Guide: Demystifying Arcana for the Arcanist

[Dennis]

The following content contains spoilers for the Arcanist class. Viewer discretion is advised.
This is your warning to stop reading immediately if you have no interest in spoilers.

Introduction to Arcana
Arcana is a focused study of the arcane, necessary to really understand arcane glyphs and occult diagrams. Higher Arcana skill correlates to longer duration of occult diagram effects.
Glyphs are components of Occult Diagrams, and are learned by studying permanent Glyph forms. Such forms are often found on plates, which can be studied in the Library of Qamar in South Balkr Pass.
What we know as arcana is constantly changing and evolving. What you may be comfortable with today may change completely a month from now. Thus, take the following anecdotes as a snapshot in time, with certain keynotes on interactions that may be changed in the future.

Basic Arcana

"One who withholds any school of knowledge from the public is both a tyrant and a coward." - Muhsin of Tarsu, Library Founder

The Library of Qamar teachers stand by to train students in the way of arcana. The following are excellent glyphs available to all. You can normally raise your arcana to a maximum of 100.

• 'distyr' allows you to see in the dark, but hinders your stealth. You can successfully hide with 'distyr' active, unlike with a lit candle or lantern.

• 'terlu' provides the 'silent walking' effect, which allows you to enter areas without passing the 'you enter the room' text to its occupants. However, it also has the chance for your words to be completely muffled when speaking.

• 'iquaj' gives bonuses to stealth, dodge, and artifice, as well as providing a reduction to your traveltime for sneaking. It hinders your perception.

• 'uyto' provides a perception bonus, allows you to hear in-room whispers, and allows you to use the eavesdrop command on exits to listen to conversation from adjacent areas.

Hint: Try casting these in this order!

Advanced Arcana
Those who seek greater specialization in Arcana can join the Scholar Guild. These advanced glyphs can cause great harm to the caster or those around them and thus are not available to all to learn. Some glyphs have detrimental side effects for those who have not memorized the glyph themselves. Arcanists have a maximum skillcap of 700 to Arcana.

The glyph separators 'line', 'triquetra', 'cross' provide for two, three, or four spaces respectively to which you can add glyphs. You may consider them functionally as 'one' 'two' or 'three' functional spaces as 'beldi' is mandatory for every circle to properly activate.

These glyphs are used to 'modify' without necessarily providing a functional 'effect'.

• The remote activation glyphs 'calorh' 'waseq' and 'fithvu' perform an identical task, but use a different phrase. The functionality of remote activation is two part. The first time you step in only binds the diagram to you. After which, speaking this glyph's name out loud will activate the rest of the diagram's glyphs. Place this glyph in the diagram first so that the following glyphs in your circle will then be waiting to be activated by the verbal method.

• 'kaylaj' allows the reactivation of a circle a number of times based on your arcana skill, up to 10 at 700 arcana. Note that each active kaylaj circle applies a maximum energy loss of -25, and reactivated circles last indefinitely until expired, erased, or used entirely. The syntax for a character to exit a reactivating circle is LEAVE.

• 'cosir' the luminous glyph also functions as a circle timer. You can incorporate this glyph into any diagram to cause the circle to expire after 6 bells.

These glyphs have functional 'effects' on an object or a person.

• 'shaol' levitates an object held in the right hand. You can only apply this to one object per person. The duration scales with the Arcana skill of the one drawing it. Levitating objects follow the owner, cost the owner a maximum energy loss associated with the object's weight, and avoids being picked up by anyone other than the owner. Clever arcanists can use it on a hurled weapon and rely on these the properties to safely recover the weapon after walking away.

• 'dorun' provides beneficial defense rerolls and a flat bonus to your defense roll, with a 7 second cooldown between activations.

• 'krytael' is a secret ability not found in the Library of Qamar. It has a minimum arcana skill requirement of 400. The effect of the ability is to absorb durability loss of the object and slow the loss of the 'keen-edged' property if applicable. The duration is by use and not time, and scales with the Arcana skill of the one drawing it.

