deftness on dual wield question

[Zerixar]

doing my ng++ run with dual wield and wondering if i'm missing something with deftness. the fact that it replaces normal dash with a dash attack feels like i'm getting thrown into taking damage situations when i actually want to JUST dodge after attacking (like when an enemy is doing a prolonged damage sequence) because of the automatic attacking part that actually gets in the way of either avoiding damage or following up in the ways i want to (like it has problems comboing into whirlwind). I ended up speccing out of it but i have seen multiple people hype it up, and wondering why.

[Enfo]

Don't use deftness with whirlwind

[SinonWEAK]

Originally posted by Zerixar:

doing my ng++ run with dual wield and wondering if i'm missing something with deftness. the fact that it replaces normal dash with a dash attack feels like i'm getting thrown into taking damage situations when i actually want to JUST dodge after attacking (like when an enemy is doing a prolonged damage sequence) because of the automatic attacking part that actually gets in the way of either avoiding damage or following up in the ways i want to (like it has problems comboing into whirlwind). I ended up speccing out of it but i have seen multiple people hype it up, and wondering why.

I think you're holding down whatever button you're using for forward. Deftness triggers when holding forward and pressing dodge input.

[sgrey]

Deftness is for a hyper aggressive and dynamic dual-wielding play. The best way to play with it is to cycle fast attack followed by a dodge in succession, thus stun locking enemies and dealing massive damage. It is absurd how much damage this combo deals, actually. The way to go is to brink guard, then hit them. In addition you can trigger deftness when you execute other skills, like whirlwind, howling blade or I think even counterattack can be followed by deftness. With an upgraded version it also closes a fairly large distance, allowing to reach a running boss quickly. Since you are actually dodge-attacking, it lets you dodge some attacks too. It's a very high-risk, high-reward kind of play and it's also very hard to master. It goes very well with Wind Piercer as well.

If your primary style of play is to dodge and occasionally punish, then this skill is clearly not for you. You should instead get the Retreat skill from the defense tree. I don't remember the name, but it's on the left side, the one that lets you retreat after blocking while hitting the enemy. Maybe Howling Blade with Phantom Sword build is more your thing.

[sgrey]

Originally posted by Enfo:

Don't use deftness with whirlwind

I've been using it for the whole game with great success. Why do you say not to use them together?