Swordsman class series

The Swordsman (Mars) class series is a class series available to the Mars Adepts, and to a lesser extent, the Mercury Adepts. Both kinds of Adepts require Mercury and Mars Djinn in order to attain this class, though with an emphasis on Mercury for the Mars Adepts and Mars for the Mercury Adepts.

This class is very similar to the Crusader class series, with which it shares the names of two classes, Defender and Cavalier, as well as the statistical shifts. In addition, the names of each class's first stage (Swordsman) was shared prior to Dark Dawn. The two class series differ slightly in Psynergy.

The class series, when at its highest stage of Radiant and compared to the other series at their highest respective stages, has high HP, good Attack, and stronger Defense, but below average Agility and PP - the Protector of the Crusader class series is the same in all of these areas. Both series' luck ratings are high. Noteworthy Psynergy from an endgame perspective includes Plume Edge, Pure Wish, Guard/Protect (contrast this with the Venus series' Revive), Pure Ply, Cure Poison, Break, and Avoid, and the heaviest area-of-effect Psynergy it has is Fiery Blast (contrast with the Venus variation's Nettle). Average stats from an endgame perspective are 145% (150% if you don't factor in Luck).

As of the Game Boy Advance titles, an Adept in this class series is not all the more likely to be affected by any particular status condition or secondary effect.

Notes on Class Names

 * Hover your cursor over class names for alt-text of series' Japanese names.

Analysis
The Swordsman class series is basically a tougher, Mars-influenced version of the Water Seer class series, with an even more bare-bones offensive Psynergy lineup. The Cutting Edge duo and the Blast Psynergy series are the classes only offensive Psynergies. While strong early on, both Psynergies are fairly weak over the long run. Despite possessing both the Wish and Ply Psynergies, the class is lacking as a healing class due to the low PP pool, which would be drained quickly.

Despite its weaknesses, the Swordsman class does offer some benefits. The Cutting Edge Psynergy will make quick work of Saturos on the Mercury Lighthouse, and any other Mars-aligned monster. With the first Golden Sun featuring two separate deserts packed with Mars-aligned enemies, Cutting Edge is often a valuable offensive tool. When compared to the similar Crusader class, available to Venus Adepts, the Swordsman class falls slightly behind, due to the Swordsman's weaker offensive Psynergies, and the Crusader possessing Revive rather than the Guard Psynergy series.

In Golden Sun: The Lost Age, however, the Swordsman classes are generally much less useful due to far fewer enemies being vulnerable to Mercury damage. By the time they do roll around (Magma Rock and Mars Lighthouse), players that are diligent in collecting Djinn should have access to the Dragoon class series, which combines aspects of this and Crusader class series while also providing stronger stat boosts.