Beefcake said:Altha said:Elven Cleric, please.
From the lore on the race page, I think Pantheon Elves are a lot more wilderness based, without a hierarchical religious structure that clerics tend to have.
I believe that is why they have Shamans instead of Clerics.
The ashen elves maybe, but i havent heard of them having any sort of tree city, just the one big tree and a home in a forest, even high elves tend to have homes in places of lush nature. The ember elves are apparantly not content with living with their current lot, rather desiring to have what they had on their old planet before they ever encountered a sacred tree. militant cities, mastery of battle, trade and the arcane...Not very treelike
Bazgrim said:I think most people's arguments stem from a lack of understanding of the races. People are concentrating too much on their own traditional conception of the races. Pantheon is clearly going their own way on the races. So, before criticizing that a race should/should not have a class, you need to think about Pantheon's version of the race, not your traditional concept.
Vandraad said:But then the vast majority in this thread would have nothing about which they could complain.
Raidan said:After taking time to digest the info - I like it and I echo Vandraad's thoughts.
Guys I don’t know about you but this is a good opportunity to share with the development team how much we care about the usual stereotypes as well as odd-ball combinations. To say it is clear VR is going their own way seems untrue to me. This is their first pass at something which is evolving and if I were to make a good assumption I would say our feedback is shaping how they feel, and if that isn’t true it is in the least helping them double-check their choices. Those ‘double-takes’ at their own process are important. The more constructive a vision we put forward the more they can reflect and share back with us. I take some of your comments as telling others on these forums to just be quiet, and worse.
Look at what they currently have done for Humans. I wouldn’t say they are going their own way, but they are sticking to a very classic and traditional ‘humans are the anchor’ decision. I wouldn’t call that decision unique, In fact I don’t think it’s a good idea to just blanket all classes into Human.
I’m going to take on that topic now.
When VR decided to make what I would call strict race class combinations (I say strict because just look at Ogres, just 4 choices.) VR took the angle that each race is unique and specialized. Each culture develops martial and magical talents and uniqueness. I could even imagine some races start out with different spells and as they adventure and defeat monsters they may unlock the spells and abilities that another race had from the beginning. VR puts a lot into making classes ‘make sense’ to the race. What doesn’t make sense are Humans.
There’s a big difference in
humans being able to do everything
and
humans knowing how to do everything.
I personally believe any race can do any class, but the knowledge the race has for the class, the teachers the race has for the class, overcoming certain aspects of your own race in order to use the class (politics, heritage, social constructs)... there is so much! In fact what I just stated helps me be ok with the fact there are even race/class restrictions which in the beginning I was against. It is nice to know I can evolve.
I didn’t want to really bring this topic up (you will see in my last post I left humans alone) but I will take a bite now. I honestly think a ‘double-take’ needs to be made by the VR team on their Human race. It seems like they wanted each race and class combo to make sense but dropped the ball (sorry) when it came to Humans and simply didn’t think it had to make sense for Humans to have to go through the same filter process. As though humans didn’t have to ‘make sense’ when you apply any class to them.
I really feel that was a mistake, and that even humans have their own unique cultures and social norms that they would be just as ‘specialized’ as any other race when it came to classes. Infact … BARD should be their premier class considering the power of their words. Just read the lore and it makes perfect sense.
-Todd
Biggest problem I see with this list is it seems lore is driving decisions instead of balance. Lore is all well and good, but you also have to adjust lore in order to create balance. Having only two races which can choose Paladin is bad. Having such a limited selection which can pick Cleric is bad. There really needs to be a minimum number of options to ensure sufficient diversity in class/race combinations. I think at a minimum each class should have four races and each race has the option of six classes. You can have more like humans, but you shouldn't go less.
Ruar said:Biggest problem I see with this list is it seems lore is driving decisions instead of balance. Lore is all well and good, but you also have to adjust lore in order to create balance. Having only two races which can choose Paladin is bad. Having such a limited selection which can pick Cleric is bad. There really needs to be a minimum number of options to ensure sufficient diversity in class/race combinations. I think at a minimum each class should have four races and each race has the option of six classes. You can have more like humans, but you shouldn't go less.
Hi Ruar,
I think the decision was made this way because VR believes immersiveness and lore are more important. I actually think its kind of refreshing in some ways, but I can see how you feel.
-Todd
tehtawd said:Hi Ruar,
I think the decision was made this way because VR believes immersiveness and lore are more important. I actually think its kind of refreshing in some ways, but I can see how you feel.
