Magick Archer or Assassin? - Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen (2023)

Okay, so I was looking for some recommendations on how to level my Arisen and which class would be best for me. I know there isn't really a "best" class in this game and it's more based on your play style so I'll just say kind of what I like and what I want to do. I want to have a more balanced character so I can do both melee and ranged attacks (which is why I decided against Strider or Ranger). I want something that is fun to play but not to hard for a beginner. As far as my main pawn I was planning to make her a support mage. Also I started as Strider and I've leveled to 21 as a Strider so does that mess me up at all in terms of stats for either class or make one more viable over the other? As far as leveling for either class how should I go about it considering I leveled to 21 as a Strider?

As far as my main pawn I started her as a mage and leveled her to 21 as a mage. I want her to be a support mage and I was reading I should reclass as a fighter or warrior for 20 levels so she has better HP and defense. Is this accurate? I have her set as Utilitarian/Medicant.

"Star searing flames of absolution!"

One thing for sure is that Mage has the least-desirable set of stat growths of all the vocations.

This doesn't mean you can't play your pawn as a mage. You just have to go through the hassle of changing it to another vocation at level-up time.

psn Corvoid

For your arisen you might enjoy assassin and magic archer equally well but my vote always goes with magic archer. A few skills that I found especially fun are flame shroud/immolation (there is a pretty large fan base who will agree), and virtually every bow skill is brilliant.

Assassin has some very nice skills and a great stat growth (based on strength), and the ability to use blast arrows is a big plus.

And yes, you can play as a magic class with high-strength-build and play as strength class with a high-magic/low-strength build, because I’ve done it, with good weapons you can overcome your stats and good armor keeps you safe.

patiently waiting for dragons dogma 2 and resident evil 8

@bunnyrebellion is totally right that you can overcome any variations in stats for your arisen using the right equipment. There are advocates for both radical ends of the stat spectrum: balanced builds where magic and physical damage are about equal, and min-maxed builds which go all the way with one of the two.

The main thing, as bunnyrebellion was saying, is to find what is fun for you. For me, there is nothing that compares to the "feel" of longbows in this game, so I tend to go with Ranger whenever I can. Plus, I usually run game cycles in hard mode, where the arisen's stamina gets penalized, so like to include many Ranger levels pre lv 100.

But your pawn is what the community will see, and if you care about getting rentals, it would be wise to pay close attention to her. She'll be competing with others in the Rift, and some potential renters care about stats in addition to the many other ways pawns can be enhanced.

psn Corvoid

ConanAPTX4869 posted...

I want to have a more balanced character so I can do both melee and ranged attacks (which is why I decided against Strider or Ranger).

Strider not only can do melee, it has the best melee attack in the game (and the best ranged physical ones without using items). It's just ridiculously strong. Its melee aside from climbing is way better than that of magick archer.

Lolinator Jr, my level 51 strider pawn, can practically solo the final postgame boss and often outdamages level 200 pawns of other classes... and she's a pawn.

LOLI IS HOLY!
PSN/pawn - LoIinator/Leviatha; Loli_Nation/Lolinator Jr; Laifu4Waifu/GuardNexus; Minataura/Minataur; Lolinator3rd/Altair; LolinaInverse/Lina

bunnyrebellion posted...

For your arisen you might enjoy assassin and magic archer equally well but my vote always goes with magic archer. A few skills that I found especially fun are flame shroud/immolation (there is a pretty large fan base who will agree), and virtually every bow skill is brilliant.

Assassin has some very nice skills and a great stat growth (based on strength), and the ability to use blast arrows is a big plus.

And yes, you can play as a magic class with high-strength-build and play as strength class with a high-magic/low-strength build, because I’ve done it, with good weapons you can overcome your stats and good armor keeps you safe.

So if I decided to play as Magick Archer would you recommend re-classing to mage or sorcerer for a few levels to boost magic stats? Or should I do Ranger for a while? I don't have to maximize stats but I'd like to be able to get through end game, post game and Dark Arisen without many problems. I find it very difficult to find good pawns and I'd like to be able to get by with just my Arisen and Main Pawn if necessary. I hate having to spend so much time looking for pawns with the right inclinations and skill sets and also ones that I think look at least a little cool.

