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Discover how to create the best Great Sword build in Avowed, with recommendations for skills, attributes, weapons, companions, and leveling progression!
Avowed is a first-person RPG developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Xbox Game Studios. Set in the Pillars of Eternity universe, the game takes place in the Living Lands, where you are uncovering a secret mystery. A Great Sword build in Avowed is specifically designed to maximize damage output, critical hits, and battlefield control. This unique build depends on high strength, stamina, and critical damage. Choosing the best skills is essential to complement your Great Sword build. Attributes play an important role in this build as your gameplay mostly depends on them. Selecting the right companion is essential as they can save your life and give you opportunities to deal additional damage. In this guide, we’ll cover the best Avowed Great Sword build and the gameplay tips along with gear to choose from.
Everything You Need To Know About Great Sword Build Guide in Avowed
Our Great Sword in Avowed includes two Great Swords for dealing massive damage in combat. The Philosopher’s Riddle is a primary weapon and Hel’s Tongue is the secondary weapon. The Philosopher’s Riddle offers increased attack speed and poison damage, boosting both DPS and status infliction. Hel’s Tongue allows you to deal with additional fire and frost damage in tough encounters. Might, Constitution, and Dexterity are the best attributes to focus on. Might increase weapon damage, Dexterity improves attack speed, which is crucial for heavy weapons, and Constitution enhances health.
Skills like Charge, Brawn, Bleeding Cuts, and Parry are the best ones to unlock for your Great Sword Build. These abilities synergize to create a versatile and powerful melee combatant. Upgrading these weapons will significantly bolster your combat effectiveness. You need to equip the armor that balances protection with mobility. We recommend you equip medium to heavy armor to maintain agility and withstand frontline combat. However, using the Greats Swords in Avowed consumes high stamina.
| Great Sword Build Pros | Great Sword Build Cons |
|---|---|
| High Damage Output | High Stamina Consumption |
| Increased Stun Potential | Low Diversity |
| High Block Efficiency |
Great Sword Build Features & Mechanics
Below are the essential best Great Sword build features and mechanics for Avowed:
- Background: War Hero
- Attribute Points: Might, Constitution, Dexterity
- Weapon Choices: The Philosopher’s Riddle, Hel’s Tongue
- Best Skills: Brawn, Bleeding Cuts, Retribution, Clear Out, Charge, Unbreakable
- Recommended Companions: Giatta and Marius
- Best Consumables: Darkest Rauataian Chocolate Cookie, Grog, Raw Bleathorn Milk
Related:
Background
War Hero is the best background for the Great Sword build in Avowed. This background offers a starting weapon and attribute distribution that complements melee combat. This is the best background to choose if your playstyle favors a direct, aggressive, and resilient warrior. Select the War Hero background to unlock unique dialogue options that reflect the character’s military history and esteemed position within the emperor’s forces. War Hero provides a strong foundation in physical combat, which is essential for a Great Sword build.
Background plays a pivotal role in shaping your role-playing experience. It affects your dialogue options and determines your starting weapon during the tutorial. Your initial allocation of attribute points across six stats is also influenced. However, they do not restrict your access to any equipment or abilities as the game progresses. Regardless of your background, you can use any equipment and abilities. Avowed enriches your character’s backstory and provides initial attribute distributions and dialogue options by selecting the background.
Attribute Points
Might, Constitution, and Dexterity are the best attributes for the Avowed Great Sword build. Investing attribute points in Might allows you to increase your overall damage, which amplifies the effectiveness of bleed effects. A higher Might stat ensures your Great Sword strikes are more impactful. Constitution boosts your maximum health and resistance to bleeding and poison, making it crucial for close-quarters combat. Investing points in Dexterity improves attack speed and action speed. It reduces the slower swing times associated with two-handed weapons like Great Swords.
You can also invest some points in Resolve to boost your maximum stamina and second wind efficiency. This attribute allows you for sustained combat and quicker recovery. You need to be mindful when allocating points in the attributes as your gameplay depends on it. Upon leveling up, you can earn additional attribute points, offering opportunities to customize your build. Enhance your attribute points by using the consumables you acquire while progressing. You can select 27 attributes at a maximum level of 30. Below are the attribute points distribution for the Great Sword build in Avowed.
