Epoch

Epoch is the final calendar class. It is obtained by using a calendar code from 2018 onwards, which also gives you an accompanying Artifact for the year.
Epoch's defining feature is having multiple variants, that are tied to specific years. Starting with the 2022 calendars, Epoch variants are reskinned, starting from Eternal Epoch:
* Eternal Epoch (2018)
* Corrupted Doom Epoch (2019)
* Underworld Epoch (2020)
* Dragonbyte Epoch (2021)
All Epochs use a special mechanic known as Momentum, which is generated by some skills and consumed to empower other skills.
==Skills==
* Chargeburst
** 30 MP, 0 CD
** Generates 1 Momentum.
** Attacks all enemies for 1 hit of 140% damage.
* Punch
** 30 MP, 18 CD
** Consumes up to 3 Momentum.
** Attacks for 1 hit of 150% damage.
** Inflicts 'Shattered' for (X + 1) turns, a stun.
** X is equal to consumed Momentum.
* Laser Slice
** 30 MP, 14 CD
** Consumes up to 3 Momentum.
** Attacks for 6 hits of 25% damage (150% total).
** At 0 Momentum, inflicts 'Sliced' for 5 turns inclusive.
*** -5 All.
** At 1+ Momentum, inflicts 'Sliced' for 5 turns inclusive.
*** -15X All (max 45).
*** X is equal to consumed Momentum.
* Laser Blades
** 25 MP, 5 CD
** Generates 1 Momentum.
** Attacks for 3 hits of 50% damage (150% total).
** Inflicts 'Bleeding' for 5 turns, a 66.7% weapon + stat damage DoT.
* Fade
** 30 MP, 9 CD
** Applies 'Fade Boost' for 1 turn inclusive.
*** +200 Melee/Pierce/Magic.
* Ultra Boost
** 35 MP, 19 CD
** Requires at least 1 Epoch Boost effect active to use. Cannot be used as the first action of a turn if Timeshift is active.
** Empowered: [Power][, Defense][, Aim][, Heal]
** Generates 3 Momentum.
** Increases the strength of any active Epoch Boost effects without modifying their durations:
*** Increases 'Power Boost' to +40 Boost.
*** Increases 'Defense Boost' to +80 Melee/Pierce/Magic.
*** Increases 'Aim Boost' to +100 Bonus.
*** Increases 'Health Boost' to a 5% HoT.
* Epoch Boost
** 20 MP, 0 CD (14 when all effects are applied)
** Generates 1 Momentum.
** Applies 1 of the following Epoch Boost effects for 7 turns inclusive. Always applies the earliest effect in the sequence that is not currently applied.
*** 'Power Boost', +20 Boost.
*** 'Defense Boost', +40 Melee/Pierce/Magic.
*** 'Aim Boost', +40 Bonus.
*** 'Health Boost', a 3% HoT.
**** Due to being a HoT, it only heals the player 6 times.
* Attack
** 0 MP, 0 CD
** Heals the player for 15 MP.
** Generates 2 Momentum.
** Attacks for 1 hit of 100% damage.
* Epoch Hex
** 20 MP, 0 CD (14 when all effects are applied)
** Generates 1 Momentum.
** Inflicts 1 of the following Epoch Hex effects for the next 7 turns. Always inflicts the earliest effect in the sequence that is not currently inflicted.
*** 'Power Hex', -10 Boost.
*** 'Defense Hex', -50 Melee/Pierce/Magic.
*** 'Aim Hex', -25 Bonus.
* Ultra Hex
** 35 MP, 19 CD
** Requires at least 1 Epoch Hex effect active to use. Cannot be used as the first action of a turn if Timeshift is active.
** Concentrated: [Power][, Defense][, Aim]
** Generates 3 Momentum.
** Increases the strength of any currently active Epoch Hex effects. Increases each effect's duration by 1 turn, but disables it for the turn used:
*** Increases 'Power Hex' to -33 Boost.
*** Increases 'Defense Hex' to -75 Melee/Pierce/Magic.
*** Increases 'Aim Hex' to -50 Bonus.
* Timeshift
** 50 MP, 24 CD
** Requires at least 1 Momentum to use.
** Consumed momentum for X double turns.
** Consumes all Momentum.
** Grants 1 extra action each turn for each Momentum consumed, up to 9 extra actions at 9 Momentum (see Mechanics).
** Grants an extra action.
*** If Timeshift is used as the extra action on the final turn of a previous Timeshift, this allows the player to effectively make a third action on that turn.
* Combo
** 20 MP, 0 CD (2 if combo is finished or interrupted)
** Requires the player's last hit to connect for the first use only.
*** Combo sequence is broken if an attack is used in the middle of the combo, but using a non-attack skill will preserve the sequence. However, if the sequence was broken with a trinket/On-Demand attack skill, it will reset without going on cooldown.
