Introduction

UPDATE: 3/6/15

This is playing off the FFXI Samurai with a sub-class ninja. Designed for 1v1 and small group PvP. Large group PvP, you'll have to pick and choose your targets because you won't have AoE to help you out.

If you decide to become a 2H Blighter, be prepared to give up some of your defense and survivability.


The build strives for the following things:
1. High parry chance
2. High damage
3. High critical chance
4. Suppression of a target

For that, our main stats (in order of importance) are as follows:
1. Strength: Affects your power in melee combat increasing attack by +0.1 per 1 strength point, also affects parry rate, accuracy in melee combat, and chance to block both melee and ranged attacks.
2. Stamina: Affects the amount of your health increase it by 8 per each stamina point. Also increases chances to parry attack.
3. Agility: Affects range attack, increasing it by +0.1 per each point you have. Also increase accuracy when you attack ranged targets. Agility helps your character react faster, increasing evasion in melee combat and against distanced attacks. Critical rates of melee and ranged attacks also depend on agility.

Equipment

Equipment of class:
Weapon:
Two acceptable choices here:
"The Traditional:"
2H Nodachi: Attack speed: 2 - Bonuses available: force, agility - Damage type: slashing
*When inflicting damage there is a chance that next attack will hit critically.

OR

"The Westerner:"
2H Greatsword: Attack speed: 2.1 - Bonuses available: force, stamina, spirit - Damage type: slashing
*When receiving damage there is a chance to parry next attack.

To sum: It's a matter of whether you want more critical chance (Nodachi) or more parry chance (Greatsword).

Armor:
Two viable choices here:
"The Samurai:"
Plate armor:
-4/7 Increased Physical defense by 3 %.
-7/7 Increased Physical defense by 3 %, Health by 5 % and reduces stun and immobilize effect time by 20 %.
*Plate armor vulnerable to blunt damage type
*100/0 split on physical/magical defense
*For the player who isn't afraid to take a few hits.

OR

"The Ninja:"
Leather armor:
4/7 Increased dodge chance by 3 %, shooting range by 2 m.
7/7 Increased dodge chance by 3 %, shooting range by 3 m, critical chance by 5 % and reduces knocking down effect time by 20 %.
*Leather armor vulnerable to piercing damage type
*50/50 split on physical/magical defense
*For the mobile player who also wants to dodge.

Why not cloth?
(For reference)
Robe armor:
4/7 Casting time is reduced by 4 %, Chance to interrupt caster when someone attacks him is reduced by 50 %.
7/7 Casting time is reduced by 4 %, Chance to interrupt caster when someone attacks him is reduced by 50 %, magical damage is increased by 5 %, reduces CC effect time by 30 %.
*Robe vulnerable to slashing damage type

Let's look at some of these stats here.
"Casting time is reduced by X%?" Every ability in the build is instant cast; this is negligible (exception to being a channel).
"Chance to interrupt caster when someone attacks him is reduced by 50%?" Reinforcing the first point made about casting time: we wouldn't suffer from interruptions, so this is negligible.
"Magical Damage is increased by 5%?" None of our abilities use magic damage, so negligible.
"Reduces CC effect time by 30%?" The one saving grace to the cloth set that we could use! However, this bonus requires the full 7/7 piece set, so we'd have to settle with all of the other cloth set bonuses that do not benefit us. Our main CC breaker , while not perfect, is there to alleviate us.

Boost.Mobile.Abilities

Problems reaching your target? Always asked: "Where you at?" We got you covered.

- Need to get behind the opponent, but don't want to walk over to or around him? Here's your solution. Also increases move speed and even has a chance to reset its cooldown!

- Sometimes, you want to let the beat drop. Other times... you'd rather be out of the area. Triggers a backflip to get you out through the door. Has a short cooldown (12 seconds!).

- Brings out the NFL Linebacker in you and also works as a combo opener. Range of 12 meters, so don't except a full field run to your target.

- The equivalent of jumping someone on the streets. 10 meter range. Gives you a stack of Bloodthirst and stuns the target.

- Like chain lightning, except you don't lose damage when it goes through each person it hits. The only real "ranged" ability you have, clocking in at 20 meters.

- Oh hot ****. Duration reduction of four CCs AND a move speed increase after or ? With this, you now have an excuse to yell: "MACHO MADNESS, IS COMIN' AT YA!" or whatever slogan you prefer.

