Mesmer - Guild Wars: it's so much fun watching mobs and players kill themselves.
Ritualist - Guild Wars: this class allows you to have spirits that do many things and you can as well zap to death your ennemies.
Lore-master - Lord of the Rings Online: this class does so many things and I love pets and this one has a few you can pick. It's a mix between caster, pet, cc, it's very fun, it's my favorite pet class so far.
Herald of Xotli - Age of Conan: I'm not fond of melee classes generally but this one is so much fun, it mixes casting with melee and you can turn into a badass demon. Let's just say the class makes me want to buy AoC (I was in the beta).
Minstrel - Lord of the Rings Online: I don't like healer classes generally too but this one can be really fun.
Burglar - Lord of the Rings Online: while I don't like melee classes, I usually like the rogue/thief classes and I always play one. My favorite rogue/thief class so far of all the MMOs I've played is the LOTRO version. You get stealth, CC, tricks, stealing, etc.
1. Herald of Xotli (AoC) By far the most fun class i ever played. The lore was great... the gameplay was great. The feel was just.. well... Great.
2. Druid (WoW) Jack of all trades and a fun roleplaying character. Spent most of my time in WoW playing one.
3. This is a hard one...Shaman or Warrior (WoW). Why shaman? Had a great feel to it... A good jakc of all trades hybrid. Fun to play. Why Warrior? Because it felt like a warrior. Its just that simple( And it could wear or cloth types which made RP allot more fun )
I've been uplinked and downloaded, I've been inputted and outsourced. I know the upside of downsizing, I know the downside of upgrading.
I'm a high-tech low-life. A cutting-edge, state-of-the-art, bi-coastal multi-tasker, and I can give you a gigabyte in a nanosecond.
I'm new-wave, but I'm old-school; and my inner child is outward-bound.
I'm a hot-wired, heat-seeking, warm-hearted cool customer; voice-activated and bio-degradable.
1 EQ1 Bard I loved my bard in eq1 was the only toon I really ever lvled and raided with . Loved charm kiting was fun and having Selo's was great though being able to run so fast sometimes had a downfall like turning your head away for a second and then next your falling off a cliff =/.
2 EQ2 Templar when I started playing eq2 I tryed a dirge but really didn't like that class so I switched to a templar and never looked back was a lot of fun being about to solo, in groups and raids. Being about to put out 5k dps on a raid was cool to when yah didn't have any 1 to heal.
3 I guess for this spot is a Daoc Druid for me loved my pet and being about to kill people with the right spec on was nice.
We need a MMORPG Cataclysm asap, finish the dark age of MMORPGS now!
"Everything you're bitching about is wrong. People don't have the time to invest in corpse runs, impossible zones, or long winded quests. Sometimes, they just want to pop on and play." "Then maybe MMORPGs aren't for you."
I forgot about the EQ1 Monks.. I might have to revise my list and delete Hunter for Monk.. Give a monk SoW, and send him out pulling for your group, that was just great.. What I have noticed to far is that a lot of the classes listed are from older games.. Games back in the day that "role defining" abilities or skills made you niche.. good or bad.. Did this cause problems in some areas.. Yes.. and No.. However homoganizing everything into bland dps classes, so no one feels left out was the wrong step..
Oh.. btw.. I loved how many of you commented on the EQ1 Bards.. It wasn't one of my favorites to play because I sucked at twisting songs.. but damn.. That had to be the hardest class to play from ANY game ever.. It was complex and wanted.. There was never a group I was in that would not want a Bard if we could get one..
EQ = Ranger. Could take down any outdoor mob that didnt summon. Was a great class and kind of set up a trend with me ( as you will see) once you got to grips with the finer skills of the Ranger they were a fun and powerful class to play.
WoW = Hunter. different take on my fav char, addition of pets was fun for a while. The fqact that you could "Tame" was the greatest oppurtunity for RP in the game. you could go for the diverse...my pet crab "fishsticks" stayed with me forever.
Lotro = Warder. again another Ranger type. this one could hold his own in melee too.
1. CoH - Blaster Assault Rifle/Energy Manipulation - my First character in any MMO, to level up to maximum Level, was a real fun character to play. While my only assignment was to damage everything we were fighting, I had fun doing it. It was great to be able to dish out damage, even without being totally defensless up close
2. WoW - Rogue - While I only played WoW for a short time, I enjoyed being able to sneak past guards and enemies rather than having to fight EVERY mob I came by. It's simply just a pleasure to secretly rob an entire base, without being seen doing it.
3. Tabula Rasa - Commando branch - also a bit more senseless damageclass, it was fun to just run in with your blaster and bombing everything
1. Dervish (Guild Wars) - aka the dancing priest of death. The whole mechanic of managing personal buffs while spinning a massive scythe just appeals to my Grim Reaper loving days.
2. Druid (World of Warcraft) - Possibly just because I played my druid pretty much exclusively for the years I played WoW but also because the versatility appealed to my ADD and indecisiveness. Also they're just plain beastly. =P
3. Red Mage (Final Fantasy XI) - Again this helped with my versatility fetish but it was also a great source of nostalgia for me, especially seeing higher level Reds with class armor that alluded back to the olden days of FF. Square went even further though by not just making the class a hybrid but making them pros at debuffing and managing mobs which provided for an interesting experience.
Such a difficult question to answer. For me, I'll give the first two. However, there are just too many competing for that third spot, to list.
1. Warden: LOTRO - Really takes some skill to play and could never be considered a button-mashing class. Learning the various gambits does require some effort on the part of the player.
2. Witch Elf / Witch Hunter: Warhammer - While this class doesn't require nearly the skill to play as does the Warden in LOTRO, this class is just downright fun to play. The added bonus is seeing just how much you can piss-off your opponents if you play the class correctly.
1. Thane (DAOC) - Hammers of DOOOOMMMM! Seriously, I love this class and is still my favorite to date. I have rarely seen a class like it since.
2. Shaman (WOW) - I love the versatility of the class and there is always something to do. Cleanse, drop totems, cast shields, etc....
3. Merc (DAOC) - My first class and still some of the best combat styles. Lightly armored DPS class with many positional styles. It was great fun.
Are you me? This is exactly my choice.
I loved the Thane, but my main was a Mercenary, and fave in WoW was the Shaman.
I loved the Shaman because I could do amazing Melee Damage AND Heal AND get fast Movement Speed. I was unstoppable in low tier PvP, even destroyed Twinks. Totem dropping is sooo fun, turning into a wolf is hilarious, and having high HP and high 2H damage...AND being able to heal your allies? There's nothing better!
I loved the Thane because it was a Tank with ranged lighting. The lightning effects were by far the coolest I've ever seen in a game, and the abilities were just awesome. Being able to have the high HP and armor of a tank with the ability to hit hard from range (and LIGHTING with THUNDER sound effects) is just too cool to pass up.
Mercenary though by far was my favorite. Having the high defense of a tank but the high damage of a rogue was a blast. I could protect my allies, be a low-threat (hard to kill) target, AND snare my enemies while chasing him, doing lots of damage while making it impossible for him to move because of Behind-Snares? Ohhh yea! Plus I was able to be a Saracen tank and only get laughed at MOST of the time instead of ALL the time.
If being a developer means being quiet, mature, well-spoken, and disconnected from the community, then by all means do me a favor and believe I'm not one.
My own personal picks though would be my beginnings in UO and Everquest.1
1) UO - Swordsmanship - Halberd. Nothing was cooler than grabbing a black death robe and a GM Halberd and killing mages in 2 hits. I never met a mage I couldn't beat, and I was by far one of the best 12 year old PvPers in the game. I may not have been "king of the mountain" but I won the majority of fights and if it was against a mage- I always won. Always. Whether it was by their death or their retreat, that's different. But I'd always get the first hit in, and once I got that *first hit* they would forever be running away casting IN VAS MANI!
2) EQ Paladin - Never again have I found a class so awesome. I could Solo, rarely died, was a Holy warrior, a healer, and a tank (leader) but mainly this: LAY ON HANDS. Need I say more? I used this ability 20 times per day, constantly on people who were about to die running away from mobs. "You receive a tell from Surivor, "Wow, lol, I almost gave up and thought I was gonna die, and then I saw my health was at 100% and I made it. THANKS REGETA!"
