This is sort of an update, correcting several spelling mistakes and clarifying some parts of the original post.
Having returned to the lands of Aden for a short visit, I haven't caught up with all the changes to the game and the Swordsinger class itself so don't expect to be overly enlightened by this update...
Regards,

Pathwarden

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"The power of the voice" - an unofficial guide to the Swordsinger class



If you are reading this summary you will most likely have played Lineage 2 for some time and by getting into the game have aquired some knowledge concerning the basic points such as skill use, movement, money making, dealing & recieving damage and other things.
You have chosen to set on to become a Swordsinger, which is neither an easy nor quickly succeedable task - although the rewards you may reap, especially if working with a fixed party,clan or alliance, are well worth it.
Taking a closer look at the SWS`s skillset will make you realize rather quickly that this class is neither equipped for power-play or easy victory in PvP, nor for relaxed everyday-grinding, let alone pure solo play.

Especially at the higher levels the songs you gain - and which define your class - are highly specific and need to be tailored and adapted to the enviroment or situation you find yourself in; joining a party is also not a mandatory part of your development - being a SWS implies needing people to use your skills to the maximum benefit and they require you to reach peaks of performance otherwise untouched.
The Swordsinger requires a certain pace of mind, like most full-blooded buffers do, and if you "just want to level one up to get Song of the Hunter" you may as well stop reading at this point...there`s nothing here to find that you require to know to develop just another buff-bot.
I have assembled this page from the experience I gained during my own Swordsinger career on both the regular Bartz and the official test server(s) all the while taking informations from various sources into account - not the least by players that have been getting this fine class to end-game level, on which I congratulate them and wish them best of luck and fun for the future.

I also have to add that I could not take changes occuring with Interlude and the following chronicles into account when writing this guide - so the class may be changing for the better or worse after this guide has been written and certain skills may be weakened or strengthened as a result of active play-testing or input given by the community.


Development path:


Elven Fighter (1 - 19)

Starting point: Elven village

Basic Stats: STR: 36 DEX: 35 CON:36 WIT: 14 INT: 23 MEN: 26

-> Elven Knight (20 - 39)

Class change quest starts at Gludio (Master Sorius)
Quest to Elven Knight


--> Swordsinger (40 - 75)

Necessary quests are:

Trial of the Challenger at lvl 35
Trial

Test of Life at lvl 37
Test

Test of the Duelist at lvl 39
Test



---> Sword Muse (76+)

Necessary quest is:

Succession to the Legend, Swordmuse
Legend



General outline of the class

Advantages:

- High Dexterity (= high accuracy, attack and running speed)
- Very good M.Deff
- Good P.Deff
- Developed Shield Defense
- Group bufing abilities, usable with any weapon
- Fastest self-buffed heavy armor class
- Limited, but developed, tanking abilities
- Ultimate Defense skill Lvl 1
- No primary target during mass pvp
- Self-healing skills (HP, Bleed, Poison)
- Close-range root/hate skill, medium-range slow skill
- Rather rare class, if played as main character

Disadvantages:

- Very low Strength (= low P.Att) for a fighter class
- Low Constitution (= low HP/CP and high chance to getting stunned)
- Rather low carrying capacity
- No relevant special attack skills
- Underdeveloped long-range attack skills
- Underdeveloped AoE abilities
- MP costs increase if partying with a Bladedancer
- Only develops Heavy Armor Mastery (lvl15)
- Weapon mastery limited to 1h/2h swords & blunts


Conclusions:

The Swordsinger is a class rather ill-suited for soloing actions and 1v1 PvP,
although they can manage and proliferate in both situations.
Both situations require either a good set-up, top-grade equipment,an experienced player
or luck to be effective though.
They excel in a party enviroment and during mass PvP.
Given a basic play-style, the class is rather cheap to maintain
and doesn`t require potent items to function effectively.
Due to the defensive nature of most songs, Swordsingers may have
trouble finding PvE parties before having learned Song of the Earth
a/o Song of the Hunter.
With certain changes to the basic set-up the character can either
function as a support damage dealer or support tank within
reasonable limits - though doing both at the same time requires
resources far beyond something an average player can amass.

