Classes and Roles | Sword x Staff

This guide provides a comprehensive overview of the 4 classes available in this game. In it, we will go over each class, explain their playstyles, and list their pros and cons, taking into account criteria such as build versatility and free-to-play friendliness.

Important information to note about this game is that many aspects change every season, particularly the classes and balance. Roughly every 2-3 months, a new Tier is added to the game together with a new Season, introducing new Skills, Charms, Pets, Relics, etc. While the core playstyle of each class remains similar between the tiers, the skills brought by the new Tier often affect the balance and the meta - for example, one tier Sorcerers could be considered as the best DPS, but in the next one, that spot is taken by Duelists.

Info

Important! While this guide will cover all 4 classes, we will mainly focus on Tiers 1-3 as only those will be available on Global initially. The guide will be expanded once another Tier is announced for release in our version.

To give some context, the current Tier available in the Chinese version of the game is Tier 7.

Another tip we want to give here is that it’s not worth stressing over the performance of your class in Tiers 1-3 - those are basically the ‘starter tiers’ that pass quickly. The ‘real’ game begins when Season 2 starts, as it introduces Tier 4 classes.

Season 2 starts roughly 47 days after server creation.

Is my Class choice final?

At the start of the game, you have to choose between Warrior and Mage - and later on, the two classes turn into 4 classes overall.

Before the choice paralysis starts to get to you, we want to make it clear that you can change your class at any time using one of two available methods, so if you’re not satisfied with your early choice, you can switch to what looks more interesting (or stronger).

The first method is something we advise against using, as it simply changes your class to another, while keeping the skills of the current class (in case you decide to go back - but you can’t use them in your new class). The new class you switched to will start at level 1, so not only do you need to level it up, but you won’t have any skills available. You are basically starting from scratch and need to level up and pull skills to get going.

The second method converts your current class to another one - all previously pulled skills are converted into skills used by your new class (and you can pick one of three available ‘loadouts’ that help you narrow down the skills you want to focus on for the new class). You are also instantly leveled up to match your current level, so you can go and start using the class without any delay.

There’s a catch, though, when it comes to the second method - you need to reach level 100 before you can actually use it. On top of that, you can only use the second method once a week (for free, that is - you can use Dawnium to bypass the restriction).

We will prepare a dedicated guide to the conversion method soon!

F2P vs P2W

Your spending level (F2P, low spender, or whale) is also important to consider before deciding on a class.

Most of the players from other regions universally agree that Knights struggle the most when you’re a pure F2P (Free to Play) player. The reason behind this is heavy gear and stat reliance - the bosses in the hardest content hit like a truck, and without getting a lot of Block (Knight’s must have stat), you will struggle to stay alive. And once the Knight dies, the Dungeon run is basically over, as the other classes will be one-shot in most cases.

We will explain the Block mechanics in the section dedicated to Knights more, but for now, just know that it drastically reduces the damage taken (a blocked hit reduces the damage of the skill to 50% of the initial damage, while an unblocked hit can range from 100% to 300%).

Because of this, Knights are usually one of the least popular classes in older servers, which puts a big demand on them - since you have to do Dungeons/Raids every day, and without a Knight, it will be a struggle (well, unless you have a whale DPS on your team that can just roll over the Dungeon, but not everyone will be able to afford that - since daily Dungeon entries are limited).

Still, if you’re an F2P player who loves playing tanks, don’t be afraid to try the Knight out. As mentioned in the previous segment, picking a class doesn't stop you from changing it later on to another one. So if the Knight experience is something you're interested in, do give it a chance, and you might be pleasantly surprised!

Outside of Knights, the remaining three classes can work for both spenders of various degrees and F2P players, but generally, Duelists are the most popular choice for both F2P and spenders. They’re great at progressing through the map, deal a lot of damage against bosses, smash in PVP, and the only place they don’t shine as bright early on is in Dungeons (where Sorcerer is just too good due to their AoE focus).

