Points at Vet and Expert

Ever wondered where to put your extra stat point upon promotion to Veteran or Expert? Just check the guide below as to where best to put that new point in. Generally if the character does Melee, points go in Strength. Magic, points go in Int. Ranged combat, Dex. It's the hybrids that cause problems or special cases like Alejandro. Keep in mind that these are suggestions for min/max. If you've got other suggestions feel free to edit or to create a thread below the page.

Note that in future patches, stats will be rated from 10-100, with every 10 points in the future patch being equivalent to 1 point in Sword's current version. Hence, a Strength of 80 in the upcoming patch is equivalent to a Strength of 8 in the current patch. Vetting or Experting a character in the future patch nets 10 points per promotion instead of 1. The suggestions outlined below are still for the current version of Sword, but can be easily be adapted to the upcoming patch by simply placing all 10 points to the suggested stat.

With regard to the speed cap

If you guys will notice, this guide suggests placing emphasis on Str for fast characters. The reason is all pretty much the same. With buffs and good gear, the benefits of speed from Agi points are pretty much eliminated and end up being a waste. Though some characters benefit with Evade and Block, the perks of going Dex or Str pretty much outweigh placing surplus points in Agi. Don't worry about the .5 additional damage Agi gives. Concentrating on the character's primary damage stat is in most cases better. Whenever in PvP or fighting bosses, you'll be spamming skills. A good attack speed will only come into factor during the short period where your skills will be cooling down. And during such, part of that period is to recover SP by hitting the enemy normally. However, you can get pass SP recovery through potion spam and simply use all the skills in your allotment instead. And frankly if you'll only get a couple of blows in during the down period between skills, its best to make these count through extra damage and critical hits. There are exceptions though, such as Brunie whirling through Outrage. Speed admittedly looks great but usually factors the most during AFK. And even then, outside the AA or SA, the spawns usually won't really be fast enough for the quick kill to matter. Get it into your head guys, achieving max speed easily is great but in most cases, doing so means you could do a lot more damage by putting your points in Str or Dex since you'll be fighting with buffs that will allow you to cap anyway. BTW, formula for max attack speed is as follows: 40 divided by the number of attacks a stance does per cycle. For example, Outrage hits 4 times per attack, hence, 40/4 = max speed = 10. Martial Elements: Wind strikes 3 times, hence 40/3 = 13. Low Guard strikes twice hence, 40/2 = 20. Targan Shot hits once hence 40/1 = 40. In other words, 4 hits per strike = max speed = 10. 3 hits per strike = 13. 2 hits per strike = 20. 1 hit per strike = 40. As for how much speed exactly 1 point (or later, 10) in Agi brings, that's still being debated over/figured out in the official forums and part of it is stance dependent. But generally, 7 Agi can reach respectable speeds with good gear and 8 Agi can reach max speed without too much trouble.

With regard to Agi for damage

Patch 3.0 adds an additional .5 damage for every point of Agi above 5. Hence if a character has a Str of 7 and Agi of 7, his damage modifier would be equivalent be 2+1. As Agi governs Attack Speed, Block or Evade and some damage, in some cases, adding Agi would be more beneficial than the character's primary damage modifier stat (Str or Dex). Views upon the benefits that this brings are mixed. However, as we tend to mix and max, its still usually better to place emphasis on the primary stat. For instance, although Agi would make the Musketeer shoot faster, Dex still gives more damage, Accuracy and Criticals. However, its best to take the stance and character into consideration. Generally, its not a bad idea to take idea if you don't mind losing out in damage as long as you can get the FULL benefits of that Agi can provide. For example, although Lisa gets Evade in Arnis, she's still really fast and placing points in Agi, although giving you some damage and Evade, you'll miss out in the bonus Attack Speed since she'll cap it without points in Agi only. Take the same situation with Soho however, and the situation might become a bit different, since Soho is slower than Lisa to begin with (not counting buffs). Another example would be Grenmah in Hanging Guard. Placing Agi would be useless since Hanging Guard is going to be slow no matter what, and since it provides no block and possess a lot of usable skills, going full Str would be a better idea. So, if you're deciding to put points in Agi, always consider the following: Stance Does the stance allow Block or Evasion? Does the stance allow for skill spam or must it also rely on Attack Speed? For example, Flintlock has only 1 main damage dealing skill, namely Accuracy Shot (and perhaps Swift but you'll need to spam Soul Fillers in most cases if you use it), while Hanging Guard can cycle between 3 skills or so (definitely needing Soul Fillers). Will the stance be the sole stance the character uses? For instance, although Nar will be likely using Combatant at Vet and pre-vet which provides Block, and Semi-Lunar at Expert doesn't provide a Block bonus. Another example is Selva, who only has 1 of 2 Vet stances providing Block. Will you rely on her rapier or long sword? Or how about Mia, will you just use Rapiere or will you switch to the Glacier stances too? Character Check the character's stats. Will the character be able to max Attack Speed? What is the character for? For example, everyone uses Claude for pure damage hence we pump his points in Str, despite Mighty Cruz. A Coimbra Trooper tanks, hence Con. Check the character's flaws. For example, although the Auch Infantry can use leather armor, they're really slow with Agi 5.

