Class Abilities
The Class Abilities system is DreamWeave's custom character-power system: six classes, three tiers each, bought with Class Ability Points (CAP) at a class trainer. There are no class locks - your "class" is simply where you have spent your points, and anyone can splash into any class's Tier 1. Every ability below is implemented in the server; the trainers and tier-unlock economy are in final validation, and the numbers are current values that may be tuned during balancing.
How it works
Class Ability Points (CAP) are the currency of the system. You earn CAP by leveling - one point at each of twelve milestone levels: 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 125, 150, 175, 200, 225, 250, and 275 - and can acquire more through the class-ability exchange (Luminance). You spend CAP at a class trainer to learn abilities.
There are no restrictions on who can learn what - your "class" is simply wherever you've spent your points. Anyone can splash into any class's Tier 1.
Buying an ability:
- Each ability has up to 3 ranks, bought one at a time, cheapest first.
- Every class's signature Tier-1 ability costs just 1 CAP for its first rank - your very first point buys your class's build-defining power.
- Purchases are made with prepaid tokens from your class trainer.
- Each token's icon carries a tier numeral overlay (a Roman numeral, in the same style as an Aetheria surge symbol), so you can tell a rank I, II, or III token apart at a glance.
Unlocking deeper tiers (per class, permanent, survives a respec):
| Tier | Unlock cost | Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | free | open to everyone from the start |
| Tier 2 | 3 CAP | 5 CAP already spent in that class |
| Tier 3 | 8 CAP | 15 CAP already spent in that class |
Respec: you can refund and reallocate spent CAP. Tier unlocks you've already earned stay unlocked.
Reading the tables:
- Cost is shown per rank (e.g.
1 / 2 / 3means rank 1 costs 1 CAP, rank 2 costs 2, rank 3 costs 3). - Each tier's signature ability - its game-changer - is listed first and marked ★.
- Enhanced <stat> adds a flat bonus to that stat's base value: +10 / +25 / +50 at ranks 1/2/3 (the value at that rank, not cumulative). It counts toward wield requirements; attribute and vital bonuses aren't redistributable, and attribute bonuses cascade into every derived skill/vital.
- Training bundles apply that same +10/+25/+50 to every stat they list, as one 3-rank ability - and each bundle quietly houses the legacy skills that power its class's abilities, so the "utility" buy is never dead weight.
- Rating abilities feed the same pools as your gear and Luminance auras: +3 / +6 / +10 rating at ranks 1/2/3 (≈ +3/+6/+10% on that axis), added on top of everything else.
- Many combat abilities scale with a legacy skill - its per-point value is written into the ability's effect (e.g. +1% per 25 Fletching). See Skill affinity below for how Trained vs Specialized scaling works.
Build tips
- Buy your signature first. Every class's Tier-1 signature costs 1 CAP at rank 1 - it's the single highest-impact point you'll ever spend.
- Training bundles pay for themselves. Each one houses the legacy skills that power its class's combat abilities (Alchemy → Poison Weapon, Fletching → Deadeye, Recklessness → Blood Fury, Arcane Lore → Overchannel, Leadership → Empowered Summons, and so on), so the "utility" buy is quietly a damage buy too.
- Some abilities chain. Rogue's Riposte needs Parry; Acid Proc needs Poison Weapon; Vanguard's Shield Check needs Parry and Thorns. Deep synergy builds reward buying across a class rather than cherry-picking.
- Avoidance is pooled. Parry (Rogue) and Shield Block (Vanguard) share one roll capped at 50% - they complement each other rather than multiply.
- Splashing is cheap, going deep is committed. Any character can grab another class's Tier-1 signature. Tier 2 and Tier 3 want real investment (5 then 15 CAP spent in that class) - which is why the two weapon-agnostic multipliers, Rogue's Attack Speed and Archmage's Flat Cast Speed, sit behind deep unlocks instead of being universal splash picks.
- Watch the resource costs. Heavy Draw, Savage Blows, and Whirlwind trade stamina for damage; Overchannel (and Spell AOE together) trade mana for reach. They fall back to a normal hit when you can't pay, so they reward a stamina/mana-forward build.
- Ratings stack additively into the same pools as gear and Luminance auras - a smooth, always-useful top-up rather than a build-defining spike.
- A fully-built class is worth roughly 200-300% in its core role - two to three times your damage throughput, or your effective HP as a Vanguard - built up across the three tiers: your Tier-1 signature is the single biggest jump, Tier 2 compounds it, and your Tier-3 capstone brings it to full strength.
