Bladesworn - Power DPS

Part of the current metagame

Our curator decided this build is in the current metagame regardless of rating. The community gave this build a rating, making it top-tier: Great

Focused on: Direct damage

Designed for: Raids and Fractals

Expansions required: End of Dragons builds

Difficulty:
TBD
This build was last updated on May 14, 2023 and is up to date for the February 27, 2024 patch.

Overview

Bladesworn trades its second weapon set for a Gunsaber that combines ranged explosions with melee slashes. Most importantly, it gains access to the unique Dragon Slash burst skills - incredibly powerful single strikes that take a long time to prepare. As the Bladesworn is immobile this preparation, it can be challenging to manage against targets that move a lot, or can disrupt you. With so much of its damage loaded into the Dragon Slash, Bladesworn is incredibly strong if the player can perform them off cooldown, but even one missed Slash is a significant damage loss.

With Tactics, the Bladesworn can also provide some passive Quickness Quickness or Might Might generation for their subgroup, making them an excellent choice for filling in gaps in your boon uptime while still being top DPS.


Skill Bar

Axe/Pistol
Utility


Skill Variants

Healing

  • Depending on the encounter, you may find makes the opener more consistent, as it provides a bonus to flow generation for 15 seconds upon use. It is used in the same way as .
    • In fractals, you can precast at a Mistlock then switch to to gain the benefits of both.


Template Code

[&DQIEHwsVRCunAKYA8hqpAP0arwDwGvIa/BqcAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA=]
Copy Template Code


Specializations


Trait Variants

  • The grandmaster trait in Tactics can be used to fill in gaps in Quickness Quickness via , or Might Might via .


Equipment

Head
Berserker
Shoulders
Berserker
Chest
Berserker
Hands
Berserker
Legs
Berserker
Feet
Berserker
Backpiece
Berserker
Accessory
Berserker
Accessory
Berserker
Amulet
Berserker
Ring
Berserker
Ring
Berserker
Axe
Berserker
Pistol
Berserker
Sigil
Sigil
Rune
x6
Infusion
x18
  • If not using , you want to hit 2218 precision (with a ).
    • Taking and swapping your food to (or ascended versions) is a simple solution if you can't flank on an encounter.
      • Alternatively, if you don't want to swap food from encounter to encounter, and two Assassin stats Assassin stats rings will do the job as well.
  • In strikes where the boss gets Exposed Exposed, or at Keep Construct, it would be more beneficial to swap the for a .
    • In this case, you should swap your food to (or ascended versions)


Consumables

Food

  • or ascended versions


Utility

    • for a cheaper alternative


Usage

There are two openers you can use for Bladesworn. The higher damage opener immediately starts with Dragon Slash - Force Dragon Slash - Force, but requires getting into combat at just the right time to avoid having to delay later parts of the rotation. The other opener has a slightly delayed Dragon Slash - Force Dragon Slash - Force which allows a bit more time for flow to build up and makes it easier to line up cooldowns.


If possible, you can pre-cast Blooming Fire Blooming Fire, Artillery Slash Artillery Slash and Break Step Break Step to build up stacks of . Pre-cast both charges of , , an additional charge of , and your healing skill.

Burst Opener Toggle
Regular Opener Toggle

Start on Axe/Pistol.


Gunsaber 1

  1. Dragon Slash - Force Dragon Slash - Force
  2. Flicker Step Flicker Step back into melee range
  3. Dragon Slash - Force Dragon Slash - Force
  4. Artillery Slash Artillery Slash


Axe/Pistol 1


Gunsaber 2

  1. Dragon Slash - Force Dragon Slash - Force
  2. Blooming Fire Blooming Fire
  3. Cyclone Trigger Cyclone Trigger
  4. Swift Cut Swift Cut Steel Divide Steel Divide Explosive Thrust Explosive Thrust


Axe/Pistol 2

  1. Proceed to Loop

Loop

Use and off cooldown.

Gunsaber 1

  1. Dragon Slash - Force Dragon Slash - Force
  2. Flicker Step Flicker Step back into melee range
  3. Dragon Slash - Force Dragon Slash - Force
  4. Artillery Slash Artillery Slash OR Blooming Fire Blooming Fire - Use Artillery Slash if it is at three charges, otherwise use Blooming Fire


Axe/Pistol 1


Gunsaber 2

  1. Dragon Slash - Force Dragon Slash - Force
  2. Blooming Fire Blooming Fire
  3. Cyclone Trigger Cyclone Trigger
  4. Swift Cut Swift Cut Steel Divide Steel Divide Explosive Thrust Explosive Thrust
  5. Cyclone Trigger Cyclone Trigger


Axe/Pistol 2

  1. - only if you're fast enough that you have time
  2. Return to start of Axe/Pistol 1


Video example


General Tips

  • Both openers follow the same broad structure as the loop, so learning the loop first might be helpful.
  • Outside of the opener, you always use as your last skill before exiting your Gunsaber.
  • While charging , you can use Triggerguard Triggerguard to generate extra charges of , to ensure you are at 10 stacks for Dragon Slash - Force Dragon Slash - Force.
    • If there is any danger of you getting interrupted while in , you can forgo this step so they are available for defence.
  • Dragon Slash - Force Dragon Slash - Force alone is over half your total damage, so it is essential not to delay . If necessary, you can skip some of the Axe skills in your rotation if it is already available.
  • If you find yourself getting lost in the rotation, glance at the cooldowns on your F1 and F2 skills. This will tell you how long your next section will be - e.g. If you are charging and Gunsaber is still on a long cooldown, you know you need to do the long Gunsaber section next (Gunsaber 2').


Ratings

This build has a rating of 5 stars based on 1 votes.
Log in or register to rate this build.
5 stars
OfficerAndyGentleman gave this build 5 stars • November 2022
Incredible DPS while also providing some boon uptime for free. Can also deal great CC and the dragon trigger options add some versatility.

Comments

Get MetaBattle Premium
Enjoy an ad-free experience & support the website, for less than $1 per month! Upgrade to Premium