kamikazees
08-09-2011, 11:22 AM
For those of you who will be coming over from Pocket Legends and wondering, "What does this class/skill do?" I thought I'd post this thread. The current skill descriptions are a little vague, but there are already class-specific guides discussing the nuts, bolts and details of many of the skills. I will try to instead focus on the practical use of those classes skills, and how they compare to PL classes and skills.
At their core, the classes are similar to their PL counterparts in that Commandos are tanks that stop damage, Engineers are support that heal damage and Operatives are DPS that deal damage. That said, and having played them all, none of them work the same way. Each accomplishes its goals in a unique way that makes playing that class an individual and highly enjoyable experience.
Commandos
Commandos wear heavy armor and can use large Cannons that deal AOE splash damage, like Apep or Gem Blast staves in PL. They have some damage skills, but most of their skills are focused on controlling enemies: pushing them away, drawing them closer or knocking them down (a lot). Well-timed skills can keep enemies out of the fight a significant period of time. They also have a huge self-armor buff that can be maintained 50% of the time, making them very hard to kill.
Force Hammer (2) (Good):
Basic damage skill, kind of like Bear slashes, except with Taunt as the non-damage effect. I do not use my Commando to attack much and do not use this skill a lot.
Neutron Stomp (3) (Great):
Like PL Stomp, it is a point-blank (6m) stomp and damage skill. Instead of knocking enemies all over the screen, however, it knocks them down. Makes for less people shouting "Noob bear!" Superb when used in tandem with Gravity Well and Singularity.
Vigor (4) (Fair):
Like Restore, a short-lasting, long recharging self-heal. At lvl 1 it restores about 25 health. At lvl 6 I think it is 75.
Singularity (6) (Great):
A ranged, AOE knockback and knockdown with a short delay. It requires a target to cast, but the target does not need to be alive when it goes off. Use it with Neutron Stomp to keep enemies flat on their back, or to save a teammate under fire by an enemy too far away to stomp.
Graviton Slam (8) (Good):
An AOE cone-attack skill that also slows enemies. Good to have, but the slow effect is not very much until later levels.
Incease Mass (10) (Great):
Sort of like Iron Blood. At max level, it makes the Commando practically invincible 50% of the time, with no drawbacks. Most Commados I see use it right before entering the fight, which I think is a mistake. Instead, wait a couple of seconds until the fight heats up, then use it. Or use it right before Gravity Well and Neutron Stomp.
Kinetic Reservoir (13) (Good):
Short-lasting, medium recharging self-energy renewal. A necessary evil, invest 2 points. It debuffs your damage while active, then buffs damage for a few seconds afterwards. Best to use about 5 seconds before the next fight. Hard to time it, but good damage bonus if done correctly.
Gravity Well (16) (Great):
Similar to Beckon, but it provides damage to enemies that are pulled. Superb when used with Neutron Stomp or Singularity, or both!
Nebula (20) (Fair):
A point-blank DOT AOE. An attack based Commando might use Gravity Well -> Nebula -> Neutron Stomp. I did not find much use for this skill.
Growing Rage (24) (Good):
Similar to Rage and Focus, a massive crit buff that lasts 1/4 as long as it recharges. Great right before a heavy fight
Engineers
Engineers wear medium armor and use Gloves that (I think) are good middle of the road weapons, but this class does not do a lot of damage overall. Instead, they heal and buff. Their skills are mostly DOT skills (damage and healing), with the healing skills being exceptional. They also have self shielding and team shielding abilities that are very good.
Wither(2) (Fair):
A 10 second DOT, with 6 ticks of damage. Reduced by armor, and lost if enemy dies. Good at lower levels, fair at higher levels. Try to cast on enemies near the back of the fight, or on higher hp enemies with low armor.
Leech (3) (Fair):
Like Wither, a 6 second DOT, with 4 ticks of damage and healing. Reduced by armor, and lost if enemy dies. Good at lower levels, fair at higher levels.
Empathy (4) (Great):
An 9 second healing DOT AOE. Heals occur on counts 3, 6 and 9. Cast immediately before entering batte. Then generally spam.
