Crystal of Atlan Class Guide: PvE/PvP Tier List

After leveling multiple characters in Crystal of Atlan, I’ve learned how much your subclass shapes your journey—especially before level 45, when you're still free to switch between advanced options within your base class. This flexibility is your best chance to test what works before your build becomes permanent.

In this guide, I’ll explain the subclass system, outline each class path, and share PvE and PvP tier rankings based on damage, utility, and survivability. Backed by real testing and community insights—and brought to you with support from LDShop—this is your essential class reference for staying ahead in Crystal of Atlan.

Flexible Subclass Switching Until Level 45

In Crystal of Atlan, players begin their journey by selecting one of five base classes: Swordsman, Musketeer, Magister, Puppeteer, or Fighter. At level 15, your base class unlocks two or three advanced subclasses, each offering a unique combat style:

• Swordsman → Magiblade, Berserker
• Musketeer → Bounty Hunter, Gunner, Mystrix
• Magister → Elementalist, Warlock, Magician
• Puppeteer → Blademaiden, Scytheguard
• Fighter → Cloudstrider, Starbreaker

From level 15 to level 45, players are free to switch between any advanced subclass of their chosen base class at no cost or penalty. This period serves as a trial phase, encouraging players to explore different mechanics, skill rotations, and playstyles before committing to a final specialization. It’s important to note that you cannot switch to a different base class

 

Subclass Lock-in at Level 45

Around level 45, players will encounter a key milestone where they are prompted to finalize their current advanced subclass. From this point onward, free switching is disabled, and your character will be locked into whichever advanced subclass you are currently using at the time. If you wish to switch to another subclass within your base class after level 45, you must use a premium class-change token.

 

Subclass PvE Tier Ranking

This tier list ranks all advanced classes in Crystal of Atlan based on their effectiveness in PvE content. Classes are grouped from T0 (top-tier) to T3 (lowest-tier) according to their overall damage output, utility, survivability, and ease of use. While T0–T1 classes are generally more powerful and efficient in team settings, lower-tier options may still offer unique playstyles and situational strengths. The rankings serve as a practical reference to help players choose a class that suits their preferences while staying competitive in high-level content.

TIER 0 – Top Performance

Mystrix

Mystrix excels as a long-range aerial DPS who accumulates weapon energy to enhance attacks and deals extremely high burst damage from a safe distance, with a self-generated shield and exceptional air maneuverability.

Evaluation: Mystrix delivers Tier 1-level damage and is widely regarded as one of the highest-damage classes in the game. It features excellent survivability due to shielding and strong vertical combat capability, allowing it to stay airborne and avoid ground hazards. However, its extremely high operational complexity demands intensive practice, making it a challenging choice for casual players but a rewarding one for those who invest the time.

Berserker

Berserker is a melee powerhouse with high skill damage multipliers and a passive that grants ten seconds of death immunity upon taking fatal damage, alongside strong lifesteal abilities and reliance on pets to reduce long skill cooldowns.

Evaluation: With Tier 1.5-level damage, Berserker is one of the easiest classes to use thanks to its forgiving mechanics. Its true power shines in critical moments—its passive lets players survive lethal hits and quickly recover to full health via life-stealing during the ten-second invincibility period. The main difficulty lies in canceling post-skill animations to optimize uptime, but otherwise it’s highly accessible and deadly in the hands of beginners or veterans alike.

Scytheguard

Scytheguard acts as a rare hybrid of support and DPS, using skills that both heal allies and boost their damage, while dealing solid offensive output with a scythe weapon.

Evaluation: Scytheguard provides Tier 1-level damage while functioning as an essential support in dungeon progression and raids. It is incredibly beginner-friendly with straightforward mechanics, and its value skyrockets in early team content where healing and buffs are critical. With reliable buffs and consistent damage, it is a must-have role for group PvE content.

 

TIER 1 – High Potential with Some Tradeoffs

Magiblade

Magiblade uses skills to charge a special gauge called Flow of Shadows, enabling frequent unleashing of the 3 stage skill Blinding Silhouette for enhanced damage, requiring skill chaining and fast-paced decision-making.

Evaluation: Though it has the potential to reach T0-level damage, Magiblade is heavily dependent on player skill and precise execution. The damage ceiling is extremely high but can easily fall short with poor rotation or input errors. It is a class with very high variance—exceptional in skilled hands, but inconsistent and punishing when misplayed. Performance in PvE hinges entirely on the user’s ability to manage timing and energy.

Blademaiden

Blademaiden commands a magical puppet in combat and can become one with it temporarily to gain enhanced defensive properties and continuous offensive pressure.

Evaluation: Blademaiden delivers Tier 1-level sustained damage and is characterized by a powerful transformation mechanic that grants remarkable damage reduction. The class thrives in prolonged fights and has decent survivability when fused. While the puppet control and fusion mechanics introduce moderate difficulty, they reward players with consistent output and battlefield endurance.

Gunner

Gunner is a long-range, high-mobility artillery unit with powerful shield-breaking skills and excellent aerial sustain, relying on simple skill rotations.

Evaluation: Gunner offers reliable battlefield control and one of the strongest shield-breaking abilities in the game. Its far-reaching attacks and air-time advantages make it extremely safe to use. However, its damage output is only average, placing it solidly in Tier 1. It’s an extremely user-friendly class—just use any skill as soon as it’s off cooldown—making it an ideal choice for players who want high consistency with low mechanical burden.

Warlock

Warlock stacks Resentful Curse on enemies and triggers them to cause massive damage, with access to flight and life-steal abilities for self-sustain.

