Armsman

[knighthood]

When i come back, ima gonna get me an Armsman Going again.

And im gonna be a Inconnu

Yes i know its Gimped, but i hate looking like every other arms and they block well with decent hp lol. Anyways....

How do they fare these days, i missed loads of patches ages ago, i know they got a ton of new fluff , is it any good, do people use them, can they actually climb walls now etc...

And whats the best weapon setup thesedays

 

[Kagato]

Well i've always been of the opinion that race is the least important factor.

With everything else, like timers and RR etc, 10 points here or there in starting stats wont make that much differance to the battle out come.

I'll start at the begining, spec.

The two main spec's to consider are hybrid or pure pole. These are the two most used now.
2H is largely out dated now since the best style in polearm is now front positional. In my personal opinion, pole was always the better choice regardless, but the last patch pretty much put the nail in the coffin for 2H use.

As for hybrid vs pure, its a matter of personal taste, I do not see the point in hybrid myself but it is popular for group armsmen still.

The only other spec to consider is pure sword / shield, which is good for protection and fighting 2H users but very little damage.

Regarding armsmen now, they are more popular then before but still no more wanted in groups. The recent bonuses heavy tanks got are nice but do not provide much to group utility above and beyond what groups can get from mercs or paladins.

Next patch the duration on the two main abilities gets lengthend but they only help with your own survivability, which is nice but again wont get you wanted in groups.

group purge is sweet but highly ignored in albion. sadly.

Yes we can climb walls, but its fairly pointless most of the time, it will just get you killed out of line of sight for a rezz and theres little you will achieve in doing so accept for make life harder for your clerics. The only time this is of real use is in a dedicated 'over the wall' type of keep raid which again albions largely ignore.

Things are better for armsmen, but not good.

 

[echome]

Well what Kagato said... I like hybrid for a solo spec aswell though - but that is all about taste. Kagato is in love with his pure spec and as you can see in his movies he sure makes it works ! :worthy:

Take a look at his movies and then I am sure you wanna try the pure pole spec.

Race... yeah pick the one you can look at all day without getting sick.

 

[knighthood]

Heh dont worry i knew Kag back when i played and id have to agree his pole is uber . I doubt ill be using a pole though tbh as inconnu str stat is totally crap as a base , ill be pretty much a blockbot. I was just wondering b4hand of making one about all the new skills they got. Hmm maybe i might reconsider, i dont have a buffbott and the downtime levelling arms or mercs is sick.

But well see, thx for advice

 

[Kagato]

Well if you just want to be a block bot you can just totally flip the coin and go 50 slash 50 shield 28 parry. You wont do much damage, but it'll be bloody tough to hit you.
And the other benefits are malice main hand, and easy template to do with having 2 weapons slots filled, which is normally the bane of 2h users.

If you wanted a slightly better damage table you can always go crush/shield/parry instead but you lose alot of the auto-train benefit then if you decide to do that.

Starting from fresh you can go 50/50/31 if you put your mind to it.

 

[knighthood]

Well if you just want to be a block bot you can just totally flip the coin and go 50 slash 50 shield 28 parry. You wont do much damage, but it'll be bloody tough to hit you.
And the other benefits are malice main hand, and easy template to do with having 2 weapons slots filled, which is normally the bane of 2h users.

If you wanted a slightly better damage table you can always go crush/shield/parry instead but you lose alot of the auto-train benefit then if you decide to do that.

Starting from fresh you can go 50/50/31 if you put your mind to it.

Aye, shuld be auto training anyway as i cant /level on this new account. Inconnu with a pole doesnt look right either tbh, had one b4 for a laugh and they just look so puny. Maybe if i was a Half ogre with a 6.0spd Halberd, that looks nasty, but my poor inconnu hehe. Btw can u get 5rsp in bg1 now, cos i dont own a buffbott, and withoutfirst aid (Which i found a soddin lifesaver for downtime last time i leveled a tank) it takes foreevvvooorrr.

