A tale of two stances, Lost Ark’s Glaivier pairs the Martial Artist’s high-impact combat style with the Gunslinger-oriented Gunner’s situational variance to create an all-in-one package of dungeon-crawling and boss-rushing. The key to its duality is the implementation of the Dual Meter, whose charge and effects are dependent upon which combat stance the player decides to switch from.
Playstyle: Shifting gears
While in combat, the Glaivier fights in one of two stances — Flurry or Focus. The player can freely switch between the two by pressing Z, though the Glaivier’s long-term success lies in the timing at which they switch between their two stances.
While existing and dealing damage in either stance, the Dual Meter will begin to build charge, capping off at three bars as displayed at the center of the player’s HUD. When the Glaivier switches from one stance to another, the Dual Meter charge gained in the former stance is fully consumed, with the latter stance receiving statistical buffs that scale with the amount of bars consumed.
Each stance makes use of its own unique set of hotbar skills, whose attributes play toward each stance’s strengths. With this in mind, Glaivier players would be wise to know when and where to use each stance.
Flurry stance: The Fast and the Flurryous
Flurry stance excels in using attacks that strike quickly and strike often. After switching from Focus stance, the Glaivier gains additional attack speed, critical hit rate, and damage in Flurry stance, proportional to the number of Dual Meter bars consumed in the switch.
Considering these bonuses, Flurry stance is best utilized in situations where high damage-per-second is key to a dungeon-raiding team’s success, such as boss battles.
- Blue Dragon’s Claw: Lunges forward for medium damage before spinning their spear for up to six rapid medium attacks
- Chain Slash: Sequence of four medium-damage attacks that gradually progresses the user toward enemies while exploiting weak points
- Raging Dragon Slash: High-damage slash attack that strikes in a broad circle around the user
Related: What does “Weak Point” mean in Lost Ark?
Focus stance: Let’s go fly a kite
Focus stance is best utilized when dealing with larger hordes of lighter enemies, as it functions best at creating, and striking from, a distance. When switching from Flurry stance to Focus stance, the Dual Meter’s charge is converted into additional movement speed, damage output, and critical hit damage. The increased speed is especially useful in Focus stance, as it allows Glaiviers to kite away from enemies and out of harm’s way.
Additionally, the bulk of Focus stance’s skill-set features long-range stabs that can keep encroaching hordes at bay.
- 4-Headed Dragon: Stabs forward eight times for rapid medium damage, followed by a final, more powerful thrust
- Thrust of Destruction: Charges up before unleashing a high-damage, long-range thrust that attacks enemies in a narrow area of effect around the spear
- Starfall Pounce: Launches the user airborne and downward to the position of the user’s cursor, which can be used to engage offensively or reposition away from enemies
Related: The Best Scrapper builds in Lost Ark
