"You... ...are late boy!"
The Wodehouse Workshop[]
Right, so you think you are ready to go out and explore Westeros on your own. Are you fully prepared? Do you know what you are going to face? In, fact do you even know what you can actually do. Before stepping out of the practice yard, let’s ask a few questions.
Outfitting your Sworn Sword[]
“Be careful you don't cut yourself. The edges are sharp enough to shave with.' 'Girls don't shave', Arya said. 'Maybe they should. Have you ever seen the septa's legs?”
Introduction[]
The very first thing you should understand before outfitting your young Sworn Sword, is that before she is equipped with anything, she already reflects all the skill ranks and ability bonuses from your character and your keep. Basically, this means that your Sworn Sword immediately starts off with the same Battle/Trade/Intrigue rank your character has. She also carries over your percentage bonuses from seals, weapons/armor and companions you may have. So what does this mean? Well, it means that all the best equipment that you have, should immediately go onto your main character. The best weapon you have, the best armor and the best companion should be put onto yourself. If you have 20 in Battle, 20 in Trade and 20 in Intrigue, your Sworn Sword will have those stats before you even take her out on her first adventure. Let us take a closer look:
William Wodehouse's Keep base statistics.
Your Character[]
To the right of my character's portrait you can see that I have 125 in Battle 75 in Trade and 51 in Intrigue. These are the base stats you have before you outfit your Sworn Sword. To increase these statistics involves building and upgrading your Keep. You will see many buildings apply to different talents. 'Smithy upgrades increase your Battle ranks, whereas the Market and Embassy increase your Trade and Intrigue respectively. Now, it is important to see what talent your Fealty building increases upon upgrading. I am a Stark, so my fealty building is the Hunting Lodge. And as a Stark my talents will lie in the AID specialty under Battle. Starks have skills such as Unwavering Loyalty which will increase +2% AID with every point you put in it. So it would be logical to orientate much of your outfitting towards Battle initially. Also check your background (for example I am a Highborn Bastard, so I get +1 in Battle, +1 in Trade and +1 in Intrigue. So as not to confuse you, I will try simplify everything and focus on outfitting a specific kind of Sword Sword. Which in this case will be the Protector. As this class suits a Stark well, it will also give you an idea how to match your Fealty with your Sword Swords. In doing so it will also give you an understanding on what you should do for your next Sword Sword, and expand into a different areas such as Trade or Intrigue. Now, lets recruit a Sword Sword. Go to your keep and click on the RECRUIT tab. There will be a list of potential Sworn Swords for you to buy, in order, from least expensive to most expensive. I would not waste gold buying a Sworn Sword, because not only are common (grey) to legendary (purple) Sworn Swords cheap, they are good enough for the time being and they pay for themselves in the end as you will see.
Recruiting a common Sworn Sword, Su Duur. +1 in Battle.
Later, when you can afford to do so, you can have the luxury of getting an uncommon, rare, legendary or peerless Sworn Sword. Because my strongest stat is in Battle, I am looking for a fighter type of Sworn Sword. Makes sense right? Play to your strengths. At advanced levels you will want to have a Sworn Sword of every type and much later, more of every type. But I am jumping a head. We just need one sword sword to start questing and gaining experience. (Obviously you want to have more Sworn Swords to you fealty type. iee. Saboteur (Martell), Fighter (Baratheon), Harasser (Greyjoy), Barterers (Tully) etc.
So let's give Su a basic outfitting.
Su's basic Outfitting.
Questing[]
As you can see this is a very basic outfitting, as Su Duur is only rank 1, and she hasn't been on her first adventure. The Mistwood Dagger add +10 to Battle (and has a +6% Aid bonus). The Padded Armour gives her +3 to Battle and the Harrier gives her +1 to Battle, (and a bonus of +1 to fight when attacking and defending and +1 to Harass when defending). That brings her total to +14 to Battle attack, so she is ready for her first adventure. Select ADVENTURE and Select THE NECK. (Level 3 Adventure with a 10XP reward)
Su's adventure. The Neck - End the Mudders' Poaching.
Selecting a Protector[]
In Su's profile you will see she only needs 10XP to get to her next rank. So if this is successful she will gain a rank.
Su's First Adventure.
Once you open the adventure window, you will see you have three ways in which to attack. Battle/Trade or Intrigue. Under each of those sections there are three further specialization options for attack. For example under Battle, there is Fight/Harass and Aid. Remember, we are training a future Protector here so select AID and click GO. Now, because she isn't trained she does not get to see AID bonus (+6%) from the Mistwood Dagger yet. However all the stats apply as normal. In the middle of the frame, near the top you will see you have a few icons. An icon with a figure of a man. The numbers next to that icon are your Keep statistics. Mine are +125 to Battle. Now you see how those stats apply to every adventure/challenge or battle your Sworn Swords enters. Below, is the helmet icon, as you have probably worked out by now, that is the symbol for your Sworn Sword stats. So when you commence with the battle, you can see how it all has added up. All we have to do is wait for her to finish her adventure.
With careful planning and preparation, Du exposes the crannogmen's illegal activities and puts an end to their poaching activities in the Neck. With her harrier she manages to escape before they can get to her, and just in time! The landowners are grateful and reward her with +21 Silver and some wood resources. She has also gained a rank.
Okay, but let's look at the battle more closely. I understand this is very basic, but you have to learn the foundation to better equip your Sworn Sword later.
Su's Success was a result of the extra bit of AID she was putting into her efforts.