Revive (6) (Great):
You get it at lvl 6. Keep it. Has hidden buffs, including 1 m/s for 1 minute, just like the PL version. That makes it worth casting even when people are not dead.
Force Shield (8) (Good):
A large self-shield armor buff that lasts a long time and adds 1 m/s, and 2 m/s at higher levels, as long as the Engineer is not hit. Unlike Blessing of Vitality, the shield can be destroyed. In practice it will not last long during battle without careful playing. Used often between battles for the m/s.
Suppression (10) (Fair):
Stuns 2 or more enemies for 6 seconds, but they wake up if damaged. Causes auto-attack to drop, which helps. Good use for solo play (stun some, pick off others), not so much in groups where damage is everywhere (Neutron Stomp and Transferrence come to mind).
Protection (13) (Good):
Party shield. Lasts a whopping 2 minutes, and has a 10 second recharge. Does not stack, so whoever casts it first locks it for the team. Fast, cheap and usually effective.
Transferrence (16) (Great):
Large AOE damage on the target and nearby enemies on contact, then a repeat tick of that 1 second later. The repeat tick also heals those near that enemy, as a cumulative effect. A mobbed, nearly dead team can go to almost max health. This skill can also cause the Engineer to pull aggro.
Pain (20) (Great):
Immediate damage and a 3 second stun, then the target explodes with AOE damage to nearby enemies. The explosion is lost if the enemy dies, but the skill is good anyway because a particularly nasty mob can be stunned for 3 seconds of play time.
Sonic Boom (24) (Fair):
A point-blank (6m) AOE damage skill. Moderately high damage, but takes too long to recharge at 30 seconds to be really useful.
*Not a lot of Comparison to Enchantress skills because Engineer skills are so different. There are rumors that some of the DOT/HOTs will be fixed to apply damage or healing on contact in addition to the other ticks, making them more useful.
Operatives
Operatives wear light armor and can use fast-firing Flashguns, but unlike the dual weapons in PL, these do TONS of damage with the Operative debuff (discussed later). They are a single target's nightmare, and can kill anything in seconds if used correctly. They are also very frail. If the enemy fights back and the Operative has no buddies, she is generally in trouble.
Mind Wrack (2) (Great):
Bread and butter. Like Blast Shot, but with high single target damage and with bonus damage on critical. Fast recharge. Works great with Amplify Pain for huge damage.
Flames of Insanity (3) (Fair):
Similar to Wither, as a DOT. Also has a chance of stun, but is also reduced by armor.
Lurch (4) (Great):
Sort of a Repulse Shot. Moderate-high damage that also knocks back and knocks down the enemy. A great skill to follow Mind Wrack, or when the Operative has pulled aggro.
Inner Focus (6) (Great)
Meditation and Restore combined. At lvl 1, +30 hp and mana over 10 seconds, with a -5 damage debuff while active. +80 maxed. Good to use between fights.
Amplify Pain (8) (Great):
Take the +Crit% of Focus, the armor debuff of Break Armor and a damage buff from Rage and you have this skill. At max level, it adds 10% Crit and 14 Damage for 5 seconds, and recharges in 8 seconds, on top of a -120 armor debuff. Use this, then any other attack skill. Allows the Operative to use Flashguns all the time, even on bosses.
Psychic Lash (10) (Fair):
Similar to Thorn Root, but DOT damage. Damage is not great, but root is pretty good sometimes.
Blur (13) (Fair)
Like Evasion, but much less effective. At lvl 1 it is 10% Dodge for 6 seconds, with 30 second recharge. Lvl 6 increases dodge to 30%. There are probably better ways to spend 6 skill points.
Neural Shock (16) (Good):
Closest comparison is Blinding Shot. It damages and debuffs the enemy's hit and crit%. Good to use after other attack skills, when the Operative has pulled aggro.
Sympathetic Anguish (20) (Great):
High damage attack skill like Mind Wrack, but can also apply a DOT and jump to 2 enemies. Second best damage skill, after Mind Wrack.
Psychic Binding (24) (Fair):
High cost, high cooldown, low duration AOE slow skill. Slow becomes stronger and lasts a little longer at higher skill levels. Fair against melee mobs. I do not use it.