Timeline

Below you can find the timeline for how long a Tier lasts and when you can expect the next one to unlock:

Tier 1: Day 1 > Day 4
Tier 2: Day 4 > Day 12
Tier 3: Day 12 > Day 47
Tier 4: Day 47 onwards

It’s important that the days are based on the Server Creation date, not the Global launch - every server starts from scratch and unlocks new Tiers/Seasons based on a set ‘timeline’.

Tier 1 Classes

As we mentioned previously, at the start of the game, you can either become a Mage or a Warrior - those are the only two available Tier 1 classes.

Mages focus on dealing damage from range (leaning more toward AoE damage), but they also have some supportive skills and can heal themselves and their allies.
Warriors focus on dealing damage from close up, but they also possess skills that improve their survivability (via additional Block and Shielding). You can either build them with a more offensive focus or a more defensive one, where they deal damage via Counterattacks.

Overall, when comparing the two T1 classes, Mages do progress slightly faster, mainly because they possess some really good AoE damage-dealing skills that allow them to clear stages more easily. The trade-off is that they are quite squishy and every battle is basically a race against the clock - kill the enemies before they kill you.

It’s important to mention that dying in campaign stages or the open world does not affect your character or experience; you simply have to retry until you figure out the enemy's skills and mechanics.

By comparison, Warriors lack good AoE clearing skills, but make up for it with better Single-target damage, Movement Skills, and the ability to not only Shield themselves, but also Lifesteal whenever they do damage with a skill.

Ultimately, when choosing your T1 class, it’s strongly recommended to prioritize your playstyle enjoyment rather than raw power, since, as we mentioned in the introduction, there is no permanent “best class” in the game, and Tier 1 lasts only for a few days.

Class Archetypes

Before we go over each of the Tier 2 classes in more detail, we want to make note of another thing. While every Tier after Tier 2 introduces a new class with a new name, a lot of players refer to the classes by their Tier 2 name, as it’s basically the archetype of the playstyle they start at. And it’s also simpler that way, rather than trying to remember the specific name used by that class on X tier.

And because of that, first we want to discuss and provide an overview of each of the 4 archetypes - while the meta changes from Tier to Tier, how each of the archetypes works and plays remains roughly the same. This will help us avoid repeating a lot of information across tiers, and instead, we can focus only on the meta aspect.

Important! You need to remember that everyone must clear the main storyline solo. What this means is that every class CAN serve as a damage dealer by simply changing the skills they have equipped.

Thankfully, skill loadouts exist in the game, allowing the user to have up to seven different loadouts, including skills, Charms, and pets, so it’s very easy to prepare different setups for different content.

Now, let’s move to discussing each of the archetypes.

DUELIST

Role: Melee DPS
Damage types: Physical, Dark, Fire
Class Stat: CRIT Rate
Stat Focus: CRIT Rate > CRIT DMG > Accuracy > Block
Pros:
- Good balance of damage output and the ability to keep themselves alive.
- Really good at progressing through the stages, even at high Combat Power gaps.
- Very flashy skills.
- Works well no matter if you’re a spender or F2P.
Cons:
- Across the Tiers, they have high highs and low lows - one Tier they’re at the top, at the other they’re barely scraping by.
- At lower tiers in Dungeons, they are vastly inferior to Sorcerers, who bring the much-needed AoE damage. This changes at higher tiers, though.

Duelists are one of the two DPS-focused classes (the second one is Sorcerer), and that’s the role they fill in party play. Since they’re Melee, they do possess some passives that help them stay alive longer, making it easier to progress through the story stages - they’re usually the class that has it the easiest there on every tier, and they dominate the leaderboards in that regard.

Their stat of focus provided by the class is Crit Rate, which allows them to reach higher levels of damage output more easily. Still, compared to a Sorcerer whose focus stat is Accuracy, they have a harder time against enemies who have a lot of Block (Block in this game reduces the damage dealt to 50%). This makes their damage output a bit volatile and both RNG and enemy-dependent.

