Introduction
Wardancer makes use of two types of skills: the so-called Esoteric skills that use up her Elemental Meter and deal increased damage because of it, and the regular skills that charge the Elemental Meter up. As a result, her standard gameplay loop revolves around building up resources and then spending them to perform powerful attacks. She has two viable Raiding builds, based on Her Class Engravings: First Intention and Esoteric Skill Enhancement. The following build makes use of the latter one.
Esoteric Skill Enhancement Wardancer focuses on Her Esoteric Skills and employs them to deal considerable amounts of Burst Damage while also being capable of keeping up her DPS for prolonged periods (especially at Tier 3). To do optimal Damage, she relies on proper positioning which can sometimes be problematic as her mobility is limited. While in a group, she provides her team with various potent buffs, which makes her a worthy addition to any team. Defense-wise, She's on the low end but She has some defensive tools at Her disposal.
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Pros | Cons |
Good Team Synergies | Doesn't have a mobility Skill |
Good DPS | Quite long Animation Locks on Skills |
Solid Stagger and fast Counter Attack | Relies on positioning (Back Attacks) to do optimal Damage |
Solid Burst in the early game | Punishes inexperience (because of lo mobility and positional requirements) |
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Stat Priority
Esoteric Skill Enhancement Wardancer benefits from Swiftness and Specialization: Specialization grants Her higher Elemental Meter gains and Siftness makes Her more mobile and gives Her some much-needed Cooldown Reduction. The exact stat spread, you want to go for, with these two stats will depend on the content Tier you're currently on:
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Skills
FLASH HEAT FANG |
Wardancer throws punches to inflict moderate amounts of damage over 9 separate hits, followed by a powerful finishing blow. This Skill offers decent Stagger Damage and boasts a highly increased Crit Rate, which makes it very reliable during boss encounters. It also deals a lot of damage, especially for a non-spender skill.
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Level 12
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ENERGY COMBUSTION |
Wardancer erupts the energy stored inside her to push enemies away, dealing moderate amounts of damage. Then, she calls forth a gust that shrouds her body, damaging enemies every 0.5 seconds for 35 seconds. This will deal constant damage for as long as you stay close to the boss. Always have it active before engaging. Over the course of an encounter, this skill will amount to a lot of damage because of its almost 100% uptime. It also generates a solid amount of Identity Gauge. |
Level 12
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CALL OF THE WIND GOD |
Esoteric Skill Wardancer creates a tornado that attacks enemies for moderate amounts of Damage 13 times over 3 seconds and pulls them close. Wardancer can move up to 12 meters while using this Skill. This is one of your nuke skills that will consume Orbs when used (because of the Esoteric Skill Enhancement Engraving). You should activate your self-buffs before unleashing this skill on your enemies. It deals great Stagger as well.
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Level 12
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BLAST FORMATION |
Esoteric Skill Wardancer strikes the ground to cause three explosions. The explosions advance forward in consecutive order to inflict increasing amounts of damage. Struck enemies are launched into the air. You have Paralysis immunity while using this skill. This is a very powerful spender skill that amounts to a solid portion of your total burst damage, especially with the chosen Tripods.
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Level 12
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MOON FLASH KICK |
Wardancer charges forward while kicking, inflicting two damaging hits. Then, the skill can be pressed 3 times to deliver 4 additional kicks at a very fast speed to deal additional damage and perform a spinning kick followed by a finishing blow that knocks enemies back. This is an amazing Elemental Meter generator, especially when you pair it with a Wealth Rune. It also deals a rather decent Stagger.
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Level 11
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WIND'S WHISPER |
Wardancer gains the blessing of wind for all party members within a 24 meters radius, increasing Move Speed by 11% and Attack Speed by 5.5% for 6 seconds. This is a team synergy skill that also provides you with very potent self-buffs. It will increase the Move Speed and Attack Speed of all your teammates while also giving you Attack Speed and Attack Power boost. |
Level 10
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ROAR OF COURAGE |
Wardancer lets out a battle cry, inflicting moderate amounts of damage and pushing surrounding enemies away. On hit, the enemies' Crit Resistance is lowered by 3% for 6 seconds. This gives you another powerful party-wide effect. Mainly, it reduces enemies' Crit Resistance by 10%, making them much more susceptible to being critically hit. Also, thanks to the Esoteric Extortion Engraving, it generates a solid portion of your Identity Gauge.
