What stops or slows a fencing swing?

[JimmyTheDriver]

Just picked up fencing on my dexxer last night and went out and about. Ended up in a duel with a fella by the name of Abraham Lincoln I believe... tank mage/hally jouster. Throughout the fight, I noticed that while approaching him or chasing, half the time I was not swinging. Other times, while standing next to him, as he cast, the Kryss was not moving at the speed I would have expected.

What causes this, and what can I do on my end to keep the blows coming along as they should with a Kryss? I am new to dexxers/PVP, and it seemed odd. Do I spam "attack last comabatant"? Any tips or pointers would be great!

I was never able to finish him with a power Kryss, as my swings did not disrupt GHs, or any casts for that matter. I ended up having to recall out after blowing through all of my pots. He called me a shitty dex player through out the entire match... but no worries, I consider the battle a victory, as I did not die in my first heads up match.

Incase it matters... I am 100 str 100 dex, GM Fence, tatics, healing, anatomy, resist, tracking, 90 magery, 10 hiding.

Thanks!
JimmyTheDriver

[Pirul]

Two words: Red Pots!!!

Stamina determines swing speed, so be sure to use a red pot whenever it starts dropping. Spamming attack last will help, but my money is on stamina.

[JimmyTheDriver]

Hey Pirul,

While I can't say I was 100% stamina at all times, I did keep it up throughout the fight with reds. I will make an effort to make sure it is always topped off from here on out, thanks!

Although I am not sure how that would stop my swinging without me having tabbed out.

Thanks!
JimmyTheDriver

[uofuntime]

I think it's your stamina dropping very low (the damage you take drops your stamina). Unless he had peacemaking, hid or cast invisibility, I don't think anything would "stop" you from swinging (hence no need to use attack last combatant). Maybe your stamina was so low you swung very slow.

[JimmyTheDriver]

Yeah - I guess that is probably it.

Now I just need to figure out how to actually finish someone off... beacuse he seemed to be able to cast through just about everything.

Thanks,
JimmyTheDriver

[Commodore Axavious]

poison your kryss! toss some purple potions at him! You've got some magery - you could do something creative with that. Drop a bladespirit on him? You've got enough mana for a flamestrike, just to mix it up

[JimmyTheDriver]

Is a precast ebolt an effective strategy for a dexxer? Granted, I can't cast much after that, but... not much different than the way tank mages attack.

Precast ebolt - swing kryss til they bleed red - fire ebolt.

If timed properly, could be used to disrupt greater heal they try and cast when health is low.

Could always just cancel it if they get the better of you with the hally/exp/eb combo that they are 99% guaranteed to drop after a successful hally hit.

-JimmyTheDriver

[nightshark]

also note that if you are chasing him, your kryss is not "reloading" while you move. so if you take a swing, then run all the way from britain to minoc, your kryss is still not "ready" to take a swing. the swing timer only elapses while you are stationary.

this is going to be changed in an upcoming patch

[marmalade]

Is a precast ebolt an effective strategy for a dexxer? Granted, I can't cast much after that, but... not much different than the way tank mages attack.

Precast ebolt - swing kryss til they bleed red - fire ebolt.

If timed properly, could be used to disrupt greater heal they try and cast when health is low.

Could always just cancel it if they get the better of you with the hally/exp/eb combo that they are 99% guaranteed to drop after a successful hally hit.

-JimmyTheDriver

unless you have evaluating intelligence and meditation, i would save your mana for emergencies. offensive spells are going to do next to nothing unless you have evaluating intelligence, and its not even worth investing in unless you raise your intelligence to a decent level that allows you a few 6th circle spells.. which means you'll be swinging even slower. if you have magery, i would keep it between 60-70. its not worth having it higher than that if you've got less than 35 int and you can invest the remaining points on meditation or tracking.

spamming attack last will not improve your swing rate at all. keeping your stamina high will, so make sure you always carry plenty of red pots.

[Pirul]

offensive spells are going to do next to nothing unless you have evaluating intelligence, and its not even worth investing in unless you raise your intelligence to a decent level that allows you a few 6th circle spells.. which means you'll be swinging even slower. if you have magery, i would keep it between 60-70.

Unless you manage to get a dexxer under 8%, and he's running around to get his bandage, and you don't have purple pots, THEN a surprise e-bolt can do the trick. Been there, done that.

[Psilo]

also note that if you are chasing him, your kryss is not "reloading" while you move. so if you take a swing, then run all the way from britain to minoc, your kryss is still not "ready" to take a swing. the swing timer only elapses while you are stationary.

this is going to be changed in an upcoming patch

This.

Right now to hit a mage with a dexer and to insure you'll dirupt them some, do short "spurts" of stopping to regain your kryss hit. It's silly but it works and will be fixed next patch.

Just stand for about 1 MS or less, practice it with a friend you'll see that you'll hit him more often!.

[KydVicious]

Jimmy, you have just been introduced to UBER WRESTLING, wrestling is quite the bitch on this shard, you'll whiff all the damn time. That's why you need lots of yellow and red pots plus a +15 or better power or vanq kryss, bless and magic reflect items AT ALL TIMES. Now some are going to argue that a good dexxer doesn't need to be all geared up but to be consistent on the field you absolutely, positively NEED the gear. I guarantee you get geared up your next encounter will go ALOT better.

[MatronDeWinter]

MR/Invis item + Teleport Ring = alive dexer.

[ClowN]

this is going to be changed in an upcoming patch

i have been waiting for this patch for what seems like forever. when this goes in ill actually start playing again.

its not just fencing, its all weapon skills that are messed up here due to these whack swing timers. it hurts dexxers more then alot of people realize. take it from me, iv got 6 dex builds, and i havnt played any of them in about 2 months now just cuz i got tired of relying only on purple pots to get kill shots. if you play a dexxer for pvp and you dont have 20+ purple pots on you, dont expect to kill anyone....ever.

plz fix soon

[JimmyTheDriver]

Clown -

Agreed. I have officially put my dexxer into retirement and am building a hally jouster. Gotta do what it takes to compete. Dexxers get no respect around here as everyone seems to know most can't finish. I have thieves play games with me all day long, knowing they just have to run in a straight line and I have zippy chance, especially since I need to stop to get my timer running.

I am new to begin with, so that is a huge part of it, but there is no reason a dex should have to heave purple pots to even have a chance. Despite user error, it is blatantly obvious the timers are a little funk.

-Jimmy