How to play Duelist

By Jay | Published: May 25, 2026 | Updated: Jul 06, 2026

Duelists keep the versatility of the Warrior class while gaining significantly more damage output and mobility, making them a strong option for pushing big combat power deficits compared to the other classes.

Duelist strengths & weaknesses

Extremely good movement while also having great damage output
Cheat death passive + Lifesteal charms for cheesing content
Best class to push big combat power deficits

Some techniques need heavy investment to really shine
Melee, depending on the encounter and build could be restrictive on range. Enemies can range easily
Limited Elemental affinities early on, opens up in future classes

Experiment with builds!

Remember these are just boilerplates to change based on your gear, playstyle, skills and Fantomons.

Best stats

Duelists are purely damage dealers, so the stats are simpler than playing something like Sage or Knight, where you need to worry about more things.

Place a higher emphasis on Physical Mastery and both Crit Rate/Damage on gear, that’s where the biggest increases in damage come from.

SPD and ATK (both flat and %) still remain valuable wherever you can fit them.

Beyond those, Effect Hit Rate and Block Rate both make it into the priority list, with the later helping offset the squishiness when pushing high combat power gaps.

Fantomons

Nyxarchon is best in slot for all DPS builds. Pull on the pet banner until you have enough to exchange for it.

Having an extra charm and higher base stats makes Mythical Fantomons stronger on most situations.

If you happen to pull Sylvaerie or Terragon , those will be your best options until you acquire Nyxarchon .

Kels will be everyone’s best in slot for PVP if you care about that mode (and he’s free to farm too).

Companions

Companions give passive stats at specific levels, so we recommend focusing on a few until level 50 that benefit your class directly before leveling up all of them.

ALL CLASSES benefit from DMG Boost and Reduction stats to both increase damage and survivability.

For Duelists, prioritize companions that provide Attack and Accuracy, and thankfully they are the same:

Akane , Hermes , Jiangwang , Kazuma and Ophelia are really good options to focus on first.

Gems

Gem tiers

I’m going to use T10 gems as a reference, but the higher the tier, the better the stats they provide. Gems go from T1 to T15.

T10 Obsidian T10 Obsidian Description Inlay gear with it to amplify your ATK and DMG Boost. is good on any class, since everyone benefits from more damage regardless of what playstyle they have.

T10 Moonstone T10 Moonstone Description Inlay gear with it to amplify your DEF and DMG RES. is also pretty popular for all classes to help increase their survivability.

Duelists can also benefit heavily from T10 Amethyst T10 Amethyst Description Inlay gear with it to amplify your SPD and Crit Rate. since it gives SPD and Crit Rate.

Single stat gems are still good to fill the rest of the gear, T10 Ruby T10 Ruby Description Inlay gear with it to amplify your ATK. and T10 Citrine T10 Citrine Description Inlay gear with it to amplify your SPD. being the second best picks for this class.

Builds

Early on you are limited by the amount of techniques available, but Warriors have solid options for both AoE and single target right from the start.

Block Rate is surprisingly powerful here, investing in it early can make you feel nearly untouchable in a lot of content compared to Mages.

Techniques

Leap Attack

Mountain Collapse

Gravity Pull

Whirlwind Slash

Charms

Blade of Lament

Insightful Eye

Block Awareness

Blade Tempest

Strong AoE build that covers both damage and survivability.

Swap Blade Tempest Blade Tempest WarriorCharmAttack Description Each time the caster's Technique deals DMG to an enemy, there's a 40% chance to trigger Sword Gale that deals additional Wind DMG once. for Strength Rules Strength Rules WarriorCharmProp Description Increases the caster's Physical Mastery. if you are fighting wind resistant enemies.

For easier content, remove Gravity Pull Gravity Pull WarriorTechniqueAuxiliary Description Selects a grid within 7 grids of the caster. Deals Wind DMG once to all enemies within a 1-grid square area of the target grid and pulls them to the caster's location. and Blade of Lament Blade of Lament WarriorCharmCure Description Each time a Technique deals DMG to an enemy, triggers a Lifesteal effect, up to 50% of the caster's max HP. , replacing them with more offensive options.

