I'm hearing to really top off with blademaster I'm going to need to either rune up some damn good scimitars, with trans night and getting them dwarven-runed every now and then to keep up kickass wounding in compensation for the lack of speed and writhing time (as compared to undead aslarans or shadowlord faelings). Other, faster warriors can trap me with rebound timing and impales/mantakaya other hindering combinations too easily, though I -do- get my occasional hits in, they aren't doing enough. Like for one small example, I raze and strike, and raze has quick balance, for the faster races they can hit again before the opponent's rebounding is up. I can't. Even if I slap the command in with what would seem to be an in-time placement, I usually hit -exactly- when the opponent's rebounding springs up, and that's if I'm in a good groove.

Lyco couldn't think of any other way I could directly compensate for igasho drawbacks, and I'll note that my mana bleeds real easy and real quick...making me pretty frackin' vulnerable to mana drain - .

I don't really wanna change race, because my character is Igasho. Not just statistically. Blue hulk, whatnot. So I'm pretty close to switching to axelord or pureblade, thinking maybe Igasho is more suited for it, this will cost me a hefty amount of lessons. But before I make that decision, I'm posting here to see what ya'll think. Be helpful, if you don't mind.

By the by, does anyone know the formula for each point of strength? I know it increases damage/wounding, but what's the math on that?

I wouldn't suggest it. Besides sweep/whatever you will have even more problems than as a bm. Cleave will be freakishly slow for you.

Any suggestions for sticking with blademaster, then? How do I keep up to pace as far as my offense and wounding-per-tick goes.

You trans all your skills, buy every artifact in the game, and pray for the best. In combat, speed is much more important than anything else. You will always be inferior to the Aslarans and Faelings.

That isn't to say you can't kick anyone's ass, you'll just never be top-tier. I strongly reccomend staying Igasho, however, because picking a race solely by its stats is lame. I went from Mugwump to Viscanti, which seriously weakened me, but I don't regret it.

Well, to improve your wounding and so on try to get some very good scimitars, or you could try rapiers so you attack a bit faster. Try to time your hits a bit better. If you usually have trouble razing hit right after they attack. Or raze as soon as their rebounding goes up. Even with your speed you should get balance back before rebounding goes up again.

I somehow want to disbelieve the game would be so easily imbalanced, Guido/Locke/Kahazul. I mean Igasho obviously weren't built to be guardians or mages, they -should- have at least equal worth as warriors as the speed races.

Edit: -want- to disbelieve is the keyword there.

I've decided I'll stick with Igasho. As Lyco said, it's not likely but to see it happen....and that's a pretty cool challenge, I'm up for it. Thanks for the help, fellers.

Eh I like a bit of imbalance it mixes things up.

Igasho Blademasters have been having fun for ages. With a pair of really fast rapiers you will hardly notice the speed penalty, while the huge str means that you will be doing a hell of a lot of deepwounds per hit (you just won't be hitting the good deepwound afflictions as much due to the lower dexterity). I used to be one and the only problem I ever had as one was when I came up against web/vines/etc whores. Ask Lyco - it was a bitch for him to try and kill me when I was an Igasho.

You do NOT need to buy a billion artifacts to make one viable, as long as you recognise your weaknesses (pretty much taking forever to writhe due to the high size) and your strengths (stunwhoring is pretty much useless against you - against a bonecrusher I was lucky to get stunned 50% of the time, and when you do get stunned the duration is slightly lower from memory). One thing that I did want when I was an Igasho was trans Resilience so I wouldn't have needed to surge to be retardedly tanky when I was bashing.

If you DO end up getting artifacts, two lightning runes on some broadswords are all you need for the damage route, and just a couple of things to help keep your mana slightly less low.

Thankyou much, Asarnil. That bit there about dexterity afflicting I did -not- know, and gave me much clarity on my last 30 spars. Have to say what you're saying here is a morale boost, too. I'll definetly try out some good rapiers, and resilience was already on my list.

Strength affects how much deepwounds you do, Dexterity affects the rate they come.

Which I did notice does make Lobo absurdly cool for both how much wounds they do and how many they give.

Don't forget about Lightning stance... its your friend.

as an igasho i'd be going for damage.

Blademaster, big broadswords and a heap of damage and the fastest speed stat you can get alongside 180 damage. Don't raze people use lunge instead, and when they attack you back they'll drop their own rebounding

Yah, listen to Murphy. Wounding for Igasho suck. Get all the plus damage possible, the best broadswords available, and damage mod runes.

Haymaker and ibululu are your friends. Also, any things added to tankiness, or the added herb balance in Herbs helps you stay alive (lvl 3 magic, blunt and cutting resistance in my case and 107/106 fullplate).

Pity that Igasho seem to only be effective as damagewhoring tanks...

Wounding for Igasho DOES NOT SUCK. I should know, I killed plenty of fools with my rapiers when I was one. And considering most of the targets you will face will be tanky, trying to kill them with damage and no lightning runes is not something you want to try unless you are masochistic.

I as igasho had 170+170+/130. I was slow but i was ableto make nice damage with wounding in same time. And yea lunge is nice.

Just to note a clarification: While surge as an Igasho is great for bashing(Gorgog damage is nothing) or tanking damage fighters (and even geomancers in their demesne), you don't really need that much damn health unless your offense tactic is crap, because you'll have killed the opponent before they can get a damage-based kill on you. Plus we don't really have the mana to spare (without surge we have a hard time against opponents with mana drains and half-mana slams already). I got surge and while it was nice and useful and all, I feel like the 700 lessons from boosting was a damn waste and should've gone into resilience or my secondary guild skill. That's the last factor of my statement: Igasho regeneration + mercy enchantment + athletics regen + athletics regen boosting = A good +600 health on top of health sipping every two rounds (I think. Too lazy to do actual calculations). There's no way you could maintain both surge and athletics regen (with boosting)from what I've noticed, not without sipping mana or relying on sparkleberries, in which case some mantakaya-stacking goon could put you down easy.

On athletics as a whole for igasho blademasters: I don't really see the point. Puissance takes alot of power you could've spent lunging. As an Igasho pureblade that'd be make some sense - puissance and assault for a quick crapload of wounding with the right greatsword (runed up it could be even worse), though that's a fairly simplistic and cruddy offense tactic. Immunity takes too much power to be worth a damn, as well. For Igasho warriors, even pureblades, I say get boosting in athletics and let it be there. If you even go that far. Really you only need up to strength.

Well, I suggest starting igasho then going human at 85, like most do. I myself have a set of 180 damage broads, 235 precision scimtars, and 279 speed rapiers, rapiers for bashing, and Scimitar's for other knights and guaridans, Broads are good for mages cause their health sucks, just pussiance, lunge chest, lunge chest, with the new added time to it, you should be able to cause some good damage with pussiance+lunge.

Quit necroing threads Sano!!! Kurt is perma shrubbed anyway