Sagittarius Class Overview in Expeditions: Rome

Expeditions: Rome has a lot of classes, and early on in the game you are tasked with choosing your character's specialisation. This is an important choice since it can't be changed later on in the game, but it's too early to know enough about them to make an informed decision.

In order to prevent that, I decided to write an overview of each of the classes and all of their subclasses, how they work in battle, and what their skills are. That way, you can make the most informed decision possible.

One thing I'd like to mention is that each of the subclasses have two different skills that can be unlocked. One will always be a passive, whilst the other will always be a skill. Players will need to spend one, four, and seven skill points to be able to unlock each of the subsequent tiers.

Additionally, I will only be mentioning the first level of each of the abilities to keep the article as short as possible, given that it is long enough.

Sagittarius

The archers and backline of any fight, Sagittarius are tasked with being some of the heaviest damage dealers in each round. Their capability to fight from range, all the while benefiting the most from tactical positioning makes them one of the most important units in combat. Although these can be some of the strongest characters in the game, they are also heavily countered by shields. Their three different subclasses are:

 

Marksman

Medium-ranged fighters, the Marksman subclass deals heavy damage against groups of enemies due to its interrupting attacks. When paired with Eurytus' Bow, these abilities can be the difference between victory and defeat.

Tier one:

• Interrupt: Nock an arrow and wait for an enemy to move within a 120-degree cone in front of the character with a range of 12 hexes, then shoot the enemy dealing piercing damage.
• Point Blank: 100% Critical Chance for ranged attacks against adjacent targets.

Tier two: You must spend one skill point in the ability branch to be able to unlock this tier.

• Vigilant: Interrupt can attack two targets before it ends. – Requires Interrupt to unlock. (Passive)
• Rebuke: Push the target one hex away from you, dealing bludgeoning damage.

Tier three: You must spend four skill points in the ability branch to be able to unlock this tier. 

• Gracing Shot: The character's next ranged attack will deal Slashing damage. (This ability has three charges)
• Powerful Kick: Rebuke will apply knocked down to the target for two turns. – Requires Rebuke to unlock. (Passive)

Tier four: You must spend seven skill points in the ability branch to be able to unlock this tier.

• Steady Hands: 100% Critical Chance for all ranged reaction attacks such as Interrupt and Overwatch. (Passive)
• Overwatch: Every time an enemy within 6 hexes attacks an ally, the character shoots that enemy. Can only target each enemy once per turn. (Has one charge)

The several interrupting attacks allow the Marksman to be great at crowd control, reducing the numbers of the fight within the enemy's turn. This is an indispensable skill that is highly useful when getting ganked by several enemies coming in from a tight space. Although the Marksman is a great subclass on its own already, paired with the Hunter it makes them a great versatile fighter that doesn't get punished when enemies stand adjacent to them. Or when paired with Snipers, makes them great killers from any distance.

Hunter

Hunters are meant to be smack in the middle of combat, making use of ranged and melee attacks to make the most use of all of the abilities that offer versatility within the skill tree.

Tier one:

• Quick Shot: Shoot two individually selected targets with a -30% Accuracy and 30% chance to miss.
• Versatile: Performing an attack makes you Versatile. If the attack was a melee attack, improve your next ranged attack and deal +50% damage. If the attack was a ranged attack, improve your next melee attack and deal +50% damage. (Passive)

Tier two: You must spend one skill point in the ability branch to be able to unlock this tier.

• Lure: Prevent the target from using cover. Has a range of 6 hexes. (One charge)
• Skirmisher: Versatile has a 100% Critical Chance if the previous attack was a killing blow. – Requires Versatile to unlock. (Passive)

Tier three: You must spend four skill points in the ability branch to be able to unlock this tier. 

• Pinning Shots: All ranged hits within 2 hexes apply Crippled, reducing their movement by -50%. (Passive)
• Arrow Stab: Stab an adjacent target for half damage and inflict Bleeding. If the target is Flanked, they also become Stunned. Deals piercing damage.

Tier four: You must spend seven skill points in the ability branch to be able to unlock this tier.

• Barrage: Every time the character shoots a target, they regain their Action Point. Accuracy is reduced by 33%. (This ability has one charge)
• Find Weakness: At the beginning of every round, you will gain the status effect Finding Weakness, which will allow their next ranged attack to apply either Bleeding, Weakened, or Harried. (Passive)

Hunters offer a wide range of abilities that are meant to be interchangeable. These synergise solely with Marksman, due to the different abilities offered by the subclass that allows them to use the favourable versatile fighting style. That being said, Sniper will be able to benefit from some of the skills, such as the Find Weakness passive, and the Lure ability.

Sniper

Long-distance fighters, Snipers want to seize the high ground and be able to make the most use out of the battlefield's arrangement. Easily the highest damage present in the game, their only weakness is shielded targets.

Tier one:

• Ranging Shot: Applies spotted to 2 hexes, ranged attacks will deal full damage regardless of distance. This ability has a 12 hexes range.
• Marksman: +2 Accuracy. (Passive)

Tier two: You must spend one skill point in the ability branch to be able to unlock this tier.

• Spotter: Ranging Shot now shoots two arrows. – Requires Ranging Shot to unlock. (Passive)
• Mark Target: Applies marked to enemies, making them take double damage from the next ranged shot.

Tier three: You must spend four skill points in the ability branch to be able to unlock this tier. 

• Eagle Eye: Applies eagle-eyed to self, dealing full ranged damage at any distance up to maximum range. (This ability has one charge)
• Walk Your Shots: +2 optimal range. Does not affect; maximum range. (Passive)

Tier four: You must spend seven skill points in the ability branch to be able to unlock this tier.

• Seize Ground: Start combat with double movement for the first two turns. Killing a target further away than 12 hexes will replenish a charge of a random weapon skill. (Passive)
• Assist: Target provokes Attack of Opportunity as if they had moved. (This ability has three charges)

The Sniper class is one of the best subclasses of the Sagittarius. Abilities such as Assist make them heavy damage dealers to any priority target by allowing them to incur Attacks of Opportunity, while the capability to reposition at the start of combat and replenishing weapon skills allows them to be relevant even several turns down the round with all of their strongest abilities. Although the Sniper is great on its own, pairing it with the Marksman skill tree allows them to make use of several medium-ranged and interrupting attacks for the end of the turn.

Verdict

Sagittarius is a great early-game class to select for your main character, which will allow them to dish out tons of damage in any given turn. That being said, their lack of synergy is sure to make it difficult to select a build that will work for every scenario, in contrast to the Princeps. That doesn't mean that Sagittarius is a bad class under any means, however knowledge of the battlefield and knowing how to get the upper hand to get the most use out of the extra accuracy and range provided by high-ground is essential.

Make sure to check the other three guides, each depicting all of the abilities and their separate builds and uses on the battlefield, such as the Princeps, Veles, and Triarchus. Make sure to tell me down in the comments below which class you went for!