Solo Build: Blade Master (Swashbuckler) - POTD Guide

★ Blade Master - Build Guide for Wood Elf, Human or Wild Orlan.

✦ Difficulty: Path of the Damned + Upscaled + Expert Mode + Ironman Mode + No Berath Blessings

✦ Role: Striker, Off-tank

✦ Class: Fighter (Devoted) / Rogue (Streetfighter)

✎ Progression: build starts strong from the very beginning, it has a high risk high reward playstyle so focused micro-managing is recommended in combat.

★ Showcase Video

Swashbuckler clears Port Maje & rushes core quipments:

Swashbuckler solo Ancient Dragon & Final Boss:

✎ Character Creation

♦ Starting Attributes:

• 10 Might
  

  Character already have tons of damage boost from Devoted and Streetfighter.

  
  
• 14 Constitution
  

  Necessary for Streetfighter to fight at low health and still have a decent amount of HP to stay relatively safe, with the defenses of Fighter even at Bloodied/Near Death.

  
  
• 8 Dexterity
  

  There are a lot of Action Speed / Recovery Speed stacking boost from Fighter and Streetfighter, even more from equipment/consumables choice so you won't have to worry about speed. Character can dump a few points of Dexterity to trade them elsewhere and still attack really fast in the end.

  
  
• 18 Perception
  

  As a Devoted, you will be specialized in only one weapon and Sabre is the most ideal one, not only you end up having alot of Penetration, and enemies with Slash immunity is rare so you don't have to worry about that. Even if there are individuals that are able to withstand your attacks, this combination itself is a crit machine (Fighter/Rogue), with high Perception you can cut through the thickest armor with continuously Crits.
  
  ›› As for Slashing immune enemies, you can keep a pair of unique/high-quality Blunderbuss or just skip them. No main major battles have this kind of enemies.

  
  
• 8 Intellect
  

  Your buffs are spammable as that's the only thing you will do with Fighter tree in this build, and battles often end before running out of resources so you don't have to worry about Intellect. But you are still a buffs-user, so only dump 2 points to put them elsewhere more impactful without any setback.

  
  
• 20 Resolve
  

  Something that you can utilizes well with stacked Deflection from Fighter tree and equipment to fight safe at low health and to make a good use of rogue Riposte, so it ends up both increasing your defense and offense capabilities.

Human and Ixamitl Plains are used for this guide.

♦ Leveling:

• Level 1: Disciplined Barrage & Crippling Strike
  
• Level 2: Fast Runner
  
• Level 3: Escape
  
• Level 4: Fighter Stances & Two-Weapon Style
  
• Level 5: Confident Aim
  
• Level 6: Dirty Fighting
  
• Level 7: Discilined Strikes & Debilitating Strike
  
• Level 8: Blinding Stikre
  
• Level 9: Riposte
  
• Level 10: Vigorous Defense & Persistent Distraction
  
  
• Level 11: Confounding Blind
  
• Level 12: Weapon Specialization
  
• Level 13: Unbending & Deep Wounds
  
• Level 14: Armored Grace
  
• Level 15: Superior Deflection
  
  
• Level 16: Refreshing Defense & Improved Critical
  
• Level 17: Tough
  
• Level 18: Conquerer Stance
  
• Level 19: Unbending Trunk & Deathblows
  
• Level 20: Bull's Will

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♦ Civil skills:

• Job: Mercernary
  
• Active: Alchemy
  
• Passive: Intimidate

♦ Weapon Proficiency:

• Sabre

✎ Equipment / Gear

✦ Gear:

• Heaven Cacophony (Head): +2 Intellect, Grants Avenging Storm (useful against big boss battles)
  

  ✖ Death's Maw: +15% Damage Reduction for a duration per kill (useful against swarming group of enemies)

  
  
• Charm of Bones (Neck): +2 Intellect, Grants Call the Restless (useful against big boss battles)
  

  ✖ Token of Faith: +2 Resolve (useful against swarming group of enemies)

  
  
• Devil of Caroc Breastplate (Medium): -10% Recovery time, +2 Max Power Pool, Resistance to Constitution Affliction, +2 Health (scaling) restored per 3s on Critical Hits with your weapons.
  

  ✖ Casita Sameilia's Legacy (Medium): +5 Deflection that increases with Intimidate skill, 25% chance to Slash enemy when Hit with Slash damage in Melee. (alternative armor)

  
  
• Entonia Signet (Ring): +2 All Defenses per engaged enemies (stacks 5 times)
  
  
• Solitary Wanderer +1 Resolve, -35% Hostile Effects Duration.
  
