Swordmaster

From HammerWiki

The Swordmaster is the tank archetype career for the Shining Guard High Elf army. The Swordmaster is paired with the Greenskin's Black Orc.

[edit] Career Overview

“Enlightenment is achieved by mastering not only the body, but the soul. Only then can a warrior truly understand the value of life, and why it should be protected at all costs.”

- Belannaer of Hoeth, Bladelord of the White Tower

The Swordmasters of Hoeth are perhaps the greatest martial artists in the world of Warhammer, warrior-ascetics who dedicate their lives to the pursuit of obtaining perfect balance between mind and body, between the cultivation of wisdom and the study of war. For thousands of years, Swordmasters have been the guardians of the White Tower of Hoeth, the high temple to the Elven God of Wisdom and the greatest training ground for mages in all of Ulthuan, standing like a beacon in the heart of mystic Saphery.

Over hundreds of years of meditation and training, the Swordmasters cultivate their minds and bodies into a perfect instrument of war, favoring the Elven greatsword above all else. These double-edged and wickedly-sharp blades are a full six-feet in length, yet the Swordmaster is so skilled in their use that they can wield these swords as fast as an ordinary warrior might wield a one-handed blade. It is said that the Swordmasters can fight in complete darkness, guided by the sound of their opponent's breath, that they can cut a candle in half without disturbing the flame or even deflect arrows in midair, and that many a foe barely registers their swords leaving their scabbards.

Although Swordmasters are well-armoured by Elven standards, they differ from those in other defensive careers in that they focus not so much on absorbing damage as avoiding damage, using both combination attacks and magic to deflect and misdirect attacks, while performing the traditional duties of the tank - protecting allies from harm and redirecting attacks from enemies from their allies to themselves.

Swordmasters are able to equip a shield and use a one-handed weapon if they so choose, but most of their combat prowess revolves around their signature weapons, the majestic elven two-handed greatswords. They are more defensively capable with these weapons than any other class. This means that, conceptually, the Swordmaster is somewhere between the immovable bulwark that is the standard tank class and the furious damage dealers that make up the melee dps classes.

[edit] Speciality

The most important mechanic of the Swordmaster is his Blade Dancing - a combo system in which the Swordmaster strings together different attacks and abilities that slowly build to powerful finishing moves. These different Blade Dances have very different functions; some are designed to help ward off damage, some are designed for dealing damage, and others presumably for taunting targets off of the Swordmaster's allies.

As he uses different Blade Dances, the Swordmaster builds up Balance - a mechanic that represents the Swordmaster's disciplined practice of drawing their opponent off-guard, while placing themselves in the perfect position to strike. Balance is built and maintained in three distinct stages, Normal Balance, Improved Balance, and Perfect Balance. At each stage, the advanced Swordmaster has a number of options available to him: attacks and stances that increase, decrease or maintain his Balance level. Just as you would expect, the most powerful abilities are the ones that simultaneously reduce the Balance level, thus making each action in combat a trade-off between immediate gain or improved overall effectiveness.

[edit] Masteries

Each mastery tree allows the Swordmaster to focus his abilities according to play style and taste.

[edit] Path of Vaul

The Path of Vaul provides protection-based masteries, specializing in group defenses and shields, and the mitigation of enemy damage.

[edit] Path of Khaine

The Path of Khaine allows the Swordmaster to learn offensive masteries that improve his ability with a greatsword. A master of the Path of Khaine can deal greater damage using a greatsword and can also use it to lower his opponent's defenses.

[edit] Path of Hoeth

A specialist in the Path of Hoeth has a much greater control of the winds of magic, giving them a range of magical abilities useful in both attack and defense.

[edit] Abilities

See full Swordmaster Abilities page.

[edit] External Links

• Paul Barnett's Swordmaster Career Video ( High / Low )

• Adam Gershowitz's Swordmaster Career Preview Video [1]

[edit] Trivia

According to Paul Barnett, the Swordmaster is "a cross between a U.S Marine and a proto-Jedi."

It is "probable" that the Swordmaster will be able to acquire a personalized, customized, and named Greatsword as one of his epic weapons.

Many of the Swordmaster's abilities are named after important parts of elven culture, such as mystical animals like the Phoenix or Dragon, or places like the Vortex on the Isle of the Dead.

Shining Guard career options  Archmage •  Shadow Warrior •  Swordmaster •  White Lion