Important: only remove Blade of Lament Blade of Lament WarriorCharmCure Description Each time a Technique deals DMG to an enemy, triggers a Lifesteal effect, up to 50% of the caster's max HP. if survivability is not an issue.

Block Rate is very strong, but if you are short on damage you can swap Block Awareness Block Awareness WarriorCharmProp Description Increases the caster's Block Rate. for Counter Blade Counter Blade WarriorCharmCounterstrike Description When damaged by an enemy's Technique within 2 grids of the caster, there is a 50% chance to counterattack, dealing Physical DMG once to the attacker. , especially in melee encounters.

Techniques

Leap Attack

Lion Combo

Quadrant Slash

Heavy Impact

Charms

Blade of Lament

Insightful Eye

Block Awareness

Blade Tempest

Single target setup that focuses on consistent damage output.

Uses the same charm setup as the AoE build, making it easy to swap between the two depending on the content you are running.

For easier content you can remove Blade of Lament Blade of Lament WarriorCharmCure Description Each time a Technique deals DMG to an enemy, triggers a Lifesteal effect, up to 50% of the caster's max HP. , replacing it with more offensive options.

The new mobility techniques make a huge difference in how the class feels to play, with considerably better damage options compared to Warrior.

IMPORTANT NOTES

Block Rate matters more now: We become squishier without proper investment, make sure you are building it into your gear and charms.

Physical Mastery: Easiest way of scaling our damage output. Make sure you are not neglecting it on your gear.

Techniques

Flash Dash

Gravity Pull

Flame Aura

Whirlwind Slash

Charms

Insightful Eye

Block Awareness

Indomitable Will

Blade of Lament

Flash Dash Flash Dash DuelistTechniqueMobileAttack Description Dashes 5 grids in a straight line, dealing Physical Doom DMG once to all enemies in a 1×4 grid area along the path. (Cannot penetrate enemies larger than 4 grids) is what makes this build feel so different from Warrior, great mobility that also deals damage.

You can use either Whirlwind Slash Whirlwind Slash WarriorTechniqueAttack Description Deals Physical DMG 4 times to all enemies within a 1-grid square area of the caster. or Mountain Collapse Mountain Collapse WarriorTechniqueAttackRepel Description Deals Physical DMG once to all enemies within 2 grids of the caster, knocking them airborne, with a 60% base chance to knock them back by 1 grid. , whichever you have ranked higher.

You can swap Block Awareness Block Awareness WarriorCharmProp Description Increases the caster's Block Rate. for Frame of Battles Frame of Battles DuelistCharmBuff Description Reduces the caster's DMG taken for every 15% HP lost. This effect stacks up to 5 times and cannot be dispelled. based on your survivability needs.

For easier content, you can remove both Indomitable Will Indomitable Will DuelistCharmBuffCure Description Upon taking lethal DMG for the first time, survives with 1 HP, enters the Indomitable status for 2 turns (cannot be dispelled), and heals the caster once. and Blade of Lament Blade of Lament WarriorCharmCure Description Each time a Technique deals DMG to an enemy, triggers a Lifesteal effect, up to 50% of the caster's max HP. and replace them with whichever damage passives you have ranked highest.

Techniques

Leap Attack

Flame Aura

Heavy Impact

Darkness Descends

Charms

Crit Mastery

Insightful Eye

Blade of Lament

Indomitable Will

Swap Flame Aura Flame Aura DuelistTechniqueFriendAttack Description Grants Flame to the caster and 3 random allies within 3 grids of the caster for 2 turns. This effect cannot be dispelled. for Sunset Sword Sunset Sword DuelistTechniqueAttack Description Deals Physical DMG 5 times to all enemies in a 3×2 grid area in front of the caster. against fire resistant enemies.

