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Classes and Abilities
August 6, 2026 at 10:45 PM
Removed a screenshot that did not depict the topic and rewrote image alt text to describe what each screenshot actually shows
Soulbound: Online has no fixed classes. Your "class" is whatever your current gear and abilities make it, and you can change it instantly by swapping gear. As the studio puts it, you can tank for your friends one day and rain ranged damage the next; your character is every class you want it to be, whenever you want.
The Early Access build ships thirteen abilities in its main roster, each tied to one of five combat skills. You bring abilities into a run and then branch them with relic paths, which is where the studio's pitch of more than a hundred build combinations per run comes from. Two players nominally using the same ability can play very differently depending on what they stack on it.
Each ability belongs to a combat skill, and levelling that skill makes the ability stronger. Some are available from the start, and the rest are handed out by named characters as you work through quests.
Ability | Combat Skill | What It Does |
|---|---|---|
Pyrosphere | Knowledge | Fires a projectile that explodes on impact. Available from the start. |
Chain Lightning | Knowledge | Lightning chains bounce between enemies and can bounce back to targets already hit. |
Ice Cube | Knowledge | A circular area effect that knocks enemies back and freezes them. |
Healing Pulse | Knowledge | Releases an aura that heals you and nearby players. |
Kusarigama | Dexterity | Throws three chained scythes in a cone. Recast pulls them back, dragging enemies in. |
Chakram | Dexterity | Throws a chakram that returns along the same line. Catching it resets the cooldown. Available from the start. |
Bomb | Dexterity | Lobs a bomb that detonates on impact for an explosive blast. Available from the start. |
Fortify | Technology | Adds a shield to every player inside the aura. |
Blackhole Bomb | Technology | A grenade that releases a black hole and pulls enemies in. |
Drone | Technology | Orbits you and explodes on impact. |
Minigun | Marksmanship | Orbits the user and fires bullets in all directions. |
Machinegun | Marksmanship | Orbits the user and fires bullets across an arc. |
Gleam Twins | Marksmanship | Unleashes a pair of SMGs that fire rapidly for a short burst. |
A few more abilities exist outside that list, including Psionic Bolt, which casts a piercing bolt that damages enemies and shields players, and Healing Mark, which marks a party member and bounces its healing on to the next one. Their unlock conditions are not documented.
Five of the game's skills are combat skills, and each one governs a slice of the ability roster. Levelling them also gates which weapons and armor you can equip.
Combat Skill | Covers |
|---|---|
Strength | Raw melee power, levelled by dealing damage with swords, greatswords and heavy weapons |
Knowledge | Elemental and support magic: Pyrosphere, Chain Lightning, Ice Cube and Healing Pulse |
Dexterity | Agile, precise techniques: Kusarigama, Chakram and Bomb |
Technology | Inventions and tactics: Fortify, Blackhole Bomb and Drone |
Marksmanship | Long-range firepower: Minigun, Machinegun and Gleam Twins |
Abilities can be permanently upgraded at a lab in Arcadia by spending crafted components and rare material drops. These upgrades are meta progression: they persist between runs and unlock new relic upgrade paths inside dungeons, while your base overworld abilities stay the same. Instead of a modest few-percent damage bump, an upgraded Pyrosphere can gain a far larger one. Abilities also scale with their associated skill level, so higher Technology means stronger shields and heals.
Abilities are randomised in the tutorial dungeons and in the Abyssal Raid. An Ability Configurator item stops that randomisation and lets you take the loadout you want into those fights.
The classless design means your role is set by what you carry rather than what you picked at character creation. Swap a staff for a hammer and you change your damage type, your attack pattern and your skill requirements in one move. Inside a run, the relic you pick up is what turns one ability into many playstyles, which is covered on the Relics and Builds page.
