Building a decent sword - Guild Wars Forums

Jhored Tallspear · Feb 22, 2006, 12:39 PM // 12:39

Hi all,

Wonder if you can help.

I have been running around with a FDS like a newb for far too long now, and need to think about building myself a decent weapon.

I have a cruel hilt ready, but don't want to waste it on a rubbish blade.

Can anyone tell me what the best level of sword damage I am likely to see out there is, where will i find one (ideally a long sword or scimitar) or if I have to pay for it, what I acn expect to be stung for?

Many thanks

Raxxman · Feb 22, 2006, 12:46 PM // 12:46

cheaply, droks forge offers a perfect longsword (gladius skin however) +15^50 for 5 plat + some iron (easy to get) and steel (little more complex, but still easy)

Also you can get a stance rinblade from a collector for I think troll tusks.

Droks is the best for a cheap decent weapon, even if it a small blade (I'm sure it long for a dwarf

)

Reverend Jekyll · Feb 22, 2006, 12:46 PM // 12:46

Max sword damage is 15-22. You can have one crafted at Droknar's Forge that has a +15% damage when health is above 50% mod. If you are looking for stats... That's the best you can do (imo).

If I recall correctly, the Drok sword uses the Longsword skin.

AxeMe · Feb 22, 2006, 01:02 PM // 13:02

As far as mods for a 15^50 sword, I favor vampiric and +5 armor. If you go that way, however, it's smart to have another sword - without vampiric - in the second weapon slot.

A lot depends on how you play. There are some who avoid the vampiric mod but since - in my opinion - it's the only hilt that offers a noticeable increase in damage, it's worthwhile. You did get some stolen life when using it as well -- that's not the main reason for vampiric but it's not a bad bonus.

You'll find that when you get past the 15^50 decision that there is not universal agreement on hilt and pommel. For instance, some prefer the pricey +30 health mod instead of armor. I disagree but I've seen some make a decent case for that mod.

Avarre · Feb 22, 2006, 01:10 PM // 13:10

For PvE, a zealous sword (+15% in stance/enchanted depending on style) of +5 armor is usually best/close to.

You're not going to go below 30 life, so the +30 mod is useless... might as well stick on the armor mod and stay even higher. You might go low, and since most wars are perma in stance...

Course, that's all up to opinion.

xiv · Feb 22, 2006, 01:11 PM // 13:11

just as they said im more of an axe man myself but ive got a droks axe 15 while enchanted req 9.
ur main thing is to ask urself these questions. which do u prefer:
stances
enchants
or maybe would u rather hit higher when:
ur health is over 50
or below 50

the most common is health over 50
but if ur like me u always run around with mending and balths aurura (believe thats the enchant one)

btw if ur interested i have a perf req 8 sundering of fortitude 15^50 if ur interested 150k.

and the best damage is 15-22 with a 15% mod on it or maybe a 20% mod if u go with while hexed or under 50 health.

theres also is btw 15% always mods but some of the secondarys to that aren't good like -1 energy regen. -5 armour while attacking and somemore but i think u catch t he drift. neways i hope this helped

LordMahal · Feb 22, 2006, 01:27 PM // 13:27

The droks sword is not in long sword skin even though it says long sword. Its the same sword that Stefan the hench uses. It looks like crap, but its the cheapest way to go. 15% extra damage, in stance, enchanted, always or over 50% health is a better way to go than 20% damage under 50% health. With customize it all equals 35% more damage. Hilts and grips depend on what you want to do. Sundering is pointless, dont be a sucker. Its just a fancy word and nothing more. Get yourself a grip that fits your needs, whether its HP, enchantment, slaying etc. Zealous really only helps with Hundred Blades, and you wont get that till the very very end. Elemental, helps, so does barbed since a good skill is sever artery. I personally have different swords for different places... but you dont have to go that route.

