2015-05-02, 10:05 PM
I've played every class to at least level 12. (Highest character so far is 14 since I've been so busy making new characters and going through that same old song and dance. Leveling slows down considerably after that point.)
And it is clear to me: This game has a big class homogenization problem. (It becomes especially apparent when you directly compare the melee or ranged classes to each other.)
Every class is basically the same: You dump all your SP on harder hitting AoE skills to use a weaker SP generator skill. Everyone is Demon Slayer.
And because leveling slows down and you get a new skill every 2 levels, with the third skill mostly being utility, things pretty much stay that way for a while. I am not sure how much they start splitting off at higher levels, but for newer players who try out all the classes trying to decide which one to play, I can tell you right now that Berserker and Heavy Gunner are going to leave an early impression as strong while Knight and Ranger as weak. ESPECIALLY because the classes basically have the same skills starting out.
To be specific, all three melee classes pretty much have the same two starting skills: The quick slashes for SP generation, and the AoE SP attack. (Although Thief's has more narrow range. But both Knight and Berserker's are spinning slashes.) And Berserker is the clear winner here because it hits harder with those two skills, AND has more movement during them. Thief gets less movement, and Knight cannot move during the attacks at all. So although Knight is meant to be the tanky one, Berserker can just slash and move at the same time and move out of the way of attacks. Also, both Knight and Berserker get a ranged skill as a third skill while Thief gets a straight dash.
And Ranger is similarly gimped compared to the other two: Its SP generator is weaker and hits only one enemy at a time. Assassin's hits harder and can hit up to two enemies. And Heavy Gunner's..... pineapple, it's so damn strong and has such good range and piercing that I basically just use that most of the time and only break out the Flamethrower and stun bombs for the stronger enemies. Not to mention HG is more SP efficient as well due to the flamethrower skill having a lower channel cost and higher damage while Ranger will do the whole fire + backflip chain and nearly be out of SP for not nearly the same amount of damage.
Certainly this is a beta and things will be adjusted. (No way in Hell is Heavy Gunner going to make it release as is. Too damn powerful compared to everyone else.) But I do believe this is something they should really address.
And it is clear to me: This game has a big class homogenization problem. (It becomes especially apparent when you directly compare the melee or ranged classes to each other.)
Every class is basically the same: You dump all your SP on harder hitting AoE skills to use a weaker SP generator skill. Everyone is Demon Slayer.
And because leveling slows down and you get a new skill every 2 levels, with the third skill mostly being utility, things pretty much stay that way for a while. I am not sure how much they start splitting off at higher levels, but for newer players who try out all the classes trying to decide which one to play, I can tell you right now that Berserker and Heavy Gunner are going to leave an early impression as strong while Knight and Ranger as weak. ESPECIALLY because the classes basically have the same skills starting out.
To be specific, all three melee classes pretty much have the same two starting skills: The quick slashes for SP generation, and the AoE SP attack. (Although Thief's has more narrow range. But both Knight and Berserker's are spinning slashes.) And Berserker is the clear winner here because it hits harder with those two skills, AND has more movement during them. Thief gets less movement, and Knight cannot move during the attacks at all. So although Knight is meant to be the tanky one, Berserker can just slash and move at the same time and move out of the way of attacks. Also, both Knight and Berserker get a ranged skill as a third skill while Thief gets a straight dash.
And Ranger is similarly gimped compared to the other two: Its SP generator is weaker and hits only one enemy at a time. Assassin's hits harder and can hit up to two enemies. And Heavy Gunner's..... pineapple, it's so damn strong and has such good range and piercing that I basically just use that most of the time and only break out the Flamethrower and stun bombs for the stronger enemies. Not to mention HG is more SP efficient as well due to the flamethrower skill having a lower channel cost and higher damage while Ranger will do the whole fire + backflip chain and nearly be out of SP for not nearly the same amount of damage.
Certainly this is a beta and things will be adjusted. (No way in Hell is Heavy Gunner going to make it release as is. Too damn powerful compared to everyone else.) But I do believe this is something they should really address.