The Classes No One Wants

By Shayalyn

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As carefully as Sigil tries to
balance adventuring classes so that each one brings value to a group in
different ways, it seems difficult for fans to trust that there won’t
be certain classes that become the redheaded stepchildren of Vanguard:
Saga of Heroes. Every MMO seems to have at least one, or more likely a
few--the lonely, the unloved, the ungrouped...the classes no one wants.



As far back as EverQuest, an ancient (if still thriving) MMO by today’s
standards, there have been unwanted classes. They’re about as pervasive
as wannabe Legolases at a Live Action Roleplaying convention. (Well,
okay, I’ve never actually had anything to do with LARPs, but I’d bet
there are lots of dudes dressed as nimble elven archers.) If you played
EQ, you knew which classes were non-essential. It was rare for a group
to actually invite a ranger, for instance, unless he was a friend or
guildmate, and guilt persuaded them to let him tag along.



Naturally, the Vanguard devs are tasked with making every class a
welcome addition to a group. Like many MMOs, Vanguard will use an
archetype system, with several classes in each archetype. The
archetypes are: offensive fighter, protective fighter, arcane caster,
and healer. We’re told that each class will perform its task with equal
aplomb. All healers, for instance, will heal equally well. And yet the
classes should seem diverse because each will perform their primary
function in a different way. But Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) said
the same thing when EQ 2 was in development, and anyone who’s played
that particular game knows that certain classes within each archetype
were more sought after for groups than others.



I played a druid in EverQuest. While I knew my class inside and out,
and played it well, I still found myself looking for groups far more
often than I would have liked. Two things allowed me to progress
through levels with relative ease--my guild perma-group, and the fact
that I could solo like a wood elf possessed. In fact, if you look at
the configuration of EQ, many of the less essential classes compensated
for their lack of group lovin’ by being soloing machines--druids, bards
and necromancers are good examples (although personally, I liked having
any one in my group). Rangers seemed to get the shaft, but
then...they’re rangers.



How the classes will balance out in Vanguard remains a mystery. One
thing is likely, though...the classes will need further tuning and
balancing after launch. That’s just how MMOs work, and it’s unrealistic
to expect different results. It’s difficult to predict which classes
will be sought out for groups, and which might languish awaiting an
invitation. And will some classes solo much better than others to
compensate? It’s entirely possible, and dev comments of several months
back even hinted at it. Until Vanguard launches this winter, we’ll just
have to wait and see.

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If any developer can balance the classes and make each one
group-worthy, Sigil can. I don’t foresee major problems There may be some classes at launch that don’t seem to get
group
lovin’ as often as others; but Sigil will tweak them (or nerf others!)
until the problem is fixed Classes won’t be perfectly balanced, but the less desirable
classes will have abilities to compensate, such as a greater capacity
for soloing Class balancing is an impossible dream. There are always
going to be some classes that nobody looks for when forming a group Other