Fourteen guilds have formed in the realms, groups of people with similar goals
on a quest to survive and prosper. Each class has its own skills and spells
at its disposal, and comes with responsibilities.
Brief Description of each class
- Warrior : Durable and great defense, but dependent entirely on
melee attacks for their offense. Warriors have the best scaling potential for damage since they have the most attacks
and can get the full potential out of great equipment. This is a double-edged sword though, because a warrior
without great equipment is vulnerable. The warrior's advantage in combat comes, very simply, from ability to stun
and lock down their opponents with bash and hobble skills. This is a serious threat to anybody. Warriors belong
as their group's tank due to their high defense.
- Berserker : Sharing many aspects of warriors, berserkers
are also able to go into an uncontrolled rage that prevents the berserker from fleeing, but also gives them a large
bonus to health and damage dealt. Berserkers will die more often than warriors, but they'll also get the job done.
They are far better suited to a damage role when grouping, so they may rage, but can act as the tank as well if needed.
Berserkers are as good at stunning and locking down opponents as warriors are, but also have some advantage
against mage classes which is balanced by their much-lamented weakness to blindness skills and spells.
- Ranger : A melee-based class that also commands pets, with
great survivability. Rangers are three-way hybrids that make great group tanks, deal damage well and are also
able to search for herbs to heal themselves and their group. A skilled ranger can escape a fight just by going into
camouflage, although this ability (as well as their herbs) is restricted to forests.
- Paladin : Melee-based, with a little less defense than
warriors, but paladins are also able to cure themselves efficiently. This gives paladins a different approach.
They are in it for the long haul, using mana to out-sustain their opponent. Paladins are also able to cast heavenly wrath to
help them to repel evil foes. Their offense is otherwise very limited, so it can be difficult for them to finally
kill their opponent - especially since their spells weaken as their opponent does. A paladin does not need worry
about his damage output as much as his mana pool running dry, as he depends on it for everything he has that
a warrior doesn't - protection, sanctuary, detects, healing.
- Dark-Knight : The antithesis of the paladin, and
can be thought of as its mirror, but not entirely opposite. They have a similar melee-based approach along
with the lowered defense of paladins. However, instead of relying on curing spells, they have a full offense
approach with maledictions and damage spells that have no constraints. In addition to that, a dark-knight has
the ability to stun his opponent with bash. The dark-knight has a broad, but not deep, arsenal, and will need
to capitalize on opponent's weaknesses and use situations correctly. (For example, use invis against a warrior
to keep him running for potions, and take advantage of low strength mages wearing powerful heavy maces by
poisoning them).
- Healer : Healers rely on a strong defense coupled with
defensive spells and a great penchant for recovery of mana to out-sustain their opponents. As with other
primary spellcasters, they are able to cast spells that protect them from being stunned or locked down. A
healer is very difficult to kill, but also very low on offense. Despite what their name implies, they can
be useful for filling in the role of their party's tank along with two damage dealers. Healers are needed
for expeditions into dangerous high-level areas.
- Shaman : Lacking a little of the sustain of their healer
countparts, these evil priests wield a vast array of maledictions and pack a wallop with frenzy and harm spells.
Shamans must adapt their approach to combat to what their opponent is actually wearing against them - they'll
typically need to choose the right two spells to try landing on their opponent, since their saves will
realistically make it hard to land these spells and have enough left in the tank to finish them off. Shamans
usually serve as the party healer, but serve adequately in just a damage role.
- Druid : Druids follow a traditional supporting cleric
role, with an assortment of beneficial and curing spells, and bring a mixture of dependable skills and equally
dependable spellcasting ability. Druids are more versatile but less specialized than the other clerics.
- Thief : Considerably lacking in defense and health as
compared to warriors, and not likely to win by going to toe-to-toe with one (There is no equipment disparity
or skill alone that can overcome such a gigantic difference in base health and damage against a reasonably-well
equipped berserker or warrior).
What a thief does best is jump his unprepared opponents with stealth, gradually softening his opponents by
stealing equipment and potions from them, vexing them into staying in a losing fight out of frustration. Just
like warriors, a thief scales better and better with equipment, however their lower health and defense makes
it difficult to hold onto.
- Shadow : As with thief, shadows excel in the art of
ambushes. They have some additional tricks at their disposal, carrying concealed packets of blindness dust
and acupuncture themselves for some limited self-healing. They are capable of more direct melee damage
with weapons than any other class due to their ability to dual wield without a damage penalty, and when
coupled with their ability to stun their opponent with grapple and blind them with dust and dirt kicking,
it its easy to see why a shadow is a strong choice starting from a low level.
- Illusionist : These mentalists are perhaps
the most pure of all the mage classes. Able to summon powerful illusions and spells to deal fantastic
amounts of damage, while confusing and beguile their foes. The illusionist has a trick up his sleeve
to escape from almost any difficult situation quickly, but be warned that being caught unprepared is
a quick and embarassing death. A fun class to try and very rewarding for experienced players.