-Todd
I'm not saying lore isn't important. I'm saying balance has to be just as critical as lore. A great example is the seeming limitation on Ogres because they are large but the idea that a halfling can be a warrior. Gnomes being based on arcane but are able to be a rogue. Those examples show they are bending the lore to create personal favorite combinations but they are not willing to adjust the lore to create balance.
I'm excited and scared for this game all at the same time. I remember the days of The Vision and I hope the lesson was learned that while general ideas and themes for how a game should work are great, in the end it's the customers who pay, and hopefully keep paying, who have to be part of the process. Class/race combinations are a big part of getting people interested in a game and if the majority of potential players prefer something that a dev doesn't like for personal reasons then you can easily end up with a game people don't want to play thus causing the game to lose funding it needs.
Ruar said:Biggest problem I see with this list is it seems lore is driving decisions instead of balance. Lore is all well and good, but you also have to adjust lore in order to create balance. Having only two races which can choose Paladin is bad. Having such a limited selection which can pick Cleric is bad. There really needs to be a minimum number of options to ensure sufficient diversity in class/race combinations. I think at a minimum each class should have four races and each race has the option of six classes. You can have more like humans, but you shouldn't go less.
Lore is more important than your perceived Balance. Paladins are not the only tanks. Clerics are not the only healers.
Balance will not be destroyed because only a few races can be Paladins or Clerics. There will still be plenty of healers and tanks to choose from.
I am extremely proud that Pantheon is sticking to its lore over perceived ideas of tradition and balance.
They are making THEIR game, not a copy of all the others.
I think it's sad that people would choose to not play a game just because they cannot be an elven Cleric/Paladin or some other combination. There are plenty of options to choose from.
Something about humans having all classes open to them seems wrong to me. It is hard to pin down why but I always liked in EQ that, for example, that shaman are restricted to the more primitive races. It just felt right. Now I get that we don’t know what shamans or any other class will be in Pantheon but I see humans as kind of the vanilla race and somehow certain classes would be out of the realm of a “mere” human.
Also echo what allot are saying about Cleric/Paladin limited choices.
@Beefcake
Well said!
@ Everyone
I too have a couple of race/class combos I was hoping for that didnt pan out. But I accept the lore as being important to the design of the world. But keep in mind its still very early and they could tweak some choices on this list too.
As for me I really wanted a Gnome Bard, but that isnt in the cards. On top of which Bard is unlikely for release. Too bad! So until Bard comes out Ill try a different race/class combos. And when it does Im leaning either Myr Bard or Halfling Bard and mostly because of the lore.
Beefcake said:Ruar said:Biggest problem I see with this list is it seems lore is driving decisions instead of balance. Lore is all well and good, but you also have to adjust lore in order to create balance. Having only two races which can choose Paladin is bad. Having such a limited selection which can pick Cleric is bad. There really needs to be a minimum number of options to ensure sufficient diversity in class/race combinations. I think at a minimum each class should have four races and each race has the option of six classes. You can have more like humans, but you shouldn't go less.
Lore is more important than your perceived Balance. Paladins are not the only tanks. Clerics are not the only healers.
Balance will not be destroyed because only a few races can be Paladins or Clerics. There will still be plenty of healers and tanks to choose from.
I am extremely proud that Pantheon is sticking to its lore over perceived ideas of tradition and balance.
They are making THEIR game, not a copy of all the others.
I think it's sad that people would choose to not play a game just because they cannot be an elven Cleric/Paladin or some other combination. There are plenty of options to choose from.
Lore is cool and all, but a games popularity and viability rely on balance. How many times in EQ did you see groups finishing the hardest content without a warrior and a cleric? The reason was because those two classes were the best at what they did because the balance was off.
Imagine if Ogres end up being the best choice for warrior for whatever reason. How many people are going to choose a different race because of lore? They are going to pick the best race/class combination because they feel it makes the game easier for them. Lack of balance.
This also applies to race/class combinations. PVP will probably have some version of good/evil or some other way to divide up the races. Which makes balance very hard when the combinations aren't equal. PVE will probably have some kind of focus put on racial interaction. So balance between the races will end up being important. Why not fix it at the start instead of waiting for it to become a problem?
But I dont think there should be a balance between races or classes other than that there should be access to the 4 major roles. Even if that requires teaming up with another race. And VR has said that classes that play a role will be able to fill that role in any given situation. Though there will be situations where they will each be better than another choice. For Instance warrior being better for raid X but DL being better for raid Y.
Also classes should never be balanced for PVP. This has always been a bad idea. If you are any class out on your own on a PvP server in a group based game then expect to die. You work together with your guild or in a group to cover others short comings and its as simple as that.
