Hi, I just reached the end of Val. pt 2 (in one day, rather short for an expansion) and am now considering what character to create next. My main is , and I love him to pieces. I love having those close-up scenes in battle with me using my gargantuan weapon and having loads of health. That being said, I also like dealing lots of damage like my buccaneer. Swashbucklers seem a little too squishy for me, I got one to 50 awhile ago.
I guess what I'm asking is, which is better for my preferences: Privateer (training in and using big weapons) or Swash (sacrificing my love for high health for good damage)?
or ?

Swashbuckler because they may be squishy but with the right gear, they can get insane amounts of dodge (mine has 184 dodge) and that makes up for their health loss. Plus, since you already have a lvl 50 swashbuckler, you're past all the boring parts like skull island, port regal and cool ranch. And swashbucklers have much more epics than privateers making them more effective hitters.

Also, if the amount of health that swashbuckler can get bothers you, I recommend going for a "grants tough 2" pet, if you have elusive 2 trained, you should have tough 2 and with "grants tough 2", you can get tough 3 which increases your health by 150

Lvl 70
Lvl 27