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Interesting Article on classes and combat from ArcheageSource (by Shinaji from Archeagesource)
http://archeagesource.com/topic/207-expecting-archeage-combat/
Welcome back to Expecting ArcheAge.
Now in our last segment we talked about what to expect from a Sandbox MMORPG and the ways in which it differs from the current standard. So this time I think we should cruise a bit by talking about some of the things you should already be familiar with and how they are done. Today we will talk about combat.
Recently there has been a lot of argument about what is commonly referred to as “Tab Targeting” to “Free Targeting” even some talk about “Auto Targeting.” With many new games hitting the scene with these shiny new mechanics a lot of people have been expecting if not demanding all new games have Free Targeting. Now, as to what exactly ArcheAge will have? Well by the looks from videos it seems to be Tab Targeting, but that does not necessarily have to be a bad thing.
Even if it does turn out to be a tab targeting system that does not mean that it cannot be strategic and tactical. Positioning can still play a role and there is a lot of room for the makings of an exciting combat system. So let us take what we do know. Jake Song has said in interviews that they are working to make each skill unique and are even working on combos between skills. Here is an example he used:
“We are also thinking of making some combos between skills. For example, if Shock Arrow is used after Floating Bubble, the selected character will be sent farther than when struck on ground.”
Now before we explore this, let us take a look at some abilities we have heard about and seen. Some videos have shown examples of a character levitating another. Jake has spoken about this being a Psychokinetic skill, being able to lift and throw a target. Another is being able to trap someone in a bubble and raise them into the air. There was also talk of the ability where a hand is formed from the earth to hold an enemy target.
Now I do not know about you, but this sounds like a set up for a lot or strategic fighting, especially when we now consider these“combo skills”. So let us consider the previously given example. Being able to send an enemy flying away from you by lifting it up into the air and then using shock arrow to knock them away seems like a great way to give yourself some time and some room to run away. But why stop there? If we are going to be mixing skills to make combos, why not being able to electrocute the monster in the floating ball of water for more damage than using either skill separately? Shoot arrows through walls of fire to add fire damage to your shots? Why not?
Now I’m not sure how you feel about this but this sounds like a good basis for some good group combat. It may not be a non-targeting system, but so far it sounds like there are enough plans put into it to making it exciting, engaging and tactical.
Now I went on about abilities, so it is possible that you are now wondering about classes. Am I right? That’s ok you don’t need to answer that.
In ArcheAge the same freedom I spoke about in the previous article extends to this aspect as well, you are free to create your own class. Now before you get overly excited let me give you the facts as we currently have them. When you create a character you will have the option of Warrior, Priest, Mage, Ranger and Advanced. Pretty standard right? Look again. You see the first four are mere templates. But you are still wondering about that fifth one aren’t you? Well allow me to tell you what it means. You see behind these “classes” are ten abilities.
Fight
Adamant
Death
Magic
Romance
Illusion
Will
Wild
Vocation
Love
Still a little confused? I advise you to have a look at this page for a moment: Abilities. Don’t worry I’ll wait.
Now that you are back you should have read up on how abilities work but let us have a quick rundown then explore the possibilities. Basically you are not limited to being a Warrior, Priest, Mage or Ranger. Each of those are templates which supply you with the more “Warrior like” Abilities or the “Mage Like” abilities, but you are completely free to change these abilities later on when you choose to. Now let’s say you picked “Advanced” right off the bat. That is when you will be able to choose any of the three abilities you want. You are allowed to have three abilities active at the same time, but you can switch to all any of the others when you choose, you will just have to level up each ability in order to received the points needed to spend on them to get the available skills.
So what does this mean to you? Well this means that besides having 120 different combinations for 120 different “classes” with different skills to create your own unique/custom class, you are free to play how you choose. Do you want to be a support character with range damage? Wild, Love and Romance and you’re good to go. How about high defence caster? Adamant, Magic and Death. Now this might come across as both amazing and scary at the same time. I can already see one side dreaming up the possibilities while others are crunching the numbers and considering the possible imbalances. The truth is though we do not have much details as to how all of this works out, so for now we are lift to wonder a bit while we wait for more closed betas to provide us with insights.
Now for the final thing I shall talk about this time around. Equipment and how they will affect combat. Well what we do know is that anyone can wear any piece of equipment they like. Like that cloth armour? Put it on along with that nice pair of plate boots and leather leggings. Players are free to wear any piece of armour they stumble upon, however different armours have different effects, like wearing plate might make you less agile that in you were wearing leather, cloth armour may make your spell casting more effective than wearing plate. So even though you are free to wear whatever you choose, some bonuses might make you more inclined to wear certain types of armour, however you might not be particularly interested in the loss of agility from wearing plate, or may have developed a clever set of abilities that even though they are not a part of the warrior set, benefit more from you wearing plate.
Indeed some exciting or at least interesting information and it will be great to see just how far these systems can go, from being able to create your own class, combing separate skills and even wearing any armour you choose there is indeed a lot of freedom. There is still a lot more we do not know and even more to explore as these mechanics relate to PvP and PvE, but once again we will leave that to another segment.
So as I leave you today, keep your wits sharp and you blades sharper.
Resized to 55% (was 1280 x 700) - Click image to enlarge
"I will Turn your name into a synonym for weakness"
Comments
Very cool, thanks for posting this. Are you the original author, or did you just copy it over? Either way, I think it's okay.
ArcheAgeSource.com
copied it over
"I will Turn your name into a synonym for weakness"
That sounds damn exciting. Thanks for posting this.
I must not get hyped...but I'm struggling here.
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Yes, this is what I consider the best part of this game. I plan on taking melee, invincibility and witchcraft for debuffing. I will be playing with my wife who will have Wild, Love and Romance. I might take wild too, just for the pet and ability to use some ranged abilities.
This game has soooo much potential but I don't think the WoW kiddies would be able to adjust and think for themselves.....which is good.
heheheh "which is good"
I am also really exciting about this. thanks for the post!!
--Gaymer Extraordinaire--
Let's hope so. Let's hope, too, that XL don't decide they need the WoW kiddies. Jake Song seems to know what he wants, so I hope he sticks with it.
ArcheAge will never be as rich a challenge as the old games, but as long as we don't get mass transportation all over the place, quest guides galore and soloing from start to finish then I'll be good.
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Besides everything else there is something I have really missed out for a bit, which is players being able to wear whatever they want, this is something that was on Lineage 2 and really did add more customization and options, now in L2 this was quite basic, cause you had your obvious penalties ( i.e. cast speed decreased on a caster when not wearing robes ) but at the end fo the day your class still had unchangeable optimal gear, even novelty stuff like Tanks with Bows were not very effective in the end.
What ArcheAge seems to want to offer is the possibility to make it optimal with this skill system, which is something I do really like, if you really want to be a battle mage sort of character with magic and heavy armor you can "spec" into this optimally or unoptimally by your own choice, which is cool.
I do hope items are not bind on equip/pickup as well, since I did really love guild crafting and equipment sharing.