Bravely Default 2: Swordmaster Guide

Posted by Arica Deslauriers on Saturday, July 1, 2023
bravely-default-2-swordmaster-guide

There is always a stance-user, somewhere to be found in any Square Enix game, and here in Bravely Default 2 this title goes to the mighty Swordmaster. Able to wield swords to their max potential and inflict some heavy damage to any opponent out there, these warriors are more than capable of carrying your party to some end-game content. We will see here in this guide what their kit has to offer, alongside the rest of their abilities.

Swordmaster guide and overview

A Swordmaster’s signature Command, Swordcraft, allows them to take advantage of a couple of handy stances, each providing something different to the battle. Solid Stance focuses on offense and spamming the Attack command, while Fluid Stance is there to provide support to the character, by countering or refiling BP.

bravely-default-2-swordmaster-guide-abilities

Swordmaster Abilities

  • Solid Stance: Adopt a stance from which the ‘Attack’ command is automatically performed twice every time it is selected.
  • Fluid Stance: Adopt a counterattacking stance from which the user will automatically hit back against any attack aimed at them.
  • Counter: 50% chance of answering any physical attack with a counterattack. Will not be triggered by attacks that target the entire party – Passive/ 1 Slot
  • Solid Right Style: Usable when in Solid Stance. Perform a physical attack on a target that will delay their next turn – 22 MP cost
  • Fluid Left Style: Usable when in Fluid Stance. When attacked, hit back with a physical strike that will reduce the opponent’s BP by one. This will happen every time the user is attacked until their next turn, even if they have a negative number of BP – 20 MP cost
  • Out with a Bang: When the user is knocked unconscious, a hugely powerful physical attack will be unleashed on the perpetrator and their allies – Passive/ 1 Slot
  • Divide Attention: For four turns, the user will be targeted as frequently as their most frequently targeted ally – 17 MP cost
  • Fourfold Flurry: Perform four physical attacks on a target in quick succession – 48 MP cost
  • 2 Hands Are Better Than 1: Equipping a sword, axe, spear or staff in the user’s right hand will result in its being used with both hands, increasing its stats to 1.4x normal levels. The user’s left hand must be empty – Passive/ 1 Slot
  • Solid Slash: Usable when in Solid Stance. Perform a powerful physical attack on a target and bring the user’s next turn around more quickly – 27 MP cost
  • Fluid Flow: Usable when in Fluid Stance. When attacked, hit back with a powerful physical strike that will increase the user’s BP by one. This will happen every time the user is attacked until their next turn, even if they have a negative number of BP – 36 MP cost
  • Multitask: 33% chance of any regular attack being followed up with a further quick physical attack – Passive/ 1 Slot
  • Ninefold Flurry: Perform nine physical attacks on a target in quick succession – 99 MP cost
  • Solid Smash: Usable when in Solid Stance. Perform an extremely powerful physical attack on a target that will delay their turn, and also bring the user’s next turn around more quickly – 90 MP cost
  • Fluid Frenzy: Usable when in Fluid Stance. When attacked, hit back with a powerful physical strike that will steal one of the target’s BP. This will happen every time the user is attacked until their next turn, even if they have a negative number of BP – 72 MP cost

    • Swordmaster Specialities

    • Speciality I: Redoubled Effort – The more BP the user has, the more damage inflicted when regular attacks and swordmaster counterattacking abilities are performed.
    • Speciality II: Double Duty – Equipping the same type of weapon in both hands will activate sub-job specialities.

    Swordmaster Weapon Affinity

    • Swords: S
    • Daggers: A
    • Axes: C
    • Spears: D
    • Bows: D
    • Staffs: D
    • Shields: D

    Swordmaster Overview

    An all-out offensive Job, the Swordmaster is perfect for players who want to clear things fast and efficiently. They boast some good passives in their kit, with most notable being the 2 Hands Are Better Than 1 skill. If you are not part of the Dual Wield fandom, this is the skill for you, as it essentially boosts characters that have only one weapon in one hand, holding it with two hands in the process. Perfect for staff, bow and spear users, as these are the most heavy weapons in the game. Axes are also equally heavy, however axe users get more benefits by dual wielding axes rather than using them with two hands.

    Swordmasters, as you would of course imagine, are great using swords as they have an S affinity with them. Oddly enough, daggers are also a very good choice for them, utilizing their high natural speed too. As this Job focuses on taking advantage of the various stances it has, it is almost a no brainer to use at least one of them in battle. In my opinion, the Fluid Stance does provide more benefits in the end of the day, throwing a helping hand in any battle. Feel free to experiment though, as both stances have their benefits, especially when you unlock the Job’s full potential at level 15, with two new stance abilities to use, and one heavy hitter we are going to talk about right now.

    Fourfold Flurry is a great ability to use up until the mid to late game. It does exactly what it mentions, four consecutive attacks in one turn, to a single target. An already strong skill, that is heavily upgraded at level 13, where you now have access to Ninefold Flurry. Nine attacks on a single target, with one cast. This skill alone carried some of my toughest battles in Bravely Default 2, especially when paired with Bravebearer’s Across the Board passive ability, attacking the whole opposing group. With a weapon in each hand and every possible passive that enhances my physical attack, expect hundreds of thousands of damage with 4 BP.

    Lastly, Swormasters have an excellent Speciality, in the form of Double Duty. By having the same type of weapon in each hand, you unlock BOTH of your sub-job’s Specialities. This is an insanely handy feature for a Job to have, as you can literally have two Jobs equipped, at their full potential. Make sure to equip the Dual Wield ability from Phantoms, two weapons of the same type (preferably swords or daggers), choose your desired sub-job and go nuts. I personally picked the Vanguard, as their Speciality II paired exceptionally well with the Swordmaster, capping my physical attack stat at 999, while also raising to insane amounts my critical chance. There is an absurd amount of different combos you can try for yourself, so give it a try.

    And this brings us to the end of this Swordmaster guide. They are an excellent Job for everyone who likes attacking head on enemies, very versatile as well with many builds you can utilize, making them a heavily different Job than the one we are looking at next time, the Oracle. If you were wandering which Job has the infamous Haste skill, well, you found it.

    Bravely default 2 is exclusively available on the Nintendo Switch.

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