Spellblade Next
Real name “Spellblades and Such” — the magical-melee hybrid mod behind the pack’s Spellblade archetype. Adds elemental Spellblades and Claymores (Arcane, Frost, Fire, each with an upgraded named variant — Crystal Cutlass, Glacial Gladius, Flaming Falchion), matching casting Orbs, and a Runeblaze Rifle for a gun-caster variant. Its core hook, per its own in-game tooltip, is the Spellblade passive: “Upon casting a spell with this Spellblade, you gain Strength and Haste equal to a quarter of your power relating to the spell’s school, for up to however long the cooldown of the spell is” — i.e. casting temporarily buffs your melee.
It’s also where the pack’s two Tier II “tank oath” books actually live (despite being grouped with Paladins in the quest book): Oath of Defiance (Defiant Stance passively stacks self-heals off incoming damage, active version pounds the shield for AoE armor-based damage; Bolster stacks armor; Shield Shatter throws the shield) and Oath of Vengeance (built around a stacking Fervor resource — Overpower, Soul of Vengeance, and staff-based spins like Cudgel Strike / Vaulting Slam / Monkey King’s Reckoning). Beyond those, it adds several Tier III evolution books referenced in the quest chapter: Phoenix Rites (fire, self-burning “Phoenix Curse” DoT engine, Phoenix Dive), Echoes Unleashed (arcane, stacking “Unleash” that repeats your spells), and Deathchill Tome (frost, “chill faster / heat up slower” passive with a heavy debuff). A Thesis of Awakening mechanic lets you dedicate to a single spell for +50% spell power/haste on it, and Tabula Rasa + Spell Oils let you rebind spells onto arbitrary casting items.
The mod also ships its own light invasion/boss content: a Hexblade module that can spawn a Magus boss and a Hexblade Portal, an optional Glass Ocean area with weather changes on phase-end and a horde-spawn toggle (all present but tuned down on this server — spawnmodifier 0.6, magisterXP 0, horde off). Depends on Extra RPG Attributes for its “power converted to attack damage” style attributes (Fire/Frost/Arcane Power → Attack Damage and back), visible directly in its lang file.
Anticipated questions
What archetype is this mod behind, and what does it add? It’s the real “Spellblades and Such” mod, the magical-melee hybrid behind the pack’s Spellblade archetype (see Archetypes & Builds). It adds elemental Spellblades and Claymores (Arcane, Frost, Fire — with upgraded variants Crystal Cutlass, Glacial Gladius, Flaming Falchion), casting Orbs, and a Runeblaze Rifle gun-caster variant.
What is the Spellblade passive? Per its in-game tooltip: casting a spell with a Spellblade grants you Strength and Haste equal to a quarter of your power in that spell’s school, lasting up to the spell’s cooldown. Casting temporarily buffs your melee.
Where do the Tier II tank oath books live? Here, despite being grouped with Paladins in the quest book. Oath of Defiance (Defiant Stance self-heals off incoming damage, Bolster stacks armor, Shield Shatter throws the shield) and Oath of Vengeance (a stacking Fervor resource with Overpower, Soul of Vengeance, and staff spins).
What Tier III evolution books does it add? Phoenix Rites (fire, self-burning “Phoenix Curse” DoT engine), Echoes Unleashed (arcane, stacking “Unleash” that repeats your spells), and Deathchill Tome (frost, “chill faster / heat up slower” with a heavy debuff).
What do Thesis of Awakening and Tabula Rasa do? Thesis of Awakening lets you dedicate to a single spell for +50% spell power/haste on it. Tabula Rasa plus Spell Oils let you rebind spells onto arbitrary casting items.
Is the Hexblade/Magus boss content active on this server?
It’s present but tuned down: spawnmodifier 0.6, magisterXP 0, and the horde-spawn toggle is off.