ArcheAge Hexblade PvP Guide

ArcheAge Hexblade (Battlerage, Witchcraft, Defense) PvP Guide by Kuda

INTRODUCTION

The Hexblade is a melee DPS class that excels at mitigating damage and using crowd control (CC). By using weapon swapping they are still able to deal safe burst damage while their targets are CC’ed. Although susceptible to kiting they are able to mitigate damage at range while their gap closer cooldowns reset. Wanting to take fights into the late game, they can ensure victory with mana efficiency and sustained DPS.

BUILD

Variations

Swap out Frenzy for Battle Focus for an easier time verses melee.
Swap out Bondbreaker for Terrifying Roar for more DPS into CC’ed targets.

PROS

• strong against melee
• CC breakers and immunity
• knockdown immunity
• can stop stuns and interrupt combos
• high amount of CC
• can prevent and reduce healing
• mana drain wins against pure healer builds

CONS

• can be kited
• requires above average gear
• best in slot armor is Delphinad stone/earth set
• hard to beat high damage magic classes if using bad gear
• enemies who maximize block are problematic at times
• requires you to knockdown targets to apply burst

COMBOS

For the sake of the next section of this guide I’ve named these Combos.

Gap Closer Knockdown

1. Enervate
2. Tiger Strike
3. Focal Concussion
4. Charge
5. Triple Slash

Fear Burst

1. Banshee Wail
2. Lassitude
3. Frenzy
4. Swap and pop Honor’s Frenzied Nodachi
5. Swap to Shield
6. Shield Slam
7. Bull Rush
8. Swap to 2 Hander
9. Precision Strike

PLAY STYLE AND ADAPTING TO WEAKNESSES

General Tips
Always keep your Courageous Action buff on. It is on such a short cooldown there’s no reason not to always have it up. Purge yourself at the start for the magic resistance buff. Enervate is your longest range nuke, followed by Tiger Strike and Boastful Roar. Focal Concussion guarantees that your target stays still while you Charge it ensuring a knockdown on the Triple Slash. If they’re stealthed, spam Focal Concussion to try to hit them before they hit you.

Verses Melee
Your biggest problem is going to be getting knocked down into a huge combo. You can stop this by either popping Redoubt or by hitting them in mid air with a Focal Concussion. Against stealth you want to spam your Focal Concussion key to stop the usual Overwhelm opener. You can also stop Charge this way to avoid knockdown. Always face your target so you can block and parry them. By jumping or glider sliding you can drift the stun and root of Overwhelm and Charge if you get hit by them, forcing your opponent to walk towards you before they can hit you and follow up. Kite out their cooldowns (Frenzy/Redoubt/Battle Focus) by using Boastful Roar or Invincibility. Use Tiger Strike as often as possible because you never know when you’ll parry reset its cooldown. Use the Fear Burst Combo as soon as possible and try to Purge off Courageous Action if they have it.

Verses Archers
Your biggest problem here is getting kited to death and landing a successful knockdown on them. Try to save your gap closers if you’re already on the target since many archers have escapes like Dropback and Teleport. Since most archers will run with Auramancy they will be able to break your stun, try to force this out early so you can land a knockdown in your big combo. Bondbreaker the slows as soon as possible. Use Redoubt and Invincibility if you have no way to close the gap. Boastful Roar when you can. Use Focal Concussion before using Charge so you can reliably knock them down. Drop the Fear Burst Combo when you can.

Verses Healers
This is a mana and mitigation game. Spam Enervate as much as possible. Deal as much damage at the start as possible. Use Focal Concussion sparingly because it consumes a lot of mana. Try to save the Fear Burst Combo for when you can finish them off.

Verses Mages
This is your toughest match up. Use Gap Closer Knockdown Combo right away and Fear Burst Combo right after it at the very start. Against Reapers as soon as you see the Dropback, pop your Invincibility to stop the Firebolts from damaging you. If they use Summon Crows immediately Purge yourself or Invincibility for the duration of the debuff. Make sure to have Frenzy and Bondbreaker for an easier time. If they have Witchcraft you must Purge their Courageous Action off. Against mages who have Mana Force and Dahuta’s Breath you must save your gap closers because you don’t want to have to blow your Invincibility to wait for your gap closers to reset.

VIDEOS

My Dueling Video (Ephireum weapon and Aurorian plate armor)
Korean Dueling Video (Delphinad weapon and cloth armor)

I hope you this guide is useful to many of you. Thank you for reading.