FAQ:  I’m brand new to Fencer.  What do I do now?

To best answer this question, I need to clarify what you mean by “new to Fencing.”  If you mean that you are still a Novice Brawler, or working your way up the One-handed Weapon Specialist branch, then you aren’t technically a Fencer yet.  If this is you don’t worry, I still have some advice for you.  It will just be a bit different than what a person that has actually achieved Novice Fencer status will need.  Therefore there are two sections below; one for Novice Brawler/One-handed Weapon Specialist; and one for Novice Fencer.

Version 1: Novice Brawler pursuing One-Handed Weapon Specialization

1.  Make sure you visit the Brawler Forum.  They have an excellent Correspondent, and target the issues you will encounter as a Brawler working their way up any branch.

2.  Read the FAQ thread.  The majority of questions you will want to ask will be addressed there.

3.  If you brand new to the game, do Delivery Missions until you have about 3,000 or so credits.  This should only take about 30 minutes or so if you take them two at a time to the same destinations.  You’ll need this money.

4.  Get trained in the Novice level of Medic. (Cost: 100 credits) This will let you use Stims to heal yourself (As, and Bs).  Even if you don’t have Stims, you can heal yourself by targeting yourself and typing:  /tendDamage.   It will consume some Mind, but will restore both your Health and Action.  This will reduce your downtime.  If there are no Medics in the Medical Center you can type:  /tendWound Health (or Action).  It will consume some Mind, but will remove wounds (the black stuff) from your Health or Action.

5.  Get trained in the Novice level of Scout. (Cost: 100 credits) This will let you harvest meat, skins, and bone from any creatures you kill.  These can be sold to earn you credits.

6.  Stick with your newbie weapon (Survival Knife) unless a friend can supply you with a crafted Dagger.  Do not waste money on buying one; you won’t need it long enough to be worth it.  Don’t worry about food (you can’t starve), clothing (what you have is fine), or armor (will hurt more than help until you can afford the good stuff) at this point.

7.  Kill the cute fuzzies just outside the city for One-handed Weapon experience.  (Make sure you have your weapon equipped.)  Avoid the flying stuff, snakes, and humanoids initially.  Flying stuff and snakes have a tendency to gang up on you.  Humanoids are generally just too tough for you at this point.  You might also want to avoid anything with “diseased” as part of its name.  It can transmit that disease to you.

8.  Try to be fully healed before taking on a new target, especially one you haven’t fought before.  Some things can surprise you, or you could encounter a run of bad luck.  Rest as you need to, and don’t forget your  /tendDamage  Medic skill.

9.  Don’t forget to Harvest your kills.  Save them up until you get at least a stack of 100 skins or meats (bones don’t always sell so good) and sell them on the Bazaar for about 200-300 credits per stack of 100.  Prices can fluctuate, but these newbie animals don’t usually sell for much.  Save up your cash (in the bank)… don’t fitter it away.

10.  Continue until you have earned 1,000 One-handed Weapons experience.  This will take around 30 minutes depending on the circumstances.  Find the Brawler Trainer, and get trained in Intermediate One-handed Sword Specialization.  (Cost: 1,000 credits)

Alternatively, locate a One-handed Specialist or Fencer to train you.  It can save you some credits, but at least offer them something.  I would recommend 100-200c for their trouble.

11.  You can now improve your weapon.  If you have pre-existing financial backing, go to a Weaponsmith’s vendor and buy a Curved Sword (or 5).  Not the 2-handed version.  Don’t waste money on a regular “Sword,” as it is inferior to a Curved Sword in every way.  Gaderiffi Batons are nice weapons, but at this point in time you are much too slow to get real benefit from them.  (Cost will be anywhere from 5,000c to 10,000c each, depending on the vendor.)

If you don’t have pre-existing funds, just the credits I told you to earn back in step 3, then go to the Bazaar and buy a Curved Sword there.  Check it out to make sure it isn’t about to fall apart (less than 200 condition and it’s in bad shape), but just about any Curved Sword you find will be a step up from your Survival Knife or Dagger.  (Cost will be about 1,000c to 3,000c.)  Buy the best you can afford… which isn’t necessarily the most expensive.  Be a smart shopper.

An experienced Fencer just might have a hand-me-down Curved Sword cluttering up the bank vault.  Doesn’t hurt to inquire… but don’t beg.  Offer them something in exchange; perhaps the funds you would have spent at the Bazaar.  An honorable Fencer probably won’t take it, but it’s polite to at least offer.