I spent 2 years playing EQ 2, mostly with my paladin, and I never made it past level 19 because I was always sitting around BlackBurrow protecting newbies from what would otherwise be their death.
3) EQ Bard - I barely played this class, but I skyrocketed to level 17 (i got higher, but dont remember it bc it was a PowerLevel and then I quit) but this class was amazing. SPEED SONGS! Wow, it was SO COOL! Dual wielding swords was by far my favorite, and being able to wear all blue platemail? Too cool for school.
4) Minstrel - DAOC- Albion - Only this class had the awesomeness and speed of a Bard with the ability ot STEALTH and CHARM a pet. Besides damage which it lacked (but I still got the fun of fighting!) the ability to Speed Song + Stealth + CHARM made it feel like the most hybrid class of all time, and definitely one of my favorites...especially when I learned the importance of MEZ! LOL! The only thing cooler than the Minstrel was...
5) Bard - DAoC - Hibernia - This class could Speed Song + Heal. These were the three most important abilities, and in DAoC a Healer determined the entire battle. Being able to have the Speed Song, a nice instant-stun, and Heal (be the cornerstone of victory) was actually more fun than any healing class I've ever played.
I picked up the DAoC Bard because I felt I "had to" or else Hibernia would always lose. I didn't really want to play a Healer. Rarely do. But this Healer class made me actually LOVE playing as a Healer- almost so much that I think if I picked Hibernia instead of Albion, my favorite (and only max lvl char) would have been a BARD, not a Mercenary, and that's saying A LOT because
1) I rarely ever play a healer
2) DAoC was my #1 game, and IMO the best game of all time BY FAR (excluding UO bc I was a teenager)
If being a developer means being quiet, mature, well-spoken, and disconnected from the community, then by all means do me a favor and believe I'm not one.
3rd - DAOC: Shadowblade. I never had more fun playing a stealthy character than I did with a Shadowblade. That and Midgard's Left Axe WTFPWNED Hib and Alb Dual Wield any day.
Tied for 3rd - The Matrix Online: Kung Fu Master. Or Karate Master. There's nothing more awesome than flattening some gun-toting idiot with three hits. MxO excelled at this before the IP was purchased by SOE (damn them) and ruined it for all eternity.
2nd - Anarchy Online: Adventurer. I am so surprised that no one else mentioned this "WoW Druid-like" class. This class pretty much had it all - good heals, decent DPS, lots of utility buffs... and THE LEET MORPH! Nothing beats Form of Greatness!
1st - WoW: Paladin. Tankability, heals, and DPS wrapped up in one neat package.
Honorable Mention: Diablo 2's Paladin also had a lot of DPS potential but could not really heal much. A Freezealot Paladin with a life/mana sucking weapon, however... can we say "Energizer Bunny?"
1. EQ1, Shadow Knight. Easily my favorite class in any game ever. It's a tank! With DoTs! That can Feign Death! And it has a pet. (OK, not a great pet, but every evil knight needs a minion, right?) It was just amazing fun for me. After the Shadow Knight, I have a short list of other classes in other games that I enjoyed, and it's a little difficult to rank them. They fall far behind the Shadow Knight. But I will try.
2. EQ2, Assassin. I never played EQ2 to the end game, so I can't comment on how this class is throughout the game or on raids, but for me, I really loved feeling like a living Cuisinart, slicing-and-dicing (and sometimes finely mincing) the monsters of Norrath.
3. Jade Dynasty, Balo. I love my Balo. He's big and brutal. It's a tankish, axe-wielding class, a Killer Meatshield. (I have a female Balo too, but I've never really played her... The big guy just seems better for the role.)
Honorable Mentions:
EQ1, Berserker -- A late addition to the game, but I loved my Vah Shir berserker. She was one mean kitty.
EQ1, Necromancer -- Oh, I was an evil, evil necromancer. And worse, a gnome.
EQ2, Warden -- This class was a lot of fun for a healing class.
WoW, Hunter. I know... I was a huntard. I will admit it. Although WoW didn't really turn out to be a game I was all that into, I did enjoy my Hunter while I was there. I liked taming pets and ranged fighting.
