Use the preview to assign future roles rather than locking a passive tree. A Sand-focused clear Duelist, Blood-focused bleed Duelist, shielded frontline Duelist and boss specialist can share a party without becoming six copies of the same character.
Forbidden Rites arrives first; Duelist arrives with 1.0.
Patch 0.5.5 and Forbidden Rites launch on September 4. The Duelist, swords and final campaign acts launch with the full release on December 11.
Pages calling Duelist an 0.5.5 starter are speculation or outdated pre-reveal material. Use existing classes for the event league and save Duelist team plans for 1.0.
The Duelist flows between attacks and stances.
GGG describes a fast, aggressive and fluid fighter whose skills flow into each other rather than follow one rigid sequence. Certain skills enter Ready Stance and create an opening for a stronger follow-up.
The preview shows Ready Stance upgrading into Sand Stance, Sand Scour sending swirling sand discs, Perforate striking repeatedly and applying bleed, plus Bloodied Blade entering Blood Stance for blood waves and nova-like Perforate interactions.
Separate clear, bleed, defence and boss damage.
Sand clear
Own movement and broad pack damage.
Blood bleed
Apply sustained damage and finish durable enemies.
Sword-and-shield
Hold the frontline and reduce party instability.
Boss specialist
Reserve direct focus for high-value burst windows.
The last two slots should solve utility, not repeat the carry.
Six sword users may look coherent, but the party still needs different defences, effect profiles and input demands. Build diversity inside one weapon family is the real experiment.
Control Duelist
Use stance and attack choices that manage space.
Collector Duelist
Run simpler persistent actions and assigned Pickup Pet duties.
Give direct focus to the Duelist whose stance decision matters now.
- 01
Lead with the clear build
Use the most mobile and readable Duelist for normal routing.
- 02
Keep followers simple
Avoid six simultaneous stance rotations that all need precision.
- 03
Focus the boss role
Switch direct control for burst windows and difficult positioning.
- 04
Return to formation
Resume follow after the specialist action is complete.
- 05
Assign loot separately
Keep collection from interrupting the sword combat loop.
Do not pre-buy an exact build that does not exist yet.
- Do not promise a league-start tree before the final passive tree is available.
- Do not assume all sword party effects stack.
- Do not treat trailer damage as a balance benchmark.
- Do not call Cyclone, stance or bleed interactions final until patch notes and gems are public.
- Do prepare generic gear goals, role assignments and controller layouts.
Official sources
Patch and policy statements are checked against the official sources below.