Swords are still underpowered

    • Swords are still underpowered

      I would like to first start off this post with a little context. Hi my name is moking and i have predicted almost every meta shift and weapon and armor nerf/buff in this game. I have been playing this game longer than most founders and i know what I'm talking about, one only needs to read my past post to attest to this statement.

      With that out of the way lets talk about swords. Previously i have made several post outlining the issues with this weapon and i have been proven correct multiple times through patch notes. So here i am again after taking several months break from the game since the release of avalonian roads and the issue is still just as prevalent. But to make matters worse the additional content added to the game seems to have blinded people about the current status of swords. I outlined the main issues with the swords and its brief history in the previous post linked below. So i will be only mentioning new information and giving a quick summary of issues i already stated.

      Swords Are still Bad Don't let hype train fool you.

      Swords need a rework

      Sword Abilities Scaling and Damage

      Heroic strike - This Ability does very little damage, increases your movement speed, attack speed, by granting you heroic charges. The problem ? the movement speed was already completely worthless and now its even worse than before, Attack speed is also a problem, because swords do not scale with attack speed. The base attack speed of a sword is too low to benefit from the added attack speed, not to mention this does not increase attack damage. And as a result of this game being ability based , it is a wasted addition to the heroic charges mechanic. Essentially your running around with a wet mop wackin people in the hopes that you do some damage. Increase the weight of attack speed for swords

      Solution to reworking this Q -

      Heroic strike - Does (xxx + %) damage to target, Applies Heroic charge.

      Heroic charge grants - xxx Auto attack damage (20) (40) (60), ( 5) (10) (15) xxx attack speed, stacks up to 3 times. (Movement speed removed, 10 - 15 percent MS applied to entire sword line).

      (The goal here is to start with low percentage values and high uptime or vice versa , observe the sustained damage and tweak the duration of stacks and percentages accordingly).

      Sword W line - Interrupt needs to be reworked wont go into detail here as i have already done so before.

      Iron will - Needs to have its movement speed reduced to match base movement speed added to swords. Uptime increased, Damage resistance increased substantially, purge immunity stays. (Added heroic charge removed) ( New icon A floating shield) (Heroic sheild appplied)

      Hamstring - just remove it, and rework. It has no place in Albion.

      Splitting Slash - Just rework it, i warned you before, you changed the stand time bravo, but i told you it wouldnt fix the skill. Remove and rework.

      Parry strike - I was against the addition of this skill, as i knew the power budget of the w line would tunnel here. Its been nerfed and changed enough to prove why i didnt want this added to begin with. The focus should have always been reworking the other w skills not adding a new one to hide the fact the others are garbage. As it is now its good.No changes needed.


      Sword E skills -

      Claymore Stun needs to be removed, its an old relic of a claymore ganking era, in which you removed the root and added a useless stun that bugs out the weapon causing you to deal zero damage on three stacks at times. Replace With an added heroic charge.

      Broadsword , you need to reduce the stand time after the e is used slightly, the animation is abysmal. Other than that its a great skill.

      Dual swords - No issues, other than standard displacement after leap screwing you over. This skill needs reduced cooldowns when displaced by another ability.

      Clarent blade - A literal joke of Albion. Just Hard rework it.

      Carving - Is fine

      Galas - needs to have Iron will mechanic activated after its use, while also granting 1 heroic charge. ( heroic sheild + heroic charge).

      Passives - with the changes i listed above each passive will now be as equally lucrative to pick, and will be extremely useful in a diverse set of scenarios.

    • swords in my opinion are auto attack heavy melee dps
      that sticks to the target like glue

      since the nerf to attack speed and move speed (sword stacks) due to corrupteds swords have a harder time dishing out dps with their autos due to everyone moving and all

      Q Line
      infact the q deal equal to or less damage compared to other weapon lines due to the attack speed and move speed buff being a thing
      move speed and attack speed is an important part of sword playstyle and is very valuable in SBI eyes

      Auto Attacks
      and also swords has good base attack speed among melees as it is only surpassed by daggers
      resulting in a high dps per second among melee weapons
      but that effective damage per second is reduced when chasing someone cause you are melee

