Build Guide - Arcanist

Introduction

After progressing from a Sage to an Arcanist, a few things change, but a lot more stay the same. In T2, Sage makes use of a number of Summons in their best builds, but in T3, far more DoT support becomes available, so DoT takes over as the predominant damage build, with stats that support that playstyle having a much higher importance.

Outside of that fact, Arcanist really is more of the same, more Dark Damage, more supportive abilities to flesh out their Healing and Support abilities a little further, and some upgrades to the few remaining T1 skills Sage had to make use of, like Gale Shield .

Most of the new skills are seamless integrations that double down on existing playstyles and mechanics you should be used to, with very little new stuff needing to be explained.

Builds

Single Target

AoE

Healing Build

Stats

Secondary Main Stats

Below are the recommended secondary stats to look out for when gearing up. Having the right secondary stats is important for maximizing performance, but significant “Power/Gear score” upgrades or pieces with better additional stats can overwrite this priority.

DPS

The stats when playing Arcanist are much the same as when playing Sage, with the exception of Effect Hit Rate becoming far more valuable. You’ll want at least enough Effect Hit Rate to ensure you DoTs hit most times on boss-type enemies.

Healer

The stats for playing Arcanist as a support for the most part do not change compared to when playing Sage.

Sub Stats

All item slots will roll a number of additional stats on them, which are chosen randomly from a universal pool. Below is roughly the order of priority to look out for on your gear; however, just because an item has great additional stats doesn’t make it the best choice. Make sure to consider the item's overall power and whether it has the optimal secondary stats as well.

Fantomon

Starting level 50, you will be able to summon pets - aka Fantomons to help you in battle. We won’t go in-depth covering pets since we have a dedicated guide here, so let’s just mention the good ones.

Fantomon Guide

You can equip up to 4 Fantomons on your character's Fantomon loadout. However, only the lead Fantomon can use its ability; the rest only serve as passive stat boosters, so when choosing a Fantomon, you only need to worry mostly about the first one. Here are the ones we recommend.

Best Fantomon

• Nyxarchon: Just like when playing Sage, Nyx is also Arcanist’s best in slot Fantomon thanks to its great AoE Dark Damage and supportive effect.

F2P DPS Fantomons

• Zeioletus: Before you get Nyx, if you want the next best damaging option, Zei is the go-to, even if they are a significant downgrade in most scenarios, mostly due to their lack of a debuff, no mult-hitting on large targets, and smaller AoE. A good F2P stopgap, though.

• Sylvaerie: A buff-based alternative to Zei, which, instead of dealing damage, buffs you permanently, granting a solid amount of SPD and ATK. Depending on your build and your gear, this can beat out Zei on some accounts. If you have both Syl and Zei and can’t choose, we recommend testing in “test” mode to find which is better for you currently.

Healing/Supporting Fantomons

• Mandragora : This Fantomon provides a solid amount of additional healing output, boosting your ability to keep the team alive. Doesn’t provide any other supportive effects or damage, though.

• Terragon : An alternative debuffing Fantomon to Nyx, who, instead of boosting overall damage, lowers the enemy's attack temporarily. You’ll have to run an attacking technique to trigger this debuff, but it can be worth it for supporting the team.

• Sylvaerie : The bonus ATK from Sylvaerie isn’t useful when healing as Sage unless you’re also trying to do damage, but the additional speed will give you more actions to support the team, making it a viable choice.

Relics

Relics listed as “best” are the targets you should be aiming for when completing an area before moving on to the next, if possible. Securing the “best” relics will be beneficial to your class now and or will be crucial to your class in the future in higher tiers. “Good” relics should be your next targets or targets to pick up if you can’t secure the “best” ones, as they’ll also help now and in the future.

Best Sage Verdantglade Relics

• Nyph’s Sword Hilt: This Relic is hard to get, but the Crit Rate it permanently gives you is strong at all points of the game, making it a strong one to chase.

• Phantomfire Chain: Picking up Effect Hit Rate on relics takes some of the pressure off of you needing to find it on your gear pieces, allowing you greater freedom with which pieces you can and can’t use, helping gearing.

Good Sage Verdantglade Relics

• Horn of Abundance

• Blight Casket

• Exalted Queen

• Obsidian Key

• Imp’s Statuette

• Crystal of Phantasma

• Crown of Tendrils

Best Sage Cinder Ridge Relics

• Pinnacle Radiance: Crit DMG is a very desirable damage stat, so getting a good chunk of it permanently is incredibly desirable. This is the go-to mythic relic of choice for Cinder Ridge for this reason.

• Blue Enigma: Picking up Effect Hit Rate on relics takes some of the pressure off of you needing to find it on your gear pieces, allowing you greater freedom with which pieces you can and can’t use, helping with gearing.

• Starcleaver: Just like Crit DMG Crit Rate is an equally as desirable damage stat we want as much as we can get of which makes snagging this legendary relic a high priority if possible.

• Carapace Flamethrower: Accuracy becomes stronger the later in progression you move. It starts out a little underwhelming, but later becomes necessary, so picking any up permanently on relics is incredibly strong.

Good Sage Verdantglade Relics

• Pandemonium Ingot

• Abyssal Glyph Whip

• Fate’s Grand Banner

• Mirror of Reflections

• Exile’s Shackles

• Arcane Doll

• Megastinger