Tell u what, if i make this guy ill PM u ingame Kag

ta again

 

[Kagato]

Sure, no worries.

 

[Golena]

Innconu armsman - 2-handed slash.

It may not be the best race or spec, but it's probably the coolest looking char there is!!

 

[knighthood]

Lol and possible the biggest deathwish for an alb char solo in RvR

Your right tho they do look cool i tried that b4, like a luri with a large wep lol

I think ill stick to shield tho, btw, is 50 Thrust (Dragonfang) still screwed on arms, ie off evade. or did they change it?

 

[Kagato]

I think they changed it for parry but either way going 50% str/dex probably isn't the wisest choice.

Considering you'll have access to both slam and the 50 shield spec stun from blocking, which you will do far more often, you don't need dragon fang.

 

[knighthood]

how much difference in the end will the str make to my overal dmg do u think.

i mean inconnu start str is 50 , prolly put 10-15 into str and the other 10 into con but as to say a H/O . or Highlander

80 +10

or 90 +100

when im lvl 50, whats the 40 less base str gonna mean dmg wise , ie like say on average u as a highlander did 400 per hit, what would i do, 300? 350 ? , cos im starting to like the idea of a pole inconnu now (though ill be s/s till 40 unless u wanna lend me your buffbott lol).

If the dmg variation is that much diff i might not though. Although i can allways get the crit % + and aug str i suppose

 

[Kagato]

Ok well first you need to understand how damage works.

This is a very basic summary, so pedants don't bother, im skipping certain complications for the sake of simplicity.

Your damage CAP or limit has absolutely nothing to do with strength.

weapon dps aside (seeing as we all use 16.5 dps mostly) the only things that matter are your specialisation (pole, slash etc) and your swing speed.

Alot of things effect your swing speed and therefore your damage but again thats getting into the complicated side. Briefly though the aim is to get the slowest weapon swinging as fast as possible.

What this essentially means is we all have the same damage potential, as we all have access to the exact same polearms and swords etc. The only thing that would make me hit any harder then you is my realm rank (70 spec versus maybe 63 or similer etc).

Other then that our damage caps would be identical with identical weapons and quickness etc.

So where does Strength come in? Strength will only make it easier for you to reach that cap, it wont increase the cap. After all the af, absorbs and other factors have reduced your damage, strength will make it easier to reach your cap again.

One way to get around this is by using weapons that debuff their own damage resistance like sun weapons or legendaries or champion weapons etc.

But the other thing strength will effect is your weapon skill making it easier to hit etc.

Of cause using malice and debuffing all the enemies stats will even up the weaponskill a little.

You could of cause compensate with high aug strength but again it depends on wether your going for offensive or defensive still.

 

[knighthood]

Thx muchly , might well go for pole then

 

[knighthood]

By the way, is there a ton of half ogre polearmsman running about atm, cos if there isnt ill do the sensible thing and make a crush pole ogre, i just wanted inconnu to stand out a bit more, but if there isnt that many ogre arms i may just go that instead so im not too gimp ^^

 

[Moaning Myrtle]

Well if you just want to be a block bot you can just totally flip the coin and go 50 slash 50 shield 28 parry. You wont do much damage, but it'll be bloody tough to hit you.

If you are going to go that spec Kagato, then why roll an Arms at all? A Paladin will always be better S&S spec. Arms are about damage, so spec Pole/2H or don't bother IMHO.

 

[knighthood]

If you are going to go that spec Kagato, then why roll an Arms at all? A Paladin will always be better S&S spec. Arms are about damage, so spec Pole/2H or don't bother IMHO.

Um actually a paladin wouldnt be a better s and s in terms of blocking as paladins dex never raises, tho i suppose thats not counting defense wise for pallys chants i suppose. but thats just af, in fact a s/s merc blocks better than a pally, i do see your point tho , tis a bit pointless rollin arms to be s/s , im gonna go pole anyway.

just out of interest, whats the average dmg u do per hit kag (on a fully templated enemy say..) 500+ ? just wonderin

 

[Kagato]

If you are going to go that spec Kagato, then why roll an Arms at all? A Paladin will always be better S&S spec. Arms are about damage, so spec Pole/2H or don't bother IMHO.

