Being an Arcanist isn't easy, especially at very low levels. Arcana is a spell focused support Talent. And unlike Chronomancy it doesn't get the most iconic spells in Phase 1. In fact the Arcanist is almost always in the same position as me in full party fights. Deploying the same spell over and over. In my case it is a strong buff but in her case it is a powerful control spell. Which isn't even from her Tier 0 Aleatory Talent. It was unfortunate that she had made Talent decisions before knowing she would join our party. Maybe she could have leaned farther into the support role her primary Talent benefits. It can't be enjoyable just blasting Jolt all day. You don't even get to do damage.

Like me when it was my turn to practice solo on easy battles she was really able to vary her spell choices without letting anyone down. Especially in fights without control resistance making Jolt even stronger.

Arcanist Health 103 Mana 438/438 +10/s MOV 5m/s Breeze Rat lvl 1 *8 Health 80 Mana 40 MOV 10m/s Claw Swipe 10 dmg 1s Nip 15 dmg 1s 5Mana Swift Claw 30 dmg 1s 20Mana

We had passed from the forest onto some moors, which made Breeze Rats super common. She engage at the full 50 meters since she had timing issues. Static Field came down first. The rats advanced 30m by the time she could cast another spell. Storm Clouds came out next. The rats advanced another 10m. She began to cast Squall from Weather magic as the rats close right in front of her. Right before they'd be able to attack they all got slammed by Squall for a whopping 45 damage and 2s stun. A second Squall finished them off. Actually she could have avoided Storm Clouds since Static Field was doing an obscene 29 damage a second. Her total mana expenditure was 74+46+83+83=286, leaving her a full 152 + 70 of recovery. Way better than I did in my first fight.

Brisk Breeze Rat lvl 2 *8 Health 160 Mana 80 MOV 15m/s Paw Swipe 20 dmg 1s Snap 30 dmg 1s 10 Mana Blitz Claw 30 dmg 1s 40 Mana

A Breeze Rat evolution came next. Same count. 50% faster with more health and more damage. She started out the same way as before, which I agreed with. Getting those buffs up is always key. With 222 mana remaining and dealing a stunning amount of Static Field damage she simply repeatedly cast Aurora. These rats close so fast, arriving in only 4 seconds due to their speed, only 5 meters short of being too fast, that she never had time to spend 2s on a spell. Luckily she had the 250 mana she needed thanks to recovering 10 a second to finish 5 Auroras. 19 from before Storm Clouds and then 174 after.

She ended up deciding, because of how key the 3 second Static Field was, not to throw down with level 3 monsters. Perhaps she could have won but she didn't ever intend to solo monsters, seeing as the Crusher was her best friend. However we convinced her to pair up as a duo with the Cleanser. We watched the Cleanser fight first. Which was a bit painful. She didn't have much offense. She actually ended up casting Pull Under repeatedly once the enemy was in range. She literally had no other options. She buffed with Ocean Currents since Domains didn't expire. Kept her mana up and costs down. Anatomy's -10% on life spells was also key. This actually still worked, if slowly, on the lvl 2 monsters.

Giant Heath Wolf lvl 3*4 Health 320 ABS 20 Mana 160 MOV 15m/s Claw Rake 50 dmg 1s Dark Chomp 100 dmg 2s 40 mana

The Arcanist and the Cleanser had to team up for their lvl 3 monster fight. Static Field and Ocean Currents came down together. Ocean Currents gave a -5% mana reduction to FRC and GRV, GRV being part of Atmospheric magic. High Tide was actually viable for 2 people with no cost discounts, if barely, with heavy redictions for Life/Gravity/Mana it cast for 42 mana and gave back 80. Technically better than Revitalize in some ways. Especially after the bonus duration from Mana Permanence. Giving back an extra 8 mana.

