Patch A.4.8

Patch is unreleased. Refer to Patch A.4.7 for the latest update.

After waiting for a long, long, long time, 'tis finally here! This update brings both Soul Ascetic and Sky Emperor with massive changes to their non-rebirth counterparts and their base class as well.

Soul Linker Rework / Soul Ascetic

The goal of Soul Ascetic and the Soul Linker rework is to remove its current role as a 'link slave', and instead have it become an active hybrid support/single target magic DPS class. It can hyperfocus into one role, but should still be good with a hybrid build. There are changes seen to almost all Soul Linker skills, some minor, some major, and a bunch of new skills added both to the Soul Linker and Soul Ascetic tree.

Soul Linker Skill Adjustments

The biggest change comes in the removal of all individual soul links. These have all been replaced with Universal Spirit, which tethers the Soul Linker/Ascetic to the target player. More details about that below.

Name	Old	New
All Soul Links	Separate Soul Link skill for almost each class.	All Soul Links removed in favor of Universal Spirit. Depending on the Soul Link, some of the effects were merged directly into the class/skill, while some were replaced with a skill to try to "balance". Below are details on how each skill was reincorporated. Alchemist Spirit: Aid Potion's effectiveness now increased by BLVL% for Alchemist/Creator classes (merged into class). Berserk Potion Pitcher now given automatically when job changing into Alchemist/Creator. Berserk Potion Pitcher duration reduced from 15 mins -> 3 mins with the same cost. Spiritual Potion Brewing now usable without link and all Twilight skills given automatically when Pharmacy 10 is learned. Assassin Spirit: Changed to a self-targeting buff skill given to Assassin/Assassin Cross classes upon jobchange. Applies Spirit status that doubles damage of Sonic Blow in PvM and increases it by 25% in WoE/PvP. Doubles SP cost of Sonic Blow No cast time Duration of 6 minutes SP cost of 300 Bard and Dancer Spirit: Movement is no longer penalized while performing. Changed to a self-targeted buff skill given to Bard, Dancer, Clown, and Gypsy classes upon jobchange. Skill applies Spirit status that enables the performer to use the opposite gender's songs. Spirit status allows the performer to be affected by their own songs at 50% effectiveness. If 3 or more party members are affected by their casted song, effectiveness is increased to 100%. No cast time Duration of 6 minutes SP cost of 300 Blacksmith Spirit: Removed. Crusader Spirit: The following effects apply ONLY to Crusader and Paladin classes: Shield Boomerang damage increased by 100% Shield Boomerang now ignores accuracy check Shield Boomerang ACD reduced by 50% Hunter Spirit: The following effects apply ONLY to Hunter and Sniper classes: Beast Bane's effectiveness increased with STR Beast Strafe given automatically when Double Strafe 10 is learned. Knight Spirit: Changed to a self-targeted buff given to Knight/Lord Knight classes upon jobchange. Skill applies Spirit status that enables the use of One-Hand Quicken if Two-Hand Quicken level 10 is learned. One-hand Quicken no longer dispels ASPD pots upon cast No cast time Duration of 6 minutes SP cost of 300 Cooldown of 30 seconds Monk Spirit: The following effects apply ONLY to Monk and Champion classes: Raging Thrust is now a 5x5 splash AoE around target. If Raging Thrust is used on a target with NOAOE flag, the skill does not splash (so its usable on maps like OGH Abbey) Halved SP cost of Chain Crush Combo at all levels to compensate for removing the 2 SP cost combo skills that Monk Spirit previously gave Priest Spirit: Already integrated into the class, so just removed. Rogue Spirit: Changed to self-targeted buff given to Rogue/Stalker classes upon jobchange. Skill applies Spirit status to the caster. While status is active: Caster is immune to dispell Healing from ranked potions is doubled STR buff from Stealth is 300 seconds Massively increased movement speed during Stealth SP cost of all skills doubled STR buff from Stealth without link increased to 150 seconds No cast time Duration of 6 minutes Cooldown of 10 seconds (applied when the status ends) SP cost of 300 Sage Spirit: The following effects apply ONLY to Sage and Professor: Hindsight drops the highest level learned (only bolt skills) No longer reduces skill level of dropped skill at a random chance Soul Linker Spirit: Removed. Super Novice Spirit: Change to a self-targeted buff given to Super Novice/Hyper Novice classes upon jobchange. Skill