Overview
The Firewall is the survivor — a Knight/Warrior hybrid who holds the line through raw effective HP rather than evasion. Where lighter classes dodge the blender, the Firewall walks into it. Its weapon cleaves a whole clump at hugging range, its Shield ability crosses danger zones that would kill anything squishier, and its Banner turns a brief window into a team-wide damage spike. The Firewall has no taunt and no dash. It holds the line by being there, and it brings everyone along for the kill.
Source mix: Knight + Warrior.
Weapon — Bulwark (melee arc strike)
The Firewall swings a wide arc strike, not a single-target slash:
- Pattern: a short-range wide cone (~1.2 tile reach, ~120° sweep) that pierces — every enemy in the arc takes the hit simultaneously. Cleaves clumps at hugging distance.
- Fire rate: ~2.5 swings per second (Throughput-driven). Fast, chunky, satisfying.
- Damage: ~18 base per swing — among the highest per-hit in the roster, paid for by the constant melee range.
- Projectile speed: none — the hitbox is instant. No travel lag, no shooting yourself into a wall.
Abilities
Both abilities are MP/mana-gated (not cooldown-gated). Casting frequency is governed by the Firewall’s Bandwidth pool and Refresh regen — high-Refresh builds cycle Shield and Banner more often.
Shield (A1 — damage lane)
A forward pierce burst that also grants a brief armor window.
- Fires a short piercing line dealing ~40 burst damage.
- Simultaneously applies ~+30% damage reduction for ~1.5 seconds.
- MP cost: ~25.
Shield is simultaneously an engagement tool and a survival button. Skilled Firewalls fire it into a telegraphed hit — crossing a wall of fire while landing the pierce on the cluster in front. Reactive Shields (panic-fired after taking damage) waste the damage potential and usually come too late to matter.
Banner (A2 — control / sustain / mobility lane)
A self and team attack-speed berserk window.
- Applies ~+25% attack speed to the Firewall and all allies within ~4 tiles.
- Lasts ~5 seconds.
- MP cost: ~35.
Banner is the Firewall’s team-utility identity. It is the reason to bring a Firewall on a tough boss fight even when raw DPS classes are available. Optimal placement is when allies are stacked on the boss and a damage window opens — a well-timed Banner is the reason the group’s DPS spikes.
Survival Model
The Firewall has no dash. Survivability comes entirely from:
- Top Integrity (HP) and Coherence (DEF) in the roster — the highest effective HP pool of any class.
- Shield’s armor window — the active escape from moments no other class could face-tank.
Tankiness buys forgiveness windows, not immortality. A maxed Firewall still dies if it eats too many hits with no Shield available. Pilot skill on the Firewall is about reading the fight and Shielding into telegraphs, not after them.
Stat Identity
| Stat | Identity |
|---|---|
| Integrity (HP) | Top in roster — the tank baseline |
| Coherence (DEF) | Top in roster — pairs with Integrity for two-axis survivability |
| Recovery (HP regen) | Top in roster — passive self-repair out of danger |
| Bandwidth / Refresh (MP) | Important — governs Shield + Banner cycling |
| Gain (ATK) | Low priority — the Firewall’s value is EHP + utility, not the damage meter |
The Firewall is the recommended first class to prototype — the simplest kit, and it proves melee feel, the team-buff field, and the MP-resource system.
Skill Tree Paths
The Firewall has two per-character trees (lost on death), one per ability:
- Shield tree: Wall (max EHP / duration), Spike (pierce-burst damage), Reflect (return-fire)
- Banner tree: Rally (team buff radius / size), Berserk (self attack-speed focus), Bastion (defensive window)
Node names are OPEN — the path themes are locked, final names are a taste pick.
Loot Contribution
The Firewall earns loot through damage_mitigated (hits tanked at the front) + damage_dealt + an enable event for the Banner attack-speed buff. The contribution system (Threshold + Inspiration) credits support value directly, so the Firewall qualifies for loot by holding the line and buffing the crew — not by topping a damage meter.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths
- Highest effective HP in the roster — the most forgiving class to play
- Banner provides real team utility: the only class whose kit directly boosts allied DPS
- Pierce arc cleaves entire clumps at once with no travel lag
Weaknesses
- No mobility tool — must always be in melee range to deal damage
- No dash means no repositioning in an emergency beyond raw HP
- Low personal damage ceiling — its value is presence and utility, not meters