SWG, Cantina Dancer... Not actually a class, but when I played during beta, I basically never left the cantina.
1. Old school SWG: Master Pistoleer, Master smuggler, TKA defense line and a lil medic for Stim B's.
Slicing weapons and making drugs. Smuggler and Pistoleer specials made for a lot of crowd control, not to mention that Smugglers also got feign death And paired with Pistoleer defenses and defenses from TKA and a little healing on top off that, made you quite the die hard Scoundrel.
2. World of Warcraft: Retribution Paladin WotLK edition
Although the class changed quite a few times over the course of the expansion and went from overpowered to simply pretty decent in the end. I had a lot of fun with it during the expansion mostly raiding but also played around 500 arena matches and a whole lot of bg's, But as raid dps I was always topping or in the top 5 on dps during all encounters in 25 mans.
But it had so much more than just dps to offer. Good buffs, auras, crit buffs, damage buffs. Wings Healing both passive and active and not to mention Lay On Hands, when used correctly can save the day time and again. Melee bubble, shielding. dispelling, blessing of freedom also used for stun breaking on some fights. The ablity to sacrifice yourself so a healer can surive for wipe recovery. And last and not least the bubble, 12 seconds invulnerability thank you very much. Having this made it extremely hard to die in raids unless there was a wipe ofcourse. Also fun to use as a wipe saver if the main tank dies to run and taunt the boss to keep it from killing the raid until the off tank can pick it up again, which should happen well before 10 secs in any decent raid group.
3. Anarchy Online: Martial Artist
Awesome dps, decent heals and a good tank for limited periods when your evasive specials where up, made this a very fun and always useful class to play. 5 MA's mission groups where teh awesome!
1) Rogue, WoW - rogue combat was probably the most fun combat I've ever had in an MMO. So much more active, and the energy/CP/finisher system was so dynamic and awesome. Plus, blowing cooldowns ftw. While playing other classes in various games at times you would feel like a god, when you felt like a god on Rogue it was just more fun. Particularly in PvP when say 2 people are focusing on you, you have 50 HP left and cheat death procs, you blow a bunch of cooldowns, you just won't die and you somehow manage to destroy both other people.
2) Sorceress, Diablo 2 - what can I say, teleport on no cooldown is lol. I refused to play any other class because they didn't have teleport, and I remember being so disappointed when I found out Blink had a 15 second cooldown in WoW.
3) Warden, LOTRO - one of the most interesting classes I've played in an MMO. Gambits are fun times.
1 - The Mesmer/Necro combination in GW. Hexes are a truly amazing mechanic.
2 - The Mage followed by the Wizard or Sage change in Ragnarok Online. Two very distinct playstyles despite the fact that they utilize a very similar skillset.
(This reasoning expands to all of the classes in RO, with the Archer advancements being the most obvious. However, Wizard/Sage is the favourite.)
3 - Not sure what deserves to be put here, there's little left that truly stands out. I guess the idea behind WoW's Shaman (circa 2006) was pretty neat. If the class were translated into another games engine there would be no question about it. A powerful hybrid, with the added bonus of plopping down a totem every now and then for a cool factor.
Comments
Mesmer - Guild Wars: it's so much fun watching mobs and players kill themselves.
Ritualist - Guild Wars: this class allows you to have spirits that do many things and you can as well zap to death your ennemies.
Lore-master - Lord of the Rings Online: this class does so many things and I love pets and this one has a few you can pick. It's a mix between caster, pet, cc, it's very fun, it's my favorite pet class so far.
Herald of Xotli - Age of Conan: I'm not fond of melee classes generally but this one is so much fun, it mixes casting with melee and you can turn into a badass demon. Let's just say the class makes me want to buy AoC (I was in the beta).
Minstrel - Lord of the Rings Online: I don't like healer classes generally too but this one can be really fun.
Burglar - Lord of the Rings Online: while I don't like melee classes, I usually like the rogue/thief classes and I always play one. My favorite rogue/thief class so far of all the MMOs I've played is the LOTRO version. You get stealth, CC, tricks, stealing, etc.
