Not sure if it's been discussed yet in this thread, but what class is everyone going to play when the game is officially released in Europe?
I've taken a few classes to around lvl 14 and I'm still unsure what to go with.
My thoughts so far:
Assassin: Takes a while to get going and has to heavily rely on stealth and attacks from behind to do maximum damage. Survivability is poor in general and struggles to take down 2 mobs of the same lvl at the same time.
I understand that in end game or at later levels the assassin is one of the top damage dealers and great in PvP and PVE. So they must get a lot better later on.
Ranger: Very similar situation to the Assassin early on. Doesn't do as much raw damage as an Assassin but has much better survivability and can kite around much stronger mobs and even elites with his new bow. Of all the ranged DPS classes the Ranger seems to be the weakest in terms of damage but the survivability and crowd control skills make up for it. I've learnt you can't just charge in with a Ranger, you need to plan your attacks, setup traps, and use your surroundings and your many skills to your advantage.
Templar: The first class I levelled to 10 so memory is a bit vague. Basically has very high survivability but probably has the weakest DPS in the game. Once you hit lvl 10 most of your new skills are defensive. Lots of shield blocking, counter attacks, taunts etc. But not a lot of pure damage dealing skills. Looks like it will fulfil it's job of primary tank though. Hard as nails.
Gladiator: Obviously the same as Templar until lvl 10 but then the Gladiator gets to choose either a huge two handed sword or a massive pole arm. Both weapons have very slow attack speeds but hit hard for big damage. The Gladiator also starts to get some nice damage skills, both for single target and AOE. Seems to be a good all round class to play and a good one for beginners. Can do some very impressive damage if the crits appear and can wear plate armour and has high HP so the survivability is very good.
Cleric: This class surprised me the most. It's the main healing class in the game so you'd think it would be made of paper... wrong! With the ability to wear chain armour, do decent damage plus all the healing and buffs. This class is more than enough reason to choose a healing profession. Most MMOs I play tend to be lacking in healers, especially when looking for a group. I think things will different in Aion. A recent poll over at AionSource.com has the Cleric as the most popular class.
The rest of the classes I am yet to try. The
Sorcerer is said to do the best overall damage in the game but has very poor survivability as you'd expect. Looks to have some nice toys though. The
Chanter is more or less the same as a Cleric but is more focused on group buffs with healing as their secondary function. Last but not least the
Spirit Master. Twinned with the Sorcerer and so also does very good damage, but would appear to have better survivability due to their use of pets. Having played as a Warlock for years in WoW the SM probably attracts me the least of all the classes. Just because I've been there and done that style of play. They seem popular though and I've heard they're one of the better classes for PvP.
So there's my small class review. For more info and further reading I'd recommend the
AionSource Wiki. Plus here's a nice
HD vid of all the classes in-game.
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