      W line
      i agree parry strike is the main skill because it provides a defence and much needed aoe damage

      other skills need a buff but not a full on rework like you said
      because parry strike is just that good. other skills need to be stronger to stand a chance

      interupt is more as a auto attack buffer

      iron will is a versatile chase or run skill used to set up sword one shot builds and can stay the way it is. infact it needs to be reverted back to 4 seconds to be on par with mage robe purge

      hamstring is a lockdown skill used by leather sword users to make sure their target does not run away but chossing it makes you give up mobility skill or a eyeframe from parry strike

      splitting slash is from a by gone era and is only used cause swords lack a long range ability and a cc for their w skills. this need to be reworked cause its out shined by many other w skills

      E skills
      every e skill is mostly fine except clarent is fine clarent does laughable damage for an E
      though i dont understand the process of nerfing gala so much when you introduced realm breaker rework with 20%hp reduction
      dual swords need a cooldown/AoE buff to be viable in my opinion and a stand time/travel time buff to reduce klunkyness like you have done for the bear paws to make it more fluent like bearpaws
      Check out My new Albion Online Expansion idea 4 thread:
      https://forum.albiononline.com/index.php/Thread/143592-Albion-Online-Expansion-Idea-4/

    • i got to take a reality check with you in that and let me compare indepth

      Q skills
      both have mobility, single target and aoe choices

      W skills both have eyeframe , mobility , cc and aoe choices

      1h dagger vs 1h broad sword
      both have sustain damage and ways to mitigate damage but both are considered single target
      1h dagger is more bursty while 1h sword with 10second E deals burst in a few short casts

      dual dagger, deathgiver,blackhands vs claymore
      this is under the category of one shot builds which these weapons are best known for
      way of setting up is diffrent but they have the same goal of one shotting the target
      claymore has the added advantage of stun and on click targeting

      claws
      pure ganking with unrivaled performance compared to sword

      dual sword and clarent blade
      have been out of relevence due to better choices present

      bloodletter vs carving sword
      blood letter the most famous weapon and best suited for openworld but see play in almost anywhere
      against carving which has the same amount of mobility for E skill

      both rely on autos and Q W skills to have some hit and run tactic or full on get the other side low to execute playstyle

      ZvZ galatine, kingmaker vs bridled fury
      all zvz oriented weapons that has the same playstyle of stacking up damage buffs and wiping the floor of a group
      galatine has more aoe while kingmaker has more damage? bridled fury comes with its own hit and reset function

      they almost have the same amount of damage after taking into account resilience penetration and resistance

      so if i have to say which is better i would say daggers have the upperhand cause though they are more fragile the damage they can output is enough to take someone out of a fight near instantly if they are not careful and some of the one shot builds like dual dagger and deathgiver has a large skill gap where the players can use to outplay compared to claymore which is a almost one trick pony with the keeper cape

      zvz and small group play daggers mainly bloodletter can function as a brawler with high mobility and execute to finish off low targets that the ranged dps have soften woth their aoe

      while swords still have relevence as a brawler due to their innate base health and damage from autos and sword stacks they lack versatility that dagger has
      such as purge(black hands), catch potential (claws), execute(bloodletter), and one shot(dual daggers)

      they (swords) are just too much the same. they provide just damage or forms of increasing damage in E skill in exchange for reaching 3 stacks and nothing else
      kingmaker was the first to provide some aoe cc that daggers do not have but other than that there is just not enough utility in the sword tree to justify it being better than daggers in most senarios

      swords are put in an akward situation where they do not have enough single target damage to compare with daggers and yet not enough aoe damage to be better then axes in that department either
      swords just feel like a balance of aoe, single target and defences where there is no strong point or weak point. a perfectly balance weapon in all aspects

      and that is what makes it feel weak in comparison to other weapon lines where they have a specific strong point and weakness which players exploit to gain an advantage

      so in the end swords are abit weak and needs a few buffs and reworks to make it inline similar to what you have done for spears and axes

      sorry for my rant. it is just swords are a sore spot for me even though it is a good weapon but other weapons just have better numbers for they role they are designed to do
      Check out My new Albion Online Expansion idea 4 thread:
      https://forum.albiononline.com/index.php/Thread/143592-Albion-Online-Expansion-Idea-4/

    • mate, i see your first post on the forums is in 2019...

      all your threads are bitching about swords being underpowered.


      can you please link me where did you predict the meta shift from fallen to nature in early 2019?
      can you tell me where did you predict the meta shift from double backline to frontline dive in late 2019?