Common Glyph Patterns
The following are my most common glyph patterns. I have marked certain glyphs with symbols: you can replace any asterisked glyph with your choice of remote activation glyph, and any hashed glyph with a functional glyph effect of your choice. Glyph order matters.

small circle - triquetra based circles:
beldi - terlu - iquaj (provides the silent walking properly and a roundtime reduction to stealth)
beldi - fathys - cosir (6 hour warmth circle)
beldi - kaylaj - dorun# (Do this somewhere you can revisit, should you need to erase it.)
fithvu* - beldi - dorun# (A single use contingency circle which can be handy within the immediate time of within 29 minutes of binding the circle. Helpful for extending Dorun or other buffs. A drawn yet unactivated circle is erased by the system after 30 minutes.)

small circle - cross based circles:
fithvu* - beldi - kaylaj - dorun# (Do this somewhere you can revisit, should you need to erase it. Expending all of the uses of fithvu* will also expire the circle.)
beldi - kaylaj - dorun# - cosir (A 6 hour timer allows you to draw this even somewhere you cannot revisit.)

Casting in Combat:
For most arcanists, a real weapon is better than elemental or force casting. There are 12 elemental 'spells' currently available to arcanists, and aside from geobolt and firebolt, all spells have a 16 second cooldown.
Tips:
I do not recommend trying to weave without a glyphstone, although it can be done with reactivating circles.
I do not recommend holding your channels longer than you need to cast the spell of your choice. You will become exhausted in 30 seconds.

I have not extensively tested DF, but have provided it for the basic spells.

up to .98* DF | forcebolt | fortourgy - (Scales with arcana, much weaker at lower arcana skill)
.7 DF | firebolt | pyromancy (Fire, great against incorporeal nethrim)
.7 DF | geobolt | geomancy (Crush, better than fortourgy at low arcana)
0 DF| aerobolt | aeromancy (potential to stagger/knockdown)
0 DF | hydrobolt | hydromancy (potential to stagger/knockdown)

The following content contains spoilers for multi-weaving elemental spells.

mist | aeromancy + hydromancy (hide with bonus reroll, hiding fails in combat)
sand-blast | aeromancy + geomancy (damage with potential to stagger/knockdown)
fire-blast | aeromancy + pyromancy (damage with potential to stagger/knockdown)
mud-spray | geomancy + hydromancy (damage with potential to stagger/knockdown)
steam-spray | pyromancy + hydromancy (damage with potential to stagger/knockdown)
fire-ball | pyromancy + geomancy (Fire and Bludgeoning damage)
lightning-bolt | pyromancy - hydromancy - aeromancy (Area damage to nearby hostiles.)
ash-cloud | pyromancy - geomancy - aeromancy (Don't.)

As of the writing of this guide, it takes 23 ability points (15 in Glyph Retention) to learn every glyph available to an Arcanist.

[artus]

You can actually use mist in combat. I tested it just this morning server time. But whether you hide or not depends.

Also you tempted me by saying don't with ash cloud. Now I want to try. Does it still attack everyone not in your group, or just everyone now? Guess I'll have to try somewhere I don't end up killing any living.

[artus]

Well, there's a reason why op said dont, because I did regret it when I tried... This is for those curious and feel like trying. I'll save you from your doom by spoiling it so you, well, seriously won't do what I do unless you really, really wonder and don't mind dying.

Spoiler ahead

Ash cloud takes 100 initial energy to cast and a small cooldown, then it activates, firing every round of your roundtime to every single target in the area, you included. Don't. When there's a don't, there's a reason for it. Curiosity almost killed me. Save yourself.
I do wonder if there's a way to stop it from damaging every single one in the room though. Looks like a suicide attempt to me, perhaps worth it if you're surrounded and want a suicide attack to go out heroically for whatever reason.

[Dennis]

I warned you! I did include a few updates to the guide requested or mentioned by people.