There is another stickied guide that is pretty much the cadillac of fighter guides at the moment. My guide is more of a reader’s digest version for nm and hm fighters used mainly to level and farm. I’ll offer some thoughts on PvP with respect to skills and mainly focused on the 1-15 zone. The goal is to both describe and give opinions on each skill and hopefully help some newbies figure out what they are doing.

Before I get into the list I highly recommend this Skill Planner. It is very well done and lists the skill points level and all relevant info for fighter skills. Because of this I won’t llist all the gritty details, but instead focus on what skills are useful for what types of players. Kudos to MerlinMcTav and SirDevante.

New Thoughts for NM Skills
Having leveled a couple NM fighters to get different elemental epics I have rethought some of my skill recommendations and will list them here. Attacking one mob at a time is really the most efficient way to level a NM. You just don’t have enough AoE attacks to kill fast enough. That said I recommend the following skills in order of importance: Deadly Strike(lvl3), WindSpin(lvl2), Double Damage(lvl3), and Dual Weapon Storm/Wild Dance/Wild Rage(lvl3). I put Double Damage before Storm/Dance/Rage because it has better sp:damage and you get to use it earlier. If you find you have sufficient SP and aren’t killing mobs after one round of skills, then I would recommend getting Rising Crash(lvl3) as well.

New Thoughts for NM build
Just a quick thought on NM builds. I decided to go 4/1 str/dex just for kicks. This would give me the same attack power as a 4/3 HM fighter and since I was planning on killing one mob at a time I wanted to see if I could get away with the lower dex. In the early levels I noticed I missed more, but by the time I was able to use worship/heroic armor dex from lapis really made a noticeable difference. By the time I was able to wear my dread mirage set I hardly noticed a difference. I get 44 dex from my dreads and was able to kill dungeon yellows pretty efficiently. Just something you may want to try if you get decent dex from your gear.

One more thing before the skills list, the weapon discussion. There are numerous forums on this a few of which discuss this and I’ll add my two cents here. You get enough skill points to invest in two types of weapons and it’s easy to switch by placing your secondary weapon in the skill bar, you can also switch from skill bar 1 to 2 or 3 etc by using shift + #. That said, with two handed swords getting deadly strike in episode 4 you can probably get away with just using them. I still recommend using 2h and duals for the following reason: free weapons. You get a level 25 epic 2h sword Marshall Pride from a quest which you can use until level 35 when you get Bastion of Greed which are duals, which you can use until level 45 when you get another 2h epic water sword. If you’re just unlocking the next more the first freebies will get you there. If you’re farming the 45 epic will give you a good 2h sword that you can compliment with some duals if you need them. By doing this you won’t have to buy/lapis any weapons from level 25-50ish.

EP4 thoughts will be in this color. 2h swords get a big lift in ep4 with new AoE’s and the ability to change the element of the level 45 epic making it possible to have multiple elemental swords make for some epic AoE. Spears get an upgrade in masteries. And 1h and heavy weapons get powerups and masteries and new skills which make them more viable in 20-30 pvp.

The list is organized by skill category in red, skill in blue, and description/comments in black.

Passive Skills(graphics in next version)

Muscle Training
Increases your attack power by a decent amount for the skill point cost. I max this, since a fighters job is to kill.

Weapon Power Ups
Choose your two and max them. They add good attack bonuses for the skill point cost and you should have enough skill points to max 2.
With the addition of 1h and Blunt Weapon Power Ups and Masteries we have more choices than ever. If you decide to use 1h go with 1h heavy since they have higher attack base and same attack speed. 1h Heavy and Shield can be an especially useful combo for 1-15 and 20-30 pvp and GRB since you’ll be able to use all the same skills as the other weapons to that point. (Well in theory, skills and being able to equip 1h heavy are bugged atm)

Relax Body
The skill point cost on this is so low that maxing it is easy to do, but if you find you’re short a point or two you can sacrifice a level. You need at least level one or else you will have to pot when there is no bless.

Backpack Upgrade
There was some weird error in the skill planner when I first wrote this. Get as many levels as you think you need. I personally always need more space and if you are AoEing a lot you will too.

Interpretation
Waste of skill points. I actually did level 1 and you get jibberish. Only useful when maxed which only happens at lvl 51.

