INFORMATION
FROM:
- SWORD ART ONLINE
RACE:
- GNOME
WEAPONS:
- 2HAND SWORD
- AXE
- SPEAR
MAIN ELEMENT:
- EARTH
ROLE:
- TANK
- ATTACKER
UNLOCK:
- Unlocked in EP03
~2HAND SWORD~
Show/Hide 2Hand Sword Skills
NAME |
SKILL DESCRIPTION |
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Avalanche | Rushing attack. Charges in, attacking enemies in path.
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Eruption | Combo attack. Quick 2-hit combo. Rather powerful.
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Cyclone | Area of Effect attack. Spins in a circle damaging anything within circumference.
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Around | Single strike attack. Steps forward and delivers a single spinning slash.
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Break Time | Guard Break attack. Spins forward and attacks with the flat side of the sword breaking the guard of the target.
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Hollow Silhouette | Counter attack. Drops into a defensive stance and counters incoming attacks with a vicious jumping slash.
*Only activates upon receiving damage during start-up of attack (Projectiles & magic do not count).
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Demolition Wield | Combo attack. Steps in with 3 heavy overhead slashes.
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Furious Destroyer | Combo attack. Swings the sword horizontally to deliver 6 powerful slashes.
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Ray Brandish | Power attack. Hits the ground to bring fourth a powerful shockwave that devastates enemies within range.
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~AXE~
Show/Hide Axe Sword Skills
NAME |
SKILL DESCRIPTION |
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Whirlwind | Area of Effect attack. Swings the axe from behind the back to damage a wide area.
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Violent Spike | Combo attack. Pounces on the target to deliver 2 heavy attacks.
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Flat | Single strike attack. Backhand swing generating a small explosion on impact.
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Lumberjack | Power attack. Guards all incoming attacks and counters with a single heavy overhead strike. Super good.
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Vertical Blast | Guard Break attack. Places the axe under an enemy and brings it upward with force strong enough to shatter their guard.
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Round Triple Smash | Combo attack. 3 consecutive heavy horizontal slashes.
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Catapult Tomahawk | Projectile attack. Flings the axe at target. Long start-up. No super armor.
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Brutal Maul | Power attack. Strolls in with bad intentions and then performs 3 vicious full body swings. Looks like Olympic Hammer Throw.
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Gravity Impact | Power attack. Strikes the ground to distort the gravity of an area bringing up countless shockwaves which ravage enemies.
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~SPEAR~
Show/Hide Spear Sword Skills
NAME |
SKILL DESCRIPTION |
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Triple Thrust | Combo attack. Steps in and performs 3 consecutive pokes.
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Spin Slash | Area of Effect attack. Spins the spear overhead once and follows up with a finishing slash.
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Digger Glint | Power attack. Thrusts the spear at point creating a mini beam of light. Has shorter range than you would expect.
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Forward Spiral | Charging attack. Steps in and spins the spear with one hand. The spinning motion has some Guard Point.
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Blast Spear | Projectile attack. Throws the spear at the target. Range is deceptively short.
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Spiral Gate | Counter attack. Drops into a defensive stance and counters incoming attacks with a spinning thrust.
*Only activates upon receiving damage during start-up of attack (Projectiles & magic do not count).
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Vulture Stinger | Power attack. Vaults in and stabs the ground with the spear generating an upward torrent that damages enemies.
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Wild Twister | Combo attack. First does a pretty butch pose. Then proceeds to spins the crap out of that spear finishing with a diagonal slash. (w)
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Fatal Thrust | Charging attack. Launches yourself at the target with the spearhead piercing through just about anything. Covers a ton of distance.
