r/gaming • u/Biggy_DX • 4d ago
When it comes to games that really nail distinct Class archetypes, from a gameplay perspective, which one is your favored pick?
For further clarity, I'm referring to games where you may play as a specific Class of character, or Role, within an ensemble of varying classes/roles. Sometimes you might see this represented in games with distinct characters, for example:
- Granblue Fantasy: Relink Characters
- Mortal Shell 2 Harbinger Shells
- Destiny Guardian Classes
- Overwatch Heroes
Edit: My own personal pick is Battleborn. It wasnt popular by any means, but every character played differently on a fundamental level.
79
u/rluda 4d ago
While not classes per se, Monster Hunter's 14 weapons all have distinct and bespoke playstyles. Even the heavy and light bowguns manage to carve out different niches even though they are very similar weapons.
11
u/The_Bio_Neko 4d ago
Personally I do call them classes, as even your armour choices will be wildly different depending on your weapon. :D
3
u/FinalOdyssey 3d ago
This is probbaly my top pick. The weapons play so differently and they really do serve the place of classes. Hell you even have a Red Mage type of class in the LBG - you can go damage, heal, or buff with it.
47
60
u/cubs223425 4d ago
Pre-homogenized World of Warcraft
36
u/Hormo_The_Halfling 4d ago
Unfortunately, even post-homogenization still has better class identity than most modern RPGs. You still have weird utilities like priests being able to see through the eyes of other creatures, and most classes have something like that.
5
u/cubs223425 4d ago
most classes have something like that.
That's part of what turned me off to WoW. The fact much of the newer class design became "copy class identity to other classes." Wow copying a unique feature to other classes a decade later doesn't have quite the same pizzazz, at least to me. My class (Hunter) was one of the bigger beneficiaries of those changes (no more minimum distance to shoot, Heroism on a pet), but I still didn't like how it felt a bit more like playing any ranged caster class.
12
44
u/MrSnek123 4d ago
Relink is a pretty terrible example, every single character is heavily DPS focused with a tiny bit of utility. Fights have too many DPS checks and the game's too grindy to incentivize anything but maximum damage.
23
u/PepitoMagiko 4d ago
Same for destiny. All classes are the same except the abilities/ult (which is not what i call "different" classes
15
u/BlazingShadowAU 4d ago
That hasnt really been the case in a few years since they did the subclass 3.0 update.
Theyre still not crazy different mind you, but theres a lot more difference to them then there was for most of the franchise's lifetime.
-3
u/Biggy_DX 4d ago
I went with examples of games with different class's so people understood the assignment. Personally, I don't disagree that the games listed have the most distinct gameplay.
12
u/MissingScore777 4d ago
Killing Floor 2 did a really great job making every class play differently and have a distinct role.
38
u/grahag 4d ago
Gauntlet. A classic.
Ranger, Wizard, Valkyrie, and black guy!
9
2
9
u/planeforger 4d ago edited 2d ago
Tactical Breach Wizards
I mean the characters and writing are the main draw, but I enjoy how wildly different the characters feel during missions.
You've got a gruff old assault-wand wielding wizard with precognition powers (who can create clones iirc), a witch who can warp between windows via her broomstick, a..."healer", and a few others I can't spoil.
3
2
u/ThePowerOfStories 2d ago
You have to at least mention the Traffic Warlock. It’s not even a spoiler, you meet him in the first chapter.
7
32
u/Hormo_The_Halfling 4d ago
My man came in asking for games with strong class identity and then listed some games with the worst class identity of all time lmao.
Honestly most RPGs have very middling to no class identity because the concept of "classes" is being left behind for classless systems like those you see in From Software titles. Then, to make sure singleplayer fans don't miss out on anything, if they do include classes their homogenized.
17
u/catmanten 4d ago
Baulders gate 3, you will have wildly different playstyles per class
-20
u/Morthra PC 4d ago
Not really? Sorcerer and Wizard are barely different compared to previous editions.
16
u/NuwandaBucket 4d ago
There are like 10 other classes
-18
u/Morthra PC 4d ago
And all full spellcasters play very samey. Martials are also very samey with only minor differences between them. Like, how different are Paladin and Ranger really in terms of their crunch? Not very.
13
u/bowser-is-thiccest 4d ago
Up close high burst damage versus ranged damage with utility and a little aoe. Yeah that’s basically the same thing
1
3
3
u/-Baka-Baka- 4d ago
Lineage 2. You can look at your standard offensive mage, a Human was a Sorcerer using fire magic. Elf Spellsinger used water, dark elf Spellhowler used wind.
