Empress's Grace Arcanist Guide for Lost Ark

If you're looking for further information on the Empress's Grace build for Arcanist, the following links will provide that for you.

Strengths

• Challenging and unique gameplay loop, given the RNG of her Card Deck
• Gives Critical Rate Synergy
• Has no positionals, being a Hit Master class
• Can deal constant DPS with burst potential through her Card Deck
• Big damage on her Ruin skills

Weaknesses

• One of the most complex and difficult classes
• Low effective HP makes her pretty squishy
• Expensive to build as a Spec class, on top of tripods and gems

A standard build that uses the Order of the Emperor. Using Empress's Grace is not recommended.

Arcanist can run several builds, usually named after how many skills per type are taken. "332" and "341" indicate how many Stacking, Ruin and Normal skills are taken in a build. The differences in build isn't just damage, but also include big playstyle changes, cost efficiency on gems and increased Deck Meter generation to name a few. While there are differences, it's important to maintain the fundamentals when playing. With the variety that Arcanist has in its builds, be sure to try them out in Trixion before committing precious resources towards it!

This build takes three Stacking & Ruin skills with two Normal skills.

This build will do more damage than "341" and can save you a lot on costs for gems. Unlike its counterpart, you can run this build with level 7 cooldown gems and have a smooth experience compared to "341", being a little rough around the edges without at least level 9 gems. You'll opt to not take Serendipity here, instead running with Four of a Kind.

There isn't a strict rotation for Arcanist but you can use the following as a guideline:

• Build four stacks with Scratch Dealer & Quadra Accelerate.
• Use Return for buffs, this always starts your burst window.
• Cast Secret Garden or Celestial Rain within Return's buffs.
• Build stacks again with two Spiral Edge.
• Cast Secret Garden or Celestial Rain before Return buffs fall off.

Keep in mind that Call of Destiny is able to build two stacks and serves as another Stacking skill. This is useful knowledge to have especially when your main DPS skills like Return, Secret Garden & Celestial Rain are all on cooldown. Setting up four stacks for Four of a Kind then building them again before your next Return keeps the constant flow of a "build-spend" gameplay loop. For those equipped with Raid Captain, you'll have to be conscious of managing your Move Speed bonuses from skills. As for cards, you'll want to use short duration ones like Twisted Fate and Cull after pressing Return. This allows you to catch the entire window and increase your damage significantly. A special case is Judgment, which makes all Ruin skills trigger the 4-stack effect regardless of how many stacks there are. You'll prioritize Celestial Rain & Secret Garden first. With Four of a Kind's Swift Preparation, it's possible to get lucky and spam while under Judgment's effect for juicy damage.

This build takes three Stacking, four Ruin & one Normal Skill. The playstyle compared to "332" is much different!

While this build does less damage, you'll have increased Deck Meter gain by 20%. This build is a bit rough to play without level 9 cooldown gems. That being said, do not let it deter you from trying this build in Trixion and just keep in mind necessary adjustments based on your own stats and gear! With this build you will take Serendipity and have to play around it. You'll still follow the fundamentals but there are notable changes to be aware of:

• Four of a Kind takes a different tripod, Deception. When at four stacks, there is a chance (max 75%) to not consume them, allowing you to use another Ruin skill afterwards.
• Serendipity has the lowest priority unless you have Cull or Judgment. Outside of those moments you'll use it when it won't create a hiccup in your rotation.
• Due to higher meter generation you'll be using cards more frequently. Along with the other priorities and proccs you have, this can be overwhelming to players.

Card priorities are similar to "332", with you replacing a Ruin skill with Serendipity if you have Cull.