Callings
Callings are the player classes of Dawn of Embers. Each player picks one Calling before a match. A Calling gives a permanent bonus for the whole match, and it works alongside the player's Disciplines.
There are six Callings: Gatherer, Warlord, Ranger, Mystic, Builder and Jack of All Trades. A player without a Calling plays with no Calling bonuses.
How Callings work
- Every Calling bonus is a multiplier. A Calling only ever helps: it never takes anything away from your economy or army.
- A Calling stacks with Disciplines. The Calling's multiplier and the Discipline bonus are multiplied together. For example, a Builder with points in Building Efficiency gets both bonuses.
- The bonuses are set in the game's data, not fixed in the code. The in-game Calling descriptions fill in their numbers from that same data, so the text stays in step with balance changes.
- Bonuses are worked out by the host (server), so every player in a match sees the same results.
The Callings
The numbers below are the current data values. Percentages are relative to playing with no Calling.
| Calling | In-game description | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Gatherer | Villagers carry +20% more and gather +12% faster. |
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| Warlord | Infantry and cavalry strike +20% harder. |
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| Ranger | Bows and engines strike +20% harder. |
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| Mystic | Mages strike +20% harder. |
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| Builder | Build speed: +25%. Building damage taken: -15%. |
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| Jack of All Trades | Borrows another Calling at 60% of its strength and changes it every 600 seconds. |
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Notes on Jack of All Trades
- Only the Calling bonus is scaled to 60%. Your Disciplines always apply at full strength.
- The borrowed Calling is chosen at random by the server, from Gatherer, Warlord, Ranger, Mystic and Builder.
- The 10-minute timer counts from the start of the match, not from the moment you chose the Calling.
Choosing a Calling
Skirmish and multiplayer
Each player chooses a Calling in the game lobby, and it is applied when the match starts. It cannot be changed during the match. A match loaded from a save keeps the Calling stored in the save.
Computer opponents
Each AI opponent picks its own Calling and spends its 20 Discipline points when the match starts. How it chooses depends on its difficulty:
- Very Easy, Easy: a fixed choice, based on the kind of army the AI prefers.
- Normal: a choice among a few prepared builds, picked from the map seed and the AI's starting position.
- Hard: a weighted choice that fits the AI's army mix.
- Very Hard, Brutal: a weighted choice, plus a small variation of up to 3 points between Disciplines, so the AI does not always field the same build.
The same map seed and starting position always give the same AI choice. AI opponents in story missions do not pick a Calling this way.
Story missions
In story missions the Calling is declared at the Muster, a planning moment in Mission 1, from the in-match Calling window. That window exists in story mode only.
- A declared Calling is a standing order: it cannot be changed later in that mission.
- Your Calling and your committed Disciplines carry over to the following missions.
- If you start a later mission with no carried Calling, the Muster asks you to pick one.
- Mission 1 and Mission 2 lock the Mystic Calling. It is available from Mission 3 onward.
Planned or not yet confirmed
- An in-match display of which Calling a Jack of All Trades is currently borrowing has not been found in the game's interface code. See the open questions.