I always look at the Results section after each battle I have participated in, as you will see it appears relatively straight forward. The AID bonus is too small to notice now, but it does not matter yet, it comes into play significantly later. As you can see the TOTAL OF +139 Battle was enough to insure the dice roll was between 1-95 in your favor and so the odds of losing are very slim. However, these adventures are very basic at the moment and you will see how complex they get further on in Su's career. Speaking of which let's see how she has done.
Su's progression into specializing in Protector.
When Su reaches rank 2, put a point into Battle. When she gains rank 3, you will get the option to choose a specialization. Make sure you select Protector. You will then get +1 to AID, so Su had become a Protector and she has now +16 in Battle and with the Mistwood Dagger she has +7% in AID when attacking and +1% in AID when defending. (This Mistwood Dagger only adds the AID bonus for attack, but the rank in Protector gives her the +1% in attack AND defense.) Defense only comes into play in PtP and AvA. Now that you have established her as a Protector, carry on giving her adventures and let her earn experience. Remember this is only an example of a Protector, obviously you would use this same method if you were training a Vanguard or a Harasser, likewise with the other talents in Trade and Intrigue.
Now that Su is starting to hold her own, I have decided to outfit her a bit better because many of the adventures are becoming harder and she needs more effective gear.
Su, only ranked 3, is already an established Protector.
Before I get there however, I must try explain something, which always gets me into an argument, but here is how I update my Sworn Swords every rank they get (you can calculate yourself, but this way you can't go wrong). Every five ranks I put a point into protector the rest I put into Battle, right up until rank 20, from then on, every point goes into AID.
The theory being that, the Sword Sword needs to be versatile and an extension of your character, rather than just throwing points into just AID. The idea being that she will be more reliant on her equipment for AID bonuses rather than the points invested into Protector. Rather like I (Keep), provide her with base stats to make her Battle strength strong, she relies on her equipment and seals for her AID bonuses. A formula would be: If William Wodehouse = 40, Su Duur = 10, AID BONUS = 2% Then, 40+10 =50, and 2% of 50 =1, so end result 50+1=51 overall. If your AID bonus was too high, you risk less damage so rather get the AID bonuses from your equipment/seals/fealty and boons rather than spending points that could go directly into your battle stat. The stronger your base stat is the more effective your Sworn Sword is in her specialization. ===== Enough of the boring stuff, let us see the equipment she is wearing.
So let's give Su an intermediate outfitting[]
Su equipped at intermediate until rank 20.
Hefty Broadsword +18'(Made at the Smithy), Cuirass +15 (Made at the Hunting Lodge) and Steel-Shod Warhorse +7' (Stables). This puts Su's total battle stat at +40 plus 2% AID when attacking or defending. Now this is where my secret comes into play. The +3% to BATTLE. (That means she actually gets an increase to '+3% AID because the BATTLE stat applies to all Battle styles (Fight/Aid and Harass). Which means she is versatile, but when she needs to AID, she can. Remember she is also getting the AID bonus from me (seals on my equipment) and her fealty talent points, but you don't see it on her character card until the battle.
Arya aiding the Hound, but is it too late?
Obviously as a Stark you have the Unwavering Loyalty Talent which gives you the luxury of saving talent points, because putting them in that talent, you are spending a point for both attack and defense. Other Houses have other talents, so if you are not Stark, unfortunately, you have to put the points into Direct Route and Fanfare, with your own discretion. Remember, AID is a complimentary attack, you don't really need to defend against it, however you do need it's offensive percentage because you will want to make sure when you AID someone, you do AID them. AID is very underestimated as an ability. If you successfully win an AID attempt on an ally or visa versa you get VIRTUE, which randomly gives you a boost to one of your base abilities and it lasts for three hours. If you wonder why I am successful in most of my battles and can defeat players 300 levels higher than me, it's because of this...
...but this involves timing and a very good friend (hopefully a Stark).
You should now understand the point I am making, but to summarize. When outfitting: *Focus on an area that is synergistic with your fealty. (in this case, Battle and AID) *Focus primarily on building your base stat, Battle (Fealty Building, Smithy, Practise Yard, Stables, Tourney, Holdfast etc.) *Equip your main character with all your best items. *Treat your Sword Sword, treat with care, because she will eventually take care of herself and you no longer have to worry about her, she will do her job. Remember, 1 point on Battle for every 5 ranks, then a point on Protector/AID. *Equipment, seals and boons should give you the most % bonuses on AID, because ultimately you want your % AID bonus on your defense or attack to use the most out of your base stat , the bigger your base stat is the better the dice rolls in your favour. (video may contain graphic content).
And finally let's give Su an advanced outfitting.[]
Dragonbone Bow +20, +10 AID when attacking. Forest-green Cloak Battle +15, Trade +15, Intrigue +15, +2 to all defences. Blazing Fire Archer Battle +17, Intrigue +17, +7% to AID when attacking or defending +7 to SABOTAGE when attacking or defending. Please note that this is merely a guide, and while the items you buy for gold are good, I generally think the items you can gain in-game are better, in that the might not offer great stat advantages as the gold items, they certainly add very interesting bonuses. I like to keep my Sworn Swords versatile, but still focus on one main area... ...if that makes sense. Seals:(Remember to place you most valuable seals on your main character first, but if you PtP as much as I do, you will find yourself with so many you do not know what to do with them. Seals you should consider.
Understand I am using a low ranked Sworn Sword as an example here. Ideally I would like the Battle Stat to be around 150+.
"Woof!"
While this is merely a guide, and not set in stone as the best outfit for a Protector, I merely am trying to show you what factors you should think about when outfitting a Sworn Sword, and avoid important pitfalls and wasting points, this method applies to every class. If you have not learned anything from this, I hope at least it has made you think and even inspire you to come up with your own ideas. I hope this has AIDED you. <-- See what I did there?
Also, never forget your boons.