Longsword & Shield Siege and Ranked Guide

The Longsword & Shield (often just “Longsword” or LS) is a heavy-armor hero class focused on defensive play and team support. Longsword heroes act as frontline tanks and supporters, using their shield and survivability to soak up damage and hold objectives while healing and buffing allies. In team fights, a Longsword provides a steadfast presence – they may not top the kill charts, but they keep their team alive and form a bulwark on capture points.

This class is considered one of the best “frontline support” heroes in Conqueror’s Blade. Longsword players excel at:

  • Holding choke points and capture circles: A Longsword can survive alone on a contested point longer than almost any other class, stalling the enemy until reinforcements arrive.
  • Supporting allies with heals and buffs: The Longsword’s Mercy of Heaven skill heals themselves and nearby units, and Knightly Vows grants a speed boost to move troops faster.
  • Providing crowd control (CC): Several Longsword abilities can knock down, stun, or knock back enemies, helping disrupt enemy formations in siege battles.

In summary, the Longsword’s role in siege and ranked play is that of a frontline tank/support hybrid. You “lead from the front” by standing with your units and fellow heroes, soaking damage and using your utility skills to turn the tide. Don’t expect to charge in and slay dozens of enemies single-handedly – instead, you enable your team and unit to do so, acting as the backbone of any push or defense.

Beginner Tips: Core Mechanics & Survivability

For new Longsword players, the class is forgiving and easy to pick up due to its durability and simple kit. However, to be effective you must learn its core mechanics and focus on staying alive. Here are some tips for beginners:

  • Prioritize Survival Over Kills: Longsword has relatively low damage against heroes and units, so don’t focus on dueling or getting kills early on. Your value comes from staying alive and supporting teammates.
  • Use Your Shield Wisely: Always keep your shield up when under ranged fire or facing heavy attacks. You can block a substantial amount of incoming damage just by holding your shield raised.
  • Leverage Your Healing Skill: Mercy of Heaven is your signature ability – use it to sustain yourself and nearby allies. At max level it heals ~10% of health for you and nearby units every 20 seconds. Get in the habit of casting Mercy of Heaven whenever you or your unit are injured; this will drastically increase your survivability in sieges. (Tip: Avoid using it if you are under bleed/poison/fire effects, since those will cancel your heal instantly.)

By focusing on these fundamentals – shield management, timely healing, and sticking with your team – new Longsword players will find the class quite forgiving. You might not get flashy kills, but your contributions in keeping the team alive and holding the line are invaluable. As you grow comfortable, you can start mastering more advanced tactics below.

Advanced Siege & Ranked Strategies

Once you grasp the basics, you can start employing more advanced Longsword tactics to dominate siege battles and ranked matches. At higher levels of play, proper positioning, skill timing, and coordination with units become critical. Below are advanced strategies focusing on siege/ranked scenarios:

Positioning & Objective Play

  • Frontline, Not Front-alone: As a tank, you should be at the front – but not far ahead by yourself. In siege pushes, position just behind your shield units or while leading your melee troops.
  • Point Holding: In ranked matches and final base-point fights, a Longsword can contest a capture point longer than any class. Use this to play the objective: get on the point with your units and circle around obstacles to break the enemy’s line of sight. Activate Mercy of Heaven on cooldown to constantly regenerate health while fighting. You can often stall a capture single-handedly, buying precious time for your team to regroup.
  • Retreat and Re-engage: A key advanced skill is knowing when to pull back. As a Longsword you might feel invincible, but focused fire or certain anti-tank heroes (e.g. a Maul with high armor penetration) can bring you down. In ranked play especially, avoid dying at all costs – death not only gives the enemy points but also removes your support from the field. A well-timed retreat into a quick heal can turn you into a constant presence that the enemy struggles to eliminate.

Crowd Control & Skill Usage

  • Time Your Ultimates for Maximum Impact: The Longsword’s ultimate skills are powerful CC tools with long cooldowns – use them at pivotal moments. Clash of Shields, for example, unleashes a heavy shield slam that knocks down multiple enemies and breaks enemy shield guards. Use it to breach enemy formations when they are clustered.
  • Interrupt and Peel for Allies: As a support tank, one of your jobs is peeling – disrupting enemies who threaten your damage dealers. Keep an eye on enemy heroes diving your backline or cleaving through your units. Shield Bash is excellent for this: it’s quick and stuns or knocks back the target.
  • Combo Your CC: Advanced Longswords will chain their crowd control for greater effect. For example, you might open with With Valour to knock an enemy hero down, then immediately follow up with Clash of Shields on the group while that hero is trying to get up – catching them and others in a second knockdown.
  • Use Martial Prowess Defensively: Save Martial Prowess for when you truly need it. One special property of Martial Prowess is that it breaks you out of crowd-control – if you are dazed or knocked down, you can activate it (if off cooldown) to get up and counterattack. This is a lifesaver against stun-locks.

