I’ve been looking through a couple builds through the forum, and it seems that a lot of the builds asking for opinions around the forums have the same mistakes that keep being repeated over and over. So I figured I’d do an introduction to the base of every class. This should guarantee you know what to do at Rank 1, and give you a rough idea of what to do if you pursue further circles of that class.
I will do this in a standard format, I will talk a little about the skills the class has, useful attributes, and then I will give an example build which is generally good for almost any path you may choose later. Without further a due, lets talk a bit about the Rank 1 classes.
Swordsman
Thrust - has 0 CD and does Pierce damage. It is used mostly if you are using a Slashing weapon, like a sword, and need a different type of damage against a certain monster. Other than that it isn’t very useful.
Bash - main point is its attribute that gives you knockdown. It is a good form of cc and has overheat. The attribute is only attainable at Bash lvl 3.
Gung Ho - gives you flat attack in exchange for defense. Flat damage means that it doesn’t scale very well later into the game. This skill is, however, great for early game leveling, and one of the main options in the Swordsman tree.
Concentrate - works much like Gung Ho. The difference is it works only for a certain amount of hits and doesn’t decrease your defense. This is another skill that will make early game easier.
Pain Barrier - gives you immunity to knockback, knockdown, and stagger. It is a nice skill for bosses, but you can’t keep it up for leveling. It is also a great skill if you plan on PvPing.
Useful Attributes
Weapon Swap - is great for Swordsman, as it allows you to quickly switch in between weapon types. Using slash/strike/pierce against monsters that are weak helps incredibly through all stages of the game.
Bash: Knockdown - as mentioned before is a nice form of CC. This is pretty much the reason you get Bash altogether.
Gung Ho: Enhance - is a nice addition to the early game damage buff, increasing its effectiveness.
Concentrate: Enhance - is pretty much the same attribute as above, but for Concentrate. It makes the buff stronger and helps with early game.
Build
Here is an example of a Swordsman circle 1 build. Thrust is not as useful if you plan on going for Hoplite later on. Pain Barrier only gains 1 second per extra level, but if you wish to invest more into it points should most likely come out of Concentrate.
#Wizard
Note: An important thing to understand about ToS is how casting works. Skills that require casting will release the full level skill when the bar is fully cast, but if you release the bar before it will cast the skill at a lower level. This is specially important for certain Wiz classes as a few extra levels in a skill can allow you to more quickly cast it at level 1 by releasing the bar preemptively.
Energy Bolt - has a terrible scaling later into the game. Its cast time makes it almost worse than auto attacks. Its saving grace are the Sleep attribute it gets and the knockback it provides. Due to the previously mentioned mechanic, however, it is quite common to spend a couple extra levels in this skill.
Lethargy - is one of the Wizard’s 1 point wonder skills. Early game it will boost your Earthquake damage (hidden feature), and later in the game it will boost the strike damage of your party through it’s attribute.
Sleep - is considered one of the best CC skills in the game. It is useful both for PvE and PvP scenarios. You Peltasta taunted more than he could handle? Sleep half the mob while you handle the rest to take off some of that pressure from him/her.
Reflect Shield - used to be an incredibly OP skill back in previous CBTs. The skill used to negate all the damage you took for a certain amount of hits, working much like Surespell, but with knockback immunity. This is no longer the case. This is still a nice point dump and defensive skill for Wizards.
Earthquake - is rather misleading with its early game Overkills. It deals a lot of damage at the start of the game, but it falls off quite hard later on. It has a knockup/knockback built into the skill, which makes it a nice panic button for late game. This is the other 1 point wonder of the Wizard tree.
Useful Attributes
Energy Bolt: Additional Sleep Damage - gives Energy Bolt a little bit of scaling. It isn’t great, but it is better than nothing.
Lethargy: Additional Damage - is what makes Lethargy into the 1 point wonder it is. It will make everyone in your group doing Strike damage love you.
Quick Cast: Magic Damage - is a Circle 3 Wizard attribute, but I felt it deserved an honorable mention. This attribute is what makes Wiz3 such an appealing choice to people looking for late game DPS.
Build
Here is an example of a Wizard circle 1 build. This is pretty standard regardless of what you plan on doing as a Wizard. A couple extra levels could be invested into Lethargy if you want its second attribute.
#Archer
Swift Step - has a couple of nice boosts to the Archer, but it truly shines if you invest a second circle in the class.
Multi Shot - is going to be your main boss killer as an Archer. It has an Overheat of 2, which is great. Much like Swift Step this becomes a lot better at circle 2.
Full Draw - brings great utility to the tree. It has an inbuilt knockback, and it can link targets together so that when you attack one target the other one will also take the damage. This is a cast skill, check the note at the start of the Wizard section.
Oblique Shot - is a great leveling skill that can easily carry you to your Rank 4 class without much investment. It is a 1 point wonder for the most part, and works amazing if you plan on investing some SPR into your build.
Useful Attributes
Two-handed Bow Mastery: Anti-Air - is an amazing attribute for any Archer planning on using a Bow as a weapon. Note this refers to Bows specifically, and not Crossbows.
Multi Shot: Critical - gives you a nice boost to critical chance of Multi Shot.
Note: The following are Archer circle 2 attributes that are incredibly useful in several Archer builds.
Multi Shot: Quick Charging - halves the casting time of your Multi Shot. With how useful this skill is at dispatching bosses, specially at the start of the game when you lack other options, this is a huge boost.
Swift Step: Critical Rate - alone is the reason why many people want to get the second Archer circle. It boosts your critical chance by a whole lot, and comes in the same circle where you can have 100% upkeep on the skill.
Build
Here is an example of an Archer circle 1 build. This is standard, much like the Wizard. Oblique shot becomes expensive rather quickly, and Full Draw benefits a lot from the extra levels since we can release it at level 1 quicker. There aren’t many other options here.
#Cleric
Heal - the bread and butter of the Cleric. Regardless of whether you plan on going for a DPS build later or not, this is a 5 point skill. Each point gives you 1 extra tile that heals a minimum of a base amount +5% of the maximum HP of whoever walks over it.
Cure - is a 1 point wonder. It removes most negative status regardless of level. The extra levels will add a bit to your damage with it, which becomes rather irrelevant if you don’t have INT. Do not expect this to be a proper damage skill.
Safety Zone - blocks all damage from a set number of attacks directed at someone that is inside the tile. This skill is amazing, and it the other skill that Clerics will always max.
Deprotected Zone - gives a nice boost to damage by decreasing the defense of monsters’. The extra levels add duration to the skill and make the stacking a little more efficient, but not by much.
Useful Attributes
Heal: Remove Damage - makes healing a lot easier. If you have played a Cleric you may have noticed that Heal tiles can be spent damaging enemies, and this attribute will prevent that. If you are a build that has no INT this attribute will never go off after a certain point. If you have INT you may choose to turn it on/off for damage.
Safety Zone: Increased Range - increases the size of your Safety Zone, like the name implies. This makes it much easier for you and your party to stand inside of this amazing skill.
Build
Here is an example of a Cleric circle 1 build. The only argument that is sometimes had here is whether Cure or Deprotected Zone should have 4 points, and this is largely up to you and your build.
Hopefully this will clear up some of the mistakes that are made with Rank 1 skill picking and answer questions that are so frequently asked around here. Any other doubts can and should be asked below. If it is something I am unaware of then I am sure someone else will be happy to help.
If anyone has any pointers on other things that could be mentioned, things that I have mentioned that are wrong in any way, shape, or form, or any other tips for improvement, please do let me know.