Weapon Mastery’s
Increases attack speed by 1 with each level of the skill. You should have enough skill points to max for both weapons which increase your damage per second(dps).
See Power Ups for EP4 notes. Also note that spears now get masteries that make them as fast as 2h swords. With the level 52 epic being a spear a 2h spear combo looks a lot more appealing.

Basic Skills

Stinger
A fun skill, but unless you are into PvP you only really need lvl1. I tried using this in PvE on my nm and found it to be useful for getting first hits in a crowded area, but other than that it just didn’t seem worth it because of the long recharge time.

In PvP this is a staple attack to catch enemies running away or flying past the front lines to get at the squishies.

Kikix makes some good comments regarding this skill, be sure to read them and decide for yourself.

Concentration
The first of three constantly used buffs. Increases attack success rate, helps you kill faster, I suggest you max it. All types of fighters need this.

Bash
The second buff. Increases crit rate, helps you kill faster, I suggest you max it. All types of fighters need this. Sound familiar? You’ll hear it one more time.

Double Damage
A very useful skill that adds a bonus to your attack at low sp cost. This skill is very useful in NM since AoE is much more difficult than HM/UM, but you can skip this for HM/UM if you choose to and save your skill points for Demon Hushing.

Heavy Swat
If you have a moderate to high str stat build than this skill is useless, you will be killing faster than the swat can do any significant damage. If you decide to do a rec build, which I’ve never done, than you may want to consider this skill, but I still wouldn’t recommend it. If you plan to do any PvP early on to get extra stat points, then I suggest getting level 1 since it’s useful in keeping sins from disappearing just before you killl them.

Speedy Attack(HM skill)
Increases your attack speed by two levels, but it has a 10 min recharge time making it only useful for bosses and limited PvP use. It’s up to you.

Combat

Rising Crash
Lowers mob’s defense, this should be your first attack on solo mobs every time. You will use it all day long when fighting mobs one at a time, I suggest you max this. In PvP this is useful when fighting warriors or other furies with decent defense.

Ground Shock
Deals damage and decreases mobs attacking speed. If you are attacking multiple mobs at once this is a good first attack. This is the first AoE, Area of Effect, attack in this guide. If you are HM, at higher levels you will have multiple AoE attacks making it possible to round up a large number of mobs and kill them all at the same time. If you are NM you don’t get enough AoE attacks to do this effectively so wait for HM and focus on killing one at a time as much as possible. That said, this skill is useful in the event you aggro more than 1 mob, but it only works with 1h, 2h sword or spear. Pay attention to what skills need what weapons as this may affect your weapon chioce.

Wind Spin
AoE attack that damages for 2x regular damage. Great for AoE and PvP. Is supposed to work with all weapon types but is currently bugged. Any style fighter will use this a lot. Kikix makes a good point that the difference between level 2 and 3 is an increase in range at a significant sp cost. I suggest you get level 2, see if you are able to keep all your mobs bunched up, and if so then skip level 3. If you are having trouble keeping your mobs bunched and you have the points to spare, the get level 3.

Enhance Wind Spin(HM skill)
Same as Wind Spin but with additional damage bonus at lvl2 and 3, but with a much steeper SP cost. The old description of this skill was wrong. Since level 3 gives 3x damage plus a bonus I would recommend maxing this skill.

Deadly Strike
I love this skill. It is probably the best skill we have. It is a great one hit damage dealer especially useful in grinding solo mobs and also in PvP. Get at least level 2 and then decide if the skill points are worth an extra 80 damage per hit(240 total) compared to the damge you’re dealing when you would get level 3. I have level 3.
2h swords can now use this skill!

Dual Weapon Storm and Wild Dance and Wild Rage(HM Skill)
Very similar skills for dual or 2h weapons or 1h/spears that deals damage plus bonus with high sp cost vs the damage. This is more of a finishing skill if your other attacks haven’t recharged yet or, as Kikix noted, to increase your dps while killing bosses for drops. I think Double Damage is a much more efficient use of skillpoints and sp, but Demon Hushing seems to be the preferred single target attack after deadly stike since it has no cool down and added range.

Note for nm fighters: This skill has a short recharge of 5s making it very useful when killing mobs one at a time.

