How many classes are enough?

[Morreion]

MMORPG.com Community Spotlight: How Many Classes Are Enough?

The jury is still out on the sweet spot, or whether to have classes at all in Eronakis’ thread. As of this writing the poll is at 26.9% for 9 or fewer classes on the lowest end and 26.9% for 20+ classes on the high end. Quite interesting results!


So what do you think? What is the sweet spot for the number of classes? Should we really focus on the number at all? Or do you not care for classes outright and prefer a skill-based system like Ultima Online? Let us know in the comments!

I like classless skill-based games myself (UO was my first MMO), but since they're hard to find, I play a lot of class-based games

Since I tend to like to do my own thing in a game, I like the freedom of being able to develop your own character. Sure, skill-based games tend to have templates players follow for maximum effect, but just because the majority of people take that approach does not mean that everyone has to.

In class-based games, I tend to like lots of classes rather than fewer classes. This may cause complications with balance, buty it is so much fun, particularly for playing alts!

[Regolyth]

Nov 18, 2009 10:30:22 GMT -5 Morreion said:

I like classless skill-based games myself (UO was my first MMO), but since they're hard to find, I play a lot of class-based games

Like you, I prefer the skill-based systems like UO, but they're few and far between. And even if I do find one, it's usually a game I don't care for, due to other elements of implementation.

But if I were going to go with a number of classes, it would depend on if the game is PvE or PvP based. If it's PvE, I think fewer classes are fine. Something around eight to ten. However, if it's PvP, I would rather see 18+. The reason being is because I think if the game is PvP focused (which are my favorite types), I want to see three factions, not the usual two. And with that, I like not have the same types of classes on each side.

I think DAoC did it best. Sure, some classes were very similar, but they were different enough in some way. E.g. The archer class spread through all three realms, but they did have their differences. Rangers had medium range and could dual wield, Scouts had long range and could use shields, and Hunters had short range, but could had a pet. Now there were imbalances between them, but eventually they were fixed.

[Morreion]

Indeed, Rego! DAoC was perhaps my favorite class-based game; I did appreciate how they had many classes in a 3-sided conflict. The fact that you could play 3 types of archers with different abilities made for immense replay value. It is harder to balance lots of classes, but the game kept my interest for years, partly because of all of the different types of characters you could play.