Class envy, do you get it?

[Faeward]

So you've spent ages working on your Paladin. You're pretty much beastmode and can take on all sorts of heroic content, maybe even solo some epic mobs if you are that way inclined.

You form up a group with a few people and you start taking particular note of how that Assassin is making the damage parse go off the scale, or how that healer never runs out of power and you think... man that is really cool, I wish I had spent my time working on that class instead of this one...

I play EQ2 and I get this sort of thing all the time. I think the only class I've really enjoyed and have stuck to since the very beginning when I knew absolutely nothing about the game was the Warden class. The heals have always been extraordinarily good and I knew it since about level 20.

Do you guys/gals have any stories about class envy? The moment when you discovered you weren't so awesome? Or the moment where you thought, man, I am glad to be who I am right now.

[Elmed]

So you've spent ages working on your Paladin. You're pretty much beastmode and can take on all sorts of heroic content, maybe even solo some epic mobs if you are that way inclined.

You form up a group with a few people and you start taking particular note of how that Assassin is making the damage parse go off the scale, or how that healer never runs out of power and you think... man that is really cool, I wish I had spent my time working on that class instead of this one...

I play EQ2 and I get this sort of thing all the time. I think the only class I've really enjoyed and have stuck to since the very beginning when I knew absolutely nothing about the game was the Warden class. The heals have always been extraordinarily good and I knew it since about level 20.

Do you guys/gals have any stories about class envy? The moment when you discovered you weren't so awesome? Or the moment where you thought, man, I am glad to be who I am right now.

Absolutely. I am proud to admit I am an alt-a-holic. A lot of people can focus on one char and advance far more into the game then I can. But since I am shelling out my hard earned cheddar, I enjoy playing it my way. I have many alts in the games I play as I will play a different char depending on my mood. With that said, I do generally still have a main character but I do need the alt character diversion every once in a while.

As far as class envy, it goes different ways. For instance in EQ, as a low-mid tier ranger I experienced many times where I actually had better AC than the assigned tank to a pick-up group. There have also been many more instances where the tank could easily out-damage me. Of course the wizard throwing seven different kinds of smoke and seeing a mobs health drop in half or more is very tempting as well. In DAoC I was a scout (archer class for those unfamiliar). I got very envious of other classes actually surviving melee battles or getting frustrated when I couldn't take down that lurikeen jumping up and down like a bunny rabbit. But the times I lived for were the glorious one-shot kill moments (before the stupid "blade-turn" BS that ruined the class) and doing enough damage solo to hold off a group of enemies assaulting a tower.

[souper]

Happens to everyone at some point, I'm sure. The grass is always greener as they say.

I don't typically get envious myself. Maybe if I were intrigued enough by a class I'd make an alt to goof around on temporarily but I usually stick to my main unless I hate it. I'm just too lazy to bother rerolling so I don't worry about what other people have especially once I've found my place in the world/my guild.

City of Heroes is one game where this happened to me a lot though. I'd be running around with my ice/storm Controller with flight when a nrg/nrg Blapper would super speed around insta-gibbing mobs so I'd make one only to team up with an emp/ Defender with those sweet, sweet buffs at some point and the cycle would being again! Rerolling alts was sort of expected in that game however, so it's not my fault.

[Mercury]

Never had this except once in an old game called Corum, and NOW on RIFT before it's even out (no, I'm not in alpha)

I have a golden rule of being a healer in all games. Then they show me this UTTERLY wintastic mage archetype and ALL the cool souls are in it. Archon (if speculation of it being a battlemage is right) the Dominator, the Chloromancer and a PETLESS Warlock! Finally!

I am embracing it. In Rift, I will not be Mercury the cleric, but Mercury the DOMINATOR! (sounds better right?)

[Faeward]

I am embracing it. In Rift, I will not be Mercury the cleric, but Mercury the DOMINATOR! (sounds better right?)

Haha, that sounds very cool!

Yeah, getting very excited about RIFT now!

[CyclopsSlayer]

The good and bad for alt-aholics is that you merely need 4 characters and you will have, potentially, all the skills and classes available. So, if Fred the assassin and Joe the assassin pair off and compare DPS, the only difference should become player skill.

[Elmed]

the only difference should become player skill.

Careful with that statement - the gear-heads will rip a whole new discussion into this topic.

[CyclopsSlayer]

Careful with that statement - the gear-heads will rip a whole new discussion into this topic.

True true, I was assuming equal gear in the comment, and should have been more explicit there.

AHEM! If Fred has his noob iron dagger, and Joe has his glowing dagger of total pwnage, then Fred should just surrender now and beg for the privilege to clean Joe's dagger for him.

[MacDeath]

Well, I play MacDeath as a group/guild spec'd Pally. As long as my group/guild has the needed classes or souls I won't notice that other players are better at some things than I am.

Now, When I will be playing Captain NUS, I better get the soul combo just right as he will be playing Naked, Unarmed & Solo (NUS).