- Intellect: 0
- Might: 11
- Constitution: 6
- Dexterity: 5
- Resolve: 3
- Perception: 2
Weapon Choices
Great Swords are two-handed weapons and a perfect choice for dealing with massive damage. You can use the best Great Swords to melt the bosses in late-game encounters. You need to combine Bleeding Cuts with Great Swords to maximize the Bleed damage output, effectively weakening enemies over time. This weapon type is designed for high-damage output and crowd control. Use this weapon to get a balance between reach, power, and blocking capability, making them effective for both offense and defense. It is effective against multiple enemies due to its longer reach than smaller melee weapons. The best Great Swords that you can equip are The Philosopher’s Riddle and Hel’s Tongue. We include both of these in our Great Sword build to deal massive damage.
The primary weapon for the Great Sword build is The Philosopher’s Riddle that deals the highest damage and stun effect on the enemy in late-game battles. This Great Sword is specially designed for melting the high-level bosses. This sword comes with the passive ability called Poison Lash that allows you to deal +10% bonus poison damage. Its base enchantment is Aggressive Debate which lets you gain +15% attack speed for 10 seconds after completing a full combo. The high stamina cost urges you to manage your energy wisely. Additionally, the primary enchantment, Aggressive Debate, can be upgraded on your Workbench in camp.
Secondary Weapon
Your secondary weapon for the Great Sword build is Hel’s Tongue. This Great Sword comes with a unique passive ability called Emotional. Use this passive to deal +10% bonus Fire Damage against enemies above 50% Maximum Health, Hits deal +10% bonus Frost Damage against enemies below 50% Maximum Health. The base enchantment of Hel’s Tongue is Soul Reaver which allows you to restore 10% of your maximum essence with the power attacks. This unique weapon offers support utility to your kit for getting back power skills. You can combine it with the fire and frost-based spells to make a perfect combo. Upgrading this weapon allows you to increase its physical damage and stun potential. The more you upgrade this weapon on the workbench, the more Hel’s Tongue becomes effective.
Perfect Block
You can parry with a Great Sword in Avowed. The Perfect allows you to parry the enemy attacks, knock back targets, and immediately counterattack. It causes the attacker to stagger and create the opportunity for a counter-attack. This is effective for players who prefer a defensive combat style. You can unlock the Parry ability from the Ranger skill tree to increase proficiency with Perfect Blocks. Precise timing is crucial for the success of a Perfect Block. However, blocking and counter-attacking consume stamina. We recommend you invest some skill points in Parry and Reflect to increase your blocking capabilities. A successful parry will deflect the attack, stagger the enemy, and fill the yellow stun meter below their health bar.
Skill Selection
The game allows you to unlock skills at each level, starting at 2. One level gives you one more skill point to place in one of three skill trees. You can mix and match skill trees, but Fighter and Ranger synergize. Moreover, you can reset skills at any time with gold, though it gets more expensive the more levels you increase.
Levels 1-10 Skills
Charge, Constant Recovery, Bleeding Cuts, Brawn, parry, and Power Jump are the best skills to unlock during the initial stages. Invest skill points to gain the skills that can keep you alive in the initial stages of the game. Passive skills are used to increase damage or survivability, while active skills require essence, and you can’t use them due to their cost.
Below is a list, in order, of the skills for the Best Great Sword Build for Avowed from levels 1 to 10:
| Level | Skill Name | Tree | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | None | ||
| 2 | Charge Rank 1 | Fighter | Dash forward and smash into anything in your way, interrupting enemies and dealing Explosive Damage to break enemy Blocks, destroy walls, and shatter frozen enemies for bonus damage. |
| 3 | Armored Grace Rank 1 | Fighter | Decreases the Stamina penalty for Medium and Heavy armor by 15. |
| 4 | Constant Recovery Rank 1 | Fighter | After taking damage, slowly regenerate 50% of the last amount of Health lost. |
| 5 | Barbaric Shout Rank 1 | Fighter | Let out a fearsome roar that interrupts enemies and empowers you against larger foes. Your weapon attacks become Uninterruptable and deal higher Stun. |
| 6 | Bleeding Cuts Rank 1 | Fighter | Power Attacks with axes and great swords deal Bleed Accumulation. |
| 7 | Brawn Rank 1 | Fighter | Increases damage with two-handed melee weapons by 25%. |
| 8 | Parry Rank 1 | Ranger | Time a perfect Block against a melee attack to knock the enemy back and gain an immediate counter-attack. |
| 9 | Shadowing Beyond Rank 1 | Ranger | Channel the Beyond, becoming Invisible and draining Essence until your next combat action. |
| 10 | Power Jump Rank 1 | Fighter | Press crouch while in the air to slam to the ground, interrupting nearby enemies. The area of effect and amount of Stun dealt increases based on your fall height. |
Levels 11-20 Skills
Unbreakable, Built to Destroy, Retribution, and Bear Ally are the best skills to use during the mid-game. Upgrade your equipped abilities to make them more effective in combat. You need to enhance the damage effectiveness as you’ll encounter high-level enemies equipped with heavy armor.
