Kenjutsu (first 6 abilities) my opinions

[Zoogie 4]

Opening Statement

I'd like to start by saying that the long awaited buff/rework to kenjutsu has improved the masteries playability by a lot. I still feel however a lack of identity with the mastery. There are a few abilities that I really like that add a unique playstyle but the biggest problem I see arent the abilities but the auto attacks and the lack of 2handed viability. These are just a few things that I would like to see changed/tuned. In no way is this me complaining. I think Vlad and the rest of the team have done an amazing job! These are just my opinions on the mastery having played it for many many hours.

 

Way of the Blade

The additional melee swings just dont work or theres no way to see them. I have tested with 2handed and 1 handed weapons and I have yet to see any additional attacks. The 5% chance to hit is also suspect, when looking at my extended character stats my hit rating is unaffected. If this passive worked properly I could see it being really effective in creating that "swordsmanship identity" that I feel the mastery is lacking. Also not trying to be woke but the tooltip should be changed to "his/her swords" not "his swords".

 

 

Tendon Slash

I think this is a great idea for a utility ability but it just the duration and cooldown doesnt make any sense for a skill shot ability. The hit box is extremely short and narrow making it awkward and incredibly difficult to land. The damage is actually pretty balanced imo but it needs a longer duration and/or its hitboxed modified. All in all I really like this ability but it needs love.  

 

 

Dance of the Flocking Birds

I have just a few little problems with this ability. First, the animation is bugged. Either you shouldnt be able to turn your attacks or the animation stays in 1 spot only. Similar to that fire mastery ability. Unsure what its called... Second I think that the damage is a little undertuned... I know that this is an aoe ability but it is still a skill shot. With how much movement there is in the game it is near impossible to land its entire channel unless the targeted is immobilized. 

 

 

Swordsmanship Slash

Not much to say about this ability, I think that it is in a really good spot and works well. Similar to Tendon Slash in terms of its hitbox but it is much better because of its high damage and low cooldown. I think that it preforms very well. In the future I could see this ability needing tuned down but atm I think it is fine.

 

 

Final Glimmer of Evening Light

I love this ability! Having an execute just makes sense and creates a lot of opportunities in PVP. The Only thing that I would change is possibly adjusting the chakra and cooldown numbers in the future. PS the animations on this ability are amazing!

 

 

Early Morning Wind.

I think this ability along with the previous execute are Kenjutsu's bread and butter. I think the stun duration, ability range, and cooldown are all appropriate. The only thing I would like to see is maybe a damage increase but it really isnt needed. All together it is an awesome ability that helps the mastery in many ways. Also, using it in certain terrain has made me fall through the map however. I remember this happening a few times when killing goats. 

Conclusion

I think a few of these abilities really dont need much tuning. However I still feel like the damage is a little underwhelming. Once the first passive is fixed maybe that will help bring the mastery to life but at the moment it is a little underwhelming. It isnt the worst mastery but it is still far from where id like to see it. I know everyone wants their mastery to be the strongest but I think Swordsmanship SHOULD be strong. "When the master of the blade draws his/her blade, the outcome is death." This is the description of the mastery in the first tooltip. This statement feels far from reality. Thanks for reading

 

PLEASE ADD YOUR THOUGHTS TO THE COMMENTS

[poopeater 1]

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Way of the Blade

The additional melee swings just dont work or theres no way to see them. I have tested with 2handed and 1 handed weapons and I have yet to see any additional attacks. The 5% chance to hit is also suspect, when looking at my extended character stats my hit rating is unaffected. If this passive worked properly I could see it being really effective in creating that "swordsmanship identity" that I feel the mastery is lacking. Also not trying to be woke but the tooltip should be changed to "his/her swords" not "his swords".

The passive works, it was probably changed from guaranteed to a % chance (like Sword Specialization is) and the tooltip wasn't updated. (Listen for the distinct slashing sound effect) If it was guaranteed this ability would be way too overpowered, I like how it is now - It's a great damaging ability especially seeing as everyone (except medical's) best damage is auto attacks. I don't know about the hit rate, that could be bugged for all I know, it is harder to test after all.

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Tendon Slash

I think this is a great idea for a utility ability but it just the duration and cooldown doesnt make any sense for a skill shot ability. The hit box is extremely short and narrow making it awkward and incredibly difficult to land. The damage is actually pretty balanced imo but it needs a longer duration and/or its hitboxed modified. All in all I really like this ability but it needs love. 