The.Simple.Bear.Necessities

- Peanut butter and jam sandwich skill. Spammable, Attack 3 acts as an AoE cone, and even gives you a 15% chance to reset Charge cooldown.

- Nutella and marshmellow sandwich skill. Spammable, quick animation, a Bloodthirst stack on each hit, extra critical chance on skill hit when backstabbing, and a chance to inflict Distressed. Nutella's expensive, so you only have 75% melee damage.

- Let's face it. You want some way to hopefully avoid that giant zerg coming toward you on the battlefield, right?

- Without this, you may as well just be a sitting duck drowning in the sea of CC. Halves incoming physical damage as well.

- A parry build without this skill? Don't kid yourself.

- The "More bang for your dollar" skill. 25 meter range spell that increases your enemy's received damage. You'll also make some archer friends with this.

Passive-Aggressive.Traits

- Seriously. Get this. It's like a counterattack but for slows.

- Reduces Physical Defense on critical hit. -2000 Physical Defense for five seconds? Just like fighting an opponent without armor.

- Buffs your Battlerage skills. Plain and simple.

- This is why you want a high parry chance. You get a parry, all Battlerage skills have their cooldowns reset.

- You thought that this only increased critical chance while dual-wielding? Think again! Applies to every weapon loadout you have.

- Melee attack increase! Pretty self-explanatory.

The.Main.Course

Now to look at our two most important damage skills in our build:

- When hitting an opponent, what's the one place you want to aim for? Their vitals. Precision Strike fills this role by starting off as a powerful attack, then adding in double damage on critical hit and even additional chance to crit with the skill when used as a backstab. This is the best damage skill you'll have in the Battlerage tree.

- Wonder why I put and up above? To get Bloodthirst stacks for this skill. Acts as a multiplier with your stacked Bloodthirst, and even adds 600% melee attack when you do a backstab. That's not all. Use this skill in and it resets the Stealth cooldown.

The.Defensive.Line

Q: I like where this is going, but isn't all of this better suited to a Darkrunner build where you'd have Auramancy instead of Defense?

A: There's a distinct difference in how you play a Darkrunner and a Blighter. A Darkrunner is a hit and run class; you go in, take out your target, stealth out, and repeat the process. They play like an assassin in the shadows. A Blighter doesn't have that luxury and instead needs to be built to where they can take a few hits and stand toe to toe with their enemy.

If we review point #4 in where the build strives for Suppression, we would need the traits from the Defensive tree. You lose out on some CC-breakers and teleports, but we already have enough mobility-based abilities as is (5 active, 1 passive) and can gain an invincibility skill.

Moving on, let's cover the static skills in the Defensive Tree:
- Imagine a job where you have a salary and the company offers you bonuses. This is like a bonus. Can't really complain about extra health.

- Our "ranged" defensive skill. Causes Shaken, reduces enemy move speed, and enemy skill damage. We're not using Auramancy so we lose the "Shrug It Off" bonus, but it's still a nice enfeebling spell we have in our arsenal. Bases damage off mettle, which is earned from damage received while is up.

- Aka the "Take 5" skill. Gives you the perfect chance to blow off your opponents CD-based spells (like and ), gives a chance for a healer to heal you back up in combat, and also acts as a general annoyance. Now if only you could move...

Level.55.Edition.Skills

- Diablo's Bone Cage skill, now at your disposal. Opponents will use gliders to escape it, but that buys the rest of your team a few extra seconds to prepare their attacks.

- Like , the company offered you medical insurance, which offers you affordable medication to slowly bring your health up (HoT Spell).

- Like Scorpion from Mortal Kombat says: "GET OVER HERE!" Now applies to seven enemies at once! If they're in range. This is a nice skill to have. 2*N bloodthirst gain, where N = # of enemies hit by the skill and decreases their attack and movement speeds by 40% for 3 seconds. In the battlefield, 3 seconds can mean the difference between life and death.

- Immunity to poison and a movement speed boost? I'll take two.

- Because Blighters do not have Occultism, they are not able to use Urgency. This means that once the skill timer reaches zero, you will always receive the four second stun. Still, you receive damage bonuses every time you are hit and automatically reduce all incoming magic damage. Just be careful though. The more you hit enemies, the more you reduce your Physical Defense.

The.Swappables

<-> - Depends on whether you want a -> combo for damage or for quick bloodthrist gains and a critical hit chance of 50% while backstabbing.