Corsair Class Guide

Introduction

The Corsair class uses a Serenaca blade as their primary weapon and a Mareca as their secondary weapon, which is a jewel of the seas that grants the bearer the power of the tides. Corsair is a melee pirate-themed class with fluid combos, quick attacks, and slippery movement. She uses her rope movement skills to glide around and can harness the power of the Mareca to temporarily transform into a mermaid, allowing her to conjure gigantic waves.

At level 56, Corsair unlocks her awakening and succession skills, as well as a new awakening weapon, which is the Patraca gunblade. Armed with her new weapon, Awakened Cosair gains ranged abilities and as the beloved captain of the Slippery Scallywags, she can give out orders to her Otter crew, who can be summoned to attack foes alongside her. Succession Corsair unlocks her dormant power of the Mareca, allowing her to enhance and properly harness the power of the waves.

Corsair also has a unique passive called Sea Lungs. This passive skill gives Corsair extra Ship stats and longer Underwater Breathing. Corsair can also temporarily transform into a Mermaid to swim faster if she is under the water (dive using Q).

In addition, Corsair’s movement skills can be used to glide across bodies of water (video example).

Awakening VS Succession

Corsair Succession and Awakening can be unlocked after level 56 after speaking to the Black Spirit and completing the Awakening and Succession quests under the suggestions tab.

• The Awakening will unlock a completely new skill tree, which will be your primary skills from now on. The skills in the pre-awakening are mostly utility skills, and your main damage dealers will be your Awakening skills.
• The Succession skill kit enhances your Serenaca skills instead and only has a few awakening skills.

Your awakening weapon still affects your succession damage and vice versa. For example, if you are using the Succession kit, then 30% of your Awakening AP is still applied to the damage of Succession skills, as well as the additional item stats on the awakening weapon, such as Human/Species Damage and Accuracy.

Both specs are completely viable and comes down to player preference. Each skill kit has different pros and cons and I would recommend just trying both and figuring out which you prefer since the playstyles are completely different. Succession is more mobile and has the Guard break mechanic and vacuum pulling skills, making her good for large scale. She is often found right in the middle of the action, but has issues with managing stamina and can be caught out with a well-timed grab if you aren’t careful.

While Awakening is more of a glass cannon that has a mixture of ranged and melee attacks, harassing her foes and picking fights that are to her advantage. She can also summon her Otter crew for extra damage and effects.

Skill Builds

Since the skill point update in late 2022, you can obtain all skills for approximately 1,000 skill points. Focus on your main skills first, then level the passives. The Weight Training skill should be leveled last since it only gives you weight limit increase.

Protected Skills

It is important to read through your skills to understand which skills have protection and crowd control effects. Read through your skills carefully to get familiar with what each skill does. You can also filter the different effects in the Skill Window (K).

Locked Skills

To lock a skill, press the lock icon on the top of each skill icon in the skill window (K).

Skill Enhancement (Rabam) Skills

Skill Enhancement skills can be obtained in the Skill Window (K) under the “Skill Enhancement” tab at the top. At levels 56, 57, and 58, you will have 2 different options to choose between. These skills have no skill points cost, but you have to have other skills leveled up to be able to take them.

Level 56 – [SHIFT + X]

• Rising Whirlpool – Requires [Overflow III] and [Whirlpool IV]
  • (Preferred Choice)
• Tidal Surge – Requires [Overflow III] and [Tidal Slash IV]

For your level 56 rabam, the Rising Whirlpool skill is the superior and recommended choice. It has good mana regen, Forward Guard protection while you are moving, and a Bound CC. The skill also has an All DP +15 buff for 10 seconds when you use the skill, so it is useful to pop for the prebuff in PVP. The skill uses a low amount of stamina, so can be useful as a Forward Guard dahs and can link well into Storm Surge.

In comparison, Tidal Surge is an unprotected skill with Floating CC in PVE only, and a Guard Gauge break on hits.

Level 57 – [SHIFT + Z]

• Pearl Blast – Requires [Mareca: Whale Song III] and [Ocean’s Pearl IV]
  • (Preferred Choice for PVP)
• Wave Blast – Requires [Mareca: Whale Song III] and [Wave Lash IV]
  • (Preferred Choice for PVE)

Both of the level 57 rabams are viable but I would recommend starting with Wave Blast for PVE, since it has much higher damage than Pearl Blast, and has a Forward Guard during the skill. It also flows well into the Magnus skill (Vigor Rush) for high damage.