As knighthood said.

Armsmen make far far better block bots. a s/s spec Armsmen will block far more then any paladin, and have greater 1H damage out put.

The only advantage a paladin has in this area is chants, being able to rezz etc.

As for my damage, it varies greatly from enemy to enemy, my best hit is in my signature picture. 2 days ago I 3 shot a shade with a 1139 damage finishing blow and that was with 200 damage absorbed, from som I presume.

But on an enemy heavy tank it can drop to 400 ish without crits.

As we discussed earlier regarding how damage caps work, technically speaking being the only 'active' rr10 armsman at the moment I theoretically have the highest damage potential possible as theres only me that can have 70 polearm spec unless some of those that quit or play alts return or until someone else dings 10. And after that it would be even as again we'd have access to the same quickness and pole speed choices.

 

[Raven]

paladins may be better at getting agro and keeping agro (due to heal chant) but an armsman will make a far better block bot. s/s armsman are a knightmare to hit, with aug dex and mastery of blocking (like any heavy tank) though tbh i would rather go 2h or pole any day, i just find 2h weaponary much more fun.

 

[knighthood]

Yay !!!

But now theyre making a stupid minataur thingy in the coming expansion so my arms will probably be even more redundant lol. Still making one tho . Thx for the info guys. I think ill go hybrid for a bit till im sorted on template and few RR's up before going full pole Kag.

And ill most likely be a half ogre, prolly loads but i doubt too many female Pole Armswomen Ogres out there. See u all September sometimes with any luck

Oh just one last thang, back when i used to play, i noticed the graphics for the Crush poles was, well tbh, shite. Cept for this meaty anvil ended thing someone got from ToA, the rest looked utter bolox, they didnt look like they could break butter let alone metal, and much as malice is prolly the best one to use, it looks like an axe :/ , not a crushy type thing, is there a lot of new Crush poles since, whats the champ crush pole look like ?

 

[Raven]

malice has been upgraded to look like a hammer when you get it blunt.

 

[Sollac]

now ive tried the pole spec and tbh im not liking it as much as s/sh.

started off my arms as a s/sh as think it looks right.

think im gonna go back to that spec as i feel comfortable with it.

now being s/sh most arms would go battlemaster for bodyguard but tbh i think warlord is more useful.

now would crush be viable or would trust slash be the way to go.

??

 

[Kagato]

knighthood - Malice can only be slash in polearms. If it was crush i'd use it myself. Crush champion pole probably best option and cheap.



sollac - For s/s template i'd personally go crush/shield but I hate slash with a vengance, its utter crap from an albions perspective. That way you get good all round damage table, still got good styles and still the same artifact options around, including nice bruiser damage for keep doors.

 

[knighthood]

knighthood - Malice can only be slash in polearms. If it was crush i'd use it myself. Crush champion pole probably best option and cheap.



sollac - For s/s template i'd personally go crush/shield but I hate slash with a vengance, its utter crap from an albions perspective. That way you get good all round damage table, still got good styles and still the same artifact options around, including nice bruiser damage for keep doors.

Ah ok, thx kag. Man that kinda sux it only being slash :/

Hope the Crush pole champ wep looks good then

 

[Sollac]

Ah ok, thx kag. Man that kinda sux it only being slash :/

Hope the Crush pole champ wep looks good then

yeah it does,looks like ill respec mine to 1h crush and add magma infused defender and completely fook up my template...lol

Looking for a full skill respec stone cheap

 

[Puppet]

As knighthood said.

Armsmen make far far better block bots. a s/s spec Armsmen will block far more then any paladin, and have greater 1H damage out put.

Why would it block far more? AFAIK chance to block depends only on your shield-skill and your dexterity? I wasnt aware blocking depends on your WS, atleast not 'by massive amounts'. Armsman have 15 more DEX @ level 50, hardly gamebreaking.

