Fencing
Offense
Whip
ATTACK.
Cost: 10 Initiative
AOE 180 degree arc
You gain Adrenaline; this effect stacks up to 3 times.
Adrenaline: +2% offense, +2% damage
All of the Adrenaline attacks are most effective when you chain them three times within the duration of the buff, and then periodically refresh them. The buff lasts for 15 seconds, which gives 6 opportunities to do something other than refresh the buff before you need to use this skill again. Even without the buff, though, it is a significant improvement over both Thrust and Sweep with a very low initiative cost.
Gash
ATTACK.
Cost: 20 Initiative
AOE 90 degree arc
Damage: +40%. Target gains Bleeding (1/s, 30s).
This early skill is an efficient way to do constant damage to smaller groups of enemies, as the damage from the skill is among the highest available for only 20 initiative. The bleed damage is, as with all bleeds, applied directly to the target's Health.
Precision
BUFF.
Cost: 20 Initiative
You gain Precision (600s). This buff is twice as effective for the first 15 seconds.
Precision: +20% offense, +10 accuracy
If you have this skill, it should be active at all times when you're in an encounter. It will greatly improve your hit rate and allow you to fight higher level and more difficult opponents. The burst effect is best used just before a high-initiative-cost attack, to ensure it lands.
Stance: Offensive
STANCE.
Cost: 5 Initiative, 3/sec
Ongoing: +15 accuracy.
As with the Defensive Stance, this Stance carries a hefty cost in terms of the speed of initiative recovery. However, against high-level opponents, this may be your only way to land hits on them. In PvP, this will negate almost any defensive buff your enemies might use.
Group Precision
BUFF.
Cost: 30 Initiative
You and nearby allies gain Precision (600s).
Precision: +20% offense, +10 accuracy
The group version of the Precision skill. It has no burst effect, so if you're in a group, use this skill first, and then use your personal Precision buff for the rest of the effect's duration.
Lunge
ATTACK.
Cost: 30 Initiative
AOE 90 degree arc
Damage: +60%. Only usable if you have Precision. Precision is removed, and target gains Broken Defense (30s).
Broken Defense: -20% damage reduction
Lunge is a high-damage attack with a very significant debuff attached to it. While Broken Defense is active, all attacks against that target are basically made 20% more damaging. This works even if the target doesn't actually have any damage reducing outfitting or skills. Put this effect on a powerful enemy and he becomes much easier to kill. However, you'll need to re-buff yourself with Precision after applying it, so it's best to let Broken Defense's duration run down before re-using Lunge.
Bladework
ATTACK.
Cost: 40 Initiative
AOE 90 degree arc
Damage: +80%. If target has Broken Defense, target takes 20 health damage and Broken Defense is removed.
Bladework consumes the Broken Defense effect, so it's a significant tradeoff, but its damage is quite high and it carries an additional instant 20 health damage. If you have initiative to spare on reapplying Broken Defense and your own Precision, Bladework can be very effective.
Trompement
ATTACK.
Cost: 60 Initiative
AOE 90 degree arc
Damage: +120%. Cannot be dodged.
Dodge is the only defense that works against guns, and thus PvP players expecting to encounter gun-heavy skill builds will specialize in dodge. As well, it's the core defense of Dirty Fighting, so most Dirty Fighters will be heavily dodge-dependant. However, everyone has a significant portion of their defense invested in Dodge, so Trompement is very likely to hit any target. Combine with Broken Defense and Precision and it's basically a guaranteed hit doing more than double damage.
Defense
Sure Footing
BUFF.
Cost: 20 Initiative
You gain Balanced (600s). This buff is twice as effective for the first 6 seconds.
Balanced: +20% parry
Balanced is a critical effect for the defensive Fencer, and should be kept active at all times. Use Sure Footing when you enter an encounter, and again any time you think you're about to take an especially large attack. Note that Parry doesn't work against guns, and Offense-specialized Dirty Fighters will be able to ignore it as well, so be cautious even with this buff active.
Stop-Thrust
ATTACK.
Cost: 20 Initiative
AOE 90 degree arc
Damage: +20%. If target is Weakened, target takes 20 health damage and Weakened is removed.
When you first get this skill, you don't have access to any skills that apply Weakened. However, skills in other trees and other fighting schools can apply Weakened, so by coordinating with an ally you can gain the extra burst damage from this skill without needing to invest more skill points in this line.
Moulinet
ATTACK (TAUNT).
Cost: 20 Initiative
AOE 90 degree arc
Damage: +20%. Adds a large amount of hate to target. Target gains Weakened (30s).
Weakened: -10% damage, -5% parry
This skill is the Fencing school's Taunt. In a group, if you're acting as the tank, you'll want to use Moulinet frequently to ensure the enemies stay focused on you. The Weakened effect has the added bonus of making enemies less damaging, and will also make it easier for your allies to hit them.
