Stone Master

What it is

The Stone Master is the slowest and heaviest school. Its techniques land about 12% later than Ember’s, and its hits deal 10% more damage. It braces after every attack, so you must break or flank its guard to land clean hits. It has 33 named techniques.

At the start of the trial it tells you its lesson: hit its back or axe its guard while it braces, then dodge the reply and counter.

How to get it

Sneak and use a wandering duelist who breathes Stone, or type /master challenge stone. You need Aura Form or Heart Circle VIII. See Sword Masters for the full trial rules.

Stone Fracture

A brace followed by a narrow reply. The boss bar shows “Stone Fracture”, then “Fracture reply”.

Plant. The Master plants its feet for 0.4 seconds.
Brace. It braces toward you for 0.6 seconds. Blows from the front are halved.
Reply. It drops its guard and marks a narrow lane, 1.4 blocks wide and 6 blocks long. It strikes 0.6 seconds later for about 31 damage.

During the brace, you can stop the reply:

Hit it from behind for real damage.
Hit its guard with an axe to break it.
Break its stance, or interrupt it early with a spell.

Once the lane is marked, step out of it, take solid cover, dodge, or face the blade and parry. The reply never turns to follow you. Only the chosen player can be hit. Afterwards the Master is open for 1.5 seconds.

It uses Stone Fracture when you’re 1.5 to 5.5 blocks away, in place of a brace: after its first attack, then about once every four attacks, and never more than once every 6.5 seconds.

Stone Fault March

Three bands of ground in front of the Master crack one after another. The banner reads “Sidestep, jump the pulse, or step onto spent ground.”

The bands are 3.5 blocks wide and run in a straight line: 1.5 to 3.5 blocks out, 3.5 to 5.5, and 5.5 to 7.5.
One, two and three crossbars mark the order.
The near band pulses at 1.6 seconds, the middle at 2.0 seconds, and the far one at 2.4 seconds.
Each pulse deals about 26 damage to anyone standing in that band.
The march can hit each player only once.

Answer it in any of three ways:

Sidestep: walk out of the 3.5-block-wide strip.
Jump: be in the air as your band pulses.
Inward: once a band has pulsed, it turns cyan and is spent. Step onto spent ground, toward the Master.

Gaps, missing ground or solid cover cut the march short. Bands past an obstacle never pulse. After the last pulse the Master stays planted and exposed for about 2.4 seconds.

The Master uses it on flat ground when you’re 1.5 to 7.5 blocks in front of it, about once every four attacks, and never more than once every 8 seconds.

Other moves

Techniques: chains of two to four strikes. Read each strike’s shape. See Reading a Master.
Pursuit dash: holding a spell too long invites a dash of up to 3.6 blocks, at most once every 8 seconds. It’s the shortest dash, but it hits hardest. After its strike it stands open for 1.1 seconds.
Crescent volley: flying blades if you stay far away or high up.

Rewards for a clear

Your first Stone clear teaches the Sunder technique part.
A wandering Stone teacher can then teach you, in order, Stone Hinge (at Sovereign; still in testing and off unless your server switches it on), Stone Break (at Form) and Plunging Strike (at Sovereign). See Master Forms.

Tips and counterplay

Carry an axe. Stone guards after every attack, and an axe breaks the guard and opens it for 1.5 seconds.
During Stone Fracture’s brace, circle behind it. A real hit from behind cancels the reply.
The inward answer to the Fault March puts you on spent ground right next to an exposed Master.
Its slow tempo gives you time to read every strike shape. Don’t rush.