3.4 (Master and the 10 point scale)

Come 3.4, stat points will be rated from 10 to 100, instead of 1 to 10. Every 10 points under 3.4 is equivalent to 1 point under pre-3.4. I don't know the exact benefit of 1 point in 3.4 is still to be determined exactly, and again, it'll likely differ by stance, at least for most stats. If you can point to a thread in sGE or Sword's official forum quantifying data, it'd be most appreciated. At the very least though, the stat distribution will allow for greater customization for characters with more options, specially with regard to Agi. A single point may not make a big difference though but 5 points may be enough to warrant a small notice. As for where to allot points in Master, consider two things. First is whether you simply want to further increase damage. In such a case, simply continue pumping points in the character's damage stat, or in case it's already full, pump it in Agi. You'll still want to consider Speed cap though. Second, is whether you just want to make your character tougher. A lot of players are already capable of soloing bosses(say V and KoC) with their current damage out put. If you can already breeze through UT solo, you might want to consider pumping points into Con instead. It will lessen your damage potential but if its already really high anyway, points in Con will allow for a greater margin of error or extra HP for survival in both PvE and PvP. This is exceptionally helpful if your character sometimes dies from certain attacks, say Lava Leaf's AoEs, but sometimes are able to pot enough to survive. Dex? Well Dex for non-ranged characters is feasible but its been argued that its better to simply increase your max damage instead of Accuracy in most cases. You will get a greater chance of Crits from points in Dex though.

Stock Characters

• Fighter
• Str - For general purpose or DPS. Vet, Expert, Master.
• Con - For tanking. Vet, Expert, Master.
• Elementalist
• Int - Both at Vet and Expert, Con at Master for survivability.
• Musketeer
• Dex - Both at Vet and Expert, Agi for more damage output at Master, Con for survivability (note that it won't change a lot).
• Scout
• Int - Increases Healing and Resistances. Vet, Expert, Master.
• Con - For PvE and PvP. Vet, Expert, Master. Great in conjunction with Arnis.
• Agi - At Vet and/or Expert. The Scout gets Evasion benefits in Arnis and can be deadly with Paralysis when tanking but seriously, try Con instead. (note: speed is capped easily on Arnis)
• No need for points in Str. Even if you're planning on using Arnis. The Scout will be lousy DPS anyway and will do fine without the extra points, spamming Paralysis skills instead.
• Wizard
• Int - Both at Vet, Expert and Master
• Con - More survivability, useful both in PvE and PvP situations, Wizard is mainly a debuffer anyways. Vet, Expert, Master.

UPCs

• Andre
• Str - Both at Vet, Expert and Master.
• Agi - Vet or Expert. Rapiere is fast and has Block. Technically Agi is a bit feasible but Str is still better.
• Remember, Andre is pretty fantastique with Rapiere. He has 10 Str, Punto (which the Barons lack) and 7 Con.
• Adelina & Adelina the Pirate -
• Str - Both at Vet, Expert and Master. She speed caps easily.
• Adelina is NOT a pistol user due to her low Dex and lack of Vet pistol stances. Further, at Vet and above you'll be eschewing Heaven and Hell for Low Guard anyway.
• Placing points in Agi is a waste. Her duality is of no use and the extra speed which she gets is useless since you can achieve near max speed with a decent weapon and a decent pair of gloves. With buffs, you'll likely speed cap. This means that you'll really receive no benefit aside from a slight increase in damage. Remember that Adelina is no tank and gets no benefit from Agi for Block or Evade (except for the pistols stances which are again, useless). As such, you'll get more benefit by placing points in Str and Dex, where she'll receive bonuses in Critical, Accuracy and damage. And again, for as she's no pistol user, the best option is Str.
• Angie
• Dex - Both at Vet, Expert and Master. Dex increases her Construction effectiveness and even if you use her in CW or PvP, her starting Con will easily 1HKO her.
• Con - Both at Vet, Expert and Master. An increased Con score will aid you take attacks and allow you to survive long enough to put pressure on your opposing Clan's Colonies.

