Pegasus Express: Sorcerer Class Answers

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Your questions about the sorcerer class have been answered!

Q: Why can some spells be cast while moving while others require the sorcerer to be stationary?

A: Almost all skills require a character (of any class) to remain stationary during casting, but some allow for movement during activation, based on effect. All "lock-on" skills fall into this category, as do some "charge-up" skills. Finding the right combat mix for a given play style will be a learning exercise.

Q: Will there be a cast time bar or will these types of skills' cast times be represented by animations?

A: Unless you get interrupted by an opponent's attack, a skill goes off once its animation finishes. There are skills for all classes that can be "charged" by holding down the skill button, and these do have bars.

Q: Will sorcerer glyphs decrease the casting time or projectile speed of skills?

A: That would be telling! Seriously though, glyphs can modify a lot of a skill's listed parameters, including MP cost, cooldown, effect duration, or even range! Cast times and animations aren't among them, though it's certainly something to consider.

It's also important to remember that not every skill has a glyph for every effect, and a single character can't use all of them at the same time.

Q: Was the sorcerer stun skill Seal of Thunderbolts removed?

A: It said some very unflattering things about Mana Infusion, and Ice Needle thought it was time for it to seek other spellcasting opportunities.

Q: What defensive spells does the sorcerer have?

A: Sorcerers believe in the age-old military doctrine of "the best defense is a good offense." Their strongest damage mitigation skill is being in a different place while raining down damage, but they do have several "oh fudge" skills.

Q: Do sorcerers have self-buff skills other than Contract of Wreck? How about party buff skills?
Q: Will sorcerers have any skills to reduce monster aggro when they pull them from tanks?
Q: Do sorcerers have any crowd control skills?

A: Buffs aren't really what the sorcerer is about. While Contract of Wreck (now called Overchannel) does boost the power of a sorcerer's next attack, it's an extremely temporary effect. They're more about affecting foes than friends. A sorcerer's good friends—the mystic and priest—are the go-to party members for that sort of thing, but the sorcerer can do a lot of things to an opponent's status while dishing out damage.

As with any damage dealing class, a sorcerer can deliver a lot of threat to a lot of targets in not a lot of time. The best possible skills for managing that are patience and wisdom, neither of which can be learned from a trainer.

Q: Is the sorcerer a harder class to play than the other classes?

A: Being a ranged caster class, the sorcerer requires a mastery of skill strategy, timing, and positioning to unlock its full potential. This may make it a more difficult class for some to play, and easier for others.

Q: Will spells look different at higher skill ranks or when fully charged up?

A: The fireball you throw at level 1 is essentially the same one you throw at level 60. The difference between Fireball I and Fireball XI is in the damage inflicted on the target.

Q: Will sorcerer traps, like archer traps, be invisible to enemies?

A: Yes, trap skills are invisible to enemies.

Q: Will any skills have a base range of over 15 meters?

A: 15 meters is a fairly standard range for a class skill. There are occasional skills that reach out to 20 (Arcane Pulse comes to mind for the sorcerer), but 15 meters is quite a long way. (Just look at poor Axelle, in the crosshairs of my fireball.…)

Q: Can sorcerer skill damage increase from weapons or equipment statistics?

A: You've just described one of the many advantages to leveling your character. Skills have "power" as a statistic, while weapons have "attack modifiers." As you progress through the game and gain access to more powerful versions of both, those numbers will go up, Up, UP! For all classes, it's important to train your skills as soon as you can, as well as equipping the best gear you can. The further your level is from your item's level (weapon or armor), the less effective it will be for you.

Q: What elements are represented by sorcerer skills?

A: Besides damage? Fire and ice play a large role in the sorcerer's skills, as well as more purely mental effects like "pain."

Q: Can sorcerer skills only be cast when a disc is equipped?

A: That's an excellent question. Like any of TERA's classes, sorcerer skills require a weapon. Unlike the "clothing" you'll see when you take off a character's armor, there is no "default" weapon. On the bright side, your starting disc will never wear out, and never let you down. You'll just want newer, more powerful, and level-appropriate discs as you advance.

Q: Do sorcerer skills have a chance to critically hit?

A: Yes.

Q: Can the sorcerer disc be used to physically attack enemies?

A: No. The sorcerer's mode of attack is peace through superior spellpower.

Q: Are sorcerers better at single-target or multiple-target damage?

A: Sorcerers are equipped with skills to tackle both scenarios. However, they have more single-target skills than area-of-effect skills. Whether this means they are better at one or the other is apt to be debated into and well after launch by fans of the class.

Q: Will monsters be more vulnerable to certain types of spells based on the element they use?

A: All monsters are vulnerable to attacks of all kinds, but individual creature types have different Defense and Resistance values, just as do individual characters. How much damage a given attack does is not dependent on "how it looks."

Q: Where does a sorcerer derive its power from? Is it a different from the mystic and priest?
Q: Why the disc and not a staff? What is the lore behind it?

A: The sorcerer uses an academic understanding of the world's unseen forces to channel them through a disk for a variety of magical effects. The power is always around in a latent state, but the sorcerer understands the esoteric techniques required.

The disc is the medium through which sorcerers channel their power. The staff is the weapon of choice of the priest class. The rotation of a sorcerer's disc applies a tidal spin to nanomana particles in the arcane stream, supercharging the wave state so that spells blow up really big.

Q: What is the "controversial history" of sorcery in the world of TERA?

A: Lead Writer Dave Noonan (or TDN as we like to call him) knows all and speaks little. What we do know is that magic, and the use thereof, was a lot different 30 years ago, 300 years ago, and 3,000 years ago. You'll need to play TERA all the way through for the rest of this story.

Q: Is sorcerer damage limited more by skill cooldowns or mana pool?

A: Neither. Sorcerer damage is determined by how high they've trained their skills and what gear they have equipped.

Q: Are spell impacts determined at the time of casting or if the attack intersects with the target?

A: Spell impacts are based on whether the weapon or projectile intersects with the target.

Q: Do the casting animations around the sorcerer cause damage to nearby enemies?

A: While the sorcerer's casting animations do not damage nearby enemies, the class does have close-quarters abilities to attack foes who get too close.

Q: Do any sorcerer spells have vertical trajectory? Can this be used strategically?

A: Skills for all classes move from the character toward the center of the screen at the time of use and hit the first eligible target(s) within range. (For ranged classes—including the archer—it's more specifically the crosshairs and "ring.")

The sorcerer skill Magma Bomb is one of the rare exceptions, since it specifically arcs around 10 meters before exploding. The height of that arc is also an exception to normal skills, since it is a pre-defined curve to an impact point, which can pass through opponents going both up and down.

The Pegasus Express will return with a new topic next Thursday!