Massively Exclusive: Elsword trailer introduces Sheath Knight class

This past fall, Kill3rCombo released phase two of Elsword's Awakened update, bringing with it the new Velder's Hallucination dungeon filled with gigantic mobs to slaughter. Now, you can dive into that dungeon and commence with said slaughter as a new class! Introducing the Sheath Knight: a dual-wielding swordsman who slices and dices his way through mobs and players alike. The Sheath Knight, so named for his magical sheath that enables him to use two swords simultaneously, focuses on melee combat and speed.

How does the Sheath Knight compare to the other five already established classes? The Elsword team sat down with us and answered a few questions about this new playable character. You can also check out some of the SK's moves in the video after the break.

Massively: The Sheath Knight is a persona of Elsword, one of the existing characters in the game. His new role will allow him to dual-wield a pair of swords instead of just one. Is there any other advantage to selecting this persona? Is there any reason to select him over one of Elsword's other class jobs?

The Elword Team: The decision to evolve Elsword into a Sheath Knight is mostly a question of "what fighting style suits you?" If you want an incredibly fast close-combat character, Sheath Knight is for you. While Elsword's other classes focus on acquiring magic or strengthening his basic sword technique, Sheath Knight is all about speed; it's about breaking through your enemies defenses and slicing them to pieces up close. Therefore, his attack speed and combos are faster than the other Elsword classes. For many, it's our most exciting and fun job class yet.

Does The Sheath Knight's affinity for his magical scabbard help him compensate for Elsword's traditional magic weaknesses, or does he share those weaknesses?

As a primarily melee-oriented character, Sheath Knight still needs to work around the ranged attacks of magic users like Aisha. Fortunately, Sheath Knight is a very nimble character -- once you've closed the gap with ranged attackers, you can unleash a merciless barrage on your magic slinging opponents. Sheath Knight has additional tricks up his sleeve to deal with mages as well, including the Harsh Chaser harpoon, which drags ranged enemies into striking distance, and Sword Fall, which rains a flurry of lethal blades on opponents from a distance (at the cost of MP).

The description of the Sheath Knight mentions "fencing," but the artwork shows large, wedge-shaped swords. How will the fighting style ultimately play out in-game -- are we talking actual fencing or more like, say, a wild and whirling World of Warcraft fury warrior?

Actually, Sheath Knight is so fast in melee you'll see a wide range of different sword techniques: thrusting, slashing, and whirling around like a man possessed. It's more of an "anything goes" style of swordplay. Incidentally, he gains his second sword by summoning it from an enchanted scabbard. In practice, this means some of his combos begin with single-sword attacks, and then once he gets rolling, he summons the second sword for the finishing strokes. Other special moves summon the second sword at the start of your attacks.

Massively: Is the Sheath Knight's scabbard an acquirable item in the game, or is it just part of the quest lore? If the latter, how will the transformation into the Sheath Knight occur in gameplay terms?

It's both really. The scabbard is an accessory you can equip that gives you very strong bonuses. But you don't need to have it equipped to use the second sword if you prefer the bonuses of another accessory. It's part of the quest lore and a real object in the game.

Thanks for your time!