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The Hybrid Class
meddyck
Member UncommonPosts: 1,282
Each realm will have 5 classes at least according to the Kickstarter page: healer, tank, caster, crafter, and.... hybrid. So what is this hybrid class? Is it just a melee class with spells like thanes, reavers, or champions in DAOC? Any info you want to let us in on for this class, Mark?
DAOC Live (inactive): R11 Cleric R11 Druid R11 Minstrel R9 Eldritch R6 Sorc R6 Scout R6 Healer
Comments
I’m sure you are right on track. And the hybrids will be along the line of..
I’m pretty sure the crafter class will not be mixed I the hybrid system. And each faction would be totally different from the others. And no information on this has been released as far as I know.
Nanulak
It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself. ~Declaration of Arbroath
In quotes Mark has said he wants the hybrid class to be more of a support role. Almost Bard like with buffs and debuffs. I'd imagine depending on how un-mirrored the classes are we will see even the hyrbid classes have vast differences. So using daoc classes as reference perhaps something along the lines of this:
TDD: Bard (sans healing) Buffs and Debuffs, Speed, Heavy CC
Vikings: Skald (Melee but needs to stop to cast) Buffs/Debuffs songs, Speed, Heavy CC
Aurthurians: Sorc (Much like what we saw in Daoc) Buffs/Debuffs, Speed, Heavy CC
Now obviously it could be totally different as far as what kind of class goes where. Honestly I think Mark is going to make it much more drastically different but from what I've read and heard via interviews this seems to be a likely solution.
"Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth."
Originally, and currently, I intended it to be a speed buff/debuff oriented class without healing abilities.Whether this will be part of an archer hybrid (which would make sense if I wanted to get archers in the first 5) or other, I really don't know yet. I'm torn between wanting to try to do something interesting with a sound oriented class, my love for archers or something a bit more odd, but I truly don't know yet.
Back to answering emails.
Mark Jacobs
CEO, City State Entertainment
I think the archer with his longer range should not be the speed class. I think they would be OP then. It would make more sense for the caster class have the speed buffs. Maybe the caster class can have 2 skill paths. One with primarily damage skills and the other with the support buffs like speed and much less damage. Just a thought.
Or something entirely new in a hybrid class where any of the main classes (tank,healer,caster) can chose a support path instead of their main. So we could have a Main Tank or Support Tank where the support tank would be survivable but not do a lot of damage. And the same with the other main classes. This would create some quite unique classes.
I don’t mind playing a support/healer where my healing kind of sucks and I could not res but I would have the support buffs everyone wants.
Nanulak
In Warhammer I created my own Hybrid. I called it the Heal Barrell Engineer. Pretty much I built my gear and realm abilities (forgot the real name) on healing. I ended up creating a very nice support heal spec and I could become a very awesome support class especially in a siege setting since the barrell could pbae heal a lot of players.
I healed Mistwraith and all I got was this stupid tee-shirt!
I think an archer with speed makes a lot of sense if you are looking to make them a scouting class rather than a stealthy sniper like in DAOC. If you are going to scout enemy movements, you need to get out to the enemy's location quickly. Hence: speed. You can always have archery shots that debuff. There's no requirement that a singer class has speed, so you could still make those later on without speed. OTOH it would also work fine to just give speed to different classes in each realm (Arthurian hybrid or archer, Viking healer, TDD caster) then you could make the 5th class whatever you want.
DAOC Live (inactive): R11 Cleric R11 Druid R11 Minstrel R9 Eldritch R6 Sorc R6 Scout R6 Healer
Archer with speed is interesting. Ensures people will group them I guess. Hopefully that's not where their utility ends though - much like a crafter class, I don't want to have to drag someone around.
I am in love with healer hybrids. Warrior priest, friar, mentalist(!!!!), warden, valkyrie, I love it all.
I'd like to say the hybrid doesn't need to be a healer for all 3 realms - but then you end up with a realm that has 2 different healer options, and others are left behind. (Although, the current-day mentalist is a decent healer/caster hybrid)
I think the whole singer = speed thing has been done, though. Not necessary. You can do a lot more with group chants without having to do speed (which they end up twisting anyway)
hybrids are great - as part of the available classes.