brianff6 · Feb 22, 2006, 01:30 PM // 13:30

All good advice...it just boils down to how much you want to spend. However what I would recomend is just to buy a victos blade. They are nice and cheap max damage swords (15-20K) with a life stealing of 3 and +30 hit points...so if you customise it can be quite nice

I wouldnt really consider a FDS noobish though...I have one and still use it alot. Its not the weapon that matters, it's the way you use it. But like I said it is really just personal choice

Rancour · Feb 22, 2006, 01:52 PM // 13:52

Just a quick piece of info: the skin/name of the weapon has absolutely NO affect on damage, speed or anything else.
All swords can have a max damage of 15-22, be they Fellblades or Short Swords. Some are just rarer than others. The rarest is the Crystalline Sword (looks stupid in my opinion) and the least rare is... Probably the Short Sword.
The only sword that will always be worse than the others, is the Fiery Dragon Sword (and it's Icy counter-part). You can't change the prefix mod, and that sucks. Plus, cold steel looks a TRILLION times better than the Rurik-wannabe FDS.
Granted, it's not THE most important thing, but you might want to use Furious instead of Fiery as a prefix. Furious is my favourite mod prefix.

Battle Torn · Feb 22, 2006, 03:53 PM // 15:53

Ye Furious rocks... anything that gives you more adrenalin for your Garlath and final thrust

also you may wish to put a 30hp mod on your sword

and pair this with another zealous sword with 30hp and switch between them during battle depending on your needs. I find these two swords to be the best combination.

Jetdoc · Feb 22, 2006, 03:56 PM // 15:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Avarre

You're not going to go below 30 life, so the +30 mod is useless....

I whole-heartedly disagree with this concept in PvE, but that's another debate.

Avarre · Feb 23, 2006, 12:40 PM // 12:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jetdoc

I whole-heartedly disagree with this concept in PvE, but that's another debate.

*growl*

Say you have no weapon mods on your sword... you have 480 (example) life. You fight, go down to 80 life, win. Having a +30 would not have helped, because it only gives you the actual benefit when you normally would have died. Armor on the other hand, slows the damage you receive, making it even less likely to reach that point. Since most real tanks in PvE never reach 0 hp (and thus don't, in effect, require the +30 bonus) then how can you say it is superior?

But yes, another debate... armor mod is cheaper in any case, so meh.

Raxxman · Feb 23, 2006, 01:27 PM // 13:27

I concur with Avarre on the armour mod. It's better to NOT take the dammage in the first place than to have a bigger hp pool in which to stress the monks out just that little bit more.

And the sword at droks is the gladius skin, not the one stefan uses, thats a collectors stance sword

SnipiousMax · Feb 24, 2006, 02:38 AM // 02:38

I also agree with Avarre, if you within 30 points of dying... to be honest, the death blow is gonna fall next. It's very rare that you get to 30 hits, and then survive. If your group is doing even marginally well you should stay well above 30. I guess there's always that freak chance that you managed to save the day because you have 2 hits left when you finally got away and managed to rez your entire group back....but is it really worth the astronomical costs?

On another note....what about Pommels of Sword Mastery +1 (20% Chance) has anyone worked out the math to see if that's actually worth using?

Savio · Feb 24, 2006, 02:57 AM // 02:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by LordMahal

The droks sword is not in long sword skin even though it says long sword. Its the same sword that Stefan the hench uses. It looks like crap, but its the cheapest way to go.

The collector outside of Dunes of Despair has the Rinblade skin with +15% while enchanted. The Droknar's Forge crafter has the Gladius skin with 15>50.

@the OP: if you want a pretty good sword for doing damage, consider buying a Victo's Blade. It's 15>50, 3:1 vampiric, and +30 health for around 20-25k right now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SnipiousMax

I guess there's always that freak chance that you managed to save the day because you have 2 hits left when you finally got away and managed to rez your entire group back....but is it really worth the astronomical costs?

