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Swordwrath, Stick Empires



The Swordwrath, known as "Swordmen" in the Armory, and are units in the Order that appeared during the earlier events of Stick War, before later reappearing in the series for it's following media. In the very beginnings of the war, the Swordwrath served as the only hand-to-hand combat unit available, favored more so than the pricey Archidon.

Their glory was short-lived, however, as they were soon superseded by the well-trained and superior Speartons on the battlefield. Even after their status had faded, they still remained powerful and their following remained lively due to their dispensability and strength.

While their most notable inclusion was in that of the Order Empire, the Swordwrath was originally devised by the Swordwrath Empire. After multiple failed attempts at redemption, the Swordwrath Empire fell and left the Order with their signature weapon, transforming the basic clubmen into the true form of Swordwrath.

They are followers and believers of "Swordwrath", the Way of the Sword.

History

Stick War

As the Order began to become an active participant in the warring conflict, so did they proceed in entering the realm of military dominance. The once peaceful nation, attacked on all sides, began their conquest after developing a basic weapon of protection, the Swordwrath.

The Swordwrath, as their only source of strength during their conquering of Archidonis, would soon play a key role on the battlefield.

The War Begins

Once reaching the field of Archidonis, two Swordwrath are created (by the game) and sent off to order an attack. The fight then goes on by the Player's request, and the battle is eventually won.

During the events before the stage Attack the Swordwrath, only their footspeed could be upgraded, and they were stuck with basic clubs instead of the weapons they were fighting against.

Later Events of Stick War

After The War Begins, Swordwrath fight off an ambush from the Natives, who showed just how significant the Swordwrath could be in larger numbers. Afterwards, the Order clubmen acquire true sword technologies from their respective rebel empire, and fulfill their highest abilities. At this point, all possible upgrades for the Swordwrath are available.

Stick War II: Order Empire

When the Order's conflicts reignited another rebel uproar, the Swordwrath were one of two units (the other being Miners) chosen to lead the expedition through Inamorta a second time to straighten rebel forces out. Unlike the first game, the Swordwrath are given the Swords in the start.

Tutorial

During the tutorial, three Swordwrath are required to be built, and are forced to kill an opposing Swordwrath and Spearton.

No pivotal role is played again by the unit, as Swordwrath were there from the start of the conquest, and hence are just an optional tool at the Player's side.

Stick Empires

The Swordwrath can be used if the player selects the Order Empire for a game round. Unlike the other games in the series, Swordwrath do not need to be used at all.

Etymology

"Swordwrath" is a compound of "sword", the weapon they wield, and "wrath", an extreme anger.

Abilities

Rage

Rage icon

Rage's icon.

Rage is a Swordwrath's only ability. Researching it costs 50 gold and 50 Mana. It takes 60 seconds to research. It can first be performed in Stick War: Order Empire.

When activated, a Swordwrath will lose some of their health, glow red and have their movement speed and attack rate greatly increased, which is the equivalent to increased damage. The Swordwrath will also let out a war cry to audibly indicate its usage to both you and the enemy (if the screen is close enough). A Swordwrath cannot use Rage if it's health is too low. A group of Swordwrath using rage is ideal for chasing a retreating enemy. A large group of Swordwrath can easily rage through a group of units. Rage can also be used to retreat as well, using its speed boost to run away.

Rage, in the terms of Stick War: Order Empire, is the first unlockable ability, falling second on the ability tree. However, technically the Castle Unit is first, being set as the default ability in the game.

Of course, Rage can be performed without need to unlock the ability in Stick Empires, with the ability tree being absent from that game entirely.

Merics can heal the health lost from Rage, so using Merics with Swordwrath that have Rage is a good way to compensate for the lost health.

Rage

An example of Swordwrath under Rage, courtesy of the Stick Empires Wiki.

A mass of Raging Swordwrath, combined with many Albowtrosses with Blazing Bolts, is a potential counter to a mass of Shadowrath, but one must act quickly to amass enough swords and Albowtrosses and make good use of Miner Walls and Castle Archers before the ninjas come and slaughter your army. When facing a ninja mass as Order, one must often assume a defensive position (turtling).

A good way to counter a mass of Raging Swordwrath is to use lots of Bombers (as Chaos) or to have a Magikill(as Order). Electric Wall can kill Swordwrath in less than a second, and Swordwrath cannot touch Bombers, and the Bombers' AoE will slaughter the mass of Swordwrath. As Elemental, you can try doing Scorch or having an Infernos. Scorch can blow up Swordwrath, and Vastolis can annihilate them as well.

Rage can be used for other purposes as well. For example, a player can use Rage on Swordwrath to make them get to an area faster. Rage can also be used to escape faster, or to chase down an enemy army.

