Cathara and De's guide to Low Stance - Iron Man - Charge

I guess until there's a specific place to put guides, this can go here.

INTRO

You absolutely must scout, it is not a great build for spamming challenges.
Against almost ever single build, a primary concern is to either void or resist ToD's and VBs. Fortunately, most people in ladders are fairly predictable. Scout their last 5/6 matches against warriors and you will usually see the same action sets. These end up making or breaking 75%+ of matches.
Lots of damage will come from actions: Burning Powder, Holy Hand Grenade, ToD, Counterattack.
Draining builds will require very specific loadouts.
The fortunate thing about this build is your ToD can be very unpredictable if you need it to be. You generally do very little actual damage before your first Burning Powder goes off, so a Turn 2/3/4/5/6 ToD has almost the same effectiveness as a Turn 1 ToD, leaving you more flexibility to Void where you really need it.
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vs. Warriors

Arms - Charge is my opener of choice vs Arms as they have lower absorb than shield warriors. You will want to use a loadout with a constitution of at least 20%+ for mitigating arms damage. Weapon Traps/Concussions/Concentrate really don't affect Charge. Against Starms you will want to get two ToDs in. Constitution scrolls are useful.
- http://www.duels.com/fights/narrate/219527995 -
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Facing Arms With Low Stance -
Burning Powders and Healing are the two things you need to have when facing Arms.
Depending on how much base hp you have in the beginning in the round, you should gain anywhere between 1000-1500 hp.
Now that you have this extra hp, the duel will last longer. Now you come down on your opponent with Burning Powder and Healing actions.
- http://www.duels.com/fights/narrate/220876724 -
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Facing Starms -
Starms is a completely different type of arms.
Not only will your opponent be doing maximum Arms, but he/she will have a lot of hp. Low Stance can rarely beat this, so I will give you the best advice I can.
The Duel (if you win) will always be very close.
Expect to see a lot of the Concentration action when you fight this because, the more they hit you, the more Arms damage they will do.
They're going to try and finish you off as fast as they can, so you'll want to use lots of First Aids/Healing Potions.
Burning Powder is a life saver when you need to knock them down to size.
If you can get past turn 10 you're basically set for damage for the next 4 or 5 turns because your Burning Powders will still be active.
If you have enough Dodge % or not will determine the rest of the duel
- http://www.duels.com/fights/narrate/218953778 -



Sledgehammer - IM is the obvious choice as Sledgehammer is crit-dependent. Depending on how long you believe the match will last, you may choose to swap out later Burning Powders with Holy Hand Grenades. You will likely need just one ToD.
- http://www.duels.com/fights/narrate/218999263 -
- http://www.duels.com/fights/narrate/220557888 -

Low Stance - If you feel your loadout is superior, you can always opt for the mirror match up. I have generally used Charge against Low Stance. Adjusting your resist up a little bit can help against their offensive actions of BP/ToD which you will also be using. Most certainly need 2 ToDs and 4x BP.
- http://www.duels.com/fights/narrate/219956315 -
- http://www.duels.com/fights/narrate/219034436 -


Head Butt - IM is a good counter to Headbutt, similar matchup to Sledgehammer. You will likely need just one ToD. Use 4x BP, or 3x BP and 1 HHG. Throw in 2 Counter Attacks, 1-2 Voids, and FA.
- http://www.duels.com/fights/narrate/219766339 -


Iron Man - Not a problem at all, this build does not crit often and when it does, the crits are weak; they are essentially running without an opener. Use 4xBP, 2x ToD as they will almost certainly be stacking stam and doing the same to you. Charge will absolutely wreck IM.
- http://www.duels.com/fights/narrate/220162368 -

Barbarian Battlecry - This opener does not get used often against this build. But, it sure does surprise you.
Low Stance is a decent counter to this.
- http://www.duels.com/fights/narrate/220459793 -

Charge - I opt for the mirror matchups in this case. I like my odds against most other Chargers (except for Merdan which is about a coinflip). You may choose to sacrifice some of your Stamina for a bit extra absorb to protect against the inevitable Charge. Another option similar to the Low Stance matchup is to tweak your resist a little bit higher. The difference between a resisted ToD or few Burning Powders can make all the difference.
- http://www.duels.com/fights/narrate/219034436 -

Shield Slam - I have for a long time used Charge against Shield Slam with a dodge loadout which generally works. De stroyer has opened me to the idea of Low Stance against Shield Slam. For Charge, a generic action set works with a dodge loadout.
- http://www.duels.com/fights/narrate/220397949 -
- http://www.duels.com/fights/narrate/220077503 -
- http://www.duels.com/fights/narrate/219689342 -
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Facing Shield Slam With Low Stance - The key to being able to do this is your action set.
You can almost be 99% sure that your opponent (the SSer) is going to do a turn one ToD. DO NOT VOID IT!!
The turn one ToD will NEVER cripple you for the rest of the fight. You should open up with a Burning Powder then a First Aid to sort of make up for the lost hp in the first round.
Then for the remaining turns you'll need to keep the Burning Powders, First Aids, ToDs flowing through out the next ten turns.
- http://www.duels.com/fights/narrate/220420195 -
- http://www.duels.com/fights/narrate/220183443 -

Fortified Armor - I would use Low Stance or IM depending on their crit, against fortified armor; with their absorb level, charge is near useless.
- http://www.duels.com/fights/narrate/220258068 - Low Stance
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vs. Assassins

Stinging Poison - Scout to see if they crit, I choose IM/Charge based on that info.
- http://www.duels.com/fights/narrate/220064734 -

Apothecary - Iron Man generally works here as they need to crit. Use BP/HHG, CA, HP, FA. Do not ToD 1st turn, ToD on 2nd/3rd turn after APO heals.
- http://www.duels.com/fights/narrate/220305348 -
- http://www.duels.com/fights/narrate/219692051 -

Shadow Meld - I would assume IM is a good counter to this opener, not many people use it, so I am not quite sure.
When facing this opener, your opponent will most likely have quite a bit of base Dodge %.
You need to make sure you hit them. Use the Concentration action, as well as Weapon Traps and a few Healing Potions, along with a ToD.


Dark Elf's Delight - Very tough matchup. There are usually the high-crit/low stam DeD, and the low-crit/high stam DeD. The high-crit DeD is countered with IM, but the high-stam DeD is much more dangerous.
- http://www.duels.com/fights/narrate/220321785 -
- http://www.duels.com/fights/narrate/220149053 -
- http://www.duels.com/fights/narrate/220065486 -
- http://www.duels.com/fights/narrate/219709318 -

Blade Fury -
Low Stance, Charge, IM are all good counters to this opener.
The key is to get your Dodge % as high as you can, the Blade Fury damage that they will deal to you will be high seeing as you (should) have over 4k hp.
Try actions like Parry, Weapon Trap, Talisman of Shielding...
If you have enough base hp, you should be able to stomp them out eventually.


Feint -IM or Charge. They ignore some of your absorb, but it isn't usually enough to make a difference and you aren't concerned about them being able to hit you that much.


Precise Strikes - PS is handled easily with Iron Man. Get a Counter Attack off quickly, 2nd round if possible, third if not. May or may not need a ToD. Use 4x HHG, or BP then HHG depending on estimated duel duration.
- http://www.duels.com/fights/narrate/220291185 -

Ambush - Ambush is easy if you see it coming. You can opt for either IM or Charge. Use a less stam-tacked build for more weapon damage to be sure you kill them somewhat quickly. Against stam ambush with Charge, you do not want to be caught after turn 10-11 with no more concentrations. Spam Concentration, zero or one ToD, BP/HHG, Counter Attack/Heal.
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vs. Mages

Gremlins - High resist Charge makes short work of Gremlins. Once you start healing you are likely free and clear. Alternatively if you think you can last longer you can settle for a medium resist and be sure you heal enough in the beginning.
- http://www.duels.com/fights/narrate/218845664 -

Madrox's Multiplicity - Same as IM, you don't crit much or rely on melee damage. People won't use this against you. If they do, just laugh and win.

Blood Mastery - Haven't faced this much, potential problem matchup.

