Class record
Aurora Blade Style
Controller / Striker
- Tier
- 2
- Difficulty
- 2 / 5
- Main role
- Controller
- Secondary role
- Striker
Rules reference
Class mechanics
Entry requirements and the complete level-by-level advancement path.
Entry
Requirements
Any class mastered. Proficiency in at least one of light swords, longsword, katana or dueling weapon.
Advancement
Progression
- UnlockKey ability
- Level 2Ability 1
- Level 3SkillsYou gain +5 skill points in Athletics, Intimidation, Magic, History, Flight, Survival or Common Knowledge. You can exchange any skill point for 2 expertise points, but must spend them in these skills.
- Level 4Ability 2
- Level 5HeartYou gain +1 to Fitness, Cunning, Reason, Awareness or Presence.
- Level 6Ability 3
- Level 7SoulYou gain +1 to Focus.
- Level 8Ultimate ability
Identity & lore
Class overview
Idris deflected a spine with a grunt, the undulating limb that had lashed out at him retracting in a jittering pattern as the fiend wound up for another attack. A fiend off to the side shrieked as half its body froze suddenly and shattered. A flurry of icy blasts and arcane bolts checked the advance of a group of lesser fiends, allowing him to focus on the big one trying to skewer him. He ducked a sweeping attack and drifted out of the way of a slam with a gentle tap of his foot against the frozen ground. He hovered for a moment before his feet touched down again as he brought his sword around, the frost infused blade biting deeply into the side of the fiend, sending it staggering away. He lifted off into the air with the recoil of the blow, grimacing at the feel of chilly dampness on his feet.
“Aaah, this is so dumb! Why isn’t Illyana here?! Getting married isn’t as important as exploring somewhere new!”
He looked over and saw his two companions huddling behind a deteriorating wall of ice as a group of fiends was barraging them with energy blasts. Mirane peaked out from cover to throw some icicles the size of trees at the fiends before the combined fire forced her back behind cover.
“Idris!”
“I’m busy!” he called back, parrying another attack and using the momentum to drift up and over a second attack. He twisted in mid air as some of the fiends with the ranged attacks focused on him, his sword sparking as he was forced to block one of the dark bolts that he couldn’t avoid.
“Agh! This is dumb! Chroma, time out!”
“Stop.”
It was a simple command but the world obeyed. Bolts of energy were stopped mid flight, the fiends suddenly as still as statues. Even the snow had stopped falling, snowflakes stationary in the air.
“Can’t you do anything about these guys over here, Idris? We can’t do anything ‘cause they keep shooting at us!”
“If I do, the big one will rush you. You want to deal with those tentacles?” He drifted slowly toward the ground, crossing his legs like he was sitting on the ground even as he hovered in place.
Mirane shivered and shook her head. “No no, I’m good.”
“We’re too used to Illyana taking up a frontliner role,” Chroma said. “If she were here, this fight would be over already.”
Idris sighed. “Okay…I can give you some cover so we can focus on the big one. We should be able to bring it down with combined fire, it’s not very tough. It’s just really grabby.”
“We can do that. We can do that, right, Chroma?”
The chronomancer sighed and rubbed her forehead, disguising the fond smile from Mirane. “We can do that, yes.”
“Great! Good plan! Time in!”
With a snap of her fingers, Chroma let time resume. Without missing a moment, Idris rushed across the field. Whisps of aurora trailed his sword as he swung it in a vertical arc. A prismatic wall of shifting auroras stretched into the sky and completely blocked the sight of the group of ranged fiends. Then, in a flash of frost and ice, he was back in the face of the disconcertingly tentacled fiend, his sword coming down like a glacier turned into a guillotine. Ice magic and arcane blasts slammed into the suddenly frozen fiend.
“Haha! This is more like it! Great work, Idris!”
It was a little awkward and they still made a few mistakes on their travels through the mountains and tundra, but they eventually began to develop new tactics to cover their missing member. Now, if only they could develop new tactics for dealing with Mirane insisting the legendary paradise that was supposed to exist in these mountains was “Just over the next ridge, I can feel it!”
Still…every new day seeing a new sight was worth it just to see her smile. Mirane’s wonder at every new vista filled his heart with warmth and he always caught Chroma smiling behind her hand as they watched Mirane scramble to be the first over the next rise.
Tactical guidance
Playing Aurora Blade Style
The Aurora Blade Style is a controller and striker melee class.
Winter's Edge is your standard opener, giving you a precise attack that slows on hit rather than on damage. This makes it very reliable to apply slow with if you have a decent amount of focus.
Aurora Slash is a long range slowing attack that also slows on hit, but it's only a light attack. This makes it less reliable for applying slow, but it has a powerful added benefit of adding a line of sight blocking wall. You will likely have to move to gain benefit from it, but luckily you have Rimestep.
Rimetep is an ability you can only use after an enemy is slowed by a Frost keyword ability. This means it does not work with attacks such as Crippling Attack, but does work with Cryomancer stuff. Notably, it doesn't have to be YOUR slow that triggers Rimestep. If your ally applies a slow as a Cryomancer, you can activate Rimestep of it. Because it's 0 RP to use, you can also use it after Winter's Edge as a free reposition around the target.
Finally, your secret art Permafrost Guillotine is a heavily discounted attack that can only be used after Rimestep. It's a rare low AP cost attack that does not cost mana itself, but the Rimestep requirement makes it more limited for a pure DPS character as you'll be forced to use precise and light attacks that do cost mana to trigger it. Though if you can get an ally to trigger Rimestep on your turn, it can be very powerful.