Duelists' biggest issue is that every Season/Tier, they basically roll a dice to see if they will dominate it or suffer over its duration. For some Tiers, they are the best class choice for most modes, and in others, nobody wants to touch them, and even Sages or Knights can outperform them damage-wise. This makes them very volatile in their performance and in how happy their players are.

So if you decide to take this class, you have to prepare for it and keep in mind that sometimes you will envy others, or they will look at you with envy. There’s no in between with Duelist.

Still, despite that, Duelists are by far the most popular class in other regions - usually, Duelists take more than 50-70% of the whole server’s population, depending on their current meta relevance.

KNIGHT

Role: Tank
Damage types: Physical, Light, Water
Class Stat: Block
Stat Focus: Block >>> Accuracy > CRIT Rate
Pros:
- Really hard to kill.
- Deals damage passively.
- A lot of party utility via buffs and Shields.
- A must-have in any party content (Dungeons/Raids).
- As a Knight, you will be everyone's favorite friend.
Cons:
- Hyper focused on the Block stat - you need to invest in it a lot to be able to survive.
- Low build versatility (if you’re an F2P player).
- Lower damage output compared to other classes.
- Not F2P friendly.

Knights are the tanks of Sword x Staff. Their role in both Dungeons and Raids is to support the team by drawing the attention of enemies via Taunt and providing buffs and Shields to the party. They can also do damage ‘passively’ due to various Charms that deal damage back to enemies that attack them. While at lower tiers, their animations aren’t flashy and one might say they even look a bit boring, later they get some amazing-looking Water/Light skills.

Together with Duelists, they’re the best when it comes to pushing the story under a big deficit (you will often see those two classes at the top of the progression leaderboards), and they’re also a menace in PVP - in all formats, 1vs1, 2vs2, and 4vs4.

In harder content, when the difference between the suggested power and the team’s power isn’t very big, a party without a Knight will often be easily killed. This makes Knights must-haves for all coop content - in both Dungeons and Raids.

Seems like a dream class to play? Sadly, the reality is a bit more sad as Knights are one of the least popular classes in other servers - and that’s caused by Block.

Let’s dig more into that stat.

Block reduces the damage they take from enemy attacks, and what’s even better, fully ignores the additional damage that comes from a Critical Hit. Yes, you read that right - not only does a Blocked hit reduce the incoming damage to 50% of the initial damage of the skill, but on top of that, even if it was a Crit, it treats it as if it wasn’t. This means that you want to achieve as much Block as possible - hitting 100% isn’t enough, though, because Accuracy counters Block. For example, if an enemy has 20% Accuracy, now you need 120% Block to still block every hit from them.

And that’s where the biggest issue with Knights lies - without Block, the incoming damage will be too big, and they won’t be able to survive in harder content (or just get pummeled in PVP). F2P players will have a hard time getting enough Block, even when taking into account all the available sources: Gear, Relics, NPCs, etc., so they have to fully focus on that stat if they want to succeed, causing their other, more offensive stats to suffer. This forces them to play the honestly most boring Knight build that only focuses on staying alive, ignoring the flashy Water/Light skills. Does it work? Yes. Is it fun? No.

Though for spenders, this isn’t really a problem as they can get enough Block to reach their goals and then, on top of that, focus on other stats, allowing them to dabble into the more offensive side of Knight that is way more flashy and fun to play.

SORCERER

Role: Ranged DPS
Damage types: Wind, Fire, Light, Water
Class Stat: Accuracy
Stat Focus: CRIT Rate > Accuracy > CRIT DMG
Pros:
- AoE damage focus, that makes them the best at dealing with swarms of enemies.
- A lot of viable builds and elements they can use, so they can easily adjust to various content. If you like to constantly tinker with your loadout to overcome a stage, Sorcerer gives you the most tools to do that.
- Very consistent class across all Tiers - they’re always close to the top of performance across all content and very rarely at the bottom (unlike Duelists).
- Works well no matter if you’re a spender or F2P.
Cons:
- Squishy. Very squishy.
- Selfish. They basically have no party utility.
- Progressing through the story is a bit of a pain at times - you often have to repeat stages a lot to get the right RNG to pass it.

