No buff balder side sword build SL120

I'm trying to see how much I can get out of the balder side sword at SL120, without buffing it.

With 45 dex and 10 str it has 377 AR, but what does that translate to in actual damage?

Any advice for such a build?

Why are you using 45 dex? Are you going to use Pyros? If you aren't using magic/miracles/pyros, then keep don't go above 40 Dex. Your AR won't uncrease more than a point or two. The only reason to go to 45 is to increase your spell casting speed (which caps at 45).

I probably will use pyros, to help to increase damage output.

Ok then. Sounds good. AR can be misleading. It gets reduced by the armor defense, so you need to try it out on varying armor types to see how strong it is.

Does anyone have any experience with an unbuffed BSS in SL120 duels?

i used a bss with no buffs and 40 dex its decent but not the best. well its probably the best straight sword unbuffed dmg wise besides sunlight ss,but you need 40str&40dex so balder ss is better imo. black knights are a good enemy to test weapons on to see how much dmg you will get in pvp. you have to remember that you could get better or worse dmg depending on their armor. you should really have some resins or a buff for when you run into really heavily armored players.

i used to use pretty much only the balder ss

Thanks for the advice.

The reason I'm wary of buffs is because I like to switch between pyro flame and a shield in my left hand. Although CMW might double my damage output...

Random questions. With the thorns set, do they take damage if you're only wearing the gloves?

They take damage if you're wearing any part of the set, even if it's just one piece.

it depends sometimes if your only wearing the gauntlets or only wearing the leggings the dmg does not register. its best to have at least 2 pieces of the armor on.