Sorcerer is an advanced job in Octopath Traveler. The job is unlocked by defeating the god Dreisang, the Archmagus at the altar at the Shrine of the Archmagus.
Sorcerers are your token black mage, similar to the Scholar job. However, while Scholars are versed in AoE Fire, Ice and Lightning magic, Sorcerers are versed in AoE magic of all six elements (Fire, Ice, Lightning, Wind, Light and Dark). Furthermore, while Scholars' magic maxes at two-hit spells (Fire Storm, Blizzard and Lightning Blast, each costing 22 SP), Sorcerers' spells are three-hit ones, each costing 36 SP.
Sorcerers wield Staves and Bows as weapons, the former tend to enhance Elem. Atk. over Phys. Atk. (though there are exceptions, like the War Hammer and Morning Star); this complements their magic-oriented playstyle.
Skills[]
Each basic skill costs 2000 JP to unlock, with the divine skill costing 5000 JP.
| Skill | SP | Damage Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ignis Ardere | 36 | 
|
Deal fire damage to all foes 3 times. |
| Glacies Claudere | 36 | 
|
Deal ice damage to all foes 3 times. |
| Tonitrus Canere | 36 | 
|
Deal lightning damage to all foes 3 times. |
| Ventus Saltare | 36 | 
|
Deal wind damage to all foes 3 times. |
| Lux Congerere | 36 | 
|
Deal light damage to all foes 3 times. |
| Tenebrae Operiere | 36 | 
|
Deal dark damage to all foes 3 times. |
| Elemental Break | 20 | 
|
Unleash a powerful staff attack on a single foe that also reduces the target's elemental defense for 2 turns. |
| Dreisang's Spell | 50 | [Divine] For 3 turns, elemental attacks performed by a single chosen ally will hit for critical damage. |
Support Skills[]
| No. of Skills Unlocked | Total JP | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 4,000 | Intimidation | Grants a 25% chance that foes will begin battle with reduced physical attack and elemental defense*. (Equipping this skill with multiple characters will have no added effect.) |
| 5 | 6,000 | Stronger Strikes | Increases damage dealt when striking a foe's weak point. |
| 6 | 8,000 | Elemental Aid | Elemental attacks consume double SP, but also deal additional damage. |
| 7 | 10,000 | Augmented Elements | Increases damage dealt by elemental attacks. |
*Foes will actually have their elemental attack reduced, not elemental defense.
Shrine Location[]
- Main article: Shrine of the Archmagus
The Sorcerer job may be unlocked by approaching the altar within the Shrine of the Archmagus and defeating Dreisang, the Archmagus.
To find the Shrine, travel to Duskbarrow. Exit east to East Duskbarrow Trail and navigate towards the exit to East Victor Hollows. Head north-east to find a hidden path behind some rocks and chest. Continue west behind the rocks to find the entrance to the shrine.
Strategies[]
With its focus on AoE spells of all six elements, the Sorcerer job is recommended for magic-oriented characters.
- Primrose is one of the best choices for the Sorcerer job. She's tied with Ophilia for the second-highest Elem. Atk. of the eight protagonists after Cyrus, and her primary Dancer job comes with Daggers in addition to the Sorcerer job's Staves, Bows and all elements, giving her nine different means of coverage. Primrose's primary Dancer job has Peacock Strut among its skills to apply the
Increased Elemental Attack buff, whose duration can be increased by boosts and the Dancer job's first support skill, The Show Goes On. Primrose can also be equipped with Heathcote's Dagger to increase the power of Ignis Ardere. However, Tenebrae Operiere renders Moonlight Waltz and Night Ode redundant except in very niche scenarios e.g. wanting to attack a single foe or not wanting to break foes, respectively. Also, since Primrose's primary Dancer job comes with mostly supportive skills, it can be difficult to fully optimize Sorcerer Primrose's role as a support unit, though Peacock Strut complements the Sorcerer job's playstyle well. - Ophilia is tied with Primrose for the second-highest Elem. Atk. of the eight protagonists, and the Cleric job's second support skill, Inner Strength, further complements Ophilia's SP-reliant playstyle. However, Lux Congerere renders Holy Light and Luminescence redundant except in very niche scenarios, and since Ophilia is your token white mage, it can be difficult to fully optimize Sorcerer Ophilia's role as a support unit.
