I strongly believe the central problem for this rules rewrite is a lack of unified vision concerning what Alliance is and how the classes should be balanced. Balance doesn't mean which class would win in a 1v1 fight, but it certainly must mean that each class excels in a different area of expertise. These areas of expertise should include what classes excel at in 1.3 as well as providing new definition and possibly an expanded role in the new version of the rules.
My vision for the classes is as follows:
Fighter: Most defensive class.
Should be best at: Body/armor, takeout protection (Tied with Rogue), melee sustained damage from the front, getting enemy attention, dealing with swarms.
Should be worst at: Takeouts(Offense not Defense), mobility, stealth, ranged attacks, burst damage (better than earth caster), non-"tank" utility.
New Areas: Taunts, Non-Skirmish (immobile) expertise, Leadership, more Takeout Protection, Shield Focus, Needs a TOP END PROGRESSION
Rogue: Best class at offense (Should be better than Celestial Scholar)
Should be best at: Mobility, takeout protection (tied with fighters), damage from the Back/Flanking, avoiding focus, stealth/aggro drop, ranged damage from any side, poisons/poison based takeouts.
Should be worst at: Dealing with swarms.
New Areas: Mobility, "Aggro Drop", Increase damage from behind frequency, Additional Poison Focus, Crossbow Focus, Florentine/Claw Focus, Needs a TOP END PROGRESSION
Rogue vs Fighter: I think we can better distinguish these classes from each other by adding new abilities that focus on the mobility of the two classes. We can also distinguish between the two by making the Fighter desire enemy attention while the Rogue seeks to avoid it. Make Rogues highly mobile melee combatants that can jump in and out of combat and have small windows of immunity from all effects while running away. Make Fighters better at standing in one place and being hard to kill. Give Fighters a "taunt" style command ability that force an enemy to focus on the Fighter. Give Rogues a "Shun" style command effect that forces the enemy to avoid the Rogue. Fighters should get more defensive abilities including a reskinned dodge while Rogues should be better at offense than Fighters. I'd suggest halving the cost of Assassinate and Terminate and allowing Rogues to buy twice as many. Rogues should get poisons that are only usable by Rogue/Scout/Adepts while Fighters should get outstanding shields and armor that is usable only by Fighter/Scout/Templar. Both melee classes getting a 5 second silence effect would also be nice to mimic disarm. If it gets a top end progression, I'd suggest removing Eviscerate from a Fighter's arsenal.
Celestial Scholar: Best ranged burst class. Huge utility.
Should be best at: Burst damage from range, takeouts (tied with Earth Scholar), non-defensive utility, flexibility, offense-based buffs, formal magic (tied with Earth Scholar).
Should be worst at: Body/Armor (Tied with Earth Scholar), melee damage (Tied with Earth Scholar), defensive utility.
New Areas: Low level reusable abilities, offense-based buffs for other classes, more flexibility in casting.
Earth Scholar: Best healing class. Huge utility.
Should be best at: Healing, Defense-based buffs, takeouts (tied with Celestial Scholar), formal magic (tied with Celestial Scholar), group buffs
Should be worst at: Body/Armor, melee damage, damage (when not using Chaos),
New Areas: Low level reusable abilities, separate healing/buff spells from takeouts and utility spells so the Earth caster doesn't have to make a choice between them, group buffs, more anti-undead abilities, make Necromancy more powerful
What area do other players believe the different classes should excel in?
My vision for the classes is as follows:
Fighter: Most defensive class.
Should be best at: Body/armor, takeout protection (Tied with Rogue), melee sustained damage from the front, getting enemy attention, dealing with swarms.
Should be worst at: Takeouts(Offense not Defense), mobility, stealth, ranged attacks, burst damage (better than earth caster), non-"tank" utility.
New Areas: Taunts, Non-Skirmish (immobile) expertise, Leadership, more Takeout Protection, Shield Focus, Needs a TOP END PROGRESSION
Rogue: Best class at offense (Should be better than Celestial Scholar)
Should be best at: Mobility, takeout protection (tied with fighters), damage from the Back/Flanking, avoiding focus, stealth/aggro drop, ranged damage from any side, poisons/poison based takeouts.
Should be worst at: Dealing with swarms.
New Areas: Mobility, "Aggro Drop", Increase damage from behind frequency, Additional Poison Focus, Crossbow Focus, Florentine/Claw Focus, Needs a TOP END PROGRESSION
Rogue vs Fighter: I think we can better distinguish these classes from each other by adding new abilities that focus on the mobility of the two classes. We can also distinguish between the two by making the Fighter desire enemy attention while the Rogue seeks to avoid it. Make Rogues highly mobile melee combatants that can jump in and out of combat and have small windows of immunity from all effects while running away. Make Fighters better at standing in one place and being hard to kill. Give Fighters a "taunt" style command ability that force an enemy to focus on the Fighter. Give Rogues a "Shun" style command effect that forces the enemy to avoid the Rogue. Fighters should get more defensive abilities including a reskinned dodge while Rogues should be better at offense than Fighters. I'd suggest halving the cost of Assassinate and Terminate and allowing Rogues to buy twice as many. Rogues should get poisons that are only usable by Rogue/Scout/Adepts while Fighters should get outstanding shields and armor that is usable only by Fighter/Scout/Templar. Both melee classes getting a 5 second silence effect would also be nice to mimic disarm. If it gets a top end progression, I'd suggest removing Eviscerate from a Fighter's arsenal.
Celestial Scholar: Best ranged burst class. Huge utility.
Should be best at: Burst damage from range, takeouts (tied with Earth Scholar), non-defensive utility, flexibility, offense-based buffs, formal magic (tied with Earth Scholar).
Should be worst at: Body/Armor (Tied with Earth Scholar), melee damage (Tied with Earth Scholar), defensive utility.
New Areas: Low level reusable abilities, offense-based buffs for other classes, more flexibility in casting.
Earth Scholar: Best healing class. Huge utility.
Should be best at: Healing, Defense-based buffs, takeouts (tied with Celestial Scholar), formal magic (tied with Celestial Scholar), group buffs
Should be worst at: Body/Armor, melee damage, damage (when not using Chaos),
New Areas: Low level reusable abilities, separate healing/buff spells from takeouts and utility spells so the Earth caster doesn't have to make a choice between them, group buffs, more anti-undead abilities, make Necromancy more powerful
What area do other players believe the different classes should excel in?
Last edited: