For players strategizing the optimal build for a Blade Dancer captain, level distribution and attribute allocation are key to maximizing combat effectiveness. This guide explores a balanced approach, drawing from experienced player insights to create a formidable captain adept at crew combats, story missions, and patrolling.
Level Distribution: Balancing Zealot, Blade Dancer, and Swordsman
A popular strategy suggests a level split that strategically leverages the strengths of each class:
- Zealot (1-5 Levels): Investing a few levels in Zealot primarily aims for the “Retribution Justice” talent. This early-level talent can be invaluable, especially for captains frequently engaged in patrolling and missions, providing a significant early game boost. While level 5 grants more Zealot benefits, even a minimal investment of level 1 or 2 can be sufficient to access impactful talents.
- Blade Dancer (10-11 Levels): The core of this build, Blade Dancer levels are paramount. Aim for approximately 11 levels to unlock a wide array of potent talents that define the Blade Dancer’s agility and combat finesse. These talents are crucial for enhancing both offensive and defensive capabilities in various encounters.
- Swordsman (Remaining Levels): The remaining levels are allocated to Swordsman, complementing the Blade Dancer with further combat prowess. Swordsman levels contribute to blade weapon skills and evasion, rounding out the captain’s combat profile.
This distribution ensures access to essential early-game utility from Zealot, core Blade Dancer strengths, and supplementary combat skills from Swordsman, creating a well-rounded and effective captain.
Attribute Allocation: Prioritizing Combat Attributes
For a combat-focused Blade Dancer captain, attribute prioritization leans heavily towards direct combat effectiveness:
- Wisdom, Quickness, and Fortitude (Maximized): These are the primary attributes. Wisdom and Quickness directly enhance initiative and the ability to evade attacks – crucial for survivability and striking first in combat. Fortitude maximizes hit points and damage soaking capacity, ensuring resilience in prolonged engagements.
- Strength (Secondary): After maximizing the core survival and initiative attributes, invest in Strength to amplify damage output. Strength contributes directly to melee damage, making your Blade Dancer more lethal.
- Charisma (Dump Stat): Charisma is considered the least crucial attribute for a combat captain. While some Blade Dancer talents might scale with Charisma, its impact is less significant in direct combat scenarios. Instead, focus on recruiting crew members with high Charisma to handle non-combat, Charisma-dependent tasks such as morale management or mission negotiation.
Prioritizing Wisdom, Quickness, and Fortitude ensures your Blade Dancer is agile, resilient, and consistently active in combat, while Strength adds offensive punch. Charisma is strategically delegated to crew members, optimizing attribute allocation for combat dominance.
Skill Distribution: Focusing on Blade and Tactical Skills
Skill point allocation should align with the combat-centric approach of the build:
- Blades (9 Points): Maximize Blades skill to enhance proficiency with blade weapons, the Blade Dancer’s weapon of choice.
- Tactics (1-5 Points): Invest in Tactics, aiming for around 5 points in total (including any from Blade Dancer levels). Tactics provides crucial combat advantages and strategic options.
- Evasion (5 Points): Allocate points to Evasion to further enhance survivability by increasing dodge chance, synergizing with the Quickness attribute.
This skill distribution creates a captain who is highly skilled with blades, tactically adept in combat situations, and evasive, making them a formidable force on the battlefield. Non-combat skills are intentionally minimized on the captain, as these roles can be effectively delegated to specialized crew members.
In conclusion, optimizing your Blade Dancer captain involves a strategic balance of levels across Zealot, Blade Dancer, and Swordsman, coupled with a combat-focused attribute and skill distribution. This approach creates a powerful and versatile captain, excelling in crew combat, story missions, and patrol engagements, ensuring dominance in diverse scenarios.
