Class Type : Melee Sword User
Traits and abilities :
* Second highest natural growth attainable defense value after Force Shielder
* Second highest natural growth attainable attack value after Warrior
* Highest attack rate and defense rate values in-game
* Average HP and MP gain per level/rank-up
* Uses Martial or Armor equipment and two 1-handed weapons to further increase its damaging potential
Class Description
I could say so many nice words about the Blader, that I wouldn’t know where to start. First and foremost, you will notice that the Blader is a dual-wielding class. The immediate thought about the class should be: I have 2 weapons and no protection. I must kill the enemy as fast as possible. By traits and skills, Bladers are amongst the best at soloing spots and dungeons. Every skill and buff that they posses is proof of that, as well as their enormous per-level gains. Your main goal in a party is to deal damage. Lots of it. Failure to do so will result in people avoiding you and going for a FB / WA (Most party members will think : If he doesn’t have damage, then I’d better get me someone who can boost MY damage – fury + hard luck). Bladers can make use of Martialsets (thus becoming Martial Bladers) or Armorsets (up to and including Osmium, thus becoming Heavy Bladers or Armor Bladers). In terms of weaponry, they can use Blades or Katanas. Two choices for weapons and two for armors make the Blader a very versatile class, but at the same time one of the most (if not the most) expensive ones to build up. Because they have no party specific buffs and are oriented towards soloing, their gear will play a MAJOR role in dealing with a situation.
You will also notice a special trait of the Blader. The bonuses for 1 STR and 1 DEX are the same, so whether you got 200 STR and 100 DEX or 200 DEX and 100 STR, the result is the same. Keep this in mind when building your Blader. I usually hit 67 INT for Mithril weapons then evenly distribute STR and DEX. You will end up with 500+ STR / 67 INT / 500+ DEX, which will allow you to wear Osmium Armor, Mithril Armor, Mithril Blades, Mithril Katanas. (of course, you will need a bit more INT I believe, for higher + on mithril bodyparts, with the new update)
Comparison of the default growth of WA / BL / sFS (added FB too, but pumped STR instead of DEX for comparison purposes only)
Basic ideas of playing a Blader
1. Damage Dealer
I sometimes like to call Bladers in my party DD or DeeDee, due to his main role. Life as a Blader is both easy and hard, all in one. It’s easy because all you have to do is damage-damage-damage, without worrying about other things such as rebuffing others or casting Fury or positioning yourself strategically so that the AoE of your skills/BM clears the space surrounding the boss for the other classes. No. All you have to do is turn BM on, find yourself a target and don’t stop hitting until it is dead. Simple? Not.
2. Buff limitations
When you play your Blader, you have to be careful at the buffs. Until level 150 you will have a harder time accommodating all the buffs that you would want because of the limit of 8 buffs, out of which 4 are yours. Another 3 from WI / FA would make it 7, and you always have to have at least 1 buff free for SP, so that’s pretty much it. You can’t use your own short buffs then without losing a buff. At 150, you can use 9 of them, so it gets a bit easier, you have to use 1 short at a time, to accommodate 4 self buffs, 3 xtra buffs, fury, short buff. Past 160, everything is easier, but you should still use 1 short at a time, but you can now carry 10 buffs (4 self buffs + hardness + morale + vital force + fury + short + spirit intension for example)
3. BM2 details
As you might have noticed by now, your BM2 relies on Normal attack to deal its damage. This means you cannot use high-rank skills like a Wizard would use Completer and GMaster skills, nor do you receive the +additional bonus from skills. What this means is you will have to compensate this loss with A LOT of attack. Your BM2 requires that you boost the Attack value as high as possible, making Mithril the weapon of choice for BM2, rather than Titaniums. The first consequence of being forced to gather high attack from weapons is that your high attack will favor high amp values. This is one reason why people would advise 36% osmiums in PVE (when Comboing, for higher crits and faster kills) while in BM2 they would advise you to go for 14% amp at least (achievable with dual 7% swords) or for a combination of amp + crit damage BUT only on Mithril level (meaning 7% amp + 20% cd). You could also combine amped mithril with osmium deathblow, but the intensity of the hits will not be the same.