In some situations, you can drop Blade of Lament Blade of Lament WarriorCharmCure Description Each time a Technique deals DMG to an enemy, triggers a Lifesteal effect, up to 50% of the caster's max HP. in favor of Block Awareness Block Awareness WarriorCharmProp Description Increases the caster's Block Rate. here, the lifesteal is relatively negligible for content you are hitting hard but not frequently enough.

However, if you are pushing content with a large combat power deficit, the extra HP from Blade of Lament Blade of Lament WarriorCharmCure Description Each time a Technique deals DMG to an enemy, triggers a Lifesteal effect, up to 50% of the caster's max HP. helps you survive longer.

Berserker does even more damage and has more tools for different playstyles with additional charms that allows us to play as a supportive DPS for more difficult group content that is coming in future updates.

There is a bit more of a choice with regards to the type of skills and charms you can use for different content. The recommended builds below are for tackling content in general and not for specific fights, because the builds are more focused and will take on whatever you need without many changes required.

A change in the charms we get is the newcomer Blade of Judgment Blade of Judgment BerserkerCharmDebuffAttack Description Each time the caster's Technique deals DMG to an enemy, inflicts 1 stack of Mark on them. When Mark stacks to 10, deals Physical DMG once to the target. , this charm on its own gives us a ridiculous amount of damage and will be the main way we play Berserker.

There are builds that do not use this and are more focused on single hit attacks with Soul Splash Soul Splash BerserkerCharmAttack Description The caster's Single-Hit Techniques deal more DMG. Killing an enemy deals additional Fire True DMG once to all enemies within 2 grids of the target, equal to 60% of overkill DMG. , and those are included as well.

The ability to lifesteal got even better with the new Blade Siphon Blade Siphon BerserkerCharmCure Description Heals the caster once each time the caster's Technique deals Crit DMG to an enemy. that now heals based on our max HP whenever we deal a critical hit, a substantially better way to sustain since we are critting a majority of the time.

Berserker really follows suit with the theme of more hits equals more damage and we will be exploiting this with everything we’ve got.

IMPORTANT NOTES

Skill order matters: The order of skills in your rotation is critical. Using them out of order can cost you a massive amount of DPS loss.

Blade of Judgment Blade of Judgment BerserkerCharmDebuffAttack Description Each time the caster's Technique deals DMG to an enemy, inflicts 1 stack of Mark on them. When Mark stacks to 10, deals Physical DMG once to the target. : This charm fundamentally changes how the class plays. Most builds are built around maximizing its uptime through multi-hit techniques.

Blade Siphon Blade Siphon BerserkerCharmCure Description Heals the caster once each time the caster's Technique deals Crit DMG to an enemy. : Now scales off your max HP on crit, making it significantly better than before. Prioritize ranking it up for sustain builds.

Techniques

Doom Blade

Whirlwind Slash

Sunset Sword

Eclipse Slash

Charms

Insightful Eye

Blade of Judgment

Blade Siphon

Blazing Clash

Really good for World Boss and Guild Content.

Techniques with multi-hit focus to feed Blade of Judgment Blade of Judgment BerserkerCharmDebuffAttack Description Each time the caster's Technique deals DMG to an enemy, inflicts 1 stack of Mark on them. When Mark stacks to 10, deals Physical DMG once to the target. constantly, leading to enormous damage output.

Blade Siphon Blade Siphon BerserkerCharmCure Description Heals the caster once each time the caster's Technique deals Crit DMG to an enemy. pairs exceptionally well here since we are critting constantly, giving us strong self-sustain throughout longer fights.

Techniques

Doom Blade

Shattering Sigil

Asura's Grasp

Darkness Descends

Charms

Insightful Eye

Crit Mastery

Soul Splash

Indomitable Will

Single target damage Techniques paired with Soul Splash Soul Splash BerserkerCharmAttack Description The caster's Single-Hit Techniques deal more DMG. Killing an enemy deals additional Fire True DMG once to all enemies within 2 grids of the target, equal to 60% of overkill DMG. for really good damage output.