Having the ''main' classes isn't a bad thing
MJ likes minstrel style of hybrid classes. Mezzes, stuns, debuffs...ect
i personally wouldnt give speed to archer type classes, it would be OPed imo.
I wouldnt give it to scouts classes either. i love being a scout class, but even then i think it wouldnt be good to have speed. scouts should rely more on camouflage, stealth, "shortcuts" to do their job.
Scouts, by nature, are solo/small groups only. and even though it was hard for them to get into groups in DAoC, it also made sense.
Speed belong in the HT classes or in i.e. skalds/mins/bard imo.
Bowbow (kob hunter) Infecto (kob cave shammy) and Thurka (troll warrior) on Merlin/Midgard DAoC
Thurka on WAR
Care to elaborate on why speed on archers is OP? I don't see it.
My first thought when Mark suggested there would be group speed buffs instead of mounts was that the healer classes should get the speed buff. That way you don't need 2 group slots for healing and speed (or 3 if you want 2 healers which you should). Plus since healers are likely to be the worst damage dealers aside from crafters, you won't have as many solo speeders running away ganking people as you did in DAOC. Of course a healer with speed would make a great 2nd account bot for a caster, but you can't hope to stop everything and still have a game.
DAOC Live (inactive): R11 Cleric R11 Druid R11 Minstrel R9 Eldritch R6 Sorc R6 Scout R6 Healer
I want the hybrid class to be the stealth class with short-to-mid range spell casting that focuses on debuffs and wears medium armor.
E.g. "death knight" magic in chainmail with stealth. Poor weapon skills, if any at all. All melee attacks are magically-augmented or executed via magic. E.g. WoW Shaman melee mechanic (with more Flametongue and Frostbrand rather than Rockbiter and Windfury).
A Nightblade/Riftstalker hybrid from Rift sounds about right, with more streamlined mechanics and debuffs, with fewer buffs.
I don't see speed on archers being overpowered either, technically. Now, if you're talking "take a DAOC archer and put speed", then sure. But that's not what is going on here.
Sounds like a Bard-type class to me....
The huge variety of classes, and how they were all different, was one of my favorite aspects of DAoC, but my favorite classes in that game were easily the "Bards" each realm had. I LOVE speed-buff/debuff classes in the vein of the traditional EQ and DAoC Bard-type classes. Support classes in general, but especially "Bards" are what I gravitate towards as they are usually unlike any other class and with their buffs, and other abilities they take a good group, and make them great.
Albion had the Minstrel - Rogue/Caster - Speed-buff, Offensive buffs, DD, Stealth
Hibernia had the Bard - Caster/Healer - Speed-buff, Healing, CC, Offesnive buffs
Midgard had the Skald - Melee/Support - Speed-buff, Melee dmg, Offensive + Defensive buffs, Regen (my personal fave)
Hopefully, at least one realm has a true Bard-type Hybrid/support class that is like either the Skald or the Minstrel from DAoC, I don't really enjoy healing so I wouldn't shed a tear if there is no Hibernian Bard-ish class. It sounds like MJ has fond memories of the "Bards" too, hopefully those memories are fond enough that he makes sure each realm has one, but I'll be thrilled as long as at least one realm has one.
Speed on an archer would probably lead it to being OP, heres why I think it could be. Usually archers need to use a kiting style of battle because they really can't take much damage, this always leads to some kind of slow ability or trap so they can keep distance, which they usually need to do max damage with the bow. Giving speed to this class would allow them to really never be caught and giving them the tool to stay far away from any melee character. ~Now if you make the speed buff to be null when in combat I can see that being fine. But a scout is really meant to be alone ahead of the group to, well scout, so other scouts would have to stay with the group if they were the only means of speed which I guess could bring in some strategy of how many your willing to have out and how many will need to stay back.
I think a minstrel type class would be the perfect fit for a speed buff class, they can also have lots of other support spells to be a powerful group oriented class. But then you run the risk of having buff bots, which MJ has said he will try and counter by making it hard for them to be feasible, which you can do by making alot of the support skills needing certain triggers for them to be able to cast or to maxamize the efficiency of them while in combat, ie. like large aoe's, longer lasting effects, more powerful buffs.
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