      Parry had to be massivelly nerfed and swords were a mainstay in zvz for the longest time (and are used even now with great effect), they are being used very successfully in crystal gvgs right now. could you please elaborate on your points more other than generic shit like 'it's like slapping someone with a wet mop' and instead post numbers etc, oh god of meta predictions?

      you cringe bud, especially with that introduction

    • I agree SBI has pretty killed sword line. I mean this was not ok If You were going to buff the other weapons... Why would You do That? It now has worst mobility really near to spear. From decent to total shiet is awful. Non of his abilities have the mobility compared to daggers ( Q sword needs to be hit while daggers have 2 jumps at Q and W) and área damage is Even worst Than Spears... Axes have Taken their places at ZvZ, gvg and Crystal, don't Even mention ganking.

      I thinks needs a buff at damage or at least buff 9% speed stack to 10% and see.

    • DartheIncarnate wrote:

      mate, i see your first post on the forums is in 2019...

      all your threads are bitching about swords being underpowered.


      can you please link me where did you predict the meta shift from fallen to nature in early 2019?
      can you tell me where did you predict the meta shift from double backline to frontline dive in late 2019?

      Parry had to be massivelly nerfed and swords were a mainstay in zvz for the longest time (and are used even now with great effect), they are being used very successfully in crystal gvgs right now. could you please elaborate on your points more other than generic shit like 'it's like slapping someone with a wet mop' and instead post numbers etc, oh god of meta predictions?

      you cringe bud, especially with that introduction
      Been playing since Beta through brutus update all the way through queen. This is not my main account smooth brain.

      Yes because Swords have been bad for years. Lowest generated fame for a long time, was not present in gvg meta at all until clarent blade. Then that was nerfed. Swords saw zero play in the open world after the claymore nerf. No ffame farm group would accept a sword as the dps was just to low. Swords literally used to have a taunt passive , that's how confused the devs are when it comes to this weapon.

      Devs called it a "defensive weapon" A "bruiser chaser weapon" it does none of things properly and is evidence of confusing design choices from retroman. They literally have no idea what they want to do with this weapon. Meanwhile bloodletter, one handed crossbow and others are rolling their face across the key board nuking groups of people, so silly.

      Parry was nerfed because it desreved it , But it does not mean swords was strong , every other w was trash at the time and still is to this day. Without parry we go back to defaulting to iron will. Oh and my bitching about swords got Iron will reverted to giving a heroic charge back.


      In 5v5 swords are worthless, its the stalker hood doing all of the work and ally dps. You do zero dps without stalker hood ZERO. Please show me some crystal gvgs with the sword carrying the team or doing any significant thing. You cant, even at the highest play you are a execute bot.

      Then comes along a real melee weapon ( Deathgivers) and it took over the place of swords instantly in 5v5.You know why? because it does damage without the need to use stalker hood.


      You are waaay out of your depth.Swords cant compete with actual real dps weapons'.

    • Swords are probably the stickiest weapon in the game, their Q stacks have the highest m/s of any single ability (1.485 m/s). While I don't think swords are very underpowered, they should have better w options and zvz presence. Iron will should have its duration increased as its fills a really nice niche in a purge heavy meta, while hamstring should probably get a rework. I think Galatines should have their % max hp reduction strengthened (10-15%, offset by nerfing the duration). Dual Swords should have their % hp true damage increased (~15%, offset by nerfing flat damage) making them a great weapon to deal with tanks. Clarent could find play in zvz and mid-scale if its cooldown was decreased by ~10s, creating a more brawling playstyle with great consistent damage. Overall swords aren't in a bad spot and I don't think they deserve a complete rework, just a few numbers tweaks here and there (notably iron will, clarent blade, and dualswords)

    • Kjerst wrote:

      Devs buffed all weapons and nerfed swords idk why.
      cuz of design in CD, sword user were like racing cars.. you have free stacks on every crystal + there was many other stuff to stack up..
      at 3 stacks were almost same speed like regular run.. for example carving sword was like foruma 1.. uncatchable.
      still swords in good hands are suuper strong. 1 thing I miss are galas in ZVZ. it hurted me mostly

