Abilities live on your weapons, not your character
Every class carries two weapon stances at once and swaps between them mid-fight, and your skills are gated by whichever stance is active. That means each class is really two kits, and it also means the usual anxiety about picking wrong is misplaced — talents reset for free, and low-level class switching is free with a revert window. Pick by instinct and start extracting.
- Two stances per class, swappable mid-fight.
- Skills are tied to the weapon, so your stance choice is a build decision.
- On top of stances sit talent trees and gem affixes for the deeper build crafting.
The six classes at a glance
Roles below are the launch-build read. The stance column is what actually determines which skills you can slot.
| Class | Stances | Role | Beginner friendly? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercenary | Sword & Shield / Warhammer | Frontline tank, engage and peel | Yes — the safest first pick |
| Sorcerer | Staff (Elemental or Stardust) | Ranged AoE and boss damage | Yes, but the lowest health pool in the game |
| Blackarrow | Bow (burst draw or status) | Precision ranged, scouting, solo | Moderate |
| Shadowstrix | Dagger / Dual Blades | Stealth assassin, best duelist | No — hardest class to commit to |
| Seer | Catalyst (support) / Mace (battle caster) | The game's only true healer, or a curse bruiser | Moderate — strong in trios |
| Withered Knight | Greatsword / Polearm & Shield | Heavy anchor, burst detonations | No — steeper curve, high payoff |
Mercenary
- Stances
- Sword & Shield / Warhammer
- Role
- Frontline tank, engage and peel
- Beginner friendly?
- Yes — the safest first pick
Sorcerer
- Stances
- Staff (Elemental or Stardust)
- Role
- Ranged AoE and boss damage
- Beginner friendly?
- Yes, but the lowest health pool in the game
Blackarrow
- Stances
- Bow (burst draw or status)
- Role
- Precision ranged, scouting, solo
- Beginner friendly?
- Moderate
Shadowstrix
- Stances
- Dagger / Dual Blades
- Role
- Stealth assassin, best duelist
- Beginner friendly?
- No — hardest class to commit to
Seer
- Stances
- Catalyst (support) / Mace (battle caster)
- Role
- The game's only true healer, or a curse bruiser
- Beginner friendly?
- Moderate — strong in trios
Withered Knight
- Stances
- Greatsword / Polearm & Shield
- Role
- Heavy anchor, burst detonations
- Beginner friendly?
- No — steeper curve, high payoff
Which one should you actually pick
Short answer for the three cases people ask about: Mercenary if this is your first extraction game, Sorcerer if you want the highest damage ceiling and can hold spacing, support Seer if you are queuing trios with friends. The full ranking — split by solo, trio and duelling, with what the 30 July and 6 August notes moved and where the early lists disagree — lives on the tier list.
- Nothing you pick is permanent: talents reset free and low-level class switching is free with a revert window.
- A class is really two kits, because your skills are gated by the active weapon stance.
- See the full ranking on the Mistfall Hunter tier list.