En Garde
RECOVERY.
Cost: 30 Initiative
Only usable if you are Shaken. Shaken is removed, and you gain +10% Offense (15s).
En Garde is a counter-skill that essentially inverts the penalties from Shaken. It is primarily useful in PvP, where opponents using Dirty Fighting and Florentine are likely to apply the effect to you.
Recover Guard
RECOVERY.
Cost: 30 Initiative
You instantly recover 100 guard.
Fencing's defensive heal. Because it recovers guard, rather than health, it is most valuable early in fights, as it cannot save you from Bleed effects or attacks that do instant Health damage such as Stop-Thrust and Bladework.
Ballestra Lunge
ATTACK.
Cost: 30 Initiative
AOE 90 degree arc
Damage: +60%. Only usable if you are Balanced. Balanced is removed, and target takes 20 health damage.
The high damage and instant health damage from this skill are balanced by a moment of vulnerability while you refresh your Balanced effect. It's best used when you're certain the damage will finish off an enemy, giving you a brief respite to use Sure Footing again, or when your enemies are stunned or otherwise occupied.
Perfect Parry
BUFF.
Cost: 40 Initiative
You gain +100% parry (15s).
Parry is the ideal defense; while Dodge inflicts a small initiative penalty, Parry does not. However, parry is useless against guns, and a Dirty Fighter with the Overwhelm skill can bypass your parry completely. While this skill will make you nearly unhittable by normal attacks, be careful against gun-focused enemies and Dirty Fighters.
Wall of Steel
BUFF
Cost: 60 Initiative
You gain 32% damage resistance, +20% parry and +10% dodge (180s) but suffer a 42% damage penalty.
Wall of Steel is the core defensive skill for Fencing. While you are tanking, you should have Wall of Steel active at all times. Its large damage reduction and defensive bonuses will allow you to survive many enemies hitting you at once. The damage penalty means you'll want an ally to help with the actual killing, of course.
Control
Flick
ATTACK.
Cost: 10 Initiative
AOE 90 degree arc
Target gains Blinded (15s).
Blinded: -10% offense, parry, dodge
Blinded is one of the most effective debuffs, in that it simultaneously reduces an enemy's ability to do damage and makes them easier to kill. Keeping enemies Blinded is relatively inexpensive and will allow you to fight many more enemies at once.
Attack au Fer
ATTACK.
Cost: 0 Initiative
AOE 90 degree arc
Damage: +20%. You instantly regain 50 initiative.
Even though this skill is only usable every 30 seconds, it still represents a substantial increase in your rate of initiative recovery, allowing you to use more of your high-end skills.
Redoublement
ATTACK.
Cost: 20 Initiative
AOE 90 degree arc
Damage: +20%. If target is Blinded, target takes 20 health damage and Blinded is removed.
The benefit of this attack is the instant Health damage; while Blinded is consumed, re-applying it is quick and easy, allowing you to chain instant damage repeatedly on multiple targets.
Appel
DEBUFF.
Cost: 30 Initiative
AOE 360 degree arc
All targets gain Weakened (15s).
Weakened: -10% damage, -5% parry
Appel affects every enemy within 12 yards of you. It will immediately reduce incoming damage as well as making enemies easier to hit, so against large groups of enemies this skill should be used as often as it's available and you have the initiative to spend.
Heart Thrust
ATTACK.
Cost: 30 Initiative
AOE 90 degree arc
Damage: +40%. Target's maximum health is reduced by 20% (15s).
Heart Thrust is a very powerful attack. If it lands, your target becomes much, much easier to kill; even if you don't manage to kill them by the time the effect has expired, they will still have taken 20% of their maximum health as instant damage.
Group Regain Footing
RECOVERY.
Cost: 30 Initiative
Only usable if you are Off-Balance. Off-Balance is removed from you and nearby allies. Each person losing Off-Balance gains +15% dodge and parry (15s).
Particularly nasty against Florentine opponents using Flashing Blades, as it's a quick way to buff your entire group's offense as a counter. Group Regain Footing is the group version of the Florentine skill Regain Footing.
Slash
ATTACK.
Cost: 40 Initiative
AOE 270 degree arc
Damage: +20%. All targets gain Blinded (15s).
Blinded: -10% offense, parry, dodge
Slash is a more expensive upgrade to Flick, allowing you to significantly debuff many opponents at once, and potentially follow up with one or more Redoublements.
Lightning Thrusts
ATTACK.
Cost: 60 Initiative
AOE 360 degree arc
Damage: +80%.
Lightning Thrusts damages every single enemy you're fighting. Using this skill with Slash and Precision will allow you to dispatch very large numbers of enemies.
