summary
- While the Harmonizer doesn’t sound like an intimidating weapon, the Waker’s primary device of destruction is sure to leave its mark.
- Answering the question “Are there mounts in it NGS?” becomes more difficult with the introduction of one of the Waker abilities – Fredran Riding.
- Blocking attacks will infuriate the familiar, and at a certain point his anger can be explosive.
This isn’t the first time a new class has been introduced Fantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis (PSO2:NGS) since its release in June 2021. The sci-fi action RPG was joined by Braver, a bow and katana powerhouse in August of the same year, followed by Bouncer, who launched Jet Boots with Soaring Blades in October. However, this week’s introduction of Waker will be quite different as it is not a class that was present Fantasy Star Online 2 (PSO2).
It bears a faint resemblance to the popular summoner class PSO2 When it comes to weapon choice (harmonizers), this class doesn’t spoil, feed, or frolic with pets. No, there is definitely no candy box to manage here. Waker unleashes photonic, animalistic manifestations of death and destruction in an elaborate dance that befits the game’s fluid combat style. This class does not shy away from dealing with enemies up close and personal, although they can deal damage at a distance as well. With both single-target and area-of-effect (AOE) abilities, Waker is as versatile as it is complex, and I’ll describe what I mean by that in the following paragraphs.
As mentioned above, the Waker uses the Harmonizer, and by taking the Harmonizer Focus ability from his skill tree, the Waker contributes to the Familiar’s Focus meter, which is tied to the Photon Art (PA) he uses to damage an enemy. In short, when you hit the ground with a Wulfren-related PA, you build Wulfren’s Focus Gauge. Ride Fredran into battle and mow down your enemies (yes you can and it’s a PA called Fredran Riding) and you’ll increase Fredran’s focus meter. Additionally, it pays quite a bit to build up their focus gauges at the same time, as you can then use a portion of each one using the Familiar Harmony class skill, which unleashes them simultaneously
The above might sound pretty simple, but the game changes when you consider that Waker has every available skill at his disposal changes when “charged” or the button is pressed for a certain time before releasing. For example, the Fredran Riding ability mentioned above, when normally used, simply directs the Fredran to fire a ranged blast at enemies. The real magic comes when you charge up the ability and then attack enemies on your winged familiar. When the PA finally releases, Fredran walks out in a blaze of glory, taking with him the enemies before you.
Wulfen Demolition is also complicated, as the giant familiar’s actions depend not only on whether you charge the ability or not, but also for how long You charge the ability. Uncharged, Wulfen performs a shockwave attack. Charged for a short time, Wulfen will ground pound and cause some aftershocks in the area. Being charged longer will consume additional PP and Wulfen will perform a much more powerful attack than his normal ground pound. These are just two of the skills Waker can use in combat, and the others are no less complicated.
Also, there is another familiar that comes on the waker’s call – Marmelo. When you successfully parry an enemy attack with your weapon action, Marmelo grows (up to double his size). Holding the weapon action before releasing it will then Throw Marmelo at enemies, which causes an explosion on a direct hit. Finally, the Waker can also take the Treble Clef Marking ability from his skill tree – causing normal attacks, after targeting multiple to the same enemy, to apply a “mark” that increases damage taken as well as down-factor applied ( increases the chance of a stun, basically.) If you press and hold Normal Attack while aiming at a Treble Clef marked enemy, the mark will explode.
There are other things in the Waker’s skill tree that add even more interest to the gameplay, but just based on the above, you could easily charge into battle aboard a winged familiar, cause an earthquake, and summon both familiars at the same time for a tandem Mayhem, hurls another familiar like a bomb while detonating marked enemies in between. This isn’t leisurely gameplay, but it’s an absolute blast once you get the hang of it. If you have grown very fond of your current class but are fascinated by Waker, you should know that you can choose it as a subclass, however the benefits of this are mainly to ensure your survival, since many skills are based on the Using the Harmonizer.
When you’re not playing PSO2:NGS but then now is a great time to familiarize yourself (pun intended). All you have to do is visit the Xbox or Windows store on console or PC and download the game for free to experience the wonder of Planet Halpha for yourself.
