Arcane Knights are a miss

Owns

Loreseeker
Joined
24/05/2018
Messages
173
I like the idea of the new Arcane Knight quest and skills. Who doesn't love battle mage builds wielding magic with melee application but I can't help but feel like this was, disappointingly, a missed opportunity.

From a role playing perspective, every Arcane Knight you meet in the game looks more like a warrior than a mage. Renda Windstrike near the Trollfens wields a sword and shield, leather/hard leather armor and her skills are Resilience, Heavyhand, and Duel, all non-mage skills, and she's an Arcane Knight. Then of course all the Arcane Knights guarding Icemist are dressed in what looks like chainmail armor and also wielding sword/shields (shields that mage class can't use). Yet, all Arcane Knight abilities can only be learned by the mage class. How does that make any sense? Sir Irolio is obviously not himself a mage, unless he breaks the gameplay rules of the Mage class. Really breaks the game's role playing aspect and the game is contradicting itself here.

Next, from a game mechanics and builds perspective. By making all the new skills (four, no less) available to mage alone, the game has added way more options for mage builds and nothing for the other classes. Only players interested in the mage class get new toys to play with, leaving everyone else out. That's no fun and I think this was a real missed opportunity when the passive abilities like Arcane Blade and Vampiric Blade could've been made available to all classes, maybe with a bit of re-balancing. While Death Cloud and Combustion might be considered for Cleric as well. That way you add new build options for all classes/players in a way that makes more sense with the game's lore itself (Arcane Knights being warriors themselves for example).

Finally, I'd like to have a look at the skills and their balancing but I haven't really tried them yet. On face value, Combustion and Death Cloud seem very useful even with the high mana cost, while Arcane/Vampiric blade seem to require a very specific type of build to make use of. (Could be more variety if other classes could learn them). Vampiric blade only providing its effect on kills rather than hits seems a bit weak since mages die pretty quickly to begin with, but I can't really say without trying it first. Maybe others who have already tried these abilities can share their thoughts.
 
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SlothPrince

Member
Joined
20/05/2021
Messages
80
I would love it but they chose to enhance their sorcery with combat skills. They don't specialize in just combat like the warriors guild.
 

Trace Da Cruz

Active Member
Joined
30/07/2021
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309
Location
Chihuahua, Mexico.
I always thought there are different ranges of Arcane Knights: There's the warriors with magical training and studies, like Renda Windstrike, and Breno, remember they are warriors? And then there are mages with training in combat, obviously like Sir Irolio and Lady Marisha, who decided steel is useful as well and not only spells can solve situations.

In other words, they are Elite classes with their own intensive training and studies, and own skills, and that is possible for us to get.
Duel is a warrior/cleric skill, so mages can't learn it, just like clerics can't learn disintegrate, or combustion.
 

p4ran0id

Staff member
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27/01/2017
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2,063
who cares about duel, I want flurry and rapid fire for mages, but it would be way to op I think...
 

Apocalypse

Loreseeker
Joined
05/05/2021
Messages
835
There's Thuramium plate set for mages.

I have been playing an ironman "Arcane Knight" and have thoroughly enjoyed it. I have done all the major quests so far but the sleepers and about to go hunt them down.

As for only being to get and use the arcane knight skills at a high level I was able to achieve arcane knighthood at level 10. Got my full set of Thuramium armor by level 15.

At level 10? Wow!
I got Arcane Knighted at level 13, and completed my Thuramian Armor much later. I need to try it again to beat you ;)
 

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