No, not really worth its value compared to how much Defense costs, but Fortitude isn't strictly worse than Defense in all situations.

onilink · Feb 24, 2006, 03:10 AM // 03:10

Quote:

No, not really worth its value compared to how much Defense costs, but Fortitude isn't strictly worse than Defense in all situations.

Care to laborate on that? I'm interested in what situations fort. would be superior to Defense.

Savio · Feb 24, 2006, 03:16 AM // 03:16

Degen and armor-ignoring damage - most +damage on attacks ignore armor, as well as quite a few spells. Plus as a Warrior you already should have a significant amount of armor along with armor-buffing skills, so 5 more armor isn't that critical.

Francis Crawford · Feb 24, 2006, 06:42 AM // 06:42

If Vampiric is good than so is Zealous, unless you have no use for energy.

With maximum Vampiric you steal 1.5 secs of regen per hit.
With Zealous you get 3 secs of regen per hit.

As for +1 attribute mods -- well, how much more powerful does +1 in an attribute make you? What's 20% of that worth?

Compared with Fortitude +30, which makes you 5% or so less squishy, or Armor +5, which makes you 8% or so less squishy vs. most but not all threats, a 100% chance of a +1 attribute boost MIGHT be better. But 20%? No way.

To look at a different comparison, suppose a Superior Rune of Swordsmanship carried a 300 point health reduction. Would you even consider using it? I doubt it. Well, a 20% chance of +1 increase is about 1/10 as good as a certainty of a +2 increase. So there's no way that an attribute pommel is nearly as good as +30 pommel, or for that matter as a fortitude pommel in the low 20s, which you can buy essentially for "free".

Nater · Feb 24, 2006, 06:55 AM // 06:55

I've always used the following rule:

+Armor for PvE
+ HP for PvP

Most attacks against a warrior in PvP that kill you aren't going to be attacks where armor is going to matter much anyways. At most you're going to have 7 people raining normal attacks against you(which as a warrior, when has that happened and you still had a chance at winning?)...its usually the degen and armor ignoring spells that get ya.

Avarre · Feb 24, 2006, 10:33 AM // 10:33

Basically what Nater says is correct, although for PvP I would (I mean, if I had a warrior) use both swords, switching depending on situation.

Quote:

If Vampiric is good than so is Zealous, unless you have no use for energy.

zealous is the best hilt for PvE, in my opinion.

The +skill pommel is pretty trashy, for the same reasons sundering isn't considered very good. Francis explained the basics of that.

Feb 22, 2006, 12:39 PM // 12:39	#1
Jhored Tallspear Ascalonian Squire Join Date: Jan 2006 Guild: Warriors of England (WOE) Profession: W/Mo	Building a decent sword Hi all, Wonder if you can help. I have been running around with a FDS like a newb for far too long now, and need to think about building myself a decent weapon. I have a cruel hilt ready, but don't want to waste it on a rubbish blade. Can anyone tell me what the best level of sword damage I am likely to see out there is, where will i find one (ideally a long sword or scimitar) or if I have to pay for it, what I acn expect to be stung for? Many thanks

Feb 22, 2006, 01:30 PM // 13:30	#8
brianff6 Pre-Searing Cadet Join Date: Feb 2006	All good advice...it just boils down to how much you want to spend. However what I would recomend is just to buy a victos blade. They are nice and cheap max damage swords (15-20K) with a life stealing of 3 and +30 hit points...so if you customise it can be quite nice I wouldnt really consider a FDS noobish though...I have one and still use it alot. Its not the weapon that matters, it's the way you use it. But like I said it is really just personal choice Last edited by brianff6; Feb 22, 2006 at 01:37 PM // 13:37..

Feb 24, 2006, 03:16 AM // 03:16	#17
Savio Teenager with attitude Join Date: Jul 2005 Guild: Fifteen Over Fifty [Rare]	Degen and armor-ignoring damage - most +damage on attacks ignore armor, as well as quite a few spells. Plus as a Warrior you already should have a significant amount of armor along with armor-buffing skills, so 5 more armor isn't that critical. __________________ People are stupid.

