Classes
The playable classes in the game are primarily a way of grouping attributes that a player can gain points in around a particular theme or character archetype, limiting them to a set of roles within the team that they can effectively fulfil, and allowing them a degree of personal expression and roleplaying.
The main way items are used, with class-synergies for most item types, where optimal usage would require the team to distribute items among the members according to who would get the most value out of that item (Reciprocity).
Attribute points (APs) are applied to a character all at once based on their pre-defined distribution. They don't need to be (and can't be) manually spent/assigned to a user's choice of attributes.
This is done to simplify the class attribute system for unfamiliar players and reduce the amount of decisions they need to make (K.I.S.S.), instead of giving them some unspent/unassigned attribute points every level and leaving it up to them to pick which attributes to spend the points on, which they may not understand and get wrong if they aren't familiar with RPGs (Pick up and play). While this lacks the flexibility and depth that more invested RPG players may expect, it massively reduces the scope to design and balance around when it comes to ensuring that each class is viable, which helps keep development more manageable.
The ability for anyone to use generic items roughly as well as each other regardless of class allows them to just use whatever they have available to them at the time, while the team is still gearing up and gradually acquiring class-specific items, that they can then start to redistribute among each other to better take advantage of their respective class attributes. As characters gain more feats through levelling up, players are increasingly shepherded into conforming to the specialised role of their class, based on the feats made available to them through their attribute point distribution (Specialisation).
A Witch Doctor may be able to wield a basic sword and use it as effectively as a Warrior, but if more powerful swords with higher Strength attribute requirements to be used optimally appear, then those swords become relatively more effective when used by a Warrior, as they have APs in Strength and the Witch Doctor doesn't, so they should give the sword (or whatever other items they have that another class would benefit more from) to them instead (and vice versa) (Reciprocity).
More specialised classes with different attribute point arrangements may be added in the future based on demand.
Additional options become available to players seeking more depth in character customisation in the form of optional feats each level, and race selection.
Each class provides 6 attribute points in total to a character.
Any single attribute for a class can only have up to 3 points placed in it.
This is done for the sake of keeping feats easy to balance around and to avoid having too many points being wasted on a character by them not offering access to many (if any) additional feats. If a character could have all 6 points put into Summoning, then at least 2 of those points would be wasted as there are no feats that require 6 points in Summoning.
Feat AP requirements are capped at 4 AP in any single attribute (max 3 from the class + 1 potential from race bonus), meaning any feats with a AP requirement of 5 or more in any attribute won't be accessible to any character (as there is no class/race combo that gives 5 points in any attribute).
When having an excess of points in an attribute, the mastery bonus system does offer some benefit, but this is mostly just a somewhat ham-fisted countermeasure against potentially useless APs anyway. Capping the points that a class gives any single attribute to 3 like this better addresses the root of the problem of there being ways of having too many points in an attribute beyond what actually offers some benefit.
With a higher max for the amount of points that can be put into an attribute, there is then in turn a need to provide more feats that require those higher APs, which just creates a situation where some feats end up having some contrived point distribution just to justify the fact that a character could in theory have that many points in those attributes.
Limiting the range of points that can be put into an attribute for a class to 1, 2, or 3 encourages feats to in turn be designed around this and have their AP requirements be balanced around a particular focus. For example, a spell with AP requirements of 3 Enchanting and 1 Summoning would be available to any class (or race combo) that has a primary focus (i.e. 3 points) in Enchanting and a secondary focus (i.e. 1 point) in Summoning.
Most classes should follow the general principle of being designed around some combination of a:
- Primary focus (3 APs); The main thing this class excels at and what they can specialise the most in, a major part of its identity.
- Secondary focus (2 APs); The thing this class can fall back on and that gives them some amount of flexibility in their role, ideally supporting and/or augmenting their primary focus.
- Tertiary focus (1 AP); Something that gives this class a few extra options to play with, but that doesn't greatly influence how this class is played.
Possible point arrangements for a class, ranging in terms of how much of a specialist the class is intended to be.
3 3 (Two primary focuses. Highly specialised and lacking flexibility.)
3 2 1
3 1 1 1 (One primary focus, three tertiary focuses. Specialised in one thing, and can do several other things too to an extent.)
2 2 2
2 2 1 1 (Two secondary focuses, two tertiary focuses. Some degree of specialisation, but also quite broad.)