For more details on what your weaponry should be, you can check this thread made by a nutty Blader :
The main idea you should remember is:
BM2 means normal attack -> Normal attack needs high attack values -> High attack values make great use of high amp values (7% amp + 7% amp mithril for example)
PVE means Combo -> Combo means high amp skills -> Existing amp and +add damage means you can focus on critical damage -> PVE combo makes great use of Crit Damage. (30% osmium + 30% osmium for example, 10% + 10% mithril, etc)
4. BM1 details
If you looked at your BM1, you probably noticed by now that it gives HUGE critical rate and damage increase. Don’t let this fool you, because you can still die easily while in BM1, due to the low defense bonus and the fact that you STILL have to combo, so keep that in mind. BM1 should only be used in my opinion on TG when you got legacy weapon and no BM2, and in CA where it is mandatory. Thumb rule for BM1 is to turn it on when you have to kill lots of mobs, clear rooms, and the most important thing is to remember to not use high cast time skills like Blade Scud (Scud in CA is instant kill on Orcas). Use fast skills like Double Slash or Storm Grind or Lightning Slash or Vital Impact to regenerate HP quickly, but don’t rely on skills like Twin Moon Slash or Blade Scud or Hasing Dance while in BM1. You will most likely be dead on the cast duration.
5. BM'ing techniques
BM1 - Should be used in TG and CA only. Use it on resurrects that you want destroyed, on packs of grouped enemies in conjunction with Lightning Slash for some massive damage, use it in conjunction with Legacy Weapon and Amp/Flee pots, etc. For any other war map threats, Aura will suffice along with Instant Immunity and Flee Rate if attacker is using BM2 and can’t combo
BM2 - Should be used on Bosses, on PK targets, on TG for quickly taking out multiple builders or threats.
Aura - Should be used when you want an instant boost of defense + magic + CR/CD, for example when you see a higher level approaching your spot, and you do not have a 5 second time frame to go BM, then you pop-on Aura.
Class Breakdown : Upgrades / Runes / Skills / Items
1. Upgrades
There are 5 mandatory upgrades that you must use as a Blader: Vitality Mastery / Impact Control / Offensive Sense / Sixth Sense / Damage Absorb.
The only discussion that still remains unsolved is: Do I choose Defensive Sense (32def) or do I choose Reflex (532 def rate) ?
Blader is actually the only class for which I advise people to obtain Defensive Sense, as the Bladers can easily break the 4000 defense rate value, and from my personal experience, even with a moderate 3500 and a bit of vampiric, I never had problems surviving. The short term fast cooldown Intuition also solves the defense rate issue for a while.
2. Runes
In order of aquiring them, from lowest level to highest :
1. EXP Bonus Rune
2. Party EXP Rune
3. Pet XP Rune
4. Skill XP Rune
5. Attack Rate Rune (could be skipped, as BL reaches 6000 attack rate)
6. Defense Rate Rune
7. HP Rune
8. Attack Rune
9. HP Absorb Rune
10. Sword Amp Rune
Additionally
11. Defense Rune
12 and 13. Dunno which (MP rune would be a wise choice for TG participants)
These would be the first 10 you would need. Then, as you reach 170 and max out the pet level :
Remove EXP and Party XP and Pet XP, to free up 3 slots. I would use the STR / DEX / INT runes for 21 free stats. From my experience, you will need the PartyXP first, the XP second (as it is more expensive) and this will boost your AP, as AP is part of your XP. With more AP, upgrade Def Rate for higher survivability.