1) Og Mage - Asheron's Call
2) Og Mage - Asheron's Cal
3) Og Mage - Asheron's call
A very hard one....
1) Bloodmage Vanguard
2) Warden Lotro
3) Bard EQ1
In general DAoC had the best and most diverse classes of any game.
Best MMO experiences : EQ(PvE), DAoC(PvP), WoW(total package) LOTRO (worldfeel) GW2 (Artstyle and animations and worlddesign) SWTOR (Story immersion) TSW (story) ESO (character advancement)
1. Herald of Xotli (AoC) By far the most fun class i ever played. The lore was great... the gameplay was great. The feel was just.. well... Great.
2. Druid (WoW) Jack of all trades and a fun roleplaying character. Spent most of my time in WoW playing one.
3. This is a hard one...Shaman or Warrior (WoW). Why shaman? Had a great feel to it... A good jakc of all trades hybrid. Fun to play. Why Warrior? Because it felt like a warrior. Its just that simple( And it could wear or cloth types which made RP allot more fun
)
I've been uplinked and downloaded, I've been inputted and outsourced. I know the upside of downsizing, I know the downside of upgrading.
I'm a high-tech low-life. A cutting-edge, state-of-the-art, bi-coastal multi-tasker, and I can give you a gigabyte in a nanosecond.
I'm new-wave, but I'm old-school; and my inner child is outward-bound.
I'm a hot-wired, heat-seeking, warm-hearted cool customer; voice-activated and bio-degradable.
RIP George Carlin.
for me its
1 EQ1 Bard I loved my bard in eq1 was the only toon I really ever lvled and raided with . Loved charm kiting was fun and having Selo's was great though being able to run so fast sometimes had a downfall like turning your head away for a second and then next your falling off a cliff =/.
2 EQ2 Templar when I started playing eq2 I tryed a dirge but really didn't like that class so I switched to a templar and never looked back was a lot of fun being about to solo, in groups and raids. Being about to put out 5k dps on a raid was cool to when yah didn't have any 1 to heal.
3 I guess for this spot is a Daoc Druid for me loved my pet and being about to kill people with the right spec on was nice.
Everquest 1 Necromancer
Everquest 1 Beastlord
Vanguard Hayatet Shaman
We need a MMORPG Cataclysm asap, finish the dark age of MMORPGS now!
"Everything you're bitching about is wrong. People don't have the time to invest in corpse runs, impossible zones, or long winded quests. Sometimes, they just want to pop on and play."
"Then maybe MMORPGs aren't for you."
I forgot about the EQ1 Monks.. I might have to revise my list and delete Hunter for Monk.. Give a monk SoW, and send him out pulling for your group, that was just great.. What I have noticed to far is that a lot of the classes listed are from older games.. Games back in the day that "role defining" abilities or skills made you niche.. good or bad.. Did this cause problems in some areas.. Yes.. and No.. However homoganizing everything into bland dps classes, so no one feels left out was the wrong step..
Oh.. btw.. I loved how many of you commented on the EQ1 Bards.. It wasn't one of my favorites to play because I sucked at twisting songs.. but damn.. That had to be the hardest class to play from ANY game ever.. It was complex and wanted.. There was never a group I was in that would not want a Bard if we could get one..
EQ = Ranger. Could take down any outdoor mob that didnt summon. Was a great class and kind of set up a trend with me ( as you will see) once you got to grips with the finer skills of the Ranger they were a fun and powerful class to play.
WoW = Hunter. different take on my fav char, addition of pets was fun for a while. The fqact that you could "Tame" was the greatest oppurtunity for RP in the game. you could go for the diverse...my pet crab "fishsticks" stayed with me forever.
Lotro = Warder. again another Ranger type. this one could hold his own in melee too.
1. CoH - Blaster Assault Rifle/Energy Manipulation - my First character in any MMO, to level up to maximum Level, was a real fun character to play. While my only assignment was to damage everything we were fighting, I had fun doing it. It was great to be able to dish out damage, even without being totally defensless up close
2. WoW - Rogue - While I only played WoW for a short time, I enjoyed being able to sneak past guards and enemies rather than having to fight EVERY mob I came by. It's simply just a pleasure to secretly rob an entire base, without being seen doing it.