Pearl Blast is a better choice for general use and PVP. It has Super Armor protection up until the last attack, a Floating CC, and Guard Gauge break on hits. The skill is a little ranged so it can be useful as a ranged CC catch in PVP.

Level 58 – [Quickslot Only]

• Mareca: Sea of Dreams – Requires [Mareca: Sea Stroll III] and [Mareca: Jet Stream III]
• Mareca: Spiral of Dreams – Requires [Mareca: Sea Stroll III] and [Mareca: Spiral Soak IV]
  • (Preferred Choice)

For the 3rd Rabam skill, both options are viable, but the preferred choice is usually Mareca: Spiral of Dreams (especially for Succession) since the skill has good damage, decent range, and can recover your stamina while casting it. Spiral of Dreams also has HP regen and Super Armor protection.

Mareca: Sea of Dreams is also a decent choice and may be better in large-scale PVP, it has a Guard Gauge break and Super Armor at the start of the skill, then you are Invicible while submerged, and finally in Super Armor again when you attack. However, the skill has a long animation and can be easy to counter with a grab. Sea of Dreams also costs a lot of stamina to cast.

Skill Add-ons

Below are some examples of PVE skill add-ons you can take.

If you would like example skill add-ons for other scenarios, please refer to the Class Discord and its resources.

I recommend experimenting with your add-ons and figuring out what is best for you because it really depends on your personal preference and how you play your class. If you’re simply not sure what to take then you can blindly follow the examples below and they will still be effective.

You can also check our Skill Add-on guide for a complete list of Skill Add-ons.

Skill Cancels

Some skills can be “canceled” by comboing them with another skill. Canceling a skill can shorten the skill casting animation, making some skills almost instant and shortening the unprotected gaps. Below is a list of Skill cancels for you to learn.

Scallywags – Secret Weapon Mechanic (Awakening)

The Scallywags – Secret Weapon Mechanic is a unique mechanic that is only available to Awakening Corsair. Corsair can summon her Otter crewmates (the Scallywags) to support and attack alongside her.

There are 3 different crew members with different weapons, and each can be summoned using different skills.

• Summons 1 Otter to throw a bomb: Wave-breaker Patraca, Wind-piercer Patraca, Sun-shielder Patraca, Tide-splitter Patraca
• Summons 2 Otters to fire a cannon: No Mercy, Scallywags!, Cap’n’s Orders: Open Fire!
• Summons 3 Otters to fire a hand cannon: Crow’s Mark, Flow: Earth-render Patraca
• Summons all Otters at once: Light ‘Em Up

Corsair can also equip her crewmates with a “Secret Weapon” for extra effects.

• Bomb Secret Weapon: All Accuracy Rate -12% for 10 sec on hits, All Evasion Rate -9% for 10 sec on hits
• Cannon Secret Weapon: Stun on hits
• Hand Cannon Secret Weapon: 80 burn damage every 3 sec for 18 sec on hits

You can change the Secret Weapon using the No Mercy, Scallywags! skill. You basically keep using the skill until the Scallywags are equipped with the weapon you want them to use. You can see which weapon is currently selected by the icon

The best weapon to use for general use in PVX is the Bomb Secret Weapon. You can also use the Cannon Secret Weapon in 1v1 duels for an extra stun, or large-scale PVP since it also deals additional damage to Node War structures, and the Hand Cannon Secret Weapon can be useful for content with capped stats since it has a Burn DoT.

Guard Break Mechanic (Succession)

The Guard Break mechanic was originally a new and unique mechanic exclusive to Corsair but is now also present on some other classes that don’t have a grab skill (such as the Musa Prime: Gale skill).

However, Guard Break is still more prominent on Corsair and is a core mechanic for Succession Corsair, many of her pre-awakening and Succession skills reduce the target’s Guard Guage.

Skills that have Guard Break effects:

• Absolute: Tide’s Kiss
• Absolute: Overflow
• Prime: Wipe Out
• Prime: Mareca: Jet Stream
• Prime: Mareca: Whale Song
• Prime: Mareca: Sea Stroll
• Prime: Mareca: Sprial Soak

You can use her Guard Break skills at any time, even if the target is not using a Forward Guard, S block, or Q block. The Guard Break will reduce their Guard Guage by a set number, depending on the % listed on the skill you use, and once their Guard reaches 0, they can no longer use their block until it is recovered.

Prime: Mareca: Sprial Soak also stops the target from being able to recover their Guard Guage for 8 seconds.

Weapons

Armor

For your armor, you will make a choice between Damage Reduction or Evasion gear. I recommend reading our guide about the two different DP stats if you want to learn what the two different stats do.