12.  If you still have enough credits to have a Smuggler slice your weapon (usually 1,000 – 2,000 credits) then get it done.  Make sure you have a “legitimate” Smuggler, as there are scammers out there.  You are trying for a SPEED slice at this point in your profession, but even if you get a Damage slice you will still be doing more damage than without any slice at all.

13.  You have a new attack now called /melee1hHit1.  It’s a good opening attack for you at this point, as it will do extra damage.  However, do not over do it as the exertion can do you in faster than your opponent’s attacks until you get the more advanced weaponry later in your profession.  Sticking with 2-4 times per opponent should be plenty.

14.  This should carry you for quite some time.  By the time you need more advice than what is listed above you will probably already know what to do.  A Speed Sliced Curved Sword will pretty much take you through the rest of your Brawler One-handed Specialist branch.

Version 2: Novice Fencer pursuing Master Fencer

Congratulations on reaching Novice Fencer!  If you have made it this far you know most of the basics.  Here is where to go from here:

1.  Make sure you have visited all the FAQ links.  Most of the questions you will have should already be answered in detail.  Some of the most frequently repeated Novice Fencer questions are regarding which skill or branch to pursue next, what weapon to use when, what stacks with what, strategies, etc.  These are all covered in the FAQ.

2.  The first major shift you will experience is weapon consideration.  Up until now you wanted all of your weapons to have a Speed Slice.  You are about to enter into the phase of your progression where you will be looking more toward a Damage Slice.  You don’t want them right at Novice Fencer, but you will soon after.  So next time you go for a Speed slice, and it turns up a Damage Slice… hold onto it.

3.  Another part of this weapon consideration will be in reference to the Curved Sword you’ve been toting around so long.  You may have felt it was the cream of the crop as you worked your way up through the Brawler One-handed branch, but things are about to change.  There are several reasons for this.

The opponents you will be facing are different.  They will have thicker armor (AR), stronger resists, and larger HAM pools.  The Curved Sword lacks any of the key elements (AP, very high damage, or vulnerability damage) that can be used to compensate for this. 

The Special Attacks you will begin using are going to have much higher HAM multipliers.  Combining this with your increasing speed, the fact that you will be using Specials far more often, and that combat can tend to last much longer against large HAM opponents; it simply makes the relatively high HAM costs on the Curved Sword a potential handicap.

It’s time to trade in that Curved Sword.  The primary choice at this point is the Vibroblade.  At first glance, this might look to be a setback since the Vibroblade’s damage numbers seem lower than a Curved Sword.  The key is that the Vibroblade has extremely low HAM costs, allowing you to perform more specials without killing yourself.  Also, the Vibroblade has AP1, which prevents its damage from being cut in half by your opponent’s armor.

To back up your Vibroblade you might want to consider a Gaderiffi Baton.  This weapon truly comes into its own after you complete the Footwork branch, but it can still be effective long before then.  This early in your profession you’ll still want to get it Speed Sliced.  Use it for your bleeds, or especially on opponents with AR0 but a lot of HAM, or when you don’t want to (or can’t) spam specials.  The other weapon you will want is the Stun Baton for highly armored opponents that are vulnerable to Stun Damage.

Even though I say this, I know there are those that won’t see the larger picture and just refuse to part with their beloved Curved Sword.  Do what you feel you need to do.

4.  You might want to start looking into Armor.  Armor has its place (detailed in another thread) and you will find yourself in those places.  You may not require a full set, but at least grab pieces for the Chest, Head, Arms, and Legs.  At the very least grab a good Headpiece for when you are charging a Rifleman or combating a Swordsman.

5.  Try to do more reading than posting.  I know you’re just brimming with “new” ideas as a brand new Fencer, but over 90% of the “new” ideas aren’t new.  Spend a little time reading the boards… no, no… you don’t have to stop at the end of the first page.  Ever read a book?  There’s more AFTER the first page!  I’m serious.  Really.  No kidding.

The Correspondent especially catches up on ALL of the new reading before making any posts that day.  Before the first post or reply is typed, the Correspondent ensures there are zero unread posts.  It’s the best way to learn, and there’s a lot to be learned; even for those that are pretty sure they don’t need it.

Reading also gives you another edge.  You can see which kinds of posts get desirable responses and which kinds get the flamethrower treatment.

6.  Find out if there are other Fencers on your server.  This has several advantages.  The most obvious is training.  Networking together with a group of other Fencers can also prove advantageous when buying or slicing weaponry.  I’ll let you figure the rest of that one out.

Finally, Welcome to Fencer!!!  We’re very glad to have you aboard.  We tend to be a tight group (those that last) and hope you come to feel at home.