applies Spirit status to the caster. While status is active: Allows the caster to equip all level 4 daggers/1h swords/axes/maces/staves if they are above base level 90 Allows the caster to equip all headgears if they are above base level 90 Increases SP cost of all skills by 25% No cast time Duration of 6 minutes SP cost of 100 Star Gladiator Spirit: Removed. Wizard Spirit: Changed to a self-targeted buff given to Wizard/High Wizard classes upon jobchange. Skill applies Spirit status to the caster. While status is active: Removes gemstone cost of all skills (except Ganbantein) Kaite no longer reflects damage to the player if the caster has Crystal Fragments in their inventory. Doubles SP cost of all skills. No cast time Duration of 6 minutes Cooldown of 15 seconds SP cost of 300
Kaina	Max skill level of 7 Increases Max SP by 30 * skillLV (210 at level 7) Increases Happy Break effect by (30 + 10 * skillLV)% Reduces SP consumption of Estin, Estun, and Esma by (3 * skillLV)% at base level 70-79, (5 * skillLV)% at base level 80-89, and (7 * skillLV)% at 90-99	Max skill level of 5 Increases Max SP by 40 * skillLV (200 at level 5) Increases Happy Break effect by (30 + 10 * skillLV)% Reduces SP consumption of ALL Es-skills by (10 * skillLV)% (50% at level 5) Reduces SP consumption of ALL other skills by (4 * skillLV)% (20% at level 5)
Kaupe	Gives 1-time dodge of (33 * skillLV)% chance (100% at level 3)	Gives 1-time damage reduction of (33 * skillLV)% (level 3 is 100% which still counts as a dodge like vanilla Kaupe) Now has a per-player cooldown of 3 seconds that starts when the status ends. This cooldown does NOT apply in WoE/PVP. Casting Kaupe on a player with cooldown (regardless of the source) gives the caster a fail message that the targeted player is on cooldown.
Kaite	Max skill level of 7 Gives player 1/1/1/1/2/2/2 number of reflects for ANY magic damage from any players OR non-boss monsters below level 80. Kaupe has priority over Kaite	Max skill level of 5 Gives players 1/1/1/1/2 number of reflects for ANY magic damage from any players OR non-boss monsters below level 80. For the first 5 seconds after Kaite is applied magic damage can be reflected from ANY monster both boss and non-boss regardless of their level. For MVPs this is restricted to single-target magic damage. This can only be done once during that Kaite status and will also subtract from number of reflects left (so if a boss hits with a magic skill multiple times in the first 5 seconds of the Kaite, only the first one will be blocked, unless a new Kaite is applied to the player). Kaite has priority over Kaupe
Kaahi	Max skill level of 7 Healing of (200 * skillLV) HP per hit No cooldown on healing	Max skill level of 5 Healing of (400 * skillLV) HP per hit 0.5 second cooldown between heals
Kaizel	Max skill level of 7 Revives the player after death at (10 * skillLV)% Max HP Cast time of (5 - 0.5 * skillLV) secs SP cost of 120 - 10 * skillLV	Max skill level of 5 Prevents player from dying when reaching below 5% Max HP and heals them back up to (20 * skillLV)% Max HP (like Aegis of the Immortal's effect) Kaizel is prioritized over Aegis of the Immortal Cast time of (4 - 0.5 * skillLV) secs SP cost of 110 - 10 * skillLV
Eswoo	Does not allow Esma after cast	Now allows player to cast Esma within 3 seconds of using Eswoo.
Eske		REMOVED
Eska	Put the monster into a Steel Body like state with reduced movement speed, soft MDEF set to 90, and randomly increased soft DEF.	Now modifies damage of the next skill cast by the target monster. If the skill is magic, reduce it by (20 + 10 * skillLV)%. If the skill is physical, increase it by (70 + 10 * skillLV)%. Status is cancelled after one skill cast.
Estin	Max skill level of 7 Knocks enemy back 2 cells MATK ratio of (100 + 10 * skillLV)% (170% at max) SP cost of 16 + 2 * skillLV Only deals full damage to Small size monsters	Max skill level of 5 First knockback on enemy is 2 cells, any knockback hereafter on the same enemy is 4 cells MATK ratio of (100 + 10 * skillLV)% (150% at max) SP cost of 15 + 2 * skillLV Deals full damage to all size monsters
Estun	Max skill level of 7 Has a (30 + 10 * skillLV)% chance of stunning the enemy (before resistances) Stun works only on Medium size monsters. MATK ratio of (100 + 5 * skillLV)% (135% at max) SP cost of 16 + 2 * skillLV	Max skill level of 5 Has a (20 * skillLV)% chance of stunning the enemy (before resistances) Stun works on all size monsters. MATK ratio of (110 + 5 * skillLV)% (135% at max) SP cost of 15 + 2 * skillLV
Esma	SP cost of 8 * skillLV	SP cost of 4 * skillLV