    • Well i know that sword rn are very underpowered as main swords i been playing swords since i started albion, and what i see that well the swords for 1v1 aren't that bad but there are some better options .
      In zvz the thing changes galas or clarent are just too weak u'll prefer go bridled fury instead galas or clarent cuz bf have more dmg a and u cant get the dmg reflected, some ppl still saing that swords are good but they don't play swords don't know what we have to do for play it correctly and get the most out of a weak weapon if u fight against another guy that have the same knowledge in a good weapon they will kill u very easy
      So what i think is that well u nerfed galas two times atleast give them back their range or buff a bit the dmg based in their HP(like realmbreaker which actually does a lot of dmg) ALSO I SAW THAT U SBI JUST PUT A LOT OF NEW ANIMATIONS IN AXES BUT U DON'T CARE ABOUT SWORDS THEY JUST LOOK SIMPLE BUT AXES LOOKS INSANE I'M JEAOLUS OF A AXE PLAYER THAT WILL HAVE THAT AWESOME Q EFFECTS

    • AnnSz wrote:

      Well i know that sword rn are very underpowered as main swords i been playing swords since i started albion, and what i see that well the swords for 1v1 aren't that bad but there are some better options .
      In zvz the thing changes galas or clarent are just too weak u'll prefer go bridled fury instead galas or clarent cuz bf have more dmg a and u cant get the dmg reflected, some ppl still saing that swords are good but they don't play swords don't know what we have to do for play it correctly and get the most out of a weak weapon if u fight against another guy that have the same knowledge in a good weapon they will kill u very easy
      So what i think is that well u nerfed galas two times atleast give them back their range or buff a bit the dmg based in their HP(like realmbreaker which actually does a lot of dmg) ALSO I SAW THAT U SBI JUST PUT A LOT OF NEW ANIMATIONS IN AXES BUT U DON'T CARE ABOUT SWORDS THEY JUST LOOK SIMPLE BUT AXES LOOKS INSANE I'M JEAOLUS OF A AXE PLAYER THAT WILL HAVE THAT AWESOME Q EFFECTS
      Unfortunately that is the sad realty of a sword user. You have to play perfectly versus every other weapon or you lose. And when i say perfectly i mean you cant make a single mistake with your cooldowns or its gg. Its like playing on 10 star difficulty while other weapons' are 2 stars at most.

      Axes are now more mobile than swords -

      Bloodletter is more mobile and does executions better -

      Galas are being replaced soon, and even then most gala players are suicided bombers with a ton of silver for re-gears from their alliance.

      The entire dagger line is face roll - click some buttons your target is dead

      Crossbow - roll your face on your keyboard your target is dead, hell you may even accidentally kill another.

      Bows? just stand still spam defensives and melt your targets. But you can also kite and make it even more frustrating.

      curse ? same as bows but more disgusting

      Fire? press this button your target melts and no matter how far they run , skills like artillery still hit. Fun! close the distance? get firewalled and nuked. Ironically fire actually takes some skill to play compared to the others.

      Frost? Spam q nuke entire enemy team, your e is luxury and thats just overkill. Or perma kite your target fuuuuuuuun.

      And to make matters worse you have zero synergy with armors in this game as a sword user, so you default to mage and cleric for 1v1 because the armor spells are broken, so why not?


      Merc jacket ? nope

      hunter jacket ? nope

      Assasin jacket? nope ( only used as an escape, or defensive) but why play this way when u can just play bloodletter which works better.


      Soldeir armor? nope - cant benefit from cc, you do zero damage without stalker hood,

      Knight armor? nope

      Guardian armor ? nope


      So that leaves us with Mage robe and cleric robe, but only because the defensives are soo busted on anything its played with. And swords still cant use these armor pieces better than the other weapons. You ever fight a one handed mace with a mage robe? disgusting. Sword dont have that luxury.


      Now keep in mind Swords are a melee weapons' , you cant use cloth the majority of the time as you get melted if more than 1 person targets you. Any other weapon would nuke their targets , so the low resistances from cloth are irrelevant if your enemy is dead.Swords cant do that.

      Oh wait i forget hellion jacket - the only armor piece that fits , and even still its an expensive artifact that works better on axes or any daggers. Why pretend to be these other weapons' when you can just play them? @Retroman cmon man just rework the line already,