The Nodachi is probably one of the greatest and APM intensive classes in Conqueror’s Blade; if you want to play it at a high level. I do not know the stigma around this weapon, since I’ve only installed this game fairly recently, but I’m pretty sure no one in this game plays the Nodachi as I do. It is not only an AoE and unit annihilating weapon, but also one of the best Duel weapons in this game. It’s true nature is that of a Burst Damage weapon that deals a tremendous amount of damage in the span of a second and a huge HP leecher, basically if you want to play as a Samurai Vampire go Nodachi.

The Attributes you want to focus most of your attention to is Strength. There is no real reason to go anything else when you are up against light infantry units at around level 10 and level 20. Once you hit level 25, or if you’re unlucky enough to pair up with level 40s, is to focus on Agility for the Piercing buffs. If you are the type to die constantly in duels, from either lack of APM or just from being ganked a lot, you can add a bit of AP to Armour. And please for the love of god never do Toughness, your armor is enough to keep you alive.

Speaking of armor, you can do a combination of Light and Medium, though I personally just stick with Medium for sustainability and higher Max HP, but if you enjoy dodging a lot more than tanking then go for both Light and Medium.

Also, you should have a good grasp of dodging for any class, moreso for ranged weapons. I suggest practicing dodging in daily duels or in the tutorial area. Dodging is essential for keeping you alive in fights, running away from bad engagements and waiting for any abilities to finish their cooldowns.

Lastly, unit control. Never, Never, Never rush ahead of your units. Sprinting from now on is prohibited until you have cavalry. If you are using archers, make sure to hold them with X on either a hill or flat terrain. Making archers follow you constantly around like they are melee infantry is just a waste of your time, money and killing potential. Unlike in most games, your units and you form a synergy, without your units: you are nothing more than a helpless hero and an easy target for the more experienced or the smart early birds.

Skills and Abilities.

Q: Fearless & Steadfast

This skill, as opposed to the rest of your kit, isn’t one of the flashiest or the most AoE/ Damage heavy, but is nonetheless the most vital skill to have that keeps you fighting and alive for most of the game. The very fact that it can remove Stuns and Dazed effects from you is a blessing and with many of the abilities here: has a great drain heal ability.

So, in short, you should really be using Q for getting out of sticky situations VS other heroes that Stun or Daze you, however this doesn’t mean that you can’t use this ability for Crowd Control.

E: Samurai’s March

Ah, Samurai’s March. This skill is one of the two stun abilities that you have in your kit and also another drain heal ability that you have in your kit to keep you alive, but it has a high skill bar for most players, in that it requires you to get it’s second hit to be of any use to you. If you fail to get a second hit, you better run away by dodging backwards.

The best way to use Samurai’s March is against a hero that has finished a skill animation. Once they have finished with their animation, you strike them with Samurai’s March to knock them down and slash them senseless.

R: Bloodthirsty

This ability is your bread and butter, if you don’t have this already in your kit: you’re not playing Nodachi correctly. Not only does this ability knock your enemy back, but it also removes daze and has a stack of drain heals that lasts for 5 second. Which paired up with both Q and T gives you a tremendous HP boost that makes it seem that you’re cheating. You should really ever use this ability to render a hero helpless and vulnerable.

The best way to use it, is to wait for a hero to finish with one of their abilities, similar to Samurai’s March, and then interrupt them with Bloodthirsty. They’ll be writhing on the ground and you with drain heals for days.

T: Tiger’s Claw

Last and certainly not least is Tiger’s Claw. This ability has saved me more times than I can count. If you are ever in a bind and you have tons of enemy units with no hero in sight AKA Archers, then you are in for a field day. Not only is Tiger’s Claw a great AoE skill, but for every successful hit you gain HP, however shield hits do not count as successful hits (duh).

The only way to use this ability is against units, but is also effective against heroes that don’t have any shield or idea of how blocking works.

Combos:

A good starting point is to use your R on an unsuspecting hero and to spam your basic attacks until he gets up. Once his character animation starts the “Getting up” phase, you should start to activate your E, making sure to get the second hit. If for any reason you fail to get the second hit, wait for Bloodthirsty to finish cooling down and rush forward to him and then rinse and repeat.

For fights against enemy units, you should always start with T and finish with Q, however if you are up against any sort of shield infantry; you should use E and R to knock the shields down and then use T and Q to melt their formation.