Feb 22, 2006, 12:46 PM // 12:46	#2
Raxxman Krytan Explorer Join Date: Dec 2005 Guild: TEOC Profession: W/N	cheaply, droks forge offers a perfect longsword (gladius skin however) +15^50 for 5 plat + some iron (easy to get) and steel (little more complex, but still easy) Also you can get a stance rinblade from a collector for I think troll tusks. Droks is the best for a cheap decent weapon, even if it a small blade (I'm sure it long for a dwarf )

Feb 22, 2006, 12:46 PM // 12:46	#3
Reverend Jekyll Ascalonian Squire Join Date: Jan 2006 Guild: The Army of None (AON) Profession: Mo/E	Max sword damage is 15-22. You can have one crafted at Droknar's Forge that has a +15% damage when health is above 50% mod. If you are looking for stats... That's the best you can do (imo). If I recall correctly, the Drok sword uses the Longsword skin.

Feb 22, 2006, 01:02 PM // 13:02	#4
AxeMe Lion's Arch Merchant Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Atlanta Guild: HEX Profession: W/	As far as mods for a 15^50 sword, I favor vampiric and +5 armor. If you go that way, however, it's smart to have another sword - without vampiric - in the second weapon slot. A lot depends on how you play. There are some who avoid the vampiric mod but since - in my opinion - it's the only hilt that offers a noticeable increase in damage, it's worthwhile. You did get some stolen life when using it as well -- that's not the main reason for vampiric but it's not a bad bonus. You'll find that when you get past the 15^50 decision that there is not universal agreement on hilt and pommel. For instance, some prefer the pricey +30 health mod instead of armor. I disagree but I've seen some make a decent case for that mod.

Feb 22, 2006, 01:10 PM // 13:10	#5
Avarre Bubblegum Patrol Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Singapore Armed Forces	For PvE, a zealous sword (+15% in stance/enchanted depending on style) of +5 armor is usually best/close to. You're not going to go below 30 life, so the +30 mod is useless... might as well stick on the armor mod and stay even higher. You might go low, and since most wars are perma in stance... Course, that's all up to opinion.

Feb 22, 2006, 01:11 PM // 13:11	#6
xiv Frost Gate Guardian Join Date: Dec 2005 Guild: sins will never vanish [NoiR] Profession: Mo/Me	just as they said im more of an axe man myself but ive got a droks axe 15 while enchanted req 9. ur main thing is to ask urself these questions. which do u prefer: stances enchants or maybe would u rather hit higher when: ur health is over 50 or below 50 the most common is health over 50 but if ur like me u always run around with mending and balths aurura (believe thats the enchant one) btw if ur interested i have a perf req 8 sundering of fortitude 15^50 if ur interested 150k. and the best damage is 15-22 with a 15% mod on it or maybe a 20% mod if u go with while hexed or under 50 health. theres also is btw 15% always mods but some of the secondarys to that aren't good like -1 energy regen. -5 armour while attacking and somemore but i think u catch t he drift. neways i hope this helped

Feb 22, 2006, 01:27 PM // 13:27	#7
LordMahal Krytan Explorer Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Germany Profession: R/Mo	The droks sword is not in long sword skin even though it says long sword. Its the same sword that Stefan the hench uses. It looks like crap, but its the cheapest way to go. 15% extra damage, in stance, enchanted, always or over 50% health is a better way to go than 20% damage under 50% health. With customize it all equals 35% more damage. Hilts and grips depend on what you want to do. Sundering is pointless, dont be a sucker. Its just a fancy word and nothing more. Get yourself a grip that fits your needs, whether its HP, enchantment, slaying etc. Zealous really only helps with Hundred Blades, and you wont get that till the very very end. Elemental, helps, so does barbed since a good skill is sever artery. I personally have different swords for different places... but you dont have to go that route.