Below is a list, in order, of the skills for the Best Great Sword Build for Avowed from levels 11 to 20:
| Level | Skill Name | Tree | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Bleeding Cuts Rank 2 | Fighter | Increases the Bleed Accumulation dealt by Bleeding Cuts. |
| 12 | Parry Rank 2 | Ranger | Increases Parry efficiency by 25 %, dealing greater Stun when Parrying enemies. |
| 13 | Charge Rank 2 | Fighter | Increases the distance traveled during Charge by 100% |
| 14 | Unbreakable Rank 1 | Fighter | Decreases the Stamina cost when Blocking by 30%. |
| 15 | Built to Destroy Rank 1 | Fighter | Destroying things restores a small amount of Health and Essence. Melee Power Attacks can break destructible walls. |
| 16 | Into the Fray Rank 1 | Fighter | Reach forward, Taunting an enemy and pulling them towards you. |
| 17 | Retribution Rank 1 | Fighter | After taking damage from an enemy, your next attack within 5 seconds deals +70% of the original damage you received. |
| 18 | Quick Switch Rank 1 | Ranger | Increases your Equip Speed by 50%. |
| 19 | Bear Ally Rank 1 | Ranger | Summon a bear ally to aid you in battle for 30 seconds. |
| 20 | Unbreakable Rank 2 | Fighter | Decreases the Stamina cost when Blocking by 50%. |
Levels 21-30 Skills
Upgrade your abilities to the higher rank to make them more effective and deal more Bleed hits during intense combat. The higher your abilities are, the more chances you get for the deadly hits.
Below is a list, in order, of the skills for the Best Great Sword Build for Avowed from levels 21 to 30:
| Level | Skill Name | Tree | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | Parry Rank 3 | Ranger | Increases Parry efficiency by 50%, dealing greater Stun when Parrying enemies. |
| 22 | Charge Rank 3 | Fighter | Increases the Stun dealt by Charge by 50% |
| 23 | Bleeding Cuts Rank 3 | Fighter | Greatly increases the Bleed Accumulation dealt by Bleeding Cuts. |
| 24 | Retribution Rank 2 | Fighter | After taking damage from an enemy, your next attack within 8 seconds deals +100% of the original damage you received. |
| 25 | Clear Out Rank 1 | Fighter | Spin in a dangerous whirlwind, becoming Uninterruptable and hitting all nearby enemies with your currently equipped melee weapons. |
| 26 | Brawn Rank 2 | Fighter | Increases damage with two-handed melee weapons by 40%. |
| 27 | Clear Out Rank 2 | Fighter | Clear Out lasts for 2 full rotations. |
| 28 | Retribution Rank 3 | Fighter | After taking damage from an enemy, your next attack within 10 seconds deals +120% of the original damage you received. |
| 29 | Bear Ally Rank 2 | Ranger | Your bear ally roars when summoned, taunting enemies and increasing the damage it deals. |
| 30 | Brawn Rank 3 | Fighter | Increases damage with two-handed melee weapons by 50%. |
Best Great Sword Skills Explained
Brawn, Bleeding Cuts, Retribution, Clear Out, Charge, and Unbreakable are the best skills for the Great Sword in Avowed. Clear Out is an active skill within the Fighter class that allows your character to perform a powerful spinning attack. It allows you to attack all nearby enemies with your equipped melee weapon. Brawn is a passive ability that increases damage with two-handed melee weapons. Bleeding Cuts is a passive ability that increases combat effectiveness with specific weapons, inflicting the Bleed Accumulation effect. Charge is an active ability that allows you to dash forward and impact enemies.
