Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMO Gamers to the Next Level!

Mega gaming portal gPotato has recently brought another massive PvP game to our shores. Aika Online features 1000 vs. 100 battles, 100's of quests and 6 unique classes. Ten Ton Hammer sat down with Christina Kelly, Community Manager from Gala-Net, Inc., to discuss those classes in a six part interview series. The second installment of this series focuses on the games primary healer, the Cleric. While Clerics are locked into a female only gender configuration they are by no means dainty or or timid, these girls pack a punch and can hold their own. Join us this week as we get the scoop on this powerhouse of healing and damage.

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Ten Ton Hammer: Can you give us a brief overview of the Cleric?

Christina Kelly: The Cleric may be small, but she packs a powerful punch.  This class casts spells which boost offensive and/or defensive stats, absorb massive amounts of damage, and which even raise allies from the dead.  Her other skills include erasing buffs from enemies and debuffing them if they try to cast spells themselves.  The Cleric wears enchanted dresses and wields wands which grow more intricate and powerful as she levels up.  Her spunky charm cloaks a will of steel and particularly deadly attacks against demons and Undead.  Clerics exist at the intersection of religious devotion and patriotism, as all Clerics are trained from an early age to be priestesses of Aika.  The Cleric is an expert in holy magic and channels it skillfully to target herself and others.

Though they may be dimunitive, the Cleric is certainly no pushover.

Ten Ton Hammer: Is the Cleric the only healer in the game?

Christina: Not necessarily.  The Paladin also has targeted heal skills, but there are fewer of them and they tend to be less efficient than the Cleric’s.  However, Aika’s character skill progression system is such that you could potentially learn and upgrade the Paladin’s healing spells to have her fill a healer or buffer-type role.

Ten Ton Hammer:  Will Clerics need to hire bodyguards, or can they take up for themselves when the opposing faction is hunting them down

Christina: The Cleric’s main focus in the PvP realm is on supporting more attack-oriented classes.  The spells which the Cleric utilizes tend to have a more defensive flavor to them, but that doesn’t mean they’re less powerful or significant than offensive skills.  This class may need a helping hand at a lower level, but once they reach higher levels they can definitely handle themselves well in PvP.  Their healing capabilities will be more than enough to get them out of danger if need be, and their enemies might be left thinking, “Man, that little girl is tough!”

As the Cleric progresses, she is able to learn additional spells which deal a healthy amount of damage.  The skills at later levels not only increase her offensive capabilities, but can also debuff enemies while lowering their HP.  The Cleric is an essential part of any party and can definitely give one side an advantage in any battle, and as she attains higher levels she also becomes a force to reckon with on her own.

Ten Ton Hammer: Clerics are locked in as female characters only, was this a subconscious nod to the notion that most female gamers play a healer?

Christina: Aika features 6 classes, half of which are male and half of which are female, and I believe the gender distribution of the classes was chosen based on what would appeal to players and what makes sense in an MMORPG context.  The Cleric might be a female-locked character because the developer believed players are more comfortable with female healers as opposed to male healers.  However, it may also be because the supportive role the Cleric tends to play offsets the strengths of the other female classes: the tanking defensiveness of the Paladin and the rapid-fire aggressive attacks of the Dual Gunner.  There are several ways to analyze the choice of gender for the Cleric class, but it boils down to having a fun, dynamic character who adds to the variety and depth of the player experience.

Ten Ton Hammer:  How solo friendly is the class in the PvE leveling process?

The Cleric, while the games primary healer, also packs quite a punch.

Christina: Aika is built so that your character can progress smoothly and efficiently from the beginning of the game with regards to level and developing skills.  For the Cleric, this means that players are able to better those essential healing abilities while still being able to complete quests to level up.  Going solo with the Cleric in PVE isn’t significantly more of a hassle than with other classes—players can enjoy the quests and storylines without the bother of constantly re-spawning.  Although solo leveling with the Cleric isn’t much more difficult compared to other classes, it’s worth noting that Clerics are always in high demand for parties looking to go dungeon crawling.


Ten Ton Hammer:  Do Prans work differently for each class? For example is a Cleric's Pran more offensive, or threat minded, than say a Warriors Pran would be?

Christina: The Pran does not work differently for different classes.  The offensive or defensive nature of a Pran’s powers depends on its element type—the fire Pran is more attack-oriented, the water Pran is more defense-oriented, and the air Pran’s abilities boost battle endurance (HP, MP, etc.).

Ten Ton Hammer:  Due to the limited number of classes in the game, will all Clerics be expected to be full time healers in a group?

With great power comes great responsibility

Christina:  Not necessarily.  If a Paladin has focused on developing targeted healing abilities, she can take the pressure to fulfill a full-time healing role off of the Cleric.  Additionally, where undead monsters are concerned, the Cleric can be very useful in an offensive role.  We’ve seen parties in undead-filled areas with two Clerics – one for offensive AoE attacks and one for healing.  Clerics may often be expected to be a party’s main healer, but aren’t necessarily forced into a full-time healing gig.
 

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We would like to once again thank Christina for taking time from her hectic schedule to sit down with us and discuss the classes that make up Aika. Be sure to check back next week as we look at the third and final "female" class in the game, the Dual Gunner.