3. Skills - I will list the ones that are actually useful according to my playstyle.
Sword Skills
Fade Step - Must have - This skill is vital when you want to break a chase by de-targeting yourself (Mine is level 9)
Dash - Must have. Your only skill for moving forward (Mine is level 9)
Double Slash - Must have – This skill is core component for farming FR as well as PVE combo and PVP/TG (Mine is level 15)
Storm Grind – You will use storm as part of your PVE combo, very useful (Mine is level 20)
Assault – Must have – This is used as farming skill in FR and PVP / TG combo (Mine is level 15)
Force Kick – Must have for escaping and chasing on TG and War maps. (Mine is level 9 for fastest cooldown)
Mirage Grind – Not really needed – I use it for farming purposes in RS at cow pit as filler (Mine is level 20)
Twin Moon Slash – Has potential for downing purposes in TG (ranged) but overall Damage per second is way too low. (I didn’t learn this skill)
Vital Interfere – You will love this skill on earlier levels and throughout the game. Life saver, definitely a must have. (Mine is on level 9 for fastest cooldown, but some keep it on 15 for their PVE combo)
Blade Cry – NEVER NEVER NEVER EVER buy this crap skill. Period. One of the worst skills ever invented, no matter what you say (some morons tried to argue with me saying that it’s good in PVE combo .. no it ain’t, it’s overall DPS is lower than Storm Grind)
Blade Scud – Fell in love the moment I first cast it. You will never get enough of watching the dancing swirl of Scud. Must have for sure, but keep it on level 9 for fastest cooldown (Mine is on level 9 too)
Lightning Slash – The latest eye-rape method invented in Cabal, especially with numerous mobs surrounding you. It can take you from normal to epileptic in 3 seconds flat. Must have skill, but find a way to remove the FX (Mine is on level 9)
Concentration – Not needed at all, you will combo 90% of the time, and in BM2 you have plenty attack rate.
Iron Skin – One of the 4 core buffs. Must have skill which gives Def and HP (Mine is on level 20)
Mirage Step – Another signature of the Blader class, a must have. Increases defense rate. (Mine is on level 20)
Aura Barrier – Improved version of Iron Skin, the third must have buff skill (Mine is on level 20)
Soul Blade – Your only attack buff, max it out (Mine is on level 20)
Instant Immunity – You will learn to love this skill with time (Mine is on level 20)
Intuition – Again, life saver for PVE, must have. (Mine is on level 20)
Art of Fierceness – One of the 2 buffs that you will use in BM2 (Mine is on level 20)
Field of Fear – Strike fear in the hearts of your enemies and lower their defense. They know what’s comin’ (Mine is on level 20)
Intense Blade – Your most powerful BM2 buffer skill, max it out (Mine is on level 20)
Magic Skills
Freezing Arrow – Your main luring skill, a range 9 skill. Get this one or wind arrow (any range 9 arrow actually – Mine is on Level 9 for fastest cooldown)
Resist Intension – Good for the moments when Instant Immunity is not ready, but not that good overall. You will use other Spirit Buffs when in a party. You can get it to level 20 for the Solo gameplay moments, but it doesn’t help that much.
My PVE combo of choice is made of the same mix of skills, but ordered differently. Basically, you got the same 5 skills ordered differently :
At lower levels I was using : Storm Grind 20 - Lightning Slash 9 - Vital Impact 15 - Double Rising 18 or Double Slash 18 (mine was 15 because of farming in FR) - Blade Scud 9 -> This combo was very very good at Stunlocking mobs, you got hit only once or twice, per 3 rounds, during Completer.
At higher levels, with better gear, I swapped to : Vital 9 - Lightning Slash 9 - Blade Scud 9 - Storm Grind 20 - Double Slash 15
Other combos that were passed on to me are :
1) Vital 12 - Comp 9 - Scud 9 - Storm 20 - Dbl Rising 20
2) Comp 9 - Scud 9 - Assault 20 - Impact Stab 20 - Double Slash 20 (for 1 target)
3) Vital 9 - Compl 9 - Storm 20 - Dbl Rising 20 - Dbl Slash 20 (for CA for example, no Scud in it)
4. Items
My current (realistic) dreamset is composed of :
2 x Mithril Blades 5% Amp / 10% CD +7
Osmium Armorgloves 7% Amp / 3% HP leech (extended)
Osmium Armorsuit of Amp 7% Amp / 180HP (extended)
Osmium Armorboots of Amp 7% Amp / 180HP (extended)
Merga Ring + RoL2 + 2 x CR2 + AoP6
RW3+6 and %HP Absorb Rune level 3 and EoF+7 and Bracelets of Fighter +6 / Vamp +6 Earrings (thanks to Herms for pointing it out : You could also use K-Black board for 44% Crit Rate if you already have the HP absorb rune maxed out. It would be better than the +Def from RW3)
You probably noticed that I didn’t mention any helms for BL. A helm is what makes or breaks the BL class, and you have 3 choices, each with their bonuses and disadvantages. I will explain them below:
1) The 16% craft helm with 5% rate in first slot, extended (the 7% rate / 40% crit dmg helm)
This is the basic choice for most bladers, it provides almost maximum CD in helm, while at the same time improving critical rate. Your CR will be 42% unless a Warrior or Force Blader is in the party. This type of helm is good if you plan on being a party member most of the time, to have 52% rate at least from the party debuffs (FB). If you want to solo stuff, you might find that 90 seconds of 42 rate is not enough, so you will most likely go in BM + Aura to compensate this. Since you are forced to go aura to compensate the lack of rate, you might as well not use the helm at all, but use a 36% one, since you get 15 rate+ from aura. Then the 7/40 helm becomes useless, if you’re forced to go BM+A, and it is therefore an expensive and unneeded investment (for the 4% extra CD that you gain).