3. Tabula Rasa - Commando branch - also a bit more senseless damageclass, it was fun to just run in with your blaster and bombing everything
In no particular order of preference:
1. Dervish (Guild Wars) - aka the dancing priest of death. The whole mechanic of managing personal buffs while spinning a massive scythe just appeals to my Grim Reaper loving days.
2. Druid (World of Warcraft) - Possibly just because I played my druid pretty much exclusively for the years I played WoW but also because the versatility appealed to my ADD and indecisiveness. Also they're just plain beastly. =P
3. Red Mage (Final Fantasy XI) - Again this helped with my versatility fetish but it was also a great source of nostalgia for me, especially seeing higher level Reds with class armor that alluded back to the olden days of FF. Square went even further though by not just making the class a hybrid but making them pros at debuffing and managing mobs which provided for an interesting experience.
Such a difficult question to answer. For me, I'll give the first two. However, there are just too many competing for that third spot, to list.
1. Warden: LOTRO - Really takes some skill to play and could never be considered a button-mashing class. Learning the various gambits does require some effort on the part of the player.
2. Witch Elf / Witch Hunter: Warhammer - While this class doesn't require nearly the skill to play as does the Warden in LOTRO, this class is just downright fun to play. The added bonus is seeing just how much you can piss-off your opponents if you play the class correctly.
Your fail comment, failed.
1. Mesmer from Guild Wars. Powerful abilities based on your opponents actions.
2. Well, that's really my only true favorite.
Oderint, dum metuant.
1st: Fixer @ Anarchy Online. Fast - Faster - Fixer!
2nd: Cleric @ Vanguard, best MMO healer class I know
1. Necromancer - Guild Wars (Minion Master = awsomeness)
2. Warlock - WoW (Moar DoTs!!!!)
3. Shaman - WAR (Instant rezzes and fun knockbacks)
In no particular order:
- Herald of Xotli (AoC) - the one, bright, shining spot in AoC at launch.
- Druid (Vanguard) - I loved my WoW druid too, but the VG druid seemed more "druidy" and I had more fun with him.
- Captain (LotRO) - not a lot of people liked this class for some reason, but I enjoyed it quite a bit.
Current: None
Played: WoW, CoX, SWG, LotRO, EVE, AoC, VG, CO, Ryzom, DF, WAR
Tried: Lineage2, Dofus, EQ2, CoS, FE, UO, Wurm, Wakfu
Future: The Repopulation, ArcheAge, Black Desert, EQN
Are you me? This is exactly my choice.
I loved the Thane, but my main was a Mercenary, and fave in WoW was the Shaman.
I loved the Shaman because I could do amazing Melee Damage AND Heal AND get fast Movement Speed. I was unstoppable in low tier PvP, even destroyed Twinks. Totem dropping is sooo fun, turning into a wolf is hilarious, and having high HP and high 2H damage...AND being able to heal your allies? There's nothing better!
I loved the Thane because it was a Tank with ranged lighting. The lightning effects were by far the coolest I've ever seen in a game, and the abilities were just awesome. Being able to have the high HP and armor of a tank with the ability to hit hard from range (and LIGHTING with THUNDER sound effects) is just too cool to pass up.
Mercenary though by far was my favorite. Having the high defense of a tank but the high damage of a rogue was a blast. I could protect my allies, be a low-threat (hard to kill) target, AND snare my enemies while chasing him, doing lots of damage while making it impossible for him to move because of Behind-Snares? Ohhh yea! Plus I was able to be a Saracen tank and only get laughed at MOST of the time instead of ALL the time.
If being a developer means being quiet, mature, well-spoken, and disconnected from the community, then by all means do me a favor and believe I'm not one.
My own personal picks though would be my beginnings in UO and Everquest.1
1) UO - Swordsmanship - Halberd. Nothing was cooler than grabbing a black death robe and a GM Halberd and killing mages in 2 hits. I never met a mage I couldn't beat, and I was by far one of the best 12 year old PvPers in the game. I may not have been "king of the mountain" but I won the majority of fights and if it was against a mage- I always won. Always. Whether it was by their death or their retreat, that's different. But I'd always get the first hit in, and once I got that *first hit* they would forever be running away casting IN VAS MANI!
