Bravely Default II Swordmaster Job Guide

Among the Bravely Default II Jobs that are geared towards offense, the Swordmaster is definitely among the most interesting, as it features a variety of abilities that not only let it obliterate regular enemies quickly but also deal tons of damage to bosses while protecting the party, with the right setup.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Swordmaster in Bravely Default II.

Overview

The Swordmaster Job comes with some amazing stats that make it a very solid Job choice. With decent HP and high Strength and Agility, this Job can dish a lot of damage, get more turns than most of the other Jobs and even take a few hits.

To reach its full potential, the Swordmaster must be played differently depending on the type of battle. For regular battles, using Solid Stance is more than enough to deal with enemies, as this ability lets the character unleash two attacks every time the Attack command is selected, while Fluid Stance is better for boss battles, as it lets the Job counterattack. The latter ability becomes even better with the right combination of abilities, especially those from tanky classes that make aggroing enemies the main focus of their game plan, like the Shieldmaster. Add in the ability to hold select weapons with two hands with the 2 Hands Are Better Than 1 ability, and you will be able to deal with any sort of enemy with ease.

Special Abilities

The Swordmaster starts with the Redoubled Effort speciality which increases the damage of attacks and counterattacks the more BP the user has. The second speciality, learned at Job Level 12, is Double Duty, which activates sub-job specialities when wielding the same type of weapon in two hands.

The Swordmaster Special Ability, Severance, possibly makes the Job even more deadly, as it increases the user’s speed and critical chance by 15% while dealing massive physical damage to a single target. To unleash this ability, you need to use Swordcraft 13 times.

Abilities

The Swordmaster learns a mix of stances and flurry abilities that make the Job extremely versatile in dealing damage.

Solid Stance – Adopt a stance from which the ‘Attack’ command is automatically performed twice every time it is selected.
Fluid Stance – Adopt a counterattacking stance from which the user will automatically hit back against any attack aimed at them.
Counter – 50% chance of answering any physical attack with a counterattack. Will not be triggered by attacks that target the entire party.
Solid Right Style (22 MP) – Usable when in Solid Stance. Perform a physical attack on a target that will delay their next turn.
Fluid Left Style (20 MP) – Usable when in Fluid Stance. When attacked, hit back with a physical strike that will reduce the opponent’s BP by one. This will happen every time the user is attacked until their next turn, even if they have a negative number of BP.
Out with a Bang – When the user is knocked unconscious, a hugely powerful physical attack will be unleashed on the perpetrator and their allies.
Divide Attention (17 MP) – For four turns, the user will be targeted as frequently as their most frequently targeted ally.
Fourfold Flurry (48 MP) – Perform four physical attacks on a target in quick succession.
2 Hands Are Better Than 1 – Equipping a sword, axe, spear or staff in the user’s right hand will result in its being used with both hands, increasing its stats to 1.4x normal levels. The user’s left hand must be empty.
Solid Slash (27 MP) – Usable when in Solid Stance. Perform a powerful physical attack on a target and bring the user’s next turn around more quickly.
Fluid Flow (36 MP) – Usable when in Fluid Stance. When attacked, hit back with a powerful physical strike that will increase the user’s BP by one. This will happen every time the user is attacked until their next turn, even if they have a negative number of BP.
Multitask – 33% chance of any regular attack being followed up with a further quick physical attack.
Ninefold Flurry (99 MP) – Perform nine physical attacks on a target in quick succession.
Solid Smash (90 MP) – Usable when in Solid Stance. Perform an extremely powerful physical attack on a target that will delay their turn, and also bring the user’s next turn around more quickly.
Fluid Frenzy (72 MP) – Usable when in Fluid Stance. When attacked, hit back with a powerful physical strike that will steal one of the target’s BP. This will happen every time the user is attacked until their next turn, even if they have a negative number of BP.