How many combos per minute can a troika do without ASI?
How many combos per minute can a troika do with ASI high?
Do you recommend getting a swiftstrike buckler with a troika?
ASI on troika
Swiftstrike (SS) is a great shield (best shield for T1/T2) and is a really cheap way to find out what ASI can do. However, once you enter T3 the SS will not hold up to much at all. To be able to use a SS in T3 you pretty much need to be able to play without needed a shield for anything, but the occasional bump. I don't really recommend the Troika line either, the Sealed Sword lines will out-damage it even versus neutral enemies and the Troika's charge attack is pretty terrible (takes way too long to finish & leaves you exposed). I spent a lot of time messing around in T1/T2 with a Troika and SS, but decided against the Troika in favor of specialized damage types (still use the SS for some T3 though).
Honestly, Troika lines feel more or less the same with max ASI as they do with no ASI. They're always painfully slow.
This isn't the case with the sealed sword lines which feel at least twice as fast with max ASI.
It's not like you will see a 100% increase combo speed. ASI gives a better raise-shield time and you should take advantage of that to shield cancel,etc.
Ignoring that and just spamming the attack button is bad no matter your ASI. The pause between each hit is always noticeable.
I never said anything about combos. Unless you were talking to the OP, I'm not sure who that post is aimed at.
But Troika does take an age to shield cancel even with max ASI while sealed lines can cancel really quickly with max.
Heavy swords tend to benefit more from asi, to speed up recovery and prevent damage from the longer recovery times.
Get it, practice with the shield, and make sure it doesn't break in t2 with your playstyle.