Im not new, but I still do have questions, and I know some knights would help me. im planning to get the leviathan blade, but I overheard they are not very good against fiends. so.....
Im looking for a sword that has balanced traits, with no elemental damage. anybody have anything?
The new crown king and leader,
SparksterG
Maybe you'd like to read my sword guide. The key concept to grasp is damage type. You may find that you don't want a weapon with "balanced traits", but rather a set of weapons, each of which is especially good at specific tasks. Also read the Swordmaster Guide.
For us to give you specific help, we need to know (A) how many weapon slots you use, (B) what other weapons you use, and (C) what your goals are (general Tier 3, RJP, FSC, etc.).
generally:
The brandish line
the sealed sword line
barbarous thorn blade
This is what most people use.
It's really not so much about the lines as the damage types. You can largely predict what enemies you'll fight, and thus equip whatever sword they're weak against, which generally gives you somewhere in the ballpark of 40% increased damage, which is quite useful.
The only 5* piercing swords are the Barbarous Thorn Blade, the Final Flourish (which is identical except for the charge attack), and the branches on the flourish line (which give up some damage for a status effect)
The only 5* shadow swords are the Acheron (brandish line) and the Gran Faust (sealed sword line)
The only 5* elemental swords are the other brandishes (Combuster, Glacius, & Voltedge, which differ only in status effect), the Divine Avenger (sealed sword line), and the Fang of Vog (a Vanaduke token item, so not viable as your first)
So sure, brandish and sealed sword lines are popular, because that is ALL OF YOUR CHOICES for shadow OR elemental damage (excepting the Fang of Vog). And BTB/Flourish lines are popular, because those are ALL of the piercing swords. Practically the only choice you make is whether you want medium or heavy swords for the elemental and shadow slots.
If you're determined to use a single balanced sword instead of switching off, the Leviathan Blade is probably an entirely reasonable option. I imagine you could also go with Dread Venom Striker if you like fast swords or Sudaruska/Triglav if you like heavy swords. But tailoring your damage type to the monster allows you to do a lot more damage.
it may sound odd, but ive been practicing alot with the DVS, and with a good shield it becomes a surprisingly viable weapon, while i find it doesnt reliably cancel attacks, its atk speed is so high, you can get your shield up before prety much any monster can let loos an attack, im going to try pairing it with an omega shell, then rip my way through a graveyard or two.
that said, i do find myself wishing more and more for an elemntal cutter line, or a shadow, becuause it is a difficult weapon to master, and is imensely satisfying, its not a bad sword, its just there are more powerful options available so most choose not to gimp themselves
There's no perfect weapon. Each one is strong against some enemies, but weak against another.
'Normal' weapons like Levi have no weakness but also arent strong against anything.
Fiends are weak to pierce damage and are pretty fast. If you want something against them it's either a flourish or the snarbolax blade because of speed and becasue there isnt any other pierce sword anyways.