also used 1h in combat animations , but 2 handed copper seems to be better.

Any tips in general?

 

If Staffs arent balanced compared to 2 wands it maybe is an option to make them also 1h and usable in combination with a 1h Longsword.

I begin to love this option.

 

Do you use tempesty wands with 25+ water attunement ? I´m asking because i have a secondary account focused in water+ air+ death magic and i do a lot of damage, maybe you need to improve your gear/deck..

 

Personally, I think a one handed sword has plenty of damage output. The real problem is balancing damage with defense.

It MIGHT be worth seeing if you can make use of off-hand defense with a wand? If you don't mind having the skill sort of 'in the background' as it were but having a wand in your off-hand when you go out. The skill description says "dual wield any" so I assume wands are included.

Parry is a good skill to have so I would practice Offhand attack in private to meat the minimum requirement for offhand defense and see how that works.

What the game really needs to do is treat staves like polearms. Hopefully that time will come.

Just working up magic innates benefit also. Bowen doesn't rely on magic but you better believe I'm working on those earth innates! My reasoning is just one of naturally building up resistences. I don't raise them by practicing skills.. I get the minimum requirement in private and lock those required skills and never use them again.. but let the innates increase naturally.

 

Any area you can drop yellow bags. I see many people in crag foothills killing the elves there for yellow bags, bowstrings and elven hilts. Try and go with a bronze blade with an elven hilt if you can, elven is same as bronze, just has 3 dex as well. This will also save you coin or time finding the bronze hilt recipe. If you do not like the look of the bronze blade, try meteoric, it has just strait up weapon damage, and might have more of the look your looking for.

You could go with a wand in your offhand, mix in some magic and give wand bonuses to your magic. Also a bit closer to the gandalf build as he uses sword and staff.

1hd sword will do fine, I often use a dual wield build, but have been considering using a wand in my offhand as well, give myself some magic buff. Fighting non undead rend works really well, and can be stacked 3 times, thrust is good damage per focus use, then you can mix in a couple spells as well. As well, if you can find the room to have trip so you can make the combo hamstring, hamstring is awesome dot attack. What I do for it is have one locked trip, then all 5 rends in its own spot beside trip, that way a can make hamstring and then a few rends in between each hamstring.

You can look at some of my videos to get a good deck setup base, and modify it from there.

 

It's not about damage, i sometimes ohnehit t5 Mobs with my Ice Arrow (archers, Mages) and my Staff isnt that bad.


My main Problem is, bosses arent vulnerable with magic or at least Trolls only with fire and if i one day maybe can fight the Balrog eh demon or a dragon then i need physical damage if i am right.

But i'll try the wand plus 1h sword and try to make a better one by myself than the one looted.
I have no good skill in crafting, but i need some things to do ingame i can aim for.
And i have a wand +10 somewhere left.

Thanks all for replies i may ask further.

 

If you bring me the refined mats, I can make, masterwork and enchant the swords for you, I am gm + in all those skills. Reached gm #212 last night.

 

i think i need both a good wand and a sword, i only have 2 +7 wands left.

I would like to stay with Water, Air, Life, Moon with the Sword for what i actively use in combat, but i dont know what is better to support with the gear. Air or Water or both?!

Silver and Goldingots i have, need to look after other material, i havent that much iron etc. but saved some tin, tungsten etc...
Also some wood, but all not very much.

I will see what i have...

 

Wow.

Every time I read a little more about this game, I am flooded with ideas to make some changes.

With some of what I just read in here, I think I'm going to rework up a few new decks, focusing on one branch of magic, for a bit.

As for blades...I love em.

I did the dual wield route for a while, even the 2H for a while, but have finally settled on Sword and Board, as it feels as though it gives me the best defense and now stun defense as well since unlocking the whole tree. (I was using heavy armor which game me the stun defense, but since the fizzle nerf, shields became far more important...)

I have considered going back to dual wield, but would probably go to daggers for that, because of the MUCH higher crit possibility and better poisoning function. (I sometimes poison my blade for just that few extra points of DPS.) If I go the dagger route, it's going to be as much crit bonus as possible, as I imagine that I should a HUGE number of crits and that kind of damage can be quite significant.

 

I would say if your not fighting mages, use a life wand if you need good heals, and if your fighting mages, use a water one to up your douse and soothing rain.

 

i rebuild my char for the 4th time now - smtimes i'm annoyed, then pleased...

You will find out many more things - i know more than i am able to do ^^ some therorycrafting, but also experience with other open systems and such.
I did a lot of deckbuilding and find out many things by myself what i later read here too, and sure some things i become aware of from the Forum.

i'm still leraning, doing compromises and such, now i need to figure out what is the best compromise for me with blades and water and air and hwo to do a deck what is fun to play and strong enough. I dont want to copy a deck, although maybe end up with the same decks others have, but i want to figure it out by myself.

