Author: Kenneth

~ January 27th, 2016 ~

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The Summoner class commands an array of pets, using a baton to conduct their attacks. The user can assist their pet in battle with technics and active skills, while keeping their distance to avoid enemy strikes. Summoners can also wield gunslashes, but won't be able to utilize their pets without a baton.

Commanding Pets

Commanding your pet is a simple process. Using the baton you can issue an attack order, causing the pet to automatically dish out normal attacks until there are no more enemies nearby. Pressing the PA button will allow it to perform a Photon Art, depending on which move was set to its palette.

When the update launches on January 27th, players will have three types of pets to choose from.

Wanda is known as an 'all-rounder' due to its ease of use, and will be the first pet you'll obtain. This pup packs high HP and wide-range attacks for hitting enemies en-masse. It can use PAs like Wanda Break and Wanda Slicer.

Torim excels at power and speed, proving most effective against bosses. Capable of flight, it can freely assault foes at any location. Torim Spiral and Torim Stab are some of the PAs at its disposal.

Cery focuses on support with long-range attacks resembling technics. Among this feline's arsenal of moves is a support-type PA that can lower an enemy's attack power.

Obtaining Pets

In order to obtain a pet, you'll first need an egg. There are a variety of these eggs available in the game. Some will hatch pets, while others are EXP or stat-based. Eggs can drop from enemies and containers, but some of the ones you'll acquire will be in the form of a ?Special Egg. You can head to the ARKS Lobby to identify these eggs at a shop. Unlike the player, pets do not gain experience during battle. They must instead be leveled up through a process called "Egg Synthesis."

Egg Synthesis

Egg Synthesis is the only means by which you can level up your pet. This action can be performed up to five times in a given period. Afterwards, you must wait a certain amount of time before you can synthesize again. The process works exactly like the energy bar for Mags, except you are given five slots to "feed" the pet. You can optionally spend AC to reduce the wait.

Elements and Personalities

Like weapons, pets come with a certain elemental attribute. By placing a specific type of candy in its Candy Box, the element can be changed. Each pet also has a personality that can activate a special effect once certain conditions are met. For example, one personality will increase your pet's damage towards enemies with status effects. Another will increase damage when the weather is clear. You can modify its personality through a process called "Rarity Evolution."

Rarity Evolution

Rarity Evolution is performed at the Pet Lab. A pet's rarity level can be raised using eggs of its same type, so long as they have a higher rarity than your current pet. When you raise its rarity level, the pet's candy box and level get transferred over. This feature allows you to continue raising your pets without having to start all over once you obtain eggs of higher rarities. Keep in mind that your pet's rarity is important in that it will be used to determine its current level cap. You will also be given the option to change your pet's personality prior to completing this action.

Candy Box

The Candy Box is a new system that allows you to raise your pet's abilities and affix special effects. The box is set up into an 8 x 8 grid. Some spaces are blank, while others are covered with cubes of various colors. These blank spaces are known as "sheets" and are used to hold any type of candy that can fit into the space provided.

Blocking your path are Jelly Cubes and Caramel Cubes. The former will be removed once your pet reaches a certain level, while the latter can be removed using an item called a "Caramel Crusher." Lastly we have Paper Cubes, which are permanent and can never be turned into a blank space.

Candies come in various shapes and sizes, each with different abilities that can either raise a pet's stats or activate an effect under specific conditions. For example, if the pet's HP falls below a certain amount, it will create a temporary effect that reduces the amount of damage it receives.

There are two ways to go about removing candy. Using a Candy Eraser, you can completely delete the candy. The Candy Remover, on the other hand, merely removes the candy and returns it to your item pack.

Candy Compression

Candy can end up being quite large when you acquire them, leading to situations where it could be quite cumbersome trying to place it in the Candy Box. You can reduce its size through an action called "Candy Compression." A candy that was originally 3 x 3, for example, could be reduced to 1 x 1.  Candy Compression is very much like equipment grinding, in that it requires meseta and grinders, and has a chance of failure.

Summoner Skills

• Alter Ego: Raises the pet’s attack power, however, both you and the pet will suffer damage if the pet gets hit by attacks.
• Point Assist: Marks the enemy with an icon, similar to that of Weak Bullet. Increases the damage your pet inflicts when attacking the marked area. Only works for the user's own pets.
• Pet Sympathy: Increases the effectiveness of Shifta or Resta based on whether you fulfill your pet’s requests for those technics.
• HP Restorate: Gradually recovers HP when the player’s health falls below a certain threshold.
• Subclass Grow Up: Increases the subclass' EXP gain in quests.
• And more…

Players will have to wait until January 29th's [Maestro Summoner] scratch before they can try out the cool new layered costumes for the Summoner class. You can also receive a bonus item by playing the AC scratch several times, however the reward will have trade restrictions imposed upon it.