Classes
Each class is collapsed below - use the [show/hide] control beside a class name to open its full ability list.
Archer [show/hide]
The ranged specialist. Turn one arrow into a volley, then make that volley land harder and more often.
| Ability | Ranks | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 - open | |||
| ★ Multishot | 3 | 1 / 2 / 3 | Your missile attacks strike additional nearby targets - one extra arrow per rank, stacking with multi-shot weapons. High Assess Creature increases the extra arrows' damage: +1% per 20 Assess Creature (per 15 if Specialized). |
| Enhanced Missile Weapons | 3 | 1 / 1 / 1 | +10/+25/+50 base Missile Weapons. |
| Enhanced Coordination | 3 | 1 / 1 / 1 | +10/+25/+50 base Coordination; cascades into Coordination-derived skills. |
| Archer Training | 3 | 1 / 1 / 1 | +10/+25/+50 base Fletching, Assess Creature, Run, and Jump. (Feeds Multishot, Deadeye, and Heavy Draw.) |
| Tier 2 - unlock 3 CAP, 5 spent | |||
| ★ Deadeye | 3 | 3 / 3 / 3 | +8% missile damage per rank (+24% at rank 3). Higher Fletching increases the bonus: +1% per 25 Fletching (per 18 if Specialized). Applies to every arrow in a Multishot volley. |
| Eagle Eye | 3 | 2 / 2 / 2 | +4/8/12% missile accuracy - a bonus to your effective missile skill on the to-hit roll. |
| Heavy Draw | 3 | 3 / 3 / 3 | +6% missile damage per rank, but each shot costs extra stamina; with too little stamina the shot lands normally with no bonus. A higher Run skill makes the shot cheaper rather than stronger: it cuts the extra stamina cost by 1% per 25 Run (per 18 if Specialized), to a maximum saving of half. |
| Enhanced Missile Defense | 3 | 1 / 1 / 1 | +10/+25/+50 base Missile Defense. |
| Tier 3 - unlock 8 CAP, 15 spent | |||
| ★ Double Volley | 3 | 5 / 5 / 5 | 6/12/18% chance a volley immediately fires a full second volley at the same targets - no ammo, no stamina. |
| Long Draw | 3 | 3 / 3 / 3 | Missile damage grows with range: no bonus up close, up to +10% per rank at long range. |
| Crit Rating | 3 | 2 / 3 / 4 | +3/+6/+10% critical hit chance. |
Rogue [show/hide]
The precision fighter. Fold extra damage into every strike, punish attackers you parry, and dodge what you can't out-tank.
| Ability | Ranks | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 - open | |||
| ★ Poison Weapon | 3 | 1 / 2 / 3 | Separate poison damage added to every landed weapon hit against monsters, per rank (Multishot volleys included). Higher Alchemy increases it: +1 flat damage per 12 Alchemy above 100 (per 9 if Specialized). |
| Enhanced Finesse Weapons | 3 | 1 / 1 / 1 | +10/+25/+50 base Finesse Weapons. |
| Enhanced Quickness | 3 | 1 / 1 / 1 | +10/+25/+50 base Quickness; cascades into Quickness-derived skills. |
| Rogue Training | 3 | 1 / 1 / 1 | +10/+25/+50 base Lockpick, Assess Person, Alchemy, and Item Tinkering. (Feeds Poison Weapon, Attack Speed, and Acid Proc.) |
| Tier 2 - unlock 3 CAP, 5 spent | |||
| ★ Parry | 3 | 3 / 3 / 3 | 5% chance per rank to fully negate an incoming melee hit. Higher Deception increases it: +1% chance per 50 Deception (per 37 if Specialized). Pooled with Shield Block into one avoidance roll (50% combined cap). |
| Riposte | 3 | 2 / 2 / 2 | When you Parry, counter with a free weapon strike at 40/70/100% damage by rank - a real hit, so Poison Weapon and Acid Proc apply. Requires Parry. |
| Questionable Tactics | 3 | 1 / 1 / 1 | +10/+25/+50 base Sneak Attack, Dirty Fighting, and Deception. |
| Enhanced Melee Defense | 3 | 1 / 1 / 1 | +10/+25/+50 base Melee Defense. |
| Tier 3 - unlock 8 CAP, 15 spent | |||
| ★ Attack Speed | 3 | 5 / 5 / 5 | +5% attack speed per rank (+15% at rank 3), on any weapon. Higher Lockpick increases it: +1% per 50 Lockpick (per 37 if Specialized). Stacks with Frenzy up to the attack-speed ceiling. |
| Acid Proc | 3 | 3 / 3 / 3 | 8/14/20% chance on a weapon hit to apply an acid damage-over-time equal to your Poison Weapon damage. Higher Item Tinkering increases the chance: +1% per 25 Item Tinkering (per 18 if Specialized). Requires Poison Weapon. |
| Crit Damage Rating | 3 | 2 / 3 / 4 | +3/+6/+10% critical hit damage. |
Vanguard [show/hide]
The shield-bearer. Punish attackers, soak hits, and pull the room's attention onto yourself.
