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Discover how to create the best 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. The sword build in Avowed is a well-rounded choice for players who prefer a mix of agility and power. This setup can deal devastating damage in melee range but can leave you vulnerable in ranged attacks. Allocating points in correct attributes is crucial for the Sword build as your gameplay revolves around them. Sword and Shield are your bread and butter for this build, allowing you to deal damage and protect your character from incoming attacks. In this guide, we’ll discuss the best Avowed Sword build and useful gameplay tips along with the gear to choose from.
Everything You Need To Know About Sword Build Guide in Avowed
A Sword build in Avowed is a versatile melee playstyle that deals constant damage. Our Avowed Sword build maintains a balance between offense and defense We include The Emperor’s Reach as a main-hand weapon, Tree of Life as an off-hand weapon, and Last Light of Day as a secondary weapon. You can easily swap your weapons for more flexibility and versatility. Finesse, Piercing Thrusts, Parry, Critical Strike, and Charge are the best skills to unlock and take them to the high ranks for more effectiveness.
We include a Noble Scion background for this damage-dealing build to complement your playstyle. Giatta and Kai are the best companions to choose for this melee setup as they can aid you in combat. Might, Resolve, and Dexterity are the best attributes that you can invest for a better playstyle. However, allocating the attribute points is crucial here for every aspect. Dodging and repositioning are key to avoiding heavy hits, so make sure to check your gameplay tips that we will discuss.
| Sword Build Pros | Sword Build Cons |
|---|---|
| High Damage Output | Lower Stun Potential |
| Versatility in Combat | Stamina Consumption |
| Weapon Variety | Limited Range |
Sword Build Features & Mechanics
Below are the essential best Sword build features and mechanics for Avowed:
- Background: Noble Scion
- Attribute Points: Might, Resolve, Dexterity
- Weapon Choices: The Emperor’s Reach (Sword), Tree of Life (Shield), Last Light of Day (Sword)
- Best Skills: Finesse, Piercing Thrusts, Parry, Critical Strike, and Charge
- Recommended Companions: Giatta and Kai
- Best Consumables: Darkest Rauataian Chocolate Cookie, Skaenbone, Grog
Related:
Background
Noble Scion is the best background for the Avowed Sword build. This background is ideal for swordplay and you start with a common sword upon choosing it. It provides unique dialogue options and starts your character with a sword as the initial weapon. The default attribute allocation offers a balanced spread, enhancing versatility across various playstyles. Noble Scion’s background hints at proficiency with swords and pistols, offering both close and mid-range combat capabilities. This background offers gameplay flexibility and unique mechanics.
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, Resolve, and Dexterity are the best attributes to invest your points in for the Avowed Sword build. Investing points in Might allows you to increase weapon damage and carrying capacity. This is important for maximizing melee effectiveness and managing inventory in the game. Resolve enhances stamina in tough battles, making it crucial for sustained attacks and effective dodging. Dexterity, on the other hand, improves attack speed and weapon switching. Perception is also a good attribute to allocate some points as well. It increases critical hit chance that allows you to deal additional damage over time.
You can enhance your character’s ability to control the battlefield by allocating your attribute points to these stats. You can earn additional attribute points upon leveling up, 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 is the attribute point distribution for the build in Avowed.
- Intellect: 1
- Might: 12
- Resolve: 6
- Dexterity: 4
- Perception:3
- Constitution: 1
Weapon Choices
A one-handed sword as your main-hand weapon and Shield as your off-hand weapon are the best ones to include in your weapon. You can also use another sword as your secondary weapon to deal damage when your primary weapon isn’t working properly. This combination allows you for offensive and defensive strategies as well in tough encounters. One-handed sword in Avowed offers a balance between speed and damage, making them effective in various combat situations. You can use skills like Parry and Piercing Thrusts to enhance your swordplay.
The Emperor’s Reach is the best primary sword to include in your sword build in Avowed. This one-handed sword comes with a unique passive called Bend the Knee. This passive ability allows the special attacks to stun the nearby enemies Kith so they don’t get chained. The Emperor’s Reach has the base enchantment called Rightful Annexation. This enchantment allows you to gain +10% attack damage and +10% move speed for 6 seconds when you kill an enemy. Upgrade this enchantment up to the Imperial Rebuke or Triumph of Conquest. The Imperial Rebuke enchantment allows you to stun the nearby foes after parrying the enemy attacks.
