Understanding Class Abilities and Augments in Ashes of Creation

What Are Primary Class Abilities?

In Ashes of Creation, your character starts with a primary archetype. This determines your core role in combat. There are eight archetypes in total, and each comes with a set of primary skills designed to match that archetype’s core identity:

Tank: Focuses on battlefield control and survivability. Skills usually involve defense, crowd control, and threat management.

Mage: Specializes in elemental damage, area-of-effect attacks, and burst damage.

Rogue: Excels at stealth, critical strikes, and high single-target damage.

Primary skills are generally fixed to the archetype and are not affected by weapon choice. Outside of archetype-specific abilities, all characters share access to some universal skills, such as blocking and dodging.

It’s worth noting that the skills in Alpha-2 are expected to be significantly different from those in Alpha-1, so most players will notice a shift in how abilities function as the game evolves.

What Are Class Augments?

The class system in Ashes of Creation is unique because it allows players to modify their primary abilities using a secondary archetype, which becomes available at level 25. This system is known as augmentation.

How Augments Work

Each secondary archetype comes with four schools of augmentation. These schools allow players to tweak their primary skills in different ways. For example:

A Mage secondary archetype could add teleportation or elemental effects to your Fighter’s attacks.

A Cleric secondary archetype might grant life-steal or healing suppression effects when paired with a Rogue’s backstab ability.

The purpose of augments is not to provide entirely new active abilities. Instead, they enhance or change the mechanics, visuals, or audio of your existing skills. This can range from minor adjustments—like changing cooldowns, mana costs, or damage—to more dramatic transformations that make the ability feel completely different in practice.

Practical Effects of Augments

In general, augments are designed to allow horizontal progression. This means that instead of unlocking entirely new skills, players can choose how to enhance the abilities they already have.

Some key points to keep in mind:

Level Requirements: Each augment has a level requirement, so you won’t be able to access everything immediately.

No Skill Point Cost: Augments don’t cost skill points, which makes experimentation low-risk.

Limited Slots: You can only augment a certain number of abilities, so you need to prioritize which skills are most important for your build.

Choosing the same primary and secondary archetype usually emphasizes your original role, making your character more specialized. Choosing different archetypes allows for creative experimentation, letting you mix roles or add utility that wouldn’t normally be available to your class.

Visual and Thematic Changes

Augments can also alter the visuals, sound, and overall feel of an ability. For example, a backstab from a Rogue paired with a Cleric secondary archetype might visually look darker or have a glowing effect, and could include audio cues that signal its life-stealing effect. Most players find this adds personality to their character and helps them stand out in group play.

How to Change or Reset Augments

In practice, if you want to adjust your augments, you’ll need to visit an NPC in a Village-level settlement or higher. During testing phases like Alpha-2, switching secondary archetypes may be easier to allow for experimentation. This ensures that players can explore different combinations without permanently committing to a single setup.

Choosing Your Secondary Archetype

The choice of secondary archetype is a key decision that shapes how your primary skills behave. Most players recommend considering:

Synergy with Your Role: Do you want to double down on your archetype’s strengths, or experiment with new mechanics?

Playstyle Preferences: Are you more interested in utility, raw damage, or support effects?

Visual and Thematic Appeal: Some players choose based on how the augment changes the look and feel of their abilities.

Remember, your secondary archetype doesn’t override your primary skills—it enhances them. For example, pairing a Rogue with a Cleric secondary archetype will not turn you into a healer, but it may add mechanics that subtly shift your combat effectiveness.

The class and augment system in Ashes of Creation provides a high degree of flexibility, allowing players to create builds that feel unique while still being grounded in their archetype’s identity. By understanding primary skills, secondary archetypes, and how augments modify existing abilities, you can experiment with different playstyles and find the combination that fits you best.

For players looking to get started faster or experiment with different builds, some choose to buy Ashes of Creation gold online to acquire gear or resources that help test abilities without waiting for long grind times. In general, the best approach is to focus on exploring the augment system firsthand and making choices based on your personal playstyle.