Lost Hemisphere

Good Evening, fellow Losties! In this latest instalment of our ongoing series on breaking the synergies of the great machine that is the Convergence of Cyriss, we commence tackling the mighty warcasters.

Seeing as the casters are the hub of the great wheel, we must do what we can to tackle the individual strengths and weaknesses that usually apply to warcasters and the effect they have on the army they have brought to bear (which is substantial, of course), but also the augmented capacity to influence the functions of the army that Convergence casters bring to the table. When Convergence was first announced, some of the concepts revealed were that one, the Convergence warcasters would each have a field marshal ability that would apply to battlegroups already anticipated to be very large, thus substantially altering the playing field from one caster to the next. The second rule regarding warcasters to be announced was that they would each contribute their MAT and RAT values to their battlegroup. This meant two things: first, that Convergence vectors would not have a consistent profile to aid players in predicting their ability to accomplish things, and second that they would have a unique aspect of their use from caster to caster. For the wielders of the monkey wrenches, this means it will be easier to underestimate their threat ranges, and, in my experience, more often *overestimate* their combat capability. Regardless, the caster will dictate more than opponents may appreciate. It’s one thing to see it on paper, it’s quite another to observe it in action in front of you.

We will be discussing these features in greater detail as we tackle each warcaster. I will be dedicating an article or two to each of the five currently available, and in ascending order of least to greatest! Now that part will be my opinion only, of course, and according to my criteria of what makes a competitive caster, but bear in mind that with dedication, any one of these casters can become a fearsome weapon to be wielded by a trained specialist. (If from no one else, take it from Gdaybloke, who has brought many a tear to the eye of a would-be conqueror with some of the least favoured casters and units in the game. I have much faith in him, and you will be blindsided by his unconventional choices and tactics. Be afraid.) [KICKY  MONKS AND KOSSITES!!! – Gday]

Now then! The first in these hallowed halls is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful caster models in the game, and a paragon of the aesthetic joining of cold functionality and religious fervor that Convergence represents. I am speaking of the clockwork angel of clockwork angels herself, Aurora, Numen of Aerogenesis. (Numen!) So let’s give her a quick rundown.

Vital Statistics

Besides being kickin’ in a bathing suit, Aurora is one of the two fleshier warcasters in the pantheon. She is therefore living, and is not a clockwork vessel construct like most Convergence casters. She can fly, naturally, and is fast to boot. She clocks in at SPD 7, MAT 6 and RAT 4, making her one of the more balanced casters in terms of statistics. Remember that this will make her vectors roughly equivalent to Khador jacks in terms of their fighting capacity! More on that in a moment. Defensively, she has a respectably dodgy DEF 16 with ARM slightly higher than the usual accompaniment, at 15. She also sports a CMD stat of 9, though it won’t come up all that often, with a great deal of fearless automatons in the faction. She sports a pair of weapons, both of which are magical–something a touch rarer in Convergence. Her Polynomial Staff is a reach weapon, with a P+S of 12. The same staff can presumably project a beam of energy not unlike the clockwork angels with which she is affiliated, with RNG 12 and POW to match. She also has 16 hit boxes and +6 warjack points. With a profile like this, one can be forgiven for finding it difficult to determine if she is built like a support caster or a combat caster. While most combat casters fall somewhere between the tanky (your Butchers, your Thagroshes, your Xerxeses) and speedy assassins (your Caines, your Rhyases, your Morghouls). She’s built like the assassin type, but doesn’t sport the same offensive statistics to match. Instead, she has much higher focus stat than is typical for such casters, at 7. She commands a formidable range of influence, and serves in largely a support capacity for much of the game. That is, unless she can kill the enemy caster. In which case, she will do so, and with gusto.

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