The Dark Arisen expansion keeps the same ten vocations the base game shipped with, but the move to six equipped weapon skills and the arrival of relic-rolled abilities reshuffle how each one performs in a fight. Some jobs now carry both their damage tools and their defensive tricks without compromise, while others still lean hard on pawns to finish the work. Below is where each vocation lands and why.
Quick answer: Warfarer, Thief, and Mystic Spearhand sit at the top; Trickster sits at the bottom as a pawn-dependent support pick.
Full Dark Arisen vocation ranking
| Tier | Vocations |
|---|---|
| S | Warfarer, Thief, Mystic Spearhand |
| A | Warrior, Fighter, Magick Archer |
| B | Archer, Sorcerer, Mage |
| C | Trickster |
This ordering reflects endgame play in the October 2026 Dark Arisen build, weighing single-target boss damage, survivability, and how well each kit holds up once you fill all six skill slots. Pawn-only value is noted where it matters, since a vocation that struggles as the Arisen can still earn its place in a party slot.
S tier: Warfarer, Thief, Mystic Spearhand
Warfarer can equip weapons from every vocation and blend their skills on one bar, and the six-slot limit removes the old sting of spending a slot on Rearmament. That flexibility lets you build for whatever a boss or region demands, which is why it anchors the top tier for general play. The trade-off worth knowing is that Warfarer cannot equip any vocation’s Maister skills, so dedicated boss-farmers who want those master-level abilities will slot a specialist instead.
Thief pairs high damage with the best evasion in the game. Formless Feint grants a window of complete immunity, letting you plant Combustive Caper and fire Powder Barrage straight into a boss’s weak point without taking hits. A stamina loop built around meat consumption keeps the aggression going, making it the cleanest solo damage dealer here.
Mystic Spearhand fights at range and up close, charges magick to lock down enemy movement, and can throw up Mirour Shelde to make the whole party briefly invulnerable. Skiedragoun’s Feste adds magick damage to its dive, and its most advanced form, Skiedragoun’s Edacite, trails a shockwave for extra reach. Its sustained single-target output lands just under Thief, but the mobility and party protection carry it. This is an Arisen-only vocation.
A tier: Warrior, Fighter, Magick Archer
Warrior delivers enormous burst, especially against staggered or downed enemies. The Bloodrage frenzy buff instantly charges Arc of Might and Titanic Cleave, so you can swing heavy hits without waiting out the usual windup. It falls off against fast, mobile targets that refuse to sit still for those big attacks.
Fighter is the dependable melee pick. Shield Precision makes True Deflect fire automatically whenever Defend would catch an attack, so parries happen on their own, and Cloudfall Strike focuses real damage onto a single boss. Its ceiling sits below Thief, but reliable blocking and counters make it one of the strongest pawn roles too.
Magick Archer deals heavy elemental and debilitating damage from safety, and the six-skill bar lets it hold full elemental coverage alongside a support arrow. Martyr’s Bolt is weaker than in earlier builds, pushing it toward team buffs like Harmonic Pentad when used as a pawn, but as an Arisen with a strong relic bow it remains a top damage option that only stumbles against magic-resistant foes. It is Arisen-only.
B tier: Archer, Sorcerer, Mage
Archer gives steady ranged damage and quick weak-point hits through Corkscrew Arrow and Cataract Shot, with downed-enemy finishers improving its output. It lacks the defensive layer the higher tiers carry, and some of its stronger shots lean on setting up a stagger first.
Sorcerer produces the biggest raw magical bursts, including a screen-wide freeze from its newer ultimate. Long incantation times are the catch. If aggro slips off your pawns and onto you mid-cast, the spell is wasted and you are exposed, which hurts most against agile enemies.
Mage trades solo kill power for healing, buffs, enchantments, and auto-revival through abilities like High Palladium. It cannot melt a boss alone, but that support becomes genuinely valuable in hard fights, and Mage is one of the most useful pawn vocations despite ranking lower as a personal pick.
C tier: Trickster
Trickster has no attack that inflicts damage; instead, it relies on illusions, managing enemy attention, and manipulating effigies. Dragon’s Delusion summons a phantom dragon that makes foes panic, stumble, or run away. Your pawns must score every kill, making this the weakest pick if you want to fight bosses yourself. In a prepared party, however, the vocation can still divert enemies and provide buffs.
Arisen-only vocation discipline costs
The advanced vocations cost more to unlock than the starter jobs, and they cap at rank 9 like the rest. Here is what it takes to acquire and fully rank the Arisen-exclusive picks against a standard base vocation for reference.
| Vocation | Cost to acquire | Discipline to max rank | Who can use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mystic Spearhand | 200 | 27,200 | Arisen only |
| Magick Archer | 200 | 27,200 | Arisen only |
| Fighter | 100 | 27,700 | Arisen and pawns |
| Archer | 100 | 27,700 | Arisen and pawns |
| Mage | 100 | 27,700 | Arisen and pawns |
Mystic Spearhand and Magick Archer each cost 200 discipline to acquire, double the 100 of the base vocations, so plan to bank discipline before switching to one.
If you plan to farm endgame bosses rather than explore broadly, the picture tightens around specialists. Thief and Warrior push ahead on pure boss-killing thanks to immunity windows and instant-charge burst, while Warfarer’s loss of Maister skills matters more in that narrow context. For everything else, the tiers above hold, and a strong relic drop or a well-built pawn line can lift any job a notch beyond where its base kit sits.