Given the fact that soloing is hard, finding a party is not easy
at lower levels and the need the join mass PvP with your clan/ally is high
to get the benefits of most songs working as they are intended to,the SWS is
one of the worst choices for casual players and, if the general concept of a
front-line party buffer sounds interesting, a Bladedancer should be chosen instead,
as both their offensive power and general PvE party status is much better.





The Swordsinger as support Damage Dealer

Swordsingers are no REAL damage dealers - turn and point it as you like.

The class lacks both strength (= low natural P.Att) and special attack skills to qualify
for that categorie, although a high dexterity value at least forms a good base
in terms of critical chance, attack speed and accuracy.
Also the only weapon mastery this class gets is centered around swords&blunts,
so picking another weapon type sacrifices your advantages there.
This does not preclude the use of other weapon types of course, especially if they have on enticing SA
or overenchantment on them.
While a Swordsinger may contribute a good part of damage to a party, even comparing
them to dagger classes, archers, Destroyers or else borders sacrilege.
It is however possible to at least maximize the damage output the character can
deliver, though at a prize.

First of all it is necessary to change some of your base stats with a + on STR at the expense of
CON being the first logical step.
I wouldn`t lower DEX as this is your only really high value to start with - by the way and in terms
of roleplaying...can you picture a clumsy elf?

Some sources include a massive + on DEX as well, lowering CON again, though I see little reason
in doing so: DEX affects several stats like attack/movement speed and critical
chance, as well as shield block rate or accuracy in a small way but non too dramatically
as to be really worthwile considering.
You low CON will make you an easy target as far a stunning goes - so be prepared for that.

Next step is a good armor set: during B-grade Blue Wolf Heavy is the most logical choice of course,
at C-Grade I`d really consider Plated Leather (and the bonus to STR) despite loosing a massive amount of P.Deff while
doing so - stick to parties or have a reliable healer ready if taking that option.

A-Grade, well, if you can get a working set together Tallum or better Majestic Heavy/Light
are very good choices.

Whenever chosing a weapon aim for such that have SA`s that either compensate for
your low P.Att (Critical Damage) or increase your already high critcial rate (Focus) ->
2h-swords work fine, as they are covered by sword&blunt mastery although you lack
the specific mastery for 2h-weapons (which stacks with sword&blunt mastery and makes
Destroyers and Titans such terrible foes in close combat).

You will have to neclect your defenses that way - but that is the price you pay.

Many Swordsingers I know of use 2h-swords in regular PvE and a bow whenever PvP becomes the matter of the day.
These choices are solid and based upon taking the maximum benefit into account, and although using
Sword & Shield is a more "traditional" way of playing, it is inferior to the 2h/Bow variant as far as
damage output goes.
As for myself, I have stuck to Sword & Shield most of the time; aesthetics and style surpass effectiveness
in my opinion especially in a MMORPG - even if that means cutting down on your effectiveness.

Song of the Hunter is your bread & butter skill as a support damage dealer and since you
might be lacking a shield most of the time, singing Song of Earth and Water makes
for a better chance to survive, allthough Song of Water is easy abandoned in its weak form these days, if no Elven Elder and Warcryer are present.

With Psycho Symphony you find yourself in possession of a new AoE debuffing ability that, while not increasing your stats, slows the enemy down - so consider using that one while in a pinch.
I would refrain from using Sword Symphony even though it causes some AoE damage - the MP cost is considerable, the damage not worth the trouble and you may find
actually sending some mobs running away...a fact that a regular PvE party is not too fond of.
Hold it in reserve for the most dire of circumstances.



The Swordsinger as a Support Tank

Swordsingers are no real tanks either, but at least the have a solid skill-set coming from their
levels 20 - 40 that includes tanking skills and they gain some abilities that help while
tanking themselves or supporting the main tank even in the higher levels.


