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Post by knowledge3754 on Apr 16, 2011 10:53:13 GMT -5
I'd much rather have that at level 32 than Inexorable Tides! Speaking of 'Tides, I almost never use that power. I expect it'll get better with ranks, but at rank 1 I find its crowd control capabilities to be nothing to write home about Tides is one of the best interrupts in the game by being fast and cheap and it buys time to charge melee attacks before the knocked enemies can respond so it can increase your survivability while boosting your ability to do damage. Frankly, it should come earlier than 32 IMO. A LOT earlier. I'm seeing this effect now, I think energy issues were preventing it before. I'd only use 'Tides once at a time, and the mob would only get knocked up a bit then come right back. Now that my energy issues are mostly over though, I spam it 2-3 times in a row, and they go flying! Works like a charm |
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Post by mustrumridcully on Jun 4, 2011 5:23:23 GMT -5
Haha, that's awesome! Thanks for the compliment and for trying to spread the word, though.  Could u help me? I dont know if i should be the blade because i dont know how good he is in Champions Online. As Supercollide said, it comes down to personal playstyle. If you like doing lots of damage, attacking from close range, and leaving the healing/tanking up to other people, then this Archetype might be perfect for you. On the other hand, if tanking is more your thing, you might wanna instead check out the Glacier, the Behemoth, or even the Savage. Likewise, if you prefer to attack from a distance, then the Soldier, the Inferno, the Marksman, the Tempest, the Void, and the Inventor may be more what you're looking for. If support is your deal, then consider the Mind or the Grimoire. And if you like pets, then perhaps the Void or the Inventor might be more up your ally. If you did enjoy the Blade, then see if the Specialist is right for you, as they're kinda similar. As for the Blade's functionality, they are quite good. They deal awesome DPS, but their downfall is a lack of survivability (I try to account for this with the Talent selections in my guide). They're kinda a glass cannon - able to dish out damage but somewhat unable to take it. However, they do well in PVE - I enjoy playing my Blade, and I rarely die while using him. They also do great in PVP, as they rapidly dish out damage and they have two PHENOMENAL powers - Thunderbolt Lunge (which also stuns under the right conditions) and Shuriken Throw (with the Chained Kunai advantage).  I must admit that I still suck at using my Blade. I see the damage is impressive, but the survivability... Urks. Would you say you achieve your survivability mostly by teleporting out (since I lack teleport) when things get hairy (mostly pulling more than one mob in my experience). Teleport is what I don't have (and I don't want to take it either, I like my Acrobatics. ) Or am I missing something more basic? Some kind of buff, equipment or device I should be using (more often)? In Startrek Online, a basic trick to increase your survivability is getting shield resists with Emergency Power to Shields. But STOs PvE seems - even ignoring such tricks - far easier. Of course, it's less likely in STO to pull aggro from more than one enemy group... Anyway, this is CO, and the game obviously work differently in these aspects. |
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Post by Kieran on Jun 4, 2011 10:02:23 GMT -5
I must admit that I still suck at using my Blade. I see the damage is impressive, but the survivability... Urks. Would you say you achieve your survivability mostly by teleporting out (since I lack teleport) when things get hairy (mostly pulling more than one mob in my experience). Teleport is what I don't have (and I don't want to take it either, I like my Acrobatics. ) Yeah, mostly. Constitution speccing should give you a bit of protection, but since the Blade has no healing powers, Teleporting is my survival method of choice. I would recommend grabbing it for your level 6 Travel power, and then taking Acrobatics at level 5. That way you can have a much better chance at not-dying, and you also get your acrobatic fun later on. |
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Post by mustrumridcully on Jun 4, 2011 13:12:20 GMT -5
I must admit that I still suck at using my Blade. I see the damage is impressive, but the survivability... Urks. Would you say you achieve your survivability mostly by teleporting out (since I lack teleport) when things get hairy (mostly pulling more than one mob in my experience). Teleport is what I don't have (and I don't want to take it either, I like my Acrobatics. ) Yeah, mostly. Constitution speccing should give you a bit of protection, but since the Blade has no healing powers, Teleporting is my survival method of choice. I would recommend grabbing it for your level 6 Travel power, and then taking Acrobatics at level 5. That way you can have a much better chance at not-dying, and you also get your acrobatic fun later on. Thanks for the reply. I guess things will stay tough for now, unless I really want to bite the bullet. Hmm... |
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Post by Lantesh on Jun 4, 2011 14:57:47 GMT -5
I didn't have much survivability issues with my Blade when leveling up. I use acrobatics like you do with the Versatility advantage. That usually let me get away from a bad situation fast. I tend to open fights with Thunderbolt Lunge with Essence Assault advantage for the stun. I target any mob Villain rank or higher first and then charge Scything Blade (rank 2, Swallowtail Cut). That usually kills off any henchies in one shot. Then you can just finish off the big guy with whatever.
I also recommend the Elusive Monk advantage on Parry and Masterful Dodge. I used to use rank 3 parry and Inexorable Tides and still had problems. Changing to Elusive Monk and Masterful Dodge got rid of my survivability issues. I also carry around a stack of self crafted Arms heals if I really need it. I'm still squishy in group activities and need a healer, but that's just the nature of the AT. Otherwise I have no problems doing anything solo.