Synergy with Units

A Longsword is best when fighting with their unit rather than alone. Advanced players select units that complement the Longsword’s strengths and cover its weaknesses:

  • Use your body as cover for units: Stand in front of your ranged units (archers or muskets) with your shield raised to absorb arrow fire, effectively acting as a mobile wall. Similarly, stand in the front line with your melee infantry – your presence draws enemy AI unit attacks and hero attention, allowing your units to survive longer and deal damage.
  • Heal and buff units in combat: Remember that Mercy of Heaven III heals nearby troops as well as allies. Advanced Longswords will run into clusters of injured friendly units (for example, allies’ shock troops that just took losses) and use Mercy to give them a second wind.
  • Coordinate unit charges with your CC: A well-timed Longsword knockdown can set up your unit to charge or use their powerful ability more safely. For instance, before ordering your Palace Guards (a heavy sword unit) to rush, you could Sally Forth through the enemy line to disrupt them, then command your Guards to charge into the downed foes. By the time enemies recover, your unit is already in position.

By mastering positioning and the intelligent use of your skills, you become the team’s anchor in siege battles. A skilled Longsword in ranked play rarely dies, constantly supports allies, and is a nightmare for enemies to push past.

Optimal Skills and Builds

In Conqueror’s Blade, each hero can equip a set of common skills (normal abilities) and one ultimate skill. The Longsword’s kit offers healing, buffs, crowd control, and some damage. While you can experiment with all skills, an optimal build for siege/ranked Longsword tends to focus on survivability and support utility. Below is a recommended skill loadout and an explanation of each skill’s utility:

  • Counter Attack (I–III): Removes Daze & Knock-Down effects and works as a quick DPS skill with bleeding.
  • Martial Prowess (I–III): Similar to Counter Attack, this skill provides quick DPS, removes Daze & Knock-Down effects, and decreases enemy Armor by 15% if hit.
  • Mercy of Heaven (I–III): A self-heal over time. At rank II, it gains an instant 10% self-heal on activation, and at rank III it additionally heals nearby allies (both heroes and units) over time. At max level, Mercy heals you for 20% over 10 seconds and allies for 10% over the same duration. This ability dramatically increases your sustain, allowing you to outlast foes by repeatedly healing yourself while acting as a combat medic for your team.
  • Clash of Shields (Ultimate, I–III): A powerful shield charge/bash ultimate. At max rank, Clash of Shields delivers massive blunt damage with a wide knockdown and snare effect in front of you. This ultimate provides area crowd control and shield-breaking power, capable of knocking down multiple enemies and breaking even braced formations.

Overall, the recommended build is to max out Mercy of Heaven first (to unlock the team heal), then invest in your preferred CC skill (such as With Valour for its knockdown kick). Always include an ultimate – omitting it means missing a major power spike. This build makes you a high-survivability support who can heal yourself and allies, disrupt enemy lines, and initiate fights, prioritizing utility over damage.

Armor, Gear, and Attribute Setup

Building your Longsword hero for survivability and support is crucial, especially in ranked play where gear and attributes can make a big difference. Here are some guidelines:

  • Gear: Gear in Conqueror’s Blade often comes with random stat bonuses. Prioritize pieces that offer +Armour, +Toughness, or +Critical Defense. For example, an Epic heavy cuirass with extra health and armor is ideal for a Longsword. Avoid gear that increases strength at the expense of defense, as your primary role is support, not high damage.
  • Gear Set: Blue Schematic gear is effective if you invest the right stats in it, while the Purple Schematic Set offers more utility and crowd control benefits. Choose what best suits your play style.
  • Weapon: Focus on weapons that enhance Toughness and provide Armour bonuses. Typically, the damage types to consider are Blunt and Slash.
  • Attribute Distribution: For a siege support build, invest heavily in Toughness and Armour. Many dedicated Longsword players put most (if not all) of their attribute points into Toughness to maximize health. A larger health pool means that your Mercy of Heaven heals a greater amount overall, and it provides extra survivability against high armor-penetration attacks.

Playing Longsword in ranked and siege scenarios is about being the unsung hero. While you might not have flashy kill numbers, every bit of damage you prevent, every second you delay the enemy, and every ally you keep alive plays a pivotal role in your team’s victory. Ultimately, you may end up with one of the highest assist scores and participation rates, embodying the role of your team’s cornerstone.