Heavy Armor Mastery (till 40)
Magic Resistance (till 74)
Holy Blade (43)
Shield Mastery (till 40)
Deflect Arrow (till 40)
Ultimate Defense (till 40)
Aggression (till 40)
Arrest (till 74)
Song of Hunter
Song of Earth
Song of Warding
Song of Vitality
Song of Vengeance
Psycho Symphony (till 74)
Sword Symphony (till 72)




There are three situations that could call for your tanking skills and in which you can
proliferate:



* Protecting lower leveled groups during regular PvE as main tank
* AoE pulling with small, green to light blue, non-stunner trains
* Fast-response auxiliary tank keeping an eye on the buffers and healers



Unfortunately you canīt be too successful at either of the first two situations as you obviously lack
the skills that would turn you into a real tanking class - so its really important to know & test
your limits and have a party set-up that will work out for your personal playing style or you will
find your damage dealers ripping aggro from you at every turn or being killed while training too many mobs
at once - you can be stunned easily and lack skills as Guard stance or Shield Aegis to "watch your backside".
Nevertheless your rather high P.Deff plus your high running speed will work to your
advantage during a pull.

You are however very good as a guardian for resting buffers, healers and other companions,
especially if the main tank is sloppy or the respawn rate of aggressive mobs is too high for
your party to cope with.
Once monsters engage your valuable party members you can easily get their attention using
Arrest & Aggression while hitting them with high precision and a good critical chance and still have a
ace in the sleeve (and the life-saver in form of UD) to stand your ground until the main party body
arrives to save the day.

If a hunting session turns really bad you should not forget the effects of a combined AoE attack using
Psycho and Sword Symphony, finishing with a touch of Ultimate Defense - thus buying your Elder time to
get a Party Return working.
With some practice and a well-rounded party you should always have enough MP left after having done your party-bufing
to be able to pull of such a feat if need be.


In my opinion the choice of tatoos for the support tank variant is rather simple:

Don`t lower your CON as you will need all the HP and the minimum stunning resistance you have.
Don`t lower your DEX as you will need all the Shield block rate and critical chance you can
have -but refrain from increasing it either as the benefit is not too great.
Don`t lower your STR as you will need it to cause as much damage as possible for additional
aggro control.

Yes, you read correctly.

If you plan on going on a long-term tanking trip, I would not use dyes at all - there is an additional
effect to that too:

Soon you will realize that you clients will outlevel you and there are still enough real tanks
out there to take over, meaning fewer groups to need your services - so using dyes is
just an effective way of destroying money that you will need in the end.


If you value both you adena and your tanking skills here's what to try:

Pick a good defensive armor set that provides increased shield defense and increased HP:

Full Plate at C-, either Avadon or Doom Heavy at B- and Dark Crystal or
better even Nightmare Heavy at A-Grade.

Such a set can be easily resold, most times at a better price even, if considering a change of playing style
while 50% of the dyes are lost for good once the tatoo is deleted.

Pick a weapon that maximizes your abilities in terms of aggro control and HP regained from
Vampiric Rage buffs (Focus or Critical Damage SA)
Never pick a weapon with Health SA: this might be good choice for Raid Tanks but since you won`t
be doing such it is wasted on you.
Using active skills to hold aggression also takes a toll upon your MP as you need to
use Aggression/Arrest more often to keep the monster at you - a fact that is somewhat
problematic taking your obvious job as a group buffer into account.
Don't tank for parties that can, by terms of level difference or equipment grade easily outdamage you.



Fortunately during a regular PvE, you will hardly have more then two to three songs running (Earth, Hunter, Vitality),
especially if a Bladedancer is a member of your hunting party and several experienced groups with potent OOP healers
backing them might even feel compelled to ditch Song of the Earth alltogether - but this all depends
on a multitude of factors, trusting your hunt-mates not the least among them.

Never forget though that being the partys'tank puts you into a different role then you might be used to -
your choices affect the wellfare of your comrades directly now - better be trained and prepared for that...


There are two things you should not forget while tanking:



Songs create aggression themselves, so recast them while in close range to the monster you plan to attack.


One BD in your party increases your MP cost in such a way that any active skill you could use to hold aggro simply becomes too expensive on the long run, so you might consider leaving them out of your party.