Soul Linker New Skills

Name	Effect
Universal Spirit	Max skill level of 1. Replaces all old soul links. Tethers the Soul Linker/Ascetic to the targeted party member. The Soul Linker/Ascetic can only be tethered to one person at a time. Enables the caster to cast any Ka-skills and the 4 main Talisman buffs on their tethered target. Tether has a range of 9 cells. If the tether breaks any Talisman buffs are removed (both the main buff but also the buff gained from proccing it). If skill is cast on a different party member while currently tethered to someone, the current tether is removed alongside all their Talisman buffs, and you are tethered to the new target instead. Duration of 350 seconds SP cost of 100 No cast time
Soul Unity	Max skill level of 1. Apply a buff to yourself that makes any party member in a 9 cell range also be affected by the next Ka-skill cast on your tethered target. The buff is removed after one cast of a Ka-skill. Can also use it with Soul Swap, where any party member within a 9 cell range is also moved to the caster's location. Buff is also removed if used in conjunction with Soul Swap. Duration of 20 seconds (or until a skill has been cast) Cast time of 4 seconds. Cooldown of 10 seconds. Cooldown is not applied until Soul Swap or the Ka-skill has been cast. SP cost of 100
Talisman buff mechanic	This is a general description that applies for the following Talisman buffs: Talisman of Blue Dragon Talisman of White Tiger Talisman of Red Phoenix Talisman of Black Tortoise These buffs can only be cast on your tethered ally, but will affect both your tethered ally and yourself. Only one Talisman buff can be active at a time. If a new Talisman buff is cast, the effects from the previous one are removed (both the proc and the Talisman buff). Whenever the caster and the tethered ally hit the same monster within 3 seconds one or multiple effects are applied to both the caster and tethered ally. This proc has a duration of 15 seconds, but also a cooldown of 15 seconds for that monster AND a 10 second global cooldown. This means that if you are consistently hitting the same monster, you can only proc the Talisman every 15 seconds. Instead if you are consistently switching monsters you can proc it every 10 seconds. AOE spells can only proc it once regardless of the number of monsters hit.
Talisman of Blue Dragon	Max skill level of 5. When Talisman of Blue Dragon is procced, the Soul Linker/Ascetic and their linked ally gain movement speed equal to Speed Pot movement speed for 15 seconds and recover (3 * skillLV)% Max SP.
Talisman of White Tiger	Max skill level of 5. When Talisman of White Tiger is procced, the Soul Linker/Ascetic and their linked ally gain (3 * skillLV)% Cast Delay Reduction and (3 * skillLV)% ASPD for 15 seconds. The Cast Delay Reduction stacks additively with Poem of Bragi. The 15% ASPD does NOT stack with Assassin Cross of Sunset or Full Adrenaline Rush.
Talisman of Red Phoenix	Max skill level of 5. When Talisman of Red Phoenix is procced, the Soul Linker/Ascetic and their linked ally gain (3 * skillLV)% DEF and MDEF pierce for 15 seconds and recover (3 * skillLV)% Max HP. The DEF pierce stacks multiplicatively with pierce from equipment, whereas the MDEF pierce stacks additively.
Talisman of Black Tortoise	Max skill level of 5. When Talisman of Black Tortoise is procced, the Soul Linker/Ascetic and their linked ally gain (4 * skillLV)% increased healing for 15 seconds and take (10 * skillLV)% reduced damage from the next instance of damage.

