Artale test server Blessing Skills: train skills on alts, use them on the whole account. How to play it?

The short version

The thing to watch on this test server isn't the storage or the inventory, it's Blessing Skills. Put simply: a Blessing Skill learned on one character now belongs to your account. Other characters can use it, and it stays even if you delete that character.

If you only play one main, this can wait. If you have a buff mule, or already raise alts, it changes how you play.

Everything below is based on Artale Tespia, opened on 9/30, and the first HotFix on 10/1. Test server content can change any time, so trust the official announcements for numbers and details. I've kept what's confirmed and what isn't apart below.

What Blessing Skills are

The test server has 12 Blessing Skills so far (the 10/1 HotFix fixed the descriptions of all 12).

What they share: each comes from a class, but once learned it counts for the account. Holy Symbol, for example, used to be a Bishop's alone; as a Blessing Skill, your Bowman or Thief main can take it along too.

That's the big change. Before, to get a Bishop's buff you either found one in a party or ran a buff mule on a second device. Now it's "raise it once, the whole account eats."

Confirmed rules

・A learned Blessing Skill belongs to the account, not the character.

・Deleting the character that learned it keeps the skill on the account.

・Since the 10/1 HotFix, Blessing Skills can go into your pet's auto-buff slots so the pet casts them for you.

・In raids, the Ludibrium Maze and party quests, though, pets won't cast them; press them yourself.

Also, the official roadmap for the second half of the year lists "multiple characters per account", with 3 character slots per account. Blessing Skills are built around that, and the two will probably launch together.

Not confirmed yet: wait and see

・The exact unlock conditions of each Blessing Skill (level, quests, job advancement).

・Whether their values and durations get cut in the release.

・Whether extra character slots will cost money.

・Whether keeping skills after deletion gets restricted in the release.

I've seen conflicting claims on all of these. Better to wait for the official announcement than rush on rumors.

How to prepare before the release

1. Know what kind of player you are

One main, no alts: no rush. When the release rules are out, get the one or two Blessing Skills that matter most to your class.

Already have a buff mule: it may well become your Blessing Skill source. Don't delete it or sell its gear before the release rules are confirmed.

Want every blessing on one account: that takes the most time; see point 3 below.

2. Sort out your pet's auto-buff slots

Since pets can auto-cast Blessing Skills, those slots are worth more now.

The auto-cast slots are bought with WW coins on the official website, not in the in-game shop; once bought, all six slots work. If you haven't, look up the steps now, but I'd wait until Blessing Skills launch and you know which skills to put in before spending.

How to fill them: short buffs you always forget go to the pet; long ones you can press yourself, so don't waste slots on them.

3. If you want to collect every Blessing Skill

The idea: make an alt in a spare character slot and train it until it can learn that class's Blessing Skill. Once learned, the skill stays on the account. If you run out of slots, delete the alt and train the next class.

When you plan it:

・Count the time first. How long and to what level you must train for each skill is only known at release, so don't assume it's quick.

・Order them by what your main needs, not by which skill looks strongest. A mage main and a warrior main want different blessings.

・Before deleting, make sure the skill shows up in the account's Blessing Skill list. The test server and the live server may not behave the same.

・Move the alt's gear and mesos to storage first; this update also expands storage, so plan both together.

4. Buff yourself before raids

Once more: in raids, the Ludibrium Maze and party quests your pet won't cast Blessing Skills. Press them yourself when you go in or start the fight, or you'll go the whole run without them.

My take

First, what I like.

The most direct win: no more second device running a buff mule. For one Holy Symbol, people ran a phone, a tablet and a PC at once, burning power, heat and phone batteries. Blessing Skills are the developers admitting that need and lifting the burden. For players with jobs and little time, it's a real improvement.

Second, alts finally matter. Alts used to be for storage or for fun; now they pay back to your main, which gets people playing every class.

But I have worries too.

First, support classes. Bishops were among the most wanted party members; if everyone brings their own Holy Symbol, there's less room for Bishops in party training. People on Bahamut already say Bishops are losing their last bit of party value, and they have a point. I hope the release makes a real Bishop's version stronger than the Blessing Skill one.

Second, people who already raised buff mules. Players who spent lots of time, even money on devices, will feel slapped. Giving existing buff mule characters their blessing directly would be fairer.

Third, money. The pet auto slots already cost money, Blessing Skills make them more important, and people worry about paid "slot expansions" or "character slot expansions" later. There's no evidence yet, but it's a fair question.

In the end it's the right direction: it fixes something many people have put up with. What counts is the release details: how long unlocking takes, how much the values get cut, and whether it costs extra. Those three decide whether it's a gift or a new grind.

Finally

The test server content will change, and I'll update this article with the official announcements. If you've tested unlock conditions or values on Tespia, leave a comment below; once confirmed, I'll add it here.

Sources: the official Artale 9/29 update notice, the 10/1 Artale Tespia 1st HotFix, and discussions on the Bahamut MapleStory Worlds forum.