Your class choice will dictate your primary battle practices. Here are your four main combat configurations, though there are many variations when you factor allies, enemy position, and terrain into your tactics.
The Acrobatic Killer
As a Water Dancer, you can play it offensively or defensively. If you go for offense, you’ll want to hit enemies with Calm as Still Water to knock them down. Follow up with Opportunist for a critical strike and Sting of the Manticore for major damage and Bleeding. On defense, Light as a Feather can always immobilize an enemy if you need to put some space between you. However, Retaliation is your go-to defensive ability, as it allows you to increase your ability to deflect enemy blows and counterattack with enhanced damage; the more enemy attacks, the better your counterattack. Several abilities, such as Anticipation and Recuperative Defense, aid in your acrobatic defense.
The Assassin
The Sellsword works best if he isn’t the center of attention. Let your allies engage the enemies first, and if you can sneak around and attack enemies who aren’t targeting you with abilities such as Sneak Attack, Guile, Assassin’s Dance, and Vicious, you’ll rule the contest. When you need to inflict extra damage on tougher foes, rely on some of your poison abilities. To get out of danger, Blinding Dust temporarily stuns a single enemy and Deterring Strike sends enemies away from you and toward your allies. Now you’re set up all over again for another Sneak Attack.
The Marksman
The Archer has several combat strategies to waylay enemies. He can use poison arrows to whittle down health totals. He can trigger Rapid Fire and tap into abilities like Sequential Shot, Deft Reloads, and Skilled Marksman to pelt the enemy with multiple projectiles. Explosive Missile blows away a small group of foes, and Impact gives the Archer the skill to immobilize enemies and take advantage of their hesitation. If enemies get too aggressive, Head Shot, Smoke Bomb, or Discourteous Kick will put them in their place quickly.
The Tag Team
Later in the game, Mors and Alester form a merciless team. No matter what class you pick for each, these two are your best warriors and will cleave through almost any foe in seconds. However, some class combinations are better than others. For example, if you want to benefit from ranged/melee tandem, choose Archer for Alester and Hedge Knight for Mors. Alester (and Mors’s dog) can immobilize targets while Mors pounds them with his massive two-handed blows. If you want to combo in melee, Mors as a Magnar can Bleed targets with Slash and Cutthroat, and Alester as a Sellsword can finish them off with abilities that capitalize on Bleeding with Precision Strike. Mors as a Landed Knight can Taunt enemies while Alester cripples them from behind. There are countless possibilities, so experiment and be creative with powers at your disposal.