2) EQ Paladin - Never again have I found a class so awesome. I could Solo, rarely died, was a Holy warrior, a healer, and a tank (leader) but mainly this: LAY ON HANDS. Need I say more? I used this ability 20 times per day, constantly on people who were about to die running away from mobs. "You receive a tell from Surivor, "Wow, lol, I almost gave up and thought I was gonna die, and then I saw my health was at 100% and I made it. THANKS REGETA!"
I spent 2 years playing EQ 2, mostly with my paladin, and I never made it past level 19 because I was always sitting around BlackBurrow protecting newbies from what would otherwise be their death.
3) EQ Bard - I barely played this class, but I skyrocketed to level 17 (i got higher, but dont remember it bc it was a PowerLevel and then I quit) but this class was amazing. SPEED SONGS! Wow, it was SO COOL! Dual wielding swords was by far my favorite, and being able to wear all blue platemail? Too cool for school.
4) Minstrel - DAOC- Albion - Only this class had the awesomeness and speed of a Bard with the ability ot STEALTH and CHARM a pet. Besides damage which it lacked (but I still got the fun of fighting!) the ability to Speed Song + Stealth + CHARM made it feel like the most hybrid class of all time, and definitely one of my favorites...especially when I learned the importance of MEZ! LOL! The only thing cooler than the Minstrel was...
5) Bard - DAoC - Hibernia - This class could Speed Song + Heal. These were the three most important abilities, and in DAoC a Healer determined the entire battle. Being able to have the Speed Song, a nice instant-stun, and Heal (be the cornerstone of victory) was actually more fun than any healing class I've ever played.
I picked up the DAoC Bard because I felt I "had to" or else Hibernia would always lose. I didn't really want to play a Healer. Rarely do. But this Healer class made me actually LOVE playing as a Healer- almost so much that I think if I picked Hibernia instead of Albion, my favorite (and only max lvl char) would have been a BARD, not a Mercenary, and that's saying A LOT because
1) I rarely ever play a healer
2) DAoC was my #1 game, and IMO the best game of all time BY FAR (excluding UO bc I was a teenager)
If being a developer means being quiet, mature, well-spoken, and disconnected from the community, then by all means do me a favor and believe I'm not one.
1) Darkfall, Classless-no restrictions to gameplay
2) Disciple, Vanguard-Melee healer
3) Druid, WoW
Top five listed from Favorite to Least Favorite
1) Robotics Character: Global Agenda
2) Scrapper (most preferably broadsword/regen) : CoX
3) Disciple: Vanguard
4) Rifle/Mutant : Fallen Earth
5) Warrior Priest: Warhammer
3rd - DAOC: Shadowblade. I never had more fun playing a stealthy character than I did with a Shadowblade. That and Midgard's Left Axe WTFPWNED Hib and Alb Dual Wield any day.
Tied for 3rd - The Matrix Online: Kung Fu Master. Or Karate Master. There's nothing more awesome than flattening some gun-toting idiot with three hits. MxO excelled at this before the IP was purchased by SOE (damn them) and ruined it for all eternity.
2nd - Anarchy Online: Adventurer. I am so surprised that no one else mentioned this "WoW Druid-like" class. This class pretty much had it all - good heals, decent DPS, lots of utility buffs... and THE LEET MORPH! Nothing beats Form of Greatness!
1st - WoW: Paladin. Tankability, heals, and DPS wrapped up in one neat package.
Honorable Mention: Diablo 2's Paladin also had a lot of DPS potential but could not really heal much. A Freezealot Paladin with a life/mana sucking weapon, however... can we say "Energizer Bunny?"
1. EQ1, Shadow Knight. Easily my favorite class in any game ever. It's a tank! With DoTs! That can Feign Death! And it has a pet. (OK, not a great pet, but every evil knight needs a minion, right?) It was just amazing fun for me. After the Shadow Knight, I have a short list of other classes in other games that I enjoyed, and it's a little difficult to rank them. They fall far behind the Shadow Knight. But I will try.
