Skills/Swordsmanship

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Swordsmanship is the skill of fighting with bladed weapons: swords, axes, polearms and even kitchen knives. It's one of the most popular fighting skills in New Bradford, with the widest choice of weapons, from the quick katana to the slow, crushing halberd. Axe users also hit harder the more Lumberjacking they know.

This page explains how blade fighting works, which weapons use the skill, their special moves, and how to train to Grandmaster.

At a glance

Skill category	Combat
Weapons	Swords, axes, polearms and knives (see Weapons)
Works with	Tactics and Anatomy for damage, Parrying for defense, Healing to stay alive, Lumberjacking for axe damage
Special moves	Two per weapon, at 70 and 90 skill
Skill cap	100 (Grandmaster), raised up to 120 with Swordsmanship power scrolls
Stats it can raise	Strength (mostly) and Dexterity
Starting gear	Choosing Swordsmanship (or Tactics) as a starting skill gives you a katana.

How to fight

1. Equip a bladed weapon from the tables below. You need enough Strength to wield it. Two-handed weapons leave no hand free for a shield.
2. Switch to war mode (Tab by default, or the war/peace button on your paperdoll).
3. Double-click your target to attack. You'll keep swinging automatically as long as you stay in reach (1 tile for all melee weapons).
4. Watch your health, and step back to bandage or drink a potion when you need to.

Hitting

Every swing rolls to hit. Your chance depends on your skill with the weapon you're holding against the defender's skill with the weapon they're holding (Wrestling if they're unarmed):

Hit chance = (your skill + 50) ÷ ((their skill + 50) × 2)

So two fighters with equal skill hit each other 50% of the time. Here's how it works out:

Your weapon skill	Defender's skill 0	50	80	100	120
50	100%	50%	38%	33%	29%
80	100%	65%	50%	43%	38%
100	100%	75%	58%	50%	44%
120	100%	85%	65%	57%	50%

Magic weapons with an accuracy bonus add to your skill while you hold them: +5 (accurate), +10 (surpassingly), +15 (eminently), +20 (exceedingly) or +25 (supremely). That bonus counts toward both hitting and the 70/90 needed for special moves.

Damage

When you hit, the game rolls the weapon's damage range and then adjusts it:

• Tactics is the big one: −50% at 0 Tactics, no change at 50, +50% at 100.
• Strength adds +1% for every 5 points.
• Anatomy adds +1% for every 5 points, plus an extra +10% at 100.
• Axes also get +1% for every 5 points of Lumberjacking, plus +10% at 100.
• Exceptional weapons deal +20% and low quality ones −20%.
• Magic weapons add flat damage before all of that: ruin +1, might +3, force +5, power +7, vanquishing +9.
• Slayer weapons deal double damage to the creatures they slay.
• A worn-out weapon hits softer. Damage scales down as the weapon's durability drops, to half at its last point.
• Damage against players (and damage dealt by creatures) is halved.
• The target's armor then absorbs part of the hit, depending on where it lands (body 35%, legs 22%, head 15%, arms 14%, hands 7%, neck 7%). Every hit deals at least 1 damage.

Swing speed

Each weapon has a speed rating. The higher it is, the faster you swing. Your current stamina matters too: more stamina means faster swings, and a winded fighter slows down. The tables below show seconds per swing with 100 stamina.

Weapons

All of these use Swordsmanship. Click a column heading to sort.

Swords

	Weapon	Hands	Strength needed	Damage	Speed	Seconds per swing*	Primary move (70)	Secondary move (90)	Weight	Weaponsmith price
	Broadsword	One	25	5–29	45	1.67	Crushing Blow	Armor Ignore	6 stones	about 35 gold
	Cutlass	One	10	6–28	45	1.67	Bleed Attack	Shadow Strike	8 stones	about 24 gold
	Katana	One	10	5–26	58	1.29	Double Strike	Armor Ignore	6 stones	about 33 gold
	Longsword	One	25	5–33	35	2.14	Armor Ignore	Concussion Blow	7 stones	about 55 gold
	Scimitar	One	10	4–30	43	1.74	Double Strike	Paralyzing Blow	5 stones	about 36 gold
	Thin longsword	One	25	5–33	35	2.14	—	—	1 stones	about 27 gold
	Viking sword	One	40	6–34	30	2.50	Crushing Blow	Paralyzing Blow	6 stones	about 55 gold

* Seconds per swing with 100 stamina. The formula is 15000 ÷ ((stamina + 100) × speed), so a tired fighter swings more slowly.

