Force Master

The Force Master (aka FM) is a ranged class that excels in dealing strong, continuous damage while offering moderate amounts of crowd control and utility. Using bangles to cast elemental projectiles, FMs effectively function as mobile "gunners" by relying on movement and positioning in order to kite around their enemies without compromising DPS. Within the lore of Blade and Soul, FMs epitomize the nature of duality, owing to their distinct fire and ice stances; which they use for damage and defense/utility, respectively. To walk the path of a Force Master, one must be wary of using the two stances together, lest they should accidentally cast the wrong spell at the wrong moment. In choosing a FM, you will find versatility and great damage potential, making you both an excellent party member and a capable solo player.

Compared to other classes, especially melee characters, Force Masters have a rather modest learning curve. Their fire attacks follow a fairly simple and straightforward pattern while their ice abilities only come into play when the situation calls for it. Although FMs can render themselves virtually immune to ranged attacks, they lack a repeatable block/counter at lower levels. Thus, most FMs prefer to outmaneuver their enemies either by freezing them in place or using a well-timed dodge to re-position themselves. Overall, FMs are typically considered to have an intermediate difficulty level of gameplay.

Races
This class can be played as three races: the Yun, the Gon, and the Lyn. The Jin are the only race unable to choose Force Master as a class.

Resource Mechanic
Force Masters use a resource called Focus to use their skills, represented by a series of circles beneath the HP bar. A Force Master has 10 units of Focus to spend. These will recover over time or by using certain skills that refill one's Focus.

Stances
Force Masters have two stances depending on what skills they use: Fire Mode or Frost Mode. Each stance has its own minor benefit to being in it, as well as skills that they can only use while in one or the other. For example, using Blazing Palm will switch you to Fire Mode, thus allowing you access to skills such as Blazing Wall and Short Fuse. Stances last ten seconds and are refreshed by using a skill that places you in a stance. The benefits are as follows:
 * Fire Mode: Automatically apply a stack of Ember to any enemy that delivers a critical hit to you.
 * Frost Mode: Automatically gain a five second buff that increases Defense by 10%. Using any Frost Mode skill will apply the buff again (including the skill that brought the Force Master into Frost Mode).

Orbits
Later, Force Masters will need to familiarize themselves with the concept of Orbits. After gaining the Fire Fury and Frost Fury skills, the Force Master has a chance to generate Fire Orbits and Frost Orbits, which manifest as small, glowing red or blue orbs that float around the character. Each can be stacked up to three times and grant bonus effects to the character.

Fire Fury and Frost Fury are activated by scoring a critical hit with a Fire Mode or Frost Mode skill, respectively. Upon successfully landing a hit with either, it will generate the appropriate Orbit. Later on, other skills and upgrades for skills also generate Orbits.

Each Orbit lasts 30 seconds upon activation, and the timer is reset when you stack another one. For example, if you have 12 seconds left on a Frost Orbit, you can stack it again to go back to 30 seconds (with double the beneficial effects). However, once three Orbits of one element are stacked, you cannot reset the timer even by using Fire Fury or Frost Fury again, and thus must let it run out.

You can have both elements active at once for a max of simultaneous three Fire Orbits and three Frost Orbits. Benefits:
 * Fire Orbit: When hit, inflicts 3%/6%/10% damage and 1 Ember on enemy.
 * Frost Orbit: Recovers 1/2/3 Focus on hit. At 3 stacks, inflicts Chill on enemy when hit.

Skills
The following list is incomplete.

Skill Usage Tree
This list is to make it easier to visualize the general skill setup of Force Masters.


 * Blazing Palm (LMB), Dragonchar (2) [enters Fire Mode]
 * Blazing Wall (V), Short Fuse (C), Fire Fury (F, upon critical hit)
 * Frost Palm (RMB), Dragonwhorl (3) [enters Frost Mode]
 * Frost Prison (V), Frost Fury (F, upon critical hit)
 * Phantom Grip (4)
 * Bolt Bash (1), Phantom Push (2), Blackout (3), Blazing Wall (V)
 * while Dashing, Gliding, or Jumping
 * Barrage (LMB)

PvP Combos
Abbreviation:


 * T = Tier. S = Stage. T1S1 means Tier 1, Stage 1 of a skill.
 * [Hotkey] is the default hotkey of a skill. [LB] means left mouse button or left click. [RB] means right mouse button or right click.

Basic Combos:


 * 1. 4 Second Stun Combo - Fire Version
 * [3] T3S3 Artic Blast -> [RB] -> [LB] -> [X] Blaze Palm -> [RB] -> [LB] -> [1] -> [RB] -> [LB] -> [1]
 * 2. 4 Second Stun Combo: Ice Version
 * [3] T3S3 Artic Blast -> [LB] -> [RB] -> [X] Glacial Palm -> [LB] -> [RB] -> [1] -> [LB] -> [RB] -> [1]
 * 3. Aerial Combo - Tab Version
 * [Stun] or [Daze] -> [RB] -> [LB] -> [Tab]
 * 4. Aerial Combo - Z Version
 * [2 Chill] -> [Z] T2C2 Rising Flame -> [4] Phantom Grip -> [4] Drain OR [1] Flick -> [RB] -> [1]
 * 5. Stun Phantom Grip Combo
 * [2 Chill] -> [4] Phantom Grip -> [4] Drain OR [1] Flick -> [RB] -> [1]
 * 6. SS Stun Phantom Grip Combo
 * [4] Phantom Grip -> [SS] -> [4] Drain OR [1] Flick -> [RB] -> [1]
 * 7. Meteor Grip Combo
 * [V] T2C2 Firewall -> [RB] -> [LB] -> [4] Phantom Grip
 * 8. Firewall Grip Combo
 * [4] Phantom Grip -> [V] or [E] to change to fire stance, then [V]

Advanced Combos:

Combining these basic combos can create an advance combo. The most common advanced combo is the Double Aerial Combo.


 * Double Aerial Combo
 * [4 Second Stun Combo] -> [Aerial Combo - Tab Version] -> [Z] -> [RB] -> [4] Aerial Grip -> [Wait 2 ticks] -> [1] Flick -> [LB] -> [C] -> [RB] -> [F] -> [F] -> [F]

Screenshots
The following screenshots were taken from the character creation screen at NA launch in 2016.

Trivia

 * Jin were able to be Force Masters until the second closed beta test in Korea.