Soul Ascetic New Skills

Name	Effect
Esma combo rotation	As Soul Ascetic with Unleashed Spirit learned, the caster is able to perform a combo rotation involving Esma and the 4 main pre-cursor Es-skills to enable Unleashed Spirit, which for a brief period allows the caster to cast Esma freely. Shortly explained the rotation is as follows: Estin/Estun -> Esma -> Estin/Estun (opposite from first used) -> Esma -> Espa -> Esma -> Eswhoo -> Esma Longer explanation: Each time Esma is used as part of this rotation (so followed by one of these Es-skills), the player gains a stack. The valid Es-skills are Estin, Estun, Espa, and Eswhoo. The first stack shows as the spirit of the Blue Dragon and can only be gained from either using Estin or Estun then followed by Esma. The second stack adds the spirit of the White Tiger and is gained from either Estin or Estun then followed by Esma. HOWEVER, to gain this stack you need to use the opposite of the one you started with. So if you started the rotation and got the first stack with Estin -> Esma, the second stack can only be obtained using Estun -> Esma, and vice versa. The third stack adds the spirit of the Red Phoenix and is gained from using Espa followed by Esma. The fourth stack adds the spirit of the Black Tortoise and is gained from using Eswhoo followed by Esma. The stacks have a duration of 10 seconds, but refresh each time a new stack is added. So if you have the first stack, you have 10 seconds to gain the second stack or you have to start over, etc etc. This also means that if you have 4 stacks (max) you can no longer refresh the duration, thus you are forced to either consume or lose them. Another mechanic that works in combination is that stacks are also applied to the monster in a similar manner (these can only be seen by you and show up as balls spinning above the monster). These stacks are simply applied each time the monster is hit by Esma no matter which skill is used as a pre-cursor. These stacks also have a duration of 10 seconds, but are refreshed each time the monster gains a new stack. The monster can have a maximum of 4 stacks. Now when the player has at least 2 stacks, they can activate Unleashed Spirit, which enables free use of Esma (explained further down).
Espa	Max skill level of 5 Deals magic damage to target MATK ratio of (100 * skillLV)% Cast time of 0.75 seconds After-cast delay of 0.5 seconds SP cost of 10 + 5 * skillLV Enables use of Esma after for 3 seconds. Can only be used while the player has the spirits of the Blue Dragon and White Tiger (2 stacks of Unleashed Spirit rotation).
Eswhoo	Max skill level of 5 Deals magic damage to target MATK ratio of (200 * skillLV)% Cast time of 1 second After-cast delay of 0.5 seconds SP cost of 10 + 5 * skillLV Enables use of Esma after for 3 seconds. Can only be used while the player has the spirits of the Blue Dragon, White Tiger, and Red Phoenix (3 stacks of Unleashed Spirit rotation).
Unleashed Spirit	Max skill level of 1. Self-targeted buff that can be activated when the player has at least 2 spirit stacks. Depending on the number of stacks while activating, the duration of the buff changes: 2 stacks: 3 seconds 3 stacks: 6 seconds 4 stacks (max): 10 seconds The duration of this buff can be extended if you hit a monster that has 4 stacks with Esma. The current duration is then tripled, so at most the duration of the skill is 30 seconds. This extension of the buff can only be done once while its active. While the buff is active, you also cannot gain any new spirit stacks nor apply any stacks to any monsters. During the buff the ratio of Esma is also reduced by 25%.
