9 down 7 to go

[Fayde]

EQ2 tried the evasion tank, but it failed. You can take them when you group normal content, but as soon as it gets a bit though, they just can't evade enough and the real tank in shining armour has to join the ranks.

So they would make more sense if they were the melee dps group. The problem will probably lie in the weapon restrictions. The rogues already have the backstabs which might require daggers and if you add monks with special hand2hand or monk weapon attacks only to it too, you end up excluding both classes. This is of course also a problem with the other archetypes, but the rogue attacks usually exclude foreign weapons. Maybe if they add the katar and let it count as a dagger for dagger attacks and monk weapon for monk attacks, it would help it a bit.

They did the same in ff11 with Ninja's work great till you got to boss mobs or aoe mobs then they just failed bad still worth trying they might get it right.

[PsychoticHamster]

Hmm I believe that I cant see "Necromancer" there.... You dont want to dissapoint me mortal...

Warlock and necromancer are virtually the same thing. Of course there will be some diversity between the two but they generally have the same following, Death.

[talicblu]

I really hope there will be a blood mage class.

[Sweet]

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

[Kindair]

Thanks sweet for clearing a few things up.

but a little to question to continue on on what I just saw. Will every warrior soul be able to tank without another soul and will every healer be able to heal without another soul. What I mean is, will every soul in their archetype be able to do the primary job of that archetype, like in Vanguard, or should we expect a few souls to be about tanking and the other souls in that class for the flavour of the class?

Now to go back to the drawing table. I'm going to make a nightblade riftseeker, that would be a riftblade I guess .

[Zinn]

Thanks Sweet and nice post.

I love it when you guys talk to us.

[Sweet]

Thanks sweet for clearing a few things up.

but a little to question to continue on on what I just saw. Will every warrior soul be able to tank without another soul and will every healer be able to heal without another soul. What I mean is, will every soul in their archetype be able to do the primary job of that archetype, like in Vanguard, or should we expect a few souls to be about tanking and the other souls in that class for the flavour of the class?

Now to go back to the drawing table. I'm going to make a nightblade riftseeker, that would be a riftblade I guess .

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.

[Sornin]

Hey Sweet, thanks for all the sweet information. Oh, I slay myself.

On a serious note, you mention that souls within callings will not necessarily have to have a core set of abilities in order to ensure equivalent functionality across the calling. In other words, like with the Champion example, not all Warriors will tank.

Can we take that to mean, also, that you have nothing against not constricting defining traits to a calling? For example, tanking has always been the domain of Warriors, healing has been the domain of Clerics, etc. Is it possible that a Mage could end up being a tank? Or that a Warrior, say a Paladin, could end up being a proficient healer?

I suppose my main question is whether your team has defined a set of traits for each calling and is going to not allow overlap, or overlap from calling to calling is cool.

[PsychoticHamster]

Thanks for the explanation, can't wait to see what Trion has in store.

[satainkaras]

Ah, I so want to a closed beta test ...

[charlionfire]

LMAO @ Jeff

[Ylvelill]

Ah, I so want to a closed beta test ...

Get in line mister :P

[Osho]

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.

Thanks for your explanation, Sweet. Great post.
It good to know what you explain in your second response about our choice to be a focused healer and/or mix and match many more options. I still can't imagine how big the scale of all this possibilities is. I think it's good solution some classes can be used only with certain level. So we have time to find our right stance though out the game.

[Githil]

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

Thank you so much for the highlighted part. I'm glad you guys said that so it will make it easier for people to understand that even because they are a warrior class doesn't mean they were meant to actually be a tank.

[irongamer]

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

Thanks for clearing this up. Updated the guide to reflect this new information.