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~OFFENSIVE MAGIC SKILLS~
Show/Hide Offensive Skills
NAME |
DESCRIPTION |
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Fireball | Fires a small fireball at an enemy. Power & number of consecutive shots increases with skill level. |
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Flame Blast | Drops a large fireball upon an enemy. Power & number of consecutive shots increases with skill level. |
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Ice Bullet | Fires a small icicle at an enemy. Power & number of consecutive shots increases with skill level. |
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Freeze Lance | Drops multiple frost shards upon an enemy. Power & number of consecutive shots increases with skill level. |
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Sling Stone | Fires small rocks at an enemy. Power & number of consecutive shots increases with skill level. |
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Rock Blast | Drops boulders upon an enemy. Power & number of consecutive shots increases with skill level. |
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Deathrock Cluster | Summons landslide of large rocks drop on an area surrounding target. Power increases with skill level. |
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Dark Sphere | Fires a small ball of darkness at an enemy. Power & number of consecutive shots increases with skill level. |
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Void Distortion | Drops large dark clusters upon an enemy. Power & number of consecutive shots increases with skill level. |
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Lightning Arrow | Fires multiple spears of light at an enemy. Power & number of consecutive shots increases with skill level. |
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Holy Lance | Fires a beam of light to pierce an enemy. Power increases with skill level. |
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Divine Ray | Calls down a ray of light from the heavens to damage an area surrounding a target. Power increases with skill level. |
~HEALING & BUFFS~
Show/Hide Healing & Buffs
NAME |
DESCRIPTION |
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First Aid | Recover own HP. Amount recovered is increased with skill level. |
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Regenerate | Slowly regenerates player HP over a period of time. Amount recovered is increased with skill level |
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Sharpness | Increases Party Attack by 20%. Duration is increased with skill level. |
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Protection | Increases Party Defense by 17%. Duration is increased with skill level. |
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Resist Soil | Increases Party Earth Resistance by 33%. Duration increases with skill level. |
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Enhance Soil | Increases Party Earth Based Damage by 30%. Duration increases with skill level. |
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Slow | Decreases Enemy Movement Speed by 50%. Duration is increased with skill level. |
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Battle Shout | Draw aggro from enemies within range. Effect & range increases with skill level.
*Has no effect in online play. |
~PASSIVE SKILLS~
Show/Hide Passive Skills
NAME |
DESCRIPTION |
The Art of 2Hand Sword | Allows the user to equip 2Hand Swords and use its respective Sword Skills. |
The Art of Spear | Allows the user to equip Spears and use its respective Sword Skills. |
The Art of Axe | Allows the user to equip Axe and use its respective Sword Skills. |
Increase HP | Increases Max HP by 10%. |
Increase Attack | Increases physical damage dealt by weapons by 10%. |
Increase Earth Resistance | Reduces damage received from Earth based attacks by 20%. |
Increase Earth Attack | Increases damage of Earth based attacks by 10%. |
Increase Physical Defense | Decrease amount of damage received by physical attacks by 10%. |
Switch Boost | Increases the power of Switch by 10%. |
Cooldown Time Decrease | Decreases the cooldown time of Sword Skills & Special Moves by 10%. |
Increase Critical Rate | Increases the probability of landing a critical strike by 20%. |
Skill Connect Boost | Increases power of Skill Connect by 10%. |
Stamina Saver | Reduces the cost of stamina based actions by 20%. |
Increase Physical Defense+ | Decrease amount of damage received by physical attacks by 20%. |
Increase Attack+ | Increases physical damage dealt by weapons by 20%. |
Increase HP+ | Increases Max HP by 30%. |
Increase Earth Resistance+ | Reduces damage received from Earth based attacks by 36%. |
Increase Earth Attack+ | Increases damage of Earth based attacks by 20% |
Skill Connect Boost+ | Increases power of Skill Connect by 20%. |
Cooldown Time Decrease+ | Decreases the cooldown time of Sword Skills & Special Moves by 20%. |
[Lv1000] Switch Boost+ | Increases the power of Switch by 20%. |
[Lv1050] Increase Yuld Drop | Increases the Yuld dropped by enemies by 10%. |
[Lv1100] Increase Rare Drop | Increases the rate of receiving a Rare Drop from an enemy (Most likely by 10%). |
[Lv1200] Increase Yuld Drop+ | Increases the Yuld dropped by enemies by 20%. |
Increase 2Hand Sword Damage | Increases damage of 2Hand Sword by 10%. |
Increase Spear Damage | Increases damage of Spear by 10%. |
Increase Axe Damage | Increases damage of Axe by 10%. |
2Hand Sword Master | A title given to those who have mastered the art of 2Hand Sword. Increases damage of 2Hand Sword by 50%. |
Spear Master | A title given to those who have mastered the art of Spear. Increases damage of Spear by 50%. |
Axe Master | A title given to those who have mastered the art of Axe. Increases damage of Axe by 50%. |
~HOW TO PLAY STREA~
This section is written as an more in-depth extension to the AW & SAO Character Overview post and is meant to be used hand in hand with the General Leveling Guide. The purpose of this How-To-Play is to offer players of all levels a skeleton plan which enables them to build their characters up to their full potential. With that being said, it is indeed recommended that you do follow the steps described here.
