Ragnarok M: Eternal Love — Research

Soul Blade (Cross)

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Soul Blade (Cross)

4th-job evolution of Guillotine Cross. Melee burst DPS with a soul-harvesting resource and a poison kit. Official name Soul Blade Cross / community shorthand Blade Soul.

Position in tree

  • Tier: 4th Job (final tier in this lineage as of EP7+)
  • Lineage: Novice → Thief → Assassin → Assassin Cross → Guillotine Cross → Soul Blade Cross
  • Released on SEA: end of June 2020 (EP7.0 4th-job rollout)
  • Lore: After visiting Yggdrasil at Umbala, the Guillotine Cross gambled, jumped to the Town of the Dead, and signed a contract with Hella (Goddess of Death), trading his soul for the ability to cut into souls.

Role

  • Melee burst DPS with very high single-target ceiling
  • Soul resource: kills generate souls; souls amplify damage and feed key skills
  • Poison kit carries over from Guillotine Cross — strong sustain DoT and AoE control
  • Hide / stealth play preserved from Assassin lineage

Soul resource (the class identity)

  • Souls gained: 1 per monster kill, 5 per player kill (skill: Soul Vow)
  • Soul cap: 10 (extendable via Star Rune [VERIFY current cap])
  • Per-soul passive bonus (Soul Vow, while souls > 0, 60s timer):
    • +2% Penetration per soul
    • +3% Crit Damage per soul
  • Per-soul Poison bonus (Soul Erosion passive): +2% Poison Damage per soul
  • Refill on demand: Dark Contract — 2s ritual fills souls to cap (10s CD)

Key skills (with multipliers)

Full lineage skill data: assassin-path-skill-tree.md. Below is the Soul Blade Cross unique additions (Tier 6 only).

SkillCostEffect
Soul VowpassiveGain souls on kills (1 mob / 5 player); per-soul +2% Pen, +3% Crit DMG (60s)
Dark Contract10s CDFills souls to cap after 2s ritual
Soul Protection3 soulsShield absorbs P.ATK × 600% damage; 12s
Soul Depravityall soulsAoE: 3000% ATK + 300% per soul; executes enemies with HP% < soul count [VERIFY exact threshold]
Soul Decay1 soulAoE poison physical: ATK × 2280% within 3m
Ghost Wave—Shockwave: 130% of Soul Breaker damage; 100% chance to gain 1 Phantom
Soul Sacrificeall PhantomsPer Phantom: +10 INT, +5 Crit, +2% AA, +120% Skill Damage during buff window
Soul Chain—Chain target; absorbs VIT × 10 HP × 5 ticks (5s); 3s stun if not broken
Soul Breathall souls5s damage immunity; −30% ATK; +15% MS
Knellpassive (40s CD)On death: enter Soul Form, 1 soul = 0.8s lingering
Soul Intimidationpassive50% chance to auto-cast Soul Chain when hit by melee
Soul ErosionpassiveEach soul: +2% Poison Damage

Other notable passives

  • Assassination Heart: critical attacks deal +60% damage
  • Mind Intimidate: Soul Breaker has 45% fear chance; +30% damage to feared targets
  • Deepen Wound: 60% chance to remove 1 buff on crit / Double Attack
  • Enhanced Hiding: skill effects persist 21s after exiting Hide; +20% MS while hidden — see enhanced-hiding.md for what “hide-state effects” actually means

Stat priority

BuildPrimarySecondaryNotes
PvE generalATK / P.ATKINT (Soul Breaker scaling)VIT for Soul Chain; AGI for ASPD/escape
PvP / WoEATKCrit + Crit DMG, PenetrationSouls amplify both; FLEE for survivability
AA-Crit (PvE) [VERIFY current viability]ATKLUK (CRIT), AGI (ASPD)“Less prominent vs White Star Airship” per recent guides

[VERIFY exact stat numbers — fill in your own from in-game character sheet]

  • Weapon types: Katars (Katar Mastery: +30 ATK) preferred for AA-crit / sustained DPS; Daggers for Double Attack / Twin Blade Penetration playstyle
  • Star Runes (key ones — Aesir Monument):
    • Soul Hunting Pact — +1–5 max souls, +1–30% Soul Depravity damage
    • Enchanting Chain — Ghost Wave scales with souls; Soul Chain absorbs INT
    • Crusading — +1–20% Cross Ripper Slasher; rotation counter expansion
    • Soul Assassination — crit damage scaling; counter generation on crits
  • Poison-enhancement runes:
    • Void Poison — poison ATK boost + poison resistance
    • Soul Paralysis — New Poison applies attack/move-speed debuff
  • Cards: see cards.md [to write] — fill from your gear

Builds (file under builds/)

Rotation principles

  • Hide is a positioning / approach tool only — Soul Breaker has no “from Hide” damage or stun bonus (user-verified in-game 2026-05-02; ignore web guides that claim otherwise)
  • Maintain souls at cap before big windows: Dark Contract → engage
  • Soul Depravity is your nuke — best when souls are at cap (3000% + 3000% bonus)
  • Soul Decay fits in poison/AoE rotations cheaply (1 soul cost)
  • Soul Protection before tank-busting — eats a big incoming hit
  • Knell is your “second life” — you want to finish on full souls if possible

Common pitfalls

  • Spending souls greedily on Soul Decay → no resource left for Soul Depravity execute
  • Skipping INT entirely → Soul Breaker loses its INT × 70 flat add
  • Ignoring poison kit → leaves a major class strength on the table; Poisonous Smoke is still strong in Oracle Dungeon and Echoing Corridor as of recent guides
  • AA-Crit FOMO: was a top build but less prominent in current content vs White Star Airship — verify before committing zeny / BCC to that direction

Current meta status [VERIFY against latest patch]

  • Recent buffs include Fullback Claw with auto-Poison [VERIFY]
  • Auto-attack build viability has dipped vs newest content [VERIFY]
  • Poisonous Smoke remains useful for specific instances (Oracle, Echoing Corridor)

See also

Sources / verification log

Graph View

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