• Ania Str - Both at Vet, Expert and Master. Pretty much the speed cap argument again. Just think of her as Lisa on steriods and hence, we can probably ignore Gorgeous' Block.
• Alejandro
• Str - At Vet, to increase damage.
• Agi - Alternatively, if you're going to Expert him, it might be a good idea to put a point in Agi and then use a Memoir later. He'll be too slow to clear out an area in the AA by himself.
• Con - At Vet for PvP or at Expert and Master once you've placed points in Str.
• Auch Infantry
• Dex - Both at Vet, Expert and Master.
• Agi - Vet or Expert. If you want a unique Flintlock user, consider a point in Agi. Flintlock has few spammable skills and also relies on normal attacks for good damage, at 5 starting Agi, you'll need a boost.
• Baek Ho
• Str - Both at Vet, Expert and Master. He starts fast and in PvP, hit the guy first and hit him hard and you'll win.
• Agi? Probably not a good idea despite Martial Arts Compendium. In PvP, whoever hits first and hard tends to win anyway.
• Brunie - Dex - Both at Vet, Expert and Master. Anyone who puts a point in Agi is an idiot. Brunie speed caps easily and needs all the Accuracy she can get. Slapping points in Agi leads to a waste in Attack Speed and greatly reduces your Damage and Accuracy.
• Catherine the Summoner - Cha - Both at Vet, Expert and Master. Increases doll damage.
• Catherine of X
• Just put all points into your Catherine's stat of choice, although all Strength, Dexterity or Intelligence Caths might benefit from 1 point of Agi, specially an Intelligence Cath.
• Coimbra Trooper
• Con - Both at Vet, Expert and Master. You only want a Trooper for tanking.
• Agi - At Vet and/or Expert. If you want to speed up getting to Expert though, a point in Agi might be worth it. You don't have to Memoir the point either as Agi increases his Block too.

• Claude - Str - Both at Vet and Expert, Con at Master.
• Claire
• Str -Both at Vet, Expert and Master. If you're planning on using Great Swords.
• Dex - Both at Vet, Expert and Master. If you're planning on using Cannons, which by the way, will get an Expert stance in a future patch. Dex provides a benefit for both of her Expert stances.
• 7 Agi is already enough to keep her duality but adding points will increase damage in Cannons and Great Swords.
• Calypso
• Dex -Both at Vet, Expert and Master. Where does Caly own? PvP. What do you use in PvP? A crossbow.
• Agi - Only at Vet - Alternatively, you can choose to put a point in Agi to speed her to Expert as it helps both her Daggers and Crossbow stances. She'll still get max Accuracy due to her buffs.
• Emilia and Emilia the Sage - Int - Increases Healing and Resistances. Both at Vet, Expert and Master. Thinking of Con? Don't bother. She'll get 1HKO-ed in PvP anyway.
• Eduardo and Kurt
• Str - Both at Vet, Expert and Master. The Barons excel in dealing damage. Go all out with Str for Rapiere. Agi, like Andre, though feasible, isn't really recommended as they're already fast enough for their Expert Stance (which unfortunately has Grim Soul).
• Con - At Vet or Expert to increase PvP survivability though going with Str is still a better option.
• Garcia
• Str - At Vet and/or Expert. If you plan on using him as a hybrid.
• Agi - At Vet and/or Expert. If you plan on using him as a hybrid.
• Dex - Both at Vet, Expert and Master. If you plan on focusing on Pistols. Seriously though, he'll suck at it.
• Probably best to add a point in Agi at Vet, and then Str at Expert. Garcia is best as a hybrid and adding the points in Str and Agi will aid him more than putting points in Dex.
• Note that Avant Guard benefits from Str, Agi and Dex. However, you'll still have to choose whether to go Str or Dex.
• A Dex Garcia is a moderately armored pistol user, he'll be able to use Leather Armor but will have low Damage, Attack Speed and Accuracy. Prior to the 3.0 patch, he can still somewhat catch up to Brunie by spamming skills and potions. Unfortunately, upon arrival of the patch, Brunie's inherent Agi simply blows Garcia away. Still, points in Dex will ALSO add to his Accuracy and Criticals in Rapiere. But seriously, are you going to waste Great Stones on Garcia?
• A Str Garcia gets to take advantage of his Strength in more stances. In addition to this, with 7 Dex, he'll actually have good Crits and Accuracy in Rapiere.
• Grenmah
• Str - Both at Vet, Expert and Master. She already has great Con. Strength will aid her keep aggro along with Provoke. Don't bother putting points in Agi. She has no decent Blocking stances and a Great Sword will be dead slow no matter what you do.
• To repeat, Grenmah may have a great starting Con but she's same as someone with Stave Guard or Defender. Her lack of Block means she'll only be tanking with DR and Def. This means you'll be cycling between Hanging Guard's skills, an SP potion, and HP potion.