2) The 8% rate craft helm with 5% rate in first slot, extended (the 15% rate / 24% cd helm)
This helm truly fits the pure solo-ers or duo-dungeon runners. You do not need any WA / FB to dish out crit after crit, you will have 50% rate and 16% less CD, which results in more crits in the 90 seconds of BM, and when turning aura on, you can swap the helm to a 40% one, for more icing on the cake. I find this option better than 7/40 first of all due to the price, as 8% rate helms are cheaper, and second of all, it’s almost the same thing as 7/40 helm when soloing. The real difference comes when you play in a party with a debuffer, that’s where the 7/40 is superior
Example with FB debuff (-10 cr / -20 cd) :
With a 7/40 helm, you keep 2 RoL+2 and 2 CR2 + the FB debuff, for 52 rate and 90 cd.
With a 15/24 helm, you keep 1 RoL+2 and 3 CR2 + the FB debuff for 45 rate and 89 cd
Example without debuff :
With a 7/40 helm you keep 2 RoL+2 and 2 CR+2 for 42 rate and 70 damage
With a 15/24 helm you keep 2 RoL+2 and 2 CR+2 for 50 rate and 54 damage (if you think 8% rate is not that important, be my guest in trying out 35% rate versus 43%, when using 36% helm and 8/20 helm).
3) The 7% amp / 7% rate / 24% damage helm
This helm is a variant of the 7/40, where you sacrifice 16% cd for 7 amp, for an even more powerful BM2. This would be the top choice for a FA also, as the FA is a full amp build as well. This would bring the best of 3 worlds in one helm, and very few people have one.
Overall, if you plan on partying FB / WA for high level dungeons, go for the 7/40.
If you plan on using a WI to duo B2F and AoS and FI, go for the 15/24 for better overall damage.
I know that with the introduction of Weak EoD, many players have started farming their weapons inside. I would advise them to get an 8 rate / 20 damage helm in there, and a 16% Titanium with a slot or 2, for Aura mode. Do not bother with weapons; they will be of no use past 140. Later on, you can extend the helms for 7/40 or 15/24, depending on preference but for starter levels, 8 rate / 20 damage osmium will suffice.
For the ones that are 70+ or are picking up on their BL from where they left off, here's some possible item builds :
Begginer build of my choice (Above WEoD up to 140)
Vampiric Amulet +3/+4
3 x Ring of Luck +1
1 x Critical Ring +1
Osmium Martialhelm 5% CRate / 20% CDamage
Osmium Martialsuit 7% Amp / 50HP
Mystic Martialboots of Amp 5% Amp / Osmium Martialboots of Amp 4%-100HP
Mystic Martialgloves of Vampire 3/5% HP Leech
2 x Vampiric Earrings +2 and later +4
2 x Bracelet of Fighter +2 and later +4
Epaulette of Fighter +6 (never ever never ever use EoGuardian as Blader)
2 x Osmium Blades/Katanas with 4% CR and 20% CD
This build will provide you with 48 CR and 90 CD and decent Amp and lots of Leech. It will keep you alive while you level up in MF and EoD:B2F. The total price of such gear would be roughly ... 100kk or so, which can be easily made by finishing quests and selling a few entries here and there (from the MF drops).