Evaluation: Warlock’s curse-stacking and detonating mechanism adds moderate complexity but enables decent damage and survival. It is not a top damage dealer, but its flying capability and life recovery make it one of the better choices for raid progression where endurance and uptime are critical. Though slightly hard to master, its utility and survivability compensate for its lower DPS ceiling.

 

TIER 2 – Situational and Average in Most Content

Elementalist

Elementalist casts a rotation of ice, fire, lightning, and dark spells to deal elemental damage from short-to-mid range, with simple skill patterns but poor defenses.

Evaluation: The class struggles with low survivability due to being a close-range mage with limited mobility, making it prone to sudden deaths in raids. Its ultimate is easy to miss, and its overall damage output is underwhelming. Despite this, it is one of the easiest classes to operate—just press whatever is off cooldown—making it appealing to new players, though lacking in endgame viability.

Magician

Magician summons Body Double to assist in skill casting, effectively extending rotation and offering unique defensive tactics such as body double-swapping to avoid damage.

Evaluation: Though its damage output is low, Magician offers excellent survivability. During group PvE content, Body Double can be used creatively to dodge enemy skills, making the class deceptively durable. It's especially helpful for newer players needing margin for error in PvE, though its contribution to team DPS is often minimal.

Bounty Hunter

Role & Mechanism: Bounty Hunter is a rapid-fire gunner with extremely fast attack and movement speed, dealing most of its damage via empowered auto attacks after skill activation.

Evaluation: With Tier 1.5-level damage potential, Bounty Hunter moves fluidly and feels fast and fun. However, aerial attacks tend to miss often, while ground attacks frequently strike terrain instead of enemies. Damage output drops sharply if positioning is poor. While the class is easy to operate, it suffers from performance inconsistency due to hitbox issues.

 

TIER 3 – Low Effectiveness

Cloudstrider

The Cloudstrider is a adaptable fighter who utilizes elemental Qi via the distinctive Dharma Nature system, allowing fluid combat styles that switch between the Tiger and other forms, each possessing unique skill effects that enrich the complexity of battle.

Evaluation: The class features high operation difficulty and is hindered by low damage output. As a melee fighter with poor durability, it is especially vulnerable in raid content and can easily be one-shot. Its design may appeal to players seeking style and versatility, but its performance is weak in current PvE meta.

Starbreaker

Starbreaker builds “Core Engine” stacks to release bonus damage in additional hits during combat, requiring careful timing and buildup.

Evaluation: Despite its cool concept, Starbreaker’s casting speed is slow, and most skills have low multipliers. It is a melee DPS with lackluster output and a clunky, delayed skill flow. In raid environments, its long animations and lack of burst capability put it at a disadvantage, making it one of the least effective PvE classes.

Subclass PvP Tier Ranking

Tier 0 (Top Meta Picks)

• Berserker: Excels in duels thanks to durable survivability and simple yet high-impact burst combos
• Bounty Hunter: Dominates 1v1 scenarios through unmatched mobility and rapid target elimination
• Magician: Recognized as one of the strongest PvP classes, offering flexible combos and tactical depth

Tier 1 (Strong Contenders)

• Starbreaker: A straightforward burst melee fighter with super armor, making it reliable in PvP .
• Scytheguard: Stands out with durability and solid healing, often securing wins in extended encounters .
• Cloudstrider: High mobility with flashy evasive play, requiring skill to maximize effectiveness
• Magiblade: Strong burst and positioning potential, but requires high execution to perform well .

Tier 2 (Average to Situational)

• Gunner: Good zoning and ranged presence, but frail when pressured
• Warlock: Solid crowd control but overshadowed by more aggressive duelists

Tier 3 (Underperforming in PvP)

• Blademaiden: Suffers from poor mobility and awkward cooldowns, making PvP tough
• Elementalist: Very weak in 1v1 due to long casts and minimal evasive options

If you’re aiming for competitive 1v1 or small-scale PvP, Berserker, Bounty Hunter, and Magician are the standout meta picks. Starbreaker, Scytheguard, Cloudstrider, and Magiblade also perform strongly but require more finesse. Gunner and Warlock can hold their own situationally, while Blademaiden and Elementalist lag far behind in PvP viability.

 

PVP Class Tier&PVE Class Tier

PvP：

Tier	Advanced Class
T0	Mystrix
	Berserker
	Scytheguard
T1	Magiblade
	Blademaiden
	Gunner
	Warlock
T2	Elementalist
	Magician
	Bounty Hunter
T3	Cloudstrider
	Starbreaker

PvE：

Tier	Advanced Class
T0	Berserker
	Bounty Hunter
	Magician
T1	Starbreaker
	Scytheguard
	Cloudstrider
	Magiblade
T2	Gunner
	Warlock
T3	Blademaiden
	Elementalist

The rankings above are based on current data and may change significantly with future updates. Please follow LDShop for the latest information.

 

Beginner-Friendly Basic Classes

There are five base classes in Crystal of Atlan – the close-quarters Swordsman and Fighter, the ranged combat Musketeer, the controlling Puppeteer, and the arcane Magister

Ranking:

Fighter > Magister&Puppeteer > Swordsman > Musketeer

 

Conclusion

Mastering the class switching system before Awakening can make all the difference in shaping a powerful, personalized playstyle in Crystal of Atlan. With the freedom to try different subclasses early on, you’ll be better prepared to commit to your final specialization when the time comes.

And when you're ready to take your journey even further, LDShop is here to support you with carefully curated game top-ups, gear, and digital goods tailored for Crystal of Atlan players. Whether it’s Opals, Vouchers, or Phantasium Pass for smoother gameplay, LDShop has your back—so you can focus on what matters most: mastering your class and conquering Crystal of Atlan.