-Important Skills-
- Sharpness
- Protection
- Enhance Earth
- First Aid
- Regenerate
- Resist Earth
-Weapon Selection-
Strea straight up has the strongest 3 weapons in the game. Whatever you pick you will be good. but if you want to make your Strea as strong as possible, play her on 2Hand Sword or Axe.
Strea’s element is Earth, so if you are able to give her a Max Attack; Half Element Weapon with ~10% Earth or a Half Attack; Max Element Weapon with ~20% Earth, she will become very strong. In most cases, higher base attack is better than elemental attack unless you are willing to switch weapons for each boss weakness.
**For more information on the overall Weapon Building process, consult the Weapon Building Guide.
**For some tips on how to select the appropriate Accessories for your character, consult the Selecting Equipment guide.
-Element Etiquette-
Strea gets Enhance Earth. Earth was practically the worst Element in the game since not many bosses that were frequently fought for Rank 10s against were weak to it. But in version 2.00, Earth has escalated to one of the best elements in the game since a lot of the random bosses that appear in the Infinite Dungeon are weak to Earth. But keep in mind that only one Element can be active at a time and buffing Earth will in fact overwrite whatever element is currently active.
Elemental Buffs are important because they increase damage by +30%. If a monster is weak to the element, this damage gets multiplied by 2 making you do +60% damage if you use the correct Element.
On the other hand, if a monster resists an element, the bonus damage can drop to +3%. This is indeed better than nothing but this fact means that buffing the Elemental Weakness of the boss is the most important – even more important than buffing the elemental strengths of the party members.
When to use Enhance Earth:
- When the Boss is weak to Earth
- When no other Element is active and the team isn’t able to buff any other Element.
If someone has used an element that is not Earth, but the boss is weak to it, Do not, by any means buff over it with Earth. Your character will do more damage with a foreign element as opposed to an Element that the boss resists.
If you do not know which bosses are weak to what elements, you can have a look at the Elemental Weakness Spreadsheets I have made on the Boss Guides page.
-Using Strea-
Strea is an Attacker with the HP of a Tank. She has Sharpness, Protection Enhance Earth. This makes her a solid character in terms of buffs.
When a quest or boss fight starts:
- Cast Sharpness, Protection.
- If a monster is weak to Earth, cast Enhance Earth. (Refer to Elemental Etiquette section)
- If monster’s strength is Earth, case Resist Earth.
- Move in for Combat.
On the SAO Sword Skills & Weapon Breakdowns page I have written some basic combat guidelines for all the respective weapons in the game. If you feel like you are using a weapon incorrectly or just want some pointers, I would advise you to have a look at that page.
The Gnome race doesn’t have many responsibilities outside of dealing damage.
Remember that when players die in battle, they are revived without any buffs. Recasting buffs when teammates die is a good idea and makes you a wonderful teammate. Of course, in some cases when a player dies non-stop its a waste of time to recast buffs (>.<)
-Healing-
If you take damage with Strea, use First Aid. Don’t forget to cast Regenerate which allows you to slowly recovery HP. If you have taken a considerable amount of damage, First Aid might not be good enough. In this case consider using a Healing Item or wait for a competent Healer to heal you. Do not keep fighting if you are low on health because that will definitely result in you dying.
-BK’s Opinion on Strea-
For some reason, there are hordes of players who consider Strea the best and strongest character in the game right now. In my eyes, she pales in comparison to Yuuki with 2H and even Klein with Spear. This purely based on the fact that Earth is the worst element in the game because not many bosses are weak to it.
The result is a character who has a ton of HP, Sharpness & Protection.
Of course I’m not downplaying her as a bad character because she is actually very good. Incredibly good.
But do I think she’s the best? Definitely not.
Edit: In version 2.00, a lot of the random bosses that appear in the Mugen Dungeon are weak to earth. This made Earth sky rocket to one of the best elements in the game if you’re going into the dungeon. Because of that, Strea has become a good pick overall.
Its also worth nothing that the Gnome gets increase Rare Drop which makes them good picks for weapon grinding assuming you don’t abuse the Passive Bug to get that skill onto other characters.
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NOTE
For more information on skills, you can visit the respective SAO SWORD SKILLS & SAO MAGIC/BUFF SKILLS pages.