Aion Spiritmaster Class Guide - Levels 10-19

Once you attain the 9th level, you will automatically receive the quest to being your rite of Ascension. At the completion of this quest, you will find yourself in your faction's capital city receiving your wings. Although you will still be using only cloth armor, you will now have a choice between Orbs and Spellbooks for your primary weapon.

Keep an eye open for manastones that boost your MP or HP, as well as those that offer a bonus to Magic Boost. Magical Accuracy is actually more important to you, as an unlucky resist can put you in trouble.

Your class-specific Divine Power (DP) ability is used by the summoned spirit of your choice in your Strengthening Spirit: Armor of Darkness / Light ability, which provides a substantial boost to your elemental's offensive and defensive abilities for 10 minutes. It is not wise to let your DP accumulate much beyond the 2,000 mark, as an untimely death will cause it to be wasted.

For these first few levels of your new career, you will primarily be getting yourself accustomed to operating as a team with your elemental spirit. The Fire Spirit, the only one available to you at this point, is able to auto-attack on your command and also to perform his own Thunderbolt Claw strike. When used by the Fire Spirit, this ability inflicts direct magical damage on the target. It will be very easy for you to pull the mob's attention onto yourself, so let the minion take a whack or two before you start nuking.

Once he's gotten a couple of hits in, wind up an Ice Chain / Frozen Shock and follow up with Erosion. If your knockback doesn't proc, or your Ice Chain is resisted, toss out your new Root of Enervation spell to slow down the mob's attack rate. A Flame Bolt at this point will probably end the fight, but if the mob makes it to your feet, a Stone Skin will absorb any damage it can deal out.

Level 13 brings two new DoTs available from your trainer in Energy of Fire and Chain of Earth. CoE has the added benefit of slowing your target, but is on a shared cool-down timer with Chain of Ice. While questing, you will probably stumble across the manual for summoning your Wind Spirit, usable at this level. The Wind Spirit's Thunderbolt Claw strike does a little up-front damage and also applies a DoT (damage-over-time) spell to its target. If you're not so lucky with the drops, check the Broker or Trade chat.

You can now switch between Fire and Wind Spirits, using whichever best suits the situation and the mobs you are fighting. Although you probably won't notice much difference between them at this early stage, keep in mind that the Fire Spirit is a better "tanking" spirit than wind, and is more useful while soloing. If you're in a party with a real tank, the Wind Spirit will probably put out more dps.

Level 16 introduces you to your new tanking elemental, the Earth Spirit. This guy is sturdier than either Wind or Fire, and can generate more enmity, but offers a bit less damage. Like the Wind Spirit, his damage is partially direct and partially DoT. He's good to use in instances where you have to solo 2- or 3-pulls, or mobs of a higher level. In all other situations, stick with your preference of Fire or Wind.

In addition to Erosion and Stone Skin upgrades, you will also receive Dispel Magic and Elemental Replenishment now. Replenishment takes a bit of your health and transfers it to your summoned spirit, which is a pretty risky prospect unless you have a full HP bar. Dispel Magic will remove buffs from your enemies, making you much sought after in PvP.

For most pulls, try sending your Spirit in to attack, and follow up with an Ice Chain - Frozen Shock, then one - or both of your DoTs. If you chose the Spellbook, you can use your physical attack. If you're not in danger of pulling aggro from the Spirit, toss out a Flame Bolt - Blaze combo.

At level 19, you will receive the Command: Wrath Position I ability which gives all of your spirits an extra pop in damage and utility. You will also be able to command a Water Spirit at this level, whose damage is direct and quick. Another new DoT is added to your arsenal, similar to the Energy of Fire fire, and is called Summon: Wind Servant.

Most mobs lend themselves to one type or another of elemental damage, and for many of these, the choice is easily determined after a few pulls. If you are getting a lot of resists, try switching to a different type of elemental magic. You definitely have enough variety to avoid getting bored with the play-style of this class.

While in groups, you will often be called upon for your support abilities. Keeping the enemy rooted, slowed, DoT'd, and pestered by Spirits will help to ensure the success of your party. Experimenting with your various Spirits and their abilities, along with your own, will give you mastery over nearly every situation. A good Spiritmaster is a formidable foe and a valuable addition to any group.

In the event that you find yourself in a party with another Spiritmaster, take a moment to confer with him. Using different DoTs and spirits will help you both maximize damage, without danger of overlapping spells that do not stack on the target.