Blademaster questions - Phoenix Freeshard

So I have decided not to play a Verd Ani as they really don't fit my playstyle.

I did start a BM and would like to work on him now.

I went Celt and Piercing. If this is a complete blunder let me know =).

I am thinking 50CD, 42Shield, 39Pierce, rest parry. Any thoughts on this?

From what I understand since I will be using CD for all my attacks that 39 pierce won't make much of a difference over 50 pierce. Is this correct?

Also I was planning on lvling CD and Shield close to my lvl and keep pierce a bit farther back. I can switch to shield if need be for guard and I can still go CD for DPS.

Does + Dual Wield help my CD line?

Sat 4 Aug 2018 4:26 PM by Ganaka

Piercing is fine for BM since primary is STR, secondary is DEX, and tertiary is CON. It's STR-CON-DEX for Hero, but I doubt it'll be that noticeable.

Is there a macro to equip shield and then equip off-hand weapon? I always thought click dragging a shield to slam was a pita.

Sat 4 Aug 2018 4:29 PM by Magesty

There will be a macro, but they haven’t assigned inventory numbers for it to work yet I believe.

EDIT: Macro Works. Type /Switch and follow the instructions

Wed 8 Aug 2018 3:30 PM by Cadebrennus

Piercing is perfect for an RvR Bladedmaster. All of your primary targets will either be weak to Piercing weapons (all chain wearers which include all enemy healing classes) or neutral and wearing cloth (casters). The only exception will be Friars in leather (Pierce resistant) but leather is on a lower AC table so that balances it back.

Thu 9 Aug 2018 2:31 AM by playfull

I am thinking 50CD, 42Shield, 39Pierce, rest parry. Any thoughts on this?

yes this is good spec

you can also go elf..

pierce got big buff because you can get broodmother fang here which is a slower weapon (more damage)

Mon 13 Aug 2018 9:30 PM by alusnova415

Hi all, when I started this game (when beta opened) it was also the first time playing DAOC , since I didn't know what I actually wanted to play or what realm I first made a HO merc and asking around spec him in crush whenever I soloed I was pulling and killing 2 ojs before resting no problem , I had max stats from the rog drops .

Fast forward to today rolled a NS and Ani and farmed exp items so decided to use those items on a BM since I committed to Hibernia , so I'm currently leveling the BM. But are BM that inferior to Mercs? My bm has max stats and oj+ gear/weapons ( gear when I was leveling the ani) and I can kill yellows np but if I pull ojs I barely kill them and have died a few times (on the merc I don't remember ever dying on a 1-1 vs an oj mob) .

I started pierce and just switched to blades for leveling but it does feel a bit underpowered at least compared to my leveling experience on the merc. Do they even up later levels or is it just based on the weapons styles ? On alb crush has that low endurance and 6 sec stun chain is so good for leveling .

Oh I made a celt , I know that firby =HO in terms of strength but decided on celt in case I want to switch weapons.

Fri 17 Aug 2018 8:55 AM by Mklp

I believe that compared to mercenary / berserker the blademaster is arguably the least powerful - but that does not mean that it is weak.
It is a very stable pick and you'll always be wanted in groups either RvR or PvE. Particularly if you have shield spec (42) at 50.

If your killing oranges make sure that they are weak to your damage type (i.e. you get +damage vs them) and you are resistant to their damage type (they get -damage vs you), it'll make a huge difference. Use some cheap invigoration potions to regen your stamina in fight so you can keep using styles. If you message me ingame I can make you some, as well as healing potions for free.

Otherwise, I wouldn't worry too much about killing oranges. Soloing on yellows to level is absolutely fine, grouping will typically always be faster for you even as a duo/trio farming exp items. Your BM is really going to shine once you get some higher realm ranks if you decide to keep it as your main!

Fri 17 Aug 2018 11:05 AM by Cadebrennus

I think the biggest difference between Merc/BM/Zerk is the armor. I've always found that taking out a Merc is tougher because they take less melee damage than a BM, which in turn takes less melee damage than a Zerk. Sure Zerks have Vendo and BMs have triple wield for better damage than a Merc, but players (and mobs) are going to hit a lightly armored target harder so that does affect your leveling. My Merc was able to chain pull mobs (with a bot) on live and not worry about the multiple attacker code as much affecting evading/blocking because the chain mail simply absorbed more damage. Just something to consider. Defense does matter, and so does offense.