- Unbreakable- It reduces the stamina cost when blocking.
- Brawn- Increases damage with two-handed melee weapons.
- Bleeding Cuts- It allows your power attacks with axes and great swords to deal bleed accumulation.
- Retribution- It increases the damage of your next attack after taking damage from an enemy.
- Clear Out- This ability involves spinning in a whirlwind to hit all nearby enemies, remaining uninterruptable during the attack.
- Charge- Lets you dash forward, smashing into enemies to interrupt them, break their blocks, destroy walls, and shatter frozen foes for extra damage.
Companions
Giatta and Marius are the best companions for the Great Sword build. These companions complement a melee-focused build, enhancing your combat effectiveness and overall gameplay experience. Marius is a damage-dealing specialist due to his abilities like Binding Roots and Wounding Shots. He can use his Binding Roots ability to immobilize enemies and create opportunities for bleed attacks. His Wounding Shots ability inflicts an element effect and can slow enemies, enhancing crowd control. These abilities are perfect for the Great Sword build, increasing damage over time in combat.
Giatta offers a range of buffs to the entire team, enhancing survivability and combat prowess. She excels in maintaining the party’s health and enhancing combat capabilities. Giatta joins your party during the main story quest, “The Animancy Method.” Giatta’s Inspiration ability increases the attack and movement speed. Use Giatta Barrier to provide protective shields to allies and Marius Heart Seeker’s ability to increase damage dealt to low-health enemies. Create a balanced and formidable party by including Giatta’s support and healing skills with Marius’s offensive and tactical prowess.
Marius
| Skill 1 | Skill 2 | Skill 3 | Skill 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binding Roots | Heart Seeker | Shadow Step | Wounding Shots |
| Entangle enemies | Increases damage dealt to low-health enemies | Devastating Blow | Damage over time |
Giatta
| Skill 1 | Skill 2 | Skill 3 | Skill 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purification | Barrier | Acceleration | Reconstruction |
| Essence Generator | Protective shields to reduce incoming damage | Increases the movement and attack speed | Heal and restore health |
Great Sword Gameplay & Tips
Use Marius and Giatta as your companions, aiding you in intense combat. Their abilities create opportunities for you to deal massive damage using your equipped weapon. Prioritize Might to increase overall damage output, Constitution for increasing health and durability, and Dexterity to improve attack speed and precision. Choose the abilities that synergize with a Great Sword’s strengths. You need to upgrade your gear and weapon regularly to maintain their effectiveness in combat.
Unlock the Parry ability from the Ranger skill tree. Parry can stagger the enemy, filling their stun meter and setting them up for a powerful riposte. Use the Charge to initiate the fight and close the gaps and disrupt enemies. Use Marius’s crowd control to immobilize high-level enemies. Choose the gear that complements your Great Sword build and increases overall damage. Great Swords pair with Bleeding Cuts to apply bleed effects through Power Attacks.
Weapons and Armor
Beginner Weapon and Armor
| Slot | Item | Bonus |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Weapon | Horsecutter | 284 Physical Damage 260 Stun 20 Stamina Cost 3% Critical Hit Chance |
| Secondary Weapon | Unmaker | 284 Physical Damage 260 Stun 20 Stamina Cost 3% Critical Hit Chance |
| Armor | Arcanist’s Gambeson | 8% Damage Reduction -15 Maximum Stamina -20 Maximum Essence |
| Gloves | Death Knight Gloves | -10% Stamina cost while blocking +15% Frost Damage |
| Boots | Boots of the Bricklayer | +10% Dodge Distance |
| Trinket | Night-Mistress’ Favor | Slowly regenerate Essence while close to a Companion |
| Ring | Ring of Pain Amplification | +15% Critical Damage |
| Ring | Ring of the Founder | +10% Damage Against enemies with full health |
- Horsecutter (Great Sword)- Acquire the Horsecutter from the Wavesculpt Hollow. This area is located in the Emerald Stair region, just south of Maxim’s Claim.