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Post by august on Jun 5, 2011 6:22:37 GMT -5
I think the difference is some people have their leveling sessions on Elite mode while others on Normal and other modes. o.o
My blade do have trouble at Elite mode. Alone of cause.
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Post by lunar on Jun 5, 2011 6:40:27 GMT -5
I think the difference is some people have their leveling sessions on Elite mode while others on Normal and other modes. o.o My blade do have trouble at Elite mode. Alone of cause. I second this, but with tides/elusive monk you can up your survival a lot. |
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Post by august on Jun 5, 2011 9:37:27 GMT -5
my blades only 27 . =3
Sticking to my Tempest xD Range Chars FTW !!
Cant wait for Force. haha
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Post by mustrumridcully on Jun 6, 2011 3:15:26 GMT -5
I think the difference is some people have their leveling sessions on Elite mode while others on Normal and other modes. o.o My blade do have trouble at Elite mode. Alone of cause. Just to exemplify how bad I am - I am playing on Normal difficulty. (That is the easiest one, right?) But I think with the new ability from Level 22, I gained some survivability by the virtue of killing my enemies faster. I think I need to get better at the "run away" part with my Acrobatics. |
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Post by knowledge3754 on Jun 7, 2011 12:34:16 GMT -5
My Blade used to get pounded, often, on Normal diff. Maybe you should try changing your tactics? Killing the weakest mobs in a group first often helps me.
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Post by Kieran on Jun 7, 2011 19:06:45 GMT -5
My Blade used to get pounded, often, on Normal diff. Maybe you should try changing your tactics? Killing the weakest mobs in a group first often helps me. Absolutely! I highly recommend taking out the weaker minions at the start of the fight - even though they're weak, their damage can still add up and compound your situation if the boss-like enemy is lasting for a bit. By removing them quickly, you're able to focus on the main baddie, which makes things much easier. |
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Post by sidian on Jun 22, 2011 20:45:10 GMT -5
Okay, I've been following this guide but I'm really struggling to see why it's worth taking Reaper's Caress rank 2. The bleed damage doesn't seem to increase or anything, it merely increases the initial damage by like a relatively small amount. I really don't see why you'd use it and not just use scything blade, or at least not waste points into getting it to rank 2 if all its used for is the bleed effect. What am I missing? At level 15, I'm just spamming scything blade, because I don't see a reason to use reaper's caress.
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Post by stoneweaver on Jun 23, 2011 15:11:46 GMT -5
Well, on supervillan+, the Scything Blade becomes a bleed that doesn't stack. The Reaper's Caress bleed *does* stack. Which becomes more important once you get Reaper's Embrace. Granted, that's level 40 for my fellow F2Players, but they say patience is a virtue.
You can always wait to put the extra points into it. Of course, like I've seen here and elsewhere regarding other games - it's YOUR game. Play it however you want.
edit: Oh, and before I forget, thanks for posting up this guide. I was a bit lost and didn't really know which to take. This gives me a basic guideline for things other than "click buttons. make stabstab." Took me 3 days to realize my energy builder was a toggle, and I don't have to spam it. Things did start dying a bit faster, then.
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Post by sidian on Jun 24, 2011 0:41:34 GMT -5
Kind of a shame I'll have to wait until level 40 for it to be worthwhile. Also, is it just me or is Scything Blade objectively worse than Torrent of Arrows? www.champions-online-wiki.com/wiki/Torrent_of_Arrowswww.champions-online-wiki.com/wiki/Scything_BladeAt rank 2, torrent of arrows can do 619 damage to all targets, whereas scything blade does less than that to just its primary target, let alone the other nearby NPCs, who receive an even more pitiful amount of damage. It would need to bleed for ages to even equal Torrent of Arrows, and this rarely happens because mobs die really quickly. I'm somewhat regretting rolling a blade at the moment. I'm playing with my marksman friend who seem to do way more damage and I have no advantages.  |
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Post by lunar on Jun 24, 2011 10:55:43 GMT -5
Kind of a shame I'll have to wait until level 40 for it to be worthwhile. Also, is it just me or is Scything Blade objectively worse than Torrent of Arrows? www.champions-online-wiki.com/wiki/Torrent_of_Arrowswww.champions-online-wiki.com/wiki/Scything_BladeAt rank 2, torrent of arrows can do 619 damage to all targets, whereas scything blade does less than that to just its primary target, let alone the other nearby NPCs, who receive an even more pitiful amount of damage. It would need to bleed for ages to even equal Torrent of Arrows, and this rarely happens because mobs die really quickly. I'm somewhat regretting rolling a blade at the moment. I'm playing with my marksman friend who seem to do way more damage and I have no advantages. Yeah, comparing chars under lvl 20 is something ya should never do. Blades damage at 40 is insanely much higher than marksmen. +you compare a power that also does a 300/400+ bleed to a spike attack. I jus tested lvl 17 scythe, with str/dex/ego it crits for 700+ |
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