Smuggler

The Smuggler is one of the eight professions a character can select on Empire in Flames. It's a starting profession, and a player can pick it during the character creation process, or they can pick it up later in the game. The Smuggler profession gives the character access to the Slicing ability, which allows them to modify weapons and armor using specialized equipment. It also unlocks the Scattergun, a weapon exclusive to this profession. As it stands, the Smuggler does not have access to any unique drug crafting on Empire in Flames, but it has been hinted at as future content.

If a character does not select Smuggler during character creation, they will need to seek out a Smuggler trainer in any of the major NPC or player cities to learn the novice box. A character will need to drop their existing profession to unlock this box, and begin leveling it up.

## How to Level Up Smuggler

Smuggler has 16 boxes a character needs to level up before reaching Master Smuggler. Of the 16 boxes, eight of them require Combat Experience, four require Slicing Experience, and four require Scattergun Weapons experience. The Slicing and Scattergun Weapons experience are unique to the Smuggler profession. A character earns Combat Experience by participating in combat and defeating them with any type of melee or ranged weapons. The choice is left up to the character.

When a character wishes to earn Slicing experience, they will need to complete Slicing activities. In the Novice Smuggler box, the character unlocks the ability to Slice containers. A character can learn to Slice terminals in the Slicing I box, weapons in the Slicing II box, armor for Slicing III box, and then advanced weapons after unlocking the Slicing IV box. Finally, for a character to earn Scattergun Weapon experience, similar to Combat Experience, a character will need to defeat enemies using any type of Scattergun. A character looking to level this up may want to reach out to a Weaponsmith to have one made, or have to explore the Bazaar terminal to find any Scatterguns for sale on the Bazaar. A character can look these up by searching under the "Weapon" category, and then clicking on the "Special Heavy Weapon" filter, bringing up any available Scatterguns for sale.

## How Slicing Works

The Slicing skill is exclusively unlocked for any character who has the Smuggler profession. What Slicing does is modify a weapon or armor piece to push it beyond its standard threshold, and is recommended for combat characters who have unsliced armor and weapons. A character can only Slice an item once. After being Sliced, the weapon or item cannot be further modified, and the character will need to deal with the result. Although, a Smuggler may tip the odds in their favor with a guaranteed Slice if they were to use a Smuggler's Luck Dice, which exclusively drops during the Empire in Flames' Taanab Harvest event.

Items that a character can Slice include locked containers, mission terminals to increase the payout, all weapons (ranged, melee, Commando rockets and heavy weapons, grenades, Light Lightning Cannons, Flame and Electro Gauntlets, and Scatterguns), and all pieces of armor, including Personal Shield Generators. After a Smuggler has completed a Slice against any of these, they can see the result at the bottom of the screen when viewing this item in their inventory.

A Smuggler will need specialized equipment for the mini-game to complete a Slice. These are all the items a Smuggler needs to use for each of the Slicing activities on Empire in Flames.

All Smuggler Slicing Activities & Equipment
* Molecular Clamp
* Precision Laser (x2)
 Locked Containers
* Precision Laser (x2)
 Mission Terminals
* Precision Laser (x2)
 Weapons
* Precision Laser (x2)
* Weapon Upgrade Kit

When the Smuggler is ready to slice any of the possible items using the required equipment, it's important to note that the Molecular Clamp is not a required component. Before getting too far into that, let's detail how the slicing mini-game works in Empire in Flames, and what Smugglers can expect whenever they Slice any items.

A character will need to radial the item they wish to Slice and select the "**Slice**" option. When the Smuggler does this for a weapon or armor item, this immediately uses up the Weapon or Armor Upgrade Kit, meaning the Smuggler can exit out of this window before completing the slice, but they will need to acquire another upgrade kit before attempting another. Hitting the "**Slice**" option brings up a menu with a small description that breaks down a small dialogue, describing what the Smuggler sees as they attempt to slice an object. These details vary from describing how the Smuggler has removed a Mission Terminal's panel, or how the Smuggler needs to modify a weapon's stabilizer for it to function properly.

Regardless of the description, the menu choices of what the Smuggler can do next remain the same for every Slicing mini-game. These are the choices a character will be able to pick from.

* **Cut the positive (blue) flow regulator cable**
* **Cut the negative (red) flow regulator cable**
* **Shunt the power node with a molecular clamp**
* **Install an analyzer node**

From here, the Smuggler will need to select to choose if they wish to cut the positive (blue) flow, or the negative (red) flow. However, if they have a Molecular Clamp, they can also shunt the power node. Let's focus on the first two options, treating it as if our Smuggler does not have a Molecular Clamp. If they don't, the Smuggler needs to guess between the positive (blue) or negative (red) flows they need to cut to make a successful slice. When a Smuggler makes the incorrect choice between those two, they receive a message that reads, "**You've made a critical mistake!**" This prevents the slice from occurring, and if the Smuggler was attempting to use it on a locked container, weapon, or armor, slices can no longer occur on those objects, preventing a character from modifying the weapon or armor, and opening up the locked container.

When a Smuggler does have a Molecular Clamp in their inventory, they always want to select the, "**Shunt the power node with a molecular clamp,**" during the Slicing mini-game. A notification appears on the Smuggler's screen confirming a Molecular Clamp has been used, and the Slicing mini-game window will have a description that reads, "**You gently fuse the molecular clamp to the anti-tampering device expansion leads. A small indicator light on the clamp lights up**," and the color of the light will be red or blue. If it's blue, the Smuggler needs to slice the positive (blue) flow regulator cable. If the light is red, then the Smuggler needs to cut the negative (red) flow regulator cable. The Molecular Clamp takes the guesswork out of the mini-game for the Smuggler, ensuring a Slice is always successive. Once the Smuggler cuts the correct wire, they then need to cut the opposite wire, and a Slice will take effect.