And some people will choose based on best min/max. But plenty will choose Humans as thats the case in most MMOs. And many will chose different race/class combos based on looks or lore. It will work itself out.
Ruar said:Biggest problem I see with this list is it seems lore is driving decisions instead of balance. Lore is all well and good, but you also have to adjust lore in order to create balance. Having only two races which can choose Paladin is bad. Having such a limited selection which can pick Cleric is bad. There really needs to be a minimum number of options to ensure sufficient diversity in class/race combinations. I think at a minimum each class should have four races and each race has the option of six classes. You can have more like humans, but you shouldn't go less.
Ruar, you can't say definitely that the choices for race/class are not balanced because we have nothing solid, nothing concrete, about how the races and classes affect each other. You're just assuming, based upon your own bias, that these choices are wrong and the game will suffer. We'll see if that pans out when Alpha comes out and we actually have all these to test. Until then, don't jump to what can easily be the absolutely wrong conclusion.
Ruar said:Lore is cool and all, but a games popularity and viability rely on balance. How many times in EQ did you see groups finishing the hardest content without a warrior and a cleric? The reason was because those two classes were the best at what they did because the balance was off.
Imagine if Ogres end up being the best choice for warrior for whatever reason. How many people are going to choose a different race because of lore? They are going to pick the best race/class combination because they feel it makes the game easier for them. Lack of balance.
This also applies to race/class combinations. PVP will probably have some version of good/evil or some other way to divide up the races. Which makes balance very hard when the combinations aren't equal. PVE will probably have some kind of focus put on racial interaction. So balance between the races will end up being important. Why not fix it at the start instead of waiting for it to become a problem?
By your own logic, what VR is telling us is that the best races for clerics are Dwarves, Humans and Dark Myr. This prevents the situation where someone just wants to make an Ogre Cleric, and due to stats completely in opposite to what a cleric needs, ends up with an incredibly gimped class..yet will whine and complain each and every day on how their choice needs to be made better.
Will one of the races that can be a cleric be perceived to be better than the others? Yes, eventually, but that will depend upon how people decide to play the class.
I'm dealing with this same question with the Shaman. I had all the races pegged except for Elf. Elf really adds a completely different approach to the class if we take into account a few assumptions.
Over all, VRs choices for class/race are brilliant and truly makes this game more theirs than just a copy of everything else out there. If you want different, play Pantheon. Want the same crap? Go play anything else.
Ruar said:Why not fix it at the start instead of waiting for it to become a problem?
I'm not convinced there is a problem. I respect your opinion and concern, but stating that this needs to be changed without any evidence to prove there's an issue doesn't seem prudent in my eyes. Besides, Justin very clearly stated in the OP that this is an early iteration (particularly in regard to Cleric). If there turns out to be a balance issue during testing then there will be appropriate changes made. But like @Vandraad said, I think it's far better to wait and test what they have based on their internal work, rather than condemn VR's decisions and change it based on a concern that may not actually be an issue.
Vandraad said:Ruar said:Biggest problem I see with this list is it seems lore is driving decisions instead of balance. Lore is all well and good, but you also have to adjust lore in order to create balance. Having only two races which can choose Paladin is bad. Having such a limited selection which can pick Cleric is bad. There really needs to be a minimum number of options to ensure sufficient diversity in class/race combinations. I think at a minimum each class should have four races and each race has the option of six classes. You can have more like humans, but you shouldn't go less.
Ruar, you can't say definitely that the choices for race/class are not balanced because we have nothing solid, nothing concrete, about how the races and classes affect each other. You're just assuming, based upon your own bias, that these choices are wrong and the game will suffer. We'll see if that pans out when Alpha comes out and we actually have all these to test. Until then, don't jump to what can easily be the absolutely wrong conclusion.
Ruar said:Lore is cool and all, but a games popularity and viability rely on balance. How many times in EQ did you see groups finishing the hardest content without a warrior and a cleric? The reason was because those two classes were the best at what they did because the balance was off.
Imagine if Ogres end up being the best choice for warrior for whatever reason. How many people are going to choose a different race because of lore? They are going to pick the best race/class combination because they feel it makes the game easier for them. Lack of balance.
This also applies to race/class combinations. PVP will probably have some version of good/evil or some other way to divide up the races. Which makes balance very hard when the combinations aren't equal. PVE will probably have some kind of focus put on racial interaction. So balance between the races will end up being important. Why not fix it at the start instead of waiting for it to become a problem?