Then this 'greater 1H damage output'. Well, obviously the paladin will have (much) lower WS then the armsman, however the paladin gets a 'free' damage-add from speccing chants.... and has celerity. With a 230~ QUI char you're looking at a 2.0 sec swingspeed versus 1.5 sec swingspeed, which boosts the paladin his effective DPS by quite abit.. most likely within 10-15% of the arms his DPS.

As we discussed earlier regarding how damage caps work, technically speaking being the only 'active' rr10 armsman at the moment I theoretically have the highest damage potential possible as theres only me that can have 70 polearm spec unless some of those that quit or play alts return or until someone else dings 10. And after that it would be even as again we'd have access to the same quickness and pole speed choices.

AFAIK you dont use artifacts, or do you now? Because if you don't, you loose alot of style and base-damage, which puts a RR5 armsman who's fully TOA'ed over your damage-potential... ofcourse again with same quickness, TOA-haste and pole-speed choices

 

[Kagato]

Why would it block far more? AFAIK chance to block depends only on your shield-skill and your dexterity? I wasnt aware blocking depends on your WS, atleast not 'by massive amounts'. Armsman have 15 more DEX @ level 50, hardly gamebreaking.

Then this 'greater 1H damage output'. Well, obviously the paladin will have (much) lower WS then the armsman, however the paladin gets a 'free' damage-add from speccing chants.... and has celerity. With a 230~ QUI char you're looking at a 2.0 sec swingspeed versus 1.5 sec swingspeed, which boosts the paladin his effective DPS by quite abit.. most likely within 10-15% of the arms his DPS.



AFAIK you dont use artifacts, or do you now? Because if you don't, you loose alot of style and base-damage, which puts a RR5 armsman who's fully TOA'ed over your damage-potential... ofcourse again with same quickness, TOA-haste and pole-speed choices

Simple, Armsmen have more dexterity and as s/s spec will be at 50 weapon 50 shield 28 parry.

Paladins still need to spec chants, if they spec 50 shield they will be screwed over everywhere else.

Yes paladin gets a damage add and celerity (if they spec for it) but both the add and the speed are worthless if they cannot actually hit due to poor weaponskill.

And with the correct armour choices an armsmen can easily get capped weapon speed, heck I managed to cap 1.5 weaponspeed with a 5.6 speed polearm by using Alacritious armour or weapons.

As for artifacts, lol that was almost 2 years ago that I made that video shortly after ToA release ! I've had about 5 different templates since then.

And your still completely misreading the point, I have access to exactly the same artifacts, items and poles, so at 70 polearm STILL have the highest damage potential. Theres perhaps 3 armsmen at most on the cluster who could match but not better that potential, and they are all quit or inactive.

Im not sure what kind of point your trying to make, but your way of the mark lol.

 

[Sollac]

well i eventually got around to the respec.....

full crush and shield rest in parry.

works well especially with BG... made 12K rp just standing around beno bridge last night....GO Muy Go!

currently have no crafted items in my template....I do have a few arties ( too many in fact ) but find im using most of my epic armour, malice, magma infused defender, darkspire chest piece, som.....mainly after what Kagato said to me in PM. I have aimed for life tap and heal reactives. everywhere.

will level malice asap and battler ( back up)..

my resists are good ( hits could do with more ) are 2250 ish unbuffed ( should reach 3000 ish fully buffed ) and str and con and dex are maxed with qui at 59/80

felt good playing last nite and hit some firbies for 250 + damage

 

[Golena]

Hope the Crush pole champ wep looks good then

http://www.camelotherald.com/article.php?id=202

 

[Kagato]

Glad your enjoying it you'll do best against 2H meleers and other shield tanks, your only weakness will be good DW users like mercs and zerkers, and even then with good parry you should do ok.

 

[Tilda]

So is crush or slash best for full pole users? and why?

Minnowtaur is comming!