Static Field was dealing 19 a turn after absorbtion while Pull Under was DoT and thus not impacted. Pull Under lasted 4 turns due to Mana Permanence. Except the control duration which was sadly but reasonable not impacted. That let the Cleanser use Heavy Seas to add an extra second of control every 4 turns. With Pull Under's 7+2 combined with the 19 of Static Field and the intermittent 20+4+15+10=49-10=39 of Squall the fight ended before High Tide ran out and mana wasn't a huge issue. Too fast for the Arcanist's more esoteric buffs really.

Finally the Miasmist joined the team.

Quartz Behemoth lvl 4*3 Health 700 ABS 40 Mana 350 MOV 5m/s Quartz Aura: -2s control Boulder Fist 100 dmg 2s Stun 1s Pounding Smash 200 dmg 3s Stun 70 mana 2s

Some Quartz Behemoths had been around the border of the moors so for an interesting comparison wehad a second engagement with them.

Arcanist Cleanser Miasmist Health 103 HP 78 HP 78 Mana 373/438 +10/s Mana 319/384 +9/s Mana 299/364 +8/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s Mana Well 1s Mana Well 1s Mana Well 1s

They started 40m away so with their slow speed there was plenty of time for more unusual buffs to cast. Additionally Mana Well became viable with a cost of 65 when it was returning 99 mana total. 3 mana wells went down immediately. The Behemoths thumped forward. 7s to go.

Arcanist Cleanser Miasmist Health 103 HP 78 HP 78 Mana 383/438 +10/s Mana 328/384 +9/s Mana 307/364 +8/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s Mana Well 0s Mana Well 0s Mana Well 0s

The adventurers recovered their normal amount this turn but next turn they'd be boosted. The earth shook as danger closed in.

Arcanist Cleanser Miasmist Health 103 HP 78 HP 78 Mana 328/438 +19/s Mana 281/384 +18/s Mana 287/364 +17/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s Static Field 2s Ocean Currents 2s Shroud 3s

The party doubled their mana recovery on average. The Behemoths had covered 15m. I'm going to skip 3s since nothing happens obviously.

Arcanist Cleanser Miasmist Domains And Buffs Health 103 HP 78 HP 78 Ocean Currents Mana 322/438 +22/s Mana 338/384 +21/s Mana 341/364 +20/s Static Field MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s Mana Well *3 7s Storm Clouds 0s High Tide 1s Shroud 0s

Storm Clouds was cast by the Arcanist.

Static Field applied 9 damage to all the wooly giants. The Behemoths were now 10m away.

Arcanist Cleanser Miasmist Domains And Buffs Health 103 HP 78 HP 78 Ocean Currents Mana 286/438 +22/s Mana 359/384 +21/s Mana 314/364 +20/s Static Field MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s Mana Well *3 6s Storm Clouds 10s Jolt 0s High Tide 0s Acid Splash 1s Shroud -10 mana/s

Jolt is deployed and Acid Splash begins 5m ahead of the monsters. High Tide finishes. Mana recovery is off the charts.

Two of the monsters close the distance. One is stalled a single second. Static Field applied 9 damage to all the wooly giants.

Arcanist Cleanser Miasmist Domains And Buffs Health 103 HP 78 HP 78 Ocean Currents Mana 254/438 +26/s Mana 292/384 +25/s Mana 328/364 +24/s Static Field | High Tide 10s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s Mana Well *3 5s Storm Clouds 9s Jolt 0s Heavy Seas 1s Acid Splash 0s Shroud -10 mana/s

After the second Jolt finishes and Acid Splash flies out the Cleanser casts Heavy Seas.

The 2 Jolts have kept 2 monsters out of range. One is close enough to attack soon after moving the last 5m. Static Field applied 9 damage to all the wooly giants. Acid Splash applies 29-20=9 damage plus DoTs to start next phase.