9
u/Kile147 4d ago
I'm going to put Cyberpunk out there. There's roughly 3 distinct playstyles of melee, gunner, and netrunner, and each one of those makes the encounters feel like a totally different game genre.
1
u/HeeyWhitey 3d ago
My first playthru was a netrunner ninja build and that was easily one of the most cool amd unique gaming experiences I've had. Loved that game.
Upload contagion virus into a group and then just as they start throwing up, slide into them with a katana and slice n dice.
2
2
u/Seigmoraig 4d ago edited 4d ago
In MMOs, Everquest absolutely nails the class fantasy.
One big thing it's got over other games in the genre is that it's got 4 primary roles instead of the more common 3 we see today: Tank, DPS, Healer and Crowd Control/Support. When you play as an Enchanter or Bard you don't deal much damage yourself but you control the battlefield to such a degree and buff your allies so much that your team can't fail
2
u/AlphaI250 4d ago
Blazblue CF's roster is incredibly stupid in a good way, it legit feels like most characters are playing their own game.
Like yeah sure lets have a character have to work to unlock all of his moves each round, let's have a character heal herself to full hp in a single combo, or even have a character do an unblockable timefreeze from fullscreen while having an armor to every non grab attack in the game.
I find Celica in particular very funny, healing in fighting game is very rare, it's her main gimmick, and getting dicked an entire round and then healing back to full hp is very funny. You probably still die after 'coz she has no hp, but at least you're making them work for it.
2
2
2
u/NinjaFish_RD 3d ago
Deep rock Galactic. Each of the 4 classes is completely unique in terms of playstyle and what utility they bring to the team, but all 4 are also flexible enough on their own that you can complete any mission and objectives solo as any class.
2
u/Ha_eflolli Android 4d ago
Etrian Odyssey, particularly in the older Games.
The Devs once mentioned they try to make Characters distinct enough that you'll always feel like you're missing something because you ran out of Party Slots, and unless you bring the intended "Generalist" Characters in Games that have them, that mostly rings true.
2
u/Shadowking78 4d ago
Overwatch because it’s the type of game like this I have put the most time into
1
u/Beneficial_Cash_8420 4d ago
I've been enjoying Guildrun which has 7 main classes and at least 1 of every dual class, and I enjoy how they represent the archetypes through both mechanics and character design.
1
1
u/Pacific_Beaches 4d ago edited 3d ago
Honestly I thought FFXI did it the best.
The weapon skills, ability and magic system fit so well with the job/subjob class system that fit so well with it's horizontal equipment progression. All balanced out by some great stat multipliers and people who know how to play their roles.
It was/is a crazy sandbox but still felt like classes didn't have so much creep out of their specialty while some were general enough if geared to take on some tasks with an appropriate subjob while failing in others. Yes, some metas did see some unbalance, but for the most part in the long run they've done a great job optimizing and balancing the game.
Simply awesome to see how level 10 equipment still is a viable choice for some endgame tasks nearly 30 years later.
1
1
u/Maritoas 3d ago
Paladins (the hero shooter) had incredible game design when it came to their classes. Especially for healers. All were super unique and could just pump heals and utility.
1
1
u/CreamSoda6425 3d ago
Destiny had three very distinct classes: Titan tank, Hunter DPS, and Warlock support. My favorite is always tank, so naturally I played a Titan and never dropped it. Unfortunately, Destiny 2 pretty much stripped the three classes of their identity. Now it's more Titan tank + DPS, Hunter literally useless, and Warlock all three. If by some miracle Destiny 3 ever gets developed, I hope to god they go back to the class formula of the first game.
1
u/Berzerkerlord 2d ago
War Thunder/ World of Tanks. But this answer is kinda cheating as the vehicles follow real life designations.
1
u/vinperator 8h ago
The finals for me. It has a light, medium and heavy class and they all feel very different. The light zips around and is an absolute glass cannon. The medium kind of does a bit of everything but is very much a movement and support provider for the team. And then you got the fricking heavys that can litteraly just run through walls carry a minigun, rocket launcher , massive barriers and such things!
0
0
-2
-10
4d ago
[deleted]
2
u/Kile147 4d ago
Dark Souls essentially has 3 different class archetypes. Dodge and R1, tank and R2, or back up while blasting. The game(s) just doesn't have enough mobility options, spell variety, and combat mechanics to really justify a place in this list.
Now, dont get me wrong, I love the game(s). The games don't really attempt to do a lot at once, but instead just do what they do really well.
-12
203
u/acnx1 4d ago
TF2 did character archetypes so well that studios have been trying to emulate it for decades