Individual mileage may vary, but I hope you are able to take something away from this guide for a great game. Your thoughts are welcome, and thanks for reading!
At their core, the classes are similar to their PL counterparts in that Commandos are tanks that stop damage, Engineers are support that heal damage and Operatives are DPS that deal damage. That said, and having played them all, none of them work the same way. Each accomplishes its goals in a unique way that makes playing that class an individual and highly enjoyable experience.
Commandos
Commandos wear heavy armor and can use large Cannons that deal AOE splash damage, like Apep or Gem Blast staves in PL. They have some damage skills, but most of their skills are focused on controlling enemies: pushing them away, drawing them closer or knocking them down (a lot). Well-timed skills can keep enemies out of the fight a significant period of time. They also have a huge self-armor buff that can be maintained 50% of the time, making them very hard to kill.
Force Hammer (2) (Good):
Basic damage skill, kind of like Bear slashes, except with Taunt as the non-damage effect. I do not use my Commando to attack much and do not use this skill a lot.
Neutron Stomp (3) (Great):
Like PL Stomp, it is a point-blank (6m) stomp and damage skill. Instead of knocking enemies all over the screen, however, it knocks them down. Makes for less people shouting "Noob bear!" Superb when used in tandem with Gravity Well and Singularity.
Vigor (4) (Fair):
Like Restore, a short-lasting, long recharging self-heal. At lvl 1 it restores about 25 health. At lvl 6 I think it is 75.
Singularity (6) (Great):
A ranged, AOE knockback and knockdown with a short delay. It requires a target to cast, but the target does not need to be alive when it goes off. Use it with Neutron Stomp to keep enemies flat on their back, or to save a teammate under fire by an enemy too far away to stomp.
Graviton Slam (8) (Good):
An AOE cone-attack skill that also slows enemies. Good to have, but the slow effect is not very much until later levels.
Incease Mass (10) (Great):
Sort of like Iron Blood. At max level, it makes the Commando practically invincible 50% of the time, with no drawbacks. Most Commados I see use it right before entering the fight, which I think is a mistake. Instead, wait a couple of seconds until the fight heats up, then use it. Or use it right before Gravity Well and Neutron Stomp.
Kinetic Reservoir (13) (Good):
Short-lasting, medium recharging self-energy renewal. A necessary evil, invest 2 points. It debuffs your damage while active, then buffs damage for a few seconds afterwards. Best to use about 5 seconds before the next fight. Hard to time it, but good damage bonus if done correctly.
Gravity Well (16) (Great):
Similar to Beckon, but it provides damage to enemies that are pulled. Superb when used with Neutron Stomp or Singularity, or both!
Nebula (20) (Fair):
A point-blank DOT AOE. An attack based Commando might use Gravity Well -> Nebula -> Neutron Stomp. I did not find much use for this skill.
Growing Rage (24) (Good):
Similar to Rage and Focus, a massive crit buff that lasts 1/4 as long as it recharges. Great right before a heavy fight
Engineers
Engineers wear medium armor and use Gloves that (I think) are good middle of the road weapons, but this class does not do a lot of damage overall. Instead, they heal and buff. Their skills are mostly DOT skills (damage and healing), with the healing skills being exceptional. They also have self shielding and team shielding abilities that are very good.
Wither(2) (Fair):
A 10 second DOT, with 6 ticks of damage. Reduced by armor, and lost if enemy dies. Good at lower levels, fair at higher levels. Try to cast on enemies near the back of the fight, or on higher hp enemies with low armor.
Leech (3) (Fair):
Like Wither, a 6 second DOT, with 4 ticks of damage and healing. Reduced by armor, and lost if enemy dies. Good at lower levels, fair at higher levels.
Empathy (4) (Great):
An 9 second healing DOT AOE. Heals occur on counts 3, 6 and 9. Cast immediately before entering batte. Then generally spam.
Revive (6) (Great):
You get it at lvl 6. Keep it. Has hidden buffs, including 1 m/s for 1 minute, just like the PL version. That makes it worth casting even when people are not dead.
