Swords boast some of the most versatile weapon skills in the game, which makes sense, given how popular they are. While there are always different situations to consider that might make even lower-numbered weapon skills in this list take a lead, there’s a relative power ratio that often means the higher ranked ones are just more likely to be used in battle.
5. Sanguine Blade
Sanguine blade is one of the very few weapon skills in the game that’s capable of draining HP, making it fantastic for a quick way to instantly restore HP while take some from your enemy. Sanguine Blade generally drains HP equal to the damage it deals, so it’s even capable of fully restoring a player’s HP no matter how low it might be! However, it’s got two drawbacks: It doesn’t really work on undead at all, and it doesn’t work on any enemy that happens to resist the dark element.
4. Expiacion
I’d say there’s really only two things holding this weapon skill back: It’s exclusive to blue mages, and it often requires their mythic weapon (Tizona) to see real numbers. Expiacion isn’t really an option for any other job. But if you happen to be a blue mage, you’ll see healthy use out of it more often than not. It’s got good skillchain properties too, so it often lends itself to dark-based skillchains such as Darkness or Umbra.
3. Requiescat
Requiescat can potentially be great, if you happen to be using an Aeneas—the sword aeonic weapon. But on its own, it doesn’t see much benefit. Its main usage is for its level 4 skillchain property that’s unlocked when using Aeneas. Then it gains a lot more power. It also has great TP multiplier properties, so this weapon skill gets plenty of value from the fotia gorget and fotia belt! Perhaps its most recognizable quality is its peculiar damage calculation. It isn’t considered physical or magical, but rather gains benefits from physical damage equations. This means Requiescat sees lots of usage when enemies tend to have high resistances to either damage type, or if they put up shields that block one or the other.
2. Chant Du Cygne
This Zorro-inspired attack is sure to pack a solid punch! It’s great to use because like many other empyrean weapon skills of its kind, it’s capable of creating a level 3 skillchain if you can use it twice in succession. Besides Vorpal Blade, this is the only other sword weapon skill that’s capable of dishing out critical hits. This means it benefits greatly from critical hit rate gear and critical hit damage-based equipment, only further bolstering its power. Like Requiescat, I’d say Chant Du Cygne has great TP multiplier properties. This also means it works great with the fotia gorget and fotia belt. Where consistent skillchain damage is an important factor, you can’t go wrong with this old-time favorite.
1. Savage Blade
At the top of this list sits Savage Blade. It’s currently one of the strongest physical weapon skills in the game. And it gets huge points not only for scaling incredibly well with stats like Attack and TP bonus, but it’s also easy to use with a wide range of jobs. Especially if you happen to be using a Kaja or Naegling, both of which are ambuscade weapons. So truthfully, using either of those two swords would fit brilliantly with this weapon skill. Corsairs and Blue mages will see a lot of value in using Savage Blade in particular. But it’s best used in situations where you need bursts of damage, and don’t need to rely on skillchain damage to generate consistent DPS.