Corvoid posted...

@bunnyrebellion is totally right that you can overcome any variations in stats for your arisen using the right equipment. There are advocates for both radical ends of the stat spectrum: balanced builds where magic and physical damage are about equal, and min-maxed builds which go all the way with one of the two.

The main thing, as bunnyrebellion was saying, is to find what is fun for you. For me, there is nothing that compares to the "feel" of longbows in this game, so I tend to go with Ranger whenever I can. Plus, I usually run game cycles in hard mode, where the arisen's stamina gets penalized, so like to include many Ranger levels pre lv 100.

But your pawn is what the community will see, and if you care about getting rentals, it would be wise to pay close attention to her. She'll be competing with others in the Rift, and some potential renters care about stats in addition to the many other ways pawns can be enhanced.

So how should I maximize my pawn as a support mage? I want to get rentals for my pawn and make her as apealing as possible. I was reading that for a support pawn the best inclinations are Utilitarian/Medicant. What about stats? Should I re-class her to something else? Currently she is a level 21 mage and I haven't changed her class at all so far.

thefernus posted...

Strider not only can do melee, it has the best melee attack in the game (and the best ranged physical ones without using items). It's just ridiculously strong. Its melee aside from climbing is way better than that of magick archer.

Lolinator Jr, my level 51 strider pawn, can practically solo the final postgame boss and often outdamages level 200 pawns of other classes... and she's a pawn.

I know that Strider can do both but from what I read it seems that Strider is better at melee attacks while Ranger is better with ranged attacks and Assassin is more balanced between the two.

"Star searing flames of absolution!"

ConanAPTX4869 posted...

I know that Strider can do both but from what I read it seems that Strider is better at melee attacks while Ranger is better with ranged attacks and Assassin is more balanced between the two.

Not really, assassin doesn't have much appealing in terms of ranged attacks, its most unique moves are melee and buffs (Masterful Kill, Dire Gouge, Great Windmill, Powder Barrage, Invisibility, Gale Harness). Assassin's best ranged attacks are just using Fivefold with blast arrows and Mighty Bend both of which strider can do too, but strider gets the strongest ranged physical attack that doesn't use blast arrows (Fracture Dart) and Hailstorm Volley is very strong too and can be used with blast arrows.

Assassin is definitely more melee oriented with the bow being a bonus (unless using blast arrows) compared to strider which is amazing with both.

ConanAPTX4869 posted...

I find it very difficult to find good pawns and I'd like to be able to get by with just my Arisen and Main Pawn if necessary. I hate having to spend so much time looking for pawns with the right inclinations and skill sets and also ones that I think look at least a little cool.

Just ask here? Some of the peaks of pawn perfection belong to members of this board. ;) Not so humble example:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Enh65FCC6g

Unless you're morally opposed to lolis. :D

LOLI IS HOLY!
PSN/pawn - LoIinator/Leviatha; Loli_Nation/Lolinator Jr; Laifu4Waifu/GuardNexus; Minataura/Minataur; Lolinator3rd/Altair; LolinaInverse/Lina

LOLI IS HOLY!
PSN/pawn - LoIinator/Leviatha; Loli_Nation/Lolinator Jr; Laifu4Waifu/GuardNexus; Minataura/Minataur; Lolinator3rd/Altair; LolinaInverse/Lina

If I were making a Mage, I would probably never level her as a Mage. Tricky and full of hassle, I know. Mages are most popular at the lower levels. Later, say post level 60, more renters seem to look for damage dealers.

Nevertheless, good high-level mages are rather rare, so maybe a niche you can exploit.

Util/Medicant will give you a pawn that spends most of their time buffing and healing. I'm not particularly fond of that behavior, since the battles are quick and over by the time the arisen and other pawns get their buffs. Any pawn can just heal themselves if you put healing items in their inventories.

psn Corvoid

https://www.twitch.tv/vonhizzle
https://www.youtube.com/vonhizzle