Tree of Life is the best shield to equip in your off-hand for defensive strategies. It offers you high block efficiency along with elemental resistance, making your character more powerful. The parry efficiency allows you to block the enemy attack and deliver a powerful counterattack. Upgrading Tree of Life allows you to increase its block efficiency, stability, parry efficiency, and elemental resistance. This unique shield comes with the perks that make it more effective in tough encounters. Unending Regrowth allows you to slowly regenerate up to 30% of your maximum health. All Season perk reduces the incoming Fire, Frost, and Shock damage by 15%.
Secondary Weapon
Last Light of Day is your secondary weapon in Avowed because it allows you to deliver fire damage and health restoration abilities. This damage-dealing sword has the unique passive, Dawn’s Remembrance. Use this passive ability to allow your hits to deal +10% bonus fire damage, dealing damage over time. Last Light of Day has a base enchantment called Golden Sun’s Ascent. This base enchantment allows you to restore 3% of your maximum health by killing an enemy. You can further upgrade the Golden Sun’s Ascent into the Blinding Daybreak and Golden Sun’s Zenith. Blinding Daybreak allows you to stun enemies after successfully parrying. Golden Sun’s Zenith allows you to gain a +10% increase in health recovery.
Perfect Block
The Perfect allows you to parry the enemy attacks, knock back targets, and immediately counterattack. We include the Shield in the Avowed Sword build to perform Perfect Block. 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.
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, Shield Bash, Parry, Devastating Criticals, and Piercing Thrusts are the best skills to unlock at the initial levels. 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, stun chance, 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 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 | Shield Bash Rank 1 | Fighter | Attacking while holding Block slams your shield forward to Stun, push back, and interrupt enemies. |
| 5 | Parry Rank 1 | Ranger | Time a perfect Block against a melee attack to knock the enemy back and gain an immediate counter-attack. |
| 6 | Evasive Rank 1 | Ranger | Reduces the Stamina cost of Dodge by 25%. |
| 7 | Barbaric Shout Rank 1 | Ranger | Let out a fearsome roar that interrupts enemies and empowers you against larger foes. Your weapon attacks become Uninterruptable and deal higher Stun. |
| 8 | Devastating Criticals Rank 1 | Fighter | Critical Hits with melee weapons deal 30% more damage. |
| 9 | Piercing Thrusts Rank 1 | Ranger | Power Attacks with daggers, swords, and spears deal +25% damage. |
| 10 | Finesse Rank 1 | Ranger | Increases damage with one-handed melee weapons by 25%. |
Levels 11-20 Skills
Unbreakable, Built to Destroy, Critical Strike, Retribution, and Bear Ally are the best skills after level 11. Upgrade your equipped abilities to make them more effective in combat. You need to enhance the stun hit chance as you’ll be encountering high-level enemies equipped with heavy armor.
Below is a list, in order, of the skills for the Best Sword Build for Avowed from levels 11 to 20:
| Level | Skill Name | Tree | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Unbreakable Rank 1 | Fighter | Decreases the Stamina cost when Blocking by 30%. |
| 12 | Built to Destroy Rank 1 | Fighter | Destroying things restores a small amount of Health and Essence. Melee Power Attacks can break destructible walls. |
| 13 | Charge Rank 2 | Fighter | Increases the distance traveled during Charge by 100% |
| 14 | Quick Switch Rank 1 | Ranger | Increases your Equip Speed by 50%. |
| 15 | Critical Strike Rank 1 | Ranger | Increases your Critical Hit Chance by 10%. |
| 16 | Piercing Thrusts Rank 2 | Ranger | Power Attacks with daggers, swords, and spears deal +35% damage. |
| 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 | Parry Rank 2 | Ranger | Increases Parry efficiency by 25 %, dealing greater Stun when Parrying enemies. |
| 19 | Bear Ally Rank 1 | Ranger | Summon a bear ally to aid you in battle for 30 seconds. |
| 20 | Shield Bash Rank 2 | Fighter | Increases Stun dealt by Shield Bash. |
Levels 21-30 Skills
Upgrade your abilities to a higher rank to make them more effective and deal more stun hits during intense combat. The higher your abilities are, the more chances you get for the stun hits.
