In Empyreal, your playstyle is determined by the weapon you equip. The game offers three distinct weapon archetypes for you to try; the Mace & Shield, Glaive, and Cannon. Simply equip a specific weapon to open up the abilities of the archetype associated with that weapon.
Throughout your time with Empyreal, you’re given the freedom to experiment with each playstyle to find the one that’s right for you. You can change your weapon archetype and loadout whenever you visit the hub by opening an armoury crate. Test out new builds in the Monolith or head to the hub’s training area for a more controlled environment.
Specific weapon archetypes will also unlock exclusive playstyle abilities that will complement your growing and customisable arsenal.
So, how do each of these playstyles differ from one another and what are some of the playstyle-specific abilities you’ll get to try in the recently released Empyreal demo?
Mace & Shield
Become a walking fortress. Stand your ground and trade blows with the enemy. The most defensively secure weapon playstyle, reliant on parrying. It rewards well-timed blocks with retaliatory damage and a temporary protective barrier. Perfect for those looking for a balanced playstyle who don’t mind trading mobility for resilience.
- Hammer & Anvil allows you to leap through the air and plant the shield in the ground, striking it with your mace for a shockwave area of effect blast. This is a chargeable attack where the damage scales with perfect timing.
- Charge at enemies with your shield, using it as a battering ram. This is a chargeable attack where damage multiplies with timing.
- To War (Ultimate Ability) summons an elementally imbued sphere that automatically fires energy blasts at all nearby enemies.
Glaive
Become a damage-dealing nightmare. Land a flurry of blows before handspringing away from retaliation with a high level of mobility. The Glaive is a more acrobatic melee style. It allows for high damage-per-second with the manoeuvrability to avoid and counter incoming attacks. Perfect for those who feel attack is the best form of defence.
- Riposte allows you to deflect incoming attacks for a small window by spinning your Glaive. If an incoming attack is successfully blocked, you’ll gain the ability to do a powerful follow-up attack.
- Energy Wave fires a blast of energy forward, striking all enemies on its path and detonating status effects on those hit. It can also be used to evade attacks, weakening enemy resistance in the process.
- Elemental Devastation (Ultimate Ability) thrusts the Glaive into the ground, creating a colossal area of effect blast radius that emanates out from the player. The detonation type will depend on your weapon imbuement. If none exists, the attack will stun enemies in range.
Cannon
This playstyle is for those who prefer tactical, ranged-based combat. Capable of switching between machine gun, shotgun, and railgun firing modes, it offers diverse attack options. It can be a formidable archetype that can build up status effects for devastating damage output. Perfect for those who enjoy keeping a comfortable distance between themselves and their opponents.
- Protective Screen creates a large barrier that blocks enemy projectile-based attacks. At the end of its active duration, it will grant you a barrier shield based on how much damage it has absorbed. Passing through the screen yourself while active will grant a damage buff at the cost of damage absorption.
- Orbital Laser fires down a stream of sustained laser fire on a specific location. Holding down the ability and releasing it at the correct time will greatly improve the potency of the attack.
- Elemental Shot fires a single, high-powered shot that will detonate and apply a status effect, based on the imbuement of your weapon (or an existing status effect if no imbuement exists).
- Supernova (Ultimate Ability) pulls enemies towards the epicentre of your charged attack before exploding outward with enormous damage potential.
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Empyreal is out now!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1377700/Empyreal/