Introduction
I made this guide since there is only one Blader guide on this forums, and it is based around 80 cap. Although a lot of that information is still relevant, a lot of skills have been updated since then, and the build has changed a lot. Before you read this, I should tell you that some of this information has been copied from a 100 Bower Guide that I made. A lot of it is the same information so it saves me from writing it out twice.
Why Blader?
Although Bladers deal the lowest damage out of any other build, they are one of the strongest PvP build on SRO, not to mention the best tanks. A level 98 +7 Shield adds an extra 240 phy defense and 370 mag defense to your total. The BR is also a life saver, and the extra stats that can be added to the shield i.e. STR, Int, and Critical also help considerably. The new level 100 chain that inflicts Stun, Dull and Fear helps the Blader tank further. This combined with Smashing Series for Bleed, and the 6-combo attack that gives Bleed, Division and Impotent ensures the Blader isn't always dealing low damage. It's not uncommon for a capped Blader to crit a Glavier of the same level 17k or more. They are by far (imo) the most fun build to play on SRO, and at the end of the day, that's why we're playing, right? Oh yeah, one more reason why I chose Blader out all the other builds. They look AMAZING! JoyMax have blessed the Bladers with the sexiest looking weapons and skills on SRO. At least that's one thing we can thank
them for.
Pure or Hybrid?
Pure, pure, pure, pure, pure. A Blader relies on crits to kill in PvP. Going pure STR will ensure your crits hit as high as possible. As soon as you start adding Int, your crits will weaken. If you want to go slightly hybrid, go for it, it will still be a relatively strong build however you should level up Snow Shield a little higher, say 30%-35% or more. If your going hybrid, make sure you add enough points into Int to make it worth while, for example 7:1 or 5:1. Adding 3 or 4 points to Int will be near useless as you won't notice a difference. The main idea of the Blader is to be able to tank, so it makes sense to me to go pure STR, but different people have different ideas so it's completely up to you whether you go pure or hybrid.
Masteries
There are three main builds to choose from. 100 Bich/100 Fire/100 Cold, 100 Bich/100 Fire/80 Light/20 Cold, and 100 Bich/ 100 Fire/100 Force. I personally prefer the In this guide I will explain all the above builds, except for the Force Blader. The reason being I've never had a high level Force char so I haven't much experience with it.
Why I Prefer Bicheon 100, Fire 100, Cold 100.
Phy Defence Increase - At level 100, your phy passive and buff will increase your phy defence by 336 which is a considerable amount. To put it in prospective, a 98 +5 Chinese Shield has 230 Phy Defence. This phy defence increase gives you an edge over any other Str Fire/Light build in PvP, which is the main reason why it's so successful in PvP.
Cold Imbue – I’ve got to be honest, Ice Imbue was a bit of a disappointment for me. 95% of all capped players are Ice Immune, rendering Cold imbue pretty useless. It isn't without its strengths though, it’s useful for jobbing when you get those
Hunters/Thieves that have just been ressed with Oblation, and are unbuffed (without Fire Shield or Holy Spell), then the Ice Imbue comes into its own. I also used it as my main Imbue for PvE. For the amount of SP it costs however, I didn't think it was worth it so I deleveled this skill, but don't let me put you off just because I don't find it useful, maybe you will.
Ice Wall - Ice Wall is great for PvP, I mainly use it against nukers. It prevents them from using KD so you are free to hit them as you please. Then when their Snow Shield and Castle Shield has ran out, you have 45 seconds to kill them. Ice Shield comes into its own in this situation, because most S/S Nukers will spam KD until they have Snow Shield again, but obviously putting up Ice Wall will prevent this, leave them open for you to 2-3 hit them. This skill is also useful against Int Warlocks. Because Warlocks debuffs can't penetrate through Ice Wall, it renders their debuffs useless. To add insult to injury, they can't cancel the wall because they have no phy attack. The main drawback to Bladers using Ice Wall is the tiny range that the Blader has to fight with. Your enemy can just step back and you wont be able to attack him, so stay alert ready to cancel the wall if he/she does this.
Why Bicheon 100, Fire 100, Light 80, 20 Cold Could Be Better For You.
Speed - Light 80 gives a 77% speed increase. For Cold Bladers it can be expensive to grind, 50% speed drugs cost roughly 100k that lasts 30 minutes, that would cost around 800k for just a 4 hour grinding session. What I tend to do is join exp/item share grinding parties. This saves money because you don't have to buy speed drugs. If you’re grinding in Jangan Tomb it would be a good idea just to buy 1 100% speed drug to get you to your grinding area. Light Bladers also have Phantom, which imo is the most useful skill in the Lightning tree. It increases versatility and is a life saver when jobbing.
SP Efficient - This build uses a lot less SP than the 100 Cold build which I think is why imo there are so few 100 Cold Bladers out there. Light Blader uses roughly 200k SP less than the Cold Blader.
Parry Increase - Parry is extremely important and often under estimated. At 80, the parry buff and passive gives 62 parry increase, which can be a life safe in PvP.
The Skills.
Smashing Series
Required -
Chain Sword Attack Series
Required -
Shield Technique Series
Required -
Blade Force Series
Optional -
Hidden Blade Series
Required -
Killing Heaven Blade Series
Required -
Sword Dance Series
Optional -
Bicheon Force Series
Required -
Shield Protection Series (Passive)
Required -
River fire force
Required - This will be your main imbue.