• Gertrude
• Str - At Vet and/or Expert/Master. If you insist on using Gertrude, go full Str to take advantage of the MMA stance.
• Agi - At Vet - A single point in Agi will give him a slight boost in Block, ATK Speed and Damage. If you choose to add a point in Agi, be sure to add to Str upon reaching Expert. At Expert, Martial Arts Compendium provides Evade too.
• Note however, that placing points in Agi cripples Gert's DPS more when compared to other martial artists. Martial artists allocate points between 3 primary stats, Str, Agi and Con. Since Gert has a Con of 7, his damage is potentially the lowest of all the MAs, though he can remain standing after taking a good amount of damage.
• Grace
• Dex - At Vet.
• Agi - At Expert and Master. Alternatively, you can choose to go Agi first at Vet, and then Dex later to level more quickly, as she'll max Dex sooner or later anyway.
• Don't bother with Con, she's still a coat user afterall, will be a easy 1hit even with 10 Dex 6 Con.
• Gracielo
• Str - Both at Vet, Expert and Master.
• Agi? No! Although possessing the same speed as Baek Ho, Gracielo has the advantage of getting bonus Attack Speed through his self buff, Raging Wind. In addition to this, Martial Arts Compendium's Enhanced Lion Heart increases Attack Speed, among others, too.
• Hellena
• Int - At Vet. You might as well make her do what she does best.
• Con - At Expert and Master, while putting a single point in Int at Expert as well, so that you actually get 100 int, rest can go to CON to make her survive more, at least in elemental gates.
• Idge and Battlesmith Idge
• Str - Both at Vet, Expert and Master. Great Sword stances will be slow no matter what you do and even you can near max Mighty Cruz's speed without putting points in Agi. As for Hanging Guard, you'll want Str for that.
• Accuracy problems? Grab Aiming Gloves.
• Irawain
• Str - At both Vet and Expert. You've got 5 Con and Leather Armor. Strike first, strike hard.
• Agi - At Vet. MA: Fire benefits from Agi due to Block and putting a point in Agi puts him with the same stats as Baek and makes Irawain level faster. As for Martial Arts Compendium, Irawain might actually benefit but remember that Irawain has a starting Str of 8. An Expert Irawain can likely be really deadly with a Str of 10!
• At Master, go with either 1 more Con or Agi, either can be nice.
• Jack - Dex - Both at Vet, Expert and Master. Aids his construction skill and you won't be using him anywhere else aside from power leveling.
• Jose - Dex - Both at Vet, Expert and Master. Poor Jose's lousy with Melee no matter what you do. It'll be painful getting him to Expert and no matter what, and you might as well save yourself a Memoir and go full Dex to improve his Cannons which will later get an Expert stance.
• Lisa - Str - Both at Vet, Expert and Master. Don't waste points in Agi. Lisa is inherently fast and can hit the Attack Speed cap easily. At Vet, you'll likely be using Raid Assault which will benefit from Block but without a shield, don't expect to tank. With Arnis, she gets Evade and gets to take strike really fast between skills. Still though, wastage is wastage. Go Str.
• Lorch
• Dex - Both at Vet and Expert. Once Duel Blaster comes, you'll also be glad you put points in Dex.
• Agi - At Vet - If you're only going to use him to power level or farm, you might as well make him shoot fast. If you wanted DPS you'd be using Grace anyway.
• As for Master, go with Agi if you ditnt put it yet, Dex if you put Agi at Vet or Expert.
• Mia
• Int - Both at Vet, Expert and Master. If you plan on using her for raids, more specifically Fire Gate as an inferior Elementalist.
• Str - Both at Vet, Expert and Master. If you want to keep her as a hybrid or for Rapiere with a few extra tricks up her sleeve.
• Don't bother with Agi. It won't help her duality and Mia certainly isn't a tank.
• M'boma
• Int - Both at Vet, Expert and Master.
• Con - At Vet and/or Expert. A single point in Con will aid M'boma for PvP.
• Najib
• Dex - Both at Vet, Expert and Master, if you're planning on using Flintlock.
• Agi - At Vet in order to keep his duality, although you might want to note that you'll have trouble getting good Accuracy at 8 Dex. He'll still do decently in Low Guard though.
• Str - At Vet and/or Expert - If you're planning on using Low Guard. You can also put a point in Agi should you choose to add in Strength. He's already better than a Fighter with Sabers to begin with.
• Nar
• Str - At Vet and/or Expert for DPS.
• Agi - At Vet if you're leveling him to Expert to turn traps off in Occulta. Speeds up the leveling process. Seriously though, what a waste. His Expert stance is purely offensive too.
• Con - At Master.
• Panfilo and Panfilo the Iron Chef
• Str - Both at Vet, Expert and Master. He doesn't really have any tanking stance as he can't equip a Shield. You might as well max him out for Low Guard or Flame Guard for PvP annoyance (Fireball won't kill anyone but it'll knock em down).
• Agi - At Vet, as a slight boost in Speed will help him level and should you use Hack and Slash, adds some Block. Seriously though, you wont' be using Hack and Slash at Vet or above. Better to go all out Strength.
• Don't go with Int. It won't really help him as his Int starts out too low as compared to Mia.
• Rescue Knight
• Dex - Both at Vet, Expert and Master. If you're planning on using Flintlock. Best to just use Aiming Gloves though.
• Con - Both at Vet, Expert and Master, if you plan on using the Rescue Knight as a budget Romina, mainly there for being an armored rezzer.
• Agi - At Vet or Expert. If you want to keep her duality. Aids her Block, ATK Speed and adds some slight DPS to all her stances. Note that the Rescue Knight DOESN'T have Equites.
• Reboldeaux Soldier
• Str - For general purpose or DPS. Both at Vet, Expert and Master.
• Con - For tanking. Both at Vet, Expert and Master.
• Romina
• Dex - Both at Vet, Expert and Master. If you're planning on using Flintlock. Improves Accuracy for Equites as well but if you're planning on using Equites primarily, you'll still get more benefit from Str. If you want Accuracy, try using Aiming Gloves.
  