2 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 (Six tertiary focuses. Can do a bit of everything but not very well.)
The new user experience for many RPGs can be very overwhelming for those not familiar with the genre, being bombarded by many options for character customisation (classes, races, perks, stats, appearance, etc.).
This fundamental decision about how the user wants to play the game comes right at the start of the game, before they have even had a chance to play a single second of the game and learn something about the world & mechanics, leading to a disorienting experience & potentially regretted decisions later on.
With these problems in mind, it is best to keep the range of customisation options extremely limited for brand new players, potentially to just a single class with the simplest mechanics.
For this, the bog standard warrior archetype is ideal, with a clear way to be played, a low barrier for entry, and a low skill ceiling (encouraging players to branch out into more complex classes as they unlock them, and as they become more familiar with the game systems), with easy to obtain and self-explanatory equipment (swords).
This starter class essentially becomes part of the tutorial for the game, restricting more complex mechanics behind additional classes, so they are introduced gradually to the player at their own pace.
Not front-loading the tutorial of the game like this avoids the first few minutes of the game being a big info dump, and standardises the onboarding flow for all players. (Pick up and play)
Summary: The most basic class (K.I.S.S.), that serves to familiarise players to the core elements of the game (Pick up and play), and act as a backbone to a team composition. Primarily uses melee weapons, though also dexterous enough to use a limited assortment of ranged weapons. Intended to always be a reliable class to fall back on for anyone in a team, and a team of only Warriors should still be able to perform reasonably well, though not as well as a team with more specialised roles assigned. Access to only very basic offensive magic through low level curses, primarily to supplement their physical damage output.
| Attribute | Points |
|---|---|
| Strength | 3 |
| Dexterity | 2 |
| Aurology | |
| Summoning | |
| Enchanting | |
| Cursing | 1 |
Spell slots: 1
Summary: The main ranged damage dealer (Specialisation), providing additional damage from afar, especially useful for picking off weakened enemies to remove them from a fight before they can recover (Purpose), and can also fall back on a limited set of melee weapons in a pinch if caught in close-quarters. Particularly useful in deciding when to engage through their use of long range weapons and basic summonable minions to distract enemies (Tactics over twitch).
Unlocks when a game is finished with Warrior.
| Attribute | Points |
|---|---|
| Strength | 1 |
| Dexterity | 3 |
| Aurology | |
| Summoning | 2 |
| Enchanting | |
| Cursing |
Spell slots: 1
Summary: Hybrid melee-support, intended to be on the front lines where they can provide aid to other front line fighters (Reciprocity), both passively by deploying beneficial auras, and actively by enchanting allies, encouraging the rest of their team to move forward and get stuck into the fight. Access to the widest range of supportive auras and enchantments, which helps to keep them alive given their poor ranged offence options (Specialisation). Makes for a good meat-shield to benefit ranged damage dealer allies. (Purpose)
Unlocks when a game is finished with Hunter.
| Attribute | Points |
|---|---|
| Strength | 2 |
| Dexterity | |
| Aurology | 3 |
| Summoning | |
| Enchanting | 1 |
| Cursing |
Spell slots: 2
Summary: Hybrid ranged-support, capable of aiding in combat themselves to a limited degree from a safe distance, but most useful for sending summoned nature spirits into battle to soak up incoming damage (Purpose), taking pressure off of allies (Reciprocity), and deploying potent auras to boost their spirits and allies alike (Tactics over twitch).
Unlocks when a game is finished with Paladin.
| Attribute | Points |
|---|---|
| Strength | |
| Dexterity | 1 |
| Aurology | 2 |
| Summoning | 3 |
| Enchanting | |
| Cursing |
Spell slots: 2
Summary: The closest thing to a pure support role, Witch Doctors are masters of manipulating enchantments and curses, and combining aspects of both to create a variety of complex beneficial and detrimental conditions and status effects (Specialisation). Known for abilities including inflicting curses on themselves to heal allies, converting curses on themselves and allies into enchantments (Reciprocity), consuming curses to heal themselves, and transferring curses to enemies. Adept at general support duties and situational magical offence, but with the most limited range of other capabilities (Dependency).