Arrest and Psycho Symphony are two very good skills that can be quite helpful in terms of aggro control
although using them frequently taxes your MP very much so keeping up all the songs you want
may be difficult - never drop Hunter or Earth though.
Arrest replaces Agression on your aggro control list as it also allows you to root a monster at
your position - making sure it will not go for ranged DD`s or Healers.
If you start loosing aggro to a melee DD that can not take the strain use Aggression as well.
Arrest works only for a few seconds, so be sure to recast it once it fades.

Walking instead of running helps rebuilding your MP faster - and given your heritage you are
a faster walker anyway then most classes while running; especially in tight spaces like catacombs
and dungeons, walking can help you keep your MP up while tanking and group buffing.

Psycho Symphony (and to a much lesser degree, Sword Symphony, which I use only
as a last ressort when tanking goes bad) is effective as a low-power replacement of
the classic Hate Aura - which you do not possess - and works very good during Pole parties:



Run around using Earth and Wind - pull some mobs (starting with a lower number first and working
yourself up to get a feel) - once at the party face the mobs (lack of Shield Aegis) - in an ideal situation your two songs
should now be fading, run around some more and use healing potions if they don`t - wait till all mobs are close -
trigger Psycho Symphony - Sing Hunter & Earth (+ Vitality if possible) - start hitting.



Hunting like this can be both fun & effective but takes more planing then a normal tank, Warlord or natural high
HP class needs to do.
It is also impossible to try if the server is lagging as you need your songs to be up again at your partys'
location - everything about precision and clever planning here.

Keep in mind that in contrast to Hate Aura, the Symphonies take a longer time to recharge, are costly and might
not always work the way you wanted them to!

As for clever tanking I really urge you to read Glav`s Tanking Guides:

Tanking Guides

and the parts following, as they are well written and show deeper understanding in the workings of true Tank classes.
Iīd especially take the point of a Swordsinger in the main Hate tank`s group during a raid
being NOT mandatory into good consideration...



A choice of Arms & Armor:

As far as weapons or armor go, there are few secrets to the Swordsinger as class - "choice" is mainly
defined by availability, resources and general direction of character development.

C-Grade:

While Full Plate Set is a rather obvious choice because of the HP and
shield defense rate incease there is an alternative if using a 2h-Sword
and being member of a solid and experienced party - Plated Leather!

With PL the P.Deff of your character will be quite low, but the increase
in STR (+4) with low loss in CON (-1) can easily work towards your parties
advantage...if you can rely upon your healer and main tank.

Weapons of choice should be 1- or 2-handed swords (with regard to
your purposed role as either "tank" or "damage dealer" - with SA`s
Focus or Critical damage being good und usual choices.
Daggers can be used as well, taking advantage of the natural high
critical rate and attack speed and work best in addition to the PL set.

Refrain from using Blunts since you need to cause as much damage
as possible, rarely miss anyway and the SA`s are not really enticing
for a class that will tank fewer and fewer times - there`s also the aesthetic
aspect to consider.

Although Duals look good and hit hard, the very real chance of destroying them
during over-enchantment and the relative high cost coupled with the
lack of relevant masteries preclude their use.
If you want to go for them pick combinations that bestow Haste-, Critical
Damage- or Focus-like effects.



B-Grade:

Avadon, or better Doom Heavy set if you want to do some tanking still
or value your durability during PvP/Raids.
Avadon has the advantage of not changing your stats, while Doom
on the other hand increases the relevant stats at the cost of P.Att -
but offers the chance of getting the additonal Light armor variant easier
and cheaper if you plan to hunt often as part of an archer party.

Blue Wolf is a good choice whenever a 2-handed sword comes into play.
I`d recommend BW for PvE anytime...if you can stand the look.

Once again pick weapons that have Focus or Critical Damage as SA`s.



A-Grade:

An important aspect with regard to A-grade armor is wether you
have access to a full, unsealed set - most people won`t have that
priviledge, so consider staying in a reasonable, complete low-grade set
as long as possible to retain the set-boni.

Talum Heavy if going for an attack speed set-up, which I would prefer to
take benefit from the main advantages a LE has to offer: speed, critical
chance and accuracy.
Include either a Talum Blade (Haste) or a Dragonslayer (Crit. Damage)
for good effect or stick to a lower grade weapon with enough punch in terms
of enchantments or SA's.

Majestic Heavy because it limits your vulnerability to stun effects, which
has proven to be a true bane in PvP.
Same weapons as above, although using a bow with this armor
(+STR, + P.Att, +Accuracy) makes perfect sense, especcially
since the "light" variant is THE archer armor during A-grade.

Nightmare Heavy is a good choice if you dislike ranged combat
and either value or have easy access to a good 1h-weapon or simply favor the
more traditional sword & shield playstyle.

I would refrain from using Dark Crystal - allthough I find it one
of the best-looking armors on Light Elves - because it is a Tank armor at
any rate, although inferior to the NM set.




As far as PvP goes, until now Bows have established themselves as being a good and solid choice, as
the base P.Att is high (compensating for the LE`s low STR score), ranged combat allows
for a better choice of targets and the high base critical rate of bows is easily augmented
by the Song of the Hunter.
Also the LE`s natural high accuracy comes into play here; SA`s as Cheap Shot, Critical Bleed
and, much later, Focus are useful.
Range, personal speed and the ability to slow or even arrest succesfully are also factors that
might give you the edge to actually be victorious in a prolonged 1 vs 1 PvP against a melee class.
If a close-range class with stunning capabilities actually gets you to a melee duel...well, "chain stunning"
has been the bane of many a upcoming Swordsinger.




Skill use


Arrest

Very usefull new skill, short-ranged hate&root for appr. 5 sec.
Good for PvP against archers/daggers or if you like
tanking for a group that has archers/nukers in it.



Attack Aura

This pre-SWS self buff becomes more and more outdated
as your buffers increase in power (Might or Greater Might, e.g.)
Good to have it whenever soloing or having been debuffed
nevertheless.



Aggression

While good during your pre-40 days it rapidely falls into
disuse once you have Arrest.
Still valid if you like tanking in the higher levels nevertheless
or try to pull a monster off your healer.



Charm

Skill decreases your position on a monsters internal
"aggro list". Slow to cast, expensive, weak effect and cannot
turn a monster passive again with regard to yourself.
Ranks very high on the inofficial "worst-skill-ever"-list.



Cure Bleeding

Good skill if out of bandages or without healer during your early
carrer.
You won`t be using it much, but it`s cheap and effective and has
shown good use in PvP, especially against DE fighter classes
as it helps countering their Sting skill.



Deflect Arrow

You will be fighting archers wether during PvE or PvP.
This pre-SWS self-buff is very helpful then - be sure to buff
yourself with it every turn,as it is quite cheap, unless
you would overbuff yourself doing so.



Defense Aura

This pre-SWS self buff becomes more and more outdated
as your buffers increase in power (Shield,Greater Shield, e.g.)
Good to have it whenever soloing or having been debuffed
nevertheless.



Elemental Heal

While not nearly as good as any real healing spell, it is,
especially coupled with blessed spiritshots, an edge
during PvE and soloing.
Has seen some decrease in use with the advent of
greater healing potions, but still a great skill especially
if you have run out of potions or your healer is missing/sloppy.
Casting speed is rather slow.



Entangle

Your bread&butter skill during PvP!
You slow the enemies and your DD`s or Nukers kill them.
Also very useful if trying to outrun single, too potent,
monsters especially if coupled with Sprint and Song of the Wind.



Focus Mind

Very important: Passive MP regeneration speed increase.




Holy Blade

Toggle skill.
Very good to increase your damage against "weak to sacred"
monsters like undead.
Costs MP on activation only, unlike toggle skills as Vicious
Stance and such.
Don't forget to turn it off against "sacred" mobs.




Magic Resistance

Very important: passive M.Deff increase.



Posion Recovery

Good skill if out of antidotes or without healer.
You won`t be using it much, but it`s cheap and effective and has a
rather quick casting speed.



Psycho Symphony

Very useful new skill, short ranged AoE debuff on attack, movement
and casting speed.
Until now I use it primarily to help out the main tank during
Raids or Pole parties and found it quite useful as a replacement
for the SWS`s missing Hate aura if I chose to tank.



Shield Mastery

Very important: passive shield defense rate increase.