2. EQ2, Assassin. I never played EQ2 to the end game, so I can't comment on how this class is throughout the game or on raids, but for me, I really loved feeling like a living Cuisinart, slicing-and-dicing (and sometimes finely mincing) the monsters of Norrath.
3. Jade Dynasty, Balo. I love my Balo. He's big and brutal. It's a tankish, axe-wielding class, a Killer Meatshield. (I have a female Balo too, but I've never really played her... The big guy just seems better for the role.)
Honorable Mentions:
EQ1, Berserker -- A late addition to the game, but I loved my Vah Shir berserker. She was one mean kitty.
EQ1, Necromancer -- Oh, I was an evil, evil necromancer. And worse, a gnome.
EQ2, Warden -- This class was a lot of fun for a healing class.
WoW, Hunter. I know... I was a huntard. I will admit it. Although WoW didn't really turn out to be a game I was all that into, I did enjoy my Hunter while I was there. I liked taming pets and ranged fighting.
SWG, Cantina Dancer... Not actually a class, but when I played during beta, I basically never left the cantina.
1. Old school SWG: Master Pistoleer, Master smuggler, TKA defense line and a lil medic for Stim B's.
Slicing weapons and making drugs. Smuggler and Pistoleer specials made for a lot of crowd control, not to mention that Smugglers also got feign death
And paired with Pistoleer defenses and defenses from TKA and a little healing on top off that, made you quite the die hard Scoundrel.
2. World of Warcraft: Retribution Paladin WotLK edition
Although the class changed quite a few times over the course of the expansion and went from overpowered to simply pretty decent in the end. I had a lot of fun with it during the expansion mostly raiding but also played around 500 arena matches and a whole lot of bg's, But as raid dps I was always topping or in the top 5 on dps during all encounters in 25 mans.
But it had so much more than just dps to offer. Good buffs, auras, crit buffs, damage buffs. Wings
Healing both passive and active and not to mention Lay On Hands, when used correctly can save the day time and again. Melee bubble, shielding. dispelling, blessing of freedom also used for stun breaking on some fights. The ablity to sacrifice yourself so a healer can surive for wipe recovery. And last and not least the bubble, 12 seconds invulnerability thank you very much. Having this made it extremely hard to die in raids unless there was a wipe ofcourse. Also fun to use as a wipe saver if the main tank dies to run and taunt the boss to keep it from killing the raid until the off tank can pick it up again, which should happen well before 10 secs in any decent raid group.
3. Anarchy Online: Martial Artist
Awesome dps, decent heals and a good tank for limited periods when your evasive specials where up, made this a very fun and always useful class to play. 5 MA's mission groups where teh awesome!
1 - Achura, Eve online circa 2007, no others need apply.
1) Rogue, WoW - rogue combat was probably the most fun combat I've ever had in an MMO. So much more active, and the energy/CP/finisher system was so dynamic and awesome. Plus, blowing cooldowns ftw. While playing other classes in various games at times you would feel like a god, when you felt like a god on Rogue it was just more fun. Particularly in PvP when say 2 people are focusing on you, you have 50 HP left and cheat death procs, you blow a bunch of cooldowns, you just won't die and you somehow manage to destroy both other people.
2) Sorceress, Diablo 2 - what can I say, teleport on no cooldown is lol. I refused to play any other class because they didn't have teleport, and I remember being so disappointed when I found out Blink had a 15 second cooldown in WoW.
3) Warden, LOTRO - one of the most interesting classes I've played in an MMO. Gambits are fun times.
1 - The Mesmer/Necro combination in GW. Hexes are a truly amazing mechanic.
2 - The Mage followed by the Wizard or Sage change in Ragnarok Online. Two very distinct playstyles despite the fact that they utilize a very similar skillset.
(This reasoning expands to all of the classes in RO, with the Archer advancements being the most obvious. However, Wizard/Sage is the favourite.)
3 - Not sure what deserves to be put here, there's little left that truly stands out. I guess the idea behind WoW's Shaman (circa 2006) was pretty neat. If the class were translated into another games engine there would be no question about it. A powerful hybrid, with the added bonus of plopping down a totem every now and then for a cool factor.