Endgame Sword & Shield Meta & Progression

Gore 4-pc (Generalist Raw Set)

Sword & Shield is a flexible weapon that can be played with a focus on Raw or Elemental damage depending on the monster you fight.

Arkveld does not have good Elemental Hitzone Values (EHZVs) at all. The other endgame monster, Gore Magala, has slightly better EHZVs, but is still nowhere near the threshold where building a set for Element is significantly better than just dealing Raw damage.

As such, we recommend building a Raw set as a generalist option that will work for just about any monster in the endgame.

• Weakness Exploit 5
• Maximum Might 3
• Antivirus 3
• Burst 1
• Agitator 1 (Optional)
• Ambush 1 (Optional)
• Self-Improvement 1 (Optional)
• Constitution 3Flinch Free 1Evade Window 2Coalescence 1

The Optional skills are all Decorations that can be replaced at your discretion.

Artian Weapon

Since this build is meant to be generalist, we recommend building an Artian Weapon that is either Blast or Paralysis. (most prefer Paralysis)

Verdoloto - Paralysis or Blast

• Parts: 3x Attack
• Reinforcements: 3-4x Attack, 1-2x Sharpness

Don't worry too much if you don't get a perfect weapon. The difference in performance is quite small between Attack/Affinity Reinforcements.

Note: If you want to build Elemental SnS, you definitely can. If a monster is weak to an Element enough, having a Dragon Verdoloto (for example) will deal more damage than Paralysis/Blast. Up to you if you want to build this many Swords or just use one. The difference won't be too drastic unless the monster is extremely weak to an element.

Decorations

The Weapon Decorations are pretty straightforward.

Critical Jewel III + Guardian/Handicraft Jwl + Mastery Jewel

If you struggle to Perfect Guard / utilize Offensive Guard, you can opt for

Critical Jewel III + Critical Jewel II + Mastery Jewel

Agitator vs Weakness Exploit

If you want to speedrun, you should replace Weakness Exploit with Agitator. The shorter the hunt, the more the monster is enraged, which makes Agitator stronger.

Simply replace Arkvulcan Mail β with Blango Mail β and the Jewels/Decorations with Challenger Jewel and Challenger Charm II

This also lets you run Corrupted Mantle without overcapping Affinity.

Counterstrike

When using Sword & Shield, you ideally won't be getting hit by monsters and guard / perfect guard hits instead. However, for many players, getting hit is just a part of the game.

Counterstrike / Counter Jewel / Counter Charm III is a very powerful skill that can be added to the build at your discretion.

You are also able to activate this skill with a Large Barrel Bomb if that's something you're interested in doing.

If this interests you, simply replace Exploiter Charm II with Counter Charm III and replace Challenger Jewel with Tenderizer Jewel. You lose 10% Affinity going from WEX 5 to 4, but gain 25 Raw. (uptime is dependent on you)