Spirit Barrier

Very useful M.Deff increase self-buff, as not all parties will have the
appropriate buffer with them and it can have a maximum effect of 3.



Sprint

One of your main advantages is your high movement speed, especially in
comparison to other Heavy armor or Buffer classes.
This self-buff is the base for that, allthough -unlike Dash- it doesn`t stack
with Windwalk.



Sword&Blunt Mastery

Very important: passive P.Att increase.
While this skill doesn`t increase your P.Att while using duals
it does increase it when using a 2h-Sword.



Sword Symphony

Short ranged AoE low-powered damage skill with a rather
low chance to cause fear in surrounding monsters and a
rather slow casting speed.Quite expensive as MP go.
Sometimes it works, sometimes it forces deep-red monsters to
give heel, more often even deep-blue or green mobs are left unfazed.
I expected much more from that skill then it gave me in the end.
Maybe they should rename it to "Uncertain voice of irritation"...



Ultimate Defense

One of the few pre-SWS skills that you might be using often!
Although you only get one level of it, it`s a real life-saver during
certain fights - don`t forget that you have this one and put it onto
your PvP bar!





Song use

The true power of a Swordsinger lies in the songs.

While an individual song costs "only" 60 MP/2 min, the drain increases once more then one song is active.
Also, the Bladedancers dances count into this formular, whenever a new song is added and vice versa.
Therefore it is rather easy to see that

a) a SWS can never keep all songs he has active and
b) both support classes need to minimize their individual party buffs or one will be drained rather quickly.

I`d suggest to leave the first two dances to the Bladedancer and sing/dance in a mix afterwards...our dark elvin cousins
usually need more MP because they buff more and can Hex/Power break/Life drain too if need be.
Unfortunatly partying with a Bladedancer also takes away any mental work that you might do otherwise
(which defense is best against which monster?) because of the Song/Dance nerf...so the usual routine during PvE
will be "Sing Hunter", "Sing Earth", "Autofollow main tank", "Attack", "Wait 2 minutes", "Sing Hunter"...

During Mass PvP the situation changes constantly, therefore no real optimum with regard to song use
can be given, though "Hunter" and "Earth" are always good choices.
While your abilities are needed to support your party, there`s obviously no reason to not use them
as a short-term self-buff when soloing.
All songs increase certain values by a % or a fixed amount - if you desperately need the exact amount,
please refer to http://www.l2blah.com.
I am sure someone there tested each song with every set-up and every party constellation possible...



Song of Warding (40)

Song increases M.Deff by approximately 25%
While one may doubt its effectiveness during PvE (though
several parties at WoA and such were quite happy having
their M.Deff beefed up) this song is very good to form a
basic counter-measure against nukers during PvP and is
of no small help during Raids against bosses with casting
abilities or additional spell casting raid fighters, especially
if such do AoE damage.




Song of Invocation (43)

Song increases resistance to dark magic.
This song works good against Necromancers and
Spellhowlers in PvP (though SH's can simply
"Hurricane" your party members to death too).
It is also helpful against Life drain abilities and seems
to lower the effectiveness of monsters that drain MP during PvE.
Still need to test in in a Forrest of the Dead party.



Song of the Wind (46)

Song increases running speed by approximately 10% and
stacks with both Windwalk and Sprint.
While it obviously helps in getting quick and cheap from one
hunting spot to another or away from an too powerful enemy,
the sight of a group of Windsong`ed Tyrants and Daggers racing
towards the same enemy is a reassuring sight to behold.



Song of the Hunter (49)

Finally!
Song increases critical attack chance by nearly 100% and stacks
with Focus SA or buff(s).
Archer parties will love you for this one, as do all damage dealers
that rely on a high critcal chance or simply want to hit harder.
Of course luck is a Lady and there`s no guarantee that you will
cause critical damage at every monster with next to every strike
suddenly...
Put this one on your playlists autorepeat!



Song of Life (52)

Song increases HP regeneration by approximately 20%.
Sounds good in theory, though in the field the added effects of high CON and
the Regeneration buff need to be present to make any significant change.
It can help to keep downtimes low, if the party is without any healer or
has no potions left...
As it is sort of a healing spell I tried to use it as method of aggro control
while tanking - to no visible effect.



