The Sword-Singer
History
The Sword-Singers are legendary Redguard swordsmen. Their order was founded on the lost continent of Yokuda, before the Redguards came to the Alik’r Desert in Tamriel. They are supremely athletic and disciplined, possessing unmatched skill with all manner of swords, greatswords and daggers. Their preferred weapons are curved scimitars of redguard-make.
Redguards are generally suspicious of magic, but some Sword-Singers have learned to use Templar magic to augment their natural battle endurance and sustain their health.
Race: Redguard
Base Class: Templar
Armor Type: 5 Medium / 2 Heavy or 2 Light
Mundus Stone: The Shadow – increases critical hit damage
Stat Priority: Stamina > Health > Magicka
Abilities - Dual Wield
Rapid Strikes
Whirling Blades
Solar Barrage
Explosive Charge
Blinding Flashes
Ultimate -> Empowering Sweep
Strategy: This is the AoE bar. Charge into a group with Explosive charge, then hit Solar Barrage, followed by Whirling Blades. For tougher enemies, use Blinding Flashes to avoid damage. Empowering Sweep can be used early in a fight to do a large chunk of damage and raise your armor. Use Rapid Strikes to finish off single targets.
Abilities - Sword and Shield
Biting Jabs
Invasion
Power Slam
Restoring Aura
Absorb Magic
Ultimate -> Solar Prison
Strategy: This is your single target DPS and defense bar. Use biting jabs as magicka allows, especially on targets under half health. Shield bash with the deadly bash passive will deal significant damage at minimal stamina cost. Solar Prison is your ultimate, dealing constant damage to targets in the area and lowering their damage done. Invasion is on this bar as a gap closer for situations where you don’t want to break CC on surrounding targets. Power Slam is used for CC to take targets out of the fight. Restoring Aura will increase stamina and health regen significantly. Lastly, Absorb Magic will convert incoming damage from spells to heal you instead.
Passives
All passive abilities should be taken in the following trees:
Medium Armor
Sword & Shield
Dual Wield
Aedric Spear
Dawn’s Wrath
Racial (Redguard)
Optional Passives:
Restoring Light
Heavy Armor
Light Armor
Leveling
It is recommended that DW be leveled first to at least 14 skill, which unlocks Whirlwind. Groups of enemies can be destroyed very quickly using solar barrage and whirlwind in tandem. The defensive boosts that this build provides will help survive the increased difficulty of bosses and groups of enemies in VR content.
Final Notes
This build is very versatile in that it can fill a number of roles. If you invest in Heavy armor passives you can easily tank with this build, swapping in pierce armor in place of absorb magic. It will work quite well for DPS both in AvA and PvE. For DPS sustainability in PVE, investing in Light armor passives and wearing 2 pieces will help with magicka management.
I look forward to your constructive feedback. Thanks for reading!