Fire Shield Series
Required- At lower levels it's not really important, but at the cap it becomes extremally useful. Makes you immune to statuses such as burn, electric and freeze. You will need sufficent blues on your jewelry to be 100% immune though.
Flame Body Series
Required - Obviously you need this. Since your an Str based build, without this buff your attack would be low.
Fire Protection Series
Required - Increases mag defence, and as an Str build, mag defence is what you lack in. This buff should make up for it a little bit.
Fire Wall Series
Optional - Useful in PvP, useless in PvE. Prevents Bladers and Warriors from KDing you and is also useful to prevent Warlocks from debuffing you. It's also good to use as a final lifeline against Nukers, for example if your HP is low, cast Fire Wall and the damage will be absorbed by the Fire Wall for a few seconds, then continue with KB. If you havn't enough SP to max it, just level it to level 1.
Flame Wave Series
Not Needed - You don't need this. You can level them up to level 1 just for fun.
Fire Combustion
Optional - At higher levels, most people have PK2 so XBows/Wizards don't get the chance to go under Stealth or Invis.
Flame Devil Force Series (Passive)
Required - Increases your phy damage. Get it.
Cold Force Series
Optional - I leveled this up to level 98, then deleveled it. The majority of capped players are Ice immune so it was useless against most people. It is however effective in PvE to freeze mobs.
Frost Guard Series
Required - This buff along with the passive is the main reason why Cold mastery is so helpful in PvP. At 96, the buff maxes out with 158 phy def increase.
Cold Wave Attack Series
Optional - Because most capped players are ice immune, I didn't get this.
Frost Wall Series
Optional - Handy in PvP against Int Warlocks to prevent them from casting any debuffs on you, and also against S/S Nukers to prevent them from KDing you. If you don't have sufficent SP to max this, then just level it to level 1.
Frost Nova Series
Optional - Because most capped players are ice immune, I didn't get this.
Snow Storm Series
Not Needed - You don't need nukes. You can level it to level 1 just for fun.
Snow Shield Series
Required - I just maxed the first 2 books. 25% is the highest Snow Shield you can use for a pure Str in PvP. Any higher and your MP will drain.
Cold Armor Series (Passive)
Required - This passive maxed at 100 gives 178 phy def increase. This combined with the phy def buff 336 phy def increase. The most important skill in the Cold mastery.
Status Effects
Bleed - Lowers your enemies defense allowing you to do more damage. Also inflicts DoT (damage over time), like Burn from Fire Imbue.
Division - The most useful status. Does the same as Bleed, but lowers your enemies defense a lot more. Doesn't inflict DoT though.
Impotent - Decreases the opponents damage considerably. There is no way you will die in PvP if your opponent has Impotent.
Dull - Slows the enemy down. Has the same affect and Frostbite.
Fear - Prevents the opponent from targeting you for 10 seconds.
Stun - Freezes the enemy for 5 seconds preventing them from attacking you.
The Gear
For a Cold Blader, Garment is perfect. Str builds have a high phy defence already, and the Cold phy buff and passive gives you an even higher phy defence. This leaves you with a low mag defence though, but Garment makes up for it. Garment is also useful for the 20% speed increase, and reduces your MP consumption by 20% which is extremally useful when PvPing with 25% Snow Shield. At the cap, your Garment set needs to be fully pimped and at least +5 to give you any chance against your own level in PvP. This is less important when your lower level. Same applies for Light Bladers too.
Phy and Mag % - Obviously the higher the %, the more defence you will have. For most people, 41% is minimum. This is the least important white, so if you are struggling for money, you can probably leave these without it making a considerable difference.
Parry Ratio % - The most important white on your set. If you don't know what parry does, I will explain. Say the damage you receive from a mob has a range between 500 - 700 for example, the higher your parry, the more chance of the mob hitting 500 damage. Basically, the higher your parry, the higher your defence, and the less damage you will receive. This white should always be pimped at the cap or else you will be at a huge disadvantage to other players. I like to have mine at at least 61%. Obviously if you're low level it's less important.
Phy and Mag Reinforcment % - Your phy defence is dependant on how much Str you have. If you have 500 Str for example, and have a phy reinforcement of 50%, then the defence of that piece of gear will be phy defence + 0.5 x 500. This is why Str builds have more phy defence than Int builds, and vice versa for Int builds. Your total phy defence is all physical defences on your gear, plus the total of all the reinforcements. Like all the other stats, it only really makes a difference at higher levels.
The Blade
Phy and Mag % - Obviously the higher the %, the more damage you will make. Because you are Str, most of your damage is physical so a phy of 61%+ is essential. The mag % is slightly less important but it’s not completely useless. 41%+ would be recommended.
Attack Rating % - Extremely important to increase your damage. Works the same way as parry. This white should be at least 61%.
Critical % - As a phy build, this is the most important white on your Blade. Without crits you probably wouldn't be able to kill anyone your level. As a Blader, crits are what kill your opponent in PvP. One crit will double your phy damage by 100%. Your 98 Blade should have a crit of at least 9 (58%) or more if you can afford it.
Phy and Mag Reinforcement % - The second most important white on your Blade. The phy rein % should be at least 61%, and the mag rein % at least 41%. The reinforcements on the Blade work the same way as the reinforcements on gear, but increasing attack power instead of defense.
Special thanks to K.D for helping me write this. If you have any constructive criticism, feel free to post below. Thanks for reading.
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[Download the Blader Guide for Silkroad Online now! It's FREE!]