By your own logic, what VR is telling us is that the best races for clerics are Dwarves, Humans and Dark Myr. This prevents the situation where someone just wants to make an Ogre Cleric, and due to stats completely in opposite to what a cleric needs, ends up with an incredibly gimped class..yet will whine and complain each and every day on how their choice needs to be made better.
Will one of the races that can be a cleric be perceived to be better than the others? Yes, eventually, but that will depend upon how people decide to play the class.
I'm dealing with this same question with the Shaman. I had all the races pegged except for Elf. Elf really adds a completely different approach to the class if we take into account a few assumptions.
Over all, VRs choices for class/race are brilliant and truly makes this game more theirs than just a copy of everything else out there. If you want different, play Pantheon. Want the same crap? Go play anything else.
I have to agree here. People are shouting about Balance, because they claim there will barely be any clerics/paladins and only those classes can handle the toughest content.
This is not EQ, Vanguard, or anything else. This is Pantheon. You have no foundation to claim that content will not be completed well without Elven Clerics.
We have no real information about how the classes will be done. Don't judge until we see what the facts are. Alpha and Beta will do that.
Save the doom and gloom until it's actually happening.
Keep calm. Have an open mind. If you don't trust in the experience and expertise of VR, you are in the wrong place.
tehtawd said:A lot of text
Totally agree. Every race can be any class but what we as players are choosing from is what is normal for that race, culturaly and biologically, a Gnome warrior is rare and if one would come up in the lore it should be a big deal, for that character would had fought so many things to become that. The fact Humans can be everything is basically saying that they don't really have a well defined culture. The argument that Humans on earth have all cultures is, frankly stupid imo, they didn't have all those cultures at the same time in the same place, tell me how much sense it makes to play a game basted on the napoleonic era and have a samurai there.
Wait, did someone say Paladin?! OMGWTFBBQ!!!!1111!1! /faint
Even though I usually play a paladin as my main, I usually play a half-elf paladin, so I may wait to make her to see if you eventually get cross-classes in. (Deep thoughts: If I make an alt before my main, is it really an alt? Discuss.)
I think it's cool that you guys are actually trying to break away from the Tolkein/D&D-based lore of "this class has to be this character," even if it means I won't get to play the class/race combo that I usually play. And I like that not every class can play every race in general.
With Humans, they always had the full range of options in EQ too but that (I always saw) that as a trade off for their low stat starting point stats and minimal - no racial perks, maybe it is the same approach with Pantheon.
The only thing i would wonder about is gnomes having no tanks and no healer classes. Could be a difficult way to start out in a newbie area looking for a group that can provide 2 of the "Quadernity" primary roles! Then again who knows, we may be mingling with other races from the get go and then that wouldnt make a difference at all.
Awesome to see this stuff so we can continue to think about what combo we will use!
Ruar said:Biggest problem I see with this list is it seems lore is driving decisions instead of balance. Lore is all well and good, but you also have to adjust lore in order to create balance. Having only two races which can choose Paladin is bad. Having such a limited selection which can pick Cleric is bad. There really needs to be a minimum number of options to ensure sufficient diversity in class/race combinations. I think at a minimum each class should have four races and each race has the option of six classes. You can have more like humans, but you shouldn't go less.
It appears as though people reading this see the word "balance" and immediately condemn Ruar. lore or lack thereof can ruin Pantheon, balance or lack thereof could potentially do it to. His worry is valid, and Ruar has no more proof that we need to worry about balance than you have proof that we should focus on lore and forget balance. This is a discussion about what classes should be available how, and to which races. The reason Ruar gave was balance, yours may be lore. What, pray tell, makes your opinion more valid than his?
Ruar said:I'm not saying lore isn't important. I'm saying balance has to be just as critical as lore. A great example is the seeming limitation on Ogres because they are large but the idea that a halfling can be a warrior. Gnomes being based on arcane but are able to be a rogue. Those examples show they are bending the lore to create personal favorite combinations but they are not willing to adjust the lore to create balance.
This is also valid as far as I can see. Would a technologically advanced, arcane based, hard working race have many members who choose to pick up a dagger and cut purses? probably not. I do know I have seen many people talk about how they had a gnome rogue/warrior and about how good, and original, they felt having it, despite the fact that it was slightly gimped.
However, I should note that the arguments part of VR's posts seem that they are basing it more on what a race CAN do rather than what they are likely to do. Anyone could pick up a sword and shield and play at warrior, even if they are bad at it. Casting a heal spell based on faith, though? not likely for a race that doesnt care about any gods or simply isn't smart enough to be casting spells.
