Choose your class, then customize your appearance
ArcheAge Chronicles character creation offers Warrior, Ranger, Berserker and Mage, with premade appearances and customization of the face, body, hair, makeup and tattoos reported from testing. Classes remain gender-locked at the Early Access launch, so gender is tied to your class rather than freely selectable across the roster.
Start by deciding which weapons and fighting style appeal to you, then work on the character's appearance. If playing a female Warrior is essential to your choice, XLGAMES plans that option for its first post-launch update in December 2026; it is not part of the November 3 launch.
Compare the classes before choosing
Each class has two weapons at Early Access, and you can swap between its weapons during combat. The gender breakdown below comes from Ser Medieval's September 14, 2026 Network Test report; XLGAMES' written announcement confirms the class restrictions rather than providing that complete breakdown itself.
| Class | Weapons | Combat style | Gender reported in testing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warrior | Longsword and Greatsword | Parries and counters with Longsword, or Resolve and heavy blows with Greatsword. | Male in the Network Test report. |
| Ranger | Hatchet and Longbow | Lightning melee with Hatchet, or archery at range with Longbow. | Female in the Network Test report. |
| Berserker | Axe with Shield and Warhammer | Bleed and a chain with Axe and Shield, or Burn and stored Thunder with Warhammer. | Male in the Network Test report. |
| Mage | Elemental Staff and Wavesword | Fire and lightning at range with Elemental Staff, or frost in melee with Wavesword. | Female in the Network Test report. |
Choose Warrior if timing parries appeals to you, Ranger if you want archery alongside close combat, Berserker for heavier melee, or Mage for ranged spells and a frost blade. Consider the whole weapon pairing before settling on a class: Ranger is not limited to shooting, and Mage also has a melee option.
Appearance choices and changes during play
| Option | What it changes | Where or when to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Appearance presets | Choose a premade appearance. | During creation; the October 29 update announcement adds more presets. |
| Facial adjustments | Customize the character's face. | Reported during character creation in testing. |
| Body adjustments | Customize the character's body. | Reported during character creation in testing. |
| Hair | Customize the character's hair. | Reported during character creation in testing. |
| Makeup | Customize the character's makeup. | Reported during character creation in testing. |
| Tattoos | Customize the character's tattoos. | Reported during character creation in testing. |
| Glasses visibility | Hide glasses on helmet appearances. | During play, as announced in the October 29 update. |
| Mask visibility | Hide masks on helmet appearances. | During play, as announced in the October 29 update. |
The announced visibility options let you hide glasses and masks on helmet appearances during play. They do not establish a way to reopen all the face and body controls after creation, so take time to finish those choices before committing to your character.
Plan your character before starting
- Shortlist a class by its weapon pairing. Think about whether you want sword timing, archery with melee, heavy melee weapons, or magic at different distances, then use the class comparison to narrow your choice.
- Decide how much gender matters to your character concept. Early Access starts with class gender locks, so weigh the class you want to play against the appearance you want before spending time on detailed customization.
- Choose a premade appearance or work through the available customization. Review the face, body, hair, makeup and tattoos together so that the finished character matches the look you had in mind.
- During play, use the announced glasses and mask visibility options on helmet appearances if you prefer those details hidden. Keep this separate from your creation decisions: hiding accessories does not establish a full appearance-editing procedure.
- Once you begin fighting, try the class's weapon pairing before deciding whether its playstyle suits you. Each weapon has its own trait tree, so later combat choices give you ways to develop how the character fights.
Female Warrior and later gender choices
XLGAMES plans to add gender selection at character creation class by class, beginning with Warrior. Female Warrior selection is planned for the first post-launch update in December 2026, followed by additional class gender options in later updates. The studio's stated goal is to remove gender locks from every class by full release.
The female Warrior preview shows an internal build, and the final version may differ. Treat it as a preview of the planned creation option rather than an appearance available at launch. If that is the character you want, plan around the announced update instead of choosing a different class solely to match the gender.
The announcement concerns gender selection during character creation. It does not provide a procedure for converting an existing character into the later variant, so make your launch character choice on its own merits.