Below is a list, in order, of the skills for the Best Sword Build for Avowed from levels 21 to 30:
| Level | Skill Name | Tree | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | Charge Rank 3 | Fighter | Increases the Stun dealt by Charge by 50% |
| 22 | Bear Ally Rank 2 | Ranger | Your bear ally roars when summoned, Taunting enemies and increasing the damage it deals. |
| 23 | Finesse Rank 2 | Ranger | Increases damage with one-handed melee weapons by 40%. |
| 24 | Unbreakable Rank 2 | Fighter | Decreases the Stamina cost when Blocking by 50%. |
| 25 | Critical Strike Rank 2 | Ranger | Increases your Critical Hit Chance by 15%. |
| 26 | Parry Rank 3 | Ranger | Increases Parry efficiency by 50%, dealing greater Stun when Parrying enemies. |
| 27 | Retribution Rank 2 | Fighter | After taking damage from an enemy, your next attack within 8 seconds deals +100% of the original damage you received. |
| 28 | Critical Strike Rank 3 | Ranger | Increases your Critical Hit Chance by 20%. |
| 29 | Piercing Thrusts Rank 3 | Ranger | Power Attacks with daggers, swords, and spears deal +40% damage. |
| 30 | Finesse Rank 3 | Ranger | Increases damage with one-handed melee weapons by 50%. |
Best Sword Skills Explained
Finesse, Piercing Thrusts, Parry, Critical Strike, and Charge are the best skills for the Avowed Sword build. Critical Strike increases your Critical Hit chance by 10%, making it essential for maximizing critical damage. Charge is an active ability that enables you to dash forward, disrupting enemies and dealing explosive damage upon impact. Piercing Thrust is a passive skill that boosts your effectiveness with specific melee weapons. Finesse is a passive ability that enhances damage with one-handed melee weapons. Parry is an ability that enhances your defensive and offensive capabilities during combat.
- Charge- It allows you to dash forward, smashing into enemies to interrupt them, break their blocks, destroy walls, and shatter frozen foes for extra damage.
- Finesse- Increases damage with one-handed melee weapons.
- Piercing Thrusts- Enhance damage with daggers, swords, and spears.
- Parry- It allows you to knock back enemies and counterattack after a perfect block.
- Critical Strike- This ability increases your critical hit chance.
Companions
Giatta and Kai are the best companions for the Avowed Sword build. Giatta joins your party during the main story quest, “The Animancy Method.” Each of these companions brings unique abilities and backgrounds to your journey. Giatta’s Purification ability restores health to allies and can be upgraded to include crowd control effects. Giatt’s healing and defensive capabilities ensure you maintain optimal health. Enhance your combat effectiveness with his DoT effects and dealing support.
Kai excels at drawing enemy attention and absorbing damage. His Leap of Daring ability allows him to charge into battle and gather enemies. This creates opportunities for you to attack from a distance. Use this setup to maximize your damage output while minimizing risk. The Second Wind ability allows Kai to revive himself once per encounter, and Fire and Ire taunt enemies. Each of these companions brings unique abilities and backgrounds to your journey.
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 |
Kai
| Skill 1 | Skill 2 | Skill 3 | Skill 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fire and Ire | Unbending Defense | Leap of Daring | Second Wind |
| Fires a powerful shot from his blunderbuss | Regenerate Health and increase his Damage Reduction by 25% | Crashes down upon the enemy, Stunning and Taunting all nearby enemies | Revives himself when his health is reduced to zero |
Sword Gameplay & Tips
Use Kai and Giatta as your companions to dominate enemies with a powerful setup. Invest points in attributes like Might, Perception, Resolve, and Dexterity. Might increase your overall damage output, and Perception boosts your critical hit chance and dialogue options. Use a one-handed sword as your primary weapon to deal massive damage in close-range combat. Choosing the advanced sword allows you to deal great physical damage.
Use abilities like Parry to deflect incoming attacks, Evasive to boost dodging capabilities, and Piercing Thrusts for increased sword attacks. We recommend you wear light armor for greater mobility with fewer stamina penalties and medium armor for balanced defense and agility. You need to gather items for crafting and upgrades. Make sure you’re upgrading your weapon regularly to maintain combat effectiveness.
Weapons and Armor
Beginner Weapon and Armor
| Slot | Item | Bonus |
|---|---|---|
| Weapon 1 | Fine Sword | Physical Damage: 48 Stun: 40 Stamina Cost: 11 Critical Hit Chance: 3% |
| Off-Hand Weapon | Nature’s Ward | Block Efficiency: 63 Stability: 20 Parry Efficiency: 220 Elemental Resistance: 30 |
| Secondary Weapon | Exceptional Sword | Physical Damage: 80 Stun: 70 Stamina Cost: 11 Critical Hit Chance: 3% |
| Armor | Stealgar’s Pride | Reduce the incoming damage and maximum stamina +10 |
| Gloves | Blackwing Gloves | +1% Critical Hit Chance |
| Boots | Tranton Family Greaves | +20 Maximum Health +20% Dodge Distance +10% Move Speed |
| Trinket | Crystalline Egg | Summons a trio of crystal eater spiderlings to fight with you |
| Ring | Ring of Pain Amplification | +15% Critical Damage |
| Ring | Ring of the Founder | +10% Damage Against enemies with full health |
Locations
- Fine Sword (Sword)- Purchasable from Gwyneth in the Market District of Paradis, Dawnshore.
- Nature’s Ward (Shield)- The location is Emerald Stair. Obtain it from a Locked Tower in Delemgan Glade, in the Emerald Stair region.
- Exceptional Sword (Sword)- Purchasable from Gwyneth in the Market District of Paradis, Dawnshore.
- Stealgar’s Pride- Location is Dawnshore. Found in a boarded-up cave underneath Watcher’s Mirror on the eastern cliff as part of the Treasure Map.
- Blackwing Gloves- Location is Dawnshore. Found in a backpack on the roof of the Aedyran Embassy in Southern Paradis in Dawnshore.
- Tranton Family Greaves- The location is Emerald Stair. Killing Conner Tranton of the Trantons bounty target in the Overgrown Homestead in the southwest of The Wildwoods in Emerald Stair.
- Crystalline Egg: Location is Shatterscarp. Found in an upper area in the Northwest of the mine after defeating some spiders and shades.
- Ring of Pain Amplification: The location is Emerald Stair. Received 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Weapon 1 | The Emperor’s Reach | Physical Damage: 168 Stun: 130 Stamina Cost: 11 Critical Hit Chance: 3% |
| Off-Hand Weapon | Tree of Life | Block Efficiency: 63 Stability: 20 Parry Efficiency: 220 Elemental Resistance: 30 |
| Secondary Weapon | Last Light of Day | Physical Damage: 168 Stun: 130 Stamina Cost: 11 Critical Hit Chance: 3% |
| Armor | Threads of the Faithful | You and your Companions deal +10% Damage |
| Gloves | Gloves of the Strangler | +15% Sneak Attack Damage |
| Boots | Berserker Boots | -10% incoming Fire, Frost, and Shock Damage |
| Trinket | Sojourner Boots | Increases your health restoration from all sources by 5% |
| Ring | Sigil of the Arcane | +20% Ability Cast Speed -20% Ability Essence Cost |
| Ring | Ashfall’s Legacy | +10% Attack Damage and +20% Critical Hit Damage with pistols and arquebuses |
Locations
- The Emperor’s Reach (Sword)- Location is Shatterscarp. Can be found in the middle of the puddle stabbed on a corpse at Ancient Lakebed.
- Tree of Life (Shield)- Obtained by completing all the bounties available in the Emerald Stair region.
- Last Light of Day (Sword)- Gained from completing the optional objectives relating to Sarganis during the Dawntreader quest within the Eothasian Temple.
- Threads of the Faithful- The location is Galawain’s Tusks. Sold by Merchant Alonya at Oddments and Oddities south of the Living Archives for 81,250 Skeyt.
- Gloves of the Strangler- Location is Dawnshore. Behind a secret door on the outer wall of Paradis, slightly southwest of the Paradis Hightown gate
- Berserker Boots- Location is Galawain’s Tusks. Found in a chest in the Outcast Cave Camp west of Warden’s Rest.
- Painter’s Brush- The location is Emerald Stair. Found by passing through a breakable wall outside of the Waterfall Cave west of Firo mes Iverno in Emerald Stair, via the Emerald Stair.
- Sigil of the Arcane- Location is Shatterscarp. Can be found inside a lockbox inside a puzzle door at Shark’s teeth.
- Ashfall’s Legacy- Location is Galawain’s Tusks. Received as a reward from Radut for establishing peace between Amalia’s Outcasts during the Side Quest “Wardens Warding.”
Consumables
Darkest Rauataian Chocolate Cookie is the best consumable that grants +1 Perception and Dexterity, +10% Movement Speed. Skaenbone is a mushroom that provides Health and Essence regeneration. Grog cleanses negative effects and is also useful in powerful potions and recipes. 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 Sword in Avowed
What is the best Sword build in Avowed?
The best sword build in Avowed uses The Emperor’s Reach as a main-hand weapon, Tree of Life as an off-hand weapon, and Last Light of Day as a secondary weapon.
Which is the best Background for the Sword build?
Noble Scion is the best background for the Avowed Sword build. This background is ideal for swordplay and you start with a common sword upon choosing it.
Which are the best skills for a Sword build?
Finesse, Piercing Thrusts, Parry, Critical Strike, and Charge are the best skills for the Avowed Sword build.
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