Hey all! This week, I have a very early look at the Stormcaller class! While many assets are still in development, I wanted to give you all a preview of the class, since it will be one of the eight classes playable in the closed beta!
Stormcaller is a ranged damage dealer similar to Pyromancer, but features a very different playstyle. With access to the Staff and Bow weapons, this class can choose either to augment their spells with staff weaponskills or pick up a bow to deal consistent ranged damage while generating FP. Uniquely, their unique passive skill Conduit Arms allows them to calculate physical damage using their Magic stat, so despite being a caster they are still able to output considerable damage with bows and bow weaponskills.
Stormcaller can cast spells from the Aeromancy and Electromancy categories. Aeromancy features wind spells that deal less damage than lightning spells, but are able to affect the battlefield with the powerful Swirl elemental reaction, allowing other Tile Elements to be rapidly spread over a large area. Dealing wind damage with these spells also inflicts enemies with the Feathered debuff, increasing their susceptibility to lightning damage.
Electromancy spells are the class' primary source of damage. While they have higher potencies than wind spells, they also suffer from a much lower accuracy, making them more likely to miss. This brings us into the core gameplay loop for the class; Stormcaller's Electromancy spells are unable to miss on targets with the Feathered status. Certain spells are also augmented when attacking Feathered enemies: Chain Lightning, for example, can chain to enemies at a greater distance if they have Feathered.
In terms of other class mechanics, Stormcaller also features the Static Discharge and Shocking Momentum passive skills. For every tile the unit moves before attacking, they gain one stack of Static, increasing the damage of their next action this turn. When Shocking Momentum is obtained, consuming Static to deal damage converts it into Energised stacks, which provide a powerful ramping action speed boost. Through this, the class is encouraged to move around the map while engaging with the Elemental Reaction system, and maintaining Feathered on enemies in order to further increase their damage.
I'll have more details on Stormcaller's skills in coming updates; we're still working on a number of assets for the class, including portrait, class icon, status icons and visual effects. I hope you enjoyed this brief peek into a new class, and I look forward to showing you all more as we continue development on it! Thanks for tuning in, see you next week!