Class record
Grandmaster
Striker
- Tier
- 2
- Difficulty
- 4 / 5
- Main role
- Striker
- Secondary role
- —
Rules reference
Class mechanics
Entry requirements and the complete level-by-level advancement path.
Entry
Requirements
Any class mastered.
Advancement
Progression
- UnlockKey ability
- Level 2Ability 1
- Level 3SkillsYou gain +5 to Deception, Linguistics, Magic, Appraise, History, Artifice, Insight, Art, Intimidation 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 Reason.
- Level 6Ability 3
- Level 7SoulYou gain +1 to Focus or Power.
- Level 8Ultimate ability
Identity & lore
Class overview
Isabelle Un Lavi scowled when her healed boots crunched against the wooden debris of the front door as she stepped outside. The big bruiser of a bandit lay sprawled where she’d tossed him through the door. Well, she hadn’t. Stone grinding against wood announced the arrival of her very effective bodyguard. The intricately carved visage of a Westrian Knight came to a rest at the foot of the stairs, the sunlight gleaming off the white marble stone. She took the time to straighten her sleeves and brush her hair back with a flick of her wrist.
“Gentlemen, this is the single most foolish attempt at robbery I have ever seen,” she said to the half dozen other bandits watching her warily (one was trying to wake up the big bruiser of a leader without much luck). “And normally, I would be delighted to entertain you until the sheriff arrives to collect you.” Her tail flicked in irritation. “But unfortunately, you’ve gone and destroyed a perfectly wonderful door on my master’s house and that I cannot abide. No, you’ll just have to pay for that.”
“This is stupid! It’s just the maid and an enchanted statue!” one of the bandits shouted, either the second in command or the loudmouth that wished he was. Whoever he was, he was inspiring enough to get them motivated to commit to the robbery again and the new leader was charging right at her, spear held like a lance.
“Pawn to E4,” she said. The sound of stone grinding was all the warning the loudmouth had before a stone statue of a Westrian Squire grew from the ground in front of him. His spear chipped a chunk off the pawn’s shoulder but the pawn buried its stone sword through the bandit’s torso. It carelessly dropped the corpse and took a step forward, visibly morphing into a regal Westrian Priest, white stone robes pristine and an ornate, heavy stone mace in its hands.
Faced with two enchanted statues, one unconscious leader, and one dead loudmouth, the remaining bandits seemed to think it was time to make a run for it.
“I don’t think so,” Isabelle said, gesturing for her Bishop and Knight to move. The sounds of stone slamming against flesh and the screams of their fellows drove the bandits that had slipped by her creations to make a full sprint for the gates. With a twist of her wrist and a snap of her fingers, stone rose up out of the ground between them and safety. The stone face of Saint Rebekah stared down at them as they stumbled to a halt.
“I’m afraid this is Checkmate, gentlemen.”
Tactical guidance
Playing Grandmaster
The grandmaster is ranged striker that builds up their collection of pieces over the course of the battle that they use to attack enemies.
Summon Piece is your first ability and the only way to generate the pieces you need for your other ability. A pawn is the least versatile, but the only piece that doesn't require mana. What you summon will depend on what you are facing, as it may be easier to promote your pieces against heavy tank enemies or bosses who are more likely to just tank a heavy. If you need to set up a piece to swap to with castling, then you have no choice but to summon a rook.
The most important ability for dealing damage is Move Piece, which moves a piece you control as if it was a chess piece. At 1 AP 1 mana for heavy, it's quite good at dealing damage though it comes with the condition that your pieces must be in position to make use of it.
Castling is a simple swap ability. You can use it to both get yourself out of danger or to position a rook into a spot it can attack from.
Check can be used to force an enemy to move or accept taking an additional heavy attack. Against enemies that can't move for free, you're at worst trading 1 AP for 1 AP. Even if an enemy moves out of your check, the free move piece lets you set up for a real Move Piece right after.
Checkmate is your secret art and an ability that gains more value the longer a fight goes. Every piece that's in position is 1 heavy attack, so the maximum amount of heavy attacks is equal to the amount of turns in the battle assuming you've spent every turn using one.