Generally, you are recommended to build Damage Reduction on Corsair at first, then swap to Evasion later on, this is because Evasion performs better on Corsair at high gearscore, especially if you are Succession Corsair.

Because of the way the Evasion stat works, you may find that you are squishy for a long time and that your Evasion isn’t really doing much for you. This is why players only recommend swapping to Evasion armors once you reach full PEN gear with Caphras Level 9 or higher. It is also worth noting that Damage Reduction is still viable on Corsair, and is also viable on all classes, while Evasion is not viable on all classes. I highly recommend doing some research before committing to Evasion.

Accessories

There are various different accessories in the game. At first, just focus on using the accessories that give you the highest AP in each slot.

There are also “free” accessories that all new players should get:

Accessory	How to obtain
Tuvala Accessories	Tuvala accessories are starter accessories obtained from the Season Server. Try to push up your accessories to PEN if possible, but if you don’t have much time to play Season, then focus on your Weapons and Armor first.
PEN Capotia Necklace	You can obtain a FREE PEN Capotia Accessory from the Season Servers Special Reward. For your first season, it is recommended to get the PEN Capotia Necklace because it gives the most AP. You then want to create another Season character in the next season to get the PEN Capotia Belt, and finally the PEN Capotia Ring or Earring.
PEN Ring of Crescent Guardian	You can obtain a PEN Ring of Crescent Guardian by completing Jetina’s PEN Accessory quests. These are daily quests that take a minimum of 45 days to complete. Every new and returning player should complete these as early as possible for a highly discounted PEN accessory.

Common Starter PVE accessories:

• TET Black Distortion Earrings or TET Narc Ear Accessory (PEN Capotia Earring)
• TET Basilisk’s Belt (or PEN Capotia Belt)
• TET Ring of Crescent Guardian
• TET Ogre Ring/Laytenn’s Necklace (or PEN Capotia Necklace).

Crystals

Below is an example starter Crystal build for PVE. Some of the crystals are expensive. You can obtain the Rebellious Crystal by completing the main story questline. For more example crystal builds, including an end-game PVE crystal build, and PVP Crystal builds, check our Crystal Preset Guide.

This is an example PVP Build for Corsairs using Damage Reduction Armors and going full Human Damage (glass cannon). For more example crystal builds, check our Crystal Preset Guide or the Class Discord.

This is an example PVP Build for Corsairs using Evasion Armors. For more example crystal builds, check our Crystal Preset Guide or the Class Discord.

Artifacts and Lightstones

There are a few different viable choices for both Artifacts and Lightstone combos. Corsair is the “Melee Damage” type so you want to go for Melee Accuracy and Melee Damage for offensive artifacts.

For PVE Lighstones there are a few different options to min-max. For certain spots, you may want to use Species damage combos (eg. The Wild: Demihumans, The Wild: Kamaslyvia, The Wild: Humans). Species damage combos perform better if you are reaching the monster AP caps at a certain zone.

A more generic PVE combo is listed below that is recommended for your class and will work at any spot.

You can also find more information about Artifacts and Lightstones, and how to obtain them, in our guide. We also have a list of Best in slot Artifacts and Lightstones.

Useful Links/Credits

I highly recommend checking out the Corsair Class Discord for resources about your class. The class discords always have the most up-to-date information and tons of experienced players that can help with questions or gearing advice. I would like to give a shoutout to the Mods and Helper roles in the Corsair discord for all their hard work gathering resources. You can find additional resources below. I honestly cannot recommend enough to join the discord.

Useful links to check out:

• Official Corsair Forums
• Corsair Beginner Guide by Lord X
• Succession Corsair Guide by OhohoTV
• Awakening Corsair Guide by OhohoTV

PVP Montage Videos:

• Awakening Corsair PVP by FoxG
• Awakening Corsair PVP by Legacina
• Awakening Corsair PVP by Sieg
• Succession Corsair PVP by Fairykala
• Succession Corsair PVP by 耿耿
• Succession Corsair PVP by Lossers

Credits Disclaimer: Since there are now 26 BDO classes, it is impossible for me to keep class guides fully maintained. My main class is Ranger and I don’t claim to be the best in any class. Therefore, I use resources and recommendations from the Class discords since (as all other players would agree) this is the best source. I also ask for advice from friends who are more experienced in the class. Where possible, I credit specific players for information such as Add-ons, and combos. However, sometimes there is no player mentioned as the original sharer. If there are any issues with credit or you would like certain information removed/changed, please reach out to me!