Mediocre build of my choice (somewhere between 140 and 160/5)
Vampiric Amulet +4
2 x Ring of Luck +2
2 x Critical Ring +2
Osmium Martialhelm 8% CR / 20% CD === Osmium Martialhelm 36% CD (for aura)
Osmium Martialsuit 7% amp / 50HP
Shadowtitanium Martialgloves 7% Amp
Shadowtitanium Martialboots 7% Amp
White Board X3 and 2% HP leech in Pet (like my dearest Cookies)
2 x Vampiric Earrings +4
2 x Bracelet of Fighter +4
EoF+6
Mithril Blade / Katana +6 with 10% CD in slot
High-end build of my choice (165 to 170)
Amulet of Pain +5 / +6
Merga Ring + RoL2
2 x Critical Rings +2
Titanium Armorhelm 12%->15% CR / 24%CD or Osmium 15/24 (7/40 if you always party a debuffer)
Osmium Armorsuit 7% amp / 100 HP
Osmium Armorboots 7% amp / 100 HP
Osmium Armorgloves 7% amp or Titanium 7% amp / 3% HP leech (Warning : multiple SEM needed)
RW3 +6 or White Board // %HP Rune on level 3 (ouch AP)
2 x Vampiric Earrings +6 // 2 x Bracelet of Fighter +6
EoF+7
2 x 7% Mithril Amped +7 (cheaper than 7amp/20cd combination)
VERY IMPORTANT LINK : Once you finished reading the above, have a look here in Herms's thread about most commonly used Helms + Swords, to have an ever greater insight on what combination of weapons / helm would fit you. Later on, maybe a Damage Comparison between builds will be possible.
BM2 Tips
You always have to remember one thing: Never cast Art of Fierceness and Intense Blade at the same time. Art of Fierceness will always add +400 damage per attack, no matter if you’re in BM or BM + Aura, or if there are any debuffs on that mob. This means that you can cast it at any time during the BM or BM+Aura with the same efficiency. Intense Blade however, is an amplifier, it boosts the damage by adding 25% amp to the hits, so it’s better to cast it on Aura, to have even higher attack. Consequently, you will want Intense Blade + Field of Fear at the same time.
The fact that you do not cast them at the same time means that you have 1 extra buff slot at all times, and you use the buffs more wisely. If you were to cast AoF then FoF then Intense, by the time you start hitting, you lost 6 seconds of AoF and 3 seconds of FoF.
My choice for extended BM (BM 90 seconds and extend with Aura for 45 more seconds) is :
BM -> Art of fierceness at start (to get rid of it as soon as possible) -> Get Fury on 45 seconds of BM -> Extend with aura -> Right after Extend, when the Warrior casts Panic, I cast Intense + Field of Fear.
In case of a double BM, which is BM+Aura for 90 seconds, I usually ask the Warrior when he is going to cast Panic, and that’s when I cast Intense + Field of Fear. Usually, most Warriors will cast Panic at start, so that means my Art of Fierceness can come AFTER Intense Blade and Field of Fear, in the remaining 60 seconds of Double BM.
There is one and only one situation where I would advise you to use the buffs differently. If you are 100% SURE that the boss will die in 2 BMs (whether single or BM+Aura) then you need to do the math on your cooldowns:
All 3 buffs have a duration of 30 seconds and a cooldown of 180 seconds. If we detail the BM in seconds, we got: 90s + 30s cooldown between BM + 90s. This is an interval of 210 seconds where you can fit the short buffs twice. If you use FoF + AoF + Intense right at the beginning of the first BM (preferably this is a BM2 + Aura for maximum efficiency, like on Leth Tyrant for example), then the cooldown starts with the cast, logically. This means that 150 seconds after you cast the shorts in the first BM, they will be ready. This translates into:
BM + Aura -> Cast Shorts (BM is now on 85) -> Shorts expire on 55 of BMA (cooldown of shorts is now 150) -> BM expires (cooldown of shorts is now ~90) -> You wait 30 seconds for the BM to recharge (cooldown of shorts is now ~60) -> You enter another BMA and after 60 seconds of BM, presto : The shorts are ready once more for a full 30 seconds use.
One more thing that I would like to add is retargeting. Do your best to retarget claw-claw in 2 or 3 hits, because even if the kick provides 50% more damage than the claw, it also takes twice as long to hit it, so in the end, you actually lose damage by kicking with your feet. I will try to FRAPS my rusty hands while retargeting, but if any other Blader has it done already on a dummy, please feel free to share.
No comments:
Post a Comment