Thanks @Mac2 for help and some new Gear - Mats are on the way!

Love Blades too now, but its all about to love my char and identify with - i long thought over to do Archery or Baldes or Shield and Axe.
the Gandalf Theme was allways a little bit 0815 to me, but now i think its a great cmpromise i can do for RP and also to get more viable in the game.
At least i have new aims.

edit: I know for sure one day i will go to branch into chaos - was planned from day one. But this will take more time, the most annoying to me is, it takes tons of time or grind to get pvp ready somehow, and i just dont like to grind that much or be pulled and kill bosses over and over, i need to get to that point by the way or i loose fun playing.

So for now after complaing and discussing skillsystem etc. AGAIN and AGAIN, i made my compromise AGAIN and put some effort in and PLAY (not work ) towards my new aims and plan. i will also tame a white wolf, only for RP.
I need things like that.

 

I'm just intrigued at setting up a new deck that could allow me to 5 stack something... Right now, I just have the first two for melee and shield, the next two slots for magic, the next two slots for buffs/defensive and the last slots for heals and whatever new skill that I desperately want to raise up to unlock more in the chain.

 

@Nelzie stack by charging (locked glyph) maybe?
before i had 1-3 with ice arrow and lightning to stack it 4 or 5 times.
2 of 3 slots were often the same - you also can discard by STRG+Number a card, if you want another card from a dynamic slot to get the right one to stack.
If you use only 2 or 3 Skills the most, then try and put them all 3 on the Slots 1-3 and stack them if possible. Its only one method to do it and since we can charge locked glyphs mybe outdated, but with luck you can stack faster and more flexible.
I am used to run a buff deck before entering combat. I sheathe weapon, buff all longer dura buffs >1 Minute then quickswap and there i only have debuffs fireflys, blind, conters fortify defense and Douse or if i know there is no fire damage, i use something else, maybe icehsied refresh or Air shield to save my life before i need to run, Blink, Dash are also good to have while in Combat sometimes. and i use all 3 HoTs.

 

What goes really nice with the rend and thrust, combined with a good soothing rain and illumination because they are such low focus cost is chaotic feedback. at level 30 its gets a speed increase and at level 60 then another at 100. I dont know what the damage transfer rates are at 30 and 60, but it could be interesting for someone to test it.

 

I still have tons to learn about the deck and stacking and charging system.

I put together a new almost entire sword and board deck this morning. First four glyph holds all the blade attacks unlocked, then I made two with my shield defense and attacks, then two with all the primary earth attacks and finished off with a life stack of glyphs and the final one for the Chaos elements that I want to raise. Just need to consider walking around with two sets of armor...

One set for the blades and most all of the magic schools that I'm playing with right now, leather armor...

One set for the almost all blades, Earth and Life magic. Right now that will be my chain mail, but I might switch that over to plate. (Shoot... I should add in some heavy armor glyphs too...)

 

theres a vendor in New Brittania market on Sol Stormlins place that sells advance components includign bronze hilt so that you dotn need to find the recipie first if u wanna build a sword

I dont thin k that works with wands because the ammount of damage parried is based ont he damage the weapon does and its parry modifier. I think bows and wands parry next to no damage

 

the parry and riposte thing is maybe a good, but i dont use it atm.
So many Combo's - running with a way more dynamic deck again - like before.

Dou you use all the combos and all skills of Blades?
I need to find out what works good for me and is fun, too much skills and combo's

I was used to only have 2 or 3 Atttacks - now i have more than 6

 

Hamstring is is the only combo I use, rend for non undead, double slash for undead instead, thrust, offhand, and if big groups whirling blades.

 

I dont hardly use any spells. In fact i had devized an effective strategy to kill ancient golems because of that

I only use first 3 tier blade skills and subterfeuge skills and light armor defenses. I also dual wield, have aimed shot for a good ranged attack, and i switch between a few utility soells depending on the situation

 

Rend feels pointless unless you are fighting a very high hp monster that isn't undead. Very limited application in my experience. BUT when it is useful, it's VERY good. Really the same goes for Coup de Grace.

Riposte feels pointless because it's impossible to know when to use it unless you stare at your combat log. It also only hits 1 monster instead of 2. There is a parry sound, but no indication when it's you or the monster that's parrying. If they ever add some kind of light up indicator to know when it's active I could see it becoming useful.

Most fights it's all about spamming Thrust, Offhand attack, and Double slash or Whirling if big group of mobs. If/when they fix heat stacking getting broken with stuns, I'll go back to just spamming Thrust with a twohander.

Still testing a wand vs another blade in Offhand. I don't really notice much damage difference between the two and the wand benefits are very nice so that's what I use in my offhand for now.