Greetings, adventurer! Welcome to our PVP guide for the Fighter archetype in Ashes of Creation.
A few points to note down:
- If you are new to the archetype, check out our beginner guide, where skills are explained.
- The build and the equipment are set for the current end game experience. In other words – what you can aim for.
- The build is designed around group play(party/raid).
Skills
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Before venturing into the build, please note that the pick order of abilities does not represent what you would need if you are still leveling. For that purpose, please check out our beginner guide. This build aims to provide a clearer vision for:
- abilities which helps you with getting Combat Momentum;
- abilities which requires Stagger to do “more”;
- abilities which can assist you for “wombo-combo”;
- abilities which require time in order to do more damage;
- Survival.
Combat Momentum is essential resources for the Fighters in order to be more effective in fight. You can generate 1 combat momentum with your basic attacks and 5 or more with your finishers(the more combat momentum you have the more points the finishers will bring). Which leads us to the fact that swinging faster is crucial to build up this resource. Bards can help you out with their Anthem of Alacrity.
There are also abilities which assist with building up Combat Momentum(1-7):
- Overpower and Brutal Cleave
- Blitz with Raging Blitz (Reinvigorating Lethal Blow is situational – you have to finish off your target with Lethal Blow)
- Whirlwind with Climactic Whirlwind
- Battle Cry
Battle Cry can increase the damage done from Whirlwind. Use Crippling Blow on your target so you may have higher uptime on your target with Whirlwind and better chance to land Climactic Whirlwind on at least 1 target.
The Fighter has abilities, which can be used at any point, but having Stagger debuff on their enemies, they would end up doing more(8-11).
- Maim and Slicing Maim can do 20% more damage on Staggered enemies.
- Wallop – can Trip the target if Staggered.
- Cataclysm – can Trip the targets hit if Staggered.
There abilities which can assist you in setting up kills or combinations(12-16):
- Art of War removes the penalties around switching forms.
- Leap Strike besides the damage and the distance travel, every enemy hit will receive Staggered debuff.
- Knock Out will Incapacite the enemy, which can buy you time for cooldowns or set up a kill.
- Berserk and Reinvigorating Berserk will boost up your damage output.
Cataclysm after Leap Strike is good combination for AOE Trip.
The Fighter has abilities, which can provide more damage output if used in later moment in a fight(17-20):
- Rupture – it will require as many as possible stacks of Wounded to maximize the damage. There for Brutality and Savagery as well as the Weapon’s Deadly finishers are essential for this ability.
- Lethal Blow – the more Health Points are missing, the more damage it will do. Bleeding and Hemorraging on the target will increase the critical chace of this ability.
Surviving for long time in big fights may prove to be a challenge for any fighter. They can relay on:
- Unyielding Battle Cry to remove CC effect on them;
- or use Blood Fusion (with the upgrade Preservative Blood Fusion) in order to get some health points back.
The health back from Rejuvenating Wallop and Consuming Lethal Blow is rather insignificant compared to the damage you can receive in PVP.
Stamina
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Utilize your stamina in order to position yourself better – do not get caught and be ready to go in. You may need stamina to disengage.
Melee Weapon
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In terms of the raw power gain, the best Two-handed weapons are Maul of Living Stone and Bone Shard Greatsword. Unfortunately, they are currently not obtainable due to the Alpha stage of the game.
The next best options are The Emberblade and Greatsword of Briarhome. They are hard to come by, since they require crafting materials from world bosses.
Ancient Dunzen Greatsword and Carphin Stonewatcher’s Greatsword are worth checking out. The former two-hander provides slightly more damage, while the latter has some defensive stats. Both of them are good options.
The cheapest option would be Steel Greatsword.
Here are some notable greatswords:
Lumen Star – Good physical power rating, however, after enchanting process, Steel Greatsword will provide more damage. Lumen Star is good option for Tanks.
Goblin Skinstripper – Also will have less damage than Steel Greatsword. This greatsword excels in attack speed and critical chance rating (it has the highest values in those two stats).
For nodes:
It is wise to have them both.
- Rhythmic Swings – to increase the chance of getting Bleed or Wounded
- Increase the proc chance and the proc duration
- Weapon Training: 4x Penetration. 2x Critical Damage and 2x Penetration is also an option.
- Concussion will apply Shaken, which leads to more damage done.
- Swordmaster will increase the attack speed and damage done.
Ranged Weapon
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Crystalized Blood Longbow is the best option for ranged weapon.
Steel Longbow can bring more critical chance rating to the table, however it will be for the sake of good amount of power rating.
During PVP times, you will have your bow as your primary weapon. Try to “poke” the enemy before engaging so that you can build up as much as possible Combat Momentum. At the moment you use any of the abilities (e.g. Blitz, Overpower), the game will automatically switch to your melee weapon. If it happens that your opponent gaines distance on you, the game will return to the ranged weapon auto-attacks.
For nodes:
It is wise to have them both.
- Heartseeker – to boost up your next ability
- Crushing Blows – will help out with “poking”. Rhythmic Swings is an option as well if you want more chances to proc Deadly Finishers.
- Increase the proc chance and the proc duration
- Weapon Training: 2x Critical Damage and 2x Penetration. 4x Critical Damage is also an option.
Equipment
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Disclaimer: The process is slow! All the displayed items can drop, but to get them to legendary quality you will need the crafting recipe. It will require considerable dedication or help in order to achieve those crafts. Even if the materials are available, a town with journeyman armorsmith or weaponsmith or jeweler stations will be required.
In order to see which set is best suited for PVP Fighter, all items are set in a legendary rarity. Some stats values can vary, therefore the minimal value has been taken to compare the sets.
Bloodrunner set can be farmed in Tower of Carphin.
Rosarium Guard Set can be farmed in Citadel of Steel Bloom.
Here is the stats breakdown of the two level 20 sets:
The weapons and the jewelry are chosen around the Rosarium Guard Set. Besides boosting the stongest points of the set – Physical Power, Accuracy(it is required to guarantee landing your hits and CC abilities), they also cover the lower amount of penetration rating and critical chance.
The Bloodrunner Set will have the upper hand once the Maul of Living Stone and Bone Shard Greatsword are available.
Gearing tips
Tip 1: Do not immediately jump on level 20 items. Some level 10 rare items are worth enchanting and could still provide more than common or uncommon level 20. Especially if there is no Journeyman Scriber available. Head to our starting guide to check for the items, which are worth keeping/grinding for in order to boost up your character, until the meantioned items in this build are available for you.
Tip 2: General rule for weapons would be to always equip the combination, which will provide the highest power rating. Naturally, level 20 weapons will give more than those from level 10:
Flayer’s Fleshripper vs Bone Shard Greatsword
Tip 3: Be mindful that some weapons (or gear), even in same level range can have very different power rating stats:
Iron Greatsword is slightly weaker than Steel Greatsword.
