In the second part of this PvP Blademaster Build series, I am going to cover statistics and gear for what I would call a heavy gear build. As I mentioned in the first part of this guide. I stat differently until level 89, then we bring it all together and become a complete multi-class blademaster. But, for the heavy build we are only going to focus on two weapon paths. But even more so, we are going to focus on one weapon, depending on the amount of spirit points you have laying around.
For the Heavy class BM, you will be focusing on Axes, and Swords. These two weapons complement each other quite nicely. Axes are spike damage and lowest speed weapons, along with being the primary AOE weapons skill-wise. While swords are much quicker, and are going to give you a much higher DPS, in a 1v1 setting. They are not geared towards AOE, but will be much more suited to PvP play.
So, what this means is you have a decision to make. If you are planning to PvP early in game, I would suggest you concentrate on sword skills. If you are looking for AOE and just really like using axes, the focus on axe skills. But, we will get there.
STATS
First off I want to quickly cover stats:
Blademasters should always wear heavy gear, always, always, always. I do not care if you are trying to be a high dex. Claw BM, if you want extra dex get it in your armor bonuses. If you want to be a light armor melee then you should be playing an Assassin.
Anyway,
For the stats on this build, Look at your needs. You need 3str per level for axes. You need 1.5dex per level for swords. But there are some other considerations here that you will need to make. I would look way far ahead at level 101. At this point, you will be multi-pathed in all the weapons and your maxes are, 305str for level 100 axes, and 198dex for level 100 claws. At 3str per level you will hit your 305str right at level 101. Your Dex is a little different. Basically we are looking at 200dex.
To hit 200dex through stat allocation alone, you are looking at 2dex per level, that would put you at 205 at level 101. The extra 5 caused by the initial 5dex you start with. This means you can put it in VIT or STR. I would put it in VIT. But, there are other options.
There are stat bonuses. Personally I would not rely on them ever in order to make your minimum stats. Except for one exception. And that is Tomes. There are two mystical tomes you could look at. One is a Level 4 Tome called The Rose's Thorn. It is a +20dex tome. And then there is the level 5 Tome called A Strange Kindness, giving you a +20dex and a +1% crit.
These are expensive options. But, you free up some options with these tomes. You are either now able to build your stats at 3str per level, 1.75dex per level, and 0.25vit per level. Or, you can still go with the 3str, 2dex build and you could still add one of the tomes and end up with +1% or in the case of the level 5 tome, a plus 2% crit bonus.
So, to wrap up the stat talk.
For those unwilling to spend the dough on the level 4 or 5 tome:
3str, 2dex never altering that
For those willing to make that investment, either will work:
3str, 2dex with the tome to give the extra evasion/accuracy and crit
3str, 1.75dex, 0.25vit to give you a little extra survivablity
Personally, I would go with a 3str, 2dex build, but, I would set aside, or drop 5 of those stat points into VIT. After you have hit level 101, you can see if you are going to be able to either use those to increase your crit % more or if you just might as well use it in VIT.
There have been many different mentalities in the stat builds for BM's through the years. Generally speaking, when I first started playing the game, most Blademasters were not multipathing. Most were axes and that was the only decision you could make. Most people felt that claws were garbage, and swords and poles, not much better than claws. My first attempt at a Blademaster was strictly a sword Blademaster. And once I broke level 70 I really began to see my error. Just in general solo questing/grinding situations. You are left in a really bad position when all you have to fight in close to a mob, and all the mobs around you aggro. And you are fighting with a weapon that is really built for solo fighting. I actually left that Blademaster for dead and moved away from Perfect world for a bit. When I came back the mentality had changed. More and more Blademasters were multipathing, so I went and started a new Blademaster. This one was a much better experience, and I still have this one, even though I never really play him anymore. I built him with the 3str, 1.75dex, 0.25vit build with the idea that I would get the tome. Currently he is level 92, and I do not have the tome yet. But he is a much better build. Survivability is not an issue.
Weapons?
This is really just personal preference at this point. You can use either swords or axes with no problems. But, if you are looking for simple. Go with axes. You will have less thinking at lower levels, and you will get AOE's and then you will be moving along quite nicely. Swords will take a little more effort. Let me break it down in a little more detail for you though.
Axes:
Axes are going to give you a high spike damage number. Your DPS will be in the toilet, but when you start getting your AOE skills, you start to see why so many people used to choose axes for their builds. Your APS will be low, but when you are doing damage on 4, 5, 6, and more mobs at the same time, the numbers look pretty impressive, and on top of that, if you use Martial arts scrolls or hyper stones, AOE grinding is a really way to level quickly. Downside? Axes are crowd control, they are not going to be the best choice in PvP, unless you are talking TW, which we are not talking about unless you are probably level 80 or better. For 1v1 PvP, axes may not get the job done, Unless you are able to get a stun lock in, But with genies and what not, stun locking is not as easy as it used to be and it was never very easy to begin with.
Swords:
This is what makes swords and axes a good combination. Axes are fine and dandy in large groups of mobs, but a sword BM is going to do more DPS on single targets all day long. This means that low level grinding, before AOE's start to come into play, a sword blademaster is going to be able to finish off mobs quicker. And don't get me wrong, swords still have AOE's. You will still have access to skills like fan of flames and drakes sweep. Not the best ones, I know, but they are still available and still do in a pinch.
My thoughts are this. I think that spirit is ALWAYS a problem and this is why I suggest you to pick a path and stick with it, until your at least in your 60's, and have all your skills maxed, then you can turn your attention to the other path.
But, I am not a complete stickler. I would go with swords to begin the game. But, at level 20 and then again at level 50 you have the option to get free axes/hammers, and I would take those weapons, and at level 39 you can get the skill called Highland Cleave, which is a axe skill. I would learn it, you will have to learn drakes bash too but that is not important right now. With Highland Cleave, fan of flames and drake sweep, you have a three way AOE that will get the job done. fan of flames is a frontal spray instead of a radial but it is something.
That is all I really have for today. I could talk about gear, but I think I will wait. Cover gear in its own post. This is already much longer than I expected. Thank you for reading My Perfect World Tips blog.
8a6dd052197dd7adbd5ddc30c9b5ca25acc17d00e0a62e8e90
-So, that is my first means to income in Perfect World now. I have two cat shops. I buy and sell products that people get and people need. I sell higher than I buy. I, unfortunately will not say what I sell, but what I will tell you is, location matters most. If you are going to sell something that is used at a NPC of some sort. Make sure you set up shop near to that NPC. And sometimes, if you want to buy that same something for cheap, make sure you set up a different shop in the area most people will have that item. It can be a slow way to make money sometimes, but I am not into some of the faster ways. This is tried and true, and I always make money, every single day.
-The second way I make money is with Jolly Jones quests. I am guessing everyone and their brother already know about this and are abusing it regularly. My method is this: I have 5 accounts that I use regularly. Each one of my accounts have 5 toons. I have 1 toon that is over lvl 100, and reawakened at least 1 time. I have one toon that is over 80 but less than 100, and that is the toon I save for catshops. They are all in their areas, and all I have to do is log them in and set up the shop, when I want to work on that specific item. Then I have a level 80, a level 70 and a level 60 toon on each account, that I leave at Jones. This means at the bare minimum I make 110,000 for the level 60, I make 131,000 for the level 70 and I make 158,000 for the level 80 each day for a total of 399,000 per account, or 1,995,000 across the 5 accounts.
