Crystal of Atlan: Best Puppeteer Branch (Scytheguard vs. Blaidemaiden)

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To embark on the journey within the realm of Crystal of Atlan, players must initially select a character class, a decision that remains constant throughout the game’s progression. Yet, this initial choice is merely the commencement of their journey, as shortly after completing the opening story missions, players will have the opportunity to choose a class branch, further shaping their character’s development.

Unlike a class in a game, a branch can be altered later on, but there are consequences. After finishing a story mission, you’ll receive items and weapons that work specifically with the branch you completed the mission for. This means that switching branches after making significant progress may result in losing many valuable rewards. Therefore, it’s often wiser to create a new character and replay the campaign from the beginning if you wish to explore every possible branch.

Individuals commencing the game with the Puppeteer character tend to appreciate the extensive reach of its melee attacks, as this class offers a blend between ranged damage dealing and close combat damage dealing. Moreover, enthusiasts of swift and intense hack-and-slash gaming styles are likely to take pleasure in the agile movements that Puppeteer provides.

Scytheguard Branch Overview

The initial branch, known as Scytheguard, shares many similarities with the fundamental version of Puppeteer. While it introduces some novel abilities, its attacks maintain the same extensive range, deterring any foes daring enough to approach the player. Essentially, Puppeteer is designed for handling multitudes of enemies at once, and Scytheguard excels in embodying this concept perfectly.

In this particular field, many abilities are geared towards executing numerous strikes within a short span, effectively deterring enemies. This allows players to leap and remain airborne for an extended period, seamlessly stringing together multiple assaults. This is particularly advantageous when confronting colossal monsters whose attacks are primarily ground-based.

When the player is in the air, they are not affected by ground attacks anymore.

Three distinct finishing moves are accessible for Scytheguard:

1. The standard finish move boasts a medium range and packs quite a punch against bosses. It releases a series of chains erupting from the ground, causing substantial harm to enemies.
2. The second option has a narrower range and is ideal for boss encounters. It sends your Marionette soaring into the air before returning with a destructive assault.
3. Unlockable at level 60, the third and concluding ultimate offers the broadest range. This move summons a shower of explosive projectiles that span a significant portion of the battlefield.

Among the top abilities for Scytheguard are Arclight Cross, Photon Blast, Moonlight Sear, and Whirlwind Scythe. It’s advisable to prioritize learning these skills as you advance and level up in the game. Moonlight Sear is an excellent choice as a follow-up to the initial skill, while Photon Blast is a close-range attack, ideal for taking down individual enemies or bosses.

Blademaiden Branch Overview

From my gaming perspective, while both Puppeteer’s Blademaiden and Scytheguard have broad area coverage, there’s a noticeable difference in their basic attacks. Unlike the sweeping chain swings of Scytheguard that can take down multiple foes within a wide arc in front of me, Blademaiden’s attacks seem more focused, managing to hit just two or three enemies at best.

Instead of Blademaiden having a limited coverage in her basic attack, she makes up for it by possessing superior skills. For instance, her Magnetic Force Field skill lets players predetermine the area of attack prior to unleashing its power. This feature is particularly useful when confronted with numerous enemies that are not close together.

For Blademaiden, the ultimate abilities lean more towards targeting bosses compared to Scytheguard. Specifically, her most potent ultimate is Magnetism Incarnation, which grants temporary control over the Marionette, enabling the player to deliver heavy blows on enemies. This ultimate proves exceptionally efficient when confronting challenging bosses in Elite missions.

As a gamer, I’ve found that Blademaiden’s default ultimate isn’t far off from Scytheguard’s, but what sets them apart is her second ultimate, unlocked at level 45. This one has an expanded range which is quite handy, however, it still demands a singular target to activate the ultimate. Given this, I’d say it’s optimally used against bosses.

When discussing her unique talents, it’s worth noting that Blademaiden’s standout non-ultimate abilities include Rhapsody, Electromagnetic Pulse, Magnetic Force Field, and Whirlwind Dance. The Whirlwind Scythe from Scytheguard shares a similarity, but its effect is more widespread, targeting multiple enemies, whereas Blademaiden’s version focuses on a single target. This pattern of differences in target selection is consistent across many comparable skills within the two branches as well.

Best Puppeteer Branch Overall (Blademaiden or Scytheguard?)

Given everything discussed earlier regarding each character, it appears that Blademaiden is the more suitable pick. The essence of Crystal of Atlan revolves around battling formidable bosses, where players encounter their toughest battles. And given that Blademaiden has a built-in design tailored for these boss encounters, it seems like the wiser choice. While playing as Scytheguard can be more gratifying due to its smooth skills and combos, Blademaiden offers superior moves for handling bosses, which seems crucial in this context.

Choosing Blademaiden’s Magnetism Incarnation over Scytheguard is largely due to its impressive ultimate ability. This powerful move not only boosts damage output temporarily, but also accelerates your character’s movement speed, enabling quicker evasive maneuvers during intense battles.

For a lone player, Blademaiden remains the top choice among the Puppeteer class. Although handling numerous adversaries might be challenging initially due to the basic attack, acquiring abilities such as Surging Thunder, Magnetic Coil, and Curtain Call can make combat more manageable. Additionally, utilizing pet skills later in the game will significantly aid in dealing damage to multiple enemies simultaneously.

How to Change Class Branch in Crystal of Atlan

Should you have chosen a game branch and find yourself second-guessing, remember it’s possible to reconsider your choice. Players can switch branches early in the game via the skill tree menu, but do note that this might mean forgoing certain rewards associated with the new branch. However, keep in mind that this option becomes unavailable once you reach Level 45 or obtain the Awakening quest.

Once a player achieves any of the specified milestones, they won’t be able to switch branches without spending a Soul Stone. It is advisable for players to alter their branch prior to reaching Chapter 3, which grants the Awakening quest, as changes after this point could incur a cost.

After switching your class, the game automatically redistributes your skill points across both your old and new classes. This is why it’s essential to perform a respec, as the skill points are shared between the two classes.

To clarify, it’s important to mention that Blademaiden and Scytheguard each wield distinct primary weapon types which cannot be interchanged by switching branches. Instead, the weapons equipped will be moved to your inventory as unusable items upon changing branch. Fortunately, there is an item in the game called Soul Reconstruction, capable of converting a weapon’s type while preserving its rarity. However, take note that this conversion is only possible with certain Epic weapons and acquiring the Soul Reconstruction item can be quite challenging.

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2025-05-29 18:54