Skip to content
\[Novice\] Arcanist
Etrian Odyssey Nexus

\[Novice\] Arcanist

Learn the Arcanist class in Etrian Odyssey Nexus, focusing on Circle skills, passive healing, and party synergy. Maximize your Arcanist's potential.

By ···10 min read·Multi-source verified
1 reading this guide  

Learn the Arcanist class in Etrian Odyssey Nexus, focusing on Circle skills, passive healing, and party synergy. Maximize your Arcanist's potential.

Stat Growth: HP (E), TP (A), STR (E), INT (A+), VIT (D), WIS (A), AGI (D), LUC (A+).

Possible equipment: Staff, Rapier, Clothes.

Arcanist Role: Arcanists provide Circles with various effects and passive healing. They inflict ailments and binds for several turns as long as the user is alive. They can also remove enemy buffs and revert ailments/binds resistance to normal with Releasal Spell.

Recommended Party Members: Classes with ailment or bind specialists such as War Magus, Nightseeker, Pugilist, and Harbinger may be considered. Medic and Sovereign are generally not recommended partners, as Sovereign completely outclasses other healers and makes the Arcanist's healing role redundant, suggesting a Nightseeker, Harbinger, or Ninja instead.

Walkthrough
  1. 1
    If the Arcanist is your main binder, learn Chain Circle and Snare Circle.
  2. 2
    Nerve Circle and Curse Circle can be skipped until later in the game as Paralysis and Curse ailments are not very useful for enemies.
  3. 3
    Your next objective should be Bracing Walk, which heals the party while walking.
  4. 4
    Upgrade those skills, then learn Circle Boon, Proficiency, and Dismiss Heal.
Tips
  • Circle Paradise (Force Boost) multiplies the chance of inflicting ailments and binds by 1.4 for three turns. Circles’ countdown also freezes and can’t be dispelled. If there are multiple Arcanists, one activation is enough to give benefits to them.
  • Releasal Spell (Force Break) removes all enemy buffs and reverts ailments and binds resistance to normal.
  • Circle Boon (Passive Heal) recovers HP at the end of the turn if a Circle is present. It doesn’t activate if the user is inflicted by Petrification, Sleep, or Panic. At Max Lv, it recovers HP at the end of turn if Circle is present.
  • Dismiss Heal (Heal) dismisses an active Circle to recover HP. At Max Lv, it dismisses an active Circle to recover HP. Requires Circle Boon (1).
  • Chain Circle (Support) creates a circle with a 35% chance to inflict Arm Bind at the end of the turn for 4 turns. Only one Circle may be active on the field, and it’s dismissed when the user dies.
  • Snare Circle (Support) creates a circle with a 35% chance to inflict Leg Bind at the end of the turn for 4 turns. . Requires Chain Circle (2).
  • Nerve Circle (Support) creates a circle with a 40% chance to inflict Paralysis at the end of the turn for 4 turns. .
  • Curse Circle (Support) creates a circle with a 55% chance to inflict Curse at the end of the turn for 4 turns. . Requires Nerve Circle (2).
  • Bracing Walk (Field Heal) recovers 10 HP for every three steps. The recovery effect stacks across multiple Arcanists and Sovereigns who learn Monarch March. At Max Lv, it recovers 10 HP for every three steps.
  • Proficiency (Passive Heal) recovers TP each time a Circle has been ended or dismissed. It doesn’t activate if the user is inflicted by Petrification, Sleep, or Panic. At Max Lv, it recovers TP each time a Circle has been ended or dismissed.
  • Chop (Field) has a chance to obtain rare material at any chopping point. At Max Lv, it has a chance to obtain rare material at any chopping point.
  • Before Level 20, Bracing Walk (2) is sufficient due to low HP totals.
  • Proficiency is usually level 2 or 3, as random battles rarely last until the first circle fades.
  • Many players leave most Circles at level 1 or 2, focusing on Luck Gear and the Status Up skill.
  • A possible build order: Start Circle Boon (1) > Dismiss Heal (1) > Chain Circle (1). Optional: Bracing Walk (1). Then Circle Boon (4) OR Chain Circle (2) > Snare Circle (1) > Nerve Circle (1), dropping points into Circle Boon whenever more in-battle healing is needed. When Circle Boon is maxed, grab remaining skills, even Curse Circle. Bracing Walk is leveled according to preference.

100% Human-Written. AI Fact-Checked. Community Verified. Learn how AntMag verifies content