Best Chinese Builds in Silkroad: Bow, Glaive, Blade

In Silkroad you don't pick a class from a list. You build one out of a weapon and the Chi forces, and you can change direction for a long time before the build is set. That freedom is also why new players ask the same question in every chat: what should I actually take?

This guide explains how the Chinese build system works on SroAsia, what each weapon and each Chi force brings, and a few proven combinations to start from. China is the race that is live on the server right now; the European classes are being prepared.

Your class is a weapon plus Chi

A Chinese hero has seven masteries to choose from:

• Three weapon schools: Bicheon (sword and blade), Heuksal (spear and glaive) and Pacheon (bow).
• Four Chi forces: Cold, Lightning, Fire and Force.

You raise masteries with skill points, which you earn in fights, and then learn skills inside each mastery. Every skill line opens at a fixed mastery level: the first Bicheon attack needs Bicheon 5, the first resurrection needs Force 17, and so on.

Two limits shape every build:

1. No mastery can be higher than your character level. At level 40, each mastery stops at 40.
2. All your masteries together can't exceed 330. At level 100 that means three masteries at 100 with 30 points to spare, or some other split that adds up to 330.

So the real question is which three masteries you max and where the spare 30 go. We'll come back to that.

Open the skill window (K on a desktop, “Skills” in the touch menu) to learn masteries and skills.

Bicheon: sword or blade with a shield

Bicheon covers the sword and the blade, both one-handed, both used with a shield. This is the party's tank: the hero who holds a unique while everyone else hits it.

What the school gives you early:

• Strike Smash (Bicheon 5): a heavy single swing.
• Illusion Chain (7): a three-hit combo.
• Castle Shield (10): raises physical defence through the shield.
• Shield Protection (10): a passive that permanently raises your block rate.
• Soul Cut Blade (14): throws blade force at a distant enemy, so you can pull monsters to you.
• Blood Blade Force and Flower Bloom Blade (19): one knocks the enemy down, the other runs in and strikes a fallen enemy again.
• Glacial Flame Bicheon Force (20): trades shield defence for physical attack for a while, for when you need damage instead of armour.
• Snake Sword Dance (31): pierces several enemies at range.

The lines keep growing all the way up: Thousand Army Chain and Celestial Ground Bicheon Force sit at Bicheon 100.

Pick Bicheon if you want to survive mistakes. A shield and block rate forgive late reactions, which is also why it is a comfortable choice on a phone.

Heuksal: spear and glaive

Heuksal is the two-handed school: spear and glaive, no shield. Its strength is wide swings that hit several targets at once, which makes it the fastest way to clear a pack of monsters.

• Wolf Bite Spear (Heuksal 5): a two-handed piercing thrust.
• Bloody Fan Storm (7): spins wind energy that raises your magical defence.
• Dancing Demon Spear (10): a big sweep that hits many enemies in front of you.
• Cheolsam Force (10): a passive that permanently raises maximum HP.
• Soul Spear – Move (14): a heavy hit that stuns.
• Ghost Spear – Petal (19): a wide swing around you.
• Chain Spear – Tiger (24): a three-hit combo.
• Flying Dragon – Flow (31): hurls the spear through the enemies in front.

Without a shield you take more hits, so Heuksal builds lean on Chi forces for defence and on the passive HP from Cheolsam Force. In return, area attacks at 10 and 19 make levelling noticeably quicker than with single-target skills.

Pacheon: bow

Pacheon is ranged combat and first blood. You hit from a distance, so most monsters never reach you if you play it right.

• Anti Devil Bow – Missile (Pacheon 5): an accurate, powerful shot.
• 2 Arrow Combo (7): two arrows in a row. The line grows to 3, 4, 5 and finally 6 Arrow Combo at Pacheon 94.
• White Hawk Summon (10): calls a hawk that raises your hit rate.
• Mind Concentration (10): a passive that permanently raises hit rate.
• Autumn Wind – Flame (14): an arrow that pierces several enemies in a line.
• Demon Soul Arrow (19): a long-range shot.
• Strong Bow – Spirit (31): an arrow with high attack power.

Bows use arrows. The starter kit includes 500, and every level reward from 10 to 100 adds more, but keep a stack in the inventory before a long hunt.

Cold, Lightning, Fire and Force

The Chi forces are where builds really diverge. Each one has attacks, buffs and a passive. Here is what they bring in the first 30 levels of mastery.

Cold: defence and control

• Ice River Force (5): infuses the weapon with ice, which can freeze or frostbite the target.
• Weak Guard of Ice (8) and the passive Cold Armor (10): physical resistance.
• Cold wave – Arrest (12): frostbites an enemy at range.
• Crystal Wall (17): a wall of ice that absorbs physical attacks.
• Snow Shield – Novice (20): part of the damage you take comes out of your MP instead of your HP.
• Frost Nova – Wind (23): freezes the ground in front of you.

Cold is the defensive force. It pairs naturally with a shield.

Lightning: speed and precision

• Thunder Tiger Force (5): electric damage through your weapon.
• Must – Piercing Force (8): raises force damage.
• Heaven's Force (10): a passive that permanently raises your dodge rate.
• Grass Walk – Flow (12): a short agility buff.
• Concentration – 1st (23): temporarily raises parry rate.
• Wolf's Thunderbolt (30): a thunderbolt that hits enemies around the target.

Fire: raw damage and detection

• River Fire Force (5): adds fire to your weapon's force attack.
• Fire Shield – Phoenix (8): weakens the abnormal states that hit you.
• Flame Devil Force (10): a passive that permanently raises physical damage.
• Flame Body – Wisdom (12): raises physical damage for a while.
• Basic Fire Protection (17) and Fire Wall – Tower (23): magic resistance and a wall that absorbs magical attacks.
• At Fire 30: Flame Wave – Arrow for range, plus Fire Combustion – Firefly and Vision Fire Combustion, which reveal enemies in stealth and invisible ones. Thieves on the trade routes will not enjoy meeting you.

Force: healing and support

• Self Breathe Heal (5): heals yourself.
• Force Cure – Poison (8): removes two bad statuses at random.
• Force Increasing (10): a passive that permanently raises maximum MP.
• Heal – Medical Hand (12): heals a target.
• Soul Rebirth Art (17): resurrects a fallen character.
• Harmony Therapy (23): faster recovery and protection from monsters' first strike.
• At Force 30: Cure Therapy – Pure clears statuses for the whole party nearby, and Vital Spot – Muscle lowers an enemy's dodge.

Notice something? Force 30 already gives you self-heal, a target heal, a cure, a party cure and a resurrection. That is exactly the 30 spare points a level-100 build has left after maxing three masteries. Many builds put them here.

STR, INT or hybrid

Every level gives you 1 STR and 1 INT automatically, plus 3 free points to spend. What they do:

• STR raises your maximum HP and your physical attack power.
• INT raises your maximum MP and your magical attack power.

There is one more number worth knowing. The character window (C) shows your physical and magical balance in percent. It compares your STR or INT with your level, and every hit you land is multiplied by it. At level 100, physical balance reaches 100% at 428 STR and magical balance at 428 INT; above that it keeps rising to a hard cap of 120% and then stops.

What this means in practice:

• Pure STR suits all three weapon schools when your damage comes from weapon skills. You also get the most HP.
• Pure INT suits a build that fights mostly with the Chi forces' own attacks (Cold wave, Snow Storm, Wolf's Thunderbolt, Flame Wave), which are force attacks. You trade HP for MP and magical power.
• A hybrid splits the free points. It is flexible, but both balances stay lower, and that multiplier hits every attack you make. Go hybrid on purpose, not by accident.

Decide early and keep spending in one direction. Free points are the part of a build that is hardest to change later.

Five starting points

These are not the only builds that work; they are combinations that follow from the skills above and give a new player a clear plan.

While levelling, raise your weapon mastery and one Chi force first. Add the second force once your attacks feel solid, and drop the spare points into Force when the first heals open at 5 and 12.

One practical tip: hold the weapon you actually use when you reach levels 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 70, 80 and 90. The level reward at those levels includes a weapon, and it matches the type of weapon in your hand at that moment. Ding level 30 with a borrowed bow while you are a glaive player, and you will get a bow.

Solo or party

Solo. Glaive builds clear packs fastest thanks to area attacks at Heuksal 10 and 19. Archers stay safe at range. Shield builds are slower but almost never die. Whichever you choose, set up auto potions and keep return scrolls handy: your starter kit has 20.

Party. A good party for uniques has someone with a shield in front, someone with Force behind, and damage in between. If your build has the spare 30 points in Force, you can resurrect a party member, which turns a wipe into a short delay. The unique monster guide explains where each boss lives and how to prepare.

Try it in the game

Two hero slots per account means you can test two weapons before committing. Create a hero with the button below or through @SilkRoadOnlineGame, read the beginner's guide for the character creation screen, and once you are past the first levels, see how enhancement works in our alchemy guide. The rankings show which heroes are already at the top.

Tags: Classes and builds Getting started Guides