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Level 10
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SKY SHATTERING BLOW |
Wardancer performs a roundhouse kick, dealing moderate amounts of damage. If the skill is used again, Striker kicks upward, sending targets flying and inflicting another damaging hit. Direction can be changed during the additional attacks. This is your Counter Attack that also increases your Attack Power for 3 seconds after it's used (thanks to the Ready Attack Engraving).
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Level 7
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AWAKENING | |
FLASH RAGE BLOW |
Wardancer crouches and then dashes 6 meters forward in a straight line. Hold the skill hotkey to make Her deliver vicious strikes that deal very high amounts of damage, followed by the shockwave that knocks enemies back. Releasing the skill key before the Holding Meter is maxed out will produce a minor shockwave with reduced power. This is a better and more dynamic offensive skill than the Fist of Dominance, but the latter offers an 80% Damage Resistance bonus. The choice between these two is yours.
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Rotations/Skill Usage
Your main damage rotation looks as follows:
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Recommended Engravings
With this, your Esoteric Skills will scale extremely well with your Elemental Orbs (for up to +48% Damage at 4 Orbs and Level 3 Esoteric Skill Enhancement). You can get away with having this at Level 1 initially, but you should work on getting it to Level 3. |
Grudge is one of the most powerful offensive Engravings, but it comes with a severe drawback that may get you killed. Esoteric Skill Enhancement Wardancer is not the most mobile of the Classes (she lacks a mobility skill), so Grudge's downside is even more painful than usual for Her. Pick it up only if you feel like you can avoid most (or all) avoidable damage during boss encounters. If you're still learning mechanics, you'll be better off skipping it. Also, remember that it's only worth using at Level 3, so never use it at level 2 and especially 1 (unless you want to take 5% more damage for every 1% increase in your own DPS). |
This Engraving is great because you are stacking Swiftness which increases your Movement Speed. If you're on a very tight budget (you're making this Character as an Alt, for example), you can pair this with Spirit Absorption. |
This Engraving can boost your offensive power rather significantly, but the tradeoff is painful. Only pick it if you know encounter mechanics very well; If you lack experience, skip it. Also, using this at Levels 1 and 2 is not worth the risks involved (so, use it at Level 3 or don't use it at all). |
If you have A LOT of Attack Speed, you can replace Cursed Doll with this one as its drawback is going to be less painful in such a case. Pick it up if you have 140% Attack Speed or more. |
This build really needs some additional Crit Rate and Adrenaline can provide plenty of it (it also provides some Attack Power, which is always welcome). Just keep in mind that you'll need a lot of Swiftness to really make this one work - pick it up only if you've reached Tier 3 and already have plenty of Cooldown Reduction (from both Swiftness and Gems). |
This will greatly boost the overall effectiveness of your Awakening Skill. It also pairs very well with the effect of the Dominion Fang Set. |
The more Crit Rate you have, the more powerful this Engraving becomes. If you have a ~60% Crit Rate, Keen Blunt Weapon is definitely a solid option for the build. |
Gear Sets, Gems, Cards, etc.
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ENDNOTE This is the initial version of our Esoteric Skill Enhancement Wardancer Raiding Build for Lost Ark, where we tried to include all of the important information on how to set up this character while keeping the guide as compact as possible. If we've missed something of importance, please let us know! If you have any Build requests, please post them in the Comments section below. We will be happy to cover your most requested builds in the future! Also, we hope that you have found this guide useful and informative. Also, we will be happy to receive constructive criticism that will help us improve our future work, so don't hesitate to give us your feedback. |
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