Arcanist Cleanser Miasmist Domains And Buffs Health 103 HP 78 HP 78 Ocean Currents Mana 222/438 +26/s Mana 317/384 +25/s Mana 319/364 +24/s Static Field | High Tide 9s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s Mana Well *3 4s Storm Clouds 8s Jolt 0s Heavy Seas 0s Gloom 0s Shroud -10 mana/s

Heavy Seas beings Snaring 2 behemoths out of range. The Miasmist casts Gloom on the left hand Behemoth for extra control to prepare to abuse Heavy Seas later. The last Jolt stuns the final Behemoth so it can't attack for the full 3 seconds thanks to Heavy Seas clearing control resistance.

Quartz Behemoth Quartz Behemoth Quartz Behemoth Health 650/700 ABS 40 Health 650/700 ABS 40 Health 650/700 ABS 40 Mana 350 Mana 350 Mana 350 MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s Quartz Aura: -2s control Quartz Aura: -2s control Quartz Aura: -2s control ENV: [9] [=9] ENV: [9] [=9] ENV: [9] [=9] DoT: [5](7s) +1(14s) [=5] DoT: [5](7s) [=5] DoT: [5](7s) [=5] Marks: 2 || Control: 1s Marks: 1 || Control: 2s Marks: 1 || Control: 0s

The Behemoths have all taken 45 damage. 9 from Acid Splash and 36 from Static Field. The behemoths can absorb 20 magic damage from their physical absorbtion being cut in half. All the Behemoths gain acid burns dealing 5 and lasting for (5+3)*1.2=9.6=10s. Thanks to Mana Permanence and Shroud combining.

Arcanist Cleanser Miasmist Domains And Buffs Health 103 HP 78 HP 78 Ocean Currents Mana 170/438 +26/s Mana 325/384 +25/s Mana 309/364 +24/s Static Field | High Tide 8s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s Mana Well *3 3s Storm Clouds 7s Squall 1s Pull Under 1s Night Chill 0s Shroud -10 mana/s

Nightchill casts on the Gloomed Behemoth. Due to MP+S it will last (10+2)*1.2=14.4=14s. Pull Under starts to take effect as does Squall.

Quartz Behemoth Quartz Behemoth Quartz Behemoth Health 635/700 ABS 40 Health 636/700 ABS 40 Health 636/700 ABS 40 Mana 350 Mana 350 Mana 350 MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s Quartz Aura: -2s control Quartz Aura: -2s control Quartz Aura: -2s control ENV: [9] [=9] ENV: [9] [=9] ENV: [9] [=9] DoT: [5](6s) + [1](13s) + [1]+3(14s] [=6] DoT: [5](6s) [=5] DoT: [5](6s) [=5] Marks: 3 || Control: 0s Marks: 1 || Control: 1s Marks: 1 || Control: -

2 Behemoths clear their control effects, except non-movement control and trundle forward into melee range. The central 1 has 2 more phases of waiting. They all take 14 damage except the lefthand one that took 15.

Arcanist Cleanser Miasmist Domains And Buffs Health 103 HP 78 HP 78 Ocean Currents Mana 196/438 +26/s Mana 350/384 +25/s Mana 299/364 +24/s Static Field | High Tide 7s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s Mana Well *3 2s Storm Clouds 6s Squall 0s Pull Under 0s Gloom 0s Shroud -10 mana/s

Pull Under finishes adding a (2+2)*1.2=4.8=5s 7 damage DoT and adding a third mark and doing 2s of Root. This clears enemy control resistance for Squall to add 2s of stun to all enemies as well as deal Squall(20)+Static Field(10)+Storm clouds(15)+Mana Manipulation(4)=49 damage - ABS/2(20)=29 total damage to each. The Miasmist casts Gloom on the right hand behemoth.

