Alright everyone, I've finally started diving into what I believe is going to be the real meat of the game-play, classes and abilities!
Classes
The game will have 6 base classes, along with 15-20 promoted classes. Each base class will start with a default ability, of which you'll see examples below. Each character will then unlock another ability at level 5 for their class, and again at level 10, for a total of 3 abilities per base class.
At level 15 a character will promote into one of 3 promoted classes. Two of the options will be the default options for the base class, but the third will be specific to each character. On upgrade to the promoted class, the character will gain stats, an ultimate ability unique to the promoted class, and the ability to use extra weapon types depending on the class.
Each class will also have access to certain weapon types. For example, the fighter class will have access to one handed axes as well as two handed axes. Depending on your promotion your character will get more. This will come into play when we talk about abilities a little later down.
To give you an example of what I'm working on in the coming weeks, I want to share with you the base classes and their planned default abilities.
Fighter
Love being in the thick of battle. Rely on overpowering their opponent to deal massive damage.
Ability: Kick - Kick an enemy back one space, doing highly accurate strength damage.
Soldier
Reliably keep enemies at bay with crowd control and lance expertise.
Ability: Shield Bash - If equipped with a shield, do strength damage to an adjacent enemy, stunning them for their next turn.
Skirmisher
Skirts around the battlefield taking advantage of enemy flanks.
Ability: Agile - Move up to 2 spaces after initiating combat, ignoring zone of control.
Defender
Skirts around the battlefield taking advantage of enemy flanks.
Ability: Taunt - Forces an enemy to attack this unit on their next turn in melee range.
Archer
Enjoy fighting from a distance. Their precision is what makes them deadly.
Ability: Sharpshot - Attack with a bow at +1 range.
Spiritualist
In tune with the inner workings of the body and mind. Uses this to speed up various bodily functions.
Ability: Regenerate - Heal an ally X amount based on mindfulness.
Abilities
As mentioned in the "Classes" section, you will have 3 abilities per base class, and your promoted class will give you one "ultimate" ability, for a total of 4 abilities based on the character's class.
Each playable character will also have one "personal" ability that will help distinguish them from characters they share a class with.
The other major way of getting abilities is through the weapons and items in your inventory. Every weapon can have a skill of it's own that the character can use in combat. For example, a Claymore may have a Sweep ability that hits 3 units in front of your unit, but only if your character has enough levels in "Two-Handed Swords". A Bandage in your inventory would give you the Heal Injury ability, that would heal your unit x% of their health, up to 80%. An Iron Axe might have the Axe Throw ability that gives you a ranged attack, only if you have the required weapon level in "One Handed Axes".
All active abilities would come with the tradeoff of having to pick between using an ability which will usually cost more stamina and weapon durability, versus doing a basic attack that preserve your resources and allow your unit to act again more quickly.
Come end game, with 3 weapons slots, 2 item slots, 1 shield slot, 4 class abilities (3 base + 1 ultimate promoted) and 1 personal ability, a unit will cap out at 11 abilities, with 6 being customizable from chapter to chapter. I think this gives flexibility to build your characters how you want to, while still making each character unique.
I'd love to know what you all think about this. I know it's really hard to judge from just reading, so I'm working to get these implemented, and chapter 1 finished and out into open beta as soon as possible. As always thanks for taking the time to read through this and for supporting the game in it's early stages. Hope everyone is having a great weekend!