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ThePupeteerclass is one of the most interesting inCrystal of Atlan, as it’s a hybrid DPS class that allows for buffing and healing yourself or your party. If you’re a known support player in most games, or you’re interested in an advanced class that can deal large amounts of damage, Pupeeteer has options for you.
If you like micromanaging a puppet with precise movements and planning attacks or dealing lots of AoE and zoning, you’re in the right place. You won’t have the range of some classes nor the armor and health of others, but your utility and combo loops with some aerial combat can easily make you a formidable opponent in PvE and PvP.
How To Play The Puppeteer
The Puppeteer is such a unique class because thetwo subclasses availablefrom it go incompletely different directions. While the Puppetter itself is a simple class with a decently tanky build that can also dish out damage, it’s not until you advance to the unlockable classes that the class truly shines.
When starting out, you’ll be given just a few easy abilities to play around with. You don’t need to worry too much about these, as you’ll quickly outgrow using them. They are great for getting into a rotation for how to use the class, but it won’t matter much.
You’re locked to four skills in the beginning until you complete the first dungeon. Once you unlock the ability to choose, upgrade, and configure your skills, you’ll be open to choosing more options. Until then, you can mix and match and try whatever you want to.
Theseskills can only be unlocked up to level 10, and you won’t get much out of them aside from dealing some burst damage and practicing combos.
If you really want to make a unique early game build, try to use abilities such as holding your action button down to lift the enemy into the air, and practice air combos. Also,get used to closing the distance with abilities, as you’ll rely on this much more as you go into your chosen advanced subclass.
How To Play The Blademaiden
This class is all aboutusing your Marionette as an actual puppet, andpositioning it to be able to deal significant amounts of damageto groups of enemies in large AoE attacks or to bosses for large bursts of damage.
The most important thing to note about the Blademaiden is that it requires specific positioning of your marionette to get the most optimal damage output. While a lot of the moves between the Blademaiden and Scytheguard are similar, the placement of your Marionette will make all the difference here.
Where yourMarioenette will follow you as the Scytheguard, it willstay in position as the Blademaiden when attacking. This is where you’ll need to distance yourself from the enemy,preferably placing yourself on the opposite sideto gain the most traction.
While you’re free to build your skill combos in whatever way you see fit, there are some staple moves to look out for when playing as the Blademaiden. We cover theearly game options up to level 30with this guide. Once you get to level 45, things become much more late-game, and rotations begin to change.
Description
Projection
You’ll want to use this skill to throw your Marionette into the fray, allowing it to charge forward and deal damage. This is agreat gap closerand willget your Marionette in position, detached from your own.
Onslaught
Your marionette will perform a spinning attack in front of you, hitting the enemy for damage multiple times. This skill also has you perform an attack, sodo it while your Marionette is on the opposite sideto hit the enemy twice.
Waltz
Perfect for AoE damage, Waltz has youswing your Marionette in a wide circle, dealing damage to everything in the vicinity. If your Marionette is placed opposite you or in a different area, performing this skill will bring you both back together.
Do not use Waltz to interrupt a string of attackswhile you’ve placed your Marionette in a perfect position, asyou will lose your positioning. It’s great for clearing enemies with high AoE damage, but it will ruin your rotation otherwise. The upgrade allows you to cast Waltz twice for two full swings.
Thunder Sear
Whip your chain at enemies within the area in front of you.
As your Marionette does this as well,ensure you’re on opposite sides before performing this to catch enemies in the middle. You deal damage multiple times per hit with this skill, so hitting an enemy multiple times with both you and your Marionette on opposite sides (or even next to each other) is the optimal way to ensure the most damage.
Runic Barrier
Only really useful for when traveling in parties, thebarrier grants damage resistanceto you and allies within it. Really though, you won’t need to be using this skill too often, as you have lots of sustain, decent range, and good damage to destroy anything in your way this early in the game.
Surging Thunder
Astrong electric field is cast around your Marionette,dealing damage to all caught in it. At early levels, this doesn’t cast around you; however, with good positioning, enemies will take AoE damage from the electric field over time while you’re free to perform other damaging moves.
Base attacks may be a good idea here, as you save abilities copied by the Marionette for when you can both do them for maximum output.
Overload: Increase your Electro damage.
Magnetic Coil
Generate a magnetic force field around your Marionette that deals damage to any enemies within its range.
Thunderblaze - Ultimate Blossoming
Your ultimate move deals a ton of damage in the surrounding area in a large circle.
If you’re unsure what to choose, you may always choose the recommended build option in the bottom left corner to help you get a quick build.
When configuring these skills, you shouldavoid putting skills next to or on top of each other that will separate you from your Marionette. You want to ensure that every skill does not accidentally cause you to click into another that may ruin your positioning.
Especially if you’re on PlayStation, as the skills stack when you unlock the level slots up to level 30, you also don’t want to accidentally cast Projection, sending your Marionette out into nothing while trying to perform a combo.
You will also want to grab the Charged BATK skill, which allows you to hold the basic attack button to perform an upward slash, bringing enemies into the air for potential combo options.
