Elsword Transformation Closer Look: Rena and Raven

By Darren Henderson (DizzyPW), OnRPG Editor-in-Chief

 

 

It’s hard to believe it’s been 3 months since JamesBl0nde and I jumped into Kill3rCombo’s Elsword to test out the newly released third class available for Elsword and Aisha. But as the Elsword Team has kept on schedule (perhaps even ahead of schedule) on Transformation launches, we now have Rena’s Trapping Ranger and Raven’s Weapon Taker classes available in the US. As such I pulled some strings and got an introduction to these two classes from the Elsword team and a bit of an ass whooping from GM Skillz to get a taste for each character in PvE and PvP. Oh and for the record I’m a novice Elsword player that’s just a fast learner thanks to its similarities to Smash Brothers which I spent many hours (ok days) of my life learning. So take this as a noob’s first look and not an expert’s guide to these characters.

 

 

Raven’s Weapon Taker

I have to admit I’m not normally a lover of the melee classes in Elsword but Weapon Taker… I like. He has so many tricks up his sleeve and his skills are just insanely punishing that you never truly feel safe when facing one no matter where your location is. Think you can beat him with fast dodges and aerial combos? He can turn some of his skills into air attacks to take the fight right back to you.

 

 

Beyond this, he can utilize Giga Prominence (a localized series of fire explosions that erupt from the ground and reach decently high into the air) to blast away anything in his radius for absolutely insane damage. And just when you think you have his back up against the wall, his HellFire Gatling (a fan shaped assault of 40+ fireballs with long range) paints a large fan of death in the direction he’s facing while making him nearly impossible to interrupt. On a flat battlefield this skill might be one of the most devastating abilities ever unleashed, which is quite a statement to make about a mere first class upgrade for Raven. And while these two skills are balanced with long cooldowns and heavy mana costs, his Revolver Cannon (4 consecutive straight line rockets) offers a more cost efficient way to keep your enemy at bay while winding up for your next vicious combo.

 

 

But where Raven’s Weapon Taker form truly shines is his passive abilities and unique overheat power that when combined make him an excellent duelist that can hold his prey in place for horrific combos that can be amplified at the cost of your own HP if you really have your foe in your sights. Not only does he have various passives and buffs related to upping his magical damage to make the most of his ranged attacks, he also can unlock an awesome Z dash attack with Shadow Piercing that’s ideal for cutting your enemy’s special ability short. His Mercenary Behavior passive also reduces the effects of just about any CC or DoT you can throw at him while reducing the damage he takes when he Overheats his abilities. Talk about getting some serious bang for your skill points!

 

 

I highly recommend this class for players that can keep a cool head under fire and focus on the timing of Raven’s Soul Taker combo strikes. Utilizing Z Z Z X and Z Z Z -> X in particular allows you to deal continuous damage while getting a large evade/jump behind skill that will leave your PvP opponents dazed and PvE bosses swinging at air. His ranged low mana X attacks also allow you to keep rival melee fighters on their toes during skill cooldowns and punish ranged characters trying to zone you out. If you can master this while also biding your time and making full use of Raven’s Rage Core, you can plow through enemy special abilities and punish anyone that tries to stand their ground to fight you head-on.

 

 

Check out a highlight reel of GM Skillz showing me his moves with Raven’s Soul Taker:

 

 

 

Rena’s Trapping Ranger

What happens when naïve innocent high elves fall into the wrong crowd? Well for Rena besides getting an amazing yoga butt, she also gets her hands on the blessed blade Erendil to unlock one of the most varied, vicious, and unpredictable fighting styles in the Elsword world.

 

 

Rena’s Trapping Ranger is hands down a tactician’s dream character in Elsword. At range she can harass and interrupt her foes. In melee she can tear opponents down to size in rapid succession with the best of them. Her double jump mixed with impressive air dashes and long ranged Z attacks make her a mobile threat whether you’re below or above her on the battlefield.

 

 

As far as skills go Rena seems focused around controlling and cutting off her opponent’s movement until she reaches that ‘checkmate’ moment and goes in for the execution. Her Explosion Trap offers a quick arrow shot diagonally into the ground in front of her that gives her a nice buffer against speedy enemies that want to dash in and initiate. Those attempting to counter her should be weary that she packs plenty of passives to keep you on your foot for extended combos while she unleashes a barrage of Erendil strikes with a huge chance of landing critical strikes. She even has a wind powered kick that can reflect projectiles back at you! The Trapping Ranger can be quite unpredictable in style as well since her passives allow her to gain increased mastery of both physical and magical attacks, and even gain armor piercing arrow strikes.

 

 

But all of this is merely a façade to hide the true intention of Rena’s Trapping Ranger. Once she has you where she wants you, she can unleash Call of Ruin to fill your now limited safe zone with multiple spiked orbs or blow up the very ground beneath you with Karma, forcing you a huge distance away from her so that she can set up her minefield of arrows once more.

 

 

One last note on the Trapping Ranger. Never underestimate her and think you’ve won just because she’s on the verge of death. Fatality offers a  lightning fast straight line finisher skill with a chance of dealing 6,560% physical damage to any enemy struck. It can also do 1 damage or various other damages in between depending on luck. Still it’s best to approach quickly and stay airborn when possible when fighting a Trapping Ranger to make sure you never have to play Russian Roulette against Erendil.

 

 

Check out my much less one sided battle with GM Skillz in our Rena Trapping Ranger highlight reel:

 

 

 

Interested in checking out the game for yourself? Check ’em out at http://www.elswordonline.com/. And if you like what you see don’t forget to cast your vote to get them Greenlit on Steam!