- Unmaker (Great Sword)- Located underwater at the Broken Aqueduct, in The Garden.
- Arcanist’s Gambeson- Location is Dawnshore. In the southeastern building of the Yellowband Camp in Dawnshore.
- Death Knight Gloves- Location is Emerald Stair. Kill Captain Aelfyr at the end of the Emerald Stair chapter.
- Boots of the Bricklayer- Location is Dawnshore. Found inside of the Pargrun Cache east of the Overgrown Expanse Party Camp in Dawnshore.
- Night-Mistress’ Favor- Location is Dawnshore. Received as a reward for ignoring talking about Giuliana’s contraband in Giuliana’s Shipment as part of the Side Quest.
- Ring of Pain Amplification- Location is Emerald Stair. Obtained from Dolina as a reward for defeating Amadio and the Xaureps in the Fortified Xaurep Camp in the northeastern Grim Wetlands of Emerald Stair.
- Ring of the Founder- Found in the Ancient Grotto, on the body of the Idol of Secret Hatred Totem Piece.
Endgame Weapon and Armor
| Slot | Item | Bonus |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Weapon | The Philosopher’s Riddle | 284 Physical Damage 260 Stun 20 Stamina Cost 3% Critical Hit Chance |
| Secondary Weapon | Hel’s Tongue | 284 Physical Damage 260 Stun 20 Stamina Cost 3% Critical Hit Chance |
| Armor | Councilor’s Garb | +50% Stealth Attack Damage |
| Gloves | Sentinel Gloves | +15% Stun |
| Boots | Wavebinder Boots | +15 Maximum Essence |
| Trinket | Cartographer’s Companion | +1 Dex, +2 Perception |
| Ring | Chitin Band | -5% damage from beasts |
| Ring | Sigil of the Arcane | +20% ability cast speed -20% ability essence cost |
- The Philosopher’s Riddle (Great Sword)- Location is Dawnshore. Found in the ruined building on the northwest of Castol’s Folly in Dawnshore.
- Hel’s Tongue (Great Sword)- Location is Shatterscarp. Found atop Twin Offerings Overlook, past the Bounty target Xaurip Chief Grithin, and up by the Ancient Memory.
- Councilor’s Garb- Location is Galawain’s Tusks. Kill Kostya toward the end of the Main Story Quest “Our Dreams Divide Us Still.”
- Sentinel Gloves- Location is Galawain’s Tusks. Found in the building on the north side of Ash Forest Outpost. Head up the stairs towards where you rescue Petru, but take a right to jump over and drop into the building.
- Wavebinder Boots- Location is Shatterscarp. Found in a cave at the end of a stream to the east of the Sulfur Mines.
- Cartographer’s Companion- Location is Galawain’s Tusks. Found on a dead dwarf near the Bounty target Urvolnau west of Berath’s Bounty.
- Chitin Band- Location is Shatterscarp. Looted from a Skeleton Mage east of the Abandoned Mine.
- Sigil of the Arcane- Location is Shatterscarp. It can be found inside a lockbox inside a puzzle door at Shark’s teeth.
Consumables
Darkest Rauataian Chocolate Cookie is another best consumable that gives you +1 Perception and Dexterity, +10% Movement Speed. Grog is a consumable that cures Poison, bleeding, and elemental effects on your character. Raw Bleathorn Milk provides you with 10 Health Regeneration. You need to take three points into the survivalist skill in the ranger tree. Once unlocked, you can craft advanced food and buffs that drastically increase your survivability, damage, and regeneration.
FAQs about Great Sword in Avowed
What is the best Great Sword build in Avowed?
The best Great Sword build uses The Philosopher’s Riddle and Hel’s Tongue to deal massive damage. Marius and Giatta are the best companions to include in this build to support you in tough encounters.
Which is the best Background for Great Sword build?
War Her is the best background for the Great Sword build it favors a direct, aggressive, and resilient warrior. War Hero provides a strong foundation in physical combat, which is essential for a Great Sword build.
Which are the best skills for a Great Sword build?
Brawn, Bleeding Cuts, Retribution, Clear Out, Charge, and Unbreakable are the best skills for the Great Sword in Avowed.
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