In Stick War: Legacy and Stick War III, Rage was removed from the Swordwrath and reworked into a Spell (Swordwrath Rage and Rage respectively).

Leap

The Swordwrath leaps forward and performs an overhead swing with his weapon for increased damage. This ability was introduced in Stick War: Legacy.

In Stick War III, the Leap deals less damage but now stuns the target. This makes it useful against retreating enemies that are slow like the Magikill and Meric, but is also useful offensively against units, especially heavy units, to prevent them from attacking for a short while.

The Swordwrath AI, however, does not leap as much as they could in Stick War: Legacy, meaning Swordwrath can not relentlessly stun enemies. The leap also automatically makes you jump even when still, which may cause missing, and make it jarring to use while User Controlling.

Strategies

Uses (Stick War)

  • Swordwraths can be used Early or mid game. For early-game, Swordwraths are used to establish domination when Speartons or more advanced units cannot be accessed.
  • Other uses involve using Swordwrath as a meat shield for Archidons, This mainly applies for early-game only as Speartons are better meatshields.
  • In Mid-Game they can be used with adequate protection as a mass, which can easily be achieved because of their cheap price.
  • It is also possible to beat the game only with Swordwraths and Miners but this is not effective for Insane mode.

Countering (Stick War)

  • A Spearton can take 3-5 Swordwraths without death
  • A Magikill can stun the Swordwrath via its Blast spell and use minions to damage the Swordwrath until it passes
  • The biggest weakness of a Swordwrath is an Archidon, an single Archidon can simply one hit kill a Swordwrath with a Headshot.

Uses (Stick War II: Order Empire/ Stick Empires)

  • Swordwrath can be used in early game as a main offensive force, and can be used alongside Archidons as meatshields similar to the first game.
  • Swordwrath deal bonus damage against armored units, making them effective in groups against Speartons and Juggerknights.
  • In late-game, they can be used in masses (combined with Rage) to swarm the enemy or rush into the enemy's statue, though it would not work well if the enemy has castle archers (due to the high splash damage.)

Countering (Stick War II: Order Empire/ Stick Empires)

  • Kiting Archidons or Fires are adequate counters to non raging Swordwrath.
  • Swordwrath are primarily dangerous in groups, making them susceptible to splash damage from units like Bombers, Infernos, Marrowkai, and Magikill.
  • Swordwrath cannot target flying units e.g Albowtross and Eclipsor.
    • The Cycloid (only if Tornado is researched) is the best flying counter to Swordwrath.

Uses (Stick War: Legacy)

  • The Swordwrath's improved mobility makes it extremely powerful when user-controlled. Skilled players can clear most missions by controlling a Swordwrath, and Swordwrath spam is the favored strategy of speedrunners.
  • The leap attack is excellent for kiting enemies and performing hit-and-run attacks as it does not make the Swordwrath lose momentum. It also kills Miners in one hit from behind; use this to disrupt the enemy's economy early on.
  • Stay mobile. The Swordwrath has low health, but its fast speed and ability to run while guarding are excellent for avoiding damage.

Countering (Stick War: Legacy)

  • Archidons are an effective counter to Swordwrath, attacking from ranges that Swordwrath cannot attack from without running and taking damage.
  • Groups of Magikill and Giants can eliminate hordes of Swordwrath easily.

Uses (Stick War III)

  • Like in SW2/SE, Swordwrath do extra damage to heavy units, meaning they're quite effective against Speartons and Juggerknights in hordes.
  • Their leap can stun and easily overwhelm enemies. It can be used to prevent enemies from retreating or to prevent them from attacking for a short while, allowing some extra hits.
  • Like in other games, Swordwrath can be used in the early to mid game to allow you to build more potent units like Speartons, Magikill, etc.

Countering (Stick War III)

  • Archidons are again an effective counter to Swordwrath due to their higher range and extra damage to light units which Swordwrath are.
  • Crowd control units like Bombers, Magikill, Giants, and Enslaved Giants do wonders against Swordwrath.

Skins (Stick War: Legacy)

  • The Leaf skin is a relatively weak choice. It is a good choice to allow a huge mass of Swordwrath and rush the statue. However, if you are not using it for a mass, it's not recommended as it neither provides significant bonuses nor addresses the Swordwrath's weaknesses.
  • The Ice skin is a decent choice. The Swordwrath is easy to train in numbers and has a fast attack speed, allowing them to keep enemies frozen easily, and slowing the enemy's attack speed indirectly improves the Swordwrath's longevity.
  • The Savage skin is a decent choice for user-controlled Swordwrath as it dramatically improves the unit's agility and damage output, but offers little to AI-controlled Swordwrath.
  • The Lava skin is a poor choice. The Swordwrath's low health and high damage are antithetical to the skin's bonuses as a Swordwrath cannot reflect much damage.
  • The Undead skin is a good choice. User-controlled Swordwrath, if played well, can easily convert enemies into Deads to harass enemies much more effectively, and massed Swordwrath get much better staying power by rising as Deads themselves when killed.
  • The Voltaic skin is a good choice for players skilled in unit control, as the lightning effect is devastating in early skirmishes and greatly amplifies the Swordwrath's considerable damage output.
  • The Vamp skin is an excellent choice. Its health and lifesteal bonuses greatly improve the Swordwrath's staying power, thus remedying the unit's biggest weakness.
C80c8d8a2ea07520e53cafd7095673d4

Swordwrath, as appearing in Stick War.

Appearance

Stick War

Swordwrath are black stick figures, generally lacking any armor or clothing whatsoever. They appear hunched over their choice armaments - swords - as if they were protecting their weapons from harm's way.

Equipment

Sword

The Swordwrath carry a sword called a Spatha, a type of straight and long sword used for slicing. While not in combat, the Spatha will remain in the unit's hand while standing, walking, or running. If close to an opponent or struck, however, the sword will be pulled back to partially cover the Swordwrath's body, protecting the bearer from some attack.

Club

Unpgraded Swordwrath wield clubs, These clubs are black in color and have silver spikes, Similar to the giant clubs.

Stick War II: Order Empire / Stick Empires

Swordwrath FULL-0

Swordwrath, as appearing in Stick War II: Order Empire.

Similar to the first game, Swordwrath are black stick figures, though they now hold their weapons in a less dramatic stance.

Equipment

Sword
Swordwrath-3

Swordwrath artwork in Stick War 3

The Swordwrath carry a now-genericized longsword, still serving the same purpose as a Spatha. While not in combat, the Spatha will remain in the unit's hand while standing, walking, or running.

Upgrades

Stick War

Swordman speed Upgrade

LV.

Increases speed by 20% LV. 1
Increases speed by 20% LV. 2
Increases speed by 20%

LV. 3

Swordman sword Upgrade LV.
+20% attack strength LV. 1
+20% attack strength LV. 2
+20% attack strength LV. 3









Trivia

  • In the Stick Empires Game Guide, Swordwrath are described as "Inexpensive with average attack and health, able to Rage."
  • In the unit menu of Stick War II: Order Empire and Stick Empires, Swordwrath are described as "High damaging unit with low survivability"
  • The Swordwrath is one of four units completely devoid of clothing or accessories in Stick War.
  • Swordwraths now have helmets they can equip in the Armory, but currently, there are only 4 helmets.
  • Swordwrath used to not have any helmets they could wear in the Armory. The reason for this was because there are two standing animations for the Swordwrath and it was considered to take too much time to animate each helmet twice. However, the animations were changed and helmets added.
  • Swordwrath have been buffed in the past by reducing their cost from 150 gold to the current 125 gold.
  • Rage have been nerfed in a previous patch to cost more health.
  • Swordwrath have many different swords available in the Armory, such as Katanas, Energy Swords, Longswords, Claymores, and Chainsaws. However, despite all these swords having different styles of use, the Swordwrath will use the same attack animations and still do the same amount of damage.
  • In Stick War 1, before there were Swordwrath there were Clubwrath that later advanced, some other Clubwrath can also be seen with a giant.
  • Rage openings have been less used ever since the Rage nerf and when the archer meta was more developed.
  • In Stick War 1, Swordwraths used to wield different types of swords which had different damage.
  • Swordwraths have several animations for being killed by various units/means in Stick War 2/Stick Empires:
    • Arrows: The Swordwrath is launched back by an arrow to the head.
    • Attacks that inflict Burn: Similar to regular death animation, but the Swordwrath is visibly on fire.
    • Spearton: The Spearton impales the Swordwrath through the neck and lifts him up for a second.
    • Juggerknight: Either the Juggerknight grabs the Swordwrath's sword as he swings it and impales the Swordwrath with it, or the Juggerknight throws his axe into the Swordwrath's head, then grabs and raises the axe overhead (lifting the Swordwrath's corpse with it), then slams the axe and body into the ground to free the weapon.
    • The Spearton and Juggerknight animations only play when the Swordwrath is killed while fighting that unit.
  • The Swordwrath name is derived from a combination of the words swordsmen and wrath, a reference to their rage ability and their usage of swords.
  • In Stick Empires, a non-Rage-induced Swordwrath can eventually be outrun by a Spearton. However, the speed difference is so slight that this is only noticeable on very large maps like Grass Hills.[1]

References

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