Epitome Starter Path Rankings

Steam’s create screen, as written today, starts you on Warrior, Ninja, or Shaman. Each of those three then forks into two paths. This page ranks those six routes for a pre-alpha world that is still Coming soon on Steam, still unfinished in combat, and still smaller than the Kickstarter pitch. Letters here are speculative. If a Discord screenshot disagrees with Steam skill names, Steam wins.

The current test slice is often described as one map (M1), two cities, four biomes, and play into the low twenties. That is a short ladder. Burst paths look stronger than they will on a longer timeline; endurance and DoT paths look weaker than they will when fights last. We keep a PvE-slice column and a PvP-speculation column so those two futures do not get averaged into mush.

Read this beside the Class Path Tier List Hub disclaimer and the classes hub. If you already know you want summons or raw elements, skip ahead to the advanced path rankings and accept that Steam treats those as Morality Metrics unlocks, not day-one creates.

Rank legend (pre-alpha only)

• S — First pick for the current short slice if you like that job.
• A — Clear identity, small execution tax, still worth maining to learn the game.
• B — Works, but wants longer fights, a group, or better combat juice than testers always report.
• C — Not “bad forever”; just a poor default while combat and content are still thin.

We are not ranking paid cosmetics, Archon Seals, or Kickstarter extras. Coverage describes Seals as a cosmetic and utility currency under a no pay-to-win claim. That claim is not a balance patch.

Speculative PvE slice ranks

S — Path of the Body (Warrior). This is the least mysterious starter route. Steam copy is blunt: Sword Aura for damage, Charge to trample, Sword Vortex to finish. On a map that may only run to about level 20, a readable melee loop teaches positioning without asking you to maintain a poison cloud. Testers who bounce off “unfinished combat” still usually understand what Body is trying to do. If you want to evaluate the action layer at all, start here.

A — Path of Assassination (Ninja). Shadow Trail into Ambush is an opener fantasy that either feels great or feels like the animation set is not done. When invisibility and critical openers function, this path farms elites and player-shaped targets better than Body. When they hitch, you are a squishy melee with a bow you forgot to swap to. Rank assumes the Steam kit exists; your session may not.

A — Path of Light (Shaman). Blessing for damage resistance and Luminous Howl as a group finisher is the reason this is not a solo-only list. Even a three-player party on M1 will notice a Light Shaman. Solo ranking would drop this a letter. Party ranking would raise it. We split the difference because Epitome is an online MMO, not a local-only grind.

B — Tang Path (Ninja). Mirage decoys and Poison Scorch want enemies to stand still and fights to last. On a short cap with unfinished combat, setup paths eat more downtime than they pay back. In a later open-world PvP field, Tang can jump. Today it is a specialist.

B — Path of the Soul (Warrior). Spiritual Body and Spiritual Strike sell endurance. Endurance is real in ganks and messy multi-mob pulls. It is less exciting when your evening is “see the two cities and log.” Soul is the Warrior you bring when other people hit you, not when you are racing a level cap that sources already describe as modest.

B — Path of Darkness (Shaman). Curse to amplify incoming damage and Summon Darkness as a dragon-shaped finisher needs target uptime. If combat still feels incomplete, curses that require a living enemy feel worse than Body’s Vortex. Darkness is not a trap; it is a path that wants a more finished damage table than pre-alpha always provides.

Speculative open PvP ranks

Open PvP is advertised as part of the MMO, not a side mode you can ignore. Until population, gear, and crowd control rules stabilize, this column is softer than PvE.

1. Assassination — First-strike kit. High if openers land; worthless if stealth is broken in your build.
2. Path of the Body — Wins stupid fights. Loses to coordinated burst if you never respect a bow Ninja.
3. Path of Darkness — Debuff value scales with how long a player stays in the fight.
4. Path of Light — Group fights, not 1v1 pride.
5. Tang Path — Zone control if people actually stand in poison.
6. Path of the Soul — Anti-gank, slow kill. High survival, low highlight reels.

If you play alone in a test shard that feels empty, ignore this column. Empty-world PvP ranks are fan fiction.

How to pick without chasing letters

Ask how you want to stand in a fight. Face-to-face steel is Warrior. Ambush, poison, or a bow is Ninja. Bells, curses, or group support is Shaman. That is the same split the class picker uses. Then pick the path that matches fight length: Body and Assassination for short; Soul, Tang, Light, and Darkness for fights that breathe.

Faction — Aria versus Zetia — is a lore and allegiance choice, not a hidden sixth path on this list. Confirm that on the faction guide when you have one open; do not reroll Body because a kingdom trailer looked gold.

Kickstarter backers may see extra create options in a given pre-alpha drop. Steam still presents three basic classes. This page follows the store page for “starter,” then mentions test exceptions in the FAQ so we do not teach a false create screen.

Engine talk does not change these letters. Steam lists Unreal Engine 5.4; Kickstarter talked 5.7. Neither version number buffs Charge.

When you have a path, read the matching class page on the classes hub, then come back after the next closed-test note on the Updates Hub. If combat still feels unfinished in your hands, that is data, not a personal failure — and it is why these letters stay speculative.

Do not screenshot this list as a reroll guide for friends who have not wishlist’d Steam yet. The useful move is to main one starter path through the M1 slice, write down what felt incomplete, and only then glance at advanced unlocks. Letters here are a reading order, not a promise that Body will still be S when an open Steam build exists.