Your goal here is tochain these attacks, but the unique thing about Crystal of Atlan is that you cancombo with them in whatever way that comfortably fits you, as long as you don’t use specific skills that will ruin your positioning, you won’t ruin your rotation.
Start with Projection or Blade Frenzyas your opener toclose the gap, thenposition yourself opposite or to the side of the enemyandperform every other skill in your rotationto dish out high damage.
If you’re encountering anarray of enemies, pop your Rhapsody or Curtain Call to dispatch them quickly with AoE damage, then throw yourMarionette back into position with Projection or Blade Frenzyandrinse and repeatfor the early game.
How To Play Scytheguard
The Scytheguar is much moresupport-focusedthan the Blademaiden, giving you a new addition to your HUD,adding the Full Moon and New Moon slotsto the bottom of your screen. There are three Full Moon and three New Moon slots that can be used, and the trick to the Scytheguard is utilizing both to give yourself a bonus.
The outcome is simple, really. Once you havethree stacks of Full Moon, press the basic attack button togrant yourself healing. Once you havethree New Moon stacks, press the basic attack button togrant yourself a damage boost.
If you haveboth the New Moon and Full Moonstacks and you press the attack button, you get an even bigger bonus state where you aregranted both effects.
Knowing the basics of this is essential to playing the Scytheguard, as you’ll be able toheal when you need toordeal increased damage when necessary. Even better if you can do both at the same time.
Each skill has either a New Moon or Full Moon symbol on it, to quickly tell what you’ll be granted when using it.
Moon
Swing the Marionette scythe in a large area,dealing AoE damageto all caught in it.
1 New Moon Mark
Scythe Swipe
Attack enemies in frontas the Marionette sends them flying upward. Perfect tostart an airborne combo.
Throw the sickle forward, and your Marionette will move forward with it,launching an enemy upward. When done inmidair, this also grapplesthe enemy. It’s also agreat gap closer.
1 Full Moon Mark
Moonlight Sear
Whip your chain in front of you, dealingAoE damage in a conefor every enemy caught inside.
Abarrier for you and your alliesthat grants damage resistance within range.Repels attacks when it’s castanddeals damage when it explodesonce it’s used.
Rhapsody
Deal AoE damage as you whip your chain around you in a circle. This attackdraws enemies inwhile dealing continuous damage.
Whirlwind Scythe
Throw a psychic sickle that rotates, dealing damage to every enemy hit.Upgrading this skill is recommended as it throws out three sickles,covering much more ground. This hits a lot more enemies for interruption and decent damage.
Flurry
Pierce nearby enemies at once, lifting them into the air and slamming them down, dealing massive damage.
Photon Blast
Deal damage with a sickle that falls from the sky in a circle you place within a small range.
Dazzling Reflection
Increase the effect of your Dual Moons, enhancing the healing and damage boost from consuming them.
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Moonlit: Ultimate Blossoming
Your ultimate move deals a ton of damage in the surrounding area in a large circle to surrounding enemies.
You’ll still be able tokeep up with the party and deal decent damageas the Scytheguar,along with healing yourselfand others. While you don’t need to worry about positioning as you would with the Blademaiden, you will need to keep up with your Moon marks.
Ideally, you want to create a rotation that allows you to quickly gain all three of each mark before doing a basic attack to consume both.
Of course, if you need healing, you’ll want touse your barrier and consume your Full Moon marks for quick healingin a pinch, but overall, you’ll get the most effective use of the class by building and utilizing both at once.
You canstart your rotation with Projection or even Waltzto move forward, getting into the fray. When fighting againstseveral enemies, you’ll want touse Moonlight Sear and Rhapsody.
Generally, this will grant you two New Moon marks and one Full Moon mark. Your next attacks will be determined based on what is left living and attacking you.
A great next step is to cast Whirlwind Scythe with the Scatter upgrade,granting you the last two Full Moon marksyou need for a heal and dealing damage in a wide array for any enemies that may have fallen out of line while attacking.
Follow up with any available skill that grants a New Moon mark, thencomplete the rotation with a basic attack, granting you health and a damage bonus from the full marks of each moon, with the Dual Moon ability proccing.
While youdon’t have to do it in this rotation, and you should find one that works for you, the goal is tocomplete all three moons on both sides before doing a basic attackto grant you the full benefit of healing and a damage boost coming from Dual Moons.
For both classes, use your ultimate as you see fit when it pops up, but remember to use it as much as possible here, as it can quickly grant you one of each Moon necessary.
Best Gear And Weapons For The Puppeteer
Whether you go with the Scytheguard or the Blademaiden, thebest gear you’ll get from the early game(before level 45) will comefrom the story dungeonsyou do.
There isno reasonor incentiveto upgrade any of your early game gearuntil you start getting to craft Epic gearfor your character. Otherwise, you can comfortably use the gear you get in the story dungeons.
The outfit gear given as a present is better than the dungeon gear you receive, so if you must choose, use this gear for the stats until you either outgrow it or you can make epic gear through dailies.
The same can be said for your weapons. Whileyou can upgrade or craft new weapons, it really isn’t worth it when you first start the game. Weapons given in the dungeon or through packs you open are good enough for beginning the game.