Sorcerers are the ranged DPS class of Sword x Staff. Compared to their main competitors (Duelists), they abandon all sense of self-preservation and instead focus on doing damage, especially AoE-focused damage.

Gameplay-wise, they wield all elements but Dark, allowing them to adjust on the fly and abuse the elemental weakness of the enemies. From all classes, they have the biggest number of viable builds, and you will for sure make use of all available skill loadouts when playing them.

Their stat of focus provided by the class is Accuracy, which means that they’re more consistent as they can bypass Block of enemies much more easily. While the Duelist is bound by RNG due to reliance on CRIT Rate and low Accuracy, Sorcerers will do more damage on average due to how consistent their damage output is.

Just keep in mind that they’re very squishy - they have barely any defensive skills and struggle to stay alive long enough to kill all enemies. This isn’t an issue in party content as you have Knights and Sages to protect you, but everyone has to clear the story solo. So there, you often have to restart a stage all over again, fishing for Crits/CC or other RNG to pass it.

Meta-wise, Sorcerers are the opposite of Duelists when it comes to consistency. If they aren’t the best, they’re very close to that spot performance-wise, and there’s never a huge gap between them and other DPS - or they have some niche where they still shine despite the Duelists being dominant in most modes when their time comes.

So if you’re looking for a very consistent performer that just works every Season/Tier and who doesn’t make you regret your choice, Sorcerer is a good pick for you.

SAGE

Role: Healer / DoT DPS
Damage types: Dark
Class Stat: Higher base stats, CRIT Res, and Healing Boost
Stat Focus: Effect Hit Rate >= Accuracy > CRIT Rate > CRIT DMG
Pros:
- Very versatile - can be played as a Healer, a Summoner, or a DPS.
- Every party needs a Healer, so there’s always a place for a Sage in Dungeons and any other team-based content.
- Can revive fallen allies.
Cons:
- Squishy - while they can heal themselves back, they can be easily overwhelmed.
- Struggles to progress in stages due to the nature of delayed damage via DoT.

Sages are the Healers of Sword x Staff, but that’s not their only role. On top of keeping their teammates alive, they can also summon various creatures and deal damage via DoT (Damage over Time) effects. Every party needs a Sage in Dungeons/Raids as they’re the only ones who can keep the team alive. Still, you’re not forced to play as a Healer/Support. You can totally abandon that path and only focus on being a DPS and still compete with pure DPS classes - in some content, you actually can outperform them.

Compared to other Classes, they don’t really have a specific class stat they specialize in, and instead, they just receive higher base stats across the board. This actually works in their favor as they’re the most versatile class in the game - you can play them as pure Healers, pure DPS (focused on DoT, though), a Summoner, or a hybrid of the playstyles. Though there are some downsides to this, too - the lack of innate Accuracy or Crit Rate bonus the two DPS classes get means that Sage has to invest more into both stats to do decent damage.

Similar to Warlocks, Sages have issues progressing through the story, but for them, it’s caused by the nature of their DoT-focused kit. It takes time for the DoT to stack and kill stuff while they’re running around the battlefield, trying to keep themselves alive, which often proves to be troublesome as they’re quite squishy. Thankfully, summons can help with distracting enemies, but at lower tiers, they’re a bit underwhelming.

Tier 2 Classes

Once you reach Cinder Ridge at level 44 (Day 4 after server creation), you will be able to switch to one of the Tier 2 classes:

Warriors can become either a Duelist or a Knight
Mage can become either a Sorcerer or a Sage

This is where the distinction between damage-focused and supportive classes shows up, and your choice will affect what your character will lean more towards and what role they will fulfill in Dungeons (4-man content) and Raids (6-man content). Still, at Tier 2, the lines between the roles are still a bit blurry, and the roles they fulfill in combat are more fluid (this changes at Tier 3, though).

Let’s go over each of the Tier 2 classes.