Bladedancer
Bladedancer is the melee and stealth oriented subclass of Hunter. Players unlock the Bladedancer when they are level 15. Bladedancer specializes in dealing arc damage and damage in close quarter combat. Additionally, Bladedancers can cloak themselves, allowing them to become invisible. Additionally, Bladedancer can teleport around the battlefield with Blink Strike and Blink.
- Bladedancer is ideal for players who like to dash into and out of melee combat, wrecking havoc with both guns and melee attacks.
Abilities
| Type | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Arc Blade | Supers | Charge your blade with Arc Light and consume your foes with lightning |
| Arcbolt Grenade (Bladedancer) | Grenades | A grenade that chains bolts of lightning to nearby enemies. |
| Blink Strike | Melee Abilities | A powerful melee attack with extended range. |
| Double Jump | Jumps | Jumps a second time after leaving ground. |
| Flux Grenade | Grenades | An explosive grenade which deals additional damage when attached to enemies. |
| Skip Grenade | Grenades | A grenade which splits upon impact, creating multiple projectiles which seek enemies. |
Upgrades
Ability Upgrades
| Ability | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Backstab | Blink Strike | Hitting an enemy from behind with Blink Strike causes significantly more damage. |
| Better Control | Double Jump | Upgrades Double Jump for better directional control while in air. |
| Blink (Bladedancer) | Double Jump | A short-distance teleport that replaces Double Jump. |
| Escape Artist | Blink Strike | Hitting an enemy with Blink Strike grants brief invisibility |
| Fast Twitch | Blink Strike | Reduces the cooldown of Blink Strike |
| Higher Jump | Double Jump | Upgrades Double Jump for even greater heights |
| Razor's Edge | Arc Blade | Press R2 or RT during Arc Blade to unleash a destructive wave of energy that travels along the ground. |
| Showstopper | Arc Blade | Press R2 or RT during Arc Blade to damage nearby enemies. |
| Vanish | Arc Blade | Press R2 or RT during Arc Blade to disappear from sight. |
Miscellaneous Upgrades
| Description | |
|---|---|
| Encore | Killing an enemy with Arc Blade extends its duration |
| Fleet Footed | Increases maximum sprint speed and extends slide distance |
| Hungering Blade | Kills with Arc Blade and Blink Strike immediately regenerate health. |
| Quick Draw | Weapons ready immediately after dealing damage with any knife attack. |
| Shadowjack | Increases the duration of invisibility effects. |
| Stalker | Gain invisibility after crouching in place for a short time. |
Training Upgrades
| Agility | Armor | Recovery | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Path Forbidden | +2 | +2 | |
| Path Forgotten | +2 | +2 | |
| Path Unknown | +2 | +2 | |
| Way of the Drifter | +2 | +1 | +2 |
| Way of the Fearless | +5 | ||
| Way of the Nomad | +1 | +4 |
- Note that Bladedancer shares Training upgrades with Gunslinger
Cloak
- See also: Hunter Cloaks
Bladedancer can become cloaked or invisible to their enemies. In PvE, enemies will lose track of you and fire at your last known position. Additionally, cloaked Bladedancer can save their fireteam from a wipe in strikes and missions. It is especially important during Nightfall difficulties.
In PvP, Bladedancer become mostly stealthed with a blue-ish outline. While outline is more visible if you are moving quickly, it is quite faint if you are standing still or moving slowly. Cloak also reduces your signature on your enemies' Motion Tracker or radar. It reduces the tracker's ping from once every 3 seconds to once every 5 seconds.
Bladedancer Builds
PvE Builds
PvE Offensive:
1. Arcbolt Grenade, Better Control, Razor's Edge or Showstopper, Fast Twitch, Path Unknown, Fleet Footed, Way of the Nomad, Hungering Blade or Encore
- Arcbolt Grenade clears mobs out pretty quick, while Razor's Edge/Showstopper can clear out entire hordes of enemies. Fast Twitch keeps you healed up in combination with Hungering Blade, and Fleet Footed allows you to escape when needed. The stats in this build also allow you to take less damage and heal up quickly.