Axes

Axes are two-handed (except the pickaxe) and get the Lumberjacking damage bonus. Every axe except the pickaxe can also chop wood, and the pickaxe can mine.

	Weapon	Hands	Strength needed	Damage	Speed	Seconds per swing*	Primary move (70)	Secondary move (90)	Weight	Weaponsmith price
	Axe	Two	35	6–33	37	2.03	Crushing Blow	Dismount	4 stones	about 40 gold
	Battle axe	Two	40	6–38	30	2.50	Bleed Attack	Concussion Blow	4 stones	about 26 gold
	Double axe	Two	45	5–35	37	2.03	Double Strike	Whirlwind Attack	8 stones	about 52 gold
	Executioner's axe	Two	35	6–33	37	2.03	Bleed Attack	Mortal Strike	8 stones	about 30 gold
	Hatchet	Two	15	2–17	40	1.88	Armor Ignore	Disarm	4 stones	about 25 gold
	Large battle axe	Two	40	6–38	30	2.50	Whirlwind Attack	Bleed Attack	6 stones	about 33 gold
	Two-handed axe	Two	35	5–39	30	2.50	Double Strike	Shadow Strike	8 stones	about 32 gold
	Pickaxe	One	25	1–15	35	2.14	Double Strike	Disarm	11 stones	about 22 gold

* Seconds per swing with 100 stamina. The formula is 15000 ÷ ((stamina + 100) × speed), so a tired fighter swings more slowly.

Polearms

	Weapon	Hands	Strength needed	Damage	Speed	Seconds per swing*	Primary move (70)	Secondary move (90)	Weight	Weaponsmith price
	Bardiche	Two	40	5–43	26	2.88	Paralyzing Blow	Dismount	7 stones	about 60 gold
	Halberd	Two	45	5–49	25	3.00	Whirlwind Attack	Concussion Blow	16 stones	about 42 gold

* Seconds per swing with 100 stamina. The formula is 15000 ÷ ((stamina + 100) × speed), so a tired fighter swings more slowly.

Knives

Light, cheap and handy for skinning and carving, but they don't hit hard.

	Weapon	Hands	Strength needed	Damage	Speed	Seconds per swing*	Primary move (70)	Secondary move (90)	Weight	Weaponsmith price
	Butcher knife	One	5	2–14	40	1.88	Infectious Strike	Disarm	1 stones	about 14 gold
	Cleaver	One	10	2–13	40	1.88	Bleed Attack	Infectious Strike	2 stones	about 15 gold
	Skinning knife	One	5	1–10	40	1.88	Shadow Strike	Disarm	1 stones	about 14 gold

* Seconds per swing with 100 stamina. The formula is 15000 ÷ ((stamina + 100) × speed), so a tired fighter swings more slowly.

Special moves

Every weapon knows two special moves: a primary move you can use from 70 skill in that weapon's fighting skill, and a secondary move from 90. To use one:

1. Open your combat book (the Open › Combat Book macro), or set up the Primary Ability and Secondary Ability macros. You can drag the move icons out of the book onto your screen.
2. Click the move to ready it. It stays ready until your next hit lands.
3. When that hit lands, the move goes off and its mana is used up. If you miss, the move stays ready and no mana is spent.