  
• Boots of Stone: +1 Dexterity, +1 Resolve, +Resistance to Might afflictions
  
  
• Undying Burden (Belt): +1 Athletics, +2 Constitution, Incoming weapon Damage is reduced as Health is lost (Max -10% Damage Reduction), Grants 2nd Second Wind.
  

  ✖ Blunting Belt: +1 Slash & Pierce Armor Rating (alternative belt)

  
  
• Boltcatchers: +20% chance to proc additional Shock damage on target on melee weapon Crits.
  
  
• Cloak of Greater Deflection (Cloak): +7 Deflection
  
  
• Nalvi (Dog): +1 Resolve, Reduces Recovery penalty for armor (varies by Armor Type)

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✦ Weapon:

• Scordeo's Edge: +10% damage with Sabre, +2 Accuracy to all weapons (stacks 10 times), 5% chance to ignore weapon recovery for 5s base duration on scoring Hits.
  

  → Good weapon to deal with big bad bosses, because it has a small chance that occasionally procs a buff ignoring weapon recovery, and once it does you can get in some free hits up to 5-6 auto-attacks (2~3 Full Attacks). It's useful as you don't have to spam your abilities and save resources when it procs against individuals with thousand of healths.
  ›› Combo with Grave Calling for boss battles.

  
  
• Grave Calling: +10% damage with Sabre, +15 Accuracy against Vessels, +2% Freeze Damage per Hit (stacks 15 times), Cast Chill Fog on killing Vessel (Foe AoE)
  

  ›› Combo with Scordeo's Edge for boss battles.
  ›› Combo with Tarn's Respite for normal encounters.

  
  
• Tarn's Respite: +10% damage with Sabre, +1 Penetration, +15% Damage as Freeze, -1 target Deflection on Hit (stack 10 times).
  

  ›› Combo with Grave Calling for normal encounters.

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✦ Foods:

• Damage Reduction & Regen for normal ecnounters:
  
  • Yolk Bowl: +1 Health (scaling) per 6s, -10% Damage taken, +1 Constitution. (sold in Wild Mare)
    
  • Honey Wine Hen: +2 Health (scaling) per 6s, -15% Damage taken. (sold in King's Coffin)
  
  
• Against big bad battles:
  
  • Captain's Banquet: +20% Action Speed, Immunity to Intellect / Perception / Resolve afflictions.

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✦ Alchemy:

• Drugs:
  
  • Taru Turu Chew: +3 Constitution, +3 Dexterity, +3 Might
  
  
• Potions:
  
  • Potion of Spirit Shield: +3 Armor Rating. (sold by ship merchants or in The Dark Cupboard)
    
  • Potion of Healing: Morderate tier (sold in Sanza's Emporium or Orlan Peddler)
    
  • Potion of Merciless Gaze: +15% Hits to Crits conversion (sold in The Dark Cupboard)
    

    ›› Potion of Perfect Aim: +25% Grazes to Misses / to Hits / to Crits for big bad battles (crafting)

  
  
• Poisons: (for big bad individuals)
  
  • Stone Joint: +X Crush Damage per 3s, -35% Action Speed.
    
  • Scorching Venom: +X Burn Damage per 3s, apply Sickened affliction to target.

✎ Abilities Preview

♦ Devoted subclass:

• Bonus: +2 Penetration, +25% Crit Damage to one chosen proficient weapon.
  
• Penalty: Can only pick one proficiency and receive -Accuracy when using unproficient weapon.

♦ Streetfighter Subclass:

• Bonus: -50% Recovery time, +50% weapon Damage when either Bloodied or Flanked. +100% more Critical Damage with weapons when character are both Bloodied & Flanked.
  
• Penalty: +20% Recovery time when not Bloodied or Flanked.

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✦ Abilities:

• Human: +7 Accuracy, +15% Damage when Bloodied or below.
  
  
• Disciplined Strike: +5 Perception, +50% Grazes to Hits and +25% Hits to Crits conversion.
  
  
• Dirty Fighting: +10% Hits to Crits conversion.
  
  
• Confident Aim: +30% Grazes to Hits conversion with proficient weapon.
  
  
• Conquerer Stance: +10 Accuracy, +5 Deflection when Hurt or above. +5 Accuracy, +10 Deflection when Bloodied or below. Useful for dueling.
  
  
• Cleaving Stance: do a full Attack to one nearby enemy whenever you personally kill an enemy. You can switch between Conquerer Stance when not killing enemies for dueling power with better Accuracy and Deflection, then swap to Cleaving Stance whenever you are about to end an enemy, switching back and forth at the right time can often result better combat effectiveness.
  