I agree, this ability needs the duration or cooldown changed. It's rarely worth the GCD unless it's your last ability or you're fighting in a team. I love that the hitbox is short and concise because it promotes actual good movement both dodging and hitting the ability.

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Dance of the Flocking Birds

Second I think that the damage is a little undertuned... I know that this is an aoe ability but it is still a skill shot. With how much movement there is in the game it is near impossible to land its entire channel unless the targeted is immobilized. 

This ability does a lot of damage, maybe you don't have enough AP? It does a lot of damage precisely because you can't hit it without the target being immobilized, I think that was the entire point of the design of the ability.

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Early Morning Wind.

I think this ability along with the previous execute are Kenjutsu's bread and butter. I think the stun duration, ability range, and cooldown are all appropriate. The only thing I would like to see is maybe a damage increase but it really isnt needed. All together it is an awesome ability that helps the mastery in many ways. Also, using it in certain terrain has made me fall through the map however. I remember this happening a few times when killing goats.

 

I think I'm in the minority when I say I preferred the old ability, because the new one is simply... well... Easy... There is no skill in landing the ability and it pretty much secures that your Dance of the Flocking Birds ability lands without having to worry about anything because they are conveniently the same exact CD. You can certainly outplay the ability by either outranging it or deadzone kiting which is a technique that is very hard to do in SS, because unlike WoW - you move super fast. If I was making this ability I would make it a hybrid of how the two versions are - Charge, but no stun and it would give you the buff so that you could stun for 3 sec if you hit one of your abilities.

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Conclusion

I know everyone wants their mastery to be the strongest but I think Swordsmanship SHOULD be strong. "When the master of the blade draws his/her blade, the outcome is death." This is the description of the mastery in the first tooltip. This statement feels far from reality.

Currently it is my opinion that the mastery has the highest potential damage in the game. Since you might not have access to your best burst ability (your next ability) I understand why it might feel underwhelming because swordsmanship shines with scaling. While it might ostensibly seem like the mastery is "weak" -- strength in SS is no longer defined by single masteries. And if any single mastery performs incredibly well on its own (like medical) I would argue that it is OP. Swordsmanship is in an okay spot right now. Without a doubt. 

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The biggest problem I see arent the abilities but the auto attacks and the lack of 2handed viability. 

Yes 1 Handers are superior in terms of raw DPS, but 2H is superior in PvP for DPS because slower auto attacks are almost always better in PvP - you simple aren't able to stay on people's assholes at all times and you will inevitably miss your auto attack swing timers when people are as mobile as they are in SS. You may be surprised to hear that at level 36 (with 2H equipped) I beat Chookcha (Hyuuga) when we only stand in front of each other and auto attack, but this is probably more telling of how weak Hyuuga actually is than how strong Swordsmanship is. The only thing I would add here is to ask the SS team to increase the 2H Sword speed to 3.0 instead of 2.5, because the polearms are way better than Swords, but we cannot use Polearms with any of our skills.

Edited January 1, 2022 by poopeater

[Zoogie 4]

14 hours ago, poopeater said:

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The passive works, it was probably changed from guaranteed to a % chance (like Sword Specialization is) and the tooltip wasn't updated. (Listen for the distinct slashing sound effect) If it was guaranteed this ability would be way too overpowered, I like how it is now - It's a great damaging ability especially seeing as everyone (except medical's) best damage is auto attacks. I don't know about the hit rate, that could be bugged for all I know, it is harder to test after all.

I have been hitting a training dummy for 10 minutes with both a 2hander and a single 1hander. I have yet to see an extra hit. Didnt try dual wielding because the numbers go by too fast to see them. Have you tried the passive with a 2 handed weapon? I am pretty sure it is bugged, at least for me it is. 

 

 

[poopeater 1]

20 hours ago, Zoogie said:

I have been hitting a training dummy for 10 minutes with both a 2hander and a single 1hander. I have yet to see an extra hit. Didnt try dual wielding because the numbers go by too fast to see them. Have you tried the passive with a 2 handed weapon? I am pretty sure it is bugged, at least for me it is. 

It definently works for me, I haven't tried on Dummy's maybe it doesn't work specifically on them? Or yes, it could be bugged for you : - /

Edited January 2, 2022 by poopeater