Socratic
08-01-2010, 09:59 AM
- "Sweet" from the official Rift forums recently posted an explanation that sheds a bit of light on the potential mess that is their class system. Enjoy the quotes.
Hey all
So we haven't announced the number of classes we're releasing with or the number of starting versus non-starting classes. Anything you've seen regarding these numbers is not accurate or finalized.
Just want to give you a little bit of insight into what our general philosophy is regarding class design and the system itself. For starters this isn't something like Aion or the original EQII system where you choose an archetype and then specialize out from there. For us a Calling defines what classes you have access to thier most basic mechanics e.g. do I use energy, do I use mana, do I use some kind of point? It does not grant any kind of default abilities that all classes of that Calling share. It also doesn't prevent us from adding additional mechanics if we think it'll make the class feel and play better.
Classes for us have to all be exciting and unique in their own right, you're not going to see every warrior running around with the same 10 base abilities. Will there be some overlap? Yes, a tank for example probably has a taunt but not every tank is going to have a shield throw, a charge or a pet. It's also worth noting that not every warrior is a tank e.g. the Champion is all about bringing the hurt. Each class should give you something new to play with and possibly a new way to play the game. Trying to play a Paladin the same way you play a Reaver is not going to work well for you. Similarly playing a Reaver/Champion combination (a Reapion perhaps? ) is going to give you access to different playstyles than that of a pure Reaver. We've created a system where having different and specialized classes is the name of the game and we intend to take full advantage of it.
So talking about this is all well and good but you can also start to see it in action with the classes we've released so far. Lets look at the rogues, they all have access to the same weapons, armor and use the same core mechanics yet they're all very different. Standard disclaimer, we're still in development and all things are subject to change
The Nightblade, can launch attacks from stealth and hurl flaming blades at their enemies.
The Blade Dancer, builds up a tempo in their combat alternating between left and right handed attacks before unleashing powerful moves that can leave them temporarily exhausted.
The Ranger, attacks from afar with their bow and is aided by an ever faithful animal companion.
Each of those classes plays completely differently and they allow me to create even more like the following. Please note these are names I made up in about 10 seconds and aren't actually in-game so go nice, and/or come up with better ones ;)
The Sniper (Nightblade/Ranger), a stealth archer launching deadly surprise attacks with their bow before disappearing back into the shadows.
The Pathfinder (Blade Dancer/Ranger), a melee combatant who attacks in tandem with their animal companion to overwhelm a single foe or take on multiple enemies.
All in all I think we have something pretty exciting in the works and I hope you're looking forward to it as much as I am
Cheers
Not every warrior will be able to tank and not every cleric will be able to heal. The Inquisitor for instance is more focused towards damage, their description actually says “...they cannot support their allies in battle as strongly as other, more specialized clerics.” The other side to this is that not every Rogue or Mage is about dealing damage.
Now with that in mind if you want to be a tank then warrior is the right choice for you and the same goes for clerics and healing. Basically we don't want to limit ourselves by saying “every class of this Calling must do X” when for example we really want to create a cool crowd control focused class where X doesn't really fit with what they're doing and feels like it's tacked on or forced in.
Source: http://forums.riftgame.com/showthread.php?865-9-down-7-to-go&p=52963#post52963
http://forums.riftgame.com/showthread.php?865-9-down-7-to-go&p=52980#post52980
Hey all
So we haven't announced the number of classes we're releasing with or the number of starting versus non-starting classes. Anything you've seen regarding these numbers is not accurate or finalized.
Just want to give you a little bit of insight into what our general philosophy is regarding class design and the system itself. For starters this isn't something like Aion or the original EQII system where you choose an archetype and then specialize out from there. For us a Calling defines what classes you have access to thier most basic mechanics e.g. do I use energy, do I use mana, do I use some kind of point? It does not grant any kind of default abilities that all classes of that Calling share. It also doesn't prevent us from adding additional mechanics if we think it'll make the class feel and play better.
Classes for us have to all be exciting and unique in their own right, you're not going to see every warrior running around with the same 10 base abilities. Will there be some overlap? Yes, a tank for example probably has a taunt but not every tank is going to have a shield throw, a charge or a pet. It's also worth noting that not every warrior is a tank e.g. the Champion is all about bringing the hurt. Each class should give you something new to play with and possibly a new way to play the game. Trying to play a Paladin the same way you play a Reaver is not going to work well for you. Similarly playing a Reaver/Champion combination (a Reapion perhaps? ) is going to give you access to different playstyles than that of a pure Reaver. We've created a system where having different and specialized classes is the name of the game and we intend to take full advantage of it.
So talking about this is all well and good but you can also start to see it in action with the classes we've released so far. Lets look at the rogues, they all have access to the same weapons, armor and use the same core mechanics yet they're all very different. Standard disclaimer, we're still in development and all things are subject to change
The Nightblade, can launch attacks from stealth and hurl flaming blades at their enemies.
The Blade Dancer, builds up a tempo in their combat alternating between left and right handed attacks before unleashing powerful moves that can leave them temporarily exhausted.
The Ranger, attacks from afar with their bow and is aided by an ever faithful animal companion.
Each of those classes plays completely differently and they allow me to create even more like the following. Please note these are names I made up in about 10 seconds and aren't actually in-game so go nice, and/or come up with better ones ;)
The Sniper (Nightblade/Ranger), a stealth archer launching deadly surprise attacks with their bow before disappearing back into the shadows.
The Pathfinder (Blade Dancer/Ranger), a melee combatant who attacks in tandem with their animal companion to overwhelm a single foe or take on multiple enemies.
All in all I think we have something pretty exciting in the works and I hope you're looking forward to it as much as I am
Cheers
Not every warrior will be able to tank and not every cleric will be able to heal. The Inquisitor for instance is more focused towards damage, their description actually says “...they cannot support their allies in battle as strongly as other, more specialized clerics.” The other side to this is that not every Rogue or Mage is about dealing damage.
Now with that in mind if you want to be a tank then warrior is the right choice for you and the same goes for clerics and healing. Basically we don't want to limit ourselves by saying “every class of this Calling must do X” when for example we really want to create a cool crowd control focused class where X doesn't really fit with what they're doing and feels like it's tacked on or forced in.
Source: http://forums.riftgame.com/showthread.php?865-9-down-7-to-go&p=52963#post52963
http://forums.riftgame.com/showthread.php?865-9-down-7-to-go&p=52980#post52980