| Ability | Ranks | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 - open | |||
| ★ Thorns | 3 | 1 / 2 / 3 | Requires a shield. Creatures that strike you take reflected damage equal to 10% of your shield's armor level per rank. A higher Shield skill reflects more: +1% of shield armour per 25 Shield (per 18 if Specialized). No reflect against magic. |
| Enhanced Endurance | 3 | 1 / 1 / 1 | +10/+25/+50 base Endurance; cascades into Endurance-derived vitals. |
| Advanced Weaponry | 3 | 1 / 1 / 1 | +10/+25/+50 base Heavy Weapons and Light Weapons - both lines from one ability. |
| Vanguard Training | 3 | 1 / 1 / 1 | +10/+25/+50 base Healing, Armor Tinkering, and Shield. (Feeds Shield Block.) |
| Tier 2 - unlock 3 CAP, 5 spent | |||
| ★ Taunt | 1 | 3 | When one of your equipped Aetheria surges, the surge also taunts all nearby monsters into attacking you for a short time. A higher Loyalty skill holds them longer: +1 second per 25 Loyalty (per 18 if Specialized), up to 10 extra seconds. Loyalty is trained by Void Training, so this is one of the abilities worth splashing another class for. |
| Shield Block | 3 | 3 / 3 / 3 | With a shield equipped, 8/14/20% of incoming hits are reduced to 0. Higher Armor Tinkering increases it: +1% per 50 Armor Tinkering (per 37 if Specialized). Pooled with Parry (50% cap); blocked hits still trigger Thorns. |
| Shield Check | 3 | 2 / 2 / 2 | With a shield equipped, attacks you Parry also trigger Thorns at 40/70/100% strength by rank. Requires Parry and Thorns. |
| Damage Resist Rating | 3 | 2 / 3 / 4 | +3/+6/+10% less damage taken. |
| Tier 3 - unlock 8 CAP, 15 spent | |||
| ★ Battle Hardened | 1 | 5 | Passively reduces all incoming damage from monsters by 0.05% per point of Strength (hidden, capped). Scales with Strength buffs and Enhanced Strength. PvE only. |
| Enhanced Max Health | 3 | 1 / 1 / 1 | +10/+25/+50 base maximum Health. |
| Crit Resist Rating | 3 | 2 / 3 / 4 | +3/+6/+10% lower chance of being critically hit. |
Berserker [show/hide]
The all-out attacker. Trade defense for raw output - the lower your health, the harder you hit.