Crit Mastery Crit Mastery DuelistCharmProp Description Increases the caster's Crit DMG. and Insightful Eye Insightful Eye WarriorCharmProp Description Increases the caster's Crit Rate. stack well with the high individual damage of each technique in this loadout.

Indomitable Will Indomitable Will DuelistCharmBuffCure Description Upon taking lethal DMG for the first time, survives with 1 HP, enters the Indomitable status for 2 turns (cannot be dispelled), and heals the caster once. provides the survivability layer since we lose the lifesteal that Blade Siphon Blade Siphon BerserkerCharmCure Description Heals the caster once each time the caster's Technique deals Crit DMG to an enemy. would otherwise provide.

Techniques

Gale Dance

Hunter's Judgment

Sunset Sword

Eclipse Slash

Charms

Indomitable Will

Blade Siphon

Iron Fortress

Insightful Eye

Mainly used for Off DPS / Support role in group content.

You can replace Hunter's Judgment Hunter's Judgment BerserkerTechniqueAuxiliaryAttack Description Selects a grid within 4 grids of the caster. Pulls all enemies within a 1-grid square area of the target grid to the grid in front of the caster, then deals Physical DMG 3 times to all enemies in a 3×3 grid area in front of the caster and knocks them airborne. with Flame Aura Flame Aura DuelistTechniqueFriendAttack Description Grants Flame to the caster and 3 random allies within 3 grids of the caster for 2 turns. This effect cannot be dispelled. , and Sunset Sword Sunset Sword DuelistTechniqueAttack Description Deals Physical DMG 5 times to all enemies in a 3×2 grid area in front of the caster. with Mountain Collapse Mountain Collapse WarriorTechniqueAttackRepel Description Deals Physical DMG once to all enemies within 2 grids of the caster, knocking them airborne, with a 60% base chance to knock them back by 1 grid. if you need more CC for the group.

For charms you can swap Iron Fortress Iron Fortress WarriorCharmFriendBuff Description Before battle starts, increases the DEF of all allied characters within a 3-grid square area of the caster by a percentage of the caster's own DEF. This effect is unique and cannot be dispelled. for Blade of Judgment Blade of Judgment BerserkerCharmDebuffAttack Description Each time the caster's Technique deals DMG to an enemy, inflicts 1 stack of Mark on them. When Mark stacks to 10, deals Physical DMG once to the target. if you are going the multi-hit route instead of the defensive support angle.

Blade Siphon Blade Siphon BerserkerCharmCure Description Heals the caster once each time the caster's Technique deals Crit DMG to an enemy. keeps you sustained throughout long group fights without needing a dedicated healer to babysit you.

Techniques

Boiling Bloodlust

Whirlwind Slash

Sunset Sword

Eclipse Slash

Charms

Soulfire Protection

Frame of Battles

Desperate Valor

Blade of Judgment

Only recommended if your charms are at really high levels.

This build leans into the low HP damage multipliers, using Soulfire Protection Soulfire Protection BerserkerCharmBuff Description Before battle starts, consumes 50% of the caster's current HP to grant the caster a DMG Reduction effect. This effect cannot be dispelled. and Frame of Battles Frame of Battles DuelistCharmBuff Description Reduces the caster's DMG taken for every 15% HP lost. This effect stacks up to 5 times and cannot be dispelled. to keep you alive while Desperate Valor Desperate Valor BerserkerCharmBuff Description Increase the caster's DMG dealt for every 15% HP lost. This effect stacks up to 5 times and cannot be dispelled. amplifies your output when health is low.

Blade of Judgment Blade of Judgment BerserkerCharmDebuffAttack Description Each time the caster's Technique deals DMG to an enemy, inflicts 1 stack of Mark on them. When Mark stacks to 10, deals Physical DMG once to the target. closes out the charm set to ensure the multi-hit chain still hits as hard as possible.

Important

These are just builds tested by myself, as well as information obtained from Chinese players and their builds as well.

You have to take into account your own accounts progression and skill levels when making builds, because they will be at different levels and tiers. Make the right decision for you.

