In The Iron Oath, players will bring parties of characters into combat with each associated with a specific class. These classes define each character’s battlefield role and what they can do in battle.
All classes have six associated abilities, usually split into damage abilities and support or miscellaneous abilities, though the exact number of each can vary from class to class. At a sufficiently high level, each character can equip a maximum of four abilities out of the total six, so there’s enough flexibility for you to experiment with different loadouts and builds to suit your playstyle and needs. In addition, all abilities can be further upgraded as you level up, increasing the power of an ability, giving it extra use charges, or layering an extra effect.
All abilities have a base use limit of three per fight and dungeon crawl and these can only be regenerated while camping and burning the appropriate incense. If you do run out of ability charges or simply don’t want to use them, all classes have a basic attack that has no limit to the number of uses.
Here’s everything you need to know about character classes in The Iron Oath.
The Iron Oath Classes
Pyrolancer
The creatively-named Pyrolancer class is a powerful melee damage-dealer and terrain manipulator capable of hitting burn effects on targets, hitting multiple enemies in a row, laying down fire traps, or even creating rows of fire to make movement treacherous for the opponent.
Of all the classes in The Iron Oath, this one only has one support ability to buff nearby allies, but most commonly you’ll want the Pyrolancer on the front line burning up the enemy with flaming strikes and spells. This class’ preferred stat upgrades are Physique and Mind.
The Pyrolancer’s passive ability fits perfectly into their role of spreading fire and, in turn, benefitting from it. The Pyrolancer’s total damage goes up by a percentage for every burning hex around them, so you definitely want to lay down as much fire and then strike at your target for massive damage.
Guardian
If the Pyrolancer doubles down on offense, then the Guardian is the quintessential support class, meant to keep allies fighting fit and the enemy weakened. The Guardian has a slew of healing and defensive abilities, while even most of the class’ damage abilities usually have some kind of debuffing effect, such as blinding or rooting a target enemy into position.
Guardians aren’t completely helpless and can easily act as bulwarks with their preference for heavy armor and shields in a pinch to pin an enemy down or fill a gap in the party’s formation. The Guardian prefers Conviction and Insight as their primary characteristic upgrades.
As the resident support class, the Guardian’s passive ability allows them to cleanse negative effects from an adjacent character, once the Guardian has activated abilities three times.
Pugilist
Where the Pyrolancer wants to see the battlefield with indiscriminate damage and fire abilities, the Pugilist is the precise scalpel that deals targeted damage to a singular target. The Pugilist does also bring several support abilities that can cleanse negative effects or even heal, but this class thrives in precisely timed devastating attacks to wipe out problematic targets with a single blow.
The Pugilist’s affinity for light armor gives them additional speed, which makes them excellent at flanking maneuvers or repositioning quickly to where they need to be most for maximum tactical impact. Physique and Finesse are the Pugilist’s bread-and-butter characteristics.
The Pugilist has one of the simpler passive abilities in that they ignore the first condition or effect placed on them from an attack or an ability, to ensure their hail of fists doesn’t slow down.
Stormcaller
Unlike the Pugilist, the Stormcaller doesn’t like to get up close and personal and much prefers to stay far away, casting devastating electrically-charged spells for massive damage. Most of the Stormcaller’s damage and even support abilities are highly position and timing-oriented so it’s vital to understand battlefield geometry and timing to zap enemies before they shift away.
The Stormcaller prefers Insight and Mind characteristic upgrades when leveling up. For their passive, all of the Stormcaller’s basic attack and damage abilities place an electric charge stack on the target. Once the charge on the target reaches three they are immediately stunned for one round.
Valkyrie
The quintessential tank character, the Valkyrie is a veritable stone wall of a character that’s perfect at tying down multiple opponents and keeping your other party members free and active. All of the Valkyrie’s abilities, both support and damage are about increasing defence, repositioning a friendly, or hitting multiple enemies in a row to whittle away at their health, softening them up for other friendlies to land the killing blow.
Valkyries prefer Finesse and Conviction as their primary upgrade characteristics. Their passive fits into their defensive role perfectly in that characters of this class start with a small damage shield at the start of combat, which absorbs damage from an initial hit.
Huntress
If you prefer simple things over spells and fancy maneuvering, then the Huntress is the quintessential ranged damage-dealer. All their abilities are somehow related to either buffing their own attacks or simply shooting as many arrows at as many targets as possible.
Huntresses just like Pugilists prefer Physique and Finesse as their key characteristics when leveling up. This character’s passive allows them to perform a basic attack even after sprinting, which normally ends a character’s turn, giving the Huntress additional mobility to successfully reposition to an advantageous position and keep flinging arrows downrange.
The Iron Oath’s combat is most fun when you’re utilizing characters in tandem with each other to create effective tactics and perform maneuvers that quickly deal with the many crazy enemies you’ll face. Now that you know how the classes operate and their preferences, how will you compose your parties and rid the world of Caelum of its woes?
The Iron Oath is available on PC.
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