Sword Master Team Composition
Hey folks I know a lot of players out there love sword masters, but like me you might struggle to use them effectively in the late game. I came up with a very effective team composition where the sword master really gets to shine. I'm about to finish up Bastoras, just two story missions left. The team is strong against most team compositions so I'll just cover the weaknesses. Ranged assists often kill the Sword Master outright destroying the team so you will need to use either Wind Faerie's Charm or Smoke Bolt to keep the team functional when there are ranged assists. Healers with the right combinations of dps can also shut it down because it relies on the blind to use the first round to set up defense. Warlocks can also shut it down, but if there is no one to cover them you can swap priorities of the Elven Archer to freeze them with icicle arrow instead of buffing the sword master with Mystic Conferral. I'm sure there are other combinations that will shut it down, but I haven't found any other cpu comps that can reliably take it down, especially if there is a ranged assist team behind them. And we aren't in the post game yet either so the team can be tweaked to perform even better I'm sure.
The teams consists of the following
Sword Master(Front Row Right Side): Equipment: Carnerlian Blade, Wyvern Razor, Sapphire Pendant, Lucky Coin
Tactics: Impale >Target HP less than 50%, Keen Edge > Scout Only, Keen Edge > Flyer Only, Meteor Slash(no conditions), Keen Edge(no conditions), Charged Impetus(nc), Parry(nc), Hastened Strike > Lowest HP(turned off)
Legionnaire(Front Row Left Side): Equipment: Carnelian Spear, Bulwark Towershield, Cloth Gauntlets(98%guard rate), Holy Unicorn Signet
Tactics: Bulwark >First Action / Prioritize Front Row, Great Shield > Second Action, Sting & Row Protection are interchangeable(everything is dead before the 3rd round is over), Row Cover > Row is Attacked, Guardian > Own HP is 50% or Less, Heavy Cover > Target has 2 PP or Less(this is to ensure hes not guarding the first turn or two when the enemies are blinded and Bulwark is still up. Its the best way I could think of to manipulate when he uses Heavy Cover.
Druid(Back Row Left Side): Equipment: Dustbound Staff, Ruby Pendant, Sapphire Pendant, Angel Plume
Tactics: Sandstorm(nc), Defensive Curse > Prioritize Front Row, Passive Curse & Offensive Curse are interchangeable and aren't really needed but might be useful in some situations. Tailwind > Back Row / Own PP is 3 or more(so its only used once), Quick Curse > Not Blinded, Cursed Swamp > Cavalry Enemies Present(turned off)
Elven Archer(Back Row Center): Equipment: Carnelian Bow, Sapphire Pendant, Carnelian Pendant, Dancer's Bracelet OR Monk's Mitre(Ive had success with both).
Tactics: Mystic Conferral > Lowest HP(to specifically target the SM) / First Action, Icicle Arrow > Prioritize Caster / 2 or More Enemies, Wind Arrow > Prioritize Flying, Powerful Call > Own PP is 2 or More / Front Row, Quick Cure > Own PP is 2 or More, Selfless Heal(nc)
Viking(Back Row Right Side): Equipment: Boreas's Axe, Scarlet Crest Shield, Sapphire Pendant, First Aid Kit
Tactics: Wide Breaker > Row with 2+ Combatants / Debuffed, Rolling Axe > Row with 2+ Combatants, Smash > Highest Defense, War Horn(nc), Frenzied Strike > Own PP is 2 or More, First Aid > Elven
Note: Several pieces of equipment are being used to manipulate initiative values. The ideal turn order should be Druid > Viking > Elven Archer > Sword Master > Legionnaire
Battles usually play out as follows...
Turn 1
Viking opens with War Horn, Druid uses Sandstorm and then gives the back row a +10 initiative buff. Viking uses Wide Breaker with increased potency because of Blind on the Front Row and debuffs their defense by 30%. Elven Archer buffs the Sword Master with Mystic Conferral which lasts for the rest of the battle unlike the Witches Magick Conferral. Then the Sword Master Kills something with Impale or Meteor Slash and uses Charged Impetus on themselves. Note that my Meteor Slashes with this comp are doing between 250-400 damage on average. At this point most of the enemies will take their turn and miss. Ive noticed Were-Owls don't seem to mess this team up like they do with many others. Even if they dispel the War Horn buff on the Sword Master it still seems to always work. Im not sure if its because the damage is just that high or if enemies cant block when they are blind? The Viking will sometimes use Frenzied Strike at this time which is fine. Then the Legionnaire uses Bulwark on himself and the Sword Master.
Turn 2
The druid uses Defensive Curse on the Front Row lowering Defense further and Sealing their Guard in case the Sword Masters War Horn buff was dispelled. Then the Viking will use a Wide Breaker if the Front Row is still intact, if its down to one enemy he'll use smash, and if its gone he'll use Wide Breaker on the back row. Then the Elven Archer will use Icicle Arrow freezing two enemies. Then the Sword Master will kill something else with either Impale or Meteor Slash again. It just occurred to me while writing this it might be worthwhile to put the Not Frozen Condition on Meteor Slash so the SM targets a functional enemy, but it depends on what type of units were occupying the front row. At this point the enemy will attack there is usually only 1 functional enemy at this point and bulwark will usually negate whatever was used. Finally the Legionnaire will use Greatshield so he has 4 PP to Heavy Cover.
Turn 3
The Druid is out of AP. The Viking may or may not attack depending on whether he has AP, if he does attack he usually kills something. Then the Elven Archer uses her final attack with Wind Arrow. Thinking about it now the Elven Archer might be able to swap out her Carnelian Pendant because at this point in the game at least she doesn't seem to need this final attack. Then the SM usually kills the final enemy at this point again with either Impale or Meteor Slash. Finally the Viking will use First Aid on the Elven Archer causing her to use Selfless Heal which heals the entire party for around 35-50 HP.
That's about it. I hope this helps out my fellow Sword Master enthusiasts. And please share your Sword master compositions! The main issue with this team Ive put together is its really demanding as far as high quality gear goes to make sure it functions. 4 Sapphire Pendants and 1 Ruby Pendant seems like a lot for one team to have. I cant remember how many you get by the end of the game, but I do remember never having as many as I wanted lol.