Song of the Earth (55)

Song increases P.Deff by roughly 25%.
Very good song for every enviroment and especially worth if used while
supporting a true tank class during a tough raid.
Even Robe users benefit from this one.



Song of Water (58)

Song increases evasion by +3.
Of little use to yourself, especially if fighting in heavy armor and shield,
but in a pure dagger/archer enviroment or while wearing light armor
this one can be helpful to keepsafe the healers MP.
You need an EE and a WC to nearly gain the full benefit this song once
had (+10 to evasion) before it was cut to size.



Song of Flameguard (62)

Very specialized song that increases resistance to flame attacks.
As far as I could check out till now, overall damage is reduced by
close to 50%.
A good choice for PvP against Sorcerers.



Song of Vitality (66)

Song increases the maximum HP by roughly 25%.
Unfortunately it doesn`t heal the party too, so you need a Bishop
or Elder class to take maximum advantage of that.
Song stacks with Health SA and Bless the Body.
While this one is great for any party member, Destroyers/Titans will
love you for it as now their emergency skills kick in while
they still have a good amount of HP.



Song of Stormguard (70)

Like Song of Flameguard, though this obviously works
best against Spellhowlers.



Song of Vengeance (74)

Reflects damage recieved back upon attacker.
Excludes damage from skills and remote attacks.






Of hunting spots

As a party-buffer your choice of hunting spots is mainly defined by your party!

If forced to solo - which you should try to avoid at any cost - pick areas that are low on mobs with stunning
capabilities and aggressive groups and try to engage monsters that are weak to sacred attacks (Holy Blade)
after lvl 43.Also taking on monsters with a hit multiplier is not to sensible as far as effectiveness
goes.Always engage one target at a time unless being the puller (Sprint+Song of the Wind & Earth)
for pole parties.

You`ll need to use soulshots and potions of alacrity/scrolls of (xyz)... to finish your enemies quickly
...there is little help to be given here, soloing was and is expensive.

The Cemetery near Aden is always a good choice, especially since there are usually enough buffers
around to offer their services (5 - 10K depending on the market)....simply work yourself upwards as
you advance in level and take advantage of the quests given at Aden,
Catacombs/Necropoli are a fine hunting ground as well - a lot of enemies down there a "weak to sacred" and
the benefits of the "7 Signs" are well-known.

Swordsingers work quite well in a duo with high damage classes like archers/daggers and destroyers, as your
main songs enhance the respective abilities of those classes and smooth any shortcomings they might show
in PvE.
Just make sure in advance that you choice of weapons at least matches your partner's...
I also had very good experiences in a conventional duo with each Elder class and Battle prophets.
If you manage to get into a duo with a Temple Knight you may want to take some screenshots and file them under "rare" - nevertheless it's a constellation well worth trying.
Out of my experience, Swordsingers and nukers do not add up well as the songs have little to offer to those
classes.

As pointed out earlier, joining a raid party as member of the main hate tanks group can be very beneficial as far as effectiveness and fun go (and of course, the financial part is to be considered too).
The defensive songs like Warding, Earth and Vitality can be used to full extent here and Hunter might be
helpful at least slightly as far as aggro control and HP return via Vampiric Rage is concerned.
Another aspect worth considering in this situation is the frequent use of Psycho Symphony - especially useful if the
Raid Boss is well within the level range of the supporting Swordsinger, which increases the chance of success
while using it.
Anything that hinders, slows or weakens the Boss is a boon towards your healers MP.

Never forget that you possess Ultimated Defense and several self-healing buffs - just using self-buffs, Hunter & Earth as well as the occasional Elemental Heal almost guarantees
non-stop hunting at green/light blue areas, especially since the Herbs came into play.
Check if you couldn`t just return solo to a hunting ground that you braved some levels ago while in a party.





I hope you enjoyed the read (feel free to comment and add informations to the threat) and wish you all best of luck
and loads of fun in the ever-growing lands of Aden.



Link to the "Changes to a class"-Guide at the Suggestions Section: Suggested changes to the SWS class




Regards,

Pathwarden - Swordsinger and founding member of the Knights of Sigmar