Some things to know:

• Mana cost drops with experience. Each move has a base cost, but if your Swordsmanship, Mace Fighting, Fencing, Archery, Parrying, Lumberjacking, Stealth and Poisoning add up to 200 or more, every move costs 5 less mana; at 300 or more it costs 10 less.
• Don't chain them too fast. Using another special move within 3 seconds of your last one costs double mana.
• If you don't have the skill: "You need 70 weapon skill to perform that attack" (or 90). If you're short on mana: "You need 30 mana to perform that attack".

	Move	Base mana	What it does	Weapons
	Armor Ignore	30	A precise strike for 90% of normal damage. Armor still absorbs part of the blow as usual.	Primary: Longsword, Hatchet Secondary: Broadsword, Katana
	Bleed Attack	30	The target bleeds for 10 seconds, taking damage every 2 seconds: 15 to 30 in total against players, 30 to 60 against creatures. A bandage stops the bleeding. Some creatures, and anyone in lich or wraith form, can't bleed.	Primary: Cutlass, Battle axe, Executioner's axe, Cleaver Secondary: Large battle axe
	Concussion Blow	25	Deals 10 to 30 extra damage on top of the hit. The bigger the gap between the target's health and mana (as a percentage), the more it hurts.	Secondary: Longsword, Battle axe, Halberd
	Crushing Blow	25	The hit deals 150% damage.	Primary: Broadsword, Viking sword, Axe
	Disarm	20	Knocks the target's weapon into their backpack, and they can't re-equip a weapon for 5 seconds.	Secondary: Hatchet, Pickaxe, Butcher knife, Skinning knife
	Dismount	20	Knocks a mounted target off their mount, and they can't remount for 10 seconds. If you're on foot they also take 15 to 25 damage. You must be on foot to use it, and you can't mount up yourself for 10 seconds afterwards.	Secondary: Axe, Bardiche
	Double Strike	30	You strike twice in one swing. Each hit deals 90% damage.	Primary: Katana, Scimitar, Double axe, Two-handed axe, Pickaxe
	Infectious Strike	15	Uses one dose of the poison on your weapon to poison the target. Your Poisoning skill decides how strong a poison you can deliver and gives a chance to raise it by one level.	Primary: Butcher knife Secondary: Cleaver
	Mortal Strike	30	Mortally wounds the target: they can't be healed by bandages, healing spells or heal potions for 6 seconds (players) or 12 seconds (creatures).	Secondary: Executioner's axe
	Paralyzing Blow	30	Freezes the target in place for 3 seconds (players) or 6 seconds (creatures). They can't be paralyzed this way again for 8 seconds after it wears off.	Primary: Bardiche Secondary: Scimitar, Viking sword
	Shadow Strike	20	Deals 125% damage and you instantly hide. Needs 80 Stealth.	Primary: Skinning knife Secondary: Cutlass, Two-handed axe
	Whirlwind Attack	15	Also hits every other valid enemy standing next to you.	Primary: Large battle axe, Halberd Secondary: Double axe

Concussion blows

Fighters who know their anatomy can land a concussion blow with a two-handed axe or polearm (axe, battle axe, double axe, executioner's axe, hatchet, large battle axe, two-handed axe, bardiche or halberd). It happens on its own, with no mana and no readying:

• You need at least 80 Anatomy.
• Each hit has an Anatomy ÷ 4 percent chance (25% at 100 Anatomy).
• The target's Intelligence is halved for 30 seconds. You'll see "You deliver a concussion blow!" and they'll see "You receive a concussion blow!" A target that's already concussed can't be concussed again until it wears off.

Poisoned blades

Swords and knives can carry poison applied with the Poisoning skill (axes and polearms can't). While the blade has poison charges, every hit uses up one charge and has a 50% chance to poison the target. A poisoned blade is also what you need for the Infectious Strike move.