Utimately, I prefer class/race combinations to be based totally on lore. I don't think a gnome would be a rogue but I won't fight it either. A gnome is capable of being a rogue, no matter how unlikely, and I'm not writing your own character's backstory for you.
I think that balance can be found in lore. In a previous post I made it clear that many different classes could be added to several different races, even based on lore or what they are capable of.
For example, Ember elves want the old ways, as is stated in lore. The old ways to me seem like they involved large, diverse, elven cities that master trade, the arcane, military, etc. Certainly they could have had clerics during this time?
Even the ashen elves could potentially be pious. The halflings live in a tree city, but do the ashen elves as well? Most elves in stories (even high elves) have their homes based in areas of great nature, and tend to respect their environments, this does not mean their home is a bunch of trees in the middle of the forest. The Ashen could or, in fact, could not be "wood elves" based on their love of their sacred tree (which was given them by gods, whom their clerics could potentially worship, no?). Finally, Elves have "ageless wisdom" and old folks tend toward traditions and religions.
By allowing atleast the ember elves, if not both, to have clerics, you could solve part of the balance issue for not enough cleric races, and fully stay in lore. VR is, after all, the masters of their own lore.
BeaverBiscuit said:What, pray tell, makes your opinion more valid than his?
It certainly has not been my intention to assert that my opinion is somehow more valid than his, or anyone's for that matter. I'm not really even sure what comment you have read that makes you ask this question, but no matter. Disagreeing with someone isn't to belittle their opinion. He, you, and everyone else is perfectly welcome to an opinion - mine just happens to be contrary to his in this case.
Nikademis said:BeaverBiscuit said:What, pray tell, makes your opinion more valid than his?
It certainly has not been my intention to assert that my opinion is somehow more valid than his, or anyone's for that matter. I'm not really even sure what comment you have read that makes you ask this question, but no matter. Disagreeing with someone isn't to belittle their opinion. He, you, and everyone else is perfectly welcome to an opinion - mine just happens to be contrary to his in this case.
I was referring to the many posts about how he should not talk about balance until he has played the game, but I am glad you are not hostile
BeaverBiscuit said:Nikademis said:BeaverBiscuit said:What, pray tell, makes your opinion more valid than his?
It certainly has not been my intention to assert that my opinion is somehow more valid than his, or anyone's for that matter. I'm not really even sure what comment you have read that makes you ask this question, but no matter. Disagreeing with someone isn't to belittle their opinion. He, you, and everyone else is perfectly welcome to an opinion - mine just happens to be contrary to his in this case.
I was referring to the many posts about how he should not talk about balance until he has played the game, but I am glad you are not hostile
*Thumbs up*
On a side note, man am I looking forward to testing some of these combos!
I see some frightfully neo-conservative opinions concerning who gets to do what but I'm glad they seem to be in the minority.
I'm particularly pleased that Pantheon dwarf lore acknowledges the magic vein in common dwarf lore and doesn't lean too much on the vulgar image of beer swilling buffoons that can only discuss smithing or fighting that some fantasy settings prefer.
This list makes me think of alignment though. Now, I think humans will not be killed on sight anywhere so in theory you can always get a class that you want for your group, but I'm thinking about what these class options could mean for a good/evil aligned party. I still haven't found solid information about the way alignment or factions will be handled in the game and this class/race list here makes me even more curious about that. I'm assuming ogre/skar/darkmyr and elf/archai/halfling will be fairly opposed to each other.
Skrofler said:I see some frightfully neo-conservative opinions concerning who gets to do what but I'm glad they seem to be in the minority.
I'm particularly pleased that Pantheon dwarf lore acknowledges the magic vein in common dwarf lore and doesn't lean too much on the vulgar image of beer swilling buffoons that can only discuss smithing or fighting that some fantasy settings prefer.
This list makes me think of alignment though. Now, I think humans will not be killed on sight anywhere so in theory you can always get a class that you want for your group, but I'm thinking about what these class options could mean for a good/evil aligned party. I still haven't found solid information about the way alignment or factions will be handled in the game and this class/race list here makes me even more curious about that. I'm assuming ogre/skar/darkmyr and elf/archai/halfling will be fairly opposed to each other.
I hope so. I played a human SK in EQ who worshipped Innorruk. I could go anywhere, and that mattered a ton early in the game, even through Kunark. I gave up significant racial boosts and always had to have my gamma jacked so I could see at night, but for me, the trade off to be able to go anywhere I wanted to sell, bank, or bind was awesome. It made a non-sexy racial class a little bit sexy. Without that ability, the faction perks, I can't say I would have any interest in ever being a human.