Classes

The class system in ArcheAge works very differently than in other mainstream MMOs. Unlike other traditional MMOs where the player chooses a class during character creation and earns preset skills as the character levels up, a character's "class" in ArcheAge is composed of three skill trees. During character creation a player will choose one of five basic skill trees, and will then choose another two skill trees at levels five and ten. The combination of these three skill trees defines a character's class. In addition, the player must choose which skills from each tree to use. Each tree contains 11 active and 5 passive abilities, for a total of 16 abilities in each skill tree. However, a player only gains 23 skill points by the max level of 50. This means that a player will not be able to select every skill from each tree. Thus, even two players with the same three skill trees can play very differently if they select different abilities. Selected skills within a given tree can be reset at any time for a small fee, and skill trees can be changed by talking to a "trainer" and paying a fee.

Archery

 * This Skillset focuses primarily on ranged damage dealing – as one might expect – with the tradeoff of ranged abilities having a damage penalty when too close to the target. Some active abilities help keep the target at a distance while applying damage-over-time and other effects, and its passive abilities boost mobility and ranged physical damage.

Auramancy

 * This support Skillset deals in buffs for the caster and their group, debuffs for your enemies, and a mix of light healing, defense, and crowd control. Its broad toolkit makes for good group support.

BattleRage

 * Charge in, fight up close, and keep your targets from getting away! This Skillset is primarily focused on offensive prowess with passive abilities that boost your attacks and provide some compensation for dual wielding weapons.

Defense

 * This is the primary Skillset for those who want to pick up a shield and take some damage, packing the high-protection skills, taunts, and damage mitigation of a “tank.” Its passives focus on blocking and reducing incoming damage.

Occultism

 * Focused on applying a variety of status effects and debuffs from a distance, this Skillset is great for bringing a few more tools to your damage or healing setup. Its passives boost your mana regeneration and chance for magic critical hits.

Shadowplay

 * Fast attacks and high mobility in and out of combat situations are the specialties of Shadowplay, especially stealth and surprise attacks. Its passives lower aggro generation, increase your evasion, and boost your chance to score high-damage critical hits.

Songcraft

 * As the Skillset for any aspiring bard, Songcraft comes with a variety of tricks. Its abilities include ranged damage and crowd control, buffs and small heals, debuffs, and more – all good tools to have access to whether solo or in a group! Its passives primarily boost Songcraft abilities.

Sorcery

 * Smite your enemies with ranged and area-of-effect damage in the form of fire, electricity, and ice! Sorcery passive abilities increase damage while its multiple status effect combos provide ample disruption among its targets.

Vitalism

 * Keep yourself and others alive with heals, heals over time, protection spells, and resurrection. Vitalism passives increase your mana pool and the potency of your healing effects.

Witchcraft

 * This Skillset is all about crowd control – both applying and removing it. Witchcraft spellcasters lock down fights and control battles while their passive abilities increase defense and crowd control intensity.

 Combos 

Synergies between the abilities in different Skillsets are called combos. Most combos are based on an ability applying a status to the target that causes another ability to do more damage or apply another increased effect. Some combos are specific synergies between abilities: After you jump away from a target with Shadowplay’s Drop Back, you can instant-cast Sorcery’s Flame Bolt.

Combo effects applied by an ability are shown as small icons at the bottom right of the ability mouseover’s stats section.

At the bottom of the mouseover text under “Combos,” you’ll find a description of abilities that can trigger a combo effect. Abilities that have special effects on other abilities will have these listed in the ability text by name.