Following a successful Slice, the Smuggler will see everything worked, and a notification appears of the effects. If they were slicing a Locked Container, the object is now open. If they were slicing a weapon or armor, the type of slice and the effects of the slice will appear. If the Smuggler was slicing a Mission Terminal, they will see that the next series of mission rewards will be increased, and only for the first page they open. Refreshing the page resets the Mission Terminal, and the increased rewards from the Slice disappear.

At every stage of the process when the Smuggler is attempting the Slice, this uses up charges of the Precision Laser Knife. A character is recommended to make sure they have multiple Precision Laser Knifes on their person during the process to ensure they do not miss anything, forcing them to start over.

## All Smuggler Skills

Every box in the Smuggler Profession tree rewards a character with unique Skill Mods and Commands and Abilities. These provide unique certification to weapons, diverse skills to use in and out of combat, along with improving the Smuggler's Slicing quality skills. Beyond the Novice and Master Smuggler boxes, there are 16 a character must unlock before they can reach the Master Smuggler rank, unlocking the great skills, best Slicing outcomes, and earning the Master Smuggler badge. It is important to note that any Smuggler ability unlocked in this tree can be used on any weapon that a character uses, even when wielding a Scattergun. However, the exclusive Scattergun abilities does require a character to be holding that specific weapon.

These are all of the Smugger Skill boxes, what they unlock, and the amount of experience a character needs to earn to learn it in Empire in Flames.

### Novice Smuggler

This is a starting profession and has no requirements, beyond a character not already having committed to another profession. A character is required to drop their current profession to earn Novice Smuggler.

* Skill Mods
	+ Burst Run Efficiency +10
	+ Scattergun Accuracy +15
	+ Scattergun Speed +15
	+ Terrain Negotiation +10
* Commands and Abilities Granted
	+ Choke Shot (Scattergun ability)
	+ Precision Laser Knife certification
	+ Scattergun Certification
	+ Slicing: Containers

### Underworld

Smugglers need to know their way around the underworld, and understand how to make deals in the shatters. On top of the Skill Mods and Abilities they earn in the Underworld Skills, these also reduce the costs of all faction perks by 10 percent, and 25 percent once they reach Master Smuggler.

All Smuggler Underworld Boxes
* Language Comprehension +25
* Terrain Negotiation +5
 Underworld II
* Language Comprehension +25
* Terrain Negotiation +5
 Underworld III
* Language Comprehension +25
* Terrain Negotiation +10
 Underworld IV
* Language Comprehension +25
* Terrain Negotiation +20

### Slicing

A Smuggler gains access to the unique talent of Slicing, allowing them to augment weapons and armor for others to use in combat, to unlock impossible locks on containers, or to increase the payout from Mission Terminals.

All Smuggler Slicing Boxes
 Slicing II
 Slicing III
 Slicing IV
* Slicing: Weapons (Advanced)

### Dirty Fighting

The Smuggler has to use every trick in the book to survive some of the most deadly encounters, and that means fighting dirty. No one said that they had to fight fair; only be the last one standing at the end of an encounter.

 Dirty Fighting II
 Dirty Fighting III
 Dirty Fighting IV

**Feign Death** is a unique ability for Smugglers. It allows the Smuggler to fall to the ground, as if they were defeated in combat. In actuality, the Smuggler should still be alive, and while in this state, they can choose when they wish to stand up to resume the battle. While this action does work effectively against NPCs, a Smuggler may find it more difficult to pull off against other players, especially if that enemy player is paying attention. What gives the Smuggler away is that they will have a "Feign Death" status next to their name, which the enemy player can clearly read.

### Scattergun Specialization

Unique to Empire in Flames for Smugglers is their ability to wield the Scattergun. This particular weapon is exceptionally deadly in close-quarters combat, with every attack on it a Cone, meaning there are no single target Scattergun abilities. Scatterguns are also one of the few weapons on Empire in Flames that can cause the "Armor Break" status effect against an opponent, making it easier to bypass their defenses, and deal additional damage.

* Scattergun Speed +10
 Scattergun Specialization II
* Scattergun Speed +10
 Scattergun Specialization III
* Scattergun Speed +10
 Scattergun Specialization IV
* Scattergun Speed +15

### Master Smuggler

After a player has completed all four of the Smuggler trees (Underworld, Slicing, Dirty Fighting, and Scattergun Specialization), they can speak with a Smuggler trainer to unlock the Master Smuggler Skillbox. There is also the option to speak with another player who is a Master Smuggler to teach them the skill.

* Skill Mods
	+ Scattergun Accuracy +10
	+ Scattergun Speed +10
* Commands and Abilities Granted
	+ Shoot First

## All Smuggler Ability Stats

The Smuggler abilities a character unlocks as they progress through the Smuggler tree gives them access to multiple attacks that can be used with nearly any weapon. Beyond the attacks that require a Scattergun, any Smuggler attack can be used with any ranged or melee weapon on Empire in Flames. However, they are not all the same. Some have different damage and speed modifiers, have the chance to activate unique state effects against an opponent, and some are single target while others are made to hit multiple targets.

Here's a full breakdown of the stats for every Smuggler Ability on Empire in Flames.