  
• Sneak Attack: +% scaling weapon damage against enemies currently Flanked or having afflictions. (starting at 30% damage base)
  
  
• Deathblows: +50% weapon damage against enemies with 2 afflictions or more.
  
  
• Weapon Specialization: +10% damage with proficient weapon.
  
  
• Deep Wounds: +20% damage as Raw based on weapon damage dealt, then continue to damage overtime.
  
  
• Debilitating Strike: a Full Attack with +25% bonus damage and +2 penetration, applying Hobbled (-5 DEX, unable to run) and Distracted (-5 Perception, Flanked: -10 Deflection, -1 Armor Rating) making target qualified for Sneak Attacks / Deathblows by default.
  
  
• Confounding Blind: a Full Attack with +25% bonus damage and +10 Accuracy, and apply Blinded causing targets to get -5 Perception, +50% Recovery time, -10 Accuracy, -50% Range and Flanked (-1 AR, -10 Deflection). When upgrade it also apply a stacking penalty to Deflection stat everytime the target is attacked under it effect, making Confounding Blind an ideal ability to deal with big bad individuals.
  
  
• Avenging Storm: summon a storm, whenever the player attacks or being attacked, trigger additional lightning attacks on targets.
  
  
• Riposte: grants average chance of triggering a Full Attack when missed by enemy melee weapon attacks targetting Deflection. Making this skill a great additional offense tool to the build which already having high Deflection.
  
  
• Persistent Distraction: +1 enemies Engaged, applying Distracted to enemies engaged to the character. Put most of melee enemies at disadvantage of their defense with -10 Deflection, -1 Armor Rating and their offense with -5 Perception, so they have harder time hitting you and risk taking a Full Attack ripsote.
  
  
• Refreshing Defense: +20 All Defenses, when upgraded the ability duration extends whenever you take damage. Keep it up at all times.
  
  
• Unbending Shield: +25% Damage taken converted into Healing, enough to keep your alive at low health but also not to heal you back to healthy (which often the cases if you picked Unbending Trunk, it isn't ideal as you need to stay around Bloodied or below to trigger Streetfighter passive). When upgraded, also grants Resolute for it duration providing more defense of +5 Resolve & a stable source of Concentration per 6s.
  
  
• Superior Deflection +4 Deflection.
  
  
• Armored Grace: -25% Armor Recovery penalty.

✦ AI Behavior Script:

• Link

[Kerillian]

Do you remember why you have Vex in your party in the vids with Nalvi but she never appeared in any gameplay footage? was that because she was just offscreen or is there a reason other than Nalvi why she needed to be there?

[dave howley]

I am going to catch some gloves of crit with a perceptive orlan and find us a decent deck person.

[Lost Sinner]

I'm no longer dedicate my time to make contents on PoE anymore, so there won't be any updates to all of my old guides. They now stand as archived stuffs for research.

[Lost Sinner]

This guide was made a year ago, if direct copy/paste then it won't be possbile for current version, as many balance changes have happened in the game.

Although the groundwork of the build would still fine, so if you know the game enough or up for some self-tweaks then you could make it work. Balance changes, numbers / modifers variables may have changed, but the game system is still the same.
Ex: Fighter is still the tree for accurate attacks and upfront defense / durability. Rogue offers damage / afflictions , both still have certain Full Attack skills for dual-wielding weapon dpsing.

So Fighter/Rogue combination is still quite strong, and an easy one to tweak at that so you should be fine if you decide to go for it. Although if your intention is to solo with this build, then it is not the most ideal anymore.

[Mr. Blue Sky]

@Lost Sinner Which game version your guide is for?
IDisciplined Strike: +5 Perception, +50% Grazes to Hits and +25% Hits to Crits conversion. In version 5.0 Does not provide +25% Hits to Crits conversion
Will this build still work for 5.0? Thanks

[Lampros]

Post some low micro melee builds, please? Something as micro-light as PoE 1's Dragon Thrashed Chanter or Sacred Immolation Paladin. Fire and forget stuff ;)

[Danilee]

I love your builds! Are you going to do one for Vatnir?

[[S.A.S]sephchan]

Thanks mate!

[Lost Sinner]

Extract the script to:
\Username\Saved Games\Pillars of Eternity II\CustomAIBehaviors

[nerds]

Hey dude love your guides. What am I supposed to do with the ai behavior script download? I can't figure out what folder I'm supposed to put it in and I can't find anything about it online.