Battlemage (sl 126)
rating: 0+x

Build summary A Light Weapon melee build with some magic ability. (PvP)
Recommended starting class(es) Knight
Recommended Soul Level

Recommended stats (Leave at default (**) if not raised)

Vitality 40
Will/Intelligence 24
Endurance 33
Strength 34
Dexterity 10
Magic 40
Faith 18
Luck **
Recommended equipment

RH1: Dragon Bone Smasher +5/Crushing Guillotine Axe/Knight Sword/Claymore
RH2: Kris Blade +5/Moon Kilij +5/ Crescent Estoc +5
LH1: Insanity Catalyst
LH2: Talisman of Beasts (maybe a DSS)

Armor

  • either Ancient King’s armor or Binded Cross with Silver Coronet (more magic) or Monk' Head Collar

Weapons

  • Talisman of God/Beast (for Second Chance) / Insanity Catalyst (for Light Weapon)
  • Crushing Great Axe/DBS +5 or preferable Crushing Weapon (Gullotine Axe works great)
  • Moon Weapon of choice +5 (Uchigatana is a good option but increase DEX by 3 points to use it)

Rings

  • Ring of Magical Sharpness/Friend's/Foe's Ring + Cling Ring(Soul) or Eternal Warrior's Ring(Body)
  • Ring of Magical Nature is a possibility

Misc.

  • Black Turpentine (optional)
  • Good amount of Spice

Talisman of Beasts will yield poorer Light Weapon damage than the Insanity Catalyst but will free up a slot for an extra weapon. If you go this route you need to subtract 2 points from another area and add to Faith (or increase soul level) to use the ToB for spells. Picking the Insanity Catalyst will require switching to the Talisman of God (or Beasts) for Second Chance
Note: If you want to use a Katana(s) for the Moon Weapon you will need to substitute some points and add into dexterity or increase soul level to meet the requirements. Also, if you choose the Katana for the offhand position then you obviously want to have a one-handed Crushing weapon to match it.

Weapon choice is greatly up to personal preference, just make sure the Crushing and Moon weapons complement each other well. Ring choice is also up to preference but Eternal Warrior's is always a good bet and the Ring of Magical Nature can be used if you need another slot.

Recommended spells/miracles

Spells

  • Light Weapon
  • Whatever fits slots

Miracles

  • Second Chance

Soul Ray is a good over all choice since you want a decent damaging projectile spell to prevent healing while doing good damage off of your relatively high magic stat as well. However, any spell with no more than 2 slot requirements can be used if preferred.

Gameplay tips and progression

This build has some qualities of the Spellsword build but is played far differently. Instead off constantly switching between magic and melee, the focus should be more on melee using a high powered Crushing weapon supplemented by Light Weapon and a good magic stat to reinforce its power. However, while other pure melee builds have trouble dealing with changing distance, the Battlemage thrives on it, punishing opponents that get to close with the Crushing Weapon (buffed) or the Moon Weapon (no time to buff) and those that stay away with decently powered Soul Rays. This makes the opponent have trouble healing/buffing and can quickly give you the upper hand if you get good at firing Soul Rays along with your melee. Also, shifting between the moon and crushing weapons can give you the edge if you think someone is reading you too well. This build also allows for more Endurance and Strength than the Spellsword so it suits more of a melee player with some magic thrown in to shake up the enemy's tactics.

There is some trouble against faith builds because of the high magic resistance and Anti-Magic Field but with Black Turpentine on the Crushing Weapon the damage will still be quite considerable. Otherwise, this build can deal with most any opponent but the important thing is to make sure that it doesn't become an inferior Strength or Magic build; it benefits from both.

Edit: I switched some points around for even better magic/light weapon damage, if you don't want to sacrifice some of the stamina bar for extra power you can take strength to 40.

Let me know what you think, I don't mind criticism! :)

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