Dragon’s Dogma 2: Insights on the Mage, Sorcerer, and Magic Archer classes
First, a conclusion: The Magic Archer is not the so-called “best wheelchair job” or just an enhanced version of an archer. The greatest advantage of the Magic Archer lies in its comprehensive abilities, making it a more ideal choice in a two-person world with only the main character and follower. Whereas the Mage and Sorcerer are team-oriented professions, able to unleash greater power within a team.
The Magic Archer’s professional positioning is half mage and half archer, undoubtedly more versatile than pure mages or pure archers with more specialized abilities. However, a clearer division like pure mage + pure archer undoubtedly performs better in a four-person team compared to a combination like Magic Archer + Mage. While there is some connection between the Magic Archer and Mage, they each have their own strengths due to certain overlapping roles, thus partially wasting shared functionalities.
On the other hand, a combination of pure mage + pure archer represents the ultimate form of the mage’s enchantment system. In classic team compositions like Warriors, Archers, and Thieves, the Mage enchants all with ice/lightning, Warriors have enhanced strikes, Thieves wield dual knives for high-speed attacks, and the Archer’s wet arrows can be used as poison arrows. The key lies in a rational lineup, prioritizing warriors with taunting and shield skills (output with enhanced strikes is sufficient), thieves capable of stable backstabbing, archers wielding wet whirlpool fury, and most importantly, mages using ice/lightning enchantments and extreme speed spells. This lineup emphasizes ice and lightning elemental flows, ideally with everyone equipped with the sorcerer’s erosion attack passive ability, even though achieving this might be challenging given that few players grant warriors and thief companions the erosion attack passive to assist the mage.
In contrast, the Sorcerer is arguably the most handicapped profession in terms of gameplay experience. Once the lineup is set up, almost every battle becomes a waiting game to witness the action unfold. Unlike the elemental flow of the Mage + Archer combo, although the critical passive ability of the elemental flow, erosion attack, belongs to the Sorcerer, the Sorcerer’s stacking of elements is relatively average. Only Blizzard is somewhat effective, yet against bosses, it falls short compared to an Archer’s wet arrow; when facing minor enemies, it doesn’t match the efficiency of directly casting ice columns and tornados. The true strength of the Sorcerer lies in potent knockdowns and burst damage output. The Sorcerer aims to deliver a significant skill, pinning down monsters for a relentless assault, contrasting the gradual approach of the mage’s enchanted abilities.
As the Sorcerer focuses on resilience reduction and knockdowns, pairing up with fighters who share this passion is essential. Positioned as a glass cannon standing still and chanting incantations, the Sorcerer naturally relies on the protection of warrior guardians. With the basic lineup settled, warriors absorb damage, fighters serve as secondary tanks/off-DPS, sorcerers become the core artillery, while mages provide support and problem-solving solutions. Warriors and fighters handle pressure, aided by the mage, ensuring the Sorcerer lands high-resilience, high-damage big skills effectively, with fighters being crucial in delivering impactful counterattacks or ground strikes.
Key elements of the resilience reduction setup include the Sorcerer’s master skill, the fighter’s robust charge passive, Dwarf enhancements, and repelling rings. In this lineup, the mage’s enchantment loses significance, with full support skills being more practical. Given that the Sorcerer is susceptible to boss spells while channeling, interrupting incantations could often lead to disruption, emphasizing the importance of the mage’s clean enchantments and silencing abilities.
Regarding the Magic Archer, whether focusing on elemental flow or resilience reduction, both strategies seem to have their merits. However, tactics like chasing and stacking freezes, sleep induction and spell interruption, are better accomplished through the Archer’s wet arrows combined with the mage’s ice enchantment. While attempting to build up resilience with ice blocks, the effectiveness pales compared to meteor storm dragon tornadoes. Endless arrows act as a reinforcement for basic attacks, decent but limited in potential. In a four-person team setting, the Magic Archer’s performance may not shine brightly. Nonetheless, the Magic Archer’s advantage lies in its self-sufficiency, empowering solitary play without the need for extensive team resources to maximize its potential.
Without the mage’s enchantments, the Archer’s wet arrow becomes a redundant skill. It’s impractical to continuously apply enchantments, particularly high-cost poison arrows for disrupting boss actions. The Magic Archer can operate independently without mage assistance, executing strategies like chasing and freezing, sleep-inducing spell breaks effectively.
On the other hand, the Sorcerer, lacking the protection of mages and warriors, struggles to execute powerful spells in front of dragons, often interrupted and unable to switch to heavy armor (as dragonslaying is considered a thief rather than a sorcerer’s specialty). In contrast, the Magic Archer can effortlessly switch to heavy armor under dragon attack, compensating for the lack of physical output and floating capabilities seen in sorcerers.
When embarking on adventures as a pair, choosing between the Archer and Sorcerer highlights significant limitations in these professions, feeling less seamless than in a four-person team (although higher levels can still provide a numerical advantage). However, the Magic Archer offers comfort, successfully managing solo play without recruiting additional companions.
Additional points to consider:
- Archers do not require wet arrows; whirlpool shots suffice, offering exceptional efficiency—pairing them with ice or lightning enchantments can effectively control and defeat bosses. This unparalleled efficiency is definitely top-tier across all weapons, second only to the Mage’s ice storm.
- The largest drawback of the Magic Archer profession is poor mobility, struggling to evade some skills and heavily relying on teammates to draw aggro—unlike Archers who do not face such concerns.
- Speaking of the Magic Archer – indeed, it can feel cumbersome, prompting many to opt for the Archer instead. Aside from the extraordinary sacrifice demon Magic Archer skills, utilizing bouncing in caves, converting life against minor enemies and nocturnal foes, and employing cold pursuit and endless arrows against bosses prove effective strategies.
- For the Sorcerer, the most efficient resilience reduction and knockdowns depend on Flame Burst, especially when paired with high-speed classes like Thieves/Archers in the group. While the master skill reads too slowly and lacks knockback resistance adjustments, even minor interruptions can disrupt spell-chanting.