Everything you need to know about the upcoming Arcanist advanced class
The Arcanist has finally hit the North American version of Lost Ark and players eager to get their hand on it. A new class is always going to bring in an influx of players. A class that uses magical cards to decimate her foes is sure to get many people raving about the class. The Arcanist is a highly mobile and high damaging mage class. This class shares a lot of similarities to assassin-type classes as well.
This guide will cover all the essential things you need to know about the Arcanist. However, this guide will not cover the different builds. That part is tailored to your play style. Feel free to play around with the specialization and engravings to see what works for you. I will leave you with this, most players prefer to go as much critical hit damage and chance as possible.
With that out of the way, let’s jump right into it.
Arcanist Quick Rundown
The Arcanist is a Mage Advanced Class that employs her Magick to perform a variety of tasks with unique cards. From cutting up opponents with a flood of hurled cards to creating powerful Magick assaults from the cards themselves, the Arcanist has a lot of flexibility. The Arcanist also has great mobility thanks to many skills having her move to a different location. She is great for questing and PVP, making her great for earning Lost Ark gold and other Lost Ark currency.
Card Deck
The Arcanist’s special skill is called “Card Deck”. When the player lands an attack or skill, the Card Meter charges. A random card with various stats appears on the Card Deck after the meter is completely charged, allowing it to be pulled out and utilized for powerful damage, buffs, and debuffs. There are a total of 12 possible cards that can be pulled when this meter is charged.
Here are the 12 cards that can be pulled from the deck, 13 if you have the Emperor’s Edict Engraving:
- Three-Headed Snake – Basic Attack changes into 3 directions for 16s. On a hit, earn 1 stack. Damage to foes +100%. Damage to Challenge or lower monsters +400%.
- Mayhem – For 30 seconds, increase attack speed by +3% with each attack, up to a total of 15%.
- Twisted Fate – For 4 seconds, increase your damage by 40% or not at all.
- Corrosion – Gain a 30% chance to apply a debuff to an enemy that increases the damage they take by 10% for 5 seconds.
- Ghost – Can move through enemies. Move Speed increased by 20% and reduced damage from the next three attacks against you by 50%.
- Cull -Increase Crit Rate +100% and Crit Damage +50%
- Balance – For 30 seconds, apply an extra doom card for every skill hit.
- Judgment – For the next 4 seconds, all Ruin Skills always hit as if the enemies had 4 doom card stacks.
- Moon – Cooldown -10% and MP Recovery Speed increase +20% for 30 seconds.
- Star – Restore 100% of the user’s MP and reduces skill cooldowns by 15%. This does not affect Awakening and Movement skills.
- Royal – Draw 2 cards.
- Wheel of Fortune – The cooldown of the next skill used is decreased by 100%.
- Emperor (From Class Engraving Only) – Inflict damage to foes within a 14-meter radius around the user.
Pros and Cons of the Arcanist
The Arcanist was considered one of the best classes in the Korean version. It is great for PvE and PvP, making it useful in all situations. It has very high burst damage and fast mobility, making it useful for quickly engaging and disengaging from combat situations. However, the class does have a learning curve. Players will need to know how to position themselves along with getting the hang of the card deck system. There are a lot of mechanics to be aware of if you want to have the highest damage possible and new players might find the class a bit too complicated.
Pros
- High Burst Damage
- Mobility
- Flexible Builds
Cons
- Randomness with Card Deck
- Squishy
- Learning Curve
Normal Skills
You may determine what skills are which color based on their background. Yellow skills or Normal skills are basic damage dealer cards. They’re speedy and help you build your “Card Deck” meter faster. Use these when your other abilities are on cooldown to maintain your damage output. There is a total of 6 yellow abilities, you want to have at least 1 in your skill rotation at all times. Having 2 of them is preferable.
- Call of Fate
- Unlimited Shuffle
- Return
- Mysterious Surge
- Dark Resurrection
- Evoke
Stacking Skills
The most essential skills are the blue abilities or Stacking skills. When the enemy is struck by a stack of “cards,” they take damage. Applying stacks of “cards” is critical for doing the most harm. A maximum of four stacks can be placed on an opponent. The stacks will appear on top of the target. You should utilize red skill abilities to capitalize on the stack when it reaches its maximum amount.
- Quadra Accelerate
- Scratch Dealer
- Spiral Edge
- Dance of the Spine Flower
- Checkmate
- Stream of Edge
- Infinity Shower
Ruin Skills
Ruin skills can be identified by their red backgrounds. These abilities aren’t particularly powerful on their own. These skills use up the “cards” stack you applied to the enemy to do more damage. The number of stacks you applied to the opponent before using a red skill will determine how much damage these red abilities inflict. Before using these abilities, four stacks should be added to achieve the greatest effect.
- Celestial Rain
- Four Cards
- Serendipity
- Secret Garden
Advanced Class Engravings
The Arcanist has two distinct class engravings. Each one performs a different role and allows you to fully customize your build to fit your gameplay style. One is best suitable for sustainability and damage and the other is great for drawing more cards.
Here are the two class engravings:
Emperor’s Edict – Skills fill the Identity Gauge 50% faster and increase their damage by 10/20/30%. Allow you to use the Emperor Tarot Card.
Empress Grace – Ruin (Red) Skills deals 20/25/30% more damage on enemies with 4 Doom Cards and restores 30% of spent mana.
The Emperor’s Edict increases the number of times you may use the “Card Deck” and each one deals more damage. It also adds another card to your “Card Deck.” This engraving is ideal for individuals who wish to utilize these cards in greater quantities since they are quite potent but might be unreliable.
An excellent engraving for dungeons and taking down bosses is Empress Grace, which increases damage based on how many stacks an enemy has. This ability is quite useful, as it adds to its overall effectiveness. This also applies to the boost that it already provides. Red abilities will now hit extremely hard thanks to this inscription, and they will also restore mana to assist with sustainability. This inscription is ideal if you wish to earn Lost Ark currency by completing raids or similar activities.
Conclusion
The Arcanist is looking to be a well-rounded class, although they might be a bit squishy for some. While this class may have a steeper learning curve than typical classes due to the many mechanics it entails, it might be worthwhile in the end. Due to the class’ high damage and mobility, players will be able to earn more Lost Ark currency faster by performing well in PvP and PvE.
What are your thoughts on the newest class? Tell us what you think in the comment section.