Quartz Behemoth Quartz Behemoth Quartz Behemoth Health 586/700 ABS 40 Health 592/700 ABS 40 Health 592/700 ABS 40 Mana 350 Mana 350 Mana 350 MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s Quartz Aura: -2s control Quartz Aura: -2s control Quartz Aura: -2s control ENV: [9] [=9] ENV: [9] [=9] ENV: [9] [=9] DoT: [5](5s) + [1](12s) + [1]+4(13s] + [7]+8(5s) [=11] DoT: [5](5s) + [7]+4(5s) [=5] DoT: [5](5s) + [7]+6(5s) + [1](14s) [=6] Marks: 4 || Control: 2s Marks: 2 || Control: 2s Marks: 3 || Control: 2s

Each Behemoth takes 15 damage except the left hand one that takes 20 plus they all take 29 from Squall. They all have to wait 3 more turns to be able to act thanks to clever Gloom timing. Pull Under applies and will activate next phase.

Arcanist Cleanser Miasmist Domains And Buffs Health 103 HP 78 HP 78 Ocean Currents Mana 222/438 +26/s Mana 375/384 +25/s Mana 313/364 +24/s Static Field | High Tide 6s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s Mana Well *3 1s Storm Clouds 5s > > > Shroud -10 mana/s

With an extra second to spare all the adventurers move out of range. Now they can stack bonus control with Heavy Seas unless they need to renew the Pull Under DoT.

Quartz Behemoth Quartz Behemoth Quartz Behemoth Health 551/700 ABS 40 Health 567/700 ABS 40 Health 564/700 ABS 40 Mana 350 Mana 350 Mana 350 MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s Quartz Aura: -2s control Quartz Aura: -2s control Quartz Aura: -2s control ENV: [9] [=9] ENV: [9] [=9] ENV: [9] [=9] DoT: [5](4s) + [1](11s) + [1]+4(12s] + [7]+8(4s) [=26] DoT: [5](4s) + [7]+4(4s) [=16] DoT: [5](4s) + [7]+6(4s) + [1](13s) [=19] Marks: 4 || Control: 1s Marks: 2 || Control: 1s Marks: 3 || Control: 1s

Each monster must wait 2 more phases to attack. They take 35, 25, and 28 damage.

Arcanist Cleanser Miasmist Domains And Buffs Health 103 HP 78 HP 78 Ocean Currents Mana 170/438 +26/s Mana 342/384 +25/s Mana 304/364 +24/s Static Field | High Tide 5s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s Mana Well *3 0s Storm Clouds 4s Squall 1s Heavy Seas 1s Night Chill 0s Shroud -10 mana/s

The Miasmist casts Night Chill on the right hand behemoth. The Arcanist and Cleanser deploy their Heavy Seas/Squall combo.

Quartz Behemoth Quartz Behemoth Quartz Behemoth Health 516/700 ABS 40 Health 542/700 ABS 40 Health 534/700 ABS 40 Mana 350 Mana 350 Mana 350 MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s Quartz Aura: -2s control Quartz Aura: -2s control Quartz Aura: -2s control ENV: [9] [=9] ENV: [9] [=9] ENV: [9] [=9] DoT: [5](3s) + [1](10s) + [1]+4(11s] + [7]+8(3s) [=26] DoT: [5](3s) + [7]+4(3s) [=16] DoT: [5](3s) + [7]+8(3s) + [1](12s) + [1]+4(14s] [=21] Marks: 4 || Control: 0s Marks: 2 || Control: 0s Marks: 4 || Control: 0s

The Behemoths take 35. 25, and 30 damage. They are free of control. For now.

Arcanist Cleanser Miasmist Domains And Buffs Health 103 HP 78 HP 78 Ocean Currents Mana 170/438 +17/s Mana 342/384 +16/s Mana 304/364 +15/s Static Field | High Tide 4s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s Mana Well *3 -s Storm Clouds 3s Squall 0s Heavy Seas 0s Shroud -10 mana/s

The Mana Wells fade away, a very painful loss. Squall and Heavy Seas add 3s of control to all enemies. The Miasmist begins casting Infect. The team looks at the situation and calls in assistance. They just couldn't handle the mana issues with the wells down.

We finished the fight and the party grabs the loot and prepares to set up camp. The next day the Treant and the Eruptor would be working on their teamwork. We looked at the mana issues today and decided to let the Cleanser be their third member when it became time for that.