The Sovereign class is such a unique proposition in the Etrian series. It’s a class that is mainly based around buffing up your team, keeping them topped off with health and generally attempting to tilt the scales of battle in your favour. Outside of these factors, which it should be noted they perform tremendously well at, their role is somewhat limited, but the introduction of a Subclass option has the potential to change this. Your sub option will only be able to level up it’s abilities half way of course, and points will be at a premium if you’re investing heavily into the Sovereign itself, but your choice here has the potential to make a real difference. That being said, which Subclass should you choose, and how will they positively influence an already outstanding class?
Zodiac
One of the clear holes in the Sovereign arsenal is the ability to deal damage. It does have options of course, and the equipment chosen plus the choice of row can help in this regard, but in the vast majority of cases this class will occupy the back row and deal very limited amounts of damage. This is generally by design of course; your remaining four members are very likely to take up the mantle of removing enemy health and if you’ve reached the Subclass point then they’re likely to be very capable at doing so. Still, what if you want to add a little offence to your repertoire?
Up steps the Zodiac then, a class that specialises in dealing big chunks of damage to rows and even entire groups of opponents. They are the de facto elemental damage powerhouses in Etrian Odyssey Nexus, so adding their skills to the full Sovereign support package will round off it’s kit even further. The benefits don’t end there however, because the base class itself has a respectable Intelligence statistic which will ensure good damage, and you can even incorporate Etheric Gleam into your buff rotation to increase both it and the party elemental attacks.
Subclass Benefits
- Nice addition of elemental damage, especially with the Sovereign’s good Int stat.
- Etheric Gleam can be a nice addition to the buff rotation.
- Ideal for a rear line Sovereign that does not need any defensive assistance from it’s Subclass.
- Nicely rounds out an already pretty complete class.
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Ninja
Any Etrian Odyssey Nexus player that has spent time with the Sovereign class will surely be well aware of their one built in flaw: They can only buff one row at a time. Generally speaking this isn’t an issue – your front line is likely to be full of things more likely to be attacked, so it makes sense to buff these in a defensive manner. Likewise the rear line may focus on ranged attacks, so you may consider throwing an element on their weapon with an Arms buff of sorts. What we’re trying to say here is that yes, they are limited to a single line with their buffs, but this in no way makes them bad. Still, what if there was a way to get the entire party influenced by Sovereign buffs each round…?
Enter the Ninja. Yes, that is probably the name of several terrible movie/anime adaptations, but it’s also a direct instruction: Make the Ninja your Subclass, and you’ll unlock the ability to buff the entire party. It’s not that simple of course, because the actual process requires the use of an expensive Veteran skill called Ninpo: Double to make a copy of yourself, thus allowing both rows to be buffed at once. Yes, it’s expensive and yes it’s a bit of a pain to level all the way to unlock it, but if you’re anything like us then you’ve been dreaming of full party Sovereign buffs since laying eyes on the class! There are other benefits of course, and the avoidance will come in handy especially for your clone, but the main thing is doubling up on those buffs.
Subclass Benefits
- Ninpo: Double allows two Sovereign to buff the entire party at once.
- Can work well with a front line Sovereign, given that it’s skills tend towards dodge.
- Ninpo: Mirror is useful for spreading ailments, depending on your team setup.
- Concealment is probably your next best skill, though we would not recommend continuing into Beheading – Sovereign do not have a great Luck stat.
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Harbinger
By now you’re probably fully aware of the Sovereign’s ability to buff & heal the party – It’s what they do and they’re damn good at it. It’s also likely to be pretty clear that their interactions with your opponents are minimal, opting rather to improve your party over a direct assault. There are of course plenty of options for increasing your offensive power, a few of which have been detailed above, but what if you’d like to influence the field of battle further whilst steering clear of direct damage? You could go the disable route, but Luck will likely be a limiting factor and the same is true with ailments, so what about debuffs?
This is where the Harbinger comes into play. Whilst we’re fully aware that the ‘main event’ of the class is considered the ‘Reap’ skills, they’re also absolutely fantastic at debuffing your opponents. Eroding Miasma and Stifling Miasma are capable of stripping away your enemies’ Physical & Elemental Defence and Attack respectively, and it goes without saying that the speed benefit of Miasma Armor itself should not be ignored. When you add abilities like Atonement, which allows you to dispel said Armor for a full party heal, all of a sudden the Harbinger begins to look like an ideal addition to the Sovereign kit.
Subclass Benefits
- Miasma Armor and it’s speed increase is a nice addition.
- The ability to debuff your opponents between rotations of party buffs makes the Sovereign feel like a ‘complete’ supportive package.
- Opens up options for direct heals with Atonement, something the Sovereign lacks.
- Black Wave can help with TP recovery.
- Spirit Absorb works in synergy with the Sovereign’s passive recovery kit.
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Categories: Etrian Odyssey Nexus