- Invoker : The most newbie-friendly of all the
mages to try, these elementalists are able to protect themselves with defensive shields and their
spells deal the most damage of any in the realms. Invokers have a gentle learning curve and also
a great deal of depth to find in their elemental specializations.
- Necromancer : An inside joke is to
play a necromancer if you have no life. Although this is tongue-in-cheek, it must be stated
that the clearest trait of a necromancer is its ability to grow gradually in power with more
time spent logged in, until they have summoned a formidable army of undead zombies. Just keep
in mind that it all goes away when they finally log out. Necromancers are regarded highly for
their PK ability, and are very difficult to level on their own.
- Bard : Bards are widely regarded as the
story-tellers of the lands. This is a good class to try for adventurer's of any skill level.
Although it is a rogue first and foremost, the bard class is able to sing songs as well to
affect the mood of their party. A bard's songs differ from spells in the sense that they
typically have to be used more frequently, and are similar in the sense that there is almost
always a useful song for any occasion.
- Monk : These martial artists learn
the use of weapons, but refuse to use them against living opponents to deal harm. The monk
settles fighting with their fists and feet, and their formidable animal styles. Specializations
are available in the form of tattoos, which can also outright replace equipment. The monk
strength is in his mobility, although they are also considered to be good healers.
What are "Fighter Classes"?
This refers to the group of classes of warrior, berserker, and ranger.
Fighters are melee, and characterised by their three defences. A fighter
is the best suited in the group to boldly tank the dangers the others in
his party will face. They depend upon physical force (from weapons) to defeat
the enemy. A fighter class has no spells, and no way to use magic besides
potions. This gives them problems with mobility. The skill "bash" (and its
variants) is what gives fighters the right to call themselves the Kings of melee.
What are "Rogue Classes"?
This refers to the group of classes of thief and shadow.
Rogues are melee, and characterised by their two defences, one being
mildly enhanced due to counterbalance. Should there be no fighter in the
group, it is the rogue who will be the next most likely to take the
blows. Rogues have little magic ability, but their ability to recite
scrolls ensures they are light on their feet. They are known to use
stealth rather than a direct approach.
What are "Cleric Classes"?
This refers to the group of classes of shaman and healer.
Clerics are a mix of melee/magic, and characterized by their two defences,
one being mildly penalized. Clerics are the group's healers, often making
them the most important member of a group. They can hold their own at
the front of a battle, but are best in a support role where they don't
burn all their energy on curing so quickly. Clerics also have helpful
defensive spells (e.g. sanctuary) for their group. They are hardy enough
to take a few trips from rogues, but they should keep their protective
shield up to protect against the bash ability of fighter guilds.
From the mid-levels and onwards, clerics hold an unsurpassable potential
for curing, their way of battle one of regeneration - tiring out their
enemies health. Cleric on cleric battles can go on for quite a while.
What are "Mage Classes"?
This refers to the group of classes of invoker, necromancer, and illusionist.
Mages rely almost completely on magic, and characterized by their single
defence. They are the group's heavy artillery, being able to launch
a large variation of spells at enemies that cannot be defended against.
Mages also have defensive spells to support a group, but this is not
not as pronounced as those of the clerics. Because a mage has such low
defences, he loses health very quickly, and will likely be killed if
he lets his protective spells drop and gets pinned in place by skills
like bash and trip.
A mage's true power is realised in later levels, where his spells become
strong and varied enough to overwhelm his opponent into dropping a lot of
damage for save vs spell to avoid getting slaughtered.
What are "Hybrid Classes"?
This refers to the group of classes of bard, paladin, and dark-knight.
A hybrid is a class which carries similarities to several of the other
guilds, but not enough of either to belong to either category. For
example, a dark-knight learns enough weapons to compete with even a
warrior's selection, and casts afflictive spells strong enough
to rival even an invoker. He can thus be thought of as a "warrior-mage".
Hybrid classes excel in overall versatility, and its for this reason that
type of class carries the greatest exp cost in the game. However, it should
be noted that this versatility comes with a price of becoming less effective
in those fields than their full-blooded counterparts - a "jack of all
trades, master of none".
What is Exp Cost?
Characters must attain experience points to reach a new level. As each new level is
achieved, the amount of experience required to level again will grow by 20% of
the base experience to level (1500 experience points for a level 1 human warrior).
The EXP COST is added to the base experience.
Example:
Human warrior (0 exp cost):
Level 1 = 1500 to level
Level 2 = 1500 + 20% of 1500 = 1800 to level
Level 3 = 1800 + 20% of 1500 = 2100 to level
Human paladin (350 exp cost):
Level 1 = 1500 to level
Level 2 = 1500 + 20% of (1500 + 350) = 1870 to level
Level 3 = 1870 + 20% of (1500 + 350) = 2240
Because the PK RANGE
is affected by the relative experience points each player
has, a large exp cost effectively pits you against players with extra levels on
you. This is a natural way of keeping the numbers down of stronger races and
classes, and giving them a longer and more perilous road to level 50 in return
for the extra ability that they have there. Compounded exp cost combinations
such as elf paladins (500 for elf and 350 for paladin) are particularly
difficult to take all the way to the pinnacle rank.
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