• Str - Both at Vet, Expert and Master. If you're planning on using Equites. Keep all points in Str. She's the best Equites user out there.
• Agi - At Vet and/or Expert. Improves Block, ATK Speed and adds some slight DPS, keeps her duality. Also, maxing Block with Romina can make her a terror in PvP. Armored rez with high Def and Block and still able to slay characters using Equites makes her a match breaker.
• Ramiro -
• Str - Both at Vet, Expert and Master.
• Agi? Nope. Sure the kids are fast but can you use their speed in Hanging Guard? Nope.
• Selva - Str - Both at Vet, Expert and Master. Only 1 of her own Veteran Stances gets Block, and with the AR potential her Arm Guard brings, you might as well go all out offense. If you do plan on using Rapida Espada, Agi is actually a feasible choice.
• Soho and Soho the Fighter
• Str - Both at Vet, Expert and Master. Don't bother with Int. His Healing sucks anyway and his buffs won't really be affected.
• Dex? Again Soho is no healer. However, Soho the Fighter has a high Critical rate as compared to other Martial Artists due to his stat allocation of Str 6, Agi 7, Con 5 and Dex 6, whereas all the other MAs allocates points only between Str, Agi and Con, ignoring Dex.
• Agi? Though he gets Evade in Martial Arts Compendium Soho will likely still be better off with Str as he can buff through Bard anyway.
• Soso - Str - Both at Vet, Expert and Master. Don't put points in Agi. She'll Speed Cap easily.
• Tiburon
• Str - Both at Vet, Expert and Master.
• Agi? Nope. Same argument as Ramiro.

• Viki - Cha - Both at Vet, Expert and Master. Viki is no Healer and you'll mainly be using him to power level so go full Cha which improves his summons, you could otherwise get Con, it would help making Viki less lame.

• Vincent - Int - Both at Vet and Expert. Don't bother with Con before Master even for CW. You'll get trampled over and your mandolin will be smashed over your head no matter what.
• Yeganeh
• Dex - Agi? Nope. Same argument as Ramiro.. Improves his Construction skills.
• Con - Agi? Nope. Same argument as Ramiro.. If you plan on using Yeganeh in CW, putting all your points in Con might keep you alive long enough for your structures to be annoying. Note that its all points in Con or none at all. Actually this is highly controversial and debatable but heck, it'd be interesting, at least until an Ele AoE blasts your structures anyway.