Some changes from Berserker:

There is a much higher emphasis on elemental mastery since most of our newer skills are elemental based.
Higher crit rate is necessary, enemies have a small crit resistance amount (18%) which means we need to overcap crit rate in the future.
Since a lot of the newer skills are strong multi hit elemental skills, Blade of Judgement is no longer the bis damage passive.

With the additions of skills like Tactical Adaptation Tactical Adaptation ConquerorCharmBuff Description When there are 3 or fewer enemies within 2 grids, increases the caster's DMG dealt. When there are more than 3 enemies within 2 grids, reduces the caster's DMG taken. for Miniboss/boss encounters in dungeons and Piercing Assault Piercing Assault ConquerorCharm Description Each time the caster's Technique deals DMG to an enemy, the caster ignores a portion of the target's DEF. The DEF ignorance increases by 10% for each buff the caster has, stacking up to 3 times. / Soul Breaker Soul Breaker ConquerorCharm Description Increase the caster's DMG dealt for every 15% HP lost of the target. Stacks up to 5 times. as major damage increase passives for general content, this already powerhouse class for pushing just got way better.

In general, if you are F2P or even a light spender, you will be spending most of your currencies on Nyxarchon , since it’s generically the best DPS fantamon.

However, there are builds that are actually better with Pandarial due to it giving every class a cooldown reduction for skills at the start of battle similar to the Rapid Cast Rapid Cast ArchmageCharmProp Description Increases the caster's Elemental Mastery. Before battle starts, reduces the CD of all Techniques by 1 turn. (Techniques already off cooldown are not affected.) Charm that the Mage class has.

This alongside the speed of Conquerors enables you to act first and potentially getting the upper hand in fights.

Aegiswing also has potential uses for pushing content if your fantamons are all relatively close to each other, always prioritize adult forms for ones you can first and then work around adding pets for specific builds.

Our gear priorities focus also changes from previous tiers.

If you are a Blade of judgement enjoyer, you can still play it and it gets a couple new skill and passive changes, but the playstyle remains unchanged and still relatively strong in most content, but it is outshined by other builds.

If you are only playing this, then you keep physical mastery lines as priority alongside crit rate, crit damage, attack and speed.

The only change is going from Physical to Elemental mastery for every other build, keeping the previous stats. Since we are able to roll affixes on items and then transfer affixes, everyone can eventually get the item they want even if it takes a while.

Techniques

Whirlwind Slash

Eclipse Slash

Sunset Sword

Blade Storm

Charms

Blade of Judgment

Piercing Assault

Blade Siphon

Indomitable Will

Recommended pet for this build: Nyxarchon or Pandarial

Techniques

Flame Aura

Eclipse Slash

Blade Storm

Flickering Blade

Charms

Blade of Judgment

Tactical Adaptation

Crit Mastery

Blazing Clash

Recommended pet for this build: Pandarial

Techniques

Flash Fire

Darkness Descends

Flickering Blade

Blade Storm

Charms

Piercing Assault

Tactical Adaptation

Soul Breaker

Indomitable Will

Charms are changed here based on the encounter, less mobs = Tactical Adaptation Tactical Adaptation ConquerorCharmBuff Description When there are 3 or fewer enemies within 2 grids, increases the caster's DMG dealt. When there are more than 3 enemies within 2 grids, reduces the caster's DMG taken. .

Recommended pet for this build: Nyxarchon or Pandarial

Techniques

Flash Fire

Doom Blade

Soul Piercer

Flickering Blade

Charms

Piercing Assault

Tactical Adaptation

Soul Breaker

Indomitable Will

Recommended pet for this build: Nyxarchon or Pandarial

Techniques

Doom Blade

Flame Aura

Flickering Blade

Darkness Descends

Charms

Crit Mastery

Blazing Clash

Tactical Adaptation

Piercing Assault

Recommended pet for this build: Pandarial

Databases

Tools

Community Tools

New players

Builds

How to play Duelist

Duelist strengths & weaknesses

Best stats

Fantomons

Companions

Gems

Builds