** Generates 1 Momentum.
** 1st use: Attacks for 5 hits of 30% damage (150% total).
** 2nd use: Attacks for 5 hits of 40% damage (200% total).
** 3rd use: Attacks for 6 hits of 50% damage (300% total). Generates 1 extra Momentum (2 total).
* Pierce
** 20 MP, 12 CD
** Consumes up to 3 Momentum.
** Attacks for 7 hits of 21.4% damage (150% total).
** At 0 Momentum, inflicts 'Pierced' for 4 turns inclusive.
*** +10 Health.
** At 1+ Momentum, inflicts 'Pierced' for 4 turns inclusive.
*** +20X Health (max 60).
*** X is equal to consumed Momentum.
* Gunburst
** 20 MP, 3 CD
** Consumes up to 3 Momentum.
** At 0 Momentum, attacks for 1 hit of 125% damage.
** At 1+ Momentum, attacks for 4X hits of 15% damage and 1 hit of 125% damage ((60X + 125)% total) (max 305%).
** X is equal to consumed Momentum.
* Final
** 50 MP, 14 CD
** Consumes all Momentum.
** At 0 Momentum, attacks for 8 hits of 4.5% damage (36% total) with +200 Crit.
** At 1+ Momentum, attacks for 8 hits of 6.25X% damage (50X% total) with +200 Crit (max 450%).
** X is equal to consumed Momentum.
==Mechanics==
=== Momentum ===
* Epoch has a Momentum counter that starts at 0 and caps at 9.
* Clicking the Momentum widget above the Attack button allows the player to check their current Momentum and the remaining extra actions.
** Momentum charged: X[, double turns remaining: Y]
* Using a potion will also generate 1 Momentum.
=== Extra Actions ===
* Epoch can grant itself extra actions by using Timeshift, gaining 1 extra action per turn for each Momentum consumed. A turn where you take an extra action is also known as a double turn.
** X double turns remaining.
* Base Epoch can gain up to 9 extra actions every 15 turns, resulting in 6 turns of downtime where it can only perform 1 non-Timeshift action per turn.
* Using a potion, trinket, or an On-Demand special as the first action will skip the second action for that turn.
** Using a potion, trinket, or an On-Demand special as the second action has no consequences.
* Defeating a monster as the first action will skip the second action for that turn.
** If using Chargeburst, you will retain your second action if the last enemy damaged is not killed.
* Skipping a second action does not reduce the total number of extra actions given by Timeshift. You still get the number of extra actions equal to Momentum consumed, but they are all delayed a turn.
==Rotation==
Setup: Blades -> Attack -> Hex x3 -> UHex
# Shift + Blades
# Boost + Boost
# Boost + Boost
# Slice + UBoost
# Combo + Combo
# Combo + Final
# Blades + Combo
# Combo + Combo
# Gunburst + Fade
# Blades + Potion
# Attack...
* While generally not very relevant, two consecutive Timeshifts can be chained together by drinking potions/using trinkets or On-Demands for 6 turns after the first Timeshift, which delays your double turns until Timeshift's cooldown is sufficiently reduced to chain it, granting you 18 consecutive double turns.
==Strategy==
Base Epoch has powerful and reliable offense, especially burst damage. Deleting half of a boss's HP in one turn can skip what is often the most dangerous part of the fight. The strong combined buffs of +100 Bonus, -45 All, and +60 Health can also ignore most common defensive mechanics.
Due to its combination of -50 Bonus for up to 8 turns with a 40/80 MPM shield for another 7 turns every 12-15 turns or less, Base Epoch has a high defensive uptime.
Its versatile hitcount allows you to easily proc On-Hit specials for offense and defense, by juggling multiple specials. Unlike Archivist, there is always the option of low hitcount in Attack and Multi when the situation demands it.
However, without double turns, cooldowns are twice as long and you deal half as much damage. But to get double turns, Base Epoch needs to facetank for at least 5 turns to hit 9 Momentum from turn 1, which is becoming increasingly difficult to do for newer challenges. Potion and Baby Chimera are highly recommended for surviving the first few turns. Base Epoch can have difficulty juggling Momentum requirements and defenses under pressure.
The general gist of Epoch is to get to max (9) Momentum, Timeshift, start boosting, and unload a ton of damage before restarting. As Base Epoch is strictly inferior to Eternal Epoch, you should only use this class if you do not have access to EE.
INT/END is recommended due to how much damage Final can output, especially in conjunction with dragon buffs and gearswapping. DEX/END does slightly more in the long run, but loses in burst.
Don't use Epoch for questing. If you have to use an Epoch, use Dragonbyte Epoch instead.
To be fair, you have to have a very high IQ to understand Epoch. The combos are extremely subtle, and without a solid grasp of quantum space-time physics most of the rotations will go over a typical player's head. There's also Timeshift's nihilistic effect, which is deftly woven into its utility- the personal philosophy draws heavily from Madeleine L'Engle literature, for instance. The experts understand this stuff; they have the intellectual capacity to truly appreciate the depths of these skills, to realise that they're not just powerful- they say something deep about STRATEGY. As a consequence people who dislike Epoch truly ARE idiots- of course they wouldn't appreciate, for instance, the power in Epoch's existential combo "Slice Epoch Boost Ultra Boost Final," which itself is a cryptic reference to Ascendant's damage epic Staff Book Hammer Scythe Wand. I'm smirking right now just imagining one of those addlepated simpletons scratching their heads in confusion as Verlyrus's genius wit unfolds itself on their computer screens. What fools.. how I pity them.
And yes, by the way, I DO have an Epoch tattoo. And no, you cannot see it. It's for the ladies' eyes only- and even then they have to demonstrate that they're within 5 Momentum points of my own (preferably lower) beforehand.
Category:Class
Category:Special Offer