Wand Slinger - No one uses this.

Energy Drain - Tough matchup, seems like it is probably going to lose the if-resisted effect, gain a resist debuff/faster drain. Use Charge and resist/Spellshroud. IM can work against wand-crit ED.
- http://www.duels.com/fights/narrate/219996216 -
- http://www.duels.com/fights/narrate/219789425 -

Talak's Transformation - High absorb loadout with Charge and heals.

Hold Person - Iron Man + ToD + Counter Attack + HHG

Infernal Protection - This is a close fight using IM/Charge, havent used LS. Their absorb is a problem for Charge, but non-wanded IP is tough for IM.
- http://www.duels.com/fights/narrate/218535078 -
- http://www.duels.com/fights/narrate/219906444 -

Blast Wave - Haven't faced this much, probably just go more offensive. Currently bugged where the Blast Wave doesn't go off when you kill them with Charge.

Fire Shield - High Resist Charge/IM, Spellshroud and Void potential Vampiric Bolts, or save Voids for Lower Resist, and rely on your Resist + Spellshrouds to resist VB.
- http://www.duels.com/fights/narrate/220560514 -
- http://www.duels.com/fights/narrate/219769417 -
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vs. Druids

Ironwood Thorns - No one uses it.

Slow - Not a problem as you don't rely primarily on weapon damage, Charge works here with generic loadouts/set, or IM if they crit lots (wanded). Try to Void ToD or first Mend.
- http://www.duels.com/fights/narrate/219931637 -
- http://www.duels.com/fights/narrate/219770396 -

Feline Ferocity - Charge is a great counter, gives them very little time to benefit from having low health for additional damage, and stuns.

Gaze of the Basilisk - Need a specific loadout here. Either let them drain Stam and Resist and do more melee damage (dual wield, more STR/SPD/PER) using Charge, or let them drain an offensive stat and use actions like BP and FA. IM for the crit heavy Gazers.
- http://www.duels.com/fights/narrate/220024356 -
- http://www.duels.com/fights/narrate/220023793 -

Insect Swarm - Charge loadout/actions works for me here. The high health and absorb works well against INS. IM can also be used on some INS users.
- http://www.duels.com/fights/narrate/219967762 -

Roar - Haven't faced Roar.

Shakes - A tough matchup. Against crit-shakes, IM. Against low-crit shakes, Charge. In both cases, it's important to Void their Boulders, which unfortunately allows them to Mend.
- http://www.duels.com/fights/narrate/218962795 -
- http://www.duels.com/fights/narrate/219526788 -


Nature's Embrace - Not many players use this but, it's safe to assume you could go against it with Low Stance.
Sorry we couldn't give you more information.

Ice Storm - High stam/resist loadout, dual wield charge, pretty straightforward. They don't do much melee damage, but they resist your actions, so it's a race to kill them with melee before you get ISed to death.
- http://www.duels.com/fights/narrate/219824545 -

great guide De Stroyer and Cathara, wow I didn't thought I'll be a special guest in your guide, the one that I use the BBC against shield charge, the great about using BBC against it is because you are depending on the damage of your actions, but I think I'm still the only one using it against your build.

Thanks Lendell.
Yeah, that BBC against Charge is a really good idea.
Too bad it isn't good for anything else

Fantastic stuff guys!

Really appreciate the effort.

I still find it good countering some mage/druid skills even for poison sting and blade fury of an assassin being a SS duelist, I don't have any good counter against non-sword attack, so BBC is a great help

btw, can you give some items that can be use for the charge? coz I'm planning to respec my other character, PhilippineWarLord, to charge hehe

lendell wrote:btw, can you give some items that can be use for the charge? coz I'm planning to respec my other character, PhilippineWarLord, to charge hehe

A few of the items you have in Lendell can be used for Charge.
Like the Battle Plate and Dream Warden's Sarong.

Weapons aren't really that expensive, you just have to know what to buy.

thank you De Stroyer!

This is a really good guide...there should be more out there for different openers from some other pros in the guild. good job

I'll give Cathara most of the credit for this guide.
Cath wrote a lot of the basic stuff. I just came and edited where I wanted to.