Force Shield (8) (Good):
A large self-shield armor buff that lasts a long time and adds 1 m/s, and 2 m/s at higher levels, as long as the Engineer is not hit. Unlike Blessing of Vitality, the shield can be destroyed. In practice it will not last long during battle without careful playing. Used often between battles for the m/s.
Suppression (10) (Fair):
Stuns 2 or more enemies for 6 seconds, but they wake up if damaged. Causes auto-attack to drop, which helps. Good use for solo play (stun some, pick off others), not so much in groups where damage is everywhere (Neutron Stomp and Transferrence come to mind).
Protection (13) (Good):
Party shield. Lasts a whopping 2 minutes, and has a 10 second recharge. Does not stack, so whoever casts it first locks it for the team. Fast, cheap and usually effective.
Transferrence (16) (Great):
Large AOE damage on the target and nearby enemies on contact, then a repeat tick of that 1 second later. The repeat tick also heals those near that enemy, as a cumulative effect. A mobbed, nearly dead team can go to almost max health. This skill can also cause the Engineer to pull aggro.
Pain (20) (Great):
Immediate damage and a 3 second stun, then the target explodes with AOE damage to nearby enemies. The explosion is lost if the enemy dies, but the skill is good anyway because a particularly nasty mob can be stunned for 3 seconds of play time.
Sonic Boom (24) (Fair):
A point-blank (6m) AOE damage skill. Moderately high damage, but takes too long to recharge at 30 seconds to be really useful.
*Not a lot of Comparison to Enchantress skills because Engineer skills are so different. There are rumors that some of the DOT/HOTs will be fixed to apply damage or healing on contact in addition to the other ticks, making them more useful.
Operatives
Operatives wear light armor and can use fast-firing Flashguns, but unlike the dual weapons in PL, these do TONS of damage with the Operative debuff (discussed later). They are a single target's nightmare, and can kill anything in seconds if used correctly. They are also very frail. If the enemy fights back and the Operative has no buddies, she is generally in trouble.
Mind Wrack (2) (Great):
Bread and butter. Like Blast Shot, but with high single target damage and with bonus damage on critical. Fast recharge. Works great with Amplify Pain for huge damage.
Flames of Insanity (3) (Fair):
Similar to Wither, as a DOT. Also has a chance of stun, but is also reduced by armor.
Lurch (4) (Great):
Sort of a Repulse Shot. Moderate-high damage that also knocks back and knocks down the enemy. A great skill to follow Mind Wrack, or when the Operative has pulled aggro.
Inner Focus (6) (Great)
Meditation and Restore combined. At lvl 1, +30 hp and mana over 10 seconds, with a -5 damage debuff while active. +80 maxed. Good to use between fights.
Amplify Pain (8) (Great):
Take the +Crit% of Focus, the armor debuff of Break Armor and a damage buff from Rage and you have this skill. At max level, it adds 10% Crit and 14 Damage for 5 seconds, and recharges in 8 seconds, on top of a -120 armor debuff. Use this, then any other attack skill. Allows the Operative to use Flashguns all the time, even on bosses.
Psychic Lash (10) (Fair):
Similar to Thorn Root, but DOT damage. Damage is not great, but root is pretty good sometimes.
Blur (13) (Fair)
Like Evasion, but much less effective. At lvl 1 it is 10% Dodge for 6 seconds, with 30 second recharge. Lvl 6 increases dodge to 30%. There are probably better ways to spend 6 skill points.
Neural Shock (16) (Good):
Closest comparison is Blinding Shot. It damages and debuffs the enemy's hit and crit%. Good to use after other attack skills, when the Operative has pulled aggro.
Sympathetic Anguish (20) (Great):
High damage attack skill like Mind Wrack, but can also apply a DOT and jump to 2 enemies. Second best damage skill, after Mind Wrack.
Psychic Binding (24) (Fair):
High cost, high cooldown, low duration AOE slow skill. Slow becomes stronger and lasts a little longer at higher skill levels. Fair against melee mobs. I do not use it.
Individual mileage may vary, but I hope you are able to take something away from this guide for a great game. Your thoughts are welcome, and thanks for reading!