PvE Defensive:
1. Arcbolt Grenade, Better Control, Razor's Edge or Vanish, Escape Artist, Path Unknown, Shadowjack, Way of the Nomad, Stalker or Hungering Blade
- Same as above, trade healing on melee for invisibility to drop aggro and revive teammates.
PvP Builds
PvP Offensive:
1. Flux Grenade, Blink, Showstopper, Fast Twitch, Path Forgotten, Quick Draw, Way of the Fearless, Hungering Blade
- Blink all over the place, use a shotgun, melee to heal, and stick grenades on peoples' faces. The stats in this build allow you to move quickly and take less damage to win fights. This is probably the fastest and move aggravating build in the entire game to go up against.
PvP Defensive:
1. Arcbolt Grenade, Better Control, Vanish, Backstab, Path Forgotten, Shadowjack or Quick Draw, Way of the Fearless, Stalker
- Arcbolt grenades can almost clear a room, allowing you to mop up (be sure to go invisible before rushing or defending!). Get on a point, maintain invisibility, use backstabs and shotguns to dominate anyone to tries to get close.
Recommended Stats
Intellect > Discipline > Strength
- Stacking Intellect allows your to use your Arc Blade as often as possible. Stack it as much as you can. Discipline reduces the cooldown of your grenades. Strength doesn't do much for a bladedancer. Blink Strike already has an amazing upgrade called Fast Twitch which reduces your melee cooldown to only 5 seconds.
Recommended Gear
Mask of the Third Man is an excellent Exotic for Bladedancer. It allows you to use more attacks during Arc Blade. It is good in both PvP and PvE.
Don't Touch Me is a good option for certain PvE situations.
Knucklehead Radar is good in PvP.
Strategy
PvE Strategy
- Use Elemental Damage - Match your elemental damage (arc/solar/void) to the color of your enemies' shields!
- Use Cover - Rocks are your best friend. Also low walls. If you can crouch behind a wall, try point your gun near the top and then aim down sights... you can automatically aim over the cover! You can totally avoid 99% of damage by just barely sticking your head out over a wall or a rock. The enemies still shoot the rock, and you'll still be able to shoot them!
- Backpedal - 1. Learn your surroundings. 2. Learn to shoot while walking backwards. 3. Keep the enemy in front of you.
- Use Stealth - When all else fails, try using some stealth upgrades such as Escape Artist to drop aggro and make a quick getaway. Just don't attack or blink or you'll be visible again!
PvP Strategy
- Blink + Shotgun + Blink Strike + Hungering Blade = Win - Seriously. If you get good at using Blink to disorient your enemies (while keeping yourself aware of your surroundings), you'll be unstoppable. Use it to get over walls and behind enemies without them even noticing, and then blast them up close and finish them off with a blink strike to heal back up. This combination is so incredibly powerful, it's crazy.
- Stealth + Sneaky Tactics + Backstab = Win - The key to stealth is to use it BEFORE you engage the enemy. If you use Stalker, crouch in a corner and then go around, zig-zagging to disorient the enemy, and then BAM shotgun. They can still sort of see you, but that doesn't mean they'll be able to hit you if you're moving all over the place. If you use Vanish (arc blade upgrade), all you have to do is use your Arc Blade out of sight, go stealth, then rush in and slice everybody up before they know what hit them. Same thing applies, just keep moving (not in a straight line) and you'll be impossible to hit. If you're being chased, try ducking around a corner, going invisible, and then backstab the enemy as they pass. It works maybe 50% of the time, but it is so worth it when it does.
- Arc Blade is easily one of the most powerful Supers in the game in PvP. Unlike most other supers, you can actually move around and hunt down enemies! The downside is that they can also shoot you and end your killing spree at any time... That being said, MOVE! If you keep on the move and use your melee to zig-zag across the battlefield. It will be very difficult for them to hit you. However, you are still always vulnerable to Fist of Havoc and Nova Bomb, so try to kill enemies around corners to get the jump on them. While Arc Blade is powerful, it will get you killed the instant you activate it if you aren't careful. Additionally, if you are running across an open field, you'll likely die.
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