Talisman of Magician	Max skill level of 1. Self-targeted buff skill that makes the caster deal maximum MATK. Duration of 10 seconds. Costs 10 Soul Energy. Cast time of 1.5 seconds. After-cast delay of 0.5 seconds. SP cost of 100.
Soul Collect	Max skill level of 1. Passive skill. Enables the caster to gain Soul Energy. For every 2 Soul Energy the caster gains 1% increased all elemental magic damage, which stacks additively with elemental magic damage bonuses from equipment. When hitting an enemy with Esma gain 1 Soul Energy. Has a cooldown of 1 second. Can have a maximum of 20 Soul Energy.
Soul Harvest	Max skill level of 3. Passive skill. Each time an enemy is killed by you or your tethered ally gain skillLV amount of Soul Energy. Has a cooldown of 3 seconds.
Soul Gathering	Max skill level of 2. Active skill. Gain skillLV amount of Soul Energy for every enemy in a 31x31 area (entire screen) around the caster. If you have pulled the energy from one monster you cannot regain energy from them until they are hit by Exorcism of Malicious Soul. No cast time No after-cast delay Cooldown of 1 second SP cost of 300
Exorcism of Malicious Soul	Deal non-elemental magic damage to all enemies in a 15x15 area around the caster. Has a base MATK ratio of (250 + 50 * skillLV)% MATK Each Soul Energy increases the ratio by (75 + 10 * skillLV)% MATK Requires at least 1 Soul Energy to cast. Consumes all Soul Energy. Knocks back enemies by 5 cells. When the enemy reaches the end of their destination, they are stunned for 0.3 seconds. Fixed cast time of 1.5 seconds but can freely move during the cast. Cooldown of 1 second. SP cost of 100 + 10 * skillLV.
High Leap	Max skill level of 1. Targeted Leap that can be used over walls. Has same limitations as regular Leap. Has 3 charges with no cooldown between using them. When all 3 charges are consumed skill goes on infinite cooldown until a charge is recovered. Hitting an enemy with Esma recovers 1 charge. Has a range of 10 cells. No cast time. No after-cast delay. SP cost of 50.
Soul Swap	Max skill level of 1. Can only be cast while tethered to an ally. Swaps the position of the caster and tethered ally. If used while Soul Unity is active all party members within 9 cells of the caster are moved to the location of the caster. The caster is still moved to the location of the tethered ally. No cast time Cooldown of 15 seconds SP cost of 15
Blessing of Siegfried (Limit Break)	Self-targeted skill that can be used while dead. If used while dead revive the player. After cast, enables use of Wrath of the Fallen for 15 seconds. AP cost of 50. No cast time. Cooldown of 10 seconds.
Wrath of the Fallen (Limit Break)	Can only be used if Blessing of Siegfried was recently cast. Offensive skill. Root the enemy and channel the spirits of your fallen allies. If the targeted monster has slaves, those are rooted as well (functions same as Slug Shot). While the monster is rooted, they do not trigger any rude-attack skills. For each dead ally within 9 cells, pull their spirit and deal an instance of damage. When the final hit is dealt, resurrect all dead party members within 9 cells. Root on monster is removed after final hit. Damage per party member is 1000% MATK. AP cost of 50. Cast time varies with number of dead party members. Cooldown of 10 minutes.
Gaining AP	Using Esma while not under Unleashed Spirit grants 1 AP. Procing a Talisman grants 2 AP. Affecting more than 2 party members with a Ka-skill when using Soul Unity grants 3 AP.