TotW: Of Pureblood and Mud…gleborn …Aion Version
Looks even better in game.
Further continuing with the debate between multirole/hybrid classes i am now going to talk about hybrids in Aion.
In Aion there is only really 1 hybrid class. And one semi-hybrid. Chanter is the hybrid class of choice. He can deal damage almost as good as (performing to about 80% of) a pure damage class, and he can heal almost as good as (performing to about 65% of) a cleric. A chanter can fill inthe role of healing or damage dealer, but either of those will be better than the chanter. Strangely enough a chanter not using a staff (their damage weapon) but using a mace and shield can Offtank. They dont have all the tricks and abilites as a templar, but since they canbuff themselves and put heal over times spells on themselves their enmity increases pretty quickly on mobs, and they can take quite a bit of damage.
Will a group take a chanter over a templar? i doubt it, maybe in a pinch where there is a huge lack of templars but not regularly or willingly. would a group take a chanter instead of a cleric? I believe so. Since the chanter can deal much more damage than the cleric, he can help kill the monsters quicker, and the chanters greatest “con” is mana, but using mana pots can keep a chanter on top of the game. Killing stuff quicker will mean less time spent fighting and less mana usage.
All of this is of course based on my experience so far, and hardly related to endgame content, since we are still around the levels 15-20.
The semi hybrid is the gladiator, he can take a couple of blows like a templar and can also use plate armor and shields.
NCSoft is playing a dangerous game. To move away from problems with hybrids, they included a reduced amount of classes in the game. In a party of 6, one has to be templar and one has to be chanter or cleric. Meaning that out of 8 possible classes, there MUST be a priest, and a templar, and only 4 spots are open for sins, rangers, sorc, spiritmaster, and gladiators.
If the population keeps the ongoing trend there will be a lot of people running around asking for templars to help them. Lumiel Stats This is the info for our server, although i have checked several and they seem to be pretty much like Lumiel. At 14% templar and 26% cleric+chanter (assuming either could heal)
assuming there are 100 players, we would have 14 groups, with 14 clerics or chanters as healers, and 72 players to fill 54 damage dealing slots, meaning 20% of the population is unused damage dealers or healers. considering a playerbase of 500,000 thats 100,000 people… ITS A MOB! Expect a few riots. Also remember not every templar will want to group with people they don’t know, or their schedules only allow them to play at certain times. But in general there will be a “tank” shortage.
I believe the developers at NCSoft are very smart however at making fights less tied to time vs damage/mana mechanics. This means that a fight can last very long, in case a group is composed of several clerics doing damage, but their damage should be sufficient to with hold the duration of the battle. Being a couple hundred damage less efficient than other damage dealers isnt that important as it is in other MMOs. The downside to this is that fights can and will becoming quite boring after a while, unless there is a twist to game mechanics.
I promise to update this post, since it’s rapidly becoming a topic of interest (at least for me, might make templar now) and requires attention and analysis
Cheers, ttyl
Isma