- Tressa can be effective as a Sorcerer if you plan on giving her an offensive role, because she has balanced stats accompanied by the third-highest Elem. Atk. of the eight protagonists after Ophilia/Primrose (tied) and Cyrus, and her primary Merchant job has Rest among its skills to restore her HP and—more importantly—SP, and also cures ailments, which helps manage the Sorcerer job's SP-reliant playstyle. However, it is most recommended to equip Tressa with the Tradewinds Spear and the Primeval Bow of Storms if you plan on running her as a Sorcerer, which increase the power of the user's Wind spells and stack, making her Ventus Saltare the most powerful Wind spell in the game. On the subject, Ventus Saltare renders Tradewinds and Trade Tempest redundant except in very niche scenarios. Finally, because the Merchant skill Donate BP can only be used on other allies, Sorcerer Tressa may want to conserve her own BP; though this can be circumvented by having another character with the Merchant secondary job donate BP to her, Alfyn's Concoct, etc..
- Therion can have a niche Sorcerer role if he is equipped with Heathcote's Dagger and Harald's Sword. Both weapons increase the power of the user's Fire spells and stack, and since Therion's primary Thief job wields Daggers and Swords, he can be equipped with both the aforementioned weapons to greatly increase the power of Ignis Ardere (and Wildfire). However, the aforementioned weapons cannot be obtained until after completing Therion and Olberic's routes respectively, and until they are it is not recommended to run Sorcerer Therion.
- Alfyn fills a similar niche to Therion. His primary Apothecary class gives him the ability to equip the Battle-tested Axe alongside the Absolute Zero Staff to greatly increase the power of Glacies Claudere. However, it is strongly recommended not to run Alfyn as a Sorcerer until both of these weapons become available.
- Cyrus is ironically not recommended to run as a Sorcerer despite having the highest Elem. Atk. of the eight protagonists, because the job renders his primary Scholar job almost entirely redundant except for very niche scenarios such as if you don't want to break foes that action. Only Analyze and Alephan's Enlightenment stand out, and even then the former is limited by the number of foe weaknesses unrevealed while the latter faces competition from Dreisang's Spell. That said, Alephan's Enlightenment does let AoE spells deal ×2 damage compared to the ×1.25 damage increase provided by Dreisang's Spell, albeit focusing said spells on a single target; but nevertheless it is recommended to give the Sorcerer job to one of the other recommended characters and have Cyrus fight alongside them, instead.
- As far as support skills go, besides the staple Saving Grace, recommended support skills for Sorcerers include: SP Saver, Surpassing Power, Second Wind, Insult to Injury, BP Eater, Stronger Strikes, Elemental Aid, Augmented Elements, and Elemental Edge.
- As far as weapons go, the Absolute Zero Staff and the Primeval Bow of Storms are good weapons for Sorcerers; the former increases the power of the user's Ice spells, and the latter Wind spells.
- Therion, Alfyn, H'aanit, Tressa and Olberic have the niche of being able to wield 2 weapons that boost the same element's damage for a 1.6x dmg multiplier, allowing for incredible damage. With the right support skills (Surpassing Power / Elemental Aid / BP Eater / Augmented Elements), gear (Adamantine Hat / Sorcerer's Robe / 2x Elemental Augmentor), setup (Aelfric's Auspices, Alephan's Enlightenment, Peacock Strut, Dresang's Spell / Take Aim, Elemental Break), and the weapons below, they could hit max damage.
- Therion needs Heathcote's Dagger and Harald's Sword, obtained from Therion and Olberic's post ch4 sidestories to boost his Fire damage.
- Alfyn and H'aanit need Battle-tested Axe and Absolute Zero Staff, obtained from an NPC post Olberic ch4 and a sidestory post Cyrus's ch4 to boost their Ice damage.
- Tressa and Olberic need Tradewinds Spear and Primeval Bow of Storms, obtained from Tressa and H'aanit's post ch4 sidestories to boost their Ice damage.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The Sorcerer job's outfit was originally conceived as a black robe, collared with white fur and draped with a mantle of purple feathers. This pitch black design reflected the depths of their mastery of the dark arts.[1]
- At first, the sprite artists were allowed to give the bonus jobs' designs a more fantastic edge, considering these jobs to be remnants of a lost age. However, a change in art direction caused the original dramatic concepts to be scrapped.[2]
- In the past, Sorcerers were loathed for their use of dubious magics, but were able to establish themselves somewhat with the help of runemasters. Runemasters believed the abhorred power of sorcerers to be just, and therefore vowed to protect sorcerers from discrimination. As a reward, the sorcerers embedded their magic into runes and bestowed them upon the runemasters, granting them a modicum of magical prowess.[3]
- The sorcerers' final design incorporates a plethora of colors, like yellows, reds, and purples, over the natural base green, reflecting their image as experts of elemental magic.[4]
References[]
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