Bladedancer & Swordsinger

Artists of War

The rhythm builds. You choose the ending.

Bladedancer and Swordsinger no longer stand around reapplying two-minute buffs. In Knell, every hit that lands fills a mark; with them you choose between sustaining the group and ending the fight.

Join the community All classes

01What changes in Knell

Build it by striking. Spend it by choosing.

Presence they always had; what was missing was a decision. In Knell every hit of their own blades builds Rhythm, and Rhythm is spent on one of two endings: a blow that ends the fight, or a dance or song that changes how long the party lasts in it.

Rhythm comes from the blades
The Bladedancer’s Blade Strike and Blade Flurry, the Swordsinger’s Resonant Strike and Resonant Cut: each hit adds a point, up to five. Auto-attacks, dances and songs do not generate.
Two spends
Damage, with Dance of the Final Blade or Resonant Finale; or a dance or song whose duration grows with the Rhythm spent: ten seconds per point, four for Veil and Refuge.
A compact repertoire
Five dances and five songs that combine the old Interlude buffs. Each character holds two dances and two songs at a time; a third replaces the oldest.
A one-second cast
An individual cooldown of ten seconds on the sustained ones, thirty on Veil and Refuge. No more reapplying two-minute buffs: the choice fits inside the fight.
Lose it all if you fall
Stun, sleep, silence or death empty the bar. So do thirty seconds without generating. It does not survive a relog.

02Signature skills

Four decisions per fight.

Names as they appear in the game. The icons are the Knell client’s.

Dance of the Final BladeBladedancer

Finisher · Consumes Rhythm · 30 s cooldown · Level 40

Spends every point of Rhythm on a sweeping attack around the Bladedancer. Strength grows with what was spent.

Dance of AssaultBladedancer

Dance · 10 to 50 s · 10 s cooldown · Level 40

Attack, accuracy, critical and speed for the party, for as many seconds as the Rhythm spent allows. Gathers Warrior, Inspiration, Fire and Fury.

Song of RefugeSwordsinger

Song · 4 to 20 s · 30 s cooldown · Level 40

The party takes less damage for four to twenty seconds, depending on the Rhythm spent. Takes over the role of Earth and Warding.

Resonant FinaleSwordsinger

Finisher · Consumes Rhythm · Level 40

The Swordsinger’s finisher: a single heavy blow that spends every point. No fear, no stun.

03The moment

When the pull goes too well.

The dance has five marks on it and the pull is going well. Too well: a second group comes out of the trees. The Swordsinger could end the first one now and spend everything on the blade. Instead she spends it on Song of Refuge: twenty seconds in which the party takes less than it should. The Bladedancer, with five of his own, chooses the other ending. The first group is gone before the song fades.

An example vignette. Implemented on the server; the in-game combat proof is still pending, and the durations are starting values.

04In the party

What they cover. What they do not.

Covers

Empower: attack windows, evasion and damage reduction with a chosen duration
Damage: two generators and a finisher from level 40
A cleanse against stun, sleep and fear, and the Ballad at 76
Alone: strong, with a full hunting cycle

Does not cover

Healing and the rescue: a Bishop or an Elder decides who comes back
Twenty-minute buffs: dances and songs last what the Rhythm pays for
More than two dances and two songs per person

Walks well with

Melee parties, above all
Each other: dances and songs stack, two of each
A Bishop or an Elder, who holds whoever the Rhythm hurries

05Path

From the blade to the stage.

The second profession is your specialization. The third, at 76, widens what the second already decided.

1 – 20Dark FighterDark Elf
→
20 – 40Palus Knight
→
40 – 76Bladedancer
→
76 +Spectral Dancer

1 – 20Elven FighterElf
→
20 – 40Elven Knight
→
40 – 76Swordsinger
→
76 +Sword Muse

06In motion

Five marks under the name.

10 to 15 s clip · silent loop

Client capture, pending: The five gold marks filling under the Bladedancer’s name and Dance of the Final Blade consuming all of them on a group of monsters.

07Other classes