| Ability | Ranks | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 - open | |||
| ★ Frenzy | 3 | 1 / 2 / 3 | Each landed weapon hit against a monster grants +5% attack speed, stacking up to 3/6/10 times by rank. Stacks reset after 10 seconds without landing a hit. Higher Recklessness raises what each stack is worth: +1% per stack per 250 Recklessness (per 185 if Specialized). The "per" number looks large because it is paid out once per stack - at a full 10 stacks it is worth ten times that. |
| Enhanced Strength | 3 | 1 / 1 / 1 | +10/+25/+50 base Strength; cascades into Strength-derived skills (and feeds Battle Hardened if you splash Vanguard). |
| Enhanced Two Handed Combat | 3 | 1 / 1 / 1 | +10/+25/+50 base Two Handed Combat. |
| Berserker Training | 3 | 1 / 1 / 1 | +10/+25/+50 base Dual Wield, Recklessness, Weapon Tinkering, and Salvaging. (Feeds Frenzy, Savage Blows, and Bloodlust.) |
| Tier 2 - unlock 3 CAP, 5 spent | |||
| ★ Savage Blows | 3 | 3 / 3 / 3 | +6% melee damage per rank, but each swing costs extra stamina. Higher Weapon Tinkering increases it: +1% per 25 Weapon Tinkering (per 18 if Specialized); with too little stamina the swing lands normally. |
| Blood Fury | 3 | 3 / 3 / 3 | Melee damage grows as your health drops below 75%, up to +10% per rank at 25% health. |
| Executioner | 3 | 2 / 2 / 2 | +4% melee damage per rank against targets below 25% health. Higher Dirty Fighting increases it: +1% per 25 Dirty Fighting (per 18 if Specialized). |
| Enhanced Max Stamina | 3 | 1 / 1 / 1 | +10/+25/+50 base maximum Stamina. |
| Tier 3 - unlock 8 CAP, 15 spent | |||
| ★ Whirlwind | 1 | 5 | Your two-handed or dual-wield swings hit a full 360° arc and strike one extra target - even a weapon with no innate cleave. Each swing costs +100% stamina, falling back to a normal swing if you're short. |
| Bloodlust | 3 | 3 / 3 / 3 | Your melee hits heal you for 1% of damage dealt per rank. Higher Salvaging increases the lifesteal: +1 percentage point per 150 Salvaging (Salvaging cannot be Specialized). |
| Damage Rating | 3 | 2 / 3 / 4 | +3/+6/+10% to all damage dealt. |
Archmage [show/hide]
The war-magic artillery. One spell becomes a chain reaction, hits harder, and echoes for free.
| Ability | Ranks | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 - open | |||
| ★ Spell AOE | 1 | 1 | When your Arc war spell damages a monster, the same spell blasts outward to every other nearby enemy (no cap) for half damage. Higher Mana Conversion raises that radiated share above half, up to a 75% cap: +1% per 20 Mana Conversion (per 15 if Specialized). |
| Enhanced War Magic | 3 | 1 / 1 / 1 | +10/+25/+50 base War Magic. |
| Enhanced Focus | 3 | 1 / 1 / 1 | +10/+25/+50 base Focus; cascades into Focus-derived skills. |
| Archmage Training | 3 | 1 / 1 / 1 | +10/+25/+50 base Mana Conversion, Item Enchantment, Arcane Lore, and Magic Item Tinkering. (Feeds Overchannel, Echo Cast, and Elemental Rend.) |
| Tier 2 - unlock 3 CAP, 5 spent | |||
| ★ Overchannel | 3 | 2 / 2 / 2 | +8% to all war-magic damage per rank (+24% at rank 3). Higher Arcane Lore increases it: +1% per 25 Arcane Lore (per 18 if Specialized). Boosted casts cost +100% mana (stacking with Spell AOE to +200% on an Arc cast). |
| Flat Cast Speed | 3 | 3 / 3 / 3 | +5% war-magic cast speed per rank (+15% at rank 3), always on - no ramp-up. |
| Mana Barrier | 3 | 3 / 3 / 3 | 10/17.5/25% of the damage you take is paid out of your Mana instead of your Health, to a 60% maximum. Higher Magic Defense increases the share: +1% per 25 Magic Defense (per 18 if Specialized). If your Mana cannot cover the full share it pays what it can, and once Mana is empty the barrier stops. It resolves before you die, so it can save you from a killing blow, but it does not apply to damage-over-time ticks. Magic Defense is trained by Void Training. |
| Enhanced Max Mana | 3 | 1 / 1 / 1 | +10/+25/+50 base maximum Mana. |
| Tier 3 - unlock 8 CAP, 15 spent | |||
| ★ Echo Cast | 3 | 5 / 5 / 5 | 6/12/18% chance a landed war spell instantly re-casts itself at the same target - no mana, no wind-up. Higher Magic Item Tinkering increases the chance: +1% per 50 Magic Item Tinkering (per 37 if Specialized). |
| Elemental Rend | 3 | 3 / 3 / 3 | 8/14/20% chance a war spell inflicts the matching element's Vulnerability at the spell's level. Higher Life Magic increases the chance: +1% per 25 Life Magic (per 18 if Specialized). |
| Enhanced Life Magic | 3 | 1 / 1 / 1 | +10/+25/+50 base Life Magic. |
Void / Summon [show/hide]
The decay-and-pet specialist. Speed up your void casts, spread your rot from the dying to the living, and command your beasts - eventually two at once, and far harder to kill.
| Ability | Ranks | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 - open | |||
| ★ Nether Rush | 3 | 1 / 2 / 3 | Casting void spells builds stacks (max 5); each stack speeds your void casts by 5/10/15% per rank. Stacks reset after 20 seconds without a void cast. Higher Arcane Lore raises what each stack is worth: +1% per stack per 125 Arcane Lore (per 92 if Specialized), so at a full 5 stacks it is worth five times that. Arcane Lore is trained by Archmage Training. |
| Enhanced Void Magic | 3 | 1 / 1 / 1 | +10/+25/+50 base Void Magic. |
| Enhanced Self | 3 | 1 / 1 / 1 | +10/+25/+50 base Self; cascades into Self-derived skills. |
| Void Training | 3 | 1 / 1 / 1 | +10/+25/+50 base Creature Enchantment, Magic Defense, Loyalty, and Leadership. (Feeds Empowered Summons, Soul Tether, and Withering - and, outside this class, Vanguard's Taunt and Archmage's Mana Barrier.) |
| Tier 2 - unlock 3 CAP, 5 spent | |||
| ★ Nether Bloom | 3 | 3 / 3 / 3 | When you land the killing blow on an enemy carrying one of your void damage-over-time spells, that spell spreads to the 1/2/3 nearest other enemies by rank, keeping whatever duration it had left. A spell that arrived by spreading cannot spread again, so a bloom never chains beyond one hop. |
| Empowered Summons | 3 | 3 / 3 / 3 | Your combat pets get more health, damage, and defenses per rank. Higher Leadership increases the bonus: +1% pet stats per 20 Leadership (per 15 if Specialized). Read when the pet is summoned, so a pet keeps the stats it was called with. |
| Soul Tether | 3 | 3 / 3 / 3 | Your combat pets take 10/17.5/25% less damage, to a 50% maximum, from every source - melee, missile, spell, and damage-over-time. When a combat pet dies its summoning device can be used again immediately. Higher Loyalty increases the reduction: +1% per 25 Loyalty (per 18 if Specialized). Unlike Empowered Summons this is read continuously, so a new rank helps the pet you already have out. |
| Enhanced Summoning | 3 | 1 / 1 / 1 | +10/+25/+50 base Summoning. |
| Tier 3 - unlock 8 CAP, 15 spent | |||
| ★ Summon 2x | 1 | 5 | You may have a second combat pet active at the same time. |
| Void Damage | 3 | 2 / 2 / 2 | +8% void-magic damage per rank (+24% at rank 3). |
| Withering | 3 | 2 / 2 / 2 | +8% void damage-over-time tick damage per rank (+24% at rank 3). Higher Creature Enchantment increases it: +1% per 25 Creature Enchantment (per 18 if Specialized). |
Skill affinity
Several abilities scale with one of your legacy skills on top of their per-rank value - a "skill affinity". Wherever an ability's effect reads "Higher Fletching increases it" (and the like), the per-point value is written right into that ability's effect above; this section is the rule they all share.
- It reads the source skill's effective (buffed) value - your current skill number after auras, gear, and Enhanced-skill bonuses, not its base.
- The source skill must be Trained or Specialized to contribute anything. An Untrained source gives zero - affinity never comes from a skill you haven't invested in.
- A Specialized source is stronger than a Trained one: it earns the same bonus from fewer skill points, which is why each ability lists a smaller "per" number for Specialized.
- A few affinities ignore the first slice of the skill (a threshold) so they pay off at the high end - e.g. Poison Weapon only counts Alchemy above 100.
- Some affinities read a skill another class trains. Nether Rush (Void) reads Arcane Lore, which Archmage Training raises; Taunt (Vanguard) and Soul Tether (Void) read Loyalty, and Mana Barrier (Archmage) reads Magic Defense, both raised by Void Training. These are deliberate: they give you a reason to splash a class you would otherwise skip.
- A "per stack" affinity is worth far more than its number suggests. Frenzy and Nether Rush pay their affinity out once for every active stack, so their "per" numbers are correspondingly larger. Compare the total at full stacks, not the headline figure.
- Every Tier-1 game changer has an affinity, so your first purchase in any class keeps growing as the matching skill does.
For example, Deadeye lists +1% per 25 Fletching (per 18 if Specialized). At 400 effective Fletching that is 400 ÷ 25 = +16% missile damage if Fletching is Trained, or 400 ÷ 18 = +22% if it is Specialized. Per-point affinity values are the current tuning and may change during balancing.
See also
- Class Trainers - where you buy abilities and unlock tiers (The Meridian).
- Game systems - all custom server systems.