Feb 22, 2006, 01:52 PM // 13:52	#9
Rancour Wilds Pathfinder Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Camp Rancor (Rancour :D) Guild: I'm a free spirit (that's not what the guild is called, I just am) Profession: W/R	Just a quick piece of info: the skin/name of the weapon has absolutely NO affect on damage, speed or anything else. All swords can have a max damage of 15-22, be they Fellblades or Short Swords. Some are just rarer than others. The rarest is the Crystalline Sword (looks stupid in my opinion) and the least rare is... Probably the Short Sword. The only sword that will always be worse than the others, is the Fiery Dragon Sword (and it's Icy counter-part). You can't change the prefix mod, and that sucks. Plus, cold steel looks a TRILLION times better than the Rurik-wannabe FDS. Granted, it's not THE most important thing, but you might want to use Furious instead of Fiery as a prefix. Furious is my favourite mod prefix.

Feb 22, 2006, 03:53 PM // 15:53	#10
Battle Torn Krytan Explorer Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Scotland Profession: W/Mo	Ye Furious rocks... anything that gives you more adrenalin for your Garlath and final thrust also you may wish to put a 30hp mod on your sword and pair this with another zealous sword with 30hp and switch between them during battle depending on your needs. I find these two swords to be the best combination.

Feb 23, 2006, 01:27 PM // 13:27	#13
Raxxman Krytan Explorer Join Date: Dec 2005 Guild: TEOC Profession: W/N	I concur with Avarre on the armour mod. It's better to NOT take the dammage in the first place than to have a bigger hp pool in which to stress the monks out just that little bit more. And the sword at droks is the gladius skin, not the one stefan uses, thats a collectors stance sword

Feb 24, 2006, 02:38 AM // 02:38	#14
SnipiousMax Perfectly Elocuted Join Date: Sep 2005	I also agree with Avarre, if you within 30 points of dying... to be honest, the death blow is gonna fall next. It's very rare that you get to 30 hits, and then survive. If your group is doing even marginally well you should stay well above 30. I guess there's always that freak chance that you managed to save the day because you have 2 hits left when you finally got away and managed to rez your entire group back....but is it really worth the astronomical costs? On another note....what about Pommels of Sword Mastery +1 (20% Chance) has anyone worked out the math to see if that's actually worth using?

Feb 24, 2006, 06:42 AM // 06:42	#18
Francis Crawford Forge Runner Join Date: Dec 2005	If Vampiric is good than so is Zealous, unless you have no use for energy. With maximum Vampiric you steal 1.5 secs of regen per hit. With Zealous you get 3 secs of regen per hit. As for +1 attribute mods -- well, how much more powerful does +1 in an attribute make you? What's 20% of that worth? Compared with Fortitude +30, which makes you 5% or so less squishy, or Armor +5, which makes you 8% or so less squishy vs. most but not all threats, a 100% chance of a +1 attribute boost MIGHT be better. But 20%? No way. To look at a different comparison, suppose a Superior Rune of Swordsmanship carried a 300 point health reduction. Would you even consider using it? I doubt it. Well, a 20% chance of +1 increase is about 1/10 as good as a certainty of a +2 increase. So there's no way that an attribute pommel is nearly as good as +30 pommel, or for that matter as a fortitude pommel in the low 20s, which you can buy essentially for "free".

Feb 24, 2006, 06:55 AM // 06:55	#19
Nater Lion's Arch Merchant Join Date: Nov 2005 Guild: Illusion Of Skill Profession: W/	I've always used the following rule: +Armor for PvE + HP for PvP Most attacks against a warrior in PvP that kill you aren't going to be attacks where armor is going to matter much anyways. At most you're going to have 7 people raining normal attacks against you(which as a warrior, when has that happened and you still had a chance at winning?)...its usually the degen and armor ignoring spells that get ya.