by Chris Ware on Sep 30, 2009
Runes
of Magic offers a good variety of classes, allowing for players
to choose between the four standard archetypes of tank, healer, melee
and ranged DPS with more than just a single selection for
each. While the number of choices is hardly groundbreaking,
it still gives players a chance to broaden their play style with some
measure of nuance, and with the dual class system at level ten, the
choices become even less pedestrian. Runes of Magic features eight
character classes – The Warrior, The Scout, The Rogue, The
Mage, The Priest, The Knight, The Warden and The Druid. We will take a
look at each class and examine their strengths and weaknesses to help
you determine which is right for you.
The Warrior class is the prototypical fantasy berserker, using all
forms of melee weapons and using their strength and rage to bear down
on their opponents with maximum power. Like all classes in the game,
Warriors are capable soloing or as either a DPS or tank option in a
group. The class is pretty standard fare for anyone who has
played a warrior in any other game with nothing particularly
groundbreaking, but when you reach level ten, the ability to couple it
with a healing class can zero out its main weakness. Most
solo players will look to do just that and make the secondary class a
healing class to allow the most carnage with the least downtime.
Players that group more often may want to look at the scout class for
more versatility or even the rogue class to add extra punch and the use
of projectile weapons. The only weapons a warrior is natively
restricted to are all the ranged weapons in the game and they are
unable to wear plate armor.
Scouts are the masters of melee based range combat and the
game’s trackers as well. Similar in many ways to the hunter
of WoW or the ranger of EQ, the scout is a leather wearing class that
uses a bow and arrow to inflict damage from afar. The scout is provided
several evasion and “snare” type abilities to
minimize damage at close quarters and allow for a return to a more
favorable distance. Scouts are relatively weak in hand to hand combat,
able only to use short swords and daggers, and have low mitigation and
health compared to their melee counterparts. Pairing a scout
with a stronger melee class is the most popular option to help even out
their weak spot or you can choose the mage class to add additional long
range firepower.
The Mage class here is the master of elemental magic, using firing and
lightning to obliterate opponents. This is the glass cannon
class of the game and the primary magic based ranged DPS, with single
target and AoE abilities to crush enemies as well as some buffing and
shielding abilities. Mages are restricted to cloth armor and rarely see
any melee combat at all. Mages match up well with priests, druids and
wardens.
The holy warrior makes an appearance here as the primary tank class for
the game. Knights are the only class in Runes of Magic that are capable
of wearing plate armor and can wield shields, one and two handed
swords, maces and two handed hammers. Featuring the usual
gallantry and code of honor often associated with knights, this class
merges well with the priest class or you can add the warrior for
additional weaponry skills.
One of two new classes introduced with the games first expansion, The
Elven Prophecy, The Warden is the games first pet class. Wardens have a
symbiotic relationship with nature in the game and summon nature
spirits to aid them in battle. Wardens are primarily melee based in
combat as they are charged to be the protectors of the Elven race, but
they also feature magical class buffs to strengthen their comrades. A
natural selection for your secondary class here would be either the
Druid or the Scout as both add a strong dynamic to this class.
Runes of Magic certainly has broken no new ground in available classes
as everything about them is fairly standard in the MMOG and fantasy RPG
world. What they have done however is infused each class with
enough power to be interesting on their own and to rise to new heights
when combined with a secondary class.
The overall class system is well
designed and they have achieved very good balance, which is something
many games with much larger budgets only wish they could say. The most
compelling element of the classes here is the dual class system that
will offer the alt-oholics out there a wide variety of class
combinations to explore.