Training Swordsmanship

• Every swing can raise Swordsmanship, whether it hits or misses. The game checks for a gain each time you swing at something.
• Below 10.0 you gain on every attempt, sometimes several tenths at once. Above that, each attempt has a chance to gain 0.1.
• The harder the attempt is for your skill level, the better your chance to gain. Your chance also drops as you get closer to your Swordsmanship cap and to your total skill cap of 700.
• If you've set Swordsmanship to go down (the arrow in your skills list), gains elsewhere can lower it to make room under your total cap. Lock skills you want to keep.
• Reaching 100.0 adds Swordsmanship to the Skills Mastered count on your achievements.
• Fighting also trains Tactics and Anatomy on every hit, so they climb alongside Swordsmanship.
• Pick opponents that are a fair match. The less certain your hit, the better your chance to gain. If you're guaranteed to hit (your skill + 50 is at least double the defender's skill + 50, such as 50 skill against a defender with none), that swing teaches you nothing.
• Warrior guildmasters, blacksmiths, iron workers and nobles will train you for gold: up to a third of their own skill, at most 42.0, for 1 gold per 0.1 points. Ask them (or use their context menu) to train the skill, then drop the gold on them.

Stats: each successful use has about a 2% chance to raise Strength and a smaller chance (under 1%) to raise Dexterity by 1 point. Each stat can rise at most once every 10 minutes, and only if it's set to rise.

Suggested path

Swordsmanship	Where to train
0 to 25	Practice on a training dummy. Double-click it with your weapon in hand. Carpenters can build them. It stops teaching you at 25.0.
25 to 50	Weak creatures that hit back softly: Giant Rat, Mongbat, Skeleton, Zombie, Headless One, Ratman.
50 to 70	Tougher camps: Orc, Lizardman, Gargoyle, Ettin.
70 to 90	Bigger targets with lots of health: Troll, Ogre, Earth Elemental. Your primary move opens up at 70.
90 to 100	Strong creatures you can still win against, such as Ogre Lord, Lich, Wyvern. Your secondary move opens up at 90.

Power scrolls

Power scroll

Swordsmanship tops out at 100.0 unless you use a Swordsmanship power scroll. There are three kinds: exalted (110), mythical (115) and legendary (120). Double-click one to raise your Swordsmanship cap to that number: "You feel a surge of magic as the scroll enhances your Swordsmanship!"

• Swordsmanship power scrolls come from champion bosses: Barracoon, Lord Oaks, Mephitis, Neira, Rikktor, Semidar and Silvani. Each champion boss leaves 6 power scrolls in random fighting, magic, bard and animal skills, handed out among the players who helped kill it. Each scroll is a 110 (60%), 115 (35%) or 120 (5%).
• A scroll only works if it's higher than your current cap. Otherwise: "Your Swordsmanship is too high for this power scroll."
• Champion power scrolls are cursed: they always drop when you die, even from a blessed container. Use them or bank them quickly.
• Raising the cap doesn't raise your skill. You still have to train the extra points.

Messages you'll see

Message	What it means
You need 70 weapon skill to perform that attack	You don't have enough skill for that special move yet (70 for primary, 90 for secondary).
You need 30 mana to perform that attack	Not enough mana for the move you readied.
You deliver a concussion blow!	Your axe or polearm halved your target's Intelligence for 30 seconds.
You receive a concussion blow!	Someone landed a concussion blow on you. Your Intelligence is halved for 30 seconds.
Your skill in this weapon cannot improve any further by simply practicing with a dummy.	You've reached 25.0. Time to fight real opponents.
You have to wait until it stops swinging.	The training dummy is still moving from your last swing.
You can't practice on this while on a mount.	Dismount to use a training dummy.
You feel a surge of magic as the scroll enhances your ~skill~!	A power scroll raised your skill cap.

Tips

• Tactics is not optional. At 0 Tactics you deal half damage. Train it alongside Swordsmanship.
• Fast or heavy? A katana or scimitar swings more than twice as often as a halberd, but each halberd hit is much bigger. Fast weapons land special moves more often.
• Keep your stamina up. Swing speed falls as your stamina drops, and mace hits drain it.
• Axe fighters, learn Lumberjacking. At 100 Lumberjacking every axe hit does an extra 30%.
• Carry bandages. Healing is the classic partner for any warrior.
• Don't spam moves. A second special move within 3 seconds costs double mana.