So, before we get started there are a few things I need to cover. First, I know the last article said Archer would be this week, but there is a reason for the switch. Played and got the recorded footage for both Mystic and Priest, and doing both of those felt like jamming pins under my fingernails would have been more rewarding and less painful than ever having to level the healing classes (specifically Priest) ever again. Knowing how I feel, and how I’d write about that since this is a first impressions piece, I decided to mess around with the order. Originlly, it was supposed to be done in the order classes are presented when creating a new character, but now I’m going shake it up a little. The second reason is that, somehow, I’ve managed to lose any recording of the Sorcerer boss fight, and it wouldn’t be right to end this series of posts on a class without a proper video. So with all that said, let’s (finally) dig into the sorcerer.
Sorcerer:
Role: Damage
Difficulty: [****]
The Sorcerer is a pretty standard incarnation of the mage archetype, whose sole existence is dedicated to making things explode in bigger, flashier ways as the levels roll by. Of course, this also means they carry the same downside as the every mage in the classic trope: cloth armor. Armor for a Sorcerer offers bare minimum protection, but that’s all right because short of a named quest mob, everything else in the world will probably be ash and cinders at your feet before it can attack much. Unlike all the other classes before now, Sorcerer’s don’t actually start the game with an evasion spell, instead opting to have both the default attack and a point-blank, area-of-effect skill. It’s damage isn’t great for single targets, but never forget to break it out when the multiple-mob packs start showing up.
Sorcerer’s are the only class that starts without a way to deal with damage at the start of the game, so pay attention to what each skill does and how much damage you can put out. Without a block, dodge, or heal, you’ll have to rely on raw damage to keep you safe until you acquire the dodge skill, and never fear: raw damage is what the Sorcerer has. As you go higher in level, more and more area-of-effect skills are unlocked, each giving a more satisfying feeling to properly use than the last. The first is basically a flaming cannon ball, arcing up and then into the heads of whatever poor fool you decided has to die now. There’s even a trap for setting on the ground, detonating on whatever waltz’s in to the area. And when I say ‘trap,’ I don’t mean something like a bear trap sitting on the ground. I mean a 10-meter wide bombshell with unstable, pulsing arcana stuck in the middle. If all this still can’t keep monsters from giving a vicious hug, well don’t worry because the next skill is a massive range single-target slow shot.
Combat for a Sorcerer is usually about finding the most creative way to blow things up as you go along. While your starting spell isn’t much damage on one target, it is a flashy way to burn anything to death with the poor judgement to get close to you, making it an exciting finisher of sorts. Your cannonball of flaming doom makes for a great initiation skill, though it’s range is somewhat lacking compared to the 18 meter range of your basic attack. The traps and ice-spears all make for fun and interesting combat choices, and it won’t be long in leveling before you finally get the dodge skill of the class. Overall, properly using each of the Sorcerer’s spells gives a very satisfying feeling, though it lacks the visceral feel of melee combat. As a light-armor class, you have to be absolutely careful when dealing with mobs; if something closes the distance, odds are you’re going to die very quickly without any armor to mitigate those hits. Using slow-shots and dodges is key to extending your life. That or just burning everything down.
Being a pure damage class, glyphs are an easy enough choice. If a skill does tons of damage, glyph it for more. Or reduced cooldown, or mana cost or whatever. Utility and alternate roles don’t really kick in very much for a Sorcerer, so just focus on what the class already does best. For crystals, bonus mana and mana regen run king. Health regeneration is always nice, but the limiting factor for this class is how far your mana bar can take you, as opposed to how many hits the health bar can take. Keeping it full means free time to unload everything while boosting it’s max size means it will take you that much longer to run out. If you do feel a little too squishy, grabbing some bonus health runes can give a little more of a window of survival when things go bad.
The Sorcerer is a glass cannon, through and through, and parties will adore you if you are a good one. Having no defenses doesn’t mean much when everything in the world is already trying to pummel someone else to death, so your free to reign feiry death safely and happily from miles meters away. Soloing might be a bit of a challenge, especially on fast moving mobs, or something that has a lot of hit-points and can just soak the hits as it walks to you. Good use of the dodge and slows of your class will keep you alive, and always remember you don’t have the hit point count to go face to face with something and win. Of slight annoyance, there are zero targeting reticules in the game, so you’ll have to memorize how far each skill goes if it has a ranged animation. If you can get around that, functionally the Sorcerer is the same as any other mage from other games: big numbers and lots of maniacal laughter. If that’s your thing in other games, try it out with TERA’s action-oriented combat and see what you think. As mentioned before, I’ve lost the end boss fight’s footage, so here’s a bit footage from a stream I did.
See you next week for the Mystic class!
Kana-chan
dddreamer
thirtythreeas
