Editing Frequently Asked Questions - Blademaster (section)

== Questions about Skills ==

'''Q: Which common tree skills should I get?  ''' 


A: The common tree skills are skills that every blademaster, regardless of their preferred weapon, has access to. These skills may be used with any weapon. At least level 1 of everything on the common tree is necessary for prerequisite purposes or because of usefulness. The only common tree skill that is essential is Aura of the Golden bell, your physical defense buff. Cloud sprint is another essential skill but having it at level 10 is not important until level 59. Skills that you should continue keeping up with are Drake's Ray, Aeolian Blade, Roar of the Pride, and Alter Marrow Physical. You may opt to level Tiger Maw and Draw Blood, but these are comparably weaker than other single target skills (past level 29) until their Sage/Demon level is achieved.


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'''Q: When do I start leveling the “cool” skills?'''


A: At level 29 you can start building your character from the skill trees available. At this point you should have enough spirit to get the skills you want, but soon the amount of money and spirit you use to buy skills will increase exponentially, so it is a good idea to choose a single weapon tree (for now). 


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'''Q: Which is the best skill tree?'''


A:  This is the most commonly asked as well as the most disputed question amongst blademasters. The most powerful (in terms of damage) and flexibility is the axe and hammer skill tree, and the second most powerful is the polearm skill tree. Both of these weapon paths on their own offer a player the ability to AoE grind (PvE) as well as successfully battle other players in most situations (PvP).  However, each skill tree offers something useful for different situations that a blademaster will experience.


**[[image:Axe_and_hammer.JPG]] The axe and hammer tree offers the strongest base weapon attack with the slowest weapon speeds and has more stun, slow, and damage amplifiers, as well as more powerful radial AoE skills than other trees. This skill tree is best for spike damage (both single target and AoE).


**[[image:Polearm.JPG]] The polearm tree offers the second strongest base weapon attack with the second slowest weapon speeds and has more bleed, range, monster pushback, defense debuff, as well as linear AoE skills than other trees.


**[[image:Blade_and_sword_revision.JPG]] The blade and sword tree offers the second weakest base weapon attack with the second fastest weapon speeds and has stupefy (channeling reduction), range, single target monster pushback, and attack debuff. The blade and sword tree has the fewest AoE skills of all the trees, and therefore specializes in single target combat. The blade and sword tree is generally considered slightly faster but overall weaker than the polearm tree. To compensate for this, the blade and sword tree is given a powerful single target skill at level 100.


**[[image:Fist.JPG]] The fist weapon tree offers the weakest base weapon attack with the fastest weapon speeds (up to 3+ normal attacks per. second with gear+skills) and includes single target slow, a cancel, a radial AoE with a weapon speed modifier, and a linear ultimate that imbues normal attacks with fire element damage. In addition, the fist tree is given an additional AoE at 79 that debuffs movement speed, attack speed, and channeling time. This skill tree is best for damage per second and chi building.


There are two factors which disrupt this mode of thinking:


#While a good axe (or polearm, blade, or fist) user knows how to effectively use all of his or her skills in every situation, an excellent blademaster knows how to use most skills from any tree, and the situations in which they are used. A blademaster which dabbles in the best skills from every tree is more versatile than the one which only uses skills from a single tree.
#A player can make any tree work well given that they put enough time and money into their character.


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'''Q: Which skill tree should I pick?'''


A: Generally speaking, the axe/hammer tree is best for both new and experienced players. The polearm skill tree, while slightly more difficult than the axe and hammer tree, is also a good choice. The answer is that you should pick whichever weapon you feel most comfortable with, but also keep in the mind the information above. Keep in mind that every blademaster can potentially acquire all of the skills. It is possible to get through the game by playing with only one skill tree, but doing so is inhibiting your own potential. 


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'''Q: Can I pick more than one skill tree?'''


A: Yes, but it is not recommended that one does this unless they realize they made a mistake in choosing their main tree or the player knows that they have enough spirit and money to cover the skills from their main tree in addition to these new skills. Generally, the latter does not occur until at least level 70. Consider also the idea that you don't have to master every skill in the tree, just certain important skills and masteries. After level 90 it is definitely possible and recommended that blademasters pick up additional skill trees.


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'''Q: What is the best level 59 ultimate skill?'''


A: The answer to this question is consistently Heaven's Flame (a.k.a. Dragons). Nevertheless, each ultimate is useful in certain situations:


**[[image:Axe_and_hammer.JPG]]The axe and hammer tree skill Heaven's Flame is the best in terms of its debuff effect and versatility. This skill is a radial AoE (12 meters with an extra 8m range modifier) that has a 100% damage amplifier at level 10 (x2 damage). The amplifier debuff lasts 6 seconds normally and 9 seconds for the demon version at level 99. This skill speeds up AoE grinding, drastically decreases the amount of time it takes to kill dungeon bosses, and is invaluable for extra spike damage in PvP and TW. However, the base damage output from the skill itself is the lowest of all the ultimates, and therefore using the skill is not recommended if you want to kill something with your 2 sparks.


**[[image:Polearm.JPG]] The polearm tree skill Glacial Spike is the best in terms of spike damage combined with debuff power. This is also a radial AoE skill (12 meters) that has a 50% physical and magical defense reducer at level 10. The debuff lasts 10 seconds normally and the demon version has a 50% chance to make all hits critical for 5 seconds. In most cases the defense reducer is not as good as dragons, but it is useful in PvP when an another person has a lot of physical or magical defense, and the debuff may actually cause more damage to be dealt than dragons. Furthermore, physical defense debuffs may cause more bleed damage to be dealt from draw blood and piercing winds.


**[[image:Blade_and_sword_revision.JPG]] The blade and sword tree skill Myriad Sword Stance has the highest base damage out of all the ultimates. This is another radial AoE skill (12 meters with an extra 8m range modifier) and has a 50% base physical and magical attack reducer at level 10. The debuff lasts for 15 seconds normally and the demon version gives the skill a 50% chance to stun for 3 seconds (unknown whether this means a 50% chance for everything under the AoE to be stunned or a 50% chance applied to every individual target). This skill may be useful in PvE when battling mobs and bosses that have a chance of inflicting much damage on a squad, but this makes the skill more situational than other ultimates, and therefore the debuff is less useful. However, the base damage output from the skill is good for dealing lots of damage.


**[[image:Fist.JPG]] The fist weapon tree skill Drake's Breath Bash ties with Glacial Spike for base damage. This is a linear AoE skill (12 meters) and gives a 80% element buff for normal hits at level 10. The buff lasts for 15 seconds normally and the demon version gives the skill a 135% bonus to fire damage. This skill is probably the worst of all the ultimates because it may only be used in a situation where something will be taking many hits constantly (a dungeon boss for example). Also the buff only applies to normal hits implying that the skill is only useful when fists are used. This skill is not helpful to all people in a party which makes it much less useful than other ultimates.