Unlocks when a game is finished with Druid.
| Attribute | Points |
|---|---|
| Strength | |
| Dexterity | |
| Aurology | |
| Summoning | |
| Enchanting | 3 |
| Cursing | 3 |
Spell slots: 3
Summary: The closest thing to a traditional mage, they have access to the widest range of magical abilities (Replayability), but lacking any particular speciality, being something of a highly flexible magical jack of all trades, well suited to covering duties that aren't already covered by some other role in a given team composition (Reciprocity). Given how many options they have available to them, they have the most scope for trying out creative combinations of magical effects that wouldn't otherwise be possible or viable for any other class (Exploration), and as such suits a player who already has a firm grasp of how each type of magic is applied in other classes, and who can bring this knowledge together to greater effect. Being over-reliant on their magic comes at the cost of a lack of consistent damage dealing ability through advanced weapons, and can risk becoming a worse version of some other specialist class if they focus on doing one thing and don't make effective use of their flexibility.
Unlocks when a game is finished with Witch Doctor.
| Attribute | Points |
|---|---|
| Strength | |
| Dexterity | |
| Aurology | 1 |
| Summoning | 1 |
| Enchanting | 2 |
| Cursing | 2 |
Spell slots: 3
Classes that were thought of, but for whatever reason weren't deemed suitable to include in the playable class selection.
Decided not to go with this archetype, at least in the typical "lich-lord" minion master sense, as it goes against The Tribe pillar of Dependency, in that they can become too useful by themselves.
In many online RPGs (EverQuest, Guild Wars, Path of Exile), the necromancer class (or whatever it is called) is often known for being a very good generalist and solo class, that can handle a wide variety of situations by themselves (as they can summon their own teammates, usually from a range of different minion types that they can create their ideal team composition out of), which reduces dependency on other players and doesn't offer a lot to the rest of a team.
Elements of this were incorporated into the Druid and Occultist, able to summon spirits and minions that can be assigned to other players.
Potential candidate for enemy team if a competitive mode is added to the game, where some players can play on the evil faction.
| Attribute | Points |
|---|---|
| Strength | |
| Dexterity | |
| Aurology | |
| Summoning | 3 |
| Enchanting | |
| Cursing | 3 |
Decided not to go with this archetype, as it goes against The Tribe pillar of Dependency, in that it is an inherently solitary playstyle, that doesn't work well with the chaos of multiple people running around in a combat encounter.
Assassin classes usually emphasise careful individual planning and precise execution against a single target at a time, which doesn't really have anything to do with any of the core design pillars, and just leads to people playing by themselves, which isn't what the game is about.
Elements of this were incorporated into the Hunter, such as careful planning via summonable traps for defensive encounters, and ranged damage support during combat.
Potential candidate for enemy team if a competitive mode is added to the game, where some players can play on the evil faction.
| Attribute | Points |
|---|---|
| Strength | 3 |
| Dexterity | 3 |
| Aurology | |
| Summoning | |
| Enchanting | |
| Cursing |
AoE area denial combining auras and curses, applies negative effects across an area.
Potential candidate for enemy team if a competitive mode is added to the game, where some players can play on the evil faction.
| Attribute | Points |
|---|---|
| Strength | |
| Dexterity | |
| Aurology | 3 |
| Summoning | |
| Enchanting | |
| Cursing | 3 |
Offensive generalist with no team support capacity.
Potential candidate for enemy team if a competitive mode is added to the game, where some players can play on the evil faction.
| Attribute | Points |
|---|---|
| Strength | 3 |
| Dexterity | |
| Aurology | |
| Summoning | |
| Enchanting | 1 |
| Cursing | 2 |
I don't think a pure traditional healer class would be appropriate, given how they can make self-healing items redundant as a dedicated healer class is just a multi-purpose source of free infinite healing. Leads more into being more action oriented, vs more about planning encounters and the preparation and distribution of relevant healing items (Tactics over twitch). There should still be demand for producing and consuming healing items.
Elements of this were incorporated into the Witch Doctor in the form of removing curses and applying enchantments, but without the class just turning into a "Come here to have your HP bar refilled" gimmick.
Play on words with "sellsword" (a mercenary), but that uses some magic.
Similar in tone to something like a battle-mage, but not about casting basic projectile missile spells like fireball or whatever.
Offensive magic user that specialises in melee combat augmented with powerful weapon enchantments, excelling at able to do single target burst damage with close range attacks.
| Attribute | Points |
|---|---|
| Strength | 3 |
| Dexterity | |
| Aurology | |
| Summoning | |
| Enchanting | 3 |
| Cursing |