Pollution Zone(HM Skill)
An AoE attack that deals damage over time. Needs 1h or spears. Use early if you are an AoE fighter with spears to get the full DoT. Personally I am not a big fan of DoT with respect to fighters, but this is the only AoE specific to spears so it is easy to decide your 2nd weapon based on whether you like this AoE or Wild Wild Dance…

Wild Shock(formerly know as Wild Wild Dance)(HM Skill)
AoE that deals damage and lowers defense. Needs 2h sword. Get at least level 1. If you find 4m to be too small a range then go for level2. I’d much rather max ****** swing for an extra 400 damage than max this skill for an extra 60 damage per hit(by lowering defense), so you need 7 additional hits to be even.

B*astard Swing
Deals basic attack power plus a fixed amount that increases significantly with each level. I am surprised how effective level 1 is at hitting mobs given it’s 2m range, and given the increase in damage and range with each level I plan on maxing this skill.

With the addtion of B*astard Swing you now have 5 AoEs that can be used with 2h sword. I’ve played around a little with the order of usage and here are my thoughts.
1. Ground Shock: With the largest range and ability to slow enemies it’s the best leadoff to minimize damage taken. It also only has a 10 sec recharge.

2. Wind Spin: I use it next because it also only has a 10 sec recharge. If you get through all 5 AoE’s and they aren’t dead yet it’s nice to have 2 more attacks(for 3 hits) just a second or two away from being able to use again.

3. Wild Shock: Lowers defense a little to make remaining AoE’s do most damage.

4. Enhanced Wind Spin and B*astard Swing: These can go in any order, there’s no advantage other than the graphic from B*astard Swing looks really cool when it kills all the mobs at once. If you only took level 1 of Wild Shock you can also put Enhanced WindSpin in the 3 slot to have that extra damage almost ready to go should for some reason you need an 8th AoE. (Wild Shock, EWS, and BS all have 15 sec recharge times).

5. Repeat if necessary, this is why we did GS and WS first giving in effect 7, not 5, consecutive AoE’s.

Special

Leadership
The third buff, which is a party buff that increases attack, helps you kill faster, I suggest you max it. All types of fighters need this.

Eagle Eye
Avoids shooting attacks for a short time period. Mainly a PvP skill so you can skip this if you aren’t into PvP, but remember that if you want to farm at higher levels, lapis drop in borderlands and this can come in handy if you run into a high level luck hunter.

Potential Power
Raises attack when your HP gets low. If you are like me and you live dangerously and love to get in that last kill without potting then this skill a must. This will help you survive close calls.

Beserk Fighter
I never tried this skill, but with a 5 minute recharge I don’t think it’s worth the skill points. I think it would only be useful as a last resort for PvP and on bosses. I would love to hear from those who have used this skill.

Dragon Slayer
Really only useful at lvl3 as for lower lvl bosses you can deadly strike for more than damage than this skill. So if you plan on killing the lvl50+ bosses than get this or use a skill reset stone to get it later.

Demon Hushing
Deals attack plus bonus from 5m. I haven’t used this a lot because I mostly AoE, but I can see how this would be very useful in PvP situations.

Eraser(HM Skill)
20 minute recharge time and you die. Not sure where this would be useful in PvE. Thoughts? In PvP this skill has interesting possibilities at higher levels. Depending on how high your hp is you coud possibly take out portal campers with this skill alone.

H*ell Feudal Lord Buster(HM Skill)
Like Deadly Strike, but AoE. A high level skill with 10 minute recharge. Seems to be more useful in PvP, but I don’t have a lot of experience with it in that regard. One suggestion from Where’sLupers’ guide is to use it in the case where you pull too many mobs and need to quickly deal a lot of damage.

Regina Power(HM skill)
[color=purple]New skill for ep4. 70% chance of dealing 3500 damage in AoE of 6m! Combine this with Speedy Attack, H*ell Feudal Lord Buster, and Eraser and you can turn yourself into an atom bomb. Gotta be level 60 though.

I made a table showing which skills can be used with what weapons. I don’t list all of them but the ones which can’t be done with all weapons or for which there was a change for ep4. I based these on skill descriptions and what I’ve heard in game and read in the forums. Please note, heavy weapons are bugged at the moment and the table reflects which skills should work with them. I will update this as the bugs are fixed. Let me know if there are any errors as I haven’t had the chance to test everything.

Two other skills which don’t cost any points are "attack" and "get item". You can find these in the subskill menu. I like to have them in my skill bar because they help to use the mouse a lot less. I kill a mob, use get item, press attack to move on to next mob. Just be careful not to ks, easy to do accidentally this way.

So that’s my guide let me know what you think. I will be updating with graphics and links to the threads that I mentioned.

Credits go to Halide.