Hey everyone! In the third part of our development journal, we wanted to talk about the combat classes in Ars Notoria. There are six primary weapon types available in the game: Swords, Pistols, Blunt Weapons, Rifles, Polearms, and Hand Mortars. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/42814198/8aa1aabc4b271bb0efcb077b18e59c887876f346.png[/img] Each weapon type has a corresponding weapon skill that increases every time your character uses it. After leveling up the weapon skill, you can choose new active abilities for the character or upgrade existing ones. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/42814198/b04b9b7ecc2b859f9eb02e4b362fac7120735471.png[/img] There are 12 base abilities, with multiple levels for each weapon skill. Offensive abilities range from combo attacks that allow you to quickly perform a series of strikes to special attacks that can hit multiple enemies at once. Ability trees also offer some defensive options for the characters like Sidesteps, Dodges, Blocking, and Parrying. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/42814198/e84a573a81d24592017331929e8895dcfbac20d1.png[/img] Ranged weapons also support alternative firing modes. For example, Pistols have rapid-firing attacks that are especially effective against small and fast-moving enemies and powerful attacks that are great against heavily armored opponents. Rifles can be used to accurately hit targets from long distances or to perform devastating buckshot attacks at a close range. Hand Mortars can shoot mortar rounds that follow arc-shaped trajectories and deal damage in a large radius, or use rockets capable of destroying fortified positions and tough enemies. [h3]Swordsman[/h3] [img]https://i.imgur.com/89TH5Ff.gif[/img] Swordsmen are specialists in melee combat and one-on-one skirmishes. They can use a variety of slashing and piercing attacks, as well as strong cleaving strikes that can break through the opponent’s armor. They use Swords and light but sturdy armor that allows them to keep good mobility and excellent offensive capabilities. [h3]Scout[/h3] [img]https://i.imgur.com/4gk7H2x.gif[/img] Scout is the fastest of base combat classes, but also the most vulnerable. Scouts use Pistols as their primary weapons and usually wear light armor. They have very high maneuverability and use it to their advantage to attack from behind or employ hit-and-run tactics. Their main defense lies in quickly dodging upcoming attacks and dealing counterattacks that can interrupt the enemy’s offense. [h3]Vanguard[/h3] [img]https://i.imgur.com/onotl8C.gif[/img] Vanguards are frontline soldiers equipped with Blunt Weapons and Shields, and wearing medium armor. They have much better defenses than Swordsmen, but their damage output can be slightly lower due to this. Vanguards are especially strong in blocking or parrying enemy attacks and breaking through enemy ranks. Their abilities are well-rounded and allow them to fight proficiently against all types of adversaries. [h3]Marksman[/h3] [img]https://i.imgur.com/pICAuHf.gif[/img] Marksman can attack enemies from a much longer range than other classes and have high damage output. They use Rifles and wear medium armor, which allows them to withstand enemies even in close combat when needed. Marksman is a versatile class that has both long-range, high-precision attacks and close-quarter blasts with buckshot. [h3]Lancer[/h3] [img]https://i.imgur.com/buGb279.gif[/img] Lancers are melee warriors who utilize Polearms which have a large radius of attack and deal heavy damage. They are especially strong in combat against groups of enemies and weakly protected targets. Lancers are equipped with heavy armor that is very durable and allows them to withstand even the heaviest enemy attacks. [h3]Grenadier[/h3] [img]https://i.imgur.com/MxuyN4V.gif[/img] Grenadier is the heaviest of ranged combat classes and the most effective in breaking through enemy fortifications. Their Hand Mortars and heavy armor allow them to stay close to the frontlines and launch devastating mortar and rocket attacks on their opponents. Although they are not as fast as Scouts or as precise as Marksmen, Grenadiers are capable of quickly defeating large groups of enemies or dealing large amounts of damage to armored targets. In this article, we only covered the base combat classes of Ars Notoria, but each of them also has various specializations that allow you to further customize and improve your characters. Specializations are unique for each in-game faction and grant additional abilities to